Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The True Master of the Dungeon
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The wide-open sky had transformed into a gloomy, dark ceiling.
They were now inside the dungeon.
The entrance to the dungeon they had entered was sealed shut.
The raid party hunters entered the dungeon interior, warily scanning in all four directions.
Seo Young-ho, the raid leader guiding them, raised his hand.
"Everyone, halt!"
He stopped the raid party hunters in their tracks and surveyed the dungeon.
This was the Incubus Dungeon.
True to the dungeon where they dwelled, it carried a chill darkness laced with shadowy desires.
It was profoundly quiet, yet the marble walls and the beautiful decorations plastered across them were more than enough to captivate the human heart.
'As expected of dream demons.'
They tempted humans just as thoroughly as the interior was filled with beauty.
An aged chandelier hung from the dark ceiling.
"Pure gold...?"
Seeing the chandelier gleaming with golden light and adorned with all sorts of jewels, Seo Young-ho muttered unconsciously.
The chandelier was undoubtedly beautiful.
The lanterns burning atop it were the only light source piercing the dungeon's cold darkness, shining brightly even in the shadows as light and shadow subtly intertwined in a dance.
'Ahh.'
The sight was utterly mesmerizing.
It probably cost a fortune, too.
Come to think of it, this place was filled with expensive items.
Even the carpet laid across the floor looked luxurious, and the gold coins and jewels on the tables were plenty to enchant anyone.
Even raid leader Seo Young-ho was utterly entranced by the beauty, let alone the hunters under him.
"How much is all that worth?"
"This dungeon is a real jackpot!"
Everyone envisioned a hopeful future.
If they conquered this dungeon, all those items would be theirs.
There were nearly fifty hunters in this raid party alone.
It was no small number, yet even the dungeon's entrance held treasures like this.
Then how much greater would the riches be at the dungeon's heart?
Even splitting shares with all the hunters here, the scraps falling his way wouldn't be insignificant.
As everyone basked in bright hopes, Seo Young-ho barely regained his composure.
"Everyone, focus! A single moment of carelessness means death!"
Seo Young-ho shouted to snap the mood back to reality.
They'd naturally claim those treasures once they subjugated the dungeon anyway.
"All buffer-type hunters, activate your skills!"
An unknown dungeon.
They had no choice but to proceed based on the vanguard party's experience.
The vanguard had entered first and fallen for the beautiful sights before them, they said.
That was the last thing they remembered.
Just as they described, the succubi and incubi would soon begin their seduction against them.
But the Phoenix Guild hunters were thoroughly prepared this time.
They donned artifacts resistant to mind control and brainwashing, or had hunters with relevant skills buff them beforehand.
And that wasn't all.
A rare hunter who could wield holy power had even joined them despite their small numbers.
This raid party reflected the Phoenix Guild's ironclad resolve to subjugate the dungeon.
Just judging by now, they had the force to easily fend off the incubi’s charms.
The succubi were the wildcard, but they probably wouldn’t fall easily.
A dungeon steeped in dreadfully beautiful allure.
Seo Young-ho and the hunters slowly advanced.
"……."
But it was eerily quiet, enough to make their skin crawl.
As if sound itself had died in this space.
Seo Young-ho pressed on without letting his guard down.
Soon, a massive door appeared.
Opulent patterns adorned the door, and its handle was made of gold, just like the chandelier.
One hunter stepped forward first and lightly struck the handle with his sword.
Nothing happened.
Confirming as much, Seo Young-ho gripped the handle and turned it.
Kiiiik.
The door opened with a loud creak.
Three hunters slipped through the gap first.
They were the rangers tasked with scouting ahead inside the dungeon.
Perhaps their tension had eased since nothing had appeared until now.
The three rangers entered the gap without a hint of caution—and met their end.
Whoosh.
A whoosh of wind and the sound of something swinging.
With that sound, the three rangers’ bodies crumbled.
"Fuck!"
Someone spat a curse.
Three people had just died right before their eyes.
Seo Young-ho stared ahead, trying to grasp the situation.
And soon, a certain being came into view.
"Death... Knight!"
A Death Knight.
An A-rank monster had appeared.
"Why the hell is a Death Knight here?!"
One of the raid party hunters cried out in despair.
As he said, no one had imagined a Death Knight would be here.
The vanguard had clearly said there were incubi and one succubus ruling them.
Yet a Death Knight?
Of course, the Death Knight was A-rank, and half of the nearly fifty hunters gathered here were A-rank too.
But there was one crucial difference.
The traits of the assembled hunters shone against succubi and incubi, but no one had considered a Death Knight.
Thus, they couldn’t help but panic in this situation.
"L-Leader! Orders!"
They needed to retreat immediately.
This was no Incubus Dungeon.
Suddenly, Seo Young-ho recalled what the detection-type hunter had said earlier.
He had sensed incubi but no succubus.
'Hmm.'
Perhaps that hunter had focused on the succubus and missed the Death Knight.
But the vanguard’s report hadn’t mentioned a Death Knight.
And even now, looking around, incubi were visible, but no succubus presence could be felt.
'No way...'
The one who led the vanguard was the guild master’s second son, Jeong Woo-jin.
His older brother, Jeong Tae-young, was the Phoenix Guild’s vice-guild master.
Within the guild, Jeong Tae-young and Jeong Woo-jin were known as close brothers.
'Has it all been an act until now? Jeong Woo-jin...!'
Seo Young-ho clenched his fist.
None of this made sense unless it was all Jeong Woo-jin’s scheme.
They’d said there was a succubus here, yet not even her shadow was visible.
A Death Knight stood in her place.
They’d focused solely on countering the succubus, never imagining a Death Knight.
Believing the vanguard’s words blindly had been their fatal mistake.
And why would the vanguard feed them false information?
'To shove guild members to their deaths and sideline his brother?'
This raid party was prepared under the vice-guild master’s responsibility per the guild master’s orders.
The funds invested were beyond imagination.
What if the raid achieved nothing?
That would be fortunate, at least.
Just a matter of bowing his head briefly.
But if the entire raid party was wiped out?
That changed everything.
It wasn’t just the money.
With so many A-rank hunters, total annihilation would topple the Phoenix Guild’s prestige in an instant.
The guild master and vice-guild master would take the biggest hit.
And naturally, more blame would fall on the vice-guild master who planned this raid.
If Jeong Tae-young was ousted from vice-guild master, who would take his place next?
It was obvious without looking.
Jeong Woo-jin must have envied his brother and plotted to steal the vice-guild master position.
Come to think of it, it never made sense from the start.
How the vanguard survived the dungeon, unscathed.
But now he knew why.
'The vanguard never even reached this point!'
They themselves had encountered nothing on the way here.
Only after opening that massive door did the Death Knight appear.
'We’ve been tricked. Thoroughly tricked!'
It was chilling, in a way.
The vanguard must have scouted multiple times and known the dungeon’s ecosystem fully.
Yet they hid it all to orchestrate this.
He had to inform the guild of this immediately.
Seo Young-ho promptly issued orders to the hunters.
"Everyone, retreat! Maintain formation and fall back slowly!"
A Death Knight was A-rank.
Even without preparations for it, they were A-rank hunters too.
It meant they wouldn’t be overwhelmingly outmatched by the Death Knight’s attacks.
And what made the Death Knight tricky wasn’t just that.
"Grrr..."
The hunters slain by the Death Knight began to stir again.
They were no longer human.
They had been reborn as ghouls by the Death Knight’s skill.
"Don’t break formation—deal with the ghouls too!"
The moment a few hunters approached to handle the ghouls.
Boom—
Boomb boom—
Boom boom—
"What the hell?!"
"The ghouls are exploding!"
The ghouls began detonating.
"Fuck! There’s a lich!"
Seo Young-ho bit his lip.
The worst scenario: a lich alongside the Death Knight.
The lich wielded the Corpse Explosion skill.
It could detonate any undead monster of lower rank than itself—a notoriously tricky ability.
Some thought liches only exploded skeleton-types, but that was a misconception.
It stemmed from liches often appearing in skeleton dungeons, but in truth, they could explode all undead like ghouls.
The raid party hunters fell into panic amid this chaos.
The Death Knight kept swinging its sword from the front.
A hunter sacrificed by the sword turned into a ghoul and exploded.
It was utter madness.
"The vanguard guys are succubi!"
"Succubi, damn it! A combination of Death Knights and Lich. I've never heard of such a thing!"
Thanks to them, they naturally blamed the vanguard.
"Pour holy power attacks on the Death Knight!"
The silver lining: they had a hunter who could wield holy power.
If their attacks landed well, they might bind the Death Knight momentarily.
The Death Knight, of dark attribute, was vulnerable to holy power’s light.
Thus, Seo Young-ho ordered a few hunters.
The designated few unleashed blinding white light.
But.
"What the...?"
The Death Knight didn’t budge.
No—the holy attacks were all blocked by the shield it raised.
"A maid outfit...?"
A maid outfit was attached to the shield the Death Knight raised.
It was utterly grotesque.
At the same time, all the hunters lost their composure.
"Don't try to align the ranks! Just focus on surviving no matter what!"
Seo Young-ho cried out desperately.
Surviving in this bizarre place was important now.
They had to survive to send information about this dungeon.
This place was hell.
The lich held a thick tome.
It was the Inspector's Notebook.
Until the moment the hunters attacked, the Lich did not stop recording.
The extent of what the Death Knight did was turning the hunters it killed into ghouls and using a skill to explode them.
"How is it, Sir Lich? This oil is most luxurious and will make your bones emit a fine fragrance."
Azmo said this while applying oil to the lich’s bones.
He brushed meticulously into every gap between them.
The lich nodded.
"I’m delighted it pleases you. You’re always welcome, Sir Lich. Please visit whenever you have time."
The lich nodded again at Azmo’s words. At the same time, its hand moved.
Thus, Inspector Lich recorded its verdict on Azmo’s dungeon.
Azmo, oiling the lich’s bones, inwardly marveled.
'Not just Lady Celia, but everyone under her is so mighty.'
Awe for the great one welled up within him.
'She truly is the master. I can entrust everything to her.'
Azmo resolved himself.
- Successfully supported Dungeon 'Temptation of Illusions'. - Successfully repelled the intruders. - Successfully completed additional mission. - Can purchase Lich promotion privilege package 1 time. - Dungeon 'Temptation of Illusions' owner Azmo offers his dungeon to the master. - Became the first ruler to possess dungeons in two dimensions. - Acquired trait 'True Dungeon Master (EX)'. - The following systems unlock due to the trait.
[Dungeon Monster Level-Up System] (Locked)
[Dungeon Monster Enhancement System] (Locked)
My smartphone spewed notifications nonstop all of a sudden.
I skimmed the alerts roughly and pocketed the phone.
This place was inside a dungeon right now.
I’d come to test Maru’s combat prowess.
Tempting as it was to check each alert, I couldn’t.
"Maru, get ready."
The single mana pulse I’d sensed earlier.
I’d been dubious at first.
But now I was certain.
"Let’s sweep the rat first."
It was time to eliminate the one tailing me.