Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

That flesh golem immediately caught William's attention. Just from sensing the creature's aura, he could tell—its level was actually higher than his!

That didn't necessarily mean the creature was stronger. William had far superior attributes for his level thanks to his bloodlines and his bonuses as a summoned hero. Still, this was a formidable enemy.

And that wasn't even the worst part. The golem was surrounded by several other zombies, backing it up in combat.

When Rena and the other adventurer saw that group of creatures approaching—and felt the ground tremble with each of their steps—both of them grew anxious and afraid.

"I think we should run," the adventurer said, stepping back twice.

William immediately snapped at him. "Don't even think about it. If you try to run, the monster chasing you will be me. If we're gonna fight, we're all fighting together."

In that situation, the best thing to do was stick together and take down the enemies as a group. If even one of them tried to flee, it would severely weaken their overall strength.

Rena, who until that moment hadn't had to fight much, prepared for battle. She gripped her staff and began channeling a spell.

The adventurer, realizing he had no choice, drew his sword and stepped up beside William.

"We're really going to fight all of them?" the man asked. "That's a lot of zombies."

William smiled. "No. The number's gonna be a lot smaller soon. Don't worry."

The man looked at William, clearly confused about what he meant.

William didn't intend to just stand there and wait for the creatures to get close. He used his magic.

A massive ball of black fire formed over his right hand. He hurled it toward the group of zombies.

The fireball was enormous, and the heat radiating from it could be felt from far away. When it hit the ground, a massive explosion followed—destroying even parts of the city street beneath it.

But more importantly, several zombies were wiped out in that single blast. At least ten were instantly incinerated.

"Incredible," the adventurer said, staring at William in awe, eyes wide from witnessing that overwhelming power.

William wasn't done.

Before the remaining zombies could close the distance, he managed to channel another fire spell. Again, flames erupted, ripping through the enemy ranks—further reducing their numbers.

That made the fight much easier. The adventurer, now more confident, glanced at William with a mix of admiration and relief.

"Good thing I listened to him…" he thought.

"I'll take care of the golem," William said. "You two focus on the remaining zombies first, then help me with the golem if I need it."

"Understood."

William liked to lay out the plan before a fight. It made sure everyone was on the same page and avoided any nasty surprises mid-battle.

Rena and the other adventurer started casting their spells at the zombies. Thanks to the powerful fire magic William had used earlier, their numbers were already greatly reduced—those two wouldn't have much trouble finishing off the rest.

Now, that massive flesh golem walking toward them? Yeah, that one was a whole different story.

Its body stood tall—maybe over five meters—and its skin was red, or rather, it didn't even have skin. It looked like a being made entirely of raw muscle and flesh.

Its stomach was wide open, like a grotesque, gaping wound. In one hand, the creature held a huge bone—its makeshift weapon.

It was a bulky monster, clearly built for close combat. And the moment it noticed William moving in, it locked onto him as its target.

The golem swung the bone, the motion of its arm creating wind pressure strong enough to make William's hair whip around wildly. That was not an attack he wanted to take head-on.

With his impressive agility, William leapt to the left, narrowly dodging the strike.

But even the impact alone was enough to throw him off balance. The ground where the bone hit was shattered, and the surrounding area trembled from the force.

That moment of imbalance was all the golem needed. It launched another attack—this time a powerful kick straight at William.

The kick landed.

William was sent flying, crashing into the ground multiple times before he finally rolled to a stop. His body ached all over, and blood was trickling from his nose.

Just before the impact, he had managed to bring his sword up to soften the blow. It helped, but his left arm took the brunt of it—and the arm broke.

A regular mage would be screaming in pain by now—or at the very least, realizing that the fight was starting to get tough.

William, on the other hand, was calm. His high regeneration would bring his arm back to its 'normal' state soon enough. In other words, it wasn't something he was too worried about.

Still, he was a bit surprised by the strength of that creature. It wasn't every day that a monster could damage his body that easily.

Rena, who had seen everything while still fighting off the zombies, shouted, "Are you okay?!"

Even in the middle of her own battle, she managed to pay attention—and she clearly wanted to stop what she was doing to help him.

"I'm fine," he replied. "It wasn't that bad."

Getting back on his feet, William activated his body enhancement abilities, then dashed toward the golem again—without hesitation, without even looking like he'd just been hit.

He could use his demonic transformation—he still had enough energy to maintain it for a while—but he wanted to save it for when it was really needed.

Using the transformation in every battle wasn't a good strategy. It could make him too reliant on it, and besides, it didn't last forever. In fact, its duration was pretty short.

Either way, after boosting his agility, strength, and movement speed, William felt more than ready to face the golem.

With Asura in hand, he channeled his demonic energy into the blade, setting it ablaze—drastically increasing its power.

The showtime had begun.

William leapt toward the golem, using all the power in his legs to launch himself high into the air.

He shot forward like a bullet—so fast that the golem couldn't react in time.

As he got close to the creature's head, he swung his sword. The attack was boosted by fire, and Asura was a sharp blade to begin with, but even then—it wasn't enough to cut the head clean off!

The sword pierced into the golem's head, but that was it. It didn't deal any truly lethal damage.

To make things worse, the sword got stuck in the creature's skull, and William couldn't pull it out in time! He saw the massive bone the golem was wielding coming his way, and between grabbing his sword or dodging the attack—he chose to dodge.

It was the smartest move in that moment. William jumped back again, but now, he was without his sword.

"How's it going over there?" he called out.

A quick glance to the side told him Rena and the other adventurer were nearly done wiping out the remaining zombies. Which meant, if he really needed help—he'd have it.

But William didn't want help. This had already turned personal. He wanted to finish that creature off himself—and now, without a weapon.

He clenched his fists and charged at the golem. He was going to take it down with his bare hands.

As soon as he got close, he began punching the creature's leg. Each punch carried serious power—faster than swinging a sword, even.

The sound of his fists echoed through the city. The golem seemed unfazed on the outside, but William knew he was doing some damage.

"I have to hit the head, otherwise it's pointless," he thought.

This thing was still an undead-type creature. Which meant, just like before, to truly kill it, he'd have to destroy the head.

Hitting the legs wasn't dealing fatal damage—but at least William noticed something. The creature's movements had gotten much slower. Focusing all his blows on one leg had finally weakened it enough to affect its mobility.

That was his opening.

He channeled his demonic energy again—but this time, into his hands.

Flames wrapped around his fists, forming fiery gauntlets to assist in the fight.

He could feel the heat burning his skin—but it was pain he could handle.

Then he said, "Now you're dead, you piece of shit."

Once again, he jumped toward the golem's head. This time, with his right fist, he delivered a powerful punch.

The fire gauntlet on his hand massively boosted the impact—and even he was surprised at the power. The punch blew the golem's head apart, sending the creature crashing backward, lifeless.

[Level Up]

William knew the fight was over the moment he leveled up. He deactivated the fire gauntlet and looked down at his hands, burned and blistered. They hurt like hell, but he didn't complain.

Then, he picked Asura back up from the remains of the golem's shattered head—and went to help Rena and the adventurer finish off the last of the zombies.