Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster - Chapter 33

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈

Chapter 33: Yeah, I’ll Do Whatever I Want

──────

There was a reason the Beast Store was so large.

Inside, it was packed with iron cages as big as houses.

Twin-Head Ogres, Dueoksini, Gargoyles, Jackalopes, Eoduksini, Chupacabras, Wyverns.

A huge aquarium even held marine monstrosities: a Leviathan and a Kraken.

Those two were probably artificially created subspecies, since they were smaller than expected.

If they were real, they could not have been kept inside. Even the subspecies were easily over ten meters long.

There were monsters of every kind, yet not one horned horse. Was this for real?

“Call me if you need an explanation.”

The shopkeeper polished a monocle with a rag.

Honestly, it was better that they paid me no attention at all.

Ever since I had been suckered by a salesperson in Dongdaemun, attention from store employees had become traumatic for me.

Whether it was aggressive sales tactics or overly friendly explanations, I preferred being left alone.

In a relaxed mood, I walked between the cages and looked them over one by one.

-Squeak!

[Lv. 51]

A Jackalope, a horned rabbit.

It only had horns, but otherwise it was just a cute rabbit. Its level, though, was absurdly high. You could call it a max-level rabbit.

It was not a strong monster suited to a dungeon, but I wanted one as a pet.

It was cute, and I actually liked that it was weak. At level fifty-one, I could control it easily enough.

“Shopkeeper. How much for the Jackalope?”

“Exactly 1.1 million Cell.”

I wondered if they were overcharging me.

Even with bargaining, the lowest price would probably be one million. Paying a million for a pet? Rejected without a second thought.

[Lv. 56]

The next creature I saw after the Jackalope looked a little like Slender Man.

It was an Eoduksini, a monster that was most effective in darkness.

It suited the environment of a labyrinth dungeon.

“How much for the Eoduksini?”

“That one’s eight hundred thousand. It’s hard to handle.”

An Eoduksini for eight hundred thousand was worth considering.

Still, they said it was hard to handle, so I set it aside for now.

After finishing my window-shopping, I examined them one by one and tried Evolution.

[Only 0/3 of the target’s conditions have been met.]

Since they were being cared for, there was not a single Beast close to death.

When the notification showed 1/3, it usually meant the target had abundant potential.

Contrary to my expectations, there was not a single Beast with potential.

‘What a disappointment.’

The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

This was probably normal, but I must have expected too much for no reason.

“By the way, Shopkeeper. How does transportation work if I buy a Beast?”

“Is the destination a dungeon? Or a mansion?”

“Why would a mansion come up?”

“Nobles buy Beasts as luxuries too. Anyway, if it’s a dungeon, there’s a Merchant Association portal, so we can transport it right away. If it’s private property like a mansion, you’ll have to take it yourself.”

Now that I thought about it, this Beast Store was a subcontractor for the Merchant Association.

As expected of the Dungeon Association. It offered a benefit, if you could call it that, to dungeons, its main customers.

They would handle transportation too, and just as I was seriously considering buying a Dueoksini...

“What’s that room?”

A large room caught my eye at the edge of my vision.

For some reason, it did not look like a warehouse.

The shopkeeper snorted and shrugged.

“What would you do with that? Knowing won’t do you any good.”

“I’d still like to know.”

“It’s a slaughterhouse. Most of the ones that do not sell and are going to be discarded end up in there. Beast corpses are worth money, after all. The ones that kill their owners or seriously injure them get slaughtered too.”

Not euthanasia, but slaughter.

After thinking about it for a moment, it was not all that surprising.

Forget the Demon Realm, even in the medieval Empire, euthanasia probably did not exist.

‘It makes me a little uncomfortable, but... should I buy some corpses from there?’

I was human too. I had no hobby of buying corpses, nor did I want to see them.

The only reason I was considering it was because if Charlotte revived them as undead, would that not turn a profit? Putting aside the fact that corpses would be cheap, they might even give them to me for free.

The corpses of strong, compact Beasts would be useful.

...Was I starting to become like a real Death Knight?

No. My heart was human.

The fact that I was aware of it meant I was still human, I thought.

“Can I go inside?”

“The slaughterhouse? Is it because you’re undead and don’t mind corpses? Or are you a Necromancer or something?”

“What if I’m both?”

“Oh, that’s good for me. I was already wondering how to deal with them.”

The shopkeeper readily agreed after realizing what I intended.

They were so pleased that their feet, which had been rooted in place like stone statues, finally moved as they came over.

“I’ll give you a good price. Take your time looking and think it over carefully.”

The moment the door opened, the stench of blood and rotten flesh filled the air.

Undead had no sense of taste, but having a sense of smell was torture.

Corpses did not show their levels.

All I could do was look around, identify the species, listen to the shopkeeper’s explanations, and decide.

‘Ah. I think I’m losing my mind.’

Regret suddenly came flooding in.

Looking at monster corpses made me feel terribly depressed.

My eyes kept scanning them one by one, but all I could think about was leaving.

If I said I wanted to leave now, it would put the shopkeeper in an awkward position.

“See this one here? This is a Chupacabra, a bloodsucking Beast...”

At some point, I stopped hearing the shopkeeper.

My vision had become so highly activated that my hearing grew faint.

[Lv. 58]

There was a Beast that was still alive. A level fifty-eight Beast, at that.

Unlike the corpses carelessly strewn about, it was trapped in a transparent capsule.

-Whine...

Overall, it looked like a Doberman with a hellish air.

A Hellhound, an inferior species of Cerberus.

There was a Cerberus among the Keepers of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. Even as an inferior species, it was level fifty-eight.

The capsule across from it was filled with pooled blood, which I guessed was the Hellhound’s.

“What’s it doing in that capsule?”

“The Hellhound? Bloodletting. That thing’s going to keep getting drained until it dies of blood loss.”

“Why?”

“Hellhound blood sells for a high price to Vampires, doesn’t it? If you can make money, you make it however you can.”

“No. Why does it have to die?”

“This one was sold to the Grand Duke of Sañjīva’s castle. As a pet. But it bit the young lord who owned it. Heard the young lord was bedridden for ten days because of it.”

I had felt sorry for it, but those last words erased that feeling.

Even in my old world, euthanasia was the answer for dogs that bit people.

It was harsh, but what could you do? Leaving it alone could lead to more victims.

I was not just sentimental. I was sentimental, but practical.

“See all those wounds on its body? Looking at them, it seems the young lord abused it to his heart’s content, and it finally could not take it anymore and bit him... Sad, isn’t it?”

“....”

Looking again, the Hellhound’s body was covered in wounds.

There were plenty of marks from blunt weapons, whips, and blades.

“The young lord of Sañjīva is still very young, you see. Demonkin think nothing of abusing and killing Beasts during childhood. You don’t need to see it to know the answer.”

-Hack! Whine...

The Hellhound’s body went limp.

Its watery eyes turned toward me.

They clearly looked like eyes begging me to save it.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Without even thinking about it, I opened the capsule.

I carefully reached out and touched the Hellhound.

[Evolving the Hellhound.]

[Since two conditions have been fulfilled, success or failure will be determined with a 50% chance.]

I was surprised that it worked. I had tried just in case, but two conditions had been met.

One was obvious, since it was dying. The other had to be potential, since sacrifice definitely was not it.

-Whine...

A fifty percent chance. The odds of a coin flip.

[Evolution successful! The Hellhound has successfully evolved.]

Cold air escaped from my mouth like a sigh of relief.

As expected, a cluster of light gathered around the Hellhound’s body.

Its small, half-lidded eyes slowly grew larger and opened round.

Having regained its vitality at last, the Hellhound sprang to its feet.

-Pant! Woof!

It rubbed its whole body against my beckoning hand, like a puppy clinging to the owner it had finally found.

It seemed to know for sure that I had saved it.

[Lv. 65]

Naturally, judging only by its level, it would be hard for me to control it.

But its level was a deep green, so I thought it would be fine.

‘How could I resist a puppy choosing me?’

When I gently stroked the back of its neck, it stuck out its tongue and panted. No matter how I looked at it, it looked happy.

“What in the world did you just...?”

The shopkeeper stood beside me with their mouth hanging open.

It was only natural to be shocked. The creature that had been dying suddenly came back to life.

“I’ll take this one.”

“What? What are you talking about? You can’t just take it because you want to. Didn’t you hear it bit the young lord of Sañjīva? It could bite you too!”

“I’ll handle that.”

“No, I’m telling you, you really can’t!”

My ears were starting to hurt from the booming voice.

Left with no choice, I took out the summons notice from my pocket and held it out.

“What’s that?”

“Read it.”

The shopkeeper took it without thinking and glanced over the summons notice.

Their eyes gradually widened as they read the first line.

“Come to think of it, this time, the Seven Palaces of the Abyss... a Death Knight...?”

Their pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck while they looked at me and muttered to themselves.

The shopkeeper dropped to their knees so hard that a thud echoed through the room.

I hated predictable developments, so before they could say anything, I cut them off.

“Enough formalities. Can I take the Hellhound?”

“Of course! If there is anything else you require, I shall offer it all to you!”

“I don’t need anything else. This one is enough.”

-Woof!

What a cute little pup.

I left the slaughterhouse with the Hellhound.

The Hellhound trotted beside me, panting happily. It seemed this one had chosen me as its owner too.

“What should I name you?”

I had no talent for naming things.

Still, I was probably much better than Charlotte.

Remembering the nightmare that was Golgoli gave me confidence without me realizing it.

“Hellbok. Do you like it?”

Its distinctive eye-smile made it look as happy as a retriever, so I gave it a name that combined hell with happiness.

-Pant, pant.

Hellbok grinned brightly.

Just looking at it made anyone feel good.

In my previous life, I could only satisfy my desire to raise a dog by watching MewTube videos. Who would have thought I would get to raise one here? I had lived long enough to die, become undead, and see this happen.

Thanks to Hellbok, I thought I could enjoy the rest of the day relaxing in a good mood.

* * *

Smack!

My excitement went cold in an instant.

The sight that made me doubt my eyes appeared the moment I opened the door.

Someone was in the middle of the street, being grabbed by the hair and slapped.

Charlotte was the only human in Sañjīva, in the Demon Realm.

Smack! Smack!

A Werewolf I did not recognize kept slapping Charlotte across the face.

Charlotte staggered from losing her balance, then immediately steadied herself.

Her lip had split and blood ran from it, yet she only took the blows without resisting.

‘Who the hell does that bastard think they are, hitting my adjutant?’