– Celia offers the ‘Demonic Sword’ as a sacrifice to Master.
– Receiving the sacrificial item ‘Demonic Sword’.
– Celia offers a Paladin of the White Church as a sacrifice to Master.
– Absorbing the abilities of the sacrificial Paladin.
…
…
– Successfully repelled all intruders!
– Rewards are given!
– The action radius of minions increases.
– The types of dungeons that can be supported in [Dungeon Support & Dispatch] increase.
– The list of facilities that can be constructed within the dungeon increases.
– The types of items obtained from [General Goods Gacha] increase.
– The dungeon’s reputation slowly spreads across the continent.
– Warning! The purchase price of jewels will be doubled to adjust causality.
“?”
***
It was an alarm I had never seen before.
– Successfully absorbed the sacrificed Paladin.
– Absorbed the Paladin’s skill ‘Goddess’s Heal’.
– Absorbed a portion of the Paladin’s Holy Power.
– Successfully absorbed the sacrificed Paladin.
– Absorbed a portion of the Paladin’s Holy Power.
Until now, I had only seen alarms saying I was absorbing sacrifices, but this was the first time it specified what I gained from the sacrifice.
“You should have done this sooner.”
Then I might have realized it earlier.
Still, the result was pretty good.
I gained one skill by absorbing two Paladins, and I absorbed their Holy Power.
“But why is this here?”
The skill I obtained was ‘Goddess’s Heal’.
Goddess’s Heal was an advanced skill that only a few Priests could use, with the ability to heal opponents.
In essence, they were the healer role for Hunters.
No, it was a higher-level skill than a Hunter’s heal.
In any case, those who possessed the Goddess’s Heal skill had a high probability of becoming a High Priest, or perhaps even more, surpassing the Priest class.
But how did they become a Paladin despite having that skill?
Did they not know their own abilities and take the wrong path?
I thought for a moment and then shook my head.
“Well, it’s not my concern.”
After all, the more skills one had, the better.
“In that sense, absorbing Holy Power is good.”
As I absorbed Holy Power, a new category, Holy Power, appeared in the status window, which hadn’t been there before.
Of course, since the absorbed Holy Power was negligible, the displayed rank on the status window was F-Rank.
And the rank of the Goddess’s Heal skill was proportional to the Holy Power possessed.
This meant that the Goddess’s Heal skill, which followed the same rank as Holy Power, was also F-Rank.
In other words, Goddess’s Heal was a skill that could grow.
It could be solved by raising the rank of Holy Power.
The method to do so was, again, through sacrifices.
At the same time, it was the most advantageous condition for me at the moment.
By continuing to absorb Holy Power through sacrifices, the amount of Holy Power I possessed would eventually increase.
Then the rank of the Goddess’s Heal skill would also increase.
“I’m already looking forward to it?”
I turned on the game to see if there were any more Paladins to be sacrificed, but then shook my head.
I had lost 6 hours absorbing the Paladins earlier.
I realized I was falling asleep while absorbing the sacrifice’s power.
In other words, I was in an incapacitated state.
Therefore, even if there were still subjects to be sacrificed, I had no intention of demanding them immediately.
Rather, it was a situation where I had to instruct them to offer sacrifices whenever I wished.
“By the way, it’s still a sacrifice, isn’t it?”
Furthermore, my previous guesses were confirmed as absolute certainty.
The status window and traits I had obtained so far were all the results of sacrifices.
A system where I grow stronger by sacrificing others.
However, I didn’t feel any guilt about these sacrifices.
The reason could be found within the game.
The small existence at the center of the dungeon.
It was the Dungeon Core.
Clicking on that part provided an explanation, and the explanation regarding the Dungeon Core was as follows:
[Dungeon Core]: The core and an important element of the dungeon, supplying energy. Thus, the core is also called the heart of the dungeon.
If the core is destroyed, the dungeon will also be destroyed.
The explanation up to this point was fine.
It didn’t matter to me if a dungeon in a game was destroyed.
However.
Another sentence was written below the explanation.
“Even small print wouldn’t be this small.”
It was so small that it was genuinely difficult to read.
Moreover, the content was even more absurd.
– Caution! If the dungeon is destroyed, the master of the dungeon will also perish.
The dungeon mentioned here refers to the ‘Evil God’s Nest’, and the master refers to ‘Kanghyeon Lee’.
“……”
The important word here is “perish.”
It definitely wasn’t used in a good way.
Judging from the situations so far, “perish” wasn’t a light term.
“Death.”
The probability of actually dying was high.
Or rather, it was practically a certainty.
So far, I had gained many benefits from this game.
Just today I gained Holy Power and a skill, so it wasn’t strange for such a penalty to exist.
“It might even be a good thing.”
Perhaps it was fortunate for me that such an element existed.
If they just kept giving me abilities without anything, it would have been suspicious in its own way.
It wasn’t bad.
It was as if I had gained a means to constantly grow stronger, and it allowed me to get rid of any guilt about the sacrifices.
The intruders who entered my dungeon were essentially holding a knife to my throat.
If that were truly the case, I would have to strike first to survive.
It was the same with this game.
The opponent was trying to kill me, and if I did nothing, it would be the most foolish thing.
I knew how to act from now on.
“By the way, the jewels are a bit of a letdown.”
The increase in jewel prices was a variable.
Now, to buy 5,000 jewels, I would have to spend 110,000 won instead of 55,000 won.
It was a full doubling.
But I could understand it.
Or rather, it still felt like a bargain.
More importantly, I knew that I couldn’t buy jewels indefinitely just because I had money.
This game was balancing itself appropriately.
I touched the screen and scanned the interior of the dungeon.
After repelling the intruders, the dungeon seemed busy.
“I see some new faces.”
But that wasn’t important right now.
The first thing I decided to do was change the settings for the altar.
Specifically, I would give separate instructions when offering people as sacrifices instead of items.
And one experiment.
Since I had received people as sacrifices, I had some idea about this.
But what would happen if I offered items as sacrifices?
Of course, there was the example of the Demonic Sword, but it would take a long time, 2 weeks, to confirm directly.
Furthermore.
Could monsters, neither people nor items, be offered as sacrifices?
If I could absorb monster abilities, couldn’t I offer the ones I currently possessed as sacrifices?
I clicked immediately and put it into execution.
“Yes, you’ll be good.”
It was a 3-star monster, Skeleton Knight, equipped with armor and a sword.
1-star or 2-star monsters had too low abilities, and monsters higher than 3-star were too precious to be used as sacrifices.
Moreover, my life was at stake, so I needed beings to protect the dungeon, and sacrificing high-rank monsters would be like gnawing at my own flesh.
So my choice was Skeleton Knight.
The Skeleton Knight ascended the altar.
“I wonder what will happen…”
I held my breath and watched the game screen.
Soon, the altar was engulfed in flames, and an alarm popped up.
– The altar’s level is too low. Please upgrade the altar.
What?
It couldn’t be done because the altar’s level was too low!
A 3-star monster shouldn’t be that high a rank, though?
I immediately tried to upgrade the altar by clicking on it.
However, the following problem occurred.
– Cannot upgrade the altar.
– Altar-related upgrades have not been unlocked.
“……”
I had no choice but to send the Skeleton Knight down and then send up a 2-star Skeleton Swordsman.
– The altar’s level is too low. Please upgrade the altar.
“Hah…”
Even a 2-star won’t work?
I hoped a 1-star wouldn’t fail, too.
With a nervous heart, I had the 1-star Skeleton Soldier go up to the altar.
A Skeleton Soldier holding only a worn-out sword.
Even if it was offered as a sacrifice, it looked like there wouldn’t be any abilities to gain.
“Well, since I’m checking it anyway.”
From now on, this game would be an important element for me.
I needed to see with my own eyes how these subtle details worked.
This time, it thankfully passed.
– Celia offers the Skeleton Soldier as a sacrifice to Master.
– Caution! This monster is confirmed to belong to Master’s dungeon.
– Collision! The monster will be changed from a sacrifice to a summon.
– Master will soon be able to receive the Skeleton Soldier.
“?”
Wait a minute.
I looked back to see if I had misread the sentence.
“Receive?”
Not absorb abilities?
I felt something akin to fear.
My gut feeling was that I wanted to cancel this at the moment.
But unfortunately, there was no such cancel function.
Immediately after, a brilliant light began to emit from the smartphone.
“…!”
As the blinding light faded, a familiar figure stood on top of the smartphone.
“Skeleton…”
A skeleton-shaped monster holding a worn-out sword.
The Skeleton Soldier.
A creature I had seen countless times in the game’s gacha had appeared right before my eyes.
Clack-
Clack-
The Skeleton Soldier approached me with a creaking sound.
I instinctively raised my guard, but the Skeleton Soldier’s next action was unexpected.
Tap- Tap-
The Skeleton Soldier suddenly bowed and greeted me.
At the same time, it opened its mouth as if to say something.
“Ah…”
This is quite awkward.
Thus, besides the skill and Holy Power, I had gained one more Skeleton Soldier.
***
The Fire Bird Guild was in a somber state.
An emergency meeting was being held, and it was an important matter that both the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader were attending.
It was because of Woojin Jeong.
Woojin Jeong, who had entered the Incubus Dungeon, was found in a pathetic state.
Was the dungeon master being capricious?
Woojin Jeong was able to leave the dungeon.
Fortunately, he was alive, but everyone who saw Woojin Jeong thought of only one thing.
It might have been better to die.
The state of Woojin Jeong was that terrible, and even the Hunters who accompanied him were in a horrific state.
“What on earth happened inside the dungeon…?”
“No, weren’t they all going into the Incubus Dungeon?”
“An Incubus who enjoys same-sex relations. This is truly groundbreaking for our perception.”
The Hunters of the Fire Bird Guild attending the meeting expressed their impressions one after another.
In fact, no one expected the subjugation to fail.
Woojin Jeong was an A-Rank Hunter, and all the Hunters dispatched for the Incubus Dungeon subjugation were men.
However, not only did it fail, but they returned in a horrific state, so who wouldn’t be surprised?
“Everyone, quiet.”
Jeong Taek Soo, the Guild Leader of the Fire Bird Guild, spoke.
With Jeong Taek Soo’s single word, the noisy meeting hall immediately quieted down.
Silence.
After confirming that everyone had closed their mouths, Jeong Taek Soo continued,
“Vice Guild Leader, brief us.”
Vice Guild Leader Jeong Tae Young is the Guild Leader’s eldest son.
However, the fact that he was called by his title, not his name, showed how important he considered the separation of work and personal matters.
Jeong Tae Young, knowing this, didn’t feel offended.
He simply began to brief the others on the information he had organized.
“The dungeon entered by Woojin Jeong and 21 others was an Incubus Dungeon, a B-Rank.
We had previously scouted it multiple times and confirmed that only Incubi existed. The party was composed entirely of male Hunters.”
However, they were defeated wretchedly.
Fortunately, they managed to save their lives.
Of course, since their vital energy had been drained by the Incubi, it didn’t feel like they were alive.
“…According to the interrogation of the survivors, it was confirmed that there is one Succubus in the dungeon, and they also answered that she is presumed to be the master of the dungeon.”
As Jeong Tae Young finished speaking, everyone was agitated.
“If this is the case, she is on par with a Succubus Queen, isn’t she? To control all the Incubi alone.”
“Since the first subjugation failed, we must respond meticulously.”
How terrifying.
One Succubus dominating the Incubi within the dungeon.
“If a Monster Wave occurs in that dungeon…”
Someone said with a trembling voice.
They swallowed the rest of their words, but anyone could easily infer their meaning.
The worst-case scenario, a situation no one wanted to imagine, would unfold.
Guild Leader Jeong Taek Soo spoke regarding Jeong Tae Young’s briefing.
“Effective immediately, the dungeon’s rank is upgraded from B-Rank to A-Rank. Also, we will prepare thoroughly for the Succubus part and go out for subjugation again. This time, failure is not an option, so do it thoroughly.”
Since even the Guild Leader was showing interest, that dungeon would definitely be subjugated.
However, Jeong Tae Young couldn’t shake off a nagging feeling.
‘An Incubus Dungeon where a Succubus reigns as queen…’
She must be a terrifying being.
Jeong Tae Young thought so.
A monster lives in that dungeon.
An unknown monster.
