Fourth-Floor Intruders and Mutated Slimes

A new day began.

At the deepest part of the dungeon's fourth floor, Luo Ao observed the many adventurers entering the dungeon as usual. His greatest hobby now was observing and studying adventurers' methods of action and all kinds of supernatural powers.

As the old saying went, those who understood you best were often your enemies.

That was exactly what Luo Ao was doing. If he did not understand adventurers, how could he create monsters and traps specifically to harvest them as efficiently as possible and raise his own level and strength?

Three days had now passed since the fourth floor had been opened.

Using several hundred goblins as breeding stock, the fourth floor had produced vast numbers of Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes. The dense swarms resembled roaring tidal waves, leaving countless insect eggs wherever they passed on the fourth floor.

After absorbing the goblins' powerful reproductive abilities, each adult Purple Poison Giant Mosquito of the new generation laid hundreds of eggs in the swamp every day.

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 complete metamorphosis and become adults.

However, three days was still too short. Aside from the Fungus Lord, which had used Puji to spread its mycelium throughout the entire fourth floor, the other common monsters had not reproduced in great numbers. Luo Ao could only spend Primordial Points to create another batch.

Incidentally, some goblins and gremlins had also migrated from the third floor to the fourth, scattered across different areas.

"But aren't these slimes a little strange?"

Luo Ao focused his spiritual power on the swamp near the fourth-floor entrance. Large numbers of slimes were bouncing around in the swamp there. They had originally been food brought down by goblins and gremlins.

But they had mutated again in the fourth floor's environment of poisonous miasma and mud.

[Name: Venomous Slime]

[Level: lv2]

[Skills: Venomous Body lv2, Asexual Reproduction lv1, Spray lv1]

[Description: A brand-new slime mutated due to a special environment. Its round body is filled with poison. When attacked, it can spray the poison within its body, and upon death, it becomes a venomous bomb.]

"Isn't it a little too easy for them to mutate?"

Luo Ao looked at the panel for the newly mutated Venomous Slime. These slimes were cannon-fodder monsters he had created using the dungeon's built-in monster templates. Yet after being created, they had liked following behind the Steel Slimes.

Quite a few ordinary slimes had imitated the Steel Slimes by devouring iron ore and successfully mutating. Now, new Venomous Slimes had appeared as well.

As for the Large Steel Slime that had previously defeated Mark's knight squad, it had been one of the Steel Slimes Luo Ao initially created. After Luo Ao reached level four, it devoured a large amount of raw mana iron ore and likewise leveled up and evolved into a Large Steel Slime.

"It seems slimes still have untapped potential. I should pay more attention to them in the future."

Luo Ao observed the many slimes within the dungeon. These monsters, which he had originally regarded as cannon fodder, seemed to have been somewhat underestimated by him.

Perfect. Apart from being cautious when facing Steel Slimes, the adventurers invading the dungeon paid no attention at all to other slimes. Luo Ao felt he could take advantage of their contempt and catch them off guard.

Even if the adventurers discovered it later, it would not affect Luo Ao.

[Level lv4 (423/500)]

According to the panel, Luo Ao was only seventy-seven points of Primordial Power away from 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. In addition, the dungeon could absorb forty points of Primordial Power from the void each day.

Luo Ao would level up again within a day or two.

"Oh, have they finally found the entrance to the fourth floor?"

At that moment, Luo Ao projected his spiritual power to the fourth-floor entrance. Over the past three days, news of a brand-new dungeon appearing had spread throughout the many southern cities around Margary Town. More and more adventurers were pouring into the dungeon.

And this was merely the advance party. Even more adventurers were still on the way.

Among the many humans who had entered the dungeon, the ones Luo Ao paid the most attention to were the four knight squads belonging to the local lord.

Three days ago, Mark, who had successfully escaped the dungeon, met up with the three knight squads that had newly arrived. After spending half a day replenishing the squads' members and having the church priests heal their wounds, they returned to the dungeon.

Led by Mark, the group of forty people, including four formal knights and one formal mage, swept through the first floor and returned to the area on the second floor where they had discovered the Mana Spring.

Unfortunately, the original treasure chest and the spring water within the Mana Spring had already been taken by adventurers. Still, Mark and the others did not lose out.

They could freely collect the Mana Spring's future output. They had even discovered a medium-sized iron mine not far away. Though it was not Mana Iron Ore, it was still precious enough. If it could be mined, it would bring considerable income to the territory.

Afterward, relying on their great strength and sufficient numbers, Mark and the others found the entrance to the third floor in only half a day.

Of course, the main reason was that they had not been far from the next entrance before.

Now, Mark and the others had finally arrived on the fourth floor: the Venomous Swamp.

"What is this?"

Mark frowned at his feet, which were sinking into the ground, then looked ahead. The thick purplish-black fog made it impossible to see the surroundings. The ground beneath his feet felt like a slime's body—sticky and damp, giving off a foul stench of decay.

"This dungeon floor is actually a swamp."

Oliver, the mage in the group, stepped forward, his eyes full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge. The most fascinating thing about dungeons was the unknown. No one knew what sort of monsters or environment awaited them on the next floor.

Just like the dungeon beneath his feet, the Steel Slimes that had appeared on the first three floors were a brand-new existence filled with 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 newly mutated slimes.

Their steel-like bodies were good materials for forging weapons and armor. Armor made from them even retained some of the characteristics of a slime's body.

And the few Steel Slimes whose entire bodies consisted of Mana Iron Ore were even better materials for alchemy bases and magical equipment.

Some people had even begun preparing to cultivate these newly mutated 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 processes of mining, digging, and smelting raw ore.

And this was merely the value of one new monster within this dungeon. More wealth and treasures awaited development inside.