The Ultimate Sage Who Faked Incompetence and Was Disinherited Just Wants to Enjoy His New Life! - Episode 84: Mithril Golem

Episode 84: Mithril Golem

The next day. We all headed for the abandoned mine. Since Jill and Elise had scouted it beforehand, we were able to arrive quickly.

“Is this the only entrance? I heard mines usually have several entrances.”

“This is the only proper entrance we found. The others were collapsed—maybe to prevent poison gas from leaking, or to stop outsiders from mining.”

“I see.”

It seemed like a pretty thorough job. Then why was this one entrance left intact? I wasn’t sure, but for now, I decided to use Analyze to investigate it in detail.

“Hmm, it looks like this entrance leads to a dead end not too far in.”

“What do you mean? Did they block off the tunnel halfway?”

“Maybe they sealed it to stop the Mithril Golem from getting out.”

When I checked beyond the dead end, I detected the presence of the Mithril Golem. There was no doubt about it.

“There’s a reaction further in. It’s probably the Mithril Golem.”

“So if we dig through this blocked tunnel, we’ll reach the Mithril Golem?”

“What do we do? Should we dig?”

Lilia tilted her head, and Ardan fell into thought. If they sealed the tunnel to keep the Mithril Golem from getting out, that means the people at the time thought it was too dangerous to release. Back then, the town still existed. But now, it’s gone.

If we can’t defeat the Mithril Golem, we should be able to seal it back in. After all, unlike the Guardian we fought before, the Mithril Golem doesn’t seem to have any digging magic. If it did, it would’ve escaped already.

“If we break through, poison gas might leak out. If that happens, we’ll abort the mission to slay the Mithril Golem. Dig carefully and slowly.”

“Roger that!”

Ardan’s voice was heavy with caution. It looked like he decided to respect Jill’s wishes. Ardan probably wanted it too. And since the area was already in ruins, any damage would be minimal.

I worked with Lilia to carefully dig while reinforcing the tunnel. Jill stayed alert, ready to speak up at the slightest sign of anything unusual.

“I can also detect the smell of poison gas. Leave it to me!”

Pii-chan proudly puffed up its chest as it said that. Is that really okay? Its body’s small, so I’d think its lethal limit is lower… But more importantly, can Pii-chan even die?

“Hey, can Pii-chan die?”

“I don’t think so. It looks like a bird, but it’s originally just fire, after all.”

Yeah, that’s true. It probably doesn’t have a heart—or even a brain. Now that I think about it, it’s just a clump of magic power. Maybe the concept of ‘death’ doesn’t apply to it.

“In that case, that’s reassuring. I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me!”

With two members on poison gas detection duty, the digging went smoothly. We didn’t manage to break through by noon. So we stopped for lunch. Ardan had already prepared it for us.

“How’s it going?”

“We’re almost through. Once we are, we’ll try to lure the Mithril Golem outside.”

“I’ll take care of that. It’s safer to fight outside than in a narrow tunnel that could collapse at any moment.”

The question is whether the Mithril Golem will actually come out… But it seems to have noticed us digging and is heading this way. If that’s the case, there’s a good chance it’ll come out on its own.

If that doesn’t work, we’ll have Ardan provoke it and lure it out.

“Let’s eat, rest for a bit, and then resume. From there, we’ll be on high alert in case the Mithril Golem appears at any moment.”

We all nodded in agreement. To defeat the Mithril Golem, we’d need everyone’s help. We’d rely on each other to do our best.

Not long after we resumed digging, we reached the area near the Mithril Golem’s chamber. As for the poison gas we had been worried about—it hadn’t appeared so far.

“There doesn’t seem to be any poison gas. So I’m going to widen the hole. Be careful— the Mithril Golem is already right there.”

“Got it. Once the hole is open, you and the others fall back immediately.”

If it’s Ardan, he’ll be fine. We safely widened the hole. From the gradually expanding opening, a log-like arm suddenly jutted out. As we continued to open the hole further, the Mithril Golem began to crawl out.

At the same time, Ardan moved into the hole. He crossed paths with us as we retreated.

From deep inside the tunnel, we could hear a rumbling sound that reverberated through our bodies. The sound steadily got closer.

“It’s about to reach the surface—get ready!”

We heard Ardan shout, and we quickly prepared ourselves for battle. Ardan came bursting out of the hole. And at the same moment, a huge cloud of dust rose into the air. It looked like the entrance had collapsed due to the Mithril Golem’s movements.

But the indestructible Golem shoved aside the fallen dirt and stones and revealed itself. Its polished body gleamed a pale green, like a mirror. That color matched the description of mithril in the books.

It really seemed to be made entirely of mithril. However, perhaps because mithril is such a rare material, it was smaller than a typical Golem. That said, it was still the same size as Ardan. The most striking feature was its unusually thick arms.

“Hey, if we destroy the Mithril Golem’s core, its body turns into magic stone, right?”

“That’s how it should work.”

“Isn’t that kind of a waste of all that mithril?”

“Hmm? Well, I suppose so…”

Destroying a Golem’s core turns it into a magic stone. It’s the same principle as when monsters become magic stones after being defeated.

However, the immortal Golems have a unique trait. Any adventurer would know this—if you destroy the core while a limb has been severed from the main body, that detached part remains as it is. No one knows why.

“Isn’t there some way we can bring back at least one of its arms?”

“Cutting off the Mithril Golem’s arm, huh? Might be possible. But it’ll reattach almost immediately. Unless we destroy the core at the exact moment the arm is severed, it won’t work.”

Just like Ardan said. Even if you cut off a limb, it goes right back. That’s why Golems are said to be immortal.

“Then we just need to keep the arm from going back!”

“How would we do that?”

“We pin it down!”

Pii-chan said that with full confidence. It’s totally useless in battle, so it seems like it’s trying to contribute with advice at least.

Still, it had a point. With magic, we might be able to restrain it temporarily.

“Lilia, how about using Stone Hand to grab it?”

“Got it. I’ll give it a try!”

Our strategy was set: first, sever one of its arms. Then, attack the main body’s core and destroy the Mithril Golem.

First, Ardan would take on the Mithril Golem’s attacks. Maybe it got annoyed at him darting around earlier. Because now the Mithril Golem focused entirely on attacking Ardan with intense fury.

Ardan deflected the blows with his shield. He must’ve realized it was impossible to block them directly. It seemed like the Mithril Golem was stronger than normal Golems. Its movements even looked faster somehow.

While it was fixated on Ardan, we began preparing our magic. First, we needed to immobilize it. Since it had resistance to fire, we used earth magic to bind it.

“Stone Hand!”

A hand made of earth reached up from the ground and grabbed the Mithril Golem’s legs. The Golem tried to tear it off with brute force. It didn’t look like it would hold for long.

Seeing that, Ardan quickly retreated back to where we were.

“Lilia!”

“Leave it to me. Freeze Barrier!”

A fog-like mist with a pale sky-blue hue enveloped the area around us. With this, it should be safe to use fire magic. I focused and gathered my magic power all at once.

“Flame Tornado!”

I judged that beginner-level magic like Fire Tornado wouldn’t be enough. So I boldly chose this one instead. Scattering sparks, the swirling flames wrapped around the Mithril Golem. As expected of a Mithril Golem—it didn’t budge at all.

However, little by little, the shine on its surface began to fade. It must have been softening.

The Mithril Golem broke free from its restraints. Step by step, it came closer. I stopped maintaining the magic. As the flame vortex disappeared, Ardan charged toward the Mithril Golem. Steam was rising from the Golem’s body.

Just as it raised its arm to strike at Ardan, Jill rushed in like a gale and sliced off the Mithril Golem’s arm. It was a sharp strike with no hesitation or expectation of the sword being deflected. With a heavy thud that shook the ground, the arm fell.

“Stone Hand!” 

“Stone Arrow!”

Lilia used magic to bind the arm that had fallen to the ground. With this, it shouldn’t return to its original place right away. At the same time, I fired a marker at the location of the Mithril Golem’s core, which I had identified earlier using Analyze.

A single stone arrow, packed with concentrated power, pierced the area around the Mithril Golem’s waist. The aim was perfect.

The Mithril Golem didn’t seem to realize it had lost an arm, and it brought down its short remaining arm. Naturally, it didn’t hit Ardan.

Ardan stepped back. As the Mithril Golem tried to follow him and straightened its posture, Jill’s sword stabbed deeply. It hit precisely into the spot where the stone arrow had struck just moments before.

The Mithril Golem uttered incomprehensible words as it transformed into a magic stone.