Dungeon Maker

<Private #2>

Flying through the sky while riding the salamander was an incredible thing.

He wanted to continue flying like this.

But it was obvious that the salamander was tired.

They weren’t used to flying yet and the evolution process itself used up a lot of their stamina.

The salamander lowered themselves and returned to the dungeon entrance and instead of being selfish, Yong-Ho decided to let the salamander rest.

The salamander landed on the ground. Since they didn’t have any experience flying or landing, they landed pretty roughly, but no one really cared.

The Orcs were the first ones to clap and then some of the spirits followed and clapped at the salamander.

The salamander must’ve felt embarrassed because they groaned and then shook their head.

Yong-Ho patted the salamander’s back and then got off their back. Since a handle was already there, if he could get a nice saddle from somewhere, it would be perfect.

’But.’

Because of his excitement, there was something that he missed.

Was it too much?

He wasn’t referring to the salamander’s evolution. He was talking about the fact that he evolved the salamander outside of the dungeon.

Because she observed around the House of Mammon’s dungeon, she realized that Yong-Ho was the owner.

The fact that Ophelia knew what Catalina looked like was a big hint.

The other owners and the pub’s information agents closely observed Foras’s dungeon, so they knew that Foras wasn’t coming back.

Yong-Ho turned around.

Ophelia said that other than her, there wasn’t anyone else that was watching around the House of Mammon’s dungeon.

She was able to watch them through the artifact that her father left. He left it in an alleyway within the House of Mammon in case Kaiwan returned.

Since the dungeon entrance and the area around it were protected by mana, installing a monitoring magic or artifact was difficult. Those that monitored the area usually used spirits, like the Dungeon Meerkat, to monitor and sense the surrounding.

’That’s why I think there wasn’t anyone that saw it, but...’

But it was a bit overboard. It was something he had to refrain from doing next time.

’That is true.’

When Yong-Ho turned back around, he noticed that the spirits were looking at him, so he smiled awkwardly.

Their eyes were really sparkling.

Catalina was looking at the salamander with an uncomfortable expression and it seemed like she wanted to ride it, but was stopping herself from asking. The way her tail and ears were drooping looked cute, but at the same time, he felt bad.

The Orcs excitedly talked about how everything that the Goblins said were true and the Goblins and Kobold were busy jumping around. Skull also cheered while waving their hammer.

But among them, the Treant was the most excited.

The Treant was more excited than the salamander and they looked at Yong-Ho as their branches started shaking. A human’s face was created on the tree’s body, so he was able to see their excited expression.

’They’re aware of it.’

The fact that they were next.

Yong-Ho turned around again. And he thought doing it again wouldn’t hurt since he’d already done it once, so he approached the Treant.

When Yong-Ho got closer to the Treant, the other spirits closed their mouths and looked at them. They looked like spectators watching a magic show.

Yong-Ho slightly glanced over. The Princess Ant, who was standing next to the Kobold, was blinking her eyes. Even though it’s only been a couple of days, it seemed like she developed emotions.

He couldn’t push back on registering her as a spirit. But today would end with Treant’s development.

"Okay. Don’t get scared and relax."

As they relaxed, the Treant’s branches dropped. Yong-Ho raised his left hand again so that the spirits could see it clearly. Yong-Ho used the Power of Evolution to look at the Treant’s stats.

[Race : Treant (M)]

[Type : Monster Spirit (Low Rank)]

[Element : Earth Level 1]

[Individual Trait]

[Naive]

[Individual Skill]

[Vines / Stamina]

[Development Rate : 100/100]

[Vines (Tentacles) Level 1 | ★★ (2)] -> Advancement route revealed upon development

[Stamina Level 0 | ★★ (2)]

[Agility Level 0 | ★ (1)]

Since they were originally a Rank Two spirit and they’ve only evolved once, they were a lot weaker than the salamander in many ways.

Yong-Ho had already thought about the Treant’s development route, so he chose Vines without hesitation.

Light enveloped the Treant this time too. The Treant’s silhouette was transforming within the light and the other spirits stopped breathing and focused on the Treant.

The light disappeared. Yong-Ho released a long sigh and pulled back the hand that was on top of the Treant’s body. He took a few steps back and looked at their entire body.

Their body grew bigger and the number of vines increased. It was safe to say that there was twice as many.

The spirits excitedly clapped this time too.

But after evolving, the Treant looked at themselves for a moment and with a sad face, their vines fell to the floor.

It seemed like they were expecting to obtain wings too.

’I’m sorry. That’s impossible.’

Even though the salamander obtained wings they didn’t have, he thought that change was possible because it was within an acceptable range.

But he couldn’t imagine wings appearing on a tree and giving them the ability to fly.

Yong-Ho tapped the Treant’s vines as if he was telling them to cheer up and then looked at the advancement route.

[Treant – Assault Type] | [Treant – Defensive Type] 𝗳𝔯𝙚e𝒘e𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝙚l.𝑐o𝙢

Both of them looked slow as usual, but the assault type had pine cones along with the vines and also thorns. For the defensive type, the leaves were bigger and thicker.

After checking the advancement route, Yong-Ho looked back at Eligor. He walked into the House of Mammon’s dungeon along with the spirits.

&

"Seriously! Why didn’t you come in when you arrived?!"

"Did you do that to worry me?"

"But you’re back safe and sound."

Lucia greeted Yong-Ho by making a fuss in the beginning and then talking softly afterwards.

The way they acted was pretty cute, so after he chuckled like Skull, he looked around the dungeon entrance room. Even though they reorganized a large part of the dungeon, there wasn’t a big change to the entrance room.

"We’ve finished reorganizing the inside passageway, like you’ve instructed. We’re currently reinstalling the traps and building the workshop."

Eligor explained after reading Yong-Ho’s mind. Yong-Ho nodded his head and looked at the ceiling. He spoke as he waved his finger into the air.

"Lucia, is it possible to register the Princess Ant as a spirit now?"

"It’s possible."

"From the way you acted outside, it seems like you’re in a hurry today, sir."

"I’m not done. I have a present for you too."

Lucia didn’t reply right away. If they were a human, they would probably be blinking their eyes.

"A present for me?" 𝒇𝑟𝐞𝐞w𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜vℯl.co𝑚

"You brought me a present?"

"Let’s start the registration. Support me."

Yong-Ho spoke slowly as if he was trying to change the subject and then looked at Kobold and the Princess Ant. When Yong-Ho lightly waved his hand, the Kobold understood and immediately brought the Princess Ant in front of him.

Yong-Ho imagined Lucia pouting with an unsatisfied look. That’s what she must’ve been doing because she spoke in a slightly sulky tone.

"Preparations are complete. Please begin."

"Like I’ve mentioned before, registering the Princess Ant as a spirit will take a lot more mana than usual."

"Please keep that in mind."

She must’ve created a line between public and private matters because her voice was calm again.

After nodding his head, he placed his hand on top of the Princess Ant’s head.

Because she saw what happened outside, she slightly flinched, but then closed her eyes and didn’t push back his hand.

Like Lucia warned earlier, the amount of mana that it took to register them was similar to when he evolved the salamander.

The Princess Ant groaned and a white magic circle appeared on her forehead.

"The registration is complete. The Princess Ant is now the House of Mammon’s spirit."

"Whew."

When looking at the amount of mana he used, it was like he evolved a spirit three times, so he let out a deep sigh and pulled his hand back. The Princess Ant then opened her eyes and after looking at herself, a disappointed look appeared on her face as her shoulders dropped. They probably thought they were going to transform.

Yong-Ho patted their head. Maybe it’s because she’s been registered, but he felt closer to her.

And it was the same for the Princess Ant. She was like an inanimate object before and started showing a bit of emotion.

’Let me push my limit a bit more.’

The spirit registration felt like an annual event.

Yong-Ho activated the Power of Evolution.

[Race : Crazy Ant (F)]

[Position : Princess Ant]

[Type : Monster Spirit (Low Rank)]

[Element : Coldness Level 0]

[Individual Trait]

[Innocent]

[Individual Skill]

[Charm / Mana]

[Development Rate : 0/100]

[Charm Level 0 | ★★ (2)]

[Emotion Level 0 | ★☆ (1.5)]

[Mana Level 0 | ★★ (2)]

[Stamina Level 0 | ★ (1)]

[Attribute Strengthening Level 0 | ★☆ (1.5)]

’Good.’

Yong-Ho touched the window of light that displayed the development route. There was a faint silhouette above the Princess Ant’s body, but none of them showed any dramatic changes. It just felt like a 10 year old turned 11 years old.

’Will there be a Queen Ant advancement when they become an adult?’

"Usually, the Princess Ant needs anywhere from a few years to over a decade in order to become a Queen Ant."

"Since they’ve lost the colony, there’s a possibility that they might choose to grow quickly in order to create a new colony."

’I wonder.’

Yong-Ho nodded his head and looked at the Princess Ant again. After lowering himself so that he could be on the same level as her, he spoke.

"I look forward to working with you. Staring today, your name is Yuria."

Maybe it’s the effects of the spirit registration, but it felt like the Princess Ant actually understood what he said. Even in the spirit list, Yuria was added to it.

Kobold, who was always with the Princess Ant, barked as they jumped around. It seemed like they were congratulating her, but at the same time, it was like they were signaling Yong-Ho to give them a name as well.

’How about Spot or Puppy?’

It might be too much to name all the spirits that he was going to register from now on, but he felt that he should at least give the Treant and the salamander a name.

’For the salamander, maybe Lamborghini, Diablo or Porsche...no, that’s a bit too much. Maybe Salami?’

Anyways, he decided to think about it later. He had to discuss with Eligor regarding the things that happened at the free city and he had to understand the new dungeon layout.

After Eligor dismissed the spirits, Yong-Ho spoke with a relaxed expression.

"I know it’s a bit late, but thing worked out great."

"It seems that way."

Eligor smiled warmly. Yong-Ho gathered Eligor, Catalina and Skull and walked towards the inner part of the dungeon. After checking how the passageways have been reorganized on the dungeon map, he asked a question.

"Where’s the Dwarf now?"

The Dwarf had manufacturing skills and they would be in charge of the workshop.

Eligor answered Yong-Ho’s question with a warm smile.

"Of course they’re in the prison."

Why did he say "of course" in the beginning?

Yong-Ho asked again with a confused look.

"Just out of curiosity, you didn’t torture them, right?"

A sulky expression appeared on Eligor’s face and Yong-Ho released a sigh of relief.

<Private #2> End.