The Strange Gate Leads to a Strange Cave
I let out a low chuckle.
> Why are you suddenly acting like that?
“Isn’t our Dalguji super reliable?”
> Its current application is highly efficient and effective. As long as no one sees it.
What the… Is he saying it’s embarrassing for others to watch?
«Vrrrrm— Vrrrrm—»
But the sound of Dalguji rolling along is so dependable!
What are we doing, you ask?
This guy’s default form is a dump truck, right? So if we just raise the cargo bed upright behind us—
It becomes a moving shield!
“What a smart and rational solution! Even goblins shoot crude little arrows, don’t they? This way we’ll barely get hit at all!”
> Doesn’t your reinforced armor already make goblin arrows completely ineffective?
“Th-that’s not the point! I could still get a scratch and catch tetanus! Do you have any idea how dangerous tetanus is?”
> I believe you received a tetanus shot during Gate safety training. Also, you have no exposed skin. Does Earth’s tetanus spread through the air?
“…”
Ugh…
Fine, you win.
You’re a pro at leaving me speechless.
> Doesn’t your back hurt? That hunched walking posture puts a lot of strain on your spine.
“I’m still young and full of energy.”
> You have to take care of yourself while you’re young so you don’t suffer when you’re older.
“Ugh…”
> Teeth don’t regenerate once they wear down. It would be wise to use them sparingly.
“…”
I’m… I’m getting angry…
Aaaargh…
But I should hold it in, right?
Dolmaeng-i is stronger than me, after all.
“Haa… Anyway, how long have we been walking?”
> Three minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
“That’s not as far as I thought.”
In those three minutes, how many verbal beatings had I taken?
My ears were ringing and my heart felt numb.
“Think there’ll be monsters in the cave?”
> I can’t be certain, but my infrared sensors show nothing in range yet.
That’s right. This is the real MVP.
Dolmaeng-i was a friend equipped with an actual infrared sensor.
Dalguji’s headlights were bright, but having Dolmaeng-i who could see even farther made me feel secure.
“For now, we’re only going as far as the one-way section. You get what I mean?”
> You’re worried that if there’s a fork, monsters might follow us from behind?
“Exactly. We have Dalguji, but I could still be in danger.”
> Correct. A very wise decision.
For some reason, being praised by Dolmaeng-i made me feel good.
About ten minutes after we strode confidently into the cave—
> Seven heat signatures ahead. Be advised.
The voice came from Dolmaeng-i, who had moved a little ahead.
I’d upgraded his voice module this time.
“People? Or monsters?”
> There is one large entity mixed among several smaller ones. The probability that they are monsters is significantly higher.
One big one among smaller ones…
A hobgoblin? Or a kobold leader?
“Has the boss already shown up?”
> Given the size of the Gate, it is entirely possible.
There had been reports that larger Gates could contain multiple bosses.
“Or maybe this Gate should have been rated higher—D or even C—because boss-level monsters spawn here regularly…”
> Aren’t there no Gates higher than E-rank?
Dolmaeng-i only knew what he’d learned from the internet, so he probably didn’t know the details.
Still, compared to the E-rank Gate I’d visited before, the mana density here was overwhelmingly higher.
There was no way this was E-rank.
“The way humans measure Gates right now isn’t accurate. I’d rate this as D or even C.”
> For safety during operations, we will likely need specialized equipment.
“Yeah. Let’s think about it when we get back.”
I’d been considering it for a while. Observing this Gate should give me enough data.
If monster types changed according to mana concentration, I could build a device that measured Gate ranks based on that.
> How should we handle the monsters ahead? Shall I eliminate them?
“If you use up all your mana, we’ll be in trouble. Let’s try a surprise attack using Dalguji. How about we turn off the lights and wait?”
This tactic was especially effective in dark places.
> An excellent strategy.
As expected, he was sharp. He understood without needing further explanation.
We turned off the lights and waited for the monsters in the darkness.
After waiting a short while in the dark—
«Thud. Thud. Thud.»
The sound of leathery feet slapping against the dirt floor reached us.
“Kiiik—”
“Kik kik!”
“Kyak?”
The monsters’ voices grew gradually louder.
From the sounds of it, they were some kind of goblin.
As their noises grew closer, the flickering light of torches became visible in the distance.
Long shadows cast by the monsters stretched across the cave walls.
Dolmaeng-i lowered his stance, looking ready to spring forward at any moment.
> I will activate the lights in five seconds.
At Dolmaeng-i’s mental message, I gently closed my eyes and turned my head away.
I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
The promised five seconds passed.
«Flash—!»
Dalguji’s ridiculously powerful headlights blazed on.
Even with my eyes closed and head turned, everything went blindingly bright.
Ever heard of this, monster buddies?
First time getting flashbanged?
“Kyeeeek!”
“Kyaaak!”
“Kyaaargh!”
The monsters screamed and clutched at their eyes in chaos.
Now was the moment.
Dolmaeng-i quickly assessed the situation, set his priorities, and charged.
«Boom—!»
He began by firing the long-range weapon in his hands.
A Magic Missile focused purely on kinetic force.
«Thud—!»
The white flash of destruction flew forward and instantly blew off the hobgoblin’s right pelvis, rendering it combat ineffective.
“Kyaaak—!”
The hobgoblin screamed and collapsed.
It writhed on the ground, trembling violently from the pain.
The Magic Missile took roughly ten seconds to recharge.
«Fwoosh— Fwoosh—»
Dolmaeng-i had already switched to combat mode and dashed toward the next target.
The blue glow of his mana circuits tracing through the dark cave was simply beautiful.
“Ki! Kiiit!”
He reached the six monsters whose vision hadn’t yet returned and, without hesitation, swung his axe and decapitated two of them.
The two severed heads hung in the air, mouths opening and closing in disbelief.
«Splurt—!»
The moment that had seemed to stretch in slow motion ended as crimson fountains erupted from the goblins’ necks.
While the two heads flew, the remaining goblins who had partially recovered their sight drew their weapons and aimed at Dolmaeng-i.
“Kyak!”
“Kyakyak!”
They shrieked and charged all at once, but it was a meaningless gesture.
«Clang— Clang-clang!»
One weapon shattered against his axe. Three others bit slightly into his limbs.
The attacks had technically landed.
“Kyaaah!”
“Kihiii!”
The goblins cheered, excited at having cut into Dolmaeng-i’s body.
If he were a living creature, he would have been immobilized, but Dolmaeng-i was a golem.
As long as his core remained intact, he would never stop.
«Whoosh— Thud—»
One goblin that had closed in for an attack had its head sent flying with a single swing.
The flying goblin head continued to open and close its mouth, as if unable to believe what was happening.
“…”
“…”
The goblins who had been gloating in victory finally looked around.
The hobgoblin that had been leading them was already crawling away, leaving a trail of blood. On the ground lay three headless corpses.
“Ki… Kiiit!”
“Kyaaaa!”
They screamed and tried to put distance between themselves and Dolmaeng-i, but wasn’t it already too late?
Dolmaeng-i charged without hesitation and swung his axe.
«Whish— Crunch—»
The axe blade sank halfway into a goblin’s skull.
As I yanked the axe free from the goblin’s head—its eyes rolled back as it collapsed—
“Kyeeeek!”
The last two screamed and charged straight at me.
They had no weapons and were clearly terrified. There was no way they could pierce my armor, but there was no harm in being careful.
I took a small step back.
“Kishasha!”
“Kyaaaa!”
Dolmaeng-i was running up behind them, but he seemed a little late—or perhaps arriving at almost the same time.
But was there really anything to worry about?
There was another golem right here.
«Vrrrr— Clank—»
Dalguji folded up his cargo bed and rose to his feet.
Then he swung his fists mercilessly at the approaching goblins. Since he was originally a heavy vehicle, his entire body was basically a blunt weapon.
«Whoooosh— Splat— Thud— Crash!»
One was smashed into a bloody pulp on the spot. The other was sent flying sideways and rolled across the ground.
It was like watching an adult use full force on children.
«Vrrrrm— Boom—!»
The moment we moved out of the line of fire, Dolmaeng-i fired a Magic Missile at the tumbling goblin to finish it off.
He then turned back and dealt with the hobgoblin that had been desperately crawling away.
The fight had lasted only one or two minutes, but the scene was horrific.
Monster heads and corpses lay scattered everywhere, still twitching and spurting blood.
All hostile entities have ceased life signs. Switching to standby mode and beginning recharge.
“Good work.”
The Association really ought to give lectures on stuff like this…
If young people in their twenties saw such a gruesome sight, they’d get PTSD immediately.
I’d seen plenty in my previous life and was armed with a mage’s cold logic, but…
Ugh… Still not a pleasant sight.
“I need to reach 2nd Circle soon.”
> Is there a big difference at 2nd Circle?
“I’ll be able to create things that can truly be called weapons. I’ll also be able to provide proper rear support.”
> Long-range weapons require skill. An unskilled user might hit their allies from behind, so please exercise caution.
What the… Was he saying he didn’t trust me?
Was that his roundabout way of telling me not to put a hole in the back of his head and to behave?
“I can be useful too!”
> Wouldn’t it be better to simply produce more golems?
Wow… He really was too smart.
That was the correct answer for me.
If I ever reached a situation where I had to use weapons myself, that would mean things had already gone wrong.
“Tsk… You only speak the truth, so I have nothing to say.”
> Thank you.
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear…
Yeah, let’s just make more golems…
“Honestly, even if I practiced shooting and swung a sword, I probably couldn’t match even a tenth of what you’re doing right now, could I?”
> Currently, you are at approximately 3.12%.
“Ugh… Still, a human will eventually become stronger than you!”
There was definitely a limit to how strong a golem could become.
Sooner or later, there would be hunters stronger than both me and Dolmaeng-i.
> That may be true, but fighting monsters is not a battle. It is a war. Our advantage lies in a large number of golems with a high baseline of strength.
“Well… When it becomes an all-out war, golems definitely have the advantage.”
Even an absolute powerhouse could win a battle but not necessarily a war.
Not that I was talking about waging war on people. I meant monsters. Monsters.
I could only hope the day never came when I had to create thousands or even tens of thousands of golems.
> I have scanned the interior further. There appear to be no more monsters for now.
“Still, we’ll advance carefully. If more monsters appear, we retreat immediately.”
Since we’d already encountered some, there might be more living here.
Or perhaps some had been out and were returning.
“I can sense a Mana Stone not too far away. Since we’re already here, let’s just confirm it and leave.”
> Understood. I will take the lead.
We moved forward again with Dalguji, now back in vehicle form, leading the way.
What appeared before us was a massive cavern.
“Whoa? What is this?”
> It appears to be the end of the cave. It is fascinating that such a cavern could form naturally.
Probably some kind of fantasy magic, right?
Or maybe someone created it long ago as a dwelling?
“Oh? This is pretty good.”
As I looked around the cavern, I noticed a massive flow of mana gathering at the ceiling.
It glowed with a faint blue light—the largest and most vivid I had seen so far.
Shall we get to work, then?