Chapter 28: Suspicious Barrier

I was once obsessed with adventure games.

Classic games where you explore the world and find hidden treasures.

One of the most important fun elements of such games, which have no special action, is solving puzzles.

Gimmicks like tilting a picture frame to activate a device and reveal a hidden room.

But looking around, this place is empty.

Such puzzle elements are not visible.

That said, it’s definitely not those obvious stairs.

Then there’s only one answer.

The floor.

I stomped my feet to check the floor.

Thud.

A normal dull sound reverberates.

Despite the passage of time, it was very solid, as if boasting of its firmness.

But.

‘Ah, my knee hurts.’

I tapped the floor with my foot, just like in the movies.

But my knee just hurt.

Eventually, I created a long rod with the Orb of Dreams.

And I went around tapping the floor.

Thud. Thud.

“…What are you doing?”

I felt Verno’s gaze looking at me strangely from the side.

But I ignored it and continued to repeat the same act.

Then finally.

Thump.

…Here.

I found a place that felt unusually different from other places.

And.

Only here the sound is different.

As if there is a space, a sound as if something is empty.

I was sure at once.

There’s something here.

Should I just do it?

Is it okay?

My body was heated with excitement for a moment.

I hesitated for a moment.

Breaking the floor is clearly property damage.

It could definitely be a problem later.

But more importantly.

There may be something unknown under here.

Whether it will be the precious treasure I want.

Or whether it will end in vain delusion, I don’t know.

It’s better to try and regret it, right?

I calculated in my head and came to the conclusion that there was nothing to lose.

“Verno.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“The place where I’m standing now, right? Break the floor here.”

“…What?”

Verno, who heard my words, looked at me as if he was dumbfounded.

“Are you joking…?”

“No? I’m serious.”

At first, Verno, who thought it was just a bad joke, gradually hardened as he saw my serious expression.

“No, why would you break a perfectly good floor?”

“I had a feeling.”

“What kind of feeling?”

“The feeling of a jackpot.”

“Yes…?”

“It smells.”

“It smells of treasure.”

I urged Verno with a determined expression.

And only then did Verno pick up his sword and take a position over the place I pointed to.

“Are you really doing it?”

“Hurry up.”

My heart is pounding with anticipation.

“Is this the taste of adventure?”

I looked at him with eyes full of excitement.

Soon, Verno’s sword, filled with mana, was raised high.

And.

Boom!

Thud.

The moment Verno’s sword hit the floor.

The whole building vibrated slightly, and a lot of dust rose.

“Wait a moment.”

Soon, the dust settled and I could see straight ahead.

Verno with his back to me.

And a large hole drilled in front of him.

I approached him with a very excited face.

“Young Master, your feeling was correct. It seems that the floor was originally open.”

“See. I told you my hunch was right?”

As I expected, a large hole that seemed to be empty.

It was engulfed in darkness as if the end could not be seen, creating an eerie feeling.

I looked around and picked up a completely broken piece of the floor.

And I dropped it into the hole.

-Tap.

The stone makes a sound with a very slight time difference.

I was gauging the time when I accidentally met Verno’s eyes.

“No. It’s dangerous.”

Verno’s eyes began to shake greatly, as if he had noticed what I was thinking.

“You don’t know what’s under here.”

His words are valid.

But that wasn’t enough to stop me, who was in a state of dopamine rush.

“What do you mean no?”

“…Young Master?”

I ignored Verno’s gaze and took a step forward.

And I began to be sucked into the hole.

“Young Master!”

Thud!

Behind the desperate voice from behind.

I felt a slight buoyancy and soon reached the floor.

“It’s dark.”

In the darkness where I couldn’t see an inch ahead, I took out the mana lamp I had brought in advance from the subspace in the mana bracelet.

Soon the lamp emits a bright light.

But even so, the surroundings did not brighten at all.

A feeling as if the darkness is eating the light.

It even felt a little creepy.

Of course, if I were alone, I would never have attempted such a reckless act.

But I know that if I go, Verno will definitely come too.

Thud!

“As expected.”

Not long after I fell into the hole, Verno immediately followed and arrived on the floor.

“…Sigh. Why am I here.”

If the employer tells you to do it, you have to do it.

“You have a lot of complaints.”

I ignored Verno’s complaints, which could be heard quietly from behind.

“Did you enter the dungeon last time in this reckless way?”

“…Maybe.”

“That was an accident.”

“A sudden accident.”

“How would I have known there was a dungeon there?”

“If I had known it was a dungeon then, I wouldn’t have even come close.”

Of course, thanks to a little hardship at that time, the mana problem was solved to some extent.

By the way, what is he talking about?

I scratched my head with an awkward face.

…Ah, right.

Come to think of it, it hasn’t even been a week, has it?

Because there was such a big incident in the meantime.

It feels like a month has passed.

Verno, who was still grumbling, started to follow me as I started to walk forward.

But then.

Tuk.

“Ugh…!”

…What’s that sound?

I turned my head at the strange sound I suddenly heard.

And only then did I find Verno, who had shrunk a lot.

It seems that he was surprised by the sound made by the stone I just kicked.

“You don’t like this?”

“Yes, I hate it.”

Verno honestly admits that he is not immune to fear.

A muscular adult man who emits aura from his sword

When I looked at him as if he was pathetic, Verno began to make excuses urgently.

“You can’t cut ghosts with a sword.”

“…That’s true.”

“Ghosts are formless beings, so they cannot be cut with a sword.”

But

There’s no such thing.

As I said many times.

“Ghost? I don’t think there’s such a thing in this world.”

…Maybe?

Thanks to Verno, I felt unnecessarily uncomfortable as I moved forward.

“Hmm? That’s…?”

I noticed something strange as I continued to walk and stopped in place.

Not far from here.

Unlike until now, when there was nothing, I began to see a silhouette of something lying on the floor.

I immediately walked towards it, intuitively feeling that it was something I had been hoping for.

Verno, who was carefully examining one wall blocked by a white membrane, said.

“It’s a barrier.”

Tsk, a barrier.

A barrier created using mana to prevent intrusion.

And.

A drawing of unknown identity drawn on one wall.

Even some models scattered around on the floor.

Perhaps it’s a method where the barrier on that side is released only when the puzzle here is solved.

‘It’s a puzzle.’

A puzzle I’ve seen a lot in games and comics.

And if I solve the puzzle, there will probably be a reward waiting behind it.

“Well, shall I try to solve it?”

Just as I was about to roll my head with great anticipation.

“Huh?”

I was trying to touch the barrier unconsciously.

I was embarrassed by my hand entering the barrier without any resistance.

“……?”

I just blinked at the absurd situation.

“How did this happen?”

I didn’t do anything, I just tried to touch the barrier.

But for some reason.

I passed through the barrier that looked solid.

I took my hand out and put it back in.

But as if it wasn’t an illusion.

My whole body went into the barrier smoothly.

A puzzle that someone probably worked hard all night to come up with.

The carefully prepared gimmick has become useless in an instant.

I felt empty and entered the barrier.

And I could find it.

“There’s a box over there?”

An old box decorated in a fancy yet neat way can be seen far away when passing through the barrier.

I walked towards it without hesitation.

And the moment I carefully opened the box.

Pop-!

“…? What was that just now?”

A very small amount of mana popped out for a moment.

I was startled and got ready for battle.

But.

Nothing happened.

Was it just an effect?

A gorgeous effect that usually greets you when you open a treasure chest.

I thought it might be something like that.

Because the mana I just felt was a very small amount.

I let go of my doubts and looked inside the box.

Inside it was-

“Shoes…?”

Inside the box was a single, extremely modern-looking sneaker.

Deep inside a cave.

A huge shadow breathed out hot breath and closed its eyes to sleep.

Pop-!

A faint wave of mana suddenly felt.

The huge golden pupil of the shadow that felt it began to open and shone quietly in the darkness.

…It’s been a while.

Some of the treasures he had hidden as a hobby in the past.

He just felt one of the seals break.

Eyes quietly lost in thought.

And then he spoke in a low voice.

“The Academy….”

The direction where the mana was felt just now.

Perhaps the person who solved his puzzle is there.

It feels like it’s going to be fun after a long time.

The huge shadow that shone its golden pupils closed its eyes again.