Celia looked at the spot where Master had disappeared.
“As expected of Master…”
Celia was surprised when she first met Master.
“You haven’t even recovered all your strength yet…”
Master’s current strength is still incomplete.
Perhaps he used more power when he freed me from my seal.
Even so, his momentum was extraordinary.
“As expected, you are a great being!”
And at the end, Master commanded me to give him everything.
“Now you intend to move in earnest.”
A great being.
A transcendent being.
A being that cannot be dared to approach.
Master, who possesses all these epithets, is about to begin moving in earnest.
It was at that moment.
*Grrrr—*
*Rumble—*
The entire dungeon trembled.
For Celia, it was a familiar sight.
Master must be expanding the dungeon using his own abilities.
“If Master is moving, I cannot possibly remain still.”
What she had to do now was to clear the path for Master.
Therefore, she could not afford to be complacent in her current position.
“First, I need to take care of this.”
Celia took out the Inventory Artifact she received as a reward for helping the Incubus Dungeon.
Although it looked like a small bundle on the outside, it could hold countless items.
It was the same now.
Various equipment came out of the small bundle.
“Indeed, the quality is exceptional.”
The Incubus Dungeon was located in another dimension.
From Azmo, the owner of that dungeon, she heard about a dimension called Earth and its hunters.
“Hunters are the same as adventurers here.”
However, Earth’s hunters were more specialized.
It was a novel story for Celia, who had only lived on the continent of El Dorado.
And the equipment she had now was used by Earth’s hunters.
There were weapons like swords, bows, and spears, as well as armor and other defensive equipment to protect the body.
And she thought about how to handle them.
After a moment of thought.
“Hunter’s equipment…”
She decided to distribute it to the goblins.
“Denver, please call some goblins from Sector 2.”
As Celia gave the order, Denver left immediately.
Currently, the goblins’ combat power is low-level.
Even if they received weapons from the Merchant Guild, there wouldn’t be a significant increase.
But hunter equipment would be different.
The quality was clearly different.
Celia often felt like going to a place called Earth.
“But what is this?”
However, among them were items Celia had never seen before.
It looked like a long stick, with a handle-like part hanging down in the middle.
“It’s not a spear, it feels similar to the poison dart sticks goblins use…”
The weapons commonly used by goblins are poison dart sticks, which have a simple structure.
A poison dart stick is a hollow cylindrical object made of wood. Poison darts are placed inside, and when blown with the mouth, the darts fly out.
It is simple to make and easy to shoot, making it a relatively efficient ranged weapon.
And this stick-shaped equipment that Celia brought looked similar.
The only difference was that the long, outstretched stick was made of metal, making it look stronger.
Celia brought her eye to the hole at the very end of the stick.
“Hmm…”
There seemed to be nothing there…
This time, she examined the handle part.
She touched the circular ring-shaped part in front of the handle.
There was a slightly protruding part, which Celia pressed with her finger.
*Bang—*
Suddenly, a very loud noise and a flame erupted from the end of the stick-shaped equipment.
Celia was startled by the sudden roar, but quickly regained her composure.
“…So this is how it works.”
And Celia turned her head in the direction the stick had fired.
There, the goblins brought by Denver were already lined up.
Among them, one goblin lay on the ground, spewing blood.
It seemed to have been hit by the aftermath a moment ago, as a hole was visible near its heart.
The remaining goblins were trembling.
“Oh dear… I wish you happiness next time, Mr. Goblin.”
Celia left the fallen goblin behind and looked at the equipment again.
It was not a simple weapon.
It possessed more power than a bow.
To gauge its power, Celia placed her palm on the end of the stick and fired.
*Bang—*
“Hmm.”
The power was indeed decent.
Whatever the principle, it contained magic in its attack.
A weapon that fires quickly with tremendous power.
However, its limitations were also clear.
While it could inflict useful damage on a 1-star goblin, it had no effect on her.
“How far will its efficiency go?”
She pondered for a moment what to do with this long stick.
“Still, it’s better than nothing.”
After hesitating, she decided to give this equipment to the Goblin Lord.
If the goblins were to be armed with hunter equipment, it wouldn’t make sense for the Goblin Lord to have nothing.
It looked very luxurious, like the staffs carried by mages, so it seemed to suit the Goblin Lord, a sub-boss of Sector 2, quite well.
Thus, Celia handed the gun to the Goblin Lord.
***
When I wake up from sleep, my head is usually hazy.
At first, the dream’s content is vividly remembered.
Then, after a few seconds, the content becomes blurry, and soon, no matter how much I try, only the question ‘What dream did I have?’ remains.
“……”
And I, too, had a dream, but the memory of what it was about was fading.
The last part was the most memorable…
“Ah.”
How embarrassing.
With what confidence did I tell them to offer as many sacrifices as possible?
I even used a tone I don’t normally use, which was really embarrassing.
“But was it really a dream?”
I vaguely remember.
‘Is this game I’m playing really reality?’
Dream or reality.
I mean, déjà vu.
Perhaps I already know the answer. I just want to see concrete evidence.
“Shall I check?”
All that’s left is my ability and the game on my smartphone.
Holding my smartphone, I started the game.
Yes, it was definitely after I started playing this game.
I trusted my intuition.
“How much money do I have now?”
The money I earned by working as a porter without rest until I gained the trait ‘Mana Sensitivity’.
Originally, I had saved it to buy skill books, but now skill books were not important.
Perhaps they were even more important than that.
For some reason, my gut feeling is telling me.
The certainty is that I must act by trusting my current gut feeling.
As soon as the game launched, I went straight to the shop.
My goal was only one.
I bought jewels.
– Payment successful.
– 5,000 jewels will be delivered by mail.
I bought more.
– Payment successful.
– 5,000 jewels will be delivered by mail.
– Payment successful.
– 5,000 jewels will be delivered by mail.
I continued to buy jewels.
When I bought 1.1 million won worth of jewels.
– Risk of causality disruption exists.
– Additional purchase of jewels is currently not possible.
“Huh?”
No, what is this causality that’s preventing me from buying jewels?
This game wasn’t like this originally.
The game that used to use tricks to induce real money purchases was now preventing real money purchases.
A game that stops users from making real money purchases?
Hmph.
I’ve seen all sorts of things.
In that case, isn’t it all for nothing?
Though I spent a little more than usual, if the game itself blocks it, it’s no different from usual.
The original plan was to buy all the jewels and pour them into dungeons.
“Let’s stop here for now.”
Currently, I have just over 100,000 jewels.
I originally intended to go all the way.
This game was not an ordinary game, no matter how I looked at it.
If my speculation was correct, this was a great opportunity for me.
“Come to think of it, there was nothing unusual about gaining status windows or traits.”
It was beneficial, and I didn’t suffer any losses.
However, there were a few questions.
First, its utility.
I learned one thing.
It’s a system where I get stronger by offering sacrifices within the game.
Although it was a strong conjecture, I couldn’t be sure yet.
However, it was at the stage before almost being sure, so I wanted to double-check.
There’s no harm in being cautious.
If I could become stronger by obtaining sacrifices, then?
Is its utility really limited to just sacrifices?
Second, why me?
I didn’t have a status window, and I was called only a half-hunter.
Moreover, I was human to begin with.
And the ones I manage are ultimately monsters, so why did such a great opportunity arise for a human like me?
Ultimately, what do you want from me?
These questions swirled in my head.
Then I shook my head.
“It’s probably just a premonition for now.”
I now had a way to become stronger in my current situation.
For someone with no strength, it was an excessive worry.
At one point, I even wanted to gain power by making a contract with a demon.
“Compared to that, this is much better.”
There were indeed hunters who had made contracts with demon-type monsters.
Although the contracting process was not good, they gained power instantly.
At first, I was also worried if I was of this kind.
But how am I now?
I was perfectly fine.
There was nothing that could be considered disadvantageous to me so far, except for my bank account.
“If I had to pick one, it would be moral conscience.”
Considering the situation, the source of my power was sacrifice.
And such sacrifices were made under the condition of offering someone.
My status window and traits must also be the result of such a process.
But it’s already in the past.
And if the moment comes when this conjecture becomes a certainty, I just need to slightly change my thinking.
It would be to offer criminals as sacrifices, excluding good-natured people.
It would be too foolish to give up this great opportunity just to maintain moral principles.
Until then, I will use all means available.
“……”
I thought about past events for a moment.
The world of survival of the fittest.
Yes, if I didn’t get stronger, I would be eaten first in this world.
I had not the slightest intention of foolishly doing nothing and becoming weak.
“So, shall we start now?”
Even if I can’t buy more jewels, I currently have over 100,000 jewels.
Now it’s time to strengthen the dungeon.
***
*Whoosh—*
Rain began to fall from the sky.
The already gloomy atmosphere of the mountain took on a colder and darker feel.
Raindrops soaked the trees and the ground, soon creating a thick fog.
“Achoo!”
And there was someone getting hit directly by it.
It was Aren, the Vampire.
“Hmph…”
Aren was depressed.
She thought the Demonic Realm would be right after crossing the mountain, but the reality was another mountain.
She had been lost for days.
And now, it was raining.
“Ugh… it’s cold…”
Her body began to shiver.
So far, the weather had been good, so it was fine, but the rain that was falling now didn’t seem like it would stop soon.
“Let’s quickly find a place to take shelter from the rain. Goodbye, rabbit friend.”
Aren decided to find a place to shelter from the rain first.
And she placed the rabbit she had been holding in one hand on the ground.
As she pushed through the trees, Aren found something.
“Oh! I found it!”
A cave was visible amidst the dense trees.
