Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Voices of the Golems
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It had been an hour since the dungeon break occurred.
Clank— Clank—.
The golems dispatched to rescue people had returned.
One by one, the arriving golems disappeared into the subspace he had opened beforehand.
‘Looks like most of the people in critical condition have been rescued… and the hunters are starting to gather.’
Do-jae turned to look in the opposite direction.
Under the dark night sky, the land, bathed only in moonlight, was teeming with monsters.
‘More importantly, deep below this place… Gellahan’s energy is stronger than anything I’ve ever encountered…’
Do-jae looked forward again, gazing at the wide pit.
From within, the cries of monsters echoed upward.
- Kiiyaaaak!
- Grrrkk!
The night was already pitch-black.
The pit, where nothing could be seen, was like a highway to hell.
Thud, thud—.
But Do-jae headed toward the pit without any hesitation.
With each step, surrounding stones rolled over and climbed up his legs.
And the moment he reached the edge of the pit,
his most familiar and mana-efficient basic Stone Golem Armor was complete.
Leap—!
Do-jae plunged into the pit without restraint.
Worry about the height?
Fear of the monsters?
Do-jae had already assessed everything with the Nerves of the Golem.
The pit's depth was manageable; the Golem Armor's defense could sufficiently cushion the impact. The monster auras he felt were also only at the level of low-grade monsters.
He had to descend further, deeper, without delay.
Thud—!
Psssssh—!
Landing on the bottom with a loud crash, Do-jae walked out of the wide crater created by the impact.
"Kiiiek!"
"Kyaak!"
The inside of the pit was like a separate dimension from the outside, shaped like a cave with a path lined with torches.
Just like a dungeon.
Shwoook—!
Blue mana coalesced around Do-jae.
The mana took shape, instantly forming dozens of magic arrows.
Skill, Magic Arrow Lv. Max.
After returning from the other world, Do-jae had continuously read magic books and invested all his stats into Spirit, allowing him to create this many Magic Arrows without an incantation.
This wasn't merely using a skill; his understanding of the fundamentals of mana and magic had maximized the skill's performance.
Just as physical-type hunters' skill levels rose and became more powerful through repeated training, the more one understood magic, the more their skill levels would rise on their own, even without use.
Shashashak—!
"Kweeeek!"
"Kiiiek…."
The launched Magic Arrows flew at incredible speed and struck the monsters.
Targeting vital spots with perfect accuracy—the crown of the head, the heart, between the eyes, the throat—the Magic Arrows killed the monsters in a single blow.
"Kyaaaak!"
The monsters that were lucky enough to survive let out ferocious cries and approached Do-jae.
But the 'Black Scale' was already in Do-jae's hand.
Pshuk—!
Swish—!
Every time the Black Scale passed, monsters dropped one after another.
It was so fast that the monsters' bodies only split apart, spouting blood, after they had already fallen.
It went without saying that not a single drop of blood stained the Black Scale.
‘There are too many. Facing them alone is a waste of time.’
Not just outside the pit, but inside as well, the number of monsters seemed endless.
Continuing to hunt only low-grade monsters like this was a waste of time and stamina.
It was better to leave these low-grade monsters to the hunters who would enter later and descend deeper himself.
***
Thud—!
The second pit.
Unlike the first level, a wide, bright space appeared.
‘This isn't a simple dungeon break.’
Do-jae had clearly entered the ground.
On the previous level, torches lit the surroundings, but this place was as bright as midday.
It would be understandable if this were a field-type dungeon.
But this place had a ceiling.
He could even get a weak signal.
It was as if a region from the other world had been cut out and moved underground.
‘Has the boundary between dimensions collapsed?’
Rumble—!
A horde of monsters kicked up a sandstorm as they charged.
Do-jae opened his subspace and brought out his golems.
Kra-koom—!
When the horde of monsters crashed into the golems that had formed a wall, a grand sound, like a fortress wall collapsing, erupted.
Unfortunately, only the golems in the front line sustained minor damage, while the fiercely charging monsters were turned to pulp upon impact, leaving behind only a sticky liquid.
[Level (Golem) has increased.]
[Level (Golem) has increased.]
[Level (Golem) has increased.]
…….
The golems that had defeated the massive number of monsters leveled up several times in an instant.
The levels of the golems made from low-grade mana stones rose significantly, but since they would eventually be turned back into mana stones anyway, it wasn't a cause for great joy.
‘As expected, the four of them are still the same level.’
The four black golems that had directly absorbed Gellahan's mana.
Their levels were already high compared to the others, so they remained unchanged in the mid-90s.
While clearing dungeons, Do-jae had realized something: there was a level cap for his golems.
Excluding the golems that had received Gellahan's mana, those made from D-rank mana stones had a limit of level 50.
C-rank was 60, B-rank was 70, and finally, A-rank mana stones wouldn't go beyond level 80.
Of course, Do-jae found this disappointing, but the truth was that he alone could exhibit combat power greater than that of a mid-tier guild.
Of the 100 golems obtained from Elatra's temple, 90 were made from A-rank mana stones, and he had nearly maxed out the levels of the remaining 10 B-rank golems, giving him a force of 100 golems at levels 70-80.
‘I'll break through here quickly too. The strongest ones are only 6th-grade monsters.’
Most of the monsters he could sense with the Nerves of the Golem were 7th and 8th-grade.
He occasionally sensed 6th-grade monsters, but they were few in number and mostly gathered in one place.
Do-jae knew that stronger monsters awaited the deeper he went, and he could tell that the place where the 6th-grade monsters were gathered was the entrance to the next level down.
Vwoom—!
The widely opened subspace swallowed the golems at once, and Do-jae started running toward the location of the 6th-grade monsters.
***
Third basement floor, fourth basement floor, fifth basement floor.
Do-jae passed through them quickly.
From the fifth floor, monsters comparable to those in a B-rank dungeon appeared, but they couldn't even scratch Do-jae's Golem Armor.
Honestly, he desperately wanted to take his time, hunt the monsters one by one, and fill up his and his golems' experience, but the mana of whatever was below kept fluctuating, so he couldn't stop.
Kwa-gwa-gwang—!
Near the pit on the fifth floor.
As the Black Scale cut through the air, a powerful stream of mana became a blue blade that swept through the monsters.
The Black Scale had already soaked up the blood of hundreds of monsters, glowing so red that it was hard to call it the Black Scale anymore.
Twinge—.
Thud—.
"Damn it."
Do-jae dropped the Black Scale from his hand.
Two days had passed since he entered the pit, and for those two days, Do-jae had fought monsters without a single break.
Not only his stamina but also his vast mana had dropped to a third of its capacity.
As the Black Scale's power grew, its destructive force increased, but so did the strain on Do-jae.
As proof, Do-jae's right hand was now more swollen than usual.
‘Going down like this would be reckless.’
Do-jae turned back and moved toward the pit leading to the fourth floor.
Descending further might be impossible for now, but he could at least block the monsters trying to go up.
He had already missed a fair number of high-grade monsters, but that amount wouldn't cause significant damage to the hunters coming down.
Besides, he could feel the auras of two people with mana stronger than anyone he had ever met, right above his head. Perhaps his worries were excessive.
Clank— Clank—.
Do-jae brought out dozens of golems, led by the black ones.
They were all golems raised to their level 80 limit.
He then moved the golems, arranging them in a square formation.
He positioned the golems to create a space large enough for five or six people, then had other golems climb on top of them.
In an instant, a small house made of stone was complete.
"You four, guard the perimeter. If you have the chance, you can hunt the monsters trying to climb up the pit."
After setting the four golems to guard the area, Do-jae entered the golem house.
The golems were interlocked all the way to the ceiling, creating a space completely sealed off from the outside.
"Light."
Do-jae used magic to illuminate the interior, then sat on the floor, leaning against the hard golem wall.
After fighting for three days and nights without rest, his whole body ached.
Even with an S-rank body, he could only delay fatigue, not eliminate the accumulated damage.
Fwoosh—!
A blue flame ignited on his portable gas burner, and he placed a kettle on top to boil water.
Drawing on his experience from the other world, Do-jae had purchased a set of camping gear as soon as he returned from China.
He unfolded a folding table and chair and set up a one-touch cot, creating a reasonably comfortable space.
‘This is much better than sleeping outdoors or in a carriage.’
Do-jae had a simple meal of ramen and then lay down on the cot.
He thought he'd finally gotten a comfortable day of rest thanks to Young-jin, but instead of a plush hotel bed, here he was, lying on a hard cot in the middle of a place teeming with monsters.
Still, he could confidently say it was safer than any house, and the sounds of the golems fighting outside even felt like a lullaby.
‘Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a bit.’
He had to rest while the thing below was still just stirring.
If it started moving in earnest, he wasn't confident he could handle it in his current state.
It was better in many ways to recover as much stamina as possible while waiting for the hunters above to make their way down.
Srrk—.
Do-jae's eyes slowly closed, and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.
How long had he been sound asleep under the golems' protection?
An unknown voice reached him, pulling his consciousness back.
- Master….
At first, it was a coarse voice, like scraping metal.
But then another voice was added.
- Master….
- Master…!
Do-jae shot up from the cot.
He had a feeling he knew where the voices were coming from.
- Master!
[Level (Golem) has increased.]
[Level (Golem) has increased.]
- Master….
- Master…!
- Master!
- Master.
Two messages popped up in succession, and finally, there were four voices.
Do-jae went outside the golem house and looked at the four golems kneeling before him.
And the one on the far left.
It spoke with the first voice he had heard.
- Master. My name. What is….