My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem

Chapter 1496

Three of the women were pulled into the depths by the time they realized something was happening. However, realizing what was happening did spare them from the mermaid’s wrath. A normal 5th level would have a miniboss, but it’d also be filled with various mobs too. Even after everything, I didn’t have the mana to afford anything else, so every selection I used for the dungeon I made the count.

Eventually, the leader thought to create a protective circle with the girls and face the mermaid head-on. The battle was brutal, but eventually, they were able to get a good hit on the mermaid, and it had no choice but to escape. There were only three of the original group surviving. Just as they decided to continue their way on, a new group approached the water level. At this point, a total of four groups had entered. It was a hundred women, each progressively stronger than the last. The most recent group included several of the lionesses, although I didn’t know if they were numbered, and I didn’t see First or Second.

I was just about to send someone up with a potion to restore the mermaid and try to repeat the slaughter with the next group. I had ordered it not to fight to the death, but to do as much damage as it could. In that respect, it had done a particularly good job. At least, that was my plan until the woman who seemed to be leading this group let out a dismissive snort. She threw something into the water.

The object seemed to open into a portal, and the water in the dungeon started to flow into it. It started slowly, but it grew faster and faster. The water wasn’t going in like a waterfall. It appeared as if it was being sucked into the portal, the water visible declining. I was hoping there was some kind of limit, but the water only seemed to be sucked in faster and faster. I could only watch as the mermaid started to fight against the current. However, as the water declined and the current increased, it was overtaken.

The mermaid seemed to fall into the portal, and then there was nothing. It was dead. Whatever that device was, it opened a vacuum into seeming nothingness, and anything that entered it also became nothing. That was when I noticed that the girls who had been very near the exit and thus less affected by the initial current were also now caught into it.

“Look, there’s are caught too!” Miki exclaimed.

The three women should have been on the same side as the others who were desperately holding onto a stake they had placed into the ground. One of them finally couldn’t hold on anymore, and they were sucked into the whirlpool of death. One by one, the remaining ones were killed just like the first. Another few minutes, and the entire level was now only a foot or so of water, and completely harmless. The woman recovered the device, putting it back on her belt.

“I think some of ours were in that water.” One of the women told the leader.

She snorted. “Then they should have saved themselves. Our lord has no room for failures. If you wish to rise in his favor, you also must be ruthless.”

The other girls nodded as if such a thing was obvious. As for the boss room where the lot of us waited, there was only silence.

Chapter 1497

“What has cities, but no houses, rivers, but no fish, and roads, forests, but no trees, and roads, but no people?”

“Yeah, keep reading it, I still don’t know.”

“What’s with this dungeon?

They had managed to reach Matty’s level, this was the level that used riddles to slow them down. There were ten in all to get through the entire level. I figured it’d take them about an hour to solve it all. I had overestimated them, as they were still on the first riddle and they had yet to figure it out.

“It’s clearly a map! Why do they not grasp it?” Terra looked mildly irritated.

I seemed to recall in Terra’s dungeon, she had similarly attempted to use a riddle to delay people. She seemed to have a thing for riddles, and to find these girls struggling so much seemed to drive her crazy.

“It’s a good thing I had you reinforce this area. I wouldn’t want them busting their way through.” I complemented Terra, although I had no clue if her squirming meant she wanted the praise or was scratching an itch.

It was pretty hard dealing with her in her current form. It wasn’t like she blushed or showed facial expressions. That’s why I tried to keep complimenting her so she didn’t feel like I stopped caring that she was no longer pretty.

“Only you would be so ineloquent!” Matty snapped while I was trying to come up with more encouragement.

That wasn’t true. They had already tried to blast their way through and had failed. However, Matty was still bitter about how I had defeated his dungeon while creating quite a bit of collateral damage. Although he was speaking negatively, his attitude had improved since his mother witch was back.

“Our son is very pleased. His riddle level has kept them back longer than anything else so far. He’s been a good boy.” the witch said, causing him to turn red, as she leaned in and whispered the rest to me. “You should praise him as well.”

Why should I praise him? He’s just some monster I happened to tame! He’s far different to me than Terra, despite her current monstrous appearance. That’s what I thought, but I decided encouragement might help considering how rough he had it recently.

“You’ve done well,” I responded stiffly.

Matty stiffened and then shot me a hateful glare. “Who asked you?”

He turned and ran into the forest around us. The witch sighed and then winked at me before following after him.

“I-if Master wants a baby, I’m happy to accommodate!” Shao declared.

“I already am having two!” I shot back and then blinked. “You’re back? I thought you were still taking out the enemies one by one?”

“The newer group’s perception is too great; they immediately saw me. My only choice was to flee.” Shao admitted.

“The newest group?” I opened up a screen to view that part of the dungeon.

The newest group that had entered was the final group. First, Second, and the rest of the top lionesses had entered the dungeon finally. The true battle was just about to start.

Chapter 1498

Although the previous teams had cleared out the levels, each subsequent team systematically wiping out all opposition and creating a clear and safe path to move from level to level, I had a feeling that this final team could have blown through these obstacles even without the others leading the ways. They moved down from level to level at a speed that seemed to overwhelm the other teams.

As they overtook the teams before them which had been proceeding far more cautiously as to not encounter any surprises, the magician who was now known as First made sure the chastise them.

“Pathetic! Don’t you love our lord at all?”

“Th-this is a dungeon! We don’t want to die!” One girl cried out.

“Shut up! Our lord is depending on us, and here you are wasting time!”

These girls could only put their heads down and then follow behind their betters as they continued down. They finally met up on the puzzle level, just as the current group was defeating the final puzzle. Each subsequent group that had gathered had offered their brainpower, and eventually, enough clever people appeared that the puzzles were all done. A few had deathly consequences, and a few more had perished.

With First’s group, there were just over a hundred harem girls remaining. So far, the dungeon had managed to wipe out close to fifty. That meant that King Roth kept a harem of over 150 girls. I had thought I had been greedy with how many women I kept. Then again, I seemed to recall the harems of earth from rulers tended to have hundreds and sometimes thousands, so maybe I was the one being too picky.

“This is as far as you all made it?” the current First snarled. “I promised my lord we’d be done with this dungeon by lunchtime. You are being held back by such a pathetic enemy? You make King Roth look bad!”

“I-it’s not that!” One of the leaders from another group protested. “It’s just that this dungeon isn’t like any other dungeon we’ve seen. Every level is completely different. We can’t possibly account for everything.”

“Shut up!” She slapped the girl. “All the matters was my lord’s happiness. You will follow me from now on, and as long as you do what I say, then you may be able to keep the honor to service his feet!”

“Y-yes… apologies.” She said, rubbing her cheek tearfully.

First reorganized the remaining girls and then gestured for them to continue onward. They left the floor and headed on to the first of the ghost levels. As soon as the first ghost appeared, it was as I had thought. The animalkin girls immediately went rigid, and in particular, the lionesses and other catkin seemed to be afraid.

“You will attack!” First hollered, demanding they went forward.

There was some hesitancy, and Second who was sending in the back couldn’t hide the smug look on her face as First’s orders were ignored. However, when First looked in her direction, she made sure to wipe that look off her face.

First suddenly whipped out her hand, and a lightning bolt came out and struck one of the animalkin women. She was one of the weaker girls, and she didn’t even have time to raise her hands before she died.

“Whoever doesn’t obey, dies!” First screamed.