S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 40
In fact, Adelaide has become more confident these days.
Managing the dungeon went smoothly and the number of adventurers killed increased day by day. As the dungeon got stronger, she also became more powerful.
Not long ago, even ladybugs were a threat to her, but now, not only can she defeat ladybugs but also low level demons. It can be considered a major development.
So Adelaide had a hopeful thought that maybe she could safely escape from the hordes of adventurers. Of course, it was impossible to win because there are high level adventurers, but it would still be possible to escape, right?
But reality brutally trampled on her hopes.
‘Why, why is he so fast!’
Adelaide glanced behind her and was startled to find the high level adventurer quickly approaching. And right behind him, three or four adventurers, including Gehrig, were running.
She shouldn’t have been arrogant and came out with Lisian or Caladi. Regret suddenly flooded in. Lisianthus also couldn’t defeat high level demons, but he could run away because he ran so fast.
“What…”
After a moment of despair, she saw Bell whining in her arms and she came to her senses. It was only a few minutes ago that she declared that she would take responsibility and take good care of her. She can’t just lament and lose like this!
Adelaide’s eyes suddenly turned. At that moment, a bright sword flew towards her.
Quang!
A thick layer of dust rose along with the loud sound.
“Brother! Don’t kill her!”
Gehrig, who ran late, shouted in an annoyed voice. The high level adventurer answered with a blunt voice.
“She’s not dead.”
At those words, Adelaide jumped out from the thick dust in the form of a full-fledged succubus with her wings spread out. Her long claws aimed at the high level adventurer’s eyes in an instant.
Chang! A clear sound rang. The adventurer’s sword and the claws of the succubus clashed in the air. Gehrig, who was next to this, gasped in surprise.
‘Why is the succubus so fast…!’
He couldn’t even see the attacks. The thought that he might have been hurt if he hadn’t brought his older brother was chilling.
But the winner was already evident. While the adventurer’s arm holding the sword didn’t waver at all, Adelaide’s wings fluttered and her body floating in the air trembled lightly. Her brows were heavily furrowed, and her facial muscles quivered faintly.
“You’re needlessly trying to save a puppy.”
The high level adventurer whispered with a proud smile. He already knew her intentions.
“But what is this? That stupid b*st*rd didn’t run away, and he’s just wandering over there.”
Adelaide was startled and she reflexively turned her head. She hoped it was a lie, but it really was there. Bell, whom she thought had run away, was looking around on the ground for her.
“You shouldn’t take your eyes off me during a fight.”
The adventurer muttered in a low voice and swung his sword savagely.
Boong! Adelaide’s body flew away with the sound of the wind and fell to the ground. A scream erupted out of nowhere.
“Argh!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Bell ran over and circled Adelaide. As the adventurers approached, it growled and blocked the front.
“Puhaha! It won’t even hurt if you bite!”
The unknown adventurer mocked Bell, waving his fingers back and forth. Then he grabbed Bell’s neck and lifted the dog.
“No! Stop that!”
Adelaide hurriedly tried to lift her body. However, she could not get up because another adventurer stepped on her shoulder. No matter how hard she tried, it was all in vain.
Her beautiful face was contorted in despair. Unlike humans who separate their souls and come back to life again, demons cannot be revived. This was because their souls were corrupt in the first place.
“Woof, woof! Growl!”
“Hey, bite me. Bite me!”
The adventurer shook Bell’s body violently. Bell couldn’t even bite once, it only growled.
‘Lisian, Caladi!’
Adelaide struggled, muttering her comrade’s name. She felt embarrassed because she seemed to have become a demon that only caused trouble, unable to solve anything on her own.
‘I’ll get stronger. I’m sure I’ll get stronger!’ She swore, biting her lips.
As if responding to her call, she felt a familiar presence somewhere. There was even a faint forest scent.
“Bite-…!”
At the same time, the adventurer holding Bell shut up.
To be precise, half of his body disappeared.
But Lisianthus and Caladium weren’t the ones who did this. They appeared in an instant and lifted Adelaide after tearing the body of the adventurer who dared step on her. The two had no interest in the adventurer who was harassing the dog.
As expected, Bell was the culprit.
A large head suddenly popped out of Bell’s tiny body and swallowed the adventurer’s upper body. Reminiscent of how she chomped on a madeleine.
‘My kid doesn’t bite, but it ate him in one bite…?’
Adelaide, who witnessed the scene, tried to make sense of the situation with a confused look.
“Ahhhh!!”
“This p*nk…!”
The adventurers were horrified at the terrible sight. Gehrig screamed and fled, and the high leve adventurer hurriedly swung his sword at Bell. Bell ate his sword and the hand holding it all at once.
“Aargh!! Aaaargh!”
The adventurer rolled on the ground, writhing in pain.
Bell, who enjoyed his arm, smacked its lips for a moment, then suddenly trembled. The small body quivered wildly, and then a black energy fluctuated and enveloped Bell’s body.
A huge dog appeared from the dark aura. It was so hard to believe that it was the same dog. As for how big it was, it was two or three times taller than Adelaide. However, the odd thing was that it had three heads.
“A Cerberus? It is a very difficult monster to meet.”
Lisianthus said in an elegant tone, throwing away his gloves that were stained with the adventurer’s blood.
“Ah. Bell. That was Bell.” Adelaide, who finally realized it, said despondently.
“Say hi. She’s a new colleague.”
Bell listened to her and wagged its tail.
“Woof!”
It cheered as excitedly as before, but its size was incomparably large. The breath coming from its mouth shook Adelaide’s head.
Caladium, who had torn the corpses of the dead adventurers to pieces, said dissatisfied with the castle.
“That child is a male.”
“I smell male.” Sniff, sniff, breathing air in through his nose, he looked like a beast.
“Heok, heok.”
Meanwhile, the high level adventurer who survived alone groaned and tried to escape. Adelaide knocked him down as if she was waiting for this moment, then stomped on his shoulder.
“Aargh!”
“Where are you going?”
She smiled, looking satisfied.
“S-Save me. Please! This is my last soul. If I die, I won’t be revived…!”
The high level adventurer trembled and begged. It was such a pitiful voice.
“Oh no.” Adelaide, who muttered sadly, spoke.
“Is it now? Me and Bell only have one life. If I had died earlier, I would have been really dead, right?”
“P-Please…!”
The adventurer’s face collapsed with fear. She finished her speech and looked at him expressionlessly.
“Bell, eat him.”
“Woof!“
Kwajik.
The situation ended with an invigorating sound.
***
Adelaide hastily returned to the Greenville Dungeon. Come to think of it, only the Skeletons remained in the dungeon. She didn’t even close the portal!
Not surprisingly, as soon as she entered the portal, she saw the translucent corpses of adventurers. Adelaide’s face turned white when she discovered it.
“Skeletons!”
She called for them although it could have been considered a scream. Then, from somewhere, a familiar sound was heard. It was the sound of Skeletons collapsing.
“Adelaide? What’s the matter?”
The Skeletons’ Captain ran out to the room and asked. He appeared to be in good shape and had no injuries. Other Skeletons also came out one after another. They were startled by Adelaide’s scream, which was why they dropped a few of their bones, but they looked just as well.
“Are you not hurt? Because the adventurers came…”
“Of course! We can take care of these adventurers ourselves!”
“We’re also pretty strong now!”
The Skeletons proudly smiled and rambled.
“But what’s with the dog?”
“Oh, he’s…”
Adelaide lowered her gaze to Bell. Bell returned to the form of a little puppy like before and was gently cradled in her arms. The plump belly was cute, but knowing that corpses of adventurers were inside, it didn’t feel very cute either.
“He’s a new colleague. His name is Bell.”
“Wow, so cute!”
“So cute. Ogugu. What do you like, Bell?”
The Skeletons surrounded Bell and gushed over him. Some Skeletons stared at the puppy full of love from their empty eye sockets, and the other Skeletons carefully poked his soft cheeks with their bony fingers.
Bell stared at the Skeletons without saying a word and soon snatched a finger bone.
“Kiak!”
“My, my finger! Give it back!”
As the Skeleton panicked, Bell jumped away as if he had found a fun toy and excitedly ran. The Skeleton whose finger had been taken rushed after him.
“What kind of dungeon is this?”
Caladium looked around and muttered in despair.
Far from being hierarchical, it was a dungeon that was always noisy with conversations and laughter. The living space was beautiful with various handmade furniture and props, and even the battlespace was clean without a single speck of dust. It looked more like a home than a dungeon.
“Why? It looks good.”
“It’s nice to see. But who would want to come here?”
Caladium pretended not to like it and bit his tongue, but couldn’t hide the smile that crept across his lips.
“Master. How about making a contract first? We will be able to meet the conditions for upgrading our level.”
“Wow, really?”
Adelaide pulled out the dungeon pad with a blushing face. When she clicked the level window, the current status was displayed along with the upgrade condition.
[Number of Demons: 3 or more (currently 2)]
[Number of External Portals: 2 or more (currently 2)]
[Number of Adventurers Killed: 100 or more (currently 357)]
As Lisianthus said, if they had one more member, they could raise their level.
‘I need to raise the level quickly so I can become stronger!’
Adelaide thought, clenching her fists. She was a woman who was twice as determined to become stronger because of the humiliation she experienced earlier. Of course, within a few days, there was a high probability that she would completely forget about it.
“Bell! Can you come here for a moment?”
Bell, who was running around the dungeon with her tongue hanging to the right, stopped when Adelaide called. Then he ran to her arms.
“Woof!“
The Skeleton, who had been busy chasing after Bell, picked up the bone of his finger that had fallen to the floor.
“Bell, will you join my dungeon?”
“Woof!“
“Great! Thank you. Then sign the contract here…”
‘How would he sign?’ Adelaide pondered. The quick-witted Lisianthus gently pushed the pad.
Without hesitation, Bell dabbed his tiny paw on the pad, then stamped it on the contract.
