'Is... Is he dead?'

A small voice, it was difficult to make out where it came from. It was dark, as well as cold. Suddenly, a faint light could be seen and a small sprite came into focus.

'He's alive, thank the gods... But he's hurt... And very badly. Hey mister, can you hear me? I can't save you unless we have a contract!'

Contract... Those words, were like a fire. The young man, who was before covered in darkness opened his eyes. The light of the small sprite reflected off his eyes, like stars in the sky.

'... Contract...'

An agonised whisper. It was the most he could do as injured as he was.

The sprite replied, 'We have an accord and a contract has been struck. Welcome home, my dungeon master!'

Blue light burst out, showing the entire cave, the greatly injured youth and the small sprite. As the light started to dim, it condensed into a crystal the size of a small stone that was floating about a meter in the air. The light around the sprite condensed as well and it grew. It was about the size of a normal person's hand, and it was definitely a she. She was pale, with green hair and a blue dress that seemed to be made of petals. Behind her spread two pairs of dragonfly wings that beat slowly keeping her afloat.

'Little fairy... Just who are you?'

The young man was on his last breaths, and was delirious.

The fairy replied, 'I am now a dungeon fairy, and you are my new dungeon master! Master, do you wish to heal yourself? Looking at you, it will take a lot of resources... We'll have to sacrifice a lot but we can just about manage it.'

The young man nodded. A faint light surrounded him and his body slowly faded from view, then the light shot into the crystal that had appeared.

‘Wait, master, what is your name? What do I call you?’

‘Alex… you can call me Alex.’

When I entered the void, a barrier was placed around me and I started accelerating through the pitch black nothingness. And then, the pain started, it wasn’t like being attacked by swords or being shot by a gun. It was pressure, and the force of acceleration beyond what humans are built to endure. When I had been in the void for perhaps an hour, the space twisted, and… without so much as a sound my right arm was mutilated and burst into fragments of flesh, blood and bone. Pure agony, I used whatever magical power I had left to stop the bleeding. Another hour in and another fluctuation within the space and this time my right leg exploded. I was beginning to lose consciousness when the pressure disappeared. It wasn’t a long journey, but I was critically injured and worse I was losing consciousness fast. If I fainted, I would probably never wake again. As I struggled to stay awake, I heard it.

‘Is… is he dead?’ A small voice, I couldn’t see where it came from, all I saw was a faint light.

'He's alive, thank the gods... But he's hurt... And very badly. Hey mister, can you hear me? I can't save you unless we have a contract!'

Contract! That word was like a fire that coursed through my body, searing the blood vessels, giving me energy. I struggled with all my might to open my eyes. When I opened them, I could see a small sprite, just a wisp of light that strangely looked concerned.

A dungeon spirit has offered you a contract. Do you wish to accept?

My throat was dry however I managed to croak out that word, ‘…Contract…’

The sprite seemed elated, 'We have an accord and a contract has been struck. Welcome home, my dungeon master!'

A contract has been formed.

The contract: Dungeon Master has been added to your archives.

The new class: Dungeon Master has been added and assigned.

New abilities and skills available.

I lost sight of the sprite as a bright light enveloped me and a series of messages popped up in front of me. Ha, my first messages in this new world.

I was a transmigration traveller from Earth, not a reincarnator like a majority, and therein lay the difference. The word ‘Contract’ had a special meaning for me. I brought up my status menu.

Name: Alexander

Race

Human

Titles

Void Traveller (Rank ???, ???)

Class

Contract Summoner

Last Human Survivor (Rank???, ???)

Dungeon Master

Stats

Strength

6 (13 + 3 - 10)

Agility

6 (15 + 1 - 10)

Intelligence

15

Stamina

8 (17 + 1 - 10)

Magic power

15

Total Power/Potential

50 (75 + 5 – 30)/500

State

Critically injured after sustaining the pressure from the void. Right arm and right leg were both pulverized. (Strength, Agility and Stamina -10 each)

Skills

Contract (Rank A, Active and Passive); Dungeon Master (Rank Unique, Active and Passive); 2 skills sealed due to injury

Skills and Equipment

Steel Sword (Rank D, Strength +3); Twin daggers (Rank E, Agility +1); Leather armour (Rank F); Iron Chestplate (Rank E, Stamina +1)

My injuries were extensive, my state showed me that. On earth I hadn’t been the strongest human however I had been the last one to survive. It was all because of my special skill, Contract. Thus when I heard that word again, it was like an electric shock running through my system. I looked closer at the skills section.

Contract (Rank A, Active and Passive) Lv2 Mastery 23.7%

The power of the king, a contract is signed by the king and his subject. An ancient ritual that connects the king to his or her subject that transcends both time and space. There are 5 levels of contract involved and the details of the contract will differ depending on certain circumstances, however there is a commonality to the contracts signed.

If special prerequisites are met, this skill can evolve

Create Contract

A contract will be made

At each level of mastery, signing the contract will assign an extra effect

Level 1: The contractor and contracted will be linked by soul and magic. Extra effects of contract depend on the contractor and contracted.

20%: If conditions are right, the contractor will be able to summon the contracted regardless of circumstances. The contracted will be enhanced with 1% of the strongest stat of the contractor

Recent Contracted:

Dungeon Fairy (Lv1): Signing this contract allows the contractor to become master of the dungeon, unlocking Dungeon master as a class and allows telepathic communication with the dungeon’s fairy.

Other Contracted:

Locked

Dungeon Master (Rank Unique, Active and Passive) Lv1 Mastery 0%

Formed from the contract between a dungeon fairy and the dungeon master. This is an ancient bond that forms a unique existence, one that allows for the creation of life, death, new magics and countless possibilities.

Unlocks the dungeon master class

Allows access to the dungeon menu

Dungeon abilities and skills unlocked

Dungeon view unlocked

Level 1: Dungeon Abilities (Absorption, Dungeon Map, Dungeon Contract); Mana manipulation (Absorption); Soul manipulation (Absorption)

Next ability unlock: Level 2

Contract was the ability I had received when the game first started on Earth. It had absolutely no offensive, defensive or supportive value whatsoever… however it was the key to unlocking such. It was strange that the dungeon had something similar. I could draw contracts with anything and then fight with them in battle. It sounds like an incredible power, until I realized that I had to fight and subdue them first. I had no powerful skills, my physical abilities… well it would be kind if you were saying they were average. What I did have however, were two people that helped me. I owe them everything. One was my best friend, we called him Bird. He unlocked some sword powers and he quickly became unstoppable for the monsters that were attacked. The other was my elder sister, nicknamed Cadet, after she came back from the army. She had trained as an army doctor and that proved to be the backbone of our group as we collected more and more survivors and tried to break free and find sanctuary in a world that was increasingly violent and unpredictable.

While I was lost in thought, the dungeon fairy entered the came back into focus.

'Little fairy... Just who are you?'

It was difficult to speak. I didn’t even know if I was going to make it. After coming so far… I felt a slight twist of fear within me. I didn’t want to let everyone down.

The fairy replied, 'I am now a dungeon fairy, and you are my new dungeon master! Master, do you wish to heal yourself? Looking at you, it will take a lot of resources... We'll have to sacrifice a lot but we can just about manage it.'

Heal? She can heal me? I wanted this more than anything. I had so much I had left to do. Everyone was counting on me. I nodded my head and a warmth wrapped around me and I found my body floating towards the dungeon crystal that had formed.

‘Wait, master, what is your name? What do I call you?’

‘Alex… you can call me Alex.’

I entered the dungeon crystal… it was the size of a pebble yet it when I entered, my body was floating suspended in space.

‘Little Fairy, what do I call you?’

‘Master, you will have to give me a name, that is your right.’

‘I have to give you a name? Well since I’m Alexander, I’ll call you Roxanne. Do you like it?’

She seemed to be having a look of concentration as she whispered the name Roxanne to herself. Then she smiled… it was like the bloomed of a flower after a spring shower.

‘I like it! Welcome to your humble abode, my name is Roxanne!’

She seemed quite friendly, I would usually be quite cautious around anyone. Once bitten and twice shy afterall... however I truly was in no condition to be choosy.

Then I realized something. There was no pain, and it seemed that I was able to think and talk properly. This had happened when I entered the crystal.

‘Hey Roxanne, how is the healing gonna work? Does it happen just be being inside here? I seem to feeling better already.’

‘Oh you’re smart, you’re completely right. Since this is your crystal and that is your body, I focused the mana being absorbed by the crystal to start fixing your body. Actually… hmm I'm going to get you to let your body rest without moving it.’

She did some strange thing with her hands and poof, suddenly I could see my body floating in space and… I had no idea what was doing the seeing anymore.

‘I pulled your awareness out of your body and into your dungeon crystal since you are both one entity. This will let you heal faster and you won’t need to be knocked out! Ha, I’m so smart I can’t believe it.’

She was preening, however considering she was on my side I wasn’t going to complain.

As she struck a pose, one hand on her hip and the other pointing in some random direction she exclaimed, ‘Alright! Now let me show you your new dungeon!’

It was such a disappointment. I was in a cave that barely qualified to be a cave. It didn’t take long to tour the whole thing. Actually it only took about 10 minutes.

‘This is it?’

‘Well Alex my chum, we are a new dungeon. Brand new! Most new dungeons have to claw their way out of a hole in the ground! Compared to them we are basically kings and queens! Hahaha!’

‘Really?’

‘Nope, this is pretty crappy. The mana level isn’t particularly high either, beats me how a dungeon crystal even formed here.’

Ah, she was pranking me. It appears my contracted dungeon fairy was a smartass. It barely took 3 minutes from calling me master to a first name basis. I preferred it like this though. The question was, what to do about this dungeon business.

‘Yo Alex, pull out the dungeon menu, let’s see what we have to deal with.’

‘Alright, alright,’ so saying I opened the dungeon menu for the first time

Dungeon Name: (no name)

Titles: None

Rank:

1

Floors:

1

Mana:

4/100

Souls:

0

Dungeon Points:

0

Achievement Points: (locked)

N/A

Dungeon Abilities:

Absorption

Mana Abilities:

Mana Absorption

Soul Abilities:

Soul Absorption

Special Abilities:

Dungeon Map

Dungeon Contract

Inhabitants

0

Creatures:

0

Named Creatures:

0

Boss Creatures:

0

Special Creatures:

0

Plantlife

0

We both looked at the screen. 4 mana? Was this good?

‘The fuck dude? 4 mana?’ It seems Roxanne had a bit of a shock seeing this. She glared at me obviously blaming me then sighed.

‘Is it due to healing my body?’ I guessed why the mana value was low. She nodded however it didn’t look like she was blaming me anymore.

‘It’s not something we can avoid so let’s start. Today is the rise of the best dungeon!’ She was pumped up for sure. So we started the process of getting this dungeon on track.

At level 1, the dungeon didn’t have too many abilities so far. It could absorb materials, mana and souls and we could view the dungeon map. Therefore we decided to clean out the cave and basically wait while ambiently getting mana from the atmosphere. In the meantime I was to educate the new dungeon master about not being a complete disappointment.

‘Are you… having an internal monologue by yourself over there?’

How impetuous! I was obviously making plans to turn our dungeon into greatness!

‘Never mind that, let this one teach you a bit about dungeons! Our dungeon is brand new, I mean we’re only level 1 so a lot of the functions still haven’t been unlocked. We have 4 different things we need to pay attention to so that we can be effective. Mana is like the basic currency that allows us to summon and create stuff. We absorb it from the air or off whoever comes into the dungeon, they give off mana just by existing within our dungeon, and even more so if they get hurt or killed. Souls are different, they affect the potential of what we summon and allow us to keep the more important creatures so that we can summon them again without losing their memories and skills. We can only increase souls if creatures die in our territory so they’re hard to get in the beginning. The dungeon points you see on the menu are given everytime new things are added to the dungeon. We also get a smaller amount of dungeon points when things die in the dungeon. Achievement points are given when you do something unique or ‘achievement worthy’ although there isn’t a guide to it… those things also typically give extra rewards like giving a free summon of a strong creature or like a title which would be amazing. Anyway it’s locked so who cares, right now we just have to wait and absorb mana so that we can level up!’

Phew that explanation was long but necessary. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking or feeling… I mean right now he was the dungeon crystal. A very tiny dungeon crystal… heck he was the size of a small pebble! The dungeon pebble! Hahahaha!

The absorption skills allow the dungeon to absorb physical materials, mana and souls respectively.

The dungeon map allows the dungeon master and fairy to see everything in their territory. Blue dots represent allies, green for neutral and red for enemies. Gold indicates treasure.

There are special items that adventurers can use that will temporarily allow them to use the dungeon's map.

The Dungeon contract allows the binding of a creature to the dungeon. They become one of the inhabitants of the dungeon and under the control of the dungeon master.