Minefield!
Minefield can truly be called a paradoxical game. It may have faded away in recent times, but since it was part of the basic Windows games, many people know it.
However, very few gamers have seriously played Minefield. With the Internet installed, more exciting and captivating games are readily available, so was there even a reason to play Minefield?
I also only tinkered with it a few times during computer practice sessions. Of course, ever since I learned about this Hyeon Cheon-ja’s unique ability, my Minefield skills have improved significantly.
At least I’m now at a level where I can easily tackle Hyeon Cheon-ja’s unique ability.
“So, if this square is 3, then the neighboring square with the 2 automatically means the bomb’s location is here.”
“Oh..”
I’m an expert, and it was necessary for Black Cat to understand this board. If I solved it too easily without any prior knowledge, it would be tough for Black Cat to find it interesting.
It’s a problem of intermediate difficulty, but since there are two heads, it’s better that we tackle it together.
After all, it’s been a whopping 8 years since I last played Minefield. I have no idea how rusty my brain has gotten.
“If you don’t know, just skip it. Only place the red stone where you are absolutely sure.”
“Hm. Got it.”
Minefield surprisingly requires a bit of luck. Sometimes you step on a tile and it explodes, and other times, you might click around randomly only to go off with another bomb.
So the first move is crucial.
“Let’s begin.”
“Me too.”
Black Cat and I opened the gate to the wooden board at the same time. The board I revealed had no numbers on it. Normally, Minefield would automatically mark the empty spaces, but here, there’s none of that. As I opened each section, the outline became clearer.
“Phew, this isn’t easy.”
The time limit is 5 minutes. It’s a generous limit for a 10×10 board, but considering the time taken to open each tile, it doesn’t feel that generous.
Black Cat, following my advice, is methodically uncovering the sections without numbers to reveal more of the board.
“Black Cat, start by handling the 1 in the corner. If it’s in the corner, it’s a definite, so narrow it down from there.”
“Ah… right!”
I also began by tackling the 1 in the corner. It’s been so long since I solved a puzzle that my brain feels a bit sluggish. Well, in Minefield, it’s all about not making mistakes, so as long as I calmly check my work, I should be fine.
I identified the bomb from the corner 1 and started to uncover each surrounding tile.
What’s the most challenging number in Minefield?
I’d personally say it’s 3. Numbers 4 and 5 aren’t often encountered and quickly reveal their surroundings, but 3 can get pretty tricky when combined with 2 or 1.
“Hmm.”
As I carefully progressed, I hit a wall.
When numbers are lined up in a row, knowing the bombs merely from the sequence is impossible and you have to fill in the blanks on the opposite side.
When such a scenario arises in Minefield, you just have to pray and randomly open a tile.
Fortunately, Black Cat has opened some tiles.
For now, let’s check what Black Cat has revealed. So far, she hasn’t confirmed many bombs. Currently, just 3. Not wanting to disturb the focused Black Cat, I shifted my gaze elsewhere.
Fortunately, the lower part connects quickly with mine, and I soon pinpointed several bombs.
“Hmm… if we say it’s on this side… No, there’s already a 1 here, so there can’t be another bomb here… Ah! Then it must be over here!”
I think there are about 3 bombs left. Once I solve the section Black Cat is working on, that should be it. Looking at the time, I still have about half left.
“Hmm… So this side has 4… and this side has 2…”
Watching Black Cat struggle really is cute.
“Why not check the other side?”
Truthfully, this Minefield board isn’t particularly difficult, but since there are few tiles, it can be pretty challenging for beginners. A 20% bomb ratio means it’s neither easy nor hard, straddling the line between intermediate and advanced difficulties.
“Why don’t we start with this area?”
“Oh! Yes, that seems doable!”
As I happily watched Black Cat as a newcomer, I suddenly remembered the chat room. That Rebirth Truck guy.
A moment of ominous premonition passed through my mind.
Remember, I was dragged into this once before as a newbie—what if something similar is happening now?
“Ugh…”
“I got it!”
Black Cat opened the last tile.
“Phew.”
Inside, thankfully, there wasn’t a bomb but a number instead.
Suddenly! All tiles opened, and a bomb became visible! At first glance, it appeared to be a small wooden barrel, but it was glaringly obvious there was a red marking on the lid that screamed ‘bomb’!
Fizz…
And from somewhere, the sound of a burning fuse echoed.
“Are you crazy?”
Turning my gaze to the nearest bomb, I saw a lit fuse connecting to the bomb.
“No way, I got it right!”
“Senior! Get out of the way!”
Damn it, where did I go wrong? It could happen. Errors often arise from cognitive blind spots. No matter how much I calculate, the chances of making another mistake are high. Even if I’m indignant, the fuse is lit!
Before I knew it, Black Cat had grabbed me and leapt. A sudden whiff of fragrance filled the air before we were flung out of the Minefield board.
“Let’s hide behind the rune stone!”
“Got it!”
Just as Black Cat and I huddled behind the stone,
Phew—!
Boom!!
Flames soaring to the ceiling of the palace hall painted the sky.
“…Wow.”
“Damn… That startled me.”
Didn’t it fireworks go off when you solved a Minefield? I think it did, but I can’t be sure. In the game [Martial Arts World], there’s usually some screen effect when you clear mini-games. For instance, confetti bursts or petals fly. Even a veteran can hardly remember every little detail.
One by one, the lit bombs—no, fireworks—danced in mid-air. It must have been pretty dark in the palace hall without a torch, so the fireworks seemed particularly magical.
Fireworks.
Before the pandemic, it felt like I used to see them one or two times a year. When they started filling the sky, I’d usually peek out and admire them.
Although they were much smaller than those grand displays, these little fireworks painted charming fiery flowers, with sparks flying as they faded away, capturing the essence of fireworks beautifully.
Even amidst calming my startled heart, the beauty was enough to steal my gaze.
As I watched the fireworks while admiring it with Black Cat, she sighed as the last burst faded away.
“Oh…”
“That was unfortunate… It was pretty.”
“Hmm… true.”
Smitten by seeing fireworks after a long time, I was swept away. But leaving the lingering feeling aside, we had to hurry to the 3rd chamber.
Although the palace hall’s ceiling was quite high, it remains a closed space. The acrid scent of gunpowder pushed us along.
“I wonder what the 3rd chamber will be like… I’m getting more excited. Ah, I think that trial earlier would be fun to redo.”
While Black Cat’s eyes sparkled with excitement, I was gradually starting to relax.
*
With expectations, Black Cat walked toward the 3rd chamber. Was it the surprise from earlier when the bomb exploded? Ho Cheon-an seemed a bit sluggish.
‘So much fun.’
While Black Cat hadn’t expected Ho Cheon-an might be hiding other things aside from realizations, it only made it more delightful. What a fun palace hall this is!
The Asura statue, the bomb-finding game, and the firework show to commemorate finding the bombs—all of it was fascinating and beautifully splendid.
What kind of challenges awaited in the 3rd chamber?
For Black Cat, the trial in the 3rd chamber felt less like a test and more like a gift.
Upon reaching the 3rd chamber, a larger hall than before welcomed Black Cat and Ho Cheon-an.
‘Structures?’
Black Cat raised her torch high. Below the 3rd chamber, makeshift structures sprawled over a wide area.
“Here’s a stone tablet. Let’s read it.”
“Sure.”
With a pounding heart, Black Cat began reading the inscription of the palace hall.
[Congratulations, Challenger, for passing the 2nd chamber.]
[If the first trial tested your martial arts and the second your intellect, the third trial will test your luck.]
[Challenger, do you see numerous buildings spread out before the stone tablet?]
[Outwardly, they seem fine, but they’re just wooden planks stacked together.]
[Do you see the green orbs placed between the buildings? You must destroy them using the three bombs lying below a total of three times.]
[The red bomb is the most versatile one. The blue bomb splits into three small bombs when it explodes. The yellow bomb is light and can travel far.]
[Keep in mind, the green orbs can also be destroyed just by making the structures shake or fall, so know that collapsing them is also a strategy.]
“Luck, huh…”
Ho Cheon-an chuckled softly. Many had fallen for this phrase and attempted saves & loads in the 3rd chamber. Ho Cheon-an had been one of them. They were trying to break as many green orbs as possible by modifying their throws, only to realize it was all in vain.
Ho Cheon-an peered at the bombs while asking Black Cat,
“What will you throw?”
“Hmm? Don’t you know something, Senior?”
“This trial is about luck, remember? I can’t throw far because I’m weak anyway.”
“Still, I think it’d be fun if you threw too!”
“Nope, just throw all of them yourself.”
As Ho Cheon-an observed the unseen eagerness on Black Cat’s face that shouted ‘I want to throw them all!’, he chuckled quietly. That’s not something he’d expect from her.
“If that’s how you feel, so be it! Let’s start with the red bomb one by one!”
Having suddenly gained the chance to throw all three bombs, Black Cat neatly picked up the red bomb first.
“Hmm. It doesn’t have a fuse, does it? We need to ignite it, right?”
“If you throw it down, it’ll explode from the impact.”
“Then here I go!”
With a strong throw, Black Cat hurled the bomb. The bomb, imbued with the might of a Peak Expert, traced a beautiful arc and landed right in the middle of the largest structure.
And shortly after.
KABOOM!!
With a massive explosion, the building began to collapse. Pillars toppled, and the floors crumpled—it was utterly crumbling!
Rumble… rumble…
“…Whoa…”
An impressive sight as a four-story hall crumbled with just one bomb!
Black Cat’s jaw dropped in astonishment. No matter how much the structure was designed to collapse, seeing such a large structure topple by her hand was thrilling enough to thrill Black Cat.
“Senior! This is incredible! You really aren’t going to throw anything?!”
“Right. Just throw it all.”
Though Ho Cheon-an’s heart raced at witnessing a scene far different from just watching through a screen, he didn’t feel inclined to throw these bombs. To him, they resembled grenades more than ‘the kids.’
In a frenzy, Black Cat continued to throw bombs one after another. A blue bomb thrown at another structure exploded and released three smaller projectiles, each hitting different structures and bringing parts down.
“Senior! Look! I’ll place this yellow bomb right in the center of that cylindrical structure!”
“Oh, alright.”
Giggles erupted from Black Cat while Ho Cheon-an remained indifferent; it couldn’t be a more contrasting picture. However, Black Cat was pleased, and Ho Cheon-an was happy to acquire some useful items.
True to Black Cat’s dare, the yellow bomb slid right into the center of the cylindrical structure, and shortly after, it exploded resulting in the structure collapsing.
“Oh, this feels like a scene from a movie.”
“A movie? What’s that?”
“It’s something like that. Anyway… Ah, over there.”
Rumble…
Ho Cheon-an, who had unconsciously slipped into admiration, redirected his attention. Black Cat also pulled herself back and focused.
“Ah, that’s too bad. I wanted to take one as a souvenir.”
Seeing the bomb’s section still sealed, Black Cat licked her lips. Whether the creator of this mechanism was truly Hyeon Cheon-ja or not, if it was indeed Hyeon Cheon-ja, one couldn’t help but nod to the impressive engineering shown here. Tampering with the mechanism might lead to something undesirable.
“That dangerous item wouldn’t just be left for you to take.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Black Cat accepted without hesitation. The explosive-like sight of the buildings crumbling was genuinely dangerous; if she were to take it, starting with the handling, many issues could arise.
“Well, the time for souvenirs starts now.”
Ho Cheon-an gazed inside the open door.
With the Minefield trial complete, it was now time to reap the rewards.
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