Getting Closer to the Tower

It wasn't even noon yet. The light of the sun shone throughout the whole clearing.

Stone Golems were rock creatures created by sorcery. Fueled by Spirit magic rocks or just regular magic rocks, they followed only the orders of their creator. They wouldn't stop moving until the orders were cancelled or they ran out of fuel.

『・・・――――・・・』

『――・・・――・・・』

『――――・・・・・・』

The golem's heads, modeled after a human's, had eye sockets. Red lights flickered inside them. When completely still, the light remained dim.

Three Stone Golems entered the woods and stopped after a few meters, looking around. Their necks moved in an inhuman-like manner, spinning once in one direction and then the other. After a while, they stopped and returned to their original stations all at once.

Hikaru watched them from behind a tree. Just in case, he put quite a distance between them and set his Stealth on full throttle.

They might move like humans, but they're not exactly like humans.

Hikaru continued watching the Stone Golems even after they returned to their original spots. Daytime was when his Stealth was least effective. He'd have to proceed extremely carefully. The Stone Golems, however, never moved despite how long he waited. They simply stood still like statues, covered in moss and gra.s.s.

Hikaru picked up a stone and threw it.

The golems didn't react while the stone was in the air, but as soon as it landed, the closest golem turned its head to its direction, and that was it. It didn't move another muscle. About four of them reacted to the stone.

A short while later, three birds flew over the clearing, about five meters high.

「Oh…」

The golems turned their heads upward all at once. They didn't do a thing to the birds, however. They simply watched the birds as they flew by.

Hikaru found a flower with mana—a contaminated flower—in the woods, tied it to a stone and threw it towards the golems.

The result was remarkable. Before the stone even landed, three golems lunged at the flower and crushed it under their foot.

『They're looking at us!』

「Oh, c.r.a.p.」

Golems were charging straight at them. Hikaru grabbed Drake and broke into a run.

『Hikaru! Was there even a point to that experiment?!』

「Of course.」Hikaru smiled.「We can make it to the tower.」

Once again, the golems returned to their original, seemingly-predetermined positions. The ones closest to the tower had its feet covered in gra.s.s, indicating that it hadn't moved for a long time. Yet it wasn't as though they had stopped working. Hikaru could still sense the immense mana within them.

Then again…

Hikaru pressed his hand on the tower.

They can't do anything if they can't sense me.

He could feel b.u.mps on the surface of the white tower. It felt cold under his touch. Hikaru had made it to the tower simply by walking straight with his Stealth fully activated.

『Phew… I wondered what would happen there for a second.』

「Well, nothing happened, right?」

『I know, but how? They don't have eyes?』

「Yup. As you can see.」

Stone Golems were extremely sensitive. If they had Soul Boards, they'd have points on Life and Mana Detection, and Hearing as well.

But that was all. Unlike humans, they didn't have eyes nor noses. Hikaru's Stealth was ineffective during the day because of sight, a sense that humans primarily used to observe their surroundings. The Stone Golems not having any eyes meant it was like they were in complete darkness, which allowed Hikaru to break through easily with Stealth.

It would've been troublesome if the golems had sonar abilities like bats, but them ignoring the stone completely while in the air was proof they didn't. They only reacted to the sound once the stone landed.

The problem now is how do I get inside…

Ignoring the golems, Hikaru circled the tower.

「There's no entrance!」

What the heck is this? They closed the all entrances when it was built? But why? I can still sense an incredible amount of mana from inside. It wasn't from the dragon that flew away. Wait a minute… I see! It's just like the golems.

Golems looked like humans, but they weren't.

From a human's point of view, this looks like a tower. But you can't apply common sense to evil creatures. If this isn't a tower…

「It's a Root…」

According to Deena, Roots were places where powerful monsters sprang forth. Five hundred years ago, Lands Harvest was destroyed because of its proximity to a Root. Among the ones Hikaru had sensed before, this tower had the largest amount of mana so far.

「Hmm… A Root with much more power than the other ones?」

Hikaru felt something odd. But first, he had to figure out what to do with this place. It didn't matter if this place was a Root or just an ordinary tower. Wakamaru's theory of an accomplice leaking info about the optical camouflage would be debunked. Forget about that. First I need to investigate this place.

Hikaru took out a knife and started sc.r.a.ping off the surface of the white tower. He managed to do it with ease.

「This powder looks familiar…」

『What now, Hikaru? Aren't we going inside? I can feel a nasty dragon in there.』

「There's still a dragon inside?」

『Nope. It's not alive.』

「So a dead dragon?」

『That's not it either. Uhm, how do I put it…』

Drake started groaning, so Hikaru ignored him and tapped the wall with a clenched fist. It wasn't that thick. Let's destroy it quickly, then.

「It's your time to s.h.i.+ne.」

Hikaru took out the scabbard made out of the Everdark Sacred Tree and unsheated his wakizas.h.i.+.