A being swung a sword.
Their entire body was covered in a black robe, and their face was hidden by a black mask, so it was impossible to tell who it was.
Orcs were mowed down by the sword they swung.
“Hmm.”
I sat down nearby and quietly watched the scene.
The being, completely covered in black, nodded towards me after wiping out the orcs.
It was Maru.
*Nod.*
I also nodded towards Maru.
To what extent could Maru unleash overwhelming combat?
I had visited the dungeon early in the morning to objectively measure his combat power.
For now, Maru could slaughter orcs without any problems.
In fact, Maru was a B-rank monster, currently at 4-star.
An D-rank orc was a monster that could be easily dealt with.
Even so, I hadn’t expected him to so easily wipe out a pack of orcs like a moment ago.
“No matter how many orcs swarm, it’s instantaneous.”
Since there was only a two-rank difference, I had some cautious thoughts.
But those were my unfounded fears.
However, there was one issue: Maru was a skeleton whose entire body was made of black.
Compared to a normal, pure white skeleton, he was a thoroughly conspicuous being.
As I am now, I had to avoid drawing attention.
So, the method I came up with was to cover Maru’s entire appearance with a robe and a mask.
By putting a black robe and mask on Maru, I could easily hide his black bones.
Of course, I also put gloves on the hand holding the demonic sword.
With this, Maru became the perfect skeleton.
Seeing Maru’s appearance, I felt proud.
“Which dungeon should we go to next?”
While I was contemplating that.
*Ding-*
My smartphone alarm rang.
I immediately checked the alarm’s content.
– Azmo, the owner of Dungeon ‘Illusionary Temptation’, has requested support from Master.
“Huh?”
Azmo is the monster that leads the Incubus Dungeon.
And that was another support request.
Well, since he joined me in the first place, I should offer some leniency like this.
This guy named Azmo joined me on his own, and one peculiar thing was that Azmo’s dungeon wasn’t on the El Dorado Continent.
On the screen, it was marked as being in another dimension.
“Even if he’s in another dimension, he’s loyal.”
All the monsters I had were highly loyal, but Azmo was no less so.
No, if anything, he was truly a loyal fellow.
I had taken in an Incubus who had nowhere to go.
An alarm popped up saying Azmo was happy just because I gave a comrade a home.
If nothing else, he certainly overflowed with camaraderie.
‘If there are any more lost Incubi, it would be good to send them all here.’
If Incubi were continuously sent, my comrades would increase and the dungeon itself would become stronger.
Even now, it was like he was asking for support because his combat power was weak.
‘Well, Incubi aren’t exactly a battle race.’
Thinking so, I opened the dungeon support window.
How should I help this time?
Dispatching troops is a given.
I’d also like to support with jewels, but…
Currently, I’m almost out of jewels myself.
The jewel purchase limit has been lifted, and I should replenish jewels soon, but…
However, the price of jewels doubled last time.
What used to be 50,000 won for 5,000 jewels has now jumped to 110,000 won.
I had to put off immediate payment.
“I’ll have to spend some real money when I have profits.”
This is not just a game.
It is effectively reality.
As the dungeons grew stronger, I grew stronger as well.
Therefore, I had no intention of spending money little by little.
I intended to do it all at once.
Besides, the game itself would block jewel purchases like last time, so I just had to complete the payment up to the limit.
“For now, let’s just dispatch troops, not jewels.”
Last time I dispatched Celia, so maybe I should dispatch a Death Knight this time?
Celia seemed busy with a lot of work anyway.
In addition, she had even created and was operating her own unit called the Scout Team.
Seeing Celia like that naturally brought a smile to my face.
“As expected, I picked a good subordinate officer.”
Starting as a 3-star Succubus subordinate officer, she was now a 6-star Succubus, the chief administrator leading the Dungeon Alliance.
That being was Celia.
I didn’t want to add the burden of dispatching her without reason.
“Speaking of which, aren’t there any more packages?”
Through package purchases, I had made the 3-star Celia into a 6-star.
It’s a shame that there aren’t any more packages that would allow me to make her 7-star.
“Does this mean I have to collect soul stones separately?”
When I bought the previous promotion package, the contents of the package were soul stones corresponding to each star rank.
To promote Celia now, I would probably need 6-star soul stones.
If related packages don’t appear, I might have to collect these soul stones separately.
‘If a package appears, I’ll buy it right away, otherwise I’ll have to look for soul stones.’
With that thought, I turned my gaze to the monster list in my dungeon.
“It should be fine to take the Death Knight out for a bit.”
The dungeon was growing smoothly at the moment anyway.
I clicked on the Death Knight and pressed the dispatch button.
After dispatching the Death Knight to Azmo’s dungeon, I was about to press the exit button.
But at that moment, another new alarm popped up.
– An additional mission has been given.
“Additional mission?”
It had been a very long time since a mission was given.
This was the first alarm I’d seen in a long time, except for when an urgent mission appeared and I changed Celia’s name.
– Dispatch an additional Lich (★★★★).
– Reward: Authority to purchase an Arch Lich (★★★★★) promotion special package.
“…?”
No, what does this mean?
They aren’t promoting him, but giving him the authority to purchase a package that allows promotion.
“Hah…”
Still, it seems promotion packages haven’t completely disappeared.
“Should I call this lucky…”
If this were a normal game, I would have quit long ago due to the aggressive monetization.
Of course, since it wasn’t truly normal, I followed the alarm’s content without complaint.
My hand immediately clicked on the Lich.
“Anyway, the Lich probably has nothing to do right now.”
I had assigned him the role of inspector, but the dungeon was in a period of peace.
There was no need for an inspector to be on duty 24 hours a day.
“Yeah, you go with the Death Knight too.”
Similarly, I dispatched the Lich to Dungeon ‘Illusionary Temptation’.
After dispatching the Lich, I pressed the exit button.
Based on my past experiences, it always yielded good results.
Therefore, I felt a slight sense of anticipation as I dispatched the Death Knight and the Lich.
I put my smartphone back in my pocket and said to Maru.
“Let’s go, Maru.”
Maru nodded and followed behind me.
* * *
Azmo, the owner of Dungeon ‘Illusionary Temptation’.
Azmo had many worries lately.
“Humans are eyeing our dungeon again.”
Unlike last time, humans weren’t openly scouting.
However, unlike then, I felt something unsettling.
It was as if they intended to scrutinize us.
They must be plotting something.
“Do I have to ask for help again?”
Azmo had easily overcome the crisis by asking for help last time as well.
And he had voluntarily entered under the Great Being who helped him.
Moreover, that Being had even provided him with sustenance.
Azmo’s gaze turned to one of the Incubi.
When he first came here, this guy was very rebellious, but now he had become quite docile.
“Indeed.”
The Being who bestowed this Incubus was also great and merciful.
If I ask for help again this time, I’m sure they will extend a merciful hand.
However, things cannot always remain as they are now.
“If I overcome the crisis with the help of the Great Being again this time…”
Azmo scanned his dungeon with a resolute expression.
“I should hand over the management rights of my dungeon to the Great Being.”
That was the decision Azmo had made.
* * *
Early dawn.
The sun had not yet revealed itself below the horizon.
The surroundings were enveloped in cold darkness, and the absence of any light emphasized a lonely despair.
A time filled only with silence.
Breaking this silence, armed hunters began to take their positions.
They were hunters belonging to the Fire Bird Guild.
“Everyone, get ready!”
This was a dungeon that the Fire Bird Guild had failed to conquer once before.
It was the Incubus Dungeon.
The guild leader’s second son, Woojin Jeong, had entered and suffered a terrible fate. The hunters of the Fire Bird Guild were preparing at the dungeon entrance to conquer it once more.
And leading the hunters in this subjugation was the A-Rank Hunter Seo Yeongho, the raid leader.
With a firm expression, he surveyed those who would enter the dungeon with him.
This dungeon had a peculiar command structure.
Although it was an Incubus Dungeon, the presumed owner of the dungeon was a Succubus.
There were many Incubi, but only one Succubus.
It was a strange dungeon just by name.
And the estimated rank of the Succubus was an astonishing S-Rank.
Usually, ranks were inflated, but in this case, it meant at least A-Rank.
The good news was that their attack method was not a head-on charge.
According to the scouts who went in first, they only lured hunters with charm skills close to mind control.
The problem was that such charm was not simple in its effect.
That’s why the guild leadership estimated the dungeon’s owner to be S-Rank.
“Everyone, keep your wits about you!”
Seo Yeongho shouted at the hunters.
Then, he spoke to the hunter specialized in dungeon detection skills.
“What is the internal status of the dungeon?”
Last time, the vanguard had directly scouted and missed the Succubus’s presence.
This time, because they were preparing thoroughly, the guild had assigned a hunter with detection-related skills to the raid party.
Seo Yeongho asked the hunter if there were any particular issues, but the hunter shook his head.
“It’s strange.”
“What is?”
“Well… the Incubi are definitely present, but I can’t sense the Succubus’s presence.”
“Hmm.”
Seo Yeongho fell into thought at his words.
He said that the previous vanguard had scouted not once, but multiple times.
The conclusion was the same: the Succubus’s presence was not detected.
Therefore, the entire raid party was composed of men, and the result was a complete disaster.
Of course, perhaps it was only possible because the dungeon’s owner had mercy and let them live.
But this time, even with detection skills, the Succubus’s presence could not be felt.
‘This is getting troublesome.’
Could they be hiding their presence?
Just the fact that they could freely conceal their presence meant they were not monsters to be taken lightly.
Seo Yeongho looked around.
The hunters in this raid party were at least B-Rank.
Moreover, more than half of them were A-Rank hunters.
This showed how earnestly the Fire Bird Guild had prepared.
Furthermore, they had taken precautions against Succubi and Incubi.
Not only did they have artifacts capable of countering mental manipulation, but they also fielded a large number of hunters who could use related buffs.
With this much preparation, their charm skills would be nothing.
“Everyone, final checks! Even if the enemy specializes in mental attacks, don’t neglect equipment checks!”
It was almost time to enter the dungeon.
Seo Yeongho looked up at the sky.
The sun was slowly rising, pushing away the dawn darkness.
Light was gradually illuminating the surroundings.
While just a moment ago it felt as if darkness blocked the way, now it felt as if a hopeful future awaited.
Seo Yeongho lowered his gaze from the sky.
The time to enter was approaching.
He glanced at the clock on his wrist for no reason, and then…
“Everyone, enter the dungeon!”
