And now, just as I am beginning to deal with the aftermath, apparently the next unit is storming in. Well, at least as far as the day goes, I’ll delegate responsibility to all of my demons.

So, to recap, here’s the cause of death for everyone in Alpha Squad.

Alpha 1: Exterminated by a surprise slash from the fin of the swamp flying fish.

Alpha 2: Death by the butcher-bird prey impaled attack at the hands of the King of the Devouring Black Fog (me).

Alpha 3: Death by the mimicry tree with a swift skewering attack

Alpha 4: Death by the slurping from the dragonflies

Alpha 5: Devoured by the Thin Mist Wolves

Alpha 6: Plunged by fogs into the black swamp

Beta 4: Sinking into the swamp, Dozaemon[i]

“.. (?3?) Huh?”

There is already a deceased member of the subsequent squad, and since the monster’s name isn’t on the list, that means that individual slipped and sank into the swamp by a natural death.

Ah, yeah. I should settle down for now. Or rather, let’s simply disregard the subsequent team.

Now, let me expound on the two unexplained causes of Alpha 3’s lasting life in this context.

First of all, Alpha 3 appeared to be equipped with an always-on, detection-type skill. Perhaps ?warning? or ?precognition? or something like that. Nonetheless, it may be that he was betrayed by his skill at a crucial moment owing to his low skill level.

The two things unexplained are the mimicry tree and the devouring black swamp. The mimicry tree is a monster and the black swamp is a trap. The explanation of each is as follows:

?Mimicry tree

Plant-based arboreal demons

While incapable of moving from their position, they mimic plants that inhabit the vicinity and strike when their opponents expose their backs. Its ability to mimic is such that low-level detection skills cannot discern it.

Summoning cost: 500 each for HP and SP, 300 for MP

Prerequisite for creation: Plants other than mimicry trees must be present in the vicinity of the installation site.

?Devouring Black Swamp

A special swamp created by the black fog that devours + swamp

1/s damage to HP, MP, SP when in contact with adversary.

The installation costs several times more than that of a conventional swamp.

Mm. That’s terribly outrageous.

Well, you know, my life is on the line here, too, don’t you? Since the dungeon is unfolding at full scale with the intent of massacre, this much is to be expected.

By the way, assuming the opponents are cognizant of their route selection and their own skills, the possibility of reaching the boss’s room might be feasible.

Specifically speaking, the proper route in this dungeon is to utilize buildings and walled trees to refrain from falling into the swamp. Even so, I have to admit that the difficulty level is still steep due to the surprise attacks by my monsters under the cover of the dense fog.

Clip-clop ーーーーーーー!

Hmm? Fanfare?

“Help-kun. What’s all this fanfare? Though I can somehow guess what is this.”

“As you predicted, it’s the sound of a level-up, resulting after about 15 kills.”

“Level up huh.. Oh, I forgot that the third unit had already entered.”

“They were all exterminated, though.”

When I observe the state of affairs outside, it can be seen that three units have charged in yet not a single person has returned, thus it seems that they have concluded that it is indeed overly risky and abandoned their attempts to conduct further investigations.

“Well, that’s a sensible decision. So, Help-kun, what can be done when my level rises?”

“Well...”

Now, it would be fine if I let Help-kun elaborate on the subject for a long time here, but to simplify it plainly, here’s the summary.

First of all, the parts that are equally applicable to both humans and demons are as follows:

?HP,MP,SP are increased.

And, for humans and certain demons specifically:

?3 points (StP)[ii]?that can be allocated to status to elevate your status.

?1 point is awarded for learning and reinforcing skills (SkP).

And for certain demons:

?Rank up at a specific level and have a significant enhancement.

In addition, in the case of the Demon King, there is another way called:

?DP are awarded for expansion of the area that can be served as a dungeon.

Furthermore, once the dungeon area is expanded, the original portion will be regarded as the first level and the expanded portion will be deemed to be the second level.

“By the way, Help-kun.”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t it inefficient to level up from 1 to 2 with 15 kills?”

“It can’t be helped that the experience requirement has substantially augmented due to the Demon King’s compensation. For your information, if you slay a human outside the dungeon, the experience you gain will be less than 10% of the total.”

“Isn’t that awful?”

“That’s the way things are.”

Hmm. That means I’ll have to devise various efficient ways of accumulating experience from now on..

For now, let’s allocate StP and SkP.

Name: King of the Devouring Black Fog

Class: Demon King? Race: King of the Devouring Black Fog

Level: 2

HP: 1700/1700 ↑100

MP: 1860/1960 ↑110

SP: 1810/1910 ↑160

Status

Strength 40

Dexterity 55

Agility 55

Sensing 45

Intellect 60

Spirit 71 ↑1

Luck 10 ↑2

Skill

?Dungeon Creation? ?Monster Creation? ?Devouring Black Fog? New! ?Cycle?

Title

?King of the Devouring Black Fog? New! ?White Fog of Ambush?

Yeah. I guess that’s about it.

First of all, I raised the luck of my status from less than average to that of average.

And then, thanks to the Demon King’s compensation, my other stats are much heightened, so I have enhanced my spirit, which is my strongest attribute.

The ?cycle? is a skill that enables you to change the flow of air, blood, atmosphere, and rivers to your liking.

If this is applied to my dungeon, it can be utilized to locally clear the fog or create a stagnant swamp.

Incidentally, if used on living creatures, it can stimulate the production of energy in their bodies and strengthen them, or cause oxygen deprivation due to blood flow obstruction.

Oh, after learning this skill, my SP has risen by about 50. According to Help-kun, this is a perk of acquiring this skill.

The rest of what needs to be done.. is to dispose of the corpse and the belongings, but.. yeah. The corpse is already irretrievable. Whoever finished him off or was near him has already devoured him. As for the belongings, let’s collect the ones that can be recovered. It might be usable for something later.

“Well, that’s about it for the aftermath.”

“Then, please excuse me too.”

While contemplating my next step, I have decided to start taking a nap.

T/N:

[i]??“Dozaemon” refers to the dead body of a drowned person

[ii]?StP/SkP/DP stands for Stats points, skill points, and dungeon points respectively