Chapter 17: Death Run. (Part 2)

The sound of footsteps and steel balls scraping against the rocky ground echoed through the dim passageways as Dawn jogged comfortably along. 

Occasionally, he would hop to the left or right, dodging the traps scattered about. His eyes never ceased their vigilant scanning, always on the lookout for more hidden traps.

He had journeyed quite a distance alone, encountering only the lifeless bodies of other awakened along his path. 

Dawn noticed that the passage was becoming increasingly narrow, the enclosing walls signaling a higher frequency of traps. The longer one ran, the more dangerous the path seemed to become.

*Ca-Clunk*

Eventually, even he stepped on a pressure plate. A burst of searing flames exploded from the wall on his right, bearing down on him. However, a simple hop propelled him forward, allowing him to evade the flames easily.

Upon landing, he unfortunately stepped on another pressure plate. A large steel axe swung down from above, attempting to split him in half. But he evaded this, too, swerving his body to the right before continuing his jog.

"This is undoubtedly well designed—"

*Ca-Clunk*

Dawn was cut off as he stepped on another pressure plate. This time, the walls to his sides rapidly slid together, aiming to crush him. They missed their target, however, as he once again vaulted out of their reach.

"And the traps are quite carefully constructed, with most being easy to spot… The ones I'm tripping are slightly harder to detect but still quite manageable for me."

As he had said, despite this being a world unknown to him, Dawn had little trouble identifying the traps. Even though some were more unique than others, he found it easy to spot discrepancies and things that seemed out of place.

But if he could see the traps, why would he intentionally step on them, one might wonder?

"If I trigger the harder-to-detect traps, more people following behind me might survive… Plus, I can't deny my curiosity about what might spring up next," Dawn confessed with a nervous smile.

It was always this way, even in his previous life. He had a penchant for both setting up and triggering traps; it was one of the skills that made him an effective spy.

"Once the traps start getting too dangerous, though, I'll have to stop letting my curiosity guide my actions."

Looking down at his own body, he noted the steel balls and chains still attached to him. His body was slender and frail, yet it moved remarkably well. This agility was thanks to his awakening and the constant channeling of his core's energy within his body.

'I'm far from reaching the strength my old body possessed, yet this is still several times the strength a normal child would have. It's difficult to adapt to but incredible… I wonder just how powerful I'll become if I ascend… once I figure out how to do that.'

As he continued jogging, Dawn glanced back. The others didn't seem to be catching up, but he could sense it—a pair of eyes watching his every move.

'Is it Rek…? I can't tell. I can't even discern where I'm being watched from… It's unnerving.'

Dawn kept jogging, maintaining the uncomfortable smile on his face.

'Let's just pretend I don't notice it—'

His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed two more corpses up the path ahead. One was of a naturally awakened individual; the other, a forcibly awakened one.

The two had clearly fallen victim to a poison trap, evident from their unnaturally purple-tinted skin. Foam was visible at their mouths, and their eyes were rolled back, indicating a painful demise.

"Brutal..." Dawn muttered, his expression somber.

He jogged past the corpses, taking in the trap that had claimed their lives. It seemed to be some sort of poison mist dispenser, and traces of mist still hung in the air around the bodies, though barely visible.

Covering his mouth with his elbows and squinting his eyes, Dawn jogged through the lingering poison mist. The moment he emerged on the other side, however, his eyes widened as a flurry of arrows sliced through the air, aiming straight for his head. 

He reacted instinctively, swinging the chain attached to the steel ball to deflect the arrows. The movement was fluid and swift, knocking away the arrows in one smooth motion. 

[Weapon Mastery Lv.1] 

After deflecting the arrows, Dawn took a few steps forward before looking back at the source of the arrows. They had been launched from a dispenser mounted on the wall, a few feet away from the poison trap.

It was clearly placed there to catch anyone off guard. But since Dawn hadn't stepped on any trigger, the trap had taken him by surprise.

'Did it react to my movement? These traps are getting more sophisticated… to think they have motion-sensors…'

Dawn then glanced down at the chain he was holding, and the steel balls attached to them.

'More importantly… what was that? I've used a chain before, but it felt much easier to handle this time, the movement was fluid… could it be…?'

[Weapon Mastery Lv. 1] (Passive)

[Mastery: 0.93%]

[This skill enhances the user's proficiency with any wielded weapon, scaling directly with the skill's mastery level.]

Dawn checked his Weapon Mastery skill to confirm his suspicion — and it was just as he had guessed. 

'This skill... I'm already proficient with weapons, and you're telling me it makes me even better? At this rate, it won't be long before I surpass the strength I had in my previous life...' 

He also noted that the mastery level had also increased when he used the chain and steel ball as a weapon. It truly was a straight-forward and useful skill.

Dawn couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as he continued along the path, comforted by this revelation.

However, his comfort was short-lived. Shortly after resuming his trek down the path, he finally encountered others.

Distant voices drew closer and closer, and soon, figures began to appear in the distance. A group of awakened, about six in total, were halted down the path. Dawn wondered why they had stopped running as he approached them.

Once he got closer, the reason became clear. A large wall blocked their path—it was a dead end.