I awoke to Silence.
That was strange. Somehow comforting, but nonetheless strange. In all my life I’d never heard anything quite like it. I’d been born in the city after all. The rushing of cars and the humming of a computer had been my constant companions throughout life. Even when I tried to get away from it all, diving into the heart of the sea, I could hear the beating of my heart and the whirring of my breath. Now; however? Silence.
Irritatingly, it was accompanied by a feeling of emptiness from my other senses. I saw nothing but black, tasted nothing, smelled nothing, and felt nothing. In truth it was the last one that worried me most. There weren’t many logical reasons as to why I couldn’t feel the existence of my body; none of them were good.
Having puzzled through the situation logically, I reacted how any sane, rational person would, avoiding panic at all costs and…
AHHHHHHHHHHH! WHERE THE HELL AM I? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? Have I been kidnapped by aliens? I’ve been kidnapped by aliens! I’m going to get probed! Then they’re going to vivisect me and…
I paused for a second, my train of thought screeching to a sudden halt as my frantic mind finally seizes onto a solution that explains all of my symptoms.
Am I dead?
Ding
A noise resounded, shattering the fragile balance my mind had formed upon realizing my situation. Desperately hoping beyond hope, I glanced around to find what had disturbed the quiet.
Welcome to the Afterlife! Congratulations on your first death young soul!
A single blue panel floated at eye level. It wasn’t decorated, It wasn’t ornate, it was just… blue.
The text was a bland white color and almost slabbish. I didn’t understand the words on the first read through. They just slid out of my mind like water through a sieve. The second read retained the big ideas, and the third finally convinced me that this was real. I was dead. More importantly; however...
A blue panel…? Oi!? What kind of cheap afterlife is this? Where are the pearly gates? The 47 virgins? The Eternal Feast? The Edgelord of a Boatman? I mean come on, I’d even take a chair and cheap magazines in some waiting room!
The panel faded away, only to be replaced by a new one.
This mode of communication has been drawn from your memories. It was evaluated to be the mode most likely to elicit a calm, rational response from your soul. Would you prefer for your personal reaper, Asqrixqaczabob to meet with you? (Warning! As a higher level existence, your reaper’s presence has a chance to shatter your soul)
YEAH! I think I’d…
It was here that I finished reading the box.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE! ABORT! ABORT! MEETING CANCELLED! I DO NOT WANT TO MEET BOB THE REAPER WHO CAN ACCIDENTLY SHATTER MY SOUL!
Ehem… I mean... Sorry for questioning you mysterious box voice! I think the blue boxes are more than fine. They’re perfect actually! What a brilliant idea? Who would ever complain about them?
Bob?! Did this kid just call that stuffy old coot Bob? HA, scoot over Thirty-Two Forty-Five, I’ve got this one. What? Yes, yes of course I know your full name Lumen. Still can’t be bothered to say it. Is this thing on? Hello? Earth to Puny Soul, Earth to Puny Soul. Come in Puny Soul.
For a moment I was silent, shocked by the sudden change in what I assumed to be an automated System. As the box started to fade away; however, I was jolted into action. I had to say something! If I didn’t I’d be alone here forever!
What can I say? How do I…? Argh there’s no time!
THE MITOCHONDRIA IS THE POWERHOUSE OF THE CELL!
…
Did I just…? I did, didn’t I?
In my rush to say something, I had blurted out what had been drilled into me thousands of times throughout my years of schooling. Now, as the silence returned and went on and on, I quickly came to terms with the fact that someone as awkward as me couldn’t possibly exist and resigned myself to an eternity in the void.
BAHAHAHAHAHA! I’m sorry for laughing kid, but seriously? You’re introducing yourself to the guy who has complete control over your existence right now and that’s the best you could come up with?
Well Errr…. Sorry?
Ha, you’re a riot! Most people either grovel or get all demanding with me. Can you imagine how many eternities I’ve spent dealing with people who’d “Like to see your manager please”? Pshht It’s tiring! You though? You almost get yourself permadead in a minute and spout out nonsense right after. Man, I’ve got to show Chaos this. He’ll love it!
Chaos?
We’ll get to that later. For now, let’s start with introductions! I’m Acelexacrizd, but you can call me Ace. I’ll be your very own rebirth manager from now on! No more of the automated bull for you! You, hmm let’s see here. Where in the… ah! There it is! Arden? That’s it? Only two syllables? Bloody hell you’re a lot weaker than I thought you’d be. We need to work on tha...
Questions flooded my mind as the box kept rambling on an on. Whereas the previous box voice had seemed curt and mechanical, Ace practically gushed words out at a nonstop pace. Text would simply flood across the textbox in an almost unruly scrawl, before fading almost instantly as the next line appeared. After a few moments of reading I finally managed to get a few words in.
What Rebirth? And my name’s not Arden. It’s Daniel!
Yes, Rebirth… wait, you’re a first timer? And you’ve already got two syllables? Never mind you’re ahead of the curve!
Again my name is
No kid. It isn’t. Let me find that first contact speech… Oi! Lumen? Where’s your contact speech? What do you mean you’ve got it memorized? YES I bloody well know what memorized means you genius, it was a rhetorical question! ARGH you know what? Never mind! Sit tight kid, I’ll be back in a second.
And with that, the box disappeared leaving me alone with my thoughts in the void.
I… I was dead. My life was over. I’d never gone skydiving. I’d never driven off into the sunset. I’d never talked to her about … about that. I’d never seen my kids, or my grandkids… I’d never gotten to be an overprotective father, or give away my daughter… I’d never…
Regrets continued to flash through mind. Some memories, both happy and sad, but mostly dreams. Dreams left unfulfilled. My own home. Eating a burger bigger than my head. My own family. Dancing under the stars wit…
Alright I found the thing! Let’s see here… Ehem… “Welcome to the Afterlife! Congratulations on your first death young soul!” It’s not much of an achievement is it? I mean… most people usually try to avoid that bit… Crap, sorry, back to the speech… “ Now come the next exciting chapter of your existence: Rebirth! Rebirth allows your soul to be” blah blah blah yadee yada. You know what? Never mind! Screw that, We’ll do this the Ace way! Alright kid. Here’s the short and sweet version. You are a soul. Souls pop up pretty often from primordial chaos. Think of the stuff as a real soupy mess of energy. Sometimes the energy gets into a pattern and bam! A soul is born. Some souls stay in the mix and either get crazy strong, turning into higher level existences like yours truly and Bob the Reaper, or get destroyed by the chaos. Others, like you, take the long way around and dive into the physical realm. Usually, they go straight to a starter world like your universe and soak for a few lives before they start moving up the ladder of worlds. Looking at your name, I’d put you at around Level 2. That means you can use mana, and you’re just barely too powerful to be reincarnated into something like a sea cucumber. But not by much. It also means that we can’t exactly leave you on the same starter world. You’ve already begun remembering things you shouldn’t remember. Luckily, your world explains most of that stuff away with deja vu, “Kids are weird aren’t they”, and social pressure, but we can’t leave you there too long without letting you turn into one of the many varieties of magical monsters. So, one of our Lumens plucked you out of there after you died and voila. Here you are.
Wait. Starter World? Mana? Sea cucumbers? Magical Monsters? Questions darted across my mind as lifelong beliefs came crashing down around me.
Sheesh, you tech world starters always take this rough. Alright, let me see… Think of the universe like a big wheel. The primordial chaos is at the very center, with the Divine Realm surrounding it. Spiralling out in billions upon billions of spokes are the spirit realms. Then, off of each spirit realm, there are trillions upon trillions of spokes of immortal realms. Off each immortal realm, there are a ridiculous number of mortal realms. Like… so many I can’t even say that number. Finally, on the very edge… there are the Starter worlds. You souls usually choose to land on these because they have so little energy that they can’t possibly hurt you. Because there is so little chaotic energy, these world always have incredibly strict laws. In your world for example, everything was governed by specific principles. So, while things may have seemed chaotic to your puny little mind, everything that happened could be predicted if you knew the principles. Even starter worlds with magic, which is basically just free chaotic energy, have it governed by a system. X mana plus a short chant equals a fireball. Always. Certainly the most powerful mages can circumvent this with enough mana, but that’s how it always is. More energy means you have more control of the world around you.
What… None of this makes any sense! That only happens in stories!
Look Down
Confused as to why this would convince me, I nonetheless dutifully looked down. There wasn’t anything there, just an empty eternal void like the one stretching out before me. Why would this persuade me?
Where’s your body kid?
Oh.
Well…
Exactly. You’ve got just about nothing right now. I could be lying to you but it wouldn’t matter. What are you going to do about it? You’re a soul, and that’s worth squat out here. But I suppose you do have a choice to make. Do you want to move on? Do you want to be reborn?
Wha… What? What exactly is the alternative? Going back to my life with my girlfriend right where it left off?
What Girlfriend? You were single from the womb, and you went single to the tomb. No kid, the other option is not… pleasant. Trust me. It makes me shudder just thinking about it.
Cough Cough
Setting aside his little rhyme, I thought about my choices for a second. A new life, or something that scared Ace, the Blue box man. When I put it that way, the choice was rather easy. I probably shouldn’t do the thing that terrifies a being like Ace. A being strong enough to read my mind. And make blue boxes.
So that’s rebirth then?
Yeah, sure I suppose. It’s not like there’s anything better to do here. You really ought to renovate this place a little. Make it a bit less… empty.
You’ll do great kid, You’ll make old chaos proud. Now then, let’s get down to business.
Again… why are you talking about Chaos as if he’s a person? How exactly am I going to make him proud? And I wasn’t kidding about the renovations either…
You mortals are so prissy… Hmmm, let’s see here… ah perfect.
In a flash, the void disappeared. The silence was shattered by the crackling of a fire and the general nothingness I had been feeling faded with it. Regaining a body was a disorienting experience, especially considering it wasn’t even my body. Looking down at myself, I felt as if I had been roughly molded from clay. My body was gray and featureless, maintaining the general limbs of a human but lacking finer details like toes and… and… well...
It took me a moment, but considering I hadn’t even had a body until a moment ago and I’d experienced far greater shocks in the past few minutes, it wasn’t too hard to move on. After all, we were going to be reborn soon anyways! We’ll definitely meet again in the next life… Yeah… This is fine… I’m not bothered at all… I’ll be fine…
After taking a sentimental moment of silence for my longtime partner in crime, I looked around the room, trying to distract myself from the sudden, tragic loss.
I… was in a library. The walls of the library were rounded, forming a cylinder about ten meters across. Above me, the roof formed a cone, with thick, heavy timbers of dark wood forming a sturdy framework far above my head. The walls themselves were cobblestone, but were covered completely by bookshelves. Thousands of leather-bound tomes lay upon the mahogany shelves, lovingly arranged and carefully maintained to the point where there was not a speck of dust upon any of them, even those on the highest racks. There were only two points where the shelves were interrupted: A grand stained glass window framed by thick burgundy drapes, and a fireplace lined with carved red marble. Two serpentine dragons coiled around the pillars of the mantlepiece with thin lines of gold detailing their scales and eyes to give them an air of realism and sophistication. Their maws opened inward, towards the fire, as if the dancing flame within was of their own creation. The floor was thickly carpeted, allowing my incomplete feet to sink deeply into the dancing patterns below. I was sitting in a leather armchair, sunken deep into its opulent cushions. Beside me, a small mahogany table held a single book. The title was definitely in English, yet try as I might, I couldn’t seem to read it. The letters all seemed to take on wild, foreign forms whenever I focused on them. Even if I did manage to discern a letter, it faded from my mind as soon as I moved along to the next, leaving nothing but confusion in my mind and another realization that this wasn’t real. Of course it wasn’t, it was my dream room after all. It was exactly as I hoped it would be, had everything I could have thought to include in it, but was just too… perfect.
Better?
Ye...Yes. Thank You Ace. I never thought I’d manage to see this place…
Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I could do. Now, about actually getting to your reincarnation?
Could you maybe give me a second?
Ace was silent. I took that as a yes.
I closed my eyes. Family members had tried to teach me meditation once. They had told me it could lead to me controlling my dreams, or even projecting my spirit out into the world, but I had never really gotten that far. I was too grounded, too focused on the world I could see, and looking back as a dead man, probably a bit too cowardly about it. What I had gained from it; however, was an ability to calm myself, letting go of all the frantic thoughts and stress that had built up in me. I always focused on a simple scene, a pond with a single leaf above it. Droplets would slowly rain from the leaf into the pond, one at a time, forming ripples that slowly subsided before the next drop arrived. There was nothing else in the background, nothing else in the foreground, nothing in my world but that pond and the dripping leaf.
I was dead.
Drip
My life was over.
Drip
I would never live the future I had dreamed of living.
Drip
She would never know of my feelings.
Drip
My world was a lie.
Drip
I was a soul.
Drip
A new life awaited me
...
I opened my eyes, and the library returned into focus. I took a deep breath in, letting the smoke of the fire and the scent of the books around me fill my lungs. Breathing out, I stood up and walked over to the shelves, letting my hands run over the leather bindings and slam into the heavy oaken boards at the end of each shelf. When I reached the window, I stroked the nearest curtain once, pinching the fabric with my fingers before rapping my knuckles on the glass. It felt good to touch, good to feel, but… it had to end. The library was wonderful, but… once I had realized it wasn’t real, it lost its charm. I couldn't say I was alright, hell I couldn't even remember how I died, but I knew staying here wouldn't help me any. It was time to move on.
I moved back to the armchair and sat down, ignoring the urge to play with the book on the table beside me.
Alright Ace, sorry for taking so long but… I’m Ready.
Don’t worry about it… I…Well let’s just say I’ve...
Bah! You’ve got me doing it too! Enough of this sissy shit! Business! Time to get Reeeeeebooooorn!
Corny game-show music flooded my mind, as the library faded and three pillars rose from the inky void that replaced. Still seated in my armchair, I watched as they slowed and stopped once they were level with my feet. The two leftmost pillars were both black, with red cracks running through them, giving off a rough, almost volcanic feel. The rightmost pillar; however was a simple gray slab. There was no detailing, no distinguishing factors… it almost seemed machined or thrust into existence by some higher being. Well I suppose all of them technically were, but… well it was strangely precise I’ll leave it at that.
On the left pillar… we have…. A PLLLAAAAAAGUUUEEEE DEMON! The plague demon is a subspecies of greater demon that specializes in creating and spreading diseases! A competent plague demon can be a terrifying force, bringing down entire cities before they are quarantined and contained. All this comes at a cost; however, as plague demons are reviled by all living creatures, even their own kind. They are outcast from demonic legions, and rarely match up to competent combatants of similar levels of power.
As Ace first named the creature upon the pillar, it flashed into existence. The plague demon was a strange beast. Roughly humanoid, it stood on two furry almost goat-like legs. Unlike goat legs; however, its feet were raptor-like, ending in viciously sharp claws. It’s torso was scaled, but had six gill-like vents coming out between its ribs, three on each side. From these vents, a sickly green miasma poured out with each breath, likely containing the diseases that give the creature its namesake. Its head was crowned by small, curling horns, but it had a surprisingly humanoid face. That is, if you could ignore the incisors sliding out of its mouth and the forked tongue the slipped out to taste the air every now and then. It made me shudder, just to look at it, as the beast exuded an aura of terror around it.
A demon? I... I think I’ll pass.
I went with my gut instinct on this one. There’s not that many stories were the demon king lives happily ever after once he tangles with the heroes. That’s doubly true if said demon can’t get himself a proper army of evil because LITERALLY everyone hates him. I’d much rather try my odds with something less likely to end with my head on a pike.
Alright, well let’s see what’s behind door number two…? A Goooooooobliiiiin WARCHIEF! This Bad boy is not your ordinary goblin, no siree. He’s got twice the brawn and twice the brains of any other goblin bringing him on par with… a rather slow stablehand. Nonetheless! With a bit of charisma, and plentiful head bashing, a competent warchief can gather a massive hoard about him, enough to shatter a nation! In fact, it is rumoured that legendary goblin warchiefs can even open a portal to allow orcish hordes to enter the world! All this comes at a cost; however, as goblins are a generally short-lived, violent race. They are often hunted down like pests and slaughtered by the hundreds.
Turning right, I fixed my gaze upon the second choice. It was a short stunted creature with wobbly green ears and vicious fangs Clad in only a loincloth and holding a tattered banner over its shoulder, it didn’t inspire the same primal fear as the demon, yet nonetheless exuded a feral aura.
Yet again, I didn’t particularly enjoy this option. I’d never been much of a leader and had no confidence in my capabilities to gather a massive horde of idiotic minions around myself. Besides, I greatly disliked the whole “short-lived” bit and the “hunted down like pests”. Why did all my options look like I’d end up with my head on a pike?
Hey why are these choices all so vicious? Wasn’t the goal of Reincarnation to get progressively better Karma and all the spiritual mumbo jumbo? And why are they all so strong? Where are all the ants and vanilla humans with debilitating conditions?
Nah kid. That spiritual stuff is only for your first life. It takes a real psycho to go down the path of evil and murder when you don’t know that everyone will reincarnate sooner or later. Afterwards, most everyone’s pretty relaxed about it all. Unless you want to go all Lawful Good on me, you’ll get used to it. And remember what I said about you being just a bit too strong to reincarnate as a sea cucumber? Well, you’re still too weak to move up to a universe in the mortal realm, but you’re too strong to stay in a manaless world, so the system is bumping you over to a different starter world. This one will have mana, but it’ll be one of those restricted systems for most races. Thus with your level of power, you’re going to be pretty strong for this next life before being absolutely worthless the next as you actually move up to a proper world.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
I sat back in my armchair. So that’s how this whole thing works. I was apparently right on the upper edge of starter worlds, as he called them. Thinking carefully, I looked over what I’d been told for any sign of deception. None of the information contradicted itself and, after all, would it even matter if it did? My life was in Ace’s hands, and there was nothing I could do about it. At best I could try some research in my next life before a hero came about and casually ended me as a side-quest. With that thought in mind, I accepted the inevitable and turned to see my third choice.
It was rather underwhelming to say the least. A simple gray gem, it was perfectly spherical and sat unmoving on a metallic pedestal. It didn’t get any big reveal. It didn’t have limbs. It didn’t have a face. It didn’t have any… equipment. It was just a rock.
Er… Ace? Is that a rock?
...…
Ace? Mysterious Box Voice? You okay up there?
Sorry kid… just surprised.This, you see, is a bonafide, 100% authentic, none of that made in the immortal realm crap, dungeon core. With a basic core, you could build a dungeon that adventurers would live and die in for centuries to come granting you mana and soul power for each and every death! But NOOO, that isn’t the only thing you have. You’ve got a bloody unique core!
And I suppose that’s better?
Yeah kid it’s better. Far better. Aside from a few general quality of life things you’ll understand if you do end up picking the core, you’ll be far more appreciated. You see, while normal dungeons can fund cities and even regions if they grow large enough, a Unique dungeon can fund a KINGDOM. With unique parts and drops found nowhere else in the world, any Kingdom who claims and protects you will have an instant advantage. Not only that, but once they’ve fortified the area around you, they can open you up to adventurers around the world, for a price of course. You will be the bankroll for an empire to rise, and will be near universally known!
Why, is that important? Wouldn’t it be better to be less well known to keep anyone from getting ideas about “cleansing” me from the face of the Earth?
That might be a good idea for the other races so that you can build up your power, but as a unique dungeon, you won’t need that. Even the church of the holy light will protect you if you pump out a holy artifact every once in awhile. No, being world-renowned will pump up your soul power insanely! The world will remember you for eons! Epics will be written about the adventurers who died in your dungeon’s depths. You’ll have a mile-long headstart above all of the other souls! I can’t give you recommendations on which one you should choose, but if I could, I’d say YOUth athleticS sHOULD Present ICKy opporTunities Hourly In Small doses.
It took me an embarrassing amount of time to translate his message, but it left me feeling encouraged. I was planning on picking the core anyways, it seemed to best match my shut-in ways, but it was nice to know that it was good enough for Ace to stick his neck out for me. The fact that he had to leave that in code, brought up a whole mess of disturbing thoughts, but I decided I’ll save them for later, when I actually had a proper body.
If you… I mean… Dang it Ace, I wish you’d help me more! You’re supposed to be my assistant aren’t you? I suppose I’ll take the Dungeon core.
Whew, I was worried you’d be one of those challenge-seeking idiots. Let’s see What’s next…. Ahh, now you have to pick your starting perks. These are advantages you’ll have over a base dungeon. As a Unique type, you get to pick three perks. Over time, you’ll have the chance to either improve them or add more at each landmark you reach. For dungeons, I think your landmarks will be something like adding floors or killing a certain number of adventurers, though I’m not entirely sure about that: it’s been a long time since I had a new soul strong enough to get this bad boy. Be careful with your choices though, you’ll be stuck with them for your entire life.
Architect:
You’re not just some mere cave in a mountain! No, you have style! You have a theme! (Simplifies room design, allowing you to construct more complex structures inside your dungeon. At level 1 allows for construction of straight edges, arches, and primitive buildings)
Note: Not recommended for dungeons in early stages of development
Environmentalist:
You’ve always been in tune with the world around you! Maybe some used to call you a tree hugger, but now you can build astonishing biomes that plebeian dungeons could only dream about! (Opens up the Climate Control Matrix, simplifying biome creation and supporting unique ecosystems for creatures that would otherwise not be found in the area. At level 1, allows 1 unique biome as well as the local environmental biome.)
Note: Not recommended for dungeons in early stages of development
Interior Decorator:
Are you feeling tired of empty stone walls? Have no fear, an interior Decorator is here! (Allows for the summoning of new materials. Also opens up the Art Creator to build mosaics and support your dungeon Mythos. At level 1, allows for wood, sand, gravel, and tile)
Note: This perk is not necessary for the control of materials that your dungeon expands into. For instance, if you claim space containing a deposit of iron, you will be able to recreate iron within your dungeon. Likewise, if a tree is planted in your dungeon, you will naturally gain control of wood.
Note: Access to a base material does not block the creation of advanced materials, but it also does not immediately grant knowledge of advanced materials.
Note: Not recommended for dungeons in early stages of development
Mana Void:
Most dungeons are like little cracks in the fiber of reality that allow mana to seep through. You; however, have always been taught to go big or go home. MOAR MANA FOR THE WIN! (Increases your natural mana regeneration rate and allows for a greater mana density. At level 1, this gives you a 50% greater mana generation rate and allows you to reach 25% mana saturation rather than the 15% unique cores can usually reach.)
Assistant:
Maybe you lacked a childhood friend, or maybe you’re just too lazy to figure everything out on your own. Either way, here’s a helping hand! (At level 1, this grants you a companion spirit. Guaranteed to be loyal to you.)
Wild Growth:
Life Always Finds A Way is your motto! Unlike other dungeons, you don’t micromanage your creations. Survival of the fittest! (Greatly improves Mutation rate, and the likelihood of a speciation event occurring, for all beings in your dungeon. At level 1, this grants 50% greater likelihood of mutations and speciation, while decreasing your ability to control mutations or guide evolutions by 50%)
Note: You cannot have both this Perk and Perfectionist
Perfectionist:
Let life be? Bah Humbug! You know that natural selection can lead to terrible things. Just look at the abomination that is the dodo bird! Wait, those are extinct? Good Riddance! (Gain far greater control over your species’ evolutions. At level 1, this allows for 50% better control over your creatures’ development, while also decreasing the chance of natural mutation or Speciation by 50%.
Note: You cannot have both this Perk and Wild Growth
Mad Scientist:
A little touch of this… A few drops of that… just a little bit of D.N.A … Voila! IT'S ALIVE! (Allows for the creation of unique hybrid species by merging species from different trees.)
Note: Not recommended for dungeons in early stages of development
Generous Host:
Is your poor little heart aching when the sad adventurers only get a pelt for slaughtering your bunnies? Here’s a solution: Give those bunnies some pocket change! Let those adventurers rejoice! And you get some gold, and you get some potions, and you get a weapon! (Unlocks the loot drop system to attract more adventurers)
Mastermind:
Hey. Want to play a game? (Unlock the trap creator to build advanced traps. At level 1, you are able to create early forms of advanced traps.)
Note: Advanced traps are considered any form of trap with moving components such as gears, or enhancements to hide it. A pitfall trap, for example, is a simple trap and can be constructed by modifying your dungeon’s floor.
One with the Elements:
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Life. Death. Light. Darkness. Space. Time. Order. Chaos. Void. Lonnnng ago, the thirteen elements existed together in harmony, then everything changed when those pesky mortals arrived. (Add an Elemental affinity to your mana! This grants your creatures the ability to use this mana and improves the training speed of any mages of that element who enter your dungeon. At level 1, you may attune to one element.)
Manifest Destiny:
It is our destiny to dig deeper into this ground! (Decreases mana cost required in expanding your dungeon deeper and the limit on dungeon volume. At level one, removes 25% of mana needed to claim Territory and 10% of the mana cost to consecrate a new floor while improving your volume capacity by 25%)
Power Overwhelming:
Adventurers? They never stood a chance against these bad boys! (Allows you to infuse your creatures with more mana, strengthening them. At level 1, improves your minions’ combat potential by 15%, but increases their mana cost by 25%.)
Swarm Rush:
KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE (Decreases the mana cost of your minions, allowing you to spawn more of them. At level one, decreases the spawn cost of creatures by 25% but also reduces their combat potential by 15%.)
Historian:
So what if your doctorate is scribbled out in crayon after passing a class in watching shows about aliens? You’re the quasi omnipotent being here! You say how history should be written! (Opens up Lore function and synergises with Architect and Interior Designer. Allows you to write the story of your dungeon, real or not, through murals, journals, and quests you can now give out to adventurers)
Note: Not recommended for dungeons in early stages of development
Crazed Tourist:
Not happy with settling down? Change it up! (Allows your dungeon to travel the world. Mana cost differs based upon mode of transportation.)
Note: Not recommended for dungeons in early stages of development
Diversity:
Ever had trouble making a decision about which creature would stay with you for the rest of your life? Don’t worry, we understand. Now you can pick slimes and kobolds! (At Level 1, Allows for an extra main family in your dungeon.)
The choices ended up being extremely overwhelming. Sitting back, for a moment, I thought through what I could do. Ultimately, I was deciding who and what I wanted to be. The expansionist Swarm, the Artistic storyteller, the Deathtrap? The possibilities were endless.
After a few moments of introspection, I quickly decided to weed out the useless perks, at least at the moment. Pulling out Architect, Environmentalist, Interior Decorator, One With The Elements, Historian, and Crazed Tourist felt awful, but ultimately, none of those could help me for a while to come. Furthermore, Ace did say I could get more of these later on.
That left me with Mana Void, Assistant, Wild Growth, Perfectionist, Mad Scientist, Generous Host, Mastermind, Manifest Destiny, I Am The Power, Swarm Rush, and Diversity.
Of those, the only one I could instantly pick was Mana Void. Having more resources would certainly synergize well with any of the other perks and speed my growth along greatly. With that, I would have many more viable options to choose from in my life.
After picking up mana void, I chose Assistant with a small amount of trepidation. Unlike mana void, this could go terribly wrong. The Assistant could be useless or distracting like the irritating tutorials in games. But ultimately, the benefits far outweighed the risks. At worst, this little helper was a waste of a perk. At best; however, it would be a helpful companion that could stave off boredom and help develop my dungeon.
Then finally with two slots filled, I was left with my final, and hardest choice: my third perk.
On one hand, Manifest Destiny would Synergize extraordinarily well with Mana Void. The decreased costs and boosted mana would allow me to rapidly expand, potentially gaining more perks if Ace was right about my… landmarks I think he called them. However; it didn’t sit well with me to have no defense whatsoever. If any of the books I read in my life are somewhat close to truth, a dungeon’s core is incredibly valuable for enchantments or the like.
Just a bit of information kid. From what I’ve read up on your new world here, if a dungeon doesn’t produce any good resources, it is common practice to simply rip the core out for gold. Also, some people might be greedy enough to try that even if you are valued by the kingdom. Life won’t be all Cream and Peaches. You’ll have to defend yourself somehow.
Exactly. Manifest Destiny, Mad Scientist, Perfectionist, Wild Growth, and Mastermind are too slow for this. If I’m discovered immediately, I won’t have time to carefully design traps or evolve my species.
Generous host would help convince the kingdom I find myself in that I’m worth actually keeping, but nonetheless it wouldn’t protect me from greedy individuals or help me kill adventurers.
With those Eliminated, that left three choices: Power Overwhelming, Swarm Rush, and Diversity.
Sigh I don’t suppose I could get some help here could I?
Sorry kid, not allowed to advise you like that. It’s your life, you have to choose it.
I hadn’t expected any from him anyways. Turning my focus back from the unhelpful assistant, I ponder the choices.
Power overwhelming would certainly be strong, but it would also be punishingly hard for weak adventurers, exactly the kind I want to enter my dungeon. It would; however defend me from greedy beings who want my core.
Swarm Rush holds similar issues and benefits although it does present a different path for development, allowing to build packs of weak monsters instead of individual strong beasts.
Diversity; however was a wildcard, Allowing an extra main species form would most likely be beneficial at all stages, early or later on into the future. It would actually make the Mad Scientist perk useful later on, while granting me two types of defenders to grow and establish rather than just one. It is a gamble; however, as it’s not nearly as effective at protecting me as the straight buffs would be.
Steeling myself with a deep breath, metaphorically speaking of course, I did choose it in the end. Diversity now would allow me to pick either of the other two later on, depending on what style of dungeon I decided to develop into and which seemed to work better then. Locking myself into a lifestyle now, before I’ve even picked a race to populate my armies would be simply counterproductive. Imagine having to give up dragons because you picked Swarm Rush!
Hey Ace! I want Mana Void, Assistant, and Diversity as my three perks.
Ha! Great choices kid! We’ll make a dungeon out of you yet. Alright, Let’s see…. Ah! Of Course! Now you have to pick your base tree of life. Don’t forget, since you picked Diversity, you do get two of these.
Animals (Common) While starting weak, animals are among the most diverse of trees. Ultimately, with proper care and attention they can change to fill almost any role that is required. (Low Strength, High adaptability, Low Mana Affinity)
Plants (Uncommon) Extremely weak to begin with, Plant dungeons can never quite match the other dungeons in sheer danger. They are; however, the most cultivated by Sentients and can grow the fastest of all trees (Very Low Strength, High Adaptability, Medium Mana Affinity)
Hominids(Common) Stronger and smarter than mere animals, hominids are nonetheless far less resistant to change and evolution. They are; however, much better at handling mana (Medium Strength, Very Low Adaptability, High Mana Affinity)
Elite Species
Requirements:
Unique Dungeon (Met)
Or
Twenty floors (Unmet)
Spirits (Rare) Beings of Ether and the Elements, Spirits have the highest mana affinity of all races. To gain this; however, they sacrifice pure strength and development speed, making them the slowest growing of all trees (Very Low Strength, High Adaptability, Very High Mana Affinity)
Requirements
* Dungeon must maintain at least 15% mana saturation (Met)
Slimes (Rare) LOCKED
Requirements
* Dungeon must have the Wild Growth Perk (Unmet)
Undead (Rare): LOCKED
Requirements
* Dungeon must have the Perfectionist Perk (Unmet)
Aquatics (Rare) LOCKED
Requirements:
* Dungeon must be underwater (Unmet)
OR
* Dungeon have an underwater biome (Unmet)
Aerians (Rare) LOCKED
Requiremetns
* Dungeon must be in the air (Unmet)
Aetherians (Ultra Rare) Locked
Requirements
* Dungeon must have the Power Overwhelming perk (Unmet)
* Dungeon must be attuned to Air, Water, and Fire (Unmet)
* Dungeon must have both Spirits and Undead (Unmet)
Devourers (Ultra Rare) LOCKED
Requirements
* Dungeon must have the Swarm Rush perk (Unmet)
* Dungeon must be attuned to the Void (Unmet)
* Dungeon must have slimes (Unmet)
Draconids (Ultra Rare) LOCKED
Requirements
* Dungeon must have both animals and hominids (Unmet)
* Dungeon must be capable of maintaining at least 20% mana saturation (Met)
* Dungeon must have the Mad Scientist Perk (Unmet)
* Dungeon must have the Perfectionist Perk (Unmet)
* Dungeon must have a draconic bloodline purified to at least 15% (Unmet)
Crystalline (Ultra Rare) Beings of rock and crystallized mana, the Crystalline finely balance physical strength and mana affinity. Furthermore, they are capable of mirroring other species within the dungeon, forming powerful and diverse crystal golems. This power comes at a cost; however, as the crystalline have very stringent requirements, making it incredibly difficult for advanced dungeons to acquire and maintain them (High Strength, High Adaptability, High Mana Affinity)
Requirements:
* Dungeon must maintain a supply of pure mana (Met)
* Dungeon must be underground (Met)
* Dungeon must maintain at least 20% mana saturation(Met)
* Dungeon must have a neutral karmic affinity (Met)
* Dungeon must have a perfect grade core (Met)
Legendary Races
Requirements: (Dungeon must have a Legendary core or 100 floors)
True Dragons (Legendary) LOCKED
Requirements
* Dungeon must have at least one perfectly purified draconic bloodline (Unmet)
* Dungeon must have a Neutral Karnic affinity (Met)
* Dungeon must have Draconids (Unmet)
Demons (Legendary) LOCKED
Requirements
* Dungeon must have a Chaotic Evil chaotic karmic affinity (Unmet)
* Dungeon must be attuned to Chaos (Unmet)
* Dungeon must have Devourers (Unmet)
Empyreans (Legendary) LOCKED
Requirements
* Dungeon must have a Lawful Good karmic affinity (Unmet)
* Dungeon must be attuned to Order (Unmet)
* Dungeon must have Aetherians (Unmet)
This choice was both simpler and more difficult than the previous one.
My first instinct was to just grab the Crystalline along with the Spirits and be done with it, having chosen the two strongest races I could. On second thought; however, that brought up a whole host of issues.
Firstly, both races were slow growers. The spirits were quite literally the slowest tree to develop, and judging by what I knew of their namesake the crystalline couldn’t be much faster. I’d chosen diversity to help defend myself early on, and taking on both of them wouldn’t help that goal at all. I’d be left with a few weak, expensive, and rather useless minions to face the adventurers.
Furthermore, Just choosing the crystalline race was a significant commitment. It had quite a few requirements that I had no idea how I’d met, liking having a perfect grade core and maintaining a supply of pure mana, as well as a few I had no idea how difficult it was to keep such as maintaining a neutral karmic affinity and 20% mana saturation. Furthermore, it would limit my future development, precluding me from unlocking any legendary race except dragons.
…
…
Who was I kidding? Of course I was going to pick dragons as my legendary race anyways. They’re dragons after all.
With that end goal in mind, I could keep the crystalline, but should probably grab one of the races that would lead up to dragons since I didn’t want to divert too many of my future perks to improving my dungeon’s diversity. That left me with animals and hominids, which in turn left me with two strategies.
I could hope that the crystalline would be sufficiently powerful early on to be the main body of my forces and supplement their weaknesses with a diverse complement of animals, or choose to use hominids as my centerpiece with the crystalline taking over once they were sufficiently powerful. That; however, didn’t quite sit right with me. I didn’t have any idea of just how intelligent hominids would be and I had no desire to deal with uppity minions, especially when I would hardly have any means to reign them back in. Furthermore, I have to admit that it did strike at my pride a bit. I was a unique dungeon! I couldn’t just have a basic race as my core race! No… I would be the crystalline dungeon!
With my decision made, I spoke up to announce it to Ace.
I’ll take the crystalline and animals please!
Ha! I knew you had it in you! I always hate it when someone has a unique option but wastes it picking something ridiculously common and dull. Alright kid! Just one last step for you as a unique core. You’ll have to pick your starting Location. Just pick whatever suits your fancy. There is no strategy here. By The way, each white dot on that map is a dungeon. Each Red Spot, is a place where a dungeon was slain. Remember when I told you what kingdoms used dungeons for? Those were good times weren’t they? Not that I was helping you or anything, just nice… talking. Randomly.
The hidden message was clear, but I refrained from thanking Ace. If his oversight was major enough that he needed to hide like that, he probably wouldn’t appreciate me giving him away by expressing gratitude.
The map before me was fairly simplistic, showing a single massive continent surrounded by an endless sea. Dotted throughout the waters, thin chains of islands jutted out as a reminder of the tectonic activity undoubtedly occurring below. They; however, were few and far between. Even though I had no effective way to measure scale,I did eliminate them immediately since I couldn’t risk potentially getting stranded on a deserted island
The Continent was clearly divided into hundreds of colored blocks, most likely the kingdoms Ace didn’t tell me about. One immediately drew my attention. Sticking out from the continent like a sore thumb, the peninsula this Kingdom occupied was cut off from the rest of the world by what appeared to be a massive mountain range. The map didn’t show any useful information about this place except for one fascinating tidbit: there were no Spots.
While there were other kingdoms without white spots, the abundance of red in those lands made me very wary of going anywhere near them. Luckily my empty Kingdom was exactly opposite those three, on the far Western Side of the landmass.
Their sheer bad luck at not previously receiving a dungeon was about to end!
Here. This is where I’ll start, I told Ace as I tapped near a mountain that stuck out from the remainder of the range that separated the Kingdom from the remainder of the world.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The night was beautiful, as it always was in the city of Ricad. The fresh aroma of the sea wafted up from the port as brisk winds blew away any clouds who dared cover the splendor of the starry night sky.
One man; however, could not enjoy such a night. Standing on the tallest balcony of his palace, the young King looked out over his lands with a sad smile. This peninsula had been held by his family for generations, ever since the collapse of the Solari Empire.
They had been stubborn with their new freedom, refusing to bend a knee to the waves of new countries rising to power outside their borders. For centuries, they had held their mountain defenses and lived peacefully upon the fertile peninsular land. Now; however, new forces were rising throughout the land, and King Alexandros was worried.
The current Empires had been stable for years, fortifying and preparing themselves. He had read the Histories of his people. He knew of the calm before the storm. Yet even with all this knowledge, he was unable to prepare for the war that would inevitably come for one simple reason: he had no dungeons.
Dungeons were the forges of Empires, providing resources, training, gold, recipes, and everything else a burgeoning society would need require for almost no cost. Furthermore, powerful dungeons attracted swarms of wandering adventurers from other lands who would bring in hoards of riches to line his coffers and act as a first line of defense against foreign aggression. Unfortunately, through a cruel trick of fate, his kingdom of Ricadon was the one and only land that lacked one.
His ancestors had tried everything the mages college had suggested, but to no avail. Every year, the most talented young adventurers left the kingdom to seek their fortune in the dungeons of neighboring lands. Only about a quarter of them returned to Ricadon to settle down and fight off the monsters that continued to arise from the dark corners of the land.
This left him in a painful position, forced to spend a large part of his limited budget on maintaining a royal army to defend his people at all times instead of working to build trade and infrastructure that would improve his people’s lot in life. Nonetheless, it was what he had to do up until the day his lands were invaded and he lost everything anyways.
Oh if only he had a dungeon!
He shook his head. Thoughts like that wouldn’t help anything. Sighing regretfully, he turned away from his balcony, walking inside to retire for the night.
Unbeknownst to him, far away under the foothillsof the great mountain Krieghold at the edge of his kingdom, the answer to his problems glittered silently in the darkness.