Chapter 9:
Dungeon Defense (1)
Laban’s trump card was the Tantra of the Esoteric Vajra School.
Laban had lost his body and inner energy, but along with his soul, he retained the subtle body (sūkṣma śarīra), the intermediary between soul and flesh. Through it, he could wield spiritual power.
Though damaged during the soul transfer process, losing the attainments of his past life, his fifteen years of effort, which had formed his dantian, had also allowed him to open part of his core chakras.
Opening the chakras enabled the transmission of life energy, prana, to the physical body. Using prana as fuel, he could exert power unattainable by ordinary people, much like inner energy.
The problem was that prana was life force itself; consuming it caused exhaustion far greater than using inner energy.
“Excuse me…”
While Laban sat comfortably, regulating his breathing, and soothing his aching dantian, the adventurers who had finished emergency treatment spoke to Rayoshi and Zoltan.
Thanking them for the help, vowing to repay the debt of their lives, asking their names, and which guild they belonged to—many questions were exchanged.
They were astounded to hear Laban was only a 6th-grade adventurer. While combat power wasn’t the only skill an adventurer needed, it generally correlated with rank.
The combat power Laban had displayed clearly belonged to at least 11th grade or above. Hearing this, Zoltan shrugged.
“We didn’t know he was that strong either. Seems he recently awakened or something.”
“Is… is that so?”
Though Zoltan had hastily fabricated the explanation, it worked.
There were definitely people who grew dramatically stronger after a special event. And most such people grew into heroes.
If Laban was one of those, the adventurers present could say they had witnessed the start of a legend.
“We made it in time thanks to your party member. That guy was really dedicated too. Breaking through the dungeon alone…”
“He was our party’s guide. Did well, as expected of him.”
“I’m still worried he might be lost. Shouldn’t we first signal that safety is secured here?”
“Ah, right.”
Hearing Rayoshi, the mage snapped to attention and pulled out a guide stone. Manipulating it with magic, the stone emitted a bluish light.
“If everyone’s done dealing with things, let’s head back. We have rescue insurance with the guild. We’ll show our thanks with that when we return.”
“Good to hear.”
“But before that, there’s something to do.”
“What’s that?”
“First, we must treat our saviors to the best dinner!”
The warrior said heartily. Everyone at the table smiled broadly.
“You know what’s right! Agreed!”
“Perfect. We just moved to this area and were hoping to find senior adventurers to teach us the ropes.”
The adventurers called themselves the Volody Party. Their leader, Volody, was a 10th-grade adventurer, a semi-veteran on the verge of promotion to 11th grade.
The orc Laban killed was an unbountied new type, but based on Volody’s testimony, its threat level was set at a minimum of 11. Consequently, Laban’s grade was readily recognized.
There were opinions that he deserved an even higher promotion, but the guild consensus was that he still lacked achievements and needed verification of abilities beyond combat power.
“Over here! Palińka and Guyasi for everyone! And twenty totok, plus a large plate of today’s sausages!”
The moment they entered the tavern, Volody shouted vigorously.
Just as a martial artist in an inn might first order huangjiu and noodles, palińka and goulash were the first drinks and food any adventurer in this region sought.
True enough, as soon as Volody ordered, two servers swiftly ladled soup from steaming pots and filled cups from a large barrel.
No preparation needed. They dished out the always-ready food as a matter of course.
Laban admired the natural flow of movements. It was the gesture of a master, though in a different field.
“Phew! Palińka after a brush with death tastes even more special.”
“Ah, I know exactly what you mean.”
Rayoshi clinked glasses with Volody. Others around the table agreed and toasted with them.
The actual protagonist, Laban, couldn’t join in raising a glass. Unlike huangjiu, palińka was extremely strong, too much for someone as young as Laban.
The moment Laban sat down, Rayoshi took the cup already at his place. Laban protested but had no choice. A fruit drink was brought for Laban instead.
‘Including my past life, I’m over three times older than you!’
Somehow, the memory of his master laughing, “Wine brings a hundred harms and no benefit; even Lord Buddha forbade it,” echoed in his ears.
“Anyway, I was shocked. Laban, was it? Now I see why you’re the youngest but the leader. How are you so strong?”
“It’s hard for me to explain too. I just felt that power rise up.”
“Is that so? It was definitely different from magic. What was it, really?”
“I’ve heard some people are born with special magic inside them. Maybe Laban is one of those?”
“Indeed! I hear there are wizard in the Central Empire who can control fire from birth.”
“In the north, there are those born as if they were knights, too. Berserkers, right?”
Magic was convenient in many ways. Being a common technique whose secrets weren’t fully revealed, even fairly strange phenomena were dismissed as ‘some magic we don’t know about.’
The Berserker trait of the Elbrod family was like that. In truth, the power Laban displayed was acquired through inner alchemy and Tantric cultivation, unrelated to innate traits.
“Anyway, with that combat power, reaching veteran grade will be instantaneous.”
“It’s not that easy. Having strength isn’t bad, but I’m still not familiar with the deep layers of dungeons.”
“That stuff grows quickly if you go around with a few experienced people. The most important thing is being a combat asset. Well, it’s war in the end.”
“In that case, could you be that experienced helper?”
Rayoshi subtly asked. Volody put down his cup and pondered briefly. Soon, he raised his cup again.
“If it’s repaying a life debt, there’s nothing I can’t do! I may have been lacking today, but my dungeon experience isn’t short! Cheers!”
Rayoshi thought things were going well. They had found a decent helper until additional support arrived from the main family.
Volody was an adventurer rooted in this area with considerable experience. With him, raising their grade should proceed smoothly.
After the feast, Laban returned to the inn and sank into meditation, replenishing the exhausted prana with esoteric breathing techniques. Today, he had a new topic to ponder.
‘Monsters trained in demonic arts.’
Laban recalled his past life’s nemesis, the Heavenly Demon. Arrogant enough to claim the title of ‘Demon King’ Pashun as his own nickname, he was powerful and evil.
Even considering the chaotic times—Mongols from the north, Japanese pirates from the south, sycophants around the emperor, bandits plaguing the people—few were as wicked as the Heavenly Demon.
Finding traces of such a being in a distant, different world was no small matter.
It was impossible to deny, having seen and experienced it firsthand. What happened, happened; denying it was useless.
Rather, he needed to find out why it happened and consider how to properly resolve this matter.
‘Nothing that has happened can happen only once. That’s the way of the world.’
Anything that has happened once can happen again countless times. It meant that as long as Laban was here, someone else from the martial world could also be here.
‘Could it be that the Heavenly Demon didn’t die then, or died and came here? Is that possible?’
The Heavenly Demon’s martial arts were formidable, but his attainment as a Taoist cultivator wasn’t particularly high.
Demonic arts, by nature, involved abandoning higher attainments for greater immediate power. Thus, they employed shortcuts like blocking certain meridians where qi should flow.
It was hard to imagine such a person achieving the world-transcending great technique. Raven’s arrival here wasn’t even the intended effect of the great technique but a kind of accident.
‘Even if not the Heavenly Demon himself, many learned his demonic arts. Perhaps a subordinate achieved great success as a Taoist and pierced the world’s barrier.’
Whoever came here this way was undoubtedly as evil and vicious as the Heavenly Demon. Teaching martial arts to non-humans, to monsters!
‘What must be done immediately is clear.’
He needed to investigate how many more monsters had learned demonic arts. He needed to find out who was behind it and deal with them.
It wasn’t something he could do alone. For such an investigation, more minds were better.
However…
‘I never expected something like this.’
Until now, Laban hadn’t cultivated a single proper subordinate. What use was the seventh son building a faction? He’d only face checks!
Moreover, why would someone about to leave bother gathering many personal followers?
With that mindset, he had cultivated alone until now. So, it was difficult to ask the family for help.
Then, he needed to build influence outside the family, which was also a headache.
He was planning to leave anyway. He could end his worries, leave everything to the people of this world, and depart without a second thought.
But that would make him a petty villain, a scoundrel, not a chivalrous hero!
Sins committed by a martial artist should be dealt with by a fellow righteous path member of the same world.
‘Where to even start? It would be great if Brother Zhuo could advise me at a time like this.’
All connections from his past life were left in the martial world Laban had to manage on his own here.
‘First, it’s about people. The beginning and end of all matters lie with people.’
Laban ended his meditation and opened his eyes. Rayoshi and Zoltan were also each meditating in their own ways, organizing their magic.
These two were family men, not Laban’s men. But it was also true they were currently under Laban’s influence.
How could he best persuade these two? Laban sank into thought.
“Things went well. His 6th grade was recognized, and in terms of combat power, he’s already being treated as veteran-level.”
Early in the morning, Rayoshi, who had gone to the guild, reported the general situation.
Laban had already become an overnight star in the guild. Volody was an adventurer who had started here and risen to near-veteran status. Gaining someone with such deep roots naturally brought fame.
Quietly, steadily raising his grade was already out of the question. Laban’s name would spread quickly, so they needed to change their approach.
“Let’s consider it an opportunity. Volody has agreed to join our dungeon explorations for a while, so it’s best to stabilize his reputation by going together.”
Stabilize, not elevate, his reputation. That point was crucial.
He was a suddenly appearing, young, unreasonably strong person. They needed to bring him down to a level that could somehow be explained.
“I’ll send word to ask when exactly the family can provide additional troops.”
“No. Finding local helpers is also a way, so let’s not rely too heavily on the main family.
Zoltan, you seem good with people. Blend in with the adventurers and gather information.”
“Got it. Leave it to me.”
His amiable, easygoing personality seemed perfect for this. Just yesterday, he had quickly befriended the Volody party, returning with even their personal stories memorized.
“And Rayoshi, even when it’s just us, be mindful of your speech as if it’s training.”
“Yes. Ah, right. I will.”
“Good. And today, let’s rest while each tending to our gear. We’ll enter the dungeon tomorrow.”
“No reason to refuse a break!”
Zoltan answered cheerfully.
