(I have to admit. Watching the parts seemingly grow out of the surface is really cool.)

[Have you finished? Already?]

(Yeah, I have all the parts ready. Why? How long did I take?)

[No more than an hour I think. That’s right, I forgot to ask. How much mana do you have?]

(The System says my mana is increasing too fast to give an answer.)

[Go figures. With a territory the size of a planet, it’s not that surprising.]

(I have all the parts I need but… how do I put them together?)

[Every Dungeon can freely manipulate everything it creates. Just imagine picking it up and putting it where you want it. It should move by itself.]

Daniel looked at the engine parts scattered around him, thinking of the memory of building the engine. To his surprise, all the pieces raised slightly off the ground and started fitting together. One piece floated into another. All the pieces assembled themselves as if they had a mind of their own and after no more than a minute the engine was complete, sitting on the ground in front of Daniel.

(That was cool. Like watching an animated instruction video. I do wonder if it will work though?)

[I have no idea what you just made but if you don’t try it you will never find out, will you?]

(Your right, but. I didn’t think about it before, but this thing needs fuel to work. More specifically, it needs plasma, I have no idea how to get that without the machines we had at the lab.)

[What is this plasma thing made of?]

(Anything really. The denser the material, the less you need for larger amounts of plasma.)

[So, how did the machines make it?]

(One machine would pump a gas into the space where a forcefield will be created. Then the forcefield generator is turned on to trap the gas inside. Lastly, the forcefield would be moved into the reaction chamber of a fusion reactor built specifically to produce a steady stream of energy. The gas would be forced into the energy stream and kept there until it absorbed enough energy to turn into plasma.)

[And in a language I can understand?]

(Plasma is a gas so hot it stops being a gas and turns into plasma.)

[That’s better. So, this plasma is just really hot gas, right? Then all you have to do is make some gas and heat it until it turns into plasma, yes?]

(But, how do I heat things up? First, I would have to melt a bit of metal until it melts. Then, I would have to make it even hotter while increasing the pressure, to turn the metal into a gas. Then I would have to increase the heat to even more ridiculous levels to turn the gas into plasma.)

[What levels of temperature are we talking about here?]

(Ooh, I don’t know. Something around, maybe, the surface of a medium sized star?)

[That… is a very high temperature. How are you even supposed to hold that stuff to use it?]

(The plasma itself isn’t that hot. It just needs that kind of temperature to create.)

[That sounds more reasonable.]

(Usually, ‘cold’ plasma doesn’t even reach 10,000 C.)

[That’s still a lot, but nowhere near the surface of a star.]

(That still doesn’t answer the question of how I’m going to heat the metal.)

[Easy. Use mana.]

(How is that even an answer? I only have more questions now.)

[What questions?]

(How do I use mana? How do I use mana to heat up the metal? How do I use mana to create pressure?]

[Think of mana as water that responds to your thoughts. Just like water in an ocean, the deeper you go the more pressure there is. So, the more mana you pack into one place, the greater the pressure at the centre. As for the heat? Just think of the mana heating up. The more you concentrate on a specific temperature, the more the mana will try to get to that temperature. But, of course, just like using a spell, the higher the temperature, the more mana will be needed. The mana will burn itself to produce heat, meaning that if you don’t continuously supply the area with mana all the mana in the area will burn and disappear.]

(That easy?)

[That easy.]

(Magic is… a little disappointing.)

[Ooh no. That doesn’t count as magic. Only Dungeon Cores can do that. It’s called Direct Mana Manipulation.]

(Another thing unique to Dungeon Cores?)

[Indeed. Along with control over time and the ability to freely move rooms and items in their territory, Dungeons have 4 unique abilities.]

(Control over time?)

[Dungeons can control the time inside their territory to a certain extent. They can make it so that time doesn’t pass, you go in complete the dungeon and come out, seemingly a second later. Or, you do what a few Dungeons like to do to respond to threats. They get rid of their entire dungeon, replacing it with a single long hallway. The Dungeon Core is made clearly visible at the end of the tunnel to attract people, make them more likely to run in without thinking. The time in the tunnel is accelerated to the point of a few seconds being turned into a hundred years. Anything that steps into the tunnel will most likely die on the spot, even the races with lifespans of a few hundred years will have no chance of surviving the trip. The tunnels are usually made with even those races in mind, being long enough to kill even those with lifespans surpassing the 10,000 mark.]

(Is there anything Dungeon Cores can’t do? All these unique abilities and all sound a bit too good to not have any drawbacks.)

[Of course there are drawbacks to being a Dungeon Core. If it wasn’t for the fact that the entire planet counts as your territory, you wouldn’t be able to be on the surface. Plus, there are a load of restrictions placed on regular Cores. Like the fact that they can’t block off their core completely. There has to be a way of reaching the Core. Also, Cores are restricted in what they can do while intruders are in the Dungeon. They can’t move rooms or traps when intruders are too close to them. They also can’t create monsters or evolve or mutate animals and monsters while intruders are in the Dungeon. Floor bosses and Dungeon Bosses can’t be assigned or created, and monsters can’t undergo the naming ceremony while intruders are in the Dungeon.]

(Intruders sure are a pain to Dungeons, aren’t they?)

[Dungeons are supposed to prepare everything before creating an entrance.]

(What’s this about creating an entrance?)

[Dungeons don’t start with an entrance. The entrance is created by the Core when it feels ready or if there’s something it really needs on the surface.]

(What could a Dungeon need from the outside?)

[Plants and animals. For a Dungeon, the only way to get plants and animals is from the outside.]

(Right, Dungeons can’t make them.)

[You should probably try making some plasma now.]

(Sorry, I got distracted again. So, what, do I just tell the mana what to do?)

[Yes, you are a Dungeon.]

(Right.)

Daniel thought about a piece of iron, around the size of a fist, separating from the planet. Just like promised a small chunk of the planet’s surface chipped off and floated towards him. Next, thinking of the image of glowing, melted metal, Daniel surrounded the iron with mana. Feeling the mana disappear, Daniel remembered that he had to continuously supply the area with mana to keep the heat going. Pointing an imaginary finger, Daniel began sending a small stream of mana towards the iron while imagining the molten iron from his past life.

Just like that, the iron began to heat up going from a dirty grey to a glowing red. From red, the iron began turning lighter and lighter until it became white. The white lump of iron began to distort, turning gooey before Daniel’s eyes.

Sending a huge amount of mana to surround the iron, Daniel began increasing the temperature. Imagining the surface of the sun, Daniel raised both of his imaginary arms, opening both hands towards the iron, he sent as much mana as he could into the ball of mana surrounding the iron.

Next second, with a huge flash, a red ball of plasma floated peacefully, basking in the heat given off by the mana.

(It seems to have gone well.)

[Did you manage to melt the metal?]

(Actually, I already have some plasma here.)

[So fast? I thought you said there were a lot of things that needed to happen in a specific order to get plasma.]

(Well, I thought of getting a piece of iron and one just floated off of the surface towards me. Then, I sent mana to surround it. After that I imagined the mana heating the iron until it melted. After it melted I just surrounded it with a huge ball of mana and sent as much mana as I could while imagining the surface of a star.)

[As much as you could, you say? So, what happened after that?]

(A bright flash and a ball of plasma where the molten iron used to be.)

[A little disappointing.]

(What did you think was going to happen?)

[At least an explosion. When a lot of mana is packed close together it tends to be a little on the explosive side.]

(Really? It didn’t feel unstable or feel like it was about to explode.)

[Must have been because you were using it too quickly. I imagine producing temperatures close to star’s surface takes quite the amount.]

(Probably?)

[Probably? You didn’t feel like it was using a lot?]

(No? I don’t think so. I didn’t really feel anything.)

[You have a terrifying amount of mana.]

(Probably.)

[Does the engine work?]

(Haven’t tried it yet. Give me a minute, I’ll see if it works.)

Daniel removed the mana around the plasma and manipulated the plasma to move towards the engine. Once he got to the engine however, Daniel discovered another problem.

(How do I open the fuel hatch?)

[The what now?]

(It’s a small cover you turn to open. Behind that is the fuel rod, into which the plasma is supposed to be.)

[Well, it’s in your territory so you should just be able to tell it to open.]

Daniel looked at the hatch and told it to open. Like magic, the handle slowly turned, and the hatch popped open. The fuel rod slowly slid out of the engine and floated next to the plasma ball in front of Daniel.

(That was easy.)

[Most things are for Dungeons.]

Ordering the cap of the fuel rod to open, Daniel carefully filled it with plasma. Next, making a small hill rise out of the surface, Daniel pushed the engine against the hill and ordered it to start.

With a groan and a big red flash, the engine sprouted a glowing red tail. The metal floor around the flaming tail started melting at an alarming rate so Daniel quickly ordered the engine to turn off.

(Looks like it works.)

[Did you manage to move the planet?]

(I only built a tiny one to check if it would even work. Now, since I know it does work and that I can easily make plasma to fuel it, I will make one big enough to move the planet. Once that’s done, I’ll start making the warp drive. Although, I have no idea how long it will take to make that.)

[Good luck. I hope it works.]

(Me too, Lilly. Me too.)

Looking at the creation tab again, Daniel concentrated on making a giant version of every part. Soon, Daniel was surrounded by a floating mess of huge engine parts. Willing all the parts to assemble into an engine, he watched the behemoth of an engine form and realised he would need a lot of plasma for this one.

Taking a solid chunk of iron, the size of a small van, Daniel started melting it in a ball of mana. After around 10 minutes, all the iron melted, and Daniel sent a huge ball of mana he had formed earlier to engulf the iron. Once again, sending as much mana as he could, he imagined the surface of the sun and waited for the expected flash. Seconds after the flash, all the molten iron was replaced with plasma.

The newly finished engine opened up and spat out its fuel rod, waiting for it to be filled with plasma. Daniel waited a while, letting the plasma to cool down before filling the fuel rod. The engine swallowed the fuel rod before Daniel ordered it to flip so that it was facing the sky. He wanted to test if the new engine could move the planet.

The engine started with a rumble and a shake. A huge column of red burst out of the engine, shaking the ground. As the engine heated up and produced power closer and closer to its limit, the ground around the engine started deforming. After a few seconds the engine’s output was so high that the softer metals on the surface couldn’t support it anymore. The metals started to be pushed and squeezed out of the way from under the engine. Another 10 seconds later the engine had sunk itself in a crater of metal. Daniel had to force the metal to move away to save the engine from being flooded with molten metal. The entire planet shook slightly when the engine reached a layer of metal that could support it. The layer of cobalt, tungsten and titanium was sturdy enough to stop the engine from moving.

Looking up, Daniel noticed the stars in the sky moving. The engine managed to shift the planet. Although very slowly, the planet was now moving.

(I Did It!)

[Really? It Worked?]

(Yeah, the huge engine managed to push the planet. Although very slowly, the planet is moving.)

[That’s great. We may even be able to see each other someday soon.]

(I hope so. I’ve never seen a real Fairy before. I want to see my own personal Fairy at least once.)

[Ooh, I’m your personal Fairy now, am I? We haven’t even met yet and I’m already a personal Fairy.]

(Of course. You were bound to me by the System, so I have to take care of you.)

[I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you.]

(Doesn’t matter.)

[Fair enough.]

After the conversation with Lilly, Daniel looked at the engine.

Buried 511 kilometres into the planet, reaching the start of the second layer of the planet, the engine steadily pumped out a huge column of bright red exhaust plasma. From the surface, it looked as if the planet had sprouted an enormous red tree without branches or leaves.

Somehow, with a bit of help from magically created plasma, the engine had managed to kick itself into permanent overdrive and muscled its way through pushing a planet.

(Lilly, is there a way for you to show me which direction I should be going to get to you? Right now, the planet is moving in a random direction and I have no idea which direction I need to go to get to you.)

After a few seconds, a faint feeling rose in the back of Daniel’s mind. Looking to his lower right, almost as if he could see through the planet, Daniel saw a blinking green light.

[That should show you where I am with an indicator that is the easiest for you to recognise.]

(A blinking green light just showed up along with a feeling for the general direction.)

[That is what your mind decided is the best form of indicator for you. It’s different for everyone.]

(Sounds good. I’ll start heading in your direction while making more engines to speed it up and work on an FTL drive after I get to a satisfactory speed.)

[I’ll just be down here. Waiting. Hoping.]

(Don’t worry Lilly. I’ll get there sooner than you think. And when I do, you’ll see how amazing this thing is.)

[I hope so.]

(I know so.)

[I like your confidence. It’s contagious.]

(Good. It should be.)

Daniel spent the next indeterminate amount of time creating more engines and dotting them around the planet to form a rudimentary steering system.

Finally, having installed all remaining 5 engines, Daniel contacted Lilly.

(How long has it been?)

[System clock says 738 hours.]

(So, around a months’ worth of day-night cycles from earth. That took longer than expected.)

[What were you doing?]

(I was creating more engines and putting them in specific places to allow me to steer the planet towards your direction. Right now, the planet is slowly moving towards you.)

[Good to hear.]

(I’ll focus on speeding it up now.)

[Do what you need to. I already told you, I will wait as long as it takes you.]

(I know. I just… wanted to keep you updated on the situation.)

[Thank you, Daniel.]

(You’re welcome Lilly.)

The next period of 6 months’ worth of day-night cycles from earth saw Daniel crazily increasing the speed of the planet’s movement. Adding 40 extra engines around the original one provided the planet with enough thrust to see the sky noticeably moving.

(With as much mass as the planet has this is as fast as it will get. No matter how many more engines I add, the speed will not change.)

[Is that a bad thing?]

(Not really. It’s already moving at a very fast speed considering its size and mass. Luckily, the mass also works in my favour. The larger the object you want to move using the FTL drive is, the more mass it needs. There is a minimum mass requirement but no mass limit. Meaning that when I want to move the planet through one of the sub-space tunnels created by the FTL drive, I will have a much easier time entering one as well as a massively increased max speed through the tunnel thanks to the momentum of the planet.)

[There are a lot of things I did not understand in that explanation, but it sounds good and you sound like you know what you are doing so it’s all good.]

(Basically, as long as I make a FTL drive strong enough to move the planet, I will be there faster than I originally thought.)

[Better. Sound good. Now just more waiting for me.]

(Don’t worry, I’ll make it as fast as I can.)

[Don’t do that. Don’t rush it. If what I understand from your words is correct, then your technology is similar to the dimensional corridor spell. The spell is a very high-level Space-Time spell and any mistakes have catastrophically fatal consequences. So please. Just be careful. Not fast. Careful.]

(I understand. I will be careful. I’ll see you soon.)

[Good.]

The next few days, Daniel spent visualising the FTL drive he wanted to make. The latest, most advanced FTL drive Earth could come up with. Having built one in his time as a student on Earth, Daniel had no problem recreating the technological masterpiece on his planet.

After a few tests, some changes to materials and a resize, the FTL drive was ready to go.

(I’m ready to use the FTL Drive. I’m not sure if this system message thing will work in the sub-space tunnel so I’m saying see you soon now just in case.)

[Just be careful, I don’t want to see a system message saying I am no longer bound to a dungeon because it died.]

(Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.)

[Every time you say ‘Don’t worry’ you do something crazy. Now I’m really worried.]

(That’s just mean. It’s not every time.)

[Just most.]

(No, it isn’t.)

[Yes, it is, and you should be on your way here not getting sidetracked again.]

(Sorry.)

[Don’t be. I’m waiting for you to come get me.]

(I’ll be there sooner than you think.)

Willing the FTL drive to work, the planet slightly shook and entered a sub-space corridor. For an onlooker, it would look like the planet popped like a bubble after touching a barely visible crack in space.