The Stone Golem (1)

The hunters let out gasps of awe at the spectacle, which looked like an ancient ruin. "Whoa, what is this place?" "It doesn't feel like a gate; it feels like we took a time machine to the past." "The architecture doesn't look Korean at all—it feels like an ancient European city." "It really is a mysterious place."

The hunters had already lowered their guard, their eyes scanning the surroundings with curiosity at the sight unfolding before them. That was when it happened.

Boom!

Kim Yoonho slammed his shield into the ground and shouted, "What are you all doing right now! Did you come on a picnic?! Are you here to play?!"

Startled, the attack team members immediately put on serious expressions and began scanning their surroundings as if they hadn't been slacking off just a moment ago. Yooshin, on the other hand, was observing the area. Piles of collapsed stones were scattered carelessly everywhere. If this were outside a gate, one might dismiss it as natural erosion due to lack of maintenance, but this was a gate. Every minor detail had to be viewed with suspicion. Unless you wanted to die.

And Yooshin reached a conclusion. 'This looks like a Stone Golem habitat.'

It was subtly different from the places he knew, but the habits were similar.

Just then, Kim Yoonho walked over to Yooshin and said, "Since we've entered the gate, I'll speak plainly as the attack team leader. I assume you must have immense skill, considering you cleared a Sudden Gate alone?"

"No."

'Is he being humble now? Or is he trying to back out?' But it was already too late. It didn't matter how strong he was or what he had achieved. A rookie was just a rookie. Rookies needed to be trained. He had been the same way.

Then, Yooshin’s mouth opened again. "It’s not just immense; I possess overwhelming skill."

"...I-I see."

Kim Yoonho was momentarily speechless at the baseless confidence, but his experience as an attack team leader didn't go anywhere. "Seeing as you're so full of confidence, I don't think we need to stick together. Don't you agree? The faster we clear this, the better. So, I intend to split us into two groups."

"Do whatever you want."

Yooshin could see right through what the other man was thinking. 'Is he trying to assert his authority with some petty hazing?'

Kim Yoonho smiled as he saw Yooshin readily accept his proposal. "Park Seongmin, Lee Jeonggu, Park Sangho! Come here!"

The people called out came running over in a hurry. All of them had large bags, as big as their own bodies, slung over their backs.

'Oh?'

As Yooshin had expected, all three of them were porters.

"You guys will follow Hunter Cheon Yooshin."

"...W-what does that mean?" Park Sangho was flustered. Splitting up in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an uncleared gate, and not even with a D-rank, but with an E-rank? Moreover, they were non-combatants. The only one capable of fighting was Hunter Cheon Yooshin. They knew he had been active during the Sudden Gate incident, but that was then, and this was now. They couldn't trust and follow a kid who looked much younger than them in this dangerous gate.

"Why, do you have a complaint?" Kim Yoonho glared at Park Sangho with wide eyes.

"B-but..."

Kim Yoonho cut Park Sangho off. "I'll treat all the danger pay as an incentive. I'm saying I'll pay you everything we obtain in this gate as an incentive."

"Is that true?"

Unlike combat roles, non-combatants were on a salary system without incentives. So, while hunters earned tens of millions of won, non-combatants only received a monthly salary of 3 million won. As Park Sangho hesitated, Park Seongmin and Lee Jeonggu, who were standing next to him, accepted the offer.

"We'll do it!"

'Look at this?' This wasn't just about asserting authority. The intention was clear. It meant if you were lucky, you'd survive, and if you were unlucky, it didn't matter if you died. Seeing as he wasn't assigning any hunters and only attaching porters that he himself had to protect.

But Cheon Yooshin just grinned. Kim Yoonho also grinned.

"You guys go that way, and we'll go the opposite way. Any problems?"

"None."

"Ah! And it might be boring just going like this, so how about we make a bet?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"A bet?"

Kim Yoonho nodded and said, "Yes, a bet. Who can catch the boss monster faster. How about it?"

You could practically hear the gears turning in his head. 'He’s telling me not to hide passively.' Kim Yoonho's intention was that since they were split into two groups, they shouldn't hide until the clear, but actively participate in the raid.

"So, what do we get if we win?"

"We grant one wish the other party wants. How is that? Of course, something realistic."

"Sounds good. Shall we start then?"

Kim Yoonho shouted at his attack team members. "What are you doing! Get into attack formation and move out! Move!"

"Move!"

With the repetition of orders, the attack team led by Kim Yoonho began to move. Yooshin looked at the porters, who were wearing anxious expressions now that they were separated from the hunters.

"What are you doing? Unless you plan on camping here, let's get moving."

"A-ah, understood."

The porters, who had been watching Kim Yoonho's retreating back with lingering attachment, soon began to follow Yooshin as if they had no other choice.

How long had they walked?

"Stop."

Cheon Yooshin, who had been leading, came to a sudden halt. Before they knew it, Cheon Yooshin and the porters were standing in the middle of a place filled with piles of stones.

"This is interesting."

Yooshin smirked and turned his gaze toward the piles of stones. If they had been ordinary stone piles until a moment ago, now, faint magic power was flowing through them.

'Did some action trigger this?'

Yooshin checked the spot where he was standing and waved his hand through the air once. Then, the ground, which had been hidden by dust, revealed its appearance. Patterns of unknown meaning were emitting a faint light.

Rumble!

At the same time, the stone piles let out a roaring sound as they collided. At first, it just looked like stones moving, but soon they began to take shape. The stone fragments formed thick arms and legs as if they were finding their partners, and soon, even the heads were completed.

"S-Stone Golem?"

Park Sangho muttered to himself without realizing it. It was similar to the Stone Golem, a monster he had often seen in games when he was young. A massive height and build that reached a villa-sized building. The entire body made of stone was enough to make one think it was a Stone Golem.

Above all, what was most terrifying was that two red lights were flickering where eyes should be, glaring at them.

Park Sangho, who swallowed hard, looked at Cheon Yooshin. Not just him, but Lee Jeonggu and Park Seongmin as well. Fortunately, the Stone Golem hadn't shown any reaction yet.

"D-don't we have to run away?" Park Sangho muttered cautiously, keeping his eyes on the Stone Golem. But.

"We can't run away when there's a pile of money in front of us."

Cheon Yooshin spread his arms. Then, Dark Spear was created in an instant. It wasn't just one or two. Dark-colored spears were floating around Cheon Yooshin in no time.

Every time a Dark Spear was summoned, his Magi decreased, but Yooshin didn't care. His Magi was practically infinite, after all.

In no time, all 6 Stone Golems were glaring at Yooshin. Seeing that, Yooshin smirked and waved his hand. Then, the spears of darkness flew out like arrows.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Sparks flew continuously at the points where the Dark Spear and the Stone Golems collided. The Stone Golem's defense was at an excellent level among monsters. Naturally, he didn't think he could take them down with just a few spears.

"Alright. Let's see who wins."

Dozens of Dark Spear were created once again. As soon as they were created, the Dark Spear were fired toward the Stone Golems at high speed.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Sparks danced in succession due to the collisions. The Stone Golem's massive defense was useless against continuous attacks. When the 6 Stone Golems returned to piles of stones, a level-up message popped up.

The battlefield where the 6 Stone Golems had fallen was still filled with dust that hadn't settled yet, and the people stood still as if frozen. 'I-it makes no sense.' Park Sangho blinked his eyes and looked at Cheon Yooshin. He hadn't even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shown any intense movement. He had just stood in place and waved his hand a few times. And the result was in front of him.

'Is this possible?' It had been about 3 years since he started making a living as a porter. Porters didn't have combat abilities. But that didn't mean they didn't have an eye for it. However, he had never seen a monster that exuded such force as a Stone Golem. And he took down such a monster that easily?

When he was staring blankly at him, Yooshin looked at Park Sangho and the others and said, "What are you doing?"

"...Yes?"

"Aren't you going to pick up the magic stones? You said this was all incentive."

"...!"

Park Sangho's eyes widened. And he shouted quickly, "What are you guys doing! Are you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just going to watch like fools? Let's go to work!"

The porters, including Kim Sangho, began to run quickly. Perhaps because Stone Golems didn't have hearts? Fortunately, the magic stones were hidden between the piles of stones.

"I-it's orange!"

"What? Orange?"

Lee Jeonggu and Park Seongmin, who were looking for magic stones, had their eyes wide open at Park Sangho's shout. Orange Magic Stone. If the market price of a Red Magic Stone hovered around 100,000 won each, an Orange Magic Stone maintained a price of 500,000 won.

"J-jackpot..." Lee Jeonggu muttered while looking at the brilliantly shining Orange Magic Stone.

Ultimately, they acquired 5 magic stones from the 6 monsters. Once they put all the magic stones into Park Sangho's bag, there was no longer any hesitation to be found in their eyes. Their gazes soon turned to Yooshin. Cheon Yooshin, who was looking up at the sky, began to look like an angel in their eyes.

His level was rising fast. He had already leveled up 4 times here. For Yooshin, this was an easy hunting ground that could even be called a workshop. Dark Spear made with near-infinite Magi. And since the Stone Golems had massive, building-sized bodies, he boasted a 100% hit rate even if he just fired randomly. It was truly a honey-pot hunting ground!

"He took them down! Start quickly!" Park Sangho shouted.

"Okay! Woohoo! I wonder how many will come out this time!" Lee Jeonggu's mouth hung wide open as he ran out to the stone piles. Watching that, Cheon Yooshin shook his head. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that if there were crazy people in this area, it was them. They hadn't even taken down all the Stone Golems, but as soon as one turned into a pile of stones, they would run out even in the middle of combat.

'Even if it were me, I couldn't do that.' Even if he were to do crazy things because his martial prowess supported him, their actions were not easily understood even by Yooshin.

'Hehehe. It's a jackpot. A jackpot!' Park Sangho gripped the pouring Orange Magic Stones tightly in his hand, eyes wide, fearing someone might steal them. Others might click their tongues, thinking he was obsessed with money. But. Every time he put a magic stone into his chest, he pictured his fox-like wife and rabbit-like daughter smiling. His bag was already full, with no room for more magic stones. He felt reassured, having already received several months' worth of salary as a bonus. Of course, Hunter Cheon Yooshin would take the biggest share, but he had absolutely no complaints about that. That hunter was fully qualified to do so. He was... practically a god.

Just then, Cheon Yooshin shouted, "Alright, if you've picked them all up, let's move."

"Yes, sir!"

"Understood!"

"We will follow your orders!"

He smirked as he watched them answer with military-like discipline at his single word, like new recruits. The hunting continued after that. Cheon Yooshin's fast hunting and the collaboration of porters obsessed with magic stones, as Orange Magic Stones poured down like rain, were taking place.

#

Kim Yoonho's expression was heavily distorted. "What are you all doing! Everyone, stay tense and watch your surroundings. Do you understand!"

"A-ah, understood."

The faces of the attack team members who answered looked like their souls had been sucked out. The 4 Stone Golems they had encountered a moment ago. The tanks couldn't block the Stone Golems' simple punches. The dealers' attacks couldn't pierce the Stone Golems' defense. In the end, they used one slow-footed porter as a scapegoat and fled the scene.

'This makes no sense. No matter how D-rank it is, how could such a monster pop out.' The common prejudice that Stone Golems would be slow was shattered. If they had only had high strength and defense, they wouldn't have fled the scene like this. However, the Stone Golems' agility didn't lag far behind even when compared to regular hunters. No, it was actually faster. Because while the hunters got tired, the Stone Golems didn't get tired at all. As proof, half of the hunters present were lying on the floor as if they had collapsed.

But the rest was short-lived. Grrr-grrr-grrr! The sound of stones rolling hit their ears. At the same time, the ground they were standing on began to vibrate minutely.

Gulp.

In the midst of the silence, the sound of someone swallowing could be heard.

"N-no way..."

"I-it can't be."

People desperately denied it as they turned their heads toward that direction. And there, a Stone Golem 1.5 times larger than the previous one was running toward them, its red eyes flashing.

"C-crazy!"

"Fuck! We're screwed! I shouldn't have come in!"

Fear began to fill people's eyes.