> Certain dungeons can often produce materials unique to themselves. Take the dungeon 'The Rot' for example. It produces a deadly toxin that rots you from the inside out! How exciting is that!
>
> ...
>
> Attached is a System result returned from [Appraisal] of said toxin.
>
> Creeping Rot [Potion]
>
> Lethal poison produced by the dungeon 'The Rot'.
>
> It is colored a sickly green, and has a slimy texture.
>
> Causes your organs and extremities to slowly rot away.
>
> Bottled in a standard potion flask by Mage Gregory Poise.
>
> Duration: 10 minutes
>
> Volume: 250 ml
>
> — Research paper found in a room in a Mage's Guild sub-branch.
***
Being alive was complicated.
One moment there was nothing, and then poof, there was something.
More precisely, the "something" is a small clear crystal the size of a marble.
And thus, a dungeon core was born.
The core awoke with a sudden start, everything coming into view in their vision. Or, more precisely, their dungeon vision.
They frantically "looked" around the cave, their instincts kicking in, telling them of danger.
The core realized that it could see the whole cave. After double- and triple-checking every nook and cranny for danger, the core stopped panicking.
The core was in a tiny cave. It was a completely ordinary cave, with no entrance to speak of, just simply a bubble of air within layers of stone underground.
They accepted it as fact.
However, sitting in an empty cave with nothing to do was very dull. And soon, the young core's mind began to wander. They pondered various philosophical questions, such as "Who am I?" or "What is my purpose?"
After what seemed like an eternity, something finally changed. A blue panel popped up in the vision of the core. Somehow, they knew that the panel wasn't physical and only existed in their mind.
Universal Language Comprehension Package is injecting... Complete!
Common Words and Phrases Package v.17 injecting... Complete!
This is an automated message.
Welcome young dungeon! You must be experiencing some level of confusion right this moment.
There is a tutorial for dungeons to learn the fundamentals of being a dungeon. It is strongly recommended to accept the offer.
Now, time for the absolute basics.
You are a dungeon core, the heart of a dungeon. Your territory is your dungeon. Indeed, a dungeon doesn't have to be underground.
If you die, your dungeon dies as well.
There is a System that exists to define all things. You are part of that system as well.
You exist to provide a challenge to those who venture within your domain and to stabilize the mana of the world.
The core stared at the panel for a moment. Slowly, the coloured shapes upon it began to gain meaning. Or were they shapes? They were words, the core decided. Words. That sounded right.
Slowly, the core began to go through the information. Sure, they knew they were a dungeon core, but they didn't know what to do. Now they knew.
Instinctively, the core knew what mana was. It was a form of energy. It was as if the information had been engraved into his mind, which, according to the notifications about injection, wasn't far off from the truth.
After exploring his new-found knowledge for a moment, the core was more relaxed than ever.
However, there was one problem. The core didn't have an identity.
They didn't have names or personalities, which were common signs of identity.
After thinking on it some more, the core established themselves as female. Not for any particular reason. She just felt like it.
My name shall be Astrid.
Congratulations!
You have named yourself 'Astrid'!
However, other sapient beings may not call you this name, or even know of it.
Astrid felt happy at her efforts being recognized by the System. It didn't matter that others may not recognize her name. She was Astrid, the one and only!
After some more internal celebrating, Astrid was ready to move on. And on cue, the System summoned a new panel.
Tutorial
Would you like to begin the tutorial? Note: this is the only time you will be given the option to start the tutorial.
Yes/No
She selected Yes.
Tutorial (1/5)
You are a dungeon, as you probably already know. There are no rules to being a dungeon. You may be as kind as you like, or you may be the dungeon that summons archliches daily!
Regardless, you may shape your dungeon however you like.
That's nice to know, I guess. But I can imagine that if I do anything too disruptive, certain people will come and destroy me and my dungeon.
Tutorial (2/5)
Designating Rooms.
To designate a room, you have to picture your mana covering the area of your room and give it a name.
Your first room is likely to be your core room.
Following the instructions, she surrounded her tiny cave with her mana. "Core Room," she said to no one in particular.
Core Room
Core rooms are special rooms that house the dungeon core of a dungeon, usually at the end of the dungeon itself.
This particular core room is owned by the dungeon 'Astrid'.
A simple cave with the core sitting on the ground.
She noticed the personalized description at the end. I wonder... could I get the System to display personal information about myself?
Uh... Profile! Status! Personal Status!
Name: Astrid
Race:
Dungeon Core
Stats:
Level:
3
Mana:
19.5/20
units
Mana Regeneration:
2.5
units/min
Skills:
[Mana Sense]
[Mana Manipulation]
[Matter Manipulation]
[Dungeon Appraisal]
Titles: [Figured It Out On Your Own]
At the same time, a barrage of notifications assaulted Astrid's subconscious.
Congratulations, you have managed to bypass several steps of the tutorial!
For your efforts, XP has been awarded!
Title [Figured It Out On Your Own] gained!
Level Up! [1] => [2]
Level Up! [2] => [3]
Oof. That felt terrible.
Ignoring the notifications for now, she decided to investigate her Status.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The first thing of note was her mana. It was down by half a point, presumably from when she created her core room.
Next, she checked out the skills.
[Mana Sense]
Uncommon Skill.
Allows the user to sense mana around them, improving their ability to do so as their understanding improves.
I guess that's why I can "see" mana.
[Mana Manipulation]
Uncommon Skill.
Allows the user to manipulate mana around them, improving their ability to do so as their understanding improves.
Fairly straightforward, eh?
[Matter Manipulation]
Uncommon Skill.
A skill only available to dungeon cores, this is what allows dungeons to be made in the first place.
This skill allows for the complete manipulation of physical matter — as in creation, movement, and destruction — as long as the owner of this skill has seen this material before.
Wait. So I can —
Astrid cocked her metaphorical head and made a small bump rise from the stone floor. It was so easy that she almost had instincts guiding them. Now that she thought about it, mana manipulation was easy too. Was there something that made her good at that? She didn't know.
Slowly and methodically, she made a stone pedestal rise out of the ground beneath her core. Carefully, she added stone tendrils to lock her core in place.
Then, she made swooping changes to the rest of her core room. The walls and floor became smooth and flat, and the whole room got bigger as well. Intricate patterns carved themselves into the walls, and ornate stone pillars grew from the floor, supporting the room.
She suddenly felt exhausted. How was she so tired though? She eyed her Status and saw that her mana was down to single digits.
Ah. That was why.
Wondering whether the description changes automatically, she looked at her core room System window again.
Core Room
Core rooms are special rooms that house the dungeon core of a dungeon, usually at the end of the dungeon itself.
This particular core room is owned by the dungeon 'Astrid'.
A decorated room with an ornate stone pedestal in the middle, supporting the core atop. Several pillars support the room's structure, and simple patterns are carved into the walls.
Astrid was happy — though not surprised — when she saw the new description. The System had shown itself as an omnipotent being, after all. It wouldn't be unexpected for it to update things in real-time.
She moved on to her last skill.
[Dungeon Appraisal]
Uncommon Skill.
A skill only available to dungeon cores, this version of an improved [Appraisal] opts for the route of pure information.
Allows the user to identify objects and creatures.
Ooh! Does it mean I get to know what everything is? I mean, I guess I already know what they are, but who knows what a skill will show!
Astrid identified a pebble on the ground.
Pebble
A pebble.
It is blue-ish grey. A faint white vein splits it in half.
... Alright. It is a blue-ish grey pebble. Cool. I never knew that. Ah well. Maybe identifying something else would be better.
But then, a rush of information filled her mind. It was about all the information about the pebble, from where it got its colour, and how the vein came to be. And then, she knew what it was.
Huh.
She identified herself. Or, rather, her core.
Dungeon Core (Level 3)
A dungeon core is the heart of a dungeon and must be protected at all costs.
This particular core is colourless. It would seem like the dungeon doesn't have an affinity yet.
Owner: 'Astrid' the Dungeon
Once again, a rush of information filled her mind, though she was more prepared this time. it was about how a dungeon core was formed, and what material comprises her crystalline body.
Satisfied for now, she turned back to her status screen.
[Figured It Out On Your Own]
Rare Title.
A title that is given to those who have skipped a step or more of the tutorial.
Increases all XP gained by 10%.
What's XP?
XP
Hidden stat that determines your process to the next level.
That explains it. Now that I think about it, there was an XP-increased notification. That probably got me to Level 3.
After getting through all the new information, she returned to the tutorial.
Tutorial (5/5)
Make your first monster. Use the Creatures window to sort your creations.
A Schematic has been added to your Schematics window.
[Creatures].
An almost entirely blank window popped up before her.
Creatures None.
Well, I haven't made anything "living" yet, so that makes sense. Better to sort them out, however. I feel I'll be getting lots of things thrown in here soon.
She separated the window into several tabs — one for monsters, one for "critters," and one for plants.
After opening the Schematic window, she did the same thing. However, there was one key difference. There was a schematic already there.
Schematics Monsters: Basic Slime
Is that the schematic the tutorial said about adding? Probably, seeing as it's called a "Basic" Slime.
She focused on the words.
Would you like to view this schematic as a recording, text, or both?
Both.
Instantly, the scene of how to make a basic slime played out in her mind, and yet another window appeared.
Schematic for "Basic Slime"
Step 1: Establish a stasis field to prevent mana interference around where you will be creating your slime. To do this, simply focus on an as large area as possible with the concept of "Stop" or something similar.
Step 2: Gather any gaseous material into a small sphere, and at the same time, feed a roughly equal amount of mana into it until it feels "full".
Step 3: Wrap your slime material in layers of mana and traces of solid material, creating a membrane to hold it.
Step 4: Release your stasis field, and drop your slime onto the ground. Make sure to test the strength of the membrane.
Step 5: Imbue the slime with the spark of your life.
From the description, she deduced that making a slime requires much more mana than, say, making a bump in the floor. And looking at her still-low mana reserves, she decided to wait a while until her mana is full again.
(Did you think it was going to end here like in Dungeon Core Chat Room? Well, no! So don't leave!)
--- A not-very-pretty divider ---
Astrid was ready to begin. Her mana was full, and her mind was devoid of distractions.
First, she created a stasis field like in the instructions. By focusing on her room, and yelling "Stop!" in her mind to the mana, she saw the swirling mana in her room calm and eventually still. Or as still as she could make it. She could still see tiny flows of mana slowly moving throughout the room, but she hoped that it wouldn't be too big of a deal.
Then, she gathered a small amount of gas into a small sphere, while feeding it mana simultaneously. Following the live instructions in her mind, she stopped it at around the 25 cm mark. She continued feeding it mana until she couldn't do it anymore.
The gas had almost become like a liquid, which from the description of a slime, was pretty accurate. It faintly trembled from tiny vibrations in the air.
She used more mana mixed with faint amounts of rock to form layers around the slime. She wrapped the layers around the slime, forming a membrane.
Now for the moment of truth. She released her stasis field, and the slime flopped down to the floor, and didn't break!
Poking and prodding the tiny thing with wonder, Astrid felt a sense of pride. She had made this!
And time for the final step.
While the text instructions were suitably ambiguous, the recording was not. She carefully took a piece of her life force and put it into the slime.
Almost immediately, something seemed to change. The slime began to gain more cohesiveness as it "stood up" slightly, in its slimy way.
And then, the slime started hopping across her core room and bouncing off her walls.
Astrid observed the slime, shooting an [Appraisal] at it to see what she can deduce.
Basic Slime
A basic slime. It is not much of a threat to anything, though a horde of it might be slightly more dangerous.
Often a dungeon's first monster.
Created by 'Astrid' the Dungeon.
This slime is colourless and part see-through. It is fairly small.
Suddenly, and perhaps disappointingly, she found out that its internal structure was very simple. Though I bet that's why they are often the first monster created by a dungeon.
Distracting her from her thoughts, she found a pair of notifications flashing at her.
Tutorial
Congratulations, you have finished your tutorial! May the rest of your life as a dungeon be fruitful!
You may now choose an elemental affinity.
Note: This choice cannot be reverted, and is permanent once you have chosen.
Choose your elemental affinity
Fire:
Greatly improved ability to control Fire. Slightly reduced ability to control Water.
Water:
Greatly improved ability to control Water. Slightly reduced ability to control Fire.
Earth:
Greatly improved ability to control Earth. Slightly reduced ability to control Air.
Air:
Greatly improved ability to control Air. Slightly reduced ability to control Earth.
Any 2 Elements:
Improved ability to control any 2 elements of your choice. Slightly reduced ability to control the opposite 2 elements.
All Elements:
Slightly improved ability to control all elements.
After viewing the list for a moment, Astrid began to consider her options.
Well, first off, All Elements is gone. It only slightly increases the ability to use all of the elements. I don't even know if I'll like the other ones! Speaking of the other ones, Water is off the list too. It's just too... not permanent. Too malleable. The same goes for Air too. I just don't like that they are so conforming, always moving. I want to make something permanent, real. Earth would probably be nice for that. But I also feel that Fire would be a good pick too. A large part of Fire is its destruction, to clear the way for growth.
Why don’t I just pick both?
It was decided then.
I pick Fire + Earth.
Congratulations, you have obtained the title [Fire + Earth]!
[Fire + Earth]
Rare Title.
A title given to dungeons who have the elemental affinities of Fire and Earth.
In her mana vision, her core exploded with vibrant colours, and slowly the mana seemed to be absorbed into the core.
Visually, her core was the colourless gem no longer! It was covered with swirls of brown and red and seemed to be glowing brighter.
And then it was done. She was a real dungeon now, out of her infant phase. She could do whatever —
You have learned all the basic tasks of being a dungeon!
Joining local chat group Chat Group 1547…
Eh?