[TL: Asuka]

[PR: Ash]

Sounds of someone swallowing something spread throughout the cave. The witchers all drank a dose of Cat, and black veins crept up their faces.

They scanned the dark cave like animals looking through the night. Eventually the potion kicked in, and the dark cave became as bright as day for them.

Roy looked around. It's a narrow cave. Weird stone formations everywhere. The roof's filled with stalactites, and there's fungus everywhere.

Roy could feel a chilling sensation coming from somewhere deeper. Something horrifying was hiding in the darkness further ahead. Roy put a finger to his lips. Everyone quieted their breathing and stood on their tiptoes. They walked ahead as silently as feline creatures would.

Two minutes later, the witchers passed through a cramped passage and came into a clearing. It was spacious and empty, almost as if it were a plaza.

Man-made stone pillars stood just somewhere before them, hiding in the darkness. The floor was made up of marble slabs, most of which were ancient. Doused braziers sat along the way. It was obvious this was an abandoned place.

The witchers hid behind the pillars, their eyes on their surroundings at all times. A dried-up fountain stood in the center of the plaza. The witchers shifted their gazes to the side, and what they saw shocked them.

A dark, gargantuan thing stood beside the fountain quietly. It had humanoid limbs and a head, but the thing was at least nine feet eight, and it was imposing. Circles of glowing light surrounded it from head to toe, and the circles were made of complex magical runes. Charcoal-like stakes protruded from its limbs and head. This thing was weird, terrifying, and almost weirdly amusing to look at, all at the same time.

'Clay Golem

Status: Guard (the golem guards this place. It chases off and kills any and all intruders).

HP: ?

Strength: ?

Dexterity: 12

Constitution: ?

Perception: 10

Will: N/A

Charisma: 4

Spirit: 20

Skills:

Body of Clay (Passive): Clay golems are the product of clay and magic. It possesses incredible strength and durability. +10 to CON and STR. Clay golems do not need food or water to sustain themselves. Its magical core and runes on its body absorb the elements from the air and provide it with the energy it needs to sustain itself. Immune to all mental status ailments like Fear. Immune to bleeding, fire, and poison. Weak to strong acids.'

***

Holy smokes. Roy was surprised to see it immune to so many ailments. Good thing I called them over. Fighting this thing one on one wouldve ended badly for me. This guy is durable. I'd probably die of exhaustion if I tried to cut it down. And that's if it even lets me. And it has no Will. In other words, it's as tough as marble. It cannot waver.

Roy didn't think Fear would have any effect on the golem.

***

Golems were conspicuous and infamous. The witchers were experienced enough to recognize it at first glance. They were either wary or excited.

This was almost common sense. Lots of powerful sorcerers would purchase or make golems themselves. They made for great guardians. Golems were a lot more expensive than trolls, but they had no need for food and water. They were also too rigid to even talk to their masters, but that was a good thing. Unlike dumb trolls, they wouldn't be duped by humans.

So we can't skirt around this battle.

Letho fell into a moment of silence and whipped out some elementa oil from his ring and gave it to everyone. Elementa oils were made out of dog tallows and puffballs, both of which were common ingredients. Letho kept some of it in his ring at all times for any situation.

The witchers took the oil and sat down cross-legged. They greased their blades with the oil at their own tempo. They were moving at different speeds, but they were in harmony.

All of them downed a bottle of Thunderbolt, and the black veins turned darker. Letho drew the sign of Aard on the ground, then he pointed at himself, Auckes, Serrit, Felix, and finally, Roy. That was the order they would be casting Aard in.

He mouthed a few words. 'Dodge its charge.'

If something that big were to charge at them, its impact would be as big as a basilisk's charge. Nobody could deal with that.

The witchers nodded and made Quen signs. Yellow light surrounded their bodies. Roy took Gryphon the cat out of his hood and told the tabby cat to stay there.

And then preparations were done.

Letho looked ahead solemnly and led the charge. His companions followed him, but they went in different ways and quickly surrounded the giant.

Five pairs of eyes glowed in the dark, as if they were wolves surrounding a lion with the cover of the night.

The golem was alerted of the intruders. All of the runes on its beefy body lit up. It swung itself around and let out a deep roar.

The whole cave was shaking from the roar, but before it could do anything, Letho pushed his hand ahead.

The air itself vibrated, and the shockwave made the golem stagger. It was disoriented.

And then a purple magical circle lit up. Yrden cut down the golem's speed and reaction even more, and the witchers launched their assault.

The greased blades arced through the air like silver ribbons of death. Sparks flew, and metals clanged against the golem, yet they couldn't hurt its core.

The golem swung its gigantic arms at its side and swatted the blades away. It let out another roar, but instead of making any movement, the golem tensed up, obviously trying to store its strength.

Another explosion rattled the air as Auckes slammed the golem's back with another Aard.

It stopped the golem from storing further strength, and it clumsily wobbled ahead.

The witchers took the opening and assaulted the golem with their blades and signs.

Eventually this became a loop. The witchers kept casting their signs without stopping. The golem was forced to take a defensive stance. It couldn't even launch one full attack under that kind of assault.

Five loops later, the witchers had lost most of their mana, while the runes that revolved on the golem had significantly slowed down. Their light had dimmed out, and the golem was riddled with holes. It was at the end of its line.

However, its creator had programmed it to make one final desperate attack before it would meet its demise. The golem broke free of Yrden as if it had gained its full strength back, and then it leaped into the air.

The golem smashed into the floor like a meteor. A dust storm flew into the air, and the shockwave sent the witchers flying back. The golem set its sights on the young witcher, and it charged at Roy with speed it had before never displayed.

Roy was two yards away from the golem, and alarm bells rang in his head. He felt everything around him darken. The wind made his hair dance like crazy, and every inch of skin on his body tensed up.

He had less than a fraction of a second left. That was not enough time to dodge or summon Gabriel to blink away, but there was hope. His mount was hiding far, far away from the battlefield. Teleport!

The golem landed, but all it did was crash into an afterimage.

Roy had disappeared into thin air. He reappeared at the corner of the cave, right beside Gryphon the cat. It was crouched on the ground.

"Mew?" Gryphon looked at its master curiously, and it grabbed Roy's pants.

That was too close for comfort. Roy glared at the clumsy golem and shot multiple bolts in succession.

The golem expended the last of its life force and fell with a crash.

'Clay golem killed. EXP +50. Level 7 Witcher (1180/4500).'

***

"Weird. Fifty EXP for all that?" Roy picked Gryphon up and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He and the other witchers approached the golem. He was really surprised about the abysmal amount of EXP for this battle. Does it have no soul? Or is its soul broken? It's only an empty shell? Is that what man-made lifeforms are? Is that what all elementas are? Soulless creatures?

Auckes dug out three items from the remains of the golem. Everyone's attention was on a smooth, reddish-brown item. It was as hard as a jade and shaped like a heart.

"This is the golem's core. The most valuable part of its body. Worth a few hundred crowns. A sorcerer can quickly make another golem with this." Serrit said. "But the golem's essence and infused dust are fine too."

"Can I have the golem's essence? Is that alright?" Felix actually requested something for once. "Cat School's Trial needs it. I'd like to save it for Carl."

"It's yours now." The Vipers had no objection.

Roy tucked the other items away and sat down cross-legged. He went into meditation along with the other witchers to replenish his mana and stamina.