Andrew looked around curiously as he stepped through the portal into his first dungeon. It was… dark. Quinn quickly pulled out a small orb which lit up and began floating behind them. "Sorry, I forgot this dungeon was all tunnels." She apologized, flushing slightly.

Andrew stared at the floating orb, specifically the dot in the middle. "Is that how you record your delves?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah. It isn't as good as a dedicated cameraman, but it's a lot more trustworthy." She commented, her tone taking on a slightly bitter edge towards the end. "It tracks motion, so it'll follow and pick up whatever we do, but it also picks up random nonsense, so it requires a lot more editing. Not that I'd be posting any of this, obviously. It just also acts as a decent light source in the darker dungeons."

Andrew shrugged. "Fair. I can't imagine many people would be interested in a level five dungeon."

"It isn't about the level of the dungeon." Quinn retorted, shaking her head. "Every dungeon instance is unique, so even a low level dungeon like this can provide an interesting viewing experience. There's always new nooks and crannies to explore." She paused. "Actually, let me go over how dungeons work for you real quick."

"While they may look similar, dungeons aren't portals. Instead, they're a pocket of twisted space formed around a core of energy, or the Dungeon Core. Whenever a party enters this space, it gets 'frozen' in that instance until the party leaves, and a dungeon can't maintain more instances than its level at a time. Since each instance is actually just a pause in the twisting of space, each instance is completely unique, though conversely, since everything within a dungeon is an 'instance', it's also all fake. An illusion created through a mix of the core's energy and the twisting of space. That means that if you try to take anything out, like the body of a beast, or some material you found, it will just disappear. However, there are two major exceptions. First, if you destroy the core, your instance becomes real and every other instance is destroyed. The space also begins to collapse, but anything you can bring out with you remains intact. The other way you can make something real is by spending experience. If you bring something dungeon made to the core, you can spend experience to make it real. You can also bind it to you, for more experience, or even bind it to you without making it real, but if you do that it will only exist in dungeons, not in reality. Some people gain beast companions this way, or even…" Quinn hesitated. "Let's just say high-level dungeons can be a lot more complex than a couple rats in a tunnel."

"But back to the instances." Quinn continued. "Since everything is 'fake', anything can appear in a dungeon, even one as low level as this, though it's rarer because of its size. The bigger the dungeon, the more it can twist itself in new and interesting ways. Things that could never exist in nature given birth by the unbound nature of the dungeon space, like waterfalls that flow up or in loops, floating islands, or even just a type of flower or gem that's never been seen before. If something is small enough, dungeon divers can spend the experience to bring it out and show it around, but otherwise, the only way to see these marvels is by happening upon them yourself or by watching a Dungeon Streamer who seeks them out professionally." Quinn added with a little pride. "We even have skills we can use to make unique formations more likely, increasing our chances of encountering them."

"Wait, hold on." Andrew held up a hand. "Are you saying that Dungeon Streamer is a Class?!?" He asked incredulously.

Quinn gave him a weird look. "Yeah? Why wouldn't it be?"

Andrew blinked. That… he'd thought she was just talking about her job, not her Class! What kind of Class even was Dungeon Streamer?!? He paused. Well, obviously it was one that focused on influencing dungeons to be more unique… probably had something to do with taking videos as well. Maybe a bit of acting? Maybe he shouldn't have zoned out during the system explanations in class… he was beginning to think he'd missed some key points. "Did you get the job first or the Class first?"

Quinn frowned. "The job is the Class… How did you not learn this in school?!? What were they even teaching you!?!" She muttered in frustration. "Classes are your job, Drew. Right now you're an Essence Master, whatever that means. That means you do Essence Master things, or at least you will once you get your skills. Teachers do Teacher things, Programmers do Programmer things, and Firefighters do Firefighter things. That's how it works! Why would you let someone who didn't have the Class do the job or not do the job if you have the Class?"

Andrew hesitated. "Maybe you suck at it?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Then you reset and pursue a different Class, duh. Though if you really sucked at it, you wouldn't have gotten the Class in the first place."

Andrew froze. “You- reset?”

Quinn glared at him. “I'm beginning to suspect you just didn't pay attention in school. I know they would have told you about resetting your Class. All you need to do is visit a temple and a priest can reset your Class for you. It gets rid of all your stats, skills, and traits, but you still keep everything you learned, so it isn't that hard to build yourself up again. At least, not below level twenty-five, but if you've gotten past level twenty-five you're probably pretty happy with your Class.”

“Huh…” Andrew grunted. That… kinda made his decision to take Essence Master a whole lot better. Instead of being stuck in a shitty Class, he could grab the skills he needed, then reset so he could build into a proper Essence Class. Though he could probably get the same result by just killing himself… and now he could just tell people he reset his Class! Though maybe he shouldn't get too comfortable killing himself… Andrew shook his head, refocusing on the other issue he was confused about. "So no one does anything they don't have the Class for?"

"Maybe as a hobby, but not professionally." Quinn shook her head. "I mean, I can cook, but I'm not a Cook. I can sew, but I'm not a Seamstress. I know enough to do some minor tasks, but I don't have the skills or traits to even try to compete professionally."

Andrew frowned. "Okay, so what if your Class isn't marketable?"

Quinn blinked. "What?"

"What if no one needs what your Class offers?" Andrew elaborated. "Like… say your Class is Fart Peddler. You sell farts. No one wants to buy farts, so you don't make any money. What do you do?"

"You could always reset and choose a new Class, but a scenario like that would never happen." Quinn replied. "The system only offers Classes that are in need. That's why you would never see a Programmer before computers were invented. There was no need for them, so the system didn't offer the Class. If no one needs a…" Her expression twisted. "Fart Peddler, then the Class won't be offered. If it is offered, then it can be used. The system never offers a useless Class."

"Okay…" Andrew nodded slowly. "Then what if you really want a Class the system doesn't offer? Are you just screwed?"

"I guess?" Quinn frowned. "But if you really want a Class that badly, then obviously there's some sort of demand for it, so it should still be offered…"

"Huh… What about Classes like Thief or Murderer or something?" Andrew asked next. "They're detrimental to society, so why would the system offer them?"

"The system isn't some sort of moral guide, Drew." Quinn rolled her eyes. "If people want others to die, then there will be Classes available to kill. If people want to steal others belongings, then there will be Classes available to do just that. That's a societal problem, not a system problem."

Andrew scratched his head. "I guess that makes sense…" He muttered. "Still feels weird though."

Quinn shook her head. "It's just the way things are. But we have gotten way off topic. For now, all you need to know is that dungeons can be weird and you need to be prepared for things that don't normally make sense, because dungeons aren't based on reality."

Andrew sighed, nodding. "Got it." He paused. "But we're still just fighting rats, right?"

Stolen novel; please report.

"Right." Quinn nodded. "That isn't an excuse to get lazy though. At level five, rats have an Agility of forty and a Strength of twenty, and they're always in a group. Their Will is only ten, so if you kill enough you can scare the rest off, but that just means you'll be facing an even larger group later. Plus, there's always at least one elite variant, which will have an Agility of forty-five and a strength of twenty-five, and it will probably be in the largest group we find.”

Andrew blinked. “And… this is a weak dungeon?”

Quinn grinned slightly. “One of the weakest. But don't worry, I'm here to step in if you're in danger. But only if you're in danger." Quinn warned. "The more I do, the less experience you'll get, so I'm only going to act as a safety net."

Andrew nodded, taking the lead as they began to move deeper into the dungeon. He quickly shifted partially into his leaping terror form, mostly focusing on his legs, but keeping his body smaller due to the tunnels, before covering himself in carapace.

"Wait!" Quinn called out, stepping forward to examine him. "What is this?!?" She asked, tapping on his shiny new outer layer.

"My carapace? It's good for defense." Andrew explained.

"I know what it is!" Quinn snapped. "I'm wondering how you have it!"

"Oh, I got it from an ant." Andrew shrugged.

"When?!?" Quinn asked incredulously. "You've been in the city since you were uplifted! You shouldn't have even seen a beast, let alone killed one!"

"Beast?" Andrew asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "No, I got it from an ant ant. A small, tiny one. They're everywhere." Andrew held his hand up, holding his fingers close together. He'd made sure the little things actually existed. Even if this was a different world, insects were ubiquitous.

Quinn blinked. "You- you got a form from an insect?!? How!?! They don't even have the system!"

Andrew shrugged. "It's an Essence thing. Even insects have Essence, and if something has Essence, I can gain its form."

"And you can incorporate it into your other forms just like that?" Quinn asked, calming down as her tone shifted from shocked to impressed. "That's rare. Most changelings need to work to mix their forms. It took me years to adjust mine into what it is today." Quinn explained, waving vaguely at herself.

"How do your forms work anyway?" Andrew asked absently as they continued deeper into the dungeon. "Obviously you gain them differently than I do."

"I'm a Mimic Changeling." Quinn explained. "I gain my forms by spending an extended period of time in close proximity with another being or studying them intently, though it's fastest when I do both. I need to truly understand the creature I'm attempting to change into."

"And you can't do that with insects?" Andrew asked skeptically.

Quinn shook her head. "Creatures without the system are ironically too simple to understand. I could know everything about an ant, and it wouldn't get me any closer to identifying with it."

"Identify?" Andrew asked curiously.

"You know, the sense that you are what you change into." Quinn elaborated. "I know that I'm not an ant and I can't imagine ever being an ant, so I can't change into an ant."

Andrew was about to ask what was so hard about seeing yourself as an ant, when he picked up a few auras around a bend and motioned for Quinn to stay quiet. Slowly he crept forward, until he saw a full count of ten creatures hiding there. He adjusted his form a bit further to make sure he was in the best state to fight, before rushing forward, leaping off a tunnel wall, straight towards the small swarm of rats! The tunnel was dark, but his aura sense gave him a clear enough picture as his legs lashed out, the spikes on his heels digging into the rats. As the first rat died, Andrew's vision brightened, showing the rats swarming towards him in shades of gray. However, he was too focused on stomping through the rest of the rats to truly register the change. The rat's claws couldn't even manage to break through his carapace, his Void Body absorbing the majority of the damage, but one did manage to crack it with its teeth before Andrew managed to shake it off. Before any others could latch on he activated Double Speed, swiftly taking the rest out with a mix of Precise and Strong Kicks. He then sent some aura towards his leg, healing the cracked carapace as he turned to see Quinn giving him a weird look.

“That was… good, well done.” Quinn congratulated him somewhat awkwardly. “If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a professional… but that's impossible, obviously.” She shook her head, dismissing the idea. “Though… I'm starting to think this dungeon might be a bit beneath you. You have some serious talent for this.”

“Uh… Thanks.” Andrew muttered awkwardly. “Should we keep going then, or…”

“Well, I already paid for the instance and you could still use the experience.” Quinn shrugged. “Easy or not, levels are levels.”

“True.” Andrew agreed.

*

“Or not.” Andrew grimaced as they arrived before a large crystal which Quinn told him was the dungeon core, signifying the end of their run, and Andrew still hadn't leveled up! “I killed like sixty of those things! Why didn't I level?”

Quinn sighed. “Maybe this dungeon was too easy. You didn't even struggle with that elite! You need to at least work a little to level.”

Andrew frowned. “But I still got the experience, didn't I? I felt it! Why wouldn't I level?”

Quinn paused. “Drew… what rank are you?”

“Four?” Andrew replied hesitantly. “Why?”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Because the higher your rank, the harder it is to level! Of course you wouldn't level from a dungeon you practically breezed through! Not at rank four!”

Andrew gave her a weird look. “So… I would have leveled if I was a lower rank? Even if it'd been just as easy?”

Quinn nodded. “Yes. There are benefits to being at a higher rank, and the cost is that you must face challenges to match it. Conversely, if you're at a lower rank, even if you find the challenges you face easy, as long as they are appropriate for your rank, you will level. But then, if you're finding the challenges you're facing too easy, the odds are you'll be raising your rank at your next advancement.”

“Okay… but how much of a difference can two extra attribute points per level make?” Andrew asked skeptically.

Quinn sighed. "You really should have paid attention in school. Increasing your rank isn't about attribute points, though they definitely help, and it isn't even about getting better traits, which you definitely do. The biggest thing a higher rank gives you is time. At rank one, your life span is twenty-five years, but it doubles every time you increase your rank. So at rank two, you have fifty years to live, at rank three you have a hundred, and so on. Of course you can increase your rank, but that only doubles your remaining life span, so the earlier you do it the better."

Andrew nodded along, remembering most of this from class. He just hadn't cared because he was pretty sure he didn't have a life span. Though he might die and reset every now and then. “Okay, I guess that makes sense…” Andrew sighed, before shooting a scowl at the dungeon core. "I just wish this stupid thing could have given me at least one level." He muttered, kicking a rock at it.

"That would have been- No!" Quinn exclaimed as the rock hit the crystalline object and it cracked. "Shit, shit, fuck, nonono!" Quinn cursed, rushing towards the core to examine it as the cracks slowly spread and Andrew's eyes widened. "Damn it!" Quinn groaned as the core shattered.

"What- I just- why-" Andrew stammered, staring at where the core used to be, feeling like he just broke his mom's three hundred year old china set.

Quinn sighed. "It's fine, just- ugh, you can't attack dungeon cores. Like, at all. Any violent intentions and they just…" She gestured futilely towards where the core once stood.

"What- how- how do I-" Andrew gulped nervously. He'd just broken a dungeon! Would they send him to jail? Would he be in debt for the rest of his life? Fuck, he was so screwed!

Quinn waved him away. "Don't worry, this shit happens. Some newbie breaks a dungeon every month or so. Honestly, it keeps things fresh. We'll have to report it, but otherwise it's no big deal. Level five dungeons are easy to replace." She paused. "Don't do it again though." She warned. "Repeat offenders have to pay an increasing amount of fines per offense."

Andrew blinked. "That's it? It's just okay?" He asked incredulously.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "It's not okay. You just killed our free ride out of here! Now we have to drag our asses all the way back to the entrance! We could have been on our way home by now!" The woman continued to complain as she started making her way back towards the entrance of the dungeon. "Come on, if we don't get out of here before the space collapses… Well, it won't kill us, but it isn't a fun experience."