Chapter 172 – The Age of Golems (02)

A commonly seen work golem is, in modern terms, an object similar to heavy equipment used at construction sites, and is about 3 meters long.

It’s a slow but large body, overwhelming weight, and tireless physical strength that swings heavy arms or weapons attached to the body toward obstacles that block the way, like a tank, which is commonly thought of as a tank.

This was because the golems in common fantasy were like that, and the battle golem that Melissa controlled at Celestial Academy actually looked exactly like that.

However, the battle golems I see in front of me now are a little different from the golems I thought of.

Ugh!

Unlike the original battle golem, which didn’t feel awkward having a person on its shoulder, it is slightly taller than a person and has neutral, slender curves.

The battle golems were covered with armor that protected each moving part of the body, and looked closer to robots than golems.

‘Well, if it’s too big, it’s not efficient.’

Generally, when manufacturing a golem that is about 3 meters long, the feet and legs are made thick to maximize grip, the body is made as low as possible, and the joints are made using special parts made of rare metals to enhance durability.〈 Br〉

However, these battle golems are now much smaller than those golems and have become lighter, so the ground is only slightly dented and it is not at the level where you are buried up to your ankles.

In addition, they were moving much more nimbly, perhaps thanks to their weight reduction, and the bare metal parts visible between their armor-covered bodies gave an idea of ​​​​​​how these golems achieved their weight reduction.

Pooooo!

Even so, if it touched the wooden sword, it would only be shattered.

Patter patter…

After receiving a wooden sword from the front, I looked at the battle golem whose body was shattered into hundreds of metal fragments, and looked back at the path of golem fragments left behind me.

‘But it’s quite a difficult opponent for others.’

It will be difficult to deal with even Inori, who is hiding in my shadow right now.

She was a difficult opponent for battle golems, to the point where a battle would not have been possible without her [Shadow Thorn], Which could ignore her defense and pierce through objects.

Just as firepower above a certain level is useless against heavily armored tanks, this battle golem was so efficient that it could literally crush ordinary soldiers.

A swordsman or expert with truly outstanding skills could target the gaps between the armor to damage and collapse the joints, but even they would take quite a bit of time.

‘Of course, this world is a fantasy world…’

Because they have abilities, ordinary soldiers have superpowers that can blow away dozens of people, or there are people who can move so fast that afterimages appear on their bodies, so they will be able to deal with them.

A guy like Gordon who has the [Weight Destruction] Trait will be able to crush it with force or destroy its joints with special magic.

In that sense, the reason I was able to proceed by crushing these golems overwhelmingly was because of this wooden sword.

‘As expected, this wooden sword is too fraudulent to be exchanged for a holy sword whose identity I don’t know.’

When I first came in, the battle golems were passing by, probably because they thought I was a merchant, but since I had already arrived, I was proceeding by destroying all the battle golems I saw along the way, with the intention of reducing the number of operative golems.

When more than a dozen golems were destroyed, a wide flat area was seen carved out of the mountainside, and a huge building with a complex structure could be seen inside it.

Easy profit…

Acrid smoke spewing from the chimney, and the top of the mountain burning like an active volcano, even though it is clearly not a volcano but an ordinary mountain range made of metal.

I don’t know what power it uses inside, but the dwarf workers are constantly moving, pushing in fuel and materials, and even now pulling out numerous golems.

While I was climbing up while dealing with the golem, the Duke merchants who arrived safely gave me rare gemstones and some materials, and the dwarves took some of them for themselves and put the rest into a cart right in front of their eyes, pulling the cart along a huge conveyor belt. Put it on top.

Gurgling…

Like lava flowing, red molten iron falls and enters the mold, creating the framework one by one.

The joints were studded with joints made of the rare metal that had just been taken out in accordance with the quantity of ores brought in just now, and the armor that had just been taken out of the mold was also being assembled on its outer surface.

After a while, cold water is poured to cool the surface, and steam is emitted around the area, and a battle golem that works for the sect is finally born.

Easy profit…

“Master.”

“I know.”

If I swung the wooden sword incorrectly here, I could have damaged the production equipment or ended up openly joining the communist faction at the golem factory.

So, as I stood by with my hand on the handle of the wooden sword as a precaution for minimal self-defense, the Duke Battle Golem took a look at me and just ignored me and started heading down the ramp.

‘Well, unless the golem factory was stupid, they wouldn’t have let the fight near the production facility.’

It was probably made possible to recognize the enemy and fight only when a certain distance from the production facility was maintained.

If the production facility for Duke battle golems is on the right, with the gigantic conveyor belt visible in the center constantly rotating, then the other side is the production facility for royal faction golems.

The dwarves who had been leisurely smoking or drinking during the day were slowly approaching me, who had just appeared, and were looking at me. The dwarf with the white beard who seemed to be the representative among them approached me and held out his hand.

“I guess they are royalists since they don’t go that way.”

“Are you a member of the royal faction?”

“No. Our role is simply to create golems for the royalists. War between humans is not of interest to us.”

Well, I guess so. Dwarves, elves, etc. Will not intervene in this civil war unless you specifically win their favor and complete a deal.

Of course, you can hire some as mercenaries.

“Looking at the condition of the baggage, it looks like we don’t have any materials. Are you planning to start from us again? We just made a contract to make a golem if you brought us the materials.”

I glanced at Inori, and instead of using her cleavage to open [Her shadow her pocket her] Like she usually did, she spread out her cloak, blocking out the sunlight for a moment and creating her own shadow.

And when she lifted her coat, which had been placed on the floor, the rare gemstones that had been brought all the way here were revealed underneath.

It wasn’t much, but as if this was enough, the dwarves began to warm up in earnest and show motivation.

“It’s been a while since this line has been working. Everyone returns to their positions!”

As I watched them pick out a few of the stones and pack them separately, and then transport the rest on a cart, the first thing I did was bring up the purpose of coming here.

“I came to meet [Golem Maker].”

The [Golem Maker] Trait was not only possessed by Melissa, but also possessed by her family.

Of course, Melissa only has the golden trait, that is, the most outstanding talent, but the members of that family will also have the red trait.

In the Dnevarin family, a master of the sword, Marian has the golden [Master of the Sword] Trait, but Sir Andre is the strongest even with the red [Master of the Sword] Trait.

However, the dwarf who heard me had a sad expression on his face.

“What’s the problem?”

“There is no more [Golem Maker].”

“There isn’t one. Obviously, Melissa is here…

“There is only the [Golem Queen] Who hired us.”

[Golem Queen].

Just as Ophelia’s [Versatility] Trait changed to [Power of Perfected Bloodline], Is it also possible that Melissa’s true trait has been awakened?

“Either way, I’d like to meet you.”

“By what qualifications?”

I was trying to show the agent seal of Alphyrio’s caravan that Hollio had given me, but I just buried it in my arms and spoke to the old dwarf.

“In the capacity of a friend.”

* ​ * ​ *

The white beard dwarf looked interested and then went inside and seemed to have some kind of message.

He then left, saying that he had to focus on making royalist golems, but was told to wait at the entrance to the golem factory.

[Golem Queen] Will open the door on her own if she wants.

Now, ‘No Entry’ was written on the dashboard or something.

They told us that if the message ‘Go back’ appeared, they had no intention of meeting us, so we had to go back, and if the message ‘Come in’ appeared, we should go inside.

As I was waiting at the entrance to the golem factory with Inori, the words written on the door changed.

It said ‘Please come in’ so I tried to go in, but the dashboard suddenly changed to ‘No entry’. I wondered if this was some kind of joke, so I turned to look at the dwarf, who was in the middle of handling rare gemstones and shouted in a loud voice.

“Only one person is allowed! Take turns checking!”

When I took a step back with those words, it was still off-limits, and when Inori took a step back and I stepped forward, this time the dashboard changed to ‘Come in’.

“I’ll be back.”

Although Inori looked a little dissatisfied, she nodded her head and expressed her understanding.

And perhaps Inori didn’t want to interfere with the reunion between Melissa and I.

Of course, I couldn’t feel good, so my affection level decreased a little.

“If you need anything, please call me right away, my lord.”

I wasn’t too worried because if an emergency occurred, I could call Inori with her ‘voice’ and she would come over with my shadow.

Sigh-!

Through the door that opened with the sound of steam escaping, I was finally able to enter the Golem Factory.

“Welcome, Aren. I was hoping you would come.”

And as soon as I went inside, I was able to reunite with Melissa, who had not changed much in two years and was still smiling, looking a little tired.

The long dress that covered her body and her calm expression made her look like she had matured after going through a lot of things over the past two years.

[Golem Queen] Melissa.

In fact, her characteristics had changed.

She didn’t shy away from gently placing her hand on her cheek.

Thanks to her unique constitution, her smooth skin without any fluff, her slightly cold body temperature, and the curly hair that tickled her fingers, she were all the same as I remembered.

I suppress my beating heart, half with joy and half with excitement.

As I looked at her softly smiling, I once again felt her heart pounding, but it soon transformed into anxiety and began to tighten my heart.

That ominous feeling I’ve felt since I first took on this mission, the mission to the golem factory. That is…

“Where did the real Melissa go?”

She, the [Golem Queen], Smiled at my question.