Chapter 38: The Golden Guardians Awaken

“Ultimate move! Gobori Bomb Rapid Fire!”

[★★★ Sane Pyromaniac: Rapid Fire Skill!]

Kwah kwah bang!

Bright red flames engulfed the stairs.

Countless insects were caught in the explosion and perished, but,

Crunch crunch crunch crunch!

Despite that, they pressed on without retreating.

Taking a deep breath, I planted my feet firmly.

“They’re coming! They’re coming! They’re coming!”

Rose, clinging to my neck, shouted.

There was no way I could slash through all those bugs anyway.

All I could do was act as bait and protect the two of them.

Meanwhile, I could only hope Gobori would thin out the swarm.

‘Huff…!’

I braced myself and faced the swarm.

Crunch crunch crunch crunch!

Countless bugs crawled up my body.

Crack! Snap! Slam!

I stomped and slammed my shield down, crushing the bugs.

‘Ugh…! Guh!’

But excruciating pain radiated through my body.

I clenched my teeth and endured the agony.

“Brother!”

“I’m fine, keep shooting! We have to kill all of them before it’s over!”

“But!”

“Can you see my bones?”

“Not yet!”

“Then keep shooting! If there’s any food left, they’ll target only me!”

I shouted while swinging my shield.

“Eek! Get away! Ugh! Go away!”

Rose flitted around, grimacing.

‘Do these bugs not have the ability to fly?’

Luckily, Rose wasn’t attacked.

“Rose!”

“What!”

“Is the healing still going?”

“Of course! I’m still right near you!”

“Then hold on! Your healing is the key!”

I checked the screen and replied.

[☆ Using Healing Potion to restore ★★★ Indomitable Sword Stalker’s health.]

[☆ Using Healing Potion to restore ★★★ Indomitable Sword Stalker’s health.]

My character on screen was barely holding onto their HP.

Thanks to Rose’s healing and potions, the flesh eaten away by the bugs rapidly regenerated.

‘Ugh! Guh!’

Of course, the pain was unavoidable.

The agony of having living flesh torn off made my head spin.

I didn’t even remember the last time I felt pain like this.

“Brother! The number of bugs has decreased! Only the ones clinging to you remain!”

***

After a long while, Gobori shouted.

Finally, the onslaught of bugs eased.

I gritted my teeth and shouted at Rose.

“Rose!”

“Yikes!”

“Get away from me!”

“What? What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see when I do it!”

I curled my body and endured the last wave of pain.

Only after Rose flew away did I stretch out fully and shouted,

“Haste!”

[★★★ Indomitable Sword Stalker: Haste Skill!]

Whoooosh!

A gust of wind swept the bugs away.

Those clinging to my body were flung in every direction.

“Be careful not to get bitten! Once we deal with these guys, it’s over!”

I crushed the remaining bugs and spoke.

“Oh! So that’s how it works!”

“Are you crazy…? That’s not a proper strategy!”

Gobori and Rose were aghast.

This was a skill I’d confirmed before.

When using Haste, the inside of the body would suddenly burst outward, and I’d used that to shake off the bugs stuck to me.

I mercilessly stomped the last remaining bugs to finish them off.

[Golden Scarab Swarm Defeated!]

‘Huff.’

***

After a long stomp, the once large swarm was wiped out.

[Defeated Scarabs: 72,391]

[Obtained 72,391 Gold as reward!]

The screen showed over 70,000 gold in rewards.

‘Was it one gold per scarab?’

Catching my breath, I touched my skin.

The flesh that had been bright red slowly began to heal.

“Are you crazy?”

“Huh?”

Rose suddenly raised her voice.

Tilting my head, Rose’s outburst came flooding out.

“What were you thinking doing something like that? Normal heroes don’t do that! Why throw your body away, why throw your body away!”

“That’s right! You were reckless just now! It hurt me just watching!”

Rose and Gobori spoke.

‘Why were they mad?’

I had no idea what I’d done wrong.

“Why? Thanks to your healing and the potions, I recovered. Isn’t that enough?”

“Recovery isn’t the issue! The pain stays the same even if the wounds heal! A normal hero would have gone crazy!”

Rose shouted, tears welling up.

“Sigh. I understand what you’re saying. Even if Valhalla is a light and easy world, pain isn’t light. There’s no hero who endures pain instead of dying. That’s what Rose is saying.”

Gobori added with worried eyes.

Ah.

So that’s what it was.

I awkwardly smiled and scratched my head.

Both of them were worried about me.

“Heh heh. I’m fine. I said I’m fine. Maybe it’s because I’m still not used to the old world’s waters draining away? I keep getting serious. Thanks for understanding.”

“Brother, you don’t actually like pain, do you?”

“Not at all. I’m not some kind of pervert.”

“Eeek! Sorry! Sorry!”

I grabbed Gobori’s ear and reprimanded him.

It wasn’t like I enjoyed the pain.

When the bugs bite me, it was so terrible my teeth almost clashed.

“Hmph. If it feels absurd, just die cleanly. Nobody will recognize you for enduring it. You have to take care of your own body!”

Rose said gruffly.

“Heh. Thanks. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

I smiled and nodded.

I was getting used to Rose’s way of speaking.

Her gruff words still showed she cared about me.

“Huff… I wonder what will come next. If it’s more bugs like before, it’ll be rough.”

I muttered while going down the stairs.

“This party’s composition was wrong from the start. For a dungeon like this, I should have brought a beast or a mage. Just look at what they did before! Those bugs wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

Rose fluttered her wings and grumbled.

But both of them stuck oddly close to me.

I smiled awkwardly and pushed them away.

“But… why are you two sticking so close? Is it because you can’t see the bottom?”

“Because it’s cold! Don’t push!”

“Y-Yeah! At times like this, we have to share warmth! Don’t push! Haha!”

Rose and Gobori stuck back to me.

‘Was it really that cold?’

Soon, we reached a flat area after descending the high stairs.

***

It was a narrow, long corridor lined with golden walls, when suddenly

“Growl…! Grrr!”

A black shadow rushed out from the narrow alley.

“Brother!”

“Step back!”

I covered Gobori and charged head-on.

Thud!

The shadow collided with my shield and was pushed against the wall.

[Lv. 45 Mummy Hound defeated.]

Snap!

Then I quickly stabbed its chest to finish it.

The body crushed under my shield crumbled to dust.

A dry undead monster, huh?

“Grr! Grr!”

“Growl!”

[Lv. 45 Mummy Hound defeated.]

[Lv. 45 Mummy Hound defeated.]

Crack! Snap!

The other two were subdued one by one.

They were unimpressive monsters, probably hollow inside.

“Is it all over? Are we done?”

Gobori stepped out from the corner.

He dusted off the dirt on his body and tilted his head.

“Why so scared? Don’t you like undead?”

“Huh? No, it’s just that…”

“Hmm?”

“This is my first dungeon. In other dungeons, I know all the patterns. I know what comes out where. But this dungeon is unknown, so it feels strange.”

Gobori muttered, avoiding my gaze.

Ah.

That was the reason.

I thought they seemed scared from the start; they were just uneasy in an unfamiliar dungeon.

Clatter! Bang!

Just as we moved a bit further, “Grrr…” “Grr…”

From coffins along the corridor, corpses wrapped in white bandages emerged.

“Eek! Mummies!”

“They’ll drain our life! Eeek!”

Gobori and Rose screamed.

[Lv. 45 Mummy Matron defeated.]

[Lv. 45 Mummy Matron defeated.]

But they were insignificant opponents.

We easily disposed of them and moved on.

“Um… Brother?”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you scared? The monsters aren’t impressive, but they suddenly pop out. This is like a horror experience, isn’t it? Are you okay?”

Gobori asked excitedly.

“Right! You were fine even when the bugs were tearing your flesh. Are you a sociopath? Do you not feel anything?”

Rose trembled as she spoke.

‘Scared?’

I didn’t really feel that way.

***

After thinking for a while, I laughed.

Now that I thought about it, I knew why.

“Heh. It was everyday life in the world I lived in. Maybe that’s why.”

“Everyday life? What kind of world did you live in?”

“I always fought demons. Those guys get stronger the more their enemies fear them. Getting used to that eventually makes you numb. It’s all thanks to those guys.”

I shrugged and replied.

The demons in the channel.

They’re goofy fools now, but in the old world, they were monsters who toyed with enemies through various threats and illusions.

I’d fought those demons for over ten years.

So,

No shabby undead could scare me.

The ‘Threat Immunity’ that started with the Wild Dog Hunter trait came from here, apparently.

“This dungeon is long. It’s going to take a while.”

I said as we continued.

The dungeon stretched endlessly.

A typical dungeon took ten minutes for two or three sections, but we were on the fourth section and twenty minutes in.

It was the longest dungeon I’d encountered since the prologue.

“Look forward to it. Long dungeons come with great rewards. Besides, this is a special huhu dungeon, right? There’s definitely something here. Players get furious if the rewards aren’t worth the effort!”

Gobori replied boastfully.

“I told you, the party composition is wrong. If you made a proper team, we’d have cleared this already.”

Rose grumbled gruffly.

True.

I thought it would’ve been easier with different members.

Flowerdol, who can heal fast.

Kumgui, skilled in fire attack and defense.

With those two, even the scarabs wouldn’t have been a problem.

That’s why they talk about ‘synergy’ and ‘team composition.’

“Huh? What’s that light?”

A faint light appeared just ahead.

Turning the corner, we approached a room filled with all kinds of treasures.

“Oh!”

“Ohhh!”

Gobori and Rose marveled.

A room made of gold.

On high stairs, a book larger than a human head rested.

The dungeon’s reward was clear.

“That’s the reward! We’re done!”

“Finally, the reward! Let’s go, brother! Time to claim it!”

Rose and Gobori cheered.

Kugugu…

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

But the room shook and trembled.

A pile of gold coins spilled, revealing something underneath.

“Who dares… to awaken the Twilight Slumber…!”

Jingle jingle!

A gigantic giant rose from beneath the spilling coins.

Armed with a golden spear and golden armor, the giant had a black wild dog’s head on its upper body.

It looked just like the wild dog statue I saw outside.

[Boss: Golden Guardian] Lv. 45

[Boss monster has appeared!]

“Those blinded by gold… shall receive the Sun’s judgment….”

Jingle jingle!

But the boss wasn’t alone.

“Eek!”

“A double boss?”

Gobori and Rose gasped in shock at the unexpected appearance.

[Boss: Sun Guardian] Lv. 45

[Boss monster has appeared!]

The second giant had a hawk’s head.

“Awakening the Twilight Slumber…”

“Those greedy for gold…”

“Shall receive the Sun’s judgment…”

“Repent through death…!”

Thud! Thud!

The two giants closed in and spoke.

[Boss: Sun Guardian] Lv. 45

[Boss: Golden Guardian] Lv. 45

“Haha. Just give up? Orc! Bring the orcs! I’m taking a break from the game!”

“I can’t do this! How do we beat this? Let’s just die comfortably!”

Gobori and Rose grumbled.

‘Heh.’

But there was no reason to give up.

‘Hadn’t I said before?’

I’ve faced giants before.

When fighting giants, there’s always a strategy.

Instead of the golden sword, I gripped the Uruk Slayer.

“Gobori.”

“Yes?”

“They say giving up is only for counting cabbage.”

“Why with the dad jokes now…?”

Encouraging Gobori, I stepped forward.

Though the dungeon was unknown to them, to me it was just another challenge.

“Let’s go!”