The flames that had been burning with terrifying force died down.
The adventurer who had made himself the offering vanished, leaving nothing behind but ash.
Celia stood silently, watching the altar.
Kuuur.
Denver had, at some point, approached her side.
He had fallen under Celia’s charm, and after becoming a ghoul because of the Death Knight, he had always circled near her.
Celia, who had been watching the altar, turned her head toward Denver.
“What a shame, Mr. Denver.”
“Kuur?”
What was a shame?
Denver tilted his head slightly.
“If you hadn’t become a ghoul, Mr. Denver, you too could have stood in that glorious place.”
Celia smiled gently.
“Kuuuuur.”
When she finished speaking, Denver let out a sound and began moving off in another direction.
Celia took her eyes off Denver and looked back at the altar.
“At last, I have offered Master a sacrifice worthy of the name.”
The adventurer offered to Master this time had been fairly capable.
Originally, she had wanted to offer everyone who had invaded the dungeon, but aside from one, they had already died.
This was a sacred altar.
She could not dare offer to Master those who had been burned to death by lightning or had their hearts pierced.
Their corpses had been thrown to the goblins, just like the adventurer killed by arrows before.
Since goblins needed to consume meat anyway, it was an excellent way to dispose of bodies.
“By the way, I was right.”
After staring at the altar for a long while, Celia opened her mouth. While offering the sacrifice just moments ago, she had felt that her conjecture was correct.
“The restriction has disappeared.”
Master had taken her into this dungeon.
But for some reason, she had been unable to leave the dungeon.
Now that was a thing of the past.
When she offered the sacrifice this time, the restriction vanished.
However, just because the restriction had disappeared did not mean she would leave the dungeon and travel somewhere far away.
She still lacked strength. But even this alone was tremendous progress.
“Now I can finally show Master results that will satisfy him.”
Celia, too, vaguely sensed it.
That at present, for some reason, Master could not fully interfere with this world.
And she realized that the more sacrifices were offered, the stronger Master’s power became.
By offering today’s sacrifice, she had become certain of the conjectures she had held until now, and could decide on the direction she should take from here on.
The mere fact that she could go outside the dungeon created various options.
If necessary, she could now go outside. There was no need to keep waiting inside the dungeon.
“Someday, I will be able to behold Master’s noble form, won’t I?”
Celia turned her head back.
There stood the Death Knight and the Goblin Lord.
“We need more sacrifices. Until the day our noble Master regains his power, we must first pave the way.”
Because that is what servants are meant to do.
“Let us prepare to greet the day Master descends.”
Celia was excited.
On the day Master descended, this continent would receive salvation.
Until then, there would probably be mountains of work to do.
First, the first plan was decided.
“Take turns searching every inch of the surroundings.”
For now, she had to reduce variables as much as possible.
“We will start by clearing out nearby dungeons. Spread Master’s will.”
At Celia’s command, the Death Knight and the Goblin Lord moved at the same time.
* * *
“Kang Hyeon, did something good happen today? You’ve been smiling nonstop.”
Had I made it that obvious?
One of the porter uncles working with me spoke to me.
“Ah, it’s nothing much. Haha.”
“Not much, my foot.”
When I answered with an awkward laugh, he left just like that.
Left alone, I still kept smiling.
The reason I was smiling?
Of course I would be.
When I woke up in the morning, I had gained a trait.
Getting a status window had already been incredible, but this time it was a trait, of all things.
And it was even A-rank.
‘Mana Sensitivity.’
It was a trait that greatly increased affinity with mana.
Because one’s affinity was high, it had the effect of allowing them to sense and read mana better than anyone else.
‘So this is what it feels like to sense mana.’
When I first woke up in the morning, I had felt something strange.
At first, I thought it was simply because I was tired.
But I realized it had been because of the mana existing in the air.
Me, who had been called a half-baked hunter because I had no status window.
Me, who graduated last from the Hunter Academy and was ignored by my peers.
Now I had become a hunter who even possessed an A-rank trait.
Of course, this alone could not yet be called success.
Because sensing mana well and utilizing it were two separate matters.
Even so, there was no denying that my starting point was different from others.
‘Well, to say that, I’m far too late.’
Strictly speaking, I had been standing far behind the starting line.
But not anymore.
Now the possibility of soaring upward had appeared.
I had gained the ability to overtake those who had been running ahead.
“All right, that’s it for today. Those of you who want to stay for OT—overtime—gather over here. Quickly!”
While I was lost in thought, one of the managers shouted to the remaining porters.
‘Overtime, huh.’
I was planning to quit porter work soon anyway.
For now, I intended to stop by a nearby café and think about things related to that.
‘Let’s get going.’
I turned toward the exit.
“Huh?”
On the path leading to the exit, I saw a bulletin board with wanted information posted on it.
They were hunters known as villains.
There were all sorts of villains.
Among them, the largest proportion were those who committed murder inside dungeons.
Dungeons were spaces cut off from the outside world.
That was why villains could run even wilder there.
That was not what surprised me.
Among the many villains, one person in particular stood out.
It wasn’t that I knew him. My eyes were drawn to his name.
“Kim Minjun…?”
I had heard it somewhere before.
I briefly rummaged through my memories, and then—
“Ah!”
It was the game.
He was someone who had invaded my dungeon in the game.
Since a Korean-style name had popped up in a game set on the continent of Eldorad, I remembered it.
“Don’t tell me they even included a setting where people are summoned…”
It was the kind of game where, perhaps out of concern for background accuracy, not only people from the Eldorad continent but even Earthlings appeared.
“Come to think of it, it said he was offered as a sacrifice, didn’t it?”
In the game’s alarm, it had said that Kim Minjun had been offered as a sacrifice.
Of course, a game was just a game, and the Kim Minjun on the bulletin board was simply a villain.
“By the way, that villain also has the Mana Sensitivity trait.”
The bulletin board said that Kim Minjun, the villain, possessed Mana Sensitivity just like me.
“What a coincidence.”
At that moment, I felt something inexplicable.
“Huh?”
How should I put it? A sense of incongruity?
My heart pounded, and the mana around me trembled.
‘Why is it suddenly doing that?’
I felt strange, but for now, I decided not to pay it any mind.
I turned again and headed toward a nearby café.
* * *
After arriving at the café, I ordered coffee and thought about a few things.
Why had these abilities appeared in me?
I could understand the status window.
If I thought of it as something that had appeared belatedly, it more or less made sense.
But the trait was far too out of the blue.
Especially since an A-rank trait could only be acquired congenitally at awakening, or acquired later through a book or a fortuitous encounter.
Not only A-rank traits, but traits and skills of every rank were usually obtained that way in the first place.
Because of this, skill books were expensive, and trait books were so scarce that they were impossible to find even if you were willing to pay a high price.
“I don’t get it no matter how much I think about it.”
In truth, I hadn’t had any fortuitous encounter at all.
‘Whatever. As long as I got a trait, that’s all that matters.’
After worrying about it for a moment, I soon gave up.
It was a problem I would not reach a conclusion on no matter how much I thought.
Then, almost reflexively, I launched the game.
Come to think of it, ever since I started this game, it felt like things had been going well.
“But what on earth was this?”
I checked again the alarm that had rung at dawn.
- You have absorbed the ability of the sacrifice, “Kim Minjun.”
The alarm ended there.
Last time too, I had absorbed someone’s ability.
Just like then, nothing in particular had changed this time either.
“Why on earth did they even make this system?”
Even after absorbing abilities, nothing changed in-game.
Was there something I didn’t know about?
No matter how much I clicked around the screen, nothing new appeared.
“……”
Thump.
My heart beat again.
The sense of incongruity I had felt earlier wrapped around my body once more.
As if some force were acting on them, the mana around me trembled.
‘How should I describe this feeling?’
Ah, right.
It was that strange feeling, as if the Mana Sensitivity trait wasn’t mine.
‘Is it because I’m not used to it yet?’
An unfamiliar trait.
A feeling as if it were not mine.
“……”
Then, suddenly, one possibility came to mind.
“No way…?”
No, surely not.
I soon shook my head.
Perhaps it was the worst thought that had flashed through my unconscious mind.
Maybe I simply wanted to deny that small conjecture.
“Why am I worrying on such a happy day? Let’s just play the game.”
Today was the day I had gained a trait.
An A-rank trait, no less.
It was a rank of trait any hunter would want.
And I had obtained it.
On such a happy day, it was not right to agonize over other thoughts.
To shake off pointless worries, I began focusing on the game.
As I tapped the screen, one piece of content suddenly caught my eye.
[Dungeon Support & Dispatch]
Roughly speaking, it was something where you supported other dungeons with supplies or dispatched monsters to help them.
Last time, I hadn’t paid attention to it because I didn’t have many monsters, but now it was different.
Even if I removed one person from the dungeon, there would still be two monsters of 5-star or higher remaining.
I immediately clicked [Dungeon Support & Dispatch].
When I clicked it, a map of the Eldorad continent appeared.
On top of it, a list of dungeons requesting help began appearing in red letters.
“Should I take a look at this one first?”
I clicked the dungeon at the very top.
I chose it because it was at the top, and because the reward was the biggest.
But then—
“?”
When I clicked that dungeon, I saw a familiar name.
‘Baalcherit…?’
5-star, and a vampire.
It was an unforgettable combination and name.
‘Ah, this bastard!’
It was when I first started the game and was setting an adjutant. I had been happy to pull a 5-star from the adjutant draw, but that bastard rejected me.
Thanks to him, instead of starting with a 5-star, I had started with a 3-star.
- Would you like to support this dungeon?
Am I crazy?
I immediately pressed “No.”
No matter how good my mood was today, I couldn’t help you.
After refusing, I began looking for another dungeon.
This time, I chose an area that was close to my dungeon, even if the reward was smaller.
“A goblin dungeon?”
This place seemed all right, at least.
Looking at the detailed description of the dungeon, the owner of this place was a goblin shaman.
Since a 2-star monster was the owner, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?
- Would you like to support this dungeon?
This time, I pressed “Yes.”
‘Rather than resource support, would dispatching troops be better?’
The dungeon’s owner was 2-star.
Even if I sent resources, it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to make use of them.
Who should I send?
After thinking for a moment, I shifted my gaze to one side.
‘Since they’re both goblins, I should send this guy.’
I selected the Goblin Lord.
But then a warning alarm suddenly popped up.
- Due to the Goblin Lord’s communal living trait, a penalty will be applied when he performs alone.
- If the Goblin Lord does not have a group under his command, a penalty of 3 grades down from his current grade will be applied.
The alarm was talking about the Goblin Lord’s penalty.
‘What? He drops by three whole grades here?’
The Goblin Lord’s current grade was 5-star.
But if three grades were subtracted, he would instantly become no different from a 2-star monster.
‘Huh….’
Goblin Lord, you little bastard.
You had a setting like this?
His performance was worse than I expected.
“So the Goblin Lord’s weakness was getting rid of the goblins around him.”
Because I was dumbfounded, the thought slipped out of my mouth.
In effect, if his group disappeared, the Goblin Lord was nothing.
I had no choice but to put the Goblin Lord back.
“Hmm.”
After thinking for a moment—
Right, you’re the only one I can trust.
I selected you, Celia.
Celia was an adjutant, but she was a monster of a whopping 6-star class.
The fact that someone like her would be absent from the dungeon bothered me a little, but it shouldn’t be a big problem.
‘If something happens, the Death Knight and Goblin Lord will handle it somehow.’
I immediately dispatched Celia to the dungeon that had requested support.
* * *
Celia was working in the adjutant’s office.
She was thinking about what kinds of matters she should plan for in the future.
Then, suddenly, she felt something strange.
It felt as if her body were floating up into the air.
At the same time, the space around her distorted.
“This is…”
It was spatial movement magic.
“You always astonish me.”
Celia had felt this power before, when she had been sealed beneath the cult.
That was why she simply entrusted her body to space.
The scenery that had been the adjutant’s office just moments ago changed in an instant into something else.
It was a dungeon different from Master’s dungeon, where she had originally been.
At the same time, she knew what she had to do.
“I will carry out Master’s command.”
Master had given an order.
It was an order for her to support this dungeon.
Celia slowly swept her gaze over her surroundings.
The center of the dungeon, and the figure of a goblin sitting there, came into view.
Unlike other goblins, that goblin held a wooden staff with a skull attached to it.
Anyone could see that he was the master of the dungeon.
The goblin, the master of the dungeon, also discovered Celia and brightened.
“Keheok, you’ve come to help us, keheok. I am the master of this dungeon, the Goblin Shaman…, hm?”
The Goblin Shaman stopped speaking.
Something was strange.
“Keh?”
This couldn’t be.
The Goblin Shaman immediately jumped down from his chair and began bowing down on the ground.
“For such a great being, keheok, what brings you all the way here…?”
The Goblin Shaman had clearly requested a troop dispatch through the Demon Realm Trading Company.
Because he did not have much money, he had thought that simply some cheap undead like skeletons would come.
He had definitely thought so, and yet…
“An incredible being has come! Keheok.”
The Goblin Shaman fell into confusion.