I awoke to darkness. Before I could ascertain where I was, a flux of knowledge entered my mind. Knowledge of mana, deeper than the previous knowledge of it I had. Of creatures and plants, how they are made of and what they are made of. Of flesh, blood and mana.
Then my sight came back. I was on a sandy field. It was dark, a cloudy night. And damp. But it was strange. My sight. My vision.
It was not through any human eyes. I had eyes, many eyes. Wisps of manas hung around me. I saw what the wisp touch.
My own body could see as well. Strange again. I was all eye. I could see every direction surrounding my body. It felt inhuman....like I was not longer human.
Then it appeared.
A screen in front of my vision with words written on it.
Soulbound Core
You are a dungeon core, born from the shard of a splintered dungeon core bound to a human soul through mana. As a dungeon core, mana flows from and through you. Grasp and shape with mana as you wish.
What now? A dungeon core? I am a dungeon core?
I saw myself through my wisps. A small red gem but shining brightly. I was that gem, the one that I used as a pommel on my sword. It was a good conducter of mana and was unusually hard for a gem. That's why I used it.
It was a splintered dungeon core?
I didn't knew that. It had been with me since I was a bronze, having bought it from a peddler, who was selling cheap mana conducter gem.
Bound by mana,huh. The gem had never changed hand. I had used it in every sword I used as a mana conductor, which means I was putting my mana into it every time I used a sword.
As much as I despair for being turned into a dungeon core and letting go of my powerful human body, I grasp the only light I could find in this situation. A hope for vengeance.
I have raided dungeons before, during my adventuring days. I knew how powerful a dungeon was. A pit of monsters and darkness. A spring of riches and powers. The power which I now have. A power of creation, something which only few mortals have.
As I come to term with my situation, I saw those faces. The faces of the wretched who betrayed me and killed me. A primeval emotion rose inside me. That of anger.
Mana erupted out of me. The ground beneath me trembled. The air crackled.
As I calmed down, I felt weak as if I have no strength. The rumbling also stop. I saw a small screen tuck away. I peer at it and it enlarged.
Soulbound Dungeon
Status
Mana: 5.5/50
Mana regeneration: 2 per hour
Age: 0 day
Fuck. I cursed. No wonder the earth rumbled when I got angry and let loose. My mana did that and now I had little to no mana.
From the knowledge I inherited as a dungeon core, I knew from where to gather mana. It was through absorbing materials.
New Schema Unlocked
Juvenile Hunting Lizard(Uncommon)
This bright-eyed lizard is a powerful. Agile, armored and venomous, it is a territorial creature, often resting in burrows, tree hollows or cave and emerging only at night to hunt. It is an excellent climber and a decent swimmer.
Knowledge entered my mind. A two feet long lizard, covered in blue and red striped scaly armor on its slim and long body. A pair of horn, red in color protruding on its head just above it's golden pupil eyes. Two pair of powerful limbs attached to its body.
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I know it. It was considered as a pest when the first settlers came to this shore as it stole many small livestock. It was almost hunted to extinction and now is considered a rare specimen by alchemists and collectors alike.
It was from a decaying carcass, found underneath a rock, several feet away from me.
But what shall I do with schemas? I mused. A little later I learnt.
Dungeon can only create what it want from schemas. Materials, creatures, items and such must all have schemas to create even if the dungeon had seen or have prior knowledge about it. Schemas comes only from absorption.
So I can create a hunting lizard as a dungeonborn, huh. I mused to myself, the idea striking me.
Dungeonborns were creature made of mana. They were the defenders of dungeons. I don't remember how many I have killed. In fact, I had became a silver by slaying dungeonborns only.
The idea appealed to me. I was defenseless, on the bank of a river. I did not like that a bit. If I can create the lizard as a dungeonborn, it could defend me, more so find me a place to build a dungeon.
A dungeon core needs a dungeon and a dungeon cannot be built in an opened place. It needed to be underground. I looked at my status.
Mana: 7.5/50
I absorbed some more things with my wisps. I also unlocked several schemas.
New Schema unlocked
Sand (Common)
Sand is a mixture of very small pieces of different rocks or minerals. It is the same minerals from which those pieces are broken, such as granite and feldspar. Sand is gritty to touch. It is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.
New Schema unlocked
Sandstone(Common)
Sandstone is predominantly made of sand-sized grains (0.0625 to 2 mm diameter), which are typically composed of quartz or feldspar. It can also contain smaller amounts of other minerals like mica, calcite, or clay.
New Schema unlocked
Common Moss(Common)
Mosses are small, flowerless plants. They lack vascular tissues, so they absorb water and nutrients directly through their leaves. Mosses typically grow in moist, shady areas, often forming mats or clumps. They reproduce through spores rather than seeds.
New Schema unlocked
Shale(Common)
A fissile rock that is formed by the consolidation of clay, mud, or silt, has a finely stratified or laminated structure, and is composed of minerals essentially unaltered since deposition.
New Schema unlocked
Silt(Common)
A solid, dust-like sediment that water, ice, and wind transport and deposit. Silt is made up of rock and mineral particles that are larger than clay but smaller than sand.
New Schema unlocked
Raspberry Shrub(Common)
Raspberries are perennial plants with canes that live two years each. The canes are either armed with prickles or smooth, and many only produce fruit in their second year.
New Schema unlocked
Meadow grass(Common)
A low-growing, green plants, often used for lawns or pastures, that belong to the Poaceae family, also known as the grass family. These plants are characterized by narrow leaves and stems. They are a dominant part of the world's vegetation, found in various habitats.
These schemas were all things that can be found near water. They were all common.
Mana: 19/50
It was time. With my mana, I began to shape according to the schema design. First, I created the skeletal frame, bone to bone. Then muscles connected the skeletal, the various organs filling the body and at last, the exoskeleton took shape. From the last dredge of my mana, the hunting lizard came to life.
It twitch and opened its eyes. His eyes shone golden. I felt its connection with me.
A feeling of elation overtook me as I beheld my creation. He was perfect - down to the minute details. He had no imperfections not deformities as he was made purely of mana.
He looked around, not moving his body except his eyes. Then his eyes landed on me. There was a golden glint in his eyes.
I push my awareness inside him.
I used mana to show him the image of a cave. We were in a mountain range as far as I knew, so there should be an ample number of caves to reside in.
He stared at me. I stared at him. Something was wrong. Then he darted forward, running at top speed.......without me.
Stop. I gave a command through my awareness linked to him. In an instant he came to a halt. He didn't understand the word but my word was binding to any dungeonborns.
I could read his mind. His mind was full of caves. He felt a sense of belonging and safety in caves.
His feeble mind did not understood what I meant. I shove another image. Taking me to the cave in his mouth.
He returned. Gently, he picked me up with his mouth. He didn't try to eat me not crush me afterall all dungeonborns were bred to protect the core and do its biddings. It was an innate mission.
Then the journey started. I directed the path. The lizard simply heeded my command. I could sense danger with my mana and avoided them. Along the way, we got several schemas.
New Schema Unlocked
Forest Rat(Common)
A type of rat, a medium-sized rodent, that typically lives in forested areas. They are known for their ability to thrive in various forest environments, including woods, fields, and meadows.
New Schema Unlocked:
Green Grasshopper(Common)
Green grasshoppers are a type of Orthopteran insect, commonly known as grasshoppers, characterized by their green or brown coloration and their ability to jump and fly. They are herbivores, feeding on plants, and are often found in grassy or grassy areas. The Common green grasshopper, Omocestus viridulus, is a prominent example in many regions.
New Schema Unlocked
Bush Cricket(Common)
A bush cricket is a member of the Tettigoniidae family, also known as a katydid or long-horned grasshopper. They are related to crickets and are known for their mating calls. Bush crickets are typically nocturnal insects with long antennae and slender bodies, often exhibiting camouflage.
New Schema Unlo
cked
Common Toad(Common)
An amphibian belonging to the genus Bufo, characterized by its dry, warty skin, shorter legs than frogs, and tendency to walk or crawl rather than hop. They are known for their parotoid glands, which secrete a poisonous substance, and are found in various terrestrial and aquatic environments.
New Schema Unlocked
Fly Agaric(Common)
The fly agaric, scientifically known as Amanita muscaria, is a large, bright red mushroom with distinctive white spots. While considered poisonous, deaths from consumption are rare. The fly agaric is known for its hallucinogenic properties, containing the psychoactive compound.
A nearby bush shake. I had a foreboding. The lizard was eating a rat he had caught and I was unguarded. Out of the bush, a large creature darted out. Then another. Then another.
Run. I commanded. The lizard quickly took me into its mouth and ran.
Wild dogs. Larger and more powerful than my lizard. Not one but three. My lizard has not a chance against them.
With my core in its mouth, the lizard ran, the wild dogs behind us. If it wasn't for my danger sensing ability, we would already have perish. They did not see us as we had started ten metres apart but they were tracking us, chasing our scent.
It was only through an act of miracle that we were able to escape. The wild dogs found another prey- larger and scrumptious than us, a herd of deer.
When day broke, I saw it. The mouth of a cave. But there was a glaring defect. It was a very large cave, enough for a dragon to fly into, which meant that larger predators could enter as well.
But I had no choice. I urged the lizard to enter the cave.
It was a large cave. By the looks of it, the cave seems to be part of a larger system. We went in deeper until we came to a large cavern.
We found a good hiding hole. A
tunnel that led to a dead end. The tunnel was long and winding, about fifty feet or so. This will be the starting floor of my dungeon and the beginning of my revenge.
