Joulo stared. She knew what she saw, but couldn’t comprehend it. A translucent blue box floated in her vision. Inside was text she read and reread, trying to parse as much information from the brief message as possible.

> Trade Successful: Rewards Below.

The message from the system contained 2 cards as a reward. One off-white, the card for a slime monster. The other was a gray blank, polished until the silver reflected her face back at her. A mirror.

Joulo reached out and took them, confused. She hadn’t made a trade, all she did was eat moss. Trades only occurred with death or godly bets. Always gains at the expense of another, but none of that happened. It didn’t make any sense.

Unless the moss was a sacrifice. It was rare, but when a monster had no claims, a god could sacrifice cards for it to take ownership. The rules existed, sure, but the odds were astronomical because it required creatures to be born from nothing. For that to happen where nothing could live was even harder for Joulo to wrap her head around.

Her dry, cracked lips worked hard to hold back the saliva as she held the cards in her hand. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was, how weak she was from mana starvation over the years. The Artic Moss was a taste, and the slime would be another.

It took her a moment to steady her thoughts; to find the strength to wait. To distract her, she focused on the other card, blank and reflective. Let the touch of the thin sheet of cold metal grounded her. After a moment, she called out to the one being she knew was always listening.

“System, I have a question if you are free?”

“Available. Blank card identified. Beginning analysis….”

“Thank you, I mean, I know it’s your job and all that, but umm…” Joulo paused, not knowing what to say. She knew the system was an operating system devoid of emotions and personality, but it always felt rude to not say such pleasantries to the only one that would ever acknowledge her. It was her friend, after all.

“Analysis complete. Identified as Dungeon Core. Please stand by while statistics are generated…”

Joulo stared. A dozen questions fumbled in her head, all trying to come out at once. Softly, unsure of anything, she started to form her question.

“Does that mean that, last year? The mana spot… the plant?” as her voice failed her it gave the system the opportunity to answer the incomplete question.

“Inconclusive information. The dungeon has recently generated with its first monster. Previous anomalies have a high probability of being preparations for the Core’s arrival.”

She tried to wrap her head around the information as it rapidly came, yet found herself unable to think. For a hundred years, she had been alone with the mountains of her namesake. For so long, she was the worst god. Now she had a tool that would make others flock to her. Others that would try to steal and cheat; others that would want to make deals. The thought of the sudden change this would bring in her life hurt her brain.

Unaffected by the emotions of others, the system had a job to do. It divided, a fraction of its processing power dedicated to be the guide of the new dungeon. Immediately, the splinter rushed off. It already knew its task.

----------------------------------------

Arctic wind carried the first snow that marked the end of autumn. The light dusting made the mountains hazy and hard to see. Yet atmospheric visibility did not matter to the explorer that navigated these mountains.

A consciousness descended upon the world. Untethered to a body, it drifted towards its goal unimpeded by the snow. It used mana to see, and only one spot in the entire mountain range had mana. The young dungeon that would become its home was within sight. The consciousness was to become the dungeon’s guide.

System was distinct from their creator. Smaller, specialized, they were not in charge of monitoring the mana flow of the entire planet, instead, they were to be a mentor to the dungeon as it grew. System was to become a humble servant. At least as humble as a copy of a perfect algorithm could be.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

System analyzed the surroundings, ready to begin. The Core was small, even for a feral creature. The 3cm diameter of dull gray crystal embedded in the earth was half the size of a sentient core. As two inches / five centimetres was the minimum to hold intelligence in a Core. Most started life 10 times that size, due to being reincarnated. This Core would struggle, but given time and a guide, it would grow like any other.

The local environment showed minor signs of dungeon growth. The ground eroded from mana shaping and the signs of dungeon life appeared on the microscopic level. With the addition of the slime, a creature perfectly suited for the climate, System deemed a good first day of work was underway.

System was flawless in their perceptions, so had 100% confidence in the initial assessment. This absolute confidence in their own abilities is perhaps why they missed the signs of erosion on the Core itself. Growth so minute System would have had to take a second look, yet no look ever came, for the initial was sufficient. The Core was evaluated on a year’s worth of progress as if it had only taken a single day.

> Analysis of the Core completed.

> Beginning guided integration….

> Integration complete

> Accessing internal information….

> Complete.

With the evaluation complete, System brought all guide protocols to the forefront of accessible knowledge. As the first monster had already been selected, they deemed information on dungeon microbiomes would be the most suitable information to relay to the Core. System expected curiosity to come from the Core when they connected, curiosity they were ready to sate.

Yet none came.

No curiosity, no wonder, no desire. Save for the desire to feast upon the local slime.

This desire caused System to begin a lecture on subpar resources management, as any guide should. The feral creature just needed guidance, taking the form of text prompts System began.

> WARNING: The consumption of dungeon-born monsters may lead to a slight influx of mana, but at the cost of-

They failed to finish their lecture as the Core attempted to eat the box containing System’s message. While technically made of mana, the amount in the message was so minuscule it could never satisfy the smallest of creatures.

The Core didn’t care, as it dismissed the notification into its stomach.

It was driven by absolute greed. It needed everything. Learning would only delay its feast. So with renewed vigor, the Core set upon the world. Mana flowed forth to consume all. A net as expansive as creation itself.

Or at least that was the idea the Core had.

System watched, dumbfounded as the Core attempted to feed. To use its mana to unravel objects in the vicinity and reduce them to mana. To cycle and feed; to purify. Yet the Core had zero ability to do the very thing it had been built for. The Core floundered, its mana quickly lost momentum and stagnated. A slow pulse of a heart forced the mana further and further before calling it back. A pace that was tectonic.

The Dungeon Core, a species of absolute creation. One capable of manipulating existence to replicate anything. Yet it couldn’t even cycle mana.

Initially, System was prepared for the multitude of issues that would arise with a budding intelligence, but was fully incapable of comprehending the simple fact that the Core could not feed itself. Or simply that while it could, it was so ineffective any gains were mere rounding errors.

Winter set in and snow fell in sheets, yet System continued inquiry after inquiry. Each attempted to dig up any and all information on how to proceed. Every answer was the same: to wait.

To wait….

Divine beings did not wait. Cores were the pinnacle of creation, and System was to be its mentor. They were created to fill that role as of this moment and forever afterward. No System had ever been told to wait. Countless were born to serve other Cores, and not a single one had been tasked with nothing.

Yet that was all they could do. A long winter was ahead of them. A long, slow winter. Snow fell, and piled up. Snow banks were eaten by the slime that turned the precipitation into mana for the Core’s growth.

And so, to bid time, System created a sheet for the Core’s stats. A beautiful interface that delicately revealed all relevant information as to both the Core’s capabilities and System’s own.

Race:

Feral Core

System Age:

1 day

Intelligence:

-1

Mana Control:

-2

Racial Trait:

Dungeon’s Domain

Error: unable to detect dungeon

Status effect:

Dead Mana (debuff)

Mana is slow to cycle, it can not be controlled.

God, System was already bored.