"[Nurture (Epic) 109 - 110]

I sighed as I used another concentrated dose of swamp poison to further push Nurture to a higher level, earning twenty more points in the process. However, that was not the only thing I gained. As the proficiency of my Nurture skill passed one hundred, it experienced a qualitative improvement, allowing me to choose between growth and other options like better fruit yield, stronger structure, and other features.

It was not helpful for the task next in line, which was to create a path of trees toward the possible direction of the fifth floor that would also function as a mining path, but eventually, it would be useful.

There was never any harm in more utility.

My process of exploration was direct. First, I created a huge mining cart, and temporarily added a simple lever so I could use it directly. Ultimately, I wanted to add a steam engine to make it easier to pull, but that could be delayed until it was necessary.

Then, I forged a huge number of railway tracks, which was easier to do once I created a casting system similar to the one I had used for the arrows. The Epic grade Forging skill allowed me to handle it even faster thanks to the increased mana control.

A realization hit me. "I don't actually need to create trees all along the path, do I?" I said excitedly. All I needed was to bury those tracks under the swamp, which would allow me to find it without creating a giant path of trees that would be visible.

That didn't mean the effort I had put into Nurture was useless, as I still needed the roots of the trees to solidify the ground under the tracks enough that my tracks wouldn't simply sink down, not to mention keeping the insects away was a critical step while I used the steam engine when I eventually brought the base to its new location.

Not to mention, considering the number of times I had to go back and forth, running without worrying about monsters would be useful.

However, It also meant that, once that was complete, I could cut the trees to prevent the others from easily discovering my new base. It was particularly important since I had managed to turn the other guilds into a potential enemy when I refused their offer to establish a cartel.

Once preparations were done, I finally started moving away from the dungeon gate, laying a new railroad, with two layers of trees on each side of the path, with Epic Nurture allowing me to raise these trees in seconds.

As I moved deeper, I was also doing two additional things. Every time I laid a track, I checked the ground for iron ore. I had discovered a few deposits with five percent purity, but I just marked them before moving forward instead of excavating them. I was hoping for a higher purity.

At the same time, after every ten rails, I crushed several shells in the separator, then, released the tainted energy, triggering yet another monster swarm. That way, I was able to check the monster density and direction, which allowed me to adjust the route slightly, always going toward the direction where the monsters were the thickest.

As an added benefit, I was able to test my newest spear. It was amazing. Be it Mana or Health attacks, all flowed smoothly, allowing me to kill even the giant insects from a distance with one blow.

"I need to forge a whole set for myself," I said. I was thinking of not only weapons, but also a thick full-plate armor set that increased my safety factor significantly. "No, two sets," I added as I realized that I still needed to wear my old armor outside. I could modify the inner layer of the armor, but the outer layer had to stay the same.

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I could probably get away with one sword as long as I made it look identical to the looted sword I carried with me.

Just like that, I found myself lost in another routine, and a week passed, where I split my attention between exploring the dungeon deeper, forging myself a new set, and repeatedly visiting the first two floors to keep an eye on my growing guild and make some preparations for some unfortunate eventualities.

The exploration part was a modest success. Since the fourth day, I was getting attacked by the flying insects at an increasing frequency, which gave me the hope that I was going in the right direction. Unfortunately, considering my process of exploration required me to constantly lay down rails, it was slower than I'd have preferred.

For that reason, when I discovered a new iron deposit near the railroad I was creating, I created a simple steam engine to move my old base. The move took less than I expected for a simple reason: While I carried the forging equipment and other sensitive items, I left most of the iron behind.

I used that iron to create an underground chamber filled with various weapons, from iron javelins to a sealed iron tunnel with several half-complete traps that required a touch of Mana to be completed. It was a good mixture of an escape tunnel, a safe house, and an underground fortress that I could use defensively.

Having near-unlimited anti-corrosive steel was useful for more than one purpose.

The concept was nice enough that I built another underground base on the third floor, but kept the entrance buried, just in case I had to deal with assassins again.

Of course, while working on all of that, I had constantly visited the outposts, and even started sleeping at the fort on the second floor. At the surface, it looked like overconfidence, as a dungeon could be a dangerous place, but for me, it was much safer than the town, especially since the first version of the guild building was already complete, and I didn't have an excuse to sleep at the headquarters without raising some problematic questions.

Not to mention, we didn't have enough people to defend both locations, so prioritizing the dungeon was the obvious decision.

However, what took the most time was forging my new equipment that was based on the new capabilities of my Epic skill. It took a week for me to create a full set of armor, modify the other one that I was wearing outside, and create three weapons. The hammer, in particular, took a lot of time due to it requiring a lot of metal, but considering how important the hammer was to deliver a devastating amount of damage to any insect I might face on the fifth floor that might be armored enough to shrug off my other attacks, I didn't want to take a risk.

I liked my new weapons. Unfortunately, while that intense session of forging took almost half of my time, it only contributed five points to my Mana Forge skill, which was absolutely glacial compared to my old progress.

On the other hand, my Epic Nurture was growing leaps and bounds. It was already nearing a hundred and ninety, which was significant progress considering its nature as an Epic skill. The poison distillation setup I had was working well enough.

I was already working on the design of a second one, though this time, I would probably integrate a better filtration mechanism, and a more decent centrifuge, aiming for at least ten thousand RPM.

The last thing I did was to practice the Floating Step despite my distaste for flying, as the deeper I went into the dungeon, the more critical my traveling time was getting. Luckily, I had found a workaround when I was working on my metal safe houses. As long as I practiced it in an enclosed space, the Floating Step kept me from flying upward.

It resulted in some very painful collisions, but that pain was much better than actually floating into the sky like a balloon with a snapped string. I was yet to make as much progress as I had wished, but even with limited gains, I was able to make the Fleeting Step faster.

It was worthwhile as the distance I needed to travel across the fourth floor increased more and more.

"Too many things to do —" I started to complain, only to freeze when I met a very welcome view. A sudden, glowing gate, right into my vision.

The fifth floor.

While it was an exciting prospect, I didn't rush immediately. I started by surrounding the gate with five rings of trees, just in case there was a nasty surprise waiting for me on the fifth floor.

One that followed me.

However, that was not the extent of my preparation. On the railroad, I had been dragging a large cart that was filled with iron tracks. With my tools, turning the remaining iron into some kind of war wagon that was covered with iron spikes was not a difficult task.

I could use that war wagon as cover, a platform to climb on, or even a safe box if necessary.

I pushed the box, and followed in.