Speaking of stomachs...I haven’t mentioned yet what I’d been eating since I arrived here. It turned out Sprigians were frugivores, meaning they could only eat things like fruits and nuts. The Irregulars (Team Apple) and the Sprigardener (Maple) gathered and produced lots of fruit for the dungeon’s inhabitants. I had a ton of food items in my inventory that offered various benefits, so I usually tried to eat those, but sometimes a bit of fresh fruit really hit the spot.
I wondered if being adorable meant I had a natural fondness for sweet things... Well, I guess certain nuts, roots, and tubers could be included in Sprigian diets as well, so maybe not.
Anyway, the human group finished their break and headed up to the third floor. It looked like they’d realized the monsters there were stronger, but they still weren’t really having any trouble. I wondered what level they were. I didn’t have a way to check, but based on how little difficulty they were having here, I’d put them all at least level eight. Thank goodness I hadn’t overestimated them and filled the first floor with level twenty enemies. Yup, it was always best to set the bar low at the start for things like this. If they’d gotten killed because of a mistake like that, I would have felt really bad about it.
Realistically, I probably would’ve tried to convince myself that they deserved it for bullying my Irregulars, but my minions had returned to me, so it wasn’t really the same.
Oh, looks like they’re going to the fourth floor now. I gotta say, these guys have guts. I mean, they realized the monsters are getting stronger every floor, and they’re unaware that I don’t want to kill them, but they’re still pushing forward anyway. It’s kinda admirable, you know?
The visitors seemed to handle the monsters on the fourth floor okay, which was a relief. If they really are around level eight, then they shouldn’t have any problems with the next floor either. It looked like I could expect good returns on my investment. I’d already picked up a significant quantity of dungeon points, so I looked forward to adding another floor or two after they finished.
Oh, they’re stopping to eat. Good idea. Best not to rush in if you’re tired. The layout on the fifth floor isn’t complicated, but the monsters are all in one place, and they’re level five, so it’ll be tough for you guys.
I ate a piece of fruit while I watched them eat. Maybe I didn’t want to feel left out. As they ate and talked, I paid a lot of attention to what they said and the context in which they said it. Obviously I still couldn’t understand them, but I was looking for context clues. If you were around people who spoke a different language long enough, and you paid close enough attention, you’d eventually start to pick it up. In language learning, that process is called immersion. As an immigrant to this new world, I needed to learn to communicate with the people here. As the proud owner of a tower full of monsters, being able to explain myself and my motives would become a vital skill. My tablet was actually recording their conversation in the chat log as well, so I could go over it again later.
Looks like break time is over—they’re heading upstairs now.
The moment of truth arrived. They just needed to beat ten level five Sprigumdrops, open the treasure chest, and trigger the trap I’d set.
This looked pretty tough for them, but they had a solid defensive formation. Good thing I’d given them more room to work with. If they’d been ambushed in a narrower space, they wouldn’t have been able to form ranks like that. I’d have to keep things like that in mind.
I wondered if this was about average strength for the people here. If there are any people way stronger than this, I’d like them to give my tower a try. I’ll put better stuff in the treasure chests if that happens, I promise!
Oh, they did it!
The group of humans finally defeated the last of my squishy little minions and moved on to eagerly inspecting the treasure chest. They seemed a bit perplexed when they finally opened the lid. I wondered if they already had anything like healing potions in this world. If they didn’t, then this little discovery of theirs could net them a small fortune. Then, when they told people about it, I’d get more visitors. Maybe even some stronger ones. I could hardly wait.
It looked like they were splitting the loot evenly among the members, even if they didn’t know exactly what it was. As they took the last bottle out, my devious little trap activated, and they were captured without incident. I was so pleased with myself I couldn’t help but let out an adorable “Woo-hoo!”
I gathered the Irregulars and went to greet my guests. The Irregulars took point, swords at the ready. As we approached, I tried to get them to act less hostile, but I supposed from their perspective these guys had ambushed them. I’d probably be on guard too if it were me. Even though I already explained the situation to them, and our “enemies” were safely behind bars, Team Apple was still ready for battle.
By the way, wasn’t “Team Apple” just the cutest little nickname for them? Since all of their names meant apple in different languages, it was just perfect. You can shower me with praise, I really outdid myself. At that point, I only called them Team Apple in my head, since none of them knew the meaning behind it, but I still enjoyed it.