It was finally time to create the second floor but what should the second floor be. There were a few options but I have already ruled out the underground mining camp and mystic cave, at least for now. Which leaves either the forest, the lost town, or the desert. The desert can also be ruled out for now I want to try and help the delvers a little because if they all die off I would stagnate. Sure, I get DP passively but that's not my food source. even when it's produced by delvers it's just a biproduct of their effort and will which is my food. More precisely it's the mental energy required to produce effort and will. Anyway, it means I can't be too hostile right out of the gate the way I could on a world where the system had been around for millennia.

  So, that really just leaves the forest or the lost town. Both have their advantages. If the abandoned mine is anything to go by I'll get another floor template related to whichever one I pick. The big question is do I want to potentially allow delvers to live inside of me? The answer of course is not just yet. Which narrows it down to the forest. Although, I am curious what kind of mobs I would get for the lost town. I've made my choice however, so without any further hesitation I spend the 200DP to set my second floor. With that I feel my crystal body sink lower into the ground as more space opens up this time larger than the first.

  Second Floor: Forest

  Actual Size: 20m x 20m x 20m

  Spatially Distorted Size: 2km x 2km x 2km

  Decorations: Trees(oak, maple, birch) Bushes (rhododendron, dogwood, azalea)

  Spawners: none present

  Nodes: none present

  Boss: none selected

  Delver Deaths Thus Far: 0

  I wish I could control the shape. I don't really need a floor 2 kilometers tall. Well, maybe if it was a mountainous template or a canyon or something like that. Either way it's time to add some mobs. One thing I didn't account for, which in hind sight I really should have, is that spawners on the second floor start at level 2. It makes sense now that I think about it. I mean it would be a real pain to have to create a spawner and then spend DP getting it to a level where the mobs can pose a challenge. Especially in the later floors like 10 or 15. Even now it's cheaper to create the spawner at level 2 for 20DP than it would be to create it at level 1 for 10DP then spend another 20 DP upgrading it to level 2. The question is which spawner should I get first.

  Spawner

  Wolf: (level 2) cunning and powerful, they can easily overwhelm unprepared delvers

  Bear: (Level 2) extremely strong, beware their hugs

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Dryad: (level 2) guardian of the forest, will protect the trees at all costs

  Fox: (level 2) masters of illusion, they can have unaware delvers walking in circles for days

  Puddle slime: (level 2) the perfect ambush hunter, their acidic bodies can dissolve almost anything.

  I think first I'll go with puddle slimes. The goal is to leave no doubts about what I am. If I were on a world where the system had long since been established I might try to disguise my true nature a bit longer, but here it would only confuse them more. So, with the spawner selected I place it in a corner of the room. What comes out of the spawner is something that resembles a pool of water about 15cm in diameter except that the consistency is all wrong. There is also a slight greenish tint to it. Puddle slimes are agonizingly slow but I don't expect any delvers to get here for at least another month or two.

  Between the puddle slime, the forest underground, and the sky where no sky should be, not to mention the giant spider they had to fight to get here, I think even the most stubborn denier would have to accept the truth at this point. Now it's time to add a boss. The choices are all really good this time.

  Second floor boss

  Dire Wolf: Swift and cunning, it is far more agile than a creature it's size should be

  Wood Wolf: A wolf that is larger than normal but has traded some agility and speed for wood like armor plates

  Two Tailed Fox: possessing both the illusions of it's lesser kin as well as some offensive magic.

  Bee Swarm: thousands of bees that move and act as one, not particularly strong but very hard to take out and possessing a great deal of venom thanks to the many bees that comprise it's essence

  Wood Golem: a tree trunk given a semblance of consciousness through some unknown means, Taking on a bipedal form it's slow and lacking in intelligence but it's wood hide is very hard to penetrate

  After some internal debate and no small amount of mental back and forth I decide to go with the Wood Golem. It just makes sense for the boss of the forest to be a tree. Even if it's not actually a tree. Having made my selection I watch as a small clearing opens up in front of my core room. In the middle of the clearing spawns what looks like the remains of a dead tree. If I didn't know what it was even I would be fooled by it's appearance. With that the second floor is officially ready for business. That doesn't mean that It's finished however. Having just enough DP left I decide to add a node to the second floor. The choices this time are rather unremarkable.

  Second floor nodes

  Blueberry: A tasty treat for most delvers

  Huckleberry: tasty but also an ingredient in minor health potions

  Rabbit: a good source of protein if you can catch them

  Witch hazel: an ingredient in minor health potions

  Echinacea: an ingredient in minor health potions

  One thing I notice right away is the complete lack of a loot node. The second thing I notice is that there are a lot of options for minor healing potion ingredients. I decide to go with a blueberry node right in the center of the forest. Mainly because I don't think this world will have alchemists any time soon. I do plan to add a rabbit node at some point but I also want to finish up the first floor before I become to popular. Speaking of which it's been a while since I pulled up the first floors stats.

  First Floor

  Abandoned Mine

  Actual size: 10m x 10m x 10m

  Spatially distorted size: 1 cubic kilometer

  Decorations: mine carts, mine tracks, rusted pickaxes, rusted shovels, lanterns, decaying timber

  Spawners: rat (level 1) snake (level 2) spider (level 3)

  nodes: loot x5, mushrooms x2

  Boss: giant spider

  Deaths so far: 5

  I knew some deaths had occurred but even I didn't realize it had been that many. Though to be honest most of those are from people wondering in alone. Exploring caves was a popular pastime among some even before the system arrived. So it makes sense those types of people would want to explore an abandoned mine.