Whilst waiting for the gnomes, I decided to go back to working on my next floor.

But first, I've been forgetting something. I've dug a lot these past couples of days. I have claimed all of the areas I have dug as well so half of all of the mana that I gained from digging, and thus lost a massive amount of mana that way. I also used a bunch of mana to create the framework for the gnomish village.

Did I mention I dug a lot these past couples of days? And with a lot, I mean, truly enormous amounts. I have enough mana to level up and still have plenty of it left for emergencies.

And thus, without further ado, I start compressing it all. All of the mana that I will compress, I spread out over the surface of my gem core and then expose it to a massive amount of localized pressure. Slowly but surely, the mana collapses in on itself and creates a new, thin layer on top of gem core, essentially growing it like you would grow a crystal.

Congratulations with your level up!

You are now a third level dungeon.

You have unlocked the following:

- 10 new, random animal species of which one is ideally suited for your environment or the artificially created environment of your newest floor.

- New traps

Animal species unlocked:

- Salmon - Coal Tits

- White-handed gibbon - Blue king crab

- Wildebeest - Man o' war

- Kangeroo - Tabby cat

- chihuahua - Walrus (uniquely suited)

Traps unlocked:

- Pendulum trap (sharpness and weight depend on the material it is made off)

- Intermediate projectile launcher (mechanical/magical)(slightly improved activation delay and projectile speed)

- Slowly closing walls/ceilings

Attention!

Due to the fact that you reached 3rd level, levelling up will now require an additional resource.

Check in with your dungeon companion for more info.

Did the system just RTFM (Read The Fcking Manual) me? At least my manual is a bit more intuitive and easier to use.

Guess I'll have to check in with WIKI and get his input on this.

Anyway, the traps seem interesting enough. Swinging axes and bladed pendulums are an absolute necessity for budding dungeons, at least, according to Skyrim. The most intriguing traps are the slowly closing walls and ceilings though. For starters, they give me the means to make it so that I can change the layout of my maze at will. So if there is a particularly obnoxious group of people moving through my second floor, I can try to keep them trapped in there for a good while. Secondly, how cool would it be if adventurers that walk through my maze have an Indiana Jones moment where they slide underneath a slow-moving slab of stone and reach back to grab their hat. Only works if they have a hat though. Would be awkward for a knight to lose his helmet, especially since that helmet should be strapped to his head and that the only way he could lose it would be if he lost his head with it.

It seems like I can get upgrades for my traps as well. Maybe, one day, the slow-moving walls and ceilings will become faster. Think of all the mess I could create.

Okay, that's too gruesome.

Moving on.

Animals!

Interesting choice for the uniquely suited species. I've been given a fat blob of lard that can move if it deigns to do so.

If I recall my animal documentaries right, walrusses are fat, lazy, territorial, horny and did I mention fat?

What gave the impression to the system that, according to my newest floor, a walrus would be a great addition.

The only thing a walrus would be able to do in my maze would be acting like a blockage so that water will start building up. The animal that is infinitely more useful to me is the man o' war. I mean, I can just create a couple of them in my maze in some random location and they will just float along with the current and sting whatever it comes across. If you take in account that a single sting is enough to sometimes kill a regular sized person, imagine what it would if someone is stung multiple times or if gnomes, dwarves, halflings and other smaller races are stung just once. Just the anaphylactic shock alone might kill people of greater size if they are allergic to it.

I have the feeling that I've been given a bit more aquatic animal species. But hey, who am I to complain. The salmon will be great to help feed the village since salmon is a very protein rich fish. The king crabs could be useful as an additional food source as well. Or I could try to scale it up, create some sort of crab monster. They look scary enough as they are with all those ridges and spines.

As far as the Tits go, maybe I need to create an aviary so I can fill it with tits. And maybe one day, I hopefully get my hands on some boobies as well. I can hang up a sign that says No touching allowed, just like in a strip club.

Oohhh, and right next to the aviary a saltwater basin with clams.

To far?

To far.

I find it interesting that I was given two creatures that never mix well. A tabby cat and the terror of all dogkind, the rattiest of dogs, the direct descendant of a hellhound; the chihuahua.

Let's be honest with myself. I really don't like dogs that are smaller than my ankles. They always feel like they have something to prove. And they try to prove stuff by biting at your ankles. And chihuahua's are just plain evil.

If a chihuahua had an alignment, It would most likely be chaotic evil.

I do wonder what would happen if I put a chihuahua and a cat in the same room.

A battle between the spawn of satan and an evil, plotting and stonecold overlord who decides every night while you sleep if you get to live or not.

The gibbons, kangaroos and wildebeests are cool I guess. Maybe, If I one day make a savanna or tropical floor, I can use them to populate it along with the zebras and boa constrictors.

Since my consciousness has been in my core room all this time, I simply turn my attention towards my faithfull companion, WIKI.

"Hey WIKI, I got a message that stated that levelling would be a wee bit different from now on. It also said that you might know more. Do you?"

"Oh, wonderful. That must mean Master has gotten to his third level. I know of the change that the Master speaks of."

"Please, enlighten me. I'm curious now"

"As soon as a dungeon reaches its third level, the requirements for levelling up change a bit. The amount of mana that a dungeon would need will stay at a fixed value from now on. However, a second resource has been unlocked for you now, one that is called many different things but you, master, might know it as Experience."

"How would the experience be a resource? Isn't experience something intangible? Or is it the kind of experience that is somehow quantified and thus has become some sort of gainable materiel?"

"The idea is that every being should be able to gain a certain level of proficiency in something if he puts in enough effort. This intangible gain is called experience with a lowercase e and indirectly shows the proficiency of someone. Think of a blacksmith that has worked the forge and anvil all of his life. With just a few well-aimed and powerful strokes, the experienced blacksmith will be able to do the same as all of his apprentices combined in the span of a couple of minutes while they would need half an hour. Or an archer that is able to hit the back of a needle at fifty paces or further while a wanna-be hunter might not even be able to hit the straw target that's behind it."

"I think I understand experience. What is capital E Experience then?"

"Since a dungeon normally is incapable of getting hands-on experience with crafts, combat or other skills, another way was devised by the gods to show how proficient a dungeon is at killing and/or creating. Whenever a dungeon kills something within its halls, the dungeon gains a certain amount of quantified Experience. The amount gained depends on the thing that dies in its halls. If we go back to the experienced blacksmith, he or she would give way more Experience than his apprentices since he or she has put more time and effort into his skills and trade."

"Are there other ways to gain more Experience? I wouldn't mind getting stronger and more capable of greatness, but mercilessly killing every single thing that walks into my halls doesn't sit very well with me. Not that I shy away from killing, mind you. Killing fools, criminals and thieves is something I don't mind, actively trying to kill innocents is something my conscience cannot condone."

"There are indeed other avenues for getting more Experience. Although, these usually only become possible at higher levels since, at the lower levels, normal dungeons only act out of instinct and can be considered to be nothing more than wild animals. One such avenue is to create things or discover things this world has never seen. Another way would be by doing deeds that please the gods, thus gaining a small bit of favour from them, which in turn gets turned into Experience. The gods are fickle, though. You should be wary if you intend to curry favour with them."

"You have given me much to think about, thank you."

Now, how does my stat screen currently look like?

Name: Aaron Lightblade Level: 3 Location: Dragon mountains Dungeon companion: WIKI, the endless tome Mana: 900 750 Mana collection: 0,0100 mana per second Mana needed for next level: 10 000 000 Experience: 65 Experience needed for next level: 1000 Integrity of the core: 100% Chosen dungeon monsters: Animals Special achievements: *First dungeon with an artificial core Titles: Inventor Learned skills: Mana senses

Beast core creation

Monster mutation Number of floors: 2 inhabitants: 55 Number of agents: 1 (Mary-Ann of Ralomar)

Looking good!

But, what's this? Somehow, I've already gained some experience.

Another notification demands my attention now.

Congratulations!

Due to performing some special feats and/or creating some special items/materials, you have retroactively gained Experience.

Thanks to your creation of 'the yellow snow pitfall of supreme humiliation', a never seen before dungeon trap, you have gained 10 Experience.

Thanks to amusing a god with your creation of 'the yellow snow pitfall of supreme humiliation', you have gained 15 Experience.

Thanks to your creation of 'Cold-fire ice', a legendary material, you have gained 40 Experience.

Awesome, freebies. Who knows how much Exp I could get by just applying the concepts and science of Earth on things in this world. Who knows, I might just get a bunch of Exp with everything I reinvent here. And best of all, I could hog all the credit for it. Living the scientific dream right there.