Reincarnated as a Dungeon Master, I Became Unstoppable by Doting on My Monsters—My Gorgeous Monsters Have Started to Conquer the World on Their Own!

“In other words, I just have to protect the daughter of Goddess Navarbi, right?”

This revelation came to me three days after I decided while observing the new buds of the trees in the forest. Not that I have a hobby of botany; I was watching to receive guidance from the goddess. It seems the straightforward pendant guidance was a one-time thing. From then on, she gave me signs through the movement of bird flocks, arrangement of stars, and budding plants.

After synthesizing the information I gathered, it seemed Goddess Navarbi summoned me to help her daughter in political struggles. Once I’m prepared, I should head to her temple—apparently, her daughter’s name is Goddess Nanaya.

“Understood. Being able to protect the daughter of the woman I fell for is the ultimate honor for a man. But please wait until my monsters grow a little more. They won’t be of any use in their current state.”

After saying that, the revelations stopped coming. She could still update me about mundane things, but being a goddess must be busy work.

From then on, every day was spent enjoying irreplaceable moments with the monsters. I spent about half the time scavenging corpses in the forest.

I didn’t participate in battles because I didn’t want to go around killing creatures, even if they were monsters.

However, I’ve already decided to take on their lives and kill that demonic cow. So, I set some rules to limit combat:

Creatures that attack the dungeon may be destroyed. This is for self-defense.

Creatures that try to capture me may be killed. Dungeon monsters must die to respawn, so if an enemy tries to prevent that, it’s self-defense to fight back.

If it’s to help another creature, killing the enemy is permissible. Right now, the dungeon companions can respawn, but if allies are made outside the dungeon, they need to be protected. Therefore, attacking is allowed.

If both parties agree, duels are welcome in our dungeon as long as there’s no bad blood afterward.

These rules were thoroughly instilled in the monsters. Of course, part of this was because my previous life experiences in Japan had made me oppose killing. Still, the main reason was that monsters might develop an aversion to killing as their intelligence increases. To prepare for such a case, I wanted them to live without taking undue responsibility for others’ lives while their intelligence parameters were still low.

Especially since I’m human and they will always be monsters, I didn’t want to impose such orders on them. Additionally, I have been focusing on improving everyone’s intelligence evenly. I told them they could make rules if their intelligence surpassed mine. It’s like reaching adulthood on Earth. Once their intelligence surpasses my ‘C’ level, they can choose whether to stay in the dungeon or leave, and they can even break the contract if they wish. Of course, I’d prefer if they stayed.

That being said, I have imposed a life of restrictions on the monsters and even given them terrible orders like not retaliating if attacked. However, they bravely stuck to those rules, which gave me the strength to keep going, no matter how many times I got killed in the forest.

Furthermore, using monster enhancement and dungeon master enhancement, I learned the mainstream language of this planet, which is referred to as ‘Etina’ (corresponding to Earth). It’s probably what we would call English on Earth. Because of this, I can now communicate with them. The emotional impact of this is immeasurable. Many monsters don’t have mouths and can’t speak, but they can express emotions like affirmation, negation, and various feelings without any problem.

And thus, I gradually began to understand their personalities. For example, Hazel, the Undead Crawling Hand I summoned first, has a lazy disposition.

“Hey, Hazel. It’s time to open the dungeon. Aren’t you going out?”

Generally, I want them to have a structured life. So, mornings are for study—teaching things other than combat. Afternoons are for going outside to gather materials when the dungeon opens, and evenings are free time. Since some monsters don’t need sleep, there’s no set bedtime.

Everyone likes to go outside, so they usually head out when it’s time. But Hazel often hesitates to leave. There are traps inside for surveillance, so there’s no need to stay inside. It seems Hazel finds going outside bothersome.

Hazel skillfully moved its fingertips to express a feeling of tiredness and did not seem willing to move.

“If you don’t go out, you won’t be able to rank up.”

At that, Hazel reluctantly rolled across the floor as if to say, “Fine.” Among the thirteen, Hazel is the one I interact with the most, mainly because it moves so little.

“She’s so cute, Hazel is. If you’re this adorable, there’s no need even to move. But Hazel, you like collecting cute gear, right?”

I had previously spent a fair amount of DP determining everyone’s preferences. It seems that she particularly likes Gothic Lolita-style equipment and furniture.

“Right now, you might have to exchange hard-earned DP to get what you want, but if you work hard to level up now, you’ll eventually be able to get anything you want without leaving here.”

I’m the only one who realizes its charm because it’s just a hand. But as it grows, everyone will notice its beauty and start giving gifts, no doubt about it.

After petting Hazel, the clever girl reluctantly stepped outside. A few days later, she ranked up to F-Class. I had looked into how to rank up when researching contracts, but the result varied depending on the monster’s disposition and upbringing. After strengthening her stats six times, Hazel could finally rank up. The F-Class Hazel became a monster called Chon Chon, becoming a flying woman’s severed head. Organs dangled from the neck, skillfully manipulating them so the body could get by without moving. Unfortunately, she had a face like a zombie and still couldn’t talk.

Who would’ve thought my words about reducing work after ranking up would lead in such an unexpected direction? I was both impressed and moved by their infinite potential.

There were also other instances like Rosarosa Vincy, a G-Class monster of the Venom Vine species with a thorny vine form. Since increasing her intelligence, she has been avoiding getting close to me. Initially, I thought she was shy and waited for her to get comfortable, but she was always skulking in the corner of my room. When I tried calling out to her, she swiftly ran away. That’s when it clicked.

“Rosarosa, it’s okay. Love can overcome any poison.”

So she had been concerned about her poison. I embraced Rosarosa. Indeed, the thorns pricked me, and I felt my body cooling. But I am immortal. A poisonous girl and an undying man—it’s a match made like it’s straight out of a movie.

“Listen, Rosarosa. Sure, you have poison. But I’m your master. The joy of having you by my side far outweighs the pain of losing my life.”

From that moment on, Rosarosa became the most affectionate. Her kill rate also increased significantly, eventually surpassing the number of monsters killed by intruders. Her poison became more potent when she evolved, and dark red roses bloomed in exchange. Seeing that, I was moved to tears by the beauty of the roses.

Of course, not everything went smoothly; we were often attacked in the dungeon. Saryu, a G-rank monster from the Beast Tribe of Rats, excelled in such situations. Initially, I thought it was a characteristic of the Beast Tribe, but it was not the case. She meticulously observed the local monsters’ hunting and fighting habits when the dungeon was open and analyzed their weaknesses.

Naturally, I praised her a lot and prepared several delicious dishes. As time passed, the individual personalities became more evident: the Combat Group, who enjoyed battling; the Care Group, who liked assisting me; the Study Group, who enjoyed learning; the Arts Group, who took an interest in painting and literature, and the Dungeon Group who found value in strengthening the dungeon.

Although they all belonged to different groups, their relationships were good. They interacted with each other and ate together every day. Thanks to the Dungeon Group’s Clarymond and Pilripaart, the dungeon had become a one-way path that followed the outer perimeter of the pyramid, so we no longer lost to forest beasts.

Before I knew it, a decade had passed. My monster subordinates had grown strong enough to defeat that demon bull one-on-one. Yet, I continued to build their strength without descending to the human world or engaging in large-scale monster hunting.