Malvorik woke up. He immediately realized that something was not normal. In fact, nothing was normal at all. He had suddenly become wide awake. He hadn''t experienced this since his 70th birthday. The veil that had clouded his mind and memories over the last few decades had been swept away.


    Had he tried a new spell? No. He had given up experimental thaumaturgy after he had destroyed a wall of his house during a new portal spell and almost lost his arm.


    He concentrated on his last memories. Lately, he had been having trouble remembering the current day of the week. Let alone the names of his six grandchildren. Now everything was very clear.


    He had asked the local priest of Pallandur to perform the Liturgy of Honorable Farewell on him. On his 92nd birthday, he had gathered his children and grandchildren around him. He had reconciled with Lorrik, his eldest son. Back in full possession of his mental powers for a short time, it had not been difficult for him to realize that he had become angry with him mainly out of pure old-age stubbornness. Only because he had given up his academic career in favor of a career as a battlemage. Lorrik was a practitioner, not a theorist. His magical talent was actually more suited to magical feats of strength than subtle applications. Throwing fireballs at an army of zombies suited him perfectly.


    He had addressed all his grandchildren by their real names for the first time, listened to stories about a walnut tree from little J?rne and admired Arnhold''s stone collection. The little ones didn''t understand why their parents kept crying. In the invitation, he had explained to his children in detail what he was planning. The liturgy of the Honorable Farewell used up his remaining life force to give him a few hours of total physical and mental health. The day was drawing to a close. Content with himself and the world and surrounded by his family, he fell asleep peacefully... and died.


    Malvorik was taken aback. Was he dead? He had somehow imagined life after death to be different. He looked around. A square room made of smooth stone. He couldn''t see any sources of light or shadows. But since he could see without any problems, it had to be lit somehow.


    He tried to hold his hand before his eyes but couldn''t move. He couldn''t move or feel his whole body at all. There was just... nothing.


    He tried to close his eyes, but that didn''t work either as if he had no eyelids. He turned his gaze, and that worked. He could turn his gaze in all directions. Even backward, upwards and downwards. He couldn''t find his body. The room consisted only of bare stone walls. He was a little worried about the shape of the room. The ceiling was completely straight. He had no means of comparison to estimate the size of the room, but it seemed large enough to him that this ceiling shape could become unstable. A barrel vault would be a much better structural solution.


    A golden dot of light appeared in the middle of the empty room, expanding into a line and then a hole in space. He noticed that he could recognize the lines of magical structure without effort, as if using a high-level analysis spell. Now that he was focusing on magical phenomena, he also saw a tightly focused stream of magic passing through the room, right through the center of his field of vision. A line of mana? He only glanced at the stream of mana, then concentrated again on the golden mana construct that was forming. He looked at the structure with interest and identified it as a complex portal spell. Primordial energy bound by holy magic. He only knew this from the textbooks. The magic of the gods themselves. A one-way portal. Judging by the aura coloration, it led from a globe into the material plane.


    A humanoid figure with swirling butterfly wings floated through the portal, which closed again behind her. The wings were midnight black and interwoven with an intricate pattern of golden lines that glowed faintly from within.


    The winged creature immediately picked up speed and began to circle him in a constantly changing path. It varied its speed, distance and height from the ground in a pattern that he could not see through. His perspective suddenly changed as he tried to follow it with his gaze. His field of vision approached one of the walls. Then he turned around and saw a shimmering reddish crystal floating in the middle of the room. Numerous facets formed a roughly round crystal with several extensions. It vaguely reminded him of a human heart. The mana line he had discovered earlier flowed in from one side of the room, through the middle of the crystal and out again on the other. The mana lines that had met in the meditation room at the university had looked similar. Only they hadn''t been so pitifully weak. Nobody would build a mage tower or even dig a tunnel in rock to get to them.


    As the crystal did not move, he turned his attention back to the newcomer. The creature was female and seemed very nervous. Her eyes darted back and forth as if she was trying to keep an eye on the ceiling, floor and walls at the same time.


    After a few more circles, she began to speak: "Don''t worry, I don''t want to hurt you. My name is Selvara and I am..."


    He tried to speak, but no sound rang out. Instead, he felt himself instinctively establishing a direct connection with the creature. He had used artifacts and spells for mindspeech and long-distance communication several times before, so he had no problem dealing with them:


    <A dungeon fairy! You are a dungeon fairy.>


    The flapping of the fairy''s wings went out of sync momentarily: "Okay... This is... unexpected."


    <Black wings with a pattern of golden double lines forming a maze. There are not many reports of contact with dungeon fairies, but they all agree on this point. The appearance is unmistakable. Then I am a dungeon heart. Or, to put it more precisely, my soul was reborn in a dungeon heart. I might as well have thought of that. So, this floating crystal is my body. Pretty. If I may say so immodestly.>


    The fairy maintained her flight but unconsciously slowed down a little: "You don''t sound as mad as the other dungeon hearts my sisters have told me about. Are you alright?"


    <I was a bit confused, but now that I know what I am, I should be fine. I''m glad you''re here. Then you''ll be able to teach me everything I need to know as a Dungeon?>


    "That''s my job. But how on earth do you know that?"


    <I taught dungeon lore at university for years. Alongside other magic theory subjects.>


    The fairy was silent momentarily: "You can remember your past?"


    <Of course. Why not? I wasn''t that senile yet.>


    "Your soul should have been bathed in the sea of oblivion until all your concrete memories have been dissolved. This should give you a fresh start in your new life."


    <Me in the sea of oblivion? Are you crazy? That''s where the souls of people rejected by all gods without exception end up. Sinners who even the God of the Undead and the God of War have deemed too corrupt to enter one of their paradises and thus be reborn at some point. Only the worst scum end up in the Sea of Oblivion and are then washed up on the beach of Golgoroth.>


    "Well, you must have ended up in Golgoroth''s domain somehow. Only the god of monsters and dungeons can plant a soul in a dungeon heart."


    <I wasn''t a saint but never committed any of the Unforgivable Sins. Never!>


    "The gods have cast you out. It cannot be otherwise. Have you made a pact with an archdemon, killed a saint or desecrated a temple?"


    <I never...> The crystal''s thoughts dried up. As he continued, his words seemed to be directed less at the dungeon fairy and more into the far distance: <You''re not serious, are you? Gods, you can''t disown me just because of a dig. How was I supposed to know it was a saint''s grave! We were only able to decipher the inscriptions months later at the university. No one today understands the glyphs from the Age of Dawn. A warning that nobody can understand doesn''t count! And I didn''t steal the treasures, they went to a museum!>


    "You plundered a saint''s grave?" There was genuine horror in the fairy''s voice.


    <Not on purpose. We thought it was just a tomb of a very devout Cathurian prince. The grave goods and the countless inscriptions have provided us with priceless information about the Cathurian Empire.>


    The fairy buried her hands in her face: "Of course. An unforgivable sin can only be committed consciously and deliberately. But the gods decreed ages ago that no one who plunders the grave of a saint may enter paradise. Well, there must have been a long discussion when Uthgarl weighed your soul on the scales of righteousness. After all, there are worse things."


    <Worse than being condemned to a fate reserved for the vilest of beings?>


    "It''s not as bad as you imagine. Dungeons have an important function in the world."


    <Dungeons plague their surroundings and lure arrogant adventurers to their doom with their treasures!>


    "They give people a target to fight against together. These are places where heroes can train their powers and acquire equipment that can''t be found anywhere else. Without dungeons, the people would fall on each other even more often. The other gods would have thrown Golgoroth out of the pantheon ages ago if it didn''t serve an important purpose."


    <Can I lodge a complaint somewhere?>


    "Try it on your next visit to a temple."


    <This could be difficult since dungeon hearts can''t move. Although...>


    "What do you mean, though? Dungeon hearts can''t move. Over."


    <There''s a theory that Dungeon Hearts only become permanently anchored the moment they create their dungeon and connect their aura to their surroundings to bring an area under their control. However that works exactly.>


    "I''ve never heard of that. Have you already used mana to create your dungeon? It should be an instinctive action as soon as your mana storage is full for the first time."


    <I have done nothing of the sort>.


    "Do you know how to access your status screen?"


    <Naturally. We''re not living in the age before the First Plague. Since Knightbasher387 sold the secret of the Status Screens to the Merchant''s Guild, the technology has spread to the last peasant in the Hinterlands. Direct access to the skill system has revolutionized the world. Even if it hasn''t become any more peaceful as a result.>


    Without effort, he used the mental technique he had used earlier to manage his experience points. <Hey, what are you doing? Everything is gone! My spells, skills, special abilities, titles... Decades of work. It''s all gone!>


    "You have been reborn. Like everyone else, you start all over again."


    Malvorik looked annoyed at the translucent document floating before him, visible only to him.


    Name: Malvorik


    Race: Dungeon Heart


    Character class: [None]


    [Note: Dungeon Master character class is only activated when the dungeon is created. Other character classes are not selectable].


    Experience points: 0


    Mana Pool: 10 / 10


    Mana regeneration: 1 / hour (mana line strength 1)


    <A mana pool with only ten points of storage capacity? With that, I wouldn''t even be accepted as an apprentice at the academy. And only one mana point of regeneration per hour? Ten hours until I''m full again? That''s completely unacceptable. With mages, the regeneration without advantages or special skills always adjusts so that the mana pool is full again after 8 hours of rest.>


    "You''re no longer a mage. Dungeons work differently. As you grow your crystal body later, you can gather more of the magical power around you. There are also methods to recharge your mana faster once your dungeon is bigger and can capture creatures. Some of your first special skills can also increase this by a few points, even if this is not a good idea in the long term. For now, though, you''ll have to take things slowly."


    <Ah, yes. Dungeons kill living creatures and absorb their experience and life force in the form of mana. That''s why they''re so dangerous. I''m beginning to understand.>


    "Do you have a problem with that? I mean, at least you weren''t a murderous sociopath like the other dungeon souls."


    <I don''t, strangely enough. I mean, I know I should find the very idea horrifying. But right now, I don''t feel any moral discomfort at the thought of killing humans, elves, anubians or dwarves. I''m curious to see what it will be like when I test it in practice.>


    The fairy looked at him. Her face twisted into an indecisive frown. On the one hand, a dungeon should have no problems with murder, on the other hand, she had already made friends with the idea of working with someone who had a conscience.


    "That will be quite a while in the future. First of all, you have to found your dungeon officially. That''s very easy. Call up the Dungeon Management Menu and click on Yes."


    <Not yet. I want to try something else first. I don''t have any magic skills or spells anymore, but I have an innate ability to see and manipulate mana, right?>


    Before the fairy could answer, he simply tried it. He gathered mana from the surrounding area and molded it into the simplest of all known magical patterns. A pattern so primitive that it didn''t even count as a proper spell. The first exercise all mages learned at the academy. The first visible success during their training. A primitive mana structure that consumed itself uncontrollably and produced light in the process. It flashed colorfully above him.


    "What are you doing? What was that? Were you messing with the mana line? Leave it alone! That''s the only source of mana you have at the moment. If you destroy it or direct it away from you, that''s it. Magic is everywhere, but the density is a hundred times higher directly on a line of force than even one step away from it. You''ll starve to death long before you get any of the other methods to work."


    <I know what I''m doing. I think. You can be ready to catch me if I fall off.>


    "You can''t fall, dungeon hearts..."


    He ignored the fairy''s indignant shouts and concentrated on his memory of one of the simplest real spells he had learned as an adept. His innate ability had allowed him to manipulate mana at the age of eight. But it had taken him years of practice to understand the patterns that created effective spells. Meditation, learning the rules and patterns. Countless attempts to finally get the mana into precisely the correct form. He had lost the skills that would have allowed him to cast the spell without any effort, just by speaking the formula. But he still remembered the pattern of a few spells. Without his grimoire and the complex graphics of the spell matrices, he could only reconstruct the simplest of level 1 spells. But if he could do that...


    The fairy could not see what he was doing. As he no longer responded to her questions, she leaned back on the stone floor and meditated. Dungeon fairies were used to staying in an inactive dungeon for a long time. While crystal hearts enlarged their crystal, they had to silently suck mana into themselves for months. Selvara''s breathing became deeper and slower. She slowly slipped into a stasis sleep as she had been trained to do. She exhaled sharply and opened her eyes. Her breathing was fast and excited. She had forgotten something! She didn''t have a pact yet. She didn''t have access to part of his mana regeneration. Without a pact, she was in danger of starving to death and never waking up again. After a while, she calmed down again. The elixir still flowed through her veins and provided her with everything she needed. Hunger, thirst, tiredness... none of these were an issue for another week or so.


    Hours passed. Her eyes were almost closed, and she was about to fall asleep from boredom when the thought language of the dungeon heart echoed through her mind.


    <Hand of the novice!>


    He spoke the formula and felt the magic take shape. An invisible field with which he could lift small objects and carry them around. The limit was about the weight of a dagger. The spell could not manipulate, push or tear the target, but simply carry it around. It didn''t even maintain alignment, so you couldn''t even move a goblet of wine with it without it tipping over and leaking. A typical non-optimized level 1 spell. It wasn''t usually difficult to use, but the area of effect swirled around aimlessly. Despite all his efforts, he could not align it with a target. Perplexed, he looked at the whole thing. As a dungeon heart, he could see magic without analysis spells, which he liked more and more. But why couldn''t he control the spell at all? He had used it on his first successful attempt as an adept. But of course. He lacked the appropriate spell control skill. But if he was right with his idea...


    Spell cast. Apprenticeship completed.


    Character class acquired: Mage Level 1


    Spell learned: Level 1 - Hand of the Novice (Layman I)


    Cannot increase the mana pool: Incompatible race.


    Cannot increase mana regeneration: Incompatible race.


    Skills learned: Spell Control (Apprentice I), Magic Theory (Apprentice I), Alchemy (Apprentice I)


    Ritual learned: Call of the Familiar


    Select a spell from the list...


    Before the list had run through entirely, he had already decided on a spell and chosen it.


    Spell learned: Level 1 - Stationary Zone of Silence (Layman I)


    The fairy looked up at him in confusion: "What just happened?"


    Malvorik smugly explained what he had just done.


    "That''s impossible! You can''t acquire a character class without leveling up!"


    <The first one already. It doesn''t cost any experience points yet. I can acquire a character class by fulfilling the relevant training requirements like everyone else. Or by choosing one of the freely accessible classes on my seventeenth birthday. It''s not common knowledge, but even mage academies can''t determine that someone gets their first level. You get it during the final exam, which consists of casting a first spell. This is actually the trigger for gaining a first level as a mage. As a member of the examination board, I know this, of course, but we didn''t explain to our adepts that they could become mages without the academy.>


    "Great. But you do realize that all the important abilities of a dungeon depend on its level in the character class Dungeon Master. If you don''t get it when creating your dungeon now, you''ll have a boring life here. In an empty room. Without monsters, traps or access to the outside."


    Malvorik was silent for a moment.


    <Let''s hope I can still somehow get my hands on this class, then.>


    Selvara crossed her arms in front of her chest: "Why couldn''t I have caught a normal psychopath?"


    <Maybe I should learn a few basics about dungeons first? I know the official theories, but only a few of them have been scientifically verified so far. As far as I know, dungeons can''t change shape as long as adventurers are in them. They can dig rooms out of the rock and create walls. Presumably, this costs a lot of mana. Is that true so far?>


    "That''s true so far. You can absorb matter and create it again, but that costs mana. Actually, this uses relatively little mana, but dungeons often move large amounts of rock. This quickly adds up. Intelligent creatures and magical monsters block this ability within a certain radius."


    <Wait, exactly how far does this blockade work? There are dozens of different reports on this. Adventurers are terrible when it comes to accurate reporting.>


    "Well, it works about ten paces in all directions, even through rocks. It also affects everything in the direct line of sight of an intruder. Regardless of whether he is looking or not."


    <Interesting. Golgoroth probably didn''t want to make it too easy for the dungeons. Otherwise, we could just beat adventurers to death with rocks or open holes under their feet. Wait a minute... why were you flapping around in such a panic? I couldn''t have done anything while you were in the room.>


    "As a dungeon fairy, I don''t count as an intruder so that I won''t interfere with your dungeon construction. That would also be quite a hindrance. Now I''ll go ahead and finish explaining. We had to memorize the lecture. It would be nice if I could use it at least once. So, you can store things you dissolve in an extradimensional room inside you. In a normal dungeon, I would describe it as a kind of stomach, but that shouldn''t be necessary here. You know how a Bag of Holding works. You can''t store much in the beginning. Most of it has to be created around you immediately. You should create a storage room there. In the Heart Room, the area directly around you, you can reshape anything you want at no mana cost. This can only be blocked if an intruder is standing directly in your heart room. So you can always clean up your supply room. This is an innate ability of all dungeon hearts. So you should be able to do it too. Give it a try."


    Malvorik reached out with his mind. He could feel the fairy itself but could not influence it. The walls, on the other hand, felt malleable. Without effort, he could form a pattern into a surface. Now he needed one more piece of information. But he wasn''t sure whether the fairy would give it to him once it had understood his new abilities.


    <Say Selvara, do you know where we are right now?>


    "Of course. The oldest dungeon fairy receives a vision from Golgoroth with information about each new dungeon. She then passes it on when a fairy has been chosen for it. I was shown where my location will be yesterday using our best maps."


    <Where are we now?>


    "We''re just over 150 steps below the surface. So it will take you quite a while before your dungeon reaches the surface. Your sphere of influence grows with the size of your crystal. To enlarge your crystal, you just need a lot of time to gather enough mana. Each increase in size costs more."


    <I hate to interrupt your explanations, but I meant: Where are we geographically?>


    "I see. Sorry. I was prepared for a dungeon heart to know nothing about the world. We''re on the edge of the Kaali Desert, right by the Blackrock Mountains. In other words, in the no man''s land between the M''Bathi tribal area and the Kingdom of the Golden Alliance. An ideal place to set up a dungeon. A relatively well-frequented travel route is not far away. So you can open your exit there and expect to be found relatively quickly. Or you can build an oasis and use it as a trap."


    <I know the area. That should be the trade route over the Kaali Pass. Access to the Golden Alliance is controlled by the city fortress of Mulnirsheim. How far are we from the city?>


    "About five days'' travel."


    <And as the crow flies?>


    "Maybe 60 miles, through the border forest, across the grass steppe and directly over the mountains."


    <Then the mana line here is probably an offshoot of the Tarnel Stream. Upstream, we would then come to the actual Tarnel Stream. It meets a line of force that leads to the power junction below Mulnirsheim. At least according to the calculations of the Royal Survey Corps. All they found there was a mirror node thirty steps above the ground, where a directly vertical line rises from the ground. A small mage academy was even founded there. They have a tower with a room directly around the power node. Without a meditation room on a power node where you can regenerate mana more quickly, training takes much longer. Since the novices have not yet mastered any suitable techniques and only regenerate mana very slowly, they can hardly practise any spells. With a meditation room...>


    The fairy interrupted him: "This might be really interesting, but could you please set up your dungeon now so we can make a pact? Once we are pact bound, I can read your status directly and help you much better and easier."


    <No rush. I was still giving the occasional lecture on the symbiotic connection between dungeons and their fairies up until a decade ago. Let me just test one more old theory of mine.>


    Without paying attention to her questions, he cast the spell: <Hand of the novice.>


    Now with the appropriate skill, he was able to control the simple spell precisely. He grabbed his own small crystal body and carefully carried himself along the line of force. Something he hadn''t been able to do as a novice, of course, since he weighed considerably more than five pounds back then. The fairy bolted up from her cozy reclining position in a panic, "What are you doing?"


    When his heart space came into contact with the rock, he was able to dissolve the stone without effort. The experience surprised him. He could feel, smell and taste the rock. As it dissolved, he understood the structure of the material with a depth and precision that he could not express in words. What he had just seen as simply stone, he now understood as a complex structure of different substances.


    After a few steps, he felt a pressure inside him that quickly became uncomfortable and a short distance later painful. He remembered the fairy''s explanations and let the rock behind him take shape again. The pressure eased immediately.


    Selvara, meanwhile, fluttered above him and nervously drew in her feet as the room behind her turned to rock.


    Malvorik discovered that he was able to make the rock much stronger than it was by nature. Without fissures, inclusions and cracks. The true essence of granite. However, this left him with a tunnel or frequent holes, as this material was much denser than normal rock. After a few steps, he decided that he would rather not leave a trail, so he left the rock behind him with exactly the same consistency it had before.


    He followed the line of force, not only because it was his source of energy, but also his only point of orientation. He did not miss any of his human characteristics. He didn''t get tired and he could effortlessly maintain his concentration almost indefinitely. As a human mage, he had been able to maintain the spell for half an hour at best, until the pattern destabilized too much, whereupon he had to cast it again. However, he was unable to hold a conversation with the fairy at the same time. After a few attempts to get a conversation going, she gave up and fluttered along with him, grumbling quietly.


    She was just glad that the fairy drink hadn''t made her tired. Otherwise she would have had to hope he didn''t wall her up and fly on. At the moment, she wasn''t at all sure what the chances of that were. She had briefly considered holding on to the crystal and letting it carry her along, but feared that she might push it off the line of force. The crystal was also spinning wildly on all axes, which obviously didn''t seem to bother Malvorik.


    After about a day, the line of force met a stronger line. Like a stream meeting a river.


    He followed the mana current through further crossings to the stronger one until he came to a level 6 line that had a strong affinity to fire and ore. Here he turned against the current. Finally it made sense that he had had to memorize all the important power lines of the continent as a novice.


    The fairy tried to start a conversation again. This time he paused to listen. "Do you have any idea where you''re tunneling to or do you just want to go for a walk? I''m sure there was a reason why your dungeon was planned exactly where we just came from."


    <We''ll be there soon.>


    It took longer than he had expected, but then a glowing knot of magic appeared in the dissolving rock. The line on which it moved crossed a line of equal strength. An ore-affine mana line rose up from below. All three lines intersected to form a mana knot. Malvorik knew that the ore line formed another mana node with two air-affinity mana streams thirty steps above the ground. Several researchers had suspected another node deep underground based on the strength of the lines. So far, however, no one had been able to raise the enormous costs for the necessary excavations. Especially as the benefit of a second node at such a short distance was minimal.


    Malvorik stopped right in the middle of the mana knot and bathed in the storm of magic.


    Mana regeneration: 24 mana points/hour


    (Mana Node Strength 24)


    <A strength 24 mana node, worlds better than this measly strength 1 line. We''re right under Mulnirsheim. Is there anything to be said against establishing my dungeon here?


    "You can''t just choose where your dungeon is built!"


    <Why not?>


    "Because... Because..." The fairy threw up her arms, speechless.


    Malvorik concentrated and called up the dungeon management menu.


    Establish dungeon Yes / No?


    He resolutely chose "Yes"


    Dungeon established


    Crystal heart: Size 1


    Range: 10 steps


    Character class acquired. Dungeon Master Level 1


    Skills learned: Architecture (Apprentice I), Trap building (Apprentice I), Monster Lore (Apprentice I)


    Malvorik mentally slapped his non-existent thighs in triumph. The gods had decreed that a Dungeon automatically got the character class Dungeon Master. Apparently, they hadn''t even considered that he might already have another character class. Two classes at level 1 on the first day of his existence. No one would be able to copy that so quickly.


    He could suddenly perceive the stone a little way outside his heart chamber. A spherical area of about... Well, it was probably the 10 paces indicated. A myriad of other menus were now available. He wasted no time in constructing a space around himself. Since he couldn''t store much material inside himself, he limited himself to the classic cube of five by five paces for now. Now Selvara finally had a little more space. She hadn''t shown any signs of discomfort in the narrow tunnel, but as soon as she had room to fly again, she seemed much more relaxed. Satisfied, he went through the remaining reports:


    Construction patterns for traps:


    (selection required)


    He leafed through the long list of blueprints for traps. Swinging knives, pitfall traps, spear throwers, blowpipes, flamethrowers, water containers, pitfall traps... Most of them were relatively simple. He was confident he could reconstruct them without a blueprint. <If I postpone this until later, the selection will expire?>


    "No. You can do that in the trap menu at any time. I''d also recommend waiting until you''ve thought about a structure and maybe even a theme for your dungeon."


    Construction pattern for trap triggers:


    (selection required)


    Numerous plans were also available for trap triggers. Trip wires, pressure plates, chest lids, various objects that had to be turned or touched. That looked a lot more challenging. The preview images did not reveal the exact mechanism, but he knew from the reports of adventurers that the trap triggers were often very complex. <There have been several reports from adventurers that traps react to certain spells or the mere presence of living creatures. I don''t see anything here that would make that possible.>


    "At higher levels, a few additional variants also appear, but if you want traps to react to magic or creatures, you need a suitable feat for each."


    Feat learned: Possession


    Increased storage capacity


    Available monster breeds:


    (selection required)


    A long list of lower-ranking monsters followed. Carnivorous plants, rats, various insects, giant amoebas... The list went on and on.


    <Okay, now I could use some advice.>


    The fairy looked at her fingernails with interest.


    <Selvara?>


    "Oh? Are you talking about me?"


    <I''m sorry I ignored you for so long. I was too enthusiastic about my theory.>


    "Well... I, I forgive you. On the condition that we finally make a pact. It''s best if we go through the text and its meaning step by step. "


    <Is it the usual wording handed down from Travis to the library dungeon?>


    "Travis... the old gossip. Now I realize how you humans know so much. Yes, the wording fits."


    <So then: I offer you, Selvara the Dungeon Fairy, a pact of partnership. No partner shall be an enemy to the other. No partner shall be able to knowingly lie to the other. You shall have free passage through my dungeon. None of my dungeon powers, monsters or traps shall be able to harm you. You shall feast on my power... Wait, what does that actually mean?>


    "Dungeon fairies only need magic to live. Mana. Your dungeon monsters survive without air, water and food. If you accept me, the same goes for me. It won''t cost you a noticeable amount of mana besides your monsters."


    <A small price for your company. So continue: You shall feast on my strength. In return, you will advise and support me to the best of your knowledge and belief. If one falls, we both fall. If one dies, we both die. This pact shall last until both of us dissolve it together. So be it!>


    The text appeared in the air in front of Selvara in a translucent parchment. The words "Accept" and "Reject" were written side by side at the bottom in slightly lighter ink. She carefully checked the text again and tapped "Accept" with her finger.


    Both felt a brief tugging sensation in their heads, then a message from the world voice appeared:


    Pact agreement concluded.


    Malvorik had a strange feeling. A stone in his shoe, or a hard spot in the mattress. He concentrated on it, feeling the sensation in his mind. Then he understood. It was Selvara. He could feel exactly where she was in his dungeon. A somehow reassuring feeling.


    Selvara flew a quick loop and let out a cry of joy.


    "I finally feel complete. The other fairies always said their dungeon hearts felt greedy and aggressive, but you''re more curious and relaxed."


    <I can also sense that you can hardly wait to give me a memorized lecture.>


    "Well, you probably already know most of it. But let''s start with the basics. At the moment, you can only see and influence a small area. You can only influence what is in your field of vision. You can find the current range in your character sheet. You can only create things that you have already dissolved and analyzed once. For more complex objects or even living beings, you will need larger quantities or a very high quality sample. So far, your repertoire of patterns is probably limited to rock."


    <Not quite.>


    "What do you mean?"


    <On the way, we tunneled through a coal seam and a small silver vein. There''s also shale, but I can''t think of what to do with it yet.>


    "Wow. Silver. That''s pretty handy. Normally, you wouldn''t have gotten it until the first adventurer who dies in your dungeon. But that only works if his comrades don''t salvage his equipment. Everything you have analyzed once can also be recreated with magic. An ability that only dungeons have. Mages need level 9 spells for this and even these are much more limited in their use."


    <I know, I know. Inside my dungeon, I create items or monsters as a mana construct that disintegrates immediately outside the dungeon, but costs very little mana, or as real matter that remains stable. Presumably with significantly higher mana costs.>


    "Stable matter costs ten times as much. But you can also simply rematerialize something that you previously dissolved. This costs nothing and still remains stable outside the dungeon. Of course, this is limited to the amount of matter that you have dissolved. Of course, this does not work with living creatures. Your monsters can never leave the dungeon. Exceptions to this require very high-level special skills."


    <Wait a minute, then crafting loot will be quite exhausting for the adventurers. Permanent iron already has a huge cost in mana, but gold? It takes days for a few coins. Do dungeons spend months producing loot?>


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "They actually do that a lot. But only for the remaining artifacts and treasures. The coins that are left behind when someone destroys a monster are a gift from Golgoroth. You don''t have to worry about that. Unless you want to use monster hearts, but I''ll explain that later. If you want to leave extra loot behind to attract more adventurers, you''ll need to set it when you create the monsters and invest the mana."


    <I didn''t know that.>


    "Sometimes Golgoroth also fills chests if a group of adventurers has particularly impressed him. But normally that''s your job."


    <I can also dissolve monsters and enemies, analyze them and then recreate them myself?>


    "Yes, but only if they''re dead and not inside the blockade of other intruders. The problem with living creatures is, well... There''s always a good reason why they''re dead. So you only get badly damaged cadavers for analysis. It usually takes you up to a dozen specimens before you understand the pattern well enough to recreate it as a mana construct."


    <If you use undead, you probably have an advantage here.>


    "Yes. Undead can be used immediately. But until you have a full analysis, they''re not very effective. Drooling, shuffling zombies that flail their hands aimlessly."


    <How far can I analyze living opponents?>


    "As long as they''re alive, not very good. You get character classes and levels, but no information on skills, attributes or race. You can''t analyze worn equipment. Only when someone leaves something lying around and there is no enemy in the area can you break it down and analyze it."


    <It''s really good to find out that I haven''t been teaching complete nonsense for the last few decades. It''s not so easy to see from the outside. Especially with the completely inaccurate and exaggerated reports we get from adventurers afterwards.>


    "I''m glad I can at least confirm your knowledge. Not that I feel completely useless."


    <You probably know a lot of things that I don''t even know that I don''t know. Let''s take my starting monster, for example. Am I going to be stuck in one direction forever? What would you recommend?>


    "You are a level 1 Dungeon Master. This means you only have one race of monsters. However, this is also your most powerful monster at the moment, your end boss. End bosses can be significantly stronger than normal monsters. However, you only have one end boss monster. Later, you can create another slightly weaker boss monster for each floor of your dungeon. Boss monsters are great. If you choose rats, you get a single rat. However, this will be a level 5 giant rat. You could also choose a goblin warrior, but that would be more of a level 2. Goblins are level 2 monsters and the skills and equipment for a warrior consume 2 extra levels."


    <That still sounds very puny for a boss monster.>


    "You''re not building an entrance at level 1 yet. Wait until you''re at least level 6. Until then, you''ll have more races, more rooms and traps. The highest level your normal monsters can have is your dungeon master level. Bosses have four levels more. You can later place the old boss at the entrance as a guardian or use it somewhere as a boss monster. Some dungeons are so attached to their first monster that they keep it in the heart room or at least in a room next to it."


    <I can''t imagine I''d like a monster in my heart room. A guard at the entrance sounds more appropriate. A race that attacks from ambush would be best. It''s easiest to surprise enemies right at the entrance. Especially if they haven''t yet realized that they''re in a dungeon.>


    "Then take a Lurking Shrike."


    <These are the monkey-like monsters with the big hands and short legs?>


    "Exactly. Just over a step and a half tall. Disproportionately long arms and fingers. For their size, they have a monstrously strong stranglehold. Once they''ve got hold of you, it''s really hard to get free. They can cling to branches with their feet and hang down to get at their opponents from unexpected directions."


    <Bought.>


    Malvorik chose his first monster race.


    <How can I summon it now?>


    "You don''t need monsters here deep underground yet. You should also create a room for it to stay in first."


    <Creating spaces. That sounds good. But this room here fills almost my entire field of vision.>


    "Exactly. That brings us to the next point. You need to expand your sphere of influence. I bet that''s one of the things you didn''t learn at university."


    Malvorik let the status screen disappear from his field of vision, where he had already found the corresponding dungeon management menu.


    <No. Where would that come from? I''m beginning to understand why dungeons need a fairy. I just don''t yet understand why she has to be so pretty too.>


    "Flatterer." She grinned involuntarily, despite her somewhat gruff tone. "There are many things that make up a dungeon. The most important are range and sphere of influence. Your reach is the maximum distance you can extend your sphere of influence. Always centered on your crystal. Your range depends on the size of your crystal. Within your range, you can charge an area with mana and make it your area of influence. Only within your sphere of influence can you see, create, transform or dissolve things. Let''s start by enlarging your crystal. In the dungeon administration menu you will find the item: "Crystal growth."


    <Found. I then select "Initiate growth"?>


    "As soon as you do this, all your mana and everything you regenerate during the process is channeled into the process. You lose consciousness until then. As soon as you have accumulated enough mana, your crystal expands and you awaken again."


    <How does this work with a dungeon that has already been discovered? Is that then completely helpless?>


    "The monsters and traps in the dungeon still work. You just can''t control them anymore."


    <Can I leave that to you?>


    Selvara''s wings faltered and she fell a hand''s breadth before she caught herself again: "Wow. Well... No. But thank you. As far as I know, no dungeon heart has ever suggested such a thing. The pact only makes me an advisor and prevents us from harming each other, it doesn''t give me access to your abilities."


    <Maybe our connection can be deepened.>


    Malvorik chose an area in a corner and formed a circle one step in diameter as a deep groove in the stone floor. He then materialized all the silver he had collected so far and filled the hollow with fine silver dust. In the center of the circle, he carved the runes for friendship, contract and attraction. While he was supported by the menu for circles, squares and other geometric shapes, he had to draw the runes by hand, so to speak. This took him several attempts. Fortunately, he was able to smooth out the ground again using one of the menu functions. Then he channeled mana into the silver and activated the only ritual he could already use again: <Call of the Familiar.>


    Selvara looked around indecisively, then her gaze was drawn to the circle. "What are you doing? I suddenly have a slight urge to step into that circle. But I can easily resist the call. It doesn''t seem to be a compulsion, more... an invitation?"


    <I''m not just a dungeon, I''m also a mage. Mages have familiars. You''re far too powerful for a level 1 mage, so you''d have to take the covenant willingly for this to work.>


    Selvara hesitated: "No one has ever tried that before. I have no idea what effect it could have on us. Besides, familiars are just pets. Cats, toads or ravens."


    <Common animals imbued with magic are the usual familiars for young mages. Pretty much anything else is too powerful. At higher levels, completely different options come into question. Very young dragons, constructs, undead, various magical animal species and of course some fairy creatures.>


    "Fairy creatures?"


    <Our dean had a fairy dragon as a level 8 mage.>


    "Wow. And what would I get out of it?"


    <Normally familiars grow wiser and learn to speak, but that shouldn''t be the case with you. They live at least as long as their mage... How long does a dungeon fairy live?>


    "We can live up to 400 years."


    <Then that would be more of a very long-term advantage.>


    "Dungeon hearts are immortal, but most are destroyed before they are 10 years old."


    Malvorik was silent for a moment, then mentally shrugged his shoulders. In principle, that was nothing he hadn''t already known. He just hadn''t thought about the fact that it applied to him now.


    <I can cast spells on my familiar at a range of up to 10 miles. As long as he is within this range, I can cast spells on him as if he were standing next to me and looking through his eyes. Or make him see through my eyes, which never did much good with my old dog. Poor Snuffles. After he got run over by a troll wagon, I never took a new familiar. No matter how far apart we are, we always know how the other person is feeling and how they are doing. But the best reason why you should join in is something completely different.>


    "And what?"


    <It''s something that''s never been done before. You would be the very first Dungeon Fairy Familiar.>


    Selvara looked up at his crystal for a moment, then stepped resolutely into the ring. The silver dust swirled upwards and formed a cylinder that closed under the ceiling above her. Silver light made her blink. Selvara felt the magic fill every part of her body. The light became blinding, forcing her to close her eyes.


    Malvorik''s crystal gaze remained unimpressed. He watched attentively as the fairy''s aura changed. He had not yet mastered any analysis spells with his first familiar and had therefore not been able to follow it. While other mages usually replaced their familiars at higher levels, he had kept his faithful dog until his death. Threads of mana detached themselves from Selvara''s aura and whipped around uncontrollably. Was this normal? Had he made a terrible mistake? The fairy''s aura weakened as more and more mana erupted from her. The fairy, which had just been hovering above the ground, fell down. More mana bled out of it.


    His mind raced. The ritual was primitive, he couldn''t have done anything wrong. What was different here? Circle, silver, mana, mage... All the ingredients were there. Was his aura incompatible? The ritual was designed for human mages. Not for dungeon hearts. Once again, he hadn''t thought long enough before he started experimenting. Llurd''s mind!


    The fairy went to her knees. Sweat appeared on her small forehead.


    He reached out with his mind for the mana tendrils spraying into the void and pulled them towards him. As soon as the first one touched his crystal body, they all whipped around and drove into him. His aura merged with Selvara''s. The mana stopped flowing out of her and flowed back and forth between them until a solid bond took shape. Slowly, her aura stabilized.


    Malvorik shifted his focus into the non-magical world and out of himself. His focus circled her. She was sweating and looked exhausted, but stood up again with trembling legs.


    She tilted her head as if she was listening for something. Then she took off and flew a slow circle around the crystal heart.


    <Are you all right?>


    "That was a bit scary. You could have warned me. But I''m fine now. Let''s see: I feel a slight pull that always points in your direction. Like an inner compass. I can feel the currents of magic here in the room. Like a warm wind. There are three glistening lines that go right through you. Have they always been there?"


    <These are mana lines. I have chosen my location on a mana node.>


    "You shine like a star from the inside out."


    <Thank you. I can''t wait to see what other skills you''ve gotten. Or will get as I level up. As soon as we have some, you''re welcome to try commanding the monsters.>


    "I''d suggest you enlarge your crystal for now. In the meantime, I can rest for a while. I''m still feeling a bit dizzy at the moment."


    Malvorik selected the Crystal Growth item in the corresponding menu. The world voice informed him that the growth required 100 mana points. With a regeneration of 24 mana points per hour, it would only take just over 4 hours. He confirmed the action and his field of vision shrank until he could only see the heart room. Then it went dark.


    The crystal heart suddenly became conscious, just as it had when it first woke up. He immediately looked around attentively. Selvara was sitting on the floor, boredly filing her fingernails with a tiny file. Before he could say anything, she looked up: "You''re awake again? Are you all right?"


    <Can you tell when I''m awake?>


    "Of course. You stop glowing when you''re unconscious. Besides, I can sense your feelings while you''re awake."


    <Am I actually taller now?>


    "Yes, but hardly noticeably. Maybe a millimeter or so more in diameter. What about your visibility?"


    Malvorik noticed some messages from the World Voice and called them to the forefront of his vision with a thought.


    Crystal size increased: Size 2


    Increased range: 20 steps


    Mana capacity increased: 20 mana points


    Current mana pool: 20/ 20


    Mana regeneration: 26 mana points/hour


    <This is 2 points more mana regeneration than before. Does this increase every time I grow?>


    "The fact that you can draw magic from a larger area also increases your regeneration speed. But you can''t draw magic from an unlimited distance, even with an even larger area of influence. So at most, this increases maybe once or twice."


    <Let''s move on then. How do I increase my sphere of influence?>


    Without the fairy being able to see it, he was already going through all the dungeon management menus. He quickly found the right one. The menu allowed him to mark areas within his field of vision.


    "Are you even listening to me? I said you have to focus on one direction and then channel mana into the stone. Once it''s saturated with your magic, you can influence it."


    <I''m sorry. I''ve just found a menu for it. Here I can draw lines in the stone.>


    "I''ve heard about that. But unfortunately it doesn''t really make sense. The other dungeons could never use it for anything useful..."


    Malvorik interrupted her: <Vanishing point perspective! It''s like drawing in vanishing point perspective. I completely delimit a three-dimensional area with these lines... Like this... Exactly. As soon as it is completely delimited by lines and thus defined as an area, information on the dimensions appears. In addition, the exact volume and a mana specification. Presumably the amount required to claim the area. Simple. This seems to require about 1 mana point per cubic step.>


    "That... is interesting. But you still need to take in larger areas, not just the rooms you want to build."


    <Why not? That''s inefficient.>


    "So you get a lot of dead areas where you can''t do anything. You don''t even notice when enemies dig in there. You can''t cross claimed areas without noticing."


    <Then I claim a sphere around my dungeon at the end. Maybe some kind of grid or net will do. But for now I want to build a room.>


    "Do that." Selvara smiled. She had been warned about this at length. All dungeon hearts had an instinctive need to spread out and dig rooms. It was her job to intervene here, but for now, let the crystal have its fun.


    The crystal heart defined an area next to the heart room and a small cuboid in between that would serve as a corridor. Then he pumped the indicated amount of mana into it. A process that took an annoyingly long time. Malvorik realized, however, that he didn''t have to actively maintain it, so he could focus his attention on something else in the meantime.


    <Selvara...> The thought broke off nervously.


    "Yes?"


    <Well... Tell me... Is it actually normal for dungeon fairies not to wear clothes?>


    "Why should we? We''re only with dungeon hearts. No one else gets to see us. It will be years before you are safe enough for me to return to the fairy realm for a while. Before that, I''ll dress up a bit, of course, if you have suitable material for clothes. But if not, it doesn''t matter."


    <Aren''t you embarrassed to fly around me completely naked?>


    "Why do you ask? Does it bother you?"


    <No, no. Not at all... What is this...>


    "What have you got now?" The fairy looked around and noticed a passageway forming out of the heart room. She smiled: "The passage looks good. Make it a little higher though. It''s bad style to build corridors where people can''t walk upright. The recommendation is at least two steps wide and three steps high. You should build the rooms at least four steps high. Anything with a floor area of less than five by five steps doesn''t count as a room."


    <I got experience points! Not many, just a few... Did I accidentally kill some moles or something?>


    "Expanding your dungeon gives you experience points. At least for a while. Most Dungeon Hearts use this to increase their Dungeon Master class up to level 5. The number of experience points decreases with each level. At level 6, construction work no longer gives XP."


    <This is not unexpected. The potential loss phenomenon has already been largely scientifically researched. The higher your highest level, the more powerful enemies and tasks are required to level up. Enemies below your own level give a 20% penalty for each level below. Five or more levels below your own level, challenges no longer give any XP at all. As a result, upgrading the dungeon counts as a level 1 challenge.>


    Selvara looked uncertainly at her hands as she wiggled her fingers, counting. Then she looked up uncertainly: "Twenty percent... Yes, could fit."


    <The loss of potential depends on the highest level reached. Not the total number of levels. With several classes I can delay this much longer. With multiple classes, there is no automatic level advancement. The XP remain in a pool until I distribute them among my classes. The supply must not exceed 1000 XP, then the automatic class advancement will start and the XP will be distributed evenly to all existing classes. Let''s get started then.>


    The floor beneath the crystal was given a few deep notches with which Malvorik sketched out a plan of the next rooms he wanted to hollow out. Selvara watched with interest.


    "Wait a minute, there are two small rooms that lead off directly from here. One connected by a zig-zag corridor. Two dead ends and a corridor that leads to the actual dungeon. The heart room is usually at the very end of the dungeon. After that, rooms hardly make any sense. What goes in there?"


    <One will be an alchemy lab. As soon as I can get equipment and ingredients, I''ll start experimenting again. It''s always been one of my hobbies. Alchemical experiments tend to explode, hence the zigzag corridor and a thick stone gate. This prevents explosions from reaching into the heart room. The other room is for you.>


    "For me?" Selvara stared at the sketch, uncomprehending.


    <Naturally. Bed, chair, table, cupboard. For now it''s all stone and no upholstery, but once I''ve analyzed more materials, we''ll rebuild it accordingly. The corridor leading in is just big enough for you and just under 2 paces long. It has a solid stone door with a latch on the inside. So you don''t have to worry if people conquer my heart room. You''ll be safe in there.>


    Malvorik only now noticed the fairy''s open mouth and wide eyes in his swing. <What is it? Have I done something wrong? Surely no one can expect you to sit here on the stone floor in the heart room all the time?


    "Some fairies get a carpet... or a few potted plants..."


    <Serious? Not even a room of your own?>


    "Dungeon hearts don''t usually have an understanding for that sort of thing." She flew up and gently placed a hand on the crystal. "Thank you."


    <Well... Well... Not worth mentioning. It goes without saying.>


    The dungeon heart set about defining rooms in the corresponding menu and then filling them with magic to claim the areas for itself. As soon as a room was completely claimed, he could feel it like a part of his body. The stone dissolved under his will and disappeared. This time, however, without appearing in his astral storage room. Simply dissolving the stone did not cost any more astral energy, but as far as he understood the build menu, he would have to spend mana again for later changes. He needed one hour for every 25 cubic steps of stone, which in turn earned him 6.25 XP. One for every four cubic steps he enlarged the dungeon. He needed no sleep. His concentration was unshakeable. He never got bored as long as he was working. There was nothing to distract him either...


    He noticed a rhythmic knocking and interrupted his work to look around. Everything was empty and quiet in the new rooms. He shifted his mental focus back to the heart room. Sitting on the floor was a visibly annoyed fairy who was listlessly hitting the floor with one of his silver ingots. Judging by the state of the ingot, she had been doing this for quite some time.


    <If you want to try your hand at blacksmithing, I''d be happy to build you an anvil and a forge. Well, I would still need wood and leather for the bellows, but perhaps I could improvise something out of thin stone.>


    Selvara carelessly dropped the silver ingot and jumped up: "Malvorik! At last! I thought you couldn''t hear me at all. You''ve been digging up rooms non-stop for almost seven days with no rhyme or reason. You were completely unresponsive!"


    <Seven days? I wasn''t aware of that at all. Why didn''t you say anything?>


    "I screamed until my throat hurt. For the last few hours, I''ve tried hammering. It''s not unusual for dungeon hearts to focus so hard on something that they forget everything around them. But you really are the pinnacle!"


    <Mages learn to concentrate on one task and ignore all distractions. Without all the physical discomforts such as back pain, hunger, thirst and the need to visit the privy, this is of course much easier.>


    "All right, then. Let''s agree that when I''m hammering around with metal, you take a break and come over."


    <I agree. I''ll try to pay attention to that. Beyond that, I''ve just reached 1000 XP.>


    "That fast? That can''t be possible. It should take months."


    <With a regeneration of 2 to 3 points per hour perhaps. In addition, the class automatically increases with the XP gained if you only have one. This causes the XP gain to steadily decrease. I clear 300 cubic steps a day and haven''t spent a single XP. As a result, my level consistently counts as level 1 and dungeon expansion as a perfectly reasonable challenge with no loss of potential. Let me show you how this normally works.>


    Malvorik made notches in the wall and used them to sketch out his calculations.


    At 100 XP you reach level 2, from level 2 the XP gain is reduced by 20%.


    Level 3 is reached at 200 XP, which corresponds to 225 XP due to the deduction of 20% from 100 XP.


    Level 4 comes at 300 XP, but with a deduction of 40% from 200 XP, this corresponds to 391 XP.


    Level 5 comes at 500 XP, with a deduction of 80% from 300 XP, this corresponds to 1391 XP.


    <Normal dungeon hearts regenerate about 3 mana points per hour on their puny mana line. This means they have to take constant breaks before they can continue digging. This means they have to work on their dungeon for months to get to level 5. Just for one character class! They must be going mad with boredom and impatience.>


    "Most people start out as psychopaths. But you''re right. That doesn''t make it any better. Mragoth, known as the gluttonous heart, simply ate up his entire surroundings. When he was found, he was floating in the middle of a giant empty sphere, the top of which was a hole in the floor of a steppe. He was surrounded by flying swords and undead pigeons."


    <Hasn''t his fairy advised him against it?>


    "He ate them too."


    <That''s terrible. What has become of this lunatic?>


    "Adventurers dropped a large boulder straight down through the hole. Smashed it in the air."


    <Well, let''s distribute the XP. That''s enough for exactly level 5 as a Mage and level 5 as a Dungeon Master. Having several classes of the same level is most effective. The potential deduction is determined by the highest class. In addition, any XP gain is reduced if you have character classes with more than two levels difference.>


    Selvara stared at the crystal: "You level up 8 levels in 7 days. Not even the legendary power levelers of the revenants have managed that. That gives you 4 special skills as a dungeon master and 4 as a mage. That can''t be allowed. The gods will punish you!"


    She looked around, expecting a bolt of lightning to come out of the ceiling and shatter the crystal. But nothing happened.


    <Satisfied? Then let''s start the increase now. First of all, Dungeon Master on 5. Wow. So many choices at once... Wait a minute! At least for the highest class there should be trait points included!>


    "Dungeon hearts have no physical attributes. You only have intelligence, willpower and charisma. Charisma starts at ten and stays there except for rewards from the World Voice. The only stats that can be increased are therefore intelligence and willpower. Your points are automatically distributed evenly between them. The starting value for both is normally twelve. Golgarath probably didn''t trust Dungeon Hearts to distribute this responsibly themselves."


    The crystal lit up in shimmering shades of red. <Twelve?!? That would make me as stupid as a goblin. That can''t be right. I would realize that! Let me have a look at my character sheet.>


    He was silent for a moment. Then the play of colors calmed down again.


    < Everything is fine. We can carry on.>


    "Hey, wait a minute, what are your stats?"


    The dungeon heart engraved the values slowly and carefully into the wall. He was not at all satisfied with his handwriting. In front of his students at the blackboard, he would have been ashamed of such a shaky scrawl on the floor.


    Name: Malvorik


    Race: Dungeon Heart


    Character class: Dungeon Master (Level 5)


    Strength: -


    Dexterity: -


    Intelligence: 20


    Willpower: 16


    Constitution: -


    Charisma: 12


    "Intelligence 20? The normal maximum for mortal races? Is today Llurd''s day?"


    <That fits all right. These are the traits I last had as a person. At my age, I had already lost a lot of my physical attributes. They were all under ten. But the mental ones... Well, I mentioned that I was a lecturer in magic theory and dungeon lore. Intelligence and Willpower are my old stats, plus two each from the new increases. Charisma has remained the same.>


    Selvara shook her head and rolled her eyes. "A dungeon with the mind of a scholar. That will be exciting. Well then, can I still be of service to your erudition with my humble mind?"


    <Intelligence is not the same as education. Your practical knowledge of dungeons is certainly superior to my purely theoretical knowledge in many respects. Let''s test that right away: let''s start with special skills. Is there a way for a Dungeon Master to visualize his thoughts? Something I can use to show you my status screen? Or blueprints for the dungeon?>


    "You can only learn one feat per level. Don''t you want to spend that on something more important?"


    <What could be more important than working better with you?>


    The fairy blinked and was silent for a while. She wiped something glittering out of one eye with her finger. She replied in a completely matter-of-fact tone, but smiled: "Take the Mirror of Thought. Should be available by now."


    Malvorik selected the feat and realized that he had not selected one at the first level. Then he studied the details of its use. One wall of the heart room was completely covered with a mirror in which he displayed his status screen with a long list of feats.


    <How are you supposed to see through that? That''s over fifty feats.>


    Selvara really blossomed now that her knowledge was finally needed: "Some are mutually exclusive. Especially the dungeon classifications. These are packages that give you a few thematically matching monsters. Or with which all your monsters get certain abilities. You can either become a chimera dungeon or an undead dungeon. Not an undead chimera dungeon. Once you choose one from this group, the others are locked."


    Malvorik looked through the list. Elemental Affinity gave all his creatures special abilities and a high resistance to one of the five elements. Chimerology gave him the ability to mix the natural characteristics of creatures and even transfer magical abilities from one monster to another. Ruler of the Undead allowed him to raise all enemies that had fallen in his dungeon as undead. Other classifications let him create certain types of monsters in his dungeon that were otherwise difficult to obtain: slimes, crystal creatures, elementals, golems or constructs. The list was long, but he had been interested in chimerology since his training. Except that it wasn''t taught at any academy. Like the creation of the undead, chimerology was considered the domain of mad black magicians.


    So the choice was clear to him. He concentrated on the relevant line and chose the special skill. He could hardly wait to perform his enhancements as a magician. He knew his way around here. He invested the last 500 XP to raise Mage to level 5.


    Before he could call up the selection menu, he was distracted by a flash of light in the heart room. He shifted his focus of attention to the side of the room where a golden light had just flashed. Was he going to get any more visits from dungeon fairies?


    Instead of a portal opening, a person in a golden robe appeared out of the light, hovering half a step above the ground. His face was unrecognizable as it was covered by a golden aureole. He held his hands clasped behind his back. Selvara threw herself on the ground and bowed deeply, which irritated Malvorik.


    The newcomer began to speak in a piercingly stern voice: "Gotcha! Did you think a 4 level increase in two character classes would go unnoticed? You can expect to be banned for life if you don''t immediately explain exactly what cheat you''re using..." he fell silent and his posture gave Malvorik the impression that he was looking around the room. "You''re both NPCs. What are you doing now?"


    Malvorik started to speak, but the man''s hand shot forward and raised an admonishing finger. The dungeon heart felt its control over the dungeon being severed. He could no longer change anything, no longer cast spells, no longer speak. Selvara was no help either as she knelt on the ground, whimpering. He watched impassively as the gold conqueror stared into space in front of him. He kept turning his head, as Malvorik was used to doing with mages who had called up several status screens and were studying the contents. He seemed to be talking more to himself than to the two people present. "There''s no dungeon planned here at all... I see... Yes, that works... That shouldn''t work... There must be a rule against that..."


    The admonishing finger lowered and the newcomer clasped his hand behind his back again. He thought for a moment, then straightened up even more stiffly and let his voice thunder through the room again. Still stern, but a little friendlier:


    "Behold, I am Hans, sent by Steve, the god of the game''s balance. Praise Him! I see you have taken advantage of the permitted rules of world law to pretend to have completed training as a mage. However, since you actually underwent this training in your previous life, I will turn a blind eye. The XP gain from dungeon expansion is intended for the initial period until a dungeon is opened. Your interpretation of the rules is not intended, but RAW is allowed. Since there is no reason to fear that there will ever be another case similar to your soul, which was rejected by the gods and yet not purified, I see no reason to intervene here. You are in a unique situation. And you certainly won''t be bored, because a new era has dawned. New dungeons have appeared all over the world! New dangers and new quests! A threat will arise that only the mightiest heroes can face. Heroes who will practice and hone their skills in dungeons like yours. Take your place in the world order!"


    He turned around and the light around his head shone brightly as his body became translucent. Before he disappeared, he added a casual: "Praise Steve!"


    Silence descended over the room as the two took almost a minute to recover. Selvara shook her head and stood up on shaky feet:


    "Has a moderator just blessed your dungeon?"


    <He has at least confirmed that I have not violated world law.>


    "I never thought I would actually meet a moderator.


    <The last credible report of the appearance of a moderator dates from shortly before the end of the last plague. That should be about two centuries ago. I never expected to meet a Moderator who made such dark prophecies. The bit about the new age sounded worrying. Dangers and quests. That inevitably attracts revenants.>


    "The beginning of a new plague. And we''re supposed to train the revenants?"


    <He didn''t say that. Heroes. The dungeons are supposed to serve as training grounds for the heroes. Maybe we have a little time. Enough to level up locals enough that we don''t need the revenants at all. Now that we have access to the status screens, there''s nothing we can''t learn.>


    "Except coming back from the dead."


    Malvorik hesitated. When he answered, his thoughts sounded very thoughtful: <A cleric of at least level 18 could also resurrect our dead. But there hasn''t been such a high-level cleric since the last plague. Clerics don''t go out into the wilderness to hunt monsters. They stay in their temples and lead the faithful. Hardly any of them rise above level six. Whereby...>


    "What are you thinking?"


    <Maybe we can find and train a healer.>


    "Healers are lousy fighters. From what I''ve learned, they''re only effective in a group. However, a group with a good healer is much more dangerous. Hence dungeon rule number 17: kill the healers first."


    <Then we look for a whole group and train them.>


    "One step at a time. Let''s take care of your increases first and then we''ll expand the dungeon. You can''t just build empty rooms and expect that the first homeless person won''t march through and take your crystal."


    <I thought my soul crystal was immovable now?>


    "Only as long as you are alive. If you are smashed to pieces or killed in a ritual, the crystal becomes mobile. You must know about the many soul crystals in magical artifacts. They are said to be very popular, especially at the tip of wands."


    <The best mana storage ever. Among many other possible uses. Any mage would sell his mother for something like that. I see what you mean. So, back to the special skills. I can choose five. The first was the Mirror of Thoughts. Then I would like to have Chimera building . What else would you recommend?>


    "Some of the special skills are knowledge packs. You simply don''t need these special skills because you already have knowledge of architecture, trap building, magic and much more thanks to the memories from your previous life. You can''t get any of the other classifications with chimera building. Which reassures me, because I could hardly imagine anything worse than a dungeon full of undead or slime creatures. Well, maybe clockwork steam engine constructs. A fairy from one of those dungeons once gave a talk at our house. It''s a never-ending din. Not to mention the stench of burnt coal, sulphur and hot metal."


    <Is that dungeon still active? Clockwork constructs are said to be extremely powerful. Immune to many types of magic, poisons, gases and diseases. Hard to hurt with normal weapons. They themselves deal above-average damage with steam jets, powerful hammers and whirling spinning blades.>


    "The dungeon lasted ten years. In the middle of an important trade route. Then revenants bred hundreds of rust rats and chased them into the dungeon. A dungeon in which practically everything was susceptible to rust magic. Behind the monsters, they stormed into the dungeon and... I''d rather not tell you the details. It was a massacre."


    <Fascinating. So it was a good decision not to choose that.>


    "So let''s move on. One of the biggest weaknesses of dungeons is the time when they increase their crystal. There are some useful special skills for this. Above all Automatism I and II . With automatism I, cleaning, maintenance and light repairs in the dungeon happen automatically. You no longer have to concentrate on them at all. With automatism II, traps are automatically made ready again after being triggered and killed monsters are regenerated. So the most important functions continue to run unabated."


    <Moment! Creating monsters costs a lot of mana. Repairs at least a little. I won''t have mana for growth.>


    Selvara nodded: "That''s right. That can increase your growth time considerably. But you won''t run out of monsters in the middle and adventurers will simply wander through an empty dungeon between triggered traps. Of course, you also get mana by killing adventurers. If you get more mana than you have to spend on new monsters, it goes much faster."


    "Well, water sources allow you to build wells, rivers and water traps."


    <I don''t need it. There must be an underground river nearby. I remember that the sewer system ends in such a river. I''ll tunnel into it at some point.>


    "Maybe Esoteric trap triggers ? You can figure out mechanical traps yourself, but these are magical triggers. For example, to trigger traps when certain spells are used in a room. Or if more than a certain amount of magic is used in a room."


    <How exactly do they work? I mean, practically. Do I put a spell on the trap?>


    "These are cubes. About the size of a human fist. When the trigger condition is met, they emit a telekinetic effect in a certain direction. This can then activate other trigger mechanisms. Throwing levers or opening bolts."


    <So they store the magical scattered radiation of certain or all spells and channel it into an artifact matrix once a predetermined amount has been reached to create a magical effect.>


    The fairy shrugged, "Yeah? How that works exactly... no idea."


    <Bought.>


    Malvorik selected the featand studied the instructions. There was no further information on the function. So he chose a trap trigger with the maximum adjustable absorption capacity of magical scattered radiation and created it in the middle of the heart room. Since he didn''t have enough mana, only a glowing outline appeared, into which his entire mana regeneration flowed. Tests showed that he could interrupt and resume this at any time, but only as long as he didn''t do anything that consumed mana. As soon as he used mana for other purposes, the world voice warned him, the mana he had used so far would disappear.


    "Wait!... Too late. You created the trigger as real matter. That costs unnecessary mana. It''s enough to create traps as mana constructs. They''ll never leave your dungeon. Carrying it away from here and installing it later is quite cumbersome. Better just cancel it."


    <That was quite intentional. I''ll show you why later. Let''s go through the list again.>


    Selvara described further advantages and disadvantages of special skills and pointed out some options that he would only have to choose from later. They rambled on a few times while Malvorik told stories from his time at the academy and Selvara told anecdotes from the lives of famous dungeons in return. After a few hours, the esoteric trigger took shape. A marble cube decorated with inlaid bronze symbols. One side showed several concentric circles and, according to the instructions, emitted the telekinetic impulse.


    Selvara tried to lift it up, but stumbled after a few steps and dropped it again with a bright thud. "Sorry about that. No chance of getting it to where he needs to be."


    <I had something else in mind. Watch out!> The cube dissolved into small glittering sparks, like everything else that was dissolved by the dungeon.>


    Selvara held her hand in front of her face: "What are you doing now? You already have the construction sketch and can create it. So why are you analyzing it again?"


    The construction sketch of the trap release became visible on the mirror wall. A cube with various options for setting the triggering conditions. However, the sketch did not contain any information on how the cube itself was constructed. Next to it appeared a much more complex sketch of a marble cube with various symbols, a magic matrix under the side with the concentric symbols and a round stone made of a different material right in the middle of the cube. Malvorik also displayed the messages from the world voice that appeared.


    Material analysis completed: Marble 100%


    Material analysis completed: Bronze 100%


    Material analysis completed: Mana stone 100%


    Spell matrix analysis completed: Spell learned: Telekinetic Shockwave (Level 1)


    Malvorik made a stylized grinning face appear on the mirror.


    <Mana stone! I thought that the trigger must contain mana stone in order to achieve such an effect. Mana stone is the only material that can draw and store mana from the environment on its own. Right after soul crystals, it is the most sought-after resource for mages. Now I can set up a few large mana stores here and... Oh...>


    "What is it?"


    <Even as a mana construct, I need 100 MP for an ounce. An ounce stores just one point of mana. For a spell, I can only draw mana from a single mana store. This means that anything less than 5 MP storage capacity is completely useless. That would be just enough for a level 1 spell. I can''t materialize the storage piece by piece. It will just blow up in my face. I also can''t partially dissolve the trigger cube to get to the mana stone memory. As soon as I start, the whole cube dissolves immediately. Which is a shame. The trigger costs me considerably less mana than the individual parts should actually need.>


    "Well, someone will probably have to increase their crystal size before they can use phenomenal cosmic powers. How unexpected."


    <Sarcasm doesn''t suit you.>


    "To be honest, I''m quite impressed. Mana stone artifacts are very valuable. That''s why adventurers are extremely reluctant to leave them behind. Sometimes they simply leave a normal sword, armor or clothing behind with a corpse. But his companions always take powerful magical artifacts with them. This means that dungeons usually only get their hands on Manastone when an entire group of high-level adventurers has been completely wiped out."


    <Any more suggestions before I enter the next growth phase?>


    "Well... it would be nice if you could set up my room first."


    <That''s right. I still wanted to do that.> Malvorik made the stone furnishings grow out of the ground.


    "You should also complete your increases beforehand. It''s always possible that someone will enter the dungeon while you''re unconscious. Just because you''re still underground doesn''t mean that no one can find you. Stone worms, iron ants, earth elementals, dwarves, gray gnomes, crystallids... The list of creatures digging through the earth is pretty long. Then you certainly don''t want to have to level up a few more times before you can take action."


    <Let''s take another look at the current status.>


    Name: Malvorik


    Race: Dungeon Heart


    Crystal size: 2


    Range: 20 steps


    Manapool: 20 MP


    Mana regeneration: 26 MP/ hour


    Character classes:


    - Dungeon Master (Level 5)


    - Mage (Level 5)


    Experience points: 1000


    Construction sketches for traps:


    - Pit trap


    Design sketches for trap triggers:


    - Standard trigger


    - Pressure plate


    Esoteric trap triggers:


    - Magical activity of a certain strength


    - Spells of a certain class


    - Specific spell


    Monster breeds:


    - Lurking strangler


    Feats:


    - Possession


    - Mirror of thoughts


    - Chimera building


    - Automatism I


    - Automatism II


    - Esoteric trap triggers


    Patterns:


    Mana stone, granite, marble, bronze, slate, silver


    Spells:


    Level 1


    - Hand of the adept


    - Telekinetic shockwave


    <Looks good. Shall I summon my first monster now?>


    "Would be a good time. Draw a circle on the ground. Put the rune for the monster you want to summon in the center. Since your shrike isn''t very big, you can just do it here in the heart room. Otherwise, in the room where the monster is to be used later."


    <Wait, what exactly is this rune supposed to look like?>


    "Just concentrate on getting a Lurking Shrike to appear there. Golgoroth doesn''t expect dungeon hearts to have artistic skills."


    In one corner of the heart room, a circle formed in the floor and the stone simply disappeared, leaving a ring behind. Malvorik focused on it and a menu with a single selection point appeared. Not a difficult choice. A rune appeared. From the right angle, the lines resembled a stylized figure with long arms.


    "Good, now you have two options. You can either channel mana directly into the rune and make your monster appear, or you can create a monster heart first." She looked up at the crystal expectantly.


    <Monster heart... Do you mean these coins with the stylized image of the monster on one side and the name of the dungeon and its symbol on the other side?>


    "You''ve seen this before too?"


    <Monster coins have been found frequently. According to the adventurers'' reports, they appear in addition to the usual loot when particularly sneaky or powerful monsters have been killed. However, powerful in the sense of maneuvers and tactics. Less in connection with the direct strength of the monsters. The coins are rare and very valuable among collectors. There are many rumors and theories about them. Some superstitious adventurers claim that leaving such coins behind brings good luck. Taking them with you, on the other hand, enrages the dungeon. I couldn''t draw any clear conclusions from the reports.>


    "Well then, I can now reveal the secret. Monster hearts contain the monster''s memories and personality. Monsters with such a heart coin gain experience over time and level up without costing the dungeon anything. Over time, they can even reach a higher level than the dungeon, but this is risky as they then also gain free will and can break out or refuse to work. It is therefore recommended that you only give heart coins to monsters that are at least two levels below the dungeon maximum. There is also a risk that they will develop phobias from being killed again and again. If one is repeatedly killed with fire, it could develop a fear of fire or something similar."


    Malvorik thought for a while, then decided: <I don''t like the idea of disposable monsters. Maybe spiders or rats or something, but real monsters should have the opportunity to learn. Does that make them more intelligent? A few extra conversation partners wouldn''t be bad. Not that I wouldn''t appreciate your company.>


    "That doesn''t work. Monsters don''t get smarter or more talkative that way. At higher levels, you usually get a few monsters that are intelligent enough for conversation. I''m assuming goblins or kobolds aren''t what you had in mind."


    <Clearly not. Nothing against the small peoples, but education is not one of their primary characteristics.>


    After a few explanations, Malvorik began to create a monster heart. His mana pool emptied completely, and a shadow fell over his vision. As Selvara had warned him, the 50 MP cost more than doubled his maximum supply. Like a crystal augmentation, it knocked him unconscious for a while. Less than two hours later, he was back and a silver coin lay in the center of the spawn circle. One side showed the rune of his only monster so far. The other side was smooth.


    <Hm... I should probably think of a name for the dungeon. How about: Malvorik''s Vault of Deadly Wonders?>


    "Maybe we''ll think about it together for a while. You should also decide on the structure and theme of your dungeon first and then choose a suitable name."


    <Sounds sensible.>


    Malvorik agreed and then channeled mana into the rune on the ground. In return, shadows formed in the circle, which bubbled up briefly and then left behind a humanoid figure with short white fur. The Lurking Shrike carefully stroked the ground with his hand. His fur took on the same grey color. Then it rose on its short legs, waddled over to the entrance of the room and crouched down beside it. Its small eyes stood out of its head on volcano-shaped cones and peered independently in different directions.


    Selvara swallowed. It wasn''t exactly the prettiest of monsters. At least it didn''t have a slimy surface or tentacles. She feigned enthusiasm: "Your first monster! Yeah!"


    <There must be something wrong. That only cost me just under five points of mana. Creating a living creature, especially a final boss, can''t require that little magical energy.>


    "That''s fine. You don''t actually create them. The mana summons the monster from the domain of Golgoroth. The god of dungeons and monsters probably needs a lot more magic to create them."


    <Nice of him. I''m still not impressed. It looks like a long-armed monkey. At least it can change its skin color.>


    "That''s strange. I''ve never heard of shrikes being able to do that. Besides, they usually have short, dark fur. I should actually know the characteristics of the beginner monsters very well."


    <Let me have a look at the values. Something has changed since I selected the monster. It now says Lurking Shrike Chameleon Chimera. Can change its skin color, but only every few minutes. It adapts to the local background, but does not become invisible. Too bad. Strangle attack, advanced melee skills. Short legs, slow speed. Good for ambushes. Rather unsuitable for fair close combat. I''d better think carefully about what monster I take next. What do we do now?>


    "Are you at the end of your tricks yet?"


    <For now. Just for now. Now I''m going to finish the mage boosts that that damn... the honorable moderator interrupted me on.>


    He scrolled back to the messages he hadn''t been able to read earlier.


    Character class increased: Mage to level 5


    Cannot increase mana capacity: Incompatible race.


    Cannot increase mana regeneration: incompatible race.


    Select spell from list. One spell per level...


    Malvorik quickly chose from the selection of spells he had known for decades.


    Spell learned: Level 1 - Stationary Zone of Darkness (Layman I)


    Spell learned: Level 1 - Unstable invisibility (Layman I)


    Spell learned: Level 2 - Self-transformation (Layman I)


    Spell learned: Level 2 - Shock grip (Layman I)


    Select featfrom list. One featper level...


    Here Malvorik chose a little more slowly and went through the list again carefully. He could still learn as many spells as he wanted. He could only acquire special skills by increasing his level.


    Feat learned: Artifact crafting (weapons and armor)


    Feat learned: Artifact Crafting (Minor Artifacts)


    Feat learned: Brew alchemical elixirs


    Feat learned: Magic theory spell research


    He also displayed the messages on the mirror wall. Selvara could hardly keep up with the reading:


    "Wait! What''s all this?"


    <As a dungeon, I can expect long periods of boredom. I need opportunities to pursue my old hobbies again. I''ll probably also have to adapt some spells to my life as a dungeon.>


    "How exactly are you going to brew potions without hands?"


    <Oops... I hadn''t thought of that. Can I create hands out of stone?>


    "As a Dungeon Master, you automatically have the possession ability. This allows you to take over a monster directly as if it were your own body."


    <You could have mentioned that before I chose the strangler. He has terribly large and immobile hands. They''re only good for gripping. Not suitable for delicate glass jars.>


    "You mean so that your only defense is a single goblin?"


    "And what do you want with a spell like self-transformation? According to the description here, it only works on the mage himself."


    <Transformation!>


    Selvara flew up excitedly and looked around cautiously. Nothing happened.


    Error: Incompatible target


    <Sorry. Doesn''t work on dungeons. I had mainly chosen the spell for the spell workshop anyway. Extending the range from Personal to Touch increases the level of the spell by one level. Self-transform as a touch spell on others thus becomes a level 3 spell. So as soon as I have risen to mage level 6, I can use it. I can''t wait to test it out. Maybe I can extend it to you as my familiar as well.>


    "Shock grip? I''ve never heard of that spell. What does it do exactly?"


    Malvorik called up the description on the mirror.


    Shock grip (level 2): Attack spell. Damage type: Lightning - Elemental (Air). Range: Touch. Spell duration: 8 heartbeats. Damage: 2W6. Cost: 10 mana


    <Actually, I just want to test something. The spell is the basis of all lightning-based combat spells. The spell itself is only used for research purposes due to its short range and long duration. It only works on touch and this must be maintained for the duration of the spell. Lightning also tends to strike back uncontrollably, making it easy to injure yourself. At each higher level, there is a variant that has a greater range. At level 3 it is about 3 steps. The damage increases at each level, but you can only increase the duration of the spell by practicing for a long time. At master level, I should be able to halve it.>


    "Then why are you using such a useless spell? I''ve heard that even beginner mages can throw small fireballs."


    <Fire-based spells are the simplest combat spells. Lightning is an advanced concept in itself. But I want to test one theory in particular. Either the range of spells counts from my crystal heart, in which case I can forget all touch-based spells, or my entire dungeon counts as a body. If the former is true, I have a spell that I might be able to teach a monster at some point to make it a bit stronger. But if I touch every intruder that''s in my dungeon, then I can give them a run for their money.>


    "I think now is the right time to start growing. I''ll take a nap until then. Compared to other dungeons, you''re done really quickly. I''ll hardly notice you''ve been away."


    <Well then, good night.>