Chapter 24 - Golem
Fear comes from the unknown.
The emotion Seo Ah-in currently held for the man named Kim Gyu-sik could be summarized by that sentence.
If you were to ask why she felt that way, you would have to go back to the exchange they had just a moment ago.
“So, what exactly do you mean by ‘opening a path’?!”
“Well, I said it grandly, but it’s nothing much.”
The other person answered her question with a shrug.
Even as the golem strode towards them, he looked almost sleepy.
“You know how to fight a golem, right? They even teach it in the boot camp as a representative case for large Demonic Beasts.”
“Yes. Definitely… when you first start a battle, it always moves in a set pattern, so once that’s identified, you can formulate a strategy accordingly…”
Among Demonic Beasts, there were some types that could only move according to a predetermined pattern.
Automaton-types operated by a core were a representative case, and within that category, the most well-known was the golem.
Kim Gyu-sik chuckled in agreement with the answer she had stammered out.
“Right.”
He looked as if it were truly nothing.
Although the answer that followed was not of that kind at all.
“So, I’ll hit it once to test the waters, figure out what type it is, and then based on the data, we’ll conquer it. Done.”
“…”
Was he even saying this as if it made sense?
In theory, it was a logical story.
However, the things required in the process of carrying it out, well.
The agility to dodge all of the golem's attacks, which would turn you into pulp if you were hit even once.
The insight to immediately identify which of the countless golem types it was just by a glance at its movements.
The composure to apply this immediately in real combat.
If even one of these went wrong, it would be nothing more or less than a suicide wish.
Not even an extreme optimist who only considered the best-case scenario in any situation would come up with such a crazy idea.
“So how are you going to ‘deal’ with it?!”
To her urgent question, the answer still came back nonchalantly.
“Well, there’s this.”
The man said, waving his hand.
The darkish light that had horrified Seo Ah-in a little while ago was still nestled there.
“…You’ll have to explain that. As far as I know, that’s a secret technique only my sister can use.”
“Who said so?”
“Pardon?”
“Did someone say it’s a secret technique only Ms. Seo Hye-in can use? As far as I know, it’s not.”
“…”
At Kim Gyu-sik’s smirking words, she gaped her mouth before quickly shutting it.
Certainly, she had only seen her sister as the ‘user’, but she had no certainty that it was her own unique technique.
There was a possibility that this man had learned it through some route.
“…A-anyway! Even if you can use that, it’s the same that you’ll die instantly if you get hit by one attack. It’s not something a sane person would do!”
That was indeed the key.
If he could just ‘touch’ the power source properly, the golem could definitely be neutralized, but the condition of having to touch it with his own hand was too harsh.
It might be possible for her sister, an A-grade Climber, but it was surely impossible for this man or her.
“Who knows.”
But.
This time too, only a voice lacking much tension returned.
His gaze was fixed on the golem slowly approaching them.
With each step, a heavy, intimidating sound rumbled, but the emotion on this man’s face was calmness itself.
“So if I don’t want to die, I have to succeed.”
And then this man moved.
“What…!”
It was around that time that Seo Ah-in began to feel fear.
-!
The combat golem raised its arm, roaring with a deafening cry.
From its appearance, it was clear what kind of attack it was about to make, but the area it would sweep through was incredibly vast.
Then, with the momentum of a landslide, the golem slammed its arm downward.
A strike as if the sky was falling.
The sight of the ground where the golem’s hand touched being completely overturned as if hit by a bombing was truly hair-raising.
“W-wait, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik…!”
It was an attack so powerful that she had screamed without realizing it, but.
A perfectly calm voice pierced through the thick dust.
“Balance type… not bad. If it were an armor type, it would have taken a while to take down.”
“…”
No mana manipulation was felt.
That was why the situation was even more shocking for her.
It meant that man had just dodged that attack with his bare body.
-!
-!!
And the way he dealt with the subsequent attacks was not much different.
A few steps.
He never showed any more vigorous movements than that.
In fact, there were more movements where he dodged by just slightly ducking his head or twisting his body than by moving.
As if he knew what kind of attack would come from where and how.
‘How…’
No matter how much the golem was a representative Demonic Beast with a set action pattern, it was still close to impossible to predict all of its movements from beginning to end.
Of course. In the first place, being able to react to such things on sight was only possible for the most veteran of veterans who had gone through countless real battles and knew every habit of their opponent.
But.
This man had just done it.
He was still doing it in real time.
Without any sign of exertion.
‘Surely…’
She had heard that among some Climbers, there were crazy people who faced large Demonic Beasts without mana to improve their skills.
But she had never imagined that this man would be at that level.
In the first place, to reach that position, you had to be a monster like her sister or father.
‘…’
As she continued that thought, her gaze caught Kim Gyu-sik’s next move.
A blue hand that emitted a light similar to Seo Hye-in’s.
While smoothly dodging the golem’s attacks, Kim Gyu-sik lightly touched it to the golem’s body.
Seo Ah-in knew its effect.
The formation of a vacuum zone that neutralized mana itself.
A terrifying ability that had contributed greatly to Seo Hye-in’s fame.
Even the golem’s force field, which exerted immense defensive power, would be useless for a while in front of that vacuum zone.
But.
The sight that unfolded before her eyes far surpassed her expectations.
-!
-…!
The moment the man’s hand touched it, the golem’s arm exploded from its torso as if it had been blown apart.
As if it wasn't just the force field that was dismantled, but the mana circuit operating the golem was cut off at once.
From that sight, Seo Ah-in could instinctively tell.
If that man’s hand touched something, it didn’t just end with the mana being ‘neutralized’.
It was completely annihilated.
“What…!”
Seo Ah-in’s mouth fell open in shock.
She had seen Seo Hye-in use her ability before.
So she could say for sure.
He had said that technique wasn't exclusive to his sister.
That was half right and half wrong.
Because that technique was a power that not even her sister could use!
‘…What on earth?’
If she were asked to name the world’s best Climber, the first name that would come up would be her father, Seo Jin-seong.
The reason she had picked up a sword, the reason she had aimed to be a Climber, had all started from that brilliant person she had seen since she was young.
‘This person…’
But.
If someone were to ask her to name the most ‘frightening’ Climber.
She had just found a new answer.
As she was thinking that.
Kim Gyu-sik had dismantled the golem in the same way.
The other arm. Both legs. Even the head.
It only took a few minutes for the golem to become a pathetic sight with only its power source left.
An F-grade Climber had hunted a B-grade Demonic Beast almost as if playing with it.
“…”
What on earth was this man to be able to orchestrate such a scene?
What on earth was he?
She had had similar questions before, but the shock this time was on a completely different scale.
“Hey.”
As she stared blankly, Kim Gyu-sik, who seemed to have noticed her gaze, opened his mouth.
“Raise your sword. Let’s finish this quick.”
“…”
Watching Kim Gyu-sik approach the golem again as he said that, Seo Ah-in swallowed dryly.
‘…I have to find out. I must.’
She resolved, glaring at the man in front of her.
***
So.
The newbie-crusher, so infamous within Conqueror, had just been shattered in an instant by a bug character wearing the guise of a newbie.
[ You have conquered the ‘Jewel Plains’! ]
[ The ownership of the floor is given to you. Control over the nearby field is delegated. ]
I caught the Conquest Token that fell from the sky with that message.
This was the second one.
And the reward time that followed.
[ Level Up! ]
[ Lv.7 → Lv.20
Stat Points +26
Skill Points +13
All status abnormalities are cured. ]
[ You have met the achievement conditions. ]
[ Additional functions are unlocked. ]
“…”
It really went up a lot.
It was a huge ordeal to get to level 20 as a beginner.
Jumping over 10 levels at once was an extremely rare case even in-game.
A B-grade Demonic Beast was a monster with an appropriate hunting level well over 50, so it seemed the reward was worth it.
On top of that, I had Seo Ah-in just get the last hit while I did all the actual hunting myself, so this much reward probably wasn't strange.
‘Oh, come to think of it.’
Level 20 was a kind of ‘milestone’ set in the game.
Before that, you were a beginner, so you quietly learned the game's framework, and it was a system where various game functions were unlocked only after reaching this level.
Things like equipment wearing restrictions, skill acquisition related restrictions, and stat caps. Those annoying restrictions were greatly lifted.
Thanks to that, it was said that the game changed completely after level 20, when all sorts of builds became possible.
‘…Good.’
That meant I could become explosively stronger in a short period of time.
“…”
And I glanced sideways at Seo Ah-in.
The way she had been looking at me for a while was unusual.
It was a look of someone who was seriously starting to suspect what kind of guy I was.
‘If she’s this suspicious…’
There was a high possibility she would start investigating me.
Just her taking that action would lead to another event.
I also had things I needed some help with from that side.
As I thought that and chuckled, Seo Ah-in opened her mouth.
“The vibration… isn’t it calming down now?”
As she said, the vibrations that had been intermittently shaking the entire tower were now starting to subside.
“We really did catch the Area Guardian, just the two of us. Thanks to that, it seems to have been resolved cleanly.”
“Resolved… I wonder.”
“Pardon?”
I smirked and looked at my watch.
As I had been saying all along.
The Jewel Plains was merely the ‘place’ where the main quest occurred.
Hunting the field boss here had nothing to do with the ‘clear’ of that quest.
However, It was more than enough to act as a ‘trigger’.
“Rather, you should see this as the beginning.”
Honestly, there was one more reason the combat golem I had just defeated was treated as a newbie-crusher.
The event that followed this guy.
It was a difficulty that a newbie with their specs couldn't possibly withstand.
[ The scenario progression has reached a certain value. ]
[ All conditions for the manifestation of the Main Quest Opening Act have been met. ]
[ Time remaining until World Event manifestation - 30 minutes ]