I am in a cave of sorts. The room is pitch black, and yet I can see in perfect clarity. I also have the strangest sensation; not only can I see fine, I feel as though I can see from everywhere in my body, the walls, and the air around me. The sensation of seeing from everywhere at once is both headache inducing and completely natural. The first thing I notice, however, is my... body? floating in the centre of the cave. I am a rich, opalescent stone, in the form of a jagged, unshaped rock. Despite the lack of light, colours, in my vision, appear to shimmer across my white surface, from reds to greens, and even black surfaces from my depths.

Taking stock of my surroundings, I know that the cave is domed, with a height of two meters, and a diameter of four. I, a foot tall and 3 inches wide on average crystal, am floating in the centre of the floor, halfway between it and the peak of the dome, slowly rotating. The walls are rough, jagged and unsmoothed like my own crystal, made of a dark grey, granite-like rock.

A primal urge bubbles up from my subconscious; not dissimilar to hunger, but still decidedly different to it. Letting it take the wheel, so to speak, I sense a wave of something flow towards my crystal. Not anything physical, but entirely present all the same. It condenses in my core, filling up something inside my body with whatever the something is, in a more concentrated, but still gaseous? like form. Then, it blasts out through my core, filling the cave with the something which is subtly different from what it was originally, and condensing itself into a flat screen in front of me;

Dungeon Status Level 1 World Core Name : Alex Lamont Mana : 0/10 Influence : 17m^3 Floors : 1 Rooms : 1 Skills Presets Monsters

So... I'm a dungeon. Or a world core, whatever, but I figured that shit would stay in online fiction back home, and not come out into the real world. Then, the something from earlier was probably the ambient mana from the world, and if this follows the standard dungeon rules from webfiction, the difference in it when it was re-released was refined mana from me, which is what allows me to claim area, and what limits the amount of stuff I can claim, as I cannot claim more than what my ambient mana can handle.

Well, if I'm a dungeon, I guess I should expand, and create some more space for myself? So, I focus, and try to drill into the wall one the... um... right side? this is awkward when you are a crystal that sees from every angle and has no point of reference. But, nothing happens. Something moves at... an edge of the dome. turning my perspective around, I see a small figure, boredly tapping the floor.

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"Oh, so you've finally decided to notice my existance, have you," came from the small, fairy-like figure, "Seriously, I know dungeons want to be dungeons, but have considerations for others too!" She throws her hands into the air. "This one is going to be annoying, I know already..." at this she kicks the floor, seemingly exasperated.

'Uh, can you hear me?' I ask, trying to imagine projecting my voice at the figure.

"Oh, so it even deigns to speak! How honoured I am!" she scathingly returns.

'Sorry, I just got a bit caught up in the whole 'I just came out of the abyss of death into a dungeon core WTF is my life' train of thought. For some that's a bit... surprising, believe it or not!' I retort 'Anyway, who are you, and how did you get into this completely sealed room?'

"Bodies of pure mana can get into places surprisingly well, and there is also the fact your mana summoned me. All world cores like you call a dungeon fairy like me, a privilege not afforded to an ordinary dungeon, you should be thankful!"

'Ugh, thanks, I guess, and also, what is different between a world core and an ordinary dungeon? World core certainly sounds like the more epic name, but since I don't control a planet, I don't get it'

"What rock did you move out from under? A world core is a dungeon core created with a formerly living soul, with the potential to eventually split from it's origin planet and form it's own, a dungeon planet. Doesn't everyone know this? It's standard education in almost every corner of the multiverse!"

'Well, where I came from, there wasn't even mana, it was just the mark of fiction, so that's probably why!' I sharply reply to the fairy, before going back to what I was doing before, trying to expand my dungeon. No matter what I try to do, using my imagination, focus, or whatever, nothing changes, the wall remains, well, as solid as a rock.

"Ahem! Before you can access dungeon features, you must select your starting race. Don't worry, as you are a world core, you can assimilate external creatures into your dungeon, and select further races down the line; However, as you are a world core, it is expected you become as independent as possible in that regard, by creating your own races and evolutions, without the influence of the system; you must create a whole world after all!" She 'patiently' explained to me. "Would you like to choose now, oh mighty world core?"

'Fine, let's get this over with, what can I choose from, oh wonderous fairy?' And at this the fairy brings the list into my vision;

Starting Races Slimes Elementals Goblins Kobolds Undead Demons Animals Lizards Serpents Plants Aquatic Avian Golems Insects Magmatic