“Hmm…” I tilt my head in thought. “Puzzle, puzzle…”

  I still can’t quite get a good idea. Several options and monsters come to mind, but none quite fit my expectations. I need something more. Something crazier.

  Something… something like the Infinity Cat.

  Unable to make up my mind, I decide to stop wasting brain power and move on to the next element in the list. I’m sure that I’ll come up with a good idea as I keep creating more monsters.

  The final element in the list is the one that will finally complete my dungeon.

  “At long last, my dungeon will be complete!”

  Until now, I’ve created almost all of the elements indispensable for a mad scientist fantasy–style laboratory: a general storage area, Minitaur Queen’s lair; a place to seal the failed experiments, the Sealed Area; a recycle zone to get rid of the waste, the WDU; a botanical garden to grow indispensable reagents and plants, guarded by elemental treants; a massive refrigerator, to store the ‘meat’ (dead bodies); the rooms where the monsters are crated, thanks to the eternally loyal and never-resting Lab Assistant interns; and even a place to test subjects, where the single current puzzle in the whole dungeon lays.

  Furthermore, I’ve also created the massive cave and the tunnels filled with mushrooms, both perfect to set the dungeon tone as well as to showcase how Mad Rat’s experiments have warped the ecosystem.

  And let’s not forget about the Rabbit Paradise!

  …Although, if I’m being honest, the last one is mostly so that my little sister stops pestering me. At least, not as much as before I created it.

  But there’s something I’ve never put in the main dungeon, keeping it to myself and only making its appearance in a few PvP matches. Although a few have shown up here and there during all the time I’ve spent creating my dungeon, the bulk of it has always remained hidden.

  Yep, you’re right. I’m talking about the stasis capsules! It’s finally time they make a proper appearance!

  There’s one spot I’ve been saving for this, and that’s the current connection to the dungeon core, behind the door that requires two keycards to open. And while I’m at it, I’ll truly transform it into my dungeon’s sanctum.

  Not only the stasis capsules, but also the dungeon core and the control room will be here.

  This also happens to be right above the Waste Disposal Unit, perfect to connect the stasis capsules to the glowing tubes that supposedly feed them and are later purified in the slime pool.

  Right next to it, there’s the experimental area, also known as the ‘puzzle zone’.

  I start by connecting the puzzle zone and this new zone with a door, because it would make no sense if there were no path between the two. But I make it a decorative door, one that can’t be used or opened in any way possible, because I don’t want the invaders to move between them.

  Once the invaders have chosen the final path they want to take, they’re allowed to go back, but they can’t swap. I don’t want anyone searching for a single access card, going into the puzzle area, and then skipping to the dungeon core.

  If they do the puzzles, fine. If they look for a second key, fine too. But pretending to do one while looking for the other? That’s a definitive no-no!

  Of course, the two lead to the dungeon core, so once the invaders reach the core, they could choose not to destroy it and walk into the other path…

  “But why should I care at that point?” I shrug my shoulders. “If they want to suffer doubly, I welcome their enthusiasm! Hahaha!”

  Next, I shorten the corridor—which was as long as the whole ‘puzzle area’, so the two connected to the dungeon core room seamlessly—and make it so there’s space for two rooms, both of which have their doors on the left side.

  The first is the control room, upgraded to fit my style.

  Other than the screens I’m always watching, which I obviously keep, I add whiteboards filled with crazy scribbles, stacks upon stacks of books and notes, and anything I can think of to give it a stronger mad-scientist vibe.

  The second is new: The Hunter’s staff lounge room.

  I was getting tired of feeling their empty stares devoid of life glued to my neck while I was ‘working’, so I’ve decided to give them their own room. This way, it not only looks cooler, because two rooms are always better than one, but it also gives me more space to breathe.

  The staff lounge has a relatively large table at the center, surrounded by four comfy sofas and a massive bird perch.

  …Because, you know… The Sun is half-bird…

  I also put a few computer screens so they can ‘keep watch’, though they are a lot simpler than the ones in my room.

  As the finishing touch, I add a few decorative elements to give this staff lounge a lot more personality. You know, the usual boring office stuff, but with a mad-scientist twist, so it isn’t as boring.

  “And finally, time for the main dish! Time for the capsules! Ahahaha…!” I make my laughter sound as creepy as possible while rubbing my hands together.

  The stasis capsule storage will be more complex than you might imagine. I don’t want it to be a display, no… I want it to be part of my dungeon! As such, it needs space as well as an interesting layout.

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  Oh, by the way, I know I said I was going to put the stasis chambers here, but that was a lie.

  What I’m going to do is something even better. Something that won’t affect my ability to capture new units by occupying a large part of my already limited capacity…

  “Fake machines, fake machines… It’s always fake machines…!” I sing a horrible tune.

  Yes! I’m going to use the same tactic I used to create most of the machines in the Waste Disposal Unit. I’ll smash decorative elements together to give the invaders the impression that it’s real, but nothing is actually going on.

  I slowly but excitedly start to create a few fake stasis capsules of different sizes, going from the tiniest, just the size of a fist, to the largest one, able to fit the Abohemoth inside.

  …I can’t capture dragons or the like yet, so there’s no need to worry about those.

  It sounds like a lot of work, but it isn’t. If it were, I wouldn’t do it, hahaha!

  I just need to create one capsule of each size and copy-paste to create the rest, with maybe a tweak here or there so they aren’t identical, like changing the color of the liquid, or adding or removing screws and metal plates.

  As I add more and more stasis capsules, I also enlarge the room.

  After adding several layers and blocking most of the available paths with obstacles, I end up splitting the space into smaller partitions. I place the largest space at the bottom, and several smaller, isolated spaces above it. Everything is connected by either metallic stairs.

  Together, they create a 3D-style battleground, but thanks to the limited width of the passages and the low ceiling, as well as the rows upon rows of carefully placed fake stasis capsules, there’s limited mobility and vision.

  I also place a few liquid pipes with flowing liquid inside them, similar to those in the WDU, although their numbers are significantly fewer.

  And finally, the monsters. It can’t be a dungeon without monsters, after all!

  This is the most interesting part, as it allows me to go wild with ideas. But unlike every other single time I’ve designed a new dungeon area, this time I’ve almost finished my work before starting.

  How could that be, you ask? Easy, my friend. It’s because…

  “Fufufu! Hahaha! I’ve solved the space problem once and for all! From now on, I can show my creations even when they aren’t good enough to be placed in my dungeon! Hahaha!”

  Do you know what’s the worst? It’s creating a monster and not being able to show it off, just because it’s too dangerous, powerful, or big! And I absolutely refuse to accept it!

  “How can I hide my cute babies from the world? The world deserves to know everything about them! Equality! Equality for every monster, regardless of how disgusting they look!”

  I imagine a horde of monsters waving protest signs as I shout.

  Except for those monsters I intentionally want to keep secret, I start placing all the monsters I’ve always kept isolated in a hidden part of my dungeon, not connected to the rest, inside the fake stasis chambers.

  Having their perception blocked by the glass and submerged in liquid, they won’t be able to do anything, serving as decorations.

  I move Cyam, the Good Followers, as well as all other PvP monsters I’ve ever created, inside the capsules.

  I also place the Abohemoth and most of The Black Horde bugs inside adjacent fake capsules. They’ll be the centerpieces of my collection, my most famous monsters that players will recognize from the tournament.

  To fill in some of the remaining gaps, I stuff a few fake capsules with whatever garbage (mostly humans) I have at hand, just to create a better immersion, and leave a few remaining capsules empty. I’ll eventually fill them, but there’s no need to do it now.

  Last but not least, the Surprise will appear in this room. But, unlike what you might expect, the Surprise isn’t inside one of the capsules, but mimicking one. From now on, at dungeon spawn, the Surprise will take the place of a random fake stasis capsule.

  The invaders will know it’s there, but not where it is, perfectly fitting its original purpose. And when they find it…

  “...Surprise! Hahaha!”

  I’m sure more than one player will die, engulfed whole by my awesome slime. And remember that this is just before reaching the dungeon core, which hurts even more than usual!

  Like this, I’ve not only solved what to do with the monsters I created for the tournament, but I’ve also improved my dungeon. A perfect win-win scenario.

  For me, not for the invaders. But who cares about them?

  Oh, oh, and one more thing!

  Any capsule I deem interesting enough will have a button to release the monster inside. Its shape depends on the capsule, but I add a button that says ‘release’ near each one.

  “What the invaders don’t know is that the ‘release’ doesn’t necessarily open just the capsule with that button… That’d be too easy!”

  But that’s something they’ll need to find out by suffering the consequences. Hahaha!

  Except for the Abohemoth and The Black Horde, the other monsters—let’s ignore the human chaff for now, okay?—will also have a chance to break free by themselves, smashing the glass capsule and running berserk.

  For now, I’ll keep it at a reasonable level: two escapee groups per invasion. I’ll observe how it goes and might raise the number of ‘freed’ monsters in the future.

  “With this, The Mad Rat’s Lab is finally complete, ete, ete, ete…” I make my own echo to add a dramatic effect.

  That’s a lie, of course.

  There’s the new puzzle I want to add later, but that isn’t part of completing the dungeon. What I’m talking about is the monsters I’m going to add to this new zone, other than those inside the capsules.

  As I’ve said before, there can’t be a dungeon without monsters, and those inside the stasis capsules don’t quite count.

  There must be some monster in charge of keeping this place properly working, am I right? And I have the perfect idea for them!

  You see… In this place infested with monsters, each of which is more dangerous than the last, and with plenty of innate skills to choose from, there’s but one skill that trumps all the rest due to its versatility and the raw power it provides.

  It’s none other than an innate skill called Skill Copy.

  “Ooooh, yes. The invaders are soooooo going to cry, hahaha!”