NOVEL NEXT C4
Chapter 4: The 8th Prince draws a monster
[You have discovered the item ‘Pistol’ obtained from ‘The Last Day on Earth, Survivor Training’.]
[Would you like to place the item ‘Pistol’ in the dungeon?]
“Is this right?”
The pistol that Kang Ha-yoon had offered appeared.
The problem is that the game I’m playing is ‘Dungeon Master.’
In this game, Kang Ha-yoon does not appear. Before even considering her, the game’s setting isn’t even Earth.
“Should I be happy about this?”
Anyway, the pistol, which I thought had disappeared due to a bug, has reappeared.
It’s better than losing the item completely.
With that thought in mind, I decided to click ‘Yes’ when asked whether to place the pistol in the dungeon.
[You cannot place the ‘Pistol’ in the dungeon because there are no monsters inside.]
[Please generate monsters through the summoning system.]
“I guess I have to summon monsters after all.”
If there are no monsters in the dungeon, that doesn’t make sense.
Though I’ve never actually been to a dungeon as a prince, I had been educated about it.
Even without that, I’ve encountered countless novels and comics in my past life.
“Well, maybe I’ll try the gacha after a long time.”
The highlight of any game is the gacha.
Since monsters are needed for the game to progress, I clicked on the “Summon” button at the bottom.
Then, the empty dungeon scene disappeared, replaced by a flashy background with a gambling-like feel.
【Monster Normal Summon】 – First time is free!
▶ Normal Summon: 500 Gold
【Monster Premium Summon】 – First time is free!
▶ Premium Summon: 1,000 Gold
[The probabilities for each summon are announced.]
【Normal Summon Probabilities】
F Rank: 45%
E Rank: 30%
D Rank: 15%
C Rank: 7%
B Rank: 2%
A Rank: 0.9%
S Rank: 0.01%
【Premium Summon Probabilities】
F Rank: 30%
E Rank: 25%
D Rank: 20%
C Rank: 15%
B Rank: 5%
A Rank: 4%
S Rank: 1%
Seeing the summon screen, I couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd it was.
“Is this for real?”
The probabilities might be one thing, but the prices were ridiculous.
Not just expensive, but way too expensive.
“Normal Summon is 500 Gold, and Premium Summon is 1,000 Gold…?”
Even after rubbing my eyes and looking again, the prices were outrageous.
To reiterate, as the 8th prince, I receive a salary of 5,000 Gold per month.
But this means that I can only do five Premium Summons with that amount.
‘How much did the commoners earn per month?’
Since I’ve never been a commoner, I wasn’t sure. But I recalled a book I once read.
‘I think it said ordinary laborers earned between 1 and 5 Gold a month?’
Even if the upper limit is 5 Gold per month, that’s only 60 Gold in a year.
So, a common laborer, if they spent none of their earnings…
“This is insane! It would take over 8 years to save enough!”
Thinking this way, the summon prices felt outrageously expensive.
Of course, this standard is based on commoners, not me.
As a prince, I was allowed to live my own life.
“Right, for now, I just need to chase dopamine.”
Who cares if it’s expensive?
After all, I had enough to spend on these expensive gacha rolls.
Besides, once I become a lord next year, things will get tough, so what’s wrong with enjoying myself before then?
‘From the 100,000 Gold my brother gave me, I still have 90,000 Gold left…’
The only silver lining is that both the Normal and Premium Summons are free for the first time.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Hoping for a good monster, I first tapped the Normal Summon.
Then, a magic circle appeared on the screen, with light gathering.
[Starting Normal Summon!]
[Monster energy is detected.]
“Please be S rank! Please!”
Even A rank would be fine!
After a moment, the magic circle turned bright gray.
And the result, which held all my hopes, was…
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained F Rank ‘Skeleton’!]
It was a skeleton.
A skeleton with nothing but white bones and no equipment. Seeing its pitiful form, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“…”
To get an F rank monster on the first roll, my luck was certainly lacking.
If the game’s setting were accurate, a skeleton was an utterly useless monster.
‘It was said that even non-adventurers could defeat them.’
F rank monsters were the lowest level, manageable even for those who weren’t adventurers.
Still, it was too early to be disappointed.
The probability of getting an F rank monster in the Normal Summon was 45%.
With nearly half the probability, this result wasn’t surprising.
“It’s alright. I still have the Premium Summon left.”
I still had one free Premium Summon left.
I could turn things around with this one.
“Alright! This time, it’ll definitely be an S rank monster!”
[Starting Premium Summon!]
[Monster energy is detected.]
The magic circle appeared again, and green light spread upwards.
‘Oh!’
This was a different color than before.
This felt good. For some reason, I had a hunch that a very good monster would appear.
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained D Rank ‘Orc’!]
“…”
The monster that appeared this time was an Orc.
With muscular, bumpy green skin, it looked quite sturdy. Its shoulders seemed at least twice the width of a grown man.
Definitely stronger than the skeleton.
But it was disappointing to get a D rank monster from a Premium Summon that cost 1,000 Gold.
“Well, should I keep going with the Premium Summon?”
If I kept getting low-ranked monsters, the Normal Summon wouldn’t be that bad.
But what was my goal here?
To clear the game? No, my primary goal was to earn points through the game.
‘Awakening the survivor was the best choice in ‘Survivor Training’.’
Thanks to that, Kang Ha-yoon was able to enter the shelter under the administrator’s guidance.
Of course, in the game, only power mattered.
The same must be true in this dungeon.
‘To manage the dungeon, I’ll eventually need higher-ranked monsters.’
It was a simple truth.
If I could summon even an A rank or S rank monster from a Premium Summon, that would almost cover the cost.
‘I’ll try exactly 10 summons.’
Not more, not less, exactly 10.
To do this, I needed to recharge some Gold.
I wasn’t sure how much more money I would need, but I couldn’t just spend it all on summons.
Just like before, I placed gold coins on my smartphone.
This time, I recharged 10,000 Gold.
[You have recharged 10,000 Gold.]
[Starting Premium Summon!]
[Consuming 1,000 Gold.]
[Monster energy is detected.]
I tapped the Premium Summon again.
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained E Rank ‘Ghoul’!]
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained D Rank ‘Mimic’!]
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained F Rank ‘Goblin’!]
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained D Rank ‘Skeleton Knight’!]
It didn’t start off well.
Even though it was a high-grade item, the best I got was a D grade.
But then, a twist occurred during the next summon.
A color I had never seen before spread over the magic circle.
“Eh?”
A monster emerged as red light spread.
[Congratulations! You have acquired B-grade ‘Incubus Kapira’!]
“Wow!”
An Incubus appeared as a B-grade monster.
This time, the monster’s species and name were shown alongside it.
I immediately tapped the screen to check out the Incubus.
‘So it really is an Incubus?’
Unlike the Succubus, which drains the life force of men, the Incubus is a monster that seduces women.
That meant its appearance was remarkable.
A style resembling a young idol?
Its pale skin made it shine, and the suit it wore suited it perfectly.
Moreover, it was tall, which made it stand out from other monsters.
“Well, this is what I expect from games like this.”
Normally, the higher the grade of a character, the more beautiful or handsome they are.
That’s to entice players to spend money, increasing their desire to collect them.
Simply put, the exposure and defense are inversely proportional.
“At least it’s lucky.”
Though the grade was below expectations, it was better than getting nothing.
Out of the 10 summons I initially planned, 5 remained.
I just needed a good monster to show up from here.
But….
“Wait, isn’t this rigged?”
The remaining summons were disastrous.
Among the five, Goblins and Zombies appeared twice each, and the last one was a Slime.
‘It really is a luck-based game.’
Now that I think about it, getting a B-grade monster was lucky.
I had summoned a total of 12 monsters.
【Monster List】
Incubus ‘Kapira’ (B) × 1
Skeleton Knight (D) × 1
Mimic (D) × 1
Ghoul (E) × 1
Slime (E) × 1
Goblin (F) × 3
Zombie (F) × 2
Skeleton (F) × 1
Although most of them were F-grade monsters, the dungeon, which had been desolate, was now livelier.
[You have more than 10 monsters.]
[You can appoint a Dungeon Master.]
[The Dungeon Master helps you manage the dungeon efficiently.]
[The Dungeon Master’s personality influences the dungeon’s atmosphere.]
‘Dungeon Master?’
I thought the master would be the dungeon’s owner, but it seems like I need to summon someone specifically for that role.
“If they’re going to help me, I should definitely do it.”
There was no need to think much about which monster to appoint as the master.
“This has to be Kapira as the master.”
[Appoint Incubus ‘Kapira’ as the Dungeon Master.]
【Dungeon Master: Incubus Kapira (B)】
Kapira, being the highest-ranked monster I had, was the obvious choice.
“Now that I have monsters, should I place the pistol?”
[Would you like to place the item ‘Pistol’ in the dungeon?]
Earlier, I couldn’t do it because there were no monsters, but now it was different.
Though it wasn’t a crucial step, I was curious.
Could I really transfer items from another game?
If that was possible, it would mean that all the games I played were interconnected.
‘If it works, that would be amazing.’
Even items that seemed useless could be useful in other games.
That would greatly expand the number of possibilities available to me.
Fortunately, I was able to place the pistol that Kang Ha-yoon had given me in the dungeon.
[The pistol has been placed in the dungeon.]
The pistol appeared in the center of the dungeon along with the message. Of course, no monster paid any attention.
After all, the pistol was an Earth weapon.
To the monsters here, it was an unfamiliar object, so they likely wouldn’t be interested in it.
“By the way, do monsters know how to use guns?”
If the monsters could use the pistol, managing the early dungeon would be much easier.
‘At least it’s an advantage to have received a pistol from Kang Ha-yoon.’
But I doubted that the monsters, who didn’t know how to use it, could handle a pistol.
“Is there a way to teach them?”
For instance, could I give them commands or something?
While I was pondering that, a voice called out to me from outside.
It was the maid who was attending to me.
“Your Highness, it’s almost time for your lesson.”
Oh no. The time to attend class had arrived.
I had planned to focus on managing the dungeon, but now I had no choice.
“Alright, I’ll prepare right away.”
A prince couldn’t just play all day.
Since my position was high and important, studying was naturally required.
‘I’ll continue the game after class.’
I had no choice but to put off the game.
If I missed class, especially as a prince already considered lacking in talent, my allowance might get cut off.
‘I hope nothing happens while I’m away.’
Kang Ha-yoon was safe in the shelter, so I wasn’t worried about that.
The problem was the game I was currently playing….
‘But with monsters, it should be fine, right?’
Most importantly, the third-highest B-grade monster, Kapira, was the dungeon master.
Even if I left for a moment, nothing should go wrong.
What I was more concerned about was where to store my smartphone.
‘Where should I hide it?’
I felt uneasy just leaving it in the room.
Although it was my room, the maids cleaned it, so there was always a chance they would find it.
‘Even a safe would be too risky.’
Just in case, I decided to carry the smartphone with me.
I quickly turned off the phone and stuffed it deep into my pocket.
Suddenly, twelve monsters appeared in the once-empty dungeon.
Moreover, they weren’t all the same species.
It was a rare sight to see monsters of various species gathered in one place, guarding the dungeon.
Their actions were focused on one goal: guarding the dungeon.
Instinctively, they knew they had to protect the dungeon.
While everyone was focused on their tasks, the Skeleton was doing something on its own.
“….”
The Skeleton silently stared at a black object placed in the center.
Its bony fingers carefully picked up the strange object, which was something it had never seen before.
One end had a hole, and at the bottom, there was a round protrusion that looked like a ring.
It turned the object this way and that, inspecting it for a while. Then, its skeletal finger accidentally hit the trigger.
At that moment—
Bang—
A loud sound erupted from the object, and flames shot out.
The Skeleton, startled, quickly turned its head toward where the flame had come from.
What it saw was a horrific sight.
“….”
A hole had been blown through the forehead of the Dungeon Master, Incubus Kapira.
It was the end of Kapira.
[A sudden event has occurred.]
[‘Skeleton’ has killed Dungeon Master ‘Kapira’.]
[There is no Dungeon Master present.]
[The Dungeon Master will be automatically appointed to ‘Skeleton’.]
【Dungeon Master: Skeleton (F)】