The Incomplete Life Guardian
"Check this out?"
What blocked Vulcan's path was a guardian that, unlike the previous mutants, had the form of a genuine golem. The "incomplete" descriptor suggested it wasn't a fully realized creation, but that alone was enough to infer the lab's master's intentions.
"Looks like they were trying to make a real golem."
Traces of imitation are visible.
The one named Life Guardian looked markedly different from the earlier hulks bloated only with life energy. It had a more stable humanoid shape, and while it resembled them up to the point of thick stone exoskeletons that could be called armor plating instead of muscles, what stood out were the magic circles engraved all over the exoskeleton. They were probably enhancements for its abilities.
"Intruder. Eliminate."
"It even talks? Kinda a shame to smash this one..."
Seeing it go one step further and speak human language only heightened Vulcan's interest, but its hostility was crystal clear. He clicked his tongue as it charged, immediately using Dragon Eye to pinpoint the core's location before rushing to meet it head-on.
Boom!!
"Guh?!"
At the moment of impact, Vulcan grimaced from the shockwave far beyond his expectations. He wasn't completely overpowered, but contrary to his assumption that he could shatter its fist in one blow and strike the magic core embedded near its armpit, his body hesitated.
The magic circles etched into its body seemed to boost its strength.
Boom!!
The follow-up strikes came relentlessly. Its entire right arm had clearly been destroyed in the clash with Vulcan, yet it swung its left arm indifferently.
Vulcan had anticipated this much. But the problem was the speed.
"Left side boosts attack speed, huh. Tch."
The punch whipped out faster than expected, sending Vulcan flying before he could react.
"Interesting setup."
Jabs and straights—a clear concept made it tricky, but Vulcan had his own plans. He dashed in again.
"If you can't have it anyway."
Numerically superior, yet its rapid regeneration made crushing it by force tough, as it unleashed unlimited strikes even if its arms shattered. Without Agility Enhancement, matching its speed was impossible, complicating counters.
"It won't mind if I smash it!"
"Eliminate!"
Tch tch, what a temper.
Whoosh!!
But at the clash, Vulcan's body twisted. It seemed like he'd coil around its arm like a serpent and burrow in, but the left arm whipped out at blinding speed, slamming him again.
"Engraving!"
By a hair's breadth, Vulcan was faster. He poured power into Despair Serpent, damaging the magic circle on its body.
Crackle!!
Normal damage would have regenerated, but Vulcan used Engraving to ruin the circle, auto-triggering Magic Imprint. The perfect circle devolved into a failure.
"Weak hits are useless even if fast!"
Boom!!
He tanked the follow-up punch. Fierce, but Vulcan's defense was beyond level 100 standards. Overwhelming strength let him endure, thrusting his rapier again to precisely pierce and destroy the magic core site.
"Whew. Good thing it's a rapier?"
Specialized for thrusts, Despair Serpent pierced both body and core simultaneously. Blunt weapons beat tough golem-like foes over blades to avoid damage, but overwhelming gear power nullified matchups. Dragon Eye revealed the hidden core perfectly, letting Vulcan dispatch the Life Guardian easily.
"This is a real magic core?"
It barely has the basics.
What he got from downing it was named Life Orb, but no different from a magic core. A metal of the same material as the guardian's body, inscribed with command magic circles and wrapped in refined Xenoth—it matched a golem core's structure, enough for even Tud's approval.
The difference? It brimmed not just with mana, but pure life and earth energy— forcibly extracted and sealed in. Now shattered, power leaked slowly, but still potent.
"If this counts as an item, can't I repair it?"
That caught Vulcan's eye. What if he used Repair on the Broken Life Orb? Patching might not restore function, but with Dragon Eye and Magic Imprint, he could recreate it with skill and luck. Could he use it? Or would it reactivate and attack?
Repair it? Hmm. Possible, yeah.
It'd only follow simple commands, but imprinting as owner during repair with mana infusion should work.
"Knew it!"
Vulcan grinned at Tud's optimistic reply, but held off. Other guardians had sensed the intruder and closed in.
"Inventory."
Inventory froze item states, halting mana loss. He stowed it and bared his fangs at the approaching foes.
"Let's go all the way!"
His eyes gleamed slyly, like spotting a massive gold nugget—not enemies, but loot. With a hunch of greater yields, he charged first.
"Mining."
Clang clang clang
Guardians dropped more than Broken Life Orbs. Only orbs as drops, but their huge bodies were ore veins. Unrefined like the orb metal, but Mining yielded plenty.
"Not bad at all."
Not priceless, but volume meant solid gold. Vulcan pocketed them thriftily, dismantling guardians as he delved deeper.
Each had Life Orbs in unique spots, but Dragon Eye stripped them bare—no issue.
Thus unhindered, he reached the boss room.
"Huh?"
Unlike prior ones, it had a proper name, but something was off.
"Only level 120?"
Lower than entrance mutants.
Auxiliary magic everywhere, but something's weird.
Tud agreed it was odd but couldn't pinpoint why. A level-faking circle? Absurd—no gain. Dragon Eye showed strength/agility/physical/magic defense boosts—layered enhancements.
"This isn't just my eyes, right?"
Hydra concept maybe? Fun trick.
Then he spotted it: one in head, one in heart, one each in arms/legs—six Life Orbs. Unlike others.
Destroy all six simultaneously? Party-only, impossible solo even with delays.
But it explained level 120—boss-worthy difficulty.
'Even with Judgment Strike or Agility Enhancement...'
No fitting attack skills left Vulcan frowning. His abilities couldn't hit all at once.
Scared?
"Not scared. What... I'll die, sure. Gotta tank it first."
No backing down. Vulcan gripped Despair Serpent and rushed in.
Defensive scouting was smart, but preemptively destroying one orb first was better. Maybe the six were a feint.
"First strike wins!"
Golems started slow—defense/guardian roles conserved energy pre-threat. Vulcan knew, striking before it rose fully, thrusting at an orb site.
Crunch!
Resistance from defense circles, but unfounded worry—Despair Serpent pierced, shattering the orb.
"...What?"
No instant regen. He pulled back expecting counter, but no recovery or attack.
So that's it.
"Huh?"
Look closely. See what's changed.
"Insane?!"
Tud's scolding made Vulcan reactivate Dragon Eye—level up 20.
"No way... it gets stronger per orb destroyed?"
Unbelievable, but five left. Final could hit 220, even silenced.
"This is 'die' territory."
220, not 200? For fresh 100s, graduation 115-120 max.
'No. There’s a way...'
Gloria Saga had absurd quests, impossible foes/conditions—but solutions always existed, not always combat victories.
"Eek!"
Whoosh!!
Hesitation let its fist graze his nose. Heavy wind pressure, mismatched speed for size—tensing Vulcan.
"Damn!"
Worse: hard to strike freely. Destroying orbs raised level—trouble. His attack/defense/experience handled 200s, but boss with self-repair? Cautious.
"I'll smash ya first!!"
Needed think time. Dodging yielded no answers—speed demanded focus, one slip meant hit. Narrow boss room, 3m giant—swept away sans thought.
Attack it was. Target legs for mobility denial—regen quick, but buy time.
Boom!!!
"Son of a...!"
Vain hope. Repaired faster than priors—life energy hub, boss buffs.
"Guh!"
Boom!!
Miscalc cost: launched skyward as it repaired and counter-kicked. Apron defense saved lethality, not impact.
"Gotcha."
Lowering crossed arms that blocked, Vulcan smiled. Regen brief, but Dragon Eye traced mana source.
"Real core's that, huh."
The ceiling—thought mere luminous stone—held intricate magic circle and huge Life Orb.