Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Lone Girl in the Incubus Dungeon (1)
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If you had to name the nation closest to the Demon Realm, everyone would say the Sail Kingdom.
The Demon Realm was an unknown land, and no one knew exactly what monsters lived there.
They could only speculate based on ancient records.
So, was the Sail Kingdom, being adjacent to the Demon Realm, a dangerous place constantly invaded by monsters?
That wasn't the case, and they could confidently say so.
Between the Sail Kingdom and the Demon Realm stood a massive wall.
A mountain range blocked the way.
That was why they could explain the kingdom's relative safety thanks to this enormous mountain range.
This massive range granted the kingdom a special privilege of sorts.
And there was one other being benefiting from this privilege.
"Haa... haa..."
The one who had been sprinting at full speed until moments ago stopped briefly to catch her breath.
Taking deep breaths was a small girl.
But her prominent fangs poking out from her mouth made it hard to call her human.
Her name was Aren.
She was also a vampire.
"Mommy, Daddy... where are you..."
Aren said sadly.
Until recently, her parents had been playing with her, but now they were gone.
"...Bad uncles."
Aren had lived in a small dungeon made up of vampires.
But that peace didn't last long.
Suddenly, people clad in pure white armor raided the dungeon where Aren lived.
It was all so sudden.
The dungeon had no power to stop their ambush.
Aren alone managed to escape using her small size.
She got lucky.
After that, she just kept running blindly.
Even when Holy Knights chased her, she only looked ahead and ran.
Clutching the sword her parents had given her made it exhausting, but Aren ran bravely.
In the end, she shook off the Holy Knights and made it this far.
The massive mountain range bordering the Demon Realm.
"Just a little further."
If she crossed this mountain, the Demon Realm would be on the other side.
"Then I can see Mommy and Daddy again."
Before they parted, her parents had told her.
They'd follow later, so she should head to the Demon Realm first.
If she went to the Demon Realm, she'd meet her parents again.
Aren firmly believed it.
Gurgle.
But she hadn't eaten anything all day.
For her small body, even that was fatal.
"I'm hungry... I miss Mommy..."
Tears threatened to fall again.
"Hold it in. I have to hold it in..."
She couldn't cry now.
Instead of crying, she needed to muster more strength.
Aren wiped away her tears while mumbling to herself.
Chirp-
A squirrel approached Aren as she cried.
"Hehe, a squirrel."
Aren's expression brightened at the cute squirrel's appearance.
The exhaustion she'd felt moments ago melted away at the sight.
"Squirrel friend, come here!"
Aren reached out toward the squirrel.
As if sensing her feelings, the squirrel, cautious at first, soon climbed onto her palm.
"Friends are good!"
With a childish lisp, Aren gently cradled the squirrel.
Chirp?
She lifted it, still cupped in her hands, and sank her fangs into its body.
Chirp!
"Yummy friend, hehe."
Joy overflowed on Aren's face.
"So sweet!"
It felt like drinking sweet juice.
Red liquid dripped from the corners of Aren's mouth, one drop at a time.
"See you later, squirrel friend!"
After sucking her self-proclaimed friend dry, she set the former squirrel on the ground and stood up.
She still had a ways to go.
Staying here wasn't a good option. Who knew when those scary uncles might catch up?
So Aren stood tall.
"Let's go!"
For the day she'd reunite with her mom and dad someday.
Aren clutched the sword her parents gave her dearly.
They'd explained something about it, but a child like Aren couldn't remember.
"Ah!"
Aren's eyes turned to the ground.
She spotted a snake slithering there.
"Long friend!"
Hugging the sword to her chest, she snatched the snake with her tiny hands.
"Let's go together. Yummy friend."
At least for the time being.
Aren's mouth didn't look bored anytime soon.
Celia was bustling around the dungeon.
It was for an internal inspection.
Upon hearing that Holy Knights had appeared nearby, she immediately prepared.
Fortunately, she had more than enough funds for the preparations.
'Where did all these magic stones come from...'
The great Master had given her a whopping 20,000 magic stones.
That was plenty to prepare for the Holy Knights.
"It would be good to install traps here."
Celia pointed inside the dungeon.
She pointed out necessary spots during the inspection.
"Please use traps that can be set up quickly."
She was in the middle of a deal with the Demon Realm Merchant Guild for this.
The representative, 'Molu,' wore a smiling face.
Molu had recently become a hot topic in the Merchant Guild.
Her performance, which had been zero, was skyrocketing.
Until then, she'd been discriminated against in the guild for being a half-succubus born between a succubus and a human.
But luckily, she was assigned as the manager for this dungeon.
That became her turning point.
The dungeon she managed now wasn't just ordinarily wealthy.
'She used a ton of magic stones last time too...'
This time, not only traps but also weapons for the monster soldiers needed replacing.
"In addition to traps here, weapons for the goblins and skeletons. Like this?"
"Use as many magic stones as needed. I want the highest quality possible."
She even demanded top-quality for every single weapon.
"By the way, Molu?"
"Yes! What is it?"
"Do you have armor or other equipment too?"
Weapons were decent enough, but defenses were lacking.
No matter how good the offense, what use if defense crumbles?
"Of course! Our Demon Realm Merchant Guild stocks not just adventurer gear but also spoils from the Church. Especially the Church's armor—top quality. But the price is..."
"Shall we discuss that?"
"Ah! Yes!"
Molu answered joyfully.
If this deal went through too, she'd never worry about performance again.
'I have to stick with her to the end.'
Molu glanced at Celia beside her, thinking so.
As her best customer, she'd provide every convenience.
One correction was needed.
I'd broken my promise not to play the game for a while and launched it without fail.
[Eldorado]
The simple game title appeared on screen.
It was close to an idle game, but it had its own fun.
"Oh."
Especially since the characters were somewhat three-dimensional?
Right now, various characters were busily moving around the dungeon.
Except for Zone 1 with the undead, everyone looked busy.
"But who's this?"
A new face was next to Celia.
I clicked immediately to check who it was.
"Molu?"
Her name was Molu.
The description said she was a merchant from the Demon Realm Merchant Guild, with two stars beside her.
This merchant was moving around with Celia here and there.
"Ah, so dungeon development happens through her."
Molu, huh...
If I needed to trade something in the future, I'd remember the name Molu.
"Tch."
But if they kept moving so busily, I'd have nothing left to do.
Truthfully, my purpose for logging in was simple.
I'd planned to dispatch Celia to support another dungeon out of boredom.
But Celia was working hard.
If I gave her more tasks now?
I'd be a tyrannical boss.
And pulling the Death Knight in this situation felt off too.
Someone had to guard the dungeon.
"This dungeon looked special though..."
One unique dungeon stood out in the [Dungeon Support & Dispatch] list.
Incubus Dungeon.
It looked ordinary at a glance.
The issue was its location—not on the Eldorado Continent.
"Another dimension?"
Something beyond my expectations appeared.
It piqued my interest, so I'd almost dispatched right away.
And it was an Incubus Dungeon too.
An Incubus Dungeon would house monsters opposite to succubi.
"Celia seems perfect no matter how I look at it."
I gazed at the screen with regret.
"Well, there's still time."
A timer was displayed next to the Incubus Dungeon.
- Remaining Time: 1 day, 2 hours, 16 minutes
Probably as long as I dispatched within that time?
In-game time flowed the same as real time, so Celia's tasks would wrap up by then.
I proudly watched the dungeon change.
In the vice-guild master's office of the Firebird Guild.
Two men were talking there.
"Jeong Ye-rin is entering the dungeon tomorrow?"
Vice-guild master Jeong Tae-young asked coldly.
"Yeah. She seems dead serious—fully prepared and all."
Jeong Woo-jin replied to Jeong Tae-young.
Jeong Woo-jin handled personnel and dungeon management in the Firebird Guild, though not to Jeong Tae-young's extent.
He was Jeong Ye-rin's older brother, and Jeong Tae-young her eldest.
"Bro, think about it. What a great opportunity."
That dungeon had a Goblin Lord.
Goblin Lord—an A-rank monster.
Their sister Jeong Ye-rin was a B-rank healer.
The team members under team leader Jeong Ye-rin were all C or D-rank hunters.
Even as a B-rank hunter, she was a non-combat healer.
Practically, that party topped out at C-rank.
Entering a Goblin Lord dungeon with that lineup? Utter madness.
But they didn't stop her.
"Support her as much as possible then. That way, no one can complain later."
They actually hoped she'd enter.
Even if she died later, full support would shut down any backlash.
Truthfully, to them, Jeong Ye-rin was nothing.
But just in case.
They planned to crush her growth at the bud entirely.
And a perfect chance had come—how could they let it pass?
'Mom will love this.'
Their mother especially hated Jeong Ye-rin.
No, it bordered on loathing.
She was the child of their father's other wife, after all.
But now, that was ending.
Good news would come soon.
"Oh yeah, are you ready?"
Jeong Tae-young suddenly remembered and asked Jeong Woo-jin.
Jeong Woo-jin was also entering a different dungeon.
"Of course! Who do you think I am? I've already scouted that dungeon fully."
"What if the dungeon prepares countermeasures?"
Low-rank monsters aside.
Higher ranks meant smarter monsters.
Open scouting could let them prepare.
That made high-rank dungeons hard to clear.
The dungeon Jeong Woo-jin targeted was B-rank.
No low-tier at all.
"Don't worry, bro."
Jeong Woo-jin laughed nonchalantly.
"It's full of nothing but incubi."
"For real?"
What were incubi?
Dream demons targeting only women, unlike succubi.
A dungeon with nothing but incubi?
"Then you went all-male party, obviously."
All-male hunters for an all-incubi dungeon was standard.
Men weren't affected by incubi brainwashing.
No matter how they prepared, it was pointless.
'Jeong Woo-jin succeeds, Jeong Ye-rin fails...'
Heaven must be on their side.