You know what? Maybe just transcribing will do from here on out.

After once again going through the full memorization process, Rori considered his options.

0_Mercy for all living creatures. No exceptions.

1_Violence only against monsters, not people.

…

9_"Violence" is my middle name!

10_"Mercy" shall not exist in my vocabulary. No exceptions.

No, not those options. Rori hesitated to even think about those options. Not after the last two times.

Stupid error report. Stupid Soul ID.

Granted, the complete and utter lack of user-friendliness could possibly be exclusive to the business/back end of the system. That sort of thing might not happen now that he's firmly on the front-end. But just in case, when he does get around to it he's going to select an option that will (hopefully) be good no matter what. Even if there are no take-backs in this system.

But first, more flavor!

Is he being petty? Snubbing a system that he felt had snubbed him? Yes. Did he care? Also yes, but not enough to not do it. Besides, pettiness isn't his only motive. He really does want to see the flavor-added text under multiple languages.

Using the Settings to select different Preferred Languages had already revealed a number of nuances about the original list. The back-end 'code' language gave numerical values for 'difficulty.null', for example, and a few other languages implied that 'difficulty' referred to the difficulties Rori would be facing, not the difficulties faced by 'delvers' – a term that ALSO came up in other languages.

Rori hadn't gone as far as to memorize or transcribe the different translations, but he did compose a summary of sorts:

Select the amount of danger that your dungeon will pose to its delvers, and the projected difficulty that should come from managing it (or creating it? being it? unclear), on a scale of 1 to 5.

0_Harmless to all living intruders. (Insane/Impossible: 5)

1_Saintly to all sapient delvers. (Hard: 3)

2_Safe for delvers who respect the dungeon's integrity. (Medium-Hard: 2.5)

3_Mildly dangerous to all intruders, even innocent delvers. (Medium/Casual: 2)

4_Moderately dangerous, but still leaning towards non-lethal. (Medium-Easy: 1.5)

5_Dangerous, a mix between devious and deadly. (Easy/Beginner: 1)

6_Risky, leaning towards lethal methods of takedown. (Medium-Easy: 1.5)

7_Belligerent, openly hostile to all intruders. (Medium/Casual: 2)

8_Violent, deadly by default and rarely anything else. (Medium-Hard: 2.5)

9_Murderous to all sapient delvers. (Hard: 3)

10_Genocidal to all living intruders. (Insane/Impossible: 5)

All of that from a single changed setting. No 'selection' required.

Take THAT, stupid system!

And just like 'Preferred Language', 'Flavor Text' doesn't run the risk of permanent selection. Both are options in Settings. He's free to play around without worry.

And play he did, starting with the language of the bone-man.

Settings.

Flavor Text: Off/On

Preferred Language: Invocita

Back.

Choose your path:

0_For those who treasure life.

1_For those who wish peace.

2_For those who wish prosperity.

3_For those who seek security.

4_For those who seek ease.

5_For those who prefer balance.

6_For those who crave conflict.

7_For those who crave battle.

8_For those who want power.

9_For those who want blood.

10_For those who desire death.

Alright, cool. Creepy, but cool. Settings. Next up, the system's back-end language. Preferred Language: S++. Back.

Insert value for null.Lethal:

0_Non

1_Restrictedly

2_Minimally

3_Rarely

4_Occasionally

5_Adequately

6_Readily

7_Very

8_Extremely

9_Exclusively

10_Personally

Hm… in a way, that's even cooler, thought Rori. And even creepier. In fact, that's going onto a draft. And so is the translation from the bone man's language.

Next up, Rori tried a language that he mentally labeled 'authorial overindulgence' for how it only seems to operate on the levels of 'vague, cryptic foreshadowing', 'insulting/amusing idioms', and 'things in triplicate'. 'Repeating itself often', 'stating the obvious', and 'long-winded language' are also prevalent.

Settings. Preferred Language: Eseldra. Back.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime! Be prepared for monsters, delvers, and levels galore! You need only decide your approach.

0_But beware this option. Your abstinence shall be your undoing. For insane idealists, principled pacifists, and worst of all: vegans.

1_It's true that cooperation is the path to peace and prosperity. But you don't do it for the greater good, you do it because you can't stand doing anything else. For those who have bleeding hearts, who have hearts of gold, and for big babies who don't like seeing boo-boos.

2_You're just a hard-workin' fella who doesn't want any trouble. But if someone insists that it's you or them, you're willing to protect your castle and everyone inside. For farmers, family folk, and ordinary, good people.

3_You know that a more proactive approach is needed to protect and provide. Good for pioneers, guards, and the rare noble rogue.

4_You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. Just sit back, relax, and let the delvers do their thing. Hopefully they survive, because then they'll come back. Perfect for managers, lazy geniuses, and enterprising parasites.

5_You like to keep your options open. You also like to discuss the weather and watch paint dry. Perfect for stale bread, cups of water, and plain potatoes.

6_You respect all parts of the circle of life, including death. It's survival of the fittest. With the greatest risks come the greatest rewards. For daredevils, entrepreneurs, and the morally relative.

7_There are many things to be won during conflict, and the only conflicts that matter to you have winners and losers. For the strong, the competitive, and the generally sociopathic.

8_Sometimes you like to play with your food. Sometimes slaves are more useful than corpses. But usually not. You understand that all potential threats must be eliminated. For aspiring rulers, politicians (but I repeat myself), and just plain bad people.

9_You don't kill for profit or power. You kill because you WANT to. For serial murderers, emo edgelords, and the mentally ill.

10_But beware this option. Your depravity shall be your undoing. For insane idealists, truly principled psychopaths, and worst of all: role-players.

As usual, that particular language offered a trove of info. But geez does it ramble. Also, how in the world could a psychopath ever be principled?

Different translations didn't give the answer, but they did start 'tasting' the same after a while. Eventually Rori decided he had squeezed out enough flavor from enough Preferred Languages. He hadn't transcribed, and he certainly hadn't memorized. There were limits to the lengths that even he would go for the sake of pettiness important scientific inquiry.

Time for another general summary in Drafts…

__________________________________

Sutalu Clac considers himself a patient lich. Having other important things to occupy his mind and his time is, in his opinion, the best way to practice the difficult art of patience. And he has many such things. Too many, that's the problem. The difficulty lies in carving time out of his busy schedule for his side-projects. It's not a matter of patience, it's a matter of timing, which is now out of his hands. That's what's frustrating him about this most recent core.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Either way, there was nothing for it other than to wait and see. When the morning bells rang out, he made a mental note of nine hours to himself. Then he turned his attention back to more present matters: tormenting the minds of these poor, poor souls…

__________________________________

Rori had finally finished his research. He had done his due diligence. He had narrated his notes.

Now at last, he allowed himself to eye the underline on the list of ten options. It is time.

Up.

The blinking underline moved up to underscore the fourth option. Just like in the Settings, Rori thought to himself in English.

Down.

The blinking underline returned to its old position.

Up. Up. Up. Up. Up. Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. Up. Up. Up. Up. Up.

The menu allowed the blinking underline to position itself beneath every visible option. This marked the end of all the risk-free ways that he could gather information.

Time to kick things up a notch. First he scrolled up to the very first option on the list, and then he…

…he realized there was a safer way to try this. He opened the Settings.

Details, he tried and failed. Information. Legend. Key. Description. Aha!

Screen Opacity: 100%

Adjust the transparency of system screens so that you are not unduly distracted by them when other matters are more pressing.

Keyword found! 'Description' it is!

It still felt incredibly odd being able to wield unknown languages like this, but the less he consciously thought about it, the easier it was, so he'd mostly put that question out of his mind.

For the sake of procrastination propriety, he viewed each option in Settings and added their descriptions to Draft 2. He didn't bother with the wider list of languages and simply stuck to the faithful four: Bone-Man's "Invocita", back-end's "S++", head-in-butt "Eseldra", and system's default: "The Holy Word".

What, that's it? he asked afterward. Lame. You don't even deserve a separate summary.

He backed out of Settings armed with another tool that would not select an option.

Description.

5_Dangerous (Easy)

Equally capable of enticing adventurers and maintaining yourself in their absence, this is about as easy as it gets. A standard start and a standard progression for a standard dungeon existence.

With the most versatile toolkit, a decent starting budget, and a decent passive mana intake, you're be able to put up a good front early on, allowing you to get your foot in the door no matter where you spawn.

Well now, that's very helpful.

Drafts.

Time to get transcribing, maybe memorizing, and ultimately, theorizing.

__________________________________

Fifteen hours, Clac thought as a deep bell thrice tolled.

__________________________________

It took until he'd reached the outer options to finally learn that dungeons aren't invincible. It's often the extremities, the edge cases, that say the most about a system.

9_Danger Level: Murderous (Difficulty: Hard)

Description.

There is no retreat. There is no escape. There are no checkpoints. There is no compromise. They are trapped in here with you. But you're trapped with them as well. From the moment they enter the floor containing your core, you and your delvers have only two options: victory or death!

With a great starting budget and poor passive mana intake, you will be able to build a solid, deadly dungeon at the onset. You're going to need it. Only a steady stream of corpses can fuel your growth.

Warning: Even Violent dungeons can offer rewards to those who conquer them in exchange for mercy. You do not have this luxury. Not a choice for the faint of heart. As for bleeding hearts… there will be many that bloody your floors. Good thing your heart won't be among them. After all, you don't even have one.

Back. Down.

10_Danger Level: Genocidal (Difficulty: Insane)

Description.

No retreat, no escape, yadda yadda yadda, same as before, same as before, mostly same as before, here we are!

Warning: Extremely Difficult. Like Murderous dungeons, you do not have the option to bargain for your life. Unlike Murderous dungeons, you do not start with the option to have automated mobs or traps do your dirty work for you. You're going to have to kill your delvers personally. One. By. One.

Back.

Rori reviewed all that he had learned and transcribed, his mind focusing on the most important facts.

Hm…so becoming a dungeon doesn't mean becoming an unkillable inanimate object. Oh, what a terrible lot I've been given! Woe is me! Maybe I should wake up from my coma and complain about it to the woman with cancer in the next room over. Only AFTER reminding himself of that did he allow himself to sigh in disappointment. Anyway, looks like system purges and the 'authorities' aren't the only dangers. Cores can be killed. Or destroyed, or 'harvested', or whatever. Phooey.

He thought of options 8, 9, and 10 again.

On the other hand, with dungeons like THESE out there, good riddance! Also, the Eseldra language was right. Whoever picks 10 truly IS a 'principled psychopath'.

Not that the other options are much better. Even the 'good' ones fall into the category of 'giving guns to babies'. With Rori being the baby, this tutorial being the negligent parent, and the ten listed options being the shiny guns laid out on the floor in front of him, which his baby brain can't help but be curious about. The safeties may be on for options 0-2. The guns might not be auto-aiming, auto-reloading, or auto-firing like the guns given to the other eight infants. But still.

I've been saved from a coma by super-advanced aliens. But instead of probing me, they're going to turn me into a demigod, give me a pat on the head, and basically tell me to 'have fun'. Forget the Hippocratic Oath, they don't even have Hippocratic Guidelines. Or informed consent.

It took a great deal of effort to become 'Informed' on his own, and that was only after the fact. As for 'consent'? Ha!

I didn't earn it, I shouldn't have it- maybe NOBODY should- and I can't refuse it. Only the most deranged, self-absorbed psychopaths in my position would rub their hands in excitement, instead of trying to do something about the GIANT, GLARING problem with the whole entire premise- wait, never mind.

That's probably why 'mortals' are supposed to have 'authorization' in order to occupy a dungeon core. Just like adults are supposed to have a license before driving a car. Apparently, joyrides are a universal constant.

Accidental or not, I already tried to inform the 'authorities' who invented this screwed up system in the first place. I've done my due diligence to aliens who don't deserve it. From here on out, I'm doing it MY way!

His attention slowly turned back to the list. To options 3-10. Where casual murder is simply 'part of the job'. The term 'spike trap' came up more than once. It might mean a pit trap full of painful punji sticks. It might mean spears jutting out from walls, or stakes falling from ceilings, or darts flying from blowers. But it would DEFINITELY mean screams of pain and scenes of maiming that, if real, would tear at his conscience.

Fictional violence doesn't really phase Rori anymore. Some of his favorite stories have come from 'renegade/dark-side/bad karma' playthroughs of RPGs, and he's a mild fan of the horror genre. But…

Couples fighting.

Vicious biting.

Heads rolling.

…But Rori has seen police cam footage of horrible domestic disputes, and general human depravity that some cops have to deal with every single day. He has seen police cam footage of a cop siccing his dog on a man who was not resisting arrest, as well as other gross and violent abuses of authority. He's seen videos of war and terror in other parts of the world that are much, much worse.

Simulation or not, he won't be treating this like a game. Because, afterlife or not, he'd rather not become a psychopath. And, mortal soul or not, he cares about who he is at his core.

So he went to the only option that he could stomach after modeling a few worst-case scenarios. And no, it wasn't option 1. Those dungeons are still supposed to kill 'monsters', whatever those are. Witnessing the regular death and/or torture of animals might be bad for his mental health.

Also, the system is clearly trying to drive people away from options 0 and 10.

Well, screw your rules! I have standards.

Maybe it was weakness and cowardice. Maybe it was strength and bravery. Maybe it was something else. Either way, it was his decision.

0_Harmless (Insane)

Description.

You'd rather die before hurting a fly. None shall fall within your halls. Unfortunately, your delvers were born with brittle bones and crippled limbs. Soften the walls! Cushion the floors! You better watch out. They're after your core!

With the lowest starting allowance and the highest passive mana intake, you will be vulnerable at the onset, relying on fragile temporary defenses instead of strong and permanent ones.

Warning: Extremely Difficult. Even Saintly dungeons can protect themselves from wild monsters with lethal force. You do not get this luxury. From the moment a living creature enters your core floor, it has two options: leave in peace, or harvest a hapless dungeon. It's going to be painful. But not for your delvers. Never for your precious delvers…

Back.

After one final read-through of all his bloated drafts – he might lose them after leaving the 'tutorial', after all, and he wants them in short-term memory just in case – Rori made the only choice that he felt a good person would make.

Alright aliens, time to give the toddler his tank. I'm young, dumb, and ready for a joyride! Select.

Confirm: "Danger level 0: Harmless (Insane)"?

Huh. So there are take-backs after all. Confirm.

__________________________________

Sixteen hours, Clac thought.

Still the dungeon core had not respawned.