A few slimes in the dungeon have transformed into hot spring slimes.
Although the original species of slimes still exist, they live without causing trouble with the hot spring slimes.
They continue to do their work inside the dungeon as usual, and there hasn’t been any noticeable change in their work efficiency.
I still don’t know exactly how they turned into hot spring slimes… There have been no observed advantages or disadvantages to becoming a hot spring slime so far.
Well, I’ll continue to observe them for a while, and if there’s no issue, they can just carry on as usual.
“Phew. I think it’s time for a break.”
The monsters working on farming tasks start taking a break under Ryuzetsu’s instructions.
“I’m so tired…”
A goblin sits on top of a hot spring slime.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing, sitting on me?”
“It’s fine. You’re so soft and squishy, it feels good.”
The goblin sits on the slime like it’s a sofa, leaning back deeply. The slime’s body fits the goblin’s form perfectly, making it look like a very comfortable seat.
“Ah… It feels like I’m soaking in a hot spring… so relaxing…”
“I’m not too thrilled about you sitting on top of me though.”
The goblin’s expression softens, and they seem to be enjoying a blissful moment.
“Alright, break’s over. Everyone, get back to work.”
The monsters begin working again. The goblin who had been resting on the hot spring slime seems to be working more efficiently compared to the others.
“Etsa, hoisa.”
The other goblins, still not fully recovered from the break, move slower, while the goblin who had been in contact with the hot spring slime is as energetic as if the workday had just started.
What is this…? Could it be that the hot spring slime has a fatigue recovery effect?
“I need to test this.”
At the end of the workday, I summoned the hot spring slime and two goblins.
“I’ve got something I want to test. Will you guys help me out?”
“Well, if it’s an order from Evilham-sama, I don’t mind.”
The monsters agreed.
“You guys are tired from work, right? One of you, sit on the hot spring slime and lean your entire body on it.”
“Eh? Someone’s going to sit on me?”
The hot spring slime seems reluctant. I can understand not wanting someone to sit on top of it.
“This is important. Please bear with it.”
“Okay…”
The goblin sits on top of the hot spring slime and leans their entire body onto it.
“Ah, ohhh… This feels really good. It’s like all the fatigue in my body is vanishing.”
“Please stay like that for a while.”
I let the goblin rest on the hot spring slime for about five minutes.
“Alright, that’s enough. Now, I want you two goblins to have a race.”
These two goblins have similar physical abilities. The only difference is whether or not they rested on the hot spring slime after work.
“On your marks… Get set, go!”
The goblins start running. Their starting speeds are about the same, but the one who rested on the hot spring slime is running slightly faster. As they keep running, the rested goblin starts to pull ahead.
The goblin who didn’t rest seems to be slowing down more and more, likely from the fatigue.
“Hi, hii…”
“Huh? My body feels light…!?”
“Alright, that’s enough… I’ve figured something out. If you rest by having the hot spring slime cling to your body, it improves the effectiveness of the break. It has a fatigue recovery effect.”
Hot springs also have a fatigue recovery effect. However, if you can easily recover fatigue just by attaching a moving slime-like hot spring to your body, that’s very convenient.
“I see. I didn’t know I had such an effect…!”
If the hot spring slime is used effectively, it might increase work efficiency even further.
The fatigue recovery effect could also help prevent accidents during work. Overwork is one of the causes of incidents, after all.
In that case, would it be a good idea to mass-produce hot spring slimes? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to submerge most of the slimes in hot springs and aim for mutations.
“By the way, hot spring slime. Aren’t you tired?”
“Hmmm. I don’t really feel tired or anything. After all, I’m a slime.”
I don’t really get what “slimes don’t get tired” means… but it seems like there’s no concern about the hot spring slime’s own fatigue.
A simple fatigue recovery spot. Hot spring slimes. This could become a trend.
Actually, I’m starting to think it might be a good idea to have the hot spring slime focus solely on relaxation work.
“Hot spring slime. Can you focus on the job of recovering everyone’s fatigue from now on?”
“Ehh? I don’t want to.”
“Quick response there.”
“Because, I don’t like having monsters sit on me.”
Well, if it’s something it dislikes, I guess I can’t force it. It wouldn’t be good to make it do something against its will.
“Wait… Hold on. Hot spring slime, what if you try sitting on top of the monsters instead?”
“Sit on them…?”
“Yeah, exactly. The monsters usually lie face down, right? Then, you can sit on their back and give them a massage. How about that?”
I think this is a great idea. If the one receiving the massage is the one lying down, it should work fine.
The one receiving the massage will likely endure being sat on for the sake of fatigue recovery. Probably.
“Well, I’m fine with that.”
“Alright, then, the goblin who didn’t rest earlier. Lie down on your stomach here for me.”
“Okay.”
The goblin lies face down, and the hot spring slime sits on top of them.
“Ahh… My back is starting to warm up. This feels so soothing.”
The goblin shows no signs of discomfort and has a blissful expression.
I think I’ve got it. The relaxation effect of the hot spring slime. If I use this, the monsters’ fatigue recovery speed will likely increase even more.
It’s something that can be done in the middle of a short break. There’s no time to go soak in a hot spring during break time.
“Alright, hot spring slime. From now on, let’s use this method to keep recovering the monsters’ fatigue!”
“Okay! I got it!”
Thus, the hot spring slime was assigned a new task.
“Evilham-sama. Recently, the production efficiency has been improving.”
Littleham has been watching the monsters’ work and summarizing the data.
According to the data, work efficiency has clearly increased.
“Yeah, that’s true. Ryuzetsu became the leader of the farming department, and the fatigue recovery effect from the hot spring slime has allowed the monsters to work with more ease.”
“This will make the next harvest festival even more exciting.”
At this pace, the harvest yield will likely increase dramatically. That would also widen the possibilities for the activities during the harvest festival.
That means the monsters will be more satisfied, and DP will increase even further.
This will also lead to a chance to further develop the dungeon.
So far, we’ve been steadily progressing the dungeon. It’s just a matter of solving the issues one by one.
Right now, there’s no major problem that requires urgent attention. That’s why I can develop the dungeon more freely from here on out.
Moving forward, I need to carefully consider the direction the dungeon should take, or the development might stagnate.
From here on, my sense will truly be put to the test.
The options are to further develop agriculture, gather ores for tools and equipment in the mining department, or secure aquatic resources and start fishing.
The many choices create a dilemma. But that’s also what makes developing the dungeon ahead exciting.
The time spent pondering the path forward is important in itself.
