Chapter Text
Inside the gate lies a completely different world.
"Huh?"
Kim Ki-ryeo suddenly flinched, gripping Kim Tae-hyung's hand tightly.
'Did i just hear something?'
Meanwhile, Kim Tae-hyung, standing next to him, reacted faster; the Alphauri's hearing was superior to that of humans, allowing him to clearly hear the mammal's screams.
Before that, he had sensed strange mana after walking a short distance, followed by the sounds of mammals talking.
Before that shout, he knew someone had entered, and it was probably hunters.
Kim Tae-hyung listened to the scream, but it quickly faded into chaos, forcing him to temporarily lower his hearing.
This made him lose interest, and he continued walking.
That's a matter for other mammals anyway; all he needs to do is protect his own life and Kim Ki-ryeo's.
As for the rest of those mammals that call themselves hunters, they can deal with them themselves.
He thought, anyway, a few minutes had passed since they both stepped through the gate.
Changing your perspective won't change the current situation.
"It seems we've gone too deep."
He came here to observe the monster.
But strangely enough, he hadn't encountered any living creatures other than himself and Kim Ki-ryeo.
This place was simply a quiet cave, with a pleasant humidity that he really liked.
"How disappointing. Or maybe I misunderstood the gate?"
No monsters, nothing special here.
Staying any longer wouldn't do any good, especially with Kim Ki-ryeo looking extremely worried nearby.
He sighed, turned around, and was about to pull Kim Ki-ryeo away, deciding to give up. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, making him stop.
['Wait a minute, that mammal just screamed. Does that mean they're fighting a monster?']
It was then that Kim Tae-hyung suddenly realized, no wonder he hadn't been able to find anyone all this time – they were fighting with the hunters!
He rubbed his forehead, wondering why he hadn't realized it sooner.
Kim Ki-ryeo also noticed Kim Tae-hyung's expression and asked.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's okay, I'm fine."
He replied, then pulled Kim Ki-ryeo along with the mammal's mana. As we got closer, we started hearing voices.
"Hi-Hiiiiiiiiiiik!"
"Hic... he's dead. He died with just one blow... He...!"
"...Cough!"
"Huh? What the hell is going on?"
With their voice clearer, Kim Ki-ryeo realized the situation was not good, and it seemed Kim Tae-hyung had noticed this beforehand.
"Did a monster appear?"
First, we both need to understand what's going on.
Quickly, he pulled Kim Ki-ryeo behind a nearby rock to observe.
"Where is that terrifying monster?"
The distance was too great for Kim Ki-ryeo to see the scene clearly from here, but instead, he focused on listening.
As for Kim Tae-hyung, he's an alien with extraordinary abilities, so he can see what's going on.
He noticed a bald man covered in blood inside, and the other two seemed to be acquaintances of his; they were trembling as they spoke.
"That... I saw it with my Pixy Glass... It's an A-class monster. A-class magic power level..."
"What are you talking about? How could there be an A-rank monster in a D-rank dungeon?"
"Yoon Seung-ah! Are you okay?"
Upon hearing that, Kim Ki-ryeo clung tightly to Kim Tae-hyung, trembling. Anyone would be scared upon hearing such news, especially a rank F like him.
Kim Tae-hyung then looked towards Kim Ki-ryeo and patted him on the shoulder to reassure him, before both of them turned back to observe the situation.
The first thing that caught Kim Ki-ryeo's eye was a bald man covered in blood.
And at this point, Kim Tae-hyung also noticed him when someone mentioned his injury.
"He looks like a pile of rags."
The large wounds on his body looked like he had been attacked by something enormous.
The man, gasping for breath as he leaned against the wall, clutched his shield tightly and struggled to his feet.
"Is that a weapon of mankind? It looks so primitive," Kim Tae-hyung whispered, making his observation.
Upon hearing that comment, Kim Ki-ryeo turned to look at Kim Tae-hyung with a judgmental gaze, then turned back to continue observing.
Even with a shield in his hand, he was unsteady and completely unreliable.
So what caused him to become like this?
"Damn it... Even an A-rank defensive awakened being couldn't stop it... what can we do?"
"Get your skills ready! I'll create opportunities for you..."
"I can't do it!"
With his limited field of vision, Kim Ki-ryeo couldn't see the monster and focused entirely on the group of hunters in front of him.
He could see it, but not completely clearly due to his limited field of view. Only now did he notice its magical power controlling him, drawing his attention to it instead of the group of hunters as he had initially.
"Could it be...?"
Kim Tae-hyung was lost in thought as he tried to guess what kind of monster they were up against.
"Because of an inexperienced brat like you, I hate having to form a team! If you had done well from the start, my hand... Cheol-min hyung would have..."
"Guys! Calm down!"
While Kim Tae-hyung was concentrating on trying to find compatible images and magical elements between them, the situation suddenly changed.
"The bloodstains on the wall... could they be from an Earthling?"
At this point, Kim Tae-hyung noticed another bloodstain clinging to the corner of the wall. Hearing this, Kim Ki-ryeo also noticed the bloodstain.
'Perhaps it belongs to the person named Cheol-min they mentioned.'
Judging by the situation, they seem to be using a tactic of holding back the monsters in front so the mages behind can attack. But now the team is down to only two people.
A sorcerer fled, cursing incessantly.
Roaring...
"Binding... haven't you used the binding skill yet?"
"That skill... I've already used it, Yoon Seung-ah…"
And in the blink of an eye, the entire team was doomed.
It seems their strategy was for the frontline hunter to distract the monster while teammates prepared binding spells...
But when the magic proved ineffective, the wizard, in his confusion, ultimately did the worst.
"Try again, maybe it'll work! Yoon Seung-ah, just hold on for another 30 seconds!"
"Panting... panting... Yes!"
Despite his failing vision, the shield-wielding hunter gritted his teeth and charged towards the monster.
But 30 seconds have passed.
When he turned his head to look back at the sorcerer... there was no one there.
"..!"
The mage ultimately abandoned him, leaving his teammate as bait for the monster while he fled.
Despite him taking the blow with his own body, sacrificing his life to protect the entire team, he was ultimately turned into a sacrificial offering.
['Is this what human nature is like? Even if it's a teammate or...'']
Kim Tae-hyung glanced at Kim Ki-ryeo, who was covering his mouth, trying not to sob.
Seeing that person abandoned by his own teammates, Kim Ki-ryeo couldn't help but remember his own mother, who had abandoned and betrayed him.
['Humans are so hard to understand']
Kim Tae-hyung patted Kim Ki-ryeo, who was in crisis, on the head to reassure him that everything was over, then prepared for a new move.
"Haha..."
Realizing he had been betrayed, the hunter had no strength left to be angry; he could only kneel down, stunned.
The wounds on his body no longer allowed him to stand.
"I trusted everyone..."
Tears streamed down his face, his eyes slowly closed, and he fainted as if accepting death. (W/S: Sorry, I had to let you faint for a while.)
That's so sad. But it's okay, Yoon Seung-ah!
"Thanks to the time you gave me, I've had a chance to finish my analysis."
Thung!
As the massive monster lifted its leg, preparing to deliver the finishing blow to the hunter, it suddenly stopped.
Because, from behind, it sensed a new movement.
Kim Tae-hyung slowly walked out, breaking the prolonged silence.
"Wow, it's much clearer now. It's really nice to meet you here!"
Yes, actually...
The monster that the hunting party had been facing all this time was a golem.
And for an Alphauri like Kim Tae-hyung, golems are something incredibly familiar. How familiar?
"Oh, that's quite an old-fashioned design, isn't it?"
Think of it like the feeling people had when they first encountered a robotic vacuum cleaner in the old days.
"Comparing it to a robotic vacuum cleaner might sound strange, but it's actually quite accurate."
It's safe to say Kim Ki-ryeo was getting used to these kinds of comments, almost immune to them. He stood up from the cliff but remained hidden to avoid being detected by the monster.
He looked towards the monster in front of him.
Initially, I was too focused on the group of hunters, so now I'm only just noticing the 'robot' that Kim Tae-hyung mentioned.
"Golems exist on Earth too! This is truly an amazing discovery. I never imagined other intelligent beings would also utilize this convenient system!"
"Ah, so it's a Golem..." Kim Ki-ryeo thought to himself, while Kim Tae-hyung continued to explain to him.
"Golems are an integral part of our Alphauri lives."
"So that means there's a lot of it on your planet," Kim Ki-ryeo asked.
“That’s right. These magically powered clay golems have taken on countless roles: cleaning houses, doing chores, building, conversing, and even serving as soldiers in drone warfare. My homeland, in fact, is a nation built on the labor of golems.”
While he was explaining, the Golem spotted him and began attacking Kim Tae-hyung, who nimbly dodged its attacks.
"Wow, that's quite multitasking. But be careful!"
"And my profession even involves weapon science and Golem studies."
"That's really cool," Kim Ki-ryeo exclaimed.
Kim Tae-hyung tilted his head, calmly observing the golem. As it turned and continued its attack, he simply glided past it.
"Ah, now I understand why there are no monsters inside this gate."
A conclusion quickly formed in his mind:
The golem here is performing its most classic role: protection. And if there is a protection system, that can only mean one thing...
"This is private property!"
“Private property… What is that?” Kim Ki-ryeo was confused; he rarely looked up information about the ‘Gate,’ so he didn’t know much beyond its formation.
"It's safe to say this gate belongs to someone. Clearly, that person placed a golem here to deter intruders and protect their territory," Kim Tae-hyung explained while dodging its attacks.
"Oh," Kim Ki-ryeo nodded, understanding. It seemed he would need to gather more information about the 'Gate' after today.
"Oh my God, so we're barging through this gate without knowing who this place belongs to?"
'Isn't it because of his reckless disregard for 'the gate'?' Kim Ki-ryeo muttered to himself.
Having understood the situation, Kim Tae-hyung looked towards the golem advancing towards him.
"Since the defense system has been activated, a quiet retreat is not feasible. It seems we need to deal with it first."
He looked towards the unconscious hunter over there.
"But this guy is from Earth. Doesn't he know this is private property? Or is he actually a thief instead of a hunter?"
'You're no different,' Kim Ki-ryeo really couldn't get used to this alien-like comment.
"Is there any thief in the world who doesn't know how to neutralize a golem?"
Kim Ki-ryeo could only listen silently to those remarks in place of the unconscious hunter.
As Kim Tae-hyung was about to strike, he remembered that Kim Ki-ryeo was too weak to defend himself against these things. He changed tactics, instead of using magic as he had initially planned.
"Hey Kim Ki-ryeo, I'll guide you on how to defeat this Golem. I hope that someday you'll be able to defeat it with your own hands."
Kim Ki-ryeo hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but then resolutely nodded.
"First, you should approach this Golem."
The act of closing the distance with the dangerous golem might be puzzling to others, but Kim Tae-hyung had a clear reason: to execute an emergency stop command. All automated golems are designed with an emergency stop command to prevent operational errors.
"Normally, only the owner or the manufacturer knows how to use this command. But I'm an expert in this field."
For a rudimentary model like this golem, I only needed to observe it a little to figure out how to stop it.
"The way Earth's golems resemble the golems on their home planet is something we'll explore later."
As soon as the golem swung its giant arm towards Kim Tae-hyung, he quickly recoiled, dodging the attack.
"When it attacks from above, you should dodge quickly, and then it will get stuck on the ground."
The golem's arm slammed down on the ground with a heavy thud. While the giant arm was still rising, he rushed forward to give the order to stop.
"Next, you need to approach it quickly and punch the large gem on its arm."
Bang, bang, bang!
He punched the large gem attached to the golem's hand—the one containing the magic sensor.
"And it must also follow this order: top, right, bottom, bottom."
When Kim Tae-hyung applies force in the correct sequence...
Reeeeeee…
The moment the golem swung its giant arm toward me, I quickly recoiled, dodging.
The large gem on the golem's head emitted a brilliant red light for a moment, then its massive body...
SHADY!
The loud crash as the golem fell was proof of his success.
"That's easy!"
It's not complicated at all. Emergency shutdown orders are designed to handle emergency operational failures.
Kim Ki-ryeo witnessed everything, leaving him utterly astonished. Even though he'd lived with Kim Tae-hyung for several days, he still couldn't fully grasp his power.
"Et-xì!"
When the golem fell, a cloud of dust rose from the cave floor, making the air even more stifling.
Nevertheless, he did not let his guard down and acted immediately.
"The emergency shutdown is only a temporary measure. As long as the magical energy supply is maintained, the golem can resume its activities at any time."
On Earth, if a remote control spontaneously executes strange commands, what would humans do to stop it?
There are many ways, but in my opinion, the surest way is to remove the battery.
That's right, just remove the battery.
"So when you see it motionless, you should find its 'battery' and pull it out. That part is mainly on its back. You should get closer to observe it more clearly."
Hearing this, Kim Ki-ryeo approached the Golem and observed how Kim Tae-hyung performed the action.
Kim Tae-hyung climbed onto the giant body of the golem lying sprawled on the ground, feeling his way to the joints on its back.
After searching for a while, he slipped his finger into a gap and used precise force to pull hard.
"Click!"
"Without proper tools, my fingers are going to go numb doing this. Ugh."
The golem's back was slightly opened. The rest wasn't too difficult.
Kim Tae-hyung approaches the golem's magical core—its "heart."
"After you take this off, you'll see their 'batteries'."
Without hesitation, he forcefully pulled it out.
"Crack!"
The tangled magical chains were torn apart, making a crisp, snapping sound.
However, this didn't impress me at all. This is something I've done many times before.
"After this then..."
"Only then will we be able to completely defeat it."
He turned to Kim Ki-ryeo, who was observing his actions, and nodded.
"Job done. We need to leave now, before someone realizes we've ruined their 'neighbor'."
Okay, for now, Kim Ki-ryeo doesn't quite understand this alien's thought process. But let's just go ahead and get out first.
____________
Bonus art!!
