Chapter 1229

<Chapter 1229> The Bright Ascension Path

I’d barely started, and already I had two Black-Eye Beads in hand. Thinking about how these could serve as a trading currency, this was turning out to be an excellent start. The problem? I had no clue where the exit was. The later I found it, the worse it would be for me.

‘Not like joining up with Squad One would be easy either. No idea where they even are.’

We hadn’t set any rendezvous point because we didn’t have any intel on the structure of this Demon’s Maw—just its existence. The Demon’s Maw is every man for himself. You’ve gotta handle it solo.

‘Still, I’m better off than most. I’ve got the Heavenly Eye.’

[Activating Heavenly Eye.]

Truthfully, I wasn’t too fond of using the Heavenly Eye. It’s great and all, but the continuous mana drain is killer. In world terms, while the Heavenly Eye is active, my inner energy keeps depleting. Right now, it’s manageable, but over time, the strain grows heavier.

‘Can’t help it in this situation though.’

I slowly scanned my surroundings, seeing through walls. Beyond the first wall, another wall appeared. I focused harder, consuming even more energy, trying to extend my vision further. After some time, I shook my head and deactivated the Heavenly Eye.

‘Damn, this place is way too vast.’

I didn’t find the exit, but at least I had a rough idea of what was within a 100-meter radius of me.

Rubbing my eyes, I moved forward. Overusing the Heavenly Eye tends to strain them.

After walking for a while, I froze.

A man lay dead in the corridor, his body so decayed that he must have died recently.

‘He was alive when I checked the area with the Heavenly Eye earlier. He just died moments ago.’

Was it a demon’s doing? No, there were no demons nearby. No other people either. I looked at the walls and floor. There were marks indicating the wall had been attacked, and faint traces of green liquid on the ground.

‘It’s a trap embedded in the walls and floor.’

When I used the Heavenly Eye earlier, I noticed some unusual structures. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but now it seems those were traps.

‘What should I do? Should I turn back and take another route?’

Avoiding the trap would show the instructors watching over us that I’m wise.

‘But if I go another way, there might be demons… and I want to conserve my strength as much as possible.’

I decided to break through the trap.

I briefly activated the Heavenly Eye again to scan the trap.

‘Just as I thought—it’s a mechanism where the walls spew poison.’

If you get hit by that poison, you’ll end up rotting away like the guy lying here.

I moved forward.

Suddenly, a clanking sound rang out, and part of the wall opened, ejecting a round metal cylinder resembling a gun barrel. It began mercilessly spraying green liquid, covering the area so densely that even a seasoned martial artist would struggle to dodge.

I summoned my inner energy and erected a protective barrier. The poison from the wall was blocked by my shield, splashing harmlessly against it with wet thuds.


It’s falling.

‘There’s no way I’d fall for such a trap when I already know it’s there. If I didn’t know anything at all might be different story.’

I smoothly passed through the trap using my Barrier technique.

Without looking back, I continued moving forward, deciding to worry about whether this was the right path later.

After advancing quite far, I soon furrowed my brow.

‘I don’t know what’s ahead. Should I use my Heavenly Vision again?’

I shook my head. I wanted to conserve my inner power as much as possible. Even if I used Heavenly Vision, it would be too late to turn back and choose another route anyway.

‘If there’s a monster, I’ll kill it. If it’s a trap, I’ll break through like before.’

I kept moving forward.

Whoosh.

I felt the sensation of my body floating.

‘It’s a Barrier. I’ve entered the Barrier.’

I narrowed my eyes and raised my guard.

“It’s number 123, huh.”

Zhegam Mosun number 366 who had been hiding behind the wall revealed himself. The moment he saw me, he let out a sigh of relief from his tense expression.

“Did you set up this Barrier and hide here?”

“Yes. It’s a perfect place to use a Barrier. Ah, don’t move recklessly and follow my instructions. There’s a trap ahead.”

“So you’re using the Barrier to utilize traps, huh.”

“It’s efficient to make use of existing things. Step one pace forward, four paces to the right, then three paces forward again.”

I moved according to Zhegam Mosun’s directions. It seemed not only a Barrier but also an array had been set up. Soon I reached in front of him.

“Looking at you closely, it’s really nice to see you, number 123.”

“What about the others?”

“No one else is here. It’s just me. Ah, I did find the Black Eye Liquor. It was stuck in the center of the ceiling here. There were three traps around it, so it took some effort.”

“But we still got the Black Eye Liquor. I killed a monster and obtained one too.”

“In that case, we just need to find the exit now. Fortunately.”

I nodded.

If it had been someone else, I would have killed them and stolen their Black Eye Liquor, but I couldn’t kill Zhegam Mosun, who was to become a close aide to Cheonyuun.

We shared information about the Demon Pit. I hid the fact that I had one more Black Eye Liquor. Just because we’re comrades doesn’t mean I have to spill every single detail. And I didn’t trust Zhegam Mosun that much either.

“I see.”

Zhegam Mosun drew something on the ground with his sword.

It was a map based on the information I gave and his own experiences in the Demon Pit.

“I started here and after moving for about one day, I arrived at this room with a trap. On the other hand, your starting point was here.”

“Seems about right. But does this have any meaning?”

“It does. By comparing it with the locations of the buildings in the Demon Lodge above the Demon Pit, we can roughly estimate the size of the Demon Pit.”

Zhegam Mosun drew another map over the first one – the map of the Demon Lodge above the Demon Pit. He drew it effortlessly, having lived there for nearly a year. I was impressed by his drawing skills. He was indeed a talented guy destined to become Cheonyuun’s closest aide.

“I started here.”

“I started over there. I slid down through a hole that opened in the floor. The passage was quite steep.”

“Thanks to that, I had a smooth descent. The depth is estimated to be between fifteen and twenty-one feet. So…”

He drew a large border on the Demon Pit map.

“Considering the size of the Demon Lodge, the Demon Pit should be about this big. The place that seems like an exit is on the edge over here. We need to go in the opposite direction from where I came.”

“I see.”

I nodded.

To be honest, I didn’t understand even half of what Zhegam Mosun said. Why is he so sure the exit is on the edge? How can he estimate the size of the Demon Pit? Even if he explained the reasons, I doubt I’d understand…


It was different, so I decided to just let it be and keep my mouth shut.

Shh-shh.

Jega Moosoon kept moving his sword, drawing a map as he went.

“What are you doing? Haven’t we already reached a conclusion?”

“It’s for the next person coming here. I’m planning to deliberately leave false information to confuse him.”

The map-making was finished. He retrieved the steel rods he had planted in the ground for the Barrier and formation, then said to me,

“Let’s go, 123. If we combine our strength, we’ll find the exit quickly.”

I walked forward with Jega Moosoon.

I had judged that Jega Moosoon was competent, but I seriously considered retracting that judgment.

“123. Don’t step on the black platforms. The trap will activate the moment you do.”

“Didn’t you say earlier not to step on the red ones?”

“That was a miscalculation. Since it’s a trap I’ve never seen before, calculation errors are inevitable.”

I stepped on a white platform beside the black one. The platform sank down, and icicles fell from the ceiling. Tense, I immediately stepped back to avoid the trap.

“Hmm. It seems the arrangement is more important than the color of the platforms.”

“You damn brat! Just tell the truth! Are you trying to kill me with these traps?!”

“It’s a mistake. And there’s no way someone like 123 would die from this, right? I trust 123.”

“I don’t trust you. You go first.”

“You’re quite the joker, aren’t you? My physical abilities are inferior to 123’s, not to mention martial arts skills. Clearly, it’s more reasonable for 123 to take the lead.”

“Use your magic! Your magic! Why aren’t you using it after learning it?!

“In a situation like this, what kind of magic should I use?”

“Use magic to detect the traps! Even if you could use magic to fly… wouldn’t this kind of platform trap be easy to bypass?!”

“Tch. You sure talk easily.”

Jega Moosoon shook his head.

“Magic isn’t omnipotent. Magic has its categories and compatibilities. In my case, my specialty is zombie magic—activating spells through corpses and offerings. Detecting traps beforehand? That’s exploration magic. Unfortunately, I know little about exploration magic. Flying through the air to move? To activate that spell, I’d need to calculate the spell formula. Precise control over the spell pattern is essential.”

“You’re from the famous Jega family known for their magic!”

He glared at me, clearly irritated.

“Just because I carry the bloodline of Jega doesn’t mean I’m proficient in all kinds of magic.”

“The magicians I know can do anything without arguing.”

I thought of Mi-ling. She could handle any magic without fuss—building houses with magic, summoning large amounts of water, setting up Barriers, even cooking with magic. Watching her made me think magic was almost omnipotent.

“You seem to know an incredible magician. As for me, there are things I simply cannot do.”

“Damn it. It would be much better to just charge through.”

“123. Do you know the saying ‘If you’re dumb, your body suffers’? We need to conserve our stamina.”

“There’s also the saying ‘If your body’s bad, your mind suffers.’ Time is money. Should we waste time on traps like this?”

“Time is money. Hmm. Good words. But I prefer to do things thoroughly. And now I’ve completely figured out the arrangement of these traps. Step on the platforms as I say: black-black-white-black-white order.”

“If this fails again, I’ll break through the trap my way.”

“That won’t happen.”

It really didn’t. Jega Moosoon and I passed through the trap safely.