It has been one day since I was banished from the otherworld known as El Dorado.
I had a brief struggle catching up on the two years I missed that weren’t on Earth.
“Well, young man. Have you also been to that place, Eld…? Or whatever it’s called?”
When I left my house earlier to go to the convenience store.
I ran into my neighbor, an elderly woman.
Since it was my first time seeing her in two years, she was kind enough to show interest first.
The El Dorado Continent.
The fact that only a select few hunters were chosen and summoned to the El Dorado Continent was a well-known story. It wasn’t strange for the elderly woman, who was not an Awakened, to say such a thing.
However, I couldn’t bring myself to say that I had been there.
Certainly, being summoned to El Dorado was an honorable event. Even more so, being able to gain power, who wouldn’t want to go?
In reality, the chance of being selected was extremely low.
Breaking through that extremely low chance and going to El Dorado was definitely a stroke of luck and something to be proud of.
‘But I can’t say I went and came back.’
The reason was obvious.
I had returned without gaining anything for two years. Even after staying at the White Church.
‘If only I had brought back at least a Holy Sword.’
Here, I’m talking about a supply-grade Holy Sword, not the truly rare Holy Relics.
It was a supply-grade Holy Sword used by the Paladins of the White Church.
It wasn’t a particularly important sword for the Church. However, if we consider it from Earth’s perspective, the Church’s supply-grade Holy Sword was practically no different from a high-rank artifact.
The issue was that even if it was a minor sword from the Church’s perspective, they wouldn’t readily hand it over to an outsider?
Of course, there were exceptions.
A few years ago, one of my academy classmates had received a supply-grade Holy Sword from the Church and returned.
Naturally, he had made significant contributions to the Church and received the sword as a reward; there were no other reasons.
It was obvious that the classmate who received the sword was now currently making a name for himself as an A-Rank Hunter.
It was equally obvious that I, being useless to the Church, had returned empty-handed.
Most importantly, the reason I was hiding the fact that I went to El Dorado was directly related to my safety.
Hunters who had returned to Earth were being scouted from everywhere, causing chaos.
Just look at the supply-grade Holy Sword.
Even a mere Paladin of the Church receiving a supply-grade sword was considered a treasured sword on Earth.
Even a trivial item from the El Dorado Continent could be something akin to an artifact for us.
And that’s not all. Skills and abilities learned there were miraculous encounters not seen on Earth.
So, would outsiders leave the returning hunters alone? The government itself had already started conducting mana tests on missing hunters.
[Hunter Kanghyeon Lee, upon receiving this notice, please visit the nearest Awakened Center and undergo a mana test. The test is mandatory, and failure to comply will result in severe legal punishment…]
It was like that.
After receiving that text message, I couldn’t officially enter any dungeons until I passed the mana test.
Of course, even if I had said I went, if they tested me, they’d just react with something like, ‘Ah, this bastard. He went to El Dorado and just wasted his time.’ My situation was that pathetic.
But would their reaction really stop at that?
Perhaps something else might be said.
‘What if that guy brought back something good and is hiding it?’
If I ran into a crazy person who wanted to confirm that rumor, it wouldn’t end with simple torture.
That’s why I was hiding the fact that I had been to El Dorado in the first place.
It was safer.
After all, there are plenty of hunters who are said to be in seclusion training or have gone missing for some reason.
I didn’t need to rush anything.
‘Let’s rest for a few more days.’
And then I’ll start looking for work as a porter again.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.
I’m incompetent, with no Status Window and no skills.
Even as a porter, not all porters are the same.
At least if I had a Status Window, I could learn skills, and even a tiny inventory skill would change how I was treated as a porter.
“I wish I had a Status Window too….”
Muttering weakly, I launched the game I had downloaded yesterday.
It was my own way of escaping reality, even if just for a moment.
I used to play various games even before going to El Dorado.
When I checked after returning yesterday, the two-year gap was much larger than I expected.
With the addition of various content and updates, it was hard for returning users to catch up.
It would require a lot of real money purchases and effort to bridge the gap.
So, I deleted it without hesitation.
I would be busy from now on and couldn’t afford to spend too much time.
And the game I downloaded yesterday. [El Dorado]
This was surprisingly fresh.
Although I had some dissatisfaction with a few elements, a game set in another world was, as far as I knew, the first of its kind.
Even operating a dungeon and setting monsters as subordinates.
“By the way, what is the real goal of this game?”
Unlike games that have long tutorials these days, this one was too unfriendly.
I couldn’t even guess what my objective should be.
Is it literally just about raising a dungeon and causing havoc?
If I had known, I should not have skipped the initial story.
I put aside what had already passed and looked at my dungeon on the screen.
– Subordinate Officer ‘Celia Ishar’ is managing the dungeon.
Looking at the screen, the person I had set as a subordinate officer was moving busily, going around everywhere.
Hmm. She’s working hard.
Yes, considering how much money I invested in her, she better work hard.
If the dungeon is breached suddenly, my disappointment won’t be small.
I looked at the gold I obtained through real money purchases yesterday.
It showed exactly 100,000 gold.
“What can I do with this?”
Did she hear my muttering?
Suddenly, a new window popped up on the screen.
– Would you like to expand the dungeon? Expansion requires gold.
Dungeon expansion?
Indeed, the current dungeon was too small.
The dungeon’s name was ‘Evil God’s Nest,’ but its small size made it look pathetically unsuitable.
‘Let’s expand it first.’
When one thinks of a dungeon, one usually thinks of guarding monsters or traps. But what’s the use of having many troops if the size is small?
If troops are clustered in a small space, there’s nothing more fatal than enemies using splash attacks.
And for now, Celia alone might be able to defend it.
-The dungeon has been expanded. 10,000 gold has been deducted.
-The dungeon has been expanded. 10,000 gold has been deducted.
I used all 100,000 gold for expansion.
I felt a sense of accomplishment seeing the expanded dungeon.
What was once a small cave had now become a long and wide cave extending underground.
Even if intruders came, it would take a lot of time to reach the end of the dungeon.
In the future, I could slowly install monsters and traps along the path.
Of course, for now, there will be no intruders due to the dungeon’s concealment effect, so that’s on hold.
The effect of expanding the dungeon wasn’t just that.
– The [Altar] system is activated due to dungeon expansion.
– Subordinate Officers can offer sacrifices to the Dungeon Master.
– The Master can absorb some of the sacrifice’s abilities.
“Oh, it seems like this is how one gets stronger.”
I roughly understood the system.
Of course, to use this altar system, there needed to be an intruder in the dungeon.
“Or can’t I just send her out?”
On impulse, I tried to send Celia, whom I had set as my subordinate officer, outside the dungeon.
– This function is not yet available.
It was a function I couldn’t use yet.
Although it was a shame, I now had a slightly clearer idea of how to play the game.
By the way, shall I move on to the next thing?
“Well, it’s time to focus on appearance.”
I changed the 3-star monster I had set as a subordinate officer yesterday to a 6-star.
As a result, a gift had arrived in my mailbox!
– First 6-star achievement reward!
– Try gifting your subordinate officer clothing to increase their affection!
– Costume Selection Ticket (S) x1
After loyalty, is it affection next?
As expected, there were many things to worry about.
It was fortunate that the rewards were substantial.
It was an S-class costume.
With this, wouldn’t affection increase quickly?
I immediately received it from the mailbox and touched the Costume Selection Ticket.
– Costume Selection Ticket used.
Simultaneously, various outfits filled the screen.
From bear costumes to pajamas and dresses, as well as revealing clothing, there was a wide variety.
‘Why is this S-class?’
The situation only showed the appearance, not the stats.
And the appearance wasn’t particularly unique either.
In that case, there was no need for much deliberation.
I immediately chose the maid outfit.
A maid outfit was the most suitable attire for a subordinate officer managing a dungeon.
It’s absolutely not because I like it, but because it matched the image.
A simple yet excellent choice.
Maid Outfit (S) – Reduces incoming damage by 90% against Divine attacks.
“Oh.”
When I clicked on the maid outfit I received, I realized that the stats were also amazing.
It was indeed S-class.
I immediately touched Celia, my subordinate officer, and clicked [Gift].
– Gifted Maid Outfit (S) to ‘Celia Ishar’.
– ‘Celia Ishar’s’ affection has reached 100.
– ‘Celia Ishar’ has declared that any act of disrespect towards Master is now an act of disrespect towards herself, and that Master and I are one.
The reaction was swift.
As expected.
Affection also reached the maximum level immediately.
“From now on, wear that and manage the dungeon.”
Celia, wearing the maid outfit, looked truly fitting.
***
Celia, in order to fulfill the orders of her master, Kanghyeon Lee, cleaned and managed every corner of the dungeon.
Fortunately, she had memories of managing dungeons from when she was a disciple of the Succubus Queen.
Based on those memories, Celia tried her best not to be a burden to her master.
Her master was a noble being whom she served, essentially a god.
He had easily rescued her from the heavily guarded White Church, from beneath the ground.
If such a person wasn’t great, then who would be?
As she was thinking that.
The dungeon suddenly vibrated.
“What is this…?”
No sooner had she been surprised.
The size of the dungeon was rapidly increasing.
She was dumbfounded.
She had never heard of such an ability, to increase the dungeon’s size without any effort.
If one could easily increase a dungeon’s size, dungeon masters wouldn’t fight over ownership.
How much labor and time were needed to increase the dungeon’s size? The capital also cost a considerable amount.
Yet, her master had increased the dungeon’s size by sheer ability alone.
“Are you perhaps a noble being?”
Celia’s surprise didn’t end there.
Suddenly, a set of clothes appeared before her.
It was a maid outfit.
‘……’
It wasn’t just a simple maid outfit.
She felt a great power emanating from it.
‘Where did Master get such clothes?’
As expected, her master was a great person, and Celia vowed to do her best for him her entire life.
***
“Priest, it’s dangerous, so perhaps you should turn back? Didn’t a sealing stone disappear yesterday, causing an uproar in the Church as well?”
In a mountain range of the Sail Kingdom, two men were climbing a mountain path.
One wore priestly attire, while the other wore ordinary clothes and had a supply-grade Holy Sword strapped to his waist.
A priest and a paladin.
In reality, they were a novice priest and a paladin.
Although the paladin was superior to the novice priest, the paladin spoke respectfully to the novice priest, lowering his stance.
The reason was that he was not an ordinary person.
The novice priest’s name was Yuel.
His ability was the ‘Eyes of Insight.’
The ability to see through everything was also the reason Yuel caught the Church’s attention.
Some say that Yuel will be the one to lead the Church in the future.
Because he could see through everything, it was easier for the Church to eliminate heretics.
Therefore, Yuel’s existence was a godsend for the Church.
That’s why he was about to be officially ordained as a priest.
“Don’t worry. I heard that what was released from the sealing stone was a Succubus, right? And also, a 3-star one.”
The meaning of his words was simple.
There was no need to make such a fuss over just a 3-star monster.
A 3-star monster was virtually nothing.
It was also questionable why such a monster was sealed in the Church’s basement.
Perhaps a 5-star one.
However, a 5-star being was not someone you could simply meet on the street.
A 5-star monster was truly a disaster-class.
If such a being moved, cities would be on high alert and closely monitoring it.
Even if, by a slim chance, one encountered a 5-star monster, Yuel had a trump.
Since Yuel was an important asset, the Church had provided him with a high-rank artifact.
It was, in fact, a Holy Relic of the Church.
Knowing that fact, the paladin also nodded.
There was no one to threaten them now.
Even nobles bowed their stiff heads if they showed their Church ID.
The only problem would be beings higher than 5-star.
However, such monsters were truly rare.
They were something you might see once in a lifetime.
Of course, there was a record of a 7-star appearing a few hundred years ago.
It was said that it almost swallowed the continent, but that was now a story of the past.
In fact, that story itself was now akin to a legend, so it wasn’t even considered.
How far up the mountain had they climbed?
Yuel’s steps stopped.
“What’s wrong, Priest?”
“There’s a cave?”
A cave?
The paladin tilted his head.
When Yuel pointed, there was only vines.
However, Yuel’s ability, [Eyes of Insight], indicated that there was a cave hidden beyond the vines.
[Evil God’s Nest]
“Evil God’s Nest…”
The only fortunate thing was that he couldn’t feel any aura from the dungeon.
“Knight, it seems like there are heretics here.”
Yuel’s expression turned cold.
