"Finally we can get a good night's rest!"

Orik exclaimed as they walked into the reception area of the second-floor inn. Bellarth smiled as he added

"We're really lucky the first floor was so simple. The challenges and boss room were well-made, though. The stone temple ruins with the torches along the stone brick path really set the mood for the boss room quite well. I thought the maze spelling out the word 'tavern' was a nice touch too."

Calista smiled as she replied

"Yeah, with the addition of the inn and tavern features, the dungeon feels more like a tourist attraction than a dungeon. The challenges were a bit more dangerous than I'm used to for the first floor of a dungeon, though, especially the first two."

Cassia seemed thoughtful as she said

"Yeah, the maze seemed almost anti-climatic after seeing the tropical parkour and firewalk challenges. Perhaps the Dungeon Master was forced to scale things back some due to other adventurers being reluctant to explore the earlier rooms? I'm not sure it wouldn't have been better to rearrange things if that was the case, though."

Their conversation continued as they wandered around the inn. Much to their disappointment, there wasn't a tavern available on the second floor. In fact, the inn space was cut in half by a hallway with no exit after just a few rooms. The reception area was much smaller than the one on the first floor as well. Of course, Orik was quick to complain

"Damn! I was really looking forward to having a nice ale after all of that work."

Cassia smiled sadly as she calmly instructed

"Alright, well, we'll just have to depend on Calista tonight. There weren't any resources available on the first floor and there is no guarantee we will find something on this floor either. We'll have to reserve our rations in case of emergencies, so we'll have to make do with whatever she can summon up."

That didn't end up being much. Even with full mana, without the resources to create the food from, the meal was simple. Hard bread, watery mushroom soup, and water. Since their room had access to water, she didn't even have to spend mana on creating any. Luckily, the rooms, despite being more expensive than those on the first floor, had two bedrooms, so they only had to rent two of them for the night.

"The furniture style is interesting on this floor. I've never seen anything like it before. I wonder if the Dungeon Master is going for a certain theme on this floor. It's still a shame there isn't a tavern, but I bet the menu will be interesting on this floor as well once one is built."

Bellarth commented. Cassia nodded as she took a bite of a hard piece of bread she had dipped into the watery mushroom soup. After swallowing she said

"I heard this floor is supposed to have a swamp theme. There haven't been many adventurers who have made it this far, but that seems to be a result of [Monster] stampedes. There haven't been any of those during our time here, fortunately. However, I think the furniture is fitting for the floor's theme. The temperature in the inn is the same as the first floor, from what I can tell, but the lack of fireplaces seems more sensible for a warm environment. Why the first floor even had them when the tropical forest would make adventurers hot, I'm not certain."

Calista was quick to point out the obvious advantage

"Well, adventurers could use a hearth to cook their meals if they don't eat at the tavern. Our room had a magic wood stove, but Bellarth's map shows the others don't have that. This floor only has the more expensive rooms, so it's not a big deal to not have the hearths, but I imagine that could be a problem if it had some of the smaller room types."

Bellarth nodded in agreement before adding

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"It's a bit of a pain to map the inn area, honestly. I have to note which rooms have which price and then copy the drawing for the rooms based on what I see in the rooms we rent. There's no guarantee that every 10-point room actually has the same design, though. I'm glad we rented two of the same room types on this floor, though. It seems all of these rooms are the same, so it is more likely that I'm right to assume they are all similar enough."

Not long after that, they all turned in for the night. They had to return to exploring the dungeon in the morning and they weren't sure what to expect, so they wanted to ensure they were well-rested. However, they were more than a little surprised when they finally stepped into the swampy environment of the second-floor dungeon.

"Well, ain't this something?"

Orik said. Bellarth let out a sharp breath before explaining

"Well, my skill did mark the dungeon as an open-floorplan hybrid style. While the visuals are a bit different, this isn't entirely out of the expected."

Cassia looked out across the open swampy area, surveying it carefully, before turning back to the others and saying

"Alright, we'll have to walk the entire area in order to allow Bellarth to map everything. Our job also requires us to complete all of the challenges, regardless of whether they are necessary to complete the floor. It seems there is just one challenge and then a boss room, so we should be able to get this all done today. We'll go ahead and spend another night in the inn before trying to find the Dungeon Master. Now, let's get to work!"

No one argued with her, immediately complying with her orders as they ventured forth. The goblins on the second floor were a bit smarter than the gargoyles on the first floor, but they were hardly more difficult to defeat. If anything, they were more vulnerable to attack as both sharp weapons and blunt weapons would work on them. The sight of their blood spilling on the ground made Calista feel nauseous, but she said nothing. This was just the way life in the dungeon was. She was meant to be used to it after all this time, but she had simply never adjusted to it.

When they reached the first challenge room, they were greeted by several tower ruins on islands a short distance from the grassy, swampy path that led from one end of the area to the next. Bellarth was quick to note

"There are no [Traps], but there are goblins in the towers. It's a bit difficult to get the map fully updated at this distance, but I think we'll just barely manage since most of the land is missing due to the swamp water and the path goes through the center of the room."

Cassia looked worried as she asked

"Are they just basic goblins, not archer goblins?"

The system prompt clearly noted the presence of arrows in the challenge as they had to cross the room without being hit in order to succeed. That would be easy thanks to Cassia's sanctuary skill. Although, it was questionable whether the skill blocking the attack would count for the challenge. Before Bellarth could answer, a flint arrow flew out of the tower, splashing into the water to one side of them. Orik laughed amusedly as he replied

"What's it matter? They clearly don't know how to use them!"

Bellarth smiled, amusedly, as he confirmed

"They're supposed to be basic goblins, but I guess they've been given some low-level bows and arrows. They shouldn't pose much of a threat to us, even I could likely dodge their attacks."

Considering her brother didn't have any agility bonuses to rely on, that was certainly saying something, but not much. He had still trained with the others to improve his dodging ability and was quite light on his feet. As for herself, she wasn't entirely confident in her own abilities to dodge the attacks as it was hard to tell where the arrows would be coming from. She didn't have a map that would automatically update and alert her of the enemy's location. So, she was very grateful for Cassia's help.

They didn't have to walk at a particularly slow pace and they weren't worried about being hit, so it took only a few short minutes to cross the room. When the system confirmed their success, they all smiled in relief. It would seem the use of skills wasn't enough to lose out on the reward.

"A pillow and blanket? The Dungeon Master certainly seems to have an interesting sense of what constitutes a reward."

Orik complained. Calista was quick to note

"Well, we should actually hold onto these. They're small enough to easily pack and bring with us to the dungeon. Plus, my oasis skill doesn't include things like bedding, so it would be nice to have something to use when we have to camp."

Orik didn't bother arguing with her. He was a confident Dwarven man, but he was far more comfortable bickering with Aramis or Bellarth than he was getting into the same sorts of disputes with herself or their team leader, Cassia. He was very clearly uninterested in them on a romantic level and he had a great deal of respect for them, but it was simply a different sort of relationship.