Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 48
Chapter 48: Episode 14. Where the Gods Fell (1)
Satisfied, I looked at the lava zone on the sixth floor.
The Pyroks, which raised by the Dark Elves and the Dwarves, were flapping their wings.
Their sizes were larger than average, and it would not be strange to think that they were scaled-down versions of dragons, except that their wings looked like those of a bat.
Four Pyroks had completed shedding for the third time.
One Pyrok was a great size, and three were more than expected.
The adult Pyroks were equivalent to level four of the intermediate monsters. This was one level lower than Inferno, but they boasted nearly 20,000pt of efficiency.
It cost 48,000pt to buy 40 larvae of Pyroc=ks, so it was a good business since four adult Pyroks would yield anything over 30,000pt.
“Good job.”
You should not spare any praise when your subordinates produce results.
Julium and Steane, the two chiefs of the Dwarves, knelt.
“I just did what I had to do, Dungeon Master!”
“Is there anything that you want? There’s nothing you won’t get if it is possible.
Then Julium looked around nervously and said, “…Is Lyhee here?”
“She told me that she was going to pick honey.”
“Well…can you change the garden, then?”
“What garden?”
Julium cried out and made a desperate face. “We have a huge monster-looking structure built on our floor. The fairy told me it was a garden, but it looks terrible…”
Lyhee had once declared that she would make a big garden because she liked Julium.
It seemed like Julium was describing the structure that looked like feces.
It would have certainly been uncomfortable if there were such structures at the center of the dwellings of Dark Elves, who had a great sense of beauty.
I nodded lightly. “I will give you permission.”
“Thank you!”
“Don’t you want anything for the Dwarves?”
I looked toward the Dwarves.
Chief Steane looked up, and his eyes brightened. “Dungeon Master, several unusual minerals have been found throughout the dungeon. Would you allow me to dig them out and refine them?”
“I’ll allow that, too. You will have to sort out half of what you have created and send it to me.”
“Of course, Dungeon Master.”
Dwarves were devoted to creating new things.
If they found an unusual mineral that only came from the dungeon, they were very interested in it.
They would be willing to hand over half of what they had made for themselves.
‘I have not assigned a floor just for Dwarves.’
I stared at Dwarves, who looked excited.
I had asked for many things from them, and it was now time to assign a floor for them in return.
‘The fourth floor will be breached soon, and then the awakened heroes will reach the fifth floor. They will taste their first defeat there. Then, when they are going through the lava zone on the sixth floor, they will use up a lot of energy.’
I was lost in thought while rubbing my chin.
The fifth and sixth floors were the right places to torment the awakened heroes.
Then it would be necessary to adjust the difficulty on the seventh floor.
‘I need a level where they can repair weapons and restore strength. I think it’s okay to have some sort of Safe Zone…’
If it were normal monsters, they would not have been allowed such a level in a dungeon, but I was completely different from them.
Based on the experiences in my previous life, I knew how humans would play such games.
Now that I knew, I wanted to focus on humans and play the game at their pace.
Only I had these kinds of flexible thoughts and attitudes.
‘It’s okay to get the information and the bodies of monsters that awakened heroes have killed. It is such a hassle to collect one body at a time. Since Krithli works for me, it will be easy to turn them into undead and recycle them,’ I thought.
Moreover, it would upgrade the undead manufacturing skills faster.
If the bodies of monsters were left alone, they would return to the magic of the dungeon or be eaten by other monsters. It was very cumbersome to collect them one by one.
It was a good idea to leave that job to awakened heroes.
Putting my thoughts together, I spoke out loud.
“Listen to my words, Dwarves.”
The Dwarves dropped their faces to listen. “We will listen carefully.”
“I allow you to stay on the seventh floor. However, your job is not to stop the awakened heroes, but to help them.”
The Dwarf Chief Steane said in a disappointed tone, “…I am not wise enough to understand your thoughts, Dungeon Master.”
“Dwarves shall live on the seventh floor and help the awakened heroes. The tired awakened heroes may doubt you at first, but they will soon be pleased to give you all the information they have. Get the information. In addition, repair their equipment for them and obtain the bodies of monsters instead. These two tasks must be done.”
This would provide unknown information that could be found on the Internet.
The Dwarves’ most important task was to get this kind of information, which I did not know and had not had a chance to think about.
I did not just want the bodies; I always wanted more.
“You can take the bodies you gather to Krithli. As for the information, you can filter what you have heard from the awakened heroes and pass that on to Lyhee in the form of a report. Other than that…I would not mind much if you took what you want from the awakened heroes.”
“Humans are suspicious. What if they attack first?”
“Right now, their level is very low. Furthermore, before they reach the seventh floor, I will send you more Dwarves for reinforcement. You will not be outnumbered.”
“I will obey your orders!”
It would not hurt to have more Dwarves.
The cost of a Dwarf was 5,500pt, but there was no reason not to increase the number of Dwarves to 100 if I had enough points.
I looked at the four Pyroks again after I assigned performance reports and tasks.
They looked at me while flying over the lava.
They naturally recognized that I was the Dungeon Master and were attracted to me.
However, looking at their gentle behaviors, I concluded that they must have been in someone else’s hands.
“Who trained the Pyroks?”
Julium answered, “It was Krithli, Dungeon Master.”
Of course.
She must have guessed that I had a good reason when I started growing baby Pyroks. She then thought in advance and worked things out for me without my having to order her tasks. Krithli had never failed me since the ceremony.
I nodded my head.
“Krithli, come forward.”
Krithli, who was sitting in the middle of the Dark Elves, came two steps forward. Besides Lyhee, she was the only one allowed to come close to me in a public place.
I was glad that the four Pyroks had become adults, but the overwhelming growth of Krithli was incomparable.
In particular, she did a great job of turning many humans into zombies not long ago. Thanks to her work, it was possible to fill the empty spots in the first monster wave.
Having wanted nothing, I let her be as she was. However, if I was asked the question of who was the most useful at this point, Krithli would certainly be the answer.
I studied her face and opened my mouth, saying, “Krithli. From now on, we will use Pyroks to find a special place in the Dungeon. Is it possible to search for a place with strong Mana of Fire?”
“It is possible,” Krithli answered confidently.
I nodded. “Good. Lead Pyroks and search for the place where the Mana of Fire is strong. Do not forget to report to me before you go in.”
“Of course, my Dungeon Master.”
After three days, Krithli came to see me.
“We identified three places with the strongest Mana of Fire.”
I had been expecting a week, and I was surprised how quickly she came back with the results.
Even if Dark Elves were fast and she employed four Pyroks in the search, three days was too quick.
She must have wandered around the dungeon without any sleep.
I said with a satisfied smile, “Let’s go together. Guide me to the place with the strongest Mana of Fire.”
Krithli also smiled, showing her dimples.
“I am glad to do so, my Dungeon Master.”
I hadn’t really thought about it, but the word ‘my’ Dungeon Master stuck out.
Was it because she went through the ceremony?
Somehow, I felt my ears ringing.
On the 29th floor of the dungeon, four Pyroks stopped at one point on the floor. Suddenly, they charged their bodies into the wall in a frantic manner.
‘There’s something.’
My mana was around 90. I was able to penetrate the wave of mana flowing around me to some extent.
When I put my hands on the wall and focused on my mind, I noticed that one part of the wall was thinner than other areas.
I immediately gathered my strength and struck that part.
Bang!
With superior strength and brainpower, I crushed the walls of the dungeon. After I repeated that several times, the wall was soon completely torn down, and the other side of the wall appeared.
At that moment, something happened.
[Great achievement! You have found the altar of fire, one of the four altars that exist in the dungeon.]
[If the four altars collapse, the mana that is circulating the dungeon will be damaged. In addition, the barrier that protects the outside of the dungeon will evaporate.]
[You obtain two Fire Golems as a reward.]
Two giant Fire Golems were guarding the altar as we climbed over the wall and entered the other side.
‘I found them.’
They were powerful monsters in the third level of high monsters. I got two as rewards, and I could save 170,000pt.
‘If I have time later, I’ll have to find the rest of the altars.’
In my past life, I’d lost the dungeon quickly. As a result, I hadn’t known where the alters were. I’d come across one in my previous life while searching another monster’s dungeon.
“Fire Golem…” Krithli muttered for a moment. Pyroks, following her, seemed scared. They must have noticed that Fire Golems were out of their league.
“Don’t be afraid. Fire Golems do not move without my orders.”
“Sure, but what is this place?”
“It is the altar of fire. It is the place where I can control the flow of mana inside of the dungeon.”
Anyway, now that I had what I wanted, all I had to do was to move the Fire Golems.
Just as I was about to move, Krithli opened her mouth. “There are letters in the air. Do you see them?”
“A letter?”
Using my vision power, I looked around the altar, but I could not find anything. I had never even heard of such a thing, but there must be something since Krithli never lies.
“I think it’s related to the dungeon.”
“Read it.”
Krithli calmly read, “The place where the gods fell…a dungeon was created on that spot. I am Minerva, the god of wisdom. I will be with you… you who have gained wisdom, receive my last gift.”
As soon as Krithli finished reading, my face hardened.
Minerva!
She was one of the earth’s gods who played a crucial role in my return.
I had a deal with the gods. I thought it was over when I gave myself back.
Why did that name ever come out of here?
Besides, I did not see any letters.
Only Krithli could see the words.
‘It probably has to do with the fact that Krithli’s intelligence is 100.’
I had no better guess.
Just about then, cracks appeared on the altar.
These cracks were created by a divine force, not chaos and mana.
A huge monster appeared through the cracks.
Sneak!
It had the head of an eagle, but its size was incomparably large.
It was a monster that dared to overwhelm the Fire Golems.
“Gr, Griffin!”
Krithli was shocked.
The Griffin, the highest monster that could handle fire and lightning!
Although it was the least of the highest monsters, there was a huge difference between the highest and high monsters.
‘Huh!’
I looked at the brave Griffin sitting on the floor.
It was a little bit smaller than Fire Golem was, but I dared to say that it was far more powerful.
Opening my Mind’s Eye, I looked at the Griffin’s condition.
Name: Griffin
Statistics:
Power 88 Intelligence 77
Agility 69 Health power 84 Mana 85
Potential (403/405)
Comments: A pet raised by Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. However, Randalf Bruciel took over after Minerva’s death, according to her last favor.
Skills: Fire and lightning (Epic)
It was a ‘highest’ monster, so the sum of all the statistics exceeded 400.
It was on a par with me if the options of title and anger were added.
However, the Griffin was optimized for interpersonal attacks, unlike me.
The Griffin would be a disaster if it appeared right now.
Among all the demons, I was the only one with a ‘highest; monster at this very moment.
A highest monster can only be obtained through a very special event, such as an Auction of Devildom.
‘What about other dungeons?’
Minerva said Griffin was her last gift.
There were still three more altars, but perhaps none were left.
But…
What about other dungeons?
The place where gods fell.
I’d made contracts with the fallen gods.
Gods were buried in other dungeons. I would be surprised that they left presents for other dungeons. It was my job to take over all of the dungeons.
‘I will have to change my plan a little.’
It was an unexpected gift.
I did not need to start a monster wave because now I had Griffin, a ‘highest’ monster.
I could simply make humans surrender using my tremendous power.
The purpose of creating a monster wave was to promote the rapid growth of the awakened heroes so that they could grow up with awareness.
I thought it would be possible if I used Griffin and Krithli.
If I only had high monsters, Fire Golems, then I would not be so sure and would have created a monster wave, but…
“Gods, thank you for the gift.”
I clenched my fist.
The original plan was to preserve the magic of the dungeon, raise the awakened heroes, and attack the dungeon of monsters.
My thoughts did not change.
However…now that I was the strongest of all, and I expected that there were similar gifts in other dungeons, I suddenly thought it would be okay to shake off a dungeon nearby to confirm my guess.
I started looking for the most vulnerable dungeons in neighboring countries.
