When I Was Reincarnated into the World of an Ultra-Difficult Game, I Ended Up As the Sole Subordinate of the Ridiculously Strong yet Incompetent Demon Lord, Tasked with Creating a Dungeon
Now then, the dungeon’s monsters and traps should have been fine-tuned under Ananta’s supervision.
After finishing that task, we were walking toward a certain location.
Ananta had seen us off looking utterly exhausted, so she was probably taking a break by now.
“Oh my, Lord Rey. And Dikitis as well.”
The owner of the room we visited, Epiclesi, was apparently present and greeted us.
Well, since she’s basically always holed up in her room, I figured she’d be here.
…She must have been immersed in her research again.
Her beautiful hair was completely disheveled, and she had dark circles under her eyes.
“I’m here too~”
“Yes, I left you out because you always accompany Lord Rey, Ipiletis. But Dikitis—”
“What?”
“It seems like you’re getting along well with Lord Rey.”
“It’s just work.”
After working with Dikitis on dungeon matters, I realized that, for better or worse, he separates work from his emotions.
Whatever he may feel about me personally, as long as we’re working, there’s no problem.
“Oh, come on~ You totally acknowledge Lord Rey, don’t you~?”
“His ability to manage the dungeon is undeniably real.”
“Then, will you take back what you said about not recognizing him as an aide?”
“That’s a different matter. Lord Rey… should not be a close aide to the Demon Lord.”
“Still no, huh~?”
Even as Ipiletis teased him and Epiclesi questioned him, Dikitis remained calm.
Being an aide to Lady Fiona must be quite an honorable title.
While Dikitis acknowledges my efforts, it looks like it’ll still take time for him to recognize me as an aide… Wait, I’m not even an aide, to begin with.
Come to think of it, wasn’t Ipiletis actually the real aide?
“?”
When I looked at her, Ipiletis tilted her head in confusion.
This cute yet dangerous rabbit was just that competent, I suppose.
Since such a former aide was supporting me, I had to do my best, too.
“Oh? Were you just admiring my cuteness?”
“If you keep saying weird things, Lady Fiona will say even weirder things, so stop it.”
“I’m more amazed that you can say things like that to the Demon Lord, honestly~…”
Well, it’s just that I haven’t really seen her act like a Demon Lord lately.
The last time I did was… wait, no. When she mentioned being betrayed in the past, she was a little scary, but that was different.
When she acts like a Demon Lord in front of the reincarnators, it’s just that she’s not slipping up.
…Wait, could it be that the only time she really seemed like a Demon Lord was when she instantly took down Ido and the others the first time we met?
She never harms humans at all—Lady Fiona really isn’t suited to be a Demon Lord…
“By the way, was there something you needed?”
“Oh, whoops~ Got sidetracked. It’s my fault for being too cute.”
“Let’s drop that already.”
Since Epiclesi had steered the conversation back on track, I should get to the main topic before we drift off into discussing how cute Ipiletis and Lady Fiona are.
“I’m interested in your research, Epiclesi.”
“Oh? This could take a while. Do you have a few hours to spare? Is it about the undead? Or about items?”
She was way too eager.
Wait, hold on. No one told me about this. This must have been Dikitis’ idea, and Ipiletis must have agreed. Why are they both taking a step away from me?
“Uh… let’s calm down for a second.”
“Oh, my apologies. I got a little too excited.”
Good thing she was the type to listen.
If she had just kept rambling without stopping, I might have had to walk away.
“You’ve been experimenting to strengthen your undead, right?”
“Yes. Are you asking about the experiment details and results? Where should I start? There’s also the selection of catalysts, but lately, using items suited to undead species has been the mainstream approach. For example, that ‘Tear Crystal Spirit Bone’ you created, Lord Rey. That was an incredible item. I have a few decent ones myself, but I’ve been debating whether to use them as catalysts for new undead or to strengthen the ones I already have. I’m even starting to think that I should leave the decision to the Demon Lord or Lord Rey.”
“Okay, let’s take a deep breath.”
“My apologies.”
She talks a lot.
Alright, what she was just explaining was about a method unique to undead strengthening, so that’s not quite what I wanted to ask.
“Aside from using items, have you experimented with infusing magic power?”
“Ah, that? Yes, we have seen some results. However, the efficiency is vastly different compared to using items suited to undead.”
“So, using items is the best method, huh? That makes sense—both Pilkaya and Lipianem were strengthened through items, so I guess that’s the standard.”
Well, in Lipianem’s case, it was technically a weakening, but since she gained control over her power, it was definitely a form of growth.
Two of the Four Heavenly Kings were strengthened using items bestowed by Lady Fiona, so that must be the norm.
“But strengthening with magic power isn’t useless, right?”
“Correct. I gave up on it early since I wanted to use my magic power for other research, but the fact that it doesn’t require items makes it a convenient method.”
That’s what I was thinking.
Up until now, I had been using my excess magic power to create random facilities in the dungeon just so it wouldn’t go to waste.
But if I could use it to strengthen monsters instead, that might be a better use for it.
“I’d like you to teach me the method for strengthening with magic power.”
“Of course, I don’t mind. I can also teach you the item-based strengthening methods. Oh, and since we’re at it, I could go over how to select catalysts, how an undead’s traits change based on its environment, and even evolution methods—”
“That can wait until it becomes necessary.”
“I see…”
It’s a good thing she doesn’t force the issue.
Epiclesi properly explained only the method of strengthening through magic.
“Alright then, let’s put it into practice right away.”
“Which monster are we strengthening first~?”
“Soul Eater.”
“Going straight for the tough one, huh?”
Even Ipiletis was taken aback enough to go completely serious.
But I had a proper reason for this choice.
“If we strengthen only one monster from a group, like a goblin or a mist wolf, wouldn’t that be kind of sad?”
“I’m starting to lose my sense of what counts as ‘sad’…”
“I mean, if one monster becomes different from its companions and ends up being left out, that’d be unfortunate, right?”
“So you’re choosing the Soul Eater since it acts alone?”
“Also, that one is strong. Even if I mess up, it should be able to withstand it.”
“I see… Sounds good. Let’s do it!”
Apparently, my reasoning satisfied Ipiletis, and even Dikitis gave a quiet nod of approval.
With that, I started channeling my magic into the Soul Eater.
The process was similar to infusing magic into treasure chests.
The Soul Eater calmly accepted my magic—in fact, it almost looked like it was enjoying it.
“…Oh, crap.”
“What’s wrong? There haven’t been any failures so far.”
Epiclesi was keeping a close eye on things, so there was no problem there.
The issue was that I had poured in too much magic.
If I hadn’t noticed in time, I would have completely drained my magic and collapsed into forced sleep.
“I’m out of magic. Guess that’s it for today.”
With that, I checked the status.
Soul Eater
- Magic: 68
- Strength: 53
- Skill: 39
- Endurance: 58
- Agility: 50
There was only a slight increase.
Whether an increase of 1 or 2 across the board was significant or not was up for debate.
“For now, it looks like the stats did go up.”
“Yes, I can confirm that it was properly strengthened through magic.”
“But since the increase isn’t that big, maybe it’s better to focus on strengthening a single monster rather than spreading it out?”
“Actually, unfortunately, the effects of magical strengthening decrease with each repetition…”
“Huh… So eventually, the increase becomes zero?”
“Yes… Well, if you keep doing it over and over, there might still be slight improvements, but the efficiency is…”
Ah, I see.
No wonder Epiclesi opted for a different method in the name of efficiency.
It turns out that explosive growth through magic alone isn’t so easy.
“Guess there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Still, I managed to strengthen it at least a little, and it’s good to remember that using excess magic on monsters is an option.
…That being said, it’s getting strangely attached to me.
Maybe being infused with magic is actually a pleasant experience for monsters?
“Oh yeah, here. A little thank-you gift for your help.”
I handed over a bone I had obtained from a gacha pull earlier.
Fiona had said I could have it, but it was clearly an undead-related item.
It would probably serve better as a strengthening material for an undead than just sitting in my inventory.
“A-Are you sure!?”
“Uh, yeah. Neither Fiona nor I have any use for it.”
“Thank you so much! I swear to serve you with all my heart from now on!”
I get why she’d want to serve Fiona, but me…?
Well, she seems genuinely happy about it, so I guess it worked out.
◆
I’m hungry.
I’m hungry.
Master is calling me.
My body feels hot.
My body is warm.
The hunger is fading.
I am growing stronger.
The hunger is gone.
