Too Many Guests

Day 3. Morning had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrived.

"I’m itching for a Gacha pull."

There hadn't been any enemy raids, and I greeted another peaceful morning. 'If I pull now, I feel like I’m going to hit a 3-star.' I had magic stones overflowing, and I even had a Monster Summoning Ticket from clearing the hidden boss. Plus, I had secured a sufficient number of magic stones. Thanks to running the sub-dungeon for the third time yesterday, I had quite a stockpile, including what I already had.

I could summon almost any monster with this. Also, though I hadn't been paying much attention, the list of things I could summon with magic stones had increased.

'With this, there's no need to summon slimes.' Wouldn't it be better to just summon Big Slimes using the low-grade magic stones dropped by hunting them? There was no need to go through the trouble of evolving them.

'Ah, I feel like if I pull the Gacha now, I'm just going to get 3-stars like crazy.' Even ★★★ ones. 'I’d allow it, but would the System?'

"Master, are you already awake?"

Ryun was wetting her lips with the Slahole's bodily fluids, preparing for breakfast. Because I had woken up earlier than yesterday, she was looking at me with an awkward expression, gauging my mood.

"Hold on, let's do this first."

The flow of dungeon life begins with summoning. If that flow gets blocked from the start, it’s troublesome in many ways.

"Gacha!"

"Harsus!"

I summoned the ghoul unit. But their movements were all sluggish, as if they were suffering from an overload. "......"

It was frustrating. Extremely frustrating. Not only were their movements slow, but even the time it took for them to gather at the common area was lagging. 'Looks like only their physical movements are slow.' At this rate, if an enemy appeared, could they even intercept them properly? They could fight, but they wouldn't be able to pull off something like Harsus scrambling away during Mei's raid.

'I need to reduce the count by two.' Me, 1; Ryun, 1; Slime species, 11; Ghoul species, 9; Harpy, 1. 'Is there no way to reduce it right now?'

Usually, in this kind of situation, you’d synthesize subordinates, offer two or more as sacrifices to give ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠birth to a new existence, or offer a subordinate as a sacrifice to gain experience. 'Looking at the fact that no System prompt is popping up, I guess I can't do it right now.' If any of those three were possible, I could solve the problem immediately, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

"Hmm..."

When it came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to actually getting rid of two, it was a headache. 'If I remove them, the stars will disappear.' Should I secure 20 pieces of wood to increase capacity even if they’re a bit sluggish, or reduce the headcount to move quickly? The answer was the latter.

'I need to level up the summoning facility today and pull the Gacha.' There were 10 summons left to raise the summoning facility to the next level. Even if the benefits of summoning due to the level increase would only be available tomorrow, reducing the number of mouths to feed was the top priority.

"......Slimes can be obtained again anytime."

Ghouls are the same. Even the Harpy has a way to be obtained again. As long as I grind away the lowest-grade magic stones, growth is fully possible. But. "......"

The Slimes (★) were working hard to dig out the dungeon. Although they were stupid, they were all nearly level 10, and they were the main players who would expand the dungeon. The Ghouls (★) were also working hard to haul wood. Likewise, they were blockheads, but if given the chance, their levels would rise quickly, and they would haul wood diligently. The Harpy (★) was working hard at sucking my dick.

"......Damn it."

If you only look at efficiency, it's correct to discard them and pull new ones, but it's not easy to actually do that. It wasn't so much that I felt guilty, but it bothered me to discard those born that way just because their stars were low.

"I don't know. There must be a way."

If it were a complete dead end, that would be one thing, but it’s definitely foolish not to do something when there’s a way to clear a blocked flow. 'There must be a way to increase the stars, too.' Maybe it’s because my dungeon rank is still low that such facilities haven't opened yet. So, the plan to discard the ★s is on hold.

"Ryun, let's eat this morning's meal with lunch. Instead, I'll give you double the usual amount."

"Are you busy this morning? Are you going to catch slimes?"

"No. But aren't you a bit sluggish today?"

"......Now that I think about it, my body does feel a bit heavier than usual."

Every dungeon mob except for one person was lagging. Except for 'me'.

"Wait. I need to farm some wood."

I’ll just grab 20 pieces, build the barracks, and clear the bottleneck.

"Kuh-huh."

I didn't think there would be anything like this after the first day. I left the dungeon and headed for the forest.

At that time, the Slash-and-Burn Village.

"Let's go."

The village chief raised his sword with a desperate resolve. The villagers were full of complaints, but they had nothing to say in the face of the chief's desperate appearance as he took the lead and gathered his equipment.

"Uhm... Chief? It’s only been a day, shouldn't we at least wait until the afternoon?"

"If we do that, it’ll be too late. It might already be too late. ...I’m sorry, I can’t delay any longer."

The villagers were moved by the chief's desperation. Since the chief was the strongest person in the village, they were also swayed by his charisma.

"Let's go. Let's all come back and have lunch together."

The chief scanned the villagers and said, "Hasn't Kai's father returned yet?"

"Yes..."

"Tsk, that man."

Kai's mother collapsed, worrying about her missing son and husband. Everyone was worried sick because they might even lose the husband, but the chief was worried about a different problem.

'Damn it, I couldn't run away.' If I had the chance, I would have packed my bags and run away immediately, but I couldn't even run because my wife had been staying up all night worrying about Richard. 'If the territorial army comes, they'll definitely extort taxes, and the moment a knight comes...' Gulp. The chief's mouth went dry. He was a man who shouldn't be caught by a knight.

"Let's go. We don't know what kind of danger there is, but let's save the children."

In the midst of that danger, the chief would disappear alone. Without even knowing that, the villagers gathered their resolve and picked up their farming tools.

The chief and the rescue team. Those who left the elderly and weak behind left the village and set out to search for the missing people.

20 pieces of wood were collected. I sat down on the floor, sweating profusely. "Hoo, hoo."

"Master, are you thirsty? Would you like to drink something?"

"I don't have the energy to drink anything right now, so let me rest a bit, hoo."

I lifted the wooden cup filled with valley water that the Harpy had brought. Even if there was plenty to eat and drink, I had to drink cool water from time to time.

"Hoo."

I feel like I’m alive. The ghouls had been waiting in front of the dungeon and hauled the logs to the common area with heavy movements, and with Harsus, who had been guarding the rear, arriving, all the wood was gathered in the common area.

"...Then, where to build it is the important part."

Should I build it in the rear, or in the front? A barracks was a resting place for soldiers, but at the same time, it was a facility to intercept enemies at any time.

'It’ll be a problem if it gets destroyed.' There’s nothing more annoying than the supply depot being raided and the population being blocked. So, I had to build the barracks in a place away from my bedroom, easy to block enemy intrusion, and where the enemy couldn't easily destroy it.

'I have to dig a cave.' And I scanned the previously dug dungeon areas for a suitable place where the barracks (◀) could fit.

The location is right to the right of the common area. Since the sub-dungeon slimes on the left would naturally intercept, I obviously needed a place to intercept on the right as well.

"Ghouls, let's put in a little more effort."

I lifted two logs of my share. The ghouls moved to the destination with heavy bodies, and I arrived first, placed the wood, and received and moved them from the front.

"I don't have to dig?"

I came just in case, but as expected, it’s a system that automatically sets the foundation. I wouldn't be able to mine magic stones through slimes, but the barracks had to be built to solve these sluggish movements.

"Construct."

The logs quickly seeped into the walls. The entrance was blocked by well-spread planks, and the construction would probably proceed steadily from the inside by the System.

'It can't be helped that it's a waste.' I grasped the vertical width of the dungeon. But I hadn't yet figured out how much the horizontal width would be.

'So there's no need to be disappointed.' There is a sub-dungeon that receives magic stones regularly, and there is plenty of land to dig up and down.

"Ghouls, return to your positions."

I dismissed the ghouls and returned to the bedroom. Ryun was sitting on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the Slahole's bodily fluids, waiting for me, and she welcomed me.

"Master!"

"Yeah."

Tap, tap, tap. I had prepared breakfast for Ryun while walking, and it was cooked just right.

"Lunch isn't ready, but for now, it's a snack."

Ryun hadn't done anything, but shouldn't I eat a snack anyway? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ryun and I devoured each other until the barracks were completed.

"...Ma, Master. My mouth won't move well..."

"......."

From now on, I will strictly follow the capacity limit.