The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 172

EP.172 Visit to the Phoenix Guild (2)

The day finally arrived for my official visit to the Phoenix Guild.

I had already spoken with Jung Ye-rin, so she was scheduled to pick me up in a few hours.

Originally, I was planning to just take a taxi, but she insisted on sending a car, so I reluctantly agreed.

‘I can’t go empty-handed.’

I busied myself with preparations, starting with getting the gifts ready to bring along.

Normally, I would have agonized over what gift to bring, but thanks to Celia, that problem was solved.

It was a ‘premium liquor made with great care.’

I didn’t know what ingredients went into it, but since that’s what the notification said, it must have been made with a lot of effort.

Moreover, it tasted excellent.

‘Heh, Celia really is one of a kind.’

She manages the dungeon and even solves my problems.

I wonder if the recent decrease in adventurers’ interest in my dungeon was also Celia’s doing?

There was a high possibility that was the case.

Whenever I was in trouble, Celia always extended a helping hand.

In short, Celia was a jack of all trades.

Even now, thanks to the decreased interest from adventurers, I had some free time.

When else would I visit the Phoenix Guild if not during this free time?

I went to the kitchen and called for Ciel and Coco.

“Ciel and Coco, divide the liquor and package it. It’s all for gifts, so make sure to wrap it nicely, okay?”

“Yes, understood.”

“Clack.”

Ciel was an elf I had brought from the auction house. At first, she didn’t speak, so communication was difficult.

But now, she was starting to open up little by little, giving simple responses.

Coco was a skeleton soldier in charge of household chores.

Maru had been doing such a good job that I brought in another skeleton soldier, but Coco was nothing short of a troublemaker.

Thanks to Maru’s rigorous training, Coco had become capable of doing about 0.78 person’s worth of work.

Ciel and Coco started dividing the liquor into small potion bottles as per my instructions.

After confirming that Ciel and Coco were properly handling the liquor, I called for Maru.

“Maru, get ready to go out.”

“Clack!”

Maru was a skeleton paladin, quite a contradictory existence, but he was my reliable bodyguard.

Moreover, due to the influence of the demon sword, he possessed power equivalent to a 5-star grade, comparable to an A-rank hunter, making him a very important asset.

And he was scheduled to accompany me on this visit to the Phoenix Guild.

“Good, this is going smoothly.”

As it had been a while since I last went out, there was quite a lot to consider.

As important as the gifts were, there was something even more crucial.

That was protecting the house.

“Gargoyle, keep guarding well, and if anyone tries to intrude, subdue them without fail.”

“……”

I also gave orders to the gargoyle.

The gargoyle usually maintains the form of a stone statue, but it’s a monster that guards the dungeon, responding immediately when an intruder appears.

And to it, my house was practically a dungeon now.

Once Maru and I leave, only Ciel and Coco will remain in the house.

‘Elves are a rare race.’

The elven race itself was known for rejecting other races and sticking together, making them hard to come by.

I don’t know about the El Dorad continent, but at least on Earth, you’d have to enter a dungeon to see an elf.

Getting Ciel from the Demon World Exchange’s auction house was actually quite lucky.

Given that, if Ciel’s existence were to become known outside, not only she but I too might be in danger.

To prepare for any situation, I gave orders to the gargoyle once again.

The gargoyle operates by consuming magical power, and it was maintaining a 5-star grade by reacting to Ciel’s magical power.

‘I guess that shows how exceptional Ciel’s potential abilities are.’

This alone was reason enough to protect Ciel at all costs.

Now, I made the very last preparations before departure.

It was dungeon management.

While Celia manages most of the dungeon’s affairs, there were times when my input was needed.

Now was one of those times.

“So, you’re saying we need a guardian for the floor?”

Celia’s proposal was about selecting a guardian for the first floor.

Originally, Necros was in charge of guarding the floor, but the position became vacant when he recently became the master of a satellite dungeon.

Celia recommended the Goblin Lord for the vacant position.

“Hmm.”

Celia’s opinion was reasonable.

The Goblin Lord was certainly qualified to be the floor guardian.

But I was skeptical.

It wasn’t that the Goblin Lord was inadequate.

On the contrary, the Goblin Lord was already handling too many responsibilities.

The Goblin Lord was in charge of the mid-boss in the second area of the first floor while also leading the goblin reconnaissance team.

Of course, becoming the floor guardian would free him from being the mid-boss of the second area, but the problem was that the goblins followed the Goblin Lord better.

‘The Goblin Lord’s current position is better.’

There was no need to unnecessarily burden the Goblin Lord here.

Moreover, the Goblin Lord had the characteristic of exerting stronger power when surrounded by more goblin subordinates.

If they had suggested Baalzerith as the floor guardian, I might have given it some thought.

No, maybe not?

“He’s still not quite trustworthy.”

Baalzerith wasn’t originally a monster belonging to my dungeon.

As a result, there were aspects that made her difficult to trust fully.

Still, she had been working hard recently.

She goes out of the dungeon every day to diligently plant plant monsters, but that alone wasn’t quite enough.

“Let’s put this on hold for now.”

With adventurers’ interest in the dungeon decreasing anyway, there seemed to be no need to rush the decision.

Recently, Squall, who leads the orcs, evolved from 3-star to 4-star, and even the ghoul evolved on its own to become a toxic ghoul.

The dungeon’s combat power was already sufficient.

I took one last look around the dungeon.

The dungeon was truly peaceful.

The Death Knight was working hard with people, wielding a pickaxe.

‘Looks like the Death Knight is quite good at manual labor.’

Every time I saw him, the Death Knight seemed to be working.

Seeing the Goblin Lord directing the goblins, with each fulfilling their roles to the best of their abilities, I felt a sense of pride.

‘This should be fine.’

There was nothing that required my immediate attention.

After confirming that the dungeon was operating normally, I immediately pressed the exit button.

Now, the appointed time was approaching.

“Let’s go, Maru.”

“Clack!”

As Maru and I went outside, three black luxury cars were parked there.

“Hello, I’m Park Seo-yun, assistant manager from the Phoenix Guild. We’ll safely escort Advisor Lee Kang-hyun to the Phoenix Guild.”

The people who got out of the cars were all hunters from the Phoenix Guild, sent by Jung Ye-rin.

Apart from the vehicle that Maru and I would ride in, all the others were for security personnel.

‘Isn’t this excessive security?’

Still, I felt good about it.

This alone showed how much Jung Ye-rin cared about me.

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The car carrying Lee Kang-hyun departed for the Phoenix Guild.

A man who had been watching this scene quickly made a phone call as soon as the car disappeared from view.

“Yes, they’ve just left. I’ll continue to report.”

After finishing his brief report, the man immediately began driving his car in the direction Lee Kang-hyun had departed.

Meanwhile, the one receiving the man’s report was none other than Vetter.

Vetter, a slime with the unique ability to transform at will, was serving as the assistant manager in the dungeon ‘Temptation of Illusion’.

Vetter immediately went to report this fact to Azmo, the dungeon’s manager.

“Sir Azmo, we’ve received word that the master has left for the outside.”

At Vetter’s report, Azmo’s eyes gleamed ominously.

“The moment to repay our master has finally come.”

Azmo the Incubus.

He had an ambitious plan in mind.

It was to create a similar organization on Earth, modeled after the Demon World Association he had seen on the El Dorad continent.

With the permission of his master, Lee Kang-hyun, Azmo was able to establish ‘Dungeon Corporation’.

But Azmo’s ambition didn’t stop there.

Unlike on the El Dorad continent, there were many difficulties for monsters to operate independently on Earth.

For monsters to operate outside of dungeons, human assistance was essential.

So he took a step further and proposed a new concept of cooperation between monsters and humans.

And by putting forward Vetter, who could transform into a human, he managed to get his hands on the Black Sun Guild, a group known as problem solvers.

With this, Azmo became not only the head of ‘Dungeon Corporation’ but also the first monster on Earth to lead a human group.

“Track the master’s whereabouts thoroughly and eliminate anything that could pose a threat to him.”

Azmo’s ambitious voice echoed through the dungeon.

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***

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Thanks to the hunters’ help, I was able to comfortably arrive at the Phoenix Guild with the alcohol loaded in the car.

As I got out of the car, I saw Jung Ye-rin who had come out to greet me.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Advisor Lee Kang-hyun.”

From now on, this was not a private setting but an official one.

Jung Ye-rin greeted me and also waved briefly at Maru.

Nominally, Maru was a summon created by the Necromancer characteristic.

‘Well, he is a summon alright.’

Just without an expiration time.

I also greeted her with the best smile I could muster.

“It’s been a while, Team Leader.”

Jung Ye-rin is a B-rank hunter with the Healer characteristic.

Above all, she was also the daughter of Jung Taek-su, the Guild Master of the Phoenix Guild.

You’d think she’d have a strong voice in the guild as the Guild Master’s daughter, but she said that wasn’t really the case.

‘A child from a different mother…’

I was able to hear about this when Jung Ye-rin visited my home to recruit me as an Advisor.

The fact that she only shares a father with Jung Tae-young, the Vice Guild Master, and Jung Woo-jin, the Department Head.

For this reason, she said her team was experiencing some discrimination.

Probably due to the Vice Guild Master’s influence.

‘I guess the Phoenix Guild isn’t exactly noble either.’

The Phoenix Guild is one of the top guilds in our country.

But its interior was already rotten.

Despite the discrimination, Jung Ye-rin had two special abilities.

The first was her excellent leadership in leading the team.

Recognized for this ability, she was active as the leader of one team within the guild.

The second was that she was the only hunter who had exploited the Goblin Lord’s weakness.

In fact, this was a mishap that occurred when Jung Ye-rin misunderstood my words.

Anyway, by subjugating the Goblin Lord, Jung Ye-rin was able to solidify her position within the guild.

That’s not all.

They said that Department Head Jung Woo-jin had been taken advantage of by an incubus during a dungeon raid.

Of course, this was news that hadn’t been made public.

‘Getting taken advantage of by an incubus, not even a succubus… the world’s gone mad, truly mad.’

As a result, Department Head Jung Woo-jin was practically forced into retirement from the hunter industry.

So Jung Ye-rin’s value could only continue to rise.

‘Not bad.’

It was good news for me.

After all, my position was as an Advisor for the team led by Jung Ye-rin.

As the team leader’s status improved, various benefits would be given to the team as well.

I thought to myself as I followed Jung Ye-rin’s guidance.

“Let’s go inside for now.”

I nodded at Jung Ye-rin’s words and stepped into the guild.

As we entered the building, a modern yet classic appearance caught my eye.

“……”

As I was looking around the interior of the building, I felt gazes directed at me.

“Ah, is there anything in particular you’re curious about regarding the guild facilities?”

I shook my head at Jung Ye-rin’s question.

I had been granted permission to work from home anyway.

It was undetermined when I would come to work again after today.

And if I walked around with her, it would probably draw even more attention than now.

“I’ll ask later if I need to.”

Jung Ye-rin smiled as I answered simply.

“As expected, it’s nice to be able to talk comfortably with you, Kang-hyun. Our team is on the 12th floor, so I’ll guide you there.”

I’m not sure what was comfortable, but we got on the elevator together.

As we rode the elevator up to the 12th floor, Jung Ye-rin’s demeanor changed.

“Just listen to this, Kang-hyun.”

She spoke to me in a low voice.

“There’s a hunter in our team named Yoon Tae-kyung. He’s B-rank with the physical enhancement characteristic.”

Yoon Tae-kyung?

I listened carefully to her story.

“He was originally in Department Head Jung Woo-jin’s line. But he came to our team a few days ago.”

Department Head Jung Woo-jin is her younger brother.

But now there’s no place for Jung Woo-jin in the guild.

Up to this point, it would have been natural to think that a hunter who lost his team had come under Jung Ye-rin.

Of course, that is if there wasn’t her backstory.

“And just a little while ago, I confirmed one piece of information. That Hunter Yoon Tae-kyung had contact with the Vice Guild Master. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier if I had known. There’s no solid evidence yet, but I’ll handle it soon.”

I just nodded appropriately.

Looking at the current situation, it seemed that her older brother, the Vice Guild Master, was keeping Jung Ye-rin in check.

The reason Jung Ye-rin was telling me this story was probably to warn me to be careful.

Everything I did might reach the Vice Guild Master’s ears.

‘Well, is that to be expected?’

Looking at the situation, the Vice Guild Master seemed to be overly conscious of Team Leader Jung Ye-rin.

He must also be curious about me, whom Jung Ye-rin recruited.

‘Yoon Tae-kyung, huh…’

I had a feeling that this visit to the Phoenix Guild wouldn’t end quietly.