The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

Chapter 23

EP.23 The Turning Point of the Incubus Dungeon (1)

If you were to name the country closest to the demon realm, everyone would say it’s the Sael Kingdom.

The demon realm was an unknown land, and nobody knew exactly what kind of monsters inhabited it. They could only speculate based on past records.

So, was the Sael Kingdom a dangerous place, constantly under threat from monsters because of its proximity to the demon realm?

That wasn’t the case, it was safe for a particular reason. A massive mountain range acted as a barrier between the Sael Kingdom and the demon realm.

This mountain range provided the kingdom with a unique advantage. There was another being that received a similar privilege.

“Aah… Haa…”

The girl, who had been running at full speed just moments ago, paused to catch her breath. Breathing heavily, she was a small girl, but her elongated fangs made her distinct. Her name was Aren, and she was a vampire.

“Mom, where are you…?”

Aren said sadly. Her caregiver, with whom she had been playing until recently, was no longer by her side.

“…Those bad men.”

Aren lived in a small dungeon inhabited by vampires. But the peace didn’t last long. Suddenly, they were attacked by individuals in white armor. It was an entirely unexpected turn of events.

The dungeon had no way to defend against their sudden assault. Only Aren, due to her small stature, managed to escape. She was lucky. She had been running away for a while, not stopping even when Holy Knights chased her.

She carried a sword her parents had given her and kept running despite the exhaustion. She managed to outrun the Holy Knights and reach her current location.

The mountain range, next to the demon realm…

“Just a little more.”

If she could cross this mountain, she would reach the demon realm.

“Then I can meet Mom and Dad again.”

Before parting, her parents had told her that they would follow her to the demon realm. They believed she would reunite with them there, and Aren held firm to that belief.

– Grllll. –

But she hadn’t eaten anything all day. For a small girl like Aren, it was a critical situation.

“I’m hungry… I miss Mom…”

Tears were about to well up again.

“Endure it. I have to endure…”

Now was not the time to cry. She had to muster all the strength she could.

Aren mumbled, wiping away her tears.

– Snap! –

A squirrel approached Aren as she was crying.

“Hehe, it’s a squirrel.”

The appearance of the cute squirrel brightened Aren’s expression.

The difficult emotions that had overwhelmed her until a moment ago seemed to melt away thanks to the squirrel.

“Squirrel friend, come here!”

Aren reached out her hand toward the squirrel.

Did the squirrel understand her feelings? It had been cautious at first, but soon it climbed onto Aren’s outstretched hand.

“Friends are the best!”

Aren lightly embraced the squirrel, pronouncing each word with her short pronunciation.

– Snap? –

With the squirrel in her hand, she lifted it and bit into its body.

– Snap! –

“Sweet!”

Aren’s face was filled with joy.

It was like drinking sweet juice.

Red drops fell one by one from Aren’s lips.

“Squirrel friend, see you later!”

Aren, who had just finished “enjoying” her so-called “friend,” put the squirrel down and stood up. She still had a long way to go.

It wasn’t a good idea to stay here, who knew when those scary men would come after her. So, Aren resolutely got to her feet.

“Let’s be strong!”

For the day when she could reunite with her mom and dad, she had to stay determined. Aren held the sword her parents had given her close to her heart. She couldn’t remember what her parents had said about the sword; she was too young to recall.

“Oops!”

Aren’s gaze fell to the ground. She had spotted a snake crawling on the floor.

“It’s a long friend!”

With the sword wrapped in her arms, Aren used her small hands to pick up the snake.

“Let’s go together. You’re a tasty friend.”

At least for a while. Aren didn’t seem bothered by the lack of food.

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***

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Celia was busy checking her dungeon. She was preparing for the arrival of Holy Knights after hearing rumors about their presence nearby. Fortunately, she had more than enough funds for such preparations.

‘Where did master get these magic stones from?’

Her great master had given her a whopping 20,000 magic stones. That was more than enough to be well-prepared for the Holy Knights.

“It would be nice to set up some traps here.”

Celia pointed out various parts of the dungeon as she inspected them.

“Please use traps that can be installed quickly.”

She had been making deals with the Demon merchant regarding this matter. The representative, Moru, was visibly pleased.

Moru had recently become a prominent figure in the Demon merchant due to her rapidly increasing achievements. She had been discriminated against within the market because she was a half-blooded succubus born between a succubus and a human. However, she was fortunate to be assigned as the dungeon’s manager. That had been a turning point for her.

The dungeon she managed was not a wealthy one. In fact, the last time they needed numerous magic stones…

“But this time, we also need to replace the weapons used by the goblins and skeletons. Would this be sufficient?”

“Magic stones doesn’t matter, just make sure the quality is as high as possible.”

She demanded that every weapon be of the highest quality.

“By the way, Moru?”

“Yes! Please, tell me.”

“Do you happen to have any armor or equipment?”

Weapons were decent, but armor was lacking. No matter how good an offense was, it was pointless if defense was lacking.

“Of course! Our Demon merchant has a variety of equipment for adventurers, and we also have equipment looted from the Order.”

“Then, could we discuss it?”

“Of course!”

Moru happily agreed.

If this deal went smoothly like the previous one, there was no need to worry about her performance.

“I have to stay with her until the end.”

Moru glanced at Celia beside her. Since she was a regular customer, she decided to provide the utmost convenience for her.

====

***

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There was one thing that needed correction. Going against the promise of not playing the game for a while, I inevitably launched the game.

[El Dorad]

A simple game title appeared on the screen. While it was practically an idle game, it had its own charm.

“Oh…”

Especially, the characters had some depth, and even now, multiple characters were busy exploring the dungeon. Except for the undead living in Area 1, they all seemed occupied.

“But who is this?”

An unfamiliar character was next to Celia. I clicked on the character to find out who it was.

“Moru?”

The name was Moru. According to the description, she was a merchant from the Demon merchant, and there were two stars next to her name. This merchant was traveling with Celia to various places.

“Oh, so this is how the dungeon development works through her.”

Moru… If I ever needed to make a deal, I should remember her name.

“Interesting.”

By the way, if they’re this busy, I won’t have much to do. In reality, I had one purpose for entering the game.

I wanted to send Celia to another dungeon as a pastime to support a different one. However, Celia was working diligently. What if I gave her additional tasks now? I’d be a heartless employer.

On the other hand, there was no reason to remove Death Knight in this situation. Someone had to guard the dungeon.

“This dungeon seems special for some reason…”

A different dungeon appeared on the [Dungeon Support & Dispatch] list. It was called the Incubus Dungeon. It looked ordinary on the surface, but the problem was that the location of this dungeon was not on the El Dorad continent.

“In another dimension?”

My expectations were shattered by this detail. It was intriguing, so I had wanted to send her right away. Plus, it was an Incubus Dungeon, which meant it had monsters with the opposite nature of succubus.

“Even so, Celia seems perfect for this.”

I looked at the screen with a sense of regret.

“Well, there’s still time.”

The adjacent Incubus Dungeon had a timer displayed.

– Remaining Time: 1 day, 2 hours, 16 minutes –

I could probably dispatch her within this time frame. Since in-game time and real-time passed simultaneously, her current tasks would most likely be almost finished before that. I gazed at the dungeon that was gradually changing with a sense of pride.

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***

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In the Phoenix Guild’s vice guild leader room, two individuals were having a conversation.

“Did Jung Ye-rin say she’s going into the dungeon tomorrow?”

Vice Guild Leader Jung Tae-young asked in a cold voice.

“That’s right. She seems to be fully committed, and she’s even made thorough preparations,” replied Jung Woo-jin, who held a position managing the guild’s personnel and dungeons, though not as high-ranking as Jung Tae-young.

Jung Ye-rin’s older and younger brothers, respectively.

“Bro, think about it. What an amazing opportunity this is!”

The dungeon in question had a Goblin Lord, which was home to A-rank monsters. And Jung Ye-rin was a B-rank healer. The team members under team leader Jung Ye-rin were all C-rank or D-rank hunters. Even with Jung Ye-rin being a B-rank hunter, she was primarily a non-combat healer. In reality, this party was composed of hunters with a maximum rank of C-rank.

With such a lineup, they were going into a dungeon with Goblin Lord? It was undoubtedly a crazy idea. However, they didn’t try to stop her.

“In that case, provide as much support as possible. That way, she won’t regret it later.”

In fact, Jung Ye-rin was hoping to enter that dungeon. In case she got into trouble later, they were more than willing to provide adequate support to ensure she wouldn’t regret her decision.

In fact, for them, Jung Ye-rin was a non-existent presence. Nevertheless, in a situation where anything could happen, they intended to crush this sprout further, ensuring Jung Ye-rin wouldn’t grow larger than they wanted.

A golden opportunity had come their way, and they couldn’t just let it pass.

‘Mother would be pleased.’

Especially since their mother had a strong dislike for Jung Ye-rin, bordering on hatred. She was the child of their husband’s other wife, after all. But now, all of that was coming to an end. Soon, they’d be hearing some good news.

“Oh, by the way, are you preparing well?”

Jung Tae-young asked Jung Woo-jin as if a thought had crossed his mind. Jung Woo-jin was also planning to enter a different dungeon.

“Of course, who do you think I am? I’ve even sent scouts to that dungeon already.”

“Then what are you worried about? What if they prepare inside the dungeon?”

If it were low-level monsters, that might be fine. However, as the rank of monsters increased, so did their intelligence. If they openly scouted, the monsters might prepare themselves. That’s why it was said that it was difficult to clear higher-ranked dungeons.

The dungeon Jung Woo-jin was preparing for was of B-rank, not a low-rank dungeon.

“Don’t worry about it, bro,”

Jung Woo-jin said with a casual smile.

“Besides, there are only Incubi in there.”

“Is that so? What are Incubi, anyway?”

Incubi were different from Succubus, they exclusively targeted women in their dreams. But if there were only Incubi in the dungeon, it made sense to form a team of male hunters. Men were immune to Incubi’s seduction. No matter how the Incubi tried to prepare, it wouldn’t work.

“It seems like Jung Woo-jin is destined for success, and Jung Ye-rin for failure… Maybe the heavens are on Jung Woo-jin and my side after all.”

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