Chapter 23: The New Score
Reynold tightened the shortsword in his hand, as he let out one final breath before charing towards the golems.
The golems were five, each having their weak point rune hiding somewhere.
The first Golem, the one the rune-core Reynold had spotted close to the head, also charged towards Reynold as it brought its arm that was more like a stonelike arm down in a crushing sweep directly at Reynold.
Reynold lower his body quickly, making the air from the miss ruffling his hair.
He propelled himself forward quickly in a low sprint.
"Nice move, cadet..." Professor Galen started to shout, but the Golem was faster like he was expecting the move.
The golem left fist snapped out in a clashing blow.
Reynold tried to dodge but he was not fast enough. The iron-hard knuckles of the golem scraped across the left side of his face, sending pain to his body and he felt a trickle of blood on his cheekbone.
Reynold quickly steady himself to avoid stumbling. The Golem paused, the glowing arcane joints rotating. It was waiting for Reynold to fall.
That small pause was all Reynold needed.
He turned on his heel as he pushed himself up and the shortsword. The sword were directed to the narrow gap where the golem’s head met the shoulder plate, right where Reynold seen the slight hole of the rune.
Screeech-THUNK!
He jammed the practice blade deep into the metal-and-stone seam and a green energy flared briefly from the spot, and the golem’s limbs stopped mid-swing as it toppled forward with a crash, hitting the sandy floor and scattering dust.
The first one was down.
The students gasped.
"Did you see that?" someone in the student crowd gasped. "He hit the core!"
"How the hell did he even see that rune?"
Reynold barely had time to yank his sword free or hear the other student murmurs before the second Golem, which had been moving closer, swung an elbow. Reynold threw his body sideways. The blow did not touch him completely but the brute force of the golem’s movement still brush his left shoulder, tearing the plain black academy uniform just above the sleeve and sending a pain through his arm.
Reynold ignored the pain. His gaze was already on the second golem looking for where the rune could be.
Seeing the golem still charging at him, Reynold dodged a stomping foot and slid under a horizontal sweep.
Right now, he look like a shadow fighter, a Vagrant Blade of an ancient warrior.
He circled, the Golem tracking him carefully. The rune was not close to the head like the first one.
Reynold feinted high with his blade, drawing the golem’s guard up, and then dropped low that was when he spotted it, a small, diamond-shaped on the golem’s pelvic plate.. It was cunningly placed there and will be hard for people to notice easily in a combat.
He pushed forward driving the shortsword into the spot. The green light flashed again and the Golem shuddered, then collapsed sideways, the knees giving out with a sound.
Two golems down.
The faces of the students who thought Reynold would not be able to take down the second golem trun into a shock look.
They gaped, their mouths wide open, unable to believe their eyes.
Reynold’s breathing was fast, his face was filled with sweat and small blood from the cuts, but his eyes were already on the next golem.
The third Golem was already approaching him, the large, stone fingers curled into fists. This Golem was different from the first two he took down. This one looks Faster and smoother, like an oiled machine.
The rune was completely not visible. Reynold hold off a fist with the flat of his blade as he moved back and his movements were becoming like a defensive maneuvers as he started dodging the golem attacking, and looking for any possible place the rune could be. Torso or head.
He let the golem attack again as he focus and then he saw a a slight hole just right under the arm.
"There!" Reynold gritted out.
He waited for the golem to come more closer. Once the golem was close enough, he slammed the point of his shortsword straight into the rune, pushing it with every strength he had left.
With a final big push, the golem froze, then shake violently and break into pieces, stone skin cracking off as it fell.
A loud gasp sounded. The students were shocked.
He took three down.
Professor Galen too has a shock look. He stood absolutely in one place with his gaze frozen in pure shock.
Three Golems were down, the record for how many golems brought down by a first year cadet was two and it was set by a cadet who is now a fourth-year veteran.
Professor Galen eyes shifted to the two students arguing about what dragon would bond to Reynold...
"Stop talking nonsense, you dolts!" Professor Galen finally found his voice, turning to the two students. "Observe his footwork and Learn something, or the real Malpas tribes will make golems out of your bones in a real war!"
Reynold was exhausted, his lungs were burning. He took a deep breath, his hand adjusting the grip on the shortsword as he looked up at the fourth Golem.
His roommates were in the crowd, their expressions were a mix of shock and disbelief. They did not even managed to land their sword on the first golem before they landed on their ass.
The fourth Golem was moving quickly. Reynold responded too as he dodged the golem kick as he slide back. And then he saw it, a small, round plate near the base of the spine, it was covered by layers of the armor. It was tricky target.
Reynold let the Golem come close enough. As the Golem raised the his rock-fisted arm for a downward smash, Reynold dropped to one knee and, with a powerful upward slash, he aimed for the rune. He felt the resistance of the mock-armor at first, then the crunch as his blade found the soft spot.
The golem’s arm froze mid-smash, it was few inches away from his head. It slumped forward, dead.
Reynold slowly exhaled, his chest heaving. He adjusted his blade. One Golem left.
The fifth Golem look like the the most agile, mimicking a human fighter.
Reynold was tired, his movements were a bit sluggish now. He and the Golem clashed, the steel of his shortsword touching the golem head.
The Golem hiss, then his knee shot up, connecting with Reynold’s stomach making Reynold to staggered back, coughing.
Then, the golem gave him a blow that caught him off balance. Reynold fell, hitting his back hard on the ground of the arena floor.
But he was not ready to give up. As the Golem moved forward, preparing for another blow, Reynold eyes were focused on the golem and With a powerful force, he flung the shortsword end-over-end.
The blade spun, hitting the Golem square in the torso, right where the rune is. The impact was enough to make the Golem stagger back.
Reynold scrambled to his feet quickly as he rushed to the golem and pushed the shortsword deep inside before twisting it, grinding the rune-core to dust.
The golem made a mournful, grinding noise, then collapsed.
Reynold stood over the mess, his whole body shaking. He sucked in a breath before he turned slowly.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on him.
The looks were a mixture of stunned, shock, and maybe pure jealousy.
A loud voice suddenly sounded.
"Show-off," Kael the rich kid shouted. "You did not need to go and clear the whole yard, Starweaver."
Reynold let out a sneer.
"Watch your tongue rich kid, maybe you are the next yard i will clear," he spat back, returning the shortsword to his hip.
The other students continued to stare at him like he was some kind of ancient, half-mythic monster.
Professor Galen cleared his throat.
"Well done Starweaver," he said, then turn to the students, "Remember this, In a real war, you must expect Golems ten times more brutal and cruel than these." He looked around at the sad faces of students. "Listen to me. You are all here because you passed the academy trial, not everyone passed that. Just know that you are all unique, and you are all powerful in your own way. You just have to find your way around the problem. And do not be hard on yourselves because you could not take down one golems today. We all are still learning." He said before his eyes landed on Reynold again. "Reynold. Go to the Infirmary and get those cuts attended to, and get that uniform patched up. Class is dismissed." With that, the Professor turned and walkes off the training grounds.
Reynold’s stomach suddenly gave a loud growl.
Dammit, he was starving.
He dipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out a small, pocket watch. 11:50 a.m. Ten more minutes until the first meal of the day.
The infirmary could wait besides they were small cuts, and it would stop bleeding eventually.
He turned to leave.
"Enjoy the attention, Starweaver," Kael voice suddenly sounded again.
Reynold did not even bother to turn around. Food first. He never joked with food.
𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Ignoring Kael completely, he left the practice ground and rush toward the school cafeteria.
.....
Reynold finished the last bite of his meal and let out a satisfied chuckled..
It was only then his eyes scanned the crowded cafeteria looking for a familiar face but he did not see her. He was looking for Gwyn.
He sighed, stood up and headed back toward his dorm.
As he walked, his mind kept shifting back to the fight. He was shocked too that he took down five golems.
He used to train with his father with real blades and mock targets, but defeating five magic golem was still shocking him.
After not coming up with good explanation, Reynold sighed and decided to stop thinking about it.