Ch.53Ruins of Another World

CLANG-!

Sae-rin’s expression twisted sharply. Unable to dodge the inevitable strike, she met it with her sword. Despite reinforcing her body with mana, she was greatly overpowered. The pain shooting through her right hand was tremendous, even though the White Dragon Heart Sutra was dulling it.

She immediately twisted the sword in her grip to deflect the force. With a scraping sound, the greatsword slid away, and the steel doll’s fist came flying in. The doll wasn’t just swinging its sword; its arms, legs, and occasionally weapons hidden within its body would spring out to pressure Sae-rin.

The steel doll’s body was itself an excellent weapon. When mere fabric-covered human flesh collided with a steel body, the outcome was obvious.

Sae-rin couldn’t stand her ground and had to continuously retreat. Even so, she kept swinging her sword. The extreme swift swordsmanship of the Taebaek Snow Dragon Sword allowed for numerous attacks even in that brief moment.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

The mana-infused sword strikes hammered the steel doll’s body in rapid succession, but there was no visible damage.

This opponent was difficult to handle. It felt like an insurmountable wall approaching. After one clash, there was a brief lull. The steel doll’s movements stopped.

When she went outside the room, it no longer pursued her. It seemed the doll’s recognition range was limited to inside the room.

“Huff…”

Sae-rin let out a long sigh and urgently began first aid. She took out potions and bandages from her bag and pulled out the metal needles embedded in her body. Blood gushed from the puncture wounds, but Sae-rin poured the potion over them.

The quality of supplies had improved considerably since she became an intermediate disciple. When the potion touched her wounds, new flesh grew with a hot sensation, instantly sealing them. It wasn’t completely healed—the potion had merely stopped the bleeding somewhat.

The wounds would easily reopen with vigorous movement. Sae-rin wrapped bandages around them.

‘The door is locked…’

The thick steel door wouldn’t budge when she pushed it. Seeing the keyhole under the handle, it was clear she needed to find the right key. Sae-rin’s gaze turned to the doll’s neck in the middle of the room.

The situation was clear: defeat the opponent, take the key, unlock the door, and proceed. With time to prepare, she would have the advantage. Sae-rin lowered her stance and closed her eyes.

To overlay the world manifested in her mind.

Crackle-

Numerous memories flashed by quickly. Various sword techniques emerged through memories imprinted by the sword.

Crackle-!

A clearer lightning bolt was engraved than before. Dark clouds gathered over the vast snowy field, beginning to pour down fierce lightning. The lightning took the form of a sword and struck down into the center of Sae-rin’s mental image.

RUMBLE-!

‘I can’t release mana… I need to use it differently…’

Mana that left her body would lose control and scatter. Then she would simply use all her mana inside her body. It would put great strain on her body, but there was no other way now.

THUMP-!

Her heartbeat accelerated. The mana racing through her body was infused with blue lightning. Sae-rin’s leg muscles expanded rapidly as she lunged forward.

The Lightning Flash Sword was faster than the Taebaek Snow Dragon Sword that Sae-rin primarily used. It converted internal mana into lightning to make bodily reactions faster.

It was different from before. The blue lightning flowing through her blood no longer caused pain. Her mana had greatly increased after consuming the spirit pill given by the Emperor. That wasn’t the only effect of the pill. Its precious medicinal properties had tremendously increased Sae-rin’s physical durability.

‘Now I can endure it.’

It was a sword technique she couldn’t use before because her body couldn’t withstand it. But that limitation was gone. Feeling the clear thunder resonating within her body, Sae-rin reached out.

Just as the blue lightning extending in a straight line was about to touch the doll’s necklace, the previously motionless steel doll reacted to Sae-rin’s movement and swung its sword.

WHOOSH-!

The greatsword slicing through the air seemed too slow. Blue lightning flashed beyond the small girl’s eyes.

The next moment, Sae-rin had passed the giant doll, and the heavy greatsword was cutting through empty space. She felt nothing in her hand. Just as she tried to grasp the key, it was suddenly sucked back into the doll.

“This is maddening…”

It meant the doll wouldn’t surrender the key unless defeated. She needed to change her strategy. Sae-rin pointed her sword once more.

***

“Envy. I think we may have made the discovery of the century.”

That was Shave’s conclusion after examining the dungeon interior. This dungeon had undoubtedly crossed over from another dimension. At first, he denied this fact. He had never heard of an entire space crossing dimensions before.

It wasn’t in the Magic Tower’s records either.

But he had to believe it. Everything around them, the traces they kept discovering, indicated that this dungeon was created in another dimension.

“Shouldn’t we find an exit first…? It’s nice that we discovered the dungeon, but our mission is to eliminate the reincarnator…”

“I haven’t forgotten. I was just momentarily impressed…”

Shave said this while examining the skeleton sprawled in the corridor. The worn and decayed clothing had only maintained its shape, but it was undoubtedly attire that didn’t exist in this world.

“What happened to that knight…?”

Envy sighed, recalling the small girl’s appearance. The two mages continued to examine the dungeon interior, advancing slowly. Their pace was extremely slow as they recorded everything they saw and heard in their notes, but they were steadily progressing through the dungeon.

That’s when it happened. The two could hear faint footsteps from beyond the dark corridor. Thud, thud—the stride was wide. It definitely wasn’t the footsteps of the girl knight who had accompanied them.

“Somehow I have a bad feeling…”

“I feel the same…”

The next moment, a man wearing a robe appeared from beyond the corridor. In his left hand was a sword made of ground bones, and in his right was a wand, a mage’s weapon.

“Envy…”

“Yes…”

“Don’t stop!”

The two ran toward the end of the corridor without looking back.

***

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!

Each time the girl’s body blurred, dents appeared on the steel doll’s body. It was so sturdy that blades couldn’t cut it. Sae-rin had to swing her sword like a blunt weapon.

“Ugh…”

As time passed, it was Sae-rin who began to falter. The steel doll wasn’t a living human. As long as it had power, its stamina was infinite. Unlike Sae-rin who was growing tired, the steel doll remained largely unchanged from the beginning.

CLANG-!

Was it due to her diminishing strength? Or perhaps the accumulated damage? While swinging her sword at the heavy greatsword, Sae-rin lost her grip on the White Dragon Sword. Her desperate gaze scanned her small hand.

She felt no pain, but her right hand was trembling. Her physical abilities had greatly deteriorated due to the accumulated impact. It was both an advantage and disadvantage of the White Dragon Heart Sutra. Without feeling pain, she couldn’t detect abnormalities in her body.

Her restless gaze swept the surroundings. The distance to the White Dragon Sword was too far. She needed to dodge the incoming attack while simultaneously defending against the follow-up strike.

If she had been given a little time, she would have used the Lightning Flash Sword to escape, but that was impossible now.

“Hyah!”

She retreated and rolled on the floor. Sae-rin grabbed one of the old swords scattered around and swung it.

CLANG-!

Before the memory engraved in the sword could be transmitted, the hastily swung blade shattered like glass upon meeting the greatsword. Sae-rin retreated once more and grabbed another sword.

A similar pattern repeated afterward. She moved her tired body, trying to leave the room as much as possible. When necessary, she grabbed fallen swords from the floor to protect herself.

‘Memories…’

The memories transmitted through the blessing lasted only for a very brief moment. They were cut off as soon as the sword broke. Some swords sent sword techniques, others the culture of different dimensions, food recipes, or the life stories of their owners. The mixed memories in those brief moments made Sae-rin’s mind hazy.

Too many memories were transmitted at once. But she couldn’t stop moving. She couldn’t withstand the steel doll’s attacks without a weapon.

Dream haze.

Everything felt like a dream. Her consciousness drifted away, and her physical sensations grew dim. Swimming through countless memories, Sae-rin began to lose herself. At some point, she was a nobleman from another dimension, and at other times, a wanderer.

What began to move Sae-rin’s body was the most intense memory. The memory transmitted through an old blue steel sword guided Sae-rin’s body.

She held her breath and read the opponent’s movements. As soon as she confirmed the greatsword passing over her head, she stepped forward with a large stride. Hidden weapons emerged from the steel doll’s body, but they weren’t much of a problem.

The girl’s body rotated smoothly, deflecting all attacks directed at her.

Her hand slowly advanced to touch the steel doll’s chest. At that moment, enormous mana racing from her heart was released toward the steel doll. There was no direct sound. No mana was wasted. Sae-rin’s mana, transmitted through the point of contact, disrupted the steel doll’s internal structure.

In her hazy mental state, Sae-rin envisioned a massive vortex.