The Golem Sentinel was not a monster made of mere stone and earth.
It was an ancient entity, a being that had slumbered beneath the ground for an unimaginably long time.
And that stone shell, its massive, weathered exterior, was the result of centuries of sleep, a natural armor formed as it lay buried in the darkness below.
Ren took a step back, his hands slightly trembling. Just how terrifying would this thing be once it shed its heavy shell?
Forcing his eyes wide open, he observed the creature closely, afraid he might miss something important...
The Golem Sentinel's body, now clearer than ever, revealed itself as a colossal being with sharp, precise contours.
It was not a pile of rubble or dust, but a solid creature, as if the stone itself was an inseparable part of its essence.
Its eyes...if they could be called eyes, were two glimmering stones embedded deep within dark sockets, as though hiding a dormant life force within.
Ren felt something shift in the air. The atmosphere grew still, not just because of the Golem Sentinel's presence, but because of a truth he had just realized.
This boss wasn't just a typical challenge. It wasn't merely an enemy to be defeated for loot.
The Golem Sentinel had a long past an existence buried, forgotten, and now it had returned. Not just to fight, but to protect something... something perhaps only those who had lived underground could understand.
A shiver ran down his spine again.
This monster… was not an ordinary mob, but part of a greater story, a story he and everyone else might have never known.
Ren looked more closely this time, noticing details clearer than ever before.
The Golem Sentinel wasn't just a motionless giant. It bore the scars of centuries of brutal battles.
He saw white cracks, like spider webs, spreading from a broken section of armor on its chest, revealing the stone beneath. Old wounds, but as vivid as if they'd just been made.
One of its arms was missing a hand, reduced to a crumbling, jagged stump marked with deep scratches.
Its breastplate had been cleaved in half, the cut clean and sharp, not the work of time, but of terrifying strikes from long-forgotten wars.
These were not the wounds of a random creature.
They were the battle marks of an ancient warrior, one who had fought in unrecorded wars, battles long gone, leaving behind only devastation.
The Golem Sentinel wasn't just a guardian, it was a survivor of massacres, a living testament to the cruelty of war and the suffering endured across its long, slumbering centuries.
Ren felt the change in the air again, as if the creature's pain had seeped into the space around them.
Each wound, each mark on its body, wasn't just a sign of combat, it was a history carved in pain.
What Ren saw now was not merely something to fight, but a lifeform forced to endure through the storms of time.
He looked again, and the chill returned. Despite its injuries, the Golem Sentinel still stood firm.
Each wound only made it seem more formidable, like a warrior who would never yield to the brutality of war.
A sense of helplessness surged in Ren. This wasn't going to be an easy fight, nor a simple victory.
Facing the Golem Sentinel meant more than raw strength, it meant understanding survival, and the trials this monster had gone through just to continue existing.
Ren couldn't help but notice the boss's singular HP bar.
Barely one-fifth remained, a sign that something was definitely off.
A strange feeling gripped him. The monster was powerful and intimidating, so why did it already seem so weakened?
Diavel had noticed it too. A flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes as he looked at the HP bar, though it lasted only a second.
Immediately, his expression returned to the cold determination of a leader. He showed no fear, but the surprise could not be fully hidden.
Diavel glanced at his team, eyes passing over each member. No words were needed, they all understood.
Each one gave a silent nod, as if already prepared for what was coming.
Without delay, Diavel ordered everyone into position, reorganizing their formation. The group moved quickly, returning to their combat roles.
The tension in the air was palpable. Every step the team took was calculated, each person fully aware of what they had to do in this moment.
Ren stood nearby, still caught between suspicion and caution.
He saw how well Diavel and the others coordinated, but he also sensed that something wasn't right.
The Golem Sentinel showed no signs of falling, even though its wounds looked severe.
He didn't know...or perhaps he already did, that the way this boss could strike and instantly kill a player... that had answered part of the question.
Diavel, not willing to waste another second, gave a sharp command:"Attack! Finish it before it recovers!"
The entire team charged forward, led by Diavel himself.
The pink-haired lancer raised his spear high. He charged past the front line, rushing ahead as if to unleash all his fury onto the Golem, for it had killed his comrade.
The warriors behind him surged forward, ready for a fierce assault.
But Ren... he knew he wasn't part of Diavel's combat formation. The man hadn't called his name like he usually would. Even so, Ren couldn't tear his eyes away from the Golem Sentinel.
He could feel the tension in the air, an unpredictable danger looming just beyond their reach.
Could they truly defeat this boss? Or was something unexpected about to emerge, right as the battle began?
The entire group, armed with a well-prepared strategy, began their assault on the Golem Sentinel.
Each member...Nautilus, Yuna, Shivata, Lind, Chest, and the others, had a clear role in this fight.
They all understood this wasn't just a normal boss battle; it was a clash with something powerful and full of mystery.
Nautilus, sword firm in hand, led the charge.
His eyes were intense, as if sensing something was off about the boss, but still, he moved forward, confident yet cautious.
Each step brought him closer to the Golem Sentinel. He swung his sword, striking the already fractured stone armor of the boss.
But the Golem didn't react. It just stood there, unmoving.
Yuna, after a brief hesitation, didn't falter. She dashed in from the side in a smooth arc, agile and quick.
Her sword, lighter than Nautilus's but sharp and precise, slashed at a crack in the Golem's armor.
A strange energy surged back at her, forcing her to retreat a step, but she didn't back down. She reminded herself she had to do everything she could, for the sake of everyone here.
Shivata, gripping his sword tightly, closed in from the Golem's left flank, coordinating with the silver-armored swordsman. The two pressed from opposite angles, their blades clanging harshly against the stone armor, sending out piercing echoes.
Lind, standing off to the side with a cold gaze, led Chest and the cloaked girl. They charged in from another direction, striking in a sweeping arc.
Lind watched carefully, his eyes scanning every movement of the boss, searching for weak points and trying to control the rhythm of the fight.
Chest, no longer relaxed and carefree, charged in directly. The cloaked girl moved with speed and precision, using her tachi to strike at the fractures in the Golem Sentinel's armor.
But none of them expected what came next. No matter how powerful or precise their attacks were, the Golem Sentinel did not move. It remained still, like a colossal stone statue.
A strange feeling began to settle over the battlefield, as though something hidden lay buried beneath those layers of dense rock.
They couldn't explain it, but one thing was clear: their attacks weren't enough to hurt the boss.
Even under assault from all sides, the Golem showed no immediate reaction.
It just stood there, as if waiting for something, as though it wasn't a monster ready to strike, but a living statue, ancient and patient, biding its time to turn the tide.
It looked like a stiff robot that had run out of battery, completely powered down.
Ren stood off to the side, watching everything unfold. He felt the tension in the air, and even though he wasn't part of the attack team, his heart pounded harder with every strike.
But his eyes weren't fixed only on the Golem or on the shocked and struggling faces of the other players.
He kept looking at Diavel. The man maintained his usual composed expression, but there was a flicker of confusion in his eyes, as if something in this battle had veered off course, like a train slipping from carefully laid tracks.