43. Invasion (2)
43. Invasion (2)
- 1 -
The differences between *Million Dungeon Lord* 1 and 2 that I had learned since coming to this world went beyond mere historical background and included several other things.
The biggest of them all was the existence of the Demon Realm, and the entities called Archdukes who dwelt in both the Demon World and on the surface. In *Mildon 1*, there were no demonkind called 'Archdukes', even though the Demon King existed.
That meant one thing.
'Human culture is flowing into the Demon World.'
Of course, this wasn't something I concluded solely from the title of Archduke.
It was a guess I had reached based on what I had felt from the demons I had met so far... a sense that 'the demons of today seem far more "human" than those of *Mildon 1*.'
'Come to think of it, 200 years have passed.'
Since humans and demons had maintained contact under the name of 'war' for a full two centuries, it would not be strange at all that they had influenced each other to this degree.
Similarities between the cultures of the two worlds would likely continue to increase over time.
'Since the absolute beings known as the Demon King and the Goddess exist, a complete merging into total peace is impossible, but...'
Unless one of the two undergoes a decisive change.
[We have obtained testimony that children were abducted here! Infiltrate as quickly as possible and... let's survive!]
[Send all the others away. What you want in the end is me, isn't it?]
And the next thing I felt most strongly was the difference in the 'human quality' of the adventurers I had encountered so far.
'Million Dungeon Lord 1' was ultimately a game with a villain protagonist if you judged it by human standards.
More than a picaresque, it was truly a villain story.
Because of that, the Dungeon Lord who served as the protagonist in the story primarily played the axis of evil, and the main objective of the adventurers who entered the dungeon was solely the murder of the Dungeon Lord and the silencing of the dungeon.
But this era was different.
"You humans are exceedingly greedy, I see."
The adventurers of this place grew by subjugating the dungeons that appeared or developed within each nation, built fame, and then headed to the border with the Demon Realm to solidify those achievements, becoming powerful figures or men of authority.
Not only that, but there were even those who were already walking that proven path of success.
Those who had become the goals of adventurers living in this era.
In short, the goal of adventurers in this age was not 'victory in the war and peace.'
"So what? As if there's any adventurer these days who doesn't have greed for money and power."
It was 'the things that could be gained from the war.'
And so, having reached that train of thought and seeing how the knight Elias envied the two senior knights, I had thought of one thing.
'Couldn't I be the one to give them that wealth and glory?'
A strong desire was sometimes like a hand reaching into a bottle to grasp a treasure within.
At first, they would be blinded by wealth and power and reach out their hand, and later, you would narrow the mouth of the bottle further or make the hand itself larger, thereby binding them.
Of course, whether or not you could trust and make use of such people was another story, but once a contract with the Demon World was made, the only way for the contractor to escape that contract was through 'another contract.'
It was safe until the contractors encountered a different Dungeon Lord who was more powerful or more convenient to use.
'It is dangerous. There are bound to be some capable ones even among human nobles. But the gains would also be great. In that case...'
After deliberating a moment longer, I decided to use the man right in front of me as the first test case.
"What if you were to take this gold? Could you secure for yourself one of the titles of Copherin?"
"Where did you get this much gold... no, more importantly, what did you say? Noble?"
Alexis looked up at me as if I had said something absurd.
However, amidst that bizarrely twisted expression, I detected eyes that had begun to gleam strangely, and the corners of a mouth that were subtly rising.
It vanished quickly a moment later, but it was unmistakably the air of a seething desire.
"That isn't enough. Not unless you bring back something like the head of the Dungeon Lord you made disappear."
The reply Alexis gave afterward, his expression now settled into a deliberately crooked smile, implied that a deal was possible.
Of course, what I wanted wasn't a deal, but it didn't matter how the other party perceived it.
"Is that so? Then what about the head of another Dungeon Lord? For example... the Lord near Iltkis."
"There's a Lord near Iltkis? Is that true?"
"You can verify the truth of that information for yourself."
To be honest, there was almost nothing I could tell him.
The information about this area was something I had obtained as a result of asking the trading company to inform me of any entities in the vicinity that were open to cooperation.
How could I possibly provide anything when I had never met or contacted them before?
'But the city's name carries weight.'
Iltkis was a city west of Copherin, located on the upper reaches of one of the two great rivers serving as logistical centers within the Haisen Kingdom, and was also the place of origin for a significant portion of the wheat sold in the southern part of the Eastern Continent.
Moreover, it was a key military strategic point for Haisen, because if a conflict broke out with the Aririt Duchy to the south, it was the place from which military provisions could be transported the fastest.
If a Dungeon Lord existed here, it was effectively the same as there being another potential crisis that Haisen had yet to grasp.
"Fuck. Are you joking right now..."
Sreung.
"J-Joking? Of course it's possible! With that, I mean, shit... well, maybe it depends on the degree of growth? Anyway, even in Haisen, you could easily snap up a baronetcy, and if you talk it up well, even a barony is possible!"
Alexis, who had gradually grown agitated watching my expression, finally opened his mouth and tried to slip in profanity as usual, but fell silent before Evangeline's sword.
Watching that sight, I re-evaluated the benefits and risks I would gain by keeping him alive.
'For starters, most of the risks are eliminated at the point of the contract.'
The 'secret' Alexis had to keep would be safeguarded once he was formally placed under the influence of the contract.
Even if he got drunk and tried to blab the secret without realizing it, the contract and curse placed upon his soul would inflict such pain that it would drive even the intoxication out of his brain.
In fact, even if he were subjected to hypnosis or mental manipulation, it was possible to block it to some degree, and revealing the contract through writing or any other means besides speech was also impossible.
Thus, the risk was practically nonexistent.
Unless this man recklessly drew upon the power of the Demon World and got caught by a cleric.
'The gains are an unknown variable. Because it's something I've never done before. Only the Archdukes on the surface might have tried it.'
Of course, I couldn't know that either. Since I had never heard of such a thing happening.
But I believed that if those established Dungeon Lords had truly succeeded in properly expanding their domain from the Demon Realm, it wouldn't be strange for them to have planted spies among humans to monitor them.
Because by that point, they would have realized the importance of information well enough.
'It would be arrogance to assume that what I am capable of, they could not do.'
Hadn't there already been a contradiction between the setting in *Mildon 1*, where a Dungeon Lord could only contract with humans by 'corrupting' them, and the situation I found myself in now?
I too possessed humans of this world.
Even if I hadn't gained complete loyalty, the kind where they followed from the heart, I had reached a level where they could function as human assets.
So, if I was to follow in their footsteps...
'I had wanted to fill in the necessary parts as slowly as possible, but...'
『Demon Lord Candidate 'Libertas' Dungeon Lv. 4』
『Core Activation - 417/560』
『Attributes - Stamina 18 Technique 26 Endurance 23 Magic Power 32 Resistance 24』
I checked the Dungeon Information Window and my Status Window alternately.
The deliberation did not take long.
'Indeed, I must invest now.'
I poured the dungeon level-up I had gained by sending Serica away, and the resulting surplus in magical power, into my attributes without hesitation, up to the realm where the blonde vampire I had sent first had reached.
『Core Activation - 663/728』
『Attributes - Stamina 34 Technique 46 Endurance 38 Magic Power 53 Resistance 47』
Huuuk...!!
Udeudeuk - !
The magic circle that rose from the ground I stood on, and the power now flooding my entire body, were both the result of expending the spare capacity remaining in the dungeon core.
The sudden physical strengthening caused by the magical power was such that my body felt somewhat stiff.
Since I thought it best to go all at once if I was going to do it anyway, and I had crammed it in to a slightly tight degree considering the 'contracts' that would follow, it was a natural result.
Because once I proceeded with the contracts with them here, the remaining core magic power would be reduced to a mere 1.
Contracts with humans or Demon World mercenaries cost several to dozens of times more magic power than maintaining an ordinary summoned creature, so it had to be measured carefully.
Keu... heuheuheu...
The ghostly wail that suddenly began to echo from all corners of the dungeon vanished when I waved my hand once, but the power that was its source still lay over this space.
Death Energy.
This was transformed magical power that proved this place was the domain of a Necromancer who had risen to a new level.
There were still few areas where it could be applied, so there was little room to use it strategically, but even at this level, I would be able to use it for the purpose of weeding out or suppressing the small fry.
Judging from the feeling that it was similar to the descriptions in my memory, this part seemed not to have changed much.
However...
『Class - Sinister Necromancer』
I had secretly wished this part would have changed a little.
'Sinister' Necromancer felt too much like the textbook example, so it felt a bit lame. Then again, 'Ancient' Vampire or 'Superior' Succubus was equally ridiculous.
"Impossible..."
- Could capturing us really have brought about this level of growth...?
As if that were the case.
An ordinary Dungeon Lord born in this world could not visually confirm their own power and the state of their core, so they would have to personally accumulate the know-how of increasing their strength through all sorts of trial and error.
Increasing power so haphazardly like I just did could overload the core, and might even temporarily reduce one's power for a while instead.
But there was no need to reveal that secret.
『Name - Alexis Julka』
『Class & Grade - Elite Magic Swordsman』
...
『A warrior and mage possessing abilities outstanding for his grade. Both flesh and soul are of high quality.』
I read the information on Alexis that appeared before my eyes, then turned to them—still lost in bewilderment—and spoke once more.
"Have you grasped what it is that I can give to you?"
Calmly, as always.
- 2 -
"Impossible..."
A shocking scene unfolded before the eyes of Alexis and Jin-kyung.
The black magical power enveloping the body of the woman—whose face, at a glance, appeared so kind and fragile as to seem harmless—dyed her dark in an instant while simultaneously increasing the amount of magical power flowing from her.
It was a change that felt almost irrational.
'Now I understand why Dungeon Lords grew so fast...'
Unaware that he was mistaken, Alexis looked up at the woman looking down at him with astonished eyes.
Without a doubt, she... though she was small, she seemed larger than ever now.
'I understand now why these monsters must be hunted down and killed early...'
Jin-kyung shared this sentiment as well.
This was partly due to one difference between them and the adventurers who had come to dungeons up until now.
It was during the time when one ascended from the advanced level to the elite level that the sense to detect external magical power began to blossom in earnest.
Thanks to that, they could not help but feel the changes in Libertas far more keenly than the adventurers before them.
Of course, sensing another's magical power so sensitively was actually impossible, and it had only been possible because the change at this moment was so pronounced that even someone lacking a proper sense for magical power would inevitably feel it—but still.
"Have you grasped what it is that I can give to you?"
To the two of them, still drowning in shock, Libertas, who retained an aloof air, opened her mouth once more.
Through the lingering surplus of her dark magical power, beneath jet-black hair, her two violet-glowing eyes shone mysteriously.
With a voice swelling with the surging power brought by the sudden spike in magical power.
"Power. And wealth. And further, honor."
Her mouth drew a small straight line and sealed shut, without even a smile.
"Choose."
Eyes that gleamed with an innocent curiosity, as if examining something worthless.
"Whether you will seize what it is you desire. Or..."
A small body that stood upright, emitting immense power unfitting for its size.
"Whether you will be vainly crushed here and bloom anew."
A beauty like that of an angel.
"Whichever path you take, I will welcome your choice."
That figure felt to the two adventurers now, more than a mere demon or beast, like a legendary evil being from the scriptures...
In other words, like a 'Demon King' itself.
"I will serve you. You..."
- If only you will spare, our lives...
Looking up at that expressionless face holding such a benevolent impression, Alexis and Jin-kyung finally knelt properly.
"Desire. An excellent choice."
It was the moment when the Demon Lord Candidate Libertas moved beyond simply possessing humans, and began to invade their territories.