He wasn’t consciously doing it.
Yong-Ho was mentally and physically exhausted and that’s why his instincts really kicked in.
Greed.
It was one of the Seven Deadly Sins and it was guiding Yong-Ho. There was no end to its desire and it wanted the swirling lump of mana that was in front of him.
The demon world was created through mana.
The air, rock and soil. Mana was inside everything that was in this world. Of course the amount of mana was different. Like the wind, mana flew around the demon world. That neverending flow created difference.
This flow of mana was a phenomenon created by the distortion.
Like a small whirlpool that’s created in a river. A different flow that’s been created in an unexpected section.
The distortion was dangerous. It was something that shouldn’t be dealt with carelessly.
But Greed didn’t care. It seemed like it wanted it even more because it was dangerous.
Catalina gulped. She wasn’t used to mana and because of that, she was incapable of understanding just how dangerous the distortion in front of her was. Since it became smaller, the only thing she could assume was that it was less dangerous than before.
But Lucia was different. Even if the Dungeon Market hadn’t given her any information, she was the Spirit of the Dungeon. She was able to really feel the flow of the mana within the dungeon.
Even if it became smaller, it was still a distortion. The mana was spinning at a fast rate and it wasn’t any different from a lethal weapon. If Yong-Ho placed his hand on it, his body might break because he’s unable to endure the distortion.
But he didn’t hear any voices.
It hasn’t been that long since Lucia had been born, so she wasn’t sure how to describe the current situation. It was rare for a Spirit of a Dungeon to be able to feel this much emotion.
Was she supposed to tell him to depend on her?
Her owner performed impossible tasks before. She was sure that her owner would surprise her this time too.
No, she shouldn’t think like that. It was really dangerous to have vague expectations.
[Master!]
Lucia managed to speak. But Yong-Ho didn’t stop. He wasn’t simply being controlled by Greed. Yong-Ho also wanted the distortion that was in front of him. And he wasn’t being forced to stretch his hand out.
Yong-Ho was able to see the flow of mana. And at the tip of his hand, he was able to feel Greed’s energy follow the mana’s flow.
Yong-Ho didn’t go against the flow. Greed naturally joined the distortion’s flow.
“Ah.”
Catalina exclaimed unconsciously. The distortion caused the space to look like a heat shimmer and unexpected colors started pouring out of it. Catalina and Skull also saw the same thing that Yong-Ho had seen before.
The distortion accepted Greed at first and it was now following Greed. The concentrated lump of mana naturally slowed down its speed and Greed let the remaining mana flow away.
Greed wasn’t Gluttony.
If it couldn’t handle it, then it wouldn’t eat it.
The colorful vortex completely stopped and it was now being sucked into Yong-Ho’s right hand. Yong-Ho saw how Greed transferred the lump of mana and it was similar to how he absorbed spirits.
It was different from when Greed absorbed spirits.
The mana had more “variety” than the spirits and Yong-Ho was able to feel it.
For the spirit, it only contained the owner’s demon power.
For the Queen Ant and Foras, the spirit provided coldness.
But the distortion was nature’s mana. It was a lump of mana that’s been collected from the demon world.
The mana had different qualities and the demon world’s natural mana was circulating inside Yong-Ho’s body.
It was refreshing.
He felt the same fullness as when he finished a delicious dish. The colorful mana pleasured his eyes and the different attributes woke the senses that had been asleep inside Yong-Ho.
Seven colored stars.
A spirit has a color and attribute and this didn’t only apply to humans. It applied to any being that had a spirit.
The attribute and color of the demon world’s mana didn’t completely fall into the seven colored stars. However, there were some that resembled them and Yong-Ho was able to feel his spirit.
The distortion didn’t increase Yong-Ho’s mana a lot. However, for the spirits that he absorbed before, the distortion made them completely his. It’s like it cleaned up the messy lego blocks that were stacked on top of each other. For the attributes that he originally had, he felt them grow.
Yong-Ho opened his eyes.
He felt refreshed, not tired. The exhaustion that he felt a moment ago seemed like it was all in his head, because his body was now filled with energy.
“Mas…ter?”
Yong-Ho turned his head towards where the voice was coming from and saw Catalina with her ears dropped. Behind her, he saw Eligor and Rikum as well.
[Are you okay?]
[It’s been over 30 minutes since you absorbed the distortion’s mana.]
[And this might seem unexpected, but…your mana recovery rate has increased tremendously. Even though it’s a small amount, your mana capacity has increased as well.]
Yong-Ho nodded his head when he heard Lucia. It sounded like he fell into a trance.
“Master?”
Catalina didn’t hear him answer, so she carefully called out once more. Yong-Ho smiled to reassure her and petted Catalina’s head.
Catalina was relieved, which caused her to let out a sigh of relief. Eligor, who was standing behind her, felt the same way as her.
“We ran over here because we were told that a distortion appeared. Thankfully, you were able to take care of it, Master.”
Yong-Ho felt safe when he saw Eligor’s warm smile. When he looked around, Yong-Ho noticed that the Orc warriors were here as well.
When Yong-Ho’s eyes met Rikum’s, Rikum flinched and hesitated for a moment, but he ended up talking. He carefully asked.
“Um…if I may ask…did you absorb the distortion’s…mana?”
“Not all of it. Just a little.”
Yong-Ho smiled and massaged his shoulders. He then asked Eligor.
“Looks like I caused a commotion…anyways, how much of it did you hear?”
It was kind of an odd question, but Eligor immediately understood what Yong-Ho asked.
“It’s been 20 minutes since we arrived. Catalina told us about the battle. It’s a relief that it had been taken care of before things got worse.”
Since Eligor served the past two owners, dungeon monsters were horrific disasters to him. Laigin were insect type monsters that appeared together with fire Djinn. Since the Laigins lived in volcanic regions, they were highly resistant against fire, but it seemed like they didn’t have the ability to endure the fire that was shot right into their faces.
[Distortions can appear anywhere within the dungeon. But the House of Mammon’s dungeon has a higher chance of distortions appearing than the other dungeons.]
Even though it was a bit late, it sounded like Lucia’s intention was to inform him about the distortion as much as possible.
[Usually, the Spirit of the Dungeon controls the dungeon. That’s why the flow of mana is more stable than outside of the dungeon and it lowers the chance of distortions appearing.]
[However, the House of Mammon’s dungeon is too large for me to control.]
[And because of the Encantro Pagnium, mana flows a lot faster and more violently here than other regions.]
[Sometimes, distortions can cause larger distortions to appear. There’s a high chance that dangerous dungeon monsters are living in the underground area of the House of Mammon.]
It meant that Mammon’s spirits weren’t the only ones that were in danger.
The House of Mammon’s underground area was like a pandemonium.
Since no one knew what kind of demons or monsters lived down there, it was obvious as to why the previous owners gave up on developing it.
‘But.’
That wasn’t the case for Kaiwan. And Yong-Ho was the same as well.
When Yong-Ho remained silent, Catalina looked at him worriedly. After patting Catalina’s head again, he sheathed Aamon and looked around. He commanded Lucia to activate the empty lot.
[I’ll begin the activation. Please wait a minute.]
She really only took a minute. After a minute, mana was flowing into the empty room and like the other rooms, the mana powered the light hanging from the ceiling.
When the darkness disappeared, Yong-Ho was able to get a better look at the room.
A room made out of stone.
But it was different from the ordinary, inactive rooms. There were complicated looking letters on the ground and wall and the remains of an unknown being was scattered all over the place.
Yong-Ho quickly opened Kaiwan’s map in the air. But this room couldn’t be found on the map at all.
Lucia spoke.
[Dungeon Facility: The Gate of Space. It looks like they stopped building this midway.]
“The Gate of Space?”
Eligor and Catalina reacted to Yong-Ho’s voice. Their expression was a bit awkward to say that they were just surprised, but Yong-Ho didn’t have the energy to notice small changes like that. He unconsciously became excited and asked Lucia.
“What do you mean stopped midway? Then does that mean it’s possible to finish building it?”
He didn’t know why Kaiwan was trying to build the The Gate of Space. He didn’t know if she cancelled it for some reason or if she disappeared while it was being built. It was impossible to know.
The possibility of completing The Gate of Space was what was important to Yong-Ho right now.
In the beginning, Yong-Ho’s goal was to build the dungeon to the point where he’s able to build a door that allowed him to return to the human world.
Lucia hesitated after hearing Yong-Ho’s excited voice and then cautiously answered.
[It’s impossible.]
[I’m currently not able to maintain and operate The Gate of Space and on top of that, it’s impossible for me to install it.]
[But once I grow a bit more, it will be possible. It’s not entirely impossible, so don’t be too disappointed.]
“I see…it’s impossible right now.”
Since he had expectations, his voice was filled with disappointment.
Catalina and Eligor reacted sensitively this time too. Catalina quietly released a sigh of relief and Eligor released his fist.
Yong-Ho couldn’t focus on those two. After he shook his head to get rid of his disappointment, he looked at the spirits.
“Anyways, it worked out great. Thanks for running all the way here, but I think it’s alright for you guys to go back.”
After showing their respect to Yong-Ho, Rikum and the Orc warriors exited.
Eligor asked Yong-Ho.
“I think it would be best if you stopped here and rested as well, Master.”
Even though the group only found one facility after they started exploring, it was a pretty fierce battle. It was only natural for Eligor to suggest that Yong-Ho rest for the remainder of the day.
But Yong-Ho shook his head.
Time wasn’t on Yong-Ho’s side yet.
It wasn’t as urgent as when they were preparing for Foras’s attack, but at this moment, the owners in the empty region were moving.
“It doesn’t mean that I’m going to overdo it. I’ll return after securing a bit more of the passageway, so don’t worry.”
“Yes, Master. I’ll make sure that the food and bath are ready when you return.”
“That would be great.”
After showing his respect, Eligor left the empty room. Yong-Ho felt kind of weird about exploring his own home.
“Anyways, shall we continue?”
Yong-Ho spoke and Catalina and Skull answered. Salami and Spot looked energetic as well.
But an unexpected interference occurred.
[Master, the Dungeon Meerkats have sent an urgent report.]
[There’s someone approaching the dungeon at high speed. I believe it’s Ophelia, the spirit from outside you spoke of.]
“Ophelia?”
Only
It was Ophelia. She did promise to visit the House of Mammon soon. But it had only been two days since Yong-Ho arrived at the House of Mammon’s dungeon. She came faster than he had expected.
After contemplating a bit, Yong-Ho made his decision. He turned around.
“Let’s stop here.”
Yong-Ho couldn’t stop thinking about how quickly Ophelia decided to visit. It’s possible that the other owners had made a move.
Spot was in the lead and Catalina and Skull protected Yong-Ho by staying beside him.
***
“Ophelia, the daughter of Endelyon, would like to have an audience with the owner of the great House of Mammon.”
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