"Alright… I’m a dungeon now. No use moping forever. I need to figure out what I can actually do."

He focused, trying to feel his surroundings. There was no body, no hands to move—just the rocky cavern that was… well, him.

"Maybe I should start by what I became?"

The moment he had the thought, something clicked. A map appeared in his mind—three floors, rough tunnels, and empty chambers. It was like an overhead blueprint, detailing every inch of his territory.

"Whoa… okay, that’s actually kind of cool. So this is me now, huh?"

A strange sensation washed over him, like stretching a limb he never knew he had. His awareness shifted, pulling him downward—deeper into himself. Suddenly, he felt it, a presence unlike anything else in this empty cavern.

His vision settled in a chamber on the third floor, and there it was—the core. A massive, bluish crystal pulsating with an eerie glow, radiating energy that sent faint ripples through the air. It was beautiful, almost mesmerizing.

Looking at it, a memory surfaced. Magic stones, mana crystals, dungeon cores—he had read about things like this in countless isekai stories. And now, he was one.

"So this is my heart, huh?" He couldn't feel a heartbeat, but somehow, he knew—this core was his very existence. If anything happened to it… well, he doubted it would be pleasant.

Yet, as he focused, he felt it—raw, pulsing energy surging from the core, flowing through his entire being. It was vast, untamed, and his. Unlike his weak human body, constantly tired and limited, this new form held power. Real, tangible power.

A thrill ran through him. He had no idea what he could do yet, but one thing was certain—he wasn’t helpless. Not anymore.

So all this energy is just enough to keep me running? Great… that means if I want to do anything, I need to find a new energy source. No freebies, huh?

He shifted his focus back to the floors he had, trying to get a better sense of his own structure. Almost immediately, a realization made him feel a little… hollow inside. His first floor wasn’t much of a dungeon at all—it was just a cave.

Not some grand labyrinth with twisting corridors or menacing monster lairs. Just a small, barebones cave. It reminded him of those cramped tunnels carved out during World War II, the ones used for hiding or supply storage. Dark, damp, and unimpressive. If some adventurer or random explorer walked in right now, they’d probably just assume it was a natural cave and leave.

At the very least, there was a door. A proper dungeon-like door made of aged stone, leading further inside. Small stairs descended beyond it, winding down toward the second floor—the largest area he had. Finally, something that actually feels dungeon-like. It wasn’t much, but compared to this pathetic excuse of an entrance, the second floor had to be an improvement… right?

The second floor unfolded before him—a vast, open cavern stretching far beyond his entrance. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and uneven rock formations jutted from the ground. Pools of still water reflected the faint glow of luminescent minerals embedded in the walls. It was… just a cave. A big, empty cave. The kind that cave divers and explorers would love to map out, but hardly the kind of place anyone would call a dungeon.

Seriously? This is it? Ordis groaned internally. Where are the ominous corridors? The twisting passages? The eerie atmosphere that screams ‘adventurers beware’?

This is what I’m working with? I don’t even have a proper entrance gate, no eerie atmosphere, no menacing aura. Just a glorified hole in the ground.

He let out a mental sigh. Alright, let’s not get discouraged. It’s not like every dungeon starts off as some grand fortress. I’ll just have to build it up from here… somehow.

This is just a hole in the ground!

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The third floor was noticeably smaller than the second, consisting of only three chambers. At its heart stood the dungeon core, a massive bluish crystal pulsing faintly with energy. Its glow cast soft, wavering reflections on the surrounding stone walls, giving the chamber a strangely serene atmosphere. Despite everything, Ordis couldn’t help but be a little awed—this was his core, the very thing keeping him alive.

Beyond this room, however, were two completely empty chambers. No decorations, no eerie ambiance, not even a hint of something interesting. Just plain, untouched rock.

So… that’s it? Ordis groaned internally. A glowing rock and two useless rooms? Come on, if I’m going to be a dungeon, at least give me something cool to start with!

So that’s me…

A small cave for an entrance. A vast but empty cavern for a second floor. And finally, a third floor with nothing but his glowing core and two empty rooms. That was all he had. That was what he was.

Not exactly an awe-inspiring start… He had hoped for something grander. Mysterious ruins, eerie tunnels, ancient corridors steeped in history. Instead, he was basically an abandoned mineshaft with extra steps.

But still… this was his domain. His body. His existence. It wasn’t much now, but maybe—just maybe—he could turn it into something great.

“Well, I mean, I’m a Primordial Dungeon, so I must be a big deal, right? The system even said I was the first of my kind, the origin of all dungeons. That had to mean something! Maybe I just hadn’t unlocked my true potential yet. Yeah, that was it. No way a Primordial Dungeon was supposed to look this pathetic forever.

For now, though, staring at my barebones layout wasn’t doing me any favors. I needed to stop moping and start doing something. If this was my new reality, I had to figure out the basics. First things first—movement. Could I even move? Or was I just a fixed chunk of land, forever stuck in place?

And what about my eyesight? Right now, I could somehow see my entire dungeon at once, like an overhead map, but could I focus on specific areas? Maybe even zoom in on details? It was time to experiment.”

Ordis had such a long string of thoughts that he almost forgot to actually do something. Enough standing around—metaphorically, at least. He needed to figure out how his vision worked. Could he only see everything from above, like some game map, or was there more to it?

As he focused, his perspective shifted effortlessly. He could zoom in on specific areas, sharpening details as if his eyes were right there. At the same time, he could pull back, taking in his entire dungeon at once. It was like being in a high-tech security room filled with countless monitors, each one showing a different part of his domain.

Even more surprising, he wasn’t limited to just one view at a time. He could watch multiple areas simultaneously, observing the entrance while also checking his dungeon core room. It was an eerie feeling—like having a thousand invisible eyes—but strangely, it didn’t overwhelm him. It felt… natural.

The level of detail was incredible. If he focused, he could even make out the faint moisture on the cave walls, the tiny cracks in the stone, and the way light from his mana crystal reflected faintly across the floor. Hah, take that, security cameras. I don’t even need electricity.

Hm, this is quite something. Ordis marveled at his newfound ability. Not only could he see within his own dungeon, but his vision extended beyond the entrance as well. He hadn’t expected that. It was like having an invisible security camera mounted right outside his doorstep, letting him take in the world beyond his rocky walls.

He focused, stretching his awareness as far as it would go. The first thing he noticed was the wide, open grassland that spread out before him. It stretched for about half a square kilometer, roughly the same size as his second floor. Tall grasses swayed gently in the breeze, their green and yellow hues shifting under the sunlight. A few scattered trees dotted the landscape, their twisted branches reaching toward the sky.

But what really caught his attention was what lay beyond the grassland. A dense rainforest loomed in the distance, its towering trees forming a thick, green wall. The canopy was so packed that barely any sunlight reached the forest floor, and the deeper he tried to see, the darker it became. He could hear the distant calls of unseen creatures, the rustling of leaves, and the faint sound of water flowing somewhere within. A rainforest, huh? That’s way better than a barren wasteland… at least it means there’s life around here.

His gaze shifted back to the grassland, and a realization dawned on him. It was as if a chunk of the rainforest had been erased from existence, leaving his dungeon entrance standing alone in the middle of an open field. There were no signs of gradual clearing, no transition from dense vegetation to grassland—just an abrupt, gaping cave mouth where trees should have been. Yeah… definitely feels like I was just dropped here by some higher power.

Still, he wasn’t complaining. At least he had a good vantage point. With such an open landscape in front of him, he could easily spot anything approaching his dungeon. No surprise attacks from lurking predators or unsuspecting adventurers stumbling in just yet. But that also meant he was easy to find. If someone wandered too close, they’d spot his entrance almost immediately. Not exactly the most inconspicuous start for a dungeon, huh?

He sighed—or at least, he would have if he had lungs. Well, whatever. I’ll deal with that later. Right now, I should focus on what I can actually do. He had his vision, he had his awareness of his surroundings… now it was time to figure out what else he was capable of.