Ch.52Ruins of Another World

A peculiar place. Seo-rin thought as she walked. The corridor stretching before her was a path leading to some destination. It clearly had a purpose, designed to reach that place. Yet everything that appeared along the way seemed intent on preventing entry.

The steel blades jutting from the floor were mere child’s play. When she accidentally triggered an invisible thin line, arrows flew at her with the speed of light, and stepping on the wrong sunken tile sometimes caused the ceiling and floor to instantly meet.

A faint fragment of memory stirred in her mind. It was from a book she had read while studying with Flora.

Before the Empire established itself in this land, the world was said to be filled with chaos. The cycle of nations rising and falling led to plundering that scattered vast treasures across the world.

Some people created places called dungeons to protect their acquired treasures. They piled up enormous wealth, waiting for the day they might return, or hoping their children would come to claim it.

Naturally, they wouldn’t welcome outsiders. Dungeons were equipped with various security measures to drive away intruders.

This place must surely be one of those dungeons.

But why had that reincarnator sent her here? The look in their eyes and their confident demeanor before disappearing suggested this situation was intentional.

‘Could they be trying to give me the treasure…?’

No, that’s impossible. Reincarnators are the type who consider human lives utterly insignificant in their quest to regain their former power. Seo-rin drew her sword, suppressing the rising flames within her.

*Shing-*

The torchlight scattered softly across the blade’s surface. Seo-rin watched the figure slowly approaching from beyond the corridor.

Though it had a human form, it wasn’t human. It lacked any sense of vitality, and its exposed body was made entirely of cold metal.

‘A doll.’

Its internal organs were similarly artificial. Oil flowed instead of blood, and gears replaced red viscera.

This was already their second encounter. Seo-rin pointed her sword at the approaching doll.

*Creeeeak-*

Rusty gears rotated, creating a harsh noise. Having received no human maintenance for ages, its joint movements were unnatural.

The doll, which had been approaching with creaking sounds, suddenly stopped. This was one of the precursors to an attack. Steel dolls took considerable time to recognize their targets.

Seo-rin didn’t wait for the doll to attack. She rushed forward and swung her sword. Her body, enhanced by mana, accelerated at tremendous speed, unleashing a fierce slash.

*CLANG-!*

Steel dolls were different from humans. Most attacks targeting vital points that would work on humans were ineffective, but there were vulnerable spots.

‘I need to aim for the joints.’

After striking the doll’s chest with her sword, she retrieved it while spinning half a turn in place. The retrieval and attack happened simultaneously as Seo-rin’s body whirled around to strike the doll’s right hand.

*CLANG-!*

The doll’s swordsmanship wasn’t particularly impressive. Its movements were slower than Seo-rin’s. The only problem was its sturdy durability.

*Clang-! CLANG-! TANG-! Ting-!*

Her small feet moved busily, leaving numerous footprints around the doll. Seo-rin’s tiny body moved quickly through the swirling dust, hammering at the steel doll’s body.

Seo-rin felt bored fighting the steel doll. Its swordsmanship was formulaic. It lacked the clever moves occasionally shown by living swordsmen. It only performed predetermined actions at predetermined moments.

There were many benefits to crossing swords with living swordsmen. The irregular attacks and new sword techniques provided experiences that became the foundation for Seo-rin’s growth.

For Seo-rin, who craved faster growth, steel dolls were the worst opponents.

*CRUNCH-!*

The steel doll collapsed after allowing a final blow. Its arms and legs dangled as rusty gears rotated, but it could no longer move due to the White Dragon Sword’s blade lodged in its center.

Seo-rin twisted the sword in that position. Like cutting through human muscle and bone, she completely shattered the mechanisms inside. A normal sword would have been damaged, but the White Dragon Sword still maintained its sharp edge.

‘It’s getting progressively more difficult…’

Seo-rin thought as she retrieved her sword and looked down the corridor. The dungeon’s difficulty increased as she advanced. Traps appeared more frequently, and the steel dolls became slightly stronger.

It was as if the dungeon itself was asking a question: How far can you go?

‘Was it to clear a path…?’

By now, the reincarnator’s intentions were becoming vaguely visible. Perhaps they were planning to use her to conquer the dungeon.

As Seo-rin progressed smoothly through the dungeon, she arrived at a spacious area. At the same time, her advance was blocked by a doll sitting in the middle of the large room.

It was indeed a doll made of steel, but its appearance differed from the previous dolls. It held a massive greatsword and wore black armor that hadn’t rusted despite the passage of time.

There was something unusual about it. Around its neck hung a small necklace with a peculiar design, featuring something like elongated steel needles.

Since it wasn’t a living being, she couldn’t gauge its skill. However, Seo-rin instinctively felt that the opponent before her wouldn’t be easy.

As evidence, pure white skeletons were scattered around the doll. Dented armor, broken spears, and even rotted magic wands. Various other weapons were strewn about the room.

These were traces indicating that many people had reached this room in the past only to lose their lives.

[Foo… lish one… Turn back.]

Seo-rin was startled by the sudden voice while surveying the room. She hadn’t expected the doll to speak.

“Can you communicate…?”

[Foo… foolish… foolish…]

Though she asked a question hoping for a response, all that came back was an empty cry. Like the dolls that had appeared before, it merely repeated predetermined lines.

The doll only repeated its lines without attacking, giving Seo-rin time to examine her surroundings. She shifted her gaze to look behind the doll.

A massive iron door stood there. There was a path forward. Seo-rin cautiously moved along the wall, keeping an eye on the situation.

[Turn back… turn? back…]

The doll merely continued repeating the same words. As long as she didn’t approach too closely, it wouldn’t attack. That’s what she thought as she gradually moved closer to the iron door.

*Creeeeak-*

An ominous gear sound came from the seated doll. The repetitive voice also stopped. Seo-rin swallowed dryly and tightened her grip on her sword.

*THUD-!*

As the massive doll stomped the ground, Seo-rin sprang forward. She dashed quickly toward the door, trying to open it.

*THUNK-!*

“Ugh…!”

Despite pushing with considerable force, the door didn’t budge. Seo-rin had to quickly move away from the door as a massive greatsword stabbed down where she had been standing.

*WHOOSH-!*

*CLANG-!*

It was more like a huge bludgeon than a sword. The girl’s body moved lightly, quickly flying away. She regained her center of gravity by touching the floor, her lower body rotating slightly before firmly planting her feet.

The greatsword followed her movements but only cut through empty space.

Rather than recklessly attacking, she focused on evasion to understand the doll’s attack patterns. This was the right decision. This doll was qualitatively different from the previous ones.

Its movements were smooth, and its attacks varied. Even when similar situations were created, it didn’t repeat the same actions.

‘I would have been in trouble if I had underestimated it…’

Fortunately, its speed was slow.

*WHOOSH-!*

Just as Seo-rin was about to duck to avoid the greatsword as before, there was a *creeeeak-!* sound as the doll’s chest opened, and a sharp flash shot out from within.

*THWACK-!*

“Urgh…!”

One hit her shoulder, and one hit each thigh. They were thick steel needles that flew at her before she could dodge. Seo-rin hastily retreated and examined her wounds.

The pain wasn’t too severe. The White Dragon Heart Technique she was using dulled the physical pain. She couldn’t hastily pull them out due to bleeding. Since they didn’t restrict her arm and leg movements, they wouldn’t hinder her fighting for now.

Seo-rin exhaled softly and raised her sword. Holes had been punctured in her precious younger sibling’s body. The flames of anger swirling within her instantly grew larger.

***

“Where are we?”

“It seems to be a dungeon…”

Envy and Shave muttered as they looked around. It was a dungeon built during an indeterminate period. Even the characters engraved on the walls couldn’t be interpreted.

“The flow of the power system is strange…?”

The flow of the power system was indeed strange, as Envy said. Shave spread his mana throughout the dungeon to examine its flow. It didn’t follow the format of ancient dungeons. Nor was it like modern dungeons.

“Could it have come from another dimension?”

“That’s impossible…”