New Semester (7): The Golem Gatekeeper
The exploration went smoother than expected. The combat students led the way, with the magic and support students following close behind. At first the others eyed the dazzling lights ahead with clear longing, even though they knew better than to touch anything. That feeling didn't last long.
After all, treasure only sparks greed when it's rare. When gold crunches under every footstep and gems glitter with the next, the wonder quickly fades into numbness. Even after walking for nearly an hour without any real change in the scenery, the students slowly began to relax and talk.
“This isn’t much compared to what I imagined.”
“Don’t drop your guard. In our experience, this is exactly when things go wrong.”
“Come on, he’s not wrong. Staying that tense the whole time will just wear you out faster.”
“More importantly, do we really have to walk the whole way? Can’t we just fly up and scout from above?”
“That spell is a massive pain to cast, you know?”
While Ligret held position at the very front of the formation, Pino, toward the rear, turned to me with the same question.
“You really okay just leaving her up there like that?”
“It might look like she’s slacking, but she’s still watching our surroundings. Besides, even if I yelled at her to take it seriously, she wouldn’t listen anyway.”
I knew my limits. I could steer the mood to spark an explosion or kill it with absurdity, but enforcing rules and controlling people wasn’t my strong suit. If anyone started causing real trouble or doing something dangerous, I’d sic Ligret on them, but we weren’t at that point yet.
“How’s the hourglass?”
“Still plenty of sand left.”
“The return markers are all clear, right? If we get lost out here for no reason—”
Step.
The footstep rang out far clearer than the ones before it. Ligret froze mid-stride. That was all it took. The students who had looked relaxed only seconds earlier snapped to attention, eyes sharp. The combat students who shared classes with her reacted the most dramatically. Without a single word, every one of them drew their weapons in perfect unison, shifting into combat stances.
The others, a beat slower to catch on, scanned the area warily.
“What is it? Something there?”
“Quiet. Listen.”
Some heightened their senses with reinforcement arts, others with spells. Soon they all noticed it. Hidden behind the natural cover in this terrain of nothing but stone, gold, and gems, figures were concealing their presence. We couldn’t make out exact shapes or numbers, but the flickering shadows told us one thing clearly: something was moving.
“Are we surrounded?”
“I thought I saw arms and legs. Maybe natives of this place?”
“Can people even live in a Star Land?”
“They might not be people at all.”
In the middle of that bizarre standoff, the students moved first. It made sense. The other side was only watching from a distance and hadn’t shown any sign of approaching or taking hostile action.
I offered a suggestion. “We can’t just stand here staring forever, and they’re still too far away to chase down. Why don’t we keep walking like before? They’ll have to react eventually.”
A few students still looked skeptical, but no one had a better idea, so they followed my lead. What came next was much like before, except the chatter had died away, everyone kept their weapons out, and our pace had slowed to a careful crawl.
The farther we advanced, the closer the watchers drew. Once the distance closed, their forms became unmistakable. Bodies of metal or stone. One pair of arms and legs each, just like humans. Where a face should have been, a large gem was embedded instead.
“...Golems?”
“Looks like a few dozen at least. Their build is almost human-sized, so they’re smaller than normal golems.”
“Their numbers keep growing. Shouldn’t we strike first?”
“Hmm.”
The students fell into an uneasy debate. Learning the identity of our mysterious followers was a definite gain, but deciding what to do next was far trickier. Istal’s order had been to investigate the interior of the Shadow Mine. She hadn’t told us to defeat anything or engage in combat. Without knowing the enemy’s full strength, blindly charging in felt reckless.
If they had shown open hostility, the choice would have been simple. But the golems maintained a fixed distance, simply watching us without any sign of attack. We continued forward in that strange, ambiguous procession until something finally appeared that shattered the uneasy balance.
A massive structure of towering pillars and stone walls, reminiscent of a temple. And standing before its main gate like a sentinel was another golem, far more ornate than the rest.
“If we dragged just that one outside, we’d never have to worry about money again,” Pino muttered.
She wasn’t exaggerating. Compared to the others, the gatekeeper golem was exceptionally lavish. It was crafted entirely from gold and gems, its form resembling intricately detailed armor. Whether solid gold made for practical armor was debatable, but as a work of art its value was beyond question.
Yet its most special trait wasn’t the appearance alone.
I warn you. Entry is prohibited except to authorized personnel.
“What’s it saying?”
“Magic department, translate it.”
“Are you kidding? What are we, walking dictionaries? You think we can translate anything on command?”
“Earlier you told us to read books because we didn’t know about Star Lands, but now you’re hiding in the back?”
“That was completely different!”
The golem’s words sparked an immediate uproar among the students. It clearly seemed to be trying to communicate, but none of us could understand a single syllable.
If you wish to enter, please proceed with the person in charge or pay the fee to obtain a temporary pass.
Arguments flew in every direction. Some wanted to smash it since we couldn’t understand it. Others insisted attacking while it was trying to communicate would make us barbarians. A few pointed out that real conversation required mutual understanding. Still others argued that reaching this point was achievement enough and we should head back.
While the debate raged, I rummaged through my pack and pulled out a few items: an opal the size of two finger joints, a gold necklace, some ancient silver coins, and several magic stones.
“Everyone, step aside for a second? I want to try something.”
The students made way with puzzled looks. I held the items out toward the gatekeeper golem. It studied them briefly, then reached out and accepted only the magic stone. The massive doors swung open.
Pino stared in disbelief. “No way. After everything, we’re bribing a golem now?”
The other students were genuinely impressed.
Did it actually understand what he said? How did it know exactly what to take?
Maybe he researched this place beforehand.
It’s sickening to watch him cozy up to Her Highness, but I have to admit his competence.
His background is a little questionable… but he’ll be an imperial baron soon enough, won’t he?
While everyone watched me with varying degrees of wariness and respect, I spoke up.
“Wow. It actually worked.”
“......”
“Guess it’s the universal rule of gatekeepers. Works on golems too.”
“......”
“What are you all standing around for? Let’s go in. We still have time on the hourglass.”
The students twisted their faces for various reasons, then shook their heads and started toward the building. Or tried to.
Clank!
The gatekeeper golem stepped forward and blocked the entrance, making it clear that no one except me would be allowed through.
“This greedy bastard.”
I dug through my bag again and offered more magic stones. The golem finally opened the way, but the number of people allowed seemed proportional to the payment. In the end, only five of us including myself could pass.
“I don’t have anything else to give. Did anyone else bring something useful?”
The students answered.
“Who even carries magic stones around normally? If it were gold or gems, sure, but…”
“This thing is weird too. It ignores all the gold and gems lying everywhere but takes magic stones?”
“Why don’t we just smash it and go through?”
“If we were going to do that, we should’ve fought from the start. It feels like we’re figuring something out. Let’s watch a little longer.”
After discussion, we reached a decision. The members who could pass would continue inside while using communication magic tools to relay the situation in real time. The exploration team, made up of me, Ligret, Pino, and one student each from the combat and support departments, stepped forward into the depths of the temple.