Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 90

86. Before the first rooster crows

 

As soon as I returned to the hotel, I asked Geumdong and Toto, who were in human form, to take care of the hotel, and then I took my equipment and stood in front of the revolving door.

 

I had resolved my mana exhaustion by drinking the coffee that Geumdong had given me.

 

Toto asked a little worriedly.

 

“Will you be okay if you enter the A-Class dungeon?”

 

A-Class dungeon.

 

Actually, it’s too much for me right now.

 

Even though the Demon Castle was an A-Class dungeon, a safe bus named Han Woohyun was waiting at that time.

 

But this time, the system guarantees my safety.

 

And above all—

 

“Yoojun is also in danger in this dungeon, and it’s urgent if an ordinary person like Hyejin gets swept away.”

 

Hyejin is inside.

 

Our employee’s family.

 

The boss should take care of employee welfare.

 

I looked at the revolving door and said.

 

“To the dungeon where Hyejin is.”

 

The revolving door began to move.

 

When I entered the revolving door and came out, a pine forest spread out before my eyes.

 

Red eyes were roaming around on the other side of the foggy pine forest.

 

At first glance, it was a silhouette that looked like a tiger.

 

Then a window appeared.

 

‘Changgwi (D)’ has appeared in front of you. 

 

Changgwi…?

 

At first glance, I thought of a folktale related to a historical site that I had researched before coming down to Jeongcheon-gun.

 

It was a folk tale about Changgwi.

 

The story is that a person who is eaten by a tiger becomes a ghost called Changgwi and deceives people so that other people are eaten by the tiger.

 

—Honey…. Mr. Kim…

 

‘Changgwi (D)’ has appeared in front of you. 

 

—Come this way… Please help the traveler who hurt his foot…

 

‘Changgwi (D)’ has appeared in front of you. 

 

I felt like every hair on my body stood on end as I heard a creepy voice.

 

This is also a monster that uses some kind of mental attack.

 

—Right, right… This way. This way…

 

It felt bad to be in a foggy pine forest, but I walked into the pine forest with great strides.

 

Every time I walked, I could hear a faint sound from afar that sounded like a bell used for exorcism.

 

It’s hallucinations. 

 

Even though I knew it, I couldn’t help feeling dirty.

 

—This time it’s finally your turn!

 

I responded to the attack of the monster flying from the right with a dagger.

 

It stabbed deeply into the heart of a humanoid monster wearing a mask and hemp clothes.

 

Stab—!

 

At that moment, the monster collapsed as if the wind were falling.

 

You’ve successfully hunted ‘Changgwi (D)’. You have obtained 500p EXP.

 

I pushed the dead body of the monster back, knocked it down, and prepared for the next attack.

 

—Mr. Kim, have you come to help the traveler!

 

Stab—!

 

You’ve successfully hunted ‘Changgwi (D)’. You have obtained 500p EXP.

 

—What a shame… I thought I could pass over my seat this time…

 

Stab—!

 

You’ve successfully hunted ‘Changgwi (D)’. You have obtained 500p EXP.

 

After killing three D-Class monsters in an instant, a window popped up saying that the hotel’s level was increasing.

 

It seemed like the small amount EXP I had accumulated so far was paying off.

 

I calmly took my stats and looked around.

 

“Hicc…, hicc. Hic…”

 

At that time, the faint sound of a woman crying was heard.

 

Is it Hyejin?

 

The sound came from a steep slope that seemed to lead into a valley.

 

As seen in the legend’s hometown, the night fog piled up toward the valley, and a girl could be seen crouching down the valley.

 

“Hicc… hic…”

 

‘Gumiho’ (C) has appeared in front of you.

 

…So it’s a gumiho.

 

Is the name of this dungeon ‘Hometown of Legends’?

 

It was the moment when I was about to turn around and leave.

 

My eyes met a man hanging upside down from a tree behind me.

 

“Aack…!” 

 

When I screamed without realizing it, the man grinned.

 

—Why are you surprised? You know my face. Right? The last person to see this guy.

 

The ‘Fallen Goblin King (A)’ has appeared in front of you.

 

What do you mean by goblin?

 

Is it really the hometown of a legend?

 

Even that goblin… It’s a face I know.

 

—This guy’s eyes are so mysterious. Isn’t that right?

 

The goblin grinned as it rolled its golden eyeballs.

 

Yoojun wearing a hanbok.

 

It really didn’t suit him.

 

I strengthened the hand holding the Fail Note and shot it at the goblin.

 

Towards the heart of the goblin.

 

And the next moment, blood flowed from the goblin’s heart, and the goblin’s body fell from the tree.

 

Although it was Yoojun’s face, there was nothing to be particularly afraid of.

 

Feeling my mana falling, I approached the goblin to draw Fail Note again.

 

At that time, the goblin with red blood staining its forehead opened its eyes.

 

The goblin was smiling.

 

—I don’t die that easily.

 

“…You punk.”

 

It was the moment I pulled out the dagger.

 

The goblin bounced back, rose quickly and held my dagger in his hand.

 

—But you.

 

Red blood dripped from the goblin’s hand, but he still didn’t stop laughing.

 

—You understand what I’m saying.

 

Ah, damn it.

 

I got caught.

 

****

 

—The name of this world is ‘Goblin Forest’. The king here is me, the goblin.

 

For some reason, I was able to learn the name of this world and some of its settings thanks to the goblin who was talking too much about TMI.

 

First. The goblin is the final boss of this dungeon and appears to be able to easily change the terrain of the world.

 

When I tried to run away, the goblin quickly turned this place into a plain in broad daylight and chased after me.

 

Second. The way to clear this dungeon is not to kill the goblin.

 

I tried to kill the goblin over and over using a dagger, but the goblin got up again.

 

If my attack power wasn’t enough, he should have lost some blood and slowed down, but that didn’t happen.

 

But even the goblin didn’t seem to have the will to fight with me.

 

What the goblin wants is…

 

—I like entertainment. Among them, my favorite is the bet with humans. But how happy it is to meet another person who understands what I say.

 

Don’t laugh, please.

 

The blood on his chest was creepy, but the constant laughter reminded me of Yoojun, which was even more unpleasant.

 

“Where is Yoojun?”

 

—Yoojun…? Ah, the one with this face?

 

The goblin pointed to his face.

 

The goblin was sitting on a tree, sipping the alcohol inside the gourd. I was tired of running, so I sat down on the rock below.

 

—I guess you’re talking about the guy who died under that pine tree after being bitten by a tiger. But how on earth do you understand me?

 

Died after being bitten by a tiger?

 

Yoojun died?

 

I was confused for a moment, but then I frowned as I looked at the quest window.

 

“But he’s not dead yet?”

 

If he’s dead, there should be some reaction in my system, right?

 

A potential guest that I was supposed to protect is dead.

 

The goblin’s eyes narrowed at my words.

 

—….Am I mistaken?

 

“You were trying to trick me.”

 

—Oho! What are you talking about! This goblin can’t lie.

 

Then it wasn’t a lie earlier…

 

—I’m really confused.

 

The goblin laughed.

 

What is this? He’s as crazy as Yujun.

 

This figure acts as if it has some sort of self-consciousness, which makes it hard to call it a monster.

 

I feel a sense of surprise.

 

The level was adjusted from C-Class to become an A-Class dungeon.

 

The system calls it ‘fallen’ goblin.

 

It feels similar to when I met the fallen fairy king in the demon’s castle, but this—

 

I looked up and asked the goblin.

 

“Don’t tell me you…. Now are you going to ask me to choose between salvation or sacrifice for Yoojun and my life?”

 

The goblin flinched at my words.

 

The goblin burst into laughter and jumped from the tree.

 

—You know that, you’re an interesting person…?

 

As my predictions were right, I was rather embarrassed.

 

—But I just don’t find it fun to choose. So, let’s make a bet.

 

“What kind of bet—?”

 

—You came here looking for a kid this big, right? Yoojun, he said that too.

 

As soon as the goblin pointed to his waist with his hand, my face hardened.

 

This is about Hyejin.

 

“How do you know that child…”

 

—How do I know? That child is my new bride.

 

Bride…? He must be crazy.

 

“Such a child, you crazy punk…!”

 

The moment I was about to grab the goblin by the collar, heaven and earth suddenly turned over.

 

In an instant, I was hanging upside down and the goblin was looking up at me from below.

 

—The child didn’t seem very happy, so I just asked her to marry me. What’s wrong?

 

“…You!”

 

—But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel uncomfortable. If you find my bride and answer that she will go with you, I will give you the opportunity to choose ‘salvation’.

 

That means…

 

“What if I can’t find Hyejin, or even if I do find her, I can’t take her?”

 

—Should I give Yoojun another chance to choose ‘salvation’? Oh, of course, if he’s still alive by then.

 

Again…?

 

Anyway, Yoojun is in danger of dying.

 

I’m standing in front of a monster that even the S-class couldn’t defeat.

 

I’m going crazy.

 

I said, looking down at the goblin’s smiling face.

 

“…I don’t want to.” 

 

—What? 

 

“I don’t want to. I won’t do it. I’m just going to leave you both and go home.”

 

I pretended to go back for real.

 

—O, oh, wait. You came this far and then turned down this bet?

 

You’re going crazy, right? You’re going to die, right?

 

There were several folk tales related to goblins in Jeongcheon-gun.

 

The goblin in folktales loves play and hates fighting.

 

This is the part where I can guess why this guy came out and didn’t fight like the dungeon’s final boss, but instead was just playing games until now.

 

If this monster truly has the same ‘goblin’ habits, it would also have another attribute.

 

When a goblin bets on a person, he always offers something that can be exchanged equally with him.

 

Because he is a God who likes fair bets.

 

“You have nothing to offer, so this isn’t a fair bet. So, I don’t take this bet.”

 

I looked at the goblin quietly and said.

 

The goblin jumped up and said at those words.

 

—I’ll give it to you too! Anything you want! Should I give you a goblin bat overflowing with gold and silver treasures? Should I give up my house in the best feng shui spot in Baesan Imsu? (t/n : Baesan Imsu is an ideal house built with a mountain in the back and a river in the front.) 

 

“I don’t want to.” 

 

—Then what is it? What do you want! 

 

When the beat got messed up, the goblin’s face turned red, as if he were going to go crazy and jump.

 

“To be able to exchange the lives of the two people you offered, there must be at least these conditions.”

 

I pointed at the goblin.

 

“King of this world, give me that position. Give me your existence, your life, everything you have.”

 

—…! 

 

The goblin had a perplexed face.

 

If the goblin gives me the position of king, it becomes easy for me to take Yoojun and Hyejin out without having to choose salvation or sacrifice. 

 

This was my plan.

 

What is important is that at this moment, the goblin accepts my offer with his own words.

 

—…Okay. 

 

With the smile of a goblin, a bright crescent moon rose in the sky, and my body settled back on the ground.

 

I clenched my fist.

 

A goblin will never disobey what it says with its own mouth.

 

Another characteristic of goblins was that they could never lie.

 

—Time for the first rooster to crow in 15 days. The grim reaper will take the life of the man with this face. How much time do you have? 

 

That’s a lot? 

 

But are you telling me to stay in this dungeon for 15 days now?

 

The goblin spoke as if he had read my words.

 

—A full moon here is like a moment outside. Go quickly. The tavern nearest here will give you some clues.

 

The goblin smiled and told me to follow the lantern light visible in the distance.