Nurmela and her team prepared to attack the final clearing in the fourth room. This was their third attempt and they had a good plan for dealing with a pack of five golem wolves.

  “So like the last time. I and Paoli on the front. Iason you throwing your net first.” Nurmela was making sure that everyone knew what to do. Their scout was preparing his net. This thing however wasn't made from ropes. Adventurers tried to use nets from spiders against golems, but ropes weren't strong enough. Iason proposed building a net from chains, but the price and later repairs were too expensive. One of the smiths proposed building them net from short pieces of wire. And that works. The net was heavy and costly, but strong enough, and repairs were easy and fast. “Support, your buckets are ready?”

  “Yes.” A trio of adventurers answered and pointed to buckets filled with water. That was their second trick. Through the gaps in golem armour water can sip in. And they have skillful sorceresses who can freeze water in the blink of an aye. Even a little ice inside can disrupt golem movements. Ice on the surface slowing down golems too.

  “Nonisa. Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” Sorceress answered. After the initial freezing attack, her role was to blind golems and cast shields to block golems' attacks.

  Nurmela looked at her people to check one last time if everything was in order.

  “Forward!” She shouted and the battle began.

  A half-hour later, the last of the wolves was destroyed. They were bruised and scratched everywhere. Iefer had some extra work with a few deep wounds, but they won.

  “Not half bad.” Nurmela smiled when she slumped to the ground. “Our plan works.”

  “Yeah. But we need to think about how we can improve it. I’m too beaten to move.” Paoli complained.

  “We all need a few day's break,” Nonisa said.

  “Then, we need to move our asses. Soner we check this place, soner we get back.” Nurmela stands.

  “I guess you are right.” Paoli sighted.

  They check everything and take everything that they can. Repairing armor and weapons always costs a lot of money.

  They descend to the lower floor. For the first team reporting a new floor, every adventurer will get an extra silver coin. Dungeon Mistress has been building the fifth floor for some time. Some adventurers started gossiping that something happened. When Nurmela and her team entered the new floor they just stopped, and in silence observed ruined towers in the middle of the desert, that seams had no end.

  “Something is coming in our direction!” Iason was the first to see a cloud of dust.

  “Get ready!” Nurmela ordered. Adventurers dropped their packs and readied their weapons.

  “False alarm!” Ison shouted after a few heartbeats. “It’s the Dungeon Mistress, she is showing off.”

  All lowered their swords with relief. They don’t have the strength for any serious fight. And a moment later they saw that it could be their last fight. Dungeon Mistress was sitting on the back of an enormous scorpion. They stopped a few steps from the adventurers. Dungeon Mistress slides from the back, then takes off goggles similar to the ones used by alchemists. Just fancier. She was also wearing a leather cap, and her face was hidden behind a scarf. Naomi thanked the scorpion for the ride and the giant turned around and returned to the desert.

  “Nurmela, Paoli! So you are the ones who are the first!” She shouted happily when approaching adventurers.

  “Good day, Dungeon Mistress.” Dwarwen woman nodded. “Can you explain what is going on here?”

  “Yes. And that giant scorpion. Don’t tell me this is champion of the floor.” Paoli added.

  “I will explain what I can. But I think talk will be much better with some ale and food. Come, I have tavern here.” Naomi pointed to a metal building next to the road leading to the ruined city.

  “Tavern?” Adventurers looked at each other.

  “Come!” Naomi hurried them. Adventurers grab everything and almost run after her.

  There was a sign above the entrance. Normal Tavern. That name and the picture of a white fox made them hesitant.

  “Dungeon Mistress?” Nurmela asked.

  “What happened?”

  “Do you by chance meet the goddess of mischief and fun?”

  “Oh, yes. One fresh team found my hidden trap. Come in. I will tell you about that too.”

  Inside was spacious and with dozens of benches. Also, the temperature was pleasantly cold.

  “Take a seat. Then come to the counter and I show you how to get drinks and food.”

  Adventurers do that obediently.

  “Until I get real people who will work here you must pay for everything with mana stones. First, you get one try for everything you will order. Then touch the picture with the food you want. Then place mana stone on this try, and your order will appear on the counter.”

  “I’m first!” Nurmela shouted and started ordering. Soon all had their orders.

  “So, Dungeon Mistress, what happened here?” Paoli asked.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “I made some promises, and want to reward you all for your work. And maybe I got carried away a little.” She laughs.

  “A little? Dungeon Mistress, that kind of floor doesn’t happen until twenty or thirty floors down.” Nurmela said.

  “Yes, Mistress. I heard you need a lot of mana to maintain such a room.” Nonisa nodded.

  “True. So I cheated. You saw those sky-reaching stone pillars. They do that. They support the ceiling of this cavern. I added a few tricks in the ceiling and reduced mana cost to one-tenth of original costs.” Naomi had a smug face.

  “Good job.” Paoli laughed. “You made me as your teacher proud.”

  “What about this tavern? It’s made from metal and it’s cold inside. That sure must cost you, Mistress, some mana.” Iefer said.

  “It’s free.” She answered.

  “How?” Nonisa asked waiting for some profound knowledge about magic.

  “You saw towers on the corners tavern?” They nodded. “They catch wind and direct them down to the underground floors of this tavern. Windmills on top help with that. Cold air is pushed from underground to the chimneys and through them here.” She pointed to the ventilation grille near the ceiling.

  “But the wall is cold too. I don’t think four towers are enough to make them cold.” Said Iason.

  “Right. I forgot about them. It’s not a solid wall. The external one is hot enough to fry something. In the middle is the next one. This one is a little warm. And only then is the plate you see. The whole wall is half a meter thick.”

  “And between them is what?” Nonisa asked.

  “Just air. You see. You need something that will make the air hot. Outside is a sun. The first gap has outside plates. Inside however there is nothing. Hot air in the first gap is hot but not hot enough.”

  “Mistress, you mentioned underground. What is there?”

  “Quarters for future workers, and rooms for rent for adventurers. You also pay with a mana stone to get the key. One stone equals one full day. Also bathhouses.” Naomi answered.

  “We need to see the bathhouse.” Nonisa said to Paoli.

  “Absolutely.” She agrees.

  “And what about the hidden trap room from the first floor?” Iason was curious.

  “That huh.” Naomi shook her head and started telling what happened.

  One hour later on the surface apper Paoli.

  “A difficult fight?” Pinera smiled at her seeing all her bruises.

  “Yes, Grand priestess. Thanks for extra healing.”

  “You're welcome. Where is the rest of your team?” Elven priestesses become serious about not seeing anybody else.

  “Yes. Right. Dungeon Mistress finished her fifth room. And there is a real tavern. And bathhouse”

  Pinera froze for a moment.

  “You said bathhouse?”

  “Yes. I'm sorry. I need to tell my husband about rooms” Paoli ran to the adventurers' guild tent.

  “Paoli. You are back.” Lucius asked his wife.

  “Luci. Pack your things and go to the fifth floor.” She commanded.

  “Your team managed to reach it. Tell me how it looks.”

  “Oh. It’s enormous. There is an ancient ruined city, giant scorpions, and a tavern. And there are free food, rooms for rent, and a bathhouse for couples. So move.” She started to hurry him up.

  “Understood. Maxwe, Selphie I need to go for a few days. Can you do everything without me?”

  “Sure. Boss!” Maxwe laughs. “Have fun with your wife.”

  Selphie just nodded slightly red.

  News spread like wildfire and within a week all people from an expedition gain access to the fifth floor. They went there as supporters of adventurers. Those without combat experience just paid them for escorting. There were a few close calls especially hard was the final fight with a pack of five wolves. However, after reaching the safe floor, no one regretted it. Maybe Guild Master Lucius had two little problems with the new floors. First was his wife or rather her enthusiasm. She found out that rooms for rent have soundproofed doors. Paoli immediately rented one double room for them and didn’t let him sleep until she was satisfied. And because he longed for that for some time they barely had any sleep for two nights. The second problem was a report about the floor. No one will believe him.

  “Guild Master, is something wrong?” Naomi approached him curious why he sat motionless before a blank scroll.

  “I’m trying to think how to write a report about your, Mistress, latest floor.”

  “Can’t you just write what is here?”

  “No one will believe me.”

  “And adding some fancy words will convince them?

  Lucius looked at Naomi.

  “You are right. It’s not my job to make people believe in my reports.”

  “And most people don’t read them in the first place.” Naomi laughed.

  “This time they should.” Grand forge master said after he sat on the bench with a tankard full of ale. “Size aside. Your creations here are marvelous. Every crafter should come here and see for himself these ruins. Even artists too.”

  “They are welcome. I will be glad if my creation becomes an inspiration for someone. However, please remember, Grand Forge Master, all this is dungeon magic cheating.” Naomi answered.

  “Dungeon Mistress. With all due respect. Bullshit.” He answered. “I was informed about some known rules that dungeon cores need to follow.” He started talking with a hushed voice. “One is that you can only use things from this world. You can change them, but the original is from here. Yet, you Dungeon Mistress, show us again and again things never seen before. You even get a special class, because of that. That means you build them from scratch.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Naomi shakes her head dismissively. “Without dungeon magic, I will never be able to do most of those things.”

  “Not true. You use magic instead of people's work.”

  “Magic can’t substitute people's hard work.”

  “That is a lie, Dungeon Mistress, and we both know this. You somehow can do that. Look at those benches. All of them are different. And when I push a little mana into them I will see glimpses of how this bench was built.”

  “You got me.” Naomi admited. “I learned how to create a fake history of objects from my dungeon. Still, this is dungeon magic cheating.”

  “Dungeon Mistress, you lack confidence. You are The Smith apprentice, envoy of gods. You should be overconfident.”

  “I’m confident in my skills. But I also know what I can or cannot do.”

  “Let’s end this pointless discussion like dwarfs. I propose a bet.”

  “A bet?”

  “Yes. If I win you, Dungeon Mistress will stop saying dungeon magic this, dungeon magic that, also free ale for one month.”

  “And if I won?”

  “We will think about something. But you, Mistress, will lose anyway.”

  “So, what do I need to do?”

  “First we need a forge.”

  “My workshop is on the core floor.”

  “And my is too occupied.”

  “Let me check something,” Naomi said and closed her eyes. “Surprisingly I can add a small forge to the tavern,” she said after thinking for a moment.

  “Good. Can you Mistress, add an inside bench or two? We dwarves love to sit and watch blacksmiths at work. Our homes are built around forge hearts.”

  “I heard that.” Naomi smiled. “I need to go back to my workshop. I will be back in an hour.”

  “Understood. But if you, Dungeon Mistress, don't come back, after four hours I win.”

  “There is no such thing as an easy win in the dungeon.” Naomi laughed.