Exactly Two Hundred Seventy
He opened his status window and checked the mana that had grown. Exactly 270. Set against the amount of gold he had offered up, it did not strike him as very much. The Genius trait, and the titles that strengthened abilities by a percentage, had all been applied to produce that figure. Then again, the ratio was never going to be that high. If it had been, there would have been no end to how strong he became. Even as things stood, the ability was plenty broken, and he was not disappointed.
Becoming master of the Golden Temple meant he could return to the Golden Flower Garden whenever he wished, and he already knew how to dig up the golden flowers. Looking back, I didn't really need to tell Dolf the method. He was not particularly worried. He was fairly certain he could mine every last bit of gold in the Golden Flower Garden before Dolf ever got his hands on Chaos.
And something else good came of it. Obtaining the Golden Temple let him pinpoint the Golden Race. That was possible because he had become one with the Golden Flower Garden. I can feel them. Not only the Golden Race. He could sense, down to the fine details, the movements of every member of the Heavenly Race and every mercenary of another race who had set foot in the garden.
Yujun felt anew just how extraordinary it was to be master of the Golden Temple. It was practically the same as owning the Golden Flower Garden outright. The Golden Race are mine to monopolize. He had killed one and had another in tow, and the moment he learned the locations and identities of the remaining two, the game was over. There was no need to put in any further effort here. Victory over the Golden Race was as good as decided.
Still, just in case, he asked.
"Dolf. Is there any of the Golden Race I ought to be especially wary of?"
"They're all about my level."
"Okay."
Then there was no problem. It was time to hunt the Golden Race. If he had his way he would have stayed and dug golden flowers, but that could wait. The Golden Race came first.
"Dad…… I've gotten stronger again."
Harp said it then, voice bright with joy.
"Have you?"
Of course he should have. Yujun's pure mana stat had jumped by 270 in a single instant—pure mana, in the literal sense. From there, items, skills, and traits amplified that mana dozens of times over. If Harp could not feel himself getting stronger, he would have been dull.
"It's really incredible power. I feel like I could melt a dragon in one breath."
"…Yeah. Our Harp's gotten pretty violent, though."
A dragon was still a stretch. An earth dragon, or a drake, maybe. Even so, given time, even that much might become possible. He had not yet made full use of Golden Mammonism. Later, when he had a spare moment and came back to the Golden Flower Garden to dig up more gold, Harp too would become a power no one could easily approach.
It really was time to end the event. Only after he had involved himself in Heaven's war would he be able to return here.
"Busy. So busy."
A rare complaint, and still the corners of Yujun's mouth curved into a smile.
"W-wait!"
Shhk!
Yujun took the head of the one begging for his life in a single stroke. That made the third of the Golden Race. Only Dolf remained.
Dolf, who had known his fate for some time, offered his neck.
"Send me off without pain."
"Of cou—"
Shhk!
"—rse."
Caught half a beat too early, Dolf went without feeling so much as a flicker of pain. The last of the Golden Race was dead. Now it was time for the Golden Goblin to be born.
"You're really something. You found all four of the Golden Race yourself and finished them."
Do Jiyun said it with open admiration.
"Ah, don't build me up too much."
"I already knew how strong you are, Mr. Yujun, so I didn't think killing the Golden Race would be all that hard. Finding them was the problem. But……."
While Yujun wore an awkward smile, Do Jiyun asked the question that cut to the heart of it.
"Did it have something to do with that Golden Temple from earlier?"
"Did what?"
"The Golden Race."
"It has nothing to do with the Golden Race."
In truth he had found them faster because of it, but he had no wish to say that much. Whatever the case, nothing good would come of broadcasting information about the temple.
"Anyway, I'm glad to be in the same party as you, Mr. Yujun."
"I was able to move things up because of what you sent me, Miss Jiyun."
"Even if I and the others hadn't been here, I think you would have found them just fine on your own."
"Even so. There's no denying it helped, is there?"
"…That's true."
"Now all we have to do is wait."
The Golden Goblin. He did not know in what form it would appear, but he doubted it would be an easy opponent. That stood to reason. The goal of this event was to catch the Golden Goblin, so they might as well not have started. Of course, the event could also end the moment it began, if the Golden Goblin turned out weaker than expected.
A Golden Goblin will soon be born somewhere in the Golden Garden!
Kill the Golden Goblin!
He liked how plain and clear it was. What should have been a long, drawn-out event had been yanked sharply forward by Yujun's efforts, and the Golden Goblin summoned ahead of schedule.
"Where do you think it'll show up?"
"The center, wouldn't it?"
"That's too obvious."
At Kim Yohan's words, Dokgo Minsu snorted.
"Obvious or not, it hardly matters. In a garden this vast, can you say for certain where the exact center lies?"
"……I can't?"
"Then hold your tongue."
"There you go, talking rough again. I told you to use only nice words, pretty words, didn't I?"
"Very well. Be silent."
"Good. What a good boy."
"Uncle Dokgo Minsu is right."
Yujun said.
"It's in the center."
"How do you know that? Uncle just said you can't tell where the exact center is."
Kim Yohan asked, as if something were off.
"We can go and see for ourselves. Follow if you mean to follow."
With that, Yujun kicked off the ground and ran ahead.
"W-wait…"
At a speed like that, Kim Yohan only managed to thrust out a hand.
"How in the world are we supposed to follow……."
Pak! Fssk! Plucking golden flowers as he passed had become a passive by now. This is all mana. I can't just walk by it. Anyone in Yujun's position would have done the same.
As the true master of the Golden Temple, he had the Golden Goblin's location pinned exactly, and there was no hesitation in his stride. Let's see. How many are around? Even as he sprinted, his senses stayed open. He detected about twenty of the Heavenly Race. They were near where the Golden Goblin had been summoned, so their luck was good. The opposite—something thoroughly unlucky—could just as easily happen, because Yujun was nearby.
No small number of players had caught the Golden Goblin's scent. Those closing in on it entered his view, and he found himself thinking that players over level 600 were not that rank for nothing. Being near the summoning site was a stroke of luck, yes, but it was only possible because keen senses backed it up. A bit fast. If he had not become master of the Golden Temple and had not known where the Golden Goblin was, he would have arrived much later. However he looked at it, entering the Golden Temple had been the right decision.
"Harp. Thank you."
"Huh?"
"I found the Golden Temple thanks to you."
"Hehe. I got stronger thanks to you too, Dad!"
"Then we're in a symbiotic relationship."
"That's right! That's why I like it! Being able to help you……."
"I've been happy ever since you were born, too."
"Really?"
At Harp's bashful smile, Yujun clutched at his heart.
Kwaaang—!
A tremendous boom slammed against his ears. The source was not right beside him, but somewhere near the Golden Goblin.
"Has it started already?"
The players who had found it seemed to have opened their attack. Faster than he had expected, but he did not hurry. He trusted the Golden Goblin. Judging by the power his senses had caught, it was not likely to fall easily to a pack of small fry. It's not the final boss for nothing.
The presences of the five players who had charged it vanished without a trace. They were dead. There seemed to have been only a single clash. He honestly had not expected them to be wiped out so quickly. Final boss of a high-level event or not, they were players past level 600.
A faint smile touched Yujun's lips. The stronger the Golden Goblin, the better for me. No one else would hunt it out from under him, and that set his mind at ease. He did not entertain, even for a moment, the thought that he might lose to it. What he trusted, though, was not himself. It was the Planet Destroyer's Sword. The sword of one who destroyed a planet. As if I'd struggle against some Golden Goblin.
Yujun's current total attack power defied common sense. If the Golden Goblin took a blow from that sword and endured even a single hit, that alone would be a feat. Still, there was nothing to gain from judging too soon. He needed to see it with his own two eyes.
He ran at full power, and the distance to the Golden Goblin closed sharply. Whoa…… bigger than I thought. It was so huge that setting it beside the fake golden goblins he had seen felt almost rude. It would have put an ordinary Death Knight to shame. Smaller than Paranet, perhaps, but considerable for a goblin. In its hand was a very long golden sword, smeared thick with the blood of the Heavenly Race, droplets falling from the tip to patter on the ground.
The Golden Goblin's fierce gaze locked onto Yujun.
"Quite a crowd gathering."
"That's because your whole body's made of gold."
The Golden Goblin did not bother trading words with him. It raised its sword and charged, meaning to end him in a single stroke. Yujun swung to meet the timing.
Had it felt the force loaded into the blade? The Golden Goblin did not answer the swing. It stepped back. A sword was already flying at the back of that retreating head—the Planet Destroyer's Sword. More precisely, a Planet Destroyer's Sword replicated through Sword Unity.
The Golden Goblin reacted in time and swung backward.
Kaaang—!
Crack!
Replica or not, the attack power of the Planet Destroyer's Sword did not go anywhere. The golden sword, which had cut such a dazzling figure, shattered to pieces. Yujun hastily released mana and gathered the golden fragments scattering through the air. Dozens, hundreds of shards flew into his grasp.
"Whew. I almost let something this precious get away."
"……."
The Golden Goblin stared blankly down at its empty hand. Take its head, and the event was over. That was what he was thinking, in that instant.
"Shin Yujun! Hand that thing over to us!"
"……Huh?"
He turned toward the shout and saw Sertiphs flying in with hundreds of the Heavenly Race. He knew at once what they wanted him to hand over. The Golden Goblin.
"Hand it over? No. Come on. Say something that makes sense if you want me to listen."
"If we slay the Golden Goblin, we will give you items! Do you remember the Griffin's Brain we promised before?"
Yujun nodded.
"We will give you three items better than that. What do you say?"
"There are more? And how am I supposed to believe that?"
"I swear it on the honor of my Archangel."
"You can just stake an Archangel's honor like that?"
"I am the child of the Second Archangel. I believe that gives me the authority."
"So that was the story. Still, staking your parent's honor is a bit much, isn't it?"
"The items, I can certainly give. Do I look like a man who would break his word in front of his subordinates?"
"Well, even setting the items aside……."
He had already shattered the Golden Goblin's weapon and all but neutralized it, and he had done it alone. Handing the kill over here for the sake of items would, honestly, leave a foul taste. Even so, Yujun decided to yield.
"Take it, then."
"Truly?"
Sertiphs looked startled, as if he had never truly believed Yujun would hand the Golden Goblin over so readily.
"Yes. I mean it. Go catch it."
Yujun fell all the way back and folded his arms. The posture of a man who meant to watch.
"My thanks. I will be sure to repay you, as promised."
Sertiphs smiled broadly for the first time and flew off with the Heavenly Race to hunt the Golden Goblin.