He looked like he'd been put through the wringer by Milim — utterly battered and worn out.
Rather than looking stronger, he just looked like he'd been beaten half to death. Was he going to be okay?
"Heh heh heh... I did it... I cleared it!"
Gobta kept mumbling those words like a broken record.
Milim gave a big nod.
"Mm. It was splendid! I didn't think you'd actually be able to clear Hell Mode."
Since Milim was praising him, Gobta must have accomplished something real.
Later, once Gobta had recovered some of his energy, I asked him about it, and apparently the training had consisted almost entirely of live combat drills.
He'd been forced to fight nothing but monsters at his level or slightly above, over and over again, nonstop.
"She told me: *'No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to increase your Magicules beyond a certain point. But if you can synchronize with
He said all this with a big grin on his face.
He'd apparently acquired the Extra Skill 'Sage' as well, which enabled thought acceleration.
I had to admit — the kid was impressive.
Now then, since Milim had come to visit, it was time to bring out the item I'd been preparing for a while now.
Veldora,
We were in Veldora's room. The very bottom floor of the underground dungeon.
"Everyone, pay attention! I have here a special item. Something I've been developing for quite some time now — you could call it a groundbreaking invention. It's guaranteed to add a whole new kind of fun to our lives."
As I said that, I handed one to each of them.
This was based on an idea inspired by the artificial humans used by Emperor Sarion and Duke Elalude.
I figured that if I could prepare a temporary body, some rather interesting things might become possible.
"What's this?"
"Never seen anything like it before. Is it food?"
"Hmm. In my estimation, this bears a similar structure to a vessel of the soul."
Each of them voiced their own impression.
Veldora was closest to the mark. It was essentially a pseudo-soul vessel — I'd taken the core concept behind an artificial human's possession mechanic and modified it in my own way.
But Ramiris... Food? Seriously? Did she think everything I prepared was edible or something, this girl...
Oh well.
"Veldora's the closest. This is something that functions as a vessel for the soul. Since it's difficult to prepare an actual soul, I created something like a pseudo-monster core. I'd like you to each hold one and imagine whatever form you'd like. An existing monster is fine too."
"So, like, a goblin or an orc? A Unicorn Rabbit? Or even a Man-Eating Bear?"
"Hmm? Sure, go ahead. Just make sure it's something you actually like. Don't come complaining to me later that you hate it, alright?"
Whether they found my words convincing or not, each of them held their gemstone orb and began to focus.
After a short while, Magicules swarmed around the orbs, and monsters materialized before us — each taking the form their creator had envisioned.
First, me.
A softly floating human soul. A Ghost, the origin of all specters.
I'd traded away all physical capability for a pure magic-oriented build. I'll spare the stats, but I'd gained the skills Elemental Magic and Physical Nullification.
Being a ghost, physical attacks wouldn't do a thing to me.
Next was Veldora.
A skeleton stood there. A Skeletal Warrior. It couldn't use magic yet, but that could be learned through growth. It would probably be able to acquire Aura Fighting too.
But for now, it was still useless.
Then came Milim.
A squishy, plump, and oddly fresh-looking body — but with no arms or legs. It was a striking shade of crimson, but it was unmistakably a Slime.
Hey now...
"Hey, why a Slime? Are you trying to mess with me?!"
"Well, I mean... you said I could pick whatever monster I liked, right? No complaints allowed!"
She shot me right back down.
Fine, whatever. The girl was beaming with excitement, eyes sparkling as she bounced around. "Slime! Slime!"
But I really wanted to ask why it had to be bright red...
Finally, Ramiris.
A knight? No — armor?
It was a Moving Armor. A full suit of Living Armor, technically, but a rather pathetic-looking one.
Still, among the four monsters we'd created, it was by far the largest.
She'd probably been self-conscious about her height and decided to make something big. That was most likely the reason.
It went without saying that there was nothing inside.
It was, perhaps, the most Ramiris-like monster imaginable.
Everyone was gazing at their newly created monsters with great interest.
But the real surprise was yet to come.
"Listen up, everyone. This isn't the end — creating them isn't all there is to it. First, go sit down somewhere and get comfortable. Then, face your monster and say 'Possess' out loud."
At my instruction, they all settled in wherever was comfortable. It was Veldora's room, but each of them had brought in cushions and chairs of their own, so no one had to worry about accommodation.
And then, in unison, they all said "Possess."
For me too, my consciousness dimmed for a split second before my entire field of vision shifted.
My Magic Sense range had shrunk dramatically, and my vision felt suddenly impoverished. It was jarring.
I did have rudimentary phantom senses, so it was still far better than when I'd first been reincarnated. But for the other three, who had no experience with this kind of thing, it must have been quite disorienting.
Looking around through my narrowed new vision, I could see a Skeleton doing squats, a Slime zipping around at unnatural speed, and a stiff, clunky Living Armor that looked like it was made of tin, lurching awkwardly.
After spending a little while getting used to their new bodies, they all said in perfect unison: *'This is incredible!!'* Mm. I could feel it too — this fit better than I'd expected. It was almost like my own body. The catch was that performance had tanked, so movement was sluggish. But once you recognized the pattern of movement, predicting your reactions became easy. Controlling it like an extension of yourself came surprisingly quickly.
"Mm. It seems like a success.
Now then — once you've possessed these monsters, do you understand what you should be doing? I shouldn't need to spell it out?"
"Heh heh. Foolish question. I already know — this is a game, yes?!"
"What?! Is that really true, Veldora?!
Master! So we're supposed to use these bodies to defeat enemies?
And then... level up these bodies...?"
As expected of Veldora. He'd seen right through what I wanted to do in a single flash.
That's right — a pseudo-VRMMO.
Well, more like a MO than an MMO, but that was beside the point. What mattered was this: we'd gone to all the trouble of building a dungeon, and we wanted to enjoy it ourselves.
"Heh heh. Impressive, Veldora. To see through my plan so effortlessly.
Ramiris, you're not just defeating enemies — you're clearing this dungeon. And once you do, you level up this body and evolve it!
Oh, and obviously — adventurers count as enemies too, so don't get that wrong!"
*'Ooooh, I see!!'* They probably didn't fully buy it yet, but I could tell they vaguely understood that this was going to be fun.
We each equipped a 'Ring of Resurrection' that Ramiris had crafted, so that if we died, we could revive right here in the dungeon. This particular ring was durable enough to withstand repeated use without breaking.
Then came the important part.
"Now then, the next important thing is equipment. Once you've gotten used to moving around, we're heading to Kurobei's place to have him make us weapons and armor!"
"Oh, right! Right now we're just bones and such."
"Heh, how foolish. My body is a high-speed special-type Slime! I'm perfectly fine as I am, thank you very much!"
"Hey, hey — I'm wearing armor already... Can I stack even more armor on top of this?"
"Who knows? Probably? Well, let's just go and find out.
Milim, if you don't need equipment, I'll need you to stay here and watch the place."
"Wh— Don't be ridiculous! I could get by like this, but I still need equipment!"
What a spoiled brat.
Of course, I wanted equipment too. I de-possessed and prepared to head out.
"To return to your original body, just think 'Release Possession.' That'll put you back."
I released possession, tucked the gemstone orb back into my pouch, and explained that to everyone.
Veldora and Ramiris returned to their normal forms, but Milim — instead of de-possessing — just dove right into my pouch.
And then she announced: "I'm going just like this. Now let's go!"
She must have really taken a liking to this. Childish, but... well, she was a child.
There was no point telling a child they were being childish.
I gave up and we headed out.
At Kurobei's forge, we had custom equipment crafted for each of us.
My weapons were the Reaper's Scythe and the Garb of the Underworld.
The reason a ghost could equip these was a trait of magical armaments.
Veldora received a Reaper's Sword and a matching Full Plate of the Underworld, along with a Greatshield of Purgatory — fully armed and ready for battle.
Milim's Slime could only handle simple equipment, so she was given a Reaper's Strike and a Crimson Raiment, fitted on the spot.
"Items don't take effect unless you equip them, you know!" I told her.
She said all this while looking extremely pleased with herself.
She was happy, so there was nothing more I needed to say.
And then, Ramiris.
She'd had a Massive Full Plate prepared for her.
Ramiris, looking nervous, possessed her Moving Armor and reached out to receive the new set — but lo and behold, the armor simply swapped itself in.
With a clatter, the old, shabby armor fell to the ground in a heap.
Then it crumbled into dust and was swept away by the wind.
Ramiris's Moving Armor had transformed into a Heavy Living Armor.
It wasn't an evolution. It seemed the equipment didn't stack — it replaced what was there before.
"Whoa! My mobility just got so much better!"
Just as Ramiris said, her movements — which had been stiff and clumsy, like a machine running out of oil — had become smooth and fluid.
The armor's stats apparently affected movement as well. An unexpected discovery.
I let Ramiris choose her own weapon and shield.
"Heh heh! I don't need a shield!"
With that declaration, she picked a massive two-handed weapon.
The Reaper's Great Axe. The most powerful weapon in terms of raw damage, though difficult to wield.
Oh well. She was always getting teased for being underpowered, so this was probably her chance to feel mighty for once.
Her personality really shone through in these choices.
As for me, I'd given up all physical capability to specialize in magic and mental attacks.
My class: Mage. I was planning to learn recovery magic as well, eventually.
Veldora was the all-rounder type, capable of handling anything. He'd probably learn magic before too long.
His class could be called Battle Mage. He couldn't use magic yet, but it was only a matter of time.
Milim was a speed-specialist built around one-hit kills. An ultra-specialized type. Or perhaps you could call it the romantic type.
The plan was to drop from the ceiling, deliver a surprise killing blow, and take the enemy out instantly.
If it connected, it would be devastating. But what if the enemy was immune? Well, she'd probably just run. She was fast enough.
In a way, this was the ideal Slime build.
Her class: Assassin. Studying under
Ramiris was attack-specialized. With a reasonable amount of defense to back it up, she'd probably be fairly stable.
Her class: Berserker. Not actually berserk, but a dangerously attack-focused monster.
Once she got used to it, she and Veldora would form a powerful duo. I wanted her to be the frontline wall.
And so, everyone was absolutely delighted with their new equipment.
In terms of rarity, this gear was Unique Grade. However, since it had been specially adjusted to be equippable by monsters, it wasn't quite as powerful as it could be.
Still, for beginners, this was top-of-the-line equipment.
As a precaution against theft, each piece was cursed with a user restriction — no one else could steal it.
Everything was ready.
We didn't eat, so there was no need to stockpile provisions.
We'd head into the dungeon on a whim and put adventurers through their paces!
Incidentally, regarding my main body that I'd left sitting idle — I could split my consciousness, so I could respond to anything that came up.
I couldn't just play around all day, after all. One of my clones was stationed in the Monster Nation's office for emergency communications.
No loose ends.
We returned to the dungeon and began our exploration.
Our adventure had only just begun!
That was how it went — we were excited and having a great time.
There were plenty of small mishaps along the way, but the plan was progressing smoothly, and there were no real problems.
But the world doesn't stop moving just because you're having fun.
Even while we played, we were gathering intelligence. But the story was beginning to move in ways even I hadn't anticipated.
Even a Demon Lord was still a mortal being. There were things you simply couldn't foresee.
And fun times have a habit of ending without warning.
Just like a midsummer night's dream — gone in an instant.
The moment that information arrived, the fun would come to an end.