Wain and Nicole were climbing the mountain at breakneck speed toward the dragon's skull. The higher they climbed, the thicker the fog and the thicker the energy around them, but they had only one goal: to get the dragon's fang.
'Damn, I've never fought a dragon before, I've never even seen one! However, soon I will have a dragon fang weapon! This is incredible!" Nicole inwardly exclaimed with an excited smile.
After a while, they almost reached the dragon skull as suddenly the ground trembled as several massive rocks rolled down.
"An earthquake? Are we that unlucky?" Wain muttered as he tilted his head before swinging his arm. A barrier of darkness appeared in front of him as well as in front of Nicole that tossed the rocks aside. The shaking gradually stopped, but it was not the end, only the beginning.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Huge creatures began to emerge from beneath the ground while soil began to fall from their bodies that for a long time had managed to become practically part of their bodies.
"What the hell...?" Nicole shuddered as she took a few steps back.
Several massive stone golems were headed in their direction, their eyes glowing a bright blue flame. Every time the golems took a step forward, the ground shook as small stones broke off the mountain, rolling rapidly down.
"Well, well, who would have thought there would be so many strong creatures..." Wain muttered with a slight smirk as he turned to Nicole, "You said you could defeat even a God Stage opponent, so this is a good opportunity to show what you can do."
"Agh...? What are you talking about? Those golems are only on the Demigod Stage!" Nicole asked in confusion.
"Hah, of course, I understand that, but if you can't even handle them, then you will surely die in battle against the God Stage monster. Consider it your test to get your reward." Wain smirked as he jumped aside. He created a platform of darkness beneath him, watching the fight from afar.
"Roooaaaaaaarrrrr!!!" One of the Golems didn't like it as it threw a massive boulder at Wain, however, Wain just swung his arm, easily throwing away an object that was a dozen times bigger than him.
"Hey, I'm not going to get in your way, so you better ignore me, unless of course, you want to die!" Wain smirked as his aura intensified and an eerie silhouette of a jaw with three eyes appeared above him.
Golems were creatures of stone, almost emotionless, but even for them Wain's aura was terrifying, chaining their hearts like prickly, cold chains.
"Go ahead, fight her." Wain said calmly as he pointed at Nicole, "I will not interfere in your battle. You chose to attack her yourself just as she chose to come here, so everything will be perfectly fair, won't it?"
The golems were silent for a while, staring intently at Wain, then one of them nodded and headed toward Nicole. They couldn't really know if Wain was telling them the truth or not, but they understood that someone with his aura had no reason to deceive them. If Wain wanted to help Nicole, he would have already broken the Golems into small stones.
"Shit! Are you serious?" Nicole exclaimed with an indignant expression as she waved her hands.
"Hahaha, what happened? Can't you handle a few Golems?" Wain said with a mocking smirk.
"No! That's not what I'm talking about! I wanted to get my weapon as soon as possible, but I end up having to waste time on these walking stones! What are they even doing here?! ARGH!!!" Nicole complained as her aura intensified. A black mist appeared above her as her arms were covered in thick darkness.
There were six golems, and each of them was on a Demigod Stage. Nicole was on the same stage, so she had to lose since there were too many opponents, but despite this, there was no fear at all in her eyes, only discontent.
'Hmm... Though Nicole usually acts defiantly, she seems clearly aware of what she is capable of. She knows she can handle these golems, but she also knows she can't do it quickly, so that's why it annoys her.' Wain inwardly muttered assessing Nicole's actions, 'Well, if she can beat those six in less than five minutes, then she actually has a chance against the God Stage Monster.'
Whooooooooooooooosh.
At the same moment, the preparations for the battle were complete. The Golems were the first to attack as two of them ran forward, quickly reaching Nicole and bringing their fists down on her.
"Hah, you think because you're big you're stronger than me?" Nicole shouted as she raised her hands in the air.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The stone fists came down on Nicole as the ground beneath her cracked, but despite one golem's fist being ten times larger than Nicole's, she was able to withstand this attack without injury. Her hands trembled slightly, but such intense pressure was no problem for her.
'Damn, that looks pretty comical. Such a little girl stopping two giants... Well, perhaps that's the power of energy. Without it, Nicole could never have done something like that. The golems would have just crushed her.' Wain inwardly muttered watching the fight.
Crackle.
Nicole's legs were covered in thick darkness as she leaped forward, flying past the golems' fist that collapsed into the ground. The impact caused a powerful shockwave that raised a massive cloud of dust, but it had no effect on Nicole since she was already in front of their faces.
Nicole clenched her hands into fists as she attacked with all her might. Her hands became a blur as in a heartbeat they pierced the golems' heads with destructive energy. The hole left by the strike was thin, the size of a slit, but a second later their heads exploded in a blast of darkness.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The golems fell to the ground as parts of their heads rolled down like rock debris, one of which fell next to Nicole.