Wil was beginning to hate that chime sound.

Why can't it ever just be a smooth transition? First, it was being given sapience, and then forced into the most important decisions of my life. Now, there's a devil chime silently lurking in the shadows, just waiting to scare me. Well, I'll be ready for it next time, just you wait!

He took a look around and was happy to find himself in a damp cave. Home sweet home. He thought to himself.

"It looks like Mr.Blue was being honest, he stuck us deep in the Ilvan Forest." Belle said appreciatively.

Wil had no idea how she knew where they were, considering they were somewhere underground, but he guessed that must be one of the bonuses to choosing the female sex. He was regretting his choice already. He would have spent longer thinking about this new development when his thoughts were interrupted by Belle.

"Wil! Look at me, Wil! Notice anything new?" She was taking on a feverish pitch again, so he knew he better come up with the right answer. Luckily for him, it was pretty obvious. His little ball of light had arms and legs.

"Belle! You're a two-legs now?! Don't worry I'll find a way to turn you back!" Wil didn't like this new turn of events at all, he wanted his old Belle back.

"No, you dummy, this is what happens when the Torial Mr.Blue gave us is done. I'm a full-fledged Dungeon Guide now!" Belle, still 4" tall, but now sporting a distinctly feminine body, as well as a cute pair of wings, stated this proudly for her Core.

He was still really concerned she got accidentally mutated, but he held his tongue. If he had to describe her he would say she reminded him of a cross between an Elf, and a Human with fair skin and pointed ears. Dark brown hair that framed high cheekbones and curled at her shoulders bounced whenever she talked.

She now also had a pair of translucent wings the color of a sprouting sapling. While before she was nothing but a grey ball of light, she now emitted a soft gold light. She was wearing a light Forest-Green dress that fell down to her knees, and gold filigree laced throughout the hem. She looked beautiful.

At least he thought she did, maybe this was considered ugly to the Sapients? He wouldn't be the one to ask, though.

I guess it isn't all too bad, at least now we have someone around the house with opposable thumbs.

"Oh my gosh, I. Look. Perfect!" She was almost screaming again, but he didn't mind too much as he was already starting to get used to the new form. Change doesn't matter much to a Core when you're still only forty-five minutes old.

"You look stunning, Belle, was the change everything you wanted?" He asked politely. To be honest, now he was starting to get jealous. Then he realized he was jealous of a Two-legs, and promptly sulked even further.

"It was! I can finally tell that stuck up Tay I'm a full-fledged Guide now. Oh, he's going to be so jealous!" Belle was happily dancing now. Dancing looks pretty fun.

"So Wil, notice anything else? Maybe something about yourself?" Belle asked with a slight smirk.

He didn't really feel any different, maybe a little more symmetrical. Symmetrical?

If it was possible for a hunk of Mana to gasp, he would have. He was a perfectly faceted gem now, with hundreds of different sides glistening in the glow coming off of Belle. It painted him a brilliant gold, but even under the light, he could see his gem was the color of a Pine Tree's leaves. He was roughly the same size as she was, but more circular. He looked pretty dashing if he did say so himself.

Belle was giggling at Wils amazed silence as he was studying himself. "Mr.Blue also left us one more present."

"Oh?" Wil asked absentmindedly. "What would that be Belle?"

Wil's soon to be greatest enemy reared its ugly head as a horrifically perfect chime sounded out.

Ta Daaa!

Now I can help you with any Dungeon questions you have! Isn't this great Wil, I can do this whenever you need help! So don't be afraid to ask any questions, okay?

He screamed.

She screamed with him, thinking it was in excitement.

He took another few moments to collect and calm himself. "Belle, do you know where we are?" He asked, trying to change the subject to anything else.

"Yeah! We are located in the south-western part of the Ilvan Forest, we are actually pretty close to the edge of a part of the Forest that borders the Ferst Plains. I don't think we need to worry about the Sapients that live in the Plains for a while though, the Elves and Gnomes will notice us way before the Humans or Beast-men do." Belle stated this last part with a bit of a more serious tone. He got the message.

"How about we get started then, okay Belle?" He liked his new home, but something about it just didn't feel like it was his yet, he wondered if he could do anything about that.

"Okay! First things first, go ahead and claim the room. Luckily for you, it doesn't cost any Mana to claim a Room you create. Not to mention whatever rooms you make it in the future will be automatically claimed for you." Well, that was convenient.

"Sure...how do I do that?" He asked sheepishly.

"Well, you need to use the Mana you've accumulated, and spread it out into the room we are in. Just imagine pushing yourself to every corner of the room... and uh, see if that works?" He felt less than confident at that last remark but didn't want to be the cause of their first argument. Maybe if she started tossing out that chime he would be ready to throw down, but not yet.

He focused as best as he could on his own Core. What a pretty gem! Look at all my different sides, look at how I shine! Focus Wil!

He could tell there was something inside his gem. If he was a betting Core, which he might be, he would say that was his Mana. He tried to grab ahold of it, but it was a lot more slippery than he thought, and he couldn't seem to get a good grip around it.

It wasn't until Wil relaxed and took an unnecessary breath that he found he could move the Mana outside of his Core, and into the space with very little effort on his part. His Mana seemed to instinctually want to conquer and devour anything he sent at it. It makes me so proud.

Not long after, he had a clear view of the room they were in, it was a little over 3ft wide and 4ft tall. A room of wet stone, with strands of moss creeping in through the cracks. He couldn't see any sunlight coming out through the cracks, so he made an educated guess that he wasn't all that close to the surface. It was strange for him, being able to suddenly see hundreds of times more than what you could just a moment ago, but he was taking it in stride.

Wil found that if he focused on one particular area he could see every little facet and detail, but if he let his mind wander he could still see the general outline of the entire room, even without paying direct attention to it. Neat!

"Great job Wil! Now that we have this room claimed, why don't you go ahead and make a new room? First thing you should do, is dig out a tunnel." He was blinking furiously at the idea of expansion, it appealed to him as few things really did.

He was ready to start carving out his empire when a thought brought him crashing back down to reality, "Hey Belle, how much Mana do I have? How do I get more?" She was smiling at the questions. What a pretty smile.

"At the moment, Wil, you're a level 1 Core. Good for you! At level 1 you have access to 10 Mana, and you regenerate 10 Mana every Sunrise. Why am I telling you this though? Let me just show you your Dungeon Menu."

Chime

Name - Wilcox Chosen Monster - Beasts Mana - 10/10 Species - Dungeon Core (Lv.1) Chosen Location - Ilvan Forest Mana Regen - 10/d Number of Floors - 1 Number of Monsters - 0 Resources - 0

Wil flinched, a miracle he didn't scream. Say what you want about the Chime's antics, it had useful information when it felt like sharing. Something was bothering him, though.

"Hey, Belle, why is my name Green?" He asked, more curious than anything else.

"It's your Affinity, each Dungeon gains an affinity based on their location and Monster choice. You chose a Forest, and then the beasts that reside in that Forest. So you became a Nature Dungeon." He really wished he had this information at the beginning. It wouldn't have mattered though, Deer-apocalypse would happen one way or another.

"So, do I get any benefits for being a Nature Dungeon?" He asked greedily. She just smirked at him, "As a Nature Dungeon, you're going to receive benefits to all plant-based Dungeon aspects, as well as bonuses to the Monsters of Nature. It may sound strong, but remember, all Dungeons get these kinds of bonuses depending on where they chose to settle."

She sure can be smart when she wants to be. He thought to himself, he may as well push his luck and try to find out everything he needs to know BEFORE he needed the information.

"What about Two-legs?"

"What about them?" She asked curiously.

"Well, do they have Affinities like Dungeons when they choose to live somewhere?" She was giggling at him now. It would have upset him a lot more if he didn't think it was adorable.

"Not exactly, Wil, the Sapients do have Affinities yes, but they get them randomly and from birth. It's actually the source of a lot of infighting between the many races. Some races, however, do seem to have a natural inclination towards certain Affinities. Elves, for instance, have a higher Affinity for Air, Shadow, and Earth. Keep in mind, the Two-legs Affinities are the most basic, they aren't as specialized as Dungeons are."

"I'm not sure I understand, so Two-legs can't be Nature affinity?" He asked.

"I guess it's possible, but that would require two or even three different affinities, and that kind of power doesn't belong in a Sapient anyways. The amount of Mana would make them pop like a balloon." At the word 'pop', she mimed an explosion with her hands and made a sound with her mouth.

She continued, "There are six main Affinity types. Earth. Air. Water. Fire. Shadow. Light."

"What does my Nature Affinity come from?" He asked excitedly. This was all so much fun, and he was curious to know where he stacked up related to other Dungeons.

"As a Nature Dungeon, you have mainly Earth Affinity, thanks to your choice of the Ilvan Forest. However, since you picked Beasts as your main Monster, you also gain a slight Water and Air Affinity as well."

"Why would Beasts give me Water and Air, though?" He thought that didn't really make much sense, considering animals weren't made out of that much water, or air.

"Well, it's the same reason the Dragons are Fire Affinity, it's all about their origins. Beasts are parts of Earth, Water, and Air, because it's how they were created. The Earth for their strength, and solidarity in the predators. Water to conform, and adapt to whatever situation comes their way, like in the prey animals. Then finally Air, for the free spirits that reside in all beasts." She was in full on lecture mode.

"Beasts, and all other Monsters for that matter, have a little bit of every Affinity in them, and there are much more detailed reasons each Affinity applies to a specific species, but that's a lesson for another time." She winked at him, then continued.

"However, for Beasts specifically, it is mostly Earth, Water, and Air. Couple that with the fact that the location you chose is quite in tune with the Earth, and you've got yourself a Nature Dungeon. There have been some odd combinations of Dungeons throughout the years, and if we survive long enough we may even get to meet some of them!" She was getting really excited at the idea of meeting other Cores, and their Guides. It made Wil feel a little insecure, then he remembered they were stuck together for the next few centuries and quickly got over his insecurities.

"I'm still glad we picked a Nature Dungeon though, I don't know what I would have done if we got stuck with something like Skeletons." He mentally shuddered.

She was smiling from pointed ear to pointed ear. "I know! I can't wait for us to get started, speaking of, don't you have a tunnel to be mining out?" She didn't look like she was really suggesting, more like demanding.

"Yes ma'am.." She frowned at that. Best not call her old just yet, save that one for later. "How much will the tunnel cost me to dig out?"

Chime

Excavate

Mana cost varies

Manually carve out a section of the Dungeon to the specifications of the Core.

Tunnel

5 Mana per Tunnel

Dig out a 6ft tall, 4ft wide, 10ft long hole into the direction of the Dungeons choosing. It can be connected to Rooms or added onto existing Tunnels to enlarge them.

Room

10 Mana per Room

Dig out a 12ft tall, 12ft wide, 12ft long room. It can be connected to Tunnels or added onto existing Rooms to enlarge them.

Boss Room

25 Mana per Boss Room

Dig out a custom room for a specific Monster. It can have (1) per Floor. It cannot be relocated once placed.

Relocation

5 Mana per Tunnel

10 Mana per Room

Manually move a Tunnel/Room into a different section of the Dungeon than where it was originally built.

New Floor

100 Mana per New Floor

Moves the Core Room down and allows the creation of a New Floor.

"Why is everything so god damn expensive!" He was beyond annoyed. It would take him weeks just to get a decent Dungeon going!

Belle, ever the voice of reason, chimed in with, "Calm down, you drama Core, once you level up it won't be so bad!"

Grumbling to himself the entire time, he focused on the choice to dig a Tunnel and watched as his available Mana dipped to 5/10. Then, he looked to her, and asked, "Belle...which way is down?"

After a few minutes of laughter pointed directly at his Core, he finally got her to point towards a wall in-between wheezing gasps.

Now in an even worse mood, he shoved his thoughts into the idea of a Tunnel and watched as stone, moss, and all other little tidbits were devoured by a golden green Mana. His Mana. By the end of the little spectactle, he felt much better, and also surprisingly full. Why did he feel full?

"Which way is down he says? Oh my gosh, I can't wait to tell Mom that one, that's definitely going in the hall of fame." She was frantically whispering to herself, but since it was just her and Wil alone in a quiet cave, he heard it anyways.

"Hall of fame?"

"Oh! Uh...nothing?" He was beginning to get annoyed again, but she knew him too well.

"Hey Wil, are you feeling full?" She deflected.

"Yeah! I don't know why, but after I ate away the Tunnel, I feel better, maybe even a little stronger." She was nodding along furiously.

"Yep, that's because you just absorbed your first resources!" Oh, those things, Mr.Blue mentioned those earlier. I also saw them on that Dungeon Menu Belle showed me. "Well that's good, how do I use them?"

Chime