《The Innkeeper's Dungeon [A Dungeon Core LitRPG]》


 1.1 The Inheritance

    Veronica Maxwell was anxious as she drove up the long driveway to her parents'' bed and breakfast. It was hidden away deep in the woods, but it was still a popular getaway destination, especially during tourist season. When she arrived, she took a nervous breath, looking up at the two-story manor. She had practically grown up here as she helped her parents attend to their guests. It felt like being home again after such a long time.


    Really, if it had been up to her, she would have preferred to stick around and keep helping her parents run their business. It was only because of their insistence that she go to college and then experience the world that she had ever left. Even then, she had double majored in culinary arts and hospitality management, which had allowed her to learn valuable knowledge that could help her parents'' business. Then she took a few jobs that would help give her relevant experience with everything from being a housekeeper in a inn to a barkeep in a local dive bar. Now, she was confident that she was far more qualified than her siblings were to take over their parents'' bed and breakfast.


    That was actually what she was here today for. Her parents were ready to retire and they planned to announce who they''d be signing the business over to. She was hopeful it would be given to her, but she couldn''t help but feel anxious since it wasn''t guaranteed. Finally, working up the nerve, Veronica stepped forward to turn the front door handle and stepped through the threshold. The only problem was that she somehow ended up in a pitch-dark room instead of the reception area.


    "Hello? Anyone there? Did the power go out? Someone check the breaker box!"


    She shouted out into the darkness. Then she frowned, something wasn''t right. The way her voice carried and the way the ground felt beneath her was unfamiliar. Yet, she could clearly remember arriving at her parents'' bed and breakfast, so there was no way she could be somewhere else. Deciding to try and become more acquainted with her surroundings, she stumbled blindly forward with her arms in front of her.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bonding "Veronica Maxwell" to dungeon core #224


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The words that seemed to almost glow in front of her didn''t register at first. Then, it was like her mind was swimming as everything seemed to shift into focus. She was no longer in a dark room or, at least, it no longer appeared that way. Instead, she was standing on a set of stone steps with a large green marble-like orb in front of her that seemed to have a slight glow to it. This most certainly was not where she was supposed to be!


    "What the Hell?!"


    With a groan, Veronica sat down on the stone steps and screamed into her hands. She had no clue where she was, but it was more than a little obvious that she was not going to make it in time for her parents'' retirement party. That also meant the bed and breakfast would likely end up going to her brother since her parents would likely assume that she wasn''t interested since she wouldn''t end up showing up.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Congratulations on officially becoming a Dungeon Master, Master Veronica!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Another system prompt appeared before her and so she decided she should, probably, concentrate on the problem at hand. She was hardly the sort to just sit around feeling sorry for herself, after all. Taking into account the previous prompt, it sounded like she had either fallen unconscious and was now having a really strange dream or the manga she liked to read hadn''t been quite as fictional as she once thought. However, whether this was a dream or not, it was far safer to assume this was her new reality and react accordingly. The worst case of this being a dream was she''d feel a little silly when she woke up, but the worst case scenario if it was real was a bit more vague and certainly a more terrifying thing to worry about.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Reconfiguring...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Right, so now I''m, presumably, in another world and somehow ''bonded'' with a dungeon that seems to have a broken system. This is going to be real fun..."


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Due to the Dungeon Master''s unique experience with running an inn, the dungeon will now make the appropriate adjustments.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The dungeon around her began to shake and tremble around her, feeling very much like an earthquake. Having nowhere to go for safety, Veronica merely ducked down and covered her head with her arms until things settled down again.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a starting theme for the dungeon half:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Rocky Gorge (Goblins)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Sewers (Giant Rats)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tropical Rainforest (Gargoyles)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica sat for a moment as she thought over the options, still very much so questioning if this was real or not. Deciding that she didn''t want to live in a desert with goblins, nor a dirty sewer with giant rats, she decided to choose the last option.


    "I''ll go with the tropical rainforest."


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Finalizing dungeon binding...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The next system prompt didn''t seem related to her choice, but, then again, perhaps, she had to make a selection before the dungeon finished with its initial processes. Suddenly, Veronica doubled over in pain as she felt like her entire body was on fire and her mind felt like it was breaking. It was difficult to remain awake to the point that no amount of willpower would allow her to power through it. Soon enough, she fell unconscious.


    When she next awoke, she was surprised to find that she was still in the dungeon. Sighing agitatedly, she brushed her hand roughly through her hair, and mumbled to herself.


    "I guess this is real then..."


    Deciding it would be best to scout her surroundings, she got up and left through the door to the dungeon core room. She''d likely have to learn how the system worked as well so she could take full advantage of everything it had to offer. However, figuring out where she was and what resources she had at hand was more important right now.

 1.2 Unusual Dungeon

    Not long after leaving the dungeon core room, Veronica was taken by surprise by a strange elven woman who asked


    "Are you the Dungeon Master?"


    Seraphina asked in an uncertain tone. Veronica couldn''t help but feel a bit excited to see someone she could ask for help, even if she knew she should be cautious.


    "Well, I think so. I did get some sort of message that said I was bonded to a dungeon and that called me ''Master Veronica''. It seems to me that it should be a more feminine title like Madam, Mistress, or even Lady Veronica, though."


    The face of the stranger in front of her lit up in amusement and Veronica couldn''t help but admire how pretty she was. Her beautiful blonde hair hung down, framing her face, and almost covering her rather strange, pointed ears. Even her blue eyes seemed to scream she was of a fantasy race, probably an elf. Still laughing, the woman introduced herself.


    "Well, Lady Veronica, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Seraphina, the dungeon diplomat assigned to help you settle in and ensure everything goes smoothly with your dungeon. Would you mind showing me to the dungeon core room?"


    Veronica looked skeptically at the woman. While she was fine with exchanging pleasantries, she had the feeling she wasn''t supposed to allow anyone near that particular room in the dungeon. It felt wrong and she couldn''t help but feel on edge.


    "I''m not comfortable with that."


    She plainly stated, earning a frown from Seraphina. Sighing, the woman asked


    "You look human. Would you be able to tell me if you''re originally from this world? It''s hard to know whether you''re a reincarnated Dungeon Master without any memory or some adventurer who should know better when I can''t access the dungeon core."


    It was rather strange to have someone directly come out and ask her such a thing. This was nowhere near what she had expected from her journey to another world. Deciding the woman already knew enough that trying to hide things wouldn''t help much, if at all, she decided to be honest.


    "Actually, I wouldn''t say I was so much reincarnated as I transmigrated. I didn''t die. I just walked through a door and suddenly found myself here. Then, I was in the dark, so I ended up accidentally bonding to this dungeon. It really wasn''t my intention to cause any issues."


    Seraphina shook her head as she reassured her


    "No worries about that. The dungeon wouldn''t have opened its doors to let anyone else in until after you bonded with it. You didn''t steal that opportunity from anyone. The dungeon core itself chose you for the job. As for why you were chosen to the extent of being stolen from another world, that isn''t something anyone will be able to answer for you, I''m afraid.


    I do have to say, though, that your dungeon and situation are quite unusual. Normally, there would just be a straight path from the entrance to the dungeon core room. You seem to have a really rare semi-open floor-plan dungeon. The last one like it was one with a navigator class adventurer a couple decades ago. Although, I''d dare say that reincarnated individuals who keep their memory are even more rare, I''ve only ever heard of one of those. The fact that you didn''t even have to die to cross the divide between worlds is even more strange, though. The council is going to have a field day when they hear about this...


    Regardless, I still need to see the dungeon core to ensure your dungeon is healthy. So, what''s it going to take to convince you?"


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Veronica really didn''t know how to make heads or tails of what the woman was going on about. Deciding that Seraphina clearly knew more about this world than she did and likely wasn''t lying, she begrudgingly decided to start leading her in the direction she wanted.


    "So, what exactly am I supposed to do with a dungeon?"


    She asked, earning a small laugh from the elven woman.


    "I suppose it would be confusing at first, wouldn''t it? Most Dungeon Masters don''t have previous memories to distract them from their instincts so using the system comes fairly naturally. Unfortunately, I''ve never been a Dungeon Master, so I can''t tell you what options you will have to work with. Adventurers and Dungeon Diplomats have their own version of the system that relates to their roles in this life. Still, the basics should be fairly similar. Just think about what you want to do and will it to happen. Why don''t you start by thinking about bringing up a status screen?"


    Veronica really wasn''t sure what the term "dungeon diplomat" was supposed to mean. The fact that Seraphina kept throwing it around as if it was supposed to mean something to her was a bit irritating. However, it seemed too impolite to actually ask about it, so she decided to just do what had been suggested to her instead.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dungeon Status:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Mana 50/500


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current DP: 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Floors: 1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Rooms: 0 | 0


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Monsters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Critters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Research


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Missions


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She was a bit surprised when it worked right away. It would seem it really was rather intuitive. Most of the menu didn''t really make sense right now, though, and she wasn''t really wanting to start going through it when someone was here.


    "Did it work? Just a fair warning, though, you might be able to pull up the information, but you won''t be able to build or summon any new [Monsters] while non-dungeon entities are in the dungeon. It doesn''t matter if it''s adventurers or wild [Monsters] who want to steal your dungeon core. Technically, Dungeon Diplomats count as something between dungeon entities and non-dungeon entities, but you shouldn''t be able to do anything while I''m here either."


    Veronica''s confused expression must have been obvious because Seraphina was quick to offer up an explanation.


    "I get it, it''s confusing right? However, if you have [Traps] or [Monsters] they won''t attack Dungeon Diplomats. That''s probably scary, but the dungeon accords do a lot to protect you and things are even more strict for us. Besides, I''m bonded to the dungeon and you and I can feel when you''re nervous, happy, or anything else. Hurting you would likely hurt me as well, so it isn''t something you need to worry about."


    While Veronica was still nervous about trusting the strange woman, she couldn''t help but find her rather comforting as well. Even when they arrived at the dungeon core room and Seraphina approached the dungeon core, she was gentle and never did anything that seemed to be a cause for concern. After confirming everything seemed to be working as it should, the two parted ways. Apparently, Seraphina had to talk with some sort of council of elders and would be returning the next day. In the meantime, she was meant to try and build her first room in the dungeon.


    However, before leaving, she was issued one last warning.


    "The area where your dungeon was created is near a rather large city. The previous dungeon decided to permanently retire and disappeared a few years back. So, a lot of adventurers and the richer merchants migrated elsewhere. There is still a local Lord and an adventurer''s guild in the area, though, and I imagine they will want to send some people out right away to check out your dungeon. They won''t be entering the dungeon today, but I''d expect company as early as tomorrow morning.


    Also, if you get any contracted [Monsters], don''t send them outside the dungeon. Your dungeon was created after a ton of earthquakes and a tsunami came through the area, creating a small island and land bridge. There isn''t a forest or anything for you to forage from and it would be a shame for you to waste your mana only for them to die a premature death."

 1.3 Diamond In The Rough

    After Seraphina left, Veronica couldn''t help but sit down as she took in just how very real everything now seemed. She''d likely never get to see her family again, and she had likely just wasted most of her youth away by dedicating herself to only learning about how to run her parents'' bed and breakfast. It didn''t really matter that she wasn''t going to inherit their business now that she was in another world, but it was still a bit lonely to think that she''d never see them again.


    Shaking her head, she stood up once more, determined to get a head start on building her dungeon while she still had the chance to. If adventurers would be arriving as soon as tomorrow, it would be a good idea to try and get some defenses built today. Even if it was unlikely to be sufficient, it was still far better than the embarrassment of having nothing built like she did now.


    After re-opening her [Dungeon Status] menu, she decided to start off by looking at the [Construction] tab. It was a bit embarrassing to remember how she had been talking to the system aloud just a short while ago when she only had to think of what she wanted to get the system to respond.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Room Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    9-Units by 9-Units Square Room


    </td>


    <td>


    18 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    18-Units by 18-Units Square Room


    </td>


    <td>


    36 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    36-Units by 36-Units Square Room


    </td>


    <td>


    72 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    9-Units by 18-Units Rectangle Room


    </td>


    <td>


    27 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    18-Units by 36-Units Rectangle Room


    </td>


    <td>


    54 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    36-Units by 72-Units Rectangle Room


    </td>


    <td>


    108 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hallway Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    1-Unit Straight Hallway


    </td>


    <td>


    1 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    3-Units Straight Hallway


    </td>


    <td>


    3 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    6-Units Straight Hallway


    </td>


    <td>


    6 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    9-Units Straight Hallway


    </td>


    <td>


    9 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    10-Units L-Turn Hallway


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    26-Units 4-Way Hallway


    </td>


    <td>


    26 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    32-Units Square Hallway


    </td>


    <td>


    32 MP


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The options being in Units was a bit strange for Veronica who had grown up using the imperial system. It was strange, but not really something she wanted to get distracted by right now.


    While hallways were useful dividers, Veronica wasn''t so sure that they were really a good thing for her dungeon. If it was currently an open floor-plan, it might be better to simply have the rooms all connected to one another without bothering with hallways. That would allow her to make the most of the space she had. So, she decided to choose an 18-Units by 18-Units square room to start with. It was a bit expensive, but she wasn''t sure that going with the smallest option was very good either.


    When her vision started to shift to a bird''s eye view, she felt like vomiting. It was horrendous and she couldn''t help but feel disoriented. Hopefully, this was something she would get used to with time as it was unlikely she could avoid doing this in the future. Once her vision finally settled, though, she took the opportunity to explore her dungeon and was surprised to learn a number of interesting things.


    Maybe her dungeon was a diamond in the rough? It would seem that the [Tavern] option on her menu and the initial messages about her dungeon being changed to reflect her experience with running an inn had resulted in her dungeon being divided in half. One side looked like the inside of a log cabin with wooden walls and floors. Meanwhile, the other half was a tropical rainforest with towering trees, ferns, a blue sky, and dirt floors. Down the middle of the dungeon was a hallway that had entrances to both halves of the dungeon and the dungeon core room in the middle. There was also an area for a staircase, but the system seemed to be indicating it was locked until she obtained the next floor.


    Being in charge of her own dungeon had certainly never been something she had wished for, but Veronica was fairly confident that she could work with this. At least, she''d still get the opportunity to run her own inn and tavern, even if she didn''t quite know what it might look like just yet. Seraphina had been wearing clothing straight out of a medieval dungeon explorer manga, but that didn''t really tell her much about the outside world. It could very easily be modern-day technology or even more of a steampunk sort of world with magic gadgets everywhere. Only time would really tell on that front.


    Feeling a lot better about her new circumstances, she finally placed her first room in the front left corner of the dungeon half. Two doors were automatically added that led into the open area of the dungeon while a third led to the initial hallway with the dungeon entrance. While it almost seemed silly to even use rooms in an open floor-plan dungeon, Veronica was just going to roll with it, for now. Maybe there was a reason it was an option that she didn''t know about quite yet.


    Next up on her agenda, was to get some [Monsters] for her new room. So, she opened that tab on her [Dungeon Status] menu.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Summonable [Monsters] Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Gargoyle


    </td>


    <td>


    15 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolves


    </td>


    <td>


    Magic stone statue with no special features. Has poor defense and low combat damage, but is capable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Contractable [Monsters] Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Will-O''-Wisp


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Can''t Evolve


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a dark environment to live in before you can form a contract. Does no combat damage, but can add ambiance and lure unsuspecting adventurers into [Traps].


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The initial theme-selection process hadn''t said anything about will-o-wisps, just the gargoyles. It was also interesting to note there were exactly two different types of [Monsters] and she had two different sides to her dungeon. Were the will-o''-wisps meant to be used for the inn side? She could certainly see them leading adventurers to their rooms, similarly to bellhops, but without the luggage carrying. Well, even if she was extrapolating a bit too much, it wasn''t like they seemed good for much of anything else in the dungeon. Surely the people of this world were smart enough not to follow will-o''-wisps into [Traps]?


    Unfortunately, it also seemed that Veronica had come to an impasse in her dungeon building. She was 1 MP short for summoning even a gargoyle and she had no clue how to earn more mana. Suddenly, she wished Seraphina was still here, as it would have been nice to have someone to ask questions. While she would be returning tomorrow, Veronica had the feeling she wouldn''t see her until after the locals started stirring up trouble.

 1.4 Gargoyles Demise

    Unfortunately for Veronica, she was unable to generate any new mana until the next day. At first, she had been hopeful that she just had to wait a short while before her mana would refill. That was how it worked in games and fantasy stories, right? However, that might have been a bit shortsighted due to it being based on the assumption the mana pool was hers rather than the dungeon''s. Later on, she had tried things that had made her feel a bit silly with everything from trying to feel mana in the air and willing the mana to collect to shouting things into the air. She was really glad no one was there to witness such things as it was, honestly, mortifying to reflect upon.


    Of course, the next morning was when her mana finally increased, but it wasn''t by much. Only twenty five percent of her max mana pool regenerated, but it rounded up instead of down, so she ended up with 13 MP from it. Still, this was enough for her to summon her first gargoyle, which was the most exciting thing to happen in far too long. If the first day had taught her anything, it was that being stuck in an empty dungeon by yourself all day was very boring.


    Granted, there had been other discoveries as well. She no longer required sleep, food, water, or to use the bathroom. All of this had stressed her out to no end until she had realized that she didn''t exactly feel hungry or tired either. Veronica actually felt far better than she ever had before in her life. Of course, she still planned to ask Seraphina about it all once she showed up later today, just to be sure.


    Much as she had been warned, a group of three adventurers turned up in her dungeon a few hours later. While she had no problem with small talk, as it was an essential skill for hospitality work, Veronica didn''t exactly want to get in the way of the adventurers either. Instead, she chose to hang out on the opposite side of the dungeon from where they were. This was far easier than she thought it would be as she could somewhat sense where they were in the dungeon. Although, the uncomfortable alarming sensation she felt at their arrival was rather difficult to ignore.


    For some reason, the group of three were spending an awful long time on the inn side of the dungeon. There wasn''t even anything there, so she couldn''t fathom why they would do that. When she opened her [Dungeon Status] menu, she was surprised to see her mana was full again. Did her mana only regenerate when adventurers were in the dungeon? Well, Veronica supposed, it was a good thing she was planning on opening an inn then. She''d be able to earn plenty of mana once she started to get some regular patrons. It was just too bad that she couldn''t spend her mana while they were in the dungeon.


    After some time, she boredly opened her menus again and went through the options. However, something strange happened and she found she was able to summon a new gargoyle. That shouldn''t be possible, right? Seraphina didn''t seem like she was lying about the limitation, but here she was with two gargoyles now in front of her. They were rather small creatures with very typical appearances that you might expect of the sort used to adorn a tall building. However, they lacked a stone base and they could freely move around. They seemed to be fond of perching high up in the trees where it was more difficult to find them, but that wasn''t a problem for Veronica thanks to the system.


    Feeling bored, she decided to check out her [Missions] tab.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Origin:


    </td>


    <td>


    Status:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    <td>


    Reward:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete first dungeon room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Set up first spawner


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Set up first challenge


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Place first [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete a boss room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete half of the first floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock the second floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete the first floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock ten [Critters]


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock [Critters] from five different phyla


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete first inn room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Make a first-floor reception


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Make a first-floor tavern


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Check-In First Guest


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Earn the favor of a patron god or goddess


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock new schematic (Altar)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The sheer number of them was a bit overwhelming, but there was one bit that stood out. The mention of spawners made her question what it meant. Surely it didn''t mean something like Minecraft where she could set [Monsters] to spawn indefinitely from them for free. That would be too OP and would defeat the purpose of having the option to summon the [Monsters] individually. Perhaps it was something more akin to a respawn point? Either way she definitely wanted to learn more about them!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to begin research on [Monsters] spawners? Requires 100 DP.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Sighing, Veronica selected the [No] option. She faintly remembered seeing something referred to as dungeon points on her [Dungeon Status] menu. She, unfortunately, didn''t have any right now, nor did she know how to earn any. Sensing the adventuring party coming her way, she turned to head towards the dungeon core room.


    It was a bit unfortunate, but it was likely that her two new gargoyles would end up dying at the hands of these adventurers. Unless they were completely clueless beginners, she couldn''t see any reason why they would struggle with [Monsters] her system classified as having poor defense and weak combat skills. Oh well, she mentally shrugged, she should be able to afford some new ones after they leave.


    Before they left, however, Veronica did have one thing she wanted to test. Sneaking back into the dungeon side, she tested her menus again. However, while she was able to open her [Dungeon Status] screen, she only received an error message when she tried to open any of the others. This was hardly the only error message she had seen in her time in the dungeon either. Just yesterday, she had tried leaving the dungeon only to receive a completely different error. Deciding it was worth testing again, she tried leaving just after the adventurers.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Error! The Dungeon Master cannot leave the limits of the dungeon. Only non-dungeon entities and contracted [Monsters] may pass the safety zone.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Yep, that''s how she remembered it being yesterday night as well. Veronica supposed this meant that she couldn''t try and trick the dungeon into letting her out by having a shorter cooldown between non-dungeon entities leaving and her own attempts to leave. She was well and truly stuck in here.


    Thinking back on the issue with the system locking her out, she also had to wonder if that was due to her dungeon being split in half. If she was meant to have adventurers staying in the inn, it could easily lead to her being unable to make changes to her dungeon pretty much ever. That would be way too limiting, but things would be different if it was limited by halves of the dungeon. Perhaps she could only interact with the half of the dungeon that was empty of adventurers, regardless of whether it was the inn or the tropical dungeon side. It would be good to know whether the limitation is usually applied based on the separate floors or if an adventurer on the first-floor prevented normal Dungeon Masters from making changes to all floors. If it was floor-based then her version of the system wouldn''t even be that far-fetched or different from the usual.


    Still pondering the matter, she went back to her first room and spent 45 MP, of her now full mana pool, on three new gargoyles. The adventurers had, in fact, killed the previous two. It would seem the dungeon had also either absorbed their bodies or the adventurers had brought them with them. Well, either way was fine with Veronica, she didn''t exactly want corpses everywhere, stone or otherwise.

 1.5 More Surprises

    After the three adventurers left, there was still quite a bit of time before Seraphina showed up. Unfortunately, two other groups also showed up to the dungeon at that time. That had resulted in even more of her gargoyles dying and having to be replaced. On the bright side, it did allow her to build two new rooms and she made a significant discovery with the last batch.


    She, apparently, had a log full of tributes received from the three groups of adventurers, which had resulted in her dungeon points increasing in number. The first group had left her a red mage''s robe, bronze dagger, and a lesser stamina potion. The list was further broken down to show the materials each [Item] was made from with her being awarded 25 DP for each new [Base Resource] and 10 DP for each new [Item]. Thanks to the robe alone, she had been able to earn an entire 85 dungeon points, but the first group''s total came out to an even more amazing 225 DP.


    Veronica had to wonder why they were leaving their gear in her dungeon, though. Surely they needed their equipment for future dungeon raids? Perhaps this was their old gear, but that still didn''t explain the potion. Oh well, it wasn''t her job to tell them what to leave as tribute. It was interesting to see that this seemed to be a regular thing that every adventuring party did, though, as the second and third parties also left her things.


    She now also had the schematics for a wooden training sword and shield, a lesser health potion, a random wooden button, peppermint, and plantain leaves. With 410 DP, she could easily afford to spend the 100 DP to unlock the 25 MP spawner as well as its upgrade for an additional 200 DP. While it was a shame to spend all that she had earned so quickly, it was nice to have a spawner. It was just a shame that she had only had enough mana to buy the 50 MP spawner and so she now had zero [Monsters] in her dungeon.


    Veronica didn''t really have any attachment to her gargoyles. They couldn''t communicate with her and they weren''t exactly good for companionship in the way a dog might be. Besides, the labels of "summonable" and "contractable" seemed to suggest the gargoyles were being created from seemingly nothing while others, like her will-o''-wisps, would be coming from somewhere outside of the dungeon. If she had to let her [Monsters] die a permanent death, her gargoyles seemed far more suitable for that than anything else might be, not that she''d have to worry about that anymore.


    It was a bit worrisome that the next group to visit the dungeon wouldn''t have anything to keep them entertained. They''d, hopefully, be reasonable and not try to bother her or go into the dungeon core room. However, it couldn''t be helped that she required more mana before she could create new gargoyles for them to destroy. She could only hope she''d get lucky and they''d get lost on the inn side long enough for her to make some new ones.


    However, after a few more hours, Seraphina arrived at the dungeon and Veronica breathed a sigh of relief.


    "So, how did things go today?"


    The elven woman asked in greeting.


    "Well, the dungeon is still standing, so I suppose it could have been worse."


    Veronica joked. With a wry smile, Seraphina apologized


    "I''m sorry, I probably should have spent some more time helping you adjust to the dungeon. I''m sure you have a lot of questions for me and you''ll now have plenty of time to ask them. It seems the council has decided it would be best for me to stay with you in the dungeon until you unlock your second-floor. They want me to observe the situation as well as teach you self-defense and ensure your dungeon can survive, at least, that long."


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    Veronica rolled her eyes as she complained


    "Doesn''t seem like they trust me to know what I''m doing. I know I''m not from this world, but I''ve managed just fine on my own today. I even have three rooms now and a spawner in one of them!"


    Seraphina laughed in amusement as she walked through the dungeon side with her. Reassuring her, she said


    "It isn''t about how capable you are, Lady Veronica. The general rule-of-thumb when it comes to dungeons is to let them grow without too much interference. It''s even against the dungeon accords to influence your decisions in regards to how to develop your dungeon too much. It''s also against the rules to prevent anyone and anything that wishes to challenge your dungeon from entering it. So, I''m hardly here to take away your free will."


    Veronica frowned, still feeling upset about it as she asked


    "Then why?"


    Not leaving any room for her to continue questioning it, Seraphina replied


    "Your potential to guard yourself against attacks has been cut in half because of your dungeon being physically divided in half. Besides which, the last time we had someone who retained their memories from their old world, they had to have someone to teach them swordsmanship in order for their safety to be ensured. They somehow ended up hard-locked into a cute theme with slimes as their only combat [Monsters] on their first-floor. She ended up suffering quite a bit of trauma from her situation being mishandled and the council doesn''t want to see you suffer a similar fate.


    Most humans, like yourself, tend to have a history as adventurers before they become Dungeon Masters. Beasts and [Monsters] that become Dungeon Masters tend to grow stronger with each new floor they unlock. Since the only case we have to reference suggests you''ll have to depend on your own abilities to defend yourself, I''ve been told to teach you martial arts and help keep people away from the dungeon core room. Otherwise, just look at it as an opportunity to earn extra mana to build your first-floor more quickly."


    Well, Veronica couldn''t really argue with that sort of logic. It was true that it would be nice to not have to worry about struggling as much in the beginning. Still, that did raise other questions.


    "What happens if someone reaches the dungeon core, anyway? It always feels like alarm bells are going off in my head when adventurers enter the dungeon and I feel the need to protect that room, but I don''t entirely understand why."


    Seraphina frowned, looking rather serious, as she replied


    "Now that you are bonded to the dungeon, you can, potentially, live forever. You won''t need to eat, drink, sleep, etc. and you will heal very quickly. However, you have to protect the dungeon core or else it could result in you dying with it. It isn''t just you either, the whole dungeon will be destroyed and any [Monsters] in it, including the contracted ones, will die in the process. If you have adventurers who can''t get out in time, it''s also possible they could be harmed in the process.


    I usually try to avoid mentioning this for as long as possible, but I think you should know. Dungeon masters often end up getting tired of living such long lives. By the time that happens, they usually have maxed out their dungeon floors with all twenty-five of them built and it''s hard for adventurers and wild [Monsters] to make it that far. That was the case for the last dungeon in the area as well, but it is my job, as your assigned dungeon diplomat, to destroy the dungeon core for you when you are ready to move on. That might mean I lose my life in the process, a lot of that comes down to my own skills and luck."


    That was a lot to take in... Veronica wasn''t sure what to think and could only ask to be given some space. She needed some time to unpack all that she had learned.

 1.6 The Local Lord

    Lord Sylvar Goldenleaf looked up as his daughter came into his office. It had been a long day of filling out paperwork as he carefully managed their territory. However, he had been waiting for his daughter to visit, so he gave her a smile in greeting while she made herself comfortable in the seat across from him.


    "So, how did things go, Ava?"


    His daughter seemed bored, but she still answered his question promptly.


    "Eliath sent the adventurers to check out the dungeon like you wanted. They all returned unscathed, though they took far longer than expected. It seems that the dungeon is a bit peculiar."


    Sylvar frowned, feeling concerned as he questioned


    "That''s disappointing, I was hoping this would be a valuable opportunity for our people. Has he sent out a notification to the Dungeon Diplomats?"


    Eliath Autumnfire was the local adventurers'' guild''s guildmaster as well as his daughter''s husband. More than likely, he would have taken the initiative to check out the new dungeon, even without his own interference. However, he had been optimistic that the new dungeon would give a second life to his city. If there was something wrong with the dungeon, though, then it couldn''t be helped, it would have to be destroyed.


    Of course, something like that wasn''t so easily done. Since the Dungeon Diplomats were in charge of managing the dungeons and ensuring everyone followed the dungeon accords, they would have to wait for the council''s approval before action could be taken. The only bit of good news was that they wouldn''t have to worry about finding someone suitable to take care of the problem.


    Before he could continue his line of thinking, his daughter interrupted


    "Actually, it seems the dungeon is in good health. I thought the same at first, but Eliath explained it was unlikely anyone would safely return from the dungeon if it was truly a danger. Rather, it seems we have a unique dungeon on our hands. One half of it appears to be a rainforest while the other half has wooden walls and floors. It''s an open floorplan dungeon as well, which, from what I was told, is quite rare. There is supposed to only be a small handful of them in the entire world."


    Sylvar stroked his chin as he sat in thought. Perhaps, rather than being disappointed, he should be more enthusiastic. If they had truly lucked into having a functioning unique dungeon type, their city could see unprecedented growth that could even surpass that which they had previously seen. The last dungeon in their city had been a fairly standard one with a succubus as the Dungeon Master. The [Monster] variety was decent and everything was well-balanced. The only real worry back then had been the sheer number of adventurers who fell prey to the Dungeon Master and had willingly gone to their deaths. However, that had been something that was easily accepted and had hardly stopped the thousands of adventurers who flocked to their city just for the chance to conquer the dungeon.


    "Do we know what kind of Dungeon Master is running the dungeon yet?"


    He asked. Ava shook her head, looking bored as she answered


    "No, not yet. You know how Dungeon Masters tend to be. They don''t like it when you enter the dungeon core room and they rarely venture out, especially in the early days. I''m sure it will just be a matter of time, though. Adventurers are bound to jump on the opportunity to make some quick coin by selling information about the dungeon."


    Sylvar nodded, dismissing his daughter so he could get back to work.


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    Elsewhere, Veronica was taking her first martial arts lesson from Seraphina. The elven woman had brought her a wooden staff and had immediately wanted to start lessons once the sun had set. Apparently, the plan was to start with a weapon and then move on to hand-to-hand combat later on. While both were equally important to learn, she, apparently, thought it would be easier for Veronica to fight off intruders with a weapon to add some oomph to her attacks. Considering the fact that most adventurers and some wild [Monsters] also utilized weapons, she could definitely understand where Seraphina was coming from.


    After being knocked on her ass for the dozenth time, Veronica stood up and glared at the woman across from her. She was hardly going to complain, but it was definitely getting annoying to constantly be knocked over and smacked around. Well, it could certainly be worse. If she were in an actual fight, she would have to contend against those with magic or pointy swords and spears. Those would likely hurt a lot more than what she was currently dealing with.


    There hadn''t been any more visitors for the day, but that was fine with Veronica. After confirming all she had to do was send Seraphina into the other half of the dungeon to access her system, she had used the opportunity to build a few more rooms and fill them with 50 MP spawners and three gargoyles each. She now had five rooms ready to take on adventurers, which wasn''t a ton, but it was certainly better than things had been before.


    After a few hours, Seraphina must have tired out because she finally called it quits on the training for the night. Veronica was glad for it as she was sure she had several bruises forming and blisters were forming on her hands. It would seem that the ability to heal quickly didn''t prevent her from getting injured, it just made it so she was guaranteed to recover within a few hours time.Of course, it was faster for more minor injuries, but it still sucked. She was even beginning to suspect such healing might be a curse since she doubted she''d form the necessary callouses to ensure she wouldn''t have to keep suffering in the future.


    "Are you familiar with the different types of rooms you can build? It seems like you''re mostly just building [Monster] fields right now. I mean, that''s fine, if that''s what you want to do, but I''d be happy to fill in any gaps in knowledge you might have."


    Seraphina asked. As she seemed to genuinely be asking rather than making fun of her choices, Veronica decided to be honest.


    "I''ve never been in charge of a dungeon and we don''t have them where I came from. We have stories and games where we can play around with similar concepts, but I''m not sure it''s the same thing. I know there are usually things like rooms where you have to solve riddles or dodge [Traps], but I don''t really know how things work here."


    Seraphina nodded before launching into an explanation


    "Well, generally, room types can be divided into three primary types. There are [Monster] fields, which is where the primary focus is the [Monsters] the adventurers and intruders have to fight against. There might be resources added like oak trees or fruit bushes, maybe even a few [Traps], but that''s it.


    Challenge rooms are the second type and can take many different forms from a riddle that has to be solved to jumping over obstacles. There is always a reward set for the challenge and the system has to know what the conditions are to complete the challenge.


    As for the third type, it''s, pretty much, just a miscellaneous category. Your boss rooms, a tribute room, and any non-combat, non-challenge rooms would fall under this category. Most dungeons are fairly combat-heavy and the Dungeon Masters don''t get very creative with making other types of rooms. However, I''ve heard from my friend, Theodore, that one of his Dungeon Masters likes to make rest areas before boss rooms and some areas that are just meant to be relaxing and peaceful. Since you can''t leave the dungeon, it''s important that you make it a place you want to live, not just focus on safety all of the time."


    Veronica listened to her words carefully, making mental notes. She could certainly see the appeal of turning your dungeon into a place of joy and beauty, but she just wasn''t sure that it was her style. Besides, she had the inn, so there wasn''t a need for more dungeon space to be spent on things that wouldn''t have some level of defense for the dungeon. Challenge rooms didn''t sound like a bad idea to include, eventually, but, even then, she wasn''t sure she wanted to dedicate too much space to things like that.


    "Alright, thank you for the information. I''ll consider what I want to do in regards to challenge rooms in the future, but I don''t think I have use for any of the others. I should, probably, be more worried about what to do with the inn, anyhow. I actually have system quests for that."


    Seraphina just shrugged at Veronica''s words. It wasn''t her job to influence her, just to guide her. Saying anything more would be out of line, so the subject was dropped.

 1.7 Bull-headed Adventurer

    The next day, the dungeon was even busier than it had been the day before. However, Veronica no longer had to worry about adding new [Monster] to replace the old ones. The spawners ensured there was no shortage of gargoyles to keep the adventurers entertained. Instead, she spent her time questioning Seraphina and learning more about the world around her.


    "So, what are things like outside of the dungeon? I know you said my dungeon is on an island and there is a large city nearby, but that''s about all I know."


    Seraphina looked up from the stairs she had been absently staring at while munching on an apple. Tilting her head to the side in thought, she replied


    "Well, your dungeon is like a square tower, if a rather short one. As you add floors to your dungeon, new floors will be built on top of the old, creating a tower that can be seen from farther away. Similar to the central hallway and your dungeon core room, the outside of the dungeon is made from very smooth, but plain gray stone bricks. You''re not really missing anything by not getting to see it for yourself, the inside of a dungeon is always far more interesting.


    I should probably mention, though, you haven''t named your dungeon yet. Every dungeon has an area above the main entrance for the name to be displayed. There''s no rush, though, you can always name your dungeon later. Even if you build a few floors first, the option will still be there."


    Veronica blinked her blue eyes in surprise. She didn''t realize there even was the option to name her dungeon. It wasn''t like it wasn''t an option listed in her menus. Of course, this only brought up further questions about what sorts of other hidden mechanics her dungeon had in store for her.


    "Well, I''ll think about it some. I''ll probably end up naming it something dumb, but I know I''d like it to be something related to the inn and tavern side of the dungeon. It would be good to advertise that feature up front."


    Seraphina just shrugged in response. That seemed to be a habit of hers and it was beginning to grate on Veronica''s nerves. She didn''t expect the elven woman to be her friend, but it would be nice if she acted like she cared a bit more.


    "What about the city? What sorts of businesses are there? I know the dungeon gets tributes from adventurers, but it might be good to consider some sort of trade with a merchant so I can get what I need for the inn."


    Seraphina looked up from her mostly eaten apple. Her expression was pinched as she said


    "I wouldn''t recommend getting into contracts with others so easily. While I can help you make arrangements outside of the dungeon, should it become necessary, people aren''t always trustworthy. A lot of times it comes down to misunderstandings since they don''t know much about how dungeons work, but I don''t want to see you get hurt."


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    Veronica could certainly appreciate how concerned the elven woman sounded for her, but that still didn''t answer her question. Giving her an impatient look, Veronica waited for her to continue. Sighing in exasperation, Seraphina relented


    "Fine! I guess there are a few remaining merchants around the area. Those who could afford to, chose to leave the area after the last dungeon was destroyed. We are in a port city, though, so a lot of trade from other kingdoms and traveling merchants pass through the area. For the most part, though, there are just general store merchants who sell general supplies, smaller food market stalls, a few basic tradesmen, a nearly bankrupt inn, and the adventurers'' guild."


    Well, that wasn''t much, but Veronica was pretty sure she could work with it. However, before she could think much more on the topic, Seraphina stood up in a defensive position in front of the core. Just moments later, a rather muscular and tall man came barreling into the room. Seraphina would later explain that the man was half-giant and half-shifter, which is why he had bull horns sticking out of his head. Pointing to Veronica the man bellowed


    "You, me, duel now!"


    Then the man thrust his fist out at her, clocking Veronica in the jaw. Seraphina stepped forward, demanding


    "You need to leave this room or I will be forced to take action."


    The large man took Seraphina in, seemed to make a decision, and then grabbed Veronica''s arm, dragging her out into the hall as he replied in a gruff voice


    "Fine with me! I''m just here for the Dungeon Master. Can''t very well consider the dungeon conquered unless I can defeat the Dungeon Master now can I?"


    Looking back at her assigned dungeon diplomat, Veronica was horrified to see that she seemed to have no intention of helping her. She just remained in the room, leaving her to her own defenses. After a moment of thought, she opened the door and tossed out Veronica''s staff and called out


    "Good luck!"


    with a far too cheerful tone. Looks like she was on her own. Stumbling to her feet, she took up a defensive stance and prepared to defend against the man in front of her. The man might have let her stand back up, but it seemed that was the only kindness he was willing to grant her as he immediately charged her with his horns pointed forward.


    Veronica barely managed to dodge to the side, but the man redirected too quickly and she ended up taking a punch to the gut. As she had never needed to take self-defense classes and a few hours practicing with Seraphina, the previous night, was hardly enough for her to stand a chance against the man. Unfortunately, a few too many hits led to her vision spotting around the edges and she could barely stand up. Veronica was fairly sure she likely even had some sort of internal injuries yet the bull-headed adventurer didn''t relent.


    "Come on, do we really have to do this? You''re clearly stronger than me, can''t we call it quits? I don''t even know you! Please stop!"


    Veronica called out, desperate to get him to stop. It worked, for a moment, as the man introduced himself.


    "My name is Bo, no more talking!"


    Then he charged forward once more, piercing into her throat with his horns. It didn''t take much longer after that for Veronica to experience her first death both in this world and her previous one.

 1.8 Distractions

    Veronica had a hard time putting together the previous events and the fact that she was now alive and standing in the dungeon core room. However, once she got her bearings, she was quick to accuse


    "Why didn''t you do anything? I thought you were supposed to be helping me!"


    Seraphina looked bored as she replied


    "I''m not always going to be here to help you."


    "I- I died! What do you-"


    Seraphina was quick to interrupt her complaints


    "Well, you aren''t dead anymore, are you? Besides, you have to learn this lesson sooner or later."


    Veronica felt livid as she questioned


    "Lesson?! What lesson?!"


    With an exasperated sigh, Seraphina explained


    "Well, I did tell you that you''re immortal now. That means you literally can''t die unless the dungeon is destroyed, period. Although, that connection does go both ways. If you die too often and end up traumatized from it then that can lead to the dungeon core corrupting. That''ll be far worse than the depression or PTSD you might, otherwise, suffer from. It could lead to life feeling unbearable while you go insane and you''ll feel the need to make others suffer just as much as you are.


    Honestly, I get it, you''re mad, but it must not be that bad if the dungeon isn''t stepping in. If you were that badly off, it would be sending out calming waves of energy to force you to calm down, relax, and be happy. Anger isn''t really an issue, as far as the dungeon is concerned, though. That''s effective for plenty of things like defending the dungeon in times of need, for example."


    Veronica still felt like arguing about it, but tried to take a moment to calm down. Seraphina wasn''t entirely wrong. While it had all come as a shock and she was most definitely upset with her assigned dungeon diplomat, it wasn''t like she felt like curling up in a ball and crying or anything. Maybe that was because of the way she had grown up. Her childhood was mostly happy, but she had to get used to competing with her brother from an early age. She knew now that crying when things didn''t go her way wouldn''t solve anything. If she wanted things to get better, the only thing that would help was determination and hard work. Sure, that didn''t work for everything, but the things she couldn''t change weren''t worth wasting energy on caring about anyhow.


    Seeing her starting to calm down, Seraphina must have decided it was a good time to continue to educate her.


    "Your [Monsters] have similar mechanics, you know. If your gargoyles die too much then their souls can also become corrupted. That tends to lead to them being worse at battle and more prone to attack at even the slightest provocation. However, if it gets too bad, they''ll just stop respawning and need to be replaced.


    Most summoned [Monsters] aren''t sentient enough for you to need to feel pity for them. As for contracted [Monsters] who come from outside the dungeon, they, generally, know what they are signing up for. Out there, if they die, that''s it, their lives are done. In here, they''re almost guaranteed to die again and again, but their lives will also be longer and they have the opportunity to evolve or do unique non-combat tasks for you with both offering them the chance for a less dangerous existence."


    Veronica frowned. She hadn''t really given it much thought, but it was true. Her dungeon [Monsters] would all have to die repeatedly to adventurers, sometimes even multiple times a day. They wouldn''t all be like the gargoyles who just seemed to snarl incoherently at her or glare menacingly. It was possible she could end up with a more sentient creature like the goblins she had dismissed when she initially arrived here.


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    Deciding she didn''t want to think about all of this anymore she mumbled her goodbyes and left the dungeon core room. Seraphina seemed far too cheerful as she called after her


    "Don''t worry, I''ll keep the dungeon core safe while you''re gone. Remember, we still have training once the sun sets and all the adventurers go home."


    Great, so she couldn''t even get space around here for very long. Veronica mentally rolled her eyes. She definitely needed a distraction. Maybe she could work on her inn side of the dungeon for a bit? She certainly had a few [Missions] relating to building things on that side of the dungeon.


    Earlier in the day, she had built her sixth 18-Units by 18-Units square room on the tropical rainforest side of the dungeon. It already had a 50 MP spawner and three gargoyles assigned to the room. However, she had, unfortunately, discovered that the leftover space on the right-most side of the dungeon didn''t fit any of her current room-building options. The menu did suggest she could research new options to use for dungeon points, but she would be leaving that for another day. Right now, she just wanted to be left alone while she worked on other things.


    The first day she had been here, she had been experimenting and found out that she had to always have a path that led from the entrance to the dungeon core room. Why the dungeon would want to keep such a weakness, she wasn''t sure. Perhaps it related back to the dungeon accords Seraphina liked to reference all of the time. Considering how she had been checking her dungeon core for corruption, it was likely that the open access was meant as a way to ensure a dungeon could always be destroyed in an emergency.


    Still, that didn''t mean she had to keep open access on the inn side of things. Even if she blocked things off some, she would still have a route through the tropical rainforest. Adventurers would just have to contend with getting lost in the trees and fighting her gargoyles before they could reach the room, not that it had stopped that crazy half-giant. She shivered in discomfort as she reflected on the memory.


    Four groups of adventurers came through the dungeon over the course of the day. Most of them had weak energy signatures and their group numbers ranged from those going solo to four-man parties. Thanks to Seraphina''s presence, she always had plenty of mana accruing, but her menu accessibility was cut off on occasion as adventurers wandered into her work area. None of them paid her much attention, only sparing her an odd glance on occasion.


    Veronica did have to admit that her party dress and wedges weren''t doing her any favors when it came to blending into this new world. Most of the adventurers were wearing pants, including the women, but she highly doubted that a pair of jeans would have been any better. Really, Veronica needed to get a hold of some new attire so she could play the role of innkeeper and Dungeon Master without anyone batting an eye.


    Regardless of the constant distractions, she still managed to make some decent progress on building. By the time Seraphina came along to fetch her for martial arts training, she had 10 new 9-Units by 9-Units inn rooms and plenty of hallways to connect everything. She also managed to figure out that she could just ask the system to unlock a new 15-Units by 19-Units rectangular room and a system prompt popper up.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to research a 15-Units by 19-Units room for 68 DP?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Thanks to earning 422 DP for the day from the adventurer''s tributes, that amount barely felt like a drop in the bucket. So, now she also had a room perfect for a reception where adventurer''s could check in. The only real issue Veronica was worried about was the lack of suitable tributes for making things for the inn rooms.


    It would seem that wherever she was living now was full of elves and, for some reason, had a lot in common with the Asian countries of her home world. She had received three flint arrows, some evening primrose, an empty potion vial, a cork stopper, a camellia flower, perilla leaves, a bit of hemp rope, cherry blossoms, taro root, some twine, chrysanthemums, lotus root, ginger, and a chunk of jade stone. Veronica supposed the mythology from her own world about elves must be true with the number of plants and nature-based [Items] she was getting for tributes. Many of the [Items] didn''t even seem like the sort of thing that would grow near a coastal city, so it was likely they had chosen to buy them purely to leave as a tribute for her dungeon. Still, she was hardly going to complain since she was most certainly benefitting from the variety.

 1.9 Resource Quest

    Earlier that day, a group of three adventurers were at the adventurers'' guild. The pretty receptionist behind the desk was flirting with their leader, Coryas, again. Amelia rolled her eyes in annoyance, hoping they would hurry up.


    "So, what quest did you two decide to go with again?"


    Elwin had been late arriving at the adventurers'' guild today. If it weren''t for his valuable skills as a scout class and the fact that they had gone to school together, his regular tardiness likely would have been enough to kick him out of the party. However, as things stand, their party was well-balanced and they needed him.


    "Well, since we recently made it to D-rank, we decided to take one of the more dangerous quests today. The local stone mason''s workshop is requesting we collect gargoyle stone from the new dungeon. Apparently, all it takes is a day for word to get around."


    Elwin laughed, before replying


    "Yeah, I know Leaf Mason was talking about how he wished he had better materials to work with just a few weeks ago. I''m not surprised he''s taking advantage of the new dungeon already. I''m sure others will follow his example as soon as the Dungeon Master decides what other types of resources they want to offer."


    Amelia decided not to reply, even despite Elwin''s rather upbeat attitude, his words had been a reminder of just how much she was a stranger in this land. Both she and their party leader, Coryas, were half-giants who had grown up in Bluecove City, but they were still very much considered other. Had their features suggested they were even so much as half-elf or they had a spouse or family member who was part of the elven race, things might have been different. Rather, instead, Coryas was half-dwarf, which gave him the appearance of your typical human, while she was half-human, which was hardly anything special.


    "Alright, is everyone ready to go? You remembered to bring a tribute, right?"


    Coryas asked, looking pointedly at Elwin as he said the last part. The dig was unnecessary as, while he had the bad habit of getting sidetracked, the elven boy never forgot anything essential. It would have been especially bad as a scout class if he didn''t always come prepared. Smiling, Elwin enthusiastically declared


    "I just stopped by the market on my way here. Picked up some rope and rations for the day. I didn''t know we were going into the new dungeon, but I''m sure the Dungeon Master will enjoy a bit of hemp rope as well as anything else."


    Coryas rolled his eyes, looking to be in as bad a mood as ever, as he led their group out of the guild and into the dungeon. Amelia had chosen to go with a branch of cherry blossoms herself. She found them pretty and it certainly seemed fitting to give a dungeon in an elven kingdom something nature-related. Besides, from the stories she heard from her parents, the last dungeon had featured a succubus as the Dungeon Master. She was known for enjoying rare flowers and sweets to the point that she''d even show her favor to those who left something impressive enough.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    There was no way to know what type of Dungeon Master was in charge of the newest dungeon without meeting them or waiting for the adventurers'' guild to publish the information for the public to make use of. More than likely, they''d be discussing hiring an official mapping group to come through later in the year and would already be offering a pretty coin for any useful information that was brought in now. Their party wasn''t likely to have anything of use, though, as they were just supposed to get in, kill some gargoyles, bag up their corpses, and then drag them back to town to deliver to the adventurers'' guild who would see to it that the quest giver received it.


    When they arrived at the dungeon, they were surprised to see its name over the door. It read "Veronica''s Rest", which made it sound an awful lot like some human tavern or inn. Did that mean the Dungeon Master was human? Was her, if it was a her, name Veronica? Shrugging, she stepped through the door to the dungeon. Amelia had too little information to go on and she hardly wanted to make any assumptions.


    "What even was that? There were just a bunch of empty rooms and the walls and floors were all made from wood!"


    "Did you see that woman''s attire? She doesn''t look like she belongs in a dungeon. It''s great that she brought a weapon, but a dress and cloth shoes just aren''t appropriate for dungeon diving!"


    Overhearing another group of adventurers talking, it was easy to know which way to go. They waited a moment to give them some space, then they followed through the door. The space immediately became brighter and felt bigger as they went from the dark, cramped, stone hallway to an open jungle. Even as they progressed further into the dungeon, it was incredible how open everything was. Where there would typically be doors separating different rooms, the trees just grew thicker in some areas with paths leading to the different spaces, and no doors in sight.


    "Whoa! Is this an open floorplan dungeon? I''ve only ever heard stories about those!"


    Elwin exclaimed. Coryas glared back at him and just barely noticed the gargoyle that was about to ambush them from the trees above. Smashing his hammer into the stone creature, he almost took out Elwin with it. Luckily, they were all similar levels, so it was unlikely he would have been injured worse than a healing potion could handle, but it was still enough to freak the elven boy out.


    "Hey! Watch it!"


    "No, you watch it, we have a job to do."


    Their time in the dungeon mostly continued like that. Once Elwin''s head was in the game, he did his job pointing out the [Monsters] and set up a perimeter of [Traps] once they found a room they wanted to farm for a while. Amelia was an earth elementalist herself, which was great for forming defensive barriers and throwing small stone pellets at her enemies. Those were actually the only two spells she had unlocked, thus far, but that also mostly left her to handle the defenses while Coryas carried the team, smashing any gargoyles that dared to get close into smithereens. Amelia didn''t mind, though, and happily bagged up the remains alongside Elwin.


    After spending several hours in the dungeon and gathering as much as they could carry, they packed up and headed back to the guild. The gargoyles weren''t worth much experience, but they were still happy with the small handful of XP they had earned and even happier about the coppers and silvers they''d be paid.

 1.10 Furnishings

    The next day, Veronica still felt frustrated with Seraphina, but she could no longer avoid her. She was still working on the inn side of the dungeon, but had moved on to decorating the previously made rooms. This had been jump started by some inspiration that had come in the form of a discarded iron belt buckle that she had received as a ''tribute'' earlier in the day. There had been other things as well, including a leather belt, roasted seaweed, dried apples, and another flint arrow. Veronica honestly felt bad for whoever kept losing their arrows. Even if flint and wood were likely less expensive than metal-based arrows, it had to be expensive to constantly have to replace their arrows.


    Before she had started researching new schematics to use in her inn, her dungeon points had been at 605. The first thing she had researched, of course, had been iron nails, which had been insanely cheap at a mere 2 DP. They also cost 1 MP each to summon, which was a lot more expensive, in comparison to other things, but was besides the point since she just needed nails for the other things she planned to research.


    Unfortunately, Veronica found that she was lacking a lot of the [Base Resources] needed to properly set up a comfortable inn room. Even the reception ended up lacking due to the limitations she currently had. Still, she did the best she could with the wood she had unlocked thanks to the leftover flint arrows and the new iron nails she had. The notifications for the new [Items] had been rather repetitive as everything had cost 10 DP to unlock and 5 MP each to create.


    However, the reception room now had a wooden corner shelving unit and wooden corner counter to one side. Another 50 MP had gotten her a new spawner for a 20 MP will-o''-wisp to occupy. The strange glowing blue ball of light couldn''t talk, nor could it charge the adventurers for a room, but it would be useful for guiding them to their rooms. Besides which, Veronica had found out that she could set prices for each room using the system, which would control whether the room doors would unlock for the adventurers as well as accept the payment directly.


    Since all she had was the most basic furniture for her inn, right now, and all the rooms were 9-Units by 9-Units, she had decided to keep things cheap and was only charging 10 DP per room per night. It wasn''t a ton, but the amount was bound to add up over time and it would easily allow her to afford any necessary research in the future. Veronica was just glad that she didn''t have to stand guard in the inn and constantly demand people pay to use the facilities. She would have done it, had it been necessary, but it definitely would have made it difficult to manage other areas of the dungeon.


    For the rest of the reception area, Veronica had decided to decorate it with five coffee tables and eight wooden armchairs. Four of the coffee tables had been placed together to create a larger square table space to be set amongst three chairs in two corners of the room. Meanwhile, the last coffee table and two wooden armchairs were placed in front of the reception desk area. The room, honestly, looked very bland with all the wooden furniture, floors, walls, and ceilings. However, uncomfortable wooden furniture seemed better than leaving the room empty. She just hoped she could replace them with something better later on.


    The inn rooms themselves were all identical with the same furnishings going into each. There was a large wooden bed frame that could easily be slept on. Rather than being a rectangular frame with nothing in the middle, they were solid with a surface that could be covered with a sleeping bag and slept directly on. She had seen something similar while touring a museum with medieval furniture when she was in college.


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    To either side of the bed area was an end table with functioning drawers. In one corner of the bedroom was also a corner desk with a wooden chair as well as a wooden wardrobe against the same wall. The plan was to put a fireplace on the other side of the room once she had the [Base Resources] to make such a thing. The wardrobes had both drawers on the lower half and a top half that could open to display a wooden rod which clothes could be hung from. Veronica had considered making hangers for it as well, but had decided to skip such luxuries for now.


    Now that the basic furniture was taken care of, though, she had the desire to get ahold of better materials to work with. Surely there were merchants in the city who could sell her luxurious clothes, stone bricks, and fire-making materials. However, since she couldn''t personally leave the dungeon, she would have to rely on Seraphina to negotiate on her behalf. That was why she was now standing in front of the dungeon core room, staring at the door as she tried to work up her courage. After she stood there for far too long, Seraphina opened the door with an unamused look and asked


    "Do you need something?"


    Her tone was friendly enough, making it obvious that she didn''t feel the same tension she did. That was frustrating for Veronica who was still very much so upset with the elven woman and found her carefree attitude about it all to be frustrating. Still, she decided to press forward since she wanted to accomplish her goals sooner rather than later.


    "Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me trade with the local merchants. I have plenty of mana, so I''m hoping I could make some [Items] they''ll want and I can get some materials to use in my inn rooms in exchange."


    Seraphina looked surprised as she replied


    "That''s an interesting proposition. I''m not sure it''s necessary, though. I can just go buy you whatever you want, within reason. I''m actually supposed to bring you tributes, just like the adventurers, but you haven''t expressed an interest in anything yet, so I haven''t bothered. It would be nice to have a proper room to sleep in at night."


    Veronica had seen the elven woman eating and even sleeping on the hard stone floors of the dungeon core room. Sometimes, she tried to sleep as well. While she always fell asleep right away, it was also very much so unnecessary. Besides, with how cold and uncomfortable the floor was, it wasn''t really that tempting to spend all her downtime sleeping when she could be doing other things.


    "Can you really afford to buy very much? I don''t want to put you out."


    Veronica said. She might not be happy with her decision to let her die, but she didn''t hate the woman either. Seraphina smiled as she replied


    "It''s sweet of you to worry, but I''m getting paid for this. Dungeons are an integral part of this world, so some of the taxes collected by each kingdom are paid to my village and then Dungeon Diplomats, like myself, receive compensation for ensuring the dungeons are taken care of. Why don''t you figure out a short list of what you need, for now, and I''ll see about picking up what I can. I don''t have a whole lot on me right now, but you can consider it compensation for letting me use one of your inn rooms."


    Veronica was hardly going to refuse such a good offer, so she immediately got to work considering what she needed most right now. Since it wasn''t necessary to buy the actual [Item] she needed and it was actually easier to just get the necessary [Base Resources] she needed to figure out which of those she needed. A mattress could likely be made from feathers and she already had undyed cotton cloth and thread. A fireplace would require something to make a fire, firewood, and stone for the furnace itself. Maybe it would also be good to consider options for a toilet area or a new tavern section. Since she might not be able to get a lot, she definitely had to carefully consider her options.

 1.11 Shopping Spree

    Seraphina was well aware that purchasing this list of [Items] for Veronica wasn''t going to fix things between them. However, she didn''t particularly care that much about resolving the situation. Being overprotective of the Dungeon Masters she was in charge of wasn''t always the best approach to take and it was hardly her way of doing things.


    Theodore was her long-time friend and had shared many tales of his own experiences managing dungeons. He had, somehow, managed to luck into getting a rather unique Dungeon Master. A human named Violet who had reincarnated into their world a decade or so ago. She was a complete sweetheart, but even she had been tested by time and had to make some adjustments to her approach to running her dungeon. What had started out as a rather carefree attitude had turned into a more cautious one.


    The girl still insisted on keeping her first-floor a rather peaceful one with no [Traps] and child-friendly puzzles and weak slime [Monsters]. She very easily could have gotten creative and made more dangerous versions of the creatures, even if they would always be considered a low-rank [Monster]. However, her first-floor boss room had an emperor rock slime that had easily slayed many an unprepared adventurer who had underestimated the threat that lay in store for them. Her choice to leave the rest of the floor as a rather unthreatening temptation had caused those unfamiliar with her dungeon to underestimate just how capable she was at creating dangerous boss [Monsters] and effective [Trap] combinations.


    Theodore had chosen to give Violet only what she asked for. In this case, she wanted friends who would accept her for her. So, he always provided a shoulder to cry on and acted like an overprotective father who would happily give her the world on a platter. That had worked out for him because her unique dungeon set-up combined with her creativity had made for a rather successful dungeon. It was unlikely that would work for Seraphina, though, and she hardly wanted to watch Veronica suffer for her decisions the way Violet had suffered from Theodore''s leniency.


    "Ah, Lady Seraphina! It has been quite a while since I''ve seen you around these parts. Is there anything I can help you with?"


    Master Blacksmith Rulvion said, his gruff voice carrying across the noisy workshop.


    She smiled in greeting as she replied


    "Well, you''ll likely be seeing a good bit more of me. I''m actually in charge of the new dungeon instead of just helping out, this time."


    The old dwarf raised his eyebrows in surprise. As Seraphina had elven features, she was often assigned to help the last dungeon diplomat assigned to the previous dungeon. All Dungeon Diplomats were shown a good bit of respect for their roles, even being addressed the same as an aristocrat might be, despite never being given official titles. However, being directly assigned to the area certainly came with a good bit more respect. However, Seraphina didn''t have time for the pleasantries and continued


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "I''m actually here to see if you have anything made with steel I can purchase from you. The new Dungeon Master sent me out to get a few materials she needs for some new, upcoming dungeon features."


    Rulvion pointed behind him with his thumb as he said


    "If you''re looking for pre-mades, you''ll need to check that side of the shop. One of the apprentices should be able to help you find what you need."


    The dwarf was clearly disappointed she wasn''t here to special order a weapon of some sort from him. Seraphina had never really been one for swords and spears, though. She much preferred a wooden staff and hand-to-hand combat as it was less likely to result in someone''s death while still providing the extra leverage needed to do significant damage. Her supernatural strength from her dungeon diplomat race already made her quite dangerous without any special frills.


    The cheapest option ended up being a small steel hunting knife. After quickly paying for her purchase, she moved on to the next stop. The list she had was a decent length, but Seraphina had the feeling that Veronica wasn''t actually trying to take advantage of her offer so much as she didn''t actually know what was available on the market.


    It took a few hours to walk around the city, buying this and that, but, soon enough, Seraphina was once more returning to the dungeon. Veronica was excited when she saw the elven woman, but she also felt nervous as she asked


    "Do you have access to the system? It''s just that... Well, the rooms are meant to be paid for and checked into without my interference. A certain number of dungeon points are charged for each night for a room and the system handles the whole transaction process. I could, probably, manually unlock the door each time for you, but that would make it so you can only get in with my help..."


    Seraphina rolled her eyes and immediately pivoted as she made a beeline for the inn side of the dungeon. Veronica followed behind, curious as to what she was up to. Soon enough the satchel full of [Items] disappeared and the elven woman looked smug as she replied


    "There, it''s all taken care of now. I''ve got this room for 104 days and you get the tributes you wanted. I''ll just have to stop by my village to get paid and pick up some new tributes for you when it comes time to pay up again."


    Veronica''s eyes widened in surprise as she took in the 1,045 DP increase, which brought her total up to 1,773. That was partially thanks to the tributes she had received from three visiting adventurer parties. They had left napa cabbage, a tiger''s eye stone, plum blossoms, two flint arrows, an empty potion vial with a cork stopper, daffodils, yuzu, and a coffee jelly dessert complete with whipped cream. The last one had been especially valuable according to the system.


    "Woah! Thanks so much Seraphina! I''ll make sure to get your room upgraded first so you can get an especially good night''s rest tonight."


    That was a bit of a lofty promise since she wasn''t actually sure if she could edit a room once it was rented out. However, it ended up turning out that she could so long as she kept the [Items] that were present when it was first rented out present. She could add to the room''s value, but she couldn''t take it away, nor could she edit the price while someone was renting it out. That was unfortunate since it would be more than a season that Seraphina was going to be renting the room out, but Veronica just settled with keeping the prices for the 9-Units by 9-Units rooms at 10 DP per night. She could always make more luxurious rooms of a larger size if she wanted to make more off of her future customers.

 1.12 Comfortable Beds

    Before Veronica left to begin researching new [Items] for her inn, Seraphina had casually mentioned that she was fortunate to have asked for the materials now rather than later. Apparently, things like the fire, water, and ice magic crystals were not common in this area anymore. The last construction group had moved out of the area a few years back and there weren''t currently any enchanters in town. Really, there had only been any left in stock because of the old inn.


    The fact that they were living in a coastal town and were a hub town for the Rosefall Empire didn''t necessarily guarantee they would have access to the supplies she wanted. Apparently, there was something called aether in the air, which could make people sick if they were exposed to it for too long. Dungeons processed the aether and turned it into mana, which made the area safer for all of elven kind. However, dungeons didn''t tend to appear in the middle of the ocean, so it was quite dangerous for ships to be sent between continents.


    Magic technology was a thing in this world with richer households and businesses using them to make their quality of life better. A fire magic crystal might be used for an oven with better temperature control than your classic hearth-based cooking would allow for. Meanwhile, a water crystal would allow for some form of plumbing and ice would be used to make something akin to refrigerators or ice boxes. However, such technology wasn''t accessible for everyone as it was not only expensive, but could only be used by those with magic-based classes. Since some people never awakened a class and others got classes like warrior or scout, that made it so only a small percentage of the population could even dream of using such technology.


    The ones Veronica had gotten were actually those being held in reserve for the local tavern and inn. However, since the place was falling apart too much and had been officially condemned as of last week, the merchant was more than happy to sell it to Seraphina. Whether that meant the elven woman had gotten a discount or had to pay the fair market value, though, she hadn''t said.


    The other materials she had managed to collect had included things like cotton cloth, raw cotton, wool, stone brick, flint, steel, duck feathers, clay, dirt, peace lilies, an unscented candle, and various colors of paint. For some reason, the system had counted the paint twice in the [Base Resources] with her being given both black paint and black dye as well as every other color of the rainbow and white. Veronica was hardly going to complain about the extra dungeon points, though. She had far better things to be doing anyhow.


    For the reception area, Veronica decided to go with a super cozy sitting area. She reabsorbed the previous wooden armchairs and replaced them with brand-new teal cotton-stuffed armchairs that resembled modern-day ones. Some new stone brick fireplaces with a set of iron fireplace tools and a stack of firewood set beside it. As she didn''t want to push the cost of the [Items] up too much, she decided to keep things simple. However, she had certainly been tempted to see if she could use the fire magic crystals to make a Minecraft redstone-style fireplace that would alight with the push of a button. Instead, she just made a set of flint and steel that would be kept on the shelving in the reception area.


    All of the new additions had cost 170 DP, but the more comfortable chairs and the warmth from the fireplace did a lot for the space. Next up were the bedrooms themselves. Most of the space had already been taken up by the wooden furniture, but that didn''t mean there wasn''t room for some luxuries. For the beds, a padded mattress, blue silk sheets, blue quilts, feather-stuffed pillows, and blue silk pillowcases added a nice pop of color to the room while also making everything super comfortable. Veronica had decided to go with blue and green shades for everything as she felt it would contrast with the brown walls, floors, and ceilings this side of the dungeon was filled with.


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    The old wooden chairs for the desks were absorbed and then replaced with leather armchairs. While she couldn''t recreate a proper computer chair with wheels, she had tried. A nice leather bound chair with some padding and a tall back was still better than hard, uncomfortable wood. Veronica was pretty sure the limitation that was keeping her from recreating the computer chairs seen in modern-day was related to her own limited knowledge. Ever since she had become bonded to the dungeon she could recall details with perfect accuracy, even remembering small things like lists of ingredients from nutrition labels. However, she had never thought to look up how things like modern-day computer chairs were put together, nor had she ever personally put one together from scratch.


    In the end, it wasn''t a big deal to have a chair with wooden feet since the chairs still ended up incredibly comfortable. There was no need to worry about cheaply put-together furniture that would easily break down in a short amount of time. Her system only seemed to know how to make perfect copies of things with high quality at the forefront of their design.


    In order to bring the room together, Veronica also opted to add green rugs, potted peace lilies, and some wooden hangers, which were placed in the wardrobes. It hadn''t seemed worthwhile to make them before, but, now, with the rooms looking so much nicer, it seemed silly to skip over such a small thing as hangers. Besides, it wasn''t like she only had medieval-quality furniture anymore, so she couldn''t even use that as an excuse anymore. Before calling it a day and going off to do her martial arts training with Seraphina, she decided to place a few of the potted peace lilies in the reception room. More greenery was always a welcome addition anyway, right?


    Veronica was getting used to her new life in this world, even if it had only been a few days. She had learned that her previous thinking of the mana pool being hers rather than the dungeon''s was silly on her part. That was why she didn''t feel drained if she used it all up. Dungeon points continued to accrue and she had even managed to have another two adventurer parties show up while she was working on the inn rooms and reception area. With the addition of figs, currants, rose quartz, and some copper, she now had a total of 1,572 DP, even after her spending spree.


    The copper had actually been given to her in the form of copper coins, but that hadn''t unlocked copper coins as an [Item] for her, just copper as a [Base Resource]. She didn''t even bother asking Seraphina why that was as it seemed obvious to her. If dungeons could recreate the currency from this world then that would mess up the economy far too easily. It was one thing for the dungeons to absorb the copper as new coins could always be made by whoever was in charge of that process, but making them was a whole other can of worms.


    Veronica was slowly making progress with her training, but she was sure that even that was thanks to Seraphina''s efforts to train her. She was always pointing out things that she should fix like her hand placement on the staff, her posture, or how placing her feet slightly differently would help her maintain her balance so she was less easy to knock over. Veronica appreciated the elven woman''s efforts and was no longer inclined to hold her previous death against Seraphina. When she had resurrected, the dungeon core had been safe and the tall bull-man, Bo, had been nowhere in sight. That was already more than she should be expecting from anyone.

 1.13 Mission Submission

    After Seraphina went to bed for the night, Veronica decided it was time to check her [Missions] tab again. It had only been a few days since she last checked them, but she was certain there should be several of them now complete.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Origin:


    </td>


    <td>


    Status:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    <td>


    Reward:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete first dungeon room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Set up first spawner


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Set up first challenge


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Place first [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete a boss room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete half of the first floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock the second floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete the first floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock ten [Critters]


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock [Critters] from five different phyla


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete first inn room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Make a first-floor reception


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Make a first-floor tavern


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Check-In First Guest


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Earn the favor of a patron god or goddess


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock new schematic (Altar)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    There were still several [Missions] she could easily complete, if she put in the effort, like one for placing her first [Trap] and one for setting up her first challenge room. Veronica had actually learned a bit about how to go about completing those [Missions] today by asking Seraphina about it during training.


    Apparently, she would have to set up the room with any [Traps] and room features necessary to make the challenge and then she would have to have the intended reward researched before choosing to set the challenge''s parameters and reward with the system. The dungeon system would then communicate with the adventurers'' systems to convey what the challenge and reward was as well as to dispense the rewards automatically when they were successful. Luckily, she wouldn''t have to worry about ongoing mana costs for the rewards either, but she would have to invest dungeon points to complete the initial set-up.


    She had also learned about setting the theme for a room and how that would ensure the system knew which [Items] and room features belonged to the room. When the dungeon half was completely empty of adventurers the rooms would then reset, ensuring the resources, like flowers or fruiting bushes, were always available. The [Monsters] that were assigned to spawners could respawn at set intervals and didn''t require the dungeon to be cleared of non-dungeon entities. As for the challenge rooms, the challenges themselves would reset just enough to ensure the challenge could be taken on by the next set of adventurers.


    It was because of this new information she had learned that Veronica was surprised to see her reception and inn room [Missions] were considered complete. She hadn''t set the room''s theme for any of those rooms. Marching over to the reception room she decided to test out the room theme system prompt.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Error! Unable to complete command.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After testing some things out and asking the system some follow-up questions, Veronica found out the inn didn''t function the same as the rest of the dungeon. Well, she already knew her dungeon setup was a bit... unique. Apparently, the inn and tavern side didn''t require her to set the room theme because she would have to manually take care of things. The dungeon would absorb anything that was considered to not belong to the dungeon, meaning she could still move forward with her public bathroom building plans, but beds would remain unmade and obtaining more firewood would require her to spend mana.


    Well, that wasn''t exactly ideal, but it wasn''t like Veronica didn''t have experience working at her parents'' bed and breakfast. She could play the role of housekeeper and having adventurers constantly in the dungeon meant she wouldn''t have to worry about having the mana needed to obtain the supplies she needed. Still, she could only hope that she would be able to obtain some useful [Monsters] to help out with the housekeeping side of things sometime in the future. Otherwise, Veronica was fairly sure there was no way she''d ever be able to keep up with all the inn rooms wanted to build in the future.


    Shaking her head, she decided to leave that problem for the future as she focused on accepting her [Mission] rewards.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to receive the reward now?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica selected the [Yes] option and accepted her first [Critter] reward.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select one of the following options to be randomly awarded a [Critter] from:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Cnidaria


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Mollusca


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Arthropoda


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She had no clue what most of the options meant, so she decided to go with the last option on the list.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Randomizing options...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New [Critter] option unlocked!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Queen Bullet Ant


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal queen bullet ant. Capable of laying eggs and starting a new colony. Incapable of engaging in combat.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Soldier Bullet Ant


    </td>


    <td>


    1 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal soldier bullet ant. Nonlethal, but extremely painful bites, territorial. Consumption is not recommended.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The description of the queen bullet ant as well as the fact that she had received two options instead of just one seemed to suggest the ability to reproduce was a special feature of the bullet ants. As the first of five rewards, the bullet ants, honestly, didn''t seem like a bad option. If anything, she was surprised by the fact that she had gotten something with some combat ability when she only had the first-floor of her dungeon unlocked. Moving on, she decided to roll the dice again.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Randomizing options...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New [Critter] option unlocked!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Red-Eyed Tree Frog


    </td>


    <td>


    2 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal red-eyed tree frog. Poor combat skills, excellent jumping skills. Is safe to consume.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New [Critter] option unlocked!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Angel Fish


    </td>


    <td>


    2 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal angelfish. Colors are randomized. Incapable of engaging in combat. Consumption is not recommended.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New [Critter] option unlocked!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tarsier


    </td>


    <td>


    3 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal tarsier. Poor combat skills, average climbing skills. Is safe to consume.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New [Critter] option unlocked!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Crimson Topaz


    </td>


    <td>


    2 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal crimson topaz. Colors are randomized. Incapable of engaging in combat. Excellent flying skills, cowardly.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After seeing all of her new [Critters], Veronica couldn''t help but draw the conclusion that she had been given them based on her tropical rainforest theme for her first-floor. She wasn''t about to complain, though, as most of them were fairly cheap and they would be useful for making the environment on the floor more realistic. Of course, she would have to figure out how to balance the cost of her [Monsters] with that of her [Critters], assuming they could both be assigned to the spawners in the rooms. Currently, she had 45 of 50 points being occupied by her gargoyles and she wasn''t sure reducing their numbers was a great plan.


    Oh well, that was something she could tackle another day. Right now, she was eager to get started on her first challenge room while there weren''t adventurers on that side of the dungeon.

 1.14 Tropical Parkour

    As she got so many tributes so often, it was hard to keep track of what all was available to work with for her first-ever challenge room. While reviewing what resources were available to her, though, she made the fortunate discovery that she had been automatically granted the ability to create pools of water in the dungeon after receiving the water magic crystal. Also, apparently, the ability to terraform was always available to her with a cost of 10 MP for 100 Cubic Units of change. The water cost half that for the same amount of space.


    That was hardly the only discovery she had made either. The leftover space in the front right side of the dungeon amounted to 17-Units by 37-Units. However, directly researching that particular room size wouldn''t give her what she wanted because she was currently limited to a 50-point mana cap. A 17-Units by 37-Units room bought directly would cost 108 DP to research and 54 MP to purchase once. However, there was a workaround for this problem, which Veronica was happy to take advantage of.


    First, she researched a 17-Units by 18-Units room for 70 DP and then she researched a 17-Units by 19-Units room for an additional 72 DP. Then she placed the rooms side by side for a combined total of 71 MP. It was already more expensive than being able to buy the room outright, but the real cost came into play with the rooms being able to be combined for 63 DP or 10% of the new room''s total area. Honestly, though, neither the dungeon points nor the mana cost really bothered Veronica, though, as both were easy to come by.


    Unfortunately, the room couldn''t be finished that night since it took most of the rest of the night to change the terrain. Seraphina''s presence ensured she could earn 720 MP across a 12-hour span of time, but digging a pool 10-Units deep that spanned most of the room cost most of the mana she had earned. Adventurers came through the dungeon throughout most of the day, ensuring she couldn''t work on the new challenge room until they left for the day.


    It was hard to complain, though, when it resulted in her earning more dungeon points as tributes continued to pour in. The traffic was slowly increasing as time went by and five parties of varying sizes managed to make it to the dungeon for the day. She even managed to get two takers for her newly furnished inn rooms. While the 20 DP was a drop in the bucket compared to the 360 DP she earned from tributes for the day, it was still exciting since it felt like she was making some real progress.


    Pulling up the list of tributes, at the end of the day, she noted that she now had oatcakes, oats, cinnamon, eggs, butter, obsidian arrows, obsidian, lotus flowers, lesser mana potions, spearmint, sea salt, black peppercorns, and springy turf moss. The rest of the dungeon points had been from repeats, which only gave 1 DP each. Compared to the 25 DP from new [Base Resources] and 10 DP from new [Items] it was a bit disappointing, but even points from repeats and inn room rentals could add up over time. Just look at the amount she had earned from Seraphina.


    After getting her butt kicked by Seraphina during training, Veronica dusted herself off and got back to work on her new challenge room. It would seem one of the new room rentals must be being shared as she was now earning 4 MP per minute, which meant she''d have nearly 2,880 MP to work with tonight. Filling the space with water took up roughly 315 mana points, but the rest of the work was rather cheap mana-wise, draining her dungeon point reserves instead.


    Maybe it was a bit unoriginal, but the plan was actually to make a wipeout-style parkour course. It wasn''t going to be quite the same as the original one, though, and, in fact, it would be closer to the Minecraft version she had once recreated for an online multiplayer world she was part of in college. Veronica had chosen to make a massive amusement park on the server with semi-functioning rides, games, and themed booths. She had spent hundreds of hours doing research, farming materials, and building the park only for the server to have to be reset not even a year later. Still, the memories were rather fond ones and she thought it was fitting to recreate such a masterpiece here in her own dungeon. The only way anyone could take it away this time would be for the whole dungeon to be destroyed, taking her with it.


    Veronica started by removing many of the entranceways from the other rooms, funneling the adventurers through this particular area before they could move further into the dungeon. Since there weren''t actual doors, that meant she got to watch as trees rapidly grew, cutting off the path forward. Next, she shaped the land masses in the room to create platforms where necessary. There was one near the only entrance leading into the room, one near the exit to the room, and four in the middle of the parkour course.


    For 20 DP she managed to research big wooden balls, which would hurt more to fall on than the inflated ones used in her world, but utilized the [Base Resources] she actually had access to. Besides, why should she care if adventurers got injured in her dungeon? It was their fault for coming in here in the first place. Four of the big wooden balls were placed between the entrance platform and the next rest platform. Thanks to the tropical rainforest theme, the mini islands all still came with plants one would normally expect to find in the environment, really making them feel like mini tropical rainforests.


    The next part involved a rectangular land-mass placed against a wall and the use of a brand new [Trap] she had to spend 40 DP to unlock. When she had first opened the [Traps] menu she had been met with a rather disappointing list.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Available Traps:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tripwire


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Can be used with other [Trap] types. Trips enemies.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Itching Powder Wall [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Releases a cloud of itching powder when enemies walk past it causing itchiness and discomfort.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Unlockable Traps


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Both tripping adventurers and making them itchy sounded great if you were going for practical jokester levels of chaos, but that wasn''t really Veronica''s motivation for using [Traps]. She just wanted to protect the dungeon so she didn''t end up dying prematurely. The [Unlockable Traps] option hadn''t had anything of much more use, but she did have some use for the [(Weak) Push Wall Trap].


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Unlockable Trap Options:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock Cost:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Pitfall (1-Unit Drop)


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Small Wooden Barricade


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tar Floor [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Flip [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Push Wall [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Large Wooden Barricade


    </td>


    <td>


    30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    60 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Slide Floor Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    40 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    80 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Giant Flip Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Giant Push Wall Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The push wall [Traps] were supposed to be placed inside the dungeon walls, but she didn''t have walls, so they were placed inside of trees that formed the barrier and would jut out to push unsuspecting adventurers into the water beside the rectangular land-mass she had created. Assuming they could make it past that point, the next stop would be another mini island.


    30 dungeon points bought some ice pillars, which were the next step before a large platform that had cost her 50 DP to research. The ice was slippery and would make it difficult to jump up onto the large, raised land mass of a platform. With water rushing downhill and only a few land pillars jutting up to anchor themselves with, it would be a literal uphill battle for the adventurers.


    The way back to the exit platform was finished off with another large ice platform, mini island, more big wooden balls, another mini island, and then lots of ice pillars that had to be jumped across in order to reach the final platform where they could exit the room and move further into the dungeon. It was definitely not something that Veronica could ever see herself wanting to do, but there was no reason to go easy on those who wished her harm anyhow.


    There wasn''t much need for [Monsters] in the challenge room, so Veronica threw down a 50 MP spawner and then filled the water with twenty five angelfish. They came in a variety of colors and they added a nice bit of life to the room. While the other [Critters] were all pretty good as well, she wasn''t sure they''d be happy with so little land space in the room. So, she wanted to save them for another time.


    Finally, with the room complete, Veronica wanted to utilize the room theme setting option and finalize her challenge.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to set the theme for this room? This will cost 150 DP. You will no longer be able to change the room''s theme and all [Items] added to it in the future must match the set theme, but upgrades will be unlocked for the room.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Is the current theme correct?


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Theme: Tropical Parkour


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    For both prompts she chose the [Yes] option. Then she spent 60 DP to research a six-piece luxury towel set. Veronica got a chuckle just thinking about the faces of those who successfully completed the challenge just to get towels as a reward. They''d be able to dry themselves off, but it felt a lot like a middle finger to their efforts. She wasn''t here to reward people who were trying to harm her, but it wasn''t like it was all bad. They would get a nice towel set they could use while relaxing in her inn rooms later that night and it was a high-quality product.


    It cost another 60 DP to set the challenge to require the challengers to cross the room without falling into the water. Apparently, the cost was always the same as the cost to research the reward being used for the challenge. That was, honestly, rather interesting since it meant she could, potentially, spend a mere 2 DP to set a challenge up if she offered something particularly worthless as a reward. She probably wouldn''t do that, though, since the idea put a bad taste in her mouth. She still had standards, even if she thought the rewards were rather silly.


    Before leaving the room, she spent 150 DP to lock the room until the challenge was complete. Since there were no doors, this led to the exit sprouting large vines, which twisted around one another to seal the exit. She could easily will them to untangle themselves and open the space once more, which meant it was likely they would move out of the way once the challenge had been completed.

 1.15 The Carpenter

    Juniper Evergreen was excited to have a new dungeon in their city. Bluecove had been slowly dying over the years, but it was hard to abandon the only life she had ever known. Her father had run their workshop with pride, working hard every day to deliver the best quality. When she had turned sixty years old, he had gifted her the local carpenter''s workshop while he and her brothers had moved elsewhere to open up a new branch. Some of her siblings weren''t willing to participate in the family business, but her father was determined to help all of his children succeed however he could.


    Juniper didn''t mind staying in Bluecove, even after adventurers stopped showing up, there were still plenty of orders to fill. They often got special orders from all around thanks to being a central trading hub and port town. Besides which, there were still plenty of people living in the city since nowhere was made up of merchants and adventurers alone. If anything, many of the locals were relieved by the lack of a dungeon since it had meant they had a low aether area to live without the concern caused by contracted [Monsters] running amuck.


    You would think that the new dungeon, oddly named ''Veronica''s Rest'' would have caused a disturbance to their peaceful lives, but they had gotten lucky. After a week filled with chaos as earthquakes and a tsunami wreaked havoc on their city, the new dungeon had appeared a good distance away from the city on an island. It would be stupid of the Dungeon Master to send their [Monsters] out to forage in those circumstances, so their peaceful way of life would be able to continue.


    "Are you ready, boss? I''ve got the cart ready with all the supplies we need and the adventurers who volunteered to escort us are already here."


    Juniper looked up at the man and nodded her head. She had put out a resource quest at the local guild requesting bodyguards to protect her workers while they chopped down trees in the dungeon and hauled them back to the workshop. One of the big issues with living in a coastal city is there wasn''t a lot of land for natural resources to grow. Besides, as an elven woman, Juniper understood well just how bad it would be for her to cut down healthy trees in the forests surrounding their city. It was one thing to remove diseased and dying trees as that would allow the forest to grow back stronger, but that really limited the resources she could obtain.


    The last couple of years, they had mostly been ordering supplies in bulk from nearby towns and cities that had dungeons with forests to utilize. However, those weren''t exactly common. Their kingdom had a variety of different dungeons and there were even a few with dryads and other nature guardians who had been chosen as the Dungeon Masters. However, dungeons were still fairly spread out and it wasn''t like every dungeon was the same. They all had their own unique characteristics that made them unique and interesting.


    "Yeah, let''s not keep everyone waiting."


    Juniper walked out and greeted the three adventurers who had volunteered to help them that day.


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    "Good day, I''m Juniper Evergreen, the one in charge here. Could you quickly introduce yourselves?"


    A young woman stepped forward to speak on behalf of their group, pointing to the others as she replied


    "I''m Amelia, an earth elementalist. This is Elwin, a scout class, and Coryas, our team leader with the warrior class."


    Juniper nodded, waving her hand as she said


    "Very well, this is my team. We''re just taking a few people, but we''ll be coming and going from the dungeon for most of the day. We plan to work until sundown and collect as much wood as possible. I''m sure you already know this, but you''ll be paid one silver each per hour with a bonus, assuming none of my team members are injured at the end of the day."


    She was required to pay them unless every person in her team died or their entire group died. However, Juniper had found it was always a good idea to offer something extra as motivation for a job well done. The cost to hire bodyguards was steep and the price she was offering was hardly going to attract anything but beginner adventurers, but it was still well worth it. The cost to buy wood from elsewhere and have it transported here was still far more expensive. Assuming they had a productive day here, their workshop would be set for a few months and their profit for the season would be higher than it had been in years.


    As there wasn''t a tribute room in sight, they decided to put their token tributes in the first room they entered. Elwin got to work setting up [Traps] and pointing out potential threats right away while Coryas smashed the gargoyles to bits and Amelia stood to the side, ready to erect a protective stone barrier at a moment''s notice. The gargoyles would have to be cleared out every ten minutes, so it was important to prepare things ahead of time.


    "Looks like the wood in this dungeon is high quality. The trees are tall and thick while the wood is just right for most construction projects. We might still have to source some softer and harder wood types for special projects, but this should work well."


    Juniper''s assistant noted. She nodded in response, overseeing the logistics of everything. She''d step in when necessary, but it was important she ensure any crises were dealt with right away and that all of her workers get breaks when needed. Usually, she''d have them take turns chopping wood versus bringing things back to the workshop where they were expected to take a short break before returning. Since the timing wasn''t quite right, the ones on site also had to be given breaks, on occasion.


    The adventurers helping them were all rather young, but they worked well together. Juniper was looking forward to watching them grow stronger over the years. Eventually, they''d likely outgrow jobs like the one she was offering, but that just meant they''d likely turn into valued customers instead. The [Traps] the scout used or a sturdy handle for the warrior''s hammers would easily be handled by her workshop. Hammers made purely from metal were a possibility and there were a lot of metal-based [Traps] as well, but those tended to be heavier and weren''t always convenient to carry with them into the dungeon. Even if they got magic bags, there was still a limit to how much weight they could carry and other equipment might be better to use that space for.


    After a hard day''s work, Juniper was satisfied to see no one harmed and happily paid them a few extra silver for their efforts. The kids seemed excited about their pay and she could only smile. Things wouldn''t always be like this for them, but she hoped they could continue to enjoy themselves.

 1.16 Bigger Rooms

    With her first challenge room completed, Veronica felt more confident that her dungeon would be more adequately protected. Sure, it was possible that the supernatural skills of the people of this world would allow them to easily complete the parkour challenge, but it wasn''t like there was much she could do about that. Instead, she was much more interested in beginning work on some bigger rooms for her inn and tavern.


    On the opposite side of her inn side of the dungeon, she started building 18-Units by 18-Units rooms. Of course, in between each set, she also placed hallways. It wouldn''t do any good to have new rooms if no one could reach them. Thanks to the abundance of adventurers, this process went rather quickly. Before too long, she had twelve of the larger rooms in place, which easily took up half of the free space she currently had on that half of the dungeon.


    Veronica thought the 9-Units by 9-Units rooms were pretty fancy already. However, she wanted to make the 18-Units by 18-Units ones even better. That''s why she planned to include a bathroom in each. She could already picture Seraphina''s surprised expression when she saw them. Seraphina had been going on all morning about how much she loved the inn rooms, saying they were way better than any other tavern she''d stayed at. Since Veronica couldn''t personally leave the dungeon, it had been a very enlightening conversation.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 50 DP to research wooden partition walls using the [Base Resource] wood?


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wooden door frames using the [Base Resource] wood?


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wooden doors using the [Base Resource] wood?


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


    The doorways and doors could easily be slotted into place, combining with the wooden partition walls seamlessly. Unlike the dungeon walls and doors, though, these weren''t nearly as sturdy. According to Seraphina, an intruder could break down a door to get through an area, if they were strong enough and desperate enough. However, part of locking the doors or setting a room as a boss room was that the entrances would be reinforced so that only S-rank individuals could break them down. Well, that or an A-rank that specialized in strength and had a weapon suitable for such a task. That was, somewhat, reassuring, even if there was a limit to how much such things could slow intruders down.


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    After waiting for her mana to refill sufficiently, something that didn''t take long, she began to build a separate area for the bathrooms in each 18-Units by 18-Units room. The partition walls were 25 MP / 10-Units, but that was enough to cover a few room''s worth of partition walls. Then she just had to add the doors so that inn customers would be able to have some extra privacy, in case they were sharing a room with someone else.


    It wasn''t even sunset by the time Veronica finished setting up the basic walls, but she still decided to call it a day. There was a lull in dungeon traffic and she was eager to get some more [Monster] fields put in. Just something basic with a 50 MP spawner and three gargoyles. It was a bit boring and generic, especially considering she now had access to a few varieties of [Critters], but the adventurers visiting her dungeon hardly seemed to mind. They just wanted to get in, earn some experience, and then get out.


    Since she now had a solid pattern down for where to place her challenge rooms, she also went ahead and built another 17-Units by 37-Units room while she was at it. It remained empty, for now, but it wouldn''t be long before she''d be setting up her second challenge room. In the process, she had learned an interesting fact. She could pay for a 17-Units by 37-Units room and place it, even if it overlapped with her dungeon core room. The space would just be subtracted from her challenge room, making it imperfectly rectangular in shape. Hopefully, when she unlocked her second-floor the dungeon core room could be moved and the room would fill out the rest of the space. Otherwise, she could easily imagine it would make things awkward.


    Seraphina was impatiently waiting for her when she finished trekking the rest of the distance to the dungeon core room. It was time for their nightly sparring match. While the experience was still painful, Veronica couldn''t help but look forward to it. Seraphina seemed happy with her progress learning how to wield a staff and she was happy to be learning self-defense skills. There was no telling when Bo would show up again and she didn''t want to die quite as easily as she had the last time.


    "Why don''t we try something slightly different today? I know it''s only been a few days since I started teaching you. However, you seem comfortable wielding the staff now, so it seems like a good time to move on to working on specific skills."


    Seraphina announced. Veronica raised one eyebrow, gesturing for her to continue expectantly.


    "I''d like you to focus more on dodging and blocking skills. So, don''t try to attack me, just try to step out of the way or move your staff to stop incoming attacks. Once you improve, we can move on to transitioning from blocking to retaliating more smoothly.


    You''re lucky that wild [Monsters] won''t attack your dungeon very often. They''d get caught by the city guards before they could ever make it to your dungeon. The city and your dungeon are positioned just right so you get some extra safety that way. Many dungeons end up in mountains or forests and adventurers have to trek a short distance to get to it. Still, that does mean it''s more likely that any troublemakers will be sentient, so your training needs to be flexible enough to deal with that."


    Veronica didn''t have any arguments. As much fun as it was to try and get a hit in on Seraphina, she didn''t actually have any current grudges against the woman. She had already forgiven her for letting her die, so she no longer wanted revenge. Of course, an eye for an eye wouldn''t have truly been possible in the first place. Seraphina was far too strong and she wouldn''t come back to life if she died. Well, Veronica was assuming she wouldn''t, but she didn''t have any reason to think anyone not tied to a dungeon would have that ability. So, she was most likely correct.


    Feeling a little more unsure of herself, she steeled herself as she tried to block the first attack that came her way. However, Seraphina''s strike was too strong and she easily got pushed back, causing her to stumble and fall on her behind. The elven woman rarely seemed to hold back or, perhaps, wasn''t capable of it. Veronica was fine with that, though, as she doubted taking things easy on her would have been helpful in the long run. Adventurers were always going to be stronger than her, so she needed to be able to overcome such shortcomings.

 1.17 Bos Return

    Bo was bored again, so he decided to pack up his gear and return to Veronica''s Rest once more. Last time had been rather disappointing. The gargoyles were weak and very easy to defeat. He just had to grab them and crush them into smithereens with his fist. He didn''t really need to use actual weapons very often. His warrior class had adapted to his fighting style and his shifter lineage had blessed him with strength and horns alike.


    When it came to the Dungeon Master, he had been hoping for a real challenge. However, she had been clumsy in her attempts to dodge him and not very brave either, for that matter. He doubted much had changed in such a short period of time, but he had given her a few days to improve. Bo hoped that she would put up a much more impressive fight this time around.


    When he got to the dungeon, there were already a few groups of adventurers milling around. Most were still in the first few rooms as they discussed strategies and waited for the gargoyles to respawn. Since he was a C-rank adventurer, Bo was hardly here to farm experience. The pitiful amount the gargoyles would give him simply wasn''t worth wasting his time on. Maybe things wouldn''t have been so bad if there were more than three of them per room. Having a whole swarm of them attack him at once certainly would make things tricky, even for him.


    While Bo wasn''t one for using weapons and he couldn''t help but look down on his local dungeon, he had still come prepared. If the Dungeon Master had been smart about things and planned ahead, he was sure things would get messy. However, the lesser healing potion would still be enough to heal most injuries. Even if the worst came to pass, he also had a normal healing potion, which he had carefully saved up to afford. That still wouldn''t be enough to recover missing limbs or truly lethal injuries, but he doubted this dungeon would be capable of that any time soon.


    After entering the tropical parkour challenge room, Bo paused. He looked the room over, feeling impressed. While he could certainly exert enough force to jump long distances, he didn''t have much agility, making it hard to maneuver carefully through the air. Turning around, he tried the door he had just come through. It was locked and the challenge notification popped up notifying him of what was in store. It would seem he had no choice then, he''d have to conquer this course before he could move forward.


    Thanks to not wasting money on fancy armor and weaponry, he had a cheap magic bag. It had a limit of 25 Units and was the cheapest on the market, but it was enough for his purposes. He wouldn''t have to worry about any of his gear being ruined, should he fall in the water, nor would he have heavy armor to drag him down. Readying himself, he braced himself and jumped onto the giant wooden ball in front of him.


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    He must have overestimated the jump as he went flying over them and landed in the water between the second and third ball of the bunch. He quickly swam over to the entrance and dragged himself ashore. He didn''t wait long before he was at it once more. While this was hardly the first parkour course to ever exist in this world, they weren''t exactly common. So, Bo didn''t have any experience dealing with such obstacles and it took him a while before he could make it to the first island in the midst of the pool of water.


    Sighing, he sat down and pulled out a ration. He would take a short break and then continue onwards. Peering ahead of him, he could see a rectangular strip of land directly ahead of him. The distance to cross over made it seem easy, but there was no way it would be that simple. From what he could see of the rest of the room, the course was meant to be difficult. There was ice, which one could easily slip on, causing them to fall into the water below. The highest point in the room appeared to be some raised landmass with water pouring into the water below. How the water level below him didn''t rise and the landmass itself didn''t run out of water, he wasn''t sure. Probably some sort of dungeon-exclusive magic.


    Bo had only brought simple rations and simple camping gear. He was glad that he had it now that he knew he''d likely be stuck here for a few days, but he was most certainly going to miss having a hot meal and a proper bed to sleep in by the time he made it home. Still, it was nice to have a proper challenge and he felt far less bored now, even if this wasn''t what he had in mind. Standing up, he dusted off his pants and prepared to make the next jump across.


    Thanks to his alertness, he was easily able to dodge the first [Trap] and even the one after that. However, he had gotten the timing wrong and the next push wall [Trap] started to close in on him. Digging his feet into the ground, he did the only thing he could think of and shoved at the [Trap], attempting to remain on land with all of his might. The push [Trap] must have been a weak one as he was successful as he shoved it back into the wall and was then able to continue forward. That would make this whole process far easier than he had been expecting.


    After clearing the rest of the distance, he jumped onto the next island floating in the water. This was the last one on this side. He''d have to clear the raised platform with rushing water and avoid slipping on two icy platforms before he''d be able to take a rest next. Bracing himself, he jumped across to the icy platform, but, despite his best efforts, he skidded across its surface and fell into the water. This was definitely going to take a while...

 1.18 Magic Appliances

    Veronica was frustrated as she found herself unable to make any progress with upgrading the dungeon side of her abode. She wanted to blame the adventurer who had gotten themselves stuck in her new challenge room, but even she knew that would be unreasonable. After all, she had been the one who chose to lock the room until the challenge was complete. Had it been an option she certainly would have made it possible for them to leave the way they had come, but that wasn''t how things worked. They would neither be able to backtrack, nor progress forward until they completed the challenge. Well, she could unlock the doors for them, but she''d rather wait it out and hope they died instead.


    Whatever, she would happily work on the inn side of the dungeon instead. That had come with its own delays as well, of course. Alongside the tributes from seven different adventurer parties, she had also received fees for three room rentals yesterday. That meant she had to wait for them to wake up and leave the inn side of the dungeon before she could start furnishing the new, larger rooms. While Veronica did appreciate having more dungeon points, it was still unfortunate that she had so much downtime. Seraphina was more than happy to take advantage of her boredom, though, as they got in some extra training time.


    Now that she could finally get started, she decided to review her [Dungeon Status] menu.


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    Dungeon Status:


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    Current Mana 50/50


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    Current DP: 1,632


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    Current Floors: 1


    </td>


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    Current Rooms: 14 | 23


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    Monsters


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    Critters


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    Construction


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    Research


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    Missions


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    Somehow, she hadn''t realized just how many rooms she had already accumulated. Most of them were for the inn, of course, with an entire twenty two rooms and one reception space while the dungeon side only had twelve [Monster] fields and two challenge rooms. Still, it was quite satisfying just how much progress she had made in the less than a week she had been in this world.


    Reviewing her tributes from the day before, as well as the ones she had already received today, she saw that she now had bok choy, opal stone, Chinese mustard greens, agate stone, hibiscus hyriacus flowers, mung bean sprouts, charcoal, snow pea shoots, forsythia koreana flowers, lychee, engraved hair sticks, jackfruit, wooden practice sword, squirrel fur, and squirrel meat unlocked in her [Base Resources] and [Items]. Most of this was unlikely to prove useful for her current project, but she was sure the ingredients would prove useful once she constructed a tavern and needed to provide food to her patrons.


    As most of the furniture in the 18-Units by 18-Units rooms was the same as what was in the 9-Units by 9-Units rooms, Veronica decided to tackle those elements first. A bed complete with a wooden frame, padded mattress, duck feather pillows, blue silk sheets and pillowcases, and even a lovely blue quilt was first. Then she put a green rug underneath, two wooden end tables to either side of the bed, a wardrobe with wooden hangers off to one side, and a wooden desk with a leather chair to the other side. As the desks she was using this time around weren''t for the corner of the room, she did have to spend 10 DP to unlock a more basic version. However, that was just a drop in the bucket compared to her total dungeon points.


    Next up, in the other corner of the house, she built a living room space. The same fireplaces, coffee tables, and even the potted peace lily plants kept things simple, but luxurious. The only thing she had to research was a new teal sofa design that matched her teal armchairs, which cost her 80 DP. While she could have made a different design for the living room furniture, it just didn''t feel necessary. Besides, there would be other floors that would provide new opportunities to try new themes and color schemes.


    Next up was a kitchenette, which was a bit rare to see in inn rooms, but seemed fitting nonetheless.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research jade bottom kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resource] wood, jade, and nails?


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    No


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research jade island kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resources] wood, jade, and nails?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research upper kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resources] wood, and nails?


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    No


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    <table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research upper corner kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resources] wood, and nails?


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    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research brown leather bar stools using the [Base Resources] leather, brown dye, cotton, and nails?


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    </table>


    The green of the jade with the dark brown wood made for a very aesthetic pairing as well as matching the other colors used on the floor. Veronica had taken inspiration from the modern marble countertops she often saw and simply used one of the many minerals she had received over the past week to make a variation of that. It was quite possible that jade countertops existed in the modern world, but it was hardly something she had personally seen for herself.


    The cabinetry was placed in the middle corner of the rooms, diagonal from the bathroom space. She left gaps for a fridge, stove, and sink space, which were next on her list of things to research.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research magic iceboxes using the [Base Resources] ice magic, ice magic crystal, steel, cork, and glass?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research magic wood stoves using the [Base Resources] fire magic, fire magic crystal, iron, and coal?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research magic sinks using the [Base Resources] water magic, water magic crystal, clay, white dye, and iron?


    </td>


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    </table>


    Well, the design wasn''t quite what Veronica was hoping for, but it was the only option she could get the system to accept. She didn''t personally know how modern stoves, refrigerators, etc. really worked, so she had to combine what little knowledge she had with the system''s knowledge based on this world''s technology to get something usable.


    The ice box looked exactly like a fridge from the 50s with the freezer on bottom and fridge on top. There were even sliding drawers and shelves in the door. Probably the most astounding part was the built-in icemaker section where the fridge would automatically produce ice cubes that would fall into a large tray. Honestly, Veronica couldn''t even complain about it not being what she had originally wanted when it was close enough to a modern-day fridge that it may as well be one.


    As for the stove, it certainly looked like a cast-iron wood stove. There was even a section for wood to be put into the bottom layer of the thing, which gave Veronica the impression that magic crystals were meant to be temporary and replaced on occasion. Well, Seraphina had also said something along those lines a few days ago, so it was probably a correct assumption. Still, with a large oven area with two shelves and four circular areas on top, it was also a lot like a modern stove. There were even dials so that you could choose the cooking temperature, assuming you had a fire crystal actively installed.


    As for the sink, it was, perhaps, the most confusing bit. There were iron pipes that seemed to lead to nowhere. Otherwise, it looked exactly like a modern-day sink, though, perhaps more of a bathroom sink than a kitchen sink. That, probably, wouldn''t matter that much to the residents of this world, though. The fact was that, when she tested it, water ran out of the faucet and then disappeared through the pipes below. There wasn''t an option for hot water, but it came out at more of a room temperature rather than freezing. Veronica supposed she would have had to spend a good bit more dungeon points and mana if she wanted something more than a basic design. Really, she was fortunate that even this much could be created for 50 MP.


    While it was tempting to fill the cabinets with pots, pans, and dishware, she decided to hold off on that for now. She didn''t want to go too crazy with her spending and she still had a bathroom to furnish anyhow.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research magic bathtubs using the [Base Resources] water magic, water magic crystal, clay, white dye, and iron?


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    Yes


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    No


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research magic toilets using the [Base Resources] water magic, water magic crystal, clay, white dye, and iron?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wooden towel racks using the [Base Resource] wood?


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    It was always interesting seeing wooden objects that didn''t require nails or wood glue to create. Even once the new towel rack was placed, there was no sign of anything like it being used. Instead, it was like the towel rack had been carved from one large chunk of wood until it took the shape she desired.


    In order to offer some extra privacy, Veronica used some more wooden walls and another door for a separate toilet area in the bathroom. Most houses she had lived in hadn''t had a separate area for the toilet, but she knew that was a popular tactic used in the Sims games she had played. It always made the bathroom seem fancier and she could certainly see the appeal of not having to deal with as many toilet smells while taking a bath.


    Besides the bath, toilet, a sink, and the towel rack, the only other things she put into the bathroom was a green rug in front of the bathtub and a set of luxury towels on the towel rack. She already had them researched as a prize for her tropical parkour challenge, so it was hardly a problem to include them. Although, it certainly felt silly since it would make her prize more obsolete in the dungeon. She just hoped no one tried to steal anything from the inn rooms. Since the rooms wouldn''t reset, she would have to manually replace anything that was taken.


    Before calling it a day, Veronica set the price to 50 DP per night for the new 18-Units by 18-Units inn rooms. It was five times the price of the smaller rooms, but the size was also four times as big while also having plenty of luxuries to enjoy. Surely, the kitchenette and private bathroom made it worth the extra points, right? Well, it wasn''t like her potential patrons had a choice in the matter anyways. If the local inn was closed, then she was the only option around and she could set her own prices however she wanted.

 1.19 The Guildmaster

    Guildmaster Eliath Autumnfire was having the busiest week he had had in over a decade. After the last dungeon in their city of Bluecove had disappeared, the adventurers'' guild just didn''t have as many quests to accept, nor to hand out. That meant a lot less paperwork for him, but it was also bad business. Still, even if the renewed enthusiasm everyone was showing was a good thing, it was going to take some getting used to.


    "I''ve got another stack of job requests I need you to look over, guildmaster."


    The guild''s receptionist said as she sat a large stack of papers on his desk. Eliath tried to offer her a small smile in appreciation as he nodded his head in acknowledgment, but it came off as more of a grimace. It would be really nice if he could just get a day off, maybe he''d go check out the new dungeon for himself, but it would have to wait until things died down again.


    Despite being a guildmaster, Eliath also enjoyed working out in the field. He was a warrior class who preferred to fight with a spear, but he rarely got the chance to make use of his skills nowadays. He had chosen to settle down here and become the guildmaster after he had fallen in love with the local Lord''s daughter, Ava Goldenleaf. Since he was already an A-rank warrior, he was given a warm welcome by his in-laws and his father-in-law even helped him secure a stable job as guildmaster. The position paid well, but it could get a bit repetitive at times. He missed his days exploring dungeons and had always hoped to reach the peak of his class.


    The new dungeon had been like a beacon of hope, even if it did cause more than a little havoc when it first appeared. That was actually part of the reason the guild was so busy. They were still receiving job requests asking for strong individuals to help carry the stone and lumber needed to rebuild the damage the earthquakes and tsunami had caused. Luckily, their city was built with such dangers in mind, so the damage was minimal, but rebuilding still took more than a week''s time.


    Another one of the guild''s employees knocked at the door to his office. Looking up from the paperwork he was reviewing, he called out


    "Come in."


    This time, it was a man. He looked nervous as he said


    "Sir, we''ve been getting numerous reports about adventurers getting trapped in the local dungeon. It would seem the Dungeon Master put in a new challenge room. It''s either too dangerous and leading to them dying or the doors are locked and they are taking too long to complete it."


    Eliath frowned as he looked at the man. Feeling a bit bored, he asked the usual questions


    "Do you have a timeframe of when this first began? Has anyone returned yet?"


    The man seemed antsy as he replied


    "We just got notice, sir. I don''t have any other information to report."


    Eliath sighed as he gestured for the man to leave. Pulling open a desk drawer, he prepared to write a letter to the dungeon diplomat assigned to their local dungeon. Sarah, was it? No, that didn''t sound quite right. Shoving the drawer closed, he stood up. While he normally would have just sent the letter to the council, hoping they''d let whatever-the-woman''s-name-is know about the situation, he decided better of it. He had been looking for an excuse to go to the dungeon and he could use the break anyway.


    The secretary seemed worried as she saw him leaving the guild dressed up in his armor and carrying his spear. However, she said nothing against him taking off work early. He was well-known for being hard-working and rarely slacked off, so he didn''t exactly have a bad reputation to work against him. In fact, it was likely that he would return to the guild as soon as this was handled. His wife would be disappointed by him having to work late, but even she was unlikely to say anything about it. They had long lives, so a few nights here and there of coming home late were hardly a big deal. Still, perhaps he''d pick her up some flowers later this week to show how much he appreciated her.


    It took a bit to make the trek through the city and to the entrance of the dungeon. When he arrived, he noted the name of the entrance said "Veronica''s Rest", just as it had been reported. The stone brick tower was also very clearly still just one floor tall as well. Seeing nothing amiss, he entered the dungeon. As it was already wearing late into the day, there weren''t very many adventurers remaining in the dungeon. Curious, he ventured towards the side of the dungeon rumored to contain an inn.


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    Eliath was immediately met with a cozy reception area that seemed quite luxurious, even compared to the home he shared with his own wife. This room was empty, save for a will-o''-wisp that was floating behind a counter off to one corner. Since they couldn''t attack, he freely chose to ignore it as he ran his hand across the teal sofa in front of him. The material was textured in a way that made it feel coarse, but not uncomfortably so. He could tell it was padded with some sort of material underneath. It would seem, despite how fancy it looked, it wasn''t much different from the luxury furniture his in-laws kept in their estate.


    Amara had been gifted a few nice pieces of furniture to adorn their house with, but most of their finances were handled by him. Since a guildmaster could never be as rich as a noble, even the lowest ranking one, it was difficult to offer his wife the life she had grown up with. Their furniture was primarily wood with padded cushions and mattresses laid atop rather than built into its design. It made it easier to clean as well as being cheaper to produce and, thus, procure.


    Moving further into the inn, he exited into a hallway. Trying the door in front of him, he was met with a system prompt. Something about needing to pay a certain amount of tribute in order to rent a room for the night. Unfortunately, he had left the only tribute he had brought in the reception room as his token of appreciation to the Dungeon Master. While he could probably afford to give away some of the potions or food he had on him, he didn''t think that wise since he still had yet to learn what had happened to the missing adventurers. He was confident in his abilities as his warrior build was a balanced one and he was high enough rank that the dungeon shouldn''t pose a problem, but he still preferred to be cautious. His days exploring far more dangerous dungeons than this one had certainly taught him that was always the best way to do things.


    Turning back around, he hurried back into the entry hallway and into the other side of the dungeon. He would have to return on another day for a more in-depth look, but he had a job to do right now. He needed to focus. As he walked through the dense tropical rainforest, gargoyles moved above him. Occasionally they would jump out at him, trying to catch him by surprise, but, ultimately, failing. His senses were far too efficient for their pitiful attempts at stealth to work. Eliath couldn''t blame the creatures, though, their instincts were likely screaming at them to avoid him while their connection to the dungeon was urging them to act. They really didn''t have any suitable choices.


    After making his way through a few rooms, he finally came to the one he was looking for. He immediately came face to face with two different adventurer parties and a solo adventurer he knew rather well. Bo was somewhat infamous around these parts, even despite his young age. He tended to have a problem with authority. He had started exploring the last dungeon to grace their city with its presence as a mere boy only to have it retire not long after. Bo was then forced to take on guild quests where he was asked to do everything from gather herbs to kill wild [Monsters]. The only problem was he was too eager to grow stronger and didn''t like being told he wasn''t allowed to take on quests higher than his rank would allow. That left Eliath to resolve the issue.


    Personally, he didn''t much care if Bo forced things and took on a quest he didn''t meet the requirements for. However, guild policy said that you couldn''t be rewarded, even if you could complete the quest, if you didn''t meet the requirements in order to register for it. Any [Monster] corpses would still belong to the one who defeated it, allowing them to make a pretty coin selling it, but there would be no extra compensation.


    "Alright, everyone, what''s the problem here exactly?"


    One of the female elven adventurers volunteered the information readily.


    "You have to complete this obstacle course to get out of here, but none of them seem to be capable of it. Apparently, this brute has been attempting it for a few days now. My party just got stuck in here this morning."


    Eliath nodded as he asked a follow-up question.


    "Are there any [Traps]? Has anyone died here, that you know of?"


    The girl shook her head before pointing into the distance.


    "There are wall [Traps] that push you off and into the water over there. None of the people in my party or theirs have died. I assume that brute came in here by himself, I doubt anyone would be able to stand him long enough to be in a party with him."


    Eliath wasn''t surprised by her dislike for Bo. He had never been much of a team player, always preferring to go it alone. Luckily, despite his lack of friendliness, he didn''t have a bad temper. He''d hate to have to break up a fight on top of everything else. Since there wasn''t much else to do, Eliath decided it''d likely be best to just complete the course before seeing to it that everyone went home. Bo likely wouldn''t be happy about it, but he wasn''t likely to argue. Eliath was stronger than him and, if there was one thing the boy respected, it was strength.

 1.20 Interlude: Dungeon Of The Navigator

    Eve Meadows was excited for another day as she walked out of her dungeon core room. She had spent most of her life exploring other dungeons and even studying maps that other navigator-class individuals had drawn up. Being born with such a class had given a real head start in life as the navigator class was considered exceptionally rare, even among the already rare support classes. You were far more likely to get a class as a dancer, bard, or priestess than you were to be lucky enough to become a navigator or a telepath.


    Thanks to her elven heritage, she had also had the good fortune to live long enough to be chosen by a dungeon to bond with it. Well, that was her theory anyhow. It wasn''t exactly as if she was the most talented amongst her class, nor was she particularly strong or cunning the way other Dungeon Masters could be. The only thing she really had going for her was that she had spent much of her long life dedicated to her craft of map-making and exploring dungeons. Thanks to some particularly high-ranking adventurers, she had even had the privilege of seeing some of the highest floors in the more well-established dungeons.


    Truth be told, it was rare for anyone to ever explore the top five floors of a dungeon and even the top ten were rarely mapped out. The adventurer guilds always had to ensure there were enough A-ranks and S-ranks available to escort the navigator as well as find one brave enough to venture that far in. Eve wasn''t exactly willing to risk her life, so she had only ever ventured as far as the 16th floor and only the one time. Things had gone well, all things considered, but it had been rather stressful and was still not an experience she was desperate enough to repeat.


    Still, despite her previous limitations, she was now using her experiences to build her own dungeon. Although, she wasn''t sure how useful her prior knowledge actually was. Her dungeon, Whisperwood Haven, was a rather rare open floor plan dungeon. Instead of well-defined rooms, she had preset territories where her challenges, spawners, [Monsters], and [Critters] could be assigned to. She didn''t even have the luxury of a thick line of trees or mountain ranges to separate things on most floors. Heck, some of them were deserts that were nearly completely flat, allowing you to view things far off into the distance.


    As for her dungeon core, it wasn''t even in a separate space. Instead, the dungeon core rested high on a stone pedestal at the top of some stone steps in a temple-like space. She had been worried that it would be far too easy for intruders to damage it when she had first arrived. However, it would seem that her dungeon had its own defenses and she could also hide it on most of her floors. Trees would obscure one''s line of vision in a dense jungle while fog could be utilized on a meadow-themed floor. The desert had been her riskiest venture, but that one had been her 5th floor, so she had been able to depend on the lower floors to deter any intruders from getting that far.


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    Of course, the best defenses she had were a strange magic shield that could be used to force adventurers to complete challenges and defeat enemies before continuing forward. It seemed to work similarly to the ones utilized by guardian tank classes, but was much larger and stronger than anyone with that class she had met. Eve couldn''t really say how it compared to an S-rank, or even an A-rank, but it was most certainly strong enough to be dependable.


    Eve had somewhat rushed through her first floors, so she was already on her sixth floor now. It had only been maybe a decade since she first arrived here, though that was mostly speculation. Being in the dungeon made it hard to keep track of time and it had been a while since she had last seen her assigned dungeon diplomat, so she could hardly ask them. The floor she was currently on was a giant fortress. Rather than being the sort just meant to house soldiers, it was more the sort that resembled a city with a giant castle at its center. The dungeon core room rested in the courtyard, away from prying eyes.


    Most of the floor was customizable and could be bent to her will, but she had immediately had the outer town walls as well as the inner castle. It was the defining feature of the theme she had chosen. After playing around with so many different outdoor themes, she had been wanting something different. Lately, she had been playing around with making cannons and utilizing rolling boulder [Traps] along the outer edges of the floor. She had unlocked goblins early on, which she could easily evolve and repurpose for this floor. Some nice hobgoblin archers, warriors, and even elementalists helped to increase their difficulty level enough that their low-ranking, as a beginner [Monster], was more than made up for.


    As Eve placed some catapult [Traps] on a castle tower, she began to ruminate on those below her. There were a lot of adventurers milling about on the lower floors, just as they always did. She never really felt the need to interact with them, content with her own company, but it was interesting just how much their presence faded into the background the more floors she unlocked. It was only really when they reached the floor with her dungeon core that she got the uncomfortable, prickly sensation of something being wrong. That was, apparently, something that all Dungeon Masters experienced, as the dungeon diplomat had explained so long ago.


    It was beginning to be tempting to interact with those who visited her dungeon, though. Maybe she could meet a nice, handsome, elf man who would be willing to join her in the dungeon and they could have a couple of children. That would certainly make things more lively around here and it would also provide some extra safety. Her navigator class skills were still available to her, but it wasn''t the best class for combat. Having a husband and some sons would mean there were others to help make up for what she lacked.


    Dismissing her errant thoughts, she put the idea aside, for now. That could wait for another day. If she was going to take a spouse, then she wanted it to be someone strong enough to reach her on her top floor and charming enough for her to enjoy their company. Simply marrying for defensive power wasn''t really all that appealing. Besides, she had work to do.

 1.21 Public Bathhouse

    As the dungeon side was still unable to be built on the next day, Veronica was forced to work on other things once more. Considering the way Seraphina kept reminding her that she didn''t need to rush through things too much, she supposed it was a good thing to be forced to take a break. Still, she didn''t like having her life held over her head nor her freedom to do as she pleased limited in such a way.


    Besides which, she had yet to set the theme for any of her rooms besides the one challenge room. She wasn''t sure that would be changing anytime soon either with an entire 300 DP required to both set the room''s theme and lock the door. It just wasn''t worth spending 150 DP on it for anything but a challenge room, even if tributes were continuing to pour in at a steady rate. At least, that had been the case before today. Thus far, she had only received 5 DP from two parties this morning plus an additional 50 DP from room rentals the night before. Veronica had to wonder if that was related to the number of adventurers stuck inside her challenge room, but couldn''t really say for sure.


    Well, at least she still had goals she could work on for the inn side of things. The 18-Units by 18-Units rooms now had bathrooms, but there wasn''t any general bathroom access for the others who might venture into her dungeon. Hopefully, that would help sell the adventurers on the idea of renting a room for the night as well. It wasn''t like she could just magically make things clean and tidy anyway and she didn''t want to be putting in all the work for nothing.


    Veronica was happy that she had managed to rent out rooms more than a dozen times now, but she didn''t love having to do the cleaning each morning. Well, that might be a generous way of describing it considering she didn''t have any actual cleaning supplies. It was more like she was straightening up as she made the beds and carried trash out into the hallway so it could be absorbed by the dungeon. She was really starting to miss having a housekeeping cart like the one at her parent''s bed and breakfast, that would have made this whole process so much easier!


    The problem was that she only had 1,007 DP right now and she wasn''t actually certain how to make a rolling cart. Her best bet was honestly going to be sending Seraphina out with some crudely drawn blueprints and a description of what she wanted and hoping a local craftsman could make something similar. Even if the dungeon could recreate this world''s technology and they might have carts of some kind, she rather doubted they''d have actual housekeeping carts. Still, it couldn''t be too difficult for an artisan with knowledge of making something similar to adapt the idea to fit her request.


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    Shaking her head, she walked into the room across the hallway from one of her large inn rooms. She had to spend 58 DP to research 11-Units by 18-Units rooms and had already made four of them. She planned to make two of them into public restrooms and bathhouse areas so she could tell the system to only allow those of the designated gender to enter them. Veronica wasn''t sure if this world was even the same as the modern world, even without getting into gender politics. With animal people, it was very possible that there could be those who were neither female nor male. Still, it wasn''t like there was a perfect solution, so anyone else would just have to settle for a private bathroom in one of her large inn suites. It wasn''t like 50 leaves, marbles, or whatever they wanted to pay with was that expensive for the accommodations anyway.


    Thanks to her previous work, there wasn''t much need to research anything for her current project. It was pretty much just spending mana as she created private toilet stalls, sinks, towel racks, luxury towels, and a line of potted peace lilies to create a visual barrier, of sorts, down the middle of the room. As for the baths themselves, that was more complicated and ended up taking a few hours of experimenting before Veronica stumbled upon a surprising solution.


    Since a basic magic bath cost her entire mana capacity of 50 MP, she couldn''t afford to create anything like a heated sauna bath or anything like that. It would end up being more expensive and, thus, a waste of dungeon points to research it. However, she ended up discovering that [Items] could be shrunk and enlarged for an additional cost of mana and dungeon points. Shrinking cost the initial cost plus ten percent of that in mana, which could be paid for separately. As for enlarging, which is what she needed here, that cost the initial cost twice over plus 10% of that in dungeon points, but could also be paid for separately. It was a pain to wait for her mana to refill enough to make the hole to place the giant bathtub and then the tub itself for two different rooms, but it wasn''t like she actually had anything better to do anyhow.


    Veronica had to admit, though, it was rather comical looking at the giant bathtub in the ground. There was still a drain and a faucet in the same place one would find it on a normal tub, but it was enlarged as much as the rest of it. There was also still no hot water, which was unfortunate, to say the least. However, she had to admit it would be nice to be able to drain and refill the tub, as necessary, instead of having to do so via the dungeon''s system, which she couldn''t rely on always having access to.


    Speaking of which, it would seem she had finished just in time for people to wander in and cut off her access. Veronica sighed heavily as she contemplated what to do with the rest of the day. She certainly wouldn''t be able to build anything else, but maybe she could convince Seraphina to give her some extra martial arts training.

 1.22 The Lords Son

    Rhys Goldenleaf was the only son of Lord Sylvar Goldenleaf of Bluecove City. However, the pressure he felt as his heir was not because he was a son, but rather because he was a noble at all. He had constantly been reminded since he was a child that all that they had could be taken away at any time, if he failed to live up to his family legacy. You see, nobility was only for the strong as there was very little anyone could do against those strong enough to obtain S-rank. Such strength determined wars and could guarantee a bright future for any kingdom, but such ranks were also extremely rare.


    Rhys sometimes felt that his life would have been easier had he been born of any other race. With a shorter lifespan, it would be less likely that he could obtain a high-ranking position at all and he wouldn''t have to work so hard to protect his family''s standing in this world. A local Lord was hardly even that important as far as nobles went yet how common and easy to come by the role was also made it that much harder to keep. After all, a viscount would likely have had generations of A-rank and S-rank individuals in their family with wealth and power to ensure the next generation would have a promising future. His family could offer him nothing more than men that barely qualified for a knight title to act as bodyguards while he was forced to enter dungeons from a young age.


    Well, he supposed he should consider himself lucky. His parents had been discussing the possibility of sending him off to school in a distant kingdom with a far better dungeon nearby for him to train in. He would be assigned a single knight and a manservant, but he would otherwise be on his own for decades to centuries. Now that a new dungeon had appeared in their city, he could return to having private tutors at home and would only be required to enter the local dungeon on a regular basis to train. He could continue to live his life in what little luxury his parent''s achievements afforded them.


    Rhys knew he was, perhaps, being a bit cynical. His parents still lived in far nicer lodgings than most others could ever dream of. They were also better off than some nobles in other kingdoms, such as the nearby human kingdom of Deepvein. Many of the local Lords and ladies there wouldn''t be able to afford knights to protect their children or servants to attend to their estates. They got to enjoy all of the hard work the title brought with it, but without any of the wealth that elves, like himself, had their whole lives to amass. Still, he couldn''t help but complain as he walked through the entrance to the dungeon, escorted by three of his family''s knights.


    Currently, he was only a D-rank guardian class with a low level. If it weren''t for him being a mere twenty years old, a baby as far as elves went, his parents likely would have disowned him by now. They weren''t bad guardians exactly, but it wasn''t exactly as if he could be married off for a political alliance and he hadn''t been lucky enough to awaken a craftsman class. His sister was only slightly older than him at fifty years old and she had a seamstress class. Since she was also pretty, she had managed to fall in love with his now brother-in-law Eliath, who had, thankfully, been a high enough rank for his parents to approve of their marriage. Well, at least it was easy for Rhys to get any help he might need from the adventurers'' guild since his brother-in-law was now the guildmaster in charge of it all.


    When his knights finished dropping off the tribute on behalf of their group of four, they finally ventured into the first [Monster] field room. Rhys immediately brought up his magic shield to protect himself while his guards formed a protective circle around his perimeter. They would distract the [Monsters], being careful not to kill them any more than necessary, and he would attack when he was confident enough that he could do so without coming to harm. As cheap as the whole thing was, Rhys was hardly going to argue with the procedure when it ensured he could level up without being harmed.


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    Of course, such strategies were slower than they should be and often were limited in their usage. His parents had warned him of as much when they had assigned the guards to watch over him. They were meant to scout out the area, give him time to adjust to any new circumstances, and then he would need to take more of a direct approach. It was slightly different from the usual party dynamic, but only by playing an active role would he be able to guarantee he could gain enough experience from his kills. As for gaining real battle experience, he had plenty of supplemental swordsmanship lessons, among other things, to fall back on and ensure he couldn''t end up completely helpless.


    The gargoyles in the first, as well as the next couple of rooms, were annoying. Rhys didn''t like the way they stalked them from up in the trees before jumping down as they attempted to ambush them. The way they cackled and screeched and their stone forms grated against the metal of his weapon was also unpleasant. The amount of experience they gave wasn''t bad, certainly better than killing goblins and slimes in the forests, but it still wasn''t what he needed at his current level. At his rate, he''d have to train for several days in a row just to gain one level and it would only get worse as he continued to advance. If it wasn''t for the threat of being shipped off, he''d have tried to convince his parents to let him wait until the dungeon grew more so that he could fight more worthwhile enemies.


    After clearing the six [Monster] field rooms a number of times, their group continued to advance forward. When they entered the next room only to be met with several other adventurers, including the guildmaster, his knights went on high alert. Seeing his brother-in-law, Rhys called out


    "What''s going on here?"


    The room was mostly quiet, even despite being overcrowded. Everyone was standing on different platforms, but seemed to be watching Eliath rather than doing much of anything. That was probably due to how little space there was to actually stand anywhere. Even Rhys''s group of four felt crowded as they stood on the land mass near the entrance. Eliath looked his way, pointing behind him, as he replied


    "This is a challenge room and the door is locked, so everyone is stuck here. You have to complete the course before you can leave, but most everyone is struggling. You''re lucky to have only just arrived now, of all times, as I only have to stick this last landing and then we can all get out of here.


    Only one door will open and I plan to leave the dungeon, so anyone who doesn''t want to remain stuck in here for the next week or so will have to come with me. You know how it is, once I leave the doors will all be locked again until someone else completes it."


    Rhys nodded resolutely. As much as it would be nice to have a break from classes and training, he hardly wanted to spend the next couple of weeks making a fool of himself and his knights as they attempted to complete whatever this challenge was. It was far better to go home where he could have a hot bath and a decent meal.


    Eliath made the last jump across to the land mass in front of the exit easily. Compared to the rest of the course, it was incredibly simple. The jump across to the entrance platform was trickier, but it wasn''t like the challenge could be considered failed once it was successfully completed anyhow. It was just unfortunate for his knight who ended up clocked in the head as the huge elven man came barreling into him. Rhys watched amusedly as his knight proceeded to fall into the water and then had to be fished out by the other two. They hadn''t been expecting this sort of challenge, so they were all still wearing their armor.


    Well, Rhys supposed, at least father will be happy to hear more about the dungeon at dinner tonight. He''d likely be disappointed by how little time he spent training in the dungeon today and his lack of progress regarding leveling up, so it would be nice to have something to distract him from it.

 1.23 Firewalk Challenge

    That night after training, Seraphina rolled her eyes as she watched Veronica rush off to build. Clearly, her warning to slow down had called on deaf ears. Since there wasn''t actually that big of a problem for her to build too quickly in the early stages, she would let it be. The real problem would come if this continued to the point where it jeopardized Veronica''s long-term desire to stay in this world. Seraphina hardly wanted to have such a promising new dungeon put down after only a hundred years or so just because the Dungeon Master chose to build too quickly. There were ways she could enforce a break, but that was something to consider for another time, right now she just wanted to get some well-deserved rest.


    Veronica wasn''t aware of these thoughts, nor was she likely to care as she was too excited to get started on her next challenge room. Rather than seeing the previous decision that had led her to be unable to build as quickly as she wanted, as a mistake, she saw it as a success. If adventurers weren''t getting through then it had to be a good thing, right? That was why she planned to make this next challenge just as frustrating, if not dangerous, to complete as well as lock the door for good measure.


    First thing''s first, if she was going to build a new challenge, she was going to need some new [Traps] and [Items] to work with.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research burning coal paths using the [Base Resources] coal and fire magic?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 40 DP to unlock 1-Unit deep pitfall [Traps]?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After confirming her choices, Veronica noted that the burning coals cost 50 MP / 100 Square Units, which wasn''t as bad as the research costs would suggest. While the initial cost was high and she was now down to 799 DP, she didn''t actually need to research anything else, right away, so it was fine.


    Veronica started by carving out a shallow area of land to create a winding path to lay the burning coal path on. While doing so, she couldn''t help but wonder why she couldn''t just use the terraforming option to create more dangerous [Traps] than her system was offering. Asking her system gained her a bit of insight, but not much. It would seem that the [Traps] would allow her to bypass the 10-Units terrain change limits, but they couldn''t be stacked. Apparently, the [Traps] could also reset at certain intervals, regardless of non-dungeon entities being present, and could be made to blend into the terrain so that adventurers wouldn''t expect them.


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    The 1-Unit deep pitfalls weren''t quite what she needed then, she''d be better off just using the terrain change feature. Well, it was a shame to ''waste'' her resources on unlocking it then, but maybe she could find a use for it another time. Veronica got to work carving out 10-Units-deep grooves into the land of the room. She wanted to create floating islands, of sorts, to discourage adventurers from trying to cross the room without using the path. The door wouldn''t unlock without them completing the challenge anyway, but she felt the effect of it all would be well worth it.


    The theme for this newest challenge was actually a firewalk, which could easily lead to second or even third-degree burns. One would have to carefully walk across the coals without rushing or digging their feet into the ground too much. Veronica wasn''t sure about the people of this world, but she knew that humans'' survival instincts tended to make them want to avoid such dangerous stunts. Yet, there were still performers who would walk across beds of burning coals and even perform tricks with fire and other props. It was likely because most people could never see themselves doing the same thing and that it was so dangerous that it was so exciting to watch experienced professionals perform such incredible displays.


    Veronica wasn''t going to get to watch the adventurers as they suffered through her challenge, but she still couldn''t help but feel excited just thinking about it. If they wanted to bother her and invade her dungeon, then they could suffer for every minute of it. She hoped that would make that awful bull-headed man think twice about hunting her down to kill her again. Maybe she was becoming a bit more bloodthirsty than she''d like, but she couldn''t help but want to avoid similar instances in the future.


    Of course, before she could finish the room up, she''d need to make a challenge reward, set the challenge, and then spend 300 DP to set the room''s theme and lock the door. Well, there was no point in getting too creative with it. The last reward had been a luxury towel set, so she may as well stick with the same sort of theme this time as well. Maybe a nice comb and mirror set? Brushing one''s hair was only natural after taking a bath, right? Veronica wished she could make a proper brush, but she didn''t seem to have any suitable [Base Resources] to make one with. She could make the base just fine, but the bristles would be more tricky.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 32 DP to research a mirror and comb set using the [Base Resources] silver, glass, and wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica was actually happy that she even could make a mirror. She hadn''t been certain she would be able to as she didn''t know the exact formula for making one, just that it required glass. It would seem mirrors weren''t entirely unheard of in this world then. Still, she couldn''t really complain about the final results. The hand mirror was well-made and the comb was carved to look like the handle was made from flowers and leaves. She didn''t really care about all the frilly details, just that it was practical. That probably seemed a bit far-fetched since she had just summoned a set for herself to keep, just so she could see what it looked like, but oh well. She''d likely summon a set of luxury towels for herself soon too since a bath was starting to sound pretty good.


    Sighing, she spent another 32 DP to set the challenge reward and the 300 DP to set the room theme and lock the door. That brought her total down to 435 dungeon points. Perhaps she should actually take Seraphina''s advice and take a few days off from building things? Maybe not, though, she doubted it would be long before she got more tributes and room rentals anyway. Besides, she couldn''t earn more dungeon points without spending some.

 1.24 Goblin Culling

    "Are you done setting up the perimeter yet, Elwin?"


    Amelia asked. After a nod in confirmation, Coryas looked grim as he headed into the goblin lair to lure their horde out. They had accepted a job at the adventurer''s guild to eliminate the local goblin population. It was unlikely to get rid of all of them and there would likely be other groups pushing into their territory in a few month''s time. However, the guild didn''t really mind so long as the forests were kept safe for the merchants and locals.


    Wild [Monsters] were impossible to truly get rid of. Too much of their planet was overtaken by pockets of aether too dense for anything but [Monsters] to live in, providing them sufficient space to live and breed. Amelia wasn''t sure why they didn''t just remain in relative safety instead of taking their chances out here. The widely accepted theories tended to be something along the lines of overpopulation, territory disputes, and certain [Monsters] simply being too greedy to sit still. There were, of course, some instances where even intelligent and powerful species would descend upon well-established cities, but that was usually because they had been drawn by the powerful dungeons found nearby.


    A small group of eight goblins came running out of the cave, hot on Coryas''s trail. With how much blood was splattered across him, he had likely already taken out several others. Amelia quickly summoned an earthen wall to separate the goblins from her friend and team leader. He nodded to her as a show of appreciation before turning back around, preparing to take out the remaining goblins.


    Elwin had several [Traps] behind them and to either side, reducing the likelihood of them being ambushed in the middle of combat. He was also defending their rear with his choice of crossbow in hand and his hunting knife secured to his hip, easily within reach. Amelia herself wasn''t very combat-oriented due to a lack of luck in her class skills, but she was hardly defenseless. She could use her magic staff as a bludgeoning weapon in a pinch and she was actively working on a skill quest that would allow her to unlock a weak rock projectile spell.


    When her rock wall was brought down, Coryas easily became the star of the show as he smashed his heavy hammer down into one goblin before using the momentum to turn and hit another. Amelia made sure to throw up walls to protect his blindside anytime she could while knocking back any enemies that came her way. Despite all the excitement in the moment, the battle only lasted a few short minutes. Setting everything up and then tearing it back down tended to take far longer than the combat itself ever did, but no one was going to complain at Elwin for doing his job.


    Wiping some blood off his face, Coryas announced


    "Right, well, I''m going to go double check that''s all of them. You two start cleaning up. It''s getting late and we should turn in soon."


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    Amelia glanced at him with concern, but didn''t argue. It wasn''t like she''d be of much help in such cramped quarters. Throwing up walls would just make it easier for them to end up trapped, should anything go wrong. Elwin would be more helpful in that situation, but no one else could handle his [Traps]. Besides, it was dangerous to stay in the forest after dark as it was easier for [Monsters] to ambush you and they were hardly experienced enough adventurers to properly defend themselves. Thus, their priorities were already predetermined.


    When they got back to Bluecove City, they made sure to stop by the guild to turn in their quests. They had managed to take down three goblin encampments today, which ensured they had sufficient pay to afford a hot meal. They planned to stop by the local dungeon to rent rooms for the night as well. While they all had homes they could return to, the dungeon''s prices were cheap and they had recently heard there were now baths they could use.


    Amelia hadn''t really used the previous inn that had been in town. It was too expensive and there wasn''t really any benefit to it unless you were from out of town. Even then, if you were planning on staying any real length of time, you were better off renting a house for your entire party to share. Since their parents all lived in the area, though, they would usually just go back home after working hard all day. None of them lived anywhere fancy, just a basic hut with a wooden bedframe and straw mattress. There was no plumbing or magic appliances. If they wanted a hot meal, they had to hunt their own meat, chop their own firewood, and cook their own meals. A bath usually meant finding a secluded enough spot near the ocean to wash up. Even washing their clothes meant fetching water and then hanging the clothes to air dry on a sunny day. It was certainly not a life of luxury.


    In comparison, the beds in the dungeon were like sleeping on a cloud. The sheets and pillows always felt cool to the touch, the blankets were warm, and the mattress was plush. The fireplace always had a small stack of firewood provided free of charge that they could freely use, although the dungeon was hardly cold enough to warrant it. Mostly, it was just a nice luxury they could enjoy, if they wanted to. If she knew how to cook, she likely could have roasted some rabbit over the fire or something, but that wasn''t exactly something she was skilled in.


    Her parents hadn''t seen much need to teach her how to do housekeeping. Normally, if you didn''t awaken a class, women would be taught domestic skills while the men would be taught how to hunt, chop firewood, fish, farm, etc. If you had any sort of skill in a craft, you might get lucky enough to be hired on at a local business, but, otherwise, your options tended to be very limited. So, it was important for you to know how to fend for yourself and your role became more so one of raising the next generation.


    Since she had been lucky enough to awaken a magic skill, Amelia was instead expected to earn her living through the guild and the new local dungeon. If she was successful enough, she might even one day have a small estate that rivaled those of rich merchants and human lower ranking nobles. She might end up with one or two servants to take care of the household chores, help her raise children, and even be able to enjoy a modest level of luxury. That was supposed to be the dream that all adventurers had anyway. Right now, though, Amelia couldn''t help but feel all of that was rather far off and that she was rather unremarkable. Still, she was happy for the small luxuries the new dungeon had already brought her group.

 1.25 Temporary Living Arrangements

    Over the last few days, Veronica continued to get plenty of tributes and room rentals. The number of adventurers visiting the dungeon seemed to be remaining about the same from day to day, but her room rentals were slowly increasing. That all aligned with what Seraphina had told her about the area her dungeon was in, though. She was lucky to have people in the area who were used to dealing with dungeons and who would give it a chance right off the bat. However, it would still take time for others to hear word of her dungeon and to be drawn to it enough for dungeon traffic to increase beyond what it was now.


    Veronica was glad that she got her next challenge room built when she did as it didn''t take long for a new party to get trapped in her tropical parkour room. Rather than continuing to work on the inn and tavern side, though, she decided to take a few days off to focus on training with Seraphina. No use in wasting the time moping about when she only had a limited amount of time to make use of Seraphina''s help. Apparently, the elven woman had other Dungeon Masters to attend to and she had been putting it off while she was helping her.


    Veronica seemed to learn more and more from the woman as days went past. Yet, she still wanted to have her space. She could swallow her pride enough to accept her daily butt-kicking while she improved her own poor combat skills. Even living with complete strangers in her inn side of the dungeon was fine, but it felt physically uncomfortable knowing just how close Seraphina was to her dungeon core all of the time. Even though the dungeon didn''t seem to consider the woman a threat, the way it did everyone else, didn''t mean she was comfortable with it. She just couldn''t trust anyone when she had such an obvious weakness.


    Shaking her head, she decided to review the tributes she had received in the last few days. The room rentals themselves had netted her 170 DP. It would seem some of the adventurers had been curious about the larger, fancier, new rooms she had built, which had easily netted her an extra 100 dungeon points. Still, it was mostly her cheaper 10 DP rooms and tributes that she was depending on. For tributes she had earned 12 DP from repeats and an additional 245 DP from new tributes, which had included white beech mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, chickweed, dandelions, watercress, soapstone, and sunflowers. All of that had brought her total up to 862 dungeon points, which wasn''t too bad, but not as high as she''d like it to be.


    Honestly, a lot of the time Veronica had to wonder exactly what adventurers thought she was doing with the tributes they brought her. Flowers, minerals, and culinary ingredients just weren''t going to help her build new challenges or more luxurious inn rooms. Maybe the food options might be useful when she went to build a kitchen and tavern, but it was still a flawed idea. She needed alcohol, meats, and basic produce, not random greens and mushrooms. Maybe that was the sort of thing the elves around here ate or something, but she neither knew how to make whatever recipes they were used to eating, nor was she interested in learning to do so. Serving the food that was common to the area wasn''t exactly a great way to market her dungeon, not the way serving something more unique would be.


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    Stretching, Veronica stood up, gaining a wary glance from Seraphina. She waved her hand dismissively as she said


    "Don''t worry, I''m not interested in training just yet. I just thought of a new project I''d like to work on and the last person staying in the inn just vacated the area."


    Well, she wasn''t really working on anything new or exciting, exactly. Mostly Veronica just planned to make herself some temporary living quarters. She had been cutting off the backmost right room that led to the dungeon core room from the inn side of the dungeon. However, that just seemed wasteful to leave it unused like that. She may as well turn it into something useful, but the only thing that would allow her to still keep adventurers out was to make it a room that only she had access to.


    The space was smaller than her large inn rooms since it was only 11-Units by 18-Units instead of a full 18-Units by 18-Units square, but that was just fine for Veronica. She started by making herself a bathroom space, but she only needed it to be large enough for a bathtub, sink, wardrobe, towel rack, and a rug. She didn''t need a toilet since she didn''t actually have such human needs anymore. Bathing was still necessary because her inhuman status didn''t mean she couldn''t get dirty nor did it stop her clothes from getting dirty.


    The other part of the room was a bit more cramped as well as she combined a kitchen, bedroom, and living room space into the space. Well, that might be exaggerating a bit. There was plenty of space for everything she wanted, it just didn''t have as much space as the other rooms she had built.


    Nothing new had to be researched and it was easy enough to spend the mana to create a magic icebox, magic wood stove, magic sink, kitchen cupboards and jade counters, a teal armchair, a bed, and even a fireplace. As she still had yet to bite the bullet on researching pots and pans or cleaning supplies, the only other thing she had to make were the wooden hangers for the bathroom wardrobe. Maybe one day she''d be able to add those last details, but she just couldn''t justify the expenses when she had so few dungeon points saved up.


    With her own space finished, she laid back on her new bed and stared up at the ceiling. It felt nice to have a space no one else could enter, but that was still close enough to the dungeon core room to not worry about being able to react in time. Maybe one day she could make a truly nice home full of all the luxury [Items] and entertainment she could ever dream of. That would be nice.

 1.26 Mandatory Vacation

    Seraphina looked down at Veronica''s sleeping form. She had done her best to make her comfortable, but she doubted any amount of pillows and blankets would be able to make the cold, hard stone floor feel comfortable. It had been a bit sudden, but not unexpected when the dungeon core forced Veronica into a hibernation state. Unfortunately, it wasn''t something that Seraphina could do much about.


    The dungeon accords as well as the very strict regulations she was under as a dungeon diplomat forced her to take a very passive stance when it came to guiding the Dungeon Masters under her watch. It was thought to be for the best that dungeons be allowed to grow, change, and adapt at their own pace with very little outside interference. However, it was exactly because Veronica, an outsider to this world and an anomaly, was left to her own devices that it had resulted in this forced hibernation state.


    Dungeons were an important part of this world''s ecosystem and everything was meant to remain in balance. The dungeon cores chose who or what to become bonded to based on what it felt was most fitting. No one really knew much about what criteria was involved or what made some dungeon cores and the systems related to them more unique than others. However, these bonds were considered sacred and were to be respected. No matter whether the Dungeon Master started out as a weak rabbit or a strong S-rank adventurer, they would be shown the utmost respect once they bonded to a dungeon.


    Seraphina sighed as she sat down on the stone steps leading up to the dungeon core. Most concepts regarding how dungeons worked were simple, but even the people of this world often didn''t understand how things were meant to work. The misunderstandings weren''t just limited to adventurers, who often chose to be ignorant, but they often involved the Dungeon Masters and even the council in her village was often uncertain on many matters.


    Veronica certainly seemed to be rather misguided in her attempts to manage her dungeon. She was too cautious and aggressive in her attempts to keep everyone away. Her first floor challenge rooms kept leading to adventurers being stuck in them, unable to continue forward or return the way they came. They weren''t necessarily lethal at face value, but they were still likely to lead to a sharp decline in dungeon traffic until this dungeon became known as a ''failed'' dungeon if the trend continued. Besides which, Veronica was building far too quickly, not taking nearly enough time to learn more about her situation and adapt to the results her current setup was seeing.


    Seraphina had tried to encourage the young woman to slow down, to pace herself, but that was about all she could do. She constantly had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from mentioning just how bad of an idea it was to scare adventurers away. Truthfully, dungeons weren''t meant to be truly dangerous until after the tenth floor, at least, not for adventurers. Maybe a boss [Monster] might be a bit difficult to conquer and the unprepared adventurers might perish in the process of pushing to the next floor, but that was a different matter entirely.


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    Seraphina wished she was better with her words as she looked down at Veronica''s sleeping face. Maybe if she could properly convey just how delicate an ecosystem a dungeon was, she could save the young woman from herself. Adventurers were necessary if the dungeon was to grow stronger in the future. Dungeons helped them grow stronger so they could protect their homes from the same wild [Monsters] that threatened dungeons like hers.


    It wasn''t like Veronica was the first Dungeon Master to overdo things. Many of them tended to be recluses that wanted nothing to do with people. They''d build their dungeons and hide up on the highest levels, refusing to meet with anyone but the most ''worthy'' and ''interesting'' adventurers. Some even ended up bloodthirsty and their dungeons became known for the sheer violence as every adventure became a bloodbath. If the rest of the dungeon was interesting enough, that didn''t always lead to a ''failed'' dungeon, but it was a careful balance that Seraphina wasn''t sure Veronica could manage.


    Well, only time would tell how things would turn out. Seraphina would do her best to keep Veronica and the dungeon core safe until she awoke once more. Most dungeon cores wouldn''t have taken a chance doing something as drastic as this so early on. She supposed she should be grateful that the dungeon was deemed safe enough from threats then. Perhaps the dungeon core recognized her presence or, perhaps, it simply felt the challenge rooms and [Monster] fields were just that overpowered, it was hard to tell.


    It was a shame that Veronica wouldn''t be able to further her martial arts training in the meantime. Seraphina had been a bit concerned that she wouldn''t have enough time to train the young woman before the first floor was completed. As it was, she was certain that the dungeon qualified as being half complete already. All Veronica should need before she can unlock the next floor is a boss room and enough resources to pay for it. It was a bit insane to think of just how fast she was building considering it hadn''t even been a full two weeks yet. Seraphina had been hoping she''d have, at least, a season to teach her what she knew, but she doubted Veronica would slow down after she awoke.


    More than likely, she''d end up being blamed by the young woman. Seraphina just hoped she didn''t insist on demanding a new dungeon diplomat be assigned to her, thinking she had betrayed her. She''d never personally experienced having the bond broken, but she had heard horror stories of just how painful it could be. Oftentimes, it would even result in the dungeon diplomat dying as the experience was too traumatic. Things were easier on the dungeon since there were already so many regulations in place and there was both a Dungeon Master and dungeon core to share the burden. The new dungeon diplomat would be selected by the dungeon cores based on who was seen as most suitable. Still, it would be a shame for her other clients to have to adjust to someone new and she hardly wanted to die for something that wasn''t even her fault.

 1.27 Magic Stone

    Leaf Mason''s brows furrowed as he concentrated. He was currently working on carving magic stone into magically reinforced stone bricks for the outer city''s defensive walls. Unlike with normal stone, he had to pay quite a bit more for stone like this, but, in turn, he could sell his work for a significant sum as well. He was fortunate that the first floor of the new dungeon had gargoyles, it was like winning the lottery, as his future was far brighter now than it had ever been before.


    Most projects just used normal stone, which was, oftentimes, also harvested from dungeons. However, even if they required special gear to ensure adventurers could lug it out of the dungeon, it was a more common material. There was no need to wait for the [Monsters] to respawn, worry about dying from the creatures, or to worry about as many transportation costs associated with transporting the stone. Dungeons with stone to harvest as well as stone quarries outside of dungeons were rather common, but dungeons with [Monsters] made from stone were rare. To add to that, most of the stone [Monsters] tended to be things like golems, which were found on higher floors, making it so that fewer adventurers were strong enough to face the creatures and even fewer were willing to lug the heavy stone back without an exorbitant fee.


    On the other hand, the gargoyles were small, which came with its own pitfalls. For one thing, there wasn''t nearly as much stone to work with. Too often adventurers would end up smashing the entire gargoyle into too small of pieces to even use, but even mostly whole gargoyle carcasses had to be carefully processed to ensure too much stone wasn''t chipped away, making the whole thing useless. Some of the higher-ranking stone mason classes had the ability to consolidate stone into one massive chunk, which could save them on some expenses, but Leaf was only a low-ranking stone mason. None of the others in his workshop actually had an official class either, which meant he would just have to practice with the magic stone long enough to increase his own level.


    Of course, some craftsmen classes were willing to enter dungeons to earn experience that way as well. However, Leaf seemed to be talentless when it came to using weapons. The local master blacksmith, Rulvion, was talented with a hammer and had a large hammer he used to use in the previous dungeon in their city. He''d pay a small fee to be escorted by adventurers and then would mine any ores he came across, killing any of the weaker [Monsters] he could manage by himself along the way. Since Leaf Mason wasn''t talented enough to do that, he was just going to have to make do with the experience he could earn by practicing his craft.


    After finishing a few dozen magic-reinforced stone bricks, Leaf dusted off his hands and headed out of his workshop. He needed to head down to the adventurers'' guild and collect whatever stone the adventurers had managed to collect over the last few days. He''d also have to pay a fee to ensure the guild kept the quest posted. His efforts now might be primarily to help him increase his class skills'' proficiencies with only small-time jobs like making materials for city wall repairs, but he had big dreams.


    Nobles were known to purchase magic stone [Items] either for the novelty of it or to better reinforce the defenses of their own estates. If he worked hard, word could spread and he might land himself a big contract that would ensure he could reinvest into his workshop and his own future. Maybe he could even accept an apprentice with the same class as him, which would allow him to expand his production, even if that would come with its own costs. Leaf really hoped that the local Lord could spread the word about the new dungeon enough to get some more adventurers in their city. It would ensure more stone could be collected and might even mean higher quality products for him, if more experienced adventurers were drawn to their city.


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    The receptionist smiled at him politely as she recognized him.


    "Just give me a moment."


    After a moment, she returned from the back room and informed him


    "I''ve got someone bringing a wheelbarrow with your goods around back. He''ll drop it off for you, as usual. Do you have the fee ready? Also, do you want to renew the quest?"


    Leaf nodded as he replied


    "Yes, here you are."


    The receptionist counted out the coins before returning the rest to him. From the amount she took, it was clear that there hadn''t been any more stone collected than expected. An initial investment was expected when he put in the quest, but he had made it clear he was willing to pay for any extra that was collected. That was a bit disappointing, but he would just have to make do.


    The next morning, Amelia stood looking at the quest board with Coryas. Not seeing anything better, Coryas unpinned the quest for collecting stone. He wasn''t much for talking, but Amelia already understood what he wished to convey. They''d be doing this quest for the next few days and would just have to check back later to see if anything with better pay was posted then. It was possible that another group had come through and accepted any of the decent quests they were qualified for, but it was more likely that there simply wasn''t anything available. That was simply how it tended to go.


    Amelia didn''t mind the repetitiveness of entering the dungeon, killing gargoyles, and collecting their stone. It was an easy job and it paid well enough. Besides, they wouldn''t even have to leave the dungeon, unless they were delivering stone, for the next few days.


    As it turned out, the public baths were real, even if they weren''t quite as exciting as she had been hoping. The water was room temperature and she, usually, had to ask for help from one of the stronger women whenever the water needed to be refreshed. That hadn''t been a problem until a few days ago. Every night the water would be fresh and her room was always guaranteed to be clean. There were some rumors amongst the adventurers that something must be wrong with the dungeon. Others joked that the housekeeper must have gotten fired, but no one seemed particularly upset. There was never any trash in the rooms and they didn''t smell bad, it was just that the beds were left messy and the firewood wasn''t being restocked.


    Amelia''s party still found the price well-worth it though. They had found that they could submit any ten small [Items] as payment for their rooms. A few leaves, stones, or even a few flowers and they were set for the night. So long as they used the same room they had before, they could almost guarantee they weren''t dealing with someone else''s mess either. Besides, it wasn''t like the inns outside of dungeons were exactly immaculate. It was too much work to wash sheets in the river and there was no guarantee of the weather being decent enough to ensure things got dried in a timely manner. So, most innkeepers tended to only wash the bedding a few times a year, at best. When they were getting such a good deal on their rooms, it was hard to complain about a dungeon not being up to their standards when all of that was considered.

 1.28 Rangers Preparations

    Elwin was going to be late for meeting up with his party again, he could already tell. There wasn''t really much he could do about it, though. Part of his ranger class was dealing with [Traps], which meant he had to fix damaged ones from the day before, experiment and create new ones, etc. The problem was that he had to have the supplies to do so, which meant he had to wait until the shops were open to do so. They so rarely were when they finished their work for the day, so that usually meant he''d end up being late in the mornings.


    Well, it wasn''t like there was a very accurate way to tell time for someone like him anyways. There were sundials and the city''s bell tower which rang every hour on the hour, but that often led to people waiting around for each other. Most of the lower class, such as farmers, didn''t even live in a city with a bell tower, so they simply had to get used to a routine of waking with the sun and turning in when night fell. Some of the richer noble families could afford pocket watches and had servants who would wake up at the same time the farmers did, ensuring they could wake their master up and keep them on schedule, should it be necessary. Such a job was common to be given to the head butler, who was the only one with enough trust and respect amongst the servants to be trusted with such expensive technology.


    Elwin couldn''t help but think on such matters as he passed by the abandoned shops on main street on his way to the general merchant''s shop. As an elf who had awakened a combat class, his parents had high hopes for him and had sent him off to one of the many academies in their kingdom. Granted, it had been one of the cheaper ones, but it had been enough to ensure he could learn all of the basics as well as hear many tales from his teachers who thought adventurers should be encouraged to dream big. Too many of them would end up dying in dungeons, but their jobs were important ones in their society, so they needed hope to cling to. His other party members hadn''t been quite as fortunate as he had, only receiving a basic public school education, but he hardly faulted them for that.


    "Ahh, young Elwin! What can I help you with today?"


    Raine, the general merchant asked. He smiled politely in return as he replied


    "I''m just looking for the usual, some twine, hinges, and other bits and bobs for my [Traps]. We took down some goblins the other day and some of them just haven''t quite been functioning correctly since. I ended up having to scrap a few in their entirety and I''ll likely have to build some new ones to replace them."


    Raine smiled knowingly as she replied


    "Let me take a look around and see what I have. I think I may have a well-loved scroll with a design you might like that just came in."


    Elwin nodded, waiting patiently as his thoughts started to wander once more. Raine was from the shifter race, a turtle if you would believe it. Most of the population in their city was made up of elves, like himself, but there was a bit of everything in their city. One of the quirks of living near a port that acted as a hub for trade with far-off kingdoms, he supposed. His parents had once told him that not everywhere in this kingdom was like that and his time in the academy had certainly reinforced that fact.


    Some corners of the Rosefall Empire had towns and villages that were so segregated that they only allowed elves and their direct family, including spouses, to live there. Even visiting such places tended to be fairly limited with exceptions only being made when it was deemed absolutely necessary either for political reasons or the health and safety of the community. They were hardly going to turn away a talented doctor during times of plague or war, after all.


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    Raine came back holding a scroll in the air as she proclaimed


    "Just like I thought. Do you want to take a look?"


    Elwin was hardly a rich adventurer who could easily afford to purchase things on a whim, but he tended to keep some savings for occasions such as this, so he nodded. Most of the [Traps] he tended to utilize were made up of primarily wood with some being prepared ahead of time and brought with him while others had to be set up on the spot. Both had their uses, but he did have to admit that wood tended to break far more often than he liked.


    This scroll seemed to be for a more advanced design utilizing metal and boasted that it was strong enough to take down a bear. He''d likely have to get in touch with a blacksmith to make some of the larger pieces before using his class skill to analyze the [Trap] mechanics well enough that he could put the rest of it together and easily make repairs, should they become necessary. With a pinched expression, he asked


    "How much are you asking for it?"


    Rained smiled as she replied


    "Relax, child. I''m hardly showing it to you so I can try to rip you off. There aren''t any other rangers around right now and I got this at a discount myself. Someone didn''t quite have enough to cover the cost of the potions needed for their crew and threw this in to cover the rest. Besides, you''re practically my best customer. How does ten silver sound?"


    Elwin''s eyes widened, that was practically a steal for something like this! The scrolls were consumables for rangers as it would be burnt up in the process of his skill memorizing it. He could always use some of his mana to create new ones, if he ever reached a high enough level and completed the associated quest, but it wasn''t like rangers were that common in the first place. So, something like this could easily go for far more than she was asking for.


    He eagerly bought the scroll, decimating his savings and ensuring he''d be eating slightly worse rations over the next few days. His other party members, Amelia and Coryas, never seemed to have as many problems with saving up as he did. Amelia was currently saving up for a better set of mage''s robes and a staff while Coryas was happy with his hammer and seemed to spend his coins a bit more frivolously. Elwin was sure he was still setting some aside to save, just in case, but he also had no problem giving them money or treating them all to a nice meal after a particularly hard day of work.


    After stopping by a few more shops, Elwin finally made it to the adventurers'' guild where his party was boredly waiting for him. Coryas made his typical annoyed remarks about how long he had to wait and then they were off to the dungeon. The gargoyles were ready to handle, Elwin mostly just set [Traps] to capture them. Thanks to Amelia recently unlocking a rock bullet spell, it actually seemed to be more beneficial to capture them first. They could end up with a more whole gargoyle corpse, ensuring the guild was more likely to purchase it from them. Coryas was very capable with his hammer, but anything but a headshot and they''d end up having to leave the remains in the dungeon because it would be useless.


    It took a while to gather the gargoyle corpses, but they still managed to gather enough throughout the day that all three of them had to carry a bag to the guild. When Elwin ended up struggling to carry his alongside his other gear, Coryas ended up taking over, making remarks about how silly it was that a girl could carry more than him. Amelia smiled awkwardly at him, not complaining at all. Their group dynamic was mostly decent and everyone recognized the others'' efforts, even if they tended to bicker like siblings. So, Elwin remained in a good mood, not bothered one bit by the remarks.


    The guild receptionist seemed pleasantly surprised by their haul today as she paid out the coins they had earned. Usually, they were lucky to get half as much as they had today, but that was back when Coryas was doing the bulk of the work. Since they were all improving, that meant they could earn more pay as well. An entire silver for every mostly intact corpse and half that for any usable, but more heavily damaged ones. Then they just had to split it three ways and worry about any potions and repair costs they might have incurred. Thanks to their stay in the dungeon, they didn''t have to worry about anything but food when it came to daily expenses, which left more to go towards their savings. If they kept improving, maybe, one day, today''s scroll would even seem like mere pocket change.

 1.29 The Lone Guard

    Seraphina looked down at Veronica''s sleeping form. It had already been two weeks since she had been forced into hibernation by the dungeon core. Things had been, mostly, quiet save for that annoying Bo fellow. He was always trying to storm into the dungeon core room and demand a fight with Veronica, not that she ever let him cross the threshold. She couldn''t risk letting him tell others that she wasn''t awake or the dungeon core might feel threatened enough to wake her.


    Either way, Seraphina didn''t want to deal with the annoying dungeon politics that would arise from such a thing. She ended up telling the temperamental young man that he would have to best her in a fight before she would allow it. That felt a bit hypocritical considering she had previously willingly allowed Veronica to die at his hands, but it was the best she could do now.


    Technically speaking, it wasn''t smart to have Veronica die too frequently as it could cause her to suffer from PTSD and cause the dungeon core to corrupt. Seraphina could remember how cross Theodore had been when he had to report a similar issue that happened to one of his clients. The poor girl had required therapy that she didn''t end up receiving until half a year later, which was nothing to most immortal beings, but likely felt like a long time due to it being in the early days of her career as a Dungeon Master.


    Veronica, luckily, seemed like a more resilient, if stubborn, young woman. She was already causing problems of her own that Seraphina would have to report to the council, once the young woman awoke. Still, she was glad that she didn''t have to walk on eggshells around her. Most Dungeon Masters evolved from [Monsters] and beasts, so they didn''t tend to need all of the emotional coddling. In fact, the less you interfered with the natural processes of the dungeon, the better in those cases. There were some Dungeon Masters who were originally adventurers too, of course, but even they tended to be hardened from their years working in the field, so Seraphina still would have been enough for someone like that.


    Well, there was a reason she had been the one chosen for Veronica instead of someone like Theodore. He was kinder, gentler, and more willing to do whatever it took to help those he was responsible for. Seraphina was more by the book, neither unwilling to help Veronica, should she ask, nor willing to go against her training. The council wouldn''t bat an eye at the young redhead dying to Bo once or twice, even if she was around to stop it. She wasn''t allowed to stop anyone from entering the dungeon and challenging it, after all. Her only responsibility was ensuring the dungeon core was safe in order to give the young woman a chance to build a thriving dungeon.


    Really, the thing she wasn''t looking forward to having to explain to the council was the fact that the dungeon had put Veronica to sleep in the first place. Even though she wasn''t at fault as she wasn''t allowed to tell her clients what to do or how to run their dungeons, it was still quite possible that Veronica could demand she be replaced by someone else. Seraphina winced at the thought of having to go through the bond-breaking ceremony.


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    It was a rather rare thing for a dungeon diplomat to have their bond with a dungeon severed. It could very well kill her. Seraphina was only one woman and having the bond break would be hard on her body. Veronica and her dungeon would survive since the burden would be shared, but she would be lucky to say the same. That could mean that her other Dungeon Master might have to accept being assigned a new dungeon diplomat as well, she doubted they would be happy.


    Of course, no one knew who would replace her. The bond was decided by the dungeon core based on who was the most fitting of those who had already awakened as a true member of their race. There were children born to Dungeon Diplomats that were closer to elves with long lifespans, but without the ability to teleport between dungeons or bond with them. They didn''t have as much supernatural strength and could awaken class like normal adventurers. Seraphina wasn''t an adventurer, so she didn''t have a ranking, she was neither part of the dungeon system, nor classified as wholly a non-dungeon entity. Still, it would take, at least, a B-rank adventurer to best her as she had come into her powers several decades ago and was more than capable of holding her own against an enemy.


    Honestly, that was part of why it was so laughable that Bo kept trying to challenge her. The first time, he had been in pain with his feet bare and scorched badly yet he had seemed almost spurred on by the pain, ready to go to battle. The subsequent times, he hadn''t been in as bad of shape, likely having purchased some sort of magic tool to chop down the trees in his way instead of bothering with going through the challenge rooms. That was one of the problems with an open floorplan hybrid dungeon, the trees acted like walls with how thick they grew, but they weren''t nearly as sturdy as proper dungeon walls would be. Even then, she had heard a few tales about S-ranks with classes specializing in strength busting down walls when they were in a hurry or if they were just simply annoyed by one of the challenges. The trees in this dungeon were just easier to destroy is all.


    Seraphina sighed as she pulled an apple from her bag and began to consume it. Veronica could, honestly, use quite a bit of advice from someone who knew what they were doing. She didn''t lack creativity or talent when it came to building challenge rooms and inn rooms, but she just didn''t seem to know what she was doing when it came to everything else. She had an open floorplan hybrid dungeon and she was wasting its potential. Seraphina couldn''t say much for sure since she didn''t have access to the dungeon system, but it was likely that the tree lines could be removed to create a more open space after the room''s were defined for the purpose of territories. The dungeon just needed to have a limit for the [Monster] spawners, after all. It wasn''t even like [Monsters] traveling between rooms was considered a problem, so a combined space would be better strategically while showcasing one of the more unique aspects of the dungeon.


    That would certainly be something she''d have to discuss with the council when she returned to their secluded village. She wasn''t about to risk getting in trouble, so she''d have to get everything she wanted to tell Veronica approved by the council first. Ensure they didn''t find it to be against the dungeon accords or the even stricter code of ethics and laws they lived by, then pass what knowledge she could onto Veronica and hope for the best. That was if she''d even still be welcome when Veronica awoke, she still had her doubts on whether she''d end up blamed for this whole mess. Seraphina couldn''t control the dungeon core and the regulation of the dungeon would happen with or without her here.

 1.30 Dont Poke The Bear

    Veronica felt uncomfortable when she began to stir from her long rest. She didn''t know how much time had passed by, but she also had no reason to suspect that an entire month had passed her by. Even despite there being no saying about not disturbing a sleeping bear, Seraphina had been careful to ensure Veronica was able to sleep well. So, it was only the fact that she had found herself sleeping on the stone floor of the dungeon core room that had given away the fact that something was amiss.


    "Is this some kind of prank you''ve decided to pull on me, Seraphina? I don''t find this funny one bit. If I go to sleep in a soft, comfortable bed, I expect to wake up in it!"


    "I''m sorry, I wasn''t trying to cause you any discomfort."


    Feeling quite taken aback, she nearly fell over as she took a comical double take. She wasn''t expecting the, usually, quite dismissive and carefree elven woman''s reply. However, her answer had only confused Veronica more as she tried to get her bearings.


    "Alright, well, just don''t do it again."


    "Yes, Lady Veronica. I''ll be sure to keep your preferences in mind."


    "Okay, what gives? You aren''t usually like this."


    The title was one thing as she had been called by it ever since she had made the stupid remark about it when they first met. However, the rest of it was so unlike Seraphina that it was obvious something was wrong. The elven woman seemed hesitant as she took her time answering.


    "Well... You see, you''ve been asleep a lot longer than you may have been anticipating. It''s been a month now since you were last conscious, but I promise I didn''t have anything to do with it!"


    Veronica just shrugged as she replied


    "So, what? I overslept a little. Well, maybe more than a little, but it isn''t like I have an alarm clock, but you could have woken me up."


    Veronica did find the amount of time that had passed a bit jarring, but what did she know? She didn''t, technically, require sleep now, so it was entirely possible that sleep was determined more by the state of the dungeon rather than whatever usually determined such things. She was perfectly content to see it as a sign that the dungeon core hadn''t been in danger and her new challenges were doing their job. Perhaps, she would even have enough dungeon points to put some extra care into her next set of rooms. That would certainly be nice.


    "I''m afraid that''s just it. The dungeon core forced you into a state of hibernation, it isn''t normal for you to sleep so long against your will. It would be one thing if you chose to hibernate and ended up sleeping far longer than you had been expecting. That could be explained away by no one getting close enough to the dungeon core room to be a danger to you and the dungeon. However, even if I could wake you up, it would go against regulations as a dungeon diplomat to interfere with the natural processes of the dungeon. I did my best to keep Bo away while you were resting, though. He has certainly been eager to have a rematch with you, though."


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    Well, that certainly changes things! Veronica felt the blood rush to her face as she was overcome with an overwhelming amount of anger. When a strange pulse began to move through the dungeon, forcing her to calm down, she only became more enraged.


    "What the h_ll?! I didn''t agree to this b_llsh_t! First I get put to sleep against my will for some ungodly reason and now the d_mn dungeon is trying to control my emotions?"


    Seraphina grimaced as she allowed her the space to continue to rant and rave, even stepping aside when she began to angrily pace back and forth. It wasn''t until she began to calm back down that she replied


    "Lady Veronica, I''m sorry that you''re having a difficult time right now. It isn''t like anyone is trying to restrict your free will. You have to understand, there is a way things have to be done in this world. The dungeon core can become corrupted if you let your emotions get too out of control. Both you and it feed off of each other''s energies and anger can easily turn to bloodlust, which can lead to me having to destroy your dungeon core and you with it. The dungeon core doesn''t want that, so it''s trying to help you cope with your emotions, but there is only so much it can handle."


    Veronica snorted disdainfully as she snapped


    "Oh yeah? Then what''s your excuse for an entire month of my life being wasted?!"


    Seraphina sighed, sitting down on the stone steps below them. Shaking her head, she replied


    "I tried to warn you, but you didn''t listen. There isn''t much I can do or say without you asking for my help first and, even then, I still might have to get it approved by the council of elders first. You''ve been building your dungeon too fast and you''ve been very heavy-handed in how you''ve been going about it as well. No one-"


    Veronica was practically spitting in Seraphina''s face as she angrily interrupted to say


    "What the f_ck do you mean? I can''t just leave my dungeon defenseless! If anyone makes it to the dungeon core then they can destroy it, just like you so kindly reminded me, and then I''ll be dead! It''s bad enough being taken away from my home, my family, and the only life I ever knew just to be confined in this d_mn dungeon for eternity without then being expected to leave everything up to fate. This isn''t some story, this is my life! I can''t just depend on plot armor to save me like I''m some heroine in some novel!"


    Seraphina''s expression was pinched as she struggled to maintain her composure. If she were to be honest, the elven woman''s overly polite attitude as she tried to placate her only made her want to punch something more. It was annoying and it felt like she was being talked down to rather than being treated like she was on equal footing.


    "I''m sorry, I''m sure you''ve been having a difficult time adjusting, Lady Veronica. However, as I was saying, no one expects you to leave your dungeon defenseless. There is a reason why I was sent to train you in martial arts and protect the dungeon core. It was supposed to ensure you could take your time, adjust to your new circumstances, and learn how the dungeon system worked. I''ve, honestly, been quite worried that I won''t have enough time to complete your training and that I won''t be around when you have questions you need answered.


    I''m not always going to be around, you know. I have other Dungeon Masters I''ve been tasked with helping. There are other responsibilities I have as well, which have all been put on hold while I help you. However, once you unlock your second floor, I may not see you for weeks or even months at a time. Both Dungeon Masters and Dungeon Diplomats have long lifespans and, when you live hundreds of years, a few days feels more like minutes or hours. It really isn''t normal for me to spend so much time helping any one person and it seems like such a shame for you to squander this opportunity."


    Veronica bit her tongue, she was going to need some time to digest this information. Deciding she needed some space, she turned around and left the room, leaving Seraphina by herself.

 1.31 Resentment & Relaxation

    The next few days, Veronica mostly kept to herself, even going so far as to skip out on martial arts with Seraphina. She still practiced with her staff by herself, but she was just not in the mood to talk with anyone. She couldn''t help but resent the elven woman, even if she knew it wasn''t fair. It sounded like she genuinely couldn''t do anything to help her, so it wasn''t really Seraphina''s fault. Luckily, she didn''t push things and Veronica was allowed her space.


    As Veronica had enjoyed reading fantasy novels and had even pirated manga online, she had spent plenty of time reading comments from other readers. It was kind of ironic that she was being forced to slow down since it was almost a constant that readers would always complain about the main characters not being overpowered and making smart enough choices. Veronica hardly had main character syndrome and she wasn''t exactly some renowned genius who could make the perfect dungeon with very little effort. Still, it felt rather insulting that she had been doing her best to do everything ''right'' only to have it blow up in her face.


    It had only been a little under two weeks since she had transmigrated to this world when she had gone to sleep. In that time, she had already built nearly half of the dungeon for both the inn and traditional dungeon sides of the dungeon. She had been planning to progress things some more when she woke up the next day, assuming her system wasn''t locked from people being in the area she wanted to work on. However, now she would have to come up with something else to spend her time on and she was one month older than she had been expecting when she woke up. Who even knew how many more days, months, or even years the dungeon core would steal from her if she didn''t fall in line?


    After checking her tributes she was now 5,411 DP richer than she remembered being. She had gotten 2,001 dungeon points from tributes while the rest of the points had come from room rentals. Her total was now 6,273, which was amazing, at first glance, but seemed disappointing the more she thought about it. She had only made an average of 110 DP per day from room rentals and 67 DP, if she rounded up, from tributes. She had only earned so much because she had lost so much of her life in the blink of an eye. Having three or so room rentals and a few new [Items] thrown her way each day wasn''t nearly enough to make up for that.


    The good news, though, was that she could now afford to treat herself. She was getting sick and tired of wearing the black dress and wedges she had transmigrated into this world with. The shoes hurt her feet and were not ideal for fighting in. Her dress smelled awful and she didn''t exactly have a washing machine to clean it, nor did she want to research a tub, washing board, and clothesline just so she could wash her only clothes. It was high time that she invested in some new clothes.


    The first outfit she decided to make was a floral white blouse, a brown skirt, a cream crocheted cotton hat with fake flowers along the rim, brown socks, white ankle boots, a leather brown choker, and a white cotton tote bag decorated with flowers. The outfit had an air of cottagecore about it, making it more fitting for the time period, while still very much being more from her time than anything else. Her red hair and blue eyes stood out quite a bit with such earthy colors, but she still felt much more comfortable and in her element in her new outfit.


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    She was, actually, quite pleased to see just how cheap the research was for everything as well. The total cost was only 72 DP for all seven pieces with the hat taking up a good chunk of it at 20 DP. The rest of the pieces only cost 6 or 10 dungeon points, keeping the overall cost quite low. With how satisfying the results were and the fact that she could easily reabsorb the outfit and spend a mere 36 MP to make a new, clean outfit, Veronica decided it would be a great idea to make a few other outfits, but she needed some time to think about what she wanted to make next.


    There were, of course, other luxuries Veronica helped herself to as well. Most of which were [Items] she already had access to. Her tributes from the last month had included: oyster mushrooms, morel mushrooms, red pine mushrooms, chanterelle mushrooms, puffball mushrooms, chicken of the woods, brown beech mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, honey mushrooms, wood anemone, wild geranium, trout lily, spring beauty, blue wood aster, mayflowers, Chinese meadow rue, crested iris, wild columbine, fairy slippers, Alaska violets, starflowers, blue-eyed mary flowers, pine bark bread, cattail pollen biscuits, bearberry yuzu muffins, rosemary currant crisps, red gooseberry and rhubarb pie, chamomile birch bark shortbread, blackberry wine, falernian wine, posset ale, spiced braggot, sake, a mother of pearl bracelet, a fluorite stone, a silver coin, and a moonstone ring.That had allowed her to enjoy her choice of fresh flowers for her room and a variety of foods and alcohol.


    Veronica hardly cared that she didn''t need to eat to survive. If anything, that was one of the few good things about her new life, alongside being forever young and healthy. She had always wished she could eat whatever she wanted without having to worry about putting on weight or having her health suffer for it. Whether her physical appearance could be changed in terms of haircuts or gaining weight, she wasn''t sure, but everything else about her life assured her she wouldn''t have to worry about her teeth rotting if she ate too many sweets or her liver giving out from getting drunk too often.


    Besides, there wasn''t much else to do for fun in this dungeon. There weren''t video games to play or a library full of books to read all day long. She had to take care of the inn rooms, now that she was awake, but that didn''t take very long since the work was minimal for the twenty-two rooms she had available. Most of them remained empty day after day while the rest only required things like beds to be remade or the bedding to be replaced. The dungeon absorbed everything that didn''t belong, so she only had to replace what was used/removed and fix what needed tidying. It only ever took her a few minutes to straighten the less than half a dozen rooms and then she had the rest of the day to herself.


    Veronica hadn''t bothered to interact with the locals pretty much at all since she had arrived in this world. She only ever talked with Seraphina, but even that wasn''t happening now. While she did have one bad experience with Bo, she was hardly going to judge the rest of the population based on his bad attitude. Besides, from what she had observed of others, the rest seemed mostly sane and like they weren''t looking to ruin what she was doing here. They just wanted to harvest resources in the dungeon, rent a room for the night, or gain some experience so they could grow stronger. That was fine by her, she would likely do the same, if she was in their shoes.


    Still, it wasn''t like she was lonely. There was no need to seek out companionship and she wasn''t desperate for friends. If she met someone decent who she got along with, then so be it, but she wasn''t going to force the issue. Maybe things would be different in a few decades'' time, she hardly wanted to spend eternity all alone, but she had always been a bit of a loner. Transmigrating to another world wasn''t going to change that.

 1.32 The Lone Will-O-Wisp

    As a will-o''-wisp, there wasn''t much to think about. The passage of time had next to no meaning either. Most of the time, its existence consisted of simply floating around without any real attachment to the world. Other times, it felt like being playful as it interacted with the beings of this world. Joining a dungeon had never really been something that will-o''-wisp one had chosen to do, but rather something that had just happened. The Dungeon Master had wanted to contract with one of its kind and it had been selected by the system and transported to the dungeon.


    While it didn''t have much thought about all of this, it still did its best to carry out the orders given to it by the system. When asked where something was in the dungeon, will-o''-wisp one would lead the way. It didn''t really understand the concept of a ''bathroom'' nor did it have a way to differentiate between inn rooms. Instead, it acted purely on instinct, leading people around without fault.


    Will-o''-wisps can''t exactly see, hear, or do anything else that living creatures might normally be able to do. However, it wasn''t exactly as if it could be classified as ''living'' either. It merely existed as a ball of wispy blue light. While will-o''-wisp one did not know what a computer program was, it would not be wrong to compare the way they moved about the dungeon, fulfilling their duties, to a computer program being run and fulfilling its programming. All of its kind was like this, existing without thought or motive with no need to worry about any of the dilemmas those around it were facing.


    Normally, Dungeon Masters would have to manually assign a will-o''-wisp a job to do. Lead adventurers towards a particular [Trap] or cooperate only half of the time, leading them around in circles and wasting their time the other half of the time. Since they were incapable of attacking adventurers and could not evolve into anything more than they were, their jobs were always that of an untrustworthy guide.


    There would be no complaints from will-o''-wisp one about a lack of purpose or about being left alone for long periods of time. It rarely moved from its spot in front of the receptionist desk in the ''Veronica''s Rest'' dungeon. The Dungeon Master never came to visit it and no new orders ever came its way from the dungeon system. It was simply instructed to lead anyone who asked anywhere within the confines of the side of the dungeon it was assigned to. Most people simply passed by without sparing a single thought for the lone will-o''-wisp of the dungeon. That was alright, it would continue to wait without worrying about anything until the day someone required its assistance once more.


    "Hey, little guy. You''re still here, just like always, huh?"


    Seraphina asked. It did not answer, neither being capable of such a thing, nor having any thoughts to share. The elven woman smiled, continuing to speak as if it had answered her


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    "Yeah, I suppose it has been nice how peaceful it has been lately. I''m glad Veronica is awake again, I can finally sleep in the inn room I paid for. It''s been rough sleeping on the hard, stone floor, but I couldn''t exactly leave the dungeon core defenseless. How''s she holding up, do you think?"


    After another moment of silence, she let out a dramatic sigh before continuing


    "I was afraid you''d say that. She''s a tough one, but I just don''t think she is going to forgive me any time soon. Well, I''ll let you get back to work."


    The elven woman then continued on her way, leaving will-o''-wisp one by itself once more. It wasn''t until later that night, not that it could tell time, that more people arrived. Adventurers milled about in the reception room, talking amongst themselves, while it stood in the corner. As far as anyone was concerned, it may as well have been another decoration in the room. When someone walked up to the desk, the will-o''-wisp''s light burned slightly brighter as it reacted to their presence. This was not something it chose to do, but simply a knee-jerk reaction that would happen every time someone moved closer.


    The young girl poked curiously at its wispy form, frowning as she asked her party member


    "What do you think it''s doing here? Seems strange for it to be here instead of in the dungeon. You don''t think there are [Traps] here, do you?"


    The man beside her laughed as he replied


    "I don''t know, but I hardly think it matters. It can''t harm us unless we give it the time of day. We''re hardly desperate enough to fall for its tricks, so we can just ignore it."


    Then the two went on their way, once more leaving Will-o''-wisp one its own once more. As the night wore on, the reception room became emptier as adventurers found their way to their rooms or left the dungeon. No one else would be coming through the area and so it lost track of time as it continued to float in the air. It would be quite some time before anyone else would interact with it.


    Veronica, of course, didn''t spare her will-o''-wisp a single thought since she had assigned it to look over the room. She rarely considered her gargoyles important either and she certainly hadn''t felt inclined to name a single [Monster] from either group. They didn''t talk and they so easily fell off of her radar, being deemed unimportant. Sure, they all served a purpose in her dungeon, but so did things like trees yet no one was going to go around naming those. There were simply too many other problems to consider to be bothered with how some faceless creature with a lack of sentience was getting along.


    After spending a few hours practicing martial arts, Veronica went back to her room intending to take a bath. That was followed up with eating sweets while she relaxed on her couch. She had invested some mana into basic food supplies to keep in her kitchen, so there was no need to worry about the system locking her out when adventurers were around. If she always had to wait for everyone to leave, she''d forever be stuck trying to cram everything she wanted to do in a day into a few short hours. As she was still paranoid, she avoided sleeping to pass the night away. Instead, she spent the night making plans for the future, none of which involved a single thought for her lone will-o''-wisp.

 1.33 Playing Housekeeper

    It was now afternoon, which meant all of the inn guests had finally left their rooms and Veronica''s system menu was available again. While she had been previously just straightening beds and refilling firewood, she decided now would be a good time to invest in some better cleaning supplies.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research leather cleaning gloves using the [Base Resources] leather, undyed thread, and brown dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a luxury green washcloth set using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton cloth, undyed thread, and green dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a bottle of all-purpose cleaner using the [Base Resources] glass bottle, cork, lemon, rosemary, vinegar, lye soap, and water?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It really sucked not having modern-day materials like plastic. It would have been nice to have a spray nozzle as well, but Veronica wasn''t sure that she could piece together enough of how it worked for the dungeon to allow her to make an alternative version of it. She''d just have to uncork the glass bottle and pour the solution onto the washcloths whenever she wanted to clean something.


    She had decided to stock the larger inn rooms with luxury towels and so she figured now would be a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. If she made luxury washcloths, she could put them in the rooms for bathing while also having something to clean with. Veronica wasn''t sure if she actually needed to clean dirt from the inn rooms or not, but she figured she was better off safe than sorry and the nice scent of the cleaner would certainly help things smell more fresh for guests. The inn always earned far more than she''d ever get from tributes, so it was important for her to keep guests happy anyhow.


    The leather cleaning gloves and washcloths couldn''t exactly be cleaned and they''d have to be carried around in her tote bag, but she wasn''t really bothered by it. She could always have the dungeon reabsorb them and then create new, clean versions. That was one of the good things about having something unlocked under her [Items] menu. It was unfortunate that she didn''t earn any mana from things she reabsorbed, but it wasn''t like she was struggling to earn enough mana to the point she''d have to worry about it.


    Since her [Tavern] system menu displayed lots of useful information, she was well aware of which rooms had been recently rented out. The night before had seen two of the large rooms and three of the smaller rooms rented out, which was more than usual. She was hardly going to complain about an increase in rentals, though, and would happily accept the 130 DP from it. The rest of the week had been a mix of highs and lows with another 790 DP being earned on the other nights. She was now sitting at 7,075 dungeon points and it was certainly helping her to feel more generous. Maybe it would even be a good time to add some other luxuries to the inn rooms to help increase her guests'' satisfaction.


    Walking into the first room, she began by removing the sheets, pillow cases, and quilt from the bed, having the dungeon absorb them. Then she created a new set for 35 MP, which took her next to no time to earn. If it was just Seraphina in the dungeon, it may have required her to wait an entire half an hour to earn that much, but that hadn''t been the case since she first transmigrated to this world. There were already about a half dozen people in the dungeon to generate mana for her, so she barely had to wait five minutes to make that amount, ensuring she''d have plenty to replace the bedding in all of the rooms she was cleaning and then some.


    Next up, she wiped down all of the surfaces in the room with her new cleaning supplies. Since this was one of the smaller rooms, that only amounted to two end tables and a corner desk. The larger rooms would take far longer to attend to, but it wasn''t like she had anything better to do with her time anyways. After checking to see if more firewood needed to be summoned for the room, she moved on to the next. While she couldn''t exactly feel temperature differences in the dungeon, Seraphina had once mentioned to her that the tropical rainforest tended to be hot while the inn side was perfectly cozy. That made it so people rarely used the firewood for more than cooking, but it was easy enough to provide, so Veronica still restocked it every day.


    As she was walking out of the last small inn room, a young woman came hurrying over towards her in a panic-stricken state. Noticing that she had just walked out of the inn room behind her, the young woman seemed confused as she asked


    "Are you the housekeeper or something? It''s good to see the Dungeon Master has found some help, it was rough for the month when there wasn''t anyone. Did you happen to see a necklace in there? It was my mother''s and I seem to be missing it..."


    Veronica frowned as she took in the tall woman''s expression. This one was very chatty, even despite how worried she seemed. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she replied


    "If you left anything in your room, it was probably absorbed by the dungeon. I can check and see if that is the case, but you''ll have to leave this half of the dungeon long enough for me to do so. Anyhow, it seems we skipped greetings. I''m Veronica, can I ask for your name?"


    The young woman blinked in surprise before replying


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Oh! Sorry about that! I''m Amelia. I''d really appreciate it if you could do that. You must have a good relationship with the Dungeon Master if you can ask them about something like that. I''d really appreciate your help. You know, that''s a funny coincidence. Your name is just like the one used in the dungeon name!"


    Veronica gave the young woman a flat look as she waited for it to click. When she just stared blankly at her, she sighed as she explained


    "That''s because I am the Dungeon Master. I don''t have anyone on staff to take care of things. Well, maybe the one will-o''-wisp in the reception room, but I don''t know how much they do."


    Amelia backed up in surprise, seeming a bit panicked, glancing back as she seemed to consider running away. Well, that was just great. She was actually trying to be friendly, for once, and the one person she had talked with since arriving in this world, besides Seraphina, wanted to run away from her. With an irritated tone, Veronica reassured the half-giant woman


    "I''m not going to harm you. I can''t access my dungeon system to check for your necklace, though, so long as you, or any other adventurers are in the area. So, I''ll need you to come back later. However, I was wondering if you could do me a favor in return?"


    Veronica watched as Amelia visibly relaxed, her posture straightening and her gaze more steady, as she replied


    "I''m not sure how much help I could be, but I''m happy to help however I can. Do you need something passed on to the local guildmaster or maybe you need to get a hold of the local Lord? I can also see about having your dungeon diplomat summoned to your dungeon, if that is the problem."


    Well, that hadn''t been what she was expecting. Was it considered normal for Dungeon Masters to ask adventurers to pass on information on their behalf in this world? That wasn''t really what she was looking for, though. Shaking her head, she replied


    "That''s not actually it. I was hoping you could ask a local craftsman if they''d be willing to help me with a project. I need a special cart made to make cleaning rooms easier for me. I can''t make one myself, but I''d be happy to compensate them with anything I am capable of making in exchange for them crafting one for me. Of course, since you''d be playing messenger for me, I''d be happy to create a copy of your necklace for you, assuming it has been absorbed by my dungeon. If it isn''t on this half, it''s possible you lost it on the other half, but I''d have to wait until that side clears out before I''d know."


    Amelia looked thoughtful as she considered her proposition. After a moment, she asked


    "Do you have any notes or blueprints for what you are wanting made? It would be easier to see if anyone is interested if I had something like that to show the craftsmen. I''m not sure they''d be willing to come to the dungeon without an escort, so that would take longer and they''d likely be hesitant about doing so if they weren''t confident they can fulfill your request."


    Veronica hadn''t thought of that. She didn''t have any paper or ink to draw such a thing with. Shaking her head, she answered


    "Not yet, I don''t have the materials needed to write with or draw something up. I''d need to make some paper and ink first. I can try to have that by tonight, if you can come back around then? I should know for sure if your necklace was lost here or not by then."


    Amelia quickly agreed and then left to rejoin her party. That wasn''t as bad as Veronica had been expecting. As it turned out, she did have a necklace among her tributes. It was labeled as a tiger''s eye pendant necklace. Hopefully, it was the right one, but it wasn''t exactly expensive to make a copy of it. Just 5 MP since it was just a carved bit of tiger''s eye stone on a cord. A tiger''s eye stone was 2 MP, so that wasn''t exactly surprising.


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 4 DP to research paper using the [Base Resources] wood and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research an inkwell with charcoal ink using the [Base Resources] glass, iron, charcoal, honey, and water?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 4 DP to research duck feather quill pen using the [Base Resource] duck feather?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica didn''t actually know anything about making ink from scratch, but it seems the dungeon system did. Made sense since this world likely has had it available for some time. 18 DP to research everything and 9 MP to create a set of everything wasn''t bad either. Still, that would have to be saved for until after she finished cleaning everything. She still had to take care of a few of the large rooms as well as the public bathrooms.


    It was almost hysterical just how far her dungeon points could go when she wasn''t building new challenges. Everything she had researched, thus far, today was so cheap that it barely felt like a drop in the bucket compared to her total. As she was in a really good mood after meeting Amelia, she decided to splurge on a few more luxuries for her inn patrons to enjoy.


    Veronica researched cardboard so she could research rolls of toilet paper for the bathrooms. That just required wood for everything, funnily enough. Wood pulp was used to make cardboard and paper products. While she didn''t know all of the specifics of how it was processed, she knew just enough for the dungeon system to make it work. For the women, she also researched boxes of pads, which were nothing like the modern-day version. She didn''t know how to make adhesive and it was pretty much just a cotton filling sewed into a cotton covering. Well, before the 1970s pads were held in place with safety pins or a sanitary belt anyways. A fact she only knew because she had researched it out of curiosity one time.


    In order to store the toilet paper and boxes of pads, she had to place a wooden cupboard above the toilets in the public bathrooms and large inn rooms. Between the two, she ended up having to spend 60 DP plus a whole lot of mana, but she knew well how important such things were, even if she no longer required them herself. It really was a weird thing for her body to be capable of consuming food without needing to use the bathroom. How was that even possible via physics? Perhaps, her stomach was like a dungeon, absorbing things into nothingness. It was impossible to know.


    Lastly, she spent 12 DP to research peppermint lye bar soap. Unlike other soaps, lye soap can be made from animal fat, hardwood ashes, water, and any aromatics you want to use. Her mother had tried a number of projects over the years and her father had been supportive as he made a space for her to sell them in a mini gift shop section of their bed and breakfast. The guests seemed to really like all the kitschy homemade guests, so Veronica couldn''t exactly blame her father since everything turned out just fine and her mother was happy.

 1.34 Impatience

    Another week passed and Veronica was starting to feel antsy. Dungeon traffic was beginning to increase and a few adventurers had already made it past her first challenge. It would only be a matter of time before they''d be storming her dungeon core room, she just knew it. Even despite Seraphina''s reassurances that she would ensure no harm would come to her or the dungeon, she couldn''t help but feel unsettled.


    A few days ago, she had tentatively agreed to accept training from Seraphina again. Before that, she had left for a few days to attend to business outside of the dungeon. Veronica didn''t see much point in holding a grudge unless she was actually going to do something about it. Since she couldn''t do anything to the dungeon core without it harming herself, something she really wasn''t a fan of, and Seraphina wasn''t the main guilty party, she had decided it was time to move on. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity to learn martial arts from the elven woman and she really wasn''t making much progress training by herself.


    The main problem she had now was that she couldn''t help but want to continue building on the dungeon side of things. It was like being bitten by a mosquito and having very little impulse control, it was only a matter of time before you''d end up scratching it, even if it meant scratching yourself raw. It didn''t matter what the consequences were, the sweet relief of giving into the urge to scratch the itch felt so worth it.


    That was why Veronica was now heading over to the dungeon side while it was still empty of adventurers. Seraphina was deep asleep in her inn room and it would be too late to stop her by the time she awoke. Despite the fact that the elven woman hadn''t said a single word on the matter, nor had she been hovering to ensure she didn''t start building again, Veronica couldn''t help but feel like there was an overwhelming feeling of disapproval emanating from her.


    Perhaps she was projecting her own feelings onto Seraphina. It didn''t even matter whether she was aware of what she was doing or not. It was the dungeon itself she had to be wary of and it was never going to be separated from her. Still, the dungeon core and system didn''t exactly answer her questions the way another person might. There were no warnings about her overdoing things and there was a limit to its knowledge.


    Asking questions about the outside world would be met with silence whereas questions about if she could make something specific would be met with a system prompt, if it was possible at all. Either she''d be told she was missing the ingredients required or met with silence if both she and the system were lacking the knowledge required. It all felt a lot like talking to a computer program or something similar, which left Veronica feeling more than a little frustrated.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Taking things slow seemed like the safest bet. So, Veronica simply built six new [Monster] field rooms and a space for a new challenge room. The [Monster] fields got 50 MP spawners and three gargoyles each. She''d leave the challenge room empty, for now, but she doubted it would be very long before that too was taken care of.


    On the inn side, she spent 40 DP to research 9-Units by 11-Units rooms before building twelve of them in between the space used for the large and small inn rooms. These would be the last inn rooms she planned to incorporate into the first floor since she needed the rest of the space for a kitchen and tavern space. The alcohol and food ingredients would prove quite useful for that particular endeavor, she was sure.


    Since she didn''t want to overdo things, she decided to stop at that, for today. It wouldn''t do much to slow down, much less stop, the adventurers, but it still made her feel a bit better. She only wanted to test the waters and ensure that she didn''t end up losing another month, or longer, of her life once more. There were other things she could work on in the meantime, anyhow.


    For example, the other week, she had met Amelia. After returning her necklace, the young half-giant woman had been so grateful that she had promised to do all she could to convince the local craftsman to take on the project. She wasn''t certain how much payment they would require and even if they would accept anything outside of the coins that served as currency in this world. Veronica knew that was a bit of a long shot as well. However, they both agreed to remain optimistic and she was supposed to return once she had news either way.


    That hadn''t happened yet, but Veronica decided it wasn''t worth worrying about. It didn''t matter much whether adventurers were trustworthy or not since she could mitigate her losses. She hadn''t spent more than a few dungeon points for some ink and paper, which she was enjoying using for other purposes as well. Her mana costs were a moot point since she could easily earn more and it wasn''t like she wanted her entire life in this world to consist of nothing but dungeon management, anyhow.


    While she was well aware that there needed to be some level of trust between her and the people of this world, she wasn''t really sure where to draw the line. Seraphina had painted a picture of reclusive Dungeon Masters and nervous adventurers worried about getting killed off if they made the wrong move while interacting with a Dungeon Master. Those like herself were meant to be treated with the same respect one might treat a member of the royal family, always addressing them with a proper title, but interactions were also so rare that everyone seemed to spend the whole time panicking.


    As Veronica was more interested in running an inn and tavern than playing the role of Dungeon Master, that wasn''t going to work for her. Sure, she wanted to do all that she could to preserve her life and ensure no one could cut it short, but it wasn''t ideal that she had gotten so absorbed in preventing it that she had forgotten about her own dreams and goals. Maybe this forced break was, secretly, a good thing. It had given her enough time to herself that she could focus on what she wanted in her daily life rather than just dungeon management. Now, she just needed to figure out where to go from here.

 1.35 Hedge Maze

    Over the next week, Veronica continued to earn more dungeon points. As the inn traffic was steadily increasing, she had earned 930 DP from room rentals alone. Meanwhile, she had only earned 294 DP from tributes with only a few new [Items] and [Base Resources] being unlocked. This included: Japanese barberry hedges, Japanese holly hedges, elderflower nectar, and a woven grass mat.


    The hedges were quite useful since she planned to utilize them in her next challenge room. However, it was still disappointing to see just how few new tributes she was receiving each week. There were thousands of species of plants alone in her old world and this one was surely the same. It was most likely just that the resources collected in the area were the most common type of tribute she''d receive and that the adventurers who visited her dungeon thought too much alike. It didn''t matter how many different minerals there were in the world if most people could only afford the cheaper ones like limestone or quartz. That was simply just how things worked.


    While her focus wasn''t on the dungeon side of things as much as it used to be, she still needed certain resources for the inn. She''d have to come up with another way to obtain what she needed for the upgrades if she couldn''t rely purely on the luck of the draw. That would mean making new friends and hoping they followed through better than Amelia had with the cart. After this long, it seemed wholly unlikely that she''d be returning at all, which was a shame since it would have been nice to have confirmation she couldn''t or wouldn''t help.


    Sighing, she finished making her way into the space she had set aside for her newest challenge room. It wasn''t entirely necessary to be in the room she was working on and she certainly didn''t usually bother walking the whole way over, but it just felt right this time. The trees were dense around the outer edges, but the rest of the room was vast with trees nearly spaced out and grass underfoot. The air felt refreshing and the sun felt warm on her skin, even if it was likely mostly imagined since she didn''t truly get cold or hot anymore.


    It had taken some time to decide how to build the new hedge maze she planned to build today. She had to first decide which plant to use. She had some flowering options that could, technically, work, but had wanted something more plain. From the two newest options, the Japanese holly hedges seemed the most fitting for that as they were a nice evergreen color without any flowers or other details added in. Meanwhile, the Japanese barberry was spotted with little red berries, which would affect the aesthetic she was going for.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    It was a bit funny to think about a plant even being called "Japanese" in this world. Surely they didn''t have anywhere that went by such a name here? The kingdom she was in was known as the Rosefall Empire and most of the cities and towns were supposed to have equally inspired names that just screamed elven with how they related to nature. Bluecove City wasn''t super flowery, but even it was clearly named after the water it was surrounded by.


    Veronica could only suppose that it must be her system relaying the information based on the world she had come from and what would be most familiar to her. Strange considering she had never heard of these plants before now so whatever the local name is would be equally as fitting. Of course, it didn''t really matter, she was just distracting herself because she was nervous. Even with how much time has passed and the fact that this room would be far less dangerous than the other two, she still worried she''d once more be punished by the dungeon core.


    Shaking her head, she balled her fists before relaxing then, repeating the process a few times before beginning on the work she had come here to do. Veronica had decided to arrange the maze to form the word "Tavern" as it seemed like a fun idea and would also serve as a reminder.


    Whenever she went to build anything in the dungeon her vision would shift until she had a bird''s eye view and could see an overlay for building. It reminded her of when she used to play the Sims games, before she transmigrated. It had been disorienting the first few times she had attempted it, but she had already grown used to it. Now, it felt like second nature and she could easily shift from one perspective to another.


    Since the challenge room was made up entirely of hedge bushes, it cost her nothing to set the maze itself up. The only costs came from researching a reward, setting the challenge with its reward, setting the room theme, and locking the door. Just as it always did, 300 dungeon points were deducted for the room theme and door locking portion. It had taken her 50 DP to research a luxury green silk bathrobe and another 50 DP to set up the challenge with the reward.


    As she had, previously, used a comb and mirror set as well as a luxury green towel set for challenge rewards, it seemed fitting to do a bathrobe this time. Besides that, the same reasons as before still applied this time around. She had a public bathhouse, which meant the robes would be useful there, thus it served as a free advertisement. This trend was, honestly, likely to continue for the next few floors as well.


    As she was running out of room on the first floor, this would be the last challenge room for the floor. Veronica wasn''t in a hurry to build anything else, but she knew it really was just a matter of getting a boss room built and paying to unlock the next floor. Since she still had 7,819 DP remaining and could easily earn more, it was unlikely that would be difficult at all.

 1.36 Kitchen Amenities

    The next day, Veronica decided to work on a slightly different project from usual. She was relieved the dungeon core wasn''t retaliating towards her for continuing to progress the dungeon now that she had slowed things down and wasn''t pushing her luck by making the challenges too difficult. However, that didn''t change the fact that she wanted to start working on the tavern side of things.


    In order to open a tavern, she was going to need all sorts of cooking vessels and dishware. This would also be useful for her larger inn rooms, which she was charging an entire 50 DP per night to rent out, so she was plenty willing to splurge on things a bit. Once she finished cleaning all the inn rooms for the day, she went to one of the large inn rooms and began to research new [Items] and will them into existence as she filled the kitchen with the new amenities.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 80 DP to research a twenty-piece silverware set including four soup spoons, four teaspoons, four salad forks, four dinner forks, and four butter knives using the [Base Resources] silver and copper?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research glass tumblers using the [Base Resource] glass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research glass ale mugs using the [Base Resource] glass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wine glasses using the [Base Resource] glass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research champagne glasses using the [Base Resource] glass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    As her tavern would be selling alcohol, she needed a variety of different glasses to serve it in. Beer, mead, and ale could all be served in the ale mugs. Meanwhile, wine and fizzy drinks would need their own special glasses. While she drank occasionally, it was always rather casually, so she wasn''t super aware of all the benefits of the different styles of glasses. Mostly she just knew it had something to do with the air exposure affecting the taste of the drink.


    Of course, it was still up for debate whether she could even create something like champagne in the first place. If this world didn''t have plastic or baking soda then it was unlikely it had carbonated water or anything else to unlock it as a [Base Resource]. She''d have to hope she could get by with experimenting with air magic after, somehow, obtaining an air magic crystal. It certainly hadn''t been among the ones Seraphina had brought her in the early days of her dungeon.


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 80 DP to research an eight-piece gold-rimmed ceramic dinnerware set including two dinner plates, two dessert plates, two soup bowls, and two dessert bowls using the [Base Resources] clay, white dye, and gold?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research ten-piece gold-rimmed ceramic tea set including one teapot, one sugar bowl, one milk jug, two tea cups, two saucers, two spoons, and a golden storage rack using the [Base Resources] clay, white dye, iron, and gold?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a 3-tier gold-rimmed cake stand using the [Base Resources] clay, white dye, and gold?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica was more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker and certainly had never been into afternoon tea, nor had she played tea party when she was young. Still, it seemed like too good of an opportunity for matching dishware to pass it up. It was unfortunate, though, that she had to reduce the pieces to only be enough for two people instead of four just so it would be within her mana cap limit.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a five-piece stainless steel cooking set including one frying pan, one saute pan, one saucepan, one dutch oven, and one stock pot using the [Base Resource] steel?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 25 DP to research a stainless steel wok using the [Base Resource] steel?


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research cast iron waffle iron using the [Base Resources] iron and coal?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a two-piece cast iron griddle and grill set using the [Base Resources] iron and coal?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a six-piece stainless steel bakeware set including one cupcake tray, one bread pans, one cookie sheet, one pizza pan, and one cake pan using the [Base Resource] steel?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a three-piece glass bakeware set including one pie pan, one brownie pan, and one roasting pan using the [Base Resource] glass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This part was, perhaps, the most important part of what she was making today. Thankfully, she had taken several culinary arts classes for her hospitality major in college as she knew it was likely she''d be the primary one using these new pans in the kitchen she built for the tavern. While Amelia''s suggestion of hiring staff was an interesting idea, she just wasn''t quite at the stage where she was ready to attempt such a thing just yet. It would certainly have helped if she had a reliable helper from outside of the dungeon to help her, but she didn''t really feel like she did.


    Things had certainly improved with Seraphina, but their relationship wasn''t so much that of friends as it was merely amicable. They didn''t hate each other and they didn''t go out of their way to sabotage one another, but they weren''t exactly divulging their darkest secrets to one another either. That was fine since Veronica had always been a bit of a loner and didn''t feel it was worth it to worry about making friends. If both parties weren''t willing to put in the effort and didn''t enjoy each other''s company, then that was that. There was no use crying over it.


    Looking over the room, she couldn''t help but feel like there was still something missing. She couldn''t exactly cook without utensils to do so with. Even despite her supernaturally enhanced memory, it was quite clear that her new state of being was already taking its toll. It would have been too easy to forget she needed things like mixing spoons or a spatula to cook with had she not really taken the time to study the room and consider the matter. Hopefully, running the tavern would help her remember her human roots instead of letting everything fall to the wayside.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 70 DP to research a seven-piece knife block set including one wooden storage block, one honing rod, one kitchen shears, one chef''s knife, one serrated bread knife, one boning knife, and one paring knife using the [Base Resources] steel and wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research six-piece utensil set including one gold-rimmed ceramic jar, one wooden ladle, one wooden mixing spoon, one wooden slotted spoon, one wooden serving spoon, and one wooden spatula using the [Base Resources] clay, white dye, gold, and wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a wooden cutting board using the [Base Resource] wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a three-piece glass mixing bowl set using the [Base Resource] glass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a four-piece stainless steel measuring cup set using the [Base Resource] steel?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a four-piece stainless steel measuring spoon set using the [Base Resource] steel?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a glass liquid measuring cup using the [Base Resource] glass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a wooden colander using the [Base Resource] wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Everything was still rather basic and really only covered the basics, but Veronica decided this would do for now. She had already spent 985 DP and nearly 500 MP just to fill the kitchen with all of the new [Items] she wanted. If she really wanted anything else, it could wait for another time. As it was, it would take several days to fill all twelve of her 18-Units by 18-Units inn room''s kitchens with the new kitchen amenities. She sure hoped the adventurers didn''t feel inclined to steal any of it either as she was most definitely not willing to replace this stuff all of the time. She''d have to look into some anti-theft options another day, though, as she had no idea where to start as was honestly exhausted mentally from what little work she had done.


    The large cost really didn''t bother her that much. She still had more than 6,000 dungeon points left, even before considering whatever tributes and room rentals she had gotten the night before and would receive today. Besides which, it would be nice to be able to fill her own room with the same kitchen supplies she had filled this inn room with. Maybe she could have a better meal than the few [Items] she had unlocked via tributes, though even that would be limited until she spent some more dungeon points on turning the ingredients under her [Base Resources] into [Items].


    As it turned out, she might unlock things like oats, salt, sugar, cinnamon, etc. from someone giving her cinnamon oatcakes as a tribute, but she couldn''t just summon the individual ingredients until she researched them. She only had the oatcakes themselves unlocked under [Items] and the ability to use the ingredients to research new things since they were listed under the [Base Resources]. It wasn''t a huge deal, really, but it was still rather annoying.

 Contest Announcement

    Since everyone had so much fun with the last contest, I thought it would be fun to do another. However, this one will be a bit simpler in order to allow more people to participate and will include both the TDCD and TID audiences. Since the contest is simpler this time around, the deadline will be shorter and the rewards won''t be as generous.


    Rewards:


    1st Place:


    <ul>


    <li>PDF copy of volume one of TDCD</li>


    <li>PDF copy of volume one of TID</li>


    <li>PDF copy of book one of TDCD Diary</li>


    <li>Copy of the TDCD 2024 Calender</li>


    <li>15 TDCD-themed digital coloring pages</li>


    <li>Shout-Out for story of your choice</li>


    </ul>


    2nd Place:


    <ul>


    <li>PDF copy of volume one of TDCD</li>


    <li>PDF copy of volume one of TID</li>


    <li>Shout-Out for story of your choice</li>


    </ul>


    3rd Place


    <ul>


    <li>PDF copy of either volume one of TDCD or TID</li>


    <li>Copy of the TDCD 2024 Calender</li>


    <li>15 TDCD-themed digital coloring pages</li>


    <li>Shout-Out for story of your choice</li>


    </ul>


    Bonus (Random Number Generator)


    <ul>


    <li>Copy of the TDCD 2024 Calender</li>


    <li>15 TDCD-themed digital coloring pages</li>


    <li>Shout-Out for story of your choice</li>


    </ul>


    Contest Entry:


    To enter the contest all you have to do is to comment below with ideas for skills you''d like to see either Violet of TDCD or Veronica of TID to potentially unlock in the future. You should include a name for the skill and a brief description, but try to keep it on theme for the story. The winners will be decided based on vote here where the other readers will decide which ones sound the coolest, most creative, etc. I will have the right to alter and use the skills later in the story as I please, but there is no guarantee a skill will be used, regardless of whether it wins in this contest or not. As per usual, skills will still be part of a Patreon vote with each new floor, so even if I like it, the Patreon subscribers also have to vote for it. So, mostly just think about this as a fun thing to participate in and don''t take it too seriously.


    Deadline:


    The deadline for submissions is October 30, 2024 or 3 Weeks from now. I will be compiling all of the submissions to post them as a single ''chapter'' within this book and then holding a vote where the readers can choose whose entry they like the best. The voting portion will only be available for a single week and will end on November 6, 2024 with prizes being sent out ASAP after that. I plan to leave the contest entries up indefinitely for all to enjoy, even after the contest ends.


    Info:


    I figure it would be good to include the skills currently available for Patreon subscribers to vote on as well as a brief summary for each story in case not everyone reads both.The Dangerously Cute Dungeon:


    Has a cinnamon roll MC with a focus on cute dungeon monster, skills, and floor themes. Rather than going on the offensive, Violet tends to try to make friends with the adventurers, but she will kill if provoked into doing so.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Recall


    </td>


    <td>


    Instantly teleport from anywhere in the dungeon to the dungeon core room. Can be used even on floors where non-dungeon entities are present.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Guest List


    </td>


    <td>


    Displays a list of non-dungeon entities currently in the dungeon alongside their classification, classes, rank, and location.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Gluttony


    </td>


    <td>


    Any non-living, non-dungeon [Items] left in a designated tribute room will be absorbed immediately rather than after the dungeon has been cleared of non-dungeon entities.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Achievements Masterlist


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to set challenges that aren''t tied to a specific room with rewards to entice non-dungeon entities with. Will appear as a hidden feature that can only be discovered after completing the relevant tasks.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Magic Mail


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows for sending pieces of writing and small packages in exchange for an equivalent exchange of mana so long as the basic identifying information is available.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Pop-up Shop


    </td>


    <td>


    Items in a designated sales space can be sold to non-dungeon entities via a system prompt. Includes an inbuilt option to prevent theft, but can only be set up in a single enclosed room.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Inventory


    </td>


    <td>


    A system-provided space for the dungeon master to store [Items] in where they will not be lost when the dungeon resets. The space grows alongside the dungeon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Save Point


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the dungeon master to build a room with a teleportation circle on every floor that allows dungeon entities and non-dungeon entities to quickly travel between floors. Non-dungeon entities must defeat the designated boss [Monster] on a floor before they can unlock access to travel for that floor.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The Innkeeper''s Dungeon:


    Has an MC that once dreamed of inheriting her parent''s bed & breakfast and is considered to have anger issues and a desire for independence, but ends up becoming much more bloodthirsty and violent while having a more ''money'' attitude towards business after being pushed too far. Maybe one day she''ll learn to love and trust again... All of her skills have to be related to the inn & tavern.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Masterkey


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows for better lock controls on inn & tavern doors including designating rooms as a larger variety of room types with more strict controls on who can access the space. Does not affect rooms outside of the tavern & inn side of the dungeon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Staff Elevator


    </td>


    <td>


    Automatically builds a magic elevator with a teleportation circle on every floor that allows inn staff and supplies to quickly move between floors.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Housekeeping


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to auto-clean and straighten a room at a cost of 10 MP per use. Includes restocking supplies that were previously stocked in the room when the room was first designated as an inn room.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Guest Profiling


    </td>


    <td>


    Displays a list of non-dungeon entities currently in the dungeon alongside their classification, classes, rank, location, temperament, and hospitality preferences.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tranquil Retreat


    </td>


    <td>


    This crowd-control skill turns the tavern side of the dungeon into a non-combat area with a non-stressful, relaxing environment. Non-dungeon entities who violate the non-combat rule will be banned from the premises permanently.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Surveillance


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the dungeon master to view all areas of the dungeon as if they were looking through a window into the room. Rooms that have been rented out for private use are off-limits to maintain guests'' privacy.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Forecasting


    </td>


    <td>


    System prompts will be delivered to the dungeon master at set intervals displaying relevant information about events outside of the dungeon so that they can plan ahead for the resulting effect on the tavern''s traffic.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Logistics


    </td>


    <td>


    Adds a new menu to the [Status Menu] screen that can be used to monitor supply levels, manage staff, and change prices remotely.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Gift Shop


    </td>


    <td>


    Items in a designated sales space can be sold to non-dungeon entities via a system prompt. Includes an inbuilt option to prevent theft, but can only be set up in a single enclosed room per floor.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Credit


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows non-dungeon entities to submit tributes in exchange for points that can be used at any time in the future. If they perish before the points are used, the remainder is automatically transferred to the dungeon master.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Magic Advertisements


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows for sending pieces of writing and small packages in exchange for an equivalent exchange of mana. However, the location will be random unless the required basic identifying information is available.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Sorry about the spoilers for anyone who didn''t want them. If it helps, some of these aren''t even used in the later volumes and the order they are listed in aren''t necessarily the order they show up in the story, so you still don''t know which ones they''ll unlock and when. These are just some of the ones I''ve already come up with for the Patreon subscribers to vote on and I really think they''ll be useful for helping you to come up with your own for the contest.I''ll be posting this same notification on all sites I post on for both TDCD and TID, so you only need to read this notice once, not in every book of mine you follow.

 1.37 Housekeeping Cart

    Amelia was excited today as the housekeeping cart she had been working on helping the local Dungeon Master, Veronica, obtain was finally ready. It had taken longer than she had expected to get everything prepared, but her party members had been encouraging and understanding the entire time. In fact, they had even willingly accepted an escort quest without pay to help her out.


    You see, the leader of the carpenter''s workshop, Juniper Evergreen, had offered to make the wooden elements of the housekeeping cart in exchange for her party escorting her team through the dungeon while they harvested more wood. They didn''t quite need the wood yet, that was obvious by the piles of lumber they had, but Amelia was hardly going to argue on the matter. She wanted to return Veronica''s kindness for returning her keepsake and a single day without pay was hardly a big deal in the long run.


    As for the technical elements of the housekeeping cart, that was being handled by master blacksmith Rulvion. The base of the cart was being made from dungeon wood to keep it light and reinforced enough to withstand being used for years to come. Meanwhile, things like the wheels and axle as well as figuring out all of the hinges on the cart were left to the blacksmith workshop.


    There were other carts that the two workshops had worked on before and that were even for sale on the market, but no one had seen a design quite like the one Veronica had drawn up. If it weren''t for the fact that they all wanted to keep the local Dungeon Master happy, they likely would have wanted far more compensation than they had asked for. It was actually because everyone had a great deal for Dungeon Masters that Rulvion had even agreed to supply the materials and handle the work himself in exchange for her putting a good word in with Veronica.


    You see, Dungeon Masters were known for their long lifespans and their ability to remember people. If someone upset a Dungeon Master, they not only risked their own lives being lost in the dungeon, but also everyone who shared the same name and features. Sometimes the entire local population would suffer for it as the dungeon grew more dangerous and the death rate rapidly increased. [Monster] stampedes could also be initiated by a Dungeon Master and could end up happening frequently enough that the dungeon would no longer be safe for anyone to enter.


    Luckily, contracted [Monsters] could only travel two floors away from where they were assigned so only the first and second floor ones could leave the dungeon. Since they always tended to be fairly weak, compared to what could be found deeper in the dungeon, it was unlikely there would be too much issue outside the dungeon. Regardless, no one wanted a Dungeon Master to think poorly of them.


    There was also the opposite end of the spectrum as well. If a Dungeon Master liked you, it was possible you and your kin would be treated more favorably. Craftsmen might be able to collect resources without having to worry about dying to the [Monsters] that guarded the dungeon. Other times the Dungeon Master would offer special gifts or share technology with them that could make them rich. All sorts of possibilities existed and it truly was seen as an opportunity that couldn''t be missed.


    "Ah! Miss Amelia, you''re finally here! Just give me a moment and I''ll bring the cart out for you."


    Rulvion said. She merely smiled in acknowledgement as she patiently waited. It didn''t take long before he came out pushing the cart, which stood at a height that was comical compared to his own short stature. One of the questions she had had to answer when getting the cart made was what sort of creature the Dungeon Master most resembled so the cart could be made accordingly. Since Veronica appeared to be human with a similar stature, they had made the dimensions of the cart accordingly, which meant it wasn''t as easy for a dwarf, like Rulvion, to push it around.


    "Thank you! Well, I better get going. I don''t want to make Mistress Veronica wait any longer than necessary."


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Rulvion grunted in response, fiddling with something as he called out behind her


    "Don''t forget to mention my role in making the cart! I worked quite hard on it, you know!"


    Amelia said nothing in response as she exited the shop. She was joined by her party members outside who had volunteered to escort her to the dungeon. The last thing she needed was to have the cart damaged if anything happened. It was already difficult enough to push the metal wheels across the rough cobblestone of the street, much less how difficult it would be to traverse the narrow land bridge that leads to the dungeon.


    When Amelia arrived at the dungeon, Veronica was surprised to see her pushing a cart that resembled the one she had drawn up blueprints for. It didn''t quite look like the modern-day ones, which were made from plastic and, usually, black in color. This one was mostly brown with a wooden body and either iron or steel bits here and there. The young girl pushing the cart seemed to be out of breath and embarrassed as she presented the cart to her, two male adventurers standing a bit back from them.


    "Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I''ve been busy and the workshop leaders weren''t quite sure how well they''d be able to make the cart since it was a new design they had never tried out before. So, what do you think?"


    Veronica still wasn''t sure how to feel about everything. She had already given up on getting any help from Amelia and had thought she''d have to find another way. The housekeeping cart looked quite nice, though. It had a lower area with shelving for storing things, a middle section with a small cubby hole to stock things like toilet paper, and the top-most portion with a divided area for carrying towels and cleaning supplies. The front-most portion of the cart had a panel that could be lifted up to place a bag into for holding dirty cloths, the side had areas for slotting in a broom and a dustpan with a handle, and the very front had an area for her to place a mop and bucket. It was just the frame, she''d have to make her own mop, bucket, broom, dustpan, and everything else to fill the cart with, but it was still exactly what she had wanted.


    "Everything looks fine to me. They did a good job of following my blueprints, as rough as they were. I''m surprised they decided to go with steel for the metal, surely bronze would have been cheaper?"


    Amelia seemed nervous, but just as bubbly as ever as she replied


    "Ah, yes, well, everyone was eager to make you a high-quality product. That''s dungeon wood too, actually. You don''t have to worry about making an exchange in return for the cart either. My party members, Coryas and Elwin, actually helped me escort some people from the carpenter''s workshop to help cover the costs there. Juniper Evergreen was really quite nice about the whole thing. The master blacksmith, Rulvion, also worked quite hard on everything. He was really impressed by your design, we don''t have anything like it."


    Veronica raised an eyebrow in surprise. She wasn''t being expected to pay them anything in return? That certainly made the wait and lack of communication seem like a much smaller deal when she took that into consideration. Feeling generous, she replied


    "Well, he is free to use my blueprint and make more carts. I can make copies of this one, so their work will live on for as long as my dungeon does. I hardly mind if they want to recoup some of their costs by selling the cart to other businesses. They may need to design other cleaning supplies, though, if they''re going to make use of it."


    That piqued Amelia''s curiosity, so she asked


    "How is the cart used exactly?"


    Veronica took her time, explaining each element she planned to add to the cart and what purpose it would serve. When she finished speaking, the young girl replied


    "Oh! It sounds like you really know what you''re doing. Are you really going to keep doing the ''housekeeping'' yourself, though? That doesn''t really seem like something someone like you should have to do, Mistress Veronica."


    Wrinkling her nose up in discomfort, she replied


    "Don''t call me that. I''d prefer to be called Lady Veronica or something similar. It just sounds wrong hearing something as stuffy as ''madam'' or as weird as ''mistress'' attached to my name."


    "Yes, Lady Veronica! I''ll make sure to inform everyone at the guild right away!"


    With that the erratic young woman ran off with her two party members in tow.

 1.38 Full-Scale Cleaning

    With a new housekeeping cart, Veronica decided it was a good time to invest in a proper set of cleaning supplies to use. Thankfully, she had plenty of dungeon points saved up! Over the last few days she had received 49 DP from repeat tributes, 115 DP from new tributes, and 390 DP from room rentals. There weren''t very many new tributes, but she did manage to get some straw, a waterskin, a hairbrush, and some smoked salmon. It was a rather random assortment, but there had been some useful [Base Resources] among them and she was now sitting at 7,398 dungeon points.


    As she didn''t want to start walking around to clean until she had all the research done and her cart stocked, just in case her system access got cut off, Veronica decided to get started on the research work.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research brooms using the [Base Resources] wood, twine, and straw?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research upright dust pans using the [Base Resource] wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research mop buckets with wringer using the [Base Resources] wood and steel?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research mops using the [Base Resources] wood, undyed thread, and undyed cotton?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wet floor signs using the [Base Resources] wood, yellow paint, and black paint?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Thanks to the dungeon having absorbed something with similar technology, her own lacking knowledge regarding wheels and how they attach to things didn''t prevent her from having them as part of her new mop bucket. The bucket would mostly remain on the cart, very rarely being removed, but it was still nice to have the same convenience she''d have enjoyed with the modern version. While she could, technically, create water for mana when she had access to the system, it was much more economically sensible to just fill the bucket with water from one of the many sinks and tubs throughout her inn before adding in some soap solution. Since that would result in a heavy bucket, it was good to have the ability to roll around the bucket, just in case.


    The broom handle and dustpan handle slotted into one side of her cart near the top, allowing it to hang just barely off the ground when she wasn''t using them. They were located on the opposite side from the middle cubby section where she had stored extra toilet paper, feminine pads, and soap for restocking the bathrooms with. As for the mop and bucket, they went in the front and sat just barely off the floor, making it easy to access them whenever she was in need of them. The painted wooden ''wet floor'' signs were hanging from a peg just behind the mop bucket. She doubted the adventurers would be familiar with the concept of the wet floor signs, but it still made her feel better to have them since she was used to using them for safety purposes.


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research leather laundry bags using the [Base Resources] leather and undyed thread?


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research scrub brushes using the [Base Resources] wood and boar fur?


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    Would you like to spend 12 DP to research a toilet brush set using the [Base Resources] wood and boar fur?


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research feather dusters using the [Base Resources] wood, undyed thread, and duck feathers?


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


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    The boar fur for the new cleaning brushes had actually come from the hairbrush she had recently received as a tribute. The brush wasn''t like the common hairbrushes that had well-spaced bristles, but was more like the ''soft'' smoothing hairbrushes that were meant to hurt less when brushing tangled hair, but took longer to complete the process. It felt a bit weird to use boar fur to make the cleaning brushes, but the end results weren''t nearly as bad as she had been expecting.


    The laundry bag went in the front-most compartment on the cart that functioned similarly to the way a trash can might, holding the bag open with a lid that had to be lifted to access it. Veronica planned to use it to hold dirty cleaning gloves, wash cloths, and anything else she would have to wait to dispose of until she was finished cleaning and had access to her system. For that matter, she had materialized a few extra pairs of leather cleaning gloves that she was keeping on the cart so she didn''t have to use the same pair for bathroom cleaning as she did everything else. Since she could absorb them and create new ones each day, it was fine to treat them as disposable.


    The two brushes went on the bottom most shelf in the center portion of the cart. That would ensure she wouldn''t have to smell any unpleasant smells while also keeping them within reach. Meanwhile, the feather duster went right next to the broom and dustpan on one side of the cart. The inn rooms likely didn''t need dusting and weren''t truly dirty, but it still seemed right to do the basic maintenance to keep all the rooms clean and pleasant smelling for her guests.


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    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research blue luxury washcloths using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and blue dye?


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a bottle of sanitizing solution using the [Base Resources] glass bottle, cork, water, alcohol, lemon, and rosemary?


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a bottle of glass cleaner using the [Base Resources] glass bottle, cork, water, vinegar, lemon, and rosemary?


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    While she had previously unlocked a set of green wash cloths to use for cleaning, Veronica decided to make a second set with a different color just so she could use one color exclusively for bathrooms and the other for general cleaning. That would help keep things more sanitary as well as give her guests peace of mind that there wasn''t cross-contamination going on. No one wanted to eat off of a toilet, after all, so it was best to avoid spreading such germs to the kitchen counters and such. In fact, this was a trick she had picked up while she was working for her parents in their bed and breakfast. It felt good to retain such high standards in her new life.


    The cleaning solutions were all very similar to one another. The main differences were that the all-purpose cleaner, she had previously made, used lye soap while the sanitizing solution used alcohol to kill germs. Meanwhile, the glass cleaner used vinegar to help give the glass an extra nice shine. She didn''t exactly have bathroom mirrors yet, now that she thought about it, but that could be left for another day. For now, she just wanted to ensure she had everything she needed for cleaning so she wouldn''t have to keep researching new things for it.


    The blue and green washcloths sat in an indent immediately at the top center-most portion of the cart. Meanwhile, the glass bottles of cleaner sat in front of that so that they were immediately in front of her whenever she went to push the cart. It was still a shame she didn''t have a spray bottle to use, preferably something not made from glass, but she had to make do with what she had. At least the inn floors were nice and smooth so there was no worry of the glass bottles falling off the cart and breaking unless she, or her guests, were being reckless and clumsy.


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research black bandanas using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and black dye?


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research black face masks using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and black dye?


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research black aprons using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and black dye?


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research safety goggles using the [Base Resources] glass, undyed cotton, and undyed thread?


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    This was the last of the research she needed to do before she began cleaning. As she used to enjoy reading manga and watching anime, she had seen Japanese characters dressed in a similar getup for cleaning plenty of times. The bandana would go in their hair to help keep it clean and out of the way, the face mask and safety goggles would keep cleaners from getting in their face, and the apron would protect their clothing. Combined with the leather gloves, it, honestly, made Veronica feel a lot less grossed out and bothered by cleaning bathrooms every morning. Cleaning had never been her favorite part about helping her parents run their bed and breakfast, so it was unsurprising that she didn''t enjoy it now either.


    She had spent 186 DP on researching new cleaning supplies, which brought her total down to 7,212 dungeon points. It really wasn''t too bad for the value she was getting and the mana costs were pretty decent as well. The DP cost to research something was always twice that of the mana cost to create the [Item], so it took her very little time to get the cart stocked. This was good news since she still needed to add more kitchenware to the kitchens in her large inn rooms, which she likely wouldn''t finish today either. It was simply too expensive and more people would show up to her inn sooner or later.

 1.39 Help Wanted

    The next few days passed by rather peacefully. In the mornings, Veronica spent a few hours cleaning the rooms that were rented out the night before. Since the locals and adventurers alike were beginning to utilize them more and more, the time spent cleaning was really beginning to add up. Soon enough, Veronica had to wonder if she wouldn''t end up having to spend full-time hours cleaning the rooms on the first floor alone.


    She could, of course, speed through things, cutting corners, and it was unlikely that anyone would really notice. All non-living things that had left the dungeon could be absorbed by the dungeon once this half was clear of non-dungeon entities. That made it so that it was impossible for there to be trash lying all over the rooms or for her to have to figure out what to do with missing personal belongings. She had returned a copy of Amelia''s necklace to her, but that had only been after she was asked.


    Cleaning was much easier now that she had the proper equipment to do so. Mopping the floors in the main living areas as well as the bathrooms only took a few short minutes. There wasn''t dirt and sticky stuff to scrub off the floor, it was mostly just a matter of making the wood floor squeaky clean and the room smell of lemon and rosemary. The beds would have their bedding swapped out for fresh ones whenever she had access to the system as well as the mana to spare for it, but she hardly stressed about it. She couldn''t exactly fit heavy sheets, pillowcases, and quilts for half a dozen rooms on her cart and there was nowhere else in her dungeon to store them.


    Veronica finished pushing her cart into her room and left it in an empty corner. It was annoying having it in her personal space, reminding her of the work she''d be expected to do the next morning, but it was the only way she could guarantee it wouldn''t be messed with. She''d definitely need to make a cleaning closet or something soon enough. Especially since her next stop was to Seraphina about the possibility of hiring some staff to help her with her inn management.


    "I usually don''t recommend making a system contract with someone else unless you''ve known them long enough to prove themselves trustworthy. Even then, it''s best you avoid it as much as possible. However, employment contracts can be done without the system being involved, so that should be fine. Do you have something in mind for compensation you want to offer?"


    Seraphina asked in a bored tone. Shaking her head, Veronica replied


    "I''m not entirely sure what I have that could be of interest to others. I was hoping you might have some suggestions. I''m willing to supply free lodging in one of the large inn rooms as well as an allotment of food rations each week. However, that doesn''t really feel like enough."


    "Alright, well, what would their job duties entail exactly?"


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    "I have a cleaning cart set up for myself and I''m thinking of setting up a cleaning closet soon as well with extra supplies. I just want someone to go in and clean the inn rooms that were used the night before. They''d need to change the bedding, sweep and mop the floors, dust, wipe all the surfaces down, replace consumables like firewood and toilet paper, and inform me of anything that may be missing like pots and pans from the kitchen. I''d reabsorb the used bedding once the inn is empty and refill the housekeeping cart and janitorial supplies."


    Seraphina raised an eyebrow in question as she asked


    "Why go through so much effort? The dungeon should ensure the rooms aren''t dirty and most people don''t expect clean bedding everyday. Also, it doesn''t really make sense to offer amenities that can so easily be stolen. You know what? Forget I asked, it isn''t my place to question your decisions."


    After a moment of pause to rub her hand across her face in exhaustion, she continued


    "I could offer them free lodging and an allotment of food with magic crystals for payment. Those can be sold outside of the dungeon, so it isn''t much different from directly paying them. One per day should be more than enough to cover their work, but you will have to make some other allotments. You can''t ask them to work on any other floor and they have to be free to leave the dungeon at times. People don''t like to be trapped in a dungeon, especially without being compensated with significantly more than you can, currently, offer."


    They had to spend slightly more time ironing out the final details and then Seraphina left to go into town. She was, apparently, going to get some notices put out as well as getting an official employment contract drawn up. Since the adventurers'' guild''s guildmaster and the local Lord would question what would happen if things were left alone, they also had to be informed of the matter. Then she had to return to the dungeon just so she could teleport to the village of Dungeon Diplomats and discuss the matter with them. As such, Veronica had been informed she would have to practice martial arts by herself today.


    She didn''t mind that, especially when she knew it was for her own sake. It was exhausting to do manual labor every day and she really wasn''t a big fan of cleaning, so it would be nice to get some help. Besides which, this would allow her to concentrate on other goals she had in mind. It would be too difficult to run a tavern, serving alcohol and freshly cooked food, if she had to spend half the day cleaning. She wouldn''t be able to have any free time for herself and working on the dungeon side of things would end up falling to the wayside, which really wasn''t ideal.


    Veronica was hopeful that she''d be able to unlock some new [Monsters] when she unlocked her second floor. At the rate she was currently doing things, that would likely be another month or so. It was already nearly the beginning of summer and she still hadn''t completed the first floor of her dungeon. While it was nice that she had more time to focus on everything else and to learn martial arts from Seraphina, it still felt like a waste. It didn''t matter that she had eternity to build the perfect dungeon, she just wanted to feel safe and it was difficult to relax with only one floor unlocked. Hopefully, that will change with time.

 1.40 Interlude: School Days

    Maevira Reed was the daughter of Ingall Reed, the local alchemist of Bluecove City. She was still rather young yet she was on the brink of her life changing forever. You see, she was in her final year of public schooling with just a few days left before she''d graduate. Now, this hardly meant she was old enough to be considered an adult, but it did mean that it was time for her to make decisive life decisions. Some individuals her age would be sent for higher education at an adventurer school or other higher school of knowledge, others would start seriously pursuing a life as an adventurer or learning how to take over their family farm from their parents.


    However, she had been "lucky" enough to awaken a craftsman class as a tailor and would soon be sent off to apprentice in a nearby city. This meant leaving her father, and other family members behind, to live with complete strangers who would, hopefully, teach her how to hone her skills and level up her class. She likely would not see her father more than a few times a year as she wouldn''t be allowed to travel until her apprenticeship was completed.


    "I think you''re overthinking things! I would kill to have a dad as cool as yours. He even promised to fund a storefront for you once you were ready to open your own shop. A few years of apprenticeship under someone more experienced is nothing compared to that!"


    Her best friend said. This was a common sentiment that most people she had shared the news with had echoed. However, she just didn''t feel ready to go off on her own and it sounded scary to live with complete strangers who might not treat her well. She really wished she could have gotten an alchemy skill, like her father, then she could have stayed with her family. Even being one of the many without a class would have been preferable to this.


    "You know, my family hasn''t had a single person who awakened in several generations. At least, that''s what my father tells me. I doubt anyone was appraised, though, so who knows whether that''s actually true or not."


    another one of her friends chimed in. Maevira chose to continue biting her tongue, lest she say something to ruin their friendship. It was true that it tended to be quite expensive to get a priest to appraise you and the only other way to find out was to go into a dungeon and risk your life long enough to level up and unlock the system. That was far too dangerous for most people to consider, though, so many people likely went about their lives without knowing what the truth was.


    Their school had taught them a lot of basics regarding dungeons and how to be proactive in defending their land and families. However, it wasn''t the same to know how to set up tracks and look for goblins tracks as it was to be able to fight off [Monsters] with your own two hands. Maevira wasn''t exactly capable of doing that either as her class didn''t come with the appropriate skills and stats for combat. She could level up as much as she was capable, but that would never change.


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    You see, stats were not something you could choose to assign based on your personal preferences. The system automatically assigned them based on what was appropriate for your class, the skills you unlocked, your fighting style, etc. She could only ever look forward to becoming more proficient and speedy when it came to designing and creating new outfits. Even the intelligence and speed stats for a craftsman weren''t applied in the same way it would be for a combat class. She wouldn''t suddenly be better at dodging [Traps] and capable of doing high level magic because that just wasn''t what was considered best for her by the system.


    Sighing, she waved her friends off as she said


    "Alright, well, this is my house. I''ll see you all tomorrow morning!"


    Everyone said their goodbyes and then she walked into her home. She lived fairly comfortably in a larger manor than most, but many places were also in need of maintenance. Due to their city slowly turning into a ghost town after the last dungeon disappeared, her father hadn''t been able to make as much income from his business. Her mother did her best to supplement their income with her hobby of sewing, but there were still several mouths in their home to feed. A bit of change here and there from repairing old, worn out outfits or embroidering pretty designs on dresses for special occasions was hardly enough to make a difference.


    Still, Maevira couldn''t complain about the conditions she had grown up in as she knew her parents were doing their best. She always had enough to eat and her mother always ensured she had proper-fitting clothes to wear. Some creaky, old floorboards and walls that were barely patched up with a board and nails were hardly something worth complaining about, in comparison.


    Many of her classmates lived in far worse conditions, as she had long ago learned. Those who had come from farming families for generations tended to live in small homes with only two bedrooms and a main living area. One bedroom was for the parents and the youngest members of the family while the other housed the older children. The kitchen held a few cabinets, a hearth, and a seating area for everyone to eat at. Most nights, people would eat a hard, brown bread with a watered down soup made from whatever ingredients could be scrounged up. Huntings and foraging were common ways of finding food as most of the crops that were grown had to be sold off to more well-off just to afford the basic necessities of life.


    Still, even if she knew her own family was doing better than most, she wanted to help her parents and younger siblings to have a better life. Her father was confident that business would improve now that there was a new dungeon in their town, which was the whole reason he had promised to help her open her own shop when the time came. However, she still had doubts on the matter. It was more likely she would have to live with her parents and work out of their home when she returned. She couldn''t help but feel certain about that, but she still wanted to do her best to bring in enough money so that everyone could live comfortably. She''d just have to work hard to accomplish her goals.

 1.41 Getting Answers

    Veronica sat down, panting heavily as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Seraphina had recently increased the difficulty of their training. However, she was hardly going to complain. It was nice to see her effort recognized, even if she had been warned that she''d have to practice much of what she had already learned for years to come. No one could master anything in just a few days, weeks, or even months. Still, just knowing that she''d be able to better defend herself should Bo ever return was reassuring.


    Ever since she had woken up from her forced hibernation state, the bull-headed adventure had yet to return to the dungeon. At least, she hadn''t seen him, as of yet. She had no way of knowing if he had been visiting the dungeon just to farm without bothering her, but she kind of doubted he would just leave her be. The way he saw her as the final boss of the dungeon, as something to conquer, just seemed to guarantee he would be bothering her, once more, before too long.


    "We should talk."


    Came Seraphina''s voice, sounding more tense than usual. Considering her normally bored tone was missing, Veronica couldn''t help but give her full attention as she said


    "What is it?"


    "You remember how I went to see the elders a while back? Well, I finally got a reply from them. They tend to take everything pretty seriously when it comes to not influencing the Dungeon Masters we serve too much and I''m only going to talk about the things they''ve directly approved me for. I might be able to answer a few of your other questions, but there is only so much I know myself, much less can get away with saying, so I won''t make any promises."


    Looking at the elven woman, she couldn''t help but frown. She had assumed that they were just going to continue pretending everything was fine between them. Veronica didn''t exactly see any reason they had to be friends and she still needed to learn how to defend herself, so she had decided not to bother with revenge. For Seraphina''s part, she never seemed to have any complaints, but she also never offered any explanations for her behavior either. Things were fine as they were, but it wasn''t like she didn''t have any curiosity at all.


    "Alright, well, I''m listening."


    She said as she waved her hand to indicate Seraphina could continue.


    "Right, well, I suppose I should start with the purpose of the dungeon or, rather, what it is as far as the elders can tell. I''m sure you''ve always wondered why dungeon cores always have to be exposed or why they can summon people from other worlds. That sort of thing, I''m afraid I can''t answer as no one can directly communicate with and understand the dungeon core in such a way that we could find out those sorts of answers."


    Seraphina paused and Veronica rolled her eyes. She didn''t need to know what information she couldn''t ask for. She was certain that list was likely far longer than the list of answers she would be able to receive. After a moment, the elven woman seemed to gather her thoughts and continued


    "However, there are some things that I''m sure even you''ve observed in your time running the dungeon. When adventurers enter the dungeon they bring tributes and you earn mana, which can be used to further enhance the dungeon. In addition, the dungeon takes in aether in the atmosphere and turns it into mana, which is where the mana you regenerate each day comes from. The latter method is far less efficient than the former due to adventurers releasing their aether by using magic in the dungeon, among other things, which gives the dungeon direct access instead of having to draw it in from outside the dungeon. As the dungeon grows, it has more surface area to interact with the outside world and can, thus, draw in more aether to process each day."


    Veronica nodded as she replied


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    "That sounds about right, but it''s hardly some huge revelation. I can infer most of this just by observing how the dungeon normally functions."


    If Seraphina was irritated by her reply, she didn''t show it. Instead, she continued


    "As you can tell from this symbiotic relationship, both the dungeons and the adventurers benefit from interacting with one another. Yet, dungeons are dangerous places where adventurers can easily lose their lives. You don''t receive anything extra for killing people yet you have access to [Traps] and [Monsters]. Even if the latter offers experience for adventurers, when defeated, there is seemingly no good reason for dungeons to be as deadly as they are."


    Veronica looked blankly as Seraphina once more paused to take a breath, giving her a pointed look as she did so. It was clear that the elven woman had some sort of point she wanted to get across, but it just wasn''t quite clicking for her. Sighing in frustration, Seraphina finally said


    "You need to stop trying to kill the adventurers. The dungeon system is meant to keep things fair by only giving you weaker [Traps] and [Monsters] because your goal isn''t to kill and scare away everything that enters your dungeon. There are some wild [Monsters] and individuals who let their own greed influence them to go against the dungeon accords, but they aren''t the primary demographic that enters dungeons. You even have an extra layer of protection thanks to having a city standing in the way of anyone coming here."


    Oh, so that''s what she had been hinting at.


    "Well, I kind of guessed it was something like that after I got knocked out the last time. There hasn''t been a repeat, even despite me slowly continuing to build up the dungeon, but I''ve also been building less lethal challenges and focusing more on the inn and tavern side of things. It would have been way more helpful had you told me that before everything happened, you know."


    Seraphina seemed defeated as she sighed before sitting down beside her. She seemed very clearly stressed, but also like a weight had been removed from her shoulders now that she had spat the words out. After a moment, Veronica decided to ask a question of her own


    "So, what exactly are the limits when it comes to building the dungeon? It seems to me that, while I can only put one spawner per room, I could, technically, spawn as many [Monsters] as I have the mana for. I just risk them dying to adventurers if I leave things be."


    Seraphina nodded, seeming more relaxed as she answered


    "That''s all true enough. Some Dungeon Masters don''t even bother using spawners, for various reasons. Some feel their [Monsters] should work harder to save their own lives and prove their own worth. Others think it isn''t worth limiting themselves to what a spawner can hold and don''t want to play favorites when it comes to who is saved and who isn''t. However, you have to be careful with doing things like that as you can come across as too bloodthirsty and the system doesn''t like you exploiting it. Most things tend to be in the "spirit" of the rules and trying to find loopholes tends to turn out poorly more often than not."


    The two continued to talk on the matter for a while longer. However, most of what Seraphina was able to say seemed to echo her previous sentiments. Veronica needed to find balance, not try to exploit the system, and slowly build up her dungeon to be stronger rather than going all out in the beginning. It certainly gave her a lot to think about, but it was still disappointing just how limited the information was.


    "You really can''t tell me anything about what unlocking the second floor will be like?"


    Veronica asked, only to be immediately answered with


    "No, I''m supposed to let you discover most of that for yourself. At least, the first time around is supposed to be like that. You can ask your questions after you see what your dungeon has to offer you for it. A lot of dungeons have their own unique ways of doing things, both when it comes to the Dungeon Master and the system itself. Even if I told you about some of the things that are common amongst other dungeons, it might not happen for you and then I''ll have gotten your hopes up for nothing. Don''t worry, though, I''m supposed to come check on you everytime your dungeon gets a new floor. I can''t drop everything if I''m with another one of my clients and I have to head to the nearest dungeon before I can teleport, but I''ll come as soon as I can."


    Veronica didn''t bother asking too many more questions after that. It was more than clear that there was only so much Seraphina could tell her. Still, it was nice to have a bit more transparency on how things worked.

 1.42 Double Inn Rooms

    With a little more information about what exactly was going on with the dungeon, Veronica felt a lot more confident about her next project. Technically, she had already started on it as she had created the rooms in the inn, she just had yet to fill them with furniture. As she had been worried about building too fast, she had been putting it off since it just didn''t seem necessary to work on it before when she had plenty of inn rooms already. Now that she knew it was more about trying to bend the rules and make things more dangerous and unbalanced on the first floor than they really should be, it almost felt laughable that she had ever stalled things on the inn side of things.


    There were only twelve rooms in this newest set for her to work on, but she planned to make them double rooms with two full size beds and a partition wall between them. While the rooms were only 9-Units by 11-Units rooms, making them barely bigger than her smallest room size, she still planned to charge slightly more for them. At 15 DP per night, they''d still be a bargain compared to spending 20 DP for separate rooms, even if it likely seemed silly for anyone to choose to rent them when they were paying with the equivalent of Monopoly money to begin with. Leaves, pebbles, sticks, and random flowers found on the side of the road, the dungeon would accept them all as currency. It was a Hell of a deal.


    Since she already had everything she needed to furnish the rooms researched, it was only a matter of spending her mana on it. That, unfortunately, required a few days'' time to pass by as nights and mornings her system was locked and she couldn''t access it to spend her mana. She could, of course, build on the dungeon side, most nights, but the inn always had guests. Even if no one else would remain, there would always be Seraphina. It was still strange how she counted as some strange middle ground between dungeon entity and non-dungeon entity where [Traps] and [Monsters] posed no threat to her, but yet, she could still access the menu for the inn. From what she had heard, challenge room menus didn''t even show up for Dungeon Diplomats, so they couldn''t be awarded the prizes, nor could they be locked in the rooms. So, why the inn was any different, she really wasn''t sure.


    Shaking her head, Veronica tried to concentrate, she was obviously getting far too distracted from the task at hand. First, every room needed a partition wall that would split the room down the middle on the longer side. Then a bed on top of a green rug had to be placed on each side. Each bed would get its own set of blue silk sheets and pillowcases as well as pillows and a blue quilt. An end table went on either side of the beds, offering a bit of storage space to hold belongings, even if it was nothing compared to what most rooms had on offer.


    The rest of the room was a community space with potted peace lilies on either side of the main entrance door, a wooden desk and leather chair in one corner, and a fireplace with firewood in the other. Technically speaking, while it was a bit cramped, adventurers would have everything they needed for a night''s rest. They could cook a stew at the fireplace, write things at the desk, and sleep without having to look at one another. All that and they could save themselves five whole acorns a night off of the usual price! Veronica laughed to herself as she thought that last bit over.


    While Veronica was still disappointed about having to say goodbye to her family forever and hated being trapped in the dungeon, she wasn''t exactly miserable. She had always been a bit of a loner who preferred to be left with her own company. Perhaps it would have been nice to have a cute dog to keep her company or to spend her nights with a significant other, but, otherwise, she was content to be alone. It was almost ironic that she hadn''t been in a relationship when she transmigrated and she had left most of her friends behind when she graduated college. None of her coworkers at the multitude of jobs she had tried out had quite clicked with her, so she was used to spending most nights at home alone.


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    Now, none of this was to say that she was particularly unpopular with others or that she was some prude. She had been with a couple guys over the years, but the relationships had always fizzled out after a few months. The longest relationship she had been in was maybe two years? She wasn''t sure now, but it had ended when the guy had claimed he needed space after his sister had been sexually assaulted by some guy. She was fairly sure that was just an excuse now since he had gotten together with some other woman not even a month later. It was impossible to know if his sister had actually gone through such an ordeal or not since she had never been close to his family, but she rather hoped, for the sister''s sake, it had been a lame excuse on her ex''s part for dumping her.


    When people started to filter into the inn, Veronica sighed as she watched her system give her the now-familiar prompt about not being able to access the system when people were around. She headed back to her own room, already thinking about what to make herself to eat. She had stocked up the fridge with alcohol and some of the other food recipes she had gotten as tributes. It would have been nice if she had some basic ingredients like flour and sugar, but she just kept putting it off. They were unlocked as [Base Resources], meaning she could use them to research foods with the system, when she had access to it, but she needed them as [Items] if she wanted to spend mana to have them for her personal use.


    The alcohol of this world wasn''t quite what Veronica was used to. Ale sweetened with honey or mixed with milk was a bit strange. The blackberry wine she had was a bit better, but it wasn''t like she had ever been much of a drinker in the first place. In fact, she had only ever started trying alcohol in recent years. She was in the latter half of her twenties, but she simply had never seen the appeal of alcohol in her earlier years and much preferred to focus on her studies. She didn''t want to turn out to be a nuisance like her brother. God, she hoped he was doing their parents'' business justice. Even if she didn''t particularly miss anyone from her old world, that didn''t mean she loved the idea of things going to ruin without her.


    Pulling out a piece of paper, Veronica continued working on her plans for the new tavern. She couldn''t just make a kitchen and a bar, she had to have a proper menu with appropriate prices. The main problem was that she was worried about the prices she''d be charging for the food and alcohol. She''d likely have to make most of the food she wanted from scratch and do a lot of manual labor to keep things running smoothly. While some things could keep well when stored at room temperature, a lot of things weren''t good unless they were fresh, as she had personally experienced. The magic stove had an oven and could certainly be used to reheat things like the cinnamon oatcakes, but it was too easy to burn things and the texture wasn''t quite right unless they were fresh. Besides which, she likely wouldn''t have access to the system all the time and it would be cheaper to make everything from ingredients than to constantly spend her mana on premade foods, especially if she wanted to use cuisine that was more at home in her old world than this one.

 1.43 New In Town

    Lia Maywaters smiled as she hopped down from the merchant''s wagon. It had been a few days'' journey from where her party had started their journey, but she was excited nonetheless. They had taken quest after quest escorting merchants between towns, offering them protection in exchange for a free ride and a few silver for their troubles. It was just enough to cover their food expenses on their journey and they had to take several detours before they could make it to their destination, but it was still far cheaper than the alternative.


    Their party was a group of four with Alaric Ironlock, a cocky human with the shield tank class, being their leader. Thalis Mistfeather was an elven archer while Ruby Greyhelm was a dwarven warrior who preferred to use spears above all else. As for herself, well, she had a support class, specifically she was a bard. She had grown up in this kingdom and learned all of the favorite songs of the elven people from her parents. As she had grown up in an elven village where they shunned outsiders, she had been itching for adventure by the time she was old enough to be sent off to adventuring school, where she had met her current party members.


    It was purely coincidence that their party had formed, but they now had a strong bond of friendship that bound them together. Thalis had been in the same class as her, but the others were met at the local adventurers'' guild when they had gone to sign up and get their official licenses. It was required by their school that they participate in the guild, taking on quests, and doing their best to rank up during their time with the school. By the time they had graduated, everyone in her party was, at minimum, D-rank adventurers. Some schools had longer programs with higher standards for graduating, but her parents weren''t exactly rich. Having come from a self-sustaining village meant money simply wasn''t as important as it was in cities like this one.


    They had set their sights on Bluelight Cove City after hearing rumors about it. Since they were all from different parts of the Rosefall Kingdom, some of them even having migrated from other kingdoms, they had decided to find a dungeon they could ''grow'' with rather than prioritizing home for any one individual. With how big the world was and the fact that new dungeons only appeared every decade or so, there weren''t exactly a lot of options within the kingdom. So, that had made the choice of where to go quite simple.


    "We should make sure to stop by the guild first thing. Everywhere''s a bit different, so we need to make sure we figure out the local rules and ensure we are registered and can accept quests."


    Alaric stated. No one felt the need to argue as they trailed behind him. Lia checked out their surroundings as they walked through the city. It was interesting to see just how many different races were in the city, though the majority still appeared to be elven kind, like herself. Most of the buildings appeared to be older than herself with many of them either in disrepair or showing signs of having been recently renovated and repaired. Catching sight of a back alley, she turned her head, frowning.


    Her village had been one where no one ever truly went without. Neighbors relied on one another and everyone had what they needed, even if they couldn''t live in luxury. This was hardly the first time she had seen a back alley filled with the homeless. The way their clothes hung loose on their frames, torn at the edges, their skin covered in dirt, and their hair matted, made it clear that they had been that way for far longer than she could possibly guess. There were so many of them too, far more than had been in the city she had gone to school in. Granted, most of the buildings there had seemed newer with any buildings that fell into disrepair being forced to be taken care of or else they''d be torn down by the city. The local Lord wanted to maintain an image of a thriving city in order to ensure the city continued to flourish and the adventuring school ensured plenty of taxes could be collected year after year.


    "You''re not used to this, huh?"


    Ruby said as she shifted her spear to her other hand. As the only other female in their party, the two had taken to looking after one another like the best of friends. None of them were in a romantic relationship, so it wasn''t like she didn''t get along with the guys in their party, but it just felt different talking with Ruby. Shrugging her shoulders, Lia tried to play it off as she said


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    "I''m sure whoever is in charge of this place has a reason for not taking better care of their city. Maybe his wife is sick and he just needs some time to get things sorted out."


    With a laugh, Thalis interrupted their conversation


    "Oh, little dove, you really have been far too sheltered. This is hardly the only elven city like this. The last Lord wasn''t any better, he just made the guards chase out the homeless, forcing them to relocate, and took away the property of those who couldn''t maintain their buildings to his standards. Considering this city has been without a dungeon for a few decades, it''s likely that the people here have been suffering as a result for quite some time. I think it''s much kinder that the local Lord lets people live their lives, even as miserable as they may be. The new dungeon should improve things, with time, but none of that will happen overnight."


    Ruby''s expression was pinched as she threw a wary glance at Thalis. The woman was not a fan of speaking on the politics of other countries and was hardly about to discuss the matter at length. However, even Lia could tell that the dwarven woman didn''t seem to think much differently by the way she dropped the topic entirely, letting the silence envelop their group once more.


    The adventurers'' guild was quite busy, crowded, even despite being late into the afternoon. Alaric was happy to take charge and handled most of the paperwork for their group, leaving Lia to observe her surroundings while she waited. After showing her guild card to the receptionist and signing her name on some paperwork to finish registering with the local branch, she went to sit at a table to wait until it was time to leave. The receptionist was very friendly and the whole process didn''t take very long at all, even despite all the others lined up to turn in their quest.


    Seeing the others were starting to group up, clearly ready to head out, she stood up to join them.


    "So, what should we do about accommodations tonight? Is there a local inn or will we have to camp outside the city? Will that even be safe? Is the local [Monster] population under control?"


    Lia asked, spouting off question after question. Thalis rolled his eyes at her as he replied


    "Well, little dove, we''re actually in luck. It seems that the local dungeon is some sort of weird hybrid and has rooms we can rent out for practically free. We''ll have to stop at the market and purchase some small fruits to pay for the inn rooms, but it''ll still be far cheaper than the usual cost."


    Lia huffed, crossing her arms as she pouted. She hated that nickname yet he always used it as he made fun of how clueless and ''innocent'' she was. He had been using the nickname for her ever since they had been in school together and it was unlikely he''d stop after so long of using it. She didn''t really understand how a few berries could pay for an inn room, but it was already strange enough for a dungeon to even have rooms that could be rented. While she felt uncertain of whether it would be safe or not, she was hardly going to argue with her other group members.


    Thalis was known to be good at collecting information and was always trustworthy with his knowledge on a number of subjects while Alaric did a good job of making decisions for their group. Even despite his overconfidence, he did a good job of protecting them both in combat and in their day-to-day travels. Besides, Ruby was known to speak her mind if she felt strongly about something and she wasn''t saying anything now, so it would probably be fine.


    It didn''t take long before they were finally in the dungeon. The land bridge leading from the beaches of the city to the dungeon had been a bit scary. There weren''t any handrails and she felt like it would be far too easy to fall off and into the ocean''s depths below. Since she couldn''t see the bottom of the water, that, honestly, felt terrifying to even consider. Still, it had been worth it when she finally got to lay down in a comfortable bed.


    As her party was still new to the area and they weren''t gullible to trust anything about a dungeon without experiencing it for themselves, they decided to rent two double inn rooms. The guys were in one room while she was staying with Ruby. It was surprising just how cozy the rooms were. The beds had sturdy wooden frames, clean-smelling sheets, and thick quilts. The fireplace seemed necessary since it was plenty warm, but it was nice to know they could cook their own food, should the need arise. By the time sleep took her, Lia couldn''t help but feel like she was going to like it here.

 1.44 Entertainment

    It was taking longer than Veronica had been hoping to figure out what she wanted to do with the tavern and inn than she''d like to admit. Perhaps she was overthinking things and making a bigger deal of it than she should be, but she still preferred to take her time getting it right than to waste her resources on things she''d regret later. Dungeon points were starting to get harder to obtain than they used to be with tributes mostly being repeats rather than constantly unlocking new [Items] and [Base Resources]. Even her inn room usage had hit a plateau with the numbers no longer growing the way they used to.


    Still, she couldn''t complain too much, over the last two weeks she had still managed to earn 3,360 DP from room rentals, 276 DP from repeat tributes, and another 55 DP from new tributes, which included apple cider wine, pomace wine, and burdock root. All of that had allowed her to reach a total of 10,903 dungeon points. As she still had yet to build her boss room on the first floor, she wasn''t sure how much it would cost to unlock her next floor. However, she had the feeling that anything as much of a game-changer as a new floor would cost quite a bit. That, of course, meant that no matter how much she was able to save up, she wouldn''t be satisfied until she knew for sure that she had enough.


    That wasn''t going to keep her from having some fun, though. In fact, that was exactly what she was planning to do today. Now that her inn rooms were all done being built, with no extra DP cost at that, she planned to invest in some activities to keep her occupied. She still had yet to make some new outfits, which she most certainly needed to do. After absorbing the outfit she had been wearing when she transmigrated into this world she hadn''t unlocked them under her [Items], as she had been expecting, meaning the outfit was just gone. So, now she only had one outfit to wear, which was boring, even if she could summon a clean set anytime she wanted.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 50 DP to research Manacala using the [Base Resources] wood, steel, glass, and blue dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research Checkers using the [Base Resources] cardboard, wood, red dye, black dye, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research Sorry! using the [Base Resources] cardboard, wood, paper, glass, red dye, green dye, yellow dye, blue dye, black dye, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


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    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The costs seemed to scale according to the complexity of the games she wanted to research. There had also been a momentary disorientation as some annoying message about synching her memories with the system passed by. Veronica recovered quickly, annoyed once more by the way the system never gave her space. She really didn''t care that the board games didn''t exist in the system''s database as common knowledge and that it needed the information in order to make what she wanted. She was just pissed off that it was messing with her head again.


    Still, she couldn''t deny that the final products were nice. The Mancala came in a nice wooden box with shiny blue fish tank style marbles and the main wooden board all secured inside. The checkers had a cardboard game board with its checkered pattern, dyed wooden chips, and another wooden box to hold everything. The ''Sorry!'' game was the most complex, of course. There were dyed glass pawns in red, blue, green, and yellow as well as a cardboard game board, thick paper cards with numbers on them, and yet again, another wooden box to store everything in. The system had even been kind enough to engrave the name of each game on each of the storage boxes, making it easier to tell them apart.


    Veronica''s plan was to store the board games in one of her empty kitchen cupboards when she wasn''t using them. That would keep them out of sight of adventurers and ensure she didn''t accidentally knock them over when she was walking around her own room. It would have been more ideal if she had a bookshelf or a closet to store them in, but that was fine since her current space was only meant to be temporary living arrangements.


    She still wasn''t sure which floor she wanted to settle on in the long run. However, one thing was for sure, she wanted to be as high up in the tower, that was her dungeon, as she could be just so she could have space from everyone. It would be impractical to have to travel down to the first floor every day, but she was hopeful that she''d be getting more help for her inn and tavern when she unlocked the next floor anyhow. After all, it would be just as impractical to travel from the lower floors to the top floors to clean rooms and serve customers every day and Seraphina was right that it was less likely that people would agree to remain on the upper floors than they were to accept employment on the lower floors. No one wanted to have death looming over their head, constantly living in fear of their lives being cut short.


    Funny that, she never had a choice in the matter of becoming a Dungeon Master. She now had her life tied to that of the dungeon she was tied to. If she chooses not to build up the defenses in the dungeon, then she may as well lie down and wait for death to claim her. Even better, she, apparently, had someone who was meant to help her off herself when the time came. Jeeze, that really put a twisted perspective on her relationship with Seraphina.


    Veronica chuckled bitterly to herself. She really did need to work on having a better relationship with the elven woman. It wouldn''t be long before they would be parting ways, only meeting for brief encounters forever more. Hopefully, the new board games would be helpful when it came to developing a more amicable relationship. So long as Seraphina didn''t turn out to be some competitive nutcase, it would, at least, give them both some entertainment and allow them to get used to each other''s presence.


    They certainly hadn''t been spending any more time with one another than they had to in recent times. Veronica usually spent a few hours training with Seraphina until she tired and decided she wanted to retire for the night. It was always the elven woman who called the shots on that as Veronica didn''t care if she pushed herself past her limits. The dungeon would heal her and she wouldn''t even be able to tell that she had trained the night before by the time the sun arose. Despite Seraphina''s lack of affection, it was still more than clear that she respected that much about her attitude. It was one of the few things the two of them seemed to see eye to eye on. If only that was enough to build a relationship from, but, alas, it was unlikely they''d ever be friends.

 1.45 Round Two

    "You, me, duel now!"


    Veronica groaned as she turned around to be met by the sight she had been dreading. Bo was as arrogant as ever with his chest puffed up, shoulders back, and his head held high. He held no weapons, but she knew they were hardly needed as the two bull horns atop his head were perfectly capable of taking out his prey, if his raw strength didn''t do the trick. She shivered as she thought back to the first time she had died, she really wasn''t eager to have a repeat.


    Taking a glance back at Seraphina, she merely received a shrug before the elven woman pulled out an apple, polishing it before taking a big bite from it. Where she kept getting them from, she wasn''t sure, but one thing was more than clear. Seraphina didn''t plan to intervene unless Veronica lost, this was one battle she''d have to face on her own. Let''s just hope her training was starting to pay off...


    Stepping out into the hall, Veronica grabbed her staff nervously. She watched Bo carefully, determined not to make the first move. Most of her training had been focused on dodging and retaliating at opportune times. It would be foolish for her to go out of her way to change things up now. Thanks to her role as Dungeon Master, she could see perfectly in the dark hallway whereas Bo had to rely on the light attached at his hip, which left more gaps in his defense than he really should want. Well, no one ever said he was intelligent.


    With a sudden, explosive movement, Bo charged forward, his footsteps loud in the small space they shared. He closed the distance between them with terrifying speed. Veronica''s reflexes weren''t as good as they should be, but she had improved more than a little bit in the few months she had been in this world. She quickly sidestepped the initial charge with a graceful pivot, her body movements resembling that of a leaf caught in the wind. Bo barreled past and she took the opportunity to strike out at his ribcage with her longstaff, the impact resonating through her arms as she did so.


    Veronica grinned as Bo let out a roar of anger, already feeling more confident in her martial arts training. The bull-headed man skidded to a halt, swinging his massive arm in a wide arc, which Veronica barely ducked out of the way of. Schooling her expression, she prepared for his next attack. This was no time to get ahead of herself.


    A backhand swipe came at her faster than she was expecting, sending her sprawling to the ground. The force of the hit left her momentarily dazed, but she quickly recovered, rolling to her feet as she tried to anticipate his next attack. It wasn''t like this was anything new, she was used to being battered and bruised during her training with Seraphina.


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    The battle continued on, Veronica doing her best to dodge what attacks she could, taking the rare opportunity to retaliate with strikes and kicks. She aimed for the vulnerable points that she had been taught to look out for during her training, seeking to exploit any opening she could in Bo''s defenses. However, her movements were slow as she didn''t have the years of experience to back her movements up and Bo was growing angrier and more dangerous with each passing minute.


    He was a far tougher opponent than she could handle as his thick skin absorbed every blow she directed his way. His sheer size and strength made it difficult to land any decisive blows and he was still far more experienced in battle than she was, even if he wasn''t the brightest bulb. He was relentless, fighting with the primal fury of a beast, his attacks growing more powerful and unyielding as his anger grew in tandem.


    When Veronica landed a blow, he responded with a counterattack that left her on the defensive. It was beginning to feel impossible to win this fight. Despite how little time had actually passed, she simply didn''t have the stamina for extended combat and she was quickly growing weary. Bo''s horns continued to be a constant threat and she had to once more avoid being gored by them as he charged her. However, she must not have been fast enough as, the next thing she knew, his massive fists were hammering down upon her like sledgehammers, leaving her to choke up blood.


    Things only got worse from there. Her breaths came in ragged gasps, sweat streaming down her face and stinging her eyes. Bruises and cuts marked her skin, each a testament to the brutal nature of combat. However, she had no choice but to continue to fight to the death. She wasn''t going to go down without giving it her all, she didn''t want to die and giving up wasn''t an option.


    With a bellow of rage, Bo swung his head to the side, catching Veronica with one of his horns and sending her flying through the air. She hit the ground hard, the impact driving the air from her lungs and leaving her stunned for just long enough for him to finish her off. After all that effort she had still lost, once more losing to the stubborn, bull-headed man who had it out for her.


    When she regained consciousness, she was once more in the dungeon core room. Seraphina looked down at her with concern, but she didn''t offer any words of comfort. Instead, she merely stated


    "He''s gone now, didn''t even try to come in here. I don''t think he has any interest in destroying your dungeon, he just wants to fight against you. You should count yourself lucky."


    Right, lucky... She''d have to consider that some other time. All she could think about right now was the images of the battle she had just died from that were flashing past her eyes. While she was grateful to Seraphina that she could stand her ground far better than she could when she first transmigrated to this world, it still hadn''t been enough to win. Veronica knew that, if she ever wanted to overcome the obstacle that was Bo, she''d have to train far harder.

 1.46 Burning Hatred

    Bo returns twice more that week, each time ending with yet another death for Veronica. She couldn''t help but feel enraged and the dungeon responded in kind. Seraphina was beginning to worry about the issue, but wasn''t sure if it was right to step in. The dungeon core was showing no sign of corruption, it was just that things were not faring well for the adventurers who frequented the dungeon.


    Every time her anger spiked, the dungeon would start to tremble and it wasn''t uncommon for the gargoyles to rampage, attacking adventurers indiscriminately and with far less caution than they typically would. It had already resulted in several people becoming injured and the dungeon traffic had dropped as a result. There were talks of a manhunt for the culprit who upset the Dungeon Master being hunted down, but nothing had been done, as of yet. It was just that no one wanted their livelihoods to be affected just because someone had pissed off the Dungeon Master.


    Veronica had been informed by Seraphina of the council questioning the state of things due to the number of letters of concern being sent in about the matter. However, if the elven woman''s plan was to embarrass her into calming down, then it wasn''t a very good one. It wasn''t exactly as if she planned to spend all her time moping around, though. She was already working on a plan of action to put some distance between her and Bo.


    She had spent 138 DP to research a 31-Units by 38-Units rectangle room for the new tavern space and another 112 DP to research an 18-Units by 38-Units rectangle room for the kitchen space that went right next to it. For the dungeon side of things she had to spend 74 DP to research an 18-Units by 19-Units room because of the awkward length leftover on the far side of the dungeon. She decided to go with two of these new room sizes as [Monster] fields as well as two of the classic 18-Units by 18-Units sized square [Monster] field rooms for half of the leftover space. Then, finally, another 146 DP was used to research a 38-Units by 35-Units room to use for a boss room.


    That set everything up for the first floor so all she would have to do was fill in the empty rooms. Since she always kept the [Monster] field rooms simple, she went ahead and filled them in with a 50 MP spawner and three basic gargoyles each. Veronica still wanted to use some of her [Critters] in her rooms, but she just wasn''t sure it was possible without leaving them unattended so they could die out after a single encounter with an adventurer. The gargoyles each cost her 15 MP, ensuring 45 mana points out of a 50 MP limit was already used up. The bullet ants were the ones she wanted to use the most, but a single queen bullet ant cost 10 MP, which meant she simply didn''t have enough room on the spawner to protect them.


    Veronica didn''t really care about protecting her [Critters] out of some nonsensical sense of attachment. They weren''t exactly sentient creatures she had befriended, they were just another way to protect her dungeon. However, she didn''t love the idea of needing to constantly replace them either, especially since she didn''t want to think about it anymore after she finished the first floor. Of course, eventually, she''d have to replace all of her [Monsters] and [Critters], regardless of whether they were assigned to a spawner or not, but that was something she could do every few months to years when the system informed her of the need to do so. It wasn''t something that would be a reoccurring daily occurrence, so it wouldn''t feel like as much of a chore.


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    Veronica, finally, had a menu figured out for her tavern, as well as the prices for it, but she would have to fill the tavern and kitchen with appliances and furniture first. She''d likely leave that for last as she wanted to finish her boss room sooner rather than later. Seraphina had been unwilling, or else unable, to share any information about what sorts of boss [Monsters] other dungeons used. So, she was going to be left to her own devices and creativity to figure out what to do with that.


    Since the only [Monster] she had that was worthwhile, currently, was a gargoyle, the boss would, obviously, be a gargoyle. However, she didn''t know how to evolve it to improve upon its original design. Making it larger might increase its damage capabilities, but physics would also suggest it would have a harder time moving around. There was also the possibility of giving it some sort of elemental ability, like the ability to breathe fire. That might not be a bad idea, but it also felt a bit boring.


    Veronica was well aware of the fact that creativity wasn''t exactly her strong suit. Her dungeon was a testament to that. Just look at her [Monster] field rooms, not a single gargoyle had a special ability. The rooms were all identical, pretty much, with very little to differentiate them. They functioned just fine and it wasn''t like she had heard the adventurers complaining about her dungeon, but even she could recognize what she was lacking.


    If her own lived experiences were anything to go by, it seems that all Dungeon Masters were limited by their own knowledge. There were no computers to research new ideas and Veronica had always preferred to play cozy games rather than fantasy and adventure. The most eccentric game she had ever played had been one where she played as a graveyard keeper, managing dead bodies and a church while exploring the game''s world. The rest were all things like life simulators and farming games.


    It was a nice way to unwind after standing on her feet cooking and cleaning all day only to have to spend hours studying for college when she returned back to her apartment. However, it wasn''t exactly very useful to her current circumstances. Being constantly cut off from the outside world, having stupid dungeon accords banning people from influencing her decisions, it all felt suffocating. If she was free to make her own decisions, she''d want to go out and explore the world, check out other dungeons, and read all the literature this world had on offer. Then she could pick and choose the ideas she liked, change them to fit her own desires, and build a dungeon truly worth visiting. If only everyone would stop standing in her way...

 1.47 Libations

    Veronica was still angry, but it was also true that she had a major project she had to finish before she could move on from this floor once and for all. She has been considering what to use for her first floor''s tavern for quite a while now. Ever since she first received alcohol as a tribute, she had been compiling a list of other options she could potentially make. However, she was still rather limited in her options for most of the menu because she was still lacking a lot of basic ingredients for the types of things she wanted to include.


    It wasn''t exactly the end of the world to make a menu based on what she did have. There would be other floors higher up in her dungeon tower. Plus, she could always change the menu on the first floor when she had better options available. It was just that she really hated wasting her dungeon points on researching something that would be merely temporary. Maybe that would change, one day, but it certainly wasn''t something she felt comfortable with today.


    Veronica was actually planning to include a proper menu with all of the food [Items] listed on it. She had heard from Seraphina that dungeons tended to be finicky about the written word, often charging by the word. A menu could easily end up being more than 50 words, but it wasn''t like she''d forever be limited to just that. Soon she''d have a new mana cap of 100 and, later on, it would be even higher. So, she was planning to do things based on four categories that she''d put on an official menu, when the time came. Light fare would be for appetizers, soups, and salads. Hearty fare would be for the proper entrees with everything from roasted meats and vegetables to casseroles being included. Desserts would, of course, be sweets like cakes, pies, or puddings.


    Then, finally, there were the libations, which, essentially, just meant any drink, alcoholic or not. While the word ''liberation'' meant the act of setting someone free or freedom from thoughts and behavior, ''libation'' means the act of pouring a liquid in the honor of a god, especially alcohol. ''Liberations'' was often used on old-fashioned tavern-themed things for events such as Renaissance festival, but it was actually incorrect, so Veronica didn¡¯t plan to follow their lead.


    Veronica had personally worked at such a festival a few times as it was a good experience for learning how to deal with large crowds. A bed and breakfast, like her parents, was known for having far fewer rooms than a proper inn. However, when big events and festivals are held in the local area, it is common for all sorts of businesses to be flooded with far more customers than they normally would. Her parents even tended to join in on the fun by setting up booths with special set menus to help advertise their business as well as rake in some extra cash. It helped keep them afloat the rest of the year when business was slow, so it was something that Veronica knew she had to learn how to deal with as well.


    Regardless, she had work to do and it was time to get the drink researched.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of sparkling water using the [Base Resources] water, air magic, glass, cork, paper, blue dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a bottle of yuzu soda using the [Base Resources] water, honey, yuzu, air magic, glass, cork, paper, yellow dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a bottle of lychee soda using the [Base Resources] water, honey, lychee, air magic, glass, cork, paper, red dye, brown dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a bottle of apple soda using the [Base Resources] water, honey, apple, air magic, glass, cork, paper, green dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    Despite requiring magic to make the final result, none of the drinks require a magic crystal to be present in the final product. They just needed carbonation added to the liquid to make it fizzy. While it would slowly stop being fizzy, over time, it wasn''t a big deal. Besides, that was the whole point of including the glass bottle with a cork, so the carbonation wouldn''t escape before it was opened. Veronica even included labels with the name of the drink and a picture of the fruit on the bottle. They''d have to be stocked up on before opening the tavern and when they sold out she wouldn''t be able to replace them until the inn side was empty again, but it should work fine.


    Veronica planned to have a sink in the bar section to fetch tap water from as well as a fridge for storing the sparkling water and sodas in. As she didn''t have to worry about replacing the tap water, she planned to charge a single dungeon point for a glass of it. Throw an acorn her way and you''d be set. Smiling to herself, she carefully considered what to write down for the other prices. She planned to just post a hand-written menu in a few places around her tavern, for the time being, but she still needed to carefully consider what to write down.


    Unlike the inn rooms, which just required daily cleaning, she would have to manually make many of the menu [Items] and spend mana for any ingredients or [Items] she needed. That meant she couldn''t charge as little as she was to rent an inn room for the night. However, she also already knew that charging as much as a single inn room for one drink would seem unbalanced to guests. Yet, what could she really do about that? Sighing, she wrote down that the sparkling waters would be 5 DP per bottle while the sodas would be 10 DP each. While her own cost wasn''t that different as they were only 10 MP and 12 MP per bottle, she thought it made sense to charge more for something made with fruit and honey.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    As the price in mana was still significant enough that it could take a few hours to restock everything in the tavern, she planned to spend nights on the dungeon side, spawning in everything she needed, before manually carrying them over to the inn side. That would give her, at least, eight hours a day where she was getting anywhere from 480 MP to several thousands, depending on whether she only had one inn guest or several. Her second floor would help with that problem by a significant amount, she knew, but the logistics of moving things down a set of stairs would make it too difficult to move most things from the second floor to the first.


    Honestly, Veronica really wished an elevator was a more feasible option for the future. She didn''t know how they worked, beyond the basics, though, and it wasn''t like this world had most of the modern-day technology to make it work anyway. Maybe she could get a blacksmith to make a dumbwaiter and her dungeon would allow her to invest in something like that? Shaking her head, she couldn''t help but feel it was unlikely. After all, everything she had heard about dungeons, as little as it was, seemed to suggest the floors would be very disconnected from one another. It seemed unlikely the dungeon would allow such a thing.


    The dungeon began to shake around her once more as she began to get too worked up. Between Bo and her frustration with this world''s systems and rules, she was having a hard time controlling her emotions lately. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself as she started to research the next [Items] on her list.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of dandelion wine using the [Base Resources] water, dandelions, yuzu, honey, wild yeast, glass, cork, paper, yellow dye, green dye, white dye, and black dye?


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of elderberry mead using the [Base Resources] water, elderberries, elderflowers, honey, wild yeast, glass, cork, paper, green dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a corkscrew using the [Base Resource] steel?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


    She already had falernian wine, which was a special way of making grape-based wine, and also blackberry wine from previous tributes she had received. Veronica had decided to include those on her menu at 15 DP per glass, which was only really higher because it was alcohol. It was a universal fact that most businesses that served alcohol made a large profit margin from their alcohol. Why should that be any different here? Still, she had also wanted to have her own version of wine, so she took inspiration from an anime she had once watched and made dandelion wine, which she planned to charge 20 DP per glass for. It was 5 DP more than the others, but she figured she could get away with charging more for the novelty of sharing something new with her patrons.


    Veronica had received an elderflower nectar, but she had decided to make a mead instead. Generally, wines are made with grape must and yeast whereas mead was made with honey, water, and yeast. Why dandelion wine was called wine, instead of mead, when it had nothing to do with grapes she wasn''t sure. However, she still thought it would be a good idea to include a mead as a similar, but different option to the wines on her menu. Of course, since it was something she was offering as a specialty of her dungeon, it was set at 20 DP per glass.


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a bottle of ale using the [Base Resources] water, barley, yeast, glass, iron, paper, brown dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a bottle of robust porter ale using the [Base Resources] water, barley, yeast, glass, iron, paper, brown dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle opener using the [Base Resource] steel?


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    Yes


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    No


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    The wine had been as expensive as it had primarily because of the number of ingredients used and the size of the final product. Since the mana cost was almost always half of the dungeon point cost when initially researching it, the size you''d get when making the final product had a direct correlation on the cost when researching it. The ale bottles were smaller and had a simpler ingredient list, even if it did need some metal for the bottle cap. That also meant she now needed a bottle opener alongside the corkscrew she had made for the wine and soda bottles.


    She had considered making the soda bottles with metal bottle caps, but had decided that the cork and glass would make them seem fancier, which was good if she wanted to be able to sell them. The other [Items] on her menu would make her more money, but she did still want to share ideas from her old world with others. That was half the point of doing something like this anyway, right?


    Of course, because she had to also consider what was familiar to the people of this world, she had included the posset ale and spiced braggot ales on her menu at 15 DP each. Ale would be familiar to them as well, so it was a similar price, but the robust porter ale was marked up to 20 DP per bottle.


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    Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a bottle of rum using the [Base Resources] water, sugar, yeast, glass, cork, paper, brown dye, white dye, and black dye?


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a bottle of spiced rum using the [Base Resources] water, sugar, yeast, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, glass, cork, paper, brown dye, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </table>


    Strong alcohols weren''t really a thing in the earlier times of the world, from what Veronica knew of the subject. Things like wines and ales required less fancy methods to produce and, even then, they were often watered down by the people of the world. So, she wasn''t sure anyone would even have an interest in buying stronger alcohol. Rum seemed the most similar to what she had seen among her tributes, so she had decided to make both a basic and a spiced version priced at 25 DP each, making them the most expensive option on her libations menu. Still, she found that it felt like it rounded things out quite well.

 1.48 More Help

    "What do you mean you want me to hire two teenagers?!"


    Veronica questioned in bewilderment. Seraphina had finally brought her an applicant for the housekeeping job, but, even despite being elves, it was clear that the two were practically children. They both seemed to be in rough shape, their hair dirty and their clothing worn thin. They smelled quite bad as well, even after clearly having tried to clean up just that morning. Their hair was still wet and a few wet spots had even shown up on their clothing, making it clear they had been in a rush and likely didn''t have any spare clothing to change into.


    "Look, it was already hard enough to convince someone to accept work inside a dungeon. With your anger fits affecting the dungeon of late, most people don''t even want to visit the dungeon, much less stay in it full-time. Have you not noticed how much the dungeon traffic has decreased? Surely your tributes and room rentals would clue you in?"


    She didn''t like how much shade Seraphina was throwing her way, but it wasn''t exactly as if she was wrong. Despite her best efforts, Veronica was having a hard time controlling her emotions enough to get the dungeon to settle for more than a few hours or days at a time. She had yet to make it a full week without tremors shaking the dungeon and her [Monsters] going on a rampage against the adventurers. If she could communicate with her gargoyles effectively, she''d try to explain she didn''t need them mindlessly attacking everyone. That wasn''t a choice, so she was at a loss for what to do on that front.


    "Still, I doubt their parents would agree to them working for me. I also only need one new employee right now and I told you I''d prefer a woman, so why''d the other one here?"


    The boy was currently staring at the floor, silent as he waited for his fate to be decided by those in front of him. The girl, on the other hand, squeezed his hand tight as she whispered reassurances to him in an effort to comfort him. Seraphina''s expression was sour as she replied


    "Things aren''t... ideal outside of the dungeon. There are a lot of homeless people who have nowhere to go and have to live in the alleyways. These two are part of that group, but they''re both willing to work hard and accept any work you''re willing to throw their way. However, they don''t want to be separated as the older sister is the only family the boy has left. They don''t expect you to pay them a lot and they are willing to share the same room, so I''m sure you can make something work."


    Veronica rolled her eyes, feeling sick of decisions being made for her. Ultimately, it wasn''t a big deal to have two employees at once. It wasn''t like she had every single inn room taken every night. She could spare two rooms without any problems and she likely could use the help. However, she would have preferred someone with a more fit physique so they could help her move some of the heavier [Items] around her dungeon when she stocked her tavern. Sighing, she finally replied


    "Fine, they can both stay, but I expect both of them to earn their keep. I''ll provide them with clothing, food, lodging, and even a magic crystal each week. I don''t like to fall into gender stereotypes, so I don''t want to hear any complaints about the type of work I make them do. The boy will need to train hard to learn to defend himself and become strong enough to carry heavy things. I''ll expect him to help out with cooking in the kitchens while his sister learns how to do the housekeeping."


    Seraphina smiled, clearly happy with getting her way as she reminded


    "You probably shouldn''t just call them ''boy'' and ''girl''. This is Elora and Eldrin Starblossom. Their parents both died when the last dungeon collapsed. It''s unclear whether either has a class as they''ve never been in a dungeon themselves and, obviously, no one has paid for them to be assessed by a priest or priestess."


    Veronica made everyone clear out so she could do some quick research and create some [Items] for the siblings as well as set a room as their with the system.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a dark green dress using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a green and white floral dress using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research white cotton stockings using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 16 DP to research dark green dress shoes using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a green and white dress shoes using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, white dye, and iron?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a dark green hooded robe using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Yes


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


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    </table>


    Veronica may not have been expecting two homeless teenage elves to join her dungeon, but that didn''t mean she wasn''t going to treat them well. One set of clothing would serve as the everyday wear for Elora while she cleaned inn rooms while the other was a nice outfit for wearing out on the town. Both were made to look like a mixture of 50s style clothing from her world and medieval-esque fantasy fashion. It wouldn''t make her blend in with the locals, but that was hardly what she wanted anyway.


    Veronica needed to be able to send the siblings into town to run errands for her, when necessary, and she needed them to be identifiable as being one of her people. If they looked odd, while still being dressed as nice as any noble from this world, then they were more likely to be believed and treated with respect by others. That would simplify things for them and ensure she was more likely to get what she wanted too. Besides, even if she had yet to make more clothing for herself, she knew how important it was for a woman to have a few different outfits to mix and match.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a green floral hair bandana using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a green floral face mask using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a green floral apron using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a leather coin purse using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed thread, brown dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


    While she already had a black version of most of these things, she thought it would be kind to give the poor girl matching accessories to use while she cleaned. The normal safety goggles and brown leather cleaning gloves would still work, but a green set of everything else would match her clothing and green eyes quite well. May as well let Elora feel cute, even while she was working hard. Veronica appreciated being let off the hook on the cleaning and would rather keep her worker''s satisfaction high so she didn''t have to worry about hiring replacement workers anytime soon.


    The coin purse was mostly just to make it easier for Elora to travel into town to buy any supplies she needed and sell the magic crystals she received as payment for her work. Of course, a world such as this one was bound to be full of dangers she herself wouldn''t be exposed to. So a bronze dagger and a few potions were included among the welcome gifts she prepared for the young elven girl. She wasn''t sure how the two planned to share the space in the large inn room, but there was only one bed, so she placed everything there, leaving it for the two to sort out when they were let in.


    Things were kept a bit simpler for Eldrin, but she still made him a new set of clothes.


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a white cotton dress shirt using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and white dye?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research a green cotton vest using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research a green tie using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, green dye, and black dye?


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research green cotton dress pants using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research green cotton socks using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?


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    No


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research green leather loafers using the [Base Resources] undyed leather, undyed thread, green dye, and black dye?


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    That covered a basic outfit, at least. It was more of a 50s style and looked very dressy, but it would serve well for the sort of work he''d be doing anyhow. The shoes might not be ideal for the kitchen where he could end up slipping on water or oil, but he''d be able to serve well as a handsome bouncer in the tavern. She didn''t really know if he had the talent to cook food in the kitchen anyhow, so she didn''t want to lean too heavily into that idea right now anyway. Making him serve the food to customers as he played barkeep and server would be fine. Even carrying crates filled with bottles of alcohol should be fine since it wouldn''t require much bending, which the dress pants likely wouldn''t do well with.


    Of course, it would be better if he could also serve as a guard whenever he and his sister went into town, so she should also make him a weapon. She wasn''t sure if he had any talent with anything in particular, so she decided to go with something basic and that most people could easily figure out how to use.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research an iron sword using the [Base Resources] iron, charcoal, and wood?


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a steel scabbard using the [Base Resources] steel, undyed leather, undyed thread, and brown dye?


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    No


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    Many games would make iron swords out to be made from purely iron, but you actually need carbon to ensure it is sturdy enough to actually use. Veronica was hardly an expert in such things, but swords were a common technology in this world and it was easy enough to leave it to the dungeon to figure things out. Adding a coin purse, Veronica nodded to herself, feeling satisfied with the results. She''d have to remember to bring them some food later, but this should be enough for them to, at least, be able to take a shower and change into clean clothes.

 1.49 First Contract

    After the two siblings got cleaned up, Veronica sent them off to town on their first errand. She was going to ask Seraphina to do it, but figured she may as well take this opportunity to get everyone used to the way things would be from here on out. The townsfolk would get used to them running errands for her and the siblings could slowly increase their confidence in doing so.


    Of course, it had also led to Seraphina making a remark about her being racist...


    "You know, that''s just a stereotype, right? Not all dwarves like alcohol."


    She had given her two new helpers some alcohol and a rough blueprint for a new bar system she wanted the local blacksmith to look into for her. She wasn''t sure it was possible, but figured it would be better to offer payment upfront. Since dwarves were known for liking alcohol and she wanted to take the opportunity to market the sort of fare people could expect at her up-and-coming tavern, it seemed like a decent choice.


    "I also sent them off with two magic crystals. It''s supposed to help them cover the grocery list I gave them, but it might be enough to cover a downpayment for the blacksmith as well. Admittedly, I don''t really know what their equivalent exchange rate is outside of the dungeon, but that''d be true of anything I could have sent them with."


    Seraphina laughed, seeming highly amused before trying to compose herself long enough to reply


    "That''s way too much for a few ingredients. Also, you weren''t even told they could read. They can, but many of the orphaned children from the streets don''t even bother with going to school long enough to learn. Seems the sister was smart enough to take on side jobs to cover their basic living costs at night and insisted both she and her brother go to school most days. She''s capable enough at cleaning, sewing, and a number of other tasks, which is part of the reason I chose her. Anyways, let me know how everything pans out for you."


    She waved at Veronica before meandering off to do her own thing, still far too amused by her own clumsy attempts to problem solve. The elven woman sure knew how to get on her nerves sometimes. The kids took most of the day to return, but it turned out they were quite honest. Elora tried to return her change to her while her brother explained


    "The blacksmith says it''s unlikely he''ll be able to make what you wanted. He liked the alcohol, though, so he helped us purchase a set of barrel shelves, a keg for storing alcohol in, and a wooden keg spout. He even explained how everything worked in case we might need to convey it to you."


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Well, that wasn''t quite what she had been expecting, but it still solved the problem well enough. Veronica supposed it made sense that a pressurized system to dispense alcohol not being a thing in a world with a very medieval level of technology made sense. She had been hoping something might be possible with the use of magic crystals or something, but who was she to question the local expert? Her dungeon wasn''t going to fill in the gaps her knowledge didn''t cover, so she''d have to make do regardless.


    "Alright, thanks, you two did good work. You can keep the change and consider it a bonus for your good work. I''m a bit busy this week with setting up the tavern, so you can use that to buy yourselves anything you need in the meantime. You''ll still get paid a crystal each at the end of the week too, just as our contract states, so don''t think this is me trying to discount your work either."


    Seraphina had sorted their employment contract rather quickly once the siblings finished with their baths. There were a lot of clauses related to both parties being able to terminate the contract at will should it no longer meet their needs for whatever reason. Veronica was expected not to ask the siblings to go up to any other floors, force them to stay in the dungeon, or do anything that would endanger them on purpose. Her [Monsters] were allowed to defend themselves, but were not supposed to attack them otherwise. They weren''t allowed to do anything to harm her or the dungeon core. Basic safety protocols that Veronica could barely be bothered to pay attention to.


    None of it was an official system contract, it was just a written agreement, making it far easier to terminate and less high stakes than it would otherwise be. Seraphina had insisted on that since employment contracts were usually done this way and could easily be tweaked to take the dungeon into account. She really hates system contracts, not that Veronica was going to complain either way. She''d hold up her end of the bargain with providing clothes on occasion, food on a regular basis, and a crystal for their official pay. They''d clean, carry heavy things for her, and other official inn work. It was all straightforward enough and everyone seemed happy with it, so she wasn''t going to think about the matter any more than that.


    Tallying up her recent dungeon points, she had received 53 DP from repeats, 2,660 DP from room rentals, and 415 DP from new tributes, all of which were from the siblings'' errands today. Seraphina wasn''t wrong about her temper affecting the dungeon traffic as that was far less than she should really be making in just over a week''s time. While she was happy to be at 13,351 dungeon points total, there was no denying the fact that things needed to change.


    Working on the tavern was a bigger project than anything else she had done since arriving in this world, so it was a good distraction. Everything she had Elora and Eldrin pick up included: barrel shelving, kegs, wooden keg tap, scallions, carrots, radishes, celery, tomatoes, garlic, cheese, boar meat, paprika, cumin, and chili powder. Most of those were food items, which she planned to use for the light fare portion of her menu. She was still ironing out the details for the hearty fare and desserts portion of the menu as the limited [Base Resources] she had was making things difficult. She wasn''t even sure the siblings would be able to find everything she needed today, so it wasn''t like she could just write up a wish list with anything she wanted. Who knew what was available in the market outside her dungeon versus what could only be found in other kingdoms? Even worse, some things from her old world might not even exist in this one.

 1.50 Light Fare

    Veronica was slowly working on building up her tavern and its kitchen, but things were going very slowly. She kept having to take breaks to take care of other things and it was already quite time-consuming to plan out a proper menu and stockpile supplies. It likely didn''t help that the [Base Resources] she had were quite limited in terms of ingredients to use. While she could likely send the siblings back out to buy more supplies, that wasn''t exactly an ideal solution either. She''d just be painting a target on their back before they were fully prepared to defend themselves, which would result in her losing the only helpers she had managed to secure.


    As a lot of the research she had to do was similar enough, she decided to organize everything into a list based on type. She planned to first research a suitable storage container then all of the variations with the ingredients in them that she''d need in order to fulfill orders.


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    Would you like to spend 16 DP to research burlap bags using the [Base Resources] hemp and undyed thread?


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    These burlap bags were going to be used to store sunflower seeds, rice, flour, sugar, chickweed, watercress, Alaska violets, pea shoots, and spearmint. As such, she also had to research bags of those items, which resulted in her spending an additional 440 DP. Where things like the seeds and baking ingredients came in 50KG bags that were quite large for 30 MP each, the plants came in 10KG bags for 20 MP each. Plants like watercress were lighter while taking up more space and also required an open bag, instead of a sealed one, in order for the plants to breathe, so the design was a bit different. Still, the hemp bag would make it much easier to carry the ingredients around and store them.


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    Would you like to spend 26 DP to research rolling bins using the [Base Resources] wood and steel?


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    In the commercial kitchen Veronica had worked in, they always had rolling bins with transparent plastic lids that could be lifted to open. It made it easier to get ingredients like flour and sugar out when you needed to use large amounts of it for a recipe. The container was also better suited for long-term storage. That was why she spent another 210 DP for a flour, sugar, and rice variation. If she needed an entirely new container and wanted to take care of the problem in an instant, she''d make a bin full, but she''d have to use the burlap bags to refill them when she didn''t have access to the system menu.


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research spice shakers using the [Base Resources] glass and steel?


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    These were, of course, for holding seasonings that would be used to flavor the various recipes the tavern would serve. While she might need other options in the future, she decided to just make salt, black pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon variations for now. That ended up costing another 126 DP for all of them, which wasn''t too bad considering there were nine seasonings to choose from. Honestly, at 7 MP per shaker full, the cost to spawn them in really wasn''t too bad either. It was only because she''d have to stock the kitchen with several months worth of supplies that it would take a while to prepare everything.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research wooden crates using the [Base Resources] wood and nails?


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    YesThe tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


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    No


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    These would make it easier to carry heavy produce [Items] like apples, carrots, and onions. Funnily enough, the system tended to charge 1 MP for a single produce [Item], but making it into a crate full of them only cost 20 MP each. Still, she couldn''t complain about only spending 120 DP to research the three crates full of produce when it could have been far worse.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research large glass jars using the [Base Resources] glass and steel?


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    Another 280 DP later, Veronica had variations for grated BBQ roasted seaweed, grated parmesan cheese, shiitake mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, radishes, blackberries, and currants. While she planned to make most of the foods she''d be serving in the tavern from scratch, roasted seaweed could too easily go wrong when done by an amateur. The seaweed could end up overseasoned, soggy from oil, or burnt during the cooking process; all things Veronica preferred to avoid.


    As she already had normal-sized glass jars unlocked, Veronica did the next batch of research without researching a container first. 110 DP was spent on jars of minced garlic, minced ginger, vegetable bouillon cubes, and boar bouillon cubes. She also had squirrel meat that she had received as a tribute previously, but it could taste a bit gamey and wasn''t suitable for the menu she had planned. While boar was also a bit troublesome compared to pork or chicken from her old world, she couldn''t exactly use them if she didn''t have them available.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research glass bottles with corks using the [Base Resources] glass, cork, and iron?


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    These were similar to wine bottles, but were a common choice for storing cooking oil. Since the cork could easily be removed and replaced as needed, it made for easy storage. An additional 220 DP was spent to research bottles of sunflower oil, white vinegar, blackberry vinaigrette, yuzu garlic dressing, milk, and heavy cream. As salads would be part of the light fare menu, she needed some dressings, but preventing the mixture from breaking was tricky, so it was safer to get it pre-made by the system.


    There was only one last group of [Items] she had to research to take care of the light fare menu now and it was mostly odds and ends. Still, they had their place in the kitchen too, so she couldn''t skip them. A final 126 DP was spent on cardboard boxes with wax paper that stored saltine crackers, cattail pollen biscuits, and pine bark bread as well as ceramic pots of butter and white kitchen towels. The cardboard boxes would keep the bready [Items] fresh and the kitchen towels could be multipurpose both for cleaning and covering the pine bark bread while it rested on a cutting board in between uses.


    The actual menu would have sunflower seeds for 5 DP per serving. They''d be freshly sauteed in a pan with salt and sunflower oil or butter. Then there was BBQ roasted seaweed for 5 DP and apple slices with a caramel dip for 10 DP. She was planning to make the caramel fresh in the kitchen from heavy cream, butter, and sugar. Technically, it would be ideal to include vanilla in the recipe, but she was also debating whether she actually wanted to make all the caramel from scratch or if she''d end up having it pre-made as well. She''d have to wait until she prepared things for the dessert menu to decide for sure. Either way, the baking ingredients would be good staples to keep on hand.


    For soups, she was planning to serve a Japanese clear soup and a creamy mushroom and rice soup. Both would cost 15 DP per bowl, but could be prepared ahead of time to varying degrees. The clear soup''s broth could be made ahead and then reheated to order, but needed fresh scallions and thinly sliced mushrooms to be cut to order. She already had scallions thanks to Elora and Eldrin, but she was just going to store them in glasses of water, so she hadn''t bothered with separate containers being researched. The mushroom and rice soup was what she needed the shiitake and crimini mushrooms for, among other things.


    Finally, she was planning to serve a chickweed salad and a pea shoot salad. The first would require chickweed, watercress, wild violets, blackberries, currants, and the blackberry vinaigrette. Meanwhile, the pea shoot salad needed pea shoots, radishes, spearmint, and the yuzu and garlic dressing. They were a bit strange when compared to the salads served in her home country, but they were very much based on real salad recipes she had made in one of her international culinary classes. Besides which, Veronica was sure that including ingredients that she had been given as tributes would increase the likelihood of the menu being to the local''s tastes.


    Overall, she had ended up spending 1,744 DP today to prepare all of the ingredients for the light fare menu. While many of these new [Items] would serve as the basis for other portions of the menu, it was still a lot to spend in one sitting. She was glad that she still had 11,607 dungeon points left as she was still trying to reserve, at least, 10,000 DP for when she unlocked the next floor, but she wasn''t sure how long that would last. Hopefully, the long and tedious process of stocking the kitchen would allow her enough time to earn some more dungeon points.

 1.51 Cleaning Closet

    While the tavern still needed plenty of work and she needed to finish the preparations regarding the menu, there was also other work to do. Elora was hard-working and willing to do the work as she eagerly learned everything Veronica had to teach her. However, that would only go so far as they needed a space to properly store the supplies needed to do the work in the long-term.


    Most establishments in the modern world had a storage closet where things like a washer and dryer as well as extra cleaning supplies would be held. The mop buckets on the carts could be filled with a cleaning solution at the push of a button and dirty cleaning cloths could be disposed of in a laundry hamper. Both the start and end of one''s work day as a janitor or housekeeper would start in this room as that was where carts that weren''t currently in use would be stored. That was exactly what they needed for their tavern as well.


    Luckily, Veronica had the perfect space set aside for such a room already. Beside her public bathrooms and directly on the opposite side of the wall from her dungeon core room, she still had an empty room. By making it nothing more than a janitor''s closet she could ensure it was far too boring for her inn guests and adventurers to mess with. Whether it was possible for them to smash through a proper dungeon wall had yet to be seen, but the trees on the dungeon side were certainly vulnerable to it. As it turned out, Bo wasn''t exactly smart enough to complete the hedge maze, but he could most certainly charge right on through the bushes and then use a magic tool to cut apart the vines and continue forward without a worry. It was more than a little annoying, to say the least.


    In one corner of the new cleaning closet, Veronica added a sink. It wasn''t quite as fancy as the modern systems that included hoses for more easily filling mop buckets while mixing the soap solution for you, but it would certainly get the job done. Next to it, she filled the area with extra housekeeping carts. While Elora was only one individual, it wasn''t like Eldrin and herself couldn''t help with managing the rooms should it become necessary. It would be good to have extra carts ready in case it ever becomes a problem.


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wooden shelving using the [Base Resources] wood and nails?


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wooden bins using the [Base Resources] wood and nails?


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    Most of the room had to be filled with shelves while bins took up the center-most space. There were plenty of cleaning solutions and folded cloths that needed a space to be stored while the dirty laundry would need a space of its own. Veronica couldn''t exactly make the dungeon absorb the dirty sheets and quilts until the inn side was empty and it was likely the tavern would only decrease the time she had to act. That, of course, wasn''t even to mention how rude she felt shooing the kids away every time she needed to use her system menu. Worst case scenario, though, she could always make Eldrin carry things back and forth from the dungeon side at night when things were empty. There wasn''t always a guarantee everyone would clear out as the challenge rooms could [Trap] people in them, but most people knew better than to continue forward past the first six rooms by now.


    While she had a lot of mana coming in on a constant basis, it still took several days to get the cleaning closet stocked with all the bottles of cleaning solution, clean bedding, towels, cleaning cloths, and toiletries. Things like pots and pans that could be stolen from the larger rooms would have to be replaced on a case-by-case basis. After spending some time getting familiar with her system, she now knew she could set rooms as locked to all but staff, set them as rooms for rent, and as bathrooms for a set group of individuals. Her own room was now marked as locked to all but staff as was the janitorial closet, which meant nothing could be stolen from them.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Elora and Eldrin''s recent trip to the market to fetch ingredients for her was being used as the room rental payment for the large room they were staying in. That only lasted a few days before they got locked out again, which meant she had to personally let them in and out of the room. Luckily, she could now set the room as locked to all but staff, which only included the three of them plus Seraphina. Apparently, as a Dungeon Diplomat, she was both considered part of the dungeon system the way [Monsters] were and also not part of it. It wasn''t ideal, but she doubted the Elven woman would steal from the children.


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research cork board using the [Base Resources] wood and cork?


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    Would you like to spend 4 DP to research thumbtacks using the [Base Resources] wood and iron?


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    Would you like to spend 6 DP to research charcoal pencils using the [Base Resources] wood and charcoal?


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    The corkboard couldn''t exactly be hung up on a dungeon wall the way you would normally do so. The wall was too strong to hammer nails through it or anything similar. However, the building system did allow her to choose where she wanted things and the corkboard was able to be hung up as if by magic. Once placed, it couldn''t easily be removed either. Someone would have to try and destroy the corkboard in its entirety in order to do so. Still, it was perfect for the purpose Veronica had in mind, which was for Elora to write notes about supplies she needed to be replaced for her to read later. Veronica wasn''t exactly going to hang out on the first floor every day once she unlocked new floors, after all.


    Despite how expensive her tavern preparations were getting, it wasn''t like it was all bad. She had started to calm down and peace had begun to return to her dungeon once more. Between the siblings and being preoccupied with tavern preparations, she was too busy to worry about Bo. Besides which, it would seem he had gotten bored of challenging her and was preoccupied elsewhere. Perhaps he didn''t like the easy win and her lack of progress on the dungeon side of things meant there wasn''t an increase in challenge for him to look forward to there either.


    She had managed to scrape together 4,200 DP from room rentals, 563 DP from repeat tributes, and 260 DP from new tributes, including: miso paste, pickled radishes, raw oysters, plate of little fishes, potatoes, and chestnuts. As all of the new ones were food-related, Veronica could only hypothesize that Elora and Eldrin''s trip out to purchase ingredients on her behalf had led to adventurers wanting to gift her with even more food than they had previously. She was now sitting at 16,590 dungeon points total, which was a huge relief. It meant she''d be able to keep plenty in reserve and finish preparing everything for the tavern without worrying too much.


    Over the time she spent preparing the cleaning closet, Veronica spent a lot of time working closely with both Elora and Eldrin. Mornings were spent building up the cleaning closet and teaching Elora how to clean properly while nights were spent with Eldrin carrying over supplies for the tavern''s kitchen. It was a pain to carry things from the first dungeon room to the kitchen, even with how close to the dungeon entrance the tavern was located in comparison to everything else.


    Immediately off of the inn side entrance was the reception, of course, and a hallway was just outside of that, but the tavern connected not long after that. So, it was only a few minutes of walking from one section to another, but it was still hard work to carry so many heavy things. Eldrin was mostly optimistic as he made jokes about how he was going to grow muscles from all the heavy lifting she was making him do. It was good to see him starting to come out of his shell, but she also felt a bit guilty for making children do such hard manual labor. Well, they were teenagers who''d soon be adults by Human standards, but still.

 1.52 Hearty Fare

    For the hearty fare menu, Veronica decided to split things into two main categories. The first would be dishes with meat while the second would be dishes without meat. While Seraphina had been right about her not falling prey to stereotypes, especially when she wasn''t originally from this world, that didn''t mean everyone would eat meat. Even in the modern world there were vegetarians and vegans as well as cultures that simply had vegetarian dishes for other reasons. As such, it only made sense to include dishes without any meat in them on her menu.


    For 15 DP she planned to sell both puffball and boar burgers. The puffballs would be thick sliced pieces of mushrooms coated in cheese and served on a hamburger-style bun with tomato and watercress. Meanwhile, the boar burgers would be a mixture of ground boar meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, and seasonings that would be seared on both sides before served on a hamburger bun with the same accompaniments as the puffball burgers. While she could, technically, offer a side with the sandwiches, she decided to skip it since it would only add unnecessary work.


    She also planned to include chicken-fried mushrooms with gravy for 20 DP per serving. The dish would involve breading and frying chicken of the woods mushrooms before smothering it in a mushroom gravy made using vegetable bouillon. It wouldn''t exactly be a vegetarian dish if she used boar bouillon after all. The meat alternative was more expensive at 30 DP, but would also be a proper meal. Boar tonkatsu served on a bed of rice with thinly sliced napa cabbage, a fried egg, and a flavorful sauce drizzled over top of it all. Normal tonkatsu was just a breaded and fried pork cutlet, so boar really wasn''t a bad replacement for it.


    As for the last four dishes, Veronica had decided to go with some pasta options. 15 DP for some cacio e pepe, 20 DP for boar alfredo, and 30 DP for either mozzarella parm pasta or spaghetti and meatballs. Whereas chicken parmesan involves breaded and fried chicken, the mozzarella parm was made with thick sliced mozzarella. It was perfect for making a more balanced, filling meal while still offering an option without meat. Her menu wasn''t really meant to be based on any one culture in this world or hers, but rather was meant to offer a good variety of comfort foods she thought the locals might enjoy based on the tributes she had received.


    Of course, simply knowing what she wanted to have on the menu wasn''t enough, she also had to complete the necessary research and stock the ingredients needed to prepare the recipes. Veronica was a bit worried about how much work it would be to prepare everything on the menu with just her and, potentially, Eldrin, but there were really only so many shortcuts she could take. She''d have to make up for the rest by doing plenty of prep work with the time she''d save with the fact that she no longer required sleep.


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a large jar of panko breadcrumbs using the [Items] pine bark bread and large jar?


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    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a large jar of sliced puffball mushrooms using the [Items] puffball mushrooms and large jar?


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a large jar of thick-sliced mozzarella cheese using the [Base Resources] cheese and large jar?


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a large jar of sliced cheddar cheese using the [Base Resources] cheese and large jar?


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    The main difference between panko breadcrumbs and other types of breadcrumbs is that it is airier, uses special crustless bread, and is fried to make it crispy and crunchy. So, the system could easily use any type of bread to make the final result without it mattering too much. As for the cheese, the dungeon had a peculiar way of categorizing it where all cheese was just labeled a generic ''cheese''. While she likely could have researched all the cheese she needed regardless since she had all the milk products she could need, it was still a bit funny to see anytime she needed to research something with cheese.


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a large jar of ground boar using the [Base Resources] boar and large jar?


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a large jar of boar chops using the [Base Resources] boar and large jar?This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


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    While [Critters] were never unlocked when she got animal-based tributes, the dungeon still categorized it as a rather expensive [Base Resource] to use in research. Still, it wasn''t like she could complain too much since a single 50 MP jar of ground boar could easily make several boar burgers, which still meant she could make a decent amount of profit. Nothing was really 1:1 when she could earn mana as easy as breathing, but dungeon points took way more work and luck to earn. She would even earn 12 MP per day even if adventurers didn''t show up to the dungeon at all, after all, but she literally could not earn even a single dungeon point without receiving tributes. So, the prices on her menu didn''t have to really be logic-based as much as they needed to be just low enough for adventurers to find it fair and high enough to make the labor she put in to cook the dishes worth the effort. The rest of the costs involved were, pretty much, a moot point.


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    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a box of hamburger buns using the [Base Resources] cardboard, milk, water, wild yeast, sugar, egg, flour, salt, and butter?


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a box of linguine noodles using the [Base Resources] cardboard, flour, salt, sunflower oil, and eggs?


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a box of spaghetti noodles using the [Base Resources] cardboard, flour, salt, sunflower oil, and eggs?


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    The hamburger buns didn''t have sesame seeds like the ones from her world because she didn''t have them among her [Base Resources]. As for the pasta, most were made from the same dough and simply were cut to different thicknesses or into different shapes. It really wasn''t that complicated unless you wanted to add veggies or squid ink into the dough.


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a crate of tomatoes using the [Items] wooden crate and tomatoes?


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a crate of napa cabbage using the [Items] wooden crate and napa cabbage?


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a carton of eggs using the [Base Resources] cardboard and eggs?


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    She didn''t have chicken eggs unlocked as a separate [Item], but Veronica could easily hypothesize that the eggs were about 2 MP each with the rest of the cost coming from the cardboard carton itself. The final results, honestly, looked a lot like the modern day equivalent, but with far less ink on the carton since it wasn''t necessary to have all the branding.


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    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a jar of marinara sauce using the [Base Resources] glass jar, tomatoes, onion, garlic, sunflower oil, and salt?


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a bottle of ketchup using the [Base Resources] glass jar, tomatoes, vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, and salt?


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a bottle of soy sauce using the [Base Resources] glass jar, soybeans, wheat, water, and salt?


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    Would you like to spend 70 DP to research a bottle of oyster sauce using the [Base Resources] glass jar, water, sugar, salt, oysters, soy sauce, and cornstarch?


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    Would you like to spend 70 DP to research a bottle of Worcestershire sauce using the [Base Resources] glass jar, water, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, onion, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, and anchovies?


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    The sauces were really the most complicated part to make yet they were all needed just to be able to make the tonkatsu sauce. A bit of ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and sugar and you''d have a delicious, perfectly balanced sauce! It was really needed for the oily, breaded tonkatsu and making it with something as gamey as boar just made it that much more necessary. Still, Veronica was quite happy with the results of her work and was even happier to see she still had an entire 15,700 dungeon points leftover.

 1.53 Game Night

    "This is checkers. Each player gets the same number of pieces with one player using the black chips while the other uses red chips. Players take turns moving one chip forward at a time either straight forward, sideways, or diagonally towards their opponent''s side of the board.


    Players can skip their chip over the other player''s chip and force their opponent to remove that chip from the board. If a player successfully moves a chip to the other side of the board they flip their chip over so it is crown side up.


    Normal chips can''t be moved backward, but the crown chips can be. When the opponent can''t make any further moves due to having all their pieces removed from the board or blocked in so they can''t move, you win."


    Veronica explained to Elora and Eldrin. This was only one of the games they would be playing tonight. The two had shown a great deal of interest when she had first suggested they have a game night. Seraphina had also been invited, but had declined. Veronica had been slightly disappointed, but couldn''t exactly blame the Elven woman. She was sure it must be hard to remain impartial, always maintaining the balance between dungeons and the outside world. So, she decided not to push the issue. It wasn''t like she was desperate for friends anyway.


    Veronica watched her two teenage guests as they played their first round against one another. It didn''t seem very fair for her to participate when they had yet to learn what they were doing. She''d likely win most of the rounds and it would only discourage them from participating in the future. While she wasn''t personally super into board games and card games, it was one of the only forms of entertainment she had in this world. There were no Korean dramas and romance novels for her to binge the way she used to.


    As the tavern kitchen was already stocked with plenty of ingredients, it was easy enough to prepare a few dishes for them to enjoy while they played. Veronica didn''t bother with any entrees, but she did put together some roasted sunflower seeds, BBQ roasted seaweed, apple slices with caramel, and a selection of the new fruit-flavored sodas. While she had been assured by Seraphina that it was normal in this world for even children to enjoy watered-down wine, she wasn''t exactly eager to get a bunch of kids drunk.


    "What flavor did you say this is again?"


    Elora asked as she reached for another sheet of seaweed. She crunched down onto it before licking her lips, looking eagerly at her while she awaited the answer. Veronica shrugged as she replied


    "It''s nothing special, it''s just barbeque flavored. It has savory seasonings like garlic and onion mixed with sweet ones like sugar. I based it around a Korean BBQ variation from my old world, it used to be my favorite. There were other good ones like wasabi flavor or the more classic sesame oil, but none of them were quite as tasty as my favorite."


    It was a bit strange to be able to speak so openly about being from another world, but it was also nice that she didn''t have to hide it. Eldrin reminded her of a fan with their favorite celebrity as he sat starry-eyed, captivated every time she talked about what life was like where she came from.


    "What is wasabi?"


    he asked as he moved forward his checker piece. Veronica hesitated as she replied


    "You might have something similar here, but it''s, basically, just a really spicy root. It can give you bad breath similar to how garlic or onion does. There''s a similar root called horseradish, which was often used to make fake versions of wasabi flavors as well."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    As she had spent the last few weeks putting all of the shelf-stable ingredients into the tavern kitchen, both of the kids were familiar with what onions and garlic were. They tended to not ask too many questions about why she called things what she did, but she also pointed at what she was talking about to make it clear. Many of the more common ingredients tended to have the same names as she was used to, but she couldn''t be sure which ones had different names in this world and which ones were the same. The kids never bothered to correct her either, which likely had to do with the respect people in this world had for Dungeon Masters. Within her dungeon, there was no higher power than herself, as far as they were concerned.


    Veronica knew that not to be the case, though. If she didn''t conform to the rules of this world then she would be punished by the dungeon core. Who was to say how many years she''d lose off of her life the next time she messed up on something seemingly arbitrary? Still, Veronica had never really been the sort to submit to authority without having a good reason to do so. It had always annoyed her parents that they couldn''t just say "because I said so" and then expect her to do what they wanted. Only if they gave her a good, logical reason would she consider doing what they wanted, even as a child. Why the dungeon core thought trying to force her to do things with the threat of punishment would work indefinitely she wasn''t sure, but she knew it wasn''t a matter of if, but when she''d next end up getting into trouble.


    "Do you want to take a turn, Lady Veronica?"


    Elora asked, sounding extra polite. Whenever Seraphina said it, there was a clear undertone of mockery as if she was holding back from laughing. The kids were never like that. Shrugging, she replied


    "I don''t mind watching you two play for a while longer. I have some other games too, but it might be better to save them for another time. It''ll be more fun for me to play when you get enough experience to present a proper challenge for me anyway."


    That reminded her, shouldn''t dungeons being challenging be considered a good thing? She understood Seraphina''s point about not making things too deadly and not bending the rules. Making a 10-Units deep hole in the firewall challenge room and making the only safe path one that could potentially lead to third-degree burns was, perhaps, a step too far. However, what were the limits on what was considered fair? Would putting bullet ants on the first floor be considered taking things too far, even despite the system rewarding her with them? She didn''t think anyone would die from them, but she couldn''t be sure of much of anything without a more direct line of communication.


    When it began to get later in the day, Veronica got up and went to prepare the kids a proper meal. Snacks were great and all, but they just wouldn''t quite satisfy the way something more balanced would. Both the kids ate meat, so it was easy enough to throw together some boar burgers for them. It was even a good option while playing games since it could be held in one hand while you used the other to continue moving pieces across the board. As Eldrin ate much faster than Elora, Veronica decided to play the next round against him while she finished her food at her own pace.


    "So, you said we''re going to serve food like that at the tavern? The adventurers are so lucky! I wish you could have moved here sooner. It would have been so cool if we could have stayed in your inn and bought your food instead of having to save up enough for even the basics. I would have worked hard all day long to collect things from the forest for food like that!"


    Eldrin enthusiastically exclaimed. Veronica grimaced as she replied


    "I don''t know that I would have chosen to come to this world if it could be avoided. However, if you really feel that way, maybe you can spread the word to others who are suffering through the same thing you used to. It can wait until you can better defend yourself, though. I don''t want you dying out on the streets when I need your help here."


    Even despite how cold she tended to be with her words, the children never seemed to take it personally. They always treated her like she was a cool aunt or a kind shop owner who lived next door. It didn''t really match the reality of the situation, but Veronica didn''t really care enough to correct them on it either. After a while of playing checkers, she sent them to their room to retire for the night. They''d have to get back to work tomorrow as there was still plenty of work to do.

 1.54 Completed Tavern Menu

    As the rest of the menu was already going to be a lot of work to keep up with, it was necessary for the dessert menu to be kept simple. Having most of the options either able to be summoned in a completed state or be able to be prepared ahead of time by Veronica herself was the only way she''d be able to manage everything. It wouldn''t exactly be a good thing if the tavern only had a small handful of guests and they were still forced to wait a long time to receive even the most basic of orders. Everything needed to be able to be prepared and sent out in a timely manner so she could rake in as many dungeon points as possible.


    So, she ended up deciding to make the two cheapest desserts: coffee jelly and yuzu jelly at 10 DP each. However, while she had received coffee jelly in a mason jar as a tribute previously, it would cost 10 MP just to create one and it wouldn''t stay fresh forever. At that cost, it would be more cost-effective in the longterm to research and create the individual ingredients so she could do the preparation herself.


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    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a french press using the [Base Resources] glass and steel?


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    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a large jar of ground coffee using the [Base Resources] coffee beans and large jar?


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a large jar of pectin powder using the [Base Resources] pectin and large jar?


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of yuzu juice using the [Base Resources] yuzu and glass bottle?


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    She already had ingredients like sugar stocked in the tavern''s kitchen and she could always repurpose wine glasses for holding the desserts since she had researched them previously. The desserts would be relatively simple since she''d just need to sweeten the coffee or yuzu juice while it was boiling hot before mixing in the pectin powder. After letting it cool just enough, she could portion it into individual serving glasses and refrigerate them until it was time to serve them to customers. Of course, whipped cream would also need to be added on top just to make it that much more special, but she already had bottles of heavy cream and sugar, so that would be easy enough.


    The next most expensive desserts on the menu would be slices of red gooseberry and rhubarb pie and acorn spice cake with buttercream icing. She had previously received the pie as a tribute, but it was still necessary to research a boxed form in order to make transport and storage easier.


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research boxes of red gooseberry and rhubarb pie using the [Base Resources] cardboard and red gooseberry and rhubarb pie?Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research boxes of acorn spice cake using the [Base Resources] cardboard, acorn flour, wild yeast, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, sunflower oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk?


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    The system being able to make cardboard boxes without tape or glue to keep them together was always weird, but Veronica was hardly going to question it. That didn''t matter as much as having a usable product. Since she had previously received something made using acorn flour, she hoped having a cake made with the same ingredient would make it seem more interesting to her patrons. As much as she wanted to offer exciting new dishes, it was equally as important to make her guests feel comfortable, after all.


    The last three desserts she planned to serve would all be frozen treats. A vanilla malt shake, a cappuccino gelato, and a hot caramel sundae would offer plenty of variety while also being easy enough to whip up at a moment''s notice. The only hard part would be manually mixing the shake since she didn''t exactly have an electric milkshake mixer she could use. Vanilla ice cream, vanilla custard, vanilla gelato, coffee gelato, vanilla malt powder, and shortbread cookie crumbs ran her 370 DP. Meanwhile, glass sauce bottles, bottles of caramel sauce and coffee sauce, a jar of glass straws, and a set of hand crank egg beaters cost a total of 130 dungeon points. However, that was the last of the ingredients she''d need to stock her kitchen with.


    The hot caramel sundae would require vanilla ice cream topped with shortbread cookie crumbs and hot caramel. Using a glass sauce bottle would allow her to heat it up in a pot of water while not getting as hot as metal could. She''d have to use a folded kitchen towel as an oven mitt to avoid burning herself, but she was sure it would be fine. As for the cappuccino gelato, that would involve layering vanilla and coffee gelato before dousing it in a coffee sauce. The vanilla malt was super simple with milk, vanilla custard, and malt powder mixed together before being topped with whipped cream. Well, outside of how much of a pain it would be to mix it. The egg beaters would make preparing whipped cream easier, but weren''t quite suitable for mixing something as thick as ice cream.


    With the menu fully prepared, all that was left was to fill the tavern and kitchen with the necessary furniture. Luckily, she already had most of the things she needed researched, which would save her a good bit of dungeon points. The keg system the blacksmith helped the Elf siblings procure was set up against one wall with a jade counter in front of it. Then some leather bar stools were placed in front of that. Rugs led from the entrance to the tavern to the kitchen entrance with branching paths where necessary.


    In the other back corner of the tavern, Veronica set up some partition walls for two bathrooms. These would just have toilets, sinks, and a towel rack with luxury towels. She didn''t need a whole public bath in her tavern, just a spot where drunkards could quickly get to a toilet. The walk down to the public baths was a bit farther than she really wanted to make people walk, after all.


    The main seats consisted of wooden dining tables and benches, which ran her 20 DP to research. Fireplaces were set up on each side of the room with another green rug in front of them. On top of those she placed a wooden sofa and coffee table, which she had previously had in the reception area before she replaced them with nicer furniture. Other than that, there were just potted peace lilies along the outer walls of the tavern to serve as decorations and bring some extra greenery to the room.


    The kitchen was similarly kept quite simple. A whole wall was lined with magic refrigerators while another large section of the kitchen had extra kegs for storage. Next to the door to the tavern she set up two sinks with plenty of counter space for washing dishes. Even if she could replace the dishes, it would take away from the mana she needed to spend on creating more ingredients, so it was better to just make one of the siblings help with the dishes.


    Finally, there was the cooking area, which consisted of magic wood stoves and more jade counter space. There were shelves to hold the dry ingredients behind the dish station and next to the kegs. So, the area directly beside the refrigerators was exclusively for rows of stoves and counters. As she was worried about not having enough fridge space, at the last minute, Veronica decided to add even more fridges against the back wall of the kitchen.


    It would still be a while before she''d have all the fresh ingredients stocked in the kitchen as there was still a limit to her mana. However, she was more than satisfied with the result of all the hard work she had put forth, thus far. It wouldn''t be long now before it would be time for the opening day of her tavern!

 1.55 Open For Business

    "I''ll have the chickweed salad and a yuzu soda."


    Lia Maywaters told Elora. The young girl quickly wrote down the order before turning to her companions to receive theirs. When she left, Thalis was quick to tease


    "Little dove, you''re so predictable. You should really try branching out a little more. This tavern has an excellent alcohol menu; you can''t beat the prices! Although, it is a bit strange how unbalanced the prices are around here..."


    Ruby shook her head as she chipped in


    "I don''t know how the prices are decided, but surely there is some logic to it we aren''t seeing. For one thing, there are clearly three different staff working here whereas I''ve only seen the same girl cleaning the inn rooms each day."


    Eldrin was working as the busboy and dishwasher, even taking orders when he had a few spare minutes. Meanwhile, Veronica was serving alcohol and cooking all of the dishes by herself. Eldrin had been allowed to help prepare some of the ingredients when the tavern wasn''t open, but wasn''t knowledgeable enough in cooking yet. Since Elora also had to clean rooms earlier in the day, she was given the job of server so that she could, hopefully, have some more downtime to relax. Of course, Lia''s party wasn''t privy to every last detail, but they could still observe enough of it to make their own observations.


    The drinks were brought to their table at the same time. The alcohol was poured into drinking glasses while the yuzu soda was served in its bottle with its cork removed. As this was the first day the tavern was open, it also meant this was the first time they could try any of the new menu [Items]. Lia slowly sipped at the yuzu drink in the bottle and nearly choked as she took in the strange sensation of bubbles popping on her tongue.


    "Are you okay?"


    Ruby asked, seeming overly concerned. Alaric looked around warily, reaching for his sword as he did so. This was still a dungeon, after all, so there was every possibility that it was a [Trap] of some sort. Lia shook her head, quick to reassure them


    "I''m fine! I was just taken by surprise. The drink has some sort of strange feeling to it when I drink it. It tastes good, though. The flavor is light, but there is a nice floral flavor from the yuzu."


    Alaric had ordered a plain water while Ruby had ordered an ale and Thalis had decided to try the dandelion wine. As the party leader, Alaric tended to feel responsible for keeping them safe and didn''t like to drink. As for the other two, well, the stereotypes about the preferences of their race wouldn''t exist if there wasn''t some truth to it. The Dwarves were well known for their famous ales while Elves tended to make the most of everything they found on their land, which often included making wine from fruit. Lia had fond memories of her own village preparing the wine for the season as a group effort when she was younger. It always led to a celebration once the season''s harvest was complete.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Thalis narrowed his eyes as he took a more careful sip of his own drink. The way he ran his tongue over his lips and tilted his head to the side, it was clear he was giving it careful consideration. Nodding, he declared


    "There doesn''t seem to be anything amiss for me. This wine is sweet with some earthy notes from the dandelions. It seems more akin to a mead than a wine, but, otherwise, isn''t much different from anything else I''ve had. It''s a bit much to have to pluck twenty individual flowers just to pay for a glass, though. At that point, it almost seems like I may as well make this drink myself."


    Ruby snorted as she replied disdainfully


    "Everything is easier to make when you are making it in bulk. My ale might be slightly cheaper than your drink, but I don''t think it''s an unfair price. I''d happily go back out and defeat a few more gargoyles and collect the rubble they leave behind to buy another glass."


    As they had been staying at the inn for a while now, they already knew the points system wouldn''t accept anything they collected from the dungeon without it first leaving the premises. However, it was also true that the smaller pieces of magic stone weren''t useful to the guild the way the larger chunks were. They had taken to saving them for paying for their inn rooms, but not everyone enjoyed the repetitiveness of picking up such small pieces.


    Thalis was an archer class, but he also had some knowledge of herbalism and could easily forage useful supplies from the woods. So, he usually just collected enough extra to pay for everything he needed around the dungeon and then took a break when they weren''t actively in combat. No one complained, though, as potions tended to be far more expensive than making a poultice from herbs. If they weren''t seriously injured then they weren''t going to bother with the expense. Their party was still too low in ranking to take on the more valuable quests at the adventurers'' guild and they had more important goals in mind like saving up for better gear.


    When their food came out from the kitchen, Elora was joined by the young Elven boy. That allowed them to bring all of the food out at once. Ruby was practically drooling as she immediately picked up her boar burger and took a bite, the juices running down her face. Everyone else had also chosen a hot entree, leaving only Lia with a salad. Still, she couldn''t complain as she noted there was a nice balance to the ingredients. The watercress and chickweed were fresh, the berries were sweet, and the berry vinaigrette was tart.


    Unfortunately, they hadn''t been expecting the cost of the dishes here to be quite so expensive, so they wouldn''t be able to afford dessert today. After adjusting to the costs of the inn rooms, they had even begun to splurge on the nicer rooms on occasion. However, they''d most definitely have to share two of the 15 DP rooms tonight. As they tended to spend all day working on quests or fighting [Monsters] in the dungeon, they rarely had time to make it to the marketplace before the shops closed. However, Lia couldn''t help but think it might be better to wake up a little earlier tomorrow so she could try and purchase some extra [Items] to use as payment tomorrow night. The acorn spice cake just sounded so good, she had to have it!

 1.56 First Floor Boss Room

    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to research gargoyles using [Base Resources] stone and iron to create gargoyle evolution [Winged Monstrosity] for 250 DP?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Winged Monstrosity Gargoyle


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP & 30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. Unlike normal gargoyles, this variation has wings and sharp claws made of iron that allow it to deal a greater amount of damage. However, due to its weight, it cannot sustain flight for long. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica frowned as she took in the description of the new variation of gargoyle she had just researched. She had chosen not to try adding any elemental abilities in order to decrease the chances of the dungeon system penalizing her. However, she hadn''t been expecting physics to nerf its abilities on top of everything else. It was a fantasy world full of magic that seemed to contradict much of what she had known about the laws of her old world, but it seemed that wasn''t enough to completely overhaul the way physics worked.


    It was almost laughable that her new boss [Monster] was the equivalent of a flying squirrel. Despite having wings, it was more like the creature was gliding in the air rather than truly sustaining flight. The iron used to reinforce the creature had been used to lighten the wings while reinforcing them while the only other area that seemed to utilize iron were the claws, which were like miniature knives. Her boss [Monster] would have to claw people to death, which was going to take far longer than she wanted to admit.


    She had been hoping for something that would put up enough of a fight to keep Bo away from her. He may be giving her a reprieve, for now, but it was likely only a matter of time before he''d be showing once more. Since her training with Seraphina was likely to come to an end soon, she needed another way to keep the asshole away from her. However, it seemed the system very much so liked its balance and she''d have to take the loss for what it was. There was no use wasting more of her precious dungeon points than she already had.


    Of course, it wouldn''t be a proper boss room if she just left the huge 38-Units by 35-Units room empty, save for the winged monstrosity. So, Veronica decided to invest in some proper decorations to make it feel like more of a proper arena for a boss fight.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research stone brick pathways using the [Item] stone brick?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    YesIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research stone temple ruins using the [Items] stone bricks and clay?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 16 DP to research standing torches using the [Base Resources] wood, steel, wax, and grass?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It had been disappointing to find out that she couldn''t afford a newer temple, but she had just barely managed to get away with ruins. The temple was quite large and she placed it in the center of the room, setting up standing torches along the outside to ensure there was enough light. The stone brick pathway was hardly necessary as she didn''t have to do the adventurers any favors, but it felt fitting so she went ahead and made one anyway.


    With all of that taken care of, she only had to spend another 300 DP to set the room as a boss room, which both locked the door and reinforced the environment. Normally, she would have to spend 150 DP to set the room''s theme and then would only be able to lock the door for another 150 DP if it was a challenge room. However, it seemed that boss rooms had their own rules, but were limited to one per floor. There would be no mini-bosses, at least, not in any official rooms. Veronica supposed any [Monster] could be considered a mini-boss if it was difficult enough to defeat, it just wouldn''t be recognized as such by the system.


    This room was the only path that led from the entrance of the dungeon to the hallway that connected directly to her dungeon core room. She still wasn''t sure if the dungeon core room''s location would remain the same when she unlocked her next floor. That would soon become clearer since she planned to unlock the next floor tomorrow morning after informing Seraphina and the Elf siblings. While she didn''t care if everyone else died, it was part of her contract that she not purposely harm Elora and Eldrin. Besides, they had been growing on her and she wasn''t so twisted that she''d take joy from the suffering of others. She just didn''t like the threat that strangers posed to her own life as a result of her bond with the dungeon core.


    Later that day, Veronica tried to ask Seraphina about what to expect regarding unlocking her next floor. However, she was only met with vague answers and dismissal.


    "I''m not supposed to talk about that until after you unlock your second floor. The elders have concerns about whether talking about how other dungeons handle it will affect the results you see. While many of the system elements are similar enough between dungeons, every dungeon also has its own unique characteristics. Even if there are some things that tend to be seen in nearly every dungeon, there are always exceptions to the rule. You''ll have to wait and see for yourself."


    Feeling frustrated, she snapped


    "Can you at least look after Elora and Eldrin until things settle back down? If my gargoyles get rambunctious every time my emotions fluctuate a little bit, I can only imagine things will be worse with the dungeon changing."


    Seraphina shrugged as she boredly replied


    "I doubt it will be a big deal since they only ever go to the dungeon when you''re with them as it is. Worst case scenario, your will-o''-wisp might chase them out, but they can''t directly harm anyone anyway."


    Despite her assistance on not giving her any hints on what to expect, it would seem she couldn''t even hold to her own plans. It was now clear to Veronica that the dungeon was likely to initiate a [Monster] stampede to chase everyone out. All the more reason to wait until most of her inn guests left tomorrow morning. The cleaning schedule would be interrupted, but it was better than doing so now when there were already individuals who had paid for a room for the night.

 1.57 Mission Complete

    Veronica was anxious to get started on unlocking her next floor, but time never passes by quickly when you''re waiting for it. The dungeon wasn''t exactly kind enough to distort the passage of time for her now either. Really, the dungeon core and Veronica were more like bickering coworkers, both unhappy with the other''s presence, but unable to get rid of the other. If she wanted entertainment, then she would have to figure something out for herself.


    Well, there wasn''t anything more productive than turning in some overdue [Missions] to keep her entertained.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Origin:


    </td>


    <td>


    Status:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    <td>


    Reward:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Set up first challenge


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Place first [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete a boss room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete half of the first floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock the second floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete the first floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock ten [Critters]


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock [Critters] from five different phyla


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Make a first-floor tavern


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Earn the favor of a patron god or goddess


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock new schematic (Altar)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Most of the challenges were now complete with only three of them still marked as incomplete. It would seem there were several rewards ready for collection. While it was tempting to wait until she unlocked the next floor in case the [Critters] she''d be rewarded would be better related to the new floor theme, she couldn''t help but feel impatient. It wasn''t like she had used the ones she had unlocked before very much either. She had some angel fish in her tropical parkour challenge room, but that was it. Hopefully, that would change in the future, but she was hardly going to go out of her way to use them either.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to receive the reward now?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica selected the [Yes] option and accepted her first [Critter] reward.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select one of the following options to be randomly awarded a [Critter] from:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Mollusca


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Chordata - Aves


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Arthropoda


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Well, she had gotten the bulletants the last time she selected the [Arthropoda] option, so it seemed like as good an option as any.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Randomizing options...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New [Critter] option unlocked!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Butterfly Dragonfly


    </td>


    <td>


    1 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal butterfly dragonfly. Poor combat skills, excellent flying skills. Not recommended for consumption.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Well, it wasn''t quite as exciting as the ants had been, but they''d certainly still add some ambiance to the dungeon when the time came to use them. Quickly moving on, she accepted the other five [Critter] rewards she had available.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Randomizing options...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New [Critter] option unlocked!


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Common Otter


    </td>


    <td>


    8 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal otter. Average combat skills, excellent swimming skills. Is safe to consume.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Box Turtle


    </td>


    <td>


    5 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal box turtle. Poor combat skills, average defense skills, and excellent swimming skills. Not safe to consume.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Minnow


    </td>


    <td>


    2 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal minnow. Poor combat skills, excellent swimming skills. Is safe to consume.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Walleye


    </td>


    <td>


    2 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal walleye. Poor combat skills, excellent swimming skills. Is safe to consume.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    White Witch Moth


    </td>


    <td>


    1 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Behaves the same as a normal white witch moth. Poor combat skills, excellent flying skills. Not safe to consume.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica hadn''t necessarily meant to obtain so many water-dwelling [Critters] and insects, but she wasn''t sure it was something worth worrying about. At least, they would be versatile enough to use in most environments, come what may. The angelfish she had used as decoration in her tropical parkour course wasn''t ideal for use as a food source, but the new minnow and walleye options would allow her to set up a fishing hole, if she wanted. It certainly wasn''t a priority to make such useless rooms, though, as edible fish would add nothing to her dungeon''s defenses.


    The most dangerous, among the new [Critters] she had been awarded, had been the common otter. With a description that deemed them as having ''average'' combat skills, it had to be far more dangerous than those labeled as having ''poor'' combat skills. However, it was also true that all [Critters] were labeled as acting the way they would in their normal environment. So long as adventurers weren''t stupid, it was unlikely they would be attacked by the otters. It wasn''t like otters normally preyed upon Humans in her old world and she doubted this world would be any different.


    While the other options weren''t particularly dangerous, it was encouraging to see just how cheap they were. She''d have to give some more thought as to how to use them in the future. Her desire to use bullet ants on the first floor was almost purely out of a desire to annoy the adventurers into leaving her alone. She would hardly care if they stopped showing up to the dungeon side together. Having them as patrons at her inn and tavern was one thing, but she just couldn''t feel comfortable knowing there were people like Bo out there who wished her harm.


    Veronica decided to spend the rest of her night making plans for her next floor. She had no clue what sorts of new [Monsters] she might unlock or what sort of theme the new floor would have. For all she knew, her entire dungeon could be stuck with the tropical forest theme she had chosen in the beginning. She would have to wait and see before making decisions in regards to that. However, the chances of another half of the dungeon being dedicated to inn space seemed good enough that she was willing to start working on plans for how to use it.


    There were already some obvious ups and downs to the inn space on the upper floors. The higher an adventurer had to climb, the more likely it would be that they''d have to remain in the dungeon overnight. However, that also meant that it would be increasingly more difficult for them to afford to pay for her services. While veterans who were used to the way her dungeon worked would know to pack plenty of small [Items] to use as payment, even that wouldn''t be enough to ensure they didn''t run out after a certain point in time.


    Generally speaking, the services she could provide should be seen as more valuable thanks to the fact that adventurers wouldn''t be able to leave the dungeon as easily. They wouldn''t want to camp out in the dungeon every night as they''d constantly be bothered by her [Monsters] and it would make it difficult for their party to get enough rest. There also weren''t a lot of resources they could harvest to sustain their party on their journey through her dungeon. That meant they''d have to pack any supplies they needed, which would slow them down, or purchase what they wanted at whatever cost she wanted to charge them. Obviously, it would take up less weight to just pack a few pebbles or wood chips than it would to pack cooking equipment and everything else they needed.


    Veronica wanted to be able to show some more creativity in her menu and room themes on the higher floors. However, it wouldn''t make sense to still charge 50 DP for a room that could rival that of royalty''s when she had already made that the price for the more basic rooms on the first floor. The same could be said of her menu. If she made a fancy dim sum menu, she would have to put more effort into preparing everything on the menu, so she deserved to be fairly compensated. However, it would also be a waste to spend her dungeon points on researching a fancy menu if no one was willing to pay for it.


    Balancing each of her choices against all the potential for things to go wrong was exhausting. However, it was most certainly a good way to pass away nights like this one. It felt like no time at all before her dungeon was once more noisy as adventurers began to awake and make their way out of their rooms. It was finally time for her to unlock her second floor.

 1.58 The Second Floor

    Veronica eagerly made her way to the dungeon core room as she prepared to unlock her second floor. While she had no way of knowing what would happen, there was one thing that was certain. The dungeon core was the heart of the dungeon and had to be protected at all costs. It was highly unlikely that whatever was about to happen would endanger the dungeon core room unless the system was poorly designed.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to purchase the second dungeon floor for 1,000 DP?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica was surprised by just how cheap it was. She had been expecting to spend, at least, ten times that amount and had been diligently saving up for such an occasion. She quickly selected the [Yes] option and the dungeon immediately began to shake, almost as if the entirety of the dungeon was part of a massive earthquake. However, Veronica didn''t have time to be distracted by that as a new system prompt appeared.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    A [Monsters] stampede has been initiated to ensure the dungeon is free of non-dungeon entities. The dungeon entrance will be sealed shortly. Please prepare for the dungeon upgrade in the meantime.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System configuring...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As the dungeon shook every time a [Monster] stampede happened, this wasn''t very surprising. It was strange that the dungeon core room always had to have a direct path available for adventurers yet the dungeon was being sealed now. Even if it made sense for the dungeon core to protect itself at such critical times, it still suggested none of the rules of this world were absolute. There were exceptions to the rules, she just wasn''t being informed of them.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The second floor staircase is now unlocked! Please note that the entrance will be locked to all non-dungeon entities who haven''t defeated the designated first floor boss ahead of time. Dungeon [Monsters] assigned to the tavern may freely move between floors, but all others will be restricted to their designated floor at all times.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Luckily, Veronica didn''t have to worry about rearranging the dungeon or anything like that. There was already a staircase at one end of the hallway the dungeon had spawned with. Her boss room was already connected to that hallway with only her room and the dungeon core room also being connected. However, it would seem her previous worries about the inn being used as a shortcut were no longer necessary. The only thing it would serve as a shortcut to now would be the first floor boss room. Even if that did still cut down on her ability to defend against intruders, it would still provide a great deal more freedom.


    More importantly, the fact that her tavern [Monsters], which currently only included will-o''-wisps, would be able to travel between floors was incredible! Seraphina had previously suggested that the system designated [Monsters] as contracted versus summoned with the contracted ones being able to move two floors in either direction while the summoned ones were stuck on their assigned floor. However, she knew from experience that her gargoyles couldn''t even cross over to the inn side, nor could the will-o''-wisps leave the dungeon or even enter the dungeon side. In fact, only her will-o''-wisps could even enter the central hallway.


    While she knew all of this was likely due to the unique setup her split dungeon had, it was still quite confusing to be told one thing only to have things turn out to be completely different. It was starting to make more sense why Seraphina preferred to keep things vague, forcing her to discover how things worked for herself. Veronica couldn''t base all of her assumptions on how things worked for everyone else, she had to know how things worked for her own dungeon.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Feeling even greater tremors spread throughout the dungeon, Veronica soon passed out. While she was unconscious the dungeon continued to rumble and shake as the second floor of the tower was built and the dungeon core room, where Veronica was, moved up to the second floor. By the time she awoke, the last of the earthquake-like tremors had settled and everything was calm once more. Wanting to check everything out, Veronica opened her construction view. She quickly took note of the changes.


    The first floor now had a straight hallway that led directly from the entrance of the dungeon to the staircase that led further up the dungeon. There were still two entrances for each of the sides of the dungeon, but that hardly seemed to matter much. She was glad that the system had already explained the mechanics behind how the stairs worked and it was easy to see the door in front of the staircase would be what locked some visitors out while letting others progress.


    Where the dungeon core room had previously reduced the space available for certain rooms, that had now been remedied. However, none of the furniture had been moved from where she had put them, which she was quick to sort out. Veronica didn''t actually have to be in a room to use the construction menu, thank goodness, but it was reassuring when she could double-check with her own eyes that nothing was amiss.


    Before doing anything else, Veronica decided to also pull up the [Dungeon Status] menu to see if anything had changed there.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dungeon Status:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Mana 45 / 100


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current DP: 23,703


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Floors: 2


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Rooms: 26 | 45


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tavern


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Monsters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Critters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Research


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica had made some decent sales at her new tavern as well as continued to collect tributes and rent out tavern rooms, so her dungeon points had already managed to reach 24,703, more than double what she had wanted in reserve. It was only the 1,000 DP she had spent on unlocking a new floor that made the number a bit smaller now. Still, it wasn''t nearly as bad as she had been anticipating.


    Her mana cap had also now increased from 50 MP to 100 MP. It had been full beforehand since there had recently been inn guests, but she had to spend 5 MP on a new shelving unit while rearranging the rooms the dungeon core room used to overlap with. Before Veronica could even think of doing anything else, a new system menu she had never seen before popped up.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The following patron deities are available to sign a contract with. You may choose up to two at this time.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    God of Death


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Goddess of Chaos


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Goddess of Commerce & Knowledge


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    God of Agriculture & Harvest


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Goddess of Hospitality


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica felt her eye twitch as she read over the first two options. It was more than clear from the other options that these five options had been chosen based on her own choices and ambitions during her time as a Dungeon Master. She knew exactly why she was being offered choices regarding death and chaos as it had everything to do with her approach to managing the dungeon. Even Seraphina had pointed out just how much she had been overdoing things with the overly dangerous challenge rooms. Even her desire to kill off Bo in order to resolve her issues with him made it more than clear where her priorities lie.


    Well, she would have to choose one of the two as it was only fitting that, if she could choose two deities to serve, she would choose one to match with her inn side and one to match her dungeon side. After some time contemplating the issue, she confirmed her two choices with the system.

 1.59 New Floor, New Adventures

    Veronica decided to choose the [Goddess of Chaos] and the [Goddess of Hospitality] after much consideration. There were a lot of things to consider, but these were the options she felt best reflected her hopes for the future.


    The [God of Death] wasn''t necessarily a force of good or evil, but there were really only so many meanings that could be assigned to such a deity. She didn''t want to be forced to deal with undead [Monsters] for the rest of her life, nor did she want her dungeon to become a graveyard. It was likely whatever patron deity she chose would also assign her [Missions], just like the system did. While she wanted to defend herself and reduce her chances of dying as much as possible, she didn''t exactly want to kill people, keeping score all the way, and revel in their deaths. A quest to kill a certain number of people with her [Traps] would be disheartening, if anything, as she wasn''t completely heartless.


    Meanwhile, the [Goddess of Chaos] could also be seen as a neutral force that could be easily swayed one way or another. In games like Dungeons & Dragons there were concepts like chaotic good, chaotic neutral, and chaotic evil. She could be someone like Robin Hood who challenges authority and breaks rules to invoke positive change or she could be more neutral and simply be a disorganized mess that doesn''t quite fit in with society. What was wrong with being an outcast anyway? Of course, there was the potential to be evil as well, but she wasn''t ready to entertain such thoughts.


    Then there were the options she had been given for her tavern. The [Goddess of Commerce & Knowledge] wasn''t a bad option, but it just didn''t quite represent her role as an innkeeper as well as the other options might. She wasn''t exactly the scholarly type, but she hardly minded having a focus on turning a profit. It was always good to have more than she could spend as it would greatly reduce her stress levels. However, she was confident that she could accomplish something similar without a goddess to back her up.


    As for the [God of Agriculture & Harvest] that sounded like something more fitting for a farmer than someone running a tavern. Even if it was closer to her goals for the dungeon, it just didn''t quite match what she was doing. She didn''t want to receive a quest for cultivating healthy crops and raising cattle. Her tavern needed the ingredients, but she didn''t think it was worth the resources she''d save to put in so much hard work.


    As for the [Goddess of Hospitality] it felt like the perfect choice. Hospitality could encapsulate everything from inns to restaurants and everything in between. Besides, she really needed something to reinforce the fact that she didn''t want to do more harm than good. Having [Missions] that encouraged her to stick to her original goal of building a profitable tavern and inn for guests to enjoy would help ensure she didn''t go off the deep end. Plus, it was kind of cool having two goddesses to serve. Girl power and all that.


    Soon enough, Veronica was met with yet another system prompt.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new floor theme:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Swamp (Goblins)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Desert (Mummies)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Graveyard (Skeletons)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    This time the choice was a lot easier to make. Just as she hadn''t wanted to choose the [God of Death] and forever be stuck dealing with the undead, she wasn''t going to choose mummies or skeletons for her next floor. A swamp hardly sounded pleasant, but it was still likely to be better than a desert or graveyard. Besides, her dungeon was technically an open floor plan. If she went with either of those, there would be nothing to serve as a proper barrier to stop adventurers. She didn''t even want to imagine what the room division would look like in a desert where the landscape tended to be flat and rather devoid of plant life.


    After choosing a floor theme, a new system prompt appeared showing off the new [Monsters] she now had.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Summonable Monster Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Gargoyle


    </td>


    <td>


    15MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Magic stone statue with no special features. Has poor defense and low combat damage, but is capable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Summonable Monster Options:Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Winged Monstrosity Gargoyle


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP & 30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. Unlike normal gargoyles, this variation has wings and sharp claws made of iron that allow it to deal a greater amount of damage. However, due to its weight, it cannot sustain flight for long. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Contractable Monster Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Will-O''-Wisp


    </td>


    <td>


    20MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a dark environment to live in before you can form a contract. Does no combat damage, but can add ambiance and lure unsuspecting adventurers into traps.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Goblins


    </td>


    <td>


    30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Refuses to live anywhere they aren''t surrounded by their own kind. Does moderate combat damage, but can obtain classes that give them unique and powerful abilities. However, their weak bodies and lack of intelligence limits their growth potential.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Brownies


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Strictly prefers the indoors. Refuses to engage in combat and has a tendency to show kindness to others. Primarily functions as a worker-type [Monster].


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The goblins were double the cost of her gargoyles while the brownies were half of her new mana cap. She already knew the next spawner upgrade would allow her to have a limit of 100 MP, so she could certainly afford them, but she''d be limited to only a small handful. Any rooms designated as an inn room for guests to stay in couldn''t contain a spawner and be used as a place for her [Monsters] to respawn. So, she''d be even further limited to only staff rooms like the reception, cleaning closets, the tavern, or the kitchen. Luckily, they could travel between floors, but she doubted they''d be as useful on the first floor as Elora and Eldrin were.


    Veronica was hoping to look at her [Traps] to see which new ones she had access to, but was interrupted by yet another system prompt.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new skill:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Masterkey


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows for better lock controls on inn & tavern doors including designating rooms as a larger variety of room types with more strict controls on who can access the space. Does not affect rooms outside of the tavern & inn side of the dungeon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Staff Elevator


    </td>


    <td>


    Automatically builds a magic elevator with a teleportation circle on every floor that allows inn staff and supplies to quickly move between floors.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Housekeeping


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to auto-clean and straighten a room at a cost of 10 MP per use. Includes restocking supplies that were previously stocked in the room when the room was first designated as an inn room.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Almost all of these skills just sounded like they were small quality-of-life changes. She could already set the inn and tavern rooms as locked to everyone but staff, locked based on gender for bathrooms, and set them as inn rooms that required payment for entry. While it would be nice to be able to set a room for herself that no one else could enter without her permission, it still felt like a waste.


    As for the [Staff Elevator], it would make it easier to restock her tavern since she could just create the supplies on an empty floor and then move everything directly downstairs. She had no clue if the elevator would be in a suitable location to make travel easy, nor did she know which rooms might be displaced in the process. It wasn''t exactly as if she had empty space on the first floor where an elevator could easily be slotted in.


    Then there was the [Housekeeping] skill. While it was true that she wasn''t confident in being able to manage so many inn rooms by herself, she now had the brownies and Elora to help her out. Even if the brownies were as small as the lore in her world suggested, they would have more time to clean the rooms since there wouldn''t be as much traffic on the upper floors. She would just have to ensure they had a way to enter the rooms despite their small size. It wasn''t logical to assume they would be capable of opening the doors, after all.


    She didn''t know when the next time she would get to choose a skill would occur, if it did at all, so the choice was agonizingly difficult. Still, she couldn''t waste time forever contemplating just this one single decision. There were other things that needed to be sorted out and she wanted to make the most of her time before the adventurers returned to the dungeon. Sighing, she finally chose the [Staff Elevator] skill, she''d just have to deal with the aftermath of wherever the dungeon decided to place the damn thing.


    Suddenly, Veronica felt as if her skin was on fire as pain filtered through her every nerve ending. The last time this had happened, she had bonded with the dungeon core. What in the world was it this time?


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Strengthening in progress...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 1.60 Interlude: End of an Era

    "Empress Aurora Moonsong, are you certain about this?"


    Elder Elysia asked. Technically, Aurora wasn''t officially an empress of any sort. She had, once upon a time, been an Elven princess before she had been chosen to become a Dungeon Master. At that time, she had been disappointed by the fact that she could no longer compete for the throne, but that hadn''t lasted very long. As a Dungeon Master, after all, she could be called by any title she wanted, wielding power equivalent to any monarch or emperor without ever having to worry about being dethroned.


    Elysia had been assigned as her very own Dungeon Diplomat from the very beginning. It had only taken asking once to be referred to as an empress for the woman to respect her wishes. Every person who was lucky enough to meet her over the years hadn''t so much as attempted to argue about it, merely eager to please her in an attempt to save their own lives. After so many years, Aurora had built up a truly successful dungeon, which had allowed Elysia to be recognized for her own efforts, earning her the title of elder and a position on the council of Dungeon Diplomats.


    The years had truly been good to the both of them, but still, Aurora''s answer remained the same


    "Yes, I wouldn''t have said as much if I wasn''t ready. I''m tired of this life, it''s grown so repetitive, and I''m ready to embrace death wholeheartedly."


    Elder Elysia frowned, seeming reluctant, but, all the same, she still replied


    "Very well, lead the way."


    There were many floors still left to travel, filled with all sorts of dangerous [Traps] and [Monsters] that had rarely had an opportunity to be used. It was funny, Aurora could still remember how she had searched for her first husband. She was eager to have extra help around the dungeon to ensure her life wasn''t cut short. Finding someone who would accept employment on a full-time basis on anything but the lowest floors was all but impossible. However, it was a far different story if she was willing to take a spouse.


    She had ended up taking a Human man of A-rank as a husband who had too quickly grown old as her own lifespan was always going to be greater than his own. Over the years, she had grown colder, less willing to abide by the rules that most others did in society. There was no point in monogamy and caring about being a good spouse. As her dungeon grew taller and more powerful, the line of individuals lined up hoping to gain her attention only grew longer.


    She wasn''t even questioned when she chose to build a harem of her own. A few men she brought to her side simply for their good looks, enjoying the pleasure they could bring her. With such a long life and the way her body had changed in the process of bonding to the dungeon, her sense of joy and unpleasantness had warped far beyond what it once was. She was no longer held back by things like pain and injuries, no matter how severe, but she also couldn''t enjoy the more minor pleasures in life like the relief of no longer being hungry or the pleasant feeling or falling asleep at the end of a hard day. It had only made her more desperate as she sought out what little pleasures she could find in life.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Of course, not every man to join her long list of admirers over the years was chosen for their ability to make her heart race. Some were chosen for their ability to invoke other types of emotions in her. Someone who could annoy her, someone strong enough to rival her own strength and make her feel competitive, or someone who could cook dishes delicious enough to make her reminisce on her time as a member of the Elven race could all be valuable in their own ways. However, when you live for hundreds of years, even all of that can grow boring.


    No amount of seeking out bards with new songs and stories to tell, dancers to show off new and innovative styles, or tributes from other dungeons could keep her entertained any longer. She had given up in frustration a number of times over the years only for someone to surprise her after a couple of decades of waiting. She had plenty of time to wait things out, to see how technology and the world around her might change over time. However, even several hundred years didn''t guarantee the world outside her dungeon would change enough.


    She had been eager to build up her own dungeon when she had first become a Dungeon Master. Often she would rush through building floors just so she could unlock more powerful [Traps] and [Monsters] to protect her. It was only after she had more than a dozen floors that she started to slow down a bit, but even that didn''t mean she was truly taking her time to enjoy the process. The dungeon was just a means to an end as she prioritized protection over building a home for herself. After nearly two hundred years, she had started to change things, adding a bit of beauty here and there, but that was still mostly saved for the upper floors where she spent most of her time. What was the point in creating something for the adventurers who constantly invaded her dungeon to enjoy? If it wasn''t going to benefit her, there wasn''t much point.


    Auror didn''t necessarily regret her choices now, but it was certainly something that came to mind as she passed through yet another room. It wouldn''t be long now, soon enough they''d be at the dungeon core. She felt a bit bad as she looked at Elysia, the poor woman would likely die today. There were far too many floors to traverse for her to escape in time. However, she didn''t bother to speak up until they finally came to the entrance to the dungeon core room. Seeing her hesitation, Elysia turned around and asked


    "Have you changed your mind after all?"


    Shaking her head, Aurora replied


    "No, that''s not it. Rather, I''m just sorry that I have to ask this of you. I know it isn''t a great way to repay your kindness over the years."


    Aurora was well aware that the woman no longer had children to raise. It wasn''t like she was going to orphan anyone. She had even been kind enough to send notice ahead of time so that the dungeon would be empty when Elysia arrived. As for her own harem, the last love interest she had kept had died a few years back. She hadn''t been interested in accepting anyone else since then, so there was no one else who had to suffer. It would just be the two of them until the very end.


    Elysia gave her a sad smile as she said


    "It''s alright. I''ve lived a long life. It''s an honor to have served you for all these years. I''d rather this be how things end rather than anything else. Don''t worry, I won''t try to flee, I''ll see things through until the end."

 1.61 Planning For The Future

    Elora was still rather young, even by Human standards, so it was rather difficult for her to make big decisions like the one she was currently making. Her brother and her had been working for Veronica for just around a month when they had been informed the second floor of the dungeon would be unlocked. As it was tradition and an important safety protocol not to enter a dungeon until a month had passed, things would be no different from them. However, since the previous inn had been closed, there was no longer anywhere for them to stay.


    They had chosen to invest in a tent to share so they could camp in the woods, a far better alternative to the back alleys where they could easily be pickpocketed, or worse. However, it was really not the best solution in the long term. They needed to obtain property of their own to live in so that they could have somewhere to live even if they lost their current jobs. That was harder said than done when you were considered orphans as they would normally need guardians to sign the paperwork for them.


    Seraphina had hardly been eager to help them, but she wasn''t exactly a heartless person either. So, she had agreed to arrange for them to have a meeting with Lord Goldenleaf today to ask for help, but she was unwilling to do anything more than that. As the older sibling, Elora took the lead as she curtsied to the resident''s staff and announced their appointment. The staff didn''t question their young age, merely confirming they were in fact expected as guests.


    They were sat in a parlor and made to wait for a while before a woman came out to greet them. Elora and Eldrin stood up, each politely greeting


    "Good afternoon, Lady Mariona Goldenleaf!"


    They didn''t stand back up, much less sit back down until gestured to do so. The older Elven woman smiled politely as she inquired


    "Ah, you must be Elora and Eldrin. I regret to inform you that my husband is still occupied with his meeting. However, I wished to speak with you personally and understand your circumstances. I must say, I am quite surprised to see how young you both are. If it is not too painful, would you kindly share with me how it came to be that you were orphaned?"


    Elora had been expecting a similar question, but her brother was still far too young and immediately stiffened. She squeezed his hand in comfort as she replied


    "When the previous dungeon in our city retired, our parents were caught up in the process and lost their lives. We''ve been forced to live on the streets since then, but were recently offered jobs in the local dungeon. While it hasn''t been long since we were first employed, we are being paid well enough that I''m hoping we can make a down payment on a house if we combine our incomes. I''ve done the market research and-"


    Lady Mariona held her hand up, which immediately stopped Elora in her tracks. Smiling briefly, she gestured for the servants to bring them refreshments before turning back to them.


    "I understand all of this is likely quite stressful for you. I do apologize, but a full explanation of why you are here today is not necessary at this moment. Please save that for my husband, Lord Goldenleaf. It seems likely that we will need to register you as your younger brother''s guardian in order to move things along. I conducted a background check on you before our meeting, but the details of what happened to your parents were unclear. Now that you have explained, it makes sense that their deaths were likely not reported to the adventurers'' guild due to the extenuating circumstances."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Elora wasn''t sure what to say to that, so she just waited for Mariona to ask something else.


    "Might I ask, how has the Dungeon Master been treating you?"


    Elora smiled a bit as she replied


    "Lady Veronica has been quite kind. She actually made the clothing we are wearing today for us. We''ve been avoiding wearing it outside as we don''t want to dirtying it as this is the only nice clothing we own. I''ve been tasked with cleaning the inn rooms and helping in the taverns most nights while Eldrin carries supplies for the tavern, washes dishes, and serves meals in the tavern. He has also started practicing with the sword, but he doesn''t have a proper tutor, so I''m afraid he isn''t very proficient at it. We get to eat the same food that is served at the tavern, share one of the large inn rooms, and are paid a magic crystal each week for our efforts. It almost feels too good to be true, honestly."


    Lady Mariona quietly sipped her tea as she listened to her explanation. She took her time replying when Elora finished her explanation.


    "It would likely be best to put in a request at the adventurers'' guild if he is adamant about learning swordsmanship. While simply fighting dungeon [Monsters] and growing more comfortable with a weapon will help to some extent, nothing compares to learning from someone with more experience."


    Just then, Lord Goldenleaf entered the room, which prompted both Elora and Eldrin to rise from their seats as they greeted


    "Good afternoon, Lord Sylvar Goldenleaf!"


    Lady Mariona excused herself, which left them to discuss their more important business matter with her husband. Elora found that she felt a bit more confident after having talked with Lady Mariona, which made it easier to discuss the more important topics of the day. The meeting itself was kept rather short, but she wasn''t at all unhappy with the results. Even with combining their income, they couldn''t afford to pay for a house outright, but they were able to arrange for monthly payments for a pre-built home, which would allow them to own it after a period of time.


    They were hardly looking to purchase a fancy manor, so they would only need to combine most of their current savings with another three month''s pay to cover the full cost. Magic crystals, regardless of type, were considered quite valuable as they were rarely found outside of the upper floors of dungeons. Since that meant adventurers had more of a risk to their lives and they could only be harvested in small quantities, that drove the value up even higher. Of course, Lady Veronica rarely just gave them one type of crystal either. If she gave them something more valuable like a light or fire crystal, then they could make far more than they would with something like an earth or wind magic crystal. So, it was unlikely they''d have to go without any luxuries just to pay off their new home either.


    After finishing the meeting, one of the resident''s staff escorted them to their new home. After handing them the keys, they were on their own. Their new home was dirty and didn''t have any furniture, something they wouldn''t be able to afford to remedy anytime soon, but it was still far better than camping in the woods, so they were hardly going to complain about it. Besides, it just gave them a goal to work towards. They now knew they had a bright future ahead of them so long as they continued to work hard.

 1.62 Lonely

    Veronica had never been the sort to need social interaction constantly. In fact, going to work or school for the day had been enough to drain her social battery. However, that didn''t exactly mean she had been a shut-in either. That wouldn''t exactly have lined up with her goals to take over her parents'' bed and breakfast, nor would it have helped her at that time.


    When she had been a worker under her parents'' employment, she had mostly done things like cleaning rooms, handling check-in, and cooking breakfast in the kitchen alongside her mom. Unlike big inns, the big draw of a bed and breakfast was just how personal everything felt with only a few rooms being available alongside a few communal areas. This has made it easier to find some downtime to relax without being constantly overwhelmed by people.


    Now, as a Dungeon Master, it is almost expected that she''d be somewhat reclusive, only allowing those she deems worthwhile into her presence. Well, anyone strong enough can force her to pay attention to them if for no other reason than she doesn''t want the dungeon core to be destroyed. Bo is proof enough of that, but she hopes that will change now that she has unlocked the second floor of the dungeon.


    Of course, since half of her dungeon is a tavern and inn space, things are slightly different for her than they would be for most Dungeon Masters. From what Seraphina had told her, the dungeon had manifested her desire to take over her parents'' bed and breakfast by giving her a space to play innkeeper. While Veronica often gets distracted by the dungeon affairs, she can''t exactly complain about the work related to the inn and tavern. It was everything she wanted, even if the scale was a bit much.


    However, the scale of her inn is much closer to that of a hotel than that of a bed and breakfast. There were constantly large parties coming in and out of the reception and even more people showed up at the tavern when it was opened than stayed in the inn portion. She was fortunate that she didn''t have to do all of the work herself, but it was also true that the sheer number of people she was constantly surrounded by was more than enough to keep her from feeling alone.


    Anytime she started to feel burnt out and wasn''t working in the kitchen of the tavern, she could easily escape to her personal living quarters. She didn''t have to interact with most adventurers as they didn''t bother with trying to seek her out, nor did they try to attack the dungeon core. Only Bo tended to disturb her peace and quiet, but even that didn''t tend to be an everyday occurrence. He liked to have a challenge and she had immediately unlocked the second floor of her dungeon after finishing the first floor boss room. So, it had ensured he was too bored to show up in the days before then.


    Veronica had been expecting for things to change now that the second floor was unlocked, but most certainly not in the way they had. There wasn''t a single person visiting her dungeon now, not even the tavern and inn. Where she used to feel like she was fine alone and didn''t need friends, she was starting to feel lonely. Even Seraphina had simply stopped in to check on things before leaving, promising to check back in a few months'' time or when she unlocked the third floor, whichever came first.


    It was strange to go from having the Elven woman around each and every day to having her, and everyone else, gone just like that. Seraphina had warned her things would be quiet for the next month or so, but she hadn''t been expecting it to affect her quite this much. She hadn''t been expecting it to mean literally no one would show up either. It had led to other problems as well. She no longer had any incoming dungeon points and her mana was limited to only the 25 MP the dungeon regenerated each morning. That was hardly enough to get any real work done.


    Veronica had taken to training with the staff while using what little mana she had to do the basic setup for the dungeon. Without Seraphina, she couldn''t learn anything new and there was no one to correct her form, but even just using the longstaff every day would ensure she became more proficient in it. Hopefully, the next time her assigned Dungeon Diplomat showed up, she could ask for a round of training to see what she had made progress on, what she needed to correct, and what to work on next. She didn''t exactly want her progress to stall, after all.


    Besides which, Veronica had recently made progress in another way. As part of the process of unlocking the second floor, she had been granted a minor increase in strength, agility, etc. It was the equivalent of her actively working to become stronger by lifting weights, faster by running, and more flexible by stretching every day for an entire year. Well, before she had become a Dungeon Master anyhow.


    She couldn''t physically change much of anything about her physique now. She couldn''t form calluses on her hands, which meant that practicing with the staff resulted in blisters if she did it for too long. Gaining muscle mass wasn''t much different. The physical strengthening had improved that situation somewhat, but it was still rough, to say the least. It was almost ironic that the only improvements she could make on her own had to be related to improving her own knowledge and skill set rather than making physical changes. She was certain that, if her life wasn''t at risk, she would have found it far too demotivating to bother continuing with training.


    Everything about her life now was centered around her role as a Dungeon Master. If she wanted to grow stronger, she had to put the dungeon''s growth first. If she wanted to live a long, happy life, she had to protect the dungeon core. There was no point in desiring valuable gems and exotic culinary ingredients either. They held no significant value to the dungeon, so they couldn''t be prioritized in trades. The currency of this world was all but worthless as she was forced to act like even the smallest tributes were worthwhile. Leaves and flowers could be the equivalent of copper coins or they could be as valuable as gold, all depending on whether they were new to the system or not.


    She also didn''t have a physical supervisor to report to, but that didn''t mean everything was left up to her own discretion either. She had [Missions] to complete with rewards, which had grown into a long list once more now that she had unlocked a new floor and signed contracts with two deities.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Origin:


    </td>


    <td>


    Status:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    <td>


    Reward:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock the second floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete the first floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock ten [Critters]


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock [Critters] from five different phyla


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete second-floor boss room


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete half of the second floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete the second floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock the third floor


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Make a second-floor reception


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Make a second-floor tavern


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock a new [Critter] option


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    System


    </td>


    <td>


    Complete


    </td>


    <td>


    Earn the favor of a patron god or goddess


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock new schematic (Altar x2)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Patron Goddess of Chaos


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Build a shrine to the Patron Goddess of Chaos


    </td>


    <td>


    Blessing (random chance of having an increase in tavern sales)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Patron Goddess of Hospitality


    </td>


    <td>


    Incomplete


    </td>


    <td>


    Build a shrine to the Patron Goddess of Hospitality


    </td>


    <td>


    Blessing (10% mana discount on alcohol purchases)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    There were a few quests that were complete already, but Veronica just didn''t feel like collecting the rewards quite yet. It wasn''t like she was going to use the [Critters] anytime soon anyhow. It would be a waste of mana and she already had plenty of [Critters] she hadn''t bothered to make use of already.


    Most of the new quests were just a repeat of the ones she had completed for the first floor. The only really interesting ones were the new ones for the two goddesses she had contracted with. The goddess of chaos was something that could be interpreted a few different ways. A random increase in sales without a percentage even attached certainly reflected the goddess''s influence over chance and probability, bringing about favorable outcomes among chaos. However, it was a bit too tailored to her own circumstances to seem purely coincidental. It was more than clear that the reward had been chosen with her in mind.


    As for the deity with domain over hospitality, it was much more straightforward, but it seemed rather stingy. Saving a mere 10 MP for every 100 MP she spent was hardly going to make any real difference. She didn''t need alcohol when adventurers weren''t visiting her dungeon and mana wasn''t a concern when they were. She''d still likely complete the quest in hopes of unlocking a better reward later on, but she wasn''t exactly going to be very enthusiastic about it.


    It was going to require her to set aside some space on the first-floor to build the altars, though. The [Staff Elevator] skill hadn''t been as inconvenient as she had thought it would be. It only took up a small corner of her first-floor reception room. Since the reception was near enough to the tavern, it wouldn''t be too much work to carry supplies back and forth either. More than likely she''d end up building these new altars somewhere in the inn as well, she hardly wanted to detract from what little dungeon space she had. That would have to be saved for another day, though, as she was already low on mana and it''d be quite a while before she could afford such changes.

 1.63 Keeping Busy

    With Veronica''s Rest being off-limits for the time being, Amelia''s party was forced to take on quests from farther out with a less steady source of income. Meanwhile, there was no guarantee they''d have a comfortable place to sleep and what little they could earn day to day had to be spent on accommodation and meals. It was unfortunate, but it wasn''t exactly unexpected. This was how things were in most places, so it was something they''d have to accept. It wasn''t like they''d be able to remain in Bluelight Cove City forever. That would only stall their growth when the dungeon no longer grew fast enough to provide a sufficient challenge for them.


    "What quest do you think we should take on next? This one would require us to travel to a village a few days out to take care of a wolf problem. We''d be well suited to it thanks to Elwin''s ability to set [Traps] and I could likely help by creating pitfalls with my earth magic."


    Amelia said. Coryas shook his head as he replied


    "We shouldn''t take any more long-distance quests. We''ll be able to enter the dungeon again soon and the pay isn''t worth it anyway."


    They had already taken on some similar quests over the course of the last month, but she knew he had a point. Helping villages that couldn''t sufficiently protect themselves tended to result in poor pay as they also didn''t have the coin to pay for the help. If they did, it was likely they''d want someone more capable than their low-level party anyhow. Still, the guild tended to look favorably on adventurers who took such quests even despite the lack of monetary rewards and would give extra reputation points, which were a necessary part of increasing one''s rank. Even a high-level individual might not be considered S-rank within the guild if they never took on guild quests.


    Of course, despite how confusing it was, someone might be referred to as an S-rank individual without having the formal ranking within the guild. Since class skills and experience-based levels could see to it that you were still considered quite strong within the adventurer community, it wouldn''t exactly make sense to refer to someone strong as an F-rank. Since levels were something only the individual themselves could see via their system, it wasn''t like one could be referenced with those numbers. Supposedly, according to what Amelia had read, even Dungeon Masters at times had systems that ranked individuals, but it was more so based on their raw power rather than the formal ranking with the guild.


    "What about this one? It seems the guild has been having trouble with another bandit group just outside the city."


    Elwin asked only for Coryas to shake his head as he dismissed the idea.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "No, we could end up getting caught up in an investigation for months and you know how hard it was on Amelia when people ended up dying the last time."


    It wasn''t exactly as if their group couldn''t handle a small bandit group, but they did usually have to collaborate with a more experienced group. Coryas was a confident fighter and Elwin was good at setting up [Traps] to cover their retreat. Her earth magic, which she was becoming more proficient in as time went on, was even useful for collapsing the ground inwards to keep reinforcements from swarming them too quickly.


    However, Coryas was also right that she was still having nightmares after she had accidentally ended up collapsing a portion of a building only to have a few of the bandits die a rather painful and brutal death. Some were stabbed through with broken pieces of wooden columns meant to reinforce the building while others were decapitated in the blink of an eye. Her abilities weren''t even strong enough that such a thing would normally have been possible. She just hadn''t realized quite how rotten the structure of the building the bandits had been using as their base of operations was.


    There were other quests that also had to be dismissed for similar reasons. Escorting merchants, investigating missing individuals, clearing a mountain pass of wild [Monsters] to make it safer for merchants to travel between cities, etc. There were even quests for adventurers in other kingdoms due to them living in a coastal city that often saw merchant ships coming and going. However, none of those quests were suitable for their current goals.


    After spending way too long looking things over, they finally decided to settle for a low-level quest to collect medicinal herbs in the nearby forest. It was unlikely that it would pay very well, but it would ensure they could return in time for their local dungeon to be open once more. That was the most important thing right now, especially since a new floor guaranteed there would be new opportunities to make a profit.


    The challenge rooms were a bit difficult for them to complete, but it wasn''t like it was impossible. Amelia could use magic to pause the wall push [Traps] in the tropical parkour room and both the firewalk and maze challenge rooms were more about patience than anything else. As for the boss [Monster], they had yet to attempt taking it on due to how little time there was between it being added and the second floor being unlocked. They only even knew it existed because one always appeared before a new floor was added to a dungeon.


    Some things could be assumed just based on the other details of the first-floor layout. For example, a floor that only has gargoyles for [Monsters] should also have a gargoyle for a boss [Monster]. A floor with a tropical rainforest was going to be the same for the whole floor. Since it was one of the lower floors of the dungeon, it also guaranteed the danger level would be at an appropriate level for adventurers at her party''s level. Still, it was better safe than sorry, so they''d likely wait until they could learn more about it so they could prepare appropriately.


    "Alright, I''ve cleared things with the receptionist. Let''s go!"


    Coryas said. Amelia merely nodded, silently following his lead. She really couldn''t wait until Veronica''s Rest was once more open to the public. It would be so nice to relax in a comfortable bed and eat a proper meal once more!

 1.64 New Opportunities

    The second floor''s theme had been decided upon when she first unlocked the floor. She now had a swamp that she could fill with goblins and brownies for her inn and tavern. However, that didn''t mean she had to stop there. During the downtime she had to plan things for the dungeon, Veronica tried to consider interesting ways to differentiate the second-floor hotel from the first, to make it more interesting.


    Now, she was hardly an expert on such matters, but she had also studied some basic geography in college as well as learned a bit about various countries in her international cooking classes. One of the things she was aware of was the fact that Indonesia was known for having swampland. It wasn''t exactly the largest swampland in the world as there was supposedly one that spanned across two countries, something Veronica had never bothered to look further into. However, Indonesia was another Asian country, which would allow it to be similar enough to still feel familiar and comfortable to the Elven people of Rosefall Empire, based on what she had seen of their tributes.


    There was, of course, also the matter of obtaining the ingredients she would need to prepare the menu and the building materials to create furniture for the tavern side. That had put a bit of a damper on her enthusiasm after she had realized just how long she had to wait before she''d be getting any new tributes. She couldn''t actually start on the second-floor inn and tavern side until after she received the materials she needed to do so. Well, some things were possible, but others not as much. So, she decided to focus on the dungeon half first.


    Veronica wasn''t exactly overly creative and she found comfort in reusing a layout that she knew worked, so she chose to reuse the one she had used on the first floor. However, instead of the stairs to the next floor being at the back of the dungeon, they were now overtop of where the entrance on the first floor was. This made it so she had to flip the layout to its mirror opposite. The second-floor boss room had to be at the front of the dungeon instead of the back and the first challenge room had to be in the backmost corner instead of the frontmost one.


    Of course, in the process of setting up the empty ''rooms'' Veronica had also discovered that Seraphina was right to call her dungeon an open floorplan hybrid dungeon. Where the first floor had walls of sorts made from trees, even if adventurers could cut them down, the swamp had nothing but water separating landmasses. A small bit of land connected each landmass wherever she designated a door as belonging and deep water surrounded each landmass where there would normally have been trees. It was even to the point of the size she had designated each room to be being reduced in order for the islands to appear more rounded and less uniformly rectangular in shape.Stolen story; please report.


    It felt a bit ridiculous, but any adventurer who could swim could easily swim from the entrance of the second-floor dungeon to the exit. The only door she could lock was going to be for the boss room, which meant they''d only have to defeat the boss [Monster] before they could move on to the dungeon core room. Veronica had to wonder if challenge rooms could even be ''locked'' on this floor and even more so whether it would be worth it. Would it just temporarily remove the landbridge connecting the islands? Would thorny vines grow to cover the entire island, similar to how the entrance had been closed on the first floor? It was hard to say, but it certainly seemed like it would be a waste either way.


    Veronica couldn''t help but feel her heart sink when she first discovered it and she was still feeling rather down about it all. She had been so hopeful that this floor could prove useful as an extra layer of protection between her and adventurers like Bo who thought of her as just another dungeon entity to defeat in the process of conquering her dungeon. She didn''t even understand why he was being so cruel! Did he get some sort of experience bonus for killing her or was it just some sort of sick pleasure he couldn''t help but indulge in? She wasn''t sure the brute of a man would ever give her a satisfactory answer, so she certainly wasn''t going to bother asking.


    While it had taken far longer to complete the layout for the second floor than she would have liked, Veronica was just happy to see some progress. It meant she hadn''t wasted all of this time for nothing. As it was, she had to dispose of nearly all of the ingredients she had prepared for the first-floor tavern. Just because something was made with dungeon magic didn''t prevent the passage of time from causing it all to rot. Some things could sit for over a year without a problem, like flour or the drink, but there was no preserving fresh puffball mushroom slices and ground boar meat. Even her efforts to try and eat some of the dishes as she practiced cooking them, in the beginning, didn''t do much to make a dent in it all. Mostly, it just served to kill time and increase her cooking abilities enough that she was more confident in preparing the menu.


    As adventurers began to trickle into the dungeon, Veronica smiled. She''d finally be able to make some progress! In preparation for their return, she had actually added a corkboard to the tavern and inn wall. She planned to write a list of materials she needed for the second floor on some paper and pin it to the board for all to see. Listing off their value in points so they could see they were worth more than a single point each would ensure that there was something to entice them into cooperating with her. If that didn''t prove to be enough, she''d consider offering some sort of extra bonus for them. Even if the dungeon wouldn''t give her extra dungeon points, that didn''t mean she couldn''t give away a few extra dishes to reach her goals, after all.


    Veronica could already feel the excitement bubbling up as she headed over to the [Staff Elevator]. She would wait for Elora and Eldrin to arrive in the first-floor reception room. Hopefully, they showed up quickly as she was excited to get started on her new plans for the dungeon now that she''d have the resources to fund it!

 1.65 Welcome To ‘Indonesia’

    Things were much busier now that the dungeon was open to adventurers again. Elora and Eldrin also seemed more than happy to return to work and kept excitedly talking about how nice it was to sleep in such a comfortable bed again. Veronica still hadn''t set up a proper room for herself on the second floor, so they were using their old arrangements for the time being. It would have to be sorted out in the future, but it was just one of many things on her to-do list.


    Apparently, the time the dungeon had been closed to the public had only made everyone more eager to return when it reopened, so it didn''t take long to restock the tavern''s kitchen with the fresh food supplies once more. Of course, Veronica didn''t want to keep things closed for any longer than necessary, so she did a soft opening right away with a limited menu. She already had things like flour or the yuzu soda since they wouldn''t go bad without a significant amount of time passing by.


    Elora and Eldrin, thankfully, helped her out with directing adventurers to the list of tributes she had placed in the tavern, so it made it easier to get many of the supplies she needed to build things on the second floor. It did still take a few days for anyone to bring in anything she needed, but that was fine since she had to wait until things were sorted out on the first floor anyway. However, now she was officially ready to start working on the second floor!


    Over the last two weeks, she had received 2,450 DP from room rentals, 2,485 DP from tavern sales, and 304 DP from repeat tributes, which had made it so that her new total was 28,942 dungeon points. She had received plenty of new tributes, of course, but all of them had been used for room rentals or payment at the tavern, so she didn''t have a separate number for those. The new tributes included: bamboo shoots, rattan basket, potted bamboo palm, coconuts, shea nuts, Chinese mesona, anko red beans, black tea, and jasmine flowers. Some of these [Items]weren''t ones she particularly needed right now, but it wasn''t like she was going to complain either.


    Veronica cracked her neck and hands as she readied herself to get to work on the second floor. There was a lot to do today and she didn''t want to waste time. Thankfully, no one was on the second floor right now, but she doubted that would last very long. She needed to work on things while she could still work unhindered from their presence.


    Today''s focus was the second-floor inn side of the dungeon. As she had already been thinking over the matter of what to do about the inn costs versus diminishing tributes for people to pay with for a while, she had come up with a suitable solution for the second floor, at least. The plan was to use 18-Units by 18-Units rooms, which she began the process of making twelve of. Not that it mattered much now that she had more than enough mana to spend, but these each cost 36 MP to create, which was just under half of her new mana cap of 100 MP. Since she could easily earn 1 MP per minute per non-dungeon entity in her dungeon, though, and she had several people currently on the first floor, it only took her a matter of minutes to make all of the rooms.


    From there, each room was divided into four sections with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a main living area. This was all accomplished with the wooden partition walls she had unlocked for the first floor, of course, so the dungeon still considered the whole space as one room, even if her patrons wouldn''t perceive it that way. She planned to charge 75 DP per night for each of these rooms, which was 25 DP more than the 9-Units by 11-Units inn rooms on the first floor. However, the larger size as well as the fact that they could accommodate two people made it so that the raise in price seemed fitting.


    Before she could furnish the rooms, though, she had to do a lot of research into new furniture to fit the theme she was going for. Veronica was hardly an expert in other countries, but she had studied different furniture styles by watching home renovation shows and reading magazines on the subject before she transmigrated. From her impressions on the subject, furniture made with materials like bamboo, teak, and rattan was the most fitting for a country like Indonesia, so that is what she decided to go with.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research bamboo bed frames using the [Base Resources] bamboo and wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research cotton and bamboo mosquito net canopies using the [Base Resources] bamboo, cotton, undyed thread, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research green silk pillowcases using the [Base Resources] undyed silk, undyed thread, and green dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research green silk sheets using the [Base Resources] undyed silk, undyed thread, and green dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research green quilts using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton, cotton, undyed thread, and green dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The padded mattress and duck feather pillows could be reused from the first floor, but Veronica felt a change of color scheme was in order on top of the change in furniture style. This part was enough for the beds, but she still needed other furniture just for the bedroom to be completed, much less everything else.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research teak & rattan end tables using the [Base Resources] wood, nails, and rattan?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research teak & rattan armoire using the [Base Resources] wood, nails, and rattan?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research bamboo desks using the [Base Resources] bamboo, wood, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research bamboo desk chairs using the [Base Resources] bamboo, wood, and nails?Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


    An end table was placed on either side of the bed while a desk and chair were placed along the wall opposite the bed. There were wooden doors connecting the room to the hallways, which meant the only remaining space for the armoires was beside the bed opposite the doorways. Feeling something was still missing, she added the new potted bamboo palms on either side of the desks to add some greenery to tie the bedrooms together.


    Next up were the bathrooms, which were largely the same as the first-floor ones, but a tad smaller. There was still a separate section for the toilets, which she decided to just use the same porcelain ones for. However, for the rest of it, she went ahead and researched new designs.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research bamboo and copper magic bathtubs using the [Base Resources] water magic, water magic crystal, bamboo, and copper?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research bamboo and copper magic sinks using the [Base Resources] water magic, water magic crystal, bamboo, and copper?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research bamboo towel racks using the [Base Resources] bamboo, wood, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 50 DP to research bathroom wall mirrors using the [Item] mirror?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica would actually have to find an opportunity to add in the bathroom wall mirrors downstairs as well in the future. Why she hadn''t bothered to research them before, she wasn''t sure, but it wasn''t like it was ever too late to improve the quality of the rooms. The tubs were actually closer to the Japanese bamboo barrel tubs with the way they looked, but they still worked the same as the porcelain version from the first floor. As for the copper faucets, she just wanted it to match with the sink.


    She had added a cupboard full of toiletries to the first floor bathrooms, but that had to wait to be added until after she did the research for the kitchen. Might as well have everything match and be on theme, after all. She quickly added a bamboo palm to the bathrooms and then the hallway outside of the bedrooms as well. More greenery couldn''t hurt, right? Finally, it was time to complete the research for the kitchens.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research bamboo bottom kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resource] bamboo, wood, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research bamboo bottom corner kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resources] bamboo, wood, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research bamboo island kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resources] bamboo, wood, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    <table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research bamboo upper kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resources] bamboo, wood, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research bamboo upper corner kitchen cabinets using the [Base Resources] bamboo, wood, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research bamboo and rattan bar stools using the [Base Resources] rattan, bamboo, and nails?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Where most kitchen counters tended to involve a decorative stone or stainless steel top, these ones were all bamboo. There were pros and cons to all materials one could make their kitchen counters with, but it wasn''t like most of them mattered in the dungeon. Any damage to the wood would be reset by the dungeon whenever the room wasn''t in use so there was no need to worry.


    The fridge and stove from the first floor worked just fine here as well while the sink design from the bathrooms was multipurpose enough to be used here as well. So, that completed the inn room designs. There wasn''t much else Veronica needed to work on for the inn side now. She just wanted to make another cleaning closet, public baths, and a reception area so that the inn would feel more complete and be able to carry out the basic functions from day to day.


    The cleaning closet on the second floor was almost identical to the one on the first floor. The main difference was that she added a 100 MP limit spawner to the room and summoned two brownies to occupy the room when she was finished setting it up. They were quick to introduce themselves to her, more than eager to please.


    "Greetings Dungeon Master, I am Aurelia!"


    "And I''m Rosalind!"


    She had ended up getting two females. Whether that was by the luck of the draw or because all brownies were female, she wasn''t exactly sure. They were both rather pretty, but a bit hairy than a Human might be with pointy ears that made them look similar to goblins in appearance. Elf ears tended to be a bit smaller, even despite sharing the pointed tips. As for their size, it was about that of the Dwarves she had seen in the dungeon, but their frames were more scrawny rather than being as broad. Where Aurelia had more of a green complexion with yellow eyes and white hair, Rosalind had green eyes and a more blondish white hair. Neither looked particularly old, so she had to wonder if all brownies had white hair or if it was just a coincidence. They didn''t exactly look related, but that didn''t mean she wanted to make assumptions after only summoning two brownies either.


    Veronica didn''t ask any of the questions she had, but merely kept things more professional as she replied


    "Yes, hello. You can refer to me as Lady Veronica, but you likely won''t be seeing too much of me most of the time. As you can see, this is a cleaning closet, which it will be your job to maintain alongside cleaning the inn rooms on this side of the dungeon. I''ll help you learn the ropes starting tomorrow morning, but we''ll have to practice on the first floor as it''s unlikely this floor will see any patrons for a while."


    Veronica further explained the details to them and then left them to their own devices, there was still work to be done. The public baths were next on the docket, but they didn''t require any research. Still, she did have to spend 20 dungeon points on enlarging two bamboo baths for the bathrooms. The rest was nearly identical to the first floor with toilets, towel racks, potted bamboo palms in place of the potted peace lilies, and sinks. They were just in the new bamboo style instead of the porcelain and basic wood she had used on the first floor.


    Finally, she just had the reception room to worry about. As things coincidentally turned out, she had the same amount of space for the cleaning closet and public baths on the second floor as she did on the first floor. So, the new reception area ended up being the size of the room she had been using for her personal use on the first floor. It was a bit smaller than the 15-Units by 19-Units one, but 11-Units by 18-Units was still sufficient for what she was going to use it for.


    As the inn side of the dungeon didn''t have limitations on which [Monsters] she could use, so long as they were meant for the inn and not the dungeon side, she assigned another will-o''-wisp to the reception room behind yet another receptionist counter with shelving behind it. She hadn''t used fireplaces in the bedrooms and she didn''t bother with it here either. Instead, she spent 10 DP to research bamboo and rattan armchairs, 10 DP for bamboo and rattan coffee tables, and 10 DP to research woven bamboo mats. Then she threw some potted bamboo palms down and called it a day.


    Overall, it had cost her 460 DP to research everything for her new setup, but that still left her with 28,482 dungeon points remaining. Veronica felt this really wasn''t too bad and was quite happy with her hefty savings, which she was certain would only continue to grow in the future.

 1.66 Unrelenting

    Veronica sighed as she came back to life for what felt like the hundredth time that week, but was really only one time of a small handful. The familiar feeling of resurrection was one she had grown tired of. As the Dungeon Master, she was supposed to be on the top of the food chain in her own dungeon yet Bo, the bull Shifter, seemed determined to prove otherwise.


    Every encounter with him played out similarly. He would charge into wherever she was and demand she fight with him. It didn''t matter what she was doing or how little she wanted to participate, she would have to deal with him before she could move on with her life. Even the minor strength and agility increase she had been granted upon unlocking the second floor hasn''t changed things enough to make a difference.


    The first few times, she had been hopeful that things might be different. However, with each failure that resulted in her death, the futility of her efforts became painfully more clear. No matter what she did, Bo''s brute strength, and rather sharp horns, always won out. He was relentless, and her repeated deaths were beginning to wear down her spirit.


    Unlocking the second floor had brought a sense of hope for Veronica. She had hoped that being able to put more rooms between the dungeon core room and the entrance to the dungeon would mean that she could buy time, if not deter him entirely. However, it seemed that the promise of new challenges had only renewed his determination to conquer her dungeon.


    She had even been working on improving the dungeon side so that it would be more difficult to reach the dungeon core room, not that his goal even was to destroy the dungeon core. Even with Seraphina no longer standing guard, Bo always left after he defeated her, entirely uninterested in destroying the dungeon core. Still, it would be bad decision-making on her part if she didn''t add new defenses to deter any other intruders she might have to deal with.


    As part of adding the brownies to her new cleaning room, she had spent 500 DP to unlock 100 MP spawners. That had resulted in her dungeon point total decreasing to 27,982 DP, not the 28,482 DP she had previously thought. She had been quite confused by the matter when she later pulled up her [Dungeon Status] menu. Why she hadn''t just done so at the time instead of trying to keep track of the number the way one might when budgeting without a calculator, she wasn''t sure. It wasn''t even that hard to pull up.


    Over the last week, she had added the spawners to every ''room'' on the dungeon side of the second floor. While it was more difficult to upgrade the ones on the first floor due to the consistent traffic, she was also working on upgrading the spawners there as well. Her new goblins cost 30 MP each, so she could easily afford to place three of them in each of the [Monster] field rooms. Meanwhile, the brownies were 50 MP, which is why she only had two of them assigned to the cleaning closet.


    Of course, most of the [Monster] fields could be skipped and the basic goblins were rather weak. Their intelligence seemed lacking and they had poor gear. They wore things like animal skin skirts and dresses while the weapons they wielded varied and were made from stone, bone, or wood. She highly doubted a wooden club was going to be able to damage any adventurer worth his salt, so she couldn''t really expect them to do much to defend the dungeon. They''d just be fodder easily slain and likely barely worth the resources she had invested in them.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    They all looked exactly as she had expected from the stories in her world. Green skin, eyes strange shades of yellow and orange, slightly pointed ears, and shorter in stature than Humans. Really, they were more like an uglier, slightly less hairy version of the brownies she had unlocked. They also had strange names she could barely pronounce and she was hardly going to bother with even trying to remember them. There were sixty-six of them just in the [Monster] fields alone, anyhow, so it would have just been a waste to try and remember all of their names anyway.


    Since there was no reason to delay making a boss room, she went ahead and made one rather quickly. She used the water and land terraforming options to create a decorative pattern of water throughout the boss room. It was hardly necessary to make it look good, but she did actually have a reason to add extra water to the room. Although, it certainly seemed fitting to set the stage since it was still supposed to be an important space within the dungeon.


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to research goblins using [Base Resources] water magic, undyed cotton cloth, undyed thread, blue dye, wood, and water magic crystal to create goblin evolution [Water Elementalist] for 250 DP?


    </td>


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    Yes


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    No


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    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Water Elementalist Goblin


    </td>


    <td>


    75 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a goblin to evolve. Grants the water elementalist class and basic skills for the class. Dungeon entities are incapable of leveling up.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica hadn''t, initially, known what to expect when it came to evolving the goblins. However, she could always ask the system about potential evolutions and the system prompt would appear. She could then choose the [No] option and she wouldn''t have to spend any resources to gain the information. In the end, she ended up deciding upon a water elementalist goblin since it seemed fitting for the swamp theme. A fire elementalist class had too much potential to go wrong and earth elementalists seemed to start with more defensive skills than offensive from what she had learned from asking adventurers at her tavern.


    Many of her patrons weren''t really familiar with who she was and she rarely bothered introducing herself before being asked. Even if someone could identify her, most people seemed more inclined to cooperate with her than to risk upsetting her. Admittedly, the dungeon traffic had decreased again due to how unstable her emotions had been lately. She didn''t know if that would be a worry for long, though, as she was no longer feeling purely angry about her situation, but was starting to feel resigned to her fate. It didn''t seem there would be an end to this anytime soon.


    Regardless, after spending the 250 DP to unlock the quest, 75 DP to evolve a goblin for the boss [Monster], and 250 DP to set the room as the official boss room with the system, she was now down to 27,407 dungeon points. She''d soon have to spend more too since she still needed challenge rooms for the second floor. Even if she wasn''t certain he''d fall for the bait, since he liked challenges so much, it seemed like it would be worth giving a go. Hopefully, with a bit of luck and planning she could come up with a good way to make it worth her while.

 1.67 Easy As Pie

    Bo smiled as he walked into Veronica''s Rest. The dungeon may have simply been the easiest one for him to access, not requiring him to travel away from home or deal with any other barriers to entry, but he still quite enjoyed just how easily he could conquer it. No matter how much time passed and no matter how many new challenges were added, nothing had been enough to stand in his way. Each time he always managed to leave after successfully defeating the Dungeon Master.


    It was a bit of a shame that defeating the Dungeon Master didn''t give experience the way that killing [Monsters] did. Perhaps things would be different if he destroyed the dungeon core, but he didn''t actually have any interest in that. While others might make it difficult if they knew he was upsetting the Dungeon Master, there were only consequences if he directly damaged the dungeon itself. He had even been careful to not overdo things, taking breaks with some regularity to ensure he wouldn''t end up corrupting the dungeon core by killing Veronica too often. Even as lacking as others might think he was in the brains department, he was still more than aware of the basics of dungeon protocol.


    There still wasn''t an altar room, nor a tribute room on the first floor, even despite the second floor being unlocked. So, he just left his tribute with the others piled up in the first [Monster] field room. Hopefully, the Dungeon Master would get her act together soon and sort the problem out so things didn''t feel so cluttered. This was a sacred space meant for battle, not for holding such petty trinkets.


    Despite having conquered the first floor boss and very easily being able to head directly up to the second floor through the stairs directly at the end of the hall, Bo still preferred to start from the beginning and fight his way up. He went through each and every room meticulously killing each of the gargoyles before making his way into the first challenge room. The tropical parkour room may have given him some difficulty at one point, but he had gotten the hang of it after much practice.


    With ease, he jumped from wooden ball to wooden ball. They were round and easy to slip off, painful if you took the fall full force, but he had gotten used to the pain and had even invested in climber''s gear to make it easier to retain the traction needed to not slip off. As for the weak wall push [Traps], he was more than strong enough to resist their force and he had even developed a strategy for pushing them back while slowly progressing forward. He just had to shove his body up against the wall, exerting his force as he slowly dragged himself forward. In order to prevent his arms from getting painfully scraped up, he had to invest in some special arm coverings, but it was still cheaper than potions were.


    The platforms could also be handled using climber''s gear, so it didn''t take long before he was finished with that challenge. Receiving the luxury towel set, he stuffed it into his magic bag. Surprisingly, the merchants seemed to think this trash was worth something and were happy enough to pay him for it. He wouldn''t complain, though, it just meant he could afford what he did need to continue conquering the dungeon.


    The next challenge room was the firewalk, which had taken quite a while to figure out. More than a dozen times he had scorched his feet badly, only thinking of trying fire resistance and heat resistance potions to better endure it before using a healing potion once he was finished. However, he had managed to figure out that walking slower with a more even pace resulted in less severe, or even no, burns. That had made his trips to the dungeon much less expensive.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The fancy silver mirror and comb set were still not really of any interest to Bo, but he once more stuffed them into his magic bag. The merchants also seemed interested in them and he was hardly going to say no to the extra coin. He could use it to buy the nonsense they wanted at the tavern for a proper meal when he was done here. He hadn''t really understood what was going on, but had carefully observed as people paid with things like leaves, flowers, and berries for their meals and had tried doing so himself. The maiden who served his meal had shaken her head, insisting he was paying too much, but he didn''t really understand the payment system so he just let her collect as much as he owed, continuing to bring too much payment each time.


    Perhaps the only challenge that really gave him any trouble was the tavern maze. At first, he had tried to complete it on his own, but he kept getting frustrated and ended up just destroying everything to get to the next room. He even had special tools to cut down the massive magic trees on this floor, which worked just as well on the hedge maze bushes. Nowadays, he didn''t even bother with attempting the challenge as he found it easier to just cut a path between the [Monster] field rooms and just continue on without completing it. It was a shame to not complete the challenge, but what merit was there to such a thing anyway? It was just a stupid waste of time to wander around trying to figure out the right path forward!


    It wasn''t long before he came upon the first floor boss room. Bo smiled wider as he excitedly made his way forward, following the torch-lit stone path until he came upon the steps of the stone altar. The winged monstrosity gargoyle was already waiting for him at the top, ready to attack when he took the last step to the top platform. The boss [Monster] was impressive for only belonging to the first floor, but it was still no match for Bo.


    Even as the creature flapped its wings, forcing wind and bits of grit into Bo''s face, he smiled. He stalked his prey, excitedly waiting for his opponent to make the first move. When it did, it was fast as it slashed its claws outwards in the direction of his face. Bo grabbed its arms in retaliation, bending it until it broke, stone crumbling and falling to the ground around them. After so many times fighting together, the boss [Monster] still had yet to give up on the thought of defeating him, but it had gotten much more aggressive in its attacks, almost as if it held a grudge against him. Bo laughed, amused by the thought and he continued to decimate his opponent.


    Where a normal combat-based adventurer might have to use a hammer or even a mix of fire and ice magic to crack the stone of the boss [Monster], Bo could easily rely on his strength. There wasn''t much that could stand in his way and this dungeon was certainly no match for him. In a matter of a few short hours, the first floor was conquered and it was onto the second floor. There, he met little resistance as he could easily travel a straight path to the boss platform. The goblins with their weak weapons couldn''t do any significant damage and were far too hesitant in their attacks. He killed each and every one of them as he made his way to the swamp boss room.


    The water elementalist class goblin had fear in its eyes as it summoned a large amount of water from a nearby body of water, trying to drown Bo with the sheer volume. However, Bo continued forward, barely hindered as he held his breath. There was almost no joy to it as he strangled the creature to death, ending its life in no time at all. Now only the Dungeon Master was left and he could call it a day.

 1.68 Tower Defense

    Veronica sighed as she opened her construction menu screen. Looking over the second floor layout, she could see just how dreadfully empty everything was. Originally, she would have filled some of the rooms with challenges. Maybe she would have even bothered with adding [Critters] and some other environmental features to make the rooms more interesting. However, she just didn''t feel like it right now. She barely felt like she had the mental energy to work on anything right now, but the fact of the matter was she needed to do something to improve her current situation.


    Challenge rooms could be avoided thanks to the open floor plan layout of the second floor. However, it was likely that some adventurers would still attempt them since the promise of a reward was too tempting. Bo also seemed way too obsessed with conquering her dungeon and enjoyed challenging things a little too much. So, there was every possibility that he would attempt any new challenges she added for that reason alone.


    There wasn''t any value to trying to lock the challenge rooms since they weren''t actually rooms. So, Veronica decided to take a different approach to making the challenges on this floor from the one she had taken on the second floor. She wanted to make the challenge seem easy, but also have a secondary effect of adding extra defense to her dungeon. It wouldn''t exactly affect those who chose to forgo the challenge, but, again, she was depending on the adventurers to willingly walk into the [Trap] she was setting.


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 80 DP to research stone brick tower ruins using the [Base Resources] stone, wood, and clay?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wooden bows using the [Base Resource] wood and boar meat (sinew)?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research wooden quivers using the [Base Resource] wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As the system didn''t differentiate the different cuts of meat any more than it did different types of cheese or grass, it made for an interesting sight to see the system list boar meat in place of sinew for the wooden bows. It was likely that even the adventurers had bows made from better materials than wood and sinew with materials like horn or shell to reinforce their bows, but those weren''t materials she had access to. Still, it would work fine.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    For arrows, she was planning to spawn in flint arrows, which would cost her 1 MP for every five arrows. She had received them as a tribute fairly early on thanks to an archer who had left a few of them lying around her dungeon. It would be a pain to have to restock the equipment for this challenge on a regular basis, but her goblins wouldn''t exactly respawn with arrows and a bow when they were killed since she didn''t plan to assign them an actual archer class.


    For the challenge setup, Veronica used the land terraforming option to separate the room into a main walking path and a few landmasses, which she added the tower ruins to. She added more towers than she planned to add goblins as she could only have three goblins assigned to a 100 MP limit spawner due to their 30 MP cost. She then created the wooden bows, quivers, and flint arrows needed to arm the goblins. As it didn''t hurt to let them keep an extra weapon, she let them keep the melee weapons they spawned in with.


    The point of this challenge would be for the adventurers to cross from one end of the room to the other following the main path, just like mobs in a tower defense game would. Her goblins would then shoot their arrows at them in an effort to injure them, or better yet, kill them. Maybe Bo was getting to her, but Veronica simply couldn''t be bothered as much with feeling guilty over people dying in her dungeon when there were people like him who seemed to take joy in killing her. It only seemed fair that she took whatever measures she needed to in order to protect herself.


    Before she could set the challenge officially, she did need one other thing, though.


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 24 DP to research a black throw pillow and blanket set using the [Base Resources] undyed cotton cloth, undyed thread, duck feathers, black dye, and white dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It was a bit plain to just have them be one color without any sort of pattern on them, but Veronica thought it was already quite generous of her to choose a color that wouldn''t show stains as easily. Due to their smaller size they could easily be used for travel to sleep comfortably and things like mud and blood would be much more noticeable on brighter colors than they would on darker colors. Another 150 DP to set the room''s theme and 24 DP to set the challenge with its reward and the task at hand was finished.


    The overall costs to create the challenge room has only amounted to 298 since there wasn''t even a point to locking the doors. She did need to eventually look into things like the room settings options and adding resources to the rooms, but she wasn''t sure when, if ever, she''d get around to that. Seraphina had made it out to be important since it would be a good way to draw in adventurers, even when her emotional fluctuations caused [Monster] stampedes that would otherwise chase them away. However, she didn''t really care that much about that right now. She just wanted to be left alone.


    Veronica hadn''t even been interested in sleeping when she had first arrived in this world. She still thought of it as a bit of a waste of time, but she was starting to see its merits. At least when she was sleeping, she wasn''t constantly worrying about the next time Bo would show up. It was annoying having her first thought be that it might be Bo coming to kill her again every time an adventurer showed up on the second floor and the dungeon warned her of their presence. The world didn''t revolve around that bastard and her thoughts shouldn''t be either.

 1.69 The Lord’s Concerns

    Lord Sylvar Goldenleaf set down the report he was reading, sighing as he massaged his temples. He had been hopeful a few months ago when the new dungeon had appeared in his territory. It had even seemed worth the damage to the city while the casualties that had happened as a result of the tsunami had been an unfortunate, but unavoidable loss. The fact of the matter was that Bluelight Cove City simply couldn''t hold on for more than a few more decades without having to be abandoned due to the aether from the ocean quickly closing in, not to mention the effect of losing their main source of income and resources had on his people.


    When the last dungeon had retired, he had done his best to offer relief to the people under his care. He allowed people to move, disregarding their previous housing contracts without invoking the penalties detailed in the contracts. Donations were made to the local orphanage to help increase the resources they had since many children lost their parents when the dungeon fell. He had even reduced the taxes for a few years in order to allow merchants and citizens alike to recover and make alternate plans since they had lost their livelihoods overnight.


    However, as more time passed, things only grew worse and his family no longer had the money to offer their people the relief they so desperately needed. Sylvar knew there were many people who were homeless and that many of the buildings in their city were falling apart. Even the defensive wall outside the city had some areas that were still unable to be repaired, even despite how important it was for the safety of their city. There just wasn''t much he could do unless their local dungeon brought enough attention to their city for him to collect the taxes needed to start taking action.


    Things had looked good on that front when he received the initial reports on the dungeon and had confirmed everything was functioning properly. They didn''t have any anomalies that would lead to a failed dungeon right off the bat. The inn and tavern in the dungeon had even given him hope that some of the homeless population might be able to take advantage of the situation to get back on their feet. He hadn''t bothered with setting up guards to collect a toll for the dungeon, even despite it being an excellent opportunity to gather the funds to fix up the city, just so his people would have a chance to better their own lives without his interference.


    When he got the report from Eliath about how difficult the challenges on the first floor of the dungeon were, it had caused some concern. That hadn''t lasted too long, though. As more reports came in on the situation, they found that the challenges weren''t particularly lethal. Even if they weren''t really what they had come to expect from the first floor of a dungeon, it wasn''t much different from the dungeons that created entire obstacle courses full of [Traps] and treated that as a challenge. If you could survive and make it to the other side unscathed then you''d get an extra reward.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Admittedly, the ''firewalk'' challenge had been of the most concern. The deep trenches and fiery path that had to be walked on could lead to severe injury and even death if it was mishandled. However, it hadn''t taken long for the adventurers to figure out that walking slowly over the coals while balancing carefully would allow them to cross over them without any harm coming to them. The information had begun to spread as the information was sold and exchanged freely. The rest of the challenges were odd, perhaps, but hardly unheard of, and could be dealt with easily enough.


    No, the thing that was causing him the most stress lately was actually the fact that the dungeon was steadily becoming more and more unstable. Whoever was angering the Dungeon Master didn''t seem to be discouraged by the tremors throughout the dungeon. Since no one had personally witnessed and reported the culprit, nothing could be done about it either. Of course, if the Dungeon Diplomat in charge of the dungeon knew anything about the situation, she wouldn''t be forthcoming about the information. The only thing she seemed to have to say about the situation was to warn him against doing anything that might go against the dungeon accords.


    There weren''t really a lot of things he could do to stop someone from angering the Dungeon Master, it was true. Everyone and everything that wanted to challenge the dungeon had to be allowed entry. However, there was some leeway to take action. Adventurers were allowed to kill the wild [Monsters] that would otherwise attack the dungeon so long as it could be claimed that it was in self-defense or otherwise unrelated to their desire to challenge the dungeon. Similarly, it wasn''t like the person responsible couldn''t be assassinated or given an offer too good to pass up that would take them away from their city. They just needed to know who was responsible in order to make a move.


    In the meantime, there were resources going to waste and more of the homeless population was dying on the streets. Too many people were more willing to risk freezing and starving to death outside the dungeon than they were willing to risk what felt like certain death at the hands of the dungeon. The fear of the dungeon collapsing on top of them due to the tremors or the [Monsters] getting the best of them was too high. It really made Sylvar feel hopeless as he truly wanted his citizens to recover their likelihood and for their city to once more flourish.


    Perhaps, the only solace he had was the fact that their local Dungeon Diplomat, Seraphina, had confirmed numerous times that the dungeon core wasn''t corrupted. So long as the core wasn''t corrupted, it was unlikely that anything too dangerous would occur, but it didn''t mean it was impossible. There were still rare instances... no better not to think about that.


    Standing up, Sylvar decided to leave his office. He could use the break and it wasn''t like there was anything he could do right now to fix the situation anyways.

 1.70 The Business Of Map Making

    Calista looked up at the dungeon before her with a steady resolve. Her party had recently been hired on to map this dungeon, but some of their initial research had turned up some major concerns. However, there were only so many dungeons in their kingdom at a low enough level for her party to take on and her party wanted to maintain their reputation. They had worked far too hard to get their name out into the world and ensure they were one of the first ones to be called when a low-level dungeon needed to be mapped out.


    When it came to the mapping of a dungeon, it required a party that had someone with the navigator class. Her own class was that of a summoner, but her brother, Bellar, had been fortunate to get the all too rare class they needed for a job such as this one. However, they were hardly a party of two, instead they were a larger party with five members.


    "Alright, remember everyone, we need to take this slow and steady. The challenge rooms will be locked until we successfully complete the challenges and the [Monsters] have a tendency to stampede. We only have so many potions with us and I don''t want anyone to get injured from something that can be avoided. Am I clear?"


    That was Cassia, their Half-Giant guardian tank that acted as their team leader. Despite their team having more men than women, Cassia was a strong and competent leader that everyone confidently followed. Calista nodded in agreement alongside the others and they entered the dungeon.


    "There don''t seem to be any [Traps] in this hallway."


    Bellarth noted. His mapping skill gave him a mental image of the dungeon based on proximity. As they continued along, it would continue to update in real-time, allowing him to get a feel for the dungeon. As he was only a C-rank, the same as her, he only had a few skills. He has to manually practice his map drawing skills and carries parchment and ink in a magic bag at his side. However, once he has a completed map, one of his skills allows him to duplicate the drawing onto a clean piece of parchment.


    Calista knew quite well that Bellarth kept a copy of every dungeon map he had ever drawn, even going so far as to date them and name them. It made it easier to see how a dungeon evolved over time and they could more easily plan their next attack on the dungeon based on the observed behavior of the Dungeon Master. Meanwhile, they could produce a copy of the map at a moment''s notice whenever they were lucky enough to make a sale.


    The dungeon accords actually made it so that an official team was only allowed to come through to map out a dungeon once a year at most. That meant it was a valuable opportunity to be chosen to be the official map maker for a dungeon by the adventurers'' guild. The guild was actually the primary customer base for map makers, but there were also cases where the nobles, merchants, or richer adventurers would buy a map as well.


    "We''ll go to the right first since that way is supposed to be inn side. We can scope the area out and confirm there aren''t any [Traps] and stay the night while we map out the area. Then, in the morning, we will start on the other half of the dungeon."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Cassia stated. She took point as they cautiously continued forward. Their team wasn''t really specialized for combat as much as defense. Their other party members included Orik, a ranger, who had a [Trap] detection skill, [Trap] creation skill, and weapon skills for using a variety of ranged weapons and daggers. He carried around poisons and acids for coating stone and crossbolts to use with his slingshot, blowdart gun, and crossbow. That allowed him to have plenty of versatility so he could handle [Monsters] regardless of whether they were weak to blunt weapons, sharp weapons, poisons, acids, or anything else.


    Then there was Aramis, a telepath with alchemy training, who was skilled at using a long staff and in hand-to-hand martial arts. His telepathy skills allowed for long-distance communication, which was useful if they got separated in the dungeon. The class was considered as rare as the navigator class, but was considered one of the less useful support classes. If it wasn''t for being raised by an alchemist, allowing him to act as a substitute healer through the use of potions and medical knowledge, and his combat training, he likely wouldn''t even be in a party. In fact, most telepaths tended to work for the adventurers'' guild or nobles and never entered a dungeon their whole lives.


    Her brother suffered from a similar predicament when it came to the need to supplement his class skills with training with a weapon. However, her brother went with more of a hybrid build than Aramis. Bellarth wore sturdy steel armor built with agility in mind while using a bow and arrows to attack from a distance. Since his map-making skills were the most important part of his role in their party, it was more important that his defense was taken care of and that he could attack from a safe distance away than for him to be able to do any significant damage in combat.


    Their team leader was, perhaps, the most suitable for being in a dungeon. She not only had a guardian class, but she was also skilled at using a mace. Cassia was the highest rank in their part, besides herself, at B-rank. Since the higher the rank, the more skills one had access to, their team leader had many useful ones that were very useful for turning the tide in battle. There was sanctuary, a skill used to create a magic bubble that could heal allies and block attacks from enemies. Meanwhile, noble sacrifice would allow her to swap places with an ally to absorb and attack. Then there was divine leash, which was useful for holding aggro as it would allow her to use a magical chain to pull enemies to her. Of course, she had other skills as well, but those three were the most important.


    As for Calista, she couldn''t help but feel inferior compared to her other party members. Most summoners tended to have skills that focused on their offensive abilities. However, she only had one skill like that, which allowed her to summon a golem using mana. Her other two main skills were more domestic in nature with names like grand feast and oasis, which allowed her to create a meal or shelter from mana. Usually, the surroundings would be used in the process of creating the end result so a forest could lead to a wooden cabin and a campfire being created while a snowy environment might lead to an igloo being created. Other things were created purely from mana, but the mana cost was higher if the resources weren''t readily available in the environment around them.


    Her party members had repeatedly assured her that her domestic skills were appreciated, but it just felt like a shame that their party had to be relegated to only taking on low-level requests for dungeon mapping just because their combat capabilities weren''t that high. Sure, they had plenty of opportunities to grow stronger in the future, but a lot of the growth she would personally experience would be related to the skills she already had.

 1.71 First Floor Challenges

    "The food last night was so good!"


    "It''ll really be a shame not getting to drink another glass of ale for a while!"


    Calista listened as her party members talked amongst themselves. Last night had indeed been quite fun as they had indulged in every amenity the dungeon had available. They had made sure to bring several hundred small [Items]to exchange for accommodation and food during their trip. Even though they''d likely only be staying the night once on each floor, they needed to try all of the food options and room types in order to thoroughly report on the situation in the dungeon.


    The first floor seemed to have three different room types that scaled in price with the level of accommodations available. It costs 10 points to rent the smallest room, 15 points to rent a double room, and 50 points to rent out the largest room. They had drawn lots the night before to determine who got to sleep where. As there were three men and two women in their party, she had gotten lucky enough to stay in the largest room with their team leader, Cassia, while her brother had ended up in a room alone, and Orik and Amaris shared a room.


    Their meal had been more fairly split since they could all easily try some of everything. In fact, their server, a young girl named Elora, had even brought them five extra cups so they could split each serving of drink into enough portions for them all to have a taste. Well, she wasn''t really the sort who enjoyed drinking, but she had quite enjoyed the fruit-flavored sodas. The meals had been enjoyed in a similar manner with them each taking a portion onto a separate plate to eat from. Since there was so much food, it was still difficult for her to finish everything, but she had quite enjoyed the experience.


    While it was entirely true that they could have each chosen different dishes and given a report on the dishes they had tried, there was also value in having more than one opinion for any one dish. If there was a poison that only affects certain races or certain genders, they''d be able to note it in their report. Similarly, they could note if one person''s tastebuds dictated a dish to be particularly tasty while another person found it to be lacking in some way. They aimed to be very thorough in their reports, regardless of whether they were rating the [Traps] and [Monsters] in a dungeon, a special rest area, or anything else for that matter.


    As they walked through the door to the official combat area of the dungeon, she became more alert. Cassia took point ahead of the others while Bellarth remained at the back. Calista summoned a golem right away, causing the dirt and trees around them to shake as it formed from the materials around them. Soon a hulking figure stood towering over their group, if just barely. She gestured for her golem to take the back and guard her brother while continuing to follow the others in their group.


    She could immediately detect movement in the trees above them, as did most of the others in their group. Most of them were Elves, after all, so their senses were heightened, making it easier to detect changes in their environment. Bellarth and Orik each prepared their ranged weapons, taking their time to aim before shooting the targets above them. When the first crossbolt struck its target, a chunk of stone came hurtling toward the ground before the gargoyle smashed into pieces. The other [Monsters] quickly jumped from the trees, eager to attack now that they knew they didn''t have the element of surprise, but that only made it easier for them to strike them down.


    "Is that all of them? The upper limit for [Monsters] in any room is five on the lower floors, so everyone stay alert in case there are more further in."


    Cassia instructed. They hardly needed the reminder, but Calista appreciated the guidance all the same. It was always better safe than sorry when you were exploring a dungeon, no need to take risks with one''s life when you don''t have to. However, their worries were for nothing. Even after all the gargoyles were killed, it took a bit of walking around for Bellarth''s skill to detect everything in the room. Despite how time-consuming it could be, this is what they were here for, so no one complained.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "There haven''t been any [Traps] or resources in the last few rooms and it seems every room only had three basic gargoyles."


    Bellarth reported.


    "It''s a real shame, it would have been nice to find some potion ingredients."


    "I would have liked to increase my proficiency in my [Trap] detection and disarming skills as well."


    Orik and Aramis''s complaints were ignored by Cassia as they continued forward into the first challenge room. Most dungeons tended to be lacking in resources and creativity on the lower floors. The Dungeon Masters always seemed to be in too much of a hurry to unlock the higher floors and then just never bothered to come back through and fill in the lower floors. This dungeon was hardly special in that aspect.


    The next few hours were spent jumping from platform to platform as they tried to get used to the obstacle course in the tropical parkour room. It was tedious and frustrating every time they got knocked into the water by a weak push wall [Trap] or slid off the slippery ice of one of the platforms, but it was hardly the worst they had ever dealt with. The difficulty wasn''t even that high. Orik was able to disarm the wall push [Traps] after getting the hang of the timing and then they didn''t have to even worry about those anymore, but the rest just required practice.


    Cassia was the first to complete the challenge as her B-rank status and the height and strength difference from her Half-Giant race gave her a bit of an advantage. However, they all did their best to complete the challenge before leaving. Most of them managed to earn the reward, but they weren''t entirely sure how happy they were about it.


    "What is this? I didn''t do all that work for a set of damn towels!"


    Orik complained, his deep voice echoing through the rainforest. They had set up camp for the night in the first [Monster] field they had come to after clearing the challenge.


    "Well, they are of decent quality, though. If you don''t want them, we can always give yours to the guild. I''d be happy to keep mine as I''m sure my wife would enjoy them. She''d always complains that ours are made from too rough a material and that they''re going threadbare, but even the closest big city''s tailor doesn''t have anything as nice as this."


    Aramis replied. While it was more common for some of the other races to settle down and retire from adventuring before starting a family, it was a bit different for Elves. Calista didn''t currently have a partner, but Aramis had already settled down with a pretty Elven beauty from his home village. Every time they had some downtime he''d head home until he got notice they were ready to head out again. Calista supposed it likely helped his wife feel less lonely to be married to a rare telepath who could always use his skills to communicate, regardless of the distance between them. Well, a longer distance would cost more mana and usually required a higher ranking to make possible, but Aramis used the skill so often that it was hardly a problem so long as they were still in the Rosefall Empire.


    "These seem to be exactly like the ones from the large inn room we stayed in last night, Calista."


    Cassia said. She turned to the large Half-Giant woman, nodding her head as she replied


    "Yeah, it had felt like such a pity that we couldn''t take them with us. We can''t risk angering the Dungeon Master, though, especially since we want to be chosen to map out the dungeon again next year."


    Their group continued to spend the night chatting idly about their day''s adventurers and what tomorrow might hold. Their accommodation for the night was certainly not as nice as it had been when they had stayed in the inn, but the resources in the tropical rainforest were abundant and she had been able to make a very comfortable shelter and abundant feast for their night''s meal. There was a warm fire with logs to sit on, wooden cabins with wooden furniture and a layer of leaves and grass to form a mattress of sorts. The meal was simple with fresh water, bread, and soup. There was naturally water in their environment, so it only needed to be purified for drinking, but there weren''t any edible plants, so the meal was simple as it had to be made purely from mana.


    Callista could still remember how bad their rations used to be when she was a lower rank and had first unlocked the skill. Hard bread and room temperature water that was barely drinkable was the best she could pull off then. Now, if she didn''t need to also provide a shelter, she could even make a more lavish spread than they had tonight with fresh fruits and stir-fried dishes made from mushrooms. It just wasn''t worth it to sleep on the cold hard ground when they could accept slightly worse rations. Still, she did hope that she''d one day be able to improve the level of her grand feast skill enough to summon food worthy of its name.

 1.72 The Stone Guardian

    The next day, they continued deeper into the dungeon. Even despite their thorough research and the use of Bellarth''s navigator skills, it was still time-consuming and difficult to make progress. The next challenge room was the firewall challenge, which was more than a little scary to participate in.


    As a summoner, Calista''s outfit was closer to that of a mage than a warrior. She didn''t wear leather padding or steel armor to defend herself from attacks. Instead, she wore a decorative dress that was long enough to cover everything, regardless of what activities she participated in, a cape to offer extra warmth, and accessories enchanted with defensive bonuses. Her shoes were the same boots that most adventurers wore as it was the most suitable in the dungeon.


    This was important as it took time to remove the shoes and socks from her feet before they could start the firewalk challenge. They had to time things appropriately so that they could kill the gargoyles in the room just before the firewalk challenge and then proceed forward. There was nowhere to take their shoes off in the room as the path was one of fiery coals from start to finish inside the room. They''d likely have to fight shoeless after they got into the next room as well, unless the gargoyles were willing to give them the time to put them back on.


    Walking across the fiery coals was scary and the panic made her want to pause, but her team leader''s reminder made her continue forward at a steady pace.


    "Remember, we have to keep walking forward, but don''t rush! This should be doable without a fire resistance potion and we don''t want to waste a healing potion if we don''t have to. Just don''t panic and keep going, it will be over before we know it!"


    As there were five of them attempting the challenge at the same time, it was even more difficult. They had entered the room one at a time, ensuring they didn''t overcrowd anyone else, but their differences in height and foot size made things even more difficult. What was slow for one person was a normal pace for others and vice versa. That led to a few members of her party bumping into each other, leading to a few of them taking minor burns before they made it to the end.


    Aramis sighed in relief as they made it into the next [Monster] field room. Cassia, who had taken the lead in the last room, stood guard while everyone else took care of their injuries and put their gear back on.


    "Here, Orik, Bellarth, you should both put this herbal cream on. It should help relieve the pain from the burns. You should rinse your feet with water first to remove the dirt or it won''t be very effective. Healing potions shouldn''t be necessary, but you''ll have to bear with the discomfort."


    The herbs for healing potions weren''t exactly common in forests and not all dungeons were abundant in resources. While they could save on some expenses thanks to Aramis''s alchemy knowledge, they still tended to save the expensive potions for emergencies, choosing to prioritize basic medical techniques instead.


    It didn''t take them long to reach the next challenge room. The last progress has been scary, but not particularly time-consuming. If anything, it was dangerous for them to take too long to cross, just as it would be for them to rush. The rooms hadn''t been much smaller than an adventurers'' guild might be, so it normally would only take a minute or two to cross, but, even with their slowed pace, it still took them only a handful of minutes to cross the entirety of the room.


    The next challenge room was one which Bellarth played the starring role for. What might have caused some confusion and backtracking for normal adventurers was simple enough for them. The only real problem was that they had to walk the entirety of the room in order for her brother''s skill to update all of the information and give them the full picture. Once that was done, they easily found the exit and received their reward.


    The firewalk challenge had given them a silver mirror and comb set while this one had offered a silk green robe that matched the luxury towels they had received from the tropical parkour challenge. Aramis grinned widely as he offered OrikThis narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "I''m guessing you''ll be offering your robe up as an example for the guild this time too, huh? Personally, I can''t wait to see my wife wearing her new robe. Almost seems like a shame that we won''t be coming back through here on the way back!"


    Orik grumbled incoherently, seeming angry, but it was all good-natured. This dungeon was, admittedly, quite strange. There was a set of stairs at the end of a hallway that connected the entrance of the dungeon to the second floor. It had denied them entry when they had checked it out on the first day they visited. It would seem that only those who had defeated the boss could skip the floor''s challenges and head directly up to the next floor. How the Dungeon Master could afford to be so generous, she wasn''t sure, but she was more than happy to shorten their return trip.


    The only challenge left for them on this first floor was the boss room now. There were even fewer [Monster] fields between the tavern maze and the boss room than there were between each of the other challenges. Considering the dungeon was already divided in half and boss rooms tended to be quite large, Calista could easily guess that the Dungeon Master had simply run out of space to continue building.


    "Alright, let''s take stock and make a battle plan before we enter the boss chamber."


    Cassia announced as they came to the door to the boss room. Most dungeons had proper doors between rooms, but this dungeon simply had large gaps between the trees to make it easier to pass from room to room. After gaining everyone''s attention, Cassia continued


    "I''ll be taking the lead. As all of the other [Monsters] on this floor have been gargoyles, it''s likely the boss will be as well. However, there is no guarantee of that and we have to be prepared for a number of possibilities. We don''t know if the boss will have AOE skills, minions, or anything else. Assuming it''s just a boss that specializes in one-on-one style combat, I''ll keep its aggro and take the brunt of the attacks."


    That was the usual way they did things, so it was nothing new. Orik spoke up next as he said


    "I don''t have a lot of [Traps] that will be effective against a stone enemy. I don''t have time to set up anything significant either. I doubt bladed weapons will be useful against a stone enemy either. I have some explosives that I can use in a pinch, but I''ll have to rely mostly on specialty crossbolts. I''ve got acid I can dip the crossbolts in and blunted bolts that I can use for a blunt option. There''s also the armor-piercing bolts, but I don''t have many of those and I don''t know if they''d be effective enough to be worth it."


    Cassia nodded before replying


    "Alright, we''ll do that then. Aramis, you use a long staff, so you should be able to take the lead on damage and, Calista, your golem should be able to help out too. Bellarth, if the room is larger, it will take you some time to map things out, right? Why don''t you and Calista walk around the outside of the room until I give the all-clear and you can safely head into the center of the room where the boss will likely be waiting."


    Some bosses used other methods, but the gargoyles hadn''t shown many signs of intelligence. The boss [Monsters] could easily be different from the basic form, but there was still a limit to how different members of the same species could be. With their plan in place, they entered the boss room. Calista immediately summoned her golem, which shook their surroundings and caused the boss [Monster] to roar off in the distance. That allowed them to confirm its location, but they didn''t have to worry about a premature fight as the boss didn''t leave his post.


    Calista didn''t get to see the boss fight for herself, but she was later regaled with tales from the others.  The boss was a large stone creature with wings on its back, but it was so heavy that it couldn''t properly fly. Mostly, it used its wings to deflect attacks and create a gust of wind to attack her party members with. Cassia ended up doing most of the work as she attacked the boss with her large mace and repeatedly used her divine leash skill to keep aggro. Aramis attacked from behind when there was an opening while Orik attacked from the side. However, their attacks were slow and had limited effectiveness. That didn''t mean they didn''t put forth their best effort, though, just that not every enemy would be a perfect match for their skills.


    When the boss was defeated, they had a limited amount of time to look over the center of the room before they''d be risking the boss respawning. Bellarth made quick work of running around the room to finish mapping everything. Then they exited the room, ending up in the main hallway of the first floor of the dungeon.

 1.73 Second Floor Challenges

    "Finally we can get a good night''s rest!"


    Orik exclaimed as they walked into the reception area of the second-floor inn. Bellarth smiled as he added


    "We''re really lucky the first floor was so simple. The challenges and boss room were well-made, though. The stone temple ruins with the torches along the stone brick path really set the mood for the boss room quite well. I thought the maze spelling out the word ''tavern'' was a nice touch too."


    Calista smiled as she replied


    "Yeah, with the addition of the inn and tavern features, the dungeon feels more like a tourist attraction than a dungeon. The challenges were a bit more dangerous than I''m used to for the first floor of a dungeon, though, especially the first two."


    Cassia seemed thoughtful as she said


    "Yeah, the maze seemed almost anti-climatic after seeing the tropical parkour and firewalk challenges. Perhaps the Dungeon Master was forced to scale things back some due to other adventurers being reluctant to explore the earlier rooms? I''m not sure it wouldn''t have been better to rearrange things if that was the case, though."


    Their conversation continued as they wandered around the inn. Much to their disappointment, there wasn''t a tavern available on the second floor. In fact, the inn space was cut in half by a hallway with no exit after just a few rooms. The reception area was much smaller than the one on the first floor as well. Of course, Orik was quick to complain


    "Damn! I was really looking forward to having a nice ale after all of that work."


    Cassia smiled sadly as she calmly instructed


    "Alright, well, we''ll just have to depend on Calista tonight. There weren''t any resources available on the first floor and there is no guarantee we will find something on this floor either. We''ll have to reserve our rations in case of emergencies, so we''ll have to make do with whatever she can summon up."


    That didn''t end up being much. Even with full mana, without the resources to create the food from, the meal was simple. Hard bread, watery mushroom soup, and water. Since their room had access to water, she didn''t even have to spend mana on creating any. Luckily, the rooms, despite being more expensive than those on the first floor, had two bedrooms, so they only had to rent two of them for the night.


    "The furniture style is interesting on this floor. I''ve never seen anything like it before. I wonder if the Dungeon Master is going for a certain theme on this floor. It''s still a shame there isn''t a tavern, but I bet the menu will be interesting on this floor as well once one is built."


    Bellarth commented. Cassia nodded as she took a bite of a hard piece of bread she had dipped into the watery mushroom soup. After swallowing she said


    "I heard this floor is supposed to have a swamp theme. There haven''t been many adventurers who have made it this far, but that seems to be a result of [Monster] stampedes. There haven''t been any of those during our time here, fortunately. However, I think the furniture is fitting for the floor''s theme. The temperature in the inn is the same as the first floor, from what I can tell, but the lack of fireplaces seems more sensible for a warm environment. Why the first floor even had them when the tropical forest would make adventurers hot, I''m not certain."


    Calista was quick to point out the obvious advantage


    "Well, adventurers could use a hearth to cook their meals if they don''t eat at the tavern. Our room had a magic wood stove, but Bellarth''s map shows the others don''t have that. This floor only has the more expensive rooms, so it''s not a big deal to not have the hearths, but I imagine that could be a problem if it had some of the smaller room types."


    Bellarth nodded in agreement before addingIf you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "It''s a bit of a pain to map the inn area, honestly. I have to note which rooms have which price and then copy the drawing for the rooms based on what I see in the rooms we rent. There''s no guarantee that every 10-point room actually has the same design, though. I''m glad we rented two of the same room types on this floor, though. It seems all of these rooms are the same, so it is more likely that I''m right to assume they are all similar enough."


    Not long after that, they all turned in for the night. They had to return to exploring the dungeon in the morning and they weren''t sure what to expect, so they wanted to ensure they were well-rested. However, they were more than a little surprised when they finally stepped into the swampy environment of the second-floor dungeon.


    "Well, ain''t this something?"


    Orik said. Bellarth let out a sharp breath before explaining


    "Well, my skill did mark the dungeon as an open-floorplan hybrid style. While the visuals are a bit different, this isn''t entirely out of the expected."


    Cassia looked out across the open swampy area, surveying it carefully, before turning back to the others and saying


    "Alright, we''ll have to walk the entire area in order to allow Bellarth to map everything. Our job also requires us to complete all of the challenges, regardless of whether they are necessary to complete the floor. It seems there is just one challenge and then a boss room, so we should be able to get this all done today. We''ll go ahead and spend another night in the inn before trying to find the Dungeon Master. Now, let''s get to work!"


    No one argued with her, immediately complying with her orders as they ventured forth. The goblins on the second floor were a bit smarter than the gargoyles on the first floor, but they were hardly more difficult to defeat. If anything, they were more vulnerable to attack as both sharp weapons and blunt weapons would work on them. The sight of their blood spilling on the ground made Calista feel nauseous, but she said nothing. This was just the way life in the dungeon was. She was meant to be used to it after all this time, but she had simply never adjusted to it.


    When they reached the first challenge room, they were greeted by several tower ruins on islands a short distance from the grassy, swampy path that led from one end of the area to the next. Bellarth was quick to note


    "There are no [Traps], but there are goblins in the towers. It''s a bit difficult to get the map fully updated at this distance, but I think we''ll just barely manage since most of the land is missing due to the swamp water and the path goes through the center of the room."


    Cassia looked worried as she asked


    "Are they just basic goblins, not archer goblins?"


    The system prompt clearly noted the presence of arrows in the challenge as they had to cross the room without being hit in order to succeed. That would be easy thanks to Cassia''s sanctuary skill. Although, it was questionable whether the skill blocking the attack would count for the challenge. Before Bellarth could answer, a flint arrow flew out of the tower, splashing into the water to one side of them. Orik laughed amusedly as he replied


    "What''s it matter? They clearly don''t know how to use them!"


    Bellarth smiled, amusedly, as he confirmed


    "They''re supposed to be basic goblins, but I guess they''ve been given some low-level bows and arrows. They shouldn''t pose much of a threat to us, even I could likely dodge their attacks."


    Considering her brother didn''t have any agility bonuses to rely on, that was certainly saying something, but not much. He had still trained with the others to improve his dodging ability and was quite light on his feet. As for herself, she wasn''t entirely confident in her own abilities to dodge the attacks as it was hard to tell where the arrows would be coming from. She didn''t have a map that would automatically update and alert her of the enemy''s location. So, she was very grateful for Cassia''s help.


    They didn''t have to walk at a particularly slow pace and they weren''t worried about being hit, so it took only a few short minutes to cross the room. When the system confirmed their success, they all smiled in relief. It would seem the use of skills wasn''t enough to lose out on the reward.


    "A pillow and blanket? The Dungeon Master certainly seems to have an interesting sense of what constitutes a reward."


    Orik complained. Calista was quick to note


    "Well, we should actually hold onto these. They''re small enough to easily pack and bring with us to the dungeon. Plus, my oasis skill doesn''t include things like bedding, so it would be nice to have something to use when we have to camp."


    Orik didn''t bother arguing with her. He was a confident Dwarven man, but he was far more comfortable bickering with Aramis or Bellarth than he was getting into the same sorts of disputes with herself or their team leader, Cassia. He was very clearly uninterested in them on a romantic level and he had a great deal of respect for them, but it was simply a different sort of relationship.

 1.74 The Swamp Sorcerers Wrath

    The entire time Calista''s party had to spend traversing the empty area near the boss room, they couldn''t help but be nervous. They were confident enough that they could take down the boss [Monster] without much difficulties, but it still made them nervous that it could see them walking around. What if it attacked one of their weaker members, like her brother, when they weren''t expecting it? It was one thing to fight the boss when they were ready for it, but it was another when they weren''t expecting to be attacked. Luckily, the boss didn''t seem interested in attacking until after they entered what it clearly considered its territory.


    "Everyone ready?"


    Cassia asked.


    "Aye, as ready as I''ll ever be."


    Orik grunted in confirmation. Bellarth nodded in confirmation before saying


    "I''ve mapped out the rest of the dungeon as best as I can. I''ll have to wait until we get closer to confirm if there are any [Traps] or not."


    Aramis and Calista were quick to confirm their readiness as well.


    The ground was uneven with pools of murky swamp water even more abundant in the boss chamber. As they grew closer to the center of the room, the pools of water even grew deeper, making it clear that the goblin mage that served as a boss [Monster] would not be lacking water to attack with. Calista wasn''t looking forward to getting hit with the foul water, but she set that thought aside.


    In the center of the room stood the goblin. It was hunched over, its green skin glistening with moisture. It wore tattered blue mage''s robes, far shorter than any she had ever seen before. In its hands, it clutched a wooden mage''s staff that was taller than its own height, a blue water magic crystal affixed to the top of it. Even if they hadn''t done research into what to expect from the dungeon, it would have been more than clear that the boss was a water elementalist.


    The water in the nearby pools rippled in response to their arrival and a low, guttural growl escaped the goblin. It almost looked feral as it made its annoyance at their arrival clear.


    "So, you¡¯ve come to die, have you? Fools! This is my domain! Here, the water bends to my will!"


    The goblin declared, its voice scratchy and its accent making its words difficult to understand. Most goblins couldn''t even communicate with adventurers, but mages tended to have higher intelligence than the rest, so this wasn''t entirely surprising.


    With a tilt of its staff, the goblin summoned a wave of water from the pools around them. The water surged towards them, but they were hardly going to remain still. Cassia raised her voice as she called outTaken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "Sanctuary!"


    A glowing barrier of light sprang up around them, the wave crashing against them harmlessly. The barrier pulsed with energy as a gentle, healing light washed over the group. They didn''t need it now, but it was a nice bonus and made their leader quite dependable.


    The goblin snarled in frustration, raising its staff to summon another attack. However, before it could, Cassia lashed out with her mace, easily landing a blow on the goblin. Orik and Bellarth both readied their ranged weapons, prepared to launch their attacks in quick succession. Calista didn''t summon her golem yet as she felt it would only take up space and make it more difficult for the others. Instead, she pulled out a dagger from her waist, something she kept for emergencies, and stood at the ready in case she too needed to act.


    The goblin screeched in rage, slamming its staff into the ground before summoning a geyser of water. The water crashed against the magic barrier, slowly diminishing its effectiveness until it broke. There was a limit to how much damage could be absorbed before it would have to be recast. Orik dodged the next attack that was aimed at him, cursing under his breath as he fired another bolt at the goblin. It struck the boss''s shoulder, causing it to stumble.


    The battle raged on, but nothing the goblin threw at them was very effective. Its spells were all low-level and easily blocked. The most it could do was summon water from the pools to create barriers or attack them. The slick, uneven ground was more of a hazard than it was.


    Cassia and Aramis were the main damage dealers for the fight, swinging their mace and long staff with precision as they landed powerful blow after blow. The goblin did its best to dodge what attacks it could, but their party easily overwhelmed it thanks to the addition of arrows and crossbolts from Orik and Bellarth. It didn''t take long before the boss [Monster''s] injuries were too severe and it, finally, fell down dead.


    Calista couldn''t help but feel it was a shame she didn''t get to participate in the battle. It would have been nice to get a share of the experience, even with how few a goblin would offer. They were still considered beginner [Monsters], after all, so even a boss-level goblin wouldn''t offer much in the way of experience.


    "That wasn''t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Did you get everything you needed, brother?"


    she asked. Her brother nodded as he confirmed


    "Yep, I just need some time to compile my notes into a report for the guild and finish drawing the map before making the guild''s copy. We''ll need to decide whose rewards will be offered up as well so Aramis can send it off to the guild as well."


    Aramis spoke up to add


    "We still need to meet with the Dungeon master as well."


    "That''s assuming they are even willing to cooperate with us."


    Orik said. The Dungeon Master was likely in the dungeon core room since they hadn''t run into them yet. There were a few rooms they couldn''t access in the inn, but Dungeon Masters were known for being overly cautious about outsiders getting close to the dungeon core room. Leaving it unguarded was almost entirely unheard of unless there was active work being done on the dungeon. Still, Orik wasn''t wrong in saying that being able to find the Dungeon Master didn''t guarantee they''d be willing to answer their questions and cooperate with them. Still, they had to try.

 1.75 Meeting With The Dungeon Master

    Calista''s party ended up lucking out and found the Dungeon Master in the hallway of the second floor inn the next morning. They hadn''t been expecting to see anyone else on the floor and had even dismissed the woman as another random adventurer until they saw her walking out of one of the rooms that they themselves were locked out of. Cassia had thought it worthwhile to ask about it and they had approached the woman cautiously, worried they would frighten her due to their large group when she was by herself.


    "Excuse me, miss, but could you tell us what''s in that room? Is it a special inn room or...?"


    The woman looked irritated by their presence as she replied


    "It''s just a cleaning closet. Why?"


    Cassia was a confident leader, but even she was a bit thrown off by the woman''s attitude. Still, she soldiered on as she pressed


    "You wouldn''t happen to work here would you? We were actually hoping to meet with the Dungeon Master for an interview. The adventurers'' guild hired our party to map out the dungeon this year and that''s all we have left before we can leave."


    The woman''s annoyance seemed to decrease momentarily before her expression morphed to one of frustration. Her eyebrows were creased and her voice bored as she replied


    "Well, you''ve found me. I''m the Dungeon Master, Lady Veronica. I didn''t realize I''d have to worry about people mapping out the dungeon on top of everything else. Do I really have to sit through an interview? I highly doubt this will benefit me and I''m rather sick of dealing with entitled adventurers this week. Bad enough an ill-tempered bull feels the need to come through and kill me every few days..."


    Calista barely caught the last sentence as it was muttered under Veronica''s breath. Cassia gave the woman a half-hearted smile as she further tried to coerce the woman.


    "Oh! I apologize for not recognizing you, Lady Veronica! I understand that you likely have your own circumstances, but it would really mean a lot for us if you''d just hear us out."


    Bellarth cleared his throat before stepping forward, holding out two pieces of parchment, as he explained


    "Here, you can keep these, they''re copies of the maps I''ve made for the first and second floor. I realize it may be upsetting to hear your dungeon is being mapped out, but there are actually more pros than cons from it. The dungeon accords stipulate that the dungeon can only be officially mapped once a year, at most. The adventurers'' guild is in charge of choosing the party to do the work. They require all of the floors built at the time the request is made to be mapped and pay extra for any information we can provide about challenges and for samples of the rewards on offer. Maps are usually sold for a high price, alongside information about the dungeon, so it''s rare for anyone but nobles and high-ranking adventurers to obtain a copy, but they likely wouldn''t have much trouble conquering the lower floors of a dungeon anyhow."


    Bellarth paused for a moment to give Veronica time to process what he was saying before continuing


    "The adventurers'' guild uses the information we provide to ensure the relationship between Dungeon Master and the adventurers is handled better than it otherwise might be. As part of our time here, we have been instructed to ask a few interview questions of you and to ask if you''d be interested in having your portrait drawn. The finished painting would be hung in the adventurers'' guild and would make it easier for people to recognize you so that they recognize you more easily and can give you the respect you deserve. The interview questions are just to help ensure everyone can better behave themselves in your dungeon and avoid upsetting you."


    The explanation was a bit wordy and Calista couldn''t help but worry that her brother was going to bore the Dungeon Master and ruin their chances altogether. However, from the way Veronica''s posture relaxed and her lips tugged upwards at the corners, a faint smile adorning her lips, it was clear he was getting through to her.


    "Alright, I will give you the opportunity to interview me and I will approve of someone taking my portrait. However, I am only willing to answer five questions, no more. I have things to do and I don''t want to be here all day."


    They all nodded their agreement and Bellarth sorted out his notes, trying to decide which questions were the most important. The guild wouldn''t penalize them for receiving less information than they had been hoping for. Dungeon masters were known for being impatient and simply getting them to agree to cooperate at all was already quite good. It didn''t take long before Bellarth was asking his first question.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Tributes are often used as a way for adventurers to show their appreciation for the adventures in a dungeon. However, different Dungeon Masters have different preferences for what they''d like to receive as tributes. Is there anything that you''d be especially happy to receive?"


    Veronica seemed unimpressed as she boredly replied


    "I already set up a corkboard in the tavern downstairs. I regularly update the list posted there to include what tributes I''m most looking for at the time. I only include the [Items] I actively need in order to work on the next upgrades for the dungeon. However, in general, I need as many ingredients and textiles as I can get so that I can create unique tavern menus and furniture for each floor. Anything on that list is also guaranteed to be worth a minimum of 10 points and a maximum of 35 points for both the inn and tavern, assuming you''re the first to trade it in."


    Calista looked worriedly at her brother. It wasn''t like they hadn''t seen the tavern downstairs, so it almost seemed as if he had wasted a question. However, that was a fairly standard question and the clarification didn''t exactly hurt. The explanation of the points was a nice bonus that she was sure the guild would appreciate as well. Still, she hoped his other choices for questions were a bit more strategic. There was no guarantee Veronica would be willing to agree to another interview the next time they were hired to map out the dungeon.


    "Can we expect the addition of resources like plants or new [Critters] to be used on the lower floors or will we have to wait until you start work on the upper floors before we see that sort of thing?"


    Bellarth asked. Veronica seemed to mull the answer over for a moment before casually answering


    "It might take a while before I get around to that. I''m not entirely sure what the benefit is and I don''t want to waste my precious resources on it right now. However, eternity is a long time, so I might consider it in the future."


    Calista furrowed her brows, feeling a bit unsure whether to speak up on the matter and clarify things. Technically, the dungeon accords required that they not influence the Dungeon Master, so it was questionable whether it was actually a smart move. It would be one thing if they had been directly asked about the matter, but that wasn''t the case here. It would seem her brother thought similarly as he cast a glance at their team leader who shook her head in the negative. Flipping through the notes in his journal, he took a moment to determine his next question before asking


    "Could you explain your thought processes behind the challenges you''ve designed and the rewards you''ve chosen for them? They''re a bit different from what we''re used to, so there have been quite a bit of theories that have been going around."


    Veronica looked confused as she replied


    "Well, half of my dungeon is an inn and tavern, so I''ve been trying to include rewards that are related to that. I made sure to use quality materials and offer luxury versions so that it will be worth your while. However, honestly, I don''t want people progressing through the dungeon too easily. The dungeon core didn''t like me making the challenges too difficult so I had to scale things back with the later challenges, but I''m mostly just trying to defend the dungeon core. Surely you don''t want the dungeon to disappear because it''s too easy for intruders to get in, right?"


    That checked out. Calista could certainly see how the rewards were all related to the inn theme, even if they were typically available at the inns in their world. Things like towels and robes were useful when one took a bath. However, inns outside of this dungeon typically only offered a room and a single meal for a set price per night. Any extra food or alcohol had to be paid for separately and there were no extras available to purchase or otherwise.


    "That''s certainly true. That actually brings me to my next question. There has been a noticeable amount of disturbance in the dungeon. [Monsters] being incited to stampede and tremors throughout the dungeon. It seems like things have been calm during our time here, but we were warned about the issue before we got here. No one at the guild knows what is going on, so we''d like it if you could explain. Maybe something could be arranged to sort the problem out?"


    Veronica''s eyes seemed to light up and her posture straightened as she eagerly replied to Bellarth''s question.


    "Can you really do something about it? I''ve been having a bull Shifter named Bo coming through on a regular basis who feels the need to challenge me to a life-or-death duel. I keep dying and nothing I do seems to discourage him for long. I''m starting to lose hope that there is anything that can be done. Seraphina, my assigned Dungeon Diplomat, said that nothing could be done about it since the dungeon core isn''t corrupted and it''s his right to challenge the dungeon."


    The silence was deafening as their group exchanged worried glances with one another. None of them were willing to risk doing anything about the problem. It would be a shame to see the dungeon affected by one man''s actions, but they couldn''t risk their livelihoods being affected for some random town they didn''t even have a connection to outside of their work. After far too much time passed by, Veronica huffed, seeming to get upset as she demanded.


    "Fine, you can just consider this interview over. I''m no longer in a good mood and want to be left alone."


    They were supposed to have another question they could ask, but it would seem they had ruined their chances of getting any further answers. It was a shame, but there was nothing they could do, so they simply packed up and left. Hopefully, this didn''t ruin their chances of accepting work here in the future. None of them wanted to risk losing their lives just because they ended up on bad terms with the Dungeon Master.

 1.76 Sinking Feeling

    Veronica was starting to feel hopeless. What was the point of living like this? She couldn''t help but wish she had never been transmigrated into this nightmare in the first place. It would have been so much better had she remained in her old world. Veronica didn''t even care if her parents would have chosen her or her brother to inherit their bed and breakfast anymore. At least in her old world she wouldn''t be a prisoner and she''d be free from the torture of being repeatedly killed for the fun of it. She was sick of it and all she wanted was to end the madness, but she couldn''t. Perhaps, that was the worst part of all.


    It wasn''t fair of her most recent guests to give her false hope like that. She hadn''t even gotten their names before she had chased them off. Thanks to her enhanced memory, she would likely never forget their faces, nor would she forget what they had done to her. She didn''t exactly have the strength needed to kill them off. She couldn''t even get rid of Bo, after all. Still, she was more than a little angry about being led on.


    However, since there wasn''t anything else she could do, Veronica decided to concentrate on her next challenge room. This one would be on the same side of the dungeon as the boss room, so it was more likely that adventurers'' would have to pass through the area. The dungeon wouldn''t allow her to make the challenge rooms too dangerous, but that wasn''t going to stop her from pushing the limits.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 50 DP to research thatch hut using the [Base Resources] straw, wood, and clay?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research sandpit [Trap] using the [Base Resource] sand?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Technically, Veronica had never received sand as a tribute. However, it was one of those things that she automatically unlocked when she received another [Base Resource] around the time she unlocked land terraforming. Whether it was from receiving stone as a tribute or was just something she naturally had access to, like the land terraforming, though, she wasn''t sure. Either way, she could freely change the swampy land for sand. She just couldn''t create trenches full of sand without risking upsetting the system like she had when she built the firewalk challenge. So, she decided to try researching it as a [Trap] and was relieved to see it was possible.


    This next challenge she was planning to name ''sinking feeling'' as it would center around the use of sand. She carefully arranged a sandy path with sandpit [Traps] hidden along the way. If an adventurer stepped onto the sandpit they would slowly sink below the sand into what was essentially a deep pitfall [Trap]. The more they struggled, the deeper they would sink, similar to how quicksand works. The challenge stipulations would be the same as the firewalk challenge with adventurers required to cross the room using the main path in order to earn the reward.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    On the normal swampy land areas, she added thatch huts for her goblins to live in. The 100 MP spawner she added to the room would only support three goblins, but the other goblins from the nearby land masses could easily traverse the second floor if they wanted to sleep in the thatch huts. However, that was the primary point of them.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 2 DP to research stones using the [Base Resource] stone?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica happily spent a lot of mana to create many stones that she piled up outside of the thatch huts. She then instructed her goblins


    "When adventurers come near, throw these stones at them. You can attack them with your melee weapons if they get close enough, but you should primarily use these."


    The stones weren''t exactly lethal, but they would be distracting to be pelted with and they could also leave nasty bruises, maybe even dent metal armor. If the adventurers were distracted, it was also more likely that they would end up falling into the sandpits as well, which was ideal as far as Veronica was concerned. Since she couldn''t force the adventurers to walk through every room in the dungeon, she felt it was best to do as much damage as possible in the areas they did bother with.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a ginger lily bath set using the [Base Resources] ginger, peace lilies, lye soap, water, oil, honey, undyed cotton cloth, undyed thread, green dye, and wood?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica didn''t know how to make shampoo, conditioner, and body wash since the ingredients listed in her memory didn''t quite make sense to her. Thankfully, the system either knew what it was doing or was able to piece things together for her. The bath set was made to include shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a green sponge. The ginger lily scent seemed suitable and she had all of the materials for it, so she hoped the adventurers liked it. She still didn''t feel the need to suck up to them, but she didn''t exactly like the idea of people complaining about what she had to offer either.


    Another 60 DP had to be spent to set the challenge up with its reward, but the room was otherwise finished. Honestly, the costs for building things barely seemed to matter anymore as there were plenty of tributes coming in. Veronica didn''t even have to worry about getting the [Items] and [Base Resources] to build what she wanted for the future since the adventurers were more than happy to help procure anything she added to the corkboard list. Over the last week or so, she had received 3,065 DP from room rentals, 3,105 DP from tavern sales, 391 DP from repeat tributes, and 465 DP from new tributes including: sea cucumbers, corn, peanuts, sesame seeds, sugar pumpkins, broccoli, holy basil, wild mustard, sugar snap peas, lacey black gloves, leather boots, red linen dress, gold, and tin ore. Her dungeon point total was now sitting at 33,865.


    At this rate, she could easily finish the second floor and move onto the third floor even if adventurers stopped coming to her dungeon altogether. However, since she was feeling more hopeless than angry of late, the dungeon was having fewer [Monster] stampedes and tremors, so the dungeon traffic was starting to pick up again. It seems word spreads fast among adventurers as the dungeon only had to be stable for a few days before they would all come flooding back in, eager to revisit her dungeon.

 1.77 Hotel Amenities

    It was starting to get more difficult to remember her original goals and dreams before arriving in this new world. Veronica had just finished dying a few hours ago to Bo who had happily left the dungeon afterwards. It had been what? Maybe a week and a half since she had finished building the newest challenge room, but he had already visited enough times to kill her five times since then. She was now lying on the hard stone floor at the top of the steps to the dungeon core room.


    Looking up at the dungeon core, she groaned. The green orb still glowed brightly with barely any dark tendrils of corruption swirling within. Seraphina had visited the other day and given the all clear, even after she had seen the faintest signs of corruption herself. Even after questioning it, all she had been told was that there was some leeway in just how much was allowed. If it was less than 25% then there was no need to worry as it wouldn''t start affecting the dungeon until after that point. However, the dungeon core itself being corrupted wasn''t even the only problem. Dying repeatedly and feeling hopeless wasn''t good for one''s mental health.


    Veronica remembered the information Seraphina had given her about her own [Monsters] and upkeep for the dungeon when she first arrived in this world. If her gargoyles or goblins died too many times, their souls would start to corrupt as their mental resolve crumbled. Then, they would no longer be able to respawn as their spirits would simply refuse it. [Monsters] with more intelligence tended to be affected more than the rest, which is why she hadn''t needed to replace any of her gargoyles yet. As for her goblins, they were on the second floor where traffic was still slow enough to give them more time to recover.


    Still, the most notable part of this information was that Veronica knew what was wrong with her. She could feel her own willpower and resolve breaking with her repeated deaths. It was just that no one cared because it wasn''t going to affect the dungeon. She wasn''t a sniveling mess that could do nothing but quake in fear, she was just exhausted. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and be left alone for a while. Maybe she''d feel better if she could just have a few months to herself.


    However, since that wasn''t an option, she dragged herself up and got to work on renovating the second floor inn. Veronica couldn''t be bothered with being creative right now, her head simply hurt too much. That wouldn''t stop her from continuing to build, though, as she had plenty of experience to draw from. Hotels were a much larger, fancier version of an inn, but many of their features and business practices could still be applied here.


    One such feature that was almost always included was a gym. Facilities like that were kept open twenty-four seven so that guests could use them whenever it was most convenient. Veronica couldn''t personally benefit from running on a treadmill or lifting weights because being bonded to the dungeon core made it impossible to improve her strength or stamina. Well, rather, she could only improve it by unlocking new floors and it was, otherwise, completely outside of her control. Just like everything else in her life...


    As the back half of the inn side of the dungeon was already occupied by inn rooms, the public baths, a cleaning closet, and a reception area, Veronica decided to place two new 18-Units by 18-Units square rooms on the opposite side. The other would be used for a spa area, which she would likely use herself to relax. Goddess knows she needs to unwind.


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research weight bench sets using the [Base Resources] steel, leather, undyed cotton, and black dye?


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    Would you like to spend 180 DP to research a nine-piece free weights set using the [Base Resources] steel and black dye?


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    Would you like to spend 150 DP to research exercise bikes using the [Base Resources] steel, leather, undyed cotton, white dye, and black dye?


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    A treadmill would be a bit difficult to make since Veronica wasn''t sure how to make one and there wasn''t exactly electricity in this world that she was aware of. However, an exercise bike was rather simple since it just requires somewhere to sit and pedals that can freely move in place. Wheels were entirely unnecessary, but handles that could also be moved back and forth were a good addition. Since she no longer had to worry about not understanding how axles and such work since she received a cart as tribute a while back, the dungeon was able to piece a bicycle together for her.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She carefully organized the gym, setting the free weights and weight benches up along the back wall. Towards the front of the room, she added a bathroom just big enough for one individual to use at a time. Between the bathroom and the free weights, she added a seating area with a coffee table in case her patrons needed somewhere to rest in between sets or while they used the free weights. Then, on the opposite wall, she added a few exercise bikes. Deciding some greenery would help tie the room together, she finished things off by adding some potted bamboo plants.


    The room wasn''t super complex with a huge variety of equipment, but it would get the job done. Since it wasn''t considered an inn room, she could even add a 100 MP spawner and two brownies. Veronica had been considering adding brownies to the first floor as well, but she didn''t think it was necessary since Elora and Eldrin, the Elf siblings, were already working hard to keep the floor running. While it was a lot of work to personally have to run the kitchen, it wasn''t like the brownies were suited for cooking either. She''d have to take a long time to teach them how to cook the recipes, which she just couldn''t be bothered with right now.


    Next up was the spa room, which was next door to the gym. Veronica started off by adding a bathroom near the entrance like she did with the workout facility. Then, next to it, she added a kitchen area with a magic ice box, magic wood stove, magic sink, cupboards, counters, shelving, and barstools. She then stocked it with things for making coffee as well as glasses for water. Any other ingredients would have to be provided by the adventurers themselves, but this was the closest she could get to the equivalent of a coffee bar. Maybe one day she''d add tea as well when she had enough variety to be bothered with it.


    The rest of the 18-Units by 18-Units square room was similarly divided to create a hallway space and two larger rooms. These last two rooms would be used for the spa amenities themselves, but research would have to be done first.


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research sauna hot stones using the [Base Resources] wood, steel, stone, fire magic crystal, and fire magic?


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    Saunas tended to have two different types. One used benches with heating elements built into them while the other was the more traditional type with lava stones in the center. The dungeon didn''t really bother with specifying different types of stone unless it was significant enough. For example, marble was similar to stone, but not quite the same thing, so the system labeled it separately. Veronica wasn''t going to complain, though, since it made things like this possible.


    Alongside the benches along the outside of the sauna room and the sauna hot stones setup she placed in the middle of the room, she also added a pot and ladle that she filled with water. Guests would need to ladle water over top of the hot stones in order to create steam in the room. Supposedly, the steam was good for your skin and using the sauna room would make it easier to get a good night''s sleep while promoting good health. Veronica wasn''t sure about all of that, but then she had only ever researched how saunas worked after seeing them portrayed in the media, she hadn''t tried it for herself.


    The other spa room was quite simple as she just needed to research a single new [Item] for it.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a massage table using the [Base Resources] wood, leather, raw cotton, and black dye?


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    That''s right, she was making a massage room where she planned to put her brownies to work offering people massages. The rest of the room was decorated with potted bamboo plants and bar stools. Similarly, the hallways also had a bamboo mat and potted bamboo plants added. The last step was, of course, to add a 100 MP spawner and to contract with two new brownies. That made a total of four new additions to her dungeon.


    The new brownies were named Zephyr, Mirelle, Lyriel, and Elodie. Zephyr was actually a male brownie and had brown eyes and black hair. That made it easier to confirm that not all brownies were female and their hair wasn''t always white, nor were their eyes always green. It didn''t really matter all that much to Veronica, though, as she doubted she would spend much time interacting with her brownies. She certainly didn''t run around conversing with her goblins or, so there was no reason for this situation to be any different.


    As Veronica cared about making her patrons comfortable so she could earn more dungeon points from them, she assigned Zephyr and Lyriel to the spa while the other two were assigned to the gym. This way her guests could choose to request a massage from a male or female brownie depending on their preferences. As a female, she was well aware that the women from her world tended to be more comfortable being touched by other women than by strange men they didn''t know.


    Besides, she was planning to make her brownies charge for the massages by the minute. For now, she would have them charge 1 DP per minute, which was rather cheap, but it wasn''t like she received many guests on the second floor anyhow. She may as well use this as a marketing opportunity. The price could always be raised in the future, should the need arise, after all.

 1.78 Swamp Parkour

    More time passed and Veronica continued to collect dungeon points. It was almost too easy now that she was too depressed to affect the dungeon. Things were harder for her and she had even started to drink the alcohol that was supposed to be her guests, but the lack of [Monsters] stampeding and tremors was certainly helping to increase the number of people visiting the dungeon. Unfortunately, the effect of alcohol wasn''t nearly as significant as it used to be. She no longer had to worry about hangovers and their effects since her body quickly recovered from such status effects, but she also couldn''t do much more than get buzzed because the intoxication of the alcohol would quickly clear up and she didn''t have anything strong enough.


    It was a bit ironic because things were actually going better than she ever could have expected and yet she couldn''t even enjoy it. Somehow, word had spread among the homeless and financially challenged individuals in the city, so all of the 10 point and 15 point rooms were booked every single night. That had forced the adventurers to start renting the 50 point and 75 point rooms from the second floor. She had, somehow, managed to earn 28,840 DP just from room rentals alone over the last month.


    Even the change of the seasons didn''t seem to make much of a difference on the traffic in the dungeon. Veronica had already lost track of the passage time. How long had it been since she first transmigrated to this world? Was it fall now or maybe winter? Maybe the colder seasons had already passed by and it was already another year, she wasn''t sure. It was easy enough to keep track of a few days at a time as she needed to space out the building of challenge rooms to avoid being penalized by the dungeon core again, but everything else was a bit difficult.


    When it came to the tavern sales, most of the homeless individuals would purchase a bowl of soup, water, and a cheap dessert on rare occasions. Even more rarely, they would purchase a nicer meal like a burger. While she was charging things like leaves and flowers for the meals rather than coins, there was still a discrepancy between the impoverished individuals who now called her dungeon home and the adventurers. Those who earned a living completing quests and collecting resources from within the dungeon had enough coin to purchase a small container of berries or other small [Items], saving them the effort of collecting everything themselves. They also simply had healthier bodies and less fear of the wild [Monsters] that she had heard roamed the forests outside Blue Cove City.


    The tavern sales ended up totaling 40,270 DP over the last month. More adventurers and locals visited her tavern each day than rented rooms, so most of that amount was thanks to that. The alcohol sales were especially notable as the cheapest cost was 15 DP per glass of wine and the other alcohol types weren''t any better. Some customers would only order a single glass to drink with their meal, but there were also those who would drink until they got so drunk she had to help Eldrin kick them out. The boy she had hired was still weak, but it was much more intimidating to have both of them since she didn''t look nearly as strong as she actually was.


    While more and more adventurers were making it to the second floor every day, the spa and gym facilities were still rather unknown. Some people went looking for a second tavern on the second floor, hopeful to see a different menu so they could order something new. Hell, plenty of adventurers even defeated the first floor boss [Monster] just so they could use the stairs and go directly to the second floor inn anytime they wanted. She''d certainly have to start working on the inn and tavern soon enough, but she still needed to finish the dungeon side first.


    The only other earnings were 560 DP from miscellaneous services like massages, 1,173DP from repeats, and 490DP from new tributes. Most of the new tributes were from the list she had added to the corkboard on the first floor, but other things were simply because the adventurers had been inspired to get her more culinary ingredients of their own accord. Veronica supposed that was likely thanks to her showing an interest in it, but she was hardly going to complain since it was beneficial for her. The new [Base Resources] and [Items] included: limes, cilantro, cucumbers, pineapple, aloe vera, jalapenos, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, green cabbage, kale, chilate (cocoa), pears, oranges, and zucchini. Thanks to all of that, she was now sitting at a hefty  104,648 dungeon points.


    Veronica was no longer even bothered by the idea of spending points to research new [Items] for new challenge rooms. Today''s goal was to build a new parkour room based around the swampy environment. First, she started by using the terraforming option to remove most of the land in the room, create islands, and ensure there was enough walking space at the entrance and exit. Then, she filled the room with any water that was needed to ensure the challenge could be set up properly. Finally, she began to research the necessary [Items] to set up the challenge itself.


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research campfires using the [Base Resources] stone, wood, and fire?This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research floating wooden platforms using the [Base Resource] wood?


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    Would you like to spend 10 DP to research slanted ladder platforms using the [Base Resource] wood?


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research ¡®vine¡¯ rope platforms using the [Base Resources] wood, hemp rope, and green dye?


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    The campfires were added to three small islands, which Veronica added three basic goblins to after adding a 100 MP spawner to the room. She quickly absorbed the longstaff she had been given by Seraphina so many months ago, earning her 10 DP, and then she created four new ones so that she could give one to each of the goblins. The plan was to have the goblins use the long staffs to try and knock adventurers into the water with the hope that they''d hit their heads off of something and drown. Whether that would be successful when most adventurers were unlikely to take the unnecessary risk of completing the challenges, only time would tell.


    There wasn''t actually any benefit to killing adventurers or even wild [Monsters]. The system didn''t offer any extra dungeon points, mana regen, or special skills for it. However, Veronica was just so sick and tired of Bo that she didn''t want to make it easy for anyone else either.


    The parkour course was set up in an S-shape this time around rather than two lines like the first floor tropical parkour course was. Veronica alternated between floating platforms and vine rope platforms or the slanted ladder platforms. Adventurers would have to navigate the ropes by climbing up them and deal with being pushed by her goblins while walking up and down the slanted platforms. It wasn''t really particularly dangerous or even, necessarily, as dangerous as her last parkour course, but it would still prove challenging. Veronica certainly doubted she''d be able to complete the course easily if she was forced to attempt it.


    It had been annoying trying to navigate the dungeon before she had unlocked the [Staff Elevators]. Things were still a little annoying as she didn''t want any direct paths to the dungeon core. Anyone who wanted to reach it had to go through the dungeon side, including her. Even the [Staff Elevator] was closed off from the rest of the hotel. Honestly, most of the time, she just decided to go for a swim through the first floor parkour course and swim directly from the entrance to the exit of the second floor of the dungeon. The firewalk challenge didn''t even feel hot or uncomfortable thanks to her status as a Dungeon Master, so the only other annoying thing was having to remember the route through the maze as she didn''t always have access to her system to see where she was in the maze.


    Shaking her head, she got back to work and researched the prize for the challenge room


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a ginger lily lotion & perfume set using the [Base Resources] water, alcohol, oil, ginger, peace lily, glass bottle, cork, shea nuts, aloe vera, oil, and wood?


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    Veronica didn''t know much about making such hygiene products, but she did have a memory of looking at ingredients lists. She had never even been the sort to look at such labels, but having a perfect recall allowed her to remember mere glances at such things from when she had used similar products in her own world. The rest was thanks to the dungeon being able to piece things together. Maybe there was even something similar used in this world? It was hard to tell since she had no information about the world outside the dungeon and it would feel too unnatural to sit around interviewing her patrons, nor did she really enjoy socializing that much. It wasn''t like it was fun to talk with a bunch of loud drunks either, even if she was trying to get drunk herself.


    Another 40 DP to finalize the setup for the challenge with its reward and she was now down to 104,558 dungeon points. The challenge had barely put a dent into her savings and this was the last challenge room she needed to set up on this floor. She couldn''t be bothered with improving the resources and adding defenses either. What was a tripwire or some itching powder going to do against Bo? As amusing as it would be to watch him trip and fall on his face or scratch his skin raw, it was likely to only enrage him and lead to her dying an even more miserable death. Sighing, she wandered back through the dungeon. She could really use some rum right now and there was work to do to get things ready for tonight''s tavern opening.

 1.79 The Busy Tavern

    *slurp*


    "Mmm! So good!"


    "But Mommy! Why can''t I want one!"


    "We can''t afford it right now. I''m sorry, sweetie. Maybe we can save up for one and we can all share one together in a few days."


    Veronica listened to the sounds of people chattering throughout the tavern as she helped Elora carry out some more dishes. Things were starting to get too busy around here and it was almost impossible to keep up with everything. She couldn''t really complain since these people were of no threat to her and it was worth the hard work since it meant she didn''t have to worry about having the resources to continue building her dungeon. At least, that was what she was trying to tell herself.


    When she made it back to the kitchen, she poured herself another glass of rum, swallowed it back, and then got back to work. There were more orders to be filled and she couldn''t waste time if she was going to get them done in a timely manner. Somehow, she''d also have to find the time to wash the dishes that were quickly piling up. Then there was the matter of the alcohol, which needed to be poured and brought to the next batch of customers. She didn''t like Elora and Eldrin doing it because they were underage by her old world''s standards.


    "One of the guys at table three is complaining about how long he has to wait to receive his drink, Lady Veronica."


    Elora called from the doorway of the kitchen. She had another stack full of papers with orders that needed to be filled. Sighing, Veronica looked at the stove she was cooking at. She was already doing everything she could as she had multiple puffball and boar burgers cooking on a cast iron grill and some soup boiling away on another burner. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes tightly. This was more than she could handle.


    Finally, deciding enough was enough, she turned the heat off on the stove and followed Elora into the dining room. Eldrin came up to her looking worried, but she just held up one hand to signal for him to wait. Then, she turned to the room and raised her voice over the loud clamor as she announced


    "Sorry folks, but we''re going to have to wrap things up for the night. We won''t be taking any more orders, but we will fulfill all of the orders that have already been placed in the order I received them. I''d also appreciate it if you could spread the word that the Dungeon Master expects everyone to clear out of the inn by noon tomorrow."Stolen story; please report.


    At first, there was some disagreement among the murmurs in the room, but, ultimately, most folks didn''t want to upset the Dungeon Master, so they didn''t complain. Veronica was grateful about that as she didn''t want to get into an argument with anyone. Most of her customers weren''t aware that she was the Dungeon Master, but that was fine too. It just meant she was less likely to have to deal with their complaints.


    A painter had already been sent by the guild to take her portrait. How they could afford it when the local Lord didn''t seem capable of paying for anything else, she didn''t know or care. Regardless, the last she had heard, the artist needed a few weeks to work after doing the initial sketch. Then it would be brought back to get her approval before being hung up in the guild. That would change how well-known she was, but she was hopeful that she''d be able to figure out some sort of solution before then.


    It wouldn''t be much longer before she''d be starting work on the second floor''s tavern and kitchen as well. When that happened, she wouldn''t be able to cook for both the first floor and second floor kitchens. Shaking her head, she headed back into the kitchen to finish cooking the rest of the food. Elora didn''t have anything else to do, so she started working on the dishes while Eldrin was left to deal with any customers who got too rowdy.


    The next day, Veronica ended up having to take Eldrin around and force some of the guests to leave the inn rooms a bit early. While she could understand that the homeless individuals didn''t have anywhere else to stay, it was problematic if they didn''t leave. She needed the inn and tavern area to be empty so she could access her system and take care of the problem so there wouldn''t be a repeat of last night.


    With 100 MP spawners unlocked, she could now add two brownies to each of the staff rooms. It was fortunate that the system made a special exception for the dungeon [Monsters] meant for use in her inn. She could add them to any floor regardless of which floor she unlocked them on. The ones on the dungeon half could only be added to the floor they were unlocked on or a higher level floor. In exchange, she couldn''t send any of her [Monsters] outside of the dungeon, regardless of whether they were contracted or not and her [Monsters] couldn''t cross over to the other half of the dungeon or even into the main hallway. Still, she didn''t mind her dungeon working this way rather than the way most other dungeons do because it is far more convenient this way.


    Veronica ended up adding two brownies to the kitchen, two to the tavern, two to the cleaning closet, and one to the reception room on the first floor. The one in the reception would be able to help move the ingredients she summoned on the upper floors to the kitchen on the first floor alongside Eldrin. The ones assigned to the cleaning room would help Elora with the cleaning, which certainly required more time and effort now that most of the rooms were being used every night. As for the tavern and kitchen brownies, they''d be in charge of washing dishes, helping with food prep, and serving alcohol. They simply lacked the knowledge and skills needed to cook the dishes and she wasn''t certain they''d be able to communicate with customers and write down the orders as effectively as Elora could. As for Eldrin, he was becoming quite good at his job as a bouncer, even if he still had a long way to go in terms of swordsmanship training.

 1.80 (Interlude) Corruption

    Seraphina''s breathing was shallow as she stepped into Dargrath Kherek-Nor Dungeon. It had once been considered a very impressive place, even if the Dungeon Master, Grishnok, was a goblin. She didn''t exactly have any prejudice against the man, but his tendency to decorate the dungeon with blood and skulls more often than plant life made it a rather unpleasant sight. Today, though, the dungeon was most certainly worse.


    The air on this floor was now toxic and she had to keep her breathing shallow as well as use an enchanted cloth to ensure she wouldn''t breathe it in. It felt cold and unsettling to be here as well. Something about it just didn''t quite feel right. Her companion, a Half-Beast Dungeon Diplomat named Fenris, seemed to be in even worse shape than she was. That wasn''t surprising considering the dungeon had been reported as corrupted. That was only further confirmed when Fenris''s connection to the dungeon allowed him to feel just how bad things were.


    It had taken some time for the council of elders to decide what to do, but they had still ended up settling with forcing the dungeon to retire. There would likely be repercussions for Fenris, if they even made it out of here alive. Elder Kenric was with them, so she hoped, for all of their sakes, that they didn''t die today. It would be a shame for the only elder she was particularly fond of to lose his life and she could only imagine how it might affect the politics of their village.


    "Careful! Watch your step!"


    Elder Kendric admonished as he held his arm in front of her. Seraphina looked down, grimacing as she noticed the out-of-place puddle on the ground. It was likely some sort of acid now that the dungeon had corrupted this badly, rather than the water it had likely once been. Everything in the dungeon was now twisted into an unnatural state that she doubted the Dungeon Master or dungeon core actually wanted. It was a clear sign that the dungeon core had reached a level of corruption beyond seventy five percent. If it reached a hundred percent, it was likely that things outside of the dungeon would start going wrong as well. The dungeon might start absorbing mana and releasing massive amounts of aether or even release plague-riddled goblins. That would be a real tragedy.


    "How did you even let it get this bad?"


    Seraphina snapped as she once more had to avoid a puddle of acid. She glared up at Fenris as she waited for his reply. He whimpered before replying


    "I don''t know what happened! Everything was fine when I last visited a few months ago. He had finally found a wife and they were on their way to having their first child. There was steady progress being made on the dungeon and no sign of any issues in or out of the dungeon. If I had known something was going to happen, don''t you think I would have done something about it?!"


    Elder Kendric sighed before reprimanding


    "That''s enough, you two. We need to concentrate on the task at hand. A formal investigation will be done once this is resolved."Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    They went silent after that until they reached the boss room. This particular dungeon was already well-established, even if it wasn''t completed yet. Really, it was a shame to see such a successful dungeon have to retire long before it should have. The boss [Monster] made it clear, though, that there really was no saving the dungeon. The massive troll was much larger than it should have been with boils all over its skin while its limbs were strangely misshapen. It wailed as it fought, as if it were in pain and its existence was merely suffering.


    Seraphina clutched her head in pain, feeling exhausted and sick to her stomach. She hadn''t exactly volunteered to go on this mission, but, rather, she had been assigned to go help. It didn''t help that she didn''t have as many dungeons to attend to, so she had more free time than some of the others did. Well, there were some younger individuals who only had one dungeon, but they lacked the experience needed to handle a task as difficult as this one.


    Looking at her long staff, she felt tempted to dip it into the puddle of acid. It was now covered in blood and filth after the boss fight. It had been easy enough to take down the boss [Monster]. They wouldn''t have any difficulties with making it to the dungeon core since they were all old enough to have fully come into their powers and had many years of refining their combat skills. Elder Kenric was likely stronger than even S-rank individuals, which was a necessity since he had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. If an S-rank broke the dungeon accords or one of the dungeons he was bonded to ever corrupted, he''d have to be strong enough to handle the situation.


    Honestly, Seraphina hoped that she too would one day get to take her place among the council. The only problem was that her line of work tended to have a rather high risk of death. She could die today or she could die a thousand years from now and no one would question it. It was only those who were strong enough and capable enough to defy the odds who would live long enough to join the council of elders. The council didn''t really have any other heavy restrictions, just a minimum number of years serving as a Dungeon Master and a minimum of one successfully completed dungeon to show for your efforts.


    That last one wasn''t exactly something she had much control over. If Fenris was to be believed, he had been doing everything right and this dungeon had, somehow, still ended up corrupted. Other times, wild [Monsters] would overwhelm the dungeon''s defenses and the core would end up destroyed. Even more rarely, someone would try to take advantage of the dungeon or they''d be stupid enough to break the dungeon accords and destroy the dungeon core for some stupid reason or another.


    "They took her, smashed her like a bug! Now I''ve got nothing but the screams in my head, and they won''t stop¡ªwon''t stop until I break something too!"


    They were getting close to the core room now and Seraphina could already hear the Dungeon Master shouting, but she wasn''t sure at what. Elder Kendric sighed as he said


    "I suppose that answers what happened. This is hardly the first time I''ve seen a Dungeon Master lose it after having a loved one die. It''s usually less common in [Monsters] and beasts, though."


    Fenris opened the door, taking the lead while they stood back. He tried to approach Master Grishnok as he said


    "Hey, are you okay?"


    "They crushed her, made her gone! Now there''s only empty, only rage! I''ll tear the world apart until it''s all as broken as me!"

 1.81 Procuring Ingredients

    It was now a little over two months since Veronica had built the swamp parkour challenge. Since then, she had been working hard to complete the research for the second floor tavern menu and to stock the kitchen and tavern with the necessary [Items]. During that time, she continued to receive payment for inn and tavern services as well as the standard tributes from adventurers visiting the dungeon.


    Room rentals alone had allowed her to increase her dungeon points by 59,410 dungeon points. Meanwhile, tavern sales added up to 81,345 DP and miscellaneous services like massages gained her another 10,055 DP. Repeat tributes were always a bit of a shame since an entire room''s worth of tributes could still amount to very little. Still, she was hardly going to complain about another 2,322 dungeon points.


    As for new tributes... there weren''t that many, even despite how much time had passed and her use of the corkboard in the first floor tavern. It would seem that the Rosefall Empire wasn''t directly connected to very many other kingdoms, so most of the variety of resources she wanted had to be shipped in from overseas, which made it difficult to get anything new in. Still, she did have another 420 DP from chicken meat, chicken feathers, cow meat, pig meat, strawberries, palm sap, kecombrang flower, dragon fruit, raspberries, blueberries, cloudberries, and lemons. Most of the Elves tended to hunt and forage for their food, but it wasn''t like agriculture was entirely lacking, so it was still possible to get ahold of basic ingredients like these.


    Her dungeon point total would normally be sitting at 258,110, but that was only before she considered all of the research she had been doing for the tavern. It was, honestly, starting to feel a bit like Monopoly money because it was such a large amount. Was she ever going to spend this much? What was even the point of continuing to work hard in the tavern kitchen every night to fulfill orders and earn more dungeon points? I mean, sure, she had always wanted to inherit her parents'' bed and breakfast, so Veronica was hardly afraid of hard work. However, it wasn''t like she wanted to do hard work just for the Hell of it.


    Veronica honestly wasn''t sure why she even bothered to climb out of bed anymore. She was sick of dying to Bo and it didn''t really feel like there was much point in continuing. Was there anything she really needed to work so hard to achieve that was worth all of this trouble? It really didn''t feel like it and yet she had still put forth the effort to get things taken care of for the tavern, even if it was at a rather slow pace. The last two months had been full of system message after system message.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 70 DP to research a large jar of cucumber salad using [Base Resources] cucumbers, onion, white vinegar, honey, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a box of peanut sesame mochi using [Base Resources] rice flour, coconut milk, sunflower oil, sugar, peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut, cardboard, wax, and paper?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


    </td>


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    No


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    She had also researched crates of sea cucumbers, corn, celery, sugar pumpkins, and limes. Then there was the research for the bag and bin of rice flour, the bottles of maple syrup and coconut milk, and the spice shaker of cilantro. All of that had run her a total of 564 DP, but had been enough to prepare for the light fare portion of the second floor tavern menu.


    Veronica was, of course, continuing the Indonesian theme for the tavern menu as well. So, the light fare menu included things like cucumber salad, sea cucumber crisps, corn fritters, peanut sesame mochi, and coconut pumpkin soup. She hadn''t really bothered with mirroring the first menu with its two salads and soups because she didn''t actually know enough recipes to do such a thing and the ones she did know were too complicated.


    While she had gone to college where she majored in hospitality with studies in both culinary arts and management as well as working in a number of hotels, restaurants, etc., that had hardly been the only exposure she had to international cuisine. Veronica had also enjoyed watching traveling shows where they ate food, including short clips on social media. Plus, when she lived in the city for college there were many international markets and restaurants that sold everything from Asian food to African cuisine. There were plenty of opportunities for her to learn about a large number of countries and her now enhanced memory made it a lot easier to recreate them now for her tavern menus. Still, she wasn''t exactly all-knowing so there was still a limit to the options she could include.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The cucumber salad was something that was commonly included as a side dish in Japanese and Korean cuisines as well, but Indonesia was a country close by, so it was obvious that they would share some dishes in common. Veronica wasn''t sure she''d eat pickles as an appetizer by itself, but she was well-aware that plenty of people felt differently, so it didn''t hurt to include it as an option. Sea cucumber crisps were prepared in much the same way that one would a potato chip where they''d be thinly sliced, fried, and then salted and peppered. Corn fritters are made from doughy batter with pieces of corn that are also deep-fried.


    As she was worried about not being able to run two taverns at the same time, she had chosen to make as many of the menu options ready-to-eat as possible instead of depending so heavily on from-scratch cooking. The mochi could, technically, be made from scratch, but it was much easier to simply pull a few out of a box and serve them. Similarly, she just didn''t feel like being bothered with thinly slicing cucumbers and preparing the pickling liquid, even if it wasn''t actually that time-consuming. It was even meant to be a quick pickle method, so it wasn''t like she had to prepare it ahead of time or anything. However, it would also be just fine sitting in a magic ice box for a few days before being served as well.


    As for the pumpkin soup, it would likely be quite labor intensive as the sugar pumpkins had to be oven-roasted before being added to a coconut milk soup base and cooked down even further. It could likely be made in large batches just like any other soup, but the cost to make individual canned mason jars of the stuff was just too expensive mana-wise to skip making it from scratch. Besides, even if the homeless that took up her first floor were unlikely to make it to the second floor, soup was still a cheap enough option that was quite popular among her tavern guests. It would be worth the effort to make a fresh batch every few days.


    Of course, the light fare menu was hardly the only thing she had to worry about as there were also the other portions of the menu. The hearty fare menu also required a good bit of research to prepare for.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a bottle of peanut sauce using [Base Resources] peanuts, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and coconut milk?


    </td>


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    Yes


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    No


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 200 DP to research a large jar of mushroom siomay using [Base Resources] flour, egg, salt, water, sesame oil, scallion, salt, black pepper, sugar, and chicken of the woods mushrooms?


    </td>


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    Yes


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    No


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 200 DP to research a large jar of walleye siomay using [Base Resources] flour, egg, salt, water, sesame oil, scallion, salt, black pepper, sugar, and walleye?


    </td>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


    Besides those three, Veronica also had to research a large jar of tofu, a large jar of cubed chicken, a jar of wooden skewers, a crate of pineapples, a crate of green cabbage, and a crate of potatoes. All of that ended up costing her 740 dungeon points. Still, it felt like a drop of water in the ocean compared to the amount of dungeon points she had earned over the course of the last two months.


    All of these ingredients were actually only for a hearty fare menu with six menu options. Half were vegetarian options while the other half had meat, just like she had done with the first floor. After all, she still needed to consider who her clientele was. The first two options were tofu satay and chicken satay. Essentially, just tofu or meat stuck on a wooden skewer, marinated in soy sauce and some seasonings before being grilled. She already had both the soy sauce and a cast iron grill pan from her previous research, so she didn''t have to worry about any of that. The peanut sauce would then be slathered onto the grilled food before being served.


    The second menu option was corn coconut rice or pineapple chicken coconut rice. The coconut rice itself was mostly just rice cooked with coconut milk. From there, she just had to add corn or pineapple soy marinated chicken to complete the dish. Both would be fairly simple to prepare on the spot, much like the first two dishes were.


    Really, the only, potentially, complicated dishes were the third option. Siomay are essentially just wonton wrapped that hold a filling and are steamed. Usually, they are small and have an open top, unlike wontons, pot stickers, etc., which are crimped along one side to enclose the filling. The process of making them could make one''s back sore as well as being extremely time-consuming, which is why Veronica opted for a premade option. Of course, there was still plenty of work involved because the Indonesian version involved serving the siomay with eggs, cabbage, potatoes, and peanut sauce. This would just reduce the work, not make the entire dish easy to make.


    Funnily enough, the walleye siomay were actually made with an ingredient that wasn''t listed on either the [Base Resources] or [Items] list, but rather the [Critters] list of her system menu. She hadn''t been expecting to be able to use it, but she had nothing but time to experiment, so it was worth testing it out. Besides, walleye siomay would likely taste a lot better than anchovies or sardines, which were the only two options she had that weren''t from her [Critters] menu.


    There was still the dessert and libations menu to take care of, but Veronica simply hadn''t gotten around to that yet. She did have the choices written down on her hand-written menus, but she had chosen to save stocking up on the ingredients for them for last since they''d be simpler than the rest.

 1.82 Second Tavern Opening

    Another month passed by while Veronica finished preparing things for the tavern. Thankfully, she had saved stocking up on perishables like meat for the last week of preparations. Some things could be frozen or were shelf-stable, but it would have been pointless to stock fridges with vegetables and fruits that would only go bad, leading to her mana being wasted. Luckily, some things could be shared between one tavern and another if they got too low on any one ingredient. It wasn''t like she could have multiple taverns open at the same time anyhow.


    Part of the changes for the second floor tavern that Veronica made took into account just how low on staff she would be when she chose to open it instead of the first floor tavern. Elora and Eldrin could help on the first floor, but their contracts didn''t require them to help on the upper floors, so she would have to depend purely on her brownies. That meant she''d have four of them to help out with two helping with things like dishes and food prep in the kitchen while the other two played the role of bartender and server. She''d still have to do most of the food preparation herself.


    Of course, there would be inn guests who wanted to use the tavern every night on both floors, so it wasn''t entirely realistic to always have only one tavern open each night. That meant that Veronica also had to create a second tavern menu for both floors that paired down the options to things that could easily be served without any additional cooking being done. Things like soups could be prepared by her ahead of time and left to the brownies to reheat while the ice cream dishes on the first floor didn''t require any cooking at all. It was much easier to teach someone to assemble a dish than all of the nuances that went into cooking one, so that was the plan for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, she''d be able to come up with a better solution, eventually, but she''d have to make-do for now.


    The research for the dessert and libations menus for the second floor tavern was just as costly as the light and hearty fare portions had been. However, that was also the hardest part of the preparations for them since most of the [Items] were ready-to-serve.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a box of cucumber ice pops using [Base Resources] cardboard, wax paper, cucumber, lime juice, honey, and water?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


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    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 80 DP to research a large jar of geplak candies using [Base Resources] large jar, sugar, rice flour, coconut, salt, water, red dye, white dye, yellow, and green dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a large jar of grass jelly powder using [Base Resources] large jar, Chinese mesona, sugar, and pectin?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a large jar of anko red beans using [Base Resources] jar, sugar, and anko red beans?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a large jar of lychees using [Base Resources] large jar and lychees?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a bottle of sweetened condensed milk using [Base Resources] bottle, sugar, and milk?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    Yes


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    No


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a box of steamed flower cupcakes using [Base Resources] cardboard, wax, paper, vanilla, ground coffee, strawberries, sugar, water, coconut milk, flour, rice flour, wild yeast, red dye, and green dye?


    </td>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research a box of pineapple swiss roll using [Base Resources] cardboard, wax, paper, pineapple, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, flour, milk, butter, eggs, and yellow dye?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    </tbody>


    </table>


    A lot of the names for the Indonesian dishes were actually simplified in their translation to English. Things like the ice pops were originally called names like ''es lilin'' while the flower cupcakes were called ''kue mangkok''. However, Veronica wanted a lot of the dishes to sound less alien and for them to be more easily recognizable for herself when she read the order tickets in the future. Meanwhile, things like the geplak candy didn''t really have a suitable English alternative to call them by and were a bit of a unique recipe, so she decided to just keep them the same.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t plastic to use for the cucumber popsicles, so she had to settle for paper wrapping using wax to keep the paper from sticking to the paper. So long as the popsicles weren''t allowed to melt, it was unlikely to be much of a problem, but it was still not quite as effective of an option as the plastic wrappers used in the modern day.


    That was hardly the only change she had to make either. The steamed flower cupcakes usually came in vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate flavors. However, when she was initially making the menu, she didn''t have chocolate. Apparently, the chilate she had received in the meantime had cocoa in it, but by the time she realized that was the case, it was too late and she had already completed the research with coffee flavor as a replacement. As for the coloring, using green for chocolate flavor was a bit odd, but everything she had seen on the cupcakes suggested that pink, green, and white were the typical colors for the cupcake assortment.


    The geplak candies were actually similarly colored as well. Generally, they came in pink, green, yellow, and white. Veronica wasn''t sure what the significance of the color scheme was. The Indonesian flag she knew of was rather simple with a red top half and a white bottom half. There was no way to find out the answer now either since she was no longer in her old world and that information wasn''t likely to exist in this new world.


    Then there was the grass jelly dessert, which didn''t have a specific way it was typically made. Sure, the basic idea was the same as it used a gelatin substance made from Chinese mesona, but the toppings and preparation could vary a great deal. Veronica had decided to prepare it with cubes of grass jelly, sweetened condensed milk, lychees, and anko red beans. It was a rather simple preparation method, but one that she hoped wouldn''t be too alien to the people of this world that it wouldn''t be able to sell. Plenty of the ingredients were similar to the ones she had used on the first floor anyway, so she hoped it would work out.


    The drinks were even more simple as all of them came in bottles or could be added to alcohol taps. Most of the options were types of wines, but there were also some non-alcoholic options as well.


    <table>


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    Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a large jar of jasmine tea using [Base Resources] large jar, tea leaves, and jasmine flowers?


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    Yes


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    No


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 30 DP to research a bottle of happy soda using [Base Resources] glass, cork, paper, white dye, black dye, red dye, sparkling water, sweetened condensed milk, and strawberries?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Would you like to spend 30  DP to research a bottle of aloe vera drink using [Base Resources] glass, cork, paper, white dye, black dye, green dye, aloe vera, coconut water, lime juice, and sugar?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


    </td>


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    </tbody>


    </table>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of rosella wine using [Base Resources] bottle, cork, paper, white dye, black dye, red dye, green dye, grapes, water, hibiscus flowers, and wild yeast?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    </tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of dragon fruit wine using [Base Resources] bottle, cork, paper, white dye, black dye, red dye, green dye, grapes, water, dragon fruit, and wild yeast?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    </tbody>


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of tuak manis using [Base Resources] bottle, cork, paper, white dye, black dye, palm tree sap, wild yeast, sugar, and water?


    </td>


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    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    <td>


    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of kecombrang using [Base Resources] bottle, cork, paper, white dye, black dye, red dye, kecombrang flowers, wild yeast, sugar, and water?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


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    Yes


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    No


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    Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a bottle of arak bali using [Base Resources] bottle, cork, paper, white dye, black dye, rice, palm tree sap, wild yeast, sugar, and water?


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    Yes


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    </table>


    After finishing the research for all of the menu ingredients, Veronica had ended up spending a total of 1,964 dungeon points. That would normally mean she''d have 256,146 DP left, but another month passing also meant that she had earned more dungeon points during that time. So, she was actually now sitting at 331,035 dungeon points.


    The tavern itself was pretty small with only two tables and a small handful of barstools. She had still added a single-toilet bathroom just to ensure customers wouldn''t have to leave earlier than necessary. The longer they stuck around, the better chances of them buying the plentiful alcohol and the more money she could make, after all. Even the kitchen was pretty small with only a few magic ice boxes, magic sinks, magic wood stoves, and some shelving for storage. The [Staff Elevator] was also directly in the kitchen, which had resulted in the space being cut down even further.


    Still, it should work well enough for the smaller customer base that would visit the second floor tavern. Unawakended individuals would have a hard time making it past the first floor boss in order to unlock access to the second floor. Maybe some of them could pay the adventurers to safely escort them once and forever unlock the stairs between the first and second floor, but most people weren''t likely to be brave enough or rich enough for such a thing.


    As for the adventurers themselves, the second floor was hardly enough of a challenge for them to be bothered with it, nor did it have as many valuable resources as the first floor. That meant that the only ones who would visit would be doing so exclusively for the privacy and variety the second floor would offer. Hopefully, things would be different in the future, but there was no point in pretending things were better than they actually were right now.

 1.83 More Inn Rooms

    There really wasn''t much left to do for the second floor. The boss room had been completed early on and Veronica had even gone so far as to add challenges, even despite her doubts they''d be used. The reception, tavern, kitchen, cleaning closet, and even additional facilities like a gym and spa had even been built for the inn. Now, all that was left was to fill in the odd bits of space that were left over.


    In order to do that, Veronica had to research two new room sizes: a 11-Units by 22-Units rectangular room and an 18-Units by 22-Units rectangular room. They would both be used for additional inn rooms, but they were meant to be even more of a budget purchase than the previous 18-Units by 18-Units two-person rooms were. Those had been priced at 75 DP per night, but these two new rooms would be priced at 60 DP and 100 DP to account for the size difference and the fact that four people would be able to use a single room.


    Adventurers could challenge dungeons by themselves or even in huge parties with more than a dozen people. However, the most common group size tended to be four people. The logic was much the same as it was for video games in her old world. There would, generally, be two people who were the main damage dealers and then two support roles. It could follow the classic tank, healer, and two damage dealers with the latter being either magic or melee-based or the roles could be filled by those with more of a hybrid build.


    Someone who knows alchemy and can make potions or a cleric who worships the Goddess of Healing could just as easily replace a healer, but many parties went without a healer altogether. The fact that adventurers made a habit of carrying around potions and basic first aid supplies wasn''t just for show, after all.


    Meanwhile, a tank was useful for buying time for ranged combat roles to do damage while preventing vulnerable parties from being targeted, but it wasn''t like there weren''t other ways combat could be approached. Basic [Monsters] didn''t require much, if any, technique at all. One person could take on one or more [Monsters] without much difficulty, assuming they were fighting [Monster] of an appropriate difficulty for their level. It was really just the boss [Monsters] where most of the real strategy came into play. Still, if everyone in your party was capable of protecting themselves or you kept the vulnerable parties far enough away from the main combat, it was still possible to go without a tank.


    Anyhow, none of that was really any of Veronica''s business. She just had a habit of eavesdropping on adventurer''s conversations when she wasn''t busy in the kitchen. It wasn''t like there was much else to do around her dungeon anyhow. Playing board games and card games got old real fast and there weren''t books, television, or video games to keep her entertained. Training was always an option, but it wasn''t exactly fun to do by herself and there was a limit to her effectiveness. That brought her back around to her current task of continuing to build up the dungeon.


    The smallest of the new rooms had four small bedrooms only big enough to fit a bed and two end tables. It was a very cramped space and there wasn''t even room for a proper kitchen once the dour bedrooms were added. Instead of the magic ice boxes, magic wood stoves, and counters that most rooms had, she had to settle for a single table, two benches, and a fireplace with a pile of firewood beside it. The adventurers would have to cook things the hard way, but it would still be better than having to camp out in the main dungeon or having to leave entirely. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    If they didn''t like it, then they shouldn''t be trying to be such cheapskates in the first place. Even then, Veronica only bothered with adding two rooms of that size. They were placed along the same wall that the cleaning closet and public baths were with plenty of connecting hallways. It was just what fit in the space, so it wasn''t like it was her choice to build them that small in the first place. There just wasn''t any point of wasting the space when it could make her money is all.


    As for the larger 18-Units by 22-Units rooms, she built six of those. They were set up between the larger inn rooms and miscellaneous hotel facilities like the gym and spa. Still, even if they were mostly space fillers, they were a lot more comfortably built. Each had four bedrooms with a bed and end tables, a single bathroom with no bath, and a small, but full kitchen setup. There was even a table with two benches to eat at alongside a bamboo mat and bamboo plants to decorate the hallway area. The area was still very much so cramped, but it would suffice and 100 DP a night was still a bargain compared to the 150 DP to get two rooms for a part of four.


    Honestly, even though she hardly needed to save the dungeon points, Veronica felt much more satisfied building rooms like this than new ones. She could just take the furniture and slot it into place, which felt quite satisfying as she watched entire rooms being built in a matter of minutes instead of hours. There was no need to spend hours planning out the furniture designs and arguing with the system about whether or not something should be possible to research. A lot of the time it was her mana cap that was the problem while other times she would be told she lacked the knowledge to make something.


    Most things could be made with a bit of creativity. When it came to the tavern recipes, she could swap one ingredient for another or use magic to replace the modern-day equivalent. Who needs carbonation when you have air magic? What did it matter if she didn''t have romaine lettuce if she could use watercress on a burger instead? Still, it was quite exhausting to figure out what swaps to make and how to get the resources she couldn''t take shortcuts with.


    Honestly, more and more she was questioning whether she ever actually loved the idea of owning her own business or if she had simply wanted to inherit her parents'' bed and breakfast for nostalgia reasons. The people in the town she had grown up had been people she could easily hold a conversation with and she had never felt like she had to do all of the work alone when she was helping her parents with their business. However, things were different here. She didn''t feel particularly close to the adventurers and she had to make all of the decisions for her inn on her own. Much of the work also came down to doing the work by herself as well.


    Some things still felt fun and worthwhile. It was nice to spend time playing games with Elora and Eldrin, talking and laughing while they enjoyed good food together. It was always rewarding to see her vision come together as an idea for a tavern menu or a challenge turned into something more tangible. However, the joy she felt was always short-lived. Maybe if Bo didn''t keep coming around it would be different. Otherwise, maybe she just needed some actual friends, not employees, if only she could find someone worthwhile to make friends with.

 1.84 Hopeless

    Veronica wasn''t surprised when Bo showed up later that day. She''d have to wait until the next morning for everyone to clear out so she could unlock the next floor. Elora and Eldrin had already been given the night off and the tavern was closed with a notice posted about the upcoming dungeon upgrade. She''d likely still have to knock on doors and force some people to leave, maybe she''d just go ahead and start the process and let them deal with the consequences if they were too stubborn. Either way, though, that was something she could worry about later.


    She had faced off against Bo countless times before and every time she had lost. Today would be no different. Veronica no longer held any hope of being able to win against him. He had even recently grown stronger. The bull-headed Shifter was obsessed with strength, even if he was rather lacking in other areas.


    It was to the point that she was starting to fantasize about just giving up. Who cares if the dungeon core is destroyed? Maybe she''d be able to get some rest in the afterlife. Goddess knows this one was nothing but a living nightmare. She''d believe it if she were actually in Hell and Bo was assigned to torture her. He certainly showed up on a regular basis just to make sure she could never quite move on and be happy.


    Bo''s seemed cool, confident, and even happy as he walked toward her. His towering mass of strength and brute force made for an imposing figure. His bull horns caught the light, seeming just as menacing as any other weapon. She had certainly died from being impaled from them more than a handful of times. Even just the sight of them now made her shiver in fear as she anticipated the gruesome end that was soon to come.


    Was there even a point in trying to fight back anymore? She would die either way and she didn''t particularly feel like playing this ''game'' anymore. However, her grip on her staff tightened as Bo grew closer, even as the tremor in her hands betrayed her fear. Then, Bo delivered the same line he always did


    "You, me, duel now!"


    Veronica gritted her teeth, but she didn''t respond. She didn''t have the mental energy to waste on words. She knew she should probably try to focus, to keep her mind clear, even if defeat was inevitable. She should try to outmaneuver him, to use his strength against him. However, she knew it was pointless. How many times had she tried that? How many times had she failed? How many times had she died now?


    Bo didn''t wait for her to make the first move. He knew from their last dozen or so fights that she wouldn''t move until he forced her to. He charged forward, his powerful legs pounding the ground as he closed the distance in an instant. His horns were aimed straight at her chest, a deadly spear that could end the fight before it even began, and she let it.


    That seemed to annoy Bo who shouted something along the lines of "I''ll be back tomorrow, this isn''t over!" before leaving. She didn''t care, she could only sit on the steps of the dungeon core room, her breathing ragged and shallow, as she tried to recover. Surely it was better to get it over quickly? She could still feel the dull ache in her chest from her latest defeat. The dungeon core glowed softly behind her, almost seeming to mock her.


    No matter how many times she died, it would always revive her. She was the dungeon''s protector, forever bound by a duty that she couldn''t even fulfill. She had never even agreed to become the Dungeon Master. It was doubtful she''d have ever consented if she knew this was the fate that awaited her. Yet, this cycle would continue for as long as the dungeon continued to stand.


    "What''s the point?!"You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    She screamed out to no one in particular. There was no answer and she could only sump to the ground, staring at her trembling hands.


    "What''s the point?"


    she whispered once more to herself. Her voice echoed back to her, sounding just as hollow as she felt.


    Veronica glanced back up at the dungeon core. She had considered destroying the core herself on numerous occasions. The thought frightened her, but it also brought a strange sense of relief. No more battles. No more pain. No more facing the same inevitable outcome. She could just be done with it all.


    She was still lost in these thoughts when she heard the footsteps approaching. Her heart hammered in her chest. Why would they approach the dungeon core? The placement of this room made it more than obvious what it was. A feeling of dread overcame her as she realized what was likely happening. They were here for her, just as Bo had been. However, she had nothing left to give, not today.


    The adventurers didn''t wait for her to come and greet them. Five figures walked confidently into the dungeon core rooms. Their leader was a tall man with a cruel sneer that surveyed the room with cold, calculating eyes. When he saw her he laughed, the sound mocking to her ears.


    "So, this is the famous dungeon core. You must be the pitiful Dungeon Master we''ve heard so much about. Lovely place you''ve got here."


    Veronica didn''t respond, only glaring at the man. It was all that she could manage as she didn''t have the energy to do anything else. The leader''s grin widened at her silence.


    "Not much of a challenge, are you? What a disappointment."


    The others snickered. One of them, a burly woman with a scar across her face, kicked Veronica''s staff out of her reach before saying


    "Maybe she just needs a little... encouragement."


    Her tone was filled with malice. Veronica''s body tensed as the woman advanced on her. When the first blow landed, she didn''t cry out. She wouldn''t let them take any joy from her suffering. The pain wasn''t even that big of a deal. It was nothing compared to the despair that had hollowed her out after all of this time dealing with Bo.


    She didn''t know these people, but they didn''t seem to care about that. They took turns tormenting her, their laughter echoing in the chamber as they mocked her weakness and her inability to protect the core. They were nothing more than bullies, using their strength to kick her when she was already down. However, to Veronica, they were the final straw.


    As they continued to kick her and mock her, something inside her snapped. She couldn''t do this anymore. She wouldn''t. If she couldn''t live her life freely, if she couldn''t stop people like them from taking whatever they wanted from her, then there was no point in continuing.


    When they finally tired of their cruel game, they left her bruised and bloodied on the floor. They didn''t bother to finish her off, knowing the core would only revive her once more. To them, this was just as much of a victory as killing her off was for Bo. However, she wasn''t thinking about the next battle. No, the only thing she had in mind now was ending the pain. Forever.


    She stumbled to her feet, each step feeling like agony, even as her body slowly began to heal. Her mind was set, determined, as she brushed her fingers against the core''s surface. It felt warm, full of life. It had been a part of her for so long already, but now that bond felt like a chain, one she was desperate to break. With a sigh, she walked over to where her longstaff lay on the ground, wincing as she bent over to pick it up.


    When she walked back over to the dungeon core, tears were streaming down her face as she whispered


    "I''m sorry. I can''t do this anymore."


    She raised her longstaff and prepared to strike the core with all of her strength. However, before the strike could land, the entire dungeon began to shake and tremble stronger than it ever had before. The effect was so great that Veronica couldn''t help but lose her balance and ended up tumbling down the steps that led up to the dungeon core. At the bottom, the door lie open, but she didn''t have time to question why as she blacked out by the time she finished tumbling into the hallway just outside of the room.

 1.85 Prisoner Of Eternity

    Veronica wasn''t sure if it had been weeks, months, or even years since she had seen another person. Every day seemed to blend into the rest as she found herself locked inside her dungeon, a prisoner to eternity. Ever since she had tried to destroy the dungeon core, she had been locked out of the dungeon core room and no adventurers had entered the dungeon. She didn''t even have access to the system anymore, nor would the dungeon core allow her to sleep.


    There was nothing to do and no true rest to be had. She had long since surpassed the point of being lonely and bored and was already slowly, but surely starting to slip into the realm of madness. Sometimes she found herself compulsively laughing about nothing at all or even just standing and staring off into space, even despite there being nothing there at all.


    She was even starting to have rather vivid fantasies about killing everyone who had a role in her ending up in this situation in the first place. Red blood would paint the walls and she would dance among the rainshower of blood as it rained down. She could already feel the corners of her mouth begin to lift as she felt happy just thinking about it.


    Veronica was fairly sure this wasn''t normal behavior for her, but she was also starting to have doubts about what was normal anymore. When you no longer have any attachment to mortal needs, it is far too easy to lose touch with your sense of humanity. Since she couldn''t sleep, couldn''t create food to eat, and there weren''t even other people to talk with, only [Monsters], she was slowly starting to forget what it felt like to be Human. Of course, her enhanced memory meant that she could perfectly recall her memories from her past life, but that was different from actually experiencing what it was like to be touched by another person or enjoying the pleasures of life.


    The only thing she could do to pass the time anymore was to train with her longstaff relentlessly and plan out new dungeon floors. She had no clue whether she''d actually regain access to the system in the future, but she still had many scraps of paper and charcoal pencils in her makeshift living quarters on the first floor. Funnily enough, it had ended up becoming a much more permanent home than she had ever intended, but then she had never gotten to unlock the third floor either.


    "What''s that strange laughter? Who''s laughing?"


    she screamed into the depths of her dungeon. No one answered her. The brownies who lived in the inn had long since taken to hiding away, avoiding her presence unless she summoned them. The gargoyles and goblins remained in the dungeon, not that they had a choice. Realizing it must have been her own laughter once more, she shook her head. There wasn''t even any point in being embarrassed about it anymore.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    In some ways, life was better now. The passage of time and the lack of deaths had ensured she could easily recover her mental health. Well, she wasn''t depressed or suicidal anymore, not that it had done her any good anyway. She had ended up in this situation for trying to destroy the dungeon core, something she was very clearly being punished for. However, it was still nice to be able to regain her confidence. Hopefully, the diligent training would ensure she''d never be so weak that it would be a problem ever again.


    Of course, at first, she had been angry when she discovered that she had been locked away. it had only reignited her desire to destroy the dungeon core, sometimes out of spite and sometimes out of a desire to end this new form of torture. Even now, she sometimes begged the core to forgive her and to free her from her prison, promising to behave. It never listened and her pleas only fell on deaf ears. Could a dungeon core even hear in the first place? It doesn''t matter, she assured herself. If it was willing to negotiate, it would.


    Something caught her eye just then. Running after the image, Veronica called out


    "You there, stop!"


    It didn''t matter as the hallucination soon dissipated. The image had resembled Seraphina with long, flowing blonde hair and a rather confident, feminine walk. Veronica frowned as she realized that she missed the Elven woman, even as sarcastic and unhelpful as she tended to be. Whatever had happened to her? Was it not possible for even a Dungeon Diplomat to teleport into the dungeon? It would have been nice to have some company, even if it was only Seraphina. Maybe she could have even provided some pointers on where she could improve with training. There was certainly plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong with Veronica only ever practicing by herself. It wasn''t like her goblins provided any significant challenge anyway and they certainly weren''t sufficient at speaking her language either, much less knowledgable at using a longstaff.


    Of course, she had kind of ruined any chances she might have had of making friends with her subordinate as well. She was far too prone to getting angry about the most minor of things and her orders were often contradictory. That was likely the madness from the isolation, but it was still having a negative effect on her [Monsters]. All they wanted to do was avoid her or appease her long enough for her to leave them alone.


    If it had been up to her, she would have dismissed them and freed them from their contracts with her. Since they weren''t dying anymore, their souls wouldn''t become corrupted and they would live as long as she would. It wasn''t a pleasant situation for any of them. However, without access to the system, she couldn''t do anything about it and they''d have to live just as miserably as she did. All Veronica could do was hope that her sentence as a prisoner would end sooner rather than later for all of their sakes.


    ***End Of Volume One***

 2.1 Eternity Of Solitude

    Veronica Maxwell was seeing red. She couldn''t help but laugh maniacally as she lost herself to her fantasies. With every day that passed, she could feel her humanity slipping away as she was overtaken by fantasies of killing. It was overwhelming at times, the desire to just lash out and attack others. However, only her poor, terrified dungeon [Monsters] dwelled in this place and it just wasn''t satisfying to harm them. They weren''t her enemies, they weren''t the reason she was locked up like this.


    Now, Veronica had always had anger issues. That had been a problem long before she had transmigrated to this world and became a Dungeon Master. So, she was quite familiar with all of the self-help advice given to individuals like her. However, screaming into a pillow, punching a sandbag, or going for a run just wasn''t very satisfying. Sure, they were better in the long-run as they were less destructive. However, there was something that just felt so good about punching a wall, ripping up an essay she had worked hard on, or even throwing dishes and watching them shatter.


    This feeling she had now was very similar. Veronica simply didn''t feel anything if she lashed out at her gargoyles, goblins, will-o''-wisps, and brownies. Maybe she''d feel a bit guilty seeing one of the brownies cowering, but it also came with a feeling of irritation by the way their eyes watched her from across the room and the way they avoided her entirely. It wasn''t even like she made it a habit of mistreating the creatures that she shared her dungeon with. They could just feel her anger brewing beneath the surface and the insanity that had a habit of bubbling to the surface.


    The goblins were a bit more reasonable. They were used to acting violently and letting even their most minor of whims dictate their actions. She often sparred with them during her confinement until she found that they were simply too lacking to continue to be her opponents. Nowadays, she tended to train by herself or, on rare occasions, she''d fight her own boss [Monsters]. Practicing the basic longstaff techniques that Seraphina, her assigned Dungeon Diplomat, had taught her was good and all, but having actual combat experience was necessary as well.


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t much else for Veronica to do in her dungeon. Ever since she had grown tired of suffering at the hands of others and had tried to take back control by trying to destroy the dungeon core, she had been locked out of the system and the dungeon core room alike. The dungeon seemed to be locked for adventurers as well as it had been a long time since anyone had last entered the place. Without sleep, she also had to spend every moment aware of just how slowly time was passing by. Of course, she didn''t actually know if it had been weeks, months, or years because she had no way of telling the time, but it didn''t matter. It was still torture to remain awake for all of it.


    Initially, she had been able to eat food and use the leftover pieces of paper and charcoal pencils to strategize ideas for the future. However, all of the fresh food quickly rotted and the dry food had slowly dwindled as well. Neither she nor anything else that called her dungeon home actually required food, but it had been a Human comfort that she had quite enjoyed while it was an option. Besides, since half of the dungeon was an inn and tavern space, she needed to ensure she remained familiar with the basics of cooking.


    Her bond with the dungeon was supposed to enhance her memory and make it so she could never forget anything from this world or her last. However, she was having more and more difficulty concentrating lately. Since she couldn''t focus, it was difficult to recall important knowledge. Besides, muscle memory was much different from book smarts. It was one thing to know all of the ingredients to make a recipe, it was another to have the dexterity and familiarity to know how to quickly fill and shape a wonton. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Of course, she had also had other forms of entertainment that she had tried. There were the board games she once played with Elora and Eldrin, the two young Elves who had once been hired to help out in her inn. However, her brownies didn''t quite understand the writing on everything while the goblins were too impatient and lacking in intelligence to sit still long enough to play. Without others to play them with, it was too boring, so she had long since given up altogether.


    Then there were the times she''d simply lain in bed, staring up at the ceiling as she daydreamed. Sometimes she''d even pretend Seraphina or her parents were with her and she''d talk aloud, sharing her problems and burdens with them in the hopes that it would make her feel better. That had been fine, for a time, but things were more complicated nowadays. It always felt like there was a voice whispering violent thoughts in the back of her mind. She could never quite make out the words, but she was certain it was connected to her newfound bloodlust.


    Veronica didn''t care enough about playing nice with the people of this world to resist the allure of just giving in to her violent urges. Since the adventurers hadn''t been kind to her, they were nothing more than a business opportunity and threats to her dungeon. She needed them if she wanted to continue to grow her dungeon and to continue to earn mana and dungeon points, but she also didn''t have to care whether they lived or died.


    There were also plenty of moments of darkness for her as well. In those moments, she had begged the dungeon core to forgive her, to let her go, or even to just let her die already. However, it never listened, it never even showed any signs of listening in the first place. On several occasions, she had even taken to harming herself. Any time she died, she''d just end up waking up alive and well on the other side of the dungeon core room with no signs anything had happened. As for whether she was respawning in the dungeon core room only to be kicked out before she could regain consciousness or if she was somehow respawning outside of the room altogether, she wasn''t certain. However, all of this did suggest that the dungeon core was still functioning just fine, it just wasn''t done punishing her.


    Veronica wasn''t sure how it had all come to this in the first place. Seraphina had never mentioned this was even a possibility. What little she knew of this world suggested that both the people and the dungeons themselves operated based on something known as the dungeon accords. The two main principles emphasized in them were that anyone and anything could challenge the dungeon, including the Dungeon Master, and that there was supposed to be no outside influence on the dungeon''s growth.


    The only real exception was if the dungeon core started to show signs of corruption. Then, Seraphina was supposed to step in and help her. That could be in the form of offering therapy, training her so she was more proficient at defending herself, or an investigation could be launched to see if there was a bigger problem that needed to be addressed.  Since corruption was usually a slow process where there would be signs long before things hit a critical point, it was an effective method most of the time.


    However, honestly, Veronica wasn''t sure how the dungeon core could have been showing so little signs of corruption while her own mental health was struggling so much. Were most Dungeon Masters simply stronger mentally than she was? Otherwise, perhaps most of them were less likely to jump to drastic measures so quickly. It was hard to say, but there was no denying the fact that she had seen the dungeon core and it was still at less than 25% total corruption even on the day everything had fallen apart. As for how things were looking now, she had no way of knowing...

 2.2 The Third Floor

    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to purchase the third dungeon floor for 3,000 DP?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Veronica was almost giddy as she selected the [Yes] option. She had regained access to the system today and she had immediately gone ahead and unlocked the third floor. The first prompt she had actually received was actually a notification informing her that she had received 25 MP worth of man regen. That had confused her and she had ended up nervously checking to see if she had access to the system and if the dungeon core room was unlocked again. As it would turn out, both the dungeon core room and dungeon entrance were still locked, but this was still progress!


    Now that she had access to the system again, she could finally do something with all of this time she had on her hands. Of course, since the first and second floor were already complete, she had to unlock the third floor before she could actually start working on anything. The progress was also going to be extremely slow as well since she would only receive 25 MP each day since she couldn''t receive visitors. However, she was fine with that since there was still plenty that she could do.


    Things were much more chaotic when the dungeon began to tremble and shake as a new floor was built. Veronica even ended up falling into a wall so hard that she conked out until after things had settled down once more. Who would have known that the dungeon core room was not only the most convenient place to be when a new floor was unlocked, but also the most stable? At least this confirmed some more good news, she could now sleep!


    Of course, Veronica was hopeful that it wouldn''t be necessary to waste time with such things, but it was still comforting to know she was no longer being punished. There was a part of her that worried that this too was a test, though. Would the dungeon core deem her unworthy of being its guardian if she wasted away too much time by doing things like sleeping? She had been promising for the last few weeks that she would take responsibility and properly protect the dungeon from now on. It had mostly been out of desperation, but she could only assume that the dungeon had decided her attitude was acceptable and had decided to give her a second chance now that she had access to the system again. Still, since not everything had returned to normal, she also had to assume this was more like being on probation than completely forgiven.


    The third floor was not one of the ones she would receive a new set of [Monsters] and [Traps] on it would seem. However, she did get to choose a new skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new skill:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Masterkey


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows for better lock controls on inn & tavern doors including designating rooms as a larger variety of room types with more strict controls on who can access the space. Does not affect rooms outside of the tavern & inn side of the dungeon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Housekeeping


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to auto-clean and straighten a room at a cost of 10 MP per use. Includes restocking supplies that were previously stocked in the room when the room was first designated as an inn room.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Guest Profiling


    </td>


    <td>


    Displays a list of non-dungeon entities currently in the dungeon alongside their classification, classes, rank, location, temperament, and hospitality preferences.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As both the [Housekeeping] and [Guest Profiling] skills would only be useful if the dungeon was functioning normally, Veronica decided to opt for the [Masterkey] option this time. It would allow her to have more freedom in the future as well as the present. She could set up rooms explicitly meant for staff living quarters, something that would have been useful when Elora and Eldrin were still around, and she could also make things like rentable shop spaces. After all, it is quite common for large hotels, malls, and similar spaces to rent out building space to other businesses as it would help draw in more customers and benefit everyone involved.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new floor theme:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Grasslands


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snowy Pine Forest


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Haunted Catacombs


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Since Veronica already knew that she''d have to reuse either her goblins or gargoyles for this floor, it was only sensible to make her choice based on that. Since the first floor has gargoyles and the second floor has goblins, she also figured it would be best to alternate between the two until she unlocked something new. The [Haunted Catacombs] was the best choice with that in mind.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The tropical rainforest was alright, but the connection to gargoyles was loose at best. Sure, she could imagine some sort of jungle temple with gargoyles and make the connection that way. However, honestly, a haunted catacombs theme just made a lot more sense for her gargoyles to live in. Besides, grasslands sounded like it would have the same problem as the swamp with adventurers just walking straight past every challenge room and [Trap] to complete the boss fight and be done with the floor. As for the snow pine forest, she didn''t really want to torture her [Monsters] with the cold, even if the gargoyles were unlikely to be bothered.


    Later today, she actually planned to give all of her [Monsters] on both sides of the dungeon the option to choose to stay or be dismissed. Some of them were summons, like the gargoyles, so it was possible they''d die if they chose that option, but she still wanted them all to have the option. Anyone who left could be slowly replaced with new [Monsters] that hadn''t been around to suffer in a locked dungeon while she was at her worst. Even then, she might have to replace some of them again when, and if, the dungeon was ever open to the public again. It would be a pain, but she also couldn''t leave the dungeon defenseless, so she couldn''t just not replace anyone that left either.


    It ended up taking several weeks to accomplish anything she wanted to do in the dungeon. The third floor dungeon was set up very similarly to the first floor when it came to room sizing and general layout. Still, it felt like a very different space due to the change in theme. There was dust, cobwebs, and other debris everywhere. She also had to manually add torches to the rooms as there wasn''t an artificial sun to light the way. That wasn''t something that was a problem for her, but both her [Monsters] and adventurers alike would need to see where they were going.


    For the most part, she just kept things simple and added three gargoyles to every [Monster] field room. She could, technically, add more since she now had 100 MP limit spawners, but she quite liked the balance of having the same number of [Monsters] in each room. Besides, even if she couldn''t prioritize it right now, she did want to one day add some [Critters] to the rooms. Since she had no idea when she''d get more dungeon points or a larger amount of mana on a daily basis, she had to focus on some things while letting other things fall to the wayside.


    When the basics were taken care of for the main dungeon, it was time to take care of the hotel. That ended up taking even longer, but it was very important to invest in the inn and tavern. The only thing that would tempt adventurers to still visit her dungeon, even despite how dangerous she''d make the dungeon, was to play to her strengths and build comfortable inn rooms with a delicious tavern menu. She''d need something different on every floor, no matter how expensive it might get.


    In order to accomplish that, she had to spend 54 DP to research 11-Units by 16-Units rectangular rooms, 70 DP to research 18-Units by 17-Units rectangular rooms, and 64 DP to research 18-Units by 14-Units rectangular rooms. All of that was just so she could have nine 20-Units by 36-Units rectangular inn rooms that could house four adventurers each, seven 11-Units by 18-Units empty shops she could rent out, and one each of a reception area, tavern, kitchen, cleaning closet, laundromat, a spa, and a gym. All of the miscellaneous rooms were either 18-Units by 17-Units or 18-Units by 14-Units in size.


    Despite keeping things relatively simple and reusing a lot of the furniture she had used on the first floor, it was still necessary to do quite a bit of research. For the bedrooms she needed red silk sheets, a red Romanian quilt, and the same bedding, end table, and wardrobes the first floor had. She had ended up deciding to go with a Romanian theme for the third floor as it matched well with the haunted catacombs theme while being more interesting than something like France or Rome, Italy. She''d likely still use more popular countries as themes later on, but she didn''t plan to repeat any themes, so it was better to save the big-name countries from her old world for other floors.


    The rest of the inn rooms involved large communal baths, much like the public baths on previous floors, but they were only usable if you rented that room. It was possible that parties would be a mix of different genders, but it wasn''t like the guys could stay out of the bathroom while the girls bathed and vice versa. If you couldn''t even trust your party not to peep on you in the bathroom, how could you trust them with your life?


    The kitchen area was similarly very communal in design. There was the same magic stove, fridge, and sink setup with basic wooden counters, the same ones she had used on the second floor, and then there was a large wooden table with two wooden benches. Romania wasn''t exactly a third-world country or anything, but it was known for having rather simplistic and rustic decor. The main eye-catching pieces were usually cloth in nature like clothing, quilts, or rugs, which was where she focused her efforts. 30 DP for red silk sheets, 20 DP for a Romanian red quilt, and 10 DP for a Romanian red rug for the hallways. The rest was all repeats.


    There were other things she had to research as well like a red & black floral Romanian armchair for 40 DP to use in the reception area and other public areas. Plus, she had invested 600 DP in making a deluxe version of the magic wood stove, magic ice box, magic sink, and magic bathtubs. Having access to hot water for the sinks and bathtubs was already a huge quality-of-life improvement. It was well worth slowing down her building process to replace all of the old fixtures on the lower floors and she was sure her future patrons would feel similarly.


    The only thing left after that was the laundromat. Unlike the modern-day ones that used machines, though, this one was very primitive. 30 DP for a washboard made from wood and metal, 50 DP for a clothes wringer, 30 DP for a clothesline, 20 DP for clothespins, 16 DP for an ironing board, and 150 DP for a magic clothes iron. Then, she just assigned two brownies to the room and put them in charge of handling both the labor and the customer service. Since there weren''t adventurers to take care of, they could practice by cleaning her clothes. It would be good to save some mana by not having to recreate and absorb her clothes all the time and she had already spent long enough handwashing her laundry when she didn''t have access to the system as it was.


    When it was all said and done, she had a decent foundation for the third floor and had 326,851 DP still remaining. She still needed to work on challenge rooms and a boss room for the main dungeon area as well as take care of the tavern preparations, which would likely take her more than a year to complete at the current rate, but it was still nice to feel like she was making progress again.

 2.3 Third Floor Challenges

    For the third floor challenges, Veronica decided to focus on things that would fit well with both the haunted catacombs and her gargoyles. She didn''t always include her [Monsters] in her challenges, and it certainly wasn''t necessary on this floor, but it was still good to explore new possibilities. Besides, she was bored and this was one of the few things she could justify spending her limited dungeon points on. Sure, she had plenty of them now, but the fact that she had already spent months taking care of the inn rooms without the dungeon core room unlocking or adventurers arriving suggested that things weren''t going to get better any time soon.


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    Would you like to research gargoyles to create gargoyle evolution [Blind Gargoyle] for 250 DP?


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    Name:


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    Blind Gargoyle


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    40 DP


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    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. In exchange for a lack of eyesight, this variety has enhanced hearing. Has poor defense and low combat damage, but is capable of evolving into larger sizes.


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    It was a bit counterintuitive to make a weaker version of her normal gargoyles. Veronica was well aware of this fact, but they were the best suited for her first challenge, which she had decided to call ''hide n'' seek''. Essentially, adventurers would have to cross the room without alerting the gargoyles in order to unlock the door and receive the challenge reward. Failure would result in them being attacked and then they''d have to wait until the gargoyles respawned and restart the challenge from the beginning.


    Of course, it would be too boring if she just left it at that. So, she spent an additional 32 DP to research stone brick stairs and 10 DP to research a wooden bridge. These were used to build a lowered sewer-like area where water would run through. The adventurers would have to walk down one set of stairs, cross the wooden bridge, and then walk up another set of stairs without making any sound. Besides that, she spent 20 MP for two tripwires. One she put at the entrance of the room while the other went at the top of the second set of stairs. She wasn''t exactly going to take things easy on the adventurers. Maybe they''d be safer locked away in this room than in her presence anyway. She could already feel herself practically salivating at the idea of their blood running across her dungeon floors.


    For the second challenge, she decided to go with ''forgotten souls'' for the name. Of course, she also had to research another new set of gargoyles to use in the room, among other things.


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    Would you like to research gargoyles to create gargoyle evolution [Gargoyle Statues] for 250 DP?


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    Gargoyle Statues


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    40 DP & 30 MP


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    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. After evolving to better resemble the mortal races, their intelligence had increased. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a Seraphina statue using the [Base Resource] stone?


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research an Elora statue using the [Base Resource] stone?


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research an Eldrin statue using the [Base Resource] stone?


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    Yes


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a Mother statue using the [Base Resource] stone?


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    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research a Father statue using the [Base Resource] stone?Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


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    She also spent another 800 DP on researching nobleman, noblewoman, commoner man, commoner woman, mage man, mage woman, swordsman, and swordswoman statues. It was a bit much to spend this much on a single challenge, but Veronica was feeling a bit nostalgic. With how much time had likely already passed during her confinement, she had to wonder if she would even have a family to return to if she got to return to her home world. Even having the dungeon doors open again didn''t seem like it would be a guarantee that she''d get to see the faces of those she had once been familiar with. Knowing everyone you had ever cared about could be dead was a good way to lose what little humanity you were holding onto. What did it all matter? The whole entire world outside of the dungeon could burn to the ground for all Veronica cared, it still wouldn''t bring her loved ones back to her.


    Filling in the challenge rooms would go much faster than taking care of the inn had, but it was still a lengthy process. The second challenge took 650 MP to add the basic statues and another 135 MP for the gargoyle statues. That alone required her to spend a month on it due to how slow mana was trickling in. In the end, though, she had another challenge ready to go. For this one, adventurers would have to destroy only the gargoyles.


    Since the dungeon likely wouldn''t consider it fair that they''d be locked in the room permanently, it was entirely possible it would let them leave through the door they arrived from, but not let them continue forward if they failed. If it was a higher floor, maybe it''d be fine with them starving to death for failing the first time around, but, clearly, Veronica and the dungeon core''s sense of fairness wasn''t the same. She wouldn''t have ended up in this situation if the dungeon core cared more about her feelings than how useful she was, after all.


    For the third challenge, she decided to go with something a bit more whimsical in nature. It wasn''t her usual style, but then her feelings on matters had begun to be chaotic. Perhaps that was fitting considering she was now contracted to both the Goddess of Chaos and the Goddess of Hospitality. She hadn''t bothered with building their temples yet or doing anything else for them yet, but it was still fitting that her own feelings were so chaotic.


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    Would you like to research gargoyles using [Base Resources] stone and wood to create gargoyle evolution [Gargoyle Bards] for 250 DP?


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    Gargoyle Bards


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    40 DP & 30 MP


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    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. After evolving to better resemble the mortal races, their intelligence had increased. This variety has the ability to play a variety of musical instruments or sing. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


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    After summoning three gargoyles and slowly getting them all evolved, Veronica ended up with a flutist, a harpist, and a singer. The instruments were primarily wooden in nature, which contrasted with the rest of the gargoyles that were made purely from magic stone. Impressively, the gargoyles could play their instruments perfectly. The singing gargoyle was a bit strange, though, as it didn''t exactly sing in a language that she could understand, but in one that was strangely ethereal, yet archaic sounding. Still, it seemed to know a variety of songs and it was very relaxing to listen to them all play together.


    She ended up spending 20 DP to research a large drum, which she placed in the middle of the room in front of the gargoyle bards. In order to complete the challenge, the adventurers would have to successfully play along with her gargoyles for an entire song. Considering not everyone was musically talented, it wasn''t something that could be easily done. Even if someone did know what to do, it would be a good way to slow them down for a few minutes.


    Each of the rooms required a reward, so Veronica ended up spending 20 DP each to research an inn room voucher, tavern voucher, and spa voucher with varying values. The inn rooms were set to be worth up to 150 DP, but could only be used once in a single room. The tavern voucher was worth 100 DP, which was enough for a full meal on her first few floors. Then, the spa voucher was only worth 60 DP, which was just enough for an hour''s worth of massage from her brownies. Although, Veronica wasn''t actually sure her brownies could keep time that accurately considering they didn''t exactly have a watch or anything like that. Perhaps she''d have to look into investing in one when she started earning dungeon points again.


    Another 900 DP to set the room''s themes and lock the doors and 60 DP to set the challenge''s rewards and she was done with the challenge rooms. That meant she only had to worry about the boss room now. Of course, she already knew what she wanted to build, so it was mostly just an issue of how long it would take to complete it.


    The plan was to build a large throne room with marble pillars, standing torches, red romanian rugs, a marble throne, murals, a list of names, and guardian statues on either side of the throne. It was, perhaps, a bit telling of her own mental well-being that she wanted to spend so much time focusing on the deceased, but she didn''t care. She needed to do something so she could start the process of moving on. There would be time for happier themes on future floors.


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    Would you like to research gargoyles to create gargoyle evolution [Marble Guardian] for 250 DP?


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    Marble Guardian


    </td>


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    40 DP & 30 MP


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    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. Unlike normal gargoyles, this variation is made from stone and wields a shield and spear. After evolving to better resemble the mortal races, their intelligence had increased. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


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    Alongside this gargoyle, which would function as the boss [Monster], she also spent 100 DP to research an identical marble guardian statue. It would be difficult to tell them apart at first glace, which would give her boss [Monster] the element of surprise for its first attack. The other research costs ended up totaling 860 DP with the list of names on the wall being 60 DP and the two murals costing 300 DP each. Most of the names on the list weren''t people she cared about, but she still managed to add sixty of them after racking her memory for every name she could think of from her old world and this one.


    As for the murals, one was themed around the curse of immortality while the other was themed around grief. It was fitting for the room since it was supposed to give off the feeling of an eternal guardian who protects their master, only to be left alone to forever guard an empty throne. Of course, there were some tie-ins with her own feelings, but she had kept the arts as vague as she could. Honestly, her own art skills weren''t good enough to do anything too fancy anyway. Simple sketches and her memories had been combined to make something far more impressive than her own skills could manage by the dungeon.


    After the final 300 DP was spent to set the room as a boss room, locking the door and reinforcing the environment, she was left with 321,809 DP. She had no doubt that number would be much lower by the time she unlocked the fourth floor.

 2.4 Third Floor Tavern Menu

    When it came to Romania, Veronica didn''t actually have a lot of information about the place. She had grown up in the mid-western United States and never traveled outside of the states. Sure, she had dreamed of traveling the world, but it just wasn''t realistic because she had to focus on becoming the best successor if she wanted to inherit her parents'' bed and breakfast.


    Most of the information she had about the place were from watching travel shows like ''Bizarre Foods''. Even the international cooking class she had taken in college had focused on big-name countries like China, Japan, Scotland, or Russia more so than the smaller countries like Romania. The social media videos she watched where she learned about Indonesian food also tended to have more of a focus on Asia with places like Malaysia and even India being highlighted. That didn''t mean that Veronica herself wasn''t interested in places like Romania, but it did mean that her perspective on the country was very limited.


    Still, that didn''t mean that she was any less passionate about the third floor menu than she had been about the others. She was still eager to share the many wonderful cuisines from her old world. Besides, if anything, making a more authentic menu would allow her to experience some of the things she had missed out on while she was still living in her original world. Well, it would be a waste to spend her mana on food all of the time when she only had a limited amount of it being received right now, but she hoped that wouldn''t always be the case.


    As she wanted to limit the amount of dungeon points being spent on research, she decided to pare down the menu to only four light fare options, four hearty fare options, four desserts, and eight drink options. Half of the entrees would be vegetarian while half would have meat. Even if it was possible there would no longer be an Elven kingdom outside her dungeon by the time she regained access to the outside world, it wasn''t like vegetarian food was bad, so it would be fine. The libations were similarly divided with half being alcoholic and half being non-alcoholic. It was unlikely there would be children in her dungeon, but it wasn''t like adults always wanted to get drunk either.


    While it was hardly authentic, she also decided to go with a spooky twist on the Romanian dishes to match the haunted catacombs theme of the main dungeon. The inn and tavern''s theme were always loosely tied to the main dungeon''s theme, so it was only fitting that the spooky themes carry over as well.


    The light fare menu ended up being deviled eggs for 20 DP per serving, zombie''s Cascaval pane for 25 DP per serving, haunted forest ciorba for 30 DP a bowl, and cursed ardei copti for 25 DP per serving. The deviled eggs weren''t very authentic as she didn''t have things like olives to garnish them with. However, the filling was dyed green to help carry over the creepy theme. Cascaval pane was just a type of fried cheese made from Cascaval cheese. The breading would be dyed black with edible charcoal while a red pepper jam placed on top of it would give a bloody vibe. Ciorba was essentially just another word for soup, so the haunted forest ciorba was just a wild mushroom soup. Then, the cursed ardei copti was a traditional roasted pepper salad, which was very similar to the cucumber salad from the second floor.


    The research costs for all of this totaled 680 dungeon points as she needed large jars of mayonnaise, large jars of mustard, bottles of green food dye, large jars of thick-sliced Cascaval cheese, large jars of edible charcoal powder, jars of red pepper jam, jars of sour cream, crates of lemons, bags and bins of black rice, crates of red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, jars of minced black garlic, and jars of black sesame seeds. Most of the black variations of ingredients were being used to give a cursed appearance to the food. Of course, things like the black garlic would also offer a slightly different flavor than the more common variety, but Veronica was sure the final dishes would still taste just fine.


    For the hearty menu, she decided to go with ghastly mamaliga for 20 DP a serving, witch''s meat patties for 25 DP a serving, stuffed jack-o''-lantern peppers for 35 DP a serving, and vampire''s sarmale for 40 DP a serving. The mamaliga was, essentially, just a cornmeal porridge with wild mushrooms. Meanwhile, meatballs were actually a big deal in Romania, so the witch''s meat patties were just a variation on that. Then, borrowing inspiration from Halloween stuffed peppers from America, she turned the traditional tomatoey rice stuffed peppers from Romania into stuffed jack-o''-lantern peppers. Finally, there was the vampire''s sarmale, which was just stuffed cabbage with an emphasis on red and black ingredients to make it more spooky.


    The research for that included 60 DP to research a bag of cornmeal, 70 DP for a bin of cornmeal, 40 DP for a crate of red onions, 100 DP for a large jar of ground pork, 30 DP for a jar of tomato paste, 60 DP for a bag of pumpkin seeds, 100 DP for a large jar of ground beef, 40 DP for a crate of red cabbage, 100 DP for a large jar of smoked boar bacon, 14 DP for shaker of black sea salt, and 14 DP to research shaker of red pepper flakes. That was another 628 DP down the drain.


    The desserts were something that Veronica couldn''t help but feel tempted to create some of on the spot. It had been so long since she had been able to have some sweets. While things like coffee, pectin, and sugar were almost as shelf-stable as things like flour and rice, Veronica hadn''t exactly shown much self-control when consuming things when she found herself first locked up in the dungeon. Having a cup of coffee and something to snack on had helped her feel more sane in the early years, but it also meant she couldn''t exactly make sweets after a decade or so had passed. Meanwhile, rice made with bouillon or even plain water was a lot less appetizing, so it had been consumed much more slowly. It was only once she started to grow desperate to taste something just to keep the monotony away that it too had disappeared.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Things would be more difficult to manage in the tavern without Elora and Eldrin to help out on the first floor. Plus, more floors with more taverns only complicated things even further. In order to combat the problem ahead of time, she had to make most of the sweets ready-to-eat rather than from scratch.


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    Would you like to spend 60 DP to research possessed sweet bread using the [Base Resources] flour, wild yeast, eggs, cacao beans, raisins, black dye, sugar, milk, butter, chestnuts, and white dye?


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    No


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    Would you like to spend 120 DP to research murderous cheese donuts using the [Base Resources] milk, eggs, flour, sugar, wild yeast, vanilla, sour cream, red gooseberries, and charcoal powder?


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    No


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    Would you like to spend 120 DP to research Dracula''s amandine using the [Base Resources] flour, sugar, butter, wild yeast, cacao beans, rum, water, black dye, eggs, vanilla, heavy cream, raspberries, and red dye?


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    No


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    The ingredients list didn''t quite give the full picture of the ingredients required. The possessed sweet bread used black food dye, white edible glitter, and cocoa powder, not just black dye, white dye, and cacao beans. The cacao beans had been received in a ground form as part of a food tribute she had received shortly before the dungeon was locked down. Still, it was a pretty big deal as it could unlock all things chocolate for her tavern. As for the cheese donuts, they actually used cottage cheese, not milk, but she didn''t have that separately researched, so it was just listed as its base ingredients. Then there was the amandine, which was a layered pastry with chocolate, whipped cream, raspberry glaze, and plenty of glitter and dye used to make it extra creepy.


    Of course, that was also just three desserts, not four. The last one was banshee''s crepes, which she only had to research powdered sugar, black food dye, and strawberry jam for. She already had all of the other ingredients and it wasn''t exactly that hard to make a crepe once you had the crepe technique down. That was something she had mastered in college, alongside flipping an egg in a pan without a spatula. Why her chef instructor cared about such things she wasn''t sure, but it was certainly something most of her peers had mastered by the time they finished with that particular class.


    Compared to the 30 MP a box to create a box of possessed sweet bread, she''d be charging 20 DP for a few slices of it. She''d likely end up making the cost of researching it back before she even sold an entire box of the stuff. The other ingredients were similar with murderous cheese donuts selling for 25 DP each, banshee''s crepes selling for 30 DP, and Dracula''s amandine selling for 35 DP. Even if she wasn''t personally making the desserts, there was still a clear difference in the amount of labor that would normally go into making a layered dessert like amandine, so it was always going to be more expensive than the others.


    Finally, there was the libations menu. That included water for 1 DP, blackberry tea for 10 DP, apple cider for 20 DP, socata soda for 20 DP, harrowing horinca for 35 DP, phantom''s zmeurata for 35 DP, ghoul''s afinata for 35 DP, and blood wine for 40 DP per glass. The apple cider wasn''t fizzy like the elderflower (socata) soda, nor did it involve alcohol, but it did require fermenting, so it was still a similar price as the soda. All of the alcohols were cocktails, which would require more effort to put together than just pouring alcohol into a glass. However, it still wasn''t a big deal to add some lemon juice or two different liquids to the same glass, so the labor increase wasn''t a huge deal like it was with the desserts.


    The research costs ended up totaling 304 dungeon points as she needed a large jar of blackberry tea, bottles of apple cider, bottles of socata soda, bottles of brandy, black currant liqueur, cocktail glasses, bottles of black vodka, raspberry liqueur, large jars of raspberries, blueberry liqueur, large jars of blueberries, edible black glitter, spice shakers of cloves, and bottles of red food dye. Admittedly, most of the cocktails were just different berry flavors with an otherwise very similar makeup.


    After everything was researched, there was 319,727 DP leftover. It would likely take a lot of heavy spending before she''d drop below 300,000 dungeon points. However, the cost to unlock new floors would only continue to increase, so Veronica had no doubt that it would only be a matter of years before she''d be running low. Hopefully, she could pace herself so that she''d have enough for a few decades, at least. She didn''t want to be locked up in this place for that long, but then she didn''t really have a choice in that. Plus, the presence of adventurers wouldn''t change that she was a prisoner. Only dying would do that and it would seem she wasn''t allowed to end her own life, the dungeon core wouldn''t allow that.

 2.5 The Fourth Floor

    Veronica wanted to be excited about unlocking the fourth floor, but she just couldn''t quite muster the enthusiasm for it. She had waited a few extra months after she finished the third floor to do so just so she could use a bit of extra mana to get supplies like food, paper, and charcoal pencils to use for entertainment. However, while she could now track time by keeping track of when she got the notification on her mana regenerating each day, she had no way of knowing how long she had gone without the system before that. Had it been just a few months, a few years, or even entire decades?


    Considering the state of Bluelight Cove City when her dungeon first appeared in this world, it was unlikely they could hold out for very long without an active dungeon around. If the dungeon had been continuing to process aether into mana the entire time, then it was unlikely anyone would end up dying from aether poisoning. However, that didn''t change the fact that the homeless population no longer had her dungeon to depend on, the local craftsman could no longer purchase materials from her dungeon, and there would no longer be her dungeon to draw adventurers to the city. All it would have going for it would be the fact that it was a port city used for trade. Who knows if that would even be enough for the city not to become a ghost town?


    So, Veronica couldn''t help but feel grim as she selected the [Yes] option to begin the process of upgrading her tower of a dungeon to have yet another floor.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to purchase the fourth dungeon floor for 5,000 DP?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That certainly wasn''t as bad as it could be. It was certain the fifth floor would only be that much more expensive. How much would the tenth floor cost her? What about the twenty-fifth and final floor? Before being locked up, earning dungeon points had been as easy as breathing. Even 100,000 DP wouldn''t have been a big deal as it would have only taken her a few short months to earn that amount. Now that she had more floors, it would have been even easier. However, without patrons to serve, there was no way to earn more and she''d have to make do with what she had remaining. What was it now? Oh yeah, she had a [Dungeon Status] menu for that sort of thing.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dungeon Status:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Mana 38 / 200


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current DP: 314,727


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Floors: 4


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Rooms: 75 (25+25+25+0) | 92 (41+28+23+0)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tavern


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Monsters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Critters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Research


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Missions


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The dungeon side always had the same number of rooms since Veronica rather liked the simple and repetitive nature of keeping them the same. It was almost like routine to simply set them all up with the same size rooms and then to fill things in with three challenges and a boss room. There was no need to worry about the awkwardness of leftover space like with the inn-side of things. Thus far, the inn side was slowly, but surely ending up with fewer and fewer rooms per floor. It wasn''t like there would be as many adventurers who had the strength to make it to the upper floors as there were people who could visit the first floor. Even if they could beat the boss [Monsters] there was still the problem of being able to afford the inn rooms. The more time they spent in the dungeon, the fewer resources they''d have that were from outside the dungeon.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new skill:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Housekeeping


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to auto-clean and straighten a room at a cost of 10 MP per use. Includes restocking supplies that were previously stocked in the room when the room was first designated as an inn room.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Guest Profiling


    </td>


    <td>


    Displays a list of non-dungeon entities currently in the dungeon alongside their classification, classes, rank, location, temperament, and hospitality preferences.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tranquil Retreat


    </td>


    <td>


    This crowd-control skill turns the tavern side of the dungeon into a non-combat area with a non-stressful, relaxing environment. Non-dungeon entities who violate the non-combat rule will be banned from the premises permanently.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Surveillance


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to view all areas of the dungeon as if they were looking through a window into the room. Rooms that have been rented out for private use are off-limits to maintain guests'' privacy.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    How strange, there were now four options instead of three. There wasn''t any explanation from the system as to why that was. Did it just randomly upgrade at random intervals? It was hard to tell, but she was hardly going to complain about having more options to choose from. Both [Tranquil Retreat] and [Surveillance] sounded like powerful options for dealing with problematic adventurers like Bo. It would be nice if she could just hang out in the tavern and avoid unnecessary conflict. She''d still have to step up to defend the dungeon should anyone get too close to the dungeon core, but the dungeon would alert her the moment anyone made it to the same floor as the dungeon core room anyway. It simply wouldn''t be an issue.


    Still, since she didn''t know when the dungeon would be open to adventurers again, she didn''t particularly feel like wasting this opportunity on them. Something like [Housekeeping] would allow her to spend mana to clean her own space, saving her time and effort without having to invite her brownies into her personal space, so that¡¯s what she went with. She was still living on the first floor right now, but Veronica had ambitions for building a large, comfortable home for herself on one of the upper floors. Maybe the twelfth floor?


    Otherwise, she could fully embrace the chaotic nature of her life and live on the thirteenth floor. It was a number with quite a bit of superstition surrounding it in her old world. Some cultures saw it as lucky while others saw it as bad luck. She didn''t personally believe in luck, preferring to think that life just happened and you had to be adaptable enough to make things work anyway. Somehow, the thirteenth sounded like the perfect place to make her home.


    There still weren''t new [Monsters] or [Traps] unlocked. If this was anything like a video game, it was likely she would get something new on the fifth floor and then again on the tenth floor. What the deal was with multiples of five, she wasn''t sure, but it was certainly a pattern she couldn''t deny. All that was left was choosing a new floor theme.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new floor theme:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Overgrown Ruins


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bamboo Jungle


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Acacia Forest


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It would seem she had no choice but to choose an outdoor theme this time. That meant her odds of not having walls to block off the ''rooms'' were far greater than they''d otherwise be. Since she was planning to use goblins on this floor, it was fitting, though. With a sigh, she quickly chose the [Overgrown Ruins] theme.


    As it would turn out, it wasn''t the worst choice. There were stone brick ruins that created the rough outline of walls for anywhere she designated a room. There were bricks missing and the walls were barely taller than she was, but it would work well enough. Besides the walls of the room, there were vines, rocks, and random remnants of ruins spread throughout the floor. Some places seemed like they may have once been stone brick roads that led to nowhere while other places were more like buildings or old wells. There was even water at the bottom of one of the wells, but it wasn''t much and there wasn''t a bucket to draw it up with. She highly doubted it would be of any use to the adventurers.


    The layout for the fourth floor mirrored that of the second floor. That mostly just meant switching around which direction the boss room was placed. For odd floor numbers, it would be at the back of the dungeon while even floors had it towards the front of the dungeon. The rest of the rooms would then be arranged to progressively lead to that room to ensure the adventurers were more likely to have to complete the challenge rooms to finish the floor.


    The inn side of the dungeon was much simpler to arrange this time around as most of the room sizes were ones she had previously researched. There were only two that she had to spend DP on. One was a 37-Units by 35-Units rectangular room while the other was an 18-Units by 35-Units rectangular room. Between the two she had to spend 250 DP.


    The inn rooms on this floor were all 18-Units by 18-Units square rooms. They were each set up to house a single individual with a bedroom, bathroom, and open floorplan living room and kitchen area. Most of the rest of the rooms on the floor were 11-Units by 18-Units rectangular rooms including: a cleaning closet, laundromat, spa, pool room, gym, training area, and a public bathroom. The bathrooms used wooden partition walls to divide it into two separate bathroom areas with a hallway in between them. Many of the other rooms were similarly divided into smaller sections.


    The reception room was an 11-Units by 16-Units room, but that was already one she had unlocked. The two new ones she had to research new room sizes for were actually a kitchen and a dining room. Rather than having a bar where alcohol was served, Veronica was going to try out having a dining room with the alcohol prepared in the kitchen before being carried out to the dining room. Considering she had ended up deciding on an Aztec temple theme for the floor, it was a bit ironic that this was where she decided to try out a more upscale dining feel.


    None of it really mattered, though. The inn-side of the dungeon didn''t have any of its rooms set as a particular theme, so she could always tear everything down and rebuild it another way in the future. Testing out different ideas to see what worked best and how she felt about them was better to do on the lower floors as well. The upper floors were less likely to ever see adventurers, so she had to learn what she could before she got to that point.


    In order to match the Aztec temple theme, Veronica decided to research a bunch of stone furniture. Much like anything wooden, stone was relatively cheap as it only cost 10 DP to research and 5 MP to create. If it was something more complex like a stone statue, it could be incredibly more expensive, but something as simple as a chair or sofa wasn''t exactly a problem.


    She ended up researching a stone bed frame, gray dye, gray silk sheets, a gray quilt, a stone armchair, a stone sofa, a deluxe magic shower, potted aloe vera, stone dining chairs, stone dining tables, wooden archery targets, wooden man posts, a swimming pool, wooden diving boards, and pool ladders for the fourth floor. The wooden man posts were actually Chinese-style training dummies, which she had seen a number of times in movies. She didn''t really watch action movies very often, but she did like cartoons, including those with Kung Fu in them.


    All of the previous floors had included bathtubs, but it wasn''t like showers were any more difficult for the dungeon to make. They still required magic crystals, porcelain, and, in this case, wooden benches. If she was going to take a shower, then one with a place to sit was, obviously, the best choice. Veronica had lived in places with small square showers where there was only room for her to stand and to store her cleaning products. However, the fancy large shower in her parents'' home had always been her favorite.


    After everything was set up, she had 313,947 dungeon points remaining. With any luck, she''d be able to finish this floor as well without dropping below 300,000 DP, but it was likely that the cost to unlock the fifth floor alone would be the tipping point. Eventually, she''d have to consider being more conservative with her spending, but she wasn''t going to worry about it just yet.

 2.6 Fourth Floor Challenges

    Since the fourth floor came with an overgrown ruins theme, Veronica decided to fully embrace it. The first challenge was called ''the bridge'' and involved a rotten wooden bridge hanging high up in the air above a nearly 10-Units drop with a deep river in the middle of it all. The river was more likely to save adventurers'' lives than to increase the danger level, but it would also increase their fear as they worried what might lurk in the water below them. Plus, with any luck, the dungeon core wouldn''t see it as her trying to make things unbalanced again. The last thing she wanted was to lose access to the system menu again and no longer be able to sleep in peace. Things were bad enough without that happening again.


    In order to create the challenge, Veronica had to spend 8 DP to research a rotten wooden bridge. Both stone and wood tended to be rather cheap, according to the system, but that was even more so true when it was an old, decayed, partial version rather than a whole one. There was also the matter of digging out the trench, which took some time due to the mana expenditure, and adding torches. As the sides of the bridge involved thin wooden poles that would normally have added stability, she could easily add torches on top of them to set the mood. Granted, even if they did set the bridge on fire, she hardly had an issue with that.


    The most difficult part was getting the bridge to collapse after a set period of time. The dungeon''s way of balancing things meant that it was likely that the bridge wouldn''t collapse unless too much weight was put on it at once or the adventurers'' did something stupid, even if it was a ''rotten'' bridge with missing planks and flimsy rope attaching it all to the wooden poles along the way. For this, Veronica had to delve into a part of the system mechanics she hadn''t previously used before.


    Among the construction screen options, there was one called ''room settings'', which she could only use when the room''s theme had been set.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    The Bridge Upgrade Options:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Sky Options


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Weather Options


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Temperature Options


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Room Feature Upgrades


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After that, she could go into the room feature upgrades to make upgrades to specific upgrades for challenges like this one. The only free option was a ''randomize puzzle'' option, which would ensure puzzles that came with pieces like a jigsaw puzzle could change the initial layout when the room resets, ensuring adventurers won''t be able to complete the puzzle from memory. Well, there was also the lock doors option under that menu as well.  That wasn''t what Veronica needed, though, so she had to research an option called ''fading platforms'' for 300 DP. That would then make it so that the bridge would collapse after a set period of time. It would also work on other ''platforms'' from wooden platforms in water to entire islands floating in the sky like some video game.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Room Feature Options:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Option:


    </td>


    <td>


    Cost:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Randomize Puzzle


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Fading Platforms


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Lock Doors Until Puzzle Is Solved


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please conduct further research to unlock any other preset options for room features.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The cost to apply the room feature upgrade was 150 DP. It was a bit steep, which was much steeper than the ''randomize puzzle'' option would be. Then, she just had to spend 100 DP to research a box of chocolates and another 100 DP to set it as the challenge reward. The chilate she had previously gotten as a tribute, before being locked up for Goddess knows how long, was really coming in handy now. Veronica wasn''t sure if this world originally had anything like chocolate in it, much less what had been invented since she last had contact with civilization, but it was likely the sweet would be expensive, even if it did exist.


    The next challenge she named ''sunken treasure'' involved rooting around in pools of water in search of a weather golden key. The key cost 40 DP, but that was the only research she had to do besides the challenge reward. Wanting to stick to the aztec theme she had chosen for the inn, she had decided to make cacao chapstick for the reward, which only ran her a meager 20 DP to research and another 20 DP to set as the challenge reward.


    The key itself wasn''t actually used for anything, but was simply symbolic. Find the key and the door will unlock. You just wouldn''t have to actually put the key into a lock to do so. Veronica secretly hoped the adventurers would drown after becoming exhausted from all the swimming around. She still had yet to add resources like edible plants to the dungeon, so they''d likely be desperate enough to move on that they''d actually expend their energy fairly quickly. Of course the walls weren''t impossible to climb, but they were actually fairly sturdy compared to the trees on the first floor and certainly couldn''t be circumnavigated the way the water on the second floor could be.


    The third challenge room was the most dangerous of all. The ''hanging gardens'' challenge involved vine ropes hanging throughout the room. They had been cheap enough to research at a mere 10 DP and even cheaper to install. However, there were also hundreds of them spread throughout the room with gaps at random intervals. She had chosen to use the ''fading platforms'' upgrade again. In response, the dungeon had made a portion of the ropes slightly lighter in color and they would randomly break and fall down into the trench below.


    For the challenge reward, Veronica had taken inspiration from a special tea kit she had once tried in her old world. One of the local grocery stores used to sell a special loose leaf tea kit where you could make your own using the provided ingredients. They had a few, but her favorite had always been one that came with orange peels, cacao nibs, and black tea leaves. Since small metal tins of tea were cheaper than a large jar full, it only cost 16 DP to research it and another 16 DP to set it as the challenge reward.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Finally, all that was left to do was to complete the boss room. The overgrown ruins didn''t have a forest or anything, but Veronica couldn''t help but want to make a ranger goblin for the boss. The boss room had thus been aptly named ''the hunter boss room''. In order to set everything up, Veronica needed a forest, but she didn''t actually have anything to make normal trees with. The best she could manage was to research the cherry blossoms she had once received as a tribute in order to make cherry blossom trees. At 20 DP, they were still rather cheap, so she could accept the overly flowery atmosphere it created.


    Next up was the [Traps]. Veronica had only ever unlocked a few of them for the first floor tropical parkour room, so most of the options would cost dungeon points to use. The others were freebies she had received when she unlocked the second and fifth floor.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Available Traps:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tripwire


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Can be used with other [Trap] types. Trips enemies.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Itching Powder Wall [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Releases a cloud of itching powder when enemies walk past it causing itchiness and discomfort.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Push Wall [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Can be used to push non-dungeon entities into other areas of the dungeon, but is so weak that a moderately strong individual can easily resist its strength.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Rolling Boulder


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A small boulder that is launched in a straight path from a wall when triggered. Easily crumbles and can be easily dodged due to slow momentum.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Briar Patch


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A bush with thorns that is itchy and painful, but does minimal damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Unlockable Traps


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    There were actually a lot more options than Veronica would have expected to receive from the system for free. Considering how unkind the dungeon core had been to her for even the slightest misstep on her part, this almost seemed too generous. The ones she wanted, though, were the 3-Units deep pitfall [Traps]. While she could easily make a trench, the pitfalls still had some benefits that a simple hole in the ground did not. The [Traps] would reset with the room and tended to be a bit more camouflaged than a trench would be.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Unlockable Trap Options:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock Cost:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Pitfall (1-Unit Drop)


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Small Wooden Barricade


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tar Floor [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Flip [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Large Wooden Barricade


    </td>


    <td>


    30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    60 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Slide Floor Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    40 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    80 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Giant Flip Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Giant Push Wall Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Deep Pitfall (3-Units Drop)


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Besides the pitfall [Trap], she also spent 20 DP to research snares. As hunters tended to use them to catch small prey, they were a fitting addition to the boss room. The briar patches, deep pitfall [Traps], and tripwire [Traps] were already unlocked, but they''d be useful as well.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snare


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A rope that tightens and lifts unsuspecting non-dungeon entities into the air.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The trees were set up on the outside of the room with briar patches in between them, creating a circular enclosure. Only a path to the entrance and exit were left free of the pointy thorns. Near the entrance, a 3-Units deep pitfall and a tripwire were set up. Near a few of the trees in the inner circle, snares were set up. The middle was meant for a hunter''s cabin, but a trench with briar patches was set up surrounding the area. One last tripwire, along the otherwise clear-of-traps walking path, was the last addition.


    Veronica already had access to wooden partition walls, wooden doorways, and wooden doors. However, she had to spend 100 DP to research wooden ceilings and floors in order to build an actual cabin from the pieces. The furniture was kept simple with pieces from the inn on previous floors being used to decorate the space. The boss goblin would likely be the only one among her minions to be comfortable as she had barely bothered with huts for the others and some of them had nothing but the dirt ground to sleep on. However, she had no attachment to the creatures, so she could hardly be bothered with feeling guilty.


    Researching the ranger goblin evolution cost 250 DP while evolving a basic goblin into a ranger class cost 75 DP. After that, all that was left was to spend 300 DP to set the room as a boss room, reinforcing the environment and locking the door. Only 311,252 DP remained when she was finished with everything.

 2.7 Fourth Floor Tavern Menu

    The fourth floor''s tavern was meant to be inspired by the Aztecs. The funny part about that was just how much time Veronica''s school system actually spent teaching about ancient civilizations like that. She had even been forced to take part in a group project by her middle school teacher, which included bringing in a relevant dish that represented her assigned civilization at the time: the Aztecs. Coincidence? Perhaps, or perhaps she had chosen to make this floor based on the Aztecs rather than the Incas or the Maya exactly because she had the most information about them.


    The Aztecs were an ancient civilization, just like the rest, but their food was also more related to the modern-day country of Mexico than it was to the United States. That made their food just as foreign as any of the others she had added to her collection, thus far. However, that also meant that there was a limit to just how creative she could get with the menu. Anything that required plants native to Mexico was unlikely to be among her [Base Resources], so she''d have to substitute them for something else or avoid the dish entirely. It was unfortunate since she wanted to have an authentic menu, but it wasn''t something that was avoidable. In fact, Veronica was confident that the problem would only get worse in the future.


    Nevertheless, she did her best to make a proper menu. The light fare ended up with corn tamales for 30 DP, sopes for 35 DP, pozole for 40 DP, and hibiscus salad for 35 DP. Most tamales were made with cornmeal dough and wrapped in corn husks before being cooked. The main difference was the filling and flavoring agents. In this case, the corn tamales were a bit sweet, but not overly so, more like a sweet cornbread rather than a cake.


    Meanwhile, sopes were just an assortment of toppings on top of a fried flatbread. Things like watercress, tomatoes, and refried edamame beans would be the main flavors. Normally, it would be refried beans, but she only had anko red beans, which were too sweet to be suitable for such a purpose, which left edamame beans to make a strange green, but savory paste.


    The pozole was the soup option for this menu. It was a traditional soup of Mexico made with hominy, meat, and toppings like radish and lime. The hominy was actually pretty simple to source as it was just dried corn treated with lime juice. Similarly to how she could just research corn to get corn husks, hominy was easy to get her hands on.


    Then there was the salad, which would normally have had a much different name. Hibiscus tended to be called jamaica in Mexico, but hibiscus was easier for her to recognize without having to jog her memory on what it was. While her memory meant she could recall even the most minor of details and would never forget anything, that didn''t make it any easier to do the processing aspect of it. Really, it was like how you could easily do math in your head and come up with the correct answer, so long as it was a simple problem, but it would take some time to think it through and come up with the answer. Since a kitchen was high stress as it was, she wanted to make things as easy to remember for herself as possible.


    She''d have said the renaming of some things while others were left as it was for her guests as well, but she wasn''t sure how that worked. Did they have a universal language here that was the same as hers somehow? Was the dungeon translating things for her or did the adventurers have a system that translated things for them? That wouldn''t explain how the unawakened locals could communicate with her, though... Really, it was all too complicated to try and figure out and she just didn''t really want to bother with it.


    Anyhow, the light fare menu ended up costing 364 DP to research everything. Some ingredients she already had access to while others required research. The new things included: large jars of instant yeast, crates of corn husks, bottle of vanilla extract, bottles of corn oil, jars of refried edamame, large jars of queso fresco crumbles, jars of salsa, large jars of hominy, large jars of pickled jalapenos, shakers of oregano, and burlap bags of hibiscus flowers.


    The hearty menu included mushroom tacos for 35 DP, carnitas tacos for 45 DP, papadzules for 40 DP, and huitlacoche enchiladas for 45 DP. The total research costs were only 300 DP, but there were only a few additional ingredients needed. These included: boxes of corn tortillas, large jars of corn smut, large jars of chicken bouillon cubes, and large jars of seasoned shredded pork. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The tortillas could, technically, be made from scratch, but the process of cooking them was a bit complicated and not one Veronica had mastered. Her tortillas tended to come out with big air bubbles and were rather oily and overcooked. It was a mess, to put it lightly.


    Corn smut was a rather weird ingredient, but was needed for the huitlacoche enchiladas, which served as one of two vegetarian options. In Mexico, corn smut is considered a delicacy. However, it is actually a fungal disease that turns the corn kernels gray and causes them to swell up. It wasn''t particularly appetizing to Veronica and she most certainly had no plans to consume it herself, but there weren''t really a lot of vegetarian options that would seem distinct and unique enough from the other options to be worthwhile. What was the point of having both tofu and mushroom tacos when you only have four entrees on the entire menu?


    Dessert was rather simple with pears in syrup for 25 DP, pumpkin tamales for 30 DP, corn flan for 35 DP, and corn churros for 35 DP. However, that was hardly surprising since the Aztecs would hardly have had the time and resources for fancy desserts like pastries or gelato. Since the desserts were all so simple, Veronica even decided they should all be made from scratch. Thankfully, this only required her to research three ingredients: crates of pears, large jars of raisins, and jars of cream cheese. That ran her 140 DP, but that was partially because the cream cheese was so expensive.


    The pumpkin tamales were rather similar to the corn tamales in preparation, which is why she''d likely prepare them at the same time, but the pumpkin variety was much sweeter. It had a bit of a pumpkin pie taste to it with warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg mixed with the cornmeal dough and pumpkin.


    The corn flan and corn churros were much heavier on the corn usage than most versions Veronica had eaten in her old world. The corn flan even involved pieces of corn kernels used as a garnish and throughout the dish. Otherwise, it was just a thick pudding pie style dessert made from various types of milk, cream cheese, and eggs. Meanwhile, the churros were made with cornmeal dough and fried before being dusted in cinnamon sugar, just like the flour-based churros she was used to. As for the pears, those likely existed even in this world as it was just fruit and a sugar syrup made from water and sugar. It was the simplest of simple desserts, but it was a classic.


    Finally, there was the libations menu. The non-alcoholic options included water for 1 DP, olla coffee for 15 DP, atole de pinole for 15 DP, and xocolatl hot cocoa for 25 DP. Meanwhile, the alcoholic options were pineapple tepache for 40 DP, pina colada for 50 DP, cacao rum for 55 DP, and horchata rum for 55 DP. More than half of the options would require some preparation to make them, but they were also simple and could be done in mere minutes.


    Olla coffee was just coffee with spices served in a special drinking pot. Atole de pinole was similar to the coffee, but was a milk-based drink with cornmeal and spices. Then, the xocolatl hot cocoa was just atole de pinole made with cocoa powder. Pretty much, just make hot water and steep coffee in the french press she had previously researched or toss a few ingredients in a pot, bring it to a boil, and stir vigorously before pouring it into a tea cup. Of course, her tea cups were more for afternoon tea than they were for an Aztec restaurant, but she hardly felt like wasting her dungeon points when she had something she could use already.


    The research for the drinks menu was rather cheap at 114 DP to unlock large jars of cocoa powder, jars of honey, bottles of pineapple tepache, bottles of cacao rum, and bottles of horchata. It felt a bit wrong not to make the fermented pineapple drink that was pineapple tepache from scratch, but she also wasn''t sure how she was supposed to run four taverns by herself either. Well, she had brownies to act as the servers, but she was the only one who could cook the recipes.


    There were now 310,334 dungeon points remaining. Yet, she couldn''t complain since she had yet another floor complete and still had plenty left to complete another floor. The more of them she could complete before she was released, the better her chances would be of protecting the dungeon core in the long term. While she still had lingering feelings of resentment about being locked up in the dungeon by herself for so long, it wasn''t the only change in her mental well-being. Veronica was no longer afraid of those like Bo as she was confident that she''d soon be strong enough that she could easily put up a fight against those who wished to harm her. Besides, she had plenty of time to process her mental grievances and to move on, even if she was slowly losing herself in the process.

 2.8 Aztec Cooking

    It was taking much longer to earn her freedom back than Veronica had bargained for. She still didn''t know how long she had gone without the system, but it had now been more than just a few months since she had unlocked the third floor. Where she had once been willing to go without food or other luxuries as she rushed through building new floors in preparation for the day adventurers would once more walk the halls of her dungeon, she couldn''t help but feel differently now.


    So, she no longer planned to rush through things at all. Instead, she was planning to take her time building the floors while also keeping herself entertained. One such method involved cooking a full meal every night. It would be ideal to keep in the habit of cooking so that she could retain the muscle memory to be proficient at it. Plus, it couldn''t hurt to maintain what little Human connection she had.


    It was well known that food tended to have an association with memories for people and she was no exception. If anything, most of Veronica''s memories tended to revolve around food. When she was little, she''d cook all sorts of meals in the kitchen with her mother. Her father was equally skilled at cooking, but he seemed to have more of a specialty for grilling, smoking, and roasting meats while he mother was more well-rounded.


    Then, later, when she went off to college, she had spent hundreds of hours learning from chef instructors and those in charge of the kitchens at her various jobs. She had also tried out housekeeping, janitorial, and receptionist desk jobs as well, but they just didn''t quite suit her preferences that well. Besides, what she had truly wanted was to run her own business, which meant learning how to deal with high stress situations and manage others, not just how to scrub dirty sinks and tuck sheets under mattresses just right.


    Regardless, there weren''t any customers to look after right now and her brownies could keep house in an empty inn just fine without her breathing down their necks. So all she had to worry about now was taking care of her own needs. Luckily, she was used to cooking the dishes for her tavern ala carte. Had she been used to cooking for large groups and suddenly tried to cook for one, she doubted the transition would be quite so easy. As it was, it took some time to get back into the habit of cooking after so long without doing it.


    For tonight, she was planning to make a pozole soup, mushroom tacos, and pumpkin tamales. The pumpkin had finished roasting a little while earlier and was now cooling on a nearby counter. It''d be ready to scoop out and be turned into a delicious pumpkin filling for the tamales in a little while. For now, she had to concentrate on the soup as it would take a while to cook.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    First, she carefully chopped the onions. Her chef instructors had taught her a method for getting perfect cubes by cutting the onion in half in a particular direction so you''d end up with the ''hairy'' side on both halves of the onions. So, it took no time at all to get it chopped up.


    The peppers were similarly simple to cut. Just quarter them, cut the seeds out by running the knife long ways along the pepper wedge, and then finish cutting into smaller cubes. Then it was into a saute pan alongside the onions for a quick cook just long enough for the onions to turn translucent. Next, it was off to a sauce pan alongside some pork shoulder, hominy, garlic, water, and seasonings.


    It would need to simmer for a while, so she decided to take care of the pumpkin tamales while she waited. She''d need to keep an eye on it, but a low heat would ensure it didn''t burn while she was distracted.


    In a mixing bowl, she added corn meal, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Then she carefully mixed it to ensure there were no big clumps. After checking on her soup, she got to work scooping out the roasted pumpkin before mashing it into a smooth consistency with a fork. That was then added to the dry ingredients alongside some butter, milk, raisins, and cream cheese.


    Nearby, a bowl with dried corn husks that had been soaking in water rested. Veronica quickly grabbed them and started to fill them with the pumpkin filling while keeping an eye on her soup. It was already starting to smell quite good, but she''d have to add more ingredients to the soup later after it cooked down some more. Still, she couldn''t help but smile in anticipation as she enjoyed the mouthwatering scent of the savory soup.


    As soon as the tamales were done being filled, she got ready to steam them. She would have to cook the wild mushrooms and grill the corn tortillas for her tacos while they cooked. This way, everything would be ready all at once. Due to the mushrooms cooking in mere minutes, they had to be prepared last. The rest of the ingredients were things like fresh cheese or premade corn tortillas that merely needed to be heated up, so it really was a simple dish.


    To drink with her meal, Veronica decided to have some pineapple tepache. The fruit in it meant it would have some sweet notes while the fermentation would balance it out with some bitterness. It wasn''t a strong drink, so she wouldn''t get anywhere close to getting drunk from it. However, that was hardly her goal. It just seemed right to have everything match one theme.


    Even while trying to cook for one person, the soup and dessert would no doubt be enough for a week. She''d have something else for the entree tomorrow, maybe some sopes. They were listed on the light fare menu, but they''d work just as well as the star of the meal. Maybe if she was feeling generous, she''d even share some of the dishes with her brownies later. The goblins hardly cared what they ate, but they could always have any leftovers she didn''t want at the end of the week.

 2.9 The Fifth Floor

    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 7,500 DP to unlock the fifth floor?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Another increase, but Veronica couldn''t do anything about it, so she could only select the [Yes] option. As much as it pained her to spend so many dungeon points on any one thing, it wouldn''t help her to forever remain a four floor dungeon.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new floor theme:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Haunted Mansion (Mimics)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Caves (Direwolves)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Graveyard (Ghouls)


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The choices were both exciting and disappointing at the same time. It was nice to see she''d be unlocking some new [Monsters] with this floor, but the choices suggested she wasn''t gaining that much of an advantage either. How many more floors would it take before she got something truly powerful? Ghouls were an automatic no since she really didn''t want to get stuck with another open floor like her swamp. As for the wolves, they weren''t bad, but mimics were just the far more interesting option. They''d certainly be better for catching adventurers off guard.


    After making her choice, she pulled up her [Monsters] menu to see what else she may have unlocked.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Summonable Monster Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Gargoyles


    </td>


    <td>


    15 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Magic stone statue with no special features. Has poor defense and low combat damage, but is capable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Mimics


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Prefers to live in a suitable environment where it can camouflage itself. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can only evolve into forms that replicate inanimate objects.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Summonable Monster Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Blind Gargoyles


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. In exchange for a lack of eyesight, this variety has enhanced hearing. Has poor defense and low combat damage, but is capable of evolving into larger sizes.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Gargoyle Statues


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP & 30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. After evolving to better resemble the mortal races, their intelligence had increased. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Gargoyle Bards


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP & 30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. After evolving to better resemble the mortal races, their intelligence had increased. This variety has the ability to play a variety of musical instruments or sing. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Winged Monstrosity Gargoyles


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP & 30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. Unlike normal gargoyles, this variation has wings and sharp claws made of iron that allow it to deal a greater amount of damage. However, due to its weight, it cannot sustain flight for long. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Marble Guardians


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP & 30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a gargoyle to evolve. Unlike normal gargoyles, this variation is made from stone and wields a shield and spear. After evolving to better resemble the mortal races, their intelligence had increased. Due to being composed of stone, its defenses are still lacking. Only comes in one size, incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Contractable Monster Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Will-O''-Wisp


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a dark environment to live in before you can form a contract. Does no combat damage, but can add ambiance and lure unsuspecting adventurers into [Traps].


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Goblins


    </td>


    <td>


    30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Refuses to live anywhere they aren''t surrounded by their own kind. Does moderate combat damage, but can obtain classes that give them unique and powerful abilities. However, their weak bodies and lack of intelligence limits their growth potential. Capable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Brownies


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Strictly prefers the indoors. Refuses to engage in combat and has a tendency to show kindness to others. Primarily functions as a worker-type [Monster]. Incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Kuo-Toa (Fishmen)


    </td>


    <td>


    60 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires an environment with water. Does moderate combat damage, but can obtain classes that give them unique and powerful abilities. Only moderately more intelligent than their lower-ranking [Monster] counterparts, the goblins.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Domvoys


    </td>


    <td>


    100 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Strictly prefers the indoors. Has limited combat ability and refuses to work for anyone they consider evil. Primarily functions as a worker-type [Monster] with a preference for kitchen work. Incapable of evolving.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Contractable Monster Options:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Water Elementalist Goblins


    </td>


    <td>


    75 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a goblin to evolve. Grants the water elementalist class and basic skills for the class. Dungeon entities are incapable of leveling up. Incapable of evolving further.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ranger Goblins


    </td>


    <td>


    75 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a goblin to evolve. Grants the ranger class and basic skills for the class. Dungeon entities are incapable of leveling up. Incapable of evolving further.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    That was a relief! At least, she had unlocked two new dungeon [Monsters] and one new tavern [Monster]. The kuo-toa would have to wait until the sixth floor to be used. She could technically use them on this floor, if she wanted, just like she could use the gargoyles on any floor and the goblins on any floor after the second. However, she much preferred to focus on one type of [Monster] with each floor. It would ensure that the adventurers had no clue what the next floor would have and she wouldn''t get distracted trying to figure out which to use for the newest boss [Monster]. Besides, it wasn''t like she couldn''t change her mind later on, if that''s what she wanted.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Of course, the biggest win was unlocking the domvoys. Since they had a preference for kitchen work, they would likely already have a lot of the basic knowledge and skills needed to prepare her taverns'' dishes, so she''d just need to teach them the specific recipes. With any luck, she''d be able to get a whole team of them ready to serve guests by the time she received new patrons, not that she was certain that would ever happen¡­


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new skill:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Guest Profiling


    </td>


    <td>


    Displays a list of non-dungeon entities currently in the dungeon alongside their classification, classes, rank, location, temperament, and hospitality preferences.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tranquil Retreat


    </td>


    <td>


    This crowd-control skill turns the tavern side of the dungeon into a non-combat area with a non-stressful, relaxing environment. Non-dungeon entities who violate the non-combat rule will be banned from the premises permanently.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Surveillance


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to view all areas of the dungeon as if they were looking through a window into the room. Rooms that have been rented out for private use are off-limits to maintain guests'' privacy.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Forecasting


    </td>


    <td>


    System prompts will be delivered to the Dungeon Master at set intervals displaying relevant information about events outside of the dungeon so that they can plan ahead for the resulting effect on the tavern''s traffic.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Previously, she had obtained the [Staff Elevator], [Master Key], and [Housekeeping] skills. Some of them had already proved to be quite useful while the [Housekeeping] skill she had only been able to use once or twice. It required mana to cast and could only clean a single room at a time. Considering she would only receive 63 MP worth of regeneration each day, now that she had unlocked the fifth floor and had a total of 250 for her mana cap, it wasn''t easy to waste mana so easily. If adventurers were still visiting the dungeon, she wouldn''t even have to think about spending her mana, but it would be wasteful as things currently stand.


    Most of the new skills weren''t bad options, but Veronica couldn''t help but feel choosing the [Guest Profiling] option was the best choice. The dungeon giving her goosebumps every time someone got too close to the dungeon core room was great and all, but it didn''t tell her enough. The [Guest Profiling] skill would, at least, tell her who was in her dungeon, how much of a threat they were, and their temperament would be a gauge for how hostile they were. With the ability to tell where in exactly in the dungeon they were, she''d also be able to better strategize how to deal with them before they could reach the dungeon core. Perhaps choosing the [Surveillance] skill next would be ideal as well for the additional security?


    The only other thing left to check was the new [Traps] she had unlocked.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Available Traps:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tripwire


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Can be used with other [Trap] types. Trips enemies.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Itching Powder Wall [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Releases a cloud of itching powder when enemies walk past it causing itchiness and discomfort.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snare


    </td>


    <td>


    10 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A rope that tightens and lifts unsuspecting non-dungeon entities into the air.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Push Wall [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    Can be used to push non-dungeon entities into other areas of the dungeon, but is so weak that a moderately strong individual can easily resist its strength.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Rolling Boulder


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A small boulder that is launched in a straight path from a wall when triggered. Easily crumbles and can be easily dodged due to slow momentum.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Briar Patch


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A bush with thorns that is itchy and painful, but does minimal damage.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Deep Pitfall (3-Units Drop)


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A camouflaged hole in the ground that is 3-Units deep. Just enough of a fall to be capable of fracturing an un-awakened non-dungeon entity''s spine.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Rolling Boulder


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A large boulder that is launched in a straight path from a wall when triggered. Denser and faster than the weak version.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Brimstone Floor [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    A path of fiery coals that can easily cause burns and set things on fire, but gives off a sulfur smell that makes it easy to identify.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Unlockable Traps


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    It would seem she had been given a brimstone floor [Trap] and a rolling boulder as freebies this time around. They weren''t bad, but she also wasn''t sure when she''d be using them. Adding [Traps] to her dungeon just for the fun of it wasn''t a good way to ensure they''d be effective. It was far better to put them in a suitable environment where they''d blend in and could catch adventurers off guard. Next, she checked the new unlockable [Trap] options.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Unlockable Trap Options:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Mana Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Unlock Cost:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Pitfall (1-Unit Drop)


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Small Wooden Barricade


    </td>


    <td>


    20 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    40 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tar Floor [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Flip [Trap]


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snow Cannon


    </td>


    <td>


    25 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    50 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Large Wooden Barricade


    </td>


    <td>


    30 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    60 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Slide Floor Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    40 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    80 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Giant Flip Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    (Weak) Giant Push Wall Trap


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Deep Pitfall (3-Units Drop)


    </td>


    <td>


    50 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    100 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Snow Blower


    </td>


    <td>


    125 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    250 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Steam Vent


    </td>


    <td>


    125 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    250 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Poison Darts


    </td>


    <td>


    150 MP


    </td>


    <td>


    300 DP


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Snow cannons, snow blowers, steam vents, and poison darts were all much more powerful than anything else she had unlocked previously. Most of them would blend in well with a number of room types as well. Still, they weren''t strictly necessary for building her dungeon floors, so she''d likely wait to add them in until she had more plentiful resources. Unlocking more floors and putting space between her and any potential enemies she might run into in the future was her number one priority. She had no doubt that someone like Bo would power through [Traps] and challenges alike, but forcing them to walk through floors and floors of obstacles would still slow them down all the same.


    With all of that taken care of, it was finally time to start working on setting up the floor itself. The dungeon would mirror the first and third floor''s setup since it was an odd floor number. 402 DP was spent on researching new room sizes. The inn rooms would come in two sizes on this floor: 18-Units by 36-Units and 10-Units by 15-Units. She planned to have eight of the larger rooms and six of the smaller ones. It wasn''t necessary to have a ton of rooms since fewer and fewer individuals would make it to the newest floors the higher she built her tower of a dungeon.


    All of the inn rooms were built for a single individual. However, the large inn rooms had a bedroom with a sitting area, a bathroom, and an open floor plan kitchen and living room. Well, the living room ended up having a pool table placed in it alongside some armchairs and plants, so it was more of an area for people to hang out than it was your traditional living room space.


    Meanwhile, the smaller inn rooms were studio apartment style with both a kitchen and bedroom shoved into the same space. That was why she made sure to include two separate bathroom areas. They didn''t have anywhere to bathe, but then being cheap tended to mean you had to make sacrifices. It was already good enough that she was supplying a space for them to use the bathroom for free. Even those who didn''t have a room could use those spaces.


    The reception on this floor would be one of the largest she had built yet at 36-Units by 18-Units. It was quite extravagant with all of the fireplaces, rugs, and sitting areas. However, from what Veronica had heard, it wasn''t uncommon for large groups of twenty-plus to traverse a dungeon together when they wanted to go past the tenth floor. She didn''t have space to house so many people on this floor, but she may as well have a space for them to gather. It was good that she''d be able to get patrons for the taverns on upper floors, but she also didn''t want such large groups traveling through her dungeon. It was hardly good news for her and she was afraid of just how much harm they could cause her, even if it was a good business opportunity.


    The rest of the floor was made up of a combo cleaning closet and laundromat, a combo gym and spa, a tavern, a kitchen, and three rentable shops. Despite shoving so many accommodations into the same rooms, she made sure to splash out on decorations. 354 DP was spent to research luxury French furniture in a blue and red color scheme. Brand new potted jasmine plants, armchairs, sofas, barrel desk chairs, dining room chairs, barstools, desks, armoires, rugs, quilts, and marble and glass muse-themed end tables combined to give the floor a high-class atmosphere. It felt like she was in a five-star hotel or something with how big of a difference the furniture made. The best part was that she was still sitting at 309,578 dungeon points.

 2.10 Fifth Floor Challenges

    As it would turn out, mimics in this world weren''t much different from the ones of myth. Their base form very much so resembled the sort of treasure chest one would expect to find in a fantasy world''s dungeons. Having them sitting around in clusters of three in an otherwise large, empty room wasn''t exactly inconspicuous. The haunted mansion theme wasn''t doing them any favors either.


    The walls and floors looked fancy... sort of. The walls were covered in a layer of wallpaper with wood paneling at the bottom. However, it was cracked and peeling in places with cobwebs and dust throughout the room. Meanwhile, the floors were hardwood with some of the floorboards being so old and rotten that they now creaked when walked upon. The place certainly suggested the theme of the floor well enough, even if it still wasn''t exactly ''haunted''. However, it wasn''t exactly a treasure vault or a sunken ship where one might expect to find a large treasure chest just sitting around.


    Veronica would have to put in some work to make the mimics blend in better. Fortunately, the price to research evolutions for [Monsters] was always a flat cost of 250 DP. It would have been painful if the cost had increased as she unlocked new floors. In the end, she decided to go with four different options for her mimics.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Barstool Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and a barstool for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new barstool without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Armchair Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and an armchair for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new armchair without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Sofa Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and a sofa for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new sofa without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Bed Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and a bed for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new bed without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Now that was an interesting development! When it came to goblins, they couldn''t change size, but they were stuck with their class once she evolved them to have one. Meanwhile, her gargoyles could be evolved into a specialty type and then could further be evolved into a larger size, unless the evolution type didn''t have that option, like with her winged monstrosities. However, it would seem the mimics were able to infinitely evolve, but the evolution itself would only ever change its form and wouldn''t help it be better at combat. Well, that wasn''t necessarily true. She had only tried to make a few types, she''d have to experiment more before she''d know for sure.


    For the rooms themselves, she just reused the same furniture she had researched for the lower floors. The first six [Monster] fields were made to alternate between first and second floor decorations with both bedrooms and sitting areas. In order to keep the adventurers on their toes, she made sure to mix up which forms the mimics took in each room. The next six [Monster] field rooms were made to look like pool rooms with bars, gyms, and sitting areas with furniture from the third and fourth floors. It wasn''t like mansions were all bedrooms, after all, but it also wasn''t like she had the luxury to add a ton of variation either. There wasn''t modern technology in this world to make more specialty rooms, the rooms were too large to make them something like a bathroom, and anything better would require her to do further research.


    The last ten rooms were a mix of more bedrooms, dining rooms, and kitchens with furniture from the fourth and fifth floors. Since she hadn''t unlocked the sixth floor yet, there weren''t really a ton of options for where to borrow the themed furniture from. Still, she was fairly certain that this would offer a good mix of different themes for the adventurers to enjoy. Of course, even if they wanted to complain, she was more likely to kill them to care about what they had to say. She was just that tired of people making demands of her and not caring what she thought. Bo and the last group of adventurers she had met had taken enough from her for her to no longer feel generous in that aspect.


    As she had plans to include a kitchen among her challenge rooms, the kitchen mimics were things besides sitting furniture. The second challenge for the floor was called ''haunted kitchen'' and involved the adventurers having to create a random dish from her restaurant''s menu and then consume it. It was unlikely they''d know how to do so, which was already a bonus in her eyes, but that was hardly the most difficult part. First, she added disguised mimics.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Shelf Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and a shelf for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new shelf without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Icebox Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and an icebox for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new icebox without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Wood Stove Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and a wood stove for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new wood stove without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Then, Veronica researched some mislabeled poisons to add to the shelves stocked with ingredients. While she didn''t have things like poisonous mushrooms or specialty poisons brewed by an alchemist, that didn''t mean she couldn''t get creative.  Mislabeled shakers full of powdered daffodil, crested iris, tomato leaves, elderberry root, and peace lily leaves ran her 100 DP each. It was a steep price, but the dungeon was likely compensating for the fact that it wasn''t labeled a [Trap], yet it could easily pose a danger to her enemies.


    It cost her 150 DP to evolve each mimic, so the prices were quickly adding up between the challenge rooms and [Monster] fields. However, it simply couldn''t be avoided, so Veronica just shrugged it off and kept powering through day after day. The floor would take months to complete, but only her mana would increase since there were no non-dungeon entities to visit the dungeon. Still, avoiding spending what she had saved up previously wasn''t helpful.


    The first challenge room for the floor was actually not the kitchen, but a mirror maze. She had previously researched wall mirrors, so it didn''t even require any research to put together. Just stack two mirrors on top of each other to cover the entire wall and fill every wall in sight with mirrors. Without the carnival-style mirrors, the effect wouldn''t be quite as disorienting, but it would still work well enough to confuse adventurers.


    Where the haunted kitchen has a reward of a five-piece stainless steel cookware set, the mirror maze had a folding brush with mirror. During her childhood, the pocket brushes were quite popular. This one was made from boar hair bristles rather than the plastic from modern-day ones, but it was still just as effective. Besides, it seemed funny to offer something with a mirror to adventurers after making them spend so long lost and confused, trapped in a maze of mirrors. As for the cookware set, she already had it researched for her tavern''s kitchens, so it was an easy way to save a bit of DP.


    The last challenge room was called ''deceptive pairs'' and was, essentially, a giant game of memory. It cost 200 DP to research the giant memory match game and then another 250 DP to research card mimics.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Card Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    150 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and a card for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does moderate combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Can take the shape of a new card without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As it turns out, the mimics could become as large or as small as necessary to replicate the original object they were mimicking perfectly. Taking inspiration from the mirror maze''s reward, she researched a set of playing cards for the reward. After setting the challenge rewards and locking all of the doors, she was left with 293,900 DP. Now all she needed to do was make a boss room and she''d be able to focus on the tavern menu. Those were always an exhausting affair to get sorted, but she already had the menu planned out since she had plenty of downtime where she was waiting for her mana to regenerate.


    With the fifth floor, she had unlocked brimstone floor [Traps] as a freebie. They were the perfect addition to a sitting room themed boss room. They were rectangular in shape, just like rugs, so she lined the walls with sofas and plants before adding a square of brimstone floor [Traps] in the center of the room. Finally, she just needed the boss to be sorted out.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Evolution Cost:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Fireplace Mimic


    </td>


    <td>


    300 DP


    </td>


    <td>


    Requires a mimic and a fireplace for it to take the shape of. The object in question will be consumed as part of the evolution process. Does above average combat damage, but lacks intelligence. Due to its form including fire, it can use fire magic as part of its attacks. Can take the shape of a new fireplace without further dungeon point expenditure, but requires a separate evolution to evolve into anything else.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She had to also spend 150 DP to research a giant version of a stone brick fireplace. Since the mimic was just taking the form of the object, she needed a large enough base version for it to steal the form of. There was no way the mimic would be camouflaged in the room, but it wasn''t really necessary in this instance. A boss was meant to pose a threat, not to kill people with cheap shots.


    It was surprising to find out that more powerful mimics were actually possible, but it was even more interesting to see the evolution cost doubled rather than an additional mana cost added. In some ways it was very consistent with the way the other mimics had functioned, but it was simultaneously very different from how every other [Monster] evolution worked. Still, even if she needed to conserve her dungeon points as much as possible, it was still worth it to get a suitably powerful boss [Monster].

 2.11 Fifth Floor Tavern Menu

    Since the fifth floor had a French theme for the inn and tavern, that, of course, meant the tavern menu was French as well. Luckily, much like Italian food, French cuisine was given a lot of importance by her chef instructors. Even the classes that didn''t focus on international cuisine had more than enough to say about the subject. That made creating this menu one of the easiest of the bunch.


    For the light fare, Veronica planned to serve mushroom tarts, cheese souffle, french onion soup, and warm goat cheese salad. The names weren''t particularly spooky, but Veronica felt it was a bit repetitive to use the naming trick on every floor that had a spooky theme. It was unlikely that this would be the last one she would choose since twenty five floors left plenty of room for more. However, that didn''t mean that she wasn''t going to do anything to set the spooky theme.


    The mushroom tarts would normally involve wild mushrooms, garlic, onions, and cheeses in a tart shell. This could easily have the spooky factor upped by adding powdered charcoal to the puff pastry dough and using red onions instead of white or yellow. For the cheese souffle, she had to mix gruyere cheese, butter, flour, milk, eggs, and nutmeg together. Add some red dye to the mix and you all of a sudden have a much less appetizing appetizer without having to change the flavor too much. It wasn''t like everything had to be spooky either, which is why she would be leaving the French onion soup and warm goat cheese salad as they were.


    For the light fare, she had to spend 414 dungeon points to research boxes of puff pastry, bottles of creme fraiche, large jars of gruyere cheese, shakers of ground nutmeg, boxes of baguettes, large jars of goat cheese crumbles, large jars of chestnuts, and magic butane torches. The French onion soup needed the torch for browning the cheese, but it was hardly the only thing on the menu that would require it.


    The hearty fare consisted of potatoes au gratin, cheese ravioli, coq au vin, and chateaubriand. As there wasn''t a convenient way to translate the French names for the dishes and she had been taught the dishes with their official names, she decided to just keep them as they were. The potatoes au gratin and cheese ravioli were the vegetarian options while having both a chicken and beef option for the meat entrees seemed like a good way to go.


    The potato dish required potatoes that were thinly sliced, heavy cream, garlic, butter, nutmeg, and cheese. It would require a good bit of baking to make, so she''d likely have to prepare a large batch at the beginning of the night and then just reheat individual portions in the oven. It was highly unlikely that patrons would want to be waiting around for an hour or more just to receive their meal. Adding some cheese sauce to a squeeze bottle and drawing on a spider web design for each serving before it was sent out to guests was the best she could do to make it spooky.


    The cheese ravioli required a dough made from eggs and flour while the filling was made from gruyere and ricotta cheese with butter and nutmeg for flavor. The ravioli could come pre-made, but she''d still need to cook them to order in some boiling water. Some charcoal powder in the dough and a red sauce on top was easy enough to give it a bloody appearance.


    The coq au vin involved chicken being cooked with wild mushrooms, bacon, red wine, onions, garlic, carrots, and a roux to thicken the sauce. It was a rather hearty dish that required quite a bit of skill to make correctly. However, it wasn''t to be outdone by the chateaubriand, which had to be carefully cooked while wrapped in twine to a perfect medium rare before being thinly sliced. Honestly, it didn''t even need anything to add to the creepy factor as the pink inside, while normalized, was still too similar to the color of flesh to not be creepy.


    Veronica''s instructors had been much like everyone else in the modern day where they insisted that anything but medium rare was a waste of perfectly good meat. They made a point of bringing up that many people would mistake the red drippings as blood, but that it was actually just a mixture of water and a protein known as myoglobin. That didn''t particularly matter to Veronica. She didn''t like the texture of the meat when it wasn''t thoroughly cooked. She liked her steak to be tender and not burnt, but cooked medium well to well done. That was something that most chefs couldn''t manage, so she rarely ever ate steak that she didn''t cook herself.


    The research costs for the hearty fare ended up amounting to 600 DP for a large jar of ricotta cheese, crates of whole chickens, and crates of beef tenderloin. Meat was expensive to research, which was the only reason it was even that high. The desserts were similarly simple to do the research for.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 100 DP to research boxes of chocolate eclairs using the [Base Resources] butter, milk, water, salt, sugar, flour, eggs, chocolate, heavy cream, cornstarch, vanilla, cardboard, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 80 DP to research boxes of creme brulee using the [Base Resources] heavy cream, vanilla, eggs, sugar, clay, white dye, cardboard, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 120 DP to research boxes of opera cakes using the [Base Resources] flour, eggs, sugar, butter, chocolate, heavy cream, coffee, chestnuts, cardboard, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Would you like to spend 120 DP to research boxes of mille-feuille using the [Base Resources] puff pastry, milk, sugar, eggs, flour, cornstarch, vanilla, cardboard, white dye, and black dye?


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Yes


    </td>


    <td>


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    While Veronica now had domvoy to help her in the kitchen, she didn''t exactly want to worry about such difficult desserts. The domvoy had actually proved to be quite skilled in the kitchen and they only had to be shown a recipe a few times in order to know what they were doing. She had already gone back through and re-assigned her [Monsters] on the first through fifth floors to account for her new staff needs. The reception areas had one will-o-wisp each to act as a greeter, the kitchens had two domvoys to act as chefs while one brownie acted as a dishwasher, and then everywhere else got between one and five brownies, depending on what the workload called for.


    She''d still likely have to spend a good bit of time helping out in the kitchens and taverns to ensure everything ran smoothly, but her role would be more of that of a manager than a normal employee. If she had to join in to get the job done, she would, but it wouldn''t be something she had to do every day. Really, that was the sort of job that she had wanted all along. It would be nice to have more time to focus on the dungeon as well since she couldn''t just ignore it if she ever managed to get guests again.


    Finally, there were just the libations left on the menu. Due to the otherwise classy, upscale dining experience, she decided to go with cocktails for all of the alcoholic drinks. The full libations menu included: water, mint tea, cafe au lait, spearmint lemonade, kir royals, vin chauds, St. Germain spritzes, and sidecar cocktails. Luckily, she now had unlocked 250 MP limit spawners for 1,000 DP shortly after unlocking the fifth floor, so she could now have brownies who would act as dedicated bartenders.


    Maybe it was a bit odd to trust her brownies with bartending when she didn''t trust them in the kitchen. However, it was never that they weren''t capable of completing the task. They just had zero experience in the kitchen, so it would have been like teaching children how to be master chefs. It was far too time-consuming. Meanwhile, the domvoys had knowledge about how to work in the kitchen, so it was like teaching an experienced chef how to make the menu for a new restaurant they had just been hired onto. A week or two and they''d know the entire menu. The drinks didn''t require any cooking, just mixing a few different ingredients together and then pouring them into a cup to drink. That much was manageable even for her brownies.


    For the libations, she had to spend 200 DP in order to research large jars of mint tea, wooden ice trays, glass pitchers for the lemonade, bottles of champagne, crates of oranges, bottles of elderflower liqueur, bottles of orange liqueur, and bottles of cognac. Some of the cocktails just required alcohol like any red wine, so she could just reuse what she already had.


    After everything was said and done, she had 290,206 dungeon points remaining. It would seem she had finally dipped below the 300,000 point mark. How long would it be before she''d be below 200,000?

 2.12 The Sixth Floor

    The years continued to pass and Veronica¡¯s mental state continued to be unstable. She had already managed to process much of the trauma and anger she had developed in her initial years in this new world, much less any issues she had in her old world. While some people were strong believers that the only way to move on from and process trauma was to get a professional involved, that wasn¡¯t entirely true. Many problems could immediately be reduced just by removing oneself from the situation. Then you just had to sort out your feelings on the matter and identify any unhealthy habits you may have picked up while trying to cope with the situation. The later half of that wasn¡¯t something that Veronica could particularly help herself with, but she wasn¡¯t exactly eager to change it either.


    As for the first half, she had nothing but time to think and process her feelings. She didn¡¯t have to worry about having nightmares because sleep had been denied to her until the system had been returned to her. Then, now, sleep was just like sinking into a void as there was never anything to dream about and there wasn¡¯t exactly the benefit of recovering energy from it either. It was simply a way to pass the time. So, all she had to do was come to a conclusion about her own feelings and what she wanted to do about it in the future.


    Considering it has now been a few decades since she had last regained access to the system, it was likely that everyone she had known in this world was either dead or had long moved on with their lives. Elves had long lifespans, but there was no way Bluelight Cove City was still standing and adventurers had better things to do than to stick around in a town without an active dungeon. Veronica would have preferred to have overcome the obstacle that Bo represented, but she would have to settle for never having to see him again. As for anyone else, she had been working hard to train every day and the dungeon had been making her stronger with every floor she unlocked. She was now much more confident that she could defend herself and that she wouldn¡¯t be willing to give in so easily next time. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like giving up was an option. The dungeon core had made that more than clear.


    Waving her hand, Veronica accepted the 10,000 DP cost to unlock the sixth floor, bracing herself for the tremors she knew were coming. Now that she was stronger, they didn¡¯t bother her nearly as much as they once had. She knew it was likely that she was merely as strong as a low-ranking adventurer now, but she was hopeful that one day she¡¯d even be able to remain conscious during the strengthening process she underwent each time she unlocked a new floor. After all, twenty five floors was a lot of growth to undergo and what she couldn¡¯t gain from that, she could make up for by learning what she could about using the weapons available in this world.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new skill:


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Skill Name:


    </td>


    <td>


    Info:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tranquil Retreat


    </td>


    <td>


    This crowd-control skill turns the tavern side of the dungeon into a non-combat area with a non-stressful, relaxing environment. Non-dungeon entities who violate the non-combat rule will be banned from the premises permanently.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Surveillance


    </td>


    <td>


    Allows the Dungeon Master to view all areas of the dungeon as if they were looking through a window into the room. Rooms that have been rented out for private use are off-limits to maintain guests'' privacy.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Forecasting


    </td>


    <td>


    System prompts will be delivered to the Dungeon Master at set intervals displaying relevant information about events outside of the dungeon so that they can plan ahead for the resulting effect on the tavern''s traffic.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Logistics


    </td>


    <td>


    Adds a new menu to the [Status Menu] screen that can be used to monitor supply levels, manage staff, and change prices remotely.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She had already decided to get the [Surveillance] skill this time, but she could already see which skill she should get next. Now that she was feeling more clear headed, she wanted to focus more on the future and what would be the best move from a business standpoint rather than just focusing on defending the dungeon without much thought to anything else. With that in mind, she needed to prepare for when the dungeon had high levels of traffic and ensure the entire tower¡¯s worth of taverns and inn rooms could run smoothly. [Surveillance] would be good for security as well as ensure she could better protect herself, but [Logistics] was an essential skill as well. She¡¯d have to get it next time.


    Veronica quickly pulled up the [Status Menu] to look at her new skill.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dungeon Status:


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Mana 63 / 300


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current DP: 290,206


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Floors: 6


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Current Rooms: 125 (25+25+25+25+25+0) | 144 (41+28+23+28+24+0)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Tavern


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Surveillance


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Monsters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Critters


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Construction


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Research


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Missions


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    She had only had a mana cap of 250 DP until she unlocked the sixth floor, but she had already received the day¡¯s mana regen, which was always 25% of the total, so she had 63 MP available. It would be 75 MP now that she had a new mana cap of 300 MP. That would make renovating the dungeon much faster than it had been when she first regained the system, but it still wasn¡¯t as good as it could be.


    Opening the new skill, she saw that everything was further divided into floors, which was then divided into dungeon versus tavern and then a list of the rooms she had. Choosing the first floor reception area, she tried it out. It displayed on the system menu much like it would if she was watching something on a tablet, if said tablet could float in the air and only be viewed by its user. She switched to a few other rooms as well and frowned. The skill would likely come in handy in the future, but right now all it did was remind her how much her dungeon was still lacking.


    Veronica was planning to start coming up with a long-term plan for how to build the dungeon. She already had maps drawn up to base the next few floors on, but they were based on her old philosophy where she felt the need to screw the adventurers over as much as possible. That wasn¡¯t actually good for business, so she needed to start over from scratch and figure out what would be best for encouraging business and meeting her guests¡¯ needs. However, it was likely that would take a few years since she had to base it all off of philosophy and her experiences in her old world. In the meantime, she¡¯d have to build this floor, and likely the next as well, just so she could prepare in case the dungeon became active again.


    It was really unfortunate as it would be difficult to renovate everything after the fact, but it was even worse to let the time and mana go to waste by not using it. She had, of course, been a bit wasteful with it already by creating food and other luxuries for herself, but she had been sparing about it and the cost for the ingredients to make a single meal wasn¡¯t actually that much, nor was the cost for some paper.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Please select a new floor theme:


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Aurora Glade


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Flooded Caverns


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ancient Graveyard


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The last floor, she had used the new mimic [Monsters], so this floor was already slated to be for the kuo-toa. There were two options that could potentially involve water, but the aurora glade wasn¡¯t a guarantee of that the way the flooded caverns were and she really didn¡¯t feel like having to manually add water to every room. Besides, at least caves were likely to be condoned off into separate rooms.


    After undergoing the strengthening process, Veronica immediately got started on setting up the floor. It still required months of time to build everything, but that wasn¡¯t exactly anything new. The dungeon side was in fact dark caves with areas where the land was lower and bodies of water were present. Most of it wasn¡¯t quite deep enough for Veronica to swim under the water, but rather it would come up to her ankles, knees, or even her waist. Luckily, it seemed to be enough to meet the requirements for her new fishmen [Monsters], so she was able to easily set up the rooms on this floor just as she had on the others.


    As she quite liked the setup for the dungeon, this floor mirrored the layout of the second and fourth floors. The boss room was on one end and there were three challenge rooms periodically placed throughout the floor. All of the [Monster] fields were left empty with nothing but the basic stone and water in the room. While it would be good to add resources and [Critters] to the room, sooner or later, it wasn¡¯t exactly something Veronica was in a rush to invest in. That could wait until the dungeon was active again and she had the mana to invest in such things. All she cared about was the tavern side and having a functional dungeon to provide what little protection it could. She was hardly going to depend on it, much preferring to depend on herself in all things.


    The only room size that needed to be researched this time around was an 11¨CUnits by 19-Units rectangular room, which cost her 60 DP. All of the inn rooms were 18-Units by 18-Units square single rooms. One side of the inn had rooms for a laundromat, gym, training room, spa, public bathrooms, a cleaning closet, and the reception. Meanwhile, the tavern and kitchen were placed towards the middle and were side by side at a slightly smaller size than the inn rooms themselves were. Honestly, it was a bit silly to have two public bathrooms only to have only two tables and a handful of barstools for seating in the tavern. Even if every inn room had its own kitchen, it just wasn¡¯t a very good setup. However, none of that really mattered. Right now she was just getting a feel for things and figuring out what she liked and disliked, she¡¯d have to redo most of the floors when she made up her mind anyway. Luckily that was even an option, it would be a shame if she had to live with all of her mistakes for all of eternity and couldn¡¯t experiment like this.


    For the new furniture, Violet went with Mediterranean inspired pieces. Lots of arabesque designs that used flowers, foliage, and intricate patterns alongside a mostly orange and white color scheme. An orange sectional sofa, white armchair, a coffee table, a wardrobe, an end table, a rug, a quilt, orange silk sheets, potted rosemary, and a painting of Greek food ran her 330 DP in research costs. The designs were quite pretty and the rosemary smelled nice. At least the furniture would be reusable when she renovated. She could easily move all the furniture to one room, remove the rooms she didn¡¯t want, add the rooms she did, and then move the furniture into their new spots before creating new furniture to fill in the gaps. It would certainly save her on mana costs.