Kaedros didn't defeat the golem quickly.
It took several grueling minutes before he finally drove his sword through its chest with a furious roar.
Chef had enhanced this one after Taria's match. It was stronger. Smarter.
The golem matched Kaedros in strength and speed but what tipped the scales in his favor was his adaptability. He bent, twisted, moved with a fluidity the golem couldn't replicate. In the end, that saved him.
"Well," Thalso murmured as Kaedros' blade pierced the construct's heart.
The word was small, but to Chef, it spoke volumes.
She hissed softly and took a slow swig from her bottle. "Are you sure we should continue their training? Their strength... it's more than we projected. The shadow blades were supposed to break them, not sharpen them this much."
"It didn't," Thalso said, voice unshaken. "There's no record of anyone surviving shadow blade trials for more than three days."
