43. Minor Miscalculations

Jake crafts the Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter to disrupt and drain the Census Golem’s mana, discovering the skill integrates his arcane affinity. He implements a time-on-target tactic: staggered explosive arrows above and below, then a fully charged Arcane Powershot that floods the air with arcane wisps, pushing the entire swarm of falling arrows to arrive far earlier than expected.

As the Pillar embeds shallowly in the ground, tethering the golem, Jake dives, weaving a rotating drill of arcane strings as his finisher. The bombardment detonates in a city-leveling cascade, stripping the golem’s defenses and saturating it with arcane charge. Exploiting the assessment arena’s “vacuum” of affinities, Jake’s strings and speed perform unusually well.

At the brink of victory, the golem swings the Pillar, shattering Jake’s drill and obliterating Jake’s left forearm. Jake crashes at extreme speed, crushing his wing, shoulder, and ribs. He immediately counterattacks, slamming the golem and briefly seizing the Pillar, but realizes the staff isn’t bound as a weapon and the golem can wield it after purging his mana.

Both combatants are battered: the golem’s right arm is ruined, its leg damaged, and its mana barrier gone; Jake runs low on stamina, with mana at a quarter. Jake presses with the Pillar but is forced to release it when the golem electrifies the staff. Outpaced while retreating toward his blades, Jake turns, throws Arnold’s metal spheres, yanks the pins with strings, and teleports away as they detonate, slowing the pursuit.

The diversion buys enough time to reclaim his Nanoblade and scimitar. Stowing the Nanoblade, Jake readies the scimitar in his remaining hand as the reeling, arcane-scarred golem charges—setting the stage for round three.