My Dungeon Daddy System: Raising Monsters and Waifus Underground

The post-pizza coma was interrupted by a hiccup.

It wasn't a normal hiccup. It was a wet, resonant Blorp that shook the entire room.

Reed looked over at Luma. The slime girl was sitting in the corner of the Core Chamber, looking distressed. She was glowing—not her usual soft blue, but a frantic, strobing white.

Blorp.

A bubble the size of a beach ball drifted out of her shoulder, floated to the ceiling, and popped with a chime sound. Sparkles rained down.

"Uh," Reed said. "Maira? Is she carbonated?"

Maira looked up from her ledger. She adjusted her glasses, peering at the slime.

"Her mana density is fluctuating," Maira noted. "She has consumed excessive biomass (pizza) and absorbed high levels of ambient mana from the boss fight. She is… critical."

"Critical?" Grika jumped up, grabbing her wrench. "Is she gonna explode? Do I need a bucket?"

Luma looked at Reed. Her eyes were wide and swirling with light.

"Reed," she whispered, her voice vibrating like a tuning fork. "I feel… full. Like a water balloon attached to a fire hose."

She tried to stand. Her legs lost cohesion instantly. She didn't melt into a puddle; she melted into a wave. A surge of blue liquid washed across the floor, lapping at Reed's boots.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

Monster Status: Evolution Threshold Reached.

Subject: Slime Healer (Luma).

Requirement: Hydro-Immersion.

"She's evolving!" Reed realized. "She needs water! Floor 2! Now!"

He scooped up the Luma-puddle. It was heavy—denser than before. It felt like carrying a sack of mercury.

"To the springs!" Reed yelled.

They ran.

Grika cleared the path, kicking debris out of the way. Seraphine slithered ahead, her thermal suit glowing in the dark corridor like a beacon. Maira brought up the rear with a mop, just in case.

Reed sprinted down the spiral ramp, clutching the sloshing, glowing bundle of slime against his chest.

"Hold on, Luma!" he panted. "Don't pop!"

"I'm trying!" Luma's voice bubbled from the liquid mass in his arms. "I feel… expanding! I need space!"

They burst into the cavern of Floor 2. The air was thick with steam. The pool glowed invitingly.

Reed didn't hesitate. He ran to the edge of the dock and threw the slime into the deep end.

SPLASH.

The moment Luma hit the water, the reaction began.

It wasn't a ripple. It was a whirlpool.

The water in the cavern began to spin. It churned, turning from clear to a brilliant, blinding azure. A hum filled the air—a single, pure note that rose in pitch until it vibrated in Reed's teeth.

HMMMMMMMM.

"Cover your ears!" Grika yelled, diving behind a rock.

A pillar of water shot up from the center of the pool. It defied gravity, twisting into a helix. Inside the water, a shape was forming.

It wasn't the blobby, undefined silhouette of the old Luma.

This shape had definition.

Legs that looked solid. A waist that tapered sharply. Shoulders that held their form. Hair that flowed like silk rather than dripping goo.

The light flared one last time—a supernova of blue—and then faded.

The water crashed back down.

Silence fell over the cavern.

Only the gentle lapping of waves remained.

Reed stood at the edge, soaking wet from the spray.

"Luma?" he called out.

The water rippled.

A head surfaced.

It was Luma. But it wasn't.

Her skin was still blue, but it wasn't transparent anymore. It was translucent, like frosted glass or polished sapphire. It had a sheen to it, a pearlescent glow that caught the light.

Her hair was darker, falling in heavy, wet waves that looked like liquid velvet.

She opened her eyes. They weren't just cute blue dots anymore. They were deep, iridescent pools with pupil definition.

She smiled.

"Hi, Reed," she said.

Her voice had changed. It wasn't the squeaky, bubbly voice of a girl made of jelly. It was melodic. Sultry. It carried a harmonic undertone that plucked at Reed's nervous system like a harp string.

She rose from the water.

She didn't wobble. She didn't squish.

She walked.

She walked up the ramp with the grace of a supermodel on a runway. Her Hydro-Shell Suit had evolved with her—it was no longer a vacuum-sealed bag, but a sleek, armored bodysuit of white and blue scales that hugged her new curves perfectly.

She stopped in front of Reed. She was taller now. Almost his height.

"I'm… solid," she whispered, looking at her hands. She flexed her fingers. They didn't melt. They moved with the precision of bone and muscle.

She looked at Reed.

"Touch me," she said.

Reed hesitated. "Are you… sticky?"

"No," she smiled. "Touch."

He reached out and touched her arm.

It didn't sink in.

It felt cool, smooth, and firm. Like touching high-quality silicone or soft, wet skin. There was give, but there was resistance.

"Surface tension," Luma purred. "Maximum integrity."

[EVOLUTION COMPLETE]

Species: High Slime (Siren Variant).

New Traits:

– [Solid State]: Can toggle viscosity. Can hold objects (and people) without dissolving them.

– [Siren's Call]: Voice induces charm/calm effects.

– [Hydro-kinesis]: Can manipulate water pressure.

"You're… real," Reed breathed.

Luma laughed. It sounded like wind chimes.

"I was always real, Reed. Now I'm just… focused."

She stepped closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

She hugged him.

It wasn't the wet, suffocating envelopment of before. It was a firm, solid embrace. He could feel her ribs (did she have ribs now?) pressing against him. He could feel the strength in her arms.

"I can hold you," she whispered into his ear. "And I won't ruin your clothes."

Reed hugged her back. She smelled like ocean breeze and expensive soap.

"Congrats, Luma," he said. "You made it."

Grika popped up from behind her rock.

"Well," the goblin whistled. "The puddle got an upgrade. She's got legs for days."

Seraphine slithered out of the water (where she had been hiding from the splash). She inspected Luma with a critical eye.

"Better," the lamia decided. "You have form. You have presence. You are no longer… a tripping hazard."

Maira adjusted her glasses, which were fogged up.

"Hygiene levels optimized," Maira noted, scribbling furiously. "Residue production reduced by 99%. This is acceptable. Though the outfit is… provocative."

Luma spun around. "Do you like it? I grew it myself!"

"It's very… heroic," Reed said, trying not to stare at the way the light refracted off her hips.

The Test Drive

"Okay," Reed said, clapping his hands. "New body, new skills. Let's see what you can do."

Luma turned to the pool.

"Water," she said. "Dance."

She raised her hand.

A column of water rose from the lake. It didn't just splash. It formed a tentacle. Then another. Then a giant hand.

"Whoa," Grika said.

Luma clenched her fist. The water-hand smashed a floating log into splinters.

"Hydro-pressure," Luma explained. "I can crush things now. Like Seraphine!"

Seraphine bristled. "Do not presume, slime. My crush is superior."

"Want to arm wrestle?" Luma challenged playfully.

"I do not have arms in my tail," Seraphine sniffed. "But… challenge accepted."

They moved to the heated rock island.

Seraphine coiled her tail. Luma formed a giant arm out of the pool water.

"Go!" Reed yelled.

Seraphine squeezed. Luma squeezed back with the water.

The stone island groaned under the pressure.

"Draw!" Reed called before they broke the floor.

Luma dissolved the water arm. "I can also do… this."

She looked at Reed. Her eyes glowed softly. She opened her mouth and sang a single note.

Ahhhhhhh.

The sound washed over them.

Reed's knees unlocked. Grika dropped her wrench. Seraphine's eyelids fluttered. Maira stopped writing.

It was a wave of pure, concentrated relaxation. It felt like being wrapped in a warm towel after a long day. The tension in Reed's shoulders vanished.

"Siren Song," Luma whispered. "Mass Calm."

"That is… dangerous," Maira murmured, shaking her head to clear the fog. "Intruders will simply… sit down. They will not want to fight."

"Exactly," Reed grinned. "They'll sit down. They'll relax. And then we sell them pizza."

That night, the mood in the dungeon was electric.

Luma was the center of attention. She was testing out her Solid State by sitting on things without making them wet. She sat on the chair. She sat on the table. She sat on Grika (who complained but didn't move).

"I have bones!" Luma cheered, making her arm rigid. "Fake bones! But they work!"

Reed sat on his bed, watching his family.

"She grew up," he said to Seraphine, who was coiled next to him.

"She evolved," Seraphine corrected. "She is stronger. A worthy sister in arms."

Seraphine leaned in, her voice dropping.

"But do not forget, my Lord. She may be solid now… but I am still longer."

She wrapped the tip of her tail around his ankle, a possessive reminder.

"I haven't forgotten," Reed promised.

Luma walked over. She stood in front of Reed.

She changed.

In a blink, she toggled off Solid State. Her body softened. She became translucent again, her edges blurring.

She sat on his lap. She flowed around him, warm and soft, merging slightly with his clothes.

Then she toggled Solid State back on.

Suddenly, Reed was trapped. She had molded herself to him and then hardened. She was essentially a custom-fitted piece of armor made of girl.

"Gotcha," she whispered, her solid arms locking around his neck.

"Luma," Reed laughed. "I can't move."

"That's the point," she purred, nuzzling his neck with a nose that was now definitely solid. "You're mine for the next hour. I need to calibrate my solidity."

Grika groaned from the floor. "Great. Now she has a grapple mechanic too. I'm never gonna get a turn."

Maira sighed, turning off the lights.

"0600 comes early," she warned. "Try not to fuse permanently."

Reed sat in the dark, held tight by his new Siren. The dungeon hummed. The water flowed.

And for the first time, Reed wasn't worried about leaking. He was just… content.

[ACT 2 PROGRESS]

Water Floor: Active.

Healer: Evolved (Siren).

Threat: Low.

Next Step: The Shark-Roomba.

Reed closed his eyes.

"Shark-Roomba," he muttered sleepily. "Grika is insane."

Luma hummed a lullaby, and the dungeon slept.