Prologue: Through the looking glass.

“Marcus!” I heard mom yell from downstairs. I froze. The only thing downstairs was my room and I had just come home.

“Yes Mom?!”

“Get down here this instant!”

With a sigh I went down to my room to see my mother standing near the full length mirror. I hardly made it into the room when she turned her glare on me.

“What in the realms is that?” Mom hissed and pointed a finger at the sexy little female imp seen only in the mirror.

“That’s Alice mom. She’s an imp.” This was not going to go over well.

“I can see she’s an imp and that she’s naked on your bed. Tell her to become corporeal and visible this instant!”

I rubbed my eyes. “She’s not in my room Mom. She’s in her own room.”

I watched as mom blinked in confusion for a moment. “What do you mean she is in her own room? That’s just a mirror I checked.”

With a sigh I picked up the white rabbit statue on my nightstand and handed it to my mother. “Hold this then check the mirror.” I watched as Mom took the statue and then proceeded hand first to walk through the mirror. I followed behind her closing the system screen that showed up almost immediately, though not before noticing the slight change.

You have entered the Dungeon: Alice’s Room. Dungeon Level: Normal. Rooms: 1 of 2.

“Nice. It levelled up. Any plans for how you want to expand Alice?”

“I’d love for you to add a nice bathroom Master Marcus.” Alice smiled at me.

“Sure thing. We’ll talk about the design tonight.” Crap I got caught up in the room count leveling up and forgot about mom who was glaring back and forth between myself and Alice.

“Marcus you had best start explaining why there is a dungeon in your mirror and about this expansion right now.” Mom’s voice was cold.

I fidgeted, “It’s my Soul Art. I can make dungeons. I got tested when I was five remember?”

“I certainly do remember. They said you had a Void Art. What do you mean you can make dungeons?”

“Well the void is the source of all creation and matter. My particular art is in making dungeons. I learned this when they did the test. Hell I made my first dungeon that afternoon.”

“You mean that small cave dungeon full of rabbits we found you in was your own creation?”

“Yep. You guys were all freaked out about a dungeon spawning so close to town that I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to be yelled at. Through trial and error not to mention a lot of reading and observation I learned it was hard to create a good dungeon. I’ve been keeping my attempts secret and destroying them once they failed to keep it hidden ever since.”

“And how long have you had this one?” Mom inquired looking meaningfully at the naked imp which caused me to blush.

“I spawned this one three months ago. It used a lot of the techniques I’ve learned though it’s a departure from my normal experiments. Alice’s Room is more of a R&D lab specializing in advanced techniques than a normal dungeon. No other creatures but her can spawn here. Getting food to spawn in the mini-fridge was tricky too. Not to mention power and the like. Alice is a great assistant.”

“And sex partner.” Alice chipped in with a knowing smirk at my mother.

I frowned at the little demon but didn’t deny it. I was an adult now after all. Even if only just.

My mother sighed and pulled a crystal out of her pocket and held it out to me. I stiffened.

“Touch it Marcus. What you’ve said explains why you are always out in the woods or at the library, not to mention time spent on the terminal network. But it doesn’t explain how you were able to make a dungeon inside a mirror that requires a key or have an imp here. I need to know your cultivation level.”

“Mom Can’t I just show you my status screen?”

“No. From what I see here it is obvious you’re able to spoof what people see. Touch the crystal Marcus Maximilian Cain.”

Shit she said my full name. I’m so screwed. With nothing left to do I touched the crystal which sampled my soul energy and displayed a black circle with eight deep purple segments in it and a glowing toxic green hexagon at the center and another black circle below it. The look of shock on my mother’s face was my only consolation prize.

“Second ring foundation stage? How the hell are you at second ring foundation and what is with such rich colors in your first ring?” Mother demanded in a shrill voice. “Marcus I’m only at the fifth segment of the second ring and my first ring isn’t that vibrant.”

“Mom have you ever tried any method other than use to cultivate your art or do you just use it for your job and gain insight through its constant use?”

My mother frowned at me and was getting even more upset based on how splotchy her face was getting. “Answer the question Marcus. Now!”

“I noticed with that first rabbit dungeon something was wrong. It just didn’t feel right. So I started asking questions and watching normal rabbits and going to the library. Don’t you remember? Anyway I learned the problem with the rabbit dungeon was it didn’t have a cycle. There wasn’t enough food, there were no predators, just rabbits. Granted give how little I was it took me a couple years to fully start to understand, but from there it was an explosive cycle of learning and experimentation. With each segment I didn’t let myself move on until I had enough knowledge and understanding of the segment that showed up that it quit growing more saturated, but because I used nature, books, and the contacts I had made in the terminal network along with my experimentation this happened extremely quickly. For most people cultivating their soul art is a chore, a job, or a duty. For me it is a passion.”

Mom didn’t look so angry now, but she was rubbing her temples. “And this dungeon with the imp?”

“An experiment to see if I could create a dungeon based on a real room. I used the mirror because it just made sense as a template. When it worked I realized I needed to lock it so I could keep it a secret. The rabbit statue just made sense because no one would suspect it was a key to the mirror. When I used the rabbit statue as a key that was when Alice spawned in the dungeon. I don’t understand why yet, but I do enjoy her company.”

Mom just looked at the imp with her short sexy and athletic body and snorted. “That’s it. Marcus pack your bags. I’m sending you to Therion Academy. There is no other way you are going to be able to further your arts without those kinds of resources.”

I blinked, “Mom that place cost a small kingdom’s GDP to go to. We don’t have that kind of money.”

“Oh don’t worry about that dear. I have an old friend who is a professor their now. I’ll contact her to make the arrangements. She’ll be very interested in your gifts I’m sure.” With that mom got up to leave the dungeon, but paused at the mirror and turned back to Alice. “You are making sure my son knows how to please a woman and not just focus on his own enjoyment aren’t you?”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I turned tomato red as a grinning Alice responded, “Oh yes Ms. Cain and he is very, very enthusiastic in making sure I’m well satisfied.”

With that mom nodded and left the dungeon and my room. With her gone I pounced on the imp. “I’ll show you just how enthusiastic I can be you little trouble maker!” Alice’s laughter quickly turned to moans as I made good on my promise.

Two weeks later I was stepping off a teleportation pad at Therion Academy where I was meet with a mouth watering gorgeous Sun elf. “Marcus Cain I presume?”

I bowed in respect “Yes Miss that’s me.”

Her laugh sent happy little shivers down my spine. “My aren’t you something. Your Mother Jillian said as much. The Academy is currently on summer break but I wanted to evaluate you before anything else. Jillian was never one to exaggerate, but I must admit I am skeptical of what she told me. By the way where is your luggage?”

“I’ve got it stored away.” I responded, but didn’t want to say much else.

The Sun elf frowned slightly, but didn’t press. “Very well if you will follow me please.”

I was only too happy to do so. What an ass she had!

“I am Professor Tena. I met your mother years ago as part of an exchange program when she came to the Ra Kingdom and lived with us for a year. We’ve kept in touch ever since. I teach Alchemy and Botany while my sister Ata teaches Enchanting here.”

I was shocked out of my study of the muscle play in her ass, “Both you and your sister work here? That’s amazing. Everything I’ve heard about this place makes it sound harder to get into than a dwarf’s treasure vault.”

Tena laughed again, “Oh it is, but my sister and I are very good at what we do. This is my office. Come on in and we can start the evaluation.”

I walked in and completely forgot about the hot elf woman as I looked at her office in awe. It was decorated with plants and bottles of things. Many of the plants I had only seen in books and images on the terminal network. What really drew me was a tiny pale blue flower tucked away on a shelf in the corner. “You actually have a snow shade plant in your office as a decoration?! How did you get it to grow and stay alive in this environment? Their natural habitat is inhospitable to most things and they aren’t very tolerant to anything milder.” I so wanted to touch the amazing plant, but I didn’t dare disturb whatever tricks she used to keep this treasure alive.

I turned around to see Tena looking at me with a stunned expression. When she recovered a moment latter I was again greeted by her laugh, “You are indeed something. Most people have no clue what that plant is. Tell me can you name the other plants in this room?” I immediately did so much to Tena’s delight. “Now can you tell me their Alchemical and medicinal properties?”

Now my shoulders slumped, “No. I just know what they are and their native environments. I haven’t progressed enough in my art to start doing more with such treasures yet. My garden dungeon is limited to what I know grows around where I live. It was a lot of work getting the balance just right for it to be self-sustaining and prolific enough that I could harvest from it without hurting the dungeons growth rate.”

I could see Professor Tena didn’t understand what exactly I was saying. “Professor Dungeons are alive just like a plant. If adventurers keep running in and taking everything sure the dungeon will regrow them faster than nature will on its own, but it takes power to do so and if adventurers do it often enough the dungeon starts to wither and die from starvation and can eventually die even if no one destroys the dungeon heart.”

“I see. That does make sense and would explain some things I have read in the past. Still you are quiet knowledgeable about dungeons Marcus.”

I blinked, “Did you miss the part about my having a garden dungeon and didn’t my mother tell you about my art?”

“She did Marcus, but to prove it please place you hand here on this device for me.” Tena pointed to something on her desk I had never seen before. When I did as she asked my status screen showed up. My real screen and not the fake one I showed people much to my surprise.

Name: Marcus Maximilian Cain

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Cultivation: Foundation of the Second Ring

Soul Art: Dungeon Master

Life Points: 260/260

Astral: 6/6

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Dexterity: 15

Stamina: 26

Intellect: 30

Wisdom: 30

Learning: 41

Spirit: 23

Skills Level

Botany 6

Biology 6

Geology 4

Ecology 3

Survival 3

Architecture 1

Cooking 3

Research 8

I waited patiently for the professor to get through my status screen and her own shock. “You have some impressive stats Marcus. Though your strength and agility are rather average for a human your age. I must say I’m amazed by your soul art and such rich cultivation. Tell me can you make a dungeon anywhere?”

“So long as there is enough room for its entrance sure. But if a dungeon appeared on the academy grounds wouldn’t that sound all kinds of alarms?”

Professor Tena frowned, “Yes, yes it would.” She then reached over and activated a communications crystal.

“Yes? Ah hello Tena. What can I do for you today?” An older woman who looked like she might be half elven appeared on the connection.

“Head Mistress Marion a friend of mine sent her son to me for enrollment here because of an unusual art he possesses. I’m forwarding you his status scan know. I’d like to perform a test of his art and if it goes as I think it should I believe we should make a deal with him to attend here in exchange for his services.”

I watched at the head mistress looked away from her communication crystal obviously reading my status screen. “This is indeed interesting Tena. Tell me how big of a space would young Mr. Cain need for such a test?”

Tena turned back to me. “An empty space about four meters on a side or a mirror that is big enough to walk through.”

“A mirror you say? Why a mirror?” The head mistress inquired.

“Because I can make a mirror dungeon and its destruction won’t destroy the mirror or the land that is repurposed for a dungeon entrance. In fact if we took the mirror outside I could make a mirrored dungeon of the wilderness and then make a key for it so we could mirror with its outdoor dungeon back inside.”

I ended up spending the rest of the summer working on making dungeons for the academy and taking lessons from various professors to make sure I was ready for when classes started in the fall. It was exhausting work, but I loved it.

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A/N: This is the opening to something I'm writing just for the fun of it. Feedback welcome, but I'm doing this more for myself than anything.