It has been three weeks since I arrived in this underground place. The demons here treated me like some divine blessing.
They tried their best to give me whatever they could but between their malnourished state and their lack of … well everything, it didn’t amount to much more than a few shiny rocks.
In the first week I gave out the last of my dragon meat. I was in complete disbelief when I found out that up until then they had been living off a few cockroaches just to scrape by.
They tried to offer me some when I told them I was running low on food. If it wasn’t for their sincerity I would have thought it was a joke.
It turns out that due to their weakened states they couldn’t explore the deeper regions of the caverns. They told me the deeper regions of the cavern were filled with deadly creatures.
Naturally I asked why they didn't go to the surface and hunt up there. But according to them everyone who went on the surface never came back. It had been so long since anyone went to the surface that the entrance had already caved in. I tried escaping to the surface but my teleportation couldn’t go that far.
I even tried to ask how long they had been living underground and as expected, they had no idea. The eldest among the demons said they ran here after the last demon king was killed.
Back then, there were almost a thousand of them. When they had just arrived here they killed and ate all the creatures they could find until creatures stopped popping up. Then they sent hunters to the surface, but none of them returned.
Some even tried to go deeper in the caves but none of them returned either.
Well that was until I came around.
[BAM!]
A giant crab’s pincer claw landed firmly on my spatial shield.
I fired a punch that went straight through the crab's mouth and exploded with energy inside the crab.
The crab was instantly killed.
[Underground Crab as been slain +700 exp]
[Congratulations! You have level up]
I had to look at my hand as I pulled it out, the white glow of my self assurance skill still covered it giving it a feeling of danger.
“It’s nowhere near as powerful as the commander’s… I still need a lot more practice.”
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‘This is the farthest I’ve been now… I think this is the end of the cavern.’
I pondered as I looked inside the last cavern at the furthest region of caves.
Inside was a large crystal that looked as black as tar. The crystal sat on a pedestal and stood upright as though still defying gravity.
The moment I laid eyes on it I could feel exactly what it was.
‘A dungeon’s heart’
When I stretched out and touched it I was hit with a barrage of notifications.
The moment the notifications ended I pulled my hand away and turned tail to leave that little cavern.
I tied up the underground crabs that I had killed today and went back to the area where the demons stayed.
The moment I came an alarm was sounded and they all came out to greet me.
“Thank you O Great Demon King! Since you have arrived who haven’t gone a day without meat.”
They looked at me with eyes filled with thankfulness. Now after three weeks of eating meat the demons had begun to regain their vitality and stature.
The children even began to display some of their demonic powers. Some of them started hovering around in the air while some of them threw fireballs at each other as they played around in the dirt.
The village of about fifty demons and fifteen toddlers felt like it had gained back some life. I did not want to be their savior, but their hospitality was too great to go unreciprocated.
Even with nothing they gave me a home and treated me like a king.
“I am sorry, but I need to speak to the elders.”
I had to walk pass the crowd at the entrance and speak directly to the oldest among the demons.
The three demons who looked the largest among the villagers weren’t particularly strong but they were the oldest in the village.
“Great Demon King, we thank you for blessing us with food once more.”
These guys were as cheesy as always. I gave an awkward smile.
“Well, I hope you have your fill because that’s the last of it.”
The three senior demons gave me a look of disbelief.
“Are…Are… Are you abandoning us my Liege?”
One of them gave me those creepy puppy eyes filled with tears. If I was working I would have diagnosed them with Dependent Personality Disorder.
“I didn’t say that!”
They all let out a sigh of relief until I continued.
“That was just the last of the creatures I could find in this dungeon.
There is simply nothing left to carry back.
I went all the way to the end this time and those four crabs were all I could find.”
They looked at me with disbelief. I guess it was my fault for over hunting what little creatures I could find. But I was too busy using them to practice.
“Are you saying we are going to have to go back to eating cockroaches?”
They looked at me with eyes filled with sorrow and disappointment.
“No! I… I won't go back to eating them! I prefer to die like a true demon!”
One of the three pulled a dagger and put it to his own throat.
“Well… there is a way for us to survive… but there is a cost. A very steep cost actually.”
The three demon’s looked at me like they wanted me to hurry up and sit it out.
“Whatever the cost is… we are willing to pay.”
They gave me a look as though saying anything was better than living off bugs.
“Do you know anything about mana manipulation?”
I questioned them hoping this wasn’t some divine joke being played on me.
“Yes, all demons know how to manipulate their mana from birth. It is as natural to us as breathing.”
‘Fudge me sideways’
I facepalmed myself feeling like the gods were laughing in my face.
Regardless of my inner disdain, I looked at their determination and knew I couldn’t reject them…. My problem is… It felt like I was going back to square one.
-
[Mana requirement 0/100,000]
[Do you wish to revive the dormant Dungeon’s Heart?]
[Warning! All living creatures within the Dungeon will be turned into Dungeon Creatures!]
[Do you still wish to revive the dormant Dungeon’s Heart?]
[Yes/No]