WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈

Chapter 69: Guardian (2)

──────

I stared in bewilderment as the Guardian rose proudly.

It resembled the kind of golem you'd expect to see in a fantasy story.

Its shape was very humanlike, though it was several times larger.

According to Starlight Princess, it was a being inhabited by a spirit.

‘Why did that suddenly...?’

But the bigger problem was that the Guardian had appeared out of nowhere.

No. Rather than appearing, it was more like it had awakened from sleep.

What had been nothing more than a pile of rocks moments ago had fitted itself together and risen.

Giiiiing-

The Guardian made of Orichalcum looked straight at me.

It didn't even have eyes, but the slight dip of its head made it obvious.

‘More importantly, that's...’

I slowly backed away and looked at the center of its chest.

Something particularly vivid blue was embedded there, standing out from the rest of its body.

It looked like a ball. At any rate, it was impossible to miss.

‘Is that the Core?’

I vaguely remembered it from when I killed the Mad Dog and encountered the Guardian.

SwordTasteMaster had mentioned that I should target the Core in its chest.

I'd need to cut off its legs first. Its size gave me an advantage there.

‘If it comes down to it, I can target that Core directly...’

Clank! Clank!

...That would be nice, but nothing ever went that easily.

As though it were putting on armor, the Guardian's chest was covered by another layer of Orichalcum.

Its body was much thicker than before. It wasn't like the thing had been working out.

The thought alone made me dizzy, but I barely managed to pull myself together.

‘No. I can do this. I beat the Saber-Toothed Tiger, didn't I?’

The Guardian didn't seem to have identified me as an enemy yet.

Still, it was ready to attack at any moment.

Considering it had completely covered the Core it had openly exposed, it was probably wary of me.

“Kyuuu...”

Wonmo bristled as well, apparently aware that it was dangerous.

He'd trembled when chicks chased him, but now he was acting like a real predator again.

Did he think he had a chance because there was only one enemy?

I wanted to avoid a fight if possible, so I tried inching backward.

Then,

[Gigigigigik-]

Thud!

With a mechanical screech, it took a step forward.

At the same time, the Orichalcum scattered around it stuck to its body like magnets.

It looked like the Core acted as a magnet, gathering the nearby Orichalcum.

Thump! Thud! Thud!

The Orichalcum Guardian strode toward me.

It was much taller than the tiger even by eye level alone, so I couldn't help feeling tense.

I watched every one of its strange movements and steadied my breathing.

As my breathing settled, the mana inside me circulated more smoothly too.

[Gigigik-]

The moment I began circulating mana, it made another strange noise.

Then it raised one massive leg and stomped down.

The ground shook with a booming thud.

But what happened next left me horrified.

Crack!

Spikes shot up from the ground and rushed at me.

They weren't particularly fast, but the shock made me freeze for a moment.

“Wh-What is that?!”

I somehow forced my stiff body to move and dodged. The spikes barely missed me.

The Guardian had ranged attacks too. This was different from fighting the Saber-Toothed Tiger.

It wouldn't be an easy fight.

‘I have to get close anyway.’

I gripped my sword and shield tightly. For now, I'd follow SwordTasteMaster's advice.

Walking upright was both the strength and weakness of humanoid monsters.

If even one leg was cut off, it would lose a huge amount of mobility.

“Kyaaa!”

Wonmo charged bravely while I was organizing my thoughts.

Considering the size difference, though, that wasn't bravery. It was recklessness.

Before I could even reach out in alarm, Wonmo attacked first.

Thump!

An adorably tiny body slam. The Guardian didn't even flinch.

My stomach dropped at the sight, but the Guardian's reaction was strange.

As though Wonmo was beneath its notice, it simply kept walking toward me.

‘Does it not bother with weak opponents?’

I couldn't be sure, but it didn't seem to intend to attack Wonmo.

Even if each attack was powerful, its movements were so slow that Wonmo wouldn't get stepped on.

Grrrrrk-

The Guardian, which had been plodding toward me, slowly raised both arms.

A sense of danger hit me, and I urgently moved to the right.

Gigigik-

But there was something strange about the way it followed me.

Its waist twisted at an unnatural angle.

When it brought both arms down, it had twisted nearly one hundred and eighty degrees.

Boom!

Its massive arms crashed into the ground.

At the same time, just like before, the ground rose in spikes and rushed at me.

Its movements were slow, but once an attack activated, it was incredibly fast.

I couldn't let my guard down.

‘Now!’

Like I said, its actual movements were slow.

The moment right before it launched an attack was my chance.

Woooong-

Mana rose from Heavenly Demon’s Sword like a heat haze.

I only needed one attack to sever the Guardian's leg.

Then it would lose its balance, and dealing with it would be much easier.

Grrrrrk-

The sound of rocks grinding against each other pierced my ears.

The Guardian had begun lifting one massive leg.

“Kyuuu?!”

Wonmo, who had been attacking that leg, clung to it in surprise. The Guardian still didn't seem to recognize him.

I decided to target its other leg before the one Wonmo clung to came down.

Thanks to its slow movements, reaching the leg planted on the ground wasn't difficult.

‘It's so much bigger up close.’

My head barely reached the Guardian's crotch.

But the larger it was, the more openings it had. I accelerated the mana circulating through my body.

The aura rising from Heavenly Demon’s Sword grew far more intense. Once I cut its leg with this, it would be over.

Right before the Guardian's foot, with Wonmo clinging to it, stomped down, I swung my sword.

Just as I'd seen in the Gallery, I slashed from the inside outward so I could put my full strength behind it.

‘Good. It worked...!’

Swoooosh!

The instant I started to smile in triumph, something completely unexpected happened.

The aura that had risen like a heat haze was absorbed into the Guardian's leg in an instant.

Like water soaking into a sponge, it all vanished in a flash.

Clang!

To make matters worse, Heavenly Demon’s Sword couldn't cut through the Guardian's leg.

It only sank halfway in before getting stuck.

Even without aura, it was a famous sword that could slice through solid wood as easily as tofu.

‘Right, Orichalcum absorbs mana...!’

There was no other explanation.

One of Orichalcum's properties was that it temporarily hardened when it absorbed mana.

I'd overlooked that because I thought it was only temporary and had nothing to do with me.

I'd focused so much on strengthening my sword that I'd forgotten an important detail. It was an unexpected setback, and a crisis.

Thud!!

The Guardian's foot stomped down hard.

The moment I saw it, I raised my shield and prepared for the next attack.

Even then, I quickly pulled Heavenly Demon’s Sword free.

Boom!

The ground rose around the Guardian's foot, accompanied by a massive shockwave.

It was a good thing I'd thrust my shield toward its foot. Otherwise, it would have been truly dangerous.

“Argh!”

That didn't mean I absorbed all the damage.

The impact transferred through my shield and sent me flying backward.

Even in midair, I kept my head raised so it wouldn't hit the ground.

SwordTasteMaster had explained it in a post. Even if it was hard to break your fall, you had to keep your head up.

That was how you minimized secondary injuries.

Thump!

Right before I hit the ground, it felt like someone gently caught my head.

A powerful pain soon shot through my back, but at least my head was fine, so it was bearable.

“Ugh... Thanks.”

“...”

The one supporting my head was none other than Fast Sloth. It responded with its usual blank expression.

After landing on my back, it took some effort to steady my ragged breathing.

‘Wonmo? Where's Wonmo?’

As I got up, I looked for Wonmo. That had been a powerful attack. I hoped he was okay.

“Kyuu! Kyukyu!”

I soon found him. I didn't know when he'd climbed up there, but he was sitting on top of the Guardian's head.

He attacked with his adorable little claws, but the Guardian didn't budge.

It really didn't seem to recognize Wonmo at all.

‘What the hell is going on?’

No matter how weak he was, it was strange that it couldn't notice something clinging to its head.

As I tilted my head in confusion, the Guardian turned toward me.

Grrrrrk-

The Guardian's chest opened, revealing the vivid blue Core.

I wondered why it would expose what was essentially its heart.

Wooooong-

The Core's light grew even stronger. The moment I saw it, my blood turned cold.

I had to dodge. If I didn't, I'd die.

Just as I hurriedly got up and threw myself aside,

Wooooong!

The Core's glow became more intense than the Light Magic floating in the air.

Kwoooong!

Then it fired a laser straight out of a comic book.

Boom!!

The laser barely missed me, but the destruction it caused was obvious.

The ground had been gouged out as though a shell had exploded there.

It seemed even Orichalcum couldn't absorb something with that much destructive power.

“Huff... Huff...”

Panting, I blankly stared at the cratered ground.

There was no way I'd survive if that hit me directly.

Clank! Clank!

The Guardian's Core was covered again, like it had put on armor.

It didn't seem able to fire wildly without restraint.

‘Did it release the mana it absorbed from me?’

That was the only theory I could come up with. I groaned and got to my feet.

It was the first time I'd faced a restriction on using mana.

At least it only absorbed mana released outside my body.

‘So I can only use physical enhancement...’

Still, I had Heavenly Demon’s Sword. There were plenty of chances left.

If I took it slow, its weakness would reveal itself.

“Fast Sloth, can you cut that thing?”

“...”

Fast Sloth shook its head at my question.

Even it, with claws that could slice through an iron container with ease, seemed to have trouble against Orichalcum.

Considering the Guardian's thickness, Fast Sloth might only hurt its claws.

[Gigigigigik-]

Thud! Thump!

Once again, it made that bizarre noise as it approached me.

It didn't have eyes, so how did it know exactly where I was?

Yet it didn't seem to sense Wonmo clinging to its head at all.

It felt like it didn't see with eyes, but sensed things through some other means.

‘I'm not certain yet.’

I'd need to fight it some more to find out. I quietly regulated my breathing.

Then the Guardian slowly raised its arms.

This was my chance, when it was about to launch an attack similar to before.

‘No aura, only Heavenly Demon’s Sword...!’

Right before the Guardian brought its arms down, I reached the space between its legs.

Then I swung Heavenly Demon’s Sword from the inside outward with all my strength. I aimed for its right leg.

Maybe because I had accelerated my mana, I could vividly feel every movement of my muscles.

Slice!

One of the Guardian's legs was cut off. As expected of Heavenly Demon’s Sword.

The Guardian completely lost its balance when it lost a leg.

Thud!

The Guardian fell forward as soon as it lost its leg. Wonmo, who had been clinging to its head, jumped in surprise.

It wasn't enough yet. Unless I destroyed the Core embedded in the center of its chest, the Guardian wouldn't stop moving.

It had fallen to its knees, making it easy to climb onto its back.

Tap!

I leaped high and landed lightly on its back. Immediately, I gripped my sword in a reverse grip and raised it high.

If I pierced through to the Core, everything would be over.

Using aura might keep the sword from piercing through, so I only accelerated the mana inside my body.

“Hyah!”

I brought my sword down with a fierce shout.

Crash!!

A rock shooting up from the Guardian's back struck me directly in the abdomen.

‘...Huh?’

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried