Chapter 92: Return

Yong-Ho's first stop was the dungeon of the House of Ailee.

It was a natural choice because it was only two days away from the free city. If he moved quickly, it would be possible to get there even sooner.

Acquiring the dungeon was much easier than he had expected.

Since it was the starting point for the mobilization of his army, Agares had completely emptied Ailee's dungeon. The few troops left behind by Agares, had all seemed to have fled after noticing Agares's demise.

Agares was a natural predator. He literally devoured the fallen King of the dungeon, and was the object of terror to those who had surrendered. Moreover, the traces left in the dungeon of Ailee indicated that not only was the King devoured by Agares, but some of his servants were as well.

Except for the insect type spirits, who basically acted as his limbs, the rest of the spirits that followed him were dominated by 'fear'. The source of that fear was now gone, so it was quite natural for them to escape.

That wasn't the only good news

Not only were there no spirits, but the dungeon was void of traps as well. All that remained were the wreckages of broken traps.

They were probably traps that Agares had destroyed in the process of devouring the House of Ailee.

Agares did not restore the traps, and instead only used the dungeon of Ailee as a place to rest.

There were no spirits, and no traps.

In the end, it was only the complexity of the structure of the dungeon that impeded Yong-Ho's movement, but that was no hindrance to the power of greed.

The only issue was that the heart of the Dungeon of Ailee was in a severe state.

The dungeon wasn't the only thing that had suffered a severe wound, the heart looked like it had been mutilated by the teeth of an animal.

Yong-Ho extracted the mana from the heart of the Ailee's dungeon, and then wrapped it in cold mana and stored it in his pocket. It was not that he didn't covet the mana of the Dungeon's heart, but he decided it would be better to give it to Lucia.

Lucia still hadn't obtained full control over the first floor of Mammon's dungeon. In order to acquire the legacy left by Mammon, it was important for Lucia to grow Lucia to gain control of the lower floors.

After resting for half a day in Ailee's dungeon, Yong-Ho then headed straight to the next dungeon.

Judging from the state of the Ailee's dungeon, the other dungeons under Agares' control were likely in a similar position. If the other owners in the East had noticed Agares' death then they too would have probably have entered the dungeons, just like Yong-Ho had done.

Nightmare, who was carrying Skull, hid its tiredness and pretended to remain strong, which also caused Salami to stop groaning as well.

The next dungeon that Yong-Ho arrived at after the House of Ailee, was the House of Yubing. Just like Ailee's dungeon, Yong-Ho quickly acquired Yubing's dungeon in the same fashion.

Unlike Ailee's dungeon, there were a few insect monsters left, but in front of the elite of the Mammon family, they were equivalent to just scraps of firewood.

After extracting the mana from the heart of Yubing's dungeon, Yong-Ho had a brief moment of conflict.

He was greedy.

Could he take a third dungeon? If they strained themselves a little more, then he would be able to collect even more mana.

Greed arose. Although it didn't ask Yong-Ho to choose, it mirrored his deepest desires.

He wanted to consume. He wanted to possess.

Yong-Ho closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tamed his greed. He suppressed his desires.

It was too much. They were already exhausted from days of travelling.

It had already been three days since Agares's death. It would take more than two days to travel to the next nearest dungeon, so by the time he would arrive at the third dungeon, it would be far more likely that they would have to face other forces, besides Agares's remaining troops.

Yong-Ho thought of the map of the empty Southern Region inside his head. It seemed that by visiting Yubing's dungeon, they were already outside of the South and now inside the Eastern Zone of the empty Southern Region.

It was right to go back. Didn't Sitri say that unrestrained desire wasn't true Greed.

Yong-Ho asked Salami with his eyes to hold for a bit longer and return to the Ailee's dungeon. After a sufficient rest at Ailee's dungeon, they would then head back to the Free City.

An hour after they arrived at Ailee's dungeon.

Yong-Ho gathered the remaining furniture in the dungeon's entrance room, and invoked the power of evolution while watching the burning bonfire.

Some of the members of Skull's squad had filled their evolutionary rate. It was a natural result considering that they had fought some of the most intense battles in the Free City.

The only disappointment was that Skull himself, who had fought incredibly valiantly, had only half filled his evolutionary rate. However, that was most likely because Skull had already benefited the most from the power of evolution amongst all the spirits of the House of Mammon.

In games, the higher the level that one achieved, the slower it would then take one to grow again.

'It's still a pity though.'

The promotion rank after the Skeleton Magic Knight had still not been revealed. Perhaps he would have to evolve him in a specific direction.

Maybe he had to strengthen his mana or increase his physical ability like before.

It was painful, yet exciting worry.

Yong-Ho then turned his attention to the Skull Squad's transportation. Just like their riders, the horses had filled their evolutionary rate. Feeling the importance of endurance from their long march, Yong-Ho evolved the stamina of all five of them.

And finally, the long awaited highlight, Nightmare.

"From now on, you shall be named Bucephalas."

He was going to give Skull the opportunity to give it a name, but that seemed a bit difficult. At the current rate, it would have been named either Skull, Skull or Skull.

Of course, the Nightmare didn't know of the origin of the name, Bucephalas, the legendary horse of Alexander the Great, but regardless it still gave out a pleasant whinny, as if she like like the name very much.

[Name: Bucephalas (Female)]

[Race: Nightmare]

[Attributes: Darkness - Level 1]

[Individual Trait:

Proud]

[Individual Skills:

Stamina / Agility]

[Evolution Rate: 100/100]

[Stamina - Level 1 | ★★☆ (2.5)]

[Strength - Level 1 | ★★ (2)]

[Toughness - Level 1 | ★★ (2)]

[Agility - Level 0 | ★★☆ (2.5)]

[Mana - Level 1 | ★☆ (1.5)]

[Available Promotions]

[Nightmare - Attack Type] / [Nightmare - Agility Type] / [Nightmare - Mana Type]

Yong-Ho raised his hand towards the window of light and then called Skull after thinking for a moment. Yong-Ho expressed his intention to Skull as concisely and simply as possible.

"Which one do you want me to evolve?"

Skull answered immediately, with a single concern. How to interpret Skull's answer could have been a problem, but Yong-Ho immediately understood Skull's wish. That was only possible because of the bond between spirit and owner.

Yong-Ho evolved Bucephalas into the attack type. Like Salami, Bucephalas evolved to be quite large, but she was still a mare so there her body retained her beautiful curves. She looked more like an armored tank from science fiction rather than an armored vehicle.

After completing her evolution, Bucephalas looked back at Salami, and gave out a pleasant snort, as if she was smirking. Salami gave out a low growl in response and then looked at Yong-Ho with sparkling eyes. He seemed to want another evolution.

However, it was too soon. Yong-Ho stoked Salami's snout, although he had grown bigger he also looked more cute. Yong-Ho then called Catalina.

Catalina was Yong-Ho's personal guard, so she had participated in every battle he had, except for the Arena. Thanks to her outstanding performance in the recent battle, Catalina had filled her evolutionary rate.

Yong-Ho allowed Catalina to choose her evolutionary route just as he had done for Skull. However unlike Skull, Catalina was able to clearly express her desire.

"I would like to increase my specialisation in mana."

Catalina was able to wield dark mana after evolving into a Shadow Runner.

This time she didn't desire to be faster, but instead she desired to be able to better weird her newly acquired powers.

Yong-Ho also agreed with Catalina's wish because he thought, from the battle with Agares, that it was essential to increase her offensive power .

"Okay, close your eyes and relax. You've done this countless times before, so you already know how this works."

"Of course."

Catalina knelt down in front of Yong-Ho and gently closed her eyes.

As he was looking at Catalina, Yong-Ho suddenly noticed her long protruding ears.

Her ears were fluttering so fast, that it looked like she was about to fly away.

Yong-Ho unknowingly grabbed her eyes without thinking. Catalina flinched in surprise, but she didn't open her eyes.

'Lord, I think I'll get addicted to this feeling.'

The texture of her ears in his grasp was truly a strange feeling. Yong-Ho closed his eyes, and chanted the Heart Sutra, which he had picked up from somewhere. He invoked the power of evolution.

"It's done."

Yong-Ho spoke, and let go of Catalina's ears. Fortunately, Catalina was distracted by her sudden increase in mana so she didn't mention anything about her ears. Her ears fluttered as she began to examine her dark mana.

But, it was too early for him to feel relieved. Yong-Ho quickly brought up another topic as soon as Catalina finished checking her mana.

"By the way. If one were to absorb the mana from the heart of the dungeon, the dungeon itself would die, right?

"Yes, master."

"So would the dungeon continue to shrink until it disappeared? Do dungeons occur naturally in nature?"

At Yong-Ho's question, Catalina's eyes looked up as if she was searching her memories for an answer.

"Just as you said, dungeons do occur naturally. But infant dungeons are usually very small and fragile at birth. So they would probably soon die, without the proper care of an owner.

After Catalina mentioned an 'infant dungeon', Yong-Ho thought of Lucia. Catalina continued to talk.

"Other than that, I've heard that, very occasionally, the Dungeon Market will sell something like the seed of a dungeon. Perhaps, it's more accurate to call it an artificial dungeon. I've heard that they can be quite powerful, but... I also heard that they're incredibly expensive. Apparently they're hard to produce on mass."

It was quite an intriguing story. If it wasn't for the current turbulent times, then it would be unlikely for a dungeon to die. So it seemed that the natural cycle of the birth and death of dungeons was roughly equal.

Catalina currently wore a cool expression, as if she was satisfied with the fact that she had answered well.

Yong-Ho smiled and looked again at Catalina's ears. He then noticed her wagging tail. He suddenly asked without knowing.

"Hey Catalina."

"Yes, master."

"Could I touch your tail."

Catalina's expression once again took on a dynamic change.

***

While Yong-Ho was in danger of falling into a new addition, Ophelia was calmly peeling an apple with a calm expression.

She was currently inside the hospital, the only medical facility in the Free City and the home of the mad Oros.

The room that they were in was quiet. Oros lay on the bed and didn't say a word, while Ophelia quietly devoted herself to peeling apples. The peeling sound of the apple apple amplified the silence instead of abating it.

How long has it been? Ophelia took a bite of her freshly shaven apple, which caused Oros to open his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling, instead of towards Ophelia and broke the silence.

"When was it."

It was an endlessly open question, but Ophelia understood. The mad Oros was a wise author from the days of old. So Ophelia answered him in a gentle manner.

"Since the first visit to the Free City by the House of Mammon. You know that my house was originally in servitude to the Mammon family, right?

Opehlia's father, Endelyon, didn't hide his title. Oros exhaled a long breath.

"I knew that. But... I didn't think that you would serve the Mammon family again like that so soon. "It was impossible."

"No, you're right. At first, I didn't have the slightest intention of serving under his command. If I hadn't been completely overwhelmed by his pressure... then the story would have been quite different."

Ophelia happily smiled. Oros rolled his eyes, as he looked at the Ophelia before him.

"I don't think Dargon's death was within your calculations. Dargon died valiantly. However... it's true that I did consider that after the fight I would have to devote the Free City to the House of Mammon.

"Yes, I was planning on asking the House of Mammon for help."

Ophelia did not deny it. She acted coolly, so he wouldn't get angry.

'No, perhaps it's because I'm also quite positive about the situation.'

The moment that Agares decided to invade the Free City, everything was already set in motion. This was just a natural step.

"The Master will be back soon. Then the Free City will become the territory of the Mammon family."

"You're already got everything prepared, I guess. The fact that you and I are having a private meeting like this proves that everything is true."

No matter how much friendship they had built over the past decade or so, the bar hostess and the guild leader had always been hostile to each other.

However, Ophelia was now facing the defenseless Oros, one-on-one. It would have been an impossible scenario unless Ophelia had not already taken over the guild.

"What about the outlaws?"

"They give in to strength. The problem will be solved as soon as the Master returns. There may be a few who rebel to the end... but it won't be a big deal."

Ophelia cut the apple. She placed a piece into her mouth and looked at Oros. She began to talk slowly.

"Become a spirit of the House of Mammon. Just because the Free City will be under the ownership of the Mammon family, doesn't make much of a difference."

Will he agree? Ophelia's suggestion was to turn the wolf into a hound.

Oros laughed bitterly.

"What if I refuse?"

"Don't. "I don't want to lose you after Dargon."

Ophelia appeared friendly and determined. Oros once again let out a laugh.

Only

"Embrio is coming."

"Yes, that's right. The Western owners are united against him, but perhaps he'll win. We're going to have to fight him."

"Do you think the Mammon family can win?"

Ophelia smiled gracefully at the provocative question. No more questions or answer were necessary.

Two days later.

The mad Oros greeted Yong-Ho alongside Ophelia.

He became a spirit of the House of Mammon.