“Wait a minute… if I can manipute the second floor’s structure, then stopping these humans from reaching the third-floor entrance should be easy, right?” Ordis muttered, his thoughts racing. His Mana Reserve sat at 101, just enough for some significant changes.

  A pn formed in his mind. He could block off the pathway leading to the third-floor door with a rge wall, but instead of making it completely solid, he’d leave small holes—just rge enough for insects and tiny creatures like mice or rabbits to pass through. That way, his minions could move freely, but humans? Not a chance.

  But then, another thought struck him. “Wait… but what about the actual dungeon door? Can’t they just open it anyway?”

  He turned his focus toward the second-floor door, a massive stone gate embedded into the cavern wall. It looked ancient, sturdy, and unmoving, radiating an air of mystery. His past life as a human had conditioned him to expect that dungeon doors would open automatically under certain conditions—defeating a boss, solving a puzzle, or something along those lines.

  Still, that was just his human logic talking.

  “Hm… System, how do floor doors actually work?” Ordis asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions.

  [No. At this moment, every floor door can only be opened by pouring magic into them or by eliminating all of your minions on that floor. You can modify this function in the future as your dungeon evolves. At this moment, humans still cannot open it.]

  “Huh…” Ordis processed the information. “So unless I willingly leave it open, humans are stuck unless they either figure out how to use magic or wipe out all my minions.”

  That was… actually reassuring.

  But one more concern lingered. “What if they bst the door open? Like… what if they bring dynamite or drills or something like that?”

  [At this moment, your dungeon can only be destroyed by an explosion equivalent to an atomic bomb from World War II. As for floor doors, each one has a different level of durability. The second-floor door requires 20% of the power of an atomic bomb to be completely destroyed.]

  “...Oh.”

  Ordis fell silent for a moment.

  20% of an atomic bomb? That was still insanely strong by human standards. No normal explosives, hammers, or drills would even make a dent. Unless humanity was willing to drop a nuclear-level bst, his dungeon is fine and were practically indestructible. As for the doors, he felt like those 1/4 power of an atomic bomb still something difficult to get by this civil person.

  “Tch… well, that’s good news, at least.” Ordis let out a sigh of relief.

  Ordis let out a sigh of relief knowing that his main mana crystal and the second-floor door were both incredibly durable. For now, humans had no means to force their way through.

  “Looks like I don’t have to worry about them breaking in anytime soon,” he mused.

  Still, a sense of unease lingered. Even if his core was safe, the constant human presence made him uncomfortable. If more of them came, his limited number of minions would be forced into hiding, unable to hunt freely. That would slow his growth, something he couldn’t afford.

  His gaze shifted back to the two humans currently exploring the second floor. Unlike the first floor, which was retively smooth and spacious, this area was a true cavern, filled with uneven terrain, hollow passages, and treacherous footholds that made movement tricky. The entire floor spanned nearly one and a half kilometers, and the third-floor entrance was located at the far end.

  Reaching it wouldn’t be easy.

  Ordis doubted these two would venture that far, but the dungeon’s influence had a way of tugging at human curiosity—pulling them deeper even when logic told them to turn back.

  Then, a wicked thought crossed his mind.

  “Wait… right now, they’re on the second floor, and I have just enough mana to seal off the first-floor entrance…” He trailed off, his mind racing.

  If he closed the only exit, they’d be trapped with no way out. Judging by the supplies they carried, they didn’t have enough food and water to survive long.

  “They’d eventually starve and die… and I could gather valuable analysis on humans.”

  A low chuckle escaped him as he entertained the idea.

  “Not a bad pn… Hahaha…”

  But then, a fw in his scheme became gringly obvious.

  “Wait, wait…” Ordis paused, recalling something crucial.

  There was a woman named Anisa—someone who knew where these two had gone. If they disappeared, it wouldn’t take long for rescue teams to start searching. They’d find the dungeon, and expose his existence to even more humans.

  “…That would be a disaster,” he muttered, his excitement fading.

  Worse yet, if he scared people off too soon, no more humans would come inside. That meant no more mana gains for him.

  “Tch… trapping them might not be worth the risk after all.”

  With a reluctant sigh, Ordis abandoned the tempting pn. He needed to be smarter about handling humans—not just killing them outright.

  For now, Ordis decided to let them explore. Killing them outright wasn’t worth the risk—not yet. If he started antagonizing humans too soon, they might bring in stronger forces. He needed to be smart about how he handled intruders.

  As he had predicted, the difficult terrain of the second floor soon wore the humans down.

  “This floor is… completely different from the first one,” Rizwan muttered, taking a moment to catch his breath. He shone his fshlight around, observing the surroundings. Unlike the lush greenery of the first floor, this one felt harsher—the ground was uneven, the walls jagged and rough. While there were patches of moss and small pnts, most of the space was dirt and stone, making it inhospitable for anyone traveling on foot.

  Jomar, however, was reluctant to turn back. His eyes gleamed with an almost obsessive curiosity as he scanned the cavern.

  “But… I can’t shake this feeling…” he muttered. “Like there’s something hidden here. Treasure, maybe?”

  Rizwan gave him a look of disbelief.

  “What are you even saying? You’re exhausted.” He shook his head. “And unlike you, I feel… uneasy. There’s something off about this pce.”

  He hesitated, gncing upward.

  “For one, the air down here—it’s too fresh. We went deeper underground, but somehow, it feels just as breathable as before.” Rizwan frowned. “That’s not normal.”

  Jomar blinked, as if snapping out of a trance.

  “…Now that you mention it…” He rubbed his temple, suddenly aware of how strange everything felt.

  “Exactly,” Rizwan said firmly. “We should go back. We can return better prepared, and maybe Anisa will be interested in investigating this pce.”

  With that, Rizwan grabbed Jomar’s arm and led him back toward the stairs. Reluctantly, Jomar followed. Before long, they ascended out of the dungeon, leaving Ordis behind.

  As Ordis watched them leave, he found himself analyzing their behavior.

  “Hm… this Rizwan guy has a sharp mind,” Ordis mused. “He wasn’t as easily affected by the dungeon as Jomar. Interesting…”

  The encounter had been brief, but it had given Ordis valuable insight into how humans reacted to his presence.

  Still, one thing bothered him—the mention of Anisa.

  If she truly was part of a nature conservation group, she might bring researchers or even government officials to investigate. That could be dangerous.

  “I wonder…” Ordis muttered.

  “…Will they come back?”

  Ordis observed the two humans as they left, already predicting that they would return. And when they did, they wouldn’t come alone. Next time, they would likely bring more people, better equipment, and perhaps even a pn to explore deeper.

  “Well, that’s a problem for future me,” Ordis muttered, shifting his focus back to his dungeon.

  Through his map system, he could see the steady increase of small creatures entering the first floor. Lizards, frogs, and rodents had begun to explore the area, settling into their new environment. The first floor was slowly developing a natural ecosystem, just as he had hoped.

  The second floor, however, remained mostly barren. Its rger size made it take longer to attract wildlife, and the staircase posed a challenge for non-flying insects. For now, only winged bugs had managed to make their way down, while other creatures hesitated at the steps.

  Still, things were progressing. As Ordis watched over his growing domain, the seventh day came to a quiet close—without any unexpected surprises.

  Mana Reserves: 116 / ??? (Capacity Expanding)