After breakfast, I headed to the management screen without coming up with any good ideas.
Upon checking, I noticed that a new “announcement” had been added, just like yesterday.
Announcement: Tower LV has been raised to 3.
Details: You have gained a total of 14 tower management experience points by meeting the following conditions:
– Set up a summoning circle. Experience points gained: 2
– Subjugate monsters (300 bodies). Experience points gained: 4
– Subjugate monsters (600 bodies). Experience points gained: 8
Since I earned a total of 16 experience points needed to move from Tower LV 2 to 3, I have now reached Tower LV 3. The remaining tower management experience points are now 0.
The tower level had increased.
While it was indeed a joyful moment to see the level rise, there was something that concerned me even more. After establishing the village, I had been subjugating monsters, but I couldn’t possibly believe that the count had exceeded 500 by yesterday.
I checked with Mitsuki just to be sure, and she thought it was around 500.
So, who had defeated the remaining 100 monsters? Given that only the villagers I left behind could have done it, the answer seemed obvious.
Deciding to bring Mitsuki along, I headed to the village.
When we arrived at the village, there were only five Grey Wolves remaining.
“…What!? Did something happen to them?”
I hadn’t noticed a significant increase in surrounding monsters during my last checks, so I thought it would be safe to leave the wolves to manage on their own. Perhaps that was a mistake.
“What happened to the others?”
I didn’t expect an answer, but I asked a wolf that came close.
Then, that wolf let out a howl.
“Looks like we don’t need to worry too much.”
Mitsuki, having figured something out, pointed in a specific direction. At first, Kousuke couldn’t see what it was, but he quickly realized it was the remaining pack of five wolves.
“So they were hunting independently.”
I checked the status of the leader among the approaching pack.
Name: Hii
Species: Grey Wolf
Unique Skills: Howl LV3, Bite LV4, Intimidation LV2, Pack Behavior LV3, Long-Distance Movement LV2
Gifted Skill: Leadership LV2
Title: Kousuke’s Familiar
The skill levels had risen.
It’s impressive for a wolf to reach LV4 in just one night. Not only Hii but the other wolves from the expedition had also seen rises in their skill levels, though none had advanced as dramatically as Hii.
Among the wolves that remained in the village, there was one that had gained the Leadership skill. It was likely the leader of the group that was staying alert within the village.
“This is… quite unexpected.”
“Yes. If utilized properly, they can become a solid fighting force.”
“…That’s true.”
If they could serve as a fighting force, it might be possible to effectively utilize the unoccupied floors as well. To prepare for their effective use in the future, I decided to return to the management layer for now.
First, I placed a Grey Wolf Summoning Circle (10 bodies) on the Fifth Floor. This would replenish the fighting force on that floor.
Since summoning too many would risk having individuals on the Fifth Floor with Leadership LV1 who might not be able to manage them properly, I planned to move individuals with Leadership LV2 to the Seventh Floor along with four others.
Since I had one more level of leadership here, I set up two Grey Wolf Summoning Circles (10 bodies) on the Seventh Floor.
Additionally, I established a stable near the teleport gate for them to use as their base. Although originally meant for livestock, it shouldn’t pose an issue if it’s used for wolves.
Naturally, I attached a Low-Level Barrier for Buildings to the stable, and I also prepared a water source within it for the wolves to use.
Name: Small Spring
Installation Cost: 100,000 pt (Divine Power)
Description: A small spring. Can be used as drinking water.
It’s quite expensive, but necessary since water is needed near their base.
Furthermore, I set up one Slime Summoning Circle on the Fifth Floor and two on the Seventh Floor. The slimes summoned from here are intended to serve as food for the wolves. I had seen them happily eating slimes while hunting the previous day.
As long as I can earn some points, it will be fine; even if the summoning numbers don’t balance out, they will be utilized as food, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Having made considerable progress, I finished my management tasks, and it was already noon.
Kouhi had also returned from Ryusen.
After finishing lunch, the three of us headed back to the village.
“By the way, when people move here, are we going to leave the wolves behind?”
Mitsuki asked as we walked toward the village.
“Well… I’m considering not leaving them behind, but what do you think? They are, after all, still monsters in the eyes of humans and demi-humans.”
“What about as tamed monsters?”
“If it’s around ten, that could work. But beyond that, I’m not so sure.”
At my question, the two fell silent.
“Plus, as the number of people increases, it renders leaving them behind meaningless.”
The reason we placed the wolves here was primarily to prevent things from being disturbed until humans arrived.
Thinking this way, it might be better to pull back before people start coming.
As we talked, we arrived at the village.
Led by Hii, there were now five wolves missing. They must have gone hunting again.
The pack that went was made up of different members from the ones I had brought in the morning. Thanks to the benefits of the Leadership skill, they likely coordinated things well.
…Although it could also just be coincidence.
Among the five wolves that remained in the village, the one with the Leadership skill was Nana.
I called Nana over and summoned ten Grey Wolves from the Grey Wolf Summoning Circle (10 bodies) I had just set up.
I needed to give them names to make them my familiars, but thinking through individual names would take too much time. So, I decided to name them based on “Wan,” followed by a letter in alphabetical order.
“With the fourteen of you here, I want you to protect this village for a while. You are free to go hunting whenever you want; I leave that to you.”
When Kousuke said this, Nana seemed to understand (?), responding with a howl.
Seeing this, I checked her status and discovered she had the skill: Language Comprehension (Familiar) LV1.
(…Wait!? Could it really be that she understands me?)
I didn’t know how well our communication was, but it seemed some understanding had been established. I felt confident leaving the affairs of the Fifth Floor’s village to Nana.
Next, I had Nana call Hii, and we headed toward the Seventh Floor with the five wolves.
I was a bit anxious about whether they would be able to pass through the teleport gate, but they managed to get through without any issue.
Having tried this with Kouhi and Mitsuki as well, I confirmed that those who can operate the teleport gates could pass through without problems.
Arriving at the stable I had set up close by, I explained that this would become Hii and the others’ new base.
Unfortunately, Hii didn’t have the Language Comprehension skill, but it seemed he at least understood my intention and sniffed around curiously for a while.
During that time, I summoned 20 wolves from the two Grey Wolf Summoning Circles (10 bodies) and gave them names.
Once I had finished naming all the wolves, I called Hii over and instructed him to lead them.
The other four wolves that had been scattered around gathered around, exchanging greetings.
Next, I took them to the Slime Summoning Circle and informed them that they could do as they liked with the slimes that came out.
Afterward, I allowed them some time to act freely.
I planned to check on them daily. Depending on the situation, I was considering the possibility of further increasing the number of wolves.
With that, my instructions for the wolves were temporarily complete.
Kouhi and Mitsuki returned to the management layer and performed the final summoning as planned.
The last two summoned were Sarasa and Tin, who were both women.
Incidentally, all six of the individuals summoned by Kouhi and Mitsuki were exceptional beauty and handsomeness.
They would likely prove useful for negotiations in Ryusen.
After a brief greeting, Kouhi took the two of them and headed towards Ryusen.
Somehow, Kousuke lost the motivation to conduct management tasks for the day, so afterward he enjoyed a relaxing time bathing (of course, with the two) instead.
The next chapter is scheduled to be posted at 8 PM the following day.
2014/6/3 – Typos corrected.
