Chapter 27 Part6 (1/2)
<chapter 27.=”” new=”” golem=”” maker=”” -=”” 6=””>
He was able to earnestly start making golems around the time he finished making the wine. His elite troops, led by s.h.i.+no Rendu, had found an abandoned emerald mine! Lee s.h.i.+n Woo couldn't help but be excited.
”There was nothing more I could hope for if it were silver or gold, but to think they would find an emerald mine!”
In this world, gems can generally store a large amount of mana, and was much easier to infuse mana into compared to regular metal. That was the reason most magical devices were created out of gemstones.
Of course, because gems were so valuable, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had previously thought that finding a mine with enough gems would be impossible, yet...
[We found a mine shaft, but it feels like it hasn't been long since it was mined. I believe it should yield enough for you to build hundreds of golems.]
”Alright. Just start collecting!”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo led the Pauls and the golems, finished with making wine, towards the emerald mine.
Who could stop them, when his troops were at least level 4 elites? They pushed ahead and went into the mine immediately. It seemed like there were monsters that were inside originally, but s.h.i.+no Rendu and his group had killed them all without a trace.
”They're not at the entrance...”
[If you come in a bit more, then you'll see something like this.]
The gemstone, radiating a green light, was the size of s.h.i.+no Rendu's fist. If he cut it a bit, then it would probably emit an even prettier light, but it wasn't like he was going to sell it, and their ultimate goal was golem production! He planned on getting rid of any unnecessary steps!
[But it seems like there's a small problem. Do you see the thick curse energy that has gathered inside?]
”Ah, you're right.”
Mines weren't dungeons. Which meant that they were continuously exposed to the curse. As emeralds absorbed any sort of mana, none of them had become weak or broken apart. However, they were filled to the brim with the curse's energy.
[Emerald Gemstone]
[A gemstone capable of containing a large amount of mana, as well as distributing it. But because it was exposed to the curse for hundreds of years, it is filled to the brim with the curse, and will not be easy to process.]
”It's not really such a big deal. It might take a while, but I just need to absorb it all. Above all, I've become able to use the darkness element, so... Ah.”
He had definitely forgotten what his ability was for a moment. By the time Lee s.h.i.+n Woo realized that, the emerald was already changing... in other words, it was ossifying.
But that process was quite dramatic. The curse within began to resist, but it soon seemed to realize that it was an unwinnable battle, and all at once, became pure darkness energy!
Magic spread throughout the ossifying gemstone, and radiated a calm, dark green light. It was an incredibly capricious and charming light.
[Dark Emerald Bone]
[A bone created by compressing the gemstone's essence. It is charged with a powerful darkness energy, and is now unmatched in terms of hardness and magic.]
”Oh... I don't know what really happened, but it seems like you've taken care of it.”
”You're always like this.”
Kratia, as though she had already expected this to happen, was given the Dark Emerald Bone. Though it was smaller than the original gemstone, its hardness and magic were much, much higher, so it had become a different cla.s.s of material altogether.
”It's probably because this gemstone previously contained the curse's magic as well.”
”Yeah. It seems like it responded to my darkness element, and the curse energy changed into pure darkness.”
[The darkness element... I see, that's the reason you are able to fight against the curse that's covering the Empire.]
It seemed like s.h.i.+no Rendu, who was listening to their conversation, was having a huge misunderstanding, but since it didn't matter what he thought, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo just let it go.
”Then, shall we begin mining!? Everyone's ready, right!?”
[Of course!]
[We're ready whenever!]
”Good. Start!”
And so, 800 Pauls and 400 golems began the extensive mining. There was no way the mining wouldn't progress quickly, as there were 1,200 of them that were at least level 4, rather than being level 1 miners! Even if the mine shaft collapsed while they were at it, they would be able to get out unscathed due to their strong bodies, so there was no need to progress safely!
”What do we do in the meantime? Should we help with the mining too?”
”We've never been here before, so let's explore and clear any nearby dungeons we find. If there's a city nearby, it'll become a pain in the a.s.s, so we'll look into that as well.”
”Ok.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's party left the mine and began exploring. Fortunately, there wasn't a city in the vicinity, and he thought that that might've been the reason that this emerald mine hadn't been properly developed.
”It's an empty area. We were lucky. The closest satellite city is an hour away with Jin's speed.”
”Then, for the time being, we won't be getting into any fights.”
Because there wasn't a city nearby, there was a high chance that there weren't any other heroes in this area either. However, as if waiting for him to say that, Rem, which was on top of Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's shoulder, suddenly shook.
[Master, I sense golems.]
”You're not talking about the one's mining, right?”
[No. I sense golems that are under Stake Steelworker's control.]
”What a delicious sounding name...” [1]
The movement of golems under one of the Four Commanders' control. Why were they here? Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought that their objective might be the same as his. They were looking for gems so that they could make new golems.
Fortunately, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's party had made the first move, but if they had encountered the golems on the way, it would've become a bit troublesome.
'They definitely don't know about how I cleared out the hidden facility and destroyed it.'
If not, then they might've sent a collection team over there, and simultaneously, sent golems over here as well. He did several things that hurt them, but... there was no way he could just let them go.
”Stake Steelworker? Has he shown up personally?”
[No. Twenty level 6 elite golems are moving secretly in a group.]
”If you say so.”
He didn't need to think about it anymore. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo raised his hand and removed his equipment, starting from the helmet all the way down to his boots. Then, his armor turned blue, and he held the Bifurcated Spine Whip, so he didn't look anything like his preexisting image.
”Rem, you go first. We've found some rare specimen, so there's no way we can kill them.”
[I understand.]
Arema Steelworker's Golden Army usually moved stealthily.
The reason Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was even able to notice them in advance was because he had Rem, who possessed a specialized ability for sensing their presence.
'I think this is the first time I've seen (his) level 6 golems act.'
That's just how cautious Arema Steelworker was. That meant that this mission was important enough for someone as cautious as him to mobilize his golems, but why did they have to run into Lee s.h.i.+n Woo? Perhaps... perhaps Arema Steelworker was giving him a freebie!
'There's nothing more I can ask for if I can study a level 6 golem personally before making them.'
”Want help?”
”No, I'm good.”
Though it hadn't been very long since he'd turned level 6, because he'd achieved so many feats, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's stats were greater than 4,800.