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nBefore pressing on the stone, Geth turned and smiled at the group of people behind him.

"Welcome home, everyone.

"

nHe touched the stone lightly and the doors creaked as they opened on their own. He stepped into the once dimly lit cave and found it full of light!

nThe walls in the long front passageway were now embedded with crystals that shone with a pale blue light. They had been evenly spaced down the walls.

nThe cave had changed completely! It no longer looked like a naturally formed cave. The walls and ceiling were arched, just like the door had been.

nThe height of the hallway was close to 15 feet while the width was around 12 feet. Every section of the hallway was completely smooth, no longer the jagged stone from before.

nTil and Filthy stepped in while helping to support Bruce. The dim blue of the crystals suddenly turned a dark red. Zolis pulled out the Dungeon Crystal that she'd been put in charge of.

nIt was vibrating and glowing red as well. A holographic prompt appeared from its peak.

n:Intruders detected, initiate defense sequence? Yes

/ No?:

nZolis quickly selected 'No' and shamefully walked back to initiate the men as residents. All of the other residents started laughing at her blushing cheeks and awkward smile.

nWhen the process had been completed, they moved forward. The passageway was approximately 50 yards in length.

nAt the end of the tunnel was the barrier, which then led into the main living area. The barrier looked like a large bubble blocking the path.

nGeth glanced around and noticed something odd. Where the path used to veer to the right, there were now tunnels leading in either direction.

nHe stepped into the right-hand tunnel and found that the Slimes were sitting inside. There was ample space, 20 or more Direwolves could probably fit.

nAfter observing for a moment, he stepped into the other entryway. Here, he found that there was a short tunnel with three paths branching off. The paths were also very short and dead-ended.

nTwo carts that resembled wheelbarrows and two pickaxes inside each cart were present within the cave.

nGeth showed the areas to the rest and explained the description of the mine before heading towards the main area. It wasn't quite what he'd expected at all.

nThere was a large open space with a very visible holographic formation floating on the floor. Lines extended in multiple directions from the formation. The room itself was a circular shape, maybe 15 yards in diameter.

nIn the center of the room was a crystalline pedestal with a Dungeon Crystal floating 6 inches above it.

nThere were five doors in different directions of the room, the opening behind them didn't have a doorway. Geth stepped up to the Dungeon Crystal, activated the hologram, and enlarged it for everyone to see.

n:Welcome to Valhalla! Congratulations on upgrading Dungeon to Level 2. As a reward for being the first Dungeon to make a major change, some basic resources will be added to the Dungeon Inventory:

nA 3-D map pulled up and hovered in the air. Each door was labeled, with a Level for the location underneath.

n:Current Locations;

nGuardian Sanctuary (Lvl 1) 0

/100,000

nMine (Lvl 1) 0

/100,000

nDungeon Inventory (Lvl 1) 0

/100,000

nBarracks (Lvl 1) 0

/100,000

nFarm (Lvl 1) 0

/100,000

nMana Pool (Lvl 1) 0

/100,000

nForge (Lvl 1) 0

/100,000

nLocations are upgraded individually, more locations can be added by Leveling up Dungeon. Individual locations can be directly upgraded by offering Dungeon Crystals:

nA light gasp was heard coming from Bruce. Geth turned around and saw the man staring at the last location.

"It's all yours if you think you can keep up production, old man.

"

nBruce was startled from his reverie, looking at Geth with his eyes slightly watered. He wasn't sure what the old man was thinking, but he'd heard that Bruce had stopped working a forge when his daughter passed.

nThe old man stood as tall as he could, lightly supporting himself on Til.

"Equipment will be top quality, I'll make sure that it's worthy of protecting everyone here.

" He looked around at the people present, his teary eyes lingering on the children.

nEveryone smiled a bit sadly at him. They were all from the same town and had an idea of how he was feeling. Geth nodded,

"Then we'll have to rely on you.

"

nTil and Geth helped the man towards the room that was labeled Forge. Opening the door and looking around, it seemed very basic. All of the necessary tools were in place, nothing extra or noteworthy.

nThere was a furnace for smelting down and purifying metals. Hammers, tongs, some clay to shape molds, an anvil, trough for dowsing, and other miscellaneous pieces.

nAfter checking the place out, Bruce nodded in satisfaction. It wasn't even close to being modern, but it had everything he needed.

nThe next room they were curious about was the Mana Pool. Geth opened the door and led everyone in to look around. It was as if the area with the beautiful forest and pond were moved into an area of its own.

nGeth could clearly feel the Mana around him and see thin tendrils snaking around the room. It was very thick. The description said that meditating in the pool would increase one's understanding.

nThey went through the rooms one by one. Next was the Dungeon Inventory, which others could only enter with the permission of Geth or Zolis. Inside the room, there was a pile of raw ore and a pile of coal. A much smaller pile of dull-looking gems lay to the side.

nShelves were running down the walls on both sides. They were mostly empty but contained a few scraps of leather and cloth and some extra pickaxes. Nothing else was inside.

nThe fourth room was the Farm room. As expected, the large rectangular room contained the 3-acre field that had been in the cave originally.

nLast, they stepped into the Barracks. The name certainly didn't match the looks of the place. A large 3-acre oval appeared before them.. Green grass covered the cavern floor, making the room look like a meadow.

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