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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…This looks more like a ruin than a hidden chamber.”
Unless some sort of formation was concealing its true appearance, this mysterious space didn’t seem to hold anything of value.
All that remained were bones.
“…We should try to find the source of that voice.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“Trust me. And don’t answer any questions. It could be dangerous.”
Such a worrier.
I subtly awakened my mana core, scanned the surroundings with my torch, and moved forward.
What had happened here?
I glanced at the bone fragments scattered underfoot and surveyed the area.
“…Looks like a battle took place here.”
Scattered throughout the chamber were rusted weapons, illuminated by the flickering torchlight.
Bones, clearly broken by unnatural force, and tattered clothing lay strewn across the floor.
A battle implied a cause.
What had they been fighting over?
Rival factions?
Or internal conflict?
The darkness made it difficult to assess the situation. Where had that voice come from?
“Mister, maybe it was just our imagination? It sounded more like a ghost than a person…”
“Perhaps…”
“…”
Hye-ryeong’s voice trembled. She seemed genuinely frightened. I took her hand to reassure her. She squeezed back.
Her palm was slightly rough, yet soft.
The hand of a swordsman, but also a woman’s hand.
“Don’t worry. Even ghosts aren’t as scary as people.”
Lost in thought, I continued walking until I reached a dead end.
I had walked about two hundred paces from the passage, so this space, whatever its purpose, was quite large.
Could they really build something like this in this era?
…Well, humans had been building pyramids since 3000 or 2000 BC, so this wasn’t impossible.
Of course, those were built by massive workforces under the command of Pharaohs, so the comparison was ridiculous…
Where was the owner of that voice?
“Who’s there?!”
The voice echoed again, and I strained my ears.
A weak, raspy voice, devoid of strength. It sounded like a shout, but the echoes made it difficult to pinpoint its location.
“Mister, shouldn’t we answer?”
“Just in case, stay behind me.”
They nodded and stood behind me.
“Can you hear me?!”
“Who are you?!”
“A passing traveler! I stumbled upon the entrance to this place! Where are you?!”
“Over…here…!”
That way?
I turned, facing the wall, and looked diagonally to the right. I couldn’t see anything, but it seemed like the most likely direction.
“…Hye-ryeong, Mokgyeong. Stay out of sight.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll-”
I drew aura from my mana core and enveloped my body. It wasn’t a combat-ready Aura Armor, just a thin layer, but it made me glow with a faint blue light.
Enough to attract attention.
This way, any attacks would be directed at me.
I drew my sword and prepared to unleash my aura at a moment’s notice, then walked towards the voice.
Ten steps.
Twenty steps.
Fifty steps.
Seventy.
Eighty.
Ninety.
One hundred.
“Hello…where are you…?”
I had miscalculated the distance. I changed direction and walked another thirty paces.
“A Westerner…after all this time…fate is a strange thing…”
What were all these bones?
I glanced at the elderly man, who seemed stranded, and the pile of small animal bones beside him.
“Excuse me, Elder, but why are you here?”
“Elder? I’m not that old. Call me Brother Kang!”
He looked ancient. What was he talking about?
…Perhaps he was like me?
Someone whose appearance belied their age?
“So, you’ve been trapped here this whole time?”
“I lost an eye and a leg. I’m lucky to be alive.”
He let out a sound that was either a cough or a chuckle, then slowly raised his head and looked at me.
I cleared a space with my foot and sat down. Judging by his condition and the faint aura he emanated, he was probably around the peak expert level.
Weaker than even Mokgyeong, who had recently reached that level.
I glanced at his missing left leg and asked,
“What happened here?”
“…We killed each other. For the treasure hidden here.”
“Treasure…is this some kind of hidden chamber left by a recluse?”
“You entered this place without knowing it’s the tomb of the Three-Step Sword King, one of the Ten Great Masters of a century ago?”
A century ago?
I wouldn’t know.
Neither would Mokgyeong or Hye-ryeong.
I glanced back at them, and they both shook their heads.
“We don’t know.”
“Hmm. Then how did you get in? There are countless traps and trials left by the Three-Step Sword King…”
“…We stumbled upon the entrance and ended up here.”
“There were no traps?”
“No.”
“No stone tablets with cryptic inscriptions?”
“…No.”
“Gasp…!”
“Elder?”
“Don’t call me Elder…!”
Why was he suddenly hyperventilating? I stared at the self-proclaimed Brother Kang, who seemed on the verge of collapsing.
What was this place?
After a while, he regained his composure and asked in a desperate voice,
“Are you sure there was nothing? In the passage you came through?”
“There were some skeletons.”
“Have I been battling illusions this whole time…?”
His lament echoed through the chamber.
Just how long had he been trapped here?
“Tell me, who is the current Emperor?”
“I’m not sure.”
“The current Emperor is…”
Mokgyeong appeared beside me and stated the Emperor’s title. Brother Kang hung his head, his voice filled with despair.
“The Emperor…has changed? How long have I been here…?”
“The change in Emperors was a recent event.”
“But you seem to have been here for quite some time.”
Judging by his tattered clothing, he must have been here for at least five years.
Well, the exact timeframe wasn’t important.
I was more curious about the Three-Step Sword King.
“So…the Three-Step Sword King’s legacy is hidden in this tomb?”
“According to the Treasure Map, yes.”
“Treasure Map…where is it?”
“I don’t have it. I lost it during the fighting…”
How much of his story could I believe?
He could be delusional, imagining a legendary master and believing this place held his legacy.
His internal energy suggested he wasn’t possessed by demonic energy, but I couldn’t completely trust him.
“I should have asked this earlier…what kind of martial artist was the Three-Step Sword King?”
“He was called the Three-Step Sword King because no one could block his sword within three steps. While he may not have been the absolute best, he was close. Then one day, he vanished without a trace.”
A common trope in wuxia stories. A powerful master, unable to find a successor, creates a death trap to protect his legacy and dies.
But we had apparently entered through the exit, bypassing all the obstacles.
“So, you gathered people and entered this place, fought over the legacy, and you’re the only survivor?”
“I don’t know if I’m the only survivor. But I’m the only living being in this space. I haven’t encountered anyone else in all this time.”
“Why did you fight?”
“Initially, we were just wary of each other. But as soon as we entered, the passage closed, and the night pearls illuminating the path shattered. Someone took that as an opportunity to attack. We were forced to fight in the dark. I survived, but I lost my leg and eye… All I could do was cultivate my internal energy while hunting rats that mistook me for a corpse. I reached the level I had always dreamed of, but…what good is it? I couldn’t overcome the final obstacle…”
The final obstacle.
So, this wasn’t the end?
“Where is this final obstacle?”
“The door behind me.”
I raised my torch and examined the wall, or rather, the door, behind Brother Kang. The difference in color was clearly visible in the torchlight.
It looked like…steel.
I knocked on it, and a dull thud echoed back. It seemed incredibly thick.
I moved the torch slightly, and I saw marks on the door.
Countless sword marks covering one side.
Had they tried to break through?
“My Aura Blade couldn’t pierce it…”
“Is that so?”
Could my Aura Blade open it?
I began channeling aura into my sword.
A vibrant blue light gathered.
I looked at Brother Kang, who was staring intently at my sword.
“Could you step aside? I’ll try to cut through it.”
“T-that’s…!”
A diagonal slash.
From left to right.
Aura Blade, the embodiment of destruction, slammed into the steel door.
Unlike the boulder, there was resistance, but the Aura Blade mercilessly sliced through the door.
“Hye-ryeong, shine the torch here.”
“Okay!”
Hye-ryeong hurried over and illuminated the cut surface.
The clean cut resembled tofu sliced with a kitchen knife.
“A few more strikes should do it.”
The door was so thick that it didn’t budge.
After several more slashes, I finally created an opening large enough to pass through.
“Oh…oh…!”
“I’ll go in alone. It’s too dangerous.”
I stepped through the opening without waiting for a response. The room beyond was dimly lit by what seemed to be night pearls.
“…Hmm.”
I took a step forward.
And quickly enveloped myself in Aura Armor.
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