Trapped in the Smoldering Cave
Stop them.
“Why isn’t Bran here?”
Max Sigmund muttered those words as he stared at my group. The spy he’d planted was nowhere to be seen. That red-haired punk with the slicked-back style—the one he’d embedded to sow internal discord. Why the hell wasn’t he showing up?
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter.”
His doubt didn’t last long. With that guy missing, we now had the numerical advantage. There was no way his team could lose. From the start, my so-called team was nothing but a ragtag bunch of kids from ruined houses. Max figured he could wipe us out single-handedly.
‘Edgar Fix, I’ll break you down and make you my slave.’
Max’s lips curled into a vile smirk as he placed his hand on the teleportation orb. His body scattered into particles and vanished toward the arena.
The testing ground was an artificial forest spanning roughly three thousand pyeong. The moment I touched the teleportation orb, our entire team—including me—was instantly transported there.
“Hoo…”
Everyone let out a heavy breath the second we arrived, their faces tight with tension. It was obvious why. We were clearly the underdogs. Our opponent was Max Sigmund of the Sigmund family—a talented heir from a powerful count household. Sure, he’d suffered a humiliating defeat after challenging Enya to a duel, but that was only because Enya was a monster. It didn’t mean Max was weak.
At the very least, the guy had the talent to earn an A-rank in this class placement match. And more importantly…
‘He’s one of the bastards I absolutely have to eliminate.’
In El Pandor Luntera, Max was one of the game’s most notorious villains. His endless stubbornness and jealousy would eventually reach Enya and ruin her. The guy was willing to sell his soul to a demon just to possess her. If I didn’t crush him now, he’d resort to every dirty trick imaginable to destroy her. Enya, who once chased romance and beauty, would abandon her battojutsu and obsess over nothing but killing blades. That path would corrupt her completely—turning my strongest ally into my worst enemy.
I couldn’t let that happen.
“We’ll move exactly as planned. They’ll come to us first.”
That was why I’d decided to stomp Max flat in this match. Even if it meant revealing a few cards I’d wanted to keep hidden. Still, for the sake of future matches, it was better to conceal as much as possible. So I’d come up with a strategy that relied on terrain and traps—using Charlotte’s abilities to set them up.
“W-will my power r-really help…? I’m not sure if s-something like this can stop M-Max…”
“Even just making him hesitate for a second is enough. The more variables we create, the better. This is meaningful work, Charlotte.”
I encouraged her as she planted vine traps across the ground. After talking with her, I’d learned she could manipulate natural terrain and plant life. She mostly used the ability to tend her family’s garden. Almost all of her spells were specialized for landscaping.
“Hoo! Yeah! What’s there to be scared of! I just have to go hide after this, right?”
“Exactly. Come out when I give the signal.”
“Okay!”
The one who energetically dashed off to hide was Tyler. He mainly used combustion magic. His talent was pitiful, so his firepower was weak, but if he worked together with Charlotte, he could still be a big help.
“Pio, you stay inside the cave.”
The last remaining member was Pio. He used to look down on me for being a commoner, but after the red-haired spy disappeared, he’d become surprisingly obedient. Like that, we each took up our assigned roles to prepare for the enemy.
Pio and Charlotte waited inside the cave. Tyler hid in the bushes near the entrance. I moved a good distance away from the cave to greet our opponents head-on.
Soon enough, Max and his team appeared.
Max Sigmund was far more confident than his actual skill warranted. His humiliating defeat to Enya two years ago after recklessly challenging her to a duel had stemmed from that same overconfidence. But this time was different.
He’d planted a spy in Ed’s team and, on top of that, made sure only heirs from failing families were assigned to it. Charlotte Verdian, whose only talent was tending gardens. Tyler Martin, whose combustion magic was so pathetic they called him “Bonfire.” And Pio Bailey, a fallen noble whose family had gone bankrupt and now scraped by in the back alleys. They were all trash.
And he’d deliberately assigned those pieces of garbage to Ed’s team. He’d planned this meticulously, even against a single commoner.
‘I’m not the same as I was before.’
Two years ago, Max had challenged Enya without thinking and suffered the greatest humiliation of his life. But now things were different. He created situations he could win and only fought opponents he could beat.
Just like right now!
“Go crush him!”
At Max’s command, his teammate charged straight at Ed. Ed stood alone a fair distance from the cave entrance. No matter what preparations he’d made, the outcome was already decided.
‘Show me your hand, commoner.’
The only unknown factor was that he still didn’t know the full extent of Ed’s power. As a commoner who had only just awakened his mana, he wasn’t particularly threatening. Still, there was no such thing as being too careful.
“Ugh!”
But just as expected. The guy held for a moment before immediately turning tail. The sight of him running away was downright pathetic.
“Kuhahaha! So that’s your true face!”
Max smiled in victory. He had exposed the guy’s real nature. That pretty-boy bastard who only knew how to talk a big game! Enya was probably watching this too. He wanted her to see clearly just how ugly the guy who had stolen her heart truly was.
Crack!
That was when it happened—right as he was drunk on the taste of victory. Vines suddenly wrapped around his ankle. The other four teammates were caught the same way. At the same time, Ed launched a counterattack.
Thud!
But it was useless. His teammate easily tore through the vines and blocked Ed’s strike. Vines like these were low-level traps. Circulating mana through your legs was enough to break free anytime.
Having failed his counter, Ed turned and ran again.
“Pffft… Heh… Puhahaha! You idiot, did you really think something like that would work?”
Max’s teammates burst into laughter. After all that preparation, the best he could come up with was some pathetic vine trap. It had gone beyond ridiculous and straight into adorable. No matter how hard a commoner tried to use his head, this was the limit.
Tat—!
Max’s team charged at Ed once more. When Ed reached the cave entrance, he and Pio took up boxing stances. Charlotte stood behind them, ready to provide support.
‘Looks like he’s got something else prepared.’
Max’s eyes gleamed sharply as he glared at Ed. What was the next move this guy had cooked up?
Soon, he realized just how pathetic it was.
“How disappointing, Edgar Fix.”
What Ed had prepared was nothing more than basic terrain tactics. The moment Max’s team closed in, bushes suddenly sprouted from the ground, blocking their vision. Ed and Pio used that brief window to unleash a barrage of attacks.
It was a decent tactic, to be fair. The team members whose sight had been momentarily cut off took solid hits from their fists and suffered noticeable damage. But their punches were weak. Once Max’s teammates regained their senses, they immediately counterattacked. That was the end of Ed’s so-called secret weapon.
“Move aside.”
Having confirmed everything, Max waved his subordinates back. He’d sent them in first just to be safe, but it turned out that was all Ed had prepared.
“I’ll show you what a difference in power looks like.”
Max gathered mana into his fist as he spoke. He drove a straight punch straight into Ed, who was panting heavily.
Booom—!
With a tremendous roar, Ed’s body flew backward, crashing deep into the cave. Pio turned pale at the sight, stumbling backward before fleeing deeper inside. Charlotte followed him with a face twisted in terror.
“Puhahahaha! You idiots. Where do you think you’re running? Like I always say, ruined families always show exactly why they fell. They’re this stupid, so of course their houses collapsed.”
Max’s team mocked Ed’s ragtag group, now driven into the cave. Of all places to run, they chose a dead end. How brain-dead could they be?
“Alright, let’s finish this. Before that, you know what to do with the video transmission orb, right?”
Max and his group whispered among themselves. They were planning to deliberately destroy the video transmission orb while torturing Ed. The cave was dark and narrow—perfect for smashing it and claiming it was an accident.
“How disappointing. Truly disappointing.”
Soon, Max Sigmund’s voice echoed through the cave.
Step. Step.
The low footsteps of Max and his companions pressed down on Ed’s group like a vice. When Max finally stood before Ed, he spoke.
“So this is as far as you go. There’s always a limit to lowly bloodlines.”
“……”
Max glanced sideways at the video transmission orb that had floated close by. He gripped the hilt of his sword, pondering how to break it naturally.
“Thanks.”
At that moment, Edgar Fix suddenly stood up and spouted some nonsense. Thanks? Then Ed smiled brightly and continued.
“Thanks for falling for the bait.”
“……?”
Drunk on victory, Max and his group had no idea they had crawled straight into hell. The plan to lure them into complacency and drag them inside the cave had succeeded perfectly. Everyone had played their assigned roles flawlessly.
The way Pio and Charlotte had screamed and fled toward me right after Max’s attack had been Oscar-worthy acting.
“Charlotte!”
“Yes!”
It was time to counterattack. I gave Charlotte the signal, then shouted loudly toward the entrance where Tyler was waiting outside.
“Tyler!”
Whoosh!
The moment I called, fireballs shot out from the cave entrance. Tyler, who had been waiting, launched several basketball-sized flames in rapid succession. As their size suggested, the fireballs’ power was pathetic. Academy students who could strengthen their bodies with mana wouldn’t even feel them. They were trash-tier spells.
Just like his nickname “Bonfire Tyler,” his flames weren’t suited for combat. They were nothing more than weak combustion magic occasionally used to start campfires.
Fwoooosh!
But I had taken a hint from Tyler’s nickname. Instead of shooting the fireballs at people, we would use them to set things on fire. Specifically, to burn the countless bushes Charlotte had summoned.
“W-what the—?!”
“F-fire!”
It went exactly as planned. The instant Tyler launched his fireballs, the spells Charlotte had set up caused a massive surge of bushes to sprout, turning the area into a sea of flames. In the blink of an eye, the entire cave was engulfed in fire, and thick smoke completely blocked their vision.
Tat! Tat! Tat! Tat!
But our team had already escaped the cave. Wearing the goggles I had handed out in advance and covering our mouths and noses with water-soaked towels to protect our airways, we bolted for the entrance—which also served as the exit. Because we had rehearsed the timing, we made it out in seconds.
“Stop them.”
Once outside, I gave Charlotte another order. She summoned a massive boulder to completely seal the cave entrance.
“Aaaaaagh!! I-I can’t see!”
“Fuckiiiiing hell!!! It’s b-blocked!!”
“Move!”
Screams began pouring out from behind the boulder. They were panicking now that the exit was sealed. They started hammering at the rock Charlotte had summoned, desperately trying to break free.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The boulder shook violently and began to crack.
Kwaaaaang!
Eventually the rock shattered. There was no way a single boulder could hold back academy students for long. But the moment it broke—
Thud—!
I gathered mana into my leg and kicked the guy who had smashed the boulder square in the chest. Having inhaled smoke and unable to open his eyes properly, he was helpless against my kick.
“Guhk!”
The ones who tried to escape right after him met the same fate. Coughing and staggering out, they were so vulnerable that a single kick sent them flying back. They had breathed in scorching, acrid smoke, after all.
“Stop them.”
After driving them back, I summoned another boulder. But once again, it was smashed to pieces. This time, the team’s ace—Max himself—had stepped forward.
“You filthy commoner bast—!”
Thud!
But even he wasn’t in top condition. The moment he emerged, I kicked him hard enough to send him flying several meters through the air. With an indifferent expression, I repeated the same command.
“Stop them.”
The flow of battle was that simple. They tried to come out. We blocked them. That pattern repeated one more time. Max, squeezing out every last ounce of strength, shattered the boulder and charged at me.
Thud!
But the guy had inhaled a massive amount of smoke. He couldn’t even use twenty percent of his normal power. No matter how much he reinforced his body with mana, he couldn’t stop the smoke from invading his eyes and lungs.
“Stop them.”
Another boulder rose. Screams began echoing from inside the cave.
“Kuhuuuuurk…! Guh… Cough! Cough!”
“S-save… us… We… lost…”
…They’re not going to die from this, right?
Just to be safe, I gathered mana into my fist and smashed the boulder apart. I wanted to check on their condition.
“Stop them.”
Still not enough. Seeing them desperately crawling out, it looked like I could let them suffer a bit longer. The moment another boulder began to form, they screamed.
“Nooooooo!! Cough! Cough! Guuuuh…”
Whether they screamed or not, the boulder rose again. At this rate, another three minutes of smoking should do it.
Kuuuung!!!
That was when it happened. A heavy impact shook the entire cave. Two or three more blows followed, and then—
Kwaang!
The thick outer wall of the cave collapsed with a roar. Since the front was blocked, they had smashed through the side instead.
“Guh—huuuuur! Guh—huk! Kelock! Kelock! Colock! Huuuuurk! Huuuu—cough! Colock!”
The one who burst out after smashing through the side wall was none other than Max. He was desperately gulping down fresh air while coughing nonstop. Unfortunately, smoking time was over. Smoke was pouring out from the broken side wall like steam from a pressure cooker that had finished cooking.
“Huuuuurgh! Cough! Cough! C-commoner…! Now! Cough! Colock! I’ll… k-kill you! Colock! Colock!”
Staggering, Max forced himself to his feet. In his hand was the Sigmund family’s treasured demonic sword, Obsidian. Even in this state, he still wanted to fight. Typical of the guy.
“I’ll finish this and be right back.”
But I wasn’t about to let my guard down. The sword he held was the Sigmund family’s prized artifact, crafted by a dwarf who had earned the title of “Master Artisan.”
“Inventory.”
Against a cheat item, I would answer with another cheat item. I pulled out the Plasma Beam Titanium Alloy Gauntlet I had stored in my inventory.
Crackle!
A rift tore through the air, and a bracelet began to materialize. I snatched it out of the air and immediately equipped it on my right wrist.
Then—
Ziiiiiiing…
The mana stone in the bracelet activated, triggering its transformation sequence. Countless mechanical parts extended from the bracelet, assembling into the shape of a gauntlet that wrapped around my wrist and hand. In the end, my right hand was fitted with a gauntlet based in jet black with silver accents.
It was finally time to use the Plasma Beam Titanium Alloy Gauntlet for the first time.