A unique monster, ‘Half Goblin’, has been born.
“It was born?”
It was a notification I had never seen before.
The alarm for obtaining a new monster had only appeared when I got it through the gacha, and it always said “obtained” when I pulled it. This “born” notification was new.
‘Even when Celia bought monsters separately from the Merchant Guild, there was no notification.’
I tapped the alarm to check what was happening.
As soon as the smartphone screen changed to the inside of the dungeon, I looked around.
“Half Goblin…”
After searching for a while, I found three baby goblins.
The place was a prison in the center of the dungeon, and an adventurer was holding three baby goblins.
“Was it something like this?”
I quickly grasped the situation.
As expected, the Half Goblin was a monster born between an adventurer and a goblin.
I zoomed in on the screen using my fingers.
The baby goblins on the screen had a subtly different appearance from the regular goblins.
They were not fully goblins, but had human features mixed in, creating a distinct uncanny valley effect. Their skin color was similar to, yet different from, goblins, leaning towards a lighter green rather than a full green. Their ears were not pointed like goblins but closer to human ears. Only their fingernails and toenails were sharp and long like other goblins; other than that, they resembled human babies.
‘Come to think of it, they’re bigger than I thought?’
The Half Goblins were of a size that was hard to believe they had just been born. They seemed to be about one or two years old in human terms.
“To think that three beings like that were born at once…”
I looked at the adventurer taking care of the Half Goblins.
She was taking care of them with a bright expression, and I recognized her face. She must have been one of the adventurers who entered the dungeon shortly after it was created.
‘She seems to have lost her mind.’
The female adventurer was hugging the Half Goblins as if they were her own babies. She wouldn’t be acting like this if she were in her right mind. I felt a pang of pity. But that feeling didn’t last long.
“No, the dungeon must continue to evolve.”
I would die the moment the Dungeon Core was destroyed. Therefore, it was natural to stop those who invaded my dungeon. There would be no benefit to me if I became weak here.
“I need more power.”
The dungeon becoming stronger meant my power would increase. I clenched my fist and reflected on my life so far. How many disadvantages had I suffered due to my lack of power? It was the same now. If I didn’t have this power, I would have died many times already. At least I had the minimum power to protect myself. But it was not enough.
“This is still not enough.”
The current world is literally hell.
25 years ago, Earth faced a major change called the Great Upheaval. Dungeons and monsters that appeared everywhere destroyed human territories. At the time, people said humanity was heading towards extinction. Fortunately, with the emergence of the Awakened, humanity was able to maintain civilization, but it became a completely different system from the previous world. A more brutal world of the survival of the fittest. The strong became the absolute law. Otherwise, how could there be statistics showing that more people died from other humans than from monsters? Most were killed by those with great power. And even now, I could face danger at any moment.
‘Kim Suho…’
As a dangerous person, he would reappear at any time. My job was to grow as strong as possible before then. And the first step was managing the dungeon.
“Even if I intervene in the dungeon, I can’t manage everything.”
In the first place, dungeons in the El Dorado Continent are mainly managed by Celia. Conversely, dungeons on Earth are managed by Azmo. Even if I bought monsters through Real Money Purchases and assigned lieutenants, that fact wouldn’t change. They knew this better than I did. They could pay attention to and manage every detail of the dungeon’s operating system.
“Right, I can’t intervene in everything.”
Of course, if I neglect it too much, unexpected things might happen like with Azmo. But in a situation where I don’t know what butterfly effect intervening too much might cause, I can’t give instructions for every single thing.
“This Half Goblin is probably the same.”
For Celia, defending the dungeon is the priority. So, it’s natural to create more monsters that defend the dungeon. If I try to stop all of these, the judgment of the subordinates on the field might be curbed someday. I can’t give instructions for every situation. What if a dangerous situation arises when I’m absent?
“This can’t be helped.”
If you don’t want to die, you shouldn’t have entered my dungeon in the first place. If an armed robber breaks into your house, it’s either you die or the robber dies. There are only these two options. Even on Earth, such things are common. The tales of hunters who failed to subjugate dungeons were nothing more than tragic. There were also hunters who became prey for monsters, like that adventurer. Male hunters were no different. News articles about people dying miserably in dungeons were quite common.
I immediately switched the screen to another part.
‘By the way, how peculiar.’
Changing the mood, I had another question.
‘Why did a Half Goblin appear?’
I had spent 4 years at the Hunter Academy. As expected of the Hunter Academy, they taught us about the characteristics of various monsters. Goblins were a species born with a very small proportion of females, and we learned that they used females of other species for reproduction. They said that goblins would be born regardless of the species of the female. But the goblin born this time was not an ordinary goblin. It looked like a hybrid of human and goblin. Why was a Half Goblin born?
‘Is it not an ordinary adventurer?’
My questions didn’t last long due to new notifications.
– Congratulations! The first unique monster has been born in your dungeon.
– Half Goblin (★★★★)
– Rewards are distributed!
– The movement range of dungeon subordinates increases.
– The size of the dungeon expands.
“Tsk, the reward isn’t that great.”
I wish they had given me an Ascension Scroll to raise the monster’s rank. It was just an increase in dungeon size and subordinate movement range. But the notifications didn’t stop there.
– Please select a dungeon expansion method.
1. [1st Floor, Sector 5]
2. [2nd Floor, Sector 1]
“There are so many new notifications today?”
They wanted me to choose an expansion method.
“Hmm.”
I looked at the current dungeon layout. My dungeon now had three paths after entering from the entrance. The leftmost path of the three paths was [1st Floor, Sector 1]. The sub-boss here was a Death Knight, and it was an area occupied by Undead type monsters. The middle path was [1st Floor, Sector 2], which was the Goblin territory. The sub-boss was, of course, the Goblin Lord. The rightmost path was [1st Floor, Sector 3], which was home to monsters called carnivorous tendril plants. The floor was covered with soil and grass to create a field. Blood-sucking Butterflies flew overhead, decorating it with a natural concept. That was definitely the case. Now, there were two guys who weren’t part of my dungeon along with spiders drooling nearby.
“The concept itself is ruined here.”
Still, it was a strange space that worked well.
Gooeeeeeak-
A plump Water Spirit was watering the plants through a sprinkler. When the spirit watered, two others tended to the plants.
“Huh…”
Next to the small kid, a wriggler was squirming.
‘The subordinate is still alive.’
Kkumuli was the subordinate I pulled after Celia, but it seemed useless for now. I mean, would a worm become useful as it grew? Yes, you just stay there and live well.
“Well, if you call this a concept, then it’s a concept…?”
If there was a farm inside the dungeon, wouldn’t it have this atmosphere? It was a strange space no matter how I looked at it. Naturally, there was no sub-boss here. Sub-bosses could only be assigned to monsters of 4-star rank or higher, and there were no monsters of 4-star rank or higher in Sector 3. Sectors 1, 2, and 3, divided into three paths, were consolidated into one sector again. That was [1st Floor, Sector 4]. A large lake was placed here, and it was an important place. The goblins in Sector 2 obtained their drinking water here. The water sprinkled by the Water Spirit in Sector 3 a little while ago was also refilled from this lake. Monsters also existed here. A small number of Naga lived at the bottom of the lake, and like Sector 3, there was no sub-boss yet. After passing through Sector 4, the [Dungeon Center] unfolded immediately. The center was a very important space where the Dungeon Core was located, and its breach meant the destruction of the dungeon. It was that important. There was no sub-boss, but the Chief Administrator, Celia, resided there. Thus, my dungeon could be considered to be composed of sectors 1 through 4 of the 1st floor, including the center. I checked the alarm again.
– Please select a dungeon expansion method.
1. [1st Floor, Sector 5]
2. [2nd Floor, Sector 1]
“Is there really a need to create Sector 5?”
Looking around briefly, expanding the 1st floor seemed meaningless for now. It might be necessary someday, but my eyes were drawn to the next option.
‘2nd Floor.’
I immediately selected that option.
– You have selected [2nd Floor, Sector 1].
Along with that alarm, the dungeon on the screen shook. Simultaneously, new space began to form below the 1st floor sectors. It was completely underground space.
“Does a new layer form by digging underground every time?”
A big change occurred with the creation of the 2nd floor. First, a new underground space was created below the 1st floor. That was the 2nd floor. Also, the location of the dungeon center changed. Previously, it led directly to the [Dungeon Center] from [1st Floor, Sector 4]. Now, it changed to a structure leading from [1st Floor, Sector 4] to [2nd Floor, Sector 1]. and then to the [Dungeon Center].
“It got more complicated.”
And that wasn’t all.
– [2nd Floor, Sector 1] has been completed.
– Conditions for unlocking [Guardian of the Layer] are met!
– [Guardian of the Layer] unlocked!
– With the expansion of the new layer, you can now designate the ‘Guardian’ of the existing [1st Floor].
– The ‘Guardian of the Layer’ will have command authority over the subordinates of the respective layer and will be able to manage loyalty more easily.
A new system appeared.
“Guardian?”
A sub-boss system had appeared in a similar way before. But this time, it was a layer guardian. Ha. The system would become more complex, but it would also allow for more efficient management.
– You can set the [Guardian of the 1st Floor].
– Only monsters of 5-star rank or higher can be designated as ‘Guardian of the Layer’.
Like the sub-boss, the layer guardian also had conditions.
“5-star rank…”
Actually, there weren’t many monsters of 5-star rank or higher in the dungeon right now. It would be more accurate to say there were almost none.
‘Should I promote Death Knight or Goblin Lord as Guardian?’
No, that’s not it. There have been no problems in my dungeon so far. That means the existing sub-bosses have been faithful to their duties. There’s no need to change them unnecessarily.
‘In the same sense, Celia is also excluded.’
The only one left is Arch Lich…
“……”
Shall I entrust it to him, even temporarily? Even if a 5-star monster appears in the gacha immediately, there would be a problem setting it as a guardian.
‘Arch Lich has lived in the dungeon for a long time, so he should do well.’
– Do you wish to designate Arch Lich as the [Guardian of the 1st Floor]?
* * *
Arch Lich returned to the dungeon. After reporting to Celia, Arch Lich entered Sector 1. The Death Knight, the sub-boss of Sector 1, was nowhere to be seen. Arch Lich immediately took out the pouch from his waist. The pouch was filled with jewels and gold coins obtained at the social gathering. With a satisfied expression, he opened his notebook.
Scratch- Scratch-
Only the sound of Arch Lich’s fountain pen echoed in the quiet dungeon. It was time to write his household ledger. While recording his profits,
An unknown power was detected. A powerful, purplish force gathered around him. Even the surrounding air seemed to be swept away by the power’s surge. The notebook in Arch Lich’s hand began to open gently in mid-air. Sensing the change, Arch Lich looked up.
