Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

8 – Merchant Visiting the Dungeon

Moru, a member of the Demon World Trade Association.

After finishing all her preparations, she headed toward the dungeon she was assigned to.

Even though she was moving, she was not walking on her own.

The merchants of the trade association moved quickly and easily through the teleportation devices set up beforehand.

Dungeons were spread all over the continent.

On the other hand, the Demon World Trade Association was, of course, located in the demon world in the north of the continent.

What if there was a dungeon far away from the demon world?

From a human point of view, merchants were also monsters.

Perhaps the merchant would be hunted down even before visiting the dungeon.

So, the method that the trade association came up with was teleportation.

Thanks to this, the trade association could trade with dungeons everywhere on the continent.

Moru was able to reach her destination using teleportation as well.

‘This looks like an ordinary dungeon…’

That was her first impression of the dungeon.

If she hadn’t seen the document with the location, she would have mistaken it for a simple cave.

No, it was so natural, hidden by vines, that she might not have even noticed it was a cave and passed by.

Here, Moru noticed a certain fact.

This time, the dungeon had contacted the trade association first.

While tearing the trade association’s black card.

There were two main ways for the dungeon and the trade association to trade.

Either the dungeon side tore the trade association’s black card to indicate their intentions, or the trade association found the location of a new dungeon and went there themselves.

The trade association’s information network was quite extensive, so most dungeons reported to the trade association in real-time.

Even if it was a newborn dungeon that hadn’t existed for long.

The document also contained the trade association’s speculation that the dungeon Moru was assigned to was also a newly born dungeon.

One question arose here.

“Where on earth did they get the Black Card?”

A newly created dungeon that the merchant’s association had not recognized first.

It was unusual for the Black Card to be possessed from the beginning.

Perhaps the owner of the dungeon had run another dungeon in the past.

Of course, in such a case, the association would’ve figured it out first.

“Can they really hide it this perfectly?”

The dungeon was incredibly well-hidden.

It looked like an ordinary cave, and the location was cleverly concealed by vines.

Just like a predator holding its breath with prey in sight.

As soon as those thoughts reached Moru, she got goosebumps. She wondered if the dungeon she was in charge of might not be an ordinary one.

Frankly, when they first assigned her the dungeon, she didn’t think it would be anything more than ordinary.

For her, who even anticipated the worst scenarios, it was a natural assumption.

Who would entrust her with a good dungeon?

From noble mtl dot com

Moru was a being born between a succubus and a human.

Being mixed with human blood, she had faced much discrimination in the merchant’s association.

Yet, she could not leave the association.

Having already been driven out from the succubus group, leaving the association meant losing any place to rely on.

That’s why Moru saw the assigned dungeon as an opportunity to build her career.

The problem was that the one who assigned her the new dungeon was her superior.

Her superior was also a succubus like her.

The only difference was that her superior, Juwel, was a pure-blooded succubus, unlike Moru, the half-succubus mixed with human blood.

That was the root of the problem.

Her superior, Juwel, despised her.

Moru was the result of a succubus seducing the lowly human.

Juwel blamed Moru for tarnishing the blood of the succubus, so there was no way she would see Moru favorably.

Moru knew this fact, so she had not expected a normal dungeon.

Yet for Moru, it was the first dungeon assigned to her since joining the demon association.

No matter what, she had vowed to do her best in whatever place was assigned.

However, considering everything, there was a high possibility that it wasn’t an ordinary dungeon.

Moru took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Entering the interior, a moment ago, the deduction became a certainty.

“It’s quite spacious inside…?”

From the outside, it looked like a small-sized cave.

However, upon entering, it revealed a structure with long corridors extending underground.

An ordinary newly-formed dungeon wouldn’t exhibit such a sight.

“Did they expand the dungeon?”

If so, how?

Expanding a dungeon takes a considerable amount of time.

Even if it weren’t a newly-formed dungeon, avoiding the scrutiny of the High Society implied it was by no means an ordinary occurrence.

Not long after the hammer echoed, a monster appeared.

“Clack.”

“Clack, clack.”

They were skeletons.

They didn’t possess formidable power.

Half-expecting to find more monsters placed here, Mollu looked around, but that was the end of it.

“You’re from the High Society, aren’t you?”

Somewhere, a captivating voice echoed.

Mollu turned his head in the direction of the sound.

There stood a being as enchanting and lovely as the voice.

Clearly emitting an extraordinary aura.

“Could it be a succubus?”

If she was, there was a high chance things would get complicated.

Even the superior of the succubus he previously encountered detested Mollu. The succubus before him seemed to hold a much higher status than his own superior.

The possibility of her liking him was nearly zero.

Nevertheless, for now, this was his assigned dungeon.

Shaking off his distracted thoughts, Mollu greeted the being before him.

“Nice to meet you. I am Mollu, a merchant of the Demon Realm’s High Society.”

While greeting her, Mollu stole a quick glance.

“Why is she wearing a maid outfit?”

Ah, could it be that’s just her taste?

And so, the vitality of a human man…?

Instantly, Moru’s face lit up.

But it was just a fleeting moment.

Moru quickly regained his composure and continued.

“To meet the dungeon’s master…”

However, Moru’s words were cut off in mid-sentence.

The figure in front of him put a finger to their lips and said, “Shh.”

“I apologize for interrupting you, but there is a separate owner who manages this place. I am just their servant.”

“What?”

Moru blinked his eyes.

There’s a separate owner of the dungeon?

“Oh, I see. I must have been late in introducing myself. My name is Celia. Please don’t worry. I have full authority over everything related to the dungeon, so our transaction will proceed smoothly.”

The other person’s name is Celia.

She claimed to have all the authority from the separate dungeon owner.

How much of this is true?

Is there really a separate dungeon owner?

Sometimes, there are those who boast to inflate the value of their dungeons, a strategy to gain an advantage in dealings with other parties.

But does this dungeon really require such a strategy?

Just from the way she introduced herself as Celia, her confidence was remarkable.

In fact, it was as if she rivaled the Succubus Queen herself.

What’s the point of boasting like this?

If what she said is true and there is a separate owner, it meant this place had incredible potential.

With this question in mind, another question was answered.

“Does the owner of this dungeon have a thing for maid outfits, then?”

Well, that wasn’t really important.

What mattered was the connection to his superior, Jewel, who introduced him to this dungeon.

“Could it be that Jewel doesn’t like herself?”

She assigned this dungeon to herself?

Of course, there was no need to jump to conclusions just yet.

No matter how high the potential of a dungeon may be, from the perspective of a merchant, it was a good dungeon if one had to spend a lot of money on it.

“I’ll introduce myself again. I’m a member of the Merchants Guild, Moru. I’m the… um…”

“Just call me Celia. hehehe.”

“Oh, okay! I’ll do my best to make sure you can trade comfortably, Celia!”

Fortunately, Celia did not reject him.

Perhaps, given her current demeanor, she was aware that human blood ran through her veins.

Moru, who had introduced himself once again, continued to speak.

“We take pride in the quality of all the goods handled by our guild. If there’s anything you need, just let us know.”

Their self-introductions were over.

Now, their formal business relationship had begun.

Since Celia was the one who called the meeting, she spoke up immediately.

“I want to expand the dungeon, but as you can see, I’m critically short on labor.”

Indeed, there were only a few skeletons present in this place.

If there was a shortage of labor, it was Moru’s job to introduce monsters.

“Oh, if that’s the case, there are two options. You can either hire professional artisan monsters or bring in slave monsters. If you choose the former…”

Moru’s explanation continued endlessly.

It was about the benefits they could provide, how far they could adjust the price, and so on.

Those who wanted to expand their dungeons were overflowing in demand.

In the guild, they naturally sought to meet this demand by nurturing monsters with specialized skills for dungeon expansion. Of course, they were professionals, so they couldn’t be bound to the dungeon permanently; they had to be hired temporarily at a cost, which was, needless to say, quite expensive.

On the other hand, the monsters that the guild had as slaves were the result of monsters that couldn’t repay their debts in other dungeons. Naturally, they had the disadvantage of varying abilities, but they were cost-effective since they could be bound to the dungeon temporarily.

“Hmm, it’s quite a dilemma.”

Celia had already made her decision, but she hesitated for a moment.

Hiring artisans would mean faster progress. Even if the price was high, she didn’t mind, considering that high-grade magic stones were abundant. The issue was that these artisans were affiliated with the guild, and it could risk exposing the inner workings of the dungeon.

The guild wouldn’t openly reveal it, but it was still a considerable risk for the dungeon’s inner workings to be exposed. Of course, Celia wouldn’t be concerned about it in her current position, and it was not a concern she would have in different dungeons.

The structure of the dungeon was incredibly simple at the moment anyway.

Even if they just hired technicians to create the framework, it would be easy to work on it later.

Above all, the merchant called Moru who visited was a succubus like herself, so she felt affection for him.

Even though human blood was mixed in, it didn’t matter to Sellya.

Because she felt close to him, she deliberately revealed a bit of her power that he would never have been able to estimate in the first place.

The hidden effect of the dungeon.

Because she could hide her power at any time with that, there was no problem even when the technicians affiliated with the trading company came.

On the other hand, the method of bringing in slave monsters was cost-effective.

They could be put to work, and they could be immediately gained as the dungeon’s forces to defend.

But would their master need such ambiguous beings just to save some value?

Obviously not.

The final decision, in the end, was determined.

“I’ll hire skilled technicians from the trading company.”

Sellya answered with a smile.

“Additionally, I need monsters for the dungeon defense. Do you have a related catalog?”

As she said so, Sellya casually opened the pouch containing magic stones.

‘Jackpot…’

Moru saw the magic stones with a purple glow in his eyes.

They were the highest quality magic stones.

He could now be sure of it.

This dungeon was a hit.

It was an undeniable fact.

On the spot, Moru immediately took out the catalogs.

Usually, he would only show up to 2-star or at most 3-star monsters, but that only applied to ordinary dungeons.

Not now.

This dungeon would be a turning point for Moru.

It seemed that it wouldn’t hurt to win the other party’s favor in advance.

“Also, I caught a human yesterday and want to sell him. Can we trade him?”

At Sellya’s question, Moru pondered for a moment.

There were plenty of humans in the trading company.

The demand was high, so it must have been because it was obtained through various routes.

From the merchant’s perspective, it wasn’t very necessary, but this place was going to be a regular dungeon in the future.

It would be better to buy it even if it meant emptying Moru’s own personal funds.

“Of course. How many will there be?”

When Moru affirmed, Celia smiled and brought the humans with her.

When Moru turned her head toward the humans, thinking that Celia’s smile was really charming.

“…”

This is crazy.

For a moment, Moru’s thoughts nearly slipped out of her mouth.

Such an astonishing sight appeared before her eyes.

She had thought it was an ordinary human, but it turned out to be a Paladin.

The Paladin closed his eyes and wore a happy expression.

“I made him dream.”

Surprisingly, it was a Paladin captured without a single scratch thanks to the succubus’s ability.

She had to buy this no matter what.

“It’s in such perfect condition! The merchant’s side will buy it at the best conditions. What will you do with the equipment the Paladin is wearing?”

At Moru’s words, Celia thought.

The sword possessed by the Paladin was a supply-type holy sword.

Although it was an imitation of the treasured holy sword of the church, its power was still remarkable.

If an ordinary monster tried to use it, the monster would be destroyed first.

In the end, it was an unnecessary item for herself.

Would her master be pleased if she offered it through the altar?

Celia soon shook her head.

Her master was a noble being.

Unless it was the real holy sword, the Paladin’s sword would be just a wooden stick to the master.

“I will sell the sword as well.”

The transaction between Celia and Moru officially began now.