NOVEL WEB
Chapter 69.1 - The First Year at the Academy - Horns and Iron (1)
Chapter 69.1. The First Year at the Academy – Horns and Iron (1)
Standing outside the fence, Elphimia and I stared at the mansion.
Two stories built of stone.
Perhaps it had been.
Most of the second floor had collapsed, creating a pile of rubble downstairs and around the perimeter.
Had the protective magic worn off?
"I'm going to check the surroundings."
I called out to Elphimia, and we climbed over the fence and entered the grounds.
The space between the compound and the fence looks like a garden. I see no garden plants or trees, so they must have died out long ago.
While looking at the house, I turned to the right.
The construction was crude, but there were decorations in some places. If it had not collapsed, it would have had a quaint appearance. It was completely different from the warehouse in the forest.
We continued to the back of the house and then to the left.
This area was littered with debris. The left side of the house was also badly damaged.
As I avoided the large debris, I saw reddish-brown iron plates and black lead inside the debris. It seemed to be for detection and intrusion prevention. If the same people had built the mansion, they must have had this in the previous warehouse. Whatever it was, it would be ineffective if it collapsed.
"Presence Detection" did not catch anything, and there was nothing to draw our attention.
After completing my rounds, I turned my attention around the mansion.
The fence covers the garden. And a stone pavement extended from the main entrance. Beyond that was a wide street flanked by warehouses. It seemed we had arrived by a route other than the main road.
Warehouses surrounded this place, but the warehouses around the mansion were deteriorating.
Perhaps the wards may have taken in some of the warehouses. No matter how outrageous the wards are, there is a limit to how much they can mislead. By daring to incorporate them, they suppressed the sense of discomfort. I think it was one of these that I touched when I went through.
When I reported nothing wrong, Elphimia said, "Yes" with a hardened expression.
I turned around and looked up at the mansion.
The house we were looking for had collapsed. What does this mean?
"I'm going in alone. Wait for me."
It's pointless to think about it at this point. We'll find out.
Leaving Elphimia outside the fence, we approached the house.
The approach is divided into stairs on either side, and a few steps up are double doors.
The front door was open, perhaps due to the collapse.
To be safe, I focused on "Presence Detection" and went up the stairs.
That must be the salon.
When I looked into the mansion, I found a large room with a vaulted ceiling.
There seemed to be separate rooms on either side. At the front – a stairway to the second floor.
The front and the right side of the mansion are less damaged and surrounded by thick darkness. As if to cut through the darkness, moonlight from the windows illuminated the mansion in a pale blue light.
I observe the carpet in the salon.
There are no traps – I think.
That is the first time I've seen any traps at all.
I prepared myself and stretched out my legs.
When my feet touch the carpet, dust rises and shimmers in the moonlight.
Relieved, I stop moving just as I set my heels on the floor.
I hear a faint noise.
Immediately, I focus all my attention and search for the source.
The left-hand part of the collapse?
Just then, I hear the sound again.
This time I don't need to concentrate. I hear heavy footsteps, a crushing sound that echoes through the garden.
There is something in the room next to the salon – behind the rubble.
This position is not good!
As soon as I jump out, the rubble in the next room blows away.
"Get back!"
With a warning, I jump over the exterior stairs, in a collapsed position.
Retreating to the middle of the garden, I stared at the mansion, which was raising a cloud of dust.
After several crushing sounds, a slender humanoid figure appeared.
"A golem. How troublesome."
Moreover, even iron and stone are troublesome.
Elphimia shouted to me as I held up my sword.
"No, retreat!"
I hesitated, but followed the instructions and retreated further.
The iron golem followed me, making the ground shake, but as soon as I jumped over the fence, it stopped abruptly and turned its back on me.
Wait, it didn't chase me?
Elphimia answered the question in my mind.
"It's a protector golem."
"A protector?"
"There's a golem buried in the outer wall of Selene, isn't there?"
"I've heard rumors…"
"The golem is made of more than just some material. It's a follower and a guardian. The golem refers to the servant golem of the wall, but the guardian or protector golem is created to protect the base. So when an intruder leaves the designated area, it stops chasing them."
As the story goes, the iron golem returns to the mansion.
Watching its back, Elfimir continues.
"It's almost identical to the servant golem, but there's one crucial difference. It's highly repairable."
Name: –
Race: Iron Golem
Level: 15
HP: 110/110
MP: -/-
Str: 30
Int: -/-
Dex: 5
Endurance: 38
Agi: 9
Charm: –
Skills
Restoration 6, Lightning Resistance 3, No-Attribute Resistance 2
Magic
None
Title
Protector of the Base
I see, there is a tremendous amount of compensation.
Magic is an imitation of skill. This one is an imitation of Labyrinth Guardian.
"……I'm sorry, but let's go back."
To my surprise, Elphimia shook her head frustrated.
"The protector golem is hard to hot, especially if it's an iron golem. And – maybe – that golem was specially made by someone. Somehow, the magic flows through it."
"It's special. How do you normally defeat it, anyway?"
"If you destroy the core, it will stop. But there are no rules about where to put it. Can you find it? From a piece of iron."
"How can you locate the core with that flow of magic?"
"Impossible. I can't see what's going on inside."
Well, she's probably right. The flow of magic power is a pretext to fool the "Basic Appraisal". It's out of order.
The back of the back walks away with ease.
High arm strength and durability. The material is iron, and the location of its core is unknown. It regenerates quickly, and to top it off, it is resistant to all the attributes that seem to be effective.
That makes me want to go home.
"Isn't there any other way?"
"We can't stop it except by destroying the core, but we can use powerful physical attacks or magic to temporarily incapacitate it. Most of the time people will either make it through that time or destroy the core. If you look hard enough. You can still see the embedded marks."
"So either way, we need to stop it, or we can't talk about it."
"With A strong physical attack – in this case, a strike weapon?"
I should have brought a blow weapon too, but what you don't have, you can't do without it.
Let's think of a way to do something with what we have.
No matter what kind of golem it is, it will stop moving if we destroy its core.
Then we can search for the core while challenging it to close combat. With my agility, it is possible. Then, as soon as I find it, I will fire a concentrated volley of "Multiple Chanting" with "Lightning Bolt".
That should work, but I still have my doubts. Even with the firepower of "Multiple Chanting," the reality is that it is a collection of beginner-level magic. If we applied resistance to each of them, it greatly reduced my power. If so, it is doubtful whether I can destroy it even if I pour all my magic power into it.
It is also unknown if we'll find the core. Elphimia said, "There are traces left behind," but if I were the creator, I would thoroughly remove all traces. Especially if it was a specially made golem.
The only thing left is to lure it out, attack it when it returns, and repeat the process.
I won't know until I try it, but I'm not sure if it will exceed the recovery speed of "Restoration 6". I think it would be better to go through with it.
"Anyway, let's try some things."
"Are you serious?"
"We have to try everything, don't we?"
I left my backpack with Elphimia and pulled out my sword.
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