The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 122

EP.122 A Miserable Day

Dambi, who had become an adventurer, was originally a half-breed born between a vampire and a human. Despite his mixed heritage, it was natural for him to live in a vampire dungeon. However, the treatment he received from his fellow vampires was far from kind—calling it the worst would not be an exaggeration.

In the dungeon, he was treated worse than an insect. Even the humans captured and brought to the dungeon received better treatment than Dambi. Humans were valuable to vampires as a source of blood, but Dambi was utterly useless to them.

Despite this harsh treatment, Dambi did nothing. He neither raised his voice nor attempted to escape the dungeon. He simply accepted his fate, believing himself to be a failed existence that did not belong there. He was too different from them. Even his appearance was more human than vampire, leading him to think of himself as a failed byproduct of creation.

He spent his days in the dungeon, wasting away his time, thinking this meaningless existence would last forever. But one day, an event shattered his monotonous life.

Holy Knights invaded the dungeon.

They didn’t just invade the dungeon where Dambi resided, they attacked all the surrounding vampire dungeons. Yet, amidst the chaos, Dambi survived. He managed to blend in with the humans who had been kidnapped and were inside the dungeon. His human-like appearance and the chaotic situation meant no one had the time to realize he was a half-vampire.

Thus, Dambi was able to escape the dungeon. Although he had found freedom, he felt an overwhelming emptiness. There were no more tormentors or those who ignored him, but something was missing. Dambi had lost his sense of identity. Despite the discrimination, he had felt a sense of belonging in the dungeon. But with the dungeon’s destruction, that sense of belonging vanished.

Where should he go now?

To forget his anxiety, Dambi spent his time walking aimlessly. When he was hungry, he fed on the blood of wild animals or monsters in the mountains. Occasionally, he mingled with humans in the city.

It was during one of these purposeless wanderings that he suddenly heard a voice from somewhere.

[Act for me.]

The mysterious voice resonated within him like a bell tolling in the darkness, shaking his very existence. He instinctively knew that aligning himself with the will of that voice might change his life. Thus, Dambi began to serve the Great One.

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“Congratulations, Mr. Dambi! Completing your first request perfectly is truly impressive!”

Catherine, the receptionist at the adventurer’s guild, greeted Dambi with a bright smile. Moments ago, Dambi had successfully completed the request to capture a zombie alive.

Bringing back a living zombie and handing it over to the client was a challenging task for a novice adventurer. Yet, Dambi had accomplished it flawlessly right after registering as an adventurer. Catherine couldn’t help but be amazed by his performance. She even thought that Dambi might become the next ace of the adventurer’s guild.

Of course, for Dambi, it wasn’t a difficult task. He had merely brought a zombie from the same dungeon.

“This is nothing. For the Great One, I am ready to undertake any request,” Dambi replied firmly.

Thanks to the Great One, Dambi had found a new purpose in life. Moving forward for the one who needed him was enough. Catherine nodded, mistaking Dambi’s devotion for that of a devout follower of the goddess worshipped by the church.

“By the way, you seem to have done an excellent job capturing the zombie. The client was extremely satisfied, which is something I’ve never seen before.”

Typically, novice adventurers struggled even with hunting zombies, but Dambi had managed to capture one alive. Catherine handed him three gold coins.

“The original reward was one gold coin, but the client added two more.”

Dambi now had three gold coins. Given the large denomination, one gold coin was appropriately exchanged for smaller denominations of copper and silver coins. Catherine then lowered her voice.

“This is a secret, but the branch manager has taken notice of you. If you complete a few more requests, you might receive the bronze badge soon.”

The bronze badge. Currently, Dambi held an iron badge, marking him as an iron-ranked adventurer. The next rank was bronze. For someone who had just become an adventurer, the prospect of quickly advancing to bronze rank was an exceptional benefit.

“That sounds good.”

Dambi welcomed such benefits, especially since he had orders from Celia. He needed to accumulate as many achievements as possible and raise his rank. Only then could he undertake more significant tasks for the Great One. With this in mind, Dambi was determined.

“Then, I’ll choose another request.”

Dambi picked a suitable request from the bulletin board.

“Oh, you can’t take that one alone. Would you like me to connect you with other adventurers?”

The request Dambi chose was for a goblin dungeon subjugation. While he could handle it alone, Catherine advised against it.

“The goblins there are known to use bows, making it dangerous. I know you’re skilled, but it’s better to be cautious. If you come back tomorrow morning, I’ll find a suitable party for you.”

Given Dambi’s current adventurer rank, Catherine had the final say. Reluctantly, Dambi had to turn away. Since his promotion to bronze rank was imminent, there was no need to rush.

With that thought, Dambi walked towards the city with a light step. The city wasn’t far.

“I need a place to stay for the night.”

Upon reaching the city, Dambi planned his next move. He needed to find an inn for the night. Until now, he had stayed in the Great One’s dungeon. But now, he needed a place to spend the night. While sleeping outdoors was an option, it wasn’t sustainable. So, Dambi set out to find an inn.

As he walked through the city streets, an enticing scent of blood wafted to his nose.

‘Blood scent.’

Turning his head, he saw a pig dripping with fresh blood. It seemed to have just been slaughtered.

“Meat sounds good.”

Drawn by the smell of meat, Dambi walked towards the tavern.

“Welcome!”

The tavern owner greeted Dambi with a booming voice as he entered. The tavern wasn’t large, and there weren’t many customers. But Dambi didn’t mind. He was solely focused on the mouth-watering smell of meat.

“I want to eat that meat.”

Dambi pointed to the meat outside. The tavern owner laughed and responded.

“You have a keen eye. Excellent choice! We just butchered a high-quality animal, so the meat is exceptionally tender!”

The owner sized up Dambi. He didn’t look like an ordinary person. An adventurer? A wanderer? It didn’t matter as long as he could boost the tavern’s sales.

“Have you found an inn yet? We also have rooms available for the night. How about it?”

The tavern doubled as an inn. Since Dambi needed a place to stay, he nodded.

“Please arrange it.”

“Haha, the meal is 10 coppers, and a night’s stay is 50 coppers!”

“I’ll use the remaining amount to add more meat.”

Dambi placed a silver coin on the table. With his meal and lodging sorted, he only needed to successfully complete the dungeon subjugation request the next day.

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As the dawn began to break, Dambi arrived at the adventurer’s guild. Catherine had promised to form a party for the goblin dungeon subjugation. However, it wasn’t Catherine who greeted him but a rough-looking man, the warrior Drun.

“What? You expect me to enter a dungeon with this rookie? You must be joking!”

Drun sneered, clearly unwilling to accept Dambi as a party member. Other adventurers nearby nodded in agreement with Drun’s reaction.

“And he’s just an iron rank… This is ridiculous! Who’s supposed to protect me then?”

The female mage, Lils, chuckled mockingly at Dambi. Dungeons were serious business. A single mistake could cost the entire party their lives. They were not pleased with the idea of taking a novice adventurer along, especially one without proper equipment. Dambi didn’t even have a common sword, which only fueled their discontent.

“I am strong without a weapon.”

Dambi asserted confidently that he didn’t need a weapon. Some dismissed his claim as mere bravado, but Dambi was simply stating a fact. In reality, the adventurers gathered here were all bronze rank. Dambi could kill them all with a mere gesture if he wanted to.

“……”

While Dambi was contemplating whether to show his strength, Catherine stepped in. She spent considerable time persuading the others of Dambi’s capabilities, eventually forming the party. Despite Catherine’s assurances, Drun issued a warning to Dambi.

“Damn it. Today might be a bad day. If you become a burden in the dungeon, we’ll leave you behind. Got it?”

Thus, a five-member party was formed, including Dambi. The party consisted of the warrior Drun, the mage Lils, the archer Gyro, and the novice priest Hildon. As soon as the party was formed, they set out from the adventurer’s guild. The goblin dungeon they needed to subjugate was located near the foothills of a mountain range.

As they moved forward, the adventurers chatted among themselves, but they completely ignored Dambi.

“Ha! An iron-ranked rookie in this party? The world’s going to hell.”

Drun shook his head in disbelief.

“Exactly. There’s a world of difference between iron and bronze ranks, like heaven and earth.”

Lils agreed with Drun, continuing their blatant discriminatory remarks. But Dambi remained unfazed. He was used to it.

After a while, they finally reached the entrance of the goblin dungeon.

“Alright, it’s time to start.”

Drun said with a sly grin.

“By the way, this is your first dungeon, right? As a senior adventurer, I feel obligated to teach you. Why don’t you take the lead?”

The other adventurers agreed with Drun’s suggestion.

“Such experiences aren’t easy to come by. It must be the goddess’s will.”

Hildon, the novice priest, smiled hypocritically. It was an unspoken agreement among them.

However, Dambi had no thoughts about it. He simply entered the dungeon confidently. The other adventurers were taken aback by his boldness.

“Huh… Is he brave or just stupid?”

Gyro, the archer who was supposed to lead, tilted his head in confusion. But no one stopped Dambi. If he wanted to act as a meat shield, why stop him? They followed Dambi, thinking the request would be resolved quickly.

The atmosphere inside the goblin dungeon was eerie. As they advanced down the corridor, they could hear goblin screams from somewhere.

“Something feels off. It’s like the mana is going wild.”

Lils sensed the turbulent mana within the dungeon. It was supposed to be an ordinary goblin dungeon, but the atmosphere was strange.

“Indeed! There’s a sinister aura here!”

Hildon confirmed, sensing the malevolent energy.

Novice priest Hildon also shouted. The aura they felt was not that of ordinary goblins. However, Dambi continued forward, undeterred. The adventurers lowered their voices, watching Dambi.

Hildon spoke first.

“No matter what happens, that guy will act as our shield. We just need to scout the dungeon and report back to the guild. We’ll still get a reward.”

Reporting incorrect dungeon information would still earn them a reward. And if monsters appeared, they could use Dambi as bait.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Drun agreed, and the others followed suit.

They resumed their exploration of the dungeon. After walking for some time, an arrow whizzed through the air from the front.

“Watch out! It’s an ambush!”

Drun shouted as arrows rained down.

“Ahh!”

Lils tried to cast a shield spell, but an arrow pierced her hand.

“Damn it! Stay down until the arrows stop!”

Drun yelled, lowering his stance.

“H-Hildon! Heal me, quickly!”

Lils reached for Hildon, but the continuous barrage of arrows pinned them down. The goblins’ coordinated attack was unexpected, as if someone was directing them.

Everyone was visibly panicked, focused on dodging the arrows. They didn’t notice that no arrows were flying towards Dambi. It was as if the goblins couldn’t see him.

Dambi stood calmly amidst the chaos, observing as if he were watching a scene unfold on stage. Then he saw it—the Goblin Lord directing the goblins.

Dambi muttered with a voice tinged with madness.

“As expected, the Great One has come to greet me!”

The Goblin Lord had been leading a scouting party, organizing the surrounding dungeons. The dungeon monsters’ range of activity had expanded to the Sael Kingdom, making such actions possible. As Drun had predicted, it turned out to be a miserable day for the adventurers.