Dungeon Maker

The sky and the earth were filled with darkness. It was the complete opposite of the virtual space of the Dungeon Market, which was all white.

Black. Darkness. All light was blocked out, so nothing was visible within the space.

No sound could be heard. Only heavy silence filled the room.

It was an extremely special space. Those who entered the space had all of their five senses blocked.

They couldn't see, hear or touch.

If they could endure long solitude, they could deeply appreciate being alone in this place.

Unfortunately, most living beings had difficulty in doing that. And not even Sitri, who was someone that could endure it, didn't like to stay in this room for long.

Sitri enjoyed the texture of a soft sun-dried blanket. She liked the natural warmth of a person's body and loved the sound of nature that tickled her ears. She felt happy when the occasional wind blew against her skin.

But still, Sitri sometimes came to this room. There were times when she would come in here and think about her memories of the past.

The demon world's history was long.

Many citizens of the demon world didn't even know the history of the Dungeon Market, nor how old the dungeon world was. In fact, there weren't that many that were actually interested in it.

However, there was one truth that the residents of the demon world did know.

The absolute ruler of the demon world.

A great being that only the description, Demon God, would be able to describe them.

That kind of figure had existed. Though not now, but they certainly existed in the past.

Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Miracles.

There were the fourteen powers of the demon world and they were known as the 'Seven Deadly Sins' and the 'Seven Miracles of Kings.'

The figure that gathered all of them would become an absolute being. They would be reborn as the true king of the demon world.

It was an old legend.

Among the demons, there were those that were born with the power of the Seven Deadly Sins.

They reigned over the other kings, using the power of the sins as the root of their power and by seizing territory in the demon world, they would establish their own kingdom.

It was only natural that the demons who possessed the power of the Seven Deadly Sins would also obtain the powers of the Seven Miracles.

Demon kings with the power of the sins had always waged wars. Sometimes, there were kings that only possessed one of the Seven Miracles and yet war did not evade them.

An absolute ruler did not appear.

No one was able to gather the Seven Deadly Sins together and none could combine the Seven Miracles into one.

But, there was one that was close.

The King of Greed, Mammon.

Throughout the long history of the demon world, it was he who had become one of the most powerful forces the land had ever seen.

Out of the Seven Deadly Sins, Mammon had collected three. And, out of the Seven Miracles, he had obtained four.

He was able to reign over a quarter of the demon world and ruled over a hundred dungeons.

The strongest being in the demon world.

But in the end, he too could not rise up to become the absolute ruler.

Mammon had suddenly died and the kingdoms that were under him crumbled down like sandcastles from the invading forces of the other kings.

The Greed's Labyrinth was Mammon's true home and the biggest dungeon, but the other kings destroyed it.

The other kings ended up with the four superhuman powers that he had acquired and the power of Greed all but disappeared from the demon world.

Mammon's forces quickly collapsed.

There were twelve spirits that followed him, commonly named 'Mammon's spirits' and many of them were killed. Those that survived hid themselves from the world.

The dungeons that Mammon reigned over too fell into the hands of others. The kings divided Mammon's land and claimed it as their own, but before they could divide the spoils, a new war started amongst them.

The next King of Greed, a direct descendant of Mammon, took over and survived thanks to the new war among the other kings. However, they didn't obtain the power of Greed. Moreover, the four Seven Miracles that Mammon possessed had been taken.

The power of greed never appeared again to the future generations. The House of Mammon slowly fell and almost all of the dungeons and spirits were lost. The only thing that was left within the House of Mammon was an old, rusty dungeon that Mammon himself had built. Out of all the dungeons that had been recorded in the demon world's history, Mammon's dungeon was considered in the top ten.

It was very interesting.

The House of Mammon had collapsed and yet the only reason they could survive was due to this very dungeon.

Greed, one the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Mammon family, which now no longer had any of the Seven Miracles, were no longer in the eyes of the other demon kings.

To the other kings, the House of Mammon was nothing more than a small and useless family, destined for destruction.

'That's what everyone's thinking.'

A light smile appeared on Sitri's face. She opened her eyes in the darkness. She couldn't see anything, but it didn't bother her.

Currently, there were six kings that reigned over the demon world.

Five kings, each with the power of the Seven Deadly Sins and one of the Seven Miracles and one king that although didn't possess one of the Seven Deadly Sins, did have a Seven Miracle.

The five kings were Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Lust.

And one other king was Violence.

The Queen of Sloth had the power of the Seven Deadly Sins as well as one of the Seven Miracles, but she hadn't created a military force. Just like her title, she hid within the shadows and did nothing.

That was why there were six kings that reigned over the demon world.

Six forces.

None of the kings knew. No one knew the truth.

It wasn't that they didn't know a new demon king had appeared that possessed Greed's power.

It was something else.

Something more important than that.

Sitri hugged herself. She couldn't feel anything since the room blocked off all senses.

Warmth didn't exist either.

But regardless, Sitri hugged herself. She thought of the present while reminiscing about the past.

Chun Yong-Ho, the King of Evolution, possessed Greed's power.

When would he visit again? Would he be able to achieve Mammon's glory?

Sitri closed her eyes again. She escaped the present and immersed herself into her bittersweet memories.

A long time ago.

She went back to the time when Mammon, the King of Greed, was still alive and well.

***

It wasn't always great to wake up from a deep sleep.

He would feel either light-headedness or pain as soon as he woke up.

'How…?'

With a dazed expression, Yong-Ho blinked his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling and tried to swallow his dry spit. He couldn't seem to finish his thought about how he had been waking up like this pretty often lately.

He was thirsty. In addition, because of the sleep in his eyes, his eyes were hurting.

"Hm."

He unconsciously let out a groan when he tried to sit up. He wasn't sure how long he had been in bed, but his back and waist were in pain.

He turned his head. He saw Catalina next to him.

It wasn't a situation where they were in bed lying naked next to each other. Rather, Catalina was instead crouched beside the bed and had fallen asleep with her head leaning against it.

Yong-Ho looked at Catalina for a moment and then looked around the room once again. He was looking for the water jug. And that's when.

"Woo-ah?"

With an odd sound, Catalina quickly raised her head. He wasn't sure whether she was having a nightmare or if she woke up from Yong-Ho's groan, but she was like a student that had suddenly woken up while falling asleep in class.

"Hi."

"I-I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't sleeping."

Catalina instinctively replied when Yong-Ho greeted her. And then became flustered again, after hearing her reply.

There was no need to see her fluttering ears or her wagging tail. Seeing the trace of saliva along her lips was already enough.

Yong-Ho changed the subject for her.

"How long have I been out for?"

He remembered killing the Queen Ant and recapturing the gold mine.

Now that she had fully woken up, Catalina answered while straightening out her posture.

"It's been two days."

"Right, two...two days?!"

[Exactly 46 hours.]

[I believe it's because of the side effect of the mana potion.]

The Spirit of the Dungeon gave an explanation right on time. Yong-Ho took a deep breath to calm his embarrassment.

A side effect of the mana potion.

When he thought about it, it was reasonable. Not only did the potion recovered his mana, but it also strengthened it.

It was normal for his body to be exhausted since he had drank the mana potion several times whenever his mana ran out.

But still, two days?

"You don't have to worry. The dungeon has been peaceful during the past two days."

Catalina said it with a smile, but Yong-Ho couldn't smile in response.

The fact that he was talking with Catalina right now was proof that the dungeon wasn't under attack during the past two days.

The only thing Yong-Ho had an issue with was the fact that he wasted time.

Two days.

It meant that it had been four days since they had brought down the Orcs that invaded the dungeon.

He didn't have that much time left. He needed time to purchase various items from the Dungeon Market, by using the gold mine as collateral, and then build traps and facilities using those items.

Yong-Ho tightly closed his eyes.

He couldn't erase the fact that he had wasted time, but it already happened. Like always, Yong-Ho tried his best to think positively.

"What about the remaining Crazy Ants that were in the mine?"

"They ran away. The Salamander burned all the eggs."

[Dungeon Facility: The gold mine is now under your control, master.]

[Gold is now being produced again, albeit at a slow pace.]

The issue with the gold mine had been completely resolved.

But, he couldn't immediately move to the next step. It was because there was something he suddenly thought of.

"And Aamon?"

"Master"

"Aamon… is he currently in the gold mine?"

The Red Lotus Demon Lance, Aamon.

The legend says that anyone, other than the owner, that touches Aamon will burn to death.

He didn't check to see if it was true, but he was sure that he was the only one that could touch Aamon.

Catalina answered with an awkward expression after hearing his question.

"We...did retrieve Aamon."

"Huh? Really? There weren't any issues even though I wasn't the one touching it?"

Was the legend a lie?

'No. Is it better to think that Aamon allowed it?'

Yong-Ho looked at Catalina with curiosity. Either Catalina was intimidated by his attention or she wasn't sure how to answer, but a puzzling look appeared on her face.

"Well, you see…"

"Yeah?"

Catalina bit her lower lip and then fixed her posture. She looked straight at Yong-Ho and answered.

"Eligor separated the Queen Ant's body and brought the upper body back to the throne room. When they arrived, Sir Aamon... burned the Queen Ant's corpse all by himself. He's currently resting next to the throne."

Since they couldn't touch Aamon, they had instead brought the Queen Ant's corpse.

It was a good solution, but he couldn't simply admire it. He had an idea why Catalina had the expression that she had now.

"Oh…okay."

"Yes."

For a moment, things became slightly awkward between the demon king and his guard, so they remained quiet for a moment. As the owner and spirit, just by exchanging eye contact, they shared their thoughts of Eligor.

And then a few seconds later. Yong-Ho purposely let out a cough to wrap up the conversation and changed the subject.

"Where's the Princess Ant?"

"She's currently residing in the prison cell."

Yong-Ho's eyes became thin again.

"Eligor didn't torture her, right?"

"Um...probably not. M-maybe."

Catalina spoke as if she was a little unsure and a frown appeared on Yong-Ho's face due to his unease. He stood up from the bed and spoke.

"I'm going to the prison cell to examine the Princess Ant. Catalina, find Eligor and bring him to the prison."

"Yes, Master."

She answered right away and exited the bedroom. Yong-Ho drank the water right out of the water jug and poured the remaining on his face to somewhat give it a wash.

He quickly headed towards the prison cell.

***

Eligor and the Goblins were busy with construction work. While the Salamander, Skull, and the Treant were currently guarding the entrance, so Yong-Ho didn't meet anyone between the prison and his bedroom.

However, since it was a prison, there was one spirit that acted as the ward.

"Woof, woof."

As soon as he arrived, the Kobold that was crouched in the corner quickly stood up. He must've been playing some sort of game because pebbles were rolling around his feet.

Yong-Ho acknowledged him by waving his hand and then entered the prison. The bars were made from the leftover bamboo from the bamboo spears and beyond the bars, he saw the Princess Ant.

The Princess Ant looked like a little girl and seeing her curled up in the corner made him feel bad.

She seemed extremely tired because she was currently sleeping in a motionless state. A frown appeared on Yong-Ho's face.

He didn't really know how the Crazy Ants lived, so he wasn't so sure if this kind of treatment was okay, but in the human world, this would be considered a terrible treatment.

Her kingdom had collapsed within a day, her mother had almost eaten her and her sister had been eaten by the Queen Ant and died.

[Crazy Ants have little self-awareness except for the Queen Ant who controls the colony. The Queen Ant thinks of those ants as nothing more than their hands and feet.]

[The Princess Ants are no exception. Because of that, the Queen Ant just used the Princess Ant as a means to recover her mana.]

[Other than the fact that she was scared of being eaten, the Princess Ant in the cell doesn't remember much.]

As if she understood what was on Yong-Ho's mind, the Spirit of the Dungeon spoke softly to him.

Yong-Ho nodded his head. In the first place, the one that had subdued the Crazy Ants was Yong-Ho himself.

It was an unfortunate situation, but there was no need for him to dwell on it.

"Can we try registering her as a dungeon spirit now?"

[It's possible, but I think it's still too early.]

[In order to register a dungeon monster as a dungeon spirit, then there is a need for them to submit. Currently, the Princess Ant is half unconscious, so it's not impossible for us to forcefully register her as long as we use an overwhelming amount of mana, but it's likely to be extremely inefficient.]

[I believe it would be more efficient to try to register her as a dungeon spirit after keeping her in the cell for a few more days.]

It was unfortunate, but it was understandable.

His battle with Foras was getting closer, so he couldn't just waste his mana. Even if he did register the Princess Ant as a dungeon spirit, there was nothing he would gain from it, so it was the right choice to wait for the time being.

But, he wasn't planning on just neglecting her completely. While keeping his eyes on the Princess Ant, he activated the Power of Evolution.