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EP.35 To the Dungeon to Obtain the Artifact – 1
In the depths of a mountain where it seemed no one would ever come,
there was a massive pile of rocks, as if a landslide had occurred.
The reason we came here was to find the artifact left behind by Sylvia's ancestors.
But the scene before us didn't look much like the site of a precious treasure.
"Is this the right place, Sylvia?"
"Yes. Even though it looks like this on the outside, my ancestor made it this way on purpose."
It must have been a lot of work for the people under them to build this.
"So do we just clear away the rocks and go in?"
"There's no need. There's magic on it, too."
I thought this before, but her ancestor was thorough.
Was that person a dragon or something?
"Please wait a moment."
Sylvia approached the pile of rocks and muttered a spell.
Then, runic symbols appeared on the surface of the rock in front of her.
How would the path open?
I watched her with a bit of anticipation.
Magic might be everyday for people in this world, but as someone who can't forget modern society, my heart races every time I see it.
Rumble-!
The massive stone, raising a cloud of dust, majestically sank into the ground.
Normally, other rocks would collapse into the empty space left behind,
but with a beautiful magic circle, a passageway was formed.
Step, step-
What greeted me inside was a dungeon straight out of my imagination.
A damp smell and atmosphere.
The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of nearly black stone.
"It must have been a lot of work to build this."
Thud!
With a rough sound, the entrance closed behind us.
At the same time, torches on the walls lit up one by one.
Now this is a dungeon.
My sense of adventure flared up.
"It might be dangerous, so I'll go first."
Shing-
I drew my sword so I could react immediately.
What kind of monsters would be here?
Orcs? Trolls?
"!$%#$&"
A sound like an alien language echoed from afar.
It wasn't a language used by humans or ordinary monsters.
One thing was clear: the dungeon wouldn't forgive intruders.
"@$%@@$@!"
The sound drew closer.
Let's see what it is.
"!#$!@@"
Tough skin-no, a mass of stone.
The source of the sound was a golem made of stone.
About 2 meters tall, humanoid in shape, but made of solid rock.
"@%@!!"
The blue gem in its head instantly turned red.
Red.
Why did I have a bad feeling?
"Get down!!"
The gem's light intensified, and a red laser fired.
Ziiiiiing-!
Oh, come on.
A laser-shooting golem?
With Sylvia behind me, I couldn't dodge.
"Shit."
I pushed my physical abilities to the limit and deflected the laser.
Luckily, it wasn't like the lasers I knew, or my heart would have been pierced.
It must be some kind of magic.
The sword that deflected the laser turned red-hot, and searing heat spread to my palm.
If I hadn't protected my hand with mana, I would have dropped it-it was insanely hot.
This was not the kind of attack to block.
If I took another hit, my sword might melt.
"Stay behind me!"
I shouted urgently and charged at the golem.
There was no way to fight it from a distance.
I had to finish it before its gem turned red and fired another laser.
"$@$!@$"
Even as I closed the distance, the golem just stared at me.
I stabbed my sword at the blue gem.
Crack!
Luckily, unlike its rocky exterior, the gem wasn't that hard.
The light in the gem faded.
I was about to pull out my sword in relief when-
"%%&##@#!!"
A massive stone fist came flying.
"Damn."
I gave up on retrieving my sword and ducked quickly.
Whoosh-thud!
A rush of wind above my head sent chills down my spine.
The wall struck by the golem's fist was deeply dented, showing its terrifying power.
A normal person would be pulverized.
Even a trained person would have their bones shattered.
"#@!$!"
With its ranged attack gone, the golem attacked wildly.
Its flailing punches looked almost comical, but the sound and gusts of wind were anything but.
"I almost want to name this martial art."
Fortunately, unlike the laser, these attacks weren't hard to dodge.
The golem's wild swings-anyone focused could avoid them, as long as they didn't get hit.
I took advantage of an opening to retrieve my sword.
Thankfully, it wasn't broken.
"Go for the core in the center of its body!"
Sylvia's voice came from behind.
The core?
Looking closely, I saw a faint light coming from the golem's torso.
That must be what powers this hunk of stone.
The gem I stabbed was just a weapon.
"#@$!"
The problem was that the presumed core was surrounded by stone.
Golems are basically monsters made of solid rock.
Depending on the creator, they might have different features, but they're always tough for warriors to fight.
Clang!
As proof, most attacks just bounced off the thick stone.
"At this rate, my sword will break first."
Dodging the golem's attacks, I watched it closely.
No matter how well-made, anything assembled from many stones will have gaps.
"Found it."
On the golem's side, there was a tiny gap where two stones met.
I thrust my sword into the gap, and it slid in easily with a satisfying sound.
Crack!
With the sensation of something breaking, the golem collapsed.
Once the magic was gone, it was just a pile of rocks.
"Whew…"
Looks like I can get through this.
The laser is scary, but the other attacks are easy.
"Are you okay?"
Sylvia approached, watching me with concern.
"This is nothing."
The unexpected attack was dangerous, but with treasure waiting, this much risk is to be expected.
"If you get hurt, let me know. I'm good at healing magic."
The princess had that skill?
I'd been too focused on the naughty stuff to notice.
I vaguely remember hearing about it before, but I must have dismissed it as unimportant.
"I'll let you know if I get hurt."
After that, we continued through the dungeon, but all we encountered were golems.
Once I figured out how to beat them, they were easy to destroy.
"Looks like there are only golems here."
"It's an artificial dungeon, so I think all the monsters my ancestor set loose died off."
Just as she said, there were sometimes skeletal remains on the floor.
But even after searching for a long time, there were no signs of life.
They succeeded in making a great artificial dungeon, but failed at creating an ecosystem-only golems remained.
The living creatures must have starved or died of old age after decades or centuries.
"Makes things easier for us."
Thanks to the golems' noisy movements, it was easy to track them, and the dungeon floor was soon littered with piles of stone.
Sylvia's ancestor probably never expected only golems would be left.
After hours of smashing golems, we finally found a massive door.
A huge stone door, carved with majestic symbols.
It was obvious the artifact was inside.
"This has to be it."
"I think so too."
"Then, please do the honors."
I looked at Sylvia, expecting her to cast a spell, but she looked troubled.
"Well... from here, the records are lost..."
Don't tell me we have to brute-force this giant door?
"Ugh... can't be helped."
I wasn't thrilled, but it wasn't her fault.
Old records often get lost.
Honestly, no one would carefully preserve records for something they might never use.
And with so few people knowing about the royal treasure's dungeon, it makes sense.
"Hide somewhere, just in case it's dangerous."
Step, step-
Standing in the center of the stone door, I placed my hand on it.
Cold, hard stone.
Usually, opening something like this means a boss monster is waiting inside.
The chills and goosebumps on my skin told me something was definitely inside.
Bad premonitions are usually right.
"Whew…"
I sighed, braced myself, and pushed on part of the design with my legs.
My earlier excitement was long gone, replaced by a sense of foreboding.
At least it opened by force.
If it had been sealed by magic, we'd have had to turn back.
"Please, let there be nothing inside."
Creeeak-
As the door opened halfway, I could see inside.
A huge chamber with an altar.
And... a massive creature that looked like a wolf.
"Ah..."
There was a living creature left after all.
And it was so huge my jaw dropped.
It was much bigger than the ogres I'd seen before.
If an ogre was about the size of a big tree, this thing was twice that.
Jet-black, rough fur.
Eyes so sharp and ominous they could be called demonic.
Teeth that looked like they could chew through a dragon.
Judging by its size, it probably could.
I haven't even beaten an ogre yet, and now I'm supposed to fight this?
"Grrrrrr-"
The sound of the door opening must have bothered it, because it looked right at us.
With a chilling stare, it tilted its head back and then...
"Shit..."
It spewed a torrent of fire big enough to burn down a house.
"I shouldn't have opened it!!"
I slammed the door shut with all my strength.
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