I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents-Chapter 32: The Golem’s Fortress (2)

I cloaked my body with Body-Strengthening Aura and strode forward.

Flash!

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A blinding light filled my vision.

I quickly ducked behind a rock wall for cover.

The teal-colored brilliance flared three more times.

The rock wall endured three blasts from the golem’s attack before shattering completely.

Good.

Memorized.

Then, I surged forward. The air roared as it was pushed back.

I propelled my body upward, bouncing with elastic force.

I thought I only needed to dodge the beams.

–Target acquired. Eliminate.

The words spilling from the golem’s mouth made it clear that wasn’t the case.

Along with its overwhelmingly brute-force approach.

I had just reached its weak point at the back of the neck when an unexpected event occurred.

Screeeeech!

The golem’s shoulder twitched, and then—

A massive fist shot out.

I expanded the Mirror of Metamorphosis, raising it to absorb the impact.

The shield absorbed the first shock, but the force ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ following behind it was immense.

My body was launched into the air.

BOOOOM!

I crashed far into the distance.

Thanks to Body-Strengthening Aura, I was mostly unharmed.

No time.

There was no time to delay.

KABOOM!

A mana beam exploded at the exact spot I had just been sitting.

Once again, a close call.

[Skill ‘Expanded Vision’ has leveled up. Lv.4]

The prediction path of the golem’s laser, displayed in its eyes.

Left first, right second.

BZZZZZZT!

I dodged the oblique laser coming from the right first.

Then, I deflected the beam coming straight at me with the Mirror of Metamorphosis.

It was lucky that the golem’s eyes were so large.

Otherwise, some part of my body would have been obliterated by now.

I evaded every descending laser and closed the distance with the red golem.

It loomed over me from above.

"You’re being a bit arrogant."

I layered Sword Aura onto Carnavalt, the Greatsword.

Then, I swung it in a horizontal slash.

The golem’s leg, made entirely of stone, crashed to the ground.

Its massive body crumbled, shedding fragments as it collapsed into a cloud of dust.

Without Sword Aura, I wouldn’t have been able to cut through it.

[Level Up!]

[Lv.21 → Lv.22]

Beyond the mist, red lights flickered.

Even after destroying three of them, there were still at least a dozen more remaining.

I wasn’t within their aggro range yet, so the lasers hadn’t fired.

I glanced behind me.

"......."

There shouldn’t be any golems coming from the path I had already cleared.

Of course, I wasn’t certain.

Maintaining heightened awareness, I hid behind cover and pulled out my gallery device.

Title: Almost died just standing around.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

Do golems like these normally spawn on the 4th floor?ㄴ As if, lololololololol

ㄴ Beast King: No way!

ㄴ You just got hit with Pandemonium.

ㄴ I’m a warrior from Easy Mode. I didn’t see those things until the 35th floor. ㅇㅇ

ㄴ Normal Mode, 25th floor.

ㄴ Sword of Light: 8th floor.

ㄴ Pioneer: 9th floor.

ㄴ Demon Dragon King: Beltui- 888!

Wow.

So this is life, huh.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Then what kind of boss monster should I expect when these things are showing up?

ㄴ Archmage: The Grand Matriarch of Fire.

ㄴ Sword of Light: Or the Son of Thunder.

Grand Matriarch? Son of Thunder?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: ? Do golems have genders?

ㄴ Archmage: To golem engineers, they probably seem like children.

ㄴ Hohoho, our baby doesn’t bite!

ㄴ Yeah, they don’t bite. They just beat you to death.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: How do you take down those two?

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Unlike other golems, those two don’t have a weak point at the back of the neck. Their mana core is embedded deep within their body. You have to penetrate the sturdy outer layer and destroy it.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: And how do I do that?

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: With overwhelming strength, of course.

ㄴ Yeah, sure, that’s real helpful when you say it like that.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Hmph, if you had learned my Heaven-Crushing Fist, you could smash them easily.

ㄴ That’s completely useless right now.

ㄴ How am I supposed to use something I haven’t learned yet?

ㄴ Isn’t the cooldown for interdimensional trade still active?

ㄴ Ice Queen: Frozen... My experience probably won’t be very helpful here.

ㄴ Sword of Light: The answer is in one of the attacks you’ve already taken.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: ?

I’d taken plenty of hits. Which one was he talking about?

ㄴ Sword of Light: Sword Aura Detonation.

Sword Aura Detonation.

The attack that Rank 4 Knight Liner hit me with in the Forest of Beasts two days ago.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: How the hell am I supposed to use that?

I’d never learned it.

ㄴ Sword of Light: If you’ve thoroughly read the Dragon Slayer Sword manual, you would have seen the technique called Vortex Flow (渦流). That’s the Dragon Slayer Sword’s version of Sword Aura Detonation.

I did remember it.

I read it over and over to survive.

But I’d never actually tried executing it.

ㄴ Sword of Light: Sword Aura—Aura itself—moves according to your will. Depending on your mindset, its application changes drastically.

The flickering red lights in the distance were slowly getting closer.

This wasn’t just my imagination.

I put the gallery device back into my inventory.

Once again, I channeled mana through my Mana Heart to my entire body.

[Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.5 – Skill Activated.]

I wrapped Body-Strengthening Aura around my entire body.

If it weren’t for the Transcendent Gallery seniors, I would have died from the first laser I encountered.

But in the end—

This goddamn tower could only be cleared if I performed well.

There were no freebies.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!

This time, it wasn’t a laser.

From beneath the golem’s right forearm, a gray light flickered—then chains shot toward me.

I concentrated Sword Aura into a straight-line burst like a raging gale.

CRACK—

The chains shattered into pieces.

I lunged forward head-on.

I fought for an entire day.

After killing the golem that wielded chains, I took down over a dozen more.

My level increased again.

Current level: 23.

In front of me, a staircase made of yellow stone stretched upward.

As I ascended, I spotted ten golems at the base of the staircase, looking up at me.

I let out a shallow sigh and gathered my mana again.

[Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.6 – Skill Activated.]

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

With the level-up came an increase in mana, and my Mana Body Reinforcement skill advanced another step.

I was just about to descend and start another round of swordplay.

BZZZT!

A strange noise rang out as a red gemstone embedded in the wall flickered.

The once-bright light dimmed completely.

At the same time, the golems suddenly hunched over and stopped moving.

I pulled out my gallery device and took a photo of them.

Title: What are they doing?

Author: ㅇㅇ*

From the looks of it, they seem like they’re sleeping.

Attached File: 8904385930.jpgㄴ Yeah, they’re sleeping.

ㄴ Archmage: But if you get too close, they’ll wake up immediately.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: When those things rested, I rested too.

ㄴ Sword of Light: Rest while you can.

ㄴ Room Conspiracy Theorist: Sleeping golems are kinda cute – This world is a giant closed room.

There’s always at least one insane comment.

ㄴ Spear King: If you disturb their sleep, they go into Rage Mode. Huge hassle.

ㄴ Elf Guy: They sleep for about an hour at most.

...Some kind of synchronized rest period?

I decided to use this time for a meal.

I pulled out stir-fried pork over rice and ate a hearty portion.

Then, I relaxed my tense body for a brief moment.

BZZZT!

Just as Elf Senior had said, the golems woke up exactly an hour later.

ㄴ Sword of Light: When they wake up and stretch—that’s their clearest weak point.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: That moment is when they’re most vulnerable.

ㄴ Pioneer: You said there are ten? Take out at least two during that window. Plan your movements.

This was the advice my seniors gave me just minutes ago.

And ever since entering the fourth floor, I’d decided to be an even more obedient junior when it came to their guidance.

I gripped a black spear in my right hand.

[Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.6 – Skill Activated.]

Full power.

I swung my arm like a whip.

BOOOOOM!!

Javelin Throw.

The spear shattered the head of the furthest bronze-colored golem.

Then, activating Body-Strengthening Aura, I kicked off the stair railing, landed, and removed the mana core of a yellow golem.

Without hesitation, I destroyed another golem’s core with Carnavalt, the Greatsword.

Whooooosh!

Focusing on the golem directly in front of me, I failed to react to a green golem attacking from my right.

CRASH!

Its massive fist struck my side.

Even with my newly equipped armor and Body-Strengthening Aura, the impact was brutal.

Shhhhrk!

I was sent skidding backward.

Digging my heels into the ground, I barely managed to hold my position.

The sensation hit me.

The desperation I felt when fighting the Orc Legion Commander.

The intensity when facing King Kobold.

I took down ten golems.

Then another five.

My right shoulder was ripped open by the massive hand of a black golem.

After an emergency potion treatment—

Luckily, I shattered another golem’s skull and leveled up.

Current level: 24.

Now, the path was a straight line.

I kept walking.

RUMBLEEEEEEE...

A deep tremor shook the dungeon.

Ahead, the path ended.

Nothing but a cliff.

From the depths below, blue lightning crackled upward.

A warning.

A clear sign that the boss monster was "The Son of Thunder."

I pulled out my gallery device and entered the Transcendent Gallery.

Title: High chance that "The Son of Thunder" is the boss. Lightning is bursting out of the gap.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

Any additional strategies?ㄴ Shrine Maiden: Climber-kun, interdimensional trade! I can provide something to block lightning!

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: I will grant you a fist capable of shattering a golem’s core.

Wasn’t the trade cooldown still active?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: ? How long have I been fighting?

ㄴ Sword of Light: It’s dawn. You’ve been fighting for six hours since you descended the staircase.

ㄴ Beast King: Damn, youth sure is full of energy!!!

ㄴ Ice Queen: Frozen... If it were the Grand Matriarch of Fire, I could’ve helped. Too bad.

ㄴ Archmage: You’ll get your chance when we need to drop something into a glacier. You’ll be essential then.

ㄴ Ice Queen: Frozen! True, it was a required boss even in Hard Mode! Pandemonium must have it too!

Even the always-kind Ice Queen senior seemed a bit scary just now.

Trading with the Shrine Maiden or Heavenly Demon...

I hesitated for only a moment.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Interdimensional trade, let’s go.