Chapter 94: But I Will Survive
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: But I Will Survive
No matter how smart or powerful the Blacksmith was, the monster could never have dreamed that a wizard would suddenly charge him head-on.
Hell, even I didn't see that coming, and I was the one who gave the order.
‘Damn, that’s brave.’
I’d told her to get close and discharge the Static Coat, but I never ordered her to tackle him.
Yet Neko, as if possessed by the spirit of a martyr, grabbed the Blacksmith and tried to drag him into the lava with her.
“……!”
The Blacksmith’s body staggered.
He must have been waiting in the mist for a spell—a Scorching Ray or a Lightning Shock. He was probably planning to counter with a Lava Surge or a flask of alchemical fire.
That’s why this physical ambush worked so well. Even the Blacksmith, far larger than Neko, momentarily lost his balance.
And Neko knew she couldn’t push the monster off with her strength alone.
“Cyclone.”
She even summoned the wind.
It was similar to what I had planned to do. Once he was electrocuted and his legs gave out, I was going to flip the Hourglass before he could collapse, then use a combination of Hot Gale and Dust Explosion to shove him into the lava.
But thanks to Neko’s valiant charge, things became much simpler.
Crash!
Neko and the Blacksmith tumbled to the ground together.
They rolled over the edge of the rock platform, right toward the lava below.
Flash!
A light shone from the pendant around Neko’s neck. The Ethereal Movement was activating.
It worked!
Neko would escape, and the Blacksmith would fall to his death in the lava before I even had a chance to cast a spell…
Swoosh!
At the last second, something shot up from the lava.
‘What the…’
Even watching it up close through the scroll, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
‘What the fuck. What is that!’
No. This was just too much.
How could this happen?
What the hell is that!
‘Why is a Brass Golem here!’
A sword-and-shield golem emerged from beneath the lava.
It had no head. Most of its torso was melted away. Its left leg was gone from the ankle down, its right leg from the knee down. Its right arm was missing up to the shoulder.
But its left arm still held a shield.
CLANG!
The golem caught the Blacksmith with its shield, pushing him back onto the rock platform. And then…
Shuk!
Neko’s spirit detached.
*
Thud!
Constable Mage Neko landed on her rear outside the wall.
Her mind was completely blank.
“Failure…”
She had seen it clearly at the last moment. A Brass Golem had shot out and pushed the Blacksmith to safety.
“I failed.”
Caleb’s plan had failed.
“N-Neko.”
A trembling voice came from behind her.
It was Aimus.
“Where’s Caleb?”
“Caleb… is…”
Tears suddenly welled up in Neko’s eyes.
Rage and frustration at her own incompetence, even at the very end. Guilt. All sorts of terrible emotions washed over her at once.
The necklace was real.
She never should have gone through with that plan.
She should have given the necklace to Caleb. It should have been him who escaped.
“Is he… still trapped?”
Yernil emerged from behind Aimus, tears streaming down her face.
“Is he all alone…?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Neko!”
The Priest appeared from the corridor leading to the Production Control Room, supporting Back Attack.
Back Attack’s gilding had worn off, and he was gasping for breath from asphyxiation. The Priest had administered first aid, but he still needed more treatment.
“What happened?”
“Well…”
“What…?”
Back Attack let go of the Priest and staggered forward.
“Why are you wearing that pendant? Where’s Caleb?”
“……”
Neko buried her face in her hands.
“What did you do with our wizard, you cat bastard!” Back Attack roared, grabbing Neko by the collar.
“Cough!”
He then collapsed, spitting a mouthful of blood from his ailing lungs.
“A golem…” Neko said. “A golem appeared.”
She explained how a half-melted Brass Golem had suddenly shot out of the lava and ruined the entire plan.
Yernil’s legs gave out, and she sank to the floor.
*
I’d seen something like this in the game before.
Or more accurately, I’d tested it myself.
What happens in the Steelmaking Process Room if you tear off the leg of the doll in the settings box in the Production Control Room?
Drumroll, please!
A golem with a missing leg appears! Ta-da!
Tear off an arm?
A golem with a missing arm appears.
Tear off the head?
A golem with a missing head appears!
Melt it in lava?
A half-melted golem is born!
“Haaah.”
Yernil.
You threw that golem doll into the lava, didn’t you?
And since I didn't know, I told you to throw the box into the lava. The box detected the half-melted Brass Golem inside it, and the Assembly Core created it.
That thing is the result.
Right?
“Pant… pant…”
The Blacksmith, having returned from the brink of death, gasped for breath.
“Caleb!”
I could hear people screaming outside. The loud bang, bang! sounded like Aimus pounding on the wall with his iron staff.
The sound of someone crying.
That must be Yernil.
She might have heard from Neko what happened. Or she’ll hear about it later.
Could a girl like Yernil handle that guilt with a clear conscience?
She really doesn’t need to blame herself that much.
Throwing the golem doll into the lava was a decent idea, Yernil.
Things just went to shit because we weren’t on the same page.
In a way, you could say it’s a problem with my leadership. I never imagined you’d show such cleverness, Yernil.
When did you get so smart? Dammit. Just stay the Yernil I know. You’re confusing me.
Thinking about it this way, this is definitely developer difficulty.
If this were a game, I’d be controlling all the party members. I’d have an omniscient view and would have known Yernil threw the doll in the lava, allowing me to plan my strategy accordingly.
But that’s not how it is now.
This is something I’ll have to find a way to compensate for.
But I’ll review the mission later.
‘First, I have to get out of here alive.’
I had two plans for this battle.
Plan A: Neko’s body slam. Result: failure.
Plan B: A bit more difficult, but…
‘I’ll kill you myself, you blacksmith son of a bitch.’
At this point, it feels like some kind of fate. A heat spreads through my cold, calculating mind.
Right.
Maybe it was meant to be this way from the start.
Wasn’t it strange that the Blacksmith and the Golden Golem appeared at the same time?
This whole situation is a massive, fucked-up spiderweb woven by the Labyrinth Master to entangle my life.
Wasn’t it the Spider Doctor who said it?
Everyone else is just a pawn. In the end, I’m the knight playing the grand game.
“So in the end, it has to be you and me, settling this once and for all?”
That’s just what I wanted.
Maybe it’s because this cylinder is filled with heat, but now I’m getting seriously pissed off, too.
“Come forth.”
I activate the ring I looted from Ingelam’s corpse.
“Vampire Bat.”
Neko might not have seen it, but I did.
Ingelam and the Barbarian, frantically fleeing into the Steelmaking Process Room.
And the Vampire Bat that had been chasing them.
With this, I will survive.
*
I send the bat flying. Not toward the Blacksmith, but toward the Assembly Core.
A sword-and-shield golem’s corpse is hanging there, caught on the rebar.
It’s the one we gilded with liquid gold, the one Neko smashed with her telekinetic fist.
The liquid gold that dripped from its corpse has formed a bead at the top of the rebar.
I’d been keeping an eye on that from the beginning.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Blacksmith charges toward me, leaping from one rock platform to another.
Until now, he’d been in a standoff, waiting for the steelworks’ structural transformation to cool down. But suddenly, he’s become aggressive.
Right.
I must look like a fucking joke to him.
I’d probably think the same thing. The enemy team originally had two wizards, but now there’s only one left, and he doesn’t even have a Static Coat. On top of that, I’ve gained a half-assed minion.
There’s no reason to wait.
[Gilding]
The Vampire Bat, now coated and hardened in gold, falls limply. Plop. It lands on the lava.
Floating on the surface of the molten rock, its summoning wasn’t canceled.
Just like the game.
CRASH!
The Blacksmith reached me in an instant.
Now, it’s do or die.
“Cumulonimbus.”
I summon a cloud above his head. The pouring rain creates a massive amount of steam. It’s hot even where I am, but of course, a burn like that won’t faze the Blacksmith. However…
The goal is to inflict the ‘Wet’ status. I only need to stun him with electricity once.
The Blacksmith leaped again and landed before me. I was now within range of his hammer.
This is it.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
I flipped the Hourglass.
*
The hammer hangs in the air like a predator’s maw about to devour its prey, ready to crush my head.
For now, I’m not paying it much attention.
“Move.”
I bring the gilded Vampire Bat to me.
A few drops of liquid gold trail from its body.
Pop!
They hang in the air, like a scene from an astronaut’s promotional video. The liquid gold floats in mid-air like water droplets in zero gravity.
I could move the liquid with telekinesis, but my current target is the gilded Vampire Bat.
Following the movement of my wand, the Vampire Bat slowly approaches.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 54 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■□□]
Has Aimus’s team finished their fight with the Golden Golem?
Judging by the voices I can hear outside, they probably have. With that much firepower, they should have dealt with it easily.
The last time I saw it, the Golden Golem’s core was still inside the liquid gold. That was when Neko, Back Attack, the Avian Rogue, and the Halfling fought it. I knew it was still alive because I saw the liquid gold slowly gathering around the core.
Neko’s team was too busy fighting to notice.
But they must have finished it off for good this time. They had Yernil and her sound mapping, after all.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 48 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■□□□]
A gilded target’s composition becomes identical to that of a Golden Golem.
That’s why the sword-and-shield golem momentarily became soft, allowing it to be easily destroyed by a telekinetic fist.
What does that mean?
What does it mean to have the same composition as a Golden Golem?
‘A gilded target doesn’t get burned even if it falls into lava.’
That’s how it was in the game.
But there was no guarantee it would work the same way here, and I couldn’t risk my life to test it. That’s why this was Plan B.
But judging by the state of the Vampire Bat just now, it seems to work like the game here, too.
What does it mean that the summoning wasn’t canceled when it fell into the lava while gilded?
It means the gilded Vampire Bat resisted the lava’s heat. Otherwise, it would have died and the summoning would have been canceled.
“Move.”
I bring the Vampire Bat right in front of my lips.
Positioned so I can bite down on it the moment my turn ends.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 31 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■□□□□]
And on the core of the half-dead Brass Golem…
“Dust Explosion.”
I fire off one spell to finish it off.
And as for the Blacksmith…
“When you get back, tell your master…”
I hit him with a Lightning Shock.
“To please, just leave me the hell alone!”
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[Ending Turn.]
*
A lightning bolt strikes along with the Lightning Shock.
The electrocution is instantaneous. I have to aim for that fleeting moment when the strength leaves the Blacksmith’s pillar-like legs.
I throw myself forward with all my might, biting down on the bat.
Like a wrestler going for a takedown, I grab one of his weakened legs and slam my shoulder and head into his upper body.
There’s no time to control my strength.
I just have to launch myself with the mindset of jumping into the lava together.
Crash!
As we tumble down together, the Blacksmith swings his hammer.
It wasn’t a proper swing, but I feel a heavy impact on my side. A sharp pain, like a broken rib, spreads through me.
My jaw, which had bitten down on the bat’s wing as I lunged, clenches tighter.
It’s fine.
Splash!
I push the Blacksmith into the lava first. The moment the intense heat licks at my fingertips…
“Cancel Summon.”
I lift my head and dismiss the Vampire Bat.
What remains as the bat disappears is liquid gold.
I quickly cover my face with my hands, careful not to let it splash onto the Blacksmith.
The sensation of it hardening instantly from inside my mouth is chilling.
[Gilding]
If this were a game, that status effect message would have appeared above my head.
I can see the Blacksmith writhing in the heat of over 900 degrees.
Even that monster cannot survive in lava.
‘Because you’re not a Golden Golem.’
But I can survive.
Because I am gilded.
Get it?
Gold doesn’t melt in lava.
Go tell the Labyrinth Master.
Tell him that no matter what bullshit he pulls, I won’t die.
Splash!
I sink into the crimson molten metal. It feels like entering hell.
But it’s not hot. The gilded state is resisting the burn.
Plan B is a success.
*
CRASH!
Suddenly, with a tremendous roar, the entire steelworks began to turn inside out.
“Wh-what’s happening!”
The adventurers gathered outside the massive cylindrical wall of the Steelmaking Process Room all screamed and backed away.
“The wall is collapsing!”
“The lava is overflowing!”
“Get back!”
To be precise, the wall wasn’t collapsing but sinking, being absorbed back into the main building of the steelworks.
It was originally made of the materials that formed the foundation of the main building. Now, it was returning to its original form.
Crash!
Crash!
Windows reappeared one after another. The main entrance returned. The uneven floor began to smooth out and flatten.
Rumble!
The lava poured out in all directions, draining into the channels. And amidst the flow, Neko saw it clearly.
‘The Blacksmith!’
The corpse of the Blacksmith, its bones exposed in places from the incredible heat, was being washed away.
The monster was dead, and the steelworks’ structural transformation was being undone.
Swoooosh!
A raincloud in the ceiling was pouring down a torrential rain. It was that wizard’s trademark spell.
And beneath it…
“C-Caleb?”
The monstrous wizard stood there, turned into a golden statue.
*
The lava drains away.
I can’t move, but I can see. Even my eyes are frozen.
Strange. I didn’t think it would feel like this.
It’s surprisingly peaceful.
Thump, thump, thump!
Yernil sprints across the floor as the lava recedes.
In that short time, her face has become a mess of tears.
Sobbing, Yernil threw her arms around my golden body and hugged me tightly.
For the sake of her mental state, I can’t afford to be in bad shape for long. The kid looks like she’s on the verge of a seizure.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■]
I flip the temporary Hourglass I gained from killing the Brass Golem.
I use the Time Trader skill to remove the Gilding status.
The duration of Gilding is one minute.
To the Time Trader, that’s one second.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 59 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■]
Next, I remove the Asphyxiation.
That one’s a 30-minute debuff.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 29 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■]
29 seconds left.
For the rest of the time…
‘Let’s just rest a bit.’
Seriously, fuck.
That was an unbelievably tough adventure.
Is this the middle floors?
It’s on a whole different level from the lower floors.
*
Crack!
The wizard’s golden coating shattered in an instant.
The Priest, who had been approaching to heal him, stopped in surprise.
The genius wizard wasn’t gasping for breath. He didn’t even cough.
He wasn’t suffering from asphyxiation at all.
Standing in the middle of the drained lava field, soaked to the bone by the cold rain…
“You all did well.”
He simply patted the sobbing Elf Archer on the back and checked on his surviving party members.
For Neko, the wizard was now beyond surprising or impressive.
He was wondrous.
That was the only way to describe him.