"Grr…"
Gray was crouching down and keeping an eye on his prey.
[Gray Lv.4]
Canine Wolf
His level had risen a little, but his size was still like that of a palm.
As a descendant of the great canine clan, he had grown up enough to easily hunt one or two goblins.
Thanks to that, Gray has recently been strong enough to walk around with his tail standing upright.
If three goblins plan to attack at the same time, they would quickly roll up their tails and take refuge in a small pre-dug burrow.
Gray would eventually give up and go back because the den was too small.
One day, a big crisis came to Gray who was adapting to the life of the shadow dungeon while playing with such big and stupid goblins.
An uninvited guest suddenly came to the Shadow Dungeon!
"Hnnggg…"
Gray was secretly approaching the uninvited guest with an extremely cautious look.
The guest looked pretty strong, but didn't seem to have any strength, probably starving for a long time.
'I can do it.'
That part aroused sympathy in Gray.
'I can do it.'
It was a very honorable thing to hunt a prey stronger than oneself.
Gulp.
Gray held his breath and waited for an opening with a tense expression.
And finally!
Excited.
The guest moved!
"I can see you."
"Hnnggg?"
Esil's hand lifted Gray's nape and glared at him.
"Hnngg! Hnnngggg!"
Oh! Got caught!
Gray was startled and kicked his short legs.
When he realized that no matter how hard he struggled, he could not escape Esil's clutches, he howled fiercely with his defiant eyes.
"Awooo!"
"Oh, really. If it wasn't for you being Suho's pet, I would have eaten you."
Esil looked at Gray and licked her lips, saying that it was such a pity.
'I never thought that the descendant of the Fang Monarch would remain in a place like this.'
Although he was no more than a bite in size, the blood and flesh of the Fang Clan is itself a very precious elixir.
"Hnnnggg!"
"What? You want to taste it?"
Gray twisted his snout around and eagerly licked Esil's hand that was holding his back.
Even so, his eyes continued to glare at Esil with a bold expression.
"Oh my. You're a funny puppy."
Esil finally laughed.
"Well, you know instinctively. If you eat me, you will gain strength."
'Because we're actually in the same position.'
She was the only demon noble alive in the demon realm.
In other words, she was the only legitimate person who might one day become the Demon Monarch.
Just as the demons were aiming for Esil's blood this time, the pure blood flowing through Esil's body had precious power in itself.
'… And the same goes for you.'
This cheeky little cub was the only one of the canine clan who might one day become the Fang Monarch.
Esil suddenly had a strange feeling.
'To think that two pure-bloods from a clan destroyed by war are gathered here. For what purpose did Suho gather us?'
"Oh, c'mon! Stop licking!"
Right then.
[You have entered the Shadow Dungeon.]
Swoosh!
Suho and Beru enter the Shadow Dungeon just in time.
There was a fresh whole pig in their hands.
Two whole pigs!
"Oh!"
"Ehh?"
Esil and Gray's heads turned at the same time.
Rumble-!
A loud noise echoed from Esil and Beru's stomachs.
Suho chuckled and pushed the whole pig forward.
"I heard demons like meat."
"Yes! Anything but grass!"
Esil quickly threw Gray and took the whole pig from Suho.
Gray came back and greedily exposed his teeth in front of Esil.
Rumble!
"Hnnnggg!"
Gray suddenly turns over on his stomach and starts twisting his body around.
However, Esil was adamant.
"No. Go back. This is my meal."
"Huff huff huff!"
"There's no use wagging your tail now!"
"Grrr!"
The wolf cub and the demon noble were arguing over a whole pig.
Suho, who watched the scene from behind, couldn't hide his dejected expression.
'Why do carnivores seem to be gathering around me more and more these days?'
Chomp!
[Kehehe! It is delicious!]
"…"
Two whole pigs were brought.
From behind, Beru was clinging to the remaining one and was eating it.
Even the brave Gray did not dare to take Beru's food.
"Thank you for the food!"
Esil shoved her hand inside the pig's body.
The large whole pig began to shrivel around Esil's hand.
'Oh.'
Beru appeared next to Suho, who was curiously looking at him, and explained.
[They suck in the mana that was in the pig's body. Each demon has a different way of eating, but demon nobles usually prefer a clean method.]
"Oh, you scared me. Are you an explanation worm or what?"
[You are the worm, Young Master.]
Beru said casually.
Then he went back to his pig and opened his mouth wide.
Chomp.
Beru, contrary to Esil, seemed to prefer a sloppy way of eating.
Suho smiled and slowly looked away.
"So, while I…"
Sniff sniff.
Krrrk, Krrrk.
Wild goblins who smelled the meat were gathering around them one by one.
Suho stretched out his hand.
"Hmm."
One of them suddenly floated up in the air and struggled on its legs.
Ruler's Power.
A faint smile crossed Suho's lips.
"Should I be doing the daily quest?"
[Daily Quest: Cleaning the Shadow Dungeon]
100 Goblins: Incomplete (0/100)
10 Commander Goblins: Incomplete (0/10)
1 Main Commander Goblin: Incomplete (0/1)
* * *
[The completion reward has arrived.]
[Do you want to check the reward?]
( Y / N )
Suho felt that his abilities had risen again.
'Now, even a hundred goblins does not seem to be morning exercise.'
Suho lightly brushed his hands among the dead bodies of the goblins.
The two swords, Rakan's Sword and Vulcan's Horns, were stuck into the ground.
'Looks like a hidden quest won't appear like last time.'
He caught a few more this time, but somehow the hidden reward seemed to be a one-time thing.
Still, the normal daily quest rewards were also good enough.
[The following rewards are prepared.]
Reward 1. State Recovery
Reward 2. Ability Points +3
Reward 3. 1 Random Box
Suho decided to keep the first reward, 'status recovery' unaccepted.
'I'll save this and use it later in case of an emergency.'
He could recover his HP with potions, but the recovery amount was small and the speed of recovery was slow.
On the other hand, the 'status recovery' reward restores HP immediately.
It was good to use in an urgent situation.
'All stats are invested in strength.'
The higher the strength stat, the higher the power and speed.
'Random Box.'
This time it wasn't a hidden reward, so an ordinary random box appeared in Suho's hand.
When the box was opened, a small ring rolled out.
[You have acquired 'Item: Gray Ring'.]
"Ring?"
When Suho took out a dull colored ring, the description of the item appeared.
[Item: Gray Ring]
Difficulty to get: D
Type: Accessory
Sense +5
"It raises the senses stat by 5 points?"
Suho's eyes widened.
It was a pretty good item for what it looked like.
Sense stat is a stat that raises the five senses, and increases the ability to detect danger.
In other words, the sense of catching an unexpected event rises.
Suho quickly put the ring on his finger.
The size was loose, but it was not a problem.
['Item: Gray Ring' is worn.]
The gray ring disappeared from the finger, and the stats were added immediately.
[Senses: 29 (+5)]
'A normal random box is also very good. It feels like they were giving away prizes.'
Suho completed the daily quest just like that.
[Oops.]
The meal was already over.
Esil, who had been watching Suho hunt the goblins from behind, was making a puzzled expression.
It wasn't polite to help someone else hunt, so she just watched him. She found the situation itself with goblins wandering around here as something strange.
"It's a big deal."
"What?"
"How did the dimensional refugees get here?"
"Dimensional refugees?"
"I mean those guys. After the War of the Outer Gods, the surviving defeated soldiers were caught up in the dimensional rift and mixed here and there. They are called the dimensional refugees."
In a way, it was quite expected.
Since all the monarchs who were the central point disappeared, the monsters under them were scattered.
"But, I don't think this is a coincidence."
[What's not a coincidence?]
Beru also showed interest in Esil's words.
"That's uh… In fact, breaking through the dimensional wall is a very difficult task."
[I agree. If it was easy, I would have gone back to His Majesty right away.]
Beru nodded.
In the old days, you had to be at least the Spectre Monarch to break through the gate to another dimension.
Even that was never easy.
"It was such a case for Beru, but can only the defeated soldiers of the war come over the wall of dimension so easily?"
[What?]
A strange glimmer appeared in Beru's eyes.
Suho also noticed what Esil was trying to say and nodded.
"Could it be because of the blue mist?"
"That's right. The blue mist from outer space began to tangle the walls of our dimension. How severe was the disintegration that even such weak goblins flowed into the world ruled by the Shadow Monarch?"
Esil shrugged, saying it was ridiculous.
-I agree with that statement.
Rakan's Sword in Suho's hand suddenly interrupted the conversation.
-There is no way that the defeated soldiers would have entered the world ruled by the victor of the war on their own feet unless they have gone mad. It must have been that the dimensional rift was really tightly twisted.
'Ah.'
During the conversation, Suho suddenly realized an important fact.
"Beru, let me ask one thing."
[Yep.]
"Didn't you say that the strength of my father's soldiers and the apostles of outer gods are similar?"
[That's right. It was so tense that even the monarch didn't dare to come to Earth himself, so he sent me.]
"If you think of it the other way around, wouldn't the outer space side all the more dare to come over to Earth right now?"
[What?]
Beru's eyes widened.
[… Oh?]
There, his eyes widened once again.
"Right?"
[Young Master is right! Of course they will!]
Beru nodded frantically.
Suho also nodded and murmured.
"That's why they use dimensional refugees. Since they couldn't come on their own, it's clear that they gathered dimensional refugees and sent them to Earth instead."
And this was not a bad situation at all from the perspective of the dimensional refugees.
Because from their point of view, Earth was a perfect place.
To kill, steal, and conquer as much as they want.
'And another one.'
Suho finally realized the meaning of the daily quest given to him.
[Daily Quest: Cleaning the Shadow Dungeon]
"We need to clean up the goblins as soon as possible and find the gap in the dimension they crossed over to and block it."
[You're right. If we continue to leave the dimensional refugees alone, they will keep coming. No, to be exact…]
"They will find out about my existence."
[…]
Suho was clearly aware of his situation.
"Because, I am my father's only weakness."
He found another reason to become stronger.