Chapter 13 Part2 (1/2)
<chapter 13.=”” arema=”” steelworker=”” -=”” 2=””>
”s.h.i.+n Woo, are you alright!? Lee s.h.i.+n Woo!”
”Bleh...”
He knew nothing would come out, even if he vomited, yet he still attempted to do so, and roughly breathed out. It was something he retained from his days as a human being. Repeatedly doing so calmed him down and was certainly effective, though it could just be a placebo.
”Get a hold of yourself, s.h.i.+n Woo!”
”I'm ok. There was way too much information coming in all at once. Which means that it was also that helpful to me as well.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo raised his front foot, slightly pushed aside Jin, who had been hitting him wildly, and replied. Then, the seemingly dissatisfied Jin sc.r.a.pped the floor and spoke harshly.
”It'd be great if I could make one for you as well.”
”You want to give me something like that; when it was even difficult for you to absorb!? Are you crazy?”
”Nope. You probably won't be able to absorb the memories, so don't worry. It'll be helpful enough if you just learn the fundamental principle behind how the golems use mana, as well as how their body operates.”
This was especially important for Jin, as he didn't even know the basics behind mana usage; therefore, it would be even more helpful to Jin. Hearing that, the goblin fire in Jin's eyes spun around, and he felt like he was at a loss, but he soon calmed soon. Because he realized the reality of his situation.
”But there aren't any more golems in the entire area, so there's nothing we can do. I really want to get stronger too, but it can't be helped since there aren't any golems left that can drop cores.”
”Haha. So you're saying that if we can somehow get those cores, you're willing to accept it?”
”Well, yeah. But there aren't any. ...Right?”
Hearing Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's laughter, Jin suddenly felt anxious and replied timidly. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was smiling. The red light of his mana appeared in the palm of his outstretched hand, developing into a peculiar pattern. It was none other than the pattern that had been inscribed onto the Original Core.
”Please say it's not.”
”Why do you think so many golems were here? There are two possible causes. First, this was the golems' 'destination'.”
”Aw...”
With just that one line, Jin figured it out. The next moment, the entire area seemed to resonate with the seal, composed of mana and created by Lee s.h.i.+n Woo... But to be exact, the center of the highlands began to tremble.
A gold circle appeared atop the ground, and the party of two entered inside the circle. Though they weren't even connected, Jin was able to tell what Lee s.h.i.+n Woo intended.
”Then is this by any chance a 'production site' for the golems...?'
”Yeah, you're right. If you go below here, shouldn't there be some more golems remaining? The golems that were trapped inside, following the Empire's collapse...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo rode atop Jin and the area within the golden circle began to sink into the floor. It felt as though they were on an elevator going down to a secret base. The seal atop Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's hand was slowly rotating.
Jin thought it looked like a magic circle seen in fantasy movies and asked.
”Did you get a permit? Like in a dungeon?”
”I reverse operated the Original Core's code, and attained the rights of a general administrator. But the owner should still have the director's rights, so I shouldn't be able to steal it.”
”Ooh...”
As always, Jin wasn't able to understand him, but nonetheless agreed enthusiastically. As expected, he'd thought that Jin wouldn't be able to understand the natural sciences, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was honestly a liberal arts major as well. Fortunately, calculating the composition of mana didn't rely on arithmetic skills, but on intuition and logical reasoning.
”But how far is this thing going to go down?”
”Since our senior heroes dug as much as they could and still weren't able to reach it, it probably means that this thing goes really deep underground.”
This entire empire was constructed underground, yet they had to go further underground? Now he could understand why the entrance was in the highlands. The more he thought about it, the less he could comprehend the scale of the Underground Empire, and just laughed bitterly.
”Ah, look. The ceiling's closing.”
The ceiling plugged up, like a container being closed. In an instant, everywhere became dark, but due to the blazing goblin fire in their eye sockets, they could tell where the other was.
Though it was cool, wouldn't it be useless when trying to move stealthily in the dark? Lee s.h.i.+n Woo suddenly had that concern.
”I should practice turning off the goblin fire.”
”Your imagination's frightening... By the way, I followed you down here, but wouldn't the director be down here?”
”They could.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo affirmed unimportantly, and Jin narrowed his eyes.
”Then it's dangerous!”
”It's always been dangerous for me. This time is no different.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo acknowledged Jin calmly and then said.
”But if we overcome that danger, we can grow tremendously. That's our advantage over the other heroes. Not the fact that we have multiple lives, but the fact that because of those lives, we can attempt things that are dangerous to others even just one more time.”
”That's... true.”
”If need be, I'll give up a life and we can just run away. Though I'd gain as much as I'd lose on the way out no matter what.”
Jin marveled at Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's statement. It was amazing that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo wouldn't hesitate to stake his life and would stubbornly struggle in those situations where he might die, yet had survived up until now without losing many lives.
If he had 97 remaining lives like him, Jin felt as though he'd become lax; but on the contrary, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was much more guarded. He really had a frightening tenacity and state of mind.
”We've arrived.”
Their descent came to a complete stop, and the slight tremors ceased. It was still dark everywhere, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo could sense that there was a pa.s.sageway that stretched far ahead. As well as the golems that filled it, too.
[Detected a trespa.s.ser.]
[Confirmed a general administrator's seal.]
[On standby.]
The golems activated instantly, emitting a screeching noise, but ceased their movements immediately after, once they recognized the seal floating atop the palm of his hand.
Jin marveled at the sight, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo suddenly gripped the seal tightly and contorted it. At that moment, the golems' att.i.tude changed completely.
[Detected a trespa.s.ser.]
[Blocking intrusion into the production base.]
”Hey!”
They could've gone through this in a relaxed manner, yet why is he making things so difficult!? Jin yelled in astonishment, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo replied calmly.
”We won't be able to grow at all if we just go through it like this. I thought I could at least improve my Acting skill, but it would be pointless against golems which don't even have an ego.”
”You dumba.s.s... they're coming!”
[Beginning attack.]