Chapter 5: First Research: Goblin Gate (2)

The Golem stretched out its arm, and where its fist landed, stone dust exploded in every direction. If that had hit, I’d be dead.

“I take back what I said about catching it easily.”

Even one hit from that thing, and it looked like I’d be sent straight to the grave.

I grabbed the prototype and aimed for the Golem’s leg joint.

There was no guarantee that a bullet would work against the Golem’s magical defense, but if the attack contained Mana, it might be different.

Boom-!

Another punch.

Luckily, the Golem’s large size made it a bit clumsy moving inside the ruins.

With each punch, stone dust scattered everywhere again.

“I’m not dying to a mindless Monster.”

The Golem was too slow to catch me as it chased after.

I didn’t need much to subdue that thing. All I had to do was disable the Golem for just a moment.

“Ming Ming. Dash behind the Golem and draw its attention.”

“Ming!”

The Golem would never be able to catch a flying Ming Ming.

I doubted Ming Ming’s attacks would land a meaningful blow, but that wasn’t necessary.

The Hedgewing Dragon seemed to understand my words and dashed off.

As Ming Ming fluttered past, the Golem Core’s gaze momentarily followed Ming Ming.

An opening.

I again targeted the Golem’s leg joint.

——-!

The second strike. The Golem staggered from the Mana-infused attack.

As expected, having even a crude weapon made all the difference.

It’s time to finish this.

I shifted my aim toward the Golem’s eye, near the Magic Stone Core.

The gunshot rang out, and the structure protecting the Golem’s Magic Stone Core—an iris-like eyelid—cracked immediately.

Though the Core itself wasn’t directly damaged, the blow seemed serious; the Golem’s movements began to noticeably falter.

The Monster soon collapsed.

“Got it.”

I approached the Golem and reached for the Magic Stone Core.

I could feel it twitch, but it seemed incapable of resisting—that was all.

As I pulled the Magic Stone Core from the body, the Golem immediately ceased all movement.

That was the end of it.

As expected, once its Core was removed, the Golem died.

Inside the Golem Core were unknown characters and complex, circuit-like geometric patterns engraved.

“This has research value.”

I managed to retrieve the Golem Core successfully.

I needed materials to make a Magical Artifact, and I obtained them more easily than expected.

In my past life, the Golem I’d met had been utterly destroyed after taking a direct artillery hit to the Core.

This was my first time analyzing a Golem’s Magic Stone Core in such an intact state—two birds with one stone.

I used Seeker’s Trait Activation on the Golem’s corpse.

[You have defeated the Relic Golem.]

[Exploration Stat +10.]

[30/100 to Enlightenment Stage 1.]

If the Relic Golem could operate for hundreds of years without maintenance…

Couldn’t I reprogram or control it after disassembling it? No, thinking about it, it must be possible.

I let Mana flow into the Core.

Even though the Magic Stone Core was no longer connected to the Golem, it began to move in the direction I gestured.

Right, left.

As an extension of the Seeker’s Trait I just used, my Mana was entering the Golem Core and moving the object.

[Golem Core]

[The Golem’s heart and eye.]

For a while, I played with the Golem Core as if juggling a ball.

Ming Ming, beside me, chased the round Core with its eyes, just like a cat staring at a tennis ball.

The Hedgewing Dragon crouched as if ready to pounce on the moving ball.

I grabbed the Core and put it back in my bag.

“If you broke it while playing, what would I do?”

“Ming!”

Ming Ming seemed somewhat displeased, but I couldn’t just let the Core break.

If I returned to the Research Laboratory and rebuilt the Golem’s body, I might be able to Control the newly-made Golem.

Going further, the ultimate goal was to recreate and build a Golem myself.

After finishing my Analysis of the Golem, I shifted my gaze to the Entrance of the ruins the creature had been guarding.

The Iron Gate was already half-destroyed, and what once looked like a heavy door toppled easily when I approached and gave it a nudge.

Thud-!

“Ming Ming!”

“Not yet, wait.”

I stopped Ming Ming, who was about to rush in. Before entering, I took a quick look—no special devices.

No Traps or Booby Traps.

“What’s this now?”

The place looked like a kind of treasure vault.

I took out the Geiger Counter and scanned the items in the vault.

Sometimes magical items emitted dangerous levels of radiation, so it was essential to check.

Fortunately, nothing here seemed to emit radiation.

“Ming Ming. What do you think this is?”

I poked around with the blunt end of my weapon.

“There’s something here.”

The Mana Flow felt abnormal.

That meant there was at least one object with magical properties nearby.

Ming Ming buried his nose into one side of the Box in the vault.

Looking closely in that direction, I found a silver ornament.

What stood out was the blue Mana Stone set instead of a jewel.

I wasn’t sure what use the ornament itself would have, but even just the fingernail-sized Mana Stone would be quite useful.

It wasn’t like Mana Stones or Artifacts could be immediately exchanged for cash yet.

I’d use it for research for now, and once the Hunter Shop opened, I could think about selling it.

“Could fetch a pretty high price later.”

I continued to search the vault.

“Ming.”

This time, Ming Ming tapped a Box.

“What’s this now?”

I grabbed the suspicious-looking Box.

The Box was just a bit larger than my palm, decorated with aged wood and metal.

I tried pulling the ivory handle to open it, but it didn’t budge at all.

I could force it open, but there was a risk of damaging it, so I figured it was better to move it as is.

“There’s something inside.”

I carefully examined the cracks of the Box.

Though I couldn’t see the interior, using Seeker’s Trait Activation showed me the Mana Flow of a living creature.

There was something alive inside.

But I heard no breathing or movement.

If so.

A creature in hibernation? Or an Egg?

Given the hard sound when tapped, it seemed like an Egg.

There was a slim chance it was some hard-shelled creature, like a crab.

The Mana Geiger Counter also gave a definite reaction.

“Whatever’s inside, it must be important.”

As I was examining the items I found in the vault, Ming Ming started darting around in front of me as if to warn me.

“What is it?”

“Ming!”

Ming Ming circled once in front of me, so I scanned the area around the ruins again. Seems like I missed something.

I walked deeper into the ruins.

The deeper I went, the thicker the brown moss that covered the ground around me.

Plants I’d never seen in our world.

Wait. There are footprints in the moss.

Traces of a human passing through.

Silently, I stepped into the shadow cast by the ruined debris and followed the footprints with my eyes.

“Those bastards again?”

It seemed an Awakened one had succeeded in sneaking into the Gate before the Military arrived.

Was this also the work of the Gate Worshippers? I checked to see if there were any traces of black Mana left behind.

“Ming Ming. Track them.”

Ming Ming lowered his head to the ground and began following the unknown human footprints.

Just like a hunting dog.

Even so, these guys still reeked of amateurs.

Leaving footprints, and getting tailed as soon as they crossed the Gate.

Soon, we arrived at a clearing.

The clearing was littered with half-dissected Monster carcasses.

I couldn’t help but frown at the sight.

What the hell happened here?

“Let’s take a look around.”

This was the enemy’s Camp.

Someone had hunted a large Monster, killed it, and was exploring the space beyond the Gate.

Judging by the lack of Gas Masks, they were unrelated to the Government.

It was possible they were a neutral group, but…

Nine times out of ten, it was the Camp of the Gate Worshippers.

“Ming Ming. Check the surroundings.”

The Monster carcasses must’ve been butchered for materials or resources.

I didn’t know why the Gate Worshippers had come, but their reason for wanting to enter the Gate as soon as possible was obvious.

Even among Hunters, each person was different, but the more you fought Monsters, the stronger you got.

If you wanted the chance to get stronger, you had to come in.

Here’s the crux of the problem.

“How did they know?”

The authorities started surveillance almost immediately after the Gate appeared, and at my request, the Military surrounded the Gate.

If these people entered before the Military sealed off the Gate…

Something didn’t add up.

It meant they’d either entered as soon as the Gate opened, or had been waiting nearby even before the Gate appeared.

“Do they have some way of predicting it?”

If the enemy kept getting a step ahead like this…

“…I can’t just sit back.”

I used Mana vision and began Analysis of the Monster carcasses.

They were giant, massive bodies. I’d seen traces like this often before my regression, a phenomenon of massive creatures emerging from the Gate.

Any valuable Magic Stones or Monster remnants had already been taken, with someone stripping the hide and leaving only the bones.

Human knife marks were left all over the Monster corpses.

I photographed every part of the carcass, collecting fur and tissue samples in Sample Vials.

“Are they different from current era ones?”

“Is there a specific reason they’re bigger than those in our world?”

Several questions kept circling in my mind.

There are a few things that can induce gigantism in creatures.

It could be the cold environment, island gigantism, or perhaps high oxygen concentration in the atmosphere.

Or maybe, it’s all meaningless and it’s just magic.

“If I analyze the samples, it’ll become clear.”

I also checked the moss growing on the Camp floor once again.

I needed to collect this too…

“Footprints.”

There were more footprints than I thought.

Looking again, there weren’t just one or two sets; at least three or four people had passed through.

“Ming Ming. Looks like it wasn’t just one or two people, right?”

“Ming.”

Ming Ming nodded.

Well… there were still mysteries to solve, and more to explore.

But today, we caught the enemy’s tail.

I documented every piece of evidence with photographs.

Still, if those guys wandering nearby really were Gate Worshippers, staying here any longer would be dangerous.

Time to go. With that thought, I began searching every corner of the Camp.

Better hurry and leave. But contrary to my wishes, there wasn’t much left in the Camp.

A stump used as a chair, a lighter for starting fires, and the footprints.

Ah, there was one thing.

A black sphere placed where blood from the Monster’s corpse had pooled.

It was about the size of a Bowling Ball, the surface made of what seemed to be Obsidian.

Ignoring my sense of unease, I nudged the blood-stained sphere with my foot, but the black sphere didn’t budge an inch.