Chapter 154: Secret Area, The Forgotten Relics Of The Gods (2)


    Taesan picked up the broken arrow.


    [Self-Aware Arrow]


    [An arrow that moves on its own to protect its owner. Currently broken and unusable.]


    Taesan stared at the arrow intently.


    The ghost, noticing his gaze, sensed something.


    [What are you thinking about?]


    Doesnt it seem manageable?


    [Uh... Maybe. It''s possible, but it seems risky.]


    It looks worth trying.


    Taesan lifted his head.


    [You have activated Reconnaissance.]


    A skill that provides information within the users sight. Reconnaissance.


    However, nothing appeared.


    Considering the secret passage of the forgotten goddess didnt trigger Reconnaissance, it seemed rted items were immune to it.


    [You have activated Trap Disarm.]


    He activated Trap Disarm, but no window popped up. It was one of two possibilities: either there were no traps, or they were of such a high level that they didnt trigger Taesans skill.


    Taesan was sure it was thetter.


    He took a step forward. Simultaneously, an arrow sprung from the wall.


    Swoosh!


    The arrow, moving on its own and causing confusion in its path.


    Taesan focused his mind.


    [You have activated Mental eleration.]


    Reading the trajectory of the self-moving arrow was pointless. What mattered was the vision and reaction.


    Dodging arrows aiming for his limbs with barely any space to avoid, Taesan used his high agility to narrowly evade them all.


    Then, the movement of the arrows changed.


    They started flying towards Taesans blind spots.


    But Taesan was ready for that.


    His skill, Synchronization of the Eye, allowed him to see even beyond his field of vision.


    With the help of his enhanced sensory skills, he could block attacks from behind as if he could see them.


    An arrow flew towards Taesans shoulder de. He waited until thest moment and then swiftly turned.


    The arrow tried to change its course at thest moment, but Taesans dy prevented it.


    He caught the arrow in his hand.


    Then, the arrow started thrashing wildly. It struggled fiercely to escape Taesans grip. As the arrow slowly slipped away, Taesan said,


    Come.


    Chk!


    Whips coiled around his arm rose and engulfed the arrow.


    The arrow was fixed in Taesans hand. He exerted force and mmed it to the ground.


    Kwaang!


    The small passage vibrated.


    The ghost asked in a worried tone.


    [Isn''t the arrow going to be shattered?]


    It wont shatter.


    The arrow wasnt so fragile as to break from just that much force.


    Taesan exerted more force on the hand that had mmed the arrow to the ground.


    After struggling a few more times, the arrow calmed down.


    [You have obtained a Self-Aware Arrow.]


    Taesan loosened his grip.


    As he opened his hand, the arrowy quietly in his palm.


    The ghost was amazed.


    [You actually caught it.]


    Even to the ghost, the arrows movements were quick and unpredictable. Its speed wasparable to Taesans, and the wrong timing could mean not catching it until ones stamina ran out.


    But Taesan managed to catch it in less than 20 minutes.


    Taesan smiled.


    See, it worked.


    When he first discovered the secret room in Solo Mode, he encountered arrow traps.


    There, Taesan caught the flying arrows and used them effectively to catch a Giant Rat.


    The traps of thebyrinth became the property of the adventurer who captured them.


    Recalling this, Taesan had taken a gamble, and it paid off.


    Taesan examined the arrow.


    [Self-Aware Arrow]


    [Self-Aware Arrow]


    [Current owner: Kang Taesan]


    [User''s level is insufficient. Attack power: 1]


    Taesan threw the arrow. It hovered in the air on its own and began to circle around him.


    Taesans smile deepened.


    Not bad, right?


    An arrow that attacked autonomously without requiring his attention. Fast and powerful enough for Taesan to struggle to suppress.


    Although its attack power was very low, it was sufficient as a support. Even a slight annoyance to the opponent duringbat could change the oue.


    I should collect more.


    Taesan took another step forward.


    This time, two arrows appeared.


    As the arrows aimed at Taesan, the one under his control also moved, countering one of them.


    Thanks to this, Taesan could focus on the remaining arrow. He quickly shattered one and grabbed the other, mming it into the ground.


    He exerted force on the struggling arrow. After a few attempts, it finally stopped moving.


    [You have obtained a Self-Aware Arrow.]


    Good.


    That made two.


    Taesan smiled satisfactorily. But the fun wasnt over yet.


    The passage still had much more to offer.


    As Taesan proceeded, more arrows appeared.


    Two and three were the basics, and at the end, four arrows flew at him simultaneously.


    Ultimately, Taesan managed to capture a total of four arrows.


    Still not enough.


    Taesan looked at the arrows circling him with a nonchnt expression.


    Compared to the number of arrows that appeared, he hadnt caught many.


    The more arrows there were, the more chaotic thebat, leaving little room to grab and pin them down.


    [You should be satisfied with this. Look at your greed.]


    The ghost chuckled at Taesans demeanor. Self-Aware Arrows. They were akin to ego arrows.


    Self-aware tools or equipment were valuable in themselves.


    Taesan was currently wielding a whip-like wrist guard, which the store owner selling it had mentioned was equipment not usually found in these lower levels.


    The fact that he had managed to obtain four of them and stillined of it being insufficient was something the ghost couldnt fathom.


    [It seems like we''ve finished with the arrow traps?]


    It appears so.


    Whirr!


    In front of Taesan,rge disc-shaped des were moving in a semi-circr pattern.


    Quite orthodox.


    Following the arrow traps, there were de traps moving on fixed axes. They were the typical traps that anyone would think of.


    About ten des were moving at fixed intervals.


    Upon closer inspection, they were all moving slowly, and the gaps were wide enough that it seemed manageable to pass through them one by one.


    That cant be right.


    The arrows were sentient arrows. It was unlikely that the des would be ordinary.


    Taesan decided to experiment first.


    He threw himself into the path of the des. As he did, the speed of the des suddenly changed. Anticipating this, Taesan calmly raised his sword.


    ng!


    A heavy sensation was transmitted through the sword. He stepped back, but it wasnt an unstoppable force.


    Crack!


    The circr des began to rotate wildly. Sparks flew off the sword de as it was pushed back.


    It couldnt be blocked. Taesan quickly let the force on his sword flow away and leaped backward.


    Then, the axis of the de moved bizarrely, altering its trajectory. Taesan quickly blocked again but couldnt withstand the rotation and allowed a hit to his chest.


    [Your First Attack Immunity has been activated.]


    Hmm.


    Having escaped the trap, Taesan calmly organized the information.


    I cant block it.


    He could block the des force, but the subsequent rotation was the problem. The additional rotation was too quick to respond to, so he had to avoid itpletely.


    But with both the speed and trajectory changing unpredictably, evasion was not easy. Watching Taesan ponder, the ghost spoke.


    [Is it a bit risky to rely on attack nullification and charge in?]


    There are too many variables. Its unpredictable how the des will move. And the value of nullification is reduced in such mechanisms.


    The biggest advantage of attack nullification was not that the opponent returned to its pre-attack state but that it could be used to cause confusion.


    During that confusion, Taesans main strategy was to deal significant damage.


    However, mechanisms didnt have emotions. If they returned to a pre-attack state, they would simply operate again and attack.


    And its unpredictable anyway.


    Taesan still hadnt figured out the pattern of the des movements.


    Relying on attack nullification and charging in could lead to being trapped among the des without proper information, especially if all nullifications were used up.


    I have a mark, so I can escape using blink, but since attack nullification is limited in number, theres no reason to use it now.


    The ghost agreed and remained silent.


    After pondering a bit more, Taesan decided to try one more experiment.


    He thrust his sword towards the iing des.


    [You have activated Flow.]


    Just as the sword was about to touch the des, they twisted.


    The trajectory shifted in the twist, forcing Taesan to retreat, but he obtained the information he wanted.


    The des were susceptible to the Ability Sword.


    The judgment is looser than I thought.


    Sometimes, skills didnt activate on traps and mechanisms, so he checked, and the result was satisfactory.


    With this, the solution became clear.


    Taesan caught his breath. He changed his selfish choice from power to strength and stamped his foot.


    He had realized it when he used Flow just now.


    The rotation of the de was triggered when it touched the sword.


    So, if hepletely deflected the de, it would be resolved.


    [You have activated Strong Blow.]


    He swung his arm roughly towards the iing de.


    ng!


    Unlike before, where he merely blocked, the de was knocked away.


    As expected.


    With Strong Blow activated, he could push it to a manageable level.


    Taesan charged forward. The des moved chaotically, targeting him, but he avoided what he could and deflected the rest with his sword. What he couldnt avoid, he ignored with attack nullification.


    Thud.


    Taesan reached the end of the trap without allowing even a slight damage.


    It was a satisfying strategy. Taesan had a pleased expression.


    Its been a while since Ive done something like this.


    There were traps in the secret rooms on each floor, but with his current stats, they were meaningless. He could easily break the traps themselves.


    It had been a long time since he had to properly strategize through a trap.


    Taesan enjoyed such challenges.


    How far will they go?


    Taesan moved forward with anticipation.


    More traps continued to appear after that.


    Pressure tes that exploded upon touch, walls that crushed anything in their path, etc.


    Taesan perfectly overcame all of them using skills and items.


    The next trap was a that would rise and drag whoever triggered it into thebyrinth.


    Taesan first used an arrow to check the trap.


    Since being caught wasnt an attack, attack nullification didnt activate.


    There was no chance that a skill to disable immobility would work on such a.


    Checking if it could be cut seemed too risky, so Taesan started his strategy slowly.


    After checking various things, Taesan gathered multiple pieces of information.


    The ceiling opened, and the fell to the ground. The fallen pressed down hard.


    After a certain time, the ground would open, disappearing into thebyrinth.


    The trigger for the trap was impact.


    Even the slightest impact transmitted to the corridor would cause the to engulf the entire passage.


    Then, the solution was simple.


    Just avoid causing any impact.


    [You have activated The Deer Walking on the Wind Path.]


    He wrapped his body tightly with wind to prevent any impact from reaching the corridor.


    After increasing his agility with a skill, he stamped the ground.


    But the corridor was far. A single leap wouldnt be enough to reach it.


    [You have activated Mid-Air Leap.]


    So, one more time.


    He kicked through the air and flew.


    But even then, the corridor wasnt over.


    Almost half of it was still remaining.


    As soon as Taesans feet touched the ground, the ceiling opened, and the fell. Taesan quickly stamped the ground.


    He stuck as close to the falling ceiling as possible.


    [You have activated Mark.]


    And the moment the engulfed Taesan and touched the ground, he activated magic again.


    [You have activated Random Blink.]


    The mark fixed the position of Random Blink.


    Thanks to the mark on the ceiling, Taesans body, under the, moved above the.


    Since the was on the ground, stepping on it didnt cause the to fall again.


    He stamped the ground and used Mid-Air Leap again to reach the end of the corridor.


    However, Taesan did not pass through the corridor.


    He continuously triggered the corridor to call forth the.


    After experimenting with various things, he found that Mephistos ck lightning slightly singed the.


    Does it get damaged by dark magic?


    After calling the again, Taesan used all his magic to send another bolt of ck lightning.


    As a result, he was able to obtain about 1 meter of the.


    The ghost, seeing Taesans satisfied expression, eximed in admiration.


    [Isn''t this guy crazy?]