novelThe Heart of the Dungeon #3
| ← Ch.014 | Ch.016 → |
"The demon king Mammon's? One of the Seven Deadly Sins... so you're saying my ancestor's?"
"That's right. They're the spirits that Lord Mammon gathered himself."
Her expression was serious, but her voice was filled with nervousness.
A frown appeared on Yong-Ho's face. After gulping, he asked again.
"Does that mean they're like you and Eligor and they belong to the dungeon?"
"That's..."
That didn't seem like the case. That's probably why she referred to them as Mammon's Spirits instead the House of Mammon's spirits.
"Did they go crazy because they were locked up for a long time?"
To the point where they didn't notice their owner. Since they were locked up alone in this dark dungeon somewhere, it's possible for them to become that way.
But, that didn't seem to be the case this time too.
Catalina bit her lips. It seemed too difficult for her to say because she spoke after thinking about how to say it.
"It's not that it doesn't happen at all, but there's a bigger problem. You see..."
Yong-Ho let out a deep sigh. It wasn't because he was frustrated with her. While she was hesitating, Yong-Ho started thinking and became sure after seeing her expression.
"They don't acknowledge the owners. Mammon's spirits."
Catalina couldn't say anything and instead, affirmed it through her expression and actions.
Few moments later, she spoke.
"With all due respect sir, there was an owner that was killed by Mammon's Spirit. It's because they didn't pass the test that Mammon's Spirit presented."
Yong-Ho closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. And then he let out a deep sigh.
He understood why the previous owners couldn't completely activate the entire dungeon.
Mammon's Spirits.
He was one of the Seven Deadly Sins and controlled 1/4th of the demon world in the past and those were the spirits that he himself gathered.
"But, how are they still alive? Do they gain eternal life if they're high-ranked demons?"
He thought the question was weird. If high-ranked demons gained eternal life, then there's no reason for Mammon to die.
Catalina answered.
"It's true that high-ranked demons live for a long time, but they do not gain eternal life. Most of the spirits are currently sealed. They'll fall asleep and wake up when someone is near. There are spirits where their bodies are dead and their spirits remain in the dungeon. The demon king, Mammon, was a very possessive demon."
Does that mean he kept their spirits as his underlings even after they've died?
Yong-Ho thought of the different funerary practices, such as a pharaoh's grave, and then shook his head.
"Okay, fine. Let's think positively. If I pass their test, that means I'll be able to recruit them as my underling. Right?"
"Yes, that's correct. If it's you, I'm sure you'll pass the test. I believe in you."
Catalina spoke with a hopeful expression. She looked really cute, but at the same time, he felt burdened by it.
Including Eligor, Catalina trusted and followed Yong-Ho. He was too scared to actually try it, but if he told them to die, it felt like they would actually listen.
They were wasting time standing around and talking.
Yong-Ho moved to the right wall from the throne and activated a room that was inactive.
He spoke while moving with Catalina.
"I actually expected... storage rooms and such. If the dungeon is really that big, there should be other things in here, right? Do you know anything about it?"
"I heard from the previous guard that there's an arena."
"Arena?"
It was something he wasn't expecting, so Yong-Ho stopped walking. Catalina stopped walking as well and started explaining.
"It's a location that the third owner found himself. He visited the place discreetly, so there's no information about its location, but I'm sure that it actually exists."
Yong-Ho started walking again. He thought for a moment and then asked.
"What kind of place is it?"
"One of Mammon's Spirits takes care of that location. Those that enter the place will be tested based on their strength and after proving how strong they are, they'll be awarded with one item out of the many that Mammon gathered. I heard that every time you enter, the difficulty level increases, but the rewards are that much better."
It was reasonable. After walking through an empty room, Yong-Ho activated another room.
"The test probably requires me to fight, right?"
"Possibly... I believe so. The third owner didn't leave any records, but it's called an arena."
He'll be tested by fighting and will receive an award from Mammon's Spirit.
'It's an actual arena. '
It was similar to the arenas that are shown in RPGs. It was impossible to get a sense of what Mammon was thinking, but what exactly was going on in their minds when they decided to build this in their own dungeon?
To train the younger generation? To train the spirits?
"Wait."
While walking through the fourth room, Yong-Ho stopped walking. Catalina didn't expect him to stop, so she was surprised by his action.
"Master?"
Instead of answering, Yong-Ho looked at the left wall. It was an ordinary wall. But, he felt something weird from it.
It felt out of place.
He recently felt the same thing. And just like then, his hands and feet moved on its own.
Out of the Seven Deadly Sins, he was Greed. It was a skill that he inherited.
He walked towards the wall as if he was possessed by something. He touched it and figured out what that odd feeling was.
The flow of mana.
It was different from other locations.
Yong-Ho instinctively released the mana through the palm of his hand.
Then, something changed. The wall started shaking lightly and with a loud noise, a door that was as big as a person with a large body appeared. It was a secret door.
He would be able to obtain something if he went in.
That's what Yong-Ho's instincts were telling him.
"Shall we go in?"
After Yong-Ho spoke, Catalina nodded her head with a nervous expression. She approached next to him and spoke.
"Then, I'll go in first."
It was a decision she made as his guard. But, Yong-Ho shook his head.
"Sorry. I feel like I should trust my instincts. I'll lead the way so watch my back. Is there something we can use as a light?"
Catalina contemplated for a bit, but agreed with his decision. She took out a small stick that was in her leather bag and used her mana on it. It was a flashlight that was used in the demon world.
"Here you go. It will become brighter if you use your mana."
"This is handy."
Yong-Ho grabbed the flashlight with a smile and turned around towards the secret door. After lighting the inside, he started walking.
One step. Two steps. And on the third step.
The floor was missing. It suddenly disappeared.
Yong-Ho didn't have the skill to control gravity. Yong-Ho suddenly fell and like someone that was falling, he instinctively started yelling.
"Master!"
Catalina screamed after him. Yong-Ho wasn't able to look up to Catalina. He used the flashlight to light the bottom, but he couldn't see the floor. Within the small gap, all he could see were bricks, rocks, skulls and bugs.
"Master!"
He heard Catalina's voice just above his head. Yong-Ho instinctively tilted his head back and saw Catalina reaching out to him.
She grabbed Yong-Ho.
Moments later. They were both on the ground.
His entire body was in pain.
He must've been unconscious for a moment, because he was feeling dizzy. Or, he could've been unconscious for a very long time.
Yong-Ho started coughing. He tried his best to breath. He couldn't see anything. It was too dark.
'Catalina. '
He couldn't think clearly. He started yelling.
"Catalina!"
He was in pain. Moving all the muscles within his body to scream out her name was difficult. However, Yong-Ho couldn't feel that pain. He was focused on something else.
"Ahhh."
Yong-Ho focused on the odd sound. The voice was close.
"Catalina?
"Ma... ster."
Yong-Ho now knew where the voice was coming from. It was below him.
Yong-Ho was surprised and quickly got up. Because of that, Catalina ended up letting out another groan.
"Ack."
When he quickly stood up, Yong-Ho let out another groan. There was pain all over his body. It seemed like nothing was broken, but it felt like there were bruises everywhere.
When he managed to stand up, he tried to look at Catalina, but he couldn't see anything. The room was too dark.
"Are you okay? Can you stand?"
He tried his best to talk. Thankfully, she replied this time.
"Master."
"Catalina."
Yong-Ho sat down on the ground. Once he calmed down, he looked around and noticed the flashlight sitting not too far from him. Seeing that it was still shining brightly, he probably wasn't out for that long.
'A little, a little bit later. '
He wanted to go and grab it, but his body wasn't listening to him. While Yong-Ho was catching his breathe, he heard something moving in front of him. It was the sound of Catalina standing up.
"Thank you, master. You have saved me. I won't forget your kindness for as long as I live."
Yong-Ho tilted his head to the side without knowing. He asked in kind of a silly tone.
"Huh?"
"You... don't remember? Right before we hit the ground, you hugged me."
Catalina answered carefully and Yong-Ho was even more confused. It sounded like that's what he did. Most importantly, Catalina was telling the truth.
"Wait. Then, why was I on top instead of being on the bottom?"
"W-we rolled after falling?"
Yong-Ho laughed at Catalina's assumption.
'I was wondering why my entire body was aching. '
Unfortunately, because it happened so suddenly, he couldn't remember any of Catalina's soft body parts. After catching his breath, Yong-Ho groaned as he stood up and picked up the flashlight. He turned the flashlight towards Catalina to make sure she was safe and then raised it towards the ceiling.
"Did we fall from up there?"
Checking the edge with the flashlight was impossible. It was hard to tell exactly how far they fell, but it felt like they fell over 10 meters.
Catalina started talking.
"I tried to slow down the speed when we fell, but... I don't think I was able to achieve it. I'm sorry."
The reason why Yong-Ho was still alive, despite falling over 10 meters, wasn't because the demon king's body was sturdy. When Catalina grabbed Yong-Ho during the fall, she used all sorts of methods to slow down the speed.
"No, I'm alive thanks to you. Thanks. You did really well."
When he expressed his gratitude and complimented her, he waved his finger in the air. He wanted to acknowledge her services, but it wasn't the best time to have a conversation about it.
As expected, he couldn't connect to the Spirit of the Dungeon.
"Is it because we're underground?"
Just how many levels did they fall? Since the roof of the first floor was pretty tall, if he calculated it using that, maybe fifth? Sixth?
"Eligor will surely come to help us."
Catalina spoke in a positive tone. Yong-Ho nodded his head and after letting out a groan, he stood up. He felt something.
"I can't tell if this is a blessing or a curse."
"Master?"
Instead of answering, he concentrated on the feeling.
The reason why he was able to find this secret passageway. A peculiar feeling that led him here.
It was connected. It didn't stop. It stimulated his instincts.
He quickly looked around using the flashlight. It was a small, narrow room. Unlike the rooms on the first floor, there were decorations on the walls.
And in one particular direction.
A thing that stimulated Yong-Ho's "greed."
Yong-Ho used the flashlight. Catalina stood up after gulping and looked in the same direction as Yong-Ho.
At the end of the room, there was a small altar and something was stuck on top of it.
Yong-Ho spoke with a frown on his face.
"A lance?"
~ The Heart of the Dungeon #3 ~ End
| ← Ch. 014 | Ch. 016 → |