Morning always comes too quickly. Given all the surprises, I slept surprisingly well. Although that may have been due to my adorable little hug pillow. Well, down to some actual work today I suppose.

Yesterday, creating a room took about 15 mana. About 10 of those was for expanding my territory, 4 of those was for creating the bed and blankets and everything, and 1 of them was for creating the room. Well, there might have been a higher mana cost, but I think breaking down the rock and offerings helped me recover some mana during the process. It was for about 40 cubic meters? Somewhere between 1 and 2 bedrooms I guess? Well I was never a good judge of such measurements in the real world though. However, my mana regeneration had increased by 1, which will be helpful.

Now, how do we do this optimally. It’ll hardly matter in the long run, but now’s quite a dangerous time.

[Eita] Saeri, when do you think the village will come to check on us ?

[Saeri] Well, newborn dungeons tend to be a bit unstable. They’ll probably leave you alone for a week or so? It will take that long to learn that you were summoned and an adventurer team brought in.

[Eita] Good. We have some time then. Let’s start by spreading my territory and increasing the mana generation. Hm. I also broke down things for mana so hunting and gathering will help gather mana as well as give me new things I can use. I broke down that rabbit yesterday so food isn’t an issue. I can create rabbits, using a similar interface as the one that I used to create rooms. It even lets me modify components of it. It’s kind of like having a system on the back end doing all the hard work.

Hm. Oh, that’s right. I had 10 dungeon points right? That’s how most dungeons summon their first monsters. After all, I only know how to summon that rabbit that was an offering after all. And since I could probably make a few simple traps myself once I get some materials, let’s get a creature first. Something to hunt and bring back things for me to break down.

[Dungeon History]

A list way too large appears before me. Rather, I can’t find anything like this. Who even uses this thing alphabetically.

[Eita] Uh…. Filter for creatures I can afford? Oh, it worked. Nice.

The list was drastically shorter now. It seems like it’s composed of low level generic monsters. Slimes, goblins, animals, you know the deal. While they seem tempting, I don’t want to waste too much DP on summoning low level things. I’m not even sure how to get more yet. Hmm, what would be most interesting and still effective….

Oof. Tough choices. But I think in the end i’ll have to go with the cat. I’ll definitely need something that can hunt. Wolves are overdone, insects are creepy and might be weak at the start, and humanoids might have some issues with housing and control. Cats are natural hunters. Don’t underestimate cats. Stray cats kill tons of animals each year. Think of what they can do with a little magical enhancement. It’s definitely not because they’re cute ok.

Aaaand there goes all my dungeon points. I guess I should have figured out how to get them first. Oh well.

I start working on the cat pattern I learned. It looks like a normal house cat. Let’s give them sharper teeth, more jaw muscles, sharper claws, and enhanced leg muscles for those pounces. It should do for now. I create 3 and send them out to hunt and gather. My updated kitties cost about 10 mana each. I also summon 3 rabbits, after enhancing their leg muscles. They might be rabbits but they should be able to avoid being caught if they’re just fetching some plants.

I’m quickly down to a mere 40 mana. I use it all to expand my territory from 40 cubic meters to 160. I summoned an additional cat to stand guard with Saeri for now. I try to focus on making it extra cute with big eyes and a shiny black coat. I spent a couple of points making a bag for myself and the rest was saved up for emergencies. Of course, my core was really unprotected right now, but it’s not like I could create any real defenses for it anyways, until I get a little more mana. Luckily my mana regen is up to 5/hour. Investing in this early really is the right move.

Alright, time to get a better idea of the surroundings.