Ikanaite Golem (3)
Size: 4 meters. Arms so long they nearly scraped the floor, its entire body covered in hard black stone. Spikes protruded from its back and elbows like ornaments. This was the level 30 elite monster, the Ikanaite Golem.
Grrraaahhh….
Thud! Thud!
The moment it spotted us, it charged. Each step sent vibrations rumbling through the ground. With a body made entirely of stone, its weight had to be immense.
"Let's start."
We didn't have much time. Thanks to the guild members from those two companies getting tangled up, we'd bought some breathing room from the golems—but if we took them all out, those guys would turn on us next.
In this situation, I can't guarantee we'd win against ten ability users.
One-on-one, it wouldn't be too hard. But these weren't ordinary ability users. They were corporate guild members who moved in squads with solid teamwork. They could cover each other's weaknesses.
But if Kethar absorbs that one…
We'd have a perfect tank. Squad stability would skyrocket, and so would our damage output. There's a world of difference between fighting while bracing for counters and just unleashing skills without a care.
"…Here I go!"
Kethar immediately released [Nirvana]. Black smoke enveloped the Ikanaite Golem, and absorption began.
Grrraaahhh!
Its rage surged. All aggro was now locked on Kethar. Its sole target: kill Kethar.
Time for me, the supporter, to step up.
Shrrrk!
I summoned all my orbs and scattered them around. First one: slapped Slow on it. Already sluggish, now it was even slower. My plan was to burn through all the orbs to keep dragging out its approach.
"How much time left?"
…2 minutes 40 seconds.
Each orb's Slow lasted 10 seconds. A bit of downtime between, but I'd planned for that.
Thud.
Thuuud.
When one wore off, I'd hit it with another. I'd already chewed through more than ten orbs. It was closing in, more than halfway now.
"Sh, shiiit!"
Things weren't looking great behind us either.
"Don't step in front of me!"
Ting! Ting!
The guy deftly blocked with his enlarged goat-patterned shield using Giant. But he wasn't on the golems' level. As expected, when two or more piled on, he started buckling.
"Antonio! You can't handle it alone! Stick to me!"
"Tch… Fine!"
They started teaming up. Steel coated the giant shield, bolstering the tank line. Healers topped them off from right behind, while DPS unloaded nonstop.
Definitely a cut above regular ability users.
…The problem? Way too many golems.
The golems must be influenced by the oni too.
Far more than expected, and their numbers weren't dropping. The enemies fought desperately to hold them back.
Made our absorption op smooth sailing.
"Guh, guuuh!"
"Gahk!"
Meanwhile, the bearded tank got flung back. Tank line collapsed.
"Time?"
…1 minute!
Two orbs left. Time for backup prep.
Paababak!
I slammed up a Sword Wall right in front of Kethar. It wouldn't hold against that thing's power for long, but…
Just buy a little time.
Thuuud.
Kwaang! Kwarang!
Grrraaahhh!!
Slow ended. Now the Sword Wall had to tank.
Current Kethar—all skills sealed—would die in two or three hits.
8 seconds left.
Kwaaaang!
"O, oppa!"
Wall shattered. 6 seconds.
Thud. Thud.
Golem looming over Kethar, glaring like it wanted to kill him right then.
4 seconds.
It raised both arms high. If those slammed down, absorption could break.
Nothing more I could do.
…Kethar had to handle the rest.
"…I, I'll hold it!"
Whoosh!
Kwaaaang!
Both arms crashed down on Kethar.
"Kuh, gahk!"
He tumbled, but kept his right arm raised. If that had dropped, absorption would've stopped.
2 seconds.
Now it lifted a foot over Kethar's head. One stomp from that weight…
Dead.
Whoosh!
1 second.
Kwaaaang!
Rumble rumble!
It stomped the ground—and collapsed in a heap. Kethar had dodged by rolling his head aside. Lucky.
Shoooo!
Smoke billowed from the rubble, seeping into Kethar. A golem-shaped tattoo etched onto his body.
'Leg Town Mine', hidden monster defeated.
'Leg Town Mine', Corporate Takeover +15,000pt acquired.
Absorbing it counted as a kill. We snagged 15,000 points in one go.
Takeover flipped in an instant. If it ended like this, the mine would be Esteno territory.
"…We did it."
Kethar examined his body, face full of disbelief.
"…You tattooed an elite monster."
His gaze shifted to me quietly. A short nod.
"…Thanks."
Thanks? Nah, I should be thanking him now. We had a real tank.
A brand-new type, too.
Kwaaaang!
"Guhk!"
Meanwhile, chaos erupted behind. Their sturdy tanks were down, golems swarming unchecked.
"Wh-what the hell…!"
"Fall back! We can't fight without tanks!"
Without golems to hold, their formation crumbled fast.
Then Kethar stepped forward slowly.
"You idiot! Two of us couldn't handle it—think you can…?!"
Antonio, sprawled and wailing. He shut up quick.
Crack! Crraack!
Kethar activated the 'Ikanaite Golem' tattoo. His body turned to hard stone, bulk exploding in size.
"Wh-what…."
"A golem…? No way…."
Guild members gawked.
People turning into stuff wasn't rare here. But a golem? An Ikanaite Golem, no less?
Unheard of.
"Made of… Ikanaite ore…? A g-go-golem?"
"Wait! Then… their tank's a golem?!"
Yeah, they'd never seen a golem tank.
If he absorbs ancient-type monsters…
Those were leagues beyond regulars. An elite ancient-type? Field boss tier.
And that was our tank.
Kethar's power would only grow.
…I'll hold them.
Ikanaite Golem Kethar took position—ahead of where their two tanks had held.
"You moron! That's a bad spot! You'll face four golems at once!"
Wider than the entrance, giving DPS more room. But the tank ate more hits.
Grrraaahhh!
Grraaah…!
Golems closed in. Four up front.
Kethar didn't budge.
"He can't take that many alone…!"
"Dodge! Hey, dodge!"
Worried again. But we didn't grind that elite absorption for nothing.
Kwaang!
Thud! Thud thud!
Golems hammered away. Kethar took it full-body.
Thud! Thud thud thud!
"He's… holding?"
"How's he tanking four alone?!"
Four onslaughts. No give, no cracks. Their eyes bulged.
Ikanaite Golem's worth isn't just defense.
Bwoooong—!
Kwagwang!
Kethar swung a massive fist. Golems shattered instantly—not wild swings, precise core strikes.
He knows exactly where to hit.
Blunt force on golems is pointless. Gotta nail the core.
As a DPS, Kethar knew all that inside out.
Rumble rumble!
Rumble rumble!
Golems toppled. Tanking solo. Striking solo.
"You gonna stand there gawking, or what?"
These guys nuts? Just staring.
"A-attack! Attack, damn it!"
DPS fire finally poured in—guns, spells.
With a solid tank up front, they cut loose.
"This sturdy…."
"You feel it too? Huge as he is, shouldn't block our view… Feels like he's creating openings."
"…Like he's moving for us?"
DPS kept marveling. Kethar a DPS main? Movement was pro-level.
Timing attacks like he read their rhythms, then shifting to expose new weak spots.
His sharp eyes apply here too.
Scanning surroundings, predicting strikes. Positioning perfectly.
Pure tank instincts.
We all piled on, smashing cores in sync. I chipped in too.
'Leg Town Mine' Corporate Takeover ended.
This area confirmed as 'Esteno' corporate territory.
Golems cleared, messages popped. For us, text; for them, the black-glowing floor gave it away.
"…Damn it."
"Whew, boss is gonna chew us out."
Worried about the boss? Wrong time.
Thud. Thud.
Kethar—same idea—planted himself in front. Tough matchup before, but now with our tank? Doable.
"Th-that… S-sorry. We lost it for a sec…."
"S-sorry, we were thinkin'… Pl-please, spare our lives…."
The two tanks trembled before Kethar. Others worse.
Best to wipe 'em, but…
Payback double's my motto. But…
…What're you planning?
"Dunno. My style says wipe 'em."
…Yet you're hesitating. The company?
"Yeah."
Esteno employee now. Takeover incidents don't report to quest guilds. No issues there, but…
Esteno's image matters.
They started it, sure. But rumors twist.
A rising company's rep could tank.
Not letting attackers walk, though.
Slash!
They tried killing me, Kethar, April. Touch my people? Second on my hate list.
Shwick! Slash!
"Guh, gahk!"
"Kuhk!"
Sliced the tanks' throats.
If rumors spread, better fear than pity.
Let the rest carry the tale.
But not unscathed.
"Unequip all your gear."
"…Huh?"
"…A-all of it?"
They fumbled, stripping fast. Knew we'd kill if they didn't.
Tank mace, one-handers, two shields. Six staves from mages/healers. One gun. Warrior greatsword.
Twelve pieces total.
Wonder what options they've got?