Chapter 5: Getting Started

Brent stared at the pint-sized golem before him in complete amazement. "How are you even moving? Do you have some kind of battery? How does your consciousness stay inside the golem? How fast can you move? What can you do?"

The questions poured out of him in a rapid-fire stream as he took in the sight of his new mechanical companion, its metal body faintly glowing with an ethereal energy that Brent couldn't quite understand.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, Brent," Emil chuckled, raising his tiny hands to stop the barrage of questions. "I can’t answer if you keep spitting out new ones! It’s magic, Brent. That’s the answer to most of your questions."

"Magic isn’t an answer, Emil," Brent frowned, clearly unsatisfied with the vague explanation. "There has to be a reason behind it. You can’t just brush it off with ‘magic’ and expect me to accept it."

Emil sighed, and Brent swore he saw the glowing purple lights in the golem’s eyes roll in mock exasperation. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

Brent crossed his arms, determined to get a real explanation. "You said it’s because of magic. What does that even mean? How does magic work?"

Emil let out a dramatic groan. "That... is truly the worst question ever. It’s so broad, I don’t even know where to start."

"Well, where I’m from, magic doesn’t exist. So, I’m working with nothing here," Brent snapped, his frustration building at the golem’s evasiveness.

"Alright, alright. Let’s start with the basics, then," Emil said, his tone softening. "Magic here is tied to a force called mana. It’s everywhere—in every living thing, in every object, even in the air. Think of it like an unseen energy that connects everything. Living creatures, including Dungeon Cores, have something called a mana network inside them. Just like how your body used to convert food into energy, this network converts mana into magical energy, which you can use. As a Dungeon Core, you’ll use mana to interact with your domain—creating, expanding, defending—it’s all done with magic."

Brent took a moment to process the explanation. "So, I have to learn how to use this mana network to do anything?"

"Yes and no," Emil replied. "Some things will come naturally to you. For instance, creating objects in your dungeon and expanding your domain—those will happen instinctually. Just think it, and it happens. Other things, like making more complex changes to your dungeon’s layout or fine-tuning your traps, will take practice. You’ll need to learn how to channel mana more precisely for those kinds of tasks."

Brent nodded, feeling like he was finally getting somewhere. "Okay, that makes sense. So, the basics are instinctual, but the advanced stuff takes practice."

"Exactly! You catch on quick. I’m impressed," Emil praised him, clapping his tiny metallic hands together.

Brent felt a small sense of pride welling up in his chest. "It’s not that different from stuff on Earth—minus the whole magic thing."

"That’s good. It’ll make the next steps easier." Emil’s tone shifted slightly, becoming more serious. "The first thing we need to focus on is expanding your domain. Right now, you only have your Core Room, which is where your physical presence—the core—resides. It’s the most important room, so you’ll want to protect it at all costs. Don’t let anyone but your followers in here."

"My followers?" Brent asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, your minions," Emil explained. "They’ll be created to defend your dungeon. You’ll meet them once we’ve expanded enough to set up your dungeon for the first adventurers. But before we get to that, we need to talk about XP. You’ll need to level up to unlock more advanced monsters, traps, and technologies. For now, the only way to gain XP is through expansion."

Emil raised his hands, emphasizing the importance of what he was saying. "Expansion is key, Brent. Without it, you won’t be able to progress."

"Alright, makes sense," Brent said, realizing the gravity of his next task. "How exactly do I expand?"

"Expansion should feel natural," Emil explained, his voice taking on a calm, guiding tone. "Think of it like stretching your arms or legs. You need to feel the space around you—imagine your influence expanding outward, pushing the boundaries of your dungeon."

Brent hesitated, unsure of how to even begin. He had no limbs, no physical form. How was he supposed to "stretch" anything? Still, he closed his eyes—if that was even what Dungeon Cores did—and tried to follow Emil’s advice. For a while, nothing happened. But then, just as he was about to give up, he felt something—a faint sensation, like brushing against the wall of the room.

He focused on that feeling, pressing into it mentally, and felt the wall recede, almost as if it were moving away from him. He pushed harder, chasing that sensation, feeling the boundaries of the room shift.

"It feels like the room is running away from me," Brent muttered, still concentrating. "Like I can feel the edge of it, but then it’s gone. This is frustrating."

"Open your eyes," Emil urged him.

When Brent opened his vision again, he could hardly believe it—the walls had moved. The room was larger now.

"Did I... did I push the walls away?" Brent asked, still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Not exactly," Emil said, shaking his head. "You removed the material that was there before. Dungeon Cores can absorb the mass around them to use later when creating traps or monsters. The more space you clear, the more resources you’ll have."

Brent felt a flicker of excitement, but it was quickly tempered by reality. "So, how long is this going to take?"

"About a week of focusing purely on expansion," Emil said matter-of-factly, his hands resting behind his back.

"A week ?!" Brent’s voice rose in disbelief. "We only have three weeks of protection, Emil!"

"I know, but two weeks will be plenty of time to set up defenses," Emil replied calmly. "Trust me, Brent. After a week of practice, expanding your domain will be as natural as breathing."

Brent sighed, feeling the weight of the task ahead of him. "Alright, if you say so."

He closed his eyes again and focused on expanding. The sensation returned, the walls shifting as he pushed them farther away. But just as he was getting into the rhythm, a prompt suddenly appeared in his vision.

"These stupid things show up even when I have my eyes closed?" Brent grumbled to himself.

Level Up!

Congratulations, Dungeon Core!

Through your continued expansion and strategic development, you have accumulated enough experience to reach Level 2 .

Level-Up Rewards:

o Increased Dungeon Capacity: +2 Rooms

o Expanded Monster Limit: +5

o New Trap Schematics Unlocked: Spiked Pitfall and Rotating Blade Trap

o Core Resilience: +10% Durability

Special Ability Unlocked: Dungeon Aura – Detect where creatures are in your dungeon at any time.

Continue to expand, defend, and evolve your dungeon to unlock even greater powers!

“Huh. I reached level two,” Brent muttered to himself as he read the system message, still trying to process the new information.

“Well, that was quick! Nicely done!” Emil praised, his tiny golem voice brimming with enthusiasm. “That’s going to make things much easier later. Looks like you’re a natural!"

Brent allowed himself a small moment of satisfaction before Emil’s tone shifted to something more serious. "Oh, I should mention—when you’re expanding, if you feel like you're approaching the edge of your domain and about to hit open air, stop expanding in that direction. You don't want to accidentally expand into the outside world and leave yourself vulnerable. You can mark the edge of your domain on your System Map to keep track of where to stop. We’ll need to create an entrance eventually, but that’ll be one of the last things we handle before the grace period ends."

“System Map?” Brent echoed, confused. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a detailed map appeared in his vision, replacing the Level-Up prompt. He stared at it, marveling at the simple but effective display. In the center was a small dot, representing his core room—the very heart of his domain.

“Oh. Neat,” he said, impressed despite himself. The map showed the small space he had already expanded and the vast potential beyond it, waiting to be claimed.

Satisfied, Brent minimized the map and refocused on the task at hand—expanding his domain. Already, the sensation felt more familiar, as if he was gaining a better grip on the invisible boundaries of his influence. He could feel the walls shifting again, his domain growing slowly but surely.

Brent paused for a moment. “Oh, I forgot to ask—what will you be doing while I’m expanding?”

Emil chuckled. “I’ll be right here, of course. If you have questions, just ask. The life of a Dungeon Companion isn’t exactly one of excitement or adventure, so I’m used to the mundane day-to-day tasks.”

Brent nodded, feeling a little reassured by Emil’s steady presence. With that answered, he turned his focus back to the work of expansion, concentrating on pushing the boundaries of his domain as far as possible. He absorbed every bit of material he could, aiming to make his dungeon as large as it could be in a week’s time.

The steady rhythm of growth became almost meditative as Brent worked, and though it was slow at first, he could feel himself becoming more attuned to the process. With every inch of space he gained, he could sense the potential for what his dungeon could become.

He grinned to himself, feeling the smallest spark of excitement. The next week was going to be interesting.