CH 22

Chapter 22 – I Fought A Boulder At The Crags!

Once I was finished building the bridge, I gathered the monsters that Iria had killed.

There was one Armor Boar and five Hell Alligators. So we would be dining on meat tonight as well.

After that, Iria got on the horse and we crossed the bridge.

I was worried that it might shake, but it didn’t shake at all.

It seemed like there would be no problems with it.

“There really is a road over the river… You really can make anything, Sir Joshua.”

“No, I think there are more things that I can’t craft.”

That being said, it did feel like I was able to make any weapon or tool that I could think of.

“There are things that can’t be made with crafting magic. Like plants and animals, obviously.”

“I see. That does sound impossible… Ah, it’s to the southeast from here.”

And so I steered the horse towards the southeast direction that Iria pointed in.

And shortly after, we came to a place where rocks were stacked like pillars.

Iria pointed at the cluster of pillars.

“There it is!”

“That…”

At glance, it looked less like a stone pit and more like some kind of ancient shrine.

However, once we arrived, there was a craggy place made of hard stone.

And I could see several square pits.

I dismounted from the horse and stopped at one of the stone pillars.

Yes, I could see traces where rock had been cut out.

The rocky floor was flat, so it was clear that this site had been prepared by someone.

“…Iria. You’ve been here before?”

“A few times. There used to be a lot of deers here. But these days, there are so many Armor Boars, and the deers have disappeared.”

“I see…”

As far as I could see now, there were no animals here.

But due to having a good view of the area, I could also tell that there were no Armor Boars nearby.

“Well, I suppose I’ll try digging some of this rock then…”

And then I directed my hand towards the rock.

Excavation Magic… It was a combination of wind and fire magic, which was perfect for cutting out rock.

While I would eventually teach the Kijins the art of stone cutting, I had come here today to find out how strong the stone was. And so I would just cut out a small amount.

It was just as I thought this and was about to cut the rock.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

“An e-earthquake!?”

Iria looked around.

But it wasn’t.

The rocks around us had suddenly started to move to the center of the crags.

And in the center, I could faintly see a boulder that was glowing with a red light.

“That thing…”

And when all the rocks had gathered together, they took on a giant, humanoid form.

Its legs were the size of an adult human…but its overall height was four times taller than that.

“A Golem…”

The thing that had appeared was a rock giant monster known as a Golem.

They had a core that was called a doll stone, and they gathered the rocks around them in order to take on a humanoid shape.

She must have sensed the danger immediately.

Iria unsheathed her sword and ran towards the Golem.

“Iria, wait! This one can’t be defeated so easily!”

Just as I finished shouting, Iria’s blade went through the Golem’s leg.

However, the Golem seemed like it didn’t notice, and it tried to crush Iria with its arms.

“!?”

Iria jumped back and dodged the attack.

When I looked, the severed Golem’s leg had returned to normal, as rocks gathered back to it.

Iria pointed her sword at it and muttered.

“Slash attacks aren’t effective…?”

“Yes. Can you see the dark red stone that shines in the center? You must destroy it, or it will continue to heal itself forever… Woah.”

I dodged a boulder that the Golem threw at me.

The boulder then rolled away without breaking.

“I see. They really are strong then… Iria. I’ll expose the dark red stone. And then, will you be able to cut it?”

“Of course!”

“Good…!”

And then I turned towards the Golem and started to run.

“Si-Sir Joshua! That’s too reckless!”

“I’m fine! If anything, I’m good at fighting this kind of enemy!”

Even as we spoke, the Golem rapidly threw boulders at me.

“Absorb!”

One after another, I absorbed the thrown boulders head on.

Of course, I had no idea when the capacity of my magic workshop would reach its limit.

And so I dropped them outside right after I absorbed them.

And once I was right in front of the Golem, I raised my hand.

The Golem began to swing down at me with its giant stone hand.

“Absorb!”

I absorbed the Golem’s arm.

Obviously, I continued to throw out the rocks that I absorbed.

As expected, the Golem began to gather more rocks in order to reconstruct what it lost.

However, the speed of my absorption was faster.

Arm, shoulder, chest… Once I had absorbed that much, the dark red stone became visible.

It was just for a second.

But as soon as Iria saw it, she immediately cut it out.

And then Iria landed on her feet.

At the same time, the rocks that made up the Golem’s body crumbled to the ground with a loud crash.