- Chapter 3 -

Third Time's The Charm

I don’t know my own name. Worst of all I didn’t even realise until someone force fed me the reality. Ironically that someone is a copy of me. I fired off the only question in my head as soon as it came to me, “What’s my name?”

“You don’t know, so I don’t know. I thought we established that?” Parallel Me responded.

“But you did know that I didn’t, when I didn’t know that I didn't. So, tell me, how did you know something I didn’t?”

Parallel Me shrugged, “The System.”

“You’re telling me that the tutorial for ALL Dungeon Core’s, it pointed out that I don’t know my own name?”

“No. When I was… made, created, I didn’t instantly appear before you. I think I was inside The System. Whatever it was, it lets all tutorial Parallel Will’s stay until they process everything that is put into their heads. When I realised there was no time limit, I took advantage and I stalled. It gave me time to think things through.”

I did my best to recall the sequence of events that lead to Parallel Me’s appearance. “There was, what? A five-minute delay between me activating the tutorial and you showing up? What could you have possibly accomplished?”

“For you it was five-minutes. If you must know how long it was for me… I spent many weeks mulling it over.”

“WEEKS!?” I yelled. “WEEKS!!”

“For me, the passage of time was sped up. How could I not take advantage and plan?” Tagging on some temptation, Parallel Me added, “The plan includes leaving the darkness.”

Leave! I may have, rather worryingly, forgotten other things about my old life but that was the thing. It was now, officially, my old life. I have a new one ahead of me. The only option is to keep moving forward. Then there's the fact that it does sound like an opportunity of a lifetime… and I REALLY want to get out of this place. What was left of my memories told me I was more motivated to do something than I have ever been.

Parallel Me told me that we have three things to do. We had to select my Core material, something he would NOT shut up about. Selecting our spawn point was another. But he also mentioned selecting a speciality.

“Selecting a speciality is one of the perks of activating the tutorial. Thankfully we activated the Tutorial from the start, so we should be able to benefit more.”

“Are you implying you can activate the tutorial late?”

“Yes. You could say that. To activate it, you need to reach a certain intelligence level- something that can take Core a while to do.”

“Not all Cores can activate the tutorial at the start? That’s so stupid. Isn’t that the point of a tutorial? Any tutorial? All tutorials? To activate it at the start?”

Parallel Me just shrugged. “The System didn’t explain why it set its standards so high.” Seeing my lack of questions, Parallel Me’s mood quickly morphed as he gushed, “Now hurry up and select your Core’s material! I want to see what happens!”

“You don’t know what happens?”

“A Dungeon Core picking what it is made of is like someone picking their own biological parents. Logically impossible.”

“Ok then.” Parallel Me’s explanation got me a little excited. Finally, The System is broken in my favour. I selected Core material and a list swiftly formed. I browsed through it, selecting Core materials at random intervals to examine them. I soon confirmed that they got better as they progressed. Naturally, I scrolled down to the bottom and selected the last one. Its summary read:

Core Type: Crystalium ‘A product of the heavens, this blessed material has no equal. All will yield before it’s might.’

I cocked my head to the side, confused. “That’s it? Two lines? That’s a little lacklustre for something rated as the best…” The different materials gave different benefits. Take wood for example, something appearing relatively early in the list, it had the benefit of spawning, and therefore having, territory on the surface. That seemed better than this… I started comparing Crystalium to other materials, trying to puzzle out the systems logic. “Material has no equal,” I muttered, before exclaiming, “Is it being literal?! Will be un-killable with this?”

“You would be considered a failure as a Dungeon Core if an invader managed to strike your Core. And on that note, if you can’t stop them they can just keep going until you're dead. No matter how strong your Core is.”

“I suppose…”

“Also keep in mind that all Dungeon Cores are part organic and as a result not as strong as what their Core formed from.”

Part organic, part metal or what-have-you? Ok, whatever, I’ll let that one slide. I have had harder things to swallow these days. “Do you think The System is trying to trick us? Or has it made a mistake?”

“No, I think we should take it at face value; crystalium is a really though material. It’s certainly not the flashiest, there were quite a few interesting abilities from other core materials. However, I don’t think collecting flashy abilities as a Dungeon Core is very hard. Now, changing your Core’s base strength, or the equivalent of genetics for a living organism, not so much,” Parallel Me reasoned.

“So, we should pick it? Any alarm bells ringing in your head? Tutorial senses tingling?” I asked in caution.

“This should make at least one of my plans very interesting. So, no, quite the opposite, it’s about time this stupid System worked in our favour.”

Grinning, I turned to him, “Just what I was thinking.”

“Well you know what they say, great minds think alike!”

“What could possibly go wrong?” I selected crystalium as my Core material as Parallel Me tensed up.

Parallel Me unfroze himself and complained, “Why did you say that? I think I almost shat myself when you said that.”

“You can shit yourself? I thought you were just… you know… an intangible manifestation?”

“I mean shit myself metaphorically, of course.”

“Oh, OK. Me too.”

“…What?”

“What?”

Parallel Me sighed. “Why did you say, ‘Me too’?”

“Well, if I was ever to ‘shit myself’, it would only, ever, be metaphorically. Obviously.”

Parallel Me through his hands up in exasperation. “What the fuck are you talking about? Why did you feel the need to mention that?”

“Well you're me, so don’t you know? Not that there's anything to know. I was just saying.”

“NO! I have absolutely no idea as to why you would say that!”

I looked over to the menu and saw it, my updated profile:

Name: none Titles: none Race: Chimera: Dungeon Core & Human Racial Traits: none Classes: none Affinities: none Skills: none Spells: none Status: none

“Shall we move on to my spawn location or choose my specialty?” I questioned.

“Specialty. I don’t think you’re going to find the choice very difficult.”

The first two names seemed self-explanatory. I wasn’t sure about the last. They read:

“What is the last one about?” I asked.

“The Lord Master is all about you and managing your dungeon. The main benefit is that it lets you walk around in an avatar, a monster of your choice, and support or improve it with other abilities you can get. There are also some things that help you manage your dungeon in general.”

“An avatar? Sleep?! FOOD?!! That sounds awesome!”

“Could it be that you want to put your life on the line and directly confront intruders?”

Parallel Me’s swift suppression of my enthusiasm left me somewhat bitter. “So, we shouldn’t pick it?”

In a comforting voice, “It’s not like you won’t be able to buy abilities from the other ability trees. You wouldn’t be a dungeon without at least some capability in all these areas.”

“Then how does it work?”

“We will get a discount on the cost of the abilities in our specialty.”

“Ok then, I think I know what the other two are about, but explain them to me, just in case.”

“Really?”

“Wanna’ lose your job?”

“You can’t fire me.”

“I bet I could restart you. Would you still be you then? Or a copy of a newer me?”

“The trap-master options offer bonuses related to traps you place.”

“Shocker.”

“I’m just doing what you told me,” Parallel Me grumbled. “The Monster-master ability tree revolves around monsters in your dungeon. And I say, ‘all monsters’ and not ‘purchased monsters’ because it is possible to tame ‘wild’ ones that enter your dungeon and secure stronger loyalties over time.”

“Sounds intriguing, go on.” I said. Parallel Me rolled his eyes and bowed, but not getting any words out before I interrupted him. “You don’t have to bow, I’m not going to end your existence. Even though I could. With but a snap of my fingers.”

“There is no off button for me I’m afraid. I’m with you forever,” Parallel Me’s sentence switched to a mumble, “or until 12 months are up. Whichever comes first.”

Alone?! I felt a spasm of fear in my heart as all the warmth left me. I glanced over my shoulder but saw nothing. “What was that last part?” I asked, my voice wavering.

“I told you… I’m only a temporary freebie from The System. I’ll only be around long enough for you to get on your feet.”

“What? I’ll just be by myself from then until the day I die?”

“You’ll have monsters.”

“How am I supposed to hold a fulfilling conversation on my intellectual level with some monsters?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

“But what will I do...”

“Don’t worry, if you live long enough you might be able to afford another Autonomous Parallel Will.”

“What?”

“A Will. You can purchase them in the shop in The System. They’re relatively expensive, but essential for running a large dungeon or dungeons.”

“I… can just buy another one?”

“Well… not another one, I’m unique.”

“Thank god, you're replaceable! I was so worried.”

“Asshole.” Parallel me said, crossing his arms and glowering.

***

After consoling Parallel Me and convincing him that he would always have a special place in my heart I managed to coax him back into a more productive mindset. Something had been bugging me. “What do you mean ‘purchase’?”

“The System has a store exclusively for Dungeon Cores. As in, you buy something from a catalogue listed in The System and it appears in front of you. It’s part of what makes a dungeon so valuable, creating luxuries and necessities out of thin air. I’ll give you a demonstration after we spawn.”

“Cool, next question. Monsters aren’t inherently loyal?”

“Monsters you purchase, or name, have the ‘Live to Serve’ title. That title gives lots of cool benefits, but the most important thing is that it guarantees absolute loyalty. Wild monsters, or even second-generation monsters, have no such guarantee of loyalty. However, your mana does heavily influence them, especially if they are monsters conceived or born in your territory. So, unless you name a monster you didn’t purchase, you must rely on the effects your mana has on monsters that gather it. Many Monster Master abilities help with the speed and efficiency of this process.”

“Influence? It sounds more like brainwashing. Harsh.”

“Monsters need mana from somewhere, it’s how they grow. It’s a symbiotic relationship- benefiting both us and them. But yeah… the benefits are lopsided.”

“So, if I want to use monsters I haven’t purchased I risk them rebelling?”

“It’s unlikely, but yes, it is possible- generally monsters with intelligence are the only ones you have to worry about,” Parallel Me explained. “To be clear, I still think monster master is the best option. The Monster Master is the most versatile. And a dungeon with more monsters is considered more valuable as it offers more resources like food and magical monster bits.”

“Food? Wait, nope! I don’t wanna’ know.”

“Ok, that settles it. Monster Master it is.”

I agreed with Parallel Me’s reasoning so I selected it in the menu. “Well I guess all that's left is to select our spawn location.”

“I’m not sure how this will work. No other dungeon has done this before.” Parallel Me stated.

I brought up the map, which was still populated with red dots. I think they were responsible for all the ‘pings’ I heard a while ago. “Are they where I can spawn?”

“No, I think they are dungeons.”

Frowning, I couldn't help but ask, “Is there competition between dungeons?”

“More like wars,” Parallel Me scoffed. “Plundering or taking over other dungeons is profitable for dungeons too. Even killing. A Dungeon Core cannot be purchased in the store, but is an ingredient for some really useful recipes.”

“Recipes?”

“Purchases that require ingredients- items- to complete.”

“Can we access the store now, and say, purchase a pen and some paper?” I said grinning.

“As expected; you're clever and devious, but there is no access to the store yet-”

“Let me guess, after spawn?”

“Yes, but I suppose we could just try and memorise it?” Parallel Me suggested. We both looked at the map intently for a while…

“Have you memorised anything yet?” I asked.

“I don’t think so; my memory isn’t that good. It's a detailed map. You?” Parallel Me replied.

“If you can’t, how can I? Do you know if there are memory spells or something in the store?”

“No idea.”

“Hmm, then I guess we’ll just have to commit as much to memory as possible.”

“Let me know when you’re finished.” Parallel Me replied.

I could see him fiddling with The System from the corner of my eye. I spent some time perusing the map.

Afterwards, Parallel me highlighted one continent in particular, “As far as spawn locations go this is really the only option. On the other contents,” Parallel Me gestured to the others, “while they may have many Dungeons, the overwhelming majority of power is concentrated in the hands of one or two Dungeon Cores.” He focused his attention back on the first continent. “There are enough top tier dungeons still in the midst of a power struggle to call it an oligopoly. And the continent still hosts a sizable middle class, all things considered.”

I grimaced, worried. “That still doesn’t sound very ideal for us-”

“None of the continents are ideal, this one is just the least worst option. Besides the friction between the top three dungeons and the demonic dungeons should mean chaos. It should help us survive and grow stronger, unbeknown to anyone.”

“Yay! We might get to eke out a living in the shadows!” Before Parallel Me could reply to my sarcastic comment I hastened to add, “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s the best we got. Anyway, where was it…? Ah, here, what about this mountain range?” I moved the map to what I considered a good spawn location on the continent in question. One I had taken note of earlier.

After I motioned to it Parallel Me said, “Very mountainous, unpopulated and… no dungeons for ages. Why is that? There should be loads, this area has a very high concentration of mana… Wait,” He expertly manipulated the map as the view quickly changed. It now showed an underground city a distance off from my proposed spawn point. Parallel Me continued, “Dwarves. No quite so unpopulated, but not by much. There aren’t very many of them… To be able to keep such a vast area dungeon free, they must be incredibly strong. Huh. The tutorial didn’t really highlight the Dwarves as a super formidable race, or anti-dungeon, but obviously that isn’t the case.”

“I assume Dwarves are good a building stuff. Maybe the ‘formidable’ factor comes from weapons they’ve made?”

“Yes, Dwarves, as a race, are hands down the best smiths. But I’m still not one-hundred percent sure about how they could have done this. Unknowns are bad. I really don’t think we should spawn here, I can only assume they have an anti-dungeon policy, with the strength to back it up.” Parallel Me gestured to the vast area free of dungeons for emphasis.

“What alternatives are there? Look at the rest of the map. I would be eaten alive, with or without my advantages. Well. Advantage.” I enunciated the last word as bitterly as I could.

Parallel Me seemed to agree but the map started another search, sound effects and all. I looked for any changes. I think I noticed a dot missing here or there compared to last time, deaths I’m sure, a handful moved slightly- Wait. What was that? It was that same mountainous area as last time. I could've sworn I saw a dot. If only for the briefest of moments. What did that mean? Dead? No, it can’t be. There would have been a red dot there on the map earlier…

“Hay! Hello?” Parallel Me started waving his hand in front of my face. “I think I found another area,” he said slowly, pointing to a large island off the coast of the continent hosting the Dwarf Mountains. Not very far away. Relatively speaking.

“That’s in the same ‘dead zone’. How is that any better?” I said when I realised just how close it was to my original suggestion.

“It’s our own island, beach front views, isolated by water. It’s great. There’s no competition. Ignoring the Goblins.”

“Goblins?”

“Seriously, ignore the Goblins. An adult would only be about as strong as a five maybe six-year-old human. We can handle that.”

“It’s in that dead zone, so obviously it isn’t as isolated from those Dwarves as you think. And it’s a small island in the middle of nowhere.”

“I know it’s not perfect. The lack of adventurers will limit growth but the alternative spawn in the mountains is the same, because it’s not like we could advertise with the Dwarves around. Though it being an island seems restrictive space wise, we’re a dungeon so the surface area is almost irrelevant. In fact, it’s a boon since it makes the entrance more defendable. I also think the water affinity would be good.”

“Affinity?”

“Affinities are just inclinations towards types of elements.”

“Like the periodic table?”

“More like water, earth, fire, air, etc…”

“Very magic. So, our affinity will probably be water?”

“It would be easy to obtain if we’re surrounded by it.”

“And that would mean?”

“We would have access to monsters with the water affinity.”

“When I think old fashioned luxuries, I think silver, spices, silk and pelts. Not fish. And what would a water attributed dungeon look like anyway?”

“Affinity doesn’t affect your dungeon like that. But more importantly, I think you’re underestimating how aggressive the world can be. The fact that it’s an island, and is easily protected against most races, is invaluable.”

“Most races?”

“Things like water demons might be a problem.”

“You're shooting yourself in the foot.”

“There are normal, land loving, demons too you know.” Parallel Me exclaimed, exasperated.

“Where are they?” I asked. Parallel Me pointed to a continent separated from the one we were currently debating over by an amount of water that I could only describe as ‘very reassuring’. “Wait, where are the demons that you said the top dungeons were fighting with?” Parallel Me’s hand didn’t move. Alarmed, I said, “Are you serious? That island is basically in-between the two continents.”

“You’re exaggerating. The island is quite far east and out of the way. The demons will probably be more focused on the holy dungeon to the west.”

I ignored him and started to investigate the earlier anomaly. Parallel Me stood by, probably waiting like a gentleman for me to prepare my side of the argument.

Impatience got the better of him as he soon chided, “Did you have a stroke? What are you doing? We’re in the middle of a debate!”

“Just look.” I sighed and continued to try and manipulate the map. Parallel Me drifted over and took a look at the fruits of my labour. My investigation into the vanishing dot.

“Is that…?”

“I think so.”

“An abandoned dungeon? Or the remains of a dead one?”

“It looks really big.” I tried to delve deeper into the earth to see the extent of the dungeon but the screen started to become staticky before it quickly got worse. My heart spasmed at the thought of causing another god forsaken error, so I hurriedly zoomed out.

Watching my antics, Parallel Me seemed gloomy. “The size is an indication of its strength and age. I don’t see why a Dungeon Core would abandon such a valuable dungeon. So, I can only conduce the Core is dead. And because Dungeon Cores have an infinite potential lifespan, a dead Dungeon Core means a murdered Dungeon Core- you don't have a snowball's chance in hell.”

“IF it was killed and IF whatever killed it is still around. Would it not be beneficial to take over an old dungeon?”

Parallel Me deflated somewhat as he conceded, “There are many benefits to taking over a pre-existing, coreless, dungeon.”

“And they are?”

Parallel Me sighed and elaborated, “Once a dungeon no longer has a Dungeon Core, the dungeon isn’t really a dungeon anymore- it’s essentially dead, but it doesn’t… ‘rot’.” Parallel Me took my puzzled silence as a motion to continue, “In a suddenly coreless dungeon, there is immediate fallout, yes; all the traps stop working, walls don’t repair themselves, ectara. But unless things are tampered with, the dungeon, no matter how much they would make an earth engineer cry, will remain standing until the end of time.”

“And we care because…?”

“We care because, while all that stuff isn’t working, it’s still there… All it needs is a new owner.”

“Are you saying what I think you are saying? A free dungeon?”

“Not even close. We still have to purchase floors and rooms, same price as we would for a new one, but buying those existing floors and rooms will come with whatever is in them, no extra charge.”

“That’s still better than starting from scratch.”

“Hold your horses, there is still the problem of monsters.”

“They don’t all die?”

“If a Core dies, monsters tied to the core with the Live to Serve title die. The ones without the title, won’t die because of the Core’s death. They could still be around. And with a dungeon of that size and power, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the monsters left behind had intelligence. They might not take to kindly to the idea of losing their freedom.”

“Does that matter? We specialise in monster taming. And you saw the first few floors: no threat. We could take our time advancing into hostile territory. However, spawning anywhere else, literally anywhere else but the ‘dead zone’ would put me ON or NEXT TO a dungeon. It’s just a different kind of danger.”

“I agree that the ‘dead zone’ is, ironically, our safest option. The Dwarves might not notice a sudden unnatural spawn. And I refuse to believe that they didn’t take out a dungeon of that size without incurring massive losses. That should put them on the defensive and us in a better position to negotiate if diplomacy is an option.” Parallel Me fidgeted as he weighed the options, trying to persuade himself one-way or the other. Eventually he stopped. “No, I still think we should go with the island, it’s the safer option. Come on! Haven’t you always wanted to own your own island?”

“Let me present you with a perfect argument: I want to.”

“Wha-” Parallel Me started.

“I think it would be exciting, exploring an old dungeon. Uncovering the past. Besides how hard can it be to at the very least hide from the Dwarfs?”

“They might not be-” Parallel Me started again.

“You are me. You want to too.”

“…” Parallel Me opened his mouth and closed it again. Finally, with a shrug of his shoulders, he said, “I honestly can’t argue with that. The logic is flawless. And with the tutorial period, both hiding or fleeing is much easier. If all else fails we could just leave. Head towards the island. You know, as a ‘Plan B’.”

“Ok, it's decided.” I beamed. I went to select our spawn point, tapping on the same location that I thought I saw the dot. The menu buzzed. It was a positive, happy sounding, buzz. Both of us turn to it and said, “You don’t have to be so excited to get rid of us, asshole.” The world distorted as I was funnelled somewhere unknown. Well, I did know, but it sounded cooler that way.

***