2 hours and 15 minutes had passed since the mouseboy and rhinogirl had left the Dungeon. Normally a new Party enters immediately after the 2 hours have passed. What has changed this time? Well obviously, that would be the killing, but all Dungeons kill so it can't be on my end… Can it?
Maybe it was the sudden attack when bearboy's karma level dropped to 10%? Yeah. That probably confused them. I can only hope they get over it.
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It only took another couple of minutes before the next Party entered. This Party had two mice and two cats in it instead of it being all different beastkin types. Weird…
Hmm… Every Party has had completely new people in it each time. Clearly this is due to everyone or at least a large part of their Tribe being level 9+ and needing Breakthrough Orbs. The loot is only their secondary goal and the EXP gain is low compared to their level. The Chief likely ordered the first many Parties to have balanced groups or something but has now revoked the order.
Ohh! And that likely caused the delay as everyone now found new Parties with their friends in it!
But what made him retrieve the order? Hearing that I only attack in self-defense perhaps? But wasn't that already obvious?
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You have leveled up! You are now level 7! Fledgling karmic neurotoxic dragon pattern obtained. You can now create creatures of level 7. You can now make your 4th Floor.
Status.
Personal Status Level: 7 EXP needed for level up: 1,550/1,550 Additional EXP: 2,460 Mana payment needed for level up: 0/400 Mana: 0/400 Mana regeneration: 80 per hour Floors: 1/4 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: 6 Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules
… I already have enough EXP to level up both this time and the next. And I just leveled up too… Crazy thought. Killing really is the bread and butter of Dungeons! No sooner had I thought that did a window pop up.
Achievement tier up: Careful Preparation (III): You have decided to prepare your Dungeon some more before going to the next step. Condition: Wait at least 1 day before opening your Dungeon after the option has appeared or wait at least 1 day after getting access to a new Floor before making it. Do some combination of this 3 times. Reward: An extra 15% mana regeneration and the Ability to use the next mana payment for level ups as a Mana Bank.
You have gotten an Achievement tier up while having 1 passive Achievement. Do you wish to change which Achievement is passive?
… Right. It's been a day since I became level 5. What's my mana regeneration on now?
Personal Status Level: 7 EXP needed for level up: 1,550/1,550 Additional EXP: 2,460 Mana payment needed for level up: 0/400 Mana: 0.5/400 Mana regeneration: 100 per hour Floors: 1/4 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: 6 Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules
That… is… brilliant!
You have gotten an Achievement tier up while having 1 passive Achievement. Do you wish to change which Achievement is passive?
Right, I forgot to answer. No, thank you. I want to keep it as is.
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The 3rd Party of the day had come and gone and after having spent 36 minutes planning my 2nd Floor, I leveled up again.
You have leveled up! You are now level 8! Fledgling karmic feathered serpent pattern obtained. You can now create creatures of level 8.
Status.
Personal Status Level: 8 EXP needed for level up: 1,900/1,900 Additional EXP: 1,266 Mana payment needed for level up: 0/450 Mana: 0/450 Mana regeneration: 112.5 per hour Floors: 1/4 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: 6 Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules
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The 4th Party of the day only had two new faces. The rest were people who hadn't managed to tier up when they were here last. That must mean we're at the end of the rush to get Breakthrough Orbs! But what does that mean for me? Won't they need me any more…?
I still have fruits and berries! And… and loot! Color-changing leather!
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Yeah, I'll still be used some. Though likely not as much. And that's okay with me. I have several Floors to make before I'll really need more EXP anyway.
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The 5th and last Party of the day had 5 recurring guests who hadn't tiered up - including the mouseboy from the Party where half the Party died - and one entirely new person. A catgirl.
I gathered from the chatter, that the catlady was in the early stages of pregnancy and was only allowed to come due to the peaceful nature of my Dungeon. Apparently, all the other pregnant ladies were further along and had decided to tier up after giving birth.
I should probably stop calling everyone boys and girls when only adults can enter me…
…Nahh…
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Achievement tier up: Making the World a Better Place (III): You have made the people around you into better versions of themselves, thus making the world a better place. Keep doing it. Condition: You have at one point successfully made the karma levels of other sapients rise 50 times in net total. Reward: 120% Charisma. You now earn 50 EXP per karma level you rise in others in net total. This is retroactive. [You do not have a Charisma Score. 120% Charisma changed to 20% discount on karma creatures.]
You have gotten an Achievement tier up while having 1 passive Achievement. Do you wish to change which Achievement is passive?
No, thank you. I'm good.
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Shortly after the last Party had left for the day - everyone had successfully tiered up - I acquired the mana necessary for level up.
You have leveled up! You are now level 9! Longma pattern obtained. You can now create creatures of level 9. You can now make your 5th Floor.
Status.
Personal Status Level: 9 EXP needed for level up: 1,794/2,400 Mana payment needed for level up: 0/500 Mana: 0/500 Mana regeneration: 125 per hour Floors: 1/5 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: 6 Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules
So. Tonight's plan…
The traps aren't doing it for me. They slow the good people down who they aren't intended for. A good trap has to be unknown until it's sprung! Hmm… I should make a Dungeon Rule for that.
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New Dungeon Rule: Karma Traps: The traps of this Dungeon can only be triggered by sapients with a karma level of 25% or lower. Additionally, traps do 150% damage to those with 25% or lower and are harder for them to spot.
The first part of the Rule had been simple. The high level of extra damage was what made the Rule expensive. It's a one-time expense though. So it's definitely worth it!
After that, I made the remaining traps for the 1st Floor. And done! Or should I add another rule before I start on the 2nd Floor…
In the hopes of getting some forewarning about higher tier people - specifically the evil kind - I decided to add another Rule first.
New Dungeon Rule: Identify Identity: Everyone can see the name, species, class, and level of everyone in their sight while inside your Dungeon. Only while using a Skill or Ability to hide is anyone exempt from being identified or able to fake their identity. Said Skill or Ability have to be of the same tier or higher than the Dungeon Core or happen with the Dungeon Core's approval.
… So the Parties can see the species and level of my creatures then? That wasn't intended but I also don't really mind. Wait! Does my mimicking dragonet use a Skill while hiding? It looked like a dragonet at the moment and had the words ‘Karmic mimicking dragonet’ and ‘level 2’ hanging translucent over its head. Hide. As it mimicked the nearest tree branch the words disappeared. Good. You can stop hiding.
What about the Kindness puzzle? The puzzle was meant to mimic an actual creature of mine and so did indeed fake a floating label. My Dungeon senses told me it was a faked label though. I wonder if others will be able to tell that it's a fake dragonet this way… Or maybe they'll think it's a shapeshifter or something.
Now then. 2nd Floor. Anything I need to know about making a 2nd Floor before I start?
When making a new Floor, the Dungeon first builds stairs leading up or down from the back of the Core Room. Whether the direction is up or down is decided before making the 2nd Floor and can't be changed later. The Dungeon then creates all the rooms allowed for the Floor tier. The Core Room will stay between the two Floors, keeping the two parts connected, while the Dungeon Core is creating a new Floor. When a new Floor is done the Core Room moves to the end of the new Floor leaving a Safezone behind.
Safezone?
A Safezone is the last room of a Floor which is not a Dungeon's last Floor and the first room of all Floors except the 1st Floor. Safezones are also known as the Dungeon Stairs. Safezones cannot contain creatures, puzzles, or traps. As such many sapients use Safezones to take a break before going deeper into a Dungeon.
Hmm… I'll see if I can spice this Safezone up a bit when I come to it.
So… What's my total creature level for the 2nd Floor?
Floor Details for the 2nd Floor
0/210 levels worth of creatures
0/2 puzzles
0/15 traps
Creatures Puzzles Traps
What? That's-! Uh right. The level average of the Floor is meant to be higher than that of the 1st Floor. So while it looks like I can have many more creatures, in actuality I really can't. The creatures will simply have a higher level instead.
Or… well… I still could if I wanted to make all my creatures level 1. But seeing how easily the evil bearboy and his henchmen killed my creatures, I don't think the answer lies in numbers.
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I had dug half the 2nd Floor by the time dawn arrived.
On the dot, the moment the timer had completed a Party of 6 walked into my Dungeon. That's more punctual than usual… Maybe they're more excited? I didn't recognize any of them.
Over each person's head stood their name, species, class, and level. The first would only interest me should they come back and the second was obvious to see. It is kind of nice, being able to see what they call their own… species? Races?
The beastkin species have 6 different races. Each beastkin race contains features from a different animal and are naturally a bit better at a specific Ability Score.
Races then.
Their classes all read 'Commoner' and their levels were between level 5 and 8. Clearly these are the young adults of the Tribe. So, they must have run out of level 9+'s.
Being the first to enter since the 'Identify Identity' Rule had been implemented they had to stop and point, first at each other, and then each time a new creature of mine showed up. They were disappointed that the traps no longer activated. The Dart trap in The Trap Corridor confused them as they could clearly see it was there. The holes on the walls were still visible. Which had always been a part of my plan for luring people into thinking all my traps were that visible.
The rest of their trip through my Dungeon went without anything interesting happening.
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Nerok had called for a meeting that morning while the young adults were inside the Dungeon.
"The Tribe needs one or more Parties to make daily trips into the Dungeon to gather loot!" Nerok started the meeting. "Should we try to only gather food - such as through hunting and harvesting - from the forest out here we'll exhaust our resources too quickly! Fall is not the best time to plant and sow, but more importantly, we lack the seeds to try!"
Giving the Tribe some time to let it sink in, Nerok paused and looked around at his Tribe. "As our previous trips into the Dungeon have made us mostly equipped, we would only need to have about two runs through the Dungeon a day! More, however, is always welcome! I'll give you all some time to talk it through with your Party." Nerok walked off to the side as people started locating their Party and discussing it with them.