Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Second Reward
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While Balrak and his sworn brothers kept watch on the hidden chamber of the Iron Labyrinth, the battle there had just begun.
Soon after, the Centaur Golem slammed its massive iron hoof into the ground, sending fragments exploding outward as it charged. Its enormous body closed in on the knight captains in the blink of an eye.
"Scatter!!"
"You'll die if it even grazes you!"
"Move!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The knight captains dodged three lance charges in an instant, while the adventurers twisted their bodies to evade the attacks and braced for the next one.
The Golem soon hoisted its glaive over its shoulder, barreling forward like a chariot plowing across the earth. The blade whipped up winds alone strong enough to churn stone dust and debris into a storm.
But those facing it were battle-hardened veterans who had crossed the line between life and death dozens, hundreds of times.
They began moving with the freedom of birds soaring through a gale.
It was then that Lionel noticed something odd.
"That thing's targeting just one person!"
"Is that true, Lionel?!"
"Look at where that Golem's focusing its gaze!"
Just as Lionel said, the Centaur Golem locked its eyes on a single target during each attack and hounded them relentlessly.
The knight captains quickly grasped the Golem's behavior. Those who drew its aggro focused solely on evasion, while the rest piled damage onto the armored behemoth.
But the Golem never paused for a moment, rampaging everywhere while deploying a powerful barrier, making it nearly impossible to inflict any real damage.
"Son of a bitch is going berserk!!"
"We need to stop that thing first!"
"Stop it? With the ground shaking every time it moves?! Why don't you just tell us to off ourselves!"
At this rate, chasing after the Centaur Golem would just drain their stamina instead.
The knight captains faced a dire dilemma.
And since they lacked the ability to create variables like the mages—being pure melee fighters—they had no choice but to stick to orthodox methods endlessly.
In the meantime, the adventurers hid behind what seemed the safest spot: a central pillar, watching the knight captains' grueling battle.
"Eric, what can we weaklings even do?"
"We're useless. All we can do is pray the captains take down that monster."
"But maybe we can do something..."
Leaving the deeply pessimistic Eric behind, Serkan began scanning the pillar's surroundings, searching for anything he could contribute.
That's when he looked at the spot with the inscription and finally spotted something.
"H-Hey... Eric!!"
"Serkan? What's up?"
"The inscription here changed!"
"What?!"
Eric rushed to the spot where they'd touched the orb earlier, and sure enough, the text had changed just as Serkan said.
"This is... a riddle!"
"Why did the inscription suddenly change? And it's telling us to touch the orb and say the answer, just like when we first entered?"
"Serkan, this is a yes-or-no riddle. Let's try solving it—maybe something good will happen."
"Y-Yeah! Okay, 'Some hide, some deceive, but in time, all must meet this being...'"
"Then it's death!"
Tap!
"Death!"
The moment Eric solved the riddle on the pillar, the rampaging Centaur Golem suddenly slumped to the ground, spewing white smoke.
Hiss!!!
"Eric, no way?!"
"Yeah! We've got something to do now!"
"Y-Youngsters, did you do something to that pillar?!"
"Lionel, quit spacing out!! Attack now!"
And so, with the adventurers solving the pillar's riddle, the Centaur Golem staggered into grogginess. The key to clearing this room!!
Before the frontline got wiped by the massive Centaur Golem's frenzy, the backline had to keep solving riddles from the less-aggro pillar to halt its movements.
And solving a riddle automatically drew the Golem's aggro to the solver.
Boom! Boom! Kwang!!
"Damn it!!"
"Eric!!!"
"Serkan! Get away from me first!"
Eric shoved his friend aside hard, but seeing the massive iron hunk charging straight at him brought his life flashing before his eyes.
But they weren't alone—these guys were rock-solid veterans!
Thud!!!
"Youngster! You alright!!"
"Captain Roland?!"
Just before the Centaur Golem's lance charge reached Eric, Roland leaped in from the side, scooped him up, and started kiting.
Slash!!
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
"This is total bullshit!!!"
"Uwaaaah!"
"Roland, you good?!"
"Does this look good to you!!"
Roland and Eric barely escaped the Centaur Golem's aggro, now dozens of times more ferocious than before.
Now that they'd figured out the gimmick, they launched a full assault on the hidden master of the Iron Labyrinth.
｢It moves but never walks, swallows but—｣
Tap!
"A river!"
｢Vast but never grows, rooted yet unseen—｣
Tap!
"A mountain!"
After that, whenever Serkan or Eric solved a riddle, a waiting knight captain would scoop up the solver and kite while the rest caught their breath or piled sustained damage on the Centaur Golem.
Finally, the Golem's powerful barrier shattered, exposing its sleek underbelly.
Clang!!
"Got it!"
"Now we can really hit it?"
"Yeah, time to make it pay..."
Ziiing!
Whoosh!!!
"""Huh?"""
But would Balrak, the creator of this place, prepare only a single phase?
He was a man who craved far more than lukewarm fare.
And moreover!!
｢A, B, C are knights and thugs from the Isle of Knights and Thieves. As I, a traveler to the island, pass by them, I ask A—｣
"Wh-What the hell?!"
"They expect us to solve this?!"
It shifted straight to phase two, and the pillar's riddle difficulty spiked!
As the Centaur Golem's wildly entertaining phase two kicked off, everyone there spoke in perfect unison.
"""What the fu..."""
They could only offer their highest praise.
****************
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!"
""Whoa, whoa... ""
Who knew they'd enjoy my masterpiece this much!
Ahh... this is dungeon making.
Pure satisfaction.
Is this the true joy of crafting dungeon gimmicks?
I hope they try all the other hidden spots I've made later.
Using a dungeon seal scroll to reset the discovered hidens wouldn't be bad either.
Or maybe remake the secret space in the first room?
But dungeon seal scrolls are out of stock and ridiculously expensive now.
Still, I'm Balrak the warrior—a man who knows how to repay what's given!
I'll haggle with the dungeon merchants somehow. Not quite on the level of the first discoverers, but.
For the second group to uncover the secret in that room, I should tuck in dragon-tier gear.
Anyway, back to watching those challenging the Iron Labyrinth's hidden.
But why are they clearing it so well?
That player solving the pillar riddles...
A true master with deep insight.
I dismissed him for low combat power, but he's an intel build?
A guy whose true calling is mage, maining rogue...
No, that concept play is fun in itself.
Thanks to him, they're nearing the clear condition, so I acknowledge you.
But!!
Without an AI sidekick, they won't solve my final puzzle!
Soon, fumbling through phase two's gimmick somehow, they shattered the Centaur Golem's second barrier, triggering its death throes.
[ Kiiiiieeeek!!! ]
'''''Whoa.......'''''
Hahaha! Seeing the Golem glow red-hot and go berserk, they've all gone speechless!
No protective shield this time!
Instead, crush it head-on through frenzy surpassing all before.
Or solve the final pillar riddle!
And that riddle's theme!!
The Three Gods.
｢You fall into a strange place and meet three peculiar gods.｣
｢They are named 'True', 'False', and 'Random', but you don't know who is who.｣
｢True always tells the truth, False always lies, Random answers randomly.｣
｢The gods understand our language, but you, being so lowly, hear only 'A' or 'E', and don't know which means 'yes' or 'no'.｣
｢You can withstand hearing the gods speak only three times. The fourth kills you.｣
｢To return to your world, identify them.｣
｢State the method and explain why. Touch the orb and shout when ready.｣
｢Wrong answers have no penalty; correct ones grant fitting rewards.｣
'......?'
'E-Eric?!'
'What kinda bullshit is this?'
Yeah, no way they solve it~
Even in my past life, this was the infamous 'hardest logic puzzle'. Explaining the solution is insanely complex even if you know it.
So, your first try.
Sadly, it ends here.
Next time, bring mages with mezzes and ranged attacks for the final frenzy.
But huh?
Those melee scrubs without variable creation seem to have a plan.
********************
Eric and Serkan desperately tried to crack the pillar riddle, but every answer they gave was wrong.
Meanwhile, the knight captains—lacking any ranged attacks—couldn't dare approach the madly rampaging Centaur Golem.
As despair gripped everyone, that moment arrived.
"Hold out... just one minute."
"Lionel?"
"Do you all trust me?"
"We'll give it a shot."
"Tch, guess he's using that technique."
"Hey! Youngsters! Don't get caught in it!"
""Yes, sir!!""
Seeing Lionel sheathe his sword, the knight captains drew the berserk Centaur Golem's aggro.
The Golem's body burned so hot the floor began melting, but.
Its powerful strikes never reached the captains.
Shiiiing!!
"Hup?!"
"Hngh!"
Just being near the rampaging Golem caused burns.
But they endured the pain willingly, and Lionel poured every ounce of his mana into the sheath over that endless minute, completing his technique.
Soon—
"Everyone, get down!!!!"
At Lionel's shout, a sword brimming with condensed energy burst from the sheath. Silver-white waves rippled out, filling the space like moonlight flooding the night sky.
The moment those waves pierced the berserk Centaur Golem, the space fell eerily still, as if time itself had been sliced.
A thin line appeared on the Golem's massive frame, then its upper and lower halves separated cleanly.
The monster that had shaken the Iron Labyrinth fell utterly silent.
*****************
Having somehow slain the hidden master of the Iron Labyrinth, the knight captains all collapsed in place.
"Huff... huff..."
"Cough! L-Lionel, you okay?"
"Damn, that wrecked my right hand. More importantly, you all know we're not out of the woods?"
"Haa... it was filthy hot."
"Captains!!"
"Are you alright!!"
Their weapons, armor, and bodies—all ruined by the battle.
Yet they chuckled at the mighty foe they'd felled and rose to their feet.
"Feels like when we slew the Demon King back in the day."
"Thought it was hopeless then and now, but somehow we pulled through."
"Yeah."
"But the youngsters okay?"
"We're fine, but the captains..."
"Even potions won't heal this..."
"If push comes to shove, we can always respawn—no need to worry."
""Huh??""
The adventurers were speechless at the cool bunny dukes' attitude—that grievous wounds just needed resolve.
But they reminisced joyfully about the fight as they gathered themselves.
After a brief calm, white smoke rose from the central pillar with a mechanical chime echoing through.
Beep——!
"Wh-What?!"
"Something else?"
"Heh heh heh... damn it..."
Even the bunny dukes found the sheer content overwhelming.
But very regrettably, it was time for rewards, not battle.
Green light poured from the pillar, healing all exposed to it.
"This is?"
"Haa... so damn well-prepared."
Freed from burns and wounds by the light, the bunny dukes approached the still-chiming pillar.
They found a chest where it opened—and a portal beyond.
"That's Sky Island?!"
"Youngsters, you know that place?"
"Cross there and you're right at the first room's entrance!"
"""Oh."""
As everyone moved toward the Sky Island portal.
Normally, Iron Labyrinth golems crumble to dust after a time.
Seeing no such signs, Eric pointed it out, and they spotted something shiny amid the Centaur Golem's remains.
"What's this?"
"The power source that moved this Golem? Captains, any idea?"
"Hmm... no clue."
"Like the youngster says, if it isn't vanishing, we can take it out. Let's grab it."
"And haul the remains themselves."
"Haa... gonna be heavy as hell."
After securing the Centaur Golem, the adventurers and bunny dukes relaxed briefly on Sky Island before exiting.
*******************
News of the bunny dukes' first clear and loot spread like wildfire across the Empire.
Newspapers prayed to the heavens for exclusives on the Centaur Golem remains.
Lords urging their top knights home instead rushed to Raider upon hearing.
In the meeting hall, nobles gaped at the chest's contents.
"Th-These weapons rival that holy sword in quality!"
"Beautiful..."
"Gulp."
The god-forged shield and one-handed sword ignited their desires.
And what of the loot from this mystery Golem!
But as they eyed the venomous grail-like treasures, they realized the backlash would be immense.
Desperate to dilute the poison, they racked their brains.
While their lords agonized.
The bunny dukes gathered at a Raider tavern for a feast.
"Another round here!"
"Hahaha!!!"
"Kuh~ this is life!"
The loot tempted, but what use for old men?
For them, the 'process of earning rewards' mattered more than the 'results'.
Embracing non-attachment, they tossed a nuke to their lords—'they'll sort the shares'—and reveled.
Eric and Serkan, partying with them, knew claiming loot rights would ruin their lives.
So they claimed massive rewards from the nobles and peaced out.
But their successful rapport-building let them join the second clear too.
Satisfied, the bunny dukes—high on their first fun content—set a new goal.
"This time, we challenge Balrak for real!"
"If solo won't work, group up!"
"Yeah! Let's throw down with the world's strongest!"
The infamous Abyss Pit boss.
Balrak himself.
That became their goal.