The Prince Who Absorbs Abilities With a ‘Click’

Chapter 9: Adventurers in the dungeon

The imp’s face froze in shock.

Just a moment ago, the peddler who had been acting so arrogantly lost his life in an instant.

‘This, this is a big problem…’

Peddlers are an essential presence in dungeons.

They travel between dungeons, selling necessary items or weapons, and sometimes acting as intermediaries for monster mercenaries.

Occasionally, rare or brutal items might even be offered.

Of course, compared to the established labyrinth guild merchants, the peddlers’ supply of goods is limited.

However, the labyrinth guild merchants are an arrogant bunch. New dungeons with little fame are hardly ever considered.

In the end, dungeons in such situations have no choice but to rely on peddlers.

What happens if you kill a peddler?

Other peddlers will start avoiding the dungeon and sever all ties.

Who would want to trade with a dungeon that has killed a peddler?

This has become an unspoken rule among peddlers, and naturally, dungeons would treat visiting peddlers well.

But this place was different.

Without hesitation, the peddler’s life was taken in an instant.

‘Who in the world is the master of this dungeon…?’

The imp understood why the peddler had died.

It was because he had insulted the master of the dungeon.

And so, the ‘Gunner’ had killed him in the blink of an eye.

“Ugh…”

Just by this, it was clear how loyal the creature in front of them was to its master.

The problem was that this dungeon had already broken the unspoken rule.

No matter the reason, it couldn’t be considered an exception.

‘This is beyond my control.’

The moment the peddler died, the imp’s chance to step in was gone.

‘I thought I had found a decent business partner after a long time, but this is disappointing.’

If the imp had continued trying to do business, he would have been labeled a traitor by other peddlers.

But if he turned his back now, he might end up like the dead peddler.

The imp decided to leave as quickly as possible and began pulling out some useless items from his bag.

But at that moment, the Skeleton ‘Gunner’ handed him something.

“Wait.”

The imp’s eyes widened at what the Gunner showed him.

“…….”

It was gold. A whole 10,000 gold.

The imp was speechless.

10,000 gold?

Even most merchants from the labyrinth guild hadn’t seen such an amount.

But a new dungeon had this much money?

At this point, nothing else mattered.

What mattered was that the creature in front of him was holding 10,000 gold.

“Hehehe, I’ll respectfully accept it!”

A sly grin spread across the imp’s face.

He could secretly hide his fallen companion’s body. But with this much money, he couldn’t just leave the dungeon.

Indeed, time flew by quickly once I had a smartphone.

For the past few days, I have been absorbed in playing games.

Thanks to that, I was able to learn more about the games I was playing, and there was one particular feature that stood out.

First of all, ‘The Last Day on Earth, Survivor Growing’ progressed at a rather fast pace.

Simply put, one day for me felt like one week for Ha-yoon.

‘So that’s why she gives so many items.’

Ha-yoon had been offering me various items, including not only pistols and toys but other things as well.

I had wondered how she managed to give so many things in a single day, but since for her, one day was equivalent to a week, it made sense.

The items she contributed over the week were diverse.

In addition to ammunition for pistols, there were also medical supplies that seemed rare in an apocalyptic world.

Occasionally, she gave me canned food or toys that seemed to belong to her younger brother, Minhyuk.

The most bizarre item was the zombie head she gave me. I still didn’t understand why she gave that to me.

‘Is she going through puberty?’

The shocking part was that the zombie head on the screen was still alive, even though the body was missing.

It seemed like the world Ha-yoon was living in was incredibly difficult.

Of course, since it was just a piece of data, nothing would happen if she gave me a zombie head.

Anyway, I placed all the items she had offered in the dungeon with the Skeleton Gunner.

‘Thanks to Ha-yoon, the dungeon is a mess.’

The food from Earth that Ha-yoon had given worked well, as the monsters went crazy and started charging.

The problem was the trash left over from the canned food.

‘The dungeon is turning into a disaster…’

And there was even a goblin who cut its finger on the sharp edge of a can lid.

Well, up until this point, it kind of felt human and acceptable.

The real problem was the dungeon’s master, the Skeleton Gunner.

The Gunner, dressed in a military green color, had a bizarre appearance because of the items Ha-yoon had contributed.

A monster holding a pistol in one hand and a toy magic staff in the other.

On top of that, it had a toy crown on its head, which made the dungeon look more like a subway line 1 train rather than a dungeon.

‘This appearance is truly horrifying.’

Would you even want to encounter such a monster in the dungeon?

I’d immediately run away.

“This is a complete mess.”

The only good thing was that ‘Dungeon Master’ was a game with a slower pace.

While one day for me was equivalent to one week for Ha-yoon, the time in the dungeon flowed exactly the same as my own time.

When it was evening in the real world, it was evening in the game, and when it rained outside, it also rained in the game.

‘I guess that makes sense.’

The ‘Dungeon Master’ game was based on the world I live in, so the time flowed exactly the same.

Thanks to that, managing the dungeon was easy.

I could just log in occasionally when I remembered to manage it.

Most importantly, as time passed, the dungeon began to look more like a real dungeon.

‘Thanks to the peddler, I’ve installed traps, so that’s a relief.’

The peddler’s visit had been beneficial.

Iron spikes were installed in various places at the entrance of the dungeon, making crude traps.

Although they were rough, they would buy me some time. And since the peddler had also offered to arrange a contract with monster mercenaries, it made me feel more secure.

‘The gacha price was too expensive, but this worked out well.’

After the transaction, the peddler even gifted me a weapon enhancement scroll for free, saying to take good care of the dungeon in the future.

It was a profitable deal.

“The problem is the points.”

I had been steadily collecting points for the past few days.

Thanks to Ha-yoon and the dungeon’s continued growth and events, I had accumulated 1852 points.

But this wasn’t enough to install the next game.

‘The cheapest game is Real Farm, but that costs 5000 points, so I need 3200 more points.’

At the current rate, it would take a while.

The only good thing was that the Dungeon Master game was decent at point accumulation, especially when the dungeon’s reputation increased, giving 500 points.

And I knew a sure way to raise its reputation.

“I wish an intruder would show up.”

That was to deal with an intruder.

The downside was that I couldn’t summon the intruder at will, so I’d have to wait and see when they would come.

‘I wonder if I’ll have to wait a long time?’

Just then, the alert I had been waiting for appeared.

[An intruder has entered the dungeon!]

The long-awaited alarm went off.

“Hey, Ren! This doesn’t feel right!”

Shivering from the cold, Kane grumbled.

His hair was blowing around in the strong snowstorm.

But despite Kane’s complaints, Ren, who was leading the group, kept moving forward.

“Shut up and follow me. I’m sure I saw the Imperial army moving this way!”

Ren was heading in the same direction that the soldiers of the Exion Empire had gone a few days ago.

“If it’s Imperial soldiers, they’re probably just on patrol.”

A woman’s voice came from behind. It was Lisa’s opinion.

“Right, Lisa’s right. Why else would the soldiers come all the way out here?”

Kane nodded and agreed with Lisa. He continued speaking.

“We’ve been here before, right? Ren, you know nothing’s here if we keep going.”

They were a three-person adventurer party.

The place Ren was heading toward was somewhere they had already been, and no matter how far they walked, it would only be an endless snowfield.

There was no point in continuing; it would be a waste of time.

“Ren, let’s turn back now—”

Lisa sighed and was about to complain when—

“Shh!”

Suddenly, Ren raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

“Look over there.”

Ren pointed toward a spot where a cave could be seen. No, to be exact, it was a dungeon.

“Why is there a dungeon over there…?”

Kane’s mouth dropped open. There had been nothing here before.

And suddenly, there was a dungeon?

“Now do you believe me?”

Ren grinned.

“The reason the Imperial army came this way, it must have been for that.”

Lisa shook her head at Ren’s explanation.

“Wait a minute, isn’t this strange? I understand that a new dungeon has appeared. But if the Empire sent troops, why is the dungeon still intact?”

Lisa’s words were valid.

If what Ren saw was true, then why hasn’t the dungeon been destroyed?

Ren spoke with confidence.

“Maybe there’s something in that dungeon?”

This meant that there was something inside the dungeon, and that was the reason they intentionally hadn’t eradicated it.

What that something was, he didn’t know, but it must be something important.

If it wasn’t, why would the Empire send troops all the way out here?

It didn’t make sense.

The three of them looked at each other.

They were long-time adventurer companions who had worked together for a long time. Without saying anything, they understood each other’s thoughts.

“We’ll just check it out for a moment.”

That was Ren’s opinion.

“But isn’t it dangerous? I have a bad feeling about this…”

However, Lisa expressed her concern. Something about it just didn’t feel right.

“Think about it. We’ve always risked our lives to enter dungeons. This time, we just need to check it quickly and leave.”

There was no such thing as a safe dungeon.

Adventurers always entered dungeons prepared for danger.

It was no different this time.

Kane, who had been silently listening, stepped forward.

“I agree with Ren. We’ve come this far, so it should be fine to take a quick look inside. If it looks too dangerous, we can leave immediately.”

Kane said this as he grabbed his axe from his back.

Seeing this, Lisa had no choice but to grab her staff.

Since she was the only mage here, she needed to assist Ren and Kane.

It was too risky to send just those two troublemakers without her.

“…Alright. But we’re just checking it out quickly and then leaving. Got it?”

“Got it! Good thinking, Lisa! Kane!”

Once Lisa gave her permission, they made their way toward the dungeon.

The inside of the dungeon was eerie.

The damp air soaked through their lungs.

“This atmosphere is strange.”

Lisa muttered as a blue light emanated from the tip of her staff.

“Dungeons are always strange. Dark and cold…”

Kane shrugged his shoulders.

“No, it’s different.”

Lisa shook her head as she scanned the dungeon walls.

“Normally, you’d expect traces of monsters or lingering mana… but this place is too clean.”

“Yeah, like Lisa said, it feels like someone cleaned up.”

Ren also felt that the dungeon was well-maintained.

The fact that it was well-maintained meant, in a way, that there might be an intelligent monster living here.

Simple monsters like goblins wouldn’t be able to maintain the dungeon like this.

“That’s why it feels even worse… eek!”

At that moment, Lisa’s scream echoed through the dungeon.

“Lisa!”

Kane rushed toward her, but Ren grabbed his arm.

“Stop! It’s a trap!”

At Lisa’s feet, a trap with sharp iron spikes had been set. The spikes were digging into her ankle.

“Damn…”

Lisa ground her teeth.

Leaning on her staff, she managed to stand, but her face turned pale.

“How could I fall for such a basic trap…?”

“Lisa, don’t move.”

Ren approached cautiously.

“Luckily, it doesn’t seem like the spikes are embedded too deeply.”

It wasn’t a life-threatening trap, but it still required basic first aid.

It would be a problem if they tried to leave the dungeon like this. The harsh wind would make it impossible to walk for long.

“Let’s just do first aid here and head back out.”

It was impossible to keep moving forward in this condition.

“I’m sorry, I messed everything up…”

Lisa apologized, feeling like she had ruined everything because of her mistake, when suddenly, an odd singing voice echoed from ahead.

Linlin Linlin

“What is that sound?”

Kane held his axe and watched the front warily.

The singing grew louder.

Magical girl Linlinlin ♥

Don’t lose hope♪

With the hearts of my friends ♬

The power of miracles will be yours♪

Along with the song, a figure soon appeared.

“…Skeleton?”

No, it wasn’t just any ordinary skeleton.

Its bones were green. And this mysterious song was coming from the staff it was holding.

Magical girl Linlinlin♥

Believe in the power of love♬

The power of darkness shall retreat?

The light of peace will surround you♥

A dazzling light flowed out from the staff.

The three adventurers, witnessing this bizarre scene for the first time, turned pale.