My awareness slowly returned, and as it did, I had a few seconds of fear and panic as my body refused to move. I quickly remembered what had happened, though, and calmed down enough to realize I was now looking at the inside of some kind of stone building. I wasn’t looking at it like I was standing inside, though. I was… zoomed out, for lack of a better phrase. I could propel my perception around the room, looking in from different angles, and even move closer to see more features and details. I noticed there were two doors here, but I wanted to get a bit more accustomed to not having a physical body before I started exploring. I zoomed in more, and felt my perception and consciousness merge with the room.
I immediately regretted this action, as my sight suddenly encompassed EVERY angle, like a metal sphere polished to a mirror shine that could see all around it, but inverted. Additionally, I could FEEL every part of the room. I could feel a draft blowing in from one of the doors, I could feel sand leaking in from a crack in the ceiling, and I could feel a variety of bugs crawling around. The sheer amount of sensation was crippling, and the bizarre inverted panoramic view of the room made me sick. I forced myself to zoom back out, and reflexively simulated the act of breathing as my mind stopped trying to shatter. I didn’t have lungs anymore, but the familiar sensation helped me calm down. Once I was done having a manic episode, I refocused my attention on my new body, and came to a realization.
[Only one of these doors opens?]
I decided to focus on what I did have access to for now, and ignored the disobedient part of my form. The door that did let me through led to another room, which was much larger than the first, with nearly four times the floor space, some kind of small cactus growing out of the right-side wall, and a statue in the middle which had clearly been broken in half on purpose, though I couldn’t say if that had happened before or after the jewels had been stolen from the divots that were all over the thing. It appeared to have once been some kind of majestic bird with its wings folded, but only the bottom half was upright, with the top half laying smashed and abandoned to the statue’s right. It was facing the first room, and after looking at both of them more closely, I realized that these two rooms were some kind of entrance hall, though I wasn’t sure why they were separate. I also wasn’t sure why I couldn’t move my perception beyond the second room, but brushed it off for now. I had enough to take my attention.
[Probably a dungeon thing,] I thought absently, staring at the locked door that I now knew was my entrance, [which means this place was probably a powerful dungeon at some point before it died. I knew I was just a replacement going into this, but that still begs an important question. How does a dungeon die?]
I decided to look through my two rooms again, and noticed a glowing dot in the broken statue, just lying in one of the divots where the stone had ripped away. I zoomed in on the statue specifically, and bypassed the dizzying omni-sense form I had taken before. The little shard glowed with a dim, dark green light, and it clicked in my mind: This was me. The ‘true’ me, like a soul. As I stared at the solid manifestation of my own existence, a spider climbed up over the edge of the statue and approached. I eyed it warily, as my vulnerability suddenly became much more apparent and immediate. About an inch from my soul-shard, though, the unremarkable green and yellow spider stopped, and looked up. Straight at my point of perception.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
[You can sense me.]
The little creature lifted its two front legs and waved them at me, then went back to staring. It seemed to be waiting for something, and I decided to try focusing my perception on it. The information came just as it had with the shard. It was just a normal desert-dwelling spider, at least for this world, but the moment I came into being, it had sensed my presence, and felt the need to protect me. As far as it was concerned, I was its home, and like all creatures, it needed to protect its home. Unlike most creatures, however, this spider’s home was intelligent, and would have a will and way to survive of its own. MY will and way, as it turned out.
I didn’t get to ponder this too hard, though, as suddenly a blue panel blinked into existence next to the spider, scaring me nearly back into the afterlife. I got control of my emotions back, and inspected the new addition to my perception. It appeared to be some kind of description box, with a picture of the spider next to a name and a few sentences.
Green Lynx Spider
A spider that ambushes prey by mimicking plants and pouncing on bugs that get too close. Its venom is harmful to humans, but not lethal. Recruitment available.
I looked back at the little spider that was still staring at me, and hummed to myself. If I was going to be a dungeon, I would need creatures, and what better way to start than with a staple of dungeon design, the arachnophobe special?
[Would you like to join me?]
The little creature waved its front legs again, more excitedly, and a new box appeared over it.
Recruitment request received.
Would you like to recruit Green Lynx Spider?
[Yes] [No]
I focused on “Yes “ and the button beeped. I felt the presence of the spider more clearly now, and it danced in a little circle as several notifications appeared in front of me.
Dungeon Core activated.
Mana pool unlocked.
Existence pool unlocked.
Ten mana awarded for recruitment of new species Green Lynx Spider.
Five Existence Points(EXP) awarded for recruitment of new species Green Lynx Spider.
Green Lynx Spider Upgrades unlocked.
Green Lynx Spider Spawner unlocked.
Denizens menu unlocked.
Denizens upgrades unlocked.
Aura unlocked.
Aura type: Unaspected.
Dungeon menu unlocked.
Dungeon upgrades unlocked.
Dungeon entrance unlocked.
New Invaders detected.
Traps menu unlocked.
Archive unlocked.
I went through the messages quickly, understanding what most of it meant offhand from years of gaming in my previous life, and decided that Invaders were probably my biggest concern right now. I focused on bringing forth my menu, and with almost no effort, it appeared before me. I immediately noticed that time continued to move, and started looking for the spawners. It was easy to find the Green Lynx Spider Spawner, and with a cost of only five mana, placing it on the floor next to the cactus was an easy decision. As soon as it formed, a mass of dirt and rock bulging from the floor, a new spider crawled out of it, and a small pie chart timer appeared above it, marking the time until another would spawn. I also noticed that the spawner had a status box, with its name, a full numbered countdown to the next spawn, and a picture of the original spider I recruited next to a name box that read Green Lynx Spider Scion. I immediately decided that wasn’t what I was going to call it, and focused on the box until the words disappeared. I named him Georg, and confirmed my satisfaction with the status box as Georg grew slightly while he scurried across the floor.
[I’m not going to name every single creature that comes out of a spawner, but if I’m going to have a leader for each one, I’m going to refer to them with something more interesting than what they literally are. I’m not going to be some boring dungeon where everything is easy and straightforward for every fool with a sword and an ego. I’m going to be a legend, and I’m going to make sure the people who get through me have earned every step.] I looked around as the now three spiders chased down some moths that had somehow made their way inside, and noticed my mana refilled as a moth was caught and killed. Plans began to form in my mind. I forced them to stay small for now, but I knew how I wanted to operate once actual people started showing up.
[Let’s get to work.]