Golden Experience-Chapter 212: “Hero Arises”

“I’m sad. I felt hated for fighting for the townspeople. It was unbearably heartbreaking…”

Hideo muttered to himself as he entered a rundown shack on the outskirts.

In this shack lived Hideo’s collaborator, the dwarf researcher Stanislav.

The shack itself looked shabby and seemed like it could collapse at any moment, but despite its appearance, it was sturdy and wouldn’t easily crumble even in a minor storm.

Additionally, a staircase leading to an extensive underground laboratory was hidden in the shack’s floor, providing access to the basement.

The creator of this underground research facility wasn’t Hideo or Stanislav. Stanislav seemed unaware of how long it had existed, but it was here from the beginning—an ancient ruin.

Originally, Stanislav was an archaeologist who studied the Unified Empire that once existed in this region. Information about the Unified Empire in this world was akin to fairy tales, with the surviving documents being a mix of fact and fiction. Even if there were genuine documents in terms of age, visiting the locations mentioned often revealed no trace of ruins or, in some cases, they were swallowed by the territory of monsters, making investigation nearly impossible.

Rumors circulated among some nobles about inheriting something, but the credibility of such claims remained uncertain.

Nevertheless, Stanislav tirelessly searched through these documents, explored places that seemed promising, and dedicated his life to uncovering the truth about that era. Well, that used to be the case.

Stanislav apparently stumbled upon this ruin by chance. Finding a document mentioning the presence of ruins in the area, he headed towards the nearby town of Zastava. While walking, the ground suddenly gave way beneath him, and he fell underground, discovering the ruins.

This discovery drastically changed Stanislav’s life forever.

It was due to an artifact left in the ruins. Artifacts, also called ‘hidden relics’, were special items left by ancient civilizations, and it was believed that no one could replicate them in the present day.

Its nature was such that you would know how to use it by just touching it, a characteristic of artifacts.

This particular artifact had the ability to transfer the characteristics of one organism to another.

Its name: [Alchem Extractor].

Stanislav was captivated by this artifact, leading him to shift from being an archaeologist to an alchemist.

Dedicating his life to alchemy, Stanislav built a shack at the surface entrance of the ruins to create a suitable environment for his research.

The main issue was finding test subjects.

This area was far from the domain of monsters, and powerful monsters were not nearby. Stanislav lacked the capability to capture the strongest monsters. Using weak monsters found in the vicinity as test subjects, he became proficient in operating the Alchem Extractor.

However, weak monsters would often die after a few experiments, making efficient research impossible.

To advance his research further, he needed to experiment on creatures with at least the strength of human beings.

But there was no guarantee they wouldn’t die.

And it wasn’t something he could do himself, nor could he kidnap Zastava’s residents for experimentation.

Enter the player who couldn’t die: Hideo.

Hideo fully cooperated with Stanislav’s research.

If this research succeeded, he might become a “transforming hero” in the game. That was Hideo’s reasoning.

The name “Hideo” was also originally derived from the word hero. When it came to heroes, a mad scientist providing support was essential.

Stanislav, captivated by the artifact, perfectly fit Hideo’s image of a mad scientist.

“──By undergoing modifications, you can slightly increase your stats, and by transforming, you can gain even stronger defensive capabilities. However, that alone won’t be enough to defeat the evil organization. To become even stronger, you’ll need further modifications from Dr. Stanislav.”

Descending the narrow staircase hidden in the shack, they proceeded into the underground ruins.

Living together in such a small shack, a middle-aged dwarf and a young human male would inevitably raise unnecessary suspicions. Hideo didn’t desire such malicious gossip. Therefore, he usually lodged in an NPC’s house in town.

However, that became impossible.

Though he felt frustrated when evicted from his lodging, the memory of the undead giants invading the town immediately quelled his annoyance. He even sympathized with them. Nevertheless, Hideo himself had been killed by those undead giants, and he lacked the courage to face them again. He gave up on protecting the town and hastily fled.

Above all, Hideo was just a player. No matter how strong his hero aspirations were, he couldn’t maintain the motivation to fight for a town where he was treated like a monster, even if he disguised it with words.

If he knew he would definitely win in the end, it might be a different story, but unfortunately, the game was designed so that unbeatable enemies couldn’t be defeated.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs and entering the ruins, Stanislav was sitting at his desk, organizing documents.

“Doctor! Dr. Stanislav!”

“Hideo. What’s wrong? The schedule for the next experiment was supposed to be much later—”

“That’s not the issue! The town is under attack by a horde of undead! I transformed and tried to fight, but I couldn’t do anything!”

“What!? Serves them right! Those people in the town, treating me, the great researcher, like—”

“Doctor! This is not the time for that! The town might be beyond saving, but those undead might not stop there! Before that happens, I need further modifications—”

“──I gather that the mysterious object over there is the device responsible for those modifications. An artifact, perhaps.”

Suddenly, a voice, clear as glass and unfamiliar, echoed.

Turning around, a woman in a pure white dress stood at the top of the stairs, just descending. Golden horns adorned her head, and her eyes sparkled, one red and one purple. In the dimly lit laboratory, she seemed to radiate light on her own. The magical ceiling lights may have been placed to illuminate her.

Upon closer inspection, a gender-neutral figure in well-tailored attire, carrying a large sword on their back, stood next to the woman. This person also had exceptionally pale skin, and both eyes were red. Two bat-like creatures were perched on their shoulders.

There was no sense of being followed. Hideo had been cautious, occasionally looking back while escaping. He even checked the surroundings before entering the shack and spoke to himself only after confirming that no one was around.

No, come to think of it, the bat-like creature on that gender-neutral person’s shoulder. Something similar had been flying near the shack.

“Whoa! Who are you? When did you—”

“Hideo! Were you followed?”

“I was cautious about being followed! At least, I wouldn’t be followed by such conspicuous people!”

“Fool! Indeed, someone has infiltrated this laboratory!”

Certainly, Stanislav was right.

Regardless of the circumstances, someone had infiltrated the laboratory. And considering the situation, it was Hideo’s responsibility.

“Damn, there’s no choice! I don’t want to fight here and damage the laboratory, but I can’t let them do as they please. ── Transformation!”

Triggered by the reconfigured activation key, the skill [Metamorphosis] was activated. Hideo’s clothes were torn apart, revealing a black armor. Numerous thorns, characteristic of insect-like full-body armor, grew on his mouth and upper arms, presenting a strange yet powerful appearance.

Hideo called this form the ‘Scarab Form’.

“Oh! So that’s the transformation! I see, I see. First, let’s use [Stupefy]. Then, ah… like this… [Petrify]. Ah, there we go. Also, [Fear].”

《Failed to resist》

《Failed to resist》

《Failed to resist》

A muttering from the white woman was heard, and immediately, messages appeared indicating consecutive failures to resist something. Simultaneously, Hideo’s body stiffened, his vision went completely dark, and he couldn’t move a single finger.

This was his first time facing such a situation.

However, he felt like he had read about this message in a manual or something. This must be some kind of abnormal status attack. He became unable to move because he failed to resist that attack.

The muttering of the woman must have been the activation of some skill to inflict this abnormal status.

—I can’t move! Dr. Stanislav!

Visit ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.

‘It’s no use. I can’t even turn my words into sound.

His ears were acting strangely as well. He could only hear intermittent, muffled sounds, as if being underwater, and he couldn’t receive any external information.

Stanislav is an NPC.

Though he had some combat ability since their first meeting, it’s not comparable to more advanced players. If Hideo were to face an enemy that even he can’t handle, Stanislav would easily be killed. And he can’t respawn. That’s something he must avoid.

But currently, there’s nothing Hideo can do. Without knowing how long this abnormal status will last, all they could do is hope for a swift recovery.

—Doctor! Please run! Doctor!

＊

When Hideo regained his senses and freedom of movement, there was nothing left in the underground research lab.

Neither Dr. Stanislav, nor the white woman, nor the swordsman of unknown gender.

In fact, everything Dr. Stanislav cherished, including the Alchem Extractor, research materials, and other artifacts, had all disappeared.

There were only bare, worn-out stone walls and magical lighting on the ceiling, which, I heard, the doctor had installed later, purchased in town. For that white woman, it must have had no value.

There was no sign of a struggle.

Dr. Stanislav couldn’t resist, and it seemed he was taken away.

“—What a situation. Doctor…!”

Hideo knelt down, placed his hands on the stone floor, and lamented.

Remnants of the clothes Hideo had torn apart were scattered on the floor. It seemed they were left behind as worthless.

Well, Hideo himself was the same.

For the enemies, Dr. Stanislav was a valuable person to take away, but Hideo apparently was not.

Hideo is a player, and no matter where he is taken, he will respawn at the last logged-out location upon death.

If the town is already conquered, and if he is excluded from the respawn candidates, it would be this underground ruin.

If they had taken him along, there might have been some clue. Hideo, who has no fear of death, could have sacrificed his life to let the doctor escape.

However, the enemies didn’t take Hideo away, and not only that, they didn’t harm him at all.

Perhaps they had seen him being killed once in that town and respawning at his lodging. They might have realized that Hideo is a revivable entity and concluded that killing him would be futile.

“So I was spared…”

Dr. Stanislav had some flaws in his personality, but he was still a comrade with whom Hideo had come this far.

That being said, there weren’t many formidable monsters around here, so he hadn’t done anything special.

Everything was yet to come.

With a bit more progress in the experiments, he planned to move the base to a city closer to the monster territory and then start his activities in earnest.

“Who was that white woman…”

From her way of speaking, it seems her goal is the Alchem Extractor.

Whether she sought the item for transformation or simply collected artifacts is unclear.

However, with such a conspicuous appearance, there might be other players who witnessed her.

The town of Zastava, lacking in both monster-infested areas and industry, had no players other than Hideo. However, there should be plenty in other towns.

Hideo had never used social media, but now was not the time to be fixated on such things.

＊

“Wings… kind of like wings, I guess? If, hypothetically, the skirt part of that dress was feathers, could that be the Seventh Calamity, the enemy of humanity…”

The enemy was unexpectedly famous and formidable.

Even in this situation, he felt a mysterious and subtle excitement, as if he had accidentally met an underground idol. After all, according to social media, the Seventh Calamity was treated as something like a final boss.

Despite not having any direct involvement in the recent angel attack, her name appeared throughout the threads.

In the midst of this, the Seventh Calamity ignored the angels and appeared before Hideo. It wasn’t necessarily that she came to see Hideo; her goal was likely Stanislav and the artifact.

In the world of true heroes, such fateful encounters often occurred. This seemed to be a fate that Hideo had drawn to himself.

Based on the movements of the Seventh Calamity so far, it was clear that her objective was the artifact. She had been defeated once by players in the Hiers Royal Capital, apparently due to an event item resembling an artifact.

Due to that experience, she started viewing artifacts as dangerous, and if she sensed their presence, she would come to collect them.

Presumably, that was the setup.

“Where they took the professor, I don’t know… If I can obtain the artifact, she might appear again.”

Gathering information on the Seventh Calamity and the artifact, Hideo resolved to save the professor someday.

“No one can take away someone else’s future!”

Up until now, it could be likened to a long opening sequence.

Now, finally, Hideo’s true battle had begun.

T/N: We’ve officially passed 1 year since the first post in this site, time sure flies. Happy anniversary! I hope you’ve been enjoying this story.