The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 13

Squeak…

Squeak…

“Oh, did you leave something behind?”

Azarub, the bastard, was giggling with delight.

“There is something I left.”

Click.

He nodded slightly, and this time a hobgoblin came with a heavy chest and put it down.

Kuuuung-!

“Hehehe… It seems there was more sacrifice. Good, let’s see…”

“Wait.”

An unexpected prey.

3000 magic stones.

A reward like a rain in a drought.

I can’t waste these magic stones.

“I will proceed with the summoning ritual slowly.”

“Hmm… As you wish. I don’t care as long as there is sacrifice.”

There is a common superstition that hitting a 10-year contract is more likely to succeed in the lottery than doing a single contract.

I intend to ignore that.

‘After all, it’s either you get it or you don’t. That’s the lottery.’

Face and whatnot, it’s not important right now.

I can’t fail here. It’s a matter of life and death.

‘I will do a single contract and modify the lottery plan in real time!’

The goal is a boss-level demon.

5-star or higher forest attribute demons.

‘If I don’t get it this time…’

No.

‘I will get it. No matter what!’

It’s a war without gunshots.

In fact, it might be because I’m physical that I have all these vain thoughts.

Whooong…

“Good quality… magic stones.”

I start the summoning.

Patzuk…

The first start is…

Blue!

[★★★ You have successfully searched for the scent of vain intoxication.]

‘This is… good.’

But it wasn’t urgent.

The urgent thing was the demon side.

Patzuk…

Blue.

[★★★ You have summoned a moss mimic that camouflages itself well.]

‘This is also good! But…’

Not yet.

Not enough.

There’s more…

Patzuzzuzzuk-!

‘Purple!’

[★★★★ You have summoned a doppelganger.]

A demon that appears with a purple glow.

“Hehehe… Excuse me, but can I borrow your face?”

A black lump of metal that couldn’t find a shape to change, an incomplete form.

Great.

I need this guy in the future.

But… it’s still not as urgent as what I want.

Gulp…

The doppelganger tried to approach me.

Whip.

I waved my hand and Lucifer came forward and pushed him aside.

“Uh? Okay, your face then… Huff-! Oh, a demon! There’s a demon here…!”

“Please step aside quietly. You are disturbing Faust.”

“…”

The words were polite, but they implied that it would be troublesome if he refused the suggestion.

If it was a normal dungeon, the doppelganger wouldn’t have been treated so coldly, but my dungeon was in a state of emergency.

…I need a commander more than a combatant.

Patzuzzuk-!

Another one, purple!

[★★★★ You have summoned a forest troll wanderer.]

Kuuuung-!

Would a house made of birch trees be this huge? A troll with a fearsome size worthy of a 4-star demon was summoned.

“Graaaah… Hungryyy…”

The troll was standing blankly in front of the hell gate.

‘Move, you’re in the way.’

Whip-!

I waved my hand and the forest troll scratched his head and retreated with Lucifer’s guidance.

The presence of the demon was very convenient.

One, I didn’t have time to express such trivial feelings right now.

The expression that people often use in pay-to-win mobile games, hitting the ceiling.

The expression used when a certain character is guaranteed to be given after a specified number of lottery attempts, but the character is not drawn.

Of course, there was a ceiling for the Lemegeton beginner’s draw.

Well, it was a 5-star payment instead of a 6-star, but the low ceiling of 40 times was an advantage.

It’s relatively low compared to other pickups, but it’s very fatal to me who came into the game without paying anything.

And it’s the early stage of the game now… If I hit the ceiling and fail here, the future will be miserable.

A situation where anxiety is inevitable.

Whooong…

‘…Huh?’

A slightly heavier atmosphere, clearly different from before.

“Ugh… Uuuuuu…”

Azarub’s skull showed a reaction.

This reaction, I know it well.

‘5-star! 5-star or higher!’

Patzuzzuzzuzzuzzuzzuk-!

A brilliant orange light poured out of Azarub’s empty eye sockets.

And finally, the moment I wanted came.

Pajijijik-!

With a thunderous noise, a fairy with copper-colored skin appeared there.

A woman wearing a simple dress and a crown of leaves on her head.

[★★★★★ You have summoned the black fairy queen.]

She looked at me straight and said,

“Where is your forest…?”

There was power in her words.

In the game, it was just a list of words and whispers, but it was different for me now.

The vibration of her magic when she spoke, the peculiar aura and everything.

It came differently.

All of that made me relax the strength that had been clenched in my fist.

Yes, I did it.

“Stop the summoning.”

* * *

[You have completed the construction of the Altar of Growth.]

[If you invest labor in the Altar of Growth, the efficiency of experience acquisition for your demons will increase.]

[Tip: The growth of your demons is also linked to the growth of your dungeon.]

…

[You have completed the construction of the Magic Stone Mine.]

[If you invest labor in the Magic Stone Mine, the daily amount of magic stones mined will increase.]

[Tip: It is better to start mining magic stones as early as possible.]

…

[Your dungeon has acquired all the core infrastructure facilities.]

[At any time, intruders who aim for your dungeon’s core and treasure may attack.]

[You must defend your dungeon so that they do not achieve their purpose.]

Finally, the takeover of the core infrastructure facilities of the first area of the Rotten Root was successfully completed.

I couldn’t completely absorb Agnea’s territory, but that was only because I didn’t have enough time. Maybe in a short time, I’ll be able to absorb all the territory.

Creak…

I rummaged through the mailbox.

‘Surely… it must have arrived…’

Rattle…

Sure enough.

A new letter was in my hand.

The content was…

[A gift for the new Demon King!]

Hello, new Demon King!
Are you working hard today to protect your dungeon from the vicious horde of intruders?

You have opened all the core infrastructure facilities of the Rotten Root dungeon, so from now on, intruders who aim for your dungeon’s treasure will keep pouring in!

You must be excited and worried. We, the developers, have sent you a gift to cheer you on!

Check your heart chamber!

[You must check the item bound to your heart chamber.]

I returned to the heart chamber and reviewed the questions that remained in my mind.

Is this place inside the game? Or maybe it’s another world that’s the same as Solaria, the stage of Lemegeton…

‘Well, either way, it’s the same.’

Then, did the developers of this game put me in here? …Why?

And if that’s possible, what kind of beings are they? Are they like gods?

Besides, I know one of the core developers.

‘…Seung-ah.’

…Let’s forget about her.

It will only end up with a gloomy aftertaste. And no matter how much I think about it, there is no way to confirm it. That’s the conclusion I just came to.

I went back to the heart chamber and checked the item that was sent as a gift from the developers.

Creak…

Something that was a bit shabby, and it was ambiguous to call it a helmet or a mask, appeared.

Well… that is, this mask is a historic item.

Faust, that is, there is a thing called a decorative item that only the main character can use.

It’s like a skin, but it’s a thing that just decorates Faust without any ability.

The developers probably wanted to use this first decorative item as a pretext to get the users to dip their toes in the skin and buy these useless decorative items in the future.

And actually, I remember that it worked quite well. I heard that the things they released season by season sold well.

Well, even so, I didn’t spend money on skins.

Back to basics, as they say.

Swish…

My Faust wore this mask until the server closed.

That’s why, even more, a strange emotion sprouted.

A longing or nostalgia for the past.

Maybe this mask will have a different meaning for my Faust in the future.

‘…Shall I try it once.’

Swish…

“It suits you well.”

!!!

“…Were you there?”

…Surprised.

Well, …it’s not an embarrassing situation, but I felt a bit awkward.

“I’m always by your side, Faust.”

“…”

Just let me know your presence.

Besides, this mask is not uncomfortable.

It fits perfectly.

“Ah! It’s a goat!”

“…Phenex.”

You too.

That guy pointed his beak at my face…

“Nari, it’s a goat mask! Hehe!”

A mask that looks like a goat’s skull, but is actually a shape of Satan.

Well, I just thought of it and tried it once.

Swish…

I took off the mask and said.

“Gather all the demons in the heart chamber.”

“Yes.”

A moment later, the heart chamber was filled with creatures that smelled of the forest.

Kuuung…

Kuuuung…

“I’m hungryyy…”

The forest troll had been spitting out that word ever since he came here. Even though I assigned two more demons to the cafeteria.

Maybe, rather than saying it because he’s really hungry, it’s because he only knows that word, I wonder.

Swish…

The demons lined up side by side, with their heads facing this way.

Five of each goblin kind.

Two of the orc kind.

Two of the black fairy kind.

The rest are miscellaneous.

It might seem a bit poor to make up a dungeon, but the reality is not.

‘The difficulty varies from time to time, but the early episodes are designed to be cleared as long as you have the basic shape of the dungeon.’

It’s to give hope to the non-paying users that they can challenge the content that continues without paying.

‘And, there’s a reason why I chose the forest as my first field.’

[The demons and traps suitable for the forest terrain are arranged.]

[The condition is met and the forest’s environmental effect is activated.]

[Environmental effect: The cradle of life is activated.]

[When a hostile target dies in the forest terrain, the demons staying in the forest have a high chance of growing or breeding.]

Yes, that’s it.

‘The forest grows and breeds.’

Faust always prepares for the worst.

What if I couldn’t get a boss-level demon?

What if the lottery failed and I had to fill the field with only 2-star and 3-star demons?

‘There’s no answer in other fields. I might get through the early episodes somehow, but eventually I’ll hit the limit because of the nature of having to hit a home run in the lottery.’

The Lemegeton-related community always said this to the newbies who started anew.

Forest.
Just go for forest.
Pick forest, and fire if you have money.
Don’t play this game. It’s a trash game that sucks your money.
…etc.

In other words, I want to say that making the forest attribute the basic field is a tradition that has been going on for a long time.

They are weak at first, but they will soon create a lush rainforest in this rotten root.

“You will live here from now on.”

“…”

“If anyone does not follow, speak now.”

I didn’t have to worry about not understanding the language of the demons. The mischievous tree spirit went back and forth around me without a break and delivered my words. He was good at interpreting.

Trudge…

Trudge…

The black fairy queen came forward and bowed her head slightly.

“I will follow your will. This forest has infinite potential and…”

Shh…

The queen glanced sideways at Phenex and Lucifer, who were clinging to my throne.

“I have no intention of defying the one who commands the demon.”

“…Ariel.”

Her name was Ariel.

It wasn’t a name I gave her, but her original name, she said.

“Hehe… Won’t anyone ask for my opinion too?”

“…You.”

There was one more black fairy I hadn’t seen. I knew who he was in an instant.

“You stole the appearance of a black fairy.”

“It’s a painful thing to be stuck in such a quiet place.”

I remembered.

The doppelganger had a very special ability, but they often did dangerous things to the players.

For example, they warned the intruders of the traps, or disguised themself as a party member they killed and raided the dungeon with them.

But there was a part where this guy was quite useful.

“You won’t stay here.”

“…Huh?”

“You have something to do with Bill.”

“If you mean this black fairy, hmm… That thing. Will it be fun?”

“It won’t be boring.”

He seemed satisfied with my answer, and the doppelganger smiled with the face of the black fairy he stole.

Thud.

He knelt down and said.

“Can I have a name too?”

“Mori. Take it.”

“Mori. Hehe… I’ll take it.”

From that day, or from that moment, the dungeon began to be renovated.

The area that had been raided so far was divided into three areas from the hidden entrance of the dungeon to the heart chamber.

When you go from the entrance to the heart chamber, the first thing you encounter is the forest terrain.

It’s the largest, and the first boss battle will take place here.

And then comes the second boss room.

This place was not yet properly decorated. It just looked like a stinky cave.

‘I don’t have enough resources for this.’

The only force I could assign to this place was Phenex, and it was more trouble than it was worth to equip her with a fire attribute terrain.

She still couldn’t do her job properly.

And the last one is the heart chamber.

I was likely to be here unless there was a special situation.

The prototype of the rotten root dungeon was roughly like that.

After starting the construction of the dungeon, the first thing I did was to install the rain of harmony in the appropriate place.

Goblins and forest orcs.

These guys, also known as green skins, had a lot in common, but they had a grudge against each other because they competed in the same habitat.

The intruders used this to break through the forest field.

[★★★ Place the rain of harmony.]

[The demons in a wide area around the rain of harmony dramatically reconcile.]

The rain of harmony that appeared in the lottery.

There were higher-grade objects that played a similar role, but this was the best for a dungeon that was not yet large.

As long as this stone is not broken, the orcs and goblins in the forest field will not fight each other. This is a very important advantage. The intruders will have a headache just because they can cooperate.

Kuuung…

Kuuuung…

“I’m hungry… Grrr…”

The forest troll, also known as a wanderer, patrolled the forest irregularly.

He wasn’t very intelligent, so he couldn’t be controlled properly, but he was worth tolerating because he was bigger than other demons of the same level.

Kiii!
Kiiik!
The goblins made something like a hut by weaving tree trunks and rotten branches. A pair of orcs made a nest in a cave a little away from there.

They seemed to have settled in well.

The rest was the placement of traps and environmental objects.

[★★★ Place the scent of false intoxication.]

[★★★ Place the moss mimic that is cunningly disguised.]

‘…Mimic is a demon, right? …Right?’

This guy was sometimes confused whether he was a trap or a demon, but he was a demon.

He must have shown that message because he couldn’t move on his own like a trap.

Well, this side is done.

The last trap is… maybe around there?

“Walk, Bill.”

“…Yes.”

Bill obeyed my command without a word.

Trudge…

Trudge…

I’m counting how many steps Bill is walking from the mimic. The intruders who dealt with the mimic’s surprise attack will probably move like Bill here.

“A little more.”

Trudge…

Yeah, is this it?

This seems like a good place to relax.

“This should do.”

[★★ Place the poison arrow mechanism.]

I’ll have to set it to activate only when I come back.

[★ Place the white spore poison mushroom colony.]

…This is, well, good if it works, and if not, whatever.

‘Is it done?’

Finally, all the renovation was done and I stood in front of the entrance of the dungeon.

Whooong…

Kwajiiik!

When I let out a little magic, the barrier that blocked the entrance was broken miserably.

With the barrier broken, the story flows.

[The dungeon: Rotten Root has been opened.]

“…It begins.”