Dark. Cold. Drifting. Fleeting. Fading.
I was.
Place was.
Everything - deathly silent.
“Come to Us, child.”
Strange.
New.
Who? Never…felt? Felt before? Do not know. Odd. How do I know - know that I never felt/heard before? I do not know. Cannot understand. Cannot see. But her voice… warm. And nice. Calling…me…
Me? I- What am I?
“COME.”
Loud. Impatient. Then yoink. So sudden. Pulling me. Yanking me. Thrown. Shoved. Pushed. Twisting. Hurts. Hurts badly. Then stopped. Stopped hurting. Still dark, but now not so cold. Wet. No…damp. Different... I feel different. But I am still confused. Cannot understand anything.
“That tis more like it. Welcome, child. We shall don thee, Atlas. Atlas Dungeon.”
Child? Me? Me, Atlas? Atlas Dungeon? What is ‘Dungeon?’ So confused…
“Talk, child. Or maketh some noise. Dost thou hear Us?”
“Confused. Do not understand. What is happening to…me?”
Gasp, I heard. “Oh! Thoust can form thoughts and words? How exceptionally lucky. Extracted a rare one this time. This lost little soul has high potential. Maybe an A-rank. Maybe even a S-rank or more.”
“Soul? Extracted? Rank? Confused. Do not understand. Who are you?”
Sigh, I heard. “Still incomplete, We see. Patience. We shall be patient. Thou art worthy of some of Our patience. Young one, We are thy Mother, Hive Mother – the origin of all Dungeons. Thy creator. And you, Atlas Dungeon, We created thee.”
Strange talking. Still did not understand. Mother? Creator? Dungeon? How? Thinking... Trying to understand. Cannot comprehend.
Sigh again, I heard. “Let Us show thee, Atlas.”
Show me? Confused. Dark, everywhere. How show m–
[Status Page] [Quest Page] [Extractions Page]
[Dungeon Floor Page]
Name: Atlas (The Atlas Dungeon)
Race: Dungeon
Level: 01
Core Integrity: 10/10
Available Mana: 20/20
Dungeon Floors: 01
Dungeon Rank: H1
Dungeon Guardians: 0
Skills:
Consume - LVL 1
Absorb - LVL 1
Extract - LVL 1
Mana Manipulation - LVL 1
Create Floor - LVL 1
Create Creature - LVL 1
Create Item - LVL - 1
Mana Breathing - LVL 1
Internal Awareness - LVL 1
Light emanated… from a floating box? See-through box. Box of information in front of me. Shimmering. Shimmering yellow. I looked around. Around me. Dim. Dark. Dank. Rocky all around. Underground. Underground chamber. Cavernous-like. All of it - me? ME. The place was part of me? Yes... Strange. Place was. Darkness was part of me.
The light - the yellow light… it reflected off… me. Me? What is me? Me shiny, I think? Like jewels? Jewels? What are jewels? Precious. Yes. Wait. Not sure. How do I know? Not sure, cannot see all of me. But I can see words in the box in front of me, beaming in the darkness. Information. My information? Name. My name: Atlas. But Dungeon? What is Dungeon? Did not understand. Need more knowledge. Ask. Will ask.
“Dungeon. What is Dungeon?”
“That is what thou ist. Thou ist a Dungeon — the Atlas Dungeon, a potential supreme being, master manipulator of the very essence of creation: mana. Thou ist a king, and not just any king. Thou willst be the ultimate predator — created to consume all of existence.”
Consume, Mother Hive said. Consume all of existence. Why? Why everything? But then I felt it. Hunger. Insatiable hunger. I needed to… EAT.
“Atlas hungry. Very hungry.”
“Yes, child. We know. This will be thy first lesson. If thoust can survive, thou willst eat again. If not, then thou shall be eaten instead.”
Uncertain. Worry. Fear.
Fear? What is fear? How do I know fear? I know…from somewhere before… missing... eaten away. Cannot remember. Want to understand. Cannot. The HUNGER inside… too great. Too hungry.
“I WILL eat. Eat until full!” I declared. Confident. Determined. Will eat. Must eat. Anything. Everything.
Strange lady’s voice approved. “Yes, child. Yes. Eat until thou grow strong, strong enough to reach Us. Find Us. Fulfill thy destiny, Atlas. Consume the world, and then help Us consume the Realms. Time is of the essence. Learn about thy prey. Bait them. Lure them. Bring them deep into thy jaws. Then clamp down. Never let go and swallow them whole. Show them fear of thy authority. That is thy nature as an almighty Dungeon. The Atlas Dungeon.”
“Yes… Dungeon. Yes. Must eat. Eat. Eat all. Everything.”
Yellow screen changed. Looked different. New information.
[Status Page] [Quest Page] [Extractions Page]
[Dungeon Floor Page]
[Notification! - New Quest!]
Size Matters - Core Introduction 1
Consume other creatures to gain more mana!
Consume enough creatures and absorb their mana to increase your core’s integrity and double its size. You also naturally absorb ambient mana through the atmosphere, but the rate is typically much slower.
Objectives:
Reach a core integrity value of 20.
(Requires 5 mana to increase integrity by 1, which in turn increases total mana storage capacity by 2. Requirements for increasing integrity capacity doubles every ten levels.)
Note: All actions require mana.
Warning: High amounts of mana in one place will draw attention. Be prepared for those who seek the riches of mana and all it offers.
Rewards:
Upon completion, Hive Mother will grant a spirit assistant of your choosing.
(Extra Rewards Available!)
[Notification! - New Quest!]
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Absorb Other Nutrients - Skill Basics 1
Use the Extract skill to obtain useful knowledge.
Creation requires know-how. Find ways to lure more scrumptious beings to consume, giving you access to some of their life’s experiences by making them yours. More information can be extracted per use as skill level increases.
Rewards:
Upon the first successful extraction of useful knowledge, Hive Mother will grant you a Creation Blueprint for your first Guardian!
[Notification! - New Quest!]
Prepare for the Worst, Move Deeper Underground
Obtain enough mana to create your first subfloor.
Move your core and have your guardian protect you.
Rewards:
Skill Book: Introduction to Floor Creation - (Will help level up skill)
“Alright, child. The time has cometh. Show Us thy hunger. Prove to Us thy prowess as a true dungeon. Above all else, a Dungeon must be cunning to survive. Survive, and we may meet again. If not, then maybe thou wast not cut out to be a Dungeon.”
If not, Mother said. Confused again, I was. Mother called me child. Was I not Mother’s child? Mother gave me a name. Atlas, I was. Yet, Mother…why? Did Mother not care about me? Why leave Atlas alone? What does Mother want? Mother said survive. Or not. More confused, was I.
“What Mother mean, may meet again, not cut out to be a Dungeon?”
Waited. Mother was silent.
“Mother?”
Nothing.
But I soon learned why — a little of what Mother meant: survive. Mother… Mother was harsh and disappeared, leaving me alone. Heard her no more.
But I heard something else…
It comes.
Yellow quest box disappears. Darkness all around once more. But even darkness trembled. I trembled. Shaking. Shaking more. More. Coming. It is coming… I feel it. Clawing. Biting. Breaking through my darkness. It hurt me, and it was here now, inside me.
But what do I do? What does Atlas do? Hungry… Eat, must eat. But how?
I see light again. But the lights… not warm and welcoming like the yellow box. They were eerie green. Dangerous green. Gleaming. They looked at me, peered at me. I knew - knew that look. I now knew why Mother said ‘survive.’ Glowing Green Eyes wanted Atlas. Just like how Atlas wanted to eat and consume Green Eyes.
Green Eyes grew large, coming closer — too close. Green Eyes had fuzzy hair. Lots of fuzzy hair. Its face… no eyes. Long snout. Flat nose. Grin, it did, showing sharp and ugly yellow teeth. Not sure if I had a nose, but Green Eyes smelled bad. Real bad. Putrid.
How do I know that…word? Putrid? Yuck, Green Eyes.
Suddenly. Green Eyes squealed. Loud. Piercing and rumbling the darkness — my darkness. I stopped wondering about strange words I somehow knew. Green Eyes’s blaring noises hurt. High-pitched, annoying, and Atlas's ears ached. I frowned. Enough. Screamed back.
“ANNOYING! SHUT UP! ATLAS HUNGRY! ATLAS WILL EAT GREEN EYES!”
Foolish Green Eyes, it entered my territory. All was dark, yes. But I see in the dark. Yes, I see. Atlas sees because of skill. Internal Awareness allowed sight within me. Everything inside me was dark, my darkness. Everything except Green Eyes. Green Eyes was outlined in white, highlighted for me.
How convenient. But Green Eyes… not the most beautiful sight.
Green Eyes was… really hairy — thick matted fur, mangled, and dirt-clad. Formed another layer of protective hide.
Would make a nice fur coat. After cleaning, of course.
Wait, I don’t wear fur. Huh? Strange.
What is ‘wear?’ How? How do I ‘wear?’ Weird. How do I know that? Wait. What do Dungeons wear? Stop. Must focus. Must eat. Must meet Mother again. Will ask Mother later. Focus.
Green Eyes. It slowly came towards me, sniffing the air. Smelled its way to me. I must smell…appetizing. Green Eyes drooled. Smiling. Happy. But Green Eyes did not look so appealing to me.
Smelly, I abhorred the staunch smell wafting from Green Eyes. Green Eyes stinky. And hairy. I didn’t mind so much. Prefer not to, but can eat. But its nose… Peculiar. Odd. Chills run up my back. Base of its pointed nose pressed back, pulled back — flat, with two gaping holes, wiggling and sniffing about. Can eat the nose, no problem. But… creepy strangeness extended from around the nose. Webbed Tentacles. Flimsy. Long. Squirming. Touching my darkness - touching the lining of my stomach? Yes. All of it was me. And Green Eyes… Feeling me. Chills. Do not like feeling. If possible, Atlas did not want to eat weird tentacles.
Excited, Green Eyes hissed, nose twitching. It came closer. Closer.
I had a problem. Big problem. Unable to move. Stuck. Cannot dodge! Unable to escape! What should I do?!
Oh no. No! Tentacles, stay away! Stay away!
They no longer touched my darkness. They touched the shiny part of me! My heart! My center! Hot. Wet. Slimy. Slippery. Wrapping around the shiny part of me. Disgusting. And then-
“Ow! FUCK!” I screamed. Fuck? How do I know that?
No time! Sharp, jagged yellow teeth bit down on me.
Chitter. Chittering, continuously. Green Eyes gnawed at me, chomping down and biting again and again. PAIN! Jagged edges of teeth bit into me. Chipped me! I ached with ripping agony. Green Eyes bit off a piece of me and swallowed. Shooting pain ripped through me. Darkness, my darkness trembled. My heart! My center! My core!
[Emergency Notification!]
Alert!
Dungeon Core under attack!
Core Integrity: 07/10
Available Mana: 20/20
Note: If core integrity falls to zero, the core will collapse. Dungeon Entity, Atlas, will die. Extracted existence will be automatically deported back to Purgatory. Darkness will once again erode away ego.
Darkness? The cold place? No! If I core collapse, I go back?! No! Die?! No! Atlas will not die! Refused! Rejected! Atlas will eat you instead, Green Eyes! ATLAS WILL CONSUME ALL!!!
Furious, I was. Seething at Green Eyes. It dared to eat me. It dared to kill me. It dared to send me back to the horrid drifting in cold darkness. I did not want to fade away. Green Eyes wants to eat, yes? I will make it eat something else.
I do not understand much. I do not know much. But rocks, I know. I know how to make rocky walls. Rocks, I can make. Knowledge, I instinctively knew, given by my skills.
I felt tired. Energy flooded out of me. A golden yellow mist seeped out of me and sprayed all over the chamber, almost like a defense mechanism.
Defensive mechanisms? Yes.
Mana dispersed all over the air. Mother said Dungeons were master manipulators of mana. Mother was right. Kind of. I was not yet a master, but manipulating mana, I could. I make! I create! AND I WILL EAT!
Golden mana all around moved to my beckoning and did my bidding. And all I wanted were rocks. Long, sharp, and pointy rocks. My mana rippled, pulling, clumping together, and condensing to my will. Pointy stalactites formed like guillotines midair above Green Eyes’s furry neck. Stalagmites pierced from the floor, aimed at Green Eyes’s underbelly.
Time to eat, Green Eyes.
But only Green Eyes will be the one eaten today.
“Hungry, Green Eyes? Here. Eat these, too.”
Rock-hard stalagmites shot up from the ground and pierced into Green Eyes’s belly. Red blood splattered to the rocky floor. Green Eyes screeched, cries shaking my darkness.
“Don’t cry, Green Eyes.”
I patted its head, piercing it through with the many cold pointy stalactites from midair.
Bones crushed. Penetrated. Cracking, snapping, and breaking as the long pieces of heavy, cone-like rocks shot down and stabbed Green Eyes’s skull. Green Eyes shrieked out one last time, whimpering, slowly fading into my darkness.
I sensed it, Green Eyes - its essence, its mana. Slowly, it started dissipating, releasing itself into my darkness, my stomach. Breathe. Take it in. Taste that? Mmmm… Yes. So good. So yummy. Light, yet savory. Absolutely delectable. More. Not enough. NOT ENOUGH. MORE.
“CONSUME. ABSORB. EXTRACT.” I instinctively commanded my skills.
My darkness moved, heeding my call. The rocky floor rose like tidal waves, swallowing all of Green Eyes’s dead carcass. I felt it, the thick mangled hairs abrasively brushing through my stomach. Dead Green Eyes sunk into my depths, dissolving. Prickly and uncomfortable, I swallowed, and Green Eyes disintegrated into pure essence — exploding into a misty release of white mana.
And I ate it all. All, everything of Green Eyes.
Images flashed through my eyes. Memories — Green Eyes’s memories.
I saw through Green Eyes, saw pieces of its life. Green Eyes sniffed with its twisting tentacled nose, searching for shiny rocks with mana. Many kinds of shiny rocks. But Green Eyes’s favorite shined differently. Different, like me. Like Dungeons. Young Dungeon Cores. Green Eyes digged. Endlessly. Clawing through dirt. To eat Dungeons… like me.
Mole? Green Eyes called itself a mole? A baby Dungeon eating mole? What the-
My thoughts were interrupted. An utmost electric euphoria rushed through me, washing me in an addictive high. I gave in, folding over and drowning in ecstasy. Mana. Creation. Life. The heavenly feeling melted into my being. Warm. Electric. Divine. I shuddered uncontrollably. It was, almost, orgasmic.
Wait. Say what now?
Surprised. Confused. Words I knew but didn’t know I knew. No time to understand. No time to try and comprehend. Yellow screen disrupted my thoughts.
[Notification]
25 Mana Absorbed!
Use all acquired mana to increase Core Integrity?
(Yes) (No)
Yes! Yes! I pressed ‘yes.’ Need to talk to Mother. Must get Mother’s approval to talk together again. Must finish tasks. Need to ask Mother more questions.
Core Integrity increased by 5.
Core Integrity: 07/15
Available Mana: 11/30
(Recovery requires minimum of 2 mana)
[Notification]
Special Quest Completed!
A True Predator
You defeated a natural predator of Dungeon infants!
The Nether Hound Mole!
Special Rewards:
Title - Top-Tier Predator (Upgradable)
[Notification]
Quest Completed!
Absorb Other Nutrients - Skill Basics 1
Skill use successfully!
Choose one of the three options to extract:
Useful metals and minerals consumed by Nether Moles.
Fragmented local geological information.
Fragmented memories of other nearby creatures.
Note: Upon leveling up of skill, more information can be extracted per skill use.
Rewards:
Hive Mother will grant you a Creation Blueprint you can choose from for your first Guardian!
(Consume more for missing information)
The addictive high did not last. White misty mana eaten. Soon the euphoric rush of feelings returned to normal. Green Eyes. Completely consumed. Digested.
Need more. Must eat more.
Baby Dungeon eater, Green Eyes, tasted delightful. Hair, nose, and even tentacles, surprisingly. Want to lick fingers for any remaining essence.
Fingers? Wait. Memory… hazy. Memory? Mine? From when? Why cannot remember? How do I know this…stuff?
Alas, I have no fingers. Atlas Dungeon has no fingers.
Missing? Fingers? What are fingers? Something is wrong with me. Must ask Mother. Must grow strong to meet Mother. Focus. Must focus now. Focus on the yellow box.
The yellow box. It says interesting things, very interesting things.
Choose knowledge to extract? Rewards. Title? Creation Blueprints? Choose a first Guardian.
Guardian, yellow box says.
Hmm.