Alan scrambled to his feet, hiding behind the ivory curves of the Golem. "Kill him! Protect me and kill that freak!" he screamed, his voice high-pitched with terror.

The golem’s sapphire eyes locked onto Shin. She stepped forward, determined to protect her master.

"It’s such a waste," Shin muttered.

He wished he had claimed the golem and become her master, but there was nothing he could do anymore.

"Very well," Shin said, a predatory smile tugging at his lips. "Let’s have a fight. I was looking for a way to test this new toy anyway." He pointed his sword at Myha.

Shin tightened his grip on the Obsidian Decapitator, the weight of the mythical blade heavy in his hands.

He knew the golem very well; he had always tried to find her in the game because she was one of the most versatile allies one could have.

As usual, the golem bowed respectfully to Shin before making a sword appear in the air. Her eyes changed color to a deep red, and the lines on her body followed the pattern. It was an indication she was in battle mode.

Then she advanced with a speed that caught Shin by surprise. He barely managed to bring up the King’s Obsidian Decapitator to parry, but the force of the collision sent a vibration through his bones.

But as she vanished from his sight, a cold realization hit him: he had never once stood on the opposite side of her ivory fists. He knew her stats, but he didn’t know her attack patterns like he did with bosses.

Aside from that, Myha had been programmed to be perfect in combat. She was fast and precise, dodging his swings with a grace that made Shin’s technique seem ugly. Every time the man tried to find an opening, she responded with lightning-fast counterattacks.

It was clear that in terms of pure skill, she was better. Shin was forced to take several steps back, struggling to keep up with the woman’s blows.

Soon, his breathing became heavy. Each of Myha’s attacks felt like a calculated move, pressuring him and pushing him toward the limit of his strength.

It really is annoying to be on the other side... Shin thought, remembering all the times Myha had defeated strong opponents for him.

She was basically a robot, so she didn’t let emotions get in her way. The damn golem analyzed everything and slowly pushed the enemy to the limit, putting herself in the minimum danger possible.

And before Shin could think anymore, her blade sliced through the air, and a shockwave surged forward.

Shin thought he had escaped the range, but the invisible force cut into his shoulder, making his blood spill. It was her annoying air blade, an effect of her legendary sword.

"Fuck, I should have seen it coming..."

He didn’t even have time to recover from the pain before she advanced again. He managed to defend against a direct strike, but the follow-up grazed his side, drawing blood that slicked his grip on the heavy sword.

His legs were losing strength. Against the Statue King, Shin had used his knowledge of the boss’s weaknesses, but Myha seemed to have none.

She was a master of martial arts and swordsmanship, and she was simply more powerful than he was in this moment. There was no way he could win if the fight continued at this pace.

Still, he forced his foot into the ground and advanced. He needed to find a way through her defense. A long battle was what his opponent wanted, so he needed to find a way to force her into an uncomfortable position.

Myha easily dodged his strike, spinning gracefully, and suddenly her blade shone as she accelerated for a perfect cut.

Shin had to grab the flat of her blade with his left hand to stop the strike from reaching his neck. Blood spilled onto the ground as his palm was sliced open, but he gripped the ivory steel with all his strength.

He swung his own sword, trying to catch her while she was close, but she drew a small parrying dagger and deflected the blow. She took a step back and sliced the air again.

The shockwaves hit Shin’s leg squarely, forcing him to his knees. His vision began to fade, and the pain was excruciating.

Then, his heart began to pound violently.

A surge of power rushed through his body; his skill, Soldier’s Will, had activated. Faced with imminent death, it responded instinctively, flooding him with strength. But something else was happening too.

"I call you, shadow that looms over everything!" he shouted.

The sword in his hand reacted. Its blade trembled, almost as if it were alive, almost... eager.

Suddenly, jagged spikes erupted from the hilt, piercing straight into Shin’s palm. He didn’t even have time to react before the pain struck.

His blood spilled across the weapon, and the blade drank it greedily, absorbing the crimson liquid as if it had been starving.

In return, it granted him immense power, but only for a short time. The strength was overwhelming, but unstable.

Shin couldn’t fully control it yet. He felt his muscles begin to tear as he pushed beyond his limits, moving faster and striking harder than his body was ever meant to endure.

"Fuck!" he screamed, trying to deal with the pain.

Still, a smile played on his lips. The feeling of immense power coursing through his veins was addicting.

Shin surged forward. The first strike of the Decapitator forced Myha to step back. With the second, he grazed her cheek.

On the third, his sword hit her shoulder directly, cracking the marble skin. Myha didn’t stay still; she pushed forward, her blade dancing through the air at an impressive speed.

But Shin was no longer fighting with just skill; he was fighting with a body pushed beyond its limits.

He parried her ivory sword with enough force to nearly knock it from her hand and followed up with a brutal kick to her midsection. As she staggered, he prepared to deliver a final, pulverizing blow to her head.

"Wait! Don’t destroy her!" Lilel’s voice echoed in his mind. "Immobilize her instead. I need to examine how she was constructed!"

Shin shifted his aim at the last second. He swung the heavy obsidian blade with brutal precision, striking Myha’s arms and then her legs.

The sound of marble shattering filled the room. He didn’t stop until her limbs were broken, leaving the legendary golem collapsed on the floor, unable to move a single muscle.

She looked up at him with her sapphire eyes, a silent acknowledgment of the warrior who had defeated her. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Shin didn’t waste another second on her.

He turned his attention to the man cowering in the corner. Alan was shaking violently, his face drained of color as he stared at the fallen golem, his last line of protection, broken.

Shin began to walk toward him, the Obsidian Decapitator dragging across the stone floor with a slow, grating scrape.

"Now," Shin said, his voice cold, "it’s just you and me."

Alan’s breath hitched.

"No... no, no, NO!" he shrieked, scrambling backward on his hands and feet. "Stay away from me! Do you even know who I am?! You can’t do this!"

His voice cracked, rising into a desperate, hysterical pitch.

"I... I command you to stop! Someone, anyone... I promise to any person that protects me right now, I will love you forever.... Just save me, it’s an order."

He screamed in desperation, but no one came. There was no one left to throw their lives away to save him; he had already used every single one of them.

For the first time in his life, Alan was alone.

"I don’t... I don’t understand..." he muttered, his words breaking apart as tears welled in his eyes. "This isn’t how it’s supposed to go... Women are supposed to listen to me... they always do... Where are they? Why..."

His gaze darted wildly, searching for an escape, for someone to save him, anyone. But there was no one.

Actually, there was one.

"You, fairy, please, save me!" he begged, using all of his charm skills at once.

"Shut up, I’m trying to do research here." However, it seemed to have no effect. Not even the smallest change in empathy levels.

Maybe it was because she wasn’t truly human, but a system entity, that she was immune to it. Or perhaps it was simply because Lilel didn’t have even an ounce of interest in the man.

"Whatever, I’m tired of your voice," Shin said, then he threw his sword in Alan’s direction.

He didn’t throw it intending to hurt him. Instead, he was basically handing the weapon to the blond man. Shin couldn’t kill him directly, it would be against the rules.

But that wasn’t a problem.

Alan, who had forgotten about the rules, grabbed the sword, his body trembling in fear. He didn’t move to attack; instead, he only wanted to use it to defend himself.

But it was useless, because he was holding the very cause of his death.

Spikes surged from the sword’s hilt, drawing blood from the blond man’s hands. Before he could even try to release it, the spikes curled around his arms.

Slowly, the weapon drained all of his blood and vital energy, until he fell dead on the ground.

Shin would have preferred something more dramatic. After all, Alan had always been his least favorite playable character. But in the end, this was the only way he could think of to kill him.

There were far more important things to deal with.

Like the dozens of dead women scattered across the floor... and the statues. The sheer number of drops and items he could collect was insane.

"How is your analysis going?" he asked Lilel.

"Let me concentrate!" she snapped, ignoring him.

Shin shrugged and decided to focus on looting the area first.