The Game Difficulty
Is
Crazy
“Huff… huff…….”
Breathing roughly, Hawkney was clearing away the rubble blocking the collapsed passage.
What moved his hands was holy power. His body was close to a dying state.
His consciousness was also fading, so Hawkney was simply moving stones in a mechanical manner.
Kuuuuung—
Kwaaang—
Explosions kept going off behind him, but he didn’t have the strength to look back.
Each explosion only told him one thing—Glen was still alive.
So Hawkney simply did what he had been ordered to do and secured the passage.
If, by some chance, Glen managed to neutralize that black stone giant even for a moment, the path couldn’t be blocked.
—If I knock that tin can bastard down and come back, and the path isn’t open, I’ll kill you with my own hands.
Letting out a hollow laugh, Hawkney stretched his arm and pushed aside a boulder as big as his own torso.
Then he bit down hard on his lower lip.
“Kgh!”
It was frustrating.
A boy younger than him, and of lower rank despite being his lord, was risking his life to buy time.
Yet Hawkney himself had foolishly allowed the enemy’s attack and ended up in this state, barely able to do nothing more than clear rubble.
Ranked sixth in the knight order, yet unable to even protect his young lord—he felt utterly pathetic.
—The gray wolves that dwell in Wordsworth never abandon their pack. Even at the very moment death approaches, they risk their lives to protect a member of the pack.
A memory from years ago crossed his mind.
It was the day he became an official knight of the Gray Wolf Knights, when Jaber had spoken to him.
—We are a knight order. A knight must obey the commander’s orders absolutely and carry out the assigned mission without conditions.
—But before that, you are a gray wolf of Avenue. Even if the commander’s orders are absolute, if a member of your pack is in danger, disobey the order proudly. That is the Gray Wolf of Wordsworth.
—Congratulations on becoming a wolf. You little blood-soaked brats.
Kaang—!
A sword was stuck into the ground.
Using it as support, Hawkney struggled to lift his body.
Krrrk—
Blood seeped from his tightly clenched teeth, but at the same time, a sharp blue killing intent filled his eagle-like eyes.
Tukwaaaang—!
A massive explosion erupted.
Breaking through the blue smoke left behind by the blast, Glen kicked off the ground.
“……”
He had planned to neutralize the golem with a single counterattack, but the creature was relentlessly pressing its assault, leaving him no opening.
Honestly, the fact that he hadn’t died until now was already a miracle.
Its attacks were slow, but if even one hit landed directly, he would end up like Hawkney.
‘But this is getting dangerous.’
The holy armor he had repaired again and again was now torn to shreds by the explosions.
Beyond it, burns were spreading across his skin.
He had avoided direct hits from the mana cannon with quick movements, but the indirect damage from the blasts was piling up.
‘And I can’t expect it to let its guard down.’
The Ancient Rune Golem was a puppet weapon that carried out fixed commands.
Unlike humans, who grew weaker the longer a fight dragged on, it neither tired nor became careless.
‘I only need one opening!’
But no opening appeared.
“Damn Lunatic difficulty…….”
Just as Glen stared at the Ancient Rune Golem and bit his lip—
A shadow at the edge of his vision moved quickly.
“Hawkney?!”
Letting out a beast-like roar, Hawkney was charging straight at the golem.
“That idiot! Not doing what I told him!”
Glen urgently tried to run toward Hawkney, but in that instant, something sharp flashed in his eyes.
His thoughts accelerated rapidly.
“Ah, fuck it—if you die, it’s not on me!”
Grinding his teeth, Glen tightened his grip on his sword and kicked off the ground.
Kiiiiing—
The golem’s gaze dropped downward.
It was focused on Hawkney.
At the same time, the mana cannon that had driven Hawkney to the brink of death began to swirl again.
“Uaaaaah!”
But Hawkney did not retreat.
He closed the distance in an instant and thrust his sword toward the golem’s leg.
Kwa-ga-gak—
Peoong—!
A thrust made with death in mind.
The blade, filled with holy power, pierced the black stone.
Kiiiiiiing—
For a brief moment, the Ancient Rune Golem’s massive body tilted.
At the same time, the mana cannon aimed at Hawkney struck the ground beside him.
Hawkney was swallowed by the explosion.
But—
‘Thank you, Hawkney.’
Because the golem’s body tilted.
Because the mana cannon was spent elsewhere.
And because Hawkney charged in—
At last, the opening Glen had been waiting for appeared.
Kicking off the ground with all his strength, Glen shot toward the golem’s head like an arrow.
Kiiiiing—
The single eye formed of ancient rune mana turned red.
It was probably trying to release mana to shake Glen off—
‘But I’m faster.’
“Hoo…….”
Exhaling, Glen pulled his sword back toward his waist.
A smooth, flowing draw stance.
He focused all his spirit into a single point.
That point became a line, slicing horizontally across the golem’s red single eye.
Following that line, Glen swung his sword forward.
A blindingly beautiful draw slash.
The Tyrant King’s Wrath.
The first sword strike said to have slain ten knights in a single blow precisely split the reddened mana core.
Kiiiiiiiiing—!
Dark mana burst out from the split core, followed by a violent explosion.
Tuduk, tuduk—
Black stone fragments fell to the ground.
The enormous body of the Ancient Rune Golem collapsed.
Five-star-level holy power, a legendary skill,
and the opening Hawkney had created successfully brought it down.
“Huff… huff…….”
Even just breathing made his voice tremble.
That single strike had consumed an enormous amount of strength.
“Damn…….”
His legs were already shaking.
Not just his legs—his entire body was.
But unlike before, he couldn’t collapse and pass out.
‘Because it’s not dead.’
《Ancient Rune Golem – Lunatic》
: The Ancient Rune Golem appears and pursues the artifact holder. This monster cannot be destroyed.
It was originally a tough monster, and with the added condition that it could not be destroyed, it would not fall for good.
Self-diagnosis. Initiating.
Core damage: 50%.
“See…….”
Even after splitting the core so cleanly, he hadn’t even pushed it to a near-death state—only dealt about half its maximum health in damage.
Disassembled body. Reconstructing.
Time until reconstruction: 2 minutes.
“You overpowered piece of shit…….”
If it had been a non-golem type with low vitality, he might have driven it to the brink of death.
Of course, even then, the Lunatic condition of being indestructible would have made that meaningless.
‘Two minutes until revival. And I can’t move anymore.’
The passage was still blocked.
