Strongest Duo Part 1

Chapter 6- The Stranger (2)

"The golems are sluggish with their movements since they are so bulky. Use that to your advantage."

"Thanks captain obvious. Don't you have any better advice? This sword is useless against their metallic exterior." A golem aimed its hammer straight at my head. I briskly dodged it by going underneath its giant hands and rolling between its legs. The next golem was lying in wait and used that small window of opportunity to slam the ground with its colossal hammer. Not wanting to lose my balance, I leaped on top of its weapon and ran along the handle. The next thing done was throwing one claw dart towards one of its exposed eyes hoping it would have some effect. Alas, it harmlessly bounced off.

"Tch."

Hearing whistling behind me, I dove to my left just in time before the previous golem could hit me. "I'm impressed by how you move. You know just when it is time to fall back and time your next attack thoroughly."

"Why am I not hearing any advice coming out of your mouth?" I frustratingly reminded the voice.

"Admiring a good fight is one of my weaknesses. Back on topic, the key to winning against these foes is mana. There is a reason why I had you consume the Torqinite. Since you're but a chick when it comes to mana, I, Solgen, will teach you."

The golems in front of me regrouped, their lifeless eyes glaring at me as they clutch their weapons. They approached me slowly and I backed up, hoping to stall for time.

"Okay. So how do I use mana?"

"' Tis but a simple matter. It all depends on your psyche. Just envision in your mind what type of power you would like to manifest. Put simply, think of mana as the mold, and use that mold to shape what you desire. The blue lights that should have appeared when you consumed the Torqinite are mana."

Okay. That explanation is easy enough to understand. Let's find a safe place to calm my thoughts. All I need is 1 minute. The cliff from earlier should be fine. I looked around my surroundings to think of my next course of action. All I see around me are rocks, the lake, and the stalactites rooted in the ceiling.

Wait, that's it! If there's one thing I learned while I spent my time here, it's that you should use the environment to your advantage!

"Hmph!"

Before the golems reached me, filling my legs with strength, I hopped towards the ceiling, aiming for the center of the cavern. With an outstretched arm, I grabbed onto a long stalactite located in the middle of the lake. The plan is to have the golems wade through the water to catch me. Once they enter the water, I'll drop down also for them to follow me. Noting their sluggish movements and my speed, they won't be able to catch up to me. This is all to buy time for me. I could only think of this plan when this area is so barren.

As expected, the golems entered the lake one after another. I took that as my chance to let go and braced for impact.

SPLASH!

Hot damn this water is freezing! It's like I'm submerged in an ice bath! I am so not looking forward to getting out of this cavern sea...

Alright, step one is completed... Now, where are they while I was preoccupied? After wiping my face from the droplets, my eyes landed on the two figures.

Found them.

They were awkwardly flailing their arms around as if this is their first-time swimming. These things are dumb. It's like they were only made to fight, not think. I guess golems are mindless creations. It took a good minute for them to reach my location. The next part of my plan is to now swim right past them. I thought that part would be easy but what I didn't account for is their adaptability. Every passing second, their sluggish movements became more fluid. They went from bumbling buffoons to intermediate swimmers.