Published: July 4, 2025
The two walked along the wall.
After about two hours of walking, the wall gradually became lower.
"It's getting lower bit by bit, but we still can't climb it, can we?"
"It's tough. But there's no need to rush; if we keep going like this, we might find a way."
The height had lowered to about thirty meters, but it still seemed difficult to climb the wall.
(It feels as if it has been gouged out by some giant laser. Perhaps a light attribute mage could use such magic.)
No one answered that question raised in his mind.
Even if it were expressed out loud, no one would have been able to respond.
After walking for about an hour, the wall suddenly disappeared.
"Finally, the wall is gone."
"What's beyond the wall isn't a forest, but a grassland."
Aside from some rock masses about one meter high, just as Ryo said, a vast grassland stretched as far as the eye could see.
Considering they had walked through a dense forest until they hit the wall, this was quite a change.
"The visibility is good, but... well, there's no point in saying this and that. We have no choice but to head north."
"Then let's go."
As the two set foot on the grassland and walked for about thirty minutes...
Kakin!
Abel, at the front, drew his sword and swung it, cutting through something that came flying at him.
"...A stone?"
Abel murmured.
With that as a cue, thumb-sized stones began flying at Abel from ahead.
He dodged them or swatted them away with his sword, focusing his gaze forward.
He could see that the stones were coming from rocks about two meters high.
"＜アイスウォール＞"
A wall of ice was created by Ryo in front of Abel.
Now that Abel didn't have to worry about the stones thanks to the ice wall, he squinted his eyes even more.
"Ryo, this is bad. It seems we've entered a Rock Golem's nest."
"Golems have nests?"
Ryo, at the rear, rushed towards Abel.
"The place where Golems spawn in groups is called a 'nest' by adventurers. It seems this is one of those places. It's my first time experiencing it too, though."
Even if he knew it as knowledge, sometimes that alone couldn't help.
"Is that rock-like thing a Rock Golem?"
"Yeah, that one."
"I thought Golems were more like human-shaped beings with arms and legs..."
Ryo's knowledge was based on Earth.
In reality, there is no historical fact that Golems existed on Earth.
The term 'Golem' originally refers to a moving clay figure in Jewish folklore.
Well, the concept of putting a soul into earth to make it move or become human is found in myths and legends around the world, so perhaps there were once Golems on Earth...
"Ah, the ones that can be moved through alchemy or magic tend to have that form. I've heard that there are countries in the West with Golem legions. However, the naturally occurring Golems seem to come in various shapes... So, it seems that Golems here are those rocks."
The moment Abel said that, he turned around and swiftly slashed with his sword.
Kakin.
From the rear, stones from Golems were flying.
"＜アイスウォール＞"
Ryo generated an ice wall to the back as well.
"By the way, there were those rocks where we passed through earlier. Have they woken up?"
"To lure us in and then ambush us. Not bad for a pile of dirt."
"Can those Golems be defeated with a sword?"
By the way, the Golem type wasn't listed in the 'Monsters Encyclopedia - Beginner's Edition,' so Ryo had no knowledge about it.
"I don't know; I've never tried."
"Right?"
"Well, this might be a good experience. I'll attack a nearby one. Ryo, stay here."
With that, Abel stepped out from between the front and back ice walls and ran towards the approaching Rock Golem.
Yes, the Rock Golem looked like a 'rock,' but it was getting closer.
(A rock means a normal water jet can't cut it. An Abrasive Jet might be able to cut it... but I wonder how effective that would be since it doesn't seem instantaneous... I'll have to try it later.)
While Ryo was contemplating this, Abel charged at one of the Rock Golems.
"Combat Technique: Complete Penetration."
As he approached, he activated his combat technique and thrust with his sword.