Shinobu Kocho gave Tetsu no Sosuke a strange look. "Very heavy?"
Tetsu no Sosuke sighed. "Just pretend you didn't hear anything I said before."
The person who had built this place was clearly not the same person who had built the previous one.
Their approaches were clearly different, too.
The previous builder had made no attempt to conceal anything. The cave entrance had been right there, and no mechanism was needed to enter.
Once inside, what awaited them had been trials—tests of perception and skill from the very beginning.
And valuable techniques had been provided outright.
If they could discover how, they could return and open that door again.
But this time, things were clearly different.
Simply finding this place had already been extremely troublesome.
They had activated an extraordinarily complex mechanism by detecting faint light, but after they entered, what purpose did this door serve?
Tetsu no Sosuke felt rather baffled.
There were no designs engraved on the door, either. It was completely plain. He had expected it to be incredibly heavy, but it wasn't.
Tetsu no Sosuke held the oil lamp out to inspect the way ahead. Surprisingly, the interior was not completely dark. Faint light flickered quietly here and there, as though furnace fires that had never gone out were still giving off residual warmth.
Tetsu no Sosuke stepped inside. The surface beneath his feet was flat, and by the light, he could see that it was one enormous sheet of metal.
He did not dare let his guard down. The intentions of whoever had built this place were difficult to fathom. Although a metal surface like this was unlikely to contain any mechanisms or traps, who could really know?
After warning Shinobu Kocho to be careful, he took two steps forward. Nothing happened.
Shinobu Kocho followed