That was certainly something. Maybe it's just me but they seem to be pushing themselves harder than normal. It could also be the fact that I am seeing a few new faces that aren't exactly level 1. This means that just as Clyde predict I'm starting to attract those wood ranks that are just a level or two from ranking up. This of course has led to people having to wait to enter the second floor which means people need to wait longer to enter the first. All of which is exacerbated by people coming in between delves to collect the water. Although on that note I have noticed it isn't just Clyde collecting the water anymore.
If I had to guess I'd say Clyde wants to make sure he is strong enough to remain in control of things outside. That's just a guess though. I try not to pay too much attention to what's happening outside. It is nice to be able to watch the sunset and sunrise again though. When I actually remember in time that is. At any rate I think it's past time I got back to working on the dungeon. The question is what the theme of the next room should be. I'm tempted to do a desert theme, but I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't do that. The last thing they need is to be reminded they are in a desert. I could do a rainforest or jungle, but weather manipulation is way too expensive at the moment. Besides I don't have nearly enough, or any for that matter, of the right kinds of patterns to really sell the jungle or rainforest theme. I could see such a room becoming popular in the future though.
I think I'll just go with a simple wooded area. This time covering the entire floor. I also throw in a few berry bushes here and there not a lot, but they are there if delvers look for them. As for the mobs I use wood golems. Scattering twenty level 18 wood golems throughout the floor. With all these trees around it only makes sense to use wood golems. I also don't bother with any kind of trigger for all of them so it's possible for a party to get by without fighting all of them. They will remain dormant unless a delver gets within five meters. This is important because I plan to make two sets of branching paths so they will need to enter this room multiple times. I noticed that delvers tend to not enjoy having to cross empty rooms so this design should help with that.
As for the branching paths I first put down another 80m x 20m x 20m room. Once again going with a cave aesthetic. In this room I place down twelve level 18 scorpions. This room will be a bit more crowded than other rooms, but I think delvers that reach this point can handle it. Besides they should have been able to make some potions related to scorpion venom or have some other means to counter it by this point.
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The next room will be a simply small room. Nothing in it but grass ... and two boulders that just so happen to be level 19 stone golems. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when those random boulders that seem at first to be just an aesthetic choice start moving. To help sell the illusion of them being just ordinary boulders, and because a room without monsters this late in the floor would be suspicious, I also throw down a level 19 skeleton party consisting of a tank, a fighter, and two rogues. I thought about using an archer, but the room is too small for that. I do make it so that the delvers have a second or two to breath before the stone golems start attacking. They are stationed by the exit so it's not like delvers can just slip by.
The next room is another long one. this one is going to be more mud and dirt than stone. As such I'm also including eight level 19 mud golems. Despite their name the mud like consistency of their bodies make them the toughest golems I currently have access to. This is due to them being able to change the viscosity of the mud that makes up their bodies at will to land a hard blow or allow weapons to pass right through them. Making them almost immune to physical attacks. Worse yet the weapon can get stuck inside them. There is a limit though. The mud that makes up their body must remain mud, or they risk losing their essence of life. This means they can't become completely solid or completely liquid. Making them highly susceptible to magic. Technically all golems have this weakness but it's easier to exploit in mud golems.
The next room is a 20m x 20m x 20m room with four level 20 dire wolves. This time without the fear effect. Mainly because it only works on lower-level targets, and delvers should be getting close to level 20 by now. I also give them a 15% chance of dropping high quality dire wolf pelts. I still want to use werewolves at some point but with wolf kin being a thing I'm a little hesitant. They are mindless killing machines so it should be similar to how zombies are for humans, but I'd rather wait till I can be sure. I don't want to lose potential delvers after all.
That thought aside I go ahead and place down a chest. This chest will contain a few silver coins some high-quality stone rank gear and assorted potions. As always, the exact contents will be randomized. On the other side of the wood golem room, I did the exact same thing as I was actually working on both paths at the same time. I'm actually surprised at how close I am to finishing the fourth floor. Granted I more or less had the layout planned from the start, but it still seems faster than the third floor. Either way I kind of have to take a break now because I don't have the mana to continue.
