Chapter 14: The Men and the god (14) Faith and Fate(5)
Character Map:
"X" = Protagonist
"(X)" = Protagonist's strong inner thoughts
'0X0= Goddess Mnemosyne
'1X1'=Mike?
'2X2'=Calvin?
'3X3'=John?
'4X4'=Norkin?
'5X5'=Belkorn?
'6X6'=Damian?
'X' = Extras
'XXX'= Enemy
Other Notations:
[X] = What is written on something
--- = POV change
|||| = Time skip
== = Time recap
"""" = Return from Recap
(X) = Explanation/author's note
([X]) = Sound effect
{X} = Buttons or actions that may trigger an event
---
With eager anticipation, I observed the scene unfold.
Taking the initiative, those I blessed stepped forward—excluding the rear guard, who maintained their strategic positions—and began the fight.
As the fight began, Archer Calvin, having a clear line of sight, drew his bow and released the first arrow. It whistled through the air toward the Dummy Golem—but the golem dodged, the arrow missing its mark.
Prepared for such an outcome, Calvin already had another arrow drawn.
Without hesitation, he loosed it again at the same target, who had yet to regain proper stance. The second arrow flew, but this time, though the golem couldn't dodge, it raised its shield and successfully blocked the shot.
Seeing this, Calvin decided to momentarily withdraw from direct engagement, planning instead to prepare a more decisive blow.
At that moment, Guardian Norkin stepped forward to take the lead. He raised his hammer high and, with a firm stance, swung it with tremendous force toward the same golem that had deflected the arrows. But again, the golem nimbly dodged and retaliated with a counterstrike—its sword slicing toward Norkin.
Bracing for impact, Norkin was about to be struck across the chest. As the sword was about to blow to wound him, and though he should barely avoid a fatal hit, he staggered.
But just in time, Swordsman Mike rushed in and parried the golem's attack, saving Guardian Norkin from the blow. But danger still loomed—two more enemy golems advanced from deeper within the dungeon.
Despite his injury, Norkin, now back in a defensive stance thanks to Mike's intervention, was able to hold position. Together, they formed a front line to withstand the assault.
Before the two could fully commit, Druid John began chanting. A spell of Strength surged through the air, enveloping both Mike and Norkin in a warm glow. Feeling the Spell of Strength course through them, they briefly glanced back at John, who was already preparing the next incantation—another buff spell, from what I could tell.
With a shared nod of understanding, the two stepped forward once more, fortified by their comrade's magic, and hurled themselves back into the fight.
Smither Belkorn, seeing what had happened and what was about to unfold, foresaw that the two at the front would surely fall if things continued like this—especially with three more enemies on the way.
Realizing the danger, he quickly turned to Mage Damian and asked if he had any spell that could narrow the cave path, allowing the frontliners to fight with more ease and control.
Mage Damian, considering Belkorn's suggestion, thought for a moment and responded that a Spell of Earth Wall could do just that—constrict the cave's passage. Upon hearing this, Belkorn immediately requested that he cast it.
Witnessing this quick thinking, I found it clever—tactical, even. Belkorn then shouted toward the two in front, warning them of the incoming spell.
With that, Mage Damian began his chant. Within mere seconds, the spell was completed. With a surge of magical energy, he cast it toward the frontline.
Belkorn immediately shouted for the frontliners to fall back, which they did swiftly—creating a gap between themselves and the advancing enemies. Just as the foes moved to close that distance, the spell arrived.
And then, from that very gap, earth rose like a wall—separating the enemies from the two retreating warriors. Only a narrow passage was left, barely wide enough to be exploited, effectively limiting how many foes could engage at once.
At that moment, only one Dummy Golem managed to squeeze through the narrow passage, while the other two began hacking away at the Earth Wall that blocked their path. Unfortunately—for the defenders—and luckily for the attackers, three more Dummy Golems arrived and immediately joined in. With five of them now relentlessly hacking at the wall, the crumbling was inevitable—mere seconds remained before the barrier would fall.
Yet within those fleeting seconds, the lone golem that passed through the narrow gap pressed forward into combat.
As it emerged from the chokepoint, Archer Calvin, who had been silently preparing his next shot the entire time since his tactical withdrawal, finally released his arrow.
It shimmered with brilliance, its light intensified with the Spell of Piercing imbued on it
The golem, barely stepping out from the bottleneck, was unable to dodge and could only raise its shield to block the projectile.
The impact was devastating—the arrow struck with such force that it shattered the shield and pierced the golem's chest, causing it to stagger backward. Though not a fatal blow, it left the golem wide open and off-balance.
Seizing this moment, Guardian Norkin charged forward with a warhammer as tall as he was. With both hands gripping the handle and his stance firm, he let loose a powerful strike—aimed directly at the lodged arrow then, as hammer true use, nail the arrow to the dummy golem fully, and then only after that the blunt force of the hammer could just then strike it again
The warhammer struck true, driving the arrow deeper into the golem and then crushing the inner structure with blunt, concussive force. The golem, unable to withstand the combined impact, crumbled, its form collapsing into nothing more than a pile of fragmented rock and scattered dust.
Raising his hammer with pride, Guardian Norkin declared that, when fighting a golem, blunt weapons such as a hammer struck throughout to the core.
But they didn't know—that I designed these Golems with an HP-based system in mind.
There was no core to destroy—no shining crystal heart or vulnerable power source, unlike traditional golems.
What they crushed was nothing more than solid stone. What truly ended the golem... was the HP bar I assigned to it. Once it reached zero, the body simply crumbled, vanishing into the fragments and dust of defeated data.
No core shattered—only a system-triggered collapse.
And with that, the first of the six enemies was defeated.
And the second wasn't far behind. The Earth Wall spell finally crumbled, hacked away by the relentless strikes of the golems. Five more dummy golems marched through the breach. But Mage Damian had already prepared a spell.
Just as the wall collapsed, he finished chanting the Wind Arrow and immediately cast it. Without delay, the arrow of wind flew straight at the leading golem. It hit with force, catching the golem off guard and pushing it back—but unfortunately, not enough to kill it.
Damian frowned, confused and visibly displeased. That spell should have been lethal, especially against earth-based enemies, given the synergy of elements.
Thinking about it, yes… there's that too—the Nine Elements and their magical relationships. It's simple, really:
Fire is strong against AirAir is strong against EarthEarth is strong against WaterWater is strong against FireLight and Dark oppose and overpower each otherLife and Death cancel each other outAnd Soul, also called Non-Attribute, that make the power of wielder will affect the world
So, by that logic, Wind Arrow should've obliterated an Earth-type golem.
But this tutorial didn't yet factor those elemental dynamics into the system, making the attack underwhelming. Seeing this, I quickly updated the system, triggering a burst of additional damage.
The golem froze, then crumbled—defeated at last.
During that moment of maintenance, the dummy golem stood still, which the others—clever as they were—noticed. All except Damian, who was still muttering to himself, wrestling with the spell's unexpected outcome. Still, they managed to take down the remaining enemies.
But as I watched the outcome, I sighed. They had ignored one of the most crucial features I built into the Game Character Blessing: the Game Chat—a system allowing messages, calls, and even video communication during battle.
With that in mind, I sent a message directly into their heads, demanding a redo. The whole point of this trial was to force them to adapt to and use the blessings I gave them. And since they failed to utilize Game Chat, I flashbanged them and reset the encounter.
The fight played out the same—at first. But this time, they used Game Chat.
Smither Belkorn, now free from having to constantly yell commands, joined the fray. He used a slingshot to fire sharp stones, then later rigged a chain morning star by tying his string to big, heavy rocks, swinging it wildly at the dummy golems.
When the Earth Wall fell again, he'd scoop up fragments—and he especially vigorously chose the denser pieces of fallen golems—and fire them as ammunition oruse the very bodies of their enemies as weapons in his Stringed Morningstar.
Still, they shouted over each other unnecessarily.
So I flashbanged them again.
Again. And again. Dozens of times.
Until finally, they began to move like a unit—fluid, connected, and strategic, wielding the Game Chat system like second nature.
Only then did I allow them to clear the trial.
They reappeared at the temple, victorious.
And with that, I prepared to explain the next extension of the Game Character Blessing—something even more fundamental than chat.
It was time to introduce them to the Game Skill system.
And so, I began teaching them how Game Skill works.
The Game Skill system allows them to cast magic spells more quickly and effortlessly, removing the need for long incantations.
Mage Damian was the first to raise a question.
'6 Why not just learn the spell normally then? 6'
I nodded—fair question.
So I pointed out the weakness in their performance during the tutorial: their spellcasting took too long in real combat.
Damian sighed and replied,
'6 Obviously. That's just common sense. 6'
But I smirked and countered,
"Then this will blow your mind."
I explained that Game Skill, especially for mages, allows instant casting—even while chanting another spell in the background. Dual-casting, essentially.
Damian's eyes lit up in admiration.
And for the others? It meant they could now cast spells like mages, even if they weren't trained in magic. Game Skill turns effort into shortcuts—without sacrificing power.
Then they asked,
"1-6 How do we use it? 1-6"
I answered with a question of my own,
"What spell do you want to learn?"
Each of them chose something, and I brought them into the a part of Virtual Realm resembling a gladiator colesseum—a training ground constructed inside my mental domain.
As they exhaust their mana, I then say continue, they then complained,
'1-6 But we're out of mana. 1-6'
I just smiled.
"Here, that's not a problem."
In the Virtual Realm, mana is not a limited resource. It's imagination, intent, and will—and here, I am the god of that space. I can refill their magic in a blink. I can even pause time or accelerate their learning at my will.
When they realized what that meant, I noticed them getting a bad feeling. Rightfully so.
Because while their bodies rested in the real world, their minds continued to struggle—forced into a mental gauntlet of training.
I even heard a cry of exhaustion echo from the far corners of the realm, but I ignored it.
AI continued to train them—relentlessly.
Eventually, the night passed, and morning arrived.
Physically, they were fully rested.
But strangely, they all remained in bed, unmoving.
Only when I commanded them directly did they finally get up—each one looking more tired than they were the day before.
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HAve a good read and day to come, well just like our character here, LOL, well enjoy