The Slime Party Reopens (1)
A day had passed. I gathered my subordinates at the entrance to the first basement level—a passage I had kept blocked and neglected for over twenty days, located halfway between the open clearing and the waterfall.
The first basement. When I upgraded the dungeon’s facility grade, the first basement had opened up, but its entrance had remained sealed ever since. If I had broken through to the first basement earlier, I could have expanded the space and the garden, allowing for all sorts of facility upgrades, but practical circumstances prevented it. It was too dangerous.
The things lurking below the first basement were so perilous that I hadn't even been able to go down; I’d had to seal the entrance. If you asked me how I could be afraid when I’d already looted Gremory’s dungeon, I wouldn't have a good answer, but I had plenty of excuses.
"That day. I found the passage leading down and decided to seal it first. If a flood of slimes suddenly poured out from the basement, it would have been a disaster."
"You were scared."
"Of course I was scared. This is the old dungeon of Baal, isn't it? I didn't know what was down there, so how could I just walk in? I had to be fully prepared."
Even in this dungeon alone, when I first arrived, a 3-star Slime Dragon was sitting right in the center. Since I had even found a Dimension Stone while digging through the ceiling, I couldn't help but worry about what might be underground.
"If you were that worried and it turned out to be an empty space, you’d be a total idiot, you know that?"
"Being an idiot would be better. Hey, you didn't see it yourself, so you don't know."
Back when I decided to seal it and had the logs brought over, I was standing in front of the entrance to the stairs. And for a brief moment, I had made eye contact with something that looked like it was about to crawl up from the basement. It had fled the moment it saw me, but it was a shock I still couldn't forget.
"Unless my ears were playing tricks on me, I definitely heard a massive squirming sound from below."
"It must have been an auditory hallucination."
"You really don't trust me, do you? Should I open it up and send just a clone as a scout? Should we see what happens? I don't know what kind of things are happening down there."
Gremory shook her head in disgust. Even though she liked rough play, that was only possible because it was *play*; neither she nor I wanted her clone to be actually violated by a monster. Nevertheless, the reason I insisted on mentioning the clone was because of Gremory’s attitude of not trusting me at all.
"So, it means we finally have a way to check. Honestly, I had almost given up. But as luck would have it, the very thing that might be able to defeat the enemies filling the dungeon basement is right here."
I pointed to Guinevere, who was being hugged tightly by Lancelot, and Galahad, their child—the one who had successfully cleared the solo challenge just before the Andras quintet.
"Guinevere, Galahad, Meari, Ryun, and me. The five of us are going in. Other monsters take damage if they use Holy Power, so I’m organizing this with entities that won't cause friendly fire."
"Are you alright, Master? It is *Holy Power*, after all."
"I’ve been running around with my body on fire; Holy Power is nothing. It doesn't hurt me."
I’d even wrestled with Luna while she was buffed with Holy Power, so that was nothing. Besides, if I had the robes, the influence of the Holy Power wouldn't be a major problem. It would just be a slight stinging sensation on my skin, like a sunburn.
"I'm more worried about the others than myself. Did all four of you pack your gear properly?"
I checked the equipment status of Guinevere and Lancelot first. The two of them, having donned armor looted from humans, were wearing black priest robes over it. They were robes made from thread pulled from Andras’s feathers, crafted by our spinners.
"Galahad, if it’s uncomfortable, switch to leather armor. It would be better to at least wear it as an outer layer."
"I am fine. This is comfortable for me."
Galahad stuck to the suit he had been wearing since the moment he was summoned. It had some defensive capabilities for such thin fabric, but if it hadn't, I would have immediately turned Galahad into a heavy-armored warrior on par with Harsus. But since he wouldn't give up the suit, I couldn't force him.
"This is the combat uniform of an orc living in the modern age. And facing the enemy is no problem at all. I have my sword, my shield, and my Holy Power."
"...Yeah, you’re wrong on so many levels, but I won't point it out. I’d just get a headache if I started."
The only saving grace was that even Galahad had put a black robe on over his suit instead of a coat. The Andras-thread was surprisingly durable and had significant defensive properties.
"Guinevere. You are already Lancelot’s prisoner, so I don't think you’ll stab me in the back. Can I trust you?"
"......."
Guinevere was still in the state of a ; it was hard to see him as a fully surrendered subordinate. Lancelot liked him so much that I had given him freedom, and since he had no will to escape, I had left him be, but he wasn't a subordinate, so there was an element of uncertainty.
"This battle is strictly about purging the monsters. As a priest of the Goddess Church, don't even think about pulling any tricks. Lancelot, you took my daughter, so you have an obligation to contribute to the dungeon where Lancelot lives."
"...I, I didn't take her, I was the one who was eaten..."
"Ayy, shut up. If you want to make a younger sibling for Galahad, do your best today. Do you understand?"
"......."
Guinevere didn't answer until the end, but he gripped my iron mace tightly. It was a weapon I didn't even want to look at, so in the end, Guinevere decided to take it back.
"Master, don't worry. If he tries to stab you in the back, I’ll put a hole in that human’s head. I’ve already told Lancelot as much."
Ryun said something brutal with a smile. As Ryun said, no matter how much Lancelot doted on the man, I was the head of the legion. If Lancelot truly lived up to her name, I would have no choice but to treat her differently, but fragging a superior during wartime was an offense punishable by summary execution.
"Guinevere. Are you going to stab me in the back?"
"...At least for now, I have no such intentions."
Guinevere bit his lip and shook his head. It wasn't a very satisfying answer, but if we kept compromising like this, at some point he would be working for our legion. After all, the more you shave the corners of a triangle, the closer it becomes to a circle.
"Good. Then use the power of the Goddess given to you to its fullest and light up the darkness. ...Entering now."
Boom!
The partition wall fell toward the inner passage. Lime had collapsed the wall through the ceiling, and we shoved it aside and stepped into the first basement.
'Please, let me just be a total idiot.'
I hoped all the anxiety and fear I had felt while standing guard for 30 minutes were just illusions. I descended the spiral staircase to the first basement.
Entering the first basement level.
Unlike the first floor, it was filled with pitch-black darkness, and the human priest and the orc paladin illuminated the first basement with the silvery glow of the Goddess.
Kkeureureureuk.
"Oh, fuck."
A string of curses spilled out automatically. I grabbed the two axes hanging at my waist with both hands. My judgment to wait until I had built up sufficient strength before descending to the first basement had been correct. The four following me also immediately spotted the interior and took up combat positions.
"Baal, you son of a bitch!!"
Kkeureureureureureuk???
The underground clearing we reached via the stairs.
"Even if you're in a rush, you should at least clean the house before you move out!!"
There, a massive number of Slime Dragons were writhing like super-sized mealworms.
* * *
At the same time Pahuu encountered the horde of Slime Dragons in the first basement, the dungeon’s first floor was prepared to collapse the partition wall at a moment's notice, waiting for Pahuu and the paladin party to return as quickly as possible.
"It’s surprising, come to think of it. That this is Baal’s old dungeon."
"It is not without reason that it is overflowing with slimes."
Those standing before the partition wall began to bring up other topics. Because they had a strong belief that Pahuu and his subordinates would return without a single injury, they were able to set aside their worries for a moment and chat.
"Well, even during the summoning show last time, the slime ratio was ridiculously high."
"Isn't that purely random, meaning Master's luck is just aligned with slimes?"
"Really?"
When Gremory glared at her, Shaitan closed her eyes.
"Hehe, I heard something, you know...?"
"That is a baseless rumor. His system is precise and has no errors whatsoever."
"Right. There’s no way the system created by Solomon would have any issues. But you see, since he’s not here, I’ll be blunt."
Gremory scratched her head irritably.
"'It identifies the list of subordinates in the dungeon and dispatches the most numerous species.' What do you think about that?"
"That is a baseless rumor not even worth a single word of rebuttal. If that were the case, why would species completely different from the existing ones be summoned?"
"That’s why it’s suspicious. I only ever get Goblins and Gargoyles when I summon."
"That is because of your luck. The system is fair to everyone. ......Well, I am not in a position to know everything in detail, though."
Shaitan toyed with her tail and averted her gaze.
"There is a theory that the influence changes depending on whose magic stone serves as the foundation for the summoning facility."
"Is that so? Then it’s ambiguous. I took over someone else’s dungeon, too."
Gremory laughed slyly. Shaitan frowned and turned her eyes back to the partition wall. She straightened her posture sharply, as if to say she wouldn't talk anymore.
"Hey."
"What is it now?"
"Why did Baal abandon this dungeon?"
"......If it becomes widely known, Baal’s honor will be tarnished."
"I’m the only one who needs to know. Who knows? If we find out why Baal lost this dungeon, we can prepare for it. For example, maybe there’s a secret passage somewhere. Maybe Baal suffered a major injury because of it. What if the same thing happens to us?"
"...Indeed."
Shaitan fell hook, line, and sinker for Gremory’s sweet talk. Gremory already had Shaitan playing in the palm of her hand.
"If it’s a problem like that, it could be harmful to Master. However, I do not know in detail why Baal left the dungeon behind. However."
Shaitan pointed up and down the dungeon.
"There is a rumor that Baal had a battle in this dungeon with a hero who was a user of the Holy Sword, and although he succeeded in swallowing the hero, he could not swallow the Holy Sword, so he abandoned the dungeon."
"...The Holy Sword?"
"Yes. It is only a rumor, after all."
Shaitan shook her head and laughed lowly.
"Baal truly loathes the Holy Sword."
"...Then, could the Holy Sword be inside this dungeon?"
"Would you like to make a bet?"
Shaitan raised her head with a triumphant look.
"If the Holy Sword appears in this dungeon, I will grant one of Gremory’s requests."
"Do you know what my request might be?"
"At least, if it is a request that Master would allow."
"...Is that so?"
Gremory licked her lips, eyeing Shaitan’s wings and tail carefully.
"Fine. Let’s bet. Instead, if I win, you have to let me do whatever I want with you. I mean, I can suck your essence in your dreams."
"Master said that you taste terrible, though."
"You want to die?"
The bickering between the two only stopped when Harsus came running in a hurry.
* * *
"Wooooah!!"
I kicked the heads of the Slime Dragons that were baring their teeth at me. We were eventually pushed back to the stairs, and the number of Slime Dragons was overwhelming.
"Haa, haa...!"
"Are you alright, Father?"
"I’m fine, huff...!"
Guinevere had retired too quickly. He had enough stamina, but his total amount of Holy Power was too low to break through the enemy lines.
"Damn it, we caught nearly 100 of them...."
"I think there are still 900 more."
Ryun’s hands were also swollen. Even though she fired wind arrows without rest, the Slime Dragons didn't die in one hit. They were strong, with most of them likely reaching level 55, the 3-star level cap.
'It’s a good thing I sealed it.'
Blocking the entrance from the first floor had been a masterstroke, but unfortunately, with our current strength, we were getting gatekept at the entrance of the first basement. The Slime Dragons we burned to death with Holy Power or killed by blowing off their heads became food for other Slime Dragons, and the cycle of stronger ones appearing to attack us continued.
"Damn it...."
"Dad. This is no longer...."
Meari was also on the verge of collapsing, dizzy as if her mana had been depleted. In the end, I had to make a decision.
"...Retreat! We caught 100 today, so that’s enough for now!!"
Ryun and Galahad supported Meari and Guinevere respectively, and I blocked the stairs, beating down the Slime Dragons that were crawling toward us one by one.
"Uwaaa, damnnn it!!"
It was meaningless if we didn't purge them all at once. Because.
"Agh, damn it, stop eating the magic stones, you bastards!!"
I was too busy killing Slime Dragons to collect the magic stones, so the corpses flowed into the midst of the Slime Dragons and disappeared along with the stones. In the end, all I managed to collect were 12 intermediate magic stones I had pulled out with my own hands.
"Just you wait, you 900 intermediate magic stones! I’ll rack my brains and loot every single one of you!!"
I sprinted up the stairs. Even if we had caught 100, 88 magic stones had been lost. And those were just the intermediate ones. Sweat poured from my eyes.