Chapter 44

Chapter 18. Unexpected Variable (2)

‘Damn, what the hell is this...!’

He turned and aimed his dagger.

The fallen mercenaries were getting up.

‘Their eyes turned red?’

Moreover, the two mercenaries continued to growl and make strange breathing sounds, like those of an orc or troll, not a human.

There was no time to think about how this happened.

The thin iron armor of the mercenaries, who were human just a moment ago, was swelling. The muscles inside were rapidly growing, tearing the armor.

Rip!

The moment the armor tore, Jin reflexively cast a spell.

‘Silent Wind!’

A wind made of mana instantly enveloped the interior of the warehouse, forming a semi-circular barrier.

This was a 4-star spell that reduced noise within about 15 meters. He hadn't used it earlier to avoid the mages noticing his mana, but the situation was different now.

A battle with the transformed mercenaries was inevitable. They were already reaching out towards Jin, their fingers now long and sharp like those of a red fox.

‘I can only hope the mages outside don’t notice.’

Grrr!

The two creatures lunged at him simultaneously.

He didn't have time to draw Bradamante. The monsters, already close, swung their outstretched palms.

Swoosh!

The sound of their claws slicing through the air was terrifying. Jin barely ducked to avoid the attack and, in the process, stabbed the dagger into the ribcage of the one in front.

He aimed for the heart, but the creature dodged. Still, the sensation of flesh being cut and bones breaking was transmitted through his wrist.

“Gah!”

The creature roared.

It didn't seem to be a fatal wound. The creature, without even pulling out the dagger embedded in its body, swung its claws again.

Thanks to this, Jin had a chance to create some distance and draw Bradamante. As he hastily infused it with aura, the dim interior of the warehouse became slightly brighter.

The creatures seemed to recognize that aura was a dangerous force. When Jin took his stance and used the tip of his sword to gauge the distance, the black fur covering their bodies stood on end.

“Grrr...!”

“Gah.”

The creature that had been hit later pulled the dagger out of its body.

The sight that followed made Jin gasp in shock.

‘They can regenerate?’

The creature's cracked ribs were healing rapidly. The dark red blood that had been gushing out stopped instantly.

This kind of rapid regeneration was only seen in some higher-level monsters.

However, these were not monsters. Just a minute ago, they were undoubtedly human.

Numerous thoughts raced through his mind with each passing second. Jin lacked the knowledge to understand this bizarre situation.

It was the first time he had encountered such a thing in his 43 years of life.

Fortunately, he could make some educated guesses, thanks to his previous life as a mage.

‘These are likely biological golems, created using forbidden magic. Those Ziph bastards... Could they have been using the Colong ruins as a forbidden magic laboratory?’

Swoosh!

The creatures attacked again.

He had barely dodged the first time due to panic, but now, with a clear mind, he noticed their movements were clumsy. Their strength and speed were at the level of a 4-star martial artist.

However, a trained 4-star knight and a 4-star physical monster are not the same. Jin easily dodged the two creatures' claws and continued the exchange.

‘The core is the heart, head, or dantian. One of the three.’

A magical weapon like a golem doesn't stop moving even if it's severely damaged. Even after Jin had cut the wrist and shoulder of one of the creatures, their attacks didn't change.

Instead, a golem stops when its core is destroyed. This was true even for a biological golem created using forbidden magic.

Pierce!

He lightly took a step back and stabbed the creature's head at an offbeat moment. The aura-infused blade rotated, creating a fist-sized hole in the creature's head.

‘Not the head.’

If he had fought them like humans, he would have been in trouble. After dealing a fatal blow, he would have shifted his focus to the remaining creature.

The golem with the hole in its head continued to swing its arms. Its strength and speed didn't decrease; if anything, it became more violent.

Jin easily rotated his body and stabbed the creature's dantian again, driving the blade up to its heart. The enhanced physical abilities granted by the Runecandel were a huge help for such a powerful attack.

Crunch!

The sound of the creature's flesh being torn and ribs breaking in succession was chilling. When he withdrew the blade, Jin was certain the core was in the heart.

A blue mana lump, not a heart, was pulsating in the creature's chest.

However, it was different from any mana lump he knew. It looked like a blue liquid encased in a glass sphere.

It was also much harder than a human heart. Even a 5-star knight's aura-infused sword could only barely pierce it.

Plop!

The solid mana lump burst, splattering blue droplets. A strong stench filled the air, and the creature, now dying, slowly returned to its human form.

To its human form... It was changing back. It couldn't fully revert to a complete human form, as the swollen and burst skin and muscles couldn't be restored.

However, the desiccated corpse clearly looked like human skin.

Seeing this, Jin felt a complex mix of emotions and a sudden surge of anger in his chest.

‘To do this to the same people, really.’

His anger was directed at Ziph.

As if responding to his anger, the remaining creature lunged at Jin. He hadn't fully regained his stance yet.

Clang!

The creature's claws and Bradamante's blade clashed, producing an unpleasant grinding sound. Jin planted his right foot firmly on the ground to regain his balance.

The creature's claws weren't as hard as Bradamante's blade. They seemed better than ordinary steel but far from the ancient perennial iron.

Crack!

The five claws broke simultaneously, disrupting the balance of power. Jin stepped on the fallen creature's head and stabbed it from the back, driving the blade into its heart.

The sensation of the hard mana lump breaking traveled up the blade. The creature, lying on the ground, trembled and, like the previous one, rapidly returned to its human form.

“Phew.”

Jin finally let out a belated sigh. Looking around, he saw the warehouse was covered in the creatures' dark red blood, and the Silent Wind spell he had cast was about to dissipate.

Fortunately, the mages hadn't noticed.

“J-Just...”

A sudden voice caught his attention. It was the voice of the creature, now a human, who had just fallen.

“G-Give...”

Bending down quickly, he saw the man was still breathing, though barely. His appearance was no longer human.

His entire body showed clear signs of swelling and bursting, and there was no hope of survival.

He had many questions. Why had this person become a biological golem? Who had done this? How did they end up as Ziph's test subject?

However, the man didn't have the strength to answer. All Jin could do was free him from his suffering.

Pierce.

Stabbing the man's grotesquely thin neck, the man closed his eyes.

Jin also closed his eyes and raised his head.

He didn't know what circumstances these people had been in, but no one would willingly become a biological golem.

Especially not if they were nothing more than expendable, with no future after their transformation.

Grinding his teeth, he felt a deep anger.

But now wasn't the time to be angry.

An unexpected situation had occurred, and he had witnessed Ziph's terrifying true nature. He doubted the sisters knew nothing about it.

However, the mission didn't disappear.

If he returned and said he had no choice because monsters suddenly attacked, he would only invite ridicule from his brothers.

Even if Runecandel endured the humiliation and revealed the mission details to Ziph, and requested a formal investigation from the Viment Empire, nothing would change.

Ziph wouldn't admit to using forbidden magic.

Creating biological golems is a top-level crime. If any signs are found, the empire's investigative agencies would pressure the involved parties. However, Ziph had the power to evade even with evidence.

‘First, I’ll collect a few of the broken mana lumps and continue the mission.’

After regaining his composure, Jin placed a few pieces of the broken mana lumps in a glass bottle and went to the entrance to check the situation.

‘The mages haven’t moved yet. This proves that most of them consider this a regular warehouse.’

If the mages here knew about the biological golems, they wouldn't guard the warehouse so loosely. At least twenty 7-star mages would be on standby.

Thus, the entire Colong ruins weren't involved in the forbidden magic.

‘I’ll proceed as planned and steal the artifacts and escape.’

Jin carefully disabled the alarm spells and searched the warehouse.

Obtaining the three stone slabs was easy.

They were all stored on the first floor, and the bronze bowl was also easy to find.

However, the bronze bowl was protected by a more complex alarm spell. It would activate the moment the bowl was removed from the display.

This was why the mission's difficulty was high.

‘The proper way would be to spend a few hours carefully unraveling the alarm spell.’

Woo!

Jin sheathed his sword and began gathering mana in his hands.

‘I’ll take a more explosive approach. Since two people who became biological golems are dead, Ziph won’t care what kind of accident I cause here today...’

Flame!

The mana began to take on a fiery attribute.

And the mana was enveloped by spirit energy. Dark flames cast shadows in the center of the warehouse.

‘I need to make it quiet.’

The three small stone slabs and the bronze bowl, designated as ancient artifacts, were insignificant enough that Ziph wouldn’t care if they were stolen.

However, if there was a chance that the use of forbidden magic to create biological golems would be exposed, Ziph would need to minimize and cover up the incident.

‘Flame Explosion.’

Thus, causing a commotion would help his escape. Jin planned to set the warehouse on fire and use the flames to hide his escape.

Whoosh!

The red mana in Jin's hands rose into the air, glowing ominously with the added spirit energy.

As he finished the incantation, the two mana spheres exploded simultaneously. The warehouse was instantly engulfed in flames, and the ceiling collapsed due to the explosion.

Screams! And the alarm spells inside the warehouse activated simultaneously due to the aftermath. Jin, ignoring them, grabbed the bronze bowl and escaped through the main door.

Ziph would likely report this incident as a fire.