Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Human Golem
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"Y-You crazy bastard!!!"
Rex, his throat pierced, spewed blood and trembled violently. Marcel and Tarun hurriedly drew their swords and shouted.
"What did you haul here?"
"W-What?"
"Planning to turn me into one of those too?"
The two men's faces twisted at Woojin's question as he pointed to the corpses.
"You took a commission to bury corpses? Who from? Demon scum?"
Their faces ultimately hardened.
"Shut up!!!"
Marcel raised his sword overhead and charged with all his might.
He seemed to be the most skilled of the three, closing the distance to Woojin in an instant.
Whoosh―!!!
The sword aimed for Woojin's thigh.
Thwack―!!
But at that moment, a pure white orb slammed into Marcel's jaw.
"......Huh?"
His body staggered.
As his balance crumbled and he shook, dozens of orbs gleefully pummeled him.
"Guh, guhk?!"
Marcel's body caved in in spots as if struck by blunt weapons, and he collapsed to the ground in agony.
Oops?
Was it because the world was different?
Setsuna's illusory danmaku barrage unleashed power unlike anything seen before.
Setsuna herself, the caster, looked shocked at her own strength, arms outstretched and mouth agape.
"No. We can't."
Stepping over the unconscious Marcel, Woojin walked toward Tarun, whose face had gone pale.
"Why target me?"
"Y-You don't need to know!!!"
"It's my life on the line, and I don't get to know?"
Slash―!!
Woojin's sword severed Tarun's shoulder.
"Arrrgh―――!!"
"Let's see if you're really uninterested when your own life is at stake."
"W-Wai......!! Guhk!!"
Tarun flailed with his remaining arm and collapsed to the ground, pleading desperately.
Stab―!!!
But Woojin mercilessly thrust his sword into the stump of Tarun's shoulder once more.
"Arrrraaagh―――!!"
Tarun writhed in agony, but the more he struggled, the deeper Woojin's blade sank.
"I-It was an Awakener's commission! I've never even seen a demon!!"
"......Awakener? What's that?"
Tarun shot Woojin a look of disbelief at the question, but the twisting blade left no room for further doubts.
"Awakeners are...... those who received demon blood."
After the 99th floor collapsed, demons poured out from somewhere along with the ruined tower.
They swiftly conquered the central continent, driving humans into the Dark Forest.
This world was one where surviving humans opposed the demons dominating the continent.
"Humans are divided into three kinds. Workers like us who do menial tasks. Awakeners who received demon blood and became their underlings. And......"
Tarun bit his lip slightly.
"Those who fight the demons."
A tremor different from before.
Thinking back, when Woojin first overheard them, someone had said, 'Shall we go check out that island beyond the northern wall?'
It seemed Tarun was the one who said it.
"What, any regrets now?"
Fighting demons.
It was utterly incompatible with the atrocities they had committed.
Blood continued pouring from his severed shoulder, and Tarun's consciousness began to fade.
"Where's this Awakener who ordered you to do this?"
"......He'll show up soon."
"What?"
"This place is where the monsters he made fill their bellies."
Rumble―――!!
At that moment, the ground shook.
[Grrr......]
A shadow loomed over Woojin's head.
He slowly turned.
[Raaaaagh―――!!!]
A massive monster scooped up the fallen Marcel and began crunching him voraciously.
"......?!"
When one leg was devoured, Marcel regained consciousness and screamed in terror.
"S-Save......!!!!"
But before his scream ended, the monster bit off his head in one gulp.
Crunch―.
With the sound of bones breaking, the monster folded the headless body in half, then folded it again.
Munch― munch―.
It shoved its face in and devoured the compacted remains gluttonously.
Setsuna muttered, barely holding back vomit.
The monster's form was grotesque.
Its hind legs were massively developed like a kangaroo's, while its forelegs were stubby.
It stood bipedally like a human, with a long, demon-like tail from its hips, and bony wings fluttered on its back where fleshless skin exposed the bones.
[Grrk......?]
But what truly horrified them wasn't its appearance.
It was that the monster devouring Marcel's corpse had a human head.
"......!!!"
'W-What?'
The monster's name?
Woojin couldn't help but be flustered by the sudden information.
"......Setsuna?"
Her eyes gleamed as she watched the monster.
It was the effect that appeared when using [Eye of Focus].
'Because of this?'
But no stats like in a game appeared.
Instead, injected into his mind were the monster's name, and
🧪 Used Materials:
• 130 humans
• Ogre flesh
• Gargoyle heart
• Manticore wings
• Lizardman teeth
• And more......
Information he never wanted to know.
"Insane......"
Woojin wished a status window had appeared so he could dismiss it as a mistake.
But the info directly implanted in his mind couldn't be denied.
A monster made from 130 humans as materials.
And the name "Failed Product"—Woojin had seen it before.
Yes.
The monster before him was none other than a [Human Golem].
'Why is an alchemist-made golem here?'
The experiment had clearly been conducted by players.
"Ah―."
At that moment, Woojin let out an involuntary low exclamation.
[It won't be easy. The forbidden alchemy they used is surely connected to Juter.]
The words of the Great Spirit Naiad.
'The alchemists' monster experiments weren't just players' doing—NPCs were involved too.'
If so, it wasn't strange for such horrific golems to exist in this otherworld.
"H-Hic...... R-Run......"
Tarun crawled desperately away at the monster's appearance.
"Hey."
Woojin grabbed his collar.
"This Awakener you mentioned—is he Juter?"
"......Y-Yes."
Woojin slowly nodded at the answer.
"And you were going to throw me to that thing as feed?"
Stab―!!!
He ruthlessly plunged his sword into the back of Tarun's neck as he lay prone.
"Guhk...... guhk......!!"
Woojin shoved aside Tarun's lifeless body and stood.
Eighty years in game time from now, in this future.
"Why do the ones who should die linger so long?"
Too many to clean up.
[Grrrw―.]
The monster, scenting blood, turned to Woojin.
"If you hate it, I'm all for it."
[Raaaaagh―――!!]
Thud―!! Thud thud thud―――!!!
Setsuna unleashed a barrage at the charging monster and yelled.
[Grrk......! Guh......! Grgggh......!!]
Dozens of danmaku mercilessly battered the monster's body.
It was the immense power that knocked Marcel out instantly, but
[Kaaaaagh―――!!!]
It only enraged the human golem. It shook its head, glared at Setsuna, and opened its maw wide.
Then,
"Urk......?!"
A boom erupted, and the air around it exploded.
Like a sonic boom, the deafening pressure wave slammed into them both.
Woojin hurriedly shielded Setsuna in his arms and squeezed his eyes shut.
Crackle......! Crackle......!!
An opaque barrier materialized around him.
Thwack―!!!
The barrier shook violently.
Thud thud thud thud―――!!!
Waves from the monster's maw hammered the barrier like fists pounding relentlessly.
Hummm......!!
At the same time, green light enveloped his armor.
The [Verdant Ghostplate]'s "Burrow" effect had activated.
Crack......! Craaackle......!
Shatter......!!!
The cracking barrier shattered, and Woojin's body was flung back.
"......Cough!"
Thrown several meters, pain like his whole body pummeled left him struggling to breathe.
[Kyaaagh―――!!]
The monster flapped its bony wings and charged at the fallen Woojin.
Setsuna thrust her hand toward it,
Groooan......! Grriiind......!!
Thwack―!!!!
The ground split, and two massive hands emerged, clapping together to seize the monster from both sides.
[Grrk......!! Grrk!!!!]
The human head grimaced, struggling desperately to escape the grip.
Snapping to at her cry, Woojin exhaled raggedly.
Clink―.
Fortunately, two superior potions remained in his pouch.
He downed one, and his labored breathing finally eased.
"Hah...... hah......"
Woojin touched his side.
The shockwave had cracked the Verdant Ghostplate he wore.
"Insane......"
Unbelievable power.
A chill ran down his spine.
He felt foolish for regretting not switching armor due to effects like Valor or Spirit Possession.
Had he not changed, that attack would have killed him instantly.
At that moment, Woojin recalled the monster's name from [Eye of Focus].
He hadn't seen stats, but belatedly realized the key info in its name.
The golem he fought in Keldúan's belly was [Failed Product No.1].
This one was born from over 8,000 experiments after that.
It had warned from the start: an unwinnable monster.
Kaboom―!!
The hands gripping the monster shattered.
[Raaaaagh―――!!]
Furious, it charged at them at tremendous speed.
"Damn it......!!"
Getting cocky after a little growth......
Had he forgotten how horrific this place was?
Did hearing of Luen and Irurin's growth make him think he could match them?
He should have tossed their corpses and fled......!
Regrets flooded him, but it was too late.
Grind―!!
Woojin gritted his teeth and swung his sword at the monster with all his might.
Clang―!! Clang clang clang―――!!!
But even his full-powered strike left not a scratch.
"Hraaaagh!!!!"
Thirty years passed like that......
He'd worked to grow stronger, yet never imagined the gap widening like this.
Were his game-world efforts meaningless?
[Kaaaaagh―――!!!!]
The monster's tail whipped toward Woojin.
That was when it happened.
"......?!!"
Light burst from Setsuna's dress, warping space between Woojin and the monster.
"Over here."
A low voice whispered in his ear.
A hand protruded from the rift and pulled Woojin's arm.
Unlike the crumbling world, the scenery beyond was pristine.
Forgetting the battle, Woojin stared at the hand's owner, speechless.
"......Nisen?"
The apprentice mage who would have died from mana chaos without Woojin.
Eighty years in the future.
Shockingly, his face was identical to in the game.
Woojin realized why the vista beyond the rift looked familiar.
It was the Fairy Forest.
"I've been waiting."
Whoosh―――!!
Woojin's body was sucked into the rift.