Kaio's POV
And with that, another day is finally over.
Haaahhh, why do I feel more tired than usual today? Was it just the hype of seeing Connor again, now with new friends who looked like a classic RPG lineup? Was it my constant consideration of how to plan a Stampede in 2 months?
Or was it Sys's taciturn confirmation that I could very well screw myself over with the Stampede if I end up absorbing some evil-looking soul inhabiting the body of a goblin that gets out of my control and spreads chaos and destruction throughout the world?
It's a big mystery why I'm more inclined towards the last one (￣ヘ￣;)
[Worrying about something out of reach is unnecessary, as you often repeat.]
'I know, but that doesn't stop me from worrying, it's the same logic as a storm.' She could either wreak havoc or just leave things a mess, and you can't do anything but worry and hope for the best.
[In fact, and as I said before regarding the monsters' behavior, this still qualifies as a possibility. A possibility which it is my job to ensure doesn't happen.]
'Okay, okay, super mental/spiritual parasite. But what should I do to distract myself from this possibility even more now?'
[Suggestion: check if there's anything you want to change on the first or second floor.]
Hmm, fair enough.
But I don't want to change anything on the first floor for now. Well, I do want to change a few things, but for now I want to leave things as they are for my novice challengers. Like the early generations of video games that relied on patterns that players could memorize.
Of course, there's a lot of unpredictability since it's reality, even more so with Grumpy and Poh, but they are special cases.
As for the second floor...
Well, it doesn't hurt to give it one last "general check" before going to "sleep".
That said, I opened the panel and gave everything a general check so far.
[Name: Kaio
Race: Dungeon (Development)
Level: 2
Massage Points: 410
Environment Points: 280
Floors: 2
Unique Monsters: 2
Total Area of Influence: 55 Hectares (1st Floor), 200 Hectares (2nd Floor)
Experience Points: 821.5/5000]
My gains were a bit uneven, but overall it was still a good day.
Now, what I wanted to do with what I have is the problem.
...Well, let's take a "general look" at the second floor first.
That said, I only thought about the second floor and already "appeared" there.
Hmm, hmm.
I'm always impressed by how oppressive the atmosphere is here, dark, kind of cold, and with a constant fog smelling of swamp with occasional flashes of light. Some are natural lights because of the swamp methane, while others are small will-o'-the-wisps.
I only put them here for the atmosphere, not to be monsters, although they are listed as monsters in this specific environment.
[Cursed Enchanted Swamp: An ancient swamp with abundant Energy, once used as a meeting place and place of communion with nature by the first peoples. However, due to greed and disregard for the land, it is now a cursed place that hates and rejects the living, constantly generating creatures to eliminate and attempt to recapture a semblance of what it once was.]
I know, I know, you must be wondering why this place's environment has a description, while the forest and savannah on the first floor didn't.
Simple: the first floor were common biomes, and this is a special biome that I obtained using a good portion of the expedition members' souls.
Reminder: I can obtain MasP and EnBP both passively and actively when people are fighting "inside me".
That's why I didn't just get a good amount from the deaths, I also got some during the fight, some of which I used during the fight itself, altering the terrain and spawning more and more monsters for the fight, while the other part I saved for when needed.
And the chance to use those surplus resources came soon after, actually. As a congratulatory gesture for the victory, my dear system offered a special promotion that allowed me to acquire this special plot of land.
Not only did it come fully equipped, but it also has two important characteristics: one is that it sporadically spawns undead monsters like will-o'-the-wisps, and the other is that it's a cursed place that constantly drains the people who come here, but not vital energy, soul, or anything like that. What it drains is calmness; to be more precise, the [cursed enchanted swamp] makes it easier for people to become terrified.
Which is great for the concept of the second floor.
With what I've already said, I think it's obvious that the idea of the second floor is to be a floor overrun by the undead that will make a grown man soil his pants. And I made sure it would be exactly like that, and that's just in appearance.
Try to visualize it: A closed swamp, covered in constant fog under a sky heavy with dark clouds—that's already a great place to terrify people. Add to that an almost ghostly, bluish-white lighting that seems to have no origin, then lights emerge from the fog that can move of their own accord and even whisper things you don't understand.
I think that would make a good basic horror movie setting, but I didn't limit myself to just the setting; the way you get here is also interesting.
You know, when a challenger, or group (most likely) defeats the goblin tribe, some of the goblins flee to a certain cave not too far away, taking some of the tribe's treasures with them. They guide the challengers to a cave and, in "desperation", drop the treasures, one of which is a red crystal that serves as a key to the 2nd floor.
It would then glow rhythmically, like a heart, and intensify the further the challenger got into the cave/entrance. But obviously the challengers don't know this; to them, it's just a cave.
My idea was that the challengers would follow the goblins into the cave, but as soon as they entered, the portal would be activated, and they wouldn't even realize they were on the 2nd floor. They would just go deeper into the cave looking for the goblins, who would still be on the 1st floor (after all, unless it's a stampede, no monster is allowed to leave its floor).
Once they left the cave, they would walk through the swamp until they reached a cemetery that couldn't be bypassed. I laid it out lengthwise so that it covered the entire beginning of the middle section, with only different entrances—sometimes a hole in the wall, a fallen tree on top of the wall, a basic gate, etc.
In this cemetery, it's obvious they would have to face the classic zombies that emerge from graves, tombs, and mausoleums. The mausoleums would be something like mini-dungeons with rewards after 3 levels, but don't think they would only have to deal with zombies.
Even before reaching the cemetery, they would have to deal with some ghosts before arriving, not to mention the swamp's own predators like snakes, alligators, very large insects. And of course, other poisonous animals throughout the swamp, such as frogs and toads.
Yes, the animals were already included in the swamp along with the will-o'-the-wisps, but to give it a more cursed atmosphere I also added ghost spawners to the swamp, thankfully at a reduced cost.
Ah!, but things don't end when they reach the end of the cemetery; from there they enter an abandoned city full of the undead. To match the tone, this city would have a colonial baroque style.
Why?
Because I would say that the style matches the idea of a city in a swamp, like an abandoned, overrun New Orleans, reclaimed by the swamp and full of dangers, or like Recife, but instead of the sea, it would be the swamp that invaded the city and sank part of it.
Only when they reach the city center, about 3 or 4 hours after leaving the cave (depending on the route they took), do they see a definitive way out: confronting the boss. This boss "lives" in an abandoned mansion on top of a hill.
Who is this boss?
I won't give away too many spoilers, but I can say that although facing him is the surest way out, it's not the only one.
In the city, there's a monster that doesn't attack any challenger, and any attack against it is useless. This monster acts more like a special NPC in games, or a "secret character," who, if you pass his test, gives you a reward. This could be telling you where there's another exit, a place where challengers can temporarily strengthen themselves before the fight, a hint on how to defeat the boss, or a direct buff for the fight.
Who is this "NPC" and what is his test?
Yeah, I'm not going to say that either, but let's just say that if you're the type who likes pranks or just trolling others once in a while, you'll love his style. ( ~͜ʖ~ )