I stand looking at a floor who’s size is several time larger than our book store, where there should be a cave ceiling instead there is a vast sky with many clouds and on the floor there’s no stones or rocks, instead there is greenery as far as one can see and if one to look around they would see many, many trees not enough to block out the light from above but enough to provide shade, in that shade one can make out the glimpse of curious creatures scurrying back and forth. With this me and Alice we would be ready to take one anything on the surface but before I break onto the surface I reminisce on the past days leading up to this.
It was a while after me and Alice named each other, I was about to connect our library to the outside world, Alice hastily and in a fluster stopped me, “Wait! Curator if we connect to the outside world now we will be vulnerable, we only have an entrance right, we will need at least a another floor with creatures to defend us”, as she explains further, this is only an entrance floor were anyone can come and go as they please, if anyone wants they can just walk in and kill me and what we need is an actual dungeon floor with traps and creatures to defend us.
After that whole stint I take her words to heart, making a stair case going down in between where the worn our counter and shelve lay, I continue the repetitive and boring task of meticulously excavating the second floor of our dungeon out, with the promise of a longer life in this world and the joy I will get to experience once I purchase that lovely fairytale like landscape.
After hollowing out the floor I now look around to see only an abyss of darkness staring back at me, which is good for all it was worth, Anyways after gazing into the abyss and seeing it stare back, I was curious about way I needed to choose a theme for a floor, Alice reliable as always went to work “Curator a theme is possibly the most important thing for a floor, it dictates everything from which monsters can appear there, what items may appear there, the terrain and finally the atmosphere. Though those are just some more of the major things there are many more smaller things that the theme affects always keep that in mind.”
I think about this for a while, that means that only fairytale like creatures can appear in fairytale theme floors and for items I guess that would mean I can place fairytale like items in place probably something along the lines of something like Excalibur, Otohime’s black box or the beast’s rose. But if that’s the case, “Alice what’s the point of default floors than I mean there’s no point in having default themes than if I have fairytale themes since they seem grander and have additional enhancements.
“Curator do you remember what you were before?” Alice gives me back a question for a question, I guess this is all part of her growing as a personality, where before she would always directly answer my questions.
“yeah I remember I was a dungeon before I blacked out and became a true dungeon” speaking of which, I never really thought about the difference between being a dungeon and being a true dungeon before, but if I had to guess it think I would have something to do with my skill.
“Precisely a normal Dungeon would not have access to fairytale landscapes and as you might have already guessed you becoming a true dungeon is related to your skill.”, as I thought correctly it was because of the lore dungeon skill I became a true dungeon.
“The skill in question would be Lore mastery.” Damn.
“being the root cause of you turning into a true dungeon, usually dungeons only have access to dungeon rule and they are managed by a blank personality like I was before, what set them apart from true dungeons are two distinct factors one being a lack of a dungeon heart that can filter mana into its most purest form which makes them incapable of any swift progress like you have, usually it would take years for a dungeon to be at a point where they surface, second is you curator or in other terms a soul carrying knowledge from their past lives, which means they are limited to default themes which they usually make whatever their surroundings are.”
Giving the longest lecture by far Alice finally stops and I finally have a chance to digest that long explanation, so it seems what sets me apart from normal dungeons is at the very root the knowledge that I chose to bring with me when being reincarnated, which than transferred into a skill, than fused with dungeon rule to become something entirely new.
Putting those facts in the back of my memory for later I finally purchase Magical woods, a light engulfs the room, like the time with the library, consuming the whole before quickly fading away, revealing a tranquil sight, exactly like one would picture woodlands in fairytales with trees strewn about every which way but all in moderation, letting the rays through to create relaxing shades that blanket the grass and flora…. “Wait a moment, rays?” I look up to see the sky instead of a cave ceiling.
I wait for Alice to answer me but surprisingly no answer form the usually professional and punctual Alice, “Alice? Alice?” I call out hoping for answer when I hear Alice call back from a patch of Roses “oh, Curator I did not hear you calling for me.” I take a look at the roses Alice was looking at, they were truly beautiful, perfect roses crimson red not showing any defects or signs of wilting, “they really are beautiful aren’t they Alice” Alice doesn’t say anything to but gives me an “uhm hum” as an reply, I can’t see her but I can picture her staring at the roses with childlike wonder now, I truly do wonder how much further she will continue to grow seeing her change from when I first met her.
I leave her to admire they scenery as I turn around with a smile as I look at the list for Lore creature mastery, quickly looking at the cheap creatures that were also staples in fairytales, wolf 20 DP, foxes 15 DP, squirrels 10 DP, fairy 250 DP each, sparrow 10 DP, nightingale 10 DP and robin 10 DP each can be considered staples in fairytales.
Fairies are the definitive poster child fairytales being whimsical, mischievous, childlike and fickle. Wolves can be said to be the opposite of fairies being the poster antagonist for fairytales being gluttonous, cunning, fearsome and determined and no fairytale woodlands would complete without woodland creatures songbirds, foxes, and squirrels.
I ended up buying 500 DP worth of wolves, 1000 DP worth of fairies and 500 DP split between the woodland creatures. While it took a long time to accumulate all the DP to purchase them all, but it was worth it as the fairies materialized out of nowhere giggling and flying about, as one landed before my eyes I couldn’t help but stare at her the same way Alice was staring at the roses, in childlike wonder, her pure eyes, crystalline wings and the air of other worldly beauty all hang about the fairies as they now start to fly around me giggling before flying into the woodlands and disappearing from sight, it was similar for the wolves and woodland creatures, respectively being ferocious and mesmerizing each, as they run of into the depths of the woods.
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Name: ???
Type : fae/fairytale
Race: fairy
Skill: fae magic; rank 3,
Fae magic;
Allows the fae to twist and bend reality to a certain, though it has been said only does with a childlike heart can use it.
Rank1:
Skills unlocked: magic perception.
Rank2:
Skills unlocked: fea magic(low).
Rank3:
Skills unlocked: ethereal form.
The woodlands were finally at its full glory fairies flying around playing tricks on creatures, songbirds singing beautiful melodies, squirrels and foxes prancing about living their lives and wolves prowling in the shadows and brushes waiting for their next prey to pass by. I look at this beautifully painted view with Alice by my side. “Alice I think if anyone in this world were to see this view they would blown away the moment they set foot in here.”
“yes Curator this place is beautiful, this is something only knowledge from another world could create” Alice agrees with me, In all look at this place and Alice I truly want to protect this place from anyone that would try to destroy this place, but then again I guess that fall upon the Curator of this place after all, so it’s practically in my job description.
As I was about to dig to the surface again, Alice once more stops me “Curator you don’t expect to just stand out in the open while intruders are invade?” staring at Alice glass eyed I only manage to let our an, “uhm?” Alice only lets out a mental sigh before continuing, “there is one last thing we need to do before we can dig to the surface, what we need is a room for you to reside in or a heart room in longer terms,”
“Wait if am stuck in the heart room how can I tell what’s happening on other floors” I strike that question to Alice in the middle of her explanation.
“Curator if you just concentrate on which floor you want to see, you can see that floor in its entirety.” I focus on the entrance floor and my sight goes dark, before I can see again but this time I see the entrance, not normally but a top down view instead that gives me a full view if the bookstore,” while still amazed by my new view on life I can still hear Alice on the second floor, “as for protection for your dungeon heart room, usually a monster called a boss monster would be stationed in front of the room protecting it.”
As per Alice’s instructions, I try to think what I could make a good boss monster to protect me, while waiting in my dungeon heart room, which is currently connected to an empty room via large stone door with the empty connected to the second floor, I think about what a good boss monster would be while shifting through several lists until something catches my eye on the fairytale event list, “that’s it, it has to be little red riding hood” my mind hatches an idea while I purchase the event, for 500 DP, a lone house starts to appear before the stone door with a dirt path that runs the room into the woods.
At the house there appear three humanoid shapes that start to become more solid, as the light dissipates there stood an old lady, a young girl in a red hood and a large werewolf.
I stare at them with a large grin on my face; my dreams were finally coming true right before my eyes as the, albeit small, cast of characters was here in the flesh, though all I can say is in the flesh because right now currently they seem to just be moving according to what the story dictates which is somewhat a bit unsettling.
Never the less when I instructed them to play out the story they do so perfectly and with emotion, though the position of axe man still needs to be filled since I chose not to summon him, but that’s the beauty of it, anybody who comes will need to help out by protecting her from oncoming wolves, little red hood who will than lead them into the boss encounter encounter with the big bad wolf, after they defeat the wolf they will be given an medal in the shape of a wolf head, which will than give them access to the next floor, (which at the moment is my heart room), by opening the stone gate!
It’s perfect, a perfectly woven narrative that would draw any adventurous person with into this story perfectly getting them involved with the narrative and really makes them appreciate the story even more now that experienced it, I give myself a nod of accomplishment as I revel in my genius.
Noticing that the Big Bad Wolf has gotten somewhat bigger and bulkier after I designated them a boss monster I check their status.
Name: Big Bad Wolf
Type: big bad wolf/fairytale
Race: wolf
Skills: mimicry; rank 3, wolves’ instinct; rank 3, gluttony; rank 1
The big bad wolf truly has some terrifying strength, truly something fitting as a villain and as a boss monster, it’s skill set seems to also be consistent with its abilities in the stories with mimicry it has three skills, being Voice mimic, observe and disguise, two are self-explanatory, except for observe which allows its user to pick up subtleties of the thing it observes, the longer the more information.
As for wolves’ instinct it has passives which include improved hearing, smell and sight which is good and all but what really gets me curious is gluttony which gives a skill called stockpile, which allows the wolf to store up food in its stomach and consume it for instant energy, while I wish I could see that skill in action it doesn’t seem to be possible at the moment.
Finally this brings us back to the beginning with me and Alice looking upon what we’ve created, a sight taken right out of a fairytale if I do say so myself. “Alice you ready?”
“Yes Curator lets”, Alice gives me an affirming tone.
I start to dig from upwards from the entrance of our bookstore until suddenly the earth above gives in and sunlight breaks though.
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(Somewhere in the west)
“sir. Sir! There are sudden mana readings on the radar!” a lanky man in a white lab coat Sudden lets out a cry in surprise.
“It better not be another god’damn false alarm Biggs, if it is I’m docking your pay to the negatives!” A large man shouts out in response from an balcony above.
“n..no sir it’s something else i.. i.. it’s a Mana Dungeon!” Biggs shakily replies back to his superior trying to keep his hands as still as possible, as to keep a still location of where the signal was coming from.
“Someone hurry call the Grand master have them prepare a scouting party ready! This is top priority everyone!” The large man starts to bark out orders, to his subordinates are still frozen at the sudden news.
“what are you doing move your ass now!” with that the man’s underlings scramble to complete his orders.
“it’s been 15 years since hasn’t it.”
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(Somewhere in the east)
A skinny man runs into a lavish room exhausted in out breath.
“Wedge the high priest has felt the emergence of a new Spirit Dungeon, please go inform the sword saint to prepare an exploratory party” a man dressed in a plain white robe starts to inform the runner.
“yes Miss” instantly he turns around and runs back the way he came again.
“it been awhile since one was born”
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(somewhere in the south)
“Weigh anchor! The elder has felt the winds of change, Onwards Onwards to continent we won’t lose out to those people ever again!”
“aye Sir” a large crowd of people reply back to the roughly dressed man who seemed to be captain of the large warship they were on.