Nim struck a fire golem. The golem's rocky armor cracked and it roared in pain.
Nim continued attacking until the golem was reduced to gray rocks. After eliminating that golem, Nim closed his eyes and saw his level.
[Name: Nim]
[Level: 9]
[Class: Not acquired]
His experience bar was close to leveling up. He wasn't very surprised, since it had been a day since he separated from Mirra. In all that time he hadn't stopped killing monsters.
After checking his level, Nim headed to a rock where he had left his backpack. He took out several rations and began eating. Mirra had left him more food rations and three swords before leaving.
She had also given him the map of the fifth level. Even though Nim wasn't good with maps, it could still be useful. For that reason, he had decided not to stray too far from the exit, otherwise he could truly get lost.
After a short rest, Nim continued searching for more monsters.
...
Thump Thump
A beetle staggered back after receiving several blows. Its shell had cracked in several places. Nim didn't stop and charged at the beetle again.
There was no suspense in the battle, and the beetle was eliminated by Nim after another round of attacks.
Nim observed the beetle's corpse thoughtfully. In the last battles he had barely used the sword, except to deliver a final blow or kill a monster with weak armor.
It wasn't that the sword was a bad weapon, but it wasn't ideal for this type of monster. Besides, his skill with it wasn't refined.
In the end, he only used his fists and eliminated monsters with brute strength. It seemed he should set aside the [Swordsman] class and choose [Warrior] or [Fighter]. He had already fulfilled all the requirements for those classes, he just needed to level up.
Nim shook his head and came out of his thoughts. He looked ahead and continued his hunt. After walking for a few minutes, he came across a small group of golems.
Fire golems were one of the most common monsters on the fifth floor. He had encountered them many times during his stay on this floor.
Nim approached as usual, when one of the golems caught his attention.
One of the three golems was a deep purple color. Not only was its size more than double that of its companions, but its surface looked more like a very resistant metal.
Nim put on a serious expression when he saw that golem. Any variant monster could not be taken lightly.
He had already passed through here and these three golems hadn't been present then. They must have appeared recently.
Mirra had explained to him that after a while, eliminated monsters would respawn, and they weren't always the same ones.
Nim didn't think much about how the dungeon worked, he only had one thought at this moment, and that was to eliminate the monsters in front of him.
With firm steps, Nim advanced toward the golems. The golems noticed him, but contrary to his expectations, they didn't attack immediately.
The purple golem observed the human that had appeared and roared. The red golems, as if waiting for its signal, advanced toward Nim.
Nim observed this behavior and felt a bad premonition. The golems weren't fast nor did they have much attack power, but breaking their defense required time even for the current Nim.
The red golems lunged as fast as they could, the purple golem watched without moving. Nim saw these slow golems and dodged their attacks without much difficulty. His attention never left the purple golem.
The purple golem only watched its companions attack without making any movement.
A red golem tried to land a blow, and Nim dodged again. Seeing that the purple golem wasn't making any move, Nim counterattacked with several strikes at the golems. The red golems staggered back, several fragments of their bodies flying off.
After attacking, Nim retreated and watched the purple golem. The purple golem remained in place, unconcerned for its companions' safety.
That strange behavior gave Nim a bad feeling.
Nim turned his gaze back to the red golems; the best thing was to finish them quickly. Nim rushed again at the red golems while keeping his attention on the purple one.
After several blows, the red golems could no longer move due to their wounds. Nim didn't keep attacking, his true target was the purple golem.
As if it had been waiting to see its companions fall, the purple golem began to move toward Nim.
Nim also ran toward the golem, wanting to see how strong this variant was. Nim didn't wait for the golem to attack and delivered a strong blow to its side.
Clang
Nim felt he had struck resistant metal, his fists went slightly numb. His strike had only left a small dent in the golem's armor.
The golem trembled slightly from the force of the blow, then recovered and launched a strong strike with its enormous rocky fists.
The attack was faster than that of the red golems, but even so, Nim managed to dodge.
The golem's attack hit the air, missing Nim.
Nim took advantage of his agility and size to evade while striking the golem.
Clang clang
The golem didn't stay idle and tried again to land a hit on Nim with its enormous fists. Nim wouldn't come out unscathed if one of those strikes hit him.
Nim dodged all the golem's attacks, its speed wasn't enough to reach him. Nim kept evading while landing several blows on the golem's resistant armor.
Although the golem couldn't land any hits, Nim's own attacks weren't having much effect either. It would take him a long time if he wanted to break the golem's armor.
After being in this situation for a few minutes, the purple golem roared in rage and slammed the rocky ground.
The attack sent several rocks flying around it, Nim had no choice but to retreat to dodge the rock fragments.
Boom boom boom
After retreating, Nim observed the golem roaring in anger as it continued smashing the ground, its enormous strength causing great destruction.
The golem stopped after a few more blows, and the dust began to settle. Nim could glimpse the golem's figure again.
The golem was unharmed thanks to its powerful defense, and a faint purple flame had appeared, covering its body. Nim's bad premonition resurfaced after seeing that flame.
At first the flame was weak, but in little time it grew until it enveloped the golem's entire figure. The purple flame prevented Nim from seeing what was happening with the golem.
Nim didn't want to wait for the golem to finish whatever it was doing, but he also didn't know if it was safe to get closer.
After a few moments, Nim stopped hesitating and ran toward the purple golem, he couldn't let it finish its unknown transformation.
He approached the purple flame quickly, and just as he was about to strike, a small rocky fist shot out of the flame.
The speed of the attack surprised Nim, who barely managed to dodge. The fist didn't hit Nim, but grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody mark.
Nim wanted to retreat, but a second attack quickly came at him. He stopped and faced the attack head on.
Boom
Two great forces collided. Nim staggered back from the impact, and the purple flame was also pushed back several meters.
This clash had ended in a draw.
Nim looked at the purple flame while his fist trembled slightly. The flame began to diminish and a small outline started to become distinguishable.
The purple golem had shrunk to almost Nim's height, and its powerful defense had disappeared, replaced with a flexible appearance. The small purple golem looked at Nim and dashed toward him at great speed.
Nim was startled by the sudden change in the golem. While Nim was surprised by the shift in the situation, the golem reached him and attacked at great speed.
Nim was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden attack and hastily countered.
Thump thump
Nim and the golem engaged in a frenzied hand-to-hand battle. Nim used his fists and legs as weapons while using his own body as armor. After several exchanges, the golem's light armor began to show signs of damage.
Nim wasn't much better off, he couldn't dodge all of the golem's attacks and several strikes had hit parts of his body, leaving burns. Luckily, he had avoided blows to his vital points.
The golem roared and aimed a fast punch at Nim's head. Nim sidestepped and dodged by a narrow margin, clasped his two hands together and, using them like a hammer, struck the golem's head hard.
Boom
The golem fell forward, Nim didn't miss this chance and continued attacking with his fists.
The golem roared as it received multiple blows that cracked its armor. In its rage, the volcanic rock of its body grew hotter.
Nim's fists had long since been burned, but after this new change he could barely keep attacking the golem.
The golem leapt up. Nim stopped attacking and jumped back several times to put some distance between them.
Nim took a deep breath to recover his strength, that last exchange had tired him a little.
—Variants are incredible… —said Nim with a faint smile.
Despite facing great danger, Nim was thrilled to encounter an opponent that gave him a great battle.