The explosion swallowed the entire area.
The instant I threw myself down the slope, a sound like the end of the world erupted overhead. The shock wave surged through the mine shaft, seized my body, and hurled me forward.
Thud! Crash! Clatter!
I tumbled down the slope, slammed into a wall, rolled over a boulder, and continued falling.
Every bone in my body rattled violently.
Then came absolute silence.
I remained facedown at the bottom of the slope for a moment.
Dust drifted from the ceiling like snow. Far above, I could faintly hear the crackling of lingering flames.
[You have defeated Mud Golem (Lv. 12) × 6.]
[You have defeated Mud Golem (Lv. 14) × 3.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have become Skeleton Soldier (Lv. 10).]
Still lying on the ground, I stared blankly at the flood of blue system windows appearing before me.
The slope was now buried beneath collapsed earth and debris. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what had happened to the nine Mud Golems trapped inside.
They must have Mana Cores too.
But I didn’t have time to retrieve them—
[First to reach Level 10!]
[The Racial Evolution System has been unlocked.]
Huh?
An unexpected system message appeared.
[Your current physical composition will be analyzed to present the evolution paths best suited to you.]
‘Evolution?’
Three translucent cards suddenly spun into existence before stopping in front of me.
Wait, I didn’t have time for this.
If I had to make such an important decision, I wanted enough time to consider it carefully...
[1. Beast-Type Skeleton Fighter]
Redesigns your skeletal structure into a form specialized in animal instincts and physical characteristics.
[2. Cunning Skeleton Variant]
Redesigns your skeletal structure into a form specialized in disruption and deception.
[3. Hybrid Skeleton Soldier]
Enhances your unusual survival method of connecting bones from multiple species.
‘Yeah, number three.’
Fortunately, there was no need to think too deeply about it.
The first and second options might provide more immediate combat power, but eventually, I wanted to rip out and use even a dragon’s bones.
[Beginning racial evolution!]
[Reconfiguring skeletal structure...]
Crack! Crunch! Cr-cr-crack!
A bizarre sensation swept through me as every bone in my body twisted and rearranged itself.
It felt as though someone had disassembled my entire body and then reconstructed it in a more efficient configuration. Every joint slid into place without resistance.
The slight grinding and misalignment between the joints connecting my different bones disappeared.
My patchwork body finally felt as though it had been integrated into a single, complete structure.
[Hybrid Skeleton Soldier (Lv. 1)]
[A skeletal structure specialized in interspecies integration. Bones belonging to different species can be accommodated with greater stability.]
[Excess experience accumulated before evolution has been converted into skill points.]
‘Oh, it even preserved my excess experience.’
Then another line appeared beneath it and caught my attention.
[You have acquired the unique skill Bone Inheritance (Lv. 1)!]
‘Inheritance?’
I had assumed that replacing a body part would also make me lose any skills embedded within it.
Did this mean I could preserve those abilities and combine them with new skills to create something different?
The system’s generosity almost moved me to tears, but the timer showed no mercy.
[Remaining operating time: 18 minutes.]
I really needed to deal with the urgent problem first.
I adjusted my grip on the longsword and headed farther down.
After descending another ten meters or so, I found the entrance to the shaft leading to the third underground level.
An ominous presence flowed from within.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Heavy vibrations rolled across the ground.
They were on an entirely different level from those produced by the Mud Golems above.
Along with the powerful waves shaking the entire mine shaft, a cold yet intensely powerful blue light leaked from the darkness beyond the passage.
[Warning! A powerful mana reaction has been detected.]
There it was.
What I had been searching for.
I cautiously peered around the end of the passage.
Then I froze.
At the center of a vast cavern stood a king made of stone.
Its body contained no mud whatsoever. It was composed entirely of solid granite and stood nearly five meters tall.
Instead of moss, blue crystals protruded like a crown from its massive shoulders and head.
The enormous arms extending from its hulking upper body radiated overwhelming pressure.
[Crown Stone Golem (Lv. 24)]
[Traits: Immune to physical attacks / Possesses a Guardian’s Core]
[Status: Alert / Physical resistance: Maximum]
‘So that thing is the master of this mine.’
Level twenty-four.
It would be rather difficult for the current me to defeat.
With its physical resistance, using my longsword against it would be like trying to excavate a boulder with a spoon.
[Remaining operating time: 15 minutes.]
I pressed myself against the shadows near the entrance and activated Precision Observation Eye.
A large and magnificent concentration of mana thrummed inside its chest.
That had to be the golem’s core.
‘Something that large could serve as a semipermanent power source.’
However, its density and hardness were incomparable to the soft mud of the Mud Golems.
Even its joints fit together with such precision that there wasn’t the slightest gap between them.
‘It doesn’t have a weakness.’
No, to be precise, it had a weakness.
I simply had no way to reach it.
Its core was located in the center of its chest, surrounded by a thick structure of solid granite.
I could drive a sword through a Mud Golem’s soft body, but this was entirely different. The instant I struck that massive rock with my worn-out longsword, the blade would undoubtedly snap.
‘My main character could have destroyed something like this in a single hit.’
I had never fought a golem with such a fragile body before.
But right now, I was nothing more than a skeleton who had replaced a few of his bones.
A fragile body required a strategy suited to the fragile.
[Remaining operating time: 13 minutes.]
The numbers flashed in the corner of my vision.
I clenched my teeth and slowly surveyed the cavern.
The Crown Stone Golem stood upon a broad circular floor—a flat granite platform with a radius of roughly ten meters.
Then I noticed a deep pit surrounding the platform’s outer edge.
‘That is...’
It wasn’t an ordinary pit.
I tried to examine it using Precision Observation Eye, but I couldn’t see the bottom.
It wasn’t merely deep.
It was unfathomably deep.
‘Right. This place had that mechanic.’
I remembered a post from the game’s strategy forum.
Title: Crown Stone Golem Mechanics in the Abandoned Mine
Do not fall into the pit. Even if the fall doesn’t kill you, getting out is a pain. I climbed down and measured it myself, and it’s at least twenty meters deep. New players without the right equipment won’t be able to escape.
The pit exists so the golem can push players into it. Be careful when it advances with its arms extended, because there won’t be enough room to dodge.
└ This game doesn’t have any new players, so that isn’t very helpful.
The mechanic had been designed to force players to fight the golem while avoiding the pit.
But I was considering using it in reverse.
‘What if I make the golem fall into that pit?’
It was at least twenty meters deep.
What would happen if a five-meter-tall mass of stone fell more than twenty meters?
Even granite wouldn’t be able to withstand its own weight.
No material was exempt from the laws of gravity.
And once its outer shell shattered, the core inside would almost certainly be exposed.
Because I remained pressed against the passage entrance and kept perfectly still, the Crown Stone Golem had yet to notice me.
Its glowing red eyes, indicating its alert state, slowly swept across the cavern.
As long as I remained outside its field of vision, I could avoid detection for a while longer.
The problem was how to lure such an enormous creature into the pit.
I looked up at the cavern ceiling.
Countless stalactites of various sizes hung densely overhead.
‘Those should be enough to draw its attention.’
[Remaining operating time: 10 minutes.]
I was out of time.
I stopped thinking and began to move.
[Skill: Beast’s Leap (Lv. 3) activated!]
Whoosh.
I launched myself upward while making as little noise as possible.
Scaling the cavern wall, I climbed close to the ceiling and concealed myself among the forest of stalactites.
Below me, the Crown Stone Golem’s crimson gaze continued moving slowly.
‘These legs may be agile, but they lack strength.’
I selected a stalactite that looked small enough to break and kicked it with all my might.
The stalactite tore free from its base and fell onto the cavern floor.
Boom!
“KUOOOO!”
The Crown Stone Golem’s crimson gaze snapped toward the sound.
It began to move.
‘Not yet. You’re still too far away. Come closer.’
I moved along the wall and positioned myself on the ceiling directly beside the pit.
Then I kicked down a second stalactite.
Boom!
“KUOAR!”
The creature turned and began walking toward the pit I had chosen.
‘Good.’
I dropped from the ceiling.
Then I landed on the opposite side of the golem’s line of sight, with my back toward the pit.
Thud. Thud.
Its footsteps shook the ground, sending vibrations throughout the entire cavern.
Its crimson eyes locked onto me.
“KUOOOOOO!”
Finally.
I backed toward the edge of the pit and stopped.
The precipice was only ten centimeters behind my heels.
The golem approached.
At first, it raised its fists.
Then it spread its arms and extended them horizontally.
It was the mechanic designed to push players into the pit.
Just as I had expected.
One step.
Two steps.
Its enormous palm came within reach.
Its granite fingers spread less than a handspan from my face.
Now.
[Skill: Beast’s Leap (Lv. 3) activated!]
Whoosh!
I sprang backward over the pit, kicked off the wall on the opposite side, and vaulted over the golem’s head.
Its gaze followed me, causing its upper body to lean forward with its momentum.
Its outstretched arms were already sweeping through empty air.
And the pit was directly in front of it.
“Uoooh...”
For the first time, the creature sounded startled.
Its arms flailed as it tried to regain its balance.
But its tremendous weight became its weakness.
Rumble!
Its upper body toppled into the pit.
‘It worked!’
However—
Rrrrrumble...
The sound stopped.
Half of the golem’s body had slipped into the pit before coming to an abrupt halt.
Its shoulders had become lodged against the entrance.
‘Damn it.’
The opening was just slightly narrower than the creature’s shoulders.
Trapped there, it thrashed violently, clawing at the walls of the pit.
[Remaining operating time: 6 minutes.]
‘Damn it. I need to hurry.’
It would have been ideal if I could steal the core while the creature was trapped, but there was no way my longsword could penetrate that granite.
The golem struggled desperately to pull itself free.
As it did, it repeatedly strained its head upward, trying to look at me.
Which meant...
‘It’s still completely focused on me.’
It would continue pursuing me to the bitter end.
[Remaining operating time: 5 minutes.]
I clenched my teeth and kicked off the ground.
[Skill: Beast’s Leap (Lv. 3) activated!]
Then I began running along the inside wall of the pit.
I raced across the vertical cliff beneath its narrow entrance.
My reverse-jointed legs clung to the rock as if embedded within it, generating propulsion with every step.
‘Hey, rockhead! I’m down here!’
I clacked my jaw as loudly as possible, provoking the creature.
If it wanted to chase me, it would have to come down.
The golem’s crimson eyes followed me.
Its struggle to climb upward changed direction.
Instead of pulling itself out, it began forcing its five-meter-tall body deeper into the hole.
Cr-cr-cr-cr-crack!
The sound of splitting rock reverberated throughout the cavern.
The rim of the pit could not withstand the golem’s strength and broke away in enormous chunks.
Its gigantic body was abruptly sucked down into the pit.