Chapter 60: Bet

As we revealed the correct history that the Demon King desired, the door leading to the 7th floor opened.

The Demon King has already died once, and it seems unlikely he’s moving such a massive dungeon with dozens of floors.

If my guess is right, this trend will continue up to the 10th floor.

There might even be a Demon King at the top, recovering his strength.

After the battle, we still had warm chicken in our mouths. As expected, it was cast-iron chicken.

“But wait, the reason you pulled that crazy stunt of ordering chicken during the battle was because of Harpy?”

Succubus muttered, staring at the panting Harpy.

“Exactly. Honestly, if it weren’t for Harpy, we would’ve been up all night today. Or it could’ve ended with your sacrifice, Succubus.”

Either we’d have been killing each other in the respawn field, or Succubus would have flung me high into the air, prepared to be purified.

“Wow, you were really planning to kill me, weren’t you?”

“Come on, what do you think of me?”

I replied, feeling a little hurt.

“So, can I go back now?”

“Hey, I’m exhausted too. How about we head back?”

Was everyone tired?

We had certainly made it to the 7th floor, after all.

“Let’s do that.”

I glanced at the door.

Although we’d cleared it, it seemed like the door wouldn’t open if we couldn’t read the letters inscribed on it.

It looked like I was the only one who could open it anyway.

So I said, while I couldn’t be sure the Demon King was at the top, one thing was certain: only people from the continent of Uklan could climb this tower.

Having comforted the souls of the victims, the next one to deal with was the King.

The King, who had been waiting for me, smiled with satisfaction.

[“I felt the wicked energy vanish. You did well.”]

“It was nothing.”

[“I thought you would resent me.”]

The King nodded his head, relieved.

“I’m resentful.”

I said, while Succubus, who had been the target of that resentment, complained indignantly, but the King shook his head.

[“Even if it’s just a pet, a succubus is a succubus. It’s only natural.”]

Now the succubus was firmly established as a pet.

Succubus, clearly infuriated, fluttered her wings and rushed toward the King, but I barely stopped her.

“Calm down, Succubus. You’re better than this, right?”

“You’re the one getting on my nerves.”

[“Besides, you’ve purified a great evil force, so I can finally find peace.”]

Hold on, who said you could leave so soon?

Where’s my reward?

The saintess wants a holy relic.

If you had dealt with this properly instead of causing a flood, none of this would’ve happened.

“We have a problem.”

[“Is it the Demon King?”]

“Yes. He created this space and placed Your Majesty, the villagers, and the fallen succubi here.”

I figured the King was smart enough to grasp that.

[“I see. I had vaguely sensed as much. That’s why I’ve been able to rise like this. Hmm. It seems I must give you what you need. I was already thinking of giving a reward anyway.”]

“Oh?”

[“Beneath my coffin lies a vast amount of gold coins. They hold great historical value, and their worth cannot be easily measured.”]

You’re giving me money for this?

Aren’t we supposed to get something amazing?

[“With that gold, forge the finest weapon of this era and fight the Demon King.”]

What the heck?

And with those final words, the King ascended peacefully.

In the end, all we gained was a massive amount of gold, magic stones, and a ring of transformation.

“I want to try that!”

The young girl eagerly said.

Was she really thinking of trying it on?

It didn’t seem all that useful to me.

“Oh, pixie, I doubt wearing this will make you any bigger.”

“Hurry! Just let me try it once. I want to be a big, strong man!”

“Are you trying to mess with your wife?”

“Yes!”

“Isn’t 50 times the pain of menstruation enough for her? Well, go ahead and try it.”

I handed her the ring, and she eagerly slipped it on.

The small pixie, now glowing like a magical girl transforming, began to change.

And finally…

“How do I look? Don’t I look like a cool guy now?”

Well, she had transformed, but…

“You look like a really beautiful woman in a raincoat.”

“What?!”

Indeed, she had become an extremely pretty woman in a raincoat.

Not quite as stunning as me, but still impressively beautiful.

“Right. Even I must admit you’ve become much more feminine.”

“With that transformation, it seems your body doesn’t just lack holes or poles, but you turn into a beautiful woman when you grow.”

“No way! That’s not true!”

But no matter how she protested, her long hair, full chest, and round hips clearly made her a woman.

“Well, it’s not all bad, is it? You can still use that body effectively, even in the dungeon.”

“You’re not planning to keep me around, are you?”

“Why would I get rid of my map hack?”

Of course not.

Right?

“No, come on, no matter what.”

“Whether you’re a woman or a man, no one wants to stay a child forever, right? If you don’t want to walk around like a dwarf, I could lend this to you.”

Living as a child, regardless of gender, would be tough.

“Gulp.”

The young girl had long since been tamed by my candy.

Plus, it would be pretty hard to get around with that tiny body.

“So, how should we handle the reward?”

“There are so many magic stones. I wonder how much they’d fetch if we sold them all.”

We collected everything stuck to the ceiling, but it would be a hassle to pick them up one by one.

If I’d known, maybe I should have let the hunters in. Nah, that would’ve been too much trouble.

“Honestly, isn’t it a pain to organize all this?”

“You’re right. Let’s hand over the magic stones to the Heavenly King and just split the gold.”

“Sounds good.”

Even the amount of gold coins from the King’s tomb was enormous.

Splitting just that would be quite a haul.

The magic stones alone would probably fetch 400 to 500 million.

So, we brought in Jeon Taeyeon, the drone master of the Heavenly King Guild, to help.

[“So, you want me to help sell this gold?”]

“Yes. This time, we plan to split it among ourselves. It’d be great if you could give us a receipt and transaction record.”

[“Well, I can do that. And the magic stones?”]

“Take them all.”

The drone spun in the air like it was dancing.

Must be thrilled.

[“Alright, then. Hand them over.”]

“They’re scattered all over. You can take as much as you want.”

I gestured toward the village, indicating the spoils.

Go ahead and take them if you want.

[“… This is my punishment, huh.”]

“Pardon?”

[“Oh, nothing. You’ve done well.”]

The drone seemed to tremble slightly, looking a bit pitiful.

***

Seoul Hunter Academy

Seoul Hunter Academy is an educational facility for aspiring future hunters.

Five years ago, a hunter training system was established by the Ministry of Education, and hunter schools were set up nationwide.

The leading school in Korea is the Seoul Hunter Academy.

Since most students aspire to become hunters, they mainly study physical training, magical control, unique abilities, and hunter theory.

Naturally, student gossip often revolves around hunter-related topics.

Park Min-ji, a first-year middle school student and cousin of Park Yoo-jung and Karina, was quite the model student despite recently having been in the hospital.

Although she had no unique abilities, she had shown exceptional physical prowess, earning recognition for her efforts.

After being healed with an elixir, her physical abilities improved even more.

Because of this, she had many friends, but also many who were jealous of her.

As usual, after training, Min-ji was leaving the training facility when she noticed a group of students gathered in a corner of the schoolyard.

It turned out to be her friends, and at the center of the group was her rival, a boy named Lee Tae-hyung.

“Do you guys know? My uncle took me to a dungeon yesterday!”

“Isn’t the dungeon off-limits to civilians?”

“Hehe, no. Legally, it’s not enforced. It just means you need to take care of your own life. And if someone as strong as my uncle protects you, it’s a different story.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!”

She couldn’t hear the details from afar, but just seeing Tae-hyung’s smug expression made her angry.

It was probably another story about his hunter relative.

He’s always bragging about his uncle, even though he doesn’t do anything himself.

“I want to be a hunter when I grow up! Can you take me next time?”

“Can you let me tag along, too?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll make sure you guys can come next time.”

Min-ji, annoyed by Tae-hyung’s boastful behavior, stepped into the group.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“Oh, Min-ji! Tae-hyung’s uncle is super strong!”

Just as she thought, it was another story about his uncle.

As usual, nothing interesting.

Min-ji shrugged her shoulders.

“Ah, a hunter, huh? Impressive.”

“Yeah, Min-ji, but unfortunately, my uncle can only take a few civilians with him. So, you can’t come.”

“What?”

What was that supposed to mean, all of a sudden?

“Well, unless you ask really nicely, maybe I could make an exception~”

Min-ji clenched her teeth.

Tae-hyung was clearly trying to get under her skin.

He wasn’t even that great, but he kept showing off, thinking he was better just because of his uncle.

Even though his grades were much worse than hers, his smug face made her blood boil.

“I have a relative who’s a hunter, too, you know!”

“Pfft, didn’t you say they work in an office?”

“They can still go to dungeons!”

Even though it wasn’t her, surely Yoo-jung could take her into a dungeon!

She had definitely been working as a full-fledged hunter in the same guild for years, so it must be possible.

Surely, after becoming a hunter, she couldn’t have failed to conquer even one dungeon, right?

“Hey, why are you two fighting over this?”

Min-ji and Tae-hyung glared at each other, locked in a staring contest until their friends intervened.

“She’s being unreasonable!”

“You started it first!”

“Fine, let’s make a bet. We’ll have a dungeon competition between your cousin and my uncle. The loser becomes the winner’s servant. How about that?”

“Don’t regret it later!”

Min-ji said that, but she started feeling uneasy inside.

[“Hey, Min-ji, what’s up?”]

“Hey, unnie. I made a bet with a friend. Can you help me?”

[“A bet with a friend? What kind of bet?”]

Please let her agree to this.

“It’s about who can hunt more monsters in a dungeon.”

[“Oh… what should I do, Min-ji? I’m not really a fighter, so I don’t think I can help you directly. Should I ask a friend in the guild to help instead?”]

“No, it’s okay.”

She had hoped, but as expected, it was too much.

She shouldn’t have asked.

“So, what do I do now?”

Was this really not going to work?

Should she have backed out when she had the chance?

No, she still had her pride.

She couldn’t just back down.

But at this rate, she was going to end up as a servant.

Is there no other way?

-The goddess said to help those in trouble. If you’re in need, just ask.

Wait, now that she thought about it, she had another cousin.

Her cousin who is a returnee.

She was once called a saintess, recognized all over the world.

She was even part of a hero’s party.

Wouldn’t she be able to help?

Min-ji dialed the phone number she had recently saved.

“Um, is this… Karina unnie’s phone?”