Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Yoo I-seol (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Entered Chain Cave.]
The moment we stepped through the gate, a metallic tang filled the air.
Clink.
The cave stretched from floor to ceiling, entirely woven from chains.
This was the dungeon known as Chain Cave.
"..."
Yoo I-seol drew her spear, her body tense with anticipation.
"I'll take the lead."
Nod.
She nodded silently in response.
Truth be told, Chain Cave had no monsters besides the boss.
Instead of monsters, what made it terrifying was its labyrinthine paths.
Once you entered a gate like this, you couldn't escape until the boss was defeated.
One wrong turn, and you were utterly fucked.
That's why heroes always packed food and water before heading in.
A short walk later, we hit a fork.
Not left or right, but up and down.
I grabbed a chain and climbed up to the upper passage.
"Come on up."
Yoo I-seol watched me ascend, tilting her head curiously before leaping up lightly to follow.
We pressed on like that for a while until she finally spoke.
"No monsters in here?"
Even as she said it, she held a stance ready for anything.
Though Chain Cave truly had no monsters besides the boss, she didn't know that, so preparing for ambushes was only natural.
If I hadn't known either, I'd have been on high alert too.
The eerie atmosphere, the dim lighting, and the chains dangling everywhere made visibility a nightmare.
"Your 'talent'—is it the navigation type?"
After passing the second fork, she asked me directly.
"Something like that."
"Must be nice. 'Guides' are rare as hell."
Unlike towers, where you just climbed up, mazes and dungeons had convoluted paths.
The talent for finding them was precious, so guilds coveted Guides.
"Picked a guild yet?"
"Not yet."
"If you're looking for a spot..."
Clatter!
Suddenly, the chains rattled violently.
Thud!
The fork ahead had transformed into a door.
It looked forged from solid steel, etched with indecipherable runes, massive enough to scream it wasn't meant for regular passage.
A grandeur unlike anything else in the chain-woven cave.
The boss room.
"Let's go in."
"...Right."
Clank!
As the door swung open, a screech like forks scraping metal pierced the air.
Step. Step.
The floor here was solid steel, not chains.
Deeper in, the door we'd entered through slammed shut on its own.
Bang!
-...
Grrrrrind!
The sound of chains tightening echoed.
Five pillars stood in the boss room, chains extending from them to bind a single entity.
-...
Its face bore ornate, razor-sharp horns, but where flesh and muscle should be, only white bone remained.
The skull resembled a deer's.
Hummm.
Suddenly, blue glows ignited in its hollow eye sockets.
Whoooosh!
A frigid wind carrying icy chill swept in.
A bone-deep cold gripped my body.
Snap!
Crackcrackcrack!
The binding chains shattered in an instant.
-...
The monster didn't cry out, but its gaze locked onto us.
Unlike its bony face, flesh and muscle clung below the neck.
A grotesquely emaciated body, bones nearly piercing the skin.
About five meters tall, with jagged fangs, long arms, and razor claws.
Ding!
[Encountering Wendigo.]
Boom!
The Wendigo charged at us.
More precisely, at me.
Swoosh!
It swung its elongated right arm while thrusting its left forward.
Dodge!
I evaded the right arm and rolled across the floor to escape the left.
Getting caught by that left arm meant game over.
-...
Missing its strike, the Wendigo's head thrashed wildly in a frenzy.
It was just a spasm now, but drag it out, and it'd turn into a 'curse.'
That curse inflicted Wendigo Psychosis, a madness that drove you to crave human flesh.
Boom!
-...!!!
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the Wendigo's flank.
Yoo I-seol had hurled her spear.
With a gesture, the spear flew back to her hand.
The Wendigo's stance crumbled.
Its gaze snapped to her.
Slash!
Like a starving hyena after three days without food, it lunged at Yoo I-seol in a mad dash.
Its long arms flailing as it bounded on all fours was utterly grotesque.
The stench of rotting corpses wafting from its body was just icing on the nightmare.
"F-fuck!"
Yoo I-seol's face twisted in disgust as she bolted away like hell.
I rested my hand on my sword hilt and lowered into stance.
Hummm!
Mana surged through my body in a pleasant rush.
"Hoo..."
Fwoosh!
The mana heated up, taking the form of flames.
[Trait: One Sword Ends Heaven activated!]
My mana stat ballooned in real time.
Fwoosh!
The flames burned hotter, the blade sharpening further.
I drew.
It felt slow to me, but in reality, it was a blink.
The instant the sword cleared the sheath, an invisible barrier—visible only to me—enveloped the entire boss room.
Iaido Technique hinged on speed.
Higher agility meant faster draws and exponentially greater destructive power.
For now, it was a one-shot deal, but later, chains would be possible.
-...?
A line slashed from the floor up through the Wendigo's body.
It reacted belatedly, mana surging within.
Something viscous welled up.
The monster's murky mana.
Shrick!
That foul mana solidified into chains.
The Wendigo wrapped itself in them, raising its long arms to shield its body.
But.
Sizzle!
Steam rose from the gash.
The steel floor glowed red, softening.
Siiiizzle!
-...!!!
The Wendigo convulsed wildly.
And in that moment, its body split diagonally.
Thud!
It lost balance and collapsed.
Shrick!
The mana chains around it lost power and clattered to the floor.
Sizzle!
Steam continued pouring from the Wendigo's corpse.
Flame Sword (Lv 1)
Suppressing Wendigo's regeneration.
"Yoo I-seol!"
"Wh-what?"
She'd been staring blankly at the scene until my call snapped her out of it.
"Smash its head!"
I'd deliberately left the head intact.
In Chain Cave, the finishing blow claimed the reward.
"Hup!"
Yoo I-seol swung her spear, pulverizing the Wendigo's skull.
Even bisected, it had been twitching madly—now it finally stilled.
Hummm!
A portal spawned in the center, and at the same moment, a chain shot toward Yoo I-seol.
Shrick!
It wrapped around her left arm in a flash.
"Wh-what the...? Hey, this...!"
She startled, glancing at me in panic, thinking something had gone wrong.
"F-fuck, why won't it come off...!"
She tugged at it futilely with her right hand, but the chain melted into her left arm.
"Huh...?"
Her expression crumpled into a pout.
"Hey, this...!"
"Isn't that the reward?"
"R-reward...?"
She lifted her left arm.
Clatter!
Mana-forged chains erupted from it.
Snap! Clang!
She whipped them against the floor, producing a metallic ring.
"Whoa!"
Her lips curled into a grin almost immediately.
"Hey, check this out!"
She started showing off excitedly—then her face hardened again.
"..."
Yoo I-seol rushed to the Wendigo's corpse, snatching up a glowing blue gem.
A sizable one.
The mana stone dropped from monsters.
Only from real ones, not artificial—key to magic engineering and heroes' main income.
"Ugh... damn it... of all things, a bound reward..."
She handed it over with an apologetic look.
"Sorry... You basically did it all. Take the mana stone at least..."
She bowed her head deeply.
"If you're sorry, pay me back later."
I took the stone with a smile, and she peeked at my face before lifting her head.
"Of course I will! What do you take me for?"
"Heavier than it looks."
As I hefted it, she snatched it right back.
"I'll carry it."
...
By the time we exited the gate, the sun had already set.
"...Hey."
On the way down the mountain, Yoo I-seol poked my shoulder with her finger.
"?"
"I feel so bad I can't stand it. Ask me for something—anything."
She fidgeted restlessly, genuinely wracked with guilt.
"I'll let you know if something comes up. Give me your number at least."
"Oh...? Yeah, hold on..."
...
***
Flop!
Yoo I-seol threw herself onto her bed.
"..."
She raised her left arm.
Shrick!
Mana chains flowed out smoothly.
For non-mages, shaping mana this precisely was nearly impossible.
She gauged the value of this unnamed bound relic.
"Ah..."
A gasp of awe escaped her lips.