It’s crazy.
This is insane.
Jiang calculated the difficulty of this special training.
Rung Nosa.
Jiang’s mentor.
In the assassin training personally instructed by him, it’s a difficulty of no less than level 8.
A life-or-death level of difficulty.
One wrong step and you could be caught by the enormous strength of a mimic flying at you at an unthinkable speed, dragged into the stair block, or thrown off.
From a total of a hundred extremely high stairs.
And they’re positioned in a way that stepping on them can trigger serious trouble.
Even a casual throw could result in a broken bone, or in the worst case, a broken neck leading to instant death, and there’s an unknown trap lurking on the stairs.
There’s no doubt something terrible is going to happen.
Just looking at the treasure chests, you can tell that this place, Professor Bronze’s Secret Basement, has several doors openly resembling a treasure storage.
I don’t even want to imagine how gruesome the traps could be hiding on the stairs leading to the world’s number one rogue’s treasure vault.
“Oh, right.”
Professor Bronze cast a spell on one of the steps.
Bwoom!
Immediately, a giant hammer descended from the ceiling, passing right over a person’s torso before retracting back into the ceiling.
“Stepping on a different set of stairs than the ones you’ve just stepped on might trigger traps like that. Of course, this is just one example, and for the sake of enjoyment, I’ll keep the types of traps a secret.”
“Professor, that’s not fair. No matter what, Titosso got hurt way too badly.”
When Oknodie expressed his dissatisfaction in a slightly lowered voice, Professor Bronze chuckled lightly.
“There’s no treasure without danger. Always keep your suspicion intact. As the seventh rule of the Ten Commandments of Thieves, keep that in mind this time.”
If you see a box and gain something, it’s only natural that there’s a corresponding danger.
Oknodie didn’t hide his discontent with Professor Bronze’s philosophy but reluctantly nodded in understanding.
“Can I check on Titosso’s condition a bit?”
“It’s up to you when to start. You can only go back once the assignment is complete.”
Professor Bronze waved the key to the basement entrance conspicuously with his finger.
“As usual, the rules remain the same. Either achieve the assignment and leave confidently, sneak out like a thief, or become a disciple and officially gain entry.”
Oknodie approached Jiang and asked.
“How’s Titosso doing?”
“Mild concussion. Impaired judgment. Some bruises on the arms and legs, and the wrist bone that was caught is healing with a potion. Plus, there’s probably a newly developed fear of mimics.”
“Tito. Are you okay? Do you recognize me?”
“Hing… ing ing… Oknodie…”
“I’m sorry, Tito. I shouldn’t have brought you here. You must have been so scared.”
“I want to leave… don’t want to observe… want to leave…”
Professor Bronze, undeterred by the gazes of Oknodie and Jiang, enjoyably took a sip of mana-infused tea.
“Can we stop observing this special training?”
“If the enthusiasm of first years reaches this point, then it’s unavoidable. It’s rather unfortunate. You may go back.”
“Thank you.”
Just as Jiang was about to express his gratitude and leave, he quickly recalled a troublesome fact.
“…How do we get out?”
“Over there.”
The professor pointed to the stairs.
Jiang asked.
“Titosso, do you remember the safe stairs we took on the way here?”
“Not at all…”
“Oknodie.”
“I know the way but it’s not going to work.”
“Why?”
“The professor showed us the key, right? The door is locked.”
Jiang realized.
They were properly trapped in Rogue’s Trap.
Just because the professor allowed them to leave didn’t mean he would carry them out to the steps outside.
“Isn’t there a safe way out?”
“You’re not students simply observing my special training. You are first years who illegally entered an unauthorized area. I hope you understand that, by not getting punished, I’m being humanitarian toward first years.”
Titosso sniffled at the professor’s harsh words, but Jiang soothed Titosso’s head gently.
“Stop it. The professor is right. It was rude of us to apply to observe a rare class that’s a unique succession class. The fact that the professor put you in this painful situation is a warning not to act out of mere curiosity. We should be grateful to have survived leaving.”
“Sniff… I see…”
“Just rest a little bit longer. Either way, we have to go back using that stairway. Once Oknodie finishes the training, we can go back that way together. Oknodie will know the way to the safe stairs.”
Oknodie nodded in response to Jiang’s gaze.
As if to say, leave it to me.
And so Oknodie’s special training assignment, [Capture the Mimic Disguised as the Basement Stairs and Seal it in a Box], began.
*
Traps were being triggered left and right.
Just when you think things are alright, clunk, and arrows come flying out of the walls.
As soon as Jiang stepped on the edge of the stairs while deflecting a few of those, grrrr, part of the stair sunk in like a switch, and with a clack, a sturdy steel rod emerged from the floor.
The more he fumbled, the more likely he was to trigger a chain trap, inevitably leading to a dangerous combo that could cause significant injury.
In-game, it’s a special dungeon.
A daily quest dungeon that can be accessed twice a week.
[Stairs in Professor Bronze’s Underground Treasure Trove ③]
It felt like the difficulty level the professor had been slowly raising according to my level shot up roughly three levels.
‘It’s an event where you can get one point and one treasure, so I’ve been using it regularly.’
I know getting hit by traps brings peril.
But I can’t simply avoid them altogether.
The mimic is hidden among the stairs.
To find it, I must touch each and every one of the stairs.
‘Tch. Why did Titosso and Jiang come?’
The thought of a favorability event! led me to accept it, but I must admit I was also curious whether my comrades could earn points too.
It was impossible in the game, but now it felt like I had entered a reality modeled after it.
However, Titosso got really badly hurt.
‘Though I could take my time looking, now’s not the moment for that.’
Among the traps, there are some that emit paralysis gas.
There’s also a tool that collects that gas.
While stepping only on the safe stairs and spraying paralysis gas on each step, I would then capture the mimic while it’s disoriented.
That’s the conventional method.
Nevertheless, if Titosso is to recover fully without aftereffects, we need to get out of here quickly and send him to the Medical Building for treatment.
Jiang’s secret ointment or potion would help, but a concussion indicates it’s no minor injury.
It could lead to permanent damage.
While [Trauma: Fear of Mimics] could be brushed off as a joke, conditions like [Sensory Deprivation], [Intermittent Paralysis], and [Frequent Blinking] could easily occur, and they’re small but potentially fatal bodily abnormalities.
I can’t waste time in vain when I could treat it.
Above all, Titosso is a friend.
I can’t ignore a friend who got hurt while coming to watch my training.
“Fool. You’re going to get hurt too.”
“I know, okay? Just be quiet, Second Hat.”
“I don’t understand why you’re acting all good when you’re going to grow up to be something.”
True.
In the daily quest, you’re done for after stepping on a trap three times.
I won’t ever be able to call myself a veteran player again.
*
Normal stairs, empty stairs, trap stairs.
If you find regularity, you can locate the mimic stairs.
Amid the booming sounds of traps, Jiang discovered a mathematical pattern.
“Oknodie…”
“Shh.”
Professor Bronze warned.
“Oknodie must realize on his own. Hinderances to teaching will not be tolerated.”
“…Is it okay for a disciple to get hurt?”
“Surely you, a first year, must possess your own means of healing?”
Jiang couldn’t believe it.
“Then can you heal Titosso?”
“I can.”
“But you won’t because he’s an unauthorized intruder?”
“Good memory.”
Thank goodness Titosso, exhausted, had fallen asleep.
If he had known the professor would be this cold, he would’ve cried loudly beyond merely sniffing and whimpering.
Having previously heard Titosso’s stage-three cry of fright due to the Skull Instructor, Jiang didn’t want to hear that sorrowful lament again, which weighs on the heart even more than an assassin’s cold demeanor.
Oknodie likely shared the same sentiment.
Titosso was listening to Professor Sadako’s lecture too.
Maybe that’s why the speed at which the traps triggered kept increasing.
Oknodie began to suffer injuries as well.
Stepping on a timing trap with his shoe sole, blood flowed from his foot.
Jiang defended against a suddenly opening step with his fist and felt some blood run down the back of his hand.
While deflecting a barrage from the mimic, blood dripped from his hand as he brushed against a few too many.
Yet Oknodie continued onward.
As Jiang momentarily looked away, a stream of blood flowed from his head, and one of his legs limped.
“Shouldn’t the exam be halted at this point?”
“Oknodie? Calling for the exam to stop? Ha! You may be his friend, but you’re not his mentor. You don’t even understand why he’s getting hurt.”
“…You mean it’s not because of the exam?”
“Oknodie has already figured out the position of the mimic stairs.”
“Then he’s stepping on traps on purpose?”
Jiang’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Why would he do something so foolish?
That’s not something a person would do for their own safety.
It must be for someone else.
For Titosso.
‘He’s probably trying to break the traps ahead of time so he won’t fall into them while climbing the stairs with Titosso.’
Had I not insisted on observing Oknodie’s training, Titosso wouldn’t have been hurt, and Oknodie wouldn’t be and wouldn’t have to go through this either.
As Jiang squeezed Titosso’s hand, who had dozed off, a surge of power flowed through his grip.
