Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Heart of the Golem
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"Brother!"
A boy, a little smaller than others his age.
He ran over with a wide grin.
"What's that?"
The boy's gaze fell downward.
He had seen the large box in the man's hands.
"Here, a present."
The man handed the box he was holding to the boy.
The boy was so happy he lifted the box high with both hands.
"Wow! Isn't this it? Metallic Hero Mark Six!"
"Yeah, kid. It's expensive."
The boy jumped onto the bed and started tearing open the box.
Out came a toy wearing a shiny, metallic robot suit.
*Click-.*
"Whoa! It's moving!"
The toy started moving as soon as he inserted the included batteries and pressed a button.
Its joints moved smoothly, and the clearly recorded voice of Metallic Hero echoed through the room.
"You like it?"
The man watched with a pleased smile as the boy stared at the toy, completely absorbed.
They were brothers, each other's only family.
"Thanks, brother!"
He had started buying these Metallic Hero figures one by one for his bored little brother.
Before he knew it, he'd become more passionate about collecting them himself, knowing more about them than his brother did.
"Hey, that's an authentic one. It's the material-enhanced version from volume 12 of the Metallic Hero comics."
"Really? I've only read up to volume 9, so I didn't know."
"Read it slowly. After you finish your studies."
"Okay! I ate all my food and finished my homework because I knew you were coming!"
Even as he spoke, the little brother's eyes were glued to the toy.
The man feigned an annoyed expression, but his heart quickly melted.
After all, he'd bought it because he wanted to see his brother's happy face.
"Brother, when can I get out of here?"
The younger brother, who had been fiddling with the toy, suddenly looked up at the man and asked.
"Uhm..."
The man hesitated.
Should he tell the truth or lie?
"You don't know, do you? Haa... I wish I had a suit like Metallic Hero. Then I could go outside."
After a moment of hesitation, the man chose to lie.
"Just three more treatments!"
"Really? Just three more?"
"Yep. I asked the doctor."
"Wow! Does that mean I can go to school? I have to tell all my friends!"
The boy's gaze shifted to one of the walls.
On a small shelf, various Metallic Hero figures were posed.
All of them gifts from his brother.
*Plop-.*
The man sat down next to his brother and ruffled his hair through his woolen hat.
A poignant feeling washed over him.
"I should get going now."
"Already? You just got here after a whole week! Don't go!"
"I've been busy lately. But I'll bring you the Metallic Hero Mark Seven next time!"
"No. I don't need it!"
"I have to earn a lot of money so you can get your treatment and go to school."
"Forget it. I don't have to go to school!"
The boy whined, looking like he was about to cry.
The man's heart ached.
He wanted to stay by his brother's side forever, but he had to work to pay the hospital bills and buy toys.
In the end, it took a long time of coaxing and comforting before he could finally leave the room.
*Knock, knock-.*
The man tapped on the glass window to get his brother's attention.
"Study hard and listen to the nurses. That's how you'll get better faster."
"Hmph, you don't have to tell me!"
This glass window between them always brought a wave of sadness to both brothers.
"I'm going now."
"Come back soon!"
Not sure if his brother could see it properly, the man gave him a wide smile.
His expression turned bitter as he walked down the hospital corridor.
***
F-Rank Hunter, Lee Do-jae.
The lowest rank among hunters.
He had no special skills, and his physical abilities were only slightly better than an athlete's.
In reality, it was a stretch to even call him a hunter.
Because of this, guilds rarely accepted F-rank hunters.
And most people didn't even consider F-ranks to be real hunters.
As a result, the majority of F-rank hunters lived like ordinary people.
But Do-jae chose to remain a hunter instead of living an ordinary life.
The Hunter Association organized dungeon raids for guildless hunters, taking a certain commission, and he participated in those.
Of course, being so weak, Do-jae got injured often and had several near-death experiences.
The reason he didn't give up and continued to live as a hunter.
Wasn't it obvious?
Money.
Lacking any other talent, he had to risk his life raiding dungeons to cover his brother's hospital bills.
Treating his brother, who suffered from Congenital Mana Immunity Deficiency, required an enormous amount of money.
Just staying in a special hospital room that blocked external mana cost tens of thousands a year, so dungeons were the only place he could earn that kind of money.
In the past, he'd blamed himself, wondering why he had to enter dungeons and why he was only an F-rank.
But now, he accepted reality and lived with it.
In fact, he was grateful that even as an F-rank hunter, he could take care of his brother, and so he entered dungeons with that thought.
Recently, he had even started saving a little money, waiting for a cure that might one day be developed.
But why was God so cruel to him alone?
***
It was a raid just like any other.
The kind of raid where no one paid much attention to Do-jae, the F-rank.
"We're taking a break here!"
At the Raid Captain's shout, the hunters found spots to sit and began to tend to their gear.
Since it was a dungeon commissioned by the Association, the hunters' average skill level was poor, so they needed frequent breaks.
And now.
For Do-jae, who couldn't contribute much in battle, this was his time to be of some help to the other hunters.
*'Time to get started.'*
*Whoosh-.*
Do-jae started heading back the way they came.
To collect the monster carcasses.
Monster parts like eyeballs or sinews could be processed into medicine or items. They were one of the main sources of income from a dungeon raid.
*Shing-.*
Do-jae took out a short dagger.
And he began to cut open the chest of a monster whose body had been left behind.
*'Careful not to damage the poison sac.'*
Guilds had separate collection teams.
But there was no way a collection team would be present in a dungeon raided by day-laborer hunters.
So, they all carried daggers as a necessity and collected the parts themselves.
This was where Do-jae could be of great help.
If Do-jae collected everything while the other hunters were resting, they would only need to pack it up and leave after the raid was over.
It was an efficient way to use their time and labor.
"Huh?"
While rummaging through the blood-soaked monster corpses, something caught Do-jae's eye.
Do-jae immediately moved toward the wall.
And there, he found it—something sparkling.
*'A mana stone!'*
It was a mana stone he had walked right past because it was so close to the ground and covered in dirt.
Because his line of sight was lower while dismantling the monsters, Do-jae had managed to catch the faint glint.
*'This raid is going to be quite profitable.'*
Mana stones weren't easily found in dungeons.
Thus, regardless of their quality, they were traded at high prices.
But Do-jae had always had an uncanny knack for finding mana stones.
Well, not that Do-jae, who only ran low-level dungeons, had ever found a high-grade mana stone.
"Hooo."
He blew on it to clear away the dirt.
Since it was valuable, he had to be careful while collecting it.
*Sparkle-!*
Just by blowing off the dust, the mana stone emitted a bright light.
He didn't know much about mana stones, but this one seemed to have the clearest light of any he'd ever seen.
*'I'll be able to buy him the Mark Seven right away.'*
Filled with anticipation, Do-jae reached out his hand.
And the moment his fingertips touched the mana stone.
*Voom-!*
The mana stone suddenly began to vibrate.
And then.
"Ugh!"
An immense force pulled at Do-jae's body.
A moment later.
Only the dagger he had dropped remained where Do-jae had been.
***
*Rustle-.*
Do-jae, who had lost consciousness, opened his eyes.
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped his lips.
His whole body ached as if he had fallen from a great height.
*'What was that?'*
The surroundings were pitch black.
Do-jae slowly got to his feet.
He felt something hard in his hand, and the only thing he could see was a tiny point of light.
*'First, let's figure out where I am.'*
Do-jae reached into his inner pocket.
His smartphone, protected by a thick case.
He touched it, and the screen lit up.
"Ngh."
The bright light was dazzling.
He immediately used the screen's light to illuminate his palm.
*'The mana stone.'*
It was the mana stone he had managed to hold onto even as he was being sucked in by that powerful force.
He carefully put it back in his pocket and turned his phone over again.
*'I wasn't out for long.'*
The time he had checked when the raid party decided to rest was an hour ago.
Factoring in the time spent collecting loot from the monsters and moving through the dungeon, it meant he hadn't been unconscious for very long.
*'There's no signal, which means I'm still inside a dungeon.'*
An X mark was displayed over the network icon at the top of the screen.
A place in South Korea with no reception?
This had to be a dungeon.
*Fshhh-!*
Do-jae turned on his smartphone's flashlight.
A much brighter light illuminated the surroundings.
*'A tunnel?'*
As the area lit up, he could see that he was in a round tunnel.
Do-jae started walking forward.
Because the way back was blocked.
*'What are these drawings?'*
As he walked, he noticed strange drawings densely covering the cave walls.
He had been in many dungeons, but this was the first time he'd seen drawings like these.
Moreover, looking closer at the drawings, he realized there were repeating patterns.
*'This is a language.'*
He had heard of it before.
A special language that didn't exist on Earth.
The Runic language, which even now couldn't be fully deciphered, with only its general meaning understood.
Of course, since he'd never seen it in person, he could only guess that it might be Runic.
Though filled with curiosity, he continued through the tunnel.
And soon, he reached the end of the tunnel.
*Fwoosh-!*
A space so bright that his smartphone's flashlight was unnecessary.
A massive, hemispherical domed space appeared before him.
It was as wide and high as several soccer stadiums put together.
Inside, there were various structures, decorations, and all sorts of symbols.
It looked like an ancient temple.
And the centerpiece.
"Hah!"
A colossal figure in the center of the space.
For a moment, Do-jae was speechless.
"A giant?"
It had the form of a giant human.
Do-jae slowly approached it.
"Is it armor?"
Up close, he could see the giant wasn't a living creature but a suit of black iron armor.
A suit of metal armor that thickly encased the entire body from head to toe.
Just then, the mana stone in his pocket began to vibrate.
*Vwoom-.*
When he took out the mana stone, it emitted light and vibrated violently.
At the same time.
*Vwoom-.*
He could see light leaking from within the metal armor.
The light reflected off the statues, gradually illuminating the entire temple.
*Rumble-.*
And the mana stone and the armor trembled as if resonating with each other.
The trembling of the giant armor soon shook the entire cavern.
Finally.
*FWOOSH-!*
The moment the light from the mana stone and the light from the armor met, illuminating the whole temple.
A blindingly bright light spread in all directions.
And a voice echoed in the ears of Do-jae, who had his eyes squeezed shut.
- To the one who is worthy, I bestow the Heart of the Golem.
- Quest received!
[Quest]
Category: Main
Description: A test will now begin to see if you are truly worthy. Survive for the allotted time.
...
"What?"
And then, a tremendous pain suddenly shot through his chest.
"Keuk."
With a short groan, Do-jae lost consciousness.