The Slime, The Knight, and The Lumberjack

The slime dragon was delicious. Even if I couldn't store it for long-term consumption, it was the most satisfying meal I’d had since being dropped into this other world. Having started eating monsters back when I was a young orc, slime mucus felt no different than konjac jelly to me. The problem was what to do with the remaining carcass. I kicked the slime in its rear for an experiment.

"Eat up."

Wiggle-wiggle.

My subordinate slime refused the feast. But I was the master of this dungeon now.

"If you don't eat, I'll eat you."

Wiggle-wiggle.

The slime resisted stubbornly, but eventually, it gave up on rebelling against me. It slithered over and touched the tail of the slime dragon. Crunch, crunch. The slime began to devour the former dungeon boss. No matter how I looked at it, the creature looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more like an earthworm than a dragon, but the system insisted on calling it a dragon. I wondered what kind of lair such a dragon would have built. I pulled up the dungeon information.

That’s it? Is that all? I was dumbfounded and checked to see if there was anything else, but nothing appeared. All I could gather was that my current dungeon was a pathetic hole of orcs and slimes that posed no threat to anyone. If this were Forneus's dungeon, the rank would be flashy and the danger level high, but this was Kumcheoku's—my dungeon. I had to stay positive; I could build it up one step at a time. I’d grow my forces and prepare for the day I’d slap Forneus across the face. Besides, this dungeon at least had a 3-star orc, a slime with plenty of potential, and a 'prisoner' who was still unconscious.

[Eila]: Unconscious for 40 hours.

"She's going to get dehydrated at this rate."

I scooped up a handful of slime dragon mucus and shoved it into Eila's mouth. Thanks to my vigorous squeezing, the viscosity wasn't too thick, and even in her unconscious state, Eila instinctively gulped it down. She's alive, but I have no idea how to wake her up. Perhaps the shock was too great; she’d been out for nearly two days. To prevent her from waking up and causing trouble, I wrapped her body tightly in the vines I’d brought from the entrance. Eila looked like a mummy.

"If I only tied her wrists and ankles, she might pull something. Right, Lime?"

The slime was busy devouring the dragon, acting as if it didn't care about the pig-like grunting of an orc. It had already finished the tail and was starting on what I assumed were the legs. Greedy little bastard. Just in case, I'll leave this part open. I tore away the vines covering Eila's lower body and wrapped them only from her shins to her ankles. Thanks to that, her legs were spread slightly, and my hand could easily reach between her thighs. There might be a moment where I need to use her. Eila was a valuable prisoner. Since I definitely had a use for her, I had to keep her healthy. Maybe if she changed her mind, I could even use her as a subordinate?

Now, what's the most urgent thing...

"It really only has the bare essentials, damn it."

If I saw something locked, I could at least imagine what might be there, but having only three options was frustrating. Still, I knew better than anyone that these three were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠absolutely necessary for a dungeon. Let's just consider my three years in Forneus's dungeon as a tutorial. Even though I wasn't the boss there, but a grunt and a slave warrior, I’d learned enough to understand the system. Copying that woman's management style is disgusting, but I have no choice. Since that was all I’d seen and learned, I had no choice but to follow her lead for now. Fortunately, while that woman had terrible taste in people, her management skills were excellent enough to run the 30th dungeon. First, I needed labor. Let's build the summoning facility.

"Magic stone?"

Wood was one thing, but where was I supposed to get a magic stone? Wasn't a magic stone the gem found in a monster's heart after you killed it? Was I supposed to rip out my own heart? Where could I possibly— Crunch, crunch.

"Hey, you pig-like slime bastard!"

I grabbed the slime and struggled to pull it away from the dragon carcass. The slime had been devouring the corpse right up to where the magic stone was located, and it wouldn't let go. Splat! After a long wrestling match, I finally succeeded in pulling it away. The slime, blinded by food, was busy cleaning up the mucus scattered on the floor, while I extracted a tiny magic stone from where the dragon's heart should have been.

"One secured."

Judging by the size, it was a medium-grade stone, which meant that a 3-star monster was equivalent to medium-grade. "Perfect." Lowest, Low, Medium, High, Highest. I was a 75-level orc of the medium grade. Even at medium grade, I was stronger than a 25-level, 4-star human female knight, which gave me some peace of mind. "Now for the wood..." The icon looked like a log; would this work? I gathered the vines that had been wrapped around Eila's hips.

Wood 0 / 10 | Magic Stone 1 / 1

As expected, it was impossible. The icon looked like a log, so maybe I had to chop down trees and bring them in whole. "Then, Lime, let's go. You'll have to act as my axe." I hoped the slime could decompose fibers too. I poked at the slime and headed out of the cave.

In the Virgo Barony of the Zodiac Kingdom, there exists an Elf Forest. The forest dwellers, skilled in magic and spirit arts, originally sought peace within their own territory, but as the conflict between the Demon King's army and the Human Alliance intensified, they were dragged into the war. The elves sided with the humans. The reason was simple: the Demon King's army had raided their village. Having been struck first, the elves stood against the Demon King's army, but they didn't actively join the Human Alliance either.

"We only protect our own territory."

The high elders of the elves didn't want their kin to suffer, while the Human Alliance sent envoys daily, hoping for the elves to join the war. The atmosphere in the forest became uneasy, and the pure, young elves began to be swept up in it.

"The humans who come to the forest seem nice, can't we help them?"

They didn't yet know the ugliness of humans and war. They were just tired of the elders repeating, "No."

"Anyway, I don't understand the elders. Right?"

Ryun, a small elf with light brown hair, played with a wind spirit while bad-mouthing the elders. They walked through the forest, chatting about trivial things, when they caught the scent of a rough, ominous wind.

"Sylph...!"

Ryun grabbed her small bow. Known as a promising future hunter, Ryun had outstanding skills with the bow and spirits, even for a young elf. Swish, swish. Something was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠damaging the forest. Ryun leaped through the branches to approach the source. Huff, huff. With heavy breathing, a tree fell. And where the tree had fallen, a green monster was sweating profusely, naked, chopping the wood into pieces.

"..."

Young Ryun felt her head spin as she saw something dangling beneath the green monster's belly fat. And at that moment. Crack. Ryun accidentally stepped on a branch, and the monster noticed her. Kuh-huh. The monster was clearly smiling at her.