The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 178

EP.178 Vampire and Minotaur Dungeon (1)

Two days had passed since Ciel began seriously managing the Terleaf trees.

The result was now bottled and placed before me.

The green liquid inside the bottle was a mana potion made by brewing Terleaf leaves.

When I opened the bottle cap, a strong aura of mana wafted up.

‘Impressive. It’s really top-quality, isn’t it?’

With an excited heart, I took a sip of the test potion.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but exclaim as mana surged through my entire body.

‘I guess it’s because the ingredients are so good.’

It was amazing.

This was just a practice potion made without proper equipment.

I couldn’t even imagine how good it would be if made properly.

‘We could start selling this right away, couldn’t we?’

In fact, potions containing Terleaf leaves were already being sold at high prices.

But they were so rare that they were hard to obtain even if you had the money.

If we were to sell potions in this situation, this general store would be overflowing with customers.

‘Azmo’s success is my gain too.’

What if Azmo dominated the potion market in addition to the dungeon business?

It was clear that a significant portion of those profits would flow to me.

‘Their loyalty is truly remarkable.’

Even when I first visited the general store, didn’t they offer me all their items and potions?

Now the items and potions had been restocked, which alone showed how capable Azmo and Vetter were.

It seemed that Celia offered me sacrifices, while Azmo and Vetter offered items and potions.

As I was deep in thought, Vetter approached me.

“Master, I think we can start full-scale production now.”

As Vetter said, all preparations for potion production were complete.

In addition to the existing six seedlings, Vetter had brought four more, so now a total of ten Terleaf trees filled the vegetable garden.

And under Ciel’s loving care, the Terleaf trees were growing rapidly day by day.

With just this, we didn’t have to worry about quantity anymore.

‘It would be even Vetter if we could succeed in propagation…’

But I shook my head.

It would be great to increase the number of trees through cuttings or sowing seeds, but there was no need to think about that now.

After all, even the current number would bring in considerable profit.

However, it was time to consider more practical issues.

If potions made from Terleaf trees were released, they would attract a lot of attention at first.

But what if such rare potions kept being released continuously, not just once or twice?

‘They’ll try to dig up information.’

People would wonder how Terleaf potions were being produced continuously and would try to investigate to find out more.

In the end, if the tail is long, it’s bound to be stepped on someday.

If we weren’t careful, not only the general store but also Azmo’s dungeon and the existence of the elf might become known to the public.

Even if they only investigated, the chances of it ending there seemed infinitely low.

‘That absolutely can’t happen.’

In short, this place was like a dungeon that I had to protect now.

No matter how powerful the monsters guarding the dungeon were, if hunters kept coming, they would eventually get tired and fall.

In this situation, I had two choices.

Either hide until we had overwhelming power, or find another way to distribute the potions indirectly.

Vetter also sympathized with my concerns.

“You’re right, Master. But you don’t need to worry too much. We’ll handle the sales and distribution without any problems.”

Confidence shone in Vetter’s eyes.

Come to think of it, Azmo and Vetter were already thoroughly researching and operating the current general store business, weren’t they?

“Alright, I’ll trust you.”

Even if I didn’t worry, those guys would handle everything from potion production to distribution well on their own.

Now I had only one concern left.

‘What should I do about Ciel?’

It was the issue of Ciel’s accommodation.

For two days, she had been living at home as usual. Ciel commuted here with Maru.

It was natural.

After all, it was more beneficial for the elf to manage the Terleaf trees than to just do housework.

But she couldn’t keep coming and going to manage the trees forever.

‘If something happens to the trees, it would be difficult to take immediate action.’

The best solution would be to have Ciel stay here.

But what if others found out that Ciel was an elf?

At least at home, there was a gargoyle so we could feel at ease, but here there was nothing to protect Ciel.

Azmo and Vetter were at best 4-star monsters.

‘Bringing the gargoyle here is also tricky.’

Then the house would be empty when Maru and I weren’t there.

‘Should I just live here too?’

No good solution came to mind.

The best option seemed to be bringing the monsters from the Eldorado continent to where I was.

‘Let’s think about this later.’

In fact, even if I thought about it now, it wasn’t a problem that could be solved.

For the time being, it seemed right to maintain things as they were.

Above all, I had more important matters to attend to.

‘The Minotaur dungeon.’

It was time for dungeon conquest.

There were two dungeons assigned to Team Jung Ye-rin.

Among them, we had conquered the Stone Golem dungeon by mobilizing the Death Knight.

And the last remaining dungeon was the Minotaur dungeon.

The problem was that this dungeon was A-rank, and the dungeon master was also an A-rank Minotaur chieftain.

For Team Jung Ye-rin, which had no A-rank hunters, this could be considered a difficult dungeon to conquer.

However, due to lack of information, Jung Ye-rin was estimating the dungeon rank as B.

‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter much.’

In the end, Maru and I were planning to go together.

Plus, I was planning to dispatch one more dungeon monster, so I was confident we could conquer the dungeon one way or another.

‘Still, should I prepare a bit more?’

I immediately instructed Vetter.

“Vetter, make about 5 potions for me.”

“I will follow your orders, Master.”

Even though 5 potions would be quite expensive, it didn’t matter to me.

We could keep producing them anyway.

And if it was to prepare for any situation, it was cheap compared to the value of a life.

The inside of a dungeon is always full of variables.

If you run out of mana at a crucial moment and can’t use skills, it immediately leads to damage.

To prevent such situations, I was planning to bring not only regular potions but also potions made from Terleaf leaves.

Even if I didn’t use them, if team members received my help, my importance would increase, so it wasn’t a bad situation.

At my command, Vetter immediately headed to the vegetable garden behind the building.

Maru and I continued to examine the items in the store.

At that moment, a customer arrived.

“Welcome.”

The incubus staff immediately came out to greet the customer.

“Is there any item you need?”

I quietly observed the incubi.

I was curious about how they treated customers.

And from their behavior, I was able to break one stereotype I had about incubi.

‘I thought incubi were only kind to women…’

The customer who came this time was a man, and I thought the incubi would dislike him.

But contrary to expectations, the incubi greeted the customer with friendly smiles.

“Haha, if you purchase above a certain amount, we’ll provide you with a pleasant service.”

‘Even service?’

I wasn’t sure what kind of service it was, but it seemed they had a good grasp of customer needs.

‘Service always feels good.’

It seemed I had been wrong about incubi.

Right now, they weren’t incubus monsters, but employees passionate about their work.

‘Well, if they discriminated against customers like that, Azmo wouldn’t have assigned them as staff.’

After confirming their behavior, I headed to the back of the building with Maru.

It was almost time for Ciel to finish work.

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While Vetter was focusing on mana potion production and distribution, the day for dungeon conquest approached.

Fortunately, I was able to receive 5 Terleaf potions according to schedule.

After leaving Ciel with Vetter and returning, I saw familiar figures in front of the house.

“Hello, I’ll safely escort Advisor Lee Kang-hyun today as well!”

Just like last time, Deputy Park Seo-yun came to pick up Maru and me.

Perhaps because I had gifted her alcohol last time, the atmosphere was softer than our first meeting.

“This time, we’ll head straight to the site instead of the Phoenix Guild.”

The vehicle headed towards the location of the Minotaur dungeon.

During the journey, I was able to hear various stories from Park Seo-yun.

“The team leader is already preparing at the site.”

In essence, it meant that everyone except me had arrived at the site and was preparing for the dungeon conquest.

This was consideration for me.

Park Seo-yun’s story didn’t end there.

“And the team leader said she wanted to make one request to you, Advisor.”

“A request?”

“Yes, she hopes that you’ll take on a support role in this Minotaur dungeon conquest.”

The support role meant exactly what it sounded like.

It meant being prepared for any situation from outside, rather than directly entering the dungeon.

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. It’s not because there’s a problem with Advisor Lee Kang-hyun’s skills, but rather because they’re outstanding.”

In other words, my task in this dungeon conquest was to simply stand by.

From Jung Ye-rin’s perspective, since I had conquered the Stone Golem dungeon alone, she probably judged that further skill assessment was meaningless.

And after all, I was not a formal guild member but a team Advisor.

She likely thought it would be more beneficial to build up the team members’ experience rather than increasing my involvement in dungeon conquests.

As I listened to various stories, the vehicle soon arrived at the site.

“Ah! Kang-hyun-ssi, was your journey comfortable?”

Upon arrival at the site, Jung Ye-rin came out to greet me with a smile.

“Thanks to you, I arrived comfortably.”

Jung Ye-rin and the team members were already armed.

Among them, I could see Yoon Tae-kyung, who turned his back as soon as he saw me.

“As you probably heard from Seo-yun, today you can just wait outside, Kang-hyun-ssi. Of course, we’ll distribute the earnings properly, so don’t worry about that.”

Actually, while standing by quietly was fine, there was one concerning issue.

It was the fact that the dungeon Jung Ye-rin was about to enter was not a B-rank, but an A-rank dungeon.

However, it was awkward for me to openly mention this here.

Even if I said this dungeon was actually an A-rank, I wasn’t sure if they’d believe me, and even if they did, it would obviously become troublesome.

Starting with questions about how I knew, they’d bother me with various matters.

Here, it was right to follow Jung Ye-rin’s instructions while taking my own precautions.

“Yes, I understand. Instead, I’ll send my summon along. If it judges the situation dangerous, it will intervene on its own.”

I decided to attach Maru as Jung Ye-rin’s escort.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Thank you for your consideration.”

Jung Ye-rin smiled at me.

Then she began preparing to enter the dungeon.

I watched her and touched the screen.

– You have selected the dungeon ‘Wandering Maze’ in [Dungeon Support & Dispatch]. –

– Please select the monster you wish to dispatch to the dungeon ‘Wandering Maze’. –

Initially, I was thinking of dispatching the Death Knight.

However, this dungeon was to be conquered by Jung Ye-rin and the team members, excluding me.

If unnecessary incidents occurred due to the sight of the Death Knight, it wouldn’t be good for me.

‘Hmm.’

The master of this dungeon is an A-rank monster.

In the end, I needed a monster that was 5-star or above while also resembling a human as much as possible.

If it resembled a human, unnecessary conflicts could be avoided.

‘Would Celia be better?’

Suddenly Celia came to mind as a candidate, but I didn’t choose her.

Of course, Celia was an excellent being.

However, she was currently in charge of important duties managing the dungeon.

There was no need to pull her out just to conquer the Minotaur dungeon for a moment.

‘I guess there’s no one else but her.’

Next, I looked at Baalzerith.

Baalzerith, being a vampire, had an appearance close to that of a human.

‘I wonder if Baalzerith would be alright.’

Even if she didn’t listen to me and caused problems, it didn’t matter.

‘With Maru there, it should be fine.’

After all, Maru was also part of this conquest team.

If Baalzerith tried to do anything strange, Maru would subdue her immediately.

As she was someone who initially rejected my offer, it was right to be safe.

“Alright, I’ve decided on you for this dispatch.”

– Dispatching Baalzerith to the dungeon ‘Wandering Maze’. –

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Baalzerith, working hard as usual today.

A voice suddenly reached her from the void.

【Conquer the dungeon】

Along with the voice, the void distorted and a gap opened.

It was clearly a dimensional gate that could lead to another place.

“N-No way…”

Baalzerith was shocked.

Not because of the dimensional gate, but because the voice that reached her was familiar.

“You… y-you’ve come back to me!”

The proposal from the voice she had once rejected.

How much she had regretted that choice.

‘If only I had accepted the offer then…’

She wouldn’t have lost the dungeon to the Demon World Merchant Association.

But regretting what had already passed was of no use.

Still, Baalzerith vowed to change.

This was that moment.

Baalzerith decided to accept the voice’s proposal.

‘Conquer the dungeon, you say?’

That, she was confident in.

Baalzerith entered the dimensional gate.