Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Transcender (3)
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A quest had appeared out of nowhere.
Park Chan-woo tilted his head.
'...Repair all these golems?'
Golems.
Combat puppets crafted from materials like stone or metal.
Powerful weapons that moved autonomously at their master's command.
They were notoriously difficult to create, so few could wield them, but that made them all the more formidable opponents.
They boasted exceptional durability, unscathed by all but the heaviest blows.
They feared no destruction and would endlessly regenerate unless their hidden core was shattered.
Moreover, the Dark Guardian, Death Golem, and Nightmare were revered as the "Three Divine Golems" among those who handled golems—true dreams made real.
'They say even a Golem Meister takes a full year to craft a single Dark Guardian.'
The pinnacle of human-made golems was the Dark Guardian.
In the past, up to the end times, only three artisans had been recognized as "Golem Meisters."
Even they, working with the finest materials for a full year, could produce just three Dark Guardians.
Death Golems and Nightmares were outright impossible to create.
If a Golem Meister saw this place, they might faint and drool in shock.
The problem was that they were all broken.
"...The cores are intact, though."
Park Chan-woo examined the wreckage of the golems and stroked his chin.
The magic cores—the hearts of the golems—showed no visible damage.
In fact, they were so pristine it was suspicious.
Even without a master, golems could move on their own using the mana stored in their cores.
They should have repaired themselves until that mana was depleted.
Yet despite sensing residual mana within the cores, the golems lay inert and shattered.
'Mana interference.'
He recalled the quest details.
Something powerful disrupting mana was inside the lab.
"Heaven's Punishment."
Whoosh—
Mana surged, then scattered like wind.
'Can't use magic.'
Indeed.
It was disrupting the mana itself.
An extraordinarily potent interference.
'It only affects mana manifesting externally.'
But the internal mana was fine.
Circulating through his body like blood with each heartbeat, the mana that constituted him was largely unaffected.
However, the moment mana was released outward, it became unstable and dispersed instantly.
'The golems broke because their core mana couldn't be released.'
Unlike humans, a golem's core was the golem itself.
The external materials were merely armor protecting the core.
Everything else was magic.
Movement, repairs—all operated via spells etched into the core.
Without magic, they could only break down and stop.
'I need to eliminate whatever's disrupting the mana.'
Removing whatever was inside the lab was the simplest way to repair the golems.
Park Chan-woo approached the inner wall of the lab.
At the same time.
"Ugh."
He grimaced.
The deeper he went, the more it felt like his blood was freezing.
What could be disrupting mana so intensely?
'Another door.'
There was a door that wouldn't open even with Special Administrator privileges.
Rune letters were inscribed on it—likely a "password."
'I need the password to enter.'
Even those with authority couldn't get in without it.
It showed how meticulously Aheta had designed this place.
In short, whatever was inside was extraordinarily important.
...What could it be?
He couldn't just press randomly.
Such doors typically triggered security or locked permanently on wrong guesses.
'I could destroy the door itself.'
Shing!
He gripped Baal's sword.
Then thrust hard.
Shieeeek!
Clang—!
It left only a faint scratch before bouncing off.
His wrist ached; raw physical force wouldn't destroy it.
That was when it happened.
...Indeed.
This was another helpful note from Anubis.
But 2 million attack power was out of reach.
His own was still under 10,000.
Without free use of magic, breaking the door was impossible.
'The total attack power must be applied in a single instant. Doesn't mean I have to do it alone.'
He turned around.
The broken golems.
...To smash this door, he'd need their help.
'...Guess I have to repair them somehow.'
But Park Chan-woo wasn't a Golem Meister.
He'd never handled golems before.
He'd envied golem users countless times, though.
His only hope was guiding the cores to use mana freely.
If repairs were possible, it was hugely positive.
Massive experience points and rewards awaited.
'Let's do it.'
Park Chan-woo nodded and approached the least damaged-looking Dark Guardian.
It had less dust than the others—likely moved recently.
He examined it slowly, appreciatively.
No signs of external destruction.
The issue was the core, as expected.
Park Chan-woo tapped the core near its heart.
'The core is operational.'
Upon touch, the embedded mana stirred actively.
Reacting to external contact.
If this mana connected to the golem's shell, self-repair would begin.
It was all magic, ultimately.
Park Chan-woo thought, then sliced his finger with his sword.
Drip, drip.
Blood drops soaked the floor.
Watching them intently, he nodded.
'Coagulated mana in the blood doesn't disperse.'
He got it.
The way to use mana.
Park Chan-woo deepened the wound.
He smeared the flowing blood onto the golem's core.
Then unraveled the coagulated mana in the blood into thin threads, linking it to the golem's shell.
Myriad blood threads fused around the core, connecting to the shell.
Swish.
Swishhh!
...The 'link' succeeded.
The core's mana began flowing through his blood threads.
Soon, the damaged shell slowly repaired itself.
'Success.'
He felt slightly dizzy but smiled faintly.
It had taken about 0.5L of blood for this one.
'Repairing them all will take time.'
With super regeneration and amplified recovery, blood production was fast.
But repairing nearly a thousand golems this crude way would take at least seven days.
-Are you the new master who awakened me?
That was when it happened.
The Dark Guardian spoke to him.
Park Chan-woo was slightly puzzled.
"You have a sense of self?"
A golem with ego?
Weapons crafted by hand had no such thing.
They were mere puppets obeying their master's orders.
Yet it spoke.
-It emerged at some point. Because of something at the heart of this lab. But it granted us ego and destroyed us in the same breath.
...Not content with mana interference, it forcibly created egos?
He'd never heard of such a thing.
Composing himself, he asked,
"You're the golems Aheta placed here for defense, right?"
-Correct. But he abandoned the lab. We were left neglected for ages.
"Abandoned the lab? Why?"
-Aheta was researching something deeper inside. But he failed despite repeated challenges. We suffered. Only Anubis cared for us.
"...Anubis cared for you?"
Anubis, the Supreme Commander of Death.
The former god who had lost his memories and craved only death—it was hard to believe he'd tended to golems, so he asked again.
The Dark Guardian replied,
-He knew we had gained egos. He knew we suffered from the mana interference. He alone pitied us as we slowly died. But even he couldn't repair us.
Suffering. Dying.
Not words a golem would utter.
It wasn't just ego; it came with full concepts attached.
-The blood you used to link my core possesses remarkable mana properties. The idea and technique of weaving the mana in your blood so intricately are astounding.
Sudden praise.
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
"You're too kind."
-Neither Aheta nor Anubis could repair us. Only you made it possible. I believe even that 'something' inside can be completed by you.
"You don't know exactly what it is?"
-Anubis said it was a Transcender's item.
Transcender?
God-like beings in Transcendent Abyss.
No one knew their origins.
Not even the demons.
'Transcenders existed in the Abyss before demons appeared.'
Some called them the Abyss's ancient rulers.
Like Earth's extinct dinosaurs.
Others saw them as the Abyss's most crucial NPCs.
But Park Chan-woo knew one fact others didn't.
'Transcenders value honor... karma.'
They recognized only the "honorable," deeply tied to the "Hall of Fame."
Yet Transcenders in Transcendent Abyss were so powerful even demon lords with maou ranks couldn't touch them.
An item of such a Transcender.
'No wonder Aheta coveted it.'
It explained the ironclad security of the lab.
Transcenders defied Abyss norms.
Their items would exist in entirely alien ways.
If other Creators learned of it, rumors would spread, inviting attacks.
His curiosity boiled over.
About the Transcender's item inside.
What could grant golems egos and wield such intense mana interference?
-Please tend to my comrades. You... my new master.
Park Chan-woo nodded.
"Don't worry. I'd repair them even if you told me not to."
Fixing one Dark Guardian had given 10% experience.
899 golems remained.
Repairing them all...
'A chance for massive leveling.'
How many levels would he gain?
Park Chan-woo smiled quietly.
Just imagining it was ecstatic.
"...Not here?"
The black dragon Ataraxia tilted its head.
The Black Witch had entered the "Land of Eternity" via her linked abyss, but finding Aheta's secret lab wasn't easy.
"Fifth time already."
"Are you even searching properly?"
"The remaining 'Land of Eternity' isn't that vast."
The witches said.
Lands clearly devoured by divine beasts.
The lab had to be somewhere among the nutrient-poor remnants.
Ataraxia was completely lost, sensing nothing.
"Doubting my abilities?"
Ataraxia scowled.
Scattering killing intent at the doubting witches.
Signaling he'd fight if they bruised his pride again.
'I have a rough idea where it is.'
Of course, he was pretending not to find it on purpose.
His tracking was peerless.
No other dragon could match it.
He'd already guessed the secret lab's location.
But.
'I can't let them disturb Lord Sepiro.'
He didn't know what the Black Witch coveted, but ignoring "Star of Pride" and "Wish" meant it was extraordinary.
Something even Lord Sepiro would find intriguing.
Naturally, Sepiro mattered more than the Black Witch's orders.
He had no intention of interrupting his lord's amusement.
Thus, he'd drag this out to keep the witches from the lab.
"...Aheta hid this lab with intent. Finding it instantly is impossible. Nothing in the Abyss eludes me, so trust and follow."
Ataraxia brazenly lied to the witches.