Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: There Lives a Monster in That Dungeon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"?"
This was the first time I'd seen an alert like that.
Until now, I'd seen alerts about absorbing tributes, but this was the first time it told me exactly what I'd gained from them.
"Why didn't you do this from the start?"
Then I could've figured it out sooner.
Still, the results weren't bad.
Absorbing two Holy Knights had netted me one skill and some holy power.
"But why'd this pop up here?"
The skill I'd acquired was 'Goddess's Healing'.
Goddess's Healing was an advanced skill that only a select few priests could wield, capable of healing others.
In hunter terms, it was basically a healer's position.
No, it was a higher-level skill than any hunter's heal.
Those who possessed the Goddess's Healing skill were said to have the potential to surpass high priests—maybe even go beyond.
So how did someone with that skill end up as a Holy Knight?
Did they not realize their own talents and go down the wrong path?
I pondered it for a moment, then shook my head.
"Whatever. Not my problem."
More skills were always better, regardless.
"In that sense, absorbing holy power is a nice bonus."
Absorbing the holy power had added a new holy power stat to my status window, one that hadn't been there before.
Of course, since the amount absorbed was minimal, its displayed rank was F.
And the rank of the Goddess's Healing skill scaled with the holy power I possessed.
In other words, the Goddess's Healing skill was also F-rank, matching my holy power.
Which meant the Goddess's Healing skill had growth potential.
Just raise my holy power rank, and it'd improve.
And the way to do that? Tributes, same as always.
The perfect condition for me right now.
Keep absorbing holy power through tributes, and eventually, I'd build up enough to increase the amount I had.
Then the Goddess's Healing skill would rank up too.
"Already looking forward to it."
I checked the game to see if there were more Holy Knights lined up as tributes, but shook my head.
Absorbing those two had cost me six hours.
I'd noticed myself drifting into drowsiness while absorbing their abilities.
In short, an incapacitated state where I couldn't move.
Even if there were more candidates ready right now, I wasn't in the mood to offer them up immediately.
If anything, it was a situation where I needed to instruct them to hold off until I said so.
"Well, tributes it is, in the end."
My previous guesses had solidified into certainty.
Everything I'd gained so far—status window, traits—all stemmed from tributes.
A system where I grew stronger by sacrificing others.
That didn't stir any guilt in me, though.
The answer lay within the game itself.
The tiny entity at the dungeon's core.
The Dungeon Core.
Clicking it brought up a description: [Dungeon Core]: The heart of the dungeon, supplying energy to all its functions.
If the core is destroyed, so is the dungeon.
That part seemed fine.
The dungeon was just a game element—its destruction wouldn't hurt me.
But then...
There was another line below.
"Even ant print isn't this small."
It was seriously tiny and annoying to read.
And the content was even more absurd.
-Caution! If the dungeon is destroyed, the dungeon master perishes along with it.
The dungeon in question is 'Nest of the Evil God', and the master is Yi Kang-hyun.
"......"
The key word here: perish.
It wasn't used lightly, given everything so far.
"Death."
There was a high chance of actual death.
No, it was practically guaranteed.
I'd reaped real benefits from this game up to now.
Just today, I'd gained holy power and a skill—having some penalty like this wasn't surprising.
"If anything, it's a relief."
Having an element like that actually reassured me.
If it kept handing out powers with zero drawbacks, that would've been suspicious.
Not bad at all.
I'd secured a path to keep growing stronger, and any lingering guilt over tributes was gone.
Anyone invading my dungeon might as well be holding a knife to my throat.
In reality, to survive, I'd have to strike first.
This game was no different.
If they were out to kill me and I just sat there, I'd be the biggest fool imaginable.
I knew how to proceed from here.
"Gems going up in price is a drag, though."
The price hike was an unwelcome variable.
Buying 5,000 gems now cost 110,000 won instead of 55,000.
A full double.
But I got it.
No, it was still a bargain, really.
Plus, no amount of money let you buy infinite gems anyway.
The game was maintaining balance nicely.
I swiped through the screen, surveying the dungeon interior.
Post-intruder cleanup, it looked bustling.
"New faces too."
But that wasn't important right now.
First order: tweak the altar settings.
Humans as tributes only on my direct orders.
And one experiment.
Having received humans already, I had a feel for that.
But what about items?
The Cursed Sword was an example, but verifying it myself meant waiting two weeks.
And further...
What about monsters—not humans or items?
If I could absorb monster abilities, couldn't I just tribute the ones I had?
I clicked and set it in motion right away.
"Yeah, you'll do."
A 3-star monster clad in armor and wielding a sword: Skeleton Knight.
1-stars and 2-stars were too weak, and anything above 3-stars was too valuable to waste.
With my life on the line, I needed strong defenders, so tributing high-rankers would just be self-sabotage.
My pick: Skeleton Knight.
The Skeleton Knight climbed onto the altar.
"Let's see what happens..."
I held my breath, eyes glued to the screen.
Suddenly, the altar blazed up, and an alert appeared.
- Altar level too low. Upgrade the altar.
What?
Altar level too low?
A 3-star wasn't that high, was it?
I clicked the altar to upgrade it immediately.
But...
- Cannot upgrade altar.
- Altar-related upgrades not unlocked.
"......"
I had no choice but to send the Skeleton Knight down and try a 2-star Skeleton Swordsman next.
- Altar level too low. Upgrade the altar.
"Huh..."
Not even 2-stars?
Surely 1-stars would work...
With bated breath, I sent a 1-star Skeleton Soldier up to the altar.
A rickety skeleton clutching a single battered sword.
Even visually, it didn't look like tributing it'd yield much.
"Eh, worth a shot anyway."
This game was crucial to me now.
I needed to see exactly how these details worked with my own eyes.
This time, it passed.
"?"
Wait.
I double-checked if my eyes were playing tricks.
"Receive?"
Not absorb abilities?
Something felt off.
I desperately hoped for a way to cancel.
But sadly, no such function existed.
Suddenly, intense light poured from my smartphone.
"...!"
As the light faded, a familiar figure stood atop the phone.
"Skeleton..."
A skull-headed monster gripping a battered sword.
Skeleton Soldier.
The exact one I'd summoned countless times in gacha pulls was now right in front of me.
Clack-
Clack-
The Skeleton Soldier creaked toward me.
I tensed up instinctively, but its next move was unexpected.
Snap- Snap-
It bent at the waist, bowing in greeting.
Its jaw dropped open as if speaking.
"Uh..."
This was awkward.
And so, aside from the skill and holy power, I'd gained a Skeleton Soldier to boot.
The Phoenix Guild was shrouded in gloom.
An emergency meeting was underway, important enough for both the guild master and vice-master to attend.
All because of Jeong Woo-jin.
He was found in a wretched state after entering the Incubus Dungeon.
Did the dungeon's master throw a tantrum?
Jeong Woo-jin had escaped the dungeon.
Fortunately, he was still alive, but those who saw Jeong Woo-jin had only one thought.
It might be better to die.
That's how dire Jeong Woo-jin's condition was, and even the hunters who accompanied him looked dreadful.
"What the hell happened in there...?"
"Weren't they all heading into an Incubus Dungeon?"
Incubi indulging in lust. This shattered every preconception.
The Phoenix Guild hunters at the meeting shared their takes.
No one had expected the subjugation to fail.
Jeong Woo-jin was A-rank, and the team was all male for an Incubus Dungeon.
Yet they'd returned battered beyond belief—who wouldn't be shocked?
"Quiet, everyone."
The guild master, Jeong Taek-su, spoke up.
His words silenced the noisy room instantly.
Silence.
Confirming mouths shut, Jeong Taek-su continued.
"Vice-master, give the briefing."
Vice-master Jeong Tae-young was the guild master's eldest son.
Calling him by title, not name, showed his strict separation of work and family.
Jeong Taek-su seemed cold even with his son Jeong Woo-jin hurt, coming off as unflappably rational.
Jeong Tae-young knew this, so no hard feelings.
He simply began his report.
"The dungeon entered by Jeong Woo-jin and 21 others was a B-rank Incubus Dungeon.
Prior scouts confirmed only incubi present, so the team was all male hunters."
Yet they'd been utterly wrecked.
The silver lining: they survived.
Though drained of vitality by incubi, they barely felt alive.
"...Interrogations of survivors confirmed a single succubus in the dungeon, presumed to be the master."
Murmurs erupted as Jeong Tae-young finished.
"That's on par with a Succubus Queen, right? Ruling incubi solo."
"First subjugation failed. We need a full response."
How terrifying.
A lone succubus dominating an Incubus Dungeon.
"If a monster wave hits from there..."
Someone muttered shakily.
They trailed off, but the implication was clear.
The worst-case scenario, one no one wanted to imagine.
Jeong Taek-su spoke at the briefing's end.
"Effective immediately, upgrading that dungeon from B to A-rank. We'll prepare thoroughly for the succubus and subjugate again. No failures this time—be meticulous."
With the guild master's focus, that dungeon was as good as cleared.
But Jeong Tae-young couldn't shake his unease.
'An Incubus Dungeon ruled by a succubus...'
Probably something monstrous.
So thought Jeong Tae-young.
There lives a monster in that dungeon.
An unknown monster.