Chapter 16

It’s about time the DP has built up, and we can now start creating new facilities.

I decided to finally create a reforestation area.

While there’s also the option to use the accumulated DP to welcome new aquatic monsters into the dungeon, which would increase water resources and boost the variety and replenishment of fish for fishing, the current shortage of wood is a more pressing issue.

I could command the monsters to venture out of the dungeon and cut down trees, but that seems inefficient. It would be better to establish a reforestation cycle within the dungeon itself to minimize transport effort.

So, I’ve decided to set up a reforestation area in the dungeon. It will consume a lot of DP, but it’s a necessary investment to avoid future problems.

In this area, I’ll plant saplings that will eventually become wood resources. Although saplings require more DP than seeds, starting from seeds would take too much time.

As the number of monsters increases, so too will the demand for tools, and wood is essential for making them.

If I wait to reforest until after increasing the monster population, it will be too late. It’s not ideal to have idle monsters either.

With the saplings planted, let’s check on the reforestation area.

“Littleham! Are you there?”

“Yes, Evilham , what can I do for you?”

Littleham responded quickly. Having him assist with the reforestation process will be beneficial.

“We’re heading to the new reforestation area. I thought you should learn about its setup.”

“Yes! I’ll study hard for you, Evilham !”

“Good. Dedication to learning is important. Let’s go.”

Together, we headed to the reforestation area, where small saplings were already planted and waiting to grow.

The saplings are planted with relatively wide spacing, leaving the area somewhat sparse. But there’s a reason for this.

“Evilham , isn’t the number of saplings a bit low?”

“That’s intentional. I plan to organize the reforestation into multiple groups.”

“Groups?”

Littleham looked puzzled, so I explained.

“First, trees take time to grow, as you’ve seen with the blueberries.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“If we planted everything at once, they would all reach maturity around the same time.”

“Right. Unless there’s a nutrition imbalance, that’s how it would go.”

Littleham followed attentively. Among my dungeon residents, he’s the brightest.

If Littleham can’t understand something, it’s safe to assume no one else here could, either.

“If we cut down everything at once, there’d be no trees left in the area, right?”

“Unless we intentionally leave some behind, yes.”

There’s also a risk in leaving trees behind. Let me explain that too.

“Trees can grow indefinitely. If that happens, cutting and processing become harder, and large trees can hog nutrients, hindering the growth of others.”

“So, leaving trees unchecked would lead to uneven growth, and cutting everything at once would be the best approach?”

“Exactly. But then we’d have concentrated surpluses of wood, with long gaps in availability. You see the problem?”

Here’s the crux of the plan.

“First, if wood stockpiles, it becomes hard to use. We’d need space for storage, correct?”

“Yes, since dungeon space isn’t infinite.”

“Unused wood will eventually pile up, yet we’d still need to reforest to prepare for future shortages.”

“Since wood depletes over time, we’d still need to maintain a supply.”

“But it’s hard to determine the right planting amount if we don’t have a clear picture of our wood needs.”

Littleham thought it over and responded.

“Overplanting would strain storage, while underestimating would lead to shortages.”

“Exactly. So here’s the plan: plant Group A saplings. Once they grow a bit, plant Group B, creating staggered harvesting cycles.”

“Oh! So, when Group A is ready for harvest, Group B will be close behind, right?”

Smart as always, Littleham caught on.

“Yes, this approach lets us use existing wood while managing the sapling count in the next Group C based on current stock.”

“So, the storage space isn’t overburdened since the reforestation area itself serves as an extended storage.”

“If we sense a shortage, we can increase Group C saplings; if not, we can plant fewer. Shorter harvest cycles bring these benefits.”

Excess wood wastefully consumes DP, which is becoming increasingly valuable, so avoiding waste is essential.

Leaving room in the reforestation area for adjustments is actually the right approach.

“So, Littleham, we’ll need to monitor our wood supplies going forward.”

“Understood!”

“It would be risky for me to decide on the amounts alone, so I’d like to calculate the wood needs together.”

“Of course! Leave it to me—I’ll do the math and have it ready for you!”

If I make all the decisions myself, all the responsibility falls on me, and that’s something I’d like to avoid.

While this involves Littleham as a middle manager, he knows things I might not.

With the dungeon growing, it’s becoming too much information for one person to handle.

We’re already close to the limit, and expanding the dungeon further would push it over the edge.

This is why Littleham’s support is crucial.

In a typical game, the hero just sets policies, and the dungeon residents handle the details. But here, I’ve been reincarnated into the manager’s role, and I have to handle all the work myself.

Fortunately, it looks like the wood problem is finally under control. Solving issues like this, one at a time, feels pretty satisfying.

With the wood issue sorted, I won’t have any urgent problems to tackle for a while.

Which means I’ll be free to expand the dungeon as I like. Farming has been coming along well, so I might focus on developing the fisheries next.

Right now, everyone’s sharing the caught fish, but with more monsters joining, some might start complaining about the lack of fish variety.

I want to ensure we have enough fish for everyone eventually.