I don’t remember how many days have passed since I got my failure of a level up, all I know is that I feel like I am going crazy.

I have a hard time focusing on many of the residents of my dungeon often forgetting to refill the water catches in the kitchen until they get my attention and ask for it.

I feel distracted constantly wanting to let my mind wander off to plans for expanding in one way or another and I have also guiltily made slight expansions to existing rooms, not enough to be noticeable, just a inch here or there.

The itch to expand has become a deep ache that refuses to go away, I have even tried creating and dismantling a pillar repeatedly to try to stave off my expansions, to very little reprieve.

Luna and a few others seem to be getting concerned about it too as they have noticed I have started using distractive methods like that as if it has become an obsession…..which it probably has.

I’m so tired and my mind feels like it’s been fried, I have even started having trouble paying attention to Luna and Tammy, both of whom have made their concerns for my wellbeing known to me in our conversations.

Tammy is even afraid that her mom might make them leave, and she’s wondering what can she do to convince her to let them stay if she does.

She is even wondering if she can be as bold as Luna, which she didn’t elaborate on.

Luna, has also gotten concerns over the future as the inhabitants have decided that the breeder should be saved up for and gotten as soon as possible to offset the penalties for not having it.

The breeder being chosen to be obtained first mainly because of the two options available for creating monsters it is by far cheaper, and therefore sooner to become obtainable.

My mana storage capacity is about ready for the breeder, so once that’s done it will just be the biomass needed for it to be placed, Luna’s going to inform everyone about it and they will go outside of the dungeon until Luna and I finish breeding.

They have even decided to build a temporary shelter outside of the dungeon just for the event when it happens.

Everything seems to be progressing well enough despite my current condition, or it was until tonight.

I received a notification that grabbed my foggy attention and snapped it to clarity.

[The dungeons resistance to expansion has been recognized as detrimental to its wellbeing, as the side effects seem to be inadequate as an incentive a more extreme penalty has been imposed]

[Failing to expand a required amount over an extended period of time will result in damage to the dungeon, as expansions require the movement of dungeon flesh it has been determined that the damage effect will target dungeon flesh that has stagnated movement along the dungeon perimeter]

[There is dungeon flesh that already meets the perimeters for punishment!

damaging process will commence!

3

2

1

Warning your dungeon is being damaged!!!!]

AHHHH I wish I could scream as the pain is instantly all over the place and it is overwhelming my senses and my judgement, as I barely have time to send my notifications to wake Luna up as I go to quickly repair and expand my perimeters!!!

My entire dungeon shuttered in agony as my walls cracked and bleed its slimy dark brown blood as I jumped around repairing and expanding the most painful areas first as the closer to my core the worry it was.

I quickly made a new room branching off from my core room having it arch around the side that’s been neglected and I even put a spiral staircase going up a level as well as one going down.

I made a room both above and below my core almost as if the rooms could be used as a shield against the pain that keeps flooding in.

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I move onto other areas that I can’t think of what to do other then pushing the walls outwards as I expand and some cases I had to actually use my resources to expand outside of the mountainside that I had already taken over as I drill my dungeon flesh outward just trying to make the pain stop!…

I have no idea how much time passes, but Luna finally got my attention as I was repairing my damaged walls in the kitchen and I finally noticed how panicked everyone was.

Some people have already left my dungeon and are apparently staying in the temporary building for the time being.

The sun is up, and Luna looks worn out, with her fur frazzled and her voice raspy from over use.

Luna, “Can You hear me now?”

I spare her a lump of clay while I continue repairing myself.

She follows where I am working as the tries to stay in my

Luna, “Are you okay now?”

No! I am not okay! I’m in pain! I fill the room with stalagmites and stalactites that bristle all over any surface that isn’t obstructed!

Luna, “I’m so sorry, we are sorry, none of us thought you’d be punished for resisting the urge to expand at least we couldn’t have imagined it would be like this anyways…..

I don’t know how we could apologize to you for what it’s cost you but I want to do something if I can, I just don’t know what I can do to help.”

I have to admit I didn’t mean to be aggressive towards Luna it’s just that I am currently in a lot of pain and I don’t have much of a tolerance right now.

Luna has always done so much for me but I don’t feel like I can do much for her and I feel like I have been neglecting her.

I want to apologize but the best I can do is to use my dungeon flesh to hold her hand and give her hand a gentle squeeze as I can’t actually say anything to her myself.

I’m just happy that I can send her some of my notifications to let her have some idea of what is happening.

I progressed through my dungeon with Luna as I keep repairing myself and expanding here and there, some being minor expansions and others being completely new additions particularly the new levels above and below the existing floors.

I finally felt relieved in the expansion department and now I feel an overwhelming urge to give the new rooms uses.

I connected the new room below my core room to the green house room with a arched hallway and I started filling it with medicinal plants like the ones for sleeping aid and healing herbs as well as mana grass, then I started organizing it to have pools of water tucked around the room with little plant covered barriers.

I’m not quite satisfied yet so I make a concealed space underneath the pools and I plant some of the scorching vines in to help heat the water.

Feeling like that might not be enough I also chose the pool that I put the existing scorching vine under and I planted a few fire ferns around it.

Sure it will be a while before the plants start growing and fill the space out but I think I can already imagine how it would turn out, and I added some glow moss that I took from some of the larger existing ones to add to the walls and ceiling space of my new rooms.

I also planted some of the luminous mushrooms that I had neglected to plant before because I didn’t have the mana to spare back then, having them act like little light hubs scattered throughout the room.

I navigated Luna to the stairs to take her to the crescent shaped room and I started adding shelves along the walls and I created a raised bed platform which I moved her bedding onto and I placed her woven clothing chest next to it.

The room is mainly lit up by my core’s light but I planted a few nooks with glowing moss and luminous mushrooms to eventually add to the lighting.

I continue to the room above my core room and I create a bunch of mana grass around the edges and I create some tables and various types of seating all with soft clay cushioning that could be covered with pelts for added comfort.

I then created a chimney all the way to the surface and I planted some bushes around the surface to grow and scatter the smoke which gave me the idea of having the chimney branch out to scatter the smoke out even before it reaches the surface.

I followed up the chimney with a nice large fireplace and cooking station for Luna and possibly Tammy’s use.

I had then made a tunnel from there to Tammy’s room and I gave her a hidden door to access it so she could get to the new room and have more places to go without running into men.

Although she seems to be doing better particularly around the children she seems to hold up longer before the stress makes her want to make a run for it, I still think she needs to have more spaces that she can feel safe in.

I have Luna take a walk around my dungeon to show her everything as aside from the new rooms and tunnels I had only expanded other rooms by the minimum amount too make the pain stop and I patched up all the damaged sections.

I even walked her down the new tunnel that I had unknowingly created under the pathway I was making to the river, so I added a ladder and a lid like door that can be used to get to the surface.

Luna was quite surprised about its existence and she decided to ask me about it.

Luna, “I didn’t know you had stretched yourself all the way out here, what were you planning to use this for?”

I thought about how to respond and so I tried drawing some of the river food they had brought back before, starting with drawing the frogs and crawfish then the fish, watercress and cattails.

Thinking it wasn’t enough I drew a pot of water on the fireplace.

Luna, “Umm, I guess you wanted to make it easier for us to get food from the river?….”

I replied with a yes lump of clay and I gently squeezed her with my tendril of dungeon flesh.

She smiled sweetly and squeezed me back.

Luna, “You might not know but most of the food there is out of season now and won’t be available until spring.

Also not to be offensive but aside from making a map of yourself you seem to be quite bad at drawing….”

I don’t like admitting it but she’s definitely right as I don’t seem to have a talent for it, which makes me wonder why I can make such good maps of myself?