Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Dragonia Underground (4)
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"I'm not sure if it'll be easy to pull off, but it's a pretty fresh approach. I'll keep it in mind. Do you know what the person sponsoring this plan wants out of it?"
"No idea?"
"They want to clear out all the obstacles down here and make the facility usable."
"Even so, shouldn't that be a later step? Why poke the hornet's nest while exploring..."
Kwak Hyun-tae insisted on a safe method, regardless of efficiency. It made sense—he was planning to join the exploration team himself.
"You do seem a bit too cautious. You're not wrong, but... there are other guys on site besides me. And they're not pushovers."
"Haha, I don't have the pull to convince those folks. That's on you, Team Leader."
"Thanks. You've only been here a short time, and you've already got a thick skin. Get out."
"Yes, sir!"
'Distraction, distraction...'
Left alone, Suhyun drummed his fingers on the desk, lost in thought. Kwak Hyun-tae's idea of slipping through without fighting had merit. Forcing their way through an unknown ruin was risky.
Figure out the pass condition, or find a way to fool the golem. If the former were possible, someone else would've done it by now.
'Race? No, then it'd let other dwarves through. Probably reacts to specific words. No way to guess that—it's like finding a needle in a haystack. Block the golem somehow...'
Suhyun prepared various options. He planned to try everything. The artifact he'd gotten from Choi Ji-eun was one of them.
'Thanks, Joo Won-jun.'
Joo Won-jun was proving useful even in death. Unlike bulky artificial artifacts, this was a genuine one, miniaturized with Seo Ye-na's help.
But Suhyun didn't anticipate that all these efforts would prove pointless in the underground he'd soon enter.
* * *
"Yo! Good to see you, friend!"
"You seem like a different person when you're in a good mood."
"What're you talking about? I'm always like this!"
Jack was all cheer, as if the earlier chaos had been a lie. Behind him, Eclipse's team members sat quietly resting. Each a top-tier superhuman, they exuded an intimidating aura.
They eyed Suhyun cautiously—curious, but not rudely so. Noticing, Jack cleared his throat and muttered.
"Forgot to mention..."
"?"
"Keep what happened to me a secret. If it gets out, I'll lose face."
"Sure, no problem."
"See? Friends are the best!"
"Don't touch me. So, where's the entrance?"
"Over there. We go down from there."
"Feels like the army showed up. What's the point of gathering this many?"
Suhyun wasn't exaggerating. The group was sizable. Even with some distance from the Dragonia Basin, moving such a large force was unnerving.
"Don't worry. We've scouted—it’s clear. No dragons this far."
"Don't judge monsters by human standards."
"Ouch, burned. But it'll be fine. If one comes, we bolt underground."
"To a place crawling with golems that hate us? Real creative."
The chairman's words were starting to make sense. Most of Eclipse were fearless lunatics.
Supers tended to be innately gifted rather than trained, and those with innate power often had warped values. Their fearlessness tracked.
Suhyun scanned the construction equipment for the underground passage, the robots around it, and the mercenaries standing uneasy watch. Disguised or not, they were scared too.
'Fair enough—if a dragon shows, disguises won't save anyone...'
"Shall we head down?"
"Let's."
No need for team intros or battle plans. Jack and Suhyun knew each other well enough.
'The other Uncle Jo guys are a step below us—no need for their help. Just talk to Kim Suhyun.'
'No need for chit-chat on this job anyway.'
* * *
As the makeshift elevator descended deep underground, Suhyun outlined the rough plan. Jack looked baffled.
"Avoid fighting?"
"Yeah."
"What about the follow-up teams?"
"Worry about that later. I scout the ruin, check what's inside, grab any relics, and bail."
"Y-you... gutless coward!"
"Take it up with the chairman."
"How do you plan to dodge them?"
"I've got a few ideas. We'll try them one by one."
Jack frowned but nodded. With his own failures, he had to rely on Suhyun.
The passage wasn't dark—they'd installed lights before the golems appeared. Spotting one ahead, Suhyun halted.
"Alright. Let's start."
"What's first?"
"See how it reacts to me directly."
"Careful. You won't get hit, but it's faster than it looks."
"I know."
Suhyun stepped forward, time acceleration at the ready. Eclipse's supers weren't blind—they'd clock the ability if he used it.
'They won't spot time accel, but they'll peg it as a national-treasure haste artifact. Can't be helped.'
No holding back against unknowns. Suhyun approached the golem steadily, ready to bolt if it lunged.
"?"
"???"
"What the...?"
Suhyun stood before the golem. It didn't twitch. Normally, it'd react at this range.
"Watch out! Could be a trap!"
At Jack's shout, Uncle Jo members murmured.
"Think the team leader doesn't know that?"
"But... this is weird."
Suhyun kept walking. The golem stayed still. Soon, he'd passed it.
"????????"
"Broken?"
Someone actually said it. Suhyun turned to the group.
"What?! How?!"
Jack's panic matched Suhyun's confusion. He'd prepped every trick from experience, yet the golem ignored him.
"Isn't this good? Don't know how, but... I'll try going through."
"Philip, wait—"
Thud! Thud thud!
The golem went berserk as Philip approached, fists flying. Philip retreated cursing.
"Damn it!"
Confirmed: not broken. It just ignored Suhyun.
"Why only Kim Suhyun?"
"No clue."
Jack answered his subordinate in confusion, eyeing Suhyun deep in thought ahead.
"How'd he do it?"
"Beats me. Never saw this coming."
Ignoring others but not Suhyun meant one thing: he met the pass condition.
'Mage? Because he's a mage?'
While Jack pondered, Suhyun considered broader possibilities.
'What sets me apart: mage, magic book, time manipulation... Damn, too many to pinpoint.'
No idea why. Suhyun decided.
"I'll go solo for now."
"What?"
"No point theorizing here. Better to map solo than destroy golems."
"Uh..."
Jack hesitated, torn between worry and temptation to join.
Suhyun didn't wait. Grabbing a recorder and rations, he vanished into the dark.
"H-hey! Friend! At least answer!"
No reply. The subordinates' stares stung.
"Didn't you say you were super tight?"
"Thought he hung on your every word, boss?"
"H-he's just stubborn like that. When he gets back, I'll give him an earful!"
Howard, who'd trailed Jack, got the vibe. He shook his head pityingly—Jack was his hero.
* * *
Golems lined every passage.
"What the hell are these made of?"
Bored, Suhyun inspected one's body up close. His eyes widened.
"Whole Altaranium bodies...?"
Extravagant didn't cover it. His half-joking guess was spot-on. How they'd sourced that much? Mystery.
'Then all these golems are...'
Suhyun's mind raced with calculations. Altaranium wasn't just special metal—with Joo Won-jun's power, it could arm an army.
'Cut a deal with the chairman... Fine, he wants relics. Split the Eclipse share.'
This expedition was basically his win. Reason unknown, but credit was his.
"Passage here, connects to... housing? Residential area?"
Recording wasn't hard, but Suhyun checked first. Alien ruins held surprises—good stuff he'd pocket.
'Nothing special, mostly furniture.'
No signs of life; long abandoned. Nice village. Save for the underground depth.
'Hid from dragons here. Golems for dragon defense? Could they take one?'
Impressive power. Solid Altaranium? They'd crush most forces. But a dragon? Doubtful.
-Residential area clear. Heading central.
After logging, Suhyun moved on.
"Ah..."
The village center bathed in light. Plaza-like.
Not artificial—natural sunlight poured through a ceiling hole.
In the light's center: a scroll. Suhyun's heart raced.
Instinct screamed: time-related. No logic, but using it would accelerate time forward.
Suhyun killed the recorder. Approached. Placed a potion vial on it. Activated with artifact sense.
Light flashed; scroll decayed fast. Potion aged rapidly. Snapping to, Suhyun wondered.
'Wait—this the chairman's immortality thing?'
Not reversal—acceleration. Far from eternal life. Suhyun cleared the remnants quick. No witnesses.
Post-job, surroundings registered. Odd shelter village: vast vertical shaft for light, one-use time artifact below. Dwarves' logic escaped him.
"Hm?"
Scroll pedestal bore inscriptions. Suhyun recorded them. Meaning later.
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