Dungeon Breaker

Chapter 22

—–CROW—–

His father had said,

‘Son, you must learn to control your anger. True strength comes not from anger, but from courage.’

His father was always right.

And Cheon-ho, as always, was following his father’s words.

Really, he was.

He leaped.

His eyes moved, taking in the entire battlefield.

He perceived the battlefield not as a plane, but as a space.

The number of Rat Men.

The number of Giant Rats.

They were widely dispersed.

Even if their numbers exceeded twenty and approached thirty, there were gaps here and there.

Considering time, distance, and space, the number of enemies he had to face could change depending on his fighting style and movements.

It wasn’t thirty versus one.

It was one versus one, or two versus one, repeated multiple times.

*Exhale.*

He exhaled, regulating his breathing.  He shifted his stance and tensed his entire body.  He circulated his internal energy, enhancing his physical abilities.

*Exhale.*

He exhaled again. The moment he landed, he lowered his stance.

Some of the Rat Men saw him.  Others were too preoccupied with the village to notice him yet.

Mitra said something.

Cheon-ho listened and moved.

Almost mechanically, he prioritized the enemies he had spotted.

*Thud!*

The moment he kicked off the ground, a sound erupted.

Cheon-ho pushed off the ground. The ground pushed off Cheon-ho.

Cheon-ho, becoming a loosed arrow, weaved between the Rat Men.

“Squeak!”

“Squeal!”

The Giant Rats shrieked noisily.

The Rat Men couldn’t keep up with Cheon-ho’s swift movements.

One.

He swung the Heat Dagger.

At the wrist of the Rat Man clutching a Forest Elf woman.

Blood spurted, and the Rat Man screamed. The moment its grip loosened, Cheon-ho moved his hand again.  He snatched the Forest Elf and simultaneously kicked the Rat Man with the severed wrist.

*Thud!*

The Rat Man tumbled to the ground.  The Forest Elf in Cheon-ho’s hand let out a short shriek, and he tucked her into his inner jacket pocket.  He felt a slight warmth on his left hand, and his face flushed a little.

*Exhale.*

He exhaled again.

Rotating his body, he threw the knives from his belt in rapid succession.

“Gah!”

“Urk!”

Two charging Rat Men collapsed with knives embedded in their throats.

Without even looking at them, Cheon-ho swung the Heat Dagger again.  He sliced the throat of a Rat Man trying to swing a crude sword and kicked off the ground again.

*Ha!*

He jumped high. Quite high.  He soared vertically over two meters, and the charging Rat Man below him passed right under him.  He stabbed a knife into the back of the bewildered Rat Man’s head.

*Tap.*

A sound.

A very soft sound.  Landing as lightly as a cat, Cheon-ho looked up.  He sprang up the moment he stood and weaved through the Rat Men once more.

Kingdom Swordsmanship.

The swordsmanship of Dal Senyo, the Kingdom of Swords, one of the many nations of Phion.

Not a martial art that used internal energy, but pure swordsmanship.

Slashing, cutting, and stabbing.

He stabbed a Rat Man’s eye.  He pressed it down, making it fall face-first, and then pulled out the Heat Dagger. He swung it, slicing the throat of another charging Rat Man.  Blood splattered, and Cheon-ho moved.  Taking a step forward and twisting his body, he stabbed the heart of a Rat Man charging from the side.

The human body had many weak points.

Humanoid monsters mostly shared those weak points.

Cheon-ho twisted the Heat Dagger. The Rat Man with the pierced heart shrieked and collapsed, and Cheon-ho shifted his weight downwards with it.  He rolled across the ground, dodging the spear attacks raining down from above.

*Thud, thud, thud!*

The spears struck the bare ground.  Cheon-ho kicked off the ground again.  It was like the elasticity of a rubber ball.  He jumped onto a spear sticking out of the ground, and threw knives at the bewildered Rat Men.

Two fell.

One twisted its spear, and Cheon-ho used its force to jump.  He did a somersault, and the knife he threw pierced the space between the Rat Man’s eyebrows.

*Tap.*

*Ha.*

He landed and exhaled.  At that moment, an image flashed through his mind.

Something flying towards his back.

A person couldn’t see the back of their own head.

So, it wasn’t something he actually saw.

But Cheon-ho knew it was real.

The image created by his numerous battle experiences was no different from reality.

“[You! Behind you-!]”

Mitra shouted.

But Cheon-ho was already moving.

He rotated his body. He read the air. He felt the flow of the wind.  His sharply honed senses told him.

*Catch.*

He caught the arrow fired from a crossbow.

His palm was grazed.  Cheon-ho turned in the direction the arrow had been flying.  Using the arrow’s remaining momentum, he turned half a circle and shot the arrow back.

If he returned it along the same trajectory it had come from, there would be an enemy at the end of it.

*Thwack!*

The arrow pierced the chest of the Rat Man holding the crossbow.  Its eyes widened as if witnessing an unbelievable sight, and it collapsed.

*Exhale.*

Cheon-ho exhaled.

And the battlefield fell silent.

Even though there were still a few Rat Men and Giant Rats left, it couldn’t be helped.

Even Mitra was speechless at Cheon-ho’s bizarre – no, transcendental – movement of snatching an arrow from behind him and killing the shooter.

It wouldn’t have been this surprised even if Cheon-ho had swung a massive aura blade and slain dozens of Rat Men in one strike.

And in that moment of stunned silence, Cheon-ho thought,

‘I-It worked.’

To be honest, he had done it by chance.

But the important thing was that he had done it, and instead of panicking, Cheon-ho maintained the expression of a serious warrior.

“Saschiel!”

Cheon-ho suddenly shouted.

The one who had silenced the battlefield broke the silence once more.

The stunned Rat Men and Giant Rats flinched and shifted their gazes, and Saschiel, who had been called, looked bewildered.

“Huh?”

He had been speechless, just like Mitra.

Instead of reacting immediately, he flinched like the Rat Men.

But that was enough.  Cheon-ho hadn’t been expecting Saschiel’s immediate assistance.

Just for a moment.

The moment the Rat Men were bewildered.

The Four Heavenly Kings of Joseon.

Virūḍhaka’s chapter.

Skanda, the swift.

A gust of wind swept across the battlefield.

Cheon-ho became a gale.

He sprinted towards the Rat Man carrying a large basket on its back.

By the time the Rat Men regained their senses, Cheon-ho’s Heat Dagger had already pierced its heart.

“Gah!”

The Rat Man fell back on its buttocks.  Cheon-ho looked inside the basket and saw the Forest Elves.  He shouted again,

“Saschiel!”

“Roar!”

This time, Saschiel didn’t hesitate.

Like a true lion, he roared and charged towards the remaining Rat Men and Giant Rats.

And Cheon-ho moved as well.

The kukri, drawn at some point, was in his left hand.

“Ooh…”

The Forest Elves who had fled hid behind leaves and branches, watching Cheon-ho’s overwhelming display of combat.

Some even approached Luciel, who was catching her breath at the entrance of the village.

Luciel looked at the Forest Elves and said with a slightly boastful tone,

“That’s our Hero.”

Isn’t he cool?

Luciel smiled brightly, and the Forest Elves blinked their large eyes and nodded with slightly dazed expressions.

[Hidden Quest ‘Rescue the Forest Elves’ completed.]

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

[Helper of the Fairies Lv1: Fairies show favor towards you.]

[Hidden Quest Reward: The Fairy God shows positive interest in you.]

Cheon-ho narrowed his eyes at the windows of light that appeared consecutively.

The title was similar to “Helper of Angels,” but the Fairy God’s interest…

‘Is this the third god, after the God of Healing and the God of Cooking?’

Logically(?), it seemed like it would be a goddess, but somehow, he suspected it might be a male god, considering the flow of events.

“[The Fairy God is renowned for her beauty, even among the goddesses.]”

“[The Fairy God Sword, Cloud Solas, which is imbued with her power, is a close friend of mine.]”

“Hmm.”

Indeed. A goddess.

But for now, they were beings he couldn’t even exchange a few words with.

‘It’s not like I rescued them for the rewards anyway.’

Wiping the blood off the Heat Dagger and kukri, Cheon-ho checked on the Forest Elves trapped in the basket.

They seemed quite frightened, but none appeared to be seriously injured.

‘But they’re all really pretty.’

They were so small that they looked like dolls. It felt like it would be satisfying to line them up on a bookshelf or something.

“Hmm.”

Shaking his head to clear his strange thoughts, Cheon-ho said in a calming voice,

“The fight is over. I’ll free you all right now.”

The Forest Elves, tear stains still visible on their faces, nodded. Some replied softly, and some expressed their gratitude.

‘That’s a relief.’

That no one was hurt.

“[You, aren’t you forgetting something?]”

“Ah.”

Mitra was right. Cheon-ho quickly took off his jacket and placed it on the ground, then said towards the inner pocket,

“It’s safe now, so you can come out.”

After a moment, a Forest Elf crawled out of the inner pocket.

She wore a short, leaf-like dress, and her golden hair reached down to her hips.

“Th-Thank you.”

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yes, thanks to you… Thank you very much.”

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Forest Elf bowed repeatedly, expressing her gratitude.  It seemed like genuine gratitude from the heart.

“Ahem.”

Maintaining his composure with some effort, Cheon-ho looked around again.  Saschiel was stepping on a Rat Man and berating it, and Luciel was putting out the fire in the village with the gathered Forest Elves.

“Village Chief!”

“Ah, Village Chief.”

“You’re safe.”

“I was so scared.”

Other Forest Elves gathered around the blonde Forest Elf who had emerged from Cheon-ho’s pocket.

Listening to their conversation, it seemed she was the village chief.

“Um… my benefactor.”

The Village Chief Elf, surrounded by the Forest Elves, looked up at Cheon-ho and spoke awkwardly.

Cheon-ho also felt awkward, so he lowered his stance to meet her gaze and replied immediately,

“I am Park Cheon-ho.”

“He’s our Hero.”

Luciel, who had approached at some point, squatted down beside Cheon-ho and said. He felt like, or maybe it was just his imagination, she emphasized the word “our.”

“Hmm.”

Anyway, it felt good, so Cheon-ho just nodded. And at the same time, he thought,

‘But how did she put out the fire… Huh.’

He let out a small gasp of admiration at the end because he understood how Luciel had extinguished the village fire.

It was a simple, brute-force, yet effective method.

Next to the biggest fire stood the empty bathtub, and the ground was soaked with water.

She had kept the bathtub filled in her inventory, thinking they might need water later, and she had poured all of it out to extinguish the fire.

Luciel was surprisingly resourceful.

“Well done, Luciel.”

“Yes, Hero.”

Luciel smiled brightly at Cheon-ho’s praise.  He wanted to pat her head, but he suppressed the urge by clenching his fists.

“Um… then, Hero.”

“Yes, Village Chief.”

Cheon-ho looked back at the Village Chief. Luciel held out her hand, lifted the Village Chief, and held her up so that she was at eye level with Cheon-ho.

“Thank you once again. We’re truly alive thanks to you, Hero.”

“I only did what I had to do.”

When he had heard his father say it, it had sounded incredibly cheesy, but it truly was the Hero’s signature line. Cheon-ho was glad he had practiced it.

Anyway, after hearing Cheon-ho’s reply, the Village Chief swallowed hard, clasped her hands together, and said,

“Um… I’m sorry to ask this of you after you’ve already saved us… but I have a request. Please help us.”

“What is your request?”

“The Rat Men are kidnapping our Forest Elves to use as sacrifices. I believe several villages have already been attacked. And among them… are members of the royal family…”

The Village Chief burst into tears mid-sentence.

Luciel’s face crumpled in sympathy, and Cheon-ho swallowed hard.

Several villages had already been attacked.

They were kidnapping Forest Elves to use as sacrifices.

And members of the Forest Elf royal family had been captured.

These weren’t things he could easily ignore.

“Please. We’ll give you anything we can. Please save our people, our royal family.”

The Village Chief pleaded on her knees.  The surrounding Forest Elves also knelt or bowed, begging him.

“Hero.”

Luciel looked at Cheon-ho, and he nodded slightly.

He had to fight them anyway to destroy the Plague God’s altar.

Mitra spoke,

“[The Forest Elf royalty are special.]”

“[Unlike ordinary Forest Elves, the royalty aren’t small.  They’re almost the same size as humans.  Therefore, they’ll be easy to identify.]”

“Hmm.”

He was going to save them anyway.

Even if Mitra hadn’t said anything, his answer would have been the same.

He could say it with his hand on his heart.

[Hidden Quest: Rescue the Royalty]

[Rescue the Queen and Princess of the Forest Elves.]

[The fairy tribe cannot but decline without their Queen.]

[Protect the future of the Forest Elves.]

[Quest Duration: 102 hours]

The Queen and Princess.

His father’s words suddenly came to mind.

“Hmm.”

Cheon-ho looked at Luciel and then at the Forest Elf Village Chief.

With a heroic expression, he nodded.

He accepted the Forest Elves’ request.

—–CROW—–