In the end, Loulan decided to ease up on his dungeon schedule and first learn to wield his current strength proficiently.
That way, even if another unexpected situation like the one just now arose, he would no longer have to rely entirely on his body. Once his mind caught up to his body, he might devise a different way to break the deadlock.
At the very least, he couldn't let his thinking hold his body back. One plus one shouldn't equal only one, but the normal two, with the goal of exceeding three.
In simple terms, that meant—balancing essence, energy, and spirit.
Loulan's essence, energy, and spirit were now severely imbalanced. His essence was excessively robust, his energy was nearly nonexistent, and his spirit was feeble, preventing him from bringing out the full power of his current body.
A human soul could not command a bear's strength and savage reactions, just as a walnut-sized brain could never devise science.
During this time, he could also strengthen his first adventuring-party member—the slime Lulu, who was about to become a girl~
How would he strengthen her? Simple: buy and equip relics, or obtain some training methods used by professionals and let her try them to see if they worked.
There were many ways to become stronger. The key questions were whether one could step onto that path and whether one had the resources and perseverance to keep walking it.
...
Time flew. Loulan did not immediately return to Coldiron City, which had just suffered a dragon attack and was bound to remain in chaos.
Even if the dragon had left or been driven off, extensive reconstruction would be necessary. An adventurer like him might get dragged in as forced labor.
Would Loulan do forced labor? Absolutely not. That would produce even more unexpected trouble. To avoid such unnecessary situations, the cautious Loulan planned to stay in the small town near the dungeon for a few days.
It was called a town, but its settled population was not actually large. Most establishments were taverns, gambling halls, brothels, monasteries, and other facilities specifically serving adventurers entering and leaving the Darkest Dungeon.
Some adventurers under tremendous pressure from the Darkest Dungeon would stay here for a few days after coming out, briefly soothing their minds through desire, prayer, and the relevant establishments.
Naturally, adventurers qualified to enter a Darkest Dungeon were not dirt-poor nobodies who could only wander ordinary dungeons. This town might go three years without business, then make enough in one deal to live on for three more!
Because of the dragon attack, many refugees had flooded in, turning the formerly quiet, empty town lively.
But lively or not, most refugees were ordinary adventurers and ordinary people. They could not afford the town's high prices for long, so incidents such as picking fights and petty theft had increased.
Loulan had no desire to involve himself in such matters. After entering the town, he simply found a tavern and planned to rent a room for a few days, then return to Coldiron City once this period passed.
"Three nights, plus daily meals for two."
"Thirty gold a night. Three meals a day for two people cost five gold per day. That will be 105 gold, please."
Behind the counter, the middle-aged bartender slowly spoke while polishing a wineglass.
At any other time, he would naturally have welcomed every guest warmly, but now was different. There were too many dirt-poor people in town! So many that he was nearly sick of them.
"Hiss~ That's a little expensive. I didn't bring any money when I left. Do you have a promissory contract from the Imperial Bank? I'll stamp it."
The cost was far more appalling than Loulan had imagined, though the dragon disaster might also have had something to do with it.
But there was no helping it. He needed a place to stay, and he was now a respectable person of sorts. Using his strength to force someone to house him was unacceptable.
Fortunately, noble bounties were all generous. Maven's commission, for example, had a base price of 2,000 gold coins, while that supernatural relic had sold for over 6,000!
It was only a little over 100 gold. He could pay without batting an eye.
"We do, of course, sir. Please wait a moment!"
The bartender instantly perked up when he heard that. He had encountered a big spender! Probably an adventurer who had just emerged from the Darkest Dungeon.
As he pulled the promissory contract from a drawer, the bartender poured out his grievances to Loulan.
"Sir, you've only just left the dungeon, so you may not know what's happening. Coldiron City suffered a dragon disaster in the past couple of days, which drove our humble establishment's prices to more than double their usual level. The other businesses have more or less raised their prices severalfold too. Now look at those dirt-poor people in the streets. Oh, God of Wealth above, can't they get lost in the deep forests? Why insist on rotting here when they can't afford anything?!"
"Ah, everyone's having a hard time. All right, just send the bill to the bank when the time comes."
Loulan removed his Gold-rank adventurer medal from the Adventurers' Guild. It was a magic item that could connect to all kinds of contract-based devices.
It was the equivalent of a seal.
Holding it, he gently pressed it against a paper contract laid on the counter. The emblem on the medal's face appeared on the page, containing Loulan's unique identity verification.
With it, the Whiterun Empire's banks could directly deduct money from Loulan's savings.
After paying for the room, Loulan took his belongings and key upstairs to a finely furnished double room with a single bed.
It was made from solid wood, with soft cotton bedding, a desk, and a bathing tub. Everything was provided.
Loulan set down the bearskin backpack, then took out Lulu, who had fallen asleep inside it.
She was an adorable little lump. Thanks to Loulan's filter, she looked like a little girl curled up asleep, even sucking her thumb like a baby.
【Ah~ I feel completely healed!】
"Mm~"
Seeming to sense the movement, the little girl gently opened her eyes and rose. She then nuzzled her head against Loulan's palm, acting spoiled as she begged for something delicious.
"No rush. Once you've transformed, I'll let you drink your fill."
Loulan gently stroked Lulu twice with his other hand, then opened the 【Girl's Wonderhouse】 and exchanged for the single Beautiful Monster-Girl Elixir available with each refresh.
Although called an elixir, it looked like a pink gemstone. Within the gem was even embedded the familiar pattern of a succubus tattoo.
In short, it fit the theme of this cheat perfectly!
Unable to wait, Loulan pressed the gemstone directly against Lulu.
WHOOSH~
In an instant, a faint light appeared as the gemstone dissolved.
Suddenly, Loulan felt something heavy press down on his body.
Impossible. There was no way he had mistaken this incomparably delicate sensation...
"Mm? Mm~"
After transforming into a humanoid, the girl retained the slime's mucus-like qualities, but she also possessed the fleshy sensation and substance of a human body. (See cover for details.)
(Original image)
She wasn't formed entirely from a puddle of mucus. Her body was close to that of a normal human, but her pale-blue skin and pinkish-blue, slime-like hair told Loulan one thing: she was not human.
"Lulu?"
"Mm?"
The slime girl was somewhat confused. She did not know why her appearance had suddenly changed so drastically, but instinctive dependence made her cling tightly to Loulan's embrace, gently nuzzling her cheek against his chest.