Chapter 94
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Employee Dispatch
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Demonkin who fail to affiliate with any dungeon all dream of joining one. And not just any ordinary dungeon—they aspire to become members of the most powerful ones.
The stronger the dungeon's power, the greater the Dungeon Master's strength, the more assured their safety. Plus, the blessings bestowed upon subordinates by such a master would be far more potent.
To those demonkin, a dungeon that was still practically newborn and thus expected to have few members—one that had massacred countless heroes and even shattered their alliance in the process—could only appear as the ultimate workplace... no, the ultimate dungeon.
Now, as news of the alliance's defeat spread across the entire southern region and humans began mounting fresh assaults, demonkin desire to join a dungeon had reached an all-time high.
"What do you think, Master?"
"I have no intention of adding any more subordinates."
I stated flatly to Alfred, who awaited my decision. No more increasing the number of residents inside the ruins.
"Erzsebet. He says we can't add any more kin."
"This is the limit right now, Master."
The shortage of personnel affiliated with the ruins had been partially addressed by absorbing some of the defeated alliance's forces. In that process, Erzsebet had reached her limit for creating kin, making it impossible to take in any more demonkin.
'If I really wanted to, I probably could...'
But with no real means to control targets of Erzsebet's kin conversion, there was no need to take the risk of onboarding new personnel.
"Indeed. The number of people you can bless is limited as well, Master."
"......"
Alfred, who believed me to be the Dungeon Master, nodded as if he'd expected as much. Of course, I wasn't the Dungeon Master, nor could I bestow any such blessings.
"Then what about those hoping to reside nearby?"
With direct affiliation off the table, Alfred inquired about the treatment of other demonkin.
"Boo-hoo... Our village..."
"Please, show us mercy..."
These were weak demonkin groups lacking the strength to demand direct dungeon membership. Instead of joining the dungeon itself, they sought permission to live nearby under its protection.
Dungeons like Low Garden often allowed weaker demonkin to reside in their vicinity in exchange for tribute (such as mixed-blood demonkin), placing them under their protection. Such arrangements were quite common.
Especially as dungeons grew to a certain scale, they couldn't sustain themselves solely on internal resources. They often kept weaker demonkin under their command to procure various necessities. With humans suddenly launching aggressive offensives, swarms of demonkin who had lost their homes flocked here.
"That... will require some negotiation."
It didn't sound like a bad idea. We could lend our dungeon's reputation, permit demonkin to settle nearby, and in return receive regular tribute. They could also serve as a frontline buffer against invading enemies.
The specifics of give-and-take would need hashing out, but unlike those seeking full affiliation with the ruins, accepting these folks seemed beneficial. Other dungeons often protected demonkin living within their territorial influence.
"Alfred. Negotiate with their representatives later."
"Understood."
I left the talks with the visiting demonkin to Alfred. I couldn't go outside anyway, nor did I intend to let them in here—it was the obvious choice.
'We're starting to scale up a bit...'
With the absorbed alliance forces and now demonkin settling in our territory, maybe we could drop the "newborn" label for the dungeon. Not that it was a dungeon to begin with.
To calm my complicated thoughts, I grabbed the slime I'd recently recaptured from underground and kneaded it soothingly.
"Kyuing..."
The star performer in drastically reducing contamination levels. Of course, I'd have to meticulously clean the areas it handled later, but thanks to it, we'd unlocked new functions—which pleased me.
'It even produces cleaning solution...'
I had no idea how it evolved or the underlying principle, but this slime, having ingested the [Cleaning Solution] seeping into the ground, had gained the ability to produce it internally.
And if left to its own devices cleaning filth, it seemed to have developed a taste for it, proactively seeking out and devouring contaminants...
"Want to be an employee?"
"Kyuing?"
Truth be told, I wanted to register this highly capable cleaning slime as an [Employee], but for some reason, no system message appeared above its head indicating it was eligible.
Stubborn. It wasn't registered, so despite the massive contamination drop, no points came in.
'Speaking of which, maybe test the new function.'
As I played with the slime like a stress toy, a subordinate's visit reminded me of a system function I'd glossed over earlier. I pulled it up again. I'd already checked [Lead Employee], so the one before that...
[Employee Promotion Stone]: Use on an employee to raise their rank by one level!
'This... isn't even in the [Shop].'
An item that simply boosts an employee's rank by one level upon use. One of the items from the Cleaning Game. It wasn't purchasable but handed out during collab events...
'Collab [Employees] needed this to evolve.'
After collab events with other games, the Cleaning Game sometimes ran events registering characters from those games as [Employees]. This [Employee Promotion Stone] was given to accelerate their growth.
Back then, it was restricted to collab characters only. This one had no such limitations.
"Does it work on 5-stars too?"
Curious, I opened the [Employee Management] screen and hovered the [Employee Promotion Stone] over Dry, who'd been reliably pulling her weight lately, intending to evolve her.
Can only be used on employees of 4-star rank or below.
"No dice."
I'd hoped for a possible 6-star employee, but no such luck. Let's see. Best to use on 4-stars if possible...
'Pandora and Lil are 4-stars.'
But using it on them felt wasteful. Employee rank growth adds a new [Talent] and allows higher-level cleaning tools. I hadn't given them any tools anyway...
'Maybe use it on Rio when she hits 4-stars?'
After some deliberation, I decided to hold onto it. No urgent need for a 5-star employee, so I could ponder it slowly. For now...
[Employee Dispatch]: Dispatch an employee to an external contamination zone.
"Tch..."
The [Employee Dispatch] function unlocked at 70% contamination. Similar to features in other 'idle' games.
'In Cleaning Game, you'd send employees to cleared maps for periodic rewards.'
But here, there were no cleared maps, and the system description felt subtly different...
'Let's check it out.'
I tapped [Employee Dispatch].
Please select an employee to dispatch.
The [Employee Management] screen expanded, listing all registered [Employees].
'No detailed explanation?'
I fiddled with the system screen hoping for dispatch details, but it only repeated the selection prompt—no info on what happened after choosing.
*Press.*
"Ah."
I accidentally tapped the top name: Aqua, blinking at the top as the current [Lead Employee].
Please select a dispatch location.
Treating it as a selection, the screen advanced, unfolding a massive map before my eyes.
"A map? Don't tell me this is..."
Outside? A map of the world beyond the ruins? That blinking spot to the south seems to mark these ruins...
'Most of it's fogged over.'
Excited by the map's appearance, I was disappointed to see most shrouded in darkness. I could only view the southern region where the 'Demon God's Ruins' seemed located.
Even that was mostly blacked out.
'Some areas visible, some not. What's the criterion?'
Still thrilled to see the terrain outside the ruins, I examined the map. The area around the glowing ruins was fully visible. Though most was blacked out, a few spots were clear.
'That direction... the dungeon the elves came from. And this part matches where Erzsebet raided.'
Does dispatching employees reveal the map? The locations of the three destroyed dungeons and Erzsebet's flight path were visible, suggesting as much.
"From the elves' dungeon to the ruins... Lil's movement path? Hm?"
Just a hunch, but it felt right. The path where Erzsebet's new kin had come from was also revealed. One oddity, though...
'Why is the center lit up?'
The map's center, depicting the continent, showed a massive city unmarked by fog.
"Still no progress on the research?"
"F-Forgive us. Beyond this..."
The continent's heart: Yukra, capital of the Holy Empire Yukram.
Priests, tasked by the imperial court with analyzing the strange new holy relic(?) discovered on Chris's corpse—returned via the Recall Temple—bowed deeply in apology.
Before them lay a spotless garment, utterly pristine. An eerie outfit that resisted every attempt at destruction.
"Experiments confirm it repels curses and flames, though weakly."
"Bloodstains slide off on their own."
"Ahem... No chosen one yet?"
"None. No signs of it selecting a hero."
The priests debated around the [Janitor's Clothes], once used to bind Chris's body.
Oblivious that, on some map being viewed elsewhere, the area near those [Janitor's Clothes] shone brightly.