"This is quite the find."

After slipping the sneakers on and walking a few steps, I immediately realized how special they were.

"Invisibility magic, huh…"

I couldn't help but grin a little.

The moment I channeled mana into the shoes, my entire body faded from sight—completely transparent, not even a shadow left behind. The sensation was strange at first, like being wrapped in air, but it worked perfectly.

Invisibility magic—one of the higher-level spells in existence. Not many could use it, and even fewer could maintain it without draining their mana dry. Yet here I was, doing it effortlessly just by wearing a pair of enchanted sneakers.

'Invisibility… the essence of a thief.'

The possibilities with this were endless. Stealth missions, sneaking out after curfew, or maybe just messing with Berno for fun. The thought alone made me chuckle.

And honestly, the fact that they were sneakers made me like them even more.

The shoes in this world weren't terrible, but compared to what I used to wear on Earth? They were primitive. Heavy, stiff, and loud. These, on the other hand—light, soft, perfectly balanced. Every step felt natural, effortless.

Comfort and magic. A combination I didn't know I needed.

I was already imagining spending some money later to add an auto-repair enchantment to them when—

"Was there anything inside?"

I turned at the sound of Berno's voice.

"Oh, you're here already?"

He stepped in through the now-open barrier, brushing off some dust. Apparently, he'd managed to solve the puzzle outside.

I raised an eyebrow. "That was fast. Didn't think you'd crack that one so easily."

Even from a glance, the mechanism had been complex—something that would stump most people for a good while.

Berno just shrugged, his usual calm expression unmoved. "I had some help from the clues you left behind."

I wasn't sure if he was complimenting me or subtly mocking me, but I let it slide.

"Are we heading back now?" he asked, his eyes briefly flicking down to my feet. He must've noticed the sneakers immediately.

It was a fair question. We'd already achieved what we came for—a hidden relic had been found, the puzzle solved. Returning would make sense.

But something about this place still nagged at me.

I glanced toward the far end of the chamber, where another door stood quietly shrouded in shadow.

"No," I said finally.

Berno raised a brow. "No?"

"We're not done yet." I pointed toward the door on the opposite side from where we entered. "Let's check that place next."

Berno followed my gaze, his expression tightening slightly.

"…This isn't the end?"

Berno's voice trembled slightly, his eyes widening as he pointed toward the far corner of the room.

There, half-hidden in the shadows behind the now-open treasure chest, stood an old iron door—its surface covered in strange, rusted patterns that almost looked like veins. Unlike the rest of the room, which was coated in centuries of dust, the door looked… untouched.

It gave off a heavy, foreboding presence, as if daring anyone to open it.

"Wouldn't it be better to turn back now?" Berno said cautiously, his voice low. "We already found what was hidden here. There's no reason to go any deeper."

His logic was sound.

We had uncovered a sealed treasure room that had probably remained hidden for decades. That alone was enough for any sane person to call it a day.

But I wasn't exactly the type to stop halfway.

I glanced at the door again, curiosity stirring in my chest like an itch I couldn't ignore.

"Turn back now, huh?" I muttered, stepping closer. "And miss out on finding out what's behind that?"

Berno sighed, rubbing his temple. "Young master… that's exactly the kind of thinking that gets people killed in old stories."

I flashed him a faint grin. "Then I'll make sure ours has a better ending."

Without waiting for his reply, I strode toward the door, my boots echoing softly against the cold floor. The air around it felt heavier with each step, thick with the scent of old iron and something else—something ancient.

My hand brushed against the metal handle. It was cold, unnaturally so, even in this underground heat.

Berno muttered a quiet curse under his breath behind me. "You really can't resist, can you?"

"Of course not," I said, smirking. "When a man starts an exploration, he sees it through to the end."

With that, I took a deep breath—and pushed the door open.

*

"Haaah!"

Kyaaang!

The monster's scream echoed through the stone chamber as Berno's sword flashed like lightning. A split second later, the gnoll's head hit the ground, its body collapsing with a dull thud as blood splattered across the floor.

What greeted us when we opened that ancient door wasn't another puzzle or a hidden treasure chest.

It was monsters—dozens of them.

Gnolls.

Beast-like creatures with dog heads and hunched bodies, their yellow eyes gleaming with feral hunger. They howled the moment they saw us and lunged forward in a frenzied rush.

But they didn't stand a chance.

Berno moved like a storm given form. His sword glowed faintly with Aura, each swing clean, precise, and merciless. The air cracked with every strike, and gnolls fell one after another, sliced apart before they even realized what had happened.

So this was the power of a Sword Expert.

The level just before reaching the realm of a Sword Master—someone who could infuse their very will into their blade.

It didn't take long for the fight to end.

The last gnoll gave a pitiful growl before Berno's blade pierced its chest, silencing it for good. The room fell quiet again—except for the faint dripping of blood pooling across the floor.

Berno exhaled slowly and flicked his sword, scattering crimson droplets onto the stone. His expression didn't change. Calm, unreadable—as if slaughtering monsters was no more troublesome than breathing.

I glanced around the room, feeling the heavy stench of blood sting my nose.

The floor was slick with red, littered with broken weapons and twisted corpses. The walls were smeared with handprints of dried brownish blood, and the metallic tang in the air was so strong it made my stomach turn.

"…Tch," I muttered under my breath, frowning as I stepped over a body.

Where we were standing now… was the sewer beneath the Empire's capital.

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