Capítulo 33: The core's reaction
Kroff was internally delighted when he heard Five speak. On the spur of the moment, he forgot about that detail of the trading of monsters. He never traded one of his leading monsters. In fact, dungeon masters would normally never part with their leading monsters and so, not much information was available about that.
But in the past, there had been one case when one of the dungeon masters lost a terrible battle. In the end, he had to give one of his leading monsters to the winner and the result was that not only did he lose the monster but also the entire race!
It was not just the fact that he could no longer purchase monsters of that race from the dungeon shop, but he also lost all the already summoned monsters! It was later found out that all these monsters had been naturally teleported to the leader monster at the winner's dungeon. They were all unharmed and that had been a disastrous blow to that dungeon master.
Kroff momentarily forgot about that detail since it was an isolated case that nobody mentioned. It had long been forgotten but when he heard Harriet talk about her sisters, this incident naturally appeared in Kroff's mind and he could not help but start sweating. Now, all he wanted was to quickly move on to the third request. He could afford to lose Harriet since there was a lot of other strong monsters that would be able to assume her responsibilities but losing an entire race? That was a heavy blow to his strength.
"Wait no, I just want to be sure that my sisters would also be able to safely leave this place if I agree," said Harriet. She had been hesitating for quite a while, but it was understandable since it was a tough decision to make. She was usually very composed and confident but now, Harriet looked like a young graduate still unsure of the direction to take in her life.
"I already said that I cannot confirm that. Only Kroff knows the answer but let's forget about that. I understand your standing," answered Five as he carefully observed Kroff. He himself was very curious about that question but Kroff remained silent. He did not even try to stop the two from talking fearing that he might reveal some information or give out some hints.
At this point, finding the answer to that question was more important than actually recruiting Harriet. She was the only one who supported him during his time here and Five naturally wanted to help her but seeing her hesitation, he started doubting himself. He was not necessarily looking for blind obedient monsters, but he hoped that Harriet would have trusted him from the start.
Five knew that Harriet was extremely powerful but if there were no trust between them, then it would be completely useless. He understood her behavior and made a mental note about it.
"Master, can you tell me the truth?" asked Harriet while looking at Kroff. She knew Kroff very well and carefully examined him to look for an answer.
"How would I know that? Were you not with me when I traded? I never encountered this sort of situation, so I would naturally not know" plainly answered Kroff.
With everyone looking at him, the latter was uncomfortable but tried to appear as normal as possible without letting out any emotion.
Harriet was carefully looking at Kroff and although she could not confirm her suspicions, she could clearly see that Kroff was acting differently from his usual self! That meant that he was hiding something but what could it be? When she took in consideration the fact that Kroff previously tried to quickly end the deal, Harriet could not help but think that what Five might be true; that all her sisters might accompany her if she agreed.
However, Harriet was also aware that no matter which choice she made, her hesitation already cost her a lot. Kroff would definitely not be pleased with the fact that she did not immediately refuse the offer and that might affect her position at the dungeon! Similarly, Five might also not trust her too much now since she hesitated a lot. In the end, she ended up building a few walls between her and the dungeon master she would choose.
"In that case, I have made my final choice! I agree to the trade," solemnly said Harriet.
Hearing that, all the other monsters tensed. They were partly anxious and partly pleased since there would be less competition among themselves but Kroff would definitely be enraged later and they would have to suffer from that.
On the other hand, both Kroff and Five remained expressionless. "Are you sure about that? What about the other harpies?" asked Kroff with his composed face.
"I have made my choice master! Please make the trade!" decisively said Harriet. She already said it, but she knew that if they continued to argue, she might want to change her decision. She was not a 100% sure of herself and there was a lot of risks and so, she wanted it to end quickly.
"Hmmp! Alright. This is your choice, but you can still say it if you change your mind before the end of the third request!"
Kroff felt his heart ache as soon as he heard Harriet's decision, but it was too late to say something. He had already said that this request was fair and could not go back on his words now. It was his own mistake for forgetting about that incident and paid the price for that!
He was grinding his teeth as he started another trade with Five.
The latter quickly received the system prompt and directly accepted it. He showed no expression since he was having mixed feelings. In the end, Harriet agreed to join him, but could he really trust her especially considering how long it took her? He doubted that Harriet was a fence sitter but Mehlroth could have been sending her telepathic messages during that time! He needed to be careful, but he would think about that later. There was still the third request to deal with but that was also the easiest!
When the trade was concluded, Harriet felt something inside her heart. The faint connection she had with Kroff suddenly vanished and was replaced by one with Five. The feeling was completely different; the connection was fresh and vivid, she could feel Five's feelings at the moment. Since she had made her decision and was now Five's monster, Harriet slowly flapped her wings and stood silently behind Five. She tried to look at her new master to apologize but the latter was firmly looking at Kroff.
It was still a high-pressure situation for him. He could not relax now that he was so close to succeeding!
"Speak! Your last request!" said Kroff. He was clearly more impatient; he made a huge loss today and only wanted everything to end but Kroff had one last trick up his sleeves that he could not wait to try!
"Yes, it is the simplest one of the three! My request is simply to get the right to leave your tutoring whenever I want!" said Five.
Hearing that, Kroff froze for a moment. "That little bastard! He really thought about everything..." thought Kroff. His last trick was very simple: To kill Five as soon as all the three requests would be fulfilled!
Once the three requests were completed, that would mean that Five's threat was gone! He would no longer be able to use that weapon and would be defenseless. Since all his leading monsters were gathered there, killing him would be extremely simple. After Five's death, Kroff would simply continue to kill him over and over, and since he was already level 1, no one knew what would happen if he reached level 0.
It was the last net Kroff had and yet, Five already saw through it. By asking for the right to leave immediately, he would be able to dodge this last trap! That meant that Kroff would really make a huge loss today.
In Kroff's mind, he thought that Five would make some sort of excessive requests like a powerful artifact or equipment. The right to leave was something that never crossed his mind. But now, Kroff finally realized something! He could have simply used that item to directly end his tutoring period and as a result, Five would have immediately been teleported outside the dungeon!
It would have saved him all this trouble if only he had thought about it! It was yet another benign solution that people would often forget under stress but would immediately realize it when the stress was gone!
"Dam**t"
The request was obviously reasonable. He had no valid reason to refuse and using the item now would make no difference! Kroff could only take out an item from his pseudo-dungeon core and toss it to Five.
The latter instinctively pulled back the torch and the recipient in his inventory as he grabbed the item. Fortunately, none of the monsters acted. They simply watched Five and waited for Kroff's order.
When the item landed in his hands, an information screen immediately appeared next to it:
[Teleportation Crystal]
Crush it to teleport to a pre-determined location.
Note 1: This item can only be used by the player "Five".
Note 2: Crushing this item signifies the end of the tutoring period. Please use it only when you are confident in your own capabilities.
As he read the description, Five let out a smile. He was safe and could leave now! In the end, he had made huge profits and would even be able to leave without any harm.
"Since I have agreed and completed the 3 requests, that means my part of the agreement is fulfilled!" said Kroff.
"That's correct!" answered Five. He already placed the gunpowder back into his inventory and only had the teleportation crystal in his hand ready to be crushed. He gently tapped the dungeon core with his right hand and mockingly said, "It's a pity I will not be able to blow this up!"
Hearing that, Kroff naturally became enraged, his dungeon core was being belittled in front of him, "All of you! Attack now!" shouted Kroff, his patience had already reached its limit! Now that the bomb was gone, he could finally vent his anger! In fact, if Five did not crush the teleportation crystal in time, he might even perish here!
However, Five did not even react upon hearing Kroff's shout because the second his hand touched the dungeon core, something woke up in him! It was not precisely in him but rather, in his inventory. His own dungeon core which was intrinsically connected to him trembled and for the first time, sent him a sort of message.
It was not really a message but more a vague feeling of what he wanted! And what his dungeon core wanted right now; it was to devourer Kroff's dungeon core that was inches away from Five.
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