The inside of the dungeon was dark.
The atmosphere was no different.
It had a heavy texture, as though a thick blanket had been draped over one’s face.
Following that dark, heavy space, someone was writhing desperately on the floor.
The equipment worn on their body proved that this person was a Hunter.
But the equipment had lost its light.
Until just moments ago, it must have displayed a dazzling appearance, but now its radiance was gone, and it was shattered.
It would have been fine if only the equipment had broken.
It could be replaced anytime.
The problem was that it wasn’t “only” the equipment that had broken.
The wearer’s physical condition was just as bad as the equipment.
“Please… Please save me.”
A frail voice echoed through the dungeon.
Along with her voice, blood flowed from her mouth.
The pain must have been unbearable, because she was scraping at the ground until her nails broke and blood seeped from her hands.
Perhaps she knew that her life might soon be cut short.
The more she realized it, the more desperately she begged for her life.
“Sob, please… I won’t report you, so please just let me live. Please?”
It was a desperate cry to be spared.
Behind her, her five party members had long since become corpses.
All five had died instantly.
At the hands of the two Hunters before her, no less.
The difference in strength had been overwhelming.
All she could do was beg for her life.
She knew it, too.
That her life would be decided according to their mood.
And so she pleaded.
She closed her eyes to what the other party did.
She had suffered humiliation, but if she could only preserve her life, she could endure it.
Though she pleaded desperately, the Hunter in front of her did not answer.
No, if anything, they were laughing.
They felt delight at the sight of a worthless thing collapsed on the floor, desperately begging for its life.
“Kik.”
After the silence, someone burst into laughter.
“Haa, this is why I can’t quit hunting Hunters, you know?”
One of the men spoke in a vile voice.
Even so, the woman collapsed on the floor begged all the more desperately.
Crying, she grabbed the pant leg of the man in front of her.
But that action turned out to be a bad move.
“Where does a filthy bitch like you get off grabbing my clothes?”
Crack—
With a single kick from the man, her arm twisted in a grotesque direction.
“Ah…?”
It was so sudden that no sound came out.
Rather, she could not even feel anything at all.
She stared at her bent arm and sank into a sense of emptiness.
Now even hope had disappeared.
“……”
Now she understood.
That no matter how much she cried out to be spared, they would never let her live.
If anything, it had been foolish to harbor the hope that they might.
If she had to suffer this kind of pain, she would rather die quickly.
That would at least be a slightly easier path.
But the world did not go as one wished.
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”
The man opened his mouth with a lecherous expression.
“Not yet, that is. The night is long.”
“Ah…”
The men drew closer.
In her eyes as she watched them, there was only despair.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a familiar ceiling.
‘Has it already been six hours…?’
I remembered up to the point where I had lost consciousness after Celia offered the sacrifices.
I had definitely called Maru before passing out and made him stand guard.
I immediately looked around.
Sure enough, Maru was waiting beside me with his sword drawn.
He was even thoroughly on guard, looking around to see if anyone was coming.
Of course, the place we were in now was inside my house.
Unless a thief broke in, there naturally wouldn’t be anything dangerous.
“Pfft.”
The sight of him drawing his sword and standing guard in an empty house was a little funny.
At the same time, it was admirable.
What if this weren’t inside the house, but outside?
The only one who could protect me while I was defenseless would be Maru.
“Maru, you can stop now and get some rest. I’m awake.”
Only after I gave that order did Maru finally relax his body.
Ever since the monster wave, Maru had felt slightly different, but thankfully, he still listened very well.
How should I put it?
Whenever he had time, he did something similar to meditating—or maybe just zoning out.
I wasn’t sure why, but the timing was definitely right after the monster wave.
Still, since he acted with absolute thoroughness when ordered to protect me, it did put my mind at ease.
‘Well, as long as he listens, that’s enough.’
Just as I had that thought, my stomach rumbled.
Come to think of it, I realized I hadn’t eaten anything.
Hmm…
“Maru, you don’t need to stand guard anymore, so go make me some ramyeon.”
As soon as Maru heard my order, he immediately ran off.
Seeing him like that made me feel proud.
Honestly, since he had worked hard for six hours, it would have been fine to let him rest, but the ramyeon Maru made was no joke.
Maybe it was because he put so much sincerity into it, but the deep umami was incredible.
I had reached the point where it had to be ramyeon made by Maru, or nothing else would do.
After Maru completely disappeared from my sight, I turned my head.
“Anyway, is it already night?”
When I looked at the window, it was already dark outside.
I slowly raised myself up, intending to get out of bed.
“Huh?”
But something felt strange.
My body was too heavy when I tried to get up.
“Why am I so tired?”
It wasn’t the refreshing feeling one had after sleep.
No, normally, my body should have been light right now.
After absorbing sacrifices, I would gain abilities, and my body would feel as light as if it could fly.
But that wasn’t the case now.
If anything, it felt as though the fatigue had accumulated as it was, making me sluggish.
Since this had never happened before, I was slightly flustered.
‘Did something go wrong?’
I immediately looked at my status window.
[Traits]
- True Master of the Dungeon (EX)
- Master of the Demon Sword (S)
- Mana Sensitivity (A)
[Basic Information]
Vitality: C+
Attack Power: B
Defense: C
Magic Power: A+
Divine Power: F
[Skills]
- Knighting (S): Maru (Active)
- Goddess’s Healing (F)
“Huh…”
Had my guess been right?
Nothing had changed at all.
I should have absorbed the sacrifices, but there was no change in the status window.
“What is this?”
My traits were the same, and no skills had been added.
My stats were the same as well.
Were the adventurers offered as sacrifices too low-level, perhaps?
Or had something gone wrong while absorbing the sacrifices?
For a moment, wondering if something had gone wrong, I quickly brought over my smartphone.
“No way…”
Surely nothing had happened to my dungeon, right?
With an anxious heart, I launched the game and looked over the dungeon.
“Phew.”
Thankfully, the dungeon was fine.
On top of that, all the monsters were doing their assigned tasks in their respective areas.
The moment I confirmed that peaceful sight, all the strength drained out of me.
“That’s a relief.”
Then what was the problem?
I immediately tapped the alarm window.
- Successfully absorbed the adventurer offered as a sacrifice.
According to the alarm, it said the sacrifice had been absorbed properly.
But the issue was that nothing about me had changed.
I immediately checked the next alarm.
- Acquired the adventurer’s stat [Divine Power]. It can be used for enhancement.
Huh?
The next part was subtly different.
Previously, I had absorbed abilities right away, but now it said I had acquired them.
I checked all the following alarms as well.
- Successfully absorbed the adventurer offered as a sacrifice.
- Acquired the adventurer’s skill [Quick Thrust (E)]. It can be used for enhancement.
- Successfully absorbed the adventurer offered as a sacrifice.
- Acquired the adventurer’s stat [Divine Power]. It can be used for enhancement.
- Successfully absorbed the adventurer offered as a sacrifice.
- Acquired the adventurer’s trait [Berserker (A)]. It can be used for enhancement.
For the most part, I gained one ability per adventurer, but among them, there were also adventurers who left behind two abilities.
- Successfully absorbed the adventurer offered as a sacrifice.
- Acquired the adventurer’s trait [Minor Recovery Regeneration (D)]. It can be used for enhancement.
- Acquired the adventurer’s stat [Divine Power]. It can be used for enhancement.
The alarms continued endlessly, and the others were the same.
I had absorbed the adventurers offered as sacrifices, but the abilities that came from them were only acquired, not immediately absorbed.
Above all, each of them had the phrase that they could be used for enhancement.
“Enhancement? What do you mean, they can be used for enhancement?”
I immediately clicked around all over the game.
And then I saw a familiar window.
[Dungeon Monster Enhancement System]
Ah.
This enhancement system had appeared last time when I gained the trait “True Master of the Dungeon.”
Originally, it had been locked, but right before I passed out, it said that the sacrifices offered by Celia had revealed a clue to unlocking it.
But I had only found the clue to unlocking it; I thought it would take more time before I could use the system…
“It suddenly opened like this?”
Of course, it was good if it opened quickly, but something felt strange.
I clicked on the enhancement system.
There, the abilities I had obtained just moments ago were listed.
[List of Acquired Abilities]
- Divine Power ×13
- Minor Recovery Regeneration (D) ×1
- Berserker (A) ×1
- Quick Thrust (E) ×1
- Mana Circuit (B) ×1
- Firm Will (C) ×1
- Fireball (E) ×1
- Acceleration (E) ×1
- Apply Deadly Poison (D) ×1
- Flexible Movements (F+) ×1
- Taunt (C) ×1
……
…
Perhaps because Celia had offered so many sacrifices, the stats I had gained continued on endlessly.
There were so many it was overwhelming to check them one by one.
“Then does that mean I can use these to enhance anyone?”
To begin with, the name itself was the Dungeon Monster Enhancement System.
If I could use these to enhance my monsters, it would be an enormous benefit to me.
I immediately clicked the next screen.
[Dungeon Monster Enhancement System]
- Dungeon Master “Lee Ganghyeon” (Unlocked)
- Skoll (★★★) (Unlocked)
Ah, of course.
After looking through the system, it turned out it didn’t apply to every monster.
For now, at least.
“Anyway, why is Skoll here?”
Skoll was definitely the one leading the Orc Dungeon.
I remembered him because I had personally given him the role of margrave.
The problem was that I couldn’t tell what criteria this system was applied by.
“Hmm…”
Strength?
No. If it were based on strength, then the 6-star Celia or the 5-star Death Knight and Arch Lich should have received the benefits of this system first.
In my case, I was the original master of the dungeon, so that could be explained, but I couldn’t understand why Skoll, who was only 3-star, had his name listed.
“There’s definitely something…”
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t figure it out.
It was disappointing, but what could I do?
For now, it was out of the question to make full use of the enhancement system.
“It is kind of a shame.”
Among the abilities I had acquired, there were quite a few that seemed suited to certain monsters.
For example, look at that C-rank skill, Taunt.
- Taunt (C): Skill. Draws the attention of all enemies.
It was a simple description, but what would happen if I gave that skill to the Death Knight?
Holding a majestic shield and using Taunt…
“No, wait.”
Now that I thought about it, it didn’t seem like the right option to give the Death Knight.
“That guy attached a maid outfit to his shield.”
Even though the monster wave had ended, the Death Knight was still enjoying the greatest popularity in the entire world.
That popularity was still ongoing even now, and some Hunters had reached the point of buying maid outfits and attaching them to their equipment.
If only that were the end of it. Among Necromancers, it had become a trend to dress their summons in maid outfits altogether.
“Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.”
Well, leaving that aside, I looked over the enhancement system once again.
The only monster I could enhance right now was Skoll, but that wasn’t the important part.
“Is there anything I can use?”
Enhancing the monsters was important, but I was important as well.
No matter how many abilities like these I had, what use would they be if I were weak?
The moment I died, it would all be over.
For now, I had to prioritize growing my own strength.
I looked through the list.
Since the ranks of the adventurers offered as sacrifices didn’t seem particularly high, there were almost no high-rank abilities.
Among them, I searched and searched for what I needed.
“Berserker?”
It was the only A-rank one.
That ability was a trait, and it had the effect of granting greater power the lower one’s stamina became.
At the same time, it was dangerous, but it was specialized in squeezing out power at the last moment.
“It’s not something I’d use.”
Of course, I wasn’t going to take it for myself.
A position in the rear suited me better than standing on the front lines.
Maru would be handling the vanguard anyway, so I looked through the other abilities.
“I could use Mana Circuit, couldn’t I?”
Mana Circuit caught my eye on the list.
It was a B-rank trait, and from the description, it seemed to suit me well.
“It creates pathways throughout my body so mana can pass through?”
Mana Circuit would clearly have tremendous synergy with my Mana Sensitivity.
“If I take Fireball along with this, it’d be perfect, wouldn’t it?”
It was the very definition of a mage position.
I immediately selected those abilities.
- Would you like to enhance the trait Mana Circuit (B) for the dungeon’s master, “Lee Kanghyeon”?
- An ability that has been enhanced once cannot be undone.
So once I enhanced it, I couldn’t remove it after all?
If even that had been possible, it really would have become an absurdly overpowered ability.
“Not that I was hoping for that in the first place.”
I immediately tapped enhance.
The moment I tapped it, mana began flowing into my body.
“Hrk!”
The mana that entered my body gathered toward my heart.
A moment later, starting from my heart, it spread throughout my entire body.
During that process, pain flared up all over me.
It felt as if someone were hacking me apart with a knife.
“Uuugh… urgh!”
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t move.
All I could do was accept the pain.
“…Fuck.”
A curse slipped out on its own.
Black blood began flowing from my mouth.
‘Is it because it’s carving pathways inside my body?’
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve prepared myself mentally.
I never dreamed it would hurt this much.
“Uuugh…”
Fortunately, the time spent in agony was short.
The pain slowly faded and settled down.
“Haa… haa….”
And before long, all the pain disappeared.
Was it a success?
I drew in a deep breath and called up my status window.
“Status window.”
[Traits]
- True Dungeon Master (EX)
- Master of the Demonic Sword (S)
- Mana Sensitivity (A)
- Mana Circuit (B)
[Basic Information]
Vitality: C+
Attack Power: B
Defense: C
Mana: A+
Divine Power: F
[Skills]
- Knight Investiture (S): Maru (Active)
- Goddess’s Healing (F)
“Ha.”
The result was a huge success.
The mana I had only been able to sense externally before was now flowing through my entire body.
“Holy shit.”
More than anything, the biggest gain was that I could pick and take only the traits or skills I wanted.
“In that case, I need to figure out what the enhancement conditions are.”
There was no way I could keep something this good to myself.
If even Maru could be enhanced, then he might truly become a one-man army.
I immediately tapped the next ability.
Next was the E-rank skill Fireball.
Unlike Mana Circuit, Fireball was acquired in an instant without any pain.
“With this much, I can at least pull my own weight.”
Now, I could finally be considered a proper mage.
I had enough strength to raise my Hunter rank right away too, but that was a matter for later.
“Now I’m seriously hungry.”
Maybe because pathways had been opened inside my body, my stomach was churning even more than before.
“Is Maru not done yet?”
By now, the ramen should have been finished and then some, but there was still no news from Maru.
“Maru, is the ramen not ready yet?”
I called out to Maru and headed to the kitchen.
Maru was in the kitchen.
“Maru, what are you doing over—”
??
The moment I saw what Maru was doing, question marks popped up in my head.
“You… what are you doing…?”
Maru had dipped his bony hand into the boiling water.
Maru slowly turned his head and said to me,
“Clack, clack.”
According to Maru, doing this made it taste better.
I really was going to lose my mind.