The ‘True Dungeon Master’ trait has been activated.
Will you make this hunter a sacrifice for your dungeon?
A new alarm popped up.
Not on my smartphone, but right in front of my eyes.
“Is this the effect of my trait?”
It was an EX-rank trait.
The problem was that there was no explanation, so I couldn’t know exactly what ability it was.
At least, I think I understand how to use it now, with this alarm.
I looked at Ji Tae-hoon’s corpse.
“So I just need to sacrifice this guy.”
It’s already happened anyway.
Without hesitation, I sacrificed Ji Tae-hoon’s corpse.
– You have sacrificed the corpse of a C-rank hunter.
As that alarm appeared, I felt heat from Ji Tae-hoon’s corpse.
Soon, blue flames erupted and then bloomed, surrounding the corpse.
The corpse was immediately swallowed by the fierce momentum of the flames and began to burn softly.
Blue flames.
They gradually grew stronger, illuminating the dark dungeon brightly, and a faint breeze rustled the surroundings as brilliant light shone.
“…”
The corpse gradually faded away with the flames.
Finally, nothing remained where the flames had swept through.
Only the cold floor of the dungeon existed.
After a brief moment of contemplation, another alarm appeared.
– Please select the item to be rewarded with this sacrifice.
1) Dungeon Core Upgrade
2) Dungeon Altar Upgrade
3) Create Empty Dungeon
The alarm presented a list of three choices.
I examined the explanation for each option one by one.
[Dungeon Core Upgrade]: This is a vital organ, known as the heart of all dungeons. Upgrading the Dungeon Core increases its durability and allows you to expand the dungeon’s power.
“Hmm…”
I pondered for a moment.
Is there really a need to upgrade the Dungeon Core right now?
Of course, the importance of the core goes without saying.
If the core is destroyed, the dungeon is destroyed along with it.
Knowing that I would die if my dungeon was destroyed, I couldn’t neglect the Dungeon Core.
However, my current dungeon boasts immense power.
My dungeon’s rank used to fluctuate between Bronze and Iron ranks.
The last time I heard an alarm, my dungeon’s rank had been upgraded to Silver.
But, frankly, calling it merely Silver felt like an understatement.
Celia is already 6-star, and there’s also a 5-star Death Knight and Goblin Lord, and a Lich who is about to be promoted to 5-star.
When I first thought of it as just a game, I accepted it as in-game balance.
But now, even I know.
‘It’s definitely not weak.’
It’s not just about defending the dungeon.
If there were no range limitations that prevent me from leaving the dungeon, I could already attempt to conquer the continent with this force.
“So, let’s pass on this.”
I was curious about the phrase “expand the dungeon’s power,” but not for now.
In fact, I had already decided what to choose in my heart.
It was the Altar Upgrade.
I hadn’t been able to upgrade the altar until now, but I finally got a clue.
Of course, before choosing, I checked the explanation for option 3.
[Create Empty Dungeon]: Creates an empty dungeon at your desired location. The rank of the dungeon that can be created depends on the sacrifice’s stats.
The corpse of a C-rank hunter was what I just sacrificed.
With this, I can only create one empty dungeon at best, right?
“Dungeon creation…”
Dungeon creation is definitely good, but there’s one thing I need to address.
Like Azmo’s dungeon that was gifted to me, there’s one bothersome point about creating dungeons now.
It’s the Dungeon Core. If my original dungeon is destroyed, I die too.
So what happens when Azmo’s dungeon or a new dungeon like this is created?
I immediately touched my smartphone screen to check the dungeon list.
– Updating dungeon list.
[Evil God’s Nest]
– Chief Administrator: Celia (★★★★★★)
– Lieutenant: Vacant
– Subordinate Dungeons: [Red-Haired Tribe], [Village Covered in Mist], [Scraps of the Demonic Realm], [Sticky Puddle]
– Special Notes: Contains a Dungeon Core linked by soul to Owner Kanghyeon Lee.
[Illusionary Temptation]
– Administrator: Vacant
– Lieutenant: Vacant
The list of dungeons I own appeared.
The system had changed a bit, perhaps due to the new trait.
“As expected, I’m only directly connected to one core.”
Among the dungeons I own, only ‘Evil God’s Nest’ is directly connected to my soul.
And I also knew that unless a dungeon was offered, like Azmo’s, it would appear as a subordinate dungeon.
‘It shouldn’t be a problem.’
If Azmo’s dungeon or the newly created dungeon collapses, it doesn’t matter as long as my original dungeon is safe.
As I was about to select the reward and close the game,
“Ah, I should choose an administrator.”
The dungeon Azmo gifted is currently without an administrator.
It’s obvious who to appoint as administrator anyway.
[Illusionary Temptation]
– Administrator: Azmo (★★★★)
– Lieutenant: Vacant
The lieutenant position is also vacant, but Celia’s lieutenant position is also currently vacant.
‘I’ll recruit a lieutenant later.’
I can draw one through a lieutenant recruitment.
And I’ll postpone the Lich’s promotion for now.
For now, I’ve done everything I needed to do in the game.
It was time to return to the present and choose the reward.
Without hesitation, I chose the Dungeon Altar.
– You have selected Dungeon Altar Upgrade.
– Dungeon Altar Upgrade is complete.
– Dungeon Altar Level has been raised to 2.
Along with the alarm that the altar was upgraded, a message stating that its level had risen appeared.
“Now the range of sacrifices will widen a bit?”
Before raising the altar’s level, I could barely bring Maru.
Of course, Maru is now 4-star, so it’s impossible now, but since the altar’s level has risen, the range should have expanded.
While I was thinking about how to utilize these, the guy who had collapsed earlier woke up.
“Ugh… ugh…”
I approached him.
“Are you conscious?”
“Where is this… Huk!”
The guy jumped in surprise as soon as he saw me.
I asked for his name.
“J-Ji Seong-min.”
He hesitated for a moment and then revealed his name was Ji Seong-min.
“But where’s my A-appa…?”
Ji Tae-hoon, Ji Seong-min’s father, had already been used as a sacrifice.
However, I had no obligation to tell him the truth directly.
“Only I ask questions. You just need to answer my questions. If you understand, just nod.”
Ji Seong-min nodded slightly.
Anyway, with Maru guarding me, it was essentially an act of intimidation.
I stared intently at Ji Seong-min.
Ji Tae-hoon was a father who loved his son dearly.
He probably passed on many things to his son in preparation for any eventuality.
“Then first, take out the hidden money.”
* * *
Leaving Ji Seong-min to despair while checking his lower body, I organized my thoughts.
As expected, the money Ji Tae-hoon had passed on to his son was by no means small.
‘I didn’t expect him to have a secret bank account.’
No, perhaps it’s natural?
I heard about various things, not just money.
Fortunately, there was no need to worry about the guild he belonged to.
Heukil Guild was never a legitimate guild in the first place, and since they weren’t doing legal business, they didn’t pay much attention to the absence of guild members.
It was a point-to-point organization, so even if Ji Tae-hoon and Ji Seong-min disappeared, it seemed like there would be no problem.
The problem was with Kang Jin-soo.
He said he would take care of the aftermath if I contacted him after this was over.
“I always called after the job was done. But I don’t really know who comes to take care of the aftermath…”
Ji Seong-min trailed off.
I couldn’t be sure whether Kang Jin-soo himself would come to clean up or if others would appear.
‘I can’t gamble here.’
I immediately ordered Ji Seong-min.
“First, make the call.”
“T-to whom?”
“Who else? Of course, Kang Jin-soo. Just say there’s an urgent matter and hang up.”
I took Ji Seong-min out of the dungeon for a moment.
It was an unavoidable choice because normal communication was impossible inside the dungeon.
And then, I immediately contacted Kang Jin-soo.
After all, it was enough to buy some time.
“Ah… Yes, yes. There’s an urgent matter right now… Yes… My father said to give him a little more time… Ah, yes…”
Maru stood by Ji Seong-min, drawing his sword.
The dungeon was in a very remote area, so no one was passing by.
Thanks to that, Ji Seong-min didn’t try anything reckless and obediently followed my instructions.
After telling Kang Jin-soo that there was an urgent matter, Ji Seong-min hung up.
“He said okay…”
I smiled brightly at him and then re-entered the dungeon.
Clap-
Then I clapped my hands once.
“Well, I’ll deal with Kang Jin-soo later, now I just need to check one thing.”
“Hick!”
It was Ji Seong-min.
Before, he was a corpse and was used as a sacrifice, but this time, he was a living being.
I used my ability on Ji Seong-min.
– The ‘True Dungeon Master’ trait has been activated.
– Will you make this hunter a sacrifice for your dungeon?
The same alarm as before appeared.
But this time, another message was added.
– Would you like to move this hunter to your dungeon?
It was a question of whether I would send him to my dungeon.
‘Is this possible because the Altar’s level has risen?’
When Maru was 1-star, it was impossible to send him back to the dungeon.
Moreover, Ji Seong-min is an F-rank hunter.
He was practically in the same rank as Maru was before.
It was probably made possible by the increase in the Altar’s level.
At first, I thought of sacrificing him immediately, but Ji Seong-min, as an F-rank hunter, seemed to have little use.
It would be different if there were many of them, but since I had to experiment this time, I chose the latter without hesitation.
It was to send Ji Seong-min to my dungeon.
– To which dungeon should this hunter be sent?
– [Evil God’s Nest] [Illusionary Temptation]
“Hmm…”
So, it’s possible for any dungeon I own.
For now, I intend to keep Ji Seong-min alive.
Because I’ll make him reveal a lot of information.
The Evil God’s Nest has the succubus Celia.
Conversely, Illusionary Temptation has the incubus Azmo.
After a moment of consideration, I made a decision.
“An incubus dungeon would be better, right?”
Since he’s an incubus, and a male at that, he wouldn’t harm him.
I nodded and immediately chose the ‘Illusionary Temptation’ dungeon.
As soon as I chose, blue flames enveloped Ji Seong-min, just like before.
“Ugh!”
Ji Seong-min screamed in surprise at the suddenly appearing flames.
Still, the time was not long.
Soon, his scream disappeared with the flames.
In Ji Seong-min’s place, only the dungeon floor was visible.
Looking at the floor, I opened my mouth.
“Stop playing around and come out, I know everything is there.”
I already knew that there were monsters near me from before.
It was just a place with basic skeletons, so I left them alone.
Clatter-
Clatter-
At my words, the skeletons moved, making noises.
Among them, a skeleton soldier stepped forward and looked at me.
“Click-clack.”
The skeleton soldier moved its jaw, looking at me.
Then, instead of lowering its back, it…
“Click-clack.”
(Oh, great being.)
“Clack.”
(Have mercy upon us.)
Their words began to be heard.
Usually, intelligent monsters can speak, so people can understand them.
However, the speech of most monsters like skeletons cannot be understood unless one possesses the Tamer trait.
I immediately turned my head towards Maru.
“Maru, can you speak?”
At my words, Maru immediately began making noises.
“Clatter-clatter-”
(You who are supreme and magnificent, our creator and the master of the dungeon-)
“That’s enough.”
I raised my hand and stopped Maru from speaking.
“Huh… Is this also thanks to the trait?”
I discovered another ability of my trait.
* * *
King Calendia Deresail, who is in charge of the Sail Kingdom.
Currently, his expression was cold as ice.
There were many nobles in front of Calendia, but they all just watched their steps and did not speak a word.
After a while, someone spoke.
“Your Majesty, their outrages are getting worse day by day.”
With that sentence, the dam broke, and voices emerged from all around.
“That’s right! They are clearly using the name of the Church to try and tame the kingdom! After one priest went missing, twenty Paladins disappeared! And in our Sail Kingdom!”
The nobles nodded in agreement.
The White Church initially said that one priest had gone missing, so they would send an Inquisitor.
At the time, I agreed because I didn’t want to blow things out of proportion.
But this time, they crossed the line.
Twenty Paladins, not just one priest, were reported missing.
And following this, the Church informed us that they would send Paladins after the Inquisitors.
“The first disappearance of the priest was clearly a lie! It’s time we show them our power!”
The nobles’ voices grew louder.
And there was one person watching this scene from the beginning.
It was ‘Irena,’ standing next to King Calendia Deresail.
Irena, as the princess of the Sail Kingdom, was the King’s only daughter.
Unless there were any problems, she would succeed her father as the next Queen.
Irena, her expression contorted at the sight of the nobles.
‘Detestable bastards…’
They were raising their voices not out of genuine concern for the Sail Kingdom.
Rather, they wanted to use the White Church to lower the King’s authority. However, they did not want the King to fall.
They wanted their own noble authority to increase, and the King to simply remain the face of the kingdom.
Irena glanced at her father.
‘Father must know that too…’
Irena turned her head again.
She also changed her expression to a gentle one.
But she couldn’t stop her clenched fist from trembling slightly.
In fact, she knew it too.
That her father was doing nothing despite knowing these facts.
‘I need to strengthen my power.’
A king without power is a lonely one.
Growing up watching her father like that, Irena deeply felt that fact.
Also, when she ascended to the throne, the situation wouldn’t be much different.
To change a predetermined future, power is needed.
‘Even if it means making a contract with a demon…!’
The Sail Kingdom began to feel the tension of war.
