Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Discovery
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After that, the ruin exploration continued smoothly.
Based on the heavenly secrets I'd divined, most of the traps could be dismantled,
and by taking the time to disarm as many as possible while we advanced, nothing particularly dangerous cropped up.
Honestly speaking, at first I figured monsters would show up, thanks to the common sense from my Earth days,
but...
"Yokai? No way something like that exists. How could they even survive in ruins with no food?"
This wasn't a fantasy world brimming with dreams and illusions—it was a realistic murim world.
No such things existed here.
'Man, that other world at least would've had some fun in it.'
They'd summoned a hero, so she'd probably have had decent martial prowess instead of this puny body,
and with magic around, the conveniences might've let me enjoy life at Earth levels or better,
plus all sorts of other races straight out of my wildest fantasies...
'...Oh right, it was a world on the brink of destruction.'
Come to think of it, that place wasn't all sunshine either.
A curse had pushed it to the edge, forcing them to summon a man from another world.
Still, one thing was certain: they'd have guaranteed my safety and survival.
From their perspective, I was their one-and-only hope in every sense.
'...Sigh.'
Go to a safe, fun-packed fantasy world and live out my days as a stud horse until I drop,
or scrape by day-to-day in this dangerous, boring murim world, always worrying about survival.
It was hell's ultimate dilemma.
'...Just focus on the task at hand.'
Either way, gathering enough points to return to Earth or get summoned there would take ages, so no point dwelling on it now.
Heck, I'd blown through the 400 points I'd scraped together last time just to glimpse the Saintess's face.
'She looked so desperate that I went for it... but man, it feels like a total waste no matter how I spin it.'
400 points could've snagged a decent magic tool, but I'd squandered it.
Sure, her looks were off the charts, but she was just on a screen—untouchable.
And it wasn't like some game character; I couldn't even peep at a real person for eye candy.
'...For some reason, I bet that Saintess would've been cool with it...'
From her angle, eyeing my body(?) and all, she'd probably jump at the chance like "Finally, some luck!"
But no way was I asking.
'Hah... my damn luck.'
I sighed inwardly and pulled up the shop window anyway, just to stare at my empty points balance.
My fate was twisted, sure, but what could I do?
Too late to regret bolting from the mountain where I'd lived with Master,
and staying put wouldn't have changed the world's looming doom anyway.
At least by leaving, I'd upped the odds of averting that apocalypse. That's what I'd tell myself.
As I comforted myself like that, the points tally popped up in the shop...
'...400 points?'
It was exactly what I'd spent on the Saintess—refunded in full.
No real time had passed since then, yet here was over a year's worth of points.
I'd heard points piled up the more Yeo Sochen acted against interference, but this was beyond imagination.
"Whoa..."
My eyes sparkled as I gazed at the freshly minted 400 points.
Who knew a bit of ruin-diving with Yeo Sochen would net this much?
We weren't even done yet, so maybe 500 by the end.
'10,000 points... might not be impossible after all.'
Returning home—a goal I'd written off as impossible—now felt vividly within reach, if not right around the corner.
'Just from tagging along on some exploration, and bam—400 points in no time...'
Generous didn't even cover it.
Good things were good, so with this rare stroke of luck, I grinned and reached to close the shop window.
But just before it vanished, a ripple shimmered in the corner, words forming there:
The message, presumably from the Saintess, faded as the window closed from view.
"..."
My body froze. Her image from before flashed through my mind, followed by a whirlwind of scenes in a split second.
Face burning, I fanned myself frantically with my hands.
"Ah. So, uh, how much farther do we have...?"
Right then, Yeo Sochen—who'd been leading—turned back with a question, so I yanked my hat low, shrouding my face in shadow.
"...Why'd you pull your hat down all of a sudden?"
"Feels a bit chilly."
"Hmm..."
"Ah. Right, you asked how much farther? One sec... From memory, our spot now is..."
I'd just unfurled my crudely drawn map to pinpoint our location when,
"...But what's that over there?"
Yeo Sochen pointed far down the corridor and asked me.
Nothing special was supposed to be here, so I looked up curiously—and sure enough, something faint glimmered in the distance.
Squinting hard, I made out the source:
-Sparkle, sparkle
Mounds of gold ingots piled high enough to make my eyes bulge,
-Sparkle
and smack in the center, a sword reflecting blue light.
I wasn't a sword expert, but even I could tell from the looks of it—this was no ordinary blade.
'Come to think of it, one reason Yeo Sochen came here was to find a sword...'
The realization hit, and a low voice murmured beside me.
"...Found it."
And in that instant—
-Boom!
Yeo Sochen kicked off the ground, rocketing toward the gold and sword.
No time to stop her.
Anyone could've seen it screamed "trap," but before I could even say it, she was already blitzing down the hall.
And predictably, traps triggered to block her path.
-Whirr
Gears ground as hammers burst from the walls, boulders rained down, and arrows loosed from somewhere targeted her back.
No chance to warn her—and no need.
-Crunch! Crunch! Bang!
-Crack!
None so much as grazed her, or if they did, no damage stuck.
Hammers shattered into dozens of splinters, scattering like firewood; boulders ricocheted straight back into the walls at full speed; arrows fluttered broken in midair.
It was inhuman—straight out of a game or movie, unfolding live. My jaw dropped.
Those lethal traps? She pulverized them in a blink, unhindered.
I couldn't help but gape in shock.
Having smashed every trap, Yeo Sochen reached the sword, hopped up, and grabbed it—
but one lingered.
-Clunk!
The floor under the gold and sword yawned open, plunging it all downward.
Impressive they'd layered a final trap after all that, but her response was more astonishing—
-Thud!
Gripping the sword, she planted a foot on a fist-sized gold nugget mid-fall, leaped, somersaulted in midair,
and touched down safely on solid ground...
-Clunk!
-Thud!
"Ow!"
Except the spot she aimed for caved too, dropping her through.
"A-Are you okay?!"
I'd been slack-jawed till then, but snapped to and rushed to the hole.
Not a huge pit—just big enough for one person. Yeo Sochen-sized. Had to get close to check her.
What if spikes down there...
-Chill
Shaking off grim thoughts, I peered in.
"Ow ow ow..."
There she sat, unharmed, in the pit.
"A-Are you alright? Not hurt?"
"Y-Yeah... Luckily no blades down here. I'd have wrapped myself in protective aura anyway, but..."
'You did it in that split second?'
Even for a monster beyond human limits, that reaction speed was insane.
"F-First, come on out. Need a hand?"
"...Thanks."
Good thing she took my hand—I'd have yanked my arm off otherwise. She grabbed it and hauled herself up effortlessly.
"Hnnng..."
"I-I'm not heavy, you know?!"
But this weak body couldn't budge her, so she ended up climbing out while just holding my arm.
"Haaah... huff..."
"I'm the one who got out—why're you wiped?!"
"You think I want to be this weak...?"
"With a body that frail, what's the plan later..."
I swallowed the gut-punch line and spoke up.
"Speak for yourself—why'd you miss the last one? Hero my ass if you can't handle that. You reacted to everything else."
"Th-That was..."
Yeo Sochen flushed.
"Th-The trap was fishy from the start! Hit me right in my blind spot! That bastard who knows me inside out must've calculated it to troll me!"
Her logic held water.
How else do you time a pit to her exact landing angle? Terrifying precision.
"H-Hah. Well, at least we got the sword here, so silver lining..."
Even now, she held up the blue sword tight.
That was when—
-Clunk
-Ting...
The blade cracked midway and clattered to the floor.
"..."
"..."
Feeling her emotions surge, I counted silently—one, two, three—plugged my ears,
and
"You bastard of a bitchhhh!!!!"
Clutching the broken—fake—sword, her rage echoed down the corridor.