A few days ago, the Monster Wave came to an end.
In the process, I was able to bring Azmo and Better back safely, without a scratch on them.
No, was “safely” even the right word in the first place?
After the Monster Wave, a Death Knight and an Arch Lich had been following them around.
And that wasn’t all.
At some point, even Celia had appeared in front of them.
With an S-rank and an A-rank effectively showing up, it was fair to say there had never been any danger for me at all.
- The emergency mission “Rescue Azmo and Better!” has been completed.
- As a reward, you have been granted a location transfer ticket for the dungeon “Temptation of Illusions.”
Thanks to that, I had completed the emergency mission as well, and as a reward, I was able to move the location of Azmo’s dungeon.
‘I moved it nearby, so there shouldn’t be any problems now.’
Azmo’s dungeon had been moved close to where I currently lived.
I figured it would be better for it to be near me than far away.
Because even if something happened, I’d be able to respond quickly at my level.
In truth, moving a dungeon near my house wasn’t exactly a good choice.
Because dungeons continuously emitted their own unique energy.
That provided crucial information that could reveal a dungeon’s location.
Even so, there was one reason I moved the dungeon nearby.
“Why was there an artifact there?”
The moment I completed the emergency mission and tried to move Azmo’s dungeon.
- An artifact that conceals the energy of the dungeon “Illusions and Temptation” exists. Would you like to transfer it as well?
I learned that there was an artifact inside the dungeon.
And it was an artifact that hid the dungeon’s energy, at that.
It was a jackpot.
“No wonder I couldn’t find it.”
I understood why I hadn’t been able to sense Azmo’s dungeon all this time.
The artifact was so powerful that even I, the dungeon’s owner, couldn’t find it.
As long as that artifact existed, no one would be able to find Azmo’s dungeon easily.
Just as the alert said, I moved the artifact along with Azmo’s dungeon.
Since there was an artifact anyway, I boldly moved the dungeon’s location near my house.
“Then two of the dungeons I own are in this state?”
The “Evil God’s Nest” also had its energy concealed.
In that case, it wasn’t because of an artifact, but an ability I’d obtained early on by purchasing the beginner package.
If I added the dungeon Azmo was currently managing to that, it meant the energy of two dungeons was being concealed.
‘It’s impressive all over again.’
Artifacts alone were expensive items, but I’d bought an effect similar to that for a mere 1,200 won. That said everything.
In other words, the cost-effectiveness was insane.
“It would’ve been nice if real-money purchases were unlimited….”
Honestly, at this point, money wasn’t the problem.
The problem was the limits built into the game system itself.
Whenever I tried to spend a lot of real money, the system imposed a limit on its own.
I couldn’t spend beyond that, and that was truly disappointing.
And it was the same now.
- During the emergency mission, all causality restrictions were temporarily lifted.
- A penalty exists.
- Gem purchases will be temporarily suspended.
- Deputy summoning will be temporarily locked.
- Monster summoning will be temporarily locked.
- The dungeon expansion system will be temporarily locked.
- Dungeon support & dispatch content will be temporarily locked.
Perhaps because most of its power had gone into carrying out the emergency mission, most of the features were currently locked.
There was nothing I could do except stare at the screen.
As I tapped the screen pointlessly—
“Now that I think about it, the miscellaneous draw isn’t locked?”
I noticed that, in the shop window, only the miscellaneous draw hadn’t been locked.
The miscellaneous draw.
Unlike the monster draw, it could be thought of as drawing items.
The problem was that the ratio of duds was far too high.
If I was lucky, I might draw a high-grade item like the clothes Celia was wearing, but if I wasn’t, I’d draw truly meaningless objects.
No, some of them couldn’t even be called objects.
- You have drawn a Tree Branch (F).
- You have drawn a Rotten Tree Branch (F-).
- You have drawn Torn Silk (F).
- You have drawn Rainwater Containing Sugar (F).
- You have drawn Rotten Unidentified Hind Leg Meat (E-).
Only useless things like these came out.
And all of these were items I had drawn just a little while ago.
“Let’s just throw all of these away.”
I disposed of everything I had been keeping.
Fortunately, there was a disposal option.
The results were like this, but since everything except the miscellaneous draw was effectively locked, I had no choice.
“Should I try drawing a bit more of this for now?”
I immediately tapped the miscellaneous draw.
- You have drawn a Pebble (F-).
A dud from the very start.
- You have drawn a Fragment of a Unicorn Horn (C).
“Huh?”
The second item, unlike the things that had come out so far, was something strange.
Of course, it was still useless and meaningless right now, but it was somehow different.
“I’ll keep this one for now.”
After storing the fragment of a unicorn horn, I immediately continued drawing.
- You have drawn a Branch from a Tree That Wanted to Become the World Tree (E).
“?”
- You have drawn a Frightening Bouquet Made from Man-Eating Plants (D).
Things whose meaning I couldn’t understand also began to appear.
And so, I drew duds several more times.
- You have drawn a Sturdy Mage’s Robe (A).
“Oh!”
After experiencing several duds, equipment finally came out.
And it was an A-grade robe, at that.
[Sturdy Mage’s Robe (A)]
- When equipped, defense increases greatly.
- Skill cooldown reduced by 10%.
- Mana recovery increased by 20%.
Its performance was fairly decent, too.
Since it had a defense option, it felt like it compensated for a mage’s weakness to some extent.
“Can’t I have this?”
The thought suddenly occurred to me.
The clothes Celia wore had been a dress, but this robe seemed like something I could wear.
I tapped it once to see if there were any related options.
- That command is unavailable.
“Tch.”
It wasn’t possible.
No, was it really impossible?
What if I had that item offered as a sacrifice and then received it myself?
I tapped it to try it once.
- This item cannot be offered as a sacrifice.
It was thoroughly impossible.
It was an item I couldn’t use in the first place.
It was disappointing, but I had to think about whom I should give it to.
“Hmm.”
I glanced over at Maru.
Ever since the Monster Wave, Maru had been sitting in some kind of meditative posture.
He didn’t answer even when I spoke to him.
Even now, he was sitting cross-legged in place.
For a moment, I considered giving the robe to Maru, but soon shook my head.
“The robe stands out too much.”
It was a robe with an overly extravagant design.
If Maru wore it around, it would definitely draw attention.
And above all, the media was still chasing after the hero who had appeared during the Monster Wave.
The ones they called heroes were none other than me and Maru.
[Who Is the Hero Who Ended the Monster Wave?]
[Hunter Expert: “Possibly a Hunter Nurtured by the Government”]
[Was Korea Actually a Nation Possessing an S-Rank Hunter?]
Maru’s final action had been the decisive blow.
With the Death Knight sent flying by Maru’s sword and the Arch Lich collapsing, who wouldn’t pay attention?
Of course, that situation had all been staged, but for those who didn’t know that, it must have come as a fresh shock.
After all, he had dealt with not one but two A-rank monsters in a single blow.
I couldn’t even use the robe and mask I’d worn back then again, and I was supposed to give this flashy robe to Maru?
Absolutely not.
In the end, I was back to square one.
Who should I give this robe to?
And that was when one being came to mind.
“Huh?”
The Arch Lich?
Come to think of it, the Arch Lich was an undead monster and also belonged to the mage line.
More importantly, I had assigned it the role of inspector.
Now that I thought about it, even during the Monster Wave, the Arch Lich had been diligently recording something.
“If I’m going to give a gift, it’d be good to give it to someone who works hard.”
The Arch Lich, diligently recording as an inspector.
While recording like that, I thought there might someday be a situation where it became defenseless.
That was a problem directly connected to danger.
In such a situation, a robe with a defense option would be a big help.
Once I finished thinking, I immediately tapped the mage’s robe.
- You are gifting the Sturdy Mage’s Robe (A) to Inspector Arch Lich.
As soon as I gifted the robe to the Arch Lich, the reaction appeared quickly.
- The Arch Lich is expressing deep gratitude for Master’s gift.
- The Arch Lich is recording praises of Master.
- The Arch Lich is concerned that the record containing praises of Master may be lost.
- The Arch Lich takes out a second notebook.
- The Arch Lich records praises of Master in the second notebook.
- The Arch Lich records praises of Master in the third notebook.
- This will remain as a record that will never be erased, even for later generations.
“?”
What did I just see?
More importantly, just how many notebooks does this guy carry around?
“Well, still, it feels good that he seems to like it.”
When someone reacts like this, it makes giving gifts worthwhile.
Now that I’d even given a gift to the Arch Lich, there wasn’t much else to do.
Outside was in chaos because of the aftermath of the Monster Wave.
Being active right now wasn’t a good choice.
“Should I take a look around the dungeon for the first time in a while?”
Since most things were locked anyway, there wasn’t anything I could do.
Still, I decided to simply look around the dungeon and examined the screen.
“I wonder if there are any sacrifices.”
Lately, there hadn’t been any intruders coming to the dungeon.
Because of that, the sacrifices Celia offered had also stopped.
“If possible, it’d be nice if mage guys came.”
Since I was going to get stronger anyway, the thought that it would be nice if some intruders appeared in the dungeon suddenly crossed my mind.
Thinking that, I tapped the dungeon’s areas one by one.
* * *
The Arch Lich inspected the dungeon while receiving greetings from the skeletons.
He was currently recording something diligently.
- The great, supreme, and magnificent Master has bestowed a robe upon me. This is an incredible gift, and I intend to cherish it for the rest of my life.
His records showed no sign of stopping.
Rather, when he finished recording, the skeleton soldier beside him brought over a new notebook.
The Arch Lich nodded and began recording in the new notebook as well.
His own loyalty.
And praises for Master.
This was a glorious record to be left behind for all future generations.
And leaving it behind was his duty as an inspector.
“…….”
There was a being watching that scene from the side.
It was the Skeleton Knight, the master of the “Dregs of the Demon Realm” dungeon.
He was currently feeling relieved.
He could feel relieved because the inspector from the upper dungeon had fortunately not found any major fault.
First of all, the inspector was an Arch Lich.
He was a higher being who could blow him away with a single gesture.
And not merely blow him away from the position of dungeon master, but truly blow away his very existence.
On top of that, since the dungeon was full of nothing but bones, there was nothing in particular to offer the inspector as hospitality.
He was careful, and careful again, so as not to offend the Arch Lich’s mood.
Then, in the distance, he saw a skeleton soldier running toward them.
“Clack! Clack-clack!”
As soon as the skeleton soldier ran up, it hurriedly began reporting something.
The content was simple.
(Adventurers are coming this way!)
“…!”
At that report, the Skeleton Knight turned his head.
The Arch Lich also stopped recording and turned his head.
The Arch Lich’s and the Skeleton Knight’s gazes met.
Nod—
The two nodded at the same time.
For the Skeleton Knight, an opportunity had come to reveal his existence by facing adventurers.
For the Arch Lich, an opportunity had come to objectively record the current state of the dungeon.
The two rose from their seats at the same time.
* * *
The group of adventurers who climbed the mountain range split into two teams.
In truth, since they had each already formed their own adventurer parties, splitting up wasn’t difficult.
After dividing themselves that way, one team decided to follow the mysterious footprints.
The other team decided to head in the opposite direction from where the footprints led.
And so, the two teams advanced down different paths.
But a problem arose here.
The team that ran into trouble was the one that had headed in the opposite direction from the footprints.
“Shit. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve just followed them that way.”
A man spat out a curse and voiced his dissatisfaction.
The team that had headed in the opposite direction from them was the one tracking the footprints.
Even after entering the mountain range, they had had no results for quite some time.
Naturally, their priority had no choice but to become tracking the newly discovered footprints.
That was why the skilled members had been attached to the team following the traces.
Of course, there were more of them, too.
By contrast, most of them were adventurers with ambiguous skill.
Their numbers were smaller as well.
At first, it had been nice because the mountain range itself was quiet and there was nothing unusual.
But that was only for a moment; now, it was far too boring.
Even as they continued advancing through the forest, they only encountered trees that looked the same.
From time to time, they ran into animals, but there wasn’t even a glimpse of a monster.
It was simply boring.
Their bodies itched for action.
Yes, if that feeling had to be described, that was exactly it.
For a mountain range, it was excessively peaceful.
As if someone had intended it that way.
But they didn’t think much of it.
Their heads were filled entirely with the reward they would receive after completing the request.
As they advanced through the forest while feeling that boredom—
They saw someone leaning against a tree.
The person resting beneath the tree was wearing ornate, gleaming armor.
And the sword lying beside him?
Even from some distance away, they could feel its holy power.
“…A paladin?”
One of the adventurers spoke.
That adventurer was a fervent believer of the White Order, so he immediately lowered his guard.
“Sir Paladin!”
Not only did he lower his guard, he actually ran toward the paladin.
Some of the others tried to stop that adventurer, but he didn’t listen in the slightest.
The paladin who had been resting beneath the tree also discovered the group of adventurers and smiled.
“Oh dear, have you lost your way?”
The paladin rose from his seat and began introducing himself politely.
“I am Paladin Eric. My role is to send lost lambs to the side of the goddess.”
At the sight of the courteous paladin, even the remaining members slowly began lowering their guard.
But they did not see it.
The dull, clouded eyes of the paladin as he bowed his head.
“If you do not mind, may I guide you all to the Great One?”