When the rumbling ceased, Adrian took a moment to assess his surroundings. His core chamber had expanded significantly, no longer a hollow, lifeless husk. The tree now appeared alive, its bark gleaming faintly with bio-luminescence. Fleshy growths adorned the walls, pulsing faintly as if mirroring his own heartbeat. The transformation was clear: this was no longer just a tree; it was an extension of him, a true symbol of his growth.

As Adrian glanced outside through his lone oculnid perched near the entrance, he noted an entirely new environment. The swampy ground was now darker, interspersed with glowing moss and the occasional darting light of luminous insects. The air was dense with humidity, yet there was something more—a faint, almost electric charge that tingled within the range of his sensory network.

Before he could explore further, a System Notification appeared:

Level up successful.

Dungeon floor added.

Overall theme: Subterranean Swamp Tunnels.

New skill acquired: Spawn Organ.

New organ unlocked: Mutation Chamber. Cost 500 Bio-Matter

New monster available: Venomwing Striker. Cost 10 Bio-Matter

Bio-Matter maximum storage upgraded.

Adrian absorbed the information with interest. A second floor… a mutation chamber… new monsters, upgraded Bio-Matter storage. His options were expanding rapidly, and with them, his opportunities to grow stronger. However, as he checked his bio-matter reserves, a flicker of irritation crossed his thoughts.

Bio-Matter: 7/2000.

The system’s level-up had drained him nearly dry. He would have to wait for the ecosystem to refill his reserves before he could spawn anything substantial. Adventurers had just left the dungeon; it would be some time before new ones arrived. That meant his options for biomass replenishment were limited.

Adrian turned his focus to the Mutation Chamber. The organ stood nestled against one wall of the hollow tree, resembling a veined pod with pulsating sacs of glowing bio-matter. It exuded an aura of potential, though its uses would have to wait until his reserves were replenished.

“Lucy! Chomp!” Adrian called out through their mental link. The two, who had been curiously examining the changes to the chamber, froze mid-investigation.

“What is it?” Lucy asked, her small form tilting her head as she tried to comprehend the changes around her.

“I need the two of you to explore the new floor. My reserves are low, and I can’t create oculnids to scout yet. You’ll need to be my eyes.”

Chomp’s tail wagged with excitement, his natural curiosity driving his eagerness to see what lay below. Lucy, on the other hand, hesitated. “What if there’s something dangerous down there?”

Adrian’s voice carried a reassuring tone. “That’s why I’m sending the two of you together. Chomp, you’re quick and can fight. Lucy, your presence seems to calm the dungeon creatures. The first floor’s monsters didn’t attack you, and I suspect it will be the same below. Stay cautious, and don’t go too far until I can see through my oculnids.”

Reluctantly, Lucy nodded. “Fine. But you better keep an eye on us once you can.”

Adrian would have smiled if he still had a face. “Of course. Now, go.”

The two set out, descending through a newly formed tunnel that spiraled downward. The walls were slick with a mix of mud and bio-luminescent moss, casting an eerie glow. Chomp ducked down, his nose twitching as he sniffed at the unfamiliar air, while Lucy took her usual place on his back, her eyes darting nervously.

Adrian, left alone in his chamber, turned his thoughts inward. His dungeon had expanded, but the challenges it presented would need careful planning. For now, he would let the second floor grow naturally, using the time to strategize and prepare.

As he waited, he felt the faint tremors of life in the tunnels below. Creatures were already adapting to the new environment, their movements faint but discernible through his senses. There was time to observe, plan, and grow stronger.

For now, Adrian could only wait and get some collectors down there.

Lucy adjusted her grip on Chomp’s back as they began their descent into the tunnels below. The spiraling path was slick with mud and veined with glowing moss, casting a faint, greenish hue across the walls. Every step Chomp took was deliberate, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed at the unfamiliar air. Lucy’s wide eyes darted nervously, scanning the shadows for signs of danger.

“It’s so... quiet,” she murmured, gripping a clump of fur on Chomp’s back. “Almost too quiet.”

Chomp let out a soft growl, not of alarm but agreement. The air carried a damp, earthy scent mingled with something alien—a hint of decay and life intertwined. Small glowing insects flitted between the moss, their lights dancing like tiny stars. They passed the first small chamber, its walls lined with fungi that seemed to sway subtly, though there was no breeze.

His words reassured her, but the unease of the new floor lingered. This wasn’t just a dungeon anymore; it felt like an entirely different world.

As they emerged from the tunnel into a massive cavern, Lucy let out an audible gasp. Towering mushrooms formed a sprawling forest, their caps as large as the canopies of trees. Bioluminescent veins ran along their trunks, pulsing faintly with light that changed hues—from soft blues to warm oranges—casting an ethereal glow across the cavern. Sporadic beams of sunlight filtered through cracks in the rocky ceiling far above, blending natural light with the mushrooms’ otherworldly luminescence.

“It’s beautiful,” Lucy whispered, her earlier tension momentarily forgotten.

Chomp sniffed the air, his tail wagging slightly. He crouched low, moving carefully through the dense fungal undergrowth, his paws squelching softly in the swampy ground. Lucy held on tightly, her gaze shifting between the enormous mushrooms and the movement in the distance.

That’s when they saw them.

A small herd of deer-creatures grazed near the base of a particularly large mushroom. Their skeletal heads and parasitic growths gave them a grotesque appearance, but their movements were eerily graceful. Tendrils of fungal growth wrapped around their limbs and spines, intertwining with their bodies in a seamless, symbiotic relationship.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“They look... dead,” Lucy said, her voice tinged with both awe and fear. “But they’re moving.”

The deer-creatures didn’t seem to notice Lucy and Chomp at first, their focus entirely on the glowing moss and smaller mushrooms scattered across the ground. Then, Lucy spotted something else—something different. Among the herd, two upright figures stood out.

They were taller than the deer-creatures, their skeletal heads identical but their posture unmistakably humanoid. One appeared female, with glowing eyes that flickered faintly in its hollow sockets, while the other, clearly male, watched the pair closely. Their thin, almost skeletal frames were draped in ragged scraps of fabric, and parasitic tendrils coiled around their limbs like adornments.

“What are they?” Lucy whispered, her grip tightening on Chomp.

The two humanoid figures, Wendren as they would later be called, made no move to attack. Instead, they observed Lucy and Chomp with a mixture of caution and curiosity. When Chomp took a hesitant step closer, the Wendren retreated, blending seamlessly into the herd of deer-creatures. The entire group moved as one, disappearing deeper into the forest.

“They’re watching us,” Lucy said, her voice shaky.

Moving cautiously, Lucy and Chomp continued their exploration. Smaller caverns branched off the main tunnels, each one unique in its features. One chamber caught their attention with its shimmering walls and faintly acrid scent.

As they entered, Lucy’s eyes widened at the sight. Crystals grew in jagged formations around a small lake of faintly glowing green acid. The air stung faintly, and Chomp growled softly, his instincts warning him of the danger.

The crystals reflected the light in dazzling patterns, their sharp edges appearing almost alive. Small amphibians, their skin slick and translucent, hopped between the formations, seemingly unaffected by the acidic environment. Lucy watched in fascination as one of the creatures dipped into the lake, emerging moments later unharmed.

“We shouldn’t stay here long,” she muttered, the acidic smell making her throat burn slightly.

Chomp snorted in agreement, taking a step back toward the tunnel. As they retreated, Lucy glanced over her shoulder, her curiosity lingering on the strange beauty of the acid crystals.

Adrian:

When Lucy and Chomp finally returned to the hollow tree, they were both exhausted but exhilarated. Adrian’s voice greeted them immediately. “You’re back. Good. What did you find?”

Lucy slid off Chomp’s back, her legs shaky. “We saw... so much. A forest of mushrooms. Strange animals. And... those humanoid things.”

Chomp let out a low growl, his tail wagging tiredly.

“They didn’t attack us,” Lucy added quickly. “But they were watching. Closely.”

Adrian processed the information in silence for a moment. “You’ve done well. This new floor... it’s more than I expected. There’s potential here. Thank you.”

Lucy and Chomp exchanged a glance, their bond stronger than ever after their shared journey. As Adrian began planning his next moves, the two settled into a corner of the chamber, eager to rest after their adventure.

Adrian’s senses stretched through his dungeon, his focus divided between the bustling ecosystem of the first floor and the unexplored mysteries of the second. His oculnids had only begun scouting the new cavern systems. The first chamber they entered was vast, dominated by mushroom trees whose caps formed a canopy glowing with bio-luminescence. Among the scurrying animals, his attention snagged on the strange humanoid deer creatures.

Adrian examined them with scientific curiosity. These beings moved with deliberate grace, their skeletal faces unsettling yet oddly captivating. Unlike the other creatures, these seemed… different. Intelligent? Perhaps. They didn’t interact with the other animals but observed them, almost as if they were trying to learn. Adrian decided to monitor them closely; they might prove valuable—or dangerous.

As he pondered, a heavy thud rippled through the caldera’s edge. Adrian shifted his focus to the rim, where his oculnids provided a clear view. Another adventurer group had arrived.

These were not Ulrick’s team. This group was younger, more cautious, and visibly less experienced. Their gear was basic—patchwork leather armor, dull iron weapons, and one poorly fitted mail shirt. Adrian scrutinized their dynamic: two women, both with bows slung across their backs; a wiry young man in mismatched chainmail wielding a sword; a stout, nervous-looking man clutching a wooden shield; and a mage, distinguished by his ragged robes and staff adorned with a cheap-looking crystal.

Adrian’s thoughts drifted as he observed them. "Are they… training in my dungeon? Interesting. But this environment doesn’t tolerate incompetence."

The group moved cautiously, stepping into the swamp with hesitant determination. Their initial encounters were against mundane swamp animals—territorial crocodiles, venomous snakes, and the like. Despite their nervousness, they showed decent coordination, though their inexperience was evident. The archer women argued over positioning. The mage’s fireball incinerated a target but almost singed the swordsman’s hair in the process. Still, they pressed on.

It wasn’t long before they stumbled upon a Flesh Crawler nest. Adrian watched with detached interest as the group hesitated, realizing too late that they were surrounded. The nest had hidden itself well, and the crawlers emerged in a coordinated ambush.

The young adventurers panicked. The stout man’s shield proved his saving grace as he deflected several attackers, but his inexperience showed in the shakiness of his defense. One of the archers fired wildly, her arrows finding only mud and bark, while the other screamed as a crawler lunged at her leg.

Adrian observed clinically. "Their inexperience will cost them. But how much?"

The mage shouted an incantation, unleashing a burst of fire that singed a few of the crawlers. Yet it wasn’t enough to stop the relentless swarm. The group managed to retreat—but not without loss.

One of the hunters of the group—a wiry young woman with a bow—was dragged down by two Flesh Crawlers. His screams echoed through the swamp, silencing only when the creatures tore into him. The others fled, barely escaping the nest’s reach.

Adrian issued a silent command to the crawlers: "Take only half." The monsters obeyed, retreating after tearing away a portion of the hunter’s body. The rest remained intact, untouched, as Adrian’s collectors arrived moments later.

Back in his core chamber, Adrian reviewed the influx of biomass:

Bio-Matter Collected: 230 units.

Adrian paused. The amount was significant—more than any creature in his ecosystem had ever provided. He analyzed the difference, the system providing no further insights beyond a vague message: "Bio-matter contribution varies by source."

Adrian contemplated this for a moment. "System-enhanced humans… they’re worth more biomass. Interesting."

The thought took a darker turn. If humans offered this much biomass, what would happen if he took them all? The villagers were nearby, defenseless. One command, and his collectors could quietly eliminate dozens in a single night, filling his reserves to capacity.

The idea was intoxicating. "With that much biomass, I could expand my dungeon exponentially. Level up twice, maybe more. I’d be unstoppable."

But as quickly as the thought came, he dismissed it. "I don’t know what adventurers are capable of if they grow stronger. If I become too murderous, they’ll come in greater numbers, and at levels I can’t yet imagine. My survival depends on restraint."

He settled into silence, allowing the ecosystem to work as intended. The swamp would claim its share of adventurers over time, providing a steady influx of resources. Patience, after all, was a virtue.

Adrian’s oculnids resumed their exploration of the second floor. The caverns revealed strange terrain—crystals growing around small pools of weak acid, glowing fungus climbing the walls, and tunnels winding like veins through the earth. He paid particular attention to the humanoid deer-creatures and their silent watchers, the skeletal-faced Wendren.

These creatures were not his creations. They existed independently of him, yet they felt connected to the dungeon’s essence. The Wendren, in particular, seemed… aware. Though they did not interact with his creatures, they moved with purpose, occasionally glancing skyward as though sensing his oculnid’s gaze.

Adrian made a note to study them further. For now, his focus returned to the first floor, where the adventurers would surely spread word of their encounter. More would come, drawn by the promise of danger and reward. And Adrian would be waiting.