The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 123

EP.123 A New Deal in the Underworld

The dungeon. It is a mysterious world that exists beyond a hidden veil. Despite the dangers, adventurers risk their lives to explore this unknown realm. Though it teems with monsters hungry for desire and traps that threaten their lives, adventurers see it as a land of opportunity. Great risks come with great rewards.

However, these dangers often surpass the adventurers’ expectations. Sometimes, unimaginable horrors consume them. Yet, adventurers step into dungeons without hesitation, driven by an insatiable thirst for wealth and fame, arrogantly believing they alone will never die.

Just like those who have now entered the dungeon.

“Dammit! The guild’s information was completely wrong!”

The burly warrior Drun shouted in anger. The adventurer’s guild had assured them that this dungeon could be handled by bronze-ranked adventurers. They had only been warned to be cautious of goblins using bows. But the scene before them was entirely different.

It was indeed a goblin dungeon, and the goblins did use bows. However…

The relentless barrage of arrows was like a torrential downpour. The noise from the flying arrows was deafening. For the arrows to continue for several minutes, every goblin must have been armed with a bow. The number of goblins was likely substantial.

“This is definitely not a bronze-level dungeon! It should be at least silver! Damn it!”

Lils, with an arrow through her hand, agreed with Drun. Although she was a mage, she couldn’t cast spells in this situation. She was a novice who had only recently begun her magical training. Lils was useless now.

Drun quickly shouted to the others.

“Gyro! What do you think? Can we escape if we run now?”

Gyro, the archer and guide, was their only hope. But even Gyro had no answer.

“I don’t know! But there is one hope!”

“Hope?”

Drun asked incredulously. Hope in a situation where arrows were continuously raining down? But there were no other options. They waited with bated breath for Gyro’s next words.

“Those goblin bastards! It seems they don’t actually want to kill us! They’re using the arrows just to intimidate us!”

Drun mulled over Gyro’s words. Come to think of it, Lils had only been hit in the hand. The goblins had avoided lethal areas like the head or heart. If they had intended to kill, they would have done so already.

‘Could Gyro be right?’

Lils had been hit by an arrow only because she tried to cast a spell. Most notably, there was Dambi, who stood at the front, untouched by a single arrow despite standing still.

Drun laughed in disbelief.

“Haha… So, these bastards are nothing after all?”

Not all monsters were unintelligent. Some, like these goblins, might act tough to hide their weakness, eventually seeking to negotiate with the adventurers. With this in mind, Drun stood up confidently.

“Alright! I get it! Let’s negotiate! So, stop firing those damn arrows!”

But it was a miscalculation.

– Swish. –

– Thud. –

An arrow struck Drun’s shoulder.

“Ugh!”

Fortunately, his trained body prevented the arrow from penetrating deeply. It was a minor injury that would heal quickly with treatment outside the dungeon. But something felt off. The arrow had hit his shoulder precisely as he stood up.

‘Were goblins always this good with bows?’

It seemed too precise to be a coincidence. Moreover, Dambi, who remained standing, hadn’t been hit at all, despite being in front of him.

Drun’s mind raced. The goblins’ precision and Dambi’s untouched state suggested something more sinister. The adventurers were in deeper trouble than they had realized.

Just as things started to seem strange, Hildon, the novice priest, spoke up.

“Hey? The arrows have stopped.”

The dungeon fell silent once more, just as Hildon had said. At the same time, footsteps echoed through the corridors.

‘It’s not just a few.’

It seemed like all the goblins in the dungeon were on the move. Drun frowned and looked around. When Lils tried to prepare a spell, Drun immediately stopped her.

“Stop! Don’t do anything!”

Drun’s reasoning was simple. The goblins had ceased their attack. Why would they stop now?

“Everyone, get ready. We’re probably going to negotiate with the dungeon’s master.”

Drun was confident.

“Negotiate? Why don’t we just use magic to wipe them out?”

Lils looks displeased, but the other two followed Drun’s lead. Negotiating and preserving their lives was the better option. As long as they survived, they could always return to the dungeon as adventurers. They planned to complain to the adventurer’s guild as soon as they got out.

So, they waited for the goblins.

“Isn’t it fortunate? At worst, we’re dealing with goblins. We’ll probably have the upper hand in the negotiation.”

Thinking that negotiations would be fair was naive. Negotiations between adventurers and monsters were never fair. They were a balancing act of the adventurers’ strength against the dungeon’s forces. Of course, this was only true if the monsters had intelligence. With goblins, who had slightly lower intelligence, the adventurers could gain an advantageous position.

“Drun is right. We’re only dealing with goblins. We might even gain a lot from this. It must be a blessing from the goddess,” Hildon said, his voice filled with excitement.

The goblins likely had treasures hidden deep within the dungeon. If they destroyed the dungeon core, they wouldn’t be able to find those treasures. But through negotiation, they could hope to uncover hidden riches.

Finally, the goblins appeared. Since it was a negotiation, Drun bowed his head and greeted them politely.

“Haha, my name is Drun. And you are—”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence. He was struck silent by the sheer number of goblins and the presence of the figure leading them.

“……!”

It wasn’t just Drun. Lils, Gyro, and Hildon also stood with their mouths agape.

“Welcome.”

Only Dambi remained unfazed.

The reason for their shock was simple.

“Wh-why is there a Goblin Lord here?!”

The figure leading the goblins was none other than a Goblin Lord. Unlike regular goblins, the Goblin Lord wore a golden crown on its head. The goblin before them also wore a crown, making it unmistakable.

“……”

A Goblin Lord was a five-star monster, far beyond their current capabilities to hunt.

‘Damn, no wonder the goblins were so organized…’

Drun regretted his earlier assumptions, but it was too late. With the Goblin Lord present, any hope of negotiation was gone. The power disparity was too great. To face a Goblin Lord, they would need at least gold-ranked adventurers, or even several platinum-ranked ones.

Could four bronze-ranked adventurers possibly defeat a Goblin Lord? Especially with what appeared to be a Hobgoblin among the goblins?

It was a complete miscalculation.

As despair set in, the Goblin Lord spoke.

“Krrk… Is there anyone who wants to live?”

The Goblin Lord’s pronunciation was much clearer than that of regular goblins, giving the adventurers a glimmer of hope.

“S-someone who wants to live means he’s offering us a chance to survive, right?”

Lils’s voice rose with excitement. Could the Goblin Lord be negotiating for their lives?

Everyone’s minds raced with possibilities.

But it was Dambi who responded to the Goblin Lord’s question.

“It’s a dilemma.”

Dambi addressing the Goblin Lord with respect, recognizing their shared dungeon affiliation and the Goblin Lord’s higher rank.

“Can’t you spare all of them?”

The adventurers were once again taken aback. They were surprised by Dambi’s boldness in such a dire situation and by his willingness to save them all, despite the discrimination they had shown him.

However, the Goblin Lord shook his head.

“Only one can be spared. Krk! The usable Banshee is… only one.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

The adventurers couldn’t understand their conversation, but Dambi and the Goblin Lord were discussing something crucial. Out of the four adventurers, only one could survive. That survivor would be controlled by a Banshee to replace the role of an adventurer. Dambi planned to form a two-person party with the Banshee to take on adventurer requests.

Replacing all the adventurers with Banshees would have been ideal, but there were limitations. Most of the Banshees were already controlling other adventurers and were spread across the continent following Celia’s orders. Thus, only one Banshee was currently available.

“Let’s exclude the novice priest. He’s affiliated with the White Order, and I’d rather avoid any complications.”

Hildon, being part of the White Order, might have had certain privileges. However, Dambi shook his head, considering the potential issues that could arise from interactions with other priests or Holy Knights. To avoid such complications, Dambi decided against sparing Hildon.

The Goblin Lord, following Dambi’s decision, struck Hildon with a powerful blow. The robust priest’s body hit the ground, lifeless and unrecognizable.

“Ahh!”

The adventurers screamed in horror. They didn’t understand why the Goblin Lord had appeared or why it was listening to Dambi. But one thing was clear.

“Please…! Please spare me! I’m sorry for everything. I apologize!

Drun prostrated himself on the ground, apologizing to Dambi. He didn’t fully understand the situation, but he knew he had to beg Dambi for his life. Soon, the others followed suit.

“Spare me instead! I’m more valuable than that musclehead!”

Lils shouted, not wanting to lose out. She tore her clothes to reveal her chest, hoping to sway Dambi.

But Dambi was unmoved by such reasons.

“A mage is certainly useful, but a Banshee using magic is different, isn’t it?”

Even if a Banshee took over Lils’s body, there was no guarantee it could wield magic effectively. Controlling the mind didn’t ensure the full potency of spells.

However, the Goblin Lord shook his head.

“Krk, the Great One is far more powerful. Krrk! That won’t be a problem.”

The Goblin Lord was right. The Great One’s abilities made such concerns irrelevant. It was the Great One who had granted divine power to the Banshee controlling a Holy Knight.

Dambi pondered for a moment. Hildon, the novice priest, was already dead. They didn’t really need a guide, and Drun wasn’t particularly necessary either. In terms of combat power, Dambi himself was more effective than Drun.

That left Lils as the last option.

“Let’s save the mage.”

Lils cheered, thinking she had been spared. But her joy was premature.

“Krhk. Understood. The rest will die.”

The Goblin Lord said, raising his hand to kill the remaining adventurers.

At that moment, a Hobgoblin stepped forward.

“Krrt, Chief.”

The Hobgoblin continued.

“Area 1 mid-boss! Human. Needed. Krk!”

“Ah, right. Krrk!”

The Goblin Lord lowered his hand, recalling the request from the mid-boss of Area 1, the Death Knight. The Death Knight had asked for slaves to use in the dungeon’s fortification work.

“Krk, then, we’ll spare them all.”

Drun and Gyro, unaware of what was happening, were led away by the goblins. Meanwhile, Lils remained behind.

“Wait, what? You’re not sparing me—”

Before she could finish, a Banshee appeared and took control of her mind.

“Lady Celia has ordered me to work with Sir Dambi,” said the Banshee, now speaking through Lils.

Dambi simply nodded and led the now-possessed Lils out of the dungeon.

====

***

====

Night had fallen by the time they returned. The adventurers’ guild was quieting down as the day ended.

“We’re back.”

Dambi approaching Catherine with his usual stoic expression.

“Dambi? And Lils? What happened to your hand?”

Catherine looked at the two who had returned from the dungeon. The problem was, five people had set out that morning, but only two had come back. Moreover, Lils’s hand was injured.

Dambi handed over a large sack he had been carrying. Inside were the heads of goblins, slain by the Goblin Lord when he took over the dungeon. Even though they were of the same kind, the principle was clear, anyone who defied the Great One’s will was to be killed. The heads were given to Dambi to complete the quest.

“The mission is complete.”

The sack was indeed filled with goblin heads.

“But the others are dead.”

Catherine merely nodded at Dambi’s words. Lils, standing beside Dambi, had her hand bandaged, with blood seeping through the wrappings.

‘For even the prickly Lils to be so subdued, it must have been a tough dungeon.’

Catherine thought. Sometimes, dungeons grew stronger over time, with more monsters or a more powerful dungeon master. This seemed to be one of those cases.

Normally, she would have investigated further, but she decided to let it go. After all, Lils and the three missing adventurers had been part of the same team. It didn’t make sense for Lils and Dambi to have killed the others for their shares, especially given their strained relationship that morning.

As Catherine was lost in thought, Dambi made another request.

“I’d like the rewards to be given to the families of the three who died.”

Catherine’s last bit of doubt vanished. The adventurer Dambi had always shown both skill and integrity. Nodding with a look of respect.

“I understand. I will offer my condolences as well. It’s late now, so please come back tomorrow for the settlement.”

Settling the rewards would take some time, and Lils’s condition seemed to require immediate attention. Dambi nodded curtly and turned to leave when Catherine called out to him.

“Oh, Dambi! Wait a moment…!”

Catherine stopped him before he could exit.

“There’s a designated request for you. Are you interested?”

“A designated request?”

It meant someone specifically wanted to hire him for a task. Such requests were common for well-known adventurers and often came with substantial rewards, making them highly desirable. They also helped in quickly raising an adventurer’s rank.

“Yes, it seems you’ve gained quite a reputation for handling zombies. This request came in specifically for you.”

“Ah.”

Dambi had previously completed a mission involving the capture of zombies in good condition. It seemed someone wanted to hire him for a similar task. However, Dambi shook his head.

“No, I’ll take another request. I decline this one.”

The previous zombies were, in fact, the property of the Great One. He had no intention of using the Great One’s power to excel as an adventurer. Dambi wanted to serve the Great One with his own strength.

“Understood. I’m sure you have your reasons. I’ll mark this request as declined.”

Catherine smiled and respected his decision. She believed that Dambi would soon grow into a great adventurer.

The day at the adventurers’ guild came to an end.

====

***

====

“Malcolm, sir. You need to see this.”

A man in a black mask reported, bowing.

Malcolm, with his large, red hooked nose, turned his head, cigarette in hand.

“What is it now? If it’s not about the zombies, handle it yourself.”

Malcolm waved his hand dismissively, clearly annoyed. Everything was a bother to him, except for the highest council meetings of the Black Hand. Even those meetings were a nuisance, but he had to attend due to regulations. Most of the time, he delegated tasks to others.

But this time, it was different.

“But you must see this.”

“Why? Have you found the adventurer I mentioned?”

Malcolm spoke while getting up. He had been tasked by the Master to gather information on an adventurer who had captured zombies in pristine condition. Malcolm was particularly interested in this adventurer.

“No, sir. But someone has brought in a ghoul, and it’s in perfect condition.”

Malcolm’s eyes widened.

“What? A ghoul? Is that true?”

“Yes, sir. We’ve escorted them to the reception room and are keeping them under surveillance.”

“Good job. Is it the same adventurer?”

Capturing a ghoul, even a two-star one, in perfect condition was no small feat. The adventurer who had just started and already captured a ghoul?

‘Impressive.’

But the man’s next words surprised him.

“No, sir. We don’t know their identity. They carry a large notebook and communicate by writing. It seems they cannot speak.”

“Let’s go immediately!”

It didn’t matter if it wasn’t the same adventurer. The word had spread that Malcolm was seeking zombies, a rumor he had started himself. And it didn’t matter if the person couldn’t speak. Malcolm was always on the lookout for useful talents.

‘This might accelerate my plans!’ he thought, heading to the reception room with a pleased expression.

There, he saw a figure cloaked entirely in black robes. The sight was peculiar, but it didn’t bother Malcolm at all.

“Hmm, I heard you brought a ghoul.”

Malcolm glanced at the figure before him. The person wore a white mask and gloves, concealing their entire body, making it impossible to guess their identity.

‘They have an aura similar to the Master.’

Although the mask color differed from the Master’s black one, this person exuded a similar vibe. Behind them stood the unmistakable figure of a ghoul.

‘To think they managed to bring it in perfect condition!’

Malcolm’s mood lifted, and he introduced himself with a grin.

“Hehe! My name is Malcolm.”

The mysterious figure wrote something in a large notebook, as Malcolm had been informed they couldn’t speak.

– My name is Necros. –

“Hehehe. Well, Necros, I’d like to have a chat with you.”

Though he didn’t know their identity, their ability was undeniable. Bringing in a ghoul in perfect condition was proof enough. Such skilled individuals were rare, and someone who fit the atmosphere of the Black Hand even rarer.

Malcolm quickly calculated his next steps. The person’s skill was genuine. What if he proposed a partnership? Working together could make things go smoothly. Even if Necros declined, Malcolm wasn’t worried about keeping them silent. Dead men tell no tales, and Malcolm had the power to ensure that.

“I’m quite fond of money, almost as much as zombies. Hehe. Are you interested in money?”

Malcolm asked, crossing his legs and lighting a cigarette.

Necros nodded, and Malcolm clapped his hands in delight.

“I knew it! You love money as much as I do! Hehe!”

Malcolm stopped clapping and continued.

“So, let me make you a proposal. How about we join forces? We could amass a great fortune together.”

It was a sudden proposal, but Malcolm pushed forward, feeling a strong intuition that he needed to partner with Necros today.

Necros wrote in the notebook again.

– What kind of work? –

“Hehe, it’s usually a secret, but I feel like I can trust you. You smell like one of my own.”

Malcolm said, chuckling before continuing.

“The truth is, collecting zombies isn’t just a hobby. It’s all part of a business plan.”

A business? Necros tilted their head in curiosity. How could zombies be related to a business?

Reading the confusion, Malcolm elaborated.

“Curious, aren’t you? Hehe. What I’m planning is a monster arena! A place where monsters fight each other! With your skills and my resources, we could make a fortune! What do you think? Isn’t it a brilliant business idea? Hehe.”

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