I stood up and looked ahead. Sure enough, I could sense the change in mana with my Sage's Eye.

'SWOOSH!'

A small rift opened in the sky. It was undetectable and so tiny it was barely noticeable.

And then, something popped out.

'There it is.'

The so-called portal goblin. The small monster, carrying a leather sack on its back, looked around curiously as soon as it arrived on Earth. It didn't look like much, but it was a disaster recorded even in the Erendel archives—a monster that had nearly wiped out an entire prosperous territory.

The Hunter Association would deal with it eventually, but if I just left it alone, a terrible incident could occur in the middle of the city.

'I hope you die with one hit.'

I approached it, concealing my presence, and immediately activated the Rapid Arrow magic circle I had prepared.

When dozens of golden arrows flew from the air, the creature flinched in surprise and moved.

'Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.'

Its head twisted and its limbs flailed through the air as if swimming. Its evasion looked frantic, but it dodged every single attack.

'I guess I shouldn't underestimate it.'

'Kreee!'

The portal goblin glared at me and rummaged through the sack on its back. It then pulled out a disc that looked like a coaster and threw it. The spinning disc landed gently on the ground, forming a portal.

A plant-type monster resembling a sunflower popped out. A Rank-2 Solarion.

As the plant monster opened its petals, seeds sprayed out like shotguns.

-Defense.

Ea used Multi-Casting to lay down a seamless shield in front of me.

The seed pellets struck the transparent barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground.

"Counterattack."

As I conjured a Fire Cannon in each hand, Ea immediately dispelled the shield. The flames of the launched fireballs engulfed the Solarion, instantly turning it to a pile of ash.

While I was dealing with the Solarion, the portal goblin had fled and was now perched on the rooftop railing. It grinned at me, then dropped off the side.

"Damn it!"

I rushed to the railing and looked down. To my surprise, the creature was running down the side of the building on two feet.

"You're not getting away!"

<Spin Guide Arrow>

Three Guide Arrows shot out in a spinning trajectory. However, there must have been a mistake in the initial coordinate settings, because they only ended up shattering an innocent window.

A loud scream erupted from inside the building.

-Tower Master! The portal goblin is using spatial magic!

The goblin was sticking a disc to the building wall and opening a portal. This time, it wasn't summoning a monster; it was going in itself.

'Where is it?'

I focused my right Sage's Eye and scanned the area. According to the information in the Great Library, the portal goblin's teleportation magic had a delay and a short travel distance.

As I concentrated and scanned my surroundings, I saw it fall onto the adjacent building.

"There! I'm going after it."

-Preparing.

I backed away from the railing and took a light breath. Ea used Remote Casting to place a Leap Boots magic circle at the edge of the railing.

"Here I go!"

I ran at full speed and stomped on the circle.

My body soared through the air. The distance to the next building was too great to reach in a single leap, but…

'I'm used to this by now!'

I spread a shield wide beneath my feet and brought them together neatly.

'Crack!'

The wide shield shattered from the impact. It was just for cushioning anyway. As my speed decreased, I landed on another shield Ea had created. Then, I immediately extended my right foot into the air.

<Shield>

<Shield>

<Shield>

Using the shields as footholds, I created a chain through the air. A sky bridge opened up. It was hard to even open my eyes against the headwind blasting my face, but I ran hard.

Then I glanced down.

'…Whoa.'

It was a dizzying height. The buildings looked like toys, and cars were honking as they passed by.

"Haa! Haa!"

I quickly turned my head back. Cold sweat trickled down my face. Just how many stories high was I running?

As I ran, I saw the Leap Boots magic circle that Ea had created in front of a shield up ahead. Without hesitation, I stepped onto it.

My body launched high into the air and finally landed on the rooftop of the building where the goblin was.

As I rolled to break my fall and lifted my head, I was met with a large, oncoming club. I urgently threw my arms out and cast a shield.

'SLAM!'

Cracks spiderwebbed across the puzzle-like barrier. I focused my mana into the shield and looked up.

A Rank-3 monster, a Hobgoblin. Unlike the scrawny regular goblins, this one was fat and fleshy. In its hands, it held a wooden club studded with sharp spikes.

-I will counterattack.

While the Hobgoblin and I were locked in a stalemate, our shield and club pressed together, Ea conjured an Ice Javelin at my side. The Hobgoblin's pupils dilated rapidly as both of its hands were occupied with the attack.

'PSHNK!'

The frost spear pierced its side, and the creature shrieked as it recoiled. I didn't miss the opening and charged forward. I deployed Gauntlet on my right hand and planted a straight punch into the monster's face.

'Thwack!'

A brilliant shower of blue sparks flew, and the creature's body went tumbling across the ground.

"Where's the portal goblin?"

-Directly ahead!"

I lifted my head and saw the creature sitting leisurely in a chair on the rooftop, snickering. How dare it laugh at me?

<Fire Cannon>

I immediately conjured two Fire Cannons and sent them flying, but two large Hobgoblins holding shields moved to flank the portal goblin.

I was stunned.

'Fwoom!'

The fireballs hit their shields and dissipated. Dammit, shield bearers this time?

"Kekekeke!"

The portal goblin let out a mocking laugh and fled. I needed to chase it immediately, but the two shield-bearing Hobgoblins walked toward me. Another one appeared on my left and right, and I was surrounded by a total of four.

'I don't have time to deal with these one by one. I'll use a golem.'

I dashed forward and spread my palm. With a series of clicks from my wrist, two paintball-like objects rolled across the ground.

'Thanks for this, Eunsol.'

They were called golem balls, items created with magitech from the third-floor Golem Workshop. The two golem balls exploded with a loud noise, spraying a large amount of mud on the ground, and a golem blueprint unfolded over it.

'Vwwwm!'

As the golem schematic emitted a brilliant blue light, the mud rose and quickly formed the shape of a mud golem.

-Acquired control of mud golem. Attacking the enemy.

In the blink of an eye, the mud golem, its upper body already complete, threw a punch.

'Wham!'

The Hobgoblins were sent flying, and the encirclement broke. I dashed through the opening. One of the fallen Hobgoblins reacted quickly and tried to chase me, but the mud golem snatched its ankle and slammed it to the ground.

"Nice! It works perfectly in a real fight!"

To be honest, I never imagined I'd be able to use golems this quickly. The 'Fundamentals of Magic' had this to say about golem magic:

'This book will not cover golem magic beyond the basics. Golem magic requires immense mana and specialized skill, and above all, the summoning time is far too long. Unless one is a specialized golem mage who has dedicated their life to studying only golem magic, it is not recommended.'

In conclusion, it wasn't recommended because the performance wasn't worth the effort. I had tried a few times myself before giving up.

That's why most mages use golem blueprints to create magitech golems instead of summoning them with magic. This 'golem ball' was an item that helped create golems quickly by storing materials and a golem blueprint in a convenient case using compression magic, to be deployed in an emergency.

But this was where Eunsol's 'Remote Control' ability created a synergistic effect. Her remote control could be set with a trigger for a delayed activation. For example, 'If a monster approaches, this gun will fire.' This was a method she often used in the slums.

She combined this ability with the golem b all by storing the memory of the golem creation process inside it.

Of course, the theory was simple, but I imagine storing the golem's creation process via Remote Control was incredibly difficult. But Eunsol had done it. As soon as her Golem Engineering trait reached Lv. 10, she was mastering the field at an insane pace, showing remarkable potential as the third-floor administrator supporting the Tower Master.

With her help, it was as if I had already mastered golem magic to an advanced level. How much time had she saved me?

Ultimately, making her in charge of the third floor had been an excellent choice.

-Tower Master! Nine o'clock!

While the mud golems bought me time, I was chasing the portal goblin. The creature once again climbed onto the building's railing and dropped down.

"So annoying!"

I looked over the railing while casting Guide Arrow, but the creature was gone. Instead, a window directly below was shattered. I immediately grabbed the railing and threw myself toward the broken window.

'Crash!'

The glass shattered, and I rolled on the floor before getting to my feet.

"Aaaaah!"

"H-huh? What now?"

The office workers, who had been at their desks, stared at me in surprise.

"Sorry! Coming through!"

There was no time to explain. I weaved through the crowd and dashed out.

"It's a hunter!"

"Did a monster appear nearby?"

Their shock was brief; the employees started cheering or shouting words of encouragement. Some even took out their smartphones to record.

'Hey, you're supposed to be panicking. As expected, people in this day and age, whether hunters or civilians, aren't normal.'

"Over there, Mr. Hunter! It went that way!"

"That way! Over there!"

Now they were even helping me voluntarily. When I bowed my head in gratitude, a female employee shrieked and clutched her cheeks.

'…Hunters really are a popular profession.'

I quickly ran down the stairs to the floor below. The people on this floor were even worse. As if this were a common occurrence, they were watching the chase between me and the goblin with their hands in their pockets, like they were watching a local soccer game.

'Ugh, there are too many people up ahead!'

I gathered mana in my legs and leaped over the desks in a single bound. A loud cheer erupted from all sides, as if they'd just witnessed a great stunt.

"There! Over there!" a young man in a tie shouted.

Following his shout, I opened a door and saw a broken window. People were lying on the floor around it.

"Ah, a hunter."

"It went out that way!"

I kicked the window next to me, shattering it, and prepared to jump out. "Please bill the Association for the window."

Since it had come to this, I might as well pretend to be an Association hunter until the end.

"Kyaaaaaah!"

"Go for it, hunter!"

"We're cheering for you!"

I wasn't a hunter from the Association, but I left the building to the sound of their cheers. The portal goblin was running down the building wall, fleeing. Just as I was about to step on a shield and prepare a spell, the creature chanted and opened another portal, disappearing.

"Ea!"

-Mana detected. Commencing pursuit.

A moment later, her voice echoed in my head.

-Search complete. The portal goblin has descended to ground level.

"Do I have to go back and take the elevator or something?"

-That would be too slow.

As she said that, Ea began to create countless shields beneath my feet. They were the same cushion-type shields I had made earlier.

'It's great that she's applying it immediately, but…'

The amount of mana draining from my body was alarming. Just how many was she making?

I looked down and saw an endless stream of cushion shields being summoned beneath me, all heading toward the ground.

"Hey, you're not thinking of…?"

-It is a shield elevator.

"…Hahahaha!"

I burst out laughing right where I stood.

"You really are the best partner."

-Thank you.

I brought my feet together, crossed my arms over my chest, and without hesitation, dispelled the shield supporting my feet. My body plummeted downwards, shattering the cushion shields one after another.

* * *

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