Hell yeah man, looking forward to it.
Liking the "Deeper secrets" approach, The monster acting as an incentive to force you through the maze, uncover the lost mysteries.
Perhaps there are codes to special doors written in invisible ink along the walls and you find an ultra violet flashlight to see them. or safes needing keys that are consumed on use with recourses or gear in them, or facility documents with story elements. Lures to attract the monster and pipe valves to keep back the water just so you can explore a little longer.
I feel the Elevator could be a rare tool that helps out run the monster and travel the floors individually. you can use it to skip a couple of floors, or to go back a few. It could have its own elevator jingle to let you know you are close.
There could be a Blackbox/locked safe with a floor number engraved on it, you need to head to that floor, retrieve the code and take the elevator back down. but the monster is more active up there, so you risk your run in order to uncover secrets.
(ignore me im gushing ideas)