Chapter 136: The Three Idiots

The circular chamber bathed in fragments of sunlight leaking through cracks above. Dust shimmered lazily in the beams as three adventurers stood frozen — eyes locked on Zayne and the glowing blue windows hovering above his wrist.

Daxon frowned, his tone sharp.

“How the hell do you know our names? And what is that thing?” He jabbed a finger toward Zayne’s technowatch.

Lyria, the red-haired mage, narrowed her eyes. “It’s an artifact… an artifact that can show our information like that?”

Zayne tilted his head slightly, amused by her quick deduction.

Oh? A sensible one.

Lyria’s expression hardened as she glanced toward the broken murals and the golem standing silently in the background.

“An artifact of such caliber must have come from these ruins. He must’ve taken it from here.”

Zayne’s faint smile deepened.

Maybe not so sensible after all…

He folded his arms, his violet eyes glinting faintly under the scattered sunlight, the air thick with an unseen tension as the three adventurers cautiously stepped closer—unaware of what kind of being they had just spoken to.

Lyria’s eyes glimmered with greed as she stared at the technowatch on Zayne’s wrist.

Such a powerful artifact… able to extract information without the other person even realizing it? I want it.

She smiled sweetly and asked, “What rank Adventurer are you?”

Zayne tilted his head, his usual calm tone echoing softly, “I’m just a D-rank Adventurer.”

Her mind raced.

A D-rank, huh? Judging by his presence, he’s probably around a 3 or 4-star warrior. Doesn’t look like a mage anyway.

Her lips curved into a smirk.

We’re B-rank Adventurers. Both Daxon and Cassynne are 5-star warriors, and I’m a 5th-circle mage. I can even cast a 6th-circle spell if I go all out. We’ll be fine.

She leaned toward Daxon and whispered something in his ear.

Daxon nodded and stepped forward, voice confident. “What’s your name?”

“Zayne Creed.”

“Listen, Zayne,” Daxon said, smiling smugly, “a D-rank Adventurer like you isn’t safe here. You might’ve found some treasure, but out there? You won’t even make it back alive. So I’ll be generous and offer you a deal.”

He folded his arms proudly. “Sell your artifact. We’ll buy it — fair deal, right?”

Zayne let out a faint sigh, smiling.

“First of all, this thing isn’t an artifact from here — it’s mine.

And second…” his tone dropped slightly, “don’t you have common sense? I came here from outside, unharmed. What do you mean by ’not safe’?”

Daxon’s expression stiffened. “Y-you must have hidden from the beasts somehow—”

Zayne blinked slowly, then sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, of course… hiding in the open flat desert. Because clearly, there are so many natural covers there.”

Then he muttered with a wry grin, his tone turning playfully sarcastic,

“If you were a character in a novel, people would’ve criticized you for how dumb you sound.”

Daxon’s face flushed crimson with anger. “Y-You—!”

But before he could finish, a heavy tremor rippled through the ground.

Thud…

Lyria’s eyes widened. “Behind you!”

The colossal golem that once laid lifeless now moved, its single eye burning faintly blue. Its body trembling as mana surged through the ancient core. With a deafening crash, its stone fist swung forward—

BOOM!

The impact sent Zayne flying across the chamber, crashing into the wall and creating a large hole in the stone. Dust and debris filled the air.

Cassynne gasped, clutching her daggers. “That guy… I think he’s dead!”

Daxon gritted his teeth, drawing his sword. “Forget him! We need to deal with this thing first!”

Lyria’s voice trembled with confusion. “But how did it suddenly wake up—?”

She never got to finish. The golem’s shadow loomed over them, its mana core pulsing brighter… and somewhere within the settling dust, a faint smirk lingered on Zayne’s face.

The ground quaked beneath their boots as the golem roared to life, its single eye glowing with a violent blue hue. Dust swirled through the chamber, and the faint sunlight from the cracks above made its massive silhouette look even more menacing.

“Cassynne, Lyria—stay sharp!” Daxon barked, stepping forward. His sword gleamed with a coating of azure mana as he took a combat stance.

Cassynne grinned lightly, flipping her twin knives between her fingers. “I’m always sharp.”

Lyria closed her eyes, mana swirling around her in a blazing spiral. “Then buy me time. I’ll prepare a 4th circle spell.”

The golem’s arm moved, heavy as a mountain, and crashed down toward Daxon.

BOOM!

The air rippled from the impact. Daxon gritted his teeth, blocking the strike with both hands gripping his sword. His boots slid backward, stone grinding beneath him. “Damn it—this thing’s strong!”

While it was focused on him, Cassynne blurred into motion. Her form flickered, fast as a shadow, closing in from the side. Both her blades shimmered with dark-blue mana as she slashed across one of the golem’s leg joints.

CLANG! SPARK!

The blades didn’t pierce through—just carved shallow lines into its metal-like skin. Sparks burst out, forcing her to retreat with a curse. “Tch! Its body’s tougher than enchanted steel!”

Above, Lyria’s spell circle flared open. Bright runes formed a spinning ring of scarlet light. Her eyes snapped open, voice firm—

“Fire Magic: Fourth Circle—Fireburst Lance!”

With a roar of heat, multiple spears of compressed coral-red flame erupted from the magic circle, streaking through the air.

WHOOOSH! WHOOOSH!

They slammed into the golem’s massive body—most bursting harmlessly against its dense shell. But one spear struck true—straight through the joint of its left arm.

CRACK—BOOM!

The entire forearm detached and fell to the ground, molten edges hissing where it broke.

“Yes!” Cassynne shouted.

But Daxon wasn’t celebrating. His eyes locked onto the pulsing mana stone in the golem’s chest. “We have to take care of that mana stone! That’s its core!”

The golem’s eye flared brighter, as if angered. Its remaining hand clenched, absorbing energy from the air. The broken walls began to hum, dust trembling in rhythm with its pulse.

The air was still humming with heat, smoke curling upward from the melted remains of the golem. The sharp scent of burned stone and mana filled the chamber.

Daxon lowered his sword slightly, his chest rising and falling from exhaustion. “Lyria… what’s happening? What is it doing!?”

Lyria’s eyes widened, the red crystal on her staff flickering erratically. “It’s… absorbing mana from the air!” she said in disbelief. “That should be impossible—it’s pulling in every bit of loose energy to strengthen itself! We have to destroy it right now!”

She clenched her staff, determination flashing in her eyes. “I’ll prepare my strongest spell. You two—keep it busy!”

Daxon and Cassynne nodded instantly. Their bodies tensed as they unleashed their full mana.

“Got it!” Daxon shouted, dashing left.

Cassynne darted to the right, her daggers glowing faintly blue as she charged.

The golem’s chest pulsed like a beating heart, the mana stone now radiating violent blue waves. Daxon’s sword struck first, slashing across its torso with a loud clang! Sparks scattered.

Cassynne followed up, her blades flashing toward its leg joint—but before her attack could land, the golem’s right hand swayed with brutal speed.

BAM!

She crossed her knives to block, but the sheer force sent her flying. Her body hit the wall hard, cracks forming around the impact point. For a moment, her vision blurred—blood dripping down her forehead.

“Cassynne! Are you alright!?” Daxon shouted, rage flaring in his voice even as he fought. His blade carved a glowing arc through the air, hacking at the golem with renewed fury.

Cassynne gritted her teeth, forcing herself up. “Don’t… worry,” she said, wiping the blood from her brow. “I can do this.”

Meanwhile, Lyria finished her incantation. Sweat rolled down her temple as she raised her staff high. “It’s ready!”

She slammed the base of her staff against the ground—clack!—and the red crystal at its head gleamed blindingly. A massive, burning circle formed above, runes spinning around it.

The air grew heavy, heat distorting the surroundings as a sphere of compressed crimson flame formed within the circle.

“Fire Magic—Sixth Circle: Infernal Core!”

The flaming sphere shot forward, tearing through the air like a comet and struck the golem’s chest.

BOOOOOOOM!

The explosion engulfed the chamber, shaking the walls violently. Daxon immediately moved, grabbing Cassynne and shielding her from the impact as heat and smoke rushed past them.

When the dust finally settled, the golem’s upper torso was gone. Its chest was hollowed out—a massive, smoldering hole where the mana stone once pulsed. The remaining body crumbled into a heap of blackened rock.

Lyria exhaled heavily, her staff trembling as she used it to keep herself standing. “It’s… over,” she muttered, panting.

Daxon approached her, carrying Cassynne in his arms. “You did great,” he said softly.

Lyria smiled faintly and nodded, before handing a healing potion from her bag to Cassynne. “Drink this.”

Cassynne accepted it gratefully, while Lyria downed a mana potion herself, her color slowly returning.

“It’s regrettable,” Lyria sighed after a moment. “We couldn’t recover that mana stone from the golem’s chest…”

Cassynne smirked faintly. “Yeah… at least we can get that artifact from the D-rank guy’s corpse.”

A calm, amused voice echoed through the chamber—

“Corpse…? Exactly whose corpse are you talking about?”

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