As they make their way back through the third floor to the exit, I can't help but wonder how long it will be before they are delving again. If it was up to Clyde, they would have put a pause on delving a long time ago. He seems convinced that Lily will probably try to do one last delve even while in labor. He doesn't share these thoughts with anyone in his party, but through our connection I can practically feel the worry oozing off of him. As unrealistic as that scenario may be I can see his point. Not that they have anything to worry about, not that he knows that. Not like I'm going to point out that I don't think I could kill her if I wanted to, at least for the moment, and actively trying might piss off a godlike being.
As for where to place the new room I decide to hold off for a bit so that I can work on two rooms at once. Fortunately gathering the extra mana takes far less time than I would have thought. Mainly due to more and more people making it to the third floor. Most still can't make it more than a few rooms in, but those few rooms make a world of difference as far as mana generation. It also helps that those same people usually do a full clear of the second floor just before that.
As a result of all this I place two more forest rooms. They are placed on either side of the level 22 forest rooms. Keeping with the pattern the only change I make aside from some minor terrain changes is raising the wood golem from level 22 to 23. Naturally, I'm still doing my best to disguise the hallway between rooms. Perhaps I should have waited until I could fit everything in a single room. It certainly would have made things a lot easier. It wouldn't help me stand out though, and I do need to attract more delvers.
I did recently get a new batch of delvers from the academy, but it will be a while before they're able to significantly help with my mana generation. To top it off I haven't attracted any new delvers that weren't fresh from the academy in almost a year. Even then it was a single party hoping to make stone rank so they could take on higher paying quests that are only available to stone rank and above. Hm, perhaps I should start offering quests, but then how would I go about that? Can I even do that? Is that even something dungeons can do? I quickly dismiss the idea though, deciding it would be more of a headache than it's worth, at least for now.
Over the next few months as the third floor becomes more and more popular the time between when I can put down a new room is cut significantly. In fact, I'm now able to place two rooms per month with some mana left over. The next two rooms I place are more farmland rooms. The griffons in these rooms will be level 23. One additional change I make is the introduction of wild potatoes. The idea being that this particular crop found a way to stick around even without farms helping them along. Whether or not the delvers will recognize it is another matter. The edible part is a root so if anyone notices it, they will likely be the ones with a high enough foraging skill.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Speaking of which foraging is the single most popular noncombat skill among my delvers. Harvesting being a close second. You would think the two would complement each other, and they kind of do, but delvers tend to only have one or the other.
A short time later I decide to expand the abandoned town. Though perhaps since I'm trying to give the illusion that the inhabitants all died suddenly abandoned might not be the right word to describe it. Either way I take my time mapping out the streets and alleyways and such. Fortunately, it's much easier to disguise the hallway between rooms when the nearby structures also look artificial. On a whim I decide to add a lot more residential buildings this time. I also decide to reduce the number of guards to just 50 replacing them with ordinary skeletons. All level 23 of course. This then becomes a rare example of effectively lowering the difficulty, or at the very least, reducing how much I increase it.
A month after that I set down two more farm rooms this time however I place them beside the last two rooms I placed. the idea being to have the overall farmland wrap around the town as much as possible. As soon as I get everything set and throw down a few buildings. I go ahead and put in the griffons, being sure to raise them to level 24. It's all still a bit to compact for my liking but I don't want another floor with hundreds of rooms. Stepping back for a moment I take a look at the fifth floor as a whole. I got to say despite how compact it is, considering what it represents, I'm actually a little proud of how it's turned out so far.
Clyde POV
I finally managed to convince Lily to give up delving. At least until after our child is born. It wasn't easy but I think pointing out the number of times someone in our party has been impaled through the stomach helped to change her mind. Especially when I pointed out it doesn't even need to be a particularly fatal blow. Her motherly instincts finally won out against her newfound obsession with delving. Well, that and the fact that I wasn't the only one trying to convince her to take it easy for the last few months before the baby arrives. Thankfully I had Luna here to help me talk some sense into her.
My thoughts are soon interrupted by a pained grimace from Lily. It's not the first time this has happened, but I go ahead and fetch the midwife anyway. After helping Lily back to the bed and making sure she is as comfortable as I can make her. It only takes a few minutes for me to return expecting the midwife to tell me the same thing I've heard every time so far. Instead, she stays in the rooms with her for a lot longer, forcing me to accept that it might actually be happening this time.
As I'm pacing the floor, for I don't know how long, I suddenly hear a knock at the door. Opening it I'm greeted by Luna. Her party just got done with a delve and she came straight here to check on Lily. She shares my excitement when I tell her that she might actually be in labor this time. It's nice to have someone to share the excitement with. If nothing else just so I don't end up walking a hole in the floor. Our jubilation is cut short though when the midwife sticks her head out the bedroom and asks us to fetch a healer.
