Chapter 80 : Ice Castle (2)

When I first entered the labyrinth, I felt malice.

I wondered who that malice came from and why it was created.

I feel like I might have learned a small piece of that answer by chance.

It’s something I can naturally assume when I think about why that person keeps showing interest in what I do.

‘What should I aim for?’

At first, it was to heal Princess Kanabi.

Then, it was to improve my own skills.

But now, I might need to come here according to the will of the gods.

‘Whatever the case, the fact that I need to enter the labyrinth hasn’t changed.’

And neither has the situation where I must kill the massive ice golem blocking my path.

-Gulp!

“It looks even bigger up close. I can’t imagine how we’ll defeat that thing……”

“If you see what the mages can do, you’ll know it’s possible. No one can match a mage in firepower.”

Mages are often referred to as the ‘flower of war.’

But having lived a life far from the battlefield, all I knew about mages was through hearsay.

“We’re ready.”

It had been 30 minutes since the two mages left to discuss how to deal with the golem.

Finally, they returned, saying they were ready.

“I’m finally going to see magic in action.”

“This is your first time seeing it, right?”

“Yes. Honestly, I’m really excited.”

Since they were nobles brought by Princess Lasiell, I expected nothing less than a spectacular display of magic.

They themselves seemed quite confident, too.

First, we had to wake the ice golem.

“Waking it now!”

Our team slowly advanced in a combat formation.

-Rumble!

As we approached the castle entrance, the ice golem began to move, just as we expected.

“Don’t fall back, maintain formation!”

As the ice golem began to move, everyone instinctively started backing away in fear.

At the leader’s command, the team members regained their composure and returned to their positions.

The two golems swung their massive arms.

“Whoa!”

Boom!!!

One smashed the ground, while the other lunged at us.

Thud, thud, thud!

“No way!”

Winds swirled around the two mages.

A wave of heat surged, and in an instant, a massive projectile shot towards the ice golem.

No, it wasn’t a missile as I initially thought—it was a fireball.

‘Fireball is usually a basic skill in games…’

Seeing this, I realized something clearly.

I can’t measure these mages by the knowledge I have from games.

“That’s incredible.”

“That’s why they’re mages.”

Another gigantic fireball was launched at the golem.

Boom!!!!!!!!!!!

The ice golem hit by the fireball fell backward.

Thud!

With two fireballs striking each ice golem, the mages achieved exactly what we had hoped for.

“Attack!!!”

The ranged combat team fired first.

As soon as their attacks hit, the melee combat team charged at the golem.

Everyone wielded heavy weapons capable of breaking stone rather than swords.

Clang—Bang!!!

“Aim for the spot hit by the fireball! That’s the weak point!”

Since they were ice golems, the places struck by the massive fireballs were naturally their weak points.

Crack—!

“It’s cracking!”

As the leader shouted, everyone relentlessly targeted the weak spots.

The ice golem, regaining its senses from the fireball’s impact, swung its arm at the people clinging to it.

“Ahhh!”

“Don’t get greedy, fall back!”

“We were so close to breaking it! Ahhh!”

Perhaps because they knew it would be harder to defeat the golem once it stood up again, some people stubbornly held their ground—only to be flung away by its arm.

“That person!”

I hurriedly asked those waiting nearby to rescue the person who seemed seriously injured.

How great would it be if I could heal from a distance, like in a game?

Then there’d be no need to transport them here.

But no one possesses such a skill.

‘If someone did, I’d have done anything to learn it.’

The injured person, bleeding and unconscious, was carried in, and I immediately began treating him.

Seeing the blood flowing from his head, I thought he was unlucky.

‘Of all places, he had to hit his head on the ground. Should I consider it lucky that he didn’t die instantly?’

I can’t tell if this person is lucky or unlucky.

Falling on his head is unlucky, but having me here to heal him quickly is lucky.

“Ugh… my head.”

“Are you feeling a bit better? Do you still have a severe headache?”

The man, who seemed to recover quickly thanks to the divine power flowing through him, opened his eyes, and I asked about his pain.

“My head… feels dizzy… Where am I… uhmm…”

“Can you tell me your name?”

“Uh… Ephard… I’m 41… My youngest was born last year… Uh… My arm hurts, Priest.”

As he spoke, his slurred speech gradually returned to normal.

“You’re doing well. Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”

While healing his injured arm, I tried to keep him talking.

“I kept hitting the golem with my weapon to kill it. Cracks started forming on its transparent body.”

Realizing his memory was intact, I felt relieved that my quick treatment had worked effectively.

‘So, it’s just his head and arm that are injured?’

If his clothes were thinner, I would have removed them to check, but since that wasn’t an option, I had to ask directly.

“Can you try moving a bit?”

“Yes. Oh, I feel so much better now. Ugh, when I was flying through the air, I thought I was done for… huff…”

For someone claiming to feel better, his breathing was still uneven.

“Hmm… Your breathing sounds odd. Let me press here gently.”

“Ouch!”

When I placed my hand on his chest and gently pressed down, he screamed in pain.

“As I thought, you’ve broken a rib. I’ll heal it right away.”

He seemed to realize the pain only after I pointed it out.

“Just as you said, Priest, my rib must be broken. I can’t move properly.”

Seeing his pain, I knew I shouldn’t delay any further and immediately used divine power.

As the healing progressed, the man’s expression gradually relaxed.

“How do you feel? Try taking a deep breath.”

“Hoo… Hoo… It feels much better. I don’t think anything hurts now. Can I get up?”

“Yes, you may get up now.”

He seemed eager to stop lying down and quickly sat up at my words.

“Oh~ I thought I was badly injured, but you healed me in an instant. Amazing!”

I was already aware of my healing skills, but compliments always felt good to hear.

After performing a final check, I gave him permission to rest.

“Lie down and rest a bit more. Moving too much after a head injury isn’t good.”

“Weren’t all my injuries healed?”

“They are, but your body must still be very weak.”

“Ah, this is nothing. Watch!”

The man grabbed his heavy weapon from the ground and started swinging it effortlessly in the air.

Seeing him wield such a massive weapon with one hand showed me that his muscular body wasn’t just for show.

“Uh… You’re definitely strong.”

The force from his swings even created gusts of wind, causing my hair to flutter.

“This means I’m good to fight again, right?”

“Make sure to avoid shaking your head too much while fighting. If you start feeling dizzy, stop immediately.”

Fighting monsters with such brute strength would inevitably involve taking hits, but I thought it was better to remind him anyway.

“Don’t worry, Priest. You healed me so well that I don’t feel dizzy at all. If anything feels off, I’ll withdraw immediately.”

“Alright. Before you go, let me cast a buff on you again.”

“Oh! Sounds great.”

After casting a new buff on the man and watching him disappear towards the ongoing battle…

“Priest!”

There were people calling me urgently.

Of course, it wasn’t just one person getting injured while fighting the ice golem.

Many were being carried over with broken bones after being struck by the creature.

“I’m coming! Lay them down over there!”

There were many patients who needed me.

Crash!

“THRICH!”

“Find the core! The core!”

Finally, the ice golem’s body shattered.

The important thing was that breaking its body didn’t mean it was dead.

They had to find the golem’s core.

And that core was incredibly valuable.

“It’s not on the left!”

“What about the right?”

“Let’s try breaking the leg section!”

“Wait! Everyone, move back! We’re casting another spell!”

They decided to attack the cracked golem one more time.

To avoid getting caught in the aftermath of the fireball, everyone hurriedly stepped back.

The only one left was the leader, still holding the golem’s attention.

Whoosh~!

Boom!!!

Once again, heat surged.

“Whoa~!”

“Wow, that was intense!”

In the blink of an eye, a massive fireball struck the golem directly, and the team marveled and applauded the precise strike.

The golem, already covered in cracks, couldn’t withstand the second fireball’s attack.

“It’s splitting apart!”

“It’s falling, be careful!”

-Kuoooo!!

Thud!

With a heavy, dull cry, the golem struck by the fireball collided with another golem behind it, causing them both to collapse.

And then…

Ssssshhhhh!

As the bodies of the golems, hit by the fireball, began to melt rapidly, the cores were finally revealed.

“There’s the core!”

“Wow~ That one was in its sole?”

“The other one is in the right shoulder!”

The team members rushed toward the fallen golems.

“Pull it out, pull it out!! Put some strength into it!”

“Cut off its ankle!”

Boom! Boom!! Crash!!!

In fierce battles like this, loud noises were inevitable.

Especially when trying to destroy a golem, smashing its body produced unavoidable noise.

‘They’re really fighting well.’

There were a few hiccups here and there, but the fact that they handled two ice golems without any major crises was impressive in itself.

“They’ve got it out!”

-Whoa!!

Once they located the cores, extracting them happened in an instant.

With the weak points removed, the ice golems stopped moving entirely.

The battle was over.

While others could now rest, this was the busiest time for me.