EP.8 The Trader Who Came to the Dungeon
Moru, a member of the Demon World Council, completed all preparations and set off towards the dungeon assigned to her.
Even though she was moving, she wasn’t walking directly. Council traders used pre-installed teleportation to move easily and quickly.
Dungeons were scattered all over the continent, whereas the Demon World Council naturally existed in the northern part of the continent, in the Demon World.
What if there was a dungeon located far from the Demon World? From a human perspective, traders were also monsters.
Most likely, traders would be eliminated before even reaching the dungeon.
Therefore, teleportation was the means that the Council had come up with.
Thanks to it, the Council could trade with dungeons located in every corner of the continent.
Moru, too, could reach her destination using teleportation.
Her first impression upon seeing the dungeon was, ‘It looks exceptionally ordinary’.
If she hadn’t seen the document with the location, she might have mistaken it for a simple cave.
No, it was so natural that it could have been easily overlooked, especially since it was covered with vines.
Here, Moru noticed one thing, this time, it was the dungeon contacting the Council first, tearing up a Council black card in the process.
There were two main ways dungeons and the Council conducted transactions.
Either the dungeon side tore up a Council black card as a sign of intent, or the Council discovered the location of a new dungeon and went there directly.
The Council’s information network was considerable, so most dungeons were reported to the Council in real-time, even if they were newly born.
This time, the dungeon Moru was assigned to was also considered a newly born dungeon according to the Council’s documents.
Here arose a question, ‘Where did they obtain a black card?’
A newly born dungeon that the Council hadn’t discovered yet.
However, having a black card from the beginning was unusual.
Perhaps the dungeon master had operated another dungeon in the past.
Of course, in such a case, the Council would have already known.
‘Can they hide it so perfectly?’
The dungeon was hidden very cleverly.
It looked like an ordinary cave, and the meticulousness even extended to the vines concealing its location, making it seem like a cave to the point that you wouldn’t recognize it.
When Moru thought about it that deeply, she shivered.
It was because she thought her assigned dungeon might not be an ordinary one.
Honestly, when she was first assigned a dungeon, she thought at best it would be an ordinary one.
Who would give her a good dungeon?
Moru was a being born between a succubus and a human. Because of the human blood in her, she had faced a lot of discrimination within the Council.
However, she couldn’t leave the Council either.
Since she had already been expelled from the succubus group, leaving the Council would mean losing her only place to rely on.
Therefore, Moru saw her assigned dungeon this time as an opportunity to build her career.
However, the issue was that the one who assigned her the new dungeon was her superior. She was also a succubus, just like her, but the difference was that her superior, Jewel, was a pure succubus.
That was the problem.
Her superior looked down on her.
Because Moru, as a succubus, was a result of desire for a lowly human.
She saw Moru as a taint to the purity of succubus.
Moru was aware of this fact, so she didn’t expect a normal dungeon.
Still, for Moru, this was the first dungeon assigned to her since she entered the Demon World Council.
Regardless of where she was assigned, she had promised herself that she would do her best.
However, considering everything, the possibility that it was an ordinary dungeon was low.
After taking a deep breath, Moru took a step inside.
As soon as she entered, her earlier speculation became certain.
“It’s quite spacious inside…?”
From the outside, it looked like a small cave.
But once she entered, it was like a long underground passage.
A normal newly born dungeon couldn’t show such a shape.
“Did the dungeon expand?”
If so, how? Expanding a dungeon took a considerable amount of time.
Even if it wasn’t a newly born dungeon, just the fact that it had escaped the Council’s notice made it far from ordinary.
Not long after Moru took a step, monsters appeared.
“Clang.”
“Clang, clang.”
They were skeletons.
They weren’t very powerful.
Moru looked around, wondering if there were more monsters placed here, but these skeletons seemed to be the end of it.
“Have you come from the Council?”
Somewhere, a captivating voice echoed.
Moru turned her head in the direction of the sound.
There was a presence there as captivating and beautiful as the voice itself.
She exuded an extraordinary aura.
‘Could she be a succubus?’
If she were a succubus, there was a high chance of complications.
Moru’s own superior, who was also a succubus, already disliked her.
The succubus before her seemed to hold a much higher position than her own superior.
The likelihood of her liking Moru was close to zero.
Regardless, it was her assigned dungeon for now.
Moru pushed aside her thoughts and greeted the presence before her.
“Nice to meet you. I am Moru, a trader from the Demon World Council.”
As she greeted the presence, Moru glanced at her.
‘Why is she wearing a maid outfit?’
Oh, could it be that she has such a preference?
To siphon the vitality of a human male…?
Moru’s face turned slightly red, but it was just a fleeting moment.
She quickly regained her composure and continued speaking.
“I’ve come to meet the master of the dungeon…”
However, Moru’s words were cut off in the middle.
The presence in front of her put a finger to her lips and said, “Shh.”
“I apologize for interrupting, but there is a separate master who governs this place. I am just their servant.”
“What?”
Moru blinked.
There was a separate master of the dungeon?
“Oh, I see. I’m sorry for the delay in my greeting. I am Celia. Don’t worry. I have full authority related to the dungeon, so the transaction will proceed smoothly.”
The name of her counterpart was Celia.
She claimed to have received all the authority related to the dungeon from a separate master.
How much of this was true?
Was there really a separate master of the dungeon?
Moru had heard that some individuals inflated their dungeon’s value to gain an advantage in transactions with the Council.
However, just by looking at Celia, it seemed that she had an incredibly high status, almost like a succubus queen.
What was the need to boast when this dungeon seemed to already possess such potential?
With this question in mind, another doubt was resolved.
‘So, is the master of this dungeon into maid outfits?’
Well, that wasn’t really important.
What bothered her was the matter of her superior, Jewel, who had assigned her this dungeon.
‘Does Jewel actually like me?’
Assigning her a dungeon like this…
Of course, there was no need to get ahead of herself.
Even if the dungeon had high potential, from the Council’s perspective, it was good if they spent a lot of money on a good dungeon.
“Let me introduce myself again. I am Moru from the Council. I will do my best to ensure a smooth transaction with Celia.”
Fortunately, Celia didn’t reject her.
Perhaps with her demeanor, she already knew that Moru had human blood in her.
The introductions were over, and now the business relationship was beginning.
Celia, who had called the Council, began to speak directly.
“I want to expand the dungeon, but as you can see, I lack labor.”
Indeed, there were only a few skeletons here.
If there was a lack of labor, Moru’s job would be to introduce monsters immediately.
“Ah, if that’s the case, there are two ways to go about it. You can either hire specialized artisan monsters or employ slave monsters. If you choose the former…”
Moru’s explanation continued endlessly, discussing the benefits she could provide and how far she could adjust the prices.
Those who wanted to expand their dungeons were numerous.
In the Council, they had nurtured monsters with specialized skills for dungeon expansion.
Of course, they were specialized technicians, so they couldn’t be permanently bound to the dungeon, and temporary employment with payment was necessary.
The prices were not cheap, to say the least.
On the other hand, the monsters the Council kept as slaves were the result of monsters who couldn’t repay their debts in their previous dungeons.
Their abilities varied, but since they could be bound to the dungeon, they offered good value for the cost.
“Hmm, it’s quite a dilemma.”
Celia had already made her choice, but she paused for a moment.
Hiring technicians would expedite the work, and she didn’t mind the high cost, especially since top-quality magic stones were abundant.
The issue was that these technicians were affiliated with the Council.
There was a risk that the dungeon’s internal workings might be exposed.
While the Council wouldn’t openly divulge this information, revealing the dungeon’s interior was a significant risk.
Of course, Celia didn’t care about that.
The dungeon’s structure was exceptionally simple, and hiring technicians to create the framework would make it easier for her to work on it later.
Moreover, the fact that Moru, a fellow succubus, had come to assist her made her feel a connection.
Despite having human blood, that wasn’t important to Celia.
Due to this bond, Moru intentionally revealed a bit of her imposing presence, which had an effect of concealing the dungeon.
This way, even if Council-affiliated technicians came, there wouldn’t be a problem.
On the other hand, employing slave monsters was cost-effective.
They could be used for the work and immediately dispatched as dungeon troops for defense.
However, it was questionable whether the dungeon master needed such in-between creatures.
Obviously, they did not. In the end, there was only one correct answer.
“I’ll hire skilled technicians from the Council.”
Celia replied with a smile.
“Additionally, I need monsters for dungeon defense. Do you have a catalog for that?”
As she spoke, Celia opened a small pouch that contained top-quality magic stones.
Moru’s eyes widened when she saw the violet-hued magic stones.
They were top-grade magic stones.
Now she was certain. This dungeon was a jackpot, an undeniable fact that no one could dispute.
Moru immediately took out catalogs.
Normally, she would only show up to 2-star or at most 3-star monsters, but that was applicable to regular dungeons.
This time was different.
This dungeon was going to be a turning point for her. It wouldn’t hurt to win the favor of her counterpart in advance.
“And I want to sell a human I just captured. Is that possible?”
Moru briefly considered Celia’s question.
Humans were plentiful in the Council.
There was high demand, so she had secured them through various channels.
From the Council’s perspective, they didn’t really need them, but this place was going to become her regular dungeon in the future.
It would be wise to purchase them with her own funds.
“Of course, it is. How many are you looking to sell?”
Moru replied affirmatively, and Celia brought the human with her.
“…..”
’This is unbelievable.’
The sight before her was astonishing.
She had initially thought he was just an ordinary human, but he turned out to be a holy knight.
He had a contented expression as he lay there with not a single scratch on him.
Even his equipment, a common-grade holy sword, was present.
This was something she had to purchase.
“He’s in perfect condition! We’ll buy him at the Council’s highest terms. What about his equipment?”
Celia contemplated Moru’s question.
The sword the holy knight possessed was a common-grade holy sword, an artifact of the faith.
While it was indeed an artifact, its power was significant.
If an ordinary monster tried to wield it, they would likely disintegrate instantly.
But in the end, it was something she didn’t need.
Even if she offered it to the master through the altar, would her master be pleased?
Celia shook her head. Her master was a noble being. To them, a holy knight’s sword was no more than a wooden stick.
“I’ll sell the sword as well.”
With that, Celia and Moru’s trade officially began.
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