The figures of the four-armed golems towered over William, freezing him in place.
For a moment, silence hung in the air as both sides faced each other in a tense standoff.
'This is bad. I'm low on mana, and they punch faster than I can cast!'
Panic clawed at William's insides, but he stayed still, refusing to show any weakness.
He used the pause to think through his options.
'Fight? Run? Double back toward the centipede?'
Desperation drove him to act.
Brown light shimmered over his hands as he tried to dig underground and escape.
He barely managed to burrow a few inches before one of the apes appeared beside him in a blur, grabbed him by the neck, and yanked him out like a weed.
He couldn't fight back. The golem swung him through the air and smashed him headfirst into a tree.
"ARGH!" he cried out as blinding pain tore through his skull.
But it wasn't over. The apes continued the brutal punishment by throwing him from tree to tree.
Finishing off by dragging his face through the dirt like a rag doll.
By the time they were done, William's eyes had rolled back into his head, unconscious.
Strangely, despite the vicious beating, there was no blood or broken bones. Not even a scratch. His skull remained miraculously intact.
One of the apes grabbed him by the leg and dragged him away, back toward the chaos he'd barely escaped.
The forest had been ravaged. Trees were splintered, the ground torn up, and a wide crater now marked the battlefield.
The centipede was diving in and out of the earth like a demon, the bandaged man still clinging to its back, cackling with every blow.
Then, without warning, the apes hurled William's limp body into the crater.
He hit the ground hard, but by some miracle, the shock woke him.
Groaning, he rolled over and locked eyes with the ape golems standing at the edge of the crater.
They just stood there… watching.
'What…?'
Confused and still dazed, William glanced around the battlefield, trying to piece together what was happening.
'Are they… forcing me to fight the centipede?' The thought crept in as he stared at the ape golems.
Before he could fully process it, the ground trembled again. The centipede burst from the earth nearby, screeching as it soared into the air.
Panic surged through William. He scrambled to his feet, willing his numb legs to move.
But the monster ignored him this time, diving into a different part of the ground.
The tremors faded.
Heart racing, William took a breath. 'First things first—heal.'
Soft green light shimmered over his bruised body as he cast a minor healing spell. Slowly, the pain ebbed, and strength returned to his limbs.
After a minute, he was steady on his feet again. He didn't waste time.
Keeping low, he moved deeper into the battlefield, away from the crater and—more importantly—the ape golems.
Though the immediate danger had passed, a new problem loomed on the horizon…
'What now?' William asked himself.
The ground trembled constantly, forcing him to focus just to stay upright.
'The best option is to get out of here, but that's impossible with the apes guarding the perimeter…
I just have to stall until the day ends.'
As he watched the centipede burrow in and out of the battlefield, an idea came to him.
***
At the battle between the centipede and the bandaged man—
The man clung stubbornly to the centipede, refusing to let go no matter how violently it thrashed.
Even as it dragged him, slammed him into rocks, and tore his skin open, he held on with raw tenacity.
"You think this is enough to beat me!? Think again, bastard!" he roared.
Locking his legs around the creature's rocky plates, he began hammering its back with brutal punches.
Each blow cracked through its armored hide.
"RRAAAHHH!!" the centipede shrieked, louder than ever.
It dove underground again—but this time, the tremors were apocalyptic.
The ground split and buckled, entire slabs of earth displaced as the beast went berserk beneath the surface. It coiled, thrashed, and tore apart the terrain in a crazed frenzy.
Then—silence.
A moment later, a thunderous boom echoed across the battlefield. Shockwaves blasted outward, hurling rocks and debris in every direction.
At the center of the chaos, the bandaged man was launched into the air, unconscious, his body coated in blood and shredded bandages.
The centipede shot up after him, jaws wide, ready to devour him whole.
But just before it could reach him, a burst of purple energy flared in the sky. A gravity field enveloped the man and yanked him eastward, pulling him out of reach.
The centipede shrieked furiously and gave chase, slithering across the ground in pursuit.
It didn't dive as it knew it couldn't track something flying through the air; it needed to keep its eyes on it.
Within seconds, both human and golem vanished into the horizon.
At that moment, William lay underground beneath the battlefield. His eyes and hands glowed faintly with purple light.
He had used his most advanced gravity spell—the one he'd trained relentlessly to master—to fling the man away and bait the centipede into leaving.
Now, he was completely drained.
His breathing was ragged. His face was pale. His mana reserves were empty.
He was curled up inside a narrow hole he had dug beforehand. A thin, finger-sized opening above was his only source of air.
'It worked… at least, I think it did.'
His plan had been simple: lure the centipede away and pray the apes would follow, or at least not bother searching for him.
Everything was silent now.
No explosions. No tremors. No roaring monsters.
Finally, after what felt like hours of constant danger, William had a moment to breathe.
With the tension finally released from his body, he slumped back against the dirt wall.
His muscles loosened without permission. His eyelids drooped.
All the adrenaline in his body faded at once, replaced by the crushing weight of exhaustion.
A powerful mental tug pulled him downward, dragging him into sleep—and he didn't resist.
***
Time passed. How long? He couldn't tell.
Deep in slumber, William suddenly felt a sharp, magical pulse radiating from his chest.
His eyes shot open.
Hovering above him was a silver symbol, glowing and pulsing with radiant light.
It emitted another wave of energy, stronger than before, snapping him fully awake.
Panicking, William reached for it, but his hand passed straight through.
Then he realized what was happening.
'It's broadcasting my location!!'
Nothing in his two weeks of combat training had prepared him for this.
Before he could think, he heard it: distant thudding. The rhythmic pounding of heavy footsteps. Trees splintering. The ground is shaking again.
A chill ran down his spine.
He leapt out of his hiding spot, heart racing.
In the distance, a massive cloud of dust surged into the sky. Trees fell one after another.
A monster stampede—and it was heading straight for him.
With no time to think and no money to spare, William turned and ran.
He poured every last drop of energy and mana into his legs, drawing on sheer survival instinct as he bolted through the forest.