RECAP: With the KBVS Championship in the rearview mirror, Pepper set out to compete in the SEC Regional Invitational. After a short road trip with his dad Trent, Pepper decided he’d take-up his fathers idea and get two roommates to help with the rent. Marcus and Wilson soon arrived and sent Pepper for a loop as he learned to balance out these two unique individuals. An adventure into town led him to meet Col Lawrence Gamble and soon after his daughter Elowyn. As Pepper began to settle in to his new life, he soon discovered there is far more to the greater world outside of his home in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. With Andrea visiting, the two went to the Atlanta War Memorial and took time to reflect on the severity of the Rift Wars but also be grateful for what they had, each other. Pepper would go on to defend his small group of friends from a small band of Shadowcast Demons. The threat he had no idea lingered in the shadows forced him to realize there is still an active threat against humanity. The day finally comes, however, when Pepper goes to the SEC invitational. A familiar face re-connects with Pepper and introduces him to a few key individuals that are eager to re-shape the Golem League as they know it. Just when Pepper thought he was set to take on a new group of gladiators, his old nemesis Tamin reemerges. From that point on there was only one thing on Peppers mind, revenge. The day finally came to fruition and Pepper couldn’t help but soak in the vindication when he completely obliterated Tamin’s Horus golem. He was finally offered the last remaining spot to join the SEC Regional League and is now set to take his next step towards becoming… a Golem Master!

  “Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for tuning in. I am your host, Nick Bosloe and not only am I joined by my usual counterpart, Mr. JD Glasscock. But, JD and I are happy to welcome a new guest to the cast today. Out of my old stomping grounds of England, Mr. Alfie Tindall.”

  Nick was now standing in the center of screen as JD stood off to his right. The camera slowly zoomed out just as Alfie stepped in to stand in line with the other commentators. Alfie smiled and gave a grateful nod to the other two. He reached up and adjusted the few strands of brown hair which had fallen down in front of his face as he did so. The brown hair came down to Alfie’s jaw line, but he tucked the few strands up behind his ear.

  His soft gray sport coat with a white shirt and red tie were a clear match to Nick’s traditional style. Nick had gone with his go-to traditional navy-blue suit with the same white shirt and red tie. Whereas JD stood there in a bright red vest and a gray knitted long sleeve shirt underneath.

  Both Nick and JD looked over at the new comer with JD adding on to the warm welcome. “As Nick said Alfie, it’s great to have you come hang out with us today.”

  Alfie’s smile grew and a sparkle of excitement could be seen in his eyes. “Well thank you both for having me. I must say, not only is it a delight to be here commenting along two legends of our sport, but… I have a feeling that today’s match is going to be nothing short of spectacular.”

  JD pointed to Alfie as soon as he finished and then shifted his extended finger out towards the camera. “You are not wrong there Alfie. It was kind of a shock to many in the Golem League with how this match was set up.”

  Alfie nodded as his free hand lifted up and started to sway back and forth between the two. “Absolutely, JD. As you know, Lee Jin-Woo from South Korea had just suffered a loss at the hands of R.A. Cooper and L.M. Hughes. And yet, we started to see him really make some statements out of character. It’s not every day you have gladiators calling out one another, wanting to duke it out in the arena. Lee Jin-Woo is normally very reserved, yet his Golem Chat account practically went on a tirade after Dimitris Gkirgkiris battle with Amber Palmer’s pure water golem. Needless to say, the Promina League has been a-buzz with anticipation for today’s match-up.”

  Nick then tilted his head and glanced between JD and Alfie. “Let’s not forget also, some of those comments made were for having a dragon match. Which, let’s not forget, is not a golem Mr. Jin-Woo is used to wielding in the arena.”

  Alfie nodded and turned towards the camera. “Bold, very bold Nick. But… I think that is exactly what resonated with the fans. A gladiator who is confident and is willing to take on a big name such as Dimitris Gkirgkiris… and of course, Dimi was happy to oblige the challenge, and here we are today.”

  Nick then turned and shifted his attention to JD. “Well, JD… we know Mr. Jin-Woo has had to climb up the ladder one rung at a time. But… to go from a land-based fighter to what we highly anticipate will be his own take on a dragon… is it too much too soon? And… what sort of things does a young gladiator like Mr. Jin-Woo need to take into consideration?”

  JD nodded along as Nick asked. He cleared his throat and then looked straight into the camera. “Well, you normally see a gladiator making the shift from one golem to another at the beginning of the season. Not right in the middle of one…” JD glanced back at Nick. “…you know what I mean?”

  JD lifted his hand up and scratched the side of his face and then formed an expression which left the feeling he was not confident Jin-Woo would pull of a win. “You know… going from a land based golem to an aerial one usually requires a lot of training. You have to practice your flight controls, know how to bank and turn properly while balancing out your power core.”

  JD paused while his eyes dashed from side to side. He looked to be sifting through pages of notes within his head and was trying to find the next point to bring up. He finally raspberried and looked back at the camera. “There are armor placement differences, power core calibrations that need to be redone, rune configurations. All of these little changes require more and more time needed to train and know how to adjust your fighting techniques.” JD turned and looked at Nick and Alfie with disbelief. “I just don’t see it man. I love me some Jin-Woo, I just wouldn’t put my money on him today.”

  Alfie then nodded and had a confident look of agreement, as if his analysis was exactly in line with JD’s. “Especially going up against an amazing gladiator and seasoned veteran such as Dimi. Not wise at all.”

  Nick looked at both quickly with a grin and then turned to the camera and finished with a large smile forming on his face. “Well… I think we’ve done enough speculating, it’s time now to get to the action.”

  The camera faded to the aerial view of the green rolling hills of Netherfield. A few black scattered boulders could be seen throughout the arena as the East Sussex location awaited the arrival of the two golems. Once the challenge went out across the Golem Chat feeds, the arena managers immediately chimed. Their basis being that the South Korean challenger should come show their worth on their turf.

  A bright and vibrant blue with scattered white clouds fluttered over the arena above. The scene was one of near perfection and Pepper couldn’t help but wish he was there to see the action in person. There was a slow shift as the camera drifted to the right and the challenger’s dragon came into view.

  Pepper’s eyes widened with excitement as the dragon’s long and sinuous body floated in the air. It’s body resembled that of a serpent’s heritage. Though Pepper knew there had to be at least two or more power cores within the golem, it’s movement through the air appeared to defy gravity itself. The scales of the golem shimmered with a metallic color shading of jade, sapphire and gold.

  Jin-Woo’s dragon held the same level of expert craftsmanship and details as his Shibito once had. The artistic details were found on every scale and left the viewer believing they were each hand painted. A long flowing mane of silken strands representing the dragon’s hair was running down its spine. Its hair flapped in the wind as its four short and stubbing limbs slowly clawed at the air.

  JD’s voice then came over the broadcast. “You have to admit, Jin-Woo sets the standard for knowing how to design golems.”

  “It’s brilliant… simply brilliant.” Alfie added.

  “You have to love how Jin-Woo took the creative approach with his east Asia inspired dragon. A wonderful balance compared to Dimi’s…” Nick’s voice paused and his studder led to believe that he had caught sight of something off screen. His voice returned as the camera began to pan around to the opposite side of the arena. “Well would you look at this! Dimi appears to have shaken things up and is bringing a new dragon to today’s match!”

  The camera locked on to massive dragon that clawed its way forward. The wings were tucked close to the body and shielded the side rib cage. A bright shine reflected off what appeared to be gold plating which covered the majority of the dragons body. There was a slight downward tilt to the dragon’s head, as if it was locked onto its target and preparing to charge directly forward.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  There were six horns that protruded out from the dragon’s head. Two at the base of the skull which twisted up and back. Directly below was the next set that angled slightly to the side. The final two horns were angled downward, as if they served the purpose of protecting the dragons neck.

  It was at the front of the dragon’s nose and snout where the gold plating started. A long flowing trail that ran down the golems head and didn’t finish until it reached the tail. The base layer of the golem appeared to be rock, but was patterned and textured after reptilian scales in the color of charcoal. The black depth of the underside complimented the grand design. The entire display was finished off by a set of eyes which beamed a gradient of electrifying yellow and deep royal blue.

  “Well thank you for paying your taxes to the crown everybody, because that royal dragon clearly cost a pretty penny!” JD proclaimed to the broadcast.

  “There certainly is a regal appearance to Dimi’s golem JD. Alfie Do you think this design was also a subtle message shot across the bow?”

  “It’s always a fun topic to discuss. Do our gladiators give us subtle, unspoken messages conveyed only through their golems design? To me, I’d say so. You can’t stop but question why Dimi would arrive with a completely new design after being called out. I think, what we see here, is Dimi representing a lot more than just himself, but the Promina League and above. The collective message, if you’re going to call out a gladiator, be prepared to face the consequences.”

  The countdown timer ticked down and the starting horn blared with life. There was no delay to the action as Jin-Woo’s dragon roared with life. It’s mouth quickly opened up and displayed two swirling orbs of energy. They were rotating around opposite each other, their speed quickening by the second. The attack was finally released and a beam of fire and ice streaked across the arena. There was a tight spiral to the attack as the two different beams spun around while maintaining their trajectory.

  An electric spark immediately began to ripple across the royal dragon’s horns. The effect then surged with energy and giant bolts of what appeared to be lightning arched between the six horns. The energy produced a massive thunderclap, the top two horns acted as resonant pillars and a thick beam of energy launched forward. The energy only leapt a few feet forward in front of the royal dragon, but instantly created a translucent defensive wall.

  The fire and ice attack arrived only a split second after the royal dragon’s wall formed. It slammed against the wall and instantly created a giant vapor cloud. The ice and fire counter acted one another.

  “Well, isn’t that interesting JD and Alfie. It’s almost like Jin-Woo used Dimi and Lars dragon face off as inspiration behind that rune choice.” Nick stated.

  “It’s not very off we see something like that. My guess was that was a split beam rune, rather than two separate runes being activated at the same time.” JD replied.

  Alfie’s then followed. “What stands out to you in regards to that JD?”

  “Ha! Quiet a bit, the most concerning part though, is how much energy Jin-Woo is wasting, I mean, flat out wasting! Let’s remember, he’s got to be powering the flight of this massive dragon. Then he has to have an elemental rune for both the fire and ice. Then he has to have the energy beam, or even two energy beams, depending on the route he took. A lot of major rookie mistakes if you ask me!”

  The oriental dragon didn’t waste time in pressing the action though. As soon as the dual beams of energy were done, it’s body launched straight for the royal dragon. The elongated body of the dragon bobbed up and down as it soared through the sky. Dimi’s royal dragon, however, remained in place and awaited its opponent.

  A quick flash of golden energy rippled down the oriental dragon’s body. A circular incantation formed directly beneath the royal dragon. The camera zoomed in and caught the moment the gold dragon’s claws left the ground and the golem was now starting to float in the air.

  “Well look at this! Jin-Woo is saying, come on up and join the fun!” Nick exclaimed with excitement.

  “But JD, how is that even possible? Wouldn’t Dimi’s anti-gravity rune counter act this attack?” Alfie asked.

  “It depends on what Dimi’s build is, but if he has just a traditional anti-gravitational rune within the dragon for standard flight, then no! This attack is disrupting the natural gravitational field and basically flipping everything upside down.”

  The gold dragon was now more than ten feet off the ground, and it started to flap its wings. It worked to give the golem some control over the situation and it stabilized its body in the air. The royal dragon’s horn erupted with a new crackling wave of electrified energy. Each horn launched a blazing yellow disc of electricity through the air. The circular bolts rotated around like a disc hurdling through the air, their trajectories heading straight for the oriental dragon’s slender body.

  Jin-Woo, however, continued to twist and contort his golems body in midair. The long and slender physique of his golem proved to be a far more difficult target to hit than a more traditional golem league dragon. The spinning discs of electricity ripped straight past the golem. Each disc missing its opponent and left the announcers gasping.

  “Oh dear! Dimi’s golem is not looking to be in a good position here!” Alfie quickly commented.

  Jin-Woo’s golem arrived with a great speed and started to slither around it’s opponent. The oriental dragon began to wrap its body around the gold dragon and constrict its’ movement. The royal dragon’s wings were now being impeded. Its body was slowly being rotated around as Jin-Woo’s golem contracted inward.

  The gold dragon’s claws tried to rip and tear away at its opponent. But the compounding pressure being brought down on the dragon caused the effort to find no success. The result was only an ear shattering grind of metal upon metal.

  “Dimi better watch out! Jin-Woo looks to be going for a decapitating bite!” Nick cried out.

  A quick zoom on the drone camera and it caught the moment Jin-Woo’s dragons head came wrapping around from underneath. It wrapped around the front foot of the royal dragon and surged straight in towards the dragon’s neck. A flash of light reflected off the dragons’ teeth just before they plunged into the Royal dragon’s neck. The close up camera shot was able to catch the small particles of purple energy that were pouring out of the oriental dragon and being seeped into its opponent.

  “Dear god! That bite has an infused psionic attack within it! No wonder Jin-Woo wanted to charge straight in. There’s no telling what kind of damage that is doing to Dimi’s golem!” Alfie declared with excited anticipation.

  “Not so fast my young commentator!” JD cried out.

  The royal dragon’s skin surged with yellow energy. Flashes of blue and white sparked as the yellow light surged to the points where the royal dragon was being held. The close up view of the neck allowed the camera to show that the electrical energy was pulsating into the area and aimed directly towards the oriental dragons bite.

  But it wasn’t just the defensive electrical wave that caught everyone’s attention, it was the bottom horn protruding down from the gold dragon’s head. The horn began to radiate with pure white light and with a quick turn on the royal dragon’s head, it plunged into its opponent’s neck and body. The rippling snap and crackle could be heard as energy surged into Jin-Woo’s dragon.

  The camera panned down to show that the yellow disc of the anti-gravity rune was now flickering out. A few seconds later, it flashed out of existence as the oriental dragon’s body shuttered and looked like it was struggling to maintain power. It loosened its grip on the royal dragon and the two began to fall out of the sky.

  Dimi’s dragon finally broke its wings free and extended them outward, controlling the two golems descent. The gold dragons’ claws latched onto Jin-Woo’s dragon as they continued to plummet towards the arena’s floor. The oriental dragons body snapped back with life just before it was slammed into the soft green rolling hills.

  Jin- Woo tried to take a few vicious bites with his dragon’s mouth. The metal teeth plunged down into the royal dragon’s body, but still the attack had little to no effect. A quick adjustment of the dragon’s head and a blue swirling orb appeared within the golem’s mouth. Dimi’s dragon started to lift up its claw, as if to stomp out its opponent’s head before the attack could be launched.

  Jin-Woo, however, was able to launch his attack. The ice beam streaked up and slammed directly against the black underbelly of Dimi’s golem. In an instant, the entire right side now coated in the frozen artic white and soft blue color of ice. A quick shift and the oriental dragon were now wedging itself free from underneath the royal dragon’s grasp.

  There was a small delay in Dimi’s response, as he quickly worked to undo the freezing effect his golem sustained. The right side of the golem’s body was now paralyzed, but not for long. Dimi’s golem electrical surge of energy started to crack the exterior coating of ice. Its’ power core surged with life and the internal heat started to reverse the effect. Ice chunks began to fall by the second as the golem slowly began to regain mobility.

  Jin-Woo’s dragon was now gaining ground as it continued its retreat. It started to turn around and appeared to be powering itself up. Dimi, however, was not willing to give his opponent any more time. The second his dragon had full mobility, he launched his golem forward into a run.

  The massive wings of the royal dragon then flapped and quickly cut the distance. In a desperate attempt to evade, the oriental dragon sprang upwards. Its’ slender body waving back and forth as it tried to fly up to a safer elevation. But it was too late.

  With a powerful leap the royal dragon’s mouth chomped down on its opponent’s tail. The weight of the gold dragon was now too great for Jin-Woo’s power core to sustain. Dimi snapped his dragons head around and watched as his opponents golem went flopping back and slammed once again into the arena’s floor.

  Jin-Woo was already working to get his golem to respond and slither away. But the royal dragon’s claws were now dug into its opponent’s body and not letting go. The gold dragon’s head turned around and began to chomp down with electric energy blasting off its teeth. Each bite brought massive chunks of twisted metal and rock upwards as it pillaged its opponent’s body. By the time the victory horn rang out, the only thing left of Jin-Woo’s dragon was nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.