Jeffrey sighed. He couldn't believe his luck. When he first met Ursa, the bear spirit, he'd thought he'd hit a gold mine. Dying and being reincarnated? Epic! Being told his 'vibes had great potential'? Even more epic! Being reincarnated into a dungeon core was a little...less epic. He'd wanted to be some sort of great figure in the world, proving his worth, taking on dangerous villains who threatened the world with harm.
Sure, it was childish, but it didn't hurt to dream, right?
When he learned what he now was―a Tower Core, mind you―his elation had taken a serious hit. Cores were the bad guys; they made terrible monsters, deadly traps, and were a threat to the rest of humanity...and other species. Why'd he have to become one? Adventurers would come in, trash whatever he made, and do whatever they'd like with him.
But the system, who'd he taken to calling Rupert and imagined it with a male, German-sounding accent, had told him that once adventurers reached the end of the line, that wasn't what was in store for him. Towers not only had Cores but Managers, the last line of defense. They kept both the Core―which, in Jeffrey's totally unbiased opinion, was the more important part―and the treasure safe.
Said treasure was an unassuming key; one so forgetful you might toss it on a table and forget about it a second later. He guessed that whoever had made them thought that if they were for something important, it was best to not make them flashy. He had, at the time, applauded their creator for that stroke of brilliance.
Now he cursed them for it because he couldn't convince this giant dipstick of a Manager that it was important.
Jeffrey banged his fists against the walls of his orb prison, gritting his teeth. His eyes bore daggers into his Manager, who looked relaxed and positively unaware that Jeffrey wished he could break out of this thing and strangle him―which would lead to both of their deaths, so he forced himself to calm down.
The Manager―Jeffrey really outta learn his name soon; repeating that was getting annoying―waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever. It's just a stupid key; I don't care. Just, like, send me a map of this place already. I wanna explore.>
Jeffrey sighed as he felt the command try to take over his being. This was such a huge restriction. If that prick ordered him to do something stupid―like, say, giving him a freaking crafting class―he would be forced to do it, no questions asked. He needed to figure out a way to loosen up the controls, ASAP.
But for now, he turned around and looked at the giant computer taking up most of the space in his orb. Sitting down, he automatically went at the thing, searching through the core database for the file he'd put the map of the Tower in.
He felt his mouth open against his will and that stupid robotic voice came out.
Once the deed was done, control was at once restored to him and he pushed himself away from the computer.
God, this whole taking-control-over-my-body thing is really gonna do something to screw up in the near future, he thought. But I guess this is just some protective measure to make sure the Cores don't act out...
He turned to glare at his Manager. What I wouldn't wish to send a monster hoard after this bimbo.
"What is this?" the Manager sputtered, staring accusingly at Jeffrey's orb. "A freaking maze? What is this, Indiana Jones?"
Jeffrey's eyes flashed.
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"I don't care about basic designs!" he shouted. "Don't you know how inconvenient a maze would be for me to walk around? Especially with all these twists and turns...Oh, come on! There are two floors to this?"
<...Keeping the future invaders away from me and the treasure is crucial to our survival―>
"Will you please shut up about that stupid key! It doesn't even matter! If we can't use it here, what use does it have at all?"
"Who is Rupert?"
<...It's what I call my system...>
"What kind of nerd names a computer? What're you trying to be, Tony Stark?"
Deep breaths, Jeffrey, deep breaths. If he dies, you die. Remember that. Deep breaths, Jeff. Just breath. That's it. You've got it now. Just stay nice and calm. That's right. You're doing good-oh, no, what is he doing now?
"Show me how to take over building this stupid Tower or whatever it's called."
Jeffrey panicked as he felt the strange feeling enter his body again.
Once the Manager had it, he simply tossed Jeffrey's orb to the side and went about screwing everything over.
Good Lord, Jeffrey muttered, folding himself up on the small couch he had imagined in here with him. I'm not gonna make it passed tomorrow, am I?
He closed his eyes and wallowed in self-pity, ignoring the sounds of his hard work being taken apart, piece by piece.
Rupert pinged him, bringing him out of his death contemplation.
> {Tower Manager KEVIN BRUBAKER has edited Tower Schematic.}
>
> ...
Deep breaths, Jeff. Deep breaths. Just take a look at what he did. It's all going to be okay. You'll be fine. Everything is going to be―
> Removals:
>
> First Floor
>
> Maze Schematic
>
> Traps
>
> * 10x Weak Pit Trap (20 TP)
> * 5x Weak Pressure Plate Trap (10 TP)
> * 2x Weak False Floor (20 TP)
> * Regained: 50 Tower Points
>
> Construction
>
> * 10x Tiny Sized Room (50 TP)
> * 1x Basic Sized Room (10 TP)
> * 15x Short Hallway (30 TP)
> * Regained: 90 Tower Points
>
> Mobs
>
> * 10x Level 1 Goblin (20 BP)
> * 5x Level 1 Kobold (25 BP)
> * 3x Level 1 Acid Spitter (30 BP)
> * Regained: 75 Bio Points
>
> Total Tower Points Regained: 140
>
> Total Bio Points Regained: 75
>
> Total Tower Points: 600
>
> Total Bio Points: 100
>
> Additions:
>
> First Floor
>
> House Schematic
>
> Construction
>
> Bedroom Set:
>
> * 1x Standard Size Room (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade King Sized Bed (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade armoir w/ mirror (15 TP)
> * 2x A-grade hamper (30 TP)
> * 1x A-grade nightstand (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade wooden floorboards (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade rug (15 TP)
> * Total: 120 TP
>
> Living Room Set:
>
> * Standard Size Room (15 TP)
> * 2x A-grade armchair (30 TP)
> * 1x A-grade red leather coucher (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade bookshelf (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade wooden floorboards (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade rug (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade fireplace (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade desk w/ chair (15 TP)
> * Total: 135 TP
>
> Kitchen Set:
>
> * Standard Size Room (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade hotbox (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade icebox (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade table set w/ chairs (15 TP)
> * 10x A-grade cupboards (150 TP)
> * 1x A-grade wooden floorboards (15 TP)
> * Total: 225 TP
>
> 'Bathroom' Set:
>
> * Basic Size Room (10 TP)
> * 3x A-grade metal box (30 TP)
> * 2x A-grade mat (15 TP)
> * 1x A-grade mirror (15 TP)
> * Total: 70 TP
>
> Extra:
>
> * 1x Long Hallway (10 TP)
> * 4x Short Hallways (8 TP)
> * 1x (lesser) Tiny Size Room (2 TP)
> * F-grade rotted chest (1 TP)
> * F-grade rotted blanket (1 TP)
> * Total: 22 TP
>
> Total Tower Points Spent: 572
>
> Total Tower Points: 28
"Made myself comfortable," Kevin replied simply, picking Jeffrey's orb up.
"Dungeons regenerate points every day or something," the other man replied dismissively, walking out of the newly furnished room.
Kevin didn't answer, just walked down to the (Lesser) Tiny Room Jeffrey instinctively knew about...where the F-grade rotted chest and the rotted blanket were located.
Jeffrey panicked once more and his orb started pulsing incredibly brightly, but Kevin simply squinted through the light and kept on.
"Getting rid of the nagging voice who keeps ruining this dream? Yeah, I think this is a great idea. In you go!"
And that was how Jeffrey ended up in a chest with the very important key, plotting his revenge.