A dungeon story.
What the hell is this?
I'm a fat orc who fell into a dungeon system world.
"I was living as a slave warrior in a world where you're supposed to be a dungeon master, no wonder the system didn't appear."
If they'd explained a bit more kindly, I would've escaped ages ago. After pouring out a torrent of curses at the Grim Reaper, I reached toward the arrow the system's marker was pointing at.
A sheer cliff. And thick foliage on that cliff. I pushed through the foliage and stuck my hand into the vines.
"Hey Eila, see this? This is our new home."
Only after tearing the thick ivy vines left and right did an entrance open, and I entered the cave carrying unconscious Eila.
Splash.
The dungeon was filled with humid air. I'd noticed from the entrance but there were no signs of people, and only damp air stung my nose. A subtly sour smell. Eila hadn't pissed herself and neither had I, so naturally this sour smell belonged to a monster.
Crunch!
I stomped on a slime crawling at my feet.
[Slime: ★]
As expected of a slime, it only had one star. It was sad that killed targets' information only showed their name and stars, but at least I could learn the opponent's information.
Crunch. Crunch.
Slime (★☆) and Slime (★★) burst. They got subtly stronger the deeper I went, and I realized the meaning of the stars next to names.
"This world's also luck-based bullshit."
I, Rok Grimfang, was currently 3-star but had the potential to grow to 5-star. I still didn't know the method, but if I evolved to 4-star or 5-star, wouldn't this damn belly fat also disappear?
"And this one's 4-star."
Eila, tied to my back with tough vines I'd torn from the entrance, was a being with a whole four stars. Usually 4-star and above are pretty rare, so if Eila grows, she'll have tremendous combat power.
"But she got wrecked by me."
Absolutely wrecked without a fighting chance. I burst slimes while realizing that subtle difference in power, then picked up the last surviving slime.
[Slime: ★☆☆☆]
"Even born as 1-star, you can grow to 4-star. Hey Eila, this guy will end up the same rank as you later."
The slime was trembling in my hand. If I squeezed my hand just a bit, the slime would burst, and this poor green slime that might've become the cave's master at 4-star in the future was one step away from becoming jelly.
"Come to think of it, slimes tasted good."
Flinch.
The slime stopped moving. It clearly understood my words. I stuck my finger in the mucus of the Slime (★★) I'd burst earlier and tasted it with my tongue.
"Mm...."
It felt like cheap jelly sold on the street, but the taste was pretty decent. For comparison, I dabbed my finger in the mucus next to the trembling slime—what had been ★☆☆—and tasted it.
"Ugh."
Good texture but terrible taste. I spat out the mucus that entered my tongue along with my saliva onto the ground, and rubbed the mucus on the cave wall.
"Could this be...?"
I realized what taste and texture corresponded to. I grabbed the slime trying to wobble away and lifted it to eye level.
"Raise you and eat you?"
Shake shake.
The slime's mucus began churning inside. I lightly pinched the slime's epidermis.
Squirt.
Even though only a tiny bit of mucus leaked out, the slime convulsed in agony. But I ignored it and tasted the slime's mucus.
"Mm...."
The taste was terrible but the texture was very good. The feeling that it'd become excellent cooking ingredients if properly prepared flashed through my mind.
"Wonder if slimes taste better steamed or grilled."
The moment I thought I could eat them more diversely if I made a steamer or frying pan, a system notification window appeared before my eyes.
[Submission: Slime(★☆☆☆) begs for its life.]
Rather than be devoured by a merciless predator, it hopes to continue living as the predator's plaything.
"Oho."
I poked the slime repeatedly with my finger. The slime didn't move and didn't resist me at all.
"You'll become my subordinate?"
Nod nod.
The mucus inside the slime nodded. I laughed hollowly, but still, it was a bit wasteful to just kill a slime that could grow to 4-star.
"Then from today, you're my subordinate."
[Recruitment: You have recruited Slime(★☆☆☆) as a subordinate.]
Yay! A slime became my subordinate! I kneaded the slime in one hand and went deeper into the cave. The wide cavern was crawling with other slimes, and I clenched my remaining fist.
"Maybe there's a 2-star that can grow to 4-star...?"
I kneaded my subordinate slime while stepping on other slimes one by one methodically. I could only check after killing them, but if there was a sharp one, there might be someone begging me for their life and wanting to become a subordinate like this guy.
"There's gotta be one."
No way there isn't a single one smarter and more talented than this guy. I cleaned the dungeon interior by stomping and bursting all the dozens of slimes.
There wasn't.
***
About 1 hour.
I burst every slime in the dungeon on sight and piled them all in one place. If this was truly my dungeon, all the slime corpses would disappear according to dungeon law.
"So anyway, I burst every one I saw."
Splat.
I threw my subordinate slime on the ground. The slime trembled while watching me, and I squatted in front of it and poked its bouncy skin with my finger.
"Hey. Seems like I gotta kill you for this dungeon to become mine?"
[Quest: Slime Dungeon Subjugation (69 / 70)]
[Obtain dungeon control upon complete subjugation]
"Hey, see this? There's exactly one left but I can't seem to find it."
I circled the cave from entrance to deepest part three times but it didn't appear. I must've gone back and forth about 2km but one's missing. The last lap I walked very slowly searching thoroughly but couldn't see it.
"This is a system error, right? The situation where I catch you and become dungeon master?"
Shake shake. Since becoming a subordinate, the slime has been shaking its whole body to definitely assert itself. But no matter how much I looked, there's only one living slime left.
Drip.
Sticky saliva fell on my shoulder.
"Geez...."
I brushed off my shoulder. How does Eila drool so much while unconscious? That's why there's so much water down there too.
Drip, drop.
I wiped off the saliva falling on my shoulder again. I felt a really unpleasant energy. Even in another world, human saliva shouldn't be this viscous.
"Shit."
Splat!
A huge shadow fell over me. On the ceiling, a slime several times larger than the other slimes was wriggling.
[Slime Dragon: ★★★]
[Boss]
[Dungeon Master]
"What kind of slime is a dragon?"
Wriggle, wriggle.
The punk slime that spat on my shoulder went into the innermost cavern. I picked up the slime from the ground and followed into the cavern, where a giant slime well over 4m long had its mouth wide open toward me.
"Is that your boss?"
Nod nod.
The slime nodded, and the slime dragon opened its maw wide threatening me. Mucus splattered out, covering my body.
"Ew, gross."
I brushed off the mucus on my body. I could only manage wearing shorts since there were no fitting clothes anyway, but still, having dirty mucus on my body and clothes put me in a bad mood.
Grrrr?!
The slime dragon seemed flustered and spewed mucus at me. I showered in green mucus covering my whole body, and Eila and the slime also got sticky with mucus.
I can't take it. Submission or whatever, let's kill it first. The slime dragon was opening its maw toward me trying to swallow me whole.
"You're getting hit."
I raised my fist and shoved it toward the slime dragon's maw. Sticky, sour bodily fluid came out from inside, but it was no problem for me who'd already showered in it.
Riiiiip.
I tore out the mucus from inside the slime dragon's mouth. The slime dragon finally realized something was wrong, but I stomped on its lower jaw.
"3-star, so it'll taste good, right?"
Time to secure food.
I tore out all the mucus until only the shell remained of the slime dragon and cleared the dungeon.
[Suppression: You have suppressed the Slime Dungeon!]
[Would you like to register as a new dungeon?]
"Uh."
Nothing really changed. I cleared my throat just in case and spoke again.
"Yes."
[System: The Slime Dungeon has been registered as Rok Grimfang's dungeon!]
['Dungeon Information' has been activated.]
['Subordinate List' has been activated.]
['Facility Construction' has been activated.]
['Subordinate Summoning' has been activated.]
"Wait, gacha here?"
So the stars weren't just for show. I pressed [Subordinate Summoning] with trembling heart, but there was no response.
[Warning: No summoning facility exists.]
"Ah, damn."
So they're telling me to build a foundation first. I untied the vines binding Eila, then caught my breath to do the first thing I needed to do.
"Let's eat first."
Today's mystery.
The mucus torn from the slime dragon tasted like Concord grapes.