Chapter 184
Chapter 184
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 184
>Chapter Title: Why Would a Guy Who Knows Do That...
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
First, I decided to take a moment to think.
‘Yeah, Yeokcheon is definitely the key.’
This wasn’t an exaggeration or a wild guess.
As I said, the only special things I had were my kinder heart than most and Yeokcheon—nothing else.
So if the spirits trapped in the ruins sensed something special about me, it had to be Yeokcheon.
‘Of course, there’s one nagging issue…’
Lost in thought, staring at the floor, I lifted my gaze to take in Mysern-senpai.
Mysern-senpai had already moved toward the iron door and was examining it with Damian and Chenbi. I scrutinized his demeanor closely.
The thing that was nagging at me was exactly this.
‘If the spirits in the ruins sensed my Yeokcheon as the special thing about me… then why didn’t Mysern-senpai notice?’
It might be a stretch to say he detected my “Yeokcheon” or “grimoire” specifically, but he should’ve at least picked up on something off.
From what I’d observed carefully over the past few days, Mysern-senpai hadn’t shown the slightest hint of suspicion.
So, two possibilities.
‘Either the spirits in the ruins have something special about them… or Mysern-senpai knows and is pretending not to.’
I thought that far, then quickly shook my head.
I cut off the line of thinking before any seeds of doubt about Mysern-senpai could sprout.
We’d come this far— even if he harbored ulterior motives, I had no real options.
I’d leave possibilities as possibilities.
Anyway.
‘It’s better to assume the spirits in the ruins are the special ones for now.’
If that was the case, there was only one thing left for me to consider.
The spirits sensed Yeokcheon because it was special to them and saw it as the key to opening the door… so could I, in my current state, actually open that door?
There was a method worth trying.
‘Blink.’
Spatial leap.
If I couldn’t open the door from outside, tackling it from inside was one approach.
Some barriers withstand external shocks but crumble under internal ones.
That’s where my dilemma began.
First, if Blink was the key to opening the door, second—was it okay to reveal this power in front of Mysern-senpai?
Truth be told, there were plenty of smaller questions beyond that.
If the spirits saw Yeokcheon as the key to freeing them, that meant they’d seen it before—unless they’d foreseen a future where I saved them.
Could this ruin be connected to Yeokcheon somehow? If so, was something like Destrow lurking here again?
Stuff like that…
‘Honestly, the odds are slim.’
If it were, my experiences so far suggested Yeokcheon would’ve reacted first.
So, setting those aside, the final question boiled down to one.
Was it okay to reveal this power in front of others?
Two opposing thoughts arose on that.
One was…
‘Dude, you learned it to use it—what’s there to agonize over?’
A perfectly reasonable opinion.
The other went like this.
‘Still, spatial magic… wait, no mana used, so not really magic. Anyway, spatial teleportation is pretty out there, right? Any risks?’
The kind of worry someone might call timid.
But that was fine.
I was timid.
Just big-hearted, that’s all.
Anyway, agonizing between those two… honestly, the answer was already set.
“Mysern-senpai.”
“……?”
“Let me try opening this iron door.”
“……Something click for you?”
It’d clicked last night before bed. I just hadn’t mustered the resolve to step up.
Anyway, I nodded with a determined expression and shooed away Damian and Chenbi, who were milling around near the door.
Now, alone with the iron door.
I focused my mind.
Soon, the sensation I called my “spatial sense” awakened, enveloping everything around me. Space, once just a visual concept, now pressed against my skin.
Yeah, “pressed against my skin”—that was the only way to describe it.
This was a sixth sense, beyond sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch.
With my spatial sense fully open like that.
At this moment, the massive iron door and the barrier severing space posed no issue at all.
‘This… will work.’
Thinking that far, I glanced at Mysern-senpai.
“Senpai, I was right here….”
Vwoooong—!
A strange whoosh rang in my ears.
I gazed at the changed scenery and finished my sentence. Or tried to.
“And now I’m go—huh.”
Teleporting like this meant no one to hear the punchline. I hadn’t thought that far.
Anyway, I’d made it in fine… but…
‘How do I open the door from here?’
Just push from inside?
I took in the pitch-black space, then floated up a faintly glowing luminous stone from earlier to light it up.
And that moment.
Ting… ting ting.
Ting ting ting ting—!
Countless lights bloomed in the darkness. Along the straight corridor’s walls, lights flared on both sides in a rush.
Candles? Or motion-sensor magic lamps?
No, neither.
It was…
“Hmm, golems, huh.”
Yeah, golems.
Countless golems lining the walls left and right turned toward me, their head crystals glowing.
I thought.
So they do exist… wait, no.
Two choices.
First, fight.
Second, fight together.
The deliberation was brief.
‘Hell yeah, pain’s meant to be shared. That’s what comrades are for, right?’
Oh, and… this door. It opens from inside, yeah?
I planted both hands on the massive iron door and shoved with all my might. ‘Wait, pull maybe?’ Fleeting thought.
Grrrrrind—
The door yielded with a roar.
Nice.
Through the widening gap, I flashed a bright grin at the familiar faces. Then, seeing their saucer-wide eyes—three pairs—I flung the door wide.
Grreeeak! Bang!
Door fully open, I stepped aside and spoke.
“Go on, Damian.”
Adventure time.
……But why?
Damian wasn’t the one who reacted.
“……I hate golems.”
Twisted Nether’s Chenbi, charging!
* * *
In the end, the battle wrapped up anticlimactically—almost disappointingly easy.
No sooner had I stepped aside than Mysern-senpai assessed the situation and took the lead. Was this even a fight?
No, a one-sided slaughter.
From Mysern-senpai’s crisp finger snap to the dozens of golems crumbling: 7.84 seconds flat.
What happened in those 7.84 seconds?
Grrrrrumble—
The ground shook.
Crunch! Cruuunch, crack!
Dozens of stone pillars erupted from walls, floor, and ceiling, devouring the golems. How could pillars devour golems? Simple—they weren’t pillars.
Turtle heads.
‘Yeah, Madrin.’
Mysern-senpai’s earth spirit, Madrin.
The scene was so brutal it had me reflecting on whether I’d ever wronged Mysern-senpai.
Anyway, lost in reminiscence like that, Mysern-senpai approached me right then.
“What in the world… no, how… hmm. Hoo.”
His head must’ve been spinning; he couldn’t string words together easily.
I got it—his feelings were understandable.
‘Yeah, even I’d be shocked.’
I was here? Gone.
No trace.
Vanished like he’d sunk into the sky or earth—no way to tell. Just poof.
What would most people think?
‘He moved crazy fast.’
But Mysern-senpai couldn’t chalk it up to that.
His level was too high for such a comfy illusion.
Anyway, Mysern-senpai gaped like he couldn’t believe it, and that’s when I felt the need to organize my thoughts.
‘How do I explain this?’
Start with the simplest one.
“Damian, you get the floor.”
“Thanks. First question: did you just teleport?”
“Correct. No prize, though.”
I could give one if pressed. Type? “Bread”—not the baked kind, the “whack!” kind.
“Second question: how’s it work?”
Sharp one.
So I answered.
“Focus your mind. Close your eyes, feel the space. Relax your whole body, hold your breath, and tense your lower abdomen hard. Squatting works best.”
“Wait. Repeat. Squat first…”
Damian squatted to follow along.
“Now relax your whole body comfy-like.”
“Yeah, relaxing…”
“Now tense your lower abdomen hard while holding your breath. Wait, hold breath then tense lower…”
Chenbi stepped in right then.
“You nuts? You gonna clean up the mess?”
“No, I wouldn’t really…”
“Then?”
“Okay, even if he did, odds of disaster are…”
“Happen?”
“……Happen?”
I pictured it for a sec.
If Damian followed my instructions to the letter—what catastrophe would I handle?
Thinking that far, my head drooped on its own.
“……Sorry, Chenbi.”
“Even a one-in-a-million chance isn’t zero. And when that millionth hits, you don’t wanna think about it?”
“Really, really sorry.”
My bad.
No arguing that.
Head bowed, Twisted Nether’s Chenbi sighed deeply, shook his head, and spoke.
“Aster, let’s be careful. Yeah?”
“Yes.”
Ah, so this is Twisted Nether’s Chenbi’s combat prowess.
Anyway, enough teasing Damian.
I gave the dumbfounded Damian staring at me a proper answer.
“That was a joke.”
“Knew it.”
“……You knew?”
A guy who knows why’d he try… wait.
“You little…”
“Buddy, let’s bury our mutual uncomfortable truths. Didn’t happen. Won’t happen.”
“……”
Damian might be more dangerous than I thought.
As I pondered that, Damian tossed me a question.
“So, how do you use it? I didn’t feel any mana moving.”
“How? …Honestly, I’m not totally sure myself.”
“Born with it?”
“Nah. More like… I realized it one day. Tough to explain.”
Chats like that went on awhile.
Luckily, Damian nodded along without pressing further.
Twisted Nether’s Chenbi was the same.
“Shocked, yeah, but won’t pry. If it was shareable, you’d have said.”
Twisted or not, Chenbi’s Chenbi.
Somehow broad-minded.
Anyway, with those two settled, I turned back to Mysern-senpai.
Surprisingly, he’d sorted himself out quick; the talk was straightforward as ever.
“Won’t pry. Looks like… even if I asked, no answer coming.”
“Well, suits me fine.”
And with that, the Blink issue wrapped.
Time to focus on the ancient ruins again.
“Shall we… head in?”
“Yeah, let’s.”
We stepped into the ancient ruins.
Greeeak—thud!
The iron door shut on its own—no one touched it.
Darkness returned to the space, and Damian’s voice echoed.
“Time to trouble!”
“Yeah, not that… huh?”
Hold up.
Why’d the door close?