Chapter 1 - Did I just die?

Tired…

I absentmindedly listen to my teacher passionately rant about something or another.

I spent the entirety of last night doing my best to grind to gold rank in a game, however if it weren’t for the fact I was repeatedly dealt the short stick in teammates I would’ve definitely won several times over, however I was unable to increase in rank, in fact I ended up deranking several times. Being the stubborn person I am, I naturally spammed the play again button until I. Finally. Achieved. One. Win. Before I knew it the sun was already up.

I glance lazily across the classroom, a colorful PowerPoint was displayed on the whiteboard, something about evolution.

Then I saw it. A black gas like substance at the top of the classroom, it seemed two dimensional, like someone spilled ink on a painting that looks 3D. Then countless eyes appeared within the dark space. Pain ripples across my entire body, like the feeling of a limb being twisted in an incorrect way, except amplified and across my entire body.

I try to scream but no sound comes out. The last I saw was the darkness, countless eyes stared back at me as I lost conscience.

Elsewhere in another world. The after effects of war have finally begun to show, the density of mana was 3 times higher in some areas, creatures unable to adapt died off in the thousands, the lucky few managed to absorb the mana, forming a mana core they evolve from normal creatures to monsters. Ferocious and without the instincts which bound it when it was merely an animal, it ran without purpose, attacking all it saw. After a few days, it was killed by adventurers, it’s mana core taken.

Underground, a tiny crystal, smaller than a pinhead, glowed an unnatural green. Mana was slowly gathered around the crystal and the mana formed more layers of crystal which covered the original crystal. Over time the seams between layers became thinner till they disappeared altogether, and all that was left was a single fist-sized crystal. This process may have taken weeks, years even centuries, but the crystal did not know, it was merely following its instincts, to gather mana, form more crystals and absorb those crystals. It was not sentient, it did not have a soul, it only followed a preset program to purify energy.

In the sky far away, a small black gas like substance appeared, barely larger than a sheet of paper a few eyes stared out from the darkness before losing interest. However those with more perceptive sense would see them, dim imperceptible balls of colored lights flowed out of the darkness. One dim green soul wandered the world for some time, while it was wandering its compatriots have already found newborn hosts.

A genius gnome engineer who created countless new innovations.

An orc warrior hailed through many lands as a champion of justice and honor.

An elf sage who pondered the mysteries of life and morality.

A human prince who reaped death in the name of his country.

An undead king who rose from the ruins of a destroyed kingdom.

A dragon who mostly slept, and lazed around the rest of its time.

Before it knew, it was the last one without a body.

It searched for years without result until it found it, inside a mountain, deep underground a green fist-sized crystal.

I ‘felt’ cold, like I was out naked in a strong storm and rain battered my body. In time the cold weakened but it was still present, always, everywhere.

I searched. Not knowing what exactly I’m looking for, I searched for a long time. My ‘body’ felt numb, I couldn’t feel most of me, my mind was like treading through thick mud. Until I sensed it, warmth. I had almost forgotten the feeling rushing towards it I felt myself warm up, parts of me began to regain feeling and I remembered. I curled up into a fetal position within the source of warmth.

Slowly I regained the feeling of my body and along with them, memories. And for the first time in years, I open my eyes. I find myself in an infinitely large green space. It was a pleasant green not too bright or dark.

“Am I dead?” I shook in surprise at the sound, before realizing it was the sound of my own voice.

I reflexively looked around multiple times to confirm that I was safe.

“Where am I”

Hearing no answer I looked in front of me, seeing the only difference in color in this green world. A blue box with text in them.

—~=~—

Notifications

You have successfully left the Soul Collapse State

You have successfully integrated with a body

Dungeon Core Abilities obtained

You have been accepted as Unnamed Dungeon Core’s Dungeon Master

Dungeon Master Abilities obtained

Status screen unlocked

—~=~—

What is with this game like notifications screen! Is someone pranking me! Where are the cameras! I wanted to retort, however, I could already feel it.

Something was different, whenever I moved my limbs, I felt them moving and I saw them moving but it did not feel like anything was moving at all. Like movement wasn’t achieved by any physical means but through years of usage and habit which made me believe that I was indeed moving. Like movement was just an illusion my mind created to help me cope though it was rather hard to notice.

But what the hell was Soul Collapse State? I think you need to elaborate a bit further, was it that cold, numb feeling I felt? Was it caused by me not being in a body for a long time? However knowing I wasn’t getting anywhere I decided to try the one thing I could do.

“Status”

—~=~—

Status Screen

General

Name: - (&^#@?%*)

Title: Reincarnated One

Race: Dungeon Core, Dungeon Master

Gender: -

Rank: Level 6 Low Iron Rank

Jobs: Dungeon Core LVL 5, Dungeon Master LVL 1

Stats

Strength: -

Agility: -

Stamina: -

Intelligence: 16

Wisdom: 18

Will: 8

Charm: 7

Skills

Technique: -

Magic: Level 10 Mana Absorption, Level 2 Mana Crystallization, Magic Contract, Level 1 Lower Lesser Minor Mana Manipulation, Level 1 Mana Reading,

Racial: Level 5 Dungeon Mana Link, Level 6 Dungeon’s Wisdom, Level 1 Dungeon Summoning, Level 1 Dungeon Creation, Level 1 Dungeon Expansion, Dungeon Perception, Dungeon Edit

Unique: Reincarnated One, #*>@%,

Total Combat Evaluation:

LVL 0 Unranked (Dungeon is part of the Dungeon Core’s body and will be counted in the evaluation)

—~=~—

What the f**k? Did I seriously reincarnate into one of those dungeon web novels!? F**k at least reincarnate me into a busty elf girl or that op slime creature that can Shapeshift into a loli trap!!

*Cough* *Cough* some of my true thoughts ended up leaking out.

“Well it looks like I have a decent amount of skills and they are mostly self-explanatory though…”

“Lower Lesser Minor Mana Manipulation… is it really that bad to need 3 adjectives to describe it!!”

“But what exactly does mana link do is it supposed to be… it’s a skill all dungeon cores have which absorb mana from an alternate dimension and connects all dungeon creatures to the dungeon core?”

How did I know that? Wait, is it the effect of Dungeon’s Wisdom whose level increases based on my total intelligence and wisdom stats?

Wow, what a convenient as hell skill, it’s like Google but it’s all in your head and automatically uploads answers to your questions as you think them. Though it changes whatever I’m thinking/saying at the moment into the answer to my question, which results in these weird changes in the middle of my thoughts or whatever I’m saying as I learned before. It doesn’t rely on those Blue Boxes because the information is uploaded directly into your head. If this was a Web novel then it must be because the author was too lazy to make them. (Yes I am!)

“What’s Iron Rank? No, what rankings are there?”

A list forms in my mind. Iron Bloodline, Bronze Body, Silver Dignity, Golden Will, Mortal Master, Respected Legend, World Saint, Indestructible Semigod. Those are the ranks that determined one's power in this world.

“I’m only a low rank 1? With combat power equal to a LVL 0!!?? The f**k where is my grandpa in the ring, my ancient treasure cultivation technique which fits me perfectly or my cheats hacks skill which has the passive of harem making!? LVL 0s DON’T EVEN EXIST IN GAMES ARE YOU SAYING MY FIGHTING PROWESS IS LOWER THAN THOSE WEAK MOBS WHICH GET ONE SHOT BY NOOBS!?” Though I yell this out I knew I was being unreasonable, in fact, I should just be glad I’m still alive if you could call this living.

Now I need to confirm one last thing.

“Dungeon Perception”

My consciousness seems to leave the green space as I enter something like a spectator mode in an fps game, which allowed me to fly everywhere in the map and pass through walls.

Though right now the ‘map’ was a 1m by 1m by 1m cube with a green rock on top of a crude stone pedestal in the middle and the occasional pin sized crystal on the walls.

Going by common genre tropes that green crystal was undoubtedly me, which would explain why movement felt like an illusion and why my strength, stamina, and agility were all nothing. After all, I don’t think a rock can get tired.

I realized a piece of good news. That room was my dungeon and is counted towards my Total Combat Evaluation, so if I expand I’ll naturally get stronger correct? So by creating a strong dungeon, my Combat Evaluation will rise accordingly.

Wait if the dungeon counts towards my Combat Evaluation that means my dungeon is my body, which is to say anyone who enters will be coming inside an under 18 boy…..

“UGHHH MY EYES!” The thought made me remember a certain video my ‘friend’ showed me.

Note to self if I meet him again make sure to break his nuts and/or legs.

Also note to self if I am given the option to create an avatar, make SURE to create a cute tiny loli. Seeing people’s reactions as I say “You’re inside me.” *BLUSH BLUSH* In that avatar will be hilarious. But then again I don’t know if there are who swing that way in this world. Hmm, I’ll shelve this idea for now.

“But, who was that friend?” I cannot remember his face or name, all I could remember where some interactions with him in hazy detail. But I could clearly remember that life scarring video. Does that mean his existence is so thin that it’s easier to remember a video I’m intentionally trying to forget?

No that isn’t it, I try to remember other people I met in life and similarly I can’t remember most of their features. The best I can do is remember my mother's and father's face but its like there’s a veil over it. I can remember some events, like the night I reached silver in a game, that time I broke my leg, the one time I went bungee jumping and nearly crapped my pants. The one thing they all have in common is that they are one time events that have caused me to feel great emotion.

Is this the result of Soul Collapse? Did the memories of people I knew disappear first because I didn’t deem those memories important? No. One thing those memories had in common is that they were repetitive which means they happened on a near-daily basis. If a soul is the combinations of my memory, then when Soul Collapse happens the memories I had a lot of were statistically more likely to disappear first. If we also factor in emotion then I’ll be most likely numb to things I do on a daily basis, whereas those one-off memories had fresh experiences, which means they are more important and more likely to be preserved.

“Wait, that means that ‘that’ video is imprinted on my soul….”

Note to self, make sure to also castrate him.

Elsewhere a Monarch sits on a throne and suddenly shivers as a cold feeling flutter around their crotch.

“Your Majesty is something wrong?”

“No, nothing Alfred.”