The labyrinth had finally begun devouring challengers in earnest. The second Balak was blocking raiders under Kinjo's management, and the original Balak continued turning back the occasional attack. With three dungeons now running, Zen income steadily accumulated. Taehyun recycled items and equipment obtained from challengers through Larkan's synthesis, and continued trading through the Gronz Merchant Group.

There aren't immediate revenue sources, but by running three dungeons, Zen is flowing in consistently.

With this, their finances stabilized. Taehyun decided to summon the Keeper of the newly labyrinth-transformed third Balak first.

"Of course you'd pick a Keeper. Smart choice, Taehyun."

"That's part of it, sure. But even with how I tend to solve things by force, we need at least one Keeper. We already have two Guardians after all."

Grae and Mederia had held up well so far, but with the dungeon now a labyrinth, a Keeper felt necessary. Near the crystal sphere, Taehyun used a random Keeper summoning card.

[You have used a Random Keeper Summon Card.]

[A summoning circle is forming.]

[A summoning circle generates near the crystal sphere as mana stabilizes.]

A faint silhouette rose as the circle brightened, then a slender woman appeared.

[Great Success!]

[A Rank B Named Keeper 'Angelina of Pleasure' has been summoned.]

Thankfully she was a Named B-rank. But Taehyun stared, speechless. Long blue hair flowing down her back, thin limbs, graceful figure, nothing about her looked like a Keeper.

Why isn't she even wearing armor?

Angelina wore little more than strips of cloth. Barely anything could be called clothing.

"Mm?"

Her eyes opened, locking onto Taehyun's. Hands on her hips, she studied him boldly.

"Mmhmm."

"What are you doing."

"You."

She spoke to him like a casual acquaintance, then suddenly flushed and dropped to her knees.

"You look so fierce. Since you summoned me, could you maybe hit me? Roughly. Violently. Brutally! Ahh! A Keeper beaten by a Dungeon Master sounds so thrilling. So exhilarating!"

"Huh…"

"Come on, hit me. Show me the beast inside you. Tear me apart!"

She knelt on the floor, gazing up with anticipation. Taehyun rubbed his forehead and turned away.

"Please, please hit me. I just got summoned. My whole body is tingling. Grant me the honor of being beaten first by you!"

"Uh…"

"T-then, hehe! Kick me. Hard. Trample me. Just imagining it makes me—."

She hugged herself, lost in delusion. Taehyun instantly understood what she was.

My first Keeper is a masochist.

In a way, she was perfect for the role. Someone who enjoyed pain would excel at a Keeper's duties.

"D-don't go! Hit me before you leave. Please, I'm begging you!"

"H-how dare you cling to Taehyun's ankle? A Keeper groveling on the floor, get up at once!"

"Let go! I don't need some old man! I need the Dungeon Master to beat me. Let me goooo!"

In the end, Angelina was dragged away by Edchan. Taehyun sighed as he watched her vanish from sight.

"Mihye was crazy in one way, and this one is crazy in another."

One tried to own him, this one wanted to be hurt by him. Shaking his head, Taehyun opened her status window.

[Angelina of Pleasure]

[Rank: B (Named)]

[Level: 1]

[Class: Paladin]

[Title: Paladin of Pleasure]

[Affiliation: Balak]

[Loyalty: 90 (While excited)]

[Favorability: 90 (While excited)]

[Obedience: 90 (While excited)]

[Skills: Pain Tolerance]

[Special Ability: Sacred Ecstasy]

[Strength: 3] [Endurance: 5] [Agility: 1] [Stamina: 4]

[Mana: 1] [Divinity: 4] [Affinity: 1] [Luck: 1]

His expression twisted the moment he saw it. A paladin class that didn't match her appearance at all, and relationship stats that spiked only when she was excited. A paladin optimized purely for masochistic pleasure.

Relationship stats jump to 90 only when she's excited? Am I supposed to beat her just to manage her?

He had sometimes fantasized about punching Mandra, but never did it for troop morale. Now it felt like he might have to actually hurt someone.

Her Keeper-tier abilities were solid, but everything else was a problem. She would definitely show her tendencies in battle. Her skillset guaranteed that.

After secretly giving some Zen to Edchan for investment, Taehyun headed to the second Balak.

"Hee hee. Taehyun, you're here?"

Taehyun arrived and found Kinjo in the middle of a battle against a raid party.

"Yeah. How's the operation holding up?"

"Perfectly. With the fairy soldiers you sent, C-rank raid parties fall easily."

As Kinjo said, the monitor showed challengers overwhelmed by fairies. In fairy-element terrain, nothing fought fairies better than fairies themselves.

Taehyun nodded and handed him Zen.

"Use this to reinforce the dungeon and summon more troops."

"Aigo, thank you. I'll grow it well."

"Good. And Mederia?"

"She's disciplining Mandra in the final room."

The monitor showed Mandra hanging upside down, sniffling bitterly.

"That guy is always suffering something."

"Heh-hehk. He burned the vines in room five. Mederia was furious."

"Tch. When will he fix that personality."

Taehyun reviewed the dungeon info.

[Dungeon Name: Balak (2)]

[Master: Yoo Taehyun]

[Rank: C (Stage 4)]

[Location: Astral Continent, South. Cave behind Riwell Valley Falls.]

[Supporter: Strategist Kinjo]

[Boss: Elite Named Fairy Mandra]

[Mercenaries: None]

[Guardian/Keeper: Mederia the Mana Shooter]

[Soldiers: High-grade Fairies (260), High-grade Personal Fairies (4)]

[Monsters: None]

[Servants/Maids: None]

[Traps: Corrupted Pond ×2, Nephelanshi Vines ×6, Mana-Sealing Trap ×3, Hidden Tentacles ×7, Binding Net ×6, Fairy Sleep Powder ×5, Death Step ×7]

[Installations: Greed Jar ×2, Fairy Wings ×2, Low-grade Mana Turret ×4, Ghastly Corpse ×2, Withered Lake, Tarnished Chest ×4, Sticky Tentacles ×15]

[Modifications: Corridor Alteration (4), Corridor Expansion (3), Room Expansion (3), Fairy Realm Environment (3), Corridor Remodeling (2), Corridor Variation (4)]

[Rooms: 15]

[Dungeon Status: Fairy realm environment maximizes fairy combat power. Soldier numbers sufficient, forces now stable. Traps and installations well-placed for the environment.]

Nothing to complain about.

He built all this with the troops I split off? This place will reach B-rank soon.

If things continued, he might own two B-rank dungeons. He needed Zen stockpiled before then to secure future income.

"Not much new, but you've done well with just the troops I sent."

"Heh-hehk. Only natural."

"Call me if anything happens. I'm heading out."

"Yes, Taehyun."

With the second Balak checked, Taehyun returned to the original Balak.

Click.

A lantern lit the dark room. Men gathered with grim expressions.

"We all know why we're here."

The gaunt man in the center spoke first, sweeping his gaze across them.

"Yoo Taehyun, once rank 1 among C-rank Dungeon Masters, has created a labyrinth and is drawing all Western raiders to himself. I couldn't stand watching this happen, so I gathered you."

Min Kyunghoon, host of the meeting. A C-rank Dungeon Master controlling a Western dungeon. He had recently noticed his Zen income dropping along with the number of challengers. The cause was obvious. Ever since defeating the Sabastan raid party, Taehyun's dungeon Balak grew notorious as a labyrinth, attracting challengers like a vortex.

Kyunghoon refused to sit and starve while one man monopolized the Zen stream. He summoned the Western C-rank Dungeon Masters.

"My dungeon is struggling because of him! If a B-rank raid shows up, we'll be cleared instantly!"

"He's stealing Zen without even consulting us! He lied in meetings and now he's taking our income!"

"Let's unite and crush him. I've had enough."

Dungeon Masters once fought raiders to survive. Now they fought them for profit. Resentment simmered through the room.

"Calm down, all of you. I feel the same. The Holy Kingdom invasion failed, only a few Dungeon Masters survived. His actions leave the rest of us to starve. So I propose we drive Balak out together."

Gasps spread. Tension thickened.

Driving out Balak might be possible as a coalition. But Taehyun was once C-rank No.1, now even stronger with unknown assets.

Kyunghoon gauged the hesitation.

"I know what worries you. I hesitated too. But if we don't move, we'll be crushed next, or devoured by other dungeons. Will you still stay quiet?"

"No. Never!"

"He's right! If we don't act now, we're finished!"

"Drive him out!"

Momentum surged. Kyunghoon raised his hand.

"Then from today, we form a union. We will overthrow Balak together. Will you cooperate?"

"Count me in!"

"I'll help, now or never!"

"Destroy Balak!"

With the final push, the Dungeon Masters agreed. A union was born, Kyunghoon naturally becoming its leader.

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