Reunion with Luna (2)
After feeding my subordinates breakfast, I quenched my thirst with Ryun and proceeded to synthesize and evolve my dungeon minions in bulk. The magic and system that Gremory praised—the very foundation of Solomon’s design—proved remarkably flexible when it came to summoning and evolving within a multi-dungeon setup. I refined my forces through repeated synthesis and evolution. And so, here I stood.
I now had three 3-star Slime Dragons. In addition to those capable of self-evolution, I had created six Big Slimes and eight High Ghouls by synthesizing 1-star units over and over. I had one ghoul (1-star) left over because the numbers didn't quite align, but Meari offered a clever solution.
"Where am I supposed to get magic stones? Wait a second, apprentice. You aren't talking about using the magic stones currently in my dungeon, are you?"
And thus, I ended up with nine High Ghouls. Furthermore, the Harpies left over from synthesizing Andras had their levels filled out with the remaining scraps, turning every Harpy into a Harpy Angel, with the exception of Harpyia. After striving to minimize the number of existing subordinates, our dungeon restructuring was complete. Through this battle, every single monster subordinate had reached 2-star status. Our combat power had grown significantly stronger.
Me, Arthur (Orc 2-star). Ryun (Elf 1-star). Eila, Meari, Lily, and nine hunters. Twelve humans. Lime, Line, three Slime Dragons, six Big Slimes. Eleven slime-types. Nine High Ghouls, including Harsus. Andras, Harpyia, and three Harpy Angels. Five avian-types. Including myself, the total was adjusted to exactly 40 members, and the barracks I had hastily expanded were now full to the brim. On top of that, Gremory’s dungeon counted as a separate entity, which was the icing on the cake. Gremory was the first to share her dungeon status with me.
"I feel incredibly sorry for you."
"I could just lay more eggs... wait, no. I can't lay any more."
The tentacle monster’s spawning chamber, which Gremory had been using as a prisoner holding area, had burned to the ground. Excluding the 4-star camel that had gone missing, Gremory didn't have a single monster subordinate left.
"What about the goblins?"
"I culled them all. Those bastards, they were the ones who pushed Jocamel Filters off the cliff. I saw it after poking around in here." Gremory tapped her head with her fingernail. Suddenly, Gremory felt terrifying.
"Don't worry. I'm not talking about brainwashing or mental magic. Even if goblins try to be clever, their intelligence is lacking, so they fold under a little bit of interrogation. I don't need subordinates who commit mutiny."
"I agree with that." Though, ironically, both of us were planning to commit mutiny against Solomon.
"So, a question. Why is your dungeon capacity so large? I pushed four barracks to their level limit and barely managed to exceed 50 people."
"Once you hit C-grade, you can unlock dungeon management traits. You're still D-grade, right? Then you wouldn't know." Gremory pointed her finger straight down. "You can build up to four barracks per floor, right?"
"Yeah."
"You know that third passage in our dungeon? The one with all the traps? Have you been there?"
"It looked like a trap, so I didn't step on it and went around through the ceiling. Why?"
"That's where our super-sized barracks are. The subordinates usually live there, and when they're needed, they all climb up using ropes. There are four super-sized barracks that can hold 100 people each. They're pretty shitty, though." Gremory shuddered as if the mere thought was repulsive.
"The 2-star and above troops stay in the central common area. The 1-star ones grow in the basement. My subordinates and I call it the 'shit-pit'."
"Because they're pieces of shit?"
"That's part of it, but do you know how much over 200 subordinates can crap out? It's basically a waste treatment plant down there."
"......."
Gremory’s subordinate welfare was abysmal. At the same time, it was enough motivation to increase their desire to become stronger.
"If you make them wash their bodies in the river flowing through the dungeon before they come up, the smell goes away. Hehe."
"You're incredible in many ways."
It would be meddlesome to criticize how someone else runs their dungeon, but Gremory’s dungeon was now a multi-dungeon under the name of an alliance. Therefore, I couldn't help but intervene.
"Let's pay a little more attention to subordinate welfare. Since they're crawling up from a shit-pit, they're getting crushed by our subordinates."
"Isn't that just because you're running around like a madman!"
"Then have your subordinates ever seriously injured even one of mine?"
"You son of a bitch, you're hitting where it hurts with facts." Gremory cursed and grumbled, having nothing to say. In truth, aside from the ghouls who acted as vanguard shield-bearers, none of our dungeon subordinates had been seriously hurt.
"Still, I seriously injured you!"
"Yeah, I recovered. And I didn't die, I recovered. The end."
If there was anyone who got hurt the most, it was me. But Meari’s healing magic was quite exceptional, and even the burns on exposed areas were treated cleanly. The Orc’s unique regenerative and restorative powers, while perhaps not on par with a Troll, were second to none. If I hadn't had that kind of recovery, it would have been difficult to handle Gremory, and the subsequent frenzy of the Wrath party. A burn patient should be lying in a hospital bed, not lying on top of Lime and riding Eila.
"Looking at your troop composition, I get the feeling. You're the type to swarm with camel monsters and gargoyles, then sprinkle in some goblins. A swarm-type. You've got a good head for magic, but your troop command is a total mess, a total mess. That’s why you got crushed even with five times the subordinates I have."
"Ugh."
At my barrage of facts, Gremory turned her head away entirely. She looked quite sulky, but she was probably busy syncing up with Arthur through her avatar even now.
"Forget it. You just focus on recovering your body for now. You might know more about dungeons than I do, but it seems you're worse at running one than I am."
"What is with you? Are you someone who got kicked out after being a dungeon master? Did you get another chance?"
"I'm a management genius."
The administrator even personally verified it. I decided to worry about how to operate the multi-dungeon later.
"Meari."
"Yes, are you looking for this?"
Meari handed me a robe that was heavily scorched by fire. The robe, which had been generated automatically as I evolved, remained intact even though I had set my entire body on fire. The blood of the Andras units that had been deeply stained into it seemed to have been drained away by the flames, leaving the robe feeling brittle and stiff.
Whoosh!
I shook the robe out once, like dusting off a blanket, and put it back on. Meari was still curious about the existence of items generated through evolution, but the person who could solve that... "Hey, Gremory. What is the nature of the items that appear when you evolve?"
"Those? Lord Solomon allows us to bring equipment from the future. You fulfill the strict evolution conditions and pull your future-grown power back in time using space-time magic."
"Oh."
"...Is that possible?"
I was simply astonished, and Meari’s eyebrows twisted in frustration. I placed my hand on Meari’s head and patted her gently.
"If you think about it, didn't you also reach this age in a matter of seconds?"
"...That's true. Yes, Lord Solomon is amazing—"
Meari was speaking playfully, but Solomon’s magic and system were no joke. Honestly, I sometimes wondered if I could even win. But there was always a way. Since there was a way, wasn't that why I was dreaming of mutiny?
I adjusted my robe and lifted my arm to the side. Then, Ryun jumped from her spot like a ghost and climbed onto my shoulder.
"Hmph."
"Let me ask you one thing. Where did you get such a High Elf? Through monster summoning?"
"I picked her up."
"......Master, what do you mean, 'picked her up'?"
At my words, Ryun poked my stomach with her heel. Even so, she twisted her hips from side to side, protesting on my shoulder. I grabbed Ryun’s sole and tickled it in retaliation.
"I picked you up after you fell over in shock at seeing me."
"That may be true, but it's a bit embarrassing, so could you correct yourself? Say you caught me to live with a cute elf."
"That's true. It's not wrong, so just let it be. I won't tell anyone what you said when you were first caught, for the sake of your honor."
"If you talk about that, other people will want to know!"
She had been so scared she wet herself, thinking I would actually eat her when I said I would. It had been less than two weeks, but it felt like a very long time had passed.
"Then I'm going. Gremory, tell our kids various things while you're with them. Especially Meari."
"...? Where are you going?"
"Our dungeon."
I pointed with Ryun toward the passage beyond, where the portal was located. "You never know, there might be intruders in our dungeon."
*
A moment later. I returned to our dungeon with Ryun through the portal. At the end of the long, stretched-out passage, the path was blocked, forcing a turn toward the cliff. I stopped in front of the passage that used to be a crossroads.
Thud.
I thrust my finger deep into the wall. The temporarily packed dirt wall was easily punctured. There was no reason to bring Lime to break it, and as I kicked at it, the wall crumbled down in an instant.
"I have someone who can't even discover this as my adjutant, so of course I'd crush you."
"You ignore me immediately just because I didn't find it."
"We caught the 56th rank, but it was too easy."
"Master, you were hurt like that. It was extremely dangerous."
"High risk, high return. It's a job I'll never be able to do again, though."
I tore down the partition and carefully made my way to my bedroom. Since I had scraped together everyone from Las Village, there was nothing in the dungeon except what I had built.
"Ryun, is there anyone inside?"
"...It doesn't seem like there's anything in the common area."
Ryun perked up her ears and drew her bow. She seemed to sense that something was off. There was nothing in the common area. But beyond the common area?
"Let's go a little further."
I strode forward. The iron sword, which had lost all its teeth while beating up Gremory’s forces, had become a perfect iron club for hitting anything. I would swing it like a home run if anyone got caught.
"Master, I think you're going too fast...."
"I'm walking like a thief in my own home, so I'm in a bad mood."
A thief who enters while the house is empty should be beaten, not something I should be walking carefully around while worrying about.
As I moved forward quickly, Ryun jumped off my shoulder and took the lead. "I'll stand in front. Master, you suffered a lot while fighting yesterday."
"I suffered more in bed."
"That may be, but could you trust your subordinate a little? I've become quite strong myself."
Just as Ryun felt herself, she had grown significantly. Ryun’s current level was 42. Since she had entered my dungeon, I could check a subordinate’s level instantly without even needing to touch her ears.
"What's the point of being strong? You still have a long way to go to hit 4-star."
"Still, Master, a little elf who knew nothing grew up to this point quickly, didn't she? This is all thanks to you. Hehe."
"Sure, sure."
We arrived at the common area. Fortunately, the common area looked exactly as it had the day we left. There were no traces of intruders. In the common area.
"......Sniff, sniff."
"Why?"
"I smell fruit from somewhere."
"...Master, did you call me to the common area for that reason.... Hehe, if it was something like that, you should have told me sooner."
Ryun grabbed both ends of her skirt and lifted it slightly. But I pushed her skirt back down with my iron club.
"No. It's not your scent. Yeah, this scent, more watery and sweet... it's melon...."
Ah. I ran straight ahead. The scent—no, this fragrance—pierced my nose more intensely the closer I got to the entrance. Ryun followed behind me, keeping an eye on the entrance to our dungeon and the signs of Las Village.
"Oh my."
Ryun noticed it too. I threw my body toward the partition blocking the dungeon entrance.
CRASH!!
After the thin partition was shattered, I rolled forward in preparation for any unforeseen situation and swung my iron club. Just in case someone was waiting in front of the partition, I intended to strike them down. But my iron club cut through empty air. I quickly scanned the surroundings, and after confirming there was no one there, I let out a sigh of relief....
Thump, thump, thump!
Footsteps were heard from somewhere in the familiar place. I carefully opened the door to the 'worry-relieving room' I had built for Andras (male). The wooden fence had been set up again.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
There, a foolish elf was stuck with her upper body inside the hole, unable to get out. Looking closely, it seemed the elf had forced her upper body in and her chest had gotten stuck. Even without seeing her ears, I knew she was an elf. Because it was a taste and scent I had already experienced once.
The elf seemed to sense my presence and kicked the ground with her feet as if happy. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!!!
The elf was lying straight, swinging her legs wildly, and spreading her crotch wide from side to side. As if asking me to catch her and pull her out.
The reunion with Luna was the worst.