King's Rule: Creating the Strongest Kingdom With My Broken Talent-Chapter 9: Special Quest

Vesh entered.

There was a three-meter-wide corridor at first that curved to the right before the vast cavern finally appeared in front of his eyes.

And his body froze.

Not because of danger. King’s Rule would’ve made him escape if he were in danger.

No. He froze out of his own will because of the absurd scene before his eyes.

The cavern had iron chunks. A lot of them. [D-rank Gray Iron]

[Congratulations. You have found Iron. You have acquired D-rank Blueprint -- Furnace]

None of the Iron was mined.

But there was a table.

Chairs.

A large square box covered in a cloth.

Two small empty crates.

Water tub.

And a frigging toilet.

Someone was clearly living here!

’What the hell...so this is not a secret area. Someone has found it already.’ Vesh’s body began moving forward, heading towards the nearest iron.

[King’s Rule Executed.]

Vesh looked around. ’So there’s no other passage, at least, I can’t see one from here.’

’And no danger...for now.’

Vesh didn’t think that whoever lived here was weak, and that party might not like intruders.

"W-Who is there?"

A feminine voice rang out, carrying fear and clear despair.

Clank! Clank!

Vesh’s eyes widened as his head moved in the direction of the large covered box.

He walked towards it without hesitation and pulled the rug.

The cloth slid off in a single motion.

Dust scattered.

The square box was not a storage crate.

It was a reinforced iron cage.

Thick bars. Locking hinges. Strong enough to hold something that did not wish to be held.

Vesh’s breath paused.

She looked up at him with wide blue eyes.

Not the soft blue of the sky.

But the clear, crystalline blue of a glacial lake under moonlight.

Her hair spilled over her shoulders in waves of deep violet, almost amethyst in hue, long and slightly disheveled yet still impossibly elegant. Even in captivity, it carried a faint sheen as if light favored it.

She was not a young girl.

She was a woman.

Twenty-six, perhaps.

Mature beauty shaped by confidence rather than innocence.

Her features were refined, sharp yet gentle, with high cheekbones and a smooth complexion untouched by grime despite the crude surroundings. Her lips were soft and naturally tinted, pressed tight in anxiety until she saw him clearly.

She wore a blue and white dress.

Not royal, but not common either.

The fabric was slightly fancy, layered with delicate silver thread embroidery along the hems. The bodice was fitted modestly, outlining her figure without vulgarity. The skirt flowed around her legs, though now it was creased from sitting within the confined space. The sleeves were elegant, tapering at her wrists, with faint decorative patterns that hinted at either nobility or wealth.

"Who are you?" Vesh just couldn’t help but utter the question in pure curiosity of a gentleman seeking a woman’s name.

"V-Viana Crosshawk." She spoke, her voice timid.

"I am Vesh. Nice to meet you."

Vesh’s question seemed to bring some light and hope to her eyes. ’Did he stumble upon here? Will I be...saved?’

"You look scared." Vesh approached the prison.

And without hesitation, swung his sword twice.

Clank! Clank! Clank!...

The thick iron bars were severed with a single motion.

Viana gulped. ’Is he a good person or a bad person?’

"Let’s get out of here first." Vesh stretched his hand and wryly smiled. "I don’t want to encounter the person who put you here."

[Viana Crosshawk]

[Lifeform rank: Seed | Seed Force 320]

[Combat Power: 1310]

Her combat power was quite low.

She looked like a noble, but her bearing didn’t match it.

Vesh looked at her and saw despair mixed with hope in her eyes as clear as day.

Those eyes were very familiar to him. They relayed that she had found the eventual unsatisfying end of her life, but still couldn’t help but cling to some hope.

Just like him on Earth.

"I won’t hurt you. I promise you." Vesh moved a step forward. "I just want to save you."

Viana opened her mouth and closed it again.

She was looking at Vesh, in his eyes, as if trying to discern him.

"You...are a good person." Viana’s eyes teared up, and she smiled.

Vesh saw that the despair in her eye didn’t decrease, but increased.

And hope lessened.

’Why?’

Vesh’s eyes were tearing up purely due to the related emotions, but he stopped himself.

"You should escape...I, I will bring death to you if I come with you." Viana sat down, her head on her knees and arms around her legs. "The people who imprisoned me here...they want to use me as an offering to a cult. They are very dangerous."

Viana smiled, full of sadness and woe. "I wasn’t kidnapped here. I was sold by the royal family of Crosshawk Kingdom. Nobody is coming to save me, and whoever saves will only get fate worse than death."

Vesh took a deep breath, and his eyes became stern.

"Get up!" he shouted.

Viana was startled and got up.

Vesh’s eyes narrowed as they bore into hers, his voice sharp. "Do you know who I am?"

Viana gulped and shook her head.

"I am the person who is going to be the king of all kings. A person who will build the most magnificent kingdom in the world."

"So what do I have to be afraid of?" Vesh grinned.

Viana’s eyes widened.

"Now stop mopping around and follow me!" Vesh retracted his grin as his face turned stern. "From now on, you are the 21st citizen of my currently unnamed kingdom. And I command you to follow me, immediately."

Vesh turned around and began walking.

Viana looked at his back.

’Should I really seek more hope?’

’What if it brings more despair? To him and other people around him?’

Vesh walked out of the cavern and waited without turning around.

He sighed.

’Please, choose hope. I got hope with this new life when I was about to seek death.’

’I don’t want you to seek death when I can become hope for you.’

Vesh clenched his fist.

He turned around.

And right then, he saw the vines moving as Viana walked out.

"Can I really go with you? Dangerous people will come after you..." Viana bit her lips.

Vesh smiled. "No worries. They won’t find us."

"But can you wait here a bit and be on the lookout? I want to quickly gather some Iron Ore." Vesh took out the pickaxe. "Don’t worry. This is a magical axe, so I’ll get loads of them swiftly."

Vesh dashed inside and began striking the iron with a pickaxe, turning the large chunks into fine blocks.

He gathered around five hundred blocks, each one weighing 100 kg, in three minutes.

He wanted to gather more, but didn’t want to linger here longer lest he encounter the owner of this secret cave.

As soon as he came out of the cavern, he made a King’s Rule.

’King’s Rule. I make confusing trails here, and I return to my territory with Viana at the fastest speed possible and make sure I don’t leave any physical or magical trail behind.’

[King’s Rule Created]

[Difficulty: E]

’So this must be very easy.’

Vesh’s body stirred into motion.

He speedily moved around, creating a confusion trail for a minute.

With his superior physical parameters, he was very fast at doing things now.

After making trails, his body moved and headed towards Viana.

Viana blinked.

And abruptly found herself getting carried like a princess while Vesh moved from one tree to another like a monkey.

"W-We won’t fall right, King Vesh?" Viana locked her hands around Vesh’s neck for more support, but he was moving fast, and she was scared.

Vesh wryly smiled. "Sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting this. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It’s fine...I-I am not uncomfortable."

"Also, don’t call me King Vesh, haha. Just call me Vesh."

As soon as Vesh entered his territory, a sound rang in his mind.

[ By saving Viana Crosshawk despite knowing her circumstances, you have triggered a special quest. ]

[Special Quest—Survival at stake]

<Objective>

— Survive from the cult member who will be tracking you.

— Destroy the cult.

<Reward>

— A-rank Treasure Chest

— 1 x Random Blueprint (C to S).

— 1 x Summon Ticket.

’Damn.’

Rovina and Arga were in the middle of cooking food already, indicating Rovina must have returned a while ago.

Vesh put down Viana and walked towards the duo.

Both of them were looking at him.

"Did our lord already find a wife for himself?" Arga laughed.

Rovina smiled. "Seems like the case."

"There’s still time, Vesh." Viana clenched her fists. "The people coming after me are cruel..."

Vesh rolled his eyes. "Stop. If they come here, they’ll die. But just to be safe, we will be relocating from here."

Arga and Rovina blinked.

"For real?" Rovina tilted her head.

"For real." Vesh’s face turned somber as he nodded. "I’ll start collecting walls and watch towers into my Inventory. Then we’ll depart after eating."

"Do you have any idea of what we are going to do and where we are going, or are we just escaping randomly because you brought her here, and danger is going to follow her?" Rovina asked, her voice clear and tone sharp.

"I understand your concerns." Vesh smiled. "But don’t worry. I’ll find us an even better place than this with certainty because it is my word. And as it turns out, my words are absolute."

Vesh moved back a bit and took out an iron chunk.

"That..." Arga raised his eyebrows. "You found a metal."

"Yep. But we’ll talk about that later. For now, watch this. We’ll find the solution to our problems right now."

"King’s Rule. I..."