The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

Chapter 90: Auction (1)

The dungeon monsters keep offering sacrifices – 090

EP.90 Auction (1)

At the heart of the dungeon,

The bodies of goblins and gnolls were mingled, and the smell of blood filled the air.

“To dare enter the great one’s dungeon. Make it as natural as possible so as not to arouse suspicion from Demon Merchant Association.”

At Celia’s command, the monsters within the dungeon moved busily.

The goblins used the weapons they had been playing with to mutilate the bodies of their comrades.

But that wasn’t all.

The goblins, with meticulousness, used the weapons they held to carve up the bodies of the gnolls.

Just by looking at the damage inflicted upon each other, it seemed there had been a fierce battle.

“Now, quickly move the completed items first.”

As Celia clapped her hands and spoke, skeletons from Area 1 approached.

They cautiously lifted the bodies of gnolls and goblins.

Even if the gnolls looked unsightly, they were affiliated with the auction.

And naturally, there were penalties for harming monsters affiliated with the auction.

In the worst case, cutting ties with the Demon Merchant Association could be staged.

Of course, Celia wasn’t putting in all this effort because she was afraid of the Demon Merchant Association.

There were still plenty of things to extract from the Demon Merchant Association, so blatantly cutting ties now would be regrettable.

Even so, the Demon Merchant Association would definitely investigate without direct evidence.

But suspicions alone wouldn’t be enough to make any accusations.

That would be sufficient.

Celia planned to use that time to slowly engulf the vast Demon Merchant Association.

Although she had already secured Maru and the audit team, it wasn’t enough.

Her goal was to completely grasp the entire Association in her hands.

She planned to present the engulfed Association to her master in its entirety.

“I hope my master will be pleased.”

Just the thought of the great one brought a smile to her face.

“And set aside three gnolls separately.”

Even in chaos, one must show respect to the great one.

“They will be dedicated to my master. Please move them to the altar with extreme care.”

Including the elite gnoll, there were a total of eleven gnolls.

Three of them would suffice as offerings.

She wanted to dedicate all the dead gnolls, but there was a risk that suspicions from the Association would immediately turn here.

For now, bold investments needed to be made where necessary.

The master would surely expect that.

“Oh! And please, cut off the hands of the gnolls dedicated as offerings and store them separately.”

At the same time, Celia thought to herself.

According to Maru, who closely assists the master, he truly enjoys the taste of hands.

Considering the master’s preferences is the least one can do as a humble servant.

The hands were to be collected separately and offered directly.

Following Celia’s orders, some skeletons headed towards the altar.

Once all the bodies were removed, the floor of the dungeon was drenched in blood.

“Sir Death Knight, please.”

“?”

In response to her words, the Death Knight began to wipe the floor with a long stick wrapped in cloth scraps.

Despite feeling like there was more work to be done, Death Knight attributed it to a simple mood.

After a while, when the dungeon stabilized, a hobgoblin appeared.

The hobgoblin rushed to Celia and Goblin Lord and knelt down on one knee.

“Whew, found the runaway bugger!”

And reported in a faint voice.

They found the runaway.

The one who fled.

Before the gnolls entered the dungeon,

Upon Celia’s orders, the goblin scouts had strengthened their surveillance of the nearby forest.

Thanks to them, they discovered the fact that a group of gnolls was hiding.

The goblins had discovered the gnoll group according to the manager’s orders, but they waited.

It was a judgment to understand the opponent’s intentions and respond without delay.

But then a variable occurred.

Someone had detached from the gnoll group.

Of course, the scouts immediately followed to capture the presence.

However, they couldn’t capture the individual directly, at best they could only find out where they were headed.

“To the Sael Kingdom. Headed towards the kingdom!”

That was the end of the hobgoblin’s report.

“Went to the kingdom?”

Celia nodded.

The goblin scouts could be considered elites in their own right.

Seeing that such scouts couldn’t capture the opponent, there was no doubt that the presence was extraordinary.

“But there’s a problem.”

Currently, Princess Elena is in the Sael Kingdom.

So, if the fleeing presence entered the Sael Kingdom, it would be a relief for Celia.

However, the White Order has infiltrated the Sael Kingdom.

After some Holy Knights infiltrated recently, the envoy reached the kingdom in earnest.

As a result, the Sael Kingdom is currently in turmoil.

But for Celia, the kingdom’s situation was not a consideration.

“Tell Princess Elena. Inform her that an unwelcome guest has entered the kingdom.”

For her, there was only the great one.

As Celia’s command was given, the shadow behind bowed its head and disappeared from its place.

“Now, prepare to receive the guest. They will visit from the Association soon.”

Today, too, the daily life of the dungeon flowed busy.

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– Skeleton soldiers dedicate gnoll corpses as offerings to the master. –

– Absorbing the abilities of the offered gnoll. (Remaining time: 6 hours) –

– Skeleton soldiers dedicate gnoll corpses as offerings to the master. –

– Absorbing the abilities of the offered gnoll. (Remaining time: 6 hours) –

– Skeleton soldiers dedicate gnoll corpses as offerings to the master. –

– Absorbing the abilities of the offered gnoll. (Remaining time: 6 hours) –

In the dead of night, skeleton soldiers brought offerings.

This time, it was gnolls.

Gnolls were monsters resembling hyenas, known for their agility.

“But isn’t there an intruder this time?”

There was no separate alarm indicating an intruder entering the dungeon.

“Well, does it matter much?”

They probably hunted and offered it as an offering.

And once the offering is made, I’ll soon faint trying to absorb its abilities.

But currently, my fainting wasn’t a big issue.

I had already traversed the dungeon during the day, and now I was safely at home.

Moreover, Maru would protect me by my side, so there was nothing to worry about.

However.

– Celia dedicates the hand of a gnoll as an offering to the master. –

– Receiving the offering ‘Gnoll’s Hand’. (Remaining time: 1 hour) –

“?”

Why was the gnoll’s hand sent separately?

What could it mean?

“Hmm.”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.

If someone else had sent it, I wouldn’t have cared, but Celia sent it.

There was no clue at all as to why she would have sent it.

“What can I do?”

It was a problem to think about after waking up anyway.

Unless the alarm ends there.

Another new alarm popped up.

– An auction will be held in the social circle of the Demon Merchant Association Auction House in 6 hours. –

– Rare items will be up for auction at the Demon Merchant Association Auction House. –

– Would you like to participate in the auction? –

An auction.

The timing was perfect.

It takes 6 hours to absorb the gnolls offered as sacrifices.

If I sleep and wake up, I can participate in the auction right away.

But the problem was whether I could attend.

‘Can I participate?’

Currently, I am on Earth.

However, the auction is held on the El Dorad Continent, so even if I wanted to participate, the dimensions were entirely different.

Moreover, how could I participate in the auction when I hadn’t even attended the social circle?

When I had such doubts, one item appeared on the screen.

– You can purchase a participation ticket for the Demon Merchant Association Auction House’s auction. –

– Auction Participation Ticket for the Demon Merchant Association Auction House (16,900 won) –

– Temporarily lift the dimensional restrictions and participate in the auction at the Auction House.

“Huh….”

Even here, is it pay-to-win?

But it was true that the prospect of many rare items was enticing.

‘But lifting the dimensional restrictions temporarily?’

Did that mean I could go directly to the El Dorad Continent?

I immediately paid for the auction participation ticket.

If I could somehow participate in the auction, it would be advantageous.

But before that, should I absorb the offerings?

“Maru, please keep an eye on the surroundings.”

Before fainting, it was essential to order Maru to protect me.

The difference from last time was that Maru had now become a 5-star monster as a Skeleton Holy Knight.

It certainly felt more reliable than when he was a 4-star.

In addition, if I took good care of Maru’s skills and attributes now, there would be no way for an A-rank hunter to stand against Maru.

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“What happened?”

Sernu, a demon affiliated with the Demon Merchant Association, raised his glasses with one hand and spoke.

As he spoke, the imp next to him immediately responded.

“Yes, Sir Sernu. When I mentioned the Arch Lich to Arcane, she reacted immediately.”

Sernu silently nodded.

As expected.

Currently, the most talked-about monster at the banquet was undoubtedly the Arch Lich.

Even now, many dungeon masters and monsters were bringing all sorts of treasures to see him.

On the other hand, Arcane was displeased with being overshadowed by the Arch Lich.

“Well, snakes can be quite jealous creatures.”

Arcane is a Lamia, with the lower half of her body being that of a snake.

If she expresses her dissatisfaction a little, she’ll naturally rein in the Arch Lich.

And that thought was spot on.

The highlight of the upcoming banquet.

If Arcane wins in the duel against the dungeon, the atmosphere will shift back to her.

And Sernu planned to empower Arcane at that moment.

Of course, it wouldn’t be for free.

That’s how slowly she planned to engulf the dungeons.

“By the way, have you looked into the Arch Lich and the dungeon?”

Aside from Arcane’s efforts to restrain the Arch Lich, what was important now was from this point forward.

Originally, it was a dungeon known as the Succubus Dungeon.

However, in that dungeon, both the Arch Lich and the Incubus attended the social circle.

Sernu wasn’t particularly interested in the Incubus.

There was only one 5-star being, the Arch Lich.

There was no way the Succubus could be the master of a being like that.

‘It’s definitely the Arch Lich who’s the master.’

Sernu believed that without any doubts.

Currently, there were no beings exceeding 5 stars in the human realm.

But if asked whether they were in the demon world, Sernu couldn’t answer outright.

Even though Sernu was affiliated with the Demon Merchant Association Auction House, he didn’t know everything about the demon world.

The Demon Merchant Association was a massive organization.

And in that organization, Sernu was ultimately just a low-ranking member.

To rise higher, achievements were needed.

If he wanted to see more information, Sernu himself had to increase his value.

And that started with monopolizing all information about the Arch Lich.

‘I need to find out where that being appeared.’

With the appearance of the Arch Lich, what was crucial was what kind of influence it was currently forming.

No matter if it was 5 stars, like the Vampire Baalzerith, if its influence collapsed or weakened, there was always a chance for the Demon Merchant Association to infiltrate.

So, through his subordinates, Sernu had them investigate the Arch Lich and the dungeon.

Of course, initially, they thought it was the Succubus Dungeon, so there was a need for correction.

But from his subordinate’s mouth came an unexpected answer.

“Um… about that.”

Sernu frowned slightly at his subordinate’s hesitation.

“I wanted to correct the information to those we already sent to the dungeon, but we lost contact with them.”

“Lost contact?”

What did it mean to lose contact?

Was it possible they were caught by humans?

There were no brash individuals among the monsters affiliated with the Demon Merchant Association who would mess with them.

The most likely scenario was humans.

But once again, from his subordinate’s mouth came an entirely different answer.

“Actually, we’ve already dispatched investigators. We’ll hear back from them soon, Sir Sernu.”

Sernu nodded.

If investigators were dispatched, they would naturally find out in due time.

“Well, then, for now, let’s just focus on the banquet.”

There was nothing urgent.

He just needed to focus on the progress of the banquet.

“Well, then, let’s move on to the auction.”

The time had come for the Demon Merchant Association to legally drain the dungeon’s resources.

“In this auction, we’ll only accept magic stones.”

Magic stones would be the best measure to evaluate the dungeon’s wealth.