An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"Hmm...it's like it just 'fell'."

"Mr. Gravity is a bit casual at work, I know."

Yue and Shia's words perfectly capture this. It seems the Golem Knights can manipulate gravity, but for some reason they didn't use it last time. Perhaps they'll be able to do so after this passage in front of the room.

This speculation was interrupted by the Golem Knights descending upon Hajime and the others. One even approached with a powerful general, spinning their greatswords like a windmill. Hajime and Yue attacked from a distance with spears and severance spells, while Shia sent the approaching knights flying. They continued their advance without stopping.

After a while, Hajime and the others sensed the presence of something ahead.

“Hmm… Hajime.”

"Yeah, I know. If they could be rebuilt, they would become like that."

“We’re being double-teamed!”

The Golem Knights who had fallen to the front seemed to have regrouped where they had fallen. They formed up and waited for Hajime and the others, their shields thrust forward, their bodies lowered steadily to form a barrier. The Golem Knights in the second row also supported the shield knights from behind. Perhaps they had learned that if they only had one row, they would be crushed by the enemy's force.

"Tsk, what a hassle."

Hajime smacked his lips, put Donal and Hulak into the holsters on his thighs, and then took out a weapon from his "treasure chest."

He held the rectangular rocket and missile turret "Alcorn," equipped with a twelve-round rotary magazine. The rocket was nearly thirty centimeters long and boasted a destructive power greater than that of a typical grenade. Its warhead was infused with a mineral infused with "Thunderbolt" through generation magic. This mineral constantly carried static electricity, so when struck, it would break through the warhead, igniting the incendiary powder.

Hajime clamped Alcorn under his armpits and twisted his mouth into a wicked smile.

"Tsuki, Shia! Cover your ears! I'm going to shoot them away!"

"Um."

"Ehhh~ What is that?"

Shia's eyes widened upon seeing Alcorn's strange appearance for the first time, while Yue stuck her index fingers into her ears as she ran. Even though Shia's rabbit ears were still erect, Hajime still pulled the trigger on Alcorn.

"Bang!" The rocket launcher fired, leaving a trail of fire behind it. It struck the Golem Knights waiting in formation, aiming squarely at them.

The next moment, a resounding roar and a massive explosion erupted. The entire passageway shook violently, and the massively compressed combustion powder sent a violent blast in all directions. Centered on the point of direct impact, the Golem Knights slammed into the walls and ceiling on both sides, shattered beyond repair. Rebuilding would likely take some time.

Hajime and the others flew over the wreckage of the Golem Knights and ran forward.

"Bunny ears~ My bunny ears~!!"

Shia ran alongside Hajime and the others, pressing down her folded rabbit ears with both hands, tears welling in her eyes as she struggled in agony. The Bunnymen... were a race with the most superior hearing among the demihumans.

"Didn't I tell you to plug your ears?"

"Eh? What did you say? I can't hear you~"

"...I'm really a sorry rabbit..."

Hajime and Yue looked at Shia with helpless expressions, but Shia, who was struggling in pain, didn't notice.

They continued running, dealing with the falling Golem Knights. Five minutes later, they finally saw the end of the passage. A vast space seemed to stretch out in front of them, and the passage itself was interrupted. About ten meters ahead, a square platform could be seen.

"Tsuki, Shia! Dance!"

Upon hearing Hajime's voice, Yue and Shia (whose hearing had barely returned) nodded. The Golem Knights behind them continued to descend upon them. Hajime and his companions met and dodged them, simultaneously leaping powerfully from the edge of the passage. With their enhanced bodies, Hajime and his companions' leaping power far surpassed that of Olympic athletes. Easily surpassing the world record, Hajime and his companions prepared to leap into the square area below.

However, this maze's characteristic was that it wouldn't let people get what they wanted. Unexpectedly, before Hajime and the others' eyes, the square blocks began to shift.

“What~!?”

Hajime cried out for the umpteenth time since arriving in this maze. Their predictions were dashed, and they were falling. Glancing down, he saw a considerable depth. Hajime instantly raised his left hand, ready to drop the anchor. The next moment, Yue's voice rang out:

“—‘Come on!’!”

The updraft created by the wind magic increased the distance Hajime and the others could jump. The effect was only momentary, but it was enough. They caught up with the block they were about to leave, barely hooking their hands around the edge and holding on. Hajime used the nails on his prosthetic hand to secure himself and hang on, while Yue and Shia also held on to him.

"Pretty, Yue."

"As expected of Miss Yue!"

"...Well, praise me more."

Hajime and Shia couldn't help but smile because they didn't fall, and praised Yue. Although Yue was a little tired due to the intense consumption of magic power, he showed a proud look.

However, this peaceful atmosphere was interrupted by the sight of Golem Knights soaring through the air. Yes, Golem Knights were flying. Perhaps they were controlling gravity to determine the direction of their fall. With terrifying momentum, the knights rapidly approached Hajime and the others, who were still hanging there.

"!? Yue, Shia, climb up!"

Hajime instructed the two while unsheathing his Donner, firing continuously at the advancing Golem Knights. Yue and Shia used Hajime's body to climb onto the block, and Hajime, using the power of his handstand, bounced up and moved onto the top of the block.

The next second, Golem Knight thrust his greatsword at the spot where Hajime was hanging with astonishing momentum. Instantly, the Golem Knight, paralyzed by the impact of the attack, was shot down by Hajime from above.

"Damn. I don't know if these guys can manipulate gravity or anything, but their movements are getting more and more sophisticated."

"...Perhaps this is the reason?"

"Ahahaha, what is common sense? It's all floating around?"

Just as Shia said, everything around Hajime and the others began to float.

The place they had entered was an immense spherical space, perhaps over two kilometers in diameter. Within this space, blocks of ore of various shapes and sizes drifted erratically, a space completely defying gravity. Yet, strangely enough, Hajime and the others could actually feel gravity. Perhaps only the specific material in this room could defy gravity's constraints.

The golem knights flew freely within this space. They shifted direction with extreme force, seemingly able to adjust their fall. Any ordinary creature would have died from the terrifying gravity. The closer they approached this space, the more delicate the knights' movements became. From this, I'm afraid...

"Is the guy who controls the golem here?"

Yue and Shia also agreed with Hajime's speculation, frowning. For some reason, the Golem Knights were merely circling around them and not attacking. They first looked around, searching for any small paths. They weren't sure if this was the end or if there were further paths, but this place must be quite deep. Witnessing the Golem Knights' increased abilities, coupled with being in this special space, made this hypothesis seem quite convincing.

Hajime gazed with his farsightedness, preparing to investigate this gigantic spherical space.

But the next moment, Shia's panicked voice rang out.

"Please run away!"

""!?"

Hajime and Yue didn't ask, "What?" Instead, they reacted instantly to Shia's warning, leaping out of the way as if flung away. Luckily, there was another block just a few meters ahead, so they used that as their target and escaped the block they were currently standing in.

The next second, a terrifying "BOOM!!" blast echoed, and a force that felt like a falling meteorite slammed directly into the block where Hajime and the others had been standing, shattering it into fragments. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a meteorite; a massive, scorching object descended, carrying the momentum of a massive destruction through the area.

Cold sweat broke out on Hajime's cheeks. If it weren't for Shia's warning, they would have been hit directly. Now that they couldn't use Kongou, they might have died on the spot. It wasn't that he couldn't sense the object. The second after Shia's warning, he did feel its presence. But the object was falling too fast, and it would have been too late to avoid it after sensing it.

"Shia, we're saved. Thank you."

"...Well, you've done a great job."

"Hehe, thankfully, Future Vision activated. But on the other hand, my magic power is completely depleted..."

Shia apparently noticed it earlier than Hajime, likely because her special magic, 『Future Vision』, had activated. When Shia activates it on her own, she can see the future after she makes a hypothetical choice. However, there's another way, when it activates automatically. When it activates automatically, as was the case this time, one can directly or indirectly see the grave danger that carries with it death.

In other words, if Shia had been hit directly by that wave, she might have died. Hajime felt a shudder again, glancing at the meteorite-like object that had passed through them. He stood at the edge of the block, looking down. However, at that moment, he felt something moving below him. Then, it rose with a fierce momentum, rising above Hajime and the others in an instant. There, it remained, glaring down at them with a gleaming gaze.

"Hey, is this true?"

"...very...magnificent."

"Okay, it seems like you're the boss."

Hajime and the other three murmured their different thoughts. Yue's words were a little dangerous, but still within the acceptable range... probably.

Before Hajime and the others, a massive Golem Knight floated in the air. Its entire body was covered in armor, much like the others before it, but its total length was approximately twenty meters. Its right hand burned like a super-heated fist, perhaps the cause of the block's explosion. Its left hand, bound with chains, was equipped with a linked staff-shaped meteor hammer.

As they prepared for battle against the giant golem, the surrounding golem knights flew over with a whooshing sound, forming a formation around them and surrounding them. The golem knights held their greatswords upright across their chests, as if saluting their king.

Completely surrounded, Hajime and the others felt a surge of tension. Silence reigned, and the situation was tense. The tense atmosphere gave them a premonition that the moment they took action, a life-or-death game would begin.

What broke this atmosphere was...

"Hello~ nice to meet you~ I'm your favorite, Millardi Lassen~"

The giant golm greeted him nonchalantly.

“““…”””

A giant golem, decked out in ferocious gear and armor and with sharp eyes, greeted them with an inexplicable ease. This made Hajime and the others forget they were surrounded, and they stood there with their mouths open in shock.

The giant golm made an unpleasant sound to the three frozen people, and the tone of the voice sounded feminine.

"Look, I already said hello, so at least give some sort of response. This is just basic etiquette, huh? Seriously, that's why young people these days really... should learn a little more common sense."

That way of speaking was truly infuriating. Furthermore, the giant golium raised its blazing right hand and its left, pierced with a spiked iron ball, to its shoulder, acting like a human, even shrugging as if to say, "I can't stand this!" This action infuriated Hajime and the others. The irritating writing they'd seen along the way was still fresh in their minds, and judging by her claiming to be "Milletti Raison," it was possible she was the real thing. But Meredi should have been dead long ago, and she should have been human.

Hajime decided to try to find some inspiration from this aspect first.

"Well, I'm really sorry. But, Meredi Lessen should be human, and deceased, right? Besides, I've never heard of a golem with a self... We've been surprised, just as you planned, so please forgive us. And then, who are you? Please explain it to me briefly."

“Eh~ You’re acting so impressive even in this situation, you bastard~”

Hajime's words weren't a roundabout way to probe; they were more direct. This unexpected reaction made the giant goblin, who called herself Meredith, look a little bewildered. However, she quickly recovered and addressed Hajime and the others. From her voice, it was easy to imagine that if she were human, she would definitely be grinning.

"Hmm~? Meredith was a gol from the beginning~? How can you be so sure she's human..."

"Oscar's notes also contain some information about you. It does say that you are a human female, right? I don't want to engage in such a stupid question-and-answer session with you. Shouldn't I have asked you to give a brief answer? Since you intend to stand in our way, what I'm going to do remains unchanged. I'm going to turn you into scrap metal and then move on. So before that, stop making a fuss and get what you need to say out loud."

"Oh, oh oh oh. How dare you say such things to me, someone I haven't spoken to in ages and who's so excited inside. By the way, did you just say Oscar? Are you Oscar's dungeon conqueror?"

"Yes, I conquered Oscar Orcus's labyrinth. And I was the one asking the question. If you don't answer, then we'll just fight, okay? Anyway, I don't really need to know this. Our sole goal is Age of Gods magic."

Hajime aimed Donal at the giant golem. Yue looked nonchalant, but Shia said, "Wow~ You're not frustrated at all~" and looked at Hajime with a half-touched, half-astonished expression.

"...Age of Gods magic, you really want to use it to kill gods? You want to slaughter those damn bastards? If you were Oku's maze conqueror, you should already understand the reason, right?"

"Like I said, I'm the one asking the questions. If you want me to answer, answer my questions first."

"This guy~ He really looks so impressive~ Never mind~ Um, what...ah, my true appearance. Uh~hmm."

"Please keep it simple. I can't stand Oscar's long explanations."

"Ahaha, Ao-chan does talk a lot~ Because he always likes to make excuses~"

The giant goblin gazed longingly into the distance, its movements truly human. Yue stared blankly at the giant goblin, while Shia remained preoccupied with the golem knights around her, unable to calm down.

"Well, as you wish, to put it simply—

I am indeed Millardy Lessin.

All the mysterious phenomena caused by golems were made possible by my Age of Gods magic!

If you want to know more, then defeat me brilliantly! That's it."

"The result isn't really an explanation at all..."

"Hahaha. I can't let you get the information before you conquer it, right? There'd be no point in setting up the maze, right?"

This time, Meredith Rasen made a "No!" gesture with her giant golem fingers. While it was hard to accept that the person inside was Meredith Rasen, despite that, she was starting to look a bit cute. "...The person inside is the problem," Yue whispered, seemingly sharing Hajime's sentiments.

As a result, they knew almost nothing about the true identity of the person inside the golem. Since she claimed to be Meredith herself, Hajime speculated that she might be possessed by some form of residual thought. Hajime dug up hazy memories and remembered that his classmate, Eri Nakamura, had a vocation in necromancy that allowed her to manipulate residual thoughts. However, her necromancy shouldn't have been able to leave behind such a clear lingering thought. In other words, was this the will of that deceased person? Imbuing the golem with something must be the magic of the Age of Gods.

Regardless, that didn't seem to be the magic he was looking for to travel through worlds. So, Hajime, looking somewhat disappointed, asked the giant golem—Millied Golem—again:

"Is your Age of Gods magic related to lingering thoughts?"

"Hmm~? Judging from your expression, are you targeting some specific Age of Gods magic? By the way, my Age of Gods magic is a different kind of magic~ I just asked Ra-chan to help me attach a soul~"

Hajime's sole goal, from the beginning, was to travel across worlds and return home. He didn't know if she was a soul or a thought, but even if he acquired the magic of the Age of Gods that could control such things, it would be meaningless. Hajime had originally thought so when he asked, but Meredi's response was different from his assumption. While it was unclear who Kora was, she was likely one of the "Liberators." It seemed that this person had allowed Meredi Golem to possess the consciousness of Meredi, who should have died and vanished, and to attach it to the Golem.

"So, what is your Age of Gods magic?"

"Hmm~hmm~ Do you want to know? Do you want to know that much?"

Meredy chuckled again, and Hajime waited impatiently for her response.

"If you want to know—before then, it's your turn to answer my question this time."

Only with the last sentence did her tone suddenly change. The previous frivolous atmosphere suddenly ended, and a hint of seriousness took over. Hajime and the others were slightly surprised by the change in atmosphere, but Hajime didn't show it and asked her in return:

"What's the problem?"

"What is your purpose? Why are you seeking the magic of the Age of Gods?"

That tone held a tone of disapproval for Hajime's lies. There was no trace of playfulness about Meredith as she questioned him. Perhaps this was her true self. If you think about it, she, too, challenged God for the sake of the public. She couldn't possibly be unaware of what the other party would do with the magic she entrusted to her.

Unlike Oscar, who left behind a video recording as a suicide note, she has remained steadfast for centuries, awaiting challengers deep within the maze. In a sense, this is torture, and perhaps her frivolous attitude is just bravado. The real her is a person of incredible endurance, willpower, and a sense of responsibility.

Yue seemed to share the same thought, and she looked at Meredith Golem with a different expression than before. Yue, too, understood the pain of being alone at the bottom of the deep darkness. Because of this, she seemed to feel something deeper than empathy for Meredith's determination to preserve her will and remain at the bottom of the darkness.

Hajime looked directly back into Meredith Golem's eyes and answered her without a word of falsehood:

"My goal is to return home. I was forced into this world by that mad god you all speak of, so I'm searching for the Age of Gods magic that can travel across worlds and transfer... My goal isn't to defeat God on your behalf, and I have no intention of risking my life for this world."

"..."

Meredi Golem stared at Hajime intently for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Yue and Shia, finally nodding slightly as if in agreement. She then murmured, "Is that so?"

Then the next moment, the serious atmosphere disappeared like a phantom, and turned back into a frivolous atmosphere.

"Hmm~ Really? Really? I see~ You're from another world~ Hmm. That must have been tough~ Okay, then let's fight! Defeat me brilliantly and obtain the Age of Gods Magic!"