I was thankful that I could exchange EXP for system points, seeing as there were so many things in the shop that caught my interest, but at my current level, I wanted to wait a while, at least until I get up to a decent level like 10 or 25.

And speaking of levels, some Widow Ants just returned and brought along a live goblin before killing it, granting me just enough exp to level me up!

Congratulations!

You have leveled up and are now level 5!

+2.5 Mana Regeneration!

+20 Mana Capacity

You now gain 0.5 Mana Gathering for every ten cubic meters

Dungeon Slot Limit increased by 5, now at 20/30

Named Monster Limit increased by 1, now at 2/7

Transmutation has been unlocked!

You can now transmute materials into other materials with mana!

...Transmutation?

That's a literal game changer!

If I could make my own metals and materials using stuff like spare stone, dirt, or wood, I would be able to better arm my monsters and even try some experiments that I wanted to try when I got my hands on metal.

"Is there a limit to what materials I can create or a limit to the skill?"

[Transmuation is a complicated process in which the Dungeon must know the composition of the material they wish to transmute into. The only limit of the skill is cost and how much material you will need to transmute into something better]

"Wait, so I need to know the exact composition of iron if I want to create it?!"

[Correct]

"This has to be some ploy to make us spend more SP in the store..."

Mentally sighing in annoyance, I focused on the Kobold Tribe, who were progressing well.

Through experimentation, the Kobold Tribe now had a Shaman and Alchemist.

How did they unlock these classes?

First, the Shaman unlocked his class by trying to cast magic and blowing himself up. Eventually, after multiple explosions, the Kobold could cast a small firebolt and unlocked mana manipulation as well as the class option of Shaman.

As for the Alchemist, it was initially the tribe's cook who accidentally created a potion as they were trying to make a soup for the tribe.

How did they manage that? I will probably never know.

They've also named themselves, which didn't count as being a 'Named Monster,' which was nice since now I could refer to them with their names instead of giving them a name myself and using a Named Monster slot.

The Green Nature Kobold named himself Iz, and the other Kobolds named themselves something similarly small and have officially named their tribe 'The Tribe of Lizkin.'

Although it wasn't the best of names, I let them keep it.

Other than that, slowly, all of my Monsters, other than the slimes, have been growing quickly in strength and level. I have also been reviving every monster that dies, which costs a bit, so I have been only reviving more important monsters with their memories and levels that I wanted to see the growth of, specifically a few Slimes, the Lunar Storm Wolf Alpha, the Kobolds, Vesh, and Nadir, the Progenitor of the Da'gba.

Those were the only ones I revived with their memories and levels, so to say, with only a bit of exp loss. But, of course, it was half as expensive as creating an entirely new monster. Still, in this case, when I revive them, they keep their previous level, most of their previous exp, skill levels, stats, resistances, and all the rest of their status, including their memories.

The only bad thing I could see about this was that as the monsters grow in level, the mana cost in reviving them will increase in tow.

But this price will be worth it if I can revive strong monsters worth much more than their normal counterparts.

As for the monsters that I don't revive? I usually just revive them to save on cost, but later on, when they start gaining levels, I might replace them unless I can figure out how to make a monster spawner myself or purchase the data packet in the store.

Speaking of my monsters, the only ones I mostly don't revive are the Slimes, which reproduce remarkably fast.

The slimes I revive are the higher levels ones, which have evolved and are passed level 15.

As for the Slimes that I revive, they have evolved into the following: Greater Slime, Constrictor Slime, Ambusher Slime, Camouflage Slime, and finally, a Bark Slime.

The Greater Slime seemed to be just a larger variant of normal slimes and could reproduce four normal slimes a day compared to the normal slimes.

The constrictor slime was slighter larger than a normal slime and lunged towards a target and wrapped around them before consuming their target alive with their slime.

The Ambusher Slime like to hide in holes and trees and wait until a target approaches before dropping upon them and trying to eat them.

The Camouflage Slime was, in my opinion, a better version of the Ambusher Slime, with this slime being able to change the color of its skin into that of its surroundings, changing its appearance into dirt, bark, leaves, grass, and more. In addition, whenever a target approached, the Slime would either wait or slowly approach their target before lunging for a weak spot on their target.

A Bark Slime was the first slime to develop a kind of armor, it unlocked this evolution from eating a lot of bark, and now the slime's exterior was lined with a hardened bark-like slime that was just as flexible and acidic as normal slime, but offered greater protection against blunt and sharp attacks.

Each had its own way of hunting, and what fascinated me was the seemingly uncountable ways that the Slimes could evolve, which is why for every newly evolved slime that has evolved into something new, I make sure to add those Slimes to the list of Monsters that keep their memories and levels upon revival instead of being reset.

You see, including the levels and memories in the package increase the cost of revival. Since it was more cost-effective to reset the monsters upon revival, only a few of my total monsters get the special revival privilege.

And as I examined the Slimes in the Mine, I made for them that was empty of ore or anything else of relevance, and I noticed movement on my Surface eye.

"Oh? Look who has finally come back." I spoke to myself as I looked upon the group of nervous guards and that female Captain.

"Captain...are you sure about this?" One of the guards nervously asked the intimidating yet beautiful Guard Captain wearing a mix of Scrap Metal and Sports Gear Armor, with a rifle in hand and short sword and pistol strapped to her waists.

"You know our orders. The Mayor wants us to inspect this Dungeon and see if it'll endanger the city. So our job is to delve into the Dungeon and explore the first couple of floors while bringing back anything we find to be inspected," The Guard Captain seriously told the nervous Guard, who didn't seem too keen on entering my Dungeon.

There were six Guards in total, including the Captain, and just like before during the city's siege, the Guards wore a mix of scrap metal and sports gear, and only a few of the Guards had any Firearms, with the rest having some form of melee weaponry.

Something that confused me was that even during the siege, I have yet to see a single Guard use a shield.

Did these people not use shields?

Why?

I understand that firearms would probably go through the shield, but even still, in the battle against the Golems and even now when they are about to delve into my Dungeon, they still did not use shields.

Did they not have enough recourses to make them?

That can't be. There are thousands of cars on the streets of this city, not to mention the countless other metallic objects they could melt down to make shields.

Was it a lack of tools to do so?

Also shouldn't be, there should be some factories or workshops in the city that they could scavenge from.

Maybe they have no people with the skills to do so?

Hmmm...

Putting that thought aside, I wondered how they would react to my first floor and the monsters that inhabited it.

I also wanted to know how they would react to the Kobolds.

The question is, would they be hostile to me and try to destroy me or attempt to use me to gain wealth and power?