CH364

So then what’s next? Ben couldn’t help but wonder. Jake had dealt with three golems and Amy six, meaning he couldn’t count on things being consistent for each of them, and he got what felt like the worst answer as the next ones came up.

Nine of them, and more interesting was the fact that two didn’t seem to match the rest. Instead of the hard, granite appearance that the others had, two of the new ones seemed like they were made of mud, having a wet look to them as Ben processed what he was seeing.

Okay, new types could be bad but the fact it went up by another three is worse. If we all need to fight then is the last person going to have to take on fifteen? More importantly, is the order going to keep going like this?

He got his answer as the barrier beside him opened, letting Thera step out. With the first being Jake, the second being Amy, and the third her, that left Ben confident he would be fourth, with Yuzu taking the last fight.

It wasn’t ideal. Of them all, he was confident in saying that Thera was going to be the most suited to handle whatever was to come, but at the very least he wasn’t going to be last.

Yuzu handled the golems in the first section fine so I guess that will be quick, but am I really going to have to fight twelve of these things? And if Thera got a new type then I’ll probably be getting them too. Ugh, why is my life already flashing before my eyes?

He tried to ignore his worry as the announcement for the beginning of the fight went up, Ben focusing the best he could to see whatever Thera was going to have to deal with, as the fight almost ended as soon as it began.

She held out her staff as the announcement was called and before any golem could take their first step, seven of them were destroyed, the stone they were made of crushed into a single large sphere as he cheered from where he was being held.

There was nothing shocking about it, he knew for this section at least she would be fine, but he couldn’t help but worry about the two remaining, wondering if for some reason she hadn’t been able to use her magic on them.

It was a worry that quickly vanished. Briefly, she looked back at him, making sure he was watching what would come next. She had figured out as easily as he had that he would be fighting next, and likely a larger group than she was given, with the fact that she was fighting new golems meaning he was sure to as well and considering that he was far less equipped to deal with such a thing, she wanted him to know ahead of time what they were capable of as she focused on them and whatever they might do.

Ben’s belief that these golems had been made of mud was verified a second later, the trial showing once again that it was willing to mix affinities so long as it kept earth as its base when the golems both acted in two different ways.

The first of them fired bullets of mud forward, Thera easily deflecting them with her magic, while the second fired itself, the totality of the golem blasting towards her in a powerful stream of water and dirt, only to be tossed backwards in the same instant. Neither of the golems had been damaged from Thera holding them back though, she just waited to see what they would do next.

From there, attack after attack was thrown, all of them watching as Thera handled them with ease, her overwhelming mana and high level of skill meaning that the floor they were on wasn’t even remotely a challenge for her, her only concern being to let Ben see what everything he’d have to go against was capable of, only stopping when she was sure they had nothing left to give. Not only had she witnessed anything they could do, but they had shrunk too, with every ball of mud fired being pulled from the golem itself, costing it some size with each attack that didn’t use its full body.

Seeing there was nothing left to learn she cast her magic on the dirt that made them, moving both mud golems so fast they separated from their water, leaving two puddles and piles of dirt on the ground that were both absorbed into the earth as the winning announcement was called out.

“With victory comes well earned pride! Would the competitor return to their area to await the next match?”

Instead of going back though, she yelled back. “Let me take the next match!”

She tried to show all she could of what Ben might have to face, but she would rather he not have to face anything at all and waited to see if she would get any response, nothing happening at all until the voice called out again.

“Would the competitor return to their area to await the next match?”

Hearing that, she deflated. She had felt hopeful that she’d be able to keep going instead, but the continued call with no change to the stage made it clear that they were going to be stuck there unless she went back to wait, meaning Ben would have no choice but to go.

She looked at him in worry, but he tried to give her one of confidence. Admittedly, he wasn’t actually feeling it, but he was sure he’d be able to put some of the items and weapons he had to use for his turn, before watching as Thera was sealed back away and gritting his teeth at what had come next.

He’d been right on the twelve golems, but there was another change that was plain to see. Thera had helped him immensely by showing off all he might have to deal with going against the mud golems, and like her, he’d been given two to fight as well.

He’d been expecting more, but what he hadn’t been counting on was that instead of having additional mud golems, he’d been given a new type. Lava golems.

“Nare, should I take these guys to be your self-inserts here?” Ben muttered.

They admittedly only kind of resembled the god. Both looked like they were made of lava, but the golems were more barrel-chested like the rest, and taller too.

And also going to try and kill me, which thankfully Nare hasn’t yet. Okay, don’t panic. I’ve got all the weapons on my vest, I think I can handle this without diving into my bag. Maybe. We’ll see… God I really don’t want to do this.

Visions of his death flashed through his mind, but he did his best to ignore them as he stepped out into the colosseum and hardened his heart. This was nothing compared to any single stage he’d faced in the dead god’s trial. He could do it, he just needed to act.

He pulled some items hanging from his vest pockets at the same time he activated the enchantments on his shoes, bringing the barrier up around him as the announcement of the fight rang out.

“Fighters, show your valour!”

At those words, Ben moved, activating his items and throwing them from the safety of his barrier as he and the others with him watched what they would do, while the small items each hit and stuck to one of the regular golems that were rushing towards him, only for both to collapse in on themselves seconds later as sounds of stone being crushed rang out amongst the stands.

No one watching understood what happened but Ben as he let himself quietly cheer on the success of his version one space bombs.

The designs had been simple, though admittedly expensive. The enchantments were made the same way as his sticky pads, using a barrier spell to lock on to the target, but in addition to that he had a space enchantment tied to it as well, enhanced with all sorts of other enchantments and made to replicate one of the most dangerous effects he’d experienced in the dead god’s trial, spatial collapse.

It was an effect that had almost mangled his arm when he’d experienced it firsthand, an effect that shrunk the space of an area itself, making all of the matter in it move to compensate, leaving it all trying to occupy the same space with predictably disastrous consequences.

Seeing how well it had worked gave him confidence as he pulled two more from his vest as the rest of the golems rushed forward, only momentarily stopped by the surprise attack. Ben’s minds worked in a flurry figuring out which to strike at next, with the choice he went for being both of the lava golems rapidly approaching. While fire wouldn’t make its way past the barrier he had set up, heat would, and he didn’t want to find out what would happen if his barrier ended up covered in the stuff, let alone what else those unknown threats might pull.

The first of his throws successfully hit, the liquid stone reacting to trying to be forced together by ripping itself apart, the molten rock splashing on the surrounding golems and eating into them as well, but the second missed as his throw was avoided, making Ben move fast with another.

This time as a test he threw two more, trying to make it look like they’d miss as expertly as he could as both hit the ground one after another, each right in front of two golems that didn’t react to them, thinking they were safe before being caught in the collapsing effect, the enchantments radius being big enough to take in the feet of the two his throws had landed by, bringing both to the ground.

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Five down, seven to go. He thought to himself as he looked at all that was left. He’d managed to remove the unknown variable that was the lava golems, leaving only five stone and two mud to deal with, all of them acting far more cautiously.

The two mud golems moved back, taking advantage of their properties to shoot at him from a distance as his barrier took the blows, not buckling under the force of the attack as he tried to decide what to do next. He had plenty of space bombs left and he hadn’t even touched some of his other options, but with the golems taking a more cautious stance his options were limited, leaving him no choice but to reach into his pocket, pulling out his revolver.