Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #4
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[Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #4]
&
“Haah, haah. I’m sorry. I got too excited.”
“Mm.”
No, it’s fine.
Please get excited more often.
Feel free to get even more excited. Be bold about it.
Of course, these were just his inner thoughts.
Lucille looked up at Cheon-ho with her white cheeks flushed red, then turned toward the Rat Ogre and said.
“To take down a Rat Ogre on the first floor... and in just two strikes! Rat Ogres are among the strongest monsters that appear here. You’re truly amazing!”
“Mm, I see.”
No wonder it looked so damn strong.
Honestly, he’d been lucky.
It was the first time he’d ever used internal energy.
If he’d been even a little off, things wouldn’t have gone this smoothly.
‘But...’
Cheon-ho clenched his fist.
His heart pounded.
He thrilled at the power of the internal energy he’d used for the first time.
Truth be told, the reason Cheon-ho had attempted martial arts infused with internal energy wasn’t because he’d gotten carried away by the moment.
It was because he had no confidence he could incapacitate it quickly with ordinary arrows or thrown knives.
Dozens of arrows would’ve stuck in it, and it still would’ve gone berserk.
Thrown knives wouldn’t have been much different.
But martial arts with internal energy had subdued it.
‘Father.’
He thought he understood the expression his father had worn while teaching him about internal energy and mana back then.
His son couldn’t build up internal energy due to Earth’s environment—it must have pained him.
“Um, excuse me.”
But right then, as he was about to slip into reminiscence, Cheon-ho turned toward the voice. Lucille had her hands clasped together, her lips trembling.
“Ch-Cheon-ho.”
“Yes.”
“Wh-what kind of person was that guy you were doing that with?”
‘As expected.’
He’d anticipated this question. So Cheon-ho gave the rehearsed answer.
“Just a student.”
That’s what his father had said.
A hero must have an air of mystery.
That’s what makes them cooler.
“I-I see.”
Lucille smiled awkwardly as she thought.
‘He really isn’t normal...’
He’s definitely a good person, a reliable hero, but he’s not normal.
Hiding a weapon under the table, and all.
“Anyway, a hidden quest has appeared.”
“R-right! The hidden quest!”
Lucille clapped her hands with a smack and spoke again, her eyes sparkling.
“Cheon-ho, first, collect the Rat Ogre’s mana essence. Absorbing it will increase your mana.”
“My mana?”
“Yes, hold it tight in your hand and imagine absorbing it.”
With that, Lucille picked up the black marble the size of a ping-pong ball in front of the Rat Ogre and held it out to Cheon-ho.
‘Like an item drop?’
The Rat Ogre’s corpse was intact, but only the mana essence had separated.
Either way, absorption came first, as Lucille said.
Cheon-ho took the Rat Ogre’s mana essence from her and gripped it tightly in one hand.
Absorb it.
And just like that, it happened.
That’s when Cheon-ho realized.
His father had been right. Mana and internal energy were the same. They only diverged based on where you accumulated them.
Since Cheon-ho had already circulated internal energy, the Rat Ogre’s essence accumulated in his dantian.
‘Ah, aah, aaaah.’
His internal energy reserves more than doubled in an instant. They’d been pathetically low to begin with, but this was clear progress.
‘F-fucking awesome.’
So this was what an inner core was like.
If mana essences dropped from Rat Ogres, they’d drop from others too.
Absorbing them as they came would let him build internal energy far faster than cultivating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art alone.
And if he did that—
‘True martial arts.’
It was impossible right now.
But with enough accumulated internal energy, he’d be able to use them.
The supreme martial arts his father had taught him.
The Four Guardian Kings Martial Arts and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art!
“How is it, Cheon-ho?”
“Mm.”
Wondering if she was more excited than he was, Lucille asked with her face flushed red. Cheon-ho feigned calm as he answered.
“I absorbed the mana.”
“No rejection reaction?”
“No, it went in smoothly.”
“That’s a relief.”
Lucille let out a sigh of relief and explained gently.
“Monsters’ mana is often impure, after all. Since you absorbed the Rat Ogre’s mana without issue, you should be able to handle most monsters’ mana.”
“I see.”
It was probably thanks to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
That art crushed the energies of all things in the world arrogantly and made them the power of the Heavenly Demon.
“Then let me explain the hidden quest. Oh no, my heart’s pounding so much. Just a moment. Let me calm down a bit.”
“Sure, take your time.”
Lucille pressed her chest and took deep breaths, while Cheon-ho did the same inwardly.
And after a while.
Having finally regained her composure, Lucille said.
“Hidden quests are, as the name implies, quests that are hidden. You can’t discover them just by descending the Great Labyrinth normally.”
“Are the quests fixed? Meaning... they stay hidden until someone discovers them?”
“Not quite. Quests aren’t pre-prepared; they generate in real-time based on the situation.”
“Mm.”
He got the general idea.
The Labyrinth World was incredibly game-like, but it wasn’t actually a game.
There were no quests pre-made by creators for players.
When a situation arose, it took the form of a quest tailored to it, with rewards accordingly.
‘The five goddesses hijacked the labyrinth system for this purpose.’
To support heroes.
It all made sense.
“Anyway, hidden quests are rare, right?”
“Yes, and their rewards are usually great. It’s best to clear them if possible.”
“Mm, got it. Let’s check it out then.”
You couldn’t tell what it was from the title alone.
“Sure, Cheon-ho.”
Truly thrilled, Lucille brightly replied and wiggled her fingers in the air.
[Hidden Quest: Rat Hole]
[The apostle of the vile Plague God, Mad Crawler, has created a massive burrow between the 1st and 2nd floors.]
[Exterminate the monsters in the Rat Hole and defeat Mad Crawler to thwart the Plague God’s evil scheme.]
[Clear the Rat Hole and destroy the Plague God’s altar.]
“Mm.”
He’d taken down a Rat Ogre, so it gave a rat-related quest.
Textbook.
‘But what’s this scheme, exactly?’
He had no idea, but he let it slide for now. The quest objective was clear.
“A real hidden quest... This won’t be easy. ‘Burrow’ means tons of Giant Rats, and maybe multiple Rat Ogres.”
Lucille’s expression darkened. She’d just insisted they had to clear the hidden quest, but now it seemed like she’d suggest skipping it if poked.
“Let’s at least try. Can you tell me the Rat Hole’s location?”
“One moment.”
As Lucille moved her fingers again, a rough map of light appeared in the air. It showed the path so far and ahead, with the Rat Hole marked in red.
“It’s not too far. Looks like there’s a hidden path.”
“I’ll copy it down.”
Maps were crucial in unfamiliar places—especially labyrinths.
Cheon-ho quickly sketched the map on the notebook Lucille pulled from her inventory.
[Map Making Lv3 has been reached.]
It felt rough, but it was nearly as precise as tracing.
Naturally, Lucille’s eyes widened.
Cheon-ho finished drawing, lips pressed tight, then asked one last thing.
“By the way, can you store corpses in the inventory?”
“Uh... yes, if they’re dead. Time stops inside, so they don’t rot.”
“I see. Then let’s store the Giant Rat corpses in the inventory.”
Cheon-ho turned toward the Giant Rat he’d just felled and said.
It was dozens of times bigger than a normal rat—almost the size of a large dog.
“Y-you can store them, but... what for?”
“Food.”
At Cheon-ho’s answer, Lucille’s face went pale.
He meant eating monsters—rats, no less.
But there was no choice. They had to eat to survive.
With trembling hands, Lucille opened her inventory, and Cheon-ho shoved in not just the Giant Rat corpse but the Rat Ogre’s too.
“Then let’s head out.”
“Oh, before that, Cheon-ho. I forgot something.”
“What?”
“The party. You’ve reached main level 5, right? Now you can form a party.”
“Uh... you mean group up?”
“Yes, usually heroes do it among themselves, but angels work too. I’ll take a bit of your experience, but in return, my healing magic and... various buffs will be more efficient. Long-term parties raise the party level itself, unlocking more features.”
“Then let’s do it.”
“Yes, one moment.”
Lucille quickly moved her fingers, creating a new light window.
[Will you form a party with 9th Rank Angel Lucille?]
[Yes / No]
‘So she’s 9th rank after all.’
He didn’t know angel ranks well, but it didn’t sound high.
“Cheon-ho?”
“Yes, let’s do it now.”
As he touched the light window, the party formed instantly. No visible change, but he felt subtly connected to Lucille.
“It worked.”
“Mm. Then let’s go.”
“Yes, Cheon-ho!”
Lucille clenched her fist like she was steeling herself and replied energetically.
Cheon-ho smiled faintly and took the lead.
&
Arriving at the Rat Hole by following the map, Lucille blinked.
She felt like she’d been blinking nonstop since entering the Great Labyrinth, but she couldn’t help it.
“What are you doing now?”
“Lighting a fire.”
[Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #4] End