You survey your new floors and promote some bosses

When midnight finally arrives you crawl out of the summoning portal, your champions emerging one by one behind you with grumpy looks on their faces. Everyone stumbles off to bed, too tired to do much else, and you debate checking on the outcome of the world bounty before opting to follow them instead. Work can wait.

The next morning comes with the pleasant sensations that you're used to, although your bed is empty other than the dutiful maid below. You opt to let her continue her morning's work as you wave a hand to open the results of your last few days' labour.

World Bounty: Avenge Mannfred's Mansion (Final Results)
Kills and deaths by day
Notable Monsters Lost: 1;6;11
Times Died: 0;0;1
Adventurers Slain: 24;5;0

Rewards
Survived Day 1: 1,500 fame
Survived Day 2: 3,000 fame
Bonus from number of deaths: 5,000 fame
Bonus from number of kills: 4,350 fame
Overall result: Good
Overall reward: New natural feature: Ore Vein (Rare)

Not quite the stunning result from your last real world bounty, although given that you achieved your main goal and Alastra crashed the party it's hard to complain too much about the rewards.

Fame: 34,856
Recent Activity

• Encountered rival adventurer (based on level): +480
• People are talking about you: +2,924
• Target of a world bounty (based on severity): +3,000
• World bounty results: +13,850

Other goals aside, it still stings a bit when you check your total fame. At this stage, 35,000 fame isn't enough to accomplish much of, well, anything. Focusing on other goals is good and all, but if you want to make progress on your dungeon goals you'll need to spend some time doing things that target your fame as well.

Only Mariel is up when you groggily step into your throne room, her eyes glued to the same decrepit tome from yesterday. "Morning Mary, I see you're up and about early. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, hi Aze!" She brightens and puts down her book to leap to her feet, wincing at the exertion but nonetheless rushing over to wrap her arms around you. "Oof, still a bit stiff from getting thrashed. Say, any idea how we might cheer ourselves up?" She gives you a mischievous smile, her face inches from yours.

"Maybe later," you laugh, "but I was actually hoping to finish up the two levels we started on before the bounty. Care to join me?"

"Don't mind if I do," she re-positions herself so that she's standing at your side, hands wrapped around your right arm, and the two of you set off towards the portal. The floor that greets you is a largely featureless field of grassy, rolling hills, seemingly blurring away into darkness on the edges. Flickers of light dot the dusky landscape as lantern archons and pixies flit around and play together. One of the larger balls shoots towards you, and you can soon make out the form of Caspian, the soon-to-be lieutenant of this area.

"Greetings, my lord." The tiny faerie does his best to approximate a bow while bobbing in the air on his insectile wings. "Oi, you, cut it out!" He gestures to Mariel, and you turn to see her hair has spontaneously been redone in intricate braids. A tiny group of pixies fly away from their boss's wrath, tittering as they go. "Sorry about that, my lord. If you don't mind, I'll go and bring them here for punishment."

"Don't worry about it," Mariel giggles a bit as she plays with her new hairstyle. "We knew what we were getting into when we summoned pixies here."

"Do try to keep their mischief focused on adventurers in the future, though." Caspian turns back to you with another clumsy bow. "Now, have you had the chance to come up with a proposal for this floor? I see you've already made yourselves at home: I don't remember planting a meadow here."

"Aye, m'lord. My people don't like dank caves, so we figured we'd bring a bit of the old world with us. Now, about those plans!" The pixie waves a tiny wand, conjuring a parchment scroll in a trail of yellow sparks. "Seeing as those of us you've chosen to assign here are fast and can fly, I was thinking we should take advantage of that. There's no reason we can't simply remove most of the floor, is there?"

"I suppose there isn't. Won't your people miss it?" You wave to a few pixies playing in a patch of wildflowers along the meadow. "Other than that, we need to make sure it's at least possible for most adventurers to attempt: after all, if nobody comes to my dungeon I miss out on the main way to get stronger."

"Don't worry, lord, I've already thought of that. Y'see, I was thinking we change the scenery a bit, more... floaty. We can connect some islands vertical-like with flowering vines the like. My people should feel right at home, and the adventurers... well, they won't need any special tools to get through, although they might find it mighty difficult with us raining heaven and hell down upon 'em."

"Excellent: I see I've made a good choice. Keep this up and you'll find I can be a very generous overlord. Now, let's see if my dungeon likes the idea as much as I do." A wave of your hand brings up the level designer menu.

Level Designer: Theme
Scorched Meadow – A once-gorgeous meadow burned to ash by daemonic forces.
Peaceful Grove – A beautiful, enchanted forest. Those who enter find it hard to leave the blissful groves.
Hanging Gardens – Cliffs and mountains overcome by carpets of flowers and cascading waterfalls.
Select one (1000 fame)/Cancel

"Well, I'm not sure if you've been peeking at my menus or if someone else liked your idea as much as I did, but it seems we've got the perfect option right here." You select Hanging Gardens and hear a loud rumble as the blurry edges of the meadow begin to crumble away, leaving you on a floating island. Abishai file through the portal behind you and begin to get to work, carving out bits of the invisible ceiling and building up cliffs of rock as they reshape the environment into a more hostile one.

New Summoning Options Unlocked
Naiad: Nymphs that make their homes in streams and pools. They are famous for bringing the wrath of nature down upon those who pollute their homes. Stories whisper of seduced travellers, most of whom are never seen again.
Faerie Dragon: Tiny fae that appear to be a cross between dragons and butterfly. They are mischievous and playful like many of their diminutive kin.
Ampeliad (Elite): Nymphs that make their homes among thick vines, able to control them like extensions of their body. Their fury at those who would trespass in their homes makes all but the bravest invaders think twice.

All three of the new options fit excellently, so you summon a few of each as you open the final menu with a wave.

Assign Level Boss
Lieutenant: Caspian (Pixie)
Scenario: Harried Ascent: this boss is weaker when outside of their lair, but cannot be truly killed. Instead, any time the boss is killed outside of their island, they will respawn shortly thereafter.
Confirm?
Yes (500 fame)/No

You confirm your changes and Caspian grows somewhat, a bow of twigs, leaves, and vines materializing in his hand. The small fae gives the string an experimental twang then flies off with a salute to direct the construction of his new domain.

"We should visit some time when it's finished." Mary looks around the slowly changing meadow with a peaceful expression. "Just because we're daemons doesn't mean we can't have nice places like this."

"Remind me and we'll do that some time. In fact, we can stick around here a bit if you want to lie down." She takes you up on the offer, sighing in bliss as she spreads her body out amid the greenery. "We'll probably need some more room with these new floors, and I might as well see what the expansion has to offer." You spend 10,000 fame and, for the first time in quite a while, your influence extends across the mountainside.

Claimed area expanded!
New natural features detected.

• Water Spring (x12)
• Ore Vein (Common) (x2)
• Mineral Shaft (Uncommon)
• Crystal Cavern (Extremely Rare)

"Ooh, why don't we place the ore veins here?" Mariel looks up from the grass at your new rewards. "Actually getting to them will be really inconvenient for adventurers, but they'll be a tempting target, and we can hide them away in some of the floating islands."

"Not a bad idea," you nod and place veins of iron, copper, and manasilver in some of the Abishai's planned islands. "Okay, I hope you enjoyed the break, but now it's time to visit a decidedly less-nice place." Mariel gives an exaggerated frown and rolls a few times in the grass before leaping back to her feet and taking hold of your arm once again. You lead the angel through the portal and exit in another room, this one as dark and dingy as you left it. Scorpion daemons skitter away to clear a path as you approach, and thick webs stretch across the room. Large, shadowy figures move in the distance, and soon after one of them approaches. Elanie's silhouette slowly skitters from the gloom, a scorpion claw poking out of her mouth. A long tongue emerges from between her lips just long enough to flick it inside, and she swallows with a crunch.

"Greetings, my lord, you honour us with your presence. How can we serve you today?" The spider-woman bows in her usual way, her hair dragging against the floor as her torso drops to nearly horizontal with her abdomen.

"Elanie, good to see you! Now that adventurers won't be running about quite as much I was hoping we could get to filling out this level and formalizing your leadership here. Have you had any time to think on it?"

The pale woman rises up and gives you a nod. "Of course, my lord: I've had some time to ponder what would be best for my brothers and sisters here. Can you show me what our options are so I can choose something fitting?" You oblige her, opening up the level designer menu so that she can see it as well.

Level Designer: Theme
Abandoned Village – These streets still teem with life, but not of the two-legged variety.
Steaming Jungle – Damp leaves conceal fearsome predators and tempt prey with succulent fruits.
Infested Tunnel – This old cavern system has been overrun by horrors in the dark.
Select one (1000 fame)/Cancel

"We would feel most at home in the tunnels, my lord, if you would permit us." The theme overlaps a bit with the fallen village, but you nod and select the option, another popup quickly announcing the new underlings available for this setting.

New Summoning Options Unlocked
Aranean Webweaver: Spider daemons skilled in magic and guile. Although not as adept at spinning their own webs, they are powerful spell-casters and can adept at controlling their comrades' silken traps.
Plaguefly: These tiny flies breed in the fetid, stagnant waters of forgotten caves. Any travellers unfortunate enough to stumble upon their nests find themselves swarmed by thousands of minute, biting insects, and those without a sturdy constitution risk breaking out in a deadly fever if the wounds are not immediately treated.
Wolf Spider (Elite): These massive spiders are kept by spider daemons as war-beasts and guards.

Seeing no reason to conserve mana after the worst of the adventurer assaults have ended for now, you spend your remaining reserves to populate this level with all of your new options. The gloom is filled with buzzing and skittering, including the heavy footfalls of things that must be truly massive. You make a mental note never to bring Tina here—not that you're likely to drop by to sight see on a regular basis regardless. The spider woman across from you seems somewhat more pleased at the development. Her hand shoots out faster than you can see, bringing a tiny green fly to her lips which she eats with a satisfied smack.

"I'm... glad you enjoy your new minions." You grimace a bit and Mariel looks a bit woozy beside you. "Now, as for your promotion, how about some sort of mechanic where you control swarms of smaller spiders? I'm told that it's a classic."

"If my lord would indulge me, I would prefer to be strong on my own. I do not want to rely on anyone, not even my young."

"Suit yourself." You shrug and configure the popup to meet her demands.

Assign Level Boss
Lieutenant: Elanie (Aranean)
Scenario: Brute: this boss has few minions and relies primarily on their own power.
Confirm?
Yes (500 fame)/No

The woman in front of you is briefly enveloped in light. A moment later she emerges slightly larger, slightly more muscular, but overall very similar to before. Strands of black chitin frame her pale skin, but they seem more aesthetic than practical, leaving most of her torso, arms, and face still bare.

"Thank you my lord: you are most generous." The half-arachnid seems satisfied with the changes, and descends into another of her characteristic deep bows.

Footsteps behind you announce your silent abishai workers arriving to carry out the renovations. "I'll let you direct them to design your new floor as you see fit. I'm also allocating you a healing fountain, a mana fountain, a mineral shaft, and a crystal cavern. Place them as you see fit: remember, adventurers should be able to find them, but it shouldn't be easy." The aranean nods, her head still bowed low. You designate brimstone for the mineral shaft, providing the last material for the next stage of your summoning portal.

"Say, Mary, any thoughts on the crystals?" You wave your hand and open the menu.

Crystal Cavern
A cave whose walls are studded with glowing, magical crystals which slowly push their way out of the rock.
Blood Crystals: Red crystals which can be crushed and brewed into potent health potions or enchant objects so that they boost healing or fortitude.
Mana Crystals: Blue crystals which can be crushed and brewed into potent mana potions. If left undisturbed, will produce a tiny mana crystal every six months, which will grow one size larger every six months it's left alone.
Levian Crystals: Green crystals which seem to defy gravity, eventually pushing free of the walls and hovering in the air. Can be used to brew potions and enchant objects so that they can float through the air.
Elemental Crystals: Prismatic crystals which alter their environment, producing baking heat, bone-biting frost, arcs of electricity and other elemental effects. Can be used for magic effects that control or empower the elements.

"What about the elemental crystals? They would benefit many of us, and they seem very reliable. They'd also be a tempting target for adventurers without being too great a loss."

"Not the levian crystals? I agree that the blood crystals aren't exciting and the mana crystals grow too slowly to be practical, but making things fly outside the dungeon floors sounds useful."

"You mean it sounds cool." Mariel rolls her eyes and you smirk. "Most of us can fly anyways, so unless you're looking to get a floating island or something it wouldn't do much for us."

"Say, a floating island would be nice..." the angel crosses her arms and you sigh. "Fine, mistress, we'll do it your way." She looks a bit sad, but you pinch her cheek and smile. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing you: you're right, of course." You select the prismatic option and dismiss Elanie with a wave, turning with Mariel in arm to go back to a more pleasant part of your dungeon. "Well, that's enough administration for a while: it's nice to delegate things. I think we've earned a hard day of relaxation and fun." The erinyes giggles as you toss her over your shoulder and walk back towards the throne room.