Chapter 128: A Bit Too Large 3
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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Thud, thud, thud
The ground reverberated, filling the spacious hangar with noise.
At the center of it all was Kaiden, who flailed around with the excitement of a puppy seeing snow for the first time.
How did things come to this?
I couldn't wrap my head around what I was seeing.
"Wow, this is really amazing!"
"What on earth..."
Kaiden, momentarily forgetting her stoic adventurer persona, laughed heartily like a mischievous boy.
Her boisterous laughter echoed throughout the hangar.
Not only was I stunned by this unexpected sight, but so were Han Se-ah and the rest of our party.
We all looked up at her, mouths agape.
Even the viewers were baffled.
Yes, we all looked up at her.
-Why the hell is there a mech all of a sudden? LOL
-Was that talking golem a hint?
-What's the name of the girl in the robot?
-Reddit's going crazy since this clip was uploaded.
-Weebs are really enjoying themselves right now.
Inside a golem, Kaiden was manipulating the controls, her silhouette visible through the cockpit.
But should it even be called a golem?
Unlike the traditional golems made of rounded rocks with metallic arms and legs and devoid of a head, this was different.
Slender arms and legs, fingers on its hands, and human-like joints.
Indeed, the term 'mech' suited this towering steel giant more than 'golem'.
Kaiden had used a golem mana stone to board and control it.
...It seems the gimmick of the 30th floor is that golemor should I say mech?
-I've seen this in many RPGs
-I want one!
-So it runs on a mana stone? LOL
-You better explain how you got that. Now!
-Wow, the chat's so flooded its lagging. So many translations
The expansive hangar turned out to be just that.
Once Grace inserted the mana stone key into its slot, the heavy doors rolled up, revealing three broken golems and one perfectly intact knight-type golem.
The boss seems huge, so I guess we'll have to fight it using that golem.
The colossal boss monster, big enough to fill the caves passageway, and a huge knight-type golem ready to confront it.
It felt like a scene from another RPG dungeon.
I never thought I'd witness something like this firsthand.
As Han Se-ah murmured, it seemed likely that the golem was indeed the gimmick of the 30th floor.
If the 10th floor's theme was a city invasion and the 20th was an orc army, then the 30th might be a showdown of giant monsters?
The mana stone from the rock golem acts as fuel, the one from the steel golem works as a battery, and the golden golem's stone starts the mech. Luckily, Roland collected enough mana stones. But if the fuel costs 10 gold each, its cost-efficiency seems worse than a sports car.
-Other players can't get mana stones for 10 gold apiece, you know?
-People like us have to hustle for them
[Chat deleted by mod]
-How can someone naturally troll like this? Is it a talent?
"Is this the 30th floor of the Tower? I can't believe it."
Usually, the strategy would be to lure the boss into this wide area, and then fight it using the knight-type golem, powered by the mana stones from the rock golems we've collected, albeit for a limited time.
However, Han Se-ah's inventory is comfortably stocked with roughly 50 rock golem mana stones and about 20 steel golem mana stones.
We have so many that there's no need to stop Kaiden, who, with child-like enthusiasm, is performing sword dances with the knight-type golem.
Every time the knight-type golem swings its arm, a steel sword about 3 meters long slices through the air.
It seems to have strength comparable to an ogre.
Well, even without a natural-born 6 tank, the game must provide a way to confront such massive boss monsters.
"Phew... I'm embarrassed by how I acted there."
"Me, I want to try it too!"
While Han Se-ah and I were contemplating the 30th floor's gimmick, the rest of our group was having a blast with the golem.
After Kaiden, who had been passionately showcasing her swordsmanship on the knight-type golem, finally settled down, Grace eagerly took the key-shaped mana stone.
Although she didn't swing a sword like Kaiden, she was enjoying herself by hopping around and flailing the golem's limbs.
Whether it's because there's less mana consumption when not in combat, or perhaps the game developers designed it so one rock golem mana stone lasts longer than expected, both Kaiden and Grace had their fill of fun.
"Irene, do you want to give it a go?"
"No, I'm fine..."
"Then I'll try."
-She couldn't resist.
-How could she? It'll boost stream viewership too.
-Where did you find this amazing robot?
-Breaking) Han Se-ah is now a trending topic on Reddit as a "mech enthusiast."
-Lol, maybe Heroes Chronicle has an 18+ rating because of this?
Unlike the golems attached to the rocks, the knight-type golem had slender limbs with intricately designed fingers.
It wore armor, and its thick chest had a cockpit-like space for someone to sit.
When you insert the mana stone into the orb in the cockpit and lift your hands, you could move it as if it were your own body.
From Kaiden to Grace and then to Han Se-ah, the group learned how to operate the golem.
Regrettably, the knight-type golem couldn't be moved out of the area.
"So, to exit, we need to crawl out?"
"It seems we have no choice but to lure that creature here."
Given its role in blocking the massive boss, the knight-type golem boasted an impressive size, almost 6 meters tall.
Even though the pathways were spacious, its height was about 3 meters, so there was no way to get the golem out.
...Han Se-ah tried to store it in her inventory, a suggestion from the chat, but that too, was impossible.
It seems the intention was for us to use the golem only for the boss battle.
Neither the damaged golems nor the knight-type golems could be removed.
Maybe after defeating the boss, we can call the Magic Tower for assistance.
Ah, one of the mana stones has lost its light. It must have run out of mana.
It lasts about 10 minutes for each rock golem mana stone.
Indeed, as Han Se-ah mumbled, the knight-type golem operates using mana stones from golems found between the 21st to 30th floors.
There's a component on its back, like a battery pack slot, where you can insert these mana stones.
Where a person might sit, at the chest part, there used to be a keyhole.
In the center, there's a slot for the knight-type golem's mana stone, which looks like a polished crystal.
Surrounding it are slots for the round mana stones from rock golems.
Just like inserting batteries into a toy robot, I climbed onto the golem's back and directly inserted the mana stones.
How about it, Kaiden? Think you can block it?
Yes. It seems entirely possible.
With that, Han Se-ah started to formulate a strategy.
Though calling it a strategy might be an overstatement since it's so straightforward.
Kaiden is the one to ride the golem, and I'm in charge of luring the boss monster...
Because, simply put, Im stronger than that knight-type golem.
There's no need for me to dramatically ride the knight-type golem, so I'll lure the boss monster to the open field on foot.
Kaiden will then take over by mounting the golem to block the boss.
After that, in the spacious field, I'll tackle the elongated boss from head to toe.
I've been using the excuse of simply being the guide for Han Se-ah's party and leaving most of the combat to them.
However, there was no reason for me to expect them to handle this unusually massive boss monster with their strength alone.
Grace, Irene, and Han Se-ah all remained with Kaiden, who boarded the knight-type golem, while I walked the out alone.
More precisely, I walked with the camera drone attached to me.
Looking at Han Se-ah's live stream, one camera was busy filming the Knight-class Golem while the other followed me.
It seems she wants to skip the part where I look for the boss monster, but she's keen on streaming the scene where I lure the boss monster to the hangar.
After all, a knight in armor luring a giant monster is a scene as exciting as a humanoid giant robot.
There's no way the stream monster Han Se-ah would pass up such a valuable moment.
And for some viewers, the scene where I lure the boss would very important.
-Where did Roland go?
-He went to find the boss monster.
-What if he's too lazy to bring it back and just kills it?
-I want to buy this robot! Why is this in a fantasy game?
-Please, Roland, bring back another giant robot!
Some viewers, who bet all their watching points on whether the dungeon's cave snake or the maze's golem would be the 30th floor boss, began discussing their stakes.
No matter how much Han Se-ah tried to control the chat or divert the topic, viewers who went all-in with their points wouldn't stay silent.
Thanks to that, Han Se-ah's chat was in chaos, filled with translated questions about the golem and Korean viewers discussing their point bets.
Yet, the majority of the topics were still about the robot.
-Seems like Han Se-ah's stream is going crazy on Reddit.
[Screenshot of Han Se-ah's stream posted on r/Mecha]
Look at the recent post by u/MCLOVE, LOL.
There's a heated debate on Reddit between those who are questioning why a rideable Knight-type Golem exists in a fantasy world and those who argue that if you can shape and ride it using mana, then it counts as a mecha.
P*rno girl is a global talent now.
+18 Mecha girl now huh? lololol.
looool whats with the oil jokes.
Some anime fans on Reddit are even thinking of making figurines out of it.
Should we view this as a hyper-realistic god-tier game?
While I was tapping my shield, instead of watching Han Se-ah's stream, I checked the Heroes Chronicle forum.
Word has spread incredibly fast in less than an hour.
'+18 Mecha girl', huh?
Somehow, Han Se-ah's nickname feels like it's getting longer.
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