“Mana finally hit 30…”
Izumi Rei — Mana: 30 / Strength: 14 / Technique: 21 / Fortitude: 20 / Agility: 17
I noticed my stats had gone up again.
Probably from restoring the auxiliary dungeon — the intruders and goblins fighting each other is doing the work.
The Dungeon Master skill really is something. That goddess — who does she think she’s calling a dud? This is an incredible ability.
Well, I can guess what she meant.
Creating monsters and traps in a dungeon — that’s the demon side’s toolkit, is what she was trying to say.
But even so, it could have been useful for dungeon exploration too. She was a remarkably prejudiced goddess.
“Might as well really go all out this time…”
“Rei going all out — I’m looking forward to this. It’ll be something.”
“Forgive me for saying so, but… if the difficulty becomes too extreme, won’t it draw the kingdom’s attention?”
“Probably fine? Those guys are all brawn. Something like this would just look like a good place to show off their strength.”
Beast-kin seem like a muscle-first type of people. Or just a species that loves to fight.
Either way, a somewhat unusual dungeon probably won’t stop them — they’ll keep challenging it regardless.
The concern is less that they’re reckless and more that sheer force might carry them through monsters and traps alike, but a decent boss at the end should be satisfying enough to send them home happy.
Create Branching Path: Mana Cost 5
A single corridor would get congested with intruders, so branch the path first.
But just corridors alone feels uninspired. Come to think of it, there was that option…
Oil-Slicked Path: Mana Cost 5
Beast-kin moving through this will lose their footing and slow down.
Ideally I’d sweep them with monsters while they’re scrambling, but the monsters would have the same problem on slippery ground.
…Actually — I could put monsters in there that wouldn’t be affected.
Create Poison Bat: Mana Cost 5
Normally a low-tier monster that gets taken out easily, but swarming around in an area where everyone can barely move? That’s going to be miserable.
Poison on top of it — should do a fine job as a harassment element.
Oh, right. No need to limit myself to monsters.
Traps could sweep through a corridor like that even more efficiently.
…Oil-soaked floor. In that case, would this particular trap be more effective than usual?
Fireball: Mana Cost 5
…I got carried away and overspent.
Almost lost consciousness again.
Though this really drives home how fast mana disappears when you try to build a dungeon all at once, even with stats that feel meaningfully higher.
I still need more mana. Or faster recovery. Or some way to stockpile the dungeon’s ambient mana.
“Rei~. Another miss~… please make a chest~…”
“Oh — yes, of course.”
I was deep in thought when Lady Fiona’s forlorn voice reached me, and I made a chest on reflex before thinking.
And then the darkness took me.
◇
“Yes… yes, I understand, I’m reflecting. Yes, I’m sorry…”
“Oh — you’re awake~?”
I came to with Pilukaya peering down at my face.
Behind him: Lady Fiona sitting formally upright, quietly repeating her apologies, and Primila delivering what appeared to be a thorough lecture.
“Demon Lord~ Rei’s awake~”
“Are you alright?! I’m so sorry — I asked without thinking, and now—”
“No, I was the one using mana without thinking. I’m your subordinate, Lady Fiona — please ask me for things whenever you need.”
“Rei…”
I’m going to develop a reflex for flattery at moments like this.
The words came out naturally this time.
But Lady Fiona’s expression brightened, so it’s hard to call it wrong.
“That said — Rei-sama losing consciousness disrupts dungeon management. My liege, please don’t lean on Rei-sama too heavily.”
“I… I know…”
Though honestly, there’s a certain efficiency to this.
When I run out of mana there’s nothing else I can do anyway, and when I wake up it’s fully recovered.
Running completely dry, sleeping it off, waking up and doing it again — that’s not a bad cycle in theory.
…Lady Fiona and Primila would never allow it, though.
“The dungeon isn’t finished yet, so I’m going to keep going.”
“Please don’t push yourself…”
“I’m fine. Mana came back while I was out.”
Alright — I’d gotten as far as branching the paths.
One of them was now slippery, had monsters, and had a trap. Quite the obstacle course.
Which means everyone would just take the other path.
So I need to put something worthwhile at the end of the oil path as compensation.
A few chests scattered in… and if beast-kin love to fight, maybe a strong monster at the end would actually appeal to them?
Create Intermediate Monster: Mana Cost 10
I’ve been planning to put together a roster of tougher monsters anyway — might as well try this now.
Recovered mana means three uses. But the third would knock me out and earn me another lecture, so two.
The burn rate really is rough.
Should I just dip into the dungeon’s own mana reserves?
I can’t expect to pull good monsters in only two tries…
Stop. I’m starting to think like Lady Fiona.
I’m going to be creating monsters many more times, and I want to keep the dungeon’s ambient mana in reserve. I cannot be the one to fall into the monster gacha spiral.
“Still… would be nice to get something good.”
Standing here deliberating is just wasting mana anyway.
Two uses of intermediate monster creation.
Basilisk — Mana: 42 / Strength: 11 / Technique: 5 / Fortitude: 20 / Agility: 39 Gargoyle — Mana: 51 / Strength: 57 / Technique: 47 / Fortitude: 65 / Agility: 48
…These might be good pulls.
No — I’m not using terms like good pull or bad pull. That way of thinking leads somewhere dangerous.
The Basilisk is a black eight-legged lizard — different species from the giant lizard that chased me, apparently.
Given the name, it probably has poison or some equivalent, like the Toxic Slime.
The Gargoyle is a stone-bodied demon with a fearsome face — clearly sturdy just to look at.
Heavy build, but apparently capable of flight, which means placing it on the oil path would make it a nightmare opponent.
…I’m not actually going to do that, though. No need to make that path completely impassable.
Either way, both should be considerably more troublesome than anything in the current roster.
And now that I’ve created each once, the same types can be called again for the mana cost.
Create Basilisk: Mana Cost 10 Create Gargoyle: Mana Cost 20
So the Gargoyle is upper-tier material, cost-wise.
Which means when the advanced monster creation eventually unlocks, it’ll run 20 mana per use…
I really need this dungeon generating substantial mana and experience.
“…A Gargoyle. You’re getting access to stronger and stronger monsters.”
“High mana cost means I can’t spam them, but they should be fine for deeper placement.”
“Not up to my level~ but as a boss? Probably good enough.”
Thank goodness it’s not on par with the Four Heavenly Kings.
Though that also means Heroes could take it down without too much trouble.
The beast-kin might charge in recklessly, but push things too far and it could still bring a Hero to the dungeon.
Best to build first, then watch carefully to see what kind of challengers actually show up.
There are other things I want to try too.
The Maze creation costs the same mana as an advanced monster — the effect should be proportional. Tempting.
…Maybe just one section to see how it works.
I need to understand what it does in practice. Testing is important — there’s really no choice.
This is absolutely not a waste of mana.