STC chapter 38

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My words left Ryu Min so taken aback that he couldn’t continue speaking.

“What do you mean…?”

“You see the golem’s eyes over there?”

Two red, gem-like stones were embedded in the large boulder covered with moss and dirt.

It was easy to tell that those were the eyes.

“We’re going to destroy those first.”

“…What?”

Ryu Min asked in disbelief.

“I know it sounds crazy. It’s not like I have much experience with gate battles.”

“…”

“But please, just trust me this once. You know we don’t have time or any other viable options right now.”

At that moment, the golem swung its arm toward us, slowly but surely.

Ryu Min quickly jumped up, holding me, to avoid the attack.

The ground where we had been standing shook violently and collapsed. We hadn’t even been hit, yet a heavy impact was felt.

“Kang Baram!!”

Ye Ilhu, who was on the other side, screamed my name as the dust rose like dark clouds.

It seemed they thought Ryu Min and I had been hurt, given they couldn’t see us clearly.

“We’re fine, cough, we’re fine!”

We were scattered all over, separated by the massive stone mound like a family reunion.

Ye Ilhu enveloped the golem’s limbs in flames. As a result, the golem, which had been focused on us, turned its gaze towards him.

On one side, the large Chunshik and Seoksam collided with the golem’s torso and wrapped themselves around its arms and legs to hinder its movements, fighting fiercely.

I prepared to use my ability, clenching and unclenching my fists.

As long as Ryu Min could throw me towards the golem, I could unleash my power at any moment.

“Even the strongest attacker among us, Ye Ilhu, is struggling right now.

It seems like the only way to stop the golem is to eliminate whatever is controlling it.

But to do that, we need to restrain that giant first.”

Ryu Min’s eyes darkened with understanding.

Though commonly referred to as ‘magic,’ the power moving the golem was a technique that combined summoning and manipulation. The source of magic could be a human or a specific place like a shrine.

Moreover, given the golem’s inability to attack us effectively, it seemed that the entity controlling it wasn’t here.

They had only implanted commands in the golem, such as, “Eliminate the gate intruders.”

If we could destroy at least one of its eyes to block its sight, it would buy us some time to find and destroy the controller.

After contemplating, Ryu Min nodded resolutely. Still, uncertainty lingered on his face, reflecting his lack of confidence in whether this plan would work.

He shouted loudly to Ye Ilhu and Chae Goya.

“Everyone, stop attacking for a moment!”

“What? Why!”

“Chunshik! Seoksam! Come here!”

Ye Ilhu responded somewhat irritably, frustrated by the unsuccessful attacks, while Chae Goya immediately called back the summoned creatures.

“I’m going to break the golem’s eyes!”

My confident voice echoed through the forest.

After a brief silence, Ye Ilhu and Chae Goya reacted exactly as I had expected.

“Are you crazy?! What are you saying?”

“That’s impossible, hyung! It’s too dangerous!”

I wasn’t crazy, and I knew it was dangerous. But continuing like this would take too long.

Having informed the others, I turned to Ryu Min, regardless of their protests.

“I’ll jump back here once I’m done. You can catch me, right?”

I could land near Ye Ilhu or Chae Goya, but returning the way I came was more convenient for timing.

There was no need to yell back and forth at them.

Ryu Min smiled reassuringly at my question.

“Yes, I won’t drop you.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in three minutes. Can you throw me now? Please aim directly for the eyes.”

I felt Ryu Min’s heartbeat pounding against my back.

With a signal of “One, two, three,” my body soared through the air in a wide arc.

As I suddenly flew up, the golem’s gaze locked onto me.

I looked it straight in the eye, calculating where to land.

“Oh, nice.”

Thanks to Ryu Min’s precise throw, I landed safely right next to the golem’s eye.

The golem swung its arms around like it was swatting a bothersome insect, trying to hit its own face.

It was clear that the controller wasn’t nearby.

Its movements weren’t precise; it was just following the order to eliminate intruders.

I thought about letting it hit itself, but my attack came first.

With the golem constantly moving, the ground beneath my feet was unstable.

I focused on harnessing my power and punched its bright red eye.

Crack! With a terrifying sound, the golem’s gem-like eye shattered into pieces.

“Guh!”

I quickly withdrew my hand from the empty socket. My hand felt like it was burning, as if the bones and joints were on fire.

Even with SS-rank abilities, I wasn’t immune to physical damage.

Without a mouth to scream, the golem started thrashing and jumping around as if it were in agony now that one of its eyes was gone.

I gritted my teeth. Suppressing the pain in my crushed hand, I turned toward Ryu Min. He was standing with his arms wide open, waiting for me.

“Jump down!”

His handsome face was filled with urgency. I had no intention of staying on the unstable golem any longer.

I turned my body and leaped down. For some reason, I felt sure that, just as Ryu Min had promised, he wouldn’t let me fall.

As I descended, branches and leaves scratched my cheeks and arms countless times. To protect my eyes, I crossed my arms in front of my face.

Soon, I felt my body slam into something and then being pulled upwards.

“Ugh…”

My waist hurt terribly. With a grimace, I managed to open my eyes.

Ryu Min was looking down at me in relief as I landed precisely in his arms.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I don’t think so… You caught me perfectly. Thank you.”

“Of course, I had to catch you. You’re Baram, after all.”

He had just uttered an incredibly cheesy line. At that moment, the golem swung its arms randomly and struck the ground where we stood.

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around Ryu Min’s neck, and he jumped, holding me close.

However, something was different about its movements compared to before.

Maybe its depth perception was off because it had lost half its sight?

It didn’t seem like it was trying to attack us. In fact, it was stumbling away from us.

That’s when I had a clear realization.

“…It’s going to its controller.”

“Controller?”

“Yes, the one controlling the golem right now. Whether it’s a person or a place, it’s going back to restore its vision.”

This was also something I had learned from the book “You Too Can Master It in a Day! The Ultimate Monster Encyclopedia★”.

“Golems don’t eat or sleep. They move like machines, driven only by commands. So when they get injured, they often neglect themselves and end up corroded over time.”

I continued speaking calmly.

“To prevent that, some entities plant a command within. It’s basically ‘Return to where you received the command.’ I never expected that the golem would have such a command embedded. Usually, they don’t go that far…”

Meanwhile, the golem staggered as it swung its arm again.

This time, it aimed quite accurately at where we were.

Ryu Min quickly scanned the surroundings and then dashed into a cave that was carved into the middle of the cliff.

“Let’s hold out here for a bit.”

“Won’t the entrance collapse?”

“It would have to aim precisely at this spot, but given the golem’s current state, it would be difficult. Besides, it seems unaware of where we’ve hidden.”

Just as Ryu Min said, the golem was staggering, unable to maintain its balance.

We held our breath as we watched its movements.

I had expected the golem to return to its master, and it seemed both Ye Ilhu and Chae Goya thought the same.

From afar, they gave us a subtle nod and gestured toward the golem, signaling us to move on ahead.

I nodded back to them. If we got separated, I planned to join them and cautiously follow behind.

“You can let me down now.”

“I wouldn’t mind holding on a bit longer.”

“Oh, come on, put me down already.”

Ryu Min, who seemed reluctant, subtly approached me, but I pushed his pretty face away.

Once I set foot on solid ground, I let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, things went smoothly; otherwise, it could have been disastrous. A wave of relief washed over me, and my legs wobbled.

But there was no time to rest.

Ye Ilhu and Chae Goya were already chasing after the golem.

We needed to start moving, too.

And then it happened.

“What…?”

As I tried to exit the cave, I was pushed back by something invisible.

As I staggered backward, Ryu Min gave me a puzzled look. No, I wasn’t doing a pantomime.

“There’s something like a barrier here.”

“A barrier?”

He knocked on the space where I had hesitated.

Soon, a transparent wall vibrated, shimmering like a hologram with rainbow colors around the area his fist touched.

“What is this…?”