The Prince Who Absorbs Abilities With a ‘Click’

Chapter 15: A bizarre performance in a dungeon

The entrance to the dungeon was filled with the cold winter wind.

A chilling sound echoed through the entrance, shaped like a cave, as the wind passed through.

“Hm, is this a newly created dungeon?”

Laurent brushed his graying beard with his rough hand.

He had quit being a knight and had been a veteran adventurer in Kverndel for years.

Most of the time, it was low-level requests, but a dungeon-related one like this was rare.

And until recently, there hadn’t been a dungeon here.

‘If dungeons keep appearing like this, adventurers will likely start coming in droves.’

Laurent clicked his tongue in slight regret.

Places with many dungeons or monsters always attract adventurers.

If there were a lot of dungeons in Kverndel, even though the city had little to boast of, wouldn’t it attract a lot of adventurers?

If only they could bring in people like that, the city would surely revive.

“Let’s first check for any danger!”

Laurent didn’t immediately enter the dungeon but gave orders to everyone.

Entering the dungeon right away was something only beginners would do. Or those who trusted only their own abilities and entered recklessly.

“Amy.”

“Yes, I’ll first check the flow of mana.”

At Laurent’s words, Amy stepped forward.

The brown robe she wore fluttered in the cold wind.

The mage placed her hand on the stone wall at the dungeon entrance and closed her eyes.

What Amy was doing was roughly measuring the dungeon’s rank.

Not all mages could do this, only those sensitive to mana could.

“It’s strange. The flow of mana is too clear.”

Amy, who had been feeling the mana for a while, furrowed her brow.

“Normally, in a dungeon, the mana would be murky, but here it’s too clear.”

Dungeons usually had mana that was either thick or blocked, but this one was excessively clear.

Amy’s words made Sarah start praying to the gods with a worried expression.

“Hm, it could be because the dungeon was just created.”

Laurent’s words were sharp but Amy shook her head.

“No, there’s also some murky energy mixed in. But compared to the overall flow of mana, it’s almost negligible…”

If everything had been perfectly clear, Amy would have doubted if this was really a dungeon.

But since she could feel some murky energy within the clear flow, Amy wore an expression of uncertainty.

After a moment’s thought, Laurent came to a conclusion.

“Let’s just go in. After all, we have Sarah with us.”

He mentioned Sarah, the apprentice priestess.

Even as an apprentice, she could use basic blessings and healing magic. She was an essential member of the party, and if she weren’t here, Laurent would have hesitated to enter the dungeon.

No matter how high the reward, if one loses their life, it’s useless, especially in a situation like this, where even Amy couldn’t discern the dungeon’s rank.

They could always leave if it became dangerous once they entered.

Even if someone got injured, Sarah’s healing magic would solve the problem.

‘Now’s the best time.’

Sarah was going to be an official priestess someday.

When that time came, her adventurer life would probably end.

And Laurent felt that day was coming soon.

Of course, it was best for Sarah to complete as many requests as possible before she left the party.

Moreover, the reward for this request was at least 500 gold. If they were lucky, they could earn up to 1000 gold—a good opportunity that couldn’t be passed up. There was no time to hesitate.

If they succeeded in this request, they would have enough funds to live comfortably for years.

‘With that money, I could retire and open an inn.’

Laurent’s dream was simple.

He wanted to save money and open his own inn in a quiet village.

How happy would it be to run an inn with his beloved daughter?

Laurent was already getting old.

No matter how much of a retired knight he was, the passage of time couldn’t be avoided.

His adventuring days were likely to be limited to just a few more years.

He planned to make as much money as possible before then, and if he completed this request, everything would be resolved.

So, completing this request now, with the party intact, was even better for Laurent.

“Alright, let’s go in!”

Laurent moved forward carefully, holding his shield in front of him.

The sharp wind seemed to cut into his skin, but the eerie discomfort from the dungeon itself was even sharper.

“It’s dark.”

The inside of the dungeon was overly dark, creating an eerie atmosphere but that didn’t matter.

They had a mage and an apprentice priestess with them.

Amy and Sarah both used magic and divine power to dispel the dungeon’s darkness.

And then, the interior became clearly visible.

“Hm, it’s a trap.”

The guide, Luke, spoke casually.

As the dungeon brightened, traps installed on the floor became visible.

Luke clicked his tongue as he pulled out a tool from his waist and began disarming the traps with skillful hands.

“These are really basic. Just some nails stuck in the floor? Usually, goblins or skeletons with low intelligence set up these kinds of things.”

Laurent smiled at Luke’s words.

If what she said was true, it meant that this dungeon was home to low-intelligence monsters.

‘This mission will be a breeze.’

But Amy tilted her head.

It didn’t match the flow of mana she had sensed earlier.

However, there was no reason for them to stop moving forward.

As soon as Luke dismantled the trap, they proceeded.

How much time had passed?

From a distance, three goblins appeared.

“So it was goblins.”

Laurent, who had been on high alert, lowered his shield in relief when he saw the goblins.

It seemed certain now that this dungeon was just a goblin dungeon.

“Well, if it’s goblins, we can deal with them easily.”

Amy also let out a sigh of relief.

Goblins were low-level monsters that didn’t require magic to deal with.

‘Did the noble request this without any information about the dungeon?’

It seemed that the noble who had requested this didn’t know anything about the dungeon.

If they had known it was a goblin dungeon, they wouldn’t have offered even 100 gold, let alone 1000.

Still, Amy felt uneasy.

The flow of mana she had felt earlier kept bothering her.

“We’re in a good situation. But let’s not let our guard down!”

Unlike Amy’s worry, Laurent drew his sword and shouted.

“Don’t worry! I’ll finish this quickly!”

Luke smiled confidently as she stepped forward.

The dagger in his hand gleamed coldly.

To be paid 1000 gold just for defeating goblins—it seemed like a lucky day.

Luke smiled, thinking he had already earned extra money.

At that moment.

Just as Luke was about to swing his dagger at the goblin in front of him with all his strength—

Bang—

With an ear-splitting noise, Luke’s body staggered.

“No! What was that?”

In shock, Laurent rushed forward, raising his shield to protect Luke.

Something incomprehensible had happened.

There was a loud noise, and then Luke suddenly collapsed.

Laurent blocked the front with his shield, trying to protect Luke’s body but there was a small hole in his head already.

Of course, he wasn’t breathing, because he was already dead.

“…”

Was it magic?

What in the world had happened?

If it had been magic, Amy would have sensed something, but there had been no warning signs.

All they had heard was the sound, and then Luke had fallen.

And that sound rang out again.

Bang—

Something pierced the shield in front of him and grazed Laurent’s cheek.

A burning pain spread from his cheek.

He didn’t know what had happened, but one thing was clear.

The master of this dungeon was no easy opponent.

Then what about the three goblins they saw earlier?

“…They were bait.”

An entity intelligent enough to use goblins as bait.

Moreover, the crude nail traps were likely just a ruse to make them let their guard down.

Only then did Laurent realize.

The reward for this dungeon request was 1000 gold.

At first, he thought it was just a clueless noble offering a reward to retrieve their son’s corpse.

But it wasn’t.

What he thought was good luck was actually rotten misfortune.

And the person who had requested this mission must have known much more about this dungeon.

‘It happened.’

I don’t know why they thought to drive the adventurers into a corner, but they underestimated them too much.

‘And they’re even cunning.’

If they had offered 100 gold, they would have thought twice before accepting the request.

However, with the unbelievable sum of 1000 gold, everyone was hypnotized and entered the dungeon.

And the result was as it is now.

‘We need to get out right now!’

It was clearly a trap.

If they stayed any longer, they’d just die uselessly.

The experience he gained from being a knight for many years told him so.

He had to leave the dungeon right away.

With shield in hand, Laurent turned his body.

“Everyone, run!”

His voice trembled.

When was the last time he felt this scared?

It was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time.

But this was as far as it went.

Bang– Bang– Bang–

With three sounds, Laurent’s body collapsed.

“Ugh!”

Fortunately, he was not dead.

He only felt excruciating pain in his leg.

His leg was wounded, and Laurent could not get up.

“Laurent!”

Sara tried to approach, but Laurent stopped her.

“Don’t move!”

At this point, all they would do was die.

Laurent decided to crawl slowly to escape.

However, his plan collapsed from the start.

The goblins approached him, making strange laughing sounds.

“Hehe! Hehe!”

Weren’t the goblins supposed to be the bait?

Contrary to Laurent’s confusion, the goblins were holding something in their hands.

It was a tin can lid.

The goblins began scraping the sharp tin can lid against Laurent’s ankle.

The sharp tin lid dug into Laurent’s Achilles tendon.

“Ahhh!”

Excruciating pain surged from Laurent’s ankle.

The goblins didn’t stop.

Slowly, very slowly, they dragged the sharp edge of the tin lid across his skin.

At that cruel sight, Sara and Amy stepped back, trembling in fear.

It would be best to run right away, but they couldn’t abandon Laurent due to their loyalty.

That hesitation ultimately became their downfall.

“But…but they are people, right? How could they kill someone like that?”

A woman’s voice echoed through the dungeon.

At the same time, other figures appeared from the front.

“A skeleton…?”

Sara confirmed the identity of the figures and looked at them with a puzzled expression.

There were three figures that appeared.

One of them was a skeleton.

But it was a skeleton with a greenish hue all over its body. Just that made it clear that it was no ordinary skeleton.

When Amy saw the figure next to it, her eyes widened.

A woman with a pink dress adorned with heart-shaped decorations, holding a strange staff. And the winged cat beside her radiated a familiar energy.

“It’s them!”

Amy raised her voice.

“The reason the mana flow was so clear was because of them!”

The mana energy coming from them was so transparent and pure.

“This…this is impossible.”

Amy’s voice trembled. As a mage, she had sensed numerous mana flows, but this was the first time she had encountered something like this.

How could they emit such an aura in a dungeon?

One thing was clear: they were not ordinary beings.

“Ugh… please, please, save me…”

Laurent was begging for his life, even shedding tears.

The man who had told everyone to run away just moments ago was nowhere to be found.

Already, the blood flowing from his Achilles tendon stained the dungeon floor red.

The goblins, who had lost interest in torturing his ankle, were now targeting his fingers.

The sharp tin can lid slowly dug into his finger joints.

“Please, don’t do this…”

Sara and Amy turned their heads.

There was no way to save Laurent now.

Unlike their grave expressions, the figures in front remained at ease.

“This is just a game. The enemy is just a simple game character.”

The winged cat “Kain,” who was on the other side of the screen, tried to persuade the magical girl he had contracted.

However Seo Jiwon still hesitated.

But it’s so realistic…

Her words appeared as text on the screen.

The reason she hesitated was simple.

It was because she couldn’t bring herself to kill another person.

“Ugh…this is so frustrating.”

My insides were burning as I stared at the smartphone screen.

“What kind of character worries about morality?”

In a game, the character doesn’t listen to my commands?

No matter how free the game is, where does a character not follow the player’s commands!

“Ha, should I just contract with another character instead?”

For a moment, my true thoughts slipped out.

After the first magical girl’s death, I had chosen this character carefully, and yet I didn’t expect it to be this frustrating.

“No, I’ll bear with it. I’ll bear with it. This is the kind of fun that makes the game interesting. If it were too easy, it wouldn’t be fun, right?”

In the end, it seemed like I had to change Seo Jiwon’s mindset for the sake of my mental state.

And she had no choice but to do so in order to survive as a magical girl.

“I’ll change everything from start to finish.”

I began manipulating the screen again.

“Sigh, give that magic wand to the gunner.”

The cat “Kain” sighed and spoke.

His voice clearly showed his exhaustion.

“What? You want me to give the magic wand to the skeleton gunner?”

Seo Jiwon gave a puzzled expression but handed over the magic wand as the contractor had requested.

The skeleton gunner now held the magic wand in one hand and a pistol in the other.

“Now you go take care of the intruders. Show them what you’ve got.”

Kain commanded the skeleton gunner.

The skeleton gunner nodded and moved.

Magical girl Linlin ♥

In the name of love and justice ♬

The cheerful tune began to play from the magic wand. At the same time, fire shot out from the pistol.

Bang– Bang–

Strangely, the sound of gunfire and the song created a harmony.

The light of peace will embrace you ♥

Bang–

The power of darkness will retreat♪

Bang–

Magical girl Linlin ♥

Bang– Bang–

In the dungeon, the skeleton gunner’s bizarre performance unfolded.