New chapter of Let’s Create a Dungeon is out! (1/3 chapters)
Chapter 54
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There was once a man who had risen to the rank of Sword Saint. That man was the master of the current Sword Saint, Volt Kash, and despite being a “Sword Saint”, he was not called that. Instead, due to his numerous evil deeds and a few great achievements, he was feared and called “War Madman”. That man’s name was Kolter Kash. He was the founder of the Kash style.
The first recorded mention of Kolter’s name was in the north, when the empire had not yet become a great nation, and the adventurer’s guild had just been established as an organization and had not yet spread. Kolter came to register at the first Adventurer Guild established in the empire. And he brought the head of the leader of a notorious bandit gang. Even after receiving a reward that was by no means cheap, Kolter immediately sought requests. He preferred subjugation and chose harsh ones. At first, people thought he had a deep hatred for bandits and villains, but that thought was soon revised.
The empire declared war on a neighboring country. When the guild received a request for volunteer soldiers, Kolter was the first to raise his hand. Kolter was young, had earned an overwhelming amount of money, and there was no one superior to him in combat. If he chose to live steadily from now on, he could have had a safe and wealthy life. However, he rejected that and volunteered for a position with a high chance of death and barely any reward. When the guild master, curious, asked Kolter why—
“The thrill of battle, the exhilaration of seizing victory, and the indescribable pleasure of returning alive from the brink of death. These are things beyond compare.” (Kolter)
It was a phrase that could sum up Kolter, the battle maniac, in one sentence. And so, Kolter entrusted himself to the empire’s war as a volunteer soldier, and before long, his name roared across nations. They said there was a man who supported the ever-victorious empire. Whenever he went into battle, he was always the first spear. He rushed without hesitation to allies in crisis, and even if it was a land of death, he never retreated. When there was no war, he took on guild requests and contributed enthusiastically to public order.
From the outside, he must have seemed like a hero. But in reality, it was different. He ignored orders and charged ahead. However, because he produced results, no one could say anything. He plunged into crises because he wanted to be in crisis. And if that place became a land of death, that was precisely what he desired. There was no reason to retreat, no matter how many subordinates he led. He was despised by allies and viewed as a hero by enemies, an assessment completely opposite from the norm. His days filled only with battle. A life that seemed to be exactly what Kolter desired… or so one might think, but he was grumbling to the guild master.
“Neither war nor combat ever reaches the point of true danger. Victory is a given, and battle is becoming mere routine.” (Kolter)
It was the downside of having become too strong. At such a time, on a battlefield ruin, Kolter encountered an orphan hiding in the corner of an abandoned house. Eyes gleaming fiercely, killing intent extraordinarily well concealed, and an aura that only those with certain talents could acquire through training. Kolter deliberately showed an opening, and when the orphan attacked, he effortlessly countered and forcibly took the child under his protection as his disciple. The child had a talent that rivaled his own. If raised, he would eventually become a threat to Kolter. And when that happened, Kolter wanted to fight him.
For a while after taking in his disciple, Kolter actively took on requests and joined wars in various places. Of course, bringing his disciple along. Kolter himself had never had a master, so he had no idea how to train a disciple. If anything, he considered battle the true master. So, he sent his disciple onto the battlefield.
If the disciple seemed to be doing fine, he sent enemy soldiers. If the battle was evenly matched, he sent enemy soldiers. Even if his disciple was at a disadvantage, he sent enemy soldiers. And yet, the disciple survived.
The disciple had a talent for the sword. Kolter had a talent for battle. And thanks to his mad desire for combat, he survived any battlefield without taking wounds that left lasting scars. In contrast, the disciple’s talent was limited to the sword. Kolter often used swords because they were easy to handle and readily available. But if he couldn’t reach one, he used a bow. If his opponent wore full armor, he crushed them with a hammer. Because that was the most efficient way to fight.
Kolter saw little of this desire in his disciple. The disciple was fixated on cutting, but Kolter believed that was simply because he could only use a sword. Thus, Kolter judged that while his disciple had the potential to match him, he would never surpass him.
Time passed, and as the empire grew into a great power in the north, an offer came for Kolter and his disciple to become officers. It was a rather late offer, but there was a reason for it.
They had waged war relying solely on individual martial prowess, acting independently without concern for subordinates. It was strange that an officer position was even offered. However, if left alone, they might be hired by another country and turn their blades against the empire. Killing them outright would have been easier but considering their ability to charge into the fiercest battlefields and return unscathed, even relying on assassins could lead to failure and a grudge against the empire. Thus, the only option was to contain them through an official appointment.
Kolter himself had no particular attachment to the empire. He simply stayed because he knew it was the best place for battle. He had money and power. If he kept quiet, opportunities for combat would come rolling in. So, what reason did he have to become an officer…?
Just as Kolter was about to refuse, a single piece of information reached him. Others might have turned pale upon hearing it, but only Kolter smiled with delight.
A grand alliance. The nations of the north, excluding the empire, and even the eastern states were sending troops to overthrow the empire.
Kolter accepted the position on one condition.
“Place me on the front lines at all times.” (Kolter)
That wish was, of course, granted.
—
The war raged on for over ten years. The empire was on the brink of victory. Most surrounding nations had fallen, and only a few small countries remained, their aid cut off and on the verge of collapse. At that time, a major incident shook the empire.
Kolter assassinated a general. Furthermore, he killed the empire’s strongest Imperial Guard Division Commander.
That day, a meeting was held to determine the empire’s course. Gathered were veteran generals who had survived various battlefields, bureaucrats who had secretly supported the empire, the emperor who held decision-making power, his Imperial Guard Division Commander serving as both bodyguard and aide, and Kolter and his disciple, now known throughout the empire.
What began as a trivial dispute escalated. Generals who wanted to wage total war against the state coalition clashed with bureaucrats who prioritized governance and stability.
Kolter was completely unrelated. He attended the meeting out of obligation and had no interest. If the generals won, he would fight on the front lines. If the bureaucrats won, he would hunt bandits or demon kings while sniffing out trouble.
So, when the Division Commander asked Kolter for his opinion to calm the heated debate, he answered clearly and simply.
“It doesn’t matter.” (Kolter)
That one phrase, which disregarded the empire, was enough to set fire to the meeting that had already been smoldering. Shouts erupted from the civil officials, and the generals drew their swords. The shouts were of no concern. It was just a passing breeze to Kolter. But the swords were different. Not because they were weapons or because of the danger to his life. The simple logic that if they attacked, he could retaliate.
That was why he felt no hesitation in striking down the generals who came at him. Among them, there were likely some he had fought alongside on the battlefield. Clearly, the fault lay with the generals. Normally, it would be deemed unavoidable to counterattack. However, the location was bad. A brawl with blades in a meeting attended by the emperor. The ones who died were all high-ranking generals of the empire. Even if he was not at fault, rumors would spread, and it would set a bad precedent.
So, when the captain of the imperial guard stood to restrain him, Kolter was naturally displeased and showed his intent to resist. That left the captain with no choice but to draw his sword as well. Holding back was, of course, not an option. The outcome was decided in an instant. Kolter, striking first, swung down from above. The captain deflected it and countered with a diagonal slash. But faster than that, Kolter released his sword, pulled out a knife hidden in his sleeve, and slit his throat. It happened in the blink of an eye. Only his disciple was able to follow the battle with their eyes. The others only realized the outcome when they saw the blood spraying like a fountain from the captain’s neck. While the civil officials trembled and Kolter and his disciple savored the aftertaste of the fight, the emperor simply let out a sigh.
—
As a result, Kolter and his disciple were charged with the murder of generals and the captain of the imperial guard and sentenced to exile. Normally, execution would have been the expected outcome. In fact, there had been such discussions proposed by civil officials and nobles who feared Kolter’s strength. But they couldn’t capture him in the first place. If he had defeated the empire’s strongest captain of the imperial guard, then soldiers and knights would be nothing more than rust on his blade.
The emperor understood this and settled for exile, already preparing peace negotiations with the allied states. It was an unfortunate situation for everyone except for one group who were in high spirits. That was Kolter and his disciple. Branded as the murderer of generals and the captain of the imperial guard, stripped of their vast accumulated wealth, and left without a place to live, and yet they felt no despair and were even delighted.
There was only one reason. It was the fight against the captain of the imperial guard. Just three moves. It was over in an instant. But the pleasure they had felt in that battle was more intense than all the fights they had experienced before combined. And they had come to understand. Battle was not about quantity, but quality. No matter how many weaklings they faced, a single battle against a true powerhouse was far superior.
And fortunately for Kolter, but unfortunately for the empire, his exile was from the imperial capital, the very center of the empire. Though exiled, he was not imprisoned. He was merely leaving of his own volition. But his destination lay across the neighboring allied states, meaning he had a long way to travel.
Along the way, Kolter sought out strong opponents in every town, challenging them to duels. With no restraint, no mercy, and using real blades. Those he challenged were confident in their own strength. Furthermore, Kolter, once revered as a hero, was now a man with a tainted name. Defeating him would guarantee fame across the entire empire.
With such calculations, numerous warriors accepted his challenges. By the time Kolter and his disciple reached the allied states, they had left behind over a hundred corpses. All without suffering a single scratch. This greatly diminished the power of both the empire and the Adventurer Guild, which had expanded into the empire.
—
Even after entering the allied states, Kolter and his disciple continued their hunt for the strong. Occasionally, they would use bandits as test subjects for new techniques, and if an unfortunate demon king was born, they would hunt it down as well. Continuing such days, they eventually reached the city ruled by the beastman-werewolf king, a leader with great influence over multiple city-states. And on that day, Kolter committed the greatest crime of his life, one that would shake not just this city-state but the entire allied states and even beyond, reaching the kingdom and empire alike.
Their entry into the city-state had no grand purpose. As usual, they only intended to restock their food supplies and gather information on strong warriors. The food supply was quickly taken care of, but information on strong opponents was difficult to find. That was only natural. Everyone knew that if word of a powerful warrior reached Kolter, that person would be killed.
Just as they were about to give up, they overheard drunkards in a tavern discussing who was the strongest. The names mentioned were Kolter, his disciple, a giant dwarf, and the wolf king feared even by the empire, Volt Zaar. Yes, the king of this very place.
That night, the supposedly impenetrable royal castle, the fortress guarded by the strongest warriors in the allied states shook. In the physical sense.
Kolter had initially restrained himself after hearing the tavern talk, but his fighting spirit could not be contained, and he ended up launching an assault. Leaving the guards to his disciple, Kolter rushed toward the strongest presence, the wolf king. The wolf king was in the throne room. Having sensed the intruder early on, he had deliberately chosen to wait there for the confrontation.
“I take you for the Wolf King. I challenge you to a duel. No need to ask why, is there?” (Kolter)
In response, the wolf king let out a single roar. And the battle between the two warriors raged on until dawn.
—
Kolter and his disciple became infamous across the entire continent. As criminals pursued by the allied states. The king’s assassination, the destruction of the royal castle, and the massacre of all the guards. Those were the three major charges, along with numerous minor crimes.
Kolter had killed the king. His disciple had slaughtered the guards. There was no room for denial. As for the castle’s destruction, that was merely collateral damage from Kolter and the Wolf King’s battle.
Chased from the empire, now pursued by the allied states, the two made their way toward the kingdom, the last great land, with the largest territory of all. Once they reached the kingdom, the soldiers of the allied states would no longer pursue them, and they could finally rest in peace.
Yet Kolter’s expression was grim. It was not because he regretted being exiled from the empire or because he was shocked to be branded a criminal by the allied states. He lacked such a conscience entirely.
The kingdom had no rumors of powerful warriors. There were stories of skilled fighters, but none strong enough to satisfy Kolter. The only remaining formidable foe was the giant dwarf in the dwarven nation to the east of the allied states. However, that country lay in the opposite direction of the kingdom. If they went there, the allied states’ soldiers would catch them, and things would turn disastrous.
It would be best to settle down in the kingdom. That was the logical choice. But if Kolter had been capable of making such a decision, he would never have been exiled from the empire. And above all, he had an overwhelming urge to fight a strong opponent. He had defeated the Wolf King but had not emerged unscathed. He had been wounded enough that reckless behavior was impossible until now. With his injuries fully healed, he could finally move freely again. And so, Kolter did what he had long resisted.
“Hey, you. No, that doesn’t sound right. A strong name… Volt. He was strong. Disciple, from now on, you’re Volt. Volt Kash.” (Kolter)
The orphan he had taken in merely for their talent, without even giving them a name, had grown into someone spoken of as Kolter’s equal. He had witnessed their battles against the guards, against their foes. He had grown remarkably strong.
Even compared to the captain of the imperial guard or Volt Zaar, he no longer fell short. And if given more time, he would grow even stronger. But Kolter couldn’t wait. It was impossible to wait. Like a starving predator before its prey, it was a miracle he had held back until now.
” Kolter Kash challenges Volt Kash to a duel. You won’t say no, will you?” (Kolter)
In response, his disciple, Volt, drew their sword. The first and final duel between master and apprentice. Only one would be left standing.
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