The Gods’ Gacha Game: Return of the God-King

Chapter 57: Ancient Grove Sentinel

The ancient golem took another thunderous step toward us and was ready to attack us. No, it was more correct to say that it was aiming directly at the altar behind us. Uh-oh, if the altar is destroyed, there’s no way to fulfill the fourth extra condition!

Without waiting, Boris charged ahead. “I’ll draw its attention!”

He slammed into the golem’s leg with Iron Body active, his frame colliding with stone in a deafening clang. Cracks spread slightly from the impact point, but the golem barely reacted. Instead, it responded by swinging a massive arm toward him.

“Dodge!” I shouted instinctively.

But Boris didn’t respond to my voice; he simply grinned, raised both arms, and braced for impact. The golem’s arm crashed into him with devastating force. The ground beneath Boris cratered instantly, sending chunks of earth and stone flying in every direction. I had to backpedal quickly just to avoid being buried by debris.

Holy smoke… he actually took that head-on! This guy’s a beast!

“Sir Boris!” Michelle cried out, panic in her voice. She immediately loosed an arrow, striking the golem’s shoulder. Unfortunately, all it did was leave a faint scratch on the surface.

“Shit, its defense is no joke,” I muttered before rushing ahead with Wind Rush and aiming for a joint at its knee. “Heavy Slash!”

My blade struck with full force, but instead of cutting through, it bounced off with a jarring noise. The impact sent vibrations through my arms. Tch... as expected of a Gimmel-rank. Conventional attacks won’t work.

At the same time, I caught a glimpse of Boris—still holding back the golem’s massive arm with sheer brute strength, like some kind of superhero. The ground beneath him cracked further, but he held firm.

“The golem has to have a weakness! Look for any kind of opening or a core!” I shouted.

Most golems had a core embedded somewhere inside their bodies. That was the key—if we could find and destroy it, the entire construct would collapse. Even though this one didn’t have any visible seams or plates, aside from its glowing eye sockets, that didn’t mean it was invulnerable.

“There’s gotta be something!” I called out again, scanning its structure.

If we could just find the core, even an elite Gimmel-rank mon— Wait, am I missing something here?

My eyes darted to the glowing sockets in the golem’s face. Clearly, the light coming from inside the golem’s eyes must be from something, which was likely its core.

“Michelle! Aim at its eye sockets! Do you have any explosive arrows?”

“Roger that! I sure do!” she replied, already pulling one from her quiver. This arrow had a reddish-orange marking on the tip, and it was pulsing faintly with volatile mana.

Almost instantly, she loosed the arrow. It whistled through the air in a tight arc and struck directly into the left eye socket.

Boom!

A blast of orange flame erupted from the impact point, sending shards of stone flying. The golem reeled back, staggering for the first time as smoke poured from its face. But aside from that, it showed no major signs of damage. So it seems that the core is buried deeper within its head.

“We need more firepower!” I shouted, casting {Mana Bullet} and aiming at the golem’s eyes. Multiple mana projectiles launched in quick succession, slamming into its face. The golem responded by raising both of its arms to shield its head, stone limbs crossing defensively, which simultaneously left Boris free.

“It’s blocking our attacks!” Michelle called out, loosing another explosive arrow. It detonated mid-air as the golem’s massive hand intercepted it.

“Tch—then let’s topple the damn thing,” Boris growled. He charged forward with explosive strength, slamming his shoulder into the golem’s leg with full force.

The ground shook beneath the impact.

The golem wobbled, its balance faltering as its massive weight shifted backward. For a brief moment, it teetered—its limbs flailing in slow, clumsy motions to regain stability. Although it didn’t fall, it was close. We just needed one more push.

Michelle glanced at me. “I’ve got one shot to blow its footing.”

I nodded. “Do it when I give the signal. Boris, you know the role.”

Boris grinned, bracing himself, while Michelle drew her bowstring taut.

I quickly switched from sword to spear and sprinted toward the golem. “Now!”

Michelle released the arrow. It struck the ground beneath the golem’s right foot and exploded in a burst of force, sending dirt and debris flying. The golem lurched violently to the side, even more unbalanced now.

“Boris!”

“With pleasure!” Boris roared. He ducked low, wedged both arms beneath the golem’s other leg, and with a mighty heave, pushed upward.

The colossal figure tipped and finally collapsed to the ground. Hard. A sharp crack through the clearing as stone met earth.

Without wasting a second, I leapt into the air as the golem lay on its back. Dust and debris flew in all directions, but my eyes were locked onto the now-exposed eye socket, still flickering faintly with orange light. This was the opening I’d been waiting for.

Midair, I twisted my grip on the spear and channeled all my strength into the thrust.

“Heavy Stab!”

My body shot downward like a missile, and the spear drove into the glowing socket with all the force I could muster. The tip pierced through crumbling stone and slipped deeper into the core chamber hidden behind the golem’s thick skull.

Immediately, a sharp cracking sound rang out, followed by a surge of orange light bursting from the eye socket. The runes—previously dormant and unseen—lit up along the golem’s body, flaring violently before fracturing like shattering glass.

I leapt back, landing beside Boris and Michelle just as a powerful shockwave erupted from the golem’s head. It trembled once, then froze in place. A heartbeat later, the light in its eyes flickered and finally dimmed as its massive frame slumped fully into the earth. Cracks split across its limbs, and the vines wrapped around its body sagged lifelessly.

It was over.

You have defeated [Ancient Grove Sentinel Lv.65].

You have gained 125 EXP.

Your Strength has increased by 1.

Not bad. If my level weren’t capped and I weren’t limited to only earning 10 percent of the total experience points, they would have been a hefty sum.

I exhaled slowly, the tension draining from my body.

“That ain’t half bad,” Boris said, brushing dust off his shoulders. “We actually brought down a walking mountain.”

“Well, barely,” Michelle muttered, lowering her bow. “If more of these golems show up, it’s going to be a problem… I’ve only got fewer than ten explosive arrows left.”

That wasn’t good.

“Hopefully, the next altar won’t have enemies as troublesome as this one…”

As I said that, I noticed something gleaming at the edge of my vision near the eye socket I had stabbed with my spear. Curious, I walked toward it. Lying among the debris were several shards — they were glowing orange. Fragments of the golem’s core.

Groveheart Core Shards

Grade: Rare

Type: Crafting Material

A condensed fragment of the Ancient Grove Sentinel’s heart. It can be used to craft magic equipment and weapons or to enhance golem-related constructs. If enough are gathered, it can be fixed into a working golem core.

I picked them up carefully and stored them in my inventory. Whatever lay ahead, I had a feeling that these might prove useful in the future.

“Let’s go. We need to find more stags,” I said, turning away from the fallen golem and walking ahead.

Boris and Michelle followed without complaint, and the three of us moved quickly through the forest. Although the battle with the golem drained some of our stamina, there was no time to rest. I could feel that the forest was becoming even more corrupted, and the trees looked more twisted and unnatural now. Clearly, with more altars activated, the entire forest was turning more eerie.

Fortunately, Michelle’s Tracking skill led us straight to our next target within an hour.

In a clearing just ahead stood another corrupted stag with antlers that were glowing a deep crimson, more intense than the ones before. Surrounding it were six to seven almost-bipedal wolf creatures, clearly acting as its protectors.

Wolves guarding a stag? That was strange… but this entire forest had long abandoned logic.

Without wasting a single moment, we launched into the action. The battle was quick and efficient—surprisingly easy compared to the previous encounters. With Michelle’s deadly accuracy and Boris’s overwhelming strength, we cut through the enemies with seamless coordination.

I took the opportunity to train my magic further, casting {Mana Bullet} repeatedly whenever I had an opening. It felt like I was on the cusp of learning something new with this magic.

You have hunted [Corrupted Fangwolf Lv.58].

You have gained 68 EXP.

You have hunted [Corrupted Fangwolf Lv.58].

You have gained 68 EXP.

By the time the fight finished, the corrupted stag lay before my feet.

You have hunted [Corrupted Antler Stag Lv.60].

You have gained 70 EXP.

Your Magic Power has increased by 1.

I walked over, severed the stag’s head cleanly, and wiped the blood on a tree nearby before storing it in my inventory.

“With this, we only need one more.”

With four stag heads already secured, our goal was finally in sight. Michelle took the lead, her tracking skills picking up the general direction of the next altar. It took us about half an hour of trekking through dense underbrush and twisted roots before we finally emerged into a wide clearing.

The fourth altar was nestled inside a shallow cave, partially hidden beneath layers of hanging vines. And as expected, it was heavily guarded.

Several corrupted woodland spirits lurked in the area—two dark shamans, three regular shamans, five brutes, and nearly a dozen standard warriors. But by now, we were used to facing them. Our coordination was almost perfect, and Michelle’s special arrows proved especially effective against these bark-skinned monsters.

When it was done, only silence remained.

I walked toward the altar, retrieving the fourth stag head from my inventory. The stone basin was cold to the touch as I set the head down. The runes lit up once more—gold, then violet—pulsing with corrupted energy.

You have activated Altar of the Grove (4/5).

The guardian stag is now half-awakened and stares at you menacingly.

Now, only one remained.