“You need to do it sooner or later, so it might as well be now. Besides, it’s simple. You just need to create a Rest Floor.”
“A what?”
“A floor for adventurers to rest. Somewhere in the dungeon where they could rest and relax, with only the occasional attack from the dungeon.”
“Occasional attack?”
Jemma giggled. “Can’t let the adventurers get too comfortable, can we?”
“Don’t they already have one on the second floor?” Xu Han asked, thinking of the area before the three rooms.
“That is more of a gathering point,” Jemma replied with a shake of her head. “A Rest Floor is different. A floor where adventurers can enjoy and have fun. A place of relative safety in the dungeon where they can relax after risking their lives. It is a target for adventurers to reach where they can do a little shopping, enjoy some games-”
“Shopping? I need to be a merchant?” A disgusted Xu Han asked. The Dao of Commerce was one that he hated. Of the five hundred thousand cultivation arts he knew, those were among the ones he hated the most.
“The adventurers will be the ones setting up the shops. They know what their fellow adventurers need better than you, but they need a place to set up shop, and that’s your job. You just need to create a relaxing place for them to enjoy.”
“Jemma, define a ‘relaxing’ place?”
“It’s a place for the adventurers to relax and recharge before delving deeper into your dungeon. Some dungeon cores just have an open space for adventurers, while others are more creative and design the floors to fit the themes of their dungeons.”
“Do you have any examples?” Xu Han asked.
“For underground dungeons like yours, cave systems filled with art and soothing glowing lights are very popular as they are easy to create. I know of several dungeons that have hot springs, though that might be a drain for your mana as you are not located in a volcano or mountain.”
“Art?” A surprised Xu Han asked, none of the dungeon cores in the chat group came across as artistic to him.
“Beautiful marble statues, haunting music; it depends on the interest of the dungeon core. If you don’t have a head for art, there are other options. I heard that one of the rest floors of The Hollow Vault is a beach where adventurers can just teleport to.”
“Wait, what teleport?”
“Think of the Rest Floors as checkpoints. Adventurers who reach that floor have the right to teleport themselves down to the floor without having to go through the earlier floors they had passed.” Jemma patiently explained.
“That’s stupid! Why would I want to make things easier for the adventurers?” A puzzled Xu Han asked.
“Because a level 30 adventurer may face a challenge on the twentieth floor of your dungeon, but he will walk past your earlier floors without breaking a sweat. And he will destroy everything on his way down. You’ll waste more power recreating everything he destroyed, than just letting him pass. If you create a teleportation circle and let the adventurer teleport straight to the Rest Floor, you’ll save yourself the expense.”
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Xu Han had to concede that’s a pretty good point. “Very well, I understand the teleportation circle, but why do I need a Rest Floor at this moment?”
“Most dungeon cores designed their Rest Floors further down their dungeons,” Jemma admitted, “but the death rate of your dungeon is high, so I think it is better for you to have an earlier rest floor.”
“Why?”
“Remember when I said the Rest Floors are targets for adventurers? Considering how hard your floors have been, it will be good to give the adventurers an early target. Somewhere they think they can reach if they just push a little harder.”
“Where they can just stay and do nothing?” Xu Han mentally frowned.
“Remember that you also gained passive power from the adventurers. The longer they stayed in the dungeon, the better it is for you. And merchants can stay in the dungeon for days on end. There is no drawback for designing a Rest Floor.”
Xu Han had to admit that the dungeon fairy had a point there. “And I can do whatever I want?”
“Basically.”
“Really anything?”
“Yes,” Jemma then frowned. “What are you thinking of making?” The dungeon fairy asked worryingly.
“A forest of emerald green, with a strip of blue in the middle. The small river will snaked through the forest before crashing down a gorge, forming a waterfall with foam rising as high as the height of three men.” Xu Han said wistfully, pausing for a moment before continuing. “There will be a deep semi-circle pool at the bottom of the waterfall and its shore would be wide and open. Adventurers can swim in the pool, or even jump down from the top of the waterfall if they are brave enough. The sun will be bright and the water cool. A constant light breeze will blow through the forest on the top of the waterfall, and the occasional mist would form, giving the forest a dreamy feel.”
“That’s…a lot more detailed than I expected. Was this a place you used to own?”
“No comment.”
As curious as she was, Jemma knew better than to push. “I have no objection to your plan but do remember to leave enough divine power to create the sixth floor after that.”
“Sixth floor?”
“The adventurers will be teleporting directly to the fifth floor, so you must have a floor below that for them to adventure in, right?”
Moments pass with only silence, then Xu Han spoke. “Jemma, is this a trick of yours to get me to create more floors?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” was the dungeon fairy’s innocent answer. Xu Han did not buy the innocent act at all. Sensing that, Jemma put up her hands defensively. “I’m just saying if you want to create that wonderfully designed rest floor you thought up, you need to create a floor below that. Imagine how fun it will be to create the Rest Floor you thought up?”
Xu Han had to admit the dungeon fairy had a point. The forest and waterfall area he thought up was one of his former residences in the Crimson Lands, before some expert ripped it away when Xu Han wasn’t around. He never did discover who stole it from him, so it would be fun to recreate it.
Then, Xu Han sensed something. It was a DMM, a direct magical message directed at him. Someone was sending him a message. Xu Han relaxed, mentally dropping his magical defence.
The Dungeon Master: Xu Han, please come to the chat. Challenger is back with the result of your Technique, and I may have an idea on how to create that [Cultivator] class you want.
Xu Han read the message.
Reread it.
And had to read it a third time.
The message was from The Dungeon Master, but this was too fast. How could a dungeon core who never heard of cultivation till a few weeks ago figured out a way to create them so soon?
Xu Han did not know, but he intent to find out. Xu Han immediately cast the chat room spell but stopped when his dungeon shook. A party of adventurers had walked into his dungeon, and they were different. They were far more powerful than any party that had come before. Xu Han mentally cursed.
The chat group would need to wait. He needs to be here for this.

