I died in a tracksuit.

  Not exactly the heroic end I envisioned. One moment I was stepping off the curb, earbuds in, thinking about lunch. Next thing I know, I’m airborne, watching a delivery truck take a left turn straight through me.

  No pain. Just surprise. Then—darkness.

  And then I woke up… not gasping for breath, not in a hospital bed, but aware. Not of a body, but of space. Of stone. Of walls that I could feel, not touch. A tiny room, damp and dark, embedded in the guts of the earth.

  Welcome, User DAMON CROSS.

  Designation: DUNGEON CORE

  Reincarnation Process: COMPLETE.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I didn’t scream. I couldn’t. I had no mouth.

  Instead, a glowing interface floated in my nonexistent vision, like some kind of fantasy HUD. Blocky text. System prompts. A pinging sound every few seconds, like sonar bouncing in my mind.

  Your current capacity: 3 mana/day.

  Your dungeon rating: PATHETIC (Tier 0).

  Objective: Survive. Grow. Feed.

  Feed? On what?

  Living matter. Preferably the kind that dies inside you.

  Charming.

  A presence stirred nearby. Not physical—but a kind of mental knock. Like someone tapping a finger on the inside of my skull.

  Initiating Warden AI…

  A new voice replaced the system’s neutral tone. This one had sarcasm baked in.

  “Oh great. Another reincarnated idiot.”

  “Who are you?” I asked. Thought. Projected. Whatever.

  “I’m your Warden. Think of me as your parole officer. You’re a baby dungeon core. You live, breathe, and die by adventurers. Attract them. Kill them. Suck their mana. If you don’t, stronger cores will find you, crack you open, and use your crystal as a mana battery.”

  My silence must’ve read as confusion, because the Warden sighed.

  “Welcome to the food chain, Damon. You’re now part of the Dungeon Network. Survive a year, and maybe—maybe—you’ll level up.”

  I wanted to ask a thousand things. Why me? Why a dungeon? What happened to heaven, hell, or anything in between?

  But the Warden had already vanished.

  Leaving me alone, underground, with the sudden need to feed.