It took several seconds for the last remaining shards of stone to stop falling from the effects of Lee’s new devastating spell. While he was glad the spell was capable of destroying the statues, he was now, once again, afraid of his own power.

That spell was absurd.

He had witnessed Neia fighting to the death back in Neldam during the monster siege, and he saw the raw power of the magic she had under her control. She had combined spells with skills to achieve her power—Seamlessly weaving them with one another to great effect. He didn’t do that here.

While his new spell, Spear of Eternity, wasn’t at the level of Neia’s finishing move, it wasn’t too far off. Lee brought up his level perks and really focused on the spell perks.

The fifty-percent increase in spell power, along with his thirty-five points of intelligence, was really showing its effects. It helped that he pumped triple the amount of required mana into the spell as well. He would need to remember to use the variable of his spells more often if these were the results.

Lee didn’t have enough mana to blow through the rest of the statues right now, as he regenerated one hundred and twenty mana an hour. So, he spoke to the group without taking his eyes off the statues. “Would anybody else like to give it a go? I’ll need to recharge mana to do that again. If nobody cant destroy them before my mana regenerates, then we’ll line them up in a straight line and see if I can get them all in one fell swoop.”

He never took his eyes off the statues, afraid they would move when he looked away, but he wasn’t getting any replies. He took the risk and looked over his shoulder, spotting everyone but Em gawking at either him or the destruction.

Lee spoke louder, jolting everyone out of their shock. “Well?”

With both hands on her two daggers, Meriah took uncertain steps forward. When she reached the closest statue, she inspected it from head to toe. Now confident that they didn’t pose an immediate threat, she drew her daggers and unleashed a flurry of strikes. Sadly, they all clanked and bounced off the smooth stone. She walked and slashed at every single statue that remained. All of the attacks were seemingly ineffective.

It didn’t look like she used any skills to boost her power, but Lee obviously wasn’t an expert in melee combat. He couldn’t be sure.

Meriah backstepped away once she was finished. When she was with the group again, she had a faint, eerie smile tugging at her lips. “I did my best.”

Lee nodded as Kendri clasped his spear and angled it forward. He took off at a sprint, and once he had closed the distance, he launched a powerful, well-practiced thrust directly into the check of the closest statue. His attacks were also ineffective. He let loose an annoyed ‘Tsk’ and decided he didn’t have what it takes, backstepping to the group.

Jeremy just shook his head, not confident in his ability to damage a statue. Kooco thought about it for a moment but stayed put.

Lee was gently shoved out of the way as Em scuttled forward, ready for round two. Her face bore a vicious grin and a malicious hint of glee as she flung her arms outward. Extremely thin and nearly invisible metallic wires shot out from her gauntlet-like wrists and entrapped the closest statue.

Once in place, she wrapped the ends around her forearms and turned around to face the group. “Behold!”

She sprinted toward them, moving faster than anybody Lee had ever seen or heard of, then grunted as she yanked the thin metallic wires forward over her shoulder.

At first, Lee thought she had failed, but when Em strode back over and kicked out with her fangs to beat the statue in the chest, it toppled over in multiple, clean-cut pieces. She looked toward the group and flashed a smile. “I’ll take care of the rest. No experience gained, so I don’t think they’re alive. Maybe rogue constructs?”

Belgrade chimed in as he lowered his hands and let loose a shaky breath. “They aren’t like any constructs I’ve ever heard of. Dwarven constructs are made out of metal, not stone. Also, who would be making constructs out in the middle of nowhere?”

Lee looked at Belgrate with a raised eyebrow, catching his gaze. Belgrade looked slightly embarrassed. “What? Constructs are cool. Every boy likes constructs.”

Lee did his best to raise his eyebrow just a tad higher, failing and making himself look weird. “I don’t know what a construct is. Is it like a golem? A robot?”

Jeremy was midway through taking out his notebook when Lee waved a hand to stop him. “Don’t take notes about me now. This is a serious situation. Stay focused.”

Slightly taken aback, Jeremy tucked his notebook back into his front pocket and focused on the statues.

Seeming to catch the seriousness of the conversation, Belgrade spoke more formally. “Constructs are magically enchanted or engineered creations that can do a multitude of tasks. Fighting, bodyguarding, cleaning, you name it. They’re extremely expensive and mostly seen in blood sports or at a noble’s estate.”

Lee looked at Jeremy. Since he was a nobleman, Lee thought he might have some insight. “These are not constructs. At least, none that I’ve ever seen. My family does not employ them, but I’ve seen my fair share. Who would make a construct of a goblin?”

Belgrate nodded, seemingly concurring that Jeremy had a good point. Lee took them at their word. They knew more about it than he did.

Em finished dismantling the statues over the next few minutes. Once she finished, she experimentally crushed one underfoot, shattering it. “They are weakened once broken. How percuilior.”

She gleefully stomped on each and every piece of stone, crushing them under food and reducing them to tiny pebbles.

Lee left her to it. If the statues somehow had some way to reform, that would hinder them. He spoke to the group at large as he scanned the treeline. “We’re going to need to set watches during the night. I don’t want to imagine what it would have been like if they caught us in our sleep. Also, we’re nearing another village soon. Do you think they’re having issues? This didn’t seem natural.”

Kooco chipped in response. “Not natural. Very un-natural. Not a part of nature.” She shivered her feathers as she gazed upon the rocky road.

Lee did the same and wondered why so many stones or broken statue pieces littered the road. They wouldn’t find their answers here. They would need more information.

“Kendri, you used to be an adventurer. Remember hearing anything about these things? Do you think the… adventures guild would know more? Those are a thing in this kingdom, right?”

Lee was hoping he was correct. Neia and Ruven had once mentioned being monster hunters and part of the hunters guild. They were adamant that they were not adventurers. In hindsight, he realized that they might have wished to be adventurers, but being trapped in the Shadowgrove made that goal unfeasible. He felt a small pang in his heart, putting the pieces together.

“I’ve not heard of these statues before, but if anybody would know it would be the adventures guild. I wasn’t an adventurer for long. My time was cut short.” Kendri finished by taking a swig from a bottle.

Lee didn’t think this was the time to get into his trauma. He had an assumption on why his adventuring days were cut short, and this wasn’t the time to bring it up. He did notice that Kendri always had a bottle, though. Either an ability or skill to have limitless alcohol. They hadn’t stopped these past few days, and he always had some on hand. He also never saw him ask Meriah for her Bag of Holding. So, he didn’t have a stock in there.

Seeing as the statues were smashed and that his wisdom had finally stopped screaming at him, Lee wanted to get on the move and out of the rain.

Everyone got back into the wagon, and Kooco actually sat up front to keep an eye on the road, even if she had to sit in the rain to do so. He decided to thank her with a gift later; she was doing a lot of work during their travels, and he felt a little bad about her being their only driver.

Once they were on the move, everyone had quieted down. Each one thought about the statues they had encountered.

Meriah stared out the back flap of the wagon, hands on her dagger hilts as she thought about the monsters she had encountered.

Kendri thought about his adventuring days. How they were cut short and about how walking into the guild again would feel.

Belgrate was thinking about constructs and how that could be a path toward magic if his current endeavors failed.

And Jeremy was thinking about the power Lee displayed. The frightening boom of sound and obliteration of foes. He imagined himself in the line of fire. He wouldn’t make another mistake. Not again.

Lee was worried about the village ahead of them. The sickening feeling that something was wrong permeated through his being. The statues weren’t just of goblins. What if some of the humans were victims? Hopefully, he was worrying about nothing. He would find the answer soon. Once they reached the village itself.