We split the watch schedule between Pelopi, Ian, and myself. Eliza also offered to take a shift, but we rejected it so the healer could have a full night''s rest. We excluded Jet since he was technically here as an evaluator. We didn''t expect the dungeon to attack us during the night, so it felt a little moot.


    During my shift, I spent most of my time poking around with [Lightning Magic], although I had to keep it quite subdued or risk waking up the others. Since I knew all my other elements were now at the dreaded level five, I wanted to focus on catching up rather than individual progression. The biggest issue I was having was trying to find something that would be useful for this dungeon. I initially thought about creating a lightning explosion using [Fireball] or [Nova]. I reined in my desire for wanton destruction when I realized catching my party members in the collateral would be far too easy.


    With my other available concepts and pieces, I wasn''t entirely sure where else to go. Perhaps I could just do something similar to [Torrent] and create a tiny thin [Lightning Bolt]? Would that work?


    ''Wait... Have I even added [Electrocute] to my other spells yet?''


    I mentally cursed myself. In my head, I had completely written off adding my afflictions to everything already, forgetting that I had just created a new one. I still needed to add [Mana Burn] to [Arcane Bolt] as well, but that could wait. I immediately began combining [Electrocute] and [Lightning Bolt]. I decided to ignore [Spark] for now, and trying to mess with [Ball Lightning] at this stage seemed unwise.


    I tinkered into the late evening until I was positive that everyone else was asleep. I walked far from the other tents and ran my hand along the dungeon wall.


    "Hello? Are you friends with Simon the Lich?" I whispered.


    I had no idea if the dungeon could hear me, but since it seemed to be paying attention to my [Dungeoneer] emblem at least, I figured it was reasonable to assume it could.


    "So... I understand my emblem is causing you an issue. How about a trade?" I asked to the dead silence.


    "Well... I''ll assume you are listening and can''t talk to me. It''s probably rules about us [Experiments], or maybe you''re forbidden to talk to adventurers? I have no idea what the rule is for Dungeon Masters."


    "Anyway... I want a slime. I know you can probably spawn them. I need either a Pink or Orange slime." I continued.


    I wished I had more information about what other colors were available. I didn''t want to just throw random colors out and hope for the best; rather, I would stick to the ones I knew existed.


    "If you can spawn one of those slimes for us to fight. I''ll unequip my [Dungeoneer] emblem." I offered. Unfortunately, there was still no response or even a minor indication I wasn''t just talking to a literal wall.


    "I have no idea how it works on your end. But I can falsify my emblem, so I''ll display the fake for my party, and then I''m sure you''ll not be pressured to give any more extra loot."


    "So as soon as I see one of those two slimes, I''ll swap emblems. And it must be a real slime. I know the next floor is going to be full of illusions. If you taunt me with a fake slime, I will return and solo this dungeon." I threatened the wall.


    "It was great chatting with you. I hope you''ll consider my offer," I said. I gave my best friendly smile and stroked the wall, partially transforming my arm into a swarming mass of tendrils as I winked.


    I then returned to the camp and continued my uneventful watch. No monsters appeared, and there was no indication that my message had been received. At some point, I also dissolved more of the scorpion carcass for slime mass, not wanting to sacrifice such a vital resource.


    ***


    "Alright, everyone, ready to conquer another floor?" Ian shouted cheerfully in the morning.


    There were some vague murmurs of agreement from his other two companions. Clearly, he was the sole morning person of the misfit trio.


    "Yeah, I''m excited to see what monsters we will encounter now that they won''t be randomly slapped together," I responded.


    "If you ignore the fact, we might think we are fighting an orc, and then it''s a goblin who stabs us in the shins." Jet pointed out.


    "Well, with [Illusion Resistance], I hope that won''t be the case," Ian said.


    "Syl had the trait and still was fooled. I didn''t, and I was partially fooled." Jet countered. "If you have any extra senses, I''d suggest focusing on them; they can help pierce the veil. Like the wrongness of its shadow helped me see reality."


    "I have good hearing and smell," Pelopi suggested.


    "Smell is probably good. I don''t know of many illusions that could hide their smell." Jet replied.


    "I''ll hopefully keep things burning or electrified. Hopefully, that will help." I offered.


    "Electrified?" Pelopi asked.


    "It''s the affliction my [Electrocute] spell causes. The little lightning sparks cause damage over time."


    Pelopi nodded energetically before handing me an apple. Honestly, the number of apples she was producing was becoming a little insane; we had apples for dinner and breakfast, and I often spotted her or Eliza gnawing on one between fights.


    "Hey... Whatever happened to the trident that stabbed me?" Ian suddenly asked as he looked around the room.


    "And the monster''s corpse." Eliza also pointed out.


    "Ah, shit." Jet grumbled. "The dungeon probably claimed the weapon when we weren''t looking. Probably going to reuse it for some other encounter."


    "Boo. That''s no fair," Pelopi complained. "Did it eat the scorpion too?"


    "Yeah, they clean up corpses left alone for too long." Jet answered. "I bet the entire first floor is spotless by now."


    Everyone nodded at that explanation. I was happy it left the corpse long enough for me to get a meal but miffed that it had stolen the trident from us before we even noticed. With preparations made, we all started heading towards the opened doorway and the staircase downwards.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The dungeon was still very much cave-themed, but now there was some actual stonework along the floors and walls, albeit quite shoddy and rough in quality. The dungeon was still illuminated by the eery sourceless glow, and I was very grateful I had maxed out my [Dark Vision] so long ago.


    The tunnel opened into an extremely large cavern with seemingly no enemies but countless little holes in the ceiling, floor, and walls. The only sign of life was a soft, skittering sound. We all looked around frantically; Pelopi''s ears were twitching.


    "Get ready, everyone," Ian said as he ran to the center of the room.


    Bursting from the holes was a swarm of wolf-sized ant monsters, clearly visible.


    I caught three different types from [Identity] before I silenced the prompts so I could focus on battle. I launched a [Fireball] at one of the larger groupings.


    "Syl!?" Ian shouted in confusion.


    "Did you spot an enemy?" Jet asked.


    "What? They''re everywhere!" I shouted right as one of the soldiers collided with Ian, sending him toppling backward.


    "What the hell!?" Ian shouted before abruptly self-immolating.


    "I can hear them, but I can''t see them!" Pelopi shouted, trying to swipe blindly around herself.


    "Why''s [Illusion Resistance] not working!?" Eliza demanded as she frantically looked around.


    I launched multiple [Fireballs] at our perimeter, hopefully deterring them


    "It''s ants! Pheromone ants!" I shouted.


    "Everyone, hold your breath as much as possible!" Jet ordered, his jovial tone gone as he swiftly withdrew a black mask he hastily wore. "Eliza, try [Detox] if you can!"


    She nodded as she began to draw Dark energy from Ian, who was still trying to blindly fight his foes and wracking up some injuries. Thankfully, the ants didn''t seem terribly strong, and he was accidentally killing them just through his self-immolation. When she had enough energy, she fired blindly at one of the holes and struck one of the ants still pouring out, then swiftly began casting the Holy spell on Ian.


    Unfortunately, the ants'' rearguard emerged after the vanguard fully overtook the room. The shapers began flinging rocks at us while the sprayers launched streams of a mystery fluid from their abdomens. The humans were not pleased with whatever the ants were firing as they began coughing through teary eyes and the occasional painful cry.


    Poor Pelopi was rolling on the ground, covering her mouth and face desperately. I cast [Bubble] on her via my water-aligned [Sub-Cores] and hoped it would help as I launched more [Fireballs] at the approaching tide of soldiers.


    "I can sort of see them now!" Ian shouted.


    Jet had replaced his crossbow with a much fancier one. I could practically see the enchantments flowing off of it. His shadow warbled aggressively, as if alive and angry, before he fired bolt after bolt in rapid and seemingly endless succession. Every single bolt was a flawless headshot aimed at one of the sprayers.


    ''Wow. He''s certainly not messing around.'' I thought as I glanced at his crossbow with fascination.


    <[Splinterstorm].>


    ''Damn, his crossbow even has a name. Fitting.''


    I had tried to give him a [Bubble], but he kept repositioning himself by melding into a shadow, and my spell couldn''t follow after him. I also threw one on Eliza to keep her relatively safe.


    ''It''s a pity [Arcane Armor] is personal. I wonder what I''d need to modify to cast it on others.''


    Ian had recovered mostly and was burning himself and the soldier ants. Eliza focused on keeping Ian hale and hearty while occasionally throwing another dark projectile to exchange her dark and holy pools.


    Wanting to do my part, I had an idea. I could see the shapers forming rudimentary earthen walls to protect the sprayers. I triggered [Thunder Step] and arrived on the scene behind their fortifications and casting [Nova] before immediately triggering another [Thunder Step] towards the next makeshift fort. The double sounds of thunder and fiery explosions went off as I zipped from position to position, causing a direct disruption amongst the ants they couldn''t ignore and often didn''t survive.


    Without shapers, the sprayers were defenseless against Jet''s continued onslaught. By disrupting the rearguard, the ants lost the majority of their edge, as the soldiers focused mostly on delaying and tanking rather than directly damaging.


    Since everything was so chaotic, I slipped some cheeky nibbles on some ant corpses with a well-timed tendril or two sneakily grabbing from my feet. The ant''s formic acid was nothing compared to my concoction as I brought on the full digestive might of [Acid Slime LV 7]!


    ''Good! If this dungeon was going to deny me profiles for this entire trip, I was going to be pissed!'' I thought happily.


    Once Jet and I ran out of shapers and sprayers, we joined in on the swarm of remaining soldiers. Not wanting to hurt Ian, I swapped to a volley of [Fire Arrow] spells while slowly working on getting [Flammable] up on the healthier-looking ones.


    Ian, understandably, took out his anger rather brutally on the last few stragglers, mashing them into an unrecognizable pulp. Even after finishing the fight, poor Pelopi did not look great even after a holy cleansing from Eliza.


    "Can you wash her?" Eliza asked me.


    "Sure. Hold your breath." I said.


    Pelopi nodded through teary red eyes and closed her mouth shut. I cast the reversed [Bubble] spell and rapidly filled it with water. Ian and Jet politely looked away. To ensure she was cleansed enough, I grabbed [Elemental Amalgamation] and took direct control over the water already infused with my mana, which began to swirl and scrub her down as best I could. I even threw in a [Heat] spell just to show off a bit. Then, with a flick of my wrist, I pulled all the water off and flung it against the dungeon wall.


    Pelopi blinked rapidly a few times in confusion. "That might have been the quickest and best bath I''ve ever had."


    She abruptly ran towards me and squeezed me tightly in an abrupt hug, her tail swishing frantically. "Thank you so much, Syl! Absolutely everything was burning!"


    "I''m guessing because of your sensitive nose?" I said as I prodded her with a [Heat] spell to help remove any residual dampness.


    "Yeah, what was with that? I thought this floor was supposed to be illusions?" Ian asked.


    "Pheromone induced hallucinations." Jet answered with a frown. "You could conceivably say it''s an illusion adjacent, but certainly not what I would have expected."


    "Do you think the dungeon is upset that we all bought [Illusion Resistance] yesterday?" Pelopi asked as she vigorously rubbed her nose.


    "Maybe..." Jet muttered.


    "So what''s next, heat-based monsters using mirages?" Ian asked.


    "Shit, I hope not. One hot head is enough for me." Eliza chuckled.


    "Hallucinogenic spores, maybe?" I offered.


    "Bloody hell, that''s a thing?" Ian asked.


    I nodded. "I fought a Plant Horror that could do it."


    "Well, if it spores, at least that should be resistible with [Poison Resistance]..." Jet said with a heavy sigh. "I''m not really sure how to counter pheromones or fricken mirages."


    "If it''s based on the heat, I have [Glacial Aura]. Hopefully, enough [Ice Magic] thrown about will oppose it." I suggested.


    "Hopefully." Jet agreed.


    "I wonder why the dungeon is so mad?" Pelopi asked.


    "Surely Syl''s emblem isn''t enough to cause this?" Eliza asked.


    ''Is it because of what I said to the dungeon last night? Shit...'' I worried.


    "Maybe Syl could turn it off?" Ian suggested.


    "No way!" Pelopi immediately refused.


    "It''s a decent suggestion," Jet said, scratching his head. "Why not, though, Pelopi?"


    "Because. Look!" Pelopi pointed to the end of the room, where another chest was visible. "We already got more loot!"


    "Well. That''s a pretty good reason to keep it going." Ian said with a chuckle and a nod.


    "Certainly hard not to agree with more loot." Jet agreed.


    "And now we know the dungeon is out to get us, we can be more prepared for illusion adjacent bullcrap," Eliza said with a smirk.


    "Agreed," I said happily.


    I was glad to keep the emblem going, hoping the dungeon would cooperate in giving me a slime. If it really was targeting us, the fact we survived this rather unfair trap would certainly make it rethink its position. I hoped anyway... For now, we had ants to gather and loot to grab.


    ''What an exciting start to the second floor.''