I don't really need to look around, as I have a full 360 view around me. It's odd. It's like I'm looking in every direction at once. I am looking in every direction at once.
What the hell? I think to myself as I scan my surroundings. It wasn't really a cave, more like a tiny cavern. There is no light, yet I see everything as if I were outside in the shining daylight.
I'm not sad. I don't really know what to do here. I try to move my legs, but I don't have any. Again
You gotta be fuckin kidding me… I think to myself, annoyed. Whatever. I try to grasp something, but I don't have hands either. Or arms. So basically nothing but my environment changed. It's a start, at least. I try to speak…I have no mouth, either. Sounds about right.
Sigh, I think to myself. Wait, did I just say the word sigh? Whatever. Who cares? I think.
After a while of silence, I try thinking of questions. Maybe the weird entity will come down…up? I'm hoping the entity will hear my call, and respond to it. I can only hope though.
Where am I? What's a dungeon core? Is that a good or bad thing? Do you hear me? I ramble in my head.
Isn't there like a tutorial or something? After I think that, I hear a ding!
The fuck? I wonder. After a few seconds, a blue screen appears.
Welcome to your new life, dungeon core.
If you wish to start the tutorial, simply think ‘tutorial’.
If you wish to open the menu, simply think ‘menu’, ‘system’, or ‘stats.’
…huh. I think to myself in a mix of shock and surprise. I quickly recover, however
…uhh…tutorial? After that thought, another blue screen replaces the old one
As a dungeon core, you have the ability to affect anything within your domain. While dungeon cores often create dungeons, it is not required. Things you can do in your domain include the following:
* Destroying matter
* Creating matter
* Consuming mana
* Creating life
* Control of the terrain around you
* Destroying life you made
To create an entity, you must first be given a blueprint. You will be given your first blueprint after you open the menu for the first time.
All actions listed above cost mana.
If your core is destroyed, then you perish.
If any entity you create leaves your domain, then it will gain its own free will and do as it pleases. This can be countered for as long as you have mana of your own feeding directly into its core.
If a creature dies in your bounds, then you will unlock its blueprint. If you already have its blueprint, then you will be given mana
To use mana, you must imagine what you want to do. That's all you are required to do, the rest will work itself out.
If you run out of mana, you will lose consciousness. Only after you fully regain your mana pool will you regain consciousness.
You do not have any control of any creature that is not your own. If a foreign entity enters your domain, you have no authority over them, and your abilities to affect your domain will be diminished until they leave.
If a foreign entity dies in your domain, you “consume it”, gaining its knowledge and converting the rest into mana.
To open your menu, simply think ‘menu', 'system’, or ‘stats’.
Oh. what. I think as I read through the screens. My theoretical eyes widening in surprise as I continue reading
Am I a fucking god? I can create, and destroy life and matter? And control what my surroundings look like with just a thought? Holy shit! I think in wonder. Maybe reincarnation isn't so bad after all.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
If I get shattered, wait, what am I made out of? Clearly I'm not human, but what do I look like? I try to look at myself, to no avail. Well shit.
Back to the main topic
If I get shattered, I die. Sounds reasonable. I think. Also, mana, rad! I think to myself excitedly. I test whether or not the blue screens are right.
After a few seconds of hard, intense thinking, a pillar made of stone shoots up from the floor to the ceiling.
Oh. I guess I have a new pillar now. fuck yeah! I'm ecstatic. I'm so cool! Look ma! No hands! I make more pillars around the caver, basking in my glory. Eventually, I made a pedestal under me. It's just a simple pillar, nothing fancy. I still don't know what I am, sadly. Maybe I'm a floating eyeball?
…I hope not. That’d be creepy as hell.
I look around my pillar filled room. There's no particular order to them, they are placed pretty randomly. I imagine again. After a few seconds, all the pillars crumble away back into the ground, leaving nothing that suggested they once existed behind. Fuck yeah. This time, I made the pillars go to the left and right of me. Placed uniformly and straight.
…what if… I imagine a torch on each of the pillars. I imagine that they never go out. And then…I feel like my soul is being sucked. Not in a good way. It's like…you know how being full feels? It's like having that feeling go away rapidly, kinda. It's really weird. Eventually, it stops sucking. It sucked like…25% of my fullness? I guess I should call it mana, as the tutorial said it costs mana to control my surroundings. But you wanna know the best part? I have torches! They glow a nice orange light. That's what I imagined them to do. They burned nice and bright, enough to fill most of the room. I'm pretty sure real torches aren't that bright, but it's my cavern. Fuck you.
A sense of pride fills me. I now have pillars on my left and right, with torches to match! They might be made of stone, and look really out of place, but that's fine for now!
It's a start. Wait, I already said that. It's another step from the start! Then, i remember something
Oh right! The menu! The moment i think of it, a blue screen pops up
Name: N/A
Race: Dungeon Core
Stats
hp:1/1
mp:8,400/10,000
Mr:100pm(?)
Templates:
[click option to choose your first template]
Spells(?):
N/A
Oh. neat. Also, that's a lot of mana. I'm assuming that's a lot of mana, at least. I don't have much to base off of how much a lot is. Maybe that's a baby's amount? Who knows? It's enough to create pillars. That's all I care about. Why do I care about pillars so much, you ask? Wait, you? I'm the only one here. Am I the only one here? I think I am.
…I hope I am. What was I talking about again? Oh right, pillars!
You see, pillars are my first creation. They have become my beautiful baby boys, girls, or whatever they want to be. They also hold up this place.
Wait, this place was fine before I added pillars. It's already structurally sound. Who cares! They look cool!
Getting back on track, I look at the menu again. How do I click something if I have no fingers?
Could I try to click it with a pillar? Can I imagine a tendril of…something clicking it? Good questions. A good question is one not answered easily. Or maybe that makes it a stupid question. Usually it's one or the other. I look at the two question marks. What do they mean? Is the system questioning whether or not it knows about what it's presenting to me? I don't know. I guess I'm a question mark too. I focus on the top question mark, and a new screen pops up!
MR:(x)pm= Mana Regen Per Minute.
Oh. cool. So I regen 100 mana per minute? That sounds like a lot. Then again, I can store 10,000 of the stuff. Maybe it's not a lot. Better than nothing, I suppose. I focus on the other question mark
A dungeon core cannot use most spells. However, a dungeon core can transfer spells it knows to its many spawn.
Spells can be learned after “consuming” a foreign entity if they knew a spell you didn't.
You can consume your own spawn for new spells.
You can learn spells on your own.
Okay. a lot to break down here. First, MAGIC! Second, by consuming, I assume it means after I have killed it? And third, how in god's righteous ass do I learn spells by myself?! I have nothing but my pillars! Whatever. Magic is for nerds.
…I kind of wanna be a nerd.
Silence, nerd! Anyways. I clear away the tutorial screen and look at my menu again. This time, I focused on the “click option to choose your first template”, hoping it would work like the 2 question marks. And it did!
Choose a entity
* Slime
* Elemental
* Beast
* Goblin
* Kobold
* Constructs
* Undead
* Plants
Oh. neat. That's a lot of options! Too many. I think carefully. I don't know if I can choose again. What if I make the wrong choice and I look stupid! Gah!
I'm gonna be thinking for a while…
If only I had someone to help me choose…