Chapter 27
What I had taken for a voice was actually transmission-by-voice, hidden within the breath.
A sigh escaped me before I could stop it. No matter how muddled my mind had been, had I really failed to tell a spoken voice from a secret transmission?
“Where the hell are you hiding?”
I began spreading my spiritual sense wide. At first, I had only checked the prisoners in the adjacent cells in order to find him, but this time I cast it in all directions, even up to the ceiling of the dungeon. And yet there was nothing that my senses could catch.
That meant either his concealment was superior to my detection, or his own realm far exceeded mine.
-Amusing. You’re more interested in where I am than in who I am.
“Right now, where you are matters more to me than who you are.”
-I’ll only say this much: I’m somewhere near you.
“And of course you have no intention of telling me who you are.”
-You’re quick on the uptake.
I leaned my back against the stone wall and sorted through my thoughts. Things like who he was were not only impossible to confirm, they were not important in this situation.
What mattered most was where he was and what he was doing.
Because he knew I had almost opened the mechanism.
-What are you thinking about so hard?
“Why you spoke to me in the first place.”
-That’s not exactly something I can’t tell you.
The self-satisfied edge in his transmission annoyed me. Still, our conversation was only beginning. I needed to wring as much information out of him as possible.
-Isn’t it stifling to be in this dungeon?
“……”
In that instant, I gained a piece of information from him.
He did not know I had entered the dungeon of my own will. To him, I was nothing more than a prisoner trapped inside it.
But I did not let that show. In a situation like this, information was strength.
“Is that supposed to be a question? Who’d actually like being in a dungeon?”
-I’ll get you out of there.
“I refuse.”
-Refuse? Did I hear that wrong?
He sounded genuinely flustered, as though he had never imagined I would turn him down.
-Are you out of your mind? Opportunities like this don’t come often.
“There’s no such thing as a reward without a price.”
-No such thing as a reward without a price, huh? Then let me ask you something. Are you worried about the price, or do you think the reward isn’t enough?
“Both.”
-Both? And why is that?
“What changes if I get out of the dungeon?”
-You’re worried about being chased by the Murim Alliance.
“Isn’t that obvious? If I escape from the Murim Alliance’s dungeon only to have the Murim Alliance chase me, what meaning would that have?”
-Even if you don’t cooperate, you’ll die in my hands here and now.
“That’s supposed to be a threat from someone I can’t even see?”
I snorted and sat cross-legged with easy composure. Then I resumed regulating my breath and circulating my energy. He shouted at me through transmission, anger and impatience both mounting in his voice.
But I did not give him any reaction. The reason was simple. I had already gotten all the information I needed for now.
What I was most curious about was where he was watching me from. Through our conversation, I had found a clue to that as well.
-You’re an impossible man…
“……”
-A hundred grandmasters.
I slowly opened my eyes. The man transmitting to me continued at once.
-Yes! I’ll get you out of the dungeon and make you one of the hundred grandmasters.
“A hundred grandmasters… At that level, it doesn’t sound easy to shake off the Murim Alliance’s pursuit.”
-The minimum standard for a hundred grandmasters is the Ultimate Supreme realm! A realm beyond that is not something another person can simply create for you with help. What do you think? More than enough, I’d say.
Ultimate Supreme.
Just as he said, it was not a realm an ordinary martial artist could reach easily, even with a fortunate encounter.
But if I turned that around, it meant creating even one martial artist at the Ultimate Supreme level required an enormous amount of support. And the fact that the man transmitting to me was offering that kind of condition meant his proposal was worth that much.
“And the price?”
-Simple. Activate the mechanism.
“That’s the whole price? Just activating the mechanism?”
-That’s right.
“Easy to say. As you can see, my inner power alone isn’t enough to activate it. How exactly am I supposed to make the mechanism work?”
-Don’t worry about that. I’ll make up for whatever inner power you lack.
“I see.”
I brushed the dust from my bottom and stood up. Then I placed a hand on the wall.
-Good. That’s it. Now slowly pour in your inner power, one-tenth at a time.
“Fine.”
With my spiritual sense still spread wide, I slowly pushed my inner power into it.
At once, I heard the mechanism begin to move again. But this time, the response was not what I had gotten when I first fed it one-tenth of my energy. It reacted as if I had poured in two-tenths.
Kiriririk!
-Now pour in two-tenths.
“……”
I fed it two-tenths. The mechanism began to operate as though I had supplied four-tenths.
-Pour in three-tenths.
I did as he said. The movement of the mechanism became so clear that I could feel it through my hand. Along with that, I could sense the voice on the other end growing excited.
-Four-tenths! Pour in four-tenths of your inner power!
“I don’t want to.”
-What did you say!
His transmission carried unmistakable fury. But before long, a voice full of bafflement followed.
-…How are you able to speak while controlling your inner power?
“Is that such a big deal?”
He would be surprised. A man who had not even reached beyond the Ultimate Supreme realm asking how I could speak while circulating my inner power.
But that was not the issue right now.
I stopped feeding more power into the wall and waited for his voice. As expected, transmission came again.
-I said I’d get you out of the dungeon and help you become one of the hundred grandmasters. What is there to complain about that you suddenly act this way?
“It’s nothing much. I just had one thing I hadn’t asked yet.”
-What is it?
“If you’re someone who can make me reach the Ultimate Supreme realm, you could open this mechanism yourself. So why, pray tell, are you asking for my help?”
-I have my reasons.
“So you can’t tell me.”
-……
“Then let me ask something else. Before I even pushed my power into the wall, I had already spread my spiritual sense wide. And interestingly enough, I’m the only one sending inner power through this wall-connected room. So where exactly are you?”
-……
He did not answer. In that instant, I was certain where he was.
“You’re inside this mechanism, aren’t you?”
-Grkk.
Even through transmission, I could feel him clenching his back teeth. It was such a hard sound I wondered whether they had ground apart.
-Is that all you have to say? Why don’t you shut up and focus on opening this mechanism first?
He was beginning to waver. Which meant the initiative had shifted to me. I spoke with a mocking edge.
“So you can’t open it yourself. That’s why you need my help.”
-Shut up and focus on opening the mechanism!
“I don’t feel like it.”
-Open the damn mechanism, you bastard!
His transmission came spilling out like a scream. But I only laughed aloud, as though the whole thing were too entertaining for words.
“No. The deal’s off.”
I withdrew my hand and pulled back my inner power. At once, his transmissions came flying at me like mad.
-You crazy bastard! Open the door right now! You want to die? No, I’ll kill you with my own hands for sure!
The only answer I gave him was this:
“Can you even get out on your own?”
More curses followed through transmission after that, but I said nothing else. I simply laced my fingers behind my head and lay back down. Then I closed my eyes.
“Yawn… Wake me when you’ve calmed down.”
-Hey, you little bas—!
And then I really did fall asleep, right in front of him. After that, I heard curses through transmission from time to time, but even those ceased before long. No sound came to me after that.
Was that enough?
“Ugh… Sleeping on bare stone really does a number on your body.”
I stretched and sat up. As if he had been waiting for that exact moment, his transmission came at once.
-What do I have to do for you to open this mechanism?
The heat from before was gone, and his voice had gone calm. He had realized it: threats did not work on me.
But it was still not enough. Not if he wanted to show me his desperation.
“Opennn for me, will you?”
-……
“You’d better stay locked up a little longer.”
-How must I ask before you’ll open this mechanism for me?
I let one corner of my mouth rise slightly. Then I turned toward the wall where the mechanism was hidden.
“So you’re finally ready to talk.”
-Anything… anything you say.
He really did seem to hate speaking respectfully, but he had no choice.
“Answer my questions one by one. Understood?”
-Unders…tood.
“Keep your answers short and to the point.”
-Yes.
I had many things I wanted to ask him. But the first thing I needed to confirm was this.
“What’s inside that mechanism?”
-A sword.
Found it.
I had spent more than ten days searching for that sword. As expected, it had been inside this dungeon.
But there was something I still could not understand. How exactly had that sword come into the hands of a first-rate martial artist?
It was impossible that even I, an expert martial artist, could have randomly opened this mechanism and randomly discovered the sword on my own.
I tapped the wall a few times and imagined the man transmitting from inside the mechanism.
Did this bastard lure a first-rate martial artist in here and trick him into opening it?
I had doubts about the accuracy of the information, but there was no way to verify it right now, so I decided to focus on the present.
“Who are you?”
-……
“If you don’t want to talk, don’t. I don’t want to talk for long either.”
-I am the one called the disgrace of the orthodox sects.
The man’s voice dropped low. It was the voice of someone speaking of something he truly did not want to remember.
“The disgrace of the orthodox sects?”
I searched my memory, but nothing surfaced.
“I’ve never heard of you. Speak properly.”
-My name is Song Wol.
The moment I heard the name Song Wol, a piece of information flashed through my mind.
“Old Pine?”
-Correct. I am that Old Pine.
Song Wol, the head of the Songwon Sect. A martial artist active ten years ago. He was famous for one reason alone.
He was the head of the Songwon Sect and at the same time a man who had killed people of the orthodox faction. At the time, it was said that the Songwon Sect had colluded with the demonic sect and that he had killed the orthodox figures who uncovered it.
And the end of his story was only this: he was eventually subdued by the Murim Alliance and died in the dungeon.
“If the Song Wol you’re talking about was the bastard who joined hands with the demonic sect and plotted treason, then he’s already dead. Don’t lie to me.”
-Who dares say I joined hands with those demonic bastards!
Rage burned in Song Wol’s voice. He drew a deep breath, then continued in a cold, controlled tone.
-The Songwon Sect was a clan located in Hebei.
I was the seventeenth head of the Songwon Sect.
One day I was invited to attend the Murim Alliance Lord’s birthday celebration.
While I was away, some unknown fiend stormed in and slaughtered everyone in the clan.
They took advantage of the moment I had stepped out.
The Murim Alliance promised to investigate, but they said they could not find the killer.
That wasn’t all.
Everything was thoroughly concealed.
A gag order was placed on any mention of my clan.
I was not even allowed to see a single body of my family.
So I killed them.
Starting with the bastards who investigated the incident,
and then the ones who had invited me to the Alliance Lord’s birthday celebration.
If they had not been there, I could have protected my family.
No, even if I still could not have protected them, I could at least have died with them.
Song Wol did not seem to be lying. Yet he had clearly been consumed by rage. That made it all the more impossible to open this door lightly.
-Listen to me. There will be no harm coming to you. I must find the enemy who killed my family and kill them. So I beg you, open this mechanism!
Every word he spoke carried a desperate resolve. A clan head who had watched his entire family be annihilated. Revenge. It did not sound like someone else’s story. Perhaps I, too, was living in the present for reasons not so different from his.
I still had the chance to protect them one last time, but Song Wol had no such chance left to him. And yet my answer held no emotion.
“Putting that aside, how did you end up trapped inside that mechanism?”
-After I killed those bastards, I was subdued by the Murim Alliance and imprisoned in the dungeon you’re in now. There was no longer any reason for me to live. In any case, I could not escape that dungeon, so I tried to take my own life. That was when he appeared and knocked me unconscious. When I opened my eyes again, I was already inside this mechanism.
“He?”
-I said he, but I couldn’t tell whether it was a man or a woman. They attacked me from behind, and I couldn’t even manage a single move in response.
“No clues at all about that person?”
-Hm… Before my consciousness cut out, I saw one thing.
He paused, searching through his memory.
-He was wearing a golden chicken mask.
At Song Wol’s words, my expression hardened like ice.