Chapter 30

"Grrr..."

Gray the Fang Wolf crouched low, watching his prey.

[Gray Lv.4]

Fang Wolf

He had gained a few levels, but he was still small enough to fit in a palm. Yet, true to his heritage as a descendant of the great Fang Clan, he had grown strong enough to hunt one or two goblins with ease.

These days, he strutted around with his tail held high.

Of course, three were still too much for him. Whenever three goblins attacked at once, he would promptly tuck his tail and flee into a little burrow he had dug beforehand. The pursuing goblins would find the burrow too small to enter and eventually give up and leave.

As Gray settled into life in the Shadow Dungeon, running circles around the big, stupid goblins, a great crisis struck one day.

An uninvited guest had suddenly appeared in the Shadow Dungeon!

"Grrr..."

With the utmost caution in his eyes, Gray was secretly stalking the intruder. His quarry looked quite strong, but utterly drained, as though she had gone hungry for a long time.

He could do this.

That very weakness stirred Gray's competitive spirit.

He could do this.

Hunting prey stronger than himself was a tremendous honor.

Gray swallowed. Holding his breath, his expression taut with tension, he waited for his prey to show an opening.

And at last!

A twitch.

His quarry moved!

"You know I can see you, right?"

"Yip?"

Esil reached down and lifted Gray by the scruff of his neck from the corner where he had been crouching and glaring at her.

"Yip! Whiiine!"

Oh no! Caught!

Startled, Gray flailed his short legs. But when he realized that no amount of struggling would free him from Esil's grip, he glared defiantly and let out a fierce growl.

"Grrr!"

"Ugh, seriously. If you weren't Master Suho's pet, I'd gobble you right up."

Esil smacked her lips as she looked at Gray, regretting the missed opportunity.

'Who would have thought a descendant of the Monarch of Fangs would still be alive in a place like this?'

He was barely even a mouthful, but the flesh and blood of the Fang Clan were precious elixirs in their own right.

"Grrr!"

He licked and licked!

"Oh? Going to at least have a taste, are you?"

Gray twisted his muzzle this way and that, diligently licking the hand holding his scruff. All the while, he kept his audacious gaze fixed on Esil.

"Honestly. What a ridiculous little dog."

Esil finally chuckled.

"I suppose you know instinctively, too. That eating me would give you power."

'We're actually in the same boat.'

She was the only surviving demon noble in the Demon Realm. In other words, she was the sole legitimate heir who might one day become the Demon Monarch.

Just as the demons had recently sought her blood, the pure blood flowing through her veins held precious power in its own right.

'... And the same goes for you.'

This cheeky little pup was the only remaining member of the Fang Clan, and might one day become the Monarch of Fangs.

A strange feeling suddenly came over Esil.

'Two pureblood survivors of clans destroyed in the war, gathered here together. What exactly did Master Suho take us in for?'

A lick? Then more licking, over and over!

"Oh, come on! Stop getting your slobber all over me!"

Just then...

[You have entered the Shadow Dungeon.]

WHOOSH!

Suho and Beru entered the Shadow Dungeon at that very moment. And they were carrying fresh whole pigs.

Two of them, no less!

"Oh!"

"Yip?"

Esil and Gray turned their heads in unison.

GRRRROWL!

A thunderous noise rang out from Esil's and Beru's stomachs.

Suho chuckled at the sound and held out a whole pig.

"Here. You said demons like meat, right?"

"Yes! Anything but grass!"

Esil hurriedly tossed Gray behind her and eagerly took the pig from Suho.

Gray shot straight back and bared his teeth greedily in front of Esil.

Then he flopped over!

"Yip! Whiiine!"

Suddenly exposing his belly, he began wriggling from side to side.

But Esil was firm.

"No. Go away. This is my food."

"Hah, hah, hah, hah!"

"Wagging your tail now won't help!"

"Grrr!"

The wolf pup and the demon noble squabbled over the whole pig.

Watching from behind them, Suho couldn't hide his bemusement.

'Why does it feel like I'm attracting nothing but carnivores lately?'

Munch, munch, munch!

[Hehe! Delicious!]

"..."

They had brought two whole pigs. Behind him, Beru had already latched onto the remaining one and was busily tearing into it.

Even the fearless Gray didn't dare covet Beru's food.

"Well then, thanks for the meal!"

Esil plunged her hand deep into the pig's body.

Then...

WHOOOSH!

The large pig began to shrivel around Esil's hand.

'Oh.'

As Suho watched in fascination, Beru glided up beside him and explained.

[She is draining the mana within the pig's body. Demons have all sorts of ways of eating, but demon nobles tend to prefer a tidy approach.]

"Whoa, you startled me. What are you, an exposition bug?"

[I am indeed a bug.]

Beru nodded as though this were obvious. Then he went back to his pig and opened his mouth wide.

Munch, munch, chomp.

Unlike Esil, Beru seemed to prefer a less tidy way of eating.

Suho chuckled and casually turned his gaze elsewhere.

"Then, in the meantime, I'll..."

SNIFF, SNIFF. *

KEK, KEKEK.

Wild goblins had caught the scent of meat and were gathering around them one by one.

Suho extended a hand.

"Gak?!"

The goblin in the lead suddenly floated into the air, kicking its legs.

Ruler's Authority.

A faint smile crossed Suho's lips.

"How about I do my daily quest?"

[Daily Quest: Cleaning the Shadow Dungeon]

100 Goblins: Incomplete (0/100)

10 Goblin Decurions: Incomplete (0/10)

1 Goblin Centurion: Incomplete (0/1)

* * *

[Your completion rewards have arrived.]

[Would you like to view your rewards?] (Y/N)

He could really feel how much his stats had increased.

'A hundred goblins don't even count as morning exercise anymore.'

Suho lightly dusted off his hands amid the goblin corpses. Two swords, Rakan’s Fang and Vulcan's Horn, stood embedded in the ground on either side of him.

'Looks like there's no hidden quest this time.'

He had killed a few extra this time as well, but the hidden reward seemed to have been a one-time affair.

Still, the regular daily quest rewards were plenty worthwhile.

[The following rewards are available.]

Reward 1. Full Recovery

Reward 2. Stat Points +3

Reward 3. 1 Random Box

For now, he decided to leave the first reward, Full Recovery, unclaimed.

'I'll save this for a real emergency later.'

Potions could restore his HP, but they restored only a small amount, and slowly at that. The Full Recovery reward, on the other hand, worked instantly. It was perfect for a true emergency.

'And I'll put all my stat points into Strength.'

When all was said and done, Strength was the best way to get stronger. The higher the stat, the more his power and speed increased.

'Next, the Random Box.'

Since this wasn't a hidden reward, an ordinary Random Box appeared in Suho's hands. When he opened it, a small ring rattled out.

[You have acquired 'Item: Ashen Ring.']

"A ring?"

As Suho picked up the dull-colored ring, its item description appeared.

[Item: Ashen Ring]

Acquisition Difficulty: D

Type: Accessory

Perception +5

"It raises Perception by a whole five points?"

Suho's eyes widened. It was a remarkably good item for something so plain-looking.

Perception enhanced the five senses, increasing the ability to detect danger. In other words, it improved his ability to pick up on surprise attacks.

Suho eagerly slipped the ring onto his finger. It was loose, but that wasn't a problem.

[You have equipped 'Item: Ashen Ring.']

The Ashen Ring faded from his finger, and its stat bonus took effect immediately.

[Perception: 29(+5)]

'Even ordinary Random Boxes are really good. It's like a prize draw.'

While Suho was completing his daily quest...

[Buuurp.]

The meal had come to an end, too.

But Esil, who had been watching Suho hunt goblins from behind, wore a puzzled expression. She had merely watched because helping with someone else's hunt was bad manners, but something about goblins wandering around this place struck her as odd.

"That's strange."

"What is?"

"How did dimensional refugees find their way here?"

"Dimensional refugees?"

"Those things. After the Monarchs' war ended, the surviving stragglers got swept up in dimensional rifts and scattered all over the place. We call them dimensional refugees."

In a way, it was only natural. With all the Monarchs who had held them together gone, the magic beasts under their command had scattered far and wide.

"But I don't think this is a coincidence."

[What isn't a coincidence?]

Esil's words caught Beru's interest, too.

"Well, hmm... Breaking through the dimensional barrier is actually really difficult and troublesome."

[I know that well. If it were easy, I would have returned to my liege long ago.]

Beru nodded. In the past, it had taken someone on the level of the Monarch of the Illusion Realm to open a Gate into another dimension. Even then, it had been far from easy.

"If even Beru has that much trouble, could mere stragglers from the war cross the dimensional barrier so easily?"

[Oh?]

A gleam appeared in Beru's eyes. Suho also caught her meaning and nodded.

"Could it be because of the blue mist?"

"Exactly. One day, blue mist from the outer universe started wreaking havoc on the dimensional barrier on our side. Just how badly must it have warped things for even feeble goblins like those to drift into the world ruled by the Shadow Monarch?"

Esil shrugged at the absurdity of it.

-I agree.

Rakan’s Fang, held in Suho's hand, abruptly joined the conversation.

-Unless those stragglers were mad, they would never willingly enter the world ruled by the victor of the war. The dimensional rifts really must be badly distorted.

'Ah.'

During the conversation, Suho suddenly realized something important.

"Beru, let me ask you something."

[Yes, sir.]

"You said Dad's army and the apostles from the outer universe are evenly matched right now, didn't you?"

[Indeed. The balance is so precarious that my liege cannot risk coming to Earth himself. That is why he sent me.]

"Then if you look at it the other way around, doesn't that mean the outer universe's forces can't risk coming to Earth right now, either?"

[Huh?]

Beru's eyes went wide.

[... Oh?]

Then they widened again.

"Right?"

[You are right, Young Monarch! Of course that must be it!]

Beru nodded furiously.

Suho nodded as well, murmuring,

"So that's why they're using dimensional refugees. Since they can't come themselves, they must have rounded up dimensional refugees and connected them to Earth instead."

Getting the job done without lifting a finger, so to speak.

And this arrangement was hardly a bad deal for the dimensional refugees, either. To them, Earth was easy pickings.

A place where they could kill, plunder, and conquer to their hearts' content.

'And one more thing.'

Suho finally understood the purpose of the daily quest he had been given.

[Daily Quest: Cleaning the Shadow Dungeon]

"I'd better clear out the goblins as fast as possible, find the dimensional rift they came through, and seal it."

[Correct. If we keep leaving these dimensional refugees alone, the ones from the outer universe will eventually discover this place. No, to be precise...]

"They'll discover me."

[...]

Suho understood his situation perfectly.

"Because I'm Dad's only weakness."

He had one more reason to grow stronger.