In an instant, my mind turned blank, devoid of any thoughts. I realized my heart was racing from the slight roughness of my breath. Despite seeing it with my own eyes, I blinked once in disbelief and checked again. There were still only six signals.
Not much time had passed since we entered the pyramid. It was too soon for someone to have died.
Who could it be?
The American team? Or the Korean team?
It didn't seem likely that the American team, composed entirely of near S-Class members, would have suffered casualties so early on. Even if it was their first time in the pyramid, they had ample combat experience from dealing with massive rifts and catastrophe-class events. How could they have died so quickly?
The same was true for Yihyun. It seemed unlikely that someone of his renowned skill would die so soon, darkening Kang Sihyun's expression. After ruling out the rest, only Jihye and Haeun were left.
"…Could it be a malfunction?"
I muttered, nibbling on my lips, pale and shaken. I wanted to deny the situation. Wanting to ignore the creeping sense of dread and unease, I scratched my neck until it hurt, noticing blood under my fingernails. It seems I had scratched too hard without realizing.
The sight of my blood made me feel even more ominous, with every hair on my body standing on end.
It couldn't be.
It shouldn't be.
It had to be a mistake.
I would have preferred it a thousand times over if it were just a mechanical failure. Perhaps the machine was smashed for some reason and failed to recognize the biological signals. It had to be just that.
Otherwise.
If one of them really had died here.
"…Damn it."
Perhaps I had picked up swearing from Hamin. Shocked and unable to feel the difficulty of the situation anymore, Kang Sihyun straightened up from leaning against the wall. His legs didn't tremble; it felt as if his body had been overtaken by his emotions.
There was no time to lean against the wall and catch my breath. Whether the biological signals spoke the truth or lied, I had to find Jihye and Haeun first.
Needing to see with my own eyes whether the machine was broken, Kang Sihyun looked around. The basement, devoid of any light, was pitch-black. It was hard to move forward without knowing where Jihye could be, let alone where safety lay. Retreating seemed futile as the ceiling had collapsed, blocking the way back. His expression twisted in frustration at the deadlock.
I had never felt this anxious and restless before.
Think.
There's always a way out, even if the sky falls. Trying to widen his narrowing vision with excitement and anxiety, Kang Sihyun took a deep breath and pondered a solution.
Finding Jihye and Haeun was the top priority.
Although we had come to explore the pyramid, their safety was more important than anything else. I couldn't lose them over stubbornness to discover something in a place we could re-enter anytime.
Above all, hadn't I promised the kids I would return safely?
I had told Down I would take care of everyone without missing a single person. Remembering the look of trust Down had given him, Kang Sihyun punched the wall. The bang and the numbness on the side of his gripping hand didn't feel like much pain. It seemed like the thought that everything began with his complacency had numbed his senses.
I needed to be more cautious, more thorough.
If it was going to be dangerous, I should have come alone. It was wrong to bring the kids along like this.
Blaming himself, suddenly, Taeju's words came to mind. It seemed like his remark that we were just lucky no one had died before had planted the seeds for this situation.
Unable to be gentle in such a situation, he blamed the innocent Taeju and tousled his hair. Despite trying to find a way, no viable solution came to mind.
"If only I had telepathy among my copyable skills. Even if I had teleportation, I can't use it recklessly without knowing their location…"
If I had known it would be like this, I would have wrapped Haeun and Jihye in a sturdy protective shield before entering. If I had set up a protective shield, I could have connected my senses to it to know when it breaks and follow that location.
I couldn't feel as if everything happening was my fault. Regretting thinking this situation was too easy, I slowly started walking. I still had no sense of which direction to go, but I couldn't just stand there doing nothing.
Walking on the soggy ground for a while, at some point, I started to feel like I was walking in circles and began leaving simple marks on the wall through the protective shield. Using five steps as a measure, Kang Sihyun, not long after, found marks he had already made himself and took a sharp breath.
This situation was utterly messed up.
As if the headache-inducing situation wasn't enough, it seemed I had fallen into some bizarre trap.
Was it the work of an Irregular?
It didn't seem like I had triggered any specific mechanism. It felt as though my senses were deceived by something akin to a hallucinogen, causing Kang Sihyun to sigh and swing his staff, creating a spray of water.
Even if the environment or an Irregular could deceive my senses, it shouldn't be able to trick the movement of water. Water, when directed, flows in that direction. It seemed unlikely that the water would circle back to hit me in the back of the head, so sending the spray forward, as expected, the water flowed out like waves.
Watching the unobstructed flow of blue water, I moved forward. I didn't think about what the path looked like or what was on the walls. Using the direction of the water flow as a guide, I finally reached a wall unmarked by my previous signs.
Continuing through in the same manner just in case, I came upon a fork in the path. There were two directions, but choosing the right led to a dead end, which made Kang Sihyun frown.
If it was going to block the path anyway, why make a fork in the path at all?
It felt like I had walked for about 10 minutes, but with no progress, the thought that Haeun and Jihye might be dying while I wasted time aimlessly made it hard to stay calm.
With every minute urgent, I ran back the way I had come. The distance that had taken 10 minutes to walk was covered in just 4 minutes by running. After catching my breath a couple of times, Kang Sihyun entered the left fork.
Relying on a miniature of sacred light to navigate the dim passage, it wasn't long before I saw two large platforms stretched out in front of me.
The two platforms lay side by side horizontally, leading to a flat area that soon returned to another set of platforms.
"…This feels ominous."
One of the two platforms must surely be a trap. In manga or novels, there's usually a hint related to such traps engraved on the wall or ground, but there was nothing like that here.
It was as if it was saying to just go ahead and hit the trap.
If you die, too bad.
It was as if the trap was made rudely and unkindly without regard for my life.
"Whoever made this must not have a nice personality."
Grumbling about the unknown trapmaker, Kang Sihyun took a deep breath and stepped onto the left platform.
Click.
A sound as if something was stepped on made Kang Sihyun's eyes widen. Instinctively, he expanded a protective shield.
Shik!
Suddenly, holes opened in the wall, and several giant arrows were fired at me. Most of the arrows were blocked by the shield and fell, but the last arrow, after several attacks, penetrated the weakened shield and embedded itself in my arm. Thud, my vision blurred at the sound.
"Ugh!"
Gripping the arrow that had burrowed deep into his arm, Kang Sihyun groaned. In an instant, his vision blurred, and cold sweat broke out. It seemed the arrowhead had been coated with a strong poison.
Complaining of pain and barely able to move properly, I forcibly removed the arrow and used purification and healing skills. Thankfully, being imprinted as a Healer class, if I hadn't had healing skills and had come alone, I would have surely died in this trap.
Barely escaping the poisoned state, Kang Sihyun steadied his wobbling body, wiped off the cold sweat, and checked the remaining path. Looking at the number of platforms left, it seemed I had to make at least six more choices.
After hitting a dud on the first trap, if the remaining six platforms were also duds, even I might not make it. Failing to react properly and dodge could endanger my life. I hated gambling, but given the situation, it seemed I had no choice but to gamble with my life.
My body trembled with tension. Trying to ignore the trembling that reached the tips of my toes, I stepped off the platform onto solid ground and looked back. Several arrowheads, dangerously sharp, lay on the ground. Even in the darkness, the arrowheads shone sharply. Watching them, Kang Sihyun moved towards the remaining platforms.
Given this trap, it seemed the path I chose wasn't wrong. Thus, even if the path was dangerous and arduous, I couldn't turn back. With that thought, the moment I stepped on the second platform.
Creek!
A sound of something turning was heard, and then fire poured down from above. Panicked, Kang Sihyun reflexively created a water spray, shielding his body from the descending column of fire. Surrounding himself with water, not just coating but almost drowning in it to pass the second platform, it wasn't long before the blazing column of fire extinguished. Gazing blankly at the extinguished fire, Kang Sihyun checked the path he had traversed.
The walls and ceiling were charred from the fire, and the floor was soggy and mushy from the water. The trap felt almost like an ambush, causing his heart to race and fists to clench in silent fury.
Five platforms remained.
A part of him started to entertain the thought of giving up.
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