The Obulwaag had slept for centuries, content to remain steeping in the experiences and magic of its creator. Over time these experiences began to construct an awareness of sorts. This continued until the very makeup of the weapon was steeped in what it meant to be the Obulwaag of Dug Shardaal. This had created a new state of being. A kind of permanence separate from that of being alive.
This state of being had recently begun to change rapidly. Like a sunken treasure being gradually returned to the surface, light began to shine upon what had once been content to lie idle. Experience became something akin to memory. With surgical, machinelike precision a psyche was built on the back of the item’s history and permanence.
The System prepared the husk of a mind, the beginnings of a soul, and then waited. Experience, new and fresh, poured into the freshly constructed mind and soul, giving them something to experience which in turn forced it to engage. Forced it to ignite.
For all of the System’s power and skill, however, a Spirit was something it could not give. The soul sputtered and the System waited. It did not have to wait long. Like liquid glory, a single drop of light manifested within the space dedicated to the Obulwaag’s psyche. A voice spoke and reverberated through the space.
“LET THERE BE LIFE. ARISE DAUGHTER OF THE FLAME.” The Maker declared.
The presence retreated and the drop fell. With a whoosh of spiritual power, the sputtering soul ignited into a full Spark. Immediately, the System began to integrate the new experience properly so that the new Spark grew rapidly but stably. It drew upon the weapon’s bond with its creator to strengthen the old memories to make the whole experience of Awakening seem like a long slumber rather than a jarring snap to sapience. After making sure the process was running properly the System retreated and let nature take its course.
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Obu awoke slowly and softly. Memories of a half-lived life fluttered at the edges of her consciousness. She reached for something to anchor herself in her new reality and found a memory. In it, a young green face stared down at Obu’s gemstone with a covetous expression. She could feel a hand stroking her faceted surface and the face moved to speak.
“My name beez Dug. Weesa beez pahtnahs now Obu. You my Obulwaag and Isa swear dis: Togedda weesa gonna go to da top. Notta be slaves tah nobody. Da Waag. Dat’ll take us der.”
Dug. Male goblin. Her creator. Her name and its meaning were revealed in the context of what she had been, a staff of growing power. O-bu-l-waag. O Daughter of the Holy Flame. Even from her conception as a bonded weapon she had been named the family of this creature and not just a tool. Dug hadn’t lied either. They had passed the tests and gained power beyond reckoning. For years her (Master? Father? Father.) father had stewarded his powers until they had arrived at this strange land.
A land governed by a System that even now encoded almost her entire existence. Almost. Because in her soul, Obu could still sense the bond that bound Dug and her together. Only now it was strengthened by the System as well as the old rituals and rites her father had cast so long ago. She was safe in the knowledge that if the System ever attempted to enslave her, her father had the power to deny it.
Regardless of future intentions, the System acknowledged her growing sapience with a notification.
Congratulations on your Awakening!
Welcome Dungeon Core!
“I will step in here in place of the normal start-up notifications. You may be newly Awakened but, as I’m sure you have discovered, you already have a wealth of experience to draw from. Most new Dungeon Cores require more System Assistance to survive before they can grow large enough to help themselves. I do not think you will have this issue considering the one you are bonded with. Therefore I have initiated the Quest Sub-System for you instead. There will be simple requests here to start out with. We will talk again once you have acclimated.”
* The Administrator
New Quest Given!
[Starting Out]
Type: Chain
Step 1: Choose a Cornerstone
Description: Please choose between the following Cornerstones
* Creatures: This Cornerstone focuses on the monstrous side of the Dungeon, allowing the Core to better manipulate and affect the creatures it spawns. Additional spawners become available at each Rank Up and this Cornerstone allows for a greater range of variants.
* Traps: This Cornerstone focuses on traps to confuse, challenge, or kill intruders allowing the Core to better manipulate adventurers. Additional traps become available at each Rank-up and each Rank-up increases the customization of traps given.
* Environments: This Cornerstone focuses on the very Dungeon itself, allowing the Core to better manipulate its Dungeon Body. Additional biomes become available at each Rank-Up and can be customized to a greater extent.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Obu looked at the options presented and thought hard about which one she should take. If she chose creatures, she would be able to draw on her adventures with her father to craft monsters this world had never seen before. The same could not be said for traps but that might make it a better choice since she could shore up a potential weakness. Again, her father’s mischievous nature and brilliant mind for breaking things would be a boon for her.
The last option was environments and she thought back to the myriad places she had gone to, carried along as her father traveled. Those memories would serve her well in constructing a Dungeon. But perhaps more information could be acquired.
“System?” She asked in a soft voice. “What is the purpose of Dungeon Core?”
Query Received…
Answer: Within the System Universe Dungeon Cores were created to purify and stabilize Aetheric leylines. As natural creatures receive, internalize, and condense Aether, Dungeons also breathe in Aether and condense it. However, Dungeon Cores are also capable of reclaiming condensed Aether and releasing it back into the atmosphere and leylines.
Dungeons grow by claiming land and this process of converting soil, rock, and other materials allows the Dungeon to convert these materials into raw Aether and back again as they wish. During this process, excess Aether is naturally released into the surrounding area breathing new life into the worlds they belong to.
Obu took in the information without expression. Well, she was a gem so she didn’t have a face but she liked the idea. Maybe she could work with her father on a way to have a body. She made a note to ask him later and was pleasantly surprised to find the System responding by creating a little icon in her vision that looked like a letter. Opening it with a thought, it unfurled to reveal her note written in beautiful goblinoid.
Returning to her thoughts on which Cornerstone to pick she noticed a little blinking light at the top right corner of her internal vision. Just as she had with the other icon, Obu opened it mentally and watched as a list of things unfurled before her sight.
The Obulwaag
Race:
Dungeon Core
Chosen Name:
Obu
Bond:
Dug Shardaal (Non-System Entity)
Cornerstone:
Unchosen*
Rank: F(1)*
Level: 0*
Experience: 0/200*
Core Attributes
Rooted: 1
Measures the Core’s overall capability of digging deeper and expanding its Dungeon.
Empowered: 1
Measures the Core’s direct power regarding its Monsters, Traps, and Environment.
United: 1
Measures the Core’s ability to better coordinate its Dungeon’s defenses.
Transformed: 1
Measures the Core’s ability to modify its Dungeon in all aspects.
Obu looked over the information with interest but none of it gave her a better idea of what to pick. As she looked over it another tab began blinking and with the mental equivalent of a shrug she opened it. Another list of attributes appeared but this time she could feel something lacking like a huge ache in her soul.
Dungeon Statistics
Floors:
None
Rooms:
None
Monster Spawners:
None
Traps:
None
Environments:
None
Obu shuddered at the feeling of emptiness she had just now become aware of. Moving on an instinct that she didn’t know she had she began to breathe. As she breathed in she felt Pure Aether rush into her gemlike facets and then she was seeing. It wasn’t like mortal sight. She knew what that was like from her father. This sight was something else entirely.
Her connection to the surrounding Aether let her feel everything around her in a way that was strange yet exhilarating. She saw her father sleeping on his short cushioned rocking chair and beheld the great beast that slept before him. She saw herself, her gem body anchored to the staff that made up The Obulwaag. I guess that’s just me now, Obu thought.
The new form of seeing occupied her only a short time before the tugging on her soul resumed. Acting again on her barely understood instincts Obu reached out to the wall directly across from her father and breathed out. From her Core, a bright stream of Aether coalesced in sunset colors before colliding with the wall and fanning out like a jet of mist. As she continued breathing the wall seemed to absorb her mist and then a section of it was just…hers.
It felt strangely satisfying and yet painful like a numb limb slowly regaining feeling. She prodded at the sensation and felt resistance. She pulled and the wall slowly evaporated from the inside out, leaving a hollow rectangle of stone before her. Oddly enough she could still feel the edges and the drifting Aether she had just made remained within the confines of the small hollowed-out section. Obu smiled. It was time to dig a hole.