Dungeon Predator (WN)
Chapter 189: Dungeon Master

Kang Oh exited Snowprim's intercity transfer gate.

He immediately headed for the Witch's Forest Guild headquarters. Asu was waiting for him at the entrance.

"You sure got here quick, Oppa."

"I came running as soon as I got the message. But how did you manage to get your hands on the item?"

"I asked the guildmaster, but she didn't have what you were looking for."

"Ok. So what did you do then?"

"After that, I asked around, and found that one of our guild members has it!"

"Mm, good job. Thanks so much!" Kang Oh petted her head. 'Ah, she's such a good girl!'

"It's nothing. Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Asu smiled timidly as if embarrassed.

"So, who has the Veraris Liquor? Are they willing to sell it to me?"

"Give me a minute. I'll go and get her."

"Alright."

Asu briefly went inside, and then came out. She'd come with someone he was quite familiar with.

"Hi." Her companion waved.

"Ah! Chef Lee Soo Min!"

It was none other than Chef Lee Soo Min.

"We meet again."

"Yes. I get happier each time I see you."

"Soo Ah told me that you need some Veraris Liquor."

"Yes, that's right."

"Here you go." Soo Min pulled out a transparent glass bottle from her inventory. The liquid within was sparkling, as if gold and silver powder had been mixed in.

"Thank you very much." Kang Oh carefully accepted the bottle.

[Veraris Liquor]

World class liquor, which was made using the Veraris Tribe's secret technique. Besides the legendary Margaret Altein, there is no liquor greater.

"Use it well."

He was shocked that she was just giving it to him.

"I can't accept this!"

He might not care if it were someone else, but Chef Lee Soo Min was like a sister to Soo Ah; he couldn't just take this for free!

"It's ok. Don't worry about it." Chef Lee Soo Min smiled softly and waved him off.

"I can't do that."

"Seriously, it's ok. I got it for free myself. And I have another bottle too."

"Just accept it," Asu, who'd been quietly watching, said.

"Still..." Kang Oh hesitated. He couldn't just take something this valuable for free...

"You can just give her a gift later. I'll pick something she'll like. Unni, don't refuse the gift," Asu said.

"Alright, fine. But if I don't like it, you have to take it back!" Soo Min said teasingly.

"You'll like what I pick. You trust me, right?" Asu smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, I'm counting on you."

"Um-hum."

"Excuse me, but could you tell me how you managed to get your hands on something so valuable?" Kang Oh said, interrupting the ladies.

"I happened to come across an injured Fishman on the beach. I treated him and made him some food too."

"Ah, it was from that Fishman."

"He told me to take this liquor as thanks."

"Thank you very much." Kang Oh bowed his head.

"Come and eat at my restaurant again."

"I will, I promise."

Chef Lee Soo Min went back inside.

"Oppa, are you busy?" Asu asked.

"No."

"Then let's go for a walk."

"Sure."

That's what Kang Oh had been hoping for.

The two held hands and walked towards the nearby forest.

* * *

Kang Oh came to Eder's house.

"Eder, did you rest well?"

"Yes, of course. Did you get it?"

"Yeah. I got the Veraris Liquor."

"Heh, so all that's standing in the way of you owning a soul dungeon is my rainbow crystal."

"Yeah. Now then, shall we negotiate?"

"Alright."

Kang Oh and Eder sat across an old table.

"Can I see the goods?"

"Of course." Eder brought over the rainbow crystal, which gleamed with seven different colors.

'This is definitely it.'

Having finished his examination of the crystal, Kang Oh stared at Eder and said, "How much do you want for it?"

"Mm. 1,000... No, 2,000 gold!" Eder was about to say 1,000 gold, but then he changed his mind. 1,000 gold seemed like too small a sum, so he'd raised it to 2,000 gold.

"Fine. 2,000 gold it is," Kang Oh replied immediately.

He'd never be able to buy it on the market for 2,000 gold.

Thus, he bought it immediately before Eder either changed his mind or raised the price.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, I just made 2,000 gold!" Eder was satisfied. After all, 2,000 gold was quite a lot of money.

"The 4,000 gold that you owe me, it's in the bank, right?"

He would be rewarded 4,000 gold for completing Eder's quest. And that 4,000 gold was safely locked away in the Diana Bank.

"Yes. Why would I touch that? I know who I'm dealing with after all."

"You can just half of it however you want. I'll only take 2,000 gold when I'm done with your quest. Is that ok with you?"

"Alright. Here you go." Eder passed him the rainbow crystal.

Upon grabbing the crystal, a system message popped up.

[The details of the quest, Transport Eder's Body, have been amended. The quest reward is now 2,000 gold, not 4,000 gold.

'Finally.'

He'd obtained all of the materials required to own his very own dungeon.

Kang Oh placed the crystal into his inventory and stood up. "I'm leaving."

"To Teyno's Cave?"

"Yeah."

"Let me come with you."

Eder was quite interested in the soul stone and the soul dungeon. After all, the idea of changing a dungeon however you wished just by owning a soul stone was quite a fascinating prospect.

"Wait here. I'll summon you when I get there."

"Ok."

* * *

With the help of the Lighthouse Turtle, Kang Oh and Sephiro found Teyno's Home once more.

Teynos's eyes were closed.

"Summon Eder." Before anything else, Kang Oh called for Eder.

Eder's gray face appeared, equipped with the Dullahan set and the Hellfire Mace.

Kang Oh turned his head and stared at Teynos. "I'm here!" Kang Oh said triumphantly.

Teynos raised his eyelids. "Did you bring the treasures of the sea?" Teynos asked.

"Did you expect me to come empty-handed?" Kang Oh pulled out the Lupenia Crystal and Veraris Liquor from his inventory.

The Lupenia Crystal was a mysteriously shaped gem that radiated bright, rainbow light. Whereas the Veraris Liquor glimmered like stars in the night sky whenever it sloshed in the bottle.

"Bring it closer," Teynos said, and Kang Oh approached him.

"Look!" Kang Oh extended both of his hands.

He had the Lupenia Crystal in one hand, and the Veraris Liquor in the other.

"The treasures of the sea!" Teynos stared at the items warmly.

"Take this in exchange for the soul stone," Kang Oh said. It was as if he were saying, 'Come on, little turtle. I'll give you the treasure if you give me the dungeon!'.

"Fine."

Teynos's shell suddenly split in half.

Two tentacles came out from the middle, and took both the Lupenia Crystal and Veraris Liquor.

Once the tentacles placed the treasure within the shell, they began to extract something else.

They brought over a fist-sized rock, which was shaped like a triangular pyramid. There was a turtle's shell engraved in the middle of it, and dim white energy was stored in the center of the rock.

"So this is a soul stone..." Kang Oh couldn't take his eyes off of it. Eder and Sephiro, who looked at it from beside him, were the same.

"Grab the soul stone. Once you do, you'll become the master of this dungeon," Teynos said.

There was no reason to hesitate. Kang Oh stretched out his hand and grabbed the soul stone.

Then, the soul stone radiated bright light as if a flare had gone off.

[You have become the master of the soul dungeon, Teyno's Cave.]

[You may now exercise your right as dungeon master.]

[You may change the dungeon's name whenever you wish. However, you can only change it once.]

The light quickly disappeared.

"Welcome, Master." Teyno's voice rang out.

"Thanks. I hope you take good care of me from now on." Kang Oh smiled.

"Congratulations, Mr. Kang Oh." Eder was happy for him, as if it had something to do with him.

"Ahem, congratulations. I'm jealous." Sephiro looked disappointed. In the end, he hadn't been able to procure one of the treasures of the sea. Thus, he couldn't demand anything of Kang Oh.

"Thank you." Kang Oh accepted their congratulations with a simple nod, and shook the soul stone. "Do I have to keep this on me?"

If the soul stone was destroyed, then the dungeon goes with it. Thus, it had to be stored properly. If you didn't want to see your dungeon disappear overnight, that is.

"You don't. I can keep it safe. And I can give it to you whenever you need to use it."

"How do I use it?"

"Just place the soul stone on the palm of your hand and yell 'dungeon management'."

"Dungeon management!" Kang Oh immediately shouted.

Then, the soul stone floated into the air. The stored white energy spread outwards, creating a square screen.

[Dungeon Management - Teyno's Cave]

'It's a system window.'

Kang Oh knew how to use it right away. When he touched the screen with his fingers, several options popped up.

Dungeon information, dungeon expansion, change topography and environment, add and strengthen guardians, change dungeon's name, etc.

'Hmm. How do you add new monsters? I want Celtuses to spawn here.'

What if he managed to get Celtuses to spawn here? That would be game over.

He'd continuously kill them and make a fortune. It would be a gold farm!

However, he didn't know how to add Celtuses. So he decided to ask Teynos instead.

"Teynos."

"What is it?"

"I'd like to add Celtuses to this dungeon. How do I do that?"

"The dungeon master can change the topography and environment of the dungeon. If you change those two, then the type of monsters that appear will change."

"You can't change it so that only a certain type of monster appears?"

"No, you can't."

"Mm," Kang Oh said. 'Let's postpone this plan for now.'

Kang Oh picked 'change topography and environment', but found that it would cost quite a bit to implement any sort of change. Some changes even required a certain item too.

He didn't know what he'd need to change his dungeon to in order to get Celtuses to appear, and he couldn't just waste money trying to figure it out either.

'Hmm. Then I'll need to at least make sure I get my monthly payment.'

That was the reason he'd so desperately wanted to obtain a soul dungeon! He wanted the monthly payments that were associated with it.

'If I click dungeon information, then it should tell me how much I get each month.'

He then clicked on 'dungeon information'.

[Teyno's Cave]

The cave where the guardian of the soul stone, Teynos, resides. The luminous moss keeps it from being dark inside. Also contains a lake where several species of fish live.

Kang Oh, who'd been slowly looking over the information, stopped at the 'reward' section.

[Dungeon Reward (Monthly Payment)]

1,000 gold.

100 Gnus Skin.

10 Stone Eater's Core.

1 Potion of Explosive Growth.

Kang Oh smirked.

1,000 gold a month!

Plus, if he sold the 100 Gnus Skins and 10 Stone Eater's Cores, then he'd make 500 more on top of that.

In other words, he'd be making about 1,500 gold a month!

It also gave him a 'Potion of Explosive Growth'; it definitely didn't seem like a normal item.

'I'll get it in a month, so I'll be able to see what it does then.'

Kang Oh expectations had been met.

However, there was no end to a person's greed. Especially for someone like Kang Oh, who was greedier than most.

'I want to make even more a month!'

So he asked, "Teynos, how do I increase the dungeon reward?"