Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“How have you been?”

Sssshh-.

Thud-.

“Captain, I’m here.”

Kang Young-chan lit a cigarette the moment he entered the barracks.

He then sat down in the empty seat and crossed his legs.

He seemed utterly unconcerned that the Captain and the Second-in-Command were present.

“Huh? What the hell! You…”

Kang Young-chan’s gaze, which had been sweeping around the interior of the tent, landed on Shim Young-jin.

Shim Young-jin immediately hunched his shoulders and turned his head away to avoid the gaze.

“Hey, long time no see. Remember me?”

“……”

“Huh? Already forgotten?”

Kang Young-chan scrutinized Shim Young-jin’s face from every angle.

Compared to the exam, he looked a bit rougher around the edges, but his pale, youthful face remained.

“Right!”

“…….”

“But what about this guy? Attention.”

“…….”

“Attention!”

“Attention!”

Click-!

Shim Young-jin stood stiffly at attention, assuming the proper stance.

With swift and precise movements.

“So it was you after all. The one who broke the ogre’s chains back then. Heh heh heh. Captain, why is this guy here?”

“Hmm. Didn’t I mention it? I brought him.”

“Oh dear, our Captain. You brought a troublesome one. This guy is a real pain in the neck. He’s got some serious grit, though.”

Shim Young-jin kept his body still, only turning his head slightly to look at Kang Young-chan.

He opened his mouth as if he’d made up his mind.

But when he met Kang Young-chan’s sharp gaze, he ended up muttering in a voice that trailed off.

“He’s changed a lot… since coming here… He’s working hard…”

Kang Young-chan scoffed in response.

A look of contempt.

“Kek. Mr. Kwak! You think I haven’t seen scum like you before? Who do you think you’re trying to sell your act to?”

“Well… bad things happened… I learned some things…”

“Huh? What did you say? I can’t hear you?”

Kang Young-chan leans in toward Shim Young-jin.

The sight of Shim Young-jin, sweat trickling down his temples to his jaw, was almost pitiable.

Tap tap.

“Enough. Save the chit-chat for after this battle.”

“Aye. Hey, student. Let’s talk later.”

“Section Chief Kang, stay behind to hear the current situation and operational plan. The rest of you, dismissed!”

At Kim Hwan-soo’s command, Shim Young-jin was the first to flee the tent.

The other squad leaders slipped out one by one, their faces resolute.

And last to leave was Do Jae.

Kang Young-chan watched Do Jae leave with a peculiar look in his eyes.

***

Thud.

Do-jae and Squad Leader Song-hoon got out of the car.

The two had returned to the unit quickly because of the magic stone.

The unit had three severely wounded soldiers from the second platoon who couldn’t fight, one administrative and supply officer, and Lee Ji-woong with a broken leg. They gave him looks that said, Why did you come back?, but he had no time to respond.

Clank.

Song Hoon opened the door to the supply warehouse, one of the most critical locations in the unit.

It was about the size of a shipping container, but given the length of the campaign they’d been conducting in Gaeseong, it was completely filled.

Clank-.

Song-hoon unlocked it again.

This time, it was the lock on the cabinet where the magic stones were stored.

“Here it is.”

Opening the cabinet revealed magic stones resting on soft padding.

Each varied in shape and size, yet all held a subtle glow that left no doubt they were magic stones.

“Thank you.”

Dojae opened his sub-space and neatly placed the magic stones inside.

When the pocket dimension appeared, Song-hoon’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he quickly returned to his usual stoic expression.

“Section Leader 3, is it possible to turn the golem back into magic stones?”

After the battle, Song Hoon wondered if the magic stones could be restored to their original state.

Captain Kim Hwan-soo had readily offered to give him the magic stones, but for Song Hoon, who handled the practical affairs, it was naturally a concern.

While there wouldn’t be an immediate financial problem, a major expense would arise after the battle.

If the magic stone could just return to normal, it would be manageable.

“Hmm… I haven’t tried that before, but I’ll give it a shot now.”

Dojae had never considered reverting the golem back to a magic stone.

The golems had always been helpful, and he’d never even considered destroying a golem he’d leveled up.

“Step outside for a moment.”

The two stepped out of the warehouse and stood on the dirt floor.

Dojae placed one E-grade magic stone, the lowest rank in his sub-space, on the ground.

‘Summon Golem.’

Sizzle-sizzle-.

Small stones began to gather around the magic stone.

They rubbed and collided, making a sound like boiling water.

The stones piled higher and higher, forming legs and then arms.

And soon.

[Stone Golem completed.]

“A golem… A real golem…”

Song Hoon said in a tone laced with admiration.

But Dojae looked slightly puzzled.

‘Hm? Something feels a bit…’

The Stone Golem’s form had become far more human-like than before.

Whereas the previous three golems had a strong SD character feel, with two- or three-head proportions, this newly created one resembled a human form a bit more closely.

Its arms and legs had lengthened, and its torso had become slimmer.

Still, it wasn’t quite perfect yet—more like a transforming combination robot.

“Is there a problem?”

“No.”

Dojae decided to examine the reason for the change in detail later and first chose to revert the golem.

‘First, sever the connection with the golem.’

The bond of mana and spirit linking summoner and summoned creature.

By severing that bond, the golem could no longer receive mana from Dojae.

Maintaining its form using the mana held within its pure core as fuel.

‘To return it… Summon Release!’

As he shouted it in his mind, a notification message appeared.

[Stone Golem returns to nothingness.]

Thud-.

Thud. Thud.

Thud-thud-thud-.

“Oh! It worked! It worked!”

Song Hoon immediately approached the pile of dirt that had been the golem and began digging through it.

“Just like that. That’s great.”

“I didn’t know it would work either.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes. Just a moment.”

Dojae moved to a wide open space.

He began placing the magic stones he’d taken out of the sub-space one by one at regular intervals.

First, nine E-grade magic stones.

These were the nine Dojae had originally possessed.

‘Even just these are quite substantial.’

But Dojae didn’t stop.

Two D-grade magic stones, five C-grade magic stones.

There were 3 B-grade stones in total, and finally, he laid down the highest grade magic stone he possessed—an A-grade—on the floor.

‘How much is all this worth…’

A total of twenty magic stones.

He hadn’t fully grasped it when stored in his sub-space, but laying them out in a row made Dojae realize just how much money he had.

Especially the A-grade magic stone, radiating a brilliant light, was an incredible piece worth more than all the others combined.

‘Now, I guess I’ll take out the magic stones I brought from the supply warehouse.’

Without pause, Dojae began laying out the remaining magic stones.

Twenty-three E-grade magic stones from the supply warehouse, seven D-grade magic stones, and even the one B-grade magic stone Song Hoon had handed over with a sour look.

A total of 31 additional magic stones were laid out.

“Third Squad Leader… you were richer than you looked.”

Song-hoon stared at the magic stones, his voice sounding dazed.

Regardless, Dojae stood before the magic stones and cast his skill.

“Summon Golem.”

Gugugung-.

The floor shook, and dust billowed up.

A startled team member rushed outside, shouting something, but the sound was drowned out by the noise of the golem being created.

[Stone Golem completed.]

[Stone Golem completed.]

[Stone Golem completed.]

[Stone Golem completed.]

[Stone Golem completed.]

…….

Messages kept popping up nonstop.

It meant Dojae’s loyal golems were being created within that distant dust storm.

Beep-.

[Skill ‘Golem Summon’ leveled up.]

[Golem Summon Lv. 2 → Golem Summon Lv. 3]

[The level of the skill ‘Golem Summon’ has increased.]

[Golem Summon Lv. 3 → Golem Summon Lv. 4]

The skill level also jumped up two stages.

Dojae thought that if summoning the golem raised its level, he would have to keep repeating the summoning and dismissing process from now on.

Whoosh.

The dust slowly began to settle.

Stone Golems lined up in a deep pit came into view.

“Eek! Monsters!”

The soldier who had rushed out screamed and stumbled backward.

Song Hoon grabbed him by the collar and said.

“Calm down. They’re on our side.”

“Th-that’s right?”

“These are the golems made by Third Squad Leader. Impressive…”

The sight of fifty-one stone golems, fashioned from earth and stone, standing in perfect rows and columns within the vast pit was truly spectacular.

It brought to mind the terracotta warriors in Qin Shi Huang’s tomb.

“It’s almost assembly time. Wouldn’t it be better to hurry back?”

Dojae said to Songhun, who was still marveling.

He then opened his sub-space and stored the stone golems inside.

Now, only a large pit remained in their place.

“Yeah. Let’s get moving right away.”

Song-hoon snapped out of it and replied.

The war between the Red Oaks and the Death Ents was nearly over.

The extermination operation was already delayed because of retrieving the magic stone; it couldn’t be delayed any further.

“Um, Squad Leader! But who’s going to fill this…?”

Just as Dojae and Song Hoon were about to leave in the car.

A member of the unit came running up breathlessly and asked.

To him, Song-hoon left only a bitter reply before stepping on the accelerator.

“What are you asking? Get it back to normal before we return to base.”

Vroom-.

***

Immediately after arriving at Sector 5, Dojae and Song Hoon set up camp and headed south toward Sector 3, where the troops were assembled.

The numbers were just under fifty.

It might seem small, but for Dojae, who had lived as a hunter, seeing this many Awakened gathered together was an unfamiliar sight.

“Attention, everyone. From now on, I’m in charge of all operations. All squad leaders, step forward.”

At Song-hoon’s command, the deputy squad leaders gathered.

Son Jeong-gyu also stepped forward as a deputy leader.

“The radio channel is 036. Move in squad units and hunt the descending Red Oaks. Don’t sweat a few stragglers. We defend this area no matter what.”

“Aye!”

“Third Squad Leader, deploy the golems.”

“Yes.”

Do-jae pulled the golems out of his sub-space.

Led by the largest golem, they lined up in a row, each slightly different in size.

“Wow…”

“All of those are golems…?”

“Like a small castle wall?”

“So this is what Class 3 Leader’s ability looks like?”

The other class vice-leaders couldn’t close their mouths in awe.

Even Son Jeong-gyu, who had seen it many times before, struggled to hide his astonishment at the sheer number of golems.

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

The remaining members reacted the same way.

There were no magic-awakened individuals in the Chilgok Corps.

In fact, awakened mages were rare even among the entire extermination force.

So how could they have witnessed such a spectacle firsthand?

At best, they’d seen mosaic-covered footage on hunter-specialized streaming sites or low-resolution magic displays by overseas hunters.

“I’ve programmed the golem to obey the squad leader’s commands. However, it cannot execute complex orders, so please keep that in mind.”

“Phew. Thanks. Just seeing it makes me feel reassured.”

Just seeing the golems made Song Hoon feel considerably more at ease.

After all, their combat strength had doubled in one fell swoop thanks to one person’s ability.

He even sensed an extraordinary aura emanating from the first standing golem.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

It was time for Dojae to move as well.

He had to move to his assigned location and fight countless Red Oaks alone.

Before that.

“Son Jeong-gyu. Take this.”

After passing something else to Son Jeong-gyu,

He set off.