Chapter 150: I Am Iron-Fisted Holen! I'll Crush You Flat, Tin Can!
"I am Holen of the Iron Fist Retribution! I'll flatten you, you tin can!"
"Heh heh heh. Can't leave it all to that wild boar of an old man. I, Orwen the Redhead, shall take the field myself!"
The twenty-two geezers charged vigorously at the bronze golem.
"Unbelievable! Even sprinting this fast, my joints don't ache!"
"My spine! My spine's standing straight!"
"Swinging a sword all hunched over was no joke... So this is fresh air? Truly sweet!"
"Hey, everyone. My presbyopia's gone too!"
"Kahahaha! Power surges through me! Blood and slaughter shall be our joy!"
The summoned death knights were five levels lower than their summoner, Gillian.
In other words, all twenty-two were level 25.
The monsters in the Hymer Mine dungeon ranged mainly from level 65 to 75, and the bronze golem was a level 65 monster as well.
Normally, even with twenty-two of them charging in at a mere level 25, they should have been overwhelmingly pushed back.
"Hahat! You lumbering oaf! Where are you looking? At that speed, you can't catch Lord Rowin of the Gale!"
"Sloppy! Your stance is wide open!"
Experience was truly fearsome.
Despite the level gap that should have led to a one-sided beatdown, they were instead toying with it one-sidedly.
Gravity Blade
The 7-meter-tall bronze golem swung its arms this way and that like swatting flies, but the death knights dodged with effortless grace.
The teamwork forged over decades on the battlefield was beyond what a mere regular mob could touch.
"Here! You big lug!"
When one drew aggro, another relentlessly targeted the golem's weak points.
What good was brute stamina and strength?
If they couldn't land hits, it was all for naught.
Still, due to their level limit, their attack power was pitiful.
No matter how they chipped away, the bronze golem showed no sign of falling.
"Hmhmhm! Have you all slacked in the afterlife?! Your strength isn't what it used to be!"
The tide turned in an instant when Gillian joined with his +9 Gravity Blade.
The massive greatsword smashed into the golem's knee from behind, forcing it to buckle.
"Now!"
"Waaah! Glory to Ramark!"
"For the lord!"
"For the doll girl and the white-haired little doll too!"
The death knights unleashed merciless barrages from blind spots beyond the golem's reach.
Grraaaah...
The golem let out a deflating groan as it collapsed. Carpe felt a fleeting pang of pity.
"A 40-level difference, and they took it down easy. Numbers really do win, huh?"
-They're not just old oil; they're refined crude buried so deep it fossilized, and you dragged it out. In battle, that's premium fuel. Of course they'd fight well.
And those premium fuels were now bickering over who'd done better after felling the golem.
"Hmhmhm! This is why I can't retire even if I wanted to. Without me just now, you almost botched it!"
"General, aren't you overvaluing that gear carry?"
"Without that greatsword, you're not much different from us..."
"Hah. Words I can't just let slide. Then let's duel from now on! Who can drop more!"
"Bring it! Split into teams of ten and—"
Gillian and the death knights exchanged words before approaching Carpe.
"Lord, allow us to lead and clear the golems. Grant us this."
"Ah, sure. I'd appreciate that."
"Leave it to us! We'll sweep away anything blocking your path!"
The geezers (average age 82 + 160) reunited after decades busied themselves with flexing on each other.
Growing more childish with age seemed a universal truth, from Earth to RaSe alike.
"Wait there. We'll dedicate the glory of victory to the knight lady!"
"Me too! Me too!"
"Hm. Then I'll offer mine to the little white one!"
"Me too! I offer too!"
"Ugh... Fine, I'll dedicate to the squirrel!"
"You sly old foxes. Already claimed them all. Then... I'll..."
One death knight glanced around and locked eyes with Carpe.
He promptly turned away.
"...Nothing in particular. Guess I'll offer to the gods."
"..."
The death knights and Gillian roared battle cries and vanished into the fray.
"Watching these elders get sappy makes the game feel like a different genre..."
-As long as they fight well, who cares?
"True enough."
This hunting ground was way above their level, so it was a bit worrying... but worst case, just unsummon them. He decided to let them enjoy their rare outing.
"Let's see."
Carpe approached the fallen golem slowly.
Bronze golems were the most common monsters in the Hymer Mine.
Originally worker golems built to aid mining, they went berserk en masse for unknown reasons, per the lore.
And true to that, they carried large ore baskets on their backs.
-Hence the nickname "ore gacha mob." They randomly spit out ore on kill.
"I love those random drop mechanics."
Mostly low-grade ore, but occasionally high-grade, gems, or even ultra-rare magic metals like mithril.
-Rudneria Federation isn't called the industrial nation for nothing. You can mine yourself, and mobs drop ore too. Probably half the weapons on Ark'lukas continent come from here. With your blacksmithing skill, you'll score plenty.
"Yeah, lots of quests."
Carpe muttered as he upended the ore basket.
"Come on! Mithril!"
-How can a kid have such a guilty conscience...
"...Well, can't fill up on the first sip."
-Right. And you need those for quests anyway. Pick 'em up.
"Got it."
Before entering the Hymer Mine, Carpe had picked up tons of quests wandering Forge Street.
Excluding oddballs like Ramark's NPCs, RaSe NPCs were generally user-friendly, so no issues receiving quests.
'You look no ordinary craftsman. I'm Elton, a manager here. Care to help an old man?'
Ore Supply for Forge Street
📍 Level Restriction: Level 65+
🎁 Description: The Hymer Mine boasts the Federation's top output, but worker golems recently went berserk for unknown reasons. Dodging them to mine is impossible for regular miners. Supplies are fine now, but who knows when they'll run dry. Supply ore to Forge Street.
📍 Rewards: Scaled by ore gathered; clear with excess for ??? follow-up quest.
📍 Failure: Slight drop in Forge Street NPC affinity.
The first was a classic RPG fetch quest.
Common everywhere, but success scaled into a special chain quest.
And naturally, Cheonma knew the follow-ups.
-Dump a ton of ore and their affinity skyrockets. They'll trust you enough to spill the real deal.
The next was investigating the golem berserk cause.
Clearing that boosted all Forge Street affinity and granted a title for minor discounts on facilities.
-No users have fully cleared it yet. Oh, the golems went nuts because...
"Hey. Spoiler manners. Part of the fun is uncovering the story yourself."
-...What is this, a movie? Who cares about story in an online RPG? Just grind levels and loot.
Cheonma grumbled but held back spoilers.
Another was the "Blue Mithril" quest.
In a shabby Forge Street workshop lurked old blacksmith Bison.
Demented by lore, he'd repeat to users: "Blue... Blue mithril exists."
Hidden quest vibes oozed, and it was.
-Achieve special conditions on the mine's final floor for blue mithril. Deliver it, and he gives his treasure.
"O? What is it?"
-Spoiler earlier, huh?
"Spoilers have ranges..."
-...Gives a hammer with crafting success correction. Plus crafts an accessory from the blue mithril.
"Nice spoiler."
Plus Fergus's quest, these three were the mine's majors, with sundry others.
-Oh, one more.
"Huh? What?"
-Picked up inside. Not far. Great rewards.
"Gotta grab it. Where to, oh guide?"
-That way.
Carpe headed Cheonma's direction.
En route, signs of felled bronze golems—Gillian and crew's work, no doubt.
Carpe rummaged their baskets eagerly, but no jackpot.
"...Mithril really drops?"
-So they say? Never got one myself. Urban legend maybe?
"Nah, just bad luck on your part."
-...
Pressing on Cheonma's direction led to a dead end wall.
Or not quite dead end.
-Here. See the dog hole below?
"Yeah... actual dog hole."
Just big enough for an adult man to belly-crawl through.
-Crawl in; NPCs inside. Get quests from them.
"Hiding in weird spots."
Carpe flattened prone immediately.
Forcing shoulders through, he inched forward.
After ~5 minutes crawling, space to slightly arch his back appeared.
Two hidden NPCs there startled at Carpe and shouted.
"Wh-what?! Who are you?!"
"How'd you get here?!"
Carpe startled too. They weren't plain humans.
"Y-you greedy human... Using us up and now chasing us here?!"
"...Dwarves?"
Alongside elves, fantasy's star heteroraces!
RaSe lore had them shunning humans, so they glared at Carpe with instant hostility.
And then—
The God of Blacksmithing Astel fumes: "Who do those punks think they are daring to...!"