NBAA Vol. 5 Chapter 1 Part 6
The Golem transformed its left hand into a blade and cut down the column.
“Are you kidding me!?”
“Are you serious…”
“Is it going to use the column as a weapon!?”
“Woof!?”
“NGHOOO…” the Golem groaned and swung its right column arm. It made a mad dash toward Reito and then swung his arm down on him.
“Shit!!”
“Get back Reito! You’re going to get hurt!!”
Gonzo said and stood in front of Reito. The column was two meters long. If Reito took the blow with his broadsword, there was a possibility he would be squashed.
Gonzo got his club ready. He used a defense skill.
“Immobilize!!”
“Gororoh!!”
He swung his club at the column. A loud noise rang out.
The shock ran through Gonzo’s entire body, but he was able to withstand it.
The Golem tried to stab Gonzo with his blade-shaped left arm.
“Gorororoh!!’
“As if!!”
“Shadow Bind!!”
Reito repelled the blade with his Extermination Blade and Dain took the chance to bind its legs. His shadow grasped the Golem’s left leg and coiled its way up its entire body.
“Goroh!!”
“Hah!?”
“No way…”
The golem used its left hand to slice off its left leg. He swung his column-arm using his remaining leg as an axis.
“Grororoh!!”
“Wah!?”
“Woah!?”
“Oh no!?”
Reito and crew lowered their posture to dodge the attack.
Gonzo couldn’t stoop low enough and was hit. He went flying away into the nearby river.
The Golem spun again, but Reito moved in for the attack.
“Gororoh!!”
“Don’t underestimate me!! Spin Strike!!”
Reito spun his body as fast as the Golem and swung his Extermination Blade, repelling the column. The Golem may have had more arm strength, but with his Demon Eye on, Reito’s attacks were stronger, and he managed to blow the column into pieces.
“One more coming up!!”
Reito swung his Extermination Blade further and went in for another Spin Strike. The Golem tried to stop the blow, but the moment the blade hit its arms, they were pulverized.
“Gorooooooooh…!?”
“Here we go!!”
Reito stepped back and ran to get Gonzo out of the river.
A water column shot up from the river. Reito and Dain were shocked. An enormous object fell down before them.
“Touchdown!!”
“Ngh!!”
“Wow, Gonzo!?”
Kotomin landed holding Gonzo in her arms. She had saved the drowning Gonzo by herself.
“Kotomin! Nice work! I can’t believe you can pick up Gonzo. You’re quite the mermaid!”
She blew a raspberry with a peace sign. The slimes were riding on her shoulder, happy to have drunk water.
The slimes leaped onto Reito and Dain’s heads.
“Purun!”
“Oh man!”
“Pururun!!”
“Ow, you’re heavy!!”
The slime on Dain’s head – Suramin – was two times heavier than a normal slime on account of the water. He stumbled a little.
Kotomin dropped Gonzo down on the ground and placed her palms on his abdomen. She slowly moved her hands to his throat.
“Gonzo, wake up!”
“Buha!?” he gasped for air as water gushed out from his mouth.
“Oh… Did you drink too much water?”
Reito was concerned and rubbed Kotomin’s head.
“Good girl, Kotomin!”
“Nyaa! Thank you!”
“Don’t make cat noises. You’re supposed to be a mermaid… Suramin, lose some weight!!”
“Pururu.”
Dain was holding the engorged Suramin in his hand and squeezed her with both hands. Water gushed from her mouth like a watering can returning her to normal size.
Reito used “Recovery Boost” on Gonzo. They heard the nose of something crumbling in front of them.
“Gorororoh!!”
“Shit, he’s moving again!?”
“He’s a persistent bastard…”
“Woof!!”
Even though it lost both arm, its left leg, and had cracks all over its body, the Golem persisted to crawl.
Dain tried to use his Shadow Magic, but Reito stepped in front of him with his Extermination Blade.
“Let me handle it. He’s really annoying… Everyone step back.”
“Um, okay.”
“Reito, watch out!”
“Don’t worry!”
Reito walked up with his blade when something happened with the Golem’s body.
When Kotomin saved Gonzo, a number of puddles were created from the water column she produced.
When the Golem touched one of those puddles, its exterior began to melt.
“Goroooh…!?”
“Ah, I forgot, Golem’s weakness is water. It works on this as well.”
“Pururu!!”
Hitomin, who was sitting on Reito’s head, opened her mouth and sprayed the Golem.
Reito pet Hitomin’s head and put his sword on his back. He returned to his friends.
“You did it, Hitomin.”
“Purun!”
“I saw that. I didn’t know water was their weakness… It was so easily defeated…”
Kotomin added, “next time, let’s leave it up to Suramin and Hitomin.”
Ullr whimpered.
“It’s okay girl.”
Ullr was licking Gonzo’s face. He felt sad he couldn’t help with the battle. Gonzo smiled and pet Ullr.
The Golem they just faced off against was actually stronger than the Minotaurus, but weaknesses were weaknesses.
“That being said, that was quite the Golem. We need to retrieve its core, right?” Dain said flustered. Golems had a thing called a core, and they had to be destroyed or they would regenerate.
“Ah, good point. How annoying,” Reito said and approached the water. He noticed something appearing in the distance.
“Gorororororh…!!”
“What!? It already revived?”
A golem whose whole body was red appeared before them. It was the exact same shape as the one that had melted into a puddle, except this one had transformed its arm shape into spears.
“What’s up with it… it’s a different color than the other one.”
“Is it a… subspecies!?”
“Graaahhh!!”
Reito immediately readied his weapon and assumed a fighting stance, not being taken aback by the Golem.
The Golem made a dash for Gonzo, who was significantly weakened.
“Grahh!!”
“Don’t underestimate me!!”
But Gonzo was already sandwiched by the spear arms and was held firmly in place.
A pain like a burn overcame his body. The spear was releasing a high temperature.
“Graahh!!”
“Oww!?”
“Gonzo!?”
“Get back!!”
Reito drew his sword to swing them at the spear arms, but his opponent stepped back in retreat before that was possible.
“Shadow Slip!!”
“Graah!”
Dain used his shadow magic to launch another attack, but the Golem noticed the approaching shadow and stepped back. It didn’t appear capable of doing acrobatic-like movements like the other Golem. Still, it did seem to have horsepower, and its step distance was massive.
Reito and Kotomin ran to Gonzo’s side and looked at his wound.
“Are you good!?”
“Mmm, yeah… just a little burnt.”
“Show me,” Kotomin said.
She put her hands wetted by the river on his right side.
“Let me fix that right up. Don’t move.”
“Nghh…!?”
“I’ll take care of this. Recovery Boost!!”
Standing on the opposite side as her, Reito used his Recovery Boost.
The Golem stood idly by, spear arms at the ready. It appeared to be looking out for Dain’s shadow magic, so it was waiting at a distance outside his magic’s range, silently watching Reito.
It appeared to know Gonzo was receiving treatment, but it didn’t dare make any foolish decisions. It was carefully watching Reito, so it was clearly very intelligent.
“Sh, Shit! My shadow won’t reach there. It’s too fast at close range, so I can’t grab it.”
“It’s dangerous to touch its exterior too. It’s radiating high temperatures. Maybe that’s why it’s red.”
“Let’s cool it down, then!!”
“Pururun!!”
Kotomin clutched Suramin and Hitomin and prepared to fire. If it was a Golem with a hot exterior, not to mention the general vulnerability to water, it should probably melt when hit with water.
She had a strategy, but the Golem maintained its distance and didn’t try to move.
“It’s just looking at us. And yet, I don’t think it gave up yet.”
“Maybe it knows not to approach brashly.”
“I’m not sure… either way, it’s a very annoying candidate.”
“Woof!!”
Ullr came up looking like he was ready to go.
“What’s wrong? Did you think of something?”
Ullr whimpered.
“You think you can catch up with it?”
Ullr was a white wolf, a monster specialized in running fast. He should be able to get to that nimble Golem in a flash.
Reito jumped on Ullr’s back.
“Going hunting, just the two of us. It’s just like old times.”
“Woof!!”
“Are you good?” Gonzo asked, his first-aid finished.
Reito used his Iceclad Sword skill to grow an ice longsword in his hand.
“I’m good. This sword always does the trick.”
“An ice sword… Don’t let it melt.”
Kotomin held Hitomin out to Reito and said, “You forgot this.”
“Purururu!!”
Hitomin climbed on Reito’s shoulders, affixing herself to make sure she wasn’t shaken off.
“Let’s go!!”
Ullr growled and followed his master’s orders, making a beeline for the Golem.
The Golem got both its hands ready – it was preparing a welcome attack. It appeared to have read Reito and crew’s plans.
“Graahh!!”
“Grrrr!!”
“Go!!”
Ullr spun in mid-air, dodging their opponent’s attack. Reito held on tight to Ullr’s torso to make sure he didn’t follow off as he released an ice blade at the Golem.
“HAAAAAAHHH!!”
“Graah…!?”
The Golem’s body was sliced open the moment the blade hit.
“Graaahhhhh…!?”
The Golem’s head still wiggled and was trying to approach Reito.
“Wow. I heard most Golems have their cores in their chest, but yours must be in your head… You can still walk…”
“Graahhh…!!”
“Come on now.”
The Golem hadn’t lost its will to fight despite being just a head. It was trying to bite Reito. But, Reito had already raised his sword blade and stabbed into the head.
“You’re finished!!”
“Nghaaa!?”
The moment the blade pierced its head, the light went out in the Golem’s pupils. It looked like a doll whose batteries had run out.
The Golem’s head blew apart, and a glowing red jewel was on the tip of the ice blade. More than likely, this was the core that was the origin of the Golem’s power.
“This is the core… Ah, man, it’s broken.”
The crystal had been shattered in two and fell to the ground. You can sell a Golem core in good condition for a pretty penny.
Airis rang out in Reito’s head when he was about to pick up the crystal.
『Reito, repair that crystal. You should be able to restore it using the “Mending” alchemy skill.』
“What? Why? I just defeated it…”
Reito asked, making sure his friends couldn’t hear.
『That item is the reason we made this journey. That Golem was the original guard of this town. It’s a manmade weapon. It was made utilizing a special kind of crystal.』
『They? Were weapons?』
According to Airis’s explanation, the Golems were the invention of the first generations of heroes. They were different from ordinary Golems in that they could shape-shift at will and were exceptional at attacking and defending. They were officially called Battle Golems.
Battle Golems were made of a special material called rock ore. It’s said only a weapon made of the legendary material Orichalcum could damage it.
However, they couldn’t overcome the Golem’s weakness to water, which would melt them quickly. They dared to keep that feature in place in case the Golems went wild.
『The magical crystal is extremely powerful as far as magical gems go. If you take it with you, you should be able to use it. Let’s store it for now.』
『Just say that in the first place. Why do you always share these things with me after?』
『 I’m sorry. Even though our soul’s wavelengths have begun to synchronize a bit, it’s still difficult for me to reach you if you don’t start communications first.』
『I bet you just wanted to see how I would fare against a man-made weapon.』
『No, I had some things I had to look up, so I wasn’t observing you. I’ll explain more about that later, though.』
Reito signed and picked up one-half of the crystal. He put together the other half and put them together, using the “Mending” skill to repair it.