Dungeon Maker

by Srtyi

When I was 15-years-old, during the year that I graduated from middle school, my father told me this. “The Devil’s blood runs in our family.” That was the truth. Sadly my father was the owner of a takeaway chicken shop with the talent of turning his eyes blue, and I was the son of the takeaway shop who just happened to be slightly stronger than others. But five years later.

1. 1

Dungeon Maker
When I was 15-years-old, during the year that I graduated from middle school, my father told me this.
"The Devil's blood runs in our family."
That was the truth. Sadly my father was the owner of a takeaway chicken shop with the talent of turning his eyes blue, and I was the son of the takeaway shop who just happened to be slightly stronger than others.
But five years later.
They came for me.

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Read Dungeon Maker Chapter 1 Prologue online for free - ReadNovelFull
Chapter 1 Prologue
At the age of fifteen, after I graduated from middle school, my father told me something insane.
"The blood of the devil flows through our family."
At that time, I was glad that I heard this just after I graduated. It would be scary to think about what I might have done if I heard this while I was still in middle school.
In any case, my father wisely recognized that I was thinking about sending him to a mental asylum.
Even now, I could never forget that moment...
When blue flames bloomed out of my Father's eyes.
However, fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, that was his only power.
My father explained to me that it was because there was too much human blood mixed in that had caused the inherited Devil's blood to thin out.
"But in this world, there's something called atavism. This is where the extent of my power has stopped, but perhaps you or your children may be able to exert even greater powers. That is why I am telling you about the history of our family."
What my father was talking about was that our ancestor's traits could suddenly manifest themselves several generations down the line.
Naturally, I was unable to fall asleep that night. Due to the expectation of what abilities I might inherit, I spent the next few nights wide awake in anticipation.
A few days later, however, I had a realization.
Even if the blood of the Devil was running through our veins, my father was still just the owner of a local chicken restaurant, who just so happened to have the ability to turn his eyes into a bluish flame color. I, on the other hand, was just the son of that owner, who was slightly stronger than other children my age.
But five years later...
They came for me.
Chapter 2 Taking the Throne
The commonality between men who attended schools of engineering, following an all-male middle school and high school, was very simple.
They were unable to properly communicate with women since they barely had any interaction with them.
For Chun Yong-Ho, however, things were a bit different. He was the twenty-year-old son of the local chicken restaurant. Even though he couldn't communicate well, he had a good mindset.
"So, your master's bloodline has died out?"
Yong-Ho was sitting in front of his computer in just a pair of boxers and a t-shirt as he asked the two people behind the monitor.
One was an elderly white-haired old man, who gave off the aura of a butler, while the other was a young beauty dressed in a black suit.
From the looks of it, the old man did not seem to be human. He was covered in red wrinkled skin, and on his head were two small horns sticking out amidst his white hair. He couldn't see it from this angle, but he knew that it wouldn't be strange if there was a tail sticking out from his back.
"That's right. You're the descendant of a great figure. One of the seven deadly sins, Mammon, the King of Greed, bloodline is about to die out. How could this not be such a tragic event?"
"However his bloodline had not completely died out yet. Chun Yong-Ho is still here."
The cold voice of a woman interrupted the old man, who sounded like he was about to burst into tears.
The silver-haired lady had light brown skin, which resembled the color of melted chocolate. She was someone Yong-Ho would do a double-take on if he saw her in public, due to just how beautiful she looked, and it wasn't just because he was an inexperienced engineering student.
Her hair was tied up high into a ponytail, and in-between the loose strands were two small horns about the size of a thumb, visible just above her ears. Her ears were pointed like an elf's, and just like the old man, she did not seem to be human.
Yong-Ho unwittingly glanced at the woman and then turned his gaze back to the old man, giving off a cough. He calmed his mind and took a deep breath. He said, "Let me go through it once again. The lineage of the Demon King Mammon, one of the seven deadly sins, is about to die out. If a demon, no, the head of a dungeon isn't there, then the dungeon will soon die. If the dungeon dies, then the dungeon spirits residing there shall also die. So you came to me, in search of the Demon King Mammon's descendants, to take the place as the head of the dungeon?"
"Oh, you are quite wise. The descendants of Mammon are indeed intelligent."
The old man spoke with a feverish voice. Yong-Ho became a bit suspicious from the old man's fervent reaction and turned his attention to the woman instead.
As expected, the woman explained coldly, "Your blood is the strongest amongst all the remaining descendants. And in fact..."
"In fact?"
"Only you alone has the power to become the master of the dungeon"
It didn't make sense to him that there only remained one descendant of the Demon King. After all, his father was also alive and well.
'It now makes sense.'
Among the descendants, only Yong-Ho himself had the power to take the throne of the dungeon. 'So that's why they come to talk to me, no, more accurately, to kidnap me.'
Yong-Ho had no doubt that the figures in front of him were demons. All of a sudden, a blue portal, like something seen out of a video game, opened up in the middle of the room.
Furthermore, when Yong-Ho finally came to his senses, he found himself in a room he had never seen before.
The computer and desk he was sitting at remained intact, but everything else had changed. The room was made out of stone and looked quite dull, with two people standing in it beside him.
Yong-Ho tried his best to stay calm.
If his father hadn't told him when he was young that he had inherited the blood of a demon, he would have probably had quite an adverse reaction to this event. Either screaming out of terror or by begging them to stop being crazy and send him home…
Yong-Ho took another deep breath. He had to stay alert.
'I've already been kidnapped.'
They sounded amicable, but Yong-ho had still been kidnapped into an unknown place. Perhaps this was what they called the demon's dungeon. It seemed to be, considering the appearance of the room.
What would happen if he declined to be the head of the dungeon?
If there was no head, then the dungeon would die; if the dungeon dies, then the dungeon spirits living here would also die.
If that was true, then it was a matter of life and death for the two figures in front of him. There was nothing preventing him from making such an extreme choice.
The descendant of a demon…
The head of a dungeon…
If this was five years ago, he would have accepted unconditionally. At that time, Yong-Ho was completely obsessed with the fact that he was a descendant of a demon.
But now that he was more experienced, it was a little different. However, to be honest, he still had the same fantasy about being a demon king, but there were a few more conditions attached.
"Will I be able to return home?"
"What?"
"Will I be able to return home if I become the head of the dungeon? I would like to occasionally go back, for like, a vacation."
Astonished by Yong-ho's further explanation, the old man breathed a sigh of relief. The woman spoke instead, "That's definitely possible. And... since you have human blood, you can't stay in this world all the time. Sometimes, you'll have to be with other humans once in a while."
He could go back home.
Furthermore, if what they said was true, they had no reason to stop him from going home.
Yong-Ho rolled his eyes again. The old man looked nervous, while the woman looked stiff as a rock; both of their eyes gave off feelings of angst. It didn't seem to be a lie that both of them could die if Yong-ho decided to not save the dungeon.
The descendant of a demon…
Perhaps the fantasy that he had so earnestly wished for since middle school was now being fulfilled.
'Am I thinking too positively?'
He had been taken to an unfamiliar place by the two demons standing in front of him, who would eventually die if they were unable to find somebody to take over the dungeon. There was virtually only one choice in this sort of situation.
This was the road that he was destined to travel.
If it was so, then he didn't want to be dragged along that path.
If he was going to take the seat as the next dungeon king, then he would do it with his own two feet.
"Okay, I'll be your next king."
After hearing Yong-Ho's awe-inspiring declaration, the old man began to shed tears of emotion. The silver-haired woman also placed a hand on her chest and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Seeing how their reactions were so human, Yong-Ho couldn't help but smile.
This wouldn't be such a big deal, would it? Yong-Ho was a descendant of a demon!
There was a time when he thought so.
With a dumb look on his face, Yong-Ho sat on the demon's throne. It was just a simple and crude stone throne with zero decoration.
The throne room also looked quite bare. The room was square, gloomy, and entirely made out of stone. The only color that could be seen was a red carpet draped in between the throne and the door opposite to it. There was, of course, no windows, either.
"How did the previous king die?"
"He was ashamed and humiliated about not being invited to the Demon banquet, so he committed suicide."
The family of the demon Mammon had fallen into ruin.
No, to be exact, it wasn't a complete wreck, but it was certainly on the verge of being so. Though Yong-Ho wasn't exactly sure if there was much difference between the two.
There were many demon kings in this world. There were around a dozen of them, with each one having their own dungeon, and once every few years, they would all gather at the Demon banquet.
In the past, being one of the descendants of Mammon, one of the seven deadly sins, would have been a glorious affair.
The fall of the Mammon Family was the subject of contempt amongst the other demon kings. Which, at the very least, was an example to others to not follow in the same suit.
The large dungeon was on the verge of collapse, and there weren't any dungeon spirits that were managing the place, either.
Currently, the only spirits left in the dungeon were the guard, Catalina, and the butler, Eligor.
At the time of death of the previous dungeon head, most of the spirits either moved away to other dungeons or became wandering spirits.
Yong-Ho decided that he had to think positively.
He felt proud that he was a descendant of the great demon, Mammon, but their present situations were quite different. Today was also the first time that he heard about his ancestor Mammon being one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
So there was no shame in not being able to participate in the demon's banquet. Of course, there was no reason to commit suicide over it.
As Yong-Ho ascended the throne, he did, however, have to give up some of the delusions he had hoped for as a demon. He himself felt more familiar with the status of being the 'son of the local chicken restaurant' or 'the engineering freshman' rather than the status of a demon king.
Seeing how Yon-Ho's reaction was calmer than they expected, Catalina let out a sigh of relief.
'At first, I thought he was going to be a cold ruler, but now, it seems like he's got more of a straightforward personality.'
Even if he wasn't going to become the head of the dungeon, would they have just given up and cried till their death?
Yong-Ho shook his head to get rid of the pessimistic thoughts and asked Catalina, "Where's Eligor?"
The moment that Yong-Ho had said that he would ascend the throne, Eligor had started rejoicing but then suddenly just disappeared. Catalina explained in a bright tone, "He went out to meet the dungeon's merchant. In order for you to become the next head of the dungeon, you'll need the merchant's assistance."
"Uh... what do you mean?"
He would need the help of the dungeon's merchant to become the head of the dungeon?
Did that mean that he had to purchase some form of dungeon tenancy from the dungeon merchant?
As if Catalina had read Yong-Ho's mind, she started to shake her head.
"In order to become the next dungeon head, you must undergo an initiation ceremony with one of the previous heads of the dungeon. But, as you already know, Mammon…"
"Since the last head committed suicide, there isn't anybody we can invite?"
Instead of answering, Catalina just showed a sad expression. The more he looked at her, the more he realized how simple-minded she seemed to be.
"Is the dungeon merchant a former head of the dungeon?" Yong-Ho asked tiredly. Catalina bit her lips a couple of times, and then looked Yong-Ho in the eyes and answered.
"They're not. That is... I'm sorry but today's crowning ceremony is somewhat unofficial."
After seeing her hands and feet fidgeting nervously, she was probably worried that Yong-Ho might back out of becoming the next head after telling him about the ceremony.
'At least Catalina and Eligor won't die now.'
This time, Yong-Ho found something positive to think about, which caused him to smirk. Perhaps being the son of a local chicken restaurant might actually have a more promising future than the next head of the Mammon Family.
"I think they've arrived," Catalina spoke after carefully observing Yong-Ho's reaction. As if she had felt someone's presence, Catalina finished talking as the door suddenly swung open.
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Chapter 3 Taking the Throne 2
Behind Eligor appeared a woman, dressed in highly revealing clothing, walking slowly toward them.
Her long red hair flowed smoothly behind her like silk. A purple dress enveloped her milky white skin, revealing her shoulders and neck, and partially displaying her large breasts. Her dress was wrapped tightly around her thin waist, with a narrow slit down the side exposing her thighs.
"It is a pleasure to meet the descendant of the great Mammon. I am the dungeon merchant Sitri."
After Sitri gracefully bowed toward him, Yong-Ho managed to maintain his posture and prevent extending his head into her gaping cleavage.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sitri. My name is Chun Yong-Ho, and I shall be taking Mammon's place as the master of the dungeon."
Yong-Ho felt the need to say something but wasn't able to talk to her casually right away, so he decided to first just formally introduce himself. He was hesitant to reveal the fact that he was human, but time was just too short for him to come to a proper decision.
Anyway, if being human was such a problem, then Catalina and Eligor wouldn't have to come and visited him in the first place.
After hearing Yong-Ho's careful response, Catalina sighed in relief and Eligor gave a satisfied smile. Sitri glanced at Yong-Ho for a moment and smiled seductively.
"Perhaps the Mammon Family has finally regained its luck."
It might have been an insulting remark to others, but Eligor seemed to revel in it. Catalina didn't seem to be as delighted as Eligor, but she appeared to agree with the sentiment as well.
'Did they not feel bad about the previous master?'
He didn't know the details, but he could understand their feelings to a certain extent. Due to the suicide of their former master, Eligor and Catarina were in danger of dying themselves.
"Then let's proceed. Chun Yong-Ho please wear this necklace."
Sitri pulled out a necklace buried beneath her cleavage. It was made of gold with a large green gemstone attached to it, roughly about the size of two fingers.
Yong-Ho had only just heard that Sitri was going to attend the ceremony never mind what was actually going to happen in it. Naturally, he didn't know what the necklace was specifically for, nor what Sitri was planning to do from now on. No, regardless of that, he was already on the verge of paralysis due to Sitri's exposed cleavage.
After seeing how Yong-Ho looked somewhat nervous, Sitri shook her head and then asked with a smile, "Oh, do you not know the ceremony?"
Yong-ho was a youthful South Korean male, who went to an all-male middle school, high school, and then entered a school for engineering. Seeing such a seductive woman smile while asking him a question made him realize that he lacked the ability to resist telling the truth to such a beautiful woman like her.
After revealing that he didn't know with an awkward expression, Eligor stared at Catalina as if he was going to chew her up at any moment. He looked at her as if he was asking why she hadn't given Yong-Ho an explanation.
Catalina tried to clumsily defend herself but eventually just shut her mouth. After all, speaking more would only further embarrass herself in front of their visitor.
Sitri then approached Yong-ho and explained, "From now on, the ceremony will contain only the necessary procedures and skip all the formalities. By wearing this necklace around your neck, your two vassals and I shall perform the magic ritual which shall allow you to reawaken as a demon."
After hearing the word, 'reawaken', Yong-Ho gulped nervously. Sitri noticed Yong-Ho's expression and continued to talk in an alluring voice, "Master of the dungeon is a special role amongst our kind in the demon world. Especially for you, Yong-Ho, who has succeeded the role of the great demon Mammon. You shall surely receive a great power. This necklace will not only help you awaken your powers as a demon, but it shall also tell you the type of power that you have awakened."
As Sitri finished talking, the necklace had already been placed around Yong-Ho's neck. Eligor suddenly spoke up, "A title that indicates your power will appear on the jewel. Like 'The Demon of Magic', or 'The Demon of Magic', or 'The Demon of Magic'."
It was clear what title Eligor personally wished for. With a nervous expression, Yong-Ho examined the jewel embedded on the necklace.
"Then let us begin the ceremony."
Rather than a pedestal, the throne just rested on the flat floor, so Sitri was able to create distance between them by simply taking a step back. Catalina and Eligor, on the other hand, naturally stood on the left and right side of Yong-Ho.
Facing Yong-Ho, Sitri closed her eyes and began to quietly chant in an unknown language. Soon, Catalina and Eligor followed suit, and Yong-Ho began to feel his first genuine fear since entering this new world.
It was the fear of change.
The fear of a new life vastly different from his past.
His blood began to boil. The louder their voices became, the hotter his body began to feel. His mind was beginning to lose focus. Pure pleasure overwhelmed his mind as he bathed in the feeling of being reborn anew.
Mere moments later...
Yong-Ho breathed out, releasing all the heat within himself. He suddenly felt himself breathing quite differently than before. The pupils of his eyes had also changed. His eyes shone with an emerald light as a message appeared before him.
The power received through awakening.
It was a message symbolizing the reawakened Yong-Ho.
The Demon King of Evolution
"Pant... pant..."
With a heavy breath, Yong-Ho raised his head. Now that he had attained the position as the master of the dungeon, he was able to somehow connect with the feelings of Catalina and Eligor.
Eligor felt overjoyed. He was trembling with excitement even though Yong-Ho hadn't received the power he had hoped for.
Catalina, who had a calmer mindset, still felt both relief and excitement coursing through her.
Relief—he could understand. After all, she finally had a place to return to. But, excitement? Why was she feeling excited?
Yong-Ho shifted the gaze of his bright green eyes to Sitri. He was unable to read her feelings, but he did notice a gleam held within her purple eyes.
The Demon King of Evolution.
This wasn't the only power. As he reawakened as a demon, there was another power that had revealed itself.
The Seven Deadly Sins - Greed
That was the real reason why Eligor and Catalina were so thrilled. It was the power of the Demon King, Mammon, that had not been revealed amongst his descendants for many years.
Yong-Ho looked within himself. He wanted to know more about this power that he had awakened.
But, at that very moment, the mysterious voice of a young girl rang out in his head.
[An intruder has entered the dungeon!]
Yong-Ho tightly closed his eyes and then sharply reopened them. From the very moment that he had awakened as a demon, he had become connected to the spirit of the dungeon, which now told him what he needed to do.
As he widely opened his hand, a large window of light appeared before him. Inside the window, that looked like a computer screen, a bird's eye view of the dungeon was spread out before him.
The Demon King Mammon, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, was clearly a formidable being. Even though he had experienced his downfall, the scale of the dungeon was truly enormous.
'It's useless'
More than half of the dungeon was in ruins. Either the ceiling had caved in, the walls had collapsed, or the floor had given way. Even the surviving area wasn't in the best condition. Almost four-fifths of the remaining land had been "deactivated".
All rooms of little to no purpose had been deprived of mana supply for a long time.
They were different from the empty stone room that Yong-Ho had first encountered. Even though its grade was the lowest, that empty stone room, however, was an "activated" space. Yong-Ho wasn't even able to access a "Deactivated" room.
If there were a hundred rooms in the whole of Mammon's dungeon, then only eight of those rooms would be usable. Most of those rooms were just empty stone rooms as well.
Yong-Ho felt like he had just been scammed, but decided to suppress that feeling and enlarge the available rooms on the map before him. He wasn't sure if the system had functioned this way before, or if it had specifically tailored itself for him, as it operated like a smartphone.
The eight available rooms were connected in a straight line. Yong-Ho was located in the second room to the left, whereas the furthermost room to the right was the entrance of the dungeon.
There was just a single intruder that had infiltrated the first room to the far right.
"Crimson Ogre!"
It seemed that the window of light was visible to Catalina and Eligor as well. Yong-Ho frowned deeply as he heard Eligor's frustrating cry. The spirit of the dungeon quickly provided him with new information.
[The heart of the dungeon is the room located at the far left of the screen. If the dungeon's heart is destroyed, then the dungeon will also die.]
At first, he wanted to ask how the dungeon would die if it was an inanimate object but decided to refrain from doing so. The reason that Catalina and Eligor had come to Yong-Ho in the first place was because the dungeon would die if there was no master to rule it.
After passing through the first room, the Crimson Ogre then moved into the second. He wasn't sure if the Ogre was really trying to invade the dungeon or if it had just gotten accidentally lost. Mammon's shabby dungeon only had a simple route configuration.
"Don't worry. There are many different types of traps within this dungeon," Eligor hurriedly shouted. Indeed, in the window before him, a summary of the dungeon was available, which showed him the markings of different traps installed in each room.
[Pitfall Trap - the most basic and classic type of trap that tricks enemies by covering a deep hole with a large mat.]
[Arrow Trap - a trap that kills enemies by firing a dozen arrows.]
[Fire Trap - a trap that destroys enemies with a flame created by magical power.]
Starting from the second room from the right, there were traps installed in each room.
'Nice, now this is more like a demon's dungeon.'
However, Yong-Ho's excitement barely lasted for even five seconds.
The Crimson Ogre fell into the Pitfall Trap, but the hole only came up to the ogre's waist. After struggling for a bit, it managed to get out.
"Ehh, I tried to dig the trap, but we lacked manpower."
He ignored Eligor's excuse and looked at the third room. Contradictory to the explanation, the arrow trap refused to fire a single shot.
"We ran out of arrows..."
This time, it was Catalina making an excuse.
Yong-Ho was patient. That was, until the ogre passed the fourth room with no issues, either. Yong-Ho sighed with disbelief.
"The magic to trigger the fire trap is..."
The Crimson Ogre then intruded upon the fifth room. Instead of covering his face with his hands, Yong-Ho looked expectantly at Catalina, the guardian of the dungeon.
"Catalina, can you win against that?"
It was a little awkward to ask her to do something like that, but since he was now the master of the dungeon, it was only natural.
Catalina's face was filled with fear as she looked at the screen, but she nevertheless tightened her fists, as if she was hardening her heart.
"I-I'll deal with it."
She looked as if she was about to cry.
The Crimson Ogre then passed through the fifth room and was about to enter the sixth. They were running out of time. Yong-Ho focused on the screen in front of him, instead of looking at Sitri for help, who had a calm expression on her face. He analyzed all the information that the Spirit of the Dungeon had given him and devised a plan.
He inquired about the remaining necessary information from the Dungeon Spirit.
[A room costs 10 mana to activate.]
[The path from the heart of the dungeon to the entrance must always be connected.]
Yong-Ho quickly waved his hands. Since he had awakened as a demon, the magic from his hands could be imprinted onto the screen. He only had 100 mana points. However, the remaining balance of the dungeon was only 10 mana, so compared to that, he had 10 times more.
It was now impossible to install a new trap into the sixth room. Not even considering the mana that would be required, he didn't even have the manpower nor the time to install any more traps.
What other assets did Mammon's dungeon possess?
Lots of useless space. That is, lots of inactive rooms with nothing inside.
Yong-Ho placed his finger on the inactive room just below where he was currently residing. At the same time, he activated the room by consuming his mana and then swiped his finger across to the entrance, activating seven rooms in total.
In total, 70 points of his mana had been used. But, he was still not done. Waving his hands while tightly holding his breath, Yong-Ho deactivated the sixth room, the only room remaining between himself and the Crimson Ogre. The door in front of the throne room suddenly disappeared, as if it had never existed.
His eyes darted back to the screen. The Crimson Ogre seemed perplexed by the sudden disappearance of the door.
'Please, please!'
The ogre didn't seem to want to go back. It instead forcefully opened the new door in the left wall.
At that same moment, Yong-Ho waved his finger again as he both reactivated the recently disabled old sixth room and then deactivated the 'new sixth room' in one swift motion.
He had to obey the rule that the heart and entrance of the dungeon must be connected at all times.
It was extremely close.
Not noticing that the door to the 'new sixth room' had just disappeared, the Ogre seemed to wander around a bit and then eventually exited through a door that he hadn't yet entered, a room leading to the entrance of the dungeon.
Catalina and Eligor opened their eyes wide in astonishment. Yong-Ho forgot to breathe as he watched the ogre's every move.
"Oh-oh! The Crimson Ogre is fleeing!"
'It's not fleeing, it's just leaving.'
Yong-Ho, however, did not blame Eligor for his excitement. He was too busy trying to catch his breath as he slumped down onto the throne.
He was lucky.
He was able to lead it out since the ogre wasn't planning to attack the dungeon and instead had just gotten lost.
Since the majority of Mammon's dungeon was empty space, he was able to create a way out through momentarily activating and deactivating certain rooms. Had a trap been installed in the sixth room, he would not have used such a method.
The Crimson Ogre then completely left the dungeon. Then, as if it had been infected by Catalina and Eligor, the spirit of the dungeon spoke in a bright tone.
[First victory.]
[The attacking enemy has been successfully repelled.]
[Acquired loot: -]
[Acquired mana: -]
'Of course, I got nothing.' Rather, he had almost consumed all of his mana.
However, he had won regardless. This was his first victory as the new master of the dungeon.
'It's a small victory, though.'
Yong-Ho, who was already dropped across the throne, further stretched himself out across it. It was at that moment that Sitri entered his vision.
She was smiling.
It was an unusually bright smile that didn't quite fit with her alluring beauty.
Sitri looked back at Yong-Ho and quickly replaced the bright smile with her typical seductive expression as she began to speak to him.
"Dear customer, I look forward to seeing you again in the near future."
Without waiting for an answer, she took one of his Yong-Ho's hands and planted a gentle kiss on the back of it. She then gracefully turned around and left the dungeon like a swift breeze.
A few seconds later.
Catalina and Eligor quickly knelt before Yong-Ho, as if they had planned it beforehand. They then both spoke in a heartfelt tone.
"I, Catalina, offer my allegiance to the master of the dungeon."
"I, Eligor, offer my allegiance to the master of the dungeon."
A clumsy guard and a decrepit butler.
The dungeon was in such ruins that it was almost destroyed by a lost ogre.
'I just want to give up.'
However, he never said that out loud. After re-awakening as a demon, Yong-Ho now truly understood. As the master of the dungeon, the dungeon was now a part of Yong-Ho. It wasn't something he could easily throw away.
He just gave a hopeless chuckle and accepted the will of the two people in front of him, who had sworn their allegiance to him.
Chun Yong-Ho, the Demon King of Evolution.
The one who had inherited one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the power of greed.
He had taken a great, yet dangerous, first step into the world of demons.
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Chapter 4 Demon Labor Marke
Suppose that in the last year of middle school, you were told that you were not a normal human being and that you, in fact, have demon blood running through your veins. And that they were able to prove it.
If you had imagined yourself as a demon dozens, no, hundreds of times in the last five years, would that be considered normal?
Yong-Ho had imagined it.
He had imagined himself becoming a demon king and reigning over a kingdom.
The reality was that he attended an all-male middle school and high school and graduated from an engineering college. Furthermore, he had also finished his compulsory military service. Despite that, Yong-Ho still continued to imagine such a life.
Of course, as people grow old, so do the whims of their imagination. Nevertheless, even though it made him seem delusional, Yong-Ho still imagined.
In the end, Yong-Ho had become a demon.
Though, the reality of being a demon was quite different from what he had imagined.
"It must have been when I was at the hotblooded age of 17 when I imagined a slender nude succubus laying beside me."
He wasn't entirely wrong.
When Yong-Ho woke up, he was lying next to a beautiful silver-haired woman with light brown skin that resembled the color of melted chocolate.
Though she wasn't naked nor lying on the same bed as Yong-Ho himself.
"Hey, hey. HEY!!"
Mammon's dungeon sorely lacked a supply of mana, and this was the only room that supplied a decent amount of it.
On the floor of the throne room, there was an old red carpet draped from the entrance of the room to the throne.
And there were two people lying next to each other, on top of it.
One was Yong-Ho, who was sitting up, and the other was Catalina, who was covered in a monster skin cloak.
Yong-Ho shook Catalina's shoulders and yelled at her, causing her to groan and writhe in apparent agony. As a mix between a succubus and a dark elf, she was weak to mornings.
"Ugh..."
Catalina gave off a moan while partially opening and closing her eyes again. The sound that she made was so peculiar, and the way that her face poked out from beneath the cloak made her look so beautiful that it caused Yong-Ho to suck in a deep breath.
He had thought that he had gotten used to it, but Catalina was simply too beautiful for a man such as him, who had attended all-male school and graduated in engineering, to face so casually.
Eventually, Yong-Ho gave up trying to wake her up and decided to get up himself while scratching his head. The dungeon's butler Eligor had gotten up early to go out and fetch some water.
'We even need to go and fetch water to fill up the jar.'
Yong-Ho sighed once again as he thought about how much of a bad state the dungeon was in, but there was nothing he could do.
According to Catalina and Eligor, it wasn't like this in the beginning. When the previous master of the dungeon was alive, the dungeon had still maintained quite a prestigious appearance, despite the fact that the rest of the demon world still associated it with the downfall of the Mammon Family.
'After the last master decided to commit suicide... many things have changed.'
The summary of the story that Eligor told through tears was as follows.
First, the dungeon spirits left the dungeon and robbed the dungeon of all its wealth, with the excuse that it was their retirement fund.
Second, after the dungeon master died, since there wasn't anyone left to supply the dungeon with mana, they were forced to reduce the size of the dungeon. Unlike the other spirits, Catalina and Eligor belonged to the dungeon and couldn't leave, so their lives were put on the line.
Third, it took them a long time to find the new master of the dungeon, Yong-Ho. During that time, they had sparingly used the remaining mana to try and save it, so that's why they were now in this state.
Yong-Ho looked around the throne room with a blank expression. The dungeon master's throne room was truly vast. He probably couldn't have a game of soccer here, but he surely had enough room for a game of volleyball.
'Just doing a small touch up would make a huge difference. Moreover, at least there isn't any debt.'
Yong-Ho started to laugh after looking at the positive side. Instead of sitting back down in a daze, he checked to see what had to be done.
At this moment, it was impossible to return home.
To open a door between the two worlds required an immense amount of mana. According to Catalina and Eligor, they opened the portal with the belief that they might soon die. If Yong-Ho had decided not to become their master, they would have either threatened him or broke down and started weeping.
Regardless, it was impossible to go back or even contact home at this moment. Eligor later excitedly explained that once a permanent door was set up, Yong-Ho would be able to go back home without a great consumption of mana. However, looking at Catalina's despondent expression, he was doubtful whether such a day would come.
Yong-Ho made a decision.
In the demon world, this dungeon was his home. Therefore, the dungeon had to be remodeled to be suitable for people to live in. He planned to make the dungeon powerful enough to install a permanent portal between the two worlds.
Yong-Ho walked to the only piece of furniture available in the room, his throne. As soon as he sat down upon the throne, the voice of the newborn dungeon spirit greeted him once again.
[Hello, Master. Isn't it a nice morning?]
The voice imitated that of a young girl, which reinforced the fact that it was a newborn spirit. After nodding and greeting her back, Yong-Ho waved his hand in the air.
[Mammon's Dungeon]
[Master: Demon King of Evolution, Chun Yong-Ho]
[Dungeon Rank: -]
[Dungeon Mana: 30/300]
[Daily Mana Production: 30]
This situation would cause anyone to feel uneasy, but Yong-Ho didn't feel frustrated.
'The dungeon had fallen into ruin because it had been without a master. However, now that a master had returned, things would get better.'
Yong-Ho closed his eyes as he decided to check his resources.
The dungeon spirits, Catalina and Eligor.
The butler Eligor wasn't useful in battle. He did, however, have the ability to take care of housekeeping. According to him, he has worked as a butler, a cook, and a teacher for the previous generation.
The guard Catalina was currently the only fighter in the dungeon. Though, to be honest, he couldn't help but doubt her combat ability.
According to Eligor's evaluation, she wasn't weak and she did have the ability to evaluate the strength of the Crimson Ogre. However, she seemed quite helpless before, so he couldn't really rely on her.
Those two were the only available spirits.
The remaining mana was just thirty.
Plus, thirty mana could be produced each day. The mana production would increase if either Yong-Ho himself became stronger or the dungeon advanced in grade.
A single jar for water.
A worn red carpet.
A throne.
There was also the t-shirt and boxers that he was wearing, a suit left behind by the previous generation, and the desk that came with the computer from his world.
He had also received the power of the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed, but he wasn't sure when it would reveal itself.
And finally, perhaps the most valuable asset that Yong-Ho currently possessed...
As he closed his eyes, he recalled his greatest power.
The power of Demon Evolution.
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Chapter 5 Demon Labor Market 2
Evolution meant change.
To adapt to one's environment, to become more efficient.
However, it was a bit different in Yong-Ho's case.
The power that he possessed deviated from the original meaning.
It went a step further.
It activated one's potential through both body and soul. Through him, was the power to induce development, to advance one level higher.
If one wanted to be faster, they would become faster.
If one wanted to be tougher, they would become tougher.
If one wanted to be stronger, they would become stronger.
The power would guide one down their chosen path.
It would bring out their full potential, and finally, awaken them as an entirely new being.
That was the power of evolution.
The almighty power that one may receive after awakening as a demon.
Yong-Ho opened his eyes. He summoned his consciousness that was dwelling deep inside him.
'So what does this power really do?'
The power of evolution
He had a rough idea, but he was unsure of the extent of the ability and how to use it. If this was a game then a tutorial window would pop up and give an explanation, but sadly this was reality. So Yong-Ho had to figure it out himself.
'So, like class change... no, perhaps this power is more akin to class advancement?'
In a game, you could upgrade your goblins to hobgoblins or upgrade your warriors to higher-level warriors.
Yong-Ho felt like he had a better idea than before, but he was still missing something. If that was the case, he would be better known as the Demon King of Advancement, instead of Evolution.
Furthermore, unless this was a game, it didn't seem that the term 'upper class' was really used in this world.
'Regardless, this power helps beings evolve.'
Yong-Ho recalled the games that he used to play. Even the strategic simulation games had distinct levels for each unit. If a unit survived on the battlefield for long enough, they would typically accumulate enough experience to level up. Furthermore, the units that had leveled up were clearly stronger and more useful compared to low-level units of the same class.
Of course, reality would not be the same as those games. No, Yong-Ho's power was the ability to 'evolve' beings into superior versions of themselves, rather than just simply leveling them up.
However, he had enough of an idea to catch the gist of it.
As an engineering student, Yong-Ho wasn't satisfied that he couldn't find a clear process that would fit. However, for now, he decided to be satisfied with what he had.
His power wasn't going anywhere, so he would just experiment with it, little by little, to fully understand the extent of his ability.
Yong-Ho opened his eyes. He saw Catalina, still buried underneath her cloak, rolling around on the floor.
"Huh?"
Smoke began to rise from her body. It seemed to split into five separate streams of color.
Red, blue, black, yellow, and violet.
Five separate colors of smoke rose up to the ceiling, all on a similar scale. The five different streams of smoke oddly didn't merge into one, and none of the separate colors seemed to mix together.
Yong-Ho blinked. Every-time he blinked, the colored smoke seemed to fade little by little, eventually vanishing entirely as if the smoke had never existed in the first place.
Instead of being alarmed, Yong-Ho carefully thought about what just happened.
Why did he suddenly see that strange smoke?
Was it caused by either Catalina or himself?
Yong-Ho stood up from his throne and walked towards Catalina, who was still fast asleep this late in the morning. She squirmed around underneath his cloak and showed no signs of getting up.
Yong-Ho assumed that the source of this peculiar phenomenon must have been himself.
If so, then what's different from before?
It was simple. It was the power of evolution.
Yong-Ho sat down on his backside in front of Catalina and swallowed dry saliva. He closed his eyes once again and awoke the power of evolution.
It was just as he expected. Once again, five colors of smoke arose from Catalina's body.
What do these different colors of smoke mean?
'This doesn't make sense.'
It was all too vague. Yong-Ho needed more explicit information.
He wanted the data to be more accessible to him. More intuitive. Full comprehension with just a glance.
Yong-Ho suddenly felt the power within him react to his desire.
The power manifested itself from Yong-Ho's soul and began to take on a new form. Above the colored smoke, letters of light began to appear.
[Name: Catalina (Female)]
[Race: Half Succubus / Half Dark Elf]
[Main Elements: Wind / Darkness] [Secondary Elements: Lightning / Water / Earth]
[Stats: Succubus - Charm / Mana Dark Elf - Agility / Skill]
[Evolution Rate: 31/100]
Yong-Ho looked around. Over the letters of light were several square boxes of light. With each box containing different information.
[Succubus: Charm Specialisation (3)]
[Dark Elf: Agility Specialisation (3)]
[Hybrid (3.5)]
[Succubus: Mana Specialisation (3.5)]
[Dark Elf: Skill Specialisation (3)]
He intuitively understood the information before him. What was visible before him was the basic information for evolution.
It displayed the skills that they possessed now as well as the potential skills they would be able to gain in the future.
Each color represented a different attribute. The square boxes of light indicated the different evolutionary paths one would be able to take, like a form of skill tree.
In which direction should he evolve Catalina? Which skillsets did he desire her to possess?
Yong-Ho gulped.
What would happen if he were to invoke the power of evolution? If he were to choose one of the five boxes of light, what kind of changes would Catalina undergo?
He wanted to know.
He wanted to experiment.
He wanted to use his power.
"Ach."
Yong-Ho quickly retracted his hand that was subconsciously reaching out towards Catalina. He hurriedly took a couple of steps back and kept his distance.
'No.'
This was not something he could just do on a whim. He didn't yet know what would happen if he were to use this power. Experimenting on Catalina without having a clear idea of what exactly would happen was both reckless and insane.
'Furthermore.'
He didn't think that this power would just activate for 'free'. It was just an assumption, but according to what had happened so far, to activate this power would most likely require the consumption of mana. Since yesterday, Yong-Ho's mana was still quite exhausted. For now, it was a good idea to refrain from an excessive consumption of mana.
"Mas..ter?"
After hearing Yong-Ho nearby, Catalina pulled her out from underneath the cloak. She must have been still half asleep as her eyes were still drooping.
The smoke that was rising from Catalina's body gradually faded. Yong-ho casually smiled and spoke as if nothing had happened.
"Are you finally awake?"
Instead of answering, Catalina just rolled her eyes and recovered herself with the cloak. She seemed to wriggle around quite a bit, most likely in an attempt to re-organize her clothes. After which, she then stood up and lightly cleared her throat. Her ears were so long that she almost had no earlobes, but he still noticed that they had turned a faint red.
If he continued to stare at her, he felt that he would be branded as the stereotypical engineering student that likes to stare at beautiful women. Yong-Ho quickly recovered then stood up and headed towards his throne.
Eligor returned not too long after.
"It appears to be different from Catalina."
"Sir?"
Instead of answering Eligor's question, Yong-Ho just opened his eyes in a squint.
Catalina and Eligor were different.
Unlike Catalina, who had five different colors of smoke. Eligor only had three colors, red, blue and black.
[Name: Eligor (Male)]
[Race: Red Demon]
[Main Elements: Fire / Darkness]
[Stats: Red Demon - Strength / Stamina]
[Evolution Rate: 62/100]
[Strength Specialisation (2)]
[Stamina Specialisation (2)]
[Mana Specialisation (1)]
The information showed both the different races and different abilities of Catalina and Eligor. The skill tree also differed slightly between them.
However, the part that caught his eye the most was the 'Evolution Rate'. Perhaps it was necessary to first fill this 'Evolution Rate' for them to undergo evolution.
'The crucial question was, how would one fill it?'
Yong-Ho didn't have enough people to analyze and to fully understand the complete process. Although the way that he received information was game-like, it didn't mean that he would receive an explanation for skills as if it were actually a game.
Catalina and Eligor didn't know much about the power of Demon Evolution.
The Demon Kings' power was only given to demons who had become a king.
That was the greatest difference between Demon Kings and ordinary demons.
So, it was quite natural that they didn't know much about it. There weren't many who would nonchalantly expose their strongest weapon.
They had seen their former master use their power often, however, they still didn't know about any additional functions or weaknesses that it had.
The Demon King of Mana had powerful mana. While the Demon King of Fire controlled fire. This was the typical level of information that ordinary demons like Catalina and Eligor were privy to.
'Well, I'll just have to learn about it gradually over time.'
Yong-Ho shook his head in bafflement, and naturally switched topics.
"No, it's nothing. You still have to eat in the demon world, huh?"
The three of them were gathered around in a circle in the middle of the room, eating pancakes and vegetable soup. All of which were cooked by Eligor.
Catalina flinched momentarily after hearing Yong-Ho's words and then spoke with the same cold-hearted persona that she had displayed when they first met.
"I will go hunting after breakfast. I shall put my life on the line in order to bring you some meat."
Although she was overflowing with beauty, after Yong-Ho knew of her true personality, he saw her in quite a different light. It was almost as if he could hear crying to herself about what she would do if she couldn't find any meat.
'She really isn't much of a guard...'
He never said that aloud though, since Catalina would surely start to cry. He instead just nodded slightly and turned his attention towards Eligor.
"Is it alright to increase the number of members in our family in this situation?"
The inheritance that the previous head left wasn't completely gone. There was still the 'last legacy' that Catalina and Eligor were keeping in case of any trials or hardships that they might encounter.
Of course, this 'last legacy' didn't surmount to much and accurately reflected the state of the Mammon family, but regardless, money was money. Eligor, however, had demanded that the remaining money be boldly invested.
"Spirits are essential in the development of a dungeon. A dungeon without any spirits doesn't exist."
Eligor responded with an unusually serious expression. He wasn't wrong. In order to gather resources and install various facilities within the dungeon, labor was essential.
"This is the labor market for the demon world."
Yong-Ho looked towards his throne.
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Chapter 6 Demon Labor Market 3
Yong-Ho sat on the throne with a rugged, black bracelet on his arm. It was one of the items that the merchant Sitri had left him.
"You can access the Dungeon Market through the Dungeon Spirit, where someone from the market will then come and guide you." Eligor explained.
The Dungeon Market was a large organization of dungeon merchants that made up one of the core pillars of the demon world.
The Dungeon Market sold everything that was required to either maintain, expand or repair dungeons. 'Labor power' was also for sale as well.
The Dungeon Market had many branches throughout the demon world. However, they also had a 'virtual branch' created through magic.
Demon Kings, masters of dungeons, were able to access this "virtual branch" by using an artifact given to them by the Dungeon Market. All the goods distributed to the various Dungeon Market branches were stored in this virtual branch, which could be easily browsed by Demon Kings, even if they didn't physically visit a branch.
'So it's just like online shopping?'
However, everything in this world had a price attached to it, and the convenience of trading at the 'virtual branch' was no different.
Buyers at the virtual branch had to pay with either more money, mana or something else entirely.
Though for the House of Mammon, which was in ruins, trading at the virtual branch would be considered a luxury.
Eligor, however, still recommended that Yong-ho use the virtual branch instead of visiting a physical branch, despite the increase in cost.
There were a variety of different reasons for this.
Firstly, the House of Mammon was located on the outskirts of the demon world so visiting even the closest branch would take a considerable amount of time. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the demon world was a very dangerous place.
Yong-Ho agreed with Eligor's suggestion since he too did not want to leave the dungeon just yet.
[Master, I'll start connecting you to the Dungeon Market. It may sting slightly, but only for a moment so please relax.]
The Dungeon Spirit spoke up with a cute voice.
The Spirit of the Dungeon could be considered to be the Demon King's alter ego. Yong-Ho wondered whether there was really such a cute girl somewhere inside himself, but regardless if that was true he decided to accept it as a good thing.
Yong-Ho had his eyes closed, so he couldn't see anything. However, the darkness that enveloped him only lasted for a short while. The virtual branch appeared as a white space, with a familiar person standing before him.
"Hello, dear customer."
The dungeon merchant Sitri greeted him in an old-fashioned manner with a bow. The only thing that had changed about her was that her outfit was now blue, everything else had remained the same. As before, Yong-Ho tried his best to fixate his attention in the sky. It was only after Sitri stood up straight again, with her cleavage a lot less visible, did Yong-Ho begin to greet her.
"Hello, Ms. Sitri."
It was worthwhile being with Catalina for most of the day. Since he was now confident enough to greet Sitri without blushing.
Sitri looked straight at Yong-Ho and smiled. She then took a step towards him and spoke lightly.
"I think I know what you're thinking about."
Sitri was present at his crowning ceremony. And here, too, Sitri was waiting for Yong-Ho.
However, she shook her head.
"I'm not the official merchant assigned to the House of Mammon. I'm sorry, but it's already been a thousand years since the Mammon family was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. And..."
"And?"
When he asked back curiously, Sitri smiled mischievously, and then winked at Yong-Ho and said.
"I'm far more influential than you might think."
Just how was he supposed to respond to a statement like that?
While Yong-Ho struggled for a short time to come up with a suitable response, Sitri continued to smirk as if she was enjoying seeing him struggle. She then took a couple more steps towards Yong-Ho and casually embraced his arm.
"You are not the first person with human blood to ascend to the throne of a dungeon. However, in the long history of the demon world, it's only happened a few times. And none of them had ever inherited the power of one of the Seven Deadly Sins."
The sensation of her chest through his arm was indescribable. However, Yong-Ho wasn't able to enjoy the feeling, given his concern about the moronic expression his face was displaying. Although Yong-Ho had been swept up into an extraordinary situation, he was not a fool. Even though he had been pressured into becoming the head of the dungeon, it was still Yong-Ho who had made the final decision.
The biggest reason that Eligor had recommended him to trade through the virtual branch.
Was the fact that it was not widely known there was a new king, with human blood, of the House of Mammon. It was safe to say that, at present, the only outsider aware of this was Sitri.
It simply wasn't time yet. It would just further complicate matters if the truth about Yong-Ho ascending the throne was known to other demon kings.
Eligor didn't clearly state the main reason for his recommendation. It wasn't because he was trying to hide something. Rather, it was because he didn't want to frighten Yong-Ho just after he had ascended the throne.
However, Yong-Ho was able to understand, to some extent, how Eligor felt. Since Eligor was connected to Yong-Ho through the dungeon, it would have been difficult to completely conceal his feelings.
Yong-Ho looked at Sitri's face. Sitri returned his gaze with her deep purple eyes. Her red lips whispered.
"Be careful of the pure-bloods."
The indescribable feeling that was being transmitted through his arm disappeared. Sitri moved swiftly like the wind as she turned her back towards Yong-Ho and waved her hands in the air, creating a large window of light.
"There isn't much difference between low-level demons that work in dungeons. And... considering the current state of the House of Mammon they're really the only workers that you can afford. Don't you agree?"
You get what you pay for.
It was like comparing different types of apples.
Although what Sitri said was true, Yong-Ho didn't feel much discomfort over it. Furthermore, Sitri wasn't trying to provoke him.
She turned around again to face him. With her back to the window of light, she put on an alluring smile.
"However, my dear customer, you are also the demon of evolution." So, not all low-level demons are that same to you, isn't that right?"
Yong-Ho wondered how he should react this time. Sitri had just now given a valuable hint to him, confirming what Yong-Ho had originally thought possible since first coming to this virtual branch.
"Then, I shall now take my leave. Dear customer, I hope you enjoy your shopping."
Sitri gracefully bowed and then disappeared. In the white space, only the large window of light, opened by Sitri, and Yong-Ho were left.
Yong-Ho sighed.
'I'm exhausted.'
Although she was a great beauty, she was very tiring to deal with. From her gestures and speech patterns, it seemed as if she had feelings for Yong-Ho, but this could have just been a ruse. Yong-Ho decided that it was best that he kept some distance between them.
He shook his head. He had been delusional since his third year in middle school, but it had only been two days since he became a demon. Furthermore, there was still quite a distance between his current self and what he had originally imagined that he would become.
The truth was that he was currently feeling anxious and afraid.
But, Yong-Ho always found the positive side of any given situation. In order to resolve the problems set before him, he decided to immerse himself into the reality of his situation.
Sitri's large window of light was like a huge computer screen. There were two options displayed on the window.
[Dungeon Market Demon Catalogue]
[Low-Level Worker Demon List (No Stars)]
[Skeleton]
[Goblin]
Yong-Ho couldn't help but laugh. It was just as he had earlier heard from Eligor, though it was still quite strange to see the options pop-up on the screen like a video game.
'Should I go for the goblin?'
The advantage of undead monsters, like the skeleton, was that they did not cost any maintenance in food. Moreover, they were able to work for a far greater time than other races.
However, the skeleton demanded far more mana consumption. The House of Mammon lacked in many things, however, the thing they lacked the most, and subsequently needed the most, was mana.
Yong-Ho moved his finger towards the window of light and selected 'Goblin'. Dozens of compartmentalized rooms appeared before him each containing a different goblin, just like a character selection screen.
The price of each goblin was 20 gold.
Eligor had previously deposited 40 gold to the Dungeon Market, so Yong-Ho was able to choose a maximum of two goblins.
'So then, which ones should I choose?'
Yong-Ho took a deep breath. And activated the power of evolution.
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Chapter 7 Demon Labor Market 4
Yong-Ho's eyes turned green. It wasn't as noticeable compared to when his father did it, but there was still an obvious change in color when one looked closely.
Yong-Ho slowly breathed in. As time went by, he could feel his mana slowly being consumed. Although the amount of mana that was being consumed was small, Yong-Ho's current lack of mana control caused even a small consumption to feel taxing.
'Let's not rush.'
He still had plenty of time. Yong-Ho looked up at the goblins displayed on the screen before him.
[Race: Goblin (M)]
[Strength Specialization ]
'Uh?'
This was the first time he had seen the specifications of a goblin, so he was surprised that it had only one category. Compared to the multiple categories of Catalina and Eligor, he felt embarrassed just by looking at it.
'Why is that?'
Was the goblin an inferior species compared to Catalina and Eligor?
That was a possibility. However, a more plausible reason came to his mind.
'The goblins aren't my spirits.'
Catalina and Eligor were the servants of Yong-Ho. They were not normal spirits, but spirits of the dungeon, where both their body and soul were in-servitude to Yong-Ho.
Of course, both of them being stronger demons was part of the reason, but Yong-Ho believed that spirits belonging to a dungeon must have higher potential.
'I'm glad I have some information to go off now.'
After seeing the positive side of this situation, Yong-Ho continued to inspect the goblins.
[Race: Goblin (M)]
[Strength Specialization (1)]
[Race: Goblin (M)]
[Strength Specialization (0.5)]
[Stamina Specialization (0.5)]
There was a difference. It was a clear difference that Yong-Ho could compare and analyze at once.
'Even if the race is the same, the field which they can evolve is different?'
It was a reasonable thought. Even if they shared the same race, they surely couldn't just be all identical.
'Does the number of stars indicate their potential in each field? Even if they evolved at the same rate, the results wouldn't necessarily be the same either.'
A smile appeared on Yong-Ho's face. The more he understood how to use the power of evolution, the more he felt like he was playing a video game.
'Catalina doesn't seem to be completely useless after all.'
Despite them all being of the same goblin race, some of them had just one evolutionary route, while others had two.
Catalina, however, had as many as five evolutionary routes, with each path having great potential and the lowest of which, was three stars.
From their current state, it was apparent that Eligor was on the same level as Catalina, with him having three evolutionary routes with a maximum potential of two stars. It was clear that Catalina's potential was above that of Eligor's.
'Once their powers grew greater, would they be able to venture out into the demon world on their own?'
When he thought of that possible future, he also thought of Catalina's crying face and couldn't help but doubt it.
Yong-Ho came back to his senses from his aspirational daydream. There was no time to waste. At this very moment, mana was being consumed for communication and power maintenance.
All thirty goblins were currently displayed on the screen. Yong-Ho quickly checked the information for all thirty of them. He narrowed it down to those who had either a large number of evolutionary routes or a large number of stars (potential power).
[No 04]
[Race: Goblin (M)]
[Strength Specialization (1)]
[Stamina Specialization (1)]
[No 17]
[Race: Goblin (M)]
[Strength Specialization (1.5)]
[No 22]
[Race: Goblin (M)]
[Stamina Specialization (1.5)]
'Wow, this is quite difficult.'
He was only able to pick two in total.
In the end, it was their diversity and specialty that he would base his decision on.
'I don't have enough information.'
There was no way of knowing whether choosing a goblin with a strength specialization or a stamina specialization would be more effective for his workforce. It was possible that he was overthinking the situation, given that he would only be picking 2 workers for the moment. As Eligor had earlier said that eventually, he would need dozens of workers under his control.
Regardless, he still could not just choose blindly.
If this was a game, then he was only at the very beginner stage. Each worker was precious, and depending on which worker he chose, there could be a significant gap in the early development rate.
Yong-Ho, still in conflict, reached out inadvertently and touched one of the goblins on the screen. He took a step back in surprise.
Yong-Ho's hand had touched the box that marked one of the possible evolutionary routes. The goblin's appearance started to change. To be exact, a semi-transparent silhouette appeared on top of the goblin's figure.
Yong-Ho had a hunch. After swallowing dry saliva, he reached out and touched each box one by one.
The Strength Specialization goblins turned into inverted triangles with broad shoulders. The Agility Specialization types generally had elongated limbs, and finally, the goblins with Stamina Specialization had an overall increase in toughness.
It only displayed a silhouette, but it was enough. It was good enough to see how they evolved.
'I'll have to try it on Catalina and Eligor.'
But they weren't here, and what Yong-Ho needed right now was two workers. Yong-Ho, who was contemplating whether to choose between strength or stamina specialization goblins, finally came to a decision.
[You have selected No. 17 and No. 22.]
[Thank you, sir. Please allow one to two days for delivery.]
Yong-Ho laughed at the typical comment that he usually saw on online vendors.
He had finally decided to pick one Strength Specialization goblin and one Stamina Specialization goblin.
It was a little unfortunate that he wasn't able to find the most efficient option, but he thought that it was overall more important to gather different specimens to understand his power of evolution.
[Would you like to finish the transaction?]
[Yes / No]
The amount of mana that he had consumed was already huge. There was no reason to spend additional fees on communication when he had already finished the transaction that he had set forth to do. Yong-Ho pressed 'Yes' without hesitation. The space before him was now filled with the dullness of the throne room, replacing the white space from before.
"Did you manage to complete the transaction?"
Eligor asked Yong-Ho, standing a short, but respectful, distance away. From their facial expressions, Yong-Ho could easily tell that they appeared to be quite anxious. He didn't realize it at first but since it was his first time visiting the virtual branch, he had spent over an hour browsing.
Yong-Ho nodded and answered.
"Yeah. I bought two goblins. They'll arrive either tomorrow or the day after."
"Oh oh... finally we'll have workers in this dungeon again. We'll be able to reinforce our traps and start building other facilities."
He said it with such a voice, that it wouldn't be strange to see him start crying with joy.
Yong-Ho could slightly understand Eligor's thrill with the situation. It had been almost a full year since the previous owner had committed suicide. During that period, the House of Mammon had continually fallen further into ruin, and it was very exciting to see the moment when the dungeon was beginning to flourish again.
"How exactly are the goblins delivered?"
Yong-Ho asked Eligor, who wiped away his teary eyes with the back of his hand.
"A courier who's affiliated with the Dungeon Market will come. They're always very quick and precise."
"It seems that couriers are a welcome sight in either world."
There were times in Yong-Ho's life, where the anticipation right before a package arrives was more exciting than actually receiving the package itself.
There was also more good news.
"Master! Master!"
Catalina's voice carried waves of excitement from behind the door, causing both Yong-Ho and Eligor to look towards her at the same time. After about three seconds had passed, Catalina slammed open the door and strode in. She walked in carrying a wild boar on top of her shoulders, which made one wonder how her slender body had the strength to support such a beast.
"I caught a wild boar! I caught one!"
Her bright expression was filled with a mix of joy and pride. Her face beamed with so much brightness, that Yong-Ho and Eligor seemed to find it difficult to know how to immediately react.
When Catalina didn't receive an immediate reaction from them, she suddenly became embarrassed and quickly put the boar down on the ground. She then tried to act cool about it. It was too late, however.
Yong-Ho began to laugh out loudly. He rose from the throne and lavished Catalina with praise, who's long ears were now dropping with embarrassment.
"Well done, Catalina. You've done a great job. You've done really well as the guard. You're definitely the best guard in our dungeon!"
Despite his lavishing praise, Catalina still maintained her cool expression and tried to act befitting of her status, but her long ears started fluttering uncontrollably like a dog's tail.
How should he have reacted in a situation like this?
Eligor gave a quiet chuckle, and Yong-Ho tried to restrain laughing any further. Nevertheless, he continued to compliment his guard.
That night, it had now been two whole days since he had been crowned the demon king of the House of Mammon.
Yong-Ho, for the first time, had tasted meat from the demon world.
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Chapter 8 The Power of Evolution
On the day that they held the crowning ceremony, Yong-Ho had felt a change.
It could not simply be described by the word 'awakened'.
He was literally reborn as a demon. Of course, many things had changed.
The first change was that his body had been considerably strengthened.
His physique was improving every day. Even when working out at a gym back home he had never been able to gain a six-pack like he had right now. Furthermore, the muscles in his arms and legs had gotten noticeably larger.
It was all because he now had mana. Amongst demons, the mana of a demon king was especially concentrated. Eligor explained that the stronger the mana, the stronger the performance of the physical body.
'Eligor is out retrieving water.'
Catalina, just like yesterday, was sleeping underneath her cloak. Yong-Ho thought about whether he should wake her up but instead, ended up walking towards his throne. He examined his body using the power of evolution.
[Name: Chun Yong-Ho (M)]
[Race: Half-Human/Demon - Demon King]
[Main Element: Fire / Darkness]
[Strength Specialization (1)]
[Stamina Specialization (2)]
[Mana Specialization (1.5)]
[Charm Specialization (1)]
[Agility Specialization (1)]
[Skill Specialization (2)]
[Seven Deadly Sins ???]
He was very satisfied by how many evolutionary routes that he had, but he expected to have had more stars. He still thought that demon kings were too overpowered, he didn't even know much about the potential of his own power of evolution. Even though he wasn't able to see much effect from the power of evolution at the moment, there were a lot of available opportunities to use it, so it would definitely become a more powerful asset later on.
'What's perplexing me the most is the power of the Seven Deadly Sins.'
Out of the Seven Deadly Sins, Mammon wielded the power of greed.
Even if one was a descendant of Mammon, it didn't necessarily mean they would be able to use the power of the Seven Deadly Sins. That was why Catalina, Eligor, and even Sitri were surprised when the power of Seven Deadly Sins emerged from within Yong-Ho.
'Since none of the previous generations of owners could wield it.'
However, Yong-Ho had the power. Although the power hadn't fully awakened yet, it was still lying dormant inside him.
A smile unknowingly crept onto Yong-Ho's face, which he covered with a light cough. He then connected his consciousness to the spirit of the dungeon.
He had a lot of work to do today.
"So this is the most southern edge of the demon world."
"Yes, that's correct. It's actually in the outskirts. In the past, during the era of Mammon, the entire southern region was controlled by the House of Mammon..."
While he was talking, tears began to linger in Eligor's eyes. He cried quite often for a demon.
Yong-Ho thought that Eligor was just a typical old man that missed his glorious past, but Eligor wasn't even born during the reign of Mammon. He turned his eyes away from Eligor towards the window of light before him.
'It's quite wide.'
It wasn't just wide, it was extremely so.
He assumed, from the meager information before him, that the region he was in seemed to be wider than the United States.
From there, Yong-Ho's dungeon, the House of Mammon, was located at the most southern point. Just like Eligor had said, it was based on the outskirts. Just like in a video game, the dungeon's borders had plenty of space surrounding it to expand.
Eligor, who wiped away his tears with a handkerchief, started to explain again.
"Currently, the demon world is divided into six powers. Those are the kings of the demon world."
After several borders were drawn, this world was divided into seven different regions.
The southern wasteland, formerly owned by the House of Mammon, is now a land without any owners.
The remaining six lands are ruled by the mighty demon kings who command all dungeon owners within their territories.
The world itself was so large that even the nearest "King's Land" was a considerable distance away. From Yong-Ho's perspective, despite just starting out with two subordinates, there would likely come a day where he would have to meet those kings.
However, regardless of that, he still had to keep a track of the overall situation.
Yong-Ho couldn't leave his dungeon in such a state, as it was now. As he became more powerful, the day would come where he would have to eventually face them.
Furthermore, that was why Sitri had warned him.
There was no need to ask for any further explanations. Yong-Ho was not a pure demon, but a half-blooded demon. From the standpoint of the regular pure-blooded demons, this kind of irregularity was quite rare. There was also a high probability that the other demons would dislike his existence.
'That's why Eligor wanted to hide me.'
There were two reasons why they called for the dungeon merchant Sitri instead of any other demon kings for his crowning ceremony.
One reason was that they didn't really know any other demons to call, while the other, and far more important reason, was that they were trying to conceal Yong-Ho's existence as the next king of the House of Mammon.
Even a simple crimson ogre had almost caused the ruined dungeon to perish. At this point, if any other pure-blooded demons were to attack, then it would be all over.
The more Yong-Ho thought about it, the more things he realized he had to do.
For the moment, it seemed to him that being the owner of a chicken restaurant might be more prosperous than the owner of a dungeon.
But Yong-Ho still couldn't help but smile. No, it wasn't due to courage, but given that their situation was in such dire straits he had a sense of challenge to overcome the odds.
Eligor had a satisfied smile on his face after seeing the gallant appearance of Yong-Ho and continued to explain.
"First of all, the main aim is to restore the overall function of the dungeon."
The window of light suddenly disappeared, and an aerial view of the dungeon appeared in its place. Almost all areas of Mammon's dungeon were either inactive or had collapsed.
"It's an embarrassing story, but since Mammon, none of his descendants have ever been able to fully revive the dungeon. Just finding the facilities hidden in ruined areas of Mammon's dungeon will help you tremendously in reviving the dungeon."
In simple terms, that meant there were certain areas within the dungeon that he had to target first.
'It sounds good, but there must be a catch.'
Considering how the previous owners were not able to fully inherit the power of Mammon in the past, this would not be an easy task. Eligor, who noticed Yong-Ho's intentions, spoke up.
"At first, I think it'll be better to gradually develop the upper level. You could then build up your strength by defeating neighboring low-level demons."
"I think I'm probably the lowest level demon in the neighborhood."
The demon world was a land of 'survival of the fitness'. Conflicts with other demons were unavoidable.
"Then Eligor, which do you think is better, strength or stamina?"
"Sir?"
Eligor quizzically blinked at the open question. Instead of explaining, Yong-Ho just activated his power of evolution. He wasn't planning on first testing out his power on Eligor, but he still wanted to see what the potential outcomes were.
[Name: Eligor (M)]
[Race: Red Demon]
[Main Element: Fire / Darkness]
[Main Stats: Red Demon - Strength / Stamina]
[Evolution Rate: 62/100]
[Strength Specialisation (2)]
[Stamina Specialisation (2)]
[Mana Specialisation (1)]
Yong-Ho waved his finger in the air. He lightly touched a box of light that was invisible to others, except for himself. A faint silhouette appeared over Eligor's figure.
"Oh."
In each of the evolutionary routes that he took, Eligor would transform into a buff demon, which was a stark contrast to his current form. He couldn't be absolutely sure since it was just a silhouette, but he believed that Eligor's wrinkled face might change as well.
"Sir?"
Eligor, who hadn't had a clue what was going on, called out to Yong-Ho with an anxious look.
"It's nothing."
Yong-Ho, who had been absorbed into his research, deactivated the power. Immediately afterward, a voice sounded on the other side of the door. It was from Catalina, who seemed to be brimming with excitement.
"Delivery! The packages are here! They're here!"
After all, both demons and humans found it exciting when deliveries arrived. Yong-Ho and Eligor both looked towards the door with grins on their faces.
Currently, the House of Mammon was composed of eight large square rooms made out of stone.
Yong-Ho didn't have to run to the dungeon's entrance to receive the package, but instead Catalina entered the throne room with a cart holding two large boxes.
"Master!" They're here!"
She normally acted calm, but it seemed that the delivery was too exciting for her, as there was a large smile plastered on her face. Just like before, her long ears were fluttering like wings.
Catalina quickly dragged the cart to the throne, and Yong-Ho, who had just gotten up from the throne, instinctively leaned over and patted her head. It felt appropriate for the moment.
"The boxes are smaller than what I imagined."
The cart couldn't hold anything else, so he couldn't really say that they were small, but they were still smaller than he had expected. They looked like common wooden boxes found on docks, that were about one meter wide.
"The goblins are quite small. They're probably curled up in those boxes."
"They're curled up in there?"
He thought that it was absurd that someone would deliver living creatures in a wooden box.
However, since Catalina and Eligor didn't seem to be bothered by it, Yong-Ho didn't mention it. He ordered Catalina to open the box with a directed glance.
Using her thin arms, Catalina easily unloaded the boxes onto the ground.
"Okay, I'll open them up."
"Okay."
When Yong-Ho gave the go-ahead, Eligor broke open the seal of the Dungeon Market and used a crowbar to open the lid of the box. As if under the influence of some sort of device, the entire box broke apart and revealed its contents.
Just like Eligor and Catalina had mentioned, there was a goblin curled up inside. It had green skin, a big head and bulging knuckles on its hands and feet.
Yong-Ho looked at the goblins meticulously, as they seemed to be frozen in place. Eligor explained the problem.
"If you register them with the dungeon first and then inject them with mana, then they'll start to work. They're currently frozen due to the magic of the Dungeon Market."
[Would you like to register the goblins as dungeon spirits?]
The Spirit of the Dungeon asked Yong-Ho. Yong-Ho nodded without hesitation.
[Registering two goblins as dungeon spirits.]
As soon as the Spirit of the Dungeon finished speaking, a red pentagram appeared over the goblins' heads. Yong-Ho swallowed his dry saliva. It wasn't just because he had high expectations for the goblins.
He had felt the movement of mana.
He had felt it transfer from himself to the dungeon, and then from the dungeon to the goblins.
Moments later, the goblins started to tremble. They suddenly opened their large bulging eyes, and then slowly stood up. The goblins looked up at Yong-Ho with a blank stare.
They were each about 120cm in height. About the same size as lower grade elementary school students.
"They may be small, but goblins are natural workers. They're the best spirits for value for money, they hardly eat anything but still work hard."
'Is this not child labor?'
After facing Eligor's content face, Yong-Ho quickly turned towards the goblins.
The goblins were still dazed. It wasn't due to the aftereffects of waking up, but they were generally, as stated in the manual, 'out of it'.
"Sir, would you please give them your first command? Anything will do."
Eligor spoke, while Catalina excitedly alternated her gaze between the two goblins and Yong-Ho with bright eyes as if expecting something wondrous to happen.
Yong-Ho continued to stare at the goblins and then shook his head.
"No, not yet. If I just use them like this, then it'll be like child labor."
"Sir?"
Eligor asked with a confused look on his face. But instead of answering, Yong-Ho took a deep breath.
And activated the power of evolution.
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Chapter 9 The Power of Evolution 2
[Race: Goblin (M)]
[Main Element: Earth]
[Main Stats: Strength / Stamina]
[Evolution Rate: 100/100]
[Strength Specialisation (1.5)]
[Stamina Specialisation (1.5)]
After officially registering the goblins as dungeon spirits, he could now see all the evolutionary information that he couldn't see back at the market. Furthermore, luckily, both of them had already reached an evolution rate of 100. It was most likely because they were already the weakest spirits so they couldn't go much lower.
Eligor and Catalina continued to look at Yong-Ho with dry saliva in their mouths. Yong-Ho raised his hands in the air, instead of explaining it to them again. Boxes of light appeared over both of the goblins' heads.
The power of evolution was the demon king's power.
It was a power that awakened from Yong-Ho's soul and was closely intertwined with his very being.
So, of course, activating it felt natural. Flames rose from Yong-Ho's green eyes, as mana was released from his fingertips.
The goblins began to tremble. Eligor held his breath as he felt the mana from Yong-Ho inject into the goblins. Catalina stared at Yong-Ho with an anxious face.
Moments later.
A green aura began to envelop the goblins. The goblins' cries filled the room.
"Ahem!"
Yong-Ho hurriedly stepped back while coughing roughly. It was difficult. He felt as if all his energy had been drained out of him.
However, Yong-Ho still had a grin on his face. Eligor covered his mouth with both of his hands, his eyes turning red like usual. Whereas, Catalina quickly went over to help Yong-Ho. Her eyes widened when she looked back to the goblins.
The goblins had transformed.
The goblin with a strength specialty had grown more than 15cm taller. Its frail shoulders were twice as large as before, and its upper body had formed into a perfectly inverted triangle.
Even though its legs were short, its arms were large and sturdy. It was like looking at a baby gorilla.
Meanwhile, the goblin with the stamina specialty had also transformed. Both it's upper and lower body had developed in balance, with muscles appearing on its thin arms and legs.
It initially seemed shorter than the other goblin, but after it fully extended its bent waist, it suddenly became taller.
"This, this is the power of evolution!"
Eligor was elated. While Catalina was still staring at the goblins with a shocked expression on her face.
Yong-ho smiled and gathered the remaining mana. He wanted to lie down and fall asleep right away, but instead, he activated the power of evolution again to look at the goblin with strength specialization.
[Race: Goblin (M)] [Level One Spirit]
[Main Element: Earth]
[Main Stats: Strength / Stamina]
[Evolution Rate: 0/100]
[Strength Specialisation (1.5)]
[Stamina Specialization (1)]
[Intelligence Specialization (0.5)]
A new 'Intelligence' stat had appeared. Moreover, that wasn't the only change. A large box of light had appeared above the goblin's stats. Yong-Ho felt great excitement as he read what was inside.
[Promotion: Hobgoblin]
Promotion. Transcendence. Class change, no, class promotion.
Everything was good. If they evolved once more, then the Goblins in front of him would transcend even further along the goblin race. It was clear that the very nature of their existence would rise.
'Though in the end, they're just a couple of evolved goblins.'
Despite being cynical, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
So what's next after Hobgoblins? Goblin King? High Goblin? Was it possible for Catalina and Eligor to be promoted like that?
'Come to think of it.'
That was when Yong-Ho suddenly realized, with a worried look on his face, that Catalina was hugging him halfway. Perhaps because he only just came to a realization, but he could really feel Catalina's presence, through his arms, waist, and chest, suddenly awash over him.
Despite being reborn as a demon king, Yong-Ho was still unable to overcome his shyness around women.
'It is nice, however...'
He didn't have any energy left. He naturally leaned his body against Catalina's.
That's what Yong-Ho thought anyway. He decided, without hesitation, to just lean against her even more. Suddenly, Catalina yelled.
"Oh, my god! Is that a horn?"
Yong-Ho jumped at Catalina's sudden cry, Eligor also screamed.
Small horns were visible on the Goblins' foreheads, almost like small rocks jutting out of a cliff. Eligor stared at them with tears filling his eyes. He was so moved that he had been brought to tears.
"Oh oh... mighty Mammon."
Now, he was just bawling his eyes out. Yong-Ho decided that Catalina was probably a better person to ask at the moment.
"Is it that great, Catalina, that the Goblins have horns?"
At Yong-Ho's question, Catalina gawked at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face. They were standing right next to each other, so Catalina's beautiful face was right in front of him.
She started to breathe roughly. After staring at Yong-Ho's face with a bewildered look for a while, Catalina yelled gleefully.
"It's amazing! Fantastic! N-no. You're amazing."
After yelling with excitement, she tried to calm herself down and control her excited tone. Instead of teasing her, Yong-Ho asked her once again.
"So, why is it so amazing?"
Catalina once again became dumbfounded. But, only for a moment. To demons, it was common knowledge, but she realized that for Yong-Ho however, it was completely unknown, since this was only his third day as a demon.
After helping Yong-Ho sit down on the throne, she tried to catch her breath. She then started to explain in a calm manner as possible.
"For demons, horns are a symbol of strength. A demon's horn is a type of organ that draws in the mana that exists in the world. The stronger your mana, the greater and larger your horns will become. Of course, having a lot of large horns would become uncomfortable so most demons use magic to conceal them. But, uh, anyway, that's why horns are so important. It's also possible to get a rough idea on the strength of a demon based on the number of horns they have."
Even though her visible excitement had died down a bit, her voice was still traveling at high speed. As if she was running out of the air, she kept on having to stop talking and take a breath. After taking another couple of breaths, her explanation continued.
"It's not that easy to increase the size or number of horns. Most demons live the rest of their life with the same horns they were born with. Strengthening your mana is the only way to increase the size or number of horns you possess. It's different for each case. B-but."
"But?"
In response to Yong-Ho's question, Catalina closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and said with a relatively calm face.
"Goblins don't originally have horns. Though there is an occasional rare case with a goblin being born with a very small horn, it's still very rare. Goblins don't have much mana in the first place, so it's almost impossible for them to increase their number of horns."
"But master, you gave those goblins horns. Those goblins have horns..."
Eligor spoke again with reverence. His voice was trembling with emotion.
Yong-Ho now understood.
Why Catalina had been so excited, and why Eligor had been so moved by what he had done.
'The power of evolution.'
He remembered the sparkle in Sitri's eyes. He understood now why she seemed impressed by him, despite her introducing herself as an influential figure.
Yong-Ho looked at the Goblins again. Perhaps it was the effect of their evolution, or maybe because they now had horns, but they looked more intelligent now. When their eyes met, the Goblins quickly knelt down and spoke in a stammering tone.
"Master, master."
"We, we. Pledge our allegiance. To you."
Catalina suddenly opened her mouth wide with joy, while Eligor started to weep again.
Yong-Ho guessed by their reactions that goblins talking was considered pretty amazing as well.
Yong-Ho sat back down on his throne again. He asked Catalina once again, who was still overcoming her shock.
It was about the horns.
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Chapter 10 The Power of Evolution 3
"Why don't I have horns?"
Yong-Ho's question was quite simple.
Why did he not have horns?
If the horn was such an important organ for demons and was essential for the accumulation of mana, how come Yong-Ho, a demon king, didn't have any? Was it because he was half-human?
Catalina blinked in surprise, with a face full of astonishment, at Yong-Ho's sudden question. Eligor also looked towards him with a surprised look on his face.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Uh... well... you do have a horn?"
Yong-Ho blinked at Catalina's reserved answer.
Catalina carefully raised her hands and pointed to the small horns that protruded slightly above her ears.
"Look, they're in the same position as mine."
Yong-Ho was quite shocked. But, he understood it to some extent.
If he thought about it, he hadn't seen a mirror since he'd moved to the demon world.
He had indeed felt something strange when he washed his hair, but he would have never guessed that they were horns.
'This damn dungeon doesn't even have a mirror.'
Yong-Ho mimicked Catalina and placed both of his hands above his ears. "These are horns?"
Catalina nodded instead of answering. Disappointment filled Yong-Ho's face and voice.
'How come a demon king only has two horns?'
Furthermore, they were both quite small. They were more like small rocks than horns. And even that was a compliment. Rather, it felt more like his bones were just slightly jutting out. No wonder he didn't realize.
"You haven't been a demon king for long. The power of the dungeon will become your power. As the dungeon grows again, so shall your power. Though, the opposite is also true."
Eligor hurriedly explained. Catalina nodded her head once and turned into the initial calm and collected figure she was when they had first met.
"It's true that the stronger one's mana becomes, the more horns one will have. However, the number and size of the horns are not an absolute indicator of power."
Yong-Ho now knew her true nature hiding behind that composed and cool mask, but since she was explaining with a serious expression, he decided to take her seriously.
'Well, I've got a lot of things I need to work on.'
As Eligor had said, he had to become stronger. It was too early for him to feel disappointed.
After collecting his thoughts, Yong-Ho looked back towards Catalina. As she continued to talk, he was becoming more curious.
"You said that demons usually shrink or hide their horns?"
"Yeah."
Yong-Ho continued to stare at Catalina, who fortunately quickly understood what he was asking. She spoke again after lightly coughing.
"Ahem. Then I shall now release my mana."
There was no reason to stop her, so Yong-Ho simply nodded and folded his arms. After taking a step back, Catalina took a deep breath and released her mana.
A change in mana. Opening up.
Yong-Ho could feel the shift in mana in Catalina before him. This was what it felt like when a spirit of the dungeon released its power. It was as if he could physically see it. Catalina's mana. Her soul.
He could feel her mana, her spirit's color, and her attributes.
"Haaa, ha..."
Catalina stood up straight after catching her breath. Above her long ears, two yellow horns sprouted out, each roughly the size of the span of an adult hand.
Just as he had expected, they weren't that big. It had more of a resemblance to an elephant's ivory tusks rather than deer antlers.
Perhaps, it was because she had just released her mana, but Catalina seemed to have a different aura around her than usual. She now felt more like a sharp blade.
After examining her horns, Yong-Ho stood up from his throne and bluntly asked her.
"Hey, could I touch them?"
"Y-yes, master."
Catalina accepted while blushing, causing the atmosphere of the room to take a strange turn.
She tilted her head forwards slightly, while nervously clenching her fists. She lightly bit her lips, and the way her eyes darted around the room indicated her anxiety.
After feeling the change in mood, Yong-Ho swallowed his dry saliva. He slowly extended his hand, and gently touched one of Catalina's horns.
As soon as he touched her horn, Catalina flinched, causing her shoulders to tremble slightly.
Her horns felt cold and sturdy, accompanied with a soft texture. It was clearly true that the horns were regarded as a mana organ, as every time he moved his finger he vividly felt Catalina's mana reacting. Perhaps that was why Catalina seemed to be continually flinching.
'I should probably stop.'
Yong-Ho felt like he could get addicted to this feeling. The stimulus was too much for a man, such as him, who had attended an all-male high school.
Yong-Ho quickly pulled back his hand and stepped back from Catalina. Catalina breathed a small sigh of relief. He felt like a tyrannical boss, who would subjugate his employees to his various whims.
It was then.
"You're welcome to touch my horn as well."
Eligor spoke while sticking his head out with eagerness. Unlike Catalina's, Eligor's horns were light gray and located on his forehead, resembling more of a rhino's horn.
Thinking back to Catalina's response when he was touching her horns, Yong-Ho swiftly stepped past him without a second thought. He instead looked down at the two Goblins, who had been ignored for a while and spoke to them.
"Anyway, you two now have horns."
"Master?"
"Shall I give you both a name?"
Yong-Ho had once again ignored Eligor's question and inquired further. The Spirit of the Dungeon replied.
[Would you like to register names for the new dungeon spirits?]
Yong-Ho responded by nodding and then pondered for a while.
If what Eligor had said was true, then eventually this dungeon would be filled with dozens of spirits. However, these were the first two, so he wanted to give them special names.
'Ah, I don't know. I'll just give them any name.'
A name had to be both easy to remember and unique. Furthermore, the Goblins weren't exactly intelligent, so they needed names that were easy to memorize.
"Right, you're Jon, and you're Ron."
At Yong-Ho's declaration, the Goblins blinked and then broke out with ecstatic smiles.
"Jon, Jon."
"Ron, Ron."
The strength type was Jon, while the stamina type was named Ron.
The two continued to repeat their names several times and then bowed down to Yong-Ho.
"Master. Thank you. Thank you. Happy, Happy."
[Spirits are content. The employee's satisfaction level has increased.]
A smile was also drawn on Yong-Ho's face. This time, Catalina asked.
"Excuse me, Master."
"Huh?"
"Can the power of evolution be used on anyone?"
Of course, it was probable to Yong-Ho that this question was going to be asked, so he had already prepared an answer.
However, Eligor was different, he stared ferociously at Catalina, causing her to flinch with widened eyes. After recognizing the sort of question she had just asked, Catalina quickly knelt down in front of Yong-Ho. She bowed her head towards him.
"I apologize Master for such an invasive question. Please forgive me."
Her long ears started to tremble slightly. Yong-Ho felt embarrassed at her remorseful behavior, but soon understood the nature of the situation.
The power of the demon king was the most powerful weapon in their arsenal. And Catalina had just asked one of her master's greatest secrets.
'It seems like the previous owner was a bit of a despot.'
After deeply sighing, Yong-Ho knelt down and helped Catalina stand up. She still couldn't meet his gaze, so he softly spoke to her.
"You know, you two are part of my family. Unlike the other spirits, both of you are special. So, it's okay to ask questions like that."
'The satisfaction level didn't increase?'
He had expected to be notified of an increase in the level of satisfaction, just like before, but the Spirit of the Dungeon didn't seem to say anything. However, Yong-Ho was still satisfied, as both Eligor and Catalina looked touched.
He continued to talk, with a smile on his face.
"Of course, the power of evolution can be used on you two as well. Both of you can become stronger."
"Oh, so that's why you asked that question before."
Eligor spoke quietly as he seemed to realize something. He seemed to remember Yong-Ho asking a question about whether the strength or stamina type was better.
"Catalina, would you like to evolve?"
Yong-Ho's sudden question caused Catalina's face to turn a bright beetroot red, though only for a short time. Quickly turning around to take a look at the Goblins, Catalina hesitated and then timidly replied.
"Uh, I'm not sure I want to look like that... "
As a woman, she still wanted to maintain her appearance. Yong-Ho jokingly moved his hands, and even though she had tightly shut her eyes, she didn't back down. Yong-Ho laughed cheerfully, and then lightly flicked her forehead.
"I can't do it right now anyway. I'll let you know when you meet the correct conditions. And... evolution doesn't just mean that you'll gain big muscles."
As soon as she felt Yong-Ho flick her head, she opened her eyes and nodded. Her two long ears were, of course, drooping.
'I'll become addicted if I'm not careful.'
Was teasing her always this fun?
Yong-Ho turned his attention from Catalina to Eligor. As if he was waiting for that moment, Eligor spoke. He looked like he was prepared to say something.
"Master, there's something I must tell you."
After seeing Eligor's face, Yong-Ho adopted a serious expression and slightly nodded his head, indicating Eligor to speak.
"There are still some emergency funds available. They aren't the assets of the Mammon family... but rather the assets that I've collected in case of emergencies."
As soon as he finished talking, Eligor took a small pouch out from a pocket next to his chest. Catalina gasped in surprise, with widely opened eyes.
"It's only a little bit of money. But, you'll be able to purchase another one-star spirit with it. If it's the lowest ranking spirits like goblins, you might be able to purchase three... no maybe even four of them."
Eligor held out the pouch. Yong-Ho wasn't sure how to receive it, so Eligor firmly placed it into Yong-Ho's hands and bowed his head.
"Forgive me for showing you disrespect. This foolish old spirit was hiding this money in preparation for the worst outcome. However, I was convinced just now of the true power of master. Master is the only one who can restore the House of Mammon again to its former glory."
As per usual, Eligor had tears filling his eyes. Catalina's eyes were also turning a slight shade of red.
"Please. Master. Please spend this money. The dungeon needs more spirits."
He now understood why Eligor had given him this money.
Yong-Ho lightly bit his lips. To be honest, he found these kinds of melodramatic situations to be quite awkward. But he understood how Eligor felt.
What thoughts did Catalina and Eligor have when they first met?
Were they dreaming of restoring the House of Mammon?
That's probably unlikely. What they probably wanted was to just give their dying dungeon some last support.
However, Eligor now truly dreamed of restoring the might of the House of Mammon.
Honestly, he did feel a bit pressured by Eligor.
Moreover, Eligor had hidden the money to plan for the worst outcome and even though it was his own money, the very act of hiding something would have usually been considered quite disrespectful. However, that didn't mean that Yong-Ho was annoyed at Eligor.
Yong-Ho eventually put on a smile towards him.
"Thank you, I shall accept this money, Eligor."
Yong-Ho sat on the throne, with the plan of once again visiting the Demon Market.
"Well, this is an unexpected visit."
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Chapter 11 The Power of Evolution 4
"Well, this is an unexpected visit."
As soon as he had entered the white space, Sitri greeted him with a surprised expression. Unlike last time, she was now wearing a red dress, though it still had the same degree of exposure.
She was clearly acting surprised, so Yong-Ho responded by acting relaxed.
"I thought you said you weren't exclusively in charge of this place?"
Sitri's eyes widened, as she put on a charming smile. In front of that smile, anybody scheming against her would have had their thoughts melt away.
Yong-Ho tried to remain relaxed, but it was quite difficult. For Yong-Ho, who was weak against women, Sitri was a mighty existence.
However, it didn't mean that he wore a stupid expression plastered on his face. His earlobes just turned a slight red, and he coughed a little.
Sitri smiled again. Suddenly, a white desk appeared behind her, which she gently leaned her hips against and then spoke.
"Influential people aren't always busy. And actually, I had a feeling you might come today."
"Isn't that contradicting, what you said earlier?"
Sitri was incredibly beautiful, and she knew it. As a result, she just responded to Yong-Ho's comment with another smile. The white table behind her suddenly transformed into a chair, which Sitri then sat down on, and crossed her legs. She stared at Yong-Ho.
"You've used the power of evolution."
Yong-Ho was inexperienced in these sorts of situations. Her question caused him to flinch, and he wasn't able to hide the visible signs of his nervousness.
However, Sitri was quite satisfied with his reaction. Yong-Ho had just recently ascended to the throne. The fact that he didn't cause a commotion and was able to restrain his emotions was enough.
"You don't have to be wary of me. No one but I, knows that my beloved customer has become the king of the House of Mammon and that he has the power of evolution."
Yong-Ho wanted to ask if his power would be easily noticed if he used it, but he decided not to. He instead asked something else.
"Do you know anybody else who has the power of evolution, besides me?"
Sitri did not immediately answer. She folded her legs in a different position, briefly lowered her eyes and then rested her chin on the back of her hand. After in thought for a moment, she spoke.
"It happened a long time ago. However, the power of the person that I knew back then, and your own power are not exactly the same. Since a Demon King's power is an aspect of their very soul."
Yong-Ho didn't further ask any more questions. Sitri was kind and beautiful, and although she seemed to hold Yong-Ho in great favor, she wasn't completely on his side. The only people that Yong-Ho fully trusted were his servants Catalina and Eligor.
When Yong-Ho didn't ask any further questions, Sitri stood up. She approached Yong-Ho and then stopped a couple of paces away. A small white table appeared between them.
"I would like to provide you with a small gift as a token of apology for my rudeness. Is that okay?"
"Sure."
He wanted to answer more naturally but realized that his voice seemed a bit stiff.
Sitri took out three small leather pouches from between her cleavage and placed them on the table. It was almost as if she had a pocket dimension in there, as last time she had done something similar.
"Among the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed is deeply related to the acquisition of wealth. In the terminology of your world, 'you have the Midas touch'."
It made sense since he was the Demon of Greed. Sitri gently placed her long, slender fingers on top of the leather pouches. Which naturally caught Yong-Ho's attention.
"One of these pouches holds a coupon that allows you to purchase a rank two spirit. If you find it with your first go, it shall be yours. And if I were to give you a hint... don't think. Feel. Grab the bag that you feel that you want.
Sitri concluded her explanation with a smile. Yong-Ho looked at the pouches, and instinctively reached out and grabbed the middle pouch.
Yong-Ho was surprised by how swiftly he had reacted. Rather than thinking about moving his hand, it was as if it had reacted on its own.
Sitri opened the pouch in front of him. Inside was a green gem, about the size of a thumbnail.
"Well done, you've chosen correctly."
She confirmed this by opening the other pouches and revealing their contents. They were both empty.
Luck with the acquisition of wealth.
It was definitely useful. It was a good ability. But, Yong-Ho couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
Did the power of Greed, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, just have the ability of luck?
Sitri noticed his expression. She waved her slender index finger in front of Yong-Ho's gaze.
"This isn't the only power that Greed has. This is just a side effect of its nature. So don't be disappointed."
What she said was certainly helpful, but it was a bit disconcerting that she was able to read him so easily.
Yong-Ho reached out and grabbed the green gem, which Sitri had placed on the desk, and then spoke.
"Thank you for your help on both matters."
He was referring to both the information on the power of Greed and the coupon that she had given him.
Sitri was pleased that Yong-Ho had thanked her for both matters. This time, she pulled a large book out of thin air and placed it on the table. It was extremely large and thick, similar to the old English dictionaries that he used to use.
"Unlike the lowest level grade spirits that you bought last time, we offer a separate catalog for spirits that are rank one and above. And there are two types of categories within this catalog. The Free Labor Market and the Slave Market."
Ever since entering the demon world, that was the darkest thing he heard so far, yet completely expected in this sort of world.
Sitri explained further.
"Spirits that are registered in the Free Labor Market, are typically seeking masters to serve. Even if a demon king was willing to employ a spirit, the spirit may not be willing to serve them, so no deal is made. As the working spirits in the Free Labor Market also have the freedom to choose their master."
"And the Slave Market doesn't?"
"Exactly. The spirits are literally 'slaves'. The spirits in the Slave Market typically have low intelligence, lack of self-awareness or were sold for some other reason. Of course, there is a lack of diversity and ability with the spirits in the Slave Market compared to the spirits in the Free Labor Market. But, in the Slave Market, you won't need to negotiate with the spirits, and the prices are much cheaper.
Yong-Ho looked down at the green gem he had in his hand.
"Is this coupon also valid for spirits from the Slave Market?"
"You're very smart, my beloved customer."
It wasn't difficult to figure these things out. It would be difficult to hire spirits with the dungeon in its current condition. Furthermore, recruiting spirits from the Free Labor Market would start rumors that the House of Mammon had a new owner.
Sitri turned the book around on the desk so that Yong-Ho could read it more clearly. This was the first time he had seen letters from this world, but at just a glance, he could easily understand their meaning.
[Rank 2 Spirit Catalogue - Slave Market - ]
"Have fun shopping, my beloved customer."
Sitri, who finished talking with a smile, took a step back and disappeared just like before.
A few seconds later.
'She's tiring to deal with. I miss the simple-minded Catalina. I do miss her.'
Yong-Ho yawned due to his tiredness and then sat back down on the chair.
'Good.'
Regardless, the spirit was free, and with the hope that he would get lucky with his selection, he could save a lot of money. No, even if he didn't get lucky, he was still getting more than he had originally bargained for.
Yong-Ho opened the catalog.
He never expected that he would have received a rank two spirit for free.
However, Yong-Ho didn't enter the virtual branch just to start shopping impulsively.
He was originally going to purchase a rank one spirit.
Naturally, he had a plan.
First, he would purchase a spirit suited for combat.
Second. He would purchase a spirit that would strengthen the dungeon's overall military strength.
Currently, Catalina was the only spirit who was suited for fighting. Of course, if a battle really occurred, Yong-Ho, as well as the two Goblins, would also fight, but using the workers to defend the dungeon would only be as a last resort.
Therefore, Yong-Ho had first analyzed Catalina's strengths and weaknesses.
As a Half Succubus and Half Dark Elf, Catalina was able to use daggers, throwing knives and bows as her main weapons. In essence, she was classified as an attacker that was capable of both melee and long-ranged attacks, and she was akin to the rogue class from fantasy MMORPGs.
The new spirit that he was going to purchase, would thus act in a defensive position for the dungeon and synchronize with Catalina. So, he needed to purchase a spirit that would harmonize with Catalina's strengths and weaknesses and be able to create synergistic strategies with her.
What type of spirit would an attacker need in a defensive position?
'The answer, of course, is a tanker.'
Anyway, the spirit will be working as the dungeon's gatekeeper so mobility isn't that important. What he needed was a spirit with a large defensive build, with the ability to undergo evolution.
'Let's check out everything anyway.'
It didn't cost him any money to browse. If he saw any spirits that had potential, he could keep them in mind to purchase later if it suited his dungeon development strategy.
His heart was pounding in his chest. He would also feel a similar thrill when purchasing units for his army in games.
"Wow."
From just glancing at the section for rank two spirits, he could instantly see how different their names and appearances were.
A Hellhound that spewed fire breath.
A Bugbear with a huge build and great strength.
And a Huge Slime that produced a strong acid.
He couldn't analyze them with his Power of Evolution because he had to save mana, but just looking at the various spirits within the catalog was quite enjoyable.
Furthermore, the spirits in the catalog weren't just simply pictures printed on paper. Whenever Yong-Ho would turn the page, a spirit would appear on a huge screen in the air.
Yong-Ho was able to examine the spirits as if he were looking at holograms.
'There are a few that satisfy my criteria.'
It didn't take him too long to go through the entire catalog, even though he took his time to thoroughly examine each one. Under the rank two spirits, they were a total of 15 different kinds. Just as Sitri had explained, most of them either lacked intelligence or self-awareness.
'Hmmm, it's a shame they don't have an elf.'
Yong-Ho, who was by himself in the white room, coughed a little and then waved his finger, causing three spirits that he had bookmarked beforehand, to appear before him on the large screen.
He then activated the Power of Evolution.
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Chapter 12 The Power of Evolution 5
[No 03.]
[Race: Skeleton Warrior (-)]
[Specialty: Defense]
[Bone Toughness (1.5)]
[Physique (1)]
[Agility (0.5)]
[No 09.]
[Race: Clay Golem (-)]
[Specialty: Striking]
[Strength (1.5)]
[Physique (1)]
[No 15.]
[Race: Treant (M)]
[Specialty: Vine binding]
[Vine binding (2)]
[Physique (1)]
[Agility (0.5)]
Unlike with the Goblins, there wasn't a variety of spirits to choose from for each species, so he only really had one of the three choices.
Naturally, all three spirits had their advantages and disadvantages.
The Skeleton Warrior had a height of around 2 meters and didn't require any food since it was an undead monster. Furthermore, since it's body was made of bones, then other than its bones getting broken, it wouldn't really get injured.
Its main weapons, that of a typical tanker, was a sword and shield. While it's armor consisted of a helmet and body armor.
The problem, however, was that it required a lot of mana to maintain. Thus, the Skeleton Warrior was too much for the Mammon Dungeon to handle, as the dungeon primarily relied on just Yong-Ho to replenish its mana.
The Clay Golem, just as its name implied, was made out of clay. Similar to the Skeleton Warrior, it required no food, but compared to the Skeleton Warrior, it consumed less mana.
The Clay Golem was about 2.5 meters in height. Its shoulders were also quite wide, which was ideal for blocking enemies.
Its downside was that its movements were quite slow, but that wasn't much of an issue since its primary role would just be defense. Its role would just be to sit in the middle of a narrow passageway and endure the enemy's attacks.
The Clay Golem didn't use any weapons and looked more akin to a clay doll made by a child rather than a combat spirit.
Finally, the last spirit was the Treant.
The Treant was a tree monster that had a face in the center of its large body and had branches for arms and legs.
It was the largest of the three. It had branches extending out of its head as well, so it was difficult to perceive its exact height, but it was definitely somewhere over three meters. Its body was also quite thick, where a grown man would be incapable of fully embracing it.
Since it could plant itself into the ground like an ordinary tree, it also didn't require to be provided any food. All it required was the right amount of nutrients and water, and since it was a dungeon spirit, it didn't require much sunlight.
'Mobility is an issue though.'
Its mobility was worse than the Clay Golem, but he was quite impressed that it could freely move its branches and vines around the dungeon-like tentacles. If it rooted itself in the middle of a passageway, then it could stretch its branches and vines to create a strong barrier.
'Clay Golem or Treant?'
From their stats alone, they would be equivalent to just an ordinary spirit, so he had to make his choice solely based on their individual characteristics. He had to consider whether he wanted a strength type, that could be used in a variety of different fields, or a specialist, that excelled in one particular field.
Yong-Ho alternated his gaze between both spirits. He examined the evolutionary route that each had and imagined their potential synergy with Catalina.
A few seconds later.
Yong-Ho had finally decided.
After stirring for a bit, Yong-Ho woke up and opened his eyes. He shook his head to get rid of his daze. Standing a couple of steps away, he saw Catalina and Eligor who were fidgeting anxiously.
"Haaa... Haaa..."
He had no strength left in his body. He had felt like he had repeatedly ran a hundred-meter sprint.
"Master, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Catalina carefully asked, while wiping the sweat from Yong-Ho's forehead with a handkerchief. Eligor also spoke with an anxious expression.
"You consumed too much mana. And you've been in the virtual branch for too long."
Yong-Ho took a deep breath, instead of answering. After Catalina wiped off his sweat, he took a step back and spoke. His throat felt quite dry.
"H-how long was I in there?"
"You were in there for about two hours."
Eligor responded immediately. Yong-Ho closed his eyes again and sat down on his throne.
The coolness of the stone throne felt very comfortable.
'I used too much mana.'
Staying in the virtual branch for two hours wasn't that much of an issue. The problem was that he had been using the power of evolution to examine the spirits, just after he had evolved the two Goblins.
'I've still got a long way to go.'
Yong-Ho had contemplated his own evolutionary route, but it seemed that he had to grow his mana first.
After taking a few more breaths, he opened his eyes again. The two Goblins, Jon and Ron, Catalina and Eligor were all staring at him. He looked at each one of their faces in turn and then smiled.
Even though they were worried about Yong-Ho's condition, they desperately wanted to ask what kind of spirits he had purchased. However, since Yong-Ho hadn't fully recovered, they had held themselves back.
Yong-Ho smiled and spoke, "A Treant, I bought a Treant."
Catalina and Eligor were stunned. Catalina blinked her large eyes, and Eligor asked with a perplexed expression.
"Master, but isn't the Treant a rank two spirit, not rank one…?"
"Did you forget who I am? I'm the demon king who inherited the power of greed."
Yong-Ho continued to explain his encounter with Sitri.
There was no need to keep it a secret, and he felt like he needed to share the information with his closest subordinates, Catalina and Eligor.
Sitri's favor of him was definitely a huge boon, but Yong-Ho couldn't completely trust her. He couldn't let his guard down around her, even if it meant that he would gain something from her.
"Eligor, I've only spent half of the money you deposited into the Dungeon Market. So I bought an additional two Goblins to speed up the dungeon's development. Since I bought a lot, they also gave me a free Skeleton as a bonus."
As Yong-Ho spoke with a smile, Eligor looked as if he had become deeply moved. He could foresee what Eligor was about to do next, so he quickly intercepted. He stood up from the throne and further spoke.
"I eagerly await our new companions. Shall we eat in celebration?"
Even though he had spoken with confidence, his body reacted more honestly. Before he had finished talking, his legs started to shake and he almost collapsed. Catalina quickly rushed to support him. Yong-Ho could see her worried expression. He smiled without realizing it.
"You're definitely more comfortable to be with."
He could read her thoughts from just looking at her expression. Although they were equally beautiful, Catalina had a much healthier mindset than Sitri.
"Master?"
"It's nothing, you're just cute."
Three days ago, he had found it difficult to stand with her face to face.
Yong-Ho shook his head, and then leaned a bit more on Catalina, who had become as stiff as a tree. He smiled and spoke to Eligor and the Goblins behind him.
"Anyway, let's eat. Let's eat and then get some rest."
There was no need to overdo it all the time. Eligor, Catalina and even the Goblins all began to do their set tasks.
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Chapter 13 The Heart of the Dungeon
Laws certainly existed within the Demon World. However, one could not expect the Demon World to have the relatively peaceful enforcement of a civilized lawful nation.
No, even in advanced countries, ruthless violence often replaced pacifistic enforcement.
Survival of the fittest.
The right of the strong.
In the Demon World, the fist was mightier than the law.
It didn't matter to low-rank spirits like goblins. They were content with just living at the bottom of the pyramid.
However, it was a different story for a demon king and his servants.
They had to become strong to survive. It was a necessity, not a choice.
"Whew... Ha..."
Yong-Ho breathed heavily while sweating. His body had strengthened considerably after awakening as a demon, however, he wasn't the equivalent of a superhero.
The room that he was in was located in front of the throne room.
Yong-Ho leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He had learnt a technique from Catalina, that he was now using, which involved circulating mana around his body.
A demon king's body was essentially just a huge chunk of mana. Just by circulating the mana within his body he was able to somewhat restore his fatigue.
'Aren't they tired?'
Yong-Ho opened his eyes again and looked straight ahead with a bitter smile. A confrontation was in full swing between his guard, and combat instructor, Catalina, and rank two-spirit Treant, who had emerged as the core of the dungeon's defense.
"You'll never beat me if you continue like that."
Catalina teased in a casual manner. Her opponent, the Treant, had planted itself in the center of the room before them.
Catalina's provocation seemed to carry more of an impact given the contrast with her usual clumsy demeanor.
Her attacks were both fast and precise. Yong-Ho was honestly not confident if he had the ability to dodge her attacks. Moreover, she had to contend with not just one, but four vines.
However, Catalina maintained her smile. Rather than backing away from the vines and keep her distance, she rushed towards them. The ease at which she skilfully dodged the vines looked as if she were a feather being carried along with a gentle breeze.
As the distance between them lessened, the Treant struggled to continue its attack. Then after leaving the ground Catalina suddenly disappeared. At least that's what it seemed like in the eyes of Yong-Ho and the Treant.
Then a single breath later.
Catalina reappeared. She appeared behind the Treant and gently tapped the Treant's body with the sheathed dagger in her hand.
"That makes it 10 wins and 0 losses to me."
If the Treant either grabbed or touched Catalina with its vines then it won.
Whereas Catalina won if she touched the main body of the Treant whilst being able to dodge all the vines.
The rules were rather simple, and just like Catalina had said, this was her 10th victory.
Catalina span around with a smile plastered on her face while the Treant shook its branches with fury. She then politely curtsied to Yong-Ho, who was watching from the corner. She acted as if she were a magician that had just finished their performance
Although Catalina was quite clumsy, that was just confined to her personality and not her abilities.
The House of Mammon was still considered a family despite its downfall. Catalina was the guard of the family and had the skills to match it.
'But, why I am in a bad mood?'
No, to be exact it wasn't a bad mood. Rather it seemed to be that he strongly sympathized with the Treant.
Even though Catalina had retained her calm demeanor, her ears continued to flutter excitedly as if she were eagerly awaiting for Yong-Ho to compliment her. However, Yong-Ho instead looked at the Treant, who was sagging its branches in defeat and made a pledge to himself.
'I must... No, I will evolve your vines. Cheer up, Treant. Next time, you'll catch her.'
However, before that Yong-Ho had to evolve himself first.
It had now been six days since he had become a demon king.
Yong-Ho had been learning the basics of combat from Catalina for the past three days. It wasn't easy to learn since he had never fought before in his previous life, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't put in the necessary effort.
"Have you gotten used to the training?"
After he finished wiping away his sweat with the provided water and walked out the room, Eligor greeted Yong-Ho with a smile. Eligor had brought with him a change of ordinary clothes for Yong-Ho, that he had bought from the dungeon market, that was specially made for human-like demons. Though the clothes were just a bland gray in color, with no additional designs, Yong-Ho accepted them graciously and promptly changed into them.
"Somewhat. Moving my new body around is kind of enjoyable."
"I was concerned about how Catalina was going to train you... but it's a relief that you're so capable. This is indeed a blessing from Mammon.
It seemed that Eligor had the same thoughts as Yong-Ho, in that they didn't have much faith in Catalina's abilities outside her skill in combat. Yong-Ho smiled bitterly and followed Eligor to the throne room to see how the Goblins were getting on with their work.
There were currently a total of four goblins in the dungeon.
Jon was the one who specialized in strength, while Ron specialized in stamina.
The two additional goblins that he had recently purchased specialized in either agility and intelligence, although he hadn't yet evolved them to save mana.
He didn't yet know which evolution pathway was the most effective, so he decided to do some more testing.
"The first place we need is, of course, a warehouse for resources."
The first task that Yong-Ho had set for the Goblins was to build a resource warehouse. Although it was called a warehouse, in reality, it was just another room, which after activation, would be the place where they would store all their various resources.
Eligor started to explain while pointing to various uncut stone and timber.
"In a way, the dungeon itself is just another spirit. It's incapable of being improved through the reliance of just mana alone. Many additional materials are required to improve its facilities, such as wood, stone, metal and other similar materials. The dungeon market does sell these materials, but it would be better if we could obtain them from nearby."
They needed to save as much as possible.
Yong-Ho asked after looking at the materials again.
"What do you think we should build after the warehouse."
"It's up to you to make the decision, but personally I would recommend a prison."
"A prison?!"
A prison was one of the last things he had expected Eligor to recommend, so he may have replied a little loudly. Eligor calmly elucidated.
"Yes, I wouldn't be exaggerating by saying that there isn't a dungeon in existence that doesn't have a prison."
Certainly, the games that he had played with dungeons had prisons in them as well. Indeed, it seemed rather strange to even consider a dungeon without a prison, almost self-contradictory in fact.
"No, but still. Do we really need a place to look up prisoners?"
He wondered if he would really be able to catch a prisoner at the moment, and on top of that, he already had a lot of people to take care of.
Eligor laughed brightly.
"Oh oh... so you're not planning to leave any prisoners alive. You are indeed a worthy demon king, master. This old spirit has been touched."
Yong-Ho frowned instead of further contemplating what Eligor had just said. Eligor continued.
"A prison's role isn't just about locking up your enemies. It's also used for punishing spirits who have misbehaved. You need both the carrot and stick to control those feeble spirits like the goblins.
Yong-Ho briefly thought about how Catalina and the goblins would start to cry if they were locked up in a prison, and then nodded in agreement. He still wasn't sure if it was an absolute necessity, but Eligor knew far more about dungeons and the demon world than him so it was right to trust his judgment.
"Okay, then let's begin the construction. Also, collect all the data on the types of pitfalls and dungeon facilities that can be created with our current available resources. I'll check it when I come back."
Eligor briefly wondered what he meant by 'come back', but only for a moment. He soon asked back with a bright expression.
"Are you going to start today?"
There's nothing wrong with starting early. I've already told Catalina to get ready. Since we're just starting it probably won't be that dangerous."
Most of the facilities within Mammon's dungeon were inactive. The activated parts didn't even combine up to more than 10%, and considering that the entirety of the dungeon was underground, the current dungeon was literally just the tip of the iceberg.
That was why exploring the dungeon was a priority. If he were to acquire the hidden inheritances of the House of Mammon.
"It's a bit odd that I have to risk my life to explore my own dungeon.'
None of the previous owners had been able to completely revive the dungeon because it was so large.
Dungeon exploration was indeed dangerous. There was a lot of hidden inheritance with Mammon's dungeon, but at the same time unknown traps existed as well.
High risk, high return.
Yong-Ho had made the decision to restore the House of Mammon to its full power.
'Of course, I'm not planning to overdo it from the start.'
First, he was planning on reactivating the areas that the previous owners had discovered to grow his mana pool, and gain experience to evolve. After he got stronger, he could then explore further.
"If that's the case, then there is a place that you must visit first. It's now been six days since the dungeon has been running again, so I'm sure it's regained its form."
Yong-Ho tilted his head with a curious expression on his face.
"Regained its form? What are you talking about?"
Eligor laughed softly. Yong-Ho had been informed about it from the first day he had ascended the throne of the Mammon family.
"It's the core of the Mammon dungeon. I'm talking about the Heart of the Dungeon."
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Chapter 14 The Heart of the Dungeon 2
In the demon king's room, behind the throne, there's a door. When he pushed the curtain to the side, a small, but sturdy door appeared.
"As I've explained before, the dungeon isn't simply a building, but a living being that you can call a spirit. Like the name suggests, the Heart of the Dungeon is the heart of all living things."
"It provides mana instead of blood?"
When Yong-Ho added to his explanation, Eligor smiled and answered.
"That's correct."
The room that the Heart of the Dungeon was located wasn't different from the other rooms. It was a square room that was dark and hard.
One thing that was different was that in the middle of the room, on top of a shabby altar, there was a large marble.
It was a large, green marble that was a bit bigger than a human's head. As the owner that's connected to the dungeon's spirit, Yong-Ho realized something as soon as he looked at the marble.
"I knew it."
That was the Heart of the Dungeon.
"Hello, master."
The Spirit of the Dungeon spoke as if they were waiting for him. Since this was the Heart of the Dungeon, he expected the spirit to appear as a hologram, but he only heard their voice.
Yong-Ho suppressed his disappointment and asked the spirit.
"Is that marble your main body?"
"Yes, sir. It's small now, but it will become larger soon."
Yong-Ho walked closer to the marble. Inside the emerald-colored marble, there was a flame that was dancing inside it.
Eligor, who was quietly watching him from behind, spoke.
"There are many different ways to grow the dungeon, but in the end, it can be condensed into one sentence. Providing mana."
Yong-Ho turned around and Eligor continued his explanation.
"All living things within the demon world have different levels of mana. It even applies to the low-level spirits that don't have horns. And the more horns that a spirit has, the more mana they have. We call that lump of mana extract."
Yong-Ho was able to sense a lot of things from Eligor. He was able to sense the emotions Eligor displayed on his face, his spirit and the flow of his mana.
The mana that flowed all throughout his body started from the center of his chest and ended there as well.
"When a demon family dies, the lump of mana will naturally disperse like water or wind. However, if it hasn't been that long since the family died, that mana can be recalled."
"And you pour that mana into the Heart of the Dungeon?"
Eligor smiled.
"That's correct. You have a good understanding."
He had a basic idea. If this were a game, it would be like investing into the Heart of the Dungeon with the experience that you gain by killing a monster.
"There is one simple, but extreme method."
When Eligor spoke, Yong-Ho understood."
"You can extract mana from the Heart of the Dungeon."
"That's correct. That's the biggest reason why 'dungeon hunting' or 'dungeon wars' occur."
Eligor emphasized several times about how the dungeon was a spirit. If mana can be gathered from a demon family, then it's only right for demons to be able to extract mana from the Heart of the Dungeon.
"There is a massive amount of mana that can be extracted from it. The bigger and older the dungeon is, the more massive the dungeon's mana is."
What he was saying was common sense. But, Yong-Ho felt out of place by what he just said.
He asked Eligor.
"Can the mana only be extracted while the owner is still alive?"
Yong-Ho was getting ahead of himself, but Eligor understood. He spoke with a bright smile on his face.
"You're very smart. That isn't the case. If the owner dies, then the Spirit of the Dungeon will die as well, however, the Heart of the Dungeon itself will not die."
"That sounds a bit odd."
It's been over a year since the previous owner of the dungeon committed suicide.
The mana can be extracted from the Heart of the Dungeon even if the owner is dead.
If what he said were true, then there was one question.
How was the House of Mammon kept safe all this time?
"The reason why the dungeon was safe during the past year is fairly simple.
Eligor approached Yong-Ho. He politely pointed at the Heart of the Dungeon.
"There's a protective film around it and it protects the Heart of the Dungeon's mana. It'll require a lot of mana to break the barrier with strength. However, once the owner dies and the Heart of the Dungeon goes into the resting stage, the barrier will become weaker and weaker."
"Then, until the barrier weakens, the other owners, no, the weaker demons, are waiting for the right opportunity?"
"That's right. Right now, this dungeon is...I'm sorry. Even though we've fallen, the dungeon's history is well-known within the demon world. Since the barrier becomes stronger depending on the dungeon's history, the weaker demons won't think about getting near it."
He somewhat understood. Also, Eligor and Catalina wouldn't just stand by and watch the other demons take the mana.
But, he still had questions.
"Then, what about the other demons?"
A frown appeared on Eligor's face.
"Even though the barrier is strong, it's been awhile since the dungeon fell, so there isn't much mana to extract."
"To them, it's weak."
To the weaker demons, it was a prize worth stealing, but the barrier was too strong.
To the strong owners, there wasn't much they could take, so it wasn't worth the effort.
Yong-Ho understood the current situation. He asked about what should be done from now on.
"How long does it usually take for that barrier to weaken?"
"It's different depending on the dungeon, but usually, it drops to about half after a year.
"If the weaker spirits were really waiting…"
Eligor didn't answer, but he knew what Yong-Ho was thinking just from his expression. If the spirits fought against each other to get the mana, then this was the best time for them to attack the Heart of the Dungeon.
"We need to strengthen the defense as soon as possible."
No matter how he thought of it, being the son of a chicken shop was better than being the owner of the House of Mammon.
But, he already accepted it. Instead of complaining, Yong-Ho checked the things he had to do.
"Strengthen all three traps so that they'll work properly. And like I've requested before, give me a report of all facilities and traps.
"Yes, master."
Eligor answered with respect. After taking a deep breath, Yong-Ho walked around the room that the Heart of the Dungeon was located in.
Enemies would eventually enter this place.
Complaining about a future that won't change is something that a dummy would do. The only thing the owner of the dungeon can do is to do their best.
"Great. Shall we go look around?"
Yong-Ho spoke energetically and walked out of the room.
It was time to explore the House of Mammon's dungeon.
\u0026
Yong-Ho crossed his arms. He looked down while standing in a slightly crooked position and then slowly looked up again. After inspecting the figure before him, he asked.
"Um, what's with that outfit?"
It was his guard, Catalina.
She wasn't wearing her usual suit. She was wearing a black, leather pair of pants that hugged her soft skin and she wore a pair of boots that enveloped her firm calves.
She wore a piece of black, leather top that reminded him of a swimsuit, but since the top was pretty short, it revealed a part of her waist and pelvis. She wore a pair of black arm warmers, which came up right before her bare shoulders and a small catapult was installed on her left arm, which she could use with one hand.
It was fine up until here. She looked like one of those sexy, female robbers that appear in games.
The issue was the black hood that she wore on her head.
Usually, hoods would sit on top of shoulders or is connected on the back like a cape, but it only covered her neck, head and face.
Catalina carefully answered Yong-Ho. He couldn't tell since it was covered by the hood, but it seemed like her ears were drooping.
"Um...this is my combat gear."
"I see. It suits you."
She looked pretty in it and since agility was important to Catalina, it was an appropriate outfit.
'The hood matches with the thief class.'
After acknowledging it, Yong-Ho waved his finger and created a window of light in the air. After becoming close with the Spirit of the Dungeon, it was a skill he was able to use at will.
The window of light displayed the dungeon's map.
"First, I'm thinking about going through the areas that the previous owners didn't activate."
Yong-Ho pointed at the black areas while talking. Catalina spoke carefully.
"But, sir. Won't that be too dangerous?"
He knew what Catalina was worried about. But, Yong-Ho had made up his mind.
"The areas that the previous owners activated are safer. But, those areas have already been looked at by the previous owners. There won't be much left, right?"
It was reasonable, so all Catalina could do was nod. Yong-Ho looked at her and asked.
"But, what do you mean by dangerous?"
It didn't seem like the traps were what she was worried about.
Catalina hesitated for a bit, but when she made up her mind, she straightened her posture and took a deep breath. She looked straight at Yong-Ho and spoke.
"The House of Mammon's dungeon is wide and deep. Not one of the previous owners were able to completely activate every part of the dungeon. The previous owner and the owner before that weren't able to go near the lower level."
"Wait, there's a lower level? The map that the Spirit of the Dungeon showed didn't display that."
With a shocked expression, Yong-Ho zoomed in on the map. No matter where he looked, there wasn't a lower level.
Catalina glanced at Yong-Ho and spoke.
"Um, with all due respect sir, you aren't able to control all over the dungeon with your current power, so that's why you can't see it. It's because the Spirit of the Dungeon relies on your strength."
"You're saying that I'm unable to look at the entire map yet."
Instead of answering, Catalina displayed an awkward smile and Yong-Ho nodded. He asked another question.
"How many lower levels are there?"
"I apologize, but I don't exactly know how many levels there are."
"It's not your fault. There's no need to be sorry. Just tell me everything that you know."
If she were this careful every time, it would tire out the other person. Thankfully, instead of being intimidated, she answered right away.
"This is something I've heard from the previous guard, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but there are at least five lower levels. The previous guard assumed that the lower you go, it becomes a narrower inverted triangle."
"Hm."
The first floor was so big that it could fit 100 rooms. But, if there were lower levels too, then this dungeon was extremely big.
"Catalina, you're not saying it's dangerous just because of the traps, right?"
"Yes, sir. It's not because of the traps."
Catalina stopped talking. It seemed like she had something important to say because she closed her eyes momentarily and breathed in. Yong-Ho became nervous just looking at her.
As soon as she gulped, Catalina spoke.
"Mammon's Spirits lie somewhere within this dungeon."
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Chapter 15 The Heart of the Dungeon 3
"The Demon King Mammon's? One of the Seven Deadly Sins...so my ancestor's?"
"That's right. They are the spirits that followed King Mammon himself."
Catalina's expression was serious, but her voice was filled with tension.
Yong-Ho frowned. After swallowing his dry saliva, he asked again, "So are they like you and Eligor that they belong to the dungeon?"
"That's…"
That didn't seem to be the case. Which was probably why she referred to them as Mammon's Spirits instead of spirits of the House of Mammon.
"Did they go crazy because they've been stuck here for such a long time?"
Perhaps they had reached the point where they didn't even recognize their owner. Since they had been trapped somewhere alone in this dark dungeon for so long, it was entirely possible for them to become that way.
But, that didn't seem to be the case either.
Catalina bit her lips and then lightly licked them. It seemed quite difficult for her to say since she took a moment first to collect her thoughts before she continued.
"Although that does sometimes happen, there is however a bigger problem. You see…"
Yong-Ho let out a deep sigh. It wasn't because he became frustrated with her. In fact, while she was hesitating, Yong-Ho started to contemplate the issue and then confirmed his suspicions after seeing her expression.
"Mammon's spirits don't acknowledge his heirs."
Catalina couldn't say anything and instead affirmed through her expression.
A few moments later, she spoke again.
"With all due respect sir, but there was an owner that was even killed by one of Mammon's spirits. It was because they weren't able to pass the test presented by them."
Yong-Ho closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. And then he let out a deep sigh.
He now understood why the previous owners couldn't completely activate the entire dungeon.
It was because of Mammon's Spirits.
Mammon was one of the Seven Deadly Sins and controlled a quarter of the demon world in this lifetime and those were the spirits that he himself had gathered.
"But, how are they still alive? Do they gain eternal life because they're high-ranked demons?"
He thought it was a strange question to ask. If high-ranked demons gained eternal life, then there was no reason for Mammon to die.
Catalina answered, "It's true that high-ranked demons do have a long life, but their life is not eternal. Most of Mammon's spirits are currently sealed. They'll fall asleep and wake up when someone is near. There are also spirits where their bodies are dead but their souls remain in the dungeon. The demon king, Mammon, was very possessive."
Did that mean he kept the souls of his underlings even after they had died?
Yong-Ho thought of the different funerary practices amongst various cultures, such as a pharaoh's grave, and then shook his head.
"Okay, fine. Let's look at this positively. If I pass their test, that means I'll be able to recruit them as my followers. Right?"
"Yes, that's right. If it's you, master, I'm sure you'll pass the test. I believe in you."
Catalina spoke, with a glowing expression. She looked really cute, but at the same time, he felt that it was burdensome.
Just like Eligor, Catalina sincerely trusted and followed Yong-Ho. He was too afraid to actually try it, but if he told them to die for him, he was sure that they would actually do it.
They were wasting too much time just standing around and talking.
Yong-Ho moved from the throne to the right wall of the room and activated one of the dormant rooms.
He spoke to Catalina while moving, "I actually expected there to be… stuff like treasure rooms. If the size of the dungeon really is that huge, shouldn't there be other important things like that in here, right? Do you know anything?"
"I heard from the previous guard that there is an arena."
"An arena?"
Yong-Ho suddenly stopped walking since it was so unexpected. Catalina stopped walking as well and then started to explain.
"The place was actually discovered by the third owner after Mammon. He visited the place in secret, so there's no information about its location, but I'm sure that it does exist."
Yong-Ho started walking again. He thought for a moment and then asked, "What kind of place is it?"
"It's a place managed by one of Mammon's old spirits. Those that enter will be tested on their level of power, and each time they pass the test they'll be awarded with one item out of the many that Mammon has gathered over his lifetime. I heard that every time you enter, the difficulty level increases, but the rewards also become better."
It sounded reasonable. After crossing through an empty room, Yong-Ho activated another room.
"The test probably requires me to fight, right?"
"Probably...I think so. The third owner didn't leave many records, but I know that it is called the arena."
The current owner of Mammon's dungeon would be tested through combat and would then receive an award from one of Mammon's spirits.
'It's an actual arena.'
It was similar to the type of arenas that he had seen in RPGs. It was too difficult to truly understand Mammon's thoughts, but what exactly was going on in his mind when he decided to actually build an arena in his own dungeon?
To train the younger generation? To train spirits?
"Wait."
Yong-Ho suddenly stopped walking while crossing the fourth activated room. Catalina was taken aback in surprise, as she hadn't expected to suddenly stop like that.
"Master?"
Instead of answering, Yong-Ho looked at the left wall. It was quite ordinary. But, he felt something weird emanating from it.
It felt out of place.
It was the same peculiar feeling that he had experienced recently. And just like then, his hands and feet began to move on their own.
Out of the Seven Deadly Sins, he had the power of Greed. It was a power that he inherited from Mammon.
He suddenly walked towards the wall as if he was possessed by something. He touched it and then figured out the identity of his strange feeling.
The flow of mana.
It was different compared to other places.
Yong-Ho instinctively released his mana through the palm of his hand.
Suddenly, something unexpected occurred. The wall started to lightly shake and with a loud rattling noise, a door that would barely fit a large person appeared. It was a secret door.
Yong-Ho was certain that he would be able to obtain something precious if he went inside.
That's what his instincts were screaming out to him.
"Shall we take a look?"
After Yong-Ho spoke, Catalina nodded her head nervously. She approached him and spoke.
"Then, I'll go in first."
It was a decision that she made as his guard who was responsible for the safety of her family. But, Yong-Ho shook his head.
"Sorry. But, I feel like I should trust my instincts. I'll take the lead so follow right behind me and watch my back. Is there anything that we can use as a light?"
Catalina felt briefly conflicted but eventually agreed with his decision. She then took out a small stick from her leather pouch and injected it with mana. It was a type of flashlight used in the demon world.
"Here. It will become brighter if you inject it with mana."
"This is quite convenient."
Yong-Ho smiled and grabbed the flashlight and then turned around towards the secret door. He shone the flashlight inside and then took a step inside
One step. Two steps. And on the third step.
The floor suddenly disappeared.
Yong-Ho didn't have the ability to control gravity. So he suddenly fell and typical of someone that was falling, he instinctively started to yell.
"Master!"
Catalina also screamed. Yong-Ho wasn't able to look up to see her, so he used the flashlight to light the rapidly approaching ground, but he still couldn't see the floor. Within the narrow gap, all he could see were the walls, rocks, skeletons, and various bugs.
"Master!"
He heard Catalina's voice just above his head. Yong-Ho instinctively tilted his head back and saw Catalina reaching out to him.
She grabbed Yong-Ho.
Moments later. They both crashed to the ground.
His entire body was racked with pain.
He must have been unconscious for a moment because he was suddenly feeling dizzy. Or perhaps he had been unconscious for a considerable amount of time.
Yong-Ho started to cough. He tried his best to control his breathing. He couldn't see anything. It was too dark.
'Catalina.'
He couldn't think clearly. He started to yell for Catalina.
"Catalina!"
It hurt. It was hard to even move the muscles in his body to move to scream out her name. However, Yong-Ho couldn't afford to let the pain overcome him. He focused his mind.
"Ahhh."
Yong-Ho focused on the strange groans. The sound was close.
"Catalina?"
"Ma...ster."
Yong-Ho immediately recognized where the voice was coming from. It was below him.
Yong-Ho was startled and quickly got up. Because of Yong-Ho's quick movement, Catalina ended up letting out another groan.
"Ack."
Because he quickly stood up, Yong-Ho let out another groan. His whole body was racked with pain. It didn't seem like anything was broken, but it felt like his entire body was covered with bruises.
As soon as he managed to stand up, he tried to look at Catalina, but he still couldn't see anything. The room was too dark.
"Are you okay? Can you stand?"
He tried his best to speak. Thankfully, she managed to utter a reply.
"Master."
"Catalina."
Yong-Ho sat down on the ground. Once he managed to calm himself down, he looked around and noticed the flashlight sitting not too far from him. Seeing that it was still shining brightly, he probably wasn't out for that long.
'A little bit later.'
He wanted to go and grab it, but his body refused to listen to him. While Yong-Ho was catching his breath, he heard a rustling sound in front of him. It was the sound of Catalina standing up.
"Thank you, master. You saved me. I'll never forget your kindness for as long as I live."
Yong-Ho, who was listening inattentively, unconsciously tilted his head to the side. He responded in an incredulous tone.
"Huh?"
"You...don't remember? Just as we were about to hit the ground, you held me in your arms."
Catalina answered carefully and Yong-Ho became even more confused. It sounded like that's what he did. Most of all, Catalina sounded like she was telling the truth.
"Wait. Then why were you beneath me?"
"W-we rolled after we crashed into the ground?"
Yong-Ho smiled at Catalina's assumption.
'No wonder my entire body was aching.'
Unfortunately, because it had happened so suddenly, he couldn't remember any of Catalina's soft touch. After a short pause, Yong-Ho stood up with a groan and picked up the flashlight. He turned the flashlight towards Catalina to check that she was safe and then raised it towards the ceiling.
"Did we fall from up there?"
It was too difficult to check the edge with the flashlight. It was hard to tell exactly how far they had fallen, but he felt that they must have fallen at least over 10 meters.
Catalina started to speak.
"I tried to slow down the speed of our fall, but...I don't think it worked that well. I'm sorry."
The reason why Yong-Ho was still alive, despite falling over 10 meters, wasn't just because his body was sturdy. The real reason, in fact, was that Catalina had grabbed him during the fall and used all sorts of methods to slow down their speed.
"No, I'm alive thanks to you. Thank-you. You did really well."
Yong-Ho expressed his gratitude and complimented her, he then waved his finger in the air. Although he wanted to properly acknowledge her actions, it wasn't the best time to have a long discussion about it.
As expected, he couldn't connect to the Spirit of the Dungeon.
"Is it because we're underneath the main level?"
Just what floor were they on? Since the ceiling of the first floor was quite high up, if he calculated it using that, maybe they were on the fifth, or perhaps the sixth floor?
"Eligor will surely come to help us."
Catalina spoke in a positive tone. Yong-Ho nodded his head in agreement, and then after letting out another groan, he stood up. Once again he began to have a peculiar feeling.
"At this point, I can't tell if this feeling is a blessing or a curse."
"Master?"
Instead of answering, he began to concentrate on the feeling.
It was the reason why he was able to find this secret passageway. The peculiar feeling had led him here.
It still continued. Never ceasing. It stimulated his instincts.
He quickly lit up his surroundings with the flashlight. It was a small, narrow room. Unlike the rooms on the first floor, there were various decorations on the walls.
And in one particular direction.
Something stimulated Yong-Ho's 'Greed'.
Yong-Ho used the flashlight. Catalina stood up after gulping and looked in the same direction.
At the end of the room, there was a small altar with something stuck on top of it.
Yong-Ho spoke while frowning.
"A lance?"
Chapter 16 The Heart of the Dungeon 4
It was a very luxurious altar. It was so dark that it was difficult to clearly distinguish except for the various different patterns of flames that were carved on its surface.
In the center of that altar, there was a lance.
The lance was a dark red, topped with a golden head.
Yong-Ho started walking towards it as if he was bewitched. The sudden movement caused Catalina to yell out in surprise.
"Master!"
"I got you."
Yong-Ho grabbed the lance without hesitation. And immediately pulled it out of the altar.
Catalina held her breath. If arrows started to shoot out of the walls, she was planning on throwing her body to protect him. If fire suddenly enveloped Yong-Ho, she planned to sacrifice herself to shield him. If nothing worked out, she was ready to die with him.
However, nothing happened. After pulling out the lance, Yong-Ho suddenly realized what he had done, but fortunately, he didn't throw the lance away.
And then there was silence.
Yong-Ho kept looking back and forth between the lance and the altar because nothing was happening, and then looked at Catalina with a subtle expression.
Catalina suddenly yelled out.
"Mammon's Spirit!"
At Catalina's sudden shout, Yong-Ho almost dropped the lance. While Catalina caught her breath, Yong-Ho started to inspect the lance.
"Spirit… really? It's a lance."
"Oh, no. The head and shaft of the lance are giving off a scarlet color...I'm sure this is Aamon, the Red Lotus Demon Lance."
Catalina moved closer to Yong-Ho. With a tense expression, she observed the red lance while continuing to talk.
"The Red Lotus Demon Spear was the weapon that Mammon used. The lance itself is part of his demon family...a very high-ranked demon."
Catalina looked serious. Yong-Ho looked at the lance again.
"So, this lance is part of the demon family?"
"Yes. And…"
"And?"
"There's a legend."
Catalina paused for the moment. She locked her eyes onto Aamon, held in Yong-Ho's hand, and then continued to talk, "If anyone other than Mammon touches Aamon, they'll experience the wrath of hell...Master!"
It happened before Catalina had even finished talking. A flame released from the tip of the spear head enveloped Yong-Ho.
Yong-Ho couldn't even scream. His entire body was quickly enveloped in flames. He felt like the flames not only enveloped himself but the entire world around him.
He violently struggled. He fell to the ground and started to roll around. A few seconds later. Yong-Ho realized something.
It wasn't hot. Although the flames completely covered him, it didn't hurt.
Yong-Ho stopped struggling and examined himself. Inside the flames, Yong-Ho's arms and legs were completely intact without a scratch on them.
What on earth was going on? If the flames had completely enveloped his surrounding then how was Catalina?
Yong-Ho quickly scanned his surroundings. But he couldn't find her. His body froze up due to the pressure.
Right behind him. There was something watching him.
It was a large eye. A large eye covered in flames. The eye was located in the center of the flames and was looking down at Yong-Ho.
"Why are you not being burned?"
The voice of an adult male reverberated In his head. The voice felt deep and overpowering, with a pressure that felt as if it could oppress the entire world.
The eye approached Yong-Ho. Yong-Ho still couldn't move. After loudly exhaling, he stared straight into the eye. The eye observed him. Yong-Ho felt like the eye was inspecting every inch of his body.
A large lump of mana.
Yong-Ho sensed it. The large eye was Aamon, the Red Lotus Demon Lance. Perhaps this entire space was built by him.
Aamon carefully observed Yong-Ho. And then laughed loudly. It was impossible for an eye to laugh, but that's what Yong-Ho felt. The sound of a man's laughter filled his head.
"Really? Is that so? You harbor the power of one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Finally, finally, there's someone that has inherited the power of Greed!"
Aamon appeared overjoyed. However, at the same time, he displayed a completely opposite emotion.
"But you're still just a child. It seems that I've run out of patience due to being asleep for so long."
The sound of the man's laughter died down. The red eye moved closer to Yong-Ho and filled his entire vision.
Yong-Ho breathed out. He tried to speak as he breathed out. Aamon laughed again. It was quite a different laugh from the previous one. It was far from ridicule.
"I'll adjust to your level for now, child."
The eye once again changed into a flame and enveloped Yong-Ho. His whole world was set ablaze.
"Master!"
"Ack!"
Yong-Ho coughed. At the same time, he opened his eyes and saw Catalina approaching him. He instinctively pulled himself back. He was still covered in flames. The flames of the Red Lotus bloomed out of his body.
"Master!"
Catalina yelled again. Yong-Ho extended his hand out and stopped her. He then gradually caught his breath. The flames started to slowly die out. The flame that rose out of his body had all disappeared.
"Ha...ha...ha…"
Beads of sweat were rolling down his back. Yong-Ho turned his attention elsewhere after confirming that the apprehensive Catalina was standing still in the same spot. He looked down at the lance that was still in his right hand.
'It changed.'
The scarlet-colored lance had changed into a golden color. The lance had also shortened in length.
Yong-Ho's eyes turned emerald in green color as he inspected the lance with the Power of Evolution.
[Name : Aamon]
[Race : ???]
[Specialty : Fire / ???]
[Development Rate : 0/100]
[??? (6)]
[??? (6)]
[??? (5.5)]
There were so many question marks that he couldn't really gather much information but there was one thing he was certain of.
The spirit, Aamon, appeared in the form of a lance. Mammon, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, who had once controlled a quarter of the demon world, greatly favored this lance.
"It shrank. It must have matched my current level of power?"
While using the power of evolution, Yong-Ho quietly mumbled to himself. A bitter smile unknowingly appeared on his face. He was filled with a variety of different emotions, but he couldn't express them.
"Mas...ter?"
After hearing Catalina quietly call out his name, Yong-Ho looked back at her. She was now beyond the level of just being nervous and was on the brink of breaking down in tears. After staring at her for a moment, Yong-Ho spoke.
"You can come here now. And… just like you had said, I think it is Aamon. Although, I think he's asleep right now."
After Yong-Ho gave her permission, Catalina was about to run to his side, but suddenly froze after hearing his last comment. She stared at Aamon with both shocked and excited expression.
"Amazing! You're absolutely amazing Master!"
Catalina lavished him with an excessive amount of praise, but he had an idea why she was like that. Yong-Ho chuckled to himself and acted like he was inspecting the quality of the weapon.
Even though it had become shorter, one of Mammon's Spirits had actually trusted himself to Yong-Ho. If Yong-Ho became stronger, then it was possible for Aamon to regain his original power. That was probably the reason why Aamon had trusted himself to Yong-Ho in the first place.
'Then, was that peculiar feeling because of this lance?'
It was one of the skills of the power of Greed.
It was hard to say that it was as simple as just having luck in obtaining wealth. It might be a bit of a leap, but it appeared to Yong-Ho that Aamon was actually calling out to him.
'Anyways.'
Now that he had Aamon in his hands, it was now time to find a way out of this room.
Yong-Ho looked at Catalina again. A frown unknowingly appeared on his forehead.
"Oh, master. As expected of our master. To be able to wield Aamon. Oh my. You actually overcame the wrath of hell."
It felt like he was watching Eligor, not Catalina. She was acting as if she was drunk and on the brim of crying her eyes out.
"Catalina."
"You're really amazing. Praise master. Praise the House of Mammon. Our master is the greatest."
It seemed as if she was really moved by his actions. Yong-Ho called out her name again.
"Catalina!"
As he called out her name louder, Catalina raised her head up in surprise. Yong-Ho gave her an order.
"Calm down."
His sudden order caused Catalina to go into an even greater frenzy, but she somehow succeeded in displaying a calm expression. Her eyes asked inquiringly if this was enough and Yong-Ho nodded in satisfaction. Yong-Ho spoke while examining Aamon, who was about one meter in length.
"Great. Now, let's think of a way to get out of here."
As soon as Yong-Ho finished talking.
The ground, walls and the ceiling started to shake. Yong-Ho quickly lowered his body and his eyes met with Catalina's. The shaking continued. Debris started to fall from the ceiling.
"Do you think it's because you pulled out Aamon?"
Catalina asked worriedly and Yong-Ho started to look around. The shaking was getting more and more violent. It felt like the room was soon going to fall apart.
Yong-Ho quickly placed Aamon back on top of the altar, but that didn't seem to do anything. It actually started to get worse.
Yong-Ho shone the flashlight around the room. He noticed something that looked like an entrance, but it was completely sealed.
There wasn't any time to think. Yong-Ho grabbed Catalina's wrist and ran towards the area where they fell. Using the flashlight, he looked at the hole that Catalina and him fell through. The hole was roughly two to three meters in width.
Larger pieces of debris started to fall from the ceiling. It seemed like walls and ground were going to collapse at any moment.
How would they escape? Will the method that he thought of work?
He pulled Catalina closer with his arm and started to yell to her when she became closer.
"Catalina! Do you trust me?"
"I trust you!"
Catalina answered right away. Despite the dangerous situation, Catalina didn't doubt him for a second.
Yong-Ho smiled. With a nod of his head, he placed Aamon down on the ground. He then placed both of his hands on top of Catalina's thighs and used his power.
Catalina flinched for a moment. Green flames bloomed out of Yong-Ho's eyes.
The Power of Evolution.
Yong-Ho's injected his mana into Catalina's body.
As soon as the ceiling collapsed, the walls and ground also collapsed with it. At that moment, Catalina kicked off the ground. She was so quick, that it reminded him of a falcon lifting off.
Yong-Ho, who was attached to Catalina's back, had exhausted all of his mana. After making a makeshift rope out of Yong-Ho's top, they had used it to tie each other together.
Catalina hits the wall while firmly holding onto Yong-Ho's legs. She then jumped diagonally towards the opposing wall and then took another leap.
Evolution of the agility specialization.
Since she had constantly sparred with the Treant, her evolution rate had reached its limit, which made it possible for him to use the power of evolution.
It was a gamble. It seemed almost impossible for Catalina to carry Yong-Ho while running up a wall dozens of meters high.
But Yong-Ho still placed his bet on Catalina.
Catalina didn't stop. She moved like a soaring falcon gliding through the air. It was unthinkable to her before that she would be able to move like this before her evolution.
Gravity didn't stop her. She continued to run. But, moments later.
Catalina suddenly let out a groan. She felt like her legs and ankle were going to break any second. However, she clenched her teeth and endured it and continued on running. She jumped again. This time, however, she didn't land on the opposite wall. She lacked the strength. There wasn't much left. She just needs to go a little further.
"Ahhhh!"
Yong-Ho suddenly intervened. He used whatever remaining strength he had left and pierced Aamon into the wall with all of his might.
It was for just a moment. But, despite the fact that Yong-Ho's body had become stronger the past few days, piercing Aamon deep into the wall while exhausted was incredibly difficult for him. But, it was enough.
Catalina moved once again. She utilized Yong-Ho's effort and firmly placed her feet on the wall. With her remaining energy, she leaped off the wall with all her might.
The relationship between the owner of a dungeon and his spirits wasn't as simple as just of a master and servant. Yong-Ho pulled Aamon out right on time as if he read Catalina's mind.
"Ahhhh!"
Catalina screamed. She twisted her body in midair and using her remaining energy, she hit the opposite wall and pushed her body into the air.
Yong-Ho and Catalina both rolled on the ground and after bumping into the entrance of the secret passageway, they stopped suddenly. Yong-Ho was on top of Catalina again.
"Ha, ha."
"Ha, ha…"
Both of them didn't say a word as they tried to catch their breaths. Both of them suddenly erupted into laughter.
They had survived. They had escaped safely!
"Catalina."
Yong-Ho called out to Catalina and instead of groaning, she answered in a low voice.
Both of them were completely exhausted. They just wanted to rest.
But, they couldn't. When Yong-Ho had suddenly arrived on the first level, the Spirit of the Dungeon and Yong-Ho re-connected. The dungeon spirit was in a state of panic because she couldn't reach Yong-Ho, so she just yelled loudly.
"The dungeon is under attack!"
Yong-Ho's eyes widened. They both quickly stood up.
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Chapter 17 Dungeon Defense
There was no time for him to catch his breath.
Yong-Ho and Catalina both ran while panting and with sweat rolling down their faces. They ran through the empty room and opened the door, but this room was empty too.
However, Yong-Ho had already examined the inside of the dungeon with the help of the dungeon spirit and instead of panicking, he opened the next door.
"Master!"
It was the room facing the warehouse and the prison that was in the process of being built.
They found Eligor and the rest of the spirits in a room next to the last trap room.
Instead of answering Eligor, Yong-Ho quickly examined all the spirits and the condition of the room.
The Goblins were stacking heavy objects in front of the latched door while the Treant was standing in front of the same door extending out its vines. Whereas the Skeleton was just standing in the corner with a blank face...well, it didn't really have any expression since all it had was a skull.
"Where were you? You're covered in sweat…"
Eligor didn't finish his sentence when he noticed that Catalina was covered in sweat as well.
As Eligor squinted his eyes in suspicion, Yong-Ho suddenly waved his hand and spoke.
"Whatever you're imagining, you're wrong. Anyways, listen up. Beyond that door, there are eight Kobolds and an unknown demon wielding an extremely large hammer. A lot more had originally invaded our dungeon, but it seems like the traps took a few of them out. Does anybody have any further information?"
He had obtained all this information with the aid of the Spirit of the Dungeon. Suddenly, the latched door started to violently shake. It seemed like the door would soon break.
Eligor instinctively looked at the door and then quickly answered Yong-Ho.
"I'm pretty sure it's a nearby wandering demon family. If it's an owner that already has a dungeon, they wouldn't send a group this small to attack the dungeon, even if they believe that the House of Mammon has completely fallen."
It was likely to be one of those weaker spirits that Eligor had mentioned earlier. If so, they probably thought that Eligor and Catalina were the only ones left in the dungeon.
However, they had now already passed through three rooms with working traps. Yong-Ho closed his eyes. He breathed in and spoke.
"Regardless of who they are, it's still possible that they might think this is an ownerless dungeon"
It sounded more like he was assuring it to himself.
The door violently shook again. The Goblins were holding bamboo spears while they vigilantly watched the door.
Eligor spoke again.
"But, sir. What is that you're holding in your hand…"
"It's Aamon! The Red Lotus Demon Lance, Aamon!"
Catalina shouted after being quiet for so long. Eligor suddenly got excited after hearing that it was Aamon.
"What?! You mean the Red Lotus Demon Lance that lights the heaven on fire and evaporates the ocean with a single swing?!"
It seemed like it was a famous weapon. When Yong-Ho's expression confirmed it, Eligor literally collapsed with joy. He looked like he would charge through the door if Yong-Ho just let him be, so Yong-Ho quickly spoke again.
"It is indeed Aamon, but I can't use him properly right now. It's basically the same thing as not having him at all."
Even if he could properly use it, he barely had any mana left. The door shook again. The latch looked like it would almost break.
"The enemy doesn't know about the dungeon's current fighting strength. So they'll probably be quite careless. We'll use that to our advantage."
Yong-Ho quickly spoke with an urgent tone. Eligor then nervously asked.
"Do you have a plan?"
Yong-Ho nodded his head. He answered while observing the soon to be broken door in front of him.
"We create some chaos and then slice off their heads."
After finishing his sentence, Yong-Ho looked towards Catalina with a grin.
He swallowed his dry saliva and tried to stay calm, but it was hard.
He heard of this happening several times.
Those who attacked other dungeons. The other demon families that he would be facing from now on.
But this was his first time.
Behind the door, were spirits that were going to try and kill him. It wasn't just a game where you were given another chance if you died.
One side will die. While the other needed to kill in order to live.
Bang!
With a loud bang, the latch suddenly broke. The door exploded open into various pieces.
Enemy kobolds swiftly rushed in through the opening. They were monsters that were slightly larger than the Goblins.
Each of them held either a crude knife or spear in their hands.
Once Yong-Ho saw them. He yelled as they began to rush through the open door.
"Pull!"
The Goblins, Jon and Ron, reacted.
The two Goblins stood on either side of the door and as they pulled the rope in their hands, the kobolds that had rushed in suddenly all collapsed in a heap. However, this was just the beginning. The rope wasn't the only thing that the kobolds had missed in their frenzy.
"Roaaaaaaaaar!"
In front of the door. The Treant, who was standing in the center of the room, let out a deep roar and waved its vines. It grabbed the bodies or legs of the kobolds and threw them to the other side of the door.
The Goblins didn't just stay still and watch either. They ran up to the remaining kobolds on the ground and pierced them with their bamboo spears while shrieking.
Only a few seconds after the door was opened. They had the advantage. While the kobolds either fell and or flew out of the room, Yong-Ho looked straight ahead. Something was standing behind the kobolds.
It was a giant man wearing a green cape.
He had a dark rugged face adorned with an angry expression.
The Treant grabbed another kobold and threw it. Through the room that was activated in the "background," he saw Catalina's movement. Yong-Ho suddenly caught sight of Catalina in the 'background' of the room, she had managed to bypass the kobolds.
Suddenly the giant stomped on the ground.
Instead of taking a step back, it charged forwards. He pushed through the Kobolds and headed straight towards Yong-Ho.
Because of the sudden unexpected situation, Eligor shouted out. Catalina threw herself amongst the kobolds in order to catch up with the charging giant.
Yong-Ho saw the giant dashing towards him. He was holding a large war hammer and started to wave it around. One of the Treant's vines got caught in the attack and it ended up getting sliced off. The giant didn't slow down.
The distance between Yong-Ho and the giant was quickly getting shorter.
The giant was continually charging through. He lowered his head and passed the Treant. The giant dodged another vine, leaped up and aimed his hammer towards Yong-Ho's head.
Bang!
The hammer struck the ground with a vertical motion. There was a tremendous amount of energy behind it. Yong-Ho swiftly dodged the attack. It was a miracle that he didn't freeze up from his place.
"Master!"
Catalina yelled. The Treant twisted around its sluggish body, while Eligor started to run towards his direction.
The giant grabbed his hammer again and glared at Yong-Ho.
He was like a snake that was about to devour a frog. The giant had the same eyes as a predator trying to catch its prey.
The giant took another step. He quickly closed the distance between Yong-Ho and waved his hammer around again.
Yong-Ho felt like he was suffocating. It felt like he was going to die before the hammer even hit him.
However, Yong-Ho took a step forward. Instead of backing down, he yelled and placed all of his strength into the hand that was holding Aamon.
He didn't think with this head. Instead, he followed his instincts. Instead of dodging the trajectory of the hammer, he threw his body towards it.
It was incredibly reckless. Eligor yelled out and Catalina desperately kicked off the ground.
At that moment, Yong-Ho and the giant exchanged eye contact.
The giant smiled while Yong-Ho gritted his teeth.
'Pull!'
It was just for a moment. Because of that, he was able to yell. However, he clearly thought about it and received an answer. The Skeleton that was next to Yong-Ho extended out his arms and grabbed the giant's cape.
Though it only managed to delay the giant's movement by a second. But, that was enough.
Yong-Ho's left shoulder hit the giant's abdomen. At the same time, he pierced Aamon through the giant's stomach.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Yong-Ho roared and released his mana. He focused all of his mana on a single spot.
He didn't know how to use the weapon he had just obtained. However, Yong-Ho hoped that what he was doing was right. He just poured his mana into the lance. And Aamon responded to his ignorant request.
Green flames suddenly burst forth. The lance started to drain the giant's mana.
The giant quickly tried to retrieve his mana, but it was of no use. The flames of Aamon burnt everything in his wake. Aamon had not only consumed the giant's mana but even his insides and very soul.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
The giant started to scream as his insides were being burned alive. He violently moved his body and waved both of his arms in a desperate attempt to attack Yong-Ho. However, it wasn't enough. The Skeleton just grabbed onto the giant's arms. Yong-Ho yelled once again and twisted Aamon, who was pierced into the giant's stomach. Aamon once again attacked with fire.
"Uhhhhhhh…"
The giant couldn't endure it anymore and took a step back. The green flame had eaten all of his insides and was now burning away his skin.
Yong-Ho twisted Aamon once again. This time it was to pull Aamon out from within the giant.
Not a single drop of blood leaked out of his body, most likely because Aamon's flames had burnt it all away.
As Yong-Ho pulled Aamon out, he swung out his other arm. He knocked down the staggering giant, with a heavy breath. He then suddenly yelled out towards the front.
"Catalina!"
She answered through action. After the fight had begun, she hadn't taken a single break. As she approached the giant, she swung her dagger and she sliced off the giant's head in a single motion. She then pierced the dagger into his heart.
Everything had happened within just a minute or two after the door had opened.
Everyone in the room saw what Yong-Ho and Catalina had done.
As the flames died down, Yong-Ho extended his left hand forward towards the giant, following his instincts.
There was a concentration of mana above the dead giant's chest. The Goblins and kobolds watched with a blank expression, while Catalina and Eligor watched Yong-Ho in awe.
It was a lump of dark red mana.
The spirit of a demon.
It hovered above the giant's chest. It floated slowly at first, but then suddenly flew at a fast rate and was sucked into Yong-Ho's palm.
Absorption of the Spirit. The desire of mana. This was the reason why the law of the jungle was so applicable in this world.
Yong-Ho felt the mana fill his body. He felt his mana grow with tremendous speed.
Furthermore, Yong-Ho wasn't the only one that grew.
[The dungeon's daily output has increased from 30 to 50.]
[The maximum mana storage has increased from 300 to 400.]
If the owner became stronger, so did the dungeon.
If the dungeon grew, so will the owner.
He was exhausted. He also still had injuries that he had received from obtaining Aamon. However, he felt exhilarated. This was the first time he had felt this kind of thrill.
It was only for a short moment. But, a few seconds was enough to enjoy this feeling.
Finally, after absorbing all of the remaining mana, Yong-Ho started to breathe heavily. He slowly raised his head and looked straight ahead.
He saw the group of kobolds with shocked expressions on their faces. There was also Catalina kneeling down on one knee and looking up at him with a bright smile. Whereas the Skeleton was just standing with the same typical blank look on his face.
'I promise that I'll do everything within my power to evolve you into a Death Knight.'
Yong-Ho made a promise to the Skeleton in his heart and then started to speak. He thought it sounded cheesy, but since he was so exhausted, he couldn't think of any better way to put it.
"Shall we continue?"
The Kobolds were smarter than what Yong-Ho had originally thought. They all quickly threw down their weapons as if they had pre-planned it.
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Chapter 18 Dungeon Defense 2
"We were lucky."
That was the belief that Yong-Ho held.
It was the day after the first battle.
Shortly after accepting the Kobolds' surrender, Yong-Ho collapsed out of exhaustion, and only after a long rest was he able to wake up again. Perhaps it was all the rolling around he had done, but even just slightly raising his body, while lying down, caused his muscles to scream out in pain.
They had incredible luck.
Winning would have been near impossible if he hadn't obtained Aamon right before the battle.
Furthermore, if the Skeleton hadn't intercepted in time, they also would've lost.
'I'm crazy.'
Young-Ho thought about when he threw himself towards the hammer wielded by the giant.
Did he always have such an aggressive side? Or perhaps it was a change caused by him awakening as a demon king?
Regardless, they had won. They had survived.
His mindset had widened considerably after experiencing the turmoil of yesterday's events.
First, he checked Aamon. It was still in the form of a red lance and was laying right beside him.
Then he looked at Catalina and Eligor.
"Master!"
"You've awakened."
He didn't see them when he woke up, but they somehow knew and were now standing right before him. They both wore a similar expression.
Almost like babies looking at their mother?
'Catalina looked cute, but Eligor looked a bit…'
Yong-Ho chuckled at the thought, as the two of them reacted gleefully to him waking up. It seemed they interpreted it as him being in a better condition.
Yong-Ho extended his hand out towards Catalina.
"You did well yesterday. And I'm sorry, but could you please get me some water?"
"Please wait a moment."
Catalina quickly answered and went to grab a cup and a pot of water. Yong-Ho then turned his attention to Eligor.
"How long was I out for?"
"You've been in bed for a full day."
"No wonder my lower back hurts."
Yong-Ho stretched back his shoulders while answering Eligor dejectedly. Catalina, who had just come back, extended the cup of water towards Yong-Ho.
"Here you go, master."
"Thanks."
He suddenly felt a lot better after drinking some water. After drinking the entire cup, he felt a bit lightheaded and briefly closed his eyes, before continuing to inquire with Eligor.
"What happened after the battle?"
"The remaining four Kobolds are locked up in the prison. While the corpse of the low-level demon has been stored in an empty room. Oh, we also collected their weapons."
Yong-Ho's eyes widened at one of Eligor's answers.
"Stored? The corpse?"
Why did they store the corpse? Can corpses turn into a Zombie or a Skeleton in the demon world?
'That would mean free soldiers, so is it...a good thing?'
Eligor interrupted Yong-Ho's wild imagination. He wore a very serious expression.
"Even though you obtained the spirit, there's still a good amount of mana left in the corpse. The dungeon currently doesn't have the facility, but...later when the Mana Room has been created, you'll be able to drain out the rest of the mana."
Eligor wore a stern expression throughout his explanation. He wanted to take everything he could from the enemy.
"Eh...okay."
But, draining out mana from a corpse?
Yong-Ho did feel quite reluctant about it, but he decided to keep that thought to himself. The dungeon wasn't in a good enough condition to argue over such triviality and furthermore, extracting mana was probably a common sense in the demon world.
Moreover, Eligor wasn't done talking.
"Also, it's a pretty high-rank facility, but...later, when a Magic Facility has been created, you can reuse the corpse by turning it into either a Zombie or a Skeleton."
So, it was true.
Yong-Ho briefly examined the possibility of increasing his forces with the bodies of his enemies from a human's ethical point of view, but quickly dismissed it.
He couldn't build the facility right now anyway. It was a matter he could think about later.
"What about the weapons?"
"The quality of the cape and hammer are in excellent condition. Magic was cast on the cape to help maintain the temperature and a simple strengthening spell was cast on the hammer, so it's very sturdy."
"Anything else?"
"We collected all the money that they had. It may even be possible to purchase a Rank Two spirit."
Eligor smiled a little insidiously.
Yong-Ho mimicked his expression and continued to ask.
"Any casualties?"
"All the spirits are safe. It's all thanks to you that the battle ended this cleanly."
[The recent battle has greatly increased the spirits' loyalty and respect.]
As soon as Eligor finished talking, the Spirit of the Dungeon spoke up in a soft manner. Not only the spirits, but it seemed that even the Spirit of the Dungeon seemed to admire him more after that battle.
'Well, it's kind of obvious from their expressions.'
Yong-Ho looked up at Catalina, who had stopped trying to maintain a cool-headed persona and the ever blubbering Eligor. And after taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and started to circulate his mana.
Perhaps it was because he had initially started out with such a small amount of mana, but his mana level had increased a significant amount. It felt like the mana circulating within him had almost doubled.
'This is the result of absorbing a spirit.'
Yong-Ho, who was joyful about his increase in power, took another deep breath.
'It's strange that I feel fine.'
Even though they had killed someone, he didn't feel guilty about it.
'It was so that I could live. They tried to kill me.'
That's what Yong-Ho told himself, to consciously calm his mind. As long as he didn't kill without reason, it was fine. For now, he decided to leave it at that.
After he finished circulating his mana, Yong-Ho opened his eyes. Catalina and Eligor were quietly staring at him. It seemed that they were trying to stay as quiet as possible since he was concentrating.
Yong-Ho's expression made them aware of what he was going to do next. Green flames blossomed out of his eyes.
[Name: Chun Yong-Ho (M)]
[Race: Half Human / Half Demon - Demon King]
[Element: Fire / Darkness]
[Evolution Rate: 50/100]
[Strength - Level 0 (1.5)]
[Stamina - Level 0 (2)]
[Mana - Level 0 (2)]
[Charm - Level 0 (1.5)]
[Agility - Level 0 (1)]
[Skill - Level 0 (2)]
[Seven Deadly Sins Greed]
Though it was only by a small amount, the number of stars in some of Yong-Ho's evolutionary routes had increased. Furthermore, the Seven Deadly Sins category, which was empty before, now had the name Greed next to it.
'Is it because I absorbed that demon's spirit?'
He could now see things which weren't visible before. The same applied to the "level" that was attached to each of the specializations.
Then he examined Catalina.
[Name: Catalina (F)]
[Race: Half Succubus / Half Dark Elf]
[Main Elements: Wind / Darkness Secondary Elements: Lightning / Water / Earth]
[Main Stats: Succubus - Charm / Mana Dark Elf - Agility / Skills]
[Evolution Rate: 25/100]
[Succubus : Charm - Level 0 (3)]
[Dark Elf : Agility - Level 2 (3.5)]
[Hybrid - Level 0 (3.5)]
[Succubus : Mana - Level 0 (3.5)]
[Dark Elf : Skills - Level 1 (3)]
She possessed more changes than Yong-Ho. The most noticeable change was the category of agility because it now had the words "Level 2" next to it.
'She's only evolved once… which probably means that it was level one before, right?'
If that was the case, then it made sense why her skill level had only increased by one. Catalina was a combat specialist who excelled in the agile use of a dagger.
'The number of stars has changed too. Since her agility has been developed, has her other stats changed a bit as well?'
Yong-Ho nodded his head since it was a reasonable change and then slightly raised his eyes. A bitter smile appeared on his face when he noticed two boxes of light that he's never seen before appear.
[Dark Elf]
[Succubus]
Catalina was a half Dark Elf and half Succubus, so she was given a choice on what race she wanted to evolve into.
It wasn't an easy decision. The 'race evolution' could only be decided after the next evolution, but before that, he needed to acquire further information regarding the different advancements.
After deactivating the Power of Evolution, Yong-Ho lightly nodded his head and looked towards Eligor.
"You told me that if I get stronger, then the Heart of the Dungeon will get stronger too, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Not only that, but the dungeon spirits like Catalina and me will also be affected by your growth."
"I wonder."
The relationship between the owner and the spirits of the dungeon couldn't be explained by just a simple master and servant relationship. It was much more direct and intimate than that. If the owner was the head, then the spirits were the hands and feet that the owner commanded.
"Did you find out anything from the Kobolds?"
Eligor immediately answered as if he had been anticipating Yong-Ho to ask.
"They're known to be scared and cowardly, so as soon as their leader died, they started to talk, but you can't just believe every word they're saying. So that's why since that we're on the subject...how about we build a torture chamber after the prison?"
"Torture chamber?"
"Yes, it's used to punish the spirits, but it's also necessary when we need to interrogate any prisoners. If it's built right next to the prison, it would be very effective. The prisoners would be able to watch the other prisoners getting tortured."
Eligor looked at Yong-Ho with shining eyes as if he was waiting for him to compliment him.
It was similar to when he talked about prisons, Eligor always seemed to look strangely lively when talking about the subject.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes for a moment. He imagined Catalina crying while being tortured by Eligor.
'No, this is too dangerous.'
He changed the subject of the torture from Catalina to the Skeleton and felt calmer.
Prison and torture chamber.
They were horrible facilities, but the prison had already been built, and if they had to continue fighting, then a torture chamber would also become necessary.
Yong-Ho pushed aside on making a decision and asked Catalina.
"How strong was the group that invaded recently?"
"I don't mean to belittle your victory, but…"
Catalina carefully chose her words. Though that basically gave him his answer.
"So they weren't that strong. That's probably why they rushed in."
He knew they were quite familiar with combat. If not, then they wouldn't have had such a bloodthirsty expression.
However, out of all the weaklings that targeted Mammon's dungeon, they were the weakest.
They waited for the protective shield to weaken and out of all the weaklings, they were the first to attack.
"Will there be more groups of their strength attacking the dungeon?"
A frown appeared on Yong-Ho's face as he quietly mumbled. Even though he just woke up after passing out from the battle, he didn't have a lot of time. He had to prepare on how to defend the dungeon from any future enemies.
'I have either one of two options.'
One. Evolve the spirits.
Two. Delay the evolution of the spirits and strengthen the dungeon facilities using that mana.
Both choices had pros and cons.
If they evolved the spirits, then the quality of the soldiers would increase. However, given the current condition of the dungeon, which could be overcome by the enemy simply charging in a straight line, they had to be extremely careful.
Strengthening the dungeon's facility was good from a long term perspective. Even though he could increase the power of the spirits right away, evolving the spirits by several levels at once was impossible.
In the end, he had to do both.
However, he had to pick the best option.
Yong-Ho looked back and forth between Catalina and Eligor. After a short but deep consideration, he made the decision.
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Chapter 19 The Dungeon Armory
No one knew exactly when the Dungeon Market first appeared within the demon world.
Some speculate that it was a thousand years ago while others say that it appeared way before then.
However, those were baseless assumptions.
Regardless of the history of the market, in the modern demon world, the Dungeon Market was a necessity to survive.
The environment of the real Dungeon Market was vastly different from any of the virtual spaces.
The sky seemed as if it was on fire while the color of the walls and ground were so pitch-black it was like they were made from hardened lava.
The Pentagram Council.
Five elites controlled the Dungeon Market.
To put it more simply, they were the Board of Directors.
Just as the name suggests, five chairs were positioned around the room, each at the corner of a pentagram drawn on the floor with lava. Naturally, the Board of Directors were seated in those chairs.
"The King of Pride is gathering troops. A large battle may break out soon in the northeast."
A large, red demon named Orobas pointed to the map, materialized in the center of the pentagram, and spoke with a low profound voice.
He was one of the many demon princes within the demon world and was regarded to have the greatest physical strength out of the elites of the Dungeon Market.
His pig's head and large bulky body sharply contrasted with the neat tuxedo that he adorned. It looked odd, but at the same time, seemed to work well together.
Orobas had six horns and managed the Dungeon Market located in the north. To his right, a man with a spider head spoke softly.
"The King of Envy is also gathering soldiers. I think they may have found out that they've been targeted by the King of Pride. Within just this month, they've already purchased 20,000 Skeleton Warriors."
He was known to be the intellectual of the group and had a body in the form of a spider. Even though his current form was more humanoid, there are rumors that his true form was a giant spider larger than a mountain.
His name was Bifrons. He also managed the northern Dungeon Market along with Orobas.
The King of Envy was purchasing a large quantity of Skeleton Warriors.
Despite the sensitive information, the one that sat on the left side of Orobas started to chuckle.
His name was Abraxas and he was known to have the greatest reserve of mana amongst the elites. He managed the Dungeon Market in the western part of the demon world.
He had the head of a large rooster adorned with seven horns. Both of his legs were in the shape of large snakes, each with a different venom.
He spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
"That's the King of Envy for you. Is quantity always better than quality?"
"It's too early to jump to conclusions. This is a war between kings. Twenty thousand soldiers aren't considered that many."
Bifrons warned Abraxas of his hasty remarks. Orobas looked at the demon world map again and asked.
"What about the other kings?"
"The Queen of Wrath is curled up, which is unlike her. Whereas, the King of Lust is busy as usual because of the Witches' Sabbath."
The one that answered was Samael, the Queen of the Harpies, who sat on the right side of Bifrons and was known, amongst the elites, to have the greatest speed. She had luxurious golden hair that complemented her beautiful face but sharply contrasted with her black ebony wings.
Orobas tilted his head.
"And Gluttony?"
"It doesn't look like he's just going to sit by and watch. I believe that he's quietly increasing the number of high-ranked spirits in his ranks. A couple of days ago, I found out through an agent that the King of Gluttony may have purchased a Bone Dragon."
The Demon Kings that possessed the Seven Deadly Sins.
The six Demon Kings, that controlled the demon world, were busily preparing under the surface.
Abraxas shrugged his shoulders.
"The only king that doesn't possess one of the deadly sins...we shouldn't have to worry about the King of Violence, right? It seems like he's still resting."
Out of the six kings that controlled the demon world, the King of Violence was the only one that didn't possess the power of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Orobas touched his chin.
"Then, is the Queen of Sloth the last one we should watch out for?"
"She's always been lazy."
Samael smiled softly as if it was a joke.
Orobas was satisfied with Samael's answer. He leaned his large body against the chair and spoke softly.
"The power of the six kings are similar in strength. Thus, the balance of power in the world is harmonious. Even though the King of Pride is trying to break that balance, he won't be able to do anything too unexpected. No matter how much power he has, he can't possibly take on the other five kings by himself. Which is a good thing. Unless someone comes along that's strong enough to defeat one of the kings, this wonderful balance will surely continue."
The Dungeon Market didn't desire just one king. The conflict between the kings is what caused the Dungeon Market to be created in the first place.
Bifrons and Abraxas nodded in agreement. The other directors smiled as if they felt the same.
However, there was one that had a different sort of smile.
"Miss Sitri?"
Samael called out quietly and looked at the last, and yet most powerful, director.
The red-headed and beautiful Sitri.
She answered calmly while lightly touching her chin. Her eyes were fixated on the map.
"No, it's nothing. I just find this all rather fun."
Her vague answer made Samael tilt his head in confusion. He looked at the map as well and tried to figure out her intentions.
Sitri was looking at the southern part of the demon world, which was known to have no major power.
It was the land of the King of Greed, who once controlled a quarter of the demon world and was known as the greatest demon to have ever lived in recent times.
[Wild dungeon monsters have appeared!]
[Two Crazy Ants and a Slime!]
The King of Greed, Yong-Ho, frowned when he heard the Spirit of the Dungeon's passionate voice.
Just as stated, three monsters suddenly appeared before him.
Two red ants, the size of large dogs, and a spherical slime, that reminded him of tree sap, were in front of him.
Encountering monsters was quite common in the demon world. He welcomed the fight since it would give him the chance to increase his evolution rate. However, there was something that bothered him.
'Why are there monsters in my dungeon?!'
If anybody else was to hear him say that, they would have looked at him strangely, as if it was obvious.
The monsters in front of him weren't dungeon spirits.
They were ownerless monsters. The Spirit of the Dungeon had recently shared some common knowledge with Yong-Ho, which according to her, the monsters were nothing more than ants and cockroaches that he would see back at home.
In short, they were just simple beings that liked to freeload in people's dungeons.
However, few such monsters existed in ordinary well kept dungeons, since if they did appear they were usually taken care of right away.
'The worst ones are the ants.'
It's not that Yong-Ho especially disliked ants. Actually, he regarded them better than cockroaches. However, the issue was the lifestyle of their kind.
Like the ants in the human world, they lived in large colonies. So, there probably existed a large ant colony underneath the dungeon.
"Master! Concentrate!"
After hearing Catalina's stern voice, Yong-Ho eliminated his distracting thoughts. While continuing to face forwards, he spoke as he channeled strength into the arm wielding Aamon.
"I'll take the Slime. Catalina. Skull. Take care of the ants."
"Understood."
"Skull, skull."
Catalina and the Skeleton Soldier, Skull, answered respectively. They both charged forward towards the ants.
Two days ago. In order to increase the dungeon's defense, Yong-Ho decided to focus on improving the dungeon's facilities rather than evolving the spirits.
However, despite that, he decided to use the Power of Evolution to evolve just one spirit, the Skeleton Soldier, who he subsequently named Skull.
The Skeleton was one of the lowest level spirits and didn't even have any specialized evolution like the Goblins. However, as soon as he evolved him, his rank increased to Skeleton Soldier.
Yong-Ho decided to equip Skull with the hammer from the dead giant.
The Death Knight was considered the highest rank amongst the Skeletons and Yong-Ho planned on evolving him to that rank, so he wanted to give him a special name, though simplicity was best.
Catalina took down one of the Crazy Ants with a single strike. However, instead of moving to attack the other ant, she waited and watched Skull fight it, so that Skull could increase his evolution rate through battle.
'The same applies to me.'
Yong-Ho focused his attention on the Slime gliding across the ground.
Aamon was known amongst demons for being able to burn the sky and evaporate the sea with a single swing.
For Yong-Ho, however, performing such a task was a bit too much. However, he was still able to use a fraction of Aamon's power.
'Just one strike!'
Yong-Ho kicked off the ground. The slime must have noticed that Yong-Ho had targeted it because it suddenly shot acid at him. The highly concentrated acid traveled quickly through the air. If it touched him, the acid would melt away his skin and bones.
However, Yong-Ho easily dodged the attack. He agilely leaned his body to the side, kicked off the ground, and shortened the distance between them.
"Ha!"
He simultaneously wielded Aamon and pierced through the Slime's body. As soon as the sword pierced through its center, he released his mana.
Flames exploded from inside its body. Green flame enveloped its entire body.
Thanks to its powerful acid and mucus, the Slime was able to neutralize most physical attacks, but it couldn't resist even a spark of Aamon's flames.
Yong-Ho pulled Aamon out, with a smile on his face, and stretched his back. Feeling satisfied, he exchanged a glance with Catalina and watched Skull fight the remaining Crazy Ant.
Two days after the first attack.
Yong-Ho was looking for the armory that belonged to the owner three generations ago.
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Chapter 20 The Dungeon Armory 2
There is a saying that a rich man never goes flat broke.
The House of Mammon wasn't just an ordinary 'rich' family. In the days when Mammon was alive, he was the head of a huge and powerful family that controlled a quarter of the demon world. It wouldn't be a stretch to describe them as a royal family.
Because of that, it took a long time for the House of Mammon to truly collapse, and during that time, some of Mammon's heirs became pretty famous.
Kaiwan, the Devil of Distortion, the owner three generations ago, was one of those people.
"They say that Kaiwan had a very adventurous personality. She had spent a lot of time exploring the dungeon and had yielded a great number of achievements. During her time as owner of the dungeon, she had reactivated over 80% of the first floor of the dungeon."
Yong-Ho remembered back to a conversation that he had earlier with Catalina and asked.
"Do you mean the owner that discovered the arena?"
"Oh, I see that you've already been informed."
"Catalina told me. She doesn't know where it's located though."
Eligor nodded at the comment. He quickly looked around and quietly answered him.
"Yes, Kaiwan did keep the location of the arena a secret. I believe that she did so to stop her spirits from entering and challenging the arena themselves."
Even though this was a secretive discussion between Yong-Ho and of his closest aides, there wasn't anyone here to eavesdrop on their conversation. So Yong-Ho decided to sit on the throne to talk more comfortably.
"So then?"
Eligor looked around once more. He approached Yong-Ho and spoke quietly.
"She didn't hide all her discoveries."
The way Eligor smiled after talking made him look especially cunning. Ignoring Eligor's peculiar expression, Yong-Ho became very interested.
He quickly asked.
"What kind of facilities are they?"
"There's a variety of them. But, the most important ones are probably the armory and the gold mine."
"Gold mine?! There's a gold mine in the dungeon?!"
Yong-Ho unknowingly widened his eyes and raised his voice in surprise. Instead of looking around, Eligor responded with a bright smile.
"Yes, indeed. It's a little different from the gold mines of the human world, but it's still very much a gold mine. If my assumptions are correct, there should still be a good amount of gold left."
Yong-Ho wondered what wasn't in this dungeon, but he had to try his best to calm down for now.
Gold mine.
A mine filled with gold.
This was fantastic. If he found it, the dungeon's condition would improve substantially.
But at the same time, it was rather strange.
"Why was it deactivated for the previous owners?"
It was hard to believe that it was because of Mammon's spirits. It was the gold mine that Kaiwan had found and activated.
Did the spirits of the House of Mammon not acknowledge the previous owners?
A frown appeared on Eligor's face. He gave a similar answer to what Yong-Ho expected, but there was a slight difference.
"It's because of the dungeon monsters."
Dungeon monster.
The wild monsters of the demon world that dwell in dungeons.
The demon world wasn't like the human world. The demon world had a certain flexibility due to the high concentration of mana and because of that unexpected spatial twists could occur in dungeons, on the ground, or even in the skies.
Furthermore, the mana that existed in the demon could evolve small bugs and animals into demons.
That's how dungeon monsters were born.
It was either through monsters entering the dungeon through spatial twists or through the evolution of bugs and animals due to mana.
They were like bugs and rats, of the human world, that appeared inside houses.
Usually, ordinary owners could deal with these dungeon monsters very easily. If by any chance, the dungeon monsters couldn't be taken care of, then they could request 'dungeon cleaners' from the Dungeon Market to eradicate the vermin.
However, the House of Mammon couldn't do it either.
There were two main reasons.
First, was the distinct characteristics of Mammon's dungeon.
Ordinary dungeons didn't have a lot of inactive spaces. New rooms were usually created in ordinary dungeons by first creating a space and then filling it with mana, thus activating the room. The room would thus have an accessible entrance and lighting created from mana.
However, unlike ordinary dungeons, the House of Mammon's dungeon boasted an immensely wide area. Furthermore, there were a huge number of empty rooms that didn't have a mana supply, rendering them inactive.
These inactive rooms, when compared to the human world, were like really deep caves or underground construction sites. For a variety of dungeon monsters, these areas were ideal living spaces. Thus, a huge number of dungeon monsters had naturally evolved and among them, some had grown extremely powerful.
Second, the dungeon didn't have enough money to hire a dungeon cleaner.
So in the end, there was only one choice.
The previous owners simply couldn't handle the dungeon monsters, so they had to give up on the gold mine and the armory.
"It's like they got kicked out of the house because of the vermin…"
Eligor bowed his head at Yong-Ho's dispirited voice. His already red face turned an even brighter shade out of shame.
"I'm not trying to make any excuses, but I heard that the dungeon monsters inhabiting the gold mine are quite strong. They are records that state that not only are they very strong but there's a huge number of them as well."
Yong-Ho nodded his head at Eligor's words. It wasn't Eligor's fault that the dungeon monsters took away the gold mine. Eligor glanced at Yong-Ho and spoke again.
"It may be too difficult to take back the gold mine for now. However, if the armory...if the armory could be obtained, it would increase the dungeon's strength tremendously. And then someday, you'll be able to retake the gold mine, it was the dream of the previous owners."
Evolve the spirits and then arm them with the weapons retrieved from the armory.
It certainly wasn't a bad idea. During the last battle, after the Goblins finished setting up the traps, they grabbed the leftover bamboo spears and started to fight.
'I am curious about the gear that Kaiwan obtained in the arena.'
Yong-Ho made up his mind. He stood up right away with a recurring thought in his mind: 'strike while the iron is hot'.
"Go get Catalina. We'll begin the search right away."
Eligor's eyes shined with light.
The day after the discussion.
Yong-Ho opened his mouth after thinking back and sighed deeply.
It took ten mana to reactivate a disabled room. Currently, Yong-Ho's maximum mana level was 180, and since the dungeon's daily mana output was 50, he could activate a maximum of 23 rooms if he consumed all the available mana.
Of course, Yong-Ho couldn't do that. His mana was needed not only for the dungeon facilities but he needed to have a reserve in case of another attack.
As a result, the number of rooms that he could safely activate in a day wasn't that high and given the number of monsters he had to fight along the way, the progress of the search had slowed down considerably.
'At least my evolution rate is increasing quickly.'
Yong-Ho activated the Power of Evolution and examined himself. His evolution rate had increased from 50 to 80.
With a bit more experience, he would be able to evolve.
Since he now had a lot of spirits to study, he was able to further his understanding of the mechanisms of his power.
The evolution rate was equivalent to the experience points in a game.
The stronger the spirit was, the harder it was to fill the evolution rate and if a spirit was weak, the evolution rate could be filled up from even the smallest task.
Yong-Ho looked at Skull, who was currently lying on the floor.
[Name: Skull]
[Race: Skeleton Soldier]
[Main Elements: - ]
[Evolution Rate: 40/100]
[Bone Strength - Level 0 (1)]
[Physique - Level 0 (1)]
[Mentality - Level 0 (1)]
'The available evolution routes are [Skeleton Warrior] and [Skeleton Archer].'
After deactivating the Power of Evolution, Yong-Ho sat down and looked at Catalina, who was currently resting beside him. After noticing Yong-Ho's gaze, she quickly took out her map and laid it on the ground.
"I'm terribly sorry, but the records of the previous owner aren't perfect. However, I'm sure that it's somewhere around this area. If it's you, I'm confident that you'll find it."
At first, she sounded like a child afraid of being scolded, but as she talked more, her eyes started to sparkle.
It seemed like she believed in Yong-Ho's 'Midas touch', which was one of his powers.
"So you're using me, huh?"
When Yong-Ho made the comment with a click of his tongue, Catalina looked like she was at a loss for words. He expected such a reaction, which caused him to chuckle and lightly pinch her cheek. He then stood up from the ground.
"Since we've rested, let's head out. If it's not forward, then it must be to the left."
Yong-Ho mumbled to himself and looked around the room. He closed his eyes and extended his hands out in different directions.
'Clear your mind and follow your instincts.'
He was stimulating his power.
More specifically, Yong-Ho was able to satisfy his 'greed.'
Yong-Ho suddenly opened his eyes and looked to the left.
"That way."
He immediately started to walk.
While Yong-Ho was exploring the dungeon with Catalina and Skull.
The butler Eligor, who was one of Yong-Ho's key aides and led the Goblins to carry out construction work.
As Eligor had explained to Yong-Ho many times, dungeons in the demon world weren't just geographical features, but large spirits.
Therefore, the various facilities within the dungeon were known as its internal organs.
Mana was used to activate the rooms and then by further using the dungeon's available mana and ingredients, better facilities could be created.
These facilities made this way were able to move their location within the dungeon.
After the first battle, Yong-Ho chose to focus on strengthening the dungeon's facilities rather than evolving the spirits.
The distance between the dungeon entrance and his throne room had increased. Several rooms had also been secured to enable a variety of facilities to be created. Whereas, for the facilities that had already been installed, he changed their location to further increase their defense.
Eligor had widened the distance between the "central corridor", known as the dungeon's spine, and the prison by a fair margin. This was in order to create his long cherished new torture chamber.
In fact, he really wanted to expand the size of the prison even more.
In the dungeon, the role of the prison wasn't just to lock enemy spirits away and torture them.
A high-quality prison invested with a large amount of mana and ingredients could forcefully drain mana from the prisoners.
The prison can thus serve as an additional auxiliary facility for the generation of mana. It could also be used as a form of a breeding ground to retrain dungeon monsters and turn them into spirits.
Such a prison was considered the jewel of a dungeon. It was an incredibly versatile facility.
'The torture chamber is also a jewel.'
Eligor created the torturing tools with a joyful expression. Since the available materials were quite poor, he couldn't make any stylish tools like the Iron Maiden, but the art of torture could be implemented with just a simple chair and knife.
Eligor decided to be satisfied with what he had for now.
"Butler, butler. You feels good. Feels good?"
Jon was carrying the materials that were going to be used for the torture room and saw Eligor's joyful expression. Eligor answered with a warm smile.
"Haha. How could I not be in a good mood? The dungeon is improving everyday."
As soon as he finished talking, Eligor recalled Yong-Ho's actions during their first fight.
"Hoo hoo. His bedroom must be made as quickly as possible so that we're prepared for the future successor."
"Successor? Bedroom? What connection?"
Jon tilted his head and asked with a confused expression, but Eligor ignored him. He kept this peculiar daydream to himself and instead looked at the imprisoned Kobolds.
"You guys shouldn't worry so much. You'll be tortured as soon as the torture chamber is complete. After I confirm your honesty through torture, I'll allow you to serve the House of Mammon."
He then raised a plank of wood with nails pierced all around it. The Kobolds quickly raised their voices.
"Woof, woof!"
"Woof, woof!"
"Bark, bark!"
Though they were saying that they would swear allegiance right now, Eligor wasn't able to understand them. No, it was possible that he could from their desperate looks, but he chose to ignore that.
"Hahaha. Okay, okay. You'll just have to wait a bit longer."
Eligor had a warm expression as he placed the plank of wood down again. He looked ahead with a calm expression.
"I hope Master returns soon."
If it's Yong-Ho, he'll definitely be able to find the armory.
Just thinking about him made Eligor smile with glee and this time he picked up a very sharp knife. The imprisoned Kobolds' cry was music to his ears, as he focused on his work again.
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Chapter 21 The Dungeon Armory 3
Yong-Ho moved to the left.
Every time he reached the end of the room, he activated a new room and then moved forward.
The power of 'Midas touch' was greed's secondary skill and it was a skill that was difficult to describe.
Just a feeling.
The ability to choose instinctively.
That was why he wasn't able to explain fully to Catalina and Skull why they were walking forward. He just felt that he would obtain something if he continued to walk this path.
However, several hours later, Catalina and even Yong-Ho himself started to get worried.
Was this the right path?
No, even if he could obtain something by walking down this road, was that something like the armory?
It wasn't a completely fruitless search. While they explored, they encountered a Crazy Ant and were able to increase their evolution rates as well and gain some mana. If they considered it as gaining experience, then it was quite useful for combat training.
However, the purpose of this exploration was to find Kaiwan's armory. In games, completing the side quests and not the main quest was usually pointless, so he had to constantly remind himself not to forget about his main goal.
"Um...master?"
Catalina carefully spoke up. Yong-Ho, roughly knew why she called out to him, so he put on a calm expression and turned around.
Yong-Ho was the head of the House of Mammon and was currently the leader of the search party. If Yong-Ho looked anxious, then Catalina and Skull, though he wasn't sure if Skull even knew what being anxious felt like, would feel anxious too.
"I have a strong feeling it's this way. Let's go a bit further."
"Yes, Master."
As a loyal spirit, Catalina answered right away. Skull wore his usual blank expression and followed behind Yong-Ho and Catalina.
Yong-Ho thought back to the time when he obtained Aamon. It was an incredible fortune to be able to find Aamon. It was quite the jackpot.
However, it wasn't an easy trial. If Catalina hadn't slowed down the speed of their fall, they would have surely lost their lives.
It was possible this time too.
One of Mammon's spirits could appear or they could encounter an unknown trap.
But, he had no choice.
He had to go this way.
There was something there that would satisfy his greed.
'One room. Let's just go through one more room.'
If they don't find anything, then Yong-Ho was planning to end the search for today. He would try again after they recovered their mana and stamina.
With his mind set, Yong-Ho commanded the Spirit of the Dungeon to activate the next room. He carefully opened the door.
[Be careful. Something feels off.]
As the Spirit of the Dungeon had warned, this room was quite different from the previous rooms. As soon as he opened the door, an eerie wind escaped. Furthermore, the room was still dark.
Activated rooms were usually lit with light created by mana. However, even though the Spirit of the Dungeon had activated it, the room was still in darkness. It wasn't complete darkness, but the light didn't even reach a quarter of the room.
"Catalina."
Yong-Ho spoke and instantly Catalina reacted. She took out her flashlight from her belt and handed it to Yong-Ho.
"Master, I'll take the lead."
"No, stay behind me. I'll take the lead."
It was the same as when he had obtained Aamon. He had a strong instinctive feeling. Yong-Ho was certain that there was something here that had triggered his greed.
[I'm sorry. I'm unable to detect the entire room. It's too far from the Heart of the Dungeon and some sort of power is interrupting me.]
The Spirit of the Dungeon spoke with his inner voice. Yong-Ho gulped nervously and used the flashlight to light up the room. It just looked like an empty room since he couldn't see anything.
"The room seems extremely large. It's as big as your throne room, Master."
Catalina spoke up quietly as soon as they reached halfway across the room. However, Yong-Ho couldn't reply. He had a strong feeling. Right in front of him. Something was lingering in the darkness.
Yong-Ho instinctively raised his flashlight. Once the flashlight joined with the dim light that was already in the room, he was suddenly able to see much more clearly.
"Underground… entrance?"
He had a feeling that the huge door in front of them would lead them underground.
At that moment, Yong-Ho sensed it. Greed started to strongly react to it and not because it was the armory.
'Gold mine!'
That was the only possible solution. The Greed within Yong-Ho's soul started to strongly express its desire.
However, that wasn't the only thing.
"Master!"
Catalina's long ears flinched as she quietly called out. Yong-Ho was able to feel it now too.
He could hear something rustling in all directions. On top of that, something was falling from the ceiling.
"Skulllll?!"
Even the slow-witted Skull was able to sense the danger. Catalina immediately pulled out her dagger and stood behind Yong-Ho with her back facing his. She looked around with the eyes of a dark elf, piercing through the darkness.
Yong-Ho's grip on Aamon tightened. He knew there was an immense danger the moment he had heard the rustling sound. Though it didn't make sense that he couldn't hear anything earlier.
Furthermore, there was something dangerous falling from the ceiling.
Yong-Ho didn't hesitate. He pointed Aamon towards the ceiling.
"Light it up!"
As soon as he shouted, a green flame was released from the tip of Aamon's blade. The green flame burned down one of the Slimes that covered the ceiling. The Spirit of the Dungeon responded to Yong-Ho's yell by releasing all of the stored mana through Yong-Ho, driving out the darkness from the room.
"Kyah!"
"Kyahhh!"
Strange sounds filled the room. Even, Skull was stunned by his surroundings.
A horde of Crazy Ants were covering the walls. The way they wriggled around each other while crying out made an abhorrent display. And at the entrance of the mine. Monsters that he had never seen before poked out their heads. A group of Soldier Ants, who were at least three to four times larger than Crazy Ants appeared.
"Retreat!"
Yong-Ho hastily shouted and swung Aamon around once more. He released the flames in front of him and then quickly turned around and ran.
The gold mine.
It certainly existed, just like Eligor had mentioned. However, a swarm of Crazy Ants had built a nest there. The dungeon monsters that had driven out the owners from the previous generation were still very much alive and well.
"Skull, skull!"
Skull started to swing around his hammer. Most of the Crazy Ants that were on the walls stayed put, but that didn't reassure them. They had even covered their only available exit.
"Ahhh!"
Catalina who was running alongside Yong-Ho suddenly let out a scream. A few Slimes, which were dripping fluids from the ceiling, suddenly dropped down and enveloped Catalina.
Since it was such a sudden attack, even the agile Catalina couldn't dodge it. The Soldier Ants then penetrated through the fire. As if they had received some sort of command, the Crazy Ants then also began to move around more.
"Skull, skull!"
Skull threw his body against the door. At the same time, Yong-Ho turned around. He tightened his grip on Aamon and saw the Slimes that covered Catalina.
He didn't have time to think. It just occurred to him as soon as he saw them.
Slimes' bodies were made up of strong acid. They even melted weapons, so Catalina didn't have the time to endure it while they enveloped her body.
What could he do?
At that moment. In-between an opening.
Yong-Ho and Catalina made eye contact. Catalina spoke. She spoke with her eyes since she wasn't able to speak.
'Run away!'
Leave her. That was the best choice. This was her role as guard anyway.
Not only Catalina but Yong-Ho had thought of that option as well. It felt like someone was ordering him.
That moment disappeared. He felt the Soldier Ants approaching. He sensed the other Slimes beginning to fall to the ground.
In that moment, Yong-Ho made his choice. He didn't think anymore. He pierced Aamon into the Slimes that covered Catalina.
In the face of Aamon's flames that burned not only their body but their mana and soul as well, the Slimes wouldn't stand a chance.
However, the same would happen to Catalina.
A green flame blossomed out of the tip of Aamon's blade. It started to spread and envelop the Slimes. During this, Catalina tightly closed her eyes.
Yong-Ho yearned for it.
He didn't abandon his greed. He commanded Aamon.
They were his.
Everything about them belonged to Yong-Ho!
Aamon's fire was greed's fire.
The fire of desire that devoured the body and the soul.
He burned the Slimes. Yong-Ho then inserted his hand into Aamon's strong fire and grabbed Catalina, who wasn't affected by Aamon's fire.
"Go!"
Yong-Ho commanded. After being dragged out of the fire, Catalina faithfully listened to his command. Instead of thinking, she followed his orders and kicked off the ground. She threw her body towards the door that Skull had left open.
"One more time!"
Yong-Ho squeezed out his remaining mana. He waved Aamon with all his might and set his surroundings ablaze with a wave of fire.
"Kyahhhh!"
Surprised by the sudden wave of fire, the Soldier Ants started to scream. Yong-Ho didn't bother to look back and started to run. He threw himself through the door and at the same time, commanded the Spirit of the Dungeon.
[Deactivating the room!]
It didn't stop there, however. Catalina quickly helped Yong-Ho stand up. And Skull, who was running through the room, opened the next door.
Yong-Ho ran through two rooms in a row. At the same time, the Spirit of the Dungeon deactivated each of them.
And as soon as he had crossed the third room.
Yong-Ho stopped and breathed heavily.
His body was soaked with sweat. Catalina, who had almost died, collapsed heavily to the floor. She remembered how Aamon's fire had completely covered her, causing her to wrap her arms around her shoulders and hug herself.
Yong-ho closed his eyes. He started to think while catching his breath.
The gold mine that Kaiwan found.
It existed. Even now, there was gold remaining. Yong-Ho's greed had reacted strongly, so he was sure of it.
The issue was the colony of Crazy Ants that were blocking the way. Seeing the size of it, there was a high possibility that there was a Queen Ant inside the mine.
"I should really find the armory."
Yong-Ho spoke. Skull looked up after opening the door to the third room. Catalina also raised her head and looked at Yong-Ho.
They had found the gold mine. Thanks to that, out of the two possible routes he found he was sure that the other connected to the armory. If they walk down the remaining route, they would most likely arrive there.
They could then obtain gear from the armory. And then reclaim the gold mine with the stronger gear.
'However, before that.'
Yong-Ho stood up straight. He gathered his remaining mana into his empty left hand. He then activated the Power of Evolution and examined himself.
Chun Yong-Ho, The Demon of Evolution.
Evolution Rate: 100/100.
The evolution rate had completely filled after he had taken care of the Slimes that covered Catalina.
Yong-Ho didn't wait any longer. He placed his left hand on his chest.
[Specialized Mana Development]
He invoked the Power of Evolution. Vivid green colored mana burst out of Yong-Ho's body.
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Chapter 22 Armed
The power broke through.
The limit shattered. Explosive power surged forth in search of an exit.
It was like a raging torrent. The sudden eruption of power inside him was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
He screamed.
No, it wasn't a scream.
It was something else.
The cry of his soul. A swift flame that devoured all.
He couldn't tell how long it had been.
But moments later.
He opened his eyes. Green flames rose out and then naturally died down again.
Yong-Ho didn't stumble. He stood up straight and felt a great change within himself.
His mana pool had increased in size.
He could clearly feel it within him, even without circulating it.
However, he didn't actually have any mana left. His body was like an empty bowl since he had just used up all of his mana.
However, because of that, he could clearly feel the change in his mana pool.
"Catalina."
Yong-Ho spoke up. Catalina was sitting on the floor in front of him and then quickly stood up as if she had suddenly regained her consciousness. She saw Yong-Ho and her confused face instantly turned into one filled with joy.
"Ma, master. Your horn…"
Yong-Ho raised his hand. Even without a mirror, he knew where they had grown.
Horns collected the surrounding mana within the demon world and were like transmitters that helped him concentrate his mana.
His two horns had grown out in the exact same spot as Catalina's. Before, they looked like nothing more than small rocks, but now, they were both larger and thicker.
Now they looked like actual horns.
The Spirit of the Dungeon suddenly spoke as if she was waiting just for this moment.
[The dungeon's daily production volume has been increased from 50 to 80!]
[Master's mana pool has increased in size from 180 to 280! Furthermore, thanks to the horns, the mana recovery rate has increased by 100%!]
Demons are entirely made up of mana.
Both the body and soul of a demon was essentially just a lump of mana.
He was now able to truly experience it. He couldn't really sense his mana before since he was still just half-human and half-demon, but now, it felt like he had been reborn again.
Yong-Ho smiled. He was exhausted from depleting up all his mana, but he somehow enjoyed the feeling of exhaustion.
"Catalina, how are you feeling?"
Yong-Ho asked in his usual tone which caused Catalina to relax her hunched up shoulders, as she breathed out a sigh of relief.
Master had horns. His mana had definitely become stronger.
But she was still nervous.
Even though she only served him for a few days, she was worried that he wouldn't be the master that she knew. Maybe he had changed somehow?
But he remained the same. Perhaps it was because all her worries had just suddenly vanished, but tears began to form in her eyes as she felt Yong-ho's gaze. Her clothes had gotten completely messed up from the Slimes. She didn't really get hurt because Yong-Ho had acted so quickly, however on the areas where her skin was exposed, there were some minor injuries.
"I-It'll heal a bit if I use my saliva."
Catalina answered nervously which caused Yong-ho to smile again. This, in turn, caused Catalina to blush, however instead of making fun of her for it, Yong-Ho spoke to her in a cheerful voice.
"Let's go back for now. We'll have to reorganize."
"Yes, Master."
"Skull, skull."
Skull chimed in as well after hearing Catalina's quick response. Before he left, Yong-Ho looked back again. Beyond the inactive rooms, there was the gold mine that Kaiwan had found.
'I'll get it back.'
Yong-Ho turned around and started to walk back.
"Master!"
As soon as they returned to the throne room, Eligor hurriedly greeted them. He was quite shocked by the state of both Yong-Ho and Catalina, but when he noticed Yong-Ho's horns, he started to flail even more.
Yong-Ho first moved to the only furniture in the room, the throne. He then spoke as he sat down on the hard stone.
"I found the gold mine. Whereas, the horns appeared because I activated the Power of Evolution on myself."
Eligor didn't completely understand at first. When Catalina brought in the kettle filled with water, his eyes suddenly widened and he asked with excitement.
"The gold, gold mine, sir? The one that belonged to Kaiwan?!"
"Correct. Just like you had pointed out, dungeon monsters had taken over that place. It was a giant ant colony. I think they may have made that place their nest."
At Yong-Ho's answer, Eligor's expression suddenly turned serious. It was a reaction he expected.
The Crazy Ant colony was located not too far from here. It was a major threat to them when it came to expanding the dungeon and maintaining it.
Yong-Ho spoke calmly.
"First, we'll use the gear that's in Kaiwan's armory. We need to strengthen our military power in order to take back the gold mine."
He didn't plan to cower and just avoid it as the previous owners had done.
He was going to reclaim it. He planned to take back what belonged to the House of Mammon. Yong-Ho was going to make the gold mine his.
"I understand. But first, I think it would be best to take a break. I've created a new bedroom for you."
"A bedroom?"
He definitely wasn't expecting that, so it was Yong-Ho who was the one that was surprised this time. Eligor answered with a calm expression.
"It's not much, but I've created a small room. I'll make sure to fill it with a bed and other furniture soon."
He was a demon king and also the owner of the dungeon, so he didn't really want the other spirits to know that he slept on top of a carpet. A bedroom was a necessary facility to help him protect his dignity.
"Then, I'll take you to the bedroom."
"Oh, okay."
It felt like he was being tricked, but Yong-ho decided to follow. Honestly, he was so exhausted from depleting all his mana, that he desired to sleep quite badly.
"Get some rest, Catalina. You too, Skull."
"Yes, master."
"Skulllll."
Catalina answered immediately and Skull, who was already lying across the floor, answered as well.
Yong-Ho and Eligor headed towards the bedroom.
As soon as he had closed and opened his eyes, time had already passed.
It was like a time warp. No, perhaps a time machine. He had felt the same thing when he was a student.
His throat was hoarse, so he couldn't really speak. However, his mind felt unexpectedly clear. Because of his horns, his mana level had completely refilled.
'How long was I asleep?'
Yong-Ho sat up. The ceiling was low and the walls were narrower than before. He was now sitting on top of a pile of straw mats instead of the carpet.
The unfinished bedroom had been hastily made by Eligor.
After suddenly remembering what happened, Yong-Ho stood up. He then washed his face with a basin of water that Eligor placed there earlier. Afterward, he put on his cape and walked out of the room.
'It's still the same.'
It seemed like he hadn't slept for that long. Inside the throne room, most of the spirits of the dungeon were gathered.
The hard-working Goblins were lying side by side on top of the carpet that was near the entrance whereas Skull was on the ground as usual. Honestly, Skull could lie down basically anywhere within the dungeon and it wouldn't seem strange. As usual, Catalina was lying on the ground, beside the throne, with her cape snuggly wrapped around her. She looked like a silkworm, which caused him to pity her for some reason.
'Their welfare really isn't that good.'
Yong-Ho felt responsible for them, so he quietly walked out of the room so they could continue to sleep. When he left the room, he went to get some water to soothe his dry throat and saw Eligor watering the Treant.
"So, you're a tree after all."
"Oh, Master, you're awake. You're up early."
"Yeah, since we found the route that leads to the armory, we need to hurry."
"Ah, that's very like you Master."
Next to the smiling Eligor, Treant leaned forward and expressed its greeting to Yong-Ho. Now that he thought of it, he never did give the Treant a name.
'Should I just call it Ent?'
Yong-Ho always believed in simplicity, but even he thought that Ent was a bit much.
'Let me think about it a bit more.'
He wasn't in a rush to name it. There was something else that required far more urgency.
"Eligor, can we make a bedroom for the spirits as well? I think Catalina should be given her own room as well."
Until yesterday, Yong-Ho had himself slept on top of the carpet, but that still didn't make it acceptable. Even though it was a dungeon, shouldn't he at least guarantee basic food and shelter for his spirits?
As always, Eligor quickly responded to Yong-Ho's command.
"It's possible. Thanks to you, the dungeon's daily production volume has increased significantly. I'll be able to create joint accommodation for the ordinary spirits."
"I'll leave it to you then."
Yong-Ho stopped talking and started to think. He looked towards the passageway that led to the prison and asked Eligor.
"How are things with the Kobolds?"
"The torture chamber is still in progress…"
Eligor answered with a face full of regret. Yong-Ho tilted his head.
"Are none of them willing to work for us? During the day that they attacked, it didn't seem like they were very loyal towards their previous owner."
"All four of them seem like that, but we can't trust them without torture…"
Instead of answering, Yong-Ho observed Eligor for a moment. He scratched the back of his head and spoke.
"There must be one that's better suited than the others. After breakfast, pick one out for me before I leave."
"Are you thinking about taking them with you?"
"The more power, the better."
Yong-Ho didn't expect the Kobolds to be completely loyal. What he needed right now were soldiers that he could use. He didn't intend to use them as a disposable weapon, but he might find some use for them. Regardless, Catalina and Skull were far more important than the Kobold.
Eligor must have read Yong-Ho's intention because he agreed to do it with a serious expression.
And right after breakfast that morning.
Along with Skull and Catalina, Yong-Ho was accompanied by Jon and a Kobold, both wielding bamboo spears, as they once again embarked on an exploration of the dungeon.
Their target, once again, was the room located in the north of the dungeon.
Kaiwan's armory.
Chapter 23 Armed 2
The road leading to the gold mine was very smooth sailing since they had already walked down it before.
The only dungeon monsters they encountered on their route were two Slimes.
"Good. From here on, we'll be traveling in an unexplored area. Everyone keep your guard up."
Jon, who was wielding the bamboo spear, became visibly nervous after hearing Yong-Ho's words, as did the Kobold in front of him.
Catalina closed the distance between her and Yong-Ho, whereas Skull just nonchalantly stretched out his shoulders.
Yong-Ho continued to give orders.
"Kobold, you will be the advance guard. Jon and Skull, you take care of the sides. While Catalina and I will be in the center and support."
Skull and Jon moved to the left and right side respectively. The Kobold, however, flinched and expressed dissatisfaction when Yong-Ho ordered him to be the advance guard but when Yong-Ho and Catalina glared at him, he immediately walked towards the front of the group.
After the group reorganized into formation, Yong-Ho continued his search by leading the group to the right-hand side of the door that led to the gold mine.
While they walked through five rooms in a row, they didn't encounter a single dungeon monster. Kobold and Jon seemed quite relieved, as they became a bit more laid-back.
Yong-Ho opened the dungeon map in the air. He nodded silently.
'Are the Crazy Ants and the Slimes solely based in the gold mine?'
If that was the case, then it was understandable why they hadn't encountered any dungeon monsters yet.
So, if they just keep walking, they would eventually reach the armory. Given the fact that they hadn't encountered any dungeon monsters yet, then it was highly likely that the armory wouldn't be occupied by a high number of monsters either.
"Master?"
Yong-Ho stopped and stared at the map, causing Catalina to call out to him with a gentle curiosity. Instead of answering, Yong-Ho looked forward. He answered with his eyes half-closed.
"I'm certain. I can sense something emanating from this direction."
Greed, which was still reacting to the gold mine, had to strongly covet a new prey.
Forwards.
It wasn't that far.
They walked through another room. Yong-Ho had a hunch. He raised his hand and stopped the party.
"Wait for a moment. It might be the next room."
The Kobold and Jon knew exactly what Yong-Ho meant. They both no longer maintained a relaxed composure and instead adopted a defensive stance.
Catalina wordlessly glanced at Yong-Ho. Their eyes met for a brief second. Yong-Ho then tightened his grip on Aamon and walked towards the wall. After standing by the door for a moment, he commanded the Kobold to open the door.
The Kobold was sweating profusely and was extremely hesitant, however, Jon started to poke him with his bamboo spear, so he didn't really have any choice. With slightly red eyes, the Kobold looked up at the door and quickly moved towards it.
[The room has been activated!]
As soon as the Kobold opened the door, the Spirit of the Dungeon provided mana to the inactive room. The lights drove the darkness away.
Moments later.
When Yong-Ho couldn't detect any reaction from the room, he looked towards Catalina. Catalina pulled down her hood and pricked up her ears. She nodded with satisfaction, she couldn't hear anything significant from inside.
Yong-Ho waited for Catalina to pull up her hood again and then completely opened the door. He then entered the room alongside Skull and Jon.
Unlike the other rooms, this room was quite large in size. The area was around three times larger and was especially long in length, with a large iron door at its end.
"The armory's door is precisely identical to its recorded description."
Catalina spoke as she looked at the door adorned with an engraving of a wolf devouring the moon. The Spirit of the Dungeon spoke as well.
[I can feel a strong energy beyond that door. Be careful, master.]
Yong-Ho also felt it. He decided to concentrate on the surrounding flow of mana. Green flames blossomed out of his eyes as if he had activated the Power of Evolution.
The demon world was created by mana. Every creature possessed it, from the smallest of creatures and to the mightiest of demons.
Each being's mana had different characteristics.
The color and attribute.
Through the Power of Evolution, Yong-Ho was able to read a spirit's potential. The skill also revealed the color and the attributes of their mana.
Therefore, Yong-Ho didn't just feel the flow of the mana. It was possible for him to physically observe it.
Beyond the iron door.
Just like the Spirit of the Dungeon had mentioned. He could see a strong emanation of mana. The mana was stronger than the giant demon he had fought before.
Heat. Flame. Vivid yellow.
The mana rose up like a haze in-between the iron door. The mana created a whirlpool and quickly started to flow faster.
Yong-Ho yelled.
"To the side!"
Kobold and Jon, who had been on high alert, quickly flung their bodies towards the right wall. While Yong-Ho grabbed Catalina by her waist and threw himself to the left, Catalina stretched out her hand and grabbed Skull, who had just been standing there with a blank expression.
An empty space was created.
Rumble!
The heat wave moved at an extremely fast rate. With a loud bang, it crushed the iron door causing it to burn with yellow smoke.
A pillar of flame.
The Kobold and Jon shook in fear. Skull's jaw dropped blankly, while Yong-Ho inspected the room beyond the damaged door. Catalina suddenly yelled.
"Salamander!"
Yong-Ho saw it as well. Something was burning in the darkness with the silhouette of a large lizard. Vivid yellow flames enveloped its entire body causing it to look more akin to a living flame than a dungeon monster.
Yong-Ho quickly asked.
"Is it a flame spirit or something? Does it not have an actual body?"
In one of Yong-Ho's favorite games, a salamander usually appeared as a flame spirit. Catalina hastily answered.
"It's not completely a spirit. It's similar, but it's more akin to a fire demon that survives by devouring mana!"
After Catalina answered him, she quickly jumped off the ground. Yong-Ho also hurriedly stood up. The salamander had started to move.
'Just one enemy!'
There weren't many monsters like last time. Just one. The flame that burned the air seemed terrifying, but if fire was its only weapon, then there was a way they could defeat it. Yong-Ho tightened his grip on Aamon.
"Roar!"
The salamander roared and released fire from its mouth, as it walked out of the armory. The salamander's length was around four meters long.
With an opponent like that, there was nothing Jon and Kobold could possibly do. Yong-Ho exchanged a glance with Catalina again. They instantly understood the other's intention, shared by the bond of spirit and master, and both started to run in opposite directions.
"This way!"
Catalina kicked off the ground and yelled as if she was provoking it. Similar to the incident when Yong-Ho was on her back, she agilely jumped from the ground to the wall, to the ceiling, and then back to the ground again.
Catalina's flashy movements caused the salamander to focus its attention on her. The salamander suddenly sprinted towards her and spat out a cone of fire. Just like a real lizard, its movement was extremely fast.
Catalina didn't scream. Even though she was usually quite clumsy, she was still the guard of the House of Mammon and the strongest soldier within the dungeon. Instead of shaking in fear, she focused on the Salamander's movements. While maintaining her focus, she wielded her crossbow and fired shots at the salamander.
However, despite her attack, the salamander didn't slow down. The arrows hit the salamander's body but weren't enough to pierce through its thick skin.
"Catalina!"
Yong-Ho yelled. Catalina promptly kicked off the wall and widened the distance between her and the salamander. Her attention was now focused on Yong-Ho.
"Master!"
Catalina unknowingly yelled. She couldn't control herself.
Yong-Ho rushed towards the salamander. He resembled a charging lanceman, with green flames starting to emanate out of Aamon. Unrestrained, Aamon's flames started to resemble a wild animal.
"Roar!"
The salamander suddenly turned its head towards Yong-Ho and spat out a ball of fire. Since he was so close, dodging was difficult. However, that wasn't a problem. Yong-Ho had no intention of dodging it in the first place.
"Roaaaaaar!"
At the same time, the salamander roared. Aamon's green flame charged straight through the flames of the salamander. Flame ate flame.
It was a gamble, but he succeeded. The distance between Yong-Ho and the salamander immediately closed. Aamon pierced through the salamander's side.
"Roaar!"
The salamander shrieked and violently struggled. Flames emanated not just from its mouth, but from its entire body. It was hot. It was a terrifying heat with the power to even melt steel. However, Yong-Ho didn't back down. Aamon's flames shielded Yong-Ho from the fire. He twisted Aamon and further pushed it into the salamander.
'Move!'
It was tiring for him even with his strengthened body. Yong-Ho used all of his strength to further pierce the Salamander causing it to let out a painful scream and push him to the side.
"Skullll!"
Skull unexpectedly provided assistance.
His large, sturdy hammer drew a beautiful line through the air and vertically smashed the head of the Salamander.
The salamander was a fire demon. It was a tough being, however, due to the shock that it suddenly received, it couldn't come back to its senses. On top of that, Skull didn't stop there.
"Skkkkkkulll!"
Skull swung his hammer around with craze and continued to hit the salamander on the head. Yong-Ho, who was just trying to corner the salamander into a wall to prevent it from moving, and couldn't help but just watch Skull with a blank face.
"S-Skull is of more help than Catalina?!"
Yong-Ho accidentally expressed his thoughts and caused Catalina to flinch. Suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to best Skull, she quickly kicked off the ground.
However, there wasn't much left for Catalina to do.
The Salamander, who repeatedly had its head smashed by Skull's hammer, was almost in a comatose state and was unable to even move its body, unable to use its flames.
Catalina walked up next to Yong-Ho and unsheathed her dagger, however, she didn't know where to use it.
Skull then raised up his hammer and roared as if taunting Catalina.
"Skkkkull! Skkkkull!"
Yong-Ho watched them and couldn't help but laugh. He had used up all of his mana at once to defeat the salamander, but thanks to Skull, they were able to win easier than expected.
'Shall we finish it?'
Yong-Ho pulled out Aamon from the salamander's side and looked at the defeated beast. Maybe it was because it was still stunned, but now that its flames looked really weak and it just looked like an ordinary lizard.
Like the giant, he had to absorb the salamander's spirit. However, in order to do so, he had to kill the salamander first.
Yong-Ho's eyes turned cold. His greed for the spirit overwhelmed any uncertainty about killing a living creature. He gulped without knowing.
Absorbing spirit not only felt pleasurable but increased his mana as well.
Yong-Ho raised Aamon. And right before he pierced it into the monster, Catalina grabbed his arm.
"Pl-please wait, master."
Catalina suddenly froze in place after speaking. Yong-Ho had a terrifying expression in his eyes after she interrupted him from killing and absorbing the spirit.
However, that was only for a moment. Yong-Ho regained his consciousness and caught his breath. After shaking his head once, he spoke.
"What is it, Catalina?"
Yong-Ho had regained his composure. As a spirit that belonged to the dungeon, grabbing the owner's arm and interrupting him was considered quite disrespectful.
Catalina let out a sigh of relief and gulped. She spoke while pointing towards the salamander.
"The salamander is a fire spirit. If you tame it properly, it'll definitely become a Rank Three spirit. It's already lost and I'm sure it realized that its flames are no match against yours, so I'm sure it would be possible for you to tame it."
Yong-Ho didn't quite understand everything Catalina was talking about, but he grasped the general concept.
Now that he thought about it, Eligor did mention something about taming the dungeon monsters in the prison.
Yong-Ho looked at the salamander again.
The salamander was definitely a strong spirit. If Yong-Ho didn't have Aamon, then there was no way he would be able to fight it. It wouldn't have been odd if the previous owners had to give up on obtaining the armory because of it.
And he would be able to have such a salamander as his subordinate.
Yong-Ho sheathed Aamon. He did what Catalina had suggested.
"Good job, Catalina. You managed to get the salamander's attention during the battle. You're definitely my guard."
He petted her head while complimenting her, which caused her ears to start to flutter.
"It's nothing. I'm just doing my job as your guard."
At the same time, she cutely glanced over at Skull.
Trying not to laugh, Yong-Ho called over Jon and the Kobold, who were standing in the corner. Now, it was time for them to fulfill their actual goal.
"Okay, let's empty… no, let's check it out."
Yong-Ho commanded the group and the spirits followed Catalina's lead.
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Chapter 24 Armed 3
"Okay? Stand here and if you think that the salamander is going to wake up, whack it on its head to make it pass out again."
Looking down at the fainted salamander, Yong-Ho explained his instructions to Skull. Skull nodded while lifting up its hammer in a readied position.
'I am a bit worried though.'
He was more concerned about the salamander rather than Skull. He was concerned that it might be left with a permanent disability after being hit on the head so many times.
'I don't think it's going to wake up anytime soon, so hopefully, we'll be finished before anything happens.'
Plus, it was more disadvantageous to him to cause any additional injuries to the salamander. And Yong-Ho was the type of person to minimize the risk.
"Okay, next...Kobold, you stay with Skull."
The Kobold flinched and started to drool while he stared towards the armory.
Kobolds were low-ranked spirits, along with the Goblins, and were known to be true to their nature. If there was an item in front of them, then there was a high possibility that they would steal it.
At Yong-Ho's command, the Kobold had a disappointed expression, but as soon as Catalina glared at him he whimpered and lowered his head.
A few minutes after beating the salamander.
Yong-Ho had organized everything and started to head towards the armory alongside Catalina and Jon.
Beyond the half-crushed iron door, all he could see was darkness. Yong-Ho called out to the Spirit of the Dungeon before he entered.
[Dungeon Facility: control of the armory will be regained. Activation requires almost all of the remaining mana, Master.]
[There's a high chance that you may feel symptoms of dizziness. Are you willing to proceed?]
He knew she was worried, but he couldn't back down now. His goal was right in front of him.
"Of course."
As soon as Yong-Ho approved, the Spirit of the Dungeon immediately proceeded. She first gathered all of Yong-Ho's remaining mana and then activated the armory.
'Gah.'
The Spirit of the Dungeon wasn't lying. Yong-Ho's legs suddenly became incredible which caused him to stumble for a second, but he soon regained his balance.
"It's fine. I'm just a little tired."
Yong-Ho tried his best to concentrate, while Catalina looked at him with worried eyes. He observed the darkness within the armory.
The Spirit of the Dungeon spoke.
[The armory is now under our control. Proceeding to turn on the lights.]
Shortly after speaking, just like any other room, beads of lights started to appear on the ceiling.
"Has the salamander been living here for decades?"
As the darkness disappeared, Yong-Ho quietly mumbled to himself, and Catalina immediately answered.
"Like I explained during the battle, they're not a complete spirit, but a spirit like a beast that's close to becoming one. They live by consuming mana. It's highly likely that they've just been asleep, like a hibernating bear during winter."
Yong-Ho nodded at her reasonable explanation. And seconds later. The darkness within the armory disappeared.
The armory was bigger than what he expected. Both sides of the walls were filled with shelves which were in turn filled with weapons, such as swords and spears, and other assorted gear, such as armor. There seemed to be over a dozen items at a glance.
A natural smile was drawn across Yong-Ho's face.
These were the weapons that the previous owners had collected, for the spirits that lived during those times.
Among them, was a variety of good and bad weapons. Despite having exhausted his mana, the Greed in his soul began to strongly react.
[ I've not detected any traps within the armory. However, there may be some cursed items. Please be careful when wearing them.]
Yong-Ho nodded his head and began to walk forwards. As always, Greed led him forth.
'First of all, more importantly than a weapon, I need some form of defense.'
Yong-Ho did his best to let Greed guide his mind.
Whatever the Greed longed for the most. That was the item that he needed the most.
Given that he already had Aamon, the weapons weren't even worth looking at.
Right now, Yong-Ho needed strong defensive equipment.
His senses stretched out in all directions and then focused in on one area. Greed didn't struggle against Yong-Ho's will. Instead, it acknowledged it and led the way.
Yong-Ho continued to walk forwards. He walked past a smoky mark on the ground, where the Salamander must have curled up and fallen asleep. Instead of looking at the weapons, such as the spears or the swords, on the shelves, he decided to walk straight ahead.
He could feel the slight flow in mana. It was most likely the magical weapons within the armory emitting varying amounts of mana. However, Greed had no interest in them. It only focused on the item that would fill Yong-Ho's desire.
A well-made chain armor suddenly entered Yong-Ho's vision. The armor was made up of numerous carefully woven small chains and despite having spent decades locked away in the armory, it looked almost brand new.
However, this wasn't what he desired. Yong-Ho passed by the chain armor. And finally, he stopped in front of a shelf located in the innermost part of the armory.
The type of gear he was expecting wasn't there. Rather, instead, there was a small, elegant wooden box sitting on the shelf.
A symbol of a wolf consuming the moon had been engraved onto it.
It was the symbol of the owner from three generations ago, Kaiwan. Yong-ho carefully opened the box.
'A ring?'
A silver ring was stored inside the box surrounded by a red cloth. There was a small, round plate on top of the ring, in the area typically where a gem would be attached. On the plate was another engraving of Kaiwan's symbol.
It was a magic ring. Even though he hadn't worn it yet, he could strongly feel its mana.
But why?
It felt familiar. It didn't feel strange at it.
Just like the Spirit of the Dungeon had warned him, wearing a magical item without proper examination was extremely dangerous. However, regardless of that, Yong-Ho picked up the ring. It wasn't because he was blinded by Greed's desire.
This ring wouldn't harm him.
He somehow knew. He could feel it.
The ring was fairly small in size and looked more fit for a woman's finger, but as the ring approached his finger, the hole suddenly widened.
Yong-Ho took a deep breath and pushed the ring onto his finger. He absorbed the mana possessed by the ring.
Gray hair.
It was a slightly different shade from Catalina's, which was closer to white.
A beautiful white, yet stern face of a woman appeared in his mind. However, it soon disappeared like smoke.
The mana felt both strange, yet familiar.
Yong-Ho understood. This was the mana of the owner from three generations ago. Her power, no, a part of her power was contained within this ring.
The Queen of Distortion, Kaiwan.
Although Yong-Ho didn't have a direct connection with her, she too was a descendant of the King of Greed, Mammon. He was able to feel that from the lingering mana inside the ring.
Yong-Ho injected a little of his mana into the ring. He brought out Kaiwan's power.
Light reflected from the ring on his left hand. The light formed a small tray sized distortion in front of him. The Power of Distortion had created the Shield of Distortion.
The shield soon disappeared again. Yong-Ho didn't have enough mana to maintain the power for long.
'It uses up a lot of mana.'
But he couldn't ignore its effects. He hadn't tested it out yet, but Yong-Ho had an idea of how it worked. The Power of Distortion distorted space. Such a shield in combat would be incredibly powerful.
'While it is small, but still, I can understand why Greed would desire it.'
In a way, it was exactly the kind of defense that Yong-Ho wanted. It wasn't heavy and it was something he could activate at any time, as long as he injected it with mana. He could easily use it while fighting with Aamon.
'The owner from three generations ago.'
He never imagined she would be such a beautiful woman.
Yong-Ho smiled bitterly as he closed the box and turned around. Jon and Catalina were busy wandering around the armory while looking at the different equipment.
Yong-Ho asked Catalina, after noticing her looking at the chain armor.
"Catalina, are you able to analyze that item? Or check to see what kind of magic was cast on it."
While Yong-Ho was able to check Kaiwan's ring, it was still impossible for him to properly examine the other items. It was unlikely that all the magical items in the armory solely contained mana from the House of Mammon.
Catalina answered right away as if she had thought ahead.
"Eligor should be able to analyze the magical items. It may not be a perfect analysis, but he should be able to easily tell if it's cursed or not."
That was enough. Yong-Ho nodded happily.
"Okay, first let's gather all the items that have magic cast on them. We can come back later, but let's try and take as much as we can just now."
"Yes, Master."
Catalina answered right away. Jon, who was standing nearby, nodded his head as well.
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Chapter 25 Armed 4
"We should've brought a cart or something."
There were around forty-odd different items within Kaiwan's Armory. Among them, was a total of seven magical items.
One helmet, two armors, three swords, and one shield.
He could carry them by himself if he wore them, but since he wasn't able to equip them right now, he had no choice but to just carry them individually by hand.
He handed the items out to Skull, Jon, and the Kobold though he decided to just give the Kobold a shield so he wouldn't be able to hide it away. After handing them the items, Yong-Ho approached the salamander in the corner of the room.
Its movements still looked extremely sluggish, as if it was still recovering from being hit on the head so many times.
When it noticed that Yong-Ho was approaching it, it began to bare its teeth and growl, but that didn't last for long. As soon Yong-Ho slightly raised Aamon, the salamander immediately backed down and when Skull raised his hammer, it even started to whimper.
Judging from its appearance it seemed to recognize the fact that it couldn't beat them, just like Catalina had said. Yong-Ho asked Catalina.
"How do I register the dungeon monster as a dungeon spirit? Is it the same as registering ordinary spirits?"
"It's quite different, but what you personally have to do is fairly similar. You can leave the more complex tasks to the Spirit of the Dungeon. The important thing is that the dungeon monster needs to be willing to submit to you."
The salamander seemed to have already submitted itself. So, Yong-Ho took a step closer towards the salamander and slightly raised his hand. He then placed his left hand above the salamander's head and called the Spirit of the Dungeon.
[Would you like to register the salamander as a dungeon spirit?]
[More mana will be required than the typical dungeon spirit.]
"Since Master has already consumed a lot of mana, would you like to use the remaining mana in the dungeon instead?]
Just as Catalina had said, what Yong-Ho needed to do was similar. As soon as he confirmed with the Spirit of the Dungeon, a small, white magic circle was drawn between Yong-Ho's palm and the salamander's head.
[Registration complete. The salamander is now a dungeon spirit.]
As if to prove it, a complex looking white magic circle suddenly appeared on the salamander's forehead.
Perhaps because it was a dungeon monster, but it seemed to be treated differently by spirits hired from the Dungeon Market.
The salamander had now been acquired. Yong-Ho felt great with the current situation but he suddenly became curious. He asked aloud.
"Can I use the remaining mana in the dungeon?"
If it was possible for him to inject his own mana into the dungeon, wouldn't a reverse also be possible?
[It's possible. However, it will be less efficient than retrieving the mana that you've injected into me.]
[What's the difference?]
[During the absorption process, you would expect to lose around 30% of the mana.]
It was a tolerable rate. Furthermore, Yong-Ho didn't require that much mana anyway for what he was about to do.
Following the guidance of the Spirit of the Dungeon, Yong-Ho absorbed a part of the remaining mana. It was amazing the way the mana flowed into his body from the ceiling and the floor.
"Okay, let's give it a try."
Yong-Ho smiled as green flames blossomed from his eyes. The Power of Evolution started to analyze the salamander.
[Race: Salamander (M)]
[Class: Evil Spirit (Mid-Rank)]
[Main Element: Fire]
[Main Stats: Physique / Strength]
[Evolution Rate: 0/100]
Perhaps it was because Yong-Ho had become stronger, but now he was able to see the "Class" category. To test it, he looked at Catalina, who was standing next to him.
[Name: Catalina (F)]
[Race: Half Succubus / Half Dark Elf]
[Class: Demon (Mid-Rank)]
[Main Elements: Wind / Darkness Secondary Elements : Thunder / Water / Earth]
[Main Stats: Succubus - Charm / Mana Dark Elf - Agility / Courage]
[Evolution Rate : 70/100]
Catalina, too, had another category show up.
'A mid-ranked demon.'
Yong-Ho wanted to analyze Skull as well, but instead, he looked back at the salamander. He wasn't able to absorb a lot of the dungeon's mana.
[Physique - Level 2 (2)] - [Development routes will be revealed upon advancement]
[Agility - Level 1 (2.5)] - [Development routes will be revealed upon advancement]
[Mana - Level 2 (1.5)]
[Strength - Level 1 (2)]
As expected, they've already developed quite a lot.
Moreover, the additional information regarding the evolutionary routes was quite useful.
Yong-Ho slowly raised his finger into the air. When he touched the physique category, an interesting silhouette of the salamander's development was revealed. It showed the already large salamander to have grown even larger. Although it was just an estimate, it must have grown at least 1.2 times.
Yong-Ho then examined its agility. Since it had high evolutionary potential, he was excited to see the results.
Once again, a silhouette was drawn in the air. Yong-Ho unknowingly yelled aloud.
"Wings?!"
Because of his sudden yell, all of the dungeon spirits, including the salamander, looked at Yong-Ho in surprise.
Yong-Ho took a deep breath and looked at the silhouette again. When evolving through the agility route, the salamander would develop wings that resembled a bat's. Other than that there wasn't a huge difference, except that its body became slimmer.
'It also stated that further development routes would be revealed upon advancement in agility...'
He couldn't be completely sure as of right now. But, Yong-Ho could safely assume.
It would be possible for him to develop the salamander into a flying monster. Ultimately, it may even resemble a dragon.
A wide smile appeared on his face. It was a good thing he had listened to Catalina and accepted the salamander as a dungeon spirit rather than killing it.
"Well done. Good job, Catalina!"
Yong-Ho patted Catalina on the shoulder and lavished praise upon her. Catalina awkwardly smiled and expressed gratitude at the sudden compliment, but was still rather pleased since it was a compliment nonetheless.
"Whew, great. Let's go back."
Yong-Ho stopped using the Power of Evolution and looked back at everyone and said.
Just the thought of going back and getting Eligor to inspect the magical items made him feel good. He also planned to further evolve some of his spirits after he recovered some of his mana
Yong-Ho took the lead, while Catalina and the rest followed behind. The salamander did the same.
Somehow, not only Eligor but all of the spirits knew in advance of his return and were awaiting him in the throne room.
Eligor, on behalf of all the spirits, respectively greeted Yong-Ho on his return.
"You have returned, Master."
"How did you know?"
The Goblins usually slept in the corner of the throne room, so they could have been together there by chance, but that wasn't the case for the Treant.
This was the first time he had seen the Treant in this room.
Eligor explained with a smile.
"I was contacted by the Spirit of the Dungeon. As a spirit that belongs to this dungeon, I'm able to have simple conversations with her, but I'm unable to talk with her in detail like you do Master."
Now that he thought about it when the dungeon was attacked a few days ago, Eligor had called all the spirits and locked the door.
Yong-Ho slightly nodded his head and indicated to Catalina and the other spirits to place the magic items down in one location.
"We only brought the magical items for now. We'll go and bring the other equipment later."
"Ohh…"
Upon looking at the magical item, tears started to form in Eligor's eyes. It was inevitable. It was the armory that the previous owners had given up on finding.
"You have done a great job, Master."
Eligor spoke while trying to restrain his emotions. Yong-Ho shrugged.
"It wasn't just me that worked. Everyone did well. Skull and…"
Yong-Ho stopped talking for a moment and lightly rolled his eyes. He noticed Catalina pricking up her ears.
"Catalina, especially, did a fantastic job."
At Yong-Ho's comment, Catalina slightly bowed her head in an attempt to subtly hide her sudden joyful expression. Skull, however, was widely expressing his glee by swinging his hammer around in the air.
Both of them were the dungeon's most reliable treasures.
Eligor spoke while wiping away his tears.
"I've prepared water for you to wash in and food for you as well. Please take some to rest."
He was able to smell the food. Yong-Ho was desperate to take a rest, but he felt the urgent need to first inspect the magical items.
"Does it take a long time to examine the magical items? Are there any items that are required other than mana?"
"In some cases, strong magical items require special preparations to be made, but usually weaker items can be inspected right away. And… since the items within the armory that belonged to the owner three generations ago. Even if there were cursed items, they would only activate when worn by someone outside of the House of Mammon."
As if he prepared the answer in advance, Eligor answered Yong-Ho's questions with ease. Yong-Ho tilted his head.
"Huh? It's possible to tell the difference?"
"The dungeon spirits of the House of Mammon are registered to the dungeon. It's like a magical tattoo in order to differentiate them."
In short, there was no real reason to be concerned about the curse.
'Come to think of it, there wasn't a curse on the ring either.'
Convinced, Yong-Ho nodded his head. If the items weren't cursed, then they could just use each of the items to check their effects.
However, it was then that Catalina quietly coughed, attracting Yong-Ho's attention. She pointed to the passage behind them with her eyes.
"Oh, come to think of it, introductions have been overdue."
Yong-Ho spoke and Catalina immediately reacted.
"I'll go get them."
As soon as he mentioned introductions, Eligor just stood there and blinked. It was the same for Ron and the other Goblins.
Moments later, Eligor loudly exclaimed as Catalina passed through the opened door.
"Salamander!"
The Goblins were taken aback in fear after seeing the giant lizard covered in flames. Even the Treant was floundering in surprise.
"You subjugated the monster guarding the armory?"
Eligor struggled to talk while panting. Yong-Ho nodded.
"Yeah. It was Catalina's idea."
However, it seemed that Eligor didn't really hear anything after the word 'yeah'. After he admired the salamander for a few seconds, he looked up at Yong-Ho.
"By Mammon! I can't help but be amazed at your ability."
Not only had he reclaimed the armory that the previous owners had to give up, but he had managed to subdue the salamander, who was the cause of their strife. It had only been around ten days since Yong-Ho had ascended the throne, so it was quite an outstanding achievement.
Instead of nonchalantly shrugging, he patted Eligor on the shoulder. He then headed, along with the other spirits, to the dinner earlier prepared by Eligor.
Eligor had prepared a lot after hearing the news of Yong-Ho's success at retaking the armory, but sadly, the food wasn't all that special.
Lacking clothing, food, and shelter, they were on the borderline between poverty and self-sufficiency.
Their main source of food came from whatever Catalina had hunted down and the grain provided by the Dungeon Market from their advance payment. At first, it seemed like quite a generous amount, but since they now had a lot more mouths to feed, Yong-Ho felt that it was a bit lacking.
After eating a pancake, Yong-Ho looked at Eligor.
"Hey, Eligor."
"Yes, Master?"
"How do you earn money in the demon world?"
In the human world, nobles would live off the taxes that they received from their territory.
If the equivalent was true in the demon world, then for demon kings, dungeons would become their territory. However, he found it questionable whether it was possible to generate an income through this dungeon.
Instead of giving an immediate answer, Eligor thought for a second and then spoke.
"I'm not sure how it works in your human world… but I believe that money earned here is quite similar."
The demon world was a place where people lived within demon families. Even though the world was ruled by law of the jungle, society couldn't be maintained simply through the act of killing...
"There are several ways you can earn money through the dungeon."
Eligor didn't feel the need to lower his voice. Catalina was the only person that was interested in Yong-Ho's current conversation. The Goblins and the Kobold were busy stuffing their faces with all the food in front of them, whereas Skull was just rolling around the floor as usual.
"The main method is to trade various items that are produced within the dungeon."
It was the most obvious answer. Eligor continued to talk.
"We don't have the facilities for the moment, but… there are a variety of ways to produce items within the dungeon. There are dungeons that grow various medicinal and magical plants whereas there are dungeons that purely just trade mana. The previous owner raised a variety of magical plants."
Yong-Ho could grow and sell various items within the dungeon, similar to how a farmer would grow and sell crops.
However, there were methods other than just selling simple items.
"In some cases, profits could be made by buying and selling spirits."
"I don't know about later, but that's something I want to avoid for now."
Yong-Ho immediately spoke up and Eligor admired him.
"You're most wise, Master."
Yong-Ho had the Power of Evolution, which allowed him to evolve spirits.
After purchasing low-ranked spirits like Skeletons and Goblins, he could evolve them and then later resell them to quickly generate money, even if they weren't worth as much as mid-ranked spirits.
However, then the world would know of Yong-Ho's existence.
Spirits that had evolved were too conspicuous. If those spirits were shown at the market, it would generate a lot of attention in the demon world.
The House of Mammon was still too weak. Now was not the time to let the demon world know about Yong-Ho's existence and that he had come from the human world.
"Also… I can't say that it's really a good method, but after repelling invaders, there are times when you can obtain good loot from them."
"Just like the guy I took down last time?"
The green cape that Yong-Ho was currently wearing had belonged to that guy. Eligor further expressed the pros and cons.
"There are times when intruders are part of the same demon family, however, there are also times when invaders may be from the human world."
"From the human world?"
"Yes, and with all due respect, you're technically regarded as from that world as well. Since, of course, you were born and raised there."
Of course, Eligor was right. He continued his explanation.
"Sometimes certain areas within the demon world 'connect' to the human world. Even when a connection is created, usually nothing bad happens and it's resolved peacefully, however…"
"There are exceptions."
"A dungeon owner may sometimes enter the human world and carry out an attack and vice versa. No matter which side wins, they're often able to reap substantial gains. There have been a couple of demons in the past that grew at an extremely fast rate because of this."
In short, that meant human soldiers had fought with demons of a dungeon.
Yong-Ho briefly recalled the games that he had played in the past and a frown appeared on his face. He was now considered the boss monster that protected the dungeon.
"That's not something I would particularly like to do."
"It doesn't happen that often, so you don't have to worry about it."
After finishing the conversation with a warm smile, Eligor focused on his food again.
Yong-Ho ate the rest of his pancakes and drank a cup of water. Even though he had achieved considerable gains today, he still had a long way to go.
'I must obtain that gold mine.'
However, recapturing it wasn't going to be easy. There were a lot of Crazy Ants and Slimes, and he was unsure of what other dangers might be lurking inside the mine, including the Queen Ant.
'But still.'
It's something he could take his time with. At first, Catalina and Eligor were the only spirits in the desolate dungeon, but now, they had made considerable progress.
Come to think of it, it was a bizarre story.
Just two weeks ago, Yong-Ho was the son of a chicken restaurant owner and was a freshman in computer science.
'But now, he was both a dungeon owner and a demon king.'
In the end, it wasn't a light situation. He could have lost his life from the invading demons who were targeting the heart of the dungeon.
But Yong-Ho couldn't deny it. For the moment, he was enjoying every day he had spent in the dungeon.
Were these the feelings of Yong-Ho himself or was it the influence of Greed?
Yong-Ho decided not to think too deeply into it. Either way, that was how he felt.
To become stronger. To gain wealth. To move forward.
Those were his goals, he also wanted to install the 'Space Door' to get back to the human world.
How far would he be able to go?
What would he find along the way?
Yong-Ho didn't try to find the answer.
He looked at the spirits. He possessed the same warm smile as Eligor.
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Chapter 26 Elite
Law of the Jungle.
Survival of the Fittest.
However, there wasn't just one absolute power in the demon world.
There were six demon kings that ruled across the lands.
Typically, one owner ruled one dungeon.
However, that wasn't a rule. It was just the general case.
There were demon kings that ruled several dungeons. Each of the owners of those dungeons were under their command.
And for the six demon kings, who were regarded as the pinnacle power of the demon world, ruled over dozens of dungeons.
The southeast side of the demon world.
The King of Gluttony, who ruled over one of the seven territories.
Commanded 43 owners and owned 60 dungeons.
"Beautiful."
The King of Gluttony spoke. He had a deep and rough voice.
The king was of a massive size.
He had a height that reached three meters tall, with shoulders that looked like castle walls, and two long thick arms that dragged across the floor. His arms were so huge that they looked more like pillars that supported his massive frame.
His jaw was so well developed that it now resembled a trapezoid. Whereas his teeth that were shown whenever he spoke looked more like they belonged to a shark.
The King of Gluttony slightly squinted his eyes. He raised his head, that was adorned with six horns and observed the spirit in front of him. The large, white fabric that covered his purple skin fluttered slightly in the breeze.
In front of the king, a large monster politely bowed its head. The monster was so large that the room, which had a ceiling about twenty meters high, felt quite cramped
The monster was a Bone Dragon.
It was considered to be one of the highest-ranked undead spirits.
The dragon's body reached dozens of meters in length. And when it would spread out its wings and take flight, it was as if its body covered the entire sky.
"I'm glad you like it."
A brown-skinned Incubus stood in front of the king wearing a black suit and a warm smile upon his face. He was responsible for the transaction between the Dungeon Market and the King of Gluttony.
The King of Gluttony spoke up again.
"Its body seems strong. What kind of dragon was it again? Is it blue? Or red?"
"It's red. One of the many bloodlines of the King of Violence."
"Oh, so it's his descendant."
"It's the fourth generation. I don't know about anything else, but when it comes to its body and physical strength, in particular, it's safe to assume that it's definitely the descendant of the King of Violence."
The King of Violence, one of the six demon kings that ruled the demon world.
He possessed one of the great Seven Miracles, the symbol of a king, and was known to be the strongest out of all of the dragons that existed within the demon world.
"It seems like he's not that interested in his descendants."
"If that was the case, then he would have to take care of over dozens, maybe hundreds, of descendants. Furthermore, he's currently resting so it can't be helped."
The same was true for the King of Gluttony, who too wasn't that interested in his descendants. There was even a separate military force of just his direct descendants.
The real reason why the King of Gluttony felt annoyed was simple. He hated the King of Violence. His existence made him feel uncomfortable.
Demon Kings possessed not only one of the Seven Miracles but also represented the Seven Deadly Sins
Only those that possessed both should be fit to reign over the demon world.
Thus, shouldn't it be a requirement to possess one of the Seven Deadly Sins in order to fight for dominance over the demon world?
The King of Violence.
He wasn't part of the Seven Deadly Sins. He just had one of the Seven Miracles that the other kings had.
The King of Gluttony frowned slightly to express their displeasure and gazed upon the dragon again. After thinking about the descendant of the King of Violence becoming his spirit, it made him feel a bit better.
"What happened to the purchase of the Death Knight and the Elder Lich that we talked about before?"
"Since you wanted the transaction to be done discreetly, it will take more time. Furthermore, since there aren't that many high-ranked spirits, there are many who are quite sensitive to the information about their number."
The six kings were currently standing against each other and information regarding transactions of high-ranked spirits were of utmost importance to them.
The King of Gluttony stroked the giant gauntlet on his left hand, which provided the power of one of the miracles. He didn't like the delay, but he needed time regardless to continue with his current plan.
'The south is empty.'
It was the area that the great King of Greed, Mammon, once ruled over. Right now, it was just a bare empty land.
But he had no intention of taking it. There were still dozens of dungeons there and even though they were weak, each of the dungeons still had owners.
He couldn't go there personally since he was a king. If he did, then the other kings would definitely rise up and confront him.
But what if he had someone else dominate the empty southern land in his place? And what if that person then devoted themselves to himself, the King of Gluttony?
Lots of different scenarios could potentially occur during the enactment of that plan.
He needed to come up with different solutions to handle each one of those potential scenarios. All to surprise the other kings with his newfound power. The Bone Dragon in front of him was just the beginning of his plan.
"I'll wait."
The king spoke softly and the Incubus politely offered his thanks in return.
The dragon bowed its head.
"That way!"
"Aah!"
"Aah!"
Jon and Ron both roared in response after Yong-Ho shouted. Beside them were the two other goblins, Yon and Jun, who now specialized in agility and intellect. Instead of wielding bamboo spears, each of them now wielded a separate weapon and shield.
Instead of fighting individually, each of the four Goblins were now together in formation.
Ron held up his shield in the front since he was in charge of defense and specialized in stamina, whereas Jon wielded an axe to attack from the side since he specialized in strength. Yon, meanwhile, specialized in agility so he used a long lance to attack any openings from the enemies and lastly, Jun directed the other Goblins since she specialized in intelligence
Together they formed a team that made use of each of their specialized skills.
Yong-Ho named the goblins, Goblin Rangers, and gave them the group name, The Four Goblin Guardians. Yong-Ho was now quite satisfied by their fighting ability against the Crazy Ants and turned his attention elsewhere.
Skull was now all equipped with a shield and armor and was mercilessly crushing the Crazy Ants before him. Yong-Ho recently evolved him from a Skeleton Soldier to a Skeleton Warrior as a reward for his fighting prowess. Before, he seemed to just randomly swing his hammer around, but now, it seemed like he planned every move.
It had now been four days since they reclaimed Kaiwan's armory.
Yong-Ho now had a higher quantity of mana, thanks to his evolution and simply developing the dungeon's facilities wasn't enough for him.
He had evolved the other Goblins, Catalina, and even Skull, who was now considered the dungeon's ace.
Reclaiming the mine with their current strength was currently impossible. That was why Yong-Ho instead focused on gaining experience.
Instead of going directly into the mine, Yong-Ho hovered around it and hunted the nearby Crazy Ants and Slimes.
'This both decreases the number of enemies and allows us to gain experience. Two birds with one stone.'
Training helped him gain experience and develop his skills, it wasn't nearly as effective as actual combat.
'It would be nice if I could obtain another spirit.'
Unfortunately, it was too difficult to obtain a spirit from either a Crazy Ant or a Slime. It was because both of the dungeon monsters, in the first place, didn't have a lot of mana, but more importantly, there was too large of a gap between them and Yong-Ho.
'Even if they were part of the same family, if there was too large of a difference, you wouldn't be able to obtain their spirit. In order to become stronger, you can only take the spirit of an opponent of similar strength or stronger.'
Yong-Ho recalled Catalina's explanation and turned his attention elsewhere. He saw Catalina fighting a group of Crazy Ants and Soldier Ants that recently appeared. Yong-Ho activated the Power of Evolution.
[Name: Catalina (F)
[Race: Half Succubus, Half Dark Elf]
[Class: Spirit (Mid-Rank)]
[Main Elements: Wind / Darkness Secondary Elements : Lightning / Water / Earth]
[Main Stats: Succubus - Charm / Mana Dark Elf - Agility / Courage]
[Evolution Rate: 99/100]
[Succubus: Charm - Level 0 (3)] - [Development route opened]
[Dark Elf: Agility - Level 2 (3.5)] - [Development route opened]
[Hybrid - Level 0 (3.5)] - [Development route will open once it has been evolved]
[Succubus: Mana - Level 0 (3.5)] - [Development route opened]
[Dark Elf: Skill - Level 1 (3)] - [Development route opened]
[Succubus] / [Shadow Elf]
Just from her information, it seemed that he should evolve her right now.
Out of the five evolutionary routes, four of them were open for promotion.
There were two main different evolutionary routes that Catalina could take.
'The routes related to the Succubus would evolve her into a Succubus while those related to the Dark Elf would evolve her into a Shadow Elf.'
The Power of Evolution wasn't in its most perfect form yet. Every time Yong-Ho became stronger, then his power would become stronger as well and a new category would be revealed.
'The level for the routes related to the Succubus are all zero. However, the development routes are still open… which probably means that if selected she would evolve from being a half Succubus to a full Succubus.'
In that sense, it was a bit vague to say that it was a simple development. Rather, it was more akin to her evolving into an entirely different being.
Which route should he choose?
That was Yong-Ho's first major concern, however, now something else worried him. There was another category that made him more concerned.
'Hybrid.'
The only evolutionary route that wasn't yet open.
What would happen if she evolved into a hybrid? What kind of development route would appear?
Catalina was a mix between a Succubus and a Dark Elf. So instead of developing her into one of those races, wouldn't it be better for her to keep both and use the advantages of each?
'The problem is that I'm not certain about anything.'
He couldn't just hastily evolve her, hoping for the best.
Each evolution caused an increase in difficulty in filling the evolution rate, similar to how characters in games would require more experience points the more they leveled up. The number required still remained at 100, but it required a lot more experience to just fill one point.
It was also hard for him to ignore the fact that depending on the evolutionary route he took the potential development of the accessible evolutionary routes would change as well.
If it was a game character, he could refer to websites to get help or he could even first test it out and then get a new character.
'I should ask her about it.'
Even though Catalina was a spirit that belonged to the dungeon, she had her own character. She wasn't low in intelligence like the Goblin Rangers or had difficulty communicating like Skull, so it was best to go with whatever she wanted.
"Great."
After they defeated the Soldier Ants, then he would have a talk with her. It seemed like his evolution rate was going to reach a hundred as well.
After making up his mind, Yong-Ho waved his finger in the air and created a window of light that contained a map of the dungeon. He examined the dungeon map which allowed him to easily grasp the current status of the dungeon.
Catalina, Skull, and the Goblin Rangers were currently engaged with the Crazy Ants along with Yong-Ho.
Whereas, the Treant and the Kobolds were training together in front of the throne room.
Meanwhile, the Salamander was hunting together with Eligor outside the dungeon.
The number of spirits now amounted to thirteen. The amount of food and mana required couldn't be compared to when he had just first started with three members, including himself.
'As expected. It's better to start off with just a few and then increase their power.'
He couldn't increase the number of spirits.
He had to instead improve their power.
It was better to create a small elite group and then target the gold mine!
'Hm, an elite squad.'
Even though there weren't enough spirits to call them a troop, it didn't really matter. He felt that there was a certain romance and stylishness to the word, squad.
'It would be great if a similar level monster now appeared to help them gain experience.'
They could both increase their evolution rate and acquire a spirit.
Yong-Ho laughed because he even thought that it was quite a selfish request.
However, in that moment.
[An intruder has appeared in the dungeon!]
The Spirit of the Dungeon called out and Yong-Ho rolled his eyes. He exchanged a quick gaze with Catalina, who was just catching her breath after defeating the remaining Soldier Ants.
Yong-Ho and Catalina turned around at the same time. Skull and the Goblin Rangers did the same.
All of them began to run towards the throne room.
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Chapter 27 Elite 2
"What's the current situation?!"
It had only been a few seconds since he had the news.
Yong-Ho asked while still running. The Spirit of the Dungeon quickly answered.
[There are currently five Orcs and one Imp!]
[The enemy has broken through most of the traps. Three of the enemy Imps have been killed by the traps.]
[The Treant and the Kobolds are preparing to face the enemy!]
Yong-Ho clenched his teeth. There wasn't enough time. It would be nigh impossible to join up with the others, no matter how quickly they ran.
"Tell them to retreat to the throne room! Buy as much time as possible!"
Even though he had already ran out of breath, he couldn't stop. Even if it was just by a small amount, there was already some distance between him and the short-legged Goblins.
[Inconceivable!]
[The battle has already begun!]
On one side were four Kobolds and the Treant.
Whereas the enemy had five Orcs and one Imp.
Yong-Ho could see the throne room at the end of the hall. Yong-Ho started to think. Instead of feeling regret that the battle had already begun, he quickly gathered all available information concerning the state of the battle before him.
Five Orcs.
One appeared to be the leader while the others looked like his subordinates.
According to the video shown by Spirit of the Dungeon, they all seemed to be wearing similar gear.
'Partial armor that covers the shoulders, chest, and arms. While the leader is wearing a black helmet and armor.'
Yong-Ho noted to himself that they all wore the same armor.
That meant it was a uniform. The gear was provided. Which meant that they belonged to a larger group.
Catalina, who had run ahead, opened the door in front of them. Yong-Ho continued to run. He could hear sounds of fighting beyond the door.
'They must be welding close-ranged weapons, such as axes or swords. There aren't any long-distance weapons!'
[Two Kobolds have been killed!]
The Spirit of the Dungeon cried out. Catalina opened another door. The smell of blood suddenly filled Yong-Ho's nose. A terrible sight entered his eyes.
All he could see was red. It wasn't just the corpses of the two Kobolds. An axe wielding Orc had suddenly attacked a Kobold and cut off its head. Blood spouted out and momentarily filled the air.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"
The Treant roared aloud when a couple of its vines were suddenly cut off. The sounds of its anguished cry was filled with pain and bitterness.
The enemy suddenly saw Yong-Ho and Catalina.
"The owner?!"
The leader shouted out. The Orcs that had slain the Kobolds all looked at Yong-Ho at once. One of them threw his axe at Yong-Ho.
It was fast and precise. The hand axe flew towards Yong-Ho's forehead. He saw it. He didn't stop. He ran towards it and raised his left arm.
There was no sign of blood. The axe had neither injured Yong-Ho's arm nor stopped him in his advance.
The Power of Distortion, released from the tip of his fingers, distorted the space in front of him. The hand axe bounced off the invisible barrier. Yong-Ho grabbed Aamon. He quickly attacked the Orcs that were caught unexpectedly by the deflected axe.
He didn't yell out loud. He silently pierced Aamon through the abdomen of the closest Orc. After releasing its flames for a moment, he pulled it out. And continued his attack on the other Orcs.
The Orc that had been stabbed in the stomach couldn't even fight back. Furthermore, the other Orcs couldn't attack Yong-Ho either. Catalina had quickly jumped in between them to aid Yong-Ho.
With quick succession, Yong-Ho and Catalina had agilely switched places because now Catalina was rapidly using her crossbow. The first arrow pierced the cheek of one of the surprised Orcs while the second targeted the leader, however, the leader quickly raised his shield causing the arrow to bounce off.
But it was enough. Catalina drew her sword without looking back. Like Yong-Ho, she continued her assault and immediately attacked the nearest Orc.
"Skulllll!"
The moment that Yong-Ho had pierced the abdomen of the Orc for the fifth time, Skull joined the fight. With a loud cry, Skull swung his hammer towards one of the Orc. But his movement was too large, which combined with his loud cry, caused him to miss. However, the Orc didn't have any choice but to dodge the attack and through that, time and space were created.
The Goblin Rangers suddenly arrived. Among the four Goblins, Jun was the only female and as the leader, she commanded them forth. The four Goblin Rangers formed up and immediately attacked one of the Orcs.
A few seconds after the start of the battle.
After the fifth and final stab, Yong-Ho pulled out Aamon and prepared his next move. He stepped back while his eyes fixated on the black armored leader. While the Orc that had been stabbed in the abdomen five times crumbled to the ground.
Yong-Ho planned his next move.
He already made up his mind. It was more like an instinct rather than an idea. He tightened his grip on Aamon and swung the sword in front of him. Suddenly, a wave of flames lit the atmosphere ablaze!
Fwoosh!
The Orcs weren't the only ones in front of him. But Yong-Ho didn't hesitate.
The Orcs were caught unexpectedly by his sudden attack.
Catalina accepted the flames. As a spirit of the dungeon, she trusted her master. Even as the flames engulfed her back, she glared at the enemy and cut off its head. The spilled blood mixed with Yong-Ho's flames.
"Skullllll!"
Skull too wasn't afraid of the fire. No, it was more like he simply wasn't aware of the roaring fire behind him. He was too busy beating up the Orc with his hammer.
The Goblins weren't able to continue their attack, unlike Catalina and Skull. But, it didn't matter. As they cowered in fear, so did the Orc. Yong-Ho's flames faithfully played their role
Was he trying to burn the enemy?
No. He simply wasn't strong enough to release fire with that level of power.
Yong-Ho simply wanted to shock the enemy.
And at the same time, to blind them!
Yong-Ho ran towards the Orc that the Goblins were fighting with. After the wave of flame had disappeared, the Orc became stunned by Yong-Ho's sudden appearance. Yong-Ho quickly attacked with Aamon by hitting its collarbone. The Orc fell backward and Yong-Ho quickly pushed his left hand into its mouth.
He couldn't ignore the strength of the Orc's jaw. If it just closed their mouth, his hand could be cut off.
However, Yong-Ho was faster. He quickly inserted his mana into Kaiwan's ring, on his left hand.
The Power of Distortion!
Space suddenly distorted inside the Orc's throat. The Orc's neck exploded and Yong-Ho's left arm was forcefully pushed back.
Blood spouted out. It covered Yong-Ho's face. However, it didn't impede him. The moment he placed his left hand into the Orc's mouth, he was already thinking about his next target.
Yong-Ho and the leader looked at each other.
"Roaaaaaaaar!"
The leader's roar shook the entire room. It wasn't just a simple roar. It was loaded with strong mana.
'The Orcs' battle cry!'
Catalina recognized it. But, it was of no use. The leader's cry had already invaded Catalina's mind.
The Goblins started to shriek. It was only for a moment, but Catalina felt her body become stiff. The remaining Kobold and the injured Treant started to shake in fear.
Only Skull, an undead, was able to move freely despite the Orc's battle cry.
"Go!"
The leader shouted. He commanded the Imp, the only one that hadn't participated in the battle.
The Imp turned around. With a ferocious smile, it kicked off the ground. Meanwhile, Skull hastily headed towards the leader.
Yong-Ho started to quickly think. He connected all the available information.
All the Orcs were dressed the same. And the leader made the remaining Imp run away.
Did he acknowledge the fact that they had lost and was trying to save the remaining Imp?
That didn't make sense. They had been throwing the other Imps to check for traps.
Then there was only one possible reason.
"Catalina!"
Yong-Ho shouted while his body was still recovering. The Imp must be stopped from informing others.
The leader swung a large, square shield. After pushing Skull aside with it, he glared at Yong-Ho and Catalina.
Catalina kicked off the ground. She ran after the Imp. Yong-Ho ran as well. He ran to stop the leader from going after Catalina.
"Roaaaaaaaar!"
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
The leader and Yong-Ho both roared at the same time. Their gazes met.
Flames shot up into the air. The large axe striked down like lightning.
The Shield of Distortion wasn't able to completely block the large axe. The power of the attack mercilessly broke Yong-Ho's left arm. If he had endured it any longer, he could've really damaged his left arm.
That then caused Yong-Ho's attack to miss. Aamon stabbed the air and the flames simply burned the atmosphere in vain.
"Skullllll!"
Skull threw his hammer, saving Yong-Ho's life. The leader stepped back and dodged the axe stopping him from performing his second attack, which allowed Yong-Ho to recover his positioning. This time, the Treant intercepted.
"Roaaar!"
The Treant raised up its roots. Instead of rooting itself to the ground, the roots instead stood up and shot towards the leader and Yong-Ho.
They traveled extremely slowly. But were very intimidating alongside the Treant's vines.
The leader quickly widened his distance with the Treant when he noticed the vines heading towards him. However, that wasn't something Yong-Ho would allow. The Treant's vines were stretching out above him, but he charged forwards regardless. He wielded Aamon again.
"Roar?!"
The Treant quickly retracted its vines. The enemy leader raised his shield and tried to block Yong-Ho's sudden attacks.
Iron wall.
Since he was now so close, the large, square shield wielded by the enemy leader looked like a large iron wall.
But Yong-Ho didn't care. Instead of stabbing the shield, he pointed Aamon to the ground. He had originally targeted the lower half of the leader's body, so it didn't seem amiss.
The leader wore a confused expression, but it was only for a moment. Yong-Ho immediately answered.
Fwoosh!
Flames suddenly erupted from the end of Aamon's tip and enveloped the lower half of the leader's body. The attack consumed a lot of his mana, but Yong-Ho didn't care. He clenched his teeth and stared at the leader.
The flames didn't envelope his entire body. However, his exposed green skin couldn't endure the tremendous heat.
"Gah!"
The leader let out a painful groan and desperately swung around his axe and shield. It looked like an attempt to stop Yong-Ho from getting any closer.
Yong-Ho stared at him with cold eyes. He gathered his remaining mana.
"Ahhhh!"
A sudden cry came from behind the leader. Jon had been released from the enemy leader's war cry and used his axe to attack the leader's back. Skull, meanwhile, had obtained one of the Orc's axes from the ground and launched it towards the leader's head.
This time, the axe found its mark. It fiercely hit the leader's armor and caused him to stagger. After coldly observing the situation, Yong-Ho raised his lance and stabbed forth. The lance pierced through the leader's defenseless neck. As soon as he felt the lace pierce through, he poured out all of his mana.
Yong-Ho released forth the flames of Greed. The fire entered through the leader's neck and consumed all before it.
The leader didn't even have a chance to scream out in pain. He writhed around on the ground in sheer agony while emitting strange gurgling noises. And then, all of a sudden he just stopped. Aamon fell from Yong-Ho's hand and stopped releasing its flames, however, the leader was already on his deathbed.
Yong-Ho breathed out heavily. Instead of performing the final blow, he looked towards the direction that Catalina had run to.
The Spirit of the Dungeon answered on behalf of Catalina.
[Catalina had captured the Imp!]
Yong-Ho felt relief wash over him.
However, instead of sitting down on the ground to rest, he extended out his hand. It was to obtain the leader's spirit.
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Chapter 28 Elite 3
As he absorbed the leader's spirit a wave of an immense pleasure hit him, satisfying the Greed within. However, it wasn't as powerful as before. Nor was there any satisfying aftertaste.
The Orc leader's physical body was stronger than the giant that had invaded before, however, he didn't have a lot of mana. Not only did he lack mana but since Yong-Ho had already developed his own mana, it didn't help much.
However, that wasn't the only reason for his dissatisfaction.
The Kobolds had died. Out of the four, only one remained. He wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence or perhaps fate, but it was the same one that had earlier attacked the armory with him.
It's only been a few days since he accepted them as allies.
They weren't as important to him as Catalina or Eligor.
And he didn't like them as much as Skull or Jon.
Nevertheless, deep anger resonated within him.
Yong-Ho could sense the source of this pain. The power of Greed was furious.
They had harmed something that belonged to him.
They had robbed him.
They took away his possessions!
Despite the pleasure of obtaining the spirit, Yong-Ho felt disappointed. He tightened his grip on Aamon and calmed his breath. He tried to control the anger emanating from Greed.
Even now, time was quickly passing. If his assumptions were correct, the invading Orcs weren't drifters like the giant was. There was a high possibility that they belonged to a dungeon.
He had to find out. And he had to prepare.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes.
He waited for Catalina and Eligor to return.
Eligor and the salamander returned a couple of minutes after Catalina reappeared with the captured Imp.
Eligor had concluded what had happened after examining the installed traps on his way back and was no longer surprised. He immediately took care of the situation in an orderly calm manner.
Under Eligor's command, the Goblins cleaned up the mess. Jun and Yon picked up the Orcs' equipment while Jon and Ron moved the Orcs and Imps' corpses into an empty room.
Meanwhile, Skull moved the corpses of the Kobolds into a different empty room. It was a room specifically designed as a tomb for the dungeon's fallen spirits.
Eligor let the Treant rest. After commanding the salamander to guard the entrance, in case of another attack, he and Catalina visited Yong-Ho, who was waiting in the prison.
About an hour after the battle.
After managing to suppress his anger and agitation, Yong-Ho greeted Eligor with a calm expression. He wanted to take a rest after expending all his mana, but questioning the Imp took priority.
Imps were small demons with green skin. They were smaller and weaker than a Goblin, but more agile and intelligent.
The Imp had a large head with thin arms and legs. It glanced between Yong-Ho and Eligor with its large eyes.
"Begin."
Yong-Ho commanded and Eligor immediately set to action. He opened the prison door and violently grabbed the Imp who was tied down by a rope.
"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
As soon as Eligor had grabbed it, the Imp started to shout frantically. However, Yong-Ho just stood still and stared while Eligor coldly examined the flailing Imp.
The Imp couldn't even look at them. It just closed its eyes and quickly spoke.
"The master sent us! Master Foras! To capture the dungeon! Sir Terak said it would be easy to capture since there wasn't an owner! They said it was for reconnaissance!"
The name, Foras, caused Eligor's expression to immediately change. However, he quickly covered up any change in emotion. He tightened his grip on the Imp's neck and asked.
"Who's Terak?"
"T-the dead Orc. The leader! The one that led the Orcs… a-and he said that! That if there was a new owner, they would check and return right away! That they would notify Master Foras and form a proper army!"
After quickly explaining, the Imp opened its eyes. It looked around anxiously and yelled again.
"I've said everything! I told you everything! I'm not lying!"
Yong-Ho thought so too. The Imp's words had contained all the important information that he needed.
The one that sent the Orcs.
The reason why they did this. And the information regarding their future plans.
Eligor asked again.
"How many are there? Are there a lot of spirits like Terak?"
"T-there is! There are dozens of Orcs! Over forty! There are three like Terak!"
Eligor squinted his eyes. He tightened his grip again and interrogated the imp further.
"And?"
"A-and! I don't know! I told you everything that I know! I've said everything!"
Again, the Imp didn't look like it was lying.
Eligor looked back at Yong-Ho as if asking for his confirmation. Yong-Ho nodded his head. He remembered what Eligor had said when he returned to the dungeon.
Elgior twisted the Imp's neck. He agilely broke its neck, instantly killing it.
"The imp had already been cast with spirit confirmation magic. It's unlikely there was a tracking function, but… it's something we should be concerned about."
Eligor spoke as he pointed to the small magic circle drawn on the Imp's forehead. It was similar to the magic circle that had appeared on the salamander's forehead.
"Eligor, do you know about the owner, Foras?"
"They're one of the many owners in the southern part of the continent. They're not that far from Mammon's dungeon. Around a day or two travel away by horse."
The Orcs probably traveled all the way here by foot. Although Yong-Ho couldn't perform an exact calculation on the difference in travel speed between riding a horse and walking, he could make a rough assumption.
"What's the strength of their power?"
"They're one of the middle powers of the south, they aren't the strongest, but they're certainly not the weakest either. During the time when the previous owner was alive, we would sometimes make contact with them."
It was an unexpected piece of information causing Yong-Ho to ask him further questions.
"Were you close?"
"No. We never actually fought against them, but… they would often make us aware of their desire to obtain this dungeon and occasionally provoke us."
"And now they've finally made their move."
Yong-Ho spoke, but Eligor didn't answer.
The enemy had attacked.
And, this time, they weren't a wandering spirit that they could defeat with a single fight. They were the owner of a dungeon.
Yong-Ho started to think. Instead of drowning in despair, he focused on the positive aspects of the situation.
"It's not the worst possible situation. We prevented them from obtaining any intel. If we consider the time it would take the Orcs to travel back after reconnaissance, then we still have at least a few days to spare."
They were going to make their move regardless.
However, there was a substantial difference in planning a move based on precise information rather than just mere assumptions.
Since Catalina had captured the Imp, the enemy wasn't able to receive any information. They didn't know how powerful Mammon's dungeon had become nor how their troops had been killed.
The time needed for Foras's troops to return. The time needed to wait to ensure certainty of their demise. The time needed to make a decision based on limited information.
Yong-Ho reckoned that, compared to if the Orcs had successfully completed their mission, he should have an additional two days of time. For a total of around six to seven days. He could accomplish a lot during that time frame.
He knew the enemy was coming.
So how should he prepare?
It was simple. The best defense would be to repel the enemy.
How could he proceed?
He had to finish designing his plans in the next couple of days.
Yong-Ho started to calculate his choices. He decided to start with what he considered his highest priority.
Yong-Ho looked at Catalina.
If there was no battle, then everything could have progressed in a more tranquil manner.
After leaving Eligor to dispose of the Imp, Yong-Ho entered the throne room with Catalina. Since there wasn't a table for them to sit at and talk face to face, they instead sat on top of the carpet.
Their conversation was short and concise.
It was regarding Catalina's current state.
The potential routes for evolution.
She had the choice to either choose between a Dark Elf and Succubus upon her advancement.
Or, instead, the third possible route, the hybrid.
Yong-Ho thoroughly explained each choice one by one with extreme care. Catalina paid close attention to every detail.
She already experienced the Power of Evolution once before, so it was important for her to listen as closely as possible.
"That's all I can tell you. I'm sorry, but I can't give you a lot of time. Think over it tonight and tell me your decision by tomorrow morning."
It was too difficult to increase the number of their soldiers right now. So, the best possible option was to focus on strengthening their current troops.
Yong-Ho didn't know much about Catalina.
Like how she became a spirit of the Mammon family or what kind of past she had.
However, despite that, he trusted her.
Catalina didn't give an immediate answer. Instead of replying, she closed her eyes and after fixing her posture, she opened her eyes and spoke.
"With all due respect."
She paused for a moment. Her blue eyes gave away her nerves, but only for a moment.
"I want to take the hybrid route."
Was it because she didn't want to give up either the Succubus or the Dark Elf blood?
Or perhaps she wanted to keep the advantages of both sides?
There could be many reasons. However, Yong-Ho decided not to question her decision and simply nodded his head in response.
He had left the decision to Catalina, so all he had to do was follow her choice.
Furthermore, the hybrid route had the same amount of evolutionary potential as the other two. Rather, it may, in fact, have more possibilities than the other routes.
Since Catalina had already made her decision, then there was no need to waste any more time. Yong-Ho pulled Catalina up from her seat.
"Catalina, close your eyes. Relax your body, just like before."
Yong-Ho spoke as he stood facing her. Catalina closed her eyes as she relaxed her body.
Yong-Ho commanded the Spirit of the Dungeon.
"Transfer the remaining mana of the dungeon to me."
[Understood, Master.]
Yong-Ho's body filled with the mana of the dungeon. He instinctively started to circulate the mana as it entered his body. He condensed it into a single portion and then split it into two again.
Yong-Ho placed both his hands that were now enveloped in mana between Catalina's waist and pelvis. He activated the Power of Evolution.
Hybrid evolution.
It was a greedy decision that didn't give up either race.
Yong-Ho's mana broke through Catalina's body.
It brought out Catalina's potential.
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Chapter 29 Kaiwan
He had used the Power of Evolution many times before. But this time, it was different than before. The time spent and the amount of mana required to fully trigger the evolution exceeded his expectations.
It didn't require a lot of mana when initially evolving a level zero ability to level one. Yong-Ho had asked the Spirit of the Dungeon to transfer the remaining mana to him in case of an emergency.
However, nearly all his mana had been consumed in an instant.
Not only had exhausted nearly all of his initial remaining mana but he even used up all the additional mana received from the Spirit of the Dungeon.
However, the evolution was still not complete.
Yong-Ho clenched his teeth and squeezed out any remaining mana he had left. If he hadn't early absorbed the spirit from the leader of the Orcs, he probably would have failed to finish Catalina's evolution.
How long has it been?
Catalina's evolution into the hybrid route was now complete. Yong-Ho and Catalina both simultaneously collapsed to the floor. They leaned against each other and tried to catch their breath.
Catalina's body felt as hot as a burning fire. Yong-Ho tried his best to move despite his overwhelming exhaustion. The Spirit of the Dungeon started to speak, but he couldn't understand what she was saying.
He tried to move his upper body to stand up, but it was useless. Catalina had already lost consciousness as her body had fallen against his and given his exhaustion he had no strength to endure her weight, causing him to collapse as well.
Catalina still felt hot to the touch. Yong-Ho could no longer maintain his state of consciousness. He used up too much of his mana and stamina.
[El...gor… com...!]
The Spirit of the Dungeon spoke again. Yong-Ho could only sparsely hear every other word and instead of answering, he fully concentrated his mind and examined Catalina.
Right before his eyes, he noticed that Catalina's horns were a little larger and magnificent than before.
Regardless, it turned out well.
Yong-Ho came to a conclusion. He closed his eyes and fainted.
All demons were formed through mana.
Their bones, skin, and blood all contained the essence of mana.
Because of that, a demon could leave a part of themselves within remnants of their mana. They could leave a fragment of their consciousness or soul, they could even leave memories or a part of their power.
It was true darkness. A complete and absolute darkness, devoid of light.
Yong-Ho was walking through it. He didn't possess any thoughts or feelings. He just kept on walking onwards. Moments later, he lifted his head.
"I shall not fall."
It wasn't his voice. It rang in his head. Within this dark world, a dim light appeared. The light formed a figure of a small and somewhat savage young girl.
The light expanded. New images appeared within the darkness.
It was a woman with grey hair. She had beautiful, but vicious eyes, which said that she wasn't going to submit to reality. She swallowed any and all humiliation aimed at her and continued to struggle, gradually achieving more and more accomplishments.
Inactive rooms within the dungeon were activated one by one. She didn't stop trying to improve both the dungeon and herself.
She thought of herself as a mighty sword piercing forwards. After experiencing humiliation, insults, and all sorts of ordeals, she knelt down. However, instead of weeping, she fought her way forwards.
The House of Mammon should have collapsed. That was well within reason. But, she distorted that reason. Instead of collapsing, she led it to its resurrection.
Then she found the gold mine.
For the first time, she smiled brightly in front of her spirits.
A house was full of ashes.
Kaiwan, the Demon of Distortion.
He stopped walking. The dim light that illuminated the darkness disappeared.
Yong-Ho couldn't clearly see the image, but he was able to understand its intent.
Only she knew the arena's location.
From there she was unable to return, and the House of Mammon which had revived against all odds once again seemed that it was about to collapse.
The light disappeared. Darkness once again filled the area.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes.
He had a throbbing headache. It honestly felt like he had a night full of booze and was now in the midst of experiencing the resulting hangover.
"Aah."
Emotionlesssly, Yong-Ho voiced out his pain and blinked his eyes. He felt thirsty. He was currently in the 'cozy' bedroom that Eligor had hurriedly made before. The ceiling was no different from the other rooms but the straw bed gave off a familiar scent.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes again. It wasn't to sleep.
He tried to remember, but it wasn't easy. The only thing he could remember was the gray hair and vicious eyes.
'The owner from three generations ago.'
Yong-Ho sat up. He inspected Kaiwan's ring on his left hand.
There was nothing else he could remember.
"Water."
Fortunately, there was a water jug beside his bed. After taking a few sips, Yong-Ho stood up.
"How long have I been asleep?"
[You've been asleep for 10 hours.]
The Spirit of the Dungeon promptly answered. Instead of asking again, Yong-Ho waved his finger and displayed the current map of the dungeon in the air. Eligor was working with the Goblins and Catalina was in her bedroom, just like Yong-Ho. It seemed like she had still not woken up.
[Catalina is in good condition. You don't have to worry.]
As if she read his mind, the Spirit of the Dungeon suddenly spoke to him. He thanked her for worrying about him and then ceased all communication. His body was now filled with mana, so he felt that it was certainly worth sleeping for ten hours.
'It increased.'
His mana had become stronger. It wasn't just because he obtained the Orc leader's spirit.
Catalina had become stronger. Which had affected Yong-Ho as well.
If the owner grows stronger, the dungeon grows stronger
As the dungeon grows, the owner grows...
The spirits that served the owner belonged to the dungeon. Their body, mind, and soul were subservient to both the dungeon and the owner.
They were, in a sense, a part of the dungeon's very being.
If the owner became stronger, the spirits of the dungeon became stronger.
If the dungeon spirits became stronger, the owner became stronger.
Although the impact wasn't as great as the connection between the dungeon and its owner, it wasn't small either.
Yong-Ho swallowed dry saliva. He hadn't yet checked the result of Catalina's evolution.
How much stronger had she become?
What kind of route was available?
Yong-Ho didn't want to wait any longer. He immediately left his room. He walked through the throne room and headed towards Catalina's bedroom.
"Catalina, I'm coming in."
Of course, she didn't answer. Yong-Ho hesitated for a moment and opened the bedroom door. Similar to his room, Catalina's bedroom was also quite small, and as soon as he opened the door, he saw Catalina wrapped up in her cloak on top of the straw bed.
Instead of entering her room, he observed Catalina and activated the Power of Evolution.
[Name: Catalina (F)]
[Race: Hybrid (Succubus Dark Elf)]
[Class: Spirit (Mid-Rank)]
[Attributes: Wind Level 1 / Darkness Level 1]
[Main Stats : Charm / Mana / Agility / Courage]
[Evolution Rate : 0/100]
[Charm - Level 1 (3.5)]
[Agility - Level 3 (4)]
[Mana - Level 1 (3.5)]
[Courage - Level 2 (3.5)]
[Attribute Enhancement - Level 0 (3.5)]
[Possible Evolutionary Routes]
[Shadow Elf] / [Dark Succubus] / [Shadow Runner]
Many things had changed.
A number of the words that indicated that Catalina was a mixed-race between a Succubus and a Dark Elf had disappeared.
Her attributes had become more concise and now indicated levels. While the word hybrid had disappeared from any of the possible evolutionary routes.
'A hybrid demon.'
Catalina still had the opportunity to choose an evolutionary route between the Elf and Succubus.
However, the current Catalina wasn't an Elf or Succubus but a third race. The new route, Shadow Runner, appeared to be a completely different path.
Yong-Ho quickly approached Catalina and unwrapped her cloak. She was still wearing the gear from before and there wasn't any noticeable difference in her physique.
'Does… her body look better?'
Yong-Ho unknowingly briefly looked at a specific part of her body and quickly covered her up with the cloak again. He looked at her head. Her horns had definitely grown. They were slightly longer and thicker in size.
'The Succubus related stats have increased as well, even though they haven't been specifically developed. It's too early to come to a complete conclusion, but… it seems like a good result.'
Yong-Ho released a sigh of relief and collapsed to the floor.
He looked at the peacefully sleeping Catalina and then carefully reached out his hand and patted her head. He stood up again and walked out of her room.
"I've been waiting for you to wake up, Master."
As soon as he walked out the room, Eligor suddenly spoke up causing Yong-Ho to almost scream out in surprise. However, he quickly regained composure and closed the bedroom door behind him. The Spirit of the Dungeon had probably notified Eligor that he was awake.
His concern regarding Catalina's evolution had now been resolved. It was time to solve other issues.
"Eligor, gather the spirits. I must speak to them."
He had to figure out a plan to prevent an attack by Foras, who was almost certainly going to attack them in a few days.
Eligor thought that Yong-Ho would talk about strengthening the traps.
But, Yong-Ho didn't. He brought up something that Eligor didn't expect.
"Let's recapture the gold mine as soon as possible."
They couldn't afford to defend the dungeon with their current assets.
If that was the case, he had to make a gamble. Only through obtaining the wealth of the gold mine, could he find a way to defend the dungeon.
Eligor looked at Yong-Ho with a blank expression. Yong-Ho ignored his gaze.
"Understood, Master. I'll gather the spirits."
Eligor answered in a dignified manner and headed towards the throne room. Yong-Ho was alone once again and gazed upon Kaiwan's ring.
'I don't give up easily.'
Yong-Ho sat on the throne. A seat that proved his position as the owner of the dungeon. He waited for the spirits to arrive.
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Chapter 30 Kaiwan 2
[Name: Chun Yong-Ho (M)]
[Race: Half Human / Half Demon]
[Class: Demon King]
[Attributes: Fire Level 1 / Darkness Level 0]
[Evolution Rate: 100/100]
[Strength - Level 1 (2)]
[Stamina - Level 1 (2.5)]
[Mana - Level 2 (2.5)]
[Charm - Level 0 (2)]
[Agility - Level 0 (1.5)]
[Skill - Level 0 (2.5)]
[Seven Deadly Sins Greed]
Yong-Ho, who was currently sitting on the throne, examined himself with the Power of Evolution and thought in silence for a while.
Catalina wasn't the only one whose evolution rate was full. Yong-Ho was also in a situation where he could trigger his evolution.
When he thought about it, it was obvious.
Although it had been a short time since his first evolution, he had fought in many battles.
He had first killed more than ten Crazy Ants and Slimes each. He had then defeated and captured the salamander that was controlling the armory. And, of course, finally, he had fought against the invading Orcs and even obtained their leader's spirit, so it would be odd for his evolution rate not to be filled up.
'It has changed.'
Yong-Ho examined the list of evolutionary routes. Strength and stamina, which he had never evolved before, were now at level one and his mana was now at level two, even though he had only evolved it once.
He noticed that the stars, which represented the potential power of the evolutionary route, had now increased by a small amount.
'The rise in the level of strength and stamina is most likely due to my body becoming a lot stronger. Then, was the increase in mana level because I absorbed that Orc leader's spirit?'
Yong-Ho thought about the previous state of Catalina. Before her first evolution, agility and skill were the only stats that had a level.
After awakening as a demon, Yong-Ho's body had become stronger day by day. If his body continued to grow stronger at its current rate, then both his strength and stamina level would most likely continue to level up as well.
'The Power of Evolution is an artificial facilitator. It opens up evolutionary paths that can't be developed through normal methods.'
Even if Yong-Ho had not evolved Catalina's agility, given that it was Catalina, her agility would have developed to its current level regardless.
But, the evolution into a Hybrid race was different. The Power of Evolution had manifested both the Succubus's blood and the Dark Elf blood in a different way than previously possible.
It was the same reason that Jon and Ron each obtained a horn.
Yong-Ho focused on himself again.
Which category was he going to evolve?
He only had to consider it for a short time. As soon he saw that the level of his strength and stamina had increased to one, he had made up his mind.
'For now, I'll put it all into mana.'
Yong-Ho wasn't currently in the situation where he could idly stand by and watch his spirits fight with his hands clasped behind his back. If a fight broke out, he would have to wield Aamon on the front line.
If he chose to develop strength, stamina, or agility, then his close-combat skills would surely improve. However, it was far more urgent to increase his mana.
Currently, Yong-Ho's combat style was about delivering a single fatal blow.
If that was the case, then he should strengthen that blow. Increasing his mana would double Aamon's strength.
He also required mana to evolve his spirits. Building new facilities within the dungeon and reorganizing existing passageways also consumed a lot of mana.
So for now, he chose mana. Choosing to evolve the other routes was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Yong-Ho didn't waste any time. As soon as he made the decision, he activated the Power of Evolution.
Pleasure and pain both washed over him in equal portions. Yong-Ho roared in both pain and joy.
To break the mold. To expand new territory.
The vessel that held Yong-Ho's mana changed. His spirit grew, allowing for a greater amount of mana to be embraced within.
Yong-Ho lost track of time once again. It was the Spirit of the Dungeon that notified him when the evolutionary process had finally ended.
[Your maximum amount of mana has increased substantially!]
[The dungeon's daily mana production output has increased from 80 to 120.]
[Due to the growth of your horns, your mana recovery rate is 1.2 times faster than before.]
It was just as the Spirit of the Dungeon had said. Yong-Ho closed his eyes as green flames began to rise out of them.
His mana had been strengthened considerably. He felt that his mana was far stronger when compared to the time he absorbed the spirit of the Orc leader.
Yong-Ho, opened his eyes while taking a deep breath. He then once again activated the Power of Evolution. He didn't use it on himself this time, but on Aamon, who was currently laying on his lap.
[Name: Aamon (?)]
[Race: ???]
[Class: ??? (???)]
[Attribute: Fire - Level ??? / ??? - Level ???]
[Evolution Rate: 5/100]
[??? (6)]
[??? (6)]
[??? (5.5)]
There were still a lot of question marks.
'You've become stronger compared to when I first received you.'
Aamon had stayed quiet ever since Yong-Ho had first obtained him and as he gazed down upon it, he calmed the bitter feeling rising in his mind.
If Aamon wanted to become stronger, then Yong-Ho could grant that. Yong-Ho, himself, wasn't satisfied with its current condition.
'Still, having an evolution rate of five is a bit too low.'
During that time, Yong-Ho had twice maxed out his evolution rate.
However, all he could do was complain. On the other hand, it did mean that Aamon was an incredibly strong demon.
After contemplating the capabilities of Aamon and himself, Yong-Ho deactivated the Power of Evolution. He slouched down on the throne and then looked up. He suddenly saw Catalina and Eligor.
"Huh?"
Yong-Ho unknowingly gave a blank reaction and quickly fixed his posture. All the spirits of the dungeon were now gathered around the throne.
[It's been an hour and ten minutes since you've sat on the throne, Master. The dungeon spirits have been waiting for around an hour.]
It seemed like the trance state he was in during the evolution process was much longer than he had expected.
Yong-Ho coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment. Then Eligor, who was standing in front of the throne, spoke with a passionate voice.
"By Mammon, Master."
His eyes welled up with tears and he looked like he was about to start weeping at any moment. Furthermore, the other dungeon spirits were also passionately admiring him.
The Goblin Rangers' eyes sparkled with envy and respect. The Kobold looked like he was about to bow down and praise him. While the Treant and the Salamander expressed their admiration through small gestures.
It was quite a natural reaction since they had now physically seen how his mana had grown through the Power of Evolution.
Yong-Ho coughed again, and looked around the room, he felt quite burdened by his dungeon spirits' admiration. Though after seeing Skull's blank expression, he felt a strange sense of calmness.
Yong-Ho once again looked back at the spirits.
Catalina was standing between Skull and Eligor and was looking at Yong-Ho with a flushed expression.
As expected, her long ears fluttered like wings. And just a puppy, On top of that, her tail was wagging from side to side like a windshield wiper.
'Wait a minute.'
"A tail?!"
His thoughts suddenly burst out in a stream of sound. Catalina blinked in surprise as Yong-Ho quickly got up from his seat. After biting her lips several times, she finally managed to speak.
"Wh-when I woke up, a tail appeared."
A sharp trident shaped tail was one of the physical characteristics of a typical demon. Yong-Ho looked at the black, glossy tail and asked Eligor instead of Catalina.
"Does a Succubus have a tail?"
"They do. High-ranked ones have wings as well."
At Eligor's immediate answer, Yong-Ho looked at Catalina again. Catalina replied while quickly shaking her hand.
"I don't have wings. Just a tail."
Hybrid Evolution.
Before, Catalina was more of a Dark Elf than a Succubus. However, as a result of the hybrid evolution, the sleeping blood of the Succubus had awoken. Her new tail was evidence of that.
"Are you okay? You don't feel ill or anything strange?"
Yong-Ho asked with a serious face. Catalina answered with a bright smile.
"No, Master. Rather, I feel quite refreshed. I feel like I've been reborn. I think my mana has grown stronger as well."
Given how energetically her ears and tail were moving around, it seemed like she was telling the truth.
Yong-Ho breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked at the rest of the spirits.
"I'm sorry for having kept you waiting so long. Then let's get right to the point."
Yong-Ho started to speak.
It was about his future plans, including on how to recapture the gold mine.
Yong-Ho spoke with his usual conciseness and then set about starting his next task.
The evolution of the dungeon spirits.
Since most of the spirits in the House of Mammon were of the lowest rank, they were able to quickly fill their evolution rate.
Yong-Ho first evolved the Kobold into the agility specialization. Similar to when he evolved Yon, the Kobold's arms and legs became longer, but he didn't get a horn like the Goblins.
The Kobold's eyes widened in amazement due to the sudden new length of his arms and legs. Yong-Ho's next target was Jon and Ron.
Yong-Ho evolved Jon and Ron into Hobgoblins.
After evolving into Hobgoblins, Jon and Ron now looked quite different from the typical Goblin. They had both grown by an additional head size and their muscles had become noticeably larger and more defined. Even their dim eyes now had a degree of sparkle in them.
The evolution rate of the other spirits was still lacking. And among them, the most regrettable one was Eligor. He had no significant experience in actual combat, other than hunting, so his evolution rate was taking considerably longer to fill. Though it was a relief that he was able to fill it through miscellaneous tasks such as dungeon construction.
After finishing the evolution of some of the spirits, Yong-Ho ordered Eligor to lead the spirits to the armory. It was to prepare for Yong-Ho's next task.
And about thirty minutes later. Eligor, who had returned with the others, looked at Yong-Ho with a concerned expression.
"You've used the Power of Evolution continuously today. Will you be okay?"
"Time is of an urgency."
Yong-Ho smiled and looked at all the weapons that had been piled up on top of a magic circle connected to the Dungeon Market.
They couldn't use a majority of the weapons from the recapture of the armory, so although it was disappointing, they simply didn't have a choice.
They urgently needed more money.
"Even if we fail to recapture the mine, we'll at least have advanced the evolution rate of the dungeon spirits. Eligor, just in case, I want you to continue with dungeon construction as I instructed."
Eligor displayed a warm smile after hearing Yong-Ho's request.
"It's a good plan, Master."
"One of the things the House of Mammon has is a lot of space. Might as well put it to good use."
Yong-Ho smiled and Eligor nodded his head in response.
Eligor didn't have any intention of insulting the previous owners. However, he could say for sure.
That they and Yong-Ho were different.
Yong-Ho never lost his smile, even in situations that many would have given up. Instead of being frustrated and giving up, he found a way forwards.
"I'll be back. Start on the construction right away."
"I shall obey your orders, Master."
Eligor, along with the other spirits, showed their respect.
Yong-Ho shut his eyes without delay.
He once again connected to the virtual space of the Dungeon Market.
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Chapter 31 Kaiwan 3
As usual, a beautiful red-haired woman stood in the middle of the white space.
Yong-Ho was worried that there may have been another employee standing there or a dealer that couldn't talk. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Right now, Yong-Ho needed someone he could negotiate with.
Sitri, who was a core member of the Dungeon Market, bowed lightly with a bright smile. She softly spoke, while emanating her beauty, as if she was uttering a whisper.
"It's nice to see you again, valuable customer."
"Nice to see you again too."
Yong-Ho purposely answered in a leisurely manner and took a deep breath. Whether it was due to living with Catalina for so long or because the situation was urgent, but facing Sitri wasn't as uncomfortable as before.
Yong-Ho approached Sitri. After stopping a moderate distance away, he spoke jokingly.
"At this point, I'm sure it's safe to assume that you're fully responsible for the House of Mammon, right?"
"It just so happens that I have spare time whenever you visit. In your world, perhaps you would call this fate, right?"
Sitri answered with ease this time as well. As expected, she was definitely dangerous. Even just the slightest gesture or word had the power to put one in a daze.
Instead of continuing to joke, Yong-Ho looked straight into Sitri's eyes. All he did was look into her eyes, yet it felt like he was being bewitched. Perhaps Sitri was a Succubus?
Sitri smiled again.
"Valuable customer. What kind of deal do you want to do today? Are you here to purchase another spirit? Or perhaps daily necessities like food? The Dungeon Market also provides equipment to install new traps."
However, Yong-Ho wasn't here for any of those. Yong-Ho took his time in answering.
"I would like to sell something before purchasing."
"Are you speaking of the items from the House of Mammon?"
"Yes, they're ordinary weapons."
After answering, Yong-Ho waved his finger in the air. It was the same method he used while in the dungeon, which caused a window of light to appear in the air.
Just like a shopping catalog, the window of light was divided into multiple parts, with each section indicating a different weapon.
They were the weapons from the armory that were sitting on the magic circle in the throne room.
"The weapons are of high quality. Let's take a look."
As Sitri extended her hand out towards the window, some of the listed weapons suddenly materialized. Sitri gently grabbed the axe by the handle that was partly jutting out of the window and pulled it out as if she was unsheathing a sword.
It seemed that Sitri's slender arm would find it difficult wielding such a large battle axe
However, she twirled the battle axe around as if it were a mere toy. She raised it up to her face and examined the axe with narrow eyes. She spoke in a slightly bitter tone.
"Kaiwan."
Sitri's gaze rested on Kaiwan's insignia of the wolf devouring the moon.
Yong-Ho asked without thinking.
"Did you know her?"
Instead of answering right away, Sitri stayed quiet for a moment. After stretching out the axe by the edge of the handle, she spoke while looking afar, as if she was trying to remember something important.
"She was a fierce and cute child. She didn't like losing to anyone and acted like she was strong. However, she was quite a lonely child. In your world, I would compare her to… right, she was like a wild cat."
After she finished talking, a light smile appeared on her face. It was soft and gentle like usual, but there was a hint of sadness mixed within.
A wild cat.
A witch with grey hair and a vicious expression.
Did Sitri work with the House of Mammon when Kaiwan was the owner three generations ago? Was she perhaps in charge of the House of Mammon during that time?
He was curious, but he didn't ask.
Rather, Yong-Ho noted the words that Sitri used to describe Kaiwan.
Fierce and cute.
Kaiwan was the master of the Mammon family decades ago. That also meant that Sitri too had been alive for at least a few decades.
Furthermore, Sitri described Kaiwan as a child.
'There are a number of high-ranked spirits that possess eternal youth.'
Catalina's words suddenly came to his mind. Then was Sitri really an elite figure in the demon world, like she had mentioned? Powerful enough to not age?
Sitri looked at Yong-Ho again. A relaxed expression appeared on her face as if she had shed all her previous emotions.
"These are all good weapons. However, they don't possess any mana. And… I'm not sure if you know, but the Dungeon Market is quite stingy when it comes to repurchased items. Yong-Ho, what are you planning on purchasing with the money you'll earn by selling these?"
Yong-Ho accepted Sitri's words as 'negotiating' rather than 'meddling'.
Therefore, he decided to be honest with his answer.
"I want something like a potion that can recover mana in a short period of time."
Mana potions always appear in RPGs.
Currently, Yong-Ho had the strongest firepower in the Mammon family. Aamon, however, consumed a large amount of mana. In order to go against tens, maybe hundreds of Crazy Ants, he had to increase the number of times he could effectively use Aamon.
"You're referring to a mana potion."
Sitri lightly crossed her arms. As if he had suddenly gained her interest, she spoke while looking directly into his eyes.
"Mana potions aren't very useful to powerful demons. Since there's a limit to how much mana the potion can restore. However, since you're still growing, it might just be the perfect item for you."
Yong-Ho had already confirmed the existence of mana potions and their limitations from Catalina and Eligor.
What mattered right now was how many mana potions could be bought with the money he earned by selling weapons.
Sitri took out a small glass bottle from between her cleavage, just like before. The glass bottle was around the size of a pinky finger and was filled with blue liquid.
"I'm sure you already know, but… mana potions are very expensive. Mana is the most important substance in existence to us demons. Even though it's not very useful to high-ranked demons… not all demons in the demon world are powerful. Every owner in the empty southern region would be anxious to obtain just one more mana potion. The demand is far higher than the supply."
It wasn't a good sign. Sitri continued to talk after slightly tilting her head.
"This one bottle will be enough to recover all of your mana at once. And the reality is that you won't be able to purchase even a single bottle with all of the twenty ordinary weapons that you brought to sell."
While speaking, Sitri looked into his eyes. Yong-Ho returned her gaze.
If she wanted him to emit that he lacked the money to afford it, then she had no reason to act so nobly about it. Just as Yong-Ho had earlier assumed, Sitri was leaving room for 'negotiation'.
"However, this is just between you and me. I'll be a bit flexible about it."
That was the reaction that Yong-Ho was waiting for. However, the words that followed somewhat caught him off-guard.
"So, please tell me."
"Tell you?"
"Yes, tell me why you need the mana potion. What the Mammon family is going through right now. If you're honest with me, then I'll give you three, no, four bottles of mana. That's quite a fair deal, don't you think?"
Sitri wore a bright smile upon her face. Her beautiful smile seemed bright and transparent causing Yong-Ho to immediately think that she had no ulterior motives.
However, because of that, Yong-Ho was quite wary of her.
She was definitely showing kindness towards Yong-Ho and the House of Mammon. But, why? What was the reason behind her kindness? Why did she want to know what was happening in the House of Mammon?
At first, he thought maybe she might be a 'supporter' of the House of Mammon. It seemed quite possible given that she was acting about how she knew Kaiwan very well.
But, nothing was certain. There was nothing more dangerous than hasty speculations and gratuitous expectations.
Still, Yong-Ho had to continue taking advantage of the peculiar relationship that he had with Sitri.
In the first place, his plan to recapture the gold mine and prepare for the sudden battle was partially based on Sitri's goodwill.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He made up his mind. He concisely told Sitri what had happened in the recent days.
He didn't tell any lies. Sitri already knew that he was a half-human and half-demon anyway and that he possessed the power of Greed. It was only counterproductive to lie to her.
After hearing Yong-Ho's story, Sitri expressed her emotions in a simple tone.
"Interesting."
She smiled. She appeared to look at Yong-Ho with a hint of admiration. Yong-Ho could her true feelings emanate through her bright red eyes and knew that he had seen them once before.
"In your situation, wouldn't most think about giving up or running away?"
But Yong-Ho did not. Instead of ordinarily focusing on defense, he had explained that this was the time to recapture the gold mine.
Yong-Ho also had somewhat of a blank expression after hearing Sitri's words. The reason was simple.
Before hearing it from Sitri, he had never even thought about running away.
Sitri read Yong-Ho's dumbfounded expression. Her smile became brighter. Though it was quiet, even she, made a slight sound when she smiled.
"It must be true. You're definitely a greedy owner. That's a compliment you know."
Yong-Ho didn't know how to respond. Fortunately, Sitri quickly dispelled any embarrassment he felt. She then took out three more bottles of mana potion from her cleavage.
"Deals should always be kept honest. I'll send someone today to collect the weapons from the House of Mammon and deliver the potions. I shall wish Chun Yong-Ho a good victory from afar."
After she finished talking, Sitri extended her hand to Yong-Ho. It was a symbolic gesture that meant that the deal had been completed successfully.
Yong-Ho took her hand. He lightly shook her hand, that felt so soft that he feared it would melt away, and briefly expressed his gratitude. Instead of saying any more unnecessary pleasantries, he immediately disconnected from the Virtual Space.
Yong-Ho's presence disappeared from the Virtual Space like a character logging out from an online game. Sitri was now the only one left in the white room.
She quietly looked at the spot that Yong-Ho was previously standing in. Her eyes saw something else instead of the ground. She whispered in a quiet voice.
"Aamon. Sometimes I feel like you're lazier than I am… did you find him? Or did he call out for you?"
There was no answer. But Sitri was satisfied. With a calm face, she looked up at the white sky without a breath of wind.
Sitri's eyes once again saw something else instead of the sky.
There was something beyond.
A person that remained in Sitri's memories.
Sitri didn't say the name. But like always, she closed her eyes and lied down on top of her white bed.
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Chapter 32 Kaiwan 4
Yong-Ho opened his eyes. Instead of the white room of the Dungeon Market's Virtual Space, he saw walls and a ceiling made out of stone. It was the throne room.
The deal went off without a hitch. In fact, it was an extremely successful deal.
'Actually, it's not really a deal, it's more like debt.'
But, for now, it didn't matter. It was more important right now to quickly obtain results.
Yong-Ho smiled happily despite the unique fatigue that he would always feel after coming back from the Virtual Space. He quickly moved his finger in the air and created a window of light that displayed the map of the dungeon.
[Eligor is currently installing traps with the Goblins.]
[Catalina went hunting with the Kobold.]
[The Salamander and the Treant are currently guarding the entrance.]
The Spirit of the Dungeon listed the current situation with each of his spirits.
Yong-Ho waved his finger again and deactivated the map. When it disappeared, he saw Skull rolling around on the floor as usual.
[Catalina left without Skull so that he could protect you while you were accessing the Virtual Space.]
'I don't think that's how you protect me.'
But seeing Skull roll around like a stone on the road was pretty fitting for him.
"Skulllll."
Skull must've noticed Yong-Ho looking at him because he suddenly stood up while making creaking noises.
Skull's armor and war hammer had strengthening magic on them and he had a round spiked shield that had resistances to fire and lightning. On his waist, he possessed a sword as a backup.
And lastly, although it wasn't a magical item, he now wore a sturdy helmet.
In a sense, Skull was now more armed than anyone else in the Mammon family.
Although he stood up from the floor, he didn't approach Yong-Ho. He just stood there with a blank expression.
'All undead monsters have past lives. Since they were created from bodies of the dead.'
Yong-Ho suddenly recalled Eligor's words and observed Skull while touching his chin.
What was Skull's past life like?
He was certain that he was a human, given his frame. He definitely wouldn't have been a small monster like a Goblin or Kobold.
'Maybe he was a general or a renowned warrior in his past life.'
Among the lower-ranked spirits, Skull had made significant contributions to the dungeon since Yong-Ho had bought him as a skeleton worker. He even saved Yong-Ho's life by throwing a large axe, during their battle with the Orcs.
After Yong-Ho evolved Skull into a Skeleton Warrior, he was now moving a lot more agilely in combat, so there was a real possibility that he may have learned martial arts in his past life.
'Nah.'
Yong-Ho shook his head. It was quite a pleasant thought, but it wasn't realistic.
Undead monsters were quite 'fixed' beings. Once they were created a certain way, that was it. They couldn't become weaker nor grow.
Undead monsters, even of the same kind, differed significantly depending on how their bodies were made.
If Skull really was a famous general or a renowned warrior, then there was little chance he would be revived as just a 'worker', unless of course, the one that revived him had significant brain damage.
Creating a Death Knight, no, at least an undead soldier like a Skeleton Knight was far more profitable.
Perhaps he was a nameless soldier. Or just an ordinary person.
It was fine in any case. Regardless, he now considered Skull as one of the aces within the dungeon and unlike the other undead monsters, he was going to continue to grow.
"You're going to be with me until the end. Skull."
Yong-Ho spoke with a smile. Skull turned his head and looked at him. However, instead of reacting, he just blankly stared.
"Hmm."
Embarrassed, Yong-Ho slightly coughed and straightened his posture. If it were other dungeon owners they may have yelled at him, saying that it was rude, but Yong-Ho wasn't like that. Since that was just typical Skull.
'Come to think about it.'
Yong-Ho suddenly raised his head up and looked at Skull.
If they were going to be together until the end. And if he was going to keep evolving him.
'Wouldn't it be better to make him an official dungeon spirit?'
The owner and the spirits of the dungeon were connected as one.
If the owner became stronger, so would the spirits and if the spirits grew, then so would the owner.
In the case of Catalina, the effect was self-evident. The reason why Catalina was able to become this strong in a short period of time was not just because the Power of Evolution was so powerful, but because Yong-Ho himself had grown as much as her.
Yong-Ho waved his finger in the air again and asked the Spirit of the Dungeon.
"Is there some kind of restriction when it comes to increasing the number of permanent dungeon spirits?"
[Official dungeon spirits are connected to the owner of the dungeon. Therefore, the stronger the owner, the more official spirits they can have under their command.]
[According to the information provided by the Dungeon Market, owners in the southern region usually have three to five official spirits.]
[Selecting an official dungeon spirit requires extreme caution. You'll have to pay a great price to transform an official spirit back into a regular one.]
"A great price?"
[The most common case is that owners lose a part of their mana. And sometimes the mana lost can be greater than the mana they gained from the official spirit in the first place.]
If owners lost a lot more than what they gained, then it was certainly a great price.
Yong-Ho touched his chin and asked.
"What happens if the owner or an official spirit dies? Will the death of one affect the other?"
[There's a high possibility that they would lose some of their mana. Furthermore, it could have a serious psychological impact as well.]
[Dungeon spirits are like the limbs of the owner. No matter the strength of the personal relationship between them, they still can't help but feel a sense of great loss from the other's death.]
Catalina and Eligor were spirits of the House of Mammon before Yong-Ho became the owner. That meant that they too must have felt a deep sense of loss from the death of the former owner.
'They said it's roughly been about a year.'
Yong-Ho briefly thought about Catalina and Eligor's death. Even though it was just in his imagination, he didn't think about it for long. It would be a terrible situation to be in.
Yong-Ho drove off the unpleasant thought by shaking his head and then focused back on Skull. He asked the Spirit of the Dungeon.
"Is it possible to make Skull an official dungeon spirit?"
[Currently, you're able to have four official spirits under your command. So, it's possible to transform Skull into an official spirit of the dungeon. But…]
"But?"
[There are very few cases where owners have made undead monsters, on a Skeleton Warrior's level, an official dungeon spirit.]
He thought he knew the reason why.
There was a limited number of spirits that owners could officially assign to their dungeon.
Even without the Power of Evolution, most spirits were able to "grow." They could get stronger through training.
However, that was impossible for Undead monsters. Their existence was 'fixed'.
Which would be more efficient: spirits that couldn't grow or spirits that could?
Furthermore, a Skeleton Warrior wasn't a high-ranking Undead. He felt that he was slightly tormenting himself by thinking it, but Skull was only just a bit better than a weak soldier.
Out of all the owners within the demon world, it was probably quite difficult to find an owner that made a Skeleton Warrior an official spirit.
But, that didn't matter.
Because Yong-Ho had the Power of Evolution.
Even though Skull was just a Skeleton Warrior for now, Yong-Ho was sure that he would become a high-ranking spirit in the future.
"Skuuuull."
Skull, who had been staying quiet, suddenly spoke up. In response to Skull's reaction, as if he had been reading Yong-Ho's mind, Yong-Ho made his final decision. He spoke to the Spirit of the Dungeon.
"Okay, please start the procedure for registering Skull as an official spirit."
[We'll have to use your remaining mana. Will that be okay?]
[The courier from the Dungeon Market won't be here until tomorrow.]
Of course, it would be a disaster if an enemy invaded during this perilous time, but the chance of that happening was quite low.
[Understood. I'll begin the process of registering Skull as an official spirit of the dungeon now. Please close your eyes and relax your body.]
Yong-Ho followed the Spirit of the Dungeon's advice and sat down on the throne. He looked at Skull one last time before closing his eyes.
"Skullllllll."
He still had a blank expression, but he had a trustworthy voice.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes. Skull's registration process had begun.
A day passed.
Before noon, the courier from the Dungeon Market visited the dungeon.
Yong-Ho was waiting at the entrance alongside Catalina and Eligor. The courier handed Yong-Ho the weapons and the four bottles of mana potion.
A letter was included inside the small box, along with the potions. It was a handwritten letter from Sitri.
Dear Valuable Customer,
The amount of mana that can be recovered is greater than the amount you, Chun Yong-Ho, currently possess...
But, please don't just drink half of a bottle.
The entire bottle is 'quantized', which basically means that if you only drink half of the bottle, it won't work properly.
Furthermore, I've also added a small additional effect to the potions. Though it's a secret, I'm sure it'll help you.
Please think of it as a surprise gift.
That explanation took longer than I expected.
I wish you the best of luck, valuable customer.
The House of Mammon and valuable customer's faithful friend, Sitri.
P.S. For your information, I'm not in charge of the House of Mammon.
Yong-Ho felt like he could physically hear Sitri's seductive voice just from her neat handwriting.
Because of that, Yong-Ho tried his best to stay alert.
'Let's not act foolishly.'
He felt sorry for having these kinds of thoughts towards someone that showed him a lot of kindness, but he still felt that Sitri was a dangerous figure. She was extremely beautiful and charming. It was best to avoid falling for her.
'But still.'
Her little 'P.S' note at the end was cute, which caused him to smile a bit. He then spoke to Catalina, who was glancing at him while he was reading.
"How's your condition?"
Surprised by Yong-Ho's sudden question, Catalina was flustered for a moment, but she soon answered as the cold-hearted female soldier that he had thought she had given up on.
"It's the best."
Her tail was wagging behind her, so it must have been true. Another answer came from elsewhere.
"Skullllll."
Skull, who had become stronger after becoming an official spirit, stood next to Catalina and jostled his head. Yong-Ho felt that his movements had become a bit smoother.
At Skull's intrusion, Catalina slightly bit her lips. Catalina was acting strangely sulky after finding out that Skull had become an official spirit, just like her.
'Is she jealous?'
Now that he thought about it, Catalina now thought of Skull as her rival ever since they were at the armory.
But it wasn't anything for him to worry about, and rather, it was actually a good thing for Catalina since that rivalry could help motivate her to improve.
Yong-Ho lastly looked at Eligor, who was currently standing next to the Goblin Rangers.
"Eligor, I'll let you take care of the rest."
"I'll wait for your return after your success."
Yong-Ho decided that Eligor, the Goblin Rangers, and the Treant should not participate in retaking the gold mine. Taking them would certainly be helpful, but they had different tasks they needed to take care of.
Yong-Ho spoke jokingly.
"I'll get to evolving once I come back."
"I'll look forward to it."
Eligor answered excitedly. The Goblin Rangers and the Treant also expressed their respect towards Yong-Ho and cheered for his victory.
It was still a little early.
Yong-Ho started warming up. After placing the mana potion he got from Sitri into his belt, he walked to the inner part of the dungeon.
Catalina, Skull, and the Salamander followed him.
It was a few days until the expected date of the attack by Foras.
Yong-Ho began the operation to retake the gold mine.
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