Dungeon Maker

The road leading to the gold mine was very smooth sailing since they had already walked down it before.

The only dungeon monsters they encountered on their route were two Slimes.

"Good. From here on, we'll be traveling in an unexplored area. Everyone keep your guard up."

Jon, who was wielding the bamboo spear, became visibly nervous after hearing Yong-Ho's words, as did the Kobold in front of him.

Catalina closed the distance between her and Yong-Ho, whereas Skull just nonchalantly stretched out his shoulders.

Yong-Ho continued to give orders.

"Kobold, you will be the advance guard. Jon and Skull, you take care of the sides. While Catalina and I will be in the center and support."

Skull and Jon moved to the left and right side respectively. The Kobold, however, flinched and expressed dissatisfaction when Yong-Ho ordered him to be the advance guard but when Yong-Ho and Catalina glared at him, he immediately walked towards the front of the group.

After the group reorganized into formation, Yong-Ho continued his search by leading the group to the right-hand side of the door that led to the gold mine.

While they walked through five rooms in a row, they didn't encounter a single dungeon monster. Kobold and Jon seemed quite relieved, as they became a bit more laid-back.

Yong-Ho opened the dungeon map in the air. He nodded silently.

'Are the Crazy Ants and the Slimes solely based in the gold mine?'

If that was the case, then it was understandable why they hadn't encountered any dungeon monsters yet.

So, if they just keep walking, they would eventually reach the armory. Given the fact that they hadn't encountered any dungeon monsters yet, then it was highly likely that the armory wouldn't be occupied by a high number of monsters either.

"Master?"

Yong-Ho stopped and stared at the map, causing Catalina to call out to him with a gentle curiosity. Instead of answering, Yong-Ho looked forward. He answered with his eyes half-closed.

"I'm certain. I can sense something emanating from this direction."

Greed, which was still reacting to the gold mine, had to strongly covet a new prey.

Forwards.

It wasn't that far.

They walked through another room. Yong-Ho had a hunch. He raised his hand and stopped the party.

"Wait for a moment. It might be the next room."

The Kobold and Jon knew exactly what Yong-Ho meant. They both no longer maintained a relaxed composure and instead adopted a defensive stance.

Catalina wordlessly glanced at Yong-Ho. Their eyes met for a brief second. Yong-Ho then tightened his grip on Aamon and walked towards the wall. After standing by the door for a moment, he commanded the Kobold to open the door.

The Kobold was sweating profusely and was extremely hesitant, however, Jon started to poke him with his bamboo spear, so he didn't really have any choice. With slightly red eyes, the Kobold looked up at the door and quickly moved towards it.

[The room has been activated!]

As soon as the Kobold opened the door, the Spirit of the Dungeon provided mana to the inactive room. The lights drove the darkness away.

Moments later.

When Yong-Ho couldn't detect any reaction from the room, he looked towards Catalina. Catalina pulled down her hood and pricked up her ears. She nodded with satisfaction, she couldn't hear anything significant from inside.

Yong-Ho waited for Catalina to pull up her hood again and then completely opened the door. He then entered the room alongside Skull and Jon.

Unlike the other rooms, this room was quite large in size. The area was around three times larger and was especially long in length, with a large iron door at its end.

"The armory's door is precisely identical to its recorded description."

Catalina spoke as she looked at the door adorned with an engraving of a wolf devouring the moon. The Spirit of the Dungeon spoke as well.

[I can feel a strong energy beyond that door. Be careful, master.]

Yong-Ho also felt it. He decided to concentrate on the surrounding flow of mana. Green flames blossomed out of his eyes as if he had activated the Power of Evolution.

The demon world was created by mana. Every creature possessed it, from the smallest of creatures and to the mightiest of demons.

Each being's mana had different characteristics.

The color and attribute.

Through the Power of Evolution, Yong-Ho was able to read a spirit's potential. The skill also revealed the color and the attributes of their mana.

Therefore, Yong-Ho didn't just feel the flow of the mana. It was possible for him to physically observe it.

Beyond the iron door.

Just like the Spirit of the Dungeon had mentioned. He could see a strong emanation of mana. The mana was stronger than the giant demon he had fought before.

Heat. Flame. Vivid yellow.

The mana rose up like a haze in-between the iron door. The mana created a whirlpool and quickly started to flow faster.

Yong-Ho yelled.

"To the side!"

Kobold and Jon, who had been on high alert, quickly flung their bodies towards the right wall. While Yong-Ho grabbed Catalina by her waist and threw himself to the left, Catalina stretched out her hand and grabbed Skull, who had just been standing there with a blank expression.

An empty space was created.

Rumble!

The heat wave moved at an extremely fast rate. With a loud bang, it crushed the iron door causing it to burn with yellow smoke.

A pillar of flame.

The Kobold and Jon shook in fear. Skull's jaw dropped blankly, while Yong-Ho inspected the room beyond the damaged door. Catalina suddenly yelled.

"Salamander!"

Yong-Ho saw it as well. Something was burning in the darkness with the silhouette of a large lizard. Vivid yellow flames enveloped its entire body causing it to look more akin to a living flame than a dungeon monster.

Yong-Ho quickly asked.

"Is it a flame spirit or something? Does it not have an actual body?"

In one of Yong-Ho's favorite games, a salamander usually appeared as a flame spirit. Catalina hastily answered.

"It's not completely a spirit. It's similar, but it's more akin to a fire demon that survives by devouring mana!"

After Catalina answered him, she quickly jumped off the ground. Yong-Ho also hurriedly stood up. The salamander had started to move.

'Just one enemy!'

There weren't many monsters like last time. Just one. The flame that burned the air seemed terrifying, but if fire was its only weapon, then there was a way they could defeat it. Yong-Ho tightened his grip on Aamon.

"Roar!"

The salamander roared and released fire from its mouth, as it walked out of the armory. The salamander's length was around four meters long.

With an opponent like that, there was nothing Jon and Kobold could possibly do. Yong-Ho exchanged a glance with Catalina again. They instantly understood the other's intention, shared by the bond of spirit and master, and both started to run in opposite directions.

"This way!"

Catalina kicked off the ground and yelled as if she was provoking it. Similar to the incident when Yong-Ho was on her back, she agilely jumped from the ground to the wall, to the ceiling, and then back to the ground again.

Catalina's flashy movements caused the salamander to focus its attention on her. The salamander suddenly sprinted towards her and spat out a cone of fire. Just like a real lizard, its movement was extremely fast.

Catalina didn't scream. Even though she was usually quite clumsy, she was still the guard of the House of Mammon and the strongest soldier within the dungeon. Instead of shaking in fear, she focused on the Salamander's movements. While maintaining her focus, she wielded her crossbow and fired shots at the salamander.

However, despite her attack, the salamander didn't slow down. The arrows hit the salamander's body but weren't enough to pierce through its thick skin.

"Catalina!"

Yong-Ho yelled. Catalina promptly kicked off the wall and widened the distance between her and the salamander. Her attention was now focused on Yong-Ho.

"Master!"

Catalina unknowingly yelled. She couldn't control herself.

Yong-Ho rushed towards the salamander. He resembled a charging lanceman, with green flames starting to emanate out of Aamon. Unrestrained, Aamon's flames started to resemble a wild animal.

"Roar!"

The salamander suddenly turned its head towards Yong-Ho and spat out a ball of fire. Since he was so close, dodging was difficult. However, that wasn't a problem. Yong-Ho had no intention of dodging it in the first place.

"Roaaaaaar!"

At the same time, the salamander roared. Aamon's green flame charged straight through the flames of the salamander. Flame ate flame.

It was a gamble, but he succeeded. The distance between Yong-Ho and the salamander immediately closed. Aamon pierced through the salamander's side.

"Roaar!"

The salamander shrieked and violently struggled. Flames emanated not just from its mouth, but from its entire body. It was hot. It was a terrifying heat with the power to even melt steel. However, Yong-Ho didn't back down. Aamon's flames shielded Yong-Ho from the fire. He twisted Aamon and further pushed it into the salamander.

'Move!'

It was tiring for him even with his strengthened body. Yong-Ho used all of his strength to further pierce the Salamander causing it to let out a painful scream and push him to the side.

"Skullll!"

Skull unexpectedly provided assistance.

His large, sturdy hammer drew a beautiful line through the air and vertically smashed the head of the Salamander.

The salamander was a fire demon. It was a tough being, however, due to the shock that it suddenly received, it couldn't come back to its senses. On top of that, Skull didn't stop there.

"Skkkkkkulll!"

Skull swung his hammer around with craze and continued to hit the salamander on the head. Yong-Ho, who was just trying to corner the salamander into a wall to prevent it from moving, and couldn't help but just watch Skull with a blank face.

"S-Skull is of more help than Catalina?!"

Yong-Ho accidentally expressed his thoughts and caused Catalina to flinch. Suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to best Skull, she quickly kicked off the ground.

However, there wasn't much left for Catalina to do.

The Salamander, who repeatedly had its head smashed by Skull's hammer, was almost in a comatose state and was unable to even move its body, unable to use its flames.

Catalina walked up next to Yong-Ho and unsheathed her dagger, however, she didn't know where to use it.

Skull then raised up his hammer and roared as if taunting Catalina.

"Skkkkull! Skkkkull!"

Yong-Ho watched them and couldn't help but laugh. He had used up all of his mana at once to defeat the salamander, but thanks to Skull, they were able to win easier than expected.

'Shall we finish it?'

Yong-Ho pulled out Aamon from the salamander's side and looked at the defeated beast. Maybe it was because it was still stunned, but now that its flames looked really weak and it just looked like an ordinary lizard.

Like the giant, he had to absorb the salamander's spirit. However, in order to do so, he had to kill the salamander first.

Yong-Ho's eyes turned cold. His greed for the spirit overwhelmed any uncertainty about killing a living creature. He gulped without knowing.

Absorbing spirit not only felt pleasurable but increased his mana as well.

Yong-Ho raised Aamon. And right before he pierced it into the monster, Catalina grabbed his arm.

"Pl-please wait, master."

Catalina suddenly froze in place after speaking. Yong-Ho had a terrifying expression in his eyes after she interrupted him from killing and absorbing the spirit.

However, that was only for a moment. Yong-Ho regained his consciousness and caught his breath. After shaking his head once, he spoke.

"What is it, Catalina?"

Yong-Ho had regained his composure. As a spirit that belonged to the dungeon, grabbing the owner's arm and interrupting him was considered quite disrespectful.

Catalina let out a sigh of relief and gulped. She spoke while pointing towards the salamander.

"The salamander is a fire spirit. If you tame it properly, it'll definitely become a Rank Three spirit. It's already lost and I'm sure it realized that its flames are no match against yours, so I'm sure it would be possible for you to tame it."

Yong-Ho didn't quite understand everything Catalina was talking about, but he grasped the general concept.

Now that he thought about it, Eligor did mention something about taming the dungeon monsters in the prison.

Yong-Ho looked at the salamander again.

The salamander was definitely a strong spirit. If Yong-Ho didn't have Aamon, then there was no way he would be able to fight it. It wouldn't have been odd if the previous owners had to give up on obtaining the armory because of it.

And he would be able to have such a salamander as his subordinate.

Yong-Ho sheathed Aamon. He did what Catalina had suggested.

"Good job, Catalina. You managed to get the salamander's attention during the battle. You're definitely my guard."

He petted her head while complimenting her, which caused her ears to start to flutter.

"It's nothing. I'm just doing my job as your guard."

At the same time, she cutely glanced over at Skull.

Trying not to laugh, Yong-Ho called over Jon and the Kobold, who were standing in the corner. Now, it was time for them to fulfill their actual goal.

"Okay, let's empty… no, let's check it out."

Yong-Ho commanded the group and the spirits followed Catalina's lead.