Never enter a dungeon on your own and never eat, or drink, anything that you may find within them either.

These are two of the common rules that the people of Tironia have followed ever since dungeons have been recorded to be man-eating monsters. As well as owning armour and a capable weapon, you should always have at least two other people with you and a day's worth of rations in your pack. This is not a law, but common knowledge.

If someone were to be injured whilst inside, how would they be able to escape on their own? There's no doubt that they would be killed and eaten by the dungeon whilst trying to escape, hence why a partner or multiple companions are advised by the guild.

Dungeons are tricky and it has also been recorded that they are intelligent creatures. It is said that they are able to kill their potential victims in many different ways, most of which are slow drawn-out deaths which feature excruciatingly horrible ways to die. They can bring about an adventurer's death without them even knowing. Especially if they find themselves underprepared or lacking in common sense.

The dungeon Alox which used to reside outside the city of Don, in the county Freda, had a floor which no monsters inhabited. Adventurers that frequently entered the dungeon had taken to calling that place a rest spot as they could relax without the worry of an attack.

The whole of the tenth floor was lit up by multiple light-clusters, making it appear as though it was daytime inside. There was also fresh, drinkable water in the form of a lake running from one end of the floor to the other. Adventurers would often drink from that source, refreshing themselves from combat. Their attributes were also boosted by the effects of the water and this was known locally to anyone that lived in the surrounding areas or visited them often. A dungeon which produces freshwater that boosts stats, so close to the city, was akin to bragging rights for the nobility.

The Red Skulls, a popular adventurer group that had made their base in Don, lost two members one day unexpectedly. This was subsequently followed by another three members the day after, then four more the day after that. Knowing that their members had entered the dungeon and assuming that a dangerous monster may have been summoned, they gathered the rest of their group together and headed to dungeon Alox in full force.

Upon reaching the tenth floor the group hadn't encountered anything different than usual and decided to rest up before pressing on to find their comrades. The vice leader of the Red Skulls, Francesca Deboar, had just returned from a different mission days before, where she had received some moonlight water as a reward for her aid. It is said that water condensed by moonlight will prevent fatigue from setting in for up to 24 hours, so as everyone partook from the lake as was the norm, Francesca drank from her own source. Fortunately for her, this act saved her life as most of the Red Skulls died not long after leaving the rest spot and entering the eleventh floor from a delayed, extremely toxic mana-draining poison. As Red Skulls' healers were trying to cure the ailments of their companions, the group was assaulted by an overwhelming force of monsters. The sudden attack from nowhere was as though the dungeon was purposely waiting for that exact moment, thus causing Francesca and a few other members to leave the rest of their party behind to a horrible fate. The aim was to flee and report this incident so that this tragedy could never happen again. Upon exiting, only Francesca came out of dungeon Alox as the rest of her group had fallen to the poison or monsters on the way up. She reported what had happened, stating that the Red Skulls lost 44 out of their 45 members in the dungeon to the local lord at the time. After this, a subjugation force was raised by Don Geo, the lord of Don, and the dungeon core was destroyed. There are many other examples like this one throughout our history and we can only benefit from learning about our enemy.

An extract from Dungeon Safety, written by former adventurer, Francesca Deboar.

Me's explanation on how to unlock new monsters took less than a minute.

There are three ways for me to acquire new monsters. The best way is to keep doing what I've already been doing. Buying ten of the same type of monster, I unlock their upgraded version. Doing this also gets me the monsters and seems like the most efficient solution so far. Alternatively, I can upgrade a single monster to the next tier by paying ten times their value. But I wouldn't have as many monsters if I went about it that way. Not to mention that ten times the cost of Veris, my vagabond, would be 200DP. I can't even hold that much yet.

Another way to earn new purchases is by absorbing the corpses of fresh monsters through my dungeon. Yep, just swallow them whole and then I can shoot out as many of them as I want, provided I can afford their cost.

Finally, I can contract an outside monster to join my dungeon as a type of guardian, which sounds awesome.

I doubt there's anything kicking around outside my hole that wants to come and live inside me though.

Monsters aside, I've decided to add a Shady Tunnel in between Rogues' Corner and the sixth room. For now, I'm still unsure which way my dungeon is going. I'm trying to gear up for a 'just in case' defence whilst also planning to send monsters out straight away. I feel as though I should be concentrating on one of these choices but I can't make a solid decision. Not without more information first.

Shady Tunnel has been created:

2XP Awarded

Following my own half-assed strategy, I add more defence by placing four Poisonous Gas Traps inside the Shady Tunnel and I also place a door at each end. Me told me that my monsters can see fine in my dungeon, even though there's not much light, and that my traps won't affect them either.

Now that there's only a few minutes until my door opens, I have 50 points left to spend. The only problem is that it doesn't seem to go as far as it did before. These points can be spent in seconds and I don't know which project to put them in.

What do I do?

Why not create the next floor, it should push you to Level 5. You still have new purchases from your previous level too.

Crap! I forgot what they were.

Can you give me a list of those available purchases, Me?

Available Purchases:

Traps:

Pitfall Trap: 1DP

Spike Trap: 2DP

Fire Pit Trap: 4DP

Poisonous Gas Trap: 8DP

Monsters:

Goblin: 3DP

Wolf: 5DP

Alpha Wolf: 10DP

Rogue: 10DP

Vagabond: 20DP

Features:

Grass: 1DP (per square foot)

Water: 1DP (per square foot)

Weak Wooden Door: 1DP

Weak Wooden Chair: 1DP

Weak Wooden Table: 1DP

Wooden Treasure Chest: 1DP

Weak Ale: 1DP

Regular Ale: 2DP

Strong Ale: 4DP

Light Cluster: 3DP

Fire Cluster: 3DP

Swindlers Den: 40DP

Dungeon:

Tunnel: 5DP

Shady Tunnel: 20DP

Room: 20DP

Second Floor: 50DP

Upgrades:

Pitfall Trap: 10DP

Spike Trap: 20DP

Firepit Trap: 40 DP

Goblin: 30DP

Wolf: 50DP

Weak Wooden Door: 10DP

Weak Wooden Chair: 10DP

Weak Wooden Table: 10DP

Weak Ale: 10DP

Regular Ale: 20DP

Strong Ale: 40DP

Light Cluster: 30DP

Fire Cluster: 30DP

...

There are more, but they are unaffordable. This is everything you can currently purchase with your points.

I didn't need to see that much, Me.

I only wanted the purchases from my last level. I'll have to be more careful with my words next time. For now, let's have a look at Swindlers Den.

Swindlers Den: 40DP

This room requires 2 Rogues to function correctly

Once set no other buildings or monsters may be added to this room

Whenever a person enters or exits the room the Rogues will send out one clone each

One will attempt to deceive potential marks whilst the other will steal possessions from them

If successful they will then offer them to the dungeon core as a tribute

Rewards:

4XP

What sort of description is that? I mean I love the offering part, but can other monsters still travel through that room once it's set? And clones! What are they?

Yes. Travel is not restricted. Also, the clones are created through the use of magic. It uses the shadows to form identical bodies of the Rogues set to the Den.

That sounds good but it's almost all of my Dungeon Points.

What about Veris? I know I can't afford her upgrade but I want to see what Examine shows regardless.

Vagabond (Veris): 200DP

Upgrade to unlock the next evolution of the Rogue

Unlocks:????

Not a lot. I suppose it would be better to have ten Veris's rather than one hard question mark, right?

Why doesn't it show me her next upgrade though, Me?

Your Rogues are a special type of monster that have only been created due to you becoming a Dungeon Core. They are unique and have never been summonable before. The system offers upgrades based on your knowledge of the class. You can also add more mana to the summoning process and slightly alter them as they are created. This may also unlock a new type of monster.

That sounds really cool and almost like you may have mentioned it before, there's a lot to remember. But if she's using my knowledge, shouldn't there be more information than ????'s?

Have you given the next monster a description yet? Or a name? Also, why do you assume the system is female? Just like me, it is without body, gender or opinion.

Yeah, sure, Me. You 'don't' have an opinion. Also, I didn't know that the descriptions would change if I put some thought into them.

I'll let the system make a name later, its easier than me having to decide. Now, what do I do with these points?

...

You really should consider building the second floor, Abi. It really is important.

Yeah I know, but I don't want to build a new floor from any of my current rooms. I have a plan for where the second floor will start, but we're not there yet.

Really? What plan would that be, Abi? Going in a straight line because it would be a long distance to travel?

Alright. Alright. I already said I realised that it was a stupid idea. In fact, what's your deal, Me? Are you supposed to be so...... sarcastic?

I do not know what you mean? I am exactly how I am supposed to be!

Yeah, ok. I swear you said you didn't have an opinion, yet all you do is complain and mock me.

I tho... It's just... I don't know what to say?

Well, it looks like you're just as screwed up as I am. Still, I'm still glad to have you here, Me. You were right before, you know? I would probably still be crying if I was on my own.

Not that I can cry. Maybe when I get that physical form I'll be able to wail to my heart's content.

I don't know why I said that before Abi, it's... strange.

Don't worry about it, there are bigger problems than what we say to each other, right?

Absolutely. Your door will open in 2 seconds.

What? Already!?

The large block of earth sinks into the ground in front of my entrance, leaving my gaping hole in display for all to see.

Now that I'm open for business, I try and look at the world outside. Whilst I'm struggling to make sense of what I'm able to see, my Rogues carry out the plan I gave them earlier. Dashing out without fear, they quickly form a large semi-circle around my entrance. Then thay start pushing outwards, carefully on the lookout for my traitorous ex-comrade Kal.

Realising my efforts are in vain, as I can't make sense of anything outside my dungeon, I change perspective back to my overview. The headache inducing vision switches and I'm left staring down from above. From this angle, I can see a miniscule patch of land just in front of my entrance. I decide to use Examine on it quickly whilst my Rogues are out.

Land Acquisition: 1000DP

Claim the surrounding land around your dungeon as your own

Anyone on this land will be treated as on Dungeon grounds and will generate DP

Items can also be absorbed on this land as it will become part of the dungeon itself

WOW. I wish I had enough for that!

What would you do with it?

I... Don't know? Surely it would come in handy though. I didn't know that dungeons could claim land. In fact, I don't think anyone knows about that.

It's not like I have enough DP to buy it anyway and isn't the whole point of being a dungeon, to actually be a dungeon.

I've just had a brainwave! What if I hide my core inside of a tree? Genius, right?! No one will find it in there.

What if a bird destroys it, or eats it thinking it's food?

Oh...

Can that actually happen?

I have no idea. I have no knowledge of any dungeons that have ever obtained outside land before. It might again be due to the fact that you were a human before, the same as the situation with your Rogue class.

Hmmm.

Putting land acquisitions aside for now, I try to see if my surprise attack was successful. Or I would if I could actually view my monsters.

Me, can you see what's going on out there?

Unfortunately, I cannot see outside the dungeon either.

Damn, I knew you were going to say that. Let's see what I can learn then whilst we wait. I'm don't feel as though I'm in such a rush now that I've been revealed to the world.

Hey, Tironia. Check out the new me!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous though.

Me, what happens if someone kills one of my monsters?

They die. Obviously.

Obviously?

Really?

What I meant was, do I get DP back from them like I do if I dismantle something in my dungeon?

No. The monster would have died by someone else's hand, so they will earn XP and in turn increase their own level. This is one of the reasons adventurers seek dungeons out in the first place. The other is loot.

...

Obviously.

I get it now.

Whilst contemplating my own stupidity, the first of my Rogues returns. She's carrying a large green lump-of-something over her shoulder which she then drops on my floor triumphantly.

It's to late to do anything as I've already absorbed it before realising what it was.

A naked-fucking-Goblin!

First-time monster absorption bonus:

25DP 25 XP

A new monster has been unlocked:

Goblin Shaman: 50DP

New features have been unlocked:

Goblin Hut: 5DP

Goblin Altar: 50DP

Dungeon Core Abi has reached Level 5

DP increased by 20

New features are available:

Water Cluster: 3DP

Wind Cluster: 3DP

The Shop of Secrets: 40DP

Oh My God!

Why the hell would you drop that on my floor!? Where did you even get it from and why was it naked?

The female Rogue who was momentarily revelling in her first catch, realises that I am not happy with her offering. She doesn't understand why though as I can't physically tell her yet.

God Damn Dungeon Core with no voice!

Sensing my anger rising, the Rogue begins explaining where she found the Goblin and that it was already naked when she killed it. Apparently, she caught it when it was eating and whilst its guard was down, she plunged her dagger through the back of its skull.

My anger disappears and is quickly followed by confusion. It's not due to her story though. I understand that part perfectly well. She did a good job with the sneak attack. I should be proud, even if it was a horribly-smelly Goblin.

No. I'm confused over the fact that these Rogues can speak!

It's been 24 hours of me and Me and not a single one of these Rogues have said a bloody word. I was beginning to think that they couldn't speak for some reason, probably because they're monsters.

Does that mean everything I summon can speak?

I'll figure it out later. For now, just you wait, Dropper. That's your name now by the way. You're the first person getting a lecture when I get a body, or a voice, or whatever it was that Me said I'd get at level 10!

Manifestation.

Yeah that! How come you didn't tell me the Rogues could speak?

I didn't know... that you...didn't know that?

How was I supposed to know that monsters can speak?

And I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say it, Me?

I HATE GOBLINS!

First-time monster absorption bonuses:

11DP 11XP

New monsters have been unlocked:

Goblin Archer: 6DP

Goblin Defender: 6DP

New loot available:

Small Bow: 5DP

Small Iron Shield: 5DP

The start of my second day as a Dungeon Core is not going well. I avert my attention away from Me and back to the entrance. Stood there are two more Rogues, Tweedledum and Tweedledee as they get named in my fury, heroically posturing and grinning from ear to ear, their offerings disappear into my floor.

NOOOOO!