Chapter 48. Paver of Paths (3)

[Defeat the Iron Golem!]

“Update? Shouldn't it be over the moment we killed the Stone Golem?!”

“You gotta be kidding me! What the hell is Ayeon now?”

“It’s not Ayeon. It’s Iron! As in metal, got it?!”

The moment the armored monster appeared, chaos erupted. There was neither warning nor buildup, just pure panic. They weren't even given a chance to be shocked.

Boooom—!

A blast fired out from the cannon strapped around the creature’s waist like a belt.

“

Aaaaah!

”

“What the hell?! Is this thing insane?!”

“Everyone, dodge!”

There was no time to argue.

“Yul! Come over here, now!”

“

Waaaah!

”

When they dodged one shot, another came flying from the side. When they dodged that one, another exploded right next to it.

Bang! Booom!

Eun-Ho dove out of the way as the others scattered in every direction, running for their lives. However, the nearby Skeleton Soldiers shattered into brittle dust.

Crack—!

[Skeleton Soldier(Lv.1) has been destroyed!]

[Remaining units: 1,472]

“Damn it...” Eun-Ho muttered.

Explosions burst across the street. The ground was cratered and broken, leaving behind only bits of white bone, just enough to see what had once been there.

“Everybody, get out of the way!” Eun-Ho shouted, rolling across the ground to dodge another cannon ball.

Krakaboom!

Bam—!

Then again, another wave of Skeletons crumbled.

[Skeleton Soldier(Lv.1) has been destroyed!]

[Remaining units: 1,458]

His rewards were getting destroyed.

[Skeleton Soldier(Lv.1) has been destroyed!]

[Remaining units: 1,441]

Clatter—

Shards of bone flew in every direction, making Eun-Ho clench his jaw hard. They had to find a way out of this mess. There had to be a way!

“Eun-Ho! What if Yul uses her skill and we all hide?!” Ji-Eun yelled, gasping for breath as she sprinted over.

“It won’t work,” Eun-Ho said grimly. “Those bombs are hitting from every direction.”

Stealth wouldn’t save them in this chaos.

Ji-Eun bit her nail, muttering under her breath, “If we could just get rid of those cannons...”

She was right. Even though neutralizing those cannons was a priority, charging in blind would get them flattened.

Ah.

Suddenly, a thought snapped into Eun-Ho’s mind.

Flicking his finger with a sharp

snap

, he shouted, “Ji-Eun! Gather all the building debris you can find!”

“What? Oh, okay!”

Ji-Eun flinched, startled by the sudden order with zero explanation. Regardless, she quickly closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and shut out the noise around her. She then channeled all her focus.

“

Mmgh...!

”

Watching Ji-Eun follow his instructions without a single question or complaint, Eun-Ho felt a flicker of gratitude.

Thum—!

Then, chunks of black asphalt and broken concrete rose into the air, suspended mid-flight.

Crack—!

The debris slammed together, compacting tightly, forming a rough, dense sphere nearly as tall as a person.

“That’s it! Now shove it into the cannon!” Eun-Ho shouted.

Ji-Eun’s eyes widened as realization dawned. With newfound confidence, she answered, “O-okay! Got it!”

Turning toward one of the cannons strapped to the Golem’s waist, she picked her target.

Crunch!

She jammed the stone sphere straight into the mouth of the weapon.

Bang—! Ratatatatat!

The steel cannon groaned, struggling to fire with the foreign object wedged inside. Then, it bulged grotesquely, like a bomb about to burst from the inside.

Screeeech!

Baaaaam—!

Before it could launch an attack, it exploded right in the Golem’s gut.

“I-It worked, Eun-Ho!”

“

Raaagh!

” the Iron Golem roared furiously, clearly in pain.

Of course it hurt. Getting bombed from inside would obviously ruin anyone’s day.

Booom! Boom! Boooom!

However, this was just the beginning.

“Ji-Eun! How many of those can you control at once?”

“

Um...

Maybe two? Three if I push it. But jamming them into the cannons takes a lot of effort.”

It was good to know that she could create up to three spheres. Nevertheless, the more precise manipulation—like stuffing them into the cannons—had to be done one at a time.

“Then keep making them! I’ll move them into place myself!”

“Wait you will? But how?”

“Acceleration!”

“W-whaaat aaaare youuuu—”

Whoosh—!

Eun-Ho sprinted forward, sliding into position in front of one of the hovering stone spheres Ji-Eun. His skeletal fingers pressed against its coarse, jagged surface. It was cold, solid, and heavy. Then, without hesitation, he pushed.

Despite its size, the massive rock drifted smoothly through the air, as if gravity had no claim on it.

It’s moving!

Eun-Ho thought.

Time felt slower now, warped by the skill. The boulder floated, weightless and obedient just like it had under Ji-Eun’s control.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Then, Eun-Ho ran hard, fast and focused. Rather than running with something in his hands, it felt more like pushing it along as he ran. He seemed like some mythic figure carrying the weight of the world on his back.

Finally, he reached the cannon and slammed the rock inside and turned away.

Tick.

There came the kind of silence that felt like the whole battlefield was holding its breath.

“... Dooing?”

“Next one!”

“

Huh?

But I just finished making—”

“Come on, move! No time to zone out!”

***

Boom—! Boom! Boom!

One by one, the Iron Golem’s cannons exploded. Now, only six remained.

Boom!

Then five.

With each destroyed cannon, more of the Golem crumbled away. However, Ji-Eun’s energy was draining just as fast.

“

Haaa...

How many more do we have left?” Ji-Eun gasped, barely staying on her feet.

“Five left! Just a little more. Are you sure you’re okay?” Eun-Ho asked, full of concern.

“I-I’m fine! I can make it to the end!” she replied with a shaky smile.

Her words were strong, but the rest of her told another story. Her face was pale, and her lips had gone dry and colorless. Cold sweat dripped down her brow, while her legs visibly trembled.

She seemed to be approaching her limit.

“

Kyaaaaa!

”

“What the?!”

Whoosh—!

The Iron Golem, now furious, slammed its massive fist down toward Ji-Eun.

“Ji-Eun! Watch out!”

“

Aaaah!

”

She barely dodged, stumbling away. Before she could even catch her breath, there came another swing.

“

Aaaaah!

”

“Are you alright?!”

“I-I’m sorry! I can’t focus anymore!” she cried.

The Iron Golem had realized that Eun-Ho wasn’t the only threat. It was doing everything it could to stop Ji-Eun from using her psychokinesis skill.

We were so close...

Eun-Ho thought.

Crunch—!

Eun-Ho clenched his jaw, helpless. Intense focus was crucial in Ji-Eun’s skill.

What if I did it alone? I guess I won't have enough time.

His Acceleration skill lasted only twenty seconds—the exact amount of time it took for him to push the boulders.

Clatter—

Besides, with these brittle bones for hands, he couldn’t even shape a proper rock.

What should I do? How can we fix this situation...?

[The Skeleton Soldiers, linked to your emotions, begin to grow anxious.]

Eun-Ho couldn’t just charge the Golem head-on. It had hardened, becoming much stronger than when it was made of stone. Until he found a way to break it down, getting close was suicide.

Creeeeak—

To make things worse, the armor near the first destroyed cannon seemed to move.

“E-Eun-Ho! Look!” Ji-Eun pointed out.

“Is it repairing itself?!” Eun-Ho muttered.

If this dragged out any longer, it’d turn into a war of attrition, sealing their fate. The longer this went on, the worse their chances got.

[The Skeleton Soldiers, linked to your emotions, begin to grow even more restless!]

There were five cannons left. This was Eun-Ho’s only chance.

“There has to be a way...” Eun-Ho muttered.

[Loyal Skeleton Soldiers, moved by their leader’s peril, begin to act!]

Then, suddenly, Skeleton Soldier Number 1 raised its remaining four finger bones high and charged forward without hesitation.

“I... I can do it!”

Clack!

[Skeleton Soldier Number 1 has chosen to assist you in crisis!]

“No way...!”

By the time Eun-Ho realized what was happening, it was too late. The Skeleton Soldier had already leapt forward, glowing red.

[Skeleton Soldier Number 1 has activated the skill Bone Bomb!]

[Skill range has been expanded to full-body range.]

It clawed its way up the Golem’s cannon, its bones heating up, ready to blow.

[Special conditions have been met!]

[Bone Bomb has evolved into Self-Destruct!]

Besides, he wasn’t alone.

“Leader!”

“We’ll help too!”

“Wait! Noo!”

[Skeleton Soldier Number 2 has activated the skill Self-Destruct!]

[Skeleton Soldier Number 3 has activated the skill Self-Destruct!]

[Skeleton Soldier Number 4 has activated the skill Self-Destruct!]

...

Fwooosh—!

A blinding light burst outward like a flood from inside the cannon barrels, the muzzles of the guns, and the Golem’s legs.

Kabooom—!

Explosions erupted from every inch of the battlefield. Some Skeleton Soldiers hadn’t even made it fully inside before exploding.

However, they all had one thing in common. Each one had dragged a piece of the Golem down with them. They clung to bits of its armor, its limbs, or whatever they could, and detonated

.

Boom! Bang! Clack! Kaboom!

It was chaos—unplanned, unordered, entirely spontaneous. Yet somehow, it worked.

Fwash—!

Then, a single beam of light, shimmering in every color imaginable, descended right over Eun-Ho’s head. A voice echoed directly into his skull.

[Your trait Rebel has detected a threat of assimilation by the system.]

[The trait Rebel is resonating with your title Paver of Paths.]

[Your title’s effects can now be reconfigured.]

What?

Originally, his title granted him increased movement speed and defense. Now it was saying he could change that?

[Select a stat to reconfigure your title bonuses into.]

Hmm... A stat to reconfigure...

Normally, he would’ve kept the movement speed and defense just in case he had to run. That was what the old Eun-Ho would’ve done. However, now wasn’t the time for safety, especially when the Skeleton Soldiers had bought him this split-second window to strike.

“Put it all into Defense Penetration,” Eun-Ho muttered.

[Increase in Movement Speed and Defense has been removed.]

[Bonus Movement Speed: 142% to 0%]

[Bonus Defense: 142 to 0]

There were no more escape routes. He erased every fallback option and funneled all his power forward.

[Followers: 1,420]

[Defense Penetration has been increased by 142.]

“And now... Throw in the Death Defier buff too.”

[Which buff would you like to reconfigure?]

[Your options are Fear/Disease resistance, Mind Control Immunity, +100% Wound Recovery, Increased Defense—]

“All of it,” Eun-Ho said flatly.

[All title effects have been removed.]

He didn’t need protection.

[Defense Penetration has been increased by 200.]

[You have reached the maximum Defense Penetration your current form can withstand!]

[All remaining buffs have been turned into Attack Power.]

What he needed now was the power to end it in a single blow.

“Acceleration!”

***

Fwoosh—!

The wind that had once cradled each of his bones vanished. He felt heavy as if sandbags were strapped to every limb.

Crack! Thunk!

A shard from the explosion shot forward. A fist-sized piece of concrete lodged itself between his skull plates. If he’d still had all his buffs, it would’ve bounced off on contact.

“

Urgh.

”

The gash began to heal thanks to his helmet’s residual protection, but a dull sting lingered. His remaining defense stat was 10, which was too low to charge into this mess relying on armor alone.

Now is the time.

The Golem was struggling to hold itself together, limbs scattering and frame collapsing. It was now or never.

“I’m going in!”

Without thinking too much, Eun-Ho launched forward.

He leaped onto the sloped wreckage of a half-melted highway and ran across the fractured road. Then, he jumped off an apartment’s collapsed frame and bounced off a mangled signpost.

Crack—!

Rebar jabbed into his knee and the patella shattered, but he ran anyway. Shards and splinters pierced through his feet, cracking and breaking his toes.

Yet, he still ran, his eyes were solely locked onto the gap on the Iron Golem's chest.

Rumble—!

The Golem spotted him and tried to haul up its battered frame, but that was exactly what he had been waiting for.

“Acceleration!”

Shunk!

With all his might, he drove his sword right into the crack blown open by Skeleton Soldier Number 1.

Crack!

He then threw his weight behind it, plunging it deeper. The hilt nearly hit bone.

There was no technique or finesse—only raw, unrelenting force. This was exactly how Jae-Hyuk used to fight.

Crack—! Crunch! Crack!

Bones groaned and cracked from his wrist to his shoulder. If this were his old body, he’d be screaming in pain.

Crack—! Crack!

It sounded like he’d break before the Golem did, but the sword finally sliced clean through.

Screech—!

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

From the chest down, the Golem split apart like overcooked meat. Its core cleaved open, with its limbs buckling.

Tick.

Then, time caught up.

Creak—!

The broken Iron Golem succumbed to the pull of gravity. Its left leg gradually sagged left, while its right leg slowly veered to the right.

Slowly and inevitably, it collapsed.

Rumble—! Thud!

A strange, fleeting quiet seeped in, like the calm of still water. Then, a series of system messages flashed across the screen.

[Congratulations!]

[You have defeated the Iron Golem.]

[You have been rewarded with three points and a thousand Welfare Points.]

[You have struck down an enemy once thought unkillable!]

[Due to an extraordinary feat, the proficiency of your Basic Swordsmanship(Lv. 3) has increased significantly.]

“Finally, it’s over,” Eun-Ho muttered.

His limbs felt heavy as lead. He wanted nothing more than to collapse. Ah, if only he could lie down and disappear into the ground!

With every step, he dragged his battered, broken self forward, barely managing to stay upright.

Crack—!

He stepped on something.

Fwoosh—!

Then, heat and light surged up from his foot like a geyser of flame.

[You have absorbed the Abandoned Ridge's Diamond.]

“Wait, what?!”