Clash with the Evolved Beings
Evolved beings, the followers of the evil gods, lurked like parasites throughout the continent, scheming in the shadows. But in reality, ordinary people rarely ever crossed paths with them in their daily lives. Unless you were a holy knight bound to a temple with a duty to exterminate them, or a C-rank adventurer or higher tackling quests tied to those bastards, you might go your whole life without encountering even one or two.
And yet, what the hell had Brina just said? "Evil god followers? And 'again'? What do you mean..."
"Those fuckers are wasting precious ore!"
"Brina?! Hey!"
It was already suspicious that she'd pegged those bizarre, golem-like things as evil god followers the moment she saw them. But what she did next shocked me even more. Brina spat a stream of double curses at the ones she'd labeled evil god followers and charged right in.
Fuck my life. I'd thought we'd cut ties with those annoying pricks after avoiding them in the last dungeon. Now here they were, even in the dwarves' Steel Fortress.
I cursed Brina out in my head, but there was no choice—I charged at the ones who'd spotted us.
"De. Tec. Ted."
"Two? Kill. Them."
Not only did they look like golems, but their speech was stiff and mechanical too. The moment they noticed us, they dropped the minerals they'd been chowing down on and rose to their feet.
I tried to eavesdrop for any info, but Brina ignored their words entirely. She barreled in with a hearty yell, manifesting a hammer in her hand and smashing it down.
"You rock-headed bastards!"
-Crack!!!
The plain hammer slammed into one of the golem-like evil god followers, sending stone dust flying as its body crumbled.
I was right beside Brina. I drew my black iron sword and swung at the arm of the one punching toward her.
-Clang!!!
"Ugh?!"
"Grk!! Hu. Man?"
A recoil like my grip was ripping apart hit me at the same time a groan escaped both my mouth and the half-golem's.
Inside the clothes too? Their exposed parts were covered in rock like golems, so I'd targeted the joints hidden under fabric. But the skin there was way tougher than I'd imagined.
What the hell are these things? No mana. It wasn't some magical barrier or special energy protecting their bodies—their skin, muscles, and veins were just insanely tough on their own. Sure, there was a limit; the spot I'd hit with the black iron sword cracked a bit and bled... but still.
"Die!!"
"Shut up."
Seeing my sword bounce, it grinned and threw a punch. I swung my pickaxe at its temple, splitting its skull.
That snuffed the life from its eyes. It foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Not that strong, huh? The skin's unexpected toughness had thrown me off, but their movements were clumsy, their speed nothing special. We could handle this level no problem. Glancing over, Brina was toying with the half-golems, manifesting various tools in seconds and pulverizing them.
-Thud thud thud!!!
"Die! How! Dare! You! Shove! Precious! Ore! In! Your! Filthy! Maws!!"
It felt less like hatred for evil god followers and more like primal rage. Her skilled miner's strikes shattered their rocky hides and ended them.
With three comrades down in a flash, the remaining two froze, then started backing away.
"Hey! Grab 'em! If they get away, it'll be a pain!"
"Goddammit."
I wanted to chew her out for starting a fight without warning, but I swallowed my anger and chased the fleeing ones, swinging my pickaxe at one's head.
"Urk....! He. Retic....!"
"Thanks for the intro!"
Brina had called them evil god followers, but I'd been skeptical. This one kindly confirmed it, so I kept swinging without pause.
Weaker than I thought? The name had panicked and scared me at first, but they seemed weaker than expected. Tough skin like golems, sure, but a determined pickaxe swing could crack it...
-Crack!!
".....Huh?"
Doubting their strength for evil god followers, on my fifth swing, the feedback felt off.
Tougher now...?
"Kkh. Can't. Kill. Us...."
-Squish!!!
It curled up, grinning as it tried to speak. I poured mana into my arm, doubling my strength, and swung again.
-Splatter!!
"Gurk...."
As I finished mine, Brina manifested a massive sledgehammer beside me and smashed the last half-golem's head.
Scanning for hidden ones, I irritably asked Brina, "What the hell was that? Evil god followers out of nowhere? Why charge without discussing?"
"That's just how it... Oh, right. You're human. Forgot, since humans rarely come to the mines with their own kind."
She peeled stone fragments from the corpses' skin and explained simply.
"I said it before, right? These tunnels are so vast and complex, non-dwarves can't navigate them."
"We even got lost briefly."
"Yeah. Makes it perfect for someone to hide deep inside. We've mined since our ancestors' time, so even we don't know every spot. That's why these evil god followers pop up now and then."
".......Damn."
So vast and complex even they couldn't map it all, letting evil god followers sneak in?
Dwarves, you crazy bastards. How do they mine in a deathtrap like this? Common sense says seal the mine if you know they're lurking.
"What nonsense. Block a mineral-rich mine over some bugs? The Justice Church and Mercy Church already nag about closing it—annoying enough without that."
"Fine, you're used to them. But why rush in without a word?"
Their appearance wasn't shocking to me—I'd run into them three times in a short span already. What bugged me was her charging without telling her party member.
"Oh, that? These are evolved beings."
"....Evolved beings?"
"You don't know? They worship the Beast of the End."
".....!"
Another evil god's name from Brina's mouth dredged up buried info. One of the evil gods, the Beast of the End, famed for granting followers a common power.
"The power of evolution..."
"Yeah. Leave 'em be, and they keep evolving, gaining weird abilities or getting stronger. Doctrine is to kill them early before they evolve."
I recalled handling one earlier. As my pickaxe struck, its skin had hardened further in that split second.
"Especially if you half-ass it and let 'em escape—the pain makes 'em adapt, evolving into bigger pains."
"What about their looks?"
"What else? Can't get proper food hiding here, so they evolved to resemble the golems wandering these tunnels."
They survived on minerals, even using them as evolution fuel. That explained the half-golem freaks we'd fought.
"Dwarves know ores inside out. We can gauge their evolution from the mineral-like skin. Figured we could take 'em, so I charged."
"...Fine, whatever. What're you doing now?"
She had reason, so I dropped it and pointed out her current action: collecting stone chips from the corpses.
"I said their skin takes on mineral properties."
".....Wait. You don't mean..."
"Yep. Prime material."
"......."
"Heh heh... Yeah, the ore we mined earlier was meh, but these..."
Even if they'd evolved, looked inhuman, and weren't treated as people on the continent—killing live ones and skinning them for materials? Seeing her casual attitude, I thought again.
Dwarves are fucking insane.
These guys aren't abandoning ancestral mines for resources—they're leaving them to farm more 'material' (?).
That suspicion even crossed my mind.
....
We gathered the corpses and resumed heading out. Brina hummed happily about her new 'materials' (kinda creepy, honestly), then suddenly turned to me.
"By the way, you struggled against them earlier, huh?"
"....Just bad matchup."
I use a sword; they have rock skin. Force it and I could break through, but it'd be tough and dull the blade. No choice but pickaxes, hence the hassle. Can't cut rock with a sword...
...Or can I?
"Right, the sword's the issue? Why not grab a hammer? If you've got emergency funds, 10 gold for one..."
I brushed off her sales pitch, recalling past memories.
....
After surviving the ogre in the dungeon, Karen had sliced through the entire fused structure to find us. Later, learning mana control, I'd asked her:
"That was amazing, Master. If I master mana, can I cleave huge gates like that?"
"That? Used a bit of mana since it was dungeon stuff... But slicing big things? Possible without mana."
"Huh?"
Praising her dungeon feat and asking about mana enhancement—
-Shwick!!!
"....Master?"
"Did I use mana?"
"No...."
She'd cleaved a solid steel training dummy without a drop of mana.
"How with no mana...?"
"That's why I said don't rely on mana—build swordsmanship basics. Don't limit yourself."
Don't consciously or unconsciously set limits like 'can't cut this.' Recalling her words.
And again:
"Yeah... You hunted rock beetles in Palos, right? Found your own method. Recall that hunt."
Rock beetle hunt...
Chewing on her advice to remember exploiting their rocky shells' gaps.
....
"The black iron sword's decent, but you need a sidearm... Huh?"
Brina paused mid-pitch, frowning. She'd realized I was broke but kept pushing—now something else.
-...Crunch. Grind.
The sound from the evolved beings earlier echoed again.
"More? You said they've increased lately, but this soon...?"
She encountered them occasionally, but not back-to-back like this. Muttering warily, she strode forward anyway to check.
"Three... of 'em."
Fewer than the five before. Squinting at their skin, she deemed them doable and fired up.
"Same level as before. Let's take 'em."
"Yeah...."
"Why the gloom? They're material too—I'll make your armor badass. Clear some out, get a bounty..."
She thought my low tone meant discomfort, but I was distracted.
...Should I use the sword?
Like the rock beetle quest for training—test it on these tough ones?
No need, really. Safely chip away with pickaxe, done. But...
That won't cut it.
Recalling witnessing Karen's power recently. Wanting strength to match hers.
Safe choices were my style, but it'd take forever to reach my goal. So.
-Shing....
Let's do it.
"Huh? Sword?"
Brina eyed me oddly as I raised my sword over the pickaxe, but I tuned her out, focusing.
She shrugged, manifested her hammer, and advanced. I kicked off too.
-Thud thud!!
"Kkh?! Spotted.... Still digesting...!"
They panicked late, forming up. I exploded forward into one's guard.
Observe.
Eyes wide, hyper-focused like finding rock beetle shell gaps.
Seeking cracks in the rocky skin.
-Whoosh!!
There.
Intently watching, I felt a subtle 'grain' in the skin's shift as it breathed, chest heaving.
I swung the black iron sword at it without hesitation.
And.
-Scraaaape!!!!
".....!!"
The black blade sliced smoothly into the tough skin, burrowing dee—
"Gaaah! You bastard!!"
"....!"
-Thump!!
Pain made it thrash, twisting my sword path and shaking me. The wedged blade vibrated, shock slamming my hand.
-Twang!!
"Gah!!"
Ringing pain; I dropped the sword with a yelp. Blood poured from my mangled grip.
Fuck... This always worked before.
Perfect feel. Peak focus screamed success...!
"You half-evolved savage dare...! Die!!"
This one spoke fluidly, unlike the others. Sword in its side, it raged and swung.
Fast?
Unlike the sluggish golem-likes.
Special one?
Looked same as others... more evolved?
Shit.
Why's the one I test sword on special? Bullshit much?
Trying to grab pickaxe from sub-space, but it was faster. No time for the motion—its attack incoming.
.....!!
"Primitive thing. Become fertilizer for great evolution!!"
Rocky fist hurtling at me. Instinct kicked in—I raised the sword to parry and slash.
-Twitch!!
Huh?
My replication stirred, responding to crisis.
-Flash!!
Light gathered in my hand, forming the most familiar shape.
Black sword. The one my master gave me, forged of black iron. Grip familiar, my body flowed: deflected the fist with the flat, swung at its nape.
"You...!"
-Whoosh!!
Instinctual best move. Unhesitating arm unleashed full power, slamming its neck. Skin tore; replicated sword crumpled.
"Gack....!"
As it rolled eyes and fell, relief? No achievement from first black iron replication due to poor understanding? None of it.
Fucked...
"....You. That's?"
Brina stared wide-eyed at the black iron sword in my hand.
...Shit. Stay calm. Trust my bullshit skills!
"...J-Just pulled a spare from sub-space..."
"Manifestation...? You have the Forge of All Things' blessing too?"
".....Huh?"
Panicking from first public replication, Brina sparkled and spouted nonsense.