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Chapter 132: The Legacy of the Iron Fist (1)

Fwoooosh!

Ash-gray flames blazed fiercely.

The roaring flames wrapped around a clenched fist.

‘It\'s a bit of a crude method.’

I did think it over for a bit.

Maybe I should try finding all the sealing stones like I did in my previous life and then try opening the ruin’s door?

‘It\'s a waste of time.’

I know where the entrance to the ruin is, and I have the strength to break the seals.

It’s not like the midterm evaluation where the process of attacking the ruin itself is being graded, so there’s no need to follow the conventional route, is there?

‘And if I find the sealing stones one by one and solve the puzzle at once, it’ll only raise more questions.’

As it is, I\'ve already aroused Yuren’s suspicion by finding the hidden entrance to the ruin without any clues. If I proceed any further like that, I’ll only look more suspicious.

Even though my party members trust me, I know well enough that I won’t be able to convince them with just the flimsy excuse that "I got the information from Professor Elisha."

‘Well, if I didn\'t want to raise any suspicion, I shouldn\'t have come here in the first place.’

That was my personal choice.

Should I move inefficiently to hide the fact that I’m a regressor perfectly?

Or should I move efficiently, even at the risk of raising suspicion?

Here, I chose the latter.

‘In the end, I’ll reveal the truth someday anyway.’

Even if I perfectly hide the fact that I’m a regressor, it won’t help me prepare for the impending disaster, so there’s no reason to obsess over it.

Of course, a question lingered in the back of my mind—if I didn’t need to hide, couldn’t I just reveal my true identity to my comrades, like I did with Professor Elisha?

‘Well…’

I swallowed a bitter smile and shook my head.

To be honest, I wasn’t ready yet.

I wasn’t ready to tell my comrades from my previous life everything about myself.

‘If Senior Sophia heard this, she’d probably click her tongue and call me an idiot.’

I can’t help it.

I’m not as wise as her.

Fwoooosh!

The flames swirling around my fist grew even more intense as my thoughts continued.

“D-Dale...!”

“A-Are you sure you\'re okay, Dale?”

Iris and Yuren looked at me, pale-faced, seemingly overwhelmed by the immense power emanating from my fist.

“Everyone, step back. Iris, cast a protection spell.”

“Yes. G-got it.”

Iris, visibly nervous, began chanting a spell.

After confirming that the retreating party members were now enclosed within a white barrier—

“Hoo.”

Berald’s Martial Arts.

“Mountain Breaker.”

KWA-AAAAAAANG!!!

A terrifying shockwave reverberated throughout the entire canyon.

The hard stone walls of the cave split and collapsed with a deafening sound.

And beyond the crumbling cave walls, I saw it.

‘It’s been a while.’

A giant iron door, etched with a complex magical seal.

I grinned and placed my hand on the door, where the magical seal was engraved.

Fwoooosh!

The flames of origin engulfed the magic seal protecting the door.

After a few minutes, the magic seal that had been engraved on the giant iron door was completely consumed by the flames of origin and vanished.

“Hoo.”

Having used up a considerable amount of mana in one go, I let out a tired breath and sat on the rubble.

“…Is it all over?”

“Yeah. You can come out now.”

The party members, who had been inside the protective barrier Iris had cast, cautiously walked out and surveyed the surroundings.

“Wow… I didn’t think ‘Mountain Breaker’ that I learned from brother would literally break a mountain.”

Berald marveled at the destroyed cave wall, clicking his tongue in disbelief.

“Now it’s your turn, Berald.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

I pointed at the firmly shut iron door and continued.

“Let’s see your ‘magic’ again after so long.”

“Ah.”

Berald grinned, understanding what I meant.

“Haha! Leave it to me!”

Berald approached the firmly shut iron door and slid his hand into the small gap.

“Hraaah!”

Screeeech! Clang!

With a loud metallic sound, the massive iron door bent and deformed.

“Unlock! Haaaaah!”

Thud!

With the iron door shattered, the entrance to the hidden ruins was revealed.

Yuren and Camilla, who had been watching the scene, rubbed their foreheads, as if feeling a headache.

“…I feel like all the common sense I’ve known is being overturned.”

“I agree.”

And so.

The full-scale exploration of the ruins began.

* * *

There were two main types of golems found inside ruins.

Human hands made one.

Divine hands created the other.

In cases where ruins were not deliberately built by humans, most of the golems within were created by divine hands.

As for these golems, created by divine hands—more specifically, naturally formed within ruins—scholars had long debated various hypotheses.

Some claimed that they were formed by the surplus mana lingering within the ruins.

Others argued that the ruins themselves possessed some consciousness and created them as guardians.

Some believed that just as living beings turned into monsters or demons under the influence of demonic power, inanimate objects also became golems when exposed to such forces.

However, despite all these theories, no scholar had yet provided a definitive answer as to how golems were actually formed within ruins.

‘Even as a regressor, I don’t know the exact mechanism behind golem creation.’

Still, I do know a few things about the golems themselves.

They form naturally inside ruins and do not regenerate once destroyed.

They attack only intruders and never leave the confines of the ruins.

And the term “Guardian” is used instead of “Guardian Golem” to refer to those made by divine hands.

Lastly…

‘Guardians have a much higher chance of dropping magic stones compared to other monsters.’

The reason I thought of this ruin without hesitation when Iris mentioned that a sacrifice was needed to heal Berald’s father was because of that.

‘There aren’t many ruins where Guardians are created.’

Not all ruins produced Guardians.

In fact, the number of ruins where Guardians naturally formed was very small compared to the total number of ruins.

Anyway.

The reason I’m explaining all this about Guardians in such detail is...

“…Dale.”

It’s because a Guardian had appeared right in front of us.

[Intruders detected. Intruders detected.]

A Guardian made entirely of stone.

Though it wasn’t particularly large for a Guardian, standing at about 3 meters tall, the heavy sense of oppression emanating from its entire body clearly set it apart from the Guardian Golems I faced during the midterm evaluation.

[Intruder elimination protocol activated.]

Bzzz.

A chilling red light glowed in the Guardian’s eyes.

“Everyone, get back!”

The first to react was Iris.

She urgently extended her arms and chanted a spell.

“O Seven Gods! Protect your children!”

A white barrier formed in front of the Guardian, but...

Whirrr, BOOM!

“Kyaaa!”

The barrier ripped apart like paper before the Guardian’s swinging fist.

The forced collapse of the magic made Iris scream as she collapsed on the spot.

"Saintess! Guh...!"

Camilla bit her lip hard and charged toward the Guardian.

"Haah!"

Her claymore, enveloped in pure white aura, swung heavily at the Guardian with a resonating boom.

[Attack detected.]

[Counterattack protocol activated.]

Swoosh!

Scales rose like spikes from the Guardian\'s stone arm and were fired toward Camilla.

"Guh...!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Camilla hastily twisted her claymore to block the falling stone shards.

The Guardian\'s hand then grabbed Camilla by the waist.

"Argh!"

She coughed up breath, choked by the crushing pressure.

"You bastard!"

Berald kicked off the ground hard and charged toward the Guardian, who held Camilla.

"Haaaah!"

He formed a magic missile in midair and hurled it.

Boom!

Smoke rose from the Guardian\'s arm as the magic missile hit, and Camilla fell to the ground.

[Priority target change.]

The Guardian’s red eyes locked onto Berald.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

With heavy, thunderous steps, the Guardian charged toward Berald.

Its arm swung fiercely at him.

"Argh...!"

Boom!

Berald was struck by the Guardian\'s arm and flung like a skipping stone, slamming into a wall.

"Berald!"

Yuren gritted his teeth, standing between Berald and the Guardian.

The sword drawn from his waist glowed with a brilliant golden aura.

The Sun Sword.

Type 6: White Light.

A concentrated beam of golden aura shot toward the Guardian.

Crack!

One of the Guardian\'s arms, hit by the white light, shattered and rolled across the floor.

But still.

[Damage check.]

[Combat can continue.]

The Guardian raised its remaining arm and aimed it at Yuren.

Vvvvmmm!

Man condensed in the Guardian’s arm, and a cannonball was fired.

"Agh!"

Yuren was caught in the blast and rolled violently across the ground.

"……."

I frowned as I watched my party members being overwhelmed.

‘Maybe it was still too soon.’

Well.

It was more than ten years from now when I first tackled this ruin.

Even if Yuren, Berald, and Iris were growing faster than in my previous life, there\'s still a long way to go to close the gap of a decade.

‘In hindsight, it’s only natural.’

You can’t expect a child who’s just learned to walk to start running.

The Guardian in this ruin is comparable in strength to at least a Nine-Eyed Demonic Beast, so it’s no wonder we’re struggling.

[Combat situation analysis.]

[Target confirmed.]

The Guardian’s red eyes turned toward me.

Thud, thud, thud!

It charged toward me with heavy steps.

[Target behavior pattern analysis.]

[Insufficient data for analysis.]

[Activating annihilation cannon for complete elimination….]

“Shut up.”

I swung my sword toward the charging Guardian.

Fwoooosh!

My sword, engulfed in flames, split the Guardian’s body in half.

“Ah…”

“He... he took down the Guardian in one blow?”

“Dale...”

The party members looked at me, shocked by how quickly I had dispatched the Guardian.

I glanced at them and paused in thought for a moment.

‘Honestly, the enemy is still too strong for them at their current level….’

But I can’t always coddle them and tell them it’s okay.

For their growth, sometimes the stick is more important than the carrot.

“Haa…”

I sighed deeply and looked back at my party members.

“Sorry. I think I overestimated you all.”

Tsk. I clicked my tongue and turned my head with a look of disappointment.

“Maybe we should just give up on exploring this ruin. It seems too difficult for your current abilities.”

“…….”

Yuren’s expression hardened at my harsh evaluation.

“…No.”

Using his sword like a staff, Yuren staggered to his feet.

“I can do more, Dale.”

Seeing the silver light burning in his eyes, I nodded in satisfaction.

And then—

* * *

“Iris! Start with a blessing!”

“Yes!”

“Berald, Camilla! Draw the Guardian’s attention!”

“Understood!”

“We can’t hold out long!”

At Yuren’s command, the party moved in perfect coordination.

“Fuu…”

An overwhelming amount of mana surged from Yuren’s body.

“I can… still do more…!”

Rumbleee!

The entire ruin shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Yuren’s sword, brimming with terrifying mana, slashed at the Guardian.

Boom!

The Guardian was pushed back with a deafening crash.

“I’ll join in too!”

“Haaaaah!”

“Kill it! Smash that damn pile of scrap, Camilla!!!”

The party charged at the retreating Guardian, trampling it with fierce energy.

“Hmm.”

Watching this scene, I crossed my arms and hummed in thought.

“Maybe my method worked too well...?”