The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

Chapter 133: Celia and Baalzerith (1)

Chapter 133: Celia and Baalzerith (1)

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 133

EP.133 Celia and Baalzerith (1)

 

‘This is a complete luck-based game,’ he thought.

Recently, the Monster Arena system had been introduced. The promise of earning part of the profits as gems had been enticing, but the results were disappointing.

“Tsk.”

The Monster Arena’s system was simple. You bet gold coins on the challenger you thought would win. If your chosen challenger emerged victorious, your earnings would increase according to the odds. Since I had set the rules myself, there was no room for cheating in the process.

The problem wasn’t the rules but the behavior of the monsters. It was as if the matches were rigged; every challenger I bet on ended up dying without putting up a fight. This was especially suspicious since I always bet on challengers with high survival chances.

“Hah… This is strange. Something’s wrong.”

Maybe I was just unlucky. Since the arena had opened, not once had my bets hit the mark.

Especially on the opening day of the arena, I had bet on a silver-ranked adventurer.

– Bayden: A silver-ranked adventurer with extensive experience in monster hunting. He joined the arena to escape his debts. –

– Cale: A teenage boy who barely made a living doing odd jobs. –

The other challengers were either ordinary people who couldn’t handle weapons properly or young teenagers. Surely, an adventurer would be much stronger than such opponents. Confidently, he placed my bet on Bayden.

– The final winner is ‘Cale’! –

The boy, who seemed most likely to die first, survived until the end. The funny thing was that the goblins seemed to avoid attacking Cale specifically. It was an absurd situation.

Moreover, the same thing happened in the next match and the one after that. The promising challengers all died, while those who seemed unlikely to survive became the winners. Up until now, he had never seen his chosen challenger win.

“So, it’s not just a simple game?”

Even though I watched the matches through my smartphone screen, the world beyond was real. Perhaps analyzing the challengers’ backgrounds alone wasn’t enough. My pride was starting to take a hit.

‘What exactly should I be looking at to place a winning bet?’

Were there even people making money from this?

I meticulously read through the profiles of the next challengers, deep in thought. Just then, an alarm went off.

– Congratulations! ‘Kazel von Rosenberg’ has become the first human to voluntarily pledge loyalty. –

“What?”

What was this about? Someone had voluntarily pledged loyalty to the dungeon?

– As a reward, you can enhance ‘Kazel von Rosenberg,’ who has pledged loyalty. –

Not only that, but I could also enhance a human. This unexpected news wasn’t bad at all.

‘This means I have more cards to play, right?’

If there were more talented individuals like Kazel von Rosenberg, the recent Sael Kingdom incident might have been handled more smoothly. Enhancing and utilizing humans, in addition to monsters, would be highly beneficial for future endeavors. I was quite satisfied with this reward.

However, the next alert was rather surprising.

– Baalzerith has visited Lee Kang-hyun’s dungeon. –

What was this about?

‘Baalzerith.’

That name was unforgettable. Baalzerith was the first 5-star monster I had drawn during the Manager selection. But Baalzerith had rejected mu offer. Why was Baalzerith visiting my dungeon now?

This was no time to worry about the Monster Arena.

‘Something must be happening.’

I quickly closed the notification window and looked at the dungeon.

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Riche.

That was the alias Baalzerith used to conceal her identity. Once, she had been a powerful figure, inheriting the blood of the Vampire King and commanding numerous subordinates. But everything was lost in a surprise attack by the White Order.

The vampire dungeons under her control were destroyed, and her followers were either killed or scattered. In an attempt to resolve the situation, she incurred a massive debt to the Demon Merchant Association, but failing to repay it, she became a fugitive.

Eventually, after losing everything, she wandered until she reached the Sael Kingdom. Her only hope was to find the owner of the voice that had once called out to her. She suspected that the owner of that voice was somewhere in the Sael Kingdom, which led her here.

“Do we really have to go up there?” Baalzerith asked, alarmed, as she looked at Dambi and Lils. They were adventurers who had helped her in her time of need. Of course, they only appeared to be adventurers; in reality, they were monsters. Dambi, in particular, was a vampire like herself, despite having mixed blood, so she felt she could trust him.

But the place before them was the Silent Mountain Range. Beyond it lay the Demon World, which wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the Demon Merchant Association likely had forces stationed throughout the mountains to capture her for her debts.

“Don’t worry, Riche. Our master’s dungeon is here,” Lils reassured her, and Dambi nodded in agreement. Despite her concerns about the Association, Baalzerith finally took a step forward when Dambi, a fellow vampire, nodded.

“Fine… I’ll go up for now.”

Originally, she had planned to head to the royal capital, but without any concrete plans, she needed a place to stay. She decided to stay at Dambi and Lils’ dungeon for a few days.

‘It might not be as grand as my dungeon once was, but I have no choice.’

Once the proud owner of a magnificent dungeon, Baalzerith had lost everything when the management rights of her dungeon were transferred to the Association. Now, she was grateful for any place to stay, no matter how insignificant it seemed.

“Grr?”

All she had left was her stew slime. Holding it close, she followed Dambi and Lils up the mountain. Even if the Association’s agents appeared, Baalzerith had the strength to deal with them.

They climbed for a while until a vast forest spread out before them. She sensed something within the forest.

“……!”

“Grr?”

Could it be agents sent by the Association? Baalzerith held her stew slime tightly, ready to defend herself.

“Grr, you’ve arrived.”

A goblin sprang forth. The problem was, it wasn’t alone. Behind the initial goblins, a multitude of others emerged. What stood out the most was their equipment.

‘Are those really goblins?’

The goblins Baalzerith knew were low-level monsters, clad in ragged clothes and wielding rusty weapons. But these goblins were different. They wore high-quality leather armor and carried finely crafted weapons.

“What’s going on? It seems like there are more scouts than usual,” Dambi remarked, observing the goblins. The number of scouts was unusually high.

“Grr, we’re here to catch a monster! It’s the General Manager’s order! Grr. But who is this person?” the lead goblin asked, pointing at Baalzerith.

“Oh, I apologize for the late introduction. This is Riche. She has nowhere to go, so we’re seeking permission for her to stay here for a while,” Lils explained.

“I see.”

The goblins nodded at Lils’ explanation. Losing interest, they retreated back into the forest, maintaining their combat readiness.

“Wow, impressive…!”

Baalzerith exclaimed, amazed by the goblins’ disciplined demeanor. The number and quality of their equipment indicated that this was a well-maintained dungeon. She assumed it was a goblin dungeon.

She was curious how Dambi and Lils ended up living in a goblin dungeon, but she was impressed by the goblins’ combat readiness. It suggested that the dungeon’s master took defense seriously, more meticulously than she had in the past.

“But is it really okay for me to stay here? It looks like you’re preparing for a battle,” she pondered, recalling the goblin’s words about catching a monster. The situation seemed urgent, and she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for her to stay in a dungeon she didn’t belong to.

Lils waved her concern away.

“Don’t worry, Riche. You don’t need to concern yourself with that.”

Baalzerith nodded. She noticed that both the goblins and Dambi and Lils were extremely loyal to the dungeon.

There was a palpable confidence that their dungeon would never be breached.

“I-I see!”

By now, Baalzerith was slightly curious. Who exactly was the monster they were trying to capture? Whoever it was, they were probably in a situation similar to hers, being chased by the Association.

‘Poor soul,’ she thought, feeling a sense of camaraderie with the unknown target.

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After passing the goblin scouts, they finally arrived at the dungeon entrance.

“Huh? Is this really a dungeon? I don’t feel any energy at all,” Baalzerith remarked. Having lived for so long, she prided herself on her knowledge of dungeons. Typically, dungeons exuded a dark and eerie aura. Even with varying degrees, she had never encountered a dungeon that emitted no energy at all. It looked like an ordinary, quiet, and peaceful cave.

“Surprisingly, this is it, Riche. Please follow us,” Lils said.

Baalzerith found herself surprised multiple times today. The ability to conceal a dungeon’s aura was remarkable. She followed Dambi and Lils into the dungeon.

Inside, the dungeon was unbelievably clean. The floors and walls were spotless, without a speck of dust. As they proceeded further, they came to a three-way fork. Without hesitation, Dambi took the central path.

‘The other paths must be traps,’ she thought. Having never been here before, she silently followed Dambi.

What she saw next left her speechless. The vast hall was filled with goblins of all kinds. Among them was a Goblin Lord, who seemed to be the leader.

“Could that be the dungeon master?” she wondered. The Goblin Lord was a 5-star monster, equal in rank to herself, so she assumed it must be the dungeon master. Moreover, the hall was teeming with goblins, goblin shamans, and hobgoblins, all diligently training with their weapons.

However, Dambi and Lils walked past the goblins without stopping.

“?”

Baalzerith, bewildered, continued to follow them. After passing the area filled with goblins, they entered the next zone, where a massive underground lake spread out before them.

“This is…”

She was so astonished that she could barely speak. A gigantic lake existing underground was beyond her imagination. Nearby, ghouls and humans were fervently working with shovels and pickaxes. Overseeing them was a formidable presence.

“Could it be that the Death Knight is the master of this place?”

A 5-star Death Knight was intently watching the humans. Yes, it must be the dungeon master, she thought. Though she didn’t understand why a Goblin Lord and a Death Knight coexisted, there must be a reason.

“What kind of dungeon do you live in…?”

Baalzerith muttered, awestruck by the scene before her. Even from what she had seen so far, she could gauge the dungeon’s immense scale and power. A dungeon of this magnitude might even make the Demon Merchant Association bow its head. The possibility of this dungeon falling seemed nonexistent, and even if it faced danger, the Association would likely step in to help.

“Wow…”

The current dungeon was beyond her wildest expectations. However, Dambi silently moved on to the next area.

“……?”

She noticed another passageway ahead. This time, it led downward. Lils spoke up.

“If you go down here, you’ll reach the second floor. The area we were just in was the first floor. Please be careful as you descend.”

As they descended, a completely different scene unfolded.

“Aaah! I’ve told you everything! Please stop!”

The air was filled with the sounds of agonizing screams. Ogres were relentlessly torturing humans.

“Won, should we stop now?”

“No, Won. The manager said to continue. This time, we’ll use water.”

“Good idea, Won. Water knows the truth.”

The ogre had two heads. Nearby, a water spirit was crying out.

“Bwee! Bwee!”

The ogre grabbed a human’s head and thrust it into the water spirit’s body.

The scene was so brutal that Baalzerith involuntarily shut her eyes tightly. What was the true nature of this dungeon?

‘A Goblin Lord and a Death Knight aren’t enough…’

It was a dungeon created by a gathering of various monsters. She was bewildered. Yet again, Dambi walked forward without a word.

‘Could there be more?’

She hurriedly followed, wanting to escape the gruesome sight. Finally, they reached the heart of the dungeon.

The core area was very quiet. The dungeon core was visible, guarded by robed figures on either side. As they walked further, she saw humans imprisoned in iron cages. Among them were three goblins that looked almost human.

Continuing on, she noticed skeleton knights standing still, waiting. Next to them, a human was busy flipping through documents, looking quite satisfied despite the hectic atmosphere.

At last, Dambi, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

“This is the office of the one who manages the dungeon.”

As Dambi said, it was an office, with the door firmly closed. Baalzerith stared at the office door, feeling tense. Judging by everything she had seen so far, she couldn’t even begin to imagine how powerful the dungeon master must be. What kind of being could command two 5-star entities?

A skeleton knight knocked on the office door. After a brief moment, the tightly closed door opened.