Xi En’s attack was brilliant.
The weapon he held was an ordinary double grip sword. It was not a magic weapon, hardly comparable to the Sacred Sword. Moreover, Xi En had to hide many of his skills. He was smart to tip the Golem off balance by hitting its knee and getting it to kneel on the ground.
If he were to use the Sacred Sword, Xi En could have hacked the monster into pieces with one blow.
Even without the Sacred Sword, Xi En could otherwise cut the Golem in half with the enhanced attack at the maximum level of the “Double Grip Sword”. If that were coupled with the enhancement from the “Extreme Evolve”, the result would be even more remarkable.
It was just that Xi En constrained his strength, intentionally creating the illusion that he had won using tricks instead. In this way, he could hide his skills and still showcase his strength to pass the assessment.
So, Xi En began attacking incessantly once the Golem lost its balance.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
As the collisions rang unceasingly, Xi En hacked at the Golem’s knee joint continuously, sending the shards of rock flying.
The fallen Golem raised its arms to attack Xi En, but the latter slid to its back to avoid the strong flailing arms which were whipping up gusts of wind. He continued slashing at the monster’s knee to prevent it from getting up.
Boom!
Who knew how many blows Xi En dealt before the Golem’s knee was finally severed, spilling stones and gravel onto the ground.
The Golem had lost one of its legs and came crashing down onto the ground amidst the sounds of falling rubble.
“Now!”
As if he had anticipated this moment for a long time, Xi En hopped onto the Golem’s back. Taking aim at its head which was now on the ground, Xi En raised the sword high up in his hands and swung it down with all his might in a single strike.
Wham!
It sounded like an explosion when the Golem’s head cracked open and shattered into smithereens.
With ‘a lot of effort’, Xi En finally succeeded in defeating the unfortunate Golem.
‘This should do it, right?’
Xi En wicked away the sweat on his forehead and feigned fatigue while he made a victorious hand gesture in his mind.
When he turned around to look, he was greeted with shocked expressions instead.
“He… won?”
“Eek…”
“His capability…”
Diyeer, Lumiya, and Meilica were astonished, but they were not the only ones. Even Vivian wore the same look of bewilderment.
“I didn’t expect you to win. Looks like your capability is much stronger than what I imagined, Xi En,” Vivian spoke, still in surprise.
Their reaction made the corners of Xi En’s mouth twitch.
“Uh… Is this… odd?” Xi En replied Vivian meekly, “Didn’t you say that this Golem isn’t a dangerous opponent to me?”
There was almost a wince in Vivian’s expression.
“I did say that,” she chuckled dryly, “because the Golems are known to be slow and heavy. As long as the level disparity isn’t too much, even newbies can avoid attacks from a Golem and won’t get hit if they fight hard. Of course, it’s not dangerous then. But to defeat a monster such as the Golem, it’s not what a newbie Adventurer who’s inferior by ten levels can do.”
Xi En froze at that.
Looking at Xi En, Vivian’s face remained expressionless as she said, “Basically, the Golems are heavy and slow and can hardly hit their opponents, but they’re known for their strong defense abilities as they’re made of rocks and minerals. To beat such a monster, one must at least have a weapon with a substantial damage ability, such as a heavy weapon like the hammer or an axe. Another way is to blow it up with an intermediate level magic. To defeat it with just a sword has never been heard of before especially if the opponent has a level lower than the creature…”
This meant that Vivian’s objective was not for Xi En to beat the Golem. She just wanted to evaluate Xi En’s battle performance against a monster which he could not subdue but would not be harmed either.
Xi En who had no idea of Vivian’s motive had crushed the Golem instead. He only thought of completing his task by showing he could beat the monster with some effort.
“You’re only a Level 10 without any skills and you’ve just bought your weapon. Other than being sharp, there’s nothing much to it. Forget about comparing it to a magic weapon. At any rate, you beat a monster that has a higher level than you and isn’t an easy target under such circumstances. Don’t you think we’ll be startled?”
Vivian’s elaboration did nothing to help Xi En.
Looking at Diyeer, Lumiya, and Meilica who were still staring at him with astounded gazes together with Vivian who looked thoughtful, Xi En could only manage a contrived laugh.
“Which means… I’m not too bad in terms of capability, and I didn’t disappoint you all, right?”
Xi En pushed the conversation forward.
“Hmm. It’s a surprise but it’s a good thing.” Vivian glanced at Xi En before continuing, “Since you beat the Golem that’s ten levels higher than you, you should be able to pick up some skills swiftly. No, wait. It’s strange that you haven’t acquired any skill with this kind of performance. Perhaps, you’ve a high potential in all aspects?”
“Potential in all aspects?” Xi En asked unconsciously, “What do you mean?”
“Huh, don’t you know?” Vivian was taken aback before she continued in a skeptical tone, “Depending on an individual’s training orientation and innate talent, he or she may have differing growth rates in various aspects. Isn’t it common sense?”
Common sense?
To Xi En, this so-called common sense is totally irrelevant to him, but it also turned out to be the most vexing. In any case, he understood what Vivian meant to say, more or less.
“When one upgrades oneself, one’s capability will be stronger, but it won’t be across the board.” Vivian explained further, “When the level is increased, the abilities being leveled up will vary according to the training’s orientation as in what one is good at and where one’s talent lies.”
For example, a strength fighter would level up the most in their strength. Similarly, the mana of a mage would be the first to be enhanced during a level-up. If the mage were not adept or gifted in physical abilities and had not trained at all, his or her physical abilities would thus not be enhanced during a level-up. As a result, the growth in each person’s abilities would be different.
“Take me for example, I’m a defense vanguard. When I level up, my endurance and injury defense show the most obvious and fastest growth. Meanwhile, the upgrade in the rest of my abilities won’t be as distinct.” Vivian carried on explaining, “Like Meilica, her mana growth will be the fastest during a level-up but her physical abilities remain almost the same as an ordinary girl’s.”
Such was the case.