*Thump*
Arriving on the second floor, I was greeted by the pulsating core.
Due to its increased size, it now looked even more imposing.
"The whole construct somehow doesn't seem entirely plausiblen stable," I pondered. "Hmm, maybe the Point of Gravity works differently, or it's because of the floor."
Normally, such a heavy sphere should fall, even if there's a point of gravity inside it.
It certainly felt that way. But I might be mistaken.
"Never mind!" I thought for now, as I wanted to create the planets mantle.
If everything goes according to plan, I'll have 200 EC left at the end, which I can use to start creating the Earth's crust.
I started to form a golden-orange lava around the Earth's core.
The name and abilities of the material that makes up the mantle are quite simple, but when used correctly, it can bring both destruction and support: Slow Rock.
Since the Earth's core emitted enough heat, the Slow Rock slowly melted into a golden-orange lava.
I continued to create it, and now the sphere was surrounded by a slightly yellowish rock.
The diameter of the planet was now 140,000 km wide.
I teleported to the Control Room briefly to give the heat time to melt the rock.
If all went well, the upper mantle would become viscous, allowing me to create continental plates.
"There's quite a lot to do!" I thought.
Ten minutes later, I teleported back. I was greeted by a brightly glowing, hot mass.
"Damn! That wasn't planned, of course!"
The rock was entirely liquid, and it moved slowly only because of its abilities.
However, the problem was the heat it was still emitting. It would melt the continental plates!
"Hmmmmmmmmm, what can I do?" I wondered.
I scanned the materials again, looking for new ones and if I have to change them, but I was quite satisfied with their abilities.
I searched for new rocks and masses.
"Green... blue... glassy... hard... flying... non-melting... non-aging rock," I read aloud.
"Ah, wait!" A few rocks earlier, "Non-melting rock" caught my attention.
"That's it!" I exclaimed with relief.
I really didn't want to remove everything and start over.
The material was now labeled "Non-Melting Rock." I read through its properties and mumbled, "This is exactly what I need."
The "non-melting" part is a bit exaggerated; it just has an extremely high melting point of 1,000,000 degrees Celsius.
Moreover, it doesn't conduct much heat, so normal rock above this layer won't be affected by the heat. However, since this rock doesn't possess any of my [CS], it is exceptionally expensive.
It's also one of the rare materials available, even though it doesn't belong to my Dungeons [CS].
Apart from the usual materials like earth, stone, water, iron, and so on, there are only a few materials with abilities, which can be counted on two hands!
"But needs must!" I chuckled.
It was ten times more expensive than Zeitraumium.
Therefore, I had to be frugal with it. I had miscalculated slightly, so I now had about 300 EC left.
With this, I created the first plate.
____
Age: 0 years, 7 months, 0 weeks, 5 days, 17 hours
EC: 0/1,500
—> 2 EC regenerates per hour
---> Tempora: 1.2 EC per hour
---> Second Floor: 0 EC per hour
______
Now, I saw a relatively small plate floating on the golden planet. It was only 500 km thick, feeling like a mere piece of paper on this enormous continent. However, the plate was about ten times the size of Europe, but it still looked quite small.
I watched the plate for a short while and noticed gladly, that it really doesn't meld.
Now, it seemed like waiting again.
"Hmm, what should I do during this time?" I asked myself because being idle for so long gets boring after a while.
Although I had been lying around in my last life as a grandpa, I could watch TV, listen to the radio, or read all day long.
I was quite self-sufficient back then.
After one of my grandchildren gave me a tablet with apps that covered everything, I had access to modern technology.
While such technology existed earlier in my life, I preferred to stay away from it and instead read physical newspapers.
That's why I sometimes found myself bored and a bit lonely here.
I returned to the Control Room.
I would like to go to the first floor, but then it would take even longer for my EC to refill.
I realized that creating things had become a kind of addiction for me. I was never a big builder, but I was starting to enjoy the things a Dungeon does. And now without something to do…
"What do other Dungeons do in their spare time?" I wondered because, without my [CS] of Time, I would probably have to wait 100 years to unlock my second floor.
"Hmmmmm, I could revisit and revise my theories and ideas because I've noticed that some need improvement," I said aloud. "Or I could create a new species!"
Designing the species doesn't cost anything until you actually create the creature, as long as you use the menu for composition. You can tinker freely and only "pay" for the finished creature.
"I think I know what I'll do!" My plan was to go to the first floor and check if the first intruder had reached the second part of the island. If not, I would pause the creation of the second floor to make the Control Room more comfortable.
In the meantime, I would create a new creature that could potentially keep me company. Maybe a dog?
The important thing was that this animal was intelligent enough to communicate with me, possibly through writing.
In that case, a dog was out of the question.
"Besides, I want to use my new [CS]," I said.
I teleported to the first floor to get some fresh air and check things out.