Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Adventurers Entering the Dungeon
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"Should I check the monster list before rolling the gacha?"
I confirmed the number of monsters in my dungeon right before spinning the gacha.
"Hmm..."
A total of 29 monsters were wandering around my dungeon.
The numbers had definitely increased.
The problem was that they were all skeletons, and mostly one-star ones at that.
I desperately wanted to synthesize them all, but the game system wouldn't allow it.
If duplicates came up in the gacha, I should hold off on deploying them and just store them for now.
With that in mind, I hit the gacha.
I currently had 14,800 gems.
As planned, that meant two sets of 10-rolls.
"First one, go!"
I slammed the 10-roll button with gusto.
Maybe pouring some spirit into it would yield something good?
As expected, the first one was a Skeleton Soldier.
I'd seen it so often that even the rusty sword it carried felt familiar.
"Fuck."
"Game devs, do you even have a conscience?"
Three Skeleton Soldiers in a row? For real?
Argh, my gems!
"Oh!"
The first non-bony guy appeared.
A green-skinned little dwarf in ragged clothes, clutching a small stone axe in one hand.
Even though it was just one-star, I was thrilled.
This game...
Other monsters do come out, huh?
Riding the momentum, I kept tapping the screen.
What was with this variety?
This time, a Ghoul.
Unlike skeletons, this one had flesh on it.
It was just grotesquely so.
Still, it was a positive sign that my dungeon was diversifying beyond a single skeleton ethnicity.
In the 21st century, a multicultural dungeon wasn't optional—it was essential.
"..."
This roll was a bust too, I thought—until the final pull brought a twist.
"Jackpot!"
Skeleton dominance aside, it didn't matter.
The finale was a five-star monster.
Not quite as strong as my six-star lieutenant, but a five-star was equivalent to an A-rank monster on Earth.
Something that could turn a small city to rubble if no one strong enough stopped it—a disaster for humans.
"Whoa, it's even wearing armor?"
Definitely five-star quality; its appearance was on another level.
Skeleton Soldiers were just exposed bones with a rusty sword in hand.
Skeleton Swordsmen at least had ragged leather armor and a sharpened blade.
But the Death Knight? It wielded its sword on a whole different plane.
Full plate armor fit for a knight, elegant sword in one hand, massive shield in the other.
All pitch-black gear, but cool as hell.
"Truly five-star."
Excited, I tapped the Death Knight.
★ Rank:★★★★★
[Traits]
- Aura of Death (A): Blesses fellow undead with its mere presence, while instilling terror in humans.
[Base Stats]
[Skills]
- Triple Pierce (B): Quickly thrusts three times in succession to deal damage. - Death Revival (A): Revives immediately upon death. Cooldown: 7 days. - Shadow of Death (A): Those slain by the Death Knight's sword rise again as Ghouls.
Jackpot indeed.
Revives after death, cooldown or not.
And Shadow of Death? Insanely broken.
"Ghouls get copied?!"
And Ghouls were two-stars.
Endless copies meant massive firepower.
For now, deploy the Death Knight and Ghoul first.
"The skeleton cluster would be best, right?"
Skeletons were positioned near the dungeon entrance.
Cave-style dungeon.
Straight path, but narrow corridors.
After leaving it for days and logging back in, the layout had changed dramatically.
That was the current setup.
Invaders would traverse the tight passages, then emerge into a wide-open area.
Where the skeletons lurked.
Zooming in, a small label appeared above: [Floor 1, Zone 1]
"Floor 1?"
Zones made sense—the next two wide areas were labeled Zone 2 and 3.
But floors? Did this expand underground too?
Bigger scale than expected.
I tapped the expansion tab just in case, but no dice.
"Sigh..."
Unavailable for now, so I turned to Zone 1 without regret.
Just one Death Knight added, and it already felt solid.
Plus, its Aura of Death blessed fellow undead.
Buff skill, no doubt.
"What about the rest?"
Ghoul and Death Knight deployed.
Leftovers: three Goblins, four Skeleton Soldiers, and one obnoxiously named Skeleton Archer Apprentice.
That name really was a mouthful.
Just call it Archer already.
Wonder what the devs were thinking with the synthesis difficulty.
I placed the three Goblins in Zone 2.
Zone 1 was undead-themed in my mind now.
"So you guys head to Zone 2."
If Zone 1 fell, these three would be crucial.
The four Skeleton Soldiers? Synthesis fodder.
Synthesis needed two identical monsters.
Deployed ones couldn't be used, so the two fresh Soldiers it was.
Synthesizing Skeleton Soldier (★).
Consuming Skeleton Soldier (★) ×2.
Synthesis successful! Skeleton Soldier (★) evolved into Skeleton Swordsman (★★).
Synthesizing Skeleton Soldier (★).
Consuming Skeleton Soldier (★) ×2.
Synthesis successful! Skeleton Soldier (★) evolved into Skeleton Swordsman (★★).
Two more two-star Skeleton Swordsmen added.
"Yeah, I'll keep this one for now."
The single Skeleton Archer Apprentice from gacha couldn't synthesize and felt iffy to deploy.
And my forcibly renamed lieutenant to boot.
Perfection.
"But only Celia has a name?"
Thinking about it, all lieutenant candidates had names like hers.
"What's the difference?"
Even one-stars had names back then.
Pondering briefly...
"Whatever."
I headed straight to the shop for the second roll.
"Last 10-roll, let's go!"
Intruders had arrived.
The green leaves rustled gently in the breeze.
Thanks to them, the discomfort from the heat felt a little less oppressive.
"Are we still far from the dungeon?"
Jane, trailing at the rear, panted out the words.
"Map says around here..."
Her brother Roni scanned the surroundings with the map in hand.
"Want me to carry you?"
"Back off, Denver."
"Got it!"
Roni shook his head at Denver and Jane.
They were the ones he had spent his childhood with.
Denver's crush on Jane was impossible to miss.
'Still, we should be cautious when entering the dungeon.'
The mood was fine, but vigilance was key.
Iron-rank dungeon.
No matter how low-rank it was, there was no harm in being careful.
While surveying the area, they found a cave among the trees.
"Found it! That one?"
Everyone turned at Roni's words.
It seemed like a small cave from the outside.
"This'll be a breeze."
Denver strode forward confidently.
"Hold up! We still need to stay cautious!"
"The dungeon is so small, what's there to be cautious about? It's just a low-grade one for nothing."
Ignoring Roni's words, Denver plunged into the cave.
Reluctantly, Roni and Jane followed after him.
Thus, they stepped into the dungeon.
Cooler inside than the blazing summer sun outside.
But pitch-black dark.
Dungeons were like monsters' homes.
No torches? Unfamiliar to them.
"Too dark to proceed."
Jane lit a torch with magic at Roni's words.
Torchlight banished the gloom.
"Shouldn't we conserve mana now?"
Roni's concern was valid.
For a mage, magical energy was as important as life itself.
A mage with no magical energy left would soon become prey for monsters.
Not even a small spell could be used carelessly.
"Don't worry, I brought this for a reason."
Jane touched the necklace around her neck—an artifact.
"That's..."
Roni trailed off.
The necklace was an item passed down from his deceased mother.
It was also an artifact with the function of restoring magical energy, so he gave it to Jane, who knew how to use magic, rather than keeping it for himself.
However, Jane never wore the necklace because it belonged to her mother.
"I know. But I still wish my mom could see us. I want her to see that we've grown up so well and become adventurers who conquer dungeons"
She fiddled a little with the necklace.
When they were young, a monster wave hit the village where they lived.
Roni and Jane survived, but their parents didn't.
"Yeah, good job."
Roni nodded.
"..."
In fact, he didn't want his sister to become an adventurer..
He wanted to become a noble's exclusive magician in a small territory rather than wandering around performing requests like an adventurer.
His younger sister had the talent to do that.
But Jane refused outright, becoming an adventurer like him.
There was one reason.
For Jane, who lost her parents in the monster wave, there couldn't have been anything more shocking.
Every time Roni saw his sister like that, he felt sorry for her but also admired her.
"Yeah, let's make money for now."
He dreamed of making money and enrolling his sister in the Magic Academy.
But that dream...
*Whizz!*
...was now forever out of reach.
An arrow pierced Roni's head clean through.
"Wha...?"