As the sun rose above the mountainous trails just outside the borders of Etveya's great forest. In a part of Etveya where there were no trees, there were paths of stone spikes sticking out to the ground beneath the mountain ridges, posing a danger to travelers and monsters who were not strong enough to pass through the dangerous road. The stone trail was dominated by scorching heat due to the composition of the place, especially at the peak of the day, causing hallucinations and dehydration for anyone brave or foolish enough to stay long or use the path as a traveling route.
The Golem Trail was one of the routes that merchants and travelers deliberately avoided because not only was the road extremely difficult to navigate using carriages, but it was also home to some of Etveya's more dangerous monsters.
The Feragins, one of the most common inhabitants of the area, cast shadows as they flew around the area, waiting for any sign of anything foolish enough to battle against the overwhelming force of the Golem Trail. A one-meter tall bird with jet black feathers covering a large portion of its body and heads resembling vultures but with two meters wide black wings resembling bats. They were silently watching, looking for signs of prey, and even if they did see one, they would not approach.
Feragins were scavengers, and rather than putting their own lives in danger, they were known to stay near the most prominent predators in the area, waiting for the predators to attack the prey, and then feeding on what was left after the much stronger predators had finished— Golems. In this case, the preys were left untouched after the golems finished feeding on the life force of monsters unlucky enough to be caught, leaving the corpses for the Feragins to feed on without competition.
Furthermore, the relationship between Golems and Feragins was the source of the expression...
"If there's a flock of Feragins nearby, it most likely means there's a golem nearby," Ordy said, raising his hand and smiling at the people following him.
"Now I remember why I despise this place," Halini said, her hands on her hips and sweat pouring from her brow. "This place is scorching hot! We've only been here thirty minutes and my forehead is already getting burned."
Ordy laughed. "Don't worry, you're still cute even with a coal-black forehead," he said as he turned away from them and walked forward. "Let's look this way."
Following Ordy were Halini, who was rubbing a white towel on her sweaty face, Mian, who was crossing her arms, Vien, who was simply walking silently, and Gideon, who was heavily breathing while wiping sweat from his face with his palm.
Gideon's gaze wandered throughout the area, nothing but brown and dark blue rocks scattered around, with the occasional normal animal like wolves, deers, and even boars regularly using the path to reach the other side, which was considered safer than using the route of the deep river filled with much dangerous monsters.
They arrived after a few hours of travel and decided to begin their quest after lunch.
Gideon rubbed his palm gently on his face as the scorching heat burned his cheek, but it didn't stop him from looking around with excitement in his eyes. His gaze wandered in every direction, marveling at the smooth and spiky stones that were strewn about, while following every step of his party mate in front of him. His awe was interrupted when Ordy motioned for them to come to a halt and take cover behind the spiky stones.
Gideon crouched and crept toward Ordy, making no sound. The immediate change in the mood of his party mates as he wandered his eyes around them astounded him. Ordy raised his right hand with such authority, while Halini's cheerful face turned serious, waiting for their leader's order while holding her staff with both hands, the hint of her earlier complaining about the heat completely vanished in an instant. Mian drew her bow, and Vien drew her daggers.
Ordy pointed to a pile of gray rocks beneath the tall spikes, where five Feragins were staying.
At first glance, the pile of rocks appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary, as if it was waiting for prey to approach. Gideon gripped the handle of his sword, his gaze fixed on the pile of gray rocks a few meters ahead.
"Mian and Halini, you know the deal: I need you to stay as far away from it as possible while bombarding it with arrows and magic."
Mian and Halini both responded, "I understand."
Ordy paused for a second before nodding. "Gideon, always stick with me; together with Vien, we'll do our best to focus the golem's attention on us, especially on me, but we'll just tickle it; once it does, just hide behind me. Don't fight it; it's Vien's job to do so because she can move in and out of the enemy's range," Ordy said solemnly, without a hint of his usual easygoing demeanor.
"Ordy," Gideon could only say, surprised by Ordy's change of expression, nodding with adoration in his eyes. "I understand."
Ordy rose to his feet and took up his shield and sword. Ordy smiled at Gideon as he walked toward the location of their potential enemy. "And the most crucial strategy of all..." he said, raising his sword. "Don't forget to have fun— onward, my warriors! Smack the living hell out of that living stone!" And ran toward the enemy, waving his massive sword and yelling gibberish.
"Onward!" Halini yelled as she ran, Loafy hovering over her shoulder.
"Onward!" Mian yelled as she followed, holding a wooden arrow with a white feather at the end.
"Yup, there goes the little hope I had— you mercilessly killed it the moment it showed up," Gideon said, rubbing his brow. However, when he raised his head again, he noticed Vien smiling at him. He returned the smile and stood up.
Gideon drew his sword as Vien crouched in preparation for a sprint. Both of them charged into the battle while screaming, both with smiles on their faces. "Onward!"
Gideon rushed to the location of their adversary, only to find Ordy smashing the pile of stones with his sword while Mian and Halini stood nearby.
"Hmm, odd, it's not reacting," Ordy observed as he gazed at the massive pile of gray rocks in front of him.
Gideon narrowed his eyes and looked at the pile of rocks. "Does that mean it's not a golem?"
Ordy shook his head. "I'm fairly certain it is."
"Perhaps it is no longer alive. Perhaps starved to death. Should we just dig it up like a long-overdue grave and get the core for free?" Halini speculated as she took a step forward. As a certain entity sensed Halini's massive amount of mana, the ground around them began to shake. "I knew it! That thing was just waiting for me to get close!" she screamed as she fled.
"Fuck," Gideon exclaimed as the ground beneath him shook and the massive pile of rocks in front of them moved and began to form a shape.
The used to be a pile of stones on the ground rose with a few seconds of delay, most of its body parts hidden inside a hole under the ground, and the massive pile of rock on the surface was only a small part of it. They preferred to live underground, where their true bodies were safe, and would only emerge to feed if a prey came dangerously close to their pile of rock outside their cave.
They could form a massive armor made of rocks thanks to their skill known as Stone Armor,which allowed them to manipulate rocks in a small area around them. They could also direct the stone giant's movements in order to launch destructive attacks. This skill had the effect of instantly turning the stones they were manipulating gray, making its entire armor gray.
The entire body was revealed, a towering five-meter-tall rock armor that slowly moved its foot forward while raising both of its massive arms. The golem's shape was solely based on the prey in front of them, which at the time was humans, so it took the shape of a human, a giant human made of stone.
"Oh, there it is, I thought it wouldn't show up," Ordy said casually as he raised his sword to prepare for battle.
"Fucking hell! Based on your description last night, I expected it to be much, much smaller!" screamed Gideon as he stared at the massive foe in front of him.
"It's small, Gravel Golem's body is just under a meter at most," Ordy replied.
What followed was a loud roar that sounded like an organ, but was filled with an eerie sense that could frighten even the most fearless monsters in the area, and it was ear-piercing enough to make the five Feragins in the distance flee in terror.
Even though the rock giant opened its mouth, the roar came from the chest area, which housed the Golem's true body. It raised both of its hands, forming a shield and sword that looked exactly like Ordy's sword and shield.
Ordy laughed. "Look, Gideon, it copied my weapons!"
Gideon shook his head and clutched his sword. "Oh, great, as if its monstrous body wasn't frightening enough."
The armored behemoth's head shifted its gaze toward the two people in front of it, signaling the start of the battle between the Super Explosive Marvelous Troopers and the Class E monster, Gravel Golem of the Golem Trail.
"And we're going to need five of these stupid shits?"