Dungeon Breaker

Chapter 21

—–CROW—–

Saschiel, the 7th Grade Battle Angel.

He had the form of a lion with a golden mane and fur.

Actually, he wasn’t just a lion.

Large, pure white wings sprouted from his back, a halo hovered above his head, and he wore partial plate armor adorned with white cloth and gold.

Lying on his side, his body stretched out, an undeniable weariness and pain etched his face. Looking closely, Cheon-ho saw broken arrows embedded throughout his body, and a long gash across his waist.

“Saschiel-nim, I’m Luciel, a 9th Grade Angel. I’ll heal you right away.”

Luciel spoke urgently and moved to Saschiel’s waist.

Compared to Luciel, Saschiel was considerably – no, just plain huge.

‘He’s no match for the lions I saw at the zoo.’

Luciel was small, but even aside from that, Saschiel was simply massive.

The difference in their size seemed to be more than five times, maybe even more with a bit of exaggeration.

Cheon-ho approached Luciel, who had immediately begun healing, and examined Saschiel’s wounds together.

Judging by the discoloration of the wound on his waist, it seemed he hadn’t just been cut, but also poisoned.

“Luciel, detoxify him first with purification magic.”

“Yes, Hero.”

“And…”

Cheon-ho asked Luciel to take a blanket out of her inventory and covered Luciel and Saschiel’s waist area with it.

The pink light emanating from Luciel stood out too much in the darkness created by the shadows.

“It might be stuffy, but bear with it for a bit.”

“Okay.”

Luciel replied briefly and focused on the healing.

Cheon-ho glanced at Saschiel, sheathed the Heat Dagger, and took throwing knives in both hands.

Mitra spoke in a low voice,

“[Monsters are approaching.]”

Cheon-ho already knew.

They were monsters drawn by the scent of Saschiel’s blood.  They would have pinpointed the location after seeing the light Luciel initially emitted.

“[A barrier is spread around the area.  Probably cast by that lion angel.]”

That was the reason the monsters were wandering around nearby despite smelling the blood.

Cheon-ho stepped forward and exhaled slowly.

Perhaps because the barrier was still effective, the monsters didn’t attack all at once from all directions.

Cheon-ho closed his eyes.

Instead of relying on his vision in the dark shadows, he focused his awareness on his hearing.

At the same time, he spread his ki sense widely, sensing his surroundings.

He heard footsteps.

His ki sense pinpointed their locations.

Cheon-ho’s hands moved.

Two knives sliced through the air in the darkness, and a monster, its name unknown, collapsed with a single shriek.

He could estimate their weight from the sound of their footsteps.

They were light.

Definitely smaller than Giant Rats.

From the location and height of the shriek, he could roughly estimate the height of their heads.

An image of the monsters formed in Cheon-ho’s mind.

And this allowed for more accurate throws.

He threw twelve knives.

Twelve monsters fell to the ground, and Mitra let out an involuntary gasp.

Mitra wasn’t the only one surprised.

[The Labyrinth World marvels at your extraordinary throwing skills.]

[Throwing Lv5 evolves into Extraordinary Throwing Lv1.]

[Extraordinary Throwing:  Regardless of the throwing stance, projectiles maintain the power and speed of a perfect throw.]

Cheon-ho opened his eyes. The footsteps had stopped.

Looking towards Luciel, it seemed she was still chanting healing magic under the blanket.

“[Truly amazing.  What kind of training did you undergo?]”

‘Fantasy.’

With a Hero for a father and a mage for a mother, it was only natural that his home education was fantasy-based.

But actually, Cheon-ho was surprised himself.

‘It actually works.’

It was a feat impossible before he came to the Labyrinth World.

It was the result of increased physical abilities from leveling up and sensing presences with internal energy.

His heart pounded slightly.

He was curious to see how far he could develop.

‘Let’s retrieve them first.’

Calming his excitement with a deep breath, Cheon-ho walked towards the monsters’ corpses to retrieve his knives.

Examining the corpses, Mitra spoke again,

“[They’re One-Horned Rabbits.]”

“[Monsters that headbutt with their horns or bite with their teeth to suck blood.]”

They were rabbits with horns on their foreheads like unicorns. As expected, they were smaller than Giant Rats, but still reasonably large.

‘There’ll be quite a bit of meat.’

And soft fur.

While rare in Korea, rabbits were widely raised for their meat and fur in other countries.

Rabbit meat was good for stews or grilling.

‘And rich in protein.’

Gathering the One-Horned Rabbits’ corpses with a satisfied expression, Cheon-ho retrieved his knives and returned to Luciel and Saschiel.

The healing seemed to be finished, as Luciel was crawling out from under the blanket.

“Phew, the immediate danger is over. He should be alright now.”

“Good work.”

Cheon-ho smiled and offered her a handkerchief, which the sweat-drenched Luciel accepted with a bright smile.

“Oh, but Hero, you already hunted them?”

“Yes, I’ll make rabbit stew for dinner tonight. You can look forward to it.”

“Yes, Hero.”

Luciel gulped, looking at the One-Horned Rabbits.

For her, who had already experienced rat meat and skeleton bone broth, rabbit stew was a perfectly normal and sensible dish.

“I’m thinking of skinning them and making pillows with the fur.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yes, since there’s a lot of fur, we could also make gloves or scarves. The white color is pretty too.”

“You’re so amazing, Hero.”

“Hmm.”

Cheon-ho suppressed his smile and put on a cool expression, and Luciel beamed at him.

And then Mitra spoke,

“[You two, it’s good that you’re getting along, but this doesn’t seem like the time for that.]”

“Hmm.”

It was right.

Pulling himself together, Cheon-ho asked Luciel,

“Luciel, can we talk to Saschiel now?”

“I… can… speak… Hero…”

The answer came from Saschiel himself.

It was a slightly strange way of speaking, but he was a handsome lion, even more so than most humans, and his voice was deep and attractive.

‘His eyes are blue, too.’

Literally blonde hair and blue eyes.

Cheon-ho let out an involuntary sigh and asked again,

“Saschiel, can you move?  It’s best if we leave this place.”

He had dealt with the monsters that had gathered nearby, but it was still best to move.

Saschiel nodded slightly and said,

“Understood, Hero. And… I have something urgent to tell you. Something that requires immediate action.”

Saschiel forced himself to sit up and continued in a strained voice,

“I was part of a unit assigned to reconnaissance in the lower levels. We came to the outskirts chasing a group of Plague God’s followers… and our squad was annihilated after falling into their trap. The squad members were scattered… and I, barely surviving, learned of their wicked plot while evading their pursuit.”

Saschiel paused to catch his breath before continuing.

But Luciel was a little faster.

“Um… are you talking about the Plague God building an altar in the lower levels?  And performing some kind of wicked ritual?”

Saschiel’s eyes widened at Luciel’s question.

“How did you know that?”

“Uh…”

Luciel smiled awkwardly and looked at Cheon-ho, and he nodded. He explained on Luciel’s behalf,

“We already destroyed an altar on the first floor. We plan to destroy the altar on the second floor as well.”

“Oh…”

Saschiel let out a heartfelt gasp of admiration.

The way he looked at Cheon-ho seemed to have changed.

“Hero, if the ritual is completed, a great calamity will surely befall the Labyrinth World.  So we must stop them before the ritual is complete.”

“Understood.”

The moment Cheon-ho replied…

[Chronicle Quest: Adversary of the Plague God]

[Battle Angel Saschiel has a rough idea of the location of the altar on the 2nd floor.]

[Cooperate with Saschiel and thwart the Plague God’s plot.]

A window of light appeared as if on cue.

And then another window of light appeared.

[Hidden Quest ‘Distress Call’ completed.]

[Hidden Quest Reward: 7th Grade Battle Angel Saschiel joins the party.]

[Hidden Quest Reward: Acquired the title ‘Helper of Angels’ Lv1.]

[Helper of Angels: Angels show favor towards you.]

[Hidden Quest Reward: Intermediate Healing Potion]

“Hmm.”

Not bad.

Honestly, the first reward felt questionable, but the second and third were satisfactory.

‘This one has a level, too.’

It was a level that wasn’t present in titles like “Rat Slayer” or “Rat Ogre Slayer.” He had no idea how to raise it, but if he did it well, it seemed like it could be surprisingly useful.

‘And healing potions are always good.’

Pocketing the red potion that appeared in his palm, Cheon-ho looked at Saschiel.

“Saschiel, then let’s move…”

That was as far as he got.

Cheon-ho stopped mid-sentence.  Saschiel and Luciel looked elsewhere almost simultaneously, and Cheon-ho also turned his head.

He heard a noise.

He saw flames beyond the darkness.

Despite the distance and the many obstacles in the dark shadows, he could clearly see the flames.

“No.”

Saschiel suddenly said.  He hurriedly sat up and quickly added,

“I saw a Forest Elf village while I was escaping.  Those who were chasing me must have attacked the village.”

“Forest Elves? You mean the Forest Elves?”

Saschiel nodded at Luciel’s question, and Cheon-ho jumped to his feet.

“Let’s hurry.”

If there were people in danger, he had to save them.

Moreover, they were Forest Elves!

“[Forest Elves… I’ve encountered them before. A tribe of elves living in the forest, consisting entirely of beautiful women.]”

Mitra said, and Cheon-ho didn’t hesitate any longer.

Luciel also jumped to her feet and stared in the direction of the flames, and Saschiel, with some difficulty, pushed himself off the ground.

[Hidden Quest: Rescue the Forest Elves]

[Rescue the Forest Elves in danger.]

Cheon-ho started running.

His father had said,

‘Son, the second most beautiful woman I saw in Phion was the Queen of the Elves.’

‘The Queen of the Elves?’

‘Yes, elves. Ah, elves.’

It was rare for his father to repeat himself.

So young Cheon-ho listened to his father’s words more attentively than usual.

‘Hmm.’

He didn’t have any ulterior motives.

As a Hero, he was just hurrying to save people in danger.

It was only natural to be interested in those he had to save.

Elves.

Elves with long ears.

Forest Elves, consisting entirely of beautiful women, unlike angels.

Not a male lion angel with a mane, but a beautiful, blonde, mature elven woman.

Cheon-ho focused.

The sound of his footsteps grew louder with each stride.  As he got closer, he could hear screams.

Rising flames.

A burning village.

Monsters attacking the village.

This wasn’t the time for other thoughts.  Gripping the Heat Dagger, Cheon-ho increased his speed.

He was much faster than Saschiel, whose pace was slowed by his injuries.

The darkness receded.

There was a clearing in the middle of the forest, and in the middle of the clearing, there was a village.

The monsters that spotted Cheon-ho yelled something, and the Forest Elves, also seeing him, cried out for help.

“Save us!”

“Help us!”

Of course, that was his intention.

That was why he came here in the first place.

But Cheon-ho let out an involuntary groan.

“Hmm.”

Palm-sized Forest Elves were running away frantically.

Some even ran between his legs.

“Hmm.”

The Forest Elves, who could be described as small, pretty dolls, hid in the forest.

The Rat Men – practically giants to the Forest Elves – and the Giant Rats, who were attacking the equally small and pretty miniature village, turned their hostility towards Cheon-ho.

“Hero!”

Luciel’s voice came from far behind, and he also heard a roar, presumably from Saschiel.

“Hmm.”

“[You?]”

Mitra asked, and Cheon-ho exhaled slowly.

Gripping the Heat Dagger tightly, he charged towards the Rat Men.

It was a fast and furious sprint.

—–CROW—–