Dungeon Maker - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Dungeon Defense

There was no time for him to catch his breath.

Yong-Ho and Catalina both ran while panting and with sweat rolling down their faces. They ran through the empty room and opened the door, but this room was empty too.

However, Yong-Ho had already examined the inside of the dungeon with the help of the dungeon spirit and instead of panicking, he opened the next door.

“Master!”

It was the room facing the warehouse and the prison that was in the process of being built.

They found Eligor and the rest of the spirits in a room next to the last trap room.

Instead of answering Eligor, Yong-Ho quickly examined all the spirits and the condition of the room.

The Goblins were stacking heavy objects in front of the latched door while the Treant was standing in front of the same door extending out its vines. Whereas the Skeleton was just standing in the corner with a blank face…well, it didn’t really have any expression since all it had was a skull.

“Where were you? You’re covered in sweat…”

Eligor didn’t finish his sentence when he noticed that Catalina was covered in sweat as well.

As Eligor squinted his eyes in suspicion, Yong-Ho suddenly waved his hand and spoke.

“Whatever you’re imagining, you’re wrong. Anyways, listen up. Beyond that door, there are eight Kobolds and an unknown demon wielding an extremely large hammer. A lot more had originally invaded our dungeon, but it seems like the traps took a few of them out. Does anybody have any further information?”

He had obtained all this information with the aid of the Spirit of the Dungeon. Suddenly, the latched door started to violently shake. It seemed like the door would soon break.

Eligor instinctively looked at the door and then quickly answered Yong-Ho.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a nearby wandering demon family. If it’s an owner that already has a dungeon, they wouldn’t send a group this small to attack the dungeon, even if they believe that the House of Mammon has completely fallen.”

It was likely to be one of those weaker spirits that Eligor had mentioned earlier. If so, they probably thought that Eligor and Catalina were the only ones left in the dungeon.

However, they had now already passed through three rooms with working traps. Yong-Ho closed his eyes. He breathed in and spoke.

“Regardless of who they are, it’s still possible that they might think this is an ownerless dungeon”

It sounded more like he was assuring it to himself.

The door violently shook again. The Goblins were holding bamboo spears while they vigilantly watched the door.

Eligor spoke again.

“But, sir. What is that you’re holding in your hand…”

“It’s Aamon! The Red Lotus Demon Lance, Aamon!”

Catalina shouted after being quiet for so long. Eligor suddenly got excited after hearing that it was Aamon.

“What?! You mean the Red Lotus Demon Lance that lights the heaven on fire and evaporates the ocean with a single swing?!”

It seemed like it was a famous weapon. When Yong-Ho’s expression confirmed it, Eligor literally collapsed with joy. He looked like he would charge through the door if Yong-Ho just let him be, so Yong-Ho quickly spoke again.

“It is indeed Aamon, but I can’t use him properly right now. It’s basically the same thing as not having him at all.”

Even if he could properly use it, he barely had any mana left. The door shook again. The latch looked like it would almost break.

“The enemy doesn’t know about the dungeon’s current fighting strength. So they’ll probably be quite careless. We’ll use that to our advantage.”

Yong-Ho quickly spoke with an urgent tone. Eligor then nervously asked.

“Do you have a plan?”

Yong-Ho nodded his head. He answered while observing the soon to be broken door in front of him.

“We create some chaos and then slice off their heads.”

After finishing his sentence, Yong-Ho looked towards Catalina with a grin.

***

He swallowed his dry saliva and tried to stay calm, but it was hard.

He heard of this happening several times.

Those who attacked other dungeons. The other demon families that he would be facing from now on.

But this was his first time.

Behind the door, were spirits that were going to try and kill him. It wasn’t just a game where you were given another chance if you died.

One side will die. While the other needed to kill in order to live.

Bang!

With a loud bang, the latch suddenly broke. The door exploded open into various pieces.

Enemy kobolds swiftly rushed in through the opening. They were monsters that were slightly larger than the Goblins.

Each of them held either a crude knife or spear in their hands.

Once Yong-Ho saw them. He yelled as they began to rush through the open door.

“Pull!”

The Goblins, Jon and Ron, reacted.

The two Goblins stood on either side of the door and as they pulled the rope in their hands, the kobolds that had rushed in suddenly all collapsed in a heap. However, this was just the beginning. The rope wasn’t the only thing that the kobolds had missed in their frenzy.

“Roaaaaaaaaar!”

In front of the door. The Treant, who was standing in the center of the room, let out a deep roar and waved its vines. It grabbed the bodies or legs of the kobolds and threw them to the other side of the door.

The Goblins didn’t just stay still and watch either. They ran up to the remaining kobolds on the ground and pierced them with their bamboo spears while shrieking.

Only a few seconds after the door was opened. They had the advantage. While the kobolds either fell and or flew out of the room, Yong-Ho looked straight ahead. Something was standing behind the kobolds.

It was a giant man wearing a green cape.

He had a dark rugged face adorned with an angry expression.

The Treant grabbed another kobold and threw it. Through the room that was activated in the “background,” he saw Catalina’s movement. Yong-Ho suddenly caught sight of Catalina in the ‘background’ of the room, she had managed to bypass the kobolds.

Suddenly the giant stomped on the ground.

Instead of taking a step back, it charged forwards. He pushed through the Kobolds and headed straight towards Yong-Ho.

Because of the sudden unexpected situation, Eligor shouted out. Catalina threw herself amongst the kobolds in order to catch up with the charging giant.

Yong-Ho saw the giant dashing towards him. He was holding a large war hammer and started to wave it around. One of the Treant’s vines got caught in the attack and it ended up getting sliced off. The giant didn’t slow down.

The distance between Yong-Ho and the giant was quickly getting shorter.

The giant was continually charging through. He lowered his head and passed the Treant. The giant dodged another vine, leaped up and aimed his hammer towards Yong-Ho’s head.

Bang!

The hammer struck the ground with a vertical motion. There was a tremendous amount of energy behind it. Yong-Ho swiftly dodged the attack. It was a miracle that he didn’t freeze up from his place.

“Master!”

Catalina yelled. The Treant twisted around its sluggish body, while Eligor started to run towards his direction.

The giant grabbed his hammer again and glared at Yong-Ho.

He was like a snake that was about to devour a frog. The giant had the same eyes as a predator trying to catch its prey.

The giant took another step. He quickly closed the distance between Yong-Ho and waved his hammer around again.

Yong-Ho felt like he was suffocating. It felt like he was going to die before the hammer even hit him.

However, Yong-Ho took a step forward. Instead of backing down, he yelled and placed all of his strength into the hand that was holding Aamon.

He didn’t think with this head. Instead, he followed his instincts. Instead of dodging the trajectory of the hammer, he threw his body towards it.

It was incredibly reckless. Eligor yelled out and Catalina desperately kicked off the ground.

At that moment, Yong-Ho and the giant exchanged eye contact.

The giant smiled while Yong-Ho gritted his teeth.

‘Pull!’

It was just for a moment. Because of that, he was able to yell. However, he clearly thought about it and received an answer. The Skeleton that was next to Yong-Ho extended out his arms and grabbed the giant’s cape.

Though it only managed to delay the giant’s movement by a second. But, that was enough.

Yong-Ho’s left shoulder hit the giant’s abdomen. At the same time, he pierced Aamon through the giant’s stomach.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Yong-Ho roared and released his mana. He focused all of his mana on a single spot.

He didn’t know how to use the weapon he had just obtained. However, Yong-Ho hoped that what he was doing was right. He just poured his mana into the lance. And Aamon responded to his ignorant request.

Green flames suddenly burst forth. The lance started to drain the giant’s mana.

The giant quickly tried to retrieve his mana, but it was of no use. The flames of Aamon burnt everything in his wake. Aamon had not only consumed the giant’s mana but even his insides and very soul.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

The giant started to scream as his insides were being burned alive. He violently moved his body and waved both of his arms in a desperate attempt to attack Yong-Ho. However, it wasn’t enough. The Skeleton just grabbed onto the giant’s arms. Yong-Ho yelled once again and twisted Aamon, who was pierced into the giant’s stomach. Aamon once again attacked with fire.

“Uhhhhhhh…”

The giant couldn’t endure it anymore and took a step back. The green flame had eaten all of his insides and was now burning away his skin.

Yong-Ho twisted Aamon once again. This time it was to pull Aamon out from within the giant.

Not a single drop of blood leaked out of his body, most likely because Aamon’s flames had burnt it all away.

As Yong-Ho pulled Aamon out, he swung out his other arm. He knocked down the staggering giant, with a heavy breath. He then suddenly yelled out towards the front.

“Catalina!”

She answered through action. After the fight had begun, she hadn’t taken a single break. As she approached the giant, she swung her dagger and she sliced off the giant’s head in a single motion. She then pierced the dagger into his heart.

Everything had happened within just a minute or two after the door had opened.

Everyone in the room saw what Yong-Ho and Catalina had done.

As the flames died down, Yong-Ho extended his left hand forward towards the giant, following his instincts.

There was a concentration of mana above the dead giant’s chest. The Goblins and kobolds watched with a blank expression, while Catalina and Eligor watched Yong-Ho in awe.

It was a lump of dark red mana.

The spirit of a demon.

It hovered above the giant’s chest. It floated slowly at first, but then suddenly flew at a fast rate and was sucked into Yong-Ho’s palm.

Absorption of the Spirit. The desire of mana. This was the reason why the law of the jungle was so applicable in this world.

Yong-Ho felt the mana fill his body. He felt his mana grow with tremendous speed.

Furthermore, Yong-Ho wasn’t the only one that grew.

[The dungeon’s daily output has increased from 30 to 50.]

[The maximum mana storage has increased from 300 to 400.]

If the owner became stronger, so did the dungeon.

If the dungeon grew, so will the owner.

He was exhausted. He also still had injuries that he had received from obtaining Aamon. However, he felt exhilarated. This was the first time he had felt this kind of thrill.

It was only for a short moment. But, a few seconds was enough to enjoy this feeling.

Finally, after absorbing all of the remaining mana, Yong-Ho started to breathe heavily. He slowly raised his head and looked straight ahead.

He saw the group of kobolds with shocked expressions on their faces. There was also Catalina kneeling down on one knee and looking up at him with a bright smile. Whereas the Skeleton was just standing with the same typical blank look on his face.

‘I promise that I’ll do everything within my power to evolve you into a Death Knight.’

Yong-Ho made a promise to the Skeleton in his heart and then started to speak. He thought it sounded cheesy, but since he was so exhausted, he couldn’t think of any better way to put it.

“Shall we continue?”

The Kobolds were smarter than what Yong-Ho had originally thought. They all quickly threw down their weapons as if they had pre-planned it.