Chapter 21
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Kang Seol broke through the first gateway of the Hall of Temperance not with the interpretation manual, but drawing on his own memories.
His unpredictable moves had the viewers watching him in an uproar.
Sponsored 200 Madness!
[Pursuers are definitely coming up behind! Huh? You passed already?]
LOL, straight through like a fast lane.
Thought you had to pay toll lol
But why leave the manual behind?
Not needed.
He walked a short way down the narrow path that appeared beyond the first gateway.
Soon, the second gateway came into view.
‘A wall riddled with holes. Just like I remember.’
His memories surfaced with perfect clarity.
He focused intently on the inscription visible in the distance.
Ancient script was carved into the wall.
Arrow traps line both side walls. Unknown ancient script covers the path ahead. What will you do?
1. Take time to infer the ancient text's meaning.
2. Test if the arrow traps activate by throwing something.
3. Charge through at full speed.
4. [Required: Trap Disarm or Thief] Disarm the arrow traps.
5. [Required: Mechanical Engineering] Inspect the trap mechanism.
6. [Required: Archaeology or Sorcerer] Interpret the ancient text.
...
“...”
Option 1 had a high chance of failure, and 2 would trigger the trap with a thrown stone.
3 was sheer madness.
‘The arrows are insanely fast.’
The barrage from both walls was beyond what even Jamad could snatch mid-air, and their speed was blistering.
‘Plus they're poisoned—grazed by one and you're in danger.’
He wasn't a thief, so 4 was out.
5 required destroying the core mechanism, but Kang Seol had no idea where it was.
That left option 6.
And it was exactly the choice his past self had picked here.
‘The inscription was definitely...’
- Practice humility and temperance. Give thanks for Izmo Kan-nim's boundless grace.
The words came back crystal clear.
He later learned this Hall of Temperance was a shrine to a local deity whose true nature remained shrouded.
Whatever immense power those priests must have wielded to build ruins on this scale was hard to fathom, but the key point now was that this place was essentially a temple.
‘Bow or pray—that's what it's telling me.’
One of his old party members had died right here.
Misinterpreting the ruin's cue.
Kang Seol pulled an object from his inventory suitable for tossing and stuck it flat to the floor before rolling it forward.
Roooooll...
No reaction.
‘Safe.’
Splat...
Kang Seol flattened himself to the ground and crawled forward low, like a frog crushed under a tire.
The sight of him belly-crawling might have looked comical at a glance, but in truth, it was a nail-biting moment of tension.
‘This trap doesn't trigger near the floor.’
Previously, the teammate who'd died here had attempted a clumsy bow and been grazed by a poisoned arrow, becoming the first casualty.
After that, the rest of the party had all crawled flat to cross.
[Passed the second gateway of the Hall of Temperance.]
Kang Seol cleared the gateways one after another.
All thanks to the memories of his second character.
[Passed the third gateway of the Hall of Temperance.]
[Passed the fourth gateway of the Hall of Temperance.]
…
And at last, his pursuers set foot in the ruins.
[Relic Hunter Borgo's gang has appeared in the Hall of Temperance.]
[They're gunning for you and the treasure.]
“They've entered.”
Kang Seol had arrived at the passage before the fifth gateway.
A little farther and he'd reach it, but he paused here for a moment.
In a dimly lit corner, three levers were mounted, each marked with ancient symbols for 2, 3, and 4.
Crude pictographs, easy enough to recognize.
[These seem to control the mechanisms of the gateways you've passed. Could be a way to shake pursuers. What will you do?]
1. Pull the leftmost lever.
2. Pull the center lever.
3. Pull the rightmost lever.
...
Kreeeak!
Clunk!
Kang Seol yanked all three levers.
Borgo arrived at the Hall of Temperance.
He caught the musty ruin stench mingled with the faint tang of fresh blood.
“He's here.”
A good thirty-strong crew bustled into the ruins.
Even if Kang Seol was strong now, facing this many at once would be tough.
“Kirjin, you're up.”
“Y-yes...”
“Cross me, and you know what happens, right?”
“N-no way I'd do that, sir! That bastard KuJo took the half-baked manual on his own! Why do you think I contacted you first?”
“Negotiations with KuJo didn't fall through, then?”
“...Trust me. I'll prove my innocence.”
“Hmph.”
Kirjin, fidgeting nervously at Borgo's side, was the one who'd handed the ruin trap interpretations to KuJo.
Not an archaeologist himself, but skilled at wrangling those who were.
Thus, they'd succeeded in decoding the traps—not the sloppy version KuJo took, but the real deal.
“Here! Looks like his trail!”
Kirjin spotted the shredded interpretation manual and reported to Borgo.
“He knows the ruin interpretations are wrong.”
“How?”
“...Pardon?”
“How, exactly?”
“I... wouldn't know.”
“He some kind of archaeology whiz?”
Kirjin had assumed the target couldn't pass the first gateway, yet here were signs of him crossing unscathed. He panicked.
‘This means I'll take all of Borgo's heat... Damn bastard.’
Worst case, Borgo might kill him.
The man was capable of it.
Kirjin spoke to Borgo.
“The old manual said five sacrifices were needed here, but that was wrong.”
“...”
Slice—
Kirjin nicked his fingertip, letting a drop of blood fall before the door.
Rumble rumble groooan!
The door shuddered open.
“See? You can trust me!”
“Seems so. Lead on.”
Borgo eased his suspicion slightly.
Evident even in the glance he shot Kirjin.
Emboldened, Kirjin hurried to the second gateway.
“Hahaha! This one too! Huh? But how did he...”
“Must've crossed.”
“How... how did he know?”
“Think we know something you don't?”
One of Borgo's lieutenants snapped at Kirjin.
“Kirjin, we need to beat him through the ruins. Fall behind like this, and he'll snag all the rewards. You know Borgo hates losing his prizes most of all.”
“Y-yes, I know.”
“Then you can guess what happens if we're late.”
“We'll clear the ruins as fast as possible!”
Kirjin explained the crossing method without fanfare.
“Crawl flat on the floor.”
“...You want us to crawl?”
“Arrow traps—disarming them properly takes time. He'd beat us...”
“Got it. Borgo, sir...”
“I heard.”
“What'll it be? Send some ahead first?”
Borgo stroked his chin at his lieutenant's words and decided.
“No. We all cross now.”
“You sure? Could be risky.”
“He's pulling ahead even now. I hate anyone getting in front of me.”
“...Understood.”
“We'll trust Kirjin.”
Overhearing, Kirjin shouted confidently.
“Thank you!”
Thus, all thirty-odd men crawled on their bellies.
Edging the sides were fully shielded for contingencies, with Borgo safe in the center. Kirjin spotted the lead men reaching the far side.
He boasted triumphantly.
“As you see, I've dissected this ruin top to bottom, laid it bare. The gateways ahead are no different— just two things to watch for...”
Kirjin prattled on, answering unasked questions while crawling.
Borgo nearly told him to shut up, but caught the last bit and asked instead.
“Things to watch?”
“Yes! One is... Huh? Wait, no way. That can't be.”
“Speak clearly.”
“Well... Midway through the ruins, there's a spot controlling the prior gateways...”
“He reached it?”
“That's...”
That was when it happened.
Clank!
The ominous sound of something loading in the walls.
Thirty hearts shook like the mechanisms.
“Shields up!”
“Run! Get up and run!”
And hell broke loose.
Whoosh whoosh whooooosh!
“Gaaack...”
“Kuhk!”
“Kaaaaah!”
Whoosh whooooosh!
Arrow storms poured relentlessly.
Not mere rain from the sides—more like a torrent from every angle.
Fortunately, his men clustered to shield Borgo over themselves, letting him reach the end untouched.
“Hoo... Hooo... Casualties?”
“Quick response kept it down...”
“Casualties?”
“Seven. But...”
“But?”
“Kirjin's dead. We got most intel from him, though...”
Kirjin's corpse lay pinned under arrows amid the barrage. Even at the gruesome sight, Borgo didn't flinch.
“Heh heh heh...”
“Borgo, sir.”
“Hahahahahahaha! Fun! This Snowman guy's a riot, huh?”
No one laughed with him.
Borgo was furious now.
He laughed like a demon.
When his laughter stopped, his eyes blazed.
“From this moment, taking that bastard's head outranks the treasure.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes!”
“Daring to mess with me... He'll regret it.”
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[Handled by this relic man, so relax!]
Thanks, relic man!
Gives me chills, Snowman lol. Anyone see that EXP climb?
Borgo again
Hope they all get wiped lol
Gateways 3-4 were easy though crying
The viewers cheered Kang Seol's simple ploy, but he eyed the fifth gateway gravely.
‘No door. So that's it.’
The fifth gateway had no exits except the entrance—a sealed chamber.
A trap lurks here.
No door in sight. What now?
1. Grope the walls for anything suspicious.
2. Shout loudly.
3. Backtrack and scout another path.
4. [Required: Trap Disarm or Thief] Search for traps.
5. [Required: Archaeology or Sorcerer] Interpret the ancient text.
...
Sure enough, ancient text adorned the walls.
Kang Seol recalled the inscription verbatim.
- Close your eyes and walk. As far as your heart's distance to Izmo Kan-nim.
Closing your eyes in a trapped room was madness—unless you could dodge blindly.
But some could.
Worshippers of Izmo Kan, the designer, or...
Someone like Kang Seol, who knew the way through.
‘Alright, here goes.’
Step.
Step.
Kang Seol walked slowly with eyes shut.
Counting each step.
He felt a gentle warmth, a soft breeze.
‘Weird. Feels like...’
Someone was beside him.
After eight steps, he paused.
Izmo Kan's number was eight, so a door should appear.
Wrong, and he'd trigger the trap.
But that odd sensation kept his eyes closed. He recalled his character who'd passed here.
‘Wrong. It's nine steps now.’
His second character differed from his current self.
In height.
‘Zilliac was over 2 meters tall. That's how I set him. So I need one more step.’
This wasn't a simple step-count trap.
One short party member, a dwarf, had needed twenty steps here.
‘The priests here were all giants.’
A quirky detail learned later: the priests were towering figures over 2 meters, with all measurements scaled to them.
Eight for them.
Step.
‘Nine for me.’
Kang Seol opened his eyes.
A door stood before him.
Clank!
[Passed the fifth gateway of the Hall of Temperance.]
He was drawing ever closer.
To the relic hunter Zilliac—his second character, lost here long ago.