“A Gnomonculus…”

“So that’s where all the other gnomes went,” Diana observed.

Its twisted limbs were a testament to the sinister experiments that brought it into existence. A patchwork of stitched skin covered its gnome-sized body. Its face bore an unsettling resemblance to Santa Claus. It had the same rosy cheeks and round, bulbous nose, but there was a sinister distortion to its features that made the comparison rather disconcerting.

Its eyes, rather than twinkling with warmth and kindness, were cold and calculating, analyzing our every move, searching for a weakness to exploit. Instead of the merry smile that one would hope to see, its grin was twisted and malevolent, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth that seemed eager to tear flesh from bone.

True to my original intentions when I created the creature, it was a perverse mockery of the jolly, gift-giving icon. It was unsettling to see the results in person.

Surrounding the Gnomonculus were a dozen gnomes with ashen-gray skin and piercing, silver eyes that gleamed with intelligence. Dark, rune-like tattoos adorned their faces and hands, marking them as members of the Arcane Inquisition. They wore tattered, dark robes that reached the ground, with hoods that cast deep shadows over their faces. The robes were adorned with intricate, golden embroidery that depicted otherworldly symbols and arcane sigils. Each sorcerer clutched a gnarled staff topped with a crystal orb that pulsed with an eerie, purple light.

“Those are Arcane Inquisitor Gnomes,” I informed the others. “They should be the ones that created the Gnomonculus.”

“This is way too much for us to handle,” Diana said.

“Too late,” Luxjo replied while stifling a yawn. He cracked his neck and stretched his arm, preparing to charge in.

“He’s right,” Lilith said while moving closer. “The gnomes that were supposed to be in the forest are still here. They let you move through to trap you between two forces.”

“What should we do?” Eden groaned. Her hands trembled ever so slightly and a thin sheen of sweat formed on her brow as her eyes darted from one gnome sorcerer to another.

The gnomes had long since noticed us, and they were watching us just as carefully, perhaps waiting for us to make the first move.

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a thumbs-up. “It’s alright. We wouldn’t even be here if you’d just listened to me,” I said. “So listen to me now and I’ll get us out of this mess.”

“You’re insufferable,” she spat. “Do you actually have a plan?”

“Luxjo, you’ll need to be our tank. Keep that patchwork monster focused on you so we can take out the sorcerers. Eden, you’re on sniper duty. Assassinate as many of those masked bastards as you can.”

I glanced at Diana. “Since Luxjo won’t be here, the defense is all on you. Can you handle it?”

“Obviously,” she attempted to sound self-assured, but the slight tremble in her voice betrayed her true feelings.

“Don’t worry,” I said to comfort her. “If you fail, I’m sure Lilith will pick up the slack.”

She frowned, clearly annoyed at the implications poorly masked by my words. Her fingers tightened around her magic staff and she glared at me. “I won’t fail,” she said firmly.

“What will you be doing?” Luxjo asked.

I met his gaze and smirked. “I’m gonna make a really, really big explosion.”

“...Are you sure?” Lilith asked, a hint of concern in her voice. “From what I saw earlier, I’m not convinced you can handle that yet.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her.

“...” She didn’t look convinced, but I didn’t have time to convince her.

The gnomes seemed to have given up on waiting for us to make the first move.

The Gnomonculus took slow, lumbering steps as it began to approach. Its movements were awkward and jerky as if it were struggling to maintain its balance. As it drew closer, the faint sound of gears and mechanisms whirring and clicking reached our ears. Despite its strange gait and the eerie sounds, the monster exuded an air of menacing power. The metal plates on its body gleamed in the dungeon light, giving it an almost otherworldly appearance.

Behind the lumbering monstrosity, the sorcerer gnomes began chanting a spell in some guttural language that none of us understood. They stood in a circle, their hands clasped together and their eyes closed in concentration. As they chanted in unison, their bodies began to glow with a faint, blue aura that pulsed in time with their words.

“Off you go,” I shouted while pushing Luxjo forward with one hand and Eden with the other.

Eden stumbled while fading away into the shadows. She shot me one last angry glare before she disappeared entirely. Luxjo didn’t even flinch from the meager force I used to push him. He turned to face the incoming patchwork monster, the edges of his lips turning up in a maniacal grin.

“This one looks like fun,” he said.

He let out a wild, feral roar as he charged at the Gnomonculus, his flesh rippling and shifting with a squelching sound. He looked like a deranged monster himself, his eyes burning with an insane fervor as he closed in on his target.

With a sickening lurch, his body twisted and contorted, his flesh elongating into an absurdly long arm that he swung at the Gnomonculus. The appendage slammed into the creature’s side, blocked by metal plates that surfaced to intercept the blow. Luxjo began to cackle as he began to pummel the creature, leaving behind superficial scratches on the metal plates.

“...Right, he was like that,” I muttered to myself.

Taking my attention away from the Gebnir and the Gnomonculus, I focused on the sorcerers chanting in the back. The air around them began to crackle with energy, and sparks of arcane magic danced along their fingertips.

Suddenly, a streak of blue light pierced the sorcerer closest to us. The monster howled as cracks formed on its grey body. Magic energy leaked through the cracks, causing them to grow wider until the creature exploded into a pile of clay fragments.

Two of the sorcerers stepped away from the circle and faced the direction the arrow came from. One of them pointed at the shadows and Eden appeared, her face filled with shock and terror.

I gathered mana to my palms and activated the spell I learned the other day.

“Explosion.”

A massive, swirling ball of fiery energy erupted from my palm and launched toward the sorcerers. The ball grew larger and larger as it hurtled toward the targets, crackling with intense heat and power.

The second gnome that stepped out of the circle snorted and waved his hand like he was erasing something in the air. The explosion vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing but a hint of lingering heat behind.

“...”

The gnome led out a sudden, expected burst of laughter, It was a high-pitched, manic laughter that sent chills running down my spine. He pointed at me and chanted a few guttural sounds. My eyes widened as the Explosion spell that just disappeared came flying back at me.

Oh shi—

I instinctively raised my arms to cover my head, despite knowing how pointless it was. A barrier appeared in front of us. There was a deafening roar and the ground shook violently, sending shockwaves through the air that knocked the distant Eden and a few of the gnome sorcerers off their feet. The barrier glowed with a bright red hue, then shifted to a deep blue, and finally settled into a vibrant green as it absorbed the impact.

The barrier rippled and, for a moment, it seemed like it would break under the pressure, but the light faded almost as quickly as it appeared. The green energy swirled around us, actively repairing and restoring any areas of the barrier that were weakened or damaged.

“You alive?” Lilith asked.

Before I realized it, she was standing right next to me, one hand outstretched to maintain the barrier.

“...I’ve been better.”

“I should hope so. You call that an explosion?”

“Ouch,” I muttered. Her words stung more than I expected. She was obviously going to be better than me at magic, but actually seeing the gap made it a bitter pill to swallow.

“I’ll take over from here…” Lilith started to say.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook my head. “We’ve got this.”

In the brief moment that I’d caught the Arcane Inquisitor Gnomes’ attention, Eden had managed to slip back into the shadows. She said her specialty was in assassinating armies, so if I could keep them focused on me for a bit, she should be able to overturn this situation.

Lilith gave me a strange look before stepping back. “Fine. But if I have to save any of you again, I’ll fail you all on the spot.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The two Arcane Inquisitor Gnomes that separated from the group sneered at me as I ran toward them. One pointed at me, its fingertip crackling with glowing blue energy. I ducked to the side, my hair standing on end as a bolt of lightning struck the ground where I stood a moment before.

This is insane…!

I’ve heard it said that a man’s true character is revealed in the stressful moments in life. It’s easy to hold ideals when times are peaceful. My legs shook and my mouth opened and closed a few times without letting out a sound.

A loud clank broke me out of my stupor, followed by Luxjo’s bellowing roar as he continued his assault on the Gnomonculus. The Arcane Inquisitor Gnomes were preparing another attack, and the one’s performing the ritual behind them seemed to be entering another phase as the blue pulsating aura surrounding them took on a violet sheen.

Thaddeus lost this fight in the original work. The two professors escorting the students were supposed to save us, but for some reason, Thaddeus and his group were nowhere to be seen.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. This wasn’t the time to get distracted.

Channeling my mana, I pointed a finger at the two gnomes preparing some sort of spell.

“Explosion!”

Another massive swirling ball of fiery energy flew toward them. Then I raised my other hand and repeated the motion.

“Explosion!”

Then the other.

“Explosion! Explosion! Explosion! Explosion!”

My mana drained at an alarming rate until none of it was left, but I continued my reckless attack, scraping the barrel for every last dreg inside my body. When there was nothing left, I collapsed to my knees, darkness encroaching at the edge of my vision.

The two gnomes panicked when they realized what I had done. Immediately stopping whatever spell they were casting, they went on the defensive. The first Explosion spell reached them and I was blinded by the fiery light. The entire clearing shook like an earthquake, sending me sprawling. Desperately fighting to keep myself awake, I watched silently, waiting for the results of my efforts.

When the dust settled, my heart sank.

The two gnomes were fine. One of them had a few cracks on its arms, but they were otherwise unharmed. They began to cackle maniacally while pointing their fingers at me.

Behind the gnomes, a brilliant blue light caught my eye. At the far edge of the clearing, Eden sat in the boughs of a tree, aiming her bow at the Arcane Inquisitor Gnomes. The arrow began to shimmer with eerie, dark energy. When she released it, the arrow soared through the air at a blinding speed, leaving a trail of dark energy in its wake. It struck the ground in the center of the ritual and ruptured.

A shockwave sent all of the gnomes reeling, interrupting their ritual. The shockwave was followed by a sinister dark dome that expanded until it consumed all of the gnomes. As the dome passed over each gnome, they withered and collapsed, their clay bodies aging until they returned to dust.

Ethereal chains emerged from inside the dome and latched onto the other two who managed to avoid the initial blast. The two gnomes that gave me so much trouble howled with terror as they were dragged kicking and screaming into the dome where they quickly withered into nothing.

“Wow…” I muttered in awe.

The dome disappeared as Eden fell from her perch, unconscious. Vines rose out of the ground and caught her. Turning my head, I found Diana biting her lip while she focused her attention on saving our scout.

With the Arcane Inquisitor Gnomes taken care of, there was only one threat left. Luxjo continued his deadly brawl with the Gnomonculus. They had been fighting this whole time, yet he hadn’t done anything more than superficial damage to it.

In reality, he had managed to tear off several metal plates, but the patchwork creature simply retrieved them and they merged back onto its body.

“We need to retreat,” Diana said. “Eden’s down and you looked like you’re out of gas.”

“We’ve still got you and Luxjo,” I said. “This’ll be easy as pie.”

“Right…” she droned. “And…”

She was cut off as Luxjo crashed into the ground next to us. He rolled to the side as a mechanical fist smashed into the dirt. I grabbed Diana and dove away, pulling her as far from the monster as I could. While we were falling, the princess pulled something from her pocket and threw it at the monster. Then she channeled her mana and began casting a spell which she completed just before we hit the ground.

A barrier formed around the Gnomonculus, a paper with a magic circle—a talisman—serving as the core. The mechanical monstrosity smashed its fist into the barrier, sending rippling waves down the side. A second hit resulted in several cracks spreading throughout. Diana channeled more mana, barely withstanding the onslaught.

Luxjo rammed into the other side of the barrier with the force of a raging bull, his flesh rippling and tearing through the magical obstruction. The backlash sent Diana sprawling to her knees, a crimson stream of blood trickling from her nostrils as she gasped for breath.

With a twisted grin, Luxjo melded his arms together, transmuting them into a grotesque, massive hammer. Veins throbbed and muscles contorted as he swung the hammer-arm with a whip-like motion, brutally smashing the Gnomonculus’s head with a sickening crunch.

The Gnomonculus reeled from the devastating blow, but the Gebnir was relentless. His eyes blazed with a ferocious, blood-red glow, a sign that his Berserk skill had been activated.

The ability required him to absorb a considerable amount of damage before he could use it, but it rewarded him with a surge of strength proportional to the pain he endured. With his near-infinite regeneration, this skill turned him into an unstoppable juggernaut. The combination of this skill and his unique traits as a Gebnir was the singular reason why Luxjo would become the Great Gebnir of Fonol.

His body pulsated with raw power, his every movement a testament to his primal fury as he tore through the Gnomonculus, scattering metal plates, gears, and shards of clay throughout the clearing.

Yet it still wasn’t enough. For every bit of damage Luxjo dealt, the Gnomonculus absorbed minerals from the ground to mend it. As the two tumbled about the clearing, the monster took every effort to reclaim the scattered pieces as it endured the onslaught. Despite its small frame, the patchwork creature was created by fusing dozens, perhaps hundreds of gnomes together with various other materials. That made the creature slow, but powerful and difficult to kill.

How did the professors kill it in the original novel?

I tried to recall what its weakness might be. The main characters only ever fought one of these. A few readers complained about how I dedicated so much time and effort to a random dungeon boss that was ultimately unimportant to the story. If I remembered right, Professor Lincoln…

“It’s core!” I shouted. “We have to break its core!”

“Easier said than done,” Diana grumbled as she prepared to join the fight. She twirled her finger in the air, drawing a magic circle. “You got any more explosions in the tank?”

“Nope, I’m fresh out,” I answered with a sparkling smile.

“So you’re the kind of guy that runs out after one shot. Good to know.”

“Hey, that’s not what I said,” I protested.

She activated the magic circle and the ground disappeared from underneath the Gnomonculus. Vines erupted from the edges of the freshly-formed pit and snaked around the monstrosity, hindering its movements and keeping it restrained in the air. Luxjo pounced, his arms morphing into large claws with multiple elongated talons. He proceeded to shred the creature, tearing large chunks away so fast that it looked like the Gnomonculus was being put through a blender.

After tearing through its head and torso, a large, multifaceted crystal orb, approximately the size of a baseball was revealed. It emanated a pulsating, arcane energy that shifted through a spectrum of colors, reflecting the combined magical essence of the gnome sorcerers who brought the golem to life. Intricate, swirling patterns of magical runes were etched across its surface, glowing with a soft, ethereal light.

As if sensing danger, the core flared a vibrant red. Luxjo flew backward, tumbling across the ground. The crimson light in his eyes faded and he collapsed.

“What was that?” Diana shouted.

“Defense mechanism,” I replied while stumbling forward. My body protested, demanding rest, but there wasn’t time for that. “There’s probably some form of psychic spell on it. Something like a sleep spell, or an illusion or something.”

The princess clenched her teeth, glancing between me and the monster. As the author who created her, I could practically read her thoughts.

“‘Do I have to use it?’” I said aloud.

She flinched.

“‘I can’t let anybody see it,’” I continued. “‘How does he know about…’”

“Stop!” she shouted. “You can read minds?”

I scoffed. “Just use your damn power, princess.”

“How do you—”

I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face the regenerating Gnomonculus. It clambered over the vines and reached the edge of the pit.

“Use. Your. Power.”

She clenched her fists. “Do you even know what it does?!”

“I do,” I said. “Trust me and use the damn power.”

Fine!” she shouted. Holding up her magic staff, she channeled all her mana into it. “Don’t blame me for what happens!”

Taking a deep breath, Diana muttered an incantation under her breath, her free hand weaving an intricate pattern in the air. A surge of magical energy pulsed at the tip of her magic staff.

Her eyes glowed with an otherworldly light as she established a link between her and the monster. With her Sacrificial Nexus now in effect, she charged forward, heedless of any danger. The Gnomonculus swung a fist and struck her chest, but as it connected, the princess didn’t even flinch. Instead, the patchwork monster staggered, cracks forming on its own chest. The monster struck her again, and Diana moved so that it hit her in a nonvital area, cracks once again forming on the Gnomonculus.

While she endured the attacks, I crept up behind it. Since it had been a few minutes, I had recovered a few dregs of mana. Using one more big spell would almost certainly knock me out, but it was worth it if we could kill this thing.

As the Gnomonculus shattered itself pummeling Diana, the core was revealed once again. Taking advantage of the opening, I cast one last spell.

“Explosion.”

The massive swirling ball of fiery energy flew toward the exposed core and struck it with the ferocity of a meteor, creating a dazzling explosion. The shockwave tore through the Gnomonculus and all the damage that went to Diana was redirected to the monster. The clay parts of its body disintegrated and crumbled away, while the metal melted. As the dust settled and the light from the explosion faded, there was only a shattered core left.

Diana glared at me.

“You…!”

Her face went pale and she collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath as her body was wracked with agony.

Sacrificial Nexus.

It was Princess Diana’s unique magic skill. It allowed her to create a temporary magical link between herself and a target. For the duration of the link, any damage dealt to her was dealt to the target instead, effectively making her invulnerable for the duration of the link. However, all the damage redirected through the link was amplified and dealt to Diana at the end of the spell’s duration.

I felt a little guilty seeing her suffering.

You have delayed the plans of the 13th Inquisition.

+100 SRP.

“Good job, princess,” I muttered as my vision faded.

I didn’t even feel myself hit the ground.