Chapter 195
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Chapter 195
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: The Paulownia Watchman
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Kang Seol was reminiscing about the early days when he was planning what was now the grave of the looter Golrun.
"So why is this...?"
A man holed up alone in a secluded corner, unable to tear his eyes away from the game board.
A bizarre mask adorned with leaves and branches covered the face of the god-like figure enjoying the game solo.
He was mainly a solo player.
Kang Seol approached him.
"Um... Pudgy Paulownia."
"So why... Oh? Snowman, what's up?"
Pudgy Paulownia was a famous player back then.
In contrast, Kang Seol hadn't left any notable marks while playing Eternal World, so he felt somewhat intimidated.
"I have a favor to ask."
"A favor? Ah... a favor!"
Pudgy Paulownia was an odd character. He didn't mingle with others and only enjoyed the game alone.
Yet he was quite well-known because of his words.
"Since you helped me last time, it's only right that I return the favor. Of course, that's partly empty talk. Truth is, I don't really want to grant your request."
"......"
His personality was peculiar too.
"That golem scholar—is he still alive?"
"Isn't that a bit too grim a way to ask about someone's well-being?"
"Oh..."
"Yes! He's alive! Even refined an ultimate technique. This is a secret, though."
"An ultimate technique?!"
Even accounting for Eternal World being in its early stages back then, top-tier players were sorely lacking.
The reason? Everyone kept dying left and right during adventures, so they avoided risky ones, which drastically slowed their growth.
There were occasional players who succeeded in dangerous adventures back-to-back, but they ultimately met futile ends.
In short, awakening an ultimate technique was rare in itself.
Yet this man Kang Seol had come to claimed to have refined one—the hallmark of a top player—so young Kang Seol's eyes went wide.
Experts in one's own field were always objects of admiration. Kang Seol was no exception.
"Whoa... That's amazing. When will I even get to glimpse the threshold of an ultimate technique?"
"Hahaha! That's too much for you, but Snowman, you've got potential."
"Really?"
"Of course, that's empty talk."
"......"
No wonder he was an outsider.
The young Kang Seol endured the awkward conversation and pressed on.
"So, about that favor..."
"What favor?"
"I received a blank watchman golem..."
"I heard. You took a loss on that deal. The treasure you traded was pretty valuable, wasn't it?"
"Yes. But I needed the golem more urgently..."
"A deficient watchman golem like that can't protect anything..."
"...So I need some help with that."
Pudgy Paulownia opened his mouth wide.
"Ah! Is the modification the favor?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Golems? I'm the expert, Pudgy Paulownia. Modification? Of course, I'm not doing it myself. I'm just taking credit for what my words will accomplish! Anyway, what kind of modification are you aiming for?"
"Well, the direction of the modification is..."
After hearing the full story, Pudgy Paulownia frowned.
"Hmm... You sure that's okay? Efficiency can be boosted, sure, but sticking something like that just in a treasure vault seems wasteful."
"My power comes from the treasure vault anyway."
"And using a treasure's power doesn't make you invincible. Some treasures have restrictions as nasty as cursed relics."
"Still, without it, I can't protect anything. My combat skills are pretty average."
"...Alright! Let's get started right away! Snowman's treasure vault... Wait, what was it again?"
"Golrun. Looter Golrun."
"From now on, we'll refine an invincible golem to guard Looter Golrun's vault!"
"Wooow!"
"Of course, my words are making it, so keep the cheers modest!"
"...Yes."
Pudgy Paulownia was, as expected, a tricky guy.
Kang Seol briefly recalled how this massive watchman golem had come to be here.
Memories from that time flooded back.
Adventure 25-2. 'Giant Outside the Rat Hole'
You've avoided the worst—dying to falling rocks from the ceiling—but things aren't great now.
📍 At least you've learned the ground here is extremely unstable.
⏰ You've found a path forward: the rat hole used by grave rats.
🎁 This seems to be the tunnel they used to flee with treasures from the vault.
A door lies ahead.
But a massive golem circles it relentlessly.
You'll need to deal with that golem somehow to escape.
Goal: Defeat the golem or slip past undetected to the next stage.
Remaining Time: About 2 days.
Thud...
Thuuud...
The golem modified by Pudgy Paulownia circled the treasure vault relentlessly.
A large pillar stood in the center, and the golem just kept orbiting it.
Thud...
Thud...
Karen tilted her head and said,
"Why not just smash it?"
Both Kang Seol and Ur looked troubled.
[Mid-tier Insight activates.]
[Physical Impact Mitigation activates.]
[Elemental Damage Reduction activates.]
[Overwhelming Might activates.]
[Brilliant Mirror activates.]
[Vitality Regeneration activates.]
[Elemental Repair activates.]
[Thorn Armor activates.]
...
Messages flooded in endlessly. Kang Seol fell silent for a moment.
'Did he go overboard with the modifications?'
It was Pudgy Paulownia's masterpiece, crafted with utmost care.
Kang Seol's Foresight scanned the passing golem's info.
Kang Seol read the Paulownia Watchman's info and pondered.
'If the watchman is fully operational, we can't squeeze through.'
The door the watchman had just passed came into view.
'It uses the treasures' power. Inside this vault, beating it won't be easy.'
A golem wielding treasure powers.
Pudgy Paulownia's repeatedly modified masterpiece.
What's that bookbag on the golem?
Put treasure in there and it counts against you, right?
Looks like grandpa's sack.
As the viewers pointed out, the Paulownia Watchman had a basket-like compartment on its back.
Ur spoke in a hesitant tone.
- It seems possible to smash it, but it'd take too long. I sense over ten layers of barriers. Hammering that brute would take a full day. One hit from it and we're done for.
Karen asked back,
"Then what? Can we sneak past without it noticing?"
"Impossible."
Kang Seol stated flatly.
Magic circles covered the floor of this room.
Any irregular movement would alert the Paulownia Watchman, exposing the intrusion.
"Unless we fly, it'll spot us for sure."
The Paulownia Watchman's rank was merely Hero, but a single condition amplified its power beyond its level.
Not leaving this room.
'The problem is we have to pass through here.'
Options appeared before Kang Seol.
This room is guarded by the Paulownia Watchman. What will you do?
1. Attempt to converse with the Paulownia Watchman.
2. Attempt stealth infiltration past the Paulownia Watchman.
3. Search the grave rats' lair.
4. One draws attention while the others escape.
...
None were suitable choices.
Especially 3—glimpsing the gruesome corpses of grave rats that had exploded along the path to this rat hole confirmed it.
- Clashing with that golem is like begging the already weak ground to collapse. Avoid direct confrontation.
Karen laughed at Ur's words and asked,
"If it collapses, can't you pull us out again?"
- I don't have the mana left. Even then, I barely squeezed out the remnants.
"Then what do we do?"
Kang Seol rested his hand on his chin and said,
"I think there's one way..."
"There's a way?"
Ur anticipated Kang Seol's idea and spoke.
- You're thinking of using that pocket watch?
"Still mulling it over."
The fair pocket watch used by the triplets—no, twins now, with one dead.
For some reason, when it fell into Kang Seol's hands, it had become the unfair pocket watch, its rank shifting from cursed relic to treasure.
Kang Seol was weighing if he could use it here.
- Sharp mind. The golem repels intruders with treasures bridging the level gap... Probably insert them into that inlet on its back.
Ur had analyzed much of the Paulownia Watchman in that short time.
- Shove it in. It'll stop as you think.
"How can you be sure? It might not work on the golem, or the watch might not have enough left."
- Trust me. I guarantee the quality. I can even tell the remaining time and range.
It was an absurd claim.
"You guarantee the quality? Why?"
- It's Kagon's.
"...What?"
- That pocket watch is Kagon's. Obvious at a glance.
"The empire you lived in?"
- Yes.
Absurd, but the watch had been suspicious since acquisition.
"The ability was too outlandish..."
Burning lifespan for power... No ordinary item.
- Correction: It manipulates time, not lifespan. Kagon's magitech was advanced enough.
"Manipulating time..."
- When I was imprisoned, Kagon's magitech split into two: time and incantation. This is a byproduct of time magitech.
"But if it's that valuable, is using it here right?"
Too precious to waste on a golem.
But Ur judged differently.
- Useless junk is just baggage. Better to extract the mana inside. That watch is like a shell holding a pearl.
"Pearl?"
- Difference between magitech and magic. Magitech condenses mana for superior recovery. Same with this watch's mana.
"...What do we do with that mana?"
- Aren't you uncomfortable from my mana shortage? It's on that level.
"Can't extract the watch's mana directly?"
- Who activates it then? Note: The watch is on the verge of collapse—whoever uses it risks a mental blowout.
"......"
- That mana only I can touch. A normal mage greedy for such dense mana would explode. Only the progenitor of magitech like me can handle it.
I'm not ordinary lol
Not even human anyway lolol
Die if I die whatever lol
In the end, they decided to use the watch.
Thud... Thud...
Even now, the Paulownia Watchman circled relentlessly.
- Who'll insert the watch?
Kang Seol said,
"I'll do it."
He who built it would dismantle it.
- Incoming. Prepare.
Swish...
Kang Seol gripped the watch with Shadow Hand, biding his time.
Thud...
Thud...
The tremors grew as the Paulownia Watchman approached.
Thuuud...
'Now!'
Kang Seol's Shadow Hand carefully slipped the pocket watch into the Paulownia Watchman's pouch.
Thud...
Thud...
The Paulownia Watchman showed no reaction, continuing to circle the pillar.
"...Nothing's happening?"
- Wait. It's just starting.
With those words, the watch activated.
[Paulownia Watchman uses Temporary Storage.]
[Consumes stored item's durability to activate ability.]
[Paulownia Watchman uses Treasure's Power.]
[Slightly amplifies the treasure's power.]
[Treasure: Unfair Pocket Watch activates.]
[Paulownia Watchman's stats increase by ???%.]
[Loses ??? years of lifespan every 2 seconds.]
Tick-tock...
The second hand suddenly began clicking.
Thud...
Thuuud...
The Paulownia Watchman circled the pillar unfazed even after activation.
'Gonna take a while to see results.'
But contrary to expectation, the reaction was immediate.
Perfectly fine when hidden behind the pillar's far side.
Grind...
By the time it emerged into Kang Seol's view, its body was crumbling in places.
Whoosh...
Whoosh...
Dust billowed from the golem's frame.
Kang Seol's eyes widened.
"This is time's power..."
- Precisely, Kagon's. Convenient, but controversial even then. Unlike incantations, heavy side effects. Anyway...
Whoosh...
Whoooosh...
Screeech...
The Paulownia Watchman's body tilted slowly, finally collapsing.
CRAAASH!
[Defeated Masterpiece: Paulownia Watchman]
[Additional rewards granted.]
[Special Achievement 'Hands-Free Nose Blow' acquired.]
[Special Title 'Invisible Hand' obtained.]
Whoooosh...
A gale swirled where the Paulownia Watchman had stood. A massive blue orb floated up.
- Pardon, fairy.
"...Huh?"
Swish...
Karen was sucked into the shadow space.
[Sealed Ur's Lone General activates.]
[Sealed Ur gains stats from the now-unsummoned Karen.]
Kang Seol eyed Ur warily, but Ur waggled a finger.
"Necessary procedure. Now..."
Crackle...
[Sealed Ur's Magitech activates.]
[Deciphering unidentified mana.]
...
The blue orb unraveled like thread, sucked into Ur's body.
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