Elan took a couple days to overcome his shock from the shameful display Trendal showed him. When I asked him why it would be so shocking, his eyes glazed over while he replied in monotone. “I remember no such thing happening. Last time I saw Lord Trendal, was when I was summoned here.”

While Elan decided to live in denial, I told him that the so called deity I met during rank-up, was actually the the Goddess of Wind, Ilessa. While he was still flabbergasted, I also mentioned that she has supposedly targeted me with her domains of travel and luck, significantly hastening the process of me being found. I would be found eventually anyways, when I grow in strength. According to Elan, dungeons release a constant pulse of mana from the entrance to the surrounding air, making them easy to find for mages or those sensitive enough.

Of course I received a verbal lashing from Elan, mostly targeting my stupidity of offending divinities, or attracting trouble like a “gold coin thrown in the slums” as he so aptly put it. At least he was impressed of the lifelike carvings of my entrance. As I actually have those creatures in my dungeon, he told that the adventurers will assume I just copied my creatures. Usually dungeons have much simpler entrances, or even just a hole in the ground.

Spending next two tendays carving the space for my second floor, I opted to create much larger caves. Largest one is over half a kilometer long, and almost 300 meters at the widest part, reaching a nice height of 80 meters. Finding a perfect idea for how to use the birds I have captured, I left a massive pillars reaching the ceiling in the caves. I also turned 10 meters of stone to a soil for the trees, creating a bunch of crevices where the roots can start growing to the stone for anchoring them in place.

The cave walls are littered with pathways leading to caves for my creatures, both large enough for the wolves I plan to make, and small enough for the snakes. Atmosphere is nice and warm, just nice a forest during a sunny day. For the light source I had to start being creative, as previous crystal vines were not bright enough. I created a new variation of these vines, by making them grow a massive crystal on the roof, and twining around it to keep it up. While successful in the experiment, they used too much on my mana when shining all day along. This is when I gave those greedy vines a soul, making them grow dim enough to simulate a night, while they stored mana for 12 hours each day. This way I didn’t have to supply them any extra, as they survived on ambient mana, naming them as crystal sun vines.

Speaking of ambient mana, it has grown stronger as I expanded. My second floor has half as much mana than the first floor, even without any creatures yet. It has also sped up the growing rate for saplings of various trees, as they now reach a height of fifteen meters. Other plants, bushes and vines have also grown rapidly. I have some plans for those as well, as I was not going to use my traps elsewhere than connecting tunnels. Even then only the basic blades of obsidian from the walls. After creating my entrance, I noticed how it is better compared to the normal granite, being significantly harder when compressed. I think it now reaches the hardness of an iron blade, even without any mana reinforcing it.

As I have yet to create new creatures, I filled the floor with my squirrels, bunnies and snakes for starters. Now the young forest is also filled with a scenes of carnage, but unlike before, snakes and squirrels have an advantage because they can scale the trees. Before I start experimenting with birds, foxes and wolves, I plan to create some plants with a soul.

First I take a thorny creeper vine as a template, reinforcing the roots and making them grow deeper, creating a thin crystal veins throughout the vines, hardening the thorns, and making the vines tougher to cut, I create a simple soul with instruction to wrap around the targets stepping near it. It can sense the prey nearby by sensing tremors with its roots. Satisfied, I spread them around the caves.

Next I combine creeper vines with a flower that releases a sweet scent, causing a slight confusion. I noticed how squirrels liked the scent while being immune to the confusion on the first floor. I make it a parasitic plant growing along the branches of the tree, before hanging down towards the ground. I make these vines highly elastic, making them able to lift a grown man up from the ground. Infusing it with a soul, I give instructions to wrap around creatures touching the hanging vines, and lifting them up to the branches. I also left it with a command to ignore snakes and squirrels. I chuckle as I think how the adventurers would react these strangling vines when they find them the first time, and spread them sporadically around the forest. For camouflage, I create few more normal versions with different flowers around the forests. No need to announce that hanging vines equals danger.

Next I turn my attention to the pillars. They are covered with moss, handholds, outcrops and small outlooks capable of holding a few adventurers. I need a bait for them to climb these pillars, so I turn my attention to a more potent herbs I did not place on the first floor. No reason for me to heavily reward people coming to my first floor. For an attention grabber, I create a few of the weaker herbs useful for potions on the overlooks a few meters above the ground.

I start growing some better herbs, that are used for making a healing potion according to Elan, above the height of twenty meters. I keep this up until near the top, the herbs change to ones needed for reducing mental fatigue for mages, fairly rare pieces according to Elan. I also make their roots to grow deep in the stone, so I don’t have to create them again after harvesting. They will grow again in a couple of days. I grow around thirty herbs for healing potions and five for mental fatigue over the surfaces of every pillar. Various herbs of different purposes are already growing around the the caves, hidden within the underbrush.

As there is no rewards without risks in my dungeon, I recover my mana for my first experiment with a new creature.

I take a normal, fast flying bird for my next target for experimentation. Finally I can have some fun after a constant hounding of Elan. He had been watching me like a hawk when I was creating my second floor. I think he still resents me for how I changed the bunnies and squirrels to incarnations of a furry death.

Grunting at the weakness of my source template, I try to rack my brain how to strengthen them to be a threat for climbing adventurers, I draw a blank as I haven’t absorbed any larger birds.

Mentally shrugging, for starters, I make them thirty centimeter high, create a sleeker body and making their bones denser. Going with my normal method, I make wicked talons for them and I decide to create my first test subject on overhang midway of the pillar. It is fairly impressive looking while strutting confusedly around the small space. Ordering the bird to fly, it jumps off the overhang, spreading its wings wide. I watch in dismay as the bird desperately flaps its wings, dropping like a rock towards the cave floor. Diving beak first towards the ground, it hits a protruding root, splattering with a loud crunch as all of the bones in its body broke spectacularly. The crash caused a feathery chunks of flesh and bones spreading in the nearby area.

Note to self, do not make birds too heavy next time. Focusing upon the remains of the bird, I finally realized that the dense bones are indeed too heavy, as I accidently filled up even the hollow parts of them. While checking the head, I noticed the small hole the beak left to the root. Quickly scanning rest of the root, other bones only left small indentions where they crashed down, before breaking. I felt as if I had a momentary enlightenment, I rushed to make a bird number two.

This time I only doubled the size, slightly strengthened the bones, sharpened the talons, before making the beak a length of a finger. I was going to remake them as flying daggers! I quickly created a wide wall of wood, attached to the pillar at a slant, before ordering the bird to dive at it. As the bird crashed against the wood, causing a shower of blood, bones and guts to fall in the trees below, staining the pillar on the way, I rejoiced as there was a notable puncture in the wood. With a glee I threw myself in the experimentation for the best form for my Daggerbirds, I let Elan to enjoy his fluffy companions even though I was supposed to tell him before I creating new creatures. I certainly didn’t want to impose upon his personal time.

I’m only thinking the best for Elan, he needs his rest and relaxation. Definitely so, I thought as the second bird splattered against the wooden wall. My core literally tingling with excitement, I thought, Finally I got to the fun part of making my second floor! Humming within my mind, I watched as third bird splattered to the wall.

***

Two days later, I was forming a finalized version for a new creature for my dungeon, when a sudden shout broke my concentration as I was startled, and mana poured in for the creation ran wild.

“FARAN! I specifically told you to tell me before experimenting! By the abyss, what have you been doing!”, Elan flew near my spirit mode, yelling with an indignant expression. I looked to my failed creation now on the ground. It was fleshy blob of something with a tufts of fur and pieces of bones sticking out, along with a tail of a fox. Elan saw as it died with a violent convulsion, before I had time to absorb it. Quickly removing the glaring piece of evidence, as they do say, out of sight, out of mind. Too bad it was not working, as I still had the corpses of previous versions laying around. I quickly absorbed those as well.

Veins bulging on his face with a familiar violently twitching eyelid, Elan stared at me with a frowning, stern face. He was floating ramrod straight with his hands clasped behind his back, and his usually tidy goatee was now bristling like a rolled up hedgehog. Damn I was in trouble.

“Ahem, I was just finishing populating my second floor. I only need to add the foxes.” I quickly explained.

“I see that you’ve been busy while “populating”. Why you didn’t tell me that you were going to do it?! You keep wasting mana as you let your mind wander!”, Elan asked with a sarcastic tone turning to one of anger.

“I was going to, but you were busy with petting your fluffy companions, and I surely didn’t want to intrude upon your time of relaxation. I was being considerate, and protected you from mental harm, you see?” I assured my enraged companion meaning to placate him, only causing him to grow even angrier. However before he continued admonishing me, he quickly scanned the area, noticing a ground and trees full of bloodstains and feathers, along with my self-employed team of cleaners.

Squirrels were sprawled all over the grassy ground, with bloody maws and bloated stomachs, sleeping contently. Looking up he then noticed gory additions upon the pillar, a mass of gore, filled with feathers, guts and pieces of flesh still trickling down from the wooden wall. I quickly absorbed everything related to my experiments before projecting a feelings of pure innocence towards Elan, hoping he didn’t see them too clearly as the crystal sun vines were in their resting period, plunging the cave in darkness. Alas, I forgot he can see in dark as well as under the sun, if not better.

I received yet another unavoidable verbal lashing for a half a day, only ending as Elan lost his voice and felt that mental communication “Is insufficient for conveying the feelings I feel from witnessing the atrocious scene of my cruel abuse of animals”. Somehow he didn’t seem to feel that way when I was toying with snakes or plants, only when I modified something small and cute. With a fur.

As I regained my mana while being admonished, I proceeded to create the final creature for the second floor. Vicious looking fox with my trademark sharp teeth and sharpened talons. It was double the size of a normal one, powerful muscles under a durable hide, sleek body with a brown fur and a tail ending to a very sharp, dense bone spike. I’ve already seen them slashing and stabbing with it with a deadly effect, causing shallow slashes or deeper puncture wounds to the bunnies. I designed it for moving with short, quick bursts during a combat. Along with loyalty to me and Elan I infuse to every soul I form, I added aggressive behaviour of a hunter towards the bunnies and squirrels, instinct to dig tunnels under the trees for dens, and aiming to cripple larger beings with hit-and-run tactics in battles.

Satisfied, I finally release a mental sigh as I completed the job of creating new creatures. Even interesting work will get tedious if you don’t have any breaks. For now I will focus on growing my new center so I can reach my third rank, and wait for the constant fighting to produce a monster with a core. I would even name and contract first of the evolvers from each species, so I could keep them as a boss monsters.

Elan reminded that I can’t contract any beings without a monster core, with the exception of humanoid species casting away their soul field protection, and pledging themselves as servants of the dungeon core. Even then I need to grant them a name that works as a focus for the contract. Afterwards their souls, along with their memories, are transferred within my core upon their deaths. However, with their memories, they also remember their body, so they can only evolve through time and combat.

I didn’t touch the wolves much when I created them. They are already a fine hunters, so I only grew their size by half, increased the density of of their bones, muscles and hide. Now their teeth and claws can pierce hardened leather, as well themselves being resistant to slashing attacks. I placed two packs per a cave, making them fight for territory within the woods.

My constrictor snakes were being killed too easily by the wolves, while being too slow to catch other prey, unless attacked. So I made them ten meters in length, as thick as a human waist for the most part, changed the teeths for a slightly hooked, triangular shape with a sawlike edges. Their scales are now tough enough to resist the attacks from the wolves for a short while. I also combined the muscles with the vipers, making them capable of lightning quick attack when coiled up. Their instincts are to move through the trees, and to attack from distance with a bite, before coiling around the prey, crushing their bones with a squeeze.

The final form for daggerbirds is around 20 centimeters tall, with a half a meter wingspan. Their feathers and bones are tougher, and muscles in the wings stronger. The beak is 7 centimeters long, slightly flat while sharpening to a pointy end. This time I didn’t modify their claws. Daggerbirds start having nests from halfway of the pillars to the top, attacking those getting too close to their nests.

They attack with a dive, piercing the target with their beak. I had to change the shape of their spine for it being able to handle attacks on fleshy targets without it shattering instantly. If they dive against a hard object, such as wood or hardened leather, they still die from the impact shattering their spines. Daggerbirds are omnivores, eating berries, insects and occasional squirrel they hunt. Climbing adventurers better be careful, as if they slip because of their attacks, it is going to be a long way down.

Wondering how long it will take for some visitors to show up, I decide to sink in my version of sleep, meditation.

***

Faran’s Dungeon, Elan’s POV

Faran did it again! Right after I relaxed my watch over him, he started “experimenting” to create those twisted, brutal killers of his. He even behaved himself the last half a month already! I noticed something was wrong when I didn’t hear from him for two days as he was busy creating some killer vines and creating a full ecosystem for his forests. Those animal creations of his, even when they’re resting, the end result of his modifications made them look somehow menacing, their bodies riddled with scars from battles, bodies rippling with muscles built for combat. With a shudder I fly faster to my sanctuary, the only source of light and joy in this hellhole of perpetual slaughter between all creatures. The only peaceful spot in here.

Going through the stairwell Faran turned his old core room, I notice that he didn’t stop his wicked ways even here. I told him transition from floor to floor should be safe, like in other dungeons. Yet he created a one and half meter wide stairway, without railings, to circle down along the walls of a twenty meter wide and eighty meters deep pit. He even purposefully made the some steps narrower, deeper steps, or a slight angle towards the middle of the pit, all to make one not careful where they’re stepping, to stumble and fall to their deaths. At least he conceded to create alcoves every twenty meters for adventurers to pass a team heading the opposite direction.

I soon reached the top, opening the hidden sliding door to a small tunnel. Closing the door as I went in, I unconsciously sped up as I neared my place for soothing my mind after Faran’s latest stunt. No matter how much I yell at, berate or curse him, he just takes it in a stride, shrugs it off and continues with something else. How you get someone to behave if he’s not fazed by any admonishment? I haven’t yet found a way to control Faran’s idiotic tendencies to constantly waste mana, as I don’t know his weak points. Maybe I will find out them after adventurers start showing up, so I can get him grow even stronger.

Reaching the cave with a meadow, complete with recently added small grove of trees reaching a height of 5 meters, I sit down and watch as white fluffy ball bounces towards me. Catching the soft bunny, I place it upon my lap while stroking it, feeling how my stress is melting away. Starting to feel content, as my eyes started to soften, I focused with a start as a thought hit me.

Don’t tell me Faran made these cute, just the right sized animals for me, just to stop me watching over his shoulders all the time? Devious plan Faran, truly devious plan indeed. I kept thinking all the while still stroking the now content bunny.

But soon I don’t have to fly all over the dungeon to keep a watch over him. Knowing Faran, he is going to focus on ranking up again. At his pace, I only need to be patient for a few months. Then I will be having the last laugh, as he can’t sneak around to do his experiments in secret! As my sneer turned to chuckling, and from there to a devious laughter, the bunny on my lap sighed happily, twitched its nose for a moment and fell asleep as I kept stroking the soft, fluffy fur of his.