Chapter 63

The golem remained unscathed even after being hit by Sena’s magic. Not only was the magic stone not shattered, but there wasn’t even a scratch on it. This meant… “It’s defending against magic…” Sena muttered softly. “Even to the point where my magic doesn’t work at all…” Sena, though young, was the top mage of the Magic Tower. Her offensive magic was so powerful that even the Tower Master was amazed. The fact that her magic had no effect meant the golem’s magical defense was beyond ordinary. No wonder the adventurers outside couldn’t handle it. With such perfect magical defense, the only way to destroy the magic stone was through physical force, but that was easier said than done. How could one break a magic stone hidden within a bronze body? If the golem were small and slow, it might have been possible. But the golem was five meters tall, and its movements when attacking Sena were surprisingly fast. Sena lost her will to fight. She didn’t want to admit it, but that golem was beyond her level. To deal with such a monstrous golem, the Tower Master would have to come. “Ariel is in danger…” Sena sprang to her feet. If Sena couldn’t handle it, neither could Ariel. From what she had casually asked earlier, Ariel only knew Magic Missile and Shield. Using such basic magic against that golem was absurd. She didn’t know what courage Ariel had to approach the golem, but the moment the golem swung its fist, Ariel would be flattened like a squashed tomato. But Ariel was already within arm’s reach of the golem. Sena quickly cast Shield on her magic staff. If the golem swung at Ariel, she could block the attack once or twice with the Shield. “If I can save Ariel in that gap…” “?” At that moment, Sena froze, blinking in confusion. A shocking scene was unfolding before her eyes. It was Ariel throwing the golem. * Ariel found the golem interesting. Made of bronze, yet moving like a human. Of course, she knew it was powered by magic, but seeing a massive bronze block move was still fascinating. Ariel decided to test the golem’s durability. She stomped the ground, grabbed the golem’s arm, and threw it far away. *Crash!* The golem hit the wall. The wall cracked slightly from the impact, but the golem was unharmed. Not a single scratch on its bronze body. The golem stood up and looked at Ariel—or rather, it didn’t have eyes, but it seemed to be looking. Its face was just bronze, with no features. Still, the golem seemed angry. It charged at Ariel with terrifying speed. The ground shook with each step. At five meters tall, the golem was clearly heavy. Ariel waited for it to approach, then jumped high and swung her hand. *Slap!* She struck the golem’s cheek. This time, with more force, the golem flew faster and crashed into the wall. *Crash!!* More of the wall crumbled, and the golem struggled to get up, crawling on the ground. The part of its face where Ariel had struck was torn, leaving half its face dangling. The golem struggled to stand and charged at Ariel again. Even after being hit twice, it didn’t back down. Whether it was brave or just mindless was unclear. Either way, Ariel decided to finish it. She had already figured out how much force was needed to damage the golem. Just then, the golem reached out to grab Ariel. *Whoosh!* But its hand only swiped through empty air. Ariel had already leaped and landed on top of the golem’s head. Her movements were too fast for the golem to notice. Ariel raised her hand and struck the golem’s crown. It was a stance similar to when she had competed in the Dwarf Mountain Range’s destruction tournament. *Crunch!* With a heavy sound, the golem began to crumble. * “Good heavens.” The man stared in shock at the bronze powder scattered on the ground. “What just happened?” A tiny girl had turned a bronze golem into dust. Countless adventurers outside couldn’t defeat it, and even Sena, who prided herself as the top mage of the Magic Tower, couldn’t scratch it with her magic. Yet this girl had destroyed it bare-handed. “What on earth is she…?” The man turned to look at Ariel. She looked like a fragile girl. Aside from her pointed ears indicating she was an elf, there was nothing particularly special about her. She wasn’t muscular, nor did she carry a magic staff like Sena. She was just a small, ordinary-looking adventurer. “With those frail arms, she smashed a bronze golem…?” But that wasn’t even the most shocking part. Ariel wasn’t just ridiculously strong; her reaction speed was also astonishing. When the golem had swung at Sena earlier, the man had expected Sena to die. He thought she’d be flattened by the golem’s fist. But then Ariel moved, pulling Sena and the man to safety. It was a speed beyond comprehension. “Ariel, are you hurt…?” Sena stumbled over to check on Ariel, but she was completely unharmed. *Click, click.* The man stopped thinking and lit a cigarette. He gave up trying to understand Ariel. In a world where Demon Kings and heroes existed, it was better for his mental health to just accept that beings like Ariel, who defied common sense, existed. Sena seemed to think the same, smiling as she said to Ariel, “Thank goodness. Ariel, you must have trained really hard! To take down a bronze golem with just strength, that’s amazing!” “……” The man exhaled cigarette smoke and stared blankly into the air. Could mere training really achieve that? He wanted to argue with Sena. “Want some?” Ariel suddenly offered something. In her hand was a sweet-looking cake. “Wow, that looks delicious.” Sena eagerly took the cake and started eating, but the man stared at Ariel in shock. “…She just pulled that cake out of thin air.” This was another incomprehensible phenomenon… or maybe not. She could have a magical item. Magical items varied. The dagger hanging at the man’s waist probably had some offensive magic, but some items could activate spatial magic. Ariel likely had something like that. “She’s definitely not an ordinary kid. I need to be a bit careful…” Just then, something was shoved into the man’s mouth. It was the cake. While the man stood dumbfounded, Ariel had forced the cake into his mouth. “Ah, thanks.” The man took a big bite. *Munch, munch.* A sweet flavor filled his mouth. * After defeating the bronze golem, the party continued deeper into the dungeon. To fully conquer the dungeon, they needed to destroy the “Dungeon Core.” Some said the core was alive, others said it was a monster, but no one knew for sure. Even the reason dungeons formed in the first place was unclear. The only certainty was that dungeons held incredible treasures, and traps would keep activating until the core was destroyed. The bronze golem Ariel had destroyed would eventually regenerate. “Ah, look over there!” Sena pointed somewhere. It was a space next to the stairs leading down, where a treasure chest sat. The second treasure chest. The party headed straight for it. This time, since it wasn’t in a room-like area, they didn’t need to worry about traps. “Usually, traps activate the moment you open a treasure chest. Everyone, stay alert.” The man said as he opened the chest. *Click.* “……” The party waited, but thankfully, no traps were triggered. The man peered inside first. “Oh, this time you’ll really like what’s inside.” At his words, Ariel peeked into the chest too. And slowly, she smiled. As the man had said, this time there was something quite appealing inside. Ariel pulled out the treasure. It was a sparkling necklace. “Now, this is what I call real treasure. That old dagger we found earlier doesn’t count.” Sena’s words made the man give a bitter smile. True, the shiny necklace looked expensive, but it couldn’t compare to a magical item. The man thought it was fortunate that Sena and Ariel were naive kids who didn’t know the world. “Ariel, do you like it? If you do, take it. I’m not really interested in treasure anyway. My goal is conquering the dungeon.” “Thanks.” Ariel quietly looked at the necklace in her hand. It sparkled beautifully. She thought Rakia would love it, and it would look perfect around her neck.