Only after I decided to dig and think, I realized that I didn't quite know how. Jeez, I'm certainly getting ahead of myself.
"Heeeyyy, System... how do I dig?"
[ Focus on the area around you. Create a 'schematic' of how you would like the room to be sized. The rest should come easily with the aid of your Dungeon Master attribute. ]
"Alright then. Sounds easy in practice..."
I wasn't too sure on how to 'focus' like the System said, so I just... stared a bit harder at the wall in front of me. Something was happening when I did that, so I continued staring. The iridescent colors at the edge of my vision creeped forward, and I was given this gut feeling that I was doing things right.
C'mon then, let this Dungeon diggy diggy hole...
Suddenly, my vision exploded with colors, and the room became... visible. I could see every grain of dirt packed into the small and deformed rock room that surrounded me, and I was aware of the gentle rumbling of these microscopic grains grinding against each other.
Woah. that's... that's certainly trippy.
I focused more, trying to think of a shape to make a room from. Preferably something simple to start with, like a big square room, or some-
Wait. A big, square room? Perfect. Basic, but functional. I can fancy up my main room later, or whenever I feel like it. With my new idea in mind, I glanced over the grains in the misshapen hole I was in. Now that I had the 'schematics' in mind, all I had to do was... make the room?
"Hey System, do I just uh... think 'make room' and I'll get like a... menu asking if I want to confirm the action?" That's how I remembered it going in some stories I had read... previously...?
[ No. As stated previously, your instincts should aid in construction in a simpler way than I can. Besides, similar mechanics to what you describe are either nonexistent, or... reserved... ] If one could interpret monotone humming, I daresay the System was vaguely amused by my question. Now I'm just embarrassed.
And intrigued.
"Reserved?"
[ I am afraid going into further specifics is against what information I am allowed to give. ]
"Alright then, I won't pry." I wasn't an idiot. Previous experience with reading material in my past life tells me that unnecessarily harassing or sassing the System is a one-way ticket to the no-help zone. Same went for any higher beings that may or may not be of relevance. Ugh, I was starting to get a headache. Core-ache? Whatever.
[ As relevant memories are slowly reintroduced, accessing them in quick succession may cause some uncomfortable sensations. ]
"That's..." I paused, feeling a creeping panic slowly envelop me. It was getting worse, whispers of dangerdangerdangerdanger crawling up my... Core. "Something I'll ask about later."
I redirected my scattered focus onto digging, and by extension, the grains of dirt and other minerals around me. As I tried to figure out how to dig a square room, I felt some sort of border, or blockage. I attempted to do something with it, but the second my multicolored lens of a vision 'collided' with this 'border,' I simply... stopped seeing. I wanted to panic, but a smaller part of me insisted this was normal. I tried to move back, and my vision restored.
"What was that?"
[ You only have vision within your Domain. Once you create monsters, you can partially bypass this restriction. ]
"Good to know."
I made a mental note to avoid the border for now and went back to trying to figure out this whole 'diggy diggy' thing. I practically glared at the grains before me, gradually getting pissed as they just. Didn't. MOVE.
Something in my frustration-filled mind clicked, and I felt the grains being tugged towards me by an intangible force I just knew I controlled.
It was like an avalanche, the grains falling in the millions. In reality, it was just some dust coming off the wall. But it had moved. And I had moved it!
[ Mana: 48/50 (+10) ]
Damn. Two mana just for that? There's no way I'd get the space I need with drain like that!
[ Materials released from excavating can be consumed by the Dungeon Core to regain a portion of mana used, depending on the composition of the soil or other minerals within. ]
I can... do that? I've never heard of such a thing in anything I've read, as far as I'm aware- or remember...
[ Many things you may assume to work may not, or may simply work differently. ]
"...That's simultaneously intriguing and fucking terrifying."
I waited for a moment, but nothing prompted another response from the System. I suppose it was very... specific on what things it answered. Fine by me, I was doing decent so far, or so I liked to think.
Pondering on the complexities of the System could wait though. I needed to keep digging so I could make some beefy horror to defend me from whatever other nightmare fuel I may encounter.
I decided to continue digging, leaving the pile of dust alone for now. If it costed two mana to get a small pile of dust, then I wanted to drain my mana, and then consume the dust. Getting a decent idea of my use to recycle ratio would be very important stuff to know.
"Draining my mana doesn't do anything bad, does it?"
[ Draining all of your mana will give you the Mana Depletion debuff, making it take twice as long to recover mana. It will also greatly reduce your visibility, disallowing use of your ability to see all in your Dungeon and Domain. You may still consume materials in a visible radius. ]
That wasn't too bad. I didn't have to worry about Core-aches or passing out. Time to keep digging then.
[ Mana: 40/50 (+10) ]
A large pile of dust formed before me, looking like something that was just recently swept up.
[ Mana: 30/50 (+10) ]
It now looked more like someone had been disintegrated on the spot.
[ Mana: 20/50 (+10) ]
If I had dumped the contents of an absolutely stuffed vacuum in here, it'd probably look something like that. Anyways, can I get rid of that buff display? A little distracting.
[ Mana: 10/50 ]
Neato. Thanks System.
Oh. Wow. I feel like... shit. Bleurgh.
[ Mana: 0/50 ]
[ Debuff gained: Mana Depletion ]
[Mana Depletion] Depleting your mana has resulted in an imbalance. Unless at least 25% of mana is recovered, spells and skills used will cost double the mana, and your mana regen is halved. Recommended Course of Action: Consume material or mana-dense objects to quickly recover mana and shed the debuff.
Okay, even I had to admit an in-depth debuff explanation was incredibly useful.
What wasn't very useful, was the dull pain I got from my vision being violently flung back into my body from where it hovered over the dust pile. Luckily I could still see the pile, so that meant I could consume it.
Nom noms... eat the... the dust. It's good for a growing Dungeon Core like you! Me. A Dungeon Core like me. God I'm losing it.
[ There is no applied Insanity debuff, and Dungeon Cores are immune to magic regarding the manipulation of the psyche. ]
"...It's a figure of speech. But thanks for the tip, I guess?"
I went back to dust staring, yet again. This was becoming something I did very often, I noticed. It worked before though, so I was clearly doing something right and something wrong.
An idea struck me.
A wondrous, somewhat obvious, idea.
I turned my focus inwards, going past the mental humming of the System to the frantic energy within me. I 'poked' it lightly, trying to more or less coax it out to help me. It accepted my 'poke,' the frantic mess my instincts were slamming into me at full force. Fortunately, I now had a greater sense of what to do and how to do it. Unfortunately, I was now feeling absolutely petrified.
[ Instinctual Meld successful. You now have a greater sense of what you must do as a Dungeon, but you are more easily overcome by the worries of your psyche. ]
"Yeah, uh... I... I certainly feel it. It's like I guzzled down several energy drinks and let my mind go crazy."
Trying my best not to scream into the void, I went back to the large pile of evacuated dust. Filled with an innate sense of my mysterious inner workings, I set to consuming the pile of materials before me. I reached out, some of the pile blowing away in response. But it was the result of my excavation, and therefore, they were my materials to do with what I liked. I willed the stray grains to me, and the pile began to slide over like a lurking shadow. As it got closer, they began to lift of the ground and surround me in a small tornado of dust.
[ Materials consumed. Mana is now being restored in accordance with the mana concentration within the materials. ]
[ Mana Concentration: 40% (Below Average) ]
[ 20 mana restored. ]
[ Mana: 20/50 ]
That... wasn't much. I could dig some more, but compared to what I spent, this was just a trickle.
"Is there any way I can regain mana faster?"
[ You can enter 'Stasis' which will put you into a sleep-like state. You are unable to see or act during this, but you are able to set when you wish to wake by choosing how much mana you want to recover. ]
"Does Mana Depletion still affect me in statis?"
[ Yes. ]
"Damn."
I guess the best thing to do was get on the verge of Mana Depletion, then go into stasis. Now, just how much is twenty-five percent of fifty...
[ Thirteen. Technically speaking it would be twelve-point-five, but you cannot split mana in half when using it. ]
"Oh. So getting to twelve would be a deficit, but fourteen is all good?"
[ Yes. ]
"All I need to hear."
With the new information in mind, I set back to digging. Although I kept very close tabs on my mana bar. This would be a piece of cake.
+++
[ Mana: 14/50 ]
Stasis time. It was described as sleep-like, so I just had to shut off my vision and try going nighty-night, right? That's how I did it before getting stuck in... this... thing.
Note to self: Take a peek at what I turned into once half my mind doesn't feel like it's shitting itself.
Turning off my vision was simple, thankfully. It just felt like my range of sight sunk into something, and the dazzling colors prancing at the edge of my vision set in. Now I was truly having the 'living inside a kaleidoscope' experience. As for actually getting into stasis, I tried something that hasn't failed me yet: staring at it. I just felt like I was sinking into more colors. Maybe 'stare at it' isn't always a viable-
+++
[ Mana: 50/50 ]
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
What the FUCK-
I did not realize that nighty-nighty time meant blackout IMMEDIATELY. That was going to be fun to deal with.
Aside from the shitshow that was, I now had the equivalent of being screamed at in the ear by my instincts. Geez, was it getting worse or something?
[ Your instincts may become overbearing at times when you take an extended break from your duties as a Dungeon. As previously stated, they will be very vocal at the beginning. ]
"Should I just go back to digging until I get a room size I like then?"
[ Yes. ]
"...Can I unmeld my instincts?"
[ Yes, but it is generally not recommended to do so until you get a grasp of how to run your Dungeon independently. ]
"Fair enough."
Oh boy, even more digging. Maybe I continue consuming the materials I get from digging? It's a good way to recycle mana... but then again, I have a not-so-vague feeling they could be important later. My instincts may be on point, but I like clarification.
"Can I use the dirt piles I make for stuff?"
[ Yes. Certain monsters will require materials to make, and others can be woven from mana fairly cheaply. By technicality, any monster can be woven from mana, but it is generally not recommended. ]
"Expensive?"
[ Yes. ]
"Does using material reduce the cost? Like, if I used some material on a monster, and did the rest with mana?"
[ Yes. ]
Damn, not even a varied response. Just 'yes yes yes'. Well, it's still good to know, and going blackout after mining isn't all too bad so far.
+++
[ Mana: 28/50 ]
Finally. The perfect square. I lost count of my blackouts after eight, but I had finally finished my big fat square room. Some part nagged at me with the exact measurements, but I didn't care about the numbers. I had a ROOM! Which probably looked a lot smaller than it was due to the massive coating of dirt on the floor. I wanted to say it was... maybe three, four, feet deep? Either way, it was a lot of dirt. In an even bigger room. I am the dirt KING!
[ Your celebration is hard-earned, but it may be in your best interest to hold off on celebrating until you create a monster to defend yourself with. ]
Shit, they're right.
"Shit, you're right."
Monster-making... with over a billion options to choose. Wonderful. Not to mention my mana was a little over half. I didn't even have materials to cut costs with!
[ Incorrect. Earth is a viable construction resource. ]
"Oh? That would explain why a part of me was inclined on keeping it... say, what can I make with it?"
[ Plenty of things can be partially constructed from earth. What traits do you most desire for your first monster? ]
"Hmmm..."
That was something important to think about. If creating monsters was going to be expensive due to needing mana and control, I needed something good. Something bulky that could survive the various bullshit I was likely inclined to face, but could also hit back just as hard, if not harder.
What else?
Fantasy world, huh...? Magic was sort of guaranteed, (my existence and mana proved that) but I don't think there's a general 'resists magic' creature I can make. I believe poisons are always popular in fantasy though, so something that isn't too bothered by that. Definitely a monster that can shrug off big blows that may or may not partially tear chunks off of it.
"You've definitely read my thoughts before, and I know you're in my head. Any recommendations?"
[ There are a few monsters that fit your requirements, mana availability, and current accessible materials. ]
"Nice! Hit me with 'em."
[ Trolls have excellent regeneration, and high pain tolerance. They primarily have affinities to earth, meaning you can use the excavated dirt to cut the costs of creating one. Trolls also have high poison and venom resistances due to their excellent immunity and regeneration. They do have a fire weakness however, as they cannot regenerate burnt cells very well, if at all. Later evolutions that lean into earth affinities can reduce or cut this weakness altogether. ]
"Tempting, but I'm pretty sure fireball is a very common move. Powerful as they may be, I'd rather not have a monster that's glorified kindling. I need to protect myself from monsters and adventurers here." Humans... that was going to be a complex decision for later me. I'd rather stay in the earth and completely avoid them. "Anything else?"
[ Elementals are beings made purely of their element, giving them excellent command over nearby terrain that matches their affinity. With your current material, it will cost very little mana to create one. They are inorganic and therefore immune to poisons and other similar disease effects, and they have great physical durability due to their mana-based forms. However, they are vulnerable to magic, and can be easily bested with something of a countering element. Shattering their mana-core ensures that they perish, regardless of the magic used or the blow dealt. It is also their only glaring physical weakness. They can feel pain, such as when blows are dealt to their mana-core, or when they are hit by magic. ]
"Yikes. Love me some elementals, but that's just plain risky. Any lucky blows and my little guy completely dissolves... next!"
[ Golems can be vaguely considered the opposite of elementals when compared. They have excellent resistances to physical blows, and can easily soak up magical hits, even of a strong element. They do possess a mana-core as well, which is also a glaring weakness for them. It is, however, much harder to break through a golem to get to the mana-core, unlike most elementals. Being inorganic, they are immune to disease-like effects. They feel no pain, making blows that could be devasting to most organic creatures just a minor hassle for them. Golems can also repair themselves with any nearby materials that are similar enough to their own. Unfortunately, golems are quite slow, and can be tripped up easily by smaller opponents. They are also poor area control due to this, but some evolutions or affinities can partially or easily deal with large swathes of enemies. ]
"That's very tempting. The area control thing is worrying, but I'm not too concerned with an enclosed space like this. Any other juicy stuff to know about them before I dedicate myself to the golem-craft?
[ Golems are considered 'Constructs,' meaning they greatly resist forced or regular contract attempts by Summoners, unless allowed by their creator, or if their creator perishes. They are also immune to mind-control and similar effects. ]
"That's hella good! Don't want my monster getting snatched, after all! Wait... wouldn't elementals be immune to mind-fuckery too?"
[ No. Elementals are naturally occurring, meaning they have wills of their own that can be manipulated or controlled. Golems are created, meaning that their only will is that of their Master. Bar a few exceptions, of course. ]
"Lemme guess? I'm not allowed to know about these 'exceptions,' just yet? Or ever?"
[ Correct. ]
"Fine. I'm curious but I'll live without the info. Now, how do I make it?"
[ Golems are relatively simple to make for Dungeon Cores. Simply use the excavated earth around you to form a desirable body, and then compress mana within to make a core. The mana will carve itself into the golem, giving it life. ]
"Alrighty then! I can move dirt just fine, so compressing it should be fairly easy... are you allowed to give tips on core placement?"
[ Inner mana-core placement strengthens surrounding material, making your golem sturdier. Outer mana-core placement does this, but only to the surrounding part. However, it allows much easier manipulation of mana for controlling its element or using spells. Inner mana-cores are more easily defensible. ]
"Damn. A magic golem that can cast spells would be an awesome critter to have. But I don't want to give it a cliche video game weak spot!"
[ The more mana you infuse into making a mana-core, the sturdier it will be. You can also do this after the golem is created, but it will shut down for a varying amount of time afterwards to accustom to the changes. The same follows for Elementals. ]
"I see... let me just..."
[ Mana: 38/50 ]
"Alright. Can I make the body now, and make it a core later?"
[ Yes. ]
Perfect.
I began to swirl the dust up, feeling like an ancient wizard as I created a whirlwind of dirt around me. My Dungeon-Sense (if I'm gonna be stuck like this, I'm ensuring I use comedy to avoid thinking about the implications of... everything here) was nagging at me, but I wanted to do this myself, no help from the System or that weird attribute ability.
Now my room was just full of swirling dust, but putting it all together would be easy. It was like doing the reverse of digging. Sticking all these grains together, remaking them into a form of my will.
That sounded so metal... dammit, focus!
Going back to trying to reverse-dig, the grains were beginning to stick together. Currently, I had a small pebble, but that didn't matter. I was doing it! Beginning the creaton of the first monster to defend myself with! This was truly a monumental step for me! Ignoring the fact that most of the pride came from that primal little corner of mine... pride was pride!
The pebble grew bigger and bigger, my sureness in my ability causing the grains to stick faster. I had a solid plan in mind for the shape of my golem. A fairly classic, rocky, bulky form. Slightly humanoid, two legs, two arms, hands, five fingers... good for grabbing things I can't. That's really it for the big humanoid attributes. The chest of the golem was large and bulky, meant to draw eyes to an unimportant target. Its legs were bulky, bending at the knee, but lacking feet. Things with feet could trip, speaking from personal experience. Rather, it had the lower section of its legs flatten and widen at the bottom. Like an elephant, but bigger, and without the weird toes. I wanted to say this would ensure it doesn't trip as much as compared to having feet, but I honestly just thought it looked cooler.
I made it as big as I could, ensuring that it could still move around comfortably. Needless to say, if it jumped, it would bang its head pretty hard. Speaking of its head, I made it a rounded square. It was rather small compared to the rest of the body, but most golems I remembered seeing had this head to body ratio as well. Besides, I planned to put its core there, so it would be a smaller target, and to hopefully fire off some cool laser beams. But that might just be wishful thinking... I'm sure I'll figure something out for that. For uniqueness' sake, I gave it a little spike on the left side of its head. A little personality for my emotionless defender, hehe.
With the body complete, I carefully laid it against the wall and looked it over. My handiwork was wonderful, but it felt a little... weird. It's probably the head. If I'm gonna put a gaping hole in it for the core, it should probably be a bit bigger.
A little sprinkle of dust, and the head looked better. Never mind the gaping hole in it. The core would probably fix that. Maybe.
Looks good so far. I wonder if I recovered mana at all during this? Uh... display... display mana? Go, mana status! Appear! Identify! Stat-
[ Keywords are... not necessary. Simply think of accessing your mana, and the menu will appear. ] Now the System just sounded somewhat unamused. I... honestly feel bad now. And embarrassed. That feeling was probably going to be reoccurring for me.
"Right. I was just er... testing the waters, n' all that."
[ Mana: 50/50 ]
"Wow. How uh... how long was I making that golem for?"
[ Approximately three hours. ]
"What the fuck?" Four mana an hour? Yikes.
[ Creation of monsters will become faster as you grow in size and power. The same rules apply to mana regeneration, but increasing that is a little more complex. ]
"Damn, now I really wonder how I-"
[ It is recommended to wait on exploring non-vital curiosities until you establish good defenses for yourself. ]
"Alright, alright, that's fair..."
Seeing as my mana was full, I sought out compressing it into a mana-core. Maybe I could work it like I did with the dirt? Just grab it and stick it together? What does mana even feel like?
[ Some compare the flow of mana to water. ]
...I had a feeling the System wouldn't clarify that one. Fine by me, help is help!
"Water, huh?" I began thinking of a clear river. A really beautiful one, with crystal clear waters. The kind that'd you'd rarely see in a lifetime, and that me and- and- ██-
"...What was I doing? That felt... weird. Did I miss something?"
[ No. You were creating an image in your mind to aid in your construction of a mana-core. You likely lost control of the mana and blanked out in response. ]
"Yikes. I hope I didn't lose any..."
[ Mana: 50/50 ]
"Phew." Back to it, then.
I decided to imagine a... an ocean! A gorgeous, blue, ocean. With waves rippling across the surface, complete with the faint sound of seagulls. A picturesque ocean. To compress it, I made sure to briefly break the image in my mind to focus on the golem's head, as I didn't want to form it and find out it wasn't even in the right place.
Summoning the image back in my mind, I thought of... a whirlpool? Yes, a whirlpool. It sucked in all the imaginary water, bringing it to one central point. At the same time, I felt something within me stir up and flow out, and I vaguely registered it heading towards the golem.
That must be my mana, then...
I continued the whirlpool scene, and eventually the ocean dried. Which was strange, seeing as I didn't imagine it doing so... unless...
[ Mana: 0/50 ]
Very, very, clever. And tiring. God, I felt like I was run over or something...
I glanced back at my golem, noticing a luminous, light blue mass filling in the no-longer gaping hole in its head. It continued condensing without my guidance, eventually turning from a shimmering ball into a solid orb of thrumming energy. After this display of condensation, wispy tendrils of mana extended from the orb, wrapping around the golem's body and limbs. The energy carved itself through the body, leaving glowing lines of mana in their wake. Some places where the golem's 'joints' connected were slightly pulled apart, mana filling these mock 'joints' I created to make them float. Or levitate. Not too sure what would be correct here... wait, why would grammar even matter?! I'm a goddamn Dungeon Core!
Ahem, anyways, the lightshow ended, and the golem now had nice little 'mana patterns' wrapped around it, and floating mana 'joints'. For my first monster, I think I did wonderful! I guess I was lucky to not be restricted to stuff like slime or goblins... not the best defense.
[ Control: 1/10 ]
Oh?
The golem crackled to life, the mana whizzing within its orb focusing, forming an imitation of a pupil. The piercing blue stared directly at me, the golem turning to face me.
Oh, hell no. This is some horror shit...
[ Your golem is awaiting its first command. ]
"Oh. Right. MY golem. I have complete control of it... complete control... uh, what can I make it do?"
[ As a low-tier monster, it can normally only understand simple commands. However, due to your Dungeon Master attribute, it can understand more complex commands that contain more steps. ]
"Thanks. I think I know what I'll have him do."
Turning my attention to the golem, which hadn't stopped staring into my Dungeon soul during my internal conversation, I gave my very first command.
'Dig, and make this room bigger. Don't ruin its current shape.' Strange. Did my voice change somehow during that? Another thing to add to my 'ask-later' list...
Accepting my command, the golem changed its attention from me to the wall behind it. Clenching a fist, the golem proceeded to absolutely demolish the wall, causing a large section of it to crumble away within a single blow. The golem made it look like it was merely stepping on a cracker.
Ooooh what the fuuuuck...? Now I'm just straight-up jealous!
[ Due to the materials it was constructed with, your golem has a very strong earth affinity. Digging comes to it naturally. ]
"...Wow. Nice. Now what?"
[ You expressed a desire to dig to the surface to increase your mana flow, and to unmeld from your instincts. ]
Funnily enough, I had completely forgotten about my instincts. Briefly pausing to give my mind a few pokes, I eventually settled on the conclusion that my instincts were very happy.
"I don't think I'll need to unmeld. It's not all bad, plus it's kinda helpful."
As for the surf- damn.
I made my golem huge. It was in fact, huge. In order to do anything seeing as I can't move, the golem has to do it for me. Therefore, huge entrance, and therefore, huge adventurer bait. Or monster bait. I have no clue where I am. Surface shenanigans are now put on the backburner. I needed to create a smaller monster...
I think I'll just focus on building a nice, safe, underground base. Then fuck with the surface. After all, my golem was already putting in massive work. The room had already been expanded to nearly twice its size!
Ya' know, maybe I should tell it to make some new rooms too...