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Episode 8
Thump, thump—.
There was no need for me to advance by killing every golem in my path.
‘My mission, after all, is solely to destroy the fortress.’
But…
“I can’t pass up this farming opportunity.”
How often do you get a chance to encounter such a large group of monsters?
Most requests from Untied involve small monster groups, or just one or two monsters.
Ch-click—.
Bang—! Bang—!
Crash—!!!
‘Good, thanks to my skills, my shots are effective.’
Thanks to the [Beginner Firearms Proficiency] skill, my rifle shots were landing effective hits on the small rock golems.
There would definitely be a limit later on, but…
“For now, it’s perfect against weaker ones.”
Bang—!
I continued shattering the golems’ weak points—their magic cores—with precise aimed shots.
‘Ammo… is still plentiful.’
I had the luxury because I had infiltrated near the fortress quickly.
‘It’s thanks to the [Running] and [Stealth] skills.’
Roar—.
In the distance, the main force had begun combat with the unregistered large golem.
“It’s definitely, incredibly huge.”
I thought it was big when I heard the report, but facing it directly really drove it home.
Bang—!
Crash—!!!
“Phew, nice.”
I’d already taken down five golems. The gate behind the fortress still showed no signs of closing.
“Shall I start planting the bombs?”
While stealthily sniping, the surrounding golems began to sense something was wrong and started hiding behind the fortress.
‘Well… it must have been strange, with allies falling one by one while the enemy remained unseen.’
This made planting the bombs much easier.
Click—.
“Huh……”
I attached the Al chemical bombs I was carrying, one by one, to appropriate locations.
Rumble—.
Bang—!!!
Crash—!!!
Occasionally, golems interfered, but I handled them with quick shots.
“I feel like I’m getting way too much of an easy ride, though…”
It’s thanks to my abilities. And isn’t it good to do the same job more easily?
Beep—.
“Bomb installation complete.”
After installing all the bombs, I spoke into the transceiver on my wrist.
Static—.
—Confirmed. I’ll detonate on your signal.
“Understood.”
My mission was to blow up the fortress. That’s it. So then…?
‘Until the signal comes….’
It seems I can now really relax and hunt monsters to my heart’s content. And…
“Scavenging magic stones on a site like this is against the rules, but…”
In a situation where everyone is distracted, who would notice?
‘I need to raise my stats even by one more point….’
Raising stats is urgent, so I’ll just have to close my eyes and break the rules for a moment.
Rustle—.
I already had looting-related skills, so my magic stone collection efficiency was good.
“12 Low-Grade magic Stones…”
‘It’s still far from enough to raise a stat.’
I even thought about collecting the stones and selling them on the Untied black market.
“No, every little bit adds up… I should steadily absorb the stones.”
Crunch—!
Crumble….
[Absorbed a Low-Grade magic Stone.]
[Absorbed a Low-Grade magic Stone.]
[Absorbed a Low-Grade…]
[You have not absorbed enough magic stones to raise a stat. Would you like to accumulate stat experience from magic stone absorption?]
[Yes/No]
“Yes.”
[Stat experience has been accumulated.]
Accumulating experience like this allows me to use it all at once for a stat increase later.
“Okay.”
Roar—.
I was tense because it was an unregistered monster, but fortunately, the Golden Arrow Guild’s combat power seemed strong enough to handle it somehow.
“It’ll be fine.”
Even though it’s a sign of destruction… with someone here who’s evaluated as a leader for the next generation… it should be okay, right?
Whoosh—!
‘Huh, it’s a bit overwhelming.’
“Fire support!”
Swish—! Swish—!
Boom—!!!
Explosions echoed from all around, arrows flew, and gunfire poured down.
“Hup—!”
Seo Ha-yeon continued firing arrows while observing the unregistered monster—the huge rock golem.
‘Where is its magic core?’
The common weakness of golem-type monsters is their externally exposed magic core.
But that golem’s magic core wasn’t visible.
“Our attacks aren’t very effective!”
“Ugh—.”
The attacks seemed to land, but upon closer look, not even a scratch appeared on the surface of the huge rock golem.
“What about the other guilds?”
“The Wolf Pack and Iljimae are here, but…”
“The three major guilds can’t make it?”
“Yes. It’s chaos in other places too.”
The Wolf Pack and Iljimae are strong guilds, but they can’t compare to the Golden Arrow Guild and the three major guilds.
“Damn it….”
She had already consumed a lot of magic near Namsan.
‘Can I use [Arrow of Light]…?’
Her current magic level was barely enough to consider using her ultimate skill.
“Huh… damn.”
She’d tried all sorts of things to increase her magic capacity, but there hadn’t been any significant change yet.
“Vice Guild Master!”
“Yes!”
“Is [Arrow of Light] possible, by any chance?”
“Ah, that…”
“It’s okay if you can’t. I was just asking on the off chance.”
“I’ll try.”
“Understood.”
She spoke to the Hanak Gong command staff fighting alongside her.
Meanwhile, a voice came through the transceiver on her wrist.
—Bomb installation complete
‘Already?’
Seo Ha-yeon was surprised the bombs had been planted faster than expected.
‘Didn’t he say he awakened the [Agility] skill earlier…?’
It seemed he had a better skill set than she thought.
Swish—!
‘Should I try recruiting him more actively?’
His performance was very interesting to her, always full of desire for talent.
“Vice Guild Master Seo Ha-yeon! Hanak Gong’s Enforcement Division Team 4 is on its way now!”
“Good! Everyone, hang in there a little longer!”
Combat forces were continually being reinforced.
Most of the minor small rock golems had already been dealt with.
“Let’s blow up the fortress.”
“Agreed.”
“Lee Si-woo, detonate.”
—Understood.
Static—.
Beep—.
“Countdown initiated.”
“Everyone, brace for impact!”
—10
—9
A 10-second countdown began.
Even those fighting took cover behind barriers or covered themselves with magic cloaks to prepare for the shock wave.
“???”
The unregistered large rock golem seemed to sense something was wrong and looked back.
‘It’s already too late!’
It seemed to have realized something ominous was happening, but it was too late.
—2
—1
—0…
“Get down!”
BOOM—!!!
The fortress the small golems had built in front of the gate was shattered.
The numerous Al chemical bombs planted had, through Al chemical processing, utterly destroyed the magic interference of the golems’ fortress.
BOOM—!!!
Thud—!
Crash—!
Rumble—.
A tremendous shock wave reached the battlefield, and everyone hit the ground.
Whoosh—!!!
‘Will he be okay…?’
Seo Ha-yeon suddenly thought of Lee Si-woo.
If the shock wave was this intense here, what about him, who was right next to the explosion site?
“He’ll be fine, right? Probably…?”
Still, if he’s a Supporter-Assassin, he must have done many operations like this, so he’ll be fine… she thought, as she pushed back her magic cloak and stood up.
“Everyone, resume the attack!”
Swish—!
A tremendous shock wave swept over the battlefield.
Grrrrrrrrr….
‘Good thing I brought earplugs.’
I had brought many more Al chemical bombs than usual, and I used them all.
‘The fortress was so big I had no choice but to use them all.’
Originally, I brought extras as reserves, but seeing the fortress’s scale, I decided to use them all.
It really was that massive.
Beep—.
“Fortress destruction complete. Returning.”
I reported via the transceiver on my wrist.
Static—.
—Got it. Return safely. Well done.
‘Great. Now, shall I head back while picking off the stragglers?’
But then…
[Acquired a new skill, ‘Throwing’!]
[Throwing Lv.1: The act of throwing objects. Accuracy and damage are improved.]
“…?”
[Throwing Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Throwing Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Throwing Lv.3 → Lv.4]
“What is this.”
Don’t tell me…
“Do the things killed by the bomb explosion also count as experience?”
The Al chemical bombs I threw and attached all over the fortress. And the numerous golems killed in the ensuing explosion.
All of them counted as experience.
“……Jackpot.”
This is a real jackpot.
“There’s nothing left for me to kill?”
I could see the large gate opened behind the fortress, but no more golems were coming through.
‘Then….’
“If we just kill that unregistered large golem, it should close.”
With all the small rock golems dead, firepower could now focus on that unregistered golem.
Meaning, this situation would soon be over.
“Phew, it was a sign of destruction… but it was weaker than I thought.”
Good for us.
Thump, thump—.
As I walked slowly, I saw the scattered fragments of golems littering the street.
“The explosion must have been so strong that there aren’t many intact magic stones…”
The regrettable thing was that intact magic stones were hard to find.
Still, I picked up the few intact ones I saw and absorbed them all.
[Absorbed a Low-Grade magic Stone.]
“Now… Huh?”
Kookookookookookookook.
“Don’t tell me…”
As I approached the main battlefield with the unregistered golem, I heard an ominous sound.
“[Arrow of Light]?”
Combatants were forming a defensive formation centered on Seo Ha-yeon, and bright magic was gathering around her.
‘I get to see it with my own eyes!’
The skill among the next-generation Awakened known for the most powerful instantaneous firepower.
Wheeeeeeeek―.
“My god.”
Kwaaaa ..
After gathering a tremendous amount of light magic, a straight beam of light instantly pierced through the unregistered large golem.
Flash—!
A light bright enough to illuminate the whole world flashed momentarily, and a… hole appeared in the giant golem’s body.
“A hole.”
A massive circular hole had formed.
Kookookookookookookook.
Crash—!
Snap—!
Then, the rock golem’s body began to crumble and fall apart.
“Oops!”
From afar, I could see Seo Ha-yeon, who had used her ultimate skill and completely drained her magic, collapsing.
‘You worked hard.’
Since the battle was over, I thought I should go over and at least say ‘well done’ once things settled down.
Kookookookookung.
An ominous sound began to be heard.
And then.
Whoosh.
“What’s that?”
“What, isn’t that a magic core?”
“The magic core wasn’t destroyed?”
A large magic core emitting a red light rose into the air, glowing ominously.
And.
Rumble.
Kookookookookung.
“???”
The surrounding golem fragments began to float into the air, one by one.
“No way!”
Whoosh.
And they all started flying towards that magic core.
“We have to destroy the magic core…!”
I hurriedly raised my gun and took aimed shots.
Bang—!!!
Bang—!!!
However.
Clang—!
“A shield?”
There was a shield around the magic core. Every bullet was blocked.
“Damn it! Everyone, try attacking!!!”
Fragments were gathering towards the magic core one by one.
As I shouted, everyone snapped to their senses and began pouring on the attacks.
‘What do we do…?’
Looking closely, it was absorbing not only its own fragments but also those of other small golems.
If left like this, it was obvious something even more powerful would appear.
And.
“…This might work.”
