Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

7 – Mixed-Blood Succubus of the Demon World’s Commerce Association

Celia was in a particularly good mood today.

【Grow the dungeon in a manner worthy of my status. I will give you all authority.】

Her master had commanded her.

He had entrusted her with full responsibility for dungeon management.

This was no different from expressing trust and faith in her.

Celia’s excitement was restrained, and she did not jump for joy.

This was a test as well as trust.

If she succeeds in doing this well, her master will also entrust her with important tasks in the future.

She could not disappoint him.

First, Celia checked the dungeon’s current situation.

This was because her benevolent master had given her a few things to manage the dungeon.

The first was monsters.

As soon as she received the dungeon authority, she also gained command over the dungeon-affiliated monsters.

“Skeletons, huh.”

One skeleton knight, two soldiers.

An archer, and two magic apprentices.

It wasn’t a strong force.

Objectively speaking, it was no different from the minimum force needed for dungeon defense.

But all of this must also be a test from the master.

If they couldn’t break through here themselves, they weren’t qualified to call themselves a servant of their great master.

This time, they turned their head toward a different item.

There were two black cards there.

The second item given to them was those cards.

They didn’t know what the meaning of the black cards was.

Celia also once had a time when she was the disciple of the Succubus Queen.

And she was able to learn a bit about how to manage a dungeon.

“These are Demon World Merchant cards?”

Even if you have a dungeon, there is a limit to grow it with your own strength.

Just as there are merchants in human society, it was the same here in the demon world.

The Demon World Merchant Association.

It was both the biggest and the only merchant association in the demon world.

Even if you were the Demon King, you couldn’t bully the merchant association.

What if you did?

The association would immediately cut off trading with that Demon King.

Then even the Demon King would starve to death and the dungeon would go bankrupt.

That’s why the association was both the power that could grow a dungeon and a relationship that couldn’t help but be a noose around their neck.

Of course, it was said that if you had a lot of money, the association would bow its head.

And the third and last item was a rather large pouch.

Celia opened the pouch and her eyes widened.

“This, is this a magic crystal?”

Small purple-hued magic crystals sparkled.

The amount was astonishing.

It must be at least in the thousands.

Even the quality wasn’t low.

At this level, it could be called top-notch without any hesitation.

Even with the same quantity, the difference in quality changed the grade of the maṇika, and the price difference was enormous.

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With maṇikas of this level, the initial capital was more than enough.

“Master, you truly are remarkable.”

I never expected such generous support.

The board has already been set.

With such support, I couldn’t accept failure.

Celia immediately started walking with the skeletons.

How should I arrange the plan?

For now, for some reason, no one could intrude into the dungeon.

She found out when she obtained the dungeon’s authority.

“It’s probably a barrier.”

Still, that time wouldn’t be infinite.

Thinking about the time after the barrier was lifted, she had to deploy the skeletons in the dungeon for defense.

Celia was walking toward the dungeon corridor with the skeletons when she suddenly had this thought.

“Is it too narrow here? What do you think, Mr. Skeleton?”

Compared to the length of the dungeon, the width was narrow.

Did the skeletons understand Celia’s words?

One of the skeletons replied with a clicking sound.

“So Mr. Skeleton thinks the same? We should address this issue first.”

Celia, as a succubus, had limited military knowledge about actual attacks and defense.

But the current issue was clear.

A narrow corridor was advantageous for defense and also beneficial to attackers.

There was a need to expand certain areas of the dungeon, turning them into wider spaces.

By doing that, they would be able to repel intruders crawling through the narrow corridor.

But that wasn’t the only concern.

A terrain resembling an open field with no cover highlighted the difficulties of defense.

“I think we might need the help of the Guild.”

Expanding the dungeon wasn’t something that could be achieved with mere words.

An expansion of the labor force was needed, along with the corresponding funds and time.

The master who had expanded the small existing dungeon to the current scale was an extraordinary existence.

Nobody else could’ve done it.

In fact, if the master wielded his power, the current problem could be resolved quickly.

But Celia didn’t want that.

She couldn’t rely on the master’s power forever.

After all, the master trusted and entrusted her for this very reason.

Celia promptly tore the black card in half.

Upon tearing the demon world trade card, it was enveloped in a blue flame and turned into ashes.

It had been used properly.

It wouldn’t be long before a trader from the association would visit.

* * *

The demon world association was huge.

As huge as it was, numerous demons and monsters acted as cogs in a machine, working together to maintain its structure.

Monsters and demons.

In the eyes of humans, they were all the same as monsters, but they weren’t.

Those with the noble blood of demon kings or who have been promoted to demon kings were called demons, not monsters.

And the demons despised monsters as beings with no lineage or roots.

Of course, this was merely a formality. In reality, those who possessed formidable power received equal treatment, regardless of whether they were monsters or demons.

The demon world association was no different.

It was primarily comprised of demons with lineage and powerful monsters in the demon realm.

And at the very bottom of the social hierarchy, handling the smallest cogs in the machine, was Moru.

She spent yet another day sitting at her desk.

Moru had been in the association for quite some time now.

At least long enough not to be considered a greenhorn.

But due to her background, she had faced discrimination within the association.

She was a monster without any lineage and was even weak in power.

No, there was an even bigger problem – she was the offspring of a succubus and a human.

She suffered the most discrimination in the demon world trade association, mocked as a monster with human blood in her veins.

All the good dungeons were taken by the demons or powerful monsters.

What makes a good dungeon?

Dungeons with lots of money and powerful owners who won’t be robbed easily.

Even more, places with a high probability of providing substantial benefits to the demon world’s merchants.

Good dungeons made it easy for merchants to build their performance.

And that performance was directly tied to their status within the merchant association, so everyone fought to be in charge of such dungeons.

That’s not to say that the demon world merchant association only managed such dungeons.

Good dungeons were scarce, and the majority of dungeons were ordinary.

The problem was that Moru had never been assigned to even an ordinary dungeon.

“Sigh…”

When would she be able to enter a dungeon?

At first, Moru had wanted to be assigned to a good dungeon.

But now, she just wanted to be assigned to any dungeon and build up her performance a little bit.

So, once again today, she yawned with a hollow feeling.

“Moru!”

Someone called out to Moru.

It was her new boss, Juwel, who had been assigned recently.

Although her boss was also a succubus, she was a pure succubus, not mixed with human blood like Moru was.

That’s why she was the most hated person by Moru.

She had dared to taint the blood of a succubus, such a vulgar woman.

As a result, Moru couldn’t help but be disheartened.

“Yes? Oh, yes!”

Moru was startled and stood up from her seat.

Then her boss handed her a document.

“Here is some work. You’ve been wanting a dungeon assignment, haven’t you? Sign here.”

Moru was surprised by the sudden event.

She had expected her boss, who seemed ready to scold her for something, to assign her to a dungeon.

Moru had been waiting long for a dungeon assignment, only to be stuck at a desk.

Latecomers had already been assigned to dungeons and started working as merchants, but Moru was still stuck in place.

And now, for the first time, Moru was assigned to a dungeon.

Moru gratefully accepted the document.

And then, she bit her finger, smearing blood on the documents.

The deal was sealed.

“Th-Thank you! I’ll work really hard. Miss Jowell!”

“It’s late, so go get ready quickly. You should be able to build up your achievements too.”

“Yes! I’ll be on my way!”

With a resolute answer, Moru exited.

As soon as she left, Jowell smiled.

“She’s going to make a mess.”

It was obvious without looking.

Upon investigation, there was no significant presence in that dungeon.

It was either a completely unremarkable dungeon or one that was overwhelmingly beyond reach.

But the latter was implausible.

If such a presence existed, the Association would have discovered it long ago.

So, it had to be the former, a dungeon with little to no money.

In the Association, merchants prioritized money as their first virtue and surprisingly, loyalty as the second.

That’s why, unless a dungeon disappeared or the dungeon’s owner requested a change of trading partners, merchants couldn’t change their assigned dungeons at will.

Handling a dungeon without money was stressful for a merchant.

Poor results, and the dungeon had no money.

In the worst case, the dungeon might even demand repayment.

But merchants also had to care about their reputation, as the malevolent dungeon owners were also guests of the Association.

In the end, it was a bitter pill to repay while trying to maintain their reputation as a merchant.

These things would accumulate, eventually strangling the merchant.

“That’s why you can’t help it when dealing with those coarse beings mixed with human blood.”

Moru’s expression, already full of expectations, couldn’t be helped.

* * *

After a long time, I visited the Awakening Center.

“How can I assist you?”

“I’d like to have a magical power examination.”

“May I have your name?”

The purpose was undoubtedly a magical power examination.

“An era in which Hunters with unclear or long-term contact or activity are obligated to reevaluate their mana.

If one does not undergo a mana assessment, the effectiveness of their Hunter’s license is suspended until they receive it, and they are unable to utilize various services such as dungeons or the Hunter Market.

This was devised as a means to reduce Hunter crimes.

“Ah, Hunter Lee Kang Hyun. You are subject to a mana assessment due to your prolonged absence from activity.”

And so, having traveled the Eldorad continent for a year, I became a subject for assessment.

I had originally planned to take the assessment more leisurely, but it seemed like I had gained a status window; I decided to get assessed right away.

“Since there won’t be much difference anyway.”

I didn’t have a status window by default when I awakened.

So, the only change for me was the appearance of the status window here.

There was no sudden increase in stats or the acquisition of skills.

It meant that there wouldn’t be anything particularly different even after the mana assessment.

Thanks to that, the fact that I had been to this world (even if I was chased out) was something no one had a way of knowing.

“If you place your hand here, your mana will be measured.”

A transparent spherical structure in the shape of a sphere.

As soon as you place your hand on it, the mana measurement begins.

After placing my hand on the sphere for a few seconds.

“Ah, it seems you’re coming out as an F-rank, isn’t that right? Is there anything else unusual about you?”

As if it were a matter of course, the staff member nodded and said something while writing.

The real story starts from here.

“I originally planned to take a break from work because I didn’t have a status window.”

The fact that I didn’t have a status window was a story that had already been registered at the Awakening Center.

Now, I needed to change to make Hunter life smoother.

“But suddenly, I got a status window this time. Thanks to that, I came back to challenge Hunter life.”

“Congratulations! You’ve truly become a Hunter now,” the staff member said, and her eyes slightly widened as she congratulated me.

Well, that reaction was natural.

After all, I had been a half-baked Hunter until now.

“Your new license will be issued within 30 minutes. Now that you have a status window, all that’s left is for you to grow.”

After responding casually, the staff member turned away.

“Huh? Who’s this? Isn’t this the half-baked Hunter?”

A voice I haven’t heard in a long time.

A really annoying voice came from behind.

“Damn, you’re still alive?”

He was my classmate from the Hunter Academy.