Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Vampire Bat
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Vampire Bat.
I'd heard of this spirit beast before. A gigantic bat.
Its fangs were said to bite so deeply that once it latched on, the bleeding wouldn't stop. It was famous for traveling in packs inside dark caves, leaving nothing but bones of any human foolish enough to enter.
"If you're not confident, we can pretend this never happened. No hard feelings."
"......"
"Number 30, if the stories about the vampire bats are true, this is basically suicide. It's a spirit beast that's claimed the lives of countless masters."
Number 20 wasn't wrong. It was an incredibly dangerous proposition.
I fiddled with my sword. Blood light stone, huh.
"...Is there no other way?"
"Number 30!"
"There isn't. No other options. If there were decent quality ore handy, I'd give it a shot, but blood light stone offers the highest chance of success. You know why it's called that? When it reaches a certain temperature, it seeps into the gaps between metals. It fills the cracks and makes the bonds even stickier, like blood itself. It's practically a precious repair material. Once it's mixed with other ores, it becomes unusable for recycling and ruins them, making it all the harder to obtain."
"...How much do I need to mine?"
"I'll lend you a pickaxe. It's red and glowing, so it'll be easy to spot. At least as much as your right arm. That's the minimum to fix your sword, and even that might not be enough. Better mine double that."
He handed me a sack and the pickaxe.
I took them.
Number 20 warned me.
"You'll die, Number 30. If that blacksmith is telling the truth, it's the same as throwing your life away."
"If there's a way to save the sword, I'll try it."
"It's just an object!"
"It carries a heavy meaning. If I can save it, I'd like to keep it with me longer."
I slung the pickaxe and sack over my back.
"Number 20, you'll stay here, right? Could you show me the way?"
"I'll sketch a rough map. Got some work piling up, so I can't guide you personally. It'll be dark, so I'll lend you some flint and oil-soaked cloth. You can make a torch on your own, yeah?"
"Thank you. What about a sword...?"
"I'll lend you one."
"Number 30! Are you insane?!"
"Number 20, if I'm not back in three days, feel free to leave without me."
"You're really... going in there...?"
"If I think I can't win, I'll pull out first."
"What if you feel it's over the moment you encounter them?"
"Then I'll resist."
"...Is a friend's sword really worth more than your life?"
"Of course not, Number 20."
I opened the door and stepped out.
"But I want to put in at least that much effort."
...
I followed the path downward. The map was fortunately easy to understand.
After walking steadily for half a day, I arrived at a pitch-black pit-like hole. The entrance stretched straight down, half-concealed by foliage.
The blacksmith's doing, probably. He'd hidden the entrance to keep it all to himself.
I couldn't see inside well. I snapped off a nearby tree branch and used the borrowed flint and oil-soaked cloth to make a makeshift torch.
The flames caught instantly. Holding the thick wooden torch aloft, I stepped inside.
Right after sliding down the pit a ways, a path opened up ahead. It was somewhat narrow, but passable.
A musty smell wafted from within. Unknown sounds echoed at the same time.
I drew my sword with my free hand. Cautiously, I advanced deeper.
---Crunch... crunch...
...Were my footsteps always this loud?
It felt like they were swallowed by the silence. I swung the torch around. Unlike the narrow entrance, the passage widened the further in I went.
The ceiling rose higher and higher. It seemed level at a glance, but sloped subtly downward.
Jagged stalactites clung along the uneven interior. A faint watery smell brushed my nose.
Something was mixed in with the smell.
...Rot.
I thrust the torch forward.
".......!"
A single corpse, covered in tattered rags long fallen apart.
I couldn't tell who it had been. Only bones remained. There were signs it'd been rummaged through, but who it belonged to was obvious enough.
The blacksmith. He'd probably met his end here. He'd seen a corpse stripped to the bone like this and guessed at the spirit beast's presence.
Seeing a body with not even a scrap of flesh left...
Vampire bat.
Yeah, that's all that'd come to mind.
There was nothing useful on the corpse itself. Still, just in case, I tore off a dry cloth scrap and stuffed it in my sack.
I pressed deeper into the increasingly complex interior. I heard wingbeats. I raised the torch, but saw nothing.
The sounds drew near then far, repeating. It felt like they were watching me.
The one mercy was that whatever was flying around wouldn't come into the light.
Did they fear the light?
Or were they wary of me?
Not knowing which, I kept walking.
The passage narrowed again. The ceiling was still high, but it was getting tricky to proceed.
From the traces, part of the wall had collapsed recently. Debris littered the floor.
I hesitated between the gap that seemed born from the collapse and the path still stretching ahead.
...Better stick to the original direction.
I moved on. Fortunately, the path continued straight ahead, as if affirming my choice.
Blood light stone.
Where the hell was it?
"...Ah!"
As the torch's flame began to weaken, I finally spotted what I'd been seeking.
A blood-red glow reflecting off the torchlight. Its vivid hue screamed blood light stone through my entire body.
I hurriedly grabbed the pickaxe. In the silent space, a sharp crack--- pierced into the stone.
It was so hard I had to infuse it with qi. After several swings, a fragment finally broke free and clunked to the ground.
The blood light stone itself was huge. Even the chunk I'd chipped off easily surpassed my forearm. Just as the blacksmith said, after securing two, my small sack was already full.
This should be enough. Things had gone better than expected.
I turned to leave the cave at once.
If not for the black shadow flashing before my eyes.
"...Kuh?!"
Bizarre things plastered to the cave walls, making them look black. They resembled winged rats, emitting strange cries.
Their claws and teeth were exceptionally long. They'd gouged deep scars into the walls they clung to.
"......"
The entrance I'd come through was blocked by vampire bats, no longer visible.
I've got to break through.
I carefully raised my sword. One chance.
As I lunged, I scattered strikes like lightning.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art
Second Form.
Soul-Pulling Thrust.
---Slash!
A few vampire bats screeched and fell. But in the next instant, black specks countless times their number rose from the walls.
"Kuh!"
I threw myself down the opened escape route. Clutching the torch, I sprinted.
Wingbeats were right on my heels. Vampire bats began latching on, sinking fangs into my neck.
---Sluuurp.
The sensation of blood being sucked out.
I sheathed my sword. Amid the pain, I raised a hand and swatted the bats.
Blood poured from all over my body. I flailed as I ran, but couldn't see ahead.
The torch I'd gripped tight went out. Bats collided with my body, sending us tumbling into the darkness.
"Gaaah!!"
I couldn't see properly. My body hit the ground, losing direction.
My whole body was being torn apart. But I opened my mouth and bit into a bat flying at my face.
I'm getting out. Pain won't make me give up.
This agony is nothing...
Compared to the torment of the Heavenly Tribulation!
I hauled myself up again. Relying on senses alone, I charged into the unseen.
Without the torch, the cave was darker than Demon Valley. But I could still make out shapes.
I circulated my qi. Focused it in my eyes. Eyes tempered in Demon Valley pierced the cave's contours, aided by the qi.
Passing walls brushed my fingertips. Covered in blood, I didn't give up.
It's close. Getting closer.
Through the narrow passage, onward.
Further.
"...Light...!"
Light! I could see it!
Panting, I reached out. My clothes were shredded, my body a wreck, but I was still alive.
I dashed for the exit. Amid the bats' cries, I hurled myself into the light.
I rolled. I ripped off and crushed the last ones clinging to me. My body was a mangled ruin, my mind fraying, but I staggered to my feet.
What a mess. But the blood light stone in my sack was intact.
"...Haha!"
Success. After confirming I was safe, I collapsed again. Then, suddenly, I realized something was off.
".......?"
The surroundings were different. In the pouring sunlight stood a frozen waterfall.
An eerie feeling. Hesitating, I turned back. The entrance looked different from what I'd seen before.
Where... am I?
Did I lose my way and exit somewhere else? But the passage had been mostly straightforward...
...Ah!
The gap that looked like a collapse from an accident!
I'd thought the exit felt unusually close because it really had been. I shook myself off and stood. For now, I gave thanks for the light.
But what was this frozen waterfall?
It felt like I'd fallen into a massive pit. The light filtered in because the distant ceiling above was covered in foliage.
Beside the shadow-shrouded ice waterfall lay a few corpses that seemed to have plummeted to their deaths. I gathered them in one spot, then examined the waterfall.
The weather was cold. But not cold enough for ice to form.
The temperature here wasn't either. Not low enough for ice.
So what was this? How could such unnatural ice form?
I peered into the ice waterfall. Something seemed to lurk beyond the transparent ice.
I raised my sword and struck. It didn't break. The thick ice was hard as iron, dulling my blade instead.
"...Hmm..."
No. Wait.
Didn't I have a tool for breaking rocks on my back?
I grabbed the pickaxe again. Infused it with qi and slammed it into the ice with all my might.
---Clang!
A clear ring echoed as cracks spiderwebbed across the waterfall. I struck again and again.
I could see it. Something inside. A small space hidden beyond the ice waterfall.
I swept aside the shattered ice chunks.