The world of Entora. A planet where magic, dragons, dwarfs, elves and all kind of fantasy things existed, even dungeons. They say that dungeons are necessary evil. While it certainly want you to die inside it to gather more mana, than a normal person world leak naturally. Dungeons are one of the most dangerous, yet one of the most prosperous way to gather money. Why are the dungeons are evil? No one knows, for an outsider they certainly wouldn't look like that. As cattle, pig or other animals are food for humans, humans and other sentient races are food for the dungeons. You might say they are just mindless beasts of stone, traps and monsters with a good sense of bait for greedy people. But are all of them truly mindless, instinct based or low intelligence collection of stone? Most of them are truly are like that. The dungeon pixies would agree with that.
But how does a dungeon born? What would happen if a dungeon born with a soul? An intelligent dungeon. Would that do everything the same way of maybe they would be less... lethal? Or maybe even more? Who knows? Maybe we can find it out if we watch over Edward, the new born dungeon, and deceased single man, a 38 years old game freak and engineer. Worked for both the U.S. military and numberless big shot enterprises, at least until he died.
I. Chapter
The kingdom of Endral. It wasn't the largest nor the strongest kingdom. They approved slavery, filled with greedy and corrupt people but also people who strived for greatness, preferred being good rather than evil.
There was a small hole under the mountain of Rothar, about a day of walking for the nearest settlement of sentient races in the outer part of the Endral Kingdom.
This small hole was less than one cubic metre. In this hole however, thought centuries mana condensed, to the point where it become liquid. The hole over decades slowly gathered more and more liquid mana, until the area got hit by a smaller earthquake. Under the effect of the earthquake a small red crystal fell out of the sealing of the hole, into the liquid mana. As it sank into the mana it started glowing faintly.
< Dungeon X >
- Where I am? Wait, what happened to me? I remember the testing fields but not this...?
Days has passed as Edward, the new born dungeon tried to decide what happened to him. After days he came to the conclusion that he died, even the fact that he ended up being a crystal of gods know what kind of material.
- I only hope that I won't end up being part of a necklace. - he joked. - If yes, than please give that necklace to a sexy lady with large bosom where I could hopefully sink.
Under this time he started absorbing the liquid mana. As he absorbed the last bit of liquid mana in the few following days, he started glowing one again as the hole started growing around him.
For the first time in his new life he could see. A room, around 3x3 metre large appeared around him. It was dark, dusty and everything around him was made out likely of granite. A few second passed like that until the mana within the room started gathering in a point creating a small globe. As second passed after second the globe continued to grow until the point that it had the size of a baseball ball. As it reached its size it started cracking.
First a small pair of slender legs, than even thinner arms, than a small childish body appeared with small butterfly wings on its back wearing a simple, white dress. Its hair were red as blazing hot steel, its eyes were alluring purple and its lips were matching red with its show white skin.
It was a dungeon pixie. A highly intelligent, self-conscious life form made out of pure mana. A life form dependent on its partner which could one-sidedly harm it, kill it or simply throw it away and gain another one, while the abandoned pixie would die within a few day under continuous, torturing pain. It also dies if the dungeon core were to be destroyed. They did everything within their capabilities to please the dungeon core in order to survive in a world which didn't support them. Their biggest dream were a dungeon core which didn't overwork them, give them a slightest bit of freedom and a core that didn't threatened them all day and night with disposal of them. They didn't ask for much, but fate were a cruel mistress to them in general.
The moment the pixie become aware of its summoning it shivered in fear knowing its fate. She was young, inexperienced in live. She didn't want to die. She had to try at least. Maybe the dungeon core would be pleased with her for a few months if her luck is great even for a year or two. That was the average life span of dungeon pixies that were summoned by a dungeon.
She looked toward the room in rush and saw the red gem in the floor. She flew down to the ground and bowed down before the gem.
- A blood ruby core dungeon, I'm not sure if I should be crying of joy or fear. - she thought.
Blood ruby dungeon cores were the best when it came to their natural mana storage limits and their absorption speed were also in the upper class.
- My name is Amy, lord dungeon. I wish to become your servant as your personal dungeon pixie. - she shouted in her nervousness.
Her hearth were filled with terror and fear. Edward was surprised and even froze for a moment. Did he just heard dungeon pixie? He read about them in a light novel. If she is a dungeon pixie... then Edward is a dungeon? The pixie shivered in fear. The dungeon didn't find her worthy enough to answer? She is doomed, she thought. She is dead. Why fate is so cruel toward her race? She closed her eyes and almost started crying in her fear when he heard a voice.
- Hi, my name is Edward. Your name is Amy right? - Edward asked her.
The pixie was surprised for a moment. It seems she won't die right away if she is lucky. It is rare that a dungeon would remember for a pixie's name as for most of them they were just disposable tools.
- Yes, lord Edward.- she answered quickly.
- Fact is, I would be happy to receive your assistance. If you fine with it, I would like you to be my partner Amy.
- Did it just said that it accepted me without any threat? - she thought.
- YES! I will do my best, Lord Edward. - she answered in relief.
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SYSTEM MASSAGE!
DO YOU ACCEPT AMY /DUNGEON PIXIE/ AS YOUR SERVANT?
- Yes. - Edward said as the massage appeared.
SYSTEM MASSAGE!
AMY /DUNGEON PIXIE/ IS YOUR SERVANT NOW!
Amy sighed in relief that her live is save for now.
- Amy, can you tell me the basics about building and stuff like that?
- Yes, Lord Edward. - she answered.
Maybe she will live more than a month like this.
- The most basics would be gathering mana. After having sufficient amount of mana, it is possible to dig space around the area, even reforming the walls. I would recommend the lord to build a simple dungeon first - she swallowed her saliva - because it's not likely that the lord...
- Maybe if I put highlight his safety instead of both of us, he would be pleased and I could get a few points in him. - she thought.
- ... would be capable defeating the attackers in the beginning. Because of that making the lord a weaker looking dungeon would lesser the danger of kidnapping as they would think the lord is a weaker mana stone, that is not worth stealing. I would recommend the lord to chose a dungeon type before building up the dungeon itself.
- I see. Thank you for the information. Ohh... I more thing. Please call me Edward. No need for the lord stuff.
- Is he testing me? He want to see if I would dare to be disrespectful toward him? Nice try dungeon. - she thought.
- I would not dare to call the lord anything less.
- You force my hand I seems...
- Did I made a mistake? He will throw me away?! - as she thought that she started falling into despair.
- ... As your superior, I command you! Call me Edward, stop calling me lord and think yourself as my equal not my subordinate. This is an order!
- WHAT?! Did I just heard that right? No slavery? EQUAL? - she thought.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, I'm sure about this.
As these world rang in her ears she started crying. Edward started panicking as he didn't know where did he failed.
- What the problem? Did I just said something shouldn't have? - he asked Amy panicking.
- No Edward, these are tears of joy and happiness. My race are slaves to the dungeons. We live to day by day fearing that we won't survive tomorrow. The fact that a dungeon called one of us equal is something of unheard to us. None of the dungeons would say something like that. I thank you. I make sure to live up to your expectation!
Amy, out of happiness, swore that she will do everything she could to make up for Edward as she hugged the small crystal body of him.
After hours of crystal hugging Amy released Edward.
- I surrender! Release me please! DADDY! I said it! I'm creaking!
- Sorry! - Amy released Edward.
- No problem, it felt nice for the first few minutes but I prefer staying intact. Back to the point. How do I choose dungeon type?
- All you have to do is focus on the words and it supposed to appear.
- Alright, let's do it. Focus...
SYSTEM MENU!
DUNGEON TYPES:
- HUMANOID DUNGEON
Starter monster: Goblin
- REPTILE DUNGEON
Starter monster: Salamander
- BEAST DUNGEON
Starter monster: Poisonous snake
- MINION DUNGEON
Starter monster: Slime
- UNDEAD DUNGEON
Starter monster: Skeleton
- DEMON DUNGEON
Starter monster: Imp
- ROBOT DUNGEON
Starter monster: Bronze cube
- Say Amy... Do you recommend robot dungeon?
- Robot dungeon? I never heard about something like that. What are robots actually?
- Do you know what machines are?
- I heard about them. Man built small structures that has a set purpose and by doing that support it owner or user.
- Something like that... very simplified term, I guess... . Robots are man build life forms. Most of them are still machines but some has a set level of self-awareness.
- Sounds like an interesting concept but would that work? It would also surely act like a two edged sword. To let us grow we need people come here. An unique dungeon would gather a lot of people that is for sure. The more the people the more mana leaking from them, the better for us, but on the other side it would also gather unwanted attention to us. The larger the better but also at the same time it would be less possible would it be but the reward would also be better at the same time should it succeed. What is the starter mons... I mean robot, was it?
- Bronze cube. My guessing would be a living cube of bronze. Something similar to a solid slime.
- Hm... From what I can tell that would make us a metal provider dungeon. They are not the rarest type but certainly not common and very valuable if they can provide high quality metal.
- Then I choose it.
SYSTEM MASSAGE!
DUNGEON TYPE: ROBOT DUNGEON HAS BEEN CHOSEN.
5 BRONZE CUBE SPAWNING AS STARTING QUANTITY IN 5 SECONDS...
The floor started glowing before them and within seconds five, 0,25x0,25x0,25 metre sized bronze blocks appeared and for some cases they started jumping and moving on their owns.
- They have artificial intelligence? You kidding me... Magic is awesome! - Edward shouted.
- You are a pretty weird dungeon, aren't you? Not that I mind. - Amy asked him smiling.
- I wonder how they work... Can we dissemble one? - Edward thought.
One of the cubes like it was a command stopped moving and raised one of it horizontal armour plate. The plate was 20 millimetre thick. The inside of the cube were filled with copper and silver wares, a few gears for moving the armour plates, a reactor like object which were fuelled by the lingering mana within the dungeon, and for mobility used four small compressor and released compressed air in its bottom side to jump. By controlling individually the 4 compressors' output and timing it could control the direction of the jump.
- How this thing attacks to begin with? - Amy wandered.
- Ramming into the enemy. With sufficient speed and with its weight, I can clearly imagine them breaking a few bones or causing internal bleeding. Stuff like that.
- How do you know things like that? And things like this... Are you even a dungeon? I seriously start questioning this, you know...
- Well, I'm a dungeon... as for where I got this knowledge... I tell you another time.
- Fine. You made me your partner instead of a slave so it only okay if in return I let you keep some of your secrets.