Chapter 17:
Training and Reward
THE JESTER GOLEM WIELDER, Ginem Bari, smiled, and his eyes narrowed. I didn’t think we were going to KO this guy in one hit, not like those punks. His strength was palpable as we stood off against each other.
His lavender golems crouched on either side of him. They were peculiarly built, with thin bodies and elongated arms relative to their height. Their basic structure resembled that of a mannequin, though their overall design was far more elaborate. They did somewhat remind me of a kind of clown. Their lavender breastplates perfectly matched each other’s, and they furthermore complemented the purple color scheme of their master, Ginem Bari.
Hm. I liked that idea, honestly. Maybe I could find a white robe to match my Gol.
Ah, but white dirties so easily and it really stands out in a crowd…
Since they were able to hide behind Ginem, these jester golems had small statures. Using Gol as a comparison, the height difference was like that of a female high school student versus four elementary school students. According to the Monkey-Meter System, which measured an enemy’s height and which I had developed specifically for this world, the jester golems were roughly 2.3 monkey-meters tall. In other words, they were as tall as 2.3 small monkeys, which meant that they were slightly larger than a medium monkey and smaller than a large monkey.
For those who need the size based on the meters of my original world, a small monkey would be roughly that of a Japanese macaque. Please do the rest of the conversion based on that unit.
……
Pl-please understand. I can’t help it! The number of monkeys I’ve encountered in this world far exceeds the number of humans. When trying to gauge size instinctively, I can’t help but think in terms of monkeys! Monkeys are my only standard…
Anyway, the jester golems were short in stature, so although they left an oddly sharp impression, they didn’t seem that strong. I mean, they were li’l. They did appear to be a kind of threat, but it was really only because there were four of them.
Mr. Chotos had called Ginem Bari a “multiple golem wielder.” I guessed that meant he owned several golems? Big whoop. Gol had won her one-on-six duel against the busty shrine golem death squad. She would have absolutely no problem with a mere four. Of course, these clowns were said to be faster than those well-endowed ladies, so I couldn’t be entirely certain.
And…I admit I was a bit worried.
Mr. Chotos seemed especially anxious about this “multiple golem wielder,” even though he had already witnessed Gol’s combat capabilities that time she instantly destroyed dozens of punks.
“Mister, is a multiple golem wielder that dangerous?”
“A multiple golem wielder exerts complete control over each of their golems. They can manipulate their golems as easily as their own limbs—their own fingers. It isn’t nearly the same as simply facing four opponents.”
Mr. Chotos’s explanation was actually pretty clear and thorough. He had developed a pretty solid understanding of my meager knowledge base due to all the conversations we’d had.
But what did he mean by “control” and “manipulate”? My old man sometimes used such nonsensical words. Could it be like the golem version of the commands you gave dogs, such as “shake” and “sit”?
“Listen, Nemaki. If you fight that man, you’ll be killed. Let me go negotiate. Do you understand? Don’t attack them.” As Mr. Chotos gave me this warning, he tightly held my arms back as if I were his stupid, delinquent son who was trying to butt heads with the yakuza.
Then he took a step forward.
Mister, do you really mean to talk to these guys?
He probably assumed there was room for negotiations, since Ginem and his group hadn’t attacked again. Normally, I would’ve done the same. But I had a feeling the only reason the group hadn’t made another move was because they were biding their time. Perhaps they were wary of Gol. They understood that if they carelessly charged us head-on, many of them would fall to Gol’s counterattack, even if they did manage to kill me.
There was a vicious frankness underlying this assessment that felt…brutal. Unlike me. That same instinct had continued to survey the surroundings with my heightened awareness, and through it, I had discovered two facts about our aggressors.
The first fact had been the four things lurking behind Ginem’s back.
The second fact was… I turned to stare at the forest to my right. There were more people out there: two of them. Moreover, one of them was quite large, exceeding three meters tall. They were probably a heavy-class golem. In that case, the other person was their golem wielder.
However, I couldn’t tell the type of golem yet. While I did sense this ambush, the darkness and lingering spell-created mist meant I couldn’t clearly identify them. Whoever had made the mist had likely left this remnant on purpose; they had perhaps chosen to do so when their surprise attack failed. Then the group showed off what they thought was the obviously superior golem wielder, all to divert my attention from the presence still hidden in the mist.
These weren’t haphazard, desperate tactics; these moves were deliberate and calculated.
I didn’t know when the ambush would come. Based on their position—increasingly behind me—they most likely intended to attack simultaneously with the group before us, I think… Or they were waiting for Gol and me to split up.
Well, at least I didn’t think the ambush party could fire off any spells from so far in the woods. They were farther from me than Ginem and his group were—completely out of range for any attack spell.
The firing range of spells in this world was kind of pathetic, honestly. Not only did a spell weaken and scatter over distance, its trajectory couldn’t be altered unless by sorcery. The greater the distance from the target, the lesser the accuracy.
From that perspective, I understood why Earth sorcery was considered so dangerous, since it could make hard objects that would never weaken fly freely through the air across any distance. This was the reason the monkeys’ stone bullets were so feared, despite their bland appearance.
Well, in my case, I couldn’t frivolously use sorcery like the wild monkeys and dinosaurs lest my identity be found out and an arrest warrant issued.
At any rate, since I knew of the ambush, I could now devise some counter against it.
“Still…” I peered into my robe at the battle-axe dyed that evil black.
Back in the wasteland, when I’d fought for my life against wild animals that thought nothing of using their full power, I hadn’t thought of my heightened spatial awareness as anything but a bonus to help me chuck rocks. However, it appeared that against people, this ability afforded a terrifying advantage. If this group had planned a more thorough surprise attack, they might have caught me off guard. Might have.