Ikanaite Golem (2)
We'd acquired territory occupation points. The kind that determined ownership of the land. You earn points by taking down monsters or meeting specific conditions, and the side with the highest score claims ownership.
Damn, that's impressive, I thought. April's power exceeded my expectations. Regular ignition mages even considered Transfer after getting staves from the giant birds. But what I was after was the combo with Injection Explosion.
It upgrades the injected attribute to the next level—practically cheating. That's why I'd built our setup around April, and the results were phenomenal. Just Bleed alone did this much damage. What if we layered on other attributes too?
I'm curious what that would look like. Hell, I'd never tried it myself.
The core of this build was April's Injection Explosion paired with a Weapon Summoner who could infuse a variety of attributes. Add in the unique attributes from transformation tattoos, and the synergy would be even better.
That said, the lack of a proper tank is really showing. It wasn't an issue at low levels, of course. But the higher we went—and especially in areas influenced by the oni—the absence of a tank hurt more and more.
"……."
Those guys had gone quiet. Did they figure they didn't need to worry about us anymore?
"You ever seen an attack like that?"
"Flame attributes spreading is one thing, but other kinds…."
"Just the two of them took down twenty goblins with a combo attack. Way faster than us!"
Soon, whispers rippled through their ranks. No wonder—they'd needed ten people to handle twenty goblins, while the three of us wiped them out in seconds. They had to be shocked.
But would they just accept it? Now that these scrappy company folks had shown overwhelming power, the odds of them trying something shady were high.
"Uh… which company are you with, exactly?"
That's when a bearded guy who'd been lurking behind us approached.
"What's it to you?"
Suddenly curious, huh? They hadn't bothered asking earlier.
But I had no intention of telling them.
"What? I'm not tryin' to do anything—just looks like you're from a company, and you know we gotta cooperate early on, right? I'm sayin' let's team up."
Cooperate, my ass. I don't settle down until I've paid back what I owe tenfold. These bastards were ready to let us die.
So I'd return the favor.
"I can see you've got killer offense. But no real tank in sight… you sure you can handle this place?"
"Hell, without a tank, you can't claim shit anyway. If you wanna make it out alive, save your strength early on!"
These pricks were hiding their true intentions. Why drag us along? Simple: they knew our attack power was legit, even without a tank. They wanted to conserve their own strength for the real fight at the mine.
"…Or we could just take one out right here, no need to drag it out?"
That's when a guy in a leather jacket chimed in with a different idea. Impatient bastard—didn't expect him to show his hand so soon.
"Fighting among ourselves would cost too much, but squashing some nobodies? That's fine."
"…Ahem."
No rebuttals. Even the beard seemed to agree.
The goblins are coming.
Kethar whispered quietly. He'd caught their scent, but those idiots hadn't noticed a thing.
Use us to save your strength? Yeah, that's a great plan. We could use you guys too.
-Kweeek!
-Kwiik!
Goblin cries echoed from all sides. Aggro pulled perfectly.
"Leave the rear to them and head straight for the mine."
…Got it!
Kethar accepted immediately. Guess he was pissed at being looked down on.
We started climbing the mountain right away.
Thwish! Thwish!
Bolts rained down from both sides. Goblin crossbowmen had shown up too.
"B-block them!"
"Left flank, up high! Target the left!"
Their guild members were getting pelted too.
…There's a bridge ahead!
As we climbed the slope, a bridge stretching across came into view. Crossing it would shake the goblins.
But we couldn't just leave without a parting gift.
"April, light up the path they're climbing."
"Got it!"
Whoosh!
Flames erupted along their ascent route. To cross the bridge, they'd have to loop all the way around—which meant clearing every goblin here first.
"Those fucking bastards!"
"What the hell are they doing?!"
"Path's blocked! We gotta go around!"
"Break through! Break it open!"
We could hear them cheering our stunt. They loved it this much already? Can't wait to see how they like the finale.
Capital city, Hamilton. Incredible figures were gathering in droves. Rank 1 company Zeus, of course. Presidents from top-10 companies arrived with their guild masters in tow. City guards joined the fray too.
The sheer concentration of heavyweights filled Hamilton with tension.
But notably absent: Orion Company.
"Thank you all for coming."
Gamble's gravelly voice boomed. He thanked the presidents and guard captains entering the conference hall.
"I'll explain why I called this meeting. Lenador, join me."
At Gamble's urging, Lenador took the podium and began sharing her intel. The main topic: Orion's body modification experiments.
Some presidents closed their eyes tightly. Others picked their ears, feigning disinterest.
"…That's the situation. They've crossed the line. We need to intervene."
"Hmph… serious stuff."
Mercury Guild Master Benher reacted first. The usually affable, laid-back man showed no such demeanor now.
"I agree with him."
Long white hair tied back, massive nodachi in hand—Rank 1 Zeus Guild Master Derok backed Benher up.
With top guilds on board, the mood swung toward approval.
But….
"Something feels off, though?"
Someone raised an objection. President of a Rank 8 company.
"You're talking sanctions over experiments? Come on, everyone's doing stuff like this."
"What are you saying?"
"Think about it. Not humans, sure, but everyone's got monster habitats, right? Especially Zeus and Mercury—dozens, hundreds?"
"I don't see the connection."
Lenador didn't buy it.
"Monsters or not, it's the same as experimenting. Hell, we do worse…."
"Comparing monsters to humans? What the…."
"Just my take. Can't support this. Especially not you Zeus and Mercury folks—doesn't it prick your conscience?"
"……."
"……."
A forced argument. But a faction echoed it, spouting nonsense. The pro-intervention side sensed the shift.
…It's all been arranged. How deep does this go?
Lenador squeezed her eyes shut. The board was set. Maybe war between companies over Orion was next.
The conference ended with all but a pro-Orion minority opposing. Their task now: secure as many allies as possible.
We crossed the bridge and entered the mine. Most goblins were outside, so no major issues.
Except….
…These things.
Leading Kethar halted at the scattered boulders. Normal for a mine, but we knew what they were.
"Ignore 'em for now and push in."
We bypassed the rock piles and delved deeper. Lanterns lit the mine path, rails guiding us along.
How far in did we go? Near the end, we found a massive black-tinged stone embedded in a wide chamber.
Unlike regular rock, this was Ikanaite ore.
…Found it.
Material tougher than plate armor. Rare and hard to find. Our target.
"Let's prep."
It was hunkered down, asleep. Touching the ore would wake it. That's when our plan kicked off.
"Those goddamn fuckers…."
"Won't let 'em get away with this…."
Familiar voices from behind. The guys we'd screwed over at the bridge had caught up.
…Faster than expected.
"You dare toy with us? Thought we couldn't follow?"
"Listen here. You've crossed the line big time. I'm not holding back either."
Two shield-bearers growled. The ground hummed with their company's mana.
"Spread your mana and check—it’s already decided. Me or him."
"Guessing that's why you're here. But back off. We've got a deal: loser takes the ore."
Yeah, you'd sorted it among yourselves. Problem is, I want both.
"They're right. Most of the mana here is theirs."
April had spread her mana to check. Kethar and I could gauge exact percentages.
No need to spread mana—the system window gave precise figures. They had a huge lead. Esteno had no shot like this….
But occupation battles have special conditions.
Discover hidden elements in the territory or take down specific monsters. Nail those, and you can surpass their score.
"And we weren't planning to let you live anyway? You've gone too far."
"Agreed. Hate these guys, but business is business."
They split, encircling us. Nice, but you've got prior commitments.
Thud. Thud.
I approached the Ikanaite ore. They didn't know what it was yet.
"Gonna touch rare ore before you die? Heh heh heh."
Tap.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Ignoring his bullshit, I placed my hand on the Ikanaite ore. It shuddered violently.
"Wh-what? What's happening?!"
"Antonio! What'd you do now?!"
"What the fuck are you talking about, asshole? I didn't do shit!"
Rumble rumble boom.
Thud! Thud!
The ore rose. Roars echoed around us.
-Grrraaah…!
-Grrraaah!
Golems throughout the mine awakened. Leading them: the Ikanaite Golem.
"B-boss! Check behind us!"
"Bro! Behind—behind us…!"
They spotted the golems swarming in. Stay put, and they'd be golem chow.
But were we just gonna stand there?
"Sh-shit… take out those bastards first!"
Yeah, that's your job. And ours….
"Kethar, get ready. We're absorbing that thing."
…Got it!
Absorbing it was our job. I pulled out the seventeen beads I'd bought from the shop.