As if a piece of fabric being ripped apart, the purple ball of light opened up slightly, revealing a massive stone arm. It was about the size of a fully grown man, with minerals of different shapes and colors jutting out from the elbow. The arm slammed onto the ground, searching for something to hold on to. Staff Bryce took another step forward, cautious about the erratic movement of the arm. Some of the recruits stepped forward, hoping to help Staff Bryce with whatever it was they were up against.

“Stay back!” Staff Bryce yelled, with his eyes still focused on the arm. “Go get the guards, quickly!”

A deafening roar, akin to that of a tiger’s, shot right through the gap on the ball of light. Some of the recruits jumped backward, falling on their backside. The tear on the ball of light was getting wider as the other stone arm attempted to pry it open from within. Knowing that he had to act immediately, Staff Bryce leapt forward, swinging his war hammer in a half arc.

A heavy crashing sound was produced the moment his war hammer landed on the exposed stone arm. The first hit seemed to have dealt a fair amount of damage, as large fragments of stones were sent flying into the distance. In response, the arm flailed around like a person trying to swat a fly, only to miss every single swing. Lifting his war hammer, Staff Bryce prepared for a second strike.

It was at that very moment that the other stone arm broke through the ball of light. The arm took a full swing forward, hitting Staff Bryce in the right side of his abdomen. There was a loud thud, but no obvious sound of anything breaking. To a seasoned veteran like Staff Bryce, this was actually considered good news.

This was not unlike the time he was punched by a mountain ogre. Instinctively, Staff Bryce held onto the stone arm so that he would not be sent flying. It would be bad if he were to crash into an uneven surface upon landing. As soon as the stone arm arrived at the end of the swing, Staff Bryce used it as a pivot in order to fling himself straight upwards. Now at least 3 meters above the ground, he took aim at the same arm he damaged before.

“Shatter, beast!” Staff Bryce shouted, falling back towards the stone arm with his war hammer above his head.

It was a clean strike, almost hitting the same exact location as before. The attack produced a dull and heavy clank, shedding light on the insides of the stone arm. It was full of metallic objects, seemingly tougher than its exterior. Staff Bryce dived for the ground, having anticipated a swing from the other stone arm.

“We’ve got to help somehow!” Leo suggested eagerly, raising his pole axe above his elbow.

“Stay back!” Jace snapped, stopping Leo with his right hand. “Last thing we should do is to get in his way!”

“But there must be some…”

A sharp shattering sound interrupted Leo halfway through his protest. It was similar to the sound of a mirror breaking, only longer in duration.

The purple ball of light has completely opened up, releasing whatever it was that it contained. This allowed the body of the creature to straighten, showing it to be at least 4 meters tall. Staff Bryce recovered from the ground swiftly, backing away from the arm of the creature. Looking upwards, he identified the creature before him.

A colossal golem.

Although this particular specimen is a little small, the composites of its body could not be wrong. Tough rocky exterior with a metallic interior, check. Minerals jutting out from the joints, check. Most importantly, a size that puts all other regular summoned golems to shame.

This was by no means the first time Staff Bryce had to go up against a colossal golem. However, this was definitely the first time he had to fight one without professional support. On top of that, recruit Millenore, the girl who was trapped in the ball of light together with the colossal golem, was lying unconscious at the feet of the golem.

“Dammit,” Staff Bryce huffed under his breath. This was just supposed to be a regular golem training practice. There was simply no indication as to what had caused the purple ball of light in the first place. It could be due to a defective summoning stone or a magic trap left by someone. Either way, someone out there had some explaining to do.

Lifting his war hammer once more, Staff Bryce leapt to the right side of the colossal golem.