Chapter 9: Unexpected events during a dungeon exploration.

The pattern on the wall looked like a simple geometric design at first glance, but it was identical to what I had seen countless times in the game.

Based on a pentagon, the lines extending outwards were intricately intertwined like a spider web.

Start from the pentagon in the center, three times clockwise, two times counterclockwise.

And then three spaces inward again.

Finally, if you go around the outer pattern once…

“Young Master, it just looks like a closed stone door…”

Before Nan-cheong could finish speaking, my fingers moved.

Quickly and accurately.

As if I had done it a hundred times.

Kaduk- Kaduk-

The sound of stone interlocking with stone echoed.

A faint light arose at each spot traced along the pattern.

Koo-oong-

With a heavy sound, the stone door opened.

An entrance leading to a stone chamber was revealed.

“How…”

Nan-cheong asked, surprised.

“It was written on the map.”

I made the excuse of the map once again.

As soon as we entered, the door slowly closed behind us with the sound of stone grinding, but I didn’t panic because I had already expected it.

We have a torch, after all.

“This way.”

The stone chamber was surprisingly simple.

It had the same structure as I had seen in the game.

Several boxes were placed along a straight passage.

“Are these all treasure chests?”

When Nan-cheong asked, I nodded.

Even though I was covered in dust, my heart was excited.

Unlike the game, the treasures here were things that I could actually touch.

Even if they weren’t great, this would be my first spoils of war in this world.

When I opened the box, golden light glittered.

Nan-cheong reached out and picked up one of them.

“Th-this?

Gold coins of a style I’ve never seen before.”

Nan-cheong’s voice trembled.

That’s because she probably thought it was just a childish young master’s treasure play at first.

But now that real treasures were coming out like this, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Put them all in.

It’s an old style.

If you take them to collectors, they’ll be sold for more than the gold content.”

At my words, Nan-cheong nodded and took out a pouch.

I could see her hand, which was carefully putting the gold coins in, trembling slightly.

It seemed she was now taking my words seriously.

After we collected all the gold coins, we went further into the stone chamber.

The walls illuminated by the torchlight were damp, but perhaps because we had discovered the gold coins, even the eerie atmosphere felt different.

The first exploration was proceeding more smoothly than expected.

When we reached the end of the stone chamber, the largest box appeared.

The outline of the box illuminated by the torchlight twinkled as if seducing me.

“Hehehe… this is it, this is it.”

As I approached the box, Nan-cheong reached out and stopped me.

“Young Master, if it’s such a big box, there must be some kind of trap…”

“Don’t worry.

This one is safe.”

I ignored her concern and opened the lid of the box.

Chaaak- As the lid opened with a sound, Nan-cheong reflexively took a defensive stance, but nothing happened.

Inside the box were a meticulously preserved bamboo scroll, a small bottle, and a long sword.

It’s a spirit medicine.

I picked up the spirit medicine without hesitation, and Nan-cheong carefully examined the bamboo scroll.

It was the moment I faced the true spoils of the first exploration.

Nan-cheong unfolded the bamboo scroll with trembling hands.

Her eyes widened.

“Th-this?

An Inner Energy Cultivation Method?

The… Cheongseong Sect’s…”

At Nan-cheong’s words, I smiled inwardly.

Oh, lucky bicky.

It was an unexpected harvest.

Of course, it wasn’t a big surprise to discover something like this.

Because this entire mountain was once the base of the Cheongseong Sect.

“You can have that.

I’ll take this instead.”

I shook the glass bottle containing the spirit medicine.

The Cheongseong Sect’s Inner Energy Cultivation Method was unnecessary for me, who was learning Shaolin martial arts.

I was just pretending to be generous while taking the spirit medicine.

“But, Young Master…”

“It’s okay.

You’ll be able to use it better.”

Nan-cheong hugged the bamboo scroll as if she couldn’t believe it.

Seeing her eyes reddened, it seemed my ‘kindness’ was more effective than expected.

A corner of my heart tingled.

Her pure emotion made a part of my heart uncomfortable, but I consoled myself that this was a good deal for both of us.

Nan-cheong carefully put the bamboo scroll in her bag as if handling the most precious treasure in the world.

Her touch was filled with reverence.

I fiddled with the spirit medicine in my pocket and pondered.

There were now two things to do.

Finding a merchant who would buy these ancient gold coins for the highest price, and finding out what effects this spirit medicine has.

“What should we do with this sword?”

“Please do as you wish, Young Master.”

The sword was too long to use the Thousand Slaughter Valley’s martial arts.

It didn’t seem like a sword suitable for Cheongseong Sect martial arts either.

A knife as long as a spear.

Perhaps the original owner of this knife was also a giant.

Anyway, I also took the sword because I didn’t know if I could sell it for a high price.

“Then let’s go back.”

Nan-cheong nodded.

Her expression still showed disbelief.

We started to retrace our steps.

This was a better income than expected.

It wasn’t bad for the first exploration.

At the moment I was about to open the stone door, I heard a sound from outside.

“Who killed our Ratty?”

“Have we been caught by the Thousand Slaughter Valley guys?”

I stopped my hand reflexively.

Nan-cheong also held her breath.

We looked at each other and quietly shifted our gaze to the gap in the stone door.

Torchlight flickered from the cave entrance.

Several shadows flickered on the wall.

The voices of five… or perhaps more people were heard.

I felt a particularly strong energy from one of them.

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

My heart was pounding.

“Early stage of first-rate… no, more than that.”

At Nan-cheong’s whisper, I swallowed hard.

It was an event that I couldn’t see in the game.

This was an unexpected development.

I carefully watched their figures through the gap.

Was it an event from the Erotic Martial Arts game?

There was a good chance.

It was almost three times larger in capacity than the original, so there might be events I didn’t know about.

But… this could just be a natural occurrence in this world.

Not a game event, but a real martial arts event.

“Judging by their attire, they’re members of the Bloodhand Clan.”

I pricked up my ears at Nan-cheong’s mutterings.

“Bloodhand Clan?”

“Yes.

They are the Thousand Slaughter Valley’s rival faction.”

Meanwhile, the voice coming from the gap continued.

“Geez, Ratty was cute, those cruel bastards.”

“Well, the artificial spirit beast project was sluggish anyway.

Maybe it was better to stop at this point.”

“Well, it’s hard to cause chaos in the Thousand Slaughter Valley with a half-baked spirit beast like this.”

“So, is the attack date still the same?”

“Yes.

In fifteen days.

Let’s attack all at once then.

According to the spy, that day is the perfect time.”

I glanced at Nan-cheong next to me.

Her face had turned pale.

It was only natural.

It was shocking that there was a spy inside the Thousand Slaughter Valley, and that there would be a large-scale attack soon.

Judging by their tone, it didn’t seem like a simple attack this time.

They clearly intended to destroy the Thousand Slaughter Valley altogether.

I thought that this information we had accidentally heard might be important information on which the fate of the Thousand Slaughter Valley depended.

“What is the power of the Bloodhand Clan?”

I asked Nan-cheong in as small a voice as possible.

“It’s probably similar to the Thousand Slaughter Valley.

No… it might be a little stronger.

I said it was similar because it was our Thousand Slaughter Valley people who said it.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

A faction stronger than the Thousand Slaughter Valley?

And if there’s even an internal spy…

This is fcking bullsht.

The spirit beast rat we killed was part of their plan, and an even bigger plan was coming in fifteen days.

“Even so, it probably won’t be a big difference.

If we know about their attack plan first and deal with it, we can greatly weaken their power.

And…”

“And?”

She paused for a moment before opening her mouth in a hopeful voice.

“If we take this information, the Valley will reward us.

Maybe, maybe… we might get into the Gwiyeong Hall.”

Her eyes sparkled.

Her usual cold expression was gone, and she was filled with girlish excitement.

“Gwiyeong Hall?”

“Yes.

It’s our Valley’s training group.

All seventeen special assassins are graduates of the Gwiyeong Hall.”

I nodded.

Gwiyeong Hall… I seemed to have heard of it, but I wasn’t sure.

“What do they give you if you get in there?”

“Not only can you learn the Thousand Slaughter Valley’s secret techniques, but if you study there for three years, they say they’ll give you a spirit medicine that greatly helps you advance from 2nd class to 1st class.

It’s everything I can dream of right now.”

In her eyes, which were shaking in the torch light, was full of desperation.

It wasn’t the cynical Nan-cheong of usual, but just an ordinary girl talking about her dream, which felt somehow strange.

Thinking that this side wasn’t bad either, I turned my gaze away.

But now wasn’t the time to be immersed in her dream story.

Step, step-

Footsteps were getting closer.

Sweat was running down my back.

“That stone ruin over there seems a little different.”

My heart almost stopped at that moment.

A sharp voice continued.

“That stone door couldn’t be opened with force.”

“But there’s some kind of trace.

We should investigate it.”

“Ugh… ugh…”

I could hear groans trying to open the door.

Fortunately, the rest of the group was still far away.

If that guy succeeds… we’re done for.

We’ll have to face a group with a 1st class expert.

Rather than that… I swung my sword.

There was no need to hesitate.

Because I had already made the best choice.

My sword and Nan-cheong’s sword flew through the gap in the stone door at the same time.

The guy trying to open the stone door was at the 2nd class level, similar to us.

He was so distracted by opening the stone door that he didn’t even feel our sword energy.

“Kuok!”

With a short groan, swords were stuck in his neck and chest.

Nan-cheong’s sword pierced his neck, and my sword pierced his heart.

Without even reacting, he died on the spot.

I heard footsteps again.

One more guy was coming.

I held my breath.

Nan-cheong did the same.

But the situation was not good.

That guy was examining the corpse from a distance.

It was a distance that Nan-cheong’s sword couldn’t reach.

“Wh-what is this…”

The man’s voice trembled.

Even in this darkness, he seemed to sense the death of his comrade.

“We were completely…”

Before he could finish his words, I moved.

The long sword I had just obtained from the stone chamber flashed in the darkness.

Thwack-

He, who was distracted by the death of his comrade, couldn’t avoid my sword.

But this time it wasn’t perfect.

I felt the sword pierce his stomach, but I didn’t pierce his heart or forehead to kill him instantly like before.

“Enemy!

Enemy!”

His scream echoed through the cave.

I quickly retrieved the sword, but they seemed to have already noticed our presence.

Under the glittering torchlight, their energy could be felt.

The energy of the one in the front was especially different.

Early stage of 1st class.

The other two were at the 2nd class level, similar to us, but that alone was threatening enough.

We were at a disadvantage in both numbers and skill.

“Damn it!

Everyone, draw your swords!”

A woman who seemed to be the leader of the enemies shouted.

Her voice was full of anger and killing intent.

I looked at Nan-cheong with cold sweat.

Her expression also showed tension.