The center of the dungeon.
The bodies of goblins and nols mingled, filling the air with the smell of blood.
“How dare you enter the Great One’s dungeon. Make it as natural as possible so the Merchant Guild doesn’t notice.”
At Celia’s command, the monsters inside the dungeon moved busily.
Goblins hacked away at the bodies of their comrades with the weapons held by the nols.
Not only that.
To make sure it was thorough, the goblins used their weapons to slash at the bodies of the nols.
At first glance, it looked like the nols and goblins had fought each other and perished.
Looking at the damage to each other, it seemed as if a fierce battle had taken place.
“Now, quickly move the completed ones.”
As Celia clapped her hands, the skeletons in Sector 1 approached.
They carefully lifted the bodies of the nols and goblins.
No matter how insignificant the nols seemed, they belonged to the Merchant Guild.
And if harm was done to monsters belonging to the Merchant Guild, there were obviously penalties.
In the worst-case scenario, it could lead to a situation where they became enemies of the Merchant Guild and their transactions were cut off.
Of course, the reason Celia was going to such lengths was not because she was afraid of the Merchant Guild.
It was because it was a shame to openly antagonize them while there was still much to gain from them.
Even if she did this, the Merchant Guild was not foolish, so they would definitely investigate.
However, with only suspicion and no direct evidence, they wouldn’t be able to say anything.
That was enough.
Celia planned to use that time to gradually swallow the giant Merchant Guild.
She had already gained some control over the person in charge, Maru, and the audit team, but that was not enough.
Her goal was to completely take the entire Merchant Guild into her grasp.
She planned to dedicate the swallowed Merchant Guild to her Master.
“I hope my Master will like it.”
She smiled just thinking of the Great One.
“And set aside three nols separately.”
No matter how chaotic things were, she had to show sincerity to the Great One.
“Those will be offered to my Master. Move them to the altar very carefully.”
Including the leader nol, the total number of nols was eleven.
Three of them were enough to be offered as sacrifices.
She wished she could offer all the dead nols, but there was a risk that the Merchant Guild’s suspicion would be directed here.
For now, she had to invest boldly in the areas that needed it.
Her Master would want that too.
“Ah! And please cut off the hands of the sacrificed nols and store them separately.”
At the same time, Celia thought.
Quoting Maru, who closely assisted her Master, she said that her Master truly enjoyed the taste of hands.
It was the duty of a lowly servant to consider her Master’s preferences.
The hands were to be collected separately and offered directly to the altar.
As per Celia’s instructions, some of the skeletons headed towards the altar.
As all the bodies were removed, the dungeon floor was soaked in blood.
“Death Knight-ssi, please.”
“?”
And at her words, the Death Knight began to wipe the floor with a long stick with pieces of cloth tied to it.
The Death Knight, feeling like his work had increased, decided to assume it was just a feeling.
After a while, as the dungeon stabilized, a hobgoblin appeared.
The giant hobgoblin immediately ran to Celia and the Goblin Lord and knelt on one knee.
“Keh-heuk, I found the one who escaped!”
And reported in a slurred voice.
He said he had found the fugitive.
Fugitive.
Before the nols entered the dungeon.
Goblins scouts, following Celia’s orders, had intensified reconnaissance in the nearby forest.
Thanks to that, they discovered the presence of a group of nols hiding.
The goblins, following the Chief Administrator’s orders, discovered the group of nols, but waited.
They judged that it was not too late to respond after understanding the opponent’s intentions.
However, a variable occurred at this time.
Someone from the group of nols had defected.
Of course, the reconnaissance team immediately pursued the individual.
However, they could not capture the individual directly, and at best, they could only find out where they were heading.
“Sail Kingdom. Heading towards the Kingdom!”
The hobgoblin’s report ended there.
“Heading to the Kingdom?”
Celia nodded.
The goblin scouts could be considered elite.
If even such scouts could not capture the opponent, it was undoubtedly an unusual being.
“But that’s a problem.”
Currently, Princess Irena is in the Sail Kingdom.
So, if the fugitive entered the Sail Kingdom, Celia would be grateful.
However, the White Church had recently stormed the Sail Kingdom.
After some paladins infiltrated a while ago, an envoy officially reached the kingdom.
Therefore, the Sail Kingdom was currently in a state of chaos.
But for Celia, the kingdom’s situation was not a consideration.
“Tell Princess Irena that an uninvited guest has entered the kingdom.”
For her, there was only the Great One.
As Celia’s command fell, the shadow behind her bowed its head and disappeared from its place.
“Now, prepare to receive our guests. The Merchant Guild will visit soon.”
The dungeon’s daily routine continued to be busy today.
* * *
– Skeleton Soldiers offer the bodies of nols to the Master.
– Absorbing the abilities of the sacrificed nols. (Remaining time: 6 hours)
– Skeleton Soldiers offer nols to the Master.
– Absorbing the abilities of the sacrificed nols. (Remaining time: 6 hours)
– Skeleton Soldiers offer nols to the Master.
– Absorbing the abilities of the sacrificed nols. (Remaining time: 6 hours)
In the middle of the night, skeleton soldiers brought offerings.
This time it was nols.
Nols were monsters that resembled hyenas and were characterized by their speed.
“But isn’t this an intruder this time?”
There was no alarm that a separate intruder had infiltrated the dungeon.
“Well, does it really matter?”
They must have hunted and offered them as sacrifices on their own.
And when the sacrifices were offered, I would soon fall unconscious to absorb their abilities.
However, my falling unconscious now was not a big problem.
I had already explored the dungeon with Maru during the day, and now I was home and safe.
Besides, Maru would protect me by my side, so there was no problem.
However.
– Celia offers the hands of nols to the Master as a sacrifice.
– Receiving the sacrifice ‘Nol’s Hands.’ (Remaining time: 1 hour)
“?”
Why were the nols’ hands sent separately?
Did it have any meaning?
“Hmm.”
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.
If someone else had sent it, she wouldn’t have cared, but Celia sent it.
It definitely wasn’t sent for no reason, but she couldn’t guess what it was.
“There’s no other way, is there?”
It was a problem to think about when she woke up later.
If the alarm ended there, it would be one thing.
But another new alarm popped up.
– An auction will be held at the social gathering of the Demonic Realm Merchant Guild in 6 hours.
– Precious items will be exhibited at the Demonic Realm Merchant Guild auction.
– Would you like to participate in the auction?
An auction.
The timing was appropriate.
It took 6 hours to absorb the nols offered as sacrifices.
She would be able to participate in the auction immediately after waking up.
But the problem was, if she wanted to participate directly.
‘Can I participate?’
I am currently on Earth.
However, the auction is being held on the El Dorado Continent, and even if I wanted to participate, the dimensions were completely different.
Above all, could I participate in the auction without even attending the social gathering?
As she pondered such questions, an item appeared on the screen.
– You can purchase an auction participation ticket for the Demonic Realm Merchant Guild.
– Demonic Realm Merchant Guild Auction Participation Ticket (16,900 KRW)
– Temporarily lift dimensional restrictions and participate in the Merchant Guild auction.
“Huh…”
Even at this point, it’s a real money purchase.
However, she was tempted by the mention of many precious items.
‘But it says the dimensional restrictions are temporarily lifted?’
Does that mean I can go to the El Dorado Continent directly?
I immediately paid for the auction participation ticket.
She thought it would be beneficial in any way if she could participate in the auction.
Before that, should I try absorbing the sacrifices first?
“Maru, guard the surroundings well.”
It was essential to command Maru to protect me before falling unconscious.
The difference from last time was that Maru had now become a 5-star monster, a Skeleton Paladin.
She definitely felt more reliable than when he was 4-star.
In addition, if she equipped Maru with skills and traits properly, even an A-Rank Hunter would not be able to match Maru.
* * *
“What happened?”
Serinu, a demon belonging to the Merchant Guild.
He said while adjusting his glasses with one hand.
As he spoke, the lesser demon next to him immediately replied.
“Yes, Serinu-nim. When I mentioned Arch Lich to Arcanea, she reacted immediately.”
Serinu nodded silently.
It was as expected.
The most talked-about monster at the current banquet was the Arch Lich, no matter who you asked.
Even now, many dungeon owners and monsters were visiting him with gold and treasures to see him.
On the other hand, Arcanea was very dissatisfied that her presence was overshadowed by the Arch Lich.
“Well, a snake’s jealousy can be terrifying.”
Arcanea is a Lamia, with the lower half of her body being a snake.
If her dissatisfaction was slightly provoked, she would naturally check the Arch Lich.
And that thought proved to be correct.
In the highlight of the later banquet.
If Arcanea wins the battle against the dungeon, the atmosphere will return to her.
And Serinu intended to bolster Arcanea’s strength at that time.
Of course, it wouldn’t be for free.
He planned to gradually swallow dungeons like this.
“By the way, did you find out about the Arch Lich and the dungeon?”
Separate from Arcanea’s checking the Arch Lich, what was important was from now on.
What was originally known as the Succubus Dungeon.
However, the Arch Lich and Incubus attended the social gathering from that dungeon.
Serinu was not particularly interested in Incubus.
It was only the Arch Lich, a 5-star existence.
With such an existence, it was impossible for Succubus to be the owner of the dungeon.
‘Surely the Arch Lich is the master.’
Serinu did not doubt that.
There were no beings exceeding 5-stars in the Human World.
And if asked if they were in the Demonic Realm, Serinu could not answer readily.
Even though Serinu belonged to the Demonic Realm Merchant Guild, he did not know everything about the Demonic Realm.
The Merchant Guild was a very large organization.
In that organization, Serinu was essentially at a low-level position.
Ultimately, to rise higher, performance was needed.
To see more information, Serinu himself had to increase his value.
And the start was to monopolize all information about the Arch Lich.
‘I need to know where that being came from.’
Along with the emergence of the Arch Lich, what was important was what kind of faction it was currently forming.
Even if it was 5-star, if its faction was collapsing or weak like the Vampire Baalcherit, there was always room for the Merchant Guild to infiltrate.
So, he ordered his subordinates to investigate the Arch Lich and the dungeon.
Of course, at first, knowing it as the Succubus Dungeon, it was necessary to correct the information.
However, an unexpected answer came from his subordinate.
“Um… that is…”
Seeing his subordinate hesitate slightly, Serinu frowned.
“I wanted to correct the information for those I sent to the said dungeon, but contact has been lost.”
“Contact lost?”
What did it mean that contact was lost?
Could it be that they were defeated by humans?
There were no bastards daring enough to touch monsters belonging to the Merchant Guild.
The most likely possibility was humans, but again, a completely different answer came from his subordinate.
“We have already dispatched investigators. We will hear from them soon, Serinu-nim.”
Serinu nodded.
Since investigators had been dispatched, they would naturally find out over time.
“Then, for now, I just need to focus on the banquet.”
There was nothing urgent.
He only needed to focus on the progress of the banquet.
“Then let’s move on to the next, the auction.”
It was time for the Merchant Guild to legally milk the dungeon’s money.
“For this auction, we will only accept Magic Stones.”
Magic Stones would be the best means to evaluate the wealth of the dungeons.
