“Our Magic Tower has never once conducted a transaction with the Anais Kingdom.”

“Parasite from the royal family? Why would they handle magical ingredients? It’s not as if they have a royal magic tower.”

“There are Magic Towers that haven’t contracted with Balak. If you must be suspicious, be suspicious of them.”

In total, nine Magic Towers had secretly signed contracts. The rest had pulled out late, refusing to do business.

‘You know that plant, Parasite? It’s useful as a magic ingredient, but what do you know, it’s also fatal to the human body. So I used my status to acquire some. It was actually easy to get since I was using the Magic Towers.’

Leon had clearly obtained Parasite through the Magic Towers. Demons had no say in the matter, so he had likely taken advantage of the fact that they couldn’t reveal the truth even if they knew it. If so, his reason for inviting me was simply to gauge my reaction. Since he knew about the modern world, he couldn’t help but be interested in Balak, located in the West.

‘He said he would use Balak to start a war, right? Before I solve that mystery, upgrading the dungeon to S-rank comes first.’

A bloodbath was expected in the Anais Kingdom. The situation was so volatile that a rebellion wouldn’t be surprising. With the entire West on the verge of being engulfed in war, raising Balak’s rank was the top priority.

[Balak Territory’s wall construction has reached 40%.]

The walls were slowly rising, and for now, finances were stable. As long as he kept supplying materials, they would be able to complete the framework.

“Riel, what level is the crystal sphere at right now?”

“I believe it will break through level four soon. But we’re severely lacking the magic stones needed to reach S-rank. How about trying to clear the next difficulty level of the Ice Palace?”

“Hmm. I should… Huh?”

His eyes were suddenly drawn to one of the screens. Eclat, who had been imprisoned in the underground jail, was nowhere to be seen. The same was true for Kadum’s daughter, Vera. Taehyun checked another screen and pulled up Eclat’s information.

[Crybaby Eclat]

[Rank: A (Named)]

[Level: 61]

[Race: Angel]

[Class: Priest]

[Title: Heavenly Harmony]

[Affiliation: Balak (Permanent Contract)]

[Loyalty: 0]

[Favorability: 31]

[Obedience: 0]

[Skill: Melody of Blessing]

[Special Ability: Melody of Harmony]

[Strength: 1] [Endurance: 1] [Agility: 1] [Stamina: 1]

[Mana: 1] [Divinity: 45] [Affinity: 32] [Luck: 20]

[Status: Suspicious]

Thanks to her constant conversations with Vera, her ‘despair’ status had vanished and was now replaced with ‘suspicious.’

“Miss Angel, this way! This way!” Vera’s voice chirped from the screen.

“I-I told you my name is Eclat. Anyway, let’s go back now, Vera.”

“No, no! You promised you’d play with me!”

From the looks of it, she was being dragged all over the place by Vera. Taehyun smiled faintly as he watched the flustered angel.

“Looks like Vera finally made a breakthrough.”

—

Several months had passed since Eclat was locked in the underground prison. In the pitch-black room, she had lost all sense of time, but Vera was there. Vera, her only conversation partner, told her everything from what was happening outside to news within the dungeon, and even the date. They had grown close enough to speak comfortably, but Eclat’s suspicion still hadn’t faded.

“I still don’t believe it. I can’t believe it unless I see it with my own two eyes. They said that demons were evil beings who would drive the continent to ruin.”

“Jeez, Miss Angel, you’re so mean! Why won’t you believe me?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Vera. It’s just…”

“Fine. I’ll show you myself. Follow me!”

The perception of demons she had learned in the Celestial Realm was what spurred Vera to act.

“Let’s just go back. I don’t think this is right.”

“It’s fine, I tell you! Once you see for yourself, you’ll definitely change your mind!”

“Ooh… I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

Vera was holding Eclat by the hand, having dragged her out of the prison. The mere sight of the dungeon soldiers was terrifying to Eclat. She trembled and whimpered, but Vera paid her no mind, instead wandering around and sniffing the air as if on a picnic.

“Look over there! Those are the minotaur uncles. There are only two of them left now!”

“We are not uncles! Mo!”

“Eek!”

Starting with the minotaurs, they moved on.

“If you come here, they give out free Hemil Juice every day.”

“Vera, you’re here! By the way, who’s this with you?”

“I-I’m—”

Next was the dungeon’s rest area.

“This is the room where jewels float around. And that lady over there is named Hyena. She just got here.”

“Hello, Ms. Vera.”

“Eh? A-a Raider?!”

They went all the way to Balak’s final room. It was no exaggeration to say she was getting a full tour of the dungeon, guided by Vera. After they had visited most of the rooms, Vera’s mother, Calicia, finally appeared.

“Vera, where on earth did you go without a word?”

“Hehe. I was giving Miss Angel a tour of the dungeon.”

“Miss Angel? Could she be… that person?” Calicia saw the pair of fully spread wings and bowed her head in surprise. “Ah, hello. I hope our Vera wasn’t too much trouble. My name is Calicia. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Are you new?”

“Y-yes. My name is Eclat. I suppose I’m new, in a way. Anyway, Vera has been a great help. But may I ask you just one thing?”

“Yes, anything.”

“You seem to be human. Have you had any difficulties? Have the demons forced you to do anything terrible?”

Demons were supposed to be the most wicked beings on the continent. Even after seeing the dungeon residents with her own eyes, she found it hard to believe. Calicia paused for a moment before answering.

“Not really, I don’t think so. To be honest, I was very scared at first. I mean, it’s a dungeon, after all. I came here because of my husband, but I couldn’t adjust right away. But as time passed, I realized that anxiety had disappeared. Master Taehyun is also kinder than I expected and is very considerate of us.”

“Is… that true?”

“If you’re really curious, you should try meeting him yourself. I was trembling when I first met him, but now I’m quite comfortable around him. It’s like having an older son, so he’s actually a little cute.”

She smiled brightly. It was by no means the face of a human oppressed by demons. Eclat thought of the Celestial Realm and felt a great sense of confusion. She had always been indoctrinated with a certain perception of demons by the archangels, but now it all felt like a lie.

“Miss Angel, Miss Angel! Let’s go see the Master! Come on!”

“Wh-what?”

“Follow me! This way!”

Vera had already taken her hand again and was heading toward the Master Room. Eclat looked back in alarm, but Calicia simply gave a light wave.

[You have entered the Master Room.]

At last, they arrived at the room where the demon resided. Taehyun, who must have been watching through the screen, greeted them warmly.

“Did you enjoy the tour?”

“Uh, I…”

“Well, you must be confused. Let’s have some snacks and talk.”

“Snacks?”

Taehyun pointed to the table, where a plate was piled high with bread.

“Woooow! Snacks!” Vera was already sitting down and digging in. Riel, standing beside her, poured some black tea and offered it to Eclat as well.

“Please, have some.”

“Um… I…”

“It’s alright, please try some. I’m not sure if it will suit your taste, though.”

“…Okay.”

It was a food she had never seen before. Eclat hesitated before picking up a piece and taking a bite.

‘It’s delicious!’

A sweet sensation spread through her mouth, warming her from the inside out. Eclat’s eyes sparkled as she asked Taehyun, “Wh-what is this?”

“Ah, that,” Taehyun said with a faint smile, “is called cake.”

—

[Would you like to challenge the Advanced difficulty of Yuslan’s Ice Palace?]

A message popped up as he approached the Cold Jade. If the second difficulty was B-rank, then the Advanced difficulty had to be A-rank. He had already left Balak in Riel’s hands, and with no news from the A-rank raid party, there was no reason to hesitate.

“Yes.”

With his answer, the Cold Jade pulsed with energy. Taehyun and his soldiers were swallowed by a teleportation circle and instantly moved to the entrance.

[A chill is seeping into your body.]

[Physical stats are temporarily decreased.]

[Your movements are beginning to slow.]

[A chill is seeping into the soldiers’ bodies.]

[The soldiers’ physical stats are temporarily decreased.]

[The soldiers’ movements are beginning to slow.]

[The soldiers’ health is decreasing.]

[The risk of disease for you and your soldiers is increasing.]

A biting chill swept over them. The blizzard, raging from thin air, made his whole body tremble. Taehyun exhaled a white plume of breath and looked at the entrance. A-rank Advanced difficulty. He would probably be able to acquire a significant number of magic stones from this run.

[You have entered Yuslan’s Ice Palace.]

[The cold disappears.]

[Previously applied debuffs are being removed.]

At last, they entered the first floor. Taehyun took out his conductor’s baton and began to arrange his soldiers. Basilisks and trolls at the front, with gargoyles and undead soldiers behind them.

[The spirits guarding the 1st floor of the Ice Palace have been summoned.]

“Intruders! Unforgivable!”

“Wipe them all out!”

“How dare you enter this place. Don’t even think of leaving here alive!”

As expected of the Advanced difficulty, Seiras appeared right from the first floor. In the past, they would have been a formidable opponent, but not anymore.

“Cast shields.”

At Taehyun’s command, his personal fairies cast their shields.

[High Ice Spirit Seira has used Frost Storm.]

[An area-of-effect skill spreads across the entire floor.]

Area-of-effect skills were cast one after another, but it was useless. They were already protected by dozens of layers of shields. Taehyun glanced at Eclat, who was beside him.

“What are you doing? Use your special ability, now!”

“B-but this isn’t what I wanted! An angel helping a demon… it’s just strange.”

“You were exiled from the Celestial Realm anyway. You’re part of Balak now, so stop your whining and use your special ability.”

“Sob. You’re so mean.”

Having been persuaded by the cake, she had been dragged all the way to the Ice Palace to test her abilities. Eclat whimpered but cast her special ability.

[A-rank Named Mercenary Crybaby Eclat has cast the special ability ‘Melody of Harmony’.]

[All soldiers’ accuracy temporarily increases.]

[All soldiers’ health recovery rate temporarily increases.]

[All soldiers’ evasion temporarily increases.]

A purple aura spread out from her, carried on her sweet voice. Taehyun was amazed as he checked the messages.

‘Accuracy, evasion, and even health recovery. When the soldiers are clustered like this, it will have a tremendous effect.’

The effect was far more satisfactory than he had expected. Taehyun ordered his ranged soldiers to fire, beginning the battle in earnest.

Arrows sliced through the air.

“Aahh!”

“Frost Storm is active, so why are the arrows hitting us?!”

Their accuracy had already been boosted by the Melody of Harmony. Even within the raging blizzard, some arrows were managing to damage the Seiras.

[A-rank Hero Soldier Lich Big Dream has cast Bone Lance.]

[B-rank Named Soldier Flame Fairy Mandra has cast Wall of Flames.]

[A-rank Named Soldier Doom Mage Harugu has cast Swamp of Darkness.]

As dozens of spells rained down, the Seiras’ health plummeted.

[High Ice Spirit Seira’s Frost Storm has ended.]

[High Ice Spirit Seira’s Frost Storm has ended.]

[High Ice Spirit Seira’s Frost Storm has ended.]

[The Frost Storm that enveloped the entire 1st floor disappears.]

Once the area-of-effect skill vanished, Taehyun thrust his baton forward.

“Basilisks, trolls, advance! Gargoyles, charge and interrupt their spellcasting!”

And so, the conquest of the Advanced difficulty had begun.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep