《The aberrant core》 1: thought I was dead I scream loudly into a white space. "What, where?" "At ease Mortal, your life has ended. You will soon be reincarnated as a Dungeon Core in another world." An overly large, painfully glowing entity tells me. "No thanks! No murder box for me." I adamantly refuse. The glowing entity sighs. "There is no choice, you must become a Core, without Cores the Miasma will build up, and all life will end." I think for a Moment. "You say I have to become a Core, ok, but can I be a different type of Core, performing the Miasma filtration, but not a Dungeon, something more helpful?" The being gazes inquisitively. "What other type of Core? Speak well, and I may grant this." "Ok, so instead of a Dungeon Core, I want to be a City Core. My job is to create a stronghold for sentient races to inhabit. I''ll setup an Arena for soldiers, and guards to test themselves against the same sorts of Monsters a Dungeon uses, but only for those who enter the Arena, while similar Monsters can exist outside the City Walls for protection. I''ll create structures, roads, sewers, waterways, plant life, even livestock with the Miasma that''s so toxic to life." I could almost perceive a smile on the face of the entity. "Very well, I have altered your core to allow this to happen, and moved it to a more suitable location. You''re a Pioneer, if you do well, Dungeons may be a thing of the past, God never said we couldn''t make changes after all." I mentally blinked at the entity, seeing as how I didn''t have a body to blink with. "So you aren''t God then?" A chuckle. "No Mortal, I am but one of many beings of Power that serve a multitude of purposes. We all share faith with those Mortals who still remember that God exists. All worlds are Gods, all people are Gods, nothing exists without God''s approval, but Free Will also exists, because we can''t genuinely love God without it. Go Mortal, this will be a MUCH longer life than you''re used to, but unlike most, you will keep your past life memories, so that you can use them in your objectives." With a flick of his wrist, and a somehow even brighter flash of light I was sent away. When I came back to myself, I was under ground, but somehow I could tell that I was in a rich area, abundant with life, and not too far below the surface. ''Status'' I thought, and sure enough a window opened. I noticed that I could summon a Help Fairy. ''hey, can I get a couple help fairies, instead of one, like an actual romantic couple, it''s kind of unfair to keep a fairy from having a life because it''s stuck with my core, even if there will be other sentients for them to talk to.'' My system screen flickered for a moment, and the entry clearly read Help Fairies now, and the details confirmed that it would be a romantic couple who only resisted becoming an official couple because they were soon to be assigned to a core. I quickly made a decent space around my core, and then another space sufficient for the fairies to use as an apartment. ''hey, one more thing, I want the fairies to be able to block my perception within their private apartment, cause watching them go at it would make things awkward I should imagine, and them knowing I''d be able to watch probably wouldn''t set right for them.'' Again the window flickered, and made the alteration. I also saw a note, that this alteration would effect all cores now, giving their fairies privacy. ''Well I feel that should make all core assigned fairies happy, even if they are still stuck alone.'' This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I then clicked summon help fairies. A orb of light grew in intensity, and after it settled down, two fairies clutching each other tightly as if in a final embrace appeared in my core room. "When will the transport happen?" The female asked. "I thought it was quicker than this, not that I''m complaining about holding you longer." the male replied. "Ahem, the Transport is already over, welcome home you two!" The two jump slightly at the sensation of my voice entering their minds. Their eyes popped open, and they whirled to stare at my core in surprise. "I uh,...well I''m something new, so I''m kinda making things up as I go, but what you know about Dungeon Cores will mostly translate to me as well. One thing though, is that I specifically asked to summon a Romantically Connected Couple of Fairies, because I want you to have your own life, helping me is a job, and shouldn''t make you sacrifice your own happiness right from the start." Tears welled up in the females little eyes, as both of them flew up to my core, and embraced it with all the genuine gratitude their little bodies could muster. "Thank you for this great one! We will serve you as best we can!" Said the Male. "Yes Great One, I can never thank you enough for keeping us together!" The Female Said. I chuckled a little. "Oh, before I forget, I created you a sort of Apartment Space, which you now have the ability to cut off from my perception. I didn''t want you feeling uncomfortable about showing each other affection if you know what I mean? Not that there''s any rush in that, just you know, thinking ahead. We''re really starting something new here, so there might also be times when you''re just frustrated, and need some privacy, and that''s something all Core Assigned Fairies have now. My former name is Frank by the way, but I suppose whatever name I am given by the Sentient People to come will be what I''m called now." "I''m Goldvine Leaf Layer It''s a pleasure to meet you Great One!" Said the Female. "I''m Thorn Bramble Vine" Said the Male. Both gave polite bows, which seems quite impressive as they flutter in the air. "So exactly what sort of Core are you, if you aren''t a Dungeon Core?" Asked Goldvine. "I''m a City Core. I use the same tools as a normal dungeon, but to create a Stronghold for sentient creatures. We''re very close to the surface, I can make a small tunnel for you two to survey, and let me know what the environment is like, what to expect for seasons, and the most likely needs of the sentients that are likely to inhabit my city. It would be rather embarrassing if I built for something similar to my old form, and the entities that would live here were the size of what I consider a toddler, or the other way around, if my old form was only toddler sized for what lives here. Can you do that for me?" Thorn Saluted. "I''ll be happy to scout the area for you my Core." Goldvine absolutely beamed with pride. "Oh Wow, a City Core, How could we have gotten so lucky to be chosen as your helpers together. Knowing my whole life I''d be assigned to a Core, I hated it, but you, you''re different, a helpful core, not one of those Psychotic Evil Beings, whose only good point is purifying the Miasma from the air. You''ve already given Thorn and I a life worth living, just by being yourself great one!" If I still had lips, I''d be grinning with pride at this point. I quickly made the tunnel to the surface, letting Thorn out to scout. "I know what you mean, when I was told I''d have to be a Dungeon Core, I said NOPE, no murder box for me. Then I pitched the idea of a City Core, and what its function would be, and the Angel or whatever agreed, and said if it goes well, then they might stop making dungeon cores in future. So let''s all work hard right?" A bond seemed to form between the three of us instantly, as we eagerly looked to the challenges ahead. We all had a goal that was actually worth achieving rather than the grotesque one fate originally seemed to point us all towards. 2 Area Recon Thorn flitted out the Tunnel, and was gone for some time, while Goldvine and I crafted some furniture and art pieces for their own apartment. I want my friends to feel at home, and comfortable in their apartment. Once finished Goldvine activated the sensory cutoff skill, and there was now a Void in my senses. I noticed it, but it could be easily ignored. Once she emerged, Thorn returned. "Great one, we are in a lush jungle environment, and I noted several of the white tribe. They stick out from literally everything. They are malnourished as well, I suspect they can''t do any farming or anything, due to raiding. Slavers tend to hunt those with white fur." At the mention of slavers, I felt a sense of rage, and both my friends shivered. "Did you two feel that just now? If so, I apologize. The thought of Slavers is revolting to me. Sounds like we know who we''re going to protect I guess. How tall are they on average,...if they''re healthy that is." The two took a deep breath to calm their nerves. "They are on average about six feet tall, usually slender and muscular. They are somewhat light sensitive, the brightest part of the day requires them to seek shade." I could tell that the word Goldvine said, didn''t match the word I heard when she said Feet, but I assumed that was some Magic Translation at work, letting me hear what I needed to understand, and I assume the reverse was true. Seemed like Human Standard measurements would work. ''can I get a fake core option, that will let me talk to my citizens? Something I can place in plain sight, and will self destruct if taken too far past my domain, so it can''t be stolen.'' My window flickered once more, and the option made itself known. ''I would also like a Slime variant that will digest sewage and make it clean water?'' Again my window flickered, and a scavenger slime appeared in my monster summoning list. I then started building a tower similar to a light house, very tall, with a spiral stair wrapping around the tower. It topped off at 200 Feet, and at the top, I installed my fake core, with the real one directly below it, with a central shaft of open air allowing the Miasma to flow past the fake core, and funnel down to me. Once the tower was complete, I felt exhausted, but only for a moment, as my area of influence had expanded, and my fake core acted as a Miasma magnet. From there, I spent time establishing the Sewer System laying it out for where I intended to have the buildings placed. I dug a trench to allow a small amount of water to flow through the whole system. Then I build a windmill powered water tower, and connected it with pipes to the river. As the wind hit the new water tower, the installed pump began pulling up water from the river. While the tower filled, I spent time building a structure similar to an Inn, figuring that communal housing would suffice for starting out. The drain almost matched the income of Miasma. I attempted to create a field, but Thorn interrupted me. "Great one, six of the White ones are approaching your tower!" Sure enough, when I switched my focus onto the people, the one who seemed to be their leader started to climb the stairs of the Tower itself, followed by a woman, much to his obvious displeasure. Presumably his wife, not listening as he tells her to stay where it''s safe. Once he gave up, the two of them climbed the tower. They finally reached the top after ten minutes or so. "Greetings to you, and welcome, I hope Home! I''m only getting started, but there is a Structure for you all to share at the moment. I will build more as time progresses. My next thought was to create a farm field, but perhaps summoning some creature that can be slaughtered for food would be better just now?" You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The two were stunned at my voice. "I thought this was a strange dungeon, what with the Miasma flowing here so strongly, but Dungeons don''t talk." I chuckled. "You''re not entirely to blame for the misconception, and not entirely wrong either. I used to be a creature very similar to you, so when I was told I would become a Dungeon Core, I refused. Once i knew what a Core did, I suggested something new. A City Core, instead of challenging you, I will protect you. I will make a stronghold for your people, and ask you to protect me, the same as I will protect you. I would offer my name, but the name I had in my past life wouldn''t work here. So when you decide on the name of the City, that will be my name as well, so please remember that when naming this place." The man''s wife being more practical, and less overwhelmed by the knowledge bombs I just dropped spoke next. "I am Nialda, headwoman of our group. Some sort of Prey would be greatly appreciated, but what do you mean by summoning?" In answer, having spotted a foul that would serve as a decent source of protein among my possible summons, I manifested it right in front of them, and on instinct the Man had his claws out, and passing through the neck of the bird before it could so much as cry out in surprise. The two sat stunned for a moment, before a grin spread across their faces. "How many more of those do you need for today? I can summon them as soon as you reach the ground again." The man straightened. "I am Myndin, Headman of our group. I thank you for this, but we have not eaten well for some time, this will suffice for today, as we will have to take out time eating it." Just then, the water had finally reached sufficient levels to activate a fountain I had placed at the foot of the tower. I had built a filtration system to ensure the water would be clean, and safe to drink no matter where it came from. "You''ll find that there are taps inside the building to provide hot and cold running water. Two large sinks in the Kitchen, one in the Laundry area connected to a large vat that can be heated to boiling to clean clothes, then in the restrooms so you can bathe, wash hands, or faces, and there are special fixtures to relieve yourselves in privacy and by pressing the silver looking handle, flush the mess away. I''ll setup the farm field as I mentioned, but then I think a Tailor''s Shop, cause your clothes are rather patch work at this point, so being able to craft new clothes probably would make everyone feel better. Do let me know if there''s any specific foods, or materials I can possibly try and create, I''ll do my best to help you all. Though setting up defensive walls is a high priority, don''t want to lose anyone cause I wasn''t ready for enemies." The smiling couple took their bird, and bowed as they left to talk to their group. They had found stability at long last, a protector. I finished the field, with irrigation system setup, built the tailor''s shop as promised, and provided some simple cloth, leather, and threads for their use, as well as the tools to work them. Then I decided to use a Six Point Star design for the Walls, with residential areas in the points, and a fortress at the actual point of each. The Gates were at the base of two points, and the walls themselves were lined with Ballista on swiveling mounts all with stacks of projectiles ready for use. It took nearly the whole night to finish the wall, but it was there, and ready to protect my new people. Including an inner Hexagonal wall that cut off the points from the center, requiring more gates, just in case the point was breached, there would be another wall in the way. The walls were sixty feet tall, and nearly twelve feet thick. Being built of Dungeon Stone, it was neigh indestructible, and in time, this city would be a force to be taken seriously. Just before Dawn, I summoned the Scavenger Slime into the septic pit in order to begin consuming the mess that resulted from having living people in an area. Doing this tapped out my Miasma bank, and rendered me dormant for some time. 3 Resource Management I came back to awareness, without really understanding that I was unconscious, except for the fact that the sun had clearly returned to the sky, and had moved quite far already. "Huh, what happened? It was like Almost Dawn a second ago." Thorn and Goldvine were Hovering near my core. "Sorry Great One, you seem so smart, we just kinda forgot to mention Mana Levels. You''re basically a creature of pure mana, so running near zero isn''t good. You did so much work so quickly that you lost yourself for hours while your Mana regenerated. Luckily nothing major happened, aside from a few more White Clan members showing up. Only three, but they''ve been quite shocked at the walls, and that Inn you built for them." Out for hours, that''s such a surprise. "Ok Goldvine, how do I check my Mana Levels? Having that happen, and an emergency coming up,...well I can only count that as bad ya know? I accessed my construction menu almost without thinking, but never wondered where anything else was." Goldvine fluttered a little closer. "It''s actually quite easy, just think resources. Since Mana, and Miasma are resources, as are all the physical substances you can absorb. Manifesting materials without a resource is very Mana intensive, as well as Miasma intensive. The numbers for Miasma will always be higher, but that''s because you suck Miasma in constantly. Your Fake Core is helping with that too, your Miasma absorbing is far outpacing your Mana Gains right now. Though there are things you can construct that will help. Mana Fonts are costly, but once built, you''ll get much more Mana per day." Thinking resources very clearly, I was presented with a new window. Mana 1,500 out of 5,000 + 150 per hour Miasma 750,000 out of 1,000,000 +5,000 per hour Stone 0 Iron 0 Silver 0 Copper 0 Gold 1 Platinum .000003 Looking at the resource list, I stopped scanning after seeing several zeroes. Noting that I had some gold, and surprisingly some platinum. I asked my Fairy couple, "Where did I get a Gold, and even a partial platinum? What even is a partial Platinum?" Thorn answered. "When you cleared the rock from around your core, our apartment, and the tunnel to the surface, you must have absorbed some trace amounts. A whole unit, is approximately an ounce, so anything less than that, is a partial. Odds are you have slightly less, or more than One Gold unit as well, the System isn''t too precise." That actually made sense. So I basically used nearly all my Mana creating substances from thin air. "If you have the actual resources you need, it''s much cheaper to create things. Having the White Clan gathering resources from beyond your influence would help greatly. Any plant material is treated as Plant Based biomass, while any sort of Mushroom will count as Fungi Biomass, regardless of if it''s medicinal, poisonous, or edible. Creature remains, no matter the type are Animal Biomass, even fish, and insects count." Made sense. "So perhaps one of you wouldn''t mind talking with the clan, and asking them to bring anything they can safely obtain. Obviously eating anything they can, which will save on summoning resources. We can have them designate an area to dump anything for me to absorb. Then I can use those refuse materials to create new, and useful things. The more they know, the more they''ll automatically help." Goldvine spoke up. "It''s not typical for Fairies to interact with the sentient races, but then this is a new situation. I think we should both go and introduce ourselves, we''re all neighbors after all." Thorn nodded at the suggestion, and they both flitted off. ''Hey overseer, if there''s a sort of Fairy Counsel or whatever, but they don''t have a place to call their own, maybe give them a nudge to come here? I can easily carve out more housing for Fairies under ground, and that will give me another race to protect.'' My windows flickered, and for a second I saw a smiley face emote, and a thumbs up. ''I take it that''s a yes, and good idea all in one. I''ll go ahead, and start carving out habitations, and please allow them the privacy block too.'' The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The white Catkin seemed eager to collect materials for me, and were very happy to meet my Fairies. However, just before they went out, one of the females, a new one at that, crumpled down in obvious pain, and I noticed fluid coming out from her nether regions. "She''s going into Labor I think Goldvine. Is there anything I can provide right now?" After a moment she responded. "Some clean towels is all they can think of, maybe some swaddling too." I quickly manifested the towels, and swaddling, just wishing I had known enough to provide anesthetic, and instruct them on its use. I scanned through my menu frantically looking for anything that could help. Oddly enough, magic traps were still a thing for me, and among those were life based traps. Glory be there was a Pain trap, that could either increase, or decrease the victim''s sense of pain. I set one of those life traps directly under the mother, with it set to reduce pain sensitivity by 70 percent for eight hours. The screaming subsided with a glow of white. That cost me two hours of Mana, but it''s worth it. I also set a healing trap to improve her overall health as much as possible, as well as her unborn child. Another two hours worth of Mana, but I didn''t care. The mother froze for a second, while the second white glow lasted. There was a visible increase to her belly size, and her musculature as well. The others were shocked at these events. "Don''t waste anymore Mana, I know your worried, but women have been giving birth for centuries without your help. We need you awake, what if we get attacked right now, and you black out again?" I was on proverbial pins and needles for the hours it took for the Babies to be born. Seeing the twins happy and healthy made me realize, if I hadn''t used the life trap, those babies would have died, and the mother might have too. "I''m glad for my paranoia this time. There''s no way those twins would have survived as small as they were." Goldvine couldn''t even argue. She smiled even as she shook her head. "They''re beautiful, I''ve been busy while I waited. I carved out miles of Fairy Apartment tunnels under the surface. Even a sort of central square for a community to assemble for trade, or governmental oversight, whatever they need." Thorn spoke up, "What do you mean? Goldvine and I are the only Fairies here." I chuckle. "Well I kinda suggested that any Fairy Counsel could be nudged to come here, and setup a stable facility for them to function from. You know, instead of just meeting wherever it happens." The two''s eyes nearly popped out of their heads in shock, then their lips spread into beaming smiles. "That''s amazing, thank you Great One!" Goldvine cheered. The two flitted around each other in pure joy, as the Catkin looked on smiling themselves thinking it was only for the birth of the twins. This is probably a good thing, as the Fairies might not want their new base to be known. I noted that my Mana regen was slightly higher. Now it was 152 Mana per hour. It only took me a second to figure that it was the twins. Either just because they were there,...or maybe because I made it possible for them to be there, and I was being rewarded for my actions. My window flickered, and I noticed a credit for one free Mana Well. That settled it being an award for action in my opinion. "Um, where should I setup this Mana Well I''ve been awarded?" The two stopped their dancing, took one look at each other, and tore off towards my core. Thorn was the first one to speak once they were back in my Core Room. "Great One, if possible please setup the Mana Well in the Square you were talking about for the Fairy Settlement. It will benefit both you, and the Fairies that come here, even us. The richer the Mana Density the healthier we Fairies are. It''s actually a little thin for the two of us. That''s why the Counsel just met wherever. They had to keep separate as much as possible to not overtax the ambient mana, but a Mana Well will be more than enough for all Fairies, and still pump plenty into you. Plus as long as we can access the other material requirements, we should be able to build a second well before they would even have a chance of getting here. The more wells you have, the quicker you can make more. Mana itself being the biggest issue, then stone, some precious metal, and a Mana Crystal is all that''s needed." I didn''t even wait for him to finish talking before I had placed the free Mana Well, and my intake of Mana jumped up to 602 per hour. I checked the requirements for building one myself, and was pleasantly surprised that aside from the Mana Total, I already had enough from my excavating to build 2. "Well that''s convenient. I doubled my own Mana Regen, but I already have the physical materials for two more. Just need to wait on the Mana itself. Assuming I need to keep 400 Mana or more, then I should have enough for a second well the morning day after tomorrow. Should I wait longer than that?" Goldvine answered, "I''d say wait till Mid Day then, that way your reserve will have a couple hundred extra in case of need. Till then, just keep absorbing whatever you can to offset Mana Use for anything the clan needs." I sent the mental image of a Nod, and they giggled. "If you two have basically been living on ration levels of Mana, then you should probably take a Nap for now. Sounds like it''s going to be station keeping for the time being anyway. Let your bodies recover for a bit. It still surprised me there were two Mana Crystals in all that dirt I absorbed. It''s like winning a game of chance without even knowing I played." They giggled, as they went off to their apartment. "Good night you two!" They waved their hands over their heads just before flitting into the void that was their apartment.