Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Cosmic Horror
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Dhampir must have been moved by our PC room, because she collapsed into a seat, charred white.
"By the way, Lord Balak, what do you plan to do with this dhampir?"
"That's the biggest issue. What do you think? And—"
After I explained our brothers' situation to Karian, he seemed deep in thought.
But as expected from our brain trust!
He came up with the perfect solution right away!
"How about handling it as employment?"
"Employ this dhampir in this dungeon?"
"More precisely, she'd commute from where she originally was."
"So she could make magic tools and such?"
"Of course. Plus, honestly, Lord Balak, wouldn't it feel a bit awkward living suddenly with someone of the opposite gender?"
"I don't care about that."
"Yes?"
Honestly, what does it matter!
We're all just beings scraping by in this harsh world.
Pitiful lives, every one of them.
"Anyway, that doesn't bother me, but it might make our brothers uncomfortable. So, little Orek, what do you think about that head-smack from before?"
"...Since that incident let us meet big brother, as long as there's a proper apology, he'll accept it."
"What about Ferguson?"
"If we bring her on as an employee for this dungeon, that'd be fine. She's quite the catch, so she'd be perfect working as a server in my shop."
Just as Ferguson said, this dhampir had the look of a strikingly beautiful woman, regardless of gender—highly desirable either way.
Until we figured out her proper role in this dungeon, having her work part-time there didn't sound bad.
Plus, if we went with employment, the connection wouldn't break; it'd keep going, and someday we might get super close, enough for her to fully join my dungeon.
Still, this had to be her voluntary choice, not forced, so I woke the half-soul-gone dhampir.
"Dhampir, what do you think of our proposal?"
"Y-Yes?!"
"Oops, let me explain again."
Having received the offer to work part-time in this dungeon, the dhampir seemed hesitant.
"But what do I get out of it?"
"Abyss Coins."
"What the heck are those...?"
"Better to just show you. Here, take the catalog."
"...Huh?"
The moment Dhampir saw the items in the product catalog I handed her, she froze like stone.
"Wh-What is this?!"
"If you work in my dungeon, you can buy stuff like that."
"E-Elixirs and dragon-marked weapons?! What the hell is this place?!"
"What else? It's a dungeon."
Oh dear, Dhampir was making a face like all her common sense was shattering.
Yeah, how could she have reached an endgame dungeon otherwise?
I also explained the Boss Rush to Karian while describing the dungeon's structure.
"......?"
"Skull Merchant, what's up?"
"Oh, nothing!"
"You're hopeless. Anyway, that's why all the dungeons are connected, so you could reach here."
"No way... The place I was in was a dungeon this whole time..."
"And you get why I made you this offer now, right?"
"You see potential in me?"
"Exactly. Not as much as Orek or Ferguson, but you definitely have 'talent.'"
"!!!"
Oh ho, Dhampir's reacting huge to the word "talent"?
Wait a sec...
Come to think of it, she said she'd been discriminated against by both humans and vampires.
That means she's desperately craving recognition.
If I play this right, I might even get her to fully join my dungeon.
"Dhampir, instead of standing around here, we need to inspect the dungeon anyway, so let me show you around."
"Then Orek and I can rest?"
"You're not coming?"
"We need a moment to talk among ourselves."
"Ah, got it."
It's totally different when a company president hires new staff versus the underlings doing it.
Best to give the brothers time to talk it out.
Anyway, the reason for showing Dhampir around the dungeon? This was a trap to hook her.
A big, powerful one.
People starved for recognition tend to feel huge affection toward anyone who acknowledges them, no matter who.
And recognition from a beggar versus a billionaire? Worlds apart. Gotta imprint on Dhampir just who I am.
*******************
Kairel, who ended up touring the dungeon with Balak per his suggestion, was utterly bewildered by what she saw.
‘Th-This is a dungeon?!’
What were those thousands of magic bullets pouring like a storm right in front of the boss room? And viewing the fourth room's landscape from the top, she went blank at the hundreds of structures below.
But more than that, she couldn't shut her mouth at whatever was floating in the sky here.
"Uh... Huh?"
"Dhampir, what's wrong?"
"Lord Balak, Kairel is half-vampire."
"But the other half's human, so sunlight shouldn't be that lethal, right?"
"You'd think that, but... Kairel, what happens if you're directly exposed to the sun?"
"Well... I can't use magic power."
"Good that you don't burn up instantly, but the demerits are beyond imagination."
"True, but... why is my magic power fine in a place with sunlight like this?"
"That's a fake sun. And this sky, the stars—all fake."
"What?!"
This vast sky was fake? What did that mean?
And seeing the dinosaurs and ecosystem in the next room left her mind in chaos.
"Y-You made all this, Lord Balak?!"
"More precisely, everyone helped."
"Worth all the early struggles building that."
"Hahaha! The Skull Merchant hustled back and forth like crazy!"
They all watched the dinosaurs' grand turf wars, even catching the mid-boss combat golem accelerating time.
If Kairel accepted Balak's offer, she'd work here, so they stopped by the dungeon shelter for a break.
After touring the Iron Labyrinth and the Land of Madness, her head went from complicated to outright fearing the dungeon's owner, Balak.
Then, in the first room, Balak said he'd check the entrance and vanished. Karian took one look at Kairel's state and spoke up.
"Kairel, you're pretty confused, huh?"
"Y-Yes?!"
"First off, could you listen quietly for a sec? One piece of advice: you've gotten an offer from someone with strength beyond common sense. And it's the kind where you profit just by sticking around."
"......"
"Honestly, you were a bit shocked seeing Orek again, right? Not that long since parting, but he'd gotten noticeably stronger. If you step into this place, you'll walk the same path soon enough."
After hearing Karian tell her not to make a foolish choice, Kairel had just one thought circling her mind.
Namely!!
‘Sc-Scaaaary!!!’
Yeah! She was now scared not just of Balak, but Karian too!
From the first sight of Balak, his incomprehensible ferocious magic power had made her nauseous.
What even was this dungeon merchant who didn't decorate a dungeon but practically created a world!
And in RPGs, it's common truth that a small cute pigeon late-game is stronger than the grotesque early boss monsters.
Karian, originally a 92nd-floor mid-boss, was on another level from Kairel's perspective—a being in a whole different dimension.
Faced with cosmic horror, she trembled, but stiffened at the mini-dungeon she entered with those monsters.
‘This is just creating a whole world!!! And why are spirits here?!!’
Kairel's mind was breaking down in a whole new way.
***********************
Entering the mini-dungeon with the potential newbie dhampir for my dungeon and Karian to explain things, the kids spotted me and came running.
"""Uncle! Hi!"""
"Hahaha! Doing well?"
"Nice to see you all."
Hahaha! These kids always look so healthy—such a relief!
"By the way, Skull Merchant, what about that Golden Spirit Plan you mentioned before?"
"Talked it over with the Spirit Kings. They're super welcoming, even."
"Sp-Spirit Kings?!"
"Ah, first you've heard. Simply put, my dungeon's allied with the Spirit Realm."
"And super tight with Lord Balak."
"Nah~ not quite that level."
"You know your status in the Spirit Realm now, Lord Balak."
I'd heard from Zephira that the Spirit Kings wanted to chat with me sometime.
Am I really at that level?
Anyway, pride of our dungeon.
The mini-dungeon's scenery unfolded—sky and sea complete.
"Wa... Wa... Wa..."
"Kairel seems broken."
"Best to leave her like that for now. More importantly, Skull Merchant, how's the ocean content planning?"
"Scuba gear on each island, various devices to cross the sea, and underwater fish and coral reefs placed around."
"Oh ho, makes you wanna go scuba diving."
"Plus glowstones scattered throughout the seafloor."
"Ooooo!!"
A space made for scuba diving!
So how would we place trash mobs for ocean content?
"Some guys like me agreed to help."
"Like you?"
"Speak of the devil, here they come."
Like me? What did that mean?
Karian was undead—a skele... Huh?
N-No way!!!
Soon, a black silhouette faintly rose over the horizon.
The hull's sails long torn, yet it advanced silently without a breath of wind.
Pale mist seeped from rotten wood cracks; on the mast hung a neck-snapped skeleton sailor swaying in the breeze.
Groans soaked into the ropes swirled through the eerie air.
The prow bore broken shields and rusted swords, and right there stood an undead pirate captain in a hat.
The undead soon lifted his head our way and bellowed in a deep voice.
"Ahoy~ Karian!"
"Yup! Drak!"
"Pi-Pirates and a ghost ship?!"
Daaamn! Dungeon merchants!
They get the romance of the sea!
This is the GOAT.
The absolute best!