Dungeon Maker

The similarity between a guy that attended an all-boys middle school, high school and majored in Engineering was very simple.

Since they barely had any interaction with the opposite sex, they couldn’t talk properly in front of them.

But, Chun Yong-Ho. The son of the neighborhood chicken restaurant was a bit different. Even though he couldn’t speak well, he had a good mindset.

“So, you’re saying that the family name died out?”

Yong-Ho was sitting in front of a computer while wearing a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and asked the two that were sitting behind the monitor.

One of them was a grey-haired old man that would make one think that he was a butler and the other was a young lady that was wearing a suit.

Just from looking at him, one could tell that the old man wasn’t human. His wrinkled face was red and in-between his white hair, two horns were sticking out of them. It wouldn’t be weird if he had a tail sticking out of his butt.

“That’s right. You’re the descendant of a great figure. Out of the Seven Deadly Sins, Maimon, who was the Demon of Greed, his blood will die out. Don’t you think this is really tragic?”

“It hasn’t completely died out because Chun Yong-Ho is still here.”

The old man sounded like he was going to cry while he was talking, but the lady’s cold voice interrupted him.

The lady had a soft, chocolate-covered skin with silver hair. It wasn’t because Yong-Ho was majoring in engineering, but if she were to stand in public, people would do a double-take because of how beautiful she was.

Her hair was tied up into a ponytail and in-between the loose strands, right above her ears, were two horns that were the size of a thumb. Like an elf, her ears were pointy and just like the old man, she probably wasn’t human.

Yong-Ho was about to look at the lady, but immediately turned his attention to the old man and coughed. He calmed down after taking in a deep breath.

“Let me go through it once more. Maimon, who happens to be one of the demons of the Seven Deadly Sins, his blood is dying out. A demon, no, if the head of the dungeon isn’t there, then it’ll die. If the dungeon dies, then the spirits that are residing there will die as well. So after searching for Maimon’s descendant, you came to me so that I could be the head of the dungeon?”

“Oh, you are quite intelligent. You are no doubt the descendent of Maimon.”

The old man looked as if he was touched. Yong-Ho was a bit suspicious by the old man’s reaction and turned his attention to the lady.

And like Yong-Ho had expected, she started speaking in a cold tone.

“Out of the all descendants that are alive, your blood is the strongest. And also...”

“Also?”

“The only one that has the power to become the head of the dungeon is you.”

It didn’t make sense that Yong-Ho was the only surviving descendant of Maimon. His father was still alive and well.

‘I understand, but.’

Out of all the descendants, Yong-Ho was the only one who could be the head of the dungeon. That’s why they came all this way to talk, no, to kidnap him.

Yong-Ho didn’t suspect that the two figures that were standing in front of him were demons. A blue portal that you would see in games, suddenly opened in the middle of the room and they walked through it.

While Yong-Ho was in a daze and finally came to his senses, he was in a room that he had never seen before.

His computer and desk were still there, but that was it. The gloomy room was made out of stone and the two figures were the only ones that were in the room.

Yong-Ho did his best to calm down.

If his father didn’t tell him about the Demon’s blood when he was younger, he probably would’ve suddenly acted out. Either screaming because he was scared or beg to stop talking nonsense and to send him back home.

Yong-Ho took another deep breath. He had to pay attention.

‘I’ve already been kidnapped.’

They were speaking formally, but it was only after Yong-Ho was forcefully taken to a space that he was unfamiliar with. This even might be the Demon’s Dungeon that they were speaking of. Seeing the gloomy, square room made it possible that this was it. 𝗳𝒓𝙚e𝓌e𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝙚𝙡.𝑐૦ｍ

What would happen if he declined and said he didn’t want to do it?

The dungeon would die and the spirits that reside within the dungeon would die as well.

If this story was true, then the two figures that were in front of him would lose their lives. There were no rules that told him that he couldn’t make any extreme decisions.

The descendant of a demon.

The head that controls the dungeon.

If it was five years ago, he was positive that he would’ve accepted on the spot. During that time, after finding out that he was the descendant of a demon, that’s all he ever thought about.

But now, it was different. Honestly, he still had an odd fantasy about sitting on a demon’s throne, but there were several requirements that came with that position.

“Will I be able to return?”

“Excuse me?”

“Even if I become the head of the dungeon, will I be able to return to the house that I lived in? Like taking a vacation once in a while and going back home.”

Surprised by Yong-Ho’s explanation, the old man let out a sigh of relief. The lady spoke.

“That’s definitely possible. And...since you have human blood as well, you can’t stay in this world forever. You do need to be with other humans once in a while.”

He can return home.

If what she said was true, no one could stop him from returning home.

Yong-Ho rolled his eyes again. The old man looked nervous while the lady stood still like a rock, but both of them looked really worried. It wasn’t a lie when they said they could die.

Descendant of a demon.

Maybe the wish he so wished for when he was in middle school was being fulfilled now.

‘Am I thinking too positively about this?’

He was taken to an unfamiliar place and the two that were standing in front of him would have a limited amount of time to live if they didn’t find someone to take over the dungeon. He only had one choice in this situation.

He was destined to walk this path.

And he didn’t want to be dragged into that position.

If he’s going to ascend to that position, he wanted to do it with his own two feet.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

After hearing Yong-Ho’s answer, the old man started crying tears of joy. The lady placed her hands on her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing how their reactions were similar to a human, Yong-Ho couldn’t help but smile.

Nothing will happen just because he ascends the throne, right? Yong-Ho was a descendant of a demon!

There was a time where Yong-Ho thought that way.

***

With a dumb look on his face, Yong-Ho sat on the Demon’s Throne. It was just a simple throne made out of stones without any decorations.

The demon’s room was also pretty bare. The square, gloomy room was made out of stones as well. Between the throne and the door, there was a red carpet, which was the room’s “color.” Of course there weren’t any windows either.

“How did the previous head die?”

“After realizing that they weren’t invited to the Demon Banquet, they felt humiliated and committed suicide.”

Maimon’s family failed.

No, to be exact, they haven’t failed entirely, but were on the verge. He wasn’t exactly sure what kind of difference there was between them.

There were a lot of demons in this world. They say that there are roughly a dozen of them and those demons had their own dungeon and once every couple of years, they gather at the Demon Banquet.

The fact that he was a descendant of a demon that was one of the Seven Deadly Sins wasn’t really surprising to him.

Being looked down upon by the other demons was the reason for the Maimon family’s downfall. It was also an example for others so that they wouldn’t go down the same way.

The large dungeon was on the verge of crumbling down and there weren’t any spirits that were taking care of the place.

Currently, the only spirits that were in the dungeon were the guard, Catalina, and the butler, Eligor.

When the previous head passed away, most of the spirits either moved to a different dungeon or became a wandering spirit. Catalina explained that they couldn’t leave because they belonged to this family.

Yong-Ho decided to think positively.

He felt proud of the fact that he was a descendant of the demon, Maimon, but his situation and Maimon’s situation were different. Today was also the first time he heard about Maimon being one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

That’s why, there was really no need to feel humiliated by the fact that they weren’t invited to the banquet and it didn’t make sense that they committed suicide because of it.

When he decided to ascend to the throne, there were several things he had expected, but had to give up on. Rather than being identified as a demon, he felt more comfortable being called ‘the chicken restaurant’s son’ or ‘the computer science freshman.’

Seeing how Yong-Ho’s reaction was calmer than what they expected, Catalina let out a sigh of relief.

‘My first impression of him was that he was a cold, ruler, but now that I think about it, he seems to be a very simple person.’

Even if he said he wasn’t going to do it, wouldn’t they have just given up and cried until they died?

After shaking his head to get rid of the pessimistic thoughts, Yong-Ho asked Catalina.

“Where’s Eligor?”

As soon as Yong-Ho said he would take ascend the throne, he started cheering, but soon disappeared. Catalina explained in low voice.

“He went out to meet the dungeon’s merchant. In order for you to really become the head of the dungeon, you’ll need the merchant’s assistance.”

“Um...what do you mean?”

He’ll need the help of a dungeon’s merchant in order to become the head of the dungeon?

Does that mean he had to purchase some kind of entrance ticket from the merchant?

As if he had read Yong-Ho’s mind, Catalina started shaking their head.

“In order to become the head of the dungeon either the previous head or the current head of another dungeon must witness the ceremony. But, as you already know, Maimon...”

“Since he committed suicide, there isn’t anyone else we can invite?”

Instead of answering the question, Catalina put on a sad expression. She seemed very simple-minded.

“Is this merchant the head of a dungeon as well?”

He voice sounded tired. After biting her lips a couple of times, she looked at Yong-Ho and answered.

“They’re not. They...I’m sorry, but the ceremony that we’re holding today is a bit, you can say, unofficial.”

After seeing her fidgeting her hands and feet, she probably thought he would back out on becoming the head after telling him about the ceremony.

‘At least Catalina and Eligor won’t be killed.’

He thought positively again regarding this situation, which caused him smirk. Rather than being the head of Maimon’s family, being the chicken restaurant’s son or the future of the restaurant was a more promising future.

“I think they’re here.”

Catalina spoke after carefully observing Yong-Ho’s reaction. As if she had sensed someone’s presence, as soon as she said that, the door suddenly opened.

<Ascend to the Throne> End.