Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

2 – Dungeon Deputy Settings

– 100% synchronization has been completed.

– The dungeon location will be generated randomly.

– Time remaining: 1 hour

What is this all about?

1 hour?

Why wait again after synchronization is complete?

At first, I thought it was game time when they said 1 hour. However, my jaw dropped when I saw the remaining time on the screen was decreasing by 1 second in real-time just like reality.

“Sigh…”

This is unbelievable.

I changed the dungeon name as I wanted, and I even waited for the synchronization, but now they tell me to wait another hour.

“Talk about a total rip-off operation.”

I was taken aback, but thanks to that, I could divert my attention away from the mess around me.

My one-year absence had turned my studio apartment into a literal hell.

The refrigerator must have transformed into a box of chaos, and I was afraid to open it.

And the appliances, furniture, and floor were covered in dust.

If I continued like this, diseases might become my friends, reaching out to me before I knew it.

Most importantly, the clothes I was wearing right now.

They hadn’t been washed properly, so there was a strange odor emanating from them.

Of course, it was a world where laundry magic existed, but there was no kind soul to cast a spell for me.

“Let’s start with a shower.”

After washing up, I figured I should whip up something to eat and do some cleaning as well.

* * *

Once I had finished my tasks, more than an hour had passed.

Still, it felt refreshing to have completed my delayed assignments.

I lay on my bed and comfortably clicked on my smartphone game.

– The dungeon “Nest of Demons” has been located in the Sale Kingdom.

– The Sale Kingdom is a country at the northern edge of the human world.

When I examined the map in detail, I noticed that even within the Sale Kingdom, there was a dungeon located in the northern mountain range.

“Isn’t this a great deal?”

Was it worth the one-hour wait?

It turned out to be quite a good result.

The problem lay in the fact that the northern boundary was the limit where humans could tread.

Beyond that, there was land, but it was an abandoned land, not just any abandoned land but one teeming with dungeons and monsters.

Humans didn’t dare venture into the “Land of Death,” as it was known.

Thanks to this, the Sale Kingdom was the place that hunters summoned to the Eldorad Continent dreaded the most.

But if I were to be summoned to the Sale Kingdom.

Monsters would constantly spawn in waves, and so the hunters dispatched to the Sale Kingdom typically had the duty of guarding the northern border.

Of course, that was a bother for the hunters, but it didn’t pose any problems for me at the moment.

It was just a game, and it wasn’t from a human perspective.

In fact, being closer to the demon realm was not a disadvantage but a great advantage, as it was a concept where dungeons were operated.

“Lucky me.”

Unfortunately, the location of the White Academy was in the southern region of the continent.

My plan to quickly harass the academy had now become impossible.

Since our positions were at opposite ends of the continent, the distance was too great.

I decided to start by organizing the surroundings one by one and moving forward slowly.

With the location determined, I touched the screen and waited for the next scene.

– In the future, you must protect and nurture the dungeon as the Demon Lord.

– A deputy to manage the current dungeon has not been set.

– Set a deputy through a draw. (Available deputies: 0/1)

– Deputy Candidate Monster 10 Times Selection Draw (Limited to the first selection)

– Selection is irreversible, so please choose carefully. (No retries allowed)

Finally, it appeared.

If it was a game, I expected there to be a gacha.

The phrase “No retries allowed” caught my eye, but I had no problem with it, as I found retries to be troublesome from the start.

I immediately pressed the summon tab and executed the draw.

A magic circle filled with unfamiliar characters began to spin and shine.

The light filled the smartphone screen and soon began to display the candidates for the dungeon deputy.

The first one that appeared was a goblin.

Wearing shabby clothes and holding a rusty sword in one hand.

Name: Wandering Goblin Swordsman, Gob (★)

Features: A goblin swordsman driven out of the goblin village.

He is in a weakened state.

– Do you want to set him as the deputy of the ‘Nest of Evil’ dungeon?

– [Yes] [No]

Hmm.

It was just as brief as its appearance.

And with only one star, it was probably the lowest-tier monster.

I didn’t expect much.

Although I briefly felt sympathy for him being driven out of his group and in a weakened state, the game is a harsh one.

Without hesitation, I chose ‘No.’

He immediately touched the screen to gaze at the next summoned opponent.

“Oh.”

The next summoned opponent had a distinctly unusual appearance.

She was a female vampire with a black dress and pale white skin.

Name: Bloodthirster, Baalcherite (★★★★★)

Characteristics: A high-ranking demon, a descendant of the vampire royal family. She excels in handling blood and has overcome all of the weaknesses of vampires over time.

– Would you like to designate her as the deputy of the dungeon ‘Nest of Demons’?

– [Yes] [No]

She’s a 5-star character!

Even the description was impressive. It would be insane to discard this one.

He immediately pressed ‘Yes.’

However, the situation that followed was different from what he had expected.

A speech bubble appeared above the head of Baalcherite, the just-summoned 5-star character.

“How dare you ask a noble like me to become a slave? Withdraw immediately!”

He was rejected.

What? He had clearly chosen a monster that came out through the lottery, but the character had refused him. And a slave? He was trying to set her as the deputy of the dungeon, not as a slave.

The name change and dungeon location selection seemed to be realistic in these unnecessary details.

“The difficulty level seems quite high, doesn’t it?”

The problem was that if things continued like this, he might not even have a chance to draw good characters in the remaining lotteries. This was critical.

For now, what was done was done, and he couldn’t change it.

He immediately touched the screen to proceed with the next lottery.

However, was the second 5-star character the result of good luck?

Slime (★★)

Ghoul (★)

Golem (★★★)

From noble mtl dot com

Lizardman (★★)

Orc (★★)

Tiny Baby Worm (★), and so on…

Every now and then, a 3-star monster would appear, but never anything higher.

Hesitantly pressing No, I soon found myself with only the final 10th draw remaining.

If I had known this, I would have just settled for a 3-star monster.

Regretting it was pointless, as it was already in the past.

Hoping for a good result, I proceeded with the 10th draw.

And the result was…

Name: Weak Succubus, Celia Esharar (★★★)

Traits: Was a disciple of the Succubus Queen.

However, due to her weak heart, she starved as a succubus unable to drain human life force.

For this reason, she was embroiled in controversy over her qualifications and was eventually expelled from her disciple status.

-Would you like to set her as the deputy of the dungeon ‘Lair of the Evil God’?

– [Yes] [No]

A 3-star monster had appeared.

On top of not being able to reset, the final result was a 3-star.

To be honest, I didn’t know how strong a 3-star monster would be in this game.

It could be powerful, or maybe it would just be an average monster.

“Still a bit disappointing.”

Having seen a 5-star monster before, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat let down.

The description didn’t help either.

A succubus that couldn’t make use of its succubus abilities!

I even began to doubt if she could handle even a single task.

Hmm.

I wasn’t particularly attracted to her, but I didn’t have any other options.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that I would choose her even if a higher-ranked monster appeared.

‘She was my last choice, but will she really reject me?’

I immediately pressed Yes and held my breath as I waited.

‘……’

After a few seconds passed, the result was revealed.

– Celia Esharar (★★★) has been assigned as the deputy of the dungeon ‘Lair of the Evil God’.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a rejection.

– Two ‘Demon World Merchant Invitation Tickets’ are given as a reward for setting up the first vice-commander.

– When the Demon World Merchant Invitation Ticket is used, the merchant will come to the owner’s dungeon.

The reward for setting up the vice-commander was not important right now.

Rather, they looked at the vice-commander’s abilities immediately.

＜Celia Eshar＞

– Grade: ★★★

[Basic Information]

Vitality: F+

Attack Power: E

Defense Power: F+

Magic Power: B

[Skills]

– Nightmare (F): Gives a minor nightmare to the opponent.

The rest are locked.

Is this ability really not much to boast about, despite being rated three stars?

With the exception of Magic Power, all other abilities were ranked F or E.

“Is this supposed to be a 3-star character?”

In this game, does the performance of 3-star characters not amount to much?

The method of indicating strength levels in Earth and the El Dorado Continent differed.

On Earth, an alphabet is used to indicate the strength of a monster.

For example, it has F-grade to A-grade, and a few in the world can only reach the globally acknowledged S-grade.

The same rating applies to monsters too.

On the other hand, in the El Dorado Continent, the greater the number of stars, the stronger the monster.

From 1-star to 5-star, were the typical grades of monsters that could be seen in the continent.

“Didn’t they say that the creature that once drove the continent into fear had 7 stars?”

Moreover, the continent’s ranking structure is more complicated, as it separately marks the levels of adventurers, magicians, and knights.

“Well, they probably didn’t apply the same standard in the game.”

I returned to the game and looked at the 3-star Succubus.

Could it be that she’s considered 3-star simply because of her high magic power?

Instead of managing the dungeon, it would be a relief if she didn’t just get captured.

When I saw that its magical power was relatively high, it felt like a monster meant for support.

Has the game picked up on my worries?

The next screen appeared.

– First 3-star Deputy, 4-star Promotion Special Package! (5,900 won)

Composition: 2 3-star Soul Stones, 10,000 Gold (Remaining time: 24 hours)

Features: You can combine 3-star monsters and 2 3-star soul stones to create a 4-star monster.

The components were enough to shock me.

It seems like the game developers are determined to make money this way.

“Something felt off about the system where monsters refuse you.”

There must be some hidden strategy like this.

I was actually curious because they were pushing microtransactions this far.

Where did they draw the line with this system?

Anyway, I was disappointed that only a 3-star monster came out.

5,900 won wasn’t a big amount, so I immediately made the payment.

“If it’s 4-star, it’s probably a B-grade monster at best.”

– Payment completed! The components have been delivered to your mailbox.

A window with “Payment completed” and a dazzling effect appeared.

At the same time, the game tutorial showed an arrow indicating where you could perform the synthesis.

“They really tell you about it quickly.”

I immediately attempted the synthesis by placing Celia Eshar and 2 3-star soul stones.

– Synthesis successful!

– Celia Eshar (★★★★)

＜Celia Eshar＞

– Grade: ★★★★

[Basic Information]

Life Force: E+

Attack: D-

Defense: E+

Magical Power: B+

[Skills]

– Nightmare (E): Gives the opponent a spine-chilling nightmare.

As the alarm indicating a successful synthesis rang, the changed ability scores appeared.

The basic ability scores and skill grades had changed slightly.

“Wow, the ability scores do increase when promoted.”

The admiration was short-lived as a new package soon came to mind.

– First 4-star lieutenant, 5-star promotion special package! (15,900 won)

Contents: 2 4-star Soulstones, 20,000 gold (Time remaining: 24 hours)

Features: You can create a 5-star monster by synthesizing a 4-star monster and 2 4-star Soulstones.

“Damn it, f*ck.”

He felt a thrill.

* * *

Ba’al Charet, a descendant of the Vampire Royal family and a Predator of blood.

She swirled the wine glass, savoring the fresh blood inside.

“Hmm…”

She was living a peaceful day-to-day life.

All the monsters surrounding the dungeon had taken an oath of loyalty to her.

Even if she sat still, they would automatically offer her fresh blood daily.

From Ba’al Charet’s point of view, there was no reason to expel them as they voluntarily paid tribute.

As she leisurely enjoyed her blood today too.

Suddenly, the space in front of her distorted.

An unknown voice echoed through.

【Become my slave. Receive my mercy.】

The voice was filled with a deep abyss.

Who is it? Who’s playing such a prank?

Even more so, a slave?

It was the most absurd thing she had heard recently.

A noble descendant of the royal family like her should become a slave?

Ba’al Charet scoffed at the words.

She wanted to find out who the owner of the voice was right away.

Even when he opened his eyes wide, he could not identify the owner of the voice.

He gathered his strength, trying to trace the source of the voice.

But there was a problem.

He couldn’t feel any energy at all.

As if nothing existed.

‘How can this be?’

There was only one answer.

‘Someone much higher rank than me.’

An opponent who has reached a state beyond his understanding.

Baalcheris spoke cautiously with a solemn voice.

“How dare you tell me, a noble, to become your slave? Step back immediately!”

There was no need to go against the mood of a higher-ranked being.

So he responded neither too rudely nor too courteously.

Was it fortunate that he did so?

As he spoke up, the distorted spacetime began to return to normal.

The voice could no longer be heard.

“Is it really backing down so obediently?”

It was a letdown.

Perhaps it wasn’t as high of a rank as he had thought.

If he had known, he would have retorted more aggressively.

“Well, if it comes back next time, I’ll just kill it.”

For daring to tell the royal bloodline to become a slave was no less than a heinous crime.

And so, she indulged herself in the taste of blood that day.