Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

4 – The Uninvited Guest

A day had passed since my banishment from the other world Eldorado.

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It was a brief struggle to fill the one-year gap that didn’t exist on Earth.

[Hey, young man. You’ve been to that Eldorado or something, right?]

Receiving a reply after greeting the landlady for the first time in a while.

It was a well-known story that only a few hunters were chosen and summoned to Eldorado. It wasn’t strange to receive such a message from the non-Awakener landlady.

However, I couldn’t say that I had been there without hesitation.

Being summoned to Eldorado was undoubtedly an honorable event. Who wouldn’t want to go there since they could gain power beforehand?

In reality, the chances of being chosen were extremely low and random.

It was definitely fortunate and something to be proud of that I had gone to Eldorado by beating those terrible odds.

‘But I can’t say I’ve been there and back.’

The reason was obvious.

I returned without gaining anything in that year, even though I had stayed with the White Order.

“If only I had brought a Sacred Sword.”

What he meant here was a standard-issue Sacred Sword.

The standard-issue Sacred Swords used by the White Order’s holy knights.

They weren’t particularly important to the Order. However, in comparison to Earth, the Order’s standard-issue Sacred Sword was practically equivalent to a high-grade artifact.

The problem was that although it was just a standard sword from the Order’s perspective, they would not simply hand it over to an outsider.

Of course, there were exceptions.

A few years ago, one of his academy peers had returned after obtaining a standard-issue Sacred Sword from the Order.

Naturally, it was solely due to his contribution to the Order and the fact that they gave him the sword as a reward, no other reasons.

The peer who received the sword was now making quite a name for himself as an A-class hunter, which was no surprise.

From the Order’s perspective, I was a useless pawn, so my return empty-handed was also no surprise.

Moreover, the reason I kept my trip to Eldorado a secret was because it was directly linked to my own safety.

Scouts were in a frenzy to recruit the hunters who had returned to Earth.

Take the standard-issue Sacred Sword, for example.

A mere sword for the Order’s holy knights was considered a legendary sword on Earth.

Even if it was a trivial item from the Eldorado continent, in our position, there was a possibility that it would become an artifact.

Is that all? The skills and abilities learned there were a spectacle unseen on Earth.

So, would the returned hunters be left alone? The government even conducted a magic power examination targeting the hunters whose whereabouts were unknown.

[Hunter Lee Gang-hyun, please find the nearest Awakener Center and undergo a magic power examination upon receiving this message. The examination is mandatory, and non-compliance will result in severe legal punishment…….]

It was like this.

Once this message was received, they could not officially enter the dungeon until they had undergone the magic power examination.

Even if I had told them that I had gone, the examination would show that I had only wasted my time in Eldorado, which was a miserable situation.

But was that really the only reaction?

Maybe they would have said something else.

Something like, ‘Maybe that guy brought something good and he’s hiding it?’

If a crazy guy wanted to confirm that rumor, it probably wouldn’t end with just a simple torture.

That’s why they were hiding the fact that they had been to Eldorado in the first place.

Because it was safe that way.

There are plenty of hunters in the world who disappear mysteriously, either due to closed-door training or some other reason.

There was no rush for me either.

“Let’s rest a few more days.”

Gradually, it’s time to find a porter job again.

Of course, it won’t be easy.

I’m an incompetent person without a status window and skills.

Not all porters are the same.

At least if I had a status window, I could learn skills and with just a small inventory skill, my treatment as a porter would have changed.

“I want a status window too…”

Weakly muttering, I started the game I downloaded yesterday.

It was my own way of escaping reality for a moment.

I had played several games before going to El Dorado.

When I checked after coming back yesterday, the one-year gap was quite bigger than I thought.

With many added contents and updates, returning users were struggling to catch up.

A lot of in-game purchases and effort would be needed to close the gap.

I just deleted it without hesitation.

I couldn’t spend much time on it since I would be busy in the future.

And the game I downloaded yesterday, [El Dorado]

It was refreshing in its own way.

Some elements were a bit dissatisfying, but a game set in another world was the first one that I knew of.

Moreover, running a dungeon and setting monsters as subordinates.

“Anyway, what is the real goal of this game?”

Unlike recent games with long tutorials, it was too unfriendly.

I didn’t even get a sense of what to aim for.

Was it literally just raising a dungeon and wreaking havoc?

If I had known this, I wouldn’t have skipped the beginning stories.

I ignored what had already happened and looked at my dungeon inside the screen.

– Deputy ‘Celia Ishahahahar’ is managing the dungeon.

As soon as I looked at the screen, the guy I set as deputy was busily moving around in various places.

Hmm. You’re working hard.

Yeah, you should work hard considering how much money I invested in you.

If my dungeon gets breached suddenly, my disappointment wouldn’t be small.

I looked at the gold I got from making in-game purchases yesterday.

Exactly 100,000 gold was written there.

“What can I do with this?”

Did they hear my murmuring?

Suddenly, a new window appeared on the screen.

– Would you like to expand the dungeon? Gold is required for expansion.

Expand the dungeon?

Indeed, the dungeon was too small right now.

The dungeon was called the ‘Nest of Demons,’ but it looked shabby because of its small size.

“Let’s expand it first.”

When it comes to dungeons, you have to consider the monsters and traps you need to guard. But if it’s too small, what good are all the troops?

There was nothing as deadly as enemy splash attacks when troops were crowded in a small space.

And for now, Deputy Selia alone should be able to handle it.

-The dungeon has been expanded. 10,000 gold has been deducted.

-The dungeon has been expanded. 10,000 gold has been deducted.

I used all 100,000 gold for expansion.

I felt somewhat satisfied seeing the expanded dungeon.

The small cave had turned into a sprawling underground cave.

Even if invaders come, it would take a long time for them to reach the end of the dungeon.

I could slowly install monsters and traps at the midpoints of the path from now on.

Of course, for now, there would be no invaders due to the dungeon’s stealth effect. So, I’ll hold off.

Expanding the dungeon had effects other than that.

– [Altar] system will be activated by dungeon expansion.

– The deputy can offer sacrifices to the master of the dungeon.

– The master can absorb some of the abilities of the sacrifices.

“It seems I can become stronger in this way.”

I roughly understood what kind of system it was.

Of course, to use this system called the altar, there had to be intruders in the dungeon.

“Or maybe I can just send her outside?”

While this doubt arose, I tried to send Selia, who was set as the deputy, out of the dungeon.

– This function has not yet been opened.

It was still a function he couldn’t use yet.

Though it was a shame, he had learned a little about how to play the game in the future.

Now, should he move on to the next?

“Well, it’s time for the loot.”

He changed the 3-star monster he had set as his lieutenant yesterday into a 6-star one.

And there was a gift in his mailbox!

– Reward for first 6-star achievement!

– Increase your lieutenant’s affection by giving them clothes!

– Costume Selection Ticket (S) 1 piece

After loyalty, it’s affection.

There were indeed more than one or two things to worry about.

Thankfully, the reward was quite generous.

It was an S-class costume.

With this, he thought the affection would increase quickly as well.

He touched the Costume Selection Ticket he received from the mailbox right away.

– You have used the Costume Selection Ticket.

At the same time, various clothes filled the screen.

From bear-shaped masks to pajamas, ordinary clothes like dresses, and even revealing clothes, the variety was diverse.

‘Why is this S-class?’

The situation where only the appearance is shown without revealing the stats.

Nor was the appearance particularly unique.

In this case, there was no need to worry too much.

He immediately chose the maid outfit.

The perfect outfit for a lieutenant who manages the dungeon was undoubtedly a maid outfit.

It was not because he liked it, but because it fit the image.

It was a simple but excellent choice.

Maid Outfit (S) – Reduces damage taken from holy attacks by 90%.

“Oh.”

The ability of the received maid outfit was also impressive when he clicked on it.

It was indeed S-class.

Immediately after touching his deputy Celia, he clicked on [Gift].

– You gave maid clothes (S) to ‘Celia Ishahahahar’.

– ‘Celia Ishahahahar’s favorability has reached 100.

– ‘Celia Ishahahahar’ declared that from now on, any act of disrespect towards her master will be considered an act of disrespect towards herself, and that her master and herself are one.

The reaction was quick.

As expected.

Her favorability had reached its maximum in no time.

“From now on, wear those clothes and manage the dungeon.”

Celia, dressed in maid clothes, looked perfect in them.

* * *

Celia cleaned and managed every corner of the dungeon to fulfill the orders of her master, Lee Kang-hyun.

Fortunately, she had memories of managing a dungeon when she was a disciple of the Succubus Queen in the past.

Celia tried her best not to cause any trouble for her master based on those memories.

Her master was not only a noble being she served, but also a god.

He had effortlessly saved her, who was in the heavily guarded White Church, and that too in the underground.

If he wasn’t amazing, then who would be?

Just as she was thinking that-

Suddenly, the dungeon began to vibrate.

“What is this…?”

The surprise was only momentary.

The size of the dungeon was rapidly increasing.

Her eyes widened.

To be able to increase the size of the dungeon without any effort was unheard of.

She had never heard or seen such ability.

If one could easily increase the size of their dungeon, then the dungeon owners wouldn’t fight over ownership rights in the first place.

Do you know how much labor and time is needed during the process of expanding a dungeon? And a considerable amount of funds were poured in.

But her master had increased the size of the dungeon simply by using his ability.

“Is he truly a great being?”

Celia’s astonishment didn’t end there.

Out of the blue, a set of clothes appeared in front of her.

It was a maid outfit.

‘….’

It wasn’t just a simple maid outfit.

She felt an extraordinary power from it.

‘Where did they get such clothes?’

Celia vowed to do her best to serve her master, who was truly an amazing person, with all her might for the rest of her life.

* * *

“Priest, it’s dangerous, so how about returning? Didn’t the seal stone disappear yesterday, causing a mess in the church?”

In a mountain range of the Sale Kingdom, two men were climbing a mountain path.

One man wore a priest’s robe, and the other, in ordinary clothes, had a standard-issue holy sword strapped to his waist.

A priest and a holy knight.

In fact, they were an apprentice priest and a holy knight.

Although the holy knight was higher in rank than the apprentice priest, the knight spoke respectfully and humbly to the apprentice priest.

It was because the man was not an ordinary person.

The apprentice priest’s name was Yuel.

His ability was the ‘Eye of Insight.’

The ability to see through everything made Yuel the center of attention in the church.

Some people said this:

The one who will lead the Church in the future is Yuel.

It was easy to eliminate the heretics determined by the church because he could see through everything.

Yuel’s existence was like a blessing to the Church.

So he was soon facing his official priest appointment.

“Don’t worry. Wasn’t it a succubus that was released from the seal stone? And it’s only 3 stars.”

The meaning of his words was simple.

There was no need to make a fuss over a mere 3-star monster.

In reality, a 3-star monster was nothing.

From noble mtl dot com

It was even questionable why such a monster would be sealed in the church’s underground.

It might be different if it was a 5-star monster.

In the first place, a 5-star existence was not something you could encounter while walking down the street.

A 5-star monster was truly a disaster-level threat.

If such an existence were to move, it would be on high alert in the city as well.

Even if he encountered a 5-star monster by a slim chance, Yuel had a secret weapon up his sleeve.

As Yuel was an important force, the order had supported him with a high-ranking artifact.

It was, in fact, a relic of the order itself.

Knowing this, the knight nodded as well.

At the moment, there was no one who could threaten them.

Merely showing the order’s identification would make even nobles bow their stiff heads.

The problem, however, was the existence of beings higher than 5-star rank.

But such monsters were extremely rare.

It was an encounter that might happen once in a lifetime, if at all.

Of course, there were records of a 7-star level appearing a few hundred years ago.

It almost swallowed up the continent, but now it was just a story of the past.

In reality, they didn’t even consider it, as the story itself was more like a legend now.

How far had they climbed up the mountain?

Yuel’s steps came to a halt.

“Why do you stop? Your Holiness.”

“There’s a cave over there.”

A cave?

The knight cocked his head.

All they could see was vines where Yuel pointed.

However, Yuel’s ability, [Eye of Insight], indicated the presence of a hidden cave beyond the vines.

[Nest of the Evil God]

“A nest of an evil god…”

Fortunately, they did not feel the energy of a dungeon.

“Sir Knight, I believe there may be heretics here.”

Yuel’s expression turned cold.