After a day, the lizard entered the dungeon. He had something in his mouth. It was another rat-snake. A larger one.

  I connected my awareness with him. I felt it, the sense of pride and fulfillment. I saw his encounter with the rat-snake and the fight that took place.

  I sense his pain. Broken ribs, numbing venoms and bleeding wounds but still he brought back his killed.

  My mana touched him, taming the poison, mending the bones and healing the wounds.

  You have now proven yourself. I said. I name you, Inayk Saka.

  In the old tongue, Inayk means 'Unwavering'. It was different from brave or fearless. Saka means first. Combined, it means 'The First Who Is Unwavering'.

  Mana left me and flowed towards him. I knew it would happen. After draining a whooping twenty mana, he began to glow. He curled up and felt asleep. In a few second, he was enveloped in pale red light. The red light soon turned to red crystal, hardening around him until a large red crystal was in the middle of the tunnel.

  I did the only thing I could to protect him. I slowly ate away the ground beneath him. After bringing the crystal to about six feet deep, I covered it with sand loosely. This would be much safer.

  But now the tunnel was unguarded. As if to back me up, the spiders crawled out of their cocoons. They had finished evolving.

  The Communal weavers were thrice larger than their previous self, losing their orblike abdomen with a more oval and streamlined abdomen.

  The Ground-weavers were larger than the rats. Hairy black body. Its head bigger than its abdomen with a pair of particular sharp and large fangs.

  The sole Reaving Hunter was different than the two. It was covered in carapace, even its legs and abdomen. It was half the size of a rat. Five beady eyes, each of different size above its fang mouth. Its legs were spindly but steady - a foot long. Its coat had different colours- red, blue, black, white and purple. It was beautiful and scary at the same time to look at.

  I commanded the Reaver and Communal Weavers to come down to the first floor. As for the ground-weaver, the two of them would guard the entrance. I created more Cave Orbweavers and put them in the old tunnel.

  Mana: 4/50

  All this had taken a toll but no worries. I had the perfect way to take in more mana. I absorbed the rat snake. I was back to half.

  Back to work. The first floor was half done. 10 days in and it was still only half done. 45 acres of underground land done.

  I started digging again. Not the floor but the rivulets. It will be a source of water, new Schemas and mana for the dungeon. The creatures that comes in will also be a source of challenges for my dungeonborn creatures.

  The connection will not be with the underground pool in the cavern where my entrance lies. It will be somewhere else.

  Approximately ten kilometres or so far away from the dungeon entrance cavern pond and four kilometres upward from the estimated southern wall of my first floor, there was a small flowing river, connected to a larger underground river. That will be the source.

  I bore into the ground, leading upward. It was five inches diameter hole, big enough for small creatures to bore through.

  It did not take a long time. A quarter of a day and I reached the riverbed.

  My creatures, the rats, toads and the spiders were ready as I had called them. When the water broke into the floor, a frenzy began. The fishes and insects from outside were slaughtered by my creatures.

  I got several schemas. Isopods, flatworms and such. Creatures which were not worthy of my attention. Only two schemas were.

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  New Schema Unlocked

  Mayfly nymphs(Common)

  Mayfly nymphs are the immature, aquatic larvae stage of the mayfly life cycle, spending most of their lives in freshwater. They are elongated, soft-bodied creatures with external gills and three tails, distinct from the winged adults.

  New Schema Unlocked

  Cave beetle nymphs(Common)

  Cave beetle nymphs, or larvae, are generally small, depigmented and adapted to life in dark caves. They typically have long, slender bodies, long legs, and long antennae, aiding in sensing their environment in the absence of light.

  The only plants that floated in were black algae and cave moss so there were no use for schemas so were the fishes: Black minnows, banded Tetra and blind perch.

  As the water flowed in and began to flow into my floor, I planted every water creatures and plants I had, enriching the ecosystem of my floor.

  Mana: 45/50

  It was time to expand the floor. Due to inflow of raw materials of mana, I was able to quicken the excavation of my first floor. In half a day, I was able to dig half of the remaining quota.

  One of your creatures, a forest rat is about to undergo evolution. Select the desired path.

  Dungeon rat(Common): Having lived in the dungeon, this rat had forsaken his roots and truly became a dungeon creature. Fierce, strong and intelligent, a dungeon rat can live in pack or solitary.

  Only one choice. Where is the option to select path on my own. All of the five male forest rats had evolved yet only one path- Dungeon Rats.

  Surprisingly enough, the female rat that carried me down to the first floor had also been given the option to evolved and she had another evolution path.

  One of your creatures, a forest rat is about to undergo evolution. Select the desired path.

  Dungeon rat(Common): Having lived in the dungeon, this rat had forsaken his roots and truly became a dungeon creature. Fierce, strong and intelligent, a dungeon rat can live in pack or solitary

  Magirat(Uncommon): Having been exposed to more mana than other rats, this rat had evolved to sense mana. With a leap in intelligence and agility, it searches for items rich in mana for consumption.

  The rats that were about to evolved return back to their burrows. I selected their path.

  Of the twenty cave Orbweavers, a dozen had evolved. I divided half into Ground-weavers and Communal Weavers as these were the only choice.

  None of the toads evolved. Unlike the rats and spiders, the toads did not actively took part in the culling.

  Out of all the evolution path, the one I was excited about was the magirat. There were high expectations when it comes to creatures that can sense mana. I wonder what her further evolution will bring.

  Five more rats evolved into dungeon rats. The inflow of creatures from the outside had also slowed down.

  Another day passed by. The whole floor had been dug out. A cavern system that covers more than ninety acres of land and 25 metres high.

  Thousands in giant limestone pillars connected the ground with the ceiling. Stalactites hang from the ceiling while stalagmites grow from the floor. Meandering streams dotted the land.

  To put in the finishing touch, I planted the plants in the part of the part of the floor that was recently dug. With the ambient mana in the air, the plants began to spread. Insects quickly march on to the new feeding ground.

  I added more fishes into the streams, more toads into the grass, forest rats into the ground and Orbweavers on the stalactites and stalagmites.

  Mana: 32/50

  Mana regeneration: 2 per hour

  It was time to add new apex predators. Six rat snakes slithered into the floor, searching for preys that were abundant. Two hunting lizards march out, to establish their own territories.

  And on the twelfth day, he rested. I jokingly muse. And saw all was good.

  It was another verse from the holy scriptures.

  Just as I was about to start working on the tunnel, a screen appeared in my vision.

  Congratulations!

  You have become a true dungeon.

  As a reward, you can select one of the following schemas:-

  Goat(Common): Wild goats are agile, hardy animals known for their ability to navigate steep, rocky terrain. They are herbivores, typically living in herds in mountain environments. Wild goats have distinct characteristics, including scent glands, horns, and beards.

  Slime(Common): slimes are a type of monster characterized by being a gelatinous, amorphous mass, often with a sticky or oozing texture. They are one of the weakest monster.

  Dire rats(Uncommon): This filthy rat is the size of a small dog. It has a coat of coarse fur, a long and scabby tail, and two glittering eyes.

  Mule(Common):Mules are the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey. Mules combine characteristics of both horse and donkey parents to create a tougher, more resilient working animal. They are also sterile.

  Is this a joke? I wanted to ask. I just didn't know to whom should I ask.

  A mule. A godforsaken bloody mule. What will I do with a mule in a dungeon?