57. You Wanna Fight?

It was a dark, eerie place. A straight passageway stretched out ahead, its end shrouded in pitch blackness, leaving no clue what lay beyond. This stage truly embodied the raw essence of a dungeon.

Taki forced a smile toward the employees, though her hands trembled slightly.

"W-well then, let's proceed. It seems like a trap-filled stage, so everyone, watch your step."

"Hmph."

Watch your step. A perfectly reasonable thought when traps were mentioned.

But it was too predictable. If that was all it took, it wouldn't be called the Trap Continuous Activation System.

Of course, I had no need to point that out.

If someone died, that was on them. Not my problem.

"I'll take the lead then."

But Taki's voice from behind stopped me.

"E-excuse me!"

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? How can you just act on your own like that?"

"Jeez."

Thud thud thud thud!

I surged forward at high speed, practicing my Dragon Whisker Art even as I ran.

"H-hey, you!"

"What the hell? That guy's from Safety Planning, right? Thinks he can pull rank and do whatever."

"I didn't like him from the moment he butted in uninvited."

I heard cursing from behind but ignored it. Instead, I wondered how many of them would even survive.

"Guess we'll find out by tomorrow."

For now, the initial passageway had no traps, so there was no need to be cautious.

"Uh, uh... L-let's go too, everyone."

I smirked at Taki's voice. She'd realized up to here was safe—thanks to me—and felt relieved.

But what about ahead?

I walked through the darkness with my vampire vision activated. In my previous life, the department that investigated Floor 16 had documented exactly where each trap was.

I didn't remember everything, but I knew which areas had few and which had many.

And my target? Conveniently, one of the trap-heavy zones.

Recalling that, I took a few more steps, and a fork appeared before me.

"Left here."

I turned without hesitation.

"Mr. Kim Jeongha. Do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you even know where you're going?"

"Doesn't matter which way we go, right? Follow if you want, or don't. Your call."

"Y-yes. Ugh. So full of yourself!"

Glancing back, Taki was glancing nervously between the left and right entrances.

She must be agonizing over the right choice.

But there was no "right" path here.

Every route led to the exit eventually. The only difference was taking the hard path for rewards or the easy one and leaving empty-handed.

"We'll go right."

"Yes, Editor-in-Chief!"

"We trust only you, Editor Taki!"

"Ignore that jerk!"

Of course, what counted as easy or hard varied from person to person.

Whiiiish!

Arrows, spears, and other blades flew straight at me.

"Tch!"

I hurled myself right—and sure enough.

Pfbt pfbt!

The incoming projectiles embedded in the wall, and more rained down on my evasion path.

A normal person would've lost balance and failed to react.

Crackle!

I immediately unleashed Body Thunder Knot, teleporting left.

Pfbt, pfbt, pfbt!Clank!

This time from above. The ceiling split open, revealing dozens of holes in a row.

Psssh, psssh!

"Barrier Shield!"

Ziiing.

This was an unavoidable trap. One you just had to tank without a shield or similar defense.

Darts shot out simultaneously from the holes, stabbing into the floor. Seeing how deeply they embedded, anyone hit would've been skewered vertically from the crown of their head down.

Angelica spoke to me.

-Impressive footwork. Or do you remember from your past life?

"I don't know the details of every trap. Mostly improvising."

-Hmm.

After she finished, I waited a bit. Once it went quiet, I hopped one square forward.

The width allowed only one person side-to-side, so evasion was strictly left or right. The next square was about five meters away.

Looking at this setup, I regretted not mastering Moon Sky Step yet.

"If I'd learned Moon Sky Step, I could've ignored the traps entirely."

-Then go learn it.

"Tempting, but then I'd lose the rewards."

-Finder's keepers.

"No. It's mine."

-Why?

"Because I decided to take it."

Zhuque chimed in then.

-Kuhuhu. Supreme under heaven, sole sovereign. Perfect mindset for a tyrant treading the path of hegemony.

"Call me the Tyrannical Sword Immortal."

At first, when Lee Gun gave me that nickname, it felt embarrassing. Now? I loved it. Felt like true recognition as a martial artist.

-Got it, Master. Just wait a millennium for Sword Immortal status?

"Won't take that long... Hup!"

Shing, shing, shing!

Quiet for a while, then more hidden weapons flew at me. I dodged, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but a thin net of steel wire rushed in.

Siiiing!

I sliced it with my sword. Next came fireballs; dodging revealed a missing floor panel, spikes jutting below.

"Sixth Star!"

Zhuque understood instantly, channeling her sixth star's power to me.

Red fiery wings unfurled from my shoulder blades.

Flap!

I flew to the next square. This was the last one.

Unity with Zhuque normally required her summoned form, but she could transmit individual powers from within the Sealed Sword—like this single pair of wings from the sixth star. The lower ones weren't accessible that way.

In summoned state, unity drained divine power too fast, so this was a workaround.

Anyway, I'd cleared three sections total. Ahead was a dead-end wall, but a wooden box sat right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before it.

"Found it."

I eagerly opened the box. Inside were three round objects: white, black, and gold.

Angelica asked curiously.

-What's that? Those round things.

"These? Larva eggs."

-What?! Throw that crap away!!!

"Why come here just to toss them?"

That's why I'd bothered with Floor 16.

"These are priceless."

-Eugh.

I grinned, closed the box, and stored it in my mirror. Then I pulled the nearby wall lever down.

Rumble rumble rumble!

The blocking wall rose, revealing a path.

That's when it happened. A voice echoed.

"Ughhh... P-please, God, no more traps next. Please...!"

"Taki?"

-Hmm. Looks like this is where we reunite with that forked group.

Zhuque was right. After the opened wall, I waited briefly for the employees. Soon Taki appeared.

"Y-you're... Kim Jeongha...?"

She scanned me top to bottom in shock.

"H-how are you so unscathed...?"

Her question made sense at first glance. My artifact suit—the one custom-made—was torn to shreds everywhere. Wounds covered my body, blood trickling from them. I looked like a total wreck.

Some underwear peeked through, but no time for embarrassment.

The employees behind her were in similar shape.

"Someone get me out..."

"Mom... I miss you. Sob sob."

"Urghhh..."

"H-hey! Snap out of it!"

One was foaming at the mouth—poison trap, probably.

I straightened my clothes and said,

"Eh, I have my tricks."

"R-right! The path you took had hardly any traps. That's why you're fine."

"Sure, think what you want. I'm heading out."

"Wait!"

"What now?"

Taki bit her nails, face twisted in frustration.

"C-can I... follow you? Mr. Kim Jeongha."

"Ah."

\I got it now. She'd just remembered I had a Gift that let me know the **strategy and walkthrough** routes. So she figured I'd taken the safe path.\

I eyed the next fork ahead—three entrances this time.

"But I'm heading back to the company now. You guys handle the rest."

Taki froze in shock.

"...Pardon?"

"Like I said."

"W-why?"

"Realized there's no reason for me to butt into Media Department's business."

"At least tell us which way is safe...!"

I knew which were easy or hard, but had zero interest in sharing.

So I bullshitted.

"Dunno. Even I don't know if my path was easy or hard. Gotta try both to find out."

"Liar!"

"It's true... Believe it or not, not my problem."

I headed down the path Media had taken—the easy one.

Easy paths don't reactivate traps once triggered. Hard paths like mine did, repeatedly.

No point taking the hard one after grabbing rewards.

"W-wait! Kim Jeongha! No, Mr. Jeongha? Section Chief Kim!"

Limping footsteps chased from behind.

"You gonna leave us all to die?!"

I quickened my pace.

"You bastard!"

I waved cheerfully(?) at Taki's "fond" farewell.

I could've gotten another reward by taking the hard path again, but I didn't need it. A sword—and I already had the Sealed Sword.

This one came from Floor 10, but that didn't mean Floor 16's was better.

Then—

-Hello. This is Taki with company news.

"Huh?"

Taki's voice? No—the lobby's big monitor was playing the news. Pre-recorded today, apparently.

Makes sense; she was still suffering in the stage.

But the content was anything but ordinary.

"What the hell? That...?"

What kind of news was this? Sure, I'd said those words, but the editing was pure malice. Devilish editing!

Fake news!

"Hmph... Playing dirty, huh?"

As I recalled, Taki didn't die. This life had my variable, but since she took the easy path, she'd probably survive again.

"Or did she just bail?"

I didn't remember if she cleared or escaped.

Anyway, I had plans.

As I turned to leave, I felt stares fixed on me. Some employees glanced between the monitor and me.

"Hiiik!"

"H-he's gonna kill us!"

"It's that guy! What do we do?!"

They screamed and fled.

Zhuque said,

-Hmm. If fame won't work, infamy will do.

"Infamy, huh."

-But it needs authority to back it up, Master.

"Then I'll forge that authority."

Time to show them what happens when they screw with me.

I hopped through the mirror straight to the military factory.

Shwoosh.

I'd placed one in the main system room to save time.

"No slacking! Move your asses! Wanna die?!"

"I was just thirsty for a sip of water..."

"Swallow your spit! Whack!"

"Aaaah! Sorry, Supervisor!"

Kim Hansu was "motivating" the workers perfectly timed.

The factory ran nonstop producing artifacts. Not enough to fully satisfy any department—just enough to keep them wanting more, but hard to demand beyond.

"Sasha. You around?"

Poof!

Sasha appeared at my presence, smiling softly as always.

"Welcome, Manager."

"Can I upgrade the department now?"

"Yes. However, after this upgrade, you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠must upgrade the military factory next."

"Good. Start department function upgrade. For Safety Planning."

"Understood, Manager."

I'd heard the basics before. More surveillance cameras, denser coverage, added features. Other perks too.

"Note that all other functions will halt until upgrade completes."

"I know. How long?"

"One day."

"Perfect."

I nodded and left the factory.

Media Department Head's office.

Bam!

The man in the luxury leather chair slammed the desk.

Cause: A 'HunterNet' post on his laptop screen.

The department head closed his laptop.

"Hoo..."

He sighed, puffing out hazy smoke. Craving a long-abandoned cigarette, he lit one up.

Then roughly stubbed it out in the ashtray.

Glaring at the trembling employee before him, he spoke.

"Bring me the editor-in-chief."