Over the next few weeks I was able to get the last two loot nodes to level 2. I even managed to get the loot node near the boss to level 3. Thanks in large part to there actually being stuff for delvers to fight which Ironically may actually end up helping them level up faster. Level 1 mobs may give less experience but they are significantly easier to kill. I mean that is the very reason fighting stuff higher level than yourself gives more experience. At any rate I only need 1,100 DP to finish with the loot nodes. Which surprisingly shouldn't actually take that long with how popular I've been getting. Eric's party alone now delves twice a week. Rat's killed by them provide almost no DP but It still adds up.

  In fact, it suddenly occurs to me that the second floor needs more than just the puddle slimes. See the only thing keeping Eric's group on the first floor is their fear of my spider queen, and yes I've finally accepted that one or more of them can sense her because that is the only explanation. Either way they're eventually going to outgrow that fear. So I need to start taking the second floor a bit more seriously. I start by placing puddle slime spawners at the other three corners of the room as I gained the necessary DP. That brings the total number of spawners to four. The first floor had a spawner limit of six so I need to be careful with my next spawner selection. I'm sure the limit will be more than six but until I place down the sixth spawner I can't be certain. The fact that spawners and nodes on the second floor are placed at level two certain cuts down on the DP costs since I don't have to upgrade them to level 2.

  After a few more days I decide to place a couple of bear spawners within the first third of the second floor. I adjust their range so that they stay within the first third of the floor. As people continued to delve I even raised their level to level 3. I thought about using Dryad spawners but I wasn't sure which version of dryads I would get. The last thing I wanted was a bunch of mobs that resembled naked women running around. Sure there was a chance it would be the living thorn bush kind but I wasn't about to take that chance. That's a can of worms I do not need opened right now. More to the point it seems I was right I don't know yet what the limit is but it's definitely more than six because I haven't gotten the notification about the spawner limit yet. If I had to guess I'd say it's due to the fact that the second floor has four times the ground area and eight times the total volume. With that logic I would assume the new limit to be twenty four.

  Watching the bears emerge from their cave like spawners I'm satisfied that they can handle anything that makes it to the second floor. One interesting fact is that the first and second floor bosses are now the same level. The boss is always two levels higher than the highest level spawner on the floor. Which I guess makes sense, after all it wouldn't be fair to throw a level 5 boss at a group that has only ever fought level 1 mobs. Though it should still be a little difficult, I mean it is still a boss. Which is why it's more than just slightly stronger than the highest level spawner. Also, for the purposes of DP calculation and dispensing bosses count as their own spawners.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  I then move my attention back to the first floor. Just over a week later I've got the 3rd and fourth loot nodes to level 3. That means the first three are exactly the level I want them leaving only the last two. One of which is only one level away from being where I want it. Things are progressing nicely. I've even developed a small but growing group of regulars. Sure, aside from Eric's group they're only delving about once or twice a month. That hasn't stopped most of them from reaching level 2 and netting me more DP in the long run. Though at this rate it will take them another six months to reach level 3. Speaking of level 3 hear comes Eric's party now. Part of me hopes they do actually fight the boss this time but I'm not holding my breath.

  The delve starts out normal, Rachel has gotten a lot better at not panicking whenever she sees a rat. This spend some time killing mobs and harvesting the loot from the chests. They even take a few minutes to harvest the mushrooms. A level 1 node doesn't provide a lot of DP, especially when the person harvesting it is level 3, but every little bit counts. They've done this so many times by now they're almost as familiar with the first floor as I am. Which means when they stopped in one spot for an extended period of time it could only be for one reason.

  Eric POV

  Finally, I reached level 4. I was starting to wonder how long it was going to take. I guess It's only natural that each level up require more effort than the previous one. This time around I put one point each into strength, constitution, speed, and perception. Then I place the extra point into constitution to go ahead and bump that up. The question I have now is which skill should I get. I have an offensive skill and a utility skill already. Maybe I should focus on support skills. Then again defensive skills are also good. In the end I decide on a support type skill called Inspire which gives a 10% bonus to the stat points of all allies within five meters. It's an active skill with a one hour cool down but I see big things in the future. That 10% may not do much now but what about in the future when our stat points are all in the double digits. Also what if I use my skill point to level it up. I'm tempted to do just that but instead I level up identify. It's been such a huge help so far how can I not. I'm extremely curious to see if I can gain any more insight after leveling up the skill.

  After confirming my choices I can feel the points lock in and I'm suddenly more than I was. It's an odd feeling to suddenly be stronger without putting in hours at the gym. Not that I'm complaining, besides it's not like I don't get plenty of exercise exploring this dungeon. I still don't know how or why it appeared but I'm kinda glad it did. turning my attention to the others I use the newly improved Identify skill on Amy to see if I can gleam any more knowledge.

  Amara Shin

  Race: human

  Age: 16

  Level: 3

  Skills: draw agro, mining

  Interesting, it didn't show her skills last time. That means that it's definitely worth it to level up that skill. though I don't want to completely neglect the other skills. The others should be close to leveling up as well. So I've decided that it's finally time to confront that big spider. After a brief discussion they all agree, if this is a dungeon then that would most likely be the boss. So there should be some amazing treasure behind it.