Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: If This Isn't a Dungeon, Then What Is It?
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-Contaminant Detected
-Classification: [Narcotic Waste], [Amorphous]
-Would you like to collect this contaminant?
'What the hell is this?'
I had no idea why one corner of the garden was so noisy, but the moment I teleported there with [Fast Travel], I spotted demons being swallowed up by tree roots—and among them, the only one still conscious, a man with red eyes.
Before I could even grasp the situation, the man muttered something to himself, then suddenly black smoke began pouring out from his body. The smoke twisted and shifted shapes before a message popped up in front of me, just like when I'd collected 'Baikal' before.
"Collect."
I didn't know what was going on, but the instant the system window appeared, I instinctively shouted the word.
-Whoosh!
"...Gah?! What is this...!!"
The writhing black mass vanished in an instant, and for some reason, the red-eyed man bound by the tree roots vomited blood.
"My... my demonic energy...! My demonic energy is completely gone...? What the hell is... Gah?!"
The man stared at me in disbelief, then spewed out a massive amount of blood and passed out. The tree roots—Dryad—continued devouring him, so I freaked out and yanked them off.
"Hey! Dryad! Spit it out!"
What the hell did this thing just gobble up?!
*******
"Hmm. So it absorbed their demonic energy? Fascinating."
Erzsebet, who had returned after resetting the barrier, examined the demons Dryad had spat out and commented. Every single one of them looked gaunt and emaciated, barely able to regain their senses. According to her, Dryad had sucked up their demonic energy.
"Demonic energy?"
"Indeed, Master. It seems Dryad can use demonic energy from demons as nourishment."
She noted it was different from a typical dryad, and even Erzsebet seemed intrigued. Sure, I was curious about what Dryad had done... but what I really wanted to know was where these guys had suddenly come from.
"Can't you snap them out of it?"
"With all their demonic energy drained, they won't come to easily..."
Damn, this was annoying. If it had been humans barging in, I'd get it, but why the hell were demons showing up in a group like this? The footprints and traces suggested they'd come from outside...
"Hmm... Master. Do you want to know why these fools came here?"
"What? You know?"
"No idea. But there's a way to find out."
For some reason, she looked thrilled as she made me an offer—or rather, a request.
"Master. Judging by their weapons and that man's attempt to attack you, they're hardly friendly... Could you hand these pests over to me?"
"To you?"
Erzsebet pointed at the demons, who showed no signs of waking despite being unconscious.
"What... feed them blood?"
"Not quite. I have a way to wake them."
"...Fine, do it."
I was already stumped on how to deal with these unconscious demons, so I nodded reluctantly. Erzsebet gave a meaningful smile and approached them.
"Hehe... Finally, I have kin worthy of handling my chores."
"...Kin?"
She muttered something suspicious, then drew a few drops of her own blood—not from the [High-Pressure Cleaner], but from her hand. She dripped one drop into each demon's mouth.
"What are you doing?"
"Making them my kin. As my kin, their vitality will toughen up, so even without demonic energy, they'll regain consciousness. Plus, they'll become loyal servants who obey only my commands, allowing you to question them directly, Master."
"Kin?"
The word 'kin' jogged my memory of one of the [Talents] in Erzsebet's [Employee Info].
*[Blood Kin]: Can independently create 'kin' to assist in cleaning tasks. Can equip low-level cleaning tools to 'kin'.
'Is that what she means?'
I'd already experienced the other [Talents] in some form or another, but this was the first time I'd seen 'Blood Kin' in action. Erzsebet wasn't the type to lie to me, so I waited. The demons who'd swallowed the drops of blood began to twitch.
"Waking up?"
"Hehe... Now I have servants to handle the tedious work."
It didn't feel like she was making them for my sake... but whatever. As I watched tensely, all the demons slowly opened their eyes—one by one. Their pupils were now blood-red, for some reason.
I'd worried they might go berserk, but the awakened demons just stood there blankly, like puppets. When Erzsebet tested with commands like 'turn around' or 'bow your head,' they obeyed docilely.
"Good. From now on, you are Number 1, Number 2... Number 8, starting from the front."
"Yes, Mistress..."
Satisfied with the display, Erzsebet suddenly named them. Wait, those are names? She complained my Dryad sounded tacky...
"It worked?"
"They are now loyal kin who obey only me, Master."
"Alright... then ask them why they came here and who they are. I have stuff to do."
"Understood, Master."
It was a creepy sight, but better than dead bodies. Leaving the interrogation to her, I opened [Collection Items].
-Essence of Illusion: [Narcotic Waste], [Amorphous]
A name that spelled trouble, and the blatant 'narcotic' label on its classification. What would have happened if I hadn't collected it in a hurry?
The ominous ring of 'narcotic' made me grimace as I quickly sold the 'Essence of Illusion' in the [Shop]. It wouldn't be unsellable and force decomposition, right?
-[Essence of Illusion] Sale Price: 3,000p
'Oh?'
More points than I'd expected. Sure, way less than the 12,000p from Baikal, but considering Baikal was some grand holy relic spear, this was a hefty sum.
What made this worth so much? The guy who'd summoned it had been ranting about his demonic energy before passing out.
'Sell the rest too.'
-Rusty Spear: [Large Waste], [Metal]
-Hole-Ridden Shield: [Large Waste], [Wood]
-Bloodstained Rags: [Clothing Waste], [Fabric]
I eyed the other items collected from the demons Dryad had spat out. Maybe because they'd been in such bad shape when ejected, all their gear and clothes were classified as 'contaminants' and collectible.
I'd been fretting over where more points would come from, so the moment 'collect' popped up, I grabbed everything and sold it in the [Shop].
-[+50p], [+30p]...
Each one was peanuts, but way more than scraping points from regular cleaning. Like in the game, points piled up faster from collecting and selling trash than from cleaning.
After collecting and selling every last [Contaminant]...
-Current Points: 13,570p
I'd amassed about as many points as right after selling Baikal.
"Master. The interrogation is done for now."
As the sales wrapped up, Erzsebet returned from questioning the demons—now her 'kin.' Her explanation... was honestly ridiculous.
"...So. They heard rumors of a dungeon among humans, this idiot leader thought he could swallow it whole, brought his minions, got caught in traps, kept acting tough, and got wrecked by Dryad?"
"Good summary?"
My head throbbed just hearing it; I clutched the back of my neck. Fine, these were small-fry punks, and now they were Erzsebet's kin anyway—dealt with. What gave me a headache was the rumor spreading among humans that there was a 'dungeon' here.
'Why the hell would such a rumor...?'
Rio had already given me the basics of this world, so I knew what a dungeon meant. Something with a dungeon core and dungeon master, packed with powerful minions, and even if smashed, it pops up elsewhere... Anyway, some big-deal space.
Why call this place a dungeon...?
Heroes had charged in and gotten wiped, leaving a big entrance smack in the middle of the forest, with a demon (Erzsebet) inside who crushes even heroes...
'It is a fucking dungeon.'
******
She mentioned their names, tribes, something about dream demons... I ignored the trivia. No interest in punks already trounced by Dryad and drained dry of demonic energy.
'Is this place really a dungeon?'
But hearing the dungeon rumor made my doubts about this place grow. My Cleaning Game system called it 'Demon God's Ruins'—a suspicious spot name-dropping 'Demon God' right off the bat.
Dungeons were born from 'shards of the Demon God' called dungeon cores. Could these two places really be unrelated?
"Erzsebet. You couldn't find any separate passages, right?"
"Not if it's detecting lifeforms... but scouting terrain? I'm not confident..."
My curiosity about this damn place only deepened. Judging by the [Contamination] tab, this wasn't just the garden—there had to be more space. I'd scoured the garden over the week of cleaning, but no doors or passages turned up.
Until now, I'd focused on cleaning and searched casually... but now, I needed a hardcore interior sweep.
First step for that...
-Register target as [Employee]?
'Yes.'
Start by expanding the staff.