“…It’s less of a hidden chamber and more of a ruin.”
Unless it’s disguised by some sort of formation, there didn’t seem to be anything in this mysterious space that would be of help to us.
After all, the only things here were white bones.
“…We should look for the owner of that voice we heard earlier.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“Trust me. Don’t answer for now. It could be a trap.”
Such worrywart.
I gently awakened my Mana Core from its rest, and using the torchlight, I proceeded to check the surroundings.
What exactly happened in this place?
I casually scanned the bone fragments underfoot and scanned the area with the torchlight.
“It seems like there was quite the battle here.”
Through the flickering flames, scattered rusted weapons could be seen here and there.
Also, the bones and pieces of clothing scattered about were undoubtedly broken by some kind of artificial force.
If there was a battle here, it meant there was some cause that triggered it.
Why did they fight and d*e like this?
Were they hostile forces?
Or was it an internal conflict?
The surroundings were too dark to analyze the situation clearly. By the way, where exactly did that voice come from?
“Ajussi, could it be phantom auditory? It sounded more like a ghost’s voice than a human’s…”
“Hmm…”
“…”
Hye-ryeong really seemed frightened, her voice trembling as she spoke to me. To calm her down, I briefly held her hand. Upon me holding her hand, Hye-ryeong clasped it in response.
The palm that clasped mine was slightly rough but had an underlying softness.
The hand of a knight but also the hand of a woman, perhaps.
“It’ll be fine, no need to be so scared. Even if it’s a ghost, it’s not scarier than a person.”
While lost in thought, I continued walking until I reached a dead-end wall.
Having walked roughly two hundred steps away from the passage entrance, I could tell this space wasn’t shaped like a hall but was of considerable size.
Can they really construct something like this in this era?
No, humans were building pyramids around 3000 or 2000 B.C., so it’s definitely possible to build something of this scale.
Though, that’s a construction project carried out by a Pharaoh summoning a large number of people, so comparing it is sort of funny…
So, where is the owner of that voice?
“Who are YOU talking to!”
As the voice sounded again, I strained my ears. A completely exhausted, powerless voice, it seemed like someone was shouting, but it was all echoes, so I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.
“Ajussi, shouldn’t we respond now?”
“In case we don’t know, both of you stand behind me.”
The two of them nodded silently and quietly stepped behind me.
“Can you hear me?”
“Who might you be?”
“Just a passerby! I happened to discover this place and entered. Is anyone there?”
“Over… here!”
That way?
I stood leaning against the wall and looked diagonally to the right. Although I can’t see anything, it seems likely to be that direction.
“…Hye-ryeong. Mok-kyeong. You two move as inconspicuously as possible.”
“Ajussi, what about you?”
“As for me—”
I extract an aura from my activated Mana Core and wrap it around my body. Since it’s not prepared for combat, the thinly applied Aura Armor adheres to my body, causing a faint blue light to gleam across me.
Enough to cleanly grab all the attention.
If ambushed, it would be targeted at me.
Following that, I drew my sword from its sheath, ready to withdraw the Aura at any moment, then walked in the direction the voice came from.
Ten steps.
Twenty.
Fifty.
Seventy.
Eighty.
Ninety.
A hundred.
“Hey… where are you…?”
Adjusting a bit, I took another thirty steps forward, then stopped.
“It is a strange coincidence that someone with colored eyes was the first person I’ve encountered in such a long time…”
“Young one, why are you here?”
“I am not THAT old, to call me ‘Grandpa.’ Call me Gang-hyeong!”
No matter where I look, it seems like that’s a really old person, what kind of talk is this?
…Could it be someone who looks young despite their age just like me?
Mistaken for their age due to appearance?
“So, have you been trapped here the whole time?”
“I’ve lost one eye and one leg. Just being alive is a miracle.”
He made a noise that was indiscernible between a cough and a laugh, then slowly raised his head and looked at me.
I casually swept away some debris with my foot and plopped down. Judging by his physical condition and the aura I sensed, it seemed like someone who had just reached the Peak a short while ago.
Even compared to Mok-kyeong, who recently achieved the Peak level, he came across as weaker.
I glanced at his non-existent left leg and asked him.
“What exactly happened here?”
“…We killed and were killed, all for the treasure supposedly hidden here.”
“Treasure… Is this some secluded place left behind by an eccentric hermit?”
“Have you entered this place without knowing it’s the sealed tomb of the Three-Step Sword King from a hundred-odd years ago?”
I wouldn’t know from a hundred years ago.
Neither would Mok-kyeong or Hye-ryeong.
I turned around to check, but they both shook their heads.
“I don’t know.”
“Ho ho ho… Then how did you come here? To get here, one must solve numerous traps and the puzzles left behind by the Three-Step Sword King.”
“…We happened upon the path by accident.”
“Weren’t there any traps?”
“Yes.”
“Puzzles inscribed on stones?”
“…Yes.”
“Wha…!”
“Old man?”
“Don’t call me old man…!”
Why is he suddenly over-breathing? I blankly stared at the self-proclaimed Ajussi who was struggling to breathe.
What is this place exactly?
After a long while, the Ajussi regained his senses and asked me in a desperate tone.
“Really, there was absolutely nothing? In the passage you came from?”
“There were a few skeletons.”
“Does that mean I’ve been fighting illusions all this time…”
The echo of his sigh roamed around in the cave.
Exactly how long has he been here?
“Who is the current emperor?”
“I don’t know well.”
“The current Emperor…”
After someone next to me identified the current emperor ruling the country, he was shocked, his head bowed deeply, and he mumbled in a dazed voice.
“The emperor… has changed, you say? How long have I been trapped here…”
“The emperor has only changed recently.”
“It feels like it’s been a long time.”
If his clothes are torn and ragged to the point of falling apart, it’s likely been at least five years.
Though the calculation of time isn’t really important, so let’s move on to the next part.
Three-Step Sword King, let’s shift to what I’m curious about now.
“So…the treasure of the Three-Step Sword King is in this tomb?”
“If the treasure map is to be believed, yes.”
“Treasure map…where is it?”
“I don’t have it. I lost it during the fight…”
How much of this is worth believing? This person might have gone mad and made up an imaginary master, believing this to be a place where treasures are hidden.
While his internal energy seems normal enough, so he’s not obviously a demon, it’s still a bit hard to trust.
“Before I should have asked… who was the Three-Step Sword King?”
“They called him the Three-Step Sword King because no one could block the sword he swung in just three steps. He wasn’t necessarily the strongest man alive but was widely regarded as one of the best. Suddenly his whereabouts became unknown not long after…”
This is a common storyline in martial arts tales. A great martial artist who couldn’t find a disciple builds something akin to a dungeon in old age to prevent dementia, then dies.
However, it seems like we accidentally entered from what was intended to be an exit, thus reaching here without any obstructions.
“So, you gathered people to enter here, and ended up in a fight over the inheritance, surviving alone, right?”
“I don’t know if I’m the sole survivor. However, it’s certain that I’m the only one alive in this space. Despite enduring for so long, I haven’t encountered another soul.”
“Why did you fight?”
“Originally, we were just watching each other. But when we entered, the path closed off and the faint phosphorescent stones that illuminated the surroundings suddenly broke entirely.
Thinking of it as a chance, someone swung their sword. In the darkness, we had no choice but to fight fiercely. I survived, but my foot and eye were reduced to this state…
Aside from catching rats that thought I was a corpse and doing Qi cultivation, there was nothing else left to do. Though I reached the long-desired realm, what’s the use… Ultimately failing to overcome the final barrier…”
The final barrier.
So, this isn’t the final destination?
“Where is this final barrier?”
“It’s the door behind me.”
Lifting the torch, I carefully examined the wall — rather, the door — that Gang-hyeong was leaning against. In the light, it was clearly a different color than the wall.
Steel… it seems.
A weighty sensation met my hand as I tapped it. The thickness wasn’t something to be trifled with.
Moving the torch a bit to the side revealed marks on the door.
Deep sword marks that covered one side.
So he tried to break through.
“My sword qi couldn’t cut through it…”
“Is that so.”
Would an Aura Sword do?
I began to coat my blade with Aura.
The naturally gathering blue light…
I said to Gang-hyeong who was watching my sword intently.
“Move aside a bit. I’ll give it a try.”
“Surely that must be…”
Regardless, diagonal cut.
From the left to the right.
The embodiment of destruction that’s the Aura Sword charged towards the steel door.
Though different from rock, there was resistance, but the Aura Sword mercilessly split the steel door with a diagonal slash.
“Hye-ryeong, shine the torch here.”
“Okay!”
As Hye-ryeong hurriedly approached to light the door with her torch, the freshly cut surface came into view.
The clean-cut was reminiscent of tofu sliced by a kitchen kn*fe.
“It might take a few more tries.”
Given the thickness, it didn’t fall over.
After a couple more strikes, I managed to create a barely passable opening.
“Oh, oh!”
“I’ll go in alone first. We don’t know what’s inside.”
After making a unilateral announcement, I stepped inside. Inside, thanks perhaps to phosphorescent stones, the room was dimly lit.
“Hmm.”
I step forward.
And hastily wrap Aura Armor around my body.
