As we walked the mage gave us some battle pointers. For myself, I was taught how to properly defend with the weight of the sword centered just above my hips. This would keep my sword from being blown away, and would hopefully keep me from scrambling to reset my defense after each attack.

For Koda, he advised him not to rely on side stepping so much. A monster like the vine crawler is relatively simple to dodge. It just flailed in single directions, but other monsters would have the awareness to change its trajectory mid-swing. It just isn’t possible to move fast enough to dodge fully if you only move side to side. For every fraction of an angle that their weapon tilts, you would need to move a huge distance in order to completely dodge. He would die long before he built up the necessary skill.

Before long we came across a monster. I saw Koda flinch hard enough that he slid over the stone as I took in its appearance. It was waist-high with no face and a massive stone pole held above its shoulder. The body was coloured the same chapped grey as its weapon and mostly human looking except for its lack of any sort of facial features or sharp angles in its body.

“Stay calm. It’s weak.”

Koda and I both breathed out in relief and prepared ourselves to make a few steps forward. We were both hesitant to approach, especially after our entering trial, but it had to be done. The mage stayed back, leaving us in a V, but I didn't see myself convincing him to come forward. I wondered how weak it could really be if he didn't want to get near it. While approaching I was honestly surprised that I wasn’t traumatized. I could only see the occasional dull flash of the bloody past reflected around me. The massive amounts of adrenaline must have been helping me to not focus too much on the past. I shuffled forward while Koda sidestepped and jumped around in a meandering path forward.

Of course, the little waist-high golem that stood before us didn’t seem to care how we approached. It just brandished its , stepped forward and swung its pole in a massive horizontal arc. I was moving slowly so that I could backstep. Koda ducked under the swing and kept his distance. From the atmosphere I got the distinct impression that we were veterans. We were completely silent and we were retreating without hesitation. Because the golem's weapon was much larger than ours we weren't quite within striking range yet.

We both made a small movement forward, but the golem kept the swing going past us instead of turning or stopping it kept its body facing us and brought its swing around into an overhead diagonal strike. Rather than be impeded by the massive stone pole, it seemed to be able to slug it around dangerously.

I windmilled and fell on my butt with a gust of wind blowing over me as the pole flew by. Koda had the luxury to sidestep since the golem was trying to hit us both.

We both made the same mistakes that the mage warned us about, but it’s difficult to change your first reaction in a life or death situation. I scrambled to my feet while Koda kept moving to the side, trying to split its attention into two different directions. Luckily we had time for this, as it seemed as though the golem had a limit to its combination attacks. It couldn't redirect the momentum of it's last swing and let it slam a small crater into the ground.

The mage loudly called out from the back,

"Use the flat of your sword to knock it off balance! Do it before it attacks again!"

I couldn't imagine my sword making much impact on a golem dense and sturdy enough to fight the way this one has, but I trusted that the mage knew how to kill things. Koda struck first, using both hands to make a straight strike that hit its shoulder mostly on center. I was prepared to follow-up with a strike of my own, but despite Koda's attack looking nowhere near strong enough to launch that thing, the little golem swirled in circles helplessly past me like a doll. I had to backstep again out of fear. The golem slid to a stop, staying upright and then cocked its arm back came forward.

I suddenly made the connection between its sweeping attacks and seeing it look almost weightless after being hit. The way to fight this golem was momentum.