A new day began.
At the deepest part of the Dungeon's Fourth Layer, Lucifer observed the many adventurers entering the Dungeon as usual. His greatest hobby now was watching and studying the adventurers' methods of action and their various supernatural powers.
As the old saying went, the ones who understood you best were often your enemies.
That was exactly what Lucifer was doing. Without understanding adventurers, how could he create monsters and traps tailored to them, harvest adventurers to the greatest extent possible, and raise his own level and power?
Three days had now passed since the Fourth Layer was opened.
Using hundreds of Goblins as breeding stock, the Fourth Layer had produced vast numbers of Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes. The dense swarms were like roaring tidal waves, leaving countless eggs wherever they passed through the Fourth Layer.
After absorbing the Goblins' powerful reproductive abilities, the new generation of Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes could lay hundreds of eggs in the swamp every day once they reached adulthood.
Those eggs could hatch within half a day. Feeding on microorganisms in the swamp mud and the various mushrooms that grew there, they needed only two days to undergo Complete Metamorphosis and become adults.
Still, three days was too short. Apart from the Fungus Lord, which had used Puchi to spread its mycelium across the entire Fourth Layer, the other common monsters had not reproduced in great numbers. Lucifer could only spend Primordial Points to create another batch.
On a side note, some Goblins and Gnomes had also migrated from the third layer to the Fourth Layer, scattering across different areas.
"Still, aren't these Slimes a little strange?"
Lucifer focused his mental power on the swamp near the Fourth Layer's entrance. Large numbers of Slimes were bouncing through the swamp there. They had originally been food brought down by Goblins and Gnomes.
But they had mutated again in the Fourth Layer's environment, which was filled with poisonous miasma and mud.
[Name: Venomous Slime] [Level: lv2] [Skills: Venomous Body lv2, Asexual Reproduction lv1, Spray lv1] [Description: A brand-new type of Slime mutated by a special environment. Its round body is filled with toxins. When attacked, it can spray the toxins from within its body, and upon death, it turns into a venomous bomb.]
"Isn't it mutating a little too easily?"
Lucifer looked at the status panel of the newly mutated Venomous Slime. These Slimes were cannon-fodder monsters he had created using the Dungeon's built-in monster templates, but after being created, they had liked following behind the Steel Slimes.
Quite a few ordinary Slimes had successfully mutated by imitating the Steel Slimes and devouring iron ore. Now, new Venomous Slimes had appeared as well.
As for the Large Steel Slime that had defeated Mark's knight squad earlier, it was one of the Steel Slimes Lucifer had created at the beginning. After Lucifer reached level four, it devoured a large amount of raw Demon Iron Ore and likewise leveled up and evolved into a Large Steel Slime.
"It seems Slimes have potential that hasn't been uncovered yet. I should pay more attention to them in the future."
Lucifer observed the many Slimes within the Dungeon. These monsters he had originally regarded as cannon fodder seemed to have been underestimated by him.
Perfect. Aside from being cautious when facing Steel Slimes, those adventurers who entered the Dungeon paid no attention at all to other Slimes. Lucifer felt he could take advantage of their contempt and catch them off guard.
Even if the adventurers discovered it later, it would not affect Lucifer.
[Level lv4 (423/500)]
According to the panel, Lucifer needed only 77 more points of Primordial Power before his next level-up. Over the past three days, the many adventurers entering the Dungeon had provided him with several hundred points of Primordial Power, while the Dungeon could absorb 40 points of Primordial Power from the Void every day.
Lucifer would level up again within a day or two.
"Oh, they finally found the entrance to the Fourth Layer?"
At that moment, Lucifer projected his mental power to the Fourth Layer's entrance. Over the past three days, news of a brand-new Dungeon appearing had spread throughout the southern cities around Margary Town, and more and more adventurers were pouring into the Dungeon.
And these were merely the advance party. Even more adventurers were still on the way.
Among the many humans who had entered the Dungeon, the ones Lucifer paid the most attention to were the four knight squads from the local lord.
Three days ago, Mark, who had successfully escaped the Dungeon, joined up with the three newly arrived knight squads. After spending half a day replenishing the squads' members and having church priests treat their wounds, they returned to the Dungeon.
Led by Mark, the group of forty, which included four Official Knights and one official mage, swept through the First Layer and returned to the area on the Second Layer where they had discovered the Mana Spring.
Unfortunately, the original treasure chest and the spring water from the Mana Spring had already been taken by adventurers. Still, Mark and the others did not come away empty-handed.
They could freely collect the Mana Spring's future output. They had even found a medium-sized iron mine nearby. Though it was not Mana Iron Ore, it was still valuable enough. If it could be mined, it would bring considerable income to the territory.
Afterward, relying on their formidable strength and sufficient numbers, Mark and the others found the entrance to the third layer in only half a day.
Of course, the main reason was that Mark and the others had already been close to the next entrance.
Now, Mark and the others had finally reached the Fourth Layer: the Venomous Swamp.
"What is this?"
Mark frowned as he looked at his feet sinking into the ground, then raised his head toward the front. The dense purple-black fog made the surroundings impossible to see clearly. The ground beneath his feet felt like a Slime's body when stepped on—sticky and damp, giving off the foul stench of decay.
"This Dungeon layer is actually a swamp."
Oliver, the mage in the group, stepped forward, his eyes full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge. The most captivating thing about Dungeons was the unknown. No one knew what kind of monsters or environment awaited them on the next layer.
Just like the Dungeon beneath his feet, the Steel Slimes that had appeared on the first three layers were a brand-new existence full of surprises.
Their steel-like bodies possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary Slimes. Best of all, after several days of research, many blacksmiths and alchemists had discovered the value of these new Mutant Slimes.
Their steel-like bodies were excellent materials for crafting weapons and armor. Some of the armor made from them even retained certain properties of a Slime's body.
The few Steel Slimes whose entire bodies were made of Mana Iron Ore were even prime materials for alchemy bases and magical equipment.
Some people had even begun preparing to cultivate these new Mutant Slimes specifically. By throwing them into mines and harvesting the Steel Slimes regularly, they could obtain batches of high-quality refined steel.
It completely eliminated the need to mine, excavate, and smelt raw ore.
And that was only the value of one new monster within this Dungeon. Even more wealth and treasures were waiting to be developed inside.
Before you continue