Chapter 7

Chapter 7

EP.7 Demon Merchant Half-Blood Succubus

Celia was in a good mood today, for some reason.

[Grow the dungeon according to your discretion. I will grant you full authority.]

Master had given her a command.

He had entrusted her with complete control over the dungeon.

This was not just a sign of trust, but also a test.

If she handled it well, Master would continue to entrust important tasks to her in the future.

She couldn’t afford to disappoint him.

Celia first checked the state of the dungeon.

Her generous Master had given her some instructions along with the responsibility of managing the dungeon.

The first instruction was about the monsters.

Along with the authority over the dungeon, she had also gained command over the dungeon’s resident monsters.

“Skeletons, it seems.”

One Skeleton Warrior, two Skeleton Soldiers.

And one Skeleton Archer, two Skeleton Mage Trainees.

They weren’t a formidable force.

To be objective, they were barely enough for minimum defense of the dungeon.

But all of this was probably a test from Master as well.

If she couldn’t handle this on her own, she wouldn’t be worthy of being her great Master’s servant.

Next, she turned her attention to the other items.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

There were two black cards placed there.

The second item she had been given was those cards.

She knew well what those black cards represented.

Celia had once been a disciple of the Succubus Queen in the past.

During that time, she had also learned a bit about managing a dungeon.

“These are Demon Merchant Invitation Tickets, right?”

Even if there was a dungeon, there were limits to growing it with her own strength alone.

Just like in human society, there were merchants here in the demon realm as well.

The Demon Merchant.

It was the largest and only Merchant in the demon realm.

No matter how powerful a demon lord might be, they couldn’t bully the Merchant.

If they did, the Merchant would simply cut off trade with them.

And that would lead to the demon lord withering away and the dungeon going bankrupt.

That’s why the Merchant was both a force that could help the dungeon grow and a noose around its neck.

Of course, if you had enough money, even the Merchant would bow their heads.

Lastly, the third item was a quite large bag.

Celia opened the bag and her eyes widened.

“This... these are magic stones, right?”

Small purple magic stones sparkled.

The quantity was enormous.

At least several thousand.

And their quality wasn’t low either.

With this amount of magic stones, her initial capital was more than sufficient.

“Master, you truly are amazing.”

She hadn’t known if he would support her to this extent.

He had already laid the foundation.

She couldn’t bear to fail after receiving so much support.

Celia immediately started walking with the Skeletons.

Her goal was how to arrange them.

For now, due to some reason, no one could invade the dungeon.

She had learned that when she obtained authority over the dungeon.

‘Maybe it’s a barrier?’

Even so, that time wouldn’t last forever.

After the barrier was lifted, she had to place the Skeletons in the dungeon and focus on defense.

Celia was walking towards the dungeon corridor with the Skeletons when she suddenly had a thought.

“The corridor is narrow, isn’t it? What do you think, Mr. Skeleton?”

Compared to the length of the dungeon, the width was narrow.

Did the Skeleton understand her words?

The Skeleton replied with a clattering sound.

Now, she had finally been assigned a dungeon, albeit an average one.

“Sigh... Thank you! I’ll work hard. Supervisor Jewel!”

“It’s a bit late, so prepare and go. If things go well, you can build up your achievements too.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

With a spirited reply, Moru accepted the document.

Then, she bit her finger and stamped her blood on the document, sealing the deal. It was a binding contract.

“You’re welcome. Now hurry and get ready.”

With those words, Moru left the room. As soon as she left, Jewel smiled.

‘She’ll be back after making a fuss.’

It was obvious even without looking.

Upon investigation, there wasn’t a significant presence in that dungeon.

It was either a truly unremarkable dungeon or an overwhelmingly inaccessible one.

However, the latter didn’t make sense. If such a presence existed, the Demon Merchant would have noticed it long ago.

So, it must be the former, a dungeon with little wealth.

Within the Demon Merchant, merchants prioritized money first and surprisingly, ethics second.

Therefore, unless a dungeon disappeared or Master requested a change of trading partner, merchants couldn’t freely switch the dungeons they managed.

Handling a dungeon without money was stressful for merchants.

They already had poor performance, and on top of that, the dungeon had no funds.

In the worst case, the dungeon might demand compensation from them.

But merchants also had to care about their reputation, and even a malicious dungeon master was a guest of the Merchant.

Ultimately, accumulating such issues would strangle a merchant’s neck.

“That’s why hybrid beings with human blood are like this after all.”

Moru’s expression, which couldn’t do anything about it, was already something to look forward to.

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I visited the Awakening Center after a long time.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m here for a magic test.”

“What’s your name?”

The purpose, of course, was a magic test.

In an era where long periods of inactivity or unclear activities were mandatory for hunters to undergo a revaluation of their magical power.

If they didn’t take the test, the effectiveness of their hunter license would be suspended until they did, and they couldn’t use various services like dungeons or the Hunter Market.

This measure was designed to reduce the crimes of hunters.

“Ah, Hunter Lee Kang Hyun. You are required to undergo a magical measurement test due to your long period of inactivity.”

And I had been traveling on the El Dorad Continent for a year, so I became a subject of the test.

Originally, I had planned to take the test more leisurely, but I must have earned a status window by now, so I decided to take the test right away.

“Since there won’t be a big difference anyway.”

When awakening, I didn’t have the status window that awakeners typically got.

What changed for me was just the appearance of a status window.

There were no sudden increases in stats or newly acquired skills. Even if I took the magical measurement test, it wouldn’t change anything significant.

Thanks to that, the fact that I had been to that world (although I was kicked out) was something that no one knew.

“If you place your hand here, we will measure your magical power.”

A transparent sphere with a spherical shape. The magical measurement began as soon as you placed your hand on it. After a few seconds of placing my hand on the sphere,

“Oh, you’re coming out as an F-rank. Do you have any other unusual conditions?”

The employee nodded as if it was obvious and wrote something down. Now, the real conversation began.

“Originally, I was going to take a break from work since I didn’t have a status window.”

The fact that I didn’t have a status window was already known to the Awakening Center. To have a smooth career as a hunter from now on, there was a need for change.

“But this time, a status window suddenly appeared. Thanks to that, I wanted to challenge the hunter job again.”

“Congratulations! You’ve truly become a hunter now.”

The eyes of the employee in front of me widened slightly, and she congratulated me. It was a natural reaction. After all, I had been a half-assed hunter until now.

“Your new license will be issued within 30 minutes. Since you have acquired a status window, all that’s left for you is to grow.”

After a polite response, the employee turned around.

“Huh? Who’s this? Isn’t it the half-assed hunter?”

A voice I hadn’t heard in a long time. The voice of someone I didn’t want to hear. It came from behind.

“Hey, you, aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

He was my fellow student at the Hunter Academy.

Translator Note: As the author still does not have a regular schedule for the chapter release, I will limit the chapter release to 1 or 2 chapters a week to make sure that we are not too close to the raw. If the author has announced a regular schedule for the chapter, I will adjust the chapter release too.

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