That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 70

After collecting the materials from the skeletons, we set our sights on a rocky mountain deeper in the forest. Concrete can’t be made with just bones, after all.

“Hey, brother, why’d we come to this place that’s got nothing but these rough-looking rocks?”

“It’s precisely because there’s nothing but rocks that this place is important.”

Just as Hazan pointed out, there’s nothing here but inorganic rocks. It’s a narrow valley, sandwiched between sheer cliffs, without a single blade of grass growing.

And that’s exactly why those creatures appear. The results came quickly. As expected, the ground cracked, and the rocky surface began to rise rapidly.

“Gwo… Ooo… Ooon…”

A slow, drawn-out groan echoed, and Hazan’s eyes widened at the sight.

“No way, is that… a golem?”

“Exactly. And it’s our target.”

This rocky place had the right conditions for golems to appear. However, since it’s such an out-of-the-way place, adventurers rarely come here. There’s not much to harvest, and it’s not on any trade routes.

So, it’s no surprise that someone like Hazan, who isn’t from around here, wouldn’t know about it.

“But aren’t golems only found in dungeons? Or aren’t they supposed to be created by magic? Wait, are you saying someone made this?”

“Calm down. There’s no such person here. Golems are just a type of monster. As long as the conditions are right, they’ll appear.”

“C-Conditions?”

“Yes. I won’t go into the details, but they’re basically similar to skeletons.”

Skeletons are born when organic matter in the soil merges with Maif. Golems, on the other hand, are created when inorganic matter merges with Maif.

Although, there’s a key difference—skeletons require Maif with a chaotic tendency, while golems don’t need to lean toward either side.

“I kind of get it… So these are wild golems, huh?”

Well, if calling them “wild” helps you understand, that’s fine by me.

“Anyway, go hunt them.”

“Alright, leave it to me, brother!”

Flexing his muscles, Hazan charged at the golems. There were three of them, each roughly the same size as Hazan.

This size is related to the amount of Maif that merged with them.

By the way, Hazan mentioned that golems are created by magic, but the spells to create them were actually developed by observing naturally occurring golems. Magic doesn’t come out of nowhere.

Everything in the world has a reason, and the same goes for magic. With these thoughts in mind, I watched Hazan’s hunting.

“Take this! Rending Vertical Slash!”

Huh? Rending Vertical Slash? It looked like he was just swinging his sword down with all his strength…

“How’s that, brother?”

“Uh, well, I suppose… But is there a reason to shout?”

“Huh? Of course! Every top-tier adventurer has their own signature finishing move!”

A… finishing move? Judging from what I saw, Hazan unconsciously circulated Maif throughout his body to enhance his swing. But still, there’s no need to shout. In fact, why shout at all?

The golems aren’t exactly smart, so they’ll take the hit, but against a more intelligent opponent, he’d be giving away his intentions. It’s basically announcing, ‘I’m about to attack you!’

“Here I go! Rending Horizontal Slash!”

Yup, he’s just swinging horizontally this time. And why is there a “slash” after “slash” in the name? Well, if it works for him and it’s taking down the golems, I suppose it’s fine.

“This is the end! Rending Chaos Slash-Blast-Slash-Split!”

No, no! Now it’s getting ridiculous! How many times are you going to say “slash” in one move?! And the words in between are all so similar that it sounds like he’s about to bite his tongue!

Well, the move seemed to be a frenzied series of cuts. The golem ended up in pieces, so I guess it worked.

“How about that, brother? Pretty impressive, huh?”

“…To be honest, I don’t fully understand the concept of finishing moves, but well done. That was helpful.”

“Haha! Don’t worry about it! Still, after hearing what you said, brother, this sword doesn’t feel quite right for my moves. It just doesn’t carry the power I want.”

I could already tell why. Hazan isn’t capable of consciously using magic, but he manages to manipulate Maif unconsciously to perform those moves. However, the weapon he’s using now can’t handle the flow of Maif.

His current weapon is designed primarily for defense. It’s not suitable for channeling offensive Maif.

“So, brother, I’m counting on you to make me a cool yet hot piece of gear that fits my finishing moves perfectly!”

“I’d appreciate it if you could choose between ‘cool’ and ‘hot.’ But don’t worry, I’ve been working with the Adamant father-and-son duo on a new sword.”

“Awesome! I’m looking forward to it! If you need more golems, just leave it to—”

‘Gwooo… Oooo… Ooooo!’

Hmm, just as Hazan was getting fired up, a new golem appeared. This one was about 20 meters tall.

But strangely, Hazan seemed to be frozen in place, staring up at the giant golem.

“…”

“Hey, what’s wrong? The golem’s right there.”

“Wait, are we actually doing this?”

“Can’t you?”

With a forced grin, Hazan looked up at the towering golem.

Admittedly, with his current weapon, it might be tough to take down something of this size.

“Damn it! I can’t let my brother see me looking like a fool! Take this! Rending Skyfall Slash!”

It looked like an aerial attack, but despite the fancy name, the move was quite basic.

Even so, considering his build, that’s an impressive jump. But he barely reached the golem’s waist, and his downward slash only left a scratch on its surface.

“D-Damn it! I can’t even make a dent!”

It’s not just the size—the golem’s mass increases as well. No matter how strong a B-rank adventurer like Hazan is, this might be too much to handle alone. If the new weapon I have in mind were ready, it’d be a different story, but…

I took out my Maiful from the bracelet and aimed it.

“I’m shooting.”

“Whoa, brother, thanks! Wait! H-Hey, wait! What are you aiming at?!”

What am I aiming at? The gun’s barrel is aimed right at Hazan.

“B-Brother, you’re not really—”

As Hazan froze in place, I squeezed the trigger. A magic bullet flew towards him, leaving a trail of blue-white particles.

“Gah! Brother, did you… betray me?!”

“…Huh? What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean, what?! You just shot me—”

Seeing Hazan clutch his chest and act like something out of a drama, I couldn’t help but give him a disapproving look.

What a complete misunderstanding.

“Yeah, I shot you, but it’s a strengthening magic bullet. Don’t you feel your strength surging?”

“Huh? W-Wait, yeah! This is amazing! It’s like all my muscles are cheering! I feel like I can take on anyone!”

“Good. Now move. The golem’s coming.”

“Oh! Right!”

The golem’s fist came crashing down where Hazan had been standing, scattering debris and leaving a fist-sized crater.

But by that time, Hazan was already above the golem’s head.

“This time, I’ll finish it! Rending Skyfall Slash!”

His blade cleaved into the golem’s head, and with the momentum of his fall, he sliced all the way down to its waist.

In theory, such a clean cut should’ve been impossible with the reach of his blade. However, the strengthening effect generated a shockwave with each swing, making the feat possible.

The golem split into two and crumbled to the ground.

Hmm, with a golem of this size, we should have more than enough materials now.

“We did it, brother! Man, that Maif-whatever thing of yours is incredible! Haha! If we keep teaming up like this, there’s nothing we can’t do!”

As he approached, Hazan clapped me on the shoulder while laughing heartily. What a joke.

I’m not really the type to fight on the front lines. My main passion is creating magical tools.

Anyway, we collected the defeated golem and gathered the necessary magic herbs on the way back to town.