The dungeon is always busy.
It’s a place that requires thorough preparation at all times, as you never know when an intruder might appear.
Thanks to this, Chief Administrator Celia was working even though it was late at night.
All of this must be for the great being she follows.
As Celia was working with focus, someone arrived.
“What is it at this hour? Miss Nariel.”
Elf Nariel.
She had come to see Celia.
Nariel was currently residing in Sector 3 of the dungeon managed by Celia.
Her main job was to manage the plant monsters in Sector 3.
Of course, Nariel wasn’t doing this by choice.
‘I have to save Iselin.’
Nariel’s friend, Iselin.
She was a talented mage and the only human friend who didn’t discriminate against her as an elf and took care of her.
Iselin had become an adventurer for Nariel’s sake and was captured by Celia.
And Celia, standing before Nariel, was using Iselin’s life as a hostage to control her.
However, all Nariel could do in the current situation was to obey Celia’s orders.
It was an unavoidable choice for the sake of her friend Iselin’s survival.
Nariel, suppressing her boiling rage, spoke to Celia.
“An, an intruder has appeared. Though they are still far away…”
There wasn’t a direct intruder in the dungeon.
However, the trees had reported that some beings far away had invaded their territory.
“Can you tell who it is?”
Of course, Celia had sensed the opponent’s presence.
But to know exactly who it was, she needed Nariel’s answer.
“They say there are twelve in total.”
As an elf, she possessed the ability to communicate with plants.
For an ordinary elf, that would be the extent of it, but Nariel’s ability was far greater.
If she had enough time, she could hear not only one plant but also the communication between plants.
Thanks to this, she was able to detect the presence of distant intruders by listening to the communication between plants.
Celia also valued Nariel’s abilities and made arrangements for her to communicate with the plants near the dungeon.
“The, the nearby trees said so. They said there were some sort of cat? Or similar monsters, and one being with dark skin.”
Upon hearing Nariel’s words, Celia closed her eyes.
Although Nariel’s ability was good, it was nothing more than listening to and relaying the communication of plants.
This meant there was a time lag in the transmission of the message.
Wouldn’t it take a considerable amount of time for the stories of plants in distant locations to reach here?
In reality, the movements of the intruders were constantly changing.
“Hmm.”
Celia made a small, pleased sound.
She hadn’t had any sacrifices to offer to her Master recently, so it was fortunate that they were coming on their own.
“Understood. Miss Nariel, you may go and rest now.”
Nariel bowed to Celia and went outside.
Celia opened her eyes.
There was one thing that bothered her.
“By the way, there’s been no report from the scout team?”
She had clearly expanded the range of the Goblin Scout Team.
Yet, the Goblin Scouts themselves hadn’t noticed the presence of intruders.
Celia’s reason for remaining still after noticing the intruders’ presence was this.
A test for the Goblin Scout Team.
However, there had been no news from the Goblin Scouts so far, and instead, Nariel had come to report the situation.
‘What a shame. It would be truly wonderful if Miss Nariel belonged to our dungeon.’
But Celia knew well.
Nariel’s goal was to save her friend.
She was only showing loyalty to the dungeon to save her friend.
“Well, I’ll think about this later…”
That wasn’t the problem in the current situation.
What would have happened if she and Nariel weren’t here now?
They would eventually discover the intruders, but the response would differ depending on how quickly they were discovered.
That’s why early detection was important.
“It seems I need to reinforce the scout team.”
Of course, reinforcing the scout team was a matter for later.
For now, serious preparations were needed for the current situation.
Celia murmured softly and turned her head.
“Bring Goblin Lord.”
As Celia commanded, a Skeleton Knight nearby quickly dashed out.
* * *
In the dark forest.
The chirping of insects continued to echo slowly.
Moonlight filtered through the branches, casting a faint glow on the dark forest.
By that faint light, the shadows of the trees stretched deeper into the darkness.
Crunch-
And an unwelcome guest appeared in the silent forest.
A small sound broke the silence that had settled upon the forest.
The insects that had been chirping in the forest simultaneously stopped.
The unwelcome guest cautiously made their way through the forest, treading on the grass.
The sound of the grass being stepped on continued to spread.
The unwelcome guests were not one.
They were a group.
And they were all armed with simple weapons.
Their appearance was that of hyenas.
They were the monsters known as ‘Nol.’
“That’s strange.”
The leader of the group, a Nol, stopped and spoke quietly.
“Aren’t there too many goblins in this forest?”
The leader of the Nols, Krimdor, expressed his doubt.
Suddenly, at some point, the number of goblins had increased.
Although they hadn’t been discovered yet, the Nols’ movement speed slowed down.
However, confronting the goblins would be the worst option.
Including the leader Krimdor, there were eleven Nols in total.
In contrast, there were an immeasurable number of goblins.
Furthermore, it was forbidden to act first until the identity of those goblins was known.
The only thing that made it possible for them to come this far stealthily was that they were specialized in infiltration.
“Unfold the map.”
As leader Krimdor spoke, a Nol behind him immediately unfolded a map.
It was difficult to see due to the darkness, but lighting a fire here would be like revealing their location to the enemy.
They carefully examined the map using the moonlight as much as possible.
The map accurately depicted the terrain of the nearby forest, and they were moving based on it.
Then, one of the Nols who unfolded the map spoke.
“Leader, something seems strange about the map.”
The Nol expressed a doubt to the leader, Krimdor.
“Goblins aside, as you can see on the map, the locations of the dungeons seem too artificial.”
One of the Nols pointed to the map and explained.
There were a total of five dungeons on the map.
But the problem was that the locations of the dungeons were extremely odd.
“First, look at this dungeon. It’s a dungeon ruled by a Succubus.”
A dungeon marked with an X in the center.
They had heard from the Underworld Merchant Guild that it was a dungeon ruled by a Succubus.
And that dungeon was also their destination.
The mission from the Guild, ‘Dungeon Investigation,’ was for the dungeon marked in the center of the map.
“The problem is that four other dungeons are surrounding the Succubus dungeon.”
The subordinate Nol spoke clearly and continued to explain.
“Of course, there is some distance between each dungeon, but the four dungeons are located precisely to the north, south, east, and west of the Succubus dungeon.”
Connecting the dungeons made them resemble a cross.
The Nol leader Krimdor nodded at his subordinate’s explanation.
“Indeed.”
When they first received the map from the Guild, they hadn’t noticed anything strange.
But after hearing the explanation, the dungeon locations felt artificial.
The Succubus dungeon in the center.
And the other four dungeons formed a cross shape centered around the Succubus dungeon.
‘It’s as if someone deliberately placed the dungeons.’
But Krimdor knew how preposterous his thought was.
Dungeons appear naturally.
Dungeons were not things that could be created and their locations adjusted at will.
Therefore, the current locations were the result of coincidences.
“Did you say there was no previous map?”
Krimdor asked his subordinate again.
The five dungeons marked on the current map alone occupied a considerable territory.
There was no way there would only be five dungeons in such a vast territory.
“The previous map was lost by the Guild’s audit team. The map we have now is the only one.”
“The Guild’s work is really not good. Well, with so many departments, I guess that’s unavoidable, isn’t it?”
Krimdor sighed, shaking his head.
The Guild hadn’t told them much when they entrusted them with the mission.
– Investigate the Succubus dungeon and its ruler, the Succubus.
That was all.
They had said they could use force if necessary.
The Guild, at their level, could have investigated the dungeon using their audit team, but they didn’t.
The Guild must have found something unsettling about that dungeon.
‘That’s why they entrusted it to us.’
Krimdor and his group were monster mercenaries hired by the Underworld Merchant Guild.
Even if it was a temporary contract, they were no different from being affiliated with the Underworld Merchant Guild at this moment.
Their job was to follow the Guild’s orders as per their contract.
And the mission given to them this time was to investigate the Succubus dungeon.
However, an obstacle appeared.
The presence of goblins.
“Silas, can you find out which faction these goblins belong to?”
Krimdor then spoke to another individual.
This individual was not a Nol.
The being had dark skin and black hair.
With its overall dark tone, it was difficult to see in the current night.
However, there was one bodily organ that identified its identity.
Pointed ears.
There was only one being with pointed ears and dark skin.
A Dark Elf.
The being named Silas, whom Krimdor called out to, was a Dark Elf and also a monster hired by the Underworld Merchant Guild.
“Just a moment. I am currently probing the minds of the nearby trees…”
Silas’s hand was already resting on a tree.
Like elves, Dark Elves could also communicate with plants, and it was an ability suitable for identifying the presence of goblins in the vicinity.
Trees rooted themselves in one place and lived their entire lives.
At the same time, they observed the surroundings the most, so it was expected that the identity of the goblins would be quickly revealed.
However.
‘Why…?’
Silas couldn’t help but tilt his head.
‘I’m not mistaken.’
Even when trying to communicate with the trees, it continued to fail.
At first, she thought she had made a mistake.
But when she placed her hand on the tree again, there was no response.
‘It’s not a failure.’
The tree unilaterally refused her communication.
Silas removed his hand from the tree.
And he bent down and placed his hand on the grass underneath.
The result was the same.
“I don’t feel anything.”
The plants rejected her touch.
Not only that.
They all seemed to fear something.
‘What on earth…?’
Silas felt a chill, a fear of plants, something she had never experienced before.
‘What on earth is in this forest?’
Silas felt a shiver at that moment.
However, regardless of her reaction, Krimdor slightly raised his voice.
“You feel nothing? Does that make any sense?”
They needed to know whether the goblins belonged to the dungeon or were simply wandering the forest.
It was a rather important point, and if they were monsters belonging to a dungeon, there would be no problem for Krimdor.
Even if temporary, he was affiliated with the Underworld Merchant Guild.
Most dungeons had to bow to the Guild.
However, if they were just goblins living as wanderers, there was a risk.
So, he was about to give her another command, but Silas’s actions were faster.
“I will withdraw from here.”
“!”
The Nols were surprised by her declaration of withdrawal.
“Why!”
Krimdor shouted in anger for a moment.
And realizing he had shouted unconsciously, he looked around.
Fortunately, no goblins were present.
Krimdor, suppressing his anger, tried to persuade Silas, but she didn’t listen.
Without saying anything, she turned her back and walked away.
“……”
Soon, Silas disappeared.
Everyone just stared in the direction she had left.
“What do you intend to do, Leader?”
One of the subordinates who had unfolded the map earlier spoke.
The Dark Elf was gone.
Even if it was only one person, the difference between utilizing and not utilizing a Dark Elf’s abilities was quite significant.
“……”
What should he do now?
Krimdor silently continued to look around.
“Huh?”
After a moment, he noticed something had changed.
“…The goblins are gone?”
Krimdor and his group carefully scanned their surroundings as they moved cautiously.
After checking for a few minutes, they were sure.
“The goblins have definitely disappeared.”
The many goblins that had been guarding the forest had suddenly vanished.
Even when he closed his eyes, he couldn’t feel any presence.
He didn’t know why they suddenly disappeared, but it was undeniable that this was an opportunity.
“Everyone, move quickly!”
Krimdor had already forgotten about the Dark Elf.
If there were no goblins, she wasn’t needed.
His thought proved correct.
As the goblins disappeared, they quickly reached their destination.
“This is it.”
Krimdor looked at the map and spotted a cave that was presumed to be a dungeon.
He couldn’t feel any special energy.
‘Is this really a dungeon?’
It looked like an ordinary cave rather than a dungeon.
“It doesn’t matter anyway.”
Krimdor sent his subordinates into the dungeon first.
There was nothing to lose.
Even if they were discovered, he was affiliated with the Underworld Merchant Guild.
And in relation to all dungeons, the Guild was in a superior position.
As long as he revealed his affiliation with the Guild, the other party would be completely unable to do anything.
‘There’s no way I’ll be in trouble.’
Krimdor stepped into the dungeon with that thought.
