Slime Party (3)

The first run of the slime dungeon. My main focus for this initial attempt was Ryun’s growth. 'I can't tell how much experience she's getting since the system doesn't show it.' That meant I had to rely on trial and error through multiple attempts. I treated this first run as a learning experience and swept through the dungeon.

Crunch! Ryun brought her staff down on a slime I’d already stomped into submission. She was bursting them mechanically now; that was the 32nd slime to meet its end. Munch, munch. Lime crawled over to my feet and began devouring the remains. Even though the last one had been a large Big Slime, Lime shoved her head in and swallowed the magic stone whole before anything else.

"You absolutely cannot eat a single one this time. I’ll settle the accounts and give them to you later."

Gulp. Lime, her cheeks already puffed out from a stash of magic stones, nodded vigorously. I checked the stones inside her cheeks, and she swallowed them down into her belly.

'Ten lowest-grade, three low-grade.' Considering we’d killed about 30 slimes so far, the drop rate for magic stones was roughly 40 percent. 'I guess the monsters in a free dungeon don't drop stones 100 percent of the time.' It would definitely be problematic if they dropped stones every single time when you could run the dungeon three times a day. The daily limit or the non-guaranteed drops were likely a form of balance adjustment. 'I should just be grateful for a stable supply.'

I had to keep exploring. I did a mid-run tally at the point where we were halfway through the dungeon.

Considering I’d been carrying her through 32 slimes, her level gain was truly stingy. Gaining even three levels was a good sign, but as always, the higher the level, the more experience required. 'It would be different if she could kill them on her own.'

"Eek, eek?!" Ryun scrambled to dodge a Big Slime’s attack. I caught the Big Slime in mid-air and slammed it into the ground, and Ryun poked it gingerly with the tip of her staff.

"Ugh, ugh..."

"Get used to it."

"I-I'm sorry. This is my first time fighting like this..."

"Everyone's like that at first."

It’s embarrassing, but I was the same. It took three years of grinding to get this comfortable, but at the start, I was stumbling around and making a fool of myself. 'If Tural hadn't helped me, I would've lived like a dog.' A monster who hit 5-star potential from a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠6-star birth, and my savior. A guy like Tural wouldn't just die; I’d make sure to save him and repay the favor. To do that, I, my dungeon, and my subordinates all had to grow.

"Let's keep hunting for now. Ryun, try bursting that one."

"Yes...!" Ryun gripped her staff tightly and poked the slime that had been standing there blankly. The slime struggled before its movements ceased, and Ryun shrieked in surprise.

"Master! I did it!"

"Behind you."

Slurp, slurp. Two massive Big Slimes were crawling toward Ryun from behind the corpse. Ryun froze, then jabbed her staff forward. Thud! She managed to stop one, but the other opened its maw wide, aiming for her side.

"Not on my watch."

I stomped down on the Big Slime’s mouth. I’d put a bit too much anger into it, and the thing exploded.

"Ah..."

Ryun gasped at my strength, bursting a Big Slime with a single kick. She gripped her staff again and poked at the Big Slime. "Master! I think I can do it!"

"Sure. It’ll take you about ten minutes."

Crunch. I stepped on a Big Slime, and Ryun weakly shoved her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staff into its body.

"......."

"What, why? We're busy."

"....Yes."

We weren't in a position to be delayed by a single Big Slime. I ordered Lime to follow us autonomously and gather the magic stones, and I set out with Ryun to finish off the rest.

'There were exactly 50 of them.' The haul was 18 lowest-grade magic stones and 4 low-grade ones. Ryun’s level was now 9. Two more runs to go. I threw open the iron door in front of us.

'I got a medium-grade magic stone after catching the Slime Dragon last time.' I walked up and stood before the Slime Dragon. Smaller than the one in the cave, it looked up at me from the front and scurried toward me in a hurry.

Whack. I smacked the back of the Slime Dragon’s head with my staff. It flopped to the floor, and I stepped on its back and ordered Ryun, "Beat it until it dies."

"...Yes."

Ryun began bringing her staff down on the Slime Dragon with a hardened expression. As the blows continued, her hands became coated in the creature's bodily fluids.

"Haa, haa."

Ryun hit it again and again until the Slime Dragon stopped moving entirely. Her arms were trembling, and the Slime Dragon was dead.

"Ryun, come here for a second."

"Yes? Hya-uk."

I grabbed Ryun’s ear and checked her level. It was 12. It was a steep growth for a single run, but her stamina wouldn't hold up for a second one.

"No, I can do it. Master...!"

"If you whine, no dinner."

"...Actually, I'm at my limit. I'm sorry."

Ryun left obediently. I took her and Lime back to the common area. 'Once a day is Ryun’s limit.' She’s an elf, so I thought she’d be good with a bow, but unfortunately, we don't have one. So for the time being, she’d have to build combat experience with a blunt weapon. 'If all else fails, I'll just dump magic stones into her.'

I didn't know how much the remaining two runs would yield, but the ratio would likely be similar to the first. After letting Ryun rest on the bed, I reorganized the squad with Lime as the leader.

'I gathered only the slimes that could evolve.' Excluding the ★ slimes, I summoned all the slimes capable of evolution under Lime. My first subordinate, ★★☆☆ Lime. Two ★☆ slimes from my first 7-pull gacha. One ★☆☆ slime from the first day’s summoning scroll. And one ★★☆ slime I summoned this morning.

Slime dungeon farming, 2nd run. I planned to turn the Slime Dragon (scheduled) into a Big Slime. 'One run of the free dungeon fills it right up.' If I hog 50 of the 51 slimes excluding the boss, one unit can evolve immediately. Two chances left.

I stomped and beat the slimes to stun them so I could make the ★☆☆ slime into a Big Slime. Crunch, munch. The future Slime Dragon ate the slimes diligently. The slime, whose level had already risen somewhat thanks to Lime’s work, quickly reached level 14. Kkeureureuk! With the Slime Dragon, it hit level 15. The ★☆☆ slime met the evolution conditions: level 15 and devouring 50 of its own kind. I evolved it into a Big Slime.

2nd run tally: 14 lowest-grade magic stones, 3 low-grade. A total bust. 'The first run must have just been lucky.' I’d have to find the average with the third attempt. But I didn't want to make another Big Slime just yet. 'I still have daily summons left.' Two from the monster summoning scrolls, and five from the ghoul summons. I still had three summons left for today.

'Let's pull two more High Ghouls.' Since low-grade magic stones were easier to come by than I thought, I had to use them. I used the 8 I’d saved yesterday, the 23 I earned clearing the cave, and the 7 from the 2nd run to summon two High Ghouls.

"Ah, Death Knight-nim is watching!"

'★★Garsus, ★★Darsus.' I felt like I could run the whole thing if I just rotated everyone except 'ㅇ', 'ㄴ', and 'ㅋ'. With this, Harsus’s squad now consisted of two High Ghouls and six regular Ghouls. And now, the final gacha: the Monster Summoning Ticket.

'New monsters are always welcome.' Surely it wouldn't be another slime, surely not another ghoul. It was time for a new monster to appear!

Tap, tap, tap. I decided to trust myself this time. Even though the summoning scroll had a musty smell, I didn't think anything would go wrong just because of that. "Gachaaaa!"

The scroll tore, and the familiar smoke appeared, signaling a 1-star summon. "Damn it." Just as I was about to despair at getting another 1-star...

"........"

I cheered at the appearance of a completely new face, neither a slime nor a ghoul.

"Oh my, who is the Master who summoned me this time... An orc?"

A woman with brown hair appeared in the mist. The strange thing was that while her body was clearly human, her arms were not—they were white wings covered in bird feathers. A Harpy.

"Hehe, well, that's fine. I'll trust and follow you. So, what should I do first? Sing? Or hunt humans?"

"What to do? There's only one thing."

I grabbed the Harpy’s wings and pulled her down to the ground. Then, I forced her face into my crotch. "Suck."

New prey is always welcome.