Chapter 3
Drip, drip…
Red blood trickled down his neck.
He tried to dodge quickly, but it wasn’t enough to completely avoid the attack.
“Ugh.”
Do-jae stared blankly at the Harpy soaring higher into the sky.
Its fast movements made it hard to even block its attacks.
In fact, his thick Hunter’s leather clothing was already torn in several places.
‘As expected, this is too much.’
He had hunted Harpies before.
The weakest grade of monsters is Grade 10.
Harpies are Grade 8, so they aren’t particularly strong monsters.
But that wasn’t the case for him.
He was an F-grade, the weakest of the weak.
In past expeditions, the team members usually did the hunting, while he was left to clean up any Harpies that fell to the ground.
‘Moreover, this location is extremely disadvantageous.’
There was no cover to hide behind and no terrain to use.
The Harpy flying in the sky could easily see where he was.
“Khiaaaaak!”
The Harpy, having elegantly circled the sky, swooped down towards the ground with incredible speed.
It was so fast that he could barely follow its movement with his eyes.
Thud—
He lost his balance and fell clumsily, landing on his rear end.
‘If only I had a sword.’
The hunting sword he had leaned against after dropping it when he was suddenly transported from the dungeon, along with a precision dagger and other loot, flashed before his eyes.
Fighting with just his bare hands only increased the damage he was taking.
“What kind of quest is this!”
Was it a quest designed to make him suffer and die?
Was it meant to have him face a moderately strong monster, leading to a certain death?
‘They should at least give me a magic stone!’
With a magic stone, he could use the Golem Summon skill.
He didn’t even need a Guardian-grade Golem.
If he could just summon the weakest Stone Golem, it might be able to halt the fast-moving Harpy, allowing him to counterattack.
But if he continued to barely hold on, he’d be dead from blood loss long before the six hours were up—maybe even in less than thirty minutes.
‘There must be a way.’
This was a qualification test.
The quest clearly stated it.
So, it couldn’t be designed just to kill him easily.
He needed to think of a way to survive.
‘Golem… Golem Summon… Golem’s Heart…’
The magic stone embedded in his chest.
And the skill to summon a Golem.
The skill description mentioned a core was needed, but didn’t specify what kind of core.
At that moment, he realized.
‘Wait. If any magic stone will do…’
Whoosh—
He narrowly dodged the Harpy’s attack as it swooped down with its talons.
The Harpy quickly ascended into the sky again to prepare for another attack.
Now’s the time.
‘Please!’
He placed his hand on his chest.
Specifically, on the magic stone, the Golem’s Heart.
And then—
“Golem Summon!”
The stones scattered around him began to shake.
It was as if a heavy iron mass was being attracted by a magnet.
Just as iron filings are pulled towards a strong magnet.
The stones slowly started to move towards him.
Clink—
Dozens of stones gathered at his feet.
Defying the natural law of gravity, they climbed up his legs.
Crunch—
Crunch—
The stones finally covered his entire body.
They bumped into each other and found their places.
Each stone fit perfectly together, leaving no gaps.
And then—
He was reborn as a Golem.
Pop.
[You have acquired a new skill.]
[Active Skill ‘Golem Armor’ has been added.]
[Skill]
Skill Name: Golem Armor
Level: 1
Category: Active
Description: Forms Golem Armor using the Golem’s Heart as the core. Increases Strength and Resistance. The Golem Armor is influenced by the user and skill level.
Effect: Attack +10 / Defense: +20
Mana Consumption: 1 + α
“kheeeek!”
The Harpy screamed in a way that sounded like it was being torn apart.
Seeing his transformed form, the Harpy began its descent with full speed.
Crash—
“Kheeeek!”
The Harpy’s talons scraped across the Golem Armor.
Some of the stones that made up the armor fell off from the impact of the sharp talons.
Whirrrr—
The magic stone in his left chest, where his heart was located, trembled.
He felt a slight drain of mana.
And the damaged armor instantly regenerated, as if nothing had happened.
He moved around, testing his new form.
There was no sense of weight or discomfort.
It felt as if he had always been one with the armor.
“Not bad.”
He clenched his fist tightly.
The defense and regeneration of the Golem Armor he had just checked.
With this, he had nothing to fear from the fast Harpy.
“Khiiak!”
The Harpy screeched and charged at him.
He stood still, waiting calmly.
“kheeek!”
The moment it attacked.
He swiftly grabbed its wings.
Thud—
Then threw it to the ground.
Such powerful impact causes dust to rise up.
‘kuk—’
He firmly stomped on one of the Harpy’s wings.
It flapped helplessly, offering futile resistance.
“Give me your feathers.”
He said in a gentle voice.
Thanks to the Golem Armor surrounding him, it was fortunate he wasn’t visible to the monster. If the Harpy could see his expression, it might have been scared, even if it was a monster.
“Kheeek!”
The situation had reversed.
Now, the Harpy was the one being consumed.
…………..
As night fell,
Streetlights began to light up one by one.
And beneath them, Eun-hee spoke with a sullen expression.
“Why are you laughing?”
“The expression you just had. I wish I could’ve seen it in person… Haha.”
The man who couldn’t hold back his laughter in front of her was Do-jae.
“What’s wrong with my expression?”
“Your flustered face… Haha.”
Eun-hee scowled and put a cigarette in her mouth.
“Why do you keep laughing?”
“Haha. I have no other intention. It was just that your reaction was too cute.”
“What did you say?”
Eun-hee’s face turned red with embarrassment.
She quickly lit her cigarette.
Sizz—
“That’s quite rude.”
Eun-hee said sternly, hiding her expression.
Realizing he had made a mistake, Do-jae quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry. I overstepped.”
“Well, considering you’ve come back from the dead, I suppose I can understand.”
About 15 minutes earlier, Eun-hee had arrived at the hospital where Do-jae’s younger sibling was, to deliver the news of his death.
Delivering the death notice was extremely uncomfortable, but conveying it as quickly as possible was one of her principles.
After all, waiting for someone missing in a dungeon wouldn’t make them return.
So she didn’t want to give false hope.
But upon seeing Do-jae’s younger sibling, she couldn’t help but pause.
The child was so young, and thinking about how this child would have to live alone made her feel pity and sadness.
She was unable to step into the hospital room with ease.
Then suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from behind.
Wasn’t Do-jae, who she thought was dead, standing right there?
A mix of astonishment, relief, and curiosity about how he had survived.
A flood of mixed emotions.
She didn’t expect that Do-jae would catch that expression on her face.
“I didn’t get to ask earlier, but how are you alive?”
Eun-hee, who had taken a few puffs from her cigarette, asked.
“Oh, that. I left first.”
“Pardon?”
“I had a stomach-ache. I had to go to the bathroom.”
Do-jae pulled out the excuse he had prepared.
He knew it was hard to believe.
When an expedition enters a dungeon, there are always people stationed outside.
But even flimsy excuses can sometimes work if given with specific examples.
“Our staff was on standby…”
“I spoke quickly because it was urgent. To the person using the Apple phone.”
“Oh, Min-su. I told him not to just keep looking at his smartphone.”
Standing guard outside the dungeon was incredibly dull.
After waiting for hours, it’s natural to want to play games on a smartphone or keep in touch.
There are many people using apple phones, so he thought there would be at least one person like that.
“Please don’t blame the staff too much for my lack of clarity.”
“I understand… But why didn’t you come back?”
“Well, it was nearing the end of the expedition, and I had already informed them, so I went off to do other work.”
“Hmm… Is that so. Alright.”
Eun-hee felt a sense of futility.
So he just went to the bathroom.
Apart from having to redo paperwork, she felt drained.
Tap— Tap—
Eun-hee tapped out her nearly finished cigarette.
It was time to head back.
“Thanks to this, I have some extra work to do. I’ll be going now.”
“Yes. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“And Do-jae.”
“Yes?”
“Smile more often. It’s nice to see.”
Eun-hee gave Do-jae a gentle smile before leaving.
Do-jae, who stood under the streetlight for a while after she left,
“Ah.”
He exhaled deeply and lifted his head.
‘That went better than expected.’
He had been worried that something might come up, but Eun-hee left without making any additional comments.
‘Almost got late changing clothes.’
He wondered how shocked his younger sibling would be upon hearing the news of his death.
He had to be especially careful, as his immunity had been low recently, and dangerous moments had occurred often.
It was a stroke of luck to encounter her right in front of the hospital room.
Thud—
Do-jae sat on a bench and leaned back wearily.
He felt exhaustion overwhelm him all at once.
‘What do I really want?’
With a moment to catch his breath, he grew curious about the quest.
Suddenly becoming a Golem Sorcerer and acquiring new skills.
He had never dreamed of fighting Harpies before.
And this wasn’t the end.
As he leveled up, he could grow even stronger.
‘Do I really want something?’
In reality, maybe there’s no specific intention.
As the world changed and awakeners appeared, people tried to understand why things had changed so much.
But no one had figured it out.
Over time, aside from some scholars, people began to accept awakenings and monsters as a given.
Just like how life appeared on Earth by chance, everything seemed to have happened by a series of coincidences.
Similarly, Do-jae’s rebirth or reawakening—although he wasn’t sure—might be for no particular reason.
‘For now, let’s follow along.’
At a time when nothing was certain,
There was no need to think only negatively.
He could think of it as a reward for living diligently, leveling up, and getting stronger.
An opportunity to change his previously insignificant life had come.
He just needed to seize it well.
Swish—
Do-jae put his hand into his coat pocket.
And pulled out a small box.
A brown box the size of a few thousand won’s worth of snack.
‘Let’s open it.’
Click—
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