“…So, it’s a staircase. It definitely appears to be an artificially constructed space.”
“Is it alright to go in?”
Hye-ryeong blinked her eyes and looked up at me. Did she get scared now that we’ve opened the door? I placed a hand on her shoulder and said,
“Don’t worry too much. We’re not planning to rush in immediately.”
Although I opened the entrance with confidence, blindly rushing into an unknown space would be akin to suicide. Scratching my chin, I enhanced my eyes with aura and pierced through the darkness.
“It looks like we’ll descend at least two levels.”
“That deep? This darkness is kind of scary…”
“Someone who can twist necks without a second thought being afraid of the dark seems inconsistent.”
“It’s different!”
Different… huh?
It’s hard to understand the mindset of people from the Martial Realm. Mok-kyeong, standing beside me, also nodded her head.
Am I the one who’s outdated?
“Since ancient times, darkness has been an enemy of warriors. Even the most skilled warrior cannot fully detect threats in the dark.”
Upon reflection, that isn’t entirely wrong.
The dark is undoubtedly dangerous. Even with improved night vision and dark adaptation, it’s still not possible to see through complete darkness entirely.
Of course, among the numerous martial arts in the Martial Realm, a few can pierce such pitch-black darkness, but we don’t have them, so we need a torch to guard us against the night.
“A torch to guard us from the darkness.”
“It’s getting late to enter right now, so let’s head back to the campsite.”
I turned around after closing the door to the basement. Since there’s no one around, it’s probably fine to leave it like this.
If anyone comes, it will likely be the creator of this basement or their acquaintances.
Judging by the thick moss on the rocks, the basement itself seems quite old, so it’s unlikely anyone will come here.
I placed some leaves on top of the hidden basement door and headed back to the campsite.
—————————–
“Miss Mok-kyeong, the torches?”
“They’re here.”
“Mr., do we really need to make so many?”
“The world doesn’t go as we wish. We need to prepare for any possible situation.”
We should prepare as much as we can.
Life rarely goes as planned, after all. If things went as I wanted, I wouldn’t have even set foot in the Martial Realm.
I took the torch from Mok-kyeong, who passed it to me, while thinking about the friends from the slave ship, whose bones, if any, might remain now.
“You have a fire striker?”
“Hand the torch this way…”
I tilted the torch toward Mok-kyeong as she instructed. Then, she touched the torch with her hand and flicked her finger.
“Using Smelting Flame just to light the fire—isn’t that wasteful?”
“Less internal energy consumption than I expected.”
That’s good. I attached two of the remaining torches to my baggage and distributed the rest to Hye-ryeong and Mok-kyeong.
“If you lose your way, never let go of the torch and hang it somewhere visible. If it’s hung, it will indicate that the place has been passed.”
“I won’t let it go under any circumstances.”
We need to verify what’s here; if there’s nothing, we’ll just continue on our way.
I kicked away the leaves piled on top of the hidden basement door and opened it. With a loud creak of the rusted hinges, the same scene from yesterday appeared.
Why was this entrance placed here?
With the burning torch held forward, I inspected the staircase.
“The stairs are intact.”
“Indeed, as Mr. Eun-gong said, the stairs don’t appear broken.”
“Mr., can I hold your hand while we go?”
“We should prepare for emergencies, so it’s better not to.”
Although Hye-ryeong clearly showed her disappointment, it was necessary for her safety. My plan involved moving as quickly and safely as possible, so maintaining a slight distance would be best.
“Let’s go, then.”
We started descending the unknown staircase.
—————————–
Why is this staircase so long?
Even after what seemed like a quarter of an hour, there was no sign of the bottom.
“Mr. Eun-gong, are we caught in some kind of formation…?”
“Hmm…”
“It doesn’t seem to be a formation!”
“What?”
We looked at Hye-ryeong upon hearing her words. She appeared excited, as if this was finally her opportunity to shine, and flashed a self-satisfied smile while glancing at Mok-kyeong.
…They seem to regard each other as rivals.
“My master taught me how to check if we’ve fallen into a formation. First, retrace your steps. Second, keep leaving marks while moving!”
“Simple enough.”
I unsheathed my sword and left an X-mark on the wall.
“Let’s go further down.”
As we continued, we eventually reached the bottom.
It was just an unusually long staircase.
“Is this the Middle Ages in China?”
Alone, this place seems a few centuries ahead.
Is this… correct?
It’s no secret that wuxia fiction often portrays Chinese technology as overpowered, but seeing it in reality is surprising. Even in the 21st century, creating such a basement would be difficult. Who exactly built this?
“Still, no light globes though…”
There are rings to place the torches, though.
I placed the torch in the ring and lit a new one.
The overwhelming smell of dust indicates that people haven’t been here for quite a while.
“Mr. Eun-gong is right; it appears to have been abandoned for a long time.”
Mok-kyeong held the torch and examined the area.
“Mr., doesn’t this seem like a corridor?”
“It does.”
Though slightly wider, it’s still a straight path. What purpose does this serve?
Could it be a secret passage?
If it is a secret passage, where does it lead?
We walked endlessly. Occasionally, we placed the torches in the rings. How long did we walk?
We finally stopped upon discovering a figure lying sprawled on the ground.
“Mr. Eun-gong, this…”
“Mr…”
“Seems like this person has been dead for a long time.”
All that remained were clothing and bones. The skeleton, seemingly untouched for decades, was carefully examined.
How did this person die?
Figuring out how this skeleton died might offer answers about this endless path.
I carefully examined the bones, which were thankfully mostly intact, and soon determined the cause of death.
“The broken spine and how it’s lying face down…”
“The person was attacked from behind!”
“It appears so, as Miss Hye-ryeong said.”
“…I have a feeling we might get entangled in something troublesome.”
Since coming to the Central Plains, misfortune has seemed to follow me everywhere. Even though this might be considered self-inflicted, there’s nothing to say…
I finished inspecting the bones and stood up.
“Let’s keep going straight ahead.”
“Isn’t it safer to go back? We might get involved in something like Mr. said…”
Hye-ryeong, her voice filled with worry, grabbed my sleeve. I held her hand and looked at her.
“Don’t worry too much. Do you trust me?”
“Mr…”
“…Mr. Eun-gong, continuing might be the best option…”
Mok-kyeong’s awkward voice reminded me that this wasn’t the time for such matters. I resumed leading the way through the corridor.
“Mr., there’s another skeleton.”
“Given the sporadic deaths, it seems like someone killed one, chased them, and killed another.”
What happened here?
While continuing down the endless corridor, I speculated how events unfolded while examining the bones.
“Another stabbing in the back.”
“If our entrance direction is the exit, then something must have gone wrong at the location connected by this secret passage. The people trying to escape were ultimately killed.”
“We’ll find out if we head toward the entrance.”
Given the wind blowing through, it seems like the entrance is open somewhere. Investigating will clarify the situation.
We continued moving forward.
Soon, we reached what seemed to be the entrance door.
The door, slightly open, appeared to have been broken by someone. Considering our situation, this was quite fortunate.
“We’re getting to the real part now, so be careful…”
“Who’s there?”
Huh?
A voice from beyond the door.
Unprepared for this voice, I glanced at Hye-ryeong and Mok-kyeong.
“Mr., it seems like too many unexpected things happen when I’m with you.”
“…I agree.”
I grabbed the doorknob and fully opened the door.
To find the owner of the old voice that had noticed our presence.
