The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 72

[Dungeon: Frost Nest is currently unexplored.]

[To fully open the Dungeon: Frost Nest, you must complete the exploration.]

[You can attempt the exploration using familiars.]

[Direct exploration is not recommended.]

It felt like waking up from a long slumber.

Rumble…

“Master, are you alright?”

“…I’m fine.”

“That’s good!”

Phenex peeked through the door of the heart chamber, asked her question, and then disappeared again. Ever since I woke up, she has been overly protective of me.

‘…Did I survive?’

I still couldn’t believe I was alive. Even after crossing the broken bridge… no, even after crossing it, I couldn’t believe it.

‘The familiars saved me.’

I had been unconscious for almost two months. My body, which was no different from a corpse, had been carried around like a precious relic for two whole months.

It must have been a difficult journey, yet they managed it without losing a single member, arriving at the Frost Nest faster than expected.

In the original story, it was described that the kingdom’s alliance wandered aimlessly until winter, when they finally found a settlement in the frozen land.

‘Is it winter now?’

It was likely winter, the same time as in the original story. In the original, they moved first but arrived late, while in reality, we moved later but arrived quickly.

After regaining my senses, I looked around the dungeon.

The Frost Nest, situated in the frozen land, was named for its shape.

It consisted of five layers, with the heart chamber at the top. The way to ascend was through a spiral passage, making it look like a nest built layer upon layer.

Its simple structure meant there was no need to search for paths, unlike the Rotten Roots that wasted adventurers’ time. Not that I had any intention of doing so.

‘The dungeon’s environment is quite harsh.’

A dungeon in the frozen land naturally faced resource shortages unless the boss rooms were all ice-attribute.

Every day, we consumed heating resources and high-calorie food, making it a war for resources.

‘It’s fortunate that Ariel can find forests.’

Thanks to her affinity with forests, gathering firewood became easier.

Crackle…

Clack…

The firewood burning in the braziers beside the throne was also gathered with Ariel’s help. Thanks to her, warmth filled the heart chamber and the familiars’ quarters.

Despite the warmth, the dungeon’s terrain never melted, which was quite fascinating.

Leaving the dungeon required determination. Without proper preparation, catching a cold was common, and only someone like Phenex had resistance to the cold.

‘We need to solve the food issue…’

Ariel was experimenting with creating an artificial forest inside the dungeon, but the cold made it difficult to manage, and the types of plants that could be grown were limited.

When we stayed at the Rotten Roots, we never felt a shortage because we were in a large forest, and Riudira wasn’t far away…

‘Hmm… the village is quite far.’

The nearest village was a 20-day round trip. The distance wasn’t the issue; the path was treacherous. Moreover, bad weather could make travel impossible on some days.

This was certainly a harsher condition than before.

Rumble…

“Master, are you alright?”

“…I’m fine.”

Phenex’s frequent interruptions made it hard to think clearly.

I looked at my hand.

The first autumn after I arrived here was eventful.

Many familiars died, and many enemies had to be killed. I also realized that I could make my own decisions, not just follow the original story.

‘If it weren’t for Rommel and Memphir… I would have died.’

Those who were supposed to be enemies became allies due to a series of coincidences. It meant that in this place, there were no eternal enemies or allies.

Swish…

I stood up from the throne and slowly looked around the nest. Though smaller than before, it was compact and not bad.

The dungeon’s heart was still not beating. Many frozen facilities needed to be reactivated, and the empty dungeon had to be filled with familiars.

‘Losing all the magic stones was a huge blow.’

The troll carrying the reserve magic stones was buried under a rockslide, leaving my magic stone balance at zero.

It was daunting to think about where to start again.

For now, I designated Phenex, Ariel, and Amon as field bosses, just in case.

‘Well… there were some gains.’

A lost adventurer had entered the dungeon and lost their life, but I discovered something in the process.

Even a single adventurer, not just a party, could increase Phenex’s indomitable stack if they fought her.

Thanks to this, Phenex would remain the primary boss of the Frost Nest for the time being.

“Hey… Master!”

“I’m fine.”

“…Okay!”

I felt like I was getting used to saying “I’m fine.”

Sigh…

Anyway, today I planned to inspect the dungeon and reassess many things.

‘I have some things to check.’

With a sudden idea to revive the dungeon, I headed to the facilities not far from the heart chamber.

A large mailbox.

This was where announcements and event notifications from Lemegeton were delivered.

‘Please… let there be a lot of letters.’

Most of the letters were likely maintenance notices. Disappointing, but the occasional rewards made it worth checking.

Creak…

Opening the mailbox, I found it filled with letters.

[Notice: Regular Maintenance and Reward Schedule]

[Notice: Regular Maintenance and Reward Schedule]

“Of course…”

Each letter contained 300 magic stones.

It was a weekly ration, so it was quite stingy. I needed to find other content.

[Notice: Apology and Compensation for Server Instability]

“…Ah.”

Right, there was that.

Around the transition from autumn to winter, the server had a major issue.

I remember there was a lot of talk about server attacks back then, but in the end, there was no proper explanation, just a bunch of compensation.

Reward: 3,000 Magic Stones
[Magic Stones can be obtained from the Abyss.]

‘This is it!’

A whopping 10 draws.

These things pile up and lead to national prosperity and military strength.

He sped up reading the letters.

[Global Event: Asia Download First Milestone Achieved!]

Reward: 3,000 Magic Stones
[Magic Stones can be obtained from the Abyss.]

‘Right, there was this too.’

I remember they had set a big goal up to the third milestone.

‘The first milestone was the end, though….’

Damn it… Wouldn’t it be nice if they had reached the third milestone?

Still, it’s already 6,000 Magic Stones.

This alone is something.

He read through the remaining letters.

Adding up the Magic Stones given as minor compensations, it easily exceeded 10,000.

Even so, it’s barely over 30 draws.

‘Not enough….’

To revive the dungeon, this is not enough.

Something groundbreaking…

Swoosh…

‘Yes, something like this.’

A letter of a different color.

The last letter.

The reason he opened the mailbox was to see if this news was in it.

[Chuseok Event and Update! Does your soul taste like Songpyeon?]

Event Details: The spirits of autumn have whimsically left traces of magic on adventurers’ souls, resembling Songpyeon. If you collect all these traces, something good might happen?

In mobile games, the arrival of autumn is marked by the Chuseok event.

Coincidentally, as soon as autumn arrived, a disaster struck the dungeon, so I couldn’t fully enjoy this autumn event. What could I do when the dungeon collapsed?

Because of this, I was very disappointed in the already resource-strapped situation, but thinking about it, I had a feeling that I wouldn’t have just played around during the event period.

The Autumn War.

That’s right.

After the dungeon collapsed, I indirectly or directly killed dozens of raiders.

Here’s a hypothesis.

‘What if… if this was during the event period?’

Yes, if the souls I harvested that day were also included in the event…

[Magic Stones can be obtained from the Abyss.]

[Seeds of Growth can be obtained from the Abyss.]

[Jar of Wind can be obtained from the Abyss.]

[Apple corrupted by Darkness can be obtained from the Abyss.]

……

A large amount of nurturing materials and materials for future updates.

Rewards pouring in like receipts. Not only Magic Stones, but also growth resources were lacking, so these rewards were like a dream come true.

‘Did I receive the maximum rewards for the event?’

In the original game, there was a separate event shop UI where you had to exchange the Songpyeon-shaped magic traces for rewards, but in reality, there was no such shop, so it seemed they just gave rewards based on the achievement level.

‘Phew… that’s a relief. So that means?’

The grand final reward should still be left.

“……”

There’s no news.

‘Didn’t I receive it?’

That can’t be.

The Chuseok event was quite lenient, and you could achieve the goals by working hard for just a day or two.

‘How many did I kill during the Autumn War?’

Counting the number of people I killed in my head already seemed far from human, but shouldn’t I at least try to calculate it roughly?

‘Strange… I definitely exceeded the criteria.’

Since no message popped up, it might not have been processed properly.

“Hmm…”

Returning to the heart of the dungeon, he sat on the throne, trying to calm his boiling frustration, when Lucifer, called by another familiar, briefly left.

And after a while, he returned to me.

“Master Faust.”

“Speak.”

“The Gate of Hell… has awakened on its own.”

“…What?”

The Gate of Hell had newly settled in this Frost Nest. Azarup’s skull had already contracted with my blood, so it could stay with me wherever the gate was.

Azarup usually slept, only waking up when I appeared with Magic Stones.

‘But… it awakened on its own?’

It’s a signal.

Probably something positive… something.

“Let’s go see it ourselves.”

“Yes.”

The secret chamber on the 5th floor where the Gate of Hell exists.

Whoosh…

Clank…

Clank…

The main chains of the Gate of Hell were wildly thrashing.

“Hehe… who dares to wake me from my slumber?”

“Speak clearly.”

Azarup lowered his eyes and pointed to the gate.

“A guest has come to see you.”