Ugh… My head… It's absolutely pounding, and I don't even have a head… Hey, Inner Voice? What happened?

The Dungeon Core's mana dropped to zero, resulting in a temporary loss of consciousness.

The words throbbed through me, making me want to flinch and hide, but with the world returning there was no escape from Inner Voice's words. I couldn't just close eyes or cover ears I didn't have to avoid them. After all, I was the only world I knew. I existed everywhere in the dungeon because I was the dungeon.

That's real cool and all, Inner Voice, but do you think you could tell me why I passed out? I kinda figured out the whole unconsciousness thing on my own what with the whole waking up out of darkness thing. What made my mana drop like that? I thought I had plenty left after the door.

Naming monsters uses both mana and points to promote them to a higher class. The Dungeon Core used all stored mana in the naming of the kobold, Cobble.

What?! I lost points too?! I still don't know how to even get those! [Appraisal]! What's the situation?!

Something horrific happened next, [Appraisal] flashing briefly and filling my sight and auditory processes with words, while Inner Voice shouted overtop of that, and then [Appraisal] overlaid yet a second layer over all of that. As if I didn’t already feel as though I were breaking into pieces. With that happening I wanted to just shut back down into sleep again, but instead I tried to focus on one thing at a time.

Why was [Appraisal] going twice? I looked to Inner Voice first.

[Appraisal] is now Level Two.

Seriously?! [Appraisal] finally leveled up! Maybe it would actually be useful now! That certainly explained the overlay. I must have caused it to level up with [appraising] myself the first time. Maybe using it to keep track of my own mana had been helping out after all?

I didn’t bother to look at the first bit of information [Appraisal] had summoned, instead dismissing it so I could focus all of my attention onto my updated information.

> Kor, [Dungeon Core] Lvl. 1

> Title: None

>

> HP: 10/10

> MP: 30/51

>

> Size: 9.8 M

> Points: 20

>

> Mobs:

> Kobold 1/5

>

> Skills:

> [Appraisal] Lvl. 2 [Tunneling] Lvl. 2 [Room Building] Lvl. 1

> [Mana Absorption] [Door Building] Lvl.1

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at… It was as if leveling up had done nothing for [Appraisal]. It was still showing me the exact same information as before, only this time I had a name instead of being Nameless [Dungeon Core]. It made me mad enough I wanted to fling my core off the little shelf I had been placed into, but I restrained myself.

Who knew what that would do to me after all, and I had Cobble and the badger family to protect and live for now. I couldn’t go doing anything that would put them in danger, it just wasn’t right. I was an honourable and hardworking core, I couldn’t just abandon my duty now that I had it.

After I got over the annoyance of nothing new being added I looked over my information a bit more closely. It looked like if I ran out of mana entirely I wouldn’t wake up again until I hit at least thirty, judging by the first time it happened. The tunnel hadn’t added much to my size, or my mana storage for that matter, and it looked like naming Cobble had cost me fifteen points on top of draining me of mana and making me pass out.

Fifteen whole points! That was nearly half of what I had before I passed out! All of that for a name I picked just because it sounded like kobold? That was pretty annoying, actually! As far as I could tell points were needed for purchasing new skills and monsters, so I really needed to hoard them as much as possible. I couldn’t really afford to go spending points left and right like that. If I’d known that naming Cobble would cost me fifteen points? I probably wouldn’t have done it.

Hey, Inner Voice! You said naming a monster promotes them to a higher class. What does that mean? What’s the point in promoting a monster? It had better be worth the price!

Promoting a monster gives a small boost to their stats, making them stronger than a basic monster of their same level, as well as giving them the ability to leave the dungeon should they not already be able to do so. It also enables them to respawn inside the dungeon if they are defeated.

Respawn? Defeated?

If a monster is defeated it ceases to exist. Respawning allows them to come back after a short period of time, at the cost of the monster being temporarily weaker and the Dungeon Core needing to spend a large amount of mana to reform the body.

Woah woah woah. Are you telling me that if Cobble died out there before then they would have just ceased to exist? As in die? As in no more Cobble and I could never bring them back?

That is what it means to be a nameless dungeon mob, yes.

Fifteen points and who knew how much mana… That was all it cost in order to ensure my monsters could come back to me… All it would cost to make them a bit tougher? Able to leave the dungeon?

Suddenly that cost didn’t seem too steep.

In fact… I suddenly felt quite guilty that I had risked my kobold’s life like that… I hadn’t been thinking beyond protecting myself, and now that I was? I could see just how selfish that had been. Anything could have happened to them out there and that would have been it for them. No wonder the only thing they had thought to ask of me was a name. If all it took was a name to give me a second chance at life and make me less vulnerable? I’d want one, too.

Hey, Inner Voice?

No. Naming a Dungeon Core does not enable a respawn. If a Dungeon Core is broken then it ceases to be entirely, and the monsters connected to it lose their ability to respawn.

So that was another reason to keep myself safe and protected, to keep Cobble safe and protected. I might have only one shot, but so long as I lived then they would have as many as they needed.

I stretched out the tendrils of my body that moved along the walls, quickly pinpointing where Cobble stood at the end of the tunnel I had been digging out earlier.

I hadn’t had my attention focused on them before, so I hadn’t taken notice right away, but it seemed as if naming them had made them slightly taller. The scales down their back and tail seemed thicker and tougher, but they still had the same goofy face with too large eyes and teeth poking out around the edges of their mouth. It was somehow relieving to see naming them hadn’t changed them too much.

Cobble placed a hand against the stone wall, something that I hadn’t made part of my body so I couldn’t feel, and scrunched up their face as they sighed. It seemed as if they were thinking very deeply on whatever was running through their mind. “Kor… This could be perfect place for entrance, yes, but we must get the stronger first…” They spoke so softly I knew they weren’t actually speaking to me, and yet…

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“You really think so? I was actually pretty worried at first because it might let in humans, but I’m willing to listen to suggestions. This whole being a dungeon business is pretty new to me, after all.”

Their eyes bugged wide and they spun in a tight circle, tail thumping against the walls before their mouth fell open in a happy expression. “Kor! You are the awake! I was much the worried, yes? You were so quiet for so long!” My kobold sounded so excited that it almost made me embarrassed.

“Yeah, I just woke up. I didn’t know that naming you would take so much out of me, Cobble… Actually, I had no idea what naming you really meant. Hey! No making such a sad face! Knowing that you’re safer now with a name makes me really happy. If I’d known you were at risk of dying I would’ve named you sooner!”

That seemed to make Cobble happy again, because the downright pouty expression on their face quickly changed into a happy one again, their tail swinging slowly from side to side once more.

“I knew you were a good Core, Kor. I am much the lucky to have you, yes.”

Ah, how embarrassing… For some reason the praise made me feel like I was blushing, and I wasn’t even quite sure what that was. All I knew was that my core was radiating heat and light more than usual. It was nice to get so much praise, but it certainly made me feel bashful.

“Cool it on the compliments. Apparently I’m easily embarrassed… Oh, come on. Stop laughing at me! No, covering your mouth doesn’t help, I can still tell you’re laughing! Cobble!”

It seemed as if no amount of telling them to stop would actually make their laughter end, so with a huff I gave up on talking entirely, resigning myself to simply waiting for it to end on its own, watching them as they pressed their clawed hands against their long snout and tried to reign in the giggles. Protesting had only made it worse, and besides, I couldn’t really be mad at Cobble. Looking at their cute face and hearing their squeaky laugh was somehow refreshing. Even if my mana stayed exactly the same I felt more energetic somehow.

I was, however, ready to move ahead with talking about plans, even if they were still giggling slightly.

“So, about this being a good place for an entrance when we’re stronger? What did you mean? And about humans exploring dungeons, too?”

Cobble lowered their hands, shaking off one last giggle as they looked back to the wall and gave it a tap with their claws. “Let’s see… If I am correct remembering then humans like to search dungeons for things. Medicines, weapons, the armor… Dungeons make the things humans can’t. Humans smart, almost smart as kobolds, but they don’t make the magics that dungeons do.” They explained, face confused almost the entire time they spoke in their squeaky little voice.

I could make those things? It was news to me, but then again I didn’t know much about this whole being a dungeon thing. It was a good thing Cobble seemed to have a better idea than I did about what being alive meant. Though, at the same time, they did seem to be pretty unsure about the whole thing… Anything to add, Inner Voice?

…

Apparently my Inner Voice had decided it had been too useful so far because it seemed to politely decline adding anything else to the conversation. Shame that, because I was pretty curious on how to make those things and what it meant that I could make magic. It looked like I would need to bug myself later for more information when I was feeling more like talking to myself…

That was confusing… I never wanted to have those kinds of thoughts again.

“I thought humans were the enemy.”

Cobble blinked their large eyes, dusty green eyelids sliding in sideways as they stared blankly into space for a moment. “Well… Yes…” They said after a moment, almost hissing as they let the last word just continue on for a moment. If they had been confused before it was nothing on how they seemed now, scaly ridges pressed together and snout smooshed up. “But they are also good food source for dungeon, I think?”

Food source? Like with the badgers? It made sense in a way… If I let the humans come in and search around for things they wanted, which I was highly aware I wasn’t currently in possession of, then while they were inside I could take some tasty and delicious mana from them. It was yet another reason to make myself bigger and more elaborate, harder to navigate.

The bigger I was then the further my core was from the entrance, and the more dungeon that the humans would have to wander around in before getting anywhere close to me. Which of course just left me wondering what made them my enemies… It seemed like it would be more of a mutually beneficial thing. They gave me food, I gave them things they wanted, and we both came out better for it.

“So how are they my enemies?”

Cobble let out a long breath and slid along the stone wall, sinking down so they were sitting with their knees curled toward their soft yellow belly, tail circling around their clawed feet. “A small dungeon is easy to hurt, they could make Kor make things for them under threat of breaking. Big dungeon is scary, too. If Kor is too dangerous then humans will try to break to stop.”

“So I have to protect myself from getting hurt without getting too dangerous…”

Cobble nodded, the rounded spikes on the sides of their head that were their ears wobbling softly. “Yes yes. Kor must be able to kill if must, but kill too much and humans will kill Kor.” They squeaked, voice climbing upwards with what seemed to be nervousness. I could really see why, after all, I had a pretty thin line to tread and a pretty tough job ahead. Keeping things perfectly balanced so I could keep Cobble, the badger family, and anything else that eventually came to call me home safe was a pretty tall order.

I could only hope that I was up to the task. No… There was no hoping. I either succeeded or I failed, and I would do my absolute damndest to make sure I didn’t fail. It wasn’t an option, not when I had other lives depending on me. I was a dungeon core who aimed to be strong and to protect what was mine.

It was a lot of pressure on me, but at the same time it felt strangely good to have a goal. I had something to work towards other than just eating and digging, and that felt fantastic. Having a focus would make things so much easier for me, especially during slow moments when I needed to wait for mana to refill, because rather than feeling like I was useless I could just plan my next movement.

Now that I was in the planning stages I needed to keep better track of what was going on within my walls, which meant keeping myself spread out and not focused on just a single point, so I turned my full attention away from Cobble and to the dungeon itself.

There were things to eat, it seemed. A few bugs had wandered inside, the smaller and weaker kind that I could easily snap up. Spiders, it seemed, continued to be oddly tough for me. I couldn't even begin to guess why they didn’t go down as easily as ants or worms but I didn’t mind them too much, they didn’t seem too interested in staying anyway.

Mama and Papa Badger were gone, but with the sun having set that made sense. They seemed to sleep during the day and leave at night, but all the same I couldn’t risk sending Cobble out just in case they came back. It was safer for my kobold now that they could respawn, of course, but I couldn’t risk scaring the badger family off. That was a loss of free food I couldn’t afford at the moment, not when I needed to focus on building.

More grasses had been piled up in the badger room while I had been sleeping, so I skimmed a few off the bottom that were more dry and squashed flat, covered in dirt and unlikely to be missed. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant of snacks, but I was pleased with seeing that enough things were new enough to tick my points up slightly.

I had an idea brewing that would probably clean me out on points, which made it pretty risky in the short term, but if I could continue to cheat when it came to gaining new skills then I didn’t need to worry too much. It would be a better idea in the long term to use my points for things other than skills I could just gain on my own by playing around and exploring what I could do.

“Cobble, if you’re feeling sleepy you can head back to the room with my core and rest. I’m going to do some work on this tunnel. I know it’s a bit of a risk, but I really need a new entrance so you can come and go more easily.”

My kobold got to their feet quickly, shaking their head rapidly. “No no! I not sleepy! I’m ready to help Kor! Entrance here is big risk, yes, but… But…” They trailed off, the determination that had been written all over their face a moment ago fading briefly into worry, and then just as quickly as that had appeared into determination once again. “But I has the ideas for the helping, yes. So let me help, Kor.”

“Ideas, huh?”

Cobble went to nodding quickly again, looking absolutely adorable with their mouth open in a happy grin. “Yes! Traps are much the specialty of kobolds! I can help Kor to build them, that will be of the help, yes?” They asked eagerly, and I let myself glow a brilliant red in response, though it stayed unseen since they were in the tunnel away from my core.

If Cobble could help me build traps then that was another potential skill that I wouldn't need to purchase later.

With my affirmative given my kobold practically squirmed in place, blunt tail swaying as they wiggled from side to side as they moved, quickly returning to what was now the main room of my dungeon. They made an odd and nasally sound that was strangely pleasant, something vaguely similar to the songs those other creatures whistled from outside my walls, and soon sat down beneath the shelf where they had moved my core while I was asleep.

They began to scratch softly at the ground with their dark claws, carving lines and shapes into my floor. I wasn’t really sure what Cobble was doing, but it seemed to have something to do with making traps so I left them to do whatever it was that they were doing. I had an ill-advised tunnel to continue building and an entrance to make.

As soon as I carved out a new entrance, that was when the real planning could begin.