Ch.52Stone Golem – 1

“As I mentioned in the previous lecture, I’ve prepared a special opponent for today. Aren’t you all getting tired of sparring matches and theory lectures by now?”

At Jake’s voice, someone let out a cheer and applauded enthusiastically, only to receive a laughing scolding about what that made the professor look like.

Everyone was looking around with faces full of expectation. Having missed the previous practical sparring lecture after taking the entire past week off, I was the only one sitting there blankly, wondering what was going on.

“Do you know what we’re doing today? Aria asked me not to tell you so we could surprise you together.”

Brunhilde whispered to me.

Fortunately, the memory of yesterday’s dream didn’t flash through my mind every time I looked at Brunhilde. If that had happened, I would have had quite a headache trying to adapt and get used to it, like I had in the past.

“I haven’t heard. What is it that’s making everyone react like that?”

“You’ll see, you’ll see. This time, even someone like you will be incredibly surprised!”

Brunhilde was grinning, probably because I rarely showed much emotion. It’s not like I deliberately act this way. Having gone through so many difficult situations, I just don’t get excited about most things.

“Let’s see… Ah, so that’s how it is. Good! Magic Stone Golem! Begin operation!”

As Jake bellowed, the magic stone golems that had been waiting beyond the doorway slowly began walking into the training ground. So that’s why they had rented the colosseum for today.

Their appearance was quite intimidating. Their entire bodies were smooth as if carved from white marble, and their eyes glowed green. They seemed to be nearly 3 meters tall.

The students kept exclaiming in admiration at their majestic appearance.

‘…Why are those out already?’

“Impressive, right? You’d be hard-pressed to find combat magic stone golems with that level of performance even if you scoured the entire Empire.”

Brunhilde became proud as if those magic stone golems belonged to her after seeing my surprised expression, but I wasn’t surprised by the golems’ appearance.

I was surprised because I knew that later, these golems would have their cores contaminated by the Demon King’s army’s schemes and be used to hunt humans. According to the original story, they shouldn’t appear until next year.

Though at this point, there’s nothing more meaningless than comparing things to the original story.

“These are magic stone golems made for the Royal Guard’s training! The Sword Saint specially permitted their loan for the students of Bellium Academy!”

Jake announced loudly. I could feel everyone’s favorability toward the Sword Saint skyrocketing. They seemed to have completely forgotten how he had beaten up students who asked to become his disciples on the first day.

‘The Sword Saint permitted the loan… because of me?’

That seemed highly likely. Just yesterday, he had somehow heard I was sick and sent me elixir diluted to 1/10 strength.

“He’s loaded. Those things are really inefficient.”

“…Mira, it sounds strange when you say that.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. See all those top-grade magic stones piled up back there? I bet none will be left after today’s training.”

“…No way. Just one of those should be enough to power dozens of magical tools and still have energy left.”

“Check later. Your ‘no way’ will catch several people.”

Even with top-grade magic stones, a magic stone golem’s consumption rate means they can’t last long. Especially if they’re good enough to be used by the Royal Guard for training.

There’s a reason these impressive things aren’t properly used in battle. The magic stones needed to operate one of those for just over ten minutes could power dozens of magical tools on the battlefield for tens of minutes, so why use them for combat?

The production cost is also ridiculously expensive, so if one gets destroyed without killing many enemies, you’d be in tears. That’s why it’s far more cost-effective to create golems with magic instead.

Of course, they’re not without advantages. If they were just liabilities with only disadvantages, they wouldn’t have been created in the first place.

These golems can generate explosive power and speed incomparable to magically created golems. There’s a reason they used horse-shaped magic stone golems instead of actual horses for the carriage that took me during the entrance ceremony.

Making seven of these just for training purposes is either impressive or questionable.

“Today, you don’t have to avoid vital points or engage in non-lethal combat. Since it’s impossible for you to break these at your level, feel free to go all out and hit them with everything you’ve got.”

One student, seemingly slightly offended by those words, asked a question.

“What if we succeed in destroying them?”

“Hahaha! You, destroy these magic stone golems? If anyone manages that, I’ll take them to a place I know well for dinner and let them eat until they burst! Bring friends or whoever you want!”

“…Isn’t that a punishment?”

“Such timid ones. Fine! If anyone succeeds, I’ll take them to a place I know for dinner until they burst, and I’ll give them full marks on the midterm exam at my discretion!”

This time, the response was quite intense. The fact that he made such a statement showed that, as a professor, he was quite confident.

“But there should be a penalty for failure too. What should it be… Hmm. I know. How about spending an entire day exercising with me in the fitness room?”

The intense reaction disappeared completely. Even the muscular student who seemed to be imitating Jake was avoiding eye contact with an expression that said, “Ah, this is a bit…” Jake awkwardly shifted his gaze.

“Oh. I almost forgot to mention this. You’re an exception, Mira Crate.”

“…Me, sir?”

“Yes. The Sword Saint said you have more than enough ability to destroy a magic stone golem. You can spar as much as you want, but never use your full strength. The same goes for you, Brunhilde.”

Brunhilde looked puzzled, apparently not expecting to be included in that list.

I was lost in my own complicated thoughts. I was sure I had been thoroughly controlling my strength, so I wondered what he had seen to say such a thing. Perhaps, just as he could see the karma accumulated in souls, he might also be able to see my true power.

“Whether you listen to me or not is your choice, but I recommend that you do. If they break, it would be very troublesome. The compensation wouldn’t be just a few gold coins.”

“…How much would it be?”

Money seemed to be a major concern as Brunhilde, suddenly shrinking, timidly asked. Jake grinned.

“Even if you saved all your monthly stipends for three years without spending a penny, it would be more than ten times that amount. Think about it. These are magic stone golems used by the Royal Guard of the Imperial Palace for training. How expensive do you think they are?”

At those words, not only Brunhilde but all the other students were shocked. I was the only one who wasn’t surprised.

‘I could probably buy one with my saved allowance.’

Jake, seemingly realizing his mistake, hastily tried to cover it up by saying those two were special cases and everyone else could go all out, but the damage was already done.

The suddenly dampened atmosphere could only be lifted after Jake finally revealed the truth—that the talk about compensation was just a joke.

Indeed, it didn’t make sense to say they were for training but then demand compensation if they broke. No matter how expensive a magic stone golem might be, that wouldn’t happen. It would be ridiculous.

“Now, let’s officially begin! Stand freely in front of the golem you wish to face first!”

There were a total of seven magic stone golems, each holding different weapons: sword, spear, axe, mace and shield, and so on. They seemed designed for combat against humanoid demons rather than magical beasts.

Aria left a brief “I’ll be back” before lining up in front of the golem with the mace and shield. Brunhilde and I decided to sit still for now and observe how capable they were.

“…They look really strong. Can I really destroy something like that?”

Brunhilde muttered with a dazed expression as she watched a student who had been holding up well get caught off guard by a mace strike and fly through the air before tumbling ungracefully on the ground.

As she said, even though Bellium Academy only admitted the most talented individuals from across the Empire, they were clearly outmatched by the magic stone golems.

It was only natural—barring a few special exceptions, academy students couldn’t possibly be stronger than the Royal Guard.

‘Indeed, at that level…’

My impression was exactly the opposite of Brunhilde’s.

Whether the Sword Saint was testing me or knew the truth and gave me that warning, if the golems’ power was only at that level, it certainly made sense for him to specifically tell me not to use my full strength.

Brunhilde too, despite her intimidated state, would probably be able to destroy one.

“Wow, but you were right, Mira. They’ve already used more than twenty. So that’s why they don’t bring them out unless necessary.”

At the same time, the terribly inefficient power source problem of the magic stone golems was clearly revealed. Even though only about 30 minutes had passed since the training began, more than twenty top-grade magic stones had already disappeared.

Roughly one top-grade magic stone was being consumed for every five students, meaning about one gold coin was vanishing into thin air per training session. Perhaps that’s why everyone was fighting with all their might.

“Aren’t you going to fight, Brunhilde?”

“Well, I’m a bit hesitant… They seem weaker than the Legion Commander we fought in the dungeon, and I’m worried I might not control my strength properly and destroy one… I just feel a bit conflicted.”

“Your standards have really gone up after fighting a Legion Commander once. Is that because you’re the Hero?”

“Hey…!”

Brunhilde hit me repeatedly as if telling me to keep quiet. There wasn’t much force behind it.

Still, having high standards was a good sign. It meant she still had plenty of room to grow stronger and hadn’t been broken.

“Phew… I’m exhausted.”

After bickering for a while, Brunhilde leaned her shoulder against mine, panting. Since she couldn’t possibly be tired from just hitting me a few times, she was definitely exaggerating.

It was something I had noticed before—perhaps because she only had Aria as a friend, she seemed to have trouble gauging appropriate distance. The level of physical contact she had with Aria was almost the same as what she had with me.

“Oh, right. I meant to ask earlier but forgot. We made you porridge and rice balls when you were sick.”

“You did.”

Even though they had both been unable to visit me—which I had refused anyway—they had brought porridge and rice balls during lunch, saying it was food for a patient.

“Which one was mine?”