Edited By: Sebas Tian

He was exhausted.

His body was in pain.

The new spirit that he absorbed restored his mana, but it wasn't enough. He was so thirsty that it felt like he drank the ocean.

But he couldn't fall here.

If he fell here, everything would come to an end.

A fight where one puts their life on the line was an extremely exciting thing.

It wasn't just about winning and losing. The decision of who lives and dies was decided in an instant.

The fact that he survived made his blood boil.

The sight and smell of red blood made his heart keep racing.

But he had to remain calm.

Even though his body was burning, his head and mentality had to remain cold.

He absorbed Foras's spirit.

He got stronger. It was a small amount, but he recovered some mana.

During the short moment when he raised his body, a thought popped into his head. He released a green flame, which captured everyone's attention and he counted through the flame.

He took down the leader of the enemy.

Foras was probably the strongest enemy within the dungeon, but he didn't exist anymore.

Gokun, who was assumed to be Foras's guard, was also dying as blood was flowing out of their neck.

There were less than 10 Orcs left.

When comparing to the number of enemies that invaded, this was a great accomplishment.

But Yong-Ho didn't flatter himself with it.

When talking about victory, one had to consider not only the number of enemies, but the amount of damage it caused them.

Catalina was lying on the ground and her body was shaking. She couldn't stand up and the blood that she spat out was all over her mouth. Due to the pain she felt, tears continuously fell down her face.

The Clay Golem was destroyed. The mud that kept the Clay Golem's together was probably dried out due to the cold that Foras released.

Skull couldn't stand up because their pelvis was destroyed. The Rock Golem was partially destroyed and the salamander, who used up their energy since the beginning, was breathing heavily due to exhaustion.

The Kobold was whimpering in the corner and as always, they weren't helpful. The Goblin, Yon, died and the remaining three Goblins had used more than half of their energy during the fight.

Yong-Ho saw Eligor stumbling while standing up.

Yong-Ho looked around and after taking everything in, he took a step.

He straightened his back and fixed his posture. That small movement made his body scream in pain, but he endured it.

He felt everyone looking at him. The Orcs couldn't move.

It was probably because they were shocked due to the death of Foras and Busker Gokun.

The battle wasn't over, but it didn't continue either.

Yong-Ho turned around. He heard the sound of someone gulping.

The Treant's condition was fine and instead of looking at Yong-Ho, they looked at the Orcs. It was an action that was worth complimenting.

Yong-Ho's back was turned towards the Orcs and as he approached Catalina,he lowered himself.

"Catalina."

"Ma…st…"

Catalina couldn't speak properly. It looked like she was trying to force herself to smile, but she couldn't. The area that Foras hit turned blue due to their cold fist. It looked like breathing was even difficult for her.

Yong-Ho didn't say anything. Catalina played a big part in taking down Foras. If it wasn't for the arrow that she shot at the end, Yong-Ho could've been the one on the floor, not Foras.

Yong-Ho slowly put his hand on top of Catalina's abdomen. It was really soft, but cold. The cold was like Foras's curse and it felt like it was piercing into Yong-Ho.

Yong-Ho accepted that coldness. As he absorbed the spirit, he also absorbed Foras's coldness and it gave Yong-Ho strength. He stabilized the coldness that was sitting on Catalina's abdomen area.

Then, Yong-Ho poured out his mana into Catalina through the palm of his hand.

Even though Catalina was a mix between a Dark Elf and a Succubus, she was still a demon. As a spirit that belonged to the dungeon, she soaked in Yong-Ho's mana and was able to gain some energy.

Catalina's expression looked relaxed. Her anxiety must've gone away because she slowly closed her eyes and fainted.

Yong-Ho released a sigh of relief. If Yong-Ho didn't get stronger by absorbing the spirit, then he could've been in danger. When the owner becomes stronger, so does the spirit that belongs to dungeon and through this, he saved Catalina's life.

He wanted to spend more time on Catalina, but he couldn't. Yong-Ho stood up again. His eyes met with Eligor's and after reading Yong-Ho's thought, he nodded his head. It was a sign saying that he was fine.

Yong-Ho felt thankful and sorry towards him, causing Yong-Ho to turn around.

The Orcs still weren't moving. There was an odd nervousness that filled the entire room.

Everyone was still looking at Yong-Ho. Yong-Ho let them stare and started walking. When Yong-Ho slowly approached them, the Orcs started reacting differently. Some tightened their grip on their weapon and others were looking at him while squinting their eyes.

Yong-Ho stopped in front of Yon and Jun.

Jon and Ron were looking at the Orcs while holding a spear and Jun, who was the only girl within the Goblin Rangers, was crying while holding Yon, who was dying because their chest was cut open.

Yong-Ho activated the Power of Evolution and looked at Yon.

It was a relief. Yon must've done something big before dying because their Development Rate was now at 100.

Yong-Ho placed his left hand on top of Yon's head. He poured a bit of mana that he had and evolved Yon into a Hobgoblin.

The Power of Evolution.

Just like the other spirits, a bright light enveloped Yon's body.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that evolving meant changing their race. Their physique was changing and it looked as if their body was going through a big reconstruction.

Yon's injury was healed. Their uneven breathing sounded like it was going to be completely cut off, but Yon's breathing was stabilized.

Jun looked like someone that witnessed a miracle and looked at Yong-Ho with an expression that was filled with joy and pleasure. Jon and Ron kept on looking back due to their anxiety and they also couldn't hide their excitement.

The Orcs reacted as well. Some widened their eyes and some dropped their weapons without knowing.

It wasn't like a recovery magic. What happened before their eyes was more like a transcendental situation.

Yong-Ho stood up from his seat. Skull was quietly making noises, but Yong-Ho stopped himself from turning around and instead, looked at the Orcs. He didn't have that much mana left, but he covered Aamon in fire one more time.

There were seven Orcs that grabbed their weapon and stood up.

Foras and Gokun were dead, but if all of them felt the same way, then it would be a problem. It was better if there was a leader among the group.

And thankfully, out of the surviving Orcs, there was one Orc that silently stepped up to the leader position.

It was easy to tell because the other Orcs were glancing at them.

The Orc had a sword scar near their eye. It was old, but they were wearing a well-made armor and used an extremely large sword as their weapon.

Yong-Ho's eyes met theirs. He opened his mouth and waited for a moment. He spoke, hoping that his voice wouldn't crack or sound weak.

"The fight is over."

He didn't say it to look cool. He didn't have the energy to say anything else.

The Orc with the scar looked back at Foras and Gokun's corpse.

Yong-Ho didn't erase the possibility of them charging at him to avenge their owner's death.

He didn't avert his eyes. He wanted to collapse to the ground, but he endured it with all his might.

The Orc closed their eyes. They carefully released a long sigh and after opening their eyes again, they looked at Yong-Ho. They placed the large sword on the ground.

"We lost. We surrender."

As soon as the Orc with the scar made their decision, the other Orcs hesitated for a moment and laid down their weapons as well. One of the hesitated and when the Orc with the scar glared at them, they ended up throwing their weapon on the ground.

The fight was really over. But he couldn't relax until the Orcs have been tied up and locked up in the prison.

Thankfully, Eligor stood next to Yong-Ho. Maybe it's because his stamina was developed, but despite of the fact that he got hit by Foras, he seemed fine.

Eligor commanded the Goblins and the Treant to tie up the Orcs.

The Orc with the scar looked at Yong-Ho with slightly softened eyes and Yong-Ho nodded his head to tell them to relax.

"Skullllll."

The small sound made Yong-Ho avert his eyes. Skull, who couldn't stand because their pelvis was destroyed, was looking at Yong-Ho. Maybe it's because of the atmosphere, but it felt like Skull was smiling.

And then, he heard a voice in his head. It was the Spirit of the Dungeon, who couldn't intercept due to the tense situation.

"You have won the dungeon battle between the owners."

"You were really amazing."

It sounded like they relaxed a bit after being anxious the entire time and it was cute.

Yong-Ho nodded his head. He released another long sigh.

The first dungeon battle.

Yong-Ho won.

  &

The dungeon fights within the demon world is between two owners, meaning it's a fight between the demons that own a dungeon.

A fight to protect and take the dungeon.

Dungeon fights are extremely dangerous.

To the owner that's defending, losing meant that the dungeon was no longer theirs.

Out of the owners that lost the fight, nine out of ten lost their lives and even if they did survive, they end up wandering because they lost the dungeon and the spirits.

The attacker couldn't easily acknowledge defeat either. In a dungeon fight, the defender always had the upper hand. Because of that, it's natural for the attacker to use more resources than the defender.

What would happen if all those resources failed them?

They wouldn't lose their dungeon right away, but the dungeon's defense would drop dramatically.

The Law of the Jungle applied in the demon world.

Enemies would attack the moment their opponent becomes weaker.

Because the situation turned out like this, the owners that owned dungeons in the empty southern region were gathered in one area and because they weren't very strong, they didn't fight against each other. Since they might lose everything with one fight, it's obvious that they wouldn't.

Dungeon fights happen among those that have power and often happen at the border.

Those with many dungeons don't lost everything with one fight. Whether they win or lose, they save their energy for the next fight.

Out of the dungeon shop's five board members, Samael was one with the fastest wings. They forcefully opened their sleepy eyes and looked at the demon map that was stuck on the official wall.

Her office was extremely small. Unlike the Harpies that enjoyed flying freely into the open sky, she didn't really like flying even though she was a queen. She enjoyed using her beautiful, black wings as a back cushion rather than for flying.

"There's too many."

She wasn't talking about the dungeon fights among the six kings that happened often like some kind of monthly event.

The southern empty region was weird.

Normally, a dungeon fight happens in that area every few years, but there has been over 10 dungeon fights within that land.

The demon, Embrio, has suddenly started increasing their power in the empty northern region.

It was a rule for the dungeon shop to not take part in the fights between the demons. But that didn't mean they stood on the sidelines and watched them fight.

If Embrio continued increasing their power, what would happen? For over a decade, the empty northern region remained peaceful through mutual control, but how will it change?

The owners in the empty northern region were definitely weak. When comparing the land to the other six king's land, it was a wasteland.

But, if someone unified the entire empty northern region, then it would be different.

Samael closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

Sitri was in charge of the empty northern region. Did she know about this? And did she have a plan to control this situation?

'Or maybe there's something at the end of this situation…'

Samael stopped thinking. No matter what the case was, Sitri maintained her position as a dungeon shop board member the longest. Samael was considered the newest member out of the five, so they weren't in the position to worry about her.

If she remained quiet, there was a reasonable explanation for that.

"Next."

As soon as Samael spoke, the Spirit of the Dungeon delivered several reports. Before they became the five board members of the dungeon shop, they were owners that had their own dungeons.

After receiving the report, Samael stood up from her seat. When she stepped out of the small office, a large void appeared. The ceiling was so high that they could put a tower in here.

Samael continued walking. Instead of using her wings to fly, she used a magic that allowed her to jump into space and she arrived at the most extravagant and fancy location that was within her territory.

The dungeon store auction house.

Items that are too expensive to price are often sold at this location.

When took she another step, a white dress enveloped Samael's body. It was a simple, white dress that didn't have any decorations on it, but that made Samael even more beautiful.

Samael walked a few more steps. The Incubus, Rod Karot, was a follower of hers and also the  general manager of the auction house. The approached her and gracefully showed their respect.

The inside of the auction house looked like a opera house and there was currently an item they were auctioning.

The item they were currently auctioning was an Eternal Prosecutor.

They were a talented prosecutor and according to them, they were even referred to as the king in their world.

Samael didn't visit the auction house because the prosecutor was that great of a figure.

It's because of the figures that were currently at the auction house.

The King of Pride and the King of Envy's representatives.

On top of that, the King of Gluttony's representative was here as well.

There's no way that the King of Pride didn't know about the fact that the King of Envy purchased 20,000 Skeleton Warriors.

It was a secret that the King of Gluttony purchased a dragon, but the other two kings weren't dumb. They were always observing the King of Gluttony.

The kings didn't come here themselves, but among their followers, those that were ranked within the top five came here to represent. This can be considered as a minor proxy war among the six kings.

That was what Samael thought as she entered the auction house.

Orobas was known to have the strongest superhuman strength within the dungeon shop and said that the current balance will be maintained for a long time.

But was that really true?

Out of the six kings, no one was satisfied with the current situation. There wasn't one king that was satisfied with their current position.

A small opportunity.

The perfect opportunity that will make the wheel spin.

If something like that appeared. If there was something that completely pushed a domino that stopped falling.

The balance will be broken.

Like in the past when Mammon, the King of Greed, ruled.

The sound of clapping filled the room. One of the representatives that were here probably called out a large amount that no one else could go against.

Samael quickened her pace. The situation that occurred in the empty southern region was erased from her head.

She put on an elegant smile that matched well with this place.

End.

Chapter end