The universe has conspired to make my life as miserable as possible. I can’t catch a break!

One moment I was minding my own business and casually collecting some new animals for my home and the next, a wagon caravan is trampling over my front lawn!

If that was all, I’d have no right to complain. Naturally, it wasn’t; the group of humans decided to stop and unload a bunch of supplies at a distance of 75 m from my dungeon in the direction of the river which is itself 200 m away from me in the direction opposite to the volcano.

Having people nearby is going to seriously hinder my operations. It’s fortunate that I’d already managed to catch some new animals in my traps before these people arrived, but the variety is not yet up to snuff. I’m going to have to halt that project while these people remain camped here.

I’m going to do a thing.

It may get me killed.

The wizard fuzzy-cave-guy who had noticed something suspicious about me was able to detect my dungeon somehow. Was he sensing my ambient mana, or something else?

I need to find which of the following things sapients can detect; my dungeon domain, or the ambient mana produced by my wildlife. The only way I can find the answer is to perform a controlled experiment. To eliminate the variable of ambient mana, I need to see if people can detect my dungeon domain at a great enough distance from my plants for them to not skew the results. I know just what to do.

Here’s the plan; I will excavate a 5-centimeter-wide tunnel underneath the camp and create a new patented pinhole opening on the side of their camp closest to the river. (And thus, on the opposite side from me.) That little bit of misdirection may help throw to them off my tracks if they come after me. In the event that they can somehow trace the tunnel back to my dungeon, I can always initiate a cave-in using a flurry of cuts.

This really isn’t like me, I’m usually more cautious that this. The only reason I’m even attempting this risky operation is because of how highly I value the answer to my question. I may seem fairly chipper, and to some extent, I really am, but that’s only because I’ve been burying the feelings of anxiety I’ve been having ever since the fuzzy wizard nearly discovered me in the overgrown cavern.

The tunnel will be an incredible 90 m long, but it shouldn’t take too long to bore considering how narrow it is. There’s plenty of room for two dungeon helpers carrying debris to pass each other by without interference, but that’s all. My hope is that at 90 m long, the distance from my microbiome will be great enough to result in the ambient mana approaching the outside concentration. Therefore, when I expand my domain into the midst of the travelers, I’ll know for sure that they are sensing my domain and not simply mana. The best-case scenario is that they can’t detect my domain, just mana. In that situation, I could easily contain my mana underground and then do whatever it is I need to do with my domain on the surface. Such as stealing knowledge and materials, hehehe.

…

After only an hour of digging, the tunnel has reached the target 90 m. It’s incredible how precise my sense of scale is now that I have a frame of reference. Another perk to my existence as a dungeon core, I suppose. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, so my helpers were able to easily disperse the excess rhyolite over the surface without being discovered. Even if they were found out, I highly doubt tarantula-sized ants would faze the inhabitants of this fantasy world. Just in case, I made sure to cover up the main entrance to my dungeon with a pile of dead grass and a stone plug.

With the end of my long tunnel just 2 meters below the far side of the human camp, I make a pinhole and spread my domain around their dingy wagons and carriages. Is it weird to say that horse manure is delicious? I’d by lying to myself if I didn’t admit that feces tastes amazing. We’ve already been over how complex substances make me feel as a dungeon core, I needn’t explain myself again. For the first time I’m able to sample pure metal. Unsurprisingly its flavor is less than optimal, but it’s still something I desire to possess with every fiber of my being.

I extend a tendril of my domain in the direction of a festive gathering around a bonfire. I can clearly hear the caravaneers singing and cheering.

And boy have I stumbled upon a major boon!

I can understand what they’re saying! In some of the dungeon core reincarnation stories I’ve read, the dungeon main character can magically comprehend the language of a world’s inhabitants without ever having to learn it, which is awfully convenient for the plot.

That is not the case here.

I am amazed to find that they are speaking English. I can immediately think of three possible explanations: Mr. Normal, who I know to speak English, could have had an influence on the development of society, there may be other people from my universe who have reincarnated and spread the language, or there’s some kind of link between this world and mine. I don’t have anywhere near enough information to confirm or deny any of my theories, but I hope that will change eventually.

Right, anyway, it’s time to see if they notice anything when I wrap my domain around them…

Proceeding as planned, I surround the area around the bonfire with my domain and carefully study the celebrating people’s reactions…

Nearly three minutes pass and still no one has reacted in any discernable way to my intrusion.

Something finally goes my way! Though I had every right to fear for my life when these people arrived, I’m relieved to find that I’m probably in the clear. In fact, their temporary visit may even turn into a boon. So long as they remain unaware of my presence, I will be able to learn so much about the outside world!

While metaphorically salivating at the prospect of gaining delicious new knowledge, my sense picks up an intruder in the portion of my domain that is spread out directly above my core room!

Rapidly shifting my focus to observe the potential threat, I noticed something alarming. There was a short man in a rough leather tunic carrying a metal trinket in hand pacing around the stretch of field above my dungeon. I could sense an accumulation of mana being shunted into the mysterious device he held. Staring intently at a wheel affixed to the handheld object, the mysterious stranger stopped in place a mere 14 m away from my original pinhole. From a burlap sack he took out 16 small brass tripods, each with a small white crystal affixed to their vertex, and arranged them into a circle. He then drew forth what was obviously a meterstick, of all things, (I found the dichotomy between a run-of-the-mill ruler and these obviously arcane supplies mildly humorous.) and began measuring the distances between the tripods and making minor adjustments.

I found it odd that he would go through the effort to take measurements of the distances between the crystal-bearing tripods but not their angles. Perhaps their positioning isn’t too important so long as they are at the right distances from their neighbors. But what do I know, I’m just a former engineer after all…?

I can’t decide if I should send forth the ants or not, on one hand, he could be preparing to do something sinister, which I find likely considering how close he is to me. On the other, he may have no ill intent at all. He seems skilled at using mana with his possessions, so I think I can safely assume he’s a wizard. If I were to set my army on him, he would probably be able to effortlessly run away from my much slower vanguard and possibly even fight them all off using magic. I don’t want to anger him if I can avoid it, accordingly I decide to wait and see what he’s trying to do and hope it doesn’t kill me in the process.

This time the wizard pulls out a deeply varnished cube made from a rich, red wood, 15 cm to a side. Embedded into the surface of the wood are runes formed from inlayed gold. In addition, one side of the cube has a hemispherical indention lined with a silvery metal which I don’t recognize. The man gingerly places the cube into the center of the ring of tripods with the silvered indent facing upwards. I then watch as he pulls a thickly padded pouch out from under his tunic. He kneels down next to the cube and carefully empties the pouch’s contents into the metallic bowl recessed into the top of the cube.

I immediately recognize the material of the object he’d deposited into the cube by its taste, or rather, its lack thereof.

I was staring at a perfectly spherical, 1 cm wide opaque red marble. It took all of my willpower to restrain myself from releasing the horde on the man who was somehow in possession of a dungeon core. Was he here for mine?

Fortunately, I was able control myself after pausing to think. Though it’s spherical nature and diminutive size do not out necessarily rule out the possibility it was carved from a former dungeon’s core, I can’t just assume it was once living as I am just because it’s made of the same material. It’s conceivable that there’s multiple sources of this substance.

Once he’d ensured the stone was positioned properly, he walked outside the ring of tripods and began sending mana to each of the white crystals resting on their brass mounts.

After an hour of this, the crystals suddenly released all the mana they’d been accumulating during the “ritual.” Simultaneously, the red marble crumbled into dust inside the silvery bowl with no obvious effect on the process.

The wizard immediately began to speak for the first time, “Clifford Graham reporting; we have found an undiscovered mana well. We are settling it now.”

Almost disappointed that Clifford didn’t continue talking, I ponder over what I’d witnessed tonight.

Clifford was speaking to thin air, so I suspect the “ritual” he’d just performed was a means of long-distance communication. There are probably limitations in place that make longer messages impractical or maybe he’s just antisocial… I’d like to find out more about the “mana well” he was referring to, it’s undoubtedly important if he was willing to waste so much time sending such a brief report. I wonder where it is and if it’s nearby, it may be useful. From the sound of things, they’re planning on colonizing it.

If it’s anywhere in the vicinity, I’d be impressed. To settle a new land immediately after a cataclysmic natural disaster is awfully brave, they must not be too superstitious. Though I must admit, the soil is probably extremely fertile now, they should have no trouble with agriculture.

Clifford is packing up his thing right now, it looks like he’s preparing to rejoin his peers at the bonfire celebration. I’ll be able to track his movements with the portion of my domain in the camp once he gets back.

As he heads away, I pop back over to the bonfire and look around for any interesting conversations I can snoop on, it wouldn’t hurt to find out why they’re celebrating.

Let me tell you, one thing I have not missed about being a human is making small talk, it takes me ages to find a conversation consisting of anything more substantial than “The weather sure is nice.”

I find two middle-aged men partaking in an animated conversation with one another along the outskirts of the party. One is a stocky man wearing a red coat while the other is dressed in a brown tunic somewhat resembling our wizard friend’s.

I listen to them for a while until I hear something that causes me to begin panicking.

“Weston, you wouldn’t believe how relieved I am that we’ve decided to go ahead and start building right here. You’d understand if you were married to my wife, she’s been complaining about our “stuffy” wagon the whole way here!”

As the men shared a hearty laugh, I cursed my misfortune. It was so obvious in hindsight! I should have known they wouldn’t’ve unpacked so much if they were only planning on staying for the night! The obnoxious adventurers are supposed to discover the dungeon before building their town!