Chapter 18: A Man’s Romance, My Foot

Creak.

When I opened the rusty door, a loud noise bothered my ears.

Inside the building, broken objects, whose original purpose was unimaginable, were scattered on the ground.

Thud, thud.

The only sound I could hear was my footsteps.

Not even the usual chirping of insects could be heard.

“…Should I have come with Verno?”

It was obvious that Verno would have stopped me from coming here, saying it was dangerous.

But feeling the humid and eerie atmosphere unique to the abandoned building, I for no reason muttered meaninglessly.

I regret stepping into this place without thinking.

But it’s somehow uncomfortable to go back now.

A silent space with no sign of life.

The emptiness where only moonlight is the source of light.

Just as I was about to take a step forward with a bold stride to go deeper.

Splash.

“Eek…!”

Momentarily startled by the cold sensation felt at my fingertip, I lifted the magic lamp I had brought and shone it at my feet.

A puddle of water in a slightly sunken floor.

I wiped the cold sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand.

Phew, it was nothing.

Feeling (for no reason) embarrassed, I stomped my foot a little irritably on the floor.

Thud!

Only then did the tension ease a little, and I began to grasp the situation.

I was simply blinded by the information that there was an item.

I think I was a little reckless.

There is always a corresponding trial in a place where an item is hidden.

Even in this world, which is based on a comic, that law is of course valid.

Therefore, I suddenly thought that there might be a danger that I couldn’t handle.

“…Yeah. Let’s come back later.”

It’s definitely not running away.

This is what you call a strategic retreat.

But.

The moment I made the decision to come back with full preparations and was about to turn around in a hurry.

Rumble.

“!”

Suddenly, the floor I was standing on began to vibrate slightly.

Is it an earthquake?

I froze in place, unexpected situation.

Rumble rumble.

The shaking gets worse.

Now it’s not easy to even stand properly.

I waited for the vibration of the floor to subside, but.

It doesn’t seem to stop at all.

But.

Crack.

“Huh…?”

Perhaps because of the sudden vibration.

Numerous cracks began to appear on the surrounding floor and walls.

The cracks were small at first.

But those cracks spread at an uncontrollable speed.

And finally.

The ground momentarily collapsed, starting from where I was standing.

“Wai-…!!”

Without even having time to scream.

So, I was sucked deep into the endless darkness.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

With a slight impact, I fell down.

Fortunately, the height wasn’t high, so I wasn’t hurt very badly, but my head was dizzy for a moment due to the impact of falling.

‘Here….’

Where is this?

As soon as I came to my senses, I hurriedly picked up the fallen magic lamp and looked up at the ceiling.

It’s clear that the floor I was standing on collapsed.

So, it’s normal to have a hole in the ceiling when viewed from below.

But for some reason, there were no traces left on the ceiling.

Besides, the feeling of passing through mana that I felt the moment the floor collapsed.

Yeah, if what I know is correct.

This is probably.

“A dungeon…?”

One of the concepts that frequently appeared in comics, a dimensional dungeon.

A kind of distorted dimension connected to the real dimension.

It is clear that this place where I fell is called a dungeon.

I never thought there was a dungeon connected to the basement.

The energy of mana I felt as I fell.

It’s clear that it was the feeling of passing through the portal, which is the entrance to the dungeon.

“It seems like I’m in trouble….”

The problem is that the dungeon is set to be a bit difficult.

In the comic, it only appears after the protagonist has grown to some extent in the middle.

Unfortunately, I got caught up in it.

Of course, the difficulty may change a little depending on the type of dungeon, but.

Even so, it’s certain that the current situation is not very good.

There are three main ways to escape from the dungeon.

Using a portal connected to the outside hidden somewhere in the dungeon, or.

Escaping using magic.

And.

“If you destroy the dungeon’s core and destroy the dungeon itself….”

In the last case, the difficulty is too high.

There is a high probability that there will be a guardian-like existence attached to the core, which is the heart of the dungeon.

And of course, I’m not a wizard, so it’s impossible to escape the dungeon using magic.

Then the remaining one is.

“…I need to find the portal.”

Finding a portal connected to the outside hidden somewhere in the dungeon.

That’s the only way.

I brushed off the dust on my body and moved forward.

“Damn it.”

There isn’t one.

No matter how much I look around, I can’t see a hidden portal.

Is this even possible?

I really went around every corner of the dungeon.

But even so, I couldn’t find the portal.

Fortunately, there were no other monsters in the dungeon, but I couldn’t even find a shadow of the portal anywhere.

There is nothing in this dungeon.

The only thing left is.

“Ah, I really don’t want to go in here.”

A huge steel door that is tightly closed in front of me.

I hesitated in front of it.

“This is definitely a boss room….”

A cliche that often appears in comics and games.

A typical pattern where a powerful boss appears, waiting behind a huge door.

I don’t know what’s inside, but it’s easy to predict that it won’t be easy.

But there’s nothing I can do.

The fact that I have to open this door and go inside doesn’t change.

“Sigh, I don’t know…!”

I held up the sword made with the Orb of Dreams in one hand and approached the tightly closed door.

When I put my hand on it and pushed, the door began to open smoothly.

Thud!

A dull noise created by the thick door opening wide.

And the scenery behind the door that had been hidden all along begins to be seen.

A high ceiling and a large open space that feels empty.

And in the middle of it.

Something huge of unknown identity was crouching.

“What is…that?”

I slowly approached the unidentified thing.

With a sword in one hand and maintaining vigilance.

As the distance got closer, I could finally see the appearance properly.

And when I found out what it was, I couldn’t help but be astonished.

No way.

“Is this a robot?”

A hard outer shell made of steel.

And the angular sharp lines on a human-like appearance were enough to remind me of a robot.

Author, you crazy bastard.

You’re crossing the line.

This is fantasy.

Why is there something like a robot here…??

I grabbed my throbbing forehead, looking at the huge robot that was covered in rust on the outside.

I’ll endure it, really, I’ll endure up to the Bluetooth earphones with communication magic.

But a giant robot that only appears in mecha anime.

No matter what, this is really hard to accept.

The heterogeneous appearance, which doesn’t feel any respect for fantasy, made me sigh.

Well, he was probably thinking of saying something about a forgotten civilization that existed in ancient times.

Or he was thinking of claiming that it was a golem made of steel, accidentally created by a crazy wizard.

‘It’s obvious, it’s obvious.’

Really, where did all the romance of fantasy go?

If it’s fantasy, I wish he would be faithful to it.

…Of course, air conditioners and refrigerators are a little convenient.

But couldn’t you at least show some sincerity in changing the design to be fantasy-like?

‘In the first place, if the author was that kind of person, he wouldn’t have suddenly drifted into a harem while pretending to draw a pure love story.’

Anyway.

I can’t accept this.

From now on, this is a golem.

A steel golem.

I looked up at the robot- no, the golem, which was much taller than me even though it was crouching.

“…It’s cool, though.”

Seeing a giant golem in real life.

That appearance, which stimulates the heart of a man, was cooler than I thought.

The good thing is that the author only created the setting and didn’t actually put it in the comic.

He probably thought it was a bit much when he put it in.

So, the setting was scrapped.

But it seems that I found it.

After finishing my sightseeing, I took a step back from the golem.

It would be troublesome if it suddenly started working.

But.

It seems that it’s already too late.

[System activated]

Oh…?

Suddenly, the golem, holding its blunt head, and its eyes emit light,

[Scanning surroundings]

And then it started to look around with red eyes.

Then eventually.

The golem found me standing blankly.

Uh, huh? Why is that guy turning red…?

[Intruder detected]

“What…?”

The golem, uttering ominous sounds.

I felt something was wrong and stepped back.

[From now on, the intruder will be eliminated]

…What did you say?

The golem quickly raised its heavy body.

And.

Kwaaaang!!

“Uaaaaah!!”

I dodged to the side to avoid the huge fist of the golem that was swung at me.

Then the place where I was standing just now was crushed by the golem’s fist.

Seeing that, I started to sweat cold sweat on my back.

If I get hit by that even slightly, I’ll really die instantly.

Seeing the arm of the golem raised high in the sky to attack me again, I immediately turned around and started running away.

Thud!

The golem stomps its feet hard, looking at me.

I quickly rolled my eyes in all directions.

Dungeon core!

If not, I need to find at least a portal.

But contrary to my earnest wish, neither the portal nor the core was visible anywhere in the open space.

Kwaaaaang!

“Ugh!!”

This f*cking!

I barely dodged the rock thrown by the golem that was flying towards me and cursed.

What should I do now?

If I get close, I’ll get beaten by its fist.

But if I distance myself and run away, a huge rock flies.

Besides, a sword doesn’t work on a guy whose body is made entirely of steel.

Then.

“…Only that?”

An attack that consumes all my mana.

It’s really dangerous if the attack doesn’t work, but there’s no other way now.

I raised my mana and covered it with the sword.

And.

“Lightning Slash!”

Without hesitation, I immediately swung my sword at the golem.

Chijijik!

Countless sparks draw a large trajectory and began to pour towards the golem.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!!!

Soon, a huge electric storm covered the golem’s body.

How’s the taste of a glass cannon…!

It’s a one-shot cannon, but a cannon is a cannon.

As I’ve seen it several times, the power alone is truly great.

Chijijik

But.

Thud!

The golem, who seemed to collapse after being hit by my attack, staggered for a moment and then stood up straight again.

Sparking all over its body, it began to glare at me with eerie red eyes.

[Energy charge complete]

It seems.

[Changing attack method]

I’m f*cked.