Chapter 032
The dungeon monsters keep offering sacrifices – 032
EP.32 The Foolish Plan of the Jealous One
– Thunk –
The sound of bones clashing came from beside me.
“Oh, well… Thanks?”
In the game, or rather, in the reality existing within the smartphone disguised as a game, a Skeleton Soldier appeared.
The current one, after taking out a drink from the refrigerator, handed it to me. Then, he began sweeping the house floor again.
Originally, I tried to send him back because he was too conspicuous.
However….
– The level of the altar is too low. Please upgrade the altar.
–
Given the current low level of the altar, it was an impossible story.
– Unable to upgrade the altar.
–
– Altar-related upgrades have not been unlocked.
–
But since it wasn’t a situation to upgrade the altar, there was no way to send him back.
Fortunately, the Skeleton Soldier was quite handy.
Even now, basic house cleaning was taken care of, and he brought me a drink without me moving.
Watching him do all this, I wondered if there was any need to send him back.
“Could you bring more?”
Curiosity struck me for a moment.
– The level of the altar is too low. Please upgrade the altar.
–
“Tsk.”
I shouldn’t do anything foolish. While drinking the beverage handed by the Skeleton Soldier, I focused on the smartphone.
The purpose was, of course, to check if my dungeon was running smoothly. The game logo appeared on the screen. I immediately focused on Celia.
“Indeed, the dress looks beautiful, making me proud.”
I had spent a bit on in-game purchases before. The ‘gacha’ system that appeared with in-game purchases.
I immediately ran the draw, and one of the items that came out was the dress Celia was currently wearing.
The red dress made Celia’s charm stand out even more than the original maid outfit. It was just a scam.
Naturally, since there was no one to wear the maid outfit anymore, I tried to reclaim it. However, celia had carefully requested me not to do so.
– Apostle Celia earnestly requests the Master.
–
The gist was whether I could entrust the use of the maid outfit to her.
“Sure, celia, do whatever you want.”
I had already maxed out my trust in her, so this kind of request was nothing.
At that time, I had delegated all authority regarding the maid outfit to Celia. I didn’t know where it was now, but Celia would handle it.
I turned my attention away and looked elsewhere.
“But who is this guy?”
Since there was a new person in front of Celia, I clicked on her.
“Aren?”
The name appeared, but there was no detailed explanation. It felt similar to the merchant who came to the dungeon last time.
“Seems like she came from the outside like a merchant.”
Since Celia was talking to her, I decided not to interfere.
I touched the screen towards the next area.
First Floor, Area 1.
There, the Death Knight was the most noticeable. His figure with a large shield strapped to his back looked incredibly reliable.
And here too, just like last time, there was one unfamiliar person.
“And, what’s this again?”
I had seen Dullahan last time, but there was someone else besides Dullahan.
“Why is there a Holy Knight here?”
Moreover, his actions were guarding the dungeon.
Why a Holy Knight was guarding the dungeon puzzled me for a moment.
“Oh, it’s Banshee.”
Banshee’s ability was mind control.
It seemed like a Holy Knight had fallen victim to Banshee.
Although Holy Knights were supposed to be less susceptible to Banshee, it seemed that Banshee’s ability was outstanding.
“If it’s at this level, should I consider creating a separate Banshee unit? I’ll have to think about it after checking the gacha results later.”
After checking Area 1, I went through the next areas one by one.
“Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything unusual.”
The goblins were all inside their huts, making it difficult to see them clearly. When I have time, I should upgrade those huts as well.
In Area 3, there were wide fields with blooming flowers, and blood-sucking butterflies fluttered above. There was nothing unusual here, including the spiders quietly occupying corners.
Area 4 was peaceful too. The newly summoned Nagas didn’t seem to be in the water, and scattered goblins were fetching water.
“At this level, it should be fine for a while.”
Gem purchases weren’t available yet anyway. After checking all dungeon Areas, I pressed the exit button. Then, I handed the smartphone to the Skeleton Soldier next to me.
“Charge.”
With my command, the Skeleton Soldier, who was waiting, plugged the smartphone into the charger. ‘Convenient’. It was a recurring thought, but there didn’t seem to be a need to send him back.
“Is there any way to use him?”
For example, in dungeons.
“Hmm…”
Let’s think about it.
====
***
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Inside the adventurer guild, there was a busy atmosphere.
Specifically, it was the adventurer guild within the Sael Kingdom. Despite the usual bustling adventurers being absent, guild employees were busy and restless.
The reason was one, the Inquisition Examiner from the White Order was scheduled to visit.
Recently, a priest had gone missing, and it happened within the Sael Kingdom. Due to this, the White Order decided to send an Inquisition Examiner.
“Quickly check if there’s a dungeon entered under the name of the Church recently or if there’s a place that hasn’t been subjugated for a long time.”
The branch manager roamed around, urging the employees. Eventually, someone responded to the branch manager’s urging.
“Branch Manager!”
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
“Please take a look at this.”
He snatched the document the person had found and examined its contents.
“Hmm…”
It used to be a bronze-grade dungeon that had been downgraded to a iron-grade dungeon.
However, recently, an E-grade adventurer accepted a request related to that dungeon. The issue was that there had been no contact so far.
“At this point…”
Originally, the adventurer guild should conduct its investigation, but the situation was what it was. It was only a matter of time before the Inquisition Examiners attacked.
At that time, most of the guild’s operations would have to focus on dealing with the Order.
“Settle it discreetly. Upgrade the dungeon grade to Silver-grade in return.”
“Understood.”
And so, the dungeon ‘Nest of Evil God’ had its grade determined again.
====
***
====
The performance of Moru in the Demon Merchant was improving day by day.
Most people said so. It was called the rebellion of the half-blood succubus, who was at the bottom of the market. And someone else was jealous of her success
It was none other than Moru’s superior, Jewel. Moreover, the reason Moru could thrive was that Jewel was the one who entrusted her with that dungeon.
Currently, Jewel was sitting in front of the desk, holding her head.
“Why did I give that to her?”
Originally, Jewel regarded Moru as a thorn in her side.
Unlike pure succubus, Moru is a half-blood succubus with human blood flowing in her veins. Working in the same space with someone who has impure blood was unpleasant.
Then, a dungeon sent a trade request to the Demon Merchant. Most dungeons, excluding a very small number, couldn’t sustain themselves, so it was common for them to progress through the Demon Merchant.
Of course, from the Demon Merchant’s perspective, the primary concern was whether the dungeon had the resources for trade.
At that time, Jewel thought the dungeon requesting the trade wouldn’t have much capital. It was a newly discovered dungeon, after all. Therefore, she assigned that dungeon to Moru.
Entrusting a dungeon to a merchant in the Demon Merchant was no small matter.
Once a dungeon was assigned, it couldn’t be changed casually. The only exceptions were if the Master of the dungeon requested a change of personnel or if the dungeon was subjugated.
Apart from these, the assigned dungeon was considered to be managed until the end. Therefore, the competence of the person in charge was crucial.
The person in charge had most of the discretion in transactions. If there was no money, the dungeon might offer the management rights to the Demon Merchant as collateral for credit.
However, this was only possible when the dungeon was doing well, it was impossible for a newly discovered dungeon.
Jewel even thought that Moru might easily grant credit. It was her first assigned dungeon, and judging by her character, she suspected Moru would do such a thing.
As a result, credit continued to increase, and Jewel envisioned Moru eventually falling into ruin. But with one variable, everything turned to nothing.
‘Could it be that she became so wealthy?’
The issue was that the dungeon given to Moru became incredibly prosperous. That explained why Moru’s performance soared.
Moreover, Moru, with wings added to her achievements, was growing into a figure that even high-ranking Demon Merchant executives were eyeing.
“This can’t happen.”
How could someone with such low lineage dare to be above him? Jewel didn’t want such a situation. Therefore, she began to plan in her own way.
Just then, a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
“Come in.”
As Jewel granted permission, the door opened, and a small imp entered.
“So, did you find out what I asked?”
“Yes, Ms. Jewel!”
In response to Jewel’s question, the imp handed her a document containing the information it had found.
“According to what was confirmed in a nearby dungeon, the Master of the dungeon Moru is managing seems to be a succubus.”
“A succubus?”
“Yes. However, currently, that dungeon seems to be subjugating nearby dungeons.”
As she skimmed through the document, it was clear that the dungeon was indeed subjugating nearby dungeons.
Jewel smiled at the imp’s report. The Master of the dungeon was a succubus, and currently, it primarily focused on subjugating dungeons and expanding.
Why would a succubus aim for dungeon expansion?
Jewel didn’t know the reason, but for her, it was an opportunity. First, the first reason was that the dungeons targeted for subjugation all had low grades.
This meant they selected dungeons at their own level. Originally, challenging someone of a higher rank than oneself was against the rules.
Second, originally, all dungeons were customers of the Demon Merchant. Therefore, if dungeons were subjugated recklessly, the Demon Merchant’s profits would decrease.
Of course, as long as the Demon Merchant didn’t intervene in Moru’s achievement through the dungeon, they wouldn’t stop her. But strictly speaking, it was a challenge to the Demon Merchant.
“Daring to challenge the might of the Demon Merchant.”
Jewel didn’t want such a situation.
Therefore, she started thinking about showing an example to this dungeon Master.
“Succubus…”
Jewel knew it well because she herself was a succubus.
Succubus generally lived in clusters, and all existing succubus dungeons were confirmed to be in the Demon World.
However, the Master of a newly discovered dungeon being a succubus? There probably weren’t even acquaintances or contacts with the Succubus Queen.
Most likely, it was just some opportunist with a lot of money.
“You’ve seen enough, go out.”
“Yes!”
Jewel smirked and began infusing magic into a small bead. It was an action to contact someone.
“Oh, oppa, have you been well?”
Jewel’s expression and tone changed when the contact was established, as if conversing with a lover.
“Um, so, oppa, can you take care of a dungeon for me?”
Jewel addressed the other person as ‘oppa’. The person on the other end was an incubus.
Incubus were ideal for taking care of succubus dungeons, so Jewel made this choice.
Using the incubus, she planned to take care of the dungeon’s Master. Perhaps it would go beyond just taking care of it, turning into a miserable situation.
‘Moru, your end is near.’
If the Master of the dungeon disappeared, Moru’s achievements would surely suffer.
‘I hope that future comes soon.’
Jewel was filled with anticipation.