Chapter 114

Chapter 114. Final Evaluation (4)

“This is…”

The party members gathered around the door revealed through the scattered remains of the golems.

“Is this the door leading to the secret space?”

“Correct.”

I nodded as I looked at the door with intricate patterns carved on its surface.

‘This is my first time seeing it in person.’

In my past life, while searching for the secret space with my party members, we encountered a guardian golem and were utterly destroyed. So, I never even found the door leading to the secret space, let alone the space itself.

“Can we just open it?”

Yuren examined the door and turned to look at me.

“Well… I don’t see any immediate trap mechanisms around.”

But there’s probably something prepared inside, traps or otherwise.

“I’ll open the door…”

“No.”

I grabbed Yuren’s shoulder and pulled him back as he reached for the doorknob.

“I’ll open the door, so everyone stay back.”

“But…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.”

I chuckled and patted Yuren’s shoulder, who was looking at me with worried eyes.

‘This has always been my specialty.’

With the Blessing of Resurrection, entering places that scream “I’m dangerous” was second nature to me.

Even if the worst happened, all I’d lose was my life.

‘Of course, saying that got me scolded by Iris.’

As I swallowed a bitter smile while reminiscing, Iris approached me.

“Then, I’ll cast a protective spell on you beforehand.”

“There’s no need…”

“Shh. Even if you’re confident in your abilities, that’s no reason not to prepare for danger.”

And then.

“Since you’ve become a party with the ‘Saint,’ it’d be a waste not to use it, right?”

Iris winked and placed her hand on her chest.

She straightened her back and raised her chin, as if showing off.

I chuckled as I watched her.

Her past and present selves overlapped in a strange way, making my heart ache.

“Alright.”

I nodded and approached Iris.

I held the holy relic hanging around her neck and closed my eyes.

“Seven gods, protect your children on this thorny path.”

A white light flowed from Iris and enveloped my body.

Fully prepared, I approached the door with the intricate patterns.

“Opening it.”

The tense breathing of the party members behind me.

I slowly pulled the doorknob leading to the secret space.

Creak.

The door opened, revealing a fairly spacious interior.

What appeared inside was…

[Intruders detected. Intruders detected.]

[Candidate identification confirmed.]

[Suppression protocol activated.]

Guardian golems lined up as if waiting for us.

Six in total.

Their bodies, made of intricate mechanical devices, had red eyes emitting a sinister light.

‘They seem like a different model from the ones outside.’

Though I couldn’t confirm properly since the ones outside were utterly destroyed, these golems looked different in shape and size.

“Eek! That’s the Aegis Model 3!”

Albert shouted in panic.

“That golem is designed to handle even six-eyed monsters!”

A golem capable of handling six-eyed monsters was almost as powerful as an active hero.

And there were six of them.

‘This must be the room that gives the diamond emblem.’

I smirked as I watched the golems draw their swords and shields.

“Da-Dale! Let’s run for now and come up with a plan…!”

Ignoring Albert’s frantic shouting, Yuren and I stepped forward.

“I’ll take the three on the right.”

“Then Camila and I will handle the three on the left.”

Boom!

Yuren and I kicked off the ground simultaneously, as if we had planned it.

[Target behavior pattern analyzed.]

[Defense module activated.]

Beep beep. The golems raised their shields, as large as a person, their red eyes glowing.

‘I could use Ash Fire to destroy the shields, but…’

Ash Fire was powerful but consumed a lot of magic power.

‘Then.’

Crack!

I kicked off the shield and jumped high into the air.

The guardian golems’ swords aimed at me mid-air.

‘Wind Step.’

Bang!

I kicked off the air and sharply changed direction.

My target was the golem’s nape. The small seam between its body and head, smaller than a finger.

“Hah!”

Spinning mid-air, I thrust my sword.

Crunch!

The sword pierced through the golem’s nape and exited.

‘Now.’

I put all my weight into the sword and sliced through the golem’s chest!

Crash!

The sound of hard metal crumpling as the golem split from its nape to its chest.

[Ally unit critically damaged.]

[Cooperative response protocol activated.]

The remaining two golems swung their swords at me simultaneously.

‘One aims for the legs, the other for the shoulder.’

Truly a high-end model that made Albert panic.

The sword strikes, targeting both above and below, were as precise as interlocking gears.

‘But.’

They’re still just mechanical golems.

‘I’ve destroyed tens of thousands of golems in my past life.’

Even the golems guarding ancient ruins were far more powerful than these used in a mere candidate evaluation.

“Berald Martial Arts.”

Earth Shaker.

Boom!

I stomped on the sword aiming for my legs and twisted my body.

From below to above.

I swung my sword upward like a geyser.

Clang!

The golem’s sword was deflected with a clear metallic sound.

As the sword was deflected, the two golems’ stances momentarily faltered.

I spread my arms wide and grabbed the heads of the two golems at my eye level.

And then.

“Huuuuh!”

Crunch!

The two golems’ heads, pulled from their napes, rolled on the ground.

‘What about Yuren and Camila?’

I turned my head to look for Yuren and Camila, who had run to the left.

“Ugh. We were a step late.”

At Yuren’s feet lay two golems cleanly sliced as if by a cutter.

And near Camila, one golem lay crumpled as if beaten with a blunt weapon.

“Wow.”

Albert stared at us, who had taken down the golems in an instant, with his mouth agape.

“Th-those golems are models even active heroes struggle to defeat. How did you…?”

Albert trailed off, unable to believe it.

Well.

We didn’t cooperate as a party; we just charged in and destroyed six golems in an instant. It’s natural for him to be shocked.

“Is anyone hurt?”

Leaving the shocked Albert behind, Iris walked over to us.

“Dale and I are fine, but Camila’s a bit hurt.”

“…These wounds can be ignored.”

Camila flinched and avoided eye contact.

Iris frowned as she looked at Camila.

“Whether the wounds can be ignored or not is for me to decide. Show me your wounds.”

“……”

Camila took off her armor and lifted her shirt slightly to show her side to Iris.

A long cut with blood streaming down.

Fortunately, her internal organs weren’t damaged, but it was definitely not something to ignore.

“It’ll hurt a bit, bear with it.”

“Ugh…”

As the white light from Iris’s hand seeped into her side, Camila’s expression twisted slightly.

“Done. There won’t be a scar, so don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about scars.”

“Shh. What kind of girl says that? Your skin is so smooth.”

“P-please don’t touch me!”

As Iris tickled her side, Camila squirmed in panic.

Her shirt rolled up, momentarily revealing her stomach.

“Oh…”

Her firm, muscular abdomen.

As Iris said, quite smooth…

“Dale.”

Yuren, who had approached me at some point, was glaring at me with cold eyes.

“Uh, yes?”

“There’s another door over there leading to the next room…”

Smirk.

“Instead of sneaking a peek at Camila’s stomach, wouldn’t it be better to check that door?”

“……”

Feeling an inexplicable pressure from Yuren, I quickly ran to the door without making any excuses.

“Huh?”

As I approached the door, glowing letters appeared in front of it.

[What is the place you cannot escape from?]

“What’s this?”

I frowned at the mysterious phrase that appeared in front of the door.

‘A place you cannot escape from…? What does that mean?’

A riddle out of nowhere here.

While some ruins are protected by riddles or puzzles, I didn’t expect such a gate in a school’s final evaluation.

“What’s wrong, Dale?”

“There’s some kind of riddle written here.”

“A place you cannot escape from…? What could it be?”

“I don’t know.”

I looked back at Yuren and Camila, but they also shook their heads, indicating they didn’t know the answer.

‘We can’t just break through this door.’

If this were a normal ruin, I could’ve just smashed the door regardless of the riddle, but this is a ‘final evaluation.’

Solving this riddle is probably part of the test.

“A place you cannot escape from… A swamp?”

Beep.

[Incorrect answer.]

[Remaining attempts: 2.]

The door flashed red, displaying the number 2.

“We have two more tries, right?”

“Ugh.”

As the entire party panicked over what to do.

“Uh… I know! The answer is baldness!”

Albert raised his hand and shouted.

“What? Why baldness?”

“Because… you can’t grow hair (Hair) there.”

“That can’t possibly be the answer…”

Beep.

[Correct answer.]

“What.”

Is this really the answer?

[Second question.]

[What is the name of the sand where the witch lives?]

“…Albert. Do you know this one too?”

“Uh, yeah. I like these nonsense quizzes.”

Albert nodded.

I smirked and patted Albert’s back.

“Kuh! Choosing you for our party was the right decision!”

“I got in by spinning…”

“Anyway! We’re counting on you, Albert!”

“……”

As I massaged his shoulders, Albert nodded vigorously.

“Okay! Leave it to me!”

Albert confidently walked up to the door.

[What is the name of the sand where the witch lives?]

“Sandwich!”

[Correct answer.]

Oh, yes!

[What is the insult you can do at the sea?]

“Seawater insult!”

Yes! Well done, Albert! That’s it!

[What is the position you must never look at or touch?]

“Director!”

Huh?

[The old name for a Republic citizen is ‘Korean.’ What is the name of the blue blood Koreans shed?]

“KOSPI!”

What the hell?

[All riddles solved.]

Boom! Rumble!

With a heavy sound, the firmly closed door opened.

A faint smell of tobacco tickled my nose through the open door.

“This smell…”

I frowned and stepped through the door.

Inside, I saw a wide cavern with sharp rock formations like spikes.

And sitting at its center.

“You’ve come, brats.”

It was Professor Elisha Baldwin.