The moment I see it picks up its speed, now running towards me far faster than I expected. I turn around and try to run away but slip on the loose stones and fall. I get goosebumps as I suddenly get the feeling of impending danger. I roll around only to see a huge stone fist heading towards my face. While activating the protection noer, I raise my hand to cover my face. A faint blue shield of energy appears in front of me as the stone fist lands. The shield weakens immediately but doesn't shatter as the stones around me vibrate a little. Before I have time to do anything another fist comes down. I immediately realize that if I don't get away from here immediately, I will be in big trouble. I dismiss the protection noer as I decide to change tactics.

I raise my hand and activate the telekinesis noer. A force bursts out of my hand and slams into the stone golem, pushing it away from me. Finally, I get the chance to get up and do so immediately. Before it gets a chance to recover again, I release another burst of telekinetic energy, pushing it farther away from me. Finally, I get the chance to think. I have absolutely no idea how to fight this thing, I would have used the martial arts Master Shawn taught me but that thing is made of stone… I shake my head as a smile appears on my lips. What am I thinking? I'm not human anymore, I'm Laen, fighting a stone monster shouldn't harm me too much. It's just a thought but there's only one way to know if what I'm thinking is correct.

The stone golem has recovered and is now running towards me. Unlike before, I don't try to run away but stand my ground. If I could fight that thing hand to hand, things will be much easier. Of course, I don't know too much about martial arts, but I know enough to defend myself against a complete noob and so far the golem has been acting like one. The golem throws a punch and I dodge before retaliating with one of my own. The punch lands where its abdomen should be and the stone cracks a little. Best of all, I barely feel pain, it almost feels like I am hitting tough scaly skin. I follow up with more attacks and soon leave the golem covered in cracks.

This would have been better if my punches had an explosive effect, I think when something clicks in my brain. Something I had totally forgotten about. My Uua. The Uua has a destructive effect outside the body.

The golem tries to attack but I dodge, but instead of throwing another punch at it, I do something different, gathering my Uua into an orb and slamming it into the golem's chest. There is an explosion of light and heat as the golem is pushed away from me. Dust fills everywhere causing me to cough a bit, but it soon clears, giving me a clear look at the golem. There is a deep gouge on its chest here my Uua had touched it. At that moment I get a clear idea of how to defeat the golem. I take a deep breath and cover my arms with Uua. I look down at them to see a soft blue glow covering both of them and can't help but smile.

I begin circulating my Uua to strengthen myself while using the enhancement noer at the same time, just to make I have enough strength to defeat the golem, then I attack. The golem fights smarter this time, but it still makes a lot of mistakes that I can exploit. I rain punches down on it, each punch leaving a small gouge on its body. Soon the golem's chest is covered in holes, but still, it doesn't die, it even begins to evade me, causing me to chase it around. I decide to end things quickly, creating another orb of Uua in my hand, but this time using a lot more energy than I did before.

I push the enhancement noer to its limits then run after the golem. It's fast, but the enhancement noer, combined with the normal improvements I get from circulating my Uua makes me far faster than it. In less than five seconds I've caught up to it. It tries to attack me but I parry its attack easily before slamming the orb of Uua into it. A small explosion occurs, pushing me and the golem apart. This time a big hole is all that's left of the golem's chest and part of its abdomen. It's still standing but I know it's finished. I raise my hand towards it.

"Bye-bye," I say with a smile raising my hand as I activate telekinesis noer. I bring my hand down and an unseen force instantly crushes the golem turning it into nothing but debris.

* * * * * *

Seth

I watch Ian's fight with the golem and can't help but be a bit impressed. He is far better than I was when I took my Apprentice exam, but maybe that's just because he's older and therefore smarter. Still, he knows how to use what he's learned. I wonder how strong he'll be when he's a Protector.

Master Hogan is about to end the test when Grand Master Zarel speaks. "Is this an exam or child's play?"

No one is able to answer him. The golem is what they use for every Apprentice exam, if Ian can pass it easily then that's just his luck.

"Send in two more golems this time. And make them stronger. Give him a bit of a challenge."

Master Hogan can't do anything but nod.

* * * * * *

Ian

I am rejoicing in my mind when the ground rumbles and two more golems appear. These ones are obviously stronger than the ones before. I frown, I was not expecting there to be more but now is not the time to think of that. I decided to focus on fighting the golems. With my experience fighting the one before, I waste no time circulating my Uua and activating the enhancement noer. On top of that, I use my Uua to cover my entire body for extra measures. As long as Uua is covering me, no matter where the golems hit, they will be affected as well. I immediately feel the drain on my magic. I hadn't focused too much on managing my magic during my last fight as I had thought it was the only thing I had to fight, but now I am regretting that. Unfortunately, I haven't been using magic for too long, as a result, I am not as strong as I can be.

I use second sight to study the two golems in front of me, trying to find a weakness. If I could find their weakness, I should be able to handle them, I can't waste my Uua demolishing them as I did to the previous one. They aren't alive so there should be noers somewhere for controlling them. If I can find the noer and destroy it, that should stop them. They don't give me any chance to study them, rushing to attack me. I use telekinesis to push them back, trying to give myself time to figure out their weakness. Unfortunately, they are stronger than the previous one, apart from momentarily stopping they continue, moving far faster than the previous one.

"Crap!" I say as they appear before me, immediately going on the defensive. I do my best to dodge their attacks and am immediately at a disadvantage. Seconds pass and still, I can't see any noer. In fact, there is no noer on their body at all. I try to run away from them but they are faster than me, giving me no chance to do so.

A punch finally lands on my chest, followed by another to my stomach and then my face. Stars explode in my vision as I am momentarily blinded, but even in that state, the attacks don't stop, as another punch lands again. When I next open my eyes I am on the ground looking up at the sky as the world spins around me. My face is on fire and my stomach churns, making me nauseous. I turn my face I see the golems moving unsteadily towards me. The Uua around their head seems a bit thick, I think to myself and suddenly it clicks. What if the noers are not on them but in them. Specifically, in their heads. That will explain why I can't find anything on them. As I realize this I suddenly feel a bit better. Now all I have to do is find a way to destroy their heads. Easier said than done.