The Dungeon's Side
Total darkness is all that could be seen in the area, and the only sound is the slow and steady drip, drip, drip of water, one drop at a time.
Where am I? What time is it? How much did I drink last night? It was last night, right? Hang on. I don't even drink!
I tried to get up only to realize I can't feel any part of my body, nor can I move anything, not even my mouth to speak...
What the hell is going on?! This is so a “I have no mouth, and I must scream!” situation! If this is some kind of prank, doping me with some kind of paralytic agent and then leaving me to stew for a while, there's going to be all sorts of hell to pay! … At least I hope it's a prank, because that's the best case scenario! Wait, what's this blinking in the corner of my vision?
System Message: Welcome to the new world, Traveler. The method by which you came to this world is unknown, but your body did not survive the voyage. As such, I provided you the best match possible, and available, to fit your unique talents and abilities. You are a dungeon core and currently in a cave. Please focus on “Status” to bring up your menu of options.
Okay. This is really out there, it's like one of those “isekai” novels that are all the rage these days. System, God, Goddess, Whoever, I pray this is going to be one of those “slow burn” or “slice of life” stuff.
I'm not keen on the idea of constant (or nearly so) fights to the death and then being “rewarded” with a harem of lovely ladies that I can never lay my hands on, because... NO HANDS!! Well, let's see how this is going to turn out. STATUS
STATUS:
Race: Dungeon Core Age: 0 Years.
Gender: N/A (Identifies as Male)
Location: A mountain cave somewhere on the continent of Makarios.
Please choose what kind of dungeon you will be.
WARNING: Choice is irreversible.
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) Monster Spawn Point
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) Labyrinth Generator
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) Esoteric
Monster Spawn Point: This immobile dungeon defends itself from enemies by generating monsters from an interior catalog at the price of MP. Dungeon receives a portion of the EXP from the kills of its generated monsters. WARNING: This type of dungeon, if discovered, is universally marked as a target of subjugation and destruction.
Labyrinth Generator: This immobile dungeon defends itself from intruders by using MP to build/expand malevolent architecture that kills via traps, challenges, and puzzles, rewarding those who overcome the challenges with treasure, thus luring in other challengers.
Esoteric: Dungeons of this type can fit in either of the above categories, both, or neither. In exchange for limited mobility, these types of dungeon cores do not come with a preset library of either monsters or structures and materials and must acquire blueprints from their environment by analyzing and dismantling whatever they come across and then building from said blueprints by using materials in storage or consuming MP.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Well. This is a no brainer. The first two offer huge initial advantages, yes, but if someone, or a group of someones, finds my core, I won't be able to run or hide and that's all she wrote, especially as the first outright warns me that I'll be an enemy of the world at large. So Esoteric it is.
System, I choose Esoteric.
System: Confirm. Esoteric Type Dungeon, Yes or No.
YES!
System: Acknowledged. Initializing Esoteric Core.
STATUS:
Name: TBD. Age: 0 Years old
Race: Traveler, Esoteric Dungeon Core
Gender: N/A (Identifies as male)
Level: 1. EXP: 0/100
HP: 30/30 MP: 3000/3000
Boss Monster: NONE (MAX: 1)
Available Blueprints: NONE
Available Materials: NONE
Available Abilities: Language Comprehension, Appraisal, Analysis, Synthesis.
Language Comprehension: (Passive) The System will try to interpret and translate any spoken or written language into a form the user can comprehend.
Appraisal: (Active) The user will gain comprehensive knowledge regarding the target of the skill. 30 MP per use.
Analysis: (Active) The user will deconstruct the target into its base components which are then stored in an alternate dimension and will attempt to acquire blueprint(s). This ability can not be used on living beings without the being's fully informed consent. Range: 3 meter radius around the user. Cost: Special.
Synthesis: (Active) The user will choose an available blueprint to consume materials from storage or MP in order to construct something. Cost: Special.
Well, maybe I should have given it more thought. No going back now! Let's test this [Analysis] skill and try grabbing everything in a dome above me with a 3m radius.
You have acquired the blueprint “water”, collecting Hydrogen and Oxygen.
You have acquired the blueprint “rock”, collecting Silicon, Oxygen, Carbon, and trace minerals.
You have acquired the blueprint “guano”, collecting Potassium, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Sulfur, and trace elements.
You have acquired the blueprint “Giant Vampire Bat” from several corpses. Various sub-blueprints acquired from the internal organs, materials, and other components.
You have acquired the sub-blueprint Potassium Nitrate.
You have acquired Iron, Copper, Magnesium, Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Titanium from various ore veins.
From the surrounding air, you have collected Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, and trace gasses.
You Have Leveled Up (X5)!
From the monsters' memories, you have gained a rough outline of the cave's topography and exit.
Would you like to set the monster “Giant Vampire Bat” as your Boss Monster? Yes or No.
No. I only get one, and it had better be something, or someone, special. For now, let's use my “limited mobility” to navigate these caves and get out of here. Maybe find civilization and acquire some more blueprints along the way?
It took a few hours to navigate the maze of tunnels in this cavern and make it to the entrance, especially since my only method of locomotion is building a little incline to roll me forward and destroying it before the next one rolls me too far away, and what I found along the way was not promising. There were various abandoned/broken mining tools and skeletal corpses in rags and chains along the way.
It seems I'm in a mine that uses slave labor and isn't too concerned about the well-being of said slaves, but I'll withhold judgment until I learn more. Maybe the slaves were heinous criminals, like brigands, and deserved their fate, maybe not. Of course, I used analysis on them all, but they were too far gone to get any blueprints from the corpses and barely got the blueprint “wood” from the broken handles of some pick-axes, but the materials such as Iron and Calcium are always welcome.
By the time I made it out of the cave and into the main mining encampment, it was late at night, and the only way I could “open” doors was by deconstructing them, so places where people were going to be obviously stationed were off the table. I set my sights on what looked like a run-down stable. Looks like they communicate over long distances by pony express? Well, I rolled my way over to investigate and what I found would horrify me, if I could still feel horror...