Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 118

Chapter 118: Episode 33. Auction of Devildom (5)

Mago was the highest level 2 monster. It was possible that no other monster could outrank Mago in the following year or the year after next. It meant it would allow me to dominate the game for at least this year.

Things already started, and I had to secure my position. I had no idea what Oculus’s plan was; however, since my information was already known to him, there’s nothing to hide. Rather, if I hesitated and hid here, he would consider me as his prey.

“Six million.”

“Count Randalf! He doesn’t want to lose it! Unbelievable! The units are different.”

“Seven million.”

“It’s crazy—really crazy! Mago’s cry sounds heavenly. Where will the end surely be?”

As a result, Oculus announced that he had 12 million points in the first place. I was deep in thought, and my brows furrowed. Although Mago was known to be worth 10 million, I couldn’t just spend that kind of amount.

“Eight million.”

“Uh-oh! It’s a reasonable price considering the true value of Mago. It’s been a long time since I got thrilled like this. Count Randalf called eight million!”

There was only silence. All the demons looked at me, including Oculus, with varying emotions: surprise, doubt, envy, and irritation. I could see those through their eyes.

It was obvious. The average points were 1.3 million. Except for the 300,000 I had raised, the actual point they had was only one million.

The auction was a game of individuals, and they probably thought a million would be the highest point they could earn in a year. They had been running dungeons for two years, so they knew about the practical challenges. Earning points was not an easy job.

However, I ruined their common sense and belief. Well, it was already half-ruined.

‘How?’ was the first question that would come to their minds. But there’s no way they could obtain the answer.

I knew about the future, and I had been working so far based on my knowledge. Ergo, I was able to get ahead for the past two years. Well, until the all-new and strong Oculus came today.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Oculus laughed out loud.

He was laughing so hard that tears were welling in his eyes. It wasn’t like him. He was usually self-contained when it came to his emotions, especially in front of other demons. But he was acting unusual as of the moment. He didn’t stop laughing, lifting his body.

“I knew it! Randalf Bruciel! You crossed a ‘line’ too, didn’t you? What I saw last time wasn’t everything! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“You’re talking bullshit.”

I had no idea what he was talking about. A line? I had never heard of it.

I was never into the idea and the feeling of somebody defining and judging me, especially since he was the Archduke. Anyway, Oculus continued to bark.

“You told me! There’s no such thing as impossible in this ‘game’! You’re just a poor demon who somehow made a big growth. That’s only possible because you crossed the ‘line’, isn’t it?”

“Oculus, if you’re going to talk nonsense, talk to the walls instead. I refuse to listen to your blabbering.”

I looked at Deboron and nodded. It seemed that he, too, had an interest in what Oculus said. He didn’t budge. The Archduke, Duke, and all the other demons were focused on Oculus.

“When I accepted the offer of the demon god, I felt I got weaker. I simply thought that was the limit, but it wasn’t. As I got my power back and crossed the line, I can now claim that becoming weak was just a preparation…to be stronger. I did become stronger, and I’m sure I’ll even increase in strength. And eventually, I’ll evolve into something greater than Dark Lord!”

Oculus made a fiery speech. I wasn’t singled out. It was a message to all the demons, and it was far from over.

“Aren’t you guys curious about how far we can go and what kind of being we would be? Why do you focus on petty human beings? Why can’t you guys see that this isn’t just to simply destroy the planet Earth!”

“You’re insane, Oculus,” Ariel said icily.

She was a legitimate child of a Dark Lord and was redoubling her efforts to be one. However, Oculus treated it as nothing. He went on with his remarks.

“I wouldn’t say it originally since we’ve never done anything good to each other. But it was too bad not to share it. If anything evolves alone, it couldn’t function as species. Even if it exceeds everything, it can’t be defined as species. That’s why I want to give chances to you guys.

“Randalf Bruciel had this opportunity first, but he hid it. He was weak at first, and now he was strong and had no qualms. So impulsive! He pretends to have high self-esteem and to be proud and deep. But to me, he’s just nothing but a novice.

“He was too young to have all to himself and was too weak from the beginning. If the fundamentals are weak, he can be stronger to some extent, but he couldn’t evolve. However, to us, to Archdukes who ruled Devildom for hundreds of years, things would be different!”

Oculus spun a yarn, but the thing he wanted to say was simple: I was inadequate, but the Archdukes were enough. It was a hostile declaration. I couldn’t mask my reaction—my face was grave upon hearing it.

“Ha! I was wondering what the line meant, Oculus. You unified all your demons’ souls to you, didn’t you? Are you really insane?”

And then Pandemonium joined the conversation. He was the old demon who was well-acquainted with enchantments. He frowned.

“I was wondering why your mana keeps changing. Ha! I knew you were insane when you gibber about nature, and it looks like you’re finally on the path to self-destruction.”

According to Pandemonium, Oculus apparently assimilated twelve of his demons’ souls in him. That’s why he could use his demons’ points.

However, such actions eventually led him to ruin. Assimilating souls was very dangerous, and success was not guaranteed. It was even banned in Devildom because it was too risky.

Oculus looked like he had a different idea. “No! This is the beginning of evolution. Now that I’m connected with everyone, I can see what I couldn’t see, and I can feel what I couldn’t feel before. The instability of the soul can be recovered little by little with my Naturalization skill.

“Of course, it’s not the only way. Consider this as one of the many ways to evolve. My point is, Pandemonium, use your common sense!”

Pandemonium licked his tongue because he realized Oculus wouldn’t listen to him. Above all, he wasn’t that brotherly to worry about another Archduke.

Meanwhile, the other Archdukes had the same reaction. They were well aware of the dangers of connecting and assimilating souls. They just thought Oculus was ridiculous to talk about evolution and stuff with such an insane method.

It was amazing that he earned such huge points, but that was it.

“Sure. You, guys, don’t want to admit it. But soon, you’ll realize that only those who take the risks would get the chance to win this game! Well, I hope you realize this before a hunter pursues you. I hope to see you all at the end.”

The hunter meant me. I was sure that he had checked my titles as well.

Then, Oculus turned his body. Following him, twelve demons moved as if they were one.

Screech!

Boom!

The door closed, and the vibe got cold.

Oculus dropped out after he won the five items. I quietly stared at the direction he went to.

”My original plan was to get rid of Ufa…”

Plans were always changing. Ufa was a top priority because he would be more annoying later. Had Ufa joined the fight in earnest, things would be messier. I intended to prevent it from happening.

However, the one more annoying than Ufa appeared: Oculus. Had I known things would turn out this way, I would definitely try to get rid of him when I was with the Malicious Commander.

I had just moved on because it was too risky, and this happened today. I thought about it.

Should I kill other demons and dungeons first to increase my power, then attack Oculus? I could do that when I dealt with Ufa because he didn’t know me.

However, Oculus did. He even made a standard for me, which I wasn’t even aware of. So, naturally, I couldn’t use a slow, half-baked method.

”You should have not rammed in here, Oculus.”

So, I decided to get rid of him first.

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The auction went on. As a result, Mago became mine. The remaining points were about 11 million. There were items that I originally wanted to buy, but I changed my mind. I had to reinforce my overall power.

If Oculus actually assimilated his soul with the 12 demons, hitting one dungeon wouldn’t be enough. They would gather in an instant and aim at my back the moment I attacked one dungeon.

I had to cut their throats at once. However, it would take a little more time. I didn’t have enough power to deal with 13 demons including Oculus.

‘If I handled the main body, other assimilated demons would die naturally.’

I decided to kill Oculus first. It was certain that he was the main body, and if there’s a problem with the main body, the alter egos would be damaged. There’s a chance that the other 12 demons would die the moment I killed Oculus, if I were lucky.

This auction would be a pre-work for that. My original plan was to look farther away and choose the right items to build strength, but, oh well…

“Dwarking! It’s the final form of Dwarf, which is said to be the most perfect being in dealing with metals. Dwarking is believed to recognize and handle all metals from birth. The starting points are 600,000.”

“600,000.”

“Marquis Anastasia!”

“700,000.”

“Archduke Ufa!”

“800,000.”

“Oh, again, Count Randalf! Where’s his end?”

A sudden change in the atmosphere transpired as soon as I stepped up. It was natural since I kept working as a decoy, except for the ones I really wanted. The result came through Deboron.

“Congratulations, Count Randalf! You win Dwarking at 800,000 points!”

I needed Dwarking to make weapons using the Tree of Origin. With the exception of Steane, the rest of the dwarves’ skills were at similar levels. Dwarking was necessary to improve overall power.

If Elves and other monsters used Dwarking’s equipment, their power would increase immediately. Therefore, Dwarking was worth more than 800,000 points, at least to me.

After that, I gave up some items, but I didn’t give up acting as a decoy.

Even if the purpose of participating in the auction was changed, my final goal was all the other demons. That’s why I wanted to put as many obstacles as possible.

Soon, the 19th auction item came out.

“Now, I’ll introduce the next auction item. I once introduced it at the auction last year, the M1 and M2. Many people didn’t realize their true value because they just looked like iron plates. I think only the buyer actually experienced how truly amazing they were. But this one, even looking great from the outside as well—M3!”

Thump, thump.

Footsteps were heard. Soon, a knight with red full-body armor and long lance came out.