Ria was the name of the Dog-kin girl that became a slave. She was ten years old, but she was the oldest amongst this batch of slaves. She stood in front of the others, even though her whole body was trembling with fear. After all, it was not hard to guess that they were inside the Dungeon. By the way, I had already installed the lighting so it was not dark even though it was in the Dungeon.

“What are you scared of?” I asked at Ria and the other children. Most of them were hugging each other as they looked at me with fear in their eyes. Was I really scary? It was a question that I wanted to ask, but I would never ask. If they said that I was scary... I didn’t know whether my delicate heart could take it after all.

“M-Master, p-please give us y-your order,” Ria said stutteringly. In this batch, she was the bravest. I wanted to let them rest for the night, but maybe thinking that they could rest would scare them more. After all, if I were them, I would be more scared if someone suddenly let me rest without any punishment. A punishment was something that they had received since they became slaves after all. Maybe, I didn't know how they thought after all.

By the way, Beast-kins in this world was, well, different than the Beast-kins in animes and mangas. For example, the girl, Ria, was not a human with Dog ears and tail, but rather, a Dog that walked with two feet rather than four. Yes, she was what we called bipedal Dog. She looked humanoid, but everything aside, she was really a Dog.

So, if there were male otherworlders, they would be disappointed for sure once they knew that there were no cute Beast-kins girls in this world. Well, that was not exactly right. Theoretically speaking, there were cute girls with beast ears and tail in this world. As for why I said it only theoretically speaking, it was because those kinds of children were half-breed between humans and the Beast-kins. However, which humans had twisted preferences that loved Beast-kins in a sexual way? Most people would think that Beast-kins were no different than animals. Well, talking animals that walked with two feet. As for me, I thought that some of them were cute, but that was all. They would never be a love interest.

That was why I said it was only theoretically speaking.

Alright, now, let’s go back to the main topic. The children were scared because I fell into silence for a while after all. But seriously, what could I say to make them feel relieved?

“…well, I’m tired tonight. Tomorrow, I will have Slimerin to teach you how to make potions. I won’t forgive you if you make mistakes because you don't have enough sleep, so sleep well for tonight and work hard tomorrow.” I said that and I pointed at the door to the other room. I had redecorated the thirtieth floor so there were a lot of rooms, just like a dormitory. And the Dungeon Core was hidden in one of those rooms. Under the bed. Speaking of which, that was also my room. No one would expect the Dungeon Core would be hidden in a place like that, right? 

As for the connection between the Dungeon Core and the Dragon Vein, it wouldn't be a problem. After all, that room was a bit special. Even when I put the Dungeon Core under my bed, the connection wouldn't be blocked by anything at all. As for the reason why the Dungeon Core floated when I first took it... maybe that was because the previous Dungeon Master was a bit too... pretentious?

Anyway, the children gulped before they walked to the door from this big hall. I asked Slimerin to show them their room while I opened the letter from the silly Goddess.

When I opened it, I laughed continuously without stopping for five minutes straight.

How could I not? The silly Goddess wrote something so ridiculous after all.

Dear Fey,

How are you? I hope you are fine.

Just reading that first sentence caused me to laugh incessantly. Well, imagining the silly Goddess writing those lines, no, imagining her voice in that sentence, I couldn’t stop laughing. So, rather than reading those opening parts that made me laugh, I skimmed right to the core of the message, and my expression became a bit serious.

The silly Goddess said that she was in the town located near the Dungeon in the area where Astaroth’s Dungeon was located. If I remembered correctly, it was the Dungeon in the north area and it was the closest unconquered Dungeon from human territories. Well, that truth was only known to several people, so a lot of people thought that the Dungeon had been conquered already.

However, it seemed the Dungeon Master of that Dungeon had changed. Astaroth promised not to attack the humans, but at the moment, countless weak monsters attacked human settlements. Those monsters were Goblins, so it seemed a weak Goblin gained control over that Dungeon and made it their nest, huh?

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As for Astaroth, it seemed he wasn’t dead, but rather, he lost his power just like me and the silly Goddess. He had power as strong as God after all. So, it was natural that he would lose his power as well. If not, it wouldn’t be fair for me, a fellow Dungeon Master, who definitely lost my power.

Anyway, Goblins, huh? There were many races in this world, and Goblins was one of them. Some categorized Goblins as Demi-humans, but most categorized Goblins as mere monsters. I preferred the first though, as Goblins were similar to other Demi-humans. However, the problem was that all the Goblins were male and they needed females of other humanoid races to reproduce.

Yep, that was the problem why some considered Goblins as monsters as they were like pests, and pests in this world were considered as monsters. By the way, besides Goblins, there were other races similar to them, such as Orcs that had all males in their race, Harpy and Lamia that were all females.

Speaking of Harpy and Lamia, they were more human-like than the Beast-kins. Harpy, for example, besides the fact that they had their arms like wings and their legs had bird’s claws, they were mostly human-like. Lamia also only had their feet in the form of a snake, but their upper body was human. So, instead of considering them as monsters, most scholars said that they were Demi-humans, even though their way to reproduce was similar to Goblins and Orcs.

Alright, although similar, they were different. Goblins and Orcs kidnapped women from humans, other Demi-humans, or Beast-kins, raped them and had Goblin kids from them. After that, they repeated the process over and over again until those women died.

Harpy was similar to them, as they kidnapped the men from humans, other Demi-humans, or Beast-kins. However, they didn’t keep the men with them, but rather, after a one-night stand, they returned the men to their home. By the way, the men would feel lucky, as the Harpies were beautiful if you didn’t look at their arms and legs.

Similarly, Lamia did things like that too. However, Lamia didn’t kidnap the humans and the beast-kins, but rather, they enticed the men to their dwelling and having a one-night stand with them. Yep, similar to the Harpies, the Lamias were beautiful, so, more men voluntarily came to their dwelling to have fun.

…I was wondering if Goblins were as handsome as the Goblin in Korean Drama, would the women voluntarily give their body to the Goblins as well? Maybe.

So, the appearance was really important, huh? After all, in this world, Goblins could be considered as the ugliest Demi-human, and Orcs were, well, they were Pig-kins. No, Pig-kins were different, as Pig-kins were smaller and cuter than Orcs.

Anyway, Goblins that I considered as Demi-humans, were actually monsters. Yes, they were monsters, so those who said that Goblins were Demi-humans, this theory was debunked by me just now. I was amazed that I debunked my own theory. Reason?

Because the silly Goddess said that ever since the Goblins took over the Dungeon, the number of the Goblins became infinity. Unless Goblins had kidnapped countless women, they shouldn’t be able to have this number. Naturally, that was if they were Demi-humans. If they were monsters, they could use the Dungeon to create more Goblins. And the Dungeon could only create monsters, not humans, Demi-humans or Beast-kins. It could create a Dragon, an intelligent being, but it couldn’t create humans… well, although it was weird, I didn’t want to think much about it.

Anyway, the silly Goddess requested me to come and help them conquer the Dungeon. Seriously, what did she expect from me? I was weaker than her, no, than most of the Players that were there, so whether I was there or not, it wouldn’t change anything at all. Instead, I would be a burden.

Besides, I hated Goblins and I didn’t want to get close to them. I had never seen decent Goblins after all, so it wasn’t that I biased towards them but rather, all Goblins generated a lot of hate from other species, including me.

What should I write as a reply?

“…let’s say that I’m busy and she should invite a Goblin Slayer, the nun and his party instead of me.” I murmured as I picked up a paper and a pen from my bag.

…

Next morning.

I slept well last night. Perhaps because I bought some of those children, I didn’t have a bad dream last night. Though, because of that, I overslept a bit.

“Master, they are ready,” Slimerin informed me as I woke up. I returned to the Dungeon and looked at the children. They were working earnestly, trying to make the potions.

Speaking of which, in the System, the children didn’t have Classes at the moment. They were all Novice. And that meant, they could be anything they wanted as long as they trained hard at it. Though I wanted those children to be Alchemists, I didn’t forget to ask what they wanted to be. Around a third of them wanted the power to protect and the others didn’t really know what they wanted. By the way, I forced them to tell the truth with the Slave Crest when asking this question, so there was no doubt that they were telling the truth. I felt a bit guilty for forcing them to tell the truth, but it couldn't be helped.

For those who wanted to have the power to protect, I asked Slimerin to train them the basic. For those who didn’t know what they wanted, I asked Slimerin to teach them how to make potions. At least, I got free labors and they got free skills.

“Master, why do I have to teach them everything? You can teach them too, can’t you?” Slimerin complained after she taught them.

Well, I could teach them, but it would be troublesome. Wait, I never taught anyone yet, why did I think it was troublesome? Hm, well, seeing how Slimerin teaching those children, it was not wrong to say that it was troublesome.

“Do you think it’s the time for me to Summon another Familiar?” I asked Slimerin. After all, I needed Slimerin to help me with my disguise, so she couldn’t take care of the children all the time. As for the Earth Slime, Slimud, she was busy guarding the tenth floor, so, again, I couldn't ask her to take care of the children all the time. I really should Summon another Familiar.

My MP was not enough to call a Familiar. Even though I was already level 24, it was still not enough to Summon a Familiar. I wondered why I was so weak. Was I stunting?

Anyway, since I couldn't summon a Familiar using my own MP, I should summon one using the Dungeon Mana. The result wouldn't be different. So, yeah, let's summon another one if I had some Dungeon Mana to spare.

“I don’t think you urgently need it, Master. Rather, you will have to teach the new Familiar and it will take more effort, right? As for the children, I think they will be alright as long as you give them daily orders. For example, the ones who train should swing their wooden sword ten thousand times a day, doing sit-up a thousand times a day, doing push-up a thousand times a day, and so on. As for the potion-making children, they should tend the herb garden every morning, and after that, they have to make at least two hundred bottles of potions every day. If they finished their task, they can do what they want in their leisure time.” Slimerin suggested.

“…do you want the children to one-punch every monster by doing that kind of training? Also, I didn't want to have an army of bald Beast-kins! Reduce the number! As for potion-making children, I think fifty bottles per child is enough.” I calculated the time to create the potions and it should be enough for the newbies. Well, anyway, the idea itself was great, only the number was the problem, so it was not a big deal.