Chapter 408

While James, as always, had no idea what his mobs were going to be, he at the very least, had been thinking long and hard about his floor design for his sixth floor. After his time in JSKER’s Bone Dungeon, he’d realized something. As much as open floor concepts were fun, and definitely led to quite a bit of variety, he was missing that special vibe you could only capture with a more conventional dungeon design.

There was something to be said, about wandering into a subterranean cavern, where the passages were smaller, the lighting dim, and around every corner, surprises and the unknown awaited. It was an ascetic that he’d been meaning to create, somehow, but hadn’t done so yet. As such, he’d decided when it came time for his sixth floor, he would opt for a proper dungeon feel. At least, for this singular floor. Depending on how the adventurers received it, he would keep the design as an option for later floors or go back to strictly open floor concepts.

Conveniently, there was a ‘Labyrinth’ setting in the dungeon floor creator setting, with different variations for a Dungeon Core to choose from. Which was of course what James was going to go with, because it just saved him so much more time compared to selecting a floor and trying to use the Dungeon Floor editor tools to cut and carve a path of his own.

Additionally, given his mountains on his fifth floor, which he’d implemented more mining features in, he had the perfect place in mind for the gate to his sixth floor. He was going to use some resources to create a cabin in the snowy woods, near the mountain edge, that would have a ladder in it. Going down the ladder, he would carve out a bit of ground, perhaps thirty or forty feet down, at the bottom of which, would be door, and the entrance to the sixth floor. That would teleport the players to the start of the labyrinth dungeon. Of course, while it was brilliant, in his mind, he knew it would either work, or fail, depending on the mobs he summoned. Hopefully, it was something appropriate.

James pushed the thought of failure from his mind as he selected a layout. He’d opted for one that felt more, movie-esque. A massive expanse of tunnels and caves, set in a swirling manner of sorts, with both natural and man made type walls. Players could easily get lost in the expanse, and there many different switchbacks, and dead ends, that could further confuse the players. Moving through the area, there were even water features, which further added to the experience. Sounds echoed in eerie ways, and torches hung in random portions on the walls, casting their light in ominous manners.

Each hallway was roughly ten by ten feet, and they opened up into rooms that expanded from a variety of either twenty feet, all the way up to a few different one-hundred foot areas. With the variety of twists and turns, and the complex, maze like weave of the floor, James figured it would feel even more massive than it really was. It, was unlike anything he’d implemented in his dungeon before, and he really hoped his players would enjoy it. At the very least, it accomplished one thing. It was eerie.

“Here goes nothing.” James said, glancing at Rue and Steve as he pulled up the Dungeon Mob Generator. It hadn’t been all that long ago since he’d last made a new floor, and yet the excitement was still as strong, if not stronger, than it had been. He knew part of that was because of the fact he was still reeling with excitement from the difficulty research, level 2 of which was currently being worked on. Along with that though, he just felt like things had fallen back into line, and everything was moving smoothly again.

His good mood, he knew, was a fragile thing though, because a bad mob option, could, and likely would, ruin all of his plans. That being said, between himself, Rue, and now Steve, James had a feeling no matter what the mobs were, he’d be fine. With the three of them, they could figure out the best way to implement his mobs, and create a one-of-a-kind experience for his players. And, no matter what happened, James wasn’t too worried. Because if the floor flopped, well, now his players would still have Sieges on the Safe Zone to deal with, as well as the new, improved difficulty of his previous floors. When it came to content, his dungeon, at the very least, had the most variety. A single bad floor now, was nowhere near as detrimental as it had felt in the past.

“May I?” Rue asked, and James nodded.

“Of course.” The pixie grinned immediately at his statement, and her hand instantly grabbed hold of a slot machine that materialized. Because of how much time she spent immersed, her mind, even though she was human, was so much more in tune with the digital world, that she could do things like that. The way she interacted, according to Steve, was much more fluid and efficient, than normal. Because immersion was her life, she could do things faster than even Steve, who’d helped design the game, could at times.

The slot machine, while a feature in the game, wasn’t something that normally appeared every time. That was just a feature Rue loved to use. Because of course she did.

Without another moment of hesitation, they all watched as countless options flew by on the slot machine, too fast for anyone to make out. Jumbled words flew by, until finally it began to slow. James realized he’d been holding his breath, and let it out as the machine slowed, and stopped. Everyone was quiet as they looked at the option that appeared before them, silence, save for the sound of water echoing on stone, surrounding them.

Steve, was the first one to break the silence, clapping his hands together with a laugh. “Huzzah.” The developer patted James on the back, grinning. “It’s the monster mash.”

James looked from the developer to the option.

Mythological Monster Mash.

“Is, is it actually a good option?” There wasn’t much to go off of based on the mob type alone. It was vague. Even more vague than Undead Caribbean Adventure. What was a mythological monster mash?

“Yeah. Should work quite well with the floor layout.” Steve made some faces as he looked through some screens only, he could see. “Sixth floor options are pretty good. And you’ve got a chance at some truly inspired boss mobs that would be great for the labyrinth.”

“Anything else?” James asked as he pulled up the screen that would show him the names and avatars for the mobs, he would have at his disposal for the sixth floor. What in the world was a Mythological Monster Mash.

“Eh,” Steve chuckled, motioning down towards the dungeon. “I could tell you, or you could just summon the mobs and see for yourself.” His grin widened. “If I may, I would say you should summon the Chem-Era first.” He laughed. “I’ve a feeling you’re really going to like that one.”

James shot him a look, uncertain of if Steve was being serious or not. However, there most definitely was a Chem-Era as an option, and James selected it, holding his breath.

“Let’s see what this floor is going to be all about.” And a moment later, the creature appeared.