The adventurers disappeared through the entrance one after another.
Zion remained near the edge of the pasture until the last of them crossed the threshold and vanished beyond the boundary of his perception.
Only then did he turn his attention back toward the dungeon.
The first floor had been cleared, and that still bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
The sheep performed better than expected, and the Horned Ram had forced the party to use nearly everything they had learned along the way.
But in the end, none of it had stopped them.
Four relatively inexperienced adventurers had crossed the entire pasture and defeated his first line of defense.
At least the dungeon had rewarded him well for it.
Zion opened his status.
[Current Essence: 520]
Before building the pasture, five hundred and twenty essence would have seemed like a fortune.
Now, looking toward the empty second floor waiting beyond the barn, it felt considerably less impressive.
Unlocking the floor itself had already cost five hundred essence, and that had only purchased the space.
He still needed monsters, terrain, a floor boss, and whatever else was required to make the new floor functional.
If the pasture had taught him anything, it was that simply throwing monsters into an empty cave was not enough.
The environment mattered.
Completing a proper theme had given the sheep bonuses that made a noticeable difference during the fight.
Apparently, surviving was expensive.
Zion opened the newly expanded Dungeon Store.
Several categories that had previously been dark were now available, including the one he had been waiting for most.
[Tier F Monster Contracts]
He selected it immediately.
A long list unfolded across his awareness.
[Cave Worm]
[Dungeon Rat]
[Venom Beetle]
[Lesser Slime]
[Goblin Scout]
[Goblin Spearman]
[Goblin Warrior]
Zion stopped scrolling.
“Goblins.”
A small preview appeared beside the list.
The Goblin Warrior was short compared with a human, but much broader than he expected.
It wore mismatched pieces of leather armor across its chest and shoulders, while one thick hand held a chipped iron sword.
Its green face was ugly and slightly angry.
Already a major improvement over anything currently grazing on Floor 1.
More importantly, it actually looked like something that belonged inside a dungeon.
He opened the information panel.
[Goblin Warrior]
[Classification: Humanoid]
[Threat Rating: Low]
[Combat Traits: Armed Combat, Basic Coordination, Aggression]
[Environmental Preference: Caves, Ruins, Camps, Fortified Dens]
[Summoning Cost: 32 Essence]
His excitement faded slightly.
“Thirty-two?”
One goblin cost the same as eight sheep.
The price was not impossible on its own; he could summon several immediately if he wanted.
But several was exactly the problem.
Five Goblin Warriors would cost one hundred and sixty essence, and that would leave him with only five monsters spread across an entire floor before he even paid for terrain, structures, traps, or a boss.
He checked the other variants.
[Goblin Scout — 22 Essence]
[Goblin Spearman — 28 Essence]
[Goblin Archer — 35 Essence]
[Goblin Shaman — 60 Essence]
The shaman immediately caught his attention.
Its preview carried a crooked wooden staff decorated with feathers and small bones.
Green light gathered around one hand while the other pointed toward some unseen target.
It could use magic.
Zion stared at it for a moment.
The thought of magic alone felt very cool.
Several Goblin Warriors could block a narrow corridor while archers fired from raised platforms.
A shaman could attack from behind them, and scouts could harass adventurers before drawing them toward the main group.
He could build crude barricades, narrow defensive lanes, maybe even a few watchtowers.
It would actually look like a dungeon.
Then he started adding the prices together: two warriors, two archers, one spearman and one shaman.
Zion’s excitement quickly disappeared.
“That’s already over two hundred.”
And that was before a boss, terrain, or any traps.
By the time he built a proper environment around them, most of his remaining essence would be gone.
He dismissed the preview reluctantly.
The sheep had already taught him what happened when monsters were placed somewhere that did not suit them.
Five miserable goblins standing around an empty stone cave might look more intimidating, but that did not mean they would perform any better.
In fact, he was sure they would perform worse.
The pasture was dangerous because the monsters, terrain, fencing, and theme bonus all supported one another.
He was not willing to give that up just because goblins looked cooler.
He would need enough essence to build around whatever monster he chose.
And for now, the goblins were too expensive.
Before leaving the section entirely, Zion opened the newly unlocked terrain and trap categories to see what else had become available.
Several options immediately caught his attention.
[Ruined Stone Fortifications — 140 Essence]
[Spike Pit Array — 95 Essence]
[Collapsing Passage — 180 Essence]
He opened the preview for the collapsing passage.
A section of ceiling cracked apart the moment an adventurer crossed a hidden trigger, dropping several tons of stone into the corridor below.
He watched the demonstration carefully.
“That would definitely stop someone.”
Then he noticed the smaller line underneath.
[Reset Cost: 45 Essence per activation.]
“Forty-five every time?”
His excitement disappeared almost immediately.
Even the traps were worse than they first appeared.
A fortified goblin camp looked perfect for the floor he had imagined, with wooden barricades, raised platforms, crude towers, and narrow defensive lanes.
Unfortunately, the full terrain package cost almost as much as the goblins themselves.
Zion closed both menus and let out an imaginary sigh.
The store was filled with things he wanted.
The hard part was being able to afford them.
For the first time, he started to understand just how poor he actually was.
These were only Rank F monsters and basic traps, yet several of them already cost enough to make him hesitate.
He could not imagine what stronger creatures, advanced structures, or higher-tier terrain packs would eventually demand.
Worse, the store still contained hundreds of categories he couldn’t even open yet.
Entire sections remained gray beneath requirements he had yet to meet, each one hiding items that were almost certainly more expensive than anything currently available.
Five hundred essence suddenly felt pathetic.
“I’m broke.”
Zion suddenly felt very depressed.
He looked back toward the empty second floor.
It was clear that he would have to be much more selective and thoughtful to make something work.
He continued scrolling through worms, insects, small beasts, animated fungi, and several creatures whose usefulness was not immediately obvious.
Lesser Slimes appeared near the cheaper end of the list.
They didn’t catch his attention much, but he looked at the preview anyway.
A wobbling blob of translucent gel bounced once in place.
After seeing armed goblins, it was difficult to get excited about anything else.
“Does this even attack?”
He closed the preview with a single, swift motion.
There was another problem he needed to fix first.
I appreciate you so much!