Dungeon Reform Plan*4
"Uh, so... the idea is: wear them down as much as possible, but don’t kill them. A setup where they’re satisfied or give up and head home before reaching the second layer... right?"
"Sounds difficult... got any ideas?"
"Yeah. For starters, I’m planning to just make it huge. No matter what, if it’s physically wide enough, people will have no choice but to burn stamina just to keep going."
That’s the first-layer plan: make it massive. It’s already a maze, but I’ll make it even more so!
"As for size, I’m keeping the same policy—make it an insanely complicated labyrinth. Getting lost does a number on your spirit, too. And when the maps get made and start circulating, I’ll counter that by adding side paths now and then, or blocking some with rockfalls."
"I see... true, adventurers are bound to sell and trade maps among themselves. But if the routes keep shifting, no one person can monopolize the information and drive the price up. Healthy system."
Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. I figured the dungeon would help with village revitalization, but didn’t consider outsiders turning it into their own business.
Basically, it’s about making sure adventurers don’t hog the profits to themselves. Good point. I’ll keep that in mind.
"So, the first floor is just a big maze?"
"Nope. I’ll sprinkle in traps, too."
Next up: the traps for the maze. I’ve already got some ideas there.
"Like pits shallow enough to twist an ankle. Or maybe some weak poisons—nothing fatal, no wounds, just enough to be a problem. Poison darts, maybe?"
"P-poison!? Why!?"
"Because it drains resources. Uh, and we’ll sell the antidote. At the dungeon’s checkpoint, of course."
"I-I get it now...! In the dungeon you risk poison often, but the antidote is sold in Panis Village, so you’re safe! And when folks run low on antidotes, they’ll retreat for safety. Makes sense."
Exactly.
See, stamina drain isn’t something I can measure. Some people are tireless, others aren’t.
Food consumption isn’t reliable either. I’m designing it so people might get lost for a day, but plenty could handle half a day with no food.
So the best way to make sure people have to turn back safely is... poison.
Traps like poison mist or darts can create situations where folks must use up antidotes, without leaving wounds.
And if I make antidote bottles heavy enough, people won’t bring too many. Even mild poisons will scare folks into using them—humans fear the unknown, after all. A wound you can see is less frightening than a poison that might worsen later.
"I saw some poisonous plants growing nearby—and herbs that counter them too! I’ll pick them and plant them with the slimes!"
"Yeah! Thanks!"
"... By the way, why does this village plant crops in slimes...?"
"Uh, it just kind of happened. After that, it turned into half necessity, half hobby...?"
Honestly, the slimes seem to like fertilizer, but sometimes they just look like they’re having fun growing crops. Like when they crawl around shaking ripe tomatoes—it does look kinda playful.
So yeah... hobby!
"Anyway, if it’s just traps and mazes, only the World Tree hunters will bother. To attract more people and help Panis Village thrive, we’ll need treasure too. Lisas, what kind of things would be good?"
"M-me?"
"Yeah. I don’t know how other dungeons work."
Right. Once the dungeon’s structure is done, the real key is treasure.
And honestly, I have no clue about local prices. I’ll have to rely on Mishisia’s and Lisas’s sense of value.
"Let’s see... other dungeons yield gold, or jewelry like rings and necklaces... sometimes potions. I’ve seen finely crafted knives come out too."
Ahh, I see. Pretty close to the fantasy dungeon image.
"And sometimes, you get really big magic stones, or legendary swords! Amazing stuff!"
"Well... I’ve only seen one of those myself, but yeah, the rumors are out there..."
Oh, so there are rare items unique to each dungeon. Got it.
"... My old boss had a sword that was said to be found in a dungeon. He was a noble, dignified, strong man... and the blade matched him—sharp, yet beautiful."
Huh. Makes sense. Since other dungeons spawn monsters, weapons are valuable practical finds. Swords seem like fitting treasure.
But in our case, with only slimes... the fake World Tree probably fills that role.
… Yeah, I might need to refine that idea further.
"Dungeons usually give lots of gold and treasure, right? At least, that’s the kind of stories I’ve heard..."
Mishisia leaned in, but Lisas chuckled wryly.
"Not always. Some dungeons spawn nothing but monsters. Still, hides, fangs, and meat sell for plenty, so they’re important sources of income for adventurers."
Makes sense. Each dungeon probably has a different management style. Ours can’t be the only one tied to a village.
"Oh, I see... The one I heard about dropped golden rings and such!"
"Ah—gold’s something I can’t produce yet. But gems, I can. So I guess we’ll stick with those for now."
So yeah. Our dungeon’s treasure will be gemstones.
Weapons... probably not a good idea. No need to stir up trouble by encouraging armed force.
"Practical items, huh… then we could put out herb potions, too…"
"If you’re gonna do that, I think you should use ordinary ceramic jars for the bottles, Asuma-sama!"
"Got it. So transparent ones are rare, huh…"
…Ahh, yeah. Makes sense. Transparent bottles where you can see the contents are rare. Probably means the technology to make glass doesn’t exist here, and reproducing it with quartz wouldn’t be cost-effective… or maybe they don’t even have the techniques to work quartz properly.
So, bottles, huh.
…Yeah.
And so, from that day onward, we spent several days pushing ahead with dungeon renovations.
The first floor of the dungeon was already a sprawling maze, but we also set up hidden passages, locked doors, and staff-only corridors for our own use. Otherwise, we couldn’t even come and go in peace. And if someone looked like they were about to reach the second floor, we’d need a way to get ahead of them—so yeah, those passages were essential.
Then came the traps. Pitfalls with slender poisoned spikes, or contraptions where poisoned needles rained down from the ceiling.
…Honestly, I’d love to automate all that, but for now it’s still at the level of “trip a wire on the floor and a basket above dumps needles on your head.” Analog as heck.
And for those traps, we used poison specially brewed by Mishisia, the Elf’s Signature Brand™. Won’t kill you, but you won’t be able to move much either. Apparently it’s what hunters coat their arrows with when they want to take prey alive.
She also mixed up the antidote, which I then decomposed, absorbed, and reconstructed. That means as long as we have poisonous herbs and their antidote counterparts, we can mass-produce both poison and antidote. Naturally, the slimes ended up sprouting with poison herbs and detox herbs waving on their heads. Thanks, fellas.
Next came treasure placement.
According to Lisas, “For some reason, sometimes treasure chests are just sitting inside dungeons…” So, going with that testimony, we made pure white quartz boxes, bolted them to the floor, and set them up.
Inside, we put gemstones I’d reconstructed—peridot, garnet, raw crystals refined into large, flawless gems, or sapphire I made from aluminum in mica and iron in magnetite. Truly, all thanks to Reconstruction.
When Mishisia and Lisas checked them, both said, “These are amazing gems!” So yeah, they’ll serve as treasure just fine. Probably.
"And then… weapons… weapons…"
And above all, I had to think about… arming myself.
But, y’know—this is a grade-schooler’s body. There are limits! No matter what, equipping myself with weapons has constraints. What the heck am I supposed to do!?
"Ah, Asuma-sama, you are trying to fight..."
"We’ll protect you, so please don’t push yourself like that…"
"No, no. You two already have to protect the dungeon and the World Tree. If you’ve gotta protect me on top of that, it’s too much of a burden. The more I can handle myself, the better it’ll be for everyone…"
Both Mishisia and Lisas looked flustered, but I wasn’t budging. I was definitely going to arm myself.
"… For starters, my main weapon will be a small crossbow… and as a sidearm, I’ll prep some bottles of poison…"
So, yeah. A small crossbow—something even a kid’s body with no strength can use to sometimes land a lethal blow. Plus, slim quartz bottles filled with poison—throw them, they shatter on impact, and poison splashes everywhere.
And then—
"Also, gemstones to bribe with in case I have to beg for my life!"
"That’s a great idea! Let’s put plenty of those out, Asuma-sama!"
"No, wait. If you’re carrying gemstones that openly, wouldn’t that make you even more of a target?"
"Then maybe don’t put too many out, Asuma-sama!"
… Well, I am powerless. That’s the truth.
All I can do is rely on the kind of underhanded tricks and brazen attitude that come from a brain spinning way faster than this kid body deserves.
Haah… well, no helping it.
And so, bit by bit, the preparations were finished, and the dungeon was finally ready to welcome people.
In the end, the leaves of the Fake World Tree were made from lower-purity nephrite jade, peridot, and green sapphire I’d cooked up from aluminum, iron, and titanium.
To make up for the lower quality of the leaves, the “fruit” and “flowers” of the tree became the main souvenirs.
See, I was already making the fruit out of quartz, so I thought, hey, might as well make flowers too. Granite’s practically all quartz anyway. Just tweak the crystal structure, and voilà: quartz.
And more importantly, unless the shaping requires micron-level precision, the cost of forming is basically nothing. So, better to put out intricate, decorative pieces.
"Waaah… so beautiful…"
Mishisia’s eyes sparkled as she admired the crystal flowers. If she was that enchanted, adventurers who made it this far would surely be won over, too. Perfect.
"These Fake World Tree fruits are exquisite. Like a lady’s perfume bottle."
"Exactly. That’s the use I had in mind."
As for the “fruit,” I made them into bottles.
Elaborate quartz bottles shaped like apples or apricots—so ornate they’re basically impractical. Can’t be resealed once opened, and barely hold much.
Inside each was a sweetened potion—fatigue recovery, made from herbs and tomatoes. Found a magical pattern in tomatoes that boosted recovery, so I used it.
And since they were fruit-shaped bottles, I thought sweet was the way to go. Getting sugar out of tomatoes, carrots, or roots is practically costless anyway.
Turned out delicious, too. Both Lisas and Mishisia were thrilled: “It really restores energy!” “And it tastes good!”
… Alright then. That’s this dungeon’s treasure, decided.
"Edeleee! Need anything else over there!?"
"Oh, Asuma-sama! Thank you, but we’re good!"
Meanwhile, above ground…
"It’s really become a village, hasn’t it."
What once was bare land was now a full-fledged village—maybe even a town.
At the dungeon entrance stood a gate and a building beside it, where Edele and the Panis villagers kept watch. They handled selling medicine and antidotes to those entering, as well as logging everyone who came and went.
And all the villagers were fired up:
“Our little god is working so hard for us! We’ve gotta give it our all, too!”
On top of that:
“Let’s make money so we can offer sweets to Asuma-sama!”
“Let’s fleece the adventurers and buy good fabric in town to sew Asuma-sama some clothes!”
… Well, motives aside, the villagers had made thorough preparations—mainly businesses aimed at the adventurers sure to come.
Inns, eateries, all the works. They were setting up to make this place thrive. And now that they were counting on me as the linchpin of their revitalization, I couldn’t let them down!
Next day, messengers from the guild in the big city arrived.
They collected the thugs we’d captured—“Ah, figured it’d be these guys”—and took them away. Much obliged.
Seems they paid some money, too. Edele was beaming, calling it “Funds for rebuilding the village!” Well, good for her.
And with that neatly settled… three days later—
"… They’re here already."
"Looks like it, Asuma-sama…"
Adventurers were gathering, one group after another.
Welcome, welcome! First, please proceed to the Dungeon Front Office for entry registration!
What do you think about this chapter?
