Chapter 104: Abnormal Proliferation (1)
Chapter 104: Abnormal Proliferation (1)
The dungeon’s 18th floor. The mountain zone that made up the habitat of the saber tigers.
There were more than 600 saber tigers around. The configuration of the group was different. Around 50 had formed a group in order to take over other areas.
And one of the saber tigers received the best evaluation and was called the boss. He led 100 saber tigers and succeeded in mating.
After sowing several seeds that didn’t give birth successfully, he finally mated with an attractive female and received offspring. His offspring was born after three months of pregnancy. It was very healthy.
The problem was…the cub was a different colour. Ordinary saber tigers had brown fur, but this one was white. His entire body stood out as unusual.
Saber tigers were agile and skilled at snatching the enemy from the shadows. So the white colour was a sign of a leader.
The boss decided. It was a difficult birth and he was confident the group would follow his lead. He would use this opportunity to make other males yield. He put in strict measures and hunted the group of orcs.
The cub grew well. And after a few months passed, the boss found out that he was deluded.
This cub was unlike the usual saber tigers. It was true that a king of the saber tigers was born. But the king was a little too prominent. The degree of rebellion was enough that he even wanted to challenge the Dungeon Master.
The white saber tiger. Known as White. He reached an adult size in only a few months. And he already had dozens of saber tigers following him. Among there were newcomers who had just been born.
After White was born, the reproduction rate greatly increased. Their numbers reached 300. Of course, they had to become fully grown in order to fight. White showed the most extraordinary performances in the fierce battles.
But…White didn’t feel any exhilaration. This much was natural considering his position. He had separate complaints.
First, he had high intelligence. It was enough to feel a difference with the others. He was also much stronger and agile. There were only five adults that were possible rivals for him. This difference became larger over time.
He didn’t just want to dominate this floor. White thought this floor was too narrow for the saber tigers.
Yes, it was cramped. He wanted to leave this floor.
But the adults stopped him. They said absolutely not. The Dungeon Master couldn’t be disobeyed. If he stood before the Dungeon Master then he would instinctively follow.
Nonsense. He was a king. A symbol of freedom. No one could oppress him.
Grwaaang!
White howled.
He gathered those that belonged to his group. This was his first priority. The true king of the saber tigers would leave this floor. He would widen his forces and even become the master of this dungeon.
White of the saber tigers proclaimed himself as the true king of this place. The numbers in his group gradually increased. White showed an overwhelming strength that made others submit to him. He managed to get his paws on half of the saber tigers when something happened.
A bump. An existence similar to himself.
That black bastard! An unusual black saber tiger was born around this time.
Before he knew it, Black increased his forces to a similar level. That guy was also strong. He admitted it.
But there couldn’t be two kings. It was inevitable that they would bump into each other.
A fight between bosses involving their sharp teeth. They fought until they were both bloody but the result was that White won.
The black saber tiger declared defeat. White rose to the position of king.
But it didn’t end here. White vowed he would become king of the dungeon and left the floor with a large group of saber tigers.
They climbed up one floor and the dark bears appeared. Their numbers weren’t much and defeating them was easy. However, the 20th floor was a sea. White was distressed since he couldn’t find a way to bypass it.
He determined the method to cross the sea would be obtained downstairs. He subdued the enemies while going down and arrived on the 15th floor.
This was the unusual place where the dark elves resided. White was happy. They would be able to tell him how to cross the sea. But White didn’t compromise. All those not part of his group were enemies. He would use force to make them spit it out.
He soon encountered the dark elves.
“Actually, the fairy has collapsed and Dungeon Master is quite busy right now…”
The dark elf in the lead.
A female. She was different from the other dark elves and it was the first time White felt pressure.
Grrr!
Surrender.
“I don’t know how you left the 18th floor, but this is due to the influence from the abnormal proliferation. It can’t be helped. I need to punish these naughty beasts.”
“Queen-nim. We will handle this.”
“No, Elder-nim. This white one is strong and completely different from the general saber tigers. It is fortunate that he is not yet an adult. In this place…I’m sorry but I must do it.”
Charuk. Charuruk.
Chrisley walked forward with her wand and the spartoi.
“How can I let them bother My Dungeon Master?”
“Then can I say something to them?”
Gruang!
Daring to relax in front of him?
White howled wildly but he just said with a smile on his face.
“Know your position. That is what I want to say.”
* * *
The top floor.
I folded my arms in front of the Dungeon Core and watched Yihi.
Yihi was slumped. Her body was collapsed like all the power had gone out and she was barely breathing. The spiritual body of a fairy didn’t need to breathe but they would return to the source soon after they stopped breathing.
The ego that made Yihi be Yihi. There was the possibility of losing it.
“Oooh…”
Yihi’s body trembled.
I gently reached out and covered Yihi’s forehead. The trembling subsided a little bit.
‘The abnormal proliferation. Ever since the dungeon’s ecosystem was damaged, Yihi and the Dungeon Core started to break down.
It happened a few days after I went to the Spirit World. The sudden propagation rate interfered with the flow of magic power. It was a temporary phenomenon that was a mistake.
I quickly responded when Yihi complained of pain.
I recalled the memories from that time.
‘Master. I think Yihi is a little sick.’
‘……’
‘Dizzy. My body is shaking. Is it because you are close? Ah! Or maybe this is love?’
‘……’
‘Hiing. Really sick. Even flying is annoying Yihi. I would like to lie down on Master’s shoulders.’
The signs were clear. This wasn’t a joke so I needed to investigate.
But the current situation wasn’t that simple.
The reproduction rate. It had increased by 500% compared to the previous rate. The Dungeon Core was receiving interference from the creatures’ excess magic power.
It wouldn’t matter if that number had slowly increased. There would be no need to worry once the dungeon adjusted to the magic power. In the end, I needed to make adjustments so that the dungeon could adapt to the creatures.
‘I can guess the cause. The Tree of Origin.’
That’s right. The Tree of Origin had a significant effect on the reproductive rate. But it felt like he got caught up in a stampede.
‘I released the blessing but there were no changes in the proliferation rate.’
The blessing from the Statue of Abundance continued. He stopped the blessing and waited for some time, but there was no change. The breeding rate continued to increase.
“Master…”
Yihi drooled and muttered.
Oduk!
I gritted my teeth. Yihi was very important to me. In my previous life, she had devoted herself to me but I threw her away.
Now something was happening to Yihi in front of me and I couldn’t stop it.
“My Dungeon Master.”
“Chrisley.”
I turned as Chrisley came close to me.
“I have something for you to see. Is it okay?”
“It is okay. What is going on?”
“The white saber tiger and his followers have left their floor and invaded the 15th floor.”
“Ah, those guys. Did they descend to the 15th floor in an attempt to escape?”
I knew about the births of White and Black. Their growth was excellent and they reached advanced 5Lv and 4Lv respectively. In particular, White was a special creature not available at the Store of All Things.
But descending to the 15th floor in an attempt to escape? It wasn’t good as the Dungeon Core currently wasn’t working properly. In addition, I expressly stated that exiting their floors was forbidden.
I was confused as Chrisley replied.
“This also seems to be the impact of the unusual proliferation. I’ve subdued them but they still aren’t hiding their teeth.”
“I guess I will go.”
“My Dungeon Master. It isn’t very urgent.”
Chrisley seemed to be worried about Yihi as her eyes turned to the Dungeon Core.
However, I shook my head.
“No. I will come to see.”
The impact of the Dungeon Core on the creatures. I was honestly curious. They even thought about leaving their floor to attack. They certainly weren’t ordinary creatures.
The 15th floor. White and Black were tied up next to the Tree of Origin. The rest of the saber tigers were expelled back to the 18th floor, but the two culprits needed to be handled.
Grrrr!
Graaang!
“White and Black.”
I stared at both of them.
White and Black revealed their sharp teeth and howled wildly. However, I saw fear within them.
Due to their escape from the influence of the Dungeon Core, they couldn’t obtain a complete impression of me.
“It seems like you have great hostility towards me…”
The creatures dared to rebel in my own dungeon. It was outrageous but also funny.
At that time, White tried to bite me.
Grwaang!
“Now I understand. Yes, there can never be two kings on the mountain.”
I started laughing. I could understand his attitude.
Rather than the insufficient 18th floor, he wanted to rule the dungeon itself.
I couldn’t allow that. The owner of this dungeon was me. Naturally, I was also White’s owner.
“My Dungeon Master. Shall I kill those ungrateful creatures? I can’t forgive them for that attitude.”
Chrisley approached me with an angry expression. But I raised my hand and stopped Chrisley.
“I know how hard it is to be the king and I need to tell them myself.”
I took out Wrath and said.
“Know your position.”
White didn’t bend easily. Despite using his teeth and sharp claws, he still lost. He was originally a king. But the opponent was too strong.
His body was in pain. Once he was completely drained and collapsed, a dark elf female healed him. He would fight again once he could move his body.
But the next few fights were the same. Struggling against the Dungeon Master’s sword, collapsing, treatment, getting back up again and so on.
Once that process repeated a few times, White lowered his tail in surrender.
Grrr…
That cruel bastard!
White cried out. It was the first time he experienced such suffering. He was born into the saber tigers as the king so he couldn’t imagine something like this. The opponent was far too cruel.
“Chrisley. Heal White.”
The Dungeon Master said while pointing down at White. Then the dark elf female, Chrisley carefully expressed her opinion.
“My Dungeon Master. The potions have limitations. Interfere with life…”
“Look at his eyes. It is still insufficient.”
Grrung!
It was enough!
He cried out sorrowfully. Lowering the tail showed he wasn’t an enemy anymore.
“Look. That position shows he is prepared to jump. He is still able to do more.”
“…Still not giving up?”
At this rate, White really would die if he didn’t abandon his pride.
He turned around on his back, exposing his belly.
“Are you trying to take me off guard? That won’t work.”
Finding faults. But White didn’t like being weak. White couldn’t easily accept weakness. In the end, it took five more bloody battles before he surrendered. White absolutely realized something.
The sky above the sky. The true king! He wasn’t a king. He was a beast that followed a king.
The real king placed his sword back into the scabbard.
Kiiing!
Now their positions were determined.
The Dungeon Master said to him.
“I need to use them as hounds.”
I made a plan using White and the saber tigers.
There was abnormal proliferation so I needed to keep the numbers as small as possible. They would be hunters. And a leader was needed for the hunters.
The saber tigers were just one of the species proliferating. It would be a brutal task. However, maintaining the dungeon was necessary. It was indispensable for the ecosystem.
‘Insufficient.’
But the rate of their progress couldn’t keep up with the reproduction rate.
He received an achievement in the middle but…
-An excellent achievement!
A Dungeon Master without any sense! 2,000 creatures have been slaughtered.
200,000pt will be paid.
800 achievement points will be added.
Such minor achievements weren’t important right now. I stood at a crossroad where the dungeon would either be maintained or lost.
The saber tigers were referred to as the best hunters, but their actions weren’t enough.
‘I need to use the Dungeon Core to create a monster wave.’
If I couldn’t fix it inside then I needed to export them outside.
I needed to act quickly.
The number of creatures had already reached 7,000.
The creatures randomly marched out of the dungeon. They had one command given to them. They could prey on everything around them. In addition, the creatures from the demons still monitoring the dungeon would be handled. My creatures were on an entirely different level. There were many creatures ranging from low grade to intermediate.
However, the humans didn’t take it lying down. Yoo Eun-hye and Edward Windsor were in the vanguard.
“I will kill all of you!”
“Noona, leave it to me.”
Both of them had improved by leaps and bounds. Especially Yoo Eun-hye who had transformed in battle. She went on a crazy rampage among the creatures. Edward was also filled with negative feelings towards the creatures and easily dealt with the intermediate ones.
Plus… The Awakened in the guilds were rapidly growing.
Humanity’s enemy. Anger towards a common enemy! They adapted due to that drive.
At the next meeting of Heaven’s Will, Kim Yong-woo had a large sword by his side.
“We can win! We will win! They won’t defeat us!”
‘That’ was the starting point.
The Hero who died. He blocked the creatures for them.
The full-fledged threat changed them. The people of South Korea, the Awakened no longer stood still or ran away.