More time passed and Veronica continued to collect dungeon points. It was almost too easy now that she was too depressed to affect the dungeon. Things were harder for her and she had even started to drink the alcohol that was supposed to be her guests, but the lack of [Monsters] stampeding and tremors was certainly helping to increase the number of people visiting the dungeon. Unfortunately, the effect of alcohol wasn't nearly as significant as it used to be. She no longer had to worry about hangovers and their effects since her body quickly recovered from such status effects, but she also couldn't do much more than get buzzed because the intoxication of the alcohol would quickly clear up and she didn't have anything strong enough.
It was a bit ironic because things were actually going better than she ever could have expected and yet she couldn't even enjoy it. Somehow, word had spread among the homeless and financially challenged individuals in the city, so all of the 10 point and 15 point rooms were booked every single night. That had forced the adventurers to start renting the 50 point and 75 point rooms from the second floor. She had, somehow, managed to earn 28,840 DP just from room rentals alone over the last month.
Even the change of the seasons didn't seem to make much of a difference on the traffic in the dungeon. Veronica had already lost track of the passage time. How long had it been since she first transmigrated to this world? Was it fall now or maybe winter? Maybe the colder seasons had already passed by and it was already another year, she wasn't sure. It was easy enough to keep track of a few days at a time as she needed to space out the building of challenge rooms to avoid being penalized by the dungeon core again, but everything else was a bit difficult.
When it came to the tavern sales, most of the homeless individuals would purchase a bowl of soup, water, and a cheap dessert on rare occasions. Even more rarely, they would purchase a nicer meal like a burger. While she was charging things like leaves and flowers for the meals rather than coins, there was still a discrepancy between the impoverished individuals who now called her dungeon home and the adventurers. Those who earned a living completing quests and collecting resources from within the dungeon had enough coin to purchase a small container of berries or other small [Items], saving them the effort of collecting everything themselves. They also simply had healthier bodies and less fear of the wild [Monsters] that she had heard roamed the forests outside Blue Cove City.
The tavern sales ended up totaling 40,270 DP over the last month. More adventurers and locals visited her tavern each day than rented rooms, so most of that amount was thanks to that. The alcohol sales were especially notable as the cheapest cost was 15 DP per glass of wine and the other alcohol types weren't any better. Some customers would only order a single glass to drink with their meal, but there were also those who would drink until they got so drunk she had to help Eldrin kick them out. The boy she had hired was still weak, but it was much more intimidating to have both of them since she didn't look nearly as strong as she actually was.
While more and more adventurers were making it to the second floor every day, the spa and gym facilities were still rather unknown. Some people went looking for a second tavern on the second floor, hopeful to see a different menu so they could order something new. Hell, plenty of adventurers even defeated the first floor boss [Monster] just so they could use the stairs and go directly to the second floor inn anytime they wanted. She'd certainly have to start working on the inn and tavern soon enough, but she still needed to finish the dungeon side first.
The only other earnings were 560 DP from miscellaneous services like massages, 1,173DP from repeats, and 490DP from new tributes. Most of the new tributes were from the list she had added to the corkboard on the first floor, but other things were simply because the adventurers had been inspired to get her more culinary ingredients of their own accord. Veronica supposed that was likely thanks to her showing an interest in it, but she was hardly going to complain since it was beneficial for her. The new [Base Resources] and [Items] included: limes, cilantro, cucumbers, pineapple, aloe vera, jalapenos, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, green cabbage, kale, chilate (cocoa), pears, oranges, and zucchini. Thanks to all of that, she was now sitting at a hefty 104,648 dungeon points.
Veronica was no longer even bothered by the idea of spending points to research new [Items] for new challenge rooms. Today's goal was to build a new parkour room based around the swampy environment. First, she started by using the terraforming option to remove most of the land in the room, create islands, and ensure there was enough walking space at the entrance and exit. Then, she filled the room with any water that was needed to ensure the challenge could be set up properly. Finally, she began to research the necessary [Items] to set up the challenge itself.
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research campfires using the [Base Resources] stone, wood, and fire?
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Yes
No
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research floating wooden platforms using the [Base Resource] wood?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 10 DP to research slanted ladder platforms using the [Base Resource] wood?
Yes
No
Would you like to spend 20 DP to research ‘vine’ rope platforms using the [Base Resources] wood, hemp rope, and green dye?
Yes
No
The campfires were added to three small islands, which Veronica added three basic goblins to after adding a 100 MP spawner to the room. She quickly absorbed the longstaff she had been given by Seraphina so many months ago, earning her 10 DP, and then she created four new ones so that she could give one to each of the goblins. The plan was to have the goblins use the long staffs to try and knock adventurers into the water with the hope that they'd hit their heads off of something and drown. Whether that would be successful when most adventurers were unlikely to take the unnecessary risk of completing the challenges, only time would tell.
There wasn't actually any benefit to killing adventurers or even wild [Monsters]. The system didn't offer any extra dungeon points, mana regen, or special skills for it. However, Veronica was just so sick and tired of Bo that she didn't want to make it easy for anyone else either.
The parkour course was set up in an S-shape this time around rather than two lines like the first floor tropical parkour course was. Veronica alternated between floating platforms and vine rope platforms or the slanted ladder platforms. Adventurers would have to navigate the ropes by climbing up them and deal with being pushed by her goblins while walking up and down the slanted platforms. It wasn't really particularly dangerous or even, necessarily, as dangerous as her last parkour course, but it would still prove challenging. Veronica certainly doubted she'd be able to complete the course easily if she was forced to attempt it.
It had been annoying trying to navigate the dungeon before she had unlocked the [Staff Elevators]. Things were still a little annoying as she didn't want any direct paths to the dungeon core. Anyone who wanted to reach it had to go through the dungeon side, including her. Even the [Staff Elevator] was closed off from the rest of the hotel. Honestly, most of the time, she just decided to go for a swim through the first floor parkour course and swim directly from the entrance to the exit of the second floor of the dungeon. The firewalk challenge didn't even feel hot or uncomfortable thanks to her status as a Dungeon Master, so the only other annoying thing was having to remember the route through the maze as she didn't always have access to her system to see where she was in the maze.
Shaking her head, she got back to work and researched the prize for the challenge room
Would you like to spend 40 DP to research a ginger lily lotion & perfume set using the [Base Resources] water, alcohol, oil, ginger, peace lily, glass bottle, cork, shea nuts, aloe vera, oil, and wood?
Yes
No
Veronica didn't know much about making such hygiene products, but she did have a memory of looking at ingredients lists. She had never even been the sort to look at such labels, but having a perfect recall allowed her to remember mere glances at such things from when she had used similar products in her own world. The rest was thanks to the dungeon being able to piece things together. Maybe there was even something similar used in this world? It was hard to tell since she had no information about the world outside the dungeon and it would feel too unnatural to sit around interviewing her patrons, nor did she really enjoy socializing that much. It wasn't like it was fun to talk with a bunch of loud drunks either, even if she was trying to get drunk herself.
Another 40 DP to finalize the setup for the challenge with its reward and she was now down to 104,558 dungeon points. The challenge had barely put a dent into her savings and this was the last challenge room she needed to set up on this floor. She couldn't be bothered with improving the resources and adding defenses either. What was a tripwire or some itching powder going to do against Bo? As amusing as it would be to watch him trip and fall on his face or scratch his skin raw, it was likely to only enrage him and lead to her dying an even more miserable death. Sighing, she wandered back through the dungeon. She could really use some rum right now and there was work to do to get things ready for tonight's tavern opening.