Exploring Underground Ruins Is Classic Wuxia
"Ohhh, Brigit! It's been way too long!"
Gong Ryun greeted her warmly.
She was Brigit, a friend he'd made working as a mercenary. About a year ago she had left for the capital planet—the second planet of the Daylascos System—to train in civil engineering techniques. Now she was finally back. They'd already messaged each other on their personal devices, but seeing her in person was still better.
"Hahaha!! I got my certification!!! I'm a pro now!!!"
"Congratulations, really!!"
Gong Ryun meant every word.
"So you're working on this planet now? I figured you'd stick around the capital."
"Nah! There's barely any work on the capital planet! A mining world like this has way more to do! It's a goldmine for civil engineers! And this is home, right? My turf! Mwahahaha!!!"
"Hmph. Is that so. So no more mercenary work?"
"I'll still do it! Side hustle, you know! I'm still a freelancer! Until the jobs start rolling in, I'm double-dipping for a while!"
"Oh! Such diligence! That's our Brigit for you!"
Gong Ryun wiped his nose.
"Anyway, Gong Ryun, you little shit!!! I heard the rumors!!! You've become a total celebrity!!!"
"Well, there was a bit of a thing, yeah."
"Kwahaha! What a debut!! Building a reputation through a life-or-death duel at an inn!! That's every martial artist's dream!!!"
"Hearing you put it that way is nice, I guess."
"Hahaha, look at this kid getting all bashful!! Come here!! This big sister's gonna give you a real hug!!"
"Guek."
Brigit wrapped her dense, muscular arm around Gong Ryun's head like a headlock. His face squashed against her chest.
"Anyway!!! We've got a job!! Let's go right now!!"
"Hm? A mercenary request? Out of nowhere?"
"Exploration work!! Un-rang's coming too!"
"Oh."
"We're leaving right away! Get ready now!! Kwahaha!!!"
Gong Ryun had been on the fence about Morlaren Canyon for a while. It was a job he'd won through combat, so it felt like he ought to check it out at least once… but the competition was fierce and the daily rate was surprisingly low, so he'd been putting it off. And now a chance had fallen into his lap out of nowhere.
Just like that, the sudden exploration request began.
VROOOOOM!
The vehicle tore across the gray wasteland. It looked like a monster truck, specialized for this planet's rough terrain. Three mercenaries rode in it, racing joyfully as they took in the scenery. Brigit sat in the driver's seat, wearing a respirator, a brimmed hat, and a pair of stylish sunglasses.
"Yeaaah!! Nothing beats driving a big rig like this! Hahaha!!"
In truth, there wasn't much "driving" involved. The onboard driving AI handled everything. The person in the driver's seat only had to hit the emergency stop button if something went wrong. Beyond that, the driver's duties amounted to pressing the ignition button to start the engine and the park button for parking—which was automatic. Every car in the galactic age worked this way. The driver's seat wasn't for driving; it was just where the vehicle's owner sat.
Of course, this car was a rental for the job, so she wasn't even the owner. Brigit had claimed the driver's seat purely for the cool factor.
"Hehehe! The weather is truly fine today! Excellent weather for a commission!"
Un-rang spoke leisurely from the passenger seat, sipping nano-robot soda and savoring the wind.
"Uh… so, about that. This doesn't seem like the way to Morlaren Canyon?"
Gong Ryun voiced his doubt from the back seat. Hadn't she said exploration work? Shouldn't they be heading toward Morlaren?
"No!! We're not going to Morlaren!!!"
"Huh?"
"We're!!! Going south!!"
"??? What the hell. Un-rang! What's going on here! Where are we headed?"
"Hehehe. Gong Ryun. Where there is a path, there is purpose."
"Ah. This bald monk's spouting nonsense again."
"A new road and a new adventure. Doesn't it make your heart go doki-doki? I place my faith in Brigit's impulsive guidance."
"You're enjoying this, you bastard."
"Kwahahaha! You little shit! You've been kidnapped!!"
"No, Brigit? I'm asking where the destination is!!"
"Set course south-southwest!!! Hahahahahaha!!!"
"I'm going insane."
This was just how Brigit was. Boisterous to the core, and she loved flooring it on impulse. Gong Ryun didn't know enough to argue, so he simply got dragged along. Un-rang put on a refined act but never actually stopped her—he watched with amusement instead. Sometimes he even quietly egged her on. In truth, he was the worst of the three.
In the end, this three-person party became an unstoppable carriage charging full speed ahead. Whether that counted as a good combination was debatable.
"Kyahaha! What a lovely day!!!"
Brigit's cry rang out across the plains.
Only after several hours did they arrive at their destination.
It was empty wasteland.
"Huh."
Standing in that desolate field, Gong Ryun looked puzzled.
"When we left, I thought we were heading to Morlaren Canyon…"
"Haha! Gong Ryun!! You can't be that naive!!"
"Eh?"
"We're not exploring Morlaren!!! We're exploring somewhere else!!"
"What do you mean??"
"Think about it! Right now every kid in the city is pouring into Morlaren hunting for opportunities!! So if we go to Morlaren at a time like this!! What happens!!"
"It gets crowded…?"
"Exactly!! Packed like a black-market bazaar! And why are people even going there in the first place? Looking for opportunities, right? The treasure isn't even confirmed, but the crowds are pouring in! Zero chance of anything good!!"
"Yeah, fair point. It's basically a treasure hunt with no guarantees. Plus the exploration request daily rates weren't even high—they were a little lower than other jobs, actually."
"That's right, you idiot! When competition heats up, you get passion-pay rates! You know the supply-and-demand graph, right?! Too much supply and the value drops!! So what should we do instead!!?"
"…Hit somewhere else instead?"
"Exactly!!! Right now every area that isn't Morlaren is quiet!!! All the exploration people ran off to Morlaren!! We take advantage of the gap and hit somewhere else!!!"
"Oh!! A complete paradigm shift!! So according to the supply-and-demand whatever, the daily rates for exploration work outside Morlaren are—"
"Right!! Higher!!! Kwahahahaha!!!"
"So people really do need to use their heads!!"
Gong Ryun was impressed. Of course Brigit had a plan all along!
"But where are we exploring? This is empty wasteland."
"Below."
"Below…?"
"You know my specialty!!"
"Don't tell me."
Brigit lifted her leg high and stomped the ground.
THOOM!
A Force Stomp. She struck the earth hard with her foot and leg—but the purpose wasn't attack. Using the vibrations through the ground, she was mapping the underground structure, much like a bat or dolphin sensing obstacles with ultrasound.
"Hmm! A little more this way!"
THOOM!
THOOM!
Brigit stomped a few more times, searching for the right spot. And then…
"Here!!! Kwahaha!! Now we dig down!!!"
She began preparing her technique.
DRRRRRRRRR…
The inner energy in Brigit's dantian began to vibrate. The power throughout her body oscillated at a precise frequency, amplifying her internal force and enabling a specialized release of power. In that state, she drove her right foot into the ground. As she channeled force through her sole into the earth, the soil beneath began to vibrate and resonate. Slowly, the ground started to sink. Dirt around her foot sprayed outward.
Like the pit of an antlion trap forming, the earth hollowed downward into a hemispherical depression.
It was a type of Excavation Art—martial techniques for digging. There were other methods too: physically scooping out dirt by the armful, or blasting it open like dynamite. The micro-vibration excavation technique Brigit was using was a relatively advanced skill that let her dig down without stressing the surrounding terrain.
The Force Stomp detection method earlier, and techniques like this—all of them were civil engineering martial arts. Researching and refining these arts was what modern civil engineering was all about.
Honestly, Gong Ryun still found this kind of thing amazing. Back on his homeworld, people used excavators for this. Here, people just… did it themselves. And with more power and precision, no less. From what he'd heard, techniques like these had existed since the Terra era. During the Industrial Revolution, the Martial Gods had spearheaded the development of these practical martial arts, and they'd evolved ever since.
"Hehehe! Excellent, Brigit! Your skill has grown even further!"
"What do you take me for! I learned a ton during my training!"
Brigit continued excavating as she shouted confidently.
KRRAAAASH!!!
RUMBLEEE!!
"Alright!! It's starting to show, starting to show, starting to show!!"
Once she'd dug deep enough, something like an iron plate blocking the way became visible. It looked like part of a building structure.
"What's that?"
"That, my friend!! Is what we call a 'back door'!! Hahat!!"
"How is that a…? It's not even a door to begin with…"
Thud. Brigit planted her foot on the iron plate.
No way. Gong Ryun refused to believe it.
"With this kind of thing, busting in through the back door is the golden rule!!! Hahahahaha!!"
She drew her inner energy to the maximum. And then.
"COMING THROUGH!!!!!!"
KAAAAABOOOOOM!!!!!
A thunderous roar rang out as a hole punched through the iron plate. True to form—martial arts specialized for destroying structures and terrain features.
"Alright!! Let's go in!!!"
With that, Brigit dove through the hole. Before Gong Ryun could even raise an objection, Un-rang grabbed his pack and dropped down after her. In the end, Gong Ryun had no choice but to follow.
Inside, it was indeed some kind of structure—an unknown underground facility. The spot Brigit had broken through appeared to be a subterranean passageway; they'd punched through the ceiling of an underground corridor.
Brigit spread both arms wide in excitement.
"Hahahahaha!!! Underground ruin exploration!!! This is classic wuxia!!!"
"Indeed, Brigit!! Since ancient times, exploring secret underground structures has been a classic cliché of martial arts novels!!!"
"Kwahaha! Adventure, adventure!!! Follow me!!!"
Underground ruin exploration.
That was the true nature of this request.