Reunion with Luna and the Secrets of the Demon King

After emerging victorious in the struggle for dominance against Gremory, we spent the night in a wild, chaotic Las party. As morning broke, I shook Gremory, who was fast asleep and exhausted, awake.

"What is it... you're so annoying this early in the morning."

"Time to work."

"At this hour? You're disgustingly diligent. Yaaawn."

Although I skipped the morning routine today, my daily life wouldn't change much from here on out. Gremory would continue to manage her dungeon, and I would continue the cycle of strengthening my evolved subordinates. The only thing that had changed was the composition of my forces. The slimes capable of evolving up to 3-stars had become Slime Dragons, now able to clear slime sub-dungeons on their own. As for the rest of the slimes under my command, those capable of evolving into Big Slimes could now evolve through 'synthesis' with one another.

"There are two main types of monster synthesis," Gremory explained, following me around like a secretary and detailing the various systems of the dungeon. As a result of the struggle for dominance, the system recognized my victory, allowing me to use Gremory's dungeon facilities as if they were my own.

"Put your hand on it. It recognizes you right away, doesn't it?"

"Amazing. So, can you use my facilities too?"

"No. Your expression—the 'multi-dungeon' thing—is subordinate to the higher-tier dungeon. I told you, didn't I? My things are your things. But your things are not mine."

"I get the gist."

As I placed my hand on the Magic Crystal of Gremory's summoning facility, it reacted to my touch instantly. Purple mana shimmered, and the information for the summoning facility appeared.

Gremory's summoning facility was, surprisingly, only Lv.1. "One way is what you mentioned—the case of re-birthing Andras. When you initiate a struggle for dominance against an opposing dungeon, a mission is generated, right? 'Slaughter more than a certain number of the enemy dungeon's main monsters.' If you exceed that number, an egg that produces that monster is created."

"Like the Andras egg?"

"Exactly. But that's a rather unique case. Where in the world would one individual produce 666 of the same species on their own? Unless, like Andras, they repeat the process of giving birth specifically for the purpose of self-reincarnation from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the start."

"That's true."

Gremory confirmed that something had gone wrong with Andras's dungeon from the moment she tried to attack mine. It made sense, as the sub-quest regarding the attack on my dungeon had been bizarre: Slaughter 666 Slimes. That was the quest requirement for my dungeon.

"I've never seen an Orc use slimes as their main force before."

"I think conquering the world with slimes is a pretty common thing, though."

"Good grief, do you think Demon King Solomon or Baal are slimes? Talk sense."

I wasn't sure about the former, but the latter sounded plausible. "I heard the dungeon I'm living in now is one Baal used to use. An abandoned one."

"What kind of idiot would say something like that and want to die? Don't you know Baal is practically a god to dungeon lords? I'm only letting it slide because it's you; if you said that in front of anyone else, your head would've been chopped off immediately. Who told you that?"

"...The system told me when I was setting up shop here."

"The Demon King's system... ugh, I've learned something terrifying. Baal actually abandoned his dungeon? That means he was beaten once. Ah, I'm screwed. The moment this gets out, I'm going to die too..."

Gremory was devastated. Baal's dignity seemed to be far greater than I had imagined. However, the party who had informed me of this didn't care about such things at all. 'Let's not mention Estu.' If I said an administrator had intervened directly, she might start arguing about fairness or equity. I cleverly distorted the truth.

"I was just digging through the dungeon and found some traces. Then, after I fully developed the first floor, a door to the basement opened. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And that's when it popped up. 'Dungeon left behind by the old Baal,' something like that."

"There's no way to verify it, so it's hard to say. Fine. I'll take your word for it. Now, let me teach you a good way to strengthen your main slime troops."

Talking about monster synthesis had led us here. Gremory asked me to summon two slimes. Two 1-star slimes that had hit level 15. They were trembling in front of the Altar of Sacrifice, as if they sensed their fate.

"As you can see, if you have the Altar of Sacrifice, you can perform synthesis at the summoning circle. But it's different from the 'egg' case I mentioned earlier. If the former is a guaranteed outcome, the latter is about raising them to the limit and forcibly increasing the star rating. Try pressing it once."

I pressed the Monster Synthesis button as Gremory instructed. While we couldn't see each other's screens, the panels were identical since we shared the same system.

"It just adds annoying conditions, nothing else?"

"That's the difference between the former and the latter. The latter is the standard, and the former is a truly special case. You might not feel it since you synthesized Andras first, but normally, synthesizing max-level monsters like this is the basic method."

"Wait a second. So it's something like this?" I drew a diagram on the floor. "If I combine two level 15 1-star slimes, I get a level 15 2-star slime. Not a Big Slime. Is that right?"

"Yes, they don't evolve. It's because of the level cap, right? You can only do it if you evolve them."

"So, a level 15 slime that became 2-star through synthesis needs to meet the evolution conditions for a Big Slime to expand its level cap. Hmm... that's a shame. Is a level 100 ultimate slime impossible?"

"You can just use an enhancement ticket. Growing them will be a pain, though."

"Gremory, you're smart."

"I'm sure that's a compliment, but it's obvious, so I don't feel much."

It was much easier to plan my subordinate training with a tutor who could pinpoint the confusing parts. Before I started the practical training, I asked, feeling anxious, "Does it take a week to synthesize them?"

"No. The higher the grade, the longer it takes. 1-star to 2-star synthesis... maybe 30 minutes?"

"Synthesis, let's goooo!"

I didn't hesitate. I threw the slimes onto the summoning circle immediately. Lime decided which one would become the primary personality. "Lime, who works harder, the yellow-centered slime or the black one?"

Kkeureureuk.

"Lime says neither of them works well anyway." Ryun translated. I pressed the button without hesitation. Soon, the two slimes merged into one, and their shells began to harden like a cocoon before metamorphosis.

I had 30 minutes of free time. I asked Gremory another question. "The struggle for dominance."

"Ugh."

Was she clearly showing her distaste for bringing up the struggle she had lost...? "Hey, are you doing it with Arthur again through a clone?"

"...My main body is right here!"

"You were just complaining about waking up early earlier."

"Shut up. Fine, what are you curious about? Speak quickly."

"I told you. Talk about the struggle for dominance."

I took off my pants. 30 minutes was more than enough time to have sex. It was time for the warm-up.

"Time should be used efficiently. Everyone, let's eat breakfast."

"Hehehe."

Ryun knelt in front of me first. Gremory looked stunned, pointing back and forth between Ryun and Eila, who were kneeling in front of my crotch.

"...Breakfast?"

"Yeah, breakfast. Come to think of it, you've never had any, have you?"

"Master's is delicious! It's filling, too!"

"It tastes like thick custard cream."

"...Oh my god. Well, fine."

Along with the sound of Ryun and Eila working their tongues, Gremory's long explanation began.

First, let me tell you this. The Demon King, Solomon, uses magic that is distinctly different from the existing magical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠system. And his authority is at a peak that we ordinary demons can't even dream of reaching. You felt it to some extent, didn't you? The time magic that accelerates growth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by having them born in egg form. The space magic that shrinks dungeons into Dimension Stones, creating sub-dungeons where spirits wander infinitely. The soul magic that allows demons and monsters to grow infinitely through synthesis, enhancement, and reincarnation. And the 'System' that allows even wretches like us to indirectly utilize such power.

Just like how he sends subordinates if you offer magic stones to Solomon, there are truly many blessings Solomon bestows upon us. Ever since Solomon formed the Demon Army and started an all-out war with the Human Alliance, demons have been a race that lives for struggle, right? It's a good thing. And as you know, Solomon created 72 dungeons. He granted a system to each of their masters. I don't know how you obtained your system. That's something only the Demon King or high-ranking mages in the top 10 would know. Ah, dammit, it leaked. Slurp. ...It tastes good, though. Let me have some too after you're done talking. What? I can't eat it unless I serve you as my master? What kind of territorial behavior is that? It's the same whether it's received from below or above, hah, forget it. I'll take that as my payment. It's my choice how I receive it, right? Ahem, the reason he created the dungeons is obviously to win the war against the Human Alliance. To produce more troops faster, the Demon King shared his power, authority, and subordinates. And he introduced the struggle for dominance to eliminate the parasites who just sit back and suck up the Demon King's generously given grace. Yes, exactly. People like Andras, right? Those who are obsessed only with their own evolution and reincarnation without any intention of fighting the Human Alliance. If you've used up decades or centuries of time thanks to the Demon King, you should contribute to the Demon Army accordingly. At the very least, you should be able to turn a village upside down.

The Demon King's system is ultimately a reward for how much you contribute to the war against humanity. And the more active you are on the front lines, the greater the reward. Even in my case, look at me. How do you think I, a mere elementalist, reached the Demon King's standard of 4-stars—or, in terms of the old circles, 7th Circle? What? You want to know the correlation between stars and circles all of a sudden? Wait a minute. Uh, the Demon King once said that every 10 levels clearly equals 1 circle... why are we getting sidetracked like this when I was trying to explain the struggle for dominance? So, to summarize, the higher the grade, the greater the reward. And the greater the responsibility. It's the Demon King's will for us to work hard every single day instead of settling in our positions. I shouldn't say this, but do you know which demons the Demon King likes the most? The ones who work hard on their own without being told. What? What happens if you work that hard and rebel against the Demon Army? ...Unless you're siding with the Human Alliance, he'd probably be happy! 'A being stronger than me has been born! This is the glory of the Demon World! Raise a toast! Worship the birth of a new Demon King!' That's what he'd say. The current Demon King also rose to his position by fighting the previous Demon King 1-on-1. Yes. That's right. Even before the struggle for dominance existed, it was a race characteristic for demons to show off their strength by fighting and winning against each other. As a mage, I also hope to one day defeat Solomon with magic, but I'd have to be a bit stronger for that.

That's why the ranking in the struggle for dominance is an indicator of who is closer to Solomon's power. Why do you think Baal is called the Demon King's right arm? He has as much combat power as the Demon King's right arm, which is why he's in 1st place. That's why everyone risks their lives in the struggle for dominance. Isn't it an objective indicator of how strong they are? Of course, there are some who are dissatisfied with the fact that it takes the form of a dungeon-versus-dungeon battle. You're an Orc, so you know, right? People who say not to mobilize subordinates in a sacred 1-on-1 fight, or that demons should fight purely with their own strength. There. That's the end of the story. What? You knew most of this already? Then why did you make me talk?"

Cross-verification? That's ridiculous. You make someone talk until their tongue goes dry, and then you just keep feeding sweets to the women's mouths? Hey, I'm thirsty. If you don't feed me, I'm not going to talk anymore. Ah, I'm thirsty! I'm so thirsty!! I want to eat something delicious too!! You want me to close my eyes? Heh, fine. Aaaah.

"Ah, this is what they call a golden shower."

Swoosh-

I got scolded. I only gave her water because she said she was thirsty.