The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

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Chapter 114: Final Evaluation (4)

“This is…”

The party members gathered around, looking at the door revealed among the wreckage of the golems.

“Is this the door that leads to the secret space?”

“Yes.”

I nodded as I looked at the door, its surface etched with complex patterns.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen it myself.’

In my previous life, our party had searched for the secret space, only to be smashed by a guardian golem, so we hadn’t even found the door to the secret space, let alone the space itself.

“Do we just open it?”

Yuren inspected the door and glanced over at me.

“Well… there don’t seem to be any traps around here at least.”

Whatever traps or dangers awaited would probably be inside the door.

“I’ll open the door…”

“No.”

I grabbed Yuren’s shoulder and pulled him back as he reached for the doorknob.

“I’ll open it. You all stay back.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry.”

I smiled, gently patting Yuren’s shoulder, his eyes filled with concern.

‘I’ve always been the one for this kind of thing.’

With the Blessing of Revival, I was used to going into places that practically screamed ‘danger’ at first glance.

Even in the worst-case scenario, all I stood to lose was my life.

‘Though I did get scolded pretty harshly by Iris for saying that.’

As I recalled that memory with a bittersweet smile, Iris approached me.

“Then, I’ll cast a protective spell on you.”

“There’s no need for that…”

“Even if you’re confident in your abilities, Dale, that’s no reason to skip out on precautions.”

And.

“Besides, it’d be a waste to have the ‘Saint’ in your party and not make use of her, right?”

She winked, placing a hand on her chest, standing tall as if she were making a point.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I looked at her.

Her current self overlapped with her old self, stirring something in my heart.

“Alright.”

I nodded and approached Iris.

She held the holy relic hanging from her neck and closed her eyes.

“Oh, Seven Gods, protect your children as they walk the thorny path.”

A soft white light emanated from Iris, wrapping around my body.

Fully prepared, I approached the door adorned with intricate patterns.

“I’m opening it.”

From behind, I could hear the tense breathing of the party members.

I slowly pulled on the doorknob leading to the secret space.

Creak.

As the door opened, a surprisingly spacious room appeared.

And waiting inside were…

[Intruders detected. Intruders detected.]

[Identifying candidate.]

[Engaging suppression protocol.]

Standing in a row as if expecting us were guardian golems.

There were six of them.

Their bodies were made of intricate mechanical parts, and their red eyes gleamed menacingly.

‘These seem to be a different model from the golems outside.’

I couldn’t properly inspect the ones outside since they were so thoroughly smashed, but they looked different in form and size.

“Eek! That’s the ‘Aegis’ Model 3!”

Albert exclaimed, his face filled with fear.

“That golem was designed to handle even six-eyed-class demonic beasts!”

A golem capable of taking on a six-eyed-class demonic beast would be about as powerful as a hero in their prime.

And here there were six of them.

‘This must be the room with the diamond token.’

I grinned as I watched the golems ready their swords and shields.

“D-Dale! We should run! Let’s retreat and come up with a plan…”

Ignoring Albert’s loud protests, Yuren and I stepped forward.

“I’ll take the three on the right.”

“Then Camilla and I will handle the three on the left.”

Boom!

As if perfectly synchronized, Yuren and I launched ourselves forward at the same time.

[Analyzing target movement patterns.]

[Activating defense modules.]

Beep, beep!

The golems’ red eyes flashed as they raised shields the size of a person.

‘I could use Ashen Flame to smash through their shields, but…’

The problem with Ashen Flame was that it consumed a large amount of mana.

‘In that case…’

Wham!

I kicked off the shield and jumped high into the air.

One of the golems aimed its sword at me, still airborne.

‘Wind Step.’

Boom!

I kicked the air, sharply changing my trajectory mid-air.

My target was the back of the golem’s neck — a joint no bigger than a finger between its head and body.

“Hah!”

Spinning mid-air, I swung my sword.

Crunch!

My blade pierced through the golem’s neck.

‘Now…’

I shifted my weight into the sword and slashed down through the golem’s chest!

Crack!

With a screeching sound of metal twisting, the golem split from its neck down to its chest.

[Critical damage to allied unit confirmed.]

[Activating coordinated response protocol.]

The remaining two golems swung their swords at me simultaneously.

‘One’s aiming for my legs, the other for my shoulder.’

They were indeed high-end models worthy of Albert’s panic.

The way their attacks converged from above and below was flawless, like the meshing of finely tuned gears.

‘But…’

In the end, they were just machines.

‘I’ve destroyed tens of thousands of golems in my past life.’

The golems guarding ancient ruins were on a completely different level compared to these, which were just used for a candidate exam.

“Berald’s Martial Arts.”

Ground Shaker.

Boom!

I stomped down on the golem’s sword aimed at my legs, twisting my body.

From below, I swung my sword upward.

Clang!

With a clear metallic sound, the golem’s sword was deflected.

The two golems' stances broke momentarily as their weapons were knocked aside.

I spread my arms wide and grabbed the heads of the two golems that had come down to my eye level.

And.

“Hrrgh!”

Crack!

I ripped their heads off, and they rolled across the floor.

‘What about Yuren and Camilla?’

I turned to check on Yuren and Camilla, who had charged to the left.

“Tsk, we were a bit late.”

Two neatly decapitated golems lay at Yuren’s feet as if cut by a precision saw.

On Camilla’s side, a golem lay in a crumpled heap, as if it had been smashed with a blunt weapon rather than cut by a sword.

“W-Wow.”

Albert, slack-jawed, stared at us, having dispatched the golems in a flash.

“Th-Those golems are difficult even for active heroes to defeat. How on earth…”

Albert trailed off, his disbelief evident.

Well, of course.

I didn't take down the golems with the help of the party working together, I just rushed in and smashed six of them in an instant.

It's no wonder he's shocked.

"Is anyone hurt?"

Leaving the stunned Albert behind, Iris walked over to us.

"I'm fine, and so is Dale, but Camilla's a bit injured."

"...This kind of wound is nothing to worry about."

Camilla flinched, her shoulders trembling slightly as she averted her gaze.

Iris frowned as she looked at Camilla.

"I'll be the judge of whether it's nothing to worry about or not. Let me see the wound."

"......"

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Camilla hesitated, then removed her armor and lifted her clothes slightly, revealing her side to Iris.

A long gash oozed with blood.

Thankfully, no internal organs were damaged, but it wasn't the kind of wound that could be ignored.

"It might hurt a bit, but bear with it."

"Nngh...!"

As a soft white light flowed from Iris's hand and seeped into the wound, Camilla's expression twisted slightly in pain.

"All done. There won't be any scars, so don't worry."

"I'm not concerned about scars."

"Hmph. How can a girl say something like that? Especially with such smooth skin."

"D-Don't touch me!"

When Iris teased her by tickling her side, Camilla jerked away in a panic, twisting her body.

As her clothes rode up, her stomach was briefly exposed.

"Oh..."

Her abdomen was firm, the muscles well-defined.

Just like Iris said, it was surprisingly smooth...

"Dale."

Suddenly, Yuren appeared next to me, glaring at me with eyes as cold as ice.

"Huh, yeah?"

"There's another door over there that seems to lead to the next room..."

He smirked.

"Instead of sneaking peeks at Camilla's stomach, wouldn't it be better to check out that door?"

"......"

Overwhelmed by Yuren's inexplicable intensity, I didn't have time to come up with any lame excuses and quickly rushed to the door.

"Hm?"

As I approached the door, glowing letters appeared before me.

[What is a place you can never leave?]

"What is this?"

I frowned at the cryptic message displayed in front of the door.

'A place you can never leave...? What does that even mean?'

A riddle suddenly appearing here, of all places.

Puzzles and riddles protected ancient ruins, but I never expected to encounter such a thing during our school final exams.

"What's wrong, Dale?"

"There's some kind of riddle written on the door."

"A place you can never leave...? Where could that be?"

"I have no idea."

I glanced over at Yuren and Camilla, but they only shook their heads, just as puzzled as I was.

'I can't just smash the door open either.'

If this were a real ancient ruin, I might have just broken down the door instead of bothering with riddles.

But this was part of our 'final exam.'

Solving the riddle was probably part of the test too.

"A place you can never leave... maybe a swamp?"

Beep-

[Incorrect answer.]

[You have 2 attempts remaining.]

The door flashed red, and the number '2' appeared.

"It looks like we only have two more chances to get it right."

"Ugh..."

Just as the entire party was on the verge of panic over what to do—

"Uh, the answer! Baldness!"

Albert raised his hand and shouted.

"What? Why would the answer be baldness?"

"Because... it's a place with no 'hair'!"

"There's no way that kind of dumb answer could—"

Beep-

[Correct.]

"...You're kidding."

That was actually the right answer?

[Second question.]

[What is the name of the witch's beach?]

"...Albert, do you know this one too?"

"Y-Yeah. I really like these kinds of nonsense riddles."

Albert nodded confidently.

I grinned and clapped him on the back.

"Haha! I knew picking you for our party was the right choice!"

"I got in by random draw..."

"Anyway! I'm counting on you, Albert!"

"..."

Albert glanced back at me as I massaged his shoulders, then nodded resolutely.

"Leave it to me!"

He boldly stepped up to the door.

[What is the name of the witch's beach?]

"Sandwich!"

[Correct.]

"Ohh, nice!"

[What kind of swearing is allowed at the beach?]

"Swimming!"

Yeah! Good job, Albert! That's the way to do it!

[What should you never look at or touch?]

"Soup!"

Huh?

[What is the blue blood of the old Republic's citizens called? They were once known as 'Koreans.']

"KOSPI!"

What the hell?

[You have solved all the riddles.]

Kroom! Thud, thud!

With a heavy rumble, the door finally opened.

A faint smell of cigarette smoke wafted through the crack.

"This smell..."

I frowned and stepped through the doorway.

Inside was a wide chamber with jagged rock formations rising like spikes.

And at the center, sitting quietly—

"So, you finally made it, rookies."

—was Professor Elisha Baldwin.

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