Chapter 6 Demon Labor Market 3

Yong-Ho sat on the throne with a rugged, black bracelet on his arm. It was one of the items that the merchant Sitri had left him.

"You can access the Dungeon Market through the Dungeon Spirit, where someone from the market will then come and guide you." Eligor explained.

The Dungeon Market was a large organization of dungeon merchants that made up one of the core pillars of the demon world.

The Dungeon Market sold everything that was required to either maintain, expand or repair dungeons. 'Labor power' was also for sale as well.

The Dungeon Market had many branches throughout the demon world. However, they also had a 'virtual branch' created through magic.

Demon Kings, masters of dungeons, were able to access this "virtual branch" by using an artifact given to them by the Dungeon Market. All the goods distributed to the various Dungeon Market branches were stored in this virtual branch, which could be easily browsed by Demon Kings, even if they didn't physically visit a branch.

'So it's just like online shopping?'

However, everything in this world had a price attached to it, and the convenience of trading at the 'virtual branch' was no different.

Buyers at the virtual branch had to pay with either more money, mana or something else entirely.

Though for the House of Mammon, which was in ruins, trading at the virtual branch would be considered a luxury.

Eligor, however, still recommended that Yong-ho use the virtual branch instead of visiting a physical branch, despite the increase in cost.

There were a variety of different reasons for this.

Firstly, the House of Mammon was located on the outskirts of the demon world so visiting even the closest branch would take a considerable amount of time. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the demon world was a very dangerous place.

Yong-Ho agreed with Eligor's suggestion since he too did not want to leave the dungeon just yet.

[Master, I'll start connecting you to the Dungeon Market. It may sting slightly, but only for a moment so please relax.]

The Dungeon Spirit spoke up with a cute voice.

The Spirit of the Dungeon could be considered to be the Demon King's alter ego. Yong-Ho wondered whether there was really such a cute girl somewhere inside himself, but regardless if that was true he decided to accept it as a good thing.

Yong-Ho had his eyes closed, so he couldn't see anything. However, the darkness that enveloped him only lasted for a short while. The virtual branch appeared as a white space, with a familiar person standing before him.

"Hello, dear customer."

The dungeon merchant Sitri greeted him in an old-fashioned manner with a bow. The only thing that had changed about her was that her outfit was now blue, everything else had remained the same. As before, Yong-Ho tried his best to fixate his attention in the sky. It was only after Sitri stood up straight again, with her cleavage a lot less visible, did Yong-Ho begin to greet her.

"Hello, Ms. Sitri."

It was worthwhile being with Catalina for most of the day. Since he was now confident enough to greet Sitri without blushing.

Sitri looked straight at Yong-Ho and smiled. She then took a step towards him and spoke lightly.

"I think I know what you're thinking about."

Sitri was present at his crowning ceremony. And here, too, Sitri was waiting for Yong-Ho.

However, she shook her head.

"I'm not the official merchant assigned to the House of Mammon. I'm sorry, but it's already been a thousand years since the Mammon family was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. And..."

"And?"

When he asked back curiously, Sitri smiled mischievously, and then winked at Yong-Ho and said.

"I'm far more influential than you might think."

Just how was he supposed to respond to a statement like that?

While Yong-Ho struggled for a short time to come up with a suitable response, Sitri continued to smirk as if she was enjoying seeing him struggle. She then took a couple more steps towards Yong-Ho and casually embraced his arm.

"You are not the first person with human blood to ascend to the throne of a dungeon. However, in the long history of the demon world, it's only happened a few times. And none of them had ever inherited the power of one of the Seven Deadly Sins."

The sensation of her chest through his arm was indescribable. However, Yong-Ho wasn't able to enjoy the feeling, given his concern about the moronic expression his face was displaying. Although Yong-Ho had been swept up into an extraordinary situation, he was not a fool. Even though he had been pressured into becoming the head of the dungeon, it was still Yong-Ho who had made the final decision.

The biggest reason that Eligor had recommended him to trade through the virtual branch.

Was the fact that it was not widely known there was a new king, with human blood, of the House of Mammon. It was safe to say that, at present, the only outsider aware of this was Sitri.

It simply wasn't time yet. It would just further complicate matters if the truth about Yong-Ho ascending the throne was known to other demon kings.

Eligor didn't clearly state the main reason for his recommendation. It wasn't because he was trying to hide something. Rather, it was because he didn't want to frighten Yong-Ho just after he had ascended the throne.

However, Yong-Ho was able to understand, to some extent, how Eligor felt. Since Eligor was connected to Yong-Ho through the dungeon, it would have been difficult to completely conceal his feelings.

Yong-Ho looked at Sitri's face. Sitri returned his gaze with her deep purple eyes. Her red lips whispered.

"Be careful of the pure-bloods."

The indescribable feeling that was being transmitted through his arm disappeared. Sitri moved swiftly like the wind as she turned her back towards Yong-Ho and waved her hands in the air, creating a large window of light.

"There isn't much difference between low-level demons that work in dungeons. And... considering the current state of the House of Mammon they're really the only workers that you can afford. Don't you agree?"

You get what you pay for.

It was like comparing different types of apples.

Although what Sitri said was true, Yong-Ho didn't feel much discomfort over it. Furthermore, Sitri wasn't trying to provoke him.

She turned around again to face him. With her back to the window of light, she put on an alluring smile.

"However, my dear customer, you are also the demon of evolution." So, not all low-level demons are that same to you, isn't that right?"

Yong-Ho wondered how he should react this time. Sitri had just now given a valuable hint to him, confirming what Yong-Ho had originally thought possible since first coming to this virtual branch.

"Then, I shall now take my leave. Dear customer, I hope you enjoy your shopping."

Sitri gracefully bowed and then disappeared. In the white space, only the large window of light, opened by Sitri, and Yong-Ho were left.

Yong-Ho sighed.

'I'm exhausted.'

Although she was a great beauty, she was very tiring to deal with. From her gestures and speech patterns, it seemed as if she had feelings for Yong-Ho, but this could have just been a ruse. Yong-Ho decided that it was best that he kept some distance between them.

He shook his head. He had been delusional since his third year in middle school, but it had only been two days since he became a demon. Furthermore, there was still quite a distance between his current self and what he had originally imagined that he would become.

The truth was that he was currently feeling anxious and afraid.

But, Yong-Ho always found the positive side of any given situation. In order to resolve the problems set before him, he decided to immerse himself into the reality of his situation.

Sitri's large window of light was like a huge computer screen. There were two options displayed on the window.

[Dungeon Market Demon Catalogue]

[Low-Level Worker Demon List (No Stars)]

[Skeleton]

[Goblin]

Yong-Ho couldn't help but laugh. It was just as he had earlier heard from Eligor, though it was still quite strange to see the options pop-up on the screen like a video game.

'Should I go for the goblin?'

The advantage of undead monsters, like the skeleton, was that they did not cost any maintenance in food. Moreover, they were able to work for a far greater time than other races.

However, the skeleton demanded far more mana consumption. The House of Mammon lacked in many things, however, the thing they lacked the most, and subsequently needed the most, was mana.

Yong-Ho moved his finger towards the window of light and selected 'Goblin'. Dozens of compartmentalized rooms appeared before him each containing a different goblin, just like a character selection screen.

The price of each goblin was 20 gold.

Eligor had previously deposited 40 gold to the Dungeon Market, so Yong-Ho was able to choose a maximum of two goblins.

'So then, which ones should I choose?'

Yong-Ho took a deep breath. And activated the power of evolution.