Chapter 152
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Colossus Soldier
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Colossus Soldier.
The thing slowly began to rise, bursting through the desert sands.
Its colossal size meant it would take quite some time, but the sheer unreality of the sight left everyone standing there in a daze.
"Fuck..."
Someone muttered under their breath.
Jun and Maya, at least, managed to hold onto their wits.
They had seen it once before.
In the Witch's Forest, where Jun had obtained the artifact 'Tear of Tayya' used to summon his golem.
There, alongside the Blade Eagle Mercenary Corps and bounty hunters who were former Black Guards, he had faced a Colossus Soldier.
"Leader. Is that thing gonna protect us like last time?"
"...No."
"What? Like last time?"
Eleanor, standing nearby, chimed in, but the two ignored her.
"So we have to kill it? Is it one of those that summons demons or whatever?"
"Fortunately, no."
"No, seriously, what do you mean 'like last time'?"
Eleanor's question came again.
The two sidestepped it with a different conversation.
"So what do we do?"
"Run. Until its power runs out."
"You're still not answering?"
Eleanor's final question hung in the air.
But she wouldn't get to repeat it.
"Do you know anything about that thing?"
The rest of the group had approached Jun.
"...Yes. That's a Colossus Soldier. A bit different from the one I saw, but still."
"A Colossus Soldier?! Why is it on layer 5?!"
Jun confirmed the source of his unease at Mentras's bewildered reaction.
'This is insane. It wasn't here yet at this point? And we woke it up ourselves?'
Colossus Soldier.
In truth, the monster was layer 5's field boss.
But it wasn't meant to be fought.
Obviously, users on layer 5—shielded by all sorts of magic—had no chance of taking it down.
There was only one way to deal with it.
Flee until its power depleted. A kind of time attack.
The problem? No rewards.
If anything, all you got was its mostly shattered power core, reduced to scrap.
'In the game, it ran for about half a day. Even in lore, it only activated once per season, after absorbing sunlight for a year. So why is it different now?'
As Jun pondered, he recalled the bluish gem presumed to be its power source.
A gem brimming with mana that could kill with a mere touch.
'Right, it was a unique item.'
Like Aiden's Lucklight Sword, it didn't reset with the season.
If that core was a unique item fueling it...
'That explains why it was outside the ruins in the game's backstory.'
Probably activated once for some reason, then stuck outside due to the unique item.
So even after season reset, it remained outdoors.
'That's the most likely explanation. Damn, talk about bad luck.'
Likely, the Mentras Adventurer Party had triggered this in the game too.
Mentras activated the relic, everyone wiped.
'They say the unlucky break their nose falling backward. That's me exactly.'
It was a pitiful situation that brought tears to his eyes, but there was no time for that.
Jun spoke in a subdued voice.
"First, let me explain what I know about it."
"W-We shall listen intently."
"Tell us, quick!"
The others had been struck by lightning too.
They leaned in for Jun's explanation.
"This is essentially a timed dungeon."
"Timed? You mean we have to run from it?"
"Yes. With our current forces, destroying it is next to impossible."
"That's why you asked about the layer gates' positions..."
Scholar Bendel muttered, calculating their location.
"How fast is it?"
"It'll catch us within a fortnight, for sure."
Time remained until it fully activated.
But even fleeing then, time was short against a Colossus Soldier bent on exterminating all life.
"Then what..."
"Damn. Scatter and split up?"
"How do we decide order? Everywhere but the nearest gate is over a month away!"
"Don't ask me!"
"Calm down. Fighting now helps nothing."
The chaos hadn't subsided.
Jun turned his back on them and went to his comrades.
"Whew. So, Captain. What's the plan now?"
Eleanor, somewhat composed after sorting her emotions, asked.
"Two options."
"What are they?"
"One is drawing straws to pick the bait team, like they're suggesting."
"Sounds like a death sentence for the losers."
"Unfortunately."
Surprisingly, no teams opposed it.
All were seasoned level 5 users; in crises like this, the real threat was infighting over opinions.
A misstep could mean dying to each other before the Colossus Soldier even moved.
"Would the short straw accept it?"
"No idea."
Before drawing, everyone's thinking as long as it's not me. But if it was? Different story.
Then Maya asked.
"What's the second?"
"We volunteer to bait it ourselves. No need for straws."
Maya and Eleanor shot him glares.
Jun hurriedly defended himself.
"Th-That's the surest way to survive!"
"Sure, Captain always has a plan. So, what's the method?"
To the still-calm Eleanor, Jun unrolled the map and pointed one way.
"The Ancient Tower. Lure it there, and we escape inside."
Thankfully, his comrades accepted.
They knew this mage always chose the best survival path in crises.
The other three groups, however, couldn't comprehend his decision.
"Y-You're really going to bait it?"
"The opposite direction? That's suicide!"
"We can't lose talents like you here!"
The Treasure Hunters paled, Mentras Adventurers panicked, and Issus Academy scholars shed hot tears.
"We have ways to evade it. And by its current mana output, it'll run for about ten days."
Half a day in-game, but then the bluish gem wasn't at full power.
Now, with it functioning, Jun estimated at least ten days.
"We'll help too. You'll need minimal forces for monsters en route."
Some Treasure Hunters scowled at the scholars, but no one could blame them.
Jun shook his head.
"Our corps is optimized for mobility now. More people hampers it."
"Hmm... Still, baiting alone is too risky."
Mentras's view drew nods.
They'd planned a fan-shaped dispersal.
Jun mixed truth with a lie.
"Truth is, we didn't come just for the ruins. There's a dungeon that way."
"Dungeon...?"
"Using it to shake pursuit?"
"Brilliant!"
The others brightened.
Dungeons, fully isolated from outside, guaranteed safety from Colossus Soldiers or Twin-Headed Ogres.
"A choice worthy of the famed corps!"
"If you make it out, I'll tell Lord Kailer your tale!"
"What dungeon is it?"
Having persuaded the groups, Jun watched them leave before rejoining his team.
But.
"Aiden?"
Aiden, silent even after the Colossus Soldier appeared, looked oddly tense.
"What's wrong?"
Aiden bit his lip, then spoke quietly.
"My stomach's been... off since earlier."
"What?"
An unexpected issue arose.
"Good luck."
"Live and meet again!"
"Tell us that dungeon story next time!"
The adventurers bid farewell and departed first.
Jun's group waited until they vanished, then sprinted toward the Ancient Tower.
"Crazy. Still visible from here."
Long gone from the ruins, now barely a speck.
Eleanor shuddered at the distant Colossus Soldier.
Through [True Sight], it was a chillingly intricate mana construct.
Staring too long hurt her eyes.
And for a moment, it felt like it met her gaze.
She turned to Aiden beside her.
"Still feeling sick?"
"Yeah... Like something's pulling at my insides."
As the Colossus Soldier activated, Aiden suffered inexplicable symptoms.
Eleanor checked him repeatedly—no anomalies.
"Maya, what do you think?"
Jun asked Maya too, just in case.
If soul-related, she might diagnose better.
But Maya shook her head.
"No major issues."
Jun's expression hardened.
No such thing in the game.
'What's going on?'
Sudden anomaly, no immediate fix.
If tied to the Colossus Soldier, they needed the Ancient Tower ASAP.
Eleanor glanced back, frowning at its size even from afar.
"Damn, creepy. Captain, what if we hit a sandstorm?"
"Luckily—or not—it only moves in sunlight."
"Ah, storms block the sun?"
"Exactly."
Plus, fewer monster encounters.
The Colossus Soldier slaughtered human and monster alike.
Monsters, somehow aware, avoided its vicinity.
"So, focus on running."
Closing distance was disastrous.
They'd run day and night, minimal sleep.
Eleanor, priestly robes flapping as she dashed across sand, muttered.
"Who knew all-nighters from studying would help. Thrilled."
She didn't look thrilled at all.