Markos took a moment to absorb this revelation. While a part of him knew that he had changed and he felt different from before, another part of him was stubbornly refusing to accept reality. How do you know that I'm a dungeon core? Who are you, anyway?

I am the Dungeon Core Helper and I was born the moment you were reincarnated. Master, I know this is hard to believe but you must find a way to accept your current situation. A dungeon core is extremely rare and valuable and your birth into this world will be noticed. Creatures of this world will seek you out and use you to further their own agendas. You must protect yourself by constructing a dungeon soon!

Upon hearing this warning, Markos' disbelief and confusion turned into fear. While he was still skeptical, he did not want to lose his life if the voice was telling the truth. Yet, he couldn't deny the fact that he lacked a human body. Everything felt too . . . real. Somehow, he felt that the voice was truthful and trustworthy. Thus, Markos decided to go with his gut and believe the helper. How do I build a dungeon?

The first thing you need to do is to complete our bond by giving me a name. This will personalize my program for use by you only.

Markos pondered the response. The helper was really a program? And he was stuck in another world? Yet, the reincarnated entity set aside his questions. There will be ample time for those once the current task was completed. Hmm. You want a name? Are you male or female?

I am genderless. However, you may choose a gender for me as well.

Markos wasn't sure what to pick. The voice sounded young and female. That was why he had originally assumed the voice was a she. He decided to turn this presumption into reality. I name you "Jessica." But I may shorten it to "Jess" whenever it's more convenient to do so.

A message appeared before him: "Confirmed: dungeon core helper has been named 'Jessica.'"

A translucent figure of a young woman appeared before Markos. She had light olive hair in the style of a pixie cut and bright blue eyes. She wore a matching light-olive dress with gold trimmings and one strap over her rather delicate looking left shoulder. Large yellow-orange colored wings which resembled those of dragonflies were attached to her back. She hovered in the air and bowed deeply to Markos. "Master, do I look presentable to you?"

Markos was surprised by the sudden appearance of the young woman, who looked like a faery. Even more surprising was the fact that he felt no apprehension at her appearance or closeness. For some reason, he felt protective of her akin to the way a father felt for his daughter.

"Master?" The faery's pretty face flew closer to his. She waved a hand over his eyes.

Oh, I'm sorry. I was surprised to see you appear so suddenly. Weren't you speaking directly in my mind before?

"Yes, master. The initial state of my program required direct mind-to-mind communication. My voice and my physical form are manifestations of the successful customization of my program to you as my sole user."

Can I take up a physical form like the way you did?

A sad expression appeared on Jessica's face. "I'm sorry, master. You can't create a physical manifestation at this time," she announced.

But I can eventually, right?

The faery nodded. "When you reach Level 5. You will unlock this ability at that time."

That's fine. Good things come to those who wait.

A puzzled expression appeared on the helper's face. She had never heard of this expression before.

Nevermind. It's an expression from my old life. Now please tell me how to make a dungeon.

"Yes, master! The first thing we will do is to access your User Interface or 'UI' for short."

A screen appeared in front of Markos:

Name: Markos Turloch

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Class: Dungeon Core, Level 1

Experience: 0/1,000

Helper: Jessica, Dungeon Faery

Health: 500/500

Mana: 500/500

Domain: 0 Feet

Minions: 0

Keeper Abilities: Convert raw materials

"The UI is a summary of your current status. At Level 1, you have only one function: Convert raw materials. It costs one mana point to convert your current surroundings into one square foot of building material for your dungeon. When you reach Level 2, you unlock the ability to Create walls."

Markos studied the UI closely. How much experience will I get from converting one square foot of material?

"At Level 1, you will gain 1 XP per square foot converted."

What is my rate of mana regeneration?

"One mana per minute."

If I need to regenerate 500 mana to convert 1,000 square feet, then it will take me over 8 hours to reach Level 2.

"Correct."

How do I start converting the raw material?

"Just give me the order," the faery smiled.

Let's get started!

"Yes, sir!" Jessica saluted.

Markos felt a slight vibration in his environment. Suddenly, the area surrounding him was cleared. He checked his UI and saw that he had spent 10 mana and converted 10 units of raw material. In addition, he received 10 XP for this activity. Suddenly, Markos remembered something important and immediately asked his helper. Jessica, what do I look like?

An image appeared in his mind. It was a large, sparkling white diamond embedded in rocks. Oh, great! I've been turned into a rock!

Despite his shock at turning into a diamond, Markos focused on the task at hand. The empty space continued to grow as Jessica helped Markos convert the rocks around him into raw materials for the dungeon. Suddenly, he felt extremely tired and fell asleep. Exactly one minute later, Markos awoke. Jessica, what just happened?

The faery appeared before the dungeon core. "You emptied out your mana pool and lost consciousness."

Markos became upset at this revelation. The last thing he wanted was to fall asleep when he was so vulnerable. He quickly reprimanded her. You should have warned me. I would have instructed you to save at least one mana.

"Oops!" Jessica punched herself lightly on the head. "I forgot."

Markos wished he still had eyes to roll at her. New order: Never empty my mana pool unless I specifically order you to do so. If that ever happens in the future, you will ask for a confirmation before emptying out my mana.

The faery saluted. "Yes, master!" She blinked her eyes as a thought popped into her head. "You now have 500 units of raw material. When should I resume converting the remaining 500 units?"

The dungeon core thought for a moment. How soon did he want to resume the conversion? This was turning into the proverbial Goldilocks situation--not too fast and not too slow. Markos sighed inwardly and gave his response. Let's do it in stages of 100 units. When I have regenerated 101 mana, then start the conversion again. While we're waiting for my mana to regenerate, can you tell me what ability I will unlock at Level 2?

"You get to build walls," Jessica smiled.

How logical. Again, Markos wished he could roll his eyes. He couldn't wait to create a body. What can you tell me about this world?

The helper pouted. "I'm sorry, master. I know as much as you do. Until I can explore the world above us, I don't know anything about where we are."

Curses! Markos did not like the answer. Not one bit. Until he gained some levels, he was vulnerable. Right now, he was a sitting duck. If a miner happened to dig a tunnel into his current location, his core will be extracted because it was indistinguishable from a beautiful diamond. Markos had to figure out a way to defend himself. Or get minions to fight for him. How do I get minions?

"You unlock the ability to create them at Level 5."

Huh? I thought I could create a body for myself at Level 5.

Jessica hit herself on the head again. "Sorry, master. What I meant was that you can directly control any minion you create as long as the minion is located within your dungeon."

Ah! That makes sense. Is it possible for my minion to leave my dungeon?

"Yes. But only if a piece of your dungeon core is placed inside your minion. It would then be considered a 'puppet.' But the further your puppet moves away from your dungeon core, the harder it will be to control the puppet."

What about you? You hinted that you could leave the dungeon.

The helper nodded. "I am autonomous and therefore, I can function independently even outside the dungeon. However, I am considered a 'spirit' and my ability to physically affect the world beyond your dungeon will be quite limited," she pointed out.

If you're a spirit, isn't that a good thing? Creatures can't attack you.

Jessica shook her head. "While it's true that I'm immune to normal physical attacks, I can still be harmed by enchanted weapons and magic spells."

In addition to creating my own minions, can I somehow arrange for beasts or monsters to protect the dungeon?

"Sure. You can befriend any living creature which enters your dungeon. You unlock this ability at Level 3. However, the number of friends you may have is limited by your dungeon core level. Oh, and the same limitation applies to the number of minions you may have."

Ouch.

"Indeed," the helper nodded sympathetically. "Until your dungeon level is quite advanced, you will need to rely on wall placement and traps to protect yourself."

When can I build traps?

"When you reach Level 4."

Dungeon creation is very time consuming, isn't it?

"Yup!"

Markos checked his UI and saw that he currently had 46 mana. I think I'll just take a nap. Please start converting the raw material when I have 101 mana.

"Aye-aye, sir!" Jessica saluted.

Again, Markos wished he had eyes. His mind turned blank and he soon fell asleep