A few days after talks with the cultist, Naomi finally got enough mana to build the tenth floor. She decided to create an island in the middle of the ocean. In the center was an arena where adventurers could fight the champion of this floor. It was a giant golem crab. Its shell was five meters long, and with its legs and pincers, it gets twice as big. To build it, she needed to expand her workshop to the dimensions of a small factory hall. It includes various cranes and a lot of heavy machinery. She even built a few gorilla golems so someone could lift and carry heavy parts. While Naomi built it with meticulous attention to detail, she also felt a great deal of guilt after finishing it. Many adventurers will be injured, and some could even die, trying to fight it. However, cultists' attempt to sneak in reminded her of Elizabeth's dungeon. While Naomi was much safer protected by the northern fortress, armies of sun elves, paladins, adventurers, and the desert itself, it didn’t mean she was safe. She needs to be ready.

  To ease her guilt and help grow a city around her dungeon, she decided to populate the waters with a lot of edible fish and designated them as hunting grounds. In a special shed with a long pier, she prepared the necessary equipment for anyone interested. On the sand, she placed simple folded chairs to lounge, beach huts where you could grill your fish, and buy drinks with mana stones. Naomi plans to ask Lisusa if she can help find someone to work here.

  To finish the whole floor, it took her two weeks. Building the guardian takes six days alone. When she confirmed adding the new floor, she took a peek to see where the nearest adventurers' team is. To her surprise, it was Lady Itylara, accompanied by a team of her best warriors and a support group for collecting valuable herbs and other small but useful objects, such as mana stones. The elves rarely collect metal parts from the golems. Some elven mages studied them, and blacksmiths needed metal for repairs, but they collected what they needed personally.

  According to Naomi's estimation, they will reach the stairs in around two hours.

  “Plenty of time for some swimming.” She smiled and sent a note to Lisusa that the tenth floor is open, and she should show up in a few hours. The tavern keeper was good at her work, and spreading important information and rumors was part of her job. Thanks to that, Naomi was sure that soon all people in the oasis would know about the tenth floor.

  After sending a letter, she went to the hidden cove where she prepared a place for herself and the gods. And she was certain that one goddess would be a frequent visitor. The entrance was hidden in a small cave where she placed a sign: “Do not enter. Please. DM”. Of course, she also placed a hidden door that looked like part of the stone wall.

  And just like she predicted, the goddess of fun was there, along with the Lady and goddess Iliana.

  “Nice job here!” She laughed. “It’s a shame I can’t become your third patron.”

  “Thank you. And don’t worry. Your help is valuable regardless of whether you are my patron goddess or not.”

  “Thank you, sister!”

  “And I, and the goddess of arts, also want to say that we appreciate your work with the coral reef.”

  “Especially that people will be able to see it.” Goddes Iliana added.

  “That was an idea. I wanted a place where people could get some extra food, but also see something that only a few were able to see so far. While true oceans are full of dangerous animals, it’s a place of beauty too.”

  “And fun!” Goddess Tabitha shouted.

  “And that too. In a few hours, I will try to show the scene to the first group of people.”

  “They are sun elves. Just challenge them and they will be jumping into the water in the next moment.” The goddess of fun shrugged.

  “There is that option too!” Naomi laughed. “For now, please excuse me. I always dream of swimming in a tropical ocean.” She said and ran to change her working clothes into a bikini. She once tried to go to the swimming pool. It was a catastrophe. First, she needed to spend two weeks searching for a swimsuit matching her two-meter-tall, muscular body. When she finally went to the aquapark, she managed to stay for only one hour. Even if she chose a day when the park was half empty, all the gazes of people there were unbearable. Now, however, she had her dreamlike body and private beach. Although locals weren’t prudes, showing up almost naked publicly would be considered bad taste. People of this world weren’t shy of nakedness. They just preferred that it be shown in public baths.

  When Lady Itylara descended from the stairs, Naomi was already waiting for her. This time, she wore her leather armor.

  “Greeting, Dungeon Mistress.” She courteously nodded. “Congratulations on finishing your tenth floor.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Thank you. However, while I decide on how it looks, it’s also a fruit of the hard work of all the people who venture through my maze. And as such, I prepared a few things for you all to enjoy your stay. But I guess, what you, Lady, are most curious about is a champion of this floor?”

  “Thank you for your polite words. And yes, we all want to see the guardian of this floor.”

  “Then please follow me. After the presentation, I invite you to see the haunting grounds.”

  “I’m looking forward to the things you, Dungeon Mistress, prepared for us.” Lady Itylara dismissed supporters and followed the Dungeon Mistress.

  When they entered the arena, the sun elves tensed. They were expecting some golem, but this giant was intimidating even to them. Armored and with pincers that could crush any armor.

  “Yeah. That is my guardian,” Naomi breaks the silence. “Sorry, but I can’t go easy on that. Not only because of the rules, but to be truthful, this spy scared me. I know that you and the northern kingdoms are well prepared to fight against anything that the archlich can throw at you. But that’s where the problem lies. To beat you all, they need to throw something big and terrifying, and it looks like they are interested in me.”

  “I may be rude to you, Dungeon Mistress, but you should fear them.” The lady Itylara answered. “And be prepared as best you can. That guardian is a good one. It will take us some time until we find a way to destroy it, but we will do it.”

  “I know. But please be careful. Sacrificing your life to destroy a dungeon monster is pointless, even for eventual fame.”

  “Understood, Dungeon Mistress. And I agree.”

  “Thank you. But this floor is also built to reward those who reach it. Come with me. I will show you something that only a few people in your world saw, and only for a brief moment.”

  Naomi led them to the wooden building next to the beach. It had two doors, one entrance was for women, the other for men.

  “Ok. For now, please change your armor on this suit. I prepared strongboxes closed with a key for anyone to store their belongings. After I help Lady Itylara and…” Naomi turns to another elven woman.

  “Chali, Mistress.” The elven warrior bowed.

  “Chali, to fit their suits, I will come to help you all. After that, I will explain the most important things and answer any questions you may have.”

  After entering the cabin to change her clothes, Lady Itylara saw peculiar armor. The body was covered with a one-piece element that you enter through the neck. Then you get this shoulder piece made from metal that secures it on your shoulder. She also gets a strange helmet. It wasn’t designed for battle because the front of it was covered with thick glass. There was also a belt with a metal weight attached and shoes with iron soles. Everything was so heavy that even with greater strength, it was hard to move properly. The Lady Itylara cannot see how they will hunt anything in those suits. She guessed that they need them for some reason to reach a place where the haunting ground is.

  Suiting up in diving suits took some time, but finally, everyone was ready. The elves listened attentively, but they were also overwhelmed by what they heard. They couldn’t grasp the idea of walking on the seabed like it was dry land.

  “Ok. I know it’s a lot to understand, but I promise it will be well worth it. Take a weapon that suits you from the rack. And I help you secure your helmets. Then we jump into the water. As I mentioned earlier, keep an eye on the mana clock on your wrist. Air mana stone in our breathing apparatus will suffice for three hours. So we have two hours for hunting and return.”

  Then Dungon Mistress helped them secure their helmets, and after checking that everything worked like intended, just jumped from the end of the pier to deep water. The Lady Itylara blinked and started laughing. Her companions can’t hear her, but they saw her face and her arms shaking. They immediately joined her. Dungeon Mistress just challenged them without saying a single word. They jump into the water one by one. When they landed at the bottom, around four meters deep, they stood mesmerized. The reflection of the sun makes strange patterns on the sand, and myriads of creatures swim and walk everywhere. There were also strange plants moving in the water as if it were the wind. And all was so bright and full of color.

  Naomi prompted them to move. They have limited time, and it was the tenth floor, so they could return here whenever they wish.

  Two hours later, they emerged from the water carrying three fish with them. Lady Itylara didn’t manage to catch her own, but she wasn’t surprised. All their fish were caught by lucky chance. No one ever tries to pierce a fish underwater with a spear or sword. The water itself made it difficult for them to move, and the fish somehow managed to sense the attack and avoid it in the blink of an eye.

  “So, how was it?” Dungeon Mistress asked them when they were all dressed in their armor.

  All elves looked at each other and laughed happily.

  “Dungeon Mistress, I want to thank you sincerely.” The Lady Itylara bowed, and the rest of the elves followed. “You showed us hidden marvels of The Lady, and so much more. I don’t have the words to express my feelings right now.”

  Others said similar things, expressing their gratitude.

  “Thank you. I’m happy it works. Let us go to the tavern. Your fish needs to be properly cooked.”

  “Agree. We need to celebrate this.” The Lady Itylara nodded.

  “Welcome!” Lisusa greeted them when they entered the tavern. “How can I help you?”

  “We catch some fish. We want to make them into a proper dish. We want to have a little celebration.” The Lady Itylara answered, visibly happy.

  “Certainly. Give us some time, and we will get them ready.”

  “Thank you.” The elven lady answered. To all surprise, all five elves approached the shrine of the goddess and placed their offerings and thanked her for the day. Once they were seated at the table, they began talking about the events of the hunt, laughing and gesticulating energetically. To all gathered around, all their words were gibberish. They talk about hunting a fish like they were swimming on the ground, or maybe even worse, elves were taking a stroll underwater. But, there was an easy solution to see for yourself what Dungeon Mistress created on the tenth floor. You need to go there.