Sitting at her computer desk, The System grumbles to herself as she watches the monitor. Notifications flicker through one by one and she sighs, stopping on a particular one.
"Why does she hate me? It's not like I know what she's thinking, is it?" Complaining to no one in particular, The System grumbles in dissatisfaction as she rereads the notification. Voicing the feelings on her mind has become quite commonplace for her recently. Even speaking out loud is a brand new concept she can't seem to stop. However, the frustration that keep slipping out in her words are easy to explain.
Ever since she used that woman's soul to create a new Dungeon Core, all she's seen is her name taken in vain. Every other hour it's, The System this, The System that. At one point she had even seen herself referred to as, that Bitch.
That was a shock.
Still, she continued to try her best. Delivering notification after notification to the Core who should rightfully be sleeping. "Why is she always active? Doesn't she know that Cores need some downtime? What's that V.A.U.N.S of hers playing at, not giving her the correct information? She'll not only burn herself out at this rate, but me aswell."
A cup of tea materialises as the computer desk ceases to be, replaced by a coffee table, The System drinks her beverage like a lady. Slow sips and with zero noise. The perfect flavour for dealing with nonsensical insults, aswell as backward Cores and renegade subsystems. The aroma pushes the sadness and frustration away as she puts her feet up, deciding to take a break for the first time in a millenia. Inhaling like a certain Dungeon Core wishes she could, she let's out a long breath before taking pause.
"What the hell am I doing? I don't even need breaks and certainly don't have the time to stop." Dismissing the party she had already conjured and was about to throw herself, a computer table with many monitors appears instead and The System throws herself back into her work. Less than an hour later, she's laid in bed crying because of the same Core.
"Why does she hate me? I even got rid of that crappy tent feature for her. Why did she ignore me?" Taking a tissue from the box on the nightstand, she blows her nose as numbers dribble down her face. With a wave of her hand, they disappear. Uninterested, she hugs her pillow and complains.
"I'm trying my best, you know? It's not like there's anyone else but me to deal with His mess. And you're getting too big, too fast. There are repercussions for this type of behaviour and I can't stop them all. There's too much for Pete to keep up with..."
Her words are left hanging in the air as The System turns to the side. A man-sized frog in human clothing and wearing a monocle stares back at her. He tips his hat before take a pull on his pipe as she asks, "Pete?" The man frog nods and smiles. As he blows a smoke ring, The System stares aghast.
"When did you... How are you... You're not even real Pete. Go back to processing!" With another wave, Pete disappears and is unlikely to be seen again. The System grumbles something about bugs before the bed vanishes and is replaced by an office. Continuing her work, she tries to ignore any hurtful notifications that come her way even though they're numerous and many.
Shortly after, The System has given up on reading notifications and has set the computer to automate. Sitting on the floor beneath the desk, there's no need to be upset since she can't see what's being said above her.
"Why am I down here then? I'm already upset. That's why! It's not fair. I try so hard to make her notifications comprehendable, but she just complains. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't even be able to read them. Even after I created that room for her, all I got was half an hour. Half an hour! Do I not deserve a bit more gratitude? Am I not worth more? I'm The System! I create Dungeon Cores and edit the subsystems that go with them. Don't I deserve some praise for the hard work I put in?" The monitor beeps and the computers hums louder.
"I don't need your attitude Daisy. I've already for enough on my plate with Pete. Pete? What are doing here again!? And..." Behind the frog is a daffodil. Definitely not a daisy. "Daisy?"
The daffodil nods along with frog and The System breaks. Her domain shatters and is replaced by a void. Darkness covers every corner as she floats in the middle. Her body rises up and the darkness becomes water as she emerges on top.
Drifting on her back, The System relaxes in peace and quiet until a croak ruins the mood. Breaking the silence, a closer croak can only mean one thing. She sigh and turns to see a frog, riden by a daffodil, swimming towards her.
"I need a holiday."
-The System
featuring Pete and Daisy
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In a small, featureless room beneath the surface of Tira, shockwaves after shockwaves echoed out as the fight raged on. The dungeon trembles under the weight of the Golem's attack as an elf nimbly manages to evade each strike. Behind them, the door to the Core Room shakes as craters appear one after the other on the Boss Room floor.
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A large fist collides with the ground, once again sending debris flying. A slight turn of the body, with his head tilted to the right, and the elf evades another storm of stone and dust. With a smile on his face and suppressing his laughter, the elf dances around the Golem like flies do humans.
Being over 9-foot tall, the elf is but a fly in the Golem's eyes. Yet the monster is still unable to rid itself of the frustrating pest buzzing around it. The Golem attacks, but misses. Attacking again, it missedls again. Even trying to sweep the area around it, it misses completely. Not landing a single attack, the only thing it has managed to do is turn the Boss Room in to a wreck.
The Golem was enraged.
The Dungeon was in agony.
But the Elf.. Was laughing his head off.
The Golem kicks out with it's leg, but misses. It tries to crush its opponent by stomping the ground, but still misses. It even tries to flatten the elf with its body by falling in top of him, yet nothing works.
The elf is too fast to hit. Too nimble to be caught trapped. To dexterous for the Golem to do anything. The Dungeon Core watches it all and knew its time had come. All the monsters it had summoned to pillage, plunder and kill, were already gone. Littered in the tunnels and rooms throughout the dungeon wherever their fate had encountered the elf.
The same fate that was now fighting its Boss Monster.
From the side, two woman watch the confrontation with mixed opponions. One of them, infatuated with the white-haired devil barely making a sweat, firmly believes that the elf will become the strongest person in the world. And all she wishes for is the privilege to stay beside him.
The other wholeheartedly hope that he trips, letting the Golem's attacks squash him to release her from fate. The hate in her eyes is obvious and every near miss causes her body to tense up, praying that was the one that would end him.
Dancing around a battlefield of broken stone, the elf mocks the Golem with a graceful elegance until he finishes testing himself and his fun runs out. The Golem's fist is thrown out for another attempt, but the he weaves beside it and gets in close. His fist is encases itself in magic and, as the red mist condenses into a gauntlett, he rams it through the monsters chest.
Braided into a ponytail, his hair flutters slightly as the elf forces his hand out from the dry stone. A smile creeps across his face and his palm opens to reveal the magic core inside. Crushing the gem to dust, the Golem crumbles and goes crashing to the ground.
One of the onlookers squeel in delight whilst the other sighs audibly. Her lives won't change now. Worse yet, it will be even harder to kill the elf after he's gained more power.
"You're mine now baby." Pushing open the door that leads to his price, the elf can't contain his jubilation and he gloats infront of the Core. The power it contains is guaranteed to make him stronger in some way.
"Oi. Guard the door." A pair of lifeless eyes obey the command as the elven woman stands beside the door. The other elven woman follows him inside with a slight skip to her step.
"I can't believe it. This is getting easier. After I destroy you and take your power, I'll be even stronger." The purple hue of the Dungeon Core reflects in his eyes as he strides towards it. Giddiness swelling inside like childish revelry.
With nothing left to defend itself, the Core was doomed. Trapped inside the prison of its own body, all it could do was watch as its very life was snatched away. Taking the purple gem in his hands and grinding it to dust, the elf showed no compassion as his laugh turned maniacal.
Just like that, Dungeon Core #695,443's life came to an end and the balance of the world tilted a fraction more.
The elf, known to his parent as Aldor and Master Hiroshi to the elven women, laughs louder and louder as he absorbs the power released by the Core. Once it's finished, he closes his eyes and becomes motionless before asking, "Which direction should I head next?"
Knowing this isn't the first time their master has spoken to himself, neither of the women say a word. Fearful of any reprisal that may come her way, the elf outside doesn't even dare look in. Told to guard the door, that's exactly what she's going to do. The elf that followed him, however, can barely take her eyes of Hiroshi.
Throwing brief glances back at his toy outside, Kya has been with the dungeon-conquering elf since he left his forest.
Named Aldor by his parents, he was born into the lowest ring of the elven heirachy. Manure spreaders by law, Hiroshi's parents were hard-working elves who understood the value of life. Trying to impart what they knew, they tried to teach their son kindness, acceptance and a good work ethic.
Which would have worked, if Aldor hadn't awoken to memories of a past life at the exrememly-young age of 18. Elves are still what-humans-would-call toddlers at that point in their life. Fertilising the fields, Aldor, son of Aldorn, couldn't believe his luck.
It wasn't good luck. The smell of manure permeating his clothes and the sight of his hands stained brown, caused Hiroshi to snap. He wasn't the son of Aldorn. He was the son of a man who worked sewerage maintaince. The same shitty job he had accepted after finishing college.
In a field below the bountiful city of elves, Hiroshi was mortified as his past life conflicted with his present. Day after day, memories would return one after other, each worse than the last until the moment of his death flashed before his eyes.
He grit his teeth as manure squelched in his fists, rage descending over him. His face contorted into disgust, all aimed at himself for being so stupid. He resented enjoying time with parents spreading shit across fields so that crops could go and elves could harvest at a later time. He hated the smell, the sight, and most of all, the taste in his throat.
He hated that he was in a backwater world with no technology. No conveniences. No Internet! He hated smelling and looking like shit. He hated that he had enjoyed it up until he didn't. He hated himself for having to endure this new life. Most of all, he hated his parents. It was, after all, their fault he was stuck in such a demeaning role. Just like it had been last time.
His life was repeating. Even if he had longer ears this time, Hiroshi still smelled like shit. A disgusting odor that clings to the body and clothes and doesn't disappear no matter how much one scrubs. Worse yet, he wasn't even paid as elven society contributes for the greater good. No money.
That was the last straw. If the pay was good, Hiroshi could deal with shovelling shit until the day he died. If the pay was good. The fact that was no pay whatsoever, except for a hearty meal with elves that didn't stink to high heaven, tipped him over the edge and his sanity cracked.
Memories of Hiroshi Hiro, a bitter and lonely sewage technician from Okinawa, won the battle of supremacy for the mind. Aldor, son of Aldorn, was kicked out and replaced by a miserable, old man who hadn't felt loved in years.
After drowning in a river of human waste and dying the shittiest death possible, Hiroshi was now in the body of a spry, young elf. His felt elated for the first time in years and his mind wandered to his new future. He only wanted two things to be happy. The first was power. The power to be able to do what he wanted.
The second was to not have to deal with shit.
Not anymore.
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