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The second day of Dungeon Dives.

Wil watched in satisfaction as the first group of Adventurers entered his new Ore room, and looked around in wonder. Though, he now figured that name was a bit out of date.

How about... Snake room? No. Jungle room? Too on the nose.

He hadn't been very creative in the naming of his other rooms. He shot a momentary glance at his Flower room, and cringed inwardly. It was too late now though, so he would live with his choices.

Ah, whatever, the Adventurers can name it for me.

Thinking of names, he felt a brief moment of panic. "Belle! Did we ever name the Lurker? Do we have to name him?" He yelled towards her.

He had startled her while she was eavesdropping on the Adventurers, and she let out a squeak. "Stop that! I can hear you, without you yelling, Rockhead!"

She collected herself, then continued. "We can name him, but we don't have to. It's similar to how Sol was. They don't need a name, but I'm sure they would appreciate it. Did you have one in mind?"

"Well... no."

"Why not wait to see what the Adventurers name him? Two-legs have been known to have good ideas in the past, as crazy as it sounds.

He mentally shrugged. If the Two-legs could think of something good, then he had no qualms about stealing their ideas for his own. He turned his attention back to the upgraded Ore room, and listened in on the Adventurers conversation.

"...different than what we were told. Why is there a fucking jungle in here? All the other groups reported a small room with grass. Maybe we should just cut out losses, and come back another day." The man with his gut peaking out of his armor grumbled.

"I see Copper, as well as some Silver farther in. The objective hasn't changed, we promised the Smith some materials, so, let's get to work." A short one said. He recognized it as a Dwarf, but this one had no fur on their face. So, he assumed it was a female. 

Makes sense to me.

The Dwarf, now determined to be female, moved further into the room. Her three companions followed behind; weapons drawn. He watched in fascination as the Dwarf, along with a bizarrely dressed Human, pulled out pickaxes. The strangely dressed Two-legs was wearing a large fur coat that covered their entire body. It made them look more like a Beast, than a Human.

Soon, the Dungeon was ringing with the sound of their strikes against the stone, creating a melody that echoed throughout the rooms.

Chunks of Ore flew off the walls after every swing, and it unnerved him how easily the Two-legs were breaking apart his Dungeon. Belle assured him this was normal, though. According to her, the Two-legs had skills that let them accomplish these strange feats. He imagined it was similar to how his Levels worked.

Just looking at the group, and the two members who were very clearly unprepared for a fight, made Wil feel guilty. If only a little. He didn't want his new Mini-Boss to slaughter a helpless group of Two-legs, at least not this time. So, he turned his attention towards the Lurker. In the time it took for the Adventurers to start mining, his Mini-Boss was already waiting above them. The sight of the 10ft long snake poised to strike the unsuspecting Two-legs was intimidating, he was tempted to let him attack just to see how he he fared.

The light of the room refracted off of his scales, blending him into the vines it rested upon. He felt a surge of pride at how easily his Mini-Boss could have devastated the group of Adventurers, and the determination he saw in the Lurkers golden eyes. They weren't as striking as Grizzly's, but still showed unnatural intelligence. With a heavy heart, he focused his attention to the new Mini-Boss.

"Lurker. Don't attack any Two-legs that come to mine in the Dungeon. Unless they attempt to leave the room to progress further in the Dungeon, leave them in peace while they gather the ore. If you feel like you are in danger, you may attack. If not, don't fight." Before the Monsters evolution, he would have been skeptical that the Serpent would understand. Now, though, he knew the Lurker would obey his orders to the letter.

A small nod, followed by a low hiss, and he started moving further into the room. Sadly, the Adventurers noticed the movement. The Lurker didn't even look down as he slithered from one vine to the other, moving from tree to tree across the room. All four watched quietly as a beast capable of swallowing them whole abandoned its hiding place above them. 

The Two-legs with the protruding gut made an audible gulp, and tightened his grip on the weapon in his hand. 

"Why don't you two pick up the pace..." He whispered to the miners.

Both nodded furiously, and began striking the stone with renewed vigor. In their mad scramble to be done as quickly as possible, one of the Miners uncovered a small gem.

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

The small Ruby couldn't have been larger than the fingernail of one of the Humans, but all four cheered at the find. Their earlier fear was washed away by what Wil considered, at best, an interestingly colored rock.

Belle just giggled at them from her spot in the room. She was invisible to the Adventurers, but she could see them just fine. Laying on her back on the top of a fallen leaf, she floated across the pools of water in the room, relaxing. 

"Why are they so excited?" He asked her.

She closed her eyes, relaxing in the warm light of the room, and shrugged. "To the Two-legs, the shinier the better. I think they can make some fancy Utility Items with them, but a gem of that quality wouldn't make anything very powerful. I think they just like collecting them to show off."

Two-legs are so weird. Why would they bother showing off their wealth, when he could just make more for them? With a thought, he could make more money than most of the Adventurers had ever seen in their whole life. He would never do that, but he could if he wanted. 

I could probably trap a few of them with piles of money... Save that idea for later.

During his free time, he enjoyed implementing whatever ideas he had come up with over the course of the week. The Antique Shop was well under way, but he knew he needed to wait until the Adventurers had grown stronger. 

If he started implementing everything he had in mind, he knew most of the Adventurers that came into his Dungeon would never leave. So he would hold back, for now.

Another shiver ran throughout the Dungeon, and he was surprised to see another group of Adventurers. 

"Why are two groups in here? That disgusting Human specifically said he would send one group at a time." He berated himself for ever trusting the word of a Two-legs.

"Don't worry Sweetheart, this is normal. There's no reason for that group to wait a few hours for the people that are mining to finish. So, they are going to go past them, and attempt to complete the Dungeon. I don't recognize who this Party is, so it must be their first Dungeon Dive. How unfortunate, for them." She smirked. He understood why.

His excitement was growing, as he felt no reason to keep the Lurker at bay for this next group. He settled in for what was shaping to be a very entertaining day. He sent one final command to the Monster before watching the spectacle.

"Lurker, make us proud!" He shouted, and the Mini-Boss seemed to shiver in anticipation.

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Inside the Guild Officer's room of the Adventuring Guild Outpost in town.

 Brian stared at the lone paper sitting on his desk, and heaved a sigh of relief. It was the last document relating to the death of Tannis, and then he would finally be free.

For the last twenty-four hours, he had been doing nothing but paperwork. He had only left once, and it was to go home and sleep. At least, until that idiotic fight broke out. He had been ready to bar both groups from ever setting foot in the Dungeon, but he knew that would have been foolish.

If he ostracized a large group of Nobles, and one of the strongest Parties, it would only come back to haunt him. So, he let them off with a hefty fine. It probably wouldn't take much to repair the damage in the road, thanks to Joy, but they didn't need to know that.

Putting his signature on the final document, he leaned back with a sigh. The chair under him groaned from the pressure, and he cracked a small smile.

It would take something drastic to ruin his mood, now that he was finally free. 

"Sir, something drastic has happened in the Dungeon." Alvin, his assistant, says after entering the room.

He was a small Elven child, and served him in ways similar to a secretary. 

He shot a glare towards the kid, but the Elf didn't even flinch. Most children ran the moment Brian looked at them, but Alvin couldn't have cared less.

"Dammit." He grumbled to himself.

"Go ahead, report." He said with a dismissive hand wave. 

What the hell did this Dungeon do now? He thought bitterly. If he found out another Elf noble died trying to play Hero, he was going to level the building.

"Sir. The first room has changed structure, and is now believed to be the home of a Mini-Boss. Several Parties have entered the Dungeon today, and most were unable to progress past the first room. Those that did defeat the Mini-Boss sustained wounds serious enough to force them to return." Alvin looked to him, and he motioned for him to continue.

"The groups that have gone in to mine Ore have all reported leaving without being attacked. It is believed that the Monster only strikes if a Party attempts to enter the connecting tunnel to the next room." He finished with a small nod to show he was done speaking.

Always so proper. This kid needs to learn to be... a kid.

"What changes occurred, exactly?" He asked, steepling his fingers under his chin.

"The room has transformed into a miniature forest, similar to that of the Kallin Jungle in the East. The Mini-Boss is a large snake, inspections by the Adventurers revealed it to be a Devious Lurker. It has proven to be very formidable, and possesses unique strategies when fighting." 

That Serpent evolved, huh? 

He remembered all too well how close that Monster had come to landing a hit on him. It would have done negligible damage, but the idea of being caught unaware by a first floor Monster was shameful.

He thought back to the Serpent, then to his Quest, and felt his hopes rise. He furiously crushed them back down, it wouldn't do to get impatient. He would wait, and see. If the Lurker progressed far enough, he may have to pay the Monster a visit.

Alvin gazed at him, his azure eyes unblinking as he waited for the next order.

"Stop staring, kid. Go outside, and play with the other children. When I need you, I will call." He said, pointing towards the door in the back of the room.

A small nod, and the Elven child left the room.

Once he was sure the kid had left, he slammed his fist into the wall besides him. Recently placed bricks crumbled under his fist, and he now had a small window facing the outside street. Some of the townsfolk looked up at him, but quickly shuffled away after seeing the look in his eyes.

He knew exactly what this development in the Dungeon meant. 

More. Fucking. Paperwork.

Closing his eyes, he exhaled through his nose. Before he could start taking the statements of the Adventurers who fought the Lurker, he had a letter to send. The Guildmaster would want to know about this Dungeon, and its unusually quick growth.

His final thoughts before going back to work were of his family. His wife was probably relaxing in their house, working on some new recipe for him to try. His daughter, well, she was probably drunk by now. 

One last sigh, and he started writing.