NOVEL WEB
Chapter 15
EP.15 Mid Boss Death Knight
The adventurer’s guild located in the Sael Kingdom.
Today, the guild office was bustling with adventurers.
They all occupied the same space but held different dreams.
Some adventurers aimed to raise their ranks and gain fame, while others dreamed of amassing wealth.
A few simply enjoyed roaming and exploring.
They all had their unique aspirations for a hopeful future.
Among them, there was one person sitting with a gloomy expression.
It was Ralli, the guild receptionist.
To understand why she was so gloomy, we need to go back a week.
A week ago, three adventurers came to her.
They were all newly minted adventurers with Iron Rank.
They asked if there was any available dungeon to explore.
Ralli introduced them to a dungeon, technically a Bronze Rank, but it was scheduled to be downgraded to Iron Rank shortly.
Since it was going to become an Iron Rank dungeon anyway, and the other adventurers in the area were also Iron Rank, she assigned it without much thought.
However, this decision proved to be wrong.
A week had passed, and there was still no contact from those adventurers.
It was standard practice to wait for one week.
If there was no contact within that time, the guild would initiate an investigation.
This policy had been established because of past incidents with dungeons that continued to grow due to repeated failed subjugations, ultimately causing major monster waves.
However, this policy applied to officially assigned requests.
The issue here was that the three adventurers were Iron Rank, while the dungeon Ralli had assigned was technically Bronze Rank.
Ralli regretted her choice.
‘If I had known, I would’ve just listened to the branch manager.’
She hadn’t expected such a situation to arise.
Perhaps they had decided to give up on the dungeon?
First-year adventurers often got scared, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they had abandoned their request. And if they had given up, the lack of communication would make sense.
‘They were newbies after all.’
Ralli comforted herself with that thought, and it somehow made her feel better.
As she was getting up from her seat with a more relaxed expression, the branch manager’s voice echoed.
“Ralli, what about the dungeon I mentioned back then? The one scheduled to be downgraded.”
For a moment, Ralli felt embarrassed, but she answered as if nothing had happened.
“Oh, that dungeon is still there. Nobody went in, as far as I know.”
In truth, it was still there. However, since Ralli had marked the request as abandoned, there was practically no one who had sought it.
The branch manager nodded, accepting her response.
“Really? That’s good to hear.”
He handed her a document.
“Officially, the order from the Guild Master is to downgrade it to Iron Rank.”
“Understood.”
Now that it was officially an Iron Rank dungeon, adventurers would likely come and go quite quickly.
It was a popular choice for new adventurers, and there was a shortage of dungeons to meet the demand.
‘Forget about those three. They’re probably living their lives somewhere else. Hopefully, everything they want will work out.’
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I had been incredibly busy. The schedule for the porter was non-stop.
“Having a status window certainly makes it easy to find work.”
As experience points increase, you level up.
The stats gained from leveling up are minimal.
Nevertheless, as you level up, it eventually has a positive impact on the porter’s job.
The presence of the status window was significant.
Thanks to it, I worked without a day off for a week.
Though it was physically demanding, the income was somewhat satisfying.
Whenever it got tough, looking at my thicker wallet made me feel content.
“…Should I consider forming a party soon?”
Before going to the El Dorad Continent, I used to work as a dedicated porter in a party.
However, now I went into dungeons without any specific affiliation.
Yet, I shook my head.
“No, for now, let’s continue as we are.”
When I worked as a dedicated porter, I didn’t have a status window.
There was no one to accept a half-awakened person like me without a status window in the party.
But now, it was different. I had a status window, and my original goal was not to be a porter.
As a hunter, I had always dreamed of going into dungeons. So, for now, let’s continue as we are.
I immediately headed home.
After taking a quick shower and satisfying my hunger, I started a game I hadn’t played in a while.
“Those intruders, they must have been handled well, right?”
I had last instructed to send the Death Knight and then regretted entering the dungeon.
This part, Celia must have handled well.
If not, she should step down from her position as a servant.
“That’s right! There’s no way they would have been taken over by those guys.”
I nodded as I checked the next alarms.
The first notification indicated that intruders had been successfully repelled.
– Successfully repelled intruders. –
“Oh, that’s right! Surely, there’s no way they could have been taken over by those guys.”
I nodded with satisfaction.
Then, I checked the next alarms.
– [Mid Boss] Unlock conditions are met! –
– [Mid Boss] Unlocked! –
– When there are 30 or more monsters in the area, you can designate the ‘Mid Boss’ for that area. –
– [Mid Boss] makes it easier to manage the loyalty of minions. –
“Mid Boss?”
The dungeon had expanded quite a bit.
It would continue to grow, and it was difficult for the Servant to manage it all alone.
Especially since I didn’t know how the loyalty system would affect it, but I assumed that higher loyalty was better.
“They aren’t trying to rebel, are they?”
While I was speaking my thoughts, I decided to select a Mid Boss.
– You can set a Mid Boss in [First Floor, Area 1]. –
– Only monsters with a rank of 4 or higher can be designated as a [Mid Boss]. –
I clicked on the Death Knight to be the Mid Boss since that was the only option, even if those conditions weren’t present. It was easy to choose.
– [First Floor, Area 1] Mid Boss has been set. –
– [First Floor, Area 1 Mid Boss] –
– Death Knight (★★★★★) –
– The loyalty of minions placed in [First Floor, Area 1] has increased. –
“He’s become quite reliable.”
After appointing the Servant and Mid Boss, the dungeon finally felt like a dungeon.
After selecting the Mid Boss, I checked the next alarm.
– [Dungeon Support & Dispatch] Unlock conditions are met! –
– [Dungeon Support & Dispatch] Unlocked! –
– You can provide support to other dungeons or dispatch monsters. –
“Dungeon support?”
Supporting other dungeons? Do I really need to pay attention to other dungeons? Just as I was pondering this, the TV screen changed.
[Breaking news. A B-grade dungeon has emerged in the heart of Jeju City. The government and the Hunter Management Bureau have immediately started the dungeon conquest, and they urgently need cooperation from other guilds…]
“I see.”
They were also requesting support from other guilds for an easy dungeon conquest. Perhaps the in-game dungeons had a similar setup.
However, I had no intention of supporting other dungeons for now. There was one reason for that.
“I don’t have any monsters to send.”
Celia, a 6-star monster and my Servant.
The 5-star Death Knight, the Mid Boss of Area 1.
Apart from them, I didn’t have any forces I could easily send. And I couldn’t afford to remove these two because that would put my dungeon at risk of being taken over.
However, sending 1-star skeletons was out of the question.
“Even I would be annoyed if the skeletons came.”
If the dungeon was in danger, and all they sent for support were simple skeletons, I would be upset.
I touched the screen immediately.
– You’ve obtained a Unique Monster Denver (★★★). –
“Huh?”
A Unique Monster? Moreover, it wasn’t a common species name like other monsters.
<Denver>
Grade: ★★★
Species: Ghoul
[Basic Information]
Health: C
Attack: D+
Defense: C-
Magic: E
[Skills]
Gnaw (D): Bites the opponent until they die.
Eternal Loyalty to Celia (A+): Under the charm skill of Celia, they become conditionally loyal and obedient.
“Unique monsters have their own names, I guess?”
Now that I think about it, the monster Denver was also listed as a ghoul.
Typically, ghouls are 2-star monsters, but Denver seems to be a 3-star Unique Monster.
“What’s this ‘Eternal Loyalty to Celia’?”
As I looked at the screen, there was a presence following Celia around.
“Is this Denver?”
It said he was charmed.
Could Celia’s taste be that inclined towards undead?
Well, they are the same type of monster, after all.
As a human, I couldn’t say anything about the monsters’ tastes.
Maybe it’s just a minions picked up due to a lack of help.
“Then I’ve become too much of a ruthless boss, haven’t I?”
Feeling like the kind of ruthless boss who delegates all the work to the minions.
Well, it’s true, but that’s taking it too far.
The game isn’t alive, and there’s no need to think about it at such a high level.
“It’s probably just an event or something.”
Next were quite useful lists:
– [Facilities]Unlocked! –
– [Dungeon Expansion]Unlocked! –
– The variety of monsters that can be obtained from [Gacha] is increasing. –
“Oh!”
I found myself amazed several times today…
It’s just now that it really feels like a game.
Yes, this is how a game should feel, where you enjoy playing and maybe even spending some money.
Can I finally decorate the dungeon to my liking? I clicked on the facilities.
[Buildable Facilities]
– Prison: You can imprison the intruders who enter the dungeon. (Capacity 0/5) –
– Servant’s Office: A space for the Servant to live and work. –
– Advanced Altar: Upgrade the existing altar. (Locked) –
– Shack: A basic living space for monsters. It can be upgraded in the future. –
– Dungeon Throne: A seat where only the dungeon owner can sit. (Locked) –
………
……
There were a few other facilities, but all of them were locked.
“There are quite a few types, more than I expected.”
I thought it might be good to build the Servant’s Office or the Shack at least.
I’m working this hard for the monsters, so I should provide them with some variety.
Now, what should I start with? While happily contemplating this, a new notification appeared.
– The adventurer guild has adjusted the rating of this dungeon. –
– The rating of the dungeon ‘Nest of the Evil God’ has been adjusted from Bronze Rank to Iron Rank. –
“What…?”
Wait, what’s this all about? Why is the dungeon’s rating going down?
“Why is the dungeon rating dropping?”
I’ve been stopping intruders from entering the dungeon cleanly. Plus, the dungeon now has a 6-star Servant and a 5-star Death Knight. But instead of the rating going up, it’s dropping?
“Ha…?”
How much are they trying to increase the game’s difficulty? Wait, could it be…? Is it because I didn’t kill the intruders quickly?
I admit I dragged it out by checking the monsters’ performance to see how I could kill intruders.
Is this system related to how fast I dispatch intruders, and it adds up to a score?
If that’s the case, I couldn’t say anything.
“I’ll have to kill the next intruders right away.”
I promised myself that I would finish them off quickly next time.
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