Dungeon Maker

As usual, a beautiful red-haired woman stood in the middle of the white space.

Yong-Ho was worried that there may have been another employee standing there or a dealer that couldn't talk. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Right now, Yong-Ho needed someone he could negotiate with.

Sitri, who was a core member of the Dungeon Market, bowed lightly with a bright smile. She softly spoke, while emanating her beauty, as if she was uttering a whisper.

"It's nice to see you again, valuable customer."

"Nice to see you again too."

Yong-Ho purposely answered in a leisurely manner and took a deep breath. Whether it was due to living with Catalina for so long or because the situation was urgent, but facing Sitri wasn't as uncomfortable as before.

Yong-Ho approached Sitri. After stopping a moderate distance away, he spoke jokingly.

"At this point, I'm sure it's safe to assume that you're fully responsible for the House of Mammon, right?"

"It just so happens that I have spare time whenever you visit. In your world, perhaps you would call this fate, right?"

Sitri answered with ease this time as well. As expected, she was definitely dangerous. Even just the slightest gesture or word had the power to put one in a daze.

Instead of continuing to joke, Yong-Ho looked straight into Sitri's eyes. All he did was look into her eyes, yet it felt like he was being bewitched. Perhaps Sitri was a Succubus?

Sitri smiled again.

"Valuable customer. What kind of deal do you want to do today? Are you here to purchase another spirit? Or perhaps daily necessities like food? The Dungeon Market also provides equipment to install new traps."

However, Yong-Ho wasn't here for any of those. Yong-Ho took his time in answering.

"I would like to sell something before purchasing."

"Are you speaking of the items from the House of Mammon?"

"Yes, they're ordinary weapons."

After answering, Yong-Ho waved his finger in the air. It was the same method he used while in the dungeon, which caused a window of light to appear in the air.

Just like a shopping catalog, the window of light was divided into multiple parts, with each section indicating a different weapon.

They were the weapons from the armory that were sitting on the magic circle in the throne room.

"The weapons are of high quality. Let's take a look."

As Sitri extended her hand out towards the window, some of the listed weapons suddenly materialized. Sitri gently grabbed the axe by the handle that was partly jutting out of the window and pulled it out as if she was unsheathing a sword.

It seemed that Sitri's slender arm would find it difficult wielding such a large battle axe

However, she twirled the battle axe around as if it were a mere toy. She raised it up to her face and examined the axe with narrow eyes. She spoke in a slightly bitter tone.

"Kaiwan."

Sitri's gaze rested on Kaiwan's insignia of the wolf devouring the moon.

Yong-Ho asked without thinking.

"Did you know her?"

Instead of answering right away, Sitri stayed quiet for a moment. After stretching out the axe by the edge of the handle, she spoke while looking afar, as if she was trying to remember something important.

"She was a fierce and cute child. She didn't like losing to anyone and acted like she was strong. However, she was quite a lonely child. In your world, I would compare her to… right, she was like a wild cat."

After she finished talking, a light smile appeared on her face. It was soft and gentle like usual, but there was a hint of sadness mixed within.

A wild cat.

A witch with grey hair and a vicious expression.

Did Sitri work with the House of Mammon when Kaiwan was the owner three generations ago? Was she perhaps in charge of the House of Mammon during that time?

He was curious, but he didn't ask.

Rather, Yong-Ho noted the words that Sitri used to describe Kaiwan.

Fierce and cute.

Kaiwan was the master of the Mammon family decades ago. That also meant that Sitri too had been alive for at least a few decades.

Furthermore, Sitri described Kaiwan as a child.

'There are a number of high-ranked spirits that possess eternal youth.'

Catalina's words suddenly came to his mind. Then was Sitri really an elite figure in the demon world, like she had mentioned? Powerful enough to not age?

Sitri looked at Yong-Ho again. A relaxed expression appeared on her face as if she had shed all her previous emotions.

"These are all good weapons. However, they don't possess any mana. And… I'm not sure if you know, but the Dungeon Market is quite stingy when it comes to repurchased items. Yong-Ho, what are you planning on purchasing with the money you'll earn by selling these?"

Yong-Ho accepted Sitri's words as 'negotiating' rather than 'meddling'.

Therefore, he decided to be honest with his answer.

"I want something like a potion that can recover mana in a short period of time."

Mana potions always appear in RPGs.

Currently, Yong-Ho had the strongest firepower in the Mammon family. Aamon, however, consumed a large amount of mana. In order to go against tens, maybe hundreds of Crazy Ants, he had to increase the number of times he could effectively use Aamon.

"You're referring to a mana potion."

Sitri lightly crossed her arms. As if he had suddenly gained her interest, she spoke while looking directly into his eyes.

"Mana potions aren't very useful to powerful demons. Since there's a limit to how much mana the potion can restore. However, since you're still growing, it might just be the perfect item for you."

Yong-Ho had already confirmed the existence of mana potions and their limitations from Catalina and Eligor.

What mattered right now was how many mana potions could be bought with the money he earned by selling weapons.

Sitri took out a small glass bottle from between her cleavage, just like before. The glass bottle was around the size of a pinky finger and was filled with blue liquid.

"I'm sure you already know, but… mana potions are very expensive. Mana is the most important substance in existence to us demons. Even though it's not very useful to high-ranked demons… not all demons in the demon world are powerful. Every owner in the empty southern region would be anxious to obtain just one more mana potion. The demand is far higher than the supply."

It wasn't a good sign. Sitri continued to talk after slightly tilting her head.

"This one bottle will be enough to recover all of your mana at once. And the reality is that you won't be able to purchase even a single bottle with all of the twenty ordinary weapons that you brought to sell."

While speaking, Sitri looked into his eyes. Yong-Ho returned her gaze.

If she wanted him to emit that he lacked the money to afford it, then she had no reason to act so nobly about it. Just as Yong-Ho had earlier assumed, Sitri was leaving room for 'negotiation'.

"However, this is just between you and me. I'll be a bit flexible about it."

That was the reaction that Yong-Ho was waiting for. However, the words that followed somewhat caught him off-guard.

"So, please tell me."

"Tell you?"

"Yes, tell me why you need the mana potion. What the Mammon family is going through right now. If you're honest with me, then I'll give you three, no, four bottles of mana. That's quite a fair deal, don't you think?"

Sitri wore a bright smile upon her face. Her beautiful smile seemed bright and transparent causing Yong-Ho to immediately think that she had no ulterior motives.

However, because of that, Yong-Ho was quite wary of her.

She was definitely showing kindness towards Yong-Ho and the House of Mammon. But, why? What was the reason behind her kindness? Why did she want to know what was happening in the House of Mammon?

At first, he thought maybe she might be a 'supporter' of the House of Mammon. It seemed quite possible given that she was acting about how she knew Kaiwan very well.

But, nothing was certain. There was nothing more dangerous than hasty speculations and gratuitous expectations.

Still, Yong-Ho had to continue taking advantage of the peculiar relationship that he had with Sitri.

In the first place, his plan to recapture the gold mine and prepare for the sudden battle was partially based on Sitri's goodwill.

Yong-Ho closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He made up his mind. He concisely told Sitri what had happened in the recent days.

He didn't tell any lies. Sitri already knew that he was a half-human and half-demon anyway and that he possessed the power of Greed. It was only counterproductive to lie to her.

After hearing Yong-Ho's story, Sitri expressed her emotions in a simple tone.

"Interesting."

She smiled. She appeared to look at Yong-Ho with a hint of admiration. Yong-Ho could her true feelings emanate through her bright red eyes and knew that he had seen them once before.

"In your situation, wouldn't most think about giving up or running away?"

But Yong-Ho did not. Instead of ordinarily focusing on defense, he had explained that this was the time to recapture the gold mine.

Yong-Ho also had somewhat of a blank expression after hearing Sitri's words. The reason was simple.

Before hearing it from Sitri, he had never even thought about running away.

Sitri read Yong-Ho's dumbfounded expression. Her smile became brighter. Though it was quiet, even she, made a slight sound when she smiled.

"It must be true. You're definitely a greedy owner. That's a compliment you know."

Yong-Ho didn't know how to respond. Fortunately, Sitri quickly dispelled any embarrassment he felt. She then took out three more bottles of mana potion from her cleavage.

"Deals should always be kept honest. I'll send someone today to collect the weapons from the House of Mammon and deliver the potions. I shall wish Chun Yong-Ho a good victory from afar."

After she finished talking, Sitri extended her hand to Yong-Ho. It was a symbolic gesture that meant that the deal had been completed successfully.

Yong-Ho took her hand. He lightly shook her hand, that felt so soft that he feared it would melt away, and briefly expressed his gratitude. Instead of saying any more unnecessary pleasantries, he immediately disconnected from the Virtual Space.

Yong-Ho's presence disappeared from the Virtual Space like a character logging out from an online game. Sitri was now the only one left in the white room.

She quietly looked at the spot that Yong-Ho was previously standing in. Her eyes saw something else instead of the ground. She whispered in a quiet voice.

"Aamon. Sometimes I feel like you're lazier than I am… did you find him? Or did he call out for you?"

There was no answer. But Sitri was satisfied. With a calm face, she looked up at the white sky without a breath of wind.

Sitri's eyes once again saw something else instead of the sky.

There was something beyond.

A person that remained in Sitri's memories.

Sitri didn't say the name. But like always, she closed her eyes and lied down on top of her white bed.