Overpowered

by Lordfinn

The Players of YGGDRASIL arrive in the New World overpowered to a ridiculous degree. Its unfortunate that new player Felix didn't get the chance to suck at the game before arriving here too.

13. Triple Threat

OVERPOWERED CHAPTER 12: TRIPLE THREAT

GREAT TOMB OF NAZARICK, INNER REALM OF MAN

'Hail Lord Ainz! I come bearing news from Neuronist Painkiller on the information gleamed from the remaining members of the Sunlight Scripture.'

The player Momonga, formerly a Japanese salaryman named Suzuki Satoru and now bearing the name of his guild Ainz Ooal Gown, was drawn out of his musings while he sat on his throne. His musings being interrupted by the beautiful overseer of the tomb, Albedo.

The overlord of death was once a normal human in the real world of the 22nd century before being transported to this "New World" by unknown forces along with the creations of his guildmates and the guild base. His first actions in the New World were familiarizing with this new reality as well as interacting with the once mindless NPCs brought to life. The most prominent is Albedo, whose original flavour text was altered "considerably" that resulted in the fanatical love that the succubus has for the undead.

May his comrade Tabula Smaragdina have mercy on him if he finds out what Ainz did to one of his creations. Shelving his regrets of perverting the daughter of his friend, he decided to focus on work now and contemplate his actions later.

'Please continue with your report.' Said Ainz in a lordly tone. He didn't really need to work much with his voice since it already sounds quite deep and regal, a curiosity since he doesn't even have vocal cords, but Ainz practiced his speech pattern to sound as menacing and powerful as the NPCs view him.

Ainz was eager to gather more information from their "guests" after the brief but enlightening battle that saw the zealots defeated and giving insight in this new world. While many of the human soldiers died during the beginning of the battle, the overlord was prudent enough to capture those still alive to gather intelligence from this group who possessed Tier Magic and a rare item from YGGDRASIL.

The skeleton magic caster was planning to disguise himself as an adventurer to gather information personally but then realized he would have an easier time interrogating these humans as well as punish them for slaughtering the defenceless villagers of Carne Village. Holding off his adventuring turned out to be wise, as the flow of information that the Sunlight Scripture members sang to him proved his theories were correct.

It wasn't easy getting the info as the remaining soldiers turned out to be made of stronger stuff than the spineless coward that was their leader, with the surprisingly strong-willed humans lasting months of tender treatment under Nazarick's resident interrogator before cracking and spilling out everything they knew from the day they were born until the present.

Ainz learned that the Sunlight Scripture always has a standing force in the Outer Realm to continue their "righteous" crusade of slaughtering demi-human villages and reconnaissance on the major non-human nations in the dominion of monsters and beasts.

While half of the Sunlight Scripture he fought were by no means formidable or proved to be a challenge, he didn't want to take his chances and be blindsided by the remnants of the unit in the middle of his undercover adventuring. If they could cast a reasonable amount of Tier spells and possess more magic items, than he could run into a stronger force than he did in Carne Village and be defeated.

Ainz Ooal Gown did not reach pinnacle of their power and prestige by being careless, and he would rather cremate himself in a bonfire before letting the work of his comrades be undone by not being cautious enough. These thoughts were interrupted by Albedo speaking of the news she had for her lord.

'The stubborn insects have given us the name of the nation that they serve and more "scriptures" other than themselves. The name of their country of origin is the Slane Theocracy, which is where the respective Six Scriptures originate from, and they are considered the elite forces of the country's military.' Albedo couldn't help but sneer when mentioning how the scriptures were the best of what humans could produce to be called "elite". In her opinion, killing them all right now would spare them the embarrassment for proclaiming themselves the best of humanity.

Humans are worthless either way, but she is kind enough to save themselves from humiliation unless it pleases her lord to do so. Despite being disgusting lower life forms, humans do provide much entertainment in their suffering and futile defiance against superior beings like her beloved.

Albedo continued listing out facts about the Slane Theocracy. The nation itself is apparently regarded as the strongest human nation in the world, with a xenophobic policy regarding other races even humanoids like elves with the long-eared race currently at war with the religious nation. Anything not human is inferior and not worthy of being called equal in any way.

It reminded Ainz of the persecution of heteromorphs in YGGDRASIL, with the obvious difference being humans spreading this mistreatment to all races regardless of if they are humanoid, demi-human or heteromorph. If something isn't human, then it is a mindless animal at best or an evil being that needs to be destroyed.

Speaking of religion, the nation was founded by "Six Great Gods" who mysteriously descended into the world and brought about years of peace and prosperity for humans as they protected the weak species and helped spread the use of Tier Magic.

On the topic of these gods, Ainz deduced that they might be YGGDRASIL players like him since their arrival in the New World mirrors the overlord's sudden appearance here.

But what worried him the most is the fact that he might not be the only player from YGGDRASIL currently if one of these "gods" are still alive or another player followed Ainz in being transported to the New World during the server shutdown. YGGDRASIL still had some active players despite the massive decline of active players so it wouldn't be a stretch to think that many of them are here as well.

He could very well run into multiple player guilds with many high levelled players equipped with their full arsenal. It's even possible that those players would possess world items like him. A stocked guild base and NPCs on the strength level of Nazarick's guardians wouldn't be far from the impossible as well.

'Nothing will be accomplished if I continue cowering in the tomb while unknown enemies gather and plot the destruction of all I hold dear. While my friends are no longer here, their creations and all that we have built are still here, and it's my responsibility to protect them.' The overlord thought resolutely, the fear of the unknown smothered by his protectiveness he felt for the remnants of his guild.

'Thank you for enlightening news Albedo. This confirms that we are no longer in YGGDRASIL and in a whole new world that is hostile to our presence. But it appears a more practical approach must be taken for us to know more about this world. Raise the defences of Nazarick to its highest level and inform the denizens of the tomb to practice constant vigilance. I will proceed with the original plan and set out into the world incognito as an adventurer.'

While Albedo felt great happiness at fulfilling her lord's wishes, the joy she felt was replaced with dread when her master stated his desire to leave Nazarick. But as a faithful servant of the supreme beings, she had no choice to comply with his will even if it displeases her.

'Very well my lord. But may I recommend you bring a small contingent as a personal bodyguard? Perhaps I could be of assistance and follow you on this adventure?' asked Albedo enthusiastically. A chance to be alone with her beloved would pave the way for him to claim her and get a leg up on the short lamprey also vying for the overlord's affections. The beautiful succubus was too enthralled in her daydreaming of her coupling with her beau outside the tomb to notice the skeleton panicking slightly.

Ainz's passive quickly calmed down the panic that the skeleton felt before Albedo noticed his reluctance in bringing her along. 'While your strength would be a boon on the journey outside, it would be put to better use in protecting the tomb. I also have immense faith in you to take command of the day-to-day functions of Nazarick in my absence, Albedo. There is no one I can think of that could do this job better than you.'

Albedo looked disappointed but quickly perked up when hearing the amount of faith her master has in her. The delirious joy that she radiated seemed to increase a thousand times, her black wings flapping rapidly and a slight sheen of sweat building covering her alabaster skin. Her red face showed an expression of happiness and debauched lust, the compliment from her true love making Albedo aroused as her nether regions felt damp and warm.

'Of course Lord Ainz! Your faith in me fills me with such joy that I might expire from euphoria this very moment!' Albedo would have said more but was too overwhelmed by the joy she felt. The only noises the overseer could make were squeals and the occasional moan, making the lord of Nazarick glad he politely declined the lustful demoness's company. He wouldn't even make it to the nearest village with Albedo trying to get him to defile her even more than his tampering of her flavour text that made the overseer madly in love with him.

Albedo had enough wits to bow to her lord and seemed to glide when leaving the throne room, leaving Ainz by himself to organize his thoughts.

'This adventure "side-quest" will hopefully give me a few weeks of rest and relaxation from handling the NPCs and Nazarick. I truly cherish them all, but a person can only take so much…' thought Ainz, despite having no organic parts he felt as if the knots in his non-existent muscles relax at the thought of going on a classic adventure like he did years ago. While he wished to forget the harassment of PK-ers and heteromorph persecution during the early years before founding Ainz Ooal Gown, the former Japanese salaryman enjoyed the sense of wonder in exploring the unknown in YGGDRASIL. This "reconnaissance mission" would be quite the nostalgia trip.

'But still… I better keep my guard up against any potential threats and players that I could run into while outside the safety of the tomb. This isn't a game anymore where I would respawn after dying and levelling up to regain my levels and replace items lost. My death would mean the death of Ainz Ooal Gown, and the ruination of the legacy left by my comrades.'

Ainz maintained the depressing thoughts of losing everything as a reminder to be vigilant. Potential players that he could meet out in the New World might be as strong as him, with a full array of items and their own loyal servants in a bastion as mighty as the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Will his future enemy be a warrior of peerless skill and strength like Touch Me? Or maybe a magic caster of unparalleled magical might in the same vein as Ulbert Alain Odle?

Whoever and whatever this player could be, Ainz Ooal Gown will not cower to their malice and formidable strength. His guild had repelled an alliance of over 1000 players that reached the pinnacle of their own builds and levels with only minimal losses and ended in a resounding victory for their guild.

'Ainz Ooal Gown will be ready to face all those that challenge their supremacy, whether it be in YGGDRASIL or this new world. Death is a mercy in Nazarick, and any future invaders will not find it's sweet release in the great tomb. I will make certain of it. Come you unknown players, it's been a while since my last PvP, and I would be so happy to add to the collection of items in the guild's reliquary!

The overlord of Nazarick hoped his silent challenge was somehow heard by his future enemies. The thought of fighting a formidable player making the lights in the skeleton's eye sockets burn bright in anticipation to face his future foe.

---

NEAR THE BORDERS OF ASTERION, OUTER REALM OF MONSTERS AND BEASTS

'DEFEND YOURSELF BOY! BLOCK, DODGE OR DIE! THOSE ARE YOUR ONLY OPTIONS!' Roared Brutus, the minotaur charging furiously towards a battered and fatigued Felix. Not wanting a repeat of the last time when he tried withstanding the mighty captain's attacks head on, Felix casted [Haste] to increase his speed to quickly dodge before being run down. It helped that his reflexes are now more developed than before to react to Brutus's movements and attacks. The axe struck the ground, kicking up dust in the air that covered the field that the young adventurer has used for his torture/training sessions with the mighty demi-human warrior.

It had been a month since Jasper temporarily passed the reigns of teaching his young charge to the minotaur captain. While Felix began building up his confidence after the small victory he achieved over Jasper that resulted in the beginning of their mission to drive out the Sunlight Scripture from the Outer Realm, Brutus didn't hesitate to tear the young adventurer down and smack him with a dose of reality with both words and violence. The young adventurer might be considered exceptional in the Inner Realm, but the Outer Realm would still chew him up and spit the remains out to be devoured whole and then shat out.

In the following days that spanned Felix's training with Brutus, the minotaur captain noted several weaknesses in the budding adventurer, both in his general combat abilities and specialization of his classes. While it was a sound move to be adaptable to any situation what with Felix's proficiency in magic and bladework, it was strange for a swordsman to have access to many spells with above average effects and lacking Martial Arts. The Minotaur began questioning what Job Classes Felix has been investing in and what abilities has he focused on developing.

Brutus's questions reminded him of the forum posts on the few websites that provided accurate and trustworthy information on YGGDRASIL. The young adventurer then asked his Minotaur teacher for further clarification to confirm his theories. Brutus explained that those who want to reach the pinnacle of their power will focus on honing their craft in specific classes that one would invest in such as swordsmanship for warriors and spell craft for magic casters. To invest in many conflicting classes is wasteful and foolish, as you end up inferior to those who have mastered their craft in one job class at higher levels.

It was basically min-maxing. It took him a while to recover from the concussion after having a Martial Art enhanced fist smack him in the head to realise that was what Brutus was getting at. Guess Tier Magic and items aren't the only thing that was brought over from YGGDRASIL to the New World.

Felix's problem now is how unbalanced his abilities are, what with him fighting like a warrior with his swordsmanship yet depending on magic buffs and spells for his offensive capabilities. It didn't help that the young adventurer seemed to lean more towards being a magic caster than a real warrior, but with his inefficient specialization he can't hold a candle to dedicated melee combatants while at the same time falling short to pure magic casters.

When questioned by Brutus on why his abilities are so unbalanced, the young adventurer explained that the first time he developed his abilities were purely instinctual and that Jasper only built on the foundation Felix himself established. It was understandable that in a life and death situation he couldn't really pick and choose, but his future development now will be quite difficult.

On the bright side, his capabilities for Tier Magic seemed to not be impeded too badly by the blunder of his class mismanagement with Jasper saying that Felix was developing quite nicely in his repertoire of spells. But even the usually reassuring old mentor didn't shy from giving out bad news and told Felix directly that he will always fall short against true magic casters in mana capacity and spell power.

Did he mention that Jasper sucked at giving pep talks? Felix swears that the old man compensates his lack of tact with delicious meals just so that everyone's mouths are busy chewing and not talking.

'Of course I ended up sucking in playing YGGDRASIL when I'm no longer in the game and never played it in the first place. All that blood, sweat and tears and what do I have to show for it. A missing arm and getting tossed around like salad just to suck a little less than I already do. Why should I bother with any further training if I'm going to suck ass in the end anyway…'

Having enough of the abuse only to be told that he'll still end up being mediocre anyway, Felix told Brutus that his reasons to quit now and thanked the captain for training him earnestly for the past month. However, the young adventurer failed to notice the Minotaur getting more agitated since being told of him throwing in the towel.

'Anyways thanks for all the training and tips but seeing as I won't be exceptional enough to put up a fight once even if I reach my best, I don't think I need more training for the foreseeable future. I think I'm plenty tough to handle whatever comes my way in the Outer and Inner Realms now so going further would do me no good.' The young human obliviously finished his final words to the captain, not noticing how Brutus raised his axe to attack the young adventurer while his guard was down.

Fortunately for Felix, his experience of being attacked when he least expected it has honed his senses to such a degree that his body moved on its own without him consciously commanding it. At that moment when the axe was nearing Felix, he quickly unsheathed Old Reliable to divert the axe slash to the other side before performing some quick stabs towards the attacking Minotaur, forcing Brutus to go on the defensive to parry the counterattack and putting distance between them.

'What the hell Brutus! You could have killed me for real that time! I already said I'm done and thanked you for the lessons. What's with the axe maniac routine all the sudden?!' Exclaimed a shocked Felix. All fatigue and injuries ignored to question why the Minotaur tried to kill him for real after the close calls and apologies for doing it earlier.

Brutus didn't deign to give Felix an answer as he doubled on his offense. The large demi-human warrior quickly got into close quarters to clash blades with his human opponent. It was no longer a simple spar but a fight to the death. Every blow that Felix parried and dodged had the intent to kill. The momentum of the attacks felt like withstanding the might of a raging gale, as each blow was followed by roaring winds from the force of Brutus's axe swings.

While Felix put up a valiant defence against ferocious attacks that would have slaughtered even the strongest warriors, his weaker abilities in melee combat compared to the dedicated elite warrior finally caught up and he lost his hold on Old Reliable after a particularly heavy swing that flung his sword far away and dislocated his remaining arm. The furious minotaur quickly smacked his disarmed opponent with the blunt end of his axe, not giving Felix the chance to voice his agony or make a witty quip to dull the pain.

The young adventurer continued to skid across the open field before slowing down and plopping to the ground arm down, his dislocated limb now being complimented with an assortment of fractures the rest of his bones had along with the torn muscles he had received from the previous spar. Already used to being in agony, Felix can only slowly open his eyes and see the blue sky to try to distract him from the pain.

'Talk about kicking someone when they're already down…' groaned Felix. He didn't have much time to say anything else with Brutus not letting up in his furious assault. To his growing horror, he saw that the minotaur's weapon was glowing with the familiar sign of a Martial Art enhancement that he was a victim of.

'OH NO NOT AGAIN -…'

[Martial Art: Heavy Blow]!

Felix's horrified scream was silenced as the blunt end of Brutus's axe once again slammed into his injured body. While his physical constitution has strengthened considerably compared to last time when he was a victim of the crushing blow, it still put Felix in critical condition as the area where Brutus struck bruised a deep purple colour. Internal bleeding now joined the motley of injuries the young adventurer has sustained, his organs squished like overripe fruit and blood steadily flowed out of Felix's nose and mouth.

'I can't believe I wasted time training a pathetic wretch throughout the month when I could have done something more productive. And here I thought Lord Jasper wasn't the only exceptional one amongst the human worms slithering around this world, but I was proven wrong with you.' Said Brutus as he lifted butt end of his axe to slowly press it down Felix's throat. Not enough to crush it but to slowly suffocate the human who was also choking on his own blood.

Mustering what little strength his broken body has, Felix casted [Dimensional Move] teleport a short distance away. Fighting through the pain in his arm, he used it to drag himself towards his sword as Brutus slowly approached the fleeing human, while taking his time to finish Felix off he continued his monologue.

'Victory is not just about winning the fight boy, its about striving forward to it even when you taste defeat. The fact that you can still breathe, wake up the next day to face more challenges and improve yourself means you have already won. Whether you tasted dirt a hundred times over or finally embrace death does not necessarily mean you've lost. It is when you stop trying and give up to the struggle is when you have finally been defeated.'

Despite the numerous injuries and immense pain, Felix had enough clarity to listen to what the minotaur said. By the time the injured adventurer reached his sword and grabbed the hilt, Brutus had reached his downed form. The minotaur ominously towered over the human and raised his axe, but not before expressing his disappointment.

'It sickens me to see the weakness of humanity in front of my eyes once again. Your entire species have lucked out in having the contemporary of the great sage to shelter your people, making humans even weaker than before while inflating your egos to greater heights. You don't have to worry about quitting or having a difficult life boy. I'll give you a merciful end here and save Lord Jasper the trouble of lugging around worthless meat.'

With his final piece spoken and the tolerance of Felix's feeble nature reaching its end, Brutus swung his axe in a downward slash to quickly kill the weak-willed human and report back to the King. He will bear the full brunt of his King's displeasure and perhaps be killed by Lord Jasper, but he won't regret removing a stain in the New World of weak scum that folds to defeat so easily without a fight.

[Boost Maximize Magic: Inferno Cannon]!

Gathering his burning resolve to push back against his executioner, Felix raised his mangled arm to shoot a compressed ball of fire that struck against Brutus's armoured chest. A loud explosion occurred when it impacted, sending the large minotaur flying away at great speed. With a mighty crash Brutus finally landed on his back further away, his chest a ruined mess of molten armour and burnt flesh.

Grasping Old Reliable as firmly as he can in his trembling hand, the young adventurer stood his ground to die on his feet rather than laying down. His body a ruined mess and the pain making him see spots in his vision, Felix took a fighting stance as best as his broken form can take.

A strange sound came from the downed form of Brutus. Felix thought that maybe the spell had more juice than he thought and the minotaur might have punctured a lung, but the chortling turned out to be laughter. The low chuckling slowly rose in volume as the minotaur warrior stood up from the small pile of ashes and bits of broken molten armour. The laughing stopped once he stood in front of Felix once again.

'Well, that was one hell of a counterattack boy. I haven't been laid flat on my ass like that in a very long time, and I think you managed to give me a new scar.' Brutus gave his compliments to the shaking form of Felix, the young adventurer barely managing to keep himself upright and struggling to continue holding his sword up.

'If a warrior still lives to fight another day he is never defeated. You can lose every fight and battle but always remember the fact that you are still here, still struggling and fighting. Reaching for an unattainable goal and outcome is better than laying down accepting defeat. If you can still fight, still have the strength to do something then you are far from being defeated!'

Brutus ended his tirade with a triumphant roar of satisfaction, raising his axe in the air and standing tall…for a few minutes before collapsing in a heap like Felix. The injured young man was currently face down in the dirt, his arm was rummaging through his inventory to find a potion to heal the injuries he sustained. After finding a bottle he opened it and proceeded to pour its contents all over his head, not bothering to drink it as he was in too much pain to muster the energy to get up and consume the potion.

After a few minutes of muffled groans from Brutus and Felix kissing the ground, a bright light appeared nearby. Jasper appeared carrying with him a tray of sandwiches and jugs of lemonade.

'Lunch time fellas! We got turkey sandwiches and lemonade for a healthy pick me up after a hard day of work. Did I miss anything exciting?' said a happy-go-lucky Jasper, once again oblivious to the atmosphere with both the minotaur captain and his young human student taking literal dirt naps around a scorched and destroyed field.

Still enthused over sharing his cooking, Jasper walked to an unscathed area of the training ground to set up a blanket to put the items he brought along for lunch. While Felix's training was taken over by the royal guard captain, the old traveller busied himself in his true calling of the culinary arts and has been providing meals in the palace and occasionally for his apprentice and temporary teacher.

If there is one silver lining in almost dying since beginning his "tutelage" under Brutus, its Felix getting a meal out of it in the end of the day when he survives whatever torture Brutus lined up for him.

'Ho oh the place is trashed! Today's session must have been hardcore. It's a good thing I made a special new blend of sauce to go with the sandwiches. Tangy and sharp to kick the fatigue away and compliments the lemonade to quench your thirst.'

Jasper continued to chatter away about the lunch of the day while Brutus and Felix continued their nap. From an outside perspective it was hard to tell if they were groaning from the pain of their injuries or frustration at Jasper's occasional airhead behaviour.

---

'Well damn Brutus. I thought you were through with trying to kill my apprentice after that stunt in Daedalus Castle. What possessed you to try and turn him into mashed human again and ended up with you being tenderised and smoked?' asked the curious old human. Jasper was familiar with Brutus's temperament and understood the minotaur captain's actions are never without reason.

Brutus sipped the delicious lemonade in a large mug fit for a minotaur's large size before answering. 'Its just like what happened the first time we fought. Honour demanded me to take the fight seriously, and young Felix displayed his true grit again. I'm a bit ashamed to say that my guard was once again let down for him to injure me so, but you must be quite proud of him for that anyway.'

'Minotaur pride again huh? Well, your pride does define your people more than hooves and horns. And yes, I am pleased to see him reach a new height yet again. Congratulations lad! Keep this up and you'll be a one-man army…well a tougher one man-army than you were before.' Jasper took a bite of his sandwich after his comment, satisfied that his choice to hand over Felix to the minotaur doing wonders for his development.

The young adventurer in question was tucking into the delicious food his human teacher prepared. The potion did wonders in healing most of the injuries he sustained, and with Jasper around to heal up the remaining damage he was good as new. He longed since accepted that almost dying seemed to be the norm here in the Outer Realm, and just focused on eating the best food he has ever had since being born.

While Brutus and Jasper continued discussing the pros of almost murdering their young charge, Felix took the time to reminisce his old life and the new one he has now.

'Feels like a lifetime ago when I was working in the factory cleaning out used oxygen masks and earning pennies to afford rent and some food rations. Despite the constant near death experiences since I got here, I'm honestly loving this place where the sun shines through clear skies and breathing doesn't hurt even without wearing a mask.'

For all the downsides of physical danger that comes with living in this new world now, the toxic hell that used to be his home was a thing of the past and Felix can't put in words how relieved he is that this is real and not a delirious dream he's having after breathing in non-filtered air.

He didn't want to admit this out loud, but he was also glad for meeting Jasper regardless of the old man's unconventional methods of teaching and aloofness to his daily maiming. Its nice to have someone who doesn't interact with you just for business or malicious intent but a simple establishment of genuine friendship and camaraderie.

All his life spent on the streets of the SEA region has been nothing but interacting with blobs pretending to be human wearing plastic smiles hiding a dagger behind their backs and speaking sickly-sweet words more poisonous than the morning fumes of the polluted air. The only amount of trust that can be found was having something another person wanted to keep you alive or cashing in favours for people who still had some integrity so you won't end up chopped up to bits.

Spending more time with the old man was bringing out changes in him that Felix can't really explain. To put in simple terms, he feels less likely to let someone drown and maybe throw them a life preserver? Or maybe report a murder and just accepting half of the hush money?

It's a work in progress to try to be a decent human being.

And Brutus is also a cool…friend? Yeah, "friend" to have when he isn't trying to kill him or grind his bones to dust during training. The guy has a twisted sense of holding back to an extreme degree like his elderly human teacher, but he does know his stuff and Felix wouldn't have improved so much without the royal guard captain using a firm hand to smack him back to the right path.

Felix lived a harsh life that didn't allow him to really be human, to really be alive and form attachments. But in this crazy world of magic and monsters where he lost a limb and the empty persona built up in his previous life, he found something that he didn't know he needed or that all humans should have. He found some parts of his humanity back and learned not just a few lessons of flinging out spells and fancy footwork, he learned how to care again.

Yes, this was a radically different and arguably more savage world that he lives in now, but he wouldn't trade it for anything else. And with his training going along well and having a good amount of his abilities developed and planned out, he feels like he can take on anything right now. Even if there was a catastrophic crisis rearing its head around the corner, he would most definitely face it without hesitation at all.

After recovering from their injuries and consuming the delicious lunch made by Jasper, both minotaur and young human decided to continue where they left off in their training. Jasper bid his apprentice and the minotaur captain farewell and returned Daedalus Castle, saying he needed to prepare dinner and finish up writing down his custom menus for the chefs. While royal chefs are skilled in the culinary arts their skills pale in comparison to Jasper's, with his irregular visits treated as a celebration and met with anticipation to what wonders he would create in the kitchen.

Once Jasper finished saying goodbye and teleported away, the young adventurer and his minotaur teacher moved to continue with their training session. But at that moment they were interrupted by the appearance of several minotaur that teleported near the training area.

'CAPTAIN BRUTUS, WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY THAT REQUIRES YOUR ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY!' bellowed a minotaur border guard that appeared nearby the training site. He was accompanied with several more soldiers and some mages that provide magical assistance for the defence of Asterion's borders.

'Calm down! What could possibly need my attention that the king's edict of my temporary leave needs to be lifted unless King Andrius ordered you to summon me?' just as Brutus wanted to ask more questions on what emergency needed his presence, the sound of horns blaring out were heard in the distance.

It was the emergency horn that the border guards used to signal threats approaching the wall. With the guards armed to the teeth and possessing several magic items to assist in defending the borders of Asterion sounding the horn was deemed only necessary when the nation was invaded or dangerous beasts and monsters from outside threatened to break through the wall.

Brutus let out a quick snort of annoyance. 'Seeing as we are at the south of Asterion this is another attack from the beastman commonwealth, isn't it? Guess they finally rebuilt those little golem soldiers of theirs and want to go for another round. Might as well see what their new pet project is for us to smash to bits like those ridiculous horsemen golems they used in the previous invasion.'

'Alright stop! I was able to follow the flow of this conversation until you mentioned golems and horses. Seriously what is happening?' asked Felix. Despite this being the minotaur's business, Felix knew Jasper would want to give aid to the minotaurs in defending their home what with his friendship with King Andrius and the young adventurer's own positive relationship with the royal guard captain.

Brutus seemed to take a moment to think on Felix's offer and whether to go with it. While the minotaur nation has repelled many invaders with ease in the past thanks to their powerful military and the vast number of relics left behind by the great sage, the beastmen have proved to be a tenacious enemy that has been a thorn in their side since the establishment of Asterion.

'If you're volunteering for this then we can speak on the way to the fort. It's a long story boy…'

---

The nation of Baphomet, more commonly known as The Beastmen Commonwealth, is but one of many nations that are comprised of the various beastmen tribes who decided to band together in an alliance to better protect themselves from the hostile forces that seek their destruction and help in a common goal; to acquire humans to feed themselves.

Even for the most savage of beastmen nations that dot around the world, the Commonwealth distinguish themselves as being stronger and smarter than their cousins situated closer in the Inner Realm. A common theory that explains why the Commonwealth beastmen are more formidable is by maintaining their way of life in the Outer Realm, the tribes constantly vying for supremacy against their enemies and each other.

It's a disputed fact if there was only one founder of the Commonwealth or several because accounts and historical records keep detailing "three beings that became one" or "one who possessed three heads" when it came to the appearance of the mysterious founder.

One legend with disturbing details is that there really were just three beastmen founders who united their own tribes through brute force and entered an uneasy truce with their fellow beastmen. But the power-hungry demi-humans were not content with the strength and influence they had separately, and united in a forbidden ritual to combine their power.

Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong with the ritual which was said to have used foul magics older than the world and darker than the abyss. Rather than combining their powers into one, all three greedy souls were twisted and stitched together to become an unstoppable monster with three heads. The abomination discarded the names of the beings that previously existed before and fashioned the name Chimera.

Possessing unrivalled power and a twisted mind that mirrored their mangled form, Chimera began expanding its horrible influence in the Outer Realm. It was also said that even the True Dragon Lords of old were powerless against the monstrosity of patchwork existence, the predator becoming prey long before the appearance of the kings of greed and gods that numbered six. Chimera's voracious appetite not content with the weaker scraps of the world and now supplemented with draconic meat.

Eventually Chimera's sights were on the prosperous lands of Asterion. While it had plans to consume the minotaur nation and add the bull men into its motley collection of servants, the hunger for human flesh was what really riled up the three-headed horror and plenty of humans were running around in the nation of minotaurs ripe for the taking.

It was during the in-between years of revolution under the Great Minotaur Sage that the first and most terrible battle in the long war waged against Asterion and the Commonwealth began. After giving the humans under his rule a chance to live and serve rather than be simple livestock, the sage took exception to the eldritch horror wanting to disturb his work.

The battle between the sage and Chimera was said to have formed the present landscape of the Outer Realm that divides both Asterion and Baphomet, with odd shapes of upended earth slowly becoming mountains that jut awkwardly throughout the Commonwealth territories and fissures that run so deep it was thought another world was under the darkness of its depths after being cleaved by the sage's axe. The bane of the sage was so great that it even warped the lands of Baphomet to such a degree that it became more treacherous to live and traverse in addition to Chimera's corruptive influence already ruining the once thriving land.

While suffering under the yolk of their lord and master, the beastmen of Baphomet learned much from Chimera's and had access to the treasures and knowledge the monstrous entity compiled. More rumours and hearsay say that the lost art of Wild Magic that Chimera obtained when it was feasting on dragons were inherited by the beastmen of Baphomet as well.

And that is origin of Baphomet's golem armies.

Inspired by the form of their master, the best and brightest of Baphomet toiled to create facsimiles of Chimera's being that inspired such dread in their enemies and fear-tinged awe among its people. While golems are normally created with humanoid forms, the golems of Grauel possessed unorthodox and strange bodies that looked like a mix of other animals and monsters combined into one.

With the use of these hybrid golems, the nation of Baphomet regained its power and influence thought lost when Chimera was slain and continued their grudge war against the minotaurs of Asterion.

However, in recent times the activity of the Commonwealth around the Outer Realm and beyond began declining as decades pass and their once monstrous legions of golems were rarely seen. The last indication that their golem production was maintained is the recent attack of the horseman golems that did moderate yet negligible damage to Asterion's forces.

Brutus finished his story as the young adventurer and minotaur captain arrived at the battlements overlooking the expanse of land that formed the borders between Baphomet and Asterion. And what they saw was breath-taking and horrifying.

Like something out a macabre horror movie, titanic golems that looked like a mix of flesh and metal were slowly walking across the field of jutting stone and small patches of dead grass. Every step these machines made seem to make the earth tremble, but at the same time the machines themselves are eerily silent. The humanoid design of these titans did little to make them less unnerving, with blank faces of pale flesh and carved runes that looked raw and red around their bodies.

The border guard were trying their best in halting the giant flesh golems approaching the wall, the mages on the wall peppering them with spells and others manning the various defences on the border wall that supplemented the magic attacks with enchanted stones and ballista bolts. It did nothing to slow the rows of giants that absorbed the spells like they weren't even there and physical ammunition colliding against the flesh of the golems but doing no damage.

The barrage of attacks continued as the golems aligned themselves in a single row in front of the wall. Their blank faces slowly morphed as the bottom part where a mouth should have been opened slowly before something shot out of it like a bullet towards the border wall.

'EVERYONE TAKE COVER!'

Brutus's orders were the last thing Felix heard as one of the bullets shot out of the giant flesh golem's mouth sped towards them.

---

The borders of Asterion were finally brought down by the artillery barrage of the giant golems. Its proud structure reduced to rubble and making room for Baphomet's monstrous creations to continue their strides into the territory of Asterion.

Felix landed on his feet some distance away from the destroyed fort. Everyone else in the wall were able to get out safely as well, with the warriors withstanding debris hitting their hard bodies and mages teleporting themselves and everyone else close by away before getting crushed. He didn't see where Brutus had landed from the blast but figured the captain would be alright. It would take more than that to kill the mighty minotaur warrior who taught him the value of strength for the past month.

The survivors didn't have enough time to gain their bearings when the same bullets that were shot out of the flesh golems revealed what they were. The smoking shapes that were shot slowly revealed themselves to also be golems, but the similarities regarding what they were ended there.

Several of the landed golems also had the horrific mix of organic and inorganic parts just like the large titans that spewed them out, but the makeup of these golems were bones instead of flesh in addition to the metal. Intricate array of runes were etched to their bodies like the giant flesh golems, glowing an eerie red.

His thoughts were interrupted with the pained howls of a minotaur that followed sounds of flesh being ripped. A minotaur landed right next to him… or rather half of a minotaur.

Felix inspected the corpse of the minotaur guard that landed next to him, flecks of the deceased bull man's blood was sprayed on him when the mangled half of the corpse landed close by. The guard's body looked like it was ripped in half, as if someone took a raw steak and pulled it apart with their bare hands. He didn't have to search for the other half as he looked in front of him and saw the perpetrator.

The upper half of the minotaur's corpse was clutched in the hands of one of the bone golems, its white skull painted red with its victim's blood and several chunks of meat in the hands of the golem's arms. Speaking of arms, the macabre machine had four arms with two of the extra appendages positioned beneath the main ones.

The bone golem dropped the bloody remains of its victim that splat on the ground with a wet squelch. It continued to silently stare at the young human, as if waiting for Felix to comment its hands on approach in butchery. The silent staring of both human and bone construct continued as sounds of battle were slowly heard around them.

Skipping the part where he says something and the other party rudely interrupts his banter, Felix quickly shot a fireball towards the prone golem. The golem didn't attempt to dodge or block the spell as it collided and engulfed it in flames. As the flames started to die down, it revealed the unmarred form of the bone golem, the fire spell's only visible effect was cleaning up the blood and gore on the golem.

'I knew the spell won't do any damage but shooting fireballs is too cool not to do it occasionally. Welp, time to get serious!'

[Boost Maximize Magic: Inferno Cannon]

Using the same spell that laid the mighty minotaur captain on his back burnt and bruised, the meta-magic enhanced spell shot forward with a loud explosion. The force of the spell launching from his hand blew a strung gust of wind around him as the ball of fiery force collided against the bone golem, launching the machine a short distance away.

Knowing better than to celebrate early and let his guard down, the young adventurer unsheathed his sword and stalked forward carefully towards where the bone golem was blasted away.

Once he arrived at the smoking crater, his instincts flared at him to quickly intercept the golem dashing out of its hole to try and stab Felix with the blade coming out of one of its hands.

After parrying the blade that almost made purchase with his chest, the bone golem's other three hands suddenly had blades also coming out of them. Digging his heels in the ground, Felix assumed a defensive stance and parried the combo of slashes and strikes. Felix's thoughts became panicked as he took stock of the golem's condition, aside from being dirty with bits of earth smudged against its frame the spell didn't even dent it.

'I understand if it was able to stand back up after the spell hit but why isn't it damaged?! Even Brutus was a bit hurt after tanking inferno cannon point blank… what the hell are these golems made of?'

With Felix being panicked and slightly unfocused, the bone golem was able to penetrate his staunch parrying and stabbed one of its blades through an opening. Hoping his defensive magic can help him, the young adventurer casted several enhancement spells and a shield for good measure before the strike landed.

Instead of bouncing off the shield that surrounded Felix, the golem's blade phased through it without resistance and sunk deeply into the unfortunate young human's chest. Felix let out a soft grunt as blood slowly poured out of his mouth.

[Dimensional Move]

Casting a short-ranged teleport spell to create distance between him and the golem, Felix landed with wobbly legs and nursed the bleeding wound that the bone golem inflicted. Pain and shock were all that the young adventurer to feel as the golem slowly approached the injured human. It was as if the golem knew Felix was critically injured and decided to sadistically take its time to finish him off, the automaton not bothering to use the immense speed it displayed to end the fight quickly with him receiving a major wound.

'So magic is completely off the table with its BS immunity even towards defensive spells. But weirdly enough the spells I used to enhance myself are still working since I didn't keel over or bleed out yet. Can this get any worse?!'

As if the cosmic entity that decided Felix didn't reach his quota on suffering, two more of the multi-limbed bone golems appeared behind the injured young adventurer. In contrast to its fellow golem recently cleaned of blood courtesy of Felix's spell, the others that arrived looked like they decided to doll themselves up with some blood and guts.

'…Oh, for fuck sakes...'

Felix ignored the sense of déjà vu he always felt whenever in a tight spot since its going to be a running theme of his life here in the new world. He kept wracking his brain to think of what to do but came up short.

Magic is out of the question both for offensive and defensive use except making his suffering last longer as the golems whittle him down for however long he can withstand their assault. Any spells he could use to escape were negated since the golems could probably intercept him before the teleportation spell finished casting and the other spells he had were short range.

'This might be the end. The only thing I can do right now is block, dodge then die…'

"It is when you stop trying and give up to the struggle is when you have finally been defeated"

The final piece of advice from Brutus rang in his head, bringing him back from despair and remembering why he was here in the first place. So what if this really is the end? So what if the only thing he could do now is a feeble resistance? If he really is dying now, better to die swinging and maybe take one golem down while doing it.

Ignoring the pain of his wounds and physical exhaustion, the defiant human took one last battle stance with Old Reliable. The sword gifted by his teacher may not look much, but he wouldn't trade it for any other fancy sword.

As if galvanized by a mere human becoming defiant to the end, the golems dashed forward in unison. Sharp blades capable of slicing through even the toughest armour and pierce the hides of mighty beasts aimed to finish Felix off.

No spectators or a standing ovation was needed, he already felt proud at having the option of dying on his feet like always. Maybe that was the truth of the world? Having the choice of when and where you die does seem exhilarating.

The defiant adventurer felt a tingling of sorts in his being, something different from the magic enchantments he cast to boost his power. It slowly increased to become a roaring jolt of energy as he clashed blades with the first bone golem while the other two were also closing in.

[Skill: Desperate Dodge]

The young human didn't know what possessed him to say those words, but his body responded to it subconsciously as he did just that; dodging death as it was closing in on all sides. His evasive movements and redirection of the golem's attacks were different this time, it was like his body moved on its own accord. Any attack coming close to his person was blocked and redirected while his body dodged those that he couldn't intercept with his sword.

All three of the golem's attacks began slowing down as he maintained his staunch defence. With the new skill giving him some breathing room and time to think, Felix quickly blinked away with Dimensional Move. He reappeared a short distance away and saw that the golems were moving a bit sluggish with some steam wafting off their forms, the runes on their bodies appeared to dim. It still had enough energy inside of it to prepare all four of its blades to skewer Felix.

'Now for the finale. We just need someone to die now…'

[Skill: Death Parry]

Just like before a whirlwind of blades was all that any spectator would see as human and golem desperately locked blades in high-speed combat. Felix's movements were not in desperation now but tranquil swiftness.

The bone golem decided to stop with the swordplay and forgo any calculated moves to brute force a single strike, making a mistake and determining the end of the brief stalemate. Quicker than the eye can see, Felix quickly moved as he avoided the blade to slice off one of the golem's arms.

Unlike a living being the golem did not become shocked at the loss of a limb and instead doubled down on its aggressive attacks. Rather than salvaging the situation it just made everything worse for itself and the victorious adventurer started to brutally dismantle the golem.

As the young adventurer felt his movements returning to normal and the automated counterattack that guided his body ended, he surveyed the results of his stubborn defence. The once intimidating and horrific golem was now in a pitiful state with all its arms dismembered with numerous slashes along its body. Felix's sword strikes made deep cuts into the durable body of the machine as well as damaging the strange runes found on its body.

K..l m..e… p..l….s…kill…me…please

'Wait what the fuck?!'

From what he learned about golems, they were soulless automatons animated by the will of their creator and copious amounts of magic and materials. Unless outfitted with speakers or other forms of noise making additions to project sound, they were nothing but puppets without any thought or independent will.

So how did the golem in front of him just talk…and told him to "kill" it?

His shock overshadowed the curiosity building up in him and forced Felix to decapitate the bone golem. As the head hit the ground and the rest of the body followed, the young adventurer swore he heard a whispered thank you.

'…Well I'm not getting any sleep for a week'

Felix was interrupted in his traumatized musings when the two golems that were presumably out of commission booted back up. He waited too long in destroying one of them and the shocking reveal of their ability to talk distracted him long enough for the remaining bone golems to recover.

The young adventurer tried to muster up the mysterious strength he summoned earlier, but it seems there's a cooldown period for those special moves he performed as he had a feeling that they won't be available soon. It still didn't stop him from taking a combat stance and facing killer automatons again.

[Martial Art: Twin Cleave]

Just as Felix was prepared to face death again, he heard the announcement of a Martial Art and watched in wonder as the powerful golems that nearly claimed his life were sliced in perfect halves.

'THAT WAS THE GREATEST SHOW OF GUTS AND MARTIAL ARTS I HAVE EVER SEEN! I KNEW YOU HAD IN YOU BOY!' Brutus roared gregariously, walking pass the piles of bone and scrap metal he nonchalantly dispatched. He walked to the still form of Felix to slap him hard behind his back, the injured human not falling on the ground but gritting his teeth as the minotaur unintentionally aggravated his wounds.

'Its fine I'm used to pain anyway…' said Felix between pained gasps. The danger of the golems over for now he went into his inventory to grab a few potions but remembered that these bone golems aren't the only machines left and that there were numerous others as well as the giant walkers currently walking through the debris of the border.

His worries were laid to rest as Brutus saw Felix's worried expression and reassured him. 'Don't worry lad the situation is under control. I was able to regroup the remaining soldiers to push back the first wave of golems and our magic casters sent out a call for reinforcements. The king and lord Jasper are on their way right now. Those walkers are a bit tricky to deal with but their moving slow enough that reinforcements will arrive before they make it halfway to Theseus.'

Reassured that there won't be more creepy robots trying to pincushion him, Felix drank up the potions he grabbed from his inventory. Thanks to the previous raids on the Sunlight Scripture he had plenty of these potions to open a shop. But at the rate of consumption he might just run out by the end of this year. He probably didn't run out of these potions yet because of Jasper being around to heal his wounds.

With the immediate danger over and the dust cloud formed from the destruction of the border receding, Felix was able to look around his surroundings and spotted the giant golems making their way towards Theseus. While a few of the machines were already past the border, he could see several more of the flesh titans behind them and probably possessing a fresh batch of the freaky bone golems to spit out.

Not content to just wait for backup to arrive, Felix turned to Brutus and asked if the captain had any ideas to stop or slow down the flesh titans. The minotaur captain told him that he and the soldiers tried their best to stop the approaching giants but nothing worked, and while he could probably take down a few of the flesh titans himself he needed to be equipped with his full equipment to dish out the power needed. The magic casters on hand didn't have a solution as well since it was seen that their spells couldn't affect the golems for some reason.

Felix started to dig deep in the memories of his lessons on what to do against creatures that appeared to be resistant or immune to magic. From what he learned from Jasper, magic resistance and immunity only works against weaker magic casters and lower tier spells. Even magic immunity might just be a form of extreme magic resistance that could be overwhelmed by Tier Magic of higher tiers, such as those that were ranked above 6th tier.

And he happened to recently reach the level of 7th tier in the middle of his training with Brutus. While he was never shy to give it his all in a fight, even he thought that pulling out 7th tier magic during training was overkill and refrained from using 7th tier spells out of consideration for Brutus. The spells of that tier were more extreme in mana expenditure and destructive power than his other spells that he didn't want to risk it even when fighting for his life against the bone golems in case it didn't work.

The young adventurer decided to give it a shot since it was better than letting the walking meat markets reach the city. He told Brutus of his plan which the minotaur captain agreed to wholeheartedly. As Felix prepared to teleport them away to a decent range to cast his spell he didn't notice the slightly gobsmacked look that Brutus had when being told of his capabilities in using 7th tier magic.

Aside from the undead and those that possessed the blood of the gods, 6th tier magic was the cap for even the most talented and powerful mortal magic casters in the world. Asterion had a moderately developed sector in the fields of magic for a nation that focused more on martial ability than the arcane arts, their senior magic casters needed to extend their lives over a hundred years just to finally reach 5th tier before hitting the roadblock and not advancing further. The fact that a mere human boy who hasn't reached full adulthood had already dabbled in the 7th tier…

'So it's time for the foundations of the world to be shaken once more…always knew there was something off about you boy, but I didn't think I was interacting with a fledgling god.'

---

The young human and minotaur appeared in a rudimentary camp that was set up a few miles away from the incoming flesh titans, startling the minotaurs that were there. A robed minotaur approached the pair, clothed in a rich purple robe and an ornate wooden staff that indicated he was a higher-ranking magic caster. Despite having a wrinkled face and pure white hair that told of the mage's advanced age, he still possessed a powerful and muscular figure common to all minotaurs.

'Greetings captain! We didn't expect you to appear using Teleportation without one of our mages to accompany you. I assume this was the doing of your human student?'

'I did say the boy had a gift with magic so bringing another mage was unnecessary. Felix, meet the grand wizard of his majesty's court and head of Asterion's magical sector, Elder Argus. He has served in this capacity for over 200 years.' Explained Brutus to his human student. Felix offered a friendly wave, not feeling the need to introduce him since the mage must

'It is a pleasure to meet you, young Felix. I have heard much from Lord Jasper and the good captain about your abilities especially in magic. But I'm afraid you won't be able to help with these horrendous constructs as even our most powerful spells could not affect them.' Said Argus. It really spoke of the elder minotaur's experience that he didn't look panicked that magic didn't work against the flesh titans. He sounded almost pleased like this was just a magic experiment.

Brutus let out a tiny sigh at the old mage's fascination with the hulking mass of flesh that wants to kill them all. Magic casters might be an important asset in any situation, but most of them can be a real pain to deal with especially the older ones that can't help but treat everything like an experiment.

'Felix has a plan to try and buy us some time before his majesty and Lord Jasper arrive with reinforcements. Honoured Elder, we need your help to coordinate the magic casters to perform defensive magics and shield everyone from Felix's spell in case it proves to be too volatile and accidentally affect the surroundings.'

Elder Argus had a curious look on his face when he heard of Felix having a spell that would prove to be superior to what the combined magical might Asterion can unleash. What can a simple human boy do that experienced and aged magic casters couldn't?

The old mage agreed without complaint and only asked to be able to witness what Felix planned to do. The young adventurer agreed and quickly went up ahead some distance from the camp as all the soldiers stepped further back for their own safety as the mages prepared multiple defensive spells.

The atmosphere around the camp changed as Felix prepared to unleash one of the strongest spells that he could perform. Everyone became silent and looked to where the young human stood, facing against the horde of monstrosities that threatened to end them. The silence was broken by the magic casters as they felt a tremble in the flow of mana in the surroundings and sensed an incredible pressure emitting from Felix.

None were more shocked than Elder Argus. As the oldest, most knowledgeable and powerful of Asterion's wizards, he was able to perceive what was happening in the realm of magic without using any detection spells to see what was happening. His fellow mages had started to cast the spells to behold the magnificent and terrifying sight before them.

Mana was coalescing around Felix's body that the small pocket of reality around the human was starting to warp slightly. The magic began to build up until even the non-magic casters could see an aura of bluish-purple light that Felix was starting to emit.

'Well the literal glow up is new. Didn't know prepping a higher-level spell would also have a light show involved. Or maybe it's just me focusing a bit too hard in gathering more juice to properly use this spell. Speaking of spell, which one should I use?'

The biggest concern in using Tier Magic in the higher tier is how much it drains him. Even 5th magic made Felix winced slightly and that last teleport took another chunk out of his reserves. It didn't that he was spamming spells left and right during the fight against the bone golems. He needed to use a spell that could at least stop one of the flesh golems since a wide area spell was out of the question with how much mana he has left.

A few more minutes passed and Felix finally decided which spell he would use. Pretty straightforward in execution, but it packed enough of a wallop that would make Inferno Cannon look like a cheap firework display. He held out his hand as a magic circle appeared in the centre with the magic aura he emitted focused in the middle of it, he then proceeded to cast his first and last spell for the day.

[Arcane Bolt]!

The immense concentration of mana quickly formed and shot forward with a powerful blast, sending out a pressurized wave of magic that made everyone buckle under the pressure. The spell collided with one of the flesh golems in a brilliant flash of arcane light as sparks danced around the golem's form, stopping it in its tracks. The spell's brilliance blocking the view of the golem from everyone, but the use of such a powerful spell beyond mortal ability it would be impossible for anything to survive it.

Roars of celebration came from the minotaurs that witnessed one of the monstrous constructs seemingly destroyed, but none were more awestruck than the magic casters in attendance. Elder Argus fell to his knees, trying to get a grip on his shattered sense of reality from the beautiful and terrifying display of magic he has witnessed in the centuries since he took up the magical arts.

'Hooray it worked. Who knew I just needed to use a spell with more juice for it to finally pack a punch. Looks like things are looking up for me… OH NO I JINXED IT!!'

The early celebration and cheer died down instantly once the spell's effects ended and the flesh golem was in view again, as pristine and grotesque when it broke through the border wall. Felix's spell only made it stop just for a moment before it began the slow march again towards Asterion's capital.

'Why do I even bother most of the time…'

Accepting that his efforts were in vain after all and too drained to cast more spells, the young human could do nothing but pass out from exhaustion and hope the reinforcements had better luck in dealing with the flesh titans. Fortunately, as he was about to pass out from exhaustion the reinforcements finally arrived. Several armoured forms of the royal guard appeared and the final ones to flash in were his human teacher and the king.

Jasper quickly went to his apprentice's side to check on his condition. After casting a few spells to check his condition, he went to work and healed the ravaged body of his student. While the old traveller was tending to his young charge, King Andrius appeared before captain Brutus for a report on the situation.

The king struck an imposing figure, more so than usual with him fully equipped in the sacred relics of the Great Minotaur Sage. Andrius had taken quite some time to acquire the items as it required special steps to remove them from its storage in Daedalus Castle. Every king needed to store the items in the special reliquary before the castle started to shift the room randomly around. While it seemed like a hassle this was required to ensure maximum security for such precious relics of their founder.

But woe to the enemies of Asterion once the king dons his full regalia, the final gift of the great sage.

King Andrius was adorned in grander armour than the simple bronze plate that he used for everyday use. The full-body armour, named The Wealth of Minos, was forged from an unknown alloy that surpassed adamantite. Even in the dark, the gold-coloured armour appeared to be glowing as if infused with sunlight.

The king did not wear a helmet to complete his set with the armour, as he wore a crown that surpassed anything that petty kings wore. Rather than being adorned with precious jewels and granting the wearer nothing but empty pride adorning a useless trinket, the Vision of Ariadne enhanced the mental capabilities of its wearer to possess a fraction of the legendary sage's wisdom as well as becoming impervious to attacks against the mind.

The final item to complete the Great Minotaur Sage's sacred regalia is his personal axe. Rather than a double-sided axe commonly used by minotaurs, this weapon possessed a hammer on the other end instead. In the legends that told of the sage's power he used the mighty axe, Poseidon's rage, he was said to have split the heavens and shattered the earth when battling his enemies.

It was this combined set of relics along with the strength of the minotaur king that allowed Asterion to prosper for centuries even when threatened by grave threats. And now the king must exercise his great power once again.

'It's been a long time since I needed to fully equip the sacred relics, and once again it was to stand against the degeneracy of Baphomet. Jasper take your apprentice and get back, I will award him greatly for the assistance he rendered to Asterion later. But now I need to do some landscaping.'

Jasper carried his apprentice in his arms and quietly left. While he fought with Andrius many times and achieved many wins and draws, the minotaur king was near unstoppable once adorning the treasures of the sage. And he was about to witness their power first-hand once again. He regretted that Felix was unconscious and would not see the glorious sight that can only be experienced once in a lifetime.

Andrius was the most powerful warrior in Asterion and arguably the entire world. With the monstrous endurance of his race and as a top tier warrior, he prepared to unleash his power by utilizing several Martial Arts. After silently performing the high-level Martial Art enhancements to properly wield the full power of Poseidon's Rage, he held the axe with both hands and raised it high above his head.

[Martial Art: World Shatter]

As the hammer end of the axe hit the ground nothing happened for a few minutes. The ground started to shake a little before it increased in magnitude that the earth in front of Andrius started breaking down. It was as if the minotaur king knocked on the door to the home of the gods sleeping in the earth, and the deities answered violently. The earth continued to shake violently that all the flesh golems stopped approaching and fell to the ground.

The golems did not get the chance to try and get up as the ground beneath them finally gave away. A giant canyon began to form that swallowed everything in front of Andrius. With a simple strike on the earth, the minotaur king once again displayed the absolute power of Asterion and formed a new border between them and Baphomet.

'Let's see they try to invade again. Maybe next time we'll see flying golems and I could get a chance to see if the legends about cleaving the heavens were true.'

---

'Quite an exciting day. From Felix casting legendary magic that only existed in legends and Andrius giving cartographers a headache. I still prefer that time he made a few tornadoes though.' Thought Jasper, thinking little of the incredible events that transpired today. When you get to his age, excitement should be saved for more personal moments.

Jasper laid his resting student on a bed that was prepared by the grateful minotaurs. Not only did Felix reach a new height in his journey, but he also left a strong impression with the minotaurs. After making sure his student was properly secured and comfortable, he went to find Andrius to make sense on what was going on.

He found his friend in company with the Brutus, Argus and several more robed minotaurs. They were currently and gesturing towards the remains of one of the golems that slaughtered so many of the border guard easily and contended with the elite soldiers of Asterion.

'Ah Jasper there you are just in time for the briefing! Alright Elder Argus, you may continue with your report but please make it concise…' pleaded Andrius. While he had full trust in the old Archmage that served him and past kings for many generations, the old minotaur tended to droll on and on about magic and other mystical phenomenon.

'Of course my king. During the tests on the golems that were salvaged, the main thing that caught my attention were the inscriptions on their bodies as well as the peculiar structure of their interior.' Elder Argus started his report with simple description on the appearance of the bone golems. He pointed a finger to one of the runes that were on the side of the opened-up golem, its insides were similar in mixture of organic and inorganic parts, with some components having the same inscriptions as the outer layer.

'I conclude that these inscriptions are part of the same branch of Runecraft that the dwarves practice, and the magic that animated these golems were not of Tier Magic. It is long accepted that Runecraft and Tier Magic are incompatible, and magic used to animate them…is primordial magic.' The old minotaur ended his short and informative report with a small amount of excitement. But the feeling was not shared among the others who continued to listen to his passionate ramblings.

Unaware of the discomfort everyone else felt, Argus continued his report with glee. The discovery of unknown magic and craft making the old mage feel decades younger from excitement.

'The reason why Tier Magic and Runecraft are largely incompatible is because of the conflicting manipulation of latent mana when it comes to enchanting. Tier Magic is capable of enchanting objects with greater efficiency in a short amount of time while Runecraft is a time-consuming activity that requires perfect inscription of the runes. Even a single error while inscribing would ruin the item. However, Runecraft has the advantage of not needing much material resources when enchanting objects with mundane materials becoming objects of great magical power when inscribed with the proper runes.' Elder Argus began to pick up the pace on his speech, his excitement increasing as he went in deeper detail on the nature of runes. He was taking some deep breaths to end his speech on the most important detail of the report.

'But this doesn't seem to be the case with the use of Primordial Magic. We only have legends and blurred reports on what the magic of the dragons can accomplish, but what little information that we have on hand is that it does not use the same source of power that modern magic uses. No, these golems are powered by the old magic of the world, directed and refined to such an incredible degree with Runecraft!'

With his report finished, the old minotaur mage bid his king and company farewell to run even more tests and experiments with the golems. If anyone care to notice, Argus seemed to be almost skipping away gleefully like a child receiving a new toy and excited to play with them.

Once Asterion's Archmage left with several of his disciples and a few of the bone golems that were recovered. King Andrius continued the discussion in earnest about what was learned.

'…Runecraft is a well-known speciality of the dwarves before its use declined with Tier Magic replacing it for enchanting magic items. The same could be said for Primordial Magic as it was even more restrictive of its use, the dragons of legend were the only ones that practiced it exclusively and wielded it with great effect to become the most powerful race in the world before the arrival of foreign gods and creatures from beyond.' Stated Andrius. His magic crown boosting his mental capacities to gather his thoughts and information on the recent revelations.

'It makes some sense for the beastmen to suddenly have access to Runecraft, the creatures may be slaves to their instincts and are sometimes impulsive but they truly were advanced in matters pertaining to research and development what with Baphomet's speciality in golem production, and they are known to prey on dwarves that wander off from their mountains. But the old magic of dragons was just that, the signature magic of the dragons that no other race can utilize. For these cretins to have access to both and combine them seamlessly to create formidable war machines is very worrisome…'

Brutus added his own thoughts to the matter. 'Elder Argus forgot or glossed over the inner workings of these golems. The insides of the golems may be organized for a machine to function, but once you clear up the nuts and bolts they eerily resemble the insides of a living being.'

Golems could be made from any material if the resources of the creator permit it and they possess the knowledge to work the material in order to properly form it into a golem. The denizens of Baphomet have apparently made a new venture in repurposing corpses to create these horrific machines…or perhaps a few living "volunteers" that donated their bodies to create organic golems.

'Now that you mentioned the material of these golems captain, would this explain the lack of major appearances of beastmen in the Outer Realm as well as the mass migration of numerous tribes into the Inner Realm?' asked King Andrius.

For some reason, the many tribes of beastmen that bordered the Dragon Kingdom started to rush into the Inner Realm in increasing frequency over the years. While it could be a coincidence, the nation of Baphomet neighbour the less developed tribes of their kin. Rather than an invasion the beastmen tribes were perhaps running from the forces of Baphomet to avoid becoming materials in the creation of more organic golems.

'Well that explains why the beastmen continue to try and conquer the human nation. I'm surprised Baphomet could sink even lower to use their own kin as spare parts and material for their little experiments. What are your thoughts on this Jasper? You've been really quiet.' Asked Andrius.

'I'm as lost on this as you are Andy. But I do have to ask if Asterion will be alright now that Baphomet have access to Wild Magic and Runecraft. Their golems were quite formidable before using these new techniques and they must be getting help from the Dragon Lords what with the heavy use of their signature magic.'

'We'll be fine. But I am surprised those arrogant lizards are cooperating with a "lesser race" to even share their special magic. If it doesn't get them a shiny new pile of treasure to sit their scaly asses on or to remind everyone how much better they are to everyone, the dragons of old are content to sleep the centuries away in their dens as the world passes on.'

Dragons are widely known for their age and power but not much else as their characters are quite detestable. It could be excused that it was in their nature to be so unlikeable, for what does a powerful have use for companionship but in recent times they are not revered ever since the arrival of the gods and monsters.

The dragons have shown to embody the word "survival" in the most pathetic scenario. After many powerful dragon lords met their end in trying to maintain their place of superiority against beings that far surpass them, the remaining ones hid themselves with their tails between their legs while others started to finally practice diplomacy and negotiation despite thinking communicating with those that are not dragons is beneath them.

Chimera was well known to have a hunger for knowledge and power, and it was very likely a few Dragon Lords exchanged their knowledge of Wild Magic to be spared. When it came to surviving, the Dragon Lords truly had no equal in the art of grovelling for their lives.

'For now all we can do is rebuild and prepare for the future. While our tactics will need to be changed what with these new golems seemingly impervious to Tier Magic, Asterion will prevail. We probably have plenty of time before Baphomet prepares another major assault anyway with the loss of so many golems.'

King Andrius ended the discussion with reassuring words to Jasper and Brutus but also himself. The creation of golems is time consuming work that becomes harder the more complex the design, and the organic golems that were faced today must have taken many decades before they were ready to be set out.

But the minotaur can't help but feel a sense of foreboding. What would this mean for the future of not just his nation but the whole world with Baphomet now not content to defiling their own lands but the essence of the soul.

---

SOMEWHERE IN THE LANDS OF BAPHOMET

The lands of Baphomet used to be a fertile and beautiful land bountiful in resources and teeming with life. But ever since the rise of Chimera, the corruptive monster's influence had poisoned the lands and the souls of the people to mirror its hideous form. Such was the defilement of the land that nothing grows anymore from trees to even a blade of grass.

This only inspired the beastmen to greater acts of evil by indulging in a perverse form of survival their cousins that border the Inner Realm by consuming each other and experimenting more with the foul legacies left behind by their founder. The beastmen have fully devoted themselves to continue the practices of Chimera in pushing the boundaries of the natural order with great fervour.

An ongoing experiment, the crown jewel of everything that defined the wealth of accumulated knowledge of Baphomet, was being conducted in one of the hidden laboratories that were carved deep in one of the mountains of Baphomet. It was necessary for the work to be conducted in such a secure place to maintain maximum security and secrecy.

It was also to make sure the experiment didn't break out before it was completed.

'How goes the work for the magnum opus, Alister?' asked a smooth and deep voice. The voice revealed itself to be a goat beastman, one of three supreme leaders that constituted the leadership of Baphomet as well as one of their greatest minds together with his fellow leaders in the art of golem creation.

'It proceeds as scheduled Eliphaz. Seph'Frei is currently reviewing the data of the recent attacks against Asterion with the prototypes. I still don't understand why we needed to do that though. Wouldn't it be more prudent to send them out to collect more materials from the primitive tribes to the west?' queried Alister.

Eliphaz chuckled lightly before walking towards a chart depicting their latest runic array for the great work. 'Patience, my friend. The capturing of the primitives can be done with our more mundane golems well enough and the prototypes need more challenging opponents for proper data to be collected. Anyways, how does the next stage of the runic array function?'

'Easier than originally thought. While we achieved promising results in capturing the essence of souls to infuse the runes, trying to maintain the flow of power for the runes to do its work while not unravelling has been difficult. We have to create an entire new runic array to apply on the magnum opus before the next stage can proceed.' Answered Alister. He was currently delicately carving a series of unique runes that were a combination of the dwarven alphabet that has been mirrored and warped to produce new runes.

'Well it worked well enough with the prototypes, but it is to be expected for this one to be more difficult. The essence of lower beings are more easily manipulated than what constitutes the great work. Speaking of, how goes with the integration of new parts?'

Just as the goat beastman asked his question, a loud roar was heard that shook the laboratory they were in. It was followed by clinking chains and a mighty crash that made everything shake like an earthquake was happening. Both Alister and Eliphaz didn't pay it any mind and continued with their conversation.

'As well as you think. It took some time for the other two materials to be processed before assembling of the magnum opus could be done. The third component has been quite stubborn even after all these years. Even applying the runes of subjugation has stemmed its actions slightly to only refrain from making noise.'

The great work had been in the making for centuries since the acquisition of the three materials and Chimera's death. It took many generations of Baphomet's greatest minds to piece together the information that Chimera had received from his spoils, and many more to slowly process the materials to begin the final phase of the work.

It was very hard to maintain a schedule with the futile resistance of the materials that called themselves "Dragon Lords". They were not so lord-like when begging for the great one's mercy and were quite selfish to deny fulfilling their end of the bargain.

'Which dragon are we using as the base for the magnum opus? I didn't find it necessary to remember what petty titles they loved using for each of their kind.' Asked Eliphaz. It didn't really matter which dragon was used, but he was slightly curious.

'Oh, it's title? It was quite fitting for the component's role as the main body of Chimera's masterpiece. Our lord founder had foresight beyond the ability of mortals and gods.' Said Alister, showing his row of teeth as he smiled at the newly completed array that he was inscribing, making the project one step closer to completion.

Alister brought up the stone plate that he spent months designing and carving. While it was only a fraction of the many other circuit of runes that the final worked required, the work is a tiny step closer to completion.

'Regardless of fate and destiny, once the work is complete it will truly become… a catastrophe.'