“Seems like it hasn’t increased after all.”
“What happened?”
It seems Fiona-sama heard my mutterings as she tilted her head while holding a treasure chest in one hand.
…She’s strong, isn’t she? As expected, her physical strength is on a different level.
“I was wondering if, like us, the dungeon’s magical energy would increase over time, but it seems that’s not the case.”
“We…?”
She seems to have picked up on something odd.
I said it like that because both Fiona-sama and I recover our magical energy over time, but maybe she doesn’t like being grouped with me…?
Primilla-san also seems a bit surprised by what I said.
I may have made a careless remark. I’ll have to be more careful next time.
“Ahem… Well, as for the dungeon’s magical energy, it only recovers naturally enough to maintain the dungeon. So, each time it recovers, it should be consumed.”
“In that case, it seems difficult to store up the dungeon’s magical energy without intruders, doesn’t it…?”
“Shall I stand at the entrance and defeat the intruders one by one?”
“No, that’s not a good idea.”
I reflexively denied Fiona-sama’s outrageous suggestion.
I didn’t get scolded, which was good, but for some reason, she seemed a bit down, and that made me feel bad.
“Um… It might be dangerous, as there could be other heroes besides humans and beastmen, and with resurrection potions available, even heroes we’ve already defeated might come back.”
“Did you make that suggestion with my well-being in mind…?”
“Yes, I can’t afford to lose you, Fiona-sama.”
“I-I see! Then, I suppose it can’t be helped!”
Indeed, the difference in our stats was literally astronomical.
But, this is a game world, and Fiona-sama is the final boss.
While the difficulty might be incredibly high, it’s not an impossible game to clear.
If that’s the case, then there must be a way to defeat Fiona-sama, even with her overwhelming strength.
Since there’s a possibility of losing, it’s best to keep Fiona-sama’s information hidden.
After multiple challenges, I can’t say for sure that her weaknesses haven’t been discovered.
“I need to correct one thing.”
It seems that Primilla-san had been silently listening to our conversation, waiting for the right moment to speak.
“Even without resurrection potions, human heroes and the strongest warriors of the beastmen will come back to life.”
“Huh, really?”
“The strongest beings of each race, those who have received the blessing of the gods, are heroes. One of the blessings includes resurrection after death.”
I see… So it’s like a “continue” after a game over.
If that’s the case, those beastmen might keep coming back to challenge us…
“However, their strength will be weakened after death, so they probably won’t attack the underground demon realm so quickly.”
It seems like their levels drop after death, so that provides some peace of mind.
At least it should take some time for those beastmen to regain their strength through training or leveling up.
Levels, huh… I wonder if I can level up too.
Now that I think about it, why did my stats go up earlier?
Could it be that I leveled up by using my skills so much as a Dungeon Master?
“Lord Demon King, you should stay on the throne, and I will handle the intruders at the entrance.”
“That’s unfair…”
“No, it’s just that I can’t afford to lose you easily, Primilla-san. If possible, I think the entrance should be handled by someone else…”
Now that I think about it, I’ve only been testing the treasure chests, but there are actually two more menus unlocked.
“What’s wrong? Rey?”
“I just want to try something.”
My magic power… seems to be fine. I have 5 stored up.
In that case, let’s select it.
Monster Creation: Consumes 5 Magic Power.
When I selected the menu, a mass of flesh appeared in front of me, changing into a creature-like form.
It’s not humanoid. But its body is huge, bigger than anyone here.
Once it fully formed, it let out a sound like a cry, as if it had been given life.
“It’s a Dungeon Crawler. I never thought I could create monsters…”
Before I could even question it, Fiona-sama told me its name.
The large blue caterpillar-like monster didn’t seem to be a threat to us and appeared to be an ally.
“Uh, Dungeon Crawler?”
It responded with a creaking sound. Does that mean it answered?
“Can you wait at the dungeon entrance and repel the intruders?”
The large creature nodded its head and started wriggling away.
…What should I do? It’s starting to look kind of cute.
Oh, and there are new icons. I can check its stats, so let’s take a look.
Dungeon Crawler
Magic Power: 10
Strength: 23
Skill: 7
Toughness: 30
Agility: 19
…Everything is higher than mine.
I have less skill than a caterpillar…?
“If I create more of them, do you think they could fend off the intruders?”
“Well, we’ve already defeated the heroes of various countries. Until they regain their strength, only scouts, adventurers, or wild monsters are likely to intrude, so I think it’ll be fine.”
Right now, it feels like we’re in a preparation period.
In that case, rather than staying cooped up here, I want to take some risks and increase the dungeon’s magical energy.
Maybe I’ll create a few more monsters and try resetting the walls that were blocking the dungeon.
If any dangerous intruders show up, I’ll quickly create more walls to seal the entrance.
And then, unfortunately, Fiona-sama or Primilla-san will have to defeat them.
“Oh, the Dungeon Crawler has been added to the menu.”
Dungeon Crawler Creation: Consumes 5 Magic Power.
So, once a monster is created, I can create it again from here.
But, there wasn’t such a function for items…
Since I’m only creating treasure chests, the contents probably depend on the magic power.
Wait a minute. Unlike treasure chests, monsters can’t be “refilled” once created.
I can’t inject magic power into them, so I can’t create stronger monsters, right?
I want to test that, but I don’t want to waste the dungeon’s magic power.
It’s a bit frustrating. I wish my magic power would go up more.
◇
“It seems that monsters are randomly created when using the Monster Creation.”
“Once a monster is created, you can select it again, right? If so, that’s truly exceptional power.”
“Yes. It’s just like the Demon King.”
Since then, I tried creating monsters several times.
As a result, I created two Kobold Lords, one Toxic Slime, and another Dungeon Crawler.
The names are long, and they do seem a bit stronger than usual, but whether they’re a hit or a miss can’t be known until I try them.
Actually, I ended up getting another Dungeon Crawler, and it felt like I was pulling from a monster gacha.
“Anyway, would it be okay to try removing the wall at the entrance?”
“Yes, I leave the dungeon up to you. Please do as you think best.”
That makes me nervous…
But, since neither Fiona-sama nor Primilla -san are against it, I should be fine to try it this time.
…I hope I can defeat that giant lizard that was chasing me. I wonder how it will go.
◇
“Hey, the entrance is open!”
“What should we do? Should we go in?”
“Someone might have already gone in and explored. If we don’t hurry, they might have already collected all the treasures.”
Adventurers. Those are people who, without belonging to any nation, have explored various uncharted lands using only their own strength.
Even as NPCs in a game, they’re not easily classified as weak, as surviving solely on their own strength might be proof of their abilities.
“T-Toxic Slime!? Run…”
As they stepped into the dungeon, they were greeted by a baptism of poison that robbed them of both mind and body.
The fate of the fallen adventurers was only one of two options.
They would either be sliced apart by the Kobold Lord or crushed by the Dungeon Crawler. That was all…
