Reverse Dungeon

Then, with a soft poof, the dragon shrank.

The red dragon, now only about the size of a large dog, padded over to Ian and planted both front paws on his chest.

If it had been an actual dog, the gesture would have meant pet me or hug me, so Ian reflexively hugged the dragon.

The dragon let out a satisfied purr.

“Yaaaawn... Mom, I’m so sleepy. I need to sleep. Don’t go anywhere without me. I really hate that now.”

Then the dragon fell asleep.

Its chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and soft snores came from its nose.

Ian looked down at the people crawling across the floor while he held the dragon.

They were looking at Ian too.

The question Ian wanted to ask was, What are we supposed to do about this?

Their faces seemed to answer, What the hell is going on here?

Sema’s question broke the delicate silence.

“L-Lord Ian. Did you date a dragon before?!”

Ian was dumbfounded.

“What are you talking about?! What do you mean, date one?”

“D-did you have an accident with a dragon...?”

“Did I give birth?!”

“But dragons are a magical species. There must be some way... Ow? Lord Ian, that hurts! Ow!”

The people had been looking at Ian with eyes full of shock and suspicion, but the moment he started kicking Sema, they all quietly turned away.

They seemed to want to claim he was not their lord.

Then he should respect that.

Though they were not entirely sure what, exactly, they were supposed to be respecting.

In any case, he had not done anything with a dragon.

Probably.

Even if the young dragon was calling Ian Mom.

Still, everyone already acknowledged that their lord was an extraordinary being, so the shock of this incident passed quickly without changing their perception of Ian all that much.

After all, Ian was famous for being a womanizer.

Even if he had met a dragon somewhere and fathered a shocking illegitimate child, it was not their place to say anything.

That was his private life.

The people sorted out their feelings.

Yes. Lord Ian is certainly charming. Charming enough to make even a dragon fall for him...

Could that be how he knew there was a dragon below us...?

They reached an understanding.

Ding!

[People doubt your romantic preferences.]

[People think you are a womanizer!]

No!

Ian felt like he was losing his mind.

In any case, time kept moving, even while the shrunken dragon slept in his arms like a dog.

Since they had even defeated the Western Demon Noble, there was nothing left to obstruct them, and people continued pouring into the dungeon after seeing the posters.

“Come this way! Newcomers, I’ll assign you living quarters!”

“Over there is the trap zone. I’ll teach you how to pass through safely. If you just walk in, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

Ding! Ding!

The dungeon’s population kept increasing, and with it, the dungeon’s growth rate.

The notification sounds came so frequently that Ian’s ears nearly started to hurt.

But it was a pleasant kind of noise.

Ding!

[Quest]

Reach a population of 50. [Completed]

Ding!

[Quest]

Reach a population of 100. [Completed]

Ding!

[Quest]

Make the dungeon a livable environment.

Ian was not good at urban planning, and he usually left internal affairs to characters who were suited for it.

Right now, however, his early progress had been so rapid that he had no internal-affairs talent available.

Should he put the quest off?

That was not what a great gamer would do.

A true gamer paid off debts when there were debts to pay and cleared quests when there were quests to clear.

That was what Ian believed.

Like a mountaineer who climbed because there was a mountain, Ian cleared the quest because there was a quest.

Construction Menu.

Ian called up the system window and pressed a section he had never touched before.

Upgrades.

Ding!

[‘Narrow Shared Dormitory’ has been upgraded to ‘4-Person Dormitory’.]

Ding!

[‘Crowded Plaza’ has been upgraded to ‘Circular Plaza’.]

Ding!

[‘Basic School (Low Level)’ is being constructed.]

Ding!

[‘Hut Shelter’ is being constructed.]

Let’s use up all the dungeon experience points.

As the cave expanded and new buildings began to rise, people scattered in alarm.

But the sight was far too spectacular not to watch.

Since Ian was staring into empty air, the people «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» nearby quickly realized that he was doing something special again.

Is he truly God’s messenger?

Louise’s heart trembled.

Was this not a miracle only God could perform?

He had always served Ian as a savior, but now it no longer seemed like mere personal conviction.

He turned to Sema, hoping to share his awe.

Sema opened his mouth.

“As expected, Lord Ian must be a wizard!”

Never mind.

Louise abandoned all hope of sharing the awe.

What could he possibly do with this man?

Ian, who had been performing miracles for some time, turned to look at them.

“Contacca.”

“Yes.”

“Sort out the newcomers with good physiques and put them through military training.”

“Of course.”

Ian stopped Contacca just as the werewolf was about to leave immediately.

“Louise.”

“Yes, Lord Ian?”

Louise nearly called him Your Majesty, but corrected himself in time, almost biting his tongue.

“Take the ones with archery talent.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ian was not simply leaving all the classification to them.

In the bustling plaza, he took charge of one line himself and asked people their names.

There was some profit in it.

One of them had the ‘Mana Manipulation’ skill, and it was 3-star. Not ideal, but good enough to use immediately.

“You. Become a wizard.”

“...What?”

“See that kid with the staff over there? Go ask him to teach you magic.”

“...?!”

The shaggy-haired boy went over to Sema, looking baffled.

Good. Two wizards secured.

Four stars would have been better, but Ian decided not to be greedy.

How many 4-star characters did he even have?

Three.

Louise, Contacca, and Momisia.

And then there was the 5-star dragon.

Though right now, it had about the combat readiness of a dog.

This was enough power to handle the mid-game.

Can’t beat the Seven Demon Nobles with this.

Can’t beat a dragon either...

But was that really a problem?

Just looking at them made Ian smile.

Sema, who was watching Ian from afar with his new apprentice beside him, spoke with a guilty expression.

“W-why are you looking at me like that, Lord Ian? I wasn’t thinking I can’t teach anyone because I’m bad at learning myself.”

“You need to study teaching methods for two hours a day.”

Ian nagged him.

He had already sent those trained by Contacca into the forest to capture lesser demons.

Contacca’s “friends,” the wolves, had also been assigned rooms inside the dungeon and had become excellent defensive units.

Ding!

[Wolf Mamool Habitat has been designated.]

Ding!

[Wolf Mamool Habitat 2 has been designated.]

Good.

The dungeon’s combat strength was increasing smoothly.

The upcoming monster wave should be easy to stop.

The problem is that the population is getting close to capacity again...

Try kicking out people who had come after seeing the posters. Would that not damage his reputation?

Ian’s reputation had already taken enough hits.

He did not want to be cursed any more than he already was, so he needed a solution.

That solution, of course, was to increase the maximum population through the evolution of the World Tree.

The problem was that the World Tree’s evolution now required an item called ‘World Tree Fertilizer.’

Do I have to go on an ?

But there was no suitable location where he could obtain ‘World Tree Fertilizer’ at this stage.

Originally, the World Tree was not supposed to be upgraded this early in the game.

But if that was the case, should the game company really have advertised freedom of choice?

Was that not deceiving the players?

Was it not tyranny by the game company when incompetent developers, unable to account for players showing their true skill because they had failed to level properly during beta testing, simply blocked them off by saying, “This is end-game content”?

That was Ian’s opinion.

Of course, even Ian, who had played the game diligently, had never thought about upgrading the World Tree at this stage before all these routes started overlapping...

Then, a strange voice came from outside.

“Anyone home? Anyone home! I’ve got something good to sell!”

It was a voice Ian had heard before.

As Ian tried to remember where he had heard it, the owner of the voice barged into the dungeon.

Ian’s eyebrows lifted.

“You are...”

Louise looked at the visitor with a wary gaze.

Sema recognized him.

“Oh, it’s the elf merchant from the temple!”

“Glad you remember me. Of course, no one would forget a face like mine.”

The elf removed his robe and smiled with his pretty face.

It seemed Ian’s flyers had drawn not only refugees, but merchants as well.

The elf greeted Ian cheerfully.

“How have you been? I’ve been looking for you for quite a while. Since you’re a regular customer, I wanted to show you the good stuff first. I bought something incredible.”

You?

Ian did not trust him very much.

Alongside Sema, this elf merchant was one of the characters Ian believed had chosen the wrong profession.

Still, because this elf might try to collect the World Tree branch he was supposed to receive a hundred years later, Ian answered with utmost sincerity.

“What is it?”

“Take a look.”

Ding!

The merchant’s bag opened, and Ian saw it.

[World Tree Fertilizer(S)]

Promotes the growth of the World Tree.

Was this the second time this merchant had brought him exactly what he needed?

This guy isn’t just an extra.

Ian was certain.

He grabbed the merchant by the collar.

“What’s your name?”