Dungeon Maker

"Ophelia, the daughter of Endelyon, would like to have an audience with the owner of the great House of Mammon. We have a big problem."

As soon as she landed, she ran into the dungeon and quickly kneeled before Yong-Ho. She stated the reason as to why she was here after quickly greeting him.

"Calm down and drink some water."

When Yong-Ho handed her a cup of water, Ophelia became flustered, but managed to take the cup. She spoke more calmly.

"I apologize for showing that side of myself."

"I'm sure you had your reasons for acting that way."

Ophelia's eyes widened and then she displayed a bright smile for a moment when she heard him say that he trusted her. She spoke after activating the magic stone that she had already taken out.

"I will explain the situation first."

The small, purple magic stone released a light and displayed a map in the air. It was the map of the empty land.

"A large number of owners in the west have unified in order to go against Embrio. While, Embrio has also unified with troops in the west to go against them. A big war will happen very soon. There's a chance that Embrio's power will crumble through this war."

Information was displayed on the map.

There were about 11 houses that had unified to go against Embrio. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that almost all the houses in the west were participating.

A fight between the north and west. As a spectator, it didn't matter who won. It wasn't going to be an easy fight and the winner would definitely suffer some injuries.

'Or, is this type of war different?'

That would often happen in fights between humans. But in the demon world, and between demon kings that ruled dungeons, the fights were a bit different. They may lose their spirits, but there's also a chance that the winner would become stronger after consuming the spirit of the defeated owner.

This aspect of the battle was very important. If the group that fought against Embrio wins, it would put Yong-Ho at an advantage.

The war between the northern and western region was so important that it would decide the future of the entire empty region. But Ophelia wouldn't have rushed over here just because of that.

As expected, when Ophelia manipulated the map, instead of focusing on the northern and western region, she instead zoomed into the southern region.

"While the northern and western region are fighting amongst themselves, the owners in the eastern region are fighting amongst themselves instead of attacking Embrio. And one of the owners from that group is targeting the southern region."

She zoomed in again. It was safe to say that she was only showing the southern region now.

"Thanks to you, Jungceros and Foras disappeared at the same time, so it's safe to say that there's a gap in power. The House of Laura, the neighbor of the House of Foras, is keeping quiet and the daughter of Junceros is having a hard time controlling her house."

Out of the three houses that were around the Free city, one of them had disappeared while the other two where having a difficult time controlling their dungeons.

The fact that Yong-Ho brought down both Jungceros and Foras hadn't been known yet, so it was obvious that there would be a gap in power. Some of the owners would want to take this opportunity to take advantage of the southern region.

"Agares, an owner in the eastern region, is targeting the southern region. He is so strong that several owners have already surrendered their dungeons to him."

The three dungeons that were located in the eastern region glowed at the same time. Those were the dungeons that Agares was controlling.

"Is Agares targeting the House of Mammon?"

Ophelia bit her lips when Yong-Ho asked. She replied a few minutes later.

"In the end, yes, but...Agares is currently targeting the Free City."

It was an unexpected answer, so Yong-Ho tilted his head without knowing. Ophelia then explained further.

"Powerful owners with large dungeons tend to claim the areas around their dungeon as their territory. The Free City can be considered a place that doesn't have a demon king or a dungeon."

"It's definitely an appealing place."

"Yes, and there's a lot of spirits that are living in the Free City. And the Free City can also be used as a base when attacking the dungeons near it."

The second explanation was probably the reason.

The Free City was the perfect base since it allowed the attackers to attack the many dungeons that were near it.

"How are the rulers of the Free City reacting?"

"As you already know, three powers exist within the Free City. The bar that I'm controlling, the group of outlaws, and the guild for workers. The leaders of the outlaws and the guild are saying that we should fight. As a spirit of the House of Mammon, I was planning on following your orders, but...I've already told the two leaders that I agreed with their decision."

He had an idea as to why Ophelia had rushed here.

When Yong-Ho didn't say anything, Eligor spoke carefully.

"I'm surprised the two leaders said that."

Yong-Ho wasn't able to understand. After Eligor looked at Ophelia, he spoke to Yong-Ho.

"It's obvious that they want to protect their position, but their life is on the line. I'm not trying to look down on Ophelia, but the rulers of the Free City believe that their life is more important than honor."

They weren't owners or spirits that were tied to a certain location. If the opponent was too strong, surrendering was the best plan.

Ophelia, who was one of the rulers, agreed.

"Eligor is right. Usually, they would think about surrendering rather than fighting for their lives. Because Agares really is that strong. But despite that, there's a reason as to why they've decided to fight."

Ophelia paused. After gulping, she started to talk again.

"Agares is a cannibal demon. He's more of an evil spirit than a demon in human form. If the rulers surrendered to him, not only would he consume their spirits, but he would eat them as well. While those working under them would also share the same fate. All the owners that have already surrendered to Agares have ended up that way."

Surrendering was no longer an option if their life couldn't be saved.

Yong-Ho asked again.

"What about running away?"

"They're rulers that have followers. And the Free City has been their homes for a long time...running away without trying to fight is unreasonable."

Ophelia was a spirit that belonged to the House of Mammon and was also the owner of the pub. Because of that, she felt the same way as the other rulers.

"Agares can be considered as the smaller version of Embrio. The owners in the southern region consider both as their enemies. Because of that, the two rulers are thinking about asking the owners nearby for their help."

It meant that they were going to work together to fight against Agares.

Yong-Ho looked at the map again. He didn't say it out loud, but he only saw one owner that was willing to help the rulers of the Free City.

Ophelia knew what Yong-Ho was thinking about. Even if Ophelia wasn't a spirit that belonged to the House of Mammon, she probably would've been standing in this same spot.

"Like I've mentioned before, the daughter of Jungceros is unable to control her house, which is unexpected. And there's a high chance that Laura will remain quiet. Most importantly...it's important to question whether the owner of the House of Laura even has the power to go against Agares."

The powerful Foras and Jungceros didn't exist anymore.

But a new powerful figure had emerged.

"The other two rules are expecting a lot from the Demon King of Fire. And as we already know each other, I came here on behalf of the rulers of the Free City."

According to Ophelia's information, Agares was a figure Yong-Ho was going to have to go up against eventually.

If the groups in the Free City became his ally, then this could be his chance.

But Agares was targeting the Free City, not the House of Mammon. It wasn't a dungeon where traps were going to be installed in different areas. There was a high chance that this was going to be something like the Korean War.

This was going to be totally different from the previous battles he had experienced.

It was a big war between large groups.

"Ophelia, how much do we have left until Agares attacks the Free City?"

"I can't say exactly, but earliest will be 10 days and the latest will be 15 days."

She was thinking about the amount of time Agares needed to move his troops. Yong-Ho then asked a different question.

"And what about the strength of the two groups? Are they similar to the pub's?"

"They're pretty similar. Having a large amount of outlaws is an advantage and even though the workers lack fighting experience, but along with the Gigantes, they have several tools that can be used in the fight."

"Gigantes?"

"It's a war weapon that can be driven with mana. Um...you can think of it as a large Living Armor or...Golem."

Yong-Ho's eyes started sparkling when he heard the explanation, causing Ophelia to stop talking.

Yong-Ho coughed to stop daydreaming and then started counting. Before making a decision, he asked his last question.

"Ophelia, what do you think?"

Ophelia fixed her posture. She looked at Yong-Ho with a serious expression.

"Agares is an enemy you're eventually going to have to face. I'm saying this as the spirit of the House of Mammon, not as the owner of the pub, but I recommend that you use the Free City and fight Agares. If you win this battle, you'll not only have taken Agares down, but the Free City will be in your hands."

The other two rulers would've stood up if they heard this. Ophelia was thinking about what would happen after the fight with Agares.

The other two rulers were thinking about the same outcome. However, unlike them, Ophelia showed her loyalty to Yong-Ho as the spirit of the House of Mammon, not as the owner of the pub.

Yong-Ho looked at the others.

Starting with Rikum, they gave their opinions.

"This is your chance to use the Free City's power. I agree with Ophelia."

"I'm worried because you have to go outside of the dungeon to fight, but...I also agree."

Rikum and Eligor agreed. Instead of giving her opinion, Catalina bowed to Yong-Ho and spoke in a deep voice.

"I'll protect you with my life, sir."

She was going to follow him no matter what kind of decision Yong-Ho made. Yong-Ho looked at Skull last and Skull placed the war hammer on his chest and roared.

"Skulllll, Skullll!"

Yong-Ho didn't know what he said, but he knew what Skull meant.

"Great, I'll meet with the rulers of the Free City. Ophelia, please prepare the meeting."

Yong-Ho gave his orders. The spirits that were in that room all bowed to Yong-Ho. They replied loudly.

"Master, we will obey your commands."

***

After hearing that Yong-Ho was going to leave in two days, Ophelia immediately left the House of Mammon.

Her job was to bring the two rulers to the meeting as well as creating a defence.

After seeing Ophelia leave, Yong-Ho decided to rest. The situation was moving along fast, so Yong-Ho had to move quickly as well. He would still have time to meet Sitri after everything had been taken care of.

Like Ophelia mentioned, Agares was going to attack in 10 days.

10 days was a bit tight since he had to negotiate with the rulers as well as help with setting up the defence.

Despite that, Yong-Ho decided to leave two days later instead of leaving with Ophelia.

It wasn't because the House of Mammon needed time to prepare for the battle.

One day after Ophelia's visit.

Yong-Ho and Catalina headed to Kaiwan's break room. He opened the secret passageway that led to Mammon's Arena.

He had one day.

He wanted to get as strong as possible before encountering the powerful Agares and the other rulers of the Free City.

The man wearing a beast-shaped mask guided Yong-Ho. Once he arrived, Gusion, who was wearing a white suit, greeted him.

"You came earlier than I thought. Kaiwan needed a week to start the next floor."

Gusion was slowly starting to annoy him.

He was sure that Gusion liked him. Gusion actually had high expectations, unlike before. The reason why he mentioned Kaiwan was to provoke him a little and help him use more of his power. Although it was a relief that he didn't bring Kaiwan with him.

But he still didn't like Gusion.

'Someday.'

He'll save Kaiwan and make Gusion one of his subordinates.

Yong-Ho glared at Gusion. He then revealed the reason for his visit.

"I would like to try the Arena's second floor."

"Sure."

Gusion pointed at the stadium while laughing. The second Floor Master was waiting.