Dungeon Breaker

Chapter 20

—–CROW—–

In the Labyrinth World, there were Five Goddesses.

Aiter, the Goddess of Life, Passion, and the Sun.

Eos, the Goddess of Death, Darkness, and Dawn.

Yivnyle, the Goddess of Strife, Love, and War.

Theresia, the Goddess of Earth, Sea, and Sky.

And one more.

A Goddess whose name was unknown.

Standing before the stairs leading to the second floor, Cheon-ho paused.

“So this is the stairway down.”

Before Cheon-ho and Luciel stood a giant pillar.

Its width alone seemed to be at least tens of meters, but what was more impressive was its height.

He couldn’t even see where it ended. It truly resembled a pillar holding up the sky.

‘Why couldn’t I see this from afar?’

When he was in the tower, this pillar hadn’t been there. No, he hadn’t seen it even as they approached the stairs.

The pillar only became visible when they got close – within about 40 meters.

“The power of the Great Labyrinth conceals the pillars. That’s why you can’t see them until you get close. You were able to find it early because you purified the surroundings, Hero.”

As if sensing Cheon-ho’s confusion, Luciel spoke in a slightly dazed voice.

It was actually Luciel’s first time seeing a pillar of the Great Labyrinth as well.

“[Are there several of these pillars on just the first floor?]”

It wasn’t just the first floor.  There would be pillars on the lower floors as well, meaning there would be dozens, if not hundreds, of them.

“Luciel, how many floors does the Great Labyrinth have?”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t asked this most crucial question yet.

Luciel answered in a slightly uncertain tone,

“The exact number of floors hasn’t been determined yet. But the current estimate is that it’s no deeper than 40 floors.”

“Hmm.”

‘That’s lower than I expected.’

It was common knowledge (?) in the industry that dungeons like this had 100 floors.

But it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

The place where he and Luciel were currently standing wasn’t outside the Great Labyrinth. It was the first floor.

Strictly speaking, despite being indoors, there was a sky.

With this kind of structure, even if it was only around 40 floors, the final depth would undoubtedly be immense.

“What about the progress of the conquest?”

“Well… up to the 5th floor of the Great Labyrinth is considered the lower levels. From the 6th floor onwards are the middle levels, and from the 15th floor onwards are the deep levels.”

Luciel squatted down and drew a picture on the ground.

Just like when they first met, it seemed to be a habit of hers.

“The conquest headquarters are in the middle levels. Most of the lesser deities of the Five Goddesses are also in the middle levels.  In the deep levels, selected heroes and senior angels are carrying out the conquest.”

Luciel pointed to almost the very end of the pillar she had drawn on the ground.

“Currently, the conquest has progressed up to the 23rd floor, I believe.  But as you experienced, Hero, we haven’t completely cleared each floor.  We’ve only secured the descending pillars and their immediate surroundings.”

The ultimate goal of the Five Goddesses, the angels, and the heroes wasn’t to completely conquer the Great Labyrinth, but to reach the lowest level and banish the Demon God and the Great Labyrinth from this world.

Therefore, it was an understandable choice, considering efficiency.

“The deeper you go into the deep levels, the more fragments of pure labyrinth there are, compared to fragments of our world. I’ve heard that from the deep levels onwards, it’s practically another world.”

“[Then, are most of the people who lived in the original world living in the lower or middle levels?]”

When Cheon-ho relayed Mitra’s question to Luciel, she nodded.

“Yes, I believe many descendants of the Empire are gathered in the middle levels.”

The power of the Demon God, who ruled the Great Labyrinth, grew stronger the deeper you went.

Naturally, the monsters also grew stronger the closer they were to the deep levels, but the middle levels housed powerful forces of this world, including the Five Goddesses.

Therefore, depending on the area, the middle levels could be safer than the lower levels.

“It seems this is the outskirts.”

They hadn’t found any significant traces of human activity on their way here.

No, the fact that the Imperial Guardian Sword – the Holy Sword Mitra – hadn’t been discovered until now was the strongest evidence.

“[Perhaps we’ll have to descend quite deep on our own.]”

But it was too early to jump to conclusions. There was the angel who had sent the distress call.

“Let’s hurry down.”

As Cheon-ho stood up, Luciel also stood up and erased the drawing on the ground with her foot.

“I learned that we’re safe from enemy attacks on the stairs, but please be careful, just in case.”

“Yes, Luciel.”

Replying briefly, Cheon-ho looked at the pillar again.  A large door, big enough for dozens of people to enter at once, was open in the center of the pillar, and inside, there was only darkness.

“I’ll lead the way, so follow me.”

“Yes, Hero.”

Cheon-ho lit the torch and started walking ahead.

He had thought there would be a circular staircase, like in the tower, because of the pillar’s shape, but he was wrong.

An ordinary rectangular staircase stretched endlessly downwards.

‘It feels like going down an up escalator.’

He was definitely going down, but it didn’t really feel like he was moving forward.

It seemed like some kind of magical power was at work.

‘If we keep going down like this…’

According to Luciel, the second floor, like the first, was a mixture of various terrains.

Therefore, he couldn’t know for sure what the environment on the second floor would be like.

But he could still make some preparations.

‘Let’s avoid combat as much as possible.’

Their top priority was rescuing Saschiel, the 7th Grade Battle Angel.

Avoiding unnecessary fights was the best way to save time.

And what he needed to do that…

As Cheon-ho walked, he slowly adjusted his breathing.

He drew up his internal energy, exhaled a long breath, and sharpened his senses.

He spread his ki sense widely.

Like magic, he read the presence of the surroundings.

It was different from sharpening his hearing and vision to detect the presence of wild animals or poachers.

He sensed directly.

He read the surroundings with his thinly and widely spread internal energy.

Cheon-ho sensed Luciel.

He heard her heartbeat and her breathing.

Further.

To a wider range.

[Presence Detection has become Lv4.]

[Internal Energy Manipulation Lv1 acquired.]

[Internal Energy Manipulation has become Lv2.]

Cheon-ho descended the stairs with his eyes closed.

He sensed everything within a 20-meter radius around him.

And at some point, he stopped.

“We’re almost there.”

Cheon-ho said, and Luciel gulped.

Indeed, light was visible beyond his feet.

“I’ll explain before we go out. As I mentioned on the way here, we’ll focus on finding Saschiel.  We’ll avoid combat as much as possible.”

“Yes, Hero.”

“You remember the hand signals I taught you, right?”

“Yes.”

They weren’t difficult hand signals.

Five commonly used hand signals from the military, easily understandable at a glance.

“Alright, let’s do it as planned.  From now on, we don’t speak to each other.”

At Cheon-ho’s words, Luciel nodded, covering her mouth with both hands.

It was a very Luciel-like action.

Chuckling softly, Cheon-ho activated the window of light.

It wasn’t the distress call Luciel received, but the hidden quest window.

Just like the rat hole’s location, Saschiel’s location was roughly indicated.

Cheon-ho compared the map he had memorized with the window of light once again and then started descending the stairs.

[Adventure Progress]

[Main Quest: Break through the 2nd floor of the Great Labyrinth and descend to the 3rd floor.]

A new window of light appeared as soon as he exited the pillar.

Cheon-ho quickly closed the window of light, lowered his stance, and looked around.

The visibility was poor.

A thick fog covered the ground, making it difficult to see far, and even then, all he could see were trees.

Trees with large, wide leaves, numerous in number.

Because of them, almost the entire forest was covered in dark shadows.

‘The second floor is a forest.’

Looking up, he could see the sky, but it was an even darker shade of gray than the first floor.

It gave the impression that the ceiling of the second floor was covered in clouds rather than being a sky.

In any case, it was at least tens of meters high.

Cheon-ho looked down at the ground again. It was covered in undergrowth, but it seemed possible to walk without making too much noise.

[Stealth Movement Lv1 acquired.]

[Stealth Movement has become Lv5.]

As he walked, using the techniques he had learned from playing hide-and-seek with his father since childhood, windows of light appeared consecutively.

Since such movement was impossible for Luciel, she crouched down and flew low, almost hovering.  If she didn’t touch the ground, she wouldn’t make any noise.

Cheon-ho drew a map in his mind.

He matched it with the scenery before him and figured out the path they needed to take. This way.

Cheon-ho gestured, and Luciel, covering her mouth with both hands, followed behind him.

“[Truly amazing.  I’d believe you were a skilled Imperial Ranger.]”

Mitra’s admiration was valid.

Cheon-ho wasn’t just walking silently.

He sensed his surroundings with his widely spread ki sense.

He read every trace he encountered, grasped the movements of the creatures around him, and prevented any potential encounters.

Mitra had thought he was just good at cooking, incredibly skilled with his hands, and a decent fighter, but he was beyond its expectations.

“[No, even just those things you mentioned are far from ordinary.]”

Luciel was also impressed once again.

Cheon-ho was slowly but surely approaching Saschiel.

‘So cool, Hero.’

Look at the aura of reliability emanating from his back.

Luciel had reached the point where she found even Cheon-ho cutting meat to be a captivating sight.

And Cheon-ho, receiving the attention of the holy sword and the angel, thought,

‘What kind of angel will she be?’

Saschiel, the 7th Grade Battle Angel.

He didn’t have any ulterior motives.

She was just someone he had to rescue. Someone he would likely be traveling with for a while.

‘Hmm, good.’

Convincing himself, Cheon-ho continued to think.

The only angel he knew was Luciel, a true angel who was truly angelic.

Since Saschiel was also an angel, would she be similar to Luciel?

But she was a battle angel.

Perhaps she would be more mature, stronger, or physically superior to Luciel.

If Luciel was a young girl, perhaps Saschiel would be an older woman like a Valkyrie from mythology…

‘Hmm.’

Luciel had pink hair, so Saschiel would probably have blonde hair.

Blonde hair, no matter what.

After roughly picturing her in his mind, Cheon-ho nodded with a satisfied expression.

Then he raised his left hand and stopped Luciel.

They were almost there.

In the low-lying fog, Cheon-ho twitched his nose.  A faint but distinct smell of blood mixed with the air.

It was highly likely Saschiel’s blood.

‘I don’t sense any other presence nearby.’

“[Did you find her?]”

Even though only Cheon-ho could hear it, perhaps caught up in the atmosphere, Mitra asked in a very soft voice.

Cheon-ho just nodded and held the Heat Dagger in reverse grip.  He took very slow steps in the darkness created by the tree shadows.

It was dark.

The darkness created by the shadows was so thick that it felt like stepping into a black sea.

But Cheon-ho didn’t rashly light the torch.

Instead, he opened the window of light, using its faint glow to push back the surrounding darkness.

And after walking for a while…

Cheon-ho stopped Luciel again.

He detected a presence nearby and caught his breath.

A monster or a wild beast.

An enemy that was likely the reason Saschiel couldn’t move.

To launch a surprise attack, Cheon-ho even closed the window of light and melted into the darkness.

But just then…

“Hero, I think I found her.”

Luciel whispered and instantly illuminated the surrounding darkness with a pink light.

Cheon-ho was startled and tried to stop her, but it was too late.

As the darkness receded, he saw what lay ahead.  A large beast was curled up near the roots of a tree.

A lion with a golden mane.

Cheon-ho maintained his vigilance and tightened his grip on the Heat Dagger. And then Luciel said,

“Saschiel-nim?  Is that you, Saschiel-nim?”

‘Huh?’

Cheon-ho blinked, and the lion, hearing Luciel’s voice, slowly opened its eyes.

Luciel smiled brightly again and said,

“We’ve come to help you! This is Hero Park Cheon-ho.”

Instead of answering, the lion breathed a sigh of relief, its face strained.

It seemed to be Saschiel.

“Hmm.”

A male lion with wings.

Now that he looked closely, it even had a halo above its head.

Moreover, as he had expected, it looked more mature, stronger, and physically superior to Luciel.

Its mane was also gold.

“Hmm.”

“[You, is something wrong?  Your strength is draining.]”

“Hmm.”

Cheon-ho didn’t answer Mitra’s question.

He just stared into the distance with a melancholic expression.

—–CROW—–