Chapter 3 – A small room, A small pond
A dazzling orb of light suddenly shone amidst the darkness.
And with it, a consciousness awakes.
.
.
.
Vorxes
That was the first thing I thought of as I awoke. That is my name. I am now called Vorxes, one of the many children of Krad, the god of darkness. I am now freed from the world that I once knew. Although I feel some sense of relief knowing that fact, that was all I felt.
Dazzling light shone all around me. A light so blinding that the only thing I could see was white. I immediately realized I couldn’t close my eyes. I would have instinctively closed my eyes the moment I got blinded by the light. Trying to close my eyes, I could only feel the odd sensation that I didn’t have any eyelids.
Did I reincarnate into something without eyelids?
Barely seconds pass as I notice the sensation wasn’t just with my eyelids, but my whole body instead. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t feel a body, my body. And the only thing I could do was be blinded by the light.
Had I actually been reincarnated? Don’t tell something went wrong with my reincarnation? Or maybe Miss Victoria lied to me? But there wasn’t really any point to lie to me, is there? She could have done anything she wanted and I couldn’t have done a thing. Hehe. That wasn’t it. Then what could it be?
As I was pondering over my dilemma, the light slowly started getting dimmer and dimmer. Those few moments felt like hours had passed before the light finally settled down around an orb leaving the surroundings to return to the creeping darkness.
That must be the Dungeon Core, but what about my body then?
I looked around the area surrounding the glowing orb. At least I could see and look around somewhat. I couldn’t see past all the darkness though but apparently I am underwater looking at the area around me and the Dungeon Core. So I’m some sort of underwater creature?
No. That doesn’t seem to be the case. It couldn’t move and I couldn’t feel a body. Maybe I am the Dungeon Core? Hmn… I’m not that either. I swear if I reincarnated into some kind of rock, I know I’m a rather dull person but that is a bit of a stretch.
I inspected the orb in greater detail. The orb was about the size of an adult mans fist, how could I tell the size of it that I did not know, and it glowed a beautiful bluish purple hue. The patterns on the orb were so intricate that it reminded me of a kaleidoscope.
I suddenly felt a connection towards the orb.
The feeling got stronger and stronger as my mind felt like it was bursting.
Urk!?
From the orb an immense amount of energy came flooding into my soul. The pain coming from the sheer amount of energy would have resulted in me fainting normally, but my situation is anything but normal. I couldn’t emit any sound to express how much pain I was experiencing. I couldn’t do anything but endure the increasing agony.
A few moments pass before the pain finally subsided. I couldn’t think straight and my vision was blurry. Soon I began to see shimmering particles quickly forming into a blue screen in front of me. Words quickly began to form on the screen. The words were not from any written language I knew of, although I didn’t know the pattern of the written language but I was certain it wasn’t from earth. What’s more I could understand what was written in the screen.
[Initializing…]
Those words were not what I expected. It made it seems like this is some sort of computer program. Did the Demon Lords summon any programmers by any chance?
Then the screen brightened up as the words changed.
[Greetings, Dungeon Master Vorxes]
Is this preprogrammed or is this some sort of A.I. I wonder? Right, Miss Victoria said that the Dungeon Core can analyze and store information.
Dungeon Core, uh, do you have any idea what have I been reincarnated into?
[Analyzing…]
The core glowed brightly as it scanned the surroundings before responding to my question.
[Analysis: Dungeon Master Vorxes has been reincarnated into a Dark Pool.]
A what?
[Dark Pool is a rank F monster. It is an extremely rare subspecies of slime, in the category of oozes. It is believed that Dark Pools are oozes that became too diluted in a small body of water and turned into a different species altogether.]
[They cannot move locations unless the environment allows for such an action. They ambush small animals by changing their appearance into a normal pool of water and grab the unsuspecting that try to drink from it. They do not much strength to pull anything larger than a rabbit and their corrosive ability as oozes had weakened from being diluted making them a rather weak species of monster.]
[They do not require much sustenance to survive and have special enzymes that keep prey in a suspended state as they extract the sustenance they require. Victims are subjected to endless pain and torment to provide sustenance as they lay conscious but paralyzed deep within the Dark Pools body.]
So I’m an animal torturing pool of watery slime? Would a rock have been a better choice? At least golems were a possible outcome. I’m just basically a small body of water.
So I’m a Dark Pool, how can I see then?
[Searching databanks…]
[No results found.]
[Analyzing…]
[Inconclusive: Probable answer is magic.]
It wasn’t that important of a question anyways. Do I have a status like in a game, a numerical representation of my capabilities?Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
[Negative.]
[Although Ranks have a similar purpose they are not of a numerical nature. Ranks were created by the reincarnated and scholars to determine which missions’ adventurers can undertake through studies and examinations of monsters. The Demon Lords had also adopted these rankings and incorporated them into the A.I. of the Dungeon Cores with in depth knowledge of the monsters that the races of light do not possess.]
Miss Victoria didn’t mention anything about statuses as well. I remembered the first advice she said to me.
‘This is not some kind of game. You will die if you don’t take this seriously.’
I would die if I treated this like a game. It isn’t, I will need to kill in order to not get killed in turn. That was the most important advice she gave me.
It took me some time to collect my thoughts about everything that has happened.
Dungeon Core, can you illuminate the surroundings?
[Acknowledged]
The Dungeon Core got brighter. Not as bright as when it activated but more like a light bulb. I remembered that it was at the bottom of the pool.
I thought I didn’t have a body because I couldn’t feel anything, but it turns out that my body is just that of ooze and had diluted to the point that it became hard to notice. It took a while for me to get some control over my body and even more time to push the Dungeon Core up to the surface of the black water and keep it afloat. I was prepared to sink it down under in case I need to hide it again just to be on the safe side.
As the light reached the surface I got see the surroundings very clearly. It looked like a small underground cave, I think this is underground. Of course it is, this is a dungeon in the making. The walls are grey and damp. There are small stalactites and stalagmites all around the cave.
Dungeon Core, how large is this place?
The Dungeon Core started scanning the small cave before answering my question.
[Approximately 10 meters wide and 8 meters across, with the height of 4 meters]
To note, I am the small pool of water in the middle of the cave, although it is not noticeable but the pool is five meters deep.
So this is where I am going to live from now on, a stark contrast to Miss Victoria’s grand Castle. Well I need to start somewhere and I will be able to build something like that as well. I need to survive first to be able to do that though. I am going to be building my dungeon starting from this location, so I need to lay a solid foundation for it.
Dungeon Core what am I going to do to build the dungeon?
[Gather miasma to increase the size of the dungeon]
Oh, how do I gather miasma then?
[Newly born Dungeon Cores will gather miasma slowly over time. Increasing the size of the dungeon will also increase the ability to gather miasma and capacity to store it.]
And what is miasma exactly?
[Miasma is the combination of mana and oxygen. Leaving the core in an oxygen rich environment will allow it to convert mana into miasma and slowly accumulating it over time, but this process is accelerated with the presence of living beings that have mana in their bodies that are inside the dungeon, such as the elves and humans. Corpses can also be converted into miasma more readily through decomposition.]
Well other beings are not what I want inside the dungeon right now and those would provide the corpses too. How much mana do you have right now?
[Analyzing…]
[Current Mana: 4/100]
[1 Mana is accumulated every hour]
Judging from the current mana it has, I spent about four hours getting the control over my pool of a body and pushing the Dungeon Core up the pool. I didn’t even realize that that much time had passed, maybe it is due to the way my new body works?
How much mana does sculpting the dungeon use?
[5 Mana can be used to sculpt 1 meter by 1 meter of earth]
Creating the dungeon is going to take a long time waiting for all the mana needed to build it.
Finding out that I had so much free time on my hands I started asking the Dungeon Core a lot of questions about the dungeon.
From the questions that the core had answered the most surprising thing I found was that the dungeon is almost like a living being and the Dungeon Core is its most vital organ.
The dungeon cores’ primary ability is to collect and store mana from its surroundings, but mainly from the mana of the races that go inside the dungeon. The Dungeon Core converts the mana into a much denser form called miasma, this miasma is many times more concentrated than mana and is heavy enough to not disperse into the surroundings. And the dungeon acts as a storage space for this miasma to prevent it from escaping elsewhere.
Sadly, to create the miasma other than mana, large quantities of oxygen are needed. This required the dungeons to always have an opening to the surface. Somewhat like lungs or maybe plant photosynthesis.
As a newly formed Dungeon Core though, it did not require an opening by being small enough to sustain itself. I am roughly fifteen meters underground right now from the ceiling upwards with no opening to the surface. As the dungeon becomes large enough, a large opening would then be required. That means the moment the dungeon has a complete first floor it would have to have an opening large enough for a human to go through.
If the dungeon core can’t get oxygen for long enough then the death of the Dungeon Core would follow, which I find really weird for what is basically a rock. Luckily trying to block off a dungeon is near impossible and would require an astronomical amount of resources and time that it would not be viable.
I stopped asking questions when the Dungeon Core started pulsating in short intervals and began to pump out a bit miasma.
The miasma started eating away the soil surrounding the pool and the core until the small cave became a small sized cavern and the miasma slowly started filling it. The soil that remained became hard and no longer got corroded by the miasma; these became the walls for my Dungeon Core room.
After looking at the walls of the Dungeon Core room, I wondered what would happen to animals that get into contact with miasma. So I asked.
[Animals in contact with miasma will slowly become monsters if exposed for a long period of time or in large quantities and be under the control of the dungeon.]
That seems interesting. Are there any bats or insects in the cave?
[Negative. There are no creatures living in this cave. Scans suggest that this cave was created underground.]
The Core scanned the cave then responded to my question. So I have a clean start at what monsters will inhabit my dungeon. Looking at it now, it seems the Core is some sort of A.I. like I previously thought. How did the Demon Lords make the Dungeon Cores?
[Dungeon Master Vorxes is not authorized to know this information.]
Of course it is.
What if I create a small hole to the surface and attract small animals and insects. Would that work?
[Warning! Creating a hole to the surface would alert any nearby adventurers to the presence of the dungeon. Do not attempt this action!]
How? Why?
[200 years ago a reincarnated individual by the name of George Fargho of the human race created a device that could locate dungeons by their distinctive mana signatures. This invention has been spread and adopted by all the races and kingdoms.]
So it seems that I will have to create a dungeon first before any openings to the surface. That removes the option of using the local wildlife until I have a floor filled with monsters. Okay, how much mana does the core have now?
[Analyzing…]
[Current Mana: 10/120]
[3 Mana is accumulated every hour]
The amount of mana being gathered has risen. I hope it keeps rising because waiting days to be able to do something is pretty boring. One of the few things I miss in my old world was the technology and the wide selection of books to read. On the upside, being reincarnated into a Dark Pool has slowed down my sense of time considerably. Hours felt like minutes to me now.
I noticed that the capacity had also increased, probably because the cave got a little bigger when the miasma started eating at the soil.
How much mana do I need to reach the surface?
[It will require approximately 75 mana points to reach the surface. It is advised not to create any connection to the surface until the dungeon has a fully functional floor.]
I was just asking. I’m not stupid enough to endanger my chance to be able to make humanity learn to stop being a bunch of greedy and selfish animals.
[…]
No response. It seems that the Core A.I. is only capable of answering questions.
I’ll wait until the mana is nearly full before creating some rooms. In that time I am going to start thinking about how the design of the dungeon’s layout will look like.
I think I have an advantage over many of the other candidates in this area. I fully remember that I have the hobby of creating maps and games. From the earliest days where I was coding WarCraft 3 maps in its map editor, creating large terrain and structures in Minecraft just to pass the time and made an 8-bit rogue-like in the Unity game engine that had a decent following. Most of the other candidates were murderers and psychopaths, so I doubt they would have such hobbies as I do.
Miss Victoria also said that I could strengthen myself using the miasma the Dungeon Core gathers. So I let the Core A.I. examine my new body in greater detail as I waited for my mana to fill up. It did not take long before the examination was done.
What did the examination find?
[Dungeon Master Vorxes’ body has been thoroughly examined. The type of ooze that the pool is comprised of is of the corrosive species. It is found that using miasma Dungeon Master Vorxes can activate and strengthen the corrosive trait. There is also a chance for new traits to appear as the Dungeon Master gets stronger.]
Are there any side effects?
[Negative. Dungeon Master Vorxes’ body is made primarily from mana and negative energy. The constitution of the slime species also removes any possible negative side effects it may have.]
So I could use the miasma to strengthen myself without any worries.
[Affirmative, but the amount of miasma required to do so would delay the creation of the dungeon.]
Strengthening my body before opening the dungeon seems like a good idea, even if it means delaying the creation of the dungeon. Is there anything I need to know if I do so?
[Analyzing…]
[Dungeon Master Vorxes’ body can go without sustenance for a long period of time and that time will lengthen with the supplement of miasma. Aside from getting a late start than the other Dungeon Masters, there are no other found drawbacks to the suggested plan.]
Would having a late start against the other candidates be a bad move?
[Simulating scenario…]
[Other Dungeon Masters that open their dungeons will be hindered by the adventurers and races that will be sent to counter the sudden influx of dungeons. Opening the dungeon in a later period will allow Dungeon Master Vorxes to pass that time frame where the races are at their highest state of alertness. This is only possible due to the type of monster Dungeon Master Vorxes had reincarnated into the species Dark Pool.]
Hmn… so being a pool of water does have its advantages. I will take it slowly and get stronger. Also call me Master from now on, Dungeon Master Vorxes is too long, and maybe I’ll call you Sapphire as well.
[Acknowledged, Master]