The Guests Are Too Many (3)

Thwack! Thwack! Ryun swung her staff, thrashing the slimes. Having reached level 14, Ryun had become strong enough to beat down common slimes all on her own. 'I don't even need to be carried anymore.'

This was my fourth time entering the Slime Dungeon. Though it was only my third clear and fourth attempt at a full conquest, I had managed to roughly gauge the level range of the monsters within. 'The slimes are level 5, and the Big Slimes are exactly level 15.'

That was why the slimes and ghouls, which had started at level 1, showed explosive growth up to level 5, but their progress slowed significantly as they climbed higher.

Thwack! Ryun popped another slime. She wiped a splash of slime from her face with her thumb, looking almost refreshed.

"Ryun."

"Yes?"

"How does it feel to kill them?"

"Hmm... I don't really have any feelings about it."

When she first killed slimes, Ryun had trembled in fear. But now, she seemed accustomed to it, and she even asked me back with a look that suggested she didn't understand why I was asking.

"Are you perhaps feeling pity for them, Master...?"

"No. Not at all."

Killing humans had also become a numb experience for me now. I had been inwardly anxious that Ryun might suffer from PTSD after her first kill. 'I hate troublesome matters.'

"Ryun. Can you handle anything if I just give the order?"

"Uh... I would do anything if it were your command, but..."

Ryun hesitated, reluctant to answer.

"It's fine. Tell me."

"...If you told me to kill an elf or a spirit, I might..."

"Understood. I'll take that into account."

"Really? Thank you!"

Ryun bowed until her waist was bent and smiled brightly. It seemed she didn't have much aversion to killing as long as they weren't of her own race. 'So that's why the condition for falling into a Dark Elf is killing one's own kin.'

But I wouldn't evolve Ryun into a Dark Elf. To guide her lineage in the right direction, it seemed better to lead her evolution toward the High Elf route.

Thwack! Another slime appeared. This time it was a Big Slime, and Ryun showed enthusiasm.

"Master, let me try this one too!"

"Sure. Give it a shot."

A battle between a 1-star level 14 and a 2-star level 15. Ryun ran over and struck down with her staff. But because her speed was so slow, the Big Slime dodged to the side and bounced off the floor.

"Eek!"

Ryun sat down hard on her bottom while ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trying to avoid the Big Slime's attack. The Big Slime pounced on top of her, and Ryun struggled, pinned underneath it.

Crunch, crunch. The Big Slime began to gnaw on Ryun's clothes. I rushed over immediately, thrust my hand inside the Big Slime, and tore out a handful of its mass.

Kkeureureuk. The Big Slime died while still pinning Ryun down. A low-grade magic stone fell out of the mass of body fluid that had dropped next to Ryun's head, and Ryun trembled, her lips quivering with a stiff face.

"......I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

I wasn't at the stage where I expected her to be a combatant yet. It was enough for her to learn the experience of battle step by step. However.

"But do you not use things like archery or spirit arts?"

"......."

Ryun, who was brushing off the body fluids, couldn't answer. She was so reluctant to answer that she even frowned for a moment, so I grabbed her pelvis, lifted her up, and placed her on my shoulder.

"Forget it. If you don't want to talk about it, don't."

"...Aren't you curious?"

"Not really. If you can't use them, it can't be helped, and if you're not using them for some reason, that's fine too. We have this, don't we?"

I picked up the staff Ryun had dropped. Unlike the staff I had broken while grabbing the Slahole, this one was quite sturdy and hadn't broken yet.

"We can just beat everything to death."

"...The sisters in the village all use archery and spirit arts."

"Then you can become the pioneer. Do you want to try using a mace once? Crushing them by striking down from above has a wonderful hand-feel."

"......That's a bit much. But Master, I'm okay. Even if a Big Slime is too much, I can catch regular slimes."

Ryun demanded more combat. But most of the slimes had already been cleared out, and Lime, who was following behind, was diligently collecting the magic stones.

"That's enough for now."

Catching any more would only increase her combat experience, not her level. Ryun, Lv. 15. The conditions for evolution were now met.

"......Let's catch them quickly and go. To make you a High Elf, we have to get out of here."

"Master, didn't you say yesterday that you were going to test if we could leave?"

"I did."

I gripped my staff and kicked open the door to the boss room.

"But why would I just run away when I can beat it?"

I threw my staff at the Slime Dragon with a full swing again. Thwuck! The Slime Dragon was pierced through the mouth by the staff and died instantly.

"Wow...."

In one blow, the Slime Dragon had become a slime skewer. If I roasted this now, wouldn't it turn into something like a marshmallow?

"Then let's go back right away. It's annoying to leave from the boss room too—"

"Run. Lime, don't pick up what's on the floor, just come here!"

Ryun flowed down my arm. I hugged Ryun tightly against my chest, and Lime stuck firmly to my back.

"Returning to the communal area!"

I hurriedly escaped the sub-dungeon. And I checked the information on the intruders. 'They're the villagers from Richard's group.'

The strength I had learned about through Mei was that most of them were hunters who lived by hunting.

"Ryun, can you kill humans?"

"Humans?"

Ryun scratched her cheek and smiled awkwardly.

"If they are enemies invading our home... Elves stick an arrow between the eyebrows of everyone except their own kind."

"......."

Ryun said something very brutal while smiling.

"Then that changes things. Ryun, where is your home right now?"

"Here."

Ryun poked my chest with her finger.

"...Right next to you, Master."

"Understood."

I used the interception to gather the ghouls at the intersection leading to the communal area. The ghouls wandering the dungeon quickly gathered at the intersection. Kkeureureuk. The nine ghouls chattered their teeth, burning with fighting spirit.

"Buy time!"

Kkeureuk. Harsus nodded his head heavily. As I ran toward the communal area, I paused for a moment to issue an additional order.

"If it looks like you're going to die, run back to the communal area on your own!"

Kkeureureuk. No matter how low-level they were, I couldn't afford to lose innocent subordinates. I arrived at the communal area, and three harpies who had returned from fetching water were also waiting there.

'Slimes on the ceiling.' It seemed Lime had truly done a spectacular job; the slimes placed in every corner were looking down from inside the ventilation shafts, informing me of the dungeon's information via the minimap every second.

The slimes with higher average levels were scouting. The ghouls with lower average levels were fighting. Even though it was an ironic situation, I felt no worry at all.

"Ryun, are you ready?"

"......Yes!"

Ryun seemed to instinctively anticipate the future that awaited her, and I also steeled my heart. A moment later, Ryun's body began to be dyed in white light.

* * *

Kwoooargh! The ghouls swung their long arms, threatening the people. The arms swung by their large frames, well over 2 meters tall, were strong enough to shatter crude shields in a single blow.

"Don't let them get close!"

"Honey! Arrows!"

"I'll shoot their knees!"

But the rescue squad's coordination was perfect. Having lived together in the slash-and-burn village for a long time and making hunting their livelihood, they had hunted many wild animals, and that fruit was shining here now.

"Don't be scared! They're just skinny bears!"

"Watch out for the claws! They have some kind of poison!"

The hunters quickly grasped the habits of the ghouls. Their movements were fast, but their attacks were simple. The hunters fired bows and crossbows to stop the ghouls' advance.

Pababak! Arrows embedded themselves in the ghouls' knees. A ghoul that took three arrows to the knee fell to one knee and collapsed. Kieek.... The ghoul slumped to the floor. Arrows were also stuck in its shoulders and chest, and the ghoul shuddered and fell over.

"Village Chief! Hurry up and finish them, then help us here!"

"Damn it, I know!"

The Village Chief was busy swinging his sword, dodging attacks. He wanted to help, or rather, run away, but the monsters with red skin had skin as hard as stone.

Kyaaa.... Especially the red ghoul with tree vines tied to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its left forearm was quite troublesome to deal with. If he fought a little longer, he could have cut off all their heads, but the Village Chief's goal was to conquer the dungeon, not to deal with small fry here.

"I will break through to the inside! You handle the rest!"

"Chief!"

The Village Chief kicked off the wall and leaped over the red ghouls. The red ghouls were startled and turned their bodies, but the hunters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blocked the way and threatened the ghouls with their bows.

"These guys, they're nothing! Drive them together!"

Kkeureureuk. The red ghoul scanned the range. Then, it gestured to the ghouls and let out a loud shriek, Kyaaaaargh!! Suddenly, it began to flee in one direction.

"......?"

The hunters were flustered, but they moved forward very cautiously.

"Damn it, the corner twice.... Huh?"

They rejoined the Village Chief, who was panting for breath. The Village Chief's face was beet red, perhaps from being out of breath, and the twenty humans reorganized their ranks and stepped into the communal area.

"......What business do cheeky humans have here?"

In the middle of the communal area, a High Elf ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a cold impression stood holding a bow, welcoming the humans.