Chapter 24: Bronze Rock Mountain (2)

The camp was completed by the time the sun had set. Log cabins, Watch towers, Barricades, as well a Campfire in the center that they’d use for cooking.

The defenses would all be necessary against the Stymphalian birds and Gremlins.

Any camping gear they had previously bought from the Shop had disappeared after seven hours, making it useless for longer term bases.

historical

“It reminds me of the old days.”

“Mr. Jung Sanghoon, did you fish while in the army?”

“He’s had an extreme life.”

The party was able to eat some grilled Rainbow Trout and Eel that had been caught by Triton.

Always reminiscing about the old days on Earth

Everyone had undergone their own hardships, sharing it with the others and taking comfort in their company.

‘They are quite close.’

It was nice to see them bonding together and building some camaraderie.

Woohyuk took a look at his Adventurer Watch as he enjoyed his grilled Eel on a stick.

[Chun Woohyuk]

- Job: Human adventurer

- Title: Legendary Explorer (20% increase in Item drop rate from monsters, 20% increase in Perception and Speed when in a Historical site, Ruler of the Calm Sea (can summon Kraken and create underwater Air Bubbles.)]

- Stats:

Strength: 103 +10 (Grandia), +5 (Vampiric Dagger), +2 Goblin’s Ring

Vitality: 100 +30 (Basilisk’s Scaled Armor Set), +30 (Berserker’s Plated Armor Set), +5 (Gladiator’s Belt)

Dexterity: 102 +30 (Basilisk’s Scaled Armor Set), +30 (Berserker’s Plated Armor Set)+3 (Black Machete)

Intelligence: 47 +5 ( Ghost Queen Star Serpent)

Spirit: 98 +5 (Calm Sea’s Silence), +10 (Elder Lizardman’s Fighting Spirit)

The Stat bonuses associated with having two full Armor Sets was quite advantageous. When it came to Sets, the items would quickly take up the limited spaces available in his Gladiator Belt, but if one was able to obtain all the Set items, they could be bound together and take up only a single slot.

‘My growth hasn’t been too bad.’

He had been hunting with seven Growth Rings for quite some time, so it hadn’t been a problem to support his four Growth items.

Also his current low Intelligence wasn’t something that he was too worried with, he could always find a way to increase it later on. Instead, it was his Spirit that he was more concerned about.

There were many creatures that could wield in High tier magic in Historical Sites. For this reason it was an absolute necessity to increase his resistance to magic by increasing his Spirit whenever he could.

‘I should get it to at least 150.’

Simply letting it grow naturally by obtaining experience points wasn’t enough, he would need to use some special Jewelry

Woohyuk stood up and joined his party.

“Tomorrow we will be exploring deep into the mines.”

Jake’s hideout had originally been a railway mine.

Very dark and humid, just like an abyss. They would need good preparation before tackling this one.

“Once in the caves, everyone but me should always be moving around in pairs.”

Their group only has five Black Machetes. The fear was that if someone without any night vision strayed from the group, they could easily get lost.

I'll let you guys figure out how to split yourselves up, but I will be needing the help of two or three of you to learn how to fight the Golems once I’m gone.”

It wouldn’t be easy, so he needed those with good Dexterity and battle experience.

Jung Sanghoon met his gaze as he nodded.

“I’ll do it.”

“Anyone else. Also only those using leather armor can do it.”

With that alone Lee Jaesung, Yoo Kayoung and Song Anna were excluded.

It took but a moment before Nam Kiryang and Huang Donghwan volunteered.

“Just tell me what to do and I’ll find a way to hunt them.”

“Same here.”

Both of them could handle themselves in a fight. Woohyuk then took out three bronze spikes from his Pouch and handed them out to the three volunteers.

“I’ll forge you some hammers to go along with them tomorrow.”

Naturally a hammer would be necessary for his plan with the spikes to work. Fortunately, due to the regular attack from the Stymphalion birds, they had more than enough feathers as raw materials.

“If three of us help you, then we will be an odd number left, and won’t all be able to be in pairs.”

“One of you can just act as a reserve.”

After the Boss was taken care of and the Secret Room plundered, they wouldn’t need to venture too far into the mine because the Golems would appear about midway.

“We will be stepping into some tough battles soon, so I’ll give you all a small reward ahead of time.”

Woohyuk took out some Emperor Penguin eggs and handed them to Yoo Kayoung

Everyone was about to stand up after placing their skewers on the ground, and were immediately surprised.

“Is that from a penguin?”

“They are so big.”

Although penguin meat tasted terrible, their eggs were a delicacy. Watching the eggs boil in the pot, Lee Jaesung couldn’t help himself.

“Boss, can I catch some Penguins later?”

“Sure, you guys can do what you want, just prioritize your own safety.”

It was absolutely necessary to take risks in order to grow strong, but if you took it too far and lost your life, it was all for nothing.

Woohyuk put down a stone mould and began carving out the shape of a hammer.

Ting! Ting!

Sharp banging sounds echoed far into the blizzard around them.

* * *

“Huk Huk..”

Nam Kiryang panted as he stared at the many fragments of bronze rocks scattered across the ground.

He held a bronze hammer and spike in each hand.

It had already been some time since they had stepped into the cave, but he had long ago lost track of how many Golems they had taken care of.

Maybe it was more accurate to say that they didn’t have the time to keep count.

Everyone of them had been constantly moving as they dealt with the many Golems and Gremlins.

‘The Boss seems fine.’

Seeing Woohyuk leap atop another Bronze Golem, Nam Kiryang tongue dropped in astonishment.

Despite having fought for so long, he hadn’t even slowed down a bit.

Jung Sanghoon had served in the special forces, but even he admitted to being inferior to Woohyuk.

Obviously since this was a game world, not everything relied on common sense, but still he wondered how it could be possible.

Wasn’t he also human?

Bang!

The Bronze Golem’s fist smacked into the ground, causing the entire cave to shake.

Although it was very powerful, one simply had to avoid it. Woohyuk nimbly climbed up on its arm and hammered the spike into its right shoulder.

Quazic

Cracks began to appear on the Golem’s bronze rocks, as some pieces crumbled and fell to the ground.

Its left fist was already making its way towards him, but was too late.

Taang!

The last hit managed to seal the deal, and the Golem’s entire right arm fell down to the ground.

Woohyuk, who had just dodged the left arm’s strike by climbing onto its head, was now positioned above its left shoulder as he smacked another spike in.

Quazic

This time around he was aiming to reveal the Golem’s core.

The Bronze Golem tried to attack once more with its fist, but before it could connect its left arm also fell.

He had been in its blindspot.

Woohyuk was completely immersed in this sculpting style of hunting. Shortly after a shiny blue core appeared through some cracks.

It was the Bronze Golem’s power source.

After pulling it out, the Golem collapsed into a pile of Bronze rocks, no longer having anything to hold it together.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“Yes, but it’s just a scratch.”

Jung Sanghoon answered as he raised his forearm.

A light cut.

The skin was torn, but it didn’t seem deep enough to limit his mobility.

“Go and get treated by Song Anna.”

Since they had just finished a battle, they could afford the small break.

After checking to see that everyone was ready, they then resumed their exploration in the caves.

It didn’t take them long to reach the point where the railway tracks ended. Woohyuk turned around to his party and instructed.

“Drink a health potion if you aren’t full, we will soon be facing the Boss monster.

A masterpiece created by Jake while he had been living here.

It was an incredibly difficult opponent for any team that was raiding it for the first time.

Woohyuk first clarified with his team a few points which they had to be aware of, and then proceeded ahead.

They walked into a larger space, focusing on the giant Bronze Golem standing in the center.

‘It’s been quite a while.’

Last time around he had almost lost his life while trying to deal with it.

The biggest difference it had with regular Bronze Golems was that it was able to shoot out Lightning.

If you were to get too close to its body, it would send out its high voltage Chain Lightning, that would continuously jump between enemies.

“If you follow what I’ve told you, we won’t take much damage.”

First Woohyuk ran forward, while his party spread out along the cavity’s edges. They were waiting for Woohyuk to first secure the Bronze Golem Boss’ aggro, before engaging.

The Golem cast its Chain Lightning once he got too close, but Woohyuk calmly absorbed it as he placed a bronze spike on its right leg.

Zizizic

Some cracks began to appear, but it wasn’t too much of a threat to it due to its large size.

Just as he managed to land a second hammer strike on the spike, the Golem Boss’ large metal fist made its way to Woohyuk’s head.

Quaaang!

The entire cave trembled, as if an earthquake had just struck. Rocks even began to fall from the ceiling, shattering on the ground.

A blow so powerful it had created a small pit in the stone floor. Its attack speed was also notably faster than the regular Bronze Golems.

Still, it wasn’t at a level that could threaten Woohyuk.

Combat instincts forged after years of encountering all kinds of situations. His body had little to no wasted movements as he always sought the most optimal result.

Tatadak

Having leapt high into the air, he was now running along the Golem’s arm. At the same time an invisible shockwave was sent out as it rippled like waves.

Calm Sea’s Silence.

Using its effect to Silence any of the Golem’s Skills or Abilities, Woohyuk took the chance to place another spike on its shoulder and hammer away.

The bronze spike was embedded deeply into the bronze rock, as deep cracks began to form.

Although it looked as ridiculous as attempting to bring down a mountain with a set of tools, there really wasn’t any other way.

With Grandia’s current Grade, he wouldn’t even be able to leave a scratch on its body.

“You guys can now help as well.”

Except for when it came to dealing with the Lighting magic, the strategy wasn’t so different compared to when they faced the ordinary Bronze Golems.

Also, since it was still a golem after all and relied on an artificial power source, there would be a significant cool down after it used its magic several times.

Woohyuk had secured it aggro and so all Lightning strikes would be first directed at him, making them easy to absorb.

When the monster had discharged all of its magic, two of them appeared on each of its shoulders, hammering down their spikes.

Meanwhile the rest of the party was busy dealing with the Gremlins that had appeared form a side passage.

Although they were using their greater numbers and crashing into them wave after wave, Lee Jaesung stood at the front with his large Kite Shield, allowing the group to hold their ground.

He also used his War Cry, giving a nice buff to the entire party.

It was a very useful skill that could stack along with Song Anna’s Flute buff.

While they listened to the Flute’s melody, they continued engaging the Gremlins.

“It’s about the time, back off.”

Hearing Woohyuk speak, the three holding bronze spikes jumped off the Golem’s body, landing back on the ground.

Shortly after, strong electrical currents could be seen spreading from its power source, coating its entire body.

Chizzzzzic

Woohyuk had jumped high into the air, landing safely on his Three Clawed Eagle that he had just summoned a short while ago.

He then fired a few Ice Bolts towards the Bronze Golem Boss, just to ensure that he kept the aggro despite putting some distance between them.

As he had expected, the Chain Lightning was sent his way.

The Ghost Queen Star Serpent proceeded to hungrily devour the attack.

After that Woohyuk controlled the Three Clawed Eagle to engage the Boss, keeping the aggro on himself.

Thud!

They continued their work with the spikes, until the sound of both its arms rang out throughout the cave.

They had already dug quite deep, so it didn’t take long to expose the buried power source and pull it out.

Having lost its energy source, the Bronze Golem Boss likewise fell down to the ground into a pile of rubble.

“Huu...I thought I would die if it were to land just a single hit on me.”

“It looks like a landslide occurred here.”

“No more Lightning right?”

The three of them holding bronze spikes wiped the sweat from their brow as they each had their own comment.

Woohyuk briefly glanced at them to make sure they were fine, before going to help out the other group.

Swiish!

Grandia cleaved through the remaining Gremlins one by one, cutting the weapons they held in their hands in two.

After some time they were all put to rest, and silence reigned in the cave.

‘Shall I go have a look?’

The secret hideout of the Genius Mage, Jake.

Woohyuk stepped over the pile of bronze stones as he walked towards the entrance.