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Chapter 22

Dyoden revealed his white teeth as he laughed.

The moment he entered this place, he knew.

The guardians of this temple were Golems.

Even though he didn’t know who the owner of the temple was, using Golems as guardians was not that strange.

The temple is a place that worships someone with divine significance. If someone is revered as divine, they could be considered a god in themselves.

“A god?”

Dyoden’s eyes sparkled with madness.

Having traveled the desert for over a hundred years, conquering numerous dungeons and defeating many S-rank monsters as known by the world, he had never entered a dungeon where a god resided.

If there truly was a god here, it was a golden opportunity.

An opportunity to kill a god.

“Hehe!”

A maniacal laughter escaped his lips.

Ziing!

At that moment, something blocked his way.

A massive creature made of stone.

It was a Golem.

The Golem, as large as a giant boulder, had eyes that glowed ominously.

Dyoden couldn’t decipher what those eyes were trying to convey.

“Come at me! You rock-headed bastard.”

Dyoden drew out his weapon, Kreion.

Thud! Thud!

At that moment, other Golems joined behind the giant Golem.

Dyoden’s eyes filled with a crazed intensity.

Black energy barriers covered their bodies.

It was reminiscent of the characteristics of humans merged with machines.

“Kehe! I wonder if that kid can survive this.”

From the moment he entered the dungeon, Dyoden knew.

This is a dungeon that had the worst compatibility with Zeon’s abilities.

Inside the temple dedicated to a god, there was not a speck of dust or grain of sand.

It had clearly been kept clean with cleansing magic.

It was a terrible environment for a Sand Mage like Zeon.

Unable to use sand, he had to face the Golems with his true power alone.

It was a truly desperate situation.

But he needed to get used to such fights.

Although most of the world had turned into a desert, there were still places untouched.

Neo Seoul being a prime example.

Protected by energy barriers, the city beyond the high walls was almost devoid of dust or sand.

It was an environment similar to this temple.

To survive in such an environment, Zeon had to learn how to fight without sand.

“If you can’t survive without a bit of sand, you don’t deserve to live.”

Either overcome the limitations of a Sand Mage, or fail to overcome them and die in the hands of the Golems.

Zeon had only two options.

Dyoden had never thought of helping him.

Zeon needed to become strong enough to survive on his own.

That was the minimum condition for Dyoden to keep him around.

“Try your best to survive, you idiot!”

***

“Why did I follow that old bastard?”

Zeon rolled his body quickly, muttering to himself.

Bang!

The spot where he was just moments ago was struck by a Golem’s fist.

If he had been a little late in dodging, he would’ve turned into minced meat.

Thud! Whirr!

Golems were closing in on Zeon.

Dozens of Golems perceived Zeon as an enemy.

If the Golems’ movements had been a little more natural and agile, Zeon’s life would have ended long ago.

However, he couldn’t keep avoiding forever.

No matter how much Zeon Awakened and gained physical strength far superior to that of ordinary people, as long as he was human, there was bound to be a limit.

Once his stamina ran out, only a dreadful death awaited him.

Before that, he needed to find a way.

‘What weapons do I have other than sand?’

Zeon quickly checked his equipment.

First, the gauntlet on his right hand. And the weapons of the elves stowed in the subspace.

He excluded the weapons of the elves for now.

Zeon didn’t know how to use a bow, and it was not suitable to use in a situation where so many monsters were crowded into such a narrow space.

It was the same with the daggers.

He didn’t know how sharp the elves’ daggers were, but he doubted they could cut through Stone Golems.

In the end, Zeon was left with only the gauntlet that Kailey had made for him.

‘Well, there was only one choice in the first place. It’s good that I don’t have to think about it.’

Zeon clenched the fist wearing the gauntlet.

If there was only one choice from the start, he had to make the best of what was given.

Zeon dodged the Golem’s attack, striking its torso.

Bam!

With a loud boom, the massive body of the Golem trembled. However, despite a few specks of dust falling, the Golem remained intact.

Even after striking the Golem’s body multiple times, the outcome remained the same.

With ordinary attacks, he was unable to properly hit the Golem’s body.

‘Normal attacks won’t work!’

The pain from wearing the gauntlet was excruciating. No matter how well the gauntlet was worn, it couldn’t completely mitigate the impact of striking a rock-like surface.

Zeon realized that he couldn’t fully utilize the potential of the gauntlet.

When someone realizes the problem, only then can they correct it.

‘If I concentrate the mana, I can increase its destructive power.’

While contemplating, the Golem’s fist narrowly missed his head by a few inches.

It was a moment where his head could have been crushed.

Yet, Zeon kept his composure intact.

Having accumulated numerous experiences while following Dyoden had taught him how to maintain rationality and calmness in any situation.

Concentrating calmly, Zeon focused mana into the gauntlet.

Whoosh!

“Huh?”

At that moment, a strong resonance erupted from the gauntlet.

Initially puzzled by the unexpected turn, Zeon soon grasped what was happening.

This was the intended function of the gauntlet.

Crafted from the skeleton of an ironclad starfish and adamantium, the gauntlet was optimized for condensing and amplifying mana.

Had Zeon been a Martial Arts Awakened, he would have noticed this a long time ago.

‘Now that I know, it’s not too late.’

Zeon dodged the Golem’s attack and struck its torso.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the Golem’s torso burst open.

Even with half its torso flying off, the Golem paid no heed and continued attacking Zeon.

This was possible because it was an artificial life form that could not feel pain.

In such cases, finding and destroying the core was imperative.

The problem was not knowing the exact location of the core. However, Zeon simplified it.

He held onto one Golem and ruthlessly pounded it as much as he could.

Boom! Boom!

With loud explosions, the Golem’s shoulders flew off, followed by its arms and legs.

In the process of escalating the destruction in a short span, mana consumption was extreme, but there was no other choice.

Eventually, Zeon found the core.

A bluish light emanated from the neck of the decapitated Golem, where a Magic Stone the size of a fingernail was pulsating with powerful mana.

It was undoubtedly the Golem’s core.

Crack!

Without mercy, Zeon shattered the core.

Instantly, the constantly moving Golem stopped.

Now that he had identified the weakness, it was time to attack effectively.

Dodge the Golem’s attack, decapitate its head, and then destroy the core in its neck.

Easier said than done. Executing it would be far from easy.

Anticipating and evading the Golem’s attack, the mental calculations, the motor skills supporting it, and mana manipulation—all had to align in a split second.

The issue was accomplishing all of this in an instant.

Boom!

Zeon’s fist struck the Golem’s head, shattering it into pieces.

The moment Zeon was about to destroy the core, another Golem attacked.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Zeon groaned as he tumbled to the ground.

The pain from the blow felt like his waist was broken.

But he didn’t have the luxury of time to groan over the pain.

The Golems unleashed a barrage of punches.

Thud! Thud!

Rolling on the ground, Zeon narrowly evaded the Golems’ assaults.

He took a moment to catch his breath.

‘My movements are too big. I need to trim the excess and keep it concise.’

He identified his shortcomings in real-time.

The reason why the Golem was allowed to strike a moment ago was because the motion to destroy the core was too extensive.

“Huff! Huff!”

After catching his breath for a moment, Zeon leaped back into the midst of the Golems.

One of the Golems charged straight at him.

Its bulky stone body was akin to a massive weapon in itself.

Hitting the Golem with an unprotected part of his body would likely shatter his bones and tear off the muscles.

Zeon narrowly avoided the Golem’s attack and hooked its leg. However, causing it to stumble didn’t make it fall.

Pressing down on the Golem’s chest with his left hand, not covered by the gauntlet, Zeon easily crushed it thanks to mana manipulation.

He struck the struggling Golem’s head with his gauntlet-clad fist.

Crack!

The Golem’s head shattered into pieces with a loud explosion.

He then struck the exposed core in the neck area with his fist.

Only then did the Golem’s movements cease.

The time taken so far was merely a breath.

It was within the brief span of time that Zeon caught his breath.

However, another wave of Golem attacks poured in.

Bang!

Rolling and evading their attacks wasn’t something he learned; it was instinctual. This instinct saved him from the Golems’ encirclement.

Zeon targeted the outermost Golem, attacking its knee joint to disable its mobility or tripping it over.

Repeatedly decapitating the immobilized Golems and destroying their core in the neck, his movements became more concise and effective as the battle continued.

Fighting the Golems taught Zeon how to utilize the gauntlet efficiently.

While he couldn’t wield martial arts like the Awakened Martial Artists, he grasped how to use the gauntlet effectively.

Thud!

The remnants of the last Golem fell.

“Haa! Haa!”

Zeon panted heavily; his entire body was drenched in sweat.

The battle with the Golems had pushed his body to its limit.

His legs trembled, and he struggled for breath, bearing wounds from the Golem’s attacks. Despite minimizing the impact, the pain was excruciating.

However, there was no time to sit and rest, to acknowledge the pain or exhaustion.

Even now, Dyoden would still be advancing, and resting now would only widen the gap between them.

Zeon retrieved a piece of jerky from his pack and slowly chewed on it, restoring some of his energy.

“Alright! Let’s go.”

Zeon resumed his stride.

His eyes had fully adapted to the darkness by now.

No longer did he need to fumble around like when he first entered the passage.

Facing the Golems had boosted Zeon’s confidence.

Golems were undoubtedly fearsome opponents.

Unlike organic life forms, they had no fear, and their destructive power was enormous. However, their movements were sluggish and they had no creativity. With a little level-headed thinking, anyone could figure out their weaknesses.

If all the Golems were at this level, he felt confident in handling them.

“Could I possibly have a knack for martial arts?”

Zeon chuckled for a moment.

Thud! Thud!

Once again, the heavy footsteps reverberated.

Zeon wiped away his amusement and assumed a combat stance.

“Come at me. I’ll bring you all down.”

At that moment, the Golems appeared from the darkness.

However, these Golems looked different from before.

Their upper body resembled a human, with a horse-like lower body.

“Centaur Golems?”

The Golems looked exactly like centaurs.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

They charged at full speed, resembling an ancient cavalry charge.

“Shit! This is unfair.”

Zeon wanted to punch himself in the mouth for speaking too early.

Golems, much stronger and faster than the ones before, charged at him like a storm.