One Hour Later…

Well. That had certainly been an exciting night if nothing else.

After he made his promise to be the savior of the world or whatever, all he had wanted to do next was bury himself as far beneath the ground as he could possibly fucking get. I’ve had my fill of the ten races.

The witch, or rather the Antho, had stayed true to her word. After what had been an absolutely grotesque transformation back to her typical decrepit body, she escorted him back to his original home, the haunted forest.

It was still nighttime when they had left what he found out to be her cabin. Within fifteen minutes the sunrise had appeared over the horizon, casting them in an orange glow while they walked and talked. Well, she had been doing the majority of that. He had been flashing a colorful ring whenever he felt the desire to say yes or no. His creature had also been using its talent for charades whenever he needed a more complex thought added to the conversation.

He still really didn’t have much interest in what she had to say, but it was an undeniable fact that she had set him free and provided the knowledge he now knew about the outside world. As she had initially promised.

She hadn’t even asked to harvest the rest of that root she wanted so badly. A fact that had been stuck at the forefront of his mind for a while now. Perhaps she would use it as a source of nutrition for her plants…?

Why would him caring about his creations mean she didn’t need the ten pounds of root anymore? What would she do with what little she had managed to collect? Not my problem anymore.

What had quickly become his problem, however, had been the issue of the forest they were currently walking through. Or rather, the swampland they traveled through.

He and his creations all rested within the woman’s open palms as they walked along a faint trail. In just about every direction he could see, which happened to be all of them, he saw only water and vegetation. A true swamp after all, he had been shocked she was able to navigate through such unstable terrain without taking a dip into the murky water surrounding them.

Until, they had walked over a large hill, and the landscape changed drastically. Lush vegetation had turned barren, and the buzzing of insects had ceased entirely. There was nothing but a scarred wasteland in front of them now. Ah. Home, sweet home.

He hadn’t realized just how… empty… his original home had been. Being able to see the variety of life and various animals within the swamp had made him a bit jealous, now that he knew what else might be available to him.

It had taken nearly five minutes of his creature flailing around, acting as his mouthpiece, but he had managed to ask the witch why the land appeared the way it did. It didn’t seem normal to him, at least not anymore. Though, he figured it probably shouldn’t have to begin with.

Once she finally understood his intentions, she had given his creature a small pat on one of its tendrils. He hadn’t felt jealous that she could do that and he couldn’t. Not at all.

Her cheery smile had faded slightly as she gazed around them, “This used to be the heart of the swamp. It was quite a while back, long before we had had to go into hiding but--” Storytime, again?

“--a dungeon had been built here.” Oh?

“The Guild came, made their claim, and constructed a nearby settlement. Not to mention, creating a mutual agreement with the core involved. I think it had lasted a little over... seven decades. Until, I assume, the core decided it no longer wanted to be under the Guild’s thumb. This is what remained after the final battle to shatter them…”

Yeah… That hadn’t been troubling to hear at all.

She looked down apologetically at him, her tattooed forehead just as wrinkled as he remembered, “Nobody but the core themselves could say for certain as to the reason why they had chosen to renege on the deal. But, they did.”

“Close to five centuries later and the land still cannot heal. Nor, will it ever.” Did she only have depressing stories to tell him…? What a killjoy.

“It is a mark of shame and a constant reminder. One of the first of our failures when it had come to the dungeons, and one of the first tragedies that our future accusers would point to.” Aaand, the smile had vanished. Okay, I won’t bring it up again, yeesh.

He still felt no love for the old witch, especially after she had held him hostage against his will, but his previous desire to break every bone in her body had faded considerably.

Now, he could see her for what she was. A sad and lonely woman, filled with regret. Not that he felt bad for her or anything…

Regardless, that still posed a serious issue for him. What if he had tried to root himself in the wasteland? There were some trees and maybe a few obnoxious animals, but for the most part, it was a desolate and lifeless place.

Not to mention, the idea of building his own dungeon on top of where someone else had felt wrong. He was his own core, and he would do things his own way, not trapped beneath the shadow of the past.

So, after some internal debate, he had decided he would find somewhere else to live. Before he sent Alma a signal to turn around, however, he had checked in with his creature to see what it thought of his sudden change of plans. It went without saying, but he would not be abandoning his creature now that its original purpose had come and gone.

A vigorous nodding of its tendrils had been all the affirmation he needed, and he told his creature to get her to turn to her right, where he could still see some swampland in the distance.

It had accomplished this by wrapping itself around one of her fingers and pulling it towards the direction he planned to go. You are just too clever for your own good. He could feel the pride emanating off of his creature after hearing his praise.

She had seemed surprised, but shrugged after understanding what he wanted, “I don’t blame you. Though, if it’s alright with you, I’ll be placing you a good distance from my own residence.” Well then, fine. He hadn’t wanted to be near her anyway!

She had begun to laugh at his indignation, “Hah. Do not take it so personally, little core. I simply want to keep the Guild off my scent. I did warn you, no? You are going to become the talk of the swamp and that, little core, means the Guild will be coming here as well.” Wait, what!? If half of what she had said about them was true, then he didn’t stand a fucking chance against an organization as large and influential as that. What if they tried to take advantage of him too, like whoever that poor soul in the wasteland had been!?

She caressed his core, freaking him out, “Calm yourself. They would have found you eventually, anyway. However, I imagine it would be far more advantageous to open your dungeon to the world before they can locate you.” Why? Also, he hadn’t been sure if he even wanted to build a dungeon anymore. Ah, who was he kidding, of course he would. It still sounded extremely fun, and it wasn’t like he planned to go crazy and take over a continent like that other guy.

When she did not continue, he had his creature try to get the answer out of her. It had tugged on a strand of her hair and once she looked down, it had extended two tendrils on opposite sides of its body in an exaggerated and questioning pose. Fuck. That’s adorable.

“Why?” He flashed his symbol once in response.

“Well, isn’t it obvious? If you already have a fully constructed dungeon waiting to be explored, then the chances of them having to shatter you become, for all intents and purposes, zero.” Uh…

Had she just said what he thought she had? “Oh, right. Sorry.”

She had taken on a concentrated look, clearly thinking about how best to answer him, “This is my first time ever assisting one of your kind in such a manner. Forgive me, sometimes I forget just how naive you still are.” Okay, then. That one had stung a little.

“When a dungeon is first opened to the world, a sort of… invitation is provided to those nearby. This invitation will undoubtedly reach the upper-management of the Guild, forcing them to send over a representative to negotiate with you.” He had started to feel more and more grateful that he hadn’t tried to kill this woman. It had been quite a helpful thing to learn.

It made him wonder what the Guild would they do if he never bothered to open his dungeon to the world? No... she had said they would find him eventually, given enough time.

Either way, it had only made him more determined to not become complacent, wherever he ended up.

She had paused to take a breath before continuing, unasked, “The Guild uses dungeons as a method to increase the strength of its members. They will take advantage of the inherent abilities of a core, and use you to gather rare resources for whatever needs they might have. Unfortunately, I’m afraid you won’t have a choice in the matter, they will be building a settlement near the entrance you create.” Fuck.

They had walked out of the wasteland and back into algae-ridden swampland, “Should you see fit to decline their offer, they will send one of their heroes to shatter you. Should you decide to accept, you had better make damn sure you set some boundaries-- Ah!”

An overturned rock had tripped her up and consequently distracted him, causing her to stumble into the foot-deep water below. Ha! Then, he saw her drop his replica, Hey! Watch it! She was obviously far too old to be taking such a long journey, especially while keeping up whatever disguise she called that old hag. Really though, he had just been frustrated she had stopped talking about what he figured to be an extremely important bit of information.

She grunted as she stooped to recover his twin, “If… you don’t set… clear boundaries-- Hup!” With an unnecessarily annoying sound, she had righted herself again and continued moving, “--then the Greens and maybe even a few Oranges will use you as nothing more than an easy method of making money. Now, if I were you, I’d restrict entry to Greys only. At least, until you evolve.”

His non-existent head had started to spin again. What the fuck had any of that just meant? Were those some of the other races? Who had been so unimaginative that they had decided to name them by basic fucking color?

She smiled at him apologetically once more, “Right. You, little core, are what the Guild will refer to as a Grey core. After you evolve, or ‘level-up’ depending on whom you ask, you will become a Green core. Afterward Orange, Yellow, and then lastly, Red. They must be pretty damn lazy to have come up with a naming process like that one.

The witch had started cackling to herself, “Not the most creative, I know, but the Guild’s descriptions are always accurate if nothing else.” He needed to think about what he had just learned.

Was that why he had that grey-ish glow? What would it have taken for him to ‘evolve’? He imagined that was what the prick in the sky had referred to about him not starting at his full potential from the get-go.

Maybe, if he evolved, he would be able to strengthen his creations even more. That would have to be his second priority, right after actually getting into the ground.

The witch had stopped next to an especially large willow tree that rested on a plot of land within the center of a small lake, only a tiny strip of land kept the island connected to the shore fifty-feet away. “I planted this tree, oh... maybe a century ago. Now, I would be honored for you to use it as the entrance to your dungeon.” She had set all three of them onto one of its exposed roots. Inches from the ground. Sure, it had been a picturesque bit of land, but was that all it would take for him to choose to settle there?

“I wish you nothing bu--” He had commanded his creature to grab a firm hold on both him and his replica, and pull them down toward the ground below. Finally!

Before she had even finished saying goodbye, he started to absorb the soil beneath them. That annoying cackle had sounded out again, but he paid it no mind. As he forced himself and his creations further down, he filled in the tunnel he had been leaving above them with dirt of his own creation, happy to note it cost practically nothing to do so.

Right before he had completely concealed them from the light of day, he had his creature wave to the old witch.

Goodbye, Alma.