Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Defeating the Blood Golem
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(2)
3.
The moment Ullan kicked off the ground.
The Blood Golem's eyes flashed with light.
The distance between them closed rapidly.
Just as it swung its axe.
"...!"
Suddenly, its movements changed. Faster than its massive frame should allow.
Whoosh! Boom!
A fist struck Ullan like lightning.
A cloud of smoke and dust billowed up. The ground had shattered entirely, kicking up the debris.
But Ullan was no longer there.
He had instinctively sensed the attack's trajectory just before the fist flew and leaped into the air.
'Surprisingly fast.'
But that was all.
Ullan hurled his axe immediately.
The axe spun fiercely and struck the creature's ankle in an instant.
Splat! Slash!
The axe carried the force of a giant.
A mere lump of blood like the Blood Golem couldn't withstand it. Its ankle was sliced clean off in a chunk, and Ullan swiftly retrieved his axe.
'Lose an ankle, lose your balance.'
And nine times out of ten, you'd fall.
Smash its head next, and the fight would be over.
But this time was the exception.
Even after losing its ankle entirely, the Blood Golem didn't lose its balance.
'What is...'
Ullan's eyes narrowed.
Because a new foot sprouted immediately from the cleanly severed ankle.
Regeneration far beyond common sense.
[Graaaaaah!]
At that moment, a roar of fury echoed.
Two more pairs of arms sprouted from its torso. Six arms in total. In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance and unleashed a barrage of blows.
Bang! Boom! Boooom!
The ground shattered and shook.
The surrounding area turned to ruins in an instant.
Was it the noise?
Not only Silphy, but even Ivela, who was fighting the Undying, turned toward them with a startled look.
"U-Ullan!"
Ivela's urgent cry.
But her worry didn't last long.
An axe burst through the billowing dust.
Whoooosh!
The axe tore through the air.
The dust scattered in one breath. At the same time, all six arms attached to the golem's body fell away.
"...?!"
Silphy, watching, widened her eyes in shock.
As if she couldn't understand how a single swing had severed six arms.
But it was too early to be surprised.
Crunch! Slash!
Following the arms, the golem's feet, head, and shoulders were cleanly separated.
Rumbbble!
The Blood Golem collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Ullan strode forward. Now he just needed to find its weakness and destroy it.
But at that moment.
Wriggle wriggle!
Something unexpected happened. The remains he had carved off were sucked back into the golem's body like a magnet. Seeing this, Ullan smirked.
"What a fun body you have."
Not content with regeneration, it even reattached the severed parts.
Then how far could it recover? As Ullan's expression darkened coldly, Silphy's shout came from afar.
"The Blood Golem has two power sources! You have to destroy both to finally stop it!"
The golem's power source meant mana cores.
In other words, it was similar to a magic beast.
'In that case...'
He'd fight it like a magic beast.
Ullan's eyes changed. They were the eyes of a hunter who had slain countless monsters and magic beasts.
"Huuu."
After a short breath to steady himself.
He activated all the spirits within his body. The spirits, frozen solid like ice, surged through his body in an instant.
Except for the axe.
This was an axe made purely of monster bloodstone.
It could slice through the Blood Golem's body without spirits just fine.
And the result.
Crack! Creak!
Ullan's body glowed red-hot.
As if he'd emerged from a blast furnace. This was the phenomenon from fiercely circulating his spirits.
[Gaaaaah─!]
The golem roared in fury once more.
Having fully regenerated its body, it suddenly began morphing into a grotesque shape.
Gurgle! Pop pop!
Sharp spines sprouted across its surface.
Soon, all the spines pointed at Ullan. Silphy's warning followed.
"B-Be careful! If even one of those spines grazes you, your whole body will be paralyzed...!"
But before her warning finished.
The spines launched even faster.
Pew pew pew pew!
Spines rained from all directions.
Silphy's face paled instantly. She could already picture Ullan turning into a porcupine.
But it didn't happen.
Because a miracle occurred when he swung his axe.
Pooof!
Like an overinflated balloon bursting, all the spines turned to a handful of blood.
"Huh?"
What just happened?
Silphy stared blankly. Meanwhile, the Blood Golem produced a second volley of spines.
Far more than before.
But the result was the same.
Pooof!
Another explosion rang out.
At the same time, Silphy's eyes went wide.
"...!"
This time, she saw it clearly.
The shockwave from Ullan's axe swing had burst all the blood spines.
This was Ullan's technique.
The same one that had shattered every mana orb during the entrance exam.
[Gaaaaah!]
All its attacks failing?
The Blood Golem bellowed in rage. Just as it tried to revert to its original form.
Flash!
Ullan charged ferociously.
At a speed incomparable to before. Thanks to activating his spirits to the limit.
[───!]
Locking eyes with its wavering gaze.
Ullan's axe danced wildly.
Whoosh! Bang! Boom!
Sudden explosive sounds erupted.
The shockwaves from the axe swings were literally detonating the golem's body.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The golem immediately tried to regenerate.
Of course, the regeneration itself succeeded. The problem was that Ullan's axe swings were far faster.
Sensing the crisis?
It suddenly flailed its fists wildly.
This would force him to dodge and create distance, buying time to regenerate.
So the Blood Golem thought.
But it had underestimated Ullan.
Splat! Thud!
Ullan didn't dodge the golem's fists.
A powerful impact soon rocked him.
Yet Ullan didn't budge. Like a tree rooted deep, he endured solidly and swung his axe with brute force.
[───!]
In that moment, the golem realized.
This barbarian warrior's intent.
Ullan had no thought of dodging or blocking. He'd rather swing his axe one more time.
Boom! Bang bang bang! Splat!
A merciless barrage of axe strikes.
As if refusing to let it regenerate, a savage and relentless assault.
Realizing this too late?
The Blood Golem swung its fists even more ferociously than before.
The two began trading blows head-on.
A mad brawl with no defense or evasion—just pure attack. Silphy's face drained of color.
"A-Ahhh..."
Fighting by taking every hit on their bodies. She'd never seen such a brutish battle anywhere.
How much time passed?
As blood soaked the ground everywhere, the winner of the mad fight emerged.
Crack! Craaack!
Ullan plunged his hand into the golem's torso and yanked out a grotesque lump.
A wriggling mass of blood, flopping like a fish.
Silphy cried out in shock.
"Th-The golem's power source!?"
Correct. Ullan grinned.
He gripped the power source tightly and opened his mouth wide. Like a beast about to eat.
And...
Chomp! Crunch crunch!
He chewed it up right there.
"Wh-Why are you eating that?!"
Silphy screamed in horror.
But Ullan ignored her and continued his ravenous feast.
Gulp!
The blood slid down his throat.
Ignoring Silphy's disgust, Ullan wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled.
"One left now."
His crimson eyes burned with greed.
The golem's gaze wavered as it met them.
Only one power source remained.
Lose this one, and it was over. It tried to steel itself with a roar of fury.
[Graaa...]
"Raaaaaaaagh─!"
But in that instant.
A louder roar drowned it out completely.
A bellow that shook the chamber.
The warrior's war cry.
But different from the one at the entrance ceremony.
That had been a friendly shout of goodwill and sincerity to future comrades. This one carried only raw killing intent.
Rumble rumble rumble!
A wave of murderous aura swept the battlefield.
The kind that made even Abyss monsters cower. The Blood Golem was no exception.
[Gr-Grgraaa...]
The Blood Golem's body slowed for a moment.
This created a fatal opening, and Ullan didn't miss it.
Crack! Boom! Splat!
A mad barrage like an airstrike.
Finally living up to its name, the Blood Golem began turning to blood.
And at last.
Crack! Creak!
The last power source was ripped out.
A heart dripping blood.
Ullan gripped it roughly, locked eyes with the golem, and demonstratively chewed it up.
Crunch crunch!
Like a wolf tearing into prey.
Blood smeared around his mouth, he finished the savage meal.
[Gr-Gra, aaa...]
And with that signal.
Splat! Crash!
The Blood Golem's body collapsed entirely.
It had lost both power sources, depleting the mana needed to maintain its form. Soon, a massive pool of blood formed where it had stood.
Blood soaking the floor.
Ullan sat down indifferently.
To properly digest the mana from the power sources he'd stuffed into his stomach.
Sometime later.
"Huuu."
All the mana absorption finished.
Ullan closed his eyes and examined the spirits in his body. To check his condition.
'Finally completed one spirit.'
The master's realm divides into five broad stages.
From 1-star to 5-star.
The star rank depends on the number of completed spirits or mana holes.
One completed spirit means 1-star; five means 5-star. So Ullan had just reached 1-star.
'Faster than my previous life, but...'
Still far to go. To reach superhuman heights, he needed the final stage: 5-star. Just like in his past life.
But it wouldn't take long.
Just like always, hunt magic beasts, rip out their cores, and eat them.
As he wrapped up his thoughts.
"Ullan?"
A familiar voice called.
Ivela's.
While he absorbed the mana, she'd apparently taken down the whole pack of Undying.
"You okay? Not hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine."
He'd taken a few hits from the golem, but the activated spirits prevented serious damage.
At worst, some torn skin.
Just a scrape.
"Wow, I can't believe you actually took it down."
Gazing at the blood pool that had been the golem.
Ivela murmured in admiration. Then she narrowed her eyes and glanced at Silphy.
"Wasn't it supposed to be impossible without a master's realm or a weapon made of monster bloodstone?"
"Ahaha, looks like the records were wrong. Ancient histories often exaggerate facts like that."
Silphy laughed awkwardly.
She glossed over the answer.
"St-Still, that was amazing! I'm no expert on fighting, but you looked like an advanced knight out there!"
"Right? Probably about that level in reality too?"
Ivela probed.
A reasonable guess.
Ullan was too young for a master's realm and hadn't used aura, the master's hallmark.
So Ivela figured.
Probably advanced knight level.
"... "
Ullan stayed silent.
Of course, the girls were wrong. He'd crossed the master's threshold and was now fully in the master's domain.
But he didn't correct them.
Simple reason.
Too bothersome to explain.
"But if you're advanced knight level, do you really need to enroll in the academy?"
Silphy asked curiously.
Makes sense. Even most professors in the military department were around advanced knight level.
Meaning equal to Ullan.
So what was there to learn?
That was Silphy's question. Ivela looked at Ullan with similar curiosity.
"I came to learn what I'm lacking."
"Huh? What's Ullan lacking?"
"What do you want to learn?"
"Knowledge."
"Ah."
A very convincing answer.
Just recall the entrance ceremony, and it clicked. The two girls nodded silently.
Then Ullan asked a question.
"Can I ask one too?"
"Sure."
"I'll tell you anything I know."
Reassuring responses.
Ullan dipped his head slightly. In thanks. Then got to the point.
"Do you know if there's a place in the academy that stores knowledge and information?"
His reason for entering Arsen Academy.
To find clues on the 'superhuman realm.' And info on powerful weapons as the ultimate goal.
'Now that I know the mana spring connects to an Abyss gate...'
He couldn't just sit idle.
He had to grow stronger than in his past life, at least. Only then could he protect his comrades and slay all the Abyss lords.
Right after Ullan's question.
The two girls stared at each other blankly. As if confirming they'd heard right.
Moments later, Ivela spoke.
"Uh, you mean the library?"
"Library?"
"If it's a place storing knowledge and info, library's the only one that comes to mind."
"Where is it?"
"The six-story building next to the cafeteria is the library. New students can use it, probably starting next week."
A detailed answer.
Silphy added more.
"If you're looking for specific materials or books, ask the librarian on the first floor. They'll recommend related ones."
Even finding info for him?
Ullan's eyes sparkled.
"I see. Thanks. That helps."
"No problem. It's nothing."
Really nothing. It was on the back of the guidebook from the dorms.
As their talk wrapped up.
Suddenly, something happened.
Rumbbble!
On the opposite side from where the Blood Golem had been.
The wall collapsed with a roar.
"N-No way, something else coming out...?"
As Silphy's face filled with anxiety.
Ullan shook his head.
"Looks like the trial's over."
Wind blew from beyond the wall.
Meaning it connected to an exit outside. At Ullan's words, Ivela and Silphy's faces lit up.
Finally, they could leave.
The two sighed in relief and followed behind Ullan. But they soon had to stop again.
"What's that...?"
Something sat squarely in front of the passage.
Three chests, weathered as if endured ages.
Chapter 11. And Then It Actually Happened