Episode 95 - Martial Arts World (6)
While the martial artists were still busy breaking the formation, Si-woo was deliberating on what to do with the orb sitting on the table.
It radiated Pure Mixed Energy, so it was clearly a setup left by Mok Yi-do. After a brief moment of thought, he stored it in his inventory. He could instinctively tell that something was happening here, and since he didn't know what, he decided to secure it first. The moment his hand touched it, he heard a voice, a murmur of martial arts secrets left behind by Mok Yi-do. Time doesn't flow in the inventory, so he planned to put it away for now and examine it calmly later.
Then he shifted his gaze to the pouch thief... no, the thieving woman.
She wasn't wearing the bracelet. She was now showing her pretty, pale face, a face that perfectly suited her features — her real face, the one he had seen before. He quite liked her figure, too. Her entire body was wrapped in a black fabric that looked like tights, perfectly outlining her attractive curves. The proportions of her legs, which looked significantly long compared to her upper body, were especially good. She had the kind of figure that made him want to dress her in stockings and just...
He licked his lips instinctively at the smooth line of her hips that seemed ready to burst.
"Eua... Wh-what do I do..." She was stamping her feet, completely at a loss. She kept glancing around nervously.
'About a First-class master, maybe?'
He sharpened his senses and observed her. At the very least, he didn't feel like he would lose. The fact that she didn't notice him staring so openly meant she probably couldn't see him from outside the barrier.
He followed her gaze to the outside of the barrier and was a little shocked.
'What the hell...?'
Even an experienced man like him couldn't help but be surprised. The dazzling treasures of gold and silver filled every corner. A mountain of gold bars and miscellaneous items literally filled the massive cavern.
'Don't tell me... this is the secret vault of the Shadowless God Thief?'
Mok Yi-do's side room was connected to this vault. It was a bit strange, but he put aside his questions. Whether it was a simple coincidence because the two knew each other or not, it wasn't something he could figure out right now.
'Is that woman the Shadowless God Thief? She looks a bit weak...'
But something else was more important. The fact that she was a beautiful woman with a great body was the most important thing. He stroked his chin as he took in her figure. A decent plan came to mind. He stepped through the barrier of Pure Mixed Energy.
"W-what the?!" She hardened her face and glared at him, then paused. From her perspective, he was a familiar face.
Si-woo pretended not to know her and opened his mouth. "Miss, you seem to be in trouble. Is there anything I can do to help you?"
He spoke as he looked around the room with exaggerated surprise. The piles of gold stacked like mountains were enough to wring a genuine gasp of admiration from anyone. Catching his gaze, she shouted.
"What are you looking at?! This is all mine!"
"Hmm... Is it? Either way, you seem to be in trouble. Is there nothing I can do for you?"
She didn't let down her guard. Instead, she took a step back and glared at him. "...How did *you in particular* get in here?! You clearly popped out of the wall just now!"
"I was swept up in the canyon, and when I came to my senses, I was here."
"Bullshit..."
BOOM!
The cavern shook. The flow of energy felt different.
"Damn it...! The formation was broken!" Her face turned pale. She seemed unable to decide what to do, and eventually slumped to the ground. "Ah... Master. I'm sorry."
"Huh...?"
"I don't know anymore... Those bandits are going to take everything... I'm screwed."
It was a bit absurd, a thief worrying about bandits.
"Surely not. Who is coming here?"
"Yeah! You in particular, how did you get in... Hah. It doesn't matter anymore."
Her dejected muttering confirmed his suspicions. Someone had gotten in, and they would soon swarm the place. Probably the ones who had come looking at the map. There were dozens of mercenaries he had seen earlier. If they all swarmed in, this place would be cleaned out in an instant.
'Well, it's impossible to move all this treasure in a short amount of time, I suppose.' It was impossible without an ability like an inventory.
"Would you like some help, miss?"
He pulled out a new cloth pouch he had bought in the modern world with an exaggerated flourish. It looked similar to the pouch she had stolen. This time, he had even cast a little magic on it, especially for her.
"Uh...? Th-that's...?"
"Why? Does this pouch look familiar to you?"
"Th-there's no way... it's nothing."
He laughed to himself as he watched her fumble through her lies. An eye for an eye. A thief for a thief. He had to repay her in kind.
"Now, watch closely."
He started scooping up handfuls of the mountain of gold. Then, pretending to put them into the cloth pouch, he actually put them into his inventory. One of the piles of gold, taller than he was, vanished in an instant.
"Uh...?!"
The expression on her face, which was scrunched up as if it hurt to see the gold being taken, gradually shifted to sheer terror.
"It seems like the guys swarming here are the problem, aren't they...? Wouldn't the problem be solved if I moved all this gold to where you want it?"
"Th-that's right! H-help me!!"
That was exactly why she had rushed here, starving herself to get here as fast as possible. The location of the secret vault her master had left her had been exposed by some sons of bitches. She had run as fast as she could, but she was too late. She was on the verge of watching all the treasures be taken from her, but now hope had appeared. She was just as suspicious of this guy who suddenly appeared, but she had no choice. Time was too short.
Watching the gold disappear into the pouch, she felt her heart break. 'Ah... m-my gold...!' She couldn't even stop Si-woo from sweeping the gold into the pouch; she just stared blankly.
Before she knew it, the massive cave was completely empty. She was looking around with an expression like she might start drooling.
"Uh..."
"Is that all? Don't you have any martial arts manuals or something?"
"There aren't any he... No, there aren't. Nothing like that."
All that treasure had fit into that tiny pouch. She glared at the pouch with red-rimmed eyes. "...What the hell is that pouch...?"
"A treasure passed down from my master. A divine artifact used by the legendary immortals."
"A d-divine artifact...? You can take it out again, right?"
"Of course not," he said.
He was quite pleased with the way the thieving woman looked at him, her eyes mixed with admiration and anxiety. He shook the cloth pouch theatrically, and her pupils followed it like a shadow. He had completely devoured the gold that was piled up like a mountain. When his inventory was full, he emptied it into the warehouse in the modern world, and in the end, he managed to clean out the whole lot.
'Heh heh...'
He stifled a laugh as he watched her and looked at the now-empty cave. A cavern larger than most schools stood completely empty. That she thought he would hand this all over nicely just proved what a naive little thief she was.
"Hmm..."
He pulled out some paper and a brush and started writing. 'Perfect.' He threw it on the ground and turned his gaze to the thieving woman.
"Now that I think about it, we haven't even exchanged names. I'm Choi Si-woo. And you are?"
"...Bae... Ji-sang."
"You're lying."
"What...?"
"I have a talent for discerning lies. If you still can't trust me, that's a little disappointing. Things will get quite difficult for you if we can't see eye to eye, won't they?"
He shook the pouch.
"...Seo Ji-yoo."
"Good. Seo Ji-yoo. Even your name is pretty. Now we just need to get out of here, right? Let's go."
"F-fine. But there's a problem." By now, she had switched to formal speech. She was certainly good at playing weak.
"A problem?"
"There's only one entrance to this place. I mean... How the hell did you come in from...!"
"I told you. I was swimming in the water, and then I ended up here."
"What...!"
"I swear it to the heavens and the earth. It's the truth."
"Ugh...!"
Swearing by the heavens and the earth. It was a completely meaningless phrase, but it was effective. At the very least, showing that you didn't believe someone who said that was pretty much the same as declaring war.
"Anyway... there's only one entrance, and the bandits are swarming in through it..."
"Which makes it difficult to get out. Is that it?"
"Yes."
Kwa-gwang...!
Something exploded nearby. Seo Ji-yoo bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "There's not much time left. It's dangerous, but we have no choice. Follow me."
There was a space behind a tall stone pillar, a niche in the wall. She whispered softly. "We'll hide here... When those bastards see the empty cave, they'll be in chaos. That's when we blend in or slip out."
"Hmm... It's a bit shaky, but... let's do it."
He could just cross the barrier made of Pure Mixed Energy, but he nodded anyway. He didn't need to tell her all his secrets.
Just before she slipped into the crevice in the wall, she put the bracelet back on. It was the Hwanmyeonjo bracelet, imbued with an illusion power. The flickering image of an ordinary-looking female martial artist appeared.
"Wait. So I have to go out with my bare face?"
"...There should be a few bracelets in that pouch of yours."
"That pouch?"
"I mean the one you stuffed all the treasures into."
It seemed that among the piles of gold he had unthinkingly put away, there were also some bracelets. He rummaged through the pile of stuff he had stored in the modern world. Not everything was gold. There were many items that looked interesting among them.
'Found it.'
Just as she had explained, he put the bracelet on and fed his internal energy into it. Unlike the bracelet Tang Hwarin had, the appearance was fixed. The image of an ordinary young man began to cover his body. It felt like it couldn't be detected as long as someone didn't touch him. The energy was so subtle it was hard to feel.
"Have I changed?"
"Yes. You look like someone I've seen somewhere."
"Good." He squeezed his body into the narrow gap in the wall. Naturally, his body pressed tightly against hers. He could feel the soft lumps of flesh pressed against his chest.
"Wait...! Where are you touching?!"
"It's too narrow, I can't help it. Just bear with it for a moment."
He deliberately rubbed against her, pressing as close as he could. Despite looking slender on the outside, her breasts were surprisingly large. 'This size... F cup? G cup?' They were a perfect teardrop shape. The feeling was incredible, so elastic and soft.
"Hey...!"
"Shh! Be quiet."