Chương 123: Chapter 122

This is the first trial that is specified to have death as one of two outcomes. Either succeed or die.

"If whatever you're facing is stronger than the Lava Golems," Iskara says, "you shouldn't do this. If it's a Peak Platinum‑Rank Boss, you're dead."

"I agree," Asterion says, sighing.

"I wish I could see what's part of Rafnov's inheritance, Jacob, but this is too risky. You're not strong enough."

"Shut up, you two," I hear Vyrrak say. He has a half‑crazed look in his eyes.

"Think of the riches we could get if he were to succeed! Do you two even realize who Rafnov is?!"

"There's no riches for anybody if Jacob dies," Zibrek comments laconically and then turns toward me.

"You shouldn't let anyone influence you in making this choice. This is dangerous. Don't risk your life for no reason. You might be an idiot, but you're still a Champion. Your life matters beyond your personal aims—you have a great destiny in front of you." Surprisingly, the next person who supports me pulling out is Sabrina Margrave.

"You're useless," Sabrina says, "but if you avoid dying today, you might be less useless in the future. Rafnov is trying to entice you after giving us a series of easy trials. Just pull out now. There's no shame in knowing when to retreat." In a way, I have to agree with Sabrina. There's no shame in pulling out of the trials if I think I can't take the last trial that Rafnov is about to put me through. It makes sense, right?

Like, why would I risk my life uselessly for some money and an inheritance if I'm certain I'd die? And let me tell you, I would pull out if I were the same person who entered this trial. If my power were still where it was when I first grabbed Rafnov's Pickaxe, it'd only make sense for me to call it quits. But here's the thing, I don't think that any of the present Champions really understands what I've done here. I know that they've seen me get all these Skills, but they have no idea I've actually maxed them out.

"I've made my decision." * There are protests, shouting, and Iskara even tries to restrain me physically before Asterion has to intervene in order for her to respect my choice. I have to praise the Highblood's code of conduct: he cares about me but he also respects me enough to make my own choice.

"Jacob, I'll ask one last time," Asterion says as we all wait on the threshold of the last room of this trial, "are you sure?"

"I am," I say resolutely.

"I've never been more sure in my entire life." When I turn to look at Iskara, she turns her head away. Her beautiful reddish features twist in a scowl that, at least in my eyes, makes her even more beautiful.

"Don't worry, Princess, I've got this. There'll be no death to mourn."

"I don't mourn the death of idiots," Iskara quips back.

"Good," I say with a smile, and I step through the threshold together with everybody else. The last room is enormous and is fully empty. I activate Greater Mineral Sense and I can feel the walls of the place brimming with Mana‑infused ore.

"There's a lot of ore in those walls," I tell everybody.

"Do you think that's the trial?" Zibrek asks. Before I can reply, all the Champions stiffen up and then look at their feet." I've restrained the helpers of Jacob Cloud in order for him to face the trial alone. Your Mana will be temporarily disabled and you'll be moved away from the main stage." I look down and I see that clumps of metal have formed on the feet of the Champions. Suddenly, they start moving against their will and get to the far end of the chamber.

Once they're there, I wait for the voice to say anything else but it doesn't. Instead, a figure falls from the top of the ceiling, from a hidden spot. It lands in the very middle of the chamber, cratering the ground below its feet. [Platinum Golem - Level 400 (Boss)] *"He's dead," Iskara growls.

"Can you feel the Mana density in that construct? That's not a normal golem."

"That's Rafnov's creation," Vyrrak says, sobering up from his own greed.

"That is a Golem created by the Divine Miner himself."

"How do you know?" Asterion asks, turning toward the Dragonkin.

"It's a lesser‑known fact about Rafnov, but he was a masterful golem‑maker. That golem is Peak Platinum‑Rank, but the aura it's emitting is much closer to Diamond Rank. For a Platinum‑made construct to exceed the potential of its own ore, it'd take the greatest golem makers to collaborate all together, and I'm not even sure they could manage something like that. A construct made only of Platinum? I have no idea what kind of spells must be powering it… but one thing is for sure, that's one powerful Boss.

I wouldn't take it lightly if I was facing it myself, Asterion." Asterion feels a pang of nervousness biting at his stomach. If what Vyrrak has just said is true, then Jacob has no hope whatsoever of winning a confrontation with such a thing. Rafnov is a legend among legends. Even his people speak of his name with the same deference they use for their own heroes. For Jacob, someone who has become a Champion on a technicality, someone who still has to be carried across fights, to meet such an opponent…

"Lad, give up! Say you're pulling out of the competition!" They hear Boomgar trying to convince Jacob to give up the battle. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Jacob ignores him. The Platinum Golem rises from the crater, its body glowing faintly with inner veins of molten Platinum that pulse like a heartbeat. Each step shakes the cavern floor, and the walls hum with the reflected Mana waves coming from the creature.

At this very moment, not one of the nine Champions watching this scene unfold believes that Jacob has the slightest chance of winning, but that is also because they have not understood the qualitative change that the young man has undergone in the past three weeks. They have forgotten that Rafnov isn't just a miner, a forger, a golem maker and many types of artisan—they seem to have completely forgotten the fact that Rafnov has single‑handedly slain several Gods.

* I plant my feet and let the weight of the pickaxe settle into my grip. The Platinum Golem straightens fully, its eyes burning like twin furnaces. I've spent three weeks cutting through stone harder than steel, pulling ore out of walls that should have been unbreakable, fighting the stubborn will of the earth itself. This isn't different. It's just stone with a soul. I look at the pickaxe for a moment and then smile as I gently place it on the ground. I could use it as a weapon, but I choose not to.

I understand that Rafnov means for the pickaxe to be part of the heritage, but I already have a master who bestowed his knowledge onto me and this knowledge runs deep through my Class and veins. I activate Infernal Veins and several black veins pop from below the skin, swelling and pulsating with Mana. A pair of translucent horns appears on my head and then two large webbed wings appear on my back as I activate Infernal Wings of Ash. I cover my body in Flame Armor and summon the Hellbane's Sword and the Dark Blade.

Without waiting for the Platinum Golem to make a move, I instantly fuse the two into a crackling new blade that erupts with black flames all around. Grimoire. Analysis. Recommendation: Strike the Mana lattice nodes in the chest and the crown. Estimated durability of lattice: equivalent to Low Diamond Rank barrier. Success requires precision and overload of ore‑devouring resonance. I feel through the ground as the Platinum Golem leans forward and, with speed belying its monstrous size, sprints toward me.

But thanks to Vibrational Hyperawareness, I read the move and I'm already moving out of its trajectory using First Step of Mephistus. But I don't move too far from the Boss. I just dodge enough to find myself on its side, at which point I use Diavolo Draw to score a deep cut on its leg. The Platinum doesn't give, but the impact rocks the monster. I jump mid‑air immediately, dodging a massive arm barreling toward my head, and then I look right at the molten eyes of the creature.

"Sorry," I say, "I don't really have the patience to drag this on too long." My muscles swell with all the power accumulated during the trial. I use Sigil of Baal and Web of Withering to momentarily lock the monster in place. It looks at me and as it moves it's already tearing free from my restrictions, but my Greater Mineral Sense, combined with Architect's Insight and the Grimoire, has already told me where the weak points are to the millimeter.

With all the might of Expert Strength behind it, I shout at the top of my lungs as I spear the Platinum Golem through its head, with the Black Flame shearing through the solid Platinum like a hot knife through butter. The attack disrupts all the Mana flow in the monster, but the Grimoire now flashes the second weak point. I dodge a wild swing and lower myself to chest level. Here the Mana, despite being disrupted from the headshot, is much thicker since this is where the true core is.

I have no chance of making my way through its chest in a simple thrust. But I don't need to. Greater Striking Rhythm. I unleash a flurry of blows with the Black Flame, my Fusion Skill, rocking the Platinum Golem. The monster roars and strikes back, but, with all the damage I'm trying to deliver, I don't have the luxury of dodging. Yet, there's a second Skill that I've learned during this trial that comes to my rescue. Shard Dominion.

Shard Dominion allows my strikes to parry the much stronger and heavier arms of the monster, redirecting them away from me while I slowly carve out its chest. The monster's molten Platinum veins roar to life as a terrifying heat is unleashed from its body. However, with my Greater Fire Resistance at level one‑hundred and Platinum Rank, I can barely feel anything. Thanks to Vibrational Hyperawareness, I manage to dodge many blows; thanks to Shard Dominion I parry the ones I can't dodge.

With a mix of the Grimoire, Greater Mineral Sense, and Architect's Insight I know where to strike. Expert Strength, Platinum Grip, and Black Flame give me the kind of strength I need to deliver real damage. However, I can feel the monster starting to accumulate more and more Mana inside its core. It's about to do something nasty, I frown. *"How's the lad so strong?" Boomgar is speechless when looking at Jacob fighting the Platinum Rank Golem in close quarters.

"Aside from the stronger Champions, few of them could actually take that thing head‑on like this."

"Those are the Skills that he learned during the trial," Asterion says, stunned.

"He's using mining Skills in battle!"

"He's a lucky bastard," Sabrina Margrave says, unable to hide her admiration.

"The Boss is accumulating an awful amount of Mana, though," Orrivane says, frowning.

"It's about to unleash a devastating attack. If Jacob doesn't dodge, he's toast." The Platinum Golem plants both feet into the ground and spreads its arms wide. A loud hum fills the chamber as glowing cracks spread across its chest and head like veins of lightning. The heat becomes so intense that even the Champions at the far end of the room feel their skin burn.

"Pathetic," Iskara hisses.

"He'll be dead before the second heartbeat. That bastard doesn't know what he's up against." Asterion shakes his head, gripping his spear with unease, wishing he could do anything to help.

"This is madness," Kaelric the swordsman says.

"A man at his level cannot stand against such a creation. It goes against reason itself." Vyrrak narrows his reptilian eyes, voice thick with scorn.

"If he survives this, I'll carve my own scales off." Zibrek tilts her head, her goggles catching the glow of the Golem's veins.

"The Mana readings are off the charts. There's a Diamond‑Rank attack incoming. He can't match that. The numbers don't lie—he's finished." * I grit my teeth. That's the core overflowing with Mana, getting ready for a beam attack. It's charging everything at once. If it hits me with it, it will vaporize me. Jacob Cloud, do you have any plan or are you about to die? For the first time since I enter the Boss's chamber, I hear King Baalrek's voice in my soul.

To be fair, if my plan had been to just continue attacking on my way to the core, then King Baalrek's worries would have been more than justified. The thing is, however, that's never been my plan. If the attack goes off, the whole chamber will turn into molten ruin. There won't be any dodging. Either I do something now or I die. As the moment becomes more and more desperate, I actually pop a smile.

"Greater Fault Line Instinct." My next attack is not directed toward the monster but at its feet. Black Flame slashes deep into the stone thrice, making both me and the Platinum Golem now rest on uneven ground. The next three slashes I direct at the ceiling and giant rocks fall toward us. I not only dodge the debris easily, but the uneven ground doesn't bother me in the least thanks to Quake Balance.

And, as a giant rock disrupts the casting of the Boss, I inject as much Mana as I physically can into Black Flame, until my own body is fully enveloped in black fire. Then, I thrust. Having weakened the chest of the monster, Black Flame finally goes straight through its body and destroys its core. There's no fancy flash, no explosion, nothing. The Platinum Golem staggers back, looks at its own chest, and then at me. I can see it giving me a small nod before collapsing onto the ground.

A few moments later, I hear Rafnov's voice again." Congratulations, Jacob Cloud. You've completed the last trial. You and your friends will now receive your prize."