Dungeon Maker

The commonality between men who attended schools of engineering, following an all-male middle school and high school, was very simple.

They were unable to properly communicate with women since they barely had any interaction with them.

1For Chun Yong-Ho, however, things were a bit different. He was the twenty-year-old son of the local chicken restaurant. Even though he couldn’t communicate well, he had a good mindset.

“So, your master’s bloodline has died out?”

Yong-Ho was sitting in front of his computer in just a pair of boxers and a t-shirt as he asked the two people behind the monitor.

One was an elderly white-haired old man, who gave off the aura of a butler, while the other was a young beauty dressed in a black suit.

From the looks of it, the old man did not seem to be human. He was covered in red wrinkled skin, and on his head were two small horns sticking out amidst his white hair. He couldn’t see it from this angle, but he knew that it wouldn’t be strange if there was a tail sticking out from his back.

“That’s right. You’re the descendant of a great figure. One of the seven deadly sins, Mammon, the King of Greed, bloodline is about to die out. How could this not be such a tragic event?”

“However his bloodline had not completely died out yet. Chun Yong-Ho is still here.”

The cold voice of a woman interrupted the old man, who sounded like he was about to burst into tears.

The silver-haired lady had light brown skin, which resembled the color of melted chocolate. She was someone Yong-Ho would do a double-take on if he saw her in public, due to just how beautiful she looked, and it wasn’t just because he was an inexperienced engineering student.

Her hair was tied up high into a ponytail, and in-between the loose strands were two small horns about the size of a thumb, visible just above her ears. Her ears were pointed like an elf’s, and just like the old man, she did not seem to be human.

Yong-Ho unwittingly glanced at the woman and then turned his gaze back to the old man, giving off a cough. He calmed his mind and took a deep breath. He said, “Let me go through it once again. The lineage of the Demon King Mammon, one of the seven deadly sins, is about to die out. If a demon, no, the head of a dungeon isn’t there, then the dungeon will soon die. If the dungeon dies, then the dungeon spirits residing there shall also die. So you came to me, in search of the Demon King Mammon’s descendants, to take the place as the head of the dungeon?”

“Oh, you are quite wise. The descendants of Mammon are indeed intelligent.”

The old man spoke with a feverish voice. Yong-Ho became a bit suspicious from the old man’s fervent reaction and turned his attention to the woman instead.

As expected, the woman explained coldly, “Your blood is the strongest amongst all the remaining descendants. And in fact…”

“In fact?”

“Only you alone has the power to become the master of the dungeon”

It didn’t make sense to him that there only remained one descendant of the Demon King. After all, his father was also alive and well.

‘It now makes sense.’

Among the descendants, only Yong-Ho himself had the power to take the throne of the dungeon. ‘So that’s why they come to talk to me, no, more accurately, to kidnap me.’

Yong-Ho had no doubt that the figures in front of him were demons. All of a sudden, a blue portal, like something seen out of a video game, opened up in the middle of the room.

Furthermore, when Yong-Ho finally came to his senses, he found himself in a room he had never seen before.

The computer and desk he was sitting at remained intact, but everything else had changed. The room was made out of stone and looked quite dull, with two people standing in it beside him.

Yong-Ho tried his best to stay calm.

If his father hadn’t told him when he was young that he had inherited the blood of a demon, he would have probably had quite an adverse reaction to this event. Either screaming out of terror or by begging them to stop being crazy and send him home…

Yong-Ho took another deep breath. He had to stay alert.

‘I’ve already been kidnapped.’

They sounded amicable, but Yong-ho had still been kidnapped into an unknown place. Perhaps this was what they called the demon’s dungeon. It seemed to be, considering the appearance of the room.

What would happen if he declined to be the head of the dungeon?

If there was no head, then the dungeon would die; if the dungeon dies, then the dungeon spirits living here would also die.

If that was true, then it was a matter of life and death for the two figures in front of him. There was nothing preventing him from making such an extreme choice.

The descendant of a demon…

The head of a dungeon…

If this was five years ago, he would have accepted unconditionally. At that time, Yong-Ho was completely obsessed with the fact that he was a descendant of a demon.

But now that he was more experienced, it was a little different. However, to be honest, he still had the same fantasy about being a demon king, but there were a few more conditions attached.

“Will I be able to return home?”

“What?”

“Will I be able to return home if I become the head of the dungeon? I would like to occasionally go back, for like, a vacation.”

Astonished by Yong-ho’s further explanation, the old man breathed a sigh of relief. The woman spoke instead, “That’s definitely possible. And… since you have human blood, you can’t stay in this world all the time. Sometimes, you’ll have to be with other humans once in a while.”

He could go back home.

Furthermore, if what they said was true, they had no reason to stop him from going home.

Yong-Ho rolled his eyes again. The old man looked nervous, while the woman looked stiff as a rock; both of their eyes gave off feelings of angst. It didn’t seem to be a lie that both of them could die if Yong-ho decided to not save the dungeon.

1The descendant of a demon…

Perhaps the fantasy that he had so earnestly wished for since middle school was now being fulfilled.

‘Am I thinking too positively?’

He had been taken to an unfamiliar place by the two demons standing in front of him, who would eventually die if they were unable to find somebody to take over the dungeon. There was virtually only one choice in this sort of situation.

This was the road that he was destined to travel.

If it was so, then he didn’t want to be dragged along that path.

If he was going to take the seat as the next dungeon king, then he would do it with his own two feet.

“Okay, I’ll be your next king.”

After hearing Yong-Ho’s awe-inspiring declaration, the old man began to shed tears of emotion. The silver-haired woman also placed a hand on her chest and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Seeing how their reactions were so human, Yong-Ho couldn’t help but smile.

This wouldn’t be such a big deal, would it? Yong-Ho was a descendant of a demon!

1

***

With a dumb look on his face, Yong-Ho sat on the demon’s throne. It was just a simple and crude stone throne with zero decoration.

The throne room also looked quite bare. The room was square, gloomy, and entirely made out of stone. The only color that could be seen was a red carpet draped in between the throne and the door opposite to it. There was, of course, no windows, either.

“How did the previous king die?”

“He was ashamed and humiliated about not being invited to the Demon banquet, so he committed suicide.”

The family of the demon Mammon had fallen into ruin.

No, to be exact, it wasn’t a complete wreck, but it was certainly on the verge of being so. Though Yong-Ho wasn’t exactly sure if there was much difference between the two.

There were many demon kings in this world. There were around a dozen of them, with each one having their own dungeon, and once every few years, they would all gather at the Demon banquet.

In the past, being one of the descendants of Mammon, one of the seven deadly sins, would have been a glorious affair.

The fall of the Mammon Family was the subject of contempt amongst the other demon kings. Which, at the very least, was an example to others to not follow in the same suit.

The large dungeon was on the verge of collapse, and there weren’t any dungeon spirits that were managing the place, either.

Currently, the only spirits left in the dungeon were the guard, Catalina, and the butler, Eligor.

At the time of death of the previous dungeon head, most of the spirits either moved away to other dungeons or became wandering spirits.

Yong-Ho decided that he had to think positively.

He felt proud that he was a descendant of the great demon, Mammon, but their present situations were quite different. Today was also the first time that he heard about his ancestor Mammon being one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

So there was no shame in not being able to participate in the demon’s banquet. Of course, there was no reason to commit suicide over it.

As Yong-Ho ascended the throne, he did, however, have to give up some of the delusions he had hoped for as a demon. He himself felt more familiar with the status of being the ‘son of the local chicken restaurant’ or ‘the engineering freshman’ rather than the status of a demon king.

Seeing how Yon-Ho’s reaction was calmer than they expected, Catalina let out a sigh of relief.

‘At first, I thought he was going to be a cold ruler, but now, it seems like he’s got more of a straightforward personality.’

Even if he wasn’t going to become the head of the dungeon, would they have just given up and cried till their death?

Yong-Ho shook his head to get rid of the pessimistic thoughts and asked Catalina, “Where’s Eligor?”

The moment that Yong-Ho had said that he would ascend the throne, Eligor had started rejoicing but then suddenly just disappeared. Catalina explained in a bright tone, “He went out to meet the dungeon’s merchant. In order for you to become the next head of the dungeon, you’ll need the merchant’s assistance.”

“Uh… what do you mean?”

He would need the help of the dungeon’s merchant to become the head of the dungeon?

Did that mean that he had to purchase some form of dungeon tenancy from the dungeon merchant?

As if Catalina had read Yong-Ho’s mind, she started to shake her head.

“In order to become the next dungeon head, you must undergo an initiation ceremony with one of the previous heads of the dungeon. But, as you already know, Mammon…”

“Since the last head committed suicide, there isn’t anybody we can invite?”

Instead of answering, Catalina just showed a sad expression. The more he looked at her, the more he realized how simple-minded she seemed to be.

“Is the dungeon merchant a former head of the dungeon?” Yong-Ho asked tiredly. Catalina bit her lips a couple of times, and then looked Yong-Ho in the eyes and answered.

“They’re not. That is… I’m sorry but today’s crowning ceremony is somewhat unofficial.”

After seeing her hands and feet fidgeting nervously, she was probably worried that Yong-Ho might back out of becoming the next head after telling him about the ceremony.

‘At least Catalina and Eligor won’t die now.’

This time, Yong-Ho found something positive to think about, which caused him to smirk. Perhaps being the son of a local chicken restaurant might actually have a more promising future than the next head of the Mammon Family.

“I think they’ve arrived,” Catalina spoke after carefully observing Yong-Ho’s reaction. As if she had felt someone’s presence, Catalina finished talking as the door suddenly swung open.