It was starting to get more difficult to remember her original goals and dreams before arriving in this new world. Veronica had just finished dying a few hours ago to Bo who had happily left the dungeon afterwards. It had been what? Maybe a week and a half since she had finished building the newest challenge room, but he had already visited enough times to kill her five times since then. She was now lying on the hard stone floor at the top of the steps to the dungeon core room.
Looking up at the dungeon core, she groaned. The green orb still glowed brightly with barely any dark tendrils of corruption swirling within. Seraphina had visited the other day and given the all clear, even after she had seen the faintest signs of corruption herself. Even after questioning it, all she had been told was that there was some leeway in just how much was allowed. If it was less than 25% then there was no need to worry as it wouldn't start affecting the dungeon until after that point. However, the dungeon core itself being corrupted wasn't even the only problem. Dying repeatedly and feeling hopeless wasn't good for one's mental health.
Veronica remembered the information Seraphina had given her about her own [Monsters] and upkeep for the dungeon when she first arrived in this world. If her gargoyles or goblins died too many times, their souls would start to corrupt as their mental resolve crumbled. Then, they would no longer be able to respawn as their spirits would simply refuse it. [Monsters] with more intelligence tended to be affected more than the rest, which is why she hadn't needed to replace any of her gargoyles yet. As for her goblins, they were on the second floor where traffic was still slow enough to give them more time to recover.
Still, the most notable part of this information was that Veronica knew what was wrong with her. She could feel her own willpower and resolve breaking with her repeated deaths. It was just that no one cared because it wasn't going to affect the dungeon. She wasn't a sniveling mess that could do nothing but quake in fear, she was just exhausted. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and be left alone for a while. Maybe she'd feel better if she could just have a few months to herself.
However, since that wasn't an option, she dragged herself up and got to work on renovating the second floor inn. Veronica couldn't be bothered with being creative right now, her head simply hurt too much. That wouldn't stop her from continuing to build, though, as she had plenty of experience to draw from. Hotels were a much larger, fancier version of an inn, but many of their features and business practices could still be applied here.
One such feature that was almost always included was a gym. Facilities like that were kept open twenty-four seven so that guests could use them whenever it was most convenient. Veronica couldn't personally benefit from running on a treadmill or lifting weights because being bonded to the dungeon core made it impossible to improve her strength or stamina. Well, rather, she could only improve it by unlocking new floors and it was, otherwise, completely outside of her control. Just like everything else in her life...
As the back half of the inn side of the dungeon was already occupied by inn rooms, the public baths, a cleaning closet, and a reception area, Veronica decided to place two new 18-Units by 18-Units square rooms on the opposite side. The other would be used for a spa area, which she would likely use herself to relax. Goddess knows she needs to unwind.
Would you like to spend 100 DP to research weight bench sets using the [Base Resources] steel, leather, undyed cotton, and black dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 180 DP to research a nine-piece free weights set using the [Base Resources] steel and black dye?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 150 DP to research exercise bikes using the [Base Resources] steel, leather, undyed cotton, white dye, and black dye?
Yes
No
A treadmill would be a bit difficult to make since Veronica wasn't sure how to make one and there wasn't exactly electricity in this world that she was aware of. However, an exercise bike was rather simple since it just requires somewhere to sit and pedals that can freely move in place. Wheels were entirely unnecessary, but handles that could also be moved back and forth were a good addition. Since she no longer had to worry about not understanding how axles and such work since she received a cart as tribute a while back, the dungeon was able to piece a bicycle together for her.
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She carefully organized the gym, setting the free weights and weight benches up along the back wall. Towards the front of the room, she added a bathroom just big enough for one individual to use at a time. Between the bathroom and the free weights, she added a seating area with a coffee table in case her patrons needed somewhere to rest in between sets or while they used the free weights. Then, on the opposite wall, she added a few exercise bikes. Deciding some greenery would help tie the room together, she finished things off by adding some potted bamboo plants.
The room wasn't super complex with a huge variety of equipment, but it would get the job done. Since it wasn't considered an inn room, she could even add a 100 MP spawner and two brownies. Veronica had been considering adding brownies to the first floor as well, but she didn't think it was necessary since Elora and Eldrin, the Elf siblings, were already working hard to keep the floor running. While it was a lot of work to personally have to run the kitchen, it wasn't like the brownies were suited for cooking either. She'd have to take a long time to teach them how to cook the recipes, which she just couldn't be bothered with right now.
Next up was the spa room, which was next door to the gym. Veronica started off by adding a bathroom near the entrance like she did with the workout facility. Then, next to it, she added a kitchen area with a magic ice box, magic wood stove, magic sink, cupboards, counters, shelving, and barstools. She then stocked it with things for making coffee as well as glasses for water. Any other ingredients would have to be provided by the adventurers themselves, but this was the closest she could get to the equivalent of a coffee bar. Maybe one day she'd add tea as well when she had enough variety to be bothered with it.
The rest of the 18-Units by 18-Units square room was similarly divided to create a hallway space and two larger rooms. These last two rooms would be used for the spa amenities themselves, but research would have to be done first.
Would you like to spend 100 DP to research sauna hot stones using the [Base Resources] wood, steel, stone, fire magic crystal, and fire magic?
Yes
No
Saunas tended to have two different types. One used benches with heating elements built into them while the other was the more traditional type with lava stones in the center. The dungeon didn't really bother with specifying different types of stone unless it was significant enough. For example, marble was similar to stone, but not quite the same thing, so the system labeled it separately. Veronica wasn't going to complain, though, since it made things like this possible.
Alongside the benches along the outside of the sauna room and the sauna hot stones setup she placed in the middle of the room, she also added a pot and ladle that she filled with water. Guests would need to ladle water over top of the hot stones in order to create steam in the room. Supposedly, the steam was good for your skin and using the sauna room would make it easier to get a good night's sleep while promoting good health. Veronica wasn't sure about all of that, but then she had only ever researched how saunas worked after seeing them portrayed in the media, she hadn't tried it for herself.
The other spa room was quite simple as she just needed to research a single new [Item] for it.
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research a massage table using the [Base Resources] wood, leather, raw cotton, and black dye?
Yes
No
That's right, she was making a massage room where she planned to put her brownies to work offering people massages. The rest of the room was decorated with potted bamboo plants and bar stools. Similarly, the hallways also had a bamboo mat and potted bamboo plants added. The last step was, of course, to add a 100 MP spawner and to contract with two new brownies. That made a total of four new additions to her dungeon.
The new brownies were named Zephyr, Mirelle, Lyriel, and Elodie. Zephyr was actually a male brownie and had brown eyes and black hair. That made it easier to confirm that not all brownies were female and their hair wasn't always white, nor were their eyes always green. It didn't really matter all that much to Veronica, though, as she doubted she would spend much time interacting with her brownies. She certainly didn't run around conversing with her goblins or, so there was no reason for this situation to be any different.
As Veronica cared about making her patrons comfortable so she could earn more dungeon points from them, she assigned Zephyr and Lyriel to the spa while the other two were assigned to the gym. This way her guests could choose to request a massage from a male or female brownie depending on their preferences. As a female, she was well aware that the women from her world tended to be more comfortable being touched by other women than by strange men they didn't know.
Besides, she was planning to make her brownies charge for the massages by the minute. For now, she would have them charge 1 DP per minute, which was rather cheap, but it wasn't like she received many guests on the second floor anyhow. She may as well use this as a marketing opportunity. The price could always be raised in the future, should the need arise, after all.