Rylan looked around as he ran in the enormous structure within the mountain itself.

The System changed the design.

Unlike in the Basilisk Wilds, where the forest that composed the Dungeon's environment wasn't much different from the Veria Woodlands, Golem Haven seemed to have been altered almost entirely. Unlike Damian's Mage Tower, there had been no stairways or floors that could be easily seen, alongside a complete lack of furniture so far. If anything, the Dungeon looked like an enormous labyrinth. There were no bookshelves, artifacts, or anything of the sort.

He ran in the middle of a large corridor, which was almost twenty meters tall and ten meters wide. The entire hallway had the same color as bronze, monotone. Divisions and lines crawled across the walls, ceiling, and floor, but Rylan could tell they were just for show; the structure was one, without being divided into bricks.

Maybe it once was.

He shook his head and narrowed his eyes at the end of the corridor. The hallway opened into a large, square chamber. The first thing that caught his eye was the enormous humanoid figure in the middle of the chamber, surrounded by twenty Mages, who were all casting spells.

So that's what you look like.

The Golem was around fifteen meters tall and seemed to be made up entirely of some type of white stone. The arms and legs looked rather simplistic, and its head consisted of nothing but a faceless sphere held up by a 'neck.' Still, Rylan could see the joints and intricate hands and feet. He was certain that the Golem could not only fight as a human would, but also grab things, as well as use its feet to properly propel its huge body.

A dangerous enemy.

If it was able to fight properly, then something of that size and weight was bound to be a true threat to any Mage. After all, unlike him, they didn't have mana circulation or high physical stats. As if they could read his mind, all four different teams of Mages stood far away from the Golem. As he watched them, Rylan continued to run. The Mages bombarded the Golem with myriad spells, merging their spells with others to amplify their destructive power. At the same time, none of them stopped moving, always making sure to stay a fair distance away from the construct. Rylan sped up.

After only a few seconds, he burst into the room, his eyes darting around, taking in everything within the large space. It was both similar to and different from the corridor he'd just gotten through, being mostly empty. However, the main difference was the large stairway at the further end of the room that led to three other, different sets of stairs, each leading to a different corridor. On the walls were ledges and perfectly circular holes, similar to caves. Unlike the corridors, the room's floor was uneven, with both outcroppings and lower ground. There were even walls and barriers here and there, all shielding one or more teams.

A proper arena that seeks to maximize the fighters' spatial awareness.

He nodded to himself as he ground to a halt, pulling out his wand. Next, he observed the Mage, his Mana Core resonating with the world around him to allow his perception to grasp their characteristics. Only a few were in the Fourth Circle, with all other Mages being on the Fifth Circle. It was a lineup that threatened even the Royal Magic Academy's teachers. Rylan raised an eyebrow.

This many are needed to deal with a single Golem?

Even if that wasn't the case, the fact that so many Mages were fighting this one Golem meant that they considered it to be worth it. Were the XP gains so significant? Or were they simply unwilling to risk being attacked as they moved toward the three stairways at the end of the room?

One brown-haired woman dressed in a red robe raised her staff.

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"Twin Fireballs!" she shouted as the Golem turned to face away from her, dragging Rylan out of his thoughts.

Rylan observed with interest as the two Fireballs took shape. A Fourth Circle spell. Apart from Gerard and Damian, he hadn't had much contact with those. On the spot, he decided to just watch for a bit to obtain more information.

The Twin Fireballs crashed against the Golem's back, the flames roiling across the stone-like surface with ferocity. Once they disappeared, the arena they'd hit was revealed to be scorched, but otherwise undamaged. The Golem's head spun in place before facing the woman. She decisively jumped backward. As the construct swung its left arm, the three Mages around her raised their staves at the same time. Three thick barriers of mana took shape around them with her in the center, each being considerably bigger than Rylan's own Magic Shield.

The Golem's attack slammed into the barrier with a loud bang, making the three Mages grit their teeth. The barriers cracked, but didn't crumble. From that alone, Rylan glimpsed the power level of both the people and the Golem.

It hits hard, but it isn't that fast. Pretty easy to avoid at my speed.

He watched on for some more time. The teams of Mages alternated their attacks, always aiming for the same spots on the Golem's back and head. A few people used fire spells, but only as a way to draw the Golem's attention. The others focused on earth spells and water spells, all targeting the head most of the time. After watching for a while, Rylan came to a single conclusion.

The Golems are difficult to properly defeat.

Even though they were slow, their sheer size and weight made every blow potentially lethal. Above all, they didn't seem to have a clear weakness. Judging from the fact that the Mages were mostly targeting the construct's head, as well as the mana he could feel from the Golem, there likely was a core of some sort inside it. The problem was getting through the outside defenses to reach it.

Interesting.

Rylan nodded to himself and started running again, following the room's walls. Some of the Mages noticed him and widened their eyes, but they clearly didn't have the room to care about him. Their hands were full as they were. After following the walls and relying on the Mages as a distraction, Rylan arrived before the large stairways. Abruptly, the Golem spun its head to look at him, but it was too late. He decisively ran into the corridor that emitted the most mana.

This pattern repeated itself several times. After some time running, Rylan would reach the end of the corridor and enter one of the large rooms, run past the Golem within, and climb the stairs, ever higher.

The higher and deeper he went, the fewer Mages could be seen fighting the Golems. At the start, he'd found dozens upon dozens of Mages, either fighting the same Golem or different ones. At this point, however, he would be lucky to find even a single team battling one of the constructs. Naturally, this made his ascent more difficult, forcing him to circulate part of his mana to become fast enough to outspeed the Golems.

Eventually, he arrived on a high enough floor where he couldn't feel even a spark of life. The only traces of mana he could perceive in the mana-heavy atmosphere belonged to the Golems. Rylan walked inside one of the large rooms and looked at his enemy. The Golem was almost twenty-five meters tall, and clearly much more intricate than the first ones he'd seen. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a kneeling male human with wings, only made of some kind of metal. The chiseled face was complemented by the equally peerless body, which was covered in armor. The four wings looked like those of an eagle and were connected to the Golem's back. The construct stared straight at him and started moving.

Rylan pulled Silver Twilight out of its scabbard.

"Alright, let's do this," he said to himself.

There were many Passive Skills he should go for, alongside different supplementary sword styles. However, most of them were more easily achieved through battle and life-and-death struggles. It was how Roland had lived, after all, and it was what he was most familiar with. Besides, he needed XP and to Level up as much as possible. His mana left his Mana Core and circulated throughout his body like a raging river. An ocean during a storm and a spectacle only he could perceive. The Golem rose to its feet.

Falling Snow Steps: Drifting.

Rylan shot forward, faster than ever before. There was no need to hold back or worry about anyone else's safety. All he could and should do was fight to his heart's content, for the sake of everything he wanted to protect.

The Golem unceremoniously raised its feet and punched at Rylan, somehow grasping his position accurately.

Falling Snow Steps: Snowfall.

Rylan stepped on the air and jumped upward as the punch struck the floor underneath his previous position with a loud bang. The air vibrated, forced to part due to the sheer power behind the blow, but it only ruffled Rylan's hair. He used the air as a foothold to dash toward the Golem's head. His grip around his sword's hilt tightened.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Fourth Movement: Tempest Break.

His sword cried out.

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