Small and Big Chests (Rewrite)

Elaine gestured towards the chest, her eyes bright with excitement. "That is the chest that contains the rewards for defeating the boss, my Lord," she explained eagerly. As I approached, a sense of anticipation and thrill coursed through me. I carefully lifted the lid to reveal its contents - unknown coins, an iron dagger, and a plain ring.

I carefully stowed away the items in my storage space, already planning on how to use them to our advantage. Elaine had mentioned that every floor had at least one safe area and rest areas in between, and my mind raced with possibilities and strategies.

With a flick of my wrist, I opened a portal to the pocket dimension and began to replicate the iron dagger, imbuing it with my own mana to make it stronger and sharper. I also examined the ring, its dull surface unremarkable and unappealing. With a shrug, I tossed it back into my storage - just another useless item in a world full of powerful treasures.

Ring

"Just a normal ring."

Iron Dagger

Agility +8

"An iron dagger obtained in a dungeon."

Iron Dagger (Replica)

Agility +11

"An iron dagger created in the pocket dimension as an imitation that became better than the original."

Copper coin

"The currency of this world. 40 copper coins equal one silver coin. 20 silver coins equal one gold coin, and 10 gold coins equal 1 white gold coin."

With a flick of my wrist, I conjured two 'imitation' iron daggers and placed them in Elaine's outstretched hands. The cool metal gleamed in the dim light as she tested their weight and balance. As she marveled at her new weapons, I turned to Dan and crafted a pair of sturdy iron gauntlets for him. With one final flourish, I repaired my trusty katana that had seen us through countless battles. With our equipment updated, we ventured back into the dungeon, this time ascending to the second floor.

As we emerged from the staircase, the putrid stench of a large swamp assaulted our senses. The murky waters stretched out before us, seeming double in size compared to the previous floor. Undeterred, we forged ahead, facing off against formidable foes such as lizardmen and panthers. After hours of strenuous combat, I called for us to rest for the day, then we headed back into the pocket dimension. Our dinner consisted of succulent rabbit steak seasoned with podo fruit and delicate vegetables harvested from within the dungeon itself. Despite our exhaustion, every bite was savored and gone within seconds.

The following morning, after a hearty breakfast, we resumed our exploration of the second floor. We braved a few traps and vanquished several monsters until only the boss room remained unexplored. Along the way, we stumbled upon a few chests containing meager amounts of copper and silver coins. But it was not until we faced off against the level 40 undead panther boss that our efforts were truly rewarded.

Though it proved to be a challenging battle that tested our skills and stamina, we emerged victorious over the fearsome creature. With a sense of satisfaction and relief, I collected its lifeless body and disassembled it within my storage. To my surprise, a chest materialized before me upon completion. Inside lay a generous amount of silver coins, an expertly crafted iron sword, and a mysterious book.

"My Lord, that is a skill book that can teach the user who reads it the skill that is contained inside." Instead of reading it right away I put it in my storage because I can make an imitation of it in my pocket dimension.

Despite our remaining energy, we ventured to explore the third floor of the dungeon. As we ascended the stairs, a realization dawned upon me - the creator of this place must be insane. The third floor was a vast desert expanse, with towering dunes and scorching sun beating down on us mercilessly. I couldn't help but wonder why such a drastic difficulty spike had been implemented in this dungeon. It seemed almost impossible for anyone to conquer this level, let alone continue onto higher floors.

But as I thought about it, I realized that our ability to rest at will gave us an advantage over any previous explorers. We could take our time and meticulously search every nook and cranny without fear of running out of resources. Speaking of which, our food supplies were secured thanks to the freezer located in the kitchen. Time seemed to freeze when food was stored in there, creating an endless supply for us.

As we made our way through the sandy expanse, we encountered our first enemies - scorpions. These creatures were formidable opponents, their hard shells making them difficult to defeat. Our only option was to target their weak spots - their eyes. Thankfully, they weren't poisonous, but I couldn't help but think how much more challenging this would have been if they were.

Examining the carcasses of the fallen scorpions, I noticed their skin and talons were surprisingly resilient. A spark of inspiration struck me - I could use these materials to craft new weapons for our group. With the help of my pocket dimension abilities, I fashioned a katana and daggers from the scorpion's remains. Even Dan, who I had assumed would only be able to wield gauntlets due to his size and strength, received an upgrade.

Satisfied with our newfound upgrades, we decided to rest for the night before continuing our exploration. Who knows what other challenges awaited us on the remaining floors of this mysterious and treacherous dungeon.

It took us a few days to cover only a small portion of the desert that had tons of scorpions and desert tigers. Along the way Dan evolved again into a Nightmare Goblin Martial Artist. Two days after that a screen popped up that made me feel alive again.

[Pocket Dimension has leveled up to level 2]

[You are now able to give subordinates two inherent skills and they will get 2 random skills based on their race/species.]

[The base size of the dimension has also been expanded, a room specific for creating subordinates has been added to the mansion, and more customization options have been added.]

After I saw that I immediately went back into the dimension with Elaine and Dan to make a new subordinate. When I went inside the mansion I told Elaine and Dan to do whatever for their own free time. Elaine decided to follow me while Dan went to his room. There was a new room beside the dining room. When I entered there was a silver platform with a magic circle on top of it. When I got closer a screen popped up.

[Would you like to create a subordinate?]

"Yes I would."

[Please select the name, race/races, two inherent skills, sex, and what important information to implant. Depending on the information will determine how long the process will take.]

"I would like a female druid high elf, with the inherent skills of growth rate and no level limit, and implant all the medical knowledge I currently have along with a copy of the skill book inside of my storage which contains healing magic. Lastly her name will be Lydia Nightmare."

[Creating Lydia Nightmare the Druid High Elf will take 50% of your current mana and will take 2 hours to create. Would you like to confirm?]

"Yes please." When I said that I was graced with that familiar feeling of having a massive amount of mana drained all at once.

As the magical symbols glowed and shifted within the circle, a timer appeared above it, counting down the remaining time. With a satisfied smile, I reached into my storage and retrieved the original skill book, adding it to the empty giant library as the first book. For the next hour and 50 minutes, I patiently trained Elaine in the art of dagger combat, teaching her new techniques and refining her existing skills. As for Dan, I focused on honing his martial arts abilities, showing him how to improve upon his current knowledge through dedicated training. The air was thick with concentration and determination as we worked towards our goals, each of us pushing ourselves to reach new heights of strength and prowess.