Dungeon Breaker

Chapter 4

—–CROW—– 

Luciel couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

He was clearly a 1-star Hero.  He looked young. He didn’t seem that old either.

And yet, he was calm.

No, he wasn’t just calm.

Luciel blinked her dazed eyes.

Something disguised as a 1-star Hero flipped over the kitchen table.  Inside, various weapons were neatly organized with a sophisticated touch.

Why were those things coming out of a kitchen table?

What kind of life did this person lead that such things were stored in a kitchen table?

Lost in thought, she blurted out, “W-What is all this?”

“Weapons.”

He replied casually, almost nonchalantly, and began to gather the weapons.

And Luciel was surprised once again.

The 1-star Hero—no, the Hero—no, Cheon-ho rolled up his pant legs.

Knives were strapped to his ankles.

Cheon-ho added more knives there, then fastened a belt around his waist. It was a belt with numerous loops, and in an instant, several throwing knives were attached to his waist and thighs.

There was a bow and a quiver inside the table as well. Both were black and, at a glance, not ordinary items.

After slinging the quiver over his shoulder, Cheon-ho gently pulled back the bowstring and assumed an archery stance.

It was clear he wasn’t a novice.

As Cheon-ho handled the bow, it folded with a *snap*.  It seemed to be a folding bow.

Next, he picked up a sword.  Not a longsword, but a blade slightly longer than a dagger.

After securing that to his waist, he finally placed a round object into a pouch on his belt.

Having done all this, Cheon-ho stood up. He handed the remaining weapons to Luciel and said, “Put these in your Inventory.”

“Uh, um, yes.”

Luciel replied instinctively and quickly opened her Inventory, carefully placing the ominous-looking weapons inside.

She felt a strange sense of unease.

Cheon-ho, watching her, put on the shoes that were in the corner under the table.

After seeing a plethora of weapons emerge from inside a kitchen table, she didn’t have the energy to question the shoes.

So Luciel simply watched, and soon her expression turned blank again.

‘W-Why are knives coming out of his shoes?!’

As Cheon-ho, wearing what looked like sturdy combat boots, tapped his foot on the floor, blades sprung out from the tips with a *shhk* sound.

After kicking the air a few times, Cheon-ho stood in position. The blades had already retracted.

‘Good.’

Cheon-ho was satisfied, and Luciel experienced the true meaning of exploding dissonance.

It was strange.  No matter how you looked at it, it was a bizarre situation.

But at the same time, she felt reassured.

“Luciel.”

“Yes?!”

Luciel responded with a start, and Cheon-ho tilted his head, puzzled, but then, as always, he spoke with a carefully composed expression. “Luciel, choose one for yourself. You need to be armed as well.”

“M-Me too?”

“Just in case.”

At Cheon-ho’s words, Luciel moved her fingers in the air and opened her Inventory list. She pulled out a dagger, the smallest and seemingly easiest to handle among the ominous weapons from Cheon-ho’s table, and held it in her hand.

“I-I’ll take this.”

“Alright. Don’t push yourself. Just think of it as self-defense.”

“O-Okay.”

Luciel nodded repeatedly and gripped the dagger tightly.  She seemed to be steeling her resolve, staring at the dagger and gulping.

‘She’s so cute.’

Cheon-ho kept the thought to himself and attached the folded bow, now resembling a short rod, to his waist before gripping a combat knife.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Luciel stood up.

And at that moment, a window of light appeared before Cheon-ho and Luciel.

[The Adventure Begins]

[Main Quest: Clear the 1st floor of the Great Labyrinth and descend to the 2nd floor.]

“Oh.”

Cheon-ho let out an involuntary exclamation.  It felt like he was really in a game.

‘No, it’s more the wording.’

*The Adventure Begins.*

A thrill, similar to when he first heard the word “Hero,” ran through him.

“It’s a quest.  A system created by the Five Goddesses, utilizing the system that governs the Great Labyrinth, to support the Heroes. The status window and leveling up work on a similar principle.”

“Hmm.”

He didn’t quite understand, but it didn’t seem harmful.

“Do you get rewards for completing quests?”

“Yes, and the more difficult the task, the greater the reward.  Think of it as equivalent exchange.”

He liked the sound of that.

“Alright, let’s really get going then.  I’ll take the lead, so follow behind me.  Not too far, about two steps behind.”

“Okay.”

Luciel gulped and nodded.

Cheon-ho walked past her and moved forward.

A corridor appeared around the corner.

Countless monsters likely awaited them beyond.

His heart pounded.

To be honest, he was a little excited.

His father’s stories.

His father’s tales of adventure.

‘Let’s go.’

Cheon-ho took a step forward.

—–CROW—– 

Luciel felt a strong sense of responsibility towards Cheon-ho.  After all, she was the one who had summoned him to this world.

She would throw herself in harm’s way to protect him – she meant it. She truly intended to do so.

Because Cheon-ho was a 1-star Hero.

Even though ominous weapons had poured out of his kitchen table, and even though he wore shoes that shot out knives, he was still a 1-star Hero.

But after 10 minutes of adventuring together, Luciel’s thoughts began to change.  She even felt a flicker of elation.

[Level Up!]

[Archery has become Lv4.]

The first enemies they encountered were two goblins.

The moment they turned towards them, Cheon-ho was already drawing his bow.

The arrow, flying like a beam of light, pierced the neck of the goblin on the left, and by the time the second goblin’s eyes widened in surprise, the second arrow was already loosed.

[Level Up!]

[Throwing has become Lv5.]

The Giant Rat that ambushed them from the ceiling was already dead by the time it landed.  A knife, thrown so swiftly she hadn’t even seen it, was embedded in the center of its forehead.

[Level Up!]

[Concentration has become Lv4.]

Luciel, witnessing all of this, breathed heavily.  With an elated expression, she thought, ‘A battle pro!’

He wasn’t just an ordinary 1-star Hero.

There was a reason he had an arsenal hidden in his kitchen table.

‘Sob, sob, Five Goddesses. Archangel, I did it! I pulled off a jackpot!’

Luciel offered a tearful prayer.

And Cheon-ho, standing before her, hid his trembling hands and thought, ‘H-Holy shit. That was close.’

This was his first real battle.

He’d had numerous mock battles with his father that felt like the real thing, but this was his first actual combat experience.

When the giant rat jumped down from the ceiling, he was so startled he almost had a heart attack.

But still, Cheon-ho feigned composure.

If he were alone, he would have screamed the moment the rat appeared, but Luciel was behind him.  Instead of screaming pathetically, he maintained a poker face.

And to be honest, he was also a bit excited.

‘My level really increased.’

Defeat enemies, gain experience, level up.

Skills like Archery, Throwing, and Concentration were leveling up a bit too quickly, adjusting to his original abilities, but his level was increasing nonetheless.  The results were visibly apparent.

That alone made his heart race.

‘Next time, I should try using my internal energy.’

The martial arts he’d learned from his father.

The Four Heavenly Kings of Joseon and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

He had learned them since he was young, but he hadn’t properly mastered them.  The reason was simple.

‘Unlike Paien, it’s difficult to accumulate magical power on Earth. Internal energy is the same.’

That was his father’s explanation.

It was also the reason why masters of various martial arts had disappeared from Earth.

So, Cheon-ho had essentially only learned the theory.

Of course, he had also practiced the forms of the martial arts, but without internal energy, the forms were, with a bit of exaggeration, just dance moves.

But the Labyrinth World was different.

He could tell just by breathing.  He understood what his father had been talking about.  What mana mixed in the air felt like.

[Heavenly Demon Divine Art Lv1]

He wondered what his father had done in the fantasy world to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, but in any case, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, which had been just an empty shell, finally began to exert its power.

He breathed.

And by doing so, he absorbed the energy from the air.

“Cheon-ho! A big one is coming!”

Luciel shouted urgently.

Cheon-ho couldn’t see anything yet, but he could hear a thumping sound from down the corridor.

As Luciel had said, something large and heavy was definitely running towards them.

Cheon-ho lowered his stance. He extended his hand to push Luciel back and stared straight ahead.

“Kuooo!”

The creature that rounded the corner was, as Luciel had said, large.  It had the head of a rat, but its body was several times larger than Cheon-ho’s. It was easily over two meters tall.

“It’s a Rat Ogre!”

Luciel shouted.

But it wasn’t particularly helpful information.

The creature, seemingly without any weapons, charged like a tank with its sharp claws extended.

Cheon-ho focused.

The distance between them was closing.

Now only about ten meters or so.

Considering its speed, it would be only a few seconds.

Cheon-ho kicked off the ground.

But it was different this time.

It was completely different from his previous jumps, where he’d simply pushed off the ground with all his might.

This time, it was infused with internal energy.

That single fact changed everything.

He still had very little internal energy.

This was also his first time using it.

But it was enough.

The moment he kicked off the ground, Cheon-ho became the wind.

“Gasp?!”

Luciel gasped.

The Rat Ogre lost sight of Cheon-ho.

In the accelerated world, Cheon-ho thrilled.

This was internal energy.

The power that allowed humans to transcend their limits!

“Kuur!”

The Rat Ogre finally saw Cheon-ho.

It roared ferociously and swung its arm.

But it was too late. Cheon-ho was a bit faster.

One Palm Strike.

He channeled all his gathered internal energy into it.

He struck the Rat Ogre’s side precisely.

*Bang!*

The moment his palm connected with the beast’s hide, a tremendous sound erupted.  The massive Rat Ogre twisted its body and was thrown against the wall.

It didn’t stop there; it collapsed.

Luciel’s eyes widened.  She looked at Cheon-ho, not the Rat Ogre.  Cheon-ho, having leaped high into the air, spun his body.

One Kick.

Cheon-ho’s kick, delivered like a lightning bolt, struck the Rat Ogre’s head.

This attack, too, was infused with internal energy.

The sound of shattering bone echoed. The Rat Ogre’s head caved in, and Cheon-ho landed on the ground.

The Rat Ogre collapsed. It stopped moving.

“Huff.”

Cheon-ho exhaled.

Luciel, who had been watching, also released her held breath.

And then, she cheered.

“Kyaa! Hero!”

It was a jackpot. A real jackpot.

She’d pulled a super ultra jackpot from a disastrously unlucky Hero summoning!

Overcome with emotion, Luciel knelt down and offered a prayer to the Five Goddesses.

But it wasn’t long before a window of light appeared above Cheon-ho’s head.

[First 1-star Hero to defeat a Rat Ogre on the 1st floor.]

[Additional rewards are given for the Challenger’s remarkable achievement.]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Brave has become Lv2.]

[Strength has become Lv2.]

[Agility has become Lv2.]

[Flexibility has become Lv2.]

[Acquired the title “Rat Ogre Slayer”.]

[Rat Ogre Slayer: Exerts pressure on rat-type monsters, lowering their combat power.]

[Acquired the Rat Ogre’s Magical Essence.]

[Hidden Quest: The path to ‘Rat Hole’ has opened.]

Luciel couldn’t contain herself any longer at the succession of light windows.

She jumped to her feet and ran to Cheon-ho, embracing him tightly.

“Hmm.”

Cheon-ho, maintaining his composure with effort, hugged Luciel back tightly.

[Perverted has become Lv2.]

Cheon-ho remained silent.

—–CROW—–