Dungeon Maker

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Yong-Ho opened his eyes. Instead of the white room of the Dungeon Market's Virtual Space, he saw walls and a ceiling made out of stone. It was the throne room.

The deal went off without a hitch. In fact, it was an extremely successful deal.

'Actually, it's not really a deal, it's more like debt.'

But, for now, it didn't matter. It was more important right now to quickly obtain results.

Yong-Ho smiled happily despite the unique fatigue that he would always feel after coming back from the Virtual Space. He quickly moved his finger in the air and created a window of light that displayed the map of the dungeon.

[Eligor is currently installing traps with the Goblins.]

[Catalina went hunting with the Kobold.]

[The Salamander and the Treant are currently guarding the entrance.]

The Spirit of the Dungeon listed the current situation with each of his spirits.

Yong-Ho waved his finger again and deactivated the map. When it disappeared, he saw Skull rolling around on the floor as usual.

[Catalina left without Skull so that he could protect you while you were accessing the Virtual Space.]

'I don't think that's how you protect me.'

But seeing Skull roll around like a stone on the road was pretty fitting for him.

"Skulllll."

Skull must've noticed Yong-Ho looking at him because he suddenly stood up while making creaking noises.

Skull's armor and war hammer had strengthening magic on them and he had a round spiked shield that had resistances to fire and lightning. On his waist, he possessed a sword as a backup.

And lastly, although it wasn't a magical item, he now wore a sturdy helmet.

In a sense, Skull was now more armed than anyone else in the Mammon family.

Although he stood up from the floor, he didn't approach Yong-Ho. He just stood there with a blank expression.

'All undead monsters have past lives. Since they were created from bodies of the dead.'

Yong-Ho suddenly recalled Eligor's words and observed Skull while touching his chin.

What was Skull's past life like?

He was certain that he was a human, given his frame. He definitely wouldn't have been a small monster like a Goblin or Kobold.

'Maybe he was a general or a renowned warrior in his past life.'

Among the lower-ranked spirits, Skull had made significant contributions to the dungeon since Yong-Ho had bought him as a skeleton worker. He even saved Yong-Ho's life by throwing a large axe, during their battle with the Orcs.

After Yong-Ho evolved Skull into a Skeleton Warrior, he was now moving a lot more agilely in combat, so there was a real possibility that he may have learned martial arts in his past life.

'Nah.'

Yong-Ho shook his head. It was quite a pleasant thought, but it wasn't realistic.

Undead monsters were quite 'fixed' beings. Once they were created a certain way, that was it. They couldn't become weaker nor grow.

Undead monsters, even of the same kind, differed significantly depending on how their bodies were made.

If Skull really was a famous general or a renowned warrior, then there was little chance he would be revived as just a 'worker', unless of course, the one that revived him had significant brain damage.

Creating a Death Knight, no, at least an undead soldier like a Skeleton Knight was far more profitable.

Perhaps he was a nameless soldier. Or just an ordinary person.

It was fine in any case. Regardless, he now considered Skull as one of the aces within the dungeon and unlike the other undead monsters, he was going to continue to grow.

"You're going to be with me until the end. Skull."

Yong-Ho spoke with a smile. Skull turned his head and looked at him. However, instead of reacting, he just blankly stared.

"Hmm."

Embarrassed, Yong-Ho slightly coughed and straightened his posture. If it were other dungeon owners they may have yelled at him, saying that it was rude, but Yong-Ho wasn't like that. Since that was just typical Skull.

'Come to think about it.'

Yong-Ho suddenly raised his head up and looked at Skull.

If they were going to be together until the end. And if he was going to keep evolving him.

'Wouldn't it be better to make him an official dungeon spirit?'

The owner and the spirits of the dungeon were connected as one.

If the owner became stronger, so would the spirits and if the spirits grew, then so would the owner.

In the case of Catalina, the effect was self-evident. The reason why Catalina was able to become this strong in a short period of time was not just because the Power of Evolution was so powerful, but because Yong-Ho himself had grown as much as her.

Yong-Ho waved his finger in the air again and asked the Spirit of the Dungeon.

"Is there some kind of restriction when it comes to increasing the number of permanent dungeon spirits?"

[Official dungeon spirits are connected to the owner of the dungeon. Therefore, the stronger the owner, the more official spirits they can have under their command.]

[According to the information provided by the Dungeon Market, owners in the southern region usually have three to five official spirits.]

[Selecting an official dungeon spirit requires extreme caution. You'll have to pay a great price to transform an official spirit back into a regular one.]

"A great price?"

[The most common case is that owners lose a part of their mana. And sometimes the mana lost can be greater than the mana they gained from the official spirit in the first place.]

If owners lost a lot more than what they gained, then it was certainly a great price.

Yong-Ho touched his chin and asked.

"What happens if the owner or an official spirit dies? Will the death of one affect the other?"

[There's a high possibility that they would lose some of their mana. Furthermore, it could have a serious psychological impact as well.]

[Dungeon spirits are like the limbs of the owner. No matter the strength of the personal relationship between them, they still can't help but feel a sense of great loss from the other's death.]

Catalina and Eligor were spirits of the House of Mammon before Yong-Ho became the owner. That meant that they too must have felt a deep sense of loss from the death of the former owner.

'They said it's roughly been about a year.'

Yong-Ho briefly thought about Catalina and Eligor's death. Even though it was just in his imagination, he didn't think about it for long. It would be a terrible situation to be in.

Yong-Ho drove off the unpleasant thought by shaking his head and then focused back on Skull. He asked the Spirit of the Dungeon.

"Is it possible to make Skull an official dungeon spirit?"

[Currently, you're able to have four official spirits under your command. So, it's possible to transform Skull into an official spirit of the dungeon. But…]

"But?"

[There are very few cases where owners have made undead monsters, on a Skeleton Warrior's level, an official dungeon spirit.]

He thought he knew the reason why.

There was a limited number of spirits that owners could officially assign to their dungeon.

Even without the Power of Evolution, most spirits were able to "grow." They could get stronger through training.

However, that was impossible for Undead monsters. Their existence was 'fixed'.

Which would be more efficient: spirits that couldn't grow or spirits that could?

Furthermore, a Skeleton Warrior wasn't a high-ranking Undead. He felt that he was slightly tormenting himself by thinking it, but Skull was only just a bit better than a weak soldier.

Out of all the owners within the demon world, it was probably quite difficult to find an owner that made a Skeleton Warrior an official spirit.

But, that didn't matter.

Because Yong-Ho had the Power of Evolution.

Even though Skull was just a Skeleton Warrior for now, Yong-Ho was sure that he would become a high-ranking spirit in the future.

"Skuuuull."

Skull, who had been staying quiet, suddenly spoke up. In response to Skull's reaction, as if he had been reading Yong-Ho's mind, Yong-Ho made his final decision. He spoke to the Spirit of the Dungeon.

"Okay, please start the procedure for registering Skull as an official spirit."

[We'll have to use your remaining mana. Will that be okay?]

[The courier from the Dungeon Market won't be here until tomorrow.]

Of course, it would be a disaster if an enemy invaded during this perilous time, but the chance of that happening was quite low.

[Understood. I'll begin the process of registering Skull as an official spirit of the dungeon now. Please close your eyes and relax your body.]

Yong-Ho followed the Spirit of the Dungeon's advice and sat down on the throne. He looked at Skull one last time before closing his eyes.

"Skullllllll."

He still had a blank expression, but he had a trustworthy voice.

Yong-Ho closed his eyes. Skull's registration process had begun.

***

A day passed.

Before noon, the courier from the Dungeon Market visited the dungeon.

Yong-Ho was waiting at the entrance alongside Catalina and Eligor. The courier handed Yong-Ho the weapons and the four bottles of mana potion.

A letter was included inside the small box, along with the potions. It was a handwritten letter from Sitri.

Dear Valuable Customer,

The amount of mana that can be recovered is greater than the amount you, Chun Yong-Ho, currently possess...

But, please don't just drink half of a bottle.

The entire bottle is 'quantized', which basically means that if you only drink half of the bottle, it won't work properly.

Furthermore, I've also added a small additional effect to the potions. Though it's a secret, I'm sure it'll help you.

Please think of it as a surprise gift.

That explanation took longer than I expected.

I wish you the best of luck, valuable customer.

The House of Mammon and valuable customer's faithful friend, Sitri.

P.S. For your information, I'm not in charge of the House of Mammon.

Yong-Ho felt like he could physically hear Sitri's seductive voice just from her neat handwriting.

Because of that, Yong-Ho tried his best to stay alert.

'Let's not act foolishly.'

He felt sorry for having these kinds of thoughts towards someone that showed him a lot of kindness, but he still felt that Sitri was a dangerous figure. She was extremely beautiful and charming. It was best to avoid falling for her.

'But still.'

Her little 'P.S' note at the end was cute, which caused him to smile a bit. He then spoke to Catalina, who was glancing at him while he was reading.

"How's your condition?"

Surprised by Yong-Ho's sudden question, Catalina was flustered for a moment, but she soon answered as the cold-hearted female soldier that he had thought she had given up on.

"It's the best."

Her tail was wagging behind her, so it must have been true. Another answer came from elsewhere.

"Skullllll."

Skull, who had become stronger after becoming an official spirit, stood next to Catalina and jostled his head. Yong-Ho felt that his movements had become a bit smoother.

At Skull's intrusion, Catalina slightly bit her lips. Catalina was acting strangely sulky after finding out that Skull had become an official spirit, just like her.

'Is she jealous?'

Now that he thought about it, Catalina now thought of Skull as her rival ever since they were at the armory.

But it wasn't anything for him to worry about, and rather, it was actually a good thing for Catalina since that rivalry could help motivate her to improve.

Yong-Ho lastly looked at Eligor, who was currently standing next to the Goblin Rangers.

"Eligor, I'll let you take care of the rest."

"I'll wait for your return after your success."

Yong-Ho decided that Eligor, the Goblin Rangers, and the Treant should not participate in retaking the gold mine. Taking them would certainly be helpful, but they had different tasks they needed to take care of.

Yong-Ho spoke jokingly.

"I'll get to evolving once I come back."

"I'll look forward to it."

Eligor answered excitedly. The Goblin Rangers and the Treant also expressed their respect towards Yong-Ho and cheered for his victory.

It was still a little early.

Yong-Ho started warming up. After placing the mana potion he got from Sitri into his belt, he walked to the inner part of the dungeon.

Catalina, Skull, and the Salamander followed him.

It was a few days until the expected date of the attack by Foras.

Yong-Ho began the operation to retake the gold mine.