The core spent the next several days in a slow, boring process that allowed it plenty of time to tabulate votes- every time it regenerated a usable ammount of mp(which, happily, was split into twice daily infusions of one mp, not one of two), it would carve another small section of its second room, until eventually it was complete- the ceiling was only barely higher than the previous room, but nearly twice the total size. The dungeon considered doing something to make this second room feel special, before carving away the floor, resulting in a gentle slope from the walls to the floor, which settled in much deeper than the previous room.

It wasn't sure what it would use this room for yet, but it had the feeling it would be special. So special, in fact, that the core half expect the familiar twisting sensation, but ultimately nothing came of it. Regardless, there was one thing that was obvious to do- relocate to the New Room. With a moment of concentration, the core's awareness flickered, before it 'awoke' once more, now centered in the back wall of the New Room.

It would have to come up with a name for its rooms at some point.

Regardless, this was a moment to celebrate! With another room between the core and the outside, it was that little bit more secure, and had that little bit more room to defeat intruders in. Unfortunately, the next thing the core wanted to do was expensive, and so it would have to wait to regenerate nearly all of its mana.

And wait it did, for four long, boring days, with nothing to do but listen. During this time, the voices debated what it should do- slimes, skeletons, and vipers all seemed to receive vocal support, but the most common idea seemed to be that waiting, and receiving new options like it had the Giant Crab, would be the best choice. It certainly was enticing- what if the core's first minion could be something truly dangerous, setting it up to be even more powerful as it grew? What if it learned how to grow its mana pool, and could purchase two at once? What if-

DP menu Core Reinforcement: 10DP Core Strengthening: 15DP Dungeon Material Advancement: 5DP

The core had not expected the twisting to come, and it couldn't understand why it had! So far, it only came when the core thought of something which came first, not something completely unrelated. It felt as if this option was on a hair trigger. Regardless, improving itself sounded valuable, and so it focused on each option in turn.

Core Reinforcement Improves Dungeon Core Mana Capacity. Price and effect scales exponentially. Core Strengthening Improves Dungeon Core Mana Generation. Price and effect scales exponentially. Dungeon Material Advancement Improves dungeon decor by replacing simple rock walls and floors with worked stone. Additional upgrades give access to a variety of alternatives, of increasing quality. Unlocks additional aesthetic upgrades.

The dungeon spent quite a bit of time considering these options. Obviously, core reinforcement and strengthening were worth their weight in gold, and clearly showed the value of DP- something which the core only had eight of, with no clear source of more to be seen. Obviously, it should hold its DP until it could afford Reinforcement, followed by strengthening, and use those options to build a stronger dungeon which would allow it to earn more DP, which it could spend on the material advancement.

It all made perfect sense.

The core purchased Dungeon Material Advancement.

With a rippling, itching feeling, the stone within the dungeon changed, becoming less rough and uneven, before splitting into stone bricks of various sizes. The floor was even more extreme, becoming large, flat stones which formed simplistic patterns on the floor, except in The New Room, where complicated patterns of small stones were required to support the curved flooring.

The core decided to see what other options it had unlocked.

DP menu Core Reinforcement: 10DP Core Strengthening: 15DP Dungeon Material Advancement: 15DP Dungeon Lighting: 1DP Dungeon Construction: 5DP

The first two options were self evident. The first would provide even higher quality floors and walls, while also letting it look nicer. The dungeon wanted that quite a lot. The second, self-evidently, would provide lighting, which would enable things which needed light to enter the dungeon easier, but it wasn't sure it wanted its traps to be easier to see just yet. It wasn't sure what Dungeon Construction did, though, so it focused on it.

Dungeon Construction Enables a dungeon to construct features, such as wooden doors, regular stone walls, and basic puzzle components. Unlocks further purchases to improve construction quality and variety.

Doors! Those would help limit who could reach the core, while also letting it look a little nicer. Everything it saw made the core want to purchase more upgrades, but it had already splurged on Dungeon Material Advancement. It had to be patient and get the practical upgrades next.

Soon it would purchase them, and then it would buy torches so everyone could look at it. But being the prettiest dungeon in the world wouldn't protect it, so it had to wait. But first, it had new defences to build, and the dungeon was finally ready to start.

Unnamed Dungeon MP:9/10 defeated invaders: 1 Untyped Dungeon MP Regen: 2/day DP: 3

First, the Dungeon purchased the trap it had salivated over in its first day, the cave in trap, and set it in the New Room. Mentally renaming it the Cave In Room, the dungeon settled in and waited another day for its chosen trigger- the trapped chest. Unfortunately, this brough with it an unexpected roadblock, as its placement was immediately followed by the twisting beginning anew.

WARNING! TRAP INACTIVE! The Trapped Chest Trigger requires atleast one piece of Treasure be placed inside to function.

... Treasure?

Treasure Grilled Meat: 2MP Fresh Fruit: 1MP Iron Sword: 2MP Gold Coin(x20): 1MP Carved Shell: 3MP

Finally! The feeling told the core something it could use!

Admittedly, however, this would take another few days to use correctly, and so the core settled in to wait.

Again.

Eventually, it was ready to place its treasure, and so it did. First, it spent 3mp to place 60 gold coins inside the chest. Then, it spent 2mp to place a carved shell on top of the coins- the shell was carved with an image of a curved beach, and a simple cave entrance hidden behind dunes of sand. Instinctively, it knew that this was its own entrance, even if it had no way to see for itself.

The core admired the shell for some time, and only realized it needed to finish what it was doing when, with a start, it felt more mana flow into its pool.

Finally, it summoned an iron sword, and attempted to place it inside the chest.

Then, it tried again, but at an angle.

Then it tried by putting the point in first, and leaning it against the inside of the lid.

Finally, the core gave up, and simply leaned the sword against the side of the chest, glaring at it like a disobedient servant.

The core resolved not to give any more swords as loot after that one was taken.

As a final attempt, since the core knew animals would probably be easier to defeat than humans, it summoned a pile of fresh fruit and set them in the first room, between the pit and the second tunnel. Hopefully, something would fall in.