Seed Of Speed

The moonlight casted the dark world in a pale-yellow glow. Although most of the surrounding grounds were barren, there was a massive garden of black plants that stretched on from the back of the bone castle far into the distance. Hedges of razor-sharp thorns marked the boundaries of the garden which would capture any living thing that dared near the toxic plants. Within the zone between the hedges, a variety of rare plants that needed the Death-energy that saturated the pocket world grew undisturbed except when one of the undead gardeners brought a fresh batch of bodies to help nourish them with the blood.

The Lich King, with a few remaining patches of hair, sat in a throne on the top of a bone spire as he overlooked the grizzly garden with a golden goblet in his hand. Every now and then, he would take a sip from the glass despite the fact that he did not need to drink, nor could he taste it, but the ritual of drinking as he had in his past life helped ease his madness. Long ago when he still drew breath, Hezekiah had been a prince, but before he could ever take up the mantle of king, he watched his father lose control of the populous until they revolted and killed every member of the royal family.

Even after the centuries passed, his anger and hatred towards the rabble that had caused his death and current "imprisonment" had not faded. Instead, it had intensified and grown to the point that he blamed all the living for nothing more than being alive, but that did not mean he actively sought to end all life. No, that may have been the plan of his creator and capturer, but not wanting to indulge another type of living creature, he simply treated everything with distain, living or dead.

While he brooded at the top of his tower, a shuffling figure slowly made its way to him. This new figure was unlike the other undead, retaining much of its flesh which also included its mind, albeit corrupted by their shared creator. The zombie was carrying a crystal ball with the images of a battle taking place in a courtyard playing within.

"My Lord, Holy Warriors have appeared in the Zupto District," the zombie said with a raspy voice as he presented the orb in his hands.

Hezekiah picked up the crystal ball and examined the contents for a moment before dropping it back in the zombie's hands and scoffed, "Mortals are of no concern to me."

"My Lord, our orders…"

"I damn well know our orders, you cur!" the Lich King yelled, rattling the entire castle with the power of his voice. "I merely said they are of no concern to me," he continued, his voice returning to a normal volume, "Awaken the golem. If they manage to defeat it, banish the soul to the Hellfire Well."

"But the Holy Warriors…"

"I don't care! If they are killed, I'll refine their souls, and if not, they go back to their world until they return again."

The zombie did not continue to argue since his role was only to support the king and report back to their master. He tucked the crystal ball away, seemingly into thin air, and left the tower topped balcony. With no true power of his own, the zombie could only wait until the next time their master contacted them and add the newest offence to the long report.

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Diego finally turned around to find the source of the grading sound. The giant gargoyle statue had stretched out its large wings before stepping off its platform. There were no other changes to its body other than suddenly gaining the ability to move. The gargoyle had another two meters on the skeletal knights, bringing its height to five meters, but including the tops of its wings would bring it to six.

"That's one big golem," Stormblade said.

"Heh, reminds me of that Earth Golem back in that Crystal void Passage," Diego chuckled.

"A little bigger and less refined, but yes, only this time, we are stronger," Rainshower replied with a smile.

"Right," Diego's voice echoed as he split into three once again. "Tovao, let me barrow your glaive. I only have one spear," Diego said, pulling out his black spear.

"What am I supposed to fight with then?" Tovao complained as he handed his weapon over with no real fight.

"I'd say your good looks, your wits, or your charm, but you are lacking in all three… Senior apprentice-sister Rainshower, want to try that fight over again?"

Rainshower's smile grew and she nodded.

"You three, let us handle this. I'll return your glaive if we end up needing help," Diego said as one of his clones gave the weapon a few test swings. Although it was balanced differently and was heavier than his spear, the two weapons were similar enough to allow him to use some of his weaker skills, even if his [Ten Strike, One Thrust] was off the table.

"Alright, brother Brightmelody, but I will jump in the moment I feel like you're in true danger," Stormblade said.

"Thanks, brother Stormblade," Diego replied with a nod.

His ki'ta appeared in the last emptyhanded Diego and he drew his fingers across the strings as he repeated the same notes over and over again, playing "The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult. The two armed Diegos charged forward, both using [White Lightning Array], closed the distance in a matter of seconds.

Rainshower threw open her arms as a stream of mana-water rose out of the jug at her hip and she took a step forward. A large globe of mana-water formed above her head and it flashed with blue light then rapidly began to draw water out of the air, swelling in size. The ball of water rippled and then began to change shape.

The stone gargoyle had a humanoid body, albeit more than twice the size and slightly hunched over. When the two Diego charged at it, it raised both of its large fists and struck out. Although Diego could not turn while using his skill, his three months of sparring against Swordflash had taught him to make instantaneous changes by flashing over to another chi line.

While it sounds easy enough, it had proven to be difficult because he was forced to break his movement for each switch then restart the technique. This was yet another flaw brought on by the System as he had not truly learned the skill despite being able to execute it. When he had first started his journey, he was told that by pushing his own understanding of the skill was the only way he could get it to evolve into a stronger form, but it was not until he was working with Swordflash day after day that he finally began to grasp the meaning. The System could perfectly execute a known skill, but he was the limit of how far it could go.

A series of white flashes curved around and danced across the golem's arm. The two Diegos struck out in unison, the one with the spear using [One Strike, Ten Thrusts] and the one with the glaive using [Unyielding Thrust]. An echoing metallic clunk rang out as both weapons hit. Silvery-blue flames erupted from the weapon engulfing the statue while the blade bounced off the stone, harmlessly. The spear drilled in a few inches, but Diego's hand was slightly numbed by the double impact.

The watery figured standing above Rainshower's head finally took the shape of a two-tailed fox. As soon as the two Diegos retreated, the water fox stretched out one of its tails and lashed out as its tail turned to ice. The golem punched out with a fist, trying to break the tail, but it could not and was sent fly away instead.

Diego used this chance to send both of his attacking bodies after it. The glaive wielding Diego shot up in the air as high as he could with his skill while the one with the spear shot in front of the gargoyle. The golem spread out its wings in an attempt to right itself, but before it could, the spear carrying Diego attacked the right wing and sent the gargoyle tumbling to the side. The clone in the air dropped straight down while using [Death Drop], a green-rank technique, and slammed down on the golem's back.

The Diego playing the music tapped on Rainshower's leg and nodded at the golem. The glaive wedged itself into the stone back, right between the wings. Diego did not bother to retreat and dismissed the clone, right before the second ice tail crashed down on top of it. The glaive complete pierced the golem's body now, but it still managed to push itself back up.

A hole, five centimeters wide and thirty centimeters long, was drilled through the golem's c.h.e.s.t, revealing just the edge of the core. Clearly enraged, the gargoyle grabbed the glaive before snapping it in half and throwing the two halves with deadly power at the lone Diego and the pair of Diego and Rainshower. Diego dodged to the side with his skill while the watery fox turned to ice and shielded the pair.

"My glaive!" Tovao cried while he fell to his knees and Stormblade patted his shoulder in condolences.

"Restrain him, Rainshower!" the Diego with the spear shouted then dashed forward with his skill.

The tails of the fox danced as it returned to its watery state then whipped out both of them. One wrapped around its left leg while the other grabbed the right arm then both turned to ice and stretched out the two limbs. Diego arrived in front of golem and he stabbed out with [One Strike, Ten Thrusts], aiming straight for that sliver of core. The gargoyle flapped its wings in an attempt to move, but his spear chased after it. When the spearhead pierced through the crystal, a massive wave over energy was released, covering Diego in burns.

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Mission Complete!

- Defeat the courtyard guardian!

- Requirements: You and group members must defeat the courtyard guardian!

- Awarded: and 50 skill points

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Diego dismissed his clone after he stored away his spear with a smile. Rainshower dismissed her water fox, causing most of it to fall on their heads, but the water did not actually touch their bodies, as it magically curved around them. The moment she turned around, she frowned seeing Diego's state. She summoned a small sphere of mana-water and stepped forward, pressing the water against his body. A cooling sensation spread across his body as his burns healed in seconds, but without realizing it, they were practically pressing their bodies together. One of the others coughed loudly, bring the young couple back to reality, and they both took a step back.

"How about we collect everything before anything else reveals itself? We'll split the spoils when we return to the Common Room," Stormbalde suggested.

"Yes, of course," Diego agreed quickly.

::Take the body of the golem. I'll use that for the materials for your Tool-class golem::

(There is nothing else coming, right?)

::There is a chance, but this is an outer district with nothing of real value, so it is unlikely at this point::

Everyone began to pick up the remains while Diego headed for the golem first. Nothing but the normal skeletons appeared during their return trip to the portal. The group requested a private room with an appraiser and started counting their loot.