Evan and Lirian ascended the stairs while making as little noise as possible.

As they stepped into the arena, they saw the golem that had been dormant until that moment stirring to life. Its immense stone body let out an audible creak as it shifted. The gears of its body ground and groaned with each mechanical motion it took to turn and face them.

"Krkrrrr!"

The golem unleashed a guttural roar that echoed throughout the arena. Its roar pinched them like a needle of pain, causing them to wince and rub their ears.

The golem fixated its unwavering gaze upon them, emanating an aura of malevolence that threatened to envelop them whole. Then, it charged towards them with frightening speed, its colossal feet thundering against the earth with each step, pulverizing the ground beneath it and raising a cloud of dust.

The golem's body was embedded with three glistening crystals, each placed strategically in its chest and eye sockets. These strikingly golden gems glimmered even in the dim light of the cave as it approached them. They were the golem's life sources, filled with energy that fueled its movements.

Evan, because of the visions he had seen a night ago, knew that it was a boss-type monster and that these golden crystals were not only the source of its strength but also its greatest weakness!

After all, the golem would be weakened if even one of the crystals was destroyed! However, it would also result in its dangerous rampage.

Experienced players in the game would typically aim for the main life source - the crystal embedded in the center of the golem's chest. This was because destroying it first would diminish 40% of the golem's power!

"The most important parts of the golem are its three life sources. Even the destruction of one of them can severely weaken it." Evan, privy to the golem's secrets through the memories of his previous life, revealed its weaknesses to Lirian. "But if we want to emerge victorious, we must destroy all three!"

"I will create opportunities for you. You can focus on destroying its life sources," Lirian said.

"Fine with me," Evan acknowledged as he sprinted towards the golem.

In a few moments, the distance between them was bridged. Evan sidestepped its frontal charge and brandished his sword towards the golem's main life source.

As long as it was destroyed, the golem would lose 40% of its speed, strength, and energy!

However, before the sword could hit its mark, the golem swatted it with its sturdy palm, effortlessly deflecting his attack.

The golem launched a massive fist towards him, but Evan instantly leaped upwards, not only dodging the attack but also landing gracefully on its thick arm.

He was aware of the golem's attacking pattern hence why he was able to react to it so well.

"I got you now!"

Without wasting any time, Evan thrust his sword forward, its curved tip piercing through the air and charging towards the golem's main life source.

He attacked so fastly and precisely that the golem had no time to react!

Thud!

The sound of Evan's weapon connecting with the golem's main life source echoed through the air. The impact caused a few cracks to appear on the surface of the crystal embedded within the golem's chest.

He had attacked with all his strength, but it only caused a pitiful of damage to the golem.

'I lack the strength to shatter its main life source in one blow. I need to land a few more hits.' Evan realized.

But before he could make his move, the golem retaliated with a powerful punch. It was aimed squarely at his head. If it connected, his head would no doubt explode.

Even while knowing that, he didn't flinch or back away. Instead, he raised his sword and brought it down on the golem's main life source. The blow landed with a satisfying thud, increasing the cracks on the crystal.

He, however, was left with no chance to avoid the golem's punch.

But before it could connect with him, Lirian flashed up to the golem using the power of his second skill crystal and intercepted its punch with his own metal-covered fist

The golem's attack was deflected by Lirian's punch, and it caused its body to tilt backwards.

"Nice one!" Evan exclaimed as he seized the opportunity that Lirian created to land strike after strike on the main life source of the golem.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The tenth strike caused it to explode.

[Ding! The main life source of the golem has been destroyed]

[The golem's speed, strength, and energy reserve have decreased by 40%!]

Evan knew that the damage was more than that.

The golem could no longer use its strongest ability, and it was one step closer to its demise!

"Let's finish this!" Lirian shouted as he went for the golem's right eye.

Evan nodded as he went for its left eye.

It looked like victory was there.

But suddenly, the tide of the battle changed!

A powerful wave of golden energy burst out of the golem, catching Evan and Lirian off guard. It crashed into them like a mighty wave, propelling them off their feet. They were raised three to five feet off the ground and thrown backwards.

They flew down the arena and landed roughly on the hard terrain of the cave, tumbling across the uneven ground.

Lirian, who was protected by his Metal Body ability, remained unharmed, but Evan wasn't as fortunate.

The shockwave and the fall shook him to his core. The sword left his grip when he crashed on the ground, and as he rolled across the uneven surface, jagged stones cut through his clothes and pierced his skin, drawing blood.

"Damn! I knew it wasn't going to be easy. It used half of its remaining energy reserve just to blow us away." Evan stood up as he wiped the blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth.

The blood leaking out of his wounds dyed his clothes red, causing them to stick to his flesh. The skin wounds weren't deep, but there were a lot of them. And he was bleeding from all of them.

Thus, he looked like a pitiful sight in urgent need of hospitalization.

Despite his injuries hindering his movements, Evan ran to his sword and picked it up from the ground when he saw the golem running towards him. It seemed like it had detected who was the weakest of the two and aimed to get rid of him

"It won't be that easy to take this prince's life!" Evan said thunderously.