Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Stone Golems
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I had heard a fair bit about the dungeon over the phone.
A D+ rank radial dungeon.
It was a web of interconnected passages with a boss room at the center.
Aside from the fact that the dungeon itself was so vast that it took a long time to clear, its difficulty was on the lower side.
In the early days after the world changed, with no information about dungeons and few Awakened, it was impossible to scout them out like this beforehand.
However, as time went on, humanity succeeded in deciphering dungeons to some extent through knowledge accumulated from direct encounters and continuous research.
This process was how hunters and dungeons came to be ranked.
"Do-jae, you see this here?"
Shim Young-jin displayed a map saved on his smartphone screen.
It was the same map I had received earlier.
GPS didn't work inside the dungeon, so it was just a simple image.
"We plan to advance straight this way to the boss room."
Shim Young-jin's finger traced a path across the map.
It outlined the optimal route through the winding passages to reach the boss room.
"Since you're F-rank, Do-jae, it'll be difficult for you to keep up with us, to be frank. So..."
F-rank and D-rank.
You could say they were both low ranks, but a definite gap existed between them.
To Shim Young-jin, I was obviously a burden.
Meaning, I'd be of no help if they dragged me along.
Knowing this, I preempted him.
"Yes. Don't worry about me. And you can exclude me from the loot distribution."
"Oh! Thank you! Still, I'll make sure to give you a little something when we're done."
Shim Young-jin smiled.
He must have been pleased that I'd taken the hint and excluded myself from the loot without him having to say a thing.
"And you said I could act freely, right?"
"Yes, yes. Of course. You can rest here, or you can take a nap in the safe zone we've secured."
"Understood. I'll be moving on my own."
"What? On your own?"
"Ah, as per the contract, I'll take full responsibility for my actions."
Shim Young-jin stared at me with a puzzled expression.
I nodded again.
A sign that I would take responsibility for myself.
Shim Young-jin soon turned his gaze toward the dungeon's interior.
"Well then, we'll head out first."
Shim Young-jin's party started to move.
After confirming they were out of sight, I checked the map one more time.
*Alright. This means the rest of the monsters are all mine, doesn't it?*
***
"Grrr!"
*Thump-!*
A Black Wolf kicked off the ground and leaped.
"Graaah!"
Inside its wide-open jaws were thick fangs the size of a man's index finger.
"Grrrk."
The Black Wolf bit down on my shoulder.
The powerful bite force and brute strength from its large muscles made me falter.
But that was all.
It couldn't pierce my Golem Armor, made of solid stone.
I immediately regained my stance and plunged my sword into the Black Wolf's neck.
"Keeek! Gack. Gack, gack!"
The Black Wolf gagged, trying to break free.
But I wouldn't let it go so easily.
"That's seven!"
I swung my sword with all my might and sliced through the Black Wolf's neck.
The head was more than halfway severed from the torso.
Soon, the Black Wolf went limp.
*Fwaa-!*
[You have leveled up.]
"Oh. Another level up!"
Thirty minutes had already passed since I entered the dungeon.
I had been constantly moving and hunting in a direction that wouldn't overlap with the raid party.
It was a short time, but whether it was because my level was low to begin with or because the Black Wolves gave a lot of experience, I leveled up quickly.
*'Information Check.'*
[Information]
Name: Lee Do-jae
Level: 8
Title: Golemancer
Health: 1900 / 190
[Stats]
Strength: 20 / Stamina: 10 / Agility: 30 / Spirit: 10 / Resistance: 10
(Points: 5)
[Skills]
Passive: Heart of the Golem Lv. Max / Subspace Lv. Max
Active: Golem Summon Lv. 1 / Golem Armor Lv. 2
Just a day ago, I couldn't have even imagined hunting a Black Wolf on my own.
The creatures had traits perfectly suited for this dark dungeon; they had no eyes, but their sense of smell was exceptional.
Enough to even catch hunters with stealth skills.
The darkness was their ally, and their specialty was hiding in the shadows before launching a surprise attack.
But for me?
*'This one's useless too.'*
I pried open the Black Wolf's maw to inspect it.
The long fangs were covered in fine cracks.
Its teeth had cracked from biting my Golem Armor.
*'A shame, but it can't be helped.'*
I supported its jaw with one hand and pulled out the fangs with the other.
Intact Black Wolf fangs are white and beautiful, prized for making seals or ornaments.
But I hear the cracked ones are ground up and used in cosmetics.
K-beauty truly is amazing.
"Subspace."
*Vmm-.*
At my call, the subspace opened.
And a status window appeared before my eyes.
[Subspace]
- Mana Stone*3
- Harpy Feather*57
- Ore*19
- Water 500ml*20
....
- Black Wolf's Fang*11
Subspace was a passive skill that far surpassed the commercially available Inventories.
An Inventory was a pouch enchanted with spatial magic, so it required physical space.
Moreover, since you couldn't selectively retrieve items, you had to take everything out just to get one thing.
This led some hunters to carry multiple Inventories, each containing only the specific items they needed.
*Shhh-.*
I reached my hand into the subspace.
And when I pulled it back out, I was holding a bottle of water.
With Subspace, I could pull out and put back just the item I wanted, and it didn't take up any physical space.
Plus, there were no weight or quantity limits; I could probably even stuff a truck in there if I wanted to.
For reference, it seemed I couldn't put living beings inside; my hand could go in, but I couldn't enter the subspace myself.
*Gulp-.*
I'd put it in right from the fridge, so it was perfectly cold.
Items in the subspace maintained the exact state they were in when stored.
*'At this rate, I can probably level up a few more times before they finish the boss raid.'*
I started moving forward again.
I had no destination.
Since the boss wasn't my share, I would just wander around and hunt whatever I came across.
"Grrrr."
"Grrr."
"Grrrowl!"
After advancing about thirty meters, three Black Wolves appeared.
A characteristic of beast-type monsters.
They moved in packs.
So, it wasn't strange for three of them to appear together.
And it also meant their den would soon be in sight.
That I was getting close to one of the large dens I had seen on the map.
"Here, doggies! That's it! Scratching is fine, but let's not bite, shall we?"
I clicked my tongue and spoke gently, as if soothing small puppies.
Treating tiger-sized Black Wolves like cute little Pomeranians.
They were canines, after all.
"Grrrah!"
As expected.
They weren't the type to be soothed by that.
*Leap-!*
As the one in front jumped, the remaining two kicked off the ground as well.
"Careful!"
One of them lunged at my face, its black tongue lolling out.
I twisted my torso just in time to dodge.
This was intentional.
I needed to get some fangs in good condition.
*Swish-.*
My sword carved an elegant arc, slicing through the first one's thigh.
It wasn't swordsmanship.
I could see and I could move, so I simply executed the most optimal action.
*Sliide-.*
*Thud-.*
"Yelp!"
Its half-severed hind leg made a proper landing impossible, and losing its balance, the creature slid and slammed its head against the wall with a pathetic cry.
"Next!"
I readjusted my grip on the sword and faced the others.
With the Golem Armor covering my hands, it looked as if the sword and my body were one.
But there were no particular restrictions on my wrist movement.
"Grrrr."
"Grrrowl!"
The remaining two also leaped.
This time, I charged toward them.
*'Give me that EXP!'*
***
"Hoo."
I let out a small sigh.
With three of them, it took more than twice as long as hunting a single one.
On top of that, the amount of mana required to repair the Golem Armor had increased significantly.
*'This might be tough if more of them show up.'*
Three was fine.
Four.
Even five seemed possible.
Though it would take a long time, and I might take some damage.
But any more than that would honestly be too much.
That's why I was hesitant to advance.
I was getting closer and closer to the den, after all.
*'Should I turn back now?'*
But it was a shame to leave these walking bundles of experience points behind.
My health wasn't depleted, and I still had mana to spare.
And Golem Armor wasn't my only skill.
*'This is why I didn't sell them.'*
I took out the three mana stones from the brown box out of my subspace.
I had wanted to raise my Golem Armor's proficiency and level while honing my combat senses.
But I had no intention of doing something stupid like putting myself in danger.
I placed the mana stones on the ground.
The skill that was the foundation of Golem Armor.
I cast Golem Summon.
"Golem Summon!"
*Rumble, rumble-.*
The scattered pebbles around the mana stones began to gather.
The pebbles started to stack up rapidly, like a skyscraper rising day by day.
10cm.
30cm.
100cm.
And only when they reached roughly my shoulder height did they finally stop.
[A Stone Golem has been created.]
[A Stone Golem has been created.]
[A Stone Golem has been created.]
The three completed Stone Golems stood motionless in place.
With no movement at all, they looked no different from statues from a distance.
*'They're all slightly different?'*
The basic form of the Stone Golems was the same.
A blocky, robot-like form that was popular with kids long ago—no, even now.
However, their height and thickness varied slightly; the very first golem was the largest at around 160cm.
And it was easy to see why they were different.
[Information]
Name: Stone Golem
Level: 5
Title: Summon
Health: 1000 / Mana: 0
[Stats]
Strength: 10 / Stamina: 20 / Agility: 5 / Spirit: 0 / Resistance: 30
[Skills]
Passive: None
Active: None
*'So I can see the golem's information too.'*
I checked the information of the other golems as well.
And I came to the conclusion that their performance depended on the mana stone.
The level and stats were determined by the quality of the mana stone.
Unless they were processed by humans, no two mana stones obtained from a dungeon were exactly alike, and thus, the golems' performance varied slightly.
*'Their stats are lower than mine. Still, they should be helpful.'*
The golems' stats were generally inferior to my own.
However, their Stamina and Resistance were comparable.
Even if they couldn't help with direct attacks, they seemed sufficient for drawing the attention of other creatures or holding them off.
*'How do I make them move?'*
I didn't know how to command the golems.
They weren't living creatures, nor did they have ears or mouths, so I had to try various methods.
After much trial and error, I realized that I could give them simple commands.
"Forward march! Halt! About-face! Roll over! Form up!"
The golems moved according to my commands.
They showed quite a swift and precise response.
I also tried giving commands like 'fight' or 'flee', but perhaps because there were no enemies, they showed no reaction.
Still, seeing how they spread out and took positions even with a command like 'form up', combat commands seemed perfectly viable.
*'These are useful.'*
I now had three tankers that could divert monsters' attention, take hits for me, and create an opening for me to attack.
A den full of Black Wolves?
I had nothing to fear now.