I - the wizard, Magnus - was finally taking a deep breath as we approached the goal.
　My companions were also filled with nervousness.
　Ramsey was indeed a legendary adventurer. He was the man I expected, and he had done more than I expected. The labyrinth inside the most difficult ruins was a maze, and in just one day he broke through it, though I don't say it was easy, and led us to the deepest part of it.

'Thank you, Ramsey. I thank you again.
Well it is I who should be the one thanking you. It's true that I once came here with a group of friends. But I was never able to take the Key to the Earth Palace with me. And that's what I've been regretting.

　Ramsey and I stared at the pedestal far ahead of us.
　The deepest part of the ruins is a treasure trove of three magic items.
　One of them is the Key to the Earth Palace, which is what I'm looking for (although the other two are not essential, but I want them badly enough).

　However, in order to obtain the deepest treasure, there was one more thing left to do.
　The pedestal of the matter was located at the back of the hall.
　In the middle of the hall, the huge body of the Boss Guardian towered in the middle of the hall.
　It exuded a quiet, murderous power.
　It was a three-meter tall golem that resembled a muscular man.
　Only from the neck up was the head of a bull.
　Its entire body was made of mithril. The blade of the huge axe held in both hands is made of adamantite.

"Once, the moment we saw that monster, we gave up and took a right turn.

　Ramsey spoke of his bitter failure.

''Be careful, Magnus-sama. That is the most powerful guardian the magical empire has ever created. "It is one of the abominations known as the Four Monsters.

　Chocolat also warned me.

　The name--Goz.
　Level 31.

　Far stronger than the Mithril Golem in Delvembro's Demon Castle, that was the proof that the technology of the old magical empire was that much better. They are crystals.
　It's a crystal, of course, and its magic resistance is well-documented.
　It's a tough opponent for me. It's going to be a long battle.

　However, the MP I spent on the Kaiser Sandworm had already been fully recovered.
　It was thanks to the Demon Stone that I had obtained through a series of excavations of ancient ruins. Just by keeping this in your pocket and resting, it has the effect of gradually restoring your MP.

　I also took out another rare item that I had unearthed in the ancient ruins from the Magic Tool Bag III.
　It's an old pottery the size of your hand. It's the Demon God's Vase.
　You shake it lightly and call out the name.

"Come on, Gladius Mk-II.

　Then a thick smoke billows out of the mouth of the jar, and out of the smoke, my buddy's (Gradius) giant body appears.

　As you can see, the Demon's Vase was a common 'magic item' in the days of the old magic empire, capable of holding and transporting a whole magical creature inside it with ease. In fact, if you searched the ruins, you could find them everywhere.
　However, the majority of the Magician's Vases that they were able to excavate had, of course, already been used, or at least contained their contents. And even if you excavate them, they're completely useless. You can't know the name of the magic creature inside, so you can't call it up, and it doesn't have the ability to store a second body.

　The unused Demon Urn: Empty, which has become increasingly rare, is classified as rank A in the guidebooks.
　I used it backwards in the Strategy Guide to find out where it was, and unearthed it from the ruins of Mud. Even in an infiltration mission like this one, I wanted to be able to take Gradius with me!

　He lightly tapped his trusty partner's sturdy touch to confirm it, and then looked back at everyone to confirm it.

'As originally planned--me and Gladius alone in the hall.

　Everyone gives me a silent nod back, with a stern look on their faces.

　As soon as they stepped into this hall, Mithril Golems Goz entered a state of battle.
　At the same time, the entrance and exit of the hall was a trick that was sealed off by a magical ward. It's a standard trap in the deepest parts of ancient ruins everywhere.
　The story is that it's one of two things: either the intruder is wiped out or the boss guardian dies.

I had no confidence in my ability to fight against this boss guardian, whose level has reached the thirtieth mark and who has a strong magic resistance, while protecting everyone.
　In fact, Ramsey and the triplets, who are not crunchy fighters, have no way to deal damage against a solid golem made of mithril.
　If that's the case, it's better to just me and Gladius to go in.
　It was that kind of cold-hearted decision, and everyone supported it.

　Before rushing in, me and Krim cast spells nonchalantly, but arrow by arrow. I'll cast as much enhancement magic as I can cast on me and Gladius.
　Once that's done, it's time to fight.

''Good luck, Magnus-san!
I know you're a natural at this!
I wish you good luck.

　The triplets give me a big cheer of encouragement.

'Please don't leave me like the developer (Dad), okay?

　I nodded vigorously to Chocolat, who looked uncomfortable and anxious, and I nodded back.

I'm not going to be able to get my hands on it. Can I leave the unfinished business to you?

　I strike lightly at Ramsey, who thrusts his fist out at me.

'Don't worry!　I'm the one who's watching over you.

　I'm sent out into the hall as Krim pats me on the back as hard as he can.
　My partner and I step inside together, side by side.
　Immediately--

'BMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!'

　Both of Goz's eyes lit up and he roared.
　He rushed forward, wielding a great axe.
　My reliable partner stood in its path.
　Both of them are three meters tall, a great clash between two heavyweight (golems).
　Gladius strikes with his huge fist and Goz strikes with his huge axe.
　The result was a painful split - far from it.

　Gladius' punches also struck the top of Goz's arm block, and the impact managed to shatter the surface layer of the enemy golem's arm, just slightly.
　Meanwhile, Goz's great axe had carved a single, not-so-shallow cut diagonally across Gladius's shoulder and side.
　Even though Gladius was covered with multiple layers of defensive buffs from Krim's magic.

　Fearfully, that meant the destructive power of an adamantine axe!

　As it was, Gladius and Goz stopped and exchanged fists and axes, but clearly Gladius was the lesser of the two.
　It's not that my partner is weak by any means.
　The masterpiece golem, a masterpiece of ancient magical civilization, is that much more monstrous.

''After all, they don't give you an easy win...''

　Our winning pattern is to have the buffed Gladius serve as a shield and focus on attacking magic from the rear, but it won't work against this opponent.
　If this is the case, Gradius will be scrapped early in the night.
　Hence, we need to disperse Goz's consciousness and targets (targets) and effectively distribute the damage.
　Hence, instead of hiding behind Gladius' back, I came out from behind my partner and attacked Goz from the left slant with magic.

''Si tilt on noo-el!''

With Stone IV, which is also the attribute of blows, I strike Goz's right arm.
　The powerful stone gravel of Goz's angered eyes slowly turn toward me.

''BOOOOM!

　With a yell, Goz shoots a fireball from his wide open mouth.
　I manage to avoid that first bullet by jumping to the side. If it weren't for the help of Krim's Divine Shield and the increased evasion power of the Oborooro's Long Cloak of Gale, I might not have been able to dodge.

　But that didn't stop the fireball breaths from blowing from Goz's mouth either.
　They were fired in rapid succession at about one second intervals, and I tried to avoid them, but even though I was a level 6 higher, it was basically impossible for me, a wizard, to dodge them all.
　I was given several shots, and they were sure to remove my HP. I scowl at the pain.

　But while enduring the pain, I counterattack with the Stone IV and shoot Goz in the right arm.
　The benefit of Krim's Resist Fire's ability to reduce the flame attribute was tremendous. The fact that Goz can also use fireballs to attack from a distance was described in the Strategy Book. That's why I had taken countermeasures.

　We still had countermeasures to take to kill Goz.
　I continued to exchange fireballs with , and after drawing the bull-headed golem's full attention to me, I tried to retreat at once.

''Please, Gladius!

　Instead, my partner teams up with Goz, this time to protect me as a shield.
　In the meantime, I retreat to the area near the doorway, where everyone is watching in a state of suspense.

　The doorway is blocked by a magical membrane of light.
　We can see inside and outside, each other, but we can't go back and forth. The same goes for the flying tools and my magic. The ancient technicians who designed this fortress would never allow a situation like this to happen where they shoot Goz unilaterally from outside the hall.
　But there were holes in that design as well.

"God says, 'Great is your healing,' says God. "And God said, 'I give thee great healing.

　Krim will cast a recovery spell on me from outside the hall.
　The magic of the wizards cannot interfere beyond this membrane of light, but the magic of the monks can.
　The ancient Alavana, with its overwhelmingly magical civilization, disregarded the monks' magic and failed to take precautions against it.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of it.

I'll heal all the wounds in your body as much as I can. But your heart is not broken, is it?

　Crim asked with a nasty look on his face as he looked at me, his body covered in soot all over, even after the burns had healed.
　I respond to his hateful words with a hateful look.

"If I'm worried about that, I'd be worried that Krim's MP will run out first,
"Don't mess with me!　And I'm not going to ask you twice. I'm here to watch over you. Don't worry and stay strong!

　Crim sends me out again, and I step out from behind Gladius again, casting a spell.
I shoot Goz's right arm with Stone IV to get his attention.
　I spread out the damage so that Gladius is not alone and falling prey to the Great Axe.
　No matter how badly I'm hurt, I can always recover with Krim's recovery magic.
　It's the only way I'll be able to maneuver with her in the party!

　　　　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.

　It was a long game, as I had predicted in advance. Goz was a really tough guardian.
　Meanwhile, Gladius was being torn to shreds by an Adamantite axe, and I was consuming a lot of MP.
　And yet we were still standing. We were fighting.
　Our damage spread strategy had worked well, and we had been able to survive the long battle.
　And the time to settle the score was coming.

'Si tilt on noo-el!

　How many shots have we already had?　My Stone IV, which stops counting when it crosses the fifty mark, shoots at Goz's right arm.
　Finally, I succeed in breaking him in half, back and forth at the elbow.
　I've been aiming for this part of the body to be destroyed, and ever since the fight began, I've only attacked Goz's right arm.

''Now---Twinfist!

　At my command, the Gladius Mk-II activates the Skill.
　I activate the Soul of the Double Fist, spraying my right fist with hot air and my left fist with cold air.
　He strikes left and right at the same time.
　The aim is a single point on Goz's left hand!
　Normally, this is a big axe that is held up with both hands, but first I smashed my right arm, and as soon as I did, Goz had to support it with one left hand. The handle became unstable.
　It was the handle that Gladius struck with the .

　Goz's left hand was launched high, and the impact knocked the big axe out of the air.
　The axe flies through the air, spinning wildly and stabbing the floor.
　I was already moving to unroll it.

"Sil-tilt-len-e-nuh-genk-tilt-ha!

Using Strength II to drastically increase his Strength, he pulled out an axe of substandard size for a human body and immediately threw it to his partner.
　Gladius caught it and slammed it down on Goz as hard as he could.
　The adamantite blade gouged away at the total mithril construction of Goz.

　This was the final phase of the plan I had set up.
　The most efficient way to damage a golem whose entire body is made of metal is to use a harder metal to cut it down!

　On the other hand, Goz lost his gains and his offensive power was drastically reduced at once.
　I was no longer a match for Gladius, who was wielding the great axe of Adamantite.
　It was a victory for me and my partner's cooperation, and a victory for Krim's support.


　Goz's hulking body was completely smashed and a large amount of Ancient Alavana Refined Mithril was scattered across the floor.
　The film of light that had blocked the entrance to the hall disappeared.

''Brilliant, Mr. Magnus!
I've never seen so much mithril in my life, how much does it cost?
Come and help us.
'It was very cool, Master Magnus!　I love, love, love!

　The triplets and Chocolat come running into the hall with joy.

'Thank you, Magnus!　Thanks to you, there's nothing left for me to think about!　Hahaha, I can't thank you enough!

　Even Ramsey rushed over to me in a big huff, as if he was ten or twenty years younger.
　I looked back at my friends with a smile - and froze with that expression on my face.

　Crim isn't the kind of person to frolic with. That's why he was still in the doorway.
　Right beside them, three young women, whom they had never met before, were standing.
　They were trying to pawn off Ku()lli()m as a person.

Please don't move. And please stay calm.
We don't want to be too rough on you if we can help it.

　With the knife against Crim's neck, he says with a pained face.
"It was the six stars of the Melancholy Volunteers - their numbers 1 and 2.