Chapter 20
T/N: I have changed the status "Evolution" to "Alchemy" after long consideration. Either isn't what the author wrote but I think Alchemy fits better than Evolution. This change has been also added backwardly.
Chapter 19
A certain thread on the anonymous message board gained momentum due to a new piece of information.
7 Unknown Adventurer ID:fdewsah
It seems a stairway has been discovered in the Kanezawa Farm.
8 Unknown Adventurer ID:sergbxb
＞7 Srsly? Did someone capture it or something?
9 Unknown Adventurer ID:fdewsah
It apparently appeared out of nowhere. In the vicinity of the entrance to boot, lmao.
10 Unknown Adventurer ID:seoffur
Ha? In the vicinity of the entrance? LOL
Liar hahaha.
11 Unknown Adventurer ID:fdewsah
I mean, it is real, lol.
12 Unknown Adventurer ID:csxfrev
Did someone ascend the stairway?
13 Unknown Adventurer ID:fdewsah
It seems to go down, and not up.
14 Unknown Adventurer ID:sdgresx
I heard something about that as well.
Btw, it appears there are equipment even stronger than the Black Iron sword down below.
15 Unknown Adventurer ID:skdeiwsj
＞14 Your source?
16 Unknown Adventurer ID:sdgresx
An adventurer acquaintance.
17 Unknown Adventurer ID:lewaogj
An adventurer acquaintance, pfft.
Give us a picture as evidence.
The thread went haywire with a pleasant vibe. By the way, 14 to 16 are all my posts.
I'm afraid to say, but no human has reached the treasure chests in the basement, but as a matter of fact, equipment more superior than the Black Iron Series—one Silver spear has been put inside one of the treasure chests.
I plan to give this item to a riajuu who really likes SNS.
And, the main point of this time's expansion was — the location of the stairs.
Placing the stairs in the innermost part is the typical theory for average dungeons, but I deliberately set it up right next to the entrance.
The reason is to entice the high-leveled humans to go downstairs without pointlessly killing all of my poor weaker subordinates on the first floor.
It's just an assumption, but high-leveled humans have a lot experience points.
It's a compartmentalization in order to allow the dark elves waiting behind me to earn experience. The objective is to offer a farm that's still as safe as usual for the low-leveled humans while also providing a farm that can be immediately accessed by the high-leveled humans.
After that, my clever information manipulation (posting by sock-puppeting) succeeded, and although it was just a few, even some humans exceeding level 3 started to invade my Domain.
On the second floor, I have deployed goblins and wolves from the start of the passage.
If the humans had already reached level 3, then they are used to fighting. Half-assed combat forces will only end up becoming easy prey for experience points.
This floor's concept is to shave down the stamina with goblins and wolves, who specialize in group battles as a starter, and then finish them off with the elite unit.
I repeatedly did many tests to keep an appropriate survival rate. I tried to adjust the equipment, types and numbers of the deployed subordinates.
It's quite complicated...
The adjustment was a lot more difficult than I had imagined. The main cause for that is the strength of the invading humans.
It's unknown how much stronger the human's status becomes when their levels go up from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3, but should I blame it on their skill or mental growth? The humans became powerful, going beyond their status'.
To be precise, they have lost any and all hesitation to kill my subordinates. It reached the point that they got used to battle—to bloodshed.
In the end, I got stuck with dispatching fully-equipped kobolds, my new combat force, the dark elves, and even the cheat goblins, which could be called a treasure, each time.
Eventually, after a life and death struggle, humanity's survival rate reached the dangerous level of less than 50%.
Shit...at this rate I will lose my status as a『Farm』dungeon.
According to the information gathered in the net, troublesome human groups, which are called by nicknames such as 『Braves』, 『Heroes』 or 『Hardcore Party』 - supported by the government or large companies - existed.
They are elite parties, who offer their all to capture dungeons—liberating the inviolable areas in various places under the noble mission of 『Humanity's Survival』. If a dungeon is regarded as a『Farm』, it won't be considered as their target with the help of the public opinion, but...
I will be troubled if a 『Hardcore Party』 comes...
I was tormented by such anxieties, but those worries were swept away by an unexpected incident.
That incident being a long-awaited riajuu-like youth being "rewarded" the Silver spear.
I, who knew the 12 young invaders were getting carried away with their victories shouting "Yay, lol", ordered my subordinates to cut corners. The chosen youths splendidly arrived at the treasure chest and obtained the Silver spear.
And then, at the entrance to my Domain, they thrust the silver-shining spear into the sky and posted it on SNS to brag right away.
The youth danced wildly. It seems to be the first time a C-rank equipment has appeared in a treasure chest. Society showed the pictures taken by the youth on the news every day.
The power of the Silver spear obtained by the youth is truly dreadful. The youth, who was level 2, grew to level 4 within the blink of an eye. Once again it demonstrated the importance of equipment to the world.
Or rather, that "Yay! lol"-kun was level 2?
—!?
He was level 2?
I came up with a certain plan.
Currently, the highest level a human has reached is 11. However, that person is a foreigner. In Japan, the ace of the 『Hardcore Party』, which is supported by the government, is level 8. If it's the level of the local heroes, the highest level is 6.
Currently, thanks to the blessing of "Yay! lol"-kun, my Domain is always fully occupied, and even high-level humans invade from time to time, aiming for a Silver spear.
Generally speaking, high-level humans were troublesome. To be even more precise, they caused a large deficit in CP.
The ones somehow able to deal with them are the fully-equipped kobolds. The wolves and goblins are being mowed down like grass though... If I deploy the same number of kobolds fully-equipped with Silver spears, the battles will advance advantageously, but if they are defeated, the lost CP becomes extremely large.
If possible, I'd prefer it if the humans invading my Domain were level 3 and below.
Accordingly, I diligently start preparing for information manipulation once again.
Concretely, I changed the contents of the treasure chests depending on the humans invading. I give Silver spears to level 2 humans. If they are level 3, I give them equipment of the Black Iron Series. To level 4 humans, I give Iron Series equipment and to level 5 and beyond wooden swords.
Of course I didn't provide them to all invaders. To the utmost, I adjusted the equipment to be randomized.
In addition, I manipulate information behind the scenes by freely using the anonymous message board.
『The treasure chests of the Kanezawa 『Farm』 seem to drop superior items for low levels and trash for high levels.』
At first the credibility was low and it was simply treated as a joke, but a level 5 human, who obtained a wooden sword, posted a rage comment on SNS. On the contrary, a lucky boy, who obtained a Silver spear, posted a delightful comment on SNS. Due to that, my hoax had a trace of truth to it.
As a result, adding the huge contribution of the 『Farm Protection Association』, my Domain was mainly invaded by level 3 humans and below ever since.
Chapter 20
Roughly one month has passed since the Day of Fate.
There were two huge changes.
First is a level-up. As a result of repelling invaders at a steady pace on the second floor, my level went up to 3.
I operate my smartphone in order to assign BP. Once I boot up the 『World Salvation Project』 app,
—!?
An unfamiliar text is displayed on the screen.
『You have reached level 3. Please select an evolved race.』
...Evolution?
What's that? Once I look properly, the word 『Evolved』 is blue.
By any chance? I tap the blue evolved.
『Evolution: A demon king that exceeded a certain level can evolve into another race. The bloodkin will differ for each evolved race. For the sake of evolving into many races, it's necessary to meet the requirements.』
No friggin' way, an explanation!
I operate my smartphone and proceed ahead.
『Please choose the race you want to evolve to from the following races:
Demon King (Human)
Demon King (Oni)
Demon King (Elf)
Demon King (Dwarf)
Demon King (Demon)
Demon King (Slime)
Demon King (Beast)
Demon King (Fairy)
Demon King (Vampire)
Demon King (Dragon)
Demon King (Fallen Angel)』
All of them are Demon Kings? Also, I can't select Oni, Demon, Elf, Dragon and Fallen Angel as they are greyed out.
Unfortunately, contrary to evolution, there's no explanation displayed this time.
User's manual, please...
Fortunately, I am able to return with the back button this time, in contrast to the initial 『Special Service☆』.
Having said that, the evolution entry will always be there whenever I boot up the 『World Salvation Project』 app. In other words, unless I choose a race to evolve into, I won't be able to assign BP, create, or alchemize.
How troublesome. If I can't create, I won't be able to replenish my subordinates.
Even as I'm worrying, humans are invading my Domain, and my subordinates keep getting defeated. Considering the stock of rats and slimes, I have 12 hours I can use to worry and think.
Moreover, if it's the same as the previous level-up, my CP will recover completely. If it's the same rule as last time, my CP will change to 30 per hour. In other words, I will recover 1 CP every 2 minutes. Considering it like that, every minute and second is valuable.
Yet, I can't choose an evolution path easily.
Now then, let's try to arrange things from the information I know of?
First, the sentence that piqued my interest in the explanation of evolution — "The bloodkin will differ for each evolved race."
Bloodkin — The main reason for increasing one's Domain.
And, me — A demon king and his subordinates can't go outside the Domain.
However, there are repeatedly posts about monsters rampaging outside a Domain in the net news.
In other words, the monsters recorded by the net news are bloodkin?
I thoroughly checked the videos and news about monsters rampaging outside of Domains.
A pack of wolves attacking people. A horde of goblins assailing people. A crowd of slimes attacking people.
The monsters, which have been publicized in many pictures and videos, are of the same kind.
Also, as an exception, I was able to confirm several instances where mixed packs of wolves and goblins were caught on pictures.
Although it's a guess, bloodkin = same type. In short, if it's a Demon King (Beast), it will be possible for wolves or kobolds to become bloodkin, and if it's a Demon King (Slime), it should be slimes.
What about goblins? ...!? I recall the explanation I checked when creating a goblin.
Goblin — evil fairy. I'm not able to completely believe it all of a sudden, but it's possible that goblins are the bloodkin of Demon King (Fairy).
While revising the conditions afterwards, I look up various pictures and news stories that seem to be bloodkin.
—!?
I hit upon two pictures that bothered me the most.
The first is a picture of various types of monsters forming a group and attacking people.
The second is a picture of a human attacking people while leading monsters of different races.
What's this about?
Is there a method to turn various types of monsters into bloodkin?
Hmm. No clue.
I confirm my current subordinates at hand.
Rat, slime, wolf, bat, goblin, kobold, orc, and dark elf.
The evolved subordinates are Goblin Archer, Goblin Fighter, Black Wolf, Kobold Knight and Kobold Fighter.
If I consider it from the subordinates I currently have at hand, Demon King (Beast) is the best. Next would be Demon King (Fairy), I guess?
Is there any information that allows me to consider the others?
The evolution paths I can choose are: Human, dwarf, slime, beast, fairy and vampire.
The evolution paths I can't choose are: Oni, demon, elf, dragon and fallen angel.
— 『For the sake of evolving into many races, it's necessary to meet the requirements.』
In other words, the races I can select for evolution are only those whose requirements I have met.
I guess the frequent use of subordinates of the slime, beast and fairy (= goblin) race are the condition for being able to select them as evolution path?
What about the dwarf and vampire kind then?
The vampire type is because bats are serving as my subordinates?
Apart from that, an even bigger riddle is the dwarf type. I have never seen nor created a dwarf.
How did I satisfy the conditions?
Dwarves, it's about those guys, right? It's a selfish image, but it's about short ossan with a massive beard, hate elves, love booze, and are especially good at smithing right...!?
Am I good at smithing?
Smithing, or in other words alchemy.
Is the alchemy stat a condition for evolving into a dwarf?
Considering it from that point of view...the evolution conditions for the races that I can't evolve into should be — body for oni, mana for demon and...knowledge, albeit that being a bit far fetched, for elves?
What about creation? Since it's only a privilege of Demon Kings, it probably doesn't exist.
If I assume this theory to be correct, is there a rule or reasoning behind the order of the evolution paths' line-up?
The first four races — oni, demon, elf and dwarf are races who have their evolution condition appointed by the stats.
The next displayed races are the races most often used as subordinates.
If I assume the meaning as far as going by the lined-up order, there's one point that bothers me.
I have a feeling of discomfort about the order of the races that are used most frequently, which are —
Slime, beast, fairy, vampire, dragon and fallen angel.
The order displayed on the smartphone upon creating a subordinate is —
Slime, rat, bat, goblin, kobold, orc and dark elf.
If the frequent use of bats serves as condition for vampire, the shown order should be —
Slime, vampire, beast and fairy.
The condition for evolving into a vampire isn't the bat? Or maybe the Mastermind, who made the 『World Salvation Project』 app, made a mistake in the order. Maybe she cared about a correct order at first, but then gave up in the middle, meaning there's no significance in the order.
If it's the latter, all is in vain. It would result in me having wasted time on a completely groundless theory.
But, what if it's the former?
For example, the evolution condition for the first four races are the stats (oni, demon, elf and dwarf), and the frequently used subordinates for the next three races (slime, beast and fairy). Then the final three races (vampire, dragon and fallen angel) would have a special evolution condition.
This way of thinking seems to be fitting now, doesn't it?
Finally feeling clear-headed in some way, I decided to genuinely think about what race to select.
Candidate 1: Slime. Long ago, a slime appeared in the world of a certain fantasy novel of the demon kings genre. Eventually stories about slimes becoming the strongest have overflown in great quantities in novels and games.
Having said that, I look at the slime in front of me that simply looks like a cloudy pool of water.
Can this thing really become the strongest? If its appearance was at least a bit cuter then...
In the first place, I'm currently looking for a quick increase in combat power due to certain circumstances.
Therefore, the slime type is no good.
Candidate 2: Beast. At the moment it has the biggest variation among the subordinates I can create. I couldn't confirm it with the pictures, but it's very likely that the half pig, half man orc is a beast as well. Wolves, who excel in group battle and have an outstanding cost performance. Kobolds that can equip the items I alchemize, which is also one of my strong points.
However, I'm slightly bothered that the following dark elves are stronger. If I consider new subordinates that might be possible to create one after the other in the future, won't this choice turn into premature development?
Currently I'm looking for a way to quickly enforce my combat powers due to certain circumstances, but...in the end I have to survive.
Therefore, the beast type is also no good.
Even after that, I repeatedly answered my own questions, and declined the possible evolution paths.
And just like that, the only remaining race is—.