Monsters and miscellaneous items drawn from jewels all belonged to the dungeon.
And sorting those monsters and items once they belonged to the dungeon was Celia’s role.
“Hmm. Many goblins came out this time. Could it be a sign that I should utilize goblins more actively?”
Of course, the monsters that appeared from the draw varied each time since they were all different, but Celia did not take it lightly.
Believing that her master surely intended something by it, she strove to discern his will.
“The new orcs should all be handed over to Mr. Skoll.”
Celia also classified the monsters by race.
The goblins were assigned to the Goblin Lord, and the orcs to Skoll, who led the ‘Red Head Tribe’ dungeon, and so on.
At Celia’s orders, skeleton knights busily moved about.
“The vampire butterflies have been sent by master after a long time. Please take them all to Sector 3. Aren will sort them out well.”
When existing monsters came out like this, it was fine. They only needed to be sent to the sectors where the same race was gathered.
The problem was when a new specimen appeared.
“Hmm… what should I do with this?”
A fish flopping about on the floor caught Celia’s eye.
Obviously, it was not an ordinary fish, but a monster.
[Aqua Devorer]
It was even a rare species with a small population.
Celia admired her master’s ability to send such a rare specimen, yet a concern arose in her mind.
The problem was where to raise the creature.
The Aqua Devorer was characterized by a body covered in hard scales and fins equipped with poisonous spines capable of paralyzing opponents.
Of course, this did not work on Celia, who was 6-Star grade.
When Celia lifted it up, its green eyes turned red.
It was angry.
“This is quite troublesome.”
Celia also knew this monster well.
Though small now, its greatest trait was that upon reaching adulthood, it would grow far larger than most dungeons.
The Aqua Devorer was absolutely not a monster that could be raised inside a dungeon.
Moreover, the only place with water in the dungeon currently was the lake in Sector 4.
Nagas lived in the lake, and due to the Aqua Devorer’s ferocious nature, it could needlessly ruin the ecosystem.
Even as a juvenile, it was not 3-Star for nothing.
Yet she could not kill it either.
It was clearly a monster given by her master as well.
If Celia killed it, that would be an act of disloyalty.
After a brief moment of worry, Celia soon made her decision.
“We will place a designated request with Ms. Dambi through the Adventurer’s Guild. The request will be for transporting supplies to Lake Yenarian, with priority set to Special.”
A skeleton knight who received orders from Celia moved.
Since it could not be raised in the dungeon, she planned to release it elsewhere instead.
That place was Lake Yenarian.
The lake was situated near the borders of the Seil Kingdom, the Free Cities Alliance, and the Orobis Empire, and was of a suitable size.
Releasing a creature that was not yet an adult into the lake might seem irresponsible, but there was no need to worry about it.
Covered in such tough scales and possessing poisonous spines, it would survive well in the lake.
Well, the lake’s ecosystem might be ruined, but Celia was not one to concern herself with that.
“Since this matter is settled, let us proceed to the next task at once.”
Sorting the monsters did not mean the work was finished.
Next she had to sort items and review the reports sent by Necros.
‘Didn’t he mention a monster arena?’
The report sent by Necros, who had gone to the Seil Kingdom for investigation, stated that he was conducting an arena business in partnership with humans.
But sorting the items took priority over that.
Necros’s investigation reports were important too, but priorities began with matters related to her master.
“Let us sort the items first.”
Celia muttered as she looked at the items scattered on the floor.
“It’s been quite a while since we’ve had items, hasn’t it?”
Occasionally, the master in Celia’s mind would send such items.
The dress she was currently wearing, and even the maid outfit attached to the Death Knight’s shield, were all items bestowed by her master.
From the beginning, I Ganghyeon mainly used jewels to draw monsters and rarely drew miscellaneous items.
This time, having drawn extensively while spending a boring daily life, items had piled up in the dungeon.
“Let us sort out the decent ones separately for now.”
There were many useless items as well.
There was a mountain of things that practically needed to be thrown away: hole-ridden water buckets, leftover bones, moldy bread, stones, and so on.
But Celia thought even these contained her master’s will and did not discard them carelessly.
“Take the moldy bread to the zombies.”
Still, there were occasionally decent items among them.
Among them were equipment like weapons and armor, but they were not of good grade.
They were merely at the level of gear one could buy at a general store.
They were of a quality inferior even to the gear currently used by the goblin scouts.
In short, there was nowhere in the dungeon they could be particularly useful.
But surely, her master’s will was contained in these as well.
While worrying over where to use them, Celia suddenly recalled Necros’s report.
‘The one purchasing zombies, Malcolm. And the monster arena business he and Necros are pursuing together…’
Could all of this truly be mere coincidence?
Celia shook her head.
“Of course not. It must certainly be connected to the Pitch-Black Hand.”
The Pitch-Black Hand.
It was information obtained while interrogating nobles.
At first she had thought they were merely small organizations, but had learned that their power was in fact vast.
Organizations that ruled the underworld of the Seil Kingdom had gathered to form an alliance, and that was precisely the Pitch-Black Hand.
If Celia’s intuition was correct, Malcolm likely belonged to that organization as well.
“This means the monster arena is not unrelated to the Pitch-Black Hand.”
Perhaps her master had provided so many monsters and items because he wanted all of this resolved as soon as possible?
Celia nodded at that possibility.
Her great master knew everything.
Therefore, this too must be a trial given to her.
Celia thought that providing monsters to Necros had been a good decision.
Monsters were essential to operating a monster arena. And since Necros was in charge of those monsters, Malcolm would surely consider Necros a partner. Above all, she wanted to give high marks for having secured a place to infiltrate monsters inside the kingdom.
“Let us support them with the remaining equipment as well while we’re at it.”
Celia intended to step forward personally this time.
Approaching the monster arena and uncovering the truth about the Pitch-Black Hand.
She was certain that this was her master’s intention.
“It seems master wishes for a swift resolution, so…”
Celia swept her hair back with her hand.
Then the two horns above her head disappeared in an instant.
She looked like a human rather than a monster, no matter who looked.
“Now, shall we go to the kingdom?”
Celia exited the dungeon.
* * *
There is a saying on the continent of Eldorad.
- Even a splendid magic tower casts a shadow.
Thus, behind the city filled with blinding lights, there were people living arduous lives.
They were people enduring day by day in the shadowy places hidden behind the glamor.
Cale was one of them.
Like his ordinary name, Cale’s life held nothing special. No, rather, it was nothing but misfortune.
When Cale had just turned eight, his parents passed away in a monster attack.
Suddenly bereaved of his parents, Cale became the head of the household.
As the head, Cale had to take care of his younger sister alone despite his young age.
But to make matters worse, the following year his younger sister fell ill with an unknown disease and faced death.
There was no way the still young Cale could raise the treatment fees.
Moreover, the siblings had no relatives to rely on.
In a world where everyone was too busy surviving, there was no neighbor who would help the Cale siblings, who might soon die.
Yet Cale did not give up.
To earn his sister’s treatment fees, he did any odd job he could find.
But that money only barely sustained his sister’s life; her condition not only failed to improve but steadily worsened.
Cale had many things he wanted to learn and do, but he gave up everything for his sister.
He worked without rest, but all the money earned disappeared into treatment fees.
At times everything felt futile.
The urge to give up had been overwhelming.
But he could not give up on his only family, his younger sister.
Saving his younger sister was the only hope and reason for life remaining for Cale.
He endured like that for seven years.
But it seemed that hope would last only until today.
“So you’re saying you can’t pay because you don’t have money?”
Two men with fierce faces, Gareth and Sam, looked at Cale threateningly.
No matter how much Cale worked, the money he earned was mere pennies.
Making ends meet was difficult enough; covering his sister’s treatment fees was beyond his means.
In the end, Cale had no choice but to turn to a loan shark, and that had led him to this situation.
“Please let it slide just once! I’ll work hard and pay it back for sure, so just this once!”
Cale begged, going so far as to kneel, but the men’s expressions did not budge.
Rather, Gareth grabbed Cale by the collar and pulled him up.
“You brat borrow money and don’t pay back? If it weren’t for Lord Malcolm’s orders, you’d be dead already!”
Gareth glared at Cale with a threat, then pulled out a sheet of paper from his bosom and held it out.
Even amid harsh hardships, Cale had struggled to learn letters, so he could barely read the words written on the paper.
[Monster Arena Participation Application]
“A-arena application…?”
When Cale looked puzzled, Gareth continued.
“Didn’t you hear me? Benevolent Lord Malcolm is giving a wretch like you a chance. Sign this application, and your debt will be forgiven.”
“R-really?!”
At the words that his debt would be forgiven, Cale’s eyes went wide.
To think just one signature could free him from debt.
But on the other hand, he felt an uneasiness.
‘A monster arena…’
Even the name looked too dangerous.
He had a gut feeling that he would likely struggle to keep his life if he went there.
Sam spoke to the hesitating Cale.
“Don’t worry. If you just survive, you can earn loads of money. Look here, it says you only need to endure for 15 minutes.”
Sam pointed to a part of the application with his finger.
There, the phrase ‘Surviving for 15 minutes shall be considered survival.’ was clearly written.
‘Just 15 minutes…’
He had lived through pain for seven years; he felt he could endure something like 15 minutes.
“You can’t save your sister just working like that forever. You need to face reality.”
Gareth approached him kindly.
His words were certainly not wrong.
Living as he was now, it seemed there would be no hope for the future.
“This offer is only for now. Decide quickly.”
But Cale hesitated.
It was certainly a good offer. If he survived the arena, he could make a new start.
And his sister could receive better treatment as well.
But on the contrary, what if he died?
What would happen to his remaining sister then?
It was a terrible assumption he did not even want to think about.
Rather than risking his life, perhaps it was better to live as he was now.
If he lived quietly, wouldn’t his sister recover someday and the debt be paid off?
Just as Cale was lost in worry, a sudden shout was heard.
“Boss, this round of applications is closed! We can’t take any more!”
At that shout, Gareth clicked his tongue and muttered regretfully.
“Tch, you brat. You should have taken the chance when it was given. It’s already over.”
Regret flooded Cale’s chest in an instant.
‘Ah… I should have just applied.’
Having hesitated and missed the opportunity, he now realized his predicament.
Today, tomorrow, and from now on, he would have to work without rest.
And he would continue to suffer under debt, worrying about getting through today.
Rather than spending such arduous days, perhaps it would be better to risk his life and endure for 15 minutes.
Cale clenched his fist tightly.
“I-I will participate too! Please give me a chance as well. I beg you!”
When Cale pleaded desperately, Garrett and Sam looked troubled.
“Well, now, what should we do…”
Cale appealed to them earnestly.
“If I participate, you gentlemen won’t have to worry about me either, right? Please? Just give me one more chance! I’ll do my best!”
Had Cale’s desperation reached them?
After pondering for a moment, Garrett finally opened his mouth.
“Hmm, normally this wouldn’t be allowed… But I’ll make a special exception for you. However, don’t go blabbing about this. I’m doing this in secret, prepared to get chewed out for it.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
With a bright smile, Cale began writing his name on the application form.
Placing his hopes on the fifteen-minute opportunity that would soon unfold before him.
At the sight of Cale like that, Garrett could not hide his sneer.
‘You idiot. As if crowds of people would flock to a place like this?’
The monster arena had only just opened and was not yet known to the public. Naturally, there were not many participants either.
They had merely tricked Cale and gotten his signature.
But without knowing the truth, Cale was dreaming of a bright tomorrow. Holding on to the hope that his life could change in just fifteen minutes.
* * *
“Hehehe, our long-awaited arena has finally opened its doors! Isn’t it exciting?”
Malcolm grinned as he spoke to Necros.
Since it was a business they had been pushing forward with for some time, the stage had already been built.
All they needed were participants and monsters; the rest of the preparations were nothing to worry about.
This time, however, they had recruited participants. They had threatened those who had borrowed Malcolm’s money and failed to repay it, forcing them in.
The problem had been the monsters, but Necros had solved that.
‘As expected, there’s definitely something about him.’
Thanks to Necros’s efforts, they had been able to secure all sorts of monsters.
Not only the zombies Malcolm had originally envisioned, but also various monsters such as goblins, orcs, and slimes.
‘What a shame.’
It would be wonderful if he could learn that secret method, but Necros was thorough.
Malcolm clicked his tongue for no particular reason, but there was still plenty of time. He could slowly dig into Necros’s abilities.
Soon, Malcolm shook off his idle thoughts and spoke.
“By the way, which one are you planning to bet on? Kikik.”
When it came to an arena, betting money was, of course, the true enjoyment.
One only had to predict which participant would survive and place money on them.
And if the participant they bet on survived, they would receive prize money according to the odds.
The arena was opening, and this was the long-awaited first match—how could the organizers of the business sit it out?
Naturally, Malcolm and Necros also intended to participate in the betting.
“I’m thinking of staking it on this guy. Hehe. The odds are a bit low, but since he used to be an adventurer, he should survive to the end.”
Indeed, the man Malcolm pointed at was a former Silver-rank adventurer, and many bets had been placed on him.
However, because the odds were just as low, even if that adventurer won, it would not be a particularly profitable situation.
After stating his thoughts, Malcolm waited for Necros’s choice.
And a little while later, Necros also chose one of the participants.
“Kahahaha! You certainly know how to joke! That kid you picked is barely sixteen years old. The only experience he’s probably got is wiping his own snot, kihihihi!”
Thanks to that, the participant Necros had chosen had the highest odds, but realistically, his chances of surviving were close to zero.
However, Necros did not retract his choice.
Who was he?
He was a servant who served the great Master and belonged to His dungeon.
And who were the monsters that would appear in the monster arena?
They, too, served the great Master and belonged within His embrace.
With Necros’s choice, the outcome of the match was as good as already decided.