The Super Explosive Marvelous Troopers party set out on a journey to fulfill their new quests. From the safety of Figliad's town to the perilous forest of Etveya. All five of them, including the recently recruited Gideon.
Their loud laughter and long stories could be heard throughout their entire journey as they walked down the path toward the Intersection Clearing. Ordy was the most chatty, telling them stories about their previous adventures when there were only three of them, as well as stories about the children at the orphanage where Ordy was staying.
They were so engrossed in his stories that they didn't realize they'd arrived inside the Intersection Clearing and the sun had already set. Darkness had already taken over the starry night sky by the time they arrived at the safe grassland of the Intersection Clearing. They built their campfire in their usual location, at the border of the clearing and the Etveya forest, and ate their dinner while singing to the music of guitars used by other adventurers from other camps.
Along with the music, there were gentle movements of the trees surrounding the area, as well as distant sounds of monsters, creating a combination of calming music created by both nature and the people resting inside the Intersection Clearing.
"You would find its core in the center of the Gravel Golem's chest, but getting it is not an easy task because they will try to fight back and throw rocks at you or smash you with their rock body," Ordy said as he punched the air and shifted his closed eyes to Gideon. "And once their brown sphere core is exposed, use your weapon of choice to destroy the softer shell protecting it and grab the core with your hand; the golem will crumble to the ground the moment the core is removed from the shell."
Gideon nodded twice slowly. "Oh, that's exactly what we need to do."
Ordy smiled and nodded in response. "Yes, it's as simple as that; you don't need to be strong to defeat a Gravel Golem; after all, if you fight it with a sword, your sword would be shattered in half before you could even dent its rock-hard armor."
"They are immune to almost all outside attacks, so brute force isn't an option; even the level of magic attack I have can't do much more than annoy them," Halini said, chuckling. Mian and Vien sat silently next to her, listening. "It's a good thing they have obvious weaknesses, are slow due to their weight and size, and rely heavily on mana to move their bodies, so we shouldn't have any trouble defeating them... at the very least one at a time."
"A core as a weakness?" Gideon asked, placing his hand on his chin. "Does every golem have that kind of weakness?"
Ordy gave a nod. "The majority of them. Because their true body is the shell that protects the core, not the humanoid armor that covers them. Keep in mind, however, that while they have obvious flaws that can be exploited, the majority of them are extremely difficult to deal with despite knowing those flaws. And the only reason Gravel Golems are the easiest to deal with is that their real body cannot fly."
Gideon furrowed his brows. "Golems that can fly? Why is it that everything in this world can fly? The last thing I saw that could fly even though it shouldn't was a massive snake the size of a truck, and I'm not exaggerating."
Gideon's response made Ordy laugh. "I have no idea what a truck is, but it sounds funny."
Gideon cleared his throat, realizing what he had just said inadvertently. "In my country, it's a type of vehicle made of metal and rubber," he shrugged, attempting to change the subject quickly. "Anyway, if the golem's true body is the shell, what do the golems eat? Grass? Rock?" he asked, the first thought that came to mind.
"Life Force," Halini responded immediately.
Gideon's narrowed gaze was drawn to Halini. "Life force?"
Halini's face began with a cheerful smile but quickly transformed into a mischievous smile. "Golems feed on the life force and mana of living things, and humans are their favorite of all; once they catch you with their extended rock limbs, they will enclose you inside their armored body and slowly consume all of your life force and mana," she said, raising her index finger. "It would be a long and agonizing death, sometimes lasting more than a week. Given that our innate mana and life force can replenish themselves, the golem will never stop draining you as long as you continue to breathe."
Gideon's jaw gradually dropped as he stared at Halini with fear in his eyes. "Uh... that sounds like something out of a horror story."
Halini chuckled at his response, her hand on her stomach, a very cheerful giggle, she sounded so innocent that no one would believe she had just said what she had just said. Ordy's baritone laughter followed Halini's soft giggle, tapping both Gideon's and Halini's shoulders.
Mian, who was listening quietly, sighed and crossed her arms. "Don't think too much about it; Halini is just playing with you; she loves seeing intense expressions on people's faces."
Gideon shook his head and looked at Mian. "So what she said wasn't true?"
Mian paused for a few seconds before exhaling once more. "It's true. That's how golems feed, and while it's not a painful week-long process, they could suck all of your life force dry in five minutes at most."
"That sounds much worse!" Gideon screamed, rubbing his brow with his hand. "Well, what can one possibly expect from a freaking world full of oddities that may be created to wipe out every life in this world?"
What followed was laughter from Ordy, Halini, Mian, and even Vien couldn't help but smile at his remark.
"You're hilarious, Gideon," Halini said, her hands still in her stomach.
"It's not a joke, this world despises humans," Gideon replied, his eyes narrowing.
"Don't worry, if a golem encounters a group, they tend to be drawn to the person with the most mana in the group," Mian assured, shifting her gaze to Halini. "I'm pretty sure, just like the last time, all eyes would be on Halini."
Halini's response was to hug Mian. "Yes, I remember that, I kept running around because the golems were always chasing after me on sight, but now we have two new members, let's see who gets chased the most this time."
"It's still you," Mian responded immediately. "Be prepared to run around again, or else the golem will sip you slowly like a glass of wine."
"Eh!" screamed Halini as she cradled Mian in her arms.
When he saw Halini's response, Gideon laughed and shook his head. "How does your own medicine taste?" he screamed.
Then came the laughter from Ordy, Mian, Vien, and Halini, who joined them in their laughter.
After eating and conversing with one another, their group decided to retire to bed. Mian, Halini, and Vien slept on the ground next to the campfire on a fabric brown carpet, while Ordy slept on the ground across the campfire on a fabric gray mattress.
Gideon, on the other hand, slept on top of a tree near the campfire, his back against the trunk.