novelDungeon Offense #1
| ← Ch.066 | Ch.068 → |
Yong-Ho woke up earlier than usual.
It wasn't because he was worried about the things that could happen.
"Master!"
"Please hurry to the training ground!"
"Eligor is dying!"
Lucia's scream woke Yong-Ho up and he exited the room without washing up. While rushing out, Lucia continued talking to him.
"Of course he won't really die."
"But he went over his limit, so his body isn't in a normal condition."
"He really spent all night hitting the puppet in the training ground!"
When considering the current time, it meant that he's been hitting the puppet for eight hours straight.
Of course a person doesn't die from exercising for eight hours. On top of that, Eligor was a demon and he even evolved Eligor's stamina.
"Please take what I said literally!"
"I'm sure he didn't rest even for a second!"
It wasn't like Lucia watched Eligor's almost suicidal training from beginning to end. But she knew that Eligor was a Red Demon. Lucia knew about Eligor just as much as Catalina knew about him.
Yong-Ho gritted his teeth while running towards the training ground.
Yong-Ho was the one that asked Ophelia to provoke Eligor a bit. And when he heard that Eligor sneaked into the training ground from Lucia, he was happy that his plan worked.
Yong-Ho didn't think that a stiff butler like him would abuse himself like this.
'What the heck did Ophelia say to him?!'
Didn't she report that everything went well yesterday?
It did work out well. The problem was that it worked out too well.
When Yong-Ho arrived at the training ground, he opened the door without stopping to catch his breath. And he was so surprised by the red smoke that filled the room that he stopped breathing for a moment.
Eligor was the source of the red smoke. Even in this moment, Eligor was punching the puppet and a large amount of sweat was rolling down and smoke was rising out of his body. It reminded him of a sauna.
'He's been training to the point that heat was rising out of his body?'
Yong-Ho stopped after shaking his head. Eligor was a demon. It's possible that it's in the nature of a Red Demon to act that way.
"His sweat isn't evaporating."
"It's a special type of steam that Red Demons release during battle. Master! Please stop him!"
"Eligor!"
Yong-Ho shouted before Lucia finished her sentence. The voice belonged to his master, so Eligor stopped beating the puppet that he was beating all night long. He retracted the fist that was about to hit the puppet and turned around.
"Master."
However, he looked like he was kind of out of it. Both of his fists were in really bad condition and the puppet was covered in Eligor's blood.
"For Red Demons, Berserk is activated when they're really focused during battle and I believe he was influenced by that."
Berserk was the Red Demon's special characteristic. They weren't called a fighting race for nothing.
Yong-Ho spoke as calmly as he could.
"Eligor, are you okay? Do you recognize me? Can you move your body?"
Eligor answered all of his questions and he must've come back to his senses because his eyes lit up again. But then a painful expression appeared on his face and his body fell to the ground.
"He must've felt the physical pain that he wasn't able to feel when Berserk was activated."
"Thankfully, it's nothing serious."
"Eligor, sit down. Do you want some water?"
"Thank... you."
It sounded like he forced himself to answer. Yong-Ho quickly grabbed the water bottle that was on his waist and gave it to Eligor. When he noticed how much Eligor's arms were shaking, Yong-Ho opened the lid and poured the water into Eligor's mouth.
"I'm sorry."
"Why... no, it's fine. Just drink more water."
Eligor felt shameful.
He was embarrassed by the fact that he couldn't control himself and having his master feed him water was agonizing.
But that was his own opinion of himself.
This wasn't the first time Eligor thought he needed to get stronger.
He had been thinking about it ever since he became the House of Mammon's official spirit.
Was he suddenly using all of his energy in his training because Ophelia provoked him?
There was a way.
The Power of Evolution.
Yong-Ho's power developed a spirit based on the information that it displayed.
He need to fill the development rate, so that's why he was beating the puppet all night long.
That was an embarrassment.
The thought of deciding to rely on his master's power. During the past 10 years, he made excuses and was always lazy about putting in the effort in getting stronger. Despite witnessing Yong-Ho's power several times, before Ophelia provoked him, he didn't think he would ever act like this.
He might've focused hard on hitting the puppet because of the embarrassment he felt.
Yong-Ho couldn't read Eligor's thoughts. But as the master and spirit, they had a connection. Yong-Ho was able to get an idea of what Eligor was feeling.
Yong-Ho wanted to tell him that he was wrong.
They discovered the training ground yesterday and all this time, Eligor did well as the butler. It was safe to say that he was doing the housekeeping by himself.
Yong-Ho opened his mouth to talk, but what he said was pretty random.
"You're manly, Eligor."
Stubbornness and childishness.
Hasty.
Eligor's face turned red due to the embarrassment he felt again. Even though his skin was red, it was still noticeable.
Instead of saying anything more, Yong-Ho activated the Power of Evolution.
[Development Rate: 100/100]
His efforts didn't go to waste. He managed to fill the development rate overnight. Of course the more Eligor develops, the more difficult it'll be for him to fill the development rate in the future. This training method won't work in the future.
"Is it... possible?"
When green flames rose out of Yong-Ho's eyes, Eligor carefully asked. And then he felt embarrassed again. It's because it felt like he shamelessly asked his master to use their skill.
But Yong-Ho didn't mind it. He placed his hand on Eligor's shoulder and smiled.
"It's possible. I'll increase your rank instead of developing your strength or stamina. Close your eyes and relax."
Eligor followed his instruction. Yong-Ho poured out his mana without any hesitation. He did have to use a lot more mana than he had expected, but he didn't think it was a waste.
[Name: Eligor (M)]
[Race: Red Demon - Beast]
[Class: Spirit (Mid-Rank)]
[Elements: Fire Level 1 / Darkness Level 1]
[Individual Nature]
[Diligent / Upright / Loyal]
[Individual Stat]
[Strength / Stamina]
[Development Rate: 0/100]
All of his skills increased. On top of that, his skills weren't the only things that changed.
"Wow."
He wasn't called a Beast for nothing. Eligor's body was already strong thanks to his stamina, but now, he was really like a beast. Since he was shirtless, the change was more noticeable.
His upper body was filled with muscles, causing it to look like an inverted triangle and there was hair all over his chest and arms. The wrinkles on his face decreased, which made him look younger than before.
'Rejuvenation? No... Was Eligor old to begin with... or did his physical appearance change like the time when Salami evolved?'
Yong-Ho smiled as he thought about the random memory.
Beastly man. That was the perfect description. Eligor reminded him of Hugh Jackman when he played Wolverine. On top of that, he had a beard, so Eligor resembled Wolverine even more.
"Energy is... overflowing within my body."
He must've felt extremely excited because Eligor's voice started shaking.
Because his rank increased, the injuries on his body were all healed.
Yong-Ho also felt himself getting stronger. Since Yong-Ho was getting stronger day by day, he didn't feel a big difference, but he did get stronger.
'When a spirit becomes stronger, the owner becomes stronger as well. When the owner becomes stronger, the spirits become stronger as well. '
Eligor became stronger. And he was going to get stronger from now on.
"Shall we go back? We need to surprise everyone. Especially Ophelia."
Eligor smiled at Yong-Ho's comment.
Instead of his usual warm smile, a confident smile appeared on Eligor's face.
&
His neat, black butler suit couldn't hide the change.
The spirits that were gathered in the cafeteria widened their eyes and looked at Eligor when he was walking between the kitchen and cafeteria.
Catalina, who had been with Eligor since his older days, was really surprised.
Catalina kept on opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish and then looked at Yong-Ho. Rikum and the Orc soldiers looked at Yong-Ho with sparkling eyes.
Yong-Ho had a satisfied smile on his face. Just yesterday, he was really worried because of what was happening in the empty regions, but right now, he was waiting for Ophelia to enter the cafeteria.
And then, Ophelia appeared.
"Hello, sir."
As soon as she entered, she first showed her respect to Yong-Ho and sat in the seat she was assigned to. And then she tilted her head when she noticed the other spirits acting oddly.
'What's wrong with everyone? The Orcs are acting the weirdest. '
From her past experience, it was very rare to see Orcs with sparkling eyes.
It only happens when they're eating something really delicious, when there's a woman in front of them or when they're feeling envious.
"Hehe."
Ophelia flinched when she heard someone giggle, so she turned her head. When Catalina noticed that she giggled, she quickly closed her mouth and acted like a cold, female warrior. But she couldn't stop herself from smiling.
'So silly. '
Ophelia lifted her head while thinking that maybe Yong-Ho should've replaced the personal guard first instead of the butler. She looked at the man that approached her. Like the other spirits, Ophelia's eyes widened as well and after blinking a few times, her jaw dropped.
"Uh, uh, uh?"
"Ophelia, flies will fly into your mouth. But there aren't any flies here since I'm responsible for this area."
Eligor placed a plate full of food in front of Ophelia and casually turned around. Ophelia's eyes saw Eligor's beast-like back.
Yong-Ho tried his best to hold in his laughter.
Eligor was definitely a man. Even if he was old, he was still a child-like man.
Ophelia came back to her senses after staring at Eligor's back. It seemed like she was going to compliment him, but she quickly shut her mouth and looked at Yong-Ho. Ophelia was requesting for an explanation.
But Yong-Ho wanted to enjoy this moment a bit longer. It was for his mental health as well as for Eligor's.
"Let's eat."
Yong-Ho spoke while raising a fork and the spirits started eating their food.
All this time, Ophelia couldn't really tell what she was eating. She was busy glancing over at Eligor, who had a beast-like body and a warm smile.
"Your powers are amazing, sir. No, amazing isn't enough to describe your power."
After enjoying the small break they had after eating, Yong-Ho and Ophelia walked towards the dungeon entrance room.
After thanking Yong-Ho for walking her to the entrance, she praised Yong-Ho's power.
Yong-Ho had a satisfied smile. He spoke in a slightly modest tone.
"It's nothing compared to the potential you brought out of Eligor."
The Power of Evolution didn't have the power to create something out of nothing. It helped bring out the hidden potential that one had. The hidden potential that was marked in each of the development routes was proof.
However, it was still true that Yong-Ho's Power of Evolution was an amazing skill.
Ophelia spoke while smiling warmly.
"My father was correct. The House of Mammon will definitely rise again."
The chaos was scary and violent, but she wasn't worried. Ophelia now truly believed that the House of Mammon was going to rise again.
"I look forward to working with you."
"Of course, sir. I will serve you and the House of Mammon with everything that I have."
When the owner and the spirit happily finished their conversation, Yong-Ho discreetly signaled Eligor with his eyes. Eligor, who had been standing next to Yong-Ho, said goodbye to Ophelia.
"Good bye."
"You do know that you're still lacking, right?"
"I will continue improving myself."
When Ophelia jokingly made that comment, Eligor spoke seriously with a calm expression.
Ophelia smiled once again at his reply. As someone that acknowledged his willingness before, she spoke to her fellow Red Demon.
"Okay, I'll be waiting for our next meeting. Brother Eligor."
"Well... uh, huh?"
Eligor had the same expression as Ophelia when she was in the cafeteria and he even stuttered. Ophelia looked back at Yong-Ho with a satisfied smile. She showed respect to Yong-Ho, who had a bright smile on his face.
"Ophelia, the daughter of Endelyon, will now leave."
"Right. See you next time."
Catalina also had a blank expression and after saying goodbye with her eyes, Ophelia looked at Eligor one last time. Eligor was still spaced out and after winking at him, Ophelia turned around. Her red tail was gently swinging back and forth.
"She called you brother. Lucky guy."
Yong-Ho turned around and Catalina came back to her senses and quickly followed behind him.
Even during that time, Eligor kept on blinking his eyes. He was sure that he was the first one that attacked, but in the end, it felt like he was the one that got hit.
How would he describe this?
'Not bad. '
A warm smile appeared on Eligor's face. He turned around and walked back as the butler of the dungeon. He was slightly looking forward to the day when Ophelia would visit again.
And a day later.
Eligor's expectation backfired.
~Dungeon Offense #1~ End.
| ← Ch. 066 | Ch. 068 → |