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A flash, an endless moment.
A small spark, flying, faster than light.
A young couple lying there in each other's arms.
The spark, unrecognized, invisible, inconspicuous, stops above the bed of the sweaty couple.
A vibration passes through the spark of light, and it disappears into the belly of the soon-to-be young mother.
And so began another journey of the little spark.
A journey like countless ones before, but without memories of what it had experienced.
Where exactly did the spark come from?
From the ORIGIN, of course...
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Gasping for air, I open my eyes.
Or whatever is responsible for my vision, I'd say....
Because hardly as soon as I SEE, my beating heart calms down.
Or whatever would normally be responsible for my non-existent heartbeat....
Because instead of organs, as I - Know them? - I don't have any of them.
And actually it should confuse me, make me run around in panic, and I should question everything that is wrong with me right now.
But for strange reasons that I can't comprehend, I don't do any of that.
That, what should make me as a - human being - somehow doesn't bother me anymore.
But how do I actually know so much about human behavior? Am I, no, was I a human being? If yes... What am I now?
Why don't I remember it anymore?!
I have only vague impressions of myself. And instead of memories, which should make up my being, only impressions and faint images fly through my mind.
Or whatever my head should be....
Because as I look around in complete silence and stillness, I see a crystal coffin lying in the middle of a completely self-contained crystal cave. The strange thing about it?
A human being lies in it, pierced by a golden-silver oversized needle.
But instead of a decomposed corpse, this body is in a kind of rigidity. As if time had stood still, and had no power in this place and over this body.
As I look around me and gaze at the crystals with an incredibly relaxed attitude and mind, which cover and cross the cave walls in all imaginable colors; fragments of memories, or pieces of images, continue to flash through my innermost being.
But where is this ME? Where is my body? Where is my head, my heart, my veins, my organs? How can I see without eyes?
And WHY does it seem as if I am - all this here?
My senses and perceptions overlap and I can sense so much. As if it were a tingling on my skin. Even though I wonder how I know what such tingling feels like, without memories....
No matter what I want to look at, I see it as if under a magnifying glass.
But what is a magnifying glass...? Okay, stop. I have to stop questioning how I know all this.
Let's just accept it for now. Otherwise, I'm not making any progress at all!
I know one thing for sure: My environment, the crystal cave, the crystals themselves, the earth, stones, plants and creepy crawlies everywhere in many meters around are a PART OF ME.
Actually this should creep me out.
Why?
Sighing, I shake my imaginary head.
No matter.
I just know it.
I don't have eyes in that sense. I just see everything that I AM. I feel everything that I AM. And I know that everything here is my body! So simple.
Everything within reach, as my body, extends several meters from the center of the crystal cave to outside the crystals that adorn the interior.
The entire cave and almost 10 meters around it of rock and soil are MINE. If I move my - fingers - somewhat...
...the earth thunders and moves, and small crystals fall down from the cave ceiling. A small quake is the apparent result.
Alright, maybe not such a good idea in case everything here collapses. I don't know if I'll survive that, and what will happen to my "body" then.
So I stop moving my "limbs" for the time being.
In the meantime, I prefer to continue looking around, watching the sparkling crystals as they seem to shine and glow from within themselves. Fascinating.
And then my gaze is drawn again to the only thing within my reach that feels somehow - familiar.
This body seems familiar to me, and also the robe interwoven with golden and silver threads, which the young man wears, are somehow vaguely familiar to me.
But why?
And what is this gold and silver spike that seems to be pinning the rigid body to the bottom of the crystal coffin?
Can I touch it? No harm in just trying it out....
A feeling like thousands, no, countless, feelers stretching out from all directions at once towards the large needle.
And when I touch the needle...
Nothing happens!
Wow, what a scam.
At least that's what I thought, until I suddenly notice a ringing in my non-existent ears!
-=-=-=-=-=-
New dungeon analyzed!
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Explanations for new dungeons with awareness will be provided by the origin and transmitted through the system....
-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-
Congratulations, Avan Leaf! By using the Dungeon Anchor, you were able to save your body at an extremely critical time and used it as a replacement for a Dungeon Core. By making this decision, your body can heal completely and eventually be replaced by a sub-core if the host so chooses. The time required for the body to fully heal and smoothly finalize any modifications by the host and alien bloodlines is: unknown.
-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-
The system now next transmits the basics that each dungeon receives with awakened consciousness....
-=-=-=-=-=-
Strange texts just pop into existence in front of me. Texts, which I understand however also directly without having to read it. As if it were projected at the same time also into my mind.
What the hell is that?
I have some memory fragments of such... systems. Something about books, stories, games that I vaguely know. Even though I haven't the faintest idea what the heck kind of games or books they are.
Where was I again? Argh, never mind.
So, systems. Something weird that forms a cornerstone to convert intangible situations and other things into numbers and texts to simplify them.
And apparently my name is Avan. Avan Leaf.
At least that's a start!
So I wonder if that is my real body there in the coffin? At least that was stated just now!
So I also have such a system as it seems?
No sooner I think of this strange "system", it appears again just like that in my thoughts.
-=-=-=-=-=-
After completing a - unknown - time, the host can detach his body as an anchor point and install a previously created sub-core in place if he wishes to keep the dungeon. If not, simply removing the dungeon anchor is enough and the entire dungeon built up to that point will simply collapse.
-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-
Basic tasks of a dungeon and the reason for their existence:
Dungeons were created by the system, and above it by the ORIGIN, as a necessity for evolutions and fixed dynamics of the world. Even if civilizations destroy themselves and cease to exist, even if diseases and conflicts destroy the inhabitants of this world, after a certain time, first one and then several new races will emerge through evolution and rise again through dungeons. Whether monsters, intelligent creatures, flora and fauna; all life originally came from dungeons. This is the true reason for the existence of dungeons. The origin wanted a managed system that is able to autonomously repopulate a world at any time. This includes the creation, breeding and evolution of life forms, as well as the filtering of mana and the creation of a suitable environment that allows these life forms to live smoothly.
Air to breathe, nutrients, knowledge, intelligence, independent thought, free will.
-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-
The Path as a Dungeon Architect that was picked for you:
Unlike the vast majority of other dungeons, which instinctively choose the path to be able to create creatures, the architect is able to master the language of magic to perfection if the dungeon so chooses and works towards it.
The dungeon architect is also not dependent on his creatures for creation, crafting, or other creative tasks, and can do everything himself at any time. Any material, blueprint, magic or normal item that the dungeon architect deconstructs can be learned and created afterwards. Change and experimentation are the life's work of an architect. There are no limits to what you can build or craft, no matter what form it takes.
However, a dungeon architect must provide a significant amount of mana to breathe life into creatures, as they come into the world with their own souls and memories, and will remember everything after respawn. Less mana is needed when a summoned entity has less intelligence and self-awareness and therefore acts more on instincts. An army of creatures will not be possible in this regard for now, as each summoned creatures must be shaped and created by hand at first.
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-=-=-=-=-=-
It is always important to note that no matter what path a dungeon takes, it grows and gains power through two things:
- Creation and destruction -
Destruction is the simplest and most brutal goal, as it simply involves the total annihilation of other intelligent lifeforms or simple matter in order to learn from and absorb some of the experience of everything that got dismantled.
Creation, on the other hand, means that the dungeon also learns and gains experience from helping other life forms evolve and participate in the process. Likewise, the creation of almost anything is an experiential gain and helps the dungeon grow.
While destruction means immediate growth and experience gain, this is a finite source since an annihilated life form naturally ceases to exist afterwards. In this respect, helping out lifeforms is less profitable, but can be used over and over again and brings more in the long run. The generation of new creations and items in this regard brings more, if new achievements and knowledge is obtained, while the repeated production of already learned things brings less experience with each time.
-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-
Experience is something not entirely tangible, but usually materializes in its purest form, soul energy. Similar to mana, soul energy can be harvested and compressed in the dungeon core. When enough soul energy is accumulated, the dungeon core (in this case the dungeon anchor, which is connected to the host's body) expands and grows, gradually unlocking new options and levels.
Even though the dungeon should have a large sphere of influence, it can only summon and manage limited rooms, levels, and creatures according to the dungeon rank. As the dungeon rises and advances, new options are unlocked and the existing ones are expanded.
The ranks are as follows, from weakest to strongest rank: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS.
At the F rank, for example, the dungeon has a limited amount of space. It can either arrange them all on one level, or spread them out over several levels. Each additional rank also allows you to create more dungeon bosses and assign them to a boss room, which intruders must clear before they can advance deeper into the dungeon.
However, as a dungeon architect, unlike the other path, the dungeon cannot leave any loot other than the bodies of the creatures for the victors. To place loot as a lure in the dungeon, dungeon chests and other loot options must be developed, thought out and distributed.
-=-=-=-=-=-
After I have absorbed this abundance of information in a few microseconds, my existence makes more sense to me.
I instinctively take another closer look at the crystals in the cave, and lo and behold, I finally get prepared and processed information!
[Mana Crystal of Earth]
[Mana Crystal of Fire]
[Mana Crystal of Water]
...
[Mana Crystal of Divinity]
[Mana Crystal of Blood]
[Mana Crystal of Dimensions]
...
[Mana Crystal of ???]
...
[Mana Crystal of ???]
Crazy...
And totally uninteresting for me at the moment!
Except this small, black-purple one, which is only sparsely available, arouses my interest MINIMALLY.
[Mana Crystal of Anti-Matter]
But even that somehow only interests me for a split second.
Short attention span, I'd say....
Well, what the hell. Back to the important things in life.
Because a dungeon doesn't build itself!
Especially this sad imitation of a dungeon, which I am supposed to represent here at the moment.
_=_=_=_=_=_
Dungeon Name: ?
Dungeon Rank: F
Soul strength: 1/100
Mana: 50/50
_=_=_=_=_=_
_=_=_=_=_=_
Available Creatures:
One-Horned Rabbit, Fox Beast.
_=_=_=_=_=_
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