Koji “awakes” and sees nothing. All is dark. But it is not the same as the Void. Where before he knew he had no senses, now the sensations are different… It is dark but it is just the absence of light.
Still, he couldn’t hear anything, or see. He could not make a sound, but he could still think.
“I am back, and I am a Dungeon-Core for the first time… I will need help. Beren are you there?”
Affirmative
“Beren, I have been away from this World for too long, what is your knowledge level?”
Searching… Found several Books in personal storage about the World.
History and General Knowledge are available.
“History seems interesting, but I have more pressing matters. I need all the information related to the Arbiter’s, Souls and Dungeon-Cores.”
Searching… Information Found. Insufficient Bandwidth to Upload information to Brain.
Koji pauses his train of thought. Bandwidth? Upload? From the few interactions he had with Beren he realized he would need to learn how to work with him…
“Beren, can you speak in words I understand?”
Translating… Information Found.
Cannot provide information directly into your Brain due to limitations.
Koji understood. So the information existed but he needed to pry it from Beren instead of magically knowing it.
“Beren, prioritize what a new Soul should know from that information.”
* You can access information about yourself using Status
* All Souls have this ability and the potential to level up
* You have specific abilities based on your Race and Class
Koji mentally nodded. This was new all new information to him, and he would need to learn it.
“Status”
Status
Race: Dungeon-Core
Class: None
Age 0
Level 1
Durability: 250
Mana: 0
Perks:
Absorb Ambient Mana: Within your domain, you can absorb Ambient Mana
Extended Lifespan: A Dungeon-Core can extend his lifespan using Mana
No Biology: A Dungeon-Core has no need for eat, drink, sleep or rest.
Domain: Within your Domain, You may use Mana in order to bring Magic
or Creations to Life.
Hardy: Your Durability is your Health Points.
Epic Physical Resistance: You receive only 1/5 Damage from Physical Sources
Major Magic Resistance: You receive only 1/3 Damage from Magic Sources
Drawbacks:
Cannot Lie: You are unable to Lie
Chipped: Your durability is ½ of normal
Renounce Arcane Knowledge: Your mind has been wiped from all Arcane Knowledge. You cannot cast Arcane Spells.
Renounce Name: You cannot speak your Old Name
½ Lifespan: You need twice the Mana in order to extend your lifespan
Sleep 2 Hours: You need to sleep on average 2 Hours for every 24 Hours.
This was too much information… so many questions in Koji’s mind. At least he had Beren, but he could not rely on him for everything. He needed to forge his Destiny, and for that he needed to know what he was, what he could do and what he couldn’t do…
For now the Status Screen had a couple of glaring omissions… “Beren, the choices we made on point allocation, I cannot see them. Why?”
Querying… Error. Information is Restricted.
“Beren, what do you think is the reason?
Insufficient Data Points. Owner of Information: Arbiter
“Ok, let’s think this up… I am a Dungeon-Core. I can absorb mana with my Domain. I can use the Mana for Creation and Magic, but I have no Magic Knowledge. I will also need Mana to extend my lifespan… but that should not be a priority for now right?”
I pause letting Beren speak if he wants to… but there is only silence. Guess he is not the most talkative guy…
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“I will also need at least one Soul before the end of my lifetime, or else I will be dead. I have no information how to collect one, but I assume every sentient being has one. Also, there is the little detail about the most Powerful Dormant World Threat, which should be close by…”
Warning. Not Enough Energy to maintain current state.
Entering Hibernation mode in 30 Seconds.
“Holy Shit! Beren explain in words I understand and where do I find Energy?”
Beren needs Energy to function. There is no Energy in Body.
Creating new Skill: Power Intake
Power Intake: Use this Skill to Power Beren. Uses Energy.
This was not a good. He was about to lose his main source of information and be stuck as a Dungeon-Core.
“Beren, before you hibernate tell me what you think it’s the single most important thing i should know”
Use Ambient Mana to Create your Domain, Expand, Explore and Find an Energy Source.
Entering Hibernation mode...
“Beren?”
No reply… Koji was truly alone with his thoughts.
“How do I get hold of Ambient Mana...?”
Koji spent the next few hours just trying to capture the Ambient Mana… while it was a step up from being in the void, he was in complete darkness. Why is it so difficult...?
The first “light” appearing was when he captured a mote of Ambient Mana, the light searing through him, illuminating the Dungeon-Core.
He saw his surroundings for a split second as the mana was absorbed into himself.
He felt it circulating inside himself…
Create your Domain? Caution: Your Domain is inside another Domain.
This was new information… Koji thought about it, but had no real alternative. He could only use the Mana inside his Domain… He didn’t have any movement as as Dungeon-Core, so he could not move to a different place. He accepted.
As he did, the Mana created a small “bubble” around himself, allowing him to “see” himself for the first time. His senses were now “ON”, he could see, feel, smell, taste everything around this Mana.
Domain Created. You are competing with another Domain for Ambient Mana.
“It’s good to be alive…”
He saw himself as he was… a Red Stone, filled with runes, no bigger than a human fist. There were cracks all around just on the surface level, probably due to “Chipped”
He could see about one centimeter all around, and from that he figured he was on the a rigid surface, probably hard rock. And now he could see the wisps of Ambient Mana motes around him… they drifted nearby but just out of reach.
“I can do this…”
Over the next eight hours Koji managed to absorb six motes. It was not easy, but with each one, his Domain expanded all around. His domain has expanded to the equivalent of a small room.
He appreciated the grind, as he felt progress towards his objectives.
Pausing for a moment, he took stock of what was around him…
Gold coins… gold coins all around, he was in some sort of treasury. Koji could tell the difference between the coins, some looking to date much older than others, some with Human faces on front, others with just an arms symbol.
They were not his coins, but they were within his Domain… he tried to grasp one of top coins from the multiple stacks he could see. With effort the Mana responded to him, understanding his request and the coin which was barely hanging on is tipped over towards him.
Pling! The sound of the coin hitting the rock floor rewards his effort. Koji had some Power within his Domain, but even this took all he had. He felt as he had strained a mental muscle.
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Aroa speaks with Kira in Olympus…
“I hope we did the right thing… you already put his soul in the Wheel of Rebirth?”
“Indeed, it has been done.”
“Do you know where he has landed?”
“I believe his Soul was pulled by the Arbiter before entering the World and then I could no longer find it.”
“Kismet” – Aroa speak to the air, her connection to her sister enough for long distance communication “Can you locate the Tyrant’s Soul? He has been reborn already.”
Kismet voice can be heard softly “There is nothing I can do to find him from here. I can only tell you that he lives.”
Aroa shakes her head softly “Why? How is this possible that none of us can find him?”
But Kira and Kismet both stay silent with Kira retreating to his place.
“It’s better to send the World a warning… better safe than sorry.”
Aroa walks to her Temple in Olympus, then she begins a small ritual.
That night, all of her followers received the same dream… She knew that such miracle would cost her some of her stored power, but it was necessary.
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Koji had no notion of day or night wherever he was… He continued relentlessly capturing the wandering motes of Ambient Mana, absorving them into his Core.
Instead of allowing it to add to his Domain, he has managed to actually keep some of it as unused Mana as per his Status.
Status
Race: Dungeon-Core
Class: None
Age 0
Level 1
Durability: 250
Mana: 5
He needed to have eyes on the world outside of his Domain. The mana circulating inside his Core is slowly pushed to create a minion… taking the form of his first minion.
5 Mana Consumed. Mymaridae created.
Mymaridae, or most commonly known as Fairy Wasp, the small flying insect that he knows about.
Compared to his Core, the insect is just a small spot, and yet it was his first creation.
It just stood there, waiting for orders and yet it’s lifespan was already dwindling. He could tell that the minion would live no more than three days, but it would be enough for his test.
Ordering the Fairy Wasp to go outside his Domain worked correctly. It was an extension of himself, and yet, he could not see, hear or use any senses through it.
He was able to gather a nugget of information about his surroundings by the timing it took to go in one direction and back, but aside from that there was no manner of possible communication. The insect did not speak, nor understood complex orders.
The link to his minion dissipated shortly, something killed it. It was just the way it was… he needed a better scout. And for that, he needed more Mana.
“Back to the grind…”
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Amira was just an Acolyte, her duties on the village were to say daily prayers to the Goddess Aroa. She had just got level 5 a few days ago, and has learned the Cure Light Wounds Spell, which was a big upgrade from the previous Cure Minor Wounds Spell.
Her village was located in the outskirts of the Okutai Empire, very far away from the great Capital. For her to even being given an opportunity to be an Acolyte, instead of a Farmhand or another commoner Class was mostly luck.
Tonight she woke up from her sleep with a scream.
The Nightmare had been so real… she had seen her Goddess watching over the world as a Seed fell from the sky. The seed touched the ground and burrowed for years and years, growing and growing, slowly reaching everywhere, before killing every single being. There was blood everywhere, nothing was spared, no animal, no person…
As she tried to compose herself, she being to realize that maybe this was a warning from the Goddess, something evil had burrowed underneath the World and if nothing was done…
There was only one thing she could do to make sure it was a real message. Dressing in a hurry in her white robe, even though it was the middle of the night, she rushed to the small shrine.
The village was small, and walking at night was usually safe if inside the stockade. In a couple of minutes she was there, and the only Priest in the village was already there… kneeling and praying.
Amira slows her pace, knowing the answer to her question… still she had to ask:
“Did you had a nightmare?”
“Yes, my child… but the Goddess would not send us such vision, if we could not face this ourselves. We will endure, we will progress and we will prevail in the end.”
“Aroa’s will be done.”