John had worked his way through most of the pile of materials that had been in Gwen’s bag. However, he had saved things like his books, C.D.s, DVDs, appliances, collectables, expensive liquors, and laptop for later, not wanting to risk losing some of his favourite possessions before doing some test absorptions. John decided to absorb some that wouldn’t be too hard to replace and see how the System registered them. Before that, though, he wanted to go through the materials and blueprints he had obtained.

Absorb Level Up, Current Level 10, Novice Bonus Activated

Creation Level Up, Current Level 10, Novice Bonus Activated

Materials: Wood - Pine, Fir, Maple, Cedar, Particle Board; Paper - Standard, Construction, Posterboard; Glass; Ceramic; Enamel; Foam; Pleather; Cloth; Clothing Materials - Cotton-Polyester Blend, Polyesters, Denim, Khaki, Wool, Silk; Rubber; Cork; Styrofoam; Magnets; Battery; Compass; Copper Wire; Nails; Elastics; Water; Cooking Oil; Vinegar; Baking Soda; Tungsten; Stainless Steel

Blueprints; Tables; Chairs; Cutlery; Plates; Bowls; Glasses; Sofa; Loveseat; Clothes - T-Shirt, Dress Shirt, Jeans, Dress Pants, Suit Jacket, Ties, Boxers, Socks, Shoes, Boots - Standard, Steel Toe; Bookshelf; Desk; End Table; Night Table; Dresser; Marbles; Towel; Entertainment Center; Pots; Pans; Curtains; Lightbulb; Ironing Board; LED Light; Stapler; Tools - Screwdrivers, Wrench, Pliers, Hammer, Chisel, Wire Cutter, Soldering Iron, File, Can Opener, Knife, Shovel, Handsaw, Hacksaw;

Dyes: Paints; Colours - Red, Light Blue, Grey, Green, Brown, White, Purple, Yellow; Finishes - Matte, Semi-Gloss, Gloss, Primer

Consolidate Materials, Blueprints, and Dyes?

YES/NO

John had yet to be steered wrong by selecting YES when the System had asked him a YES or NO question, so he decided to choose YES again and was given another notice after that.

Enough Colours And Shades Absorbed, Full Colour Palette Open

Auto-Consolidate Materials & Blueprints In Future (Option Can Be Turned Off)

YES/NO

Once again, John didn’t see any reason to select NO, so he picked YES again. After, he decided to check on the changes to his Status, the Creation Menu, and what the Novice Bonuses were for Creation and Absorption.

Name: John MacIntire

Race: Core

Title: The Inquisitive

Health: 100/100

Mana: 197/200

Research: 0 RP (+2 RP/Day)

Skills: Negotiator 21

Abilities: Absorb 10, Creation 10, Research 2, Soul Space 3, Domain 2, Crafting 1

Titles: The Inquisitive, The Negotiator

Achievements: Inquisitive Mind, Let’s Make A Deal

Creation

Materials: Soils+, Metals+, Woods+, Papers+, Building Materials+, Crafting Materials+, Clothing Materials+, Science Materials+, Water

Dyes

Blueprints: Furniture+, Housewares+, Clothes+, Misc.+, Tools+

Absorb, Level 10, Novice

Description: Allows Dungeons to Absorb Items/Materials. Doing so will unlock patterns for items and materials for use in creating objects using your Mana. Levels increase absorption speed.

Subskills: ???

Novice Bonus: Absorb Speed 1.1x

Creation, Level 10, Novice

Description: Allows Dungeons to Create Structure and Items. Beginning efficiency is n% where n is the level of the ability.

Subskills: Blueprints, Trap Creation (1 R.P.), ???

Novice Bonus: Creation Mana Efficiency (n+n/100)%, Current (11%)

The first of the significant changes that John noticed was that maximum Mana had now doubled from its original value of 100 to 200. Under the Creation menu, there appeared to be lists that could be selected for each Material and Blueprint type, and Dyes was its own Sub-Menu. To check what those would look like, he opened the list for Metals, followed by the Dyes Sub-Menu.

Metals: Steel (Rebar, Stainless), Aluminum, Copper, Tungsten

Dyes

Full-Colour Palette

Types: Ink (Standard, Gel), Paint

Finishes: Iridescent, Matte, Semi-Gloss, Gloss, Primer

When John checked out the Full-Colour Palette, he was able to select any colour he wanted and adjust the colour’s shade. He also saw there was a random option with bounds so that he could choose a completely random colour or a specific variation of colours. John had an intuitive understanding that this could be used both for Creatures, Loot, and other applications. Thinking over the changes to Absorb and Creation, he also knew that the efficiency would not allow him to gain Mana by creating and reabsorbing anything. John would simply gain back the Mana put into the Creation. Feeling slightly nervous about what he was about to do, he decided to start with what he felt was his most easily replaceable book, a dictionary. As he did so, a series of notifications popped up.

New Dungeon Ability, Codex, No Levels

Description: Dungeon creates a Codex of all information absorbed

Prerequisites: Absorb a source of knowledge.

Subskills: ???

Research Points Needed: 0

Codex Entry Added: Dictionary

Codex: Dictionary Subskill Unlocked

After Absorbing a Dictionary, Codex has gained the ability for you to concentrate on any known word in the Status or a Codex entry and receive definitions from the System.

Soul Space: Library Subskill Unlocked.

Media added to the Codex will now be available in a more physical form in the Soul Space. At certain Soul Space levels, this Library itself will become a tangible space in the Soul Space.

Blueprint Unlocked: Media: Books

After seeing this, on a strong hunch, John decided to absorb a Thesaurus and an English-French Dictionary. A new set of notifications rewarded his suspicion.

Codex Entries Added: Thesaurus, English-French Dictionary

Codex: Thesaurus Subskill Unlocked

After Absorbing a Thesaurus, your Codex has gained the ability for you to concentrate on any known word in the Status or a Codex entry and receive known alternate and related terms from the System.

Codex: Translation Subskill Unlocked

After Absorbing a source of Translations, your Codex has gained the ability to Translate any entries for which you have a Translation source. The System can Translate through multiple languages, but Translations may lose some clarity if they occur using numerous languages.

After this, John quickly absorbed the rest of his books, gaining a notification for a new Codex entry as each was incorporated. However, a couple of books gave him some extra bonuses. Mostly, they were books that were related to his Crafting Subskills that he had yet to unlock. Absorbing his old chemistry textbooks reduced his Chemistry research to 3 R.P., consuming a geology and geography textbook reduced Mineral Working to 4 R.P., and incorporating his recipe books reduced Cooking to 4 R.P. as well. He also received a notification that he had received some recipes for Chemistry, Alchemy, Smithing, Woodworking, and Cooking that would remain locked until he had Researched their respective Subskills. A further notification told John that by Researching a specific Codex entry for 1 R.P. each, he might unlock more bonuses, Recipes, or Blueprints. Following his flurry of absorbing all of his books, John again felt a sense of caution as he absorbed the first CD. He felt relief as he saw another set of notifications.

Codex Entry Added: Gorillaz - Self Titled Album

Codex: Audio Subskill Unlocked

After Absorbing an Audio Source, your Codex has gained the ability to store and playback any Audio source you absorb.

Blueprint Unlocked: Media: CDs

John followed up this notification by absorbing the rest of his C.D.s, then setting up a playlist for himself, and another for what Gwen might like with her current musical tastes. He also began setting up another playlist, for when he felt ready to introduce to music that she wouldn’t have a frame of reference for, coming from a different world. John felt much less hesitancy than before as he went to absorb his first DVD.

Codex Entry Added: Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy

Codex: Visual Subskill Unlocked

After Absorbing a Visual Source, your Codex has gained the ability to store and playback any Visual source you absorb.

Blueprint Unlocked: Media: DVDs

John quickly moved through the process of absorbing all of his DVDs and Blu-Rays, feeling a sense of joy that his favourite shows, movies, and his music had not been taken from him by his new existence and that he would likely be able to share them with his new friend Gwen. She seemed to share his excitement about learning and experiencing new things. From the enthusiasm Gwen had shown before in the existence of comics, John felt that her mind would be blown at the presence of recorded music and films. He also felt that Lenny was also intelligent enough to enjoy these things, though John wasn’t quite sure how he would bring them into the Dungeon proper.

Following his absorption of the movies and T.V. shows, John moved on to his video games. He was much less worried about the potential loss because while he had always enjoyed them, John thought that he wouldn’t have much time to play most of them anymore. While John could envision an hour or two breaks to watch a movie in his downtime, playing most video games had never been relaxing for him. However, he still felt relief as the video games were entered into the Codex as entries, and he received Blueprints for Cartridges under media. The Codex seemed to organize the games by the operating system, so he had a decent number of categories for Sony and Nintendo’s most recent systems and the good old Super Nintendo.

After finishing up with the video games, John moved on to what would be some of the hardest things to replace should Absorb not incorporate them into his patterns. While he was much less nervous about this than he had previously been, the System has shown itself to be pretty adaptable; there was still a hint of fear in his mind. Most of the collectables weren’t valuable themselves, per se, but most of them held a substantial sentimental value to John. Some had been gifts from his parents before they had passed away, and some of them were things he had bee a fan of since he was a kid. Some of the items were a combination of both, and he loathed the risk of losing those. A more rational part of his mind told him that if he didn’t Absorb them, there was a chance he would lose them anyway as others came through the Dungeon. However, if John gained their Blueprints, they would be available as long as he lived, close to eternity if his suspicions were correct.

The first thing he tested was a poster that he had since his teenage years. While it had gotten a bit beat up in the intervening years, it had been a poster of one of his favourite bands, and the age of it alone made it hold sentimental value. As he absorbed it, he felt relief as he saw the Codex entry update, a new Blueprint appear for Posters and a notification that Patterns had been added under the Creation tab. When he took a quick look at it, distinctive art pieces or designs could be added under Patterns and could be used similarly to Dyes, though there would be restrictions on where they could be applied. For example, that band poster would not be usable as a Pattern on most Creatures’ hides, though it might be acceptable in certain specific cases. Following that, John absorbed the other couple posters he had, and then followed it up with some art prints he had, unlocking the Print blueprint. Some of those he had been worried about losing because while some were popular pieces he had picked up for cheap, others were from more niche artists, and some of them had been inherited from his parents.

The next couple of collectables John absorbed were some toys he had since he was a kid. A couple of Star Wars action figures he had got for Christmasses over the years gained him the Figure Blueprint in the Misc. category. A couple of Lego sets, which again got him a new Blueprint under Misc., followed by a couple of Mech and Car models John had built as a kid, which got him a Model Blueprint under Misc. He had some ideas about what he would be able to do with these if John gained some specific Abilities he knew of in some stories and was hoping to use them. As John didn’t receive a Research notification upon his rumination, he was hopeful that it was already within the realm of possibility of standard Dungeon Abilities. Not just entirely out of luck with that idea. Finally, John moved on to the last collectable that he had put off absorbing. It wasn’t as much that John was worried about losing these, just that it had been something he had thought about a lot ever since reading Jonathon Smidt’s Bone Dungeon, and how the ideas in the stories could be iterated. It was one of the reasons John had been willing to become a Core. So, as he absorbed his first trading card, he could barely contain his excitement as a couple of notifications popped up.

Blueprint Unlocked: Media: Cards

Dungeon Research Unlocked

Dungeon Cards (20 R.P.)

Dungeon Cards

Description: Dungeon cards can be created upon the death of Creatures and Monsters in the Dungeon, and beyond if people have the right abilities.

Research Cost: 20 R.P.

Benefit Of Research: Creature and Monster Cards are available as Loot drops, and can be used in a variety of manners depending on further systems researched.

Parent Research: None

Research Unlocked: ???

Dungeon Ability Unlocked: ???

John gave a mental yell of exuberance; the initial unlock after the Research sounded almost exactly like what he had been thinking of for his initial plan with cards. It took him only another split second to realize that his psychic yell hadn’t been as unheard as yell inside a head usually was. Gwen bolted upright in her bed while Lenny gave a quick start before returning to his sleep. John offered a quick apology to Gwen, saying, “Sorry, Gwen. I just got pretty excited about some research I unlocked.”

“It’s no problem, John, I was pretty close to waking up myself. I was having the worst nightmare where all those books disappeared before I got a chance to read them.” As Gwen said this, she looked towards where her bag had been resting through the night. As Gwen noticed the orange ball of fluff where her bag should be, a pitiful “Noooooooooo, it was real...” came from Gwen’s mouth. “Did you absorb all the books already?” Gwen said, a hurt expression on her face.

“Yes, I didn’t think it would be an issue, or I figured you would have brought it up in the Soul Space.”

“I thought you would only absorb one or two last night, not all of them in one night.”

“I’m not sure what the problem is, I still have access to them, and you have access to my Soul Space.”

“Only when I’m sleeping! Unless…” Gwen said as an embarrassed look, and a flush crept onto her face.

“Unless you invite my physical body into your Soul Space.”

“I’m not sure why that would be a problem, you already have access to it,” John said with a hint of confusion in his voice.

“That’s just my mind when I’m sleeping. If I physically enter your Soul Space, it will cost you a decent amount of Mana at this stage of your growth, and it will be much more intimate.”

“Intimate how?”

“Well, last time I entered, it was more like my mind stopping over at a neighbour’s house for a quick visit. When my body comes in, it would be more like my moving in with you. On top of that, our mental bond would be much deeper, leading to some of our thoughts crossing over. Depending on how long I stay in there, we might even see some of each other’s memories.”

“I get how that is a bit uncomfortable, but I’m okay with it if you are.”

“Are you sure about that? Really?” Gwen said, the embarrassed look still on her face, but now with undertones of warmth.

“Really. Even though we barely know each other, my impression has always been that you are a pleasant person. And while I have plenty of embarrassing and painful memories, I can’t think of any that I would be truly ashamed of to have someone else see. Especially if that person is going to be my only friend and confidant for the foreseeable future. It will either bring us closer or drive us apart.”

“Okay, I’m ready if you are. Just will for me to be able to come into your Soul Space.”

“Okay, it’s done,” as John said that he watched Gwen suddenly disappear from his Dungeon. He was worried for half a second until he realized he could feel her presence somewhere between beside and inside of him. Though that thought barely made sense to John, he was soon distracted as the feeling of 200 mana being spent so quickly slammed into him.

“This is weird,” Gwen’s voice said with a hint of a giggle as it almost echoed in John’s mind, “It’s my first time physically entering someone’s Soul Space.”

“Well, there should be some kind of Library that has those books you wanted to read. Stick to the books for now, though. There’s something I want to surprise you with after I finish up out here.”

“Okay, let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

John still had some appliances, liquors, and his laptop left to absorb. Besides that, there was some food he had yet to touch, figuring that Gwen could eat some of it in the morning if she were hungry. Since it was morning, and Gwen didn’t appear peckish, John absorbed all the food not currently in the refrigerator, getting some Blueprints under the Food category and some seeds, but no Recipes. He figured that must be because he hadn’t unlocked the Cooking subskill and didn’t know some of the recipes himself, with which Gwen’s stray thoughts seemed to concur. And since Gwen was no longer in it, he absorbed the bed, blankets, and pillows, getting some more Blueprints.

John then moved on to some of the appliances he had. The first to be absorbed was an electric can opener. John figured that in the worst case if this didn’t work, he would still have the hand can opener tool, and he would leave the rest of the appliances in his Dungeon for now. However, he gained a new Blueprints category: Appliances, with the can opener as his first Blueprint in it. Along with the usual Notifications, John received another saying the can opener could be used in John’s Soul Space. However, it wouldn’t be usable in the Dungeon until either the Dungeon is supplied with electrical power or John Researched the Mana To Electrical Power Conversion. John got similar notifications as he absorbed the rest of the appliances. As John absorbed the laptop, another Notification that data on it was currently inaccessible even in the Soul Space until the Research is completed. Along with a notification for the Computers category of Blueprints. Absorbing his video game system after that gave a similar warning, along with more Blueprints to computers Giving his Status a quick check before going into his Soul Space, John saw that he now had a total of 250 mana.

As he entered his Soul Space, he saw Gwen sitting cross-legged on the ground reading a Calvin & Hobbes book, as he had mentioned to her. While she didn’t seem to be in any discomfort, John quickly manifested his armchair for her to sit. He could feel the thankfulness from her, and he willed himself another armchair into existence next to hers. As Gwen finished reading the section of the book she was in, she looked up at him with a smile.

“What’s this surprise you have for me?”

“Just give me a sec, this will be so cool,” John said as he manifested his entertainment center. He then went to produce the T.V. that usually sat on it, when nothing happened. Right, his asshole of a brother had stolen the fucking T.V.