Volume 1 - CH 10

Chapter 10

Part 3: The First Stage

Dok Gojun looked around as we entered, and said, “Sword Mountain? For a place with such a name, I don’t see any swords.”

True to his words, despite the name, no sword or anything like it could be seen anywhere. The place we were in instead had a design resembling an ancient ruin, with four paths. And there were torches burning sporadically in each of the dimly lit passageways. The place was devoid of color except for the torches. The floor was black, and the walls were painted in faded gray.

[Entered the ‘Sword Mountain’]

[Find the exit.]

[Time limit: None]

“This place looks more like a dungeon than a room. If so, there may also be traps here and there,” muttered Dok Gojun as he looked around.

“Seems like we should go this way to reach the opposite side.”

“Alright, let’s proceed quickly,” Dok Gojun said, taking the lead and headed forwards.

It was probably around this place that it was triggered.

-Click

Along with the clicking sound, something flew swiftly. Three blades were embedded in the ground where Dok Gojun’s foot had been. It’s only thanks to his swift reaction that the trap was rendered ineffective. Indeed, there were traps. I thought that things might had changed compared to the past, so I had sent him ahead but there was still that trap.

Dok Gojun, however, had a rather joyful expression even though he was very nearly caught by the trap.

“Wow, a trap? It’s pretty classic. I don’t mind things like this.”

If others would see him now, they would think he was crazy.

I turned to Dok Gojun, who was examining the trap, and asked, “Aren’t you scared?”

“Why should I be?” he replied and chuckled.

“It’s the early stages, so they probably didn’t set up instant death traps. And, of course, I’m lucky.”

People like him, who had good fortune since childhood, instinctively knew of the fact that they were lucky. He casually poked at the blades with a smile on his face.

“Hmmm, I guess we should proceed with caution, and closely observe the nooks and crannies of this place.”

Currently, we had four possible paths to take. The corridors were long, and the rooms on the other side were dark, making it impossible to know what was inside. But I, the last one to clear this stage in my previous life, knew this place very well. In the past, I cleared it quickly but it was with Shin Sooah’s help, not with my own ability. If I were to proceed to the next stage in that state, the probability of my death would be high. That's why I went through this place alone, repeating it dozens, hundreds of times until I could clear it on my own. And by doing so, every inch of this place was engraved in my head.

“Let’s go this way first.”

I placed Dok Gojun in front of me and moved to a different room. Nothing happened as we crossed the corridor. We entered a room, and once again, there were paths in all sides of the room.

"Oh, there was nothing this time."

"Let's go right."

Even after five years, this place was still so fresh in my memory, as if I had come here just yesterday. We travelled through several intersections, but we passed through safely without any incidents.

"No traps at all. Seems like you're lucky today, Seo Gangrim," Dok Gojun remarked, as if impressed.

Lucky? It was a funny statement. When I first came here, I got caught in all sorts of traps and didn't have a day without shedding blood.

"I guess living a rough life made me sensitive. My instincts have gotten sharper," I said while looking at the north corridor. This time, it wasn't a safe room. I tightly gripped my sword and took the first step.

"Let's try this way this time."

I walked towards the corridor with my ears perked up. As I got closer, I sensed someone's presence from inside.

"...Is it a person?" Dok Gojun whispered softly, also sensing the presence. Silhouettes were faintly visible in the dark room, and their blades were shining.

"Person? No, they look like skeletons," Dok Gojun answered his own question in a low voice.

As he said, what was inside the room were indeed skeletons. There were several skeletons wandering around with swords in their hands. They seemed to have not noticed us yet.

"They look stronger than the worms... Since it's after the tutorial, they might only be a bit stronger, right?"

At first glance, they seemed strong, but in the end, as Dok Gojun said, we’re still in the early stages, and these were specifically designed for this stage.

================

[Name] Demon Skeleton

[Rank] Insect Third Class

[Description] A demon made of human bones. It craves human flesh. Insensitive to sound but sensitive to light.

================

***

***read at novelworldtranslations.blogspot.com***

***

Although the rank of the demon was low, there were many of them, so it would be a bit challenging for someone like me, who was an Insect rank.

I summoned my Destiny Window.

[You can increase your stats using Experience Points.]

[Remaining experience points: 1600 points]

The stats were strength, stamina, agility, senses, and magic power. There were a total of five.

I didn't need to think too much about which one to increase first.

[Strength has increased to Level 3!]

This should be enough to deal with the Demon Skeletons. I immediately activated Radiant Flame and threw it towards them. As the flames crackled and fiercely burned, the skeletons turned their attention towards me.

-Grrr?!

The alerted Demon Skeletons immediately took action. The creatures run through the narrow corridor, and in return, I rushed towards them with my sword in hand.

-Seogeok!

My sword effortlessly shattered the bones. When their spinal bones broke in half, the Demon Skeletons lost balance and collapsed, and I gained Experience Points.

-Grrrr!

Another demon rushed towards me. I thrust the sword directly into its face, and the bones crumbled noisily.

-Kwak!

I had quite a hard time dealing with these creatures in my previous life, but it was manageable to face them one by one. It just felt like a waste of time to defeat them this way. That's why I brought Dok Gojun with me.

-Kakakang!

"Hahaha! This is fun!"

Suddenly, Dok Gojun burst into the room and slaughtered the Demon Skeletons, spilling his madness. No matter how strong one's abilities were, there should be bound to be some limits. However, Dok Gojun, perhaps due to his 'Dreamer' ability, fearlessly defeated the demons.

"Alright, finished clearing. Easy, right? Let's move on to the next room!"

He swiftly annihilated the surrounding area and quickly moved on to the next room. Every time the demons appeared, he and I quickly cleared them out.

"Hmm, there are monsters in every room we go," Dok Gojun said after passing through several rooms.

There were scattered broken bones nearby. Seemed like we'd taken down a hundred of them.

Dok Gojun kicked a skull and continued speaking, "I thought we were lucky earlier, but maybe not, with demons appearing in every path we choose."

"Are you having a hard time?"

"Not really. They're not that strong."

It was probably easy for him, who was a Divine Third-class. What was unexpected was his considerable skill with the sword. Wasn't he just a novelist?

"Have you learned how to use a sword?" I asked him.

"Yeah. I learned swordsmanship and martial arts just in case I go to another world or get sucked in a book,” Dok Gojun replied with a grin.

"The lotto numbers and stocks that I memorized every week in case I return to the past became useless, but I'm still satisfied."

Until now, I thought his monologue were because of his daydreaming, but it seems like he's really a ‘daydreamer’ through and through.

Dok Gojun then stared at me intently and said, "Seo Gangrim, to be honest, there's something I've been curious about since we first met."

"What is it?"

"Do you know that you're special? You're unusually calm, adaptable, and not afraid of danger."

He continued to stare at me intensely and said, "Are you from the future, or a reincarnation or something like that?"

He quickly caught on to the strange part. It wouldn't be a problem if he found out that I was a regressor, but I wanted to keep it hidden as long as possible.

After thinking for a moment, I spoke up, "When I was young, I used to see ghost or the like quite often, so I'm just familiar with these kinds of things."

"Hmm, is that so? Your childhood seems interesting. Tell me about it."

His eyes pierced through me as if he wanted to know everything about me. It was unnecessary to talk about my childhood and now was not a good time since we were close to that place. So, I ignored him and moved my feet, saying, "Let's stop wasting time and move on quickly. Lead the way."

"Sure, got it. Tell me about your childhood later!"

Dok Gojun entered the corridor with a slightly excited expression. As I quietly followed behind him, I felt along the walls. When we reached about halfway, something was caught in my hand.

-Thump!

Dok Gojun heard the sound and turned around. Along with a clunking sound, something fell from behind. The floor was dropping.

"Run!"

The floor was dropping at a terrifying speed. Below was endless darkness. With my shout, Dok Gojun began to sprint at full speed, laughing like a madman all the while.

"Oh, there's even a trap like this! Classic!"

This situation seemed like a fun part of the game to him. Meanwhile, the speed at which the floor was dropping increased even more. We were just a few steps away from falling. If we made a mistake, both of us would fall. That would be troublesome. I reached out towards Dok Gojun's back, and with all my strength, I pushed him forward.

"Huh?"

-Kwang!

A loud noise followed Dok Gojun’s startled voice.

At the same time that I pushed him, a pile of rocks fell from above. The rocks fell right where Dok Gojun had been a moment ago. If I hadn't pushed him, he would have been hit directly. Dok Gojun was able to safely arrive in the next room, but I tripped over the falling rocks and fell down and then the ground beneath me give way.

"Seo Gangrim!"

Dok Gojun started getting farther away from me. I slid down, descending the slope at a crazy speed, and after a while, I tumbled onto the ground.

-Kwoong!

Thanks to being able to slide downwards, I got no injuries. I quickly got up and looked around, and in the silence, a notification window appeared.

[You have entered a secret area.]

As planned, I was the only one who fell into this place. If I had been alone, it would have taken quite some time to reach this place, but thanks to Dok Gojun, I was able to shorten the time. He really did came in handy. Now, the most important thing was for me to grow.