Over time, Alicia's group of five had perfectly cleared the first floor of the dungeon. It's now easy for them to kill the monsters—but that's only true for the first floor.
They haven't gone down to the second one yet, either due to a lack of food or because they want to keep training.
In fact, no one has gone down there.
Why? Because no one knows what the second floor is like, other than the fact that there are spiders that sometimes come up to the first floor. Which also means the entrance isn't far off.
And especially this: the spiders are rank F, and the spider guards are rank E. The explorers don't know the queen's level, but I do: she's rank D. A "normal" monster, yes… but unique in her own way. She trains like crazy!
I could revive her later using dungeon points, but she seems determined to become invincible all on her own.
Out of curiosity, I got close using Mimic of Woman, taking the form of a female spider guard, and asked her why.
"Cry? (Mother, why are you training?)"
"Criie! (To become invincible and protect our family!)"
My eyes lit up when I heard that. That's perfect for later!
"Cry! (Then I'll train too!)"
The queen nodded, placing a paw on my shoulder, proud.
"Criie. (Good, my daughter. Keep it up.)"
Touched, I turned around under her proud gaze… to go train!
Well, actually, I didn't train. I turned back into a slime and went to rest in the crystal room, which has now been moved to the second floor.
The second floor is made of slightly golden stone, with thorns and vines growing from the walls. Without my system map, I would've gotten lost in my own dungeon.
Can you imagine? The shame, for a dungeon mistress!
The crystal room, square in shape, is filled with thorns and vines. Lying in the center, a notification suddenly appeared:
[Warning: A monster, Iron Lizard (Rank C), has entered your dungeon!]
Uh… an outside monster? I opened the map and saw it: a lizard with steel scales had entered the cave, then the first floor… but it's totally lost, that idiot!
This is both good and bad news, depending on what happens next.
But why did it come here? Especially that species?
Yes, outside monsters can enter, just like explorers. Sometimes, they even become resident monsters of the dungeon—which makes them revivable, like those from spawners, but stronger.
Usually, they're drawn by something: goblins come to start colonies, others search for territory or power.
But an iron lizard? I don't have any ore here!
Maybe… just a random idea—what if it was a mistake? It just wandered in and… now it's stuck, unable to leave?
Well… good for me!
But… should I do something? It could be dangerous for my monsters. What if it goes on a rampage?
In the end, nope. It hasn't moved in days. Seems like it's made itself at home...
A few months later:
[Congratulations: your first resident monster has been born! You gain 10,000 dungeon points!]
[The Iron Lizard has become the mini-boss of the first floor of your labyrinth dungeon!]
[You gain 5,000 points for your first mini-boss!]
[A new feature has been unlocked: the system is evolving!]
[Evolution complete: the "Boss Purchase" option in your dungeon is now partially open!]
[You can now purchase mini-bosses for each floor. Monsters can also evolve to become mini-bosses!]
OH! OH! I didn't expect that at all!
Even in the game, this has never happened to me. This is brand new!
Well… except for the boss purchase option, I knew that existed. But it normally unlocks way later! And I've unlocked it early! AMAZING!
Let's see… what mini-boss should I buy for the second floor…?
Hmm?
[Arachne]
"…"
I'm very tempted, but… now that my monsters can evolve, and since the spider queen is doing exactly what she should (training, killing explorers, absorbing dungeon energy…), I'm sure she can become the Arachne mini-boss!
I went to check the skill shop.
All of this really motivated me!
And to get stronger in the dungeon, I had an idea… the crystal!
But since it consumes a ton of mana, I needed something to recharge my mana.
So I picked:
[Magic Circle Engraving on the Body]: Allows you to engrave circles directly onto your skin. The larger the circle, the more powerful it is. Once engraved, it's permanent.
(5000 points)
And for the circle, I chose:
[Circle of Mana Absorption]: Passive: absorbs ambient mana to recharge reserves.
(7000 points)
On my slime skin, a huge violet magic circle appeared. Once activated, I felt it absorb the surrounding mana and transmit it to me, glowing with a purple light.
But I wasn't done yet.
"Système, buy a second Circle of Mana Absorption and engrave it into my stomach!"
[...]
[This is possible. Do you want to cover the entire space? The stomach is equivalent to a large chest.]
"Yes! The entire space!"
[That will cost 10,000 dungeon points.]
Once engraved, I activated all the circles. A small mana vortex appeared, then I activated the crystal…
And I was able to move the dungeon walls easily!
By absorbing mana while I used it, I remained fairly stable, even though I was consuming more than I was regenerating. But it's fine! I could use it for a long time!
I had so much fun creating spikes in the room: to the right! To the left! Up above! Platforms!
Phew, harder to control continuously than I expected—but sooo satisfying!
Now I can build stuff whenever I get bored ~
Hehehehe ~