The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

Chapter 98: Guardian of the Hierarchy

The dungeon monsters keep offering sacrifices – 098

EP.98 Guardian of the Hierarchy

– A unique monster, the ‘Half Goblin’, has been born. –

“Born?”

It was an unfamiliar message alert.

The notification of acquiring a new monster had only occurred when I obtained it through gacha.

If it had been obtained through gacha, the alert would have shown that it was obtained, but this was the first time I saw an alert stating that it was born.

‘Even when Celia bought monsters separately at the auction, there was no alert.’

I touched the notification to confirm what was happening.

“A Half Goblin….”

How many had I been searching for?

I found three goblin babies.

The place was a prison in the center of the dungeon, where an adventurer was holding three goblin babies.

“So, this is what it was?”

The situation was quickly understood.

As expected, the Half Goblin was a monster born between an adventurer and a goblin.

I enlarged the screen using my fingers.

The goblin babies that appeared on the screen had a peculiar appearance different from regular goblins.

Their appearance, not quite like a full goblin, mixed with human features, was truly an unpleasant sight.

Their skin color, while similar to goblins, was more of a pale green than a complete green.

Their ears were closer to human ears than the pointed shape of goblin ears.

Apart from their pointed and elongated fingernails and toenails, they resembled human infants.

‘Come to think of it, they’re bigger than I expected.’

Half Goblins of a size that was hard to believe had just been born.

It felt like they had been born one or two years ago, if they were to be compared to humans.

“Such beings being born three at once….”

I looked at the adventurer taking care of the Half Goblins.

She was caring for them with a bright smile, a face I remembered from somewhere.

She must have been one of the adventurers who entered shortly after the dungeon was created.

‘But it seems like she’s lost her mind.’

The female adventurer was holding the Half Goblins as if they were her own babies.

If she were in her right mind, she wouldn’t behave like that.

A corner of my heart felt unnecessarily suspicious.

But that feeling didn’t last long.

“No, the dungeon must continue to evolve.”

For if the core of the dungeon is destroyed, I will lose my life too.

Therefore, it was natural to block those who invade my dungeon.

There would be no benefit to weakening here and now.

“I need more strength.”

The dungeon becoming stronger meant that my power was also strengthened.

I clenched my fists and looked back on my life so far.

How much disadvantage had I suffered due to lack of power?

Even now, it’s the same.

If I didn’t have this power, I would have died many times over by now.

At least I had the minimum power to protect myself.

But it’s not enough yet.

“This isn’t sufficient.”

The current world is truly hell.

Twenty-five years ago, Earth faced a significant change known as the Great Cataclysm.

Dungeons and monsters appearing everywhere destroyed humanity’s footholds.

At that time, people said humanity was heading towards extinction.

Fortunately, with the emergence of awakeners, humanity managed to maintain civilization until now, but it became a completely different system from the previous world.

A world of even more horrifying survival of the fittest.

Those with power became absolute rulers.

Otherwise, would statistics show more deaths among people killed by monsters than those killed by fellow humans?

Most lost their lives to those with strong power.

And even now, I don’t know when danger will strike.

‘Kim Soo-ho….’

As he is a dangerous fellow, he will appear again anytime.

Until then, it’s my task to strengthen myself as much as possible.

And the first step is managing the dungeon.

“No matter how much I intervene in the dungeon, I can’t manage everything.”

Originally, dungeons on the Eldorado continent are mainly managed by Celia.

In contrast, dungeons on Earth were managed by Azmo.

No matter how much I spend money to draw monsters and appoint subordinates, this fact does not change.

They even knew this part better than me.

It meant that they could handle the dungeon’s operation system and even minor details.

“Yeah, I can’t intervene in everything.”

Of course, if I leave it unattended, unexpected events like Azmo’s might occur.

But in a situation where I don’t know what butterfly effect excessive intervention might bring, I can’t give instructions one by one.

“This Half Goblin situation will likely be the same.”

As Celia, protecting the dungeon takes precedence.

So, it’s natural to create more monsters to protect the dungeon.

If I keep blocking everything, someday, the minions on the scene might start to resist.

And I won’t be able to give instructions every time that happens.

‘If I’m absent when a dangerous situation arises?’

“It can’t be helped.”

If you don’t want to die, don’t enter my dungeon in the first place.

In a situation where armed robbers enter my home, there are only two choices, I die or they die.

Such incidents are not uncommon even here on Earth.

There was no way to explain it except as pitiful, according to hunters who failed to subjugate dungeons.

There were also hunters who had fallen prey to monsters, just like that adventurer.

It wasn’t any different just because he was a male hunter.

News articles about hunters dying miserably inside dungeons were quite common.

I immediately flipped the screen to the other side.

‘By the way, it’s unusual.’

Changing the atmosphere, I harbored another question.

‘Why did the Half Goblin appear?’

I had spent four years at the Hunter Academy.

As befitting of the Hunter Academy, they teach about various monster characteristics there.

I learned that goblins, a species with a very low proportion of females, use females of other species for breeding.

It was said that goblins are born regardless of the species of the female.

However, the goblin born this time was not an ordinary goblin.

It had a appearance that seemed like a mix of human and goblin.

Why was a Half Goblin born?

‘Is it not an ordinary adventurer?’

My question didn’t last long due to new alerts.

– Congratulations! The first unique monster has been born in the dungeon you operate. –

– Half Goblin (★★★★) –

– You will receive rewards! –

– The action radius of minions in the dungeon increases. –

– Expand the size of the dungeon. –

“Tsk, the rewards aren’t that great.”

It would have been nice if they gave transcendent rights to raise the monster’s grade.

Instead, the dungeon’s size increased and the action radius of the monsters expanded.

But the alerts didn’t end there.

– Please select a method for dungeon expansion. –

– 1. [1st Floor, Area 5] –

– 2. [2nd Floor, Area 1] –

“There are a lot of unfamiliar alerts today, huh?”

To choose a method of expansion.

“Hmm.”

I examined the current layout of the dungeon.

Right now, my dungeon has three paths branching out when entering from the entrance.

The leftmost path leads to [1st Floor, Area 1].

It’s a space where undead monsters, with the Death Knight as the mid-boss, have taken residence.

The middle path leads to [1st Floor, Area 2], the territory of goblins.

And, naturally, the mid-boss here is the Goblin Lord.

The rightmost path leads to [1st Floor, Area 3], where there are monsters called Carnivorous Tentacle Plants.

The ground is covered with soil and grass, creating a field.

Above that, blood-sucking butterflies fly around, creating a concept similar to nature.

It was clear.

Now, however, two fellows who don’t belong to my dungeon and spiders dripping saliva are accompanying it.

“This place has completely lost its concept.”

Still, it was a peculiar space that functioned well.

Gwo-a-a-a-a-ak—

Even now, the plump water spirits were watering the plants through sprinklers.

While the spirits watered, the other two tended to the plants.

“Huh….”

Beside the little sprout, Wriggler was slouching.

‘So, the sub-manager guy is still alive.’

Wriggler was the sub-manager I appointed after Celia, but right now, he seemed useless.

But can a worm become useful just by growing bigger?

Yeah, you just stay there and mind your own business.

“Come to think of it, this could be considered a concept too, right..?”

If there’s a farm inside the dungeon, wouldn’t this be the atmosphere?

It was undoubtedly a strange space.

Naturally, there was no mid-boss here.

Only monsters of grade 4 or higher could be designated as mid-bosses, and there were no grade 4 or higher monsters in Area 3.

Areas 1, 2, and 3, divided into three paths, were consolidated into one area again.

That place is precisely [1st Floor, Area 4].

Here, a large lake was arranged, making it a rather important location.

The goblins from Area 2 resolve their water issues here.

The water sprayed by the water spirit in Area 3 was also replenished from this lake.

Monsters existed here as well.

A small number of Naga species lived at the bottom of the lake, but like in Area 3, there was no mid-boss yet.

Passing through this Area 4 leads directly to the [Center of the Dungeon].

The center was a crucial space with the dungeon’s core, and if breached, it meant the destruction of the dungeon.

It was such an important space.

There was no mid-boss, but instead, the manager Celia resided here.

Thus, my dungeon consisted of Areas 1 through 4 of the 1st Floor, including the center.

I checked the alert again.

– Please select a method for dungeon expansion. –

– 1. [1st Floor, Area 5] –

– 2. [2nd Floor, Area 1] –

“Do I really need to create Area 5?”

Even a brief look around now seemed like expanding the 1st Floor was pointless.

It might be necessary someday, but my eyes went to the next option.

‘2nd Floor.’

I immediately chose that option.

– You have selected [2nd Floor, Area 1]. –

Along with that alert, the dungeon in the screen shook.

At the same time, a new space began to emerge beneath the 1st-floor area.

It was a completely underground space.

“Is it a structure that digs underground every time a new floor is created?”

The emergence of the 2nd floor brought significant changes.

First, a new underground space was created beneath the 1st floor.

That place was none other than the 2nd floor.

Also, the position of the dungeon’s center changed.

Previously, it led directly from [1st Floor, Area 4] to [Center of the Dungeon], but now it changed to a structure connecting [1st Floor, Area 4] to [2nd Floor, Area 1].

And from [2nd Floor, Area 1], it led to the [Center of the Dungeon].

“It’s become more complex.”

And that wasn’t the end of it.

– [2nd Floor, Area 1 has been completed.] –

– Meet the conditions to unlock [Guardian of the Floor]! –

– [Guardian of the Floor] unlocked! –

– With the expansion of the new floor, you can now designate the ‘Guardian’ of the existing [1st Floor]. –

– [Guardian of the Floor] holds the command of the minions on that floor and manages loyalty smoothly. –

A new system came to mind.

“Guardian?”

In the past, a similar mid-boss system emerged.

But this time, it’s called the Guardian of the Floor.

Huh.

The system might become more complex, but at the same time, efficient management was possible.

– You can set the [Guardian of the Floor] for the [1st Floor]. –

– ‘Guardian of the Floor’ can only be assigned to monsters of 5 star or higher. –

Like mid-bosses, the Guardian of the Floor also had conditions.

“5 star…”

Actually, there weren’t many 5 star or higher monsters in the dungeon right now. It’s more accurate to say there were hardly any.

‘Should I appoint Death Knight or Goblin Lord as the Guardian?’

No, that’s not it.

So far, there have been no issues with my dungeon.

That means the existing mid-bosses have been faithful to their duties.

There’s no need to change them just for the sake of it.

‘As a matter of principle, Celia should be excluded too.’

The only remaining option is Arch Lich…

“….”

Should I temporarily entrust it, at least?

Even if a 5 star monster came out of the draw right away, there was a problem with setting it as the Guardian.

“Arch Lich has been living in the dungeon for a long time, so it should do well.”

– Would you like to designate Arch Lich as the [Guardian of the 1st Floor]? –

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***

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Arch Lich returned to the dungeon.

After reporting to Celia, Arch Lich entered Area 1.

The appearance of Death Knight, the mid-boss of Area 1, was nowhere to be seen.

Arch Lich immediately took out the pouch at his waist.

The pouch was filled with gems and coins obtained from social circles.

With a satisfied expression, he opened his notebook.

Scratch, scratch –

In the quiet dungeon, only the sound of Arch Lich’s fountain pen echoed.

He was preparing his ledger.

While recording profits for a while,

An unknown power was detected.

A powerful purple light gathered around him.

Even the nearby air seemed to be swept away by the waves of power.

The notebook in Arch Lich’s hand began to unfold softly in the air.

Sensing the change, Arch Lich looked up.