Chapter 204
Translator: penny
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Extracting Fire Golem Cores
Just as he had boldly declared that he was amazingly good at catching even a single golem.
Jeong-hyeon really caught the golem in an amazingly skillful manner.
No, if it had just been catching it, that would have been one thing.
"Kukukuk..."
Jeong-hyeon was laughing darkly.
The reason was undoubtedly the fist-sized object in his hand.
"Huhuhu..."
Ye-rin, standing beside him, was also unable to contain her joy and let out a similar laugh.
And the rest of the party members watching those two.
'What the hell is that? Scary.'
They were shrinking back slightly, looking a bit intimidated.
Naturally, what Jeong-hyeon held in his hand was the core of the Fire Golem.
When they heard Jeong-hyeon say he would rip out the golem's core, the party members reacted as if he was spouting nonsense.
- To extract a golem's core, you need at least a 10-man party. You have to completely restrain the golem's movements, and exposing the core takes an immense amount of effort... and especially for a Fire Golem, just climbing up its body is...
Seo Hwi-gon in particular looked ready to write a whole book titled 'Reasons Why You Can't Extract a Golem's Core.'
Meanwhile, Ye-rin nodded and said this.
"It'll be fun."
After an exchange of glances between Jeong-hyeon and Ye-rin, the main operation began.
Ye-rin would handle engaging the Fire Golem, while Jeong-hyeon would extract the core!
Ye-rin would distract the golem with her signature mobility, stripping away its focus(?), and then Jeong-hyeon, having enchanted his entire body with water-attribute magic, would swiftly climb up its back.
Sizzle—
'Ugh, hot.'
Of course, even so, the Fire Golem's body was insanely hot.
Every time his hand or body made contact, steam would burst out—that said it all.
Even with thick gloves on, Jeong-hyeon's hands suffered burns and healed repeatedly thanks to his natural regeneration.
It was truly an insane feat that no one without Jeong-hyeon's immense obsession with money and gear could even attempt.
'This is crazy, this is totally crazy!'
The party members watching were all left suspecting something was wrong with the two's mental states.
However, the laughable part was that they were actually achieving results quickly.
Ye-rin dodged the Fire Golem's attacks by a hair's breadth, perilously close.
Occasionally, she even delivered powerful kicks to its fists, dealing damage.
Of course, such damage was repaired in no time, but sustaining that level of combat with individual skill alone was nothing short of miraculous.
Meanwhile, what about Jeong-hyeon?
He had to find a fist-sized core somewhere on that massive golem body, yet there was no hesitation in his movements.
It was as if he already knew where the core was.
And the spot where he finally stopped—spewing steam from his entire body—was the golem's right shoulder.
Jeong-hyeon gripped the pickaxe firmly there.
Swinging a pickaxe on top of a golem—come to think of it, it might be a surprisingly fitting combination.
As long as the rock he was striking didn't move ponderously on its own.
Boom— boom— boom—
Just as he had climbed the golem's body without hesitation, Jeong-hyeon swung the pickaxe down without restraint!
His pickaxe work was so proficient that it felt like watching a miner who had spent decades quarrying ore in the deepest shafts.
Moreover, thanks to his ghostly skillful alternation between water-attribute and neutral magic, the golem's broad shoulder quickly became riddled with craters.
"Found it!"
After striking six or seven times?
Jeong-hyeon shouted with a grin across his face.
He looked so exhilarated that even the watching party members couldn't help but blurt out.
"Ch-, found it!"
Crack—
Jeong-hyeon ripped out the flame-spewing golem core without the slightest hesitation.
But.
Srrk—
The golem core, which had briefly flickered with flames in Jeong-hyeon's hand, soon had its fire completely extinguish, turning into a black stone.
Extracting a golem's core was one thing to find and rip out, but what came after was pure luck.
Whether the extracted core lived or died was something no one knew.
Unfortunately, this time it was a failure.
But the flames that vanished from the golem's core reignited in Jeong-hyeon's two eyes.
Rumble—
The golem's body collapsed without its core, and Jeong-hyeon jumped down from it.
"Next?"
"Of course."
Jeong-hyeon and Ye-rin exchanged brief words and then charged toward the next golem without a second thought.
'This is real hunting...'
The party members watching their backs had their own realizations.
Yes.
Hunters 'hunt' monsters.
But had any of their previous hunts truly been hunts in the literal sense?
They were just battles or wars where no one knew who would die.
But those two—toppling a single golem in under three minutes by ripping out its core, then immediately rushing to the next the moment it died—were the epitome of hunters.
And at that moment, Jeong-hyeon turned back and shouted.
"Follow me!"
It was a line straight out of a historical drama, one that would sound ridiculous in modern times, but right now, no words fit better.
"Uooooh!"
The party members, who had only watched the two take down one Fire Golem, now roared with determination not to be left behind as they charged forward.
In truth, Seung-jun with his fire magic trait or Hwi-gon the healer didn't need to go that far, but a fight is all about momentum, right?
Ji-myeong especially.
"L-, let's rip out the Fire Golem's core!"
He even drew his sword while blurting it out.
Won-ho's words from the first floor came back to mind.
- It's easier with our boss if you just go with 'that's how he is.' You can't fight if you're constantly surprised.
At the time, he suspected it was half employee bootlicking, but now he completely understood.
That's just how he is.
When hunting with Jeong-hyeon, no words fit better.
If he says to do it, just do it.
He handles almost everything himself anyway.
In any case, the party's fired-up momentum was something the remaining three Fire Golems couldn't possibly withstand.
Boom— boom—
"Found it!"
It wasn't long before Jeong-hyeon found another core after a few pickaxe swings.
This time, the party members raised their weapons and sincerely shouted along.
"Found it!"
And as Jeong-hyeon ripped out the core, the Fire Golem lost its flames and collapsed.
Gulp—
The watching party members each swallowed hard.
Would it succeed this time?
Thud—
Jeong-hyeon, who had clutched the golem's core tightly with both hands until it fully collapsed—as if to block any spoilers—cautiously peeked inside.
And then.
"It's alive!"
He thrust the core, still flickering with flames even after separation from the golem, high into the sky and yelled.
"Uooooh!"
"It's alive!"
Of course, the party members parroted the new line without hesitation.
Boom—
"Found it!"
"Found it!"
Crunch—
"...Next."
"Next!"
Boom—
"Found it!"
"Found it!"
Crunch—
"......"
"......It's alive!"
"Waaaaaah!"
"It's alive!"
To the party members now, it didn't matter if there were five Fire Golems or three.
Jeong-hyeon would handle them anyway.
All that mattered was whether the cores he extracted lived or died.
'Ah, he was a fine golem.'
And so, the five Fire Golems on the fourth floor—which everyone thought their current party's power couldn't possibly take down.
They all ended up coldly extinguished and collapsed.
In contrast, Jeong-hyeon's party achieved the absurd feat of securing two live golem cores.
"Two golem cores... This is impossible."
In fact, they had finished the hunt in a frantic rush following Jeong-hyeon, but this result was truly monumental.
Even Hwi-gon was left speechless, managing only two sentences.
Normally, acquiring a golem core was nearly impossible for hunter parties of the same level.
Especially the cores of Fire Golems, notorious for their difficulty in the level 6 range?
Beyond their material value, their rarity alone would fetch a breathtaking sum.
Of course, Jeong-hyeon had no intention of selling these cores.
'What should I make with these to build a reputation for top craftsmanship...'
He already had more money than he could spend.
No need to sell golem cores and draw unnecessary attention.
Meanwhile, as Jeong-hyeon pondered briefly, Seung-jun cautiously spoke up.
"Um... Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon."
"Yes?"
"If it's not too presumptuous, could I ask what you plan to use it for...?"
Seung-jun's eyes, to exaggerate slightly, were glazed over with madness.
'Why is he like that... Ah!'
Jeong-hyeon, puzzled by this side of him he'd never seen before, soon guessed the reason.
"Is it because it's a Fire Golem?"
"Huh, yes! Exactly. I've heard that making gear with a golem core matching your attribute is incredibly powerful..."
It made sense.
Perhaps rumors had exaggerated due to the core's rarity, but it sounded plausible.
He didn't know if it had direct magic amplification like Harad, but even without that, it surely wouldn't be bad.
'In that case...'
Seeing Seung-jun's reaction sparked an idea in Jeong-hyeon's mind.
"Got it. Since one core can make multiple pieces of gear anyway. We caught it as a party, right?"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
At Jeong-hyeon's tacit approval, Seung-jun bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
Not satisfied with that, he soon prostrated himself fully.
"No, you don't need to go that far. Get up, quick!"
He was somewhat famous now.
He knew plenty of hunters who had fallen from grace due to poor image management, so he had to be especially careful.
Anyone who knew the situation wouldn't complain about accepting a bow from Seung-jun, but you never know.
A headline like 'HJH Gate Office President Bullies External Party Member with Rare Material, Shock!' would be a nightmare.
"Sob, thank you, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon. Truly, thank you. I'll forfeit my entire share from this gate."
But when Jeong-hyeon pulled him up, Seung-jun was streaming tears.
It was touching enough that he readily shared the core, but hearing 'we're a party' made emotion well up.
Honestly, he hadn't contributed much this gate.
Against Fire Golems, he was purely cheer squad.
If it were anyone but Jeong-hyeon, just asking to share the core would have earned him endless scorn and ridicule.
"I pledge my loyalty, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon!"
"Uh... pledge that loyalty to Somyeong Guild."
Overwhelmed, Seung-jun even swore fealty to Jeong-hyeon.
Of course, Jeong-hyeon refused.
He wouldn't stop him from joining HJH if he insisted, but Jeong-hyeon already had a fire mage in mind.
An S-Rank one, at that.
Meanwhile, Ji-myeong watched Seung-jun and Jeong-hyeon with mixed feelings.
- That Han Jeong-hyeon guy isn't just some nice person like the rumors say. Be careful. Got it?
His brother's warning before entering the gate.
Ji-myeong had agreed.
Even without his brother saying it, how could someone reach this position so quickly without being a bad person?
No one but his brother was trustworthy.
Ji-myeong had believed So-myeong's words like ironclad truth since childhood, and after being burned by people a few times, he never opened up to outsiders.
'But why would someone like that share the golem core...'
He expected him to at least postpone the decision, saying it wasn't urgent, but he accepted so readily.
From what he said to Seung-jun, it seemed he planned to share fairly with all party members, not just him.
Ji-myeong's mind grew a bit confused.