The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 176

EP.176 Production of Top-Grade Magic Potions (2)

Vetter carefully examined the small piece handed to him by the kobold.

As he gently ran his fingers over the surface, he felt a cold sensation.

It was more than just a simple chill.

It was unlike any substance he had ever seen.

It was pitch-black in color, but not just a simple black.

‘It’s like looking into an abyss.’

It even felt as if it would swallow the surrounding light.

“What on earth is this?”

Vetter’s gaze turned to the magic stone handed over by the kobold.

No matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t a magic stone.

What was certain was that it exceeded the threshold of energy Vetter could detect.

“Where did you find this?”

But the kobold just shook its head.

“Deep place! Was with rocks!”

In the end, it meant it didn’t know.

Just as Vetter was about to examine the piece closely again, one of his men approached and spoke to him.

“Mr. Vetter, the VIP is on the move!”

The VIP the hunter referred to meant the dungeon’s Master, Lee Kang-hyun.

The hunters of the Black Sun Guild didn’t know the VIP’s identity and only moved on Vetter’s orders.

This close surveillance of the VIP was Azmo’s intention.

After establishing the Dungeon Corporation and acquiring the Black Sun Guild, one of Azmo’s main concerns was the VIP’s security.

Of course, Maru would be around, but you never know what might happen in this world.

So he instructed the Black Sun Guild hunters to provide security.

Of course, they didn’t inform the Master about the security detail.

Azmo and Vetter believed that the best security was one that was unnoticeable, as if it wasn’t there at all.

“So, did he arrive home safely?”

Vetter nodded and asked.

He had received a report that the Master had visited the guild and then returned.

By now, he should have safely arrived home.

“Well, about that…”

But the next report was different from Vetter’s expectation.

“The VIP is currently heading towards the headquarters.”

“…What?”

The headquarters mentioned here referred to the Dungeon Corporation.

And Azmo’s dungeon was also located there.

The Dungeon Corporation headquarters and Azmo’s dungeon were situated in a quiet, open space.

It was once a small business lot, but due to lack of management, it had turned into an eyesore.

However, this aspect became an ideal condition for Azmo.

It was suitable for dungeon operations as it was rarely visited by people.

Azmo didn’t miss this opportunity.

He renovated the abandoned business building and made it the base for the Dungeon Corporation.

The building wasn’t very large, but that wasn’t important.

After all, this building was just a cover to avoid people’s attention.

In fact, Azmo registered the business as a general store instead of using the name Dungeon Corporation.

It was simply a place that sold various hunter-related items.

With the help of Vetter and the Black Sun Guild hunters, they were able to smoothly complete all procedures.

Thanks to this, the once-abandoned lot had now been neatly transformed.

“I should go right away.”

It was none other than the great Master’s first visit.

Vetter thought he couldn’t miss such an honorable occasion.

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Azmo’s dungeon wasn’t far from my house.

After all, hadn’t I moved his dungeon nearby to prevent him from doing anything unnecessary?

‘Is this the place?’

I deliberately chose a place where people rarely passed by.

But now, as I arrived with Maru, this open space had a completely different atmosphere from before.

Where it was once desolate, there now stood a neatly decorated general store.

‘Don’t tell me Azmo set up a shop here?’

At first, I was skeptical.

The only one I could suspect was Azmo.

Soon, I could learn the truth.

“……”

The moment I opened the door to the general store, a familiar energy enveloped my entire body.

As soon as they saw Maru and me, the clerks bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle, greeting us politely.

“Welcome. It’s an honor to serve you, our great Master.”

I too could be certain when I saw them.

The energy I felt wasn’t a mistake.

They were all incubi under Azmo’s command.

‘But what’s with this ‘great Master’ business?’

And I could hear the truth about this place from the incubi.

“So, you’re saying this is the Dungeon Corporation building?”

“That’s correct.”

Azmo had apparently used this abandoned lot to establish the Dungeon Corporation.

I couldn’t help but be impressed that his assistant, Vetter, had even sought legal advice to ensure all procedures were followed without issue.

“Huh…”

I was surprised anew at how much Azmo and Vetter had grown.

‘I thought they were just acting without any thought.’

But is it okay for monsters to be operating so openly like this?

Strictly speaking, this place isn’t a dungeon.

So they’re running a general store, aren’t they?

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that, Master. The artifact you bestowed upon us is concealing even our aura.”

An artifact that conceals auras.

For some reason, this artifact had always existed in Azmo’s dungeon.

And it was an artifact that had transferred along with the dungeon when its location was moved.

“So they even calculated that far.”

With the power of the artifact, there was no need to worry about their identities being exposed.

The reason I could sense the incubi’s aura was probably because I was their Master.

Next, I thought about having a chat with Azmo and looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

I could only see his subordinate incubi busily moving about and working.

“Where is Azmo right now?”

“He’s currently working in the dungeon, but I’ll call him right away.”

I waved my hand at the incubus who was about to actually go and call Azmo.

“No, it’s fine. Leave him be, he must be busy. I’ll just look around and go.”

I was the one who came suddenly without any notice.

Azmo must be busy with various tasks, and I didn’t want to disrupt his schedule unnecessarily.

Above all, just looking at the general store, I could tell how hard he had worked to build up the Dungeon Corporation.

I started to slowly look around the interior.

The inside of the general store was filled with various items for hunters.

There were various items necessary for dungeon exploration such as ropes, lanterns, and return scrolls.

There were even supplies for long-term exploration like tents and cooking utensils.

‘There are no weapons though.’

Although there was no equipment, it was full of potions and accessory items that provide buffs.

“These are all collected from the dungeon.”

In other words, they were the belongings of hunters who had entered the dungeon.

“If there’s anything you need, Master, please let me know. We’ll prepare the highest quality of whatever you want. Oh, we also have items for monsters.”

They say they have items not only for hunters, but also for dungeon Masters that Dungeon Corporation actually trades with.

Of course, I didn’t need any of it, so I just passed on it.

“Well, since I’m here, should I take a look at some potions?”

The Minotaur dungeon raid was scheduled anyway.

Even if I don’t use them, wouldn’t it be Vetter to get some potions for the team members?

With that thought, I spoke, and as soon as I finished, the incubus shouted.

“The Master wants potions!”

Then another incubus employee immediately brought a sack and started sweeping all the potions in the store into it.

“…?”

What’s going on here?

After filling the sack with all the potions in the store, they presented it to me.

“This is what Azmo instructed! He said to give everything to the Master when you visit someday.”

“Uh… really?”

“We can always get more from the dungeon anyway. Everything we enjoy is all thanks to our great Master, so please accept it comfortably.”

In other words, they meant they would kill the hunters who invaded the dungeon and loot the items again.

“……”

Looking at their eyes, I could feel their determination to make sure I accept this.

I ended up accepting the gift somewhat bewildered.

“Thank you.”

“If you need more potions, we’ll get them right away.”

“No, this is more than enough, thanks.”

Their willingness to extort all potions right away was palpable.

I gently declined the incubus’s goodwill.

‘Should I head back now?’

At first, it was just curiosity.

I came to check how Azmo was doing, but he was doing much Vetter than I expected.

Now that I’ve confirmed he’s managing well, there was no need to see more.

‘I should give Azmo a gift later too.’

After all, I got potions thanks to him.

I made a mental note to gift Azmo if I get a good item from the gacha later, and as I was about to leave…

“I apologize for being late, Master. I’m Assistant Vetter. It’s an honor to meet you like this!”

“Huh?”

This time, Vetter appeared.

He was the assistant of the dungeon Azmo manages, and his race was slime.

Vetter’s characteristic was transformation, and true to being a Master of transformation, his current human appearance was truly flawless.

The incubi also briefly greeted Vetter.

“You’ve arrived, Mr. Vetter.”

But Vetter seemed displeased about something and glared at the incubi with a dissatisfied expression.

‘What’s his problem now?’

I guess you can’t understand the hearts of monsters, even if they belong to my dungeon.

Then Vetter raised his voice towards them.

“Quickly sweep up all the items! Yeah, you have space in your inventory, right? Put them in there and bring them!”

“Understood!”

At Vetter’s command, the incubi swept the items in the general store into their inventory.

And then they handed them to me.

“……”

Meanwhile, the general store that was full of items suddenly became empty.

Still, Vetter smiled as if pleased.

“It’s fine! We can always loot more from the dungeon!”

It was awkward to hear him say so cheerfully that they would kill hunters and plunder their items.

“Uh… okay.”

In the end, I received all the other items along with the potions.

But Vetter’s story wasn’t over.

“If you need anything else in the future, we’ll get it for you right away!”

At his words, I also made a resolution.

That I wouldn’t come here in person next time.

‘I should just send Maru.’

But I had already received a bunch of gifts.

If I left like this, it wouldn’t look good as the dungeon Master.

I asked Vetter if he had any concerns.

“Ah, thank you for your concern. But we can’t trouble you, Master.”

However, Vetter didn’t say anything, perhaps feeling burdened by my help.

“It’s okay, tell me. That’s an order.”

Only then did Vetter approach with something.

‘A tree?’

It was a sapling.

The important thing was that the leaves were almost transparent and glowing.

There was only one tree with such characteristics.

“That’s right. It’s a Terleaf sapling. We received it from a dungeon we trade with recently. We immediately planted the sapling behind the building, but it’s not growing.”

“No way, it’s really that Terleaf…”

I was surprised by Vetter’s story.

Terleaf is a type of tree.

It’s a rare plant occasionally found only in dungeons, with leaves that glow transparently.

When you brew those glowing leaves, it becomes a mana potion, but not just an ordinary mana potion.

It has the amazing effect of fully replenishing the user’s mana.

‘Could they really grow that?’

The problem was that the Terleaf tree was extremely difficult to cultivate.

No, it wasn’t just difficult to grow; it would die no matter how well you managed it.

The government and guilds tried to grow Terleaf trees, but they all failed.

It was the same even inside dungeons.

That’s why the secret of Terleaf tree growth is still unknown.

“We’ve tried various methods, but the sapling doesn’t grow and instead keeps dying.”

Vetter spoke with a bitter expression.

Well, Vetter, who transforms into a human to operate, must know well about the hunter market.

How expensive the mana potions made from Terleaf leaves are.

Vetter muttered to himself, seemingly regretful.

“If only we had an elf, we could easily grow it.”

“Huh? Really, just having an elf would do it?”

Vetter nodded at my question.

“Yes. According to Azmo, Terleaf trees die unless managed by an elf. We tried experimenting to see if there was any other way, but it was impossible.”

From Vetter’s words, I realized one thing.

Why the government and guilds couldn’t grow Terleaf trees no matter how hard they tried.

‘In the end, an elf was needed.’

Elves are a rare race.

Moreover, they’re so reclusive that interaction with them is practically impossible.

But I have that rare elf, don’t I?

She’s even doing housework right now.

“I think I can solve that problem.”

A smile spread across my face.