Chapter 45: Just Give Me the Skill Book

After using qinggong to traverse the hills for a long while, they finally stopped in front of a waterfall in a valley.

“Can you explain now that we’ve arrived?”

Baek Woon-ho, who had been following closely, asked the question.

He had remained silent until now to avoid distracting Lee Tae-sung, but it seemed they had reached their destination.

“I felt something while I was circulating the Solar Holy Power.”

“A hidden piece left by the Flame Emperor…?”

Baek Woon-ho didn’t seem particularly surprised.

Tae-sung’s Solar Holy Power was an orthodox hybrid art that inherited the Flame Emperor’s true secret techniques.

It wasn’t strange for a descendant to feel something others couldn’t.

In fact, Woon-ho had called Tae-sung to Chimgeom Mountain specifically because he expected something like this.

“I think it’s beyond here.”

Tae-sung pointed to the cliff side where the waterfall cascaded down.

It looked like a solid rock face without a single crack, but he was certain.

The essence of the flame he had felt earlier was definitely coming from behind it.

“It looks like it’ll be hard to break through,” Baek Woon-ho said, tapping the wall.

For someone like Baek Woon-ho, smashing a cliff was nothing, but the aftermath was the problem.

If there was an empty space inside, a reckless strike might cause the whole thing to collapse.

They couldn’t afford that after finally finding a clue.

“How about trying to circulate the Solar Holy Power again?”

“Suddenly?”

“You said it led you here. If so, entering might also be related to it.”

It was a valid point.

Tae-sung nodded, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the Solar Holy Power.

Perhaps because he was closer now, the faint aura of fire he had felt earlier was much more distinct.

It was definitely behind this wall.

Tae-sung reflexively placed his hand against the rock.

*Vroom!*

He only intended to feel the flame a little more clearly, but…

*Crack!*

“!”

“Oh!?”

Cracks suddenly spiderwebbed across the cliff, and the wall split in half, revealing an entrance leading inside.

Baek Woon-ho’s eyes widened.

“It really was a mechanism made to react to the Solar Holy Power?”

The mere fact that such a thing had been constructed showed just how extraordinary the Flame Emperor was.

Regardless, they had successfully found it.

Smiles appeared on both Tae-sung and Woon-ho’s faces at the same time.

“Shall we go in?”

“Yeah. You worked hard.”

“No, you were the one who suffered more, Master Baek.”

Memories of Tae-sung being covered in dust while digging for herbs flashed through his mind like a panorama.

‘It was quite tedious and difficult.’

He had managed to find one thirty-year-old fleeceflower root, but it was only because of that he had been able to endure.

However, since they had found the Flame Emperor’s hideout in the end, those hardships could now be remembered as fond memories.

Except…

<‘Gaaah! You’re telling me this is really that Flame Emperor bastard’s hideout? No way!’>

A mass of squishy smoke billowed out from Tae-sung’s pocket, and a cry of indignation erupted.

Baek Woon-ho’s eyes flashed as he summoned his Heaven-Looming Flame Beast.

“Who are you!?”

“Ah, Master Baek. This is Flame Master Abysson.”

“What?”

“To be precise, he’s Abysson’s spirit. Do you remember the gray pill I found before?”

“I remember. …! I see! So that wasn’t a medicinal pill; it was a Spirit Orb.”

Baek Woon-ho caught on to what had happened without needing a detailed explanation.

A Spirit Orb was created by a Great Mage-level wizard to house their own soul.

It was a well-known concept, as some of those spirits were still famous today.

<‘I didn’t find anything when I came here… To think there was actually something hidden!’>

Abysson stared blankly at the entrance, ignoring Tae-sung’s introduction.

Baek Woon-ho asked, “Did you come here before as well?”

<‘Don’t talk to me. You look like a descendant of the Flame Emperor too, and I don’t want to be associated with that bastard even by a fingernail.’>

“For someone saying that, you seem pretty close with Lee Tae-sung.”

<‘What? Close? Are you crazy!? I’m only following him because he has my Spirit Orb!’>

Baek Woon-ho looked at Tae-sung as if asking if that was true.

Tae-sung shrugged.

“We’re not exactly close, but we have a relationship of mutual benefit.”

In fact, that was the rule embedded in Abysson’s Spirit Orb: grant one thing the spirit wants, and in return, the spirit provides one favor to the user.

However, the judgment for “what the spirit wants” was quite loose.

Resolving an inner desire, even if not explicitly stated, counted.

As a result, just by bringing the Spirit Orb out of the ruins, Tae-sung had received the tip to circulate the Solar Holy Power within the flames.

<‘…’>

Since Tae-sung wasn’t wrong, Abysson shut his mouth.

Baek Woon-ho chuckled.

“Listen here, Senior.”

<‘…Why am I your senior? You’re a hybrid, not even a mage!’>

“Living a life before me makes you a senior in life. Anyway, it seems you wanted to come here too, Senior. Am I right?”

<‘…’>

Abysson couldn’t bring himself to deny it.

In fact, he had put all his effort into surpassing the Flame Emperor during his life.

That fact was even written in the research journal Tae-sung had found in the ruins—that he was going to Chimgeom Mountain to find traces of the Flame Emperor.

“According to the end of your journal, you said you were coming to Chimgeom Mountain to find another trace of the Flame Emperor. But seeing your reaction now, it seems you found nothing back then. Am I right?”

<‘…Yes, that’s right.’>

“Then this must be a place you really wanted to visit. Since you’ve arrived here thanks to Lee Tae-sung, your wish has been fulfilled. Shouldn’t you help him in return, as promised by the Spirit Orb?”

<‘…Whew. Damn it. What do you want?’>

The logic was flawless.

As Abysson sighed deeply, Baek Woon-ho continued.

“You spent that era with the Flame Emperor, so you must know a lot. Your magical knowledge must be incomparably vast. So, help us explore this hideout.”

<‘…Fine.’>

Abysson nodded with a look of pure annoyance, but it was only on the surface.

Internally, he was feeling a bit drawn in.

The Flame Emperor’s hideout, which he had failed to find despite his best efforts—he was genuinely curious about what was inside.

Even as a spirit, his curiosity as a Great Mage wasn’t going anywhere.

“Good.”

Baek Woon-ho smiled, and Tae-sung watched him with admiration.

‘His skill at milking people is no joke.’

As expected, his experience growing up in hardship and running the Crimson Brotherhood was clearly showing.

There was definitely a lot to learn from him.

***

Tae-sung, Baek Woon-ho, and Abysson.

The three of them stepped inside the entrance.

The interior was incredibly spacious.

“Did he hollow out the entire inside of the waterfall cliff?”

Even though it was a cavernous space, it was wide and high.

It was an absurd size for a single person’s hideout.

“Master Abysson, do you know anything?”

Tae-sung asked Abysson, who was floating beside him.

He was the one who had built a whole ruin to research the Flame Emperor because he wanted revenge.

He might know more about the man.

<‘I’m not sure.’>

However, Abysson shook his head.

<‘Unlike his garbage personality, that Flame Emperor bastard was elusive. He was a troublemaker who meddled in everything, but less is known about him than you’d think. He was surprisingly cautious and secretive.’>

“I guess that means we won’t know what’s inside until we go further.”

<‘Exactly.’>

“Then could you at least check if there are any magical traps?”

<‘I’m already doing that, so don’t worry. I don’t see any traps in particular.’>

Baek Woon-ho muttered from the side, “Hmm. It’s hard to trust the word of a man who lost to the Flame Emperor…”

<‘You son of a bitch! I might have lost to him, but there’s no way I’d lose in terms of magical knowledge!’>

In terms of pure magic, Abysson was naturally superior.

After all, Abysson was a mage who ranked within the top ten of that era.

<‘I guarantee it on my honor. There are no traps.’>

It was at that moment.

**[Has an intruder entered my hideout?]**

A voice echoed throughout the entire cavern.

“Urgh!”

“Ugh!?”

The voice itself carried such power that it exerted a strong physical pressure.

They almost fell to the floor.

Abysson, being a spiritual entity, was physically fine, but even he didn’t look comfortable.

<‘Flame Emperor!!??’>

The voice belonged to the Flame Emperor.

Tae-sung and Baek Woon-ho were stunned.

The voice of the strongest man under heaven from several hundred years ago?

**[I shall verify your qualifications.]**

The voice continued, indifferent to their reactions.

Immediately after, Baek Woon-ho felt a strange sensation.

Something was scanning the inside of his body.

**[Failed.]**

As soon as those words were spoken, a massive killing intent enveloped the entire cave.

Even though it was just killing intent, it felt suffocating.

‘It’s this intense even though he isn’t actually here?’

Next was Tae-sung’s turn.

He felt as if something was permeating and checking his body.

**[Solar Holy Power. Welcome, successor.]**

The killing intent vanished instantly after the voice spoke.

Only then did Tae-sung feel like he could breathe again.

**[I do not know how you learned my hybrid technique, but if you have mastered it, finding this place must have been easy. I purposely left the Essence of the Sun in a way that would be easy for a successor to recognize.]**

“?”

Tae-sung tilted his head.

‘Easy?’

He had only managed to sense it after concentrating with everything he had.

“Uh… Master Flame Emperor. Why was that easy? It was actually quite difficult.”

Tae-sung asked, but the answer came from his side.

<‘It’s no use. That’s a recorded voice. He must have recorded it anticipating various scenarios.’>

Abysson spoke with a hint of regret.

<‘If he were a spirit like me, we could have at least shared a conversation…’>

They were enemies, but an ill-fated relationship is still a relationship.

He had wanted to exchange at least a few words.

**[Successor, the fact that you have come this far means our fates are linked. I shall pass on my secret technique.]**

“!!!”

Tae-sung and Baek Woon-ho let out silent cheers.

They had come all this way for this, and their hard work hadn’t been in vain!

*Clunk—Rumble!*

A wall slid down with a loud noise.

Beyond it was a patch of floor that had been polished smooth.

**[What I will teach you is a footwork technique called the Exploding Flame Phantom Step.]**

<‘Exploding Flame!?’>

As Abysson shouted in surprise, Tae-sung asked, “Do you know what it is?”

<‘Know it? Of course I do! It’s that god-awful footwork that makes flames bloom with every single step! It’s a technique only fit for an arsonist looking to set a mountain on fire!’>

Abysson spoke while gnashing his teeth, as if remembering a time he had been tormented by it.

Hearing him speak like that only made Tae-sung’s expectations soar.

If nothing else, it sounded like an incredible technique!

**[Successor, come here.]**

The voice directed him toward the newly opened space.

Tae-sung stole a glance at Baek Woon-ho.

When Woon-ho nodded for him to go ahead, Tae-sung moved his feet.

After stepping onto the polished ground, he looked around intently.

‘I wonder where the skill book is hidden.’

He had saved up quite a bit of skill points from quest rewards and level-ups.

He was confident he could learn it the moment he received it.

**[This floor was designed to help you master the Exploding Flame Phantom Step. Evade the flames. By doing so, you will naturally come to understand the principles of the Exploding Flame Phantom Step.]**

“…Pardon?”

Even though it was a recording, Tae-sung asked back reflexively.

What did that mean…

*Fwoosh!*

“!”

He had no time to think.

Flames erupted from the edges and the very floor Tae-sung was standing on.

He jumped away in surprise, but flames continued to burst from wherever he moved.

Although Tae-sung’s fire resistance had increased significantly, he instinctively knew that these flames would hurt if they touched him.

Because of that, he began to dodge desperately.

**[The Exploding Flame Phantom Step is a footwork technique modeled after the movement of flames. If you move according to my guidance, you will be able to understand its essence and…]**

The voice continued, but it didn’t register in his mind.

*Whish!*

*Fwoosh!*

He was simply running to stay alive!

‘Dammit!’

Tae-sung cursed inwardly.

‘Just give it to me as a skill book!!’