Mana was the root of all beings of the demon world.
Almost every living being within the demon world had its own mana and absorbing the spirit of another was simply called 'Spirit Absorption'.
Spirit Absorption could be performed by any demon. However, when an ordinary demon absorbed a spirit, it was ridiculously inefficient.
Spirit Absorption was primarily for Demon Kings to help them rise to the top of the demon world.
There were still limitations though, for instance, if there was too large a difference in the mana power between a demon king and spirit, then they simply wouldn't be able to absorb it, however, if they absorbed the spirit of a being that was stronger than them, then they could easily increase their power.
That was why they were Demon kings.
They were beings that could aim for the top of the world via the law of the jungle
Demon kings were a minority. Even during the periods when they were considered numerous, just over a hundred kings existed.
Not all kings were strong, however, some were even weaker than just ordinary demons.
But kings had great potential. The reason why they were called kings was simply due to their high potential to ascend.
Yong-Ho unfolded his palm. His mana had run out, but it didn't matter.
Blue mana was concentrated on the Queen Ant's forehead. The spirit looked like a large glowing marble, around the size of a fist. After examining it, Yong-Ho absorbed the spirit through the palm of his hand.
This was the third.
It was different from the previous two. He felt the same exhilarating pleasure, but he also felt something else beside it.
He felt an intense strength. The spirit contained a much stronger power than the previous two. The quantity of the mana was almost equal to Yong-Ho's own.
There was no such thing as a perfect absorption. Therefore, even after he finished absorbing it, it was impossible for his mana to just suddenly double. Moreover, though it was clear that the spirit was stronger than the last two that he absorbed, however, it felt rough and murky. The closest explanation was that it had something similar to impurities inside it.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes and released a groan. He felt a sense of alienation as the Queen Ant's spirit was mixed into his own mana. He was able to detect what it was.
The attribute of the spirit.
It was different from his own mana, he should abandon it to preserve his own power.
But Greed didn't allow that. It forced Yong-Ho to push to his limits. He forcefully devoured the power of the spirit.
He suddenly felt severe pain. Yong-Ho twisted his body while releasing a painful groan.
But Greed didn't stop. And Yong-Ho didn't have any intention of stopping either. He gritted his teeth and absorbed the spirit.
He wasn't going to miss anything.
He wasn't going to throw anything away.
He was going to devour it all no matter what!
"Gah!"
He breathed out and took a step back. He opened his eyes wide and looked forward.
"Master?!"
He heard Catalina's voice beside him. She hugged Yong-Ho's body, preventing him from falling to the ground.
Instead of answering, he leaned against Catalina. He collected his breath while leaning against her shoulder and chest and after a couple of minutes, he managed to hold himself up.
"Mas...ter?"
"I'm alright. I'm alright, Catalina."
After answering her, Yong-Ho collapsed on the ground. He was so exhausted that he just wanted to pass out, however, there was a stronger desire than that. Due to that desire, Yong-Ho gathered a small amount of mana that was recovered thanks to the spirit absorption. He examined himself using the Power of Evolution.
[Demon of Evolution]
[Name: Chun Yong-Ho (M)]
[Race: Half Human/Half Demon]
[Class: Demon]
[Attributes: Fire - Level 2 / Darkness - Level 0 / Ice - Level 1]
[Evolution Rate: 78/100]
[Strength - Level 1 | ★★ (2)]
[Stamina - Level 1 | ★★☆ (2.5)]
[Mana - Level 3 | ★★★ (3)]
[Charm - Level 0 | ★★ (2)]
[Agility - Level 0 | ★☆ (1.5)]
[Skill - Level 0 | ★★☆ (2.5)]
[Seven Deadly Sins | Greed]
Thanks to him absorbing the Queen Ant's spirit, his fire level had increased and the mana's potential power had become a little stronger than before. However, there was a more important change than those two.
'Ice.'
A new attribute that wasn't there before appeared. Furthermore, the fact that it was 'ice' was the most important thing.
The original attribute that Yong-Ho had was fire. Even though it was somewhat of a gaming element, however, fire and ice were considered opposites. But within Yong-Ho, those two conflicting elements were residing within him.
'Greed.'
It was the ice element that it wanted to absorb so badly.
Yong-Ho smiled as his shoulders dropped. Since he had such little mana left, the Power of Evolution naturally deactivated.
[The dungeon's daily mana output has increased from 120 to 140.]
[Because you've grown stronger, Catalina (F), Eligor (M), and Skull's (-) various stats have increased by a small amount.]
[Your horns have become larger and more beautiful!"
[Congratulations, Master.]
The Spirit of the Dungeon spoke quickly as if she was waiting for the right moment to speak.
After thanking her, he looked over at the Queen Ant's corpse and the Crazy Ant's eggs that were scattered around the room.
Catalina spoke.
"I think it would be better to destroy all the eggs. Since they're no longer under the queen's control, they're now just harmful dungeon monsters."
In case they failed to subjugate the Queen Ant, Eligor had prepared a guideline beforehand.
Yong-Ho agreed, so he nodded without saying anything. But it wasn't long before a sudden thought came to him.
"So then, what should we do with that?"
"Excuse me?"
"That."
Yong-Ho pointed at the Queen Ant's corpse, with his eyes, or more precisely its back.
Since she was an official dungeon spirit, Catalina immediately understood what Yong-Ho meant. What Yong-Ho saw was the Princess Ant on top of the Queen Ant's corpse.
She had been bound with some sort of translucent liquid.
Moreover, she wasn't unconscious. She just had a blank expression, like someone that was drugged.
The reason why she remained quiet while the other Princess Ant was being eaten wasn't because she agreed to it, but because her body was literally paralyzed.
Yong-Ho closely examined the Princess Ant.
From a distance, she looked just like a little girl, but upon closer inspection, she was far from it. Just like the Queen's Ant upper body she was beautiful, however, there were antennas on her head that looked like horns, and attached to her skin on her arms and legs was an outer shell.
Compared to a human, she looked as if she was in her early teens.
Seeing as how her outer appearance was starkly different from the Crazy Ants, it was clear that the Princess Ant would grow into the Queen Ant.
During combat, the Queen Ant had eaten one of the Princess Ants to recover her mana. If the combat lasted any longer, then the queen would have surely eaten this princess as well.
Yong-Ho didn't think too complicatedly. He thought that perhaps it was normal in the demon world for parents to eat their children or maybe it was their version of motherhood.
He decided to think of it as a practical judgment.
"Is it possible to register the Princess Ant as a dungeon spirit even though she's a dungeon monster?"
The plan to subjugate the Queen Ant had failed.
But how would the Princess Ant feel? And if the Princess Ant one day created a group of Crazy Ants under Yong-Ho's command, then wouldn't it be of great help to him in operating the dungeon?
Yong-Ho didn't know, but controlling Crazy Ants was an extremely difficult task.
The Queen Ants that controlled the colony were extremely independent. They would rather die than obey someone else.
In fact, in the large demon world, there were very few owners that subjugated Crazy Ants or dungeon monsters of a similar race.
However, since the Princess Ant wasn't fully grown and didn't have any experience in controlling a colony, it was possible.
The Spirit of the Dungeon answered.
[The process is a lot more complicated than the Salamander, but it's possible to try it.]
[But Master, you're currently very exhausted. You don't have enough mana to proceed with the process.]
[There isn't any mana left within Mammon's dungeon either. For now, it would be better to capture the Princess Ant and then try to register her later on.]
Regardless of the success rate, it was important to at least try it.
Feeling satisfied, Yong-Ho turned his head. He looked at Catalina, who was standing despite feeling exhausted.
"Catalina."
"Yes, master."
Catalina answered immediately. He wasn't sure if it was because they had achieved victory or because they acquired the mine, but she looked really touched. Her tail was wagging excitedly.
Yong-Ho thought it looked cute which caused him to laugh and he tried to think of the right words in his head. But he couldn't think of anything. He didn't have enough energy to think of the right remark. So he decided to just be straightforward.
"Thank you. You did a great job today. You're definitely the guard of the dungeon."
"I was just doing my job."
Catalina tried to reply calmly. However, aside from her fluttering ears and wagging tail, she couldn't even contain the smile on her face.
Yong-Ho closed his eyes. He was really at his limit now.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
Before hearing her answer, Yong-Ho quickly lay on the ground. And just like that, he became unconscious.
Catalina briefly looked at him and then looked around. She was in the room by herself, so she wasn't sure what to do and carefully approached him.
She was extremely close. But Yong-Ho still didn't budge.
She looked at him a little while longer and smiled. Although she was exhausted, she gathered her remaining energy and carried Yong-Ho on her back. He was pretty heavy, but she felt good for some reason.
"Skullllll!"
She heard Skull's voice at the entrance. He must have figure out what happened after seeing the ants run away.
Catalina instinctively channeled energy into her hands that were carrying Yong-Ho. She didn't want anyone else to carry him and waited for Skull and the Salamander to come down. In order to take the Princess Ant and burn the eggs, she then required their help. They also needed to retrieve Aamon, which was pierced into the Queen Ant's body.
'The Red Lotus Demon Lance, Aamon'
It was the weapon that was known as the right arm of Mammon.
Out of the twelve official spirits that belonged to Mammon, he was ranked the highest.
With one swing, Aamon could burn the heavens and the earth and evaporate the seas.
Aamon wasn't exactly like the legends stated, but he was still amazing. If it wasn't for Aamon, then Yong-Ho definitely wouldn't have been able to come this far.
'No, but still.'
Yong-Ho was Aamon's owner. Yong-Ho found Aamon, and Aamon acknowledged Yong-Ho as his owner.
So there was no need to think about them separately.
The King of Greed had finally returned.
The Demon of Evolution who will lead the House of Mammon to glory once again.
Yong-Ho's breathing was close. His hot breath tickled her neck.
Catalina slightly pursed her lips while waiting for Skull. She once again tried to contain her smile.