The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 14

The Great Forest near Calhail.

A place full of natural resources and ancient ruins that await adventurers.

The Great Forest was so vast that it dwarfed the size of Calhail, but because of its enormity, people usually prefixed the name of the region before the Great Forest.

The Great Forest of Calhail was only a tiny part of this vast forest.

The Great Forest of Calhail had enjoyed a boom until recently. Compared to other regions’ Great Forests, the monsters that appeared at the edge of the forest were not very strong, so people flocked there for adventure and resource gathering.

But that boom was short-lived, as the road from Malta Province to the Great Forest opened up recently, and most of them moved there.

As a result, this place, which was a remote area even in Calhail, was neglected unless the Great Forest was the goal.

After a wave of excavation by archaeologists and dungeon raids by adventurers, the only ones left here were the villagers who made a living by trading with them and the rookie adventurers who came to see if they had missed anything.

There were quite a few villages like this near Calhail, and Liudira was one of them.

Recently, a rookie adventurer party took a request and entered the Great Forest.

That was a few days ago.

“Ah~ I can’t find anything no matter how hard I look. Maybe they turned into wild animals or monster poop by now?”

“If they were going to die as soon as they entered, why did they step into the Great Forest?”

“Remi is right, they might be already dead.”

The party consisted of a priest, a mage, and an archer in the rear.

And a warrior and a thief in the front.

“Hmm… The other tasks we took care of were fine, but…”

“That doesn’t pay. What can you find in this poor place? The only thing worth the money is this missing person search.”

“A demon slave and a disappearance at the edge of the Great Forest are the only clues.”

“Maybe it was a love escape?”

“If you asked that in front of the clients, I would have answered you seriously.”

“Ah, it’s a joke, don’t get angry.”

The old archer in the rear said.

“They might have done a sloppy obedience work.”

“Saving money and getting sliced by a demon slave?”

“That’s the most likely scenario.”

“Cheapskate slaves are a bit risky. The last one I used…”

“I know, he dragged you into a trap.”

“So I smashed his head, but… I’m still not over it.”

The priest, Sylon, muttered.

“This is the Great Forest, so anything can happen here.”

“Huh? It’s just a place where low-level monsters roam around.”

The archer named Troia answered instead.

“Remi. You only know a fraction of the Great Forest. The Great Forest is so wide and the deeper you go, the stronger the monsters are. How terrible do you think it is that Solomon himself gave up on the punishment of the depths and forbade human footsteps?”

“After the War of Dominance, a high-ranking noble of the demons… one of the Seven Deadly Sins who disappeared, there is a rumor that he hid in the Great Forest.”

“I got it. I’m tense enough. Both of you stop it. I’m trying, okay?”

The warrior, Galek, stroked his chin and said.

“We should think about going back soon. We went too deep. At this rate, we’ll go deeper from the edge.”

“That’s not good. We should sleep here today and go back tomorrow morning. We should look for a place to sleep…”

Then, the thief, Blet, said.

“…Can you all look over there?”

His stiff posture made everyone tense.

“What’s that… huh?”

“That’s…”

A dark cave that revealed its interior.

A strange entrance made of a giant tree trunk caught their eyes.

The five of them changed their expressions.

“Troia, check it out.”

“It’s not in the records. It’s an undiscovered dungeon.”

“It’s a dungeon, right?”

“You can feel it. The bitter aftertaste of magic that comes from inside.”

The priest, Sylon, said.

“If it’s still an undiscovered dungeon… what should we report?”

“You don’t mean… you don’t want to report it?”

“Um…”

“That’s right! If we report it as an undiscovered dungeon… the central will send a higher adventurer for dungeon measurement… and this place is far from the central and the workload is piled up, so it will take a long time…”

“If the missing person was caught up in the dungeon, they might die in the meantime, are you trying to say that?”

“Yeah, yeah! That’s it!”

The mage, Remi, said and Sylon snorted.

“Remi. Just say you want to monopolize the reward.”

“Can you be that honest?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I haven’t had any decent achievements for months… I’ll starve to death if I keep drinking this swill.”

“Your words make sense. How about everyone else? I agree with Remi. I didn’t join this party to maintain the status quo.”

“Did you hear that, everyone? Sylon agreed.”

The thief, Blet, said with an uneasy expression.

“A dungeon that hasn’t been reported… can be dangerous.”

“Who doesn’t know that? We’re just looking around. We can run away if things get bad.”

“I’m still against it.”

Two in favor, one against.

“I’ll go in.”

The warrior, Galek, agreed to enter the dungeon with the majority.

“Then… let’s go.”

The hole that seemed to have been struck by a lightning bolt from a tree stump welcomed them.

Along with the setting sun, their figures disappeared.

* * *

[The entrance of the intruders is confirmed.]

[The dungeon defense begins from this moment.]

“They entered.”

Before the raid dungeon content was updated, the number of people who could enter the dungeon was limited to five.

It was partly because the developer designed it that way, and partly because in this world, the basic number of party members for adventurers was implicitly decided to be five due to some incident in the past.

For this reason, most dungeons close their entrances when five people enter.

“Just five, huh?”

Five people enter the dungeon in a row.

On the screen that I see from the depths of the dungeon, their information is displayed.

From the warrior Galek to the mage Remi.

[Tip: Intelligence activity is not activated yet. If you want to check more accurate and detailed information than what is displayed now, you need to use intelligence activity.]

In the meantime, it kindly gives me a tip.

“Nari, why are you just watching? You have to kill all the intruders, right?”

“Phenex, Lord Faust wants to see the power of the new demons under his command.”

“…Ah!”

Lucifer answers for me, and I just focus on the intruders on the screen.

I can tell by their equipment.

Compared to the old armor, their faces were too tense.

‘They are rookies.’

They enter the forest.

The field of the rotten roots forest is more than twice the size of the nest where Agnea was.

“Wow, this is amazing. There’s another huge forest underground?”

“It’s like a different world.”

“Maybe Chamar or whatever that thing is still roaming around here.”

They are still looking down on this place.

“Blet, Troia. Do you feel anything?”

“Well… I feel that this place is very wide.”

“We know that. The path… you remember it, right?”

“I’m leaving marks. You don’t have to worry about going back. Worry about sleeping.”

“Yeah, it was already late at night when we came in… We should worry about tonight rather than searching.”

‘Camping event, huh.’

The event changes depending on the time of entering the dungeon. Typically, if you enter the dungeon late at night, adventurers usually try to camp.

‘I felt it was realistic then… but the real reality is a different feeling.’

It’s time to rest at night.

It’s so natural that I don’t feel any discomfort.

“There! How about there?”

“It’s a hill. A decent high ground where we can look down from this side. It’s good.”

[The adventurers set up a fire.]

By chance, it was near the place where I prepared the poison mushroom trap.

“Huh? Look at this.”

“Snowflake mushrooms, right? Should we take some?”

“Troia, check it out.”

“Um… this is no good.”

“Why?”

“It’s a white spore poison mushroom. It looks similar to a snowflake mushroom, so many people mistake it.”

[Archer Troia has detected the ★ White Spore Poison Mushroom Colony Trap.]

As expected of a one-star trap, it was easily detected.

But there was a harvest.

‘Every action of the adventurers is recorded. It will be useful for analysis later.’

The success rate of the trap is not determined by the grade alone. The trap can also be enhanced, and the success rate varies depending on the enhancement level, the composition of the adventurer party, and the situation of the party.

‘If there were no sensitive professions like thieves or archers, it might have been easier to catch them.’

This is a dungeon.

There are countless traps set up, so if even one of them works properly, it can cause fatal damage.

While I was thinking about this and that, Lucifer came to talk to me.

“Lord Faust, it seems that the intruders have gone to rest. Do you also…”

“I will watch them until the end.”

“Then, shall I prepare some tea?”

Her kindness bothered me a little.

“You like tea, huh.”

“I do. And I hope the person I serve will like it too.”

“…”

I don’t like tea.

Especially since I came here.

And if the day comes when I consume not for survival, but for happiness…

That day will be a bit lonely.

‘It’s the same as accepting that human Kim Seojin was left alone here.’

It’s the same as resolving to adapt.

So tea is too much.

I turned my eyes back to the screen.

‘It started.’

…

Kiii…

“Wha, what’s that sound?”

“It’s a surprise attack, everyone grab your weapons. It looks like goblins.”

Piiik-!

“Poison sting! Poison sting! Blet, help me with the shield!”

“Okay, magic goes! You guys.”

Hwururuk-!

Peeoong!

A battle that takes place in the dark.

Grrrrrr!

A hobgoblin jumps to ambush the priest.

Where do you think you’re going!

Piiiiing-!

‘Ho…’

The old archer.

He’s good.

In the meantime, he pierced the hobgoblin’s skull with an arrow.

“Huk… Huk…”

“Are you okay?”

“Th, thank you. I owe you my life.”

The adventurer party fought well.

‘No, rather… the current composition of the goblins is too weak.’

The advantage of the forest field is harmony.

One infantry is weak, but an infantry unit is different.

The advantage of the forest field is to pour out the troops and crush the party, but it’s still early and the number of demons is too low.

‘The shaman will die soon.’

“Blet! Don’t go too far!”

“Got him! You damn bastard!”

Pwahak…

The goblin shaman slashed the thief’s neck.

‘Even if they are two 3-star demons, they will be defeated by novice adventurers if they don’t respond properly.’

The hobgoblin was hit by the archer’s lucky arrow, and the goblin shaman was isolated and killed by the thief.

But they will recover in the Garden of Regeneration when the dungeon defense succeeds.

The power of the dungeon core is that absolute. Even if the neck is cut, the power to revive…

“Blet, that thing on your shoulder…”

“It looks like a poison sting. I’m fine, I have some experience with poison. It’s just a mild poison that makes me uncomfortable for a day. …It’s nothing.”

I didn’t feel any dissonance listening to their conversation, as it was possible in the game.

The difference between seeing it as a sentence and hearing it as a sound.

‘But… is that poison really nothing?’

Dungeon raiding is like walking on thin ice. If you are careful from the beginning to the end, you can cross safely, but if you make a mistake once, something unexpected can happen.

“That’s a relief. But where did these guys come from?”

“It seemed like there was a tribe in the direction this guy ran away.”

“Really? Troia.”

“It’s not far away. There’s no sign.”

“We slept enough. Let’s just check it out there.”

Sabak…

Sabak…

The adventurers arrived at the goblin tribe.

There is a second trap here.

‘Can I stop them this time?’

I was interested in what situation the adventurers would face next. Yeah, like a hunter who sets a trap and waits.

“Hey! Do you want to come over here? I think I found something!”

[★★★ The Trap of False Euphoria’s Scent is activated.]

[The trap stimulates the greed of the intruders within a certain range.]

“A, a box… a treasure box.”

“Let’s open it! Blet!”

“I’m already opening it.”

‘Did they fall for it?’

“Wait! Everyone back off! It could be a mimic…”

[Archer Troia has detected the ★★★ Cleverly Disguised Moss Mimic’s camouflage.]

Clang-!

“I did it! I broke the lock…”

Jjeoeeoeoeok-!

The monster disguised as a treasure box, the mimic, opened its huge mouth and tried to swallow the thief Blet in one bite.

Piyuyung-!

Peoeoeong!

Troia’s arrow tore through the mimic’s mouth.

“Galek! Now! Stab it!”

“Ah, got it!”

Kwajiiik!

The mimic was no longer a threat once its identity was revealed.

‘That old archer is the problem…’

“Can’t you get a grip? You almost died.”

“St-stop yelling! I got it!”

“Everyone is on edge. We need a rest. We’ve been wandering the Great Forest for days and came here.”

“Let’s go back to where we were before. We left our stuff there.”

I saw them walking on the screen. A familiar path.

‘It’s the path I prepared with Bill beforehand.’

The prepared trap showed itself.

Cheolkeong…

[★★ Poison Arrow Mechanism is activated.]

“Wh-what’s that sound!”

“Duck! It’s a trap!”

Kyaaak!

Pipipipipipit-!

Keuk!

A simple trap of barely 2 stars.

“Damn it! Blet! Why…”

“Sh-shit… my body mo…vement is du-dull…”

The thief became a porcupine and died.

It was a predetermined death from the moment he was hit by the goblin’s paralysis poison.

Kyaaahahahahaha!

“H-he’s dead. Blet…”

“Save him, Sylon!”

“Im-impossible. I don’t have that power…”
As I said before, dungeon raiding is like walking on thin ice. One mistake can lead to fatal ruin.

These idiots! Who made a loud noise…

Only the old archer seemed to sense the situation that would follow.

Kuuung…

Kuuuung…

“Wh-what’s that sound?”

“Something is… coming.”

The party did better than I expected. The old archer exceeded my expectations and saved the party twice.

But,

“Grrrrr… I’m hungry…”

“…There’s no third time.”

The first rule of adventurers, don’t make a loud noise during dungeon raiding.

“Ru-runnnnnnnnn!”

The predicted doom came.