The Dungeon's Evolution
I gave up on clearing the sub-dungeon boss room. The door wouldn't open again, so I led my subordinates back to the common area. Since it was such a fine day, I gathered every single one of my subordinates in the center of the dungeon.
"Ahem, everyone, attention!" I stood up on the bed and scanned the crowd. From those I’d recruited, those I’d summoned via magic stones, those born from eggs, to my own sons and daughters—all 41 of them were gathered in one place. Even though the dungeon master doesn't count toward the garden limit, the number 41 was slightly bothersome, but it was certainly better than having one less.
"I’ve gathered you all here because our dungeon is finally leveling up to D-rank."
"Papa, I have a question." Meari raised her hand first. It was just like her to be the most curious about the dungeon's system. If any other subordinate had done that, I would have ignored them and continued, but since it was Meari, I nodded with a benevolent smile.
"Go ahead, what is it?"
"Does anything actually change just because the dungeon rank goes up?"
"A lot of things change." The number of facilities I can build will increase, and the dungeon's garden capacity will expand. The things we can do through that will be endless.
"Specifically, in what way?"
"You'll have to see it with your own eyes. I don't know either. This is my first time being a dungeon master, after all."
"It's your first time?"
"That's right. Since it's come to this, I'll tell you why I'm trying to grow this dungeon." I spoke honestly. I explained the entire process of how I went from living as a slave soldier in another dungeon to becoming a dungeon master myself. Of course, I kept the details of my relationship with Eila a secret. I had actually intended to tell them, but Eila seemed quite reluctant, so I didn't.
"So, my goal is this: 'Down with Forneus!' I’m going to take revenge on the bitch who tried to kill me."
"You said Forneus is the master of the 30th dungeon, right?"
"Andras was the 63rd dungeon. If Master was just a regular soldier there, it must have been a fairly powerful dungeon..."
"Ah, well, I was a regular soldier there, but my specs were at least at the executive level." Since I took down the tribe chief, a named monster of the dungeon, in a 1-on-1 fight, I was probably in the top ten. I didn't have a proper weapon, but I gained the power of the tattoo, so my individual strength was about the same then as it is now.
"But it's impossible for me to get revenge alone. If I were strong enough to begin with, I would have rebelled against Forneus immediately. That's why I need you all to help me!" I shouted, holding my head high with shameless confidence.
"To put it bluntly, we’re going to devour all of the Demon King's dungeons!"
"Whoa." The stud hunters gasped in surprise, their mouths hanging open. Surprisingly, the others didn't seem to have much of a reaction.
"U-um, Master, aren't you a monster yourself? And yet you're going to make an enemy of the Demon King's army?"
"The Demon King's army is just a bunch of guys who became subordinates under Solomon's power anyway! Then we just need to become stronger than Solomon."
"But Papa, you're using Solomon's system, aren't you? Then won't we eventually end up under Solomon too?"
"Hehe, don't worry, I have a certain connection." Even though I had openly suggested rebellion to Estu, she had actually encouraged my defiance. I didn't know what her intentions were, but it meant that at the very least, she would turn a blind eye to whatever path my actions took.
"So today, we all welcome the change together. Everyone, countdown!" The time had come. I raised my hand high.
"3!!" No one followed.
"2!!!!" Again, no one followed. I felt awkward and lowered my hand.
"Do you guys not know how to countdown?"
"No."
"......."
# E-Rank -> D-Rank #
Estimated time: 00 minutes 00 seconds.
Rumble. As my hollow shout echoed, the entire dungeon began to shake as if there were an earthquake.
"Kyaaah!" Dust rose from the ceiling, and the harpies screamed, covering their heads with their wings. I jumped down from the bed.
"Everyone, duck!" All my subordinates lowered their bodies in awkward positions, and I rushed over to Line and Eila, pulling them into my arms and crouching down.
Rumble-rumble! The dungeon began to change. The shabby, old walls and ceilings transformed into neat, polished forms as if they had been remodeled.
"Master, look over there...!" Line pointed to the summoning facility. A massive amount of purple magic power erupted from the intermediate magic stones, spreading throughout the dungeon.
"...So this is how it happens?" I was dumbfounded but grateful. I stood up and straightened my back.
"Master, it's dangerous!"
"No, no. It's fine." Although there were still minor tremors, it wasn't as intense as the shaking of the common area. I brushed the floor with my hand, and the texture was much smoother and softer than before. 'It’s like it’s been paved.' If it used to be a dirt path, now the entire dungeon had become a well-packed, soft earthen road.
Then, a screen appeared before my eyes.
Dungeon rank has increased!
# Dungeon Rank: E -> D #
Rank Up Reward: 2 Monster Summoning Scrolls, 5 Monster Enhancement Tickets, 5 Intermediate Magic Stones.
"Whoa, hit the jackpot." A wooden treasure chest appeared before me. If the previous ones were just shabby supply crates, this one had a traditional design that looked like it might contain a mimic.
"Hmm... what’s the principle behind this?"
"If you’re curious, Meari, get strong enough to meet Solomon later." I took the rewards for the dungeon rank increase out of the box. Since I had been holding back my gacha urges until today, I finally had exactly 10 monster summoning scrolls.
"And there are 6 monster enhancement tickets too..." I looked around at my subordinates. The ghouls still had a long way to go, but some of the slimes (★) had already reached max level. 'Let's save them for now.' If I used them rashly, I might end up wasting them. Considering the loopholes in the system, there would surely be a specific use for the enhancement tickets at D-rank.
'The 5 intermediate magic stones are the same.'
"Lime, gather all of these for now." Lime tucked the reward items into her body. She seemed to hesitate for a moment when putting in the intermediate magic stones, but of course, she didn't do anything crazy like eating them without my permission.
"Mission assigned!" I divided my subordinates into pairs. One named character, one slime, one ghoul, one harpy. I filled in the gaps or overlaps by deploying the stud hunters, dividing the 41 subordinates into a total of 10 squads.
"From now on, go explore how the dungeon has changed. Each of you, go to your designated locations and check the changes! Especially Arthur, you go outside immediately and reassure the hunters!"
"Yes!" With my order, all the subordinates scattered quickly. I assigned each location to the intelligent named characters and instructed them to group two squads together as one team for cross-verification. Fortunately, everyone could understand that much. Three teams checked the front area of the dungeon, and two teams checked the back area.
'Surely nothing major changed just because the rank went up.' I hoped there would be no problems. With a nervous heart, I watched the dungeon's changes from the center of the common area.
"Phew, as expected, nothing has changed."
"A-amazing, Las." Suddenly, a voice came from the prisoner's cell. Judging by the fact that she added 'Las' to the end, Andras, whom I had locked in the cell, was kneeling with her eyes sparkling.
"This is my first time seeing a dungeon change like this, Las! I know well that you defeated my master, Las! Please, take me as your subordinate, Las!"
"...Can you not do that 'Las' thing at the end?"
"This is a curse, so I can't help it, Las..." Andras hung her head low. I was intrigued by the word 'curse' for a moment, sensing that there was more to the story.
"I'll hear about the curse later."
"Why, why is that, Las! I know what kind of curse it is, Las!"
"No, I'll hear it after I evolve you." Andras's eyes widened. As a monster from another dungeon, she seemed to quickly realize what it meant for me to evolve her.
"I will pledge my loyalty, Las. I will even lay eggs if you want, Las."
"Again, by sticking your body to the wall and shaking your hips?"
"......." Andras was silent. Then, she narrowed her eyes and twisted her body.
"I-if the master wishes, I can do it anytime, Las."
"You, you definitely need to be evolved." Mostly for my own visual stability.
"But for now, it's on hold. The garden is full. Oh, by the way, how did your dungeon increase its garden capacity?"
"Our dungeon doesn't have a garden, Las. The master had no intention of making a flower bed itself, Las."
"......." I just hope she gets a little smarter once she evolves.
After promising to take Andras as a subordinate—since the garden was full, it would be later—I combined the information from the squads returning one by one.
Ryun said, "The dungeon passage structure was the same! But the bumpy parts and the floor were well-polished, making it much easier to walk." Remodeling construction costs, what a steal.
Arthur said, "The dungeon entrance didn't have any major changes either. The earthquake only happened inside the dungeon, and it seems they didn't notice anything at all outside. Oh, and the place where the entrance collapsed? It has changed. Mother Lily said it was restored to its original state as if time had been reversed." Restoration costs, what a steal.
Lime said, "Lime says the ventilation fan on the ceiling is still there. She said the ventilation area isn't much different from when she made it." It seems even the system couldn't touch Lime's shoddy construction. Or perhaps the ventilation fan itself was an external factor to the system.
Meari said, "The back passage of the dungeon was well-polished too! It was so neatly packed that it made the work of actually carving the walls seem meaningless. Even the slope leading down to the river. If I had known this, I would have made all the slopes before the dungeon rank went up." That's a bit of a shame. Since it was currently only about half done, it was obvious that the remaining half of the path would be the bumpy road the slimes had eaten away.
And finally, Eila said, "I discovered a staircase leading to the dungeon's basement."
"W-what...!" I was genuinely surprised. A staircase leading underground. I asked Eila again, and then I took her and ran to the location. And there, on the passage opposite to where I had installed the portal, I found a staircase sitting right there.
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"......." How should I react to this? I gulped, and my subordinates behind me frowned at the existence of the underground dungeon.
"...Could something come crawling up?"
"That's why I'm feeling so uneasy right now." If Baal suddenly popped out from the basement, we would be wiped out. Of course, that wouldn't happen, but you never know what might happen in life. Even though I was the one who raised the dungeon rank, I wasn't sure if the place below was empty or overflowing with slimes.
"...This won't do, Arthur! Take the ghouls and bring some logs. We need to block this off for now."
"Are you saying you want to seal it?"
"Yes. Let's do what we have to do first." While I stood guard in front of the stairs leading to the first basement level, the other subordinates hurriedly brought logs. I set the logs up like pillars and laid them horizontally, smearing the gaps with plenty of slime dragon bodily fluids.
"Phew." After about 30 minutes of work, I succeeded in sealing the passage. I was sweating buckets, but I felt a sense of peace of mind.
"Master, was it really necessary to seal it?"
"What if the kids get curious and go inside?" I pressed my finger on the head of Line, who was hiding behind Lime. And with one hand, I grabbed the shoulder of Meari, who was backing away awkwardly.
"You two especially, be careful. Got it?"
"Yes...." Kkeureureuk. The two of them avoided my gaze with guilty faces. I pointed to the common area and led the monsters.
"Then let's all go back to the common area. We should have a party to celebrate the remodeling."
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean, 'what'? We can't skip that on such a happy day." I picked up a lump of slime dragon fluid myself and pointed to the common area.
"It's a festival." Let's put everything else off until tomorrow.
"I'm emptying the warehouse today! Let's eat, drink, and die with slime dragon mucus!"
"Uh, Master? If you eat that, your body..."
"Exactly!" I shouted, holding up a lump of mucus.
"Soak it in!!" For myself, who worked hard all day today.