Chapter 50: Battle Trial (1/2)
”So, who wants to go first?” Gray addressed every recruit and they all blankly looked at him. None of them really wanted to step forward.
No matter the situation, anyone with a rational mind would do everything to not be first if they don't have information. At the very least, they would want to see someone else make the mistakes that they would not want to make.
”I'll go!” Allan raised his hand. Of course, certain people just don't give a crap.
Gray chuckled. ”All right then. Prepare whatever you need and go whenever you're ready. Take a potion with you too. The Trials in the First Plateau aren't that dangerous but they still have their risk. We won't be able to help you once you start, so a health potion is the least you could take.”
Allan nodded as he showed a thick belt he was wearing under his shirt. It was one made to hold many different objects; potions included. He had bought it from the Shop earlier on.
”Good,” Gray nodded approvingly. ”The stage is yours,” he added and retreated to the back lines with Vera and Quill.
”Teach, can I copy one of your magics?” Allan asked Flavia.
”Of course,” she said and extended her hand. ”But, does it work the same with several affinities?”
”Yep,” Allan said and grabbed her hand before closing his eyes. Ten seconds later, a small green glow wrapped around his body before fading away. He then looked at his hand and grinned. ”Done. Thanks,” he declared and started walking toward the arena.
”It seems like he copied your wind magic,” Nyx commented.
”How do you know?”
”It's not very hard to feel the nature of mana when you're used to it,” the former goddess said and Flavia gazed at her for a moment before going back to Allan who was getting close to the immobile stone golem. Rakna was silently watching next to them.
When Allan got close enough, a System prompt was sent to him and the golem's eyes suddenly lit up with a red light. Its entire body began to tremble as it stood up. At the same time, a spherical barrier was erected around the arena that not even the overseers would be able to bypass.
Rakna then took the time to appraise the thing's status.
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Trial Stone Golem
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Attributes:
Strength: 15 | Endurance: 15
Speed: 10 | Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 0 | Luck: 0
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Note: A magical puppet specifically made for the Trials. When defeated by a Host, it will repair itself to engage the next one.
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It was a really simple status. Nothing else but the attributes and the usual additional note provided by Appraisal. 'Sadly, it wasn't enough to level up the skill again,' Rakna thought as he watched Allan take a stance.
The hotheaded blond should be able to win without too much trouble. Not even mentioning five minutes, one or two minutes would be enough. 'Though, it still is a dangerous opponent. This golem can both hit and take hits for sure. But all things considered, it's quite an easy Trial.'
Meanwhile, Allan seemed to be waiting for the golem to stand up as he glanced at the virtual count down the System was giving him. When it hit zero was the instant the golem finished standing and threw a punch with a speed that normal humans wouldn't be able to cope with.
And although Allan wasn't the swiftest guy around, he still had the necessary reflexes and instinct to step to the side and dodge. He then dealt a kick that made the golem's fist accelerate downward and bury itself in the ground.
He clenched his fist and entered the golem's close space. He threw a punch with everything he had at the being's torso. His fist collided with the stone and dug a mark whilst cracking everything around.
But the golem didn't seem to be bothered by that fact. It ignored the damage and swung its other arm which Allan blocked with his forearms, wincing a bit at the pain. He retreated by a few steps and wanted to retaliate from another angle but unfortunately, the golem's speed was higher than his and he was forced to dodge another punch instead of attacking.
At the same time, his gloves were starting to accumulate momentum and a faint glow was growing stronger around them.
Allan scowled at the golem that now stood still after pushing him away. Compared to Rakna or Flavia, he knew he wasn't that resourceful when it came to strategy, but he felt like he needed one to win this fight without injury at least.