Verso snapped his eyes open and sat up straight. He was drenched in sweat, the fabric of his shirt clinging to his back.
"That was a new feeling."
Dying hadn't been exactly what he had expected. Although he had known it was a simulation, but the sensation of heat from the mana beam followed by the instantaneous, absolute darkness was something he couldn't just shake off.
This served as a cold reminder that while the Realm Menu was a tool, the dangers within it were very much real and getting used to dying was not something Verso wanted.
"I need to check something first."
Thinking to something else, he focused his mind pulling up his status window to see the damage.
---
[✦Summoner Window✦]
Name: Verso
Title: -
Talent: [Endless]
Core: Uncondensed (0%)
Stats:
[Strength: 9]
[Agility: 7]
[Endurance: 10]
[Mana: 6]
Summons: [Nameless Skeleton] [Minor Stone Golem (5)]
---
He stared at his Endurance stat which had reached the cap of ten.
"So absorbing a higher attribute crystal won't push me past the cap," He muttered.
He had absorbed an endurance eleven shard, but since he had yet not condensed his core, the extra stat point had simply evaporated.
His gaze moved down to his summons list. His eyes widened slightly when he got done counting.
All five of his Minor Stone Golems were there, including the one that had been vaporized by the Mutant's beam.
"Thank god. I thought I lost that guy."
That golem had been the first summon of his to actually die in combat and seeing it back in his soul space changed everything.
If the summons respawned after he woke up or reset the simulation, it meant he could afford to be aggressive when hunting in the simulation.
"This means I can play risky."
A smile spread across his face.
He had held himself back during the last fight, trying to preserve his summons in case he lost them forever but that was a mistake. If his summons were respawnable then he did not need to fight fair.
He glanced at the clock on his wall. Only an hour had passed in the real world since he had entered the realm.
"One hour to kill a Mutant isn't that bad. I can probably get a Beast Soul by the end of the night if I move fast."
Verso laid back down, closing his eyes and focusing on the familiar pull of the System.
[Entering: The Shattered Wilds]
---
Verso was standing deep in the crater again, surrounded by the same jagged, floating rocks.
He moved quickly, retracing his steps toward the clearing where he had fought the giant golem, but when he arrived, the area was empty.
"It's not in the same place..."
He looked around, searching for any sign of movement as his eyes caught on the dirt.
There, leading away from the clearing and deeper into the shadows of the floating boulders was a trail of deep imprints. They were unmistakable footprints, each one the size of a man's torso.
"I should follow the steps."
He made the decision instantly. The last giant had come from this direction, and if it wasn't here then it meant it was patrolling somewhere nearby.
He walked down the trail slowly, his senses put on high alert. He was willingly walking toward the thing that had just killed him, but this time he was not going in blind.
A little further down the trail, he saw it. A familiar nine foot golem was lumbering through the shadows, its blue runes pulsing as it scanned the area.
"They are coming from further down the trail..."
Verso watched the beast's movement and had realized that the golems weren't just wandering but instead they were emerging from a specific point deeper down the path.
"I have to end this one fast."
Unlike last time, this golem was heading in his general direction which meant that flanking it or taking cover behind rocks was not going to be enough.
"Let's go all out then!"
He summoned Lil Bone and manifested both stone hammers. He handed one to the marble skeleton, who took it with an experienced grip.
"You know the drill." Verso whispered.
The skeleton nodded, its hollow sockets glowing with a murderous intent.
Verso burst forward running towards the golem at full speed as Lil Bone shadowed him perfectly, their movements synchronizing.
The Giant Golem had not noticed them yet as it was busy checking a crevice on the opposite side. Verso did not even give it a chance to turn around.
With a mental roar, he opened his summoning space wide. Three Minor Stone Golems materialized in a triangle around the giant.
Energized Rush!
Verso sent them the command to use their ability which made the three minor golems' runes flare into a blinding blue.
The golems ran towards the giant as they started accelerating insanely fast, their rocky bodies humming with mana as they charged in like living cannonballs.
The giant golem spun around, sensing the sudden surge of energy. It raised a massive hand, mana swirling in its palm as it prepared a beam.
But it was too late.
THUD-BOOM.
The three golems slammed into the giant's legs simultaneously. The force was enough to pulverize stone.
Rubble and dust exploded into the air as the giant's feet had turned into gravel.
[Summon 'Minor Stone Golem' Dead.]
A sharp spike of pain shot through Verso's chest as one of his summons was crushed under the giant's falling weight, but he ignored it.
"Quick! Get the head!"
The giant was falling head first. Its hand was still outstretched and when the blue beam finally fired, because of how it was tipping over, the blast missed Verso entirely, instead carving a massive smoking trench into the ground behind them.
BOOM!
"Now!"
Verso and Lil Bone both pulled back their hammers as their muscles tensed to the absolute limit. They both swung in perfect unison, aiming for the massive blue crystal on the falling golem's head.
CRACK!