Chapter 194

Chapter 194: Secret Room

Secret Room
Chapter 194. Secret Room
The second exploration began, and the three groups scattered.
Ferda, who had thought of joining Rize’s team, had no choice but to advance along the right path again.
The method of movement was different from before.
It was a method where two people moved while facing each other’s faces.
The two adventurers faced each other, and Ferda and the Armored Knight moved while looking at each other.
«I’m nervous».
Valdrova thought inside the armor.
That emotion had started as excitement upon seeing Ferda’s face at first.
Those eyes, so terribly cold to anyone other than Valdrova, sent shivers down her spine.
She had thought those two emotions would torment Valdrova.
Yet what she felt upon facing him was different.
«Ferda-san’s face… looks incredibly tense».
Incredibly in pain.
Her five senses instinctively gathered every fragment of information about Ferda.
Ragged breathing and a heartbeat faster than normal.
Sweat droplets forming even though he was only walking a little.
Shouldn’t she let him rest a bit?
— Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit?
As if reading her inner thoughts, the other adventurer spoke.
— I’m fine. I won’t slow you down.
Ferda firmly refused.
He downplayed it, saying it was just momentary pain.
Yet that was not true.
Valdrova could tell.
That what made him suffer grew as time passed.
It wasn’t that Ferda himself didn’t know either.
It meant there was a yearning to find something no matter what.
«What on earth is he trying so hard to find?»
Does he have to find it even while making such a pained face?
Valdrova remembered what Ferda had said.
— I’m sorry.
When those lumps looked at Ferda, he had said that.
She couldn’t understand what Ferda had to apologize for.
She wished there were at least a clue to guess, but she didn’t know.
Valdrova had also seen that trauma.
Yet it was just a lump with large eyes, and even when it looked at her clearly, she didn’t react like the others.
Her heart ached subtly, but it was not painful.
If there was something she could do, she just wanted to do it all.
Yet she knew she couldn’t while surrounded by this hard armor.
That must be why her heart aches so much.
«If I… came out, would he be happy?»
Ferda always wanted to meet her.
Should she take off the armor right now and tell him she’s here?
Then wouldn’t Ferda-san be able to smile even a little?
«Or would I become a hindrance to Ferda-san instead?»
He might get angry.
Why are you in a dangerous place like this?
Instead of comforting that worried heart, it might hurt Ferda even more.
Is there nothing she can do for him as the Armored Knight?
She couldn’t figure it out with her head.
Meanwhile, Ferda, desperately concealing his suffering, thought.
«It’s still bearable for now».
The anguish of not being able to shake off the thoughts; he could divert it toward his surroundings.
Just walking while staying alert to the dangerous situation like now was enough to hold back.
Yet if there was something that bothered him,
«As expected, this type of armor…»
At first he thought it was just the sense of distance that bothered him and that it would get better, but not at all.
He kept seeing Valdrova’s figure in that armor.
Something absolutely impossible.
Her build is smaller and more feminine than his.
«No… there was a time when that wasn’t the case».
When she arrived wearing the dragon armor, she was much taller than Ferda.
How tall was she?
Roughly the same height as this guy, wasn’t she?
«…Strangely similar?»
Smack!
— Ugh!
— Why are you doing that?
The startled adventurers turned their heads to look at Ferda.
Because Ferda had struck his own head hard.
— I couldn’t regain my senses, so I gave myself a little punishment.
— Ah, is that so…?
Faces full of reproach for frightening people over something useless.
Not long after walking like that, they arrived at their destination.
— We’re here.
The place they headed to was the study Ferda had visited before.
It was the closest place, and there was also information that they could safely collect rewards there.
— Are you sure there is a magical tool here?
An adventurer asked Ferda.
— Compared to when I heard the explanation of Gyeonghui Palace, this is definitely the place.
Gyeonghui Palace was a training hall that had cultivated talents in the way of ‘Do’.
And the name of this study Ferda had just reached was called Boyangsil.
Unraveling the meaning, it meant a room that fills Yang energy, and the hidden meaning was that Yang energy was nothing other than mana.
In other words, a room that fills mana.
It was undeniably a room where books for the mana training hall were gathered.
— If one goes to a magic tower or academy, they place mana tools for training. Based on experience, they will definitely be there.
He said ‘definitely’, but Ferda wasn’t sure either.
Yet they say that when persuading someone, one must assert it strongly.
The adventurers who didn’t believe in that certainty finally gave in to Ferda.
— Then let’s search the room.
They began searching to find what each desired.
The two adventurers scanned the entire room, and Ferda mainly examined the books.
Ferda recalled two characters in his head.
They were what Erica, who knew a bit about eastern characters, had urgently taught him.
«Ae and Ron»
Ae meant love, and Ron meant something dealing with a topic, she said.
«Among what I picked, there is the mana circuit theory».
Ferda first went to where he had pulled that book and examined it intensely.
Yet the more he pulled out and read a few more books, the less he understood.
«They don’t look like books on magic theory…»
The format of magic books is mostly similar.
Magic circles or runes are drawn, and the shapes of spell formulas are explained.
To Ferda, who had seen many books of that structure, these books filled only with text still felt unfamiliar.
«It can’t be helped».
He had no choice but to take them to someone who could interpret these characters.
Coincidentally, Ferda had someone who could translate all the contents of this book.
«Mori».
The eastern mystery does not reach even the power of the Library of All Things, but if it’s the real thing, she will definitely be able to interpret it.
Ferda decided to pull out and take all the books with those characters.
Of course, it was just his heart getting ahead of itself.
Once he exceeded ten volumes, his arms began to tremble.
«Useless body».
Then the Armored Knight gently extended his arm.
Seeing that gesture, he asked.
— Are you trying to carry them?
Nod.
— …Please do.
He didn’t like the Armored Knight, but it wasn’t a lie that he was reliable.
Thanks to that, he managed to pack more than 50 books that he couldn’t carry alone.
— Huh?
One of the adventurers who had been searching the room with the determination to obtain a magical tool spoke.
He said in an excited voice.
— There’s a crack here!
Ferda stopped searching for books and moved over there.
The adventurers carefully opened the crack using tools.
Stairs leading underground were revealed.
It was a moment when smiles bloomed on the faces of the two adventurers who had seen terrible illusions.
— If it’s a place like this, there will definitely be something the lord of the palace or key figures hid in secret!
— If we just get a magical tool, all this damn hardship…!
Yet that was brief.
That terrible illusion repeated itself, making their steps falter again.
What if that bastard is down there?
At the end of the silence where they only watched each other’s expressions, the sound of clinking plate armor moved forward.
The Armored Knight stood at that entrance.
— Do you mean you’ll enter first?
He nodded his head.
Normally, he would have stopped him saying it could become more dangerous.
Yet they already know the fear of the illusion that trauma brings.
Right now, among the three in this group, the only one who doesn’t know the fear of the illusion that trauma brings is this Armored Knight.
How did he escape that trauma?
— Understood.
The adventurers yielded to him.
Then Ferda also followed him.
— Still, going alone is risky, so I’ll cover your back.
Nod.
Thus, forming a pair, they went down the stairs.
The depth was considerable.
Yet there was none of that damp, unpleasant sensation unique to underground places.
There was no doubt.
Down here is a place managed just as thoroughly as the outside.
At the end of the stairs, they encountered a single stone door.
When the Armored Knight pushed it to the side, it opened slightly, and Ferda quickly scanned the surroundings from outside.
Even after he entered, there was no reaction from the mana.
The Armored Knight also looked around and drew a large circle with both hands.
“I don’t know what kind of room it is, but it doesn’t look like there are magical tools.”
Ferda only hoped there would be books useful to him.
Ferda followed the Armored Knight inside.
It was then that it happened.
When they reached the center of the room, Ferda felt the flow of mana.
Thud!
At the same time, the stone door they entered through moved, trapping them.
Ferda urgently ran over there.
He tried to open the sliding stone door again, but the door didn’t budge an inch.
— Damn it… Can you open it?
Ferda stepped back, and this time the Armored Knight stepped forward to try to open the door.
Cr-creak—!
A sound of something cracking was heard.
— Stop!
From the ceiling, no less.
Dust and dirt falling; it was no ordinary sight.
— If we try to force it open, they intend to bury us alive.
A trap that doesn’t react when alone, but activates when two or more are present.
It’s a headache.
He didn’t even imagine a trap with such a structure.
— What happened?!
The adventurers waiting outside came running and asked nervously.
— It seems a trap was triggered.
— Did you touch something?
— No. It seems like a trap that only activates when there are two or more people.
— What, such a trap?
— Damn it… whatever it was, we should have gone in to check…
— Probably, you guys wouldn’t have been able to do anything either.
Even Ferda, who was sensitive to traps, was caught helplessly.
— Is there no way to get out of here?
There are two adventurers of Gold rank or higher.
He was sure they would have an answer.
— From what we see… there doesn’t seem to be a way to open it from here.
No, he didn’t think so. Just a bunch of boastful bastards.
— We’ll call Captain Eri. Can you wait without touching anything until then?
— Understood.
The sound of them moving away is heard.
Silence enveloped Ferda.
A silence that reminded him of distractions.
Ferda said nothing.
For now, he decided to endure.
— Regent-nim, are you there?
After a moment, a familiar voice was heard.
He never knew Erica could be so welcome.
— Yes, I’m here.
— How are you? Any difficulty breathing or anything?
Ferda answered with the information he had gathered to maintain his composure.
— Doesn’t seem like it. It’s a well-ventilated room.
— Doesn’t look like a place made to dry you to death. Any button or switch? Usually, an isolated room like that would have a backup device…
Ferda looked around again.
There was a bed, some books, and the Armored Knight.
— No devices around.
— That can’t be… anyway, search once more. While you do, we will investigate the secret of this room. Understood?
— Understood.
In the end, she didn’t have a clear solution either.
So I have to stay here until then.
Ferda sat on the bed.
The Armored Knight stood awkwardly in front of Ferda.
His whole body said he didn’t know what to do in this situation.
— You sit down too.
His body language asked if that was alright.
— If you waste strength uselessly in a place like this, you might get buried alive. When there is even a slight chance, you have to wait.
…Nod.
The Armored Knight spread out a spot and sat down just like that.
The room was too quiet.
Even the clinking sound of armor died down, so Ferda’s hearing amplified other senses.
“Damn it.”
The Shadow Circle was spinning.
That black, black thing, placed right beneath Ferda’s circle, tempted him endlessly.
He closed his eyes and tried to steady his mind.
Red hair with two pairs of horns.
That beautiful face revealed itself clearly once more.
And it distorted.
She holds out her heart to him.
“This is driving me crazy.”
He was caught in the illusion that trauma showed him.
Even knowing that magic no longer existed, his heart wouldn’t listen.
This is like thirst and hunger.
Just as one cannot keep enduring forever just by enduring, eventually the problem erupts.
And Ferda knew what form that eruption would take.
— It’s okay.
Soon, the voice tormenting Ferda was heard.
“What is okay?”
— You’re thinking of the person you love, aren’t you?
That voice making Ferda regret clearly tempted him.
— Grow that heart and become strong.
— Like a forge.
— Heat, hammer, temper, sharpen.
— That is how a sword is forged.
— A sword to protect that person.
— Kill, and kill.
— Until all of that person’s enemies disappear, and create a paradise for that person.
— Conquest is the only true peace.
“Shut up.”
Ferda regained a bit of sanity hearing those words.
Not creating enemies by killing and killing; that was something he only did when he was crazy a long time ago.
— Just a small sacrifice is enough.
— No, there could be much more sacrifice.
— You might even be hated by her.
— But you want to lessen the pain of the person you love, don’t you?
— You made that choice to lessen that pain, didn’t you?
“Get lost.”
— I can’t do that.
As it speaks, it arbitrarily drives fingers into Ferda’s chest.
— I told you. I will always be by your side.
And like dissolving rock sugar in black tea, it slowly toys with Ferda.
— Right now is when you must become strong.
Shadows moving on their own were visible.
The circle struck Ferda’s body like a swollen river in the midsummer rainy season.
They were moving the Shadow Circle on their own to reach a new realm.
— Move according to your destiny.
— And reclaim the power you had.
— Let’s go together again.
He couldn’t resist.
Cold sweat flowed, consciousness fading far away.
— Haa… Haa…
Yet he couldn’t faint like this.
These shadows were aiming for Ferda’s body.
There was no telling what would happen.
And he didn’t want to know either.
Ferda thought.
“How could I escape this painful regret?”
“I must not listen to this bastard’s words.”
To do that, he had to divert his mind elsewhere.
Not just divert it, but design it so it wouldn’t fit those bastards’ intentions.
“Ease the heart.”
“How could I do that?”
Ferda suddenly thought of the confession of the Alteshin religion.
It was the image of a priest lessening a believer’s sins as the believer told his sins to the priest.
Ferda really disliked that image.
Committing sins and wishing for salvation from God, not from the aggrieved party.
He didn’t know it then, but he knew it now.
If you don’t do even this, you go crazy.
Humans are that fragile.
Like Ferda right now.
While struggling alone, a gentle touch enveloped Ferda.
That softness startled Ferda.
“Valdrova.”
“Is she touching his cheek?”
No.
The Armored Knight wiped the sweat from Ferda’s face.
He didn’t convulse or scream.
Instead, he took that handkerchief and wiped himself.
The Armored Knight carefully returned to his place.
Ferda’s gaze watched him in silence.
That man’s actions were clumsy, but dignified at the same time.
Like a fortress that does not yield to any situation, dependable.
That was why the crumbling Ferda needed him.
— You…
Ferda forced his mouth open and asked.
— Are you the type of few words?