I regained my conscious with the radiance from an unknown light which hit my eyes, this of course caused me to struggled to open them. Rubbing them with the palms of my hands for some seconds I was able to see what was around me, which was a small room with only a lonely torch held on by one of the four walls surrounding me.

The room was comparable to the size of a small living room, only enough for one person to live comfortably in.

Without anything special besides the torch to look at, I rubbed the back of my head where a bullet hole should have been. Basing my observation only by pure touch, I noticed there was no hair to be found. This ment that for the first time in my life I was bald. Slumping my shoulders i continued to check the rest of my body which seemed to be the same, well except that I felt better than I ever did in my life and that I was completely naked, and hairless.

Muscles, although not bulky, were well defined all over this new body. From my arms being a few inches bigger to some well-toned abs that I ran my fingers through, had me surprised, as only a small bump was present there before from being in the office all day.

My thoughts were scrambled all over the place, but the most important one that lingered was the location of Eva who should have been with me.

Trying to get up, even though I was still in an out-of-bed daze like feeling, was met with a futile effort, as the rest of my body didn’t respond well to the orders given.

[Seems your awake, guess my visit today was fortunate! ]

A familiar voice spoke out to me making me reposition my way of sitting in a hurry, so i could cover my privates. If I recall correctly it was the same tone of voice as the person or being I last spoke to, the one that said it would bring us to a new world.

[I’m wondering though, is that body to your liking?]

“Yes… Tha..nks for that…but…”

[It’s perfect, right? I reconstructed you at what would be the best condition in your previous life… but don’t get me wrong it wasn’t an easy task to get all the right anthropometric measurements correct, there was a need to use…]

Not caring for my input, the voice kept on talking about my body as if it was a piece of art, which made me feel embarrassed.

“About…Eva?” Although scared of what his reaction would be, I needed to interrupt him during his self-centered speech to ask about my most important inquiry.

He finally stopped, then like before the space around me distorted creating a crack, only this time he didn’t appear in rags but in a totally new appearance.

Standing in front of me was a man who was the epitome of a Greek God, donned in ivory-colored silk made garment that draped from his shoulders to his feet, a handsome face that was carved to perfection that left you stun, just by looking at him. Golden curled hair and long eyelashes that worked together with piercing amber eyes, all of which radiated an aura of power and might, Zeus!

“Guess you didn’t need the details…” He sighed in dejection before he continued, but now speaking normally, with a pleasant raspy voice instead of using the previous telepathic voice.

“I am named Gregory, the one who brought you forth from the planet Earth. But before we speak about that, let me first tell you about your current situation.”

While standing he placed one hand forward and as if grasping thin air, a small marble-sized ball formed, it was slowly getting bigger until it reached the size of a bowling ball. Hovering just a few inches from his outstretched hand it had a white glow that went from weak to strong and at its peak, it was blinding, almost like looking at the sun, which had me covering my eyes with my elbow.

That lasted only a minute before the room which was filled with white began to dye itself in a reddish color, as the orb lost most of its glow making it now visible to the naked eye.

“Nice, seems that I was correct in choosing you.” Happy with the result, he left the glowing orb in the air and placed both of his hands in front of him just under the orb as if commending something from the ground.

A light earthquake was felt as a pillar was beginning to form, raising from the ground until it was about three inches from the ball of red light.

Still focused, Gregory put more power into his hands while cracking his neck.

“Alright let’s make this beautiful now.” The pillar which was solid rock began to morph into a black pedestal with a gothic style to it, as it ended up looking like claws were holding on to the orb.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“This is the most important thing you will have in this world… Let me explain it in a way that you will understand the meaning and the significance behind those words... This here is your soul, yes, that part of you which gives your body life.” He looked at me as if expecting some sort of reaction only to be disappointed at my confused and probably stoic stare.

“Hmm, you know that part which keeps your body ticking?... Just how dumb are these mortals…”

“Yes… I understood the soul part, but why is it not inside this body.”

He smiled after my question while rubbing his hands together, like a child getting ready to tell his most prized secret.

“Well, that’s because you’re now a Dungeon Master, and this core is also a part of you.”

I gulped after he said that, picking myself from the floor to inspect what was just made, with each step that got me closer a feeling of a connection between this body and that light was becoming apparent.

Positioned a foot from the orb I tried holding on to the light which gave me a sense of safety, warmth and most of all a feeling of self, almost like I could distinguish myself from all the surroundings. It was truly an unexplainable moment for me but I had to come back to reality and try knowing more about all this, but before I could ask anything, more information was given by Gregory.

“About the red light, that’s your soul's normal color, each person has its own, but red huh, guess you’re a lustful man... But never mind that for now… you are now responsible for this area, this room is the start of the trial I tasked of you before coming here, and so you will need to add one hundred floors to this dungeon.”

“But what about Eva?”

I almost grabbed him by the collar only stopping myself in the nick of time.

“Easy there, the one hundred floors are your assignment, finish it and you will be able to see her again I promise.” He looked at me with his piercing gaze that left me no doubt that he was only speaking the truth.

“Well, you see… a dungeon is merely a place to maintain the flow of mana in this world, by having a larger one… you will be able to not only maintain your body which is a product of magic… but also that lass as well.”

“Is that to say there is too much of that so-called mana in this world?”

“Yes and no, but the correct answer to that is more complicated, you see I have lived for almost ten thousand years and I want to finally rest, as I too am a Dungeon Master and the original one mind you! When I am gone all the mana in my dungeon will flow back into the world.”

“So am I your replacement?”

“A replacement? For me, hahaha no, no, you should know my dungeon has over six thousand floors so you won’t make a dent in the worlds mana after I am gone, or at least for a few hundred years.”

He continued to chuckle before creating two seats and a table from the ground and gestured for me to use one, after being seated a fine jug of red wine with two golden goblets appeared from out of nowhere.

Shocked by the sudden appearance of the items I suppressed what questions I had and got up to pour both goblets and passed him one as calmly as i could.

Closing his eyes, my new drinking buddy inhaled the fragrance from the wine before taking a large sip, so I followed suit and did the same, breathing in the sweet aroma from the vintage wine with a heavy scent of alcohol that permeated my lungs and helped sooth my nerves. As for the taste, it was comparable to the most expensive liquor of the same type, one I had a year ago, during one of the first dates with Eva.

“No matter what world you’re from, a good cup of wine eases the mind, right?”

“So, what exactly was I brought for?”

“In three years, I plan to go from this or any other world, to finally rest as any mortal should have and for that, I needed someone to not replace me, but to fix this world for my leave.”

Taking a few more sips, we both kept enjoying the strong but very well flavored liquor.

“You know Euman’s are this worlds version of you guys from Earth, but there are also beastmen, the so-called demons, elves, dwarves, well you get it, more races then just normal humans.”

“So, in short just like any fantasy world in our literature?”

“Yes, just like those I introduced in your world's literature, but as you know conflict is to arise with such a variety of races.”

Gesturing for a refill I quickly gulped what was left of mine then poured another on both goblets, weirdly I didn’t get drunk even with the very strong reek of alcohol this drink produced.

“You know in your world power comes from the economy, right? The more money the stronger a man becomes, even if he is but a small individual. Well here mana makes the man, but the difference is that one person in this world can have the power of a nuclear weapon at any time.”

He changed his position and sat facing the side with both feet stretched out one crossed over the other.

“Of course, these mages are rare, but imagine amplifying that power with all the mana my dungeon is going to release when I am gone.”

Noticing that I still did not get my role, Gregory leaned forth while pointing at me.

“You will cause events to happen, these are already underway, there is no stopping them now that you are here. My advice is to go with the flow maybe listen to me to make things go smoother, but in the end, whether you make that choice or not will not change much.”

Tilting his cup towards me as to make a toast, he raised it and let the red liquid fall into his mouth, finally shaking the goblet to get any remaining drops.

“In the end, everything is for the best, you get your woman back, this world will reach an era of peace for a good long time and finally I will rest.”

With the insurance that I will have Eva back while doing some good to this world, I brought my goblet up and finish the heavy talk.

In a fraction of a second Gregory cleared the table and seats and snapped his finger to create a book.

“I am no teacher or like spending time doing such a chore… and as I want you to get more hands-on experience, this book will be your aid and inform you of that which you seek.”

He passed me the book that was thin and small which gave me little confidence in providing much of the information I would be needing, but opening it to any page, words would shine then they would be replaced with new ones as soon as I finished reaching the bottom of a page.

“Well that would be it for today, just read and practice, and try getting a hang of using magic before you step outside, oh and... sorry I should have given you this earlier.”

Handing me a cloth just like his own, and with a wink, Gregory left the Dungeon just as he came.