04. Golden Pool

"Sigh … is still far away?" Ave pouted a bit as he kept following the floating holographic map in front of him towards the big circle, but he had not reached it yet. The narrow path was getting even narrower, so Ave had to tilt his body to squeeze through the gaps.

However, all of Ave's questions were answered when he saw a tiny bright light at the end of this narrow path. The young man blinked his hopeful shining eyes and quickened his pace.

"Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold," Ave repeated continuously as if he were chanting a spell to make sure he found a mountain of gold behind that light.

Just a little more, and Ave would arrive there. He did not even care how many times he bumped into rocks on the cave wall because he was too focused on getting there quickly.

"Gold—!"

The young man was about to leap forward before he hurriedly grabbed onto one of the rocks, and then stepped back with a terrified yet amazed expression. Ave's eyes widened.

Right below Ave was a pool filled with thousands... no, maybe millions of gold coins with various gems.

This place looked like heaven. With all these gold coins, Ave might be able to make a new country and become president there. The young man could not help but smile at the shimmering gold coins, tempting him to dive in and drown himself in the pool of gold and diamonds.

"Haha... is this real? Is all of this gold mine?" Ave asked, unsure to whom, laughing to himself. He must be crazy, crazy for all these golds.

[Ding!]

Amidst his happiness of gazing at his soon-to-be wealth, Ave suddenly heard a notification sound coming.

For some reason, Ave felt uneasy with the notification sound that popped up when he just arrived here.

"Gulp."

//

[Coin Master's Quest - The Forgotten Treasure of Solomon]

Quest Difficulty: S

You've arrived in one of Solomon's forgotten treasure chambers. This treasure room is guarded by a fierce creature, Solomon's pet, to drive away thieves trying to take the gold. Defeat the 'Stone Goliath' and claim all the gold in this chamber.

Quest Rewards:

All items in this room

10,000 Gold Coins

3x Rejuvenation Potions

Unlock 1 of the Underdog’s Wrath Skillchain

Penalty for failing the quest:

Death

//

Ave punched the ground beneath him with a bitter expression. Of course, it had to be like this! There's no way he would get all this precious gold for free. Fighting a giant stone monster? It was like Ave was being delivered straight to the gates of his doom.

He was talentless.

This means Ave didn't have the talent or ability to defeat the monster. He even struggled in practical classes, swapping practical class grades by becoming a teacher's assistant for over a year without pay to keep his ranking safe and not lose his scholarship. But Ave didn't have any skills at all!

"Damn it! Does this mean I won't get all that gold if I don't defeat that monster?"

GROOOOOOO—

"Hic!" Ave suddenly choked at the terrifying roar. The young man quickly covered his mouth when he saw with his own eyes that the pile of large stones in the middle of the gold pool suddenly moved and made a loud sound that hurt his ears.

The pile of stones shifted and transformed into something else.

"Is that the monster I have to face?" Ave said with a bewildered look, dropping his limp hand to the side.

In front of Ave, a giant stone golem stood with a massive and sturdy figure. The golem stood in the middle of the pool as if to show that it was the guardian of this place and would destroy anyone daring to steal gold from there by swinging its stone arms.

Ave was already ready to leave.

"No, forget it. There's no way I'll survive against that monster. Let’s just leave."

However, Ave froze in place as if contemplating whether he should run for his life or take the risk to defeat the stone monster. The young man looked up and checked one of the quests he received.

[Punishment for failing the quest: Death.]

...

[Death.]

“Aaaaaaargh—! Darn it!”

Whether he fled or fought the stone golem, Ave would end up dead anyway.

“Forget it! I'd rather die in a pile of gold and rot with all those treasure than die alone in darkness!”

The young man had made up his mind and spontaneously turned around, ran fast to jump and free-fall into the pile of gold below.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!”

The sound of a massive object hitting the gold pile caused the Stone Goliath to move toward the source of the noise. It was programmed to eliminate all kinds of threats and show no mercy.

Without lingering in the embrace of those beautiful gold pieces, Ave quickly stood up, and balanced himself to avoid falling or drowning himself in the gold pool beneath his feet.

GROOOOOO—

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

"Darn!" Ave struggled to keep his balance as the golem stormed toward him at high speed, causing a powerful vibration with each step on the cave floor.

But Ave did not lose his wits. The young man quickly grabbed a sword beneath him, preparing to face the oncoming golem.

"Whoa—!"

As Ave took the sword, he discovered it was still held by someone—or more precisely, a complete skeleton wrapped in full clothing.

"Dang it, will I end up like this too if I fail to defeat that monster?"

STOMP!

STOMP! STOMP!

Ave shook his head quickly, trying to shake off all the negative thoughts. He forcefully pulled the sword, causing the skeleton's arm bone to come off with it. He wanted to discard the bone, but he did not have enough time as he saw the giant golem's arm moving to crush him.

BOOM—!

Instinctively, Ave jumped to the side and shielded his head from sharp objects like diamonds or crowns.

"Uhhh. I gotta find that golem's weakness," Ave wiped the blood from his lips who accidentally cut and stared at the angry-looking golem. The guy then frowned a little when seeing a red diamond in the middle of the golem's chest, shining every time it got mad or tried to smack Ave with its stone arm.

Ave tightened his grip on the steel swords with both hands and sprinted towards the giant golem, which was also heading his way at a fast pace.

GROOOOOO—

"Ugh," Ave muttered as he stumbled several times due to the loud thuds on the cave floor, nearly losing his balance. However, Ave did not give up and kept running towards the monster.

Ave reached the golem's feet and tried to stab it with his sword.

Clank—!

"Darn it, I knew this wouldn't work." The sword flew backward, defeated by the golem monster's sturdy leg. Ave, showing off his monkey-like climbing skills, scaled the golem's leg. He climbed from the ankle to the waist, and finally, Ave's last stop was the golem's shoulder.

GROOOOO—

The giant golem sensed a tiny bug climbing on it and started thrashing around to catch the bug. It repeatedly hit itself, preventing Ave from moving forward toward the diamond while he clung tightly to the pile of rocks on the monster golem's shoulder.

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

GROOOOOOOOOOO—!

"C-Calm down! Do you really want to kill me, huh?" Ave tried to shout as the golem continued to pound its own arms, waist, and even its head, causing the golem's body to slowly crumble from its own blows.

DUAAAAAAGH!

Losing balance, the monster golem fell backward onto a pile of gold, causing Ave to tumble along with it. He closed his eyes, hoping not to be crushed by the golem's tough body.

Fortunately, Ave held on tight. He was okay, but his ears were ringing badlyfrom the continuous loud crashes.

"Ugh, this is really troublesome."

The young man did not waste this rare opportunity and quickly climbed onto the body of the giant golem, who was struggling to stand again because one of its legs was broken from its own punch.

Ave reached the spot where the red diamond was and tightly held the sword in his hand.

He bit his lower lip while lifting the sword high.

"I hope my instincts are not wrong, hyaaaaaa—!"

Stab—!

Crack.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Ave quickly moved away from the red gem that began to crack as he thrust the sword into the middle of it and descended below.

Shortly after the cracking sound ended, the red diamond on the golem monster's chest shattered into pieces, followed by the colossal stone golem's body crumbling and turning into a pile of ordinary rocks.

Ave covered both ears because it was too loud, then he opened them again, and blinking in amazement.

"I... is it over?" he said cautiously, afraid that the golem might rise again.

[Ding!]

[Host has completed the quest; Stone Goliath successfully defeated.]

[Calculating bonuses...]

[Bonus calculation complete. Host will receive:

All items in the Solomon's treasure room

10,000 Gold Coins

3x Rejuvenation Potions

Unlock 1 from the Underdog’s Wrath Skill Chain

Note: 1 Gold Coin equals $100 and can be exchanged for real money.]

After hearing the entire content of the notification, Ave could finally lie down on the pile of gold with relaxation and a wide smile.

It still felt like a dream to him.

Before, Ave always lived in poverty and was pushed to the brink of death.

But now, he could earn money and become incredibly wealthy in an instant!

"Ah... darn, this is so much fun!" Ave exclaimed, creating snow fairies on the pile of gold and gazing at the cave ceiling.

"I love money!"