From Real to Realm

BOOM!

Val barely dodged another heavy slam from the golem. This time she didn’t stay still, though. Instead, she kept moving around the room, refusing to give the archer an easy target. The archer, for his part, kept the bow pulled taut, waiting patiently for an opening.

Damn golem!

Val cut hard, making a beeline for the archer. However, the golem’s loud running steps forced her to stop advancing. She was forced to dodge to the side to avoid being run over by the damn thing. An arrow whizzed past her as she barely avoided getting hit again. When she looked in the direction the arrow came from, the archer was gone again.

“He disappeared again?”

BRAAAUUUGH!

The golem let out a deep roar, like a landslide rumbling from his chest. Val winced, and the magical barrier around the room seemed to shimmer and shake from the sound alone. By some miracle, Val turned in time to see the archer let loose another arrow. It was likely pure luck that she brought her halberd up in time to block the arrow with the flat of the blade.

“Fucking assholes!” she yelled, eyes glaring in the direction of the archer.

But he was gone, again.

He moves every time he fires! How the fuck do I hit him if he’s always moving?!

Around the room, the hooded figures watched intently. None of them allowed their body language to give away their thoughts. Right now, the rest of the world didn’t matter as they watched Val.

The golem stomped toward Val, its sheer weight and size bearing down on her. The small hole in its chest was still leaking that brackish fluid. For whatever reason, her weapon was able to damage it. She had no clue why or if it would still work for the rest of its body. Her biggest fear was heavily damaging her blade, if not outright shattering it against pure stone skin.

WHOOSH!

Another swing from the golem that she dropped low to avoid. Her hair fluttered from the sheer gust. When she stood back up, her eyes were focused on the golem. Ignoring the archer wasn’t easy, especially when pain bloomed in her shoulder again. However, until she at least slowed the golem down, there was no way for her to get close to the archer. Val squeezed the haft of her weapon and dug her heels in. With a sudden burst of speed, she rushed forward.

“Fuck off!”

When she was close enough, she planted her left foot hard. With every ounce of strength, she brought her halberd in an overhead arch, aiming for the golem’s leg. Either her blade would take damage, or she would at the very least hurt the damn thing.

BRAAUUUUUGH!

Val was stumbling forward suddenly. Not because she whiffed the attack, but because her blade cut cleanly through its leg. The sudden lack of resistance wasn’t what she expected. That meant she quite literally smacked face-first into the chest of the golem as it fell to the ground.

Before she was able to react, the golem slammed its fist into her. Val was launched a dozen or so feet away, where she rolled across the ground before slamming into the wall of the barrier. In the tumble, she had let go of her halberd, but that was the least of her worries. It was hard to breathe now, and there was a searing pain every time she inhaled.

“F—fuck…”

She coughed hard, wincing at the pain. Blood hit the floor when she coughed. Obviously, the attack had caused some real damage.

“These assholes really are trying to kill me,” she said, wiping the blood from her lips.

She rose to her feet, a bit unsteady, holding her side. Luckily for her, she wasn’t the only one struggling to move now. With over half its left leg severed, the golem was struggling to figure out how to walk now. Val spotted her halberd sitting at the edge of the arena as well, but there was someone in the way.

“I can’t catch a fucking break.”

For a second, she swore the archer smiled at her before releasing an arrow. With nothing to block with, Val stumbled a bit as she did her best to dodge. Unlike before, the archer didn’t disappear. Instead, he happily kept close to her weapon as he rapidly readied another arrow. Val did her best to keep tabs on the golem, which was hard, but not as much as before. It was heavily handicapped now, so her main threat was the archer, as long as she kept distance from the rocky asshole.

When Val was finally within a handful of feet of the archer, the asshole swung his bow at her. It caught her so off guard that she only raised her arms to block it. While not as sharp as a blade, it still stung like a bitch to take the hit.

“I am so done with your shit!” she yelled, catching his bow on the next swing.

With a growling yank, she pulled the archer toward her. Val happily planted her elbow directly into the middle of his face. She put every ounce of her weight into the attack, taking him to the ground and crushing his ethereal head against the hard floor. To her surprise, he didn’t dissipate immediately. So she grabbed a couple of arrows from his never-ending quiver.

“Let’s see how you like it!”

With a wince of pain, she slammed both arrows into his face. Ethereal arms reached up, scratching at her as she twisted them roughly. It only took a few seconds before all movement ceased.

GRAUUUGH!

The roar of the golem reminded her she still had another enemy to fight. She rushed to her feet, grabbing her halberd from the ground. By the time she turned around to get eyes back on the golem, the upper half of the archer had dissipated into the air.

“Just us now, asshole.”

The golem, while stumbling from the loss of his leg, continued to press toward her. A trail of brackish orange liquid was smeared across the ground behind it. It was a testament to the golem’s singular focus, her.

Val moved away from the edge of the barrier. If she was going to fight it, she needed room to move to avoid its reach. Now that she knew she could cut it, the question was where to try next? Golems in fiction from her world sometimes had cores, but she didn’t know if that was true here. If it did have a core, where could it be? She originally aimed her first attack at where a heart could be, but that didn’t do anything other than piss it off.

The golem raised its arms high and slammed them down. Val watched, in surprise, as the ground in front of her rolled in a wave. The stone broke and threw her off her feet before she could move out of the way. She held onto her weapon this time, thankfully. It hurt. Being slammed to the ground again only made her even more aware of what was likely some broken ribs.

“Should we stop?”

One of the robed figures turned to another. The hood did a good job of preventing any expression from bleeding forth.

“Why would we stop?” another asked. “She handled the archer; it’s only a matter of time before she finishes off the golem.”

“She’s hurt, though. If she dies, the guild will punish us for sure.”

A third one scoffed. “This is sanctioned by the guild, idiot. Theoden knows exactly what risks such a hands-on exam entails. This is hardly any different from past exams.”

Val turned her halberd sideways, using the flat of the blade to turn a swing into a glancing blow. It was still enough to knock her back and make her unsteady.

“She’s doing much better than I expected.”

The worried one sighed. “She’s a bit unorthodox, though.”

The one who scoffed chuckled. “I love it. I mean, who would’ve thought she’d use the archer’s arrows like that? Fucking brutal.”

A new voice joined the telepathic discussion. “Valnarei Strouss embodies what it means to be a Hybrid. You win, however possible.”

The golem swung wide again, but this time she rolled forward. Once more, she found herself inside of its wide reach. With a yell of anger, she thrust her halberd upwards. The spike dug in, deep, straight through the lower jaw of the golem. It immediately started thrashing, trying to shake her free. Val pulled her dagger free of its sheath. With one smooth slash, she sliced the throat of the golem open.

She was immediately coated in brackish orange liquid. However, she saw something glowing from within the opening in its throat. Val slammed her dagger into its chest, using it as leverage to pull herself up. Without hesitation, she dug her hand deep into the surprisingly soft flesh within the golem’s throat. Within seconds, she was up to her bicep before she latched onto something warm to the touch and hard.

“I fucking win!”

She pulled hard. At first, there was little give, but that didn’t last long before she yanked the glowing orange gem-like core of the golem free. The damn thing continued to move for a few more seconds. Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, it fell backward.

“She reminds me of a Breaker.”

Val stood up from where she’d fallen with the golem. The glowing orange core in her hand slowly faded.

She smashed it against the floor. “I’d better get a good fucking rank for this!”

A few chuckles echoed around the room. Slowly, the magical barrier lowered from the ceiling. It flowed slowly toward the center of the room. As it moved, any damage to the surrounding stone was repaired instantly.

“Well done, Valnarei.”

She fell back onto her ass, wincing in pain.

“Call for a Channeler to take her to the medical ward.”

Another approached her. “Rest. You will have your new rank before the end of the day.”

Val sighed, wincing. “Fucking ribs…”

Within a few minutes, two Channelers arrived. One grabbed Val’s weapons while the other slipped beneath her arm to support her. The three of them left the room as the proctors stayed behind.

The first of the proctors to remove their hood was an elf. Her visage was one of war. Only half her head had long white hair; the rest had burned away long ago. Multiple scars covered her face and neck, while one glossy eye offset the bright blue of the other.

“What is the verdict?” she asked.

Another proctor removed their hood. He was tall, built like a brick shit house. A thick, well-kept beard hugged his face. He removed his cloak, tossing it behind him. Thick, well-taut muscle rippled as he crossed his arms.

“I think she did fucking great,” he said, chuckling. “A little sloppy, but damn did she make up for it with brutality.”

One of the shorter proctors removed her hood. A cute cat woman shook her head, sighing. Soft orange hair flowed down her back. Soft gray eyes looked among the other proctors.

“I still think we should have stopped early. She was really hurt.”

The elf raised an eyebrow. “How hurt?”

“She had 4 broken ribs on her right side, two on the left. One was pressing on her lung. A concussion, fractured shoulder, and, not to mention, the arrow to the shoulder. It didn’t leave any actual damage behind, but mana flow to that arm was limited.”

The muscular man shook his head. “That ability of yours still bewilders me.”

“I am surprised she was able to keep going,” another male voice said.

The fourth proctor removed his hood. At the same time, he pulled his long beard free from the cloak. The dwarf stroked his beard as he scratched his bald head.

“Most would’ve asked to stop after taking a direct hit from my golem. A little pissed she smashed the core, but I doubt she realized I could reuse it.”

The fifth proctor had just listened to everyone. Finally, he removed his hood. A tall, intense-looking human man looked amongst the rest of the proctors. A glow slowly faded from one of his eyes before he glanced at the center of the room. Long black hair pulled into a ponytail brushed against his shoulder.

“What do you think, Reinhart?”

He turned to the elf. “At least Iron 5th Class, you?”

The dwarf nodded. “I agree with him. Iron 5th Class.”

The elf glanced at the doors Val was taken through.

“Tersia? You okay?” the cat girl asked, glancing at the door as well. “Something there?”

Tersia turned back. “There’s something special about her.”

Such a declaration surprised everyone present.

“How can you tell?” Reinhart asked, curiosity aflame.

She took a moment to find the words.

“I feel a pull toward her for some reason.”

Tersia pulled her amulet free, rubbing her thumb across it. The charm was a rose with a ribbon tied along its stem. The amulet of Qhemeria was something she held dear.

“Iron 4th Class,” she finally said. “She’s earned it. Especially after taking that hit from your golem, Vizen.”

He tilted his head side to side. “That’s true, I suppose. I didn’t restrict its strength in any way. I’d say such a hit would hurt even me.”

Reinhart rubbed his chin. “I’m surprised to hear you suggesting a higher rank.”

She turned to him, brow furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He chuckled. “Just not like you. That’s all.”

Tersia immediately glared at him. He paid her no mind as he removed his own cloak as well.

“Is everyone in agreement? Iron 4th Class?”

One by one, everyone voted in favor of the new rank. Then, together, they exited through a different side door to finalize the official paperwork to be sent up to Theoden. Once the guildmaster had a moment to read the report, the rank would be officially recognized.

“What hurts the most?”

Val winced, squeezing the sheets of the medical bed. “My fucking ribs!”

The channeler placed their hands against Val’s side.

She immediately stiffened. “A little warning before you touch next time?!”

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