Strongest Warlock - Wizard World Irregular

"Wizards and Witches only rely on magic in order to deal with the threats that they face on a daily basis.

"But since you are here, that means that I recognized you as my successor. Since you are a Dud, or at least supposed to be one, I don\'t expect you to have any magic powers. Even if you do, you will not be able to defeat the Guardians of the Maze using magic.

"What does that mean? It\'s really simple. You have to use guile, cunning, and physical prowess in order to succeed. If you can\'t… well, I guess I made a mistake, and you\'ll become a display in the maze for my future successors.

"I do hope my Will isn\'t just picking random people out of boredom. That would simply be too tragic, no?"

After saying those words, time returned to normal, making the Minotaur almost reappear in front of Ethan as if it used teleportation.

Ethan then blocked its attack with his Sea God\'s Trident, forcing him to take a step back.

His physical prowess had already been boosted due to the passive buff of the Sea God\'s Trident, and yet, the Minotaur was still stronger than him by a notch.

Although he was surprised, Ethan didn\'t panic and parried the monster\'s next attack.

His counterattack was strong, but the moment his weapon hit the Minotaur\'s body, sparks flew, making Ethan frown.

"This Minotaur sure is tough," Sebastian commented. "I\'m thinking that this isn\'t a real Minotaur but a construct made up of rare metals and imbued with magic. I have to admit, though. It looks like the real thing."

"Whoever made this must be an expert in Golem creation," Ethan\'s Other Half commented. "Only they can make lifelike Monsters that can act like the ones they are modeled after."

Ethan continued to parry, deflect, and dodge the Monster\'s attacks while listening to the two commentators in his Sea of Consciousness.

"What is the best way to fight against a Golem?" Ethan asked as he jumped back in order to dodge a slashing move by his opponent.

"Hit them until they break is what I\'d like to say, but I\'m sure there is a more effective method," Sebastian replied.

"It is as Sebastian said. However, one of the methods in defeating a Golem is by targeting their Core," Ethan\'s Other Half answered. "Since this is the source of their power, it must be located in their chest area.

"Of course, there are Golemancers who think outside of the box. They already knew that most people would target the chest of the Golem in order to break its Core, so it is possible that they placed it in a different location. But since it\'s hard to make guesses, aim for the chest first. If the Core is not there, we can target other places later."

Ethan stomped his foot forward and closed the gap between him, and the Golem, who currently had its Axe raised above its head.

"Rising Dragon Thrust!"

A torrent of water wrapped itself on the body of the Sea God\'s Trident, empowering Ethan\'s strike. He had put the entire weight of his body into this attack, with the intention of piercing through the Minotaur and destroying its core in the process.

His attack succeeded and hit the Minotaur\'s chest before its Axe could land on his body.

Because of this, the Minotaur was sent flying, even hitting the wall of the maze before collapsing on the ground.

He didn\'t use any Magic, and this was simply the Sea God\'s Trident default reaction whenever Ethan used his Martial Technique.

The Minotaur then slowly propped itself up, revealing a hole in its chest. Ethan\'s attack didn\'t manage to pierce through its body, proving how tough the Golem was.

However, what he saw was enough to inform him that the Core wasn\'t located on its chest.

"I knew it," Ethan\'s Other Half commented. "Golemancers treat their creation as a work of Art, so they wouldn\'t put its Core in the most obvious location."

Before Ethan could even blink, the Monster once again charged in his direction. But, this time, it was different.

The Minotaur was now faster, and Ethan assumed that it had become stronger as well. Because of this, he didn\'t dare to block its attack directly because it might break his arm, or hand if he wasn\'t careful.

Left with no choice, Ethan focused on deflecting and dodging the attacks.

Even deflecting the attacks numbed his arm with every clash, which was a sign that his enemy had indeed become stronger.

While evading his enemy\'s attack, Ethan was paying close attention to the Minotaur\'s body, trying to find a clue on where the Core might be.

"This is annoying!" Sebastian commented. "Go, Ethan! Just break his eggs! Even if the Core isn\'t located there, maybe it will hurt it."

Ethan didn\'t know if he should laugh or cry due to Sebastian\'s suggestion. However, since he was also getting pissed, he decided to vent out his frustration.

After dodging the Minotaur\'s attack successfully, Ethan once again thrust his trident forward.

"Rising Dragon Thrust!"

Ethan\'s attack connected and blew the Minotaur back, until its body crashed and rolled on the ground.

"Ouch! That got to hurt!" Sebastian said. "Well, at least you managed to break its balls. Let\'s see if it can stand up from that!"

Ethan smiled wryly as he took another fighting stance to repel the Minotaur the moment it charged again in his direction.

However, the fallen Minotaur remained on the ground, making Ethan raise an eyebrow.

After a full minute had passed, and his enemy was still not moving, he decided to approach it cautiously.

When he was only two meters away, he used the tip of his trident to poke the fallen monster to see if it was just playing dead.

Seeing that it truly wasn\'t reacting, Ethan pulled his arm back and unleashed another attack, this time, aiming at the Minotaur\'s head.

The attack connected, and the Minotaur\'s head shattered due to the impact.

The rest of its body also broke apart, revealing a small purple core located in the area of its lower abdomen.

"… So, the Core is in the Monster\'s balls. Who would have thought?" Sebastian didn\'t know if he should praise himself or not because his proposal ended the battle in Ethan\'s favor.

But before Ethan could even say anything, Fortis Dud\'s voice once again reached his ears, congratulating him for eliminating one of the Guardians inside the underground maze.

(E/N: They\'re the real balls of steel, so maybe it wouldn\'t hurt.)