Traps Within Traps

Is the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bastard who made this some kind of trap fetishist?

I clicked my tongue at the arrows scattered around me, all of them deflected and lying on the floor.

A trap inside a trap. Did the Three-Step Sword King set the commands this way, or did the creator just indulge his own twisted tastes? I lifted my foot off the pressure plate I was standing on and carefully examined my surroundings.

The chamber looked to be about fifty pyeong wide. Something seemed to be placed against the wall opposite the entrance, but I couldn’t make it out clearly from here.

“Mister! Are you okay?! We heard a really weird noise!”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

It was a relief that I had gone in first. If Mokgyeong or Hyeryeong had stepped inside instead…

I shuddered at the gruesome image and picked up one of the arrows that had bounced off me. It was old, but still in decent shape. The head was definitely steel.

...Without my Aura Armor, I would’ve looked like a human porcupine.

“Benefactor, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine. It’s nothing serious. Still… the Three-Step Sword King, or whoever built this place, really went overboard with the traps.”

Roughly fifty steps remained. I was willing to bet good money that another trap waited somewhere in that distance.

This must be the final gateway.

I felt a little sour about having ignored every previous trial and barged straight through, but I quickly shook it off and took a step forward.

One… two… three… four… five.

This time the floor rumbled and steel spikes shot upward.

Thankfully they couldn’t pierce my Aura Armor; they only threw off my balance for a moment. I danced between the spikes and carefully ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠picked my way out of the trap zone.

...What the hell is wrong with this guy?

Was there any reason to plant this many traps? Don’t tell me the Three-Step Sword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠King was actually a demonic practitioner.

Or maybe Mr. Kang had lied to me from the start. Given how wrecked his body was, though, I doubted he’d had the strength to pull off any real deception.

So how was I supposed to get through this?

It wasn’t impossible with my abilities, but if there was poison gas waiting in the middle it would become an absolute pain. Since this was a wuxia world, there was probably scattering poison too. Aura and internal energy were essentially the same force, so the toxin would likely work on me. No choice but to move carefully, annoying as it was.

Or… should I just smash straight through?

I settled into a stance inside the tiny safe zone and leaned my shoulder forward. The technique no longer felt like footwork at all; it had become something closer to a brand-new offensive form. I swept my left leg back, gathered Aura beneath my foot, and prepared to launch.

Would the traps still trigger while I was in mid-air?

And would my Aura Armor be able to break through every last one of them?

There was only one way to find out.

I took a deep breath and kicked off the ground.

My body shot forward with a burst of kinetic force. The unexpected part was that my improved efficiency with Aura had increased my speed even further.

I slammed straight into the wall that rose to meet me, exactly as if I had predicted it.

Ow. My entire body felt numb.

At least I’d hit it with my shoulder first.

I stared at the cartoonish human-shaped dent I’d left in the wall and caught my breath. There had been some kind of groove pattern running across it, but my impact had smashed the marks beyond recognition.

“...Arrows, spikes, and now a rising wall.”

They really had crammed every possible trap into this final gateway.

I drew my sword and unfolded my Aura Blade.

The target was the wall right in front of me.

The Three-Step Sword King had probably designed this section to require a specific technique to pass, but that was meaningless to me. I slowly raised my sword overhead.

I would cut it in a single strike.

Like an executioner bringing down his blade on a condemned man’s neck, I swung at the wall.

Just as the captain had once sliced open a castle gate, the steel wall split apart with ridiculous ease. Whatever the creator had intended, I had no reason to follow his script.

I dodged the collapsing halves and stepped through to the other side.

Beyond the broken wall lay the one thing the creator of this place had tried so desperately to protect.

“...A manual?”

I picked it up. Three-Step Sword Art — Lower Volume.

That implied there was an upper volume somewhere, but it wasn’t here.

I opened the first page right then and there.

Three-Step Sword Art? Thunderbolt Three Steps?

I had never learned any of that.

It seemed the master of this deadly cave had wanted to raise a disciple automatically. The problem was that he never expected a Super Peak martial artist to come barging in.

Should I feel sorry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for him, or was this simply the self-inflicted consequence of poor planning? I quietly tucked the manual into my robe and turned away.

Since this seemed to be the only reward here, there was no reason to linger.

I started to walk back along the now-safe path when my eyes caught on the night pearls embedded in the ceiling.

Night pearls… weren’t those expensive?

Every wuxia novel I’d read made a huge fuss whenever they appeared.

It should be fine to take a couple as compensation, right?

I hopped up, pried two of the glowing orbs loose, and stuffed them into my robe.

Time to get out of here for real.

I strode out of the secret chamber.

“Mister!? Are you okay?! We just heard a huge crash!”

“Benefactor, are you unharmed?”

The moment I emerged, two voices filled with worry poured over me. I calmed them down and approached Mr. Kang. He lifted his previously bowed head and looked up at me.

“You’ve returned… Did you gain anything?”

I silently took out the lower volume of the Three-Step Sword Art and showed it to him. Mr. Kang stared at the manual in my hand, let out a long sigh, and spoke.

“Put it away. It belongs to you now.”

“I went through all that trouble to get this… You really don’t mind?”

“Of course I mind. But what meaning would it have for me? In this state, I can no longer learn any martial arts.”

His head drooped again. He was probably looking at the stump where his leg had been.

...It was true. Without feet it was almost impossible to use most martial arts. Every technique was built on a stable lower body; feet were indispensable.

There were plenty of bizarre arts in the murim, so maybe some could be used while seated, but such rare techniques wouldn’t be easy to find.

I walked over to the man and said, “Let’s get out of here first. Back to the surface.”

“You’ll take me with you?”

“Do I look like the kind of person who would abandon someone?”

“...I see.”

I hoisted him onto my back. Even from a glance I had thought he was skin and bones, but carrying him made me realize he was even lighter than I’d imagined.

“You’re going to need to put on some weight.”

“Indeed. I must. There’s nothing I can do while I’m nothing but skin and bones.”

“Mister, I’ll light the way!”

“Good. There shouldn’t be any more traps, but stay alert.”

“I will guard our rear.”

“We need to head back the way you came. Every other path is blocked.”

We quietly made our way out of the cave, carrying Mr. Kang between us.

“Ooooh, the sun…! Long live the sun!”

He wasn’t another transmigrator, was he?

The phrase was so out of place that suspicion flickered through my mind for a second, but I quickly dismissed it. I simply watched Mr. Kang stare up at the sky with deeply moved eyes.

“Wash up by the river first. I’ll give you some spare clothes to change into.”

“I don’t know how I can ever repay this kindness…”

“It’s just a passing martial artist offering a small favor. Don’t think too much of it.”

Anyway, I was just going to drop him off in the nearest village, give him some money, and let him live his own life. I had far too many things to worry about already to keep looking after him.

“Thank you. Truly, thank you…”

“Go wash first. There’s a stream right over there.”

After watching him head toward the water, we moved a good distance away and quietly began preparing a late meal.

“The sun’s already setting. We must have stayed inside longer than we thought.”

“Having been in those lightless tunnels, our sense of time probably became numb. It was quite the novel experience…”

Why are you closing your eyes?

Did you actually gain some kind of enlightenment?

When I stared hard at Mokgyeong, Hyeryeong did the same. Noticing both our gazes, Mokgyeong’s face flushed red.

“It’s not that. My eyes just hurt from being in the dark for so long…”

I see.

I finally looked away from her and turned toward where Mr. Kang was washing. After years without bathing, the grime must be pouring off him. He had probably reached a state that wouldn’t look out of place among the beggars of the Open Beggar Sect.

We’d have to wait quite a while.

“Hyeryeong, go gather some firewood.”

“Okaaay~”

“Mokgyeong, help me prepare the ingredients.”

“Mister, can’t I…?”

“Hyeryeong. Put your hand on your chest and think about it.”

Not literally, though.

I glanced at her wrist bent at a perfect forty-five-degree angle and quickly looked away.

“You know your cooking skills better than anyone.”

“...Fine.” Hyeryeong answered in a deflated voice and wandered off to collect branches.

With just the two of us left, Mokgyeong and I pulled ingredients from our packs and began preparing dinner.

“We have one more mouth to feed, so we should increase the portions.”

It was a trivial conversation.

I couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but after a long, eventful day, the mood felt strangely peaceful. Somehow I had even obtained half of a secret manual. It should be useful for reference, at least. After all, it was left behind by one of the Ten Great Masters of the World.

I started chopping vegetables while pondering how best to make use of my newly acquired manual.