It took a few moments and drained three of my newly acquired Mana Crystals, but the Naming was finished without any significant issues for once. Once it was done I left Morrígan alone to familiarize herself with her newfound power and to organize her memories. She’d felt that something was a bit different about them after the Naming, though exactly what had changed she couldn’t say. Except that her memories now somehow went beyond, or at least were more detailed and nuanced, than what I’d come up with initially.

I’d deal with the implications of that some other time.

For now though I had a Floor to populate and finalize, and a new Guardian's Status to examine.

Name: Morrígan Level: 40 Race: Pureblood Vampire Grade: Lord(Guardian) Attributes Strength 210 Vitality 300 Dexterity 231 Perception 148 Spirit 200 Force 256 Health 3000 Mana 2000 Skills [Blood Curse], [Raise Spawn], [Drain Life], [Darkness], [Shadowstep], [Arcane Barrier], [Animal Transformation], [Partial Monster Transformation], [Aphotic Nova], [Invisibility]

Like Obelisk, Morrígan was a Lord, and her attributes and Skills showed how exceptional that was. Though without any other creatures of similar levels to compare to it was hard to know exactly how large the difference in grade was to a creature.

...I was being stupid, wasn't I? Selecting Morrígan as my Guardian hadn't just summoned her. She had also come with three different creature types. Looking at my system I saw that they were the [Vampire Spawn], the [Vampiric Wolf], and the [Leatherwing].

...Wait a moment.

A second later I had confirmed that [Leatherwings] were indeed the same thing that Stalker was. A quick summoning also proved they shared a similar attributes in terms of which they preferred, if not in specific numbers. As Stalker had a Guardian and Name boost to hers and was an Elite, which these normal ones were not. They were three times her level though, which more than evened the attributes out. I felt a bit miffed about that. Like Stalker was being cheated, somehow, by there being higher leveled [Leatherwing] in my Dungeon that were more powerful than she was. I pushed that irrational feeling away though. It was a stupid reason to be upset. And these new [Leatherwings] could actually be a good thing for the first Floor. Or rather, for its Story. Before now the cave and the mausoleum felt pretty disconnected from the rest of the Dungeon, but the addition of these creatures could help tie the early Floors together with the later ones. I'd have to think a bit about how to structure it narratively, but I should be able to think of something given some time. For now though I forced myself to return to the task at hand, which was a proper investigation of the difference a creatures' grade made on their attributes. Now I even had a much better way of checking than what I'd first planned, since with the [Leatherwing] available as a normal creature now I could simply summon one on my second Floor, and it would be the same level as Stalker. Then I could just compare the two stat blocks together...

...Okay, the difference was substantial. Stalker had more than twice as high attributes as an equal leveled but [Mundane] [Leatherwing]. Unfortunately I couldn't get a complete picture, since the grade wasn't the only thing that separated the two, Stalker being a Guardian as well as Named, but it put the difference in power a bit more in perspective for me, and made me reaffirm a pair of conclusions I'd already come to long ago.

One, Names were amazing. Two, Guardians were also amazing.

It took me a few minutes, but eventually I had a populated and developed fourth Floor. The Wolves didn't really fit into the castle aesthetic unfortunately, but both the [Leatherwings] and the [Vampiric Spawn] were perfect for the place. I even threw in a few [Stone Thralls] and some [Skeleton Archers] for good measure and to round out my creature composition a bit. Once the creatures were all summoned I did a quick check to confirm the Floor was good to go, then finalized it. I felt the now familiar sensations of the System coming in and strengthening the layout, and making the connection between this Floor and the ones above them official. Next came the surge of experience, and just as I'd suspected the finalization combined with the Naming gave me enough to push me over the edge to level 5. That was when the barrage of new things came from the System

Level Up!

Skill [Swift Descent] available!

Skill [Spatial Connection] Acquired!

Skill [Dungeon Management] Acquired!

Perk [Mana Mastery] Acquired!

Quest Received! “Advanced Dungeoneering!”

You have almost succeeded at something which many of your fellow Dungeons have failed, and have the chance to officially enter the latter half of your development. As a stronger Dungeon, you are given more freedom but also many new responsibilities and expectations. Prove yourself capable enough to continue on this path. Future levels will be locked until the list of requirements below have all been accomplished.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Name a Guardian (1/1)

Defeat 10 Challengers (3/10)

Provide Completion or Quest Rewards (4/10)

Finalize five Floors (4/5)

Create a custom Floor Clear condition (1/1)

Create a Custom Creature (0/1)

Time Limit: none

That was a lot of new information to be suddenly getting, especially given what it implied about me, and Dungeons in general. For starters the fact that Naming a single Guardian was a partial condition for this 'advanced' Quest told me just how unusual it had been for me to Name them almost as soon as I'd made them, and served to explain at least a part of why the outsiders had seemed to think I was so strange. And why Stalker had been so unexpectedly difficult for that first party.

The next few clear requirements were more self-explanatory and understandable, even if they were a bit of a letdown when considering my leveling prospects for the immediate future. It meant that regardless of the additional Experience I'd gotten from my Naming and Challenges, I'd still be forced to make the fifth be the same level range as the fourth. I'd already made my peace with that once though, so the frustration was short-lived, which was further helped along by the last two conditions.

When had I ever made a custom clearing condition? I hadn't even known it was possible to make a Floor need something other than the Guardian's defeat in order to progress. I distinctly remembered my instincts telling me that the defeat of the Guardian was a 'system-enforced requirement' to descend through my Floors. And yet now I'm learning I could have made a different requirement all along? Were my instincts just stupid?

...No.

Thinking about it, my instincts were pretty insistent that before now I couldn't have made a Floor that didn't need a Guardian. It was only now that I'd been given more manual control, and the [Dungeon Management] Skill, that was a possibility. But that still left the question of how I'd already completed the requirement, if the requirement was something that I didn't have the ability to complete.

...Did the bonus room I'd made on the second Floor count? I'd made it give out an additional Clear reward, and it was technically a custom clear condition, even if it wasn't the primary one for the Floor. I wasn't sure, but it was the best guess I could make with the information I had, and it was an answer I found plausible enough that I could accept it, at least until I could ask someone that knew more. The requirement got me thinking more about the new Skills' I'd been given. [Spatial Connection] was an answer to the question of whether high leveled Challengers would have to massacre their way through my early Floors in order to reach the one they were after in that it allowed me to set up a portal between the entrance and any Floor I wanted, provided the ones entering it were at the proper level for that Floor. These portals wouldn't take up any actual space in my Dungeon, but were instead a service powered entirely through the System, and one I was very grateful for. Just a single Challenge by those overleveled for my first Floor was enough for me. I didn't want to have to sit through any more excursions like that in the future.

The next Skill, [Dungeon Management], was like a light had been turned on in my mind, and things that I couldn't understand or had been hidden from me before were suddenly clear as day. For starters I could manually remove and replace the system-reinforcements on my Floors. Finally! That would let me actually complete, maybe even redesign, the first couple Floors, which hadn't been made with a proper Story in mind.

Secondly the Skill also let me create and manage custom effects and Clear Conditions on a Floor by Floor basis. And I could even give the Floors official Names! I'd named them already, of course. But now I could Name them. A Floor didn't have a level or attributes to strengthen of course, but I could strengthen the aforementioned custom effects I could now add. In addition Named Floors seemed to alert Challengers to their presence in a way that unnamed ones simply didn't, in that each time a Challenger entered a Floor with a Name, they would be given a notification from the System regarding the name, and effects, of that Floor. It was all a bit overwhelming if I was honest, but it was still extremely exciting stuff. But even that didn't hold a candle to the excitement I felt when I thought of combining the Skill with my new Perk. That combination was the key to experimentation and self-expression. To the telling of Stories that were completely and wholly my own, instead of ones partially authored by the System.

It would allow for custom creature-, and more importantly Guardian, creation.

The process was extremely complicated and involved, and even though I now had a faint idea of how it was done I had no confidence I would be able to pull it off at the moment. The mana requirements were high, but that wouldn't be the main thing keeping me from proceeding. Mana costs could be overcome with enough time and effort on my part. No, the main barrier was still a lack of variety and understanding of how different kinds of creatures and elements worked. Before I could start making any creatures of my own, I had to understand what made different types of creatures tick, and how their elemental attunements worked. Otherwise I'd just be fumbling around in the dark, hoping against hope to stumble on the one in a billion chance that the complex series of magical and non-magical interconnected systems worked together properly.

It simply wasn't going to happen by brute force. I had to go beyond simply absorbing the various animals that occasionally wandered into my domain. I had to study them, as well as the creatures that had been provided by the System. Once I'd done that, I might be able to attempt to create something of my own. Provided I have a clear enough idea of what to make, of course. Which at the moment I didn't. Maybe once Morrígan got her memories in order she'd be able to help provide some inspiration. In the meantime I could always start by studying the creatures I'd already unlocked, as even if I didn't end up making something similar right away they'd still provide me with valuable information and experience about this new and exciting world of 'advanced dungeoneering' I'd found myself in.

A hissing screech from Morrígan drew me out of my reverie. In an instant my full attention was on the vampire, standing not as I'd been expecting in her Office, but rather in the entrance Hall of the first Floor. She was staring up at the ceiling with a look of murder and violence on her face that even made me uncomfortable, and I was partially connected to her mind.

What is it? I sent.

"The enemy." Morrígan said. "The experiments my predecessors did, if they actually existed. The things they became. What the world did to us as a result. That is at fault for all of it. WHY IS IT HERE!?" She screamed out that last sentence in a voice of fury and anguish, not a small amount of it directed towards me. I followed her gaze up towards the ceiling. No... She was looking up through the ceiling, towards the impossible sphere I'd found on the woman Lenore. I frowned.

Explain everything you 'remember' in detail. I sent. Morrígan growled, but did as I asked and started talking.