The Elder Golem, Castle

From Lee Yeonhee's perspective, this was no easy quest. After all, I'd spent several days straight helping her inside the dungeon, which meant I'd burned through quite a bit of my own resources as well.

"Let's go."

Yeonhee pulled out a special summoning scroll from her pocket. Just its size alone was extraordinary. Normal summoning scrolls could be fully unfurled with her arm stretched out, but this one was so large that when spread open, it exceeded her height both vertically and horizontally. She couldn't possibly hold it up to use it. In the end, she laid the scroll out on the ground like a picnic mat and had to chant the spell while being carried on the back of a Were Raven.

Crackle—crackle—

The longer Yeonhee spent chanting, the more clearly we could see an unknown energy flashing through the church's transparent glass ceiling. Soon, the gathered power from the sky passed straight through that ceiling and began swirling right in front of where she was casting her spell.

'What the hell is this insane amount of mana?!'

Our worries proved pointless. The aura radiating from the unknown being being summoned was overwhelmingly powerful. The color of the whirlwind spinning before Yeonhee kept shifting through countless hues before finally settling on a deep green.

'What does the color mean?'

I quickly handed the finished Yeonhee over to Black Swan and retreated to a safe distance, watching the summoned creature grow larger and larger in volume.

'Whoa—it's huge.'

The being had grown well past three meters, then four, and now surpassed five meters in height. Its thick body had sharp, defined angles, and flowers and grass grew lushly across various parts of its form. Its eyes sparkled like rubies embedded in stone, and its carved-tooth face somehow gave off a mischievous, smiling impression. Its extremely thick torso and limbs gave the feeling that they would never crumble no matter what attack they faced. The most peculiar feature was the large hollow space in its chest—easily big enough for a person to fit inside comfortably.

Rumble—!

The summoning space seemed too cramped. The creature couldn't even fully extend its body.

'A golem...'

"I-Ilwol... It says this child is an... Elder Golem?"

"Clack clack..."

'Incredible... I've seen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plenty of regular golems, but this is my first time seeing one with this kind of appearance and presence. It's truly overwhelming.'

Yeonhee clung tightly to my arm, mustering her courage to greet it.

"U-um, hello there, Mr. Golem?"

"......?"

The Elder Golem reacted immediately to Yeonhee's voice, its eyes sparkling, but it made no other movement. I thought I understood why it wasn't moving.

'The church space is a perfect fit for its body. It's probably staying still because even the slightest movement might bring the building down. Pretty smart, huh?'

Golems were known to only perform simple actions based on set commands. The fact that this Elder Golem could make its own judgments and act accordingly was already worth a huge amount of points.

Yeonhee's face brightened as she looked at the unknown trees and flowers growing across the golem's body.

'How cute...'

Her pure, childlike innocence made me smile without realizing it. Yeonhee cautiously approached the golem, pressed her nose against one of the flowers, and inhaled its scent.

"Wow—Ilwol! These are all real!"

'Did we just summon something that was peacefully sleeping on a mountain somewhere...? It's very nature-friendly.'

The fact that the whirlwind had turned green might have something to do with its attribute or disposition. Golems were lifeforms created for a specific purpose, somewhat different in concept from other monsters. Though calling them living beings was a bit ambiguous, they still gave experience when defeated in dungeons, so they had to be considered alive.

While Yeonhee was busy examining it from every angle, the translucent hollow space in the center of the golem's chest suddenly opened wide, and stone stairs slid down to the floor with a clatter.

"Whoa! Is it... telling me to come inside?"

"......"

The Elder Golem didn't speak a word. But its intention was crystal clear. Yeonhee looked at me with a worried expression.

'The flowing energy is so clean and stable that it almost feels unsettling. It should be fine.'

I nodded, and Yeonhee carefully climbed the stairs and stepped inside the golem.

Rumble—

The moment Yeonhee entered the space prepared inside its torso, the stairs turned into sand and scattered across the ground. From within the surprisingly spacious interior, Yeonhee waved at me.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

'Haha... This is seriously amazing. Is this some kind of combining robot?'

The sight was so far removed from any summoned creature I'd imagined that I couldn't help but laugh. At the same time, I felt incredibly reassured.

Golems were generally known for possessing tremendous physical strength and overwhelming defense, taking minimal damage from most attacks. The densely inscribed magic circles along every joint of its body suggested it wouldn't be affected by ordinary magic at all. While it didn't seem to have any special offensive abilities, certain unique types of golems were said to possess distinctive skills.

When an excited Yeonhee asked the golem to demonstrate its power, the creature's already smiling face became even more playful. Then, centered around the space containing Yeonhee, multiple layers of shield-shaped stone barriers began forming in every direction.

"Wooooow!! This is amazing! I can see everything outside from in here!"

'It's practically a fortress. Incredible. Even I would have a hard time breaking through those shields.'

It seemed to be holding back somewhat, but if it went all out on a real battlefield, it could probably hold its ground like a small citadel. Its performance would need testing to confirm, but from what I could sense, even if all my other summons attacked it at once, it wouldn't suffer any significant damage.

After demonstrating its ability, the Elder Golem returned to its original form, lowered the stairs once more, and gently let Yeonhee back down.

"Hehehehe— Ah, that was so much fun!"

Yeonhee couldn't hide her excitement, as if she'd just ridden a roller coaster. But once she was back on the ground, she fell into thought again.

"What should we name it...? Hmm..."

"......"

I had expected something simple like 'Elgom,' but Yeonhee surprised me with a different answer.

"How about Castle?"

'Not bad... Simple, but it fits perfectly. It really does give off a fortress-like feeling.'

I sent a positive signal, and Yeonhee smiled with satisfaction as she officially named the Elder Golem Castle.

At that moment, the golem could no longer contain its excitement. It opened its mouth wide and let out a silent roar toward the sky.

Yeonhee watched the scene with a mix of joy and concern.

"It's consuming an enormous amount of mana. If I summon Castle, I might have to give up on quite a few of the others."

'That makes sense... Just from a glance, its presence clearly surpasses A-grade.'

It was probably the best card we could have drawn from what was available to us. But Yeonhee said something that went against my thoughts.

"The message says the summoning was 'Successful.' That means there are even greater beings than this one."

"Clack?"

"The message changes depending on the scroll. When Black Dragon came out last time, it said 'Great Success.' It looks like even with this 'Mysterious and Auspicious Summoning Scroll,' Castle didn't quite reach Great Success."

"Clack..."

'There's something even greater than this guy? This scroll was already insanely good...'

Beyond the sheer power I could feel, there was a unique quality to it. In that regard, Castle was nearly the best possible outcome, so I couldn't help but be shocked. What other summoned creature could carry a person inside its own body?

Rumble—

"Ah! Oh no, this won't work."

Even though Castle was curled up as much as possible, its body was still slowly expanding. When its head began bumping against the ceiling, Yeonhee quickly canceled the summon.

"See you later, Castle!"

When Yeonhee waved with a bright smile, the golem's face lit up with an even brighter smile in return.

'It has a cute side after all.'

"Anyway, that was amazing. Hey, Ilwol, when I was inside, it felt really warm. There was a grassy smell and the scent of flowers too. The floor was so soft—it felt like stepping into a super expensive hotel."

"Clack clack clack."

"Want to go inside together next time? The space inside is pretty big, so we might both fit."

Nod—

It would definitely be cramped if we both went in, but if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yeonhee wanted to do it, I'd make it happen.

When we returned home, I realized a puzzle piece had finally clicked into place.

'Elder Golem, Shadow Drake, the fused Orc and Lizardman, plus the Werewolf. With this lineup, Yeonhee's defensive wall should be more than sufficient.'

Even if Jo Giman showed up, we now had enough forces to buy at least a few seconds until I could appear.

'Good... Now I can finally breathe easy.'

Even if some sudden variable forced me to leave my position, I wouldn't have to worry as much. Tomorrow we'd be entering the Dire Wolf Dungeon for the first time, so we'd tackle it together while picking up as many extra benefits as possible. Since creatures like Big Boars and Hanjarings were abundant there, we could stockpile plenty of food. There were also hidden spaces that formed under certain conditions, so there was a lot to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gain.

'Three days should be enough this time too. I'd love to stockpile several weeks' worth of food if I could, but...'

While I was thinking, Yeonhee came out of the bathroom after washing up, wearing nothing but a towel. The smooth curves of her body and the sharp flare of her hips from her waist made it impossible to look away.

I instantly activated Mimicry, changing my form, then patted my knee to tell her to sit.

"If we do it right after I showered... I'll just have to wash again..."

Yeonhee pouted her lips cutely as she straddled my lap.

Chu—chu—

Starting with a kiss, I naturally removed the cloth covering her body.

"Aing... I'm embarrassed..."

"You're a little wet already. It makes you look even sexier."

"......"

Yeonhee could only blush in response. The thick, intimate atmosphere that came with a man and woman intertwining bodies wasn't something one got used to easily. I took her moist breast into my mouth.

"Mmm...! Ahh—ah! Ahh! Ahn!"

I wasn't even moving much, yet she was already shaking her hips on her own. Sometimes slow, sometimes intense. Yeonhee adjusted the pace to suit her taste, drawing out the stimulation she wanted. We didn't need to try many positions. The sight of her graceful figure and beautiful face riding on top of me was more than enough to enjoy.

We gave our all to each other for thirty minutes. Only after I signaled that my Mimicry time was almost up did she begin to restrain herself.

"It's too short..."

She stuck her lips out in a pout, looking like she was about to cry.

"Thirty minutes isn't exactly a short time..."

"It is... It's so short..."

"R-right..."

I couldn't raise my capabilities to increase her satisfaction by moving my body around, not when Mimicry was about to run out. But just as the time limit approached, a message popped into my mind at the perfect moment.