The Unnoticed Dungeon

R.J. Dale

Copyright: ©2021 R.J.Dale

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book, including the cover and photos, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. All rights reserved.

Any resemblance to persons, places living or dead is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fiction.

Chapter One

Say My Name

Darkness swirled thick and heavy inside the small black gem as it slowly stirred into consciousness. The stone, an icosahedron that was formed of hematite, began to radiate a vantablack light that smothered the shadows around it. The core, for that was what it realized it was, was no bigger than an apple. It found itself floating in the air four feet off the ground in a cavern the size of a horse coach.

Instinctively, it created a pedestal to rest itself upon. It did not waste its energy reserve. The core knew that it had to create an environment that would feed it power and sustain as it grew, and did not see the point in putting its precious energy into altering its surroundings until it knew what it wanted to do; just what kind of dungeon it wanted to become.

With that thought a red screen appeared in the stone’s mind’s eye. The screen pulsed and formed words that the core had no problem reading.

Congratulations! You have been chosen to act as a dungeon core in the world of Leips-Muartpla. As such you may choose what kind of energy will fuel you, what kind of dungeon you wish to be, and what kind of companion you will have to help guide you as you grow.

It is wished that you be made known that your soul has been taken from another world at the moment of your death. Your memory has been erased so that you will not long for your old home, nor suffer from self-doubts that you would have carried over with you. This is a fresh start for you.

You have been reborn as a dungeon core. Your role in this world is to facilitate growth via presenting challenges to the beings that inhabit the rest of this world. Their task is to learn and grow from their experiences learned in each dungeon’s corridors. Your task is to come up with creative ways to motivate these outsiders to survive. What they learn within your walls may translate to new types of architecture, herbology, magic, alchemy, or any other number of fields of study. Dungeons are vital to the prosperity of this world.

For all intents and purposes, as a dungeon core, you are effectively immortal. You will not age, suffer disease, or grow weaker the longer you live. This does not mean that you cannot die. You can be destroyed in any number of ways. Removal from your prime location, i.e. your dungeon space, will cause you to crumble to dust. Your form is not immune to magic or physical damage. You can be killed by an errant pyroball or just as easily by a well-placed blow by a mace. You must place yourself as far from delvers as possible.

I can tell you that In your former life, you were a male. While you will still have a masculine attitude, you may be distressed that you no longer have a sex drive. We have taken away the physical component of that aspect of your former life, but not the psychological need for companionship. Hence, we have built-in a way for you to start with a companion who will stabilize this need and provide guidance. The world of Leips-Muartpla is not a kind place.

Additional things for you to know. Your core is composed of hematite. Having an iron base you are electrically conductive, but are almost completely nonmagnetic. This means that there are some pros and cons to what your core can resist. Your form is highly durable as it is a 7 in 10 on the Moe’s Hardeness Scale regarding normal gemstones. Magically influenced stone do not count. You may not be aware of what that is, or what it means, but a diamond is rated as a 10. This means that your core may be damaged by impact, but it will more likely chip rather than shatter from a singular blow. Your core material was randomly chosen and may not be changed.

"What is the Moe's Hardness scale? Who is Moe for that matter?" The new sentience asked.

Moe, the voice responded, Was a dwarf who was fascinated by mundane gems, rocks, and jewels. He provided a scale on their hardness based on his experience on their durability. As an example, Talc is rated a one as it is easily crushed or broken; whereas a diamond is difficult to break when using normal means. Of course, the voice continued, The scale does not take magic or mana into consideration. Additionally, it only focuses on geologically produced stones. Magical stones such as fire gems, water opals, and Phoenix Pumice have an entirely different rating process. The same goes for metals, there are metals that can be worked or created by humanoids, such as bronze and steel that have a rating system, and magical metals such as mithral and infiniatium that stand separate from the mundane. There is no need to bother with anything other than Moe's scale at the moment. Continuing on . . .

Your location has likewise been randomly selected. You may not change your location, nor may you move your location. Your location will not be revealed to you until you have completed making your decisions. This allows for randomness that the overseers of this project prefer. Otherwise, every core that found itself in a forest would become verdant, and similarly with the other energy types that can be chosen. You should be aware that, over time, your surroundings will grow to match your dungeon type. A Soul eating dungeon will cause trees to die, plants to wilt, soil to gray, and so on. If you are concerned about destruction from fearful adventurers you might want to rethink your choices before making a final decision.

Some things to note as we go through this. Your memory has been erased, but you will understand concepts that I speak of instinctively. For example, if I discuss a pink elephant then you will know what a pink elephant is. Secondly, You will see pages, screens, or something that we call a Heads-Up Display, commonly referred to as a HUD, and you will understand everything that is written on them, this does not mean that when you get to your world that you will be able to read the language there. You will have to learn each specific language in written and spoken form on your own. This will happen as soon as you absorb a sentient being that can read and write a language, otherwise, all you will get is the spoken version.

Your initial step as a core is choosing what kind of energy will feed you and allow you to prosper. Your core material is not relevant to this process. What you are made up of will not impact any decision that you make. There are numerous choices, but beware, once a choice is made it can’t be undone. You might consider the availability of your power source and the effectiveness of it thereof. Not all fuels are equal. Some are abundant, but provide low boosts to powers, and some are rare but provide tremendous enhancements to your strength allowing you to perform numerous tasks at the same time and control more subjects. I will now demonstrate what a page or HUD looks like. A red-hued parchment that was written in impeccable calligraphied script. Please choose one from the list below.

Mana: Mana is the most frequently chosen form of energy because it is exuded in all living things. When a living being enters your dungeon you will begin to accumulate mana until they leave. In this case, you will want to keep your visitors within your boundaries for as long as possible. Your dungeon will receive a small amount of mana from the outside world allowing you to survive if you happen to go a long period without visitors. Mana is the only power source that will feed you from the outside. Mana can imitate or approximate magical spells, and in some cases be indistinguishable from one another, but mana is not magic. Mana works by improving the bonds of one's mind, body, and soul. Changes may be expressed internally or externally depending how it is channeled. Soul Energy: Soul Energy is cultivated by killing dungeon delvers. Soul energy is highly powerful but does not enter a dungeon, and so you will starve and die if you do not manage to kill a visitor at least once a month just for sustenance. More deaths will be required to build and maintain your dungeon and minions. Relying on Soul Energy is a risk. If you kill too many visitors too often then adventurers and raiders may not enter for fear of their lives; not killing enough can leave you weakened and open to destruction by visitors. It is a delicate balancing act. Magic: Magic used within your confines may be used to fuel you as well. Each time a spell is cast you will absorb an equal amount of magic into your core. Magic is powerful and will last until it is used. In other words, a core may store energy indefinitely, using only minutes amounts to sustain itself, but every alteration or minion creation will deplete a dungeon’s stores rapidly. Magic costs for building or making life is extremely high. Magicians, wizards, sorcerers, and other mystic types tend to horde their spell until times of great need; which means they will not use up all of their own spell power unless forced to. Milking such individuals is an art, not a science. Additionally, most delvers do not cast spells. Some teams may not even contain a warlock or mage in their midst, so steady power flow is not guaranteed. Magic differs from mana in several ways. First, mana must be cultivated by the user, which can only be performed inside of a dungeon. Mana must be cycled throughout a body and will make changes therein which allows the cultivator to perform amazing feats. Strength increases are typical, as are Physique and Stamina. Magic is an unrelated form of energy that requires a high intelligence to channel and manipulate. Magic can be molded into limitless forms. It can be energy or matter, corporeal or incorporeal. It is limited via the mental intent and corresponding hand motions of the spell caster. Magic exists both everywhere and nowhere at once. Only rare individuals are able to channel and manipulate it. A mage cannot channel both magic and mana; the two energies are incompatible. Fear: Fear is something all living things experience and it is a moderate power source. The benefit is that any living creature that enters your dwelling may experience it and you do not need to kill them in order to obtain it. Some dungeons prefer quick easy scares for fast jolts of powers, and others ply techniques that let them have their invaders terror grow over a prolonged period. Fear will not flow into a dungeon but must be brought in. It is an above-average power supply, and once gathered sustains itself. Some dungeons have learned to infuse the gathered fear into various aspects of their walls or even minions. It does not matter if the fear that visitors generate is honest emotion or magically generated but magically generated fear provides only half the power of authentic fear. Prayer: Dungeons that use prayer as a fuel source have two paths. The first is that they dedicate themselves to a god, and allow the god’s devotees to train within their walls. The other is to set themselves up as an object of worship, and the dungeon accrues literally followers who pray to it for favors and guidance. Prayer power is as fleeting as it is powerful. The smallest prayer can grant the largest desire to a follower, but it is a mediocre power source for dungeon growth. It takes 3 times the amount of prayer to institute a new room or create a minion as it does any other fuel source. Additionally, prayer power must be used within a day or it will burn out; meaning constant cultivation must occur for sustainability. Prayer Dungeons require a constant influx of prayers in order to sustain themselves. If you choose this option you will be asked to choose a god whom you will serve in perpetuity. The god will then send their followers to their new dungeon. Dungeons opting to make themselves the object of worship are given a month to build a following. After that time frame dungeons that have failed to amass followers will fade and die. Verdant Energy: This is the power of the green. Plantlife in your dungeon will provide fuel. It will not be a large amount, but it will sustain you and allow you a steady, albeit slow, growth rate. Dungeons that use verdant energy are given a month to cultivate various plants which will allow them to begin gathering energy before they open their doors to outsiders. The upside is that you can use various plants to add to your dungeon’s effects and strengthen your defenses. The downside is that your plants may be destroyed by malicious guests, and so it is recommended that you keep your plants separate from your main dungeon until you have built up enough renewable resources to let them grow away from your core. Blood Energy: This is a lesser version of Soul energy that merely requires that the dungeon earn an unspecified amount of blood from its visitors in order to sustain itself. Once chosen the amount of blood will be revealed. This kind of dungeon is generally non-fatal, and so will attract adventurers more often than other dungeons. Colloquially, they are known as Pain Dungeons, since the dungeon’s goal is to wound and not kill its visitors. Blood energy has the same strength as mana, a medium level power, and has a sustainability level just below mana.

“Excuse me,” the core interjected, “But what is my name?” The voice stopped speaking and the text in the red display stopped typing. The core worried that he had done something to disrupt their communication. After a lengthy pause, the core received a polite response.

“Pardon?” the nebulous voice inquired. It threw the core off, as the mysterious voice had, up until now almost been reading from a script, and now it felt like it was genuinely talking to him. The voice sounded shocked that he had asked that question and had no idea how to respond. The reply emboldened him to ask again."

“My name. Surely I am not just called dungeon core.” If he’d had them the core would have licked his lips.

“To the overseers your designation is DV8-1. Oh, this isn’t good.”

“It’s not good that I’m called Deviate?” The core was slightly confused and wholly unhappy with his “designation”. Deviate was better than deviant, he supposed, but either way, it meant that he wasn’t normal.

“It seems from your designation that you are a rare core type. Very rare. You are allowed to deviate from standards rules so long as you do not attempt to break them altogether.” The voice paused and then continued. “You are so rare, in fact, that you are the first in a series of experimental dungeons that the overseers are adding to this world. As such, you will not be confined in the way standard dungeons currently are when doing their daily business.”

“So, what does that mean to me,” the core asked tentatively. Being experimental sounded extremely dangerous, and dangerous often led to death. How did a dungeon core die, he wondered?

“For a start,” the mysterious and unidentified voice began, “You may opt to decide your starting options in any order. Long term, I’m not sure. You may be able to move or change your location. You might be able to be more than one type of dungeon. You won’t know until you try things out. You would seem to be the prototype for the new system.”

“That seems rather ominous and a tad dangerous,” the core said flatly. He just wanted to get that out there, in case the strange voice didn’t realize that experimental things tended to explode, or implode, meltdown, open portals into other dimensions, cause plagues, and generally led to a lot of grief and pain for the people involved with the testing.

“Look at it like this,” the voice replied, “You get to test the boundaries. Which means you have a lot of leeway when trying something new. The overseers will make determinations as to whether what you’ve done is acceptable or not. So, expect some slack. This is your job, to test the way things can possibly be done by other dungeons in the future. Just don’t go crazy. Take little steps; don’t take giant leaps.”

“What,” the core asked in a conspiratorial tone, “If I don’t want to be a test subject? What if I just play it smart and safe and do what a dungeon normally would?”

“I’m afraid the overseers wouldn’t like that.”

“So,” the core stated bluntly, “The overseers are holding a dagger to my back. If I don’t play their game, I get stabbed. If I play their game and they don’t like the way I play, I get stabbed, and if I play their game, by their rules, I still can get stabbed when the whole thing goes pear-shaped and I explode.”

“You’ve got it!” the voice said cheerily. It was quite the proud tutor to have such a quick-witted and understanding student as the core.

“So now I have to decide what kind of a dungeon I want to build, the type of energy that will fuel my dungeon, and a companion who will help to guide me as I try not to set off any unforeseen traps the overseers have laid out for me.” The dungeon core wasn’t nearly as thrilled as the Tutorial Instructor seemed to be, not that it even registered with the tutor that that was the case.

“I must say you are doing excellently. Your grasp of your situation is spot on. I can see now why the overseers chose your soul for recycling.” The voice grew very serious, “Being chosen to become a core is a taxing process. Only one in a googleplex is selected for such an honor, and of those chosen only ten percent survive the process of becoming a dungeon core. I don’t think you realize just how special you actually are; so let me explain it to you as if you were a child. A gooleplex , is a number so vast that it is a one followed by 10100 zeroes, in other words, a one followed by a googol zeroes. A googol looks like this:

A glowing page opened before the core. On it he saw a number that was so large it boggled his mind, 10,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000,​000. or 10(10 100). Not only did you have to make it passed all of those obstacles, but then you also qualified as beta-tester for the overseers.” There was a slight chuckle and then the tutor said, “Pardon the pun, but you are a rare gem among the other cores. Thankfully,” the tutorial added, "The universe is infinite and such a magnificently large number such as this is actually microscopic in size relatively speaking. To be frank, only a complete idiot would equate the size of such a number to the infinite amount of life in the universe. It wouldn't even amount to a molecule in a drop of water going into an ocean, but there are only a very small number of cores, since they do not occur naturally, so you really are a rare thing. Sorry, long way to go to tell you that you are special, but some people just need things spelled out for them so they can digest information like pablum, but I can see that you aren't one of those types."

Had he the organs the core would have rolled his eyes, but he didn’t have the physical capability and so did so mentally. Isn’t that how you were supposed to bolster someone’s confidence? Smear them with praise until they believed in themself and took on whatever task you asked of them? The core knew on some deep level of its soul that it had once been vain and allowed vanity to be its downfall.

He also recognized that if what the tutor said was true then the overseers were bloody monsters. What happened to souls that didn’t survive the process of becoming a core? The implication was that they were completely and utterly destroyed. Tutor had happily glossed over that little fact. The core suddenly realized that he was the rock in between the so-called rock and a hard place. He wasn’t going anywhere and he resigned himself to that fact.

There was no way he could deny the overseers, not if he wanted to get out of this whole. Like it or not he was going to have to play along until he could figure out a way to escape his current form. The only choice he had was to make them, the tutor and the overseers, believe that he was all in, and was happy to have the opportunity to test the limits of dungeon-hood on their behalf. This meant that he had to make some rapid choices about what he wanted to be and how he was going to get there, but before he even thought of doing that there was still one thing he needed to know.

“Tutor,” the core said as sheepishly as he could. He supposed that it was best to appear as obsequious as possible for the nonce.

“Yes, DV8-1,” the tutorial replied magnanimously.

“I’m happy to do what I need to in order to start building my dungeon right away, but there is one thing I’d like to do first.” The core kept a neutral tone and tried to get a reign on the reeling emotions it was feeling. It was one thing to willingly resign oneself to an inescapable fate, and it was another to do it with a smile. The hematite core was not copacetic with his current situation by a country mile, and it was choking back a desire to set the unseen voice on fire.

“What is that?” Tutor seemed stunned that the core didn’t want to jump into the creation process right away by the tone of his voice.

“I would like to figure out my name.” The core said flatly.