Chapter 35: Full Usage

“Even a stone bridge should be tapped before crossing.”

Mimic’s Mukbang manager, Tina, carefully opened the box first and peeked inside.

“Master! There’s a strange piece of paper in here!”

It’s safe.

But a piece of paper?

I felt a slight disappointment as I hopped down into the pit.

I glanced at the paper Tina handed me.

[Party Reserve Member Slot Expansion Ticket]

[This ticket allows you to add one reserve member to the hero party. However, it only applies to parties directly commanded by the Revelator.]

“……?”

I blinked at the unfamiliar concept.

Reserve member?

That wasn’t in the original story.

Of course, the last line made sense.

In high-level content beyond the 30th floor or boss raids, multiple parties had to work together to clear them.

But.

A reserve member?

It felt like something I almost understood but not quite, itching at my brain.

[Would you like to use the Party Reserve Member Slot Expansion Ticket?]

[Y/NO]

The paper shimmered and melted into my body.

And then.

[The Reserve Member System has been activated.]

[The highest-level member, ‘Ellis,’ has been automatically registered as a reserve member.]

Another status window popped up with a *ding*.

“Oh my?”

“Wow! It’s Ellis, but like a doll!”

“Huh…………..?”

Out of thin air.

Ellis appeared.

Not just appearing normally, but in a chibi, doll-like form.

Ellis, surprised, looked down at her body and glanced around.

“What’s going on? I was definitely drinking tea at the guild house.”

So you were slacking off!

“Hey, I finished all the alchemy tasks you assigned, Master.”

You’re so skilled.

“Hmm, let’s see, then ・・・・・・.”

I could roughly grasp the concept.

Focusing my mind, I thought of making Tina the reserve member and returning Ellis to the main party.

“Eek!”

This time, Tina’s body went *poof*!

She transformed into an even cuter chibi Tina.

Chibi Ellis stretched and returned to her original form.

“Oh.”

For a moment, my heart swelled at the miraculous growth of her chest.

My mind raced.

Though it was called a reserve member, it essentially meant the party had one more member.

Even though only five members could participate in direct combat.

This allowed for more flexible use of strength depending on the situation.

For example.

In sections where a healer wasn’t needed, Johanna could be temporarily removed.

Or in sections requiring magic damage, Ari could be swapped out for a magic dealer.

There was no need to re-enter the tower to change the party composition…………!

“This is amazing.”

Really amazing.

A total jackpot.

“Ugh, I’m so tired………….”

Ari groaned and headed straight for the bath.

From Area 1 to Area 5.

The relentless march left the others looking exhausted.

One by one, the heroes followed Ari to wash away the day’s fatigue.

Only Ellis, who had been floating around as a doll, smiled comfortably and lounged on the sofa.

“Arachne, you have quite unique tastes. Who knew you’d give gifts like this? Truly, Master.”

Yeah.

He was like a generous tree.

Though not as exaggerated as Area 1, where treasure chests were everywhere.

From Area 2 to Area 5, we still managed to gather quite a haul.

We recovered half of the gold spent on deploying forces.

Occasionally, we found 10 or 50 divine stones, which helped replenish the ones we used up and even left us with a surplus.

We also found some shop point exchange tickets, accumulating over 3,000 points.

Unfortunately, we didn’t find any hidden quests.

And aside from the skin exchange ticket and the reserve member slot expansion ticket, no other jackpot items appeared.

But still.

One should be content with what they have.

“Oh, right.”

I almost forgot.

I handed the book from the treasure chest to Ellis.

Ellis’s eyes half-opened.

“Hmm…… Master. You have such tastes?”

What’s with that look?

I had a bad feeling.

“I can’t read what’s written here, so…….”

At my words, Ellis smirked mischievously.

“How to instantly corrupt a female dog with three thousand times the sensitivity.”

“?”

“Oh my, shall I read it again? How to instantly corrupt a female dog with three thousand times the sensitivity.”

“Ahem, ahem!”

Why was such a book in the treasure chest?

I quickly coughed loudly to erase the obscene words.

“Looks interesting. May I read it, Master?”

“………Do as you please.”

I averted my gaze from Ellis, who had started indulging in her refined hobby, and cautiously made my way to my room.

After washing away the day’s fatigue in the shower attached to my room.

I saw Tina rolling around on my bed, having arrived at some point.

She must have been assigned as today’s Ark watcher.

“What? Bored? Want to go do some work?”

“Eek……!”

Teasing her made her flail cutely.

I sat Tina on my lap at the desk, jotting down today’s gains and organizing them.

I fiddled with my smartphone, checking if I could use the accumulated points for anything.

“Hmm.”

I also made some plans on how to utilize the reserve member system.

It was about time to expand the hero pool.

But the amount of divine stones gathered wasn’t much.

Once again, the gacha addict weeps.

After wrapping up the day’s tasks.

I left Tina sitting on the chair and flopped onto the bed.

Tina, sitting in the chair with a mischievous glint in her eye, watched me.

Unlike her initial intimidating fashion sense.

After spending time together, Tina turned out to be an innocent child, despite her claims of being centuries old.

Nothing will happen, right?

I can sleep peacefully tonight.

Soon, I fell into a deep sleep.

I had a dream.

“Revelator? Could you apply some oil here?”

Saha (slingshot bikini) gestured to me, loosening the straps of her swimsuit top.

“Ark. It’s unusually cold today……………”

Johanna (see-through nightgown) showed off her soft belly as she approached and hugged me tightly.

“Ark? Hey, I drank a lot today, okay?”

Ari (bathrobe) undid the buttons of her robe one by one as she came closer.

“Woof! Master! It’s the promised day, woof!”

Rumi (three bandages) rushed at me, rubbing her body against mine.

“Hehehe………… Three thousand times the sensitivity. Wouldn’t you like to try it?”

Ellis (reverse bunny) held a suspicious syringe and gave me a seductive smile.

And then.

“Master, it’s my first time, so be gentle with me……………?”

Tina (no equipment) said.

“Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh!”

I woke up screaming, drenched in cold sweat.

I abide by the law!

I am lawful!

I am for all ages!

“Ugh…… Master, what’s wrong?”

So when something snuggled up to me and spoke.

Tina (real) peeked her face out from under the blanket, looking up at me.

The smooth skin and nape from the dream overlapped with reality.

“Ouch!”

I quickly regained my composure and gently pushed Tina away.

I got out of bed and checked both our clothes.

……………Thankfully, we were both fully dressed.

And there were no suspicious traces left.

“What’s going on?!” Ark?!

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Soon, my neighboring roommates, Saha and Rumi, came rushing in.

“……Ark?

” “Master……?”

…………Due to the aftermath of the dream, my little precious ‘thing’ was very much expanded.

Their gazes went there, then to Tina, and finally to my face.

Two pairs of icy stares pierced through me.

“No, no. It’s a misunderstanding.”

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was quickly cleared up.

“Good dreams…………..I’ll have them too…………..Haaang……………”

Tina, who got scolded along with me, whined.

“Tina! I told you before! If you sleep close to Tina, your dreams get weird!”

Rumi, what kind of dream did you have?

Tell me.

·Indeed, last time when Tina held my hand while I slept, it was similar.

This time, with more contact, the dream was a bit more intense, and, well.

A bit too aggressive.

“……Right. Tina, I appreciate the sentiment, but my dreams get a little, well…….’

I don’t dislike it.

But the last scene was a bit, too much, a bit, well.

“Hiiing…….”

From now on, no contact with Tina during sleep.

It’s dangerous, really dangerous.

“Can’t I just sleep alone comfortably……………?”

I timidly voiced my opinion.

“That’s not allowed, woof. Ark, we need to watch you to prevent accidents, woof.”

Rumi firmly rejected.

You’re the one who licks people’s cheeks or chomps on them while sleeping, you dog…………!

I couldn’t say that.

I made a resolution.

Tomorrow, I’ll renovate my room and add another bed.

That would be better for my mental health.