《Core Chronicles》 1.01 Any description of John McIntire¡¯s day would not include any synonyms of pleasant or tolerable. ¡°This must be the worst headache I¡¯ve had since my college days,¡± he thought to himself. ¡°Which doesn¡¯t make sense, since I haven¡¯t had a drink today, or for the last couple of days for that matter.¡± Upon further rumination, John also realized that it wasn¡¯t his first time waking up that day and that he didn¡¯t remember falling asleep the second time. As he reached out to rub his forehead, the lack of contact between hand and forehead also alerted him that he didn¡¯t have a physical body. As a sense of panic began to set in, John noticed what appeared to be a flashing exclamation mark in the bottom right corner of his vision, and that concentrating on it seemed to bring up some kind of screen.
Welcome to the System! Would you like to begin your initiation process? YES/NO
Wary that any choice could be permanent, John mentally selected the yes. A few moments later, John¡¯s memories of what had happened since that morning came rushing back. Since it was a Saturday, John had woken up a bit later than usual and wandered out to his living room to find his brother Jake missing from the couch Jake had been sleeping on for the past couple of days. John¡¯s TV was also missing from its customary place on the TV stand across the room from the previously mentioned sofa. He knew to let his brother stay over always carried a risk of something like this happening, but couldn¡¯t help the sense of frustration that accompanied the memory. At least he had gotten the TV on sale, it wasn¡¯t the current most expensive model, and anything else of value had been in his room. As John was letting out a groan of frustration and cursing his brother under his breath, a bright flash of light robbed him of his vision. Suddenly he found himself floating in some sort of white void. Just as he was getting his bearing and began to try and figure out a way to get out the situation he was in, a box appeared in his vision.
Answer the following question. Your honesty in answering these questions will be taken into consideration.
As he finished reading the box, a second box appeared:
Do you feel you are a fundamentally giving or selfish person?
John thought about it and concluded that he felt he is more giving than selfish and answered the question accordingly. As he thought through his answer, a second question appeared: Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
If you had an excess amount of resources, would it be better to reinvest it in your community immediately, or is it better to first make sure that you are covered to continue to help in the future?
As John thought about it, he figured that there didn¡¯t have to be a dichotomy between the two approaches and that there were some times where the first approach is more appropriate and others where the second approach is more appropriate. As he finalized his thoughts on the matter, another box appeared. This process continued for a couple of hours. While it may have been frustrating for some of his Engineering colleagues to go through, John¡¯s interest in Moral Philosophy kept his attention from wavering throughout the process. Finally, a box without a question in it appeared:
Sufficient data points acquired. The System is determining the optimal fit for an advisor. Mahaytar selected.
At once, John could feel an overwhelming presence shift its attention towards him. It wasn¡¯t exactly an unpleasant feeling, and it didn¡¯t have the distinct uneasiness that comes from having malicious attention directed your way. Still, it was something that John felt he needed to give his attention. After a few seconds, the intensity of the focus dropped to a more palatable level, and a powerful androgynous voice entered his mind. ¡°Hello, John, just give me a minute to find a suitable archetype, it will make manifesting a physical form that much easier for me.¡± John watched as a shape began to form in the mist, condensing into a humanoid form. As the details started coalescing, the face appeared to be remarkably similar to those of Tom Holland. To see a known figure was relatively startling to John, especially as a familiar voice now entered his mind. ¡°Hello John, my name is Mahaytar. I was selected to be your advisor. The reason I may appear to be someone familiar to you is that I have chosen an archetypical character that is close to my domain from your history or culture, which makes it easier for me to manifest in an intradimensional space such as this. Once again, taking an example from your pop culture, my domain is what you would generally classify as Neutral Good, emphasizing pragmatic solutions that allow the growth of Good societies.¡± ¡°What do you mean, an intradimensional space?¡± John said. ¡°Where we are currently talking is a kind of subspace to your home dimension that you got pulled into due to a kind of cosmic accident. Essentially the System was looking for a soul to fill a position that had become empty. Due to the lack of mana in your soul, the System thought you were dead and an appropriate candidate.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where the accident portion came in. The System had poked itself into your Universe without realizing what it had done. And anywhere the System is, souls have mana while being alive. So you were tagged as dead, even though mana is generally not available in your world, and you fit the other criteria the System needed, so you were pulled into this space. Which also destroyed your current body, leaving you somewhere between alive and dead.¡± ¡°So, where does that leave me?¡± ¡°Essentially, you have two options. The first is that you can move on to any afterlife you qualify for, including the one I oversee. This option includes the possibility of reincarnation into an appropriate world. The second is that I can allow you to fill the position that you were pulled into this space to fulfill, though now it will be filled in your world. You will keep your memories, though you will be moving into a new body, at least for the foreseeable future.¡± ¡°And what exactly will this position I am to fill be?¡± ¡°You will be your world¡¯s first Core.¡± 1.02 ¡°Along with the question of what a Core is, what else will my position entail?¡± John directed his question at the entity who looked an awful lot like Tom Holland in front of him. ¡°A Core is a gemstone or crystal of some kind that can manipulate mana for many purposes. The main duty of a Core is to filter the ambient mana around them into a form more suitable for sentient life. Your duty will be slightly different at first because you will essentially be acting as a conduit for the System and mana to travel through you and into your world at large. As the world becomes saturated with mana, you will then return to the filtering of ambient mana around them. Besides that, you are pretty much free to do what you want. However, many Cores choose to set up a Dungeon of some kind to protect themselves from outside threats. There shouldn¡¯t be more direct hostility against you at first, but that may change due to being the epicentre of the change that is about to occur on your world.¡± John had always been a bit of nerd, so he could understand what the general idea of being a Core would entail. He had read a decent amount of LitRPGs and speculative fantasy in his time, so he had a reasonably good idea of what would happen. However, that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t have a few questions he wanted to ask while he got the chance. ¡°So how will the system affect what I am doing?¡± John said. ¡°The System will not have any mind control if that is what you are asking. It may give you slight nudges here and there but no overt direction, unless what you are attempting is impossible.¡± Mahaytar replied with a smile. ¡°It will also keep track of your skills, abilities, titles, and achievements. As a Core, you will have some distinct differences from other sentients with the System, the main one being that you will not have a Character or Class level, and will have fewer stats to define you overall. Your main stats will be Mana and Health, Mana covering your current capacity to hold onto it, and your Health is a general indicator of your current well being. You may also unlock some other Resource statistics depending on what decisions you make in the future.¡± That answered a couple of other questions that John had in mind. ¡°Are there any other differences between a Core and others with the System?¡± John asked. ¡°The other main difference is that you will start with or earn skills and abilities that others may not have access to, or only have access to a much weaker version of what you have. There are also some rules that you will have to follow that others do not have. We are running low on time in this space, so further questions on these specifics should be addressed to the guide if you accept this position.¡± ¡°Is it possible to gain a body to use at some point, or will I be stuck as a Core forever?¡± ¡°Through specialized skills and abilities, it will be possible to possess any non-sentient minions you create or to make an Avatar for yourself. You will also always have access to a mental space similar to this intradimensional space that you will add features to, including manifesting a body.¡± ¡°Before I make a final decision, can I request a boon if I accept this position?¡± A ¡®DING!¡¯ suddenly appeared in John¡¯s mind, followed by a notification box.
Achievement Unlocked: Inquisitive Mind When you have the opportunity to ask those with power and knowledge a question, it is essential to ask the right questions, so as not to offend their sensibilities, and come away with more knowledge and opportunities. Rewards: The Inquisitive Title and the System will help by offering slight subliminal cues to ask the right questions.
Mahaytar noticed John¡¯s distraction and waited until John¡¯s focus returned before answering. ¡°As long as it is reasonable and within my power to grant, I will give strong consideration to it. Just know that anything that results from it will likely become available to other beings on your world, especially other Cores. If the System likes it, it will also be available to beings in other realms and dimensions.¡± John took a couple of minutes to ponder the situation. There was an appeal in moving on to the afterlife, especially one run by what seemed to be a benevolent entity. In his heart, though, living out one of his daydreams and becoming a Dungeon Core of sorts was too appealing. It would also give him a chance to watch his world change and help those he cared about through the transition. And as disconcerting as losing his body would be, his ability to gain one back helped push his decision towards becoming a Core.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I am going to accept the position of Core,¡± John said. ¡°Good to hear. What is the boon you would ask?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to request a kind of Research ability,¡± John said. ¡°I assume that levelling skills will involve a decent amount of experimentation. Since I will be the first entity to use this System in my world, I would like some kind of tech tree to help me gain new abilities and improve myself. I am also hoping that if I come up with some kind of reasonable idea, that the System could unlock a Research branch that helps guide me in how to achieve it.¡± Mahaytar¡¯s smile grew as he listened to John¡¯s request. ¡°A pragmatic request. I see how the System decided you and I would be a good match. I¡¯ll see what I can do for you, though there may be some limited functionality to it at first.¡± ¡°Thanks, I figured it was a more reasonable request than just asking for all knowledge available to Dungeons. I¡¯m assuming there is some knowledge that has to be earned, and this ability will help provide me with a way to earn it.¡± ¡°Unless you have another question you need answering right away, I will begin summoning your guide. After the guide arrives, you will have some time to get acquainted in this space before you are sent back to your world to begin your time as a Core. You may also want to check out your Status while I am doing the summoning.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± John said as he thought the word Status. A box appeared in front of him.
Name: John MacIntire Race: Core Title: The Inquisitive Health: 100/100 Mana: 100/100 Skills: N/A Abilities: Absorb 1, Research 1, Creation 0 Titles: The Inquisitive Achievements: Inquisitive Mind
John recognized the Inquisitive Mind Achievement, so he quickly focused on it, which brought up the previous notification for the achievement. He then concentrated on Absorb, which brought up the following screen:
Absorb, Level 1, Beginner Description: Allows Dungeons to Absorb Items/Materials. Doing so will unlock patterns for items and materials for use in creating objects using your mana. Levels increase absorption speed. Prerequisites: None Subskills: None
John quickly closed this notification and brought up his notification for Research.
Research, Level 1, Beginner Description: Allows the Dungeon to gain new abilities through Research and gives a base of one research point per day. Each level increases research efficiency. Prerequisites: None Subskills: None
As John closed the notification for Research, he felt his status update.
Name: John MacIntire Race: Core Title: The Inquisitive Health: 100/100 Mana: 100/100 Research: 1 RP (+1 RP/Day) Skills: N/A Abilities: Absorb 1, Research 1, Creation 0 Titles: The Inquisitive Achievements: Inquisitive Mind
Before looking at the new resource, he decided to check the Creation ability, bringing up its notification quickly.
Creation, Level 0, Beginner Description: ??? Prerequisites: None Subskills: ??? Research Points Needed: 1
The first thing that came to John¡¯s attention is that the description for the ability was currently unavailable. The subskills section also being marked with question marks, rather than N/A like the other abilities made John think this ability would hold even more promise than he initially thought. Finally, the research cost of one point and him currently having one point of Research available seemed more than coincidental to John. John then went back to his Status, and when he concentrated on Research, this seemed to open in a new tab in his Status.
Research Completed Research: N/A Available Research: Creation Ability (1 RP), Mana - General (2 RP)
The Creation Ability Research seemed relatively self-explanatory, but before he placed his research point into it, he wanted to look at the Mana - General Research.
Mana - General Description: Gain a general understanding of an unaspected mana and what its potential uses are. Research Cost: 2 RP Benefit Of Research: Unlocks further Research into uses and types of mana. Mana collection becomes more efficient. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: ???, ???
He could see the use of this Research and figured the Research Unlocked would become available after he completed it. He thought he should use his research point to unlock his creation ability, as he mentally willed the research point to be applied to Creation Ability. As he did so, a feminine voice cried out with a bit of confusion, ¡°What¡¯s a human doing here?¡± 1.03 John didn¡¯t detect any malice or scorn coming from the voice as he closed down his Status, figuring it would be rude to continue looking through them when first meeting the person who was to be his guide. As he first saw the figure in front of him, John felt a bit self-conscious about what he was wearing. John feared he was currently wearing nothing due to his previous lack of a body. Still, as John looked down, John realized that he had a body to his slight relief. It was also currently wearing the shorts and T-shirt John customarily wore in the morning, performing his morning routines before going for his shower. At least he had put those on over his boxers before he was yoinked into this intradimensional space. John wasn¡¯t unattractive with dark brown hair and beard and hazel eyes but had put on some weight since High School and the sports he had played in those days. As he looked across at the raven-haired athletic figure with amber skin and green eyes wearing a green dress, his self-consciousness began to return due to him feeling under-dressed. It took him a couple of seconds to realize the woman in front of him had gossamer wings similar to a dragonfly coming out from her back, and that she must not be human. As John began to feel a bit awkward and felt he needed to break the ice, Mahaytar¡¯s voice broke the silence. ¡°Gwen, this is John MacIntire, who is about to become a Core. John, this is Gwendolyn Lilydew, the Fairy that will be your partner if you both agree to the arrangement. I¡¯ll give you some time to decide between yourselves.¡± As Mahaytar finished his sentence, his presence seemed to fade into nothing. Trying to recover from the awkwardness, John stuck his hand out and said, ¡°Nice to meet you, Gwen.¡± Gwen seemed to take a second before grabbing John¡¯s hand and saying, ¡°Nice to meet you, John.¡± Realization flitted across John¡¯s face, and he said, ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s a greeting from my culture, intended to show friendliness and that we aren¡¯t carrying a weapon, though the second part is much less prevalent in modern times.¡± Gwen gave John a light smile and asked, ¡°So John, how much do you know about the System and the duties of a Core? I know the System is new to your world, so I won¡¯t be too surprised if you aren¡¯t very knowledgable.¡± ¡°I think I have a bit of an idea,¡± John said. ¡°While we don¡¯t have the System, we do have many stories that I enjoyed that follow rules that seem close to the System. So getting to do this is a bit of a dream for some people from my world. Though I¡¯m not sure how practical most of my knowledge will be, and I will be relying on you to help me correct any misconceptions or bad habits that I may have..¡± ¡°Fair enough, I¡¯m willing to agree to some kind of trial period for us working together, there¡¯s no need for us to tie ourselves together at this point permanently.¡± ¡°What do you mean permanently tie ourselves together? Is there some kind of bond between dungeon and guide like I have seen in some stories.¡± ¡°While I am not familiar with your society¡¯s stories about Cores, that sounds relatively correct. Though I suppose I should say in perpetuity rather than permanently. There are ways to sever or change the bond, depending on whether the bond ends up being transactional, familial, or romantic.¡± ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m guessing this initial bond will be a transactional type bond with limited access to each other? What kind of benefits will we get from it?¡± ¡°Correct. Initially, I will advise you on the quirks and uses of the System and do some physical interactions for you in the early stages of dungeon development. On my end, I will be gaining access to a good source of mana and opportunities to improve my skills, gaining valuable field experience, and increasing my opportunities in my profession for the future. Worst case, we go our separate ways with our increases capabilities and experience, though hopefully, we each gain a friend and partner.¡±Stolen novel; please report. John appreciated her bluntness when it came to laying out the situation along with the hope and joy he could see in her expression. In John¡¯s experience, the best partners were informed and capable of expressing their desires and ideas. At the same time, they need to be dedicated and excited about their prospects in the venture. You need clear communication and enthusiasm to be successful in most undertakings. ¡°So,¡± John said, ¡°what kind of terms are you thinking for an initial contract?¡± ¡°A year-long, with a week¡¯s notice for termination barring extraordinary circumstances. A month-long trial period for both of us to evaluate our own and each other¡¯s capabilities before setting any specific duties..¡± Gwen replied after a short pause and a pensive look. ¡°Sounds good. Let¡¯s include any contract negotiations in the one week notice.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Another DING! brought John¡¯s attention to a new notice that popped up.
Achievement Unlocked Let¡¯s Make A Deal Most interactions with others will involve some kind of give and take. You have managed to make a deal that seems to require an equal amount of giving and taking. Rewards: The Negotiator title. The System will boost negotiation abilities when dealing with someone with a higher negotiation skill.
Negotiation skill unlocked. The current level is 21. Novice.
Upon finishing reading the notice, John noticed Gwen looking at him. ¡°I just unlocked a skill. It¡¯s my first skill, and I wondered what the difference between skills and abilities is.¡± ¡°Abilities are generally more discrete than skills. Everyone starts at level 1 and increases in mostly the same manner. Some abilities are even just unlocked and don¡¯t even have levels. Skills are evaluated by the System the first time you use them and start at the level the System evaluated your current abilities to be. Skills have many different ways to be improved, including just increasing a certain technique within the skill. Certain skills are also related to each other in other in different ways, and improving one will simultaneously improve or help boost progress in the other. Abilities do not relate to each other in this way, though they may have sub-skills that can be unlocked that help in specific areas of the ability. However, this description only applies to Cores and other similar types of system users. This setup will be slightly different for a standard user, and I can get into these differences later.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll hold you to that. What do the skill and ability levels mean, and what is the cap?¡± ¡°The general breakdown of the skill and ability levels and their ranks is: zero to nine is Beginner, ten to twenty-four is Novice, twenty-five to forty-nine is Apprentice, fifty to seventy-four is adept, seventy-five to ninety-nine is Journeyman, and one hundred and above is Master. There is no cap, though levels above one hundred are tough to achieve. Rank 0 is also a bit special; it either represents a skill you know of but have yet to use or an ability that you know of that you have yet to unlock. Most skills and abilities gain some kind of bonus as they rank up beyond Beginner, though some may only gain one or two bonuses at specific ranks, rather than a constantly improving bonus at each rank.¡± ¡°Sounds straight forward, if you don¡¯t mind I¡¯m going to check out my new skill and ability.¡± ¡°Sure. Could you share your stat screen with me so I can look it over? You do that by willing it to manifest for me. Normally you would only do this with a close friend or family, and you can choose for parts to not appear. For example, you could will it to only show your name if you want to prove your identity.¡± ¡°Will do,¡± John said as he sent over his full Status to Gwen. He hadn¡¯t felt she would try to take advantage of him, a benevolent higher being had sent her to partner with him, and he didn¡¯t have anything to hide. Due to those reasons, he felt there wasn¡¯t any reason to hide anything on the sheet from her, and he pulled up his new skill first.
Negotiation, Level 21, Novice Description: Negotiation is the ability to determine and trade items and ideas of value with another. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Bartering - Novice, ??? Subskills: ??? Related Skills: ??? Novice Bonus: Gain a general idea of your value in the deal compared to your opposites value
John had some questions for Gwen regarding those question marks but held them off to check out his updated ability first, figuring that she may just answer those questions herself after looking over his Status.
Creation, Level 1, Beginner Description: Allows Dungeons to Create Structure and Items. Beginning efficiency is n% where n is the level of ability. Prerequisites: None Subskills: Trap Creation (1 RP), ???
As John closed up the notifications, he saw Gwen looking at him with excitement in her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s Research?¡± 1.04 John gave Gwen a quick rundown of how he had requested the Research ability, and that it seemed to work similarly to a tech tree in a Real-Time Strategy or 4X game. Gwen gave a look of confusion at those terms, so John decided the should probably get into a discussion of technology levels from their respective worlds. Gwen has come from a similar world known as Urth, which was a much more magical based and had the System as far back as anyone could remember. In comparison, they had some technologies beyond Earth, with Teleportation being available to those with high enough skills or wealth, and plumbing and other modern Earth commodities handled by magic. Gwen herself had been born in a Dungeon to Fairy parents, though she had gone to school and began her professional career in the Fairy Realm. As Gwen explains it, Realms or Planes were intradimensional spaces attached to planets and some of them where virtually another planet layered on the base planet in dimensional space. The Fairy realm was one such space and was the traditional home of the Fae races on Urth. John explained that Earth was a realm without magic or the System and developed by Humans using the Sciences. John told how science had allowed Earth to develop mass communication methods and ways of even beginning to explore space and other planets. Gwen was excited to find out the vast availability of books, due to the lack of printing presses on Urth. Some Scribes could create multiple copies of books at once with Skills and Abilities, but each book had to be copied by hand each time a new order came in for a set of transcripts. She was practically vibrating as John finished a quick explanation of computers, and began explaining what information can be found through the internet. ¡°I can¡¯t wait for a chance to check out this Internet!¡± Gwen said with a look of wonder on her face as she paced around in front of John. ¡°That may be a bit hard with me being stuck as a Core,¡± John said to Gwen as John said that a DING! and a notification popped up.
New Research Available.
John was about to check his status, but then he thought to himself, ¡°I¡¯m going to need a computer and a source of power to use the internet. Perhaps there¡¯s some way to convert mana into electrical energy.¡± Again a notification popped up, letting John know more Research had become available. John then checked his status and found that there were a couple of new avenues for Research available.
Research Completed Research: Creation Ability Available Research: Mana - General (2 RP), Trap Creation (1 RP), Interdimensional Internet Connection (5 RP), Mana To Electrical Power Conversion (5 RP)
John then brought up the description of Interdimensional Internet Connection first, followed by Mana To Electrical Power Conversion.
Interdimensional Internet Connection Description: Allows Dungeons to connect to Earth¡¯s internet. Research Cost: 5 RP Benefit Of Research: Allows the user to connect to the internet. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: ??? Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Mana To Electrical Power Conversion Description: Gives the Dungeon the knowledge of how to convert mana into electricity. Research Cost: 5 RP Benefit Of Research: Allow dungeons to use mana in place of electricity in electrical circuits. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: ??? Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
Jon heard a sound that sounded suspiciously like a ¡°Squee¡± coming from Gwen in front of him as she read an invisible screen. As long as she wasn¡¯t a literal manic pixie dream girl, he could forgive her for not holding in her excitement. John himself was excited at what he would be able to do with the Research he had just unlocked and the available resources back home. As John was mulling over his thoughts, Gwen appeared to finish reading over the status changes and gave John a look mixed between excitement and embarrassment. ¡°Oh¡­ it just kind of -¡± Gwen was interrupted from what she was about to say by the sudden reappearance of Mahaytar. ¡°Hi, John and Gwen. I can see you both seem to agree about moving forwards with a partnership and looking excited to get started. John, is there anywhere else besides the city you were living in that you would like to get started? It seems like it is a medium-sized city for the area, not too big or too small, and has a decent amount of potential resources in the surrounding area.¡± ¡°Yeah, that should be good, do I get to choose where I start in the city?¡± John said. ¡°Sure, you can mark on the map where you would like to start.¡± ¡°And just double-checking, will I be returning to roughly the same time I left, or will there be some shift forwards in time.¡± ¡°There has been a bit of time between you coming here and going back, but it is only a couple of hours.¡± ¡°Okay, I fell ready to get started. Anything else you can think of, Gwen?¡± ¡°Nope, I think we¡¯re ready to get started,¡± Gwen said with a shake of her head. ¡°Okay, you two should get ready. I¡¯ll come to check on you in a little while and see how you are progressing,¡± Mahaytar said as he began to raise his hands in the air. There was a bright flash, and John found himself with an aerial view of his city. He had an area already in mind, so he selected Sorensen Station. It was a bus station downtown with a parkade over top of it. He figured it would be an excellent central location in the city, and the river was close enough by that he thought he would be able to use it as a resource soon. As a small cave appeared around John, he turned to talk to Gwen, but realized he didn¡¯t have a body, and that his view was currently almost a third-person overhead view of the cave he was in, though John found he could move the view around as he wanted within the room. However, a sense of panic began to come over him as he realized no airflow in the room. He saw Gwen reach out her hand towards a fist-sized black opal that he realized must be his Core body, and was a bit startled as her voice entered his mind. ¡°Relax, John. I can feel the panic across our connection.¡± John realized he could sense a feeling of warmth and amusement that seemed to be originating from Gwen. He said, ¡°I¡¯m not panicked about my safety or anything like that, but how will you breathe?¡± Gwen smiled in John¡¯s general direction and said, ¡°Due to the bond between us, your mana can help with most of my bodily functions while I am in the dungeon. I won¡¯t need to eat, breathe or drink for the time being, but if you provide me with a way to do those things, I will need to use less of your mana. What we should do is start making an entrance to the surface and your first room.¡± ¡°Do I need to worry about being open to the world this early? ¡°No, we can cover the entrance with a door when you get a pattern for one for now. The important thing is to get your first room and entrance started, and you should get some new abilities from it. Just absorb enough material from around you to make a room and entrance, while ignoring any notifications that may occur.¡± ¡°Do I need to worry about structural integrity above me, or will the Dungeon mana handle that?¡± ¡°Structures around you are reinforced with mana during this process, so don¡¯t worry about causing any collapse.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± With that, John began to absorb the surrounding material heading south from his position. He roughed out a first room that was roughly the size of a hotel lobby. John figured that this room would eventually be a meeting ground for people looking to go through the dungeon. After that, he made a spiral going upwards where a door would exit out a sidewall of Sorensen Station for an entrance. John saw a bunch of waiting notifications as he finished this process but figured he had something to say to Gwen first. ¡°Gwen, welcome to Red Deer, Alberta, Canada,¡± he said with warmth towards her. 1.05 Gwen smiled as John welcomed her to his city. She had expected her partner to be a newly manifested Core, so being paired with a reincarnated soul like John¡¯s had been a surprise. But a welcome one to be sure, as she had been expecting to have to teach a newborn core about social mores and why you can¡¯t just kill everything that you come across. It¡¯s not that most Cores are bloodthirsty, only that death is one of the quickest ways to obtain mana from a living being, even if it is not the best way in the long run. These new cores didn¡¯t have any time to mature, so they were often impatient in much the same manner as a toddler, while still having an intellect closer to that of an adult, That Johns first concern upon their arrival in this world had also been endearing. However, she was worried about what changes the death and trauma in the coming days were sure to bring to John¡¯s personality.
John was excited to check all of the notifications and what they had unlocked. However, he figured he should send Gwen on a quick errand before he got started on those. ¡°Hey Gwen, I have a quick request for you. There¡¯s a bunch of useful items at my apartment, would you mind going and picking them up?¡± ¡°Sure, but how do I get there?¡± John sent Gwen a mental map to his apartment building and his apartment¡¯s location in his building. It was on the third floor, but he figured she would be able to fly up to get into it. ¡°Will there be any problems getting there?¡± John asked, ¡°I assume you can fly there, but do you have any kind of camouflage ability and a bag of holding or something?¡± Gwen held up three fingers and put them down as she answered the questions. ¡°Yes, I can fly there, I have access to illusion spells to keep me invisible, and I have a bag with extended storage that can carry a great amount of weight, which I assume this bag of holding you are referring to is.¡± ¡°Great, when you get to the apartment, basically take everything that isn¡¯t nailed down, including the furniture and even the blinds. If the bag and System don¡¯t give you some kind of inventory, I¡¯ll let you know what items you have to be a bit more careful with.¡± ¡°Nope, anything put in the bag is registered to my inventory, and the System protects it while it is in the inventory. If I have to make a return trip, I will let you know when I get back.¡± ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯ll see you in a little while,¡± John said with a mental smile directed at her. He also felt a bit of relief; he didn¡¯t want anyone getting a look at his browser history. There wasn¡¯t anything disgusting in it, but nobody wants to feel judged about what they have looked at on the internet. As Gwen headed up the ramp, he created an opening for her to exit out of the Dungeon and closed it up after she left. By the light outside, he assumed it was roughly 10 p.m., and with Gwen¡¯s illusion abilities, he wasn¡¯t worried about anyone seeing her or the Entrance. As Gwen left, John pulled up the notifications he had received as he had received earlier.
6 Materials Received 9 Creatures Received 2 New Dungeon Abilities, Dungeon Ability Level Up
John decided he would first check the Materials, then the Dungeon Abilities, and finish off with the Creatures. Some kind of instinct let him know that would roughly be the shortest to the most extended amount of information.
Materials Unlocked Topsoil, Clay, Sand, Concrete, Steel - Rebar, and Gravel
John figured that he must not entirely be low enough to get any bedrock materials, or that they had been cleared away in building Sorensen Station. The Materials he received were likely good enough for anything he would want to create at the beginning of his Dungeon, and if the sand was high enough silica content, he could make glass with it. The list of materials appeared to go under a new tab in his status John had unlocked, the Creation Tab. As he finished that thought, he brought up the abilities he had obtained and levelled.
Absorb Level Up. Current Level 3.
As John read this notification, he instinctively knew that the Absorb ability has become slightly more efficient. John hadn¡¯t felt this increase while working, so it must be tied to reading the notifications.
Soul Space, Level 1, Beginner Description: The Dungeon gains a Soul Space where they can manifest a body and meet with bonded entities or soul projecting beings. They can also make versions of objects they can create in the Soul Space that allow them to work on specific skills and abilities in the Soul Space. Prerequisites: First Dungeon Room completed. Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
John must have gained this Ability while he was roughing out his first room. He wouldn¡¯t consider the barren place anywhere close to completed yet, but to the System simply defining the rooms space must count as completed. John would test this Ability soon, but first, he figured he should check what the other Ability is.
Domain, Level 1, Beginner Description: Dungeon can establish a domain outside their Dungeon. Initially, this is the size of a building on top of the Dungeon. Prerequisites: Establish a first room and an entrance. Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
Establish Domain? YES/NO
John mentally selected YES and gasped as his vision suddenly grew, along with an awareness of what was occurring in all of Sorensen Station. Sorensen Station was currently empty of all sapient life, though he could sense a couple of pigeons and crows among the rafters and the roof. John also could see outwards from all areas of the Staton if focusing on looking outwards, though only to the extent that John would have seen with his naked eyes. He could feel that some of the rules would be different in his Domain than in his Dungeon proper. For example, John knew that Absorb could be used much more straightforward in his Dungeon than in his Domain; it would cost mana to absorb something in his Domain, and John would not be able to Absorb anything if a sentient was in the same room as it. John wanted to try this out, so he selected a pen to absorb. As he did, he got some notifications that he opened right away.
Absorb Level Up, Current Level 4 New Materials Unlocked Plastic, Ink - Dark Blue Dyes & Pigments Unlocked Ink Colour - Dark Blue Unlocked Item Pattern Unlocked Pen - Dark Blue Ink (2 Mana) Dungeon Research UnlockedYou could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Dungeon Ability Creation Subskill: Blueprint (1 RP)
John quickly used his Creation Ability and the Pen - Dark Blue Ink pattern to replace the pen he had absorbed and received another notification.
Creation Level Up, Current Level 2.
John could feel that any creation would be slightly more efficient, though the difference hadn¡¯t been enough to reduce the cost of creating the pen by a noticeable amount. He could also feel that his mana capacity had increased, so he figured that he should bring up his status to go over the changes.
Name: John MacIntire Race: Core Title: The Inquisitive Health: 100/100 Mana: 93/105 Research: 0 RP (+1 RP/Day) Skills: Negotiator 21 Abilities: Absorb 3, Research 1, Creation 2, Soul Space 1, Domain 1 Titles: The Inquisitive, The Negotiator Achievements: Inquisitive Mind, Let¡¯s Make A Deal
Besides the changes to his skill level, John noted the increase in mana, which on an instinctual level he knew was due to absorbing new materials and obtaining new patterns. Absorbing items in his Dungeon would restore him to his max mana, but it would take consuming a large number of known Patterns and Materials in his Dungeon to increase his maximum mana. To test this theory, John quickly absorbed a couple more pens and replaced them, gaining a Red and Black Ink pen patterns and materials and dies for the ink colours. After doing so, John had increased his maximum mana by one. Still, John was a bit miffed that each pen was represented by an exclusive pattern, rather than consolidating under a pen group. He half expected to hear another DING! as he though this, but his attention was then directed towards the new Research available under Creation. Realizing that Blueprints must give some kind of customization and consolidation ability, he moved on to the next set of notifications for the Creatures he had absorbed.
Creatures Absorbed 1 Rodent Type, Slime Mold, 2 Eulipotyphla Types, 1 Apocrita Type, 1 Beetle Type, 1 Worm Type, 2 Myriapoda Types, 1 Arachnid Type, 1 Dictyoptera Type
He could feel a new tab for Creatures created under his Creation tab, along with a list of the creatures he currently had available for Creation generated and their general information. John pulled up this new tab in his status.
Creatures Rodents Slime Mold Eulipotyphla Apocrita Beetles Worms Myriapoda Arachnids Dictyoptera
As John concentrated on each Creature Type, he was given a popup with more information.
Rodents Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Mice, ??? Abilities: Litters, Communal Nesting, Burrowing, Mild Intelligence, Low Light Vision, Fast Breeding Cycle, Panoramic Vision, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Slime Mold Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: None Abilities: Iridescence, Biological Network, Asexual Reproduction Cost: 0.5 Mana
Eulipotyphla Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Moles, Shrews, ??? Abilities: Litters, Burrowing, Vibration Sense (Moles), Advanced Sense Of Smell (Moles), Swimming (Moles and ???), Panoramic Vision, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Apocrita Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ants, ??? Abilities: Hive Mind, Sting (Pain Toxin, ???), Flight (Insect Wings), Colonies (Bugs), Exoskeleton, Mandibles, Stout Strength, Panoramic Vision, Litters, Hovering Cost: 10 Mana per Colony, 0.5 Mana For Non-Colony
Beetle Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ground Beetle, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Flight (Insect Wings), Exoskeleton, Burrowing (Ground Beetle), Stout Strength, Panoramic Vision, Litters, Hovering, ??? Cost: 1-3 Mana
Worm Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ground Worm Abilities: Burrowing, Compost and Aeration (Dungeon Skill), Vibration Sense Cost: 1-3 Mana
Myriapoda Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Centipede, Millipede, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Exoskeleton, Burrowing, Venom Bite (Centipede), Defensive Curl (Millipede), Panoramic Vision, Litters Cost: 1-10 Mana
Arachnids Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Spiders, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Exoskeleton, Burrowing, Venom Bite (Spiders), Web Weaving (Spiders), Panoramic Vision, Binocular Vision, Gliding (Webs), Strong Legs (Jumping Spiders), Luring (Spiders), Hunting (Portia Spiders, Wolf Spiders), Young Carrying (Wolf Spiders), Litters, Disease Bite, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Dictyoptera Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Termites, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Exoskeleton, Burrowing (Termites), Wood Burrowing (Termites), Panoramic Vision, Flight (Insect Wings), Litters, Hovering Cost: 0.5-5 Mana, 10 for Colony
John was surprised by the number of Abilities these Creatures have, and he wasn¡¯t sure why some of the subtypes were so generalized. However, as he concentrated on some of these more general subtypes, John found specific patterns for different species. John also found that if he created a general subtype, it would have all of the abilities for that kind of Creature unless an Ability was tied to specific species like under Spiders. He also guessed that the question marks must represent subtypes he had yet to absorb with abilities he had still to discover. So really, John only had full access to the Slime Mold type of Creature. John figured he should check out what these abilities do, so he attempted to concentrate on the Litter Ability.
Litters Description: ??? Prerequisites: ??? Research Points Needed: ??? Cost: ??? Drops Skill Gem Usable By Adventurers: ???
As John saw this screen, he felt the presence of another notification.
New Research Available.
John quickly went to the Research tab and saw a new line of Research under Research Available, which was Creature Customization (10 RP). John quickly pulled up the description for that Research.
Creature Customization Description: Gain a better understanding of how to create creatures, leading to more customization abilities. Research Cost: 10 RP Benefit Of Research: Allows Creature Abilities to be Researched and then applied to other Creatures and Monsters. A better definition of what characteristics to include when creating a Monster from Creatures. This Research also allows for the hybridization or a combination of Creatures in the Creation of Monsters. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: 2 Creature Hybrid and Combinations (20 RP), ??? Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
Creature Customization appeared to be another extremely promising avenue of Research, and John decided that it would be his current top priority after Blueprints, Trap Creation, Mana - General, Interdimensional Internet Connection, and Mana To Electric Conversion. ¡°Huh,¡± John thought, ¡°there is a bunch of Research to do. I guess that¡¯s like any endeavour, though.¡± John fooled around with his Creation Ability in his first room while waiting for Gwen to get back, hoping to level it up while he waited. It was at this time that John was tempted to move the Interdimensional Internet Connection to the very top of the list because he began to miss the sound of music.
Gwen had felt excited as she flew towards John¡¯s apartment; she was exploring a whole new world. Even the roads were different and seemed not just to be packed dirt, wood, or concrete, but instead were made of some other material. She made sure to keep well above the cars that John had mentioned as she, seeing firsthand just how fast they were moving and how much they must weigh. As she got to John¡¯s apartment flew in through the window, it was the first time she felt annoyance since coming to Earth. She realized how long it would take and how much it would weigh to move everything in the apartment into her bag, even if the weight was reduced to a tiny fraction of what it was before going in the bag.
Almost three hours after she left, Gwen arrived back at the Entrance that John had previously had open. As she approached the Entrance, it quickly opened up and then closed again as she passed. This reaction¡¯s quickness was due to John sensing Gwen as soon as she crossed into his Domain. John could see that Gwen looked exhausted as she brought the bag back into the first room, so he said: ¡°We¡¯ll discuss where to spend the Research Point I got as the clock passed midnight, what items you got, and the updates to my status tomorrow morning if you want to go to bed.¡± ¡°Mmmmm¡­¡± was the only reply John got as Gwen pulled his bed out of her bag and flopped onto it, before beginning to snore lightly. 1.06 As Gwen slept, John let his thoughts shift to worry for a little while. He knew that his brother wouldn¡¯t come around to John¡¯s apartment for a little while after stealing his T.V., possibly weeks. So John wouldn¡¯t show up as missing until he didn¡¯t show back up for work after his scheduled vacation. He had just gotten back from a week-long camping trip with a couple of friends and took an extra week off work to progress on his hobby projects. His parents had passed away in a car crash a couple of years ago, and his extended family lived on the other side of the country. Still, John knew once his apartment is discovered to be empty, it would likely begin a missing person report. However, by the time that happened, who knew what changes would be going on in the world, so he would burn that bridge when he crossed it. John would talk to Gwen about it when they had some downtime, and see if she had any ideas about handling it. John had fooled around with Creation and Absorb Abilities to make adjustments to his Entrance and first room while he had waited for Gwen to return. Still, he didn¡¯t want to finalize anything until he got more materials and had Gwen have a look over his plans. So, John figured now would be an excellent time to test his Soul Space Ability. As he activated it, it seemed like his view shrank until it was the size of a window, and he was now standing in a white void that was oddly similar to the intradimensional space he had been in very recently. John was able to adjust what the window was looking at and so would be able to keep an eye on his Dungeon while in his Soul Space. As John looked around the first room, he paused on Gwen, who had a smile on her face as he slept. As John did so, another window popped up, showing Gwen in an outfit similar to Wonder Woman¡¯s from the Earth One series. John figured she must have taken a glimpse at some of his books as she put them into her bag, so he smiled at the image. At the same time, John didn¡¯t want to intrude on her privacy, so he reached out to see if he could close the window. However, instead of closing the window, as he touched it, Gwen popped into his Soul Space. She was still wearing the Wonder Woman outfit, and an ¡°Eeep¡± came out of her mouth even though it was that much more revealing than the green dress she was wearing back in the Dungeon. ¡°S-sorry, John,¡± Gwen said with a bit of a stammer, ¡°she just looked so cool! She must have been on my mind as I went to sleep.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you had a quick look through my books as you packed them? It¡¯s not a big deal, they aren¡¯t private or anything like that.¡± ¡°Yeah, what were those ones with the painting in them?¡± Gwen said, her stance opening up as she began to look more excited. ¡°Depending on which ones you are talking about, those would be cartoons, comics, or graphic novels. They are a kind of book that has been around for about a hundred years and recently increased in popularity. I¡¯m guessing that because your world didn¡¯t have the printing press, it would have been hard to find someone who had the combination of Artist and Scribe abilities to make that kind of thing possible,¡± John said with a pensive look on his face. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between those three things?¡± ¡°While the terms are mostly interchangeable, cartoons are generally less realistic and are typically focused on funny things. Comics tend to be more realistic or consistent with motion, general physics, and anatomy, though there are exceptions, and many comics take place in a Fantasy or Science Fiction world. While cartoons and comics are generally shorter in length and have a serial story that comes out on a periodical basis, graphic novels are instead a more self-contained story, though sometimes they become a sort of serial story themselves. These things may contain some of the same characters, though they may exist in a different canon.¡± As John finished saying that, he returned from his thoughtful gaze upwards, and he looked over at Gwen, half expecting to see a bored look. Instead, she appeared to have a thoughtful look on her face, considering what he had just said. ¡°When we get some time, can you show me some examples of each?¡± Gwen asked, a look of restrained excitement in her eyes. ¡°Sure thing. I think I¡¯ll start you with one of my favourite comics strips, Calvin & Hobbes. They are lightly based on some famous philosophers, and discuss some things that may be a good entryway into our culture.¡± ¡°Cool.¡± ¡°As we figure out some stuff, I¡¯ll have a bunch of media to show you. I¡¯m sure your world has some live performance options, but probably no recorded media like we have. Anyways, how are you in here? Is it because we technically have a soul bond?¡± ¡°Yeah. I have been in my parent¡¯s Dugneon¡¯s Soul Space a couple of times, so it wasn¡¯t wholly unexpected. I kind of forgot to mention this to you because I was so tired. We should probably get some kind of system set up, so we don¡¯t accidentally invade each other¡¯s privacy, though.¡± ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯m not messing with your sleep or anything right now, am I?¡± John saw a quick smile flit across Gwen¡¯s face as he asked this question. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t messing with my rest. Essentially this is just happening instead of my dreams right now. Depending on how much I want to stay awake, I will even be able to draw some mana as I do for air to stay awake.¡± ¡°Good, so while you are here, do you mind if we go over some of our plans? I just got another Research Point a bit ago, so it looks like they come in at midnight, and I wouldn¡¯t mind spending the point we just got.¡± ¡°So, you have one point available?¡± Gwen asked. ¡°What do you have available for one point?¡± ¡°Currently, there are Blueprints or Trap Creation under the Creation Dungeon Ability,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything else available, do you?¡± Gwen shook her head. ¡°Is there any reason to take Trap Creation right now over Blueprints? I seemed to be able to set up some basic traps just using Creation?¡± ¡°From what I know, Trap Creation will give you some schematics to traps and will make resetting them automatic after any invaders leave the Dungeon. Blueprints will allow you to make and adjust Blueprints for items and buildings. Normally you would get these by building enough traps or absorbing a blueprint, respectively, so your Research must allow you to unlock these subskills early if you have a bit of an idea of what you can do with the skill.¡± ¡°Since I am about to absorb a bunch of items in a short amount of time, should I grab blueprints then?¡± ¡°Might as well, I don¡¯t see getting Trap Creation tomorrow getting in the way of anything.¡± ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll grab it and see what happens. Any advice on what to Absorb first, and do you want to stay here when I go back to the Dungeon to Absorb things?¡± ¡°Nah, it doesn¡¯t matter what you absorb first. Maybe absorb the less complicated things first to level up Absorb, so the whole thing goes faster. I can just check the changes to your status tomorrow morning, so don¡¯t worry about doing anything without me. If you¡¯re leaving the Soul Space, I¡¯m going to go back to my dream, though once you get a pattern, maybe change the window to a door, so we get a bit of privacy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do, see you tomorrow Gwen.¡± ¡°Bye.¡± With that said, John and Gwen reached their hands towards their respective windows. John found himself back in the perspective of his Dungeon overall. He first checked the notifications waiting for him that he had previously ignored while fooling around with Creation and Absorb.
Absorb Level Up, Current Level 5 Creation Level Up, Current Level 5 Domain Level Up, Current Level 2 Soul Space Level Up, Current Level 3
John could feel that Creation and Absorb had once again become slightly more efficient. The level up to Domain had increased the size of John¡¯s Domain a slight amount, where the Domain now expanded to the sidewalks around Sorensen Station and a small amount of the street past them. The level up to Soul Space had given John the feeling that he had a bot more control over the Soul Space, and that it would be both easier and quicker to create and move objects in it. Those changes out of the way, John decided to spend his research point on Blueprints. As he did so, he got another notification.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Research Level Up, Current Level 2, +1 R.P./Day Blueprints Subskill Unlocked. Similar items will be consolidated into a set of Blueprints. Blueprints can be adjusted and saved, creating new Blueprints and allowing for more customization of items created through Creation. Blueprints unlocked as loot drop. Crafting ability unlocked.
As John read the notification, he could feel a shift in his Creation tab. When he checked it, he found that there was now instead of Item Patterns he had Blueprints, under which there was a single listing for pens. As John opened up the pen Blueprint and found the three previously absorbed pens, it seemed that bits and pieces could be swapped in and out of each Blueprint. Now, rather than just recreating the pen, he could fool around with their design and materials. Though why anyone would want a pen with a case made out of concrete and was two feet long, John wasn¡¯t sure. When he tried to make the casing out of an invalid material such as sand or ink, he got an error message that this was an invalid object. There was also an option just to swap what colour of ink the pen used. As he dismissed his design without saving, he quickly looked around his Domain and found an orange gel pen. As he absorbed and recreated it, he checked the notification that popped up.
Pen Blueprint Updated New Material: Ink - Gel New Dyes: Ink Colour - Orange, Ink Type - Gel
After a quick check through his Blueprint, John found the design for the gel pen, and that he now had an option to put standard ink or gel ink in each pen. Before he closed the Creation menu, he also noticed that he could now use the Blueprints to design rooms and the objects in them, making his life more comfortable in the future. After he finished looking through the Creation tab, he brought up the description for his new skill.
Crafting, Level 1, Beginner Description: While Creation is a strong ability for Dungeons, it is mostly just filling known patterns and creating them with mana. Crafting allows you to develop materials, use tools on them, and combine them in new ways, creating original Blueprints, objects, and materials. Prerequisites: Blueprints researched Subskills: ??? Research Points Needed: 0
As John read the description, he could feel a sense of excitement building. He could start to imagine the possibilities of some of the things he would be able to make. However, it made him wonder why the crafting was so general, rather than broken down into specific crafts like Leatherwork or Smithing. As he thought this, John felt another notification.
Dungeon Research Unlocked Dungeon Ability Crafting Subskills: Leatherworking (5 R.P.), Smithing (5 R.P.)
Select an initial Subskill LEATHERWORKING/SMITHING
As John looked at those notifications, he knew on an instinctual level that to get the most out of these subskills crafting stations and tools would have to be built. From what he knew, Leatherworking, in general, required much less in terms of devices and stations, just requiring a couple of fixtures rather than the variety of anvils, casts, dies, drills, hammers, and forges needed to work different metals. Also, theorizing that leather materials and hides would be more natural to come across than different metals in the short term, John decided to take Leatherworking first. As he did so, John looked at the new notification.
Leatherworking Subskill Unlocked Basic Leather or equivalent Material unlocked, to unlock leather variants create them using crafting. Basic Leather or equivalent Materials available as loot drops. Known Dyes may be applied to hides, including on Creatures. Coloured Creatures will drop that colour of Leather or Equivalent material. Known Leather Armors or Equivalents may be equipped to applicable creatures.
Materials Unlocked Leather - Mouse Hide, Mole Hide, Shrew Hide, Worm Hide; Chitin - Ant, Ground Beetle, Spider, Centipede, Millipede, Termite Dye Unlocked: Iridescent Type
Again, John was excited by the possibilities he had just been shown. It appeared that unlocking new subskills in crafting would give him even more customization options for both objects and his creatures. He thought about all the crafts he had heard of both on Earth and in Fantasy and watched a notification pop up.
Dungeon Research Unlocked Dungeon Ability Crafting Subskills: Chemistry (5 R.P.), Woodworking (5 R.P.), Mineral Working (5 R.P.), Clothemaking (5 R.P.), Papercrafts (5 R.P.), Glass Crafts (5 R.P.), Clayworking (5 R.P.), Cooking (5 R.P.), Alchemy (10 R.P.), Enchanting (10 R.P.)
After that, John pulled up his Crafting ability, just to double-check that nothing else had changed.
Crafting, Level 1, Beginner Description: While Creation is a strong ability for Dungeons, it is mostly just filling known patterns and creating them with mana. Crafting allows you to develop materials, use tools on them, and combine them in new ways, creating original Blueprints, objects, and materials. Subskills: Leatherworking, Smithing (5 R.P.), Chemistry (5 R.P.), Woodworking (5 R.P.), Mineral Working (5 R.P.), Clothemaking (5 R.P.), Papercrafts (5 R.P.), Glass Crafts (5 R.P.), Clayworking (5 R.P.), Cooking (5 R.P.), Alchemy (10 R.P.), Enchanting (10 R.P.)
John had been surprised that Chemistry and Alchemy were different crafts. However, though they shared some techniques, Chemistry was what he was familiar with when he looked into it. On the other hand, Alchemy was a more mystical craft that used the harvesting and processing of essences to create potions, pills, draughts, and elixirs, the strongest of which could apply permanent effects to their imbibers. For example, both crafts could create a Poison, and while a Chemical Poison might only be physically dangerous, and Alchemical Poison might do damage to someone¡¯s skills and abilities. John figured that before he could get into this ability, he should get the rest of the Materials and Blueprints he could from the items Gwen had grabbed from his apartment. At this moment, John realized Gwen¡¯s bag of holding was still next to the bed she had pulled out, and where her softly snoring body was sleeping nearby. Not wanting to wake Gwen, John decided that it was time to create his first Creature. As he began Creating a Creature, he selected a Mouse, being one of the larger and smarter Creatures he currently had available. He was given the option just to create a Mouse similar to the one John had absorbed, or some adjustments to the Mouse based on skills that had been unlocked could be made. John decided to make this first Creature a bit unique, so he opted to give the Mouse an orange and iridescent colour scheme. John finished up his changes to the colour scheme, and a popup declaring that a ¡°Unique Creature being created was detected¡± and if he would like to give the Creature a name or a Name. Upon concentrating, John found that while a name would just provide the Creature with a unique signifier that it would keep upon revival, a Name would bestow some extra abilities and powers upon the Creature, at the expense of a significantly increased cost of mana. Upon seeing this, John decided to test out the Name system and gave the Mouse the Name Lenny, and upon doing so, a notification popped up, as John felt 50 Mana leave him to create this Creature.
Unique Creature Lenny Named Unsuitable For Boss or Mini-boss Type, Mascot Type selected. Mascots are Dungeon Creatures that are Non-Hostile to outside forces in the Dungeon unless provoked. Special situations, interactions, and quests may occur when interacting with a Mascot. Changes to Mouse form for Lenny: Size Increased Intelligence Increased Ability Added: Cuteness Aura
John watched as an orange Mouse the size of a German Shepherd materialized, who appeared to be even fluffier and had fatter cheeks than a standard mouse. Lenny shook himself and stretched out in a manner very similar German Shepherd would, and the iridescence of his fur made the sight beautiful. As he finished up this movement, Lenny sat on his haunches and looked up, seemingly aware of John¡¯s attention to him. So John sent his thoughts out towards Lenny in a similar manner he would talk to Gwen, ¡°Hey buddy, I have a job for you. Do you mind grabbing Gwen¡¯s bag, bringing it to the corner over there, and emptying it? I don¡¯t want to wake Gwen up.¡± Lenny gave a quick nod upon hearing this, then the best salute his short arms could manage. He grabbed the bag in his mouth, brought it over to the corner, and reached his paws into the container. Each time his paw came out, another item from John¡¯s apartment materialized. John knew on an instinctual level that this was only possible because Lenny was bonded to him, and John was bonded to Gwen. As Lenny finished pulling everything out of the bags, John sent him another message. ¡°Great Job, I¡¯ve got another quick mission for you. Do you think you can take out a couple of those sleeping crows and pigeons for me and bring them back? They would be useful samples.¡± Lenny tilted his head while sitting on his haunches as if thinking about what that would entail. After a short moment, he gave a mousy thumbs up and began heading up the spiral to the Entrance. John opened up the Entrance for Lenny as Lenny got to the top, and he climbed up one of the columns around the base floor and into the parkade. Lenny then made his way up another column on the parkade¡¯s interior, to where a couple of pigeons were sleeping. He crawled along the rafter until he was behind a still sleeping pigeon and leaned over it while opening his mouth. A split second later, there was a headless pigeon and spurt of blood shot out, hitting Lenny in the face. Luckily, none of the blood hit the other pigeon as John sent another message to Lenny. ¡°Maybe try just snapping their necks. We¡¯ll have a little less cleanup to do after.¡± Lenny gave a sheepish shrug of his shoulders and grabbed the other pigeon by the head before violently shaking it. As the second pigeon¡¯s body went limp, Lenny jumped down to the ground and picked up both corpses, before carrying them over to the ledge above John¡¯s Entrance. He then dropped the bodies and spat the head out of his mouth onto the sidewalk just outside of the Entrance. Finally, turning around and making his way up the ramp that would lead to the parkade¡¯s top floor and the roof. Two crows were sleeping right next to each other on one of the ledges on the parkade¡¯s top floor, and Lenny stealthily made his way up behind them. When he got into range, both of Lenny¡¯s hands snaked out, and each grabbed a crow by the head, which caused them to release a muffled squawk. With a look of glee on his face, Lenny began to swing the crows¡¯ bodies around his body, almost like they were Nunchucks. John had to suppress a mental giggle before adopting an admonishing tone, ¡°Not cool, Lenny. All things deserve a bit of dignity, even in death. Bring the corpses back into the Dungeon.¡± Looking chastened, Lenny made his way over to the ledge above the Entrance and dropped the roughly 30 feet to the sidewalk below. John was worried for half a second, before Lenny, pulled himself up and shook himself off. John figured that something between mouse biology and System magic must have kept Lenny from too seriously injuring himself. As Lenny entered the Dungeon with two pigeons in one hand, two crows in another, and a pigeon head clenched in his teeth. John was able to clean the blood off him using absorb. He then Absorbed the rest of Lenny¡¯s mess around the Station before sending Lenny another message. ¡°Good job, Lenny. Drop the bodies off with the materials, and you can go take a break.¡± Lenny tossed the bodies towards the corner and then trundled over to curl up at the base of Gwen¡¯s bed and began to sleep with a smile across his mousy face. John looked at the corner, stuffed with materials and began to activate his Absorb Ability. 1.07 John had worked his way through most of the pile of materials that had been in Gwen¡¯s bag. However, he had saved things like his books, C.D.s, DVDs, appliances, collectables, expensive liquors, and laptop for later, not wanting to risk losing some of his favourite possessions before doing some test absorptions. John decided to absorb some that wouldn¡¯t be too hard to replace and see how the System registered them. Before that, though, he wanted to go through the materials and blueprints he had obtained.
Absorb Level Up, Current Level 10, Novice Bonus Activated Creation Level Up, Current Level 10, Novice Bonus Activated
Materials: Wood - Pine, Fir, Maple, Cedar, Particle Board; Paper - Standard, Construction, Posterboard; Glass; Ceramic; Enamel; Foam; Pleather; Cloth; Clothing Materials - Cotton-Polyester Blend, Polyesters, Denim, Khaki, Wool, Silk; Rubber; Cork; Styrofoam; Magnets; Battery; Compass; Copper Wire; Nails; Elastics; Water; Cooking Oil; Vinegar; Baking Soda; Tungsten; Stainless Steel Blueprints; Tables; Chairs; Cutlery; Plates; Bowls; Glasses; Sofa; Loveseat; Clothes - T-Shirt, Dress Shirt, Jeans, Dress Pants, Suit Jacket, Ties, Boxers, Socks, Shoes, Boots - Standard, Steel Toe; Bookshelf; Desk; End Table; Night Table; Dresser; Marbles; Towel; Entertainment Center; Pots; Pans; Curtains; Lightbulb; Ironing Board; LED Light; Stapler; Tools - Screwdrivers, Wrench, Pliers, Hammer, Chisel, Wire Cutter, Soldering Iron, File, Can Opener, Knife, Shovel, Handsaw, Hacksaw; Dyes: Paints; Colours - Red, Light Blue, Grey, Green, Brown, White, Purple, Yellow; Finishes - Matte, Semi-Gloss, Gloss, Primer
Consolidate Materials, Blueprints, and Dyes? YES/NO
John had yet to be steered wrong by selecting YES when the System had asked him a YES or NO question, so he decided to choose YES again and was given another notice after that.
Enough Colours And Shades Absorbed, Full Colour Palette Open Auto-Consolidate Materials & Blueprints In Future (Option Can Be Turned Off) YES/NO
Once again, John didn¡¯t see any reason to select NO, so he picked YES again. After, he decided to check on the changes to his Status, the Creation Menu, and what the Novice Bonuses were for Creation and Absorption.
Name: John MacIntire Race: Core Title: The Inquisitive Health: 100/100 Mana: 197/200 Research: 0 RP (+2 RP/Day) Skills: Negotiator 21 Abilities: Absorb 10, Creation 10, Research 2, Soul Space 3, Domain 2, Crafting 1 Titles: The Inquisitive, The Negotiator Achievements: Inquisitive Mind, Let¡¯s Make A Deal
Creation Materials: Soils+, Metals+, Woods+, Papers+, Building Materials+, Crafting Materials+, Clothing Materials+, Science Materials+, Water Dyes Blueprints: Furniture+, Housewares+, Clothes+, Misc.+, Tools+
Absorb, Level 10, Novice Description: Allows Dungeons to Absorb Items/Materials. Doing so will unlock patterns for items and materials for use in creating objects using your Mana. Levels increase absorption speed. Subskills: ??? Novice Bonus: Absorb Speed 1.1x
Creation, Level 10, Novice Description: Allows Dungeons to Create Structure and Items. Beginning efficiency is n% where n is the level of the ability. Subskills: Blueprints, Trap Creation (1 R.P.), ??? Novice Bonus: Creation Mana Efficiency (n+n/100)%, Current (11%)
The first of the significant changes that John noticed was that maximum Mana had now doubled from its original value of 100 to 200. Under the Creation menu, there appeared to be lists that could be selected for each Material and Blueprint type, and Dyes was its own Sub-Menu. To check what those would look like, he opened the list for Metals, followed by the Dyes Sub-Menu.
Metals: Steel (Rebar, Stainless), Aluminum, Copper, Tungsten
Dyes Full-Colour Palette Types: Ink (Standard, Gel), Paint Finishes: Iridescent, Matte, Semi-Gloss, Gloss, Primer
When John checked out the Full-Colour Palette, he was able to select any colour he wanted and adjust the colour¡¯s shade. He also saw there was a random option with bounds so that he could choose a completely random colour or a specific variation of colours. John had an intuitive understanding that this could be used both for Creatures, Loot, and other applications. Thinking over the changes to Absorb and Creation, he also knew that the efficiency would not allow him to gain Mana by creating and reabsorbing anything. John would simply gain back the Mana put into the Creation. Feeling slightly nervous about what he was about to do, he decided to start with what he felt was his most easily replaceable book, a dictionary. As he did so, a series of notifications popped up.
New Dungeon Ability, Codex, No Levels Description: Dungeon creates a Codex of all information absorbed Prerequisites: Absorb a source of knowledge. Subskills: ??? Research Points Needed: 0
Codex Entry Added: Dictionary
Codex: Dictionary Subskill Unlocked After Absorbing a Dictionary, Codex has gained the ability for you to concentrate on any known word in the Status or a Codex entry and receive definitions from the System.
Soul Space: Library Subskill Unlocked. Media added to the Codex will now be available in a more physical form in the Soul Space. At certain Soul Space levels, this Library itself will become a tangible space in the Soul Space.
Blueprint Unlocked: Media: Books
After seeing this, on a strong hunch, John decided to absorb a Thesaurus and an English-French Dictionary. A new set of notifications rewarded his suspicion.
Codex Entries Added: Thesaurus, English-French Dictionary
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Codex: Thesaurus Subskill Unlocked After Absorbing a Thesaurus, your Codex has gained the ability for you to concentrate on any known word in the Status or a Codex entry and receive known alternate and related terms from the System.
Codex: Translation Subskill Unlocked After Absorbing a source of Translations, your Codex has gained the ability to Translate any entries for which you have a Translation source. The System can Translate through multiple languages, but Translations may lose some clarity if they occur using numerous languages.
After this, John quickly absorbed the rest of his books, gaining a notification for a new Codex entry as each was incorporated. However, a couple of books gave him some extra bonuses. Mostly, they were books that were related to his Crafting Subskills that he had yet to unlock. Absorbing his old chemistry textbooks reduced his Chemistry research to 3 R.P., consuming a geology and geography textbook reduced Mineral Working to 4 R.P., and incorporating his recipe books reduced Cooking to 4 R.P. as well. He also received a notification that he had received some recipes for Chemistry, Alchemy, Smithing, Woodworking, and Cooking that would remain locked until he had Researched their respective Subskills. A further notification told John that by Researching a specific Codex entry for 1 R.P. each, he might unlock more bonuses, Recipes, or Blueprints. Following his flurry of absorbing all of his books, John again felt a sense of caution as he absorbed the first CD. He felt relief as he saw another set of notifications.
Codex Entry Added: Gorillaz - Self Titled Album
Codex: Audio Subskill Unlocked After Absorbing an Audio Source, your Codex has gained the ability to store and playback any Audio source you absorb.
Blueprint Unlocked: Media: CDs
John followed up this notification by absorbing the rest of his C.D.s, then setting up a playlist for himself, and another for what Gwen might like with her current musical tastes. He also began setting up another playlist, for when he felt ready to introduce to music that she wouldn¡¯t have a frame of reference for, coming from a different world. John felt much less hesitancy than before as he went to absorb his first DVD.
Codex Entry Added: Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy
Codex: Visual Subskill Unlocked After Absorbing a Visual Source, your Codex has gained the ability to store and playback any Visual source you absorb.
Blueprint Unlocked: Media: DVDs
John quickly moved through the process of absorbing all of his DVDs and Blu-Rays, feeling a sense of joy that his favourite shows, movies, and his music had not been taken from him by his new existence and that he would likely be able to share them with his new friend Gwen. She seemed to share his excitement about learning and experiencing new things. From the enthusiasm Gwen had shown before in the existence of comics, John felt that her mind would be blown at the presence of recorded music and films. He also felt that Lenny was also intelligent enough to enjoy these things, though John wasn¡¯t quite sure how he would bring them into the Dungeon proper. Following his absorption of the movies and T.V. shows, John moved on to his video games. He was much less worried about the potential loss because while he had always enjoyed them, John thought that he wouldn¡¯t have much time to play most of them anymore. While John could envision an hour or two breaks to watch a movie in his downtime, playing most video games had never been relaxing for him. However, he still felt relief as the video games were entered into the Codex as entries, and he received Blueprints for Cartridges under media. The Codex seemed to organize the games by the operating system, so he had a decent number of categories for Sony and Nintendo¡¯s most recent systems and the good old Super Nintendo. After finishing up with the video games, John moved on to what would be some of the hardest things to replace should Absorb not incorporate them into his patterns. While he was much less nervous about this than he had previously been, the System has shown itself to be pretty adaptable; there was still a hint of fear in his mind. Most of the collectables weren¡¯t valuable themselves, per se, but most of them held a substantial sentimental value to John. Some had been gifts from his parents before they had passed away, and some of them were things he had bee a fan of since he was a kid. Some of the items were a combination of both, and he loathed the risk of losing those. A more rational part of his mind told him that if he didn¡¯t Absorb them, there was a chance he would lose them anyway as others came through the Dungeon. However, if John gained their Blueprints, they would be available as long as he lived, close to eternity if his suspicions were correct. The first thing he tested was a poster that he had since his teenage years. While it had gotten a bit beat up in the intervening years, it had been a poster of one of his favourite bands, and the age of it alone made it hold sentimental value. As he absorbed it, he felt relief as he saw the Codex entry update, a new Blueprint appear for Posters and a notification that Patterns had been added under the Creation tab. When he took a quick look at it, distinctive art pieces or designs could be added under Patterns and could be used similarly to Dyes, though there would be restrictions on where they could be applied. For example, that band poster would not be usable as a Pattern on most Creatures¡¯ hides, though it might be acceptable in certain specific cases. Following that, John absorbed the other couple posters he had, and then followed it up with some art prints he had, unlocking the Print blueprint. Some of those he had been worried about losing because while some were popular pieces he had picked up for cheap, others were from more niche artists, and some of them had been inherited from his parents. The next couple of collectables John absorbed were some toys he had since he was a kid. A couple of Star Wars action figures he had got for Christmasses over the years gained him the Figure Blueprint in the Misc. category. A couple of Lego sets, which again got him a new Blueprint under Misc., followed by a couple of Mech and Car models John had built as a kid, which got him a Model Blueprint under Misc. He had some ideas about what he would be able to do with these if John gained some specific Abilities he knew of in some stories and was hoping to use them. As John didn¡¯t receive a Research notification upon his rumination, he was hopeful that it was already within the realm of possibility of standard Dungeon Abilities. Not just entirely out of luck with that idea. Finally, John moved on to the last collectable that he had put off absorbing. It wasn¡¯t as much that John was worried about losing these, just that it had been something he had thought about a lot ever since reading Jonathon Smidt¡¯s Bone Dungeon, and how the ideas in the stories could be iterated. It was one of the reasons John had been willing to become a Core. So, as he absorbed his first trading card, he could barely contain his excitement as a couple of notifications popped up.
Blueprint Unlocked: Media: Cards
Dungeon Research Unlocked Dungeon Cards (20 R.P.)
Dungeon Cards Description: Dungeon cards can be created upon the death of Creatures and Monsters in the Dungeon, and beyond if people have the right abilities. Research Cost: 20 R.P. Benefit Of Research: Creature and Monster Cards are available as Loot drops, and can be used in a variety of manners depending on further systems researched. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: ??? Dungeon Ability Unlocked: ???
John gave a mental yell of exuberance; the initial unlock after the Research sounded almost exactly like what he had been thinking of for his initial plan with cards. It took him only another split second to realize that his psychic yell hadn¡¯t been as unheard as yell inside a head usually was. Gwen bolted upright in her bed while Lenny gave a quick start before returning to his sleep. John offered a quick apology to Gwen, saying, ¡°Sorry, Gwen. I just got pretty excited about some research I unlocked.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem, John, I was pretty close to waking up myself. I was having the worst nightmare where all those books disappeared before I got a chance to read them.¡± As Gwen said this, she looked towards where her bag had been resting through the night. As Gwen noticed the orange ball of fluff where her bag should be, a pitiful ¡°Noooooooooo, it was real...¡± came from Gwen¡¯s mouth. ¡°Did you absorb all the books already?¡± Gwen said, a hurt expression on her face. ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t think it would be an issue, or I figured you would have brought it up in the Soul Space.¡± ¡°I thought you would only absorb one or two last night, not all of them in one night.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the problem is, I still have access to them, and you have access to my Soul Space.¡± ¡°Only when I¡¯m sleeping! Unless¡­¡± Gwen said as an embarrassed look, and a flush crept onto her face. ¡°Unless you invite my physical body into your Soul Space.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure why that would be a problem, you already have access to it,¡± John said with a hint of confusion in his voice. ¡°That¡¯s just my mind when I¡¯m sleeping. If I physically enter your Soul Space, it will cost you a decent amount of Mana at this stage of your growth, and it will be much more intimate.¡± ¡°Intimate how?¡± ¡°Well, last time I entered, it was more like my mind stopping over at a neighbour¡¯s house for a quick visit. When my body comes in, it would be more like my moving in with you. On top of that, our mental bond would be much deeper, leading to some of our thoughts crossing over. Depending on how long I stay in there, we might even see some of each other¡¯s memories.¡± ¡°I get how that is a bit uncomfortable, but I¡¯m okay with it if you are.¡± ¡°Are you sure about that? Really?¡± Gwen said, the embarrassed look still on her face, but now with undertones of warmth. ¡°Really. Even though we barely know each other, my impression has always been that you are a pleasant person. And while I have plenty of embarrassing and painful memories, I can¡¯t think of any that I would be truly ashamed of to have someone else see. Especially if that person is going to be my only friend and confidant for the foreseeable future. It will either bring us closer or drive us apart.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready if you are. Just will for me to be able to come into your Soul Space.¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done,¡± as John said that he watched Gwen suddenly disappear from his Dungeon. He was worried for half a second until he realized he could feel her presence somewhere between beside and inside of him. Though that thought barely made sense to John, he was soon distracted as the feeling of 200 mana being spent so quickly slammed into him. ¡°This is weird,¡± Gwen¡¯s voice said with a hint of a giggle as it almost echoed in John¡¯s mind, ¡°It¡¯s my first time physically entering someone¡¯s Soul Space.¡± ¡°Well, there should be some kind of Library that has those books you wanted to read. Stick to the books for now, though. There¡¯s something I want to surprise you with after I finish up out here.¡± ¡°Okay, let me know if you need anything.¡± ¡°Will do.¡± John still had some appliances, liquors, and his laptop left to absorb. Besides that, there was some food he had yet to touch, figuring that Gwen could eat some of it in the morning if she were hungry. Since it was morning, and Gwen didn¡¯t appear peckish, John absorbed all the food not currently in the refrigerator, getting some Blueprints under the Food category and some seeds, but no Recipes. He figured that must be because he hadn¡¯t unlocked the Cooking subskill and didn¡¯t know some of the recipes himself, with which Gwen¡¯s stray thoughts seemed to concur. And since Gwen was no longer in it, he absorbed the bed, blankets, and pillows, getting some more Blueprints. John then moved on to some of the appliances he had. The first to be absorbed was an electric can opener. John figured that in the worst case if this didn¡¯t work, he would still have the hand can opener tool, and he would leave the rest of the appliances in his Dungeon for now. However, he gained a new Blueprints category: Appliances, with the can opener as his first Blueprint in it. Along with the usual Notifications, John received another saying the can opener could be used in John¡¯s Soul Space. However, it wouldn¡¯t be usable in the Dungeon until either the Dungeon is supplied with electrical power or John Researched the Mana To Electrical Power Conversion. John got similar notifications as he absorbed the rest of the appliances. As John absorbed the laptop, another Notification that data on it was currently inaccessible even in the Soul Space until the Research is completed. Along with a notification for the Computers category of Blueprints. Absorbing his video game system after that gave a similar warning, along with more Blueprints to computers Giving his Status a quick check before going into his Soul Space, John saw that he now had a total of 250 mana. As he entered his Soul Space, he saw Gwen sitting cross-legged on the ground reading a Calvin & Hobbes book, as he had mentioned to her. While she didn¡¯t seem to be in any discomfort, John quickly manifested his armchair for her to sit. He could feel the thankfulness from her, and he willed himself another armchair into existence next to hers. As Gwen finished reading the section of the book she was in, she looked up at him with a smile. ¡°What¡¯s this surprise you have for me?¡± ¡°Just give me a sec, this will be so cool,¡± John said as he manifested his entertainment center. He then went to produce the T.V. that usually sat on it, when nothing happened. Right, his asshole of a brother had stolen the fucking T.V. 1.08 Gwen had been surprised at the anger she felt coming from John. But Gwen was almost as surprised at how quickly it left him again and replaced by a feeling of acceptance. The anger she had felt was almost like it was something lived in and familiar to John. Gwen could still sense an underlying feeling of frustration coming from him and a hint of grief. She reminded herself that just because John¡¯s world had allowed him to avoid direct conflict, for the most part, it didn¡¯t mean he had lived life trauma-free. As John turned towards her to apologize for the surprise being delayed slightly and exited the Soul Space for a short time, Gwen felt embarrassed once again. Not only had John seen some of her fantasies and was willing to possibly let her see some of his most intimate feelings, but she had also overlooked that she would be able to see things that had caused him pain. Gwen had initially assumed that his mostly peaceful world would have left John soft, but after coming here, she learned that he had lost his parents far younger than most, and something was going on with his brother. Besides that after joining his Soul Space, Gwen had seen some of his more profound thoughts about the perilous position his world was currently in, and that he might have the opportunity to help ease that burden on humanity or cause additional sources of conflict. Gwen¡¯s thoughts recovered from their morose direction as John appeared and waved his hand towards the box in front of them. A flat panel had appeared above the box and was emitting some kind of light. Suddenly sounds were coming from the screen along with words and images that were moving across the panel. ¡°What is happening?¡± Gwen said with a sense of wonder in her voice. ¡°It¡¯s called a film or a movie. This one is called Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Rings. The book it was based on was a foundation for many of the fantasy stories that would follow it. I figured watching it would be a good way for us to take a break, and help you understand where some of my ideas might come from.¡± John said. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± was all Gwen said, as a voice began narrating a story and was soon joined by images that matched the narration. Gwen watched the movie with rapt attention. She was glad for another reminder that although this world had been without magic until very recently, that didn¡¯t mean it was without its wonders for her to experience.
John had felt a familiar sense of anger and frustration when he realized that his brother¡¯s actions had ruined the surprise he had planned for Gwen. Well, likely not ruined, but at least delayed, as there was probably a T.V. or monitor he could use in Sorenson Station somewhere. As it happened, there were a couple of different options that John could eventually absorb and replace for more Blueprints, but for now, John would settle for the largest flatscreen T.V. found. Absorbing and returning the T.V. had cost a decent chunk of mana, and while he was at it, John figured he should absorb and replace one of the metal doors around the Station before anyone arrived in the morning and he wasn¡¯t able to. By doing so, John had gained the Doors and Locks Blueprint under Misc. As John went through the notifications for this, he noticed one he had previously missed when absorbing the Food and Appliances. John had unlocked a new Creation Tab for Plants. Under it was a list similar to Creatures, listing the type of plants he had acquired. It seemed that he hadn¡¯t gained Plants for the wood he had absorbed, only for full plants or seeds. Still, John had gained a decent amount, and they would be something else to add to the Dungeon. From the Pigeons and Crows Lenny had killed, and John had absorbed, John gained the Neoaves and Ipinoaves Creature categories, respectively. John figured he might as well bring up their descriptions while waiting for the T.V. to be absorbed and recreated.
Neoaves Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Pigeons, ??? Abilities: Panoramic Vision, Flight (Wings), Gliding, Homing (Pigeons, ???), Magnetic Field Sense (Pigeons, ???), Migration, ??? Cost: 2-10 Mana
Ipinoaves Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Crows, ??? Abilities: Binocular Vision, Flight (Wings), Gliding, Sharp Beak, Advanced Tool Use (Crows), Advanced Intelligence (Crows, ???), Migration, ??? Cost: 2-10 Mana
It looked like he received some abilities from both the Pigeon and Crow that could be useful in the future once he could research them. That would have to wait a couple of days until he could complete the Research, so as the recreation process finished up, he hurried back to his Soul Space to watch the movie with Gwen. He was glad to see his earlier assumptions were correct by how enraptured Gwen had been while watching the film with him, and upon the movie finishing, he felt a sense of satisfaction. Gwen looked like she was about to ask him a question when surprise crossed her face. John was about to ask her what it was about when he noticed a couple of notifications waiting for him.
Research: Active Research Subskill Unlocked By actively viewing and comprehending a viable Research Subject, you have unlocked the Active Research Subskill. Active Research allows the Research from a Codex entry or other tangible source to be obtained by actively reading or viewing the source material, rather than spending Research Point(s) on the Research. Dungeon Companions may also participate in Active Research and may unlock different benefits from the Research, both for themselves and the Dungeon.
Research Completed Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Rings (Movie); John and Gwen Unlocked: Legendary Monsters (50 R.P.), Anduril Blueprint, Sting Blueprint, Magic Ring Blueprint, Enchanting R.P. Reduced (9 R.P.)
¡°Did you get a notification for completing Research, Gwen?¡± John said. ¡°Yeah, I was pretty surprised by that. It let me know what had been unlocked by us watching that movie.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to know that we can spend our downtime enjoying ourselves and improving the Dungeon if we choose to. I¡¯m going to set up a couple of other things in the Soul Space before heading back into the Dungeon.¡± ¡°Okay, I am going to finish up that Calvin and Hobbes book.¡± John gave a quick look over the Blueprints he had received, and it appeared that while he could adjust the materials used and their colours, he wouldn¡¯t be able to adapt their shape or enchantments until he had unlocked the Smithing and Enchanting Subskills. John then set up a couple of makeshift rooms with furniture and beds for him and Gwen, along with a dining room and kitchen. As he finished placing the items and appliances in the kitchen, he got another notification. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Crafting Station Blueprint Created: Cooking Research: Cooking Subskill Cost Reduced (3 R.P.)
Taking a quick look at the Blueprint, John saw that once he was able to power the appliances, he would be able to place it in the Dungeon, and users up to the Apprentice levels in the cooking craft would get a boost to their experience gains. Beyond Apprentice, it was just a useful area for artisans to do their work. As John was about to return to the Dungeon, he thought of a question he had for Gwen. ¡°Hey, Gwen, after I finish up the First Room and Entrance, I¡¯m going to start work on the Dungeon¡¯s first floor. Do I need to design the Dungeon about eventually not going too deep below the Earth¡¯s surface?¡± ¡°No, when you begin to start your first floor, a Dungeon Portal will form a pocket dimension that contains your Dungeon. The First Room and Entrance are only physical because they essentially form the transition from your Domain to your Dungeon and anchor your pocket dimension¡¯s location.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m pretty sure I understand what you¡¯re saying. I¡¯m assuming the pocket dimension is to avoid any geological complications and prevent invaders from simply digging their way through to my Core?¡± ¡°Yes, that covers most of the reasons.¡± ¡°Okay, see you in a while, Gwen.¡± ¡°Later.¡± John returned to the Dungeon, relieved that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the variety of issues that could pop up if his Dungeon was physically present on Earth besides the Entrance and First Room. He set up the First Room as a kind of large reception room with couches and chairs for people to sit in while they wait and a desk that would allow people a focal point for organizing. He would add some other amenities to the Room as he unlocked more Blueprints and capabilities, but figured what he had was good enough for now. John also added a railing and bit of texture to the ramp, thinking it wasn¡¯t quite steep enough to require stairs, but it should still have some features to help people avoid slipping. After finishing up with the furniture, John applied a dark red and black opal colour scheme to the Room, along with light pink and silver highlights. The red represented Red Deer, the pastel pink for Alberta¡¯s Wild Rose flower, the opalescent black representing his Core, and the silver because it complemented the other colours. John didn¡¯t open his entrance or put a door in for it yet, feeling that having an entry appear in the middle of a wall during daylight would be a bit too much of an attention grabber. Instead, he took a short break to watch what was going on in his Domain. As people entered his Domain, John could feel a bit of mana leaving and joining them, before mana with a bit of ¡°flavour¡± to it returned to him. The mana returning appeared more abundant in some way, so he gained more than he was losing, increasing his regeneration rate while people were in his Domain. John had an intuitive knowledge that this process would increase when people were in his Dungeon proper and that both the mana leaving and the mana returning to him would increase. He didn¡¯t notice anyone acting surprised or weird in reaction to anything invisible, so he figured that the mana saturation must not entirely be high enough yet for anyone else to get the System. After finishing up his quick break, John decided to begin work on his first floor. As he began to create an Entrance to the Dungeon proper at the opposite end of his First Room from the entrance ramp, he could feel a shift in energy. The energy formed a kind of barrier to his pocket dimension, where John could set the number of people allowed in a time. He felt that this barrier¡¯s full functionality was not yet present and had a feeling that Research and Abilities would give him a more delicate sense of control over it. As John began excavating past the barrier using Absorb, he could sense that ground was not being removed from his Domain, though that would be possible if he wanted to dig out more physical space. Instead, the material removed was from a dimension adjacent to Earth¡¯s, his pocket dimension that was the Dungeon. John also felt that Absorb was no longer necessary to use now that the pocket dimension had formed, and that he would be able to create rooms and a floorplan and bring them into being through Creation. Absorb would be used in the Dungeon to Absorb external objects and materials brought into his Dungeon, as long as another wasn¡¯t handling it. John then began designing his first floor. He didn¡¯t want to make it overly complicated, because this would be the first Dungeon anyone on his world had gone into, and plenty of people would like to explore it. John decided on a straight five-Room chain with a sixth Room as a Boss Room after it for his initial design. Each Room would be approximately 100m long by 30m wide, though he gave them varied ovoidal shapes with various topography shifts, with the broader end of the ovoid being the entrance side. The Boss Room itself was smaller than the other rooms, a 50m long by 30m long ellipsoid. He wasn¡¯t overly concerned about anyone trying to kill him yet, and he could ramp up the difficulty on later floors to prevent people from gaining access to him. John also decided that there wasn¡¯t any point in placing Traps yet, as the plan was to pick up the Trap Creation Subskill soon, and there wasn¡¯t much point in working on Traps until it was acquired. John decided to create a couple of each kind of Creature he had and spread them out among the rooms. The Boss Room would be saved for the first Monster acquired or created, and it would probably be the first actual challenge for anyone exploring his Dungeon. He wasn¡¯t precisely unsatisfied with his Dungeon created Creatures, though they were only around twice the natural animal¡¯s size. John guessed that the creatures were designed to be a lower challenge and mostly used for environmental purposes later on. On the other hand, if all Creatures followed a similar size increase, some animals like Bears or Wolves would pose a decent amount of threat even as Dungeon Creatures. As John finished up with the layout of the rooms for the first floor of his Dungeon, he began thinking of what aesthetic he should be using. Caves weren¡¯t very common in the area due to the local geologic formations until you got into mountain ranges or valleys. So would use a combination of forest and grassland rooms for the first couple rooms, shifting towards a mountainous terrain for the later rooms, with a cave-like room for the boss room. Since the only trees, John currently had were fruit-bearing, he would send Lenny out to collect some seeds of the local non-food related trees and some of the local grass and shrubs. Since Red Deer City Hall Park was across the street, John also figured he should get Lenny to pick up some flowers while collecting the other plants. When John checked the time to see if it would be easy for him to place the door to the entrance and let Lenny out, he was surprised to discover that it was past midnight. Which meant that John had 2 R.P. that he could now spend. As John placed a door and allowed Lenny to make his way out to collect plants and materials, John placed one Point into the Trap Creation subskill and one Point into the Mana - General Research. As he put the Point into Mana - General, he felt that his choice was somehow locked in and that his next Point gained would automatically go into this Research. John could still use his Active Research ability on other available Research that he had the Resources for, but his passive Research was now locked in until it was completed. It was something John would need to be mindful of in the future because if new Research came up that he wanted to prioritize, John would have to finish any Research he had started before getting to it. As John finished that thought, he brought up the notifications that had appeared as he completed the previous Research.
Soul Space Level Up, Current Level 5 Absorb Level Up, Current Level 11 Creation Level Up, Current Level 13 Research Level Up, Current Level 3 (+1 R.P./day) Domain Level Up, Current Level 3
Creation: Trap Creation Subskill Unlocked By Researching the Trap Creation Subskill, you have unlocked the basic Trap Blueprints, unlocking the most simple mechanical Traps for placement and modification. These Traps will now automatically reset once the Dungeon has no invaders in it. New Research Available: Advanced Trapmaking (10 R.P.)
Research Completed Calvin and Hobbes (Book); Gwen Unlocked: Images Unlocked for use in Dye Patterns, Legendary Monster Templates added.
As John finished up with these notifications, he decided to pull up his Status and Research menu to see what he had unlocked and changed. He noticed that another category had been added, an In Progress listing, and that the Available Research had been organized by their current cost.
Name: John MacIntire Race: Core Title: The Inquisitive Health: 100/100 Mana: 250/250 Research: 0 RP (+3 RP/Day) Skills: Negotiator 21 Abilities: Absorb 11, Creation 13, Research 3, Soul Space 5, Domain 3, Crafting 1 Titles: The Inquisitive, The Negotiator Achievements: Inquisitive Mind, Let¡¯s Make A Deal
Research In Progress: Mana - General (1/2 RP) Completed Research: Creation Ability, Blueprints, Leatherworking, Trap Creation Available Research: Cooking (3 R.P.), Chemistry (3 R.P.), Mineral Working (4 R.P.), Interdimensional Internet Connection (5 R.P.), Mana To Electrical Power Conversion (5 R.P.), Smithing (5 R.P.), Woodworking (5 R.P.), Clothemaking (5 R.P.), Papercrafts (5 R.P.), Glass Crafts (5 R.P.), Clayworking (5 R.P.), Enchanting (9 R.P.), Alchemy (10 R.P.), Creature Customization (10 R.P.), Advanced Trap Creation (10 R.P.), Dungeon Cards (20 R.P.), Legendary Monsters (50 R.P.)
John began placing a couple of the most basic Traps in each Dungeon Room. The Traps seemed designed to injure and immobilize rather than kill and were Pit Traps, Floor Spike Traps, and Bear Traps. As his creatures passed over them, the Traps did not activate, though he would have to see if this would change if a Creature and in Invader were both occupying the Trap¡¯s activation space. As John finished placing the Traps, he noticed the time was just past 2 A.M. To his surprise, John saw a figure passing through the door that Lenny had used to exit the Dungeon. And, as he focused on that figure, he realized that it was his brother Jake to his much greater surprise. 1.09 Jake had been having a great day. He had managed to get a decent chunk of change at the pawnshop, and his favourite dealer had halved the debt from Jake ripping him off the last couple of times. Jake didn¡¯t have any money left from requisitioning his brother¡¯s T.V., but there was some pony in his pocket, and now Jake was practically debt-free. He¡¯d just found a door unlocked by the bus station, and it appeared to lead to some new basement area beneath the station. Jake figured that was just more of his hot streak coming into play because while this area wasn¡¯t the fanciest place he had ever snuck into for a night, it looked relatively comfortable, was clean, and had comfy couches on which he could lie down. As Jake prepped the needle and tied off his arm, a hint of guilt crept into his conscience. His brother had let him stay over again after pulling some similar stunts the last time John had opened his house up to Jake. His brother did have a decent paying job, but that didn¡¯t mean that Jake taking the T.V. and pawning it wouldn¡¯t cause him a bit of a headache. And as much as Jake appreciated what John had done for him, ever since their parents had passed, Jake had had many more problems controlling his impulses and had backslid into addiction. He knew of one cure for a guilty conscience, though, and felt a sense of irony as he moved the needle towards his veins. He felt a sense of bliss for a couple of seconds before his blood suddenly felt like it had fire spreading out from the injection point, and his body began to convulse, and his vision went black.
John felt annoyed as his brother made his way down into his first Room. And from the way he was behaving, it looked like Jake had pawned John¡¯s T.V. and used it to score some drugs. John knew you couldn¡¯t altogether blame an addict for their behaviour, but that doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t upsetting to watch them after they had negatively affected you somehow. Watching his brother prepping the needle and tie off his arm was incredibly frustrating, knowing that Jake had abused John¡¯s trust and stolen from him only to end up feeding his habit. However, the sense of anger and frustration was quickly morphing into a desperate sense of fear and horror as he watched Jake¡¯s reaction shortly after the drugs entered his body. John frantically began trying to absorb the needle, the drugs entering his brother¡¯s veins, even the blood itself, as his brother¡¯s body convulsed with some apparent adverse reaction to whatever was in the needle. However, his new life¡¯s rules wouldn¡¯t allow him to affect anything attached to or directly related to his brother. John let out an anguished howl as he watched the convulsions on his brother¡¯s body begin to slow. He felt a sense of reassurance trying to come across Gwen¡¯s connection, but it did little to calm his growing rage.
Gwen had been reading through The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Rings. It was a different experience reading the book after watching a film, and she figured the experience would be similar if she read a novel after seeing a play based on it. However, costs would have made that idea expensive back on Urth, and most people wouldn¡¯t want to spend the money on a book after seeing a play. She found the experience different than reading most other books, as she had an idea of what the characters should look like that had been influenced by the film. She was also interested in how viewing other movies or the T.V. shows John had mentioned would be affected when they shared the same actors. It was also interesting seeing what had been removed from the book while making the movie. John had mentioned that he was glad that Tom Bombadil had been removed from the film due to how tonally different he was, but Gwen thought it would have been fun to watch him sing his songs. As Gwen read about The Fellowship¡¯s trip through Moria, she felt someone enter the Dungeon. A sense of excitement began to grow in her as the Dungeon was about to have its first adventurer. She was slightly confused by the sense of annoyance she felt coming from John, though she figured it must be because he thought the Dungeon wasn¡¯t ready yet. Weirdly, the person stopped inside the First Room and didn¡¯t appear to intend to enter the Dungeon itself. They then pulled out some kind of cylinder that seemed to break their skin, after which they seemed to have some type of adverse reaction. This series of events seemed extremely upsetting to John, probably because it looked like this could be the first person to die in his Dungeon. Gwen tried to send a sense of reassurance to John, but it didn¡¯t seem to have that much of an effect on him. She could sense a growing sense of rage coming from John. Deciding that he would likely need her support soon, Gwen decided that she would bring her consciousness into John¡¯s perspective to give him support, though her body would remain in the Soul Space for now.
John felt the sense of reassurance coming from Gwen shift into more active thoughts, and he realized that her presence was now alongside his consciousness. It wasn¡¯t taking away any of his anger, but the fact that she was there for him helped him not wholly spiral out of control, though his emotions were very close to overtaking his more rational side. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Gwen¡¯s voice sounded in his mind, saying, ¡°I know this must be hard, John, but some people will die in your Dungeon.¡± ¡°I understood the possibility, but that¡¯s my fucking brother, and I can¡¯t do anything!¡± John said with a significant amount of anger coming through his voice. He knew Gwen meant well, but platitudes wouldn¡¯t do much good in this situation. ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m sorry, John. I didn¡¯t realize why you were so upset.¡± Gwen said, the regret about the situation evident in both her voice and feelings. ¡°I understand, this situation is not your fault. It¡¯s always something I knew could happen, but I didn¡¯t think that I would have to sit by, watch, and do nothing if it happened in front of me.¡± John was sure that his frustration and building sorrow was evident to Gwen. As he finished saying this to Gwen, John felt a rush of mana enter him, completely replenishing and expanding his mana supply. John realized that this must be due to his brother finally passing, and his sense of despair grew. However, he felt something else begin to pass through him and had an intuitive knowledge that this was his brother¡¯s soul. Something about his brother¡¯s very soul being taken away from John caused his anger to resurface, and he began fighting the process. John could feel a tension building, and as it began to reach a final swell, John let off a yell, saying, ¡°Fuck you, he¡¯s my brother!¡± There was a flash of white, and John was once again facing Mahaytar, who had a droll smile across Tom Holland¡¯s visage. ¡°John, it¡¯s been a long time, two whole days, I believe? Most people go whole lifetimes without running into Gods or Administrators.¡± John wasn¡¯t sure why he was back in an extradimensional realm, much less what he had done to summon Mahaytar. He directed a confused look towards Mahaytar, who responded by saying, ¡°You have another choice to make John.¡± ¡°What is it this time?¡± ¡°You have a choice to make about Souls, including your brothers. Your world does not currently have a Soul Repository, so anyone who dies in it will be sent directly to their afterlife or brought into the multiverse for reincarnation. So none who dies on your world has any way of being resurrected or reincarnated in this world. You have shown the ability to hold onto Souls, so you would be eligible to become your World¡¯s Soul Repository, which would be a significant responsibility. You would gain some new abilities, though, and I will grant you another Boon.¡± ¡°How important is this job; what are my responsibilities, and is there a danger to it?¡± ¡°It is not extremely important in and of itself, and one will eventually develop. However, until one develops, your world will not be able to link to souls already in the afterlife. Communication will still be available though it will be much harder, and only the quickest forms of resurrection will be available. Summoning spirits from the afterlife and most forms of reincarnation will not be available, along with it being much harder for souls from other parts of the multiverse to migrate to your world.¡± Mahaytar pause led for a second, and a considering look crossed his face. ¡°You will not have any personal responsibilities, though to get some opportunities, you may take on certain responsibilities. For example, if you act as a kind of Purgatory and try to help Souls cleanse some of their sins before moving on, you will gain access to them as a kind of workforce. You may also gain some Souls as permanent residents if you choose to act as a kind of afterlife. However, you would then have to deal with some Souls who have unsavoury personalities as you try to reform them. As to the danger this would put you in; currently, it would be almost no danger. In the long run, it may gain you the attention of certain malicious entities. However, simply growing in strength as a Dungeon would also eventually attract these entities¡¯ attention so that you wouldn¡¯t be taking on any extra danger.¡± ¡°So essentially, accepting this request wouldn¡¯t cause any undue burdens, would give me more opportunities, and allow me to stay connected to my brother? This offer sounds a bit too good to be true.¡± John said with a significant amount of suspicion in his voice. ¡°Well, you had to have a powerful desire related to Souls to be considered for this, and you did just have some horrible luck over the past couple of days. Consider it the System correcting your Karmic balance or something.¡± ¡°Okay, sounds good. Now about my Boon. I know that going through my Dungeon is eventually going to become a hazardous proposition. However, if possible, I would like to avoid permanently killing people, except on cases of those who are truly evil, commit heinous crimes, or wish to do me or those close to me harm. So I would like to request some kind of Checkpoint system. Before someone enters into my Dungeon proper, they would have to use this Checkpoint. This Checkpoint would register them as they were before entering the Dungeon and would allow them to return as they were before entering the Dungeon if they perish in it. The System would result in a net gain in mana for me, but I would get less mana than if my Dungeon completely consumed the person.¡± ¡°Another pragmatic request that will increase the abilities of society at large and generally increase the good in the world by giving non-evil people more opportunities for strength. I should be able to set something up. Again, remember that this System will likely be available for other Dungeons on your world and eventually possibly for other Dungeons in the multiverse.¡± Mahaytar said while his droll smile became more approving.¡± ¡°It only seems fair.¡± ¡°Okay, I likely won¡¯t see you again for a long while, so good luck John,¡± Mahaytar said as he began to fade out of view, and the white expanse faded towards a black. 1.10 George had been experiencing a roller coaster of emotions throughout the day. It had started with excitement when a blue screen popped up in front of his face this morning as he woke up. George had been a nerd since his birth in 1970, starting with fantasy books and D&D, and had kept up with most of the trends in nerd culture continuing to this day. As he remembered some of the apocalyptical stories that followed the introduction of a System to Earth, though, his mood took a pretty big swing into anxiety. After waiting a few minutes after the message welcoming him to the System and not receiving a warning about any grace period or extreme danger coming to his world, George decided to be a bit optimistic and hope this was just some paradigm change. He knew his wife Karen could sense his turmoil, but he chose not to share what he was seeing because she had yet to mention anything about blue screens, and George wasn''t entirely sure that what he was seeing wasn''t some wishful hallucination. Either way, he still had work that day, so he might as well get started on his morning routine. As he had breakfast and went for his morning shower, he tried thinking Status and was surprised when one appeared in front of his face.
Name: Georges "George" LaFleur Race: Human Level: Total 10, Class 0, Profession 0, Character 10 Title: None Stats: 10 STR, 10 DEX, 9 CON, 10 INT, 11 WIS, 9 CHR Health: 100 Mana: 50 Stamina: 45 Classes: ??? Professions: ??? Skills: N/A Abilities: N/A Titles: N/A Achievements: N/A
George was happy to see that his race was defined as human. Both as a bit of confirmation that he wasn''t some species of alien and because he didn''t want to think what conflicts and beliefs could arrive by some foolish people seeing their "race" more concretely defined than just basic human. By focusing on some of his stat sheet areas, he could bring up tooltips about the different parts.
Level Total Level is the sum of your Class, Profession, and Character Levels. Class and Profession Level is determined by the sum of all skill levels related to the Class or Profession, divided by 10. Character Level is the average of your three highest stats. An average adult without the System would therefore have a Character Level of 10, as 10 is the Stat value for an average adult without the System. Class and Profession Level give a measure of your general skill and ability, Character Level shows your overall Strength, and Total Level gives your relative skill and Strength.
Strength Relatively straight forward, a measure of Strength. The user''s Strength affects physical damage, Total Health, Total Stamina, Total Mana to a lesser extent, and lifting/carrying weight. It is improved by physical exertion, especially those related to using Strength.
Dexterity Dexterity is a measure of someone''s general physical coordination. The user''s Dexterity affects accuracy, precision, speed, Total Stamina, and Total Health and Mana to a lesser extent. It is improved by physical exertion and doing dexterous activities.
ConstitutionLove what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Constitution is a measure of someone''s overall capacity and health. The user''s Constitution affects Total Health to a great extent. Total Stamina to a major extent, Total Mana, Health and Stamina Regen Rate to a great extent, and ability to resist physical debuffs and damage. It is improved by physical exertion, especially those related to increasing your Constitution.
Intelligence Intelligence is a measure of someone''s general knowledge and capacity to learn. The user''s intelligence affects Total Health and Stamina to a lesser extent, Total Mana to a major extent, Health and Stamina Regen Rate to a lesser extent, Mana Regen Rate, learning speed, and spell Strength. Improved by mental activity (learning, puzzle-solving, etc.)
Wisdom Wisdom is a measure of someone''s abilities to make the right decisions in a given situation. The user''s Wisdom affects Total Mana, Mana Regen Rate to a major extent, Magical Debuff Resistance, Mental Debuff Resistance, and skill effectiveness. It is improved by all kinds of experiences, but mostly by seeing the right decisions in action.
Charisma Charisma is a more esoteric measure of someone''s ability to garner respect. It does not guarantee that people will always do what you want. Or that they will believe you, but makes them more likely to listen to you and your opinions. It helps to decrease any incoming magical damage. It also gives slight improvements to all other areas. It is improved by interacting with others and magic.
Health Health is a general measure of how healthy someone is. Health appears as a red bar. Better analysis skills make the bar more accurate.
Stamina Stamina is a general measure of how much physical exertion someone can do. Stamina appears as a green bar. Better analysis skills make the bar more accurate.
Mana A general measure of how much magical energy someone has to use. Mana appears as a blue bar. Better analysis skills make the bar more accurate.
Classes Classes are unlocked by getting one of the skills related to them. More advanced/rarer Classes may require the user to get a specific Skill or Skills to unlock it, or need to have "base" Class(es) unlocked and levelled first. They give knowledge of other skills in their "tree" (up to one Level above current known skills, and base skills). When a Class is equipped, it increases the speed at which Class Skills are learned. Classes also give access to class abilities. Class Level is determined by the sum of all Skill Levels of class skills, divided by 10. Every class level provides an Ability point, and every 5 Class levels unlock a passive Ability.
Professions Similar to Classes, but for non-martial skills and abilities.
Skills Lets the user know their current Skill Levels and what Skills they have. At certain mastery levels, the skills may gain bonuses for the user. Generally, these are the more passive aspect when compared to abilities.
Abilities Abilities are actions that allow the users to perform the stated action in a manner much faster than they usually would be (even to a physically impossible degree). Or Abilities may add an effect that the user usually wouldn''t be able to do with their current skills or techniques or improve that effect more than usual. However, Abilities have a cooldown time, and sometimes an activation time attached to them. Any Class Ability can be used with normal activation and cooldowns. Only a certain number of outside class abilities may be slotted at a time (affected by stats, classes known, abilities, skills, etc.). Any non-slotted Ability can still be used, but with a more prolonged activation and cooldown period.
George tried to see his Skills but was told that the System had yet to see any of his Skills in action enough to rate them appropriately. He was also informed that due to this, he also would not be able to select any Classes or Professions yet, but they would be available once his Skills were evaluated. He also learned that one Class and one Profession could be equipped at a time. Classes and Professions can only be switched once per day, but there was no limit to the number of Classes or Professions that could be obtained. However, the Class or Profession level would only be unlocked or updated once it was equipped, so there would have to be some planning involved when switching Classes or Professions, as each Class and Profession gave their unique benefits and abilities. George was pretty excited to see what the rest of the day would bring, as he figured that doing his job as a Bus Driver would allow the System to evaluate some of his Skills and unlock some Classes and Professions for him. George had an inkling that even possessing the System was going to improve his life in a couple of ways. 1.11 John needed a bit of time to process what had happened once he returned to his Soul Space. The emotional strain of watching his brother die, followed by finding out that he could get him back, was quite severe. John would also be taking on a new set of responsibilities that would affect people¡¯s very souls, which was also quite stressful. With the mood John was in, John felt he could use a bit of emotional catharsis, so he cued up a playlist with some of the songs he usually listened to when in a sombre mood. The playlist included some of what John felt was some of the best songs for this, including Light by The Dear Hunter, We All Try by Frank Ocean, and Sleeping Sickness (ft. Gord Downie) by City And Colour. John then conjured up a bed so he could lay down and try to relax, and as he flopped down on his back on the bed, he felt another weight hit the mattress beside him. Feeling a sense of reassurance and support coming from Gwen, he felt her hand intertwine with his, and her head moved to rest on his shoulder as The Grace (ft. Dallas Green) by Neverending White Lights began to play. Knowing he was supported and in a safe place, John allowed some tears to start to well in his eyes.
Lenny was pretty excited. It was his first time getting to explore without someone directly supervising him. He would do his best to remember the things John had taught him and do his best to make John proud. John had asked him to gather some of the local trees and flowers specifically, but he would grab any other plants he came across that John did not yet have the patterns for yet. Lenny also figured that John wouldn¡¯t begrudge him a quick exploration of John¡¯s Domain¡¯s area and a bit beyond. While he was wandering around, he spotted a mural with a guy wearing a black and grey suit with a bat on his chest, and another guy in a red and blue suit swinging on what looked like a strand of spider¡¯s web. They looked really cool, so Lenny made a mental note to ask John about them later. As he looked in the shop window of the building the mural was on, Lenny¡¯s eyes widened with excitement. There was some kind of turtle waving around some sticks like how he waved those crows around. A word came to his mind, almost as if it was a divine revelation: nunchucks. Nunchucks! He would have to ask John about these holy sticks, and who this divine being wielding them was. Lenn knew he would have to train hard to wield these sticks with the confidence and flair that this godly turtle did. He could probably get John to make him some even! If Lenny was going to be able to keep such cool things away from thieving hands that wander through the Dungeon, he was going to have to get John to make him a private area. He¡¯d need some kind of house. Lenny really should have asked John before he left, because if someone found the Dungeon, Lenny didn¡¯t want to have to try and hide in a dark corner while he tried to get some sleep. Lenny needed a house, but he wanted to make sure it was something he earned, so he would have to do a good job and get some useful plants for John. If he did an excellent job, maybe he could get John to build him a dojo to get some awesome training with nunchucks! Nunchucks, what a benevolent God that had made them. Lenny would have to dedicate a shrine if he got that dojo.
While John wasn¡¯t entirely at a normal emotional level after a half-hour of listening to music, he felt better. He would be able to get back to work, though he was hesitant to leave the bed. Gwen¡¯s presence beside him had been quite comforting, and John appreciated the thought behind the gesture. He should probably check the notifications he had received and get to work on what had been unlocked from that. However, before he got started on that, he wanted to show his appreciation for Gwen. ¡°Hey, Gwen, I¡¯m just about ready to get back to work.¡± ¡°Okay. I liked the music, there were instruments I didn¡¯t recognize, and those songs¡¯ tone was sad, but they were still pretty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it, I made a playlist of songs that I thought you might like, I forgot to mention it to you before.¡± ¡°Thanks, John, that should be good. I¡¯ll listen while I¡¯m doing some reading.¡± ¡°Before I get back to work, is there anything else you need?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I can¡¯t think of anything. I¡¯ll be okay.¡± John could sense that Gwen was a bit embarrassed that he was showing concern over her. He got the sense that Fairies generally saw themselves in more of a support role to the Dungeon, rather than a full-fledged partner. ¡°How would you like an area that would kind of be your own room? I can also set something that would be for reading and studying.¡± ¡°That would be nice, but it¡¯s not necessary.¡± As Gwen said this, John could feel a sense of appreciation coming from her joining her embarrassment. ¡°Gwen, you were just there for me in one of the worst moments in my life. I want to do something to show my appreciation.¡± ¡°Okay. I think the study area will be more useful, and I don¡¯t need a bed of my own, so if you just set up an area where I can store some things, that would be nice.¡± John had felt that Gwen¡¯s embarrassment had grown when she mentioned the bed, though he wasn¡¯t sure why. He got to work setting up some comfortable chairs and a couple desks and study supplies, and he felt that he had unlocked something new. He should probably start going through the notifications he had unlocked.
Humanoids unlocked for use in Monster Templates.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. John had seen these templates mentioned a couple of times now. And he wasn¡¯t exactly sure what it was. So he used his dictionary function to get a definition.
Templates For unlocking specific known kinds of Monsters, Templates are created. They have requirements listed on them, and once the requirements are fulfilled, that Monster can then be made in the Dungeon.
John was interested in what kinds of templates he had unlocked, but he figured he wouldn¡¯t be able to use most of them until he had done more Research. He remembered that he had unlocked some Templates for Legendary Monsters and wondered precisely what Legendary Monsters are, so he brought up the research description.
Legendary Monsters Description: Allows monsters from legends, mythology, and stories to be unlocked in the Dungeon. Monsters may require other prerequisites to be unlocked. Legendary Monsters conform to the source they are known from, giving them unique skills and abilities, as well as defined weaknesses. Research Cost: 50 R.P. Benefit Of Research: Legendary Monster type available in Dungeon.
After reading the Research description and gaining a bit of intuitive knowledge, John learned two things. One was that some Legendary Monsters would be available as standard or rare Monster spawns in the Dungeon; others would only be available for use as Bosses due to their inherent strength. John then continued looking through the other notifications he had received.
Materials: Science Materials: Bleach Blueprints: Tools: Hypodermic Needle, Syringe Poisons/Medicines: Opiates Misc: Research Station, Wallet
John felt a flash of anger as he read through the materials he had received, as someone must have set his brother up to take a hot-shot. While he understood that Jake had likely done many things to that person to piss them off, it was likely that what Jake had done didn¡¯t warrant his murder. John would ask Jake about that shortly, along with how Jake had his wallet, which John hadn¡¯t even noticed was missing until now. John gave a quick look over the Blueprints he had received to see how useful they would be. Apparently, the Research Station was for what he built in the Soul Space and would give a bonus to Research efficiency, how many benefits can be unlocked, and the amount of energy drained by doing Research. The wallet was not just a standard wallet; from now on, any wallets created by the Dungeon would link to the owner¡¯s System and allow them to register their funds with the System itself. John was surprised by this function since other storage items had not unlocked any Bag of Holding type functionality. However, he figured that this function type must be locked behind further upgrades to Abilities or Research. Finishing up with the Blueprints, John moved on to the abilities he had unlocked.
Checkpoints Description: Saves the current Status of an Adventurer going into a Dungeon. Any full levels to Skills or Stat Points gained will be saved if the adventurer passes away in the Dungeon. Progress to the next level or improvement above the original progress registered that does not reach a full level will be converted into Dungeon mana. Items carried will be lost, but can be retrieved by giving the Dungeon mana in exchange for them. Prerequisites: Boon of a God or Administrator, or unlocked through Research. Subskills: Dungeon Trading 25 R.P. Research Points Needed: 0 (25) R.P.
Dungeon Banking & Credit Description: Allows the Dungeon to act as a bank and creditor, both for money and items. Prerequisites: Access to a bank account Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
Soul Repository Description: The Dungeon becomes available as a Soul Repository where souls may stopover on their journey to the afterlife or reincarnation. The Dungeon may also act as a purgatory, where souls may work to be absolved of their transgressions during life. Souls in the repository are available to become Dungeon Companions, NPCs, or Monster Spirits. Prerequisites: Must be granted by a God or Administrator, and must have an affinity for souls. Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
John gained an understanding that the Dungeon Banking feature was tied to the Checkpoints and that now for someone to activate and enter the Dungeon Portal, they would need to put their hand on the pedestal that spawned. The person entering the Dungeon proper would then be given a notification about the effects of the Checkpoint, and further uses would notify them of the changes since the last time they had used it. When they used the Checkpoint, John would receive a notification about the person¡¯s intention towards the Dungeon if they were negative and if any Gods or Administrators had damned them for their actions. These actions had to be extremely severe, and the System itself had to sanction the damnation, and the Checkpoint system would not respawn the user if they had been damned. Looking through the Soul Repository Ability, John was able to glean the meaning of what the different aspects of the Ability entailed. If a soul wanted to become a Dungeon Companion and John approved of them becoming a companion, the Dungeon would essentially become an afterlife for that Soul. They would become permanent residents of the Dungeon until the Dungeon was destroyed or the Dungeon and they decided to mutually part ways. As permanent residents, these Souls would also perform the other two duties, which were also available to Souls that chose to serve the Dungeon if it acted as their purgatory. The NPC term was adopted from John¡¯s knowledge of videogames and RPGs and are non-combat roles around the Dungeon and Domain, such as quest givers, attendants, shopkeepers, and crafters for any facilities that John created in his Domain. Monster Spirits was when the Soul would take over a powerful Monster or Boss in the Dungeon to give that Monster more autonomy and therefore make fights more varied and exciting. As John finished checking on his new abilities, Lenny arrived back in the Dungeon, cheeks and arms fully loaded with an abundance of seeds, flowers, and miscellaneous items. Lenny put them in the corner and spit out a giant glob of them beside the pile that had been in his arms. He looked towards John and seemed to practically vibrate with pride and excitement as he gave a V for Victory pose towards John. Stats As Of 1.11
Name: John MacIntire Race: Core Title: The Inquisitive Health: 100/100 Mana: 350/350 Research: 0 RP (+3 RP/Day) Skills: Negotiator 21 Abilities: Absorb 11, Creation 13, Research 3, Soul Space 5, Domain 3, Crafting 1, Codex, Checkpoints, Dungeon Banking, Soul Repository Titles: The Inquisitive, The Negotiator Achievements: Inquisitive Mind, Let¡¯s Make A Deal
Inquisitive Mind When you have the opportunity to ask those with power and knowledge a question, it is essential to ask the right questions, so as not to offend their sensibilities, and come away with more knowledge and opportunities. Rewards: The Inquisitive Title and the System will help by offering slight subliminal cues to ask the right questions.
Let¡¯s Make A Deal Most interactions with others will involve some kind of give and take. You have managed to make a deal that seems to require an equal amount of giving and taking. Rewards: The Negotiator title. The System will boost negotiation abilities when dealing with someone with a higher negotiation skill.
Research In Progress: Mana - General (1/2 RP) Completed Research: Creation Ability, Blueprints, Leatherworking, Trap Creation Available Research: Cooking (3 RP), Chemistry (3 RP), Mineral Working (4 RP), Interdimensional Internet Connection (5 RP), Mana To Electrical Power Conversion (5 RP), Smithing (5 RP), Woodworking (5 RP), Clothemaking (5 RP), Papercrafts (5 RP), Glass Crafts (5 RP), Clayworking (5 RP), Enchanting (9 RP), Alchemy (10 RP), Creature Customization (10 RP), Advanced Trap Creation (10 RP), Dungeon Cards (20 RP), Dungeon Trading (25 RP) Legendary Monsters (50 R.P.)
Materials: Soils+, Metals+, Inks (Standard/Gel), Woods+, Papers+, Building Materials+, Crafting Materials+, Clothing Materials+, Science Materials+, Water Dyes Blueprints: Furniture+, Housewares+, Clothes+, Misc.+, Tools+, Media+, Food+, Appliances+, Computers+, Home Electronics+ Weapons+, Accessories+, Crafting Stations+ Poisons/Medicines+ Templates: Monsters, Legendary Monsters, Functions
Materials Soils: Topsoil, Clay, Sand Metals: Steel (Rebar, Stainless), Aluminum, Copper, Tungsten Woods: Pine, Fir, Maple, Cedar, Particle Board, Cork Papers: Standard, Construction, Posterboard Clothing: Cotton-Polyester Blend, Polyesters, Denim, Khaki, Wool, Silk Building Materials: Concrete, Gravel, Plastic, Glass, Ceramic, Enamel, Nails Crafting Materials: Leather, Chitin, Foam, Pleather, Cloth, Rubber, Styrofoam, Elastics Science Materials: Magnets, Battery, Compass, Cooking Oil, Vinegar, Baking Soda
Dyes Full-Colour Palette Types: Ink (Standard, Gel), Paint Finishes: Iridescent, Matte, Semi-Gloss, Gloss, Primer
Blueprints Furniture: Tables, Chairs, Sofa, Loveseat, Bookshelf, Desk, End Table, Night Table, Dresser, Entertainment Center, Ironing Board, Curtains, Bed, Mattress, Pillows Housewares: Pens, Cutlery, Plates, Bowls, Glasses, Pots, Pans, Towels, Lightbulb, LED Light Clothes: T-Shirt, Dress Shirt, Jeans, Dress Pants, Suit Jacket, Ties, Boxers, Socks, Shoes, Boots ( Standard, Steel Toe) Misc.: Marbles, Figure, Lego, Models, Doors, Locks, Research Station, Wallet Tools: Stapler, Screwdrivers, Wrench, Pliers, Hammer, Chisel, Wire Cutter, Soldering Iron, File, Can Opener, Knife, Shovel, Handsaw, Hacksaw, Hypodermic Needle, Syringe Media: Books, CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, Cartridges, Posters, Prints Food: Dairy, Flour, Baked Goods, Beef, Poultry, Pork, Bread, Condiments, Butter, Spices, Herbs, Fish, Shellfish, Mollusks, Sugar, Honey Appliances: Blender, Oven, Dishwasher, Microwave, Refrigerator, Freezer, Vacuum, Washer, Dryer Computers: Laptops, Playstations, Nintendos, Controllers, Cell Phone Home Electronics: Bluetooth Speaker, Fan, Blu-Ray Player, Headphones Weapons: Anduril, Sting Accessories: Magic Ring Crafting Station: Cooking Poisons/Medicines: Opiates
Templates: Monsters: N/A Legendary Monsters: Balrog, Ringwraith, Goblins* (LOTR), Orcs* (LOTR), Uruk-hai, Cave Troll* (LOTR), Alien Monster, Toy Golem, Living Snowmen Template Functions: Humanoids
Creatures Rodents Slime Mold Eulipotyphla Apocrita Beetles Worms Myriapoda Arachnids Dictyoptera Neoaves Ipinoaves
Rodents Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Mice, ??? Abilities: Litters, Communal Nesting, Burrowing, Mild Intelligence, Low Light Vision, Fast Breeding Cycle, Panoramic Vision, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Slime Mold Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: None Abilities: Iridescence, Biological Network, Asexual Reproduction Cost: 0.5 Mana
Eulipotyphla Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Moles, Shrews, ??? Abilities: Litters, Burrowing, Vibration Sense (Moles), Advanced Sense Of Smell (Moles), Swimming (Moles and ???), Panoramic Vision, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
ApocritaEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ants, ??? Abilities: Hive Mind, Sting (Pain Toxin, ???), Flight (Insect Wings), Colonies (Bugs), Exoskeleton, Mandibles, Stout Strength, Panoramic Vision, Litters, Hovering Cost: 10 Mana per Colony, 0.5 Mana For Non-Colony
Beetle Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ground Beetle, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Flight (Insect Wings), Exoskeleton, Burrowing (Ground Beetle), Stout Strength, Panoramic Vision, Litters, Hovering, ??? Cost: 1-3 Mana
Worm Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ground Worm, ??? Abilities: Burrowing, Compost and Aeration (Dungeon Skill), Vibration Sense Cost: 1-3 Mana
Myriapoda Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Centipede, Millipede, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Exoskeleton, Burrowing, Venom Bite (Centipede), Defensive Curl (Millipede), Panoramic Vision, Litters Cost: 1-10 Mana
Arachnids Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Spiders, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Exoskeleton, Burrowing, Venom Bite (Spiders), Web Weaving (Spiders), Panoramic Vision, Binocular Vision, Gliding (Webs), Strong Legs (Jumping Spiders), Luring (Spiders), Hunting (Portia Spiders, Wolf Spiders), Young Carrying (Wolf Spiders), Litters, Disease Bite, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Dictyoptera Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Termites, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Exoskeleton, Burrowing (Termites), Wood Burrowing (Termites), Panoramic Vision, Flight (Insect Wings), Litters, Hovering Cost: 0.5-5 Mana, 10 for Colony
Neoaves Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Pigeons, ??? Abilities: Panoramic Vision, Flight (Wings), Gliding, Homing (Pigeons, ???), Magnetic Field Sense (Pigeons, ???), Migration, ??? Cost: 2-10 Mana
Ipinoaves Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Crows, ??? Abilities: Binocular Vision, Flight (Wings), Gliding, Sharp Beak, Advanced Tool Use (Crows), Advanced Intelligence (Crows, ???), Migration, ??? Cost: 2-10 Mana
Plants Poaceae Deciduous (Trees) Cannabaceae Succulents Fabaceae Mushrooms
Poaceae Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Grass, Bamboo, Sugarcane, Barley, Oats, Rye, Corn, Sorghum, Wheat, Millet, Rice, ??? Abilities: Quick Growth Cost: 1-5 Mana
Deciduous (Trees) Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Fruit Trees, ??? Abilities: Flowers, Fruits Cost: 4-10 Mana
Cannabaceae Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Hemp, Cannabis, ??? Abilities: Fast Growth, Psychedelic Cost: 1-5 Mana
Succulents Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Cactus, ??? Abilities: Low Nutrient Growth, Low Water Needs, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Fabaceae Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Beans, Peas, Chickpeas, Peanuts,??? Abilities: Fast Growth Cost: 1-5 Mana
Mushrooms Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Edible, ??? Abilities: Low Nutrient Growth, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Negotiation, Level 21, Novice Description: Negotiation is the ability to determine and trade items and ideas of value with another. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Bartering - Novice, ??? Subskills: ??? Related Skills: ??? Novice Bonus: Gain a general idea of your value in the deal compared to your opposites value
Research, Level 3, Beginner Description: Allows the Dungeon to gain new abilities through Research and gives a base of one research point per day. Each level increases research efficiency. Prerequisites: None Subskills: Active Research Active Research By actively viewing and comprehending a viable Research Subject, you have unlocked the Active Research Subskill. Active Research allows the Research from a Codex entry or other tangible source to be obtained by actively reading or viewing the source material, rather than spending Research Point(s) on the Research. Dungeon Companions may also participate in Active Research and may unlock different benefits from the Research, both for themselves and the Dungeon.
Absorb, Level 11, Novice Description: Allows Dungeons to Absorb Items/Materials. Doing so will unlock patterns for items and materials for use in creating objects using your mana. Levels increase absorption speed. Prerequisites: None Subskills: None Novice Bonus: Absorb Speed 1.1x
Creation, Level 13, Novice Description: Allows Dungeons to Create Structure and Items. Beginning efficiency is n% where n is the level of ability. Prerequisites: None Subskills: Blueprints, Trap Creation, Advanced Trap Creation, ??? Novice Bonus: Creation Mana Efficiency (n+n/100%), Current (14.3%) Blueprints Similar items will be consolidated into a set of Blueprints. Blueprints can be adjusted and saved, creating new Blueprints and allowing for more customization of items created through Creation. Blueprints unlocked as loot drop. Crafting ability unlocked. Trap Creation By Researching the Trap Creation Subskill, you have unlocked the basic Trap Blueprints, unlocking the most simple mechanical Traps for placement and modification. These Traps will now automatically reset once the Dungeon has no invaders in it.
Soul Space, Level 5, Beginner Description: The Dungeon gains a Soul Space where they can manifest a body and meet with bonded entities or soul projecting beings. They can also make versions of objects they can create in the Soul Space that allow them to work on specific skills and abilities in the Soul Space. Prerequisites: First Dungeon Room completed. Subskills: Library Research Points Needed: 0 Library Media added to the Codex will now be available in a more physical form in the Soul Space. At certain Soul Space levels, this Library itself will become a tangible space in the Soul Space.
Domain, Level 3, Beginner Description: Dungeon can establish a domain outside their Dungeon. Initially, this is the size of a building on top of the Dungeon. Prerequisites: Establish a first room and an entrance. Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
Crafting, Level 1, Beginner Description: While Creation is a strong ability for Dungeons, it is mostly just filling known patterns and creating them with mana. Crafting allows you to develop materials, use tools on them, and combine them in new ways, creating original Blueprints, objects, and materials. Prerequisites: Blueprints researched Subskills: Leatherworking, Cooking (3 RP), Chemistry (3 RP), Mineral Working (4 RP),Smithing (5 RP), Woodworking (5 RP), Clothemaking (5 RP), Papercrafts (5 RP), Glass Crafts (5 RP), Clayworking (5 RP), Enchanting (9 RP), Alchemy (10 RP), Research Points Needed: 0 Leatherworking Basic Leather or equivalent Material unlocked, to unlock leather variants create them using crafting. Basic Leather or equivalent Materials available as loot drops. Known Dyes may be applied to hides, including on Creatures. Coloured Creatures will drop that colour of Leather or Equivalent material. Known Leather Armors or Equivalents may be equipped to applicable creatures.
Codex, No Levels Description: Dungeon creates a Codex of all information absorbed Prerequisites: Absorb a source of knowledge. Subskills: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Translation Research Points Needed: 0 Dictionary After Absorbing a Dictionary, Codex has gained the ability for you to concentrate on any known word in the Status or a Codex entry and receive definitions from the System. Thesaurus After Absorbing a Thesaurus, your Codex has gained the ability for you to concentrate on any known word in the Status or a Codex entry and receive known alternate and related terms from the System. Translation After Absorbing a source of Translations, your Codex has gained the ability to Translate any entries for which you have a Translation source. The System can Translate through multiple languages, but Translations may lose some clarity if they occur using numerous languages. Audio After Absorbing an Audio Source, your Codex has gained the ability to store and playback any Audio source you absorb. Visual After Absorbing a Visual Source, your Codex has gained the ability to store and playback any Visual source you absorb.
Checkpoints, No Levels Description: Saves the current Status of an Adventurer going into a Dungeon. Any full levels to Skills or Stat Points gained will be saved if the adventurer passes away in the Dungeon. Progress to the next level or improvement above the original progress registered that does not reach a full level will be converted into Dungeon mana. Items carried will be lost, but can be retrieved by giving the Dungeon mana in exchange for them. Prerequisites: Boon of a God or Administrator, or unlocked through Research. Subskills: Dungeon Trading 25 R.P. Research Points Needed: 0 (25) R.P.
Dungeon Banking & Credit, No Levels Description: Allows the Dungeon to act as a bank and creditor, both for money and items. Prerequisites: Access to a bank account Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
Soul Repository, No Levels Description: The Dungeon becomes available as a Soul Repository where souls may stopover on their journey to the afterlife or reincarnation. The Dungeon may also act as a purgatory, where souls may work to be absolved of their transgressions during life. Souls in the repository are available to become Dungeon Companions, NPCs, or Monster Spirits. Prerequisites: Must be granted by a God or Administrator, and must have an affinity for souls. Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
1.12 John couldn¡¯t help but be amused by Lenny¡¯s antics. John could feel the sense of pride and accomplishment coming off of Lenny for the work he had put into unlocking these heroic new plants. Once Lenny finished his pose, John could sense an intense feeling coming from Lenny. As he concentrated on this intense feeling of awe, he could see an image of Nunchucks and Michaelangelo appear in his mind, apparently coming from Lenny. Slightly after, he got a more subdued sense of wonder coming from a picture of Batman and Spider-Man, and then a sense of longing from an image of a house and one of what looked like a Karate Dojo. As those images finished coming to him, John saw that a new notification had popped up.
Quests Available: Give A Mouse A House: Lenny has requested that you give him a living space in the Dungeon, so he can have some privacy and a place to store his valuables. Rewards: Improved relationship and communication with Lenny. Lenny is available as a Dungeon NPC. The First Step On The Path: Lenny has requested you build him a Dojo so that he can train. Rewards: Improved relationship with Lenny, Lenny can train martial skills faster, Training area in Dungeon, and Lenny can give and receive more requests and quests as an NPC.
John was excited to receive his first Quests, though he was surprised to see that they had come from Lenny. It almost seemed like giving himself a Quest, though Lenny had shown he had his autonomy and desires, so Lenny must count as his own being in the System. John knew that Lenny¡¯s intelligence had been increased from most mice when he had created him, and Lenny seemed smart when John had got him to go collect the Pigeons and Crows. Still, John was surprised to see that Lenny was intelligent enough to be classified as sapient by the System. In either case, none of Lenny¡¯s requests were ridiculous. They would give John some decent benefits, so he would get to work on both of those quests as soon as he finished with all the notifications he had received, which seemed to be level up notifications for some of his abilities.
Soul Space Level Up, Current Level 8 Absorb Level Up, Current Level 13 Creation Level Up, Current Level 15 Domain Level Up, Current Level 5
John could feel that his control over his soul space had become much more refined, and was approaching a breakthrough, which made sense since he was getting close to the Novice level. Absorb and Creation had been more incremental improvements, though the increases to their efficiency would be helpful. The expansion to John¡¯s Domain had been much more significant. His Domain now spread entirely across the road around him and was close to beginning to overlap the other buildings around Sorenson Station. John could also feel the mana saturation in his Domain increasing, and the mana was starting to push through the borders of his Domain at an increased rate. He had a feeling that would begin to change the local population and wildlife as the effects of mana spread. John was wondering if anyone else had received the System yet as he watched some of the bus drivers come in for their morning shift when one driver caught his attention in particular. John noticed that the driver seemed to react upon crossing over into his Domain and appeared to be reading something invisible. This driver also appeared to be generating more mana for John to absorb than the other drivers around him. John decided that he should keep on eye on this driver in particular, even though he looked like a reasonably standard man around his fifties. He didn¡¯t appear to have any distinguishing scars or other features, and the driver wasn¡¯t some muscle-bound beast. All in all, the driver appeared to be precisely what he was, a slightly overweight fifty-year-old man who was slightly balding with gray-brown hair. However, the System appeared to have chosen him to be the first user after John, so it must sense some potential. Or maybe he just had some skill or ability that the System wanted. Only time would tell, though John figured that he would be seeing more of this bus driver.
George had been surprised at the message he had received upon arriving at Sorenson Station. The System had informed him that he had entered a Domain, which was why there was an increase in mana density. He was told that this Domain was tied to a strong entity such as a Dragon, Lich, or Dungeon. George figured that if a Dragon or Undead Wizard had been in the area, it most likely would have been something that the news would have picked up. Therefore, this Domain was most likely tied to a Dungeon. And if most of the stories he had read and the games he had played had taught him anything, it was that Dungeon were great places to get loot and grow stronger. George wasn¡¯t excited at the prospect of going through one by himself though, so he would have to be on the lookout for other people who gained access to the System. And he would obviously need to find the entrance, but he could do that after work.
John felt a bit lonely while he was working on the rooms for Lenny, which was surprising. He had spent a lot of time alone since his last relationship had ended, even though John had been visiting with friends with decent regularity. Upon reflection, John realized that this was due to how close he and Gwen had grown lately. The time they spent together had been incredibly intimate since they could sense what the other person was thinking, and John missed how that had felt while he was out of his Soul Space. John hadn¡¯t entirely understood what Gwen had been asking when she had asked to come into his Soul Space, and precisely that bond would entail, but John didn¡¯t regret the decision he had made. John would just have to learn how to deal with it when she wasn¡¯t there, and he was sure she missed him in some way when he wasn¡¯t with her. As John finished his thoughts about how quickly he had become so close to Gwen, John was close to finishing up with Lenny¡¯s home. He had made a Lenny-sized apartment, with an eating area, a food storage and preparation area, a living room, a washroom, and a sleeping area. Most of them were similar to what you would find in a standard apartment, though there were adjustments for Lenny being more comfortable as a quadruped than a biped. For example, the table and chairs were only a couple inches off the ground, and the bathtub was sunken into the floor so it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for Lenny to climb in. Another concession to Lenny¡¯s mousey nature was that the sleeping area didn¡¯t contain an actual bed but rather a smaller space that Lenny could crawl into, including a comfortable mattress, pillows and blankets that he could wrap himself up. John also made some adjustments to one of his door Blueprints and made a Lenny sized door out of wood to give it a more homey feel. As John finished making this area for Lenny, he got a notification that he had received a Living Area Blueprint. However, John would have to make adjustments for it to be usable for a standard-sized human being. This Living Area Blueprint also came under its own type of Blueprint category, Rooms.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. After making some adjustments to also have a Living Area Blueprint for a normal human-sized being and leaving some welcome gifts for Lenny in his living room, John decided to pull up his finished Quest notification and see what happened. As he did so, he could see Lenny perk up, meaning he must have received some kind of message as well.
Quest Completed: Give A Mouse A House You¡¯ve made Lenny a customized living area and given him a place to rest his head and call his own. Once Lenny has a look at his home, you will see how it has affected your Reputation with him. Lenny is now available as a Dungeon NPC.
John wasn¡¯t exactly sure what exactly how the Reputation system worked, and he wanted to see how it could affect both him and the others around him in the future. John didn¡¯t want any of his actions being bound in case of betrayal just because someone had an excellent Reputation with him. As John looked through the Reputation system, he saw that it mostly applied to NPCs and that higher Reputations would unlock more opportunities and Quests. For example, when he looked into Lenny¡¯s role as a Dungeon Mascot NPC, John discovered that if you had a high enough Reputation with Lenny, he could be asked to be a temporary companion and guide a group going through the Dungeon. Lenny was also more likely to give people that had a high Reputation with him more requests and give them better gifts in return. When it came to non-NPCs, Reputation just gave you an overview of how interaction with that person had gone in the past. The Reputation system for interactions between non-NPCs essentially gave a reference for how your previous interactions had gone. The System would also know how any significant actions would affect your Reputation with that person if they found out about it. It didn¡¯t seem like it was hugely important for day-to-day interactions between regular people but could be important when remembering past interactions between longer lived beings. As John finished up looking over the Reputation system, he could feel Lenny trying to get his attention, so he moved his attention to Lenny. Instead of the general pictograms and base emotions John had previously gained from Lenny, John got a more exact picture of the Living area and a sense of contentment about the whole thing. John also received a sense of amusement and happiness when Lenny pictured the iridescent orange cartoon representation of his head on the door. He also sensed a question coming from Lenny, whether John would be building him a dojo. John replied to Lenny, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be working on that next Lenny, why don¡¯t you open the gifts I left for you?¡± John was surprised to hear a high pitched squeaky voice say ¡°Gifts?¡± back to him, but he quickly recovered and sent Lenny an image of the gifts wrapped on his living room table. John watched as Lenny bounded over to the table, and tentatively grabbed one of the wrapped gifts. Lenny seemed unsure what to do with it, so John sent him images of the paper being carefully unwrapped or torn off the presents. A joyous gleam appeared in Lenny¡¯s eyes as he began to tear the paper off the gifts. After Lenny finished tearing the paper off, his expression turned to one of divine rapture as he lofted the six-inch figure of Michaelangelo above his head. Lenny treated the turtle with such reverence that John felt Lenny was quite close to weeping from divine inspiration. As Lenny gently put the action figure down on the table, he turned with an almost equal amount of reverence towards the TMNT comic sitting on the table. As John watched Lenny flip through the book, he knew that Lenny would be treating this book like holy scripture. As Lenny put down these near-religious objects, his look became one of curiosity as he turned towards the other gifts. Lenny gave a big sniff, and his mouth began to salivate. And as he raised the contents consecutively to his mouth, his expressions were one of sublime contentment followed by one of joy. As he finished chewing, John saw two notifications pop up.
New Quest: The Finer Things In Life (CHEESE!) (Repeatable) Lenny has discovered one of the finer things in life, an opinion shared by many others in this world, both rodent and human. This quest is available to any with a high enough Reputation with Lenny. Rewards: You can increase your Reputation with Lenny by bringing him cheese, and he will occasionally reward you for your efforts with gifts. You can gain bonuses by getting Lenny new, rare, or his favourite cheeses. New Quest: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie... (Repeatable) Lenny has found another one of his favourite things, coinciding with a popular children¡¯s book. This quest is available to any with a high enough Reputation with Lenny. Rewards: You can increase your Reputation with Lenny by bringing him cookies, and he will occasionally reward you for your efforts with gifts. You can gain bonuses by bringing Lenny new, rare, or his favourite cookies.
Since Lenny seemed to enjoy them so much, John spawned him a couple more kinds of cheese and cookies to enjoy while John worked on the Dojo. John decided to make it a more extensive training area, though he was missing some supplies. John would have to get some weights and bags for people to practice with, though he was able to use some rubber to make a padded floor for people to practice martial arts on. John also made a climbing wall and set up the equipment so that it could be used by someone Lenny¡¯s height up to someone as tall as ten feet, figuring there could be some changes to physicality due to the System. As John finished the room, he got a couple of different notifications. The first let him know that John had received a room blueprint for a training area and that people using this training area would receive a boost to physical and combat-related skills while using this area. The second notification was that he had completed the quest for Lenny and that a new Quest was available.
Quest Completed: The First Step On The Path You have successfully created a Dojo that Lenny can use to train. Lenny will be able to train and use combat skills.
New Quest: A Journey For A Lifetime (Repeatable) Bring Lenny new equipment for use in training, or give him some training yourself. This quest is available to anyone within a high enough Reputation with Lenny. Rewards: Lenny will become more capable in combat, may compensate you, and you will gain more Reputation with Lenny.
As Lenny looked around the Dojo, John got a sense of satisfaction coming from him. However, he did sense a question coming from Lenny, followed by an image of a shrine. John quickly built a shrine in the Dojo for Lenny to use and laughed as Lenny removed the Michaelangelo figure from his cheek and placed it reverently on the shrine. He was pleasantly surprised when he received another notification that by having a shrine dedicated to Blunt Weapons, that combat skill would receive a further increase to its growth in this training area. However, now that he was done doing these tasks for Lenny, it was time for him to stop procrastinating and go to talk to his brother. 1.13 John had been avoiding dealing with his brother, but there were no more real excuses for putting it off. He was a bit anxious about how the reunion would go, and John generally attempted to use avoidance to assuage his anxiety. It wasn¡¯t a healthy reaction to stress and caused John some issues in the past, but this wasn¡¯t something that would go away eventually because John was worried about dealing with it. As John went back into his Soul Space, he saw Gwen sitting at the desk in the study area, reading a book and making some notes. She had continued to read The Fellowship Of The Ring and looked both more comfortable and attentive than she had been before reading on the floor, though slightly less comfortable than using the chairs and bed. ¡°How¡¯s it going, Gwen?¡± ¡°Good, I think I found a couple of other things in the book that may be usable, so I wrote them down as I read them. I¡¯m getting close to finishing the book. Should we watch the next movie before I read it?¡± ¡°That would be nice if that¡¯s what you want to do, but I don¡¯t mind if you want to read the book first.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d like to watch the movie first. I know it does affect how I picture some things, but I think I want to do the rest of this series in the same way. Maybe next, you can suggest another book, and I can read that before we watch the movie and see how it is different.¡± ¡°Okay. I also have some T.V. shows you might enjoy if you want to try something else. They¡¯re like movies but are more serial and generally shorter for each part called an episode, but longer in total length than a movie.¡± ¡°That sounds interesting. Maybe after I finish this, we can watch an episode together?¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± John said and began to use his Soul Repository ability, before feeling a sense of concern coming from Gwen. He stopped and looked at her, and Gwen looked back up from her book. ¡°Are you okay, John? I feel an immense sense of anxiety coming off of you.¡± Gwen said, the concern evident in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m okay, I¡¯m going to go see my brother, and it¡¯s causing me a bit of anxiety.¡± ¡°If you want, I can come with you for support.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to bother you; this problem is more something that I have to deal with.¡± ¡°Yes, but you don¡¯t have to do it alone. I¡¯m not just helpful around the Dungeon because it¡¯s my job. I want to help as much as possible because you have been kind and open with me, and I like being here with you. I want you to come to me with your problems and not just the Dungeon ones.¡± Gwen¡¯s voice had a bit of vehemence in it, but John could feel that it came from concern and compassion, rather than any kind of anger. John was again very thankful to have Gwen as his partner in this new life, and all that she had come to represent. John tended to just stoically accept what had happened to him and try to suppress his emotions until he could healthily deal with them, but if Gwen was going to be his partner, he should let her in more to what he was feeling. John had also done his best to pay attention to what Gwen was feeling but knew there was room to be better in the future. John didn¡¯t want it to seem like he was suppressing his feelings because he was callous to her and that John didn¡¯t value how she felt, it¡¯s just that this whole situation was new to him, and he had been under a lot of stress. John was extremely grateful to Gwen for how she had been there for him already and did feel that she knew that he appreciated her. If John was honest with himself, he thought he didn¡¯t deserve Gwen, and she deserved better than being stuck with him. John knew he was uncharitable to himself, but sometimes he couldn¡¯t help how he felt. What he was surprised by was the feeling of anger that was suddenly coming from Gwen. ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± Gwen shouted, and John noticed the tears forming in her eyes. ¡°You are so much better than you think you are. I¡¯m glad to be your partner.¡± John could feel that there was a sense of sadness mixed in with the anger that wasn¡¯t exactly directed at him, but more at what he had been thinking. Her voice was a bit ragged from the emotions coming through it, saying, ¡°You have been kind to me, wanting to show me things, and you have valued what I can do for you. Some Cores just treat us as knowledge repositories, barely thinking about what we do when their attention isn¡¯t on us. You have given me a way to support you, and I know that you trust me. You aren¡¯t just some burden for me to bear.¡± John wasn¡¯t sure what he should say to that, so he let his feeling of appreciation come across his connection to Gwen and hugged her. She was still upset, but he could feel her anger and sadness lessening as John was less harsh on himself. John held her until he could feel she was ready to let go and said, ¡°Would you like to come with me, Gwen?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll come for support.¡± John activated his Soul Repository ability. He was surprised that this Soul Space appeared to be a blue, glowing vortex surrounded by black rather than the white spaces John had previously experienced. John could see some pure blue Souls travelling towards the center of the vortex, and some Souls closer to black in colour being pulled towards the darkness. There was a sense the almost pure blue Souls were heading into some afterlife. The black Souls were denied entry to an afterlife and were being forcefully brought towards a reincarnation. As John concentrated on a nearly pure blue Soul, he could see that the Soul had lived a life free of any significant sins to atone for. Upon focusing on a black Soul, he saw that they had lived a sinful life, and their only chance at redemption was to be reincarnated and hopefully live a better life.Stolen novel; please report. As the moving Souls had grabbed John¡¯s attention, it had taken him some time to notice the Souls that were more of a mix of blue and black, mostly floating around the vortex. Some were primarily blue with a couple of black and grey spots, while others were almost purely black and drawn towards the darkness and reincarnation. John watched some of these Souls near the edge and was surprised when he felt some presences begin to pluck them out from the vortex. As he watched, some of the Souls returned with fewer spots on them and moved closer to the center. He could feel Gwen tense as she noticed these presences herself, though she seemed to relax after watching the process a couple of times. John was surprised after watching this process a couple of times, one of the Souls returned, and instead of moving closer to the center, appeared to give up and allowed itself to be sent off for resurrection. The Soul must have decided to be reincarnated, rather than looking to move on to an afterlife. John¡¯s attention was brought to one particular Soul, which had some grey and a couple of black spots. As John focused on it, a notification appeared that asked him if he wanted to bring the Soul back to John¡¯s Soul Space to discuss its options. John was also notified that he would currently only be able to do this with one Soul at a time, though he may be able to do group discussions and negotiations in the future. John could feel that other Souls were currently available to bring to his Soul Space after if he would so choose, but this one was his brother¡¯s, so he confirmed the choice to get it back to his Soul Space.
Jake had been surprised that death was not the end of things. He had long suspected that after people died, it was an eternal void. It was one reason Jake had found it easy to slip into drugs after his parents¡¯ accident. Jake knew others found the lack of an idea of an afterlife a basis to act reasonably in the life they currently had. On the other hand, Jake had interpreted the concept to mean that life was ultimately short and meaningless and used it as an excuse to live hedonistically after his parents had passed away. Jake knew that had become his disposition after his parents had passed, and even if he were religious, he likely would have found some other excuse to live his life how he had lived it. Possibly he would have become some hypocritical street preacher stealing and lying his way through life while claiming to be righteous, which Jake hated even thinking of being. Jake found the blue vortex he was in to be quite beautiful and relaxing, though he wasn¡¯t quite sure why. He began to sense other presences around him, some of them quite beautiful, some powerful, some mostly unremarkable, some appearing to be tainted in some way like himself, and others black and frightening. Jake had an enjoyable time watching the other presences move through the vortex, some of the bluest entities moving towards the center. Though he was worried when the black entities moved close to him on their way out of the vortex, they seemed to either ignore him or were unable to move near to him. Jake was even more worried when what felt like a much greater being taking one of the vortex presences, though Jake became much less nervous when that presence returned and seemed to be less tainted. As Jake watched the entities around him move towards the center or disappear for a while and come back, he became slightly perturbed when the powerful beings never selected him. Was Jake broken or unworthy in some way, or was it merely not his turn yet. Finally, he felt a being¡¯s focus shift onto him. It appeared to take longer for it to select him than for other presences to be chosen, and Jake was a bit anxious about the reason why it was taking so long. Jake was relieved when he exited the blue vortex and ended up in a white area, and he was shocked to see what appeared to be his brother beside a beautiful woman. It took Jake a couple of seconds to react, but he immediately rushed forward and embraced his brother.
It took John a few seconds to react to the hug his brother was giving him, and whatever emotions had he had previously been experiencing gave way to relief at having his brother back. John quickly returned the hug, and he and Jake just held each other for a little while, each revelling in the feeling of being back together. Eventually, Jake broke off the hug and looked at John with a questioning look. He then said, ¡°Where are we? And where was I?¡± ¡°We are in what I believe is part of my Soul Space. And you were in the Soul Repository that I am watching over.¡± ¡°So, Souls are real? And how are you here?¡± Jake said as his voice appeared to become more confused. ¡°Well, before you died, Jake, I died as well. Although, instead of being murdered, my death was some sort of cosmic accident. Because of it, I was given some opportunities that I decided to take. After a while, you died in an area that I could affect what happened after.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re dead? And why do you think I was murdered.¡± ¡°Well, the last hot of heroin you took had some bleach in it.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Jake said as embarrassment crept into his face. ¡°I can see how that happened.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t angry about it?¡± John said as befuddlement made its way onto his face. ¡°Well¡­ I pawned the T.V. from your house to try and pay down some of my debts to a dealer who found out I had ripped him off. I wasn¡¯t done paying my debts, but I requested a hit because I had paid a significant chunk of it with the cash from selling the T.V. I should have been a bit more suspicious when he forgave the rest of my debt and gave me an already prepared needle. Still, I was more focused on the fact that I had scored when I didn¡¯t fully expect to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not happy about the fact that you took the T.V. and left without so much as a sorry note.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯ve been a pretty shit brother this past couple of years.¡± ¡°Not the first time I¡¯ve heard that speech, I can¡¯t fully trust that you mean it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always meant it when I say it. It¡¯s just my addiction that has allowed me to forget it and justify mistreating you again. It¡¯s not completely on the addiction, but it isn¡¯t affecting me right now, and I hope I can make some kind of amends.¡± ¡°In that vein, you have a decision to make. I know that we glanced over the Soul Repository aspect because other things came up, but it allows me to offer you an opportunity. You can work off some of your sins and transgressions by working for me as a kind of purgatory, before heading to an afterlife. I¡¯m sure you saw some of the other Souls being taken for that, and some of the worst Souls being sent straight for reincarnation. That is another one of your options, and you can opt to be reincarnated, giving you a blank slate, though there is no guarantee that you stay in this world or get to access this life¡¯s memories. You can also opt to remain almost permanently with me and work off your debts until we decide to part ways if you want to move on to the afterlife.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to take that third option. If you¡¯re okay with it.¡± ¡°This is a big decision. Are you sure you want to make it so quickly?¡± ¡°Yeah. As much as I screwed up, you¡¯re my brother, and I trust you. You were always willing to take me in no matter how much I had previously screwed you over, and I know you aren¡¯t going just to make me suffer for no reason. I might want to move on to the afterlife eventually, but the person I trust most to help get me on the right track to getting there is you.¡± ¡°Okay, so you are okay with becoming a Companion? It isn¡¯t going to be easy from what I gather.¡± ¡°Yeah, I agree.¡± As Jake agreed to be John¡¯s companion, they were brought into John¡¯s Soul Space proper. John could see Jake reading over some notifications, and he brought up his that notified him that Jake was now a Core Companion. Jake looked over at John and Gwen after having a quick look around John¡¯s Soul Space, and said with a teasing tone, ¡°You¡¯ll have to explain where we are and what I¡¯m going to have to do. But first, you should probably introduce this beautiful lady first,¡± as Jake nodded in Gwen¡¯s direction. John looked over at Gwen with a bit of shame followed by a blush as he¡¯d forgotten her in his swirl of emotions after seeing his brother. He felt Gwen¡¯s embarrassment at the praise, and her forgiveness for failing to introduce her earlier, as he said, ¡°This is Gwen, my partner.¡± as Gwen simultaneously said, ¡°I¡¯m Gwen, John¡¯s partner.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Jake said with a widening smile as the two appeared to become quite flustered and began talking over each other to clear up any misconceptions he may have. Their protestations didn¡¯t seem to sway Jake¡¯s opinions about the situation in the slightest. 1.14 As John and Gwen explained more about the situation they were all in, to Jake, Gwen eventually went back to reading The Fellowship Of The Ring to give the brothers some time to catch up with each other. John also knew this was to avoid any further teasing from Jake if John was reading her emotions right. As the conversation wore down, John felt a feeling of relief. It seemed that his brother was back to acting pretty close to how he had been before their parents had passed away. John supposed that Jake dying and seeing that there was a chance at life after death had shifted some of his perspectives, along with physical dependencies of his addiction not existing in the afterlife. And while he would be keeping an eye on Jake, John was glad to see that his brother might be able to be truly happy for the first time in a long time. It was getting late in the day by the time John and his brother had finished their conversation. Jake took a bit of time to begin wandering around the Soul Space, to check out the different areas. John was glad that he had locked the door into the Dungeon after Lenny had come back, as he wasn¡¯t in the right kind of mood to deal with any unexpected visitors to the Dungeon right now. John was pleasantly surprised when Lenny fell asleep, and a window into his dreams showed up, similar to when John had seen Gwen dressed as Wonder Woman. He focused on that memory for a little while, as that had endeared Gwen to him a significant amount. John could feel a sense of embarrassment beginning to come from Gwen, so he returned his focus onto Lenny¡¯s dream window. Given Lenny¡¯s reverence for the Turtles, John was not surprised to see them heavily featured in Lenny¡¯s dreams. John was amused that some scenarios had Lenny fighting alongside the Turtles, and others had him replacing a specific Turtle. John wasn¡¯t too surprised to see that the Turtle Lenny mostly switched position with was Michaelangelo, due to his love of nunchucks. John watched Lenny for a little while before testing what he had found with Gwen before and gave Lenny¡¯s window a tap. Suddenly Lenny appeared in John¡¯s Soul Space, adding another notification to the ones that had been building up. John noticed that Lenny seemed to be almost sad that he was out of the dream, but brightened right away when he saw John standing in front of him. Lenny lept at John, gave him as big of a hug as Lenny possibly could, and nuzzled his head into John¡¯s chest. After a minute, Lenny dropped back to the ground and went over to greet Gwen before looking around the rest of the Soul Space. Lenny seemed a bit shy when he first noticed Jake wandering around near him, looking at the Library. However, Jake and John had grown up around animals, including gerbils and dogs, so a quick scratch behind the ears started Lenny¡¯s leg tapping. When Lenny pointed to a comic and Jake handed him a volume of T.M.N.T. Lenny had yet to read, Jake received a hug almost as big as the one John had received. Lenny then grabbed Jake¡¯s hand and led him over to one of the couches, where Lenny hopped onto it before sitting and patting the seat next to him. As Jake sat down, Lenny handed him the comic to read out loud, and his eyes almost sparkled as Jake began reading and showing Lenny the pictures. For his part, Jake seemed to enjoy acting as the older brother or cousin, so John felt comfortable getting back to his notifications. The first one was a set of Level Up notifications, including the latest notification that John had received.
Creation Level Up, Current Level 14 Absorb Level Up, Current Level 15 Soul Space Level Up, Current Level 10, Novice Bonus Activated
The level up for Absorb seemed to have been boosted by absorbing his first sentient being and obtaining the humanoid Template from it. The Creation level up appeared to come from the gifts John had made for Lenny, as they had included items he had not before produced. Seeing as he had gotten a new bonus for the Soul Space, he brought up the description for it to see what he had obtained.
Soul Space, Level 10, Novice Description: The Dungeon gains a Soul Space where they can manifest a body and meet with bonded entities or soul projecting beings. They can also make versions of objects they can create in the Soul Space that allow them to work on specific skills and abilities in the Soul Space. Subskills: Library Novice Bonus: Soul Space can have defined rooms.
As John read this description, he gained a bit of knowledge of what this meant. Rather than his Soul Space just being a void that he could place things in, it was now closer to being a building. He could designate rooms for certain activities that would make them like a full room crafting station, or he could assign rooms to people he allowed into his Soul Space that they would be able to affect and make their own changes to the room. Any rooms that John designed and created Blueprints for could also now be placed in his Soul Space. Seeing that they were available, John put living spaces for him, Gwen, and Jake, along with Lenny¡¯s modified living space. John was also able to link any bookshelves and media devices like T.V.s and speakers to the Library function of the Soul Space, allowing people to access any materials in the Codex in the privacy of their own rooms. For security reasons, if John desired, he could restrict access to specific items in the Codex for Core and Dungeon Companions, along with Dungeon N.P.C.s like Lenny. Those options didn¡¯t appear to be available for restricting Gwen¡¯s access, as she was listed as a Soul Bound Companion. John would have to look into that and talk to Gwen about what precisely that meant. As John placed the rooms in his Soul Space, he was asked if he wanted to incorporate the other areas he had already placed objects into new rooms. From doing this, he received a Study Room, a Kitchen, and an Entertaining room Blueprint. Hallways and doors were placed where appropriate, and the colour scheme was the same as the First Room of the Dungeon. John knew that Jake had a decent eye for home decor, so unless Gwen wanted to be the one to set the theme of his Soul Space, he would have Jake spruce up everything as one of his first jobs. John saw a notification pop up and saw that his level for Soul Space had risen to 12. He could feel that his control over the Soul Space had again become a bit finer and that it would also be more comfortable for those with a personal space in his Soul Space to make adjustments as his level increased. John left a couple of surprises in each person¡¯s room, a Lord Of The Rings poster for Gwen, an album cover print of one of Jake¡¯s favourite bands for him, and a special surprise for Lenny. As he finished up, he sent a mental message to Gwen, letting her know that he had a surprise for her. Gwen sent him back a statement that she was close to the end of the book, but she was in close to a decent spot to stop for a bit so that she would come over soon. As John was waiting for her to come over, he quickly checked his status and noticed that he had a new tab for Important Relationships.
Important Relationships Soul Bound Companion: Gwendolyn ¡°Gwen¡± Lilydew Core Companions: Jacob ¡°Jake¡± MacIntire Dungeon N.P.C.s: Lenny
John closed the Status window as Gwen came in and asked, ¡°What do you know about Companions, Gwen?¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Gwen looked slightly nervous when she said, ¡°What kind of Companions are you talking about?¡± ¡°Well, I just got a new tab on my status, and it has three kinds of Relationships defined, which all seem to be a variety of Companions. When I looked at their definitions, I wasn¡¯t given much extra context on what they mean. Let¡¯s start with the first kind, a Dungeon N.P.C. What do you know about them?¡± ¡°Dungeon N.P.C.s are special Monsters, Creatures, or residents of your Dungeon that can do other tasks than just defending the Dungeon. If you have the proper facilities, they can be shopkeepers, quest givers, guides, trainers, or other specialized roles in the Dungeon. In an emergency, they are available as Defenders and are generally stronger than a typical Monster or Creature. They may also be available as roaming bosses or special encounters depending on their types.¡± ¡°So if I had a shop, Lenny could be a shopkeeper?¡± ¡°He could be, but given that he is largely non-verbal, it wouldn¡¯t be a good position for him to fill.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense, and I was just thinking of how cute that would look,¡± John said with a wistful smile on his face. ¡°It would be cute to watch Lenny scurrying around behind the counter and handing over items,¡± Gwen said, her agreeance evident in her voice. ¡°Maybe you could have him be an assistant sometimes if you make a shop.¡± ¡°Good idea. So what¡¯s the difference between a Dungeon N.P.C. and a Core Companion?¡± ¡°Before we talk about that, I should mention that there are other Companion and N.P.C. types. There is a Domain N.P.C. who acts as N.P.C. in your Domain rather than the Dungeon. Normally these Domain N.P.C.s can not be Monsters, and in general, they have fewer combat capabilities. Besides the Core Companion, there are also Dungeon and Domain Companions. Dungeon N.P.C.s are created by the Dungeon and can gain sapience and possibly even Souls if they are given enough time. Companions, on the other hand, are Bengs or Souls that come to the Dungeon through other means. They generally reside in the Soul Space, though some do prefer to live in the physical planes. Companions can fulfill the same roles N.P.C.s do, even taking over the bodies of non-sapient N.P.C.s or Bosses in the Dungeons to provide them with more intelligence in their actions. Besides this, Companions may also do work that is available in the Soul Space, like I am able to do Research.¡± As Gwen finished telling John about these kinds of Companions, he could see that she was growing a bit nervous. She began pointing her index finger towards each other and tapping them together. John had noticed that this was one of Gwen¡¯s nervous tics, but he pressed on with his question. ¡°So what¡¯s a Soul Bonded Companion, Gwen?¡± Gwen began blushing as she answered John. ¡°It¡¯s a Companion who is bonded to you for life and even into the afterlife. Usually, it is between people who want to be together forever, like friends who become like siblings or romantic partners. In many places, it is done during a marriage ceremony or upon swearing a blood bond.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s like we¡¯re married?¡± John said, followed by a nervous laugh. ¡°Uhm¡­ kind of,¡± Gwen said, blushing furiously. ¡°It¡¯s an accident, but I hope you aren¡¯t mad. I¡¯m at an age right now where my parents were trying to set me up with suitors. Fairies mostly stick to our own and our families¡¯ Dungeons, but our parents will use their connections to other families they know with similar aged children to set up dates so we can find romantic partners. When we were making our bond, I was thinking about how we are a similar age. And how, unlike some people I have gone on dates with, you cared about my happiness and capabilities. Not just my connections and who my parents are. The System must have read my thoughts and decided that we wanted to make a Soul Bond.¡± ¡°Oh. I¡¯m sorry you got stuck with me then. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not what you wanted.¡± Gwen mumbled something that John couldn¡¯t quite hear, and somehow her blush got even darker. John couldn¡¯t quite hear her, so he said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t hear you, Gwen, could you please repeat that?¡± Gwen stepped a bit closer to John, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not like I hate what happened.¡± John was sure Gwen could feel his surprise coming across their connection. He had felt her affection, interest, and care about him before, but he had assumed it had been a more platonic interest on her end. John tried to speak but found he didn¡¯t quite know to say, with ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± being the only sound to leave his mouth. Gwen had stepped close enough to John that their chests were almost touching, and said in a whisper, ¡°If either of us wants out of it, there are ways to break the bond. But would you like to try going on a couple of dates first?¡± She looked up at John, with a hopeful look in her eyes as she said this. ¡°Y-y-y-yes. That sounds like it could be nice.¡± John said with a nervous stutter. ¡°Yay!¡± was all Gwen said before practically jumping on John and planting a quick kiss on his lips, before backing up a step and blushing furiously. A blush that was soon matched in intensity by one from John. Gwen then quickly said, ¡°So what do people do for dates on Earth?¡± hoping to try and power through the mutual embarrassment. John and Gwen could each also sense a feeling of excitement underneath the nervousness coming from one another, ¡°Umm¡­ usually couples go for dinner, possibly followed by an activity of some kind. We could watch the next Lord Of The Rings movie as a date if you¡¯d like after I make you supper.¡± ¡°That sounds great. When I¡¯m done with the first book, and you have some spare time, we should do that. I¡¯ll see you later, John.¡± Gwen said. John almost didn¡¯t react as she went back towards the Study Room, before saying, ¡°Oh! I also made you a private room. I left a surprise for you!¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll check it out,¡± Gwen said as she instinctively turned towards where her new room was. After Gwen went into her room, John tried to work on more things in the Dungeon, but he found that he was having trouble concentrating due to his excitement. It took the clock going past midnight, and John being notified that the ongoing Research had been completed for him to snap out of his reverie.
Research Completed: Mana - General Description: Gain a general understanding of an unaspected mana and what its potential uses are. Research Cost: 2 R.P. Benefit Of Research: Unlocks further Research into uses and types of Mana. Mana collection becomes more efficient. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: Mana Infusion, Basic Mana Element Type Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
Along with the Research Completion notification, John had a level up notification telling him Research was now level 4, and he would be getting an additional Research Point each day. With that notification, John now had three R.P. to spend, but before he did, something told him he should check what the two new Research options were.
Mana Infusion Description: Research how to infuse Mana into Dungeon Creations Research Cost: 3 R.P. Benefit Of Research: Unlocks mana infusion during creation. Mana collection and use become more efficient. Parent Research: Mana - General Research Unlocked: ??? Dungeon Ability Unlocked: ???
Basic Mana Element Type Description: Allow Dungeon to use a basic mana type in creation Research Cost: 5 R.P. Benefit Of Research: Unlocks the mana element type for use, opens up advanced types after two mana types are researched. Parent Research: Mana - General Research Unlocked: ??? Dungeon Ability Unlocked: ???
Looking into the Basic Mana Element Research, John found out that besides plain Mana used as a Dungeon Core, there were six basic elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Light, and Dark. Earth, Air, Water, and Fire had a cyclical relationship, with Earth being strong against Air, Air is strong against Water, Water being strong against Fire, and Fire strong against Earth. Light and Dark had a reciprocal relationship with each other, with each being strong or weak against the other depending on the element¡¯s situation and use. By no means were these strengths and weaknesses absolute, and the adept use of an element that was weak against a stronger element can overcome the stronger element. Now that John had three R.P. to spend, it almost felt like they were burning a hole in his pocket, as he could get another research completed right away. His options were the Crafting Subskills, Cooking and Chemistry, or the newly unlocked Mana Infusion. And as tempting as it was to get the Cooking subskill to help out with his date with Gwen that was coming up, he could always pick that up tomorrow, and something was telling him that the Mana Infusion Research was necessary, so he selected that. As he chose it, the System notified John that his Research level had again gone up, and he was now level 5 and had also gained another R.P. generated each day, along with one more R.P. for him to spend. He would use that Point in a bit, but he was much more excited as the knowledge from Mana Infusion came in. He hadn¡¯t unlocked any new Research or gained any new Abilities, but his Creation and Crafting Abilities had gained a new function. John could now infuse extra Mana into Traps and Creatures, giving Traps effects based on Mana, and allowing John to turn Creatures into Monsters. John was about to create his first Monster, and he was excited about this significant step as a Dungeon. 1.15 Gwen was on her bed, a nervous excitement coursing through her body. It had been a while since she had gone on a date with someone she liked, much less someone she had chosen. Most of the dates Gwen had been on in the past couple of years had been with the scions of other famous Dungeons Fairy¡¯s families. Most of them had as much training in working with Dungeons as she had and were simply looking for a trophy to tie their families together. Their conversations had often focused on how strong a union would make their families in the future, not Gwen¡¯s interests or ideas. It had been refreshing to meet someone who wanted to show her new things to enjoy together, rather than someone who saw Gwen as a prize to be won. That this person was thoughtful enough to set up multiple surprises just because he thought she might like them, rather than impress her, had further endeared John to her. The Lord Of The Rings poster was so cool, and after she looked into it, she had found out that John had created it using the image of the Mines Of Moria from the Special Extended Edition of The Lord Of The Rings DVD. Gwen would have to ask John about where she could find some other interesting images to make into posters or let him surprise her again. John was also different from many of the other men she had been set up with, in that he wasn¡¯t haughty when it came to his position. While he didn¡¯t have the full context of how important he would be in this world, John seemed to view his role as a Dungeon as a lucky opportunity Mahaytar had granted John, rather than some birthright he deserved. That John wanted to use his position to better his world, rather than better his place in life, was something that Gwen also admired, as it reflected beliefs that she had about positions of power. Many of her peers felt that power was a means of making one¡¯s situation better, only caring about themselves and their families. Thinking of her peers, she missed her friend Trixie, one of the few who had shared her beliefs. Gwen felt a slight sense of giddy embarrassment rise at how bold she had been towards John, being the first to make any moves towards a relationship. Being the one to express their desire physically had been a new and thrilling experience for her. Many of the failed courtships she had been forced to attend had seen her being the one to be vigorously pursued, though she had let only a few be as physically intimate with her as she had been with John. Most of the men she had been set up with had been remarkably handsome and told so since birth, making them arrogantly believe that their looks alone would be enough to secure any woman they had wanted. When someone she liked had low enough self-esteem to think they couldn¡¯t be desirable to her, she had at first been confused and frustrated. Gwen¡¯s feelings had morphed into a much sadder emotion as she dwelled on what this likely meant about John¡¯s psyche. However, since he had remained kind and thoughtful towards others, she was hopeful that he could be reminded that he has worth and deserves the same kindness and thoughtfulness he gives to others. To cheer herself up, she decided to try listening to More (ft. Anderson .Paak) by Flying Lotus, which John had said was a newer song he liked a lot.
George was pretty sure that he had found the entrance to the Dungeon. He couldn¡¯t think of many other reasons that a door would appear somewhere it hadn¡¯t been before so rapidly and without evidence of heavy construction. Discovering this had helped alleviate some of his disappointment in not unlocking a Class yet. Still, George figured the System had felt that shadow boxing for two minutes during his breaks had not been enough to evaluate his combat abilities, which was fair enough. He had been surprised that his activities throughout the day had earned three skills and had two Professions to choose from, along with another more specialized Profession that he was close to unlocking. It wasn¡¯t a massive amount of options, but it gave him some direction to go in, and George could see how both Professions would give him some valuable benefits. He pulled up the notifications of the skills he had earned, followed by the skill descriptions.
Negotiation, Level 11, Novice Benefit Unlocked Information Gathering, Level 10, Novice Benefit Unlocked Travelling, Level 24, Novice Benefit Unlocked
Negotiation Description: The ability to determine and trade items and ideas of value with another. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Buying - Novice, Selling - Novice, ??? Subskills: ??? Related Skills: Information Gathering Novice Bonus: Gain a general idea of what your value is in the deal compared to your opposites value
Information Gathering Description: The ability to gain information about various things in or related to the system. Techniques can be used to gain information about identities and attributes. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Research - Novice, Navigation - Novice, Perception - Novice, ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: Negotiation, Travelling, ??? Novice Bonus: Speed of information gained (1+n/100)x, Current 1.1x
Travelling Description: Using different means to travel between one point and another Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Walking+, Driving+, ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: Information Gathering Novice Bonus: Travel Efficiency (n+n/10)% at Base Speed, Current 26.4%
As far as George could tell, the System had evaluated his different Skills and their techniques based on enough use of them throughout the day. The Negotiation Skill came from his selling and collection of bus fares throughout the day, along with the couple of purchases George had made at convenience and grocery stores during the day. Those had given him the Novice versions of the Buying and Selling Techniques. Although he wasn¡¯t doing anything about negotiating better prices, he had used the Techniques in ways that sped up the process, endearing him slightly to those interacting with him. George could also feel how the System would help him repeat the best versions of the Techniques he had used and how it would help him improve those Techniques. George would gain some skill experience for merely using the skill, more for improving Techniques, especially to new mastery levels, and the most experience for showing unique aspects of Techniques or even entirely new Techniques to the System. By concentrating on why this was, George gained a feeling that the System itself operated on a kind of gestalt knowledge, and rewarded users for confirming the information it already had, and even more so for giving the System new knowledge. George figured that if he wanted to improve his Buying and Selling Negotiation Techniques, a decent way would be to host and visit some yard sales or go to a secondhand or pawn shop. George could then Negotiate with the more flexible prices to give the System more data and get more data from the System to improve his Techniques. Moving on to his Information gathering skill, George found that the System had given him the Research technique while he had spent some time on breaks looking for information. George had based his research on information if there had been any weird phenomenon in the last couple of days that could explain the System¡¯s presence. Navigation had come from the memorization of his bus routes and going through traffic, along with the quick looks at maps he had used to figure out some detours that had been necessary. Looking through the specialized Profession requirements had made him excited about the possibilities of this Technique, and George would have to do some experiments later. He had gained Perception by paying attention to what was going on around him and concentrating on the things that had caught George¡¯s attention. Travelling had surprised George with how broad of a range it covered. Walking and Driving might seem to be specific initially, but each covered a wide range of activities. When he opened Walking, he had separate sub-Techniques for Walking, Jogging, and Hiking; Walking was at an Apprentice level, while Jogging and Hiking were both only at Initiate. Hiking had come only from the stairs he had gone up and down, and the ease of the terrain was why it was only at the Initiate level. George had the feeling that almost anything related to walking that had its broad array of approaches could be a sub-Technique. Driving seemed to cover powered vehicles, as he already had sub-Techniques for driving Buses and Cars, both at Novice levels, though he could sense they were close to Apprentice. The efficiency rating of travelling seemed to refer to how efficient his travel was at base speed. At 100% efficiency, it would incur him no stamina costs to travel at base speeds. Driving vehicles would still use fuel, though the system would also make fuel use slightly more efficient. Driving¡¯s main benefit would be that he would not feel fatigued if he were at 100% efficiency as long as he could stay awake. Above 100% efficiency would allow George to recover some stamina while walking at base speeds or while driving, though it would not get rid of his need to sleep.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Finishing up with the skills he had unlocked, he brought up the Professions¡¯ descriptions he had unlocked. He was able to select Merchant or Teamster, and he was close enough to unlocking Guide that he could look at the Profession¡¯s details.
Merchant Description: A base Profession for buying, selling, and trading goods. +1 Chr, bonus chance to acquiring valuables when equipped. Prerequisite: One of the related skills must be unlocked. Skills: Negotiation, ???, Information Gathering Active Abilities: Item Of Interest Highlight, System Aided Appraisal, Customer Attraction, Motive Sense, Goods Movement Passive Abilities: Carrying Dexterity, Coin Handling
Teamster Description: A base Profession based on transporting goods and people. +1 Chr and Str, 2% bonus to movement speed when equipped. Prerequisite: One of the related skills must be unlocked. Skills: Negotiation, Information Gathering, Travelling Active Abilities: Customer Attraction, Motive Sense, Solid Path, Strength Boost, System Aided Navigation Passive Abilities: Carrying Capacity, Travel Efficiency
Guide Description: A specialized Profession for guiding others to destinations safely. +2 Con and Dex, +5% bonus to movement speed when equipped. Prerequisite: Apprentice Level Travelling, Apprentice Level Navigation Technique Skills: Travelling, Information Gathering Active Abilities: Path Highlight, System Aided Mapping, Safe Rest, Point Of Interest Marking, Solid Footing Passive Abilities: Map Acquisition, Danger Sense
He was surprised at how much information was given in the description of each Profession, as Skills did not list all possible Techniques. However, he could not access the details of the individual Abilities of each Profession. George also had a sense from the system that for the cross Class and Profession Abilities that appeared in multiple Classes and Professions, when he unlocked them for one Class or Profession, they would also unlock for the other. Besides that, upgrading the Ability in one class would also upgrade it in the other. Depending on the user¡¯s preference, they could use this feature of the System to strengthen cross Abilities more or quicken the acquisition of all Class and Profession Abilities for each Class or Profession. George began weighing the pros and cons of either selection for his first selection. While Merchant only gave one stat boost compared to Teamster¡¯s two, the bonus seemed better than Teamsters. George did some quick mental math and assumed that whatever Skill he unlocked from acquiring Merchant would start at zero or need to be evaluated to give him a proper level in it. From this, George calculated that he would be a level 2.1 Merchant or a level 4.5 Teamster. After thinking about his intent to the System, George learned that it would be a level 2 Merchant and a level 4 Teamster, as the System only counted discrete levels. He would need nine more skill levels to level up Merchant to 3, and five more skill levels to level up Teamster to 5. What settled the decision in his mind was those levels. George could select four Teamster Abilities today and save one of the cross Abilities when he switched to Merchant tomorrow, unlocking all five active Abilities for the Teamster Profession by tomorrow. Besides this, using four abilities today would give him some time to test out how they worked. As George selected the Teamster Profession, he was able to bring up the description of all the Abilities. However, he wouldn¡¯t be able to choose one of the passives until he was level 5, and the other until he was level 10. After unlocking each passive, George would be able to upgrade them with his Ability point he got with each level, rather than the active Abilities if he preferred. He could also feel his Strength grow, and he would better handle social interactions thanks to the improving Charisma.
Customer Attraction Description: Attracts customers that could use your skills in a 100m radius. By having multiple Professions with the ability, numerous or specific types of customers can be attracted based on user preferences. Higher levels increase radius and decrease resource costs. Prerequisites: Merchant and Teamster Profession Ability Ability Type: Active
Motive Sense Description: Use resources to sense the exact motives of those using your services. It also gives a more general sense of motives as a passive ability. Higher levels reduce resource costs. Prerequisites: Merchant and Teamster Profession Ability Ability Type: Active (Passive)
Solid Path Description: Use mana to smooth out the path you are travelling on or turning soft terrain into a solid path using more mana. Increasing the level increases the speed at which the trail is smoothed and solidified, and reduces the mana used. Prerequisites: Teamster Profession Ability Ability Type: Active
Strength Boost Description: Use resources to boost strength by 10% for a minute. Higher levels increase the boost amount and time while reducing the resource cost. Prerequisites: Teamster Profession Ability Ability Type: Active
System Aided Navigation Description: Using a constant low amount of resources, the System helps guide the user, making them less likely to get injured and travel quicker. Higher levels reduce resources used and give better guidance. Prerequisites: Teamster Profession Ability Ability Type: Active
Carrying Capacity Description: Increases strength concerning carrying capacity, allowing heavier weights to be carried. Prerequisites: Teamster Profession Ability Ability Type: Passive
Travel Efficiency Description: Increases efficiency in all areas of travel possible, including speed, distance, and safety. Scales with information known about travel, skills, and abilities. Prerequisites: Teamster Profession Ability Ability Type: Passive
George decided he would save Customer Attraction until he selected the Merchant Profession. It seemed like it would be useful if he had something he was looking to sell, and George felt he would be able to attract more customers to ride his bus, which might help him train his Negotiation skill and possibly unlock new Techniques for it. On the other hand, George figured that Sense Motive could also be used for training and having an Ability that has a passive component is always useful. The more challenging choice would be when he earned enough skill levels to get his first passive. Carrying more weight would help bring Dungeon diving equipment and set up traps, but the Travel Efficiency sounded like a more general skill that would help him out more in day-to-day life. George was even more excited than usual for family game night tonight; he had a feeling that a session of Dungeon and Dragons might be a great way to unlock some more Skills and Professions, and possibly even a Class. It would also give him a chance to ask Frank if he had heard anything from his parishioners.
John was staring at his first Monster. What surprised him the most was how cute his first Monster was, as when he pictured monsters, the general idea of claws and slavering maws came to mind. Not the Monster before him, which had a distinct lack of claws or mouth and had a rotundity to it, rather than a sleek sense of power he pictured for other Monsters. After Gwen finished the Fellowship Of The Ring and came over to help him create a monster, she had suggested a Creature to infuse with mana that had surprised him at first. Still, as she explained more about creating Monsters with just Mana Infusion, he completely understood the logic behind what she suggested. It was smart, and John appreciated Gwen¡¯s expertise in the area. John sensed Gwen herself seemed pretty proud of doing something more direct for John, rather than just providing him with emotional support like she had lately. Gwen had explained that when Monsters were created by Mana Infusion, instead of each sub-type of creature turning into a unique Monster, essentially all Creatures in the category were combined into an apex Creature. For example, all subtypes of Rodents in the Rodents category would merge into a Monster with all the subtypes¡¯ Abilities. If more Creatures are unlocked for that category, then the Monster would have to be recreated and replaced in the Dungeon to get the new Abilities. On the other hand, John did have one Creature category with all the subtypes already, and Gwen told him that the resulting Monster was one of the most versatile. Especially since once John created a Monster, there was a chance that it could evolve after time and unlock a new subtype of that Monster. This specific type of Monster had an almost unlimited ability to develop. John would even be able to create elemental subtypes or advanced versions of the base type that have some unique evolution possibilities themselves. And so, John had made a Slime Mold and Infused it with Mana, resulting in the somehow cute, almost translucent blue sphere, the basic Slime. 1.16 Jake watched as the Slime bounced around his legs, periodically stopping to nudge him by rolling into them. The way the slime moved seemed almost joyful, and it was hard to rectify its appearance with the dangerous Monster it was. John had been able to show Jake the Monster¡¯s basic stat sheet when he had asked him to test out taking control of a Monster. However, neither Jake nor John could access the descriptions of what precisely the Abilities would allow Jake to do when he took control of the Monster. Deciding there was no time like the present, Jake reached down and put his hand on top of the Slime, who seemed to have stopped its movements in anticipation of what Jake was about to do. As he finished putting his hand on it, the Slime seemed to quiver with excitement, and Jake¡¯s perspective suddenly shifted. Jake felt a sense of panic, realizing he couldn¡¯t see, and because of that, Jake just wanted to sit still for a bit. However, Jake could feel the Slime¡¯s desire to resume hopping around was becoming more insistent, so as he relinquished a bit of control back to the Slime, he pulled up its description.
Slimes Element Affinity: Neutral Subtype: Neutral Prerequisites: Slime Mold Absorbed, Mana Infusion Researched Abilities: Iridescence, Biological Network, Asexual Reproduction, Acid, Regeneration, Vibration Sense Cost: 10 Mana
As Jake¡¯s attention shifted back towards what the Slime was doing, he noticed that he wasn¡¯t just in a black void. While Jake didn¡¯t see anything, he got impressions where everything was around him. Jake wanted to get a better image of everything around him, so he asked the slime to stop hopping again. As the Slime stopped moving, Jake noticed that he had a memory of where everything was but was no longer getting an update of what was around him. Jake thought about it for a couple of seconds, before realizing that the Slime¡¯s hopping around must be one of the ways it uses Vibration Sense. To test this out, he had the Slime move by rolling around. Jake could sense that this kind of movement was much quieter than hopping and could be used for stealth purposes, but he also received much less information from the Vibration Sense about his surroundings. To test the Slimes movement limits, Jake also got it to try moving along like an inchworm. As the Slime did so, Jake inferred from the information coming in that he received more information from the ground around the Slime, but less information was coming from the air around him than rolling. Jake calculated that this must mean the Slime would theoretically be making more noise this way due to the increased vibrations, but its body was muffling the noise. The Slime sent back a sense of unease to Jake after doing this for a while, seemingly word that stretching itself across sharper rocks could lead to cuts occurring. Jake had some fun testing out these different locomotion methods after the initial disorientation he had felt, and how they affected the input he got from Vibration Sense. The Slime seemed confused at first, but when Jake sent images of the Slimes hopping and something running away, followed by the Slime using the crawl like movement to get close to the prey without it trying to escape, it paid attention. Jake followed this with an image of the Slime jumping onto the target, and the Slime seemed to get excited and paid closer attention to what Jake did. Jake got the sense that by doing this, he had unlocked a new pattern of behaviour for Slimes and that some Slimes would continue to follow, while other Slimes would continue the actions he had initially seen from this Slime. He suspected that this could lead to different evolution opportunities for the different patterns of behaviour for the different Slimes. Before Jake finished up with the Slime, he also wanted to test a couple of other things he hoped the Slime could learn. First, Jake got the Slime to stretch out, similar to how it had when it had crawled like an inchworm. Then instead of having it crawl again, he got it to slap it font half against the ground. Jake was satisfied to see that he had gotten a better resolution than usual in the direction that he had the slime slap in. Jake was shocked when he received a notification that a new Slime Ability had been unlocked, Vibration Probe, though he still couldn¡¯t access the description. Jake had a feeling that most Slimes would be using this in some ways, so he tried out softer and stealthier ways to use the Ability, like tapping rather than slapping so that Slimes could use a wider variety of behaviours with the Ability. Feeling satisfied with what he had achieved with Vibration Sense, Jake got the Slime to model its Acid ability for him. He saw that the Slime had a couple of different behaviours already set for the Ability, the first of which was to secrete some acid as a defensive mechanism to stop predators from wanting to attack it. The Slime could also shake its body after this as a kind of area of effect attack, to try and ward off multiple attackers. Finally, the Slime showed him how it spits up a gob of acid, seemingly so that it could help digest things it was having trouble absorbing, similar to how many insects and bugs digested certain foods. Seeing that the Slime had pretty good control over its body, Jake had a few ideas on other ways the Slimes could use the Acid Ability. First, Jake got the Slime to make the hole opening to let the acid out for digesting much smaller and let the acid build up a bit at the entrance. The acid then came out in a more concentrated stream and travelled much farther. Besides showing the Slime to use this as a ranged attack, Jake also sent the Slime images of how if there was a hole it couldn¡¯t cross, it could use the stream to cause vibration on the other side of the hole so it could ¡°see¡± on the other side with Vibration Sense. Jake also showed the Slime how it could climb onto the ceiling and drip acid as both a trap and as a way to monitor an area without making sounds that would give away that there is a Slime in the area. Not thinking of anything else he could teach the Slime, Jake willed himself out of the Slime, and his body manifested again in the Boss Room of the First Floor of the Dungeon. Jake had been surprised that he had been able to have a physical body, but since John had absorbed his body, he could manifest it for Jake to use as an NPC. Currently, Jake would be unable to leave John¡¯s domain, which he figured was probably for the best. Just because his current body didn¡¯t have a chemical dependency on any drug didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t still psychologically tempting for him to use. Yes, he was comforted now by the idea that there was some afterlife, and he hadn¡¯t lost his parents forever, but drugs had long been a crutch to escape his troubling emotions. But being granted a second chance wasn¡¯t something he wanted to disrespect, especially since it had been given to him by his brother, the one person who had continued to stand by him no matter how bad he had gotten. And he didn¡¯t want to do anything that would upset the new family balance, like letting down Lenny or making the recent relationship between John and Gwen strained. Jake knew he could be a bit of an asshole and generally fell into the trickster archetype, but he loved his brother and knew how hard it was for him to open himself to others, and Gwen seemed like a kind and outgoing person who would be a good match for John. As he finished that thought, the Slime gave him a quick nuzzle on his legs before climbing up the wall and nestling itself in a corner, wanting to work on its stealth capabilities.
John was feeling pretty undecided about what he should do with his next bunch of Research Points. John could get both Cooking and Chemistry tomorrow; Mineral Working for 4 R.P.; or any other basic crafts, basic element, Interdimensional Internet Connection, or Mana To Electrical Power Conversion for 5 R.P. By adding Cooking and Chemistry to Dungeon Crafting would give him a lot more things to work on with Dungeon Crafting, which he hadn¡¯t seen much use for so far. Cooking would also allow him to better practice things he could make for his date with Gwen, making it even more tempting. Mineral Working also sounded interesting since it seemed that it would allow him to do any crafting related to minerals, including stonemasonry and crafting related to gems. The other crafts would be useful, and he wanted to pick up one of the basic elements soon for experiments. It would also be nice to have access to the internet for information and to be able to show Gwen a lot of the things on it, but John had the feeling that Mana to Electrical conversion would give him a lot of benefits. Hopefully, even just having access to his laptop would allow him access to some of the design and drafting programs he had on it. Adding even some of their abilities to his Blueprints would be awesome, nevermind some of the benefits he could imagine if he could work some coding into his Abilities. So really, in John¡¯s mind, the choice was whether to pick up the Mana To Electric conversion tonight, or Cooking and Chemistry.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Whatever choice John ended up making, he was happy with selecting Mana Infusion for his last round of Research. Besides being able to create monsters, John could now add mana into any materials being produced. John had tested it out with the leather and carapace for which he had acquired the patterns. Adding the mana had made both the materials better overall in quality, along with him having a feeling that they were now better prepared to take enchantments and other enhancements. To infuse the metals and other materials he had access to, he would first have to gain their sub-ability under Dungeon Crafting. His tests on the materials he had access to had given him two Dungeon Crafting levels, raising its level to 3. On a similar note, John¡¯s day¡¯s activities had also raised his Domain level to 7, and his Domain now was touching the walls of most of the buildings around him and beginning to cross into buildings. Besides the levels he had gained, Gwen¡¯s research had also provided him with a couple of new Blueprints and benefits. John had acquired more weapon Blueprints, including Gandalf¡¯s sword Glamdring and Gandalf¡¯s staff, and had gained more varieties of magic rings based on the powers of the Rings described in the books. However, when John tried to Create some of these items, he found that they could not be Created until he had appropriate materials. He could make swords and rings out of lesser materials like the stainless steel he had unlocked, but they would have none of the magical enchantments that the originals had. What had surprised John more was that he had gained partial access to the Elvish and Dwarven languages, along with some of the Elvish alphabet and some Dwarven Runes. John had asked Gwen about this; she explained how the System had been built upon a gestalt unconsciousness spread through the Multiverse. Even when a universe didn¡¯t have full access to the System, people still had access to that unconsciousness, especially creative types. When someone came up with an idea that had a real representation somewhere in the Multiverse, the gestalt unconsciousness would guide their creativity to match some aspects of the actual alternate reality. For example, when Tolkien was coming up with his languages, the unconsciousness had directed him towards the Elvish and Dwarven languages. When creating the races that had made the languages, the gestalt had made Tolkien¡¯s descriptions similar to Elves and Dwarves present in the Multiverse. Gwen¡¯s explanation of this had caused John a bit of discomfort when it came to Orcs and Goblins, as he didn¡¯t like the idea of inherently evil races of beings, but Gwen had explained that this was not true. Gwen explained that while there were Orcs and Goblins, neither was an inherently Evil race and that those present in The Lord Of The Rings more closely resemble something she called the Mal-touched. These were beings of any race corrupted by the Dark God Malthus, and the Goblins and Orcs in Lord Of The Rings had represented their Mal-touched counterparts. Gwen¡¯s explanation made more sense to John as that was similar to Goblins and Orcs in The Lord Of The Rings lore, though the idea that Evil Gods are out there was terrifying in and of itself. As he voiced that thought, Gwen had explained that there were not many Evil Gods, like the Gods of Neutrality and Good. There was a singular Evil God, Malthus, who was also called the Conqueror and the Corrupter. As Gwen explained, at one point in history, eons, ages, minutes, years, or seconds ago, depending on your perspective in the Multiverse, where time outside of the System¡¯s regulation wasn¡¯t exactly consistent, the Evil Administrators and Gods had begun subsuming each other. Eventually, they combined into one hive mind, and the personalities absorbed would, at times, still wrestle for control, as the nature of Evil was to seek absolute power at any cost. Occasionally there were splits, and part of Malthus would break off, but those were usually conquered again and reabsorbed. Even the personality of Malthus changed as new personas came in and out of control of the collective. The one constant was that it wanted to rule; it was obsessed with power at any cost and anything that allowed its influence usually fell to corruption either in part or as a whole. Malthus had been such a threat that the Good and Neutral Administrators and Gods had formed a loose alliance as time had gone on. There was still some fighting for control among the various factions, but as soon as a significant part of Malthus¡¯ presence came to a realm, even the most isolationist of other powerful beings would join a coalition to fight back against its existence. It wasn¡¯t necessarily because Malthus¡¯ presence was always powerful. Generally, the more expansionist personas had to win a significant fight over the more cautious personas to justify sending more power to its forces in the area. The longer Malthus¡¯ presence in a realm remained unchecked, the more likely it was that the more moderate and conservative personas were to agree to commit some of their power and potentially leave its presence in other spaces a bit vulnerable. So the coalition had been decided to stop any current conflicts in a realm once Malthus arrived so that they could deal with Malthus quicker. Gwen had a thoughtful look on her face as she explained this to John, ¡°However, Malthus is not the only source of Evil in the Multiverse, only the most powerful. Anything else Evil that gets enough power is either noticed and absorbed into the hive or is arrogant enough to believe the will be the dominant persona and tries to wrestle control of the collective for themself. They may even succeed for a time, but there are enough dominant and clever personas in Malthus that eventually others take over for a time. Generally, when a more conservative persona is in control, the Multiverse goes through a time of peace, though more localized Evils may find this an opportunity to gain their power.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand that Malthus cannot be the only source of Evil,¡± John replied to Gwen, ¡°it¡¯s not like we needed him for Dr. Mengele, The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, or Unit 731. Among the many other horrors, humans have come up with throughout the years.¡± Gwen wasn¡¯t sure what John was talking about, but she could sense a feeling of mixed horror, anger, and sadness coming from John. There was a distinct feeling of bitterness coming from John about these events, and Gwen would look them up herself or ask John about them later when he was in a better mood. ¡°Do you have any other questions about Malthus?¡± ¡°Mainly just why they haven¡¯t tried to take over on Earth now that it is open to the Multiverse?¡± ¡°Essentially, because Malthus didn¡¯t find it first. The first powerful beings to notice that your realm was now accessible to them were Good and Neutral from a mostly peaceful realm. They have already begun establishing their presence here, Mahaytar being the most prominent so far. Even in their most expansionist periods, Malthus won¡¯t commit significant power unless it is the first to a realm. Any significant loss of power for Malthus usually leads to a separation of some personas from the collective, which can be a significant loss of power until they are rejoined and interfere with Mathus¡¯s plans in the works. So Malthus is usually more cautious and uses underhanded tactics on realms that they are not the first to, in case the other powerful beings are relatively weak compared to them. If anything, Malthus is more likely to increase his operations in other realms Mahaytar is present in, as Mahaytar will be using a bit of power from their other realms until they are fully established as a presence here.¡± ¡°So I shouldn¡¯t be worried about Malthus showing up directly yet, but I should be on the lookout for them operating through more local powers, as I assume I am a bit of a strategic resource.¡± ¡°Right, especially as you are your world¡¯s only Soul Repository for now. And since you are aligned with Good, you will be used to help send Evil Souls for a cleansing rebirth. Along with weakening any hold Evil has over Good and Neutral Souls that are on their journey to the afterlife,¡± Gwen said, her conflicting emotions of pride and worry evident to John. ¡°I¡¯m assuming that this weakens Malthus and strengthens the other Gods somehow?¡± ¡°Sure. Souls going to the afterlife give up some of their power as a form of rent in the afterlife, essentially. They may also trade power for boons if they ever decide to reincarnate. The less Evil they have attached to them, the quicker their journey is to the afterlife, and the quicker their being in the afterlife will gain power for their benefactor. Sending the Evil Souls for a cleansing rebirth also keeps Malthus from taking their power, and gives them another shot to end up in a Good or Neutral Beings afterlife.¡± ¡°So essentially, I could be a target, but I¡¯m a deterrent until the point I am available as a target, as most resources Malthus could use against me are not recoverable?¡± John said to Gwen with a bit of worry in his voice. ¡°Essentially, yes.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s reassuring,¡± John said with irony present in his tone. ¡°Seeing as you¡¯re done The Fellowship Of The Ring, but I¡¯m not quite ready for our date yet, do you want to watch one of those cartoons I was talking about? We can do it alone, or I can invite Jake and Lenny as well.¡± ¡°That sounds good, and as much as I¡¯d like to keep to myself for a bit more,¡± Gwen said with a wink as she walked towards John, who blushed a bit, ¡°I also want to get to know your brother and Lenny a bit better, and they seem like the kind of thing Lenny could enjoy.¡± ¡°Sounds good. We can watch a bit of Adventure Time, which has something in it for almost everyone. Maybe we¡¯ll even surprise Lenny and show him an episode form one of the episodes of a T.M.N.T. show. I¡¯m sure his reaction would be pretty cute.¡± Gwen got closer to John and whispered in his ear, ¡°It¡¯ll be nice testing if we can make a good family unit,¡± Causing John¡¯s blush to deepen as she kissed him on the cheek and turned to walk away with a sultry sway. However, John found it charming that she couldn¡¯t completely turn away from him before a blush had developed on her face as well. 1.17 Gwen had enjoyed Adventure Time almost as much as Lenny had, which was more charming than surprising to John. While a short time ago, she had played the part of a seductress to tease John, he found her joyful and inquisitive nature that came through as she had watched something new and fun even more alluring. For his part, Lenny seemed to take to Adventure Time the same way he had taken to T.M.N.T., like a fish to water. When John had shut down Adventure Time, Lenny had seemed disappointed that it had ended so soon but had perked up again when John started an episode of T.M.N.T. However, Lenny¡¯s excitement had been palpable to John, Gwen, and Jake, who had all watched on with amusement as Lenny mimicked Michaelangelo, which was almost as frequent as his mimicking of Leonardo. John hadn¡¯t been sure why until near the end of the watching session when he had stopped the episode before turning it off. Lenny had turned around and looked at John before pointing to Leonardo then himself. John hadn¡¯t been sure what Lenny was getting at until the word ¡°Name?¡± came through their connection. It was then that John realized Lenny thought John had named him after Leonardo, which much to John¡¯s chagrin, was certainly not the case.
It had been hard for Gwen to work up the courage to try and act sexy around John. It was something all of her etiquette classes had warned her was something a proper lady not to do, but seeing the flustered look on his face had been worth it. Gwen knew she had somewhat ruined the effect with her blush as she had tried to turn away, but she had felt John¡¯s appreciation for both sides of her. She had enjoyed watching the cartoons, and it had been almost as fun watching Lenny¡¯s reactions to both Adventure Time and T.M.N.T., both of which had had their attractions for Gwen. However, Gwen had personally enjoyed Adventure Time more. With the number of eligible people watching the ¡°shows¡± as John had called them, she was also unsurprised that they had picked up a couple of research benefits from them. There hadn¡¯t been any reductions to other Research projects, but they had gained a decent amount of Blueprints for weapons, accessories, and clothes. Those Blueprints included the Turtle¡¯s armaments and masks, and Finn¡¯s first sword Scarlet, bag, and hat. Upon receiving them, John had told her he had a surprise in mind for Lenny, and she was excited to watch as that happened. She was also interested in what they had gotten from her ¡°Research¡± of The Fellowship Of The Ring, which she barely considered work since making notes on the lore of the story was something she had done for fun as a kid anyway. When Gwen had told John that, he had laughed and called her a nerd, which he then explained was a lightly pejorative term for someone who held particular interests and habits. She had been slightly off-put by that until John explained that he was also a nerd and that when nerds used it among themselves, it was more of a term of endearment and comradery. From The Fellowship Of The Rings, Gwen had obtained patterns for more Magic Rings, including the three named Elven Rings. She had a suspicion that John would not be able to make those for a while, at least the versions described in the story. When John asked about the Elvish and Dwarven languages, they had gotten into an esoteric Multiverse and System discussion. Following this, Gwen forgot to mention to John that Elvish Script and Dwarvish Runes could be used for Enchantments. Even partially unlocking both languages had reduced the Research Point cost of the Enchantment subskill under Dungeon Crafting to 8. Gwen had also gained templates for the Legendary Monsters: Barrow Wights and the Watcher In The Water, the latter of which was only available as a Boss or Rare monster, similar to the Ring Wraiths and Balrog. Besides Gandalf¡¯s Sword and Staff, she had also gained Weapon Blueprints for the Barrow Blades, The Ring Wraith¡¯s Cursed Swords, and The Bow Of Galadhrim. The Research had also given Blueprints for Chainmail, Elven Cloaks, Elven Brooch, Elvish Rope, Gold Elvish Belt, Silver Elvish Belt, and The Phial Of Galadriel. Gwen had also unlocked Templates for the Materials Star-Glass, Mithril, Ithildin, Dwarven-Steel, Elfstone, and Galdirel¡¯s Tresses, the Magical Plants Athelas and Mallorn Trees, and the Recipes for Lembas Bread, Miruvor, and Gaffer¡¯s Home Brew. Having immensely enjoyed watching Adventure Time, Gwen decided to watch the first four episodes again, but this time was doing so in the Research Room and taking notes as she had while reading The Fellowship Of The Rings. Watching it the second time, she was also able to pick up some background events she had missed the first time, and Gwen was happy to find out that watching something again, much like reading a book you enjoyed for a second time, you could find new things to appreciate about it. By paying closer attention to the episodes, Gwen was able to unlock a large variety of new Templates, including the Monsters Candy Zombies, Snow Golem, Sign Zombies, Brain Beast, Skeleton Butterfly, Wall Of Flesh, and Crystal Mimic, along with the Magical Plant Crystal Apple Tree. She even gained two new types of Templates, NPCs and Environments. Under Environments, she had unlocked Candy Kingdom, Lumpy Space, Ice Kingdom, and Evil Forest. While for NPCs, Gwen had obtained Candy People, Magic Dogs, Rainicorns, and Intelligent Animals. Gwen had been surprised at the sheer variety of Templates unlocked from watching something only a quarter of the length of The Fellowship Of The Rings. She vowed never to underestimate any creative source on Earth, even ones that may be focused on entertaining children. She chalked this up to the probable uniqueness of Adventure Time compared to The Lord Of The Rings within the Multiverse¡¯s gestalt. Lord Of The Rings is much more aligned with reality, so the wackiness and zaniness of Adventure Time allowed it to draw more from the creator¡¯s unique creativity, offering John a chance to add almost unique features, Monsters, and beings to his Dungeon. After reflecting on this for a few moments, Gwen wanted to get back to ¡°Research¡± and picked up the first book in another series that John had recommended for her. Harry Potter And The Philosopher¡¯s Stone.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
John had panicked a bit when Lenny had concluded that John had named him after Leonardo, and so had excused himself to go work on the surprise he had come up with for Lenny. Lenny seemed okay with it, and Jake said he would hang out with Lenny and watch some cartoons until it was time for Lenny to wake up. It would be one of John¡¯s first alterations to a couple of items that he planned to manifest permanently. Hence, John put more care into the design than he had for the quick adjustments to the pens when he first tested his Blueprint capabilities. These adjustments would also require some of his Creation Ability, as John had not absorbed the required materials directly. To start, John made a sheet of worm leather. While rodent skin leather would work as a more traditional leather type, he felt it would be kind of odd using it to make something for Lenny. John then used his Crafting ability to shape the leather and make it slightly more rigid, though not hard enough to be dangerous if used to strike someone. He then filled the center of the shapes with more soft leather to give them some weight without increasing the danger of being hit by them. John then dyed the resulting training swords and training nunchucks that had been made a dark brown, rather than the light gray they had been. Finally, he made a blue ninja mask to go with the pair of swords and an orange ninja mask to go with the two sets of nunchucks and placed all the items on Lenny¡¯s table. All that remained was to wait for Lenny to wake up.
Lenny indecisively looked between the blue mask with two leather swords that he believed belonged to his namesake and the orange mask and leather nunchucks, his first true love. John didn¡¯t want Lenny to discover who his namesake was yet, so John stacked the deck by creating a cookie underneath the orange mask. He also put restrictions on Lenny¡¯s access to any Of Mice And Men related media, though he knew that was only delaying the inevitable. One day, Lenny would find out that his namesake was not Leonardo, a cool animal ninja, but instead Lennie, a mentally challenged man known for petting cute things a bit too hard. That day, however, was not today.
John was satisfied with how his present for Lenny had turned out, so he scaled them up and added a couple of each to the Dojo. Finishing up with those, he then made some more practice weapons from the Blueprints he had, including the variety of swords he had access to, along with bo staffs, wizard staffs, daggers, and sai. As he did so, he got a notification that the Training Room would now also give bonuses to learning Techniques for those weapons, as long as someone with a Technique for those weapons trained in the room first. John was glad to see that the Training Room would grow in multiple ways to make it more attractive for people to stay longer in the Dungeon, and was hopeful that similar additions would work for his Crafting related rooms. John was also happy to see that he had unlocked hardened varieties for the leathers he had used and that by doing that, Crafting had levelled up to level 5. It had taken John much longer than he had expected to make all of the different weapons, and he was surprised to see how close to midnight it was as he finished. What was more surprising was that the System gave him another warning, that he had to commit the Research Point before midnight, or John would lose the extra point. From this warning, it appeared that John wouldn¡¯t be able to go above his Research Point regeneration for the day. If he wanted to get a more expensive Research option, he would have to commit to getting that for a couple of days before finishing any other Research projects. It must be one of the ways that the System was trying to balance out the power of Research, as John felt it was allowing him to advance much quicker than a standard Dungeon, though that was also due to him being the source of mana currently. Deciding on what to Research, John decided to put a point into Cooking and get Chemistry as that finished. While he still had the feeling that Mana To Electric Conversion would be a significant benefit, John wanted to get ready for his date with Gwen as quickly as possible. And, John thought that spending more Research Points was also more likely to level up his Research Ability. As midnight came to pass and John got the notifications for Cooking and Chemistry as he acquired them, he was glad to see his guess had been correct. John saw that his Research Ability was also now level 6 as he brought up the notifications for his new Crafting sub-Abilities.
Cooking Dungeon Creatures, Monsters, and Plants are now available as cooking materials for the Dungeon to experiment with and these materials are now available as drops. Recipes created using these materials will give buffs to those eating them, and known Recipes are also available as drops in the Dungeon.
Chemistry Dungeon Creatures, Monsters, and Plants can now be harvested for Chemistry materials or give drops as applicable. These chemicals will also be available for the Dungeon to experiment with and be used in Dungeon Traps and Creation as appropriate.
What surprised John the most after unlocking these two new sub-Abilities was the features that crossed between the different sub-Abilities. While Cooking and Leatherworking didn¡¯t have much crossover, just giving a couple of different Blueprints related to clothing and holders for cooking made out of Leather, Chemistry had a significant crossover with the two sub-Abilities. From looking into it, he could use Chemistry to create new chemicals for better curing different types of leather and adding other features like waterproofing and etching. When used with Cooking, he could develop flavouring and scents to add to his Recipes. It also looked like these new crafting sub-Abilities would help unlock the plethora of Templates that Gwen had acquired while John had worked on the wide variety of leather training weapons. Since he was looking over the Templates, John sent a feeling of gratitude and pride over the work she had done over their connection. As he got a sense of affection in return, John wondered what drove her interest in him and vowed to himself that he would do his best to continue to earn it. 1.18 John looked over his list of ingredients that he could use to make a dish for his date with Gwen and decided to go with Rock Dove. Good old dependable Rock Dove, nothing else he had beats that! John could almost hear Lisa Simpson¡¯s voice in his head, saying, ¡°Poor predictable John; always takes Rock Dove.¡± It was not like he was thrilled to be making a dish out of pigeon, but his other choices were the various bugs he had absorbed, and he wasn¡¯t sure that would be appealing to Gwen, even with how much different cultures valued them as food sources. Maybe another meal, he would try to use a crustacean based recipe with one of the bugs as an ingredient, but for now, that was off the table, both figuratively and literally. On the other hand, John could use more ¡°normal¡± ingredients that he had acquired, like a standard cut of chicken breast. Still, besides giving a buff, he felt that using a Dungeon Creature for that may have some other benefits, including the overall taste of the meal. Besides, European settlers had initially brought pigeons as a potential food source, though that idea had backfired spectacularly, like many other ideas from that period of time. And John knew for a fact that his pigeon was ¡°raised¡± pristine, not like the garbage vulture John had used to acquire the pattern. Since the Dungeon Creature version of the Pigeon was about the size of a standard chicken, John decided to make a roast out of the Pigeon, similar to how he would chicken. As he spawned the Pigeon in the Soul Space, he commanded it to die, so he was luckily able to avoid some of the mess involved in the process. As John butchered and cleaned the bird according to the process that was luckily outlined in one of his cookbooks, he was happy to see that that processed pigeon meat was added under his poultry materials. So, if John wanted to repeat this meal or others like it, he wouldn¡¯t have to go through the butchering process again. It wasn¡¯t that John was disgusted by it, just that it took a decent amount of time, and it would be nice cutting that down in the future. Hopefully, this would hold for most of the ingredients coming from the Dungeon; it would be nice only to have to prepare food when he wanted to. Hell, sometimes even cooking the food was a pain, so hopefully, like some of the previous foods John had absorbed, he could summon the finished product once he had cooked it the first time. As John finished cooking and began plating the dinner, arranging the roasted rock dove with a side of chili-lime roasted asparagus, both of which he felt were spiced to near perfection, he felt a sense of pride in the meal he had prepared. The System seemed to concur that he had cooked a worthy meal, giving him a set of notifications to go through. The least surprising notification was that he had levelled Dungeon Crafting to level 6. However, he was enthused that his levelled Crafting ability seemed to be giving him hints about other ingredients that could be substituted to change the recipe in different ways. It appeared that if John made an improved version of the recipe, not only would he receive some Crafting experience for it, he would also increase the effects of eating the Food, especially if John used ingredients from the Dungeon. Wondering what the results of the recipe were, John brought up its description.
Roasted Rock Dove With Chili-Lime Asparagus Description: A seasoned rich rock dove main dish with a side of spicy and slightly sour asparagus. Required Ingredients: Rock Dove Creature Meat, Asparagus, Lime, Chili, Seasonings. Effects: +1 CON, STR For 6 Hours, 1.1x Health and Mana Regen For 12 Hours, Homing Ability For 24 Hours. Variants: Using Dungeon harvested ingredients such as Dungeon Plant Asparagus or Dungeon Harvested Seasoning will increase the bonuses¡¯ effects or time active.
John was glad to see that his efforts for Gwen had been reason enough for the System to recognize them as a useful Recipe. It reassured him that the dish at least had a decent chance of tasting good and wouldn¡¯t disgust Gwen when she ate it. John didn¡¯t have any drink recipes to test out for dinner, but he figured that some of the soft drinks he had would be a novel and fun experience for Gwen. As John looked at the notification of him acquiring the Recipe, he was surprised that it mentioned that along with the recipe being available as a drop from the Dungeon¡¯s appropriate entities, the Recipe¡¯s completed version would also be available for Dungeon Trading. John was just about ready to call Gwen to start the dinner as he created a Dining Room adjacent to the Kitchen, though he had a feeling that she was not quite ready yet. To kill a little more time, John pulled up the semi-complete description of the Homing Ability, which creating a Recipe that gave it as a bonus had unlocked.
Homing Description: The user has an innate sense of the direction of a specific place relative to the user¡¯s position. Prerequisites: ??? Research Points Needed: ??? Cost: ??? Drops Skill Gem Usable By Adventurers: Y
John guessed that he had gained the parts of the description relevant to adventurers because he had created a Recipe they could use. He was still missing the information about what he could do with his Creations regarding the ability, and John would have to ask Gwen exactly what a Skill Gem is. John wasn¡¯t quite sure if that topic would be appropriate for dinner conversation, but since it was related to both of their careers and interests, he would bring it up if it seemed relevant to the discussion. Otherwise, John could always bring it up tomorrow; it¡¯s not like it was an issue of utmost importance. As he was thinking about this, Gwen sauntered into the room, seeming to be hoping to surprise him a bit. However, John had a feeling that Gwen did not intend him to surprise him in one of the ways she had, and he had to stifle his laughter to avoid accidentally hurting her feelings.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Gwen was excited about the date. It seemed that dating on Earth was a bit more casual than it was on Urth, as John hadn¡¯t even made mention of any kind of chaperone. That fact was both freeing and left Gwen feeling a bit nervous, as any first dates back home had been accompanied by some sort of chaperone to make sure the young couples didn¡¯t get up to any scandalous behaviour. Not that she had ever got up to more than chaste kissing with a few of the suitors she had found particularly appealing, but it was nice to have a lifeline to help get out of any awkward conversations. Gwen didn¡¯t expect the conversation to be uncomfortable. That was just her nerves speaking. To try and calm the jittery feeling she had, Gwen worked on her outfit. She wasn¡¯t exactly sure what people on Earth wore on dates, so she went with what she had seen before. While the person wearing the outfit Gwen was modelling hers after had a bigger bust than Gwen, Gwen was confident in her assets and used the same chest accent that the ensemble had, and felt she didn¡¯t lose out at all when comparing their lower bodies. That the person Gwen was using as a model also had a much lighter skin tone than she did also didn¡¯t bother her, as she had worn outfits with similar colours before to great results. Gwen was also glad this outfit had an open back, as that meant she didn¡¯t have to make any adjustments for her wings and could concentrate on making the clothes hug her curves in appealing ways. She was satisfied with the results, sure that John would appreciate how the outfit looked on her as he let her know he was close to being ready for their dinner. Gwen sauntered her way into the room John had set up for their dinner, thinking John looked handsome in the ombre mauve and rose gold collared polo shirt and black pants he was wearing. It gave him a dignified look that she hadn¡¯t seen before on him, and concentrating on him helped her keep up her confidence.
John managed to hold in his laughter as Gwen slinkily made her way to the table. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t look great. In fact, John thought she looked stunning. He bumped finding or making her some pumps near to the top of his mental priorities, though not in actuality. However, John could picture just how great a high heel could accentuate her legs, which looked terrific enough on their own already, and they would help her image if she wanted to play the part of the temptress in their relationship. Regardless of his thoughts on her looks, John needed to show Gwen some more contemporary fashion examples. Other people wouldn¡¯t necessarily feel that what she was wearing was appropriate dinner wear. He would find her some fashion magazines since she seemed to have some talent at modifying clothing, and maybe they could watch a second movie tonight set in a more contemporary setting. As John finished his thoughts on the matter, Gwen was approaching the table, and he remembered his gentlemanly duties and pulled the chair out for her, which earned him a warm smile from her. ¡°You look great tonight, Gwen,¡± John said as he sat in his seat. ¡°Thanks, everything at the table looks scrumptious,¡± Gwen said with a sultry huskiness to her voice. ¡°I hope I look half as good as the¡­ meal before me,¡± she said with a slight pause while accentuating her body with her movements. It took John a couple of seconds to collect his thoughts and keep his blush from spreading too much before he answered her. ¡°I see you¡¯ve dressed up in Wonder Woman¡¯s outfit again,¡± John said as he cocked an eyebrow at Gwen. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s so cool,¡± Gwen said, her voice losing a bit of its husk and resuming her more standard upbeat tone. ¡°I haven¡¯t read any of her comics that you suggested to me yet, but she looks so powerful and beautiful.¡± ¡°As do you, but I have to warn that as amazing as you look, a leotard isn¡¯t generally standard date attire. Though, you will hear no complaints from me if you choose to wear this outfit again,¡± John said, the amusement present in his voice as he added a wink at the end of the statement. ¡°I have some ideas about what could be done to make it look even greater than it already does on you.¡± He was happy to see that his statement had caused a bit of a blush to rise on Gwen¡¯s face, along with resulting in her wings fluttering a bit, which John had come to recognize for one of her tells that she was enjoying herself. ¡°We should start eating before our meals get cold. It looks like you did a good job. You look like you¡¯re much better of a cook than I am,¡± Gwen said while touching John¡¯s arm. He was very aware of the contact and was glad that he had chosen to seat them next to each other at the square table, rather than at opposite ends. ¡°It looks like you aren¡¯t too bad yourself at tailoring, given how you fitted that outfit to yourself,¡± John said, returning the compliment. ¡°I¡¯ll have to pick up the Clothemaking sub-Ability soon. I have the feeling that we will be able to make some great designs together.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool, but I¡¯m pretty satisfied with working on Research right now, so no need to rush,¡± Gwen said, and John could feel her appreciation for his consideration across their link. John and Gwen proceeded to enjoy a surprisingly excellent meal. They weren''t surprised at the conversation¡¯s quality, as he and Gwen enjoyed a fun and flirty talk, but instead, John was surprised at how good the meal tasted. He had expected it to be decent, but the Dungeon Creature Rock Dove had surprised him with how rich and tasty its flavour profile was. The fact that the meal was this good made John less wary about using some bug type Creatures as an ingredient. He had some tasty family recipes for shellfish that would taste great if the meat was even close to the quality of his usual ingredients. Gwen also seemed to enjoy the novelty of a carbonated drink that wasn¡¯t alcoholic. Before they watched any movies, Gwen brought up another suggestion, that they spend some time with John showing her a wider variety of music. She had been casually listening to the songs on the playlist that John had provided and was interested in the different music available since she had enjoyed what she had heard so far. He agreed and told her that they could always skip songs if they didn¡¯t suit her tastes. John¡¯s worry about her not enjoying most of the music he appreciated turned out to be unfounded, and Gwen¡¯s musical taste ended up being nearly as eclectic as his. John did have to explain that it would be inappropriate for him to use some of the words the artists were using in rap music. While some people wouldn¡¯t necessarily object to Gwen using that language, it would probably be best if she didn¡¯t, given the words¡¯ history. Sadly racial epithets were something that Gwen was familiar with, and it was a bit saddening of a reminder that bigotry can occur in many different places. On a happier note, some of the songs she had enjoyed the most from the listening session had included: DVNO and D.A.N.C.E. by Justice, Work On You by MSTRKRFT, Wanderlust by Every Time I Die, New Noise by Refused, November Has Come and Dare by Gorillaz, and Uno by Freddie Gibbs & Madlib. John wasn¡¯t surprised by how much Gwen had enjoyed the EDM and Rap, as they seemed to fit her bubbly personality. He had been pleasantly surprised that she shared his affinity for Metalcore as well, as that wasn¡¯t a genre that most people sought out. John had received a notification while listening to the music but chose to leave it for later. However, since it was now late at night and there wasn¡¯t anyone else around the terminal, John decided to give Jake and Lenny some tasks. For Jake, he left the job of setting up a reception area in the First Room of the Dungeon, as being a receptionist for the Dungeon would be one of his duties for the foreseeable future, and to think of any improvements that could be made around the entrance of the Dungeon. Lenny, John, sent out again to see if Lenny could gather any more samples of local flora and fauna that were yet to be part of John¡¯s collection. Johnn had noticed a couple of species of birds like Magpies, Blue Jays, and Chickadees hanging around Sorenson Station and figured he should acquire their patterns. John was also able to make a bug net from one found in the lost and found and decided to equip Lenny with that so he could catch some of the Bees, Hornets, Wasps, Flies, Beetles, Spiders, Ants, and other Bugs that he had yet to capture. In the case of the Beetles and other bugs he already had patterns for, it was more to get a wider variety of designs for those kinds of Bugs and see how they affected the patterns he already had. As John finished giving Jake and Lenny their tasks, he asked Gwen if she was ready to watch the movies. She said yes, and John began heading over to the entertainment room. However, Gwen grabbed his arm as she had other ideas about watching the movies. Gwen suggested that they could perhaps lay in John¡¯s bed and cuddle while watching the films, with a blush on her face. John stuttered for a couple of seconds before agreeing to the change of plans, and they went to his room and settled in to watch The Two Towers and Inception. 1.19 John took a minute to react to the alarm going off before a moment of panic set in. He couldn¡¯t move his right arm! Then John looked over and saw Gwen fast asleep, with a content smile on her face that he couldn¡¯t help but match. That¡¯s right, Gwen had fallen asleep next to him after talking for a while after finishing the movies. It wasn¡¯t that either of them had felt unusually tired, just that the level of comfort and relaxation they had felt had persuaded them to fall asleep. John saw that the alarm was for the hour before losing his remaining Research Points from not investing it, so he unlocked Mana To Electrical Power Conversion. Following that, John placed the remaining point into Interdimensional Internet Connection and decided to go back to sleep; he could check the Research results and the remaining notifications later. For now, he would stay in the moment and enjoy Gwen¡¯s companionship.
Jake could barely contain his laughter as Lenny burst out of his door, wielding a butterfly net like a sword, before posing like Finn from the Adventure Time opening credits. The orange mask was barely visible against Lenny¡¯s fur, though Jake didn¡¯t have the heart to point this out to Lenny. Lenny seemed pretty excited to be trusted with a vital duty again and appeared to be trying to dress up in his best clothes for it. Before Lenny had burst into the room, Jake had been pacing through the room, looking at areas where he could improve the aesthetic. John had done a decent job, but his designs had always been more skewed towards the practical end of things. It was why in high school, they had discussed opening a design firm together, with John handling the more practical aspects, and Jake managing graphic design, interior design, and architecture. Those plans had fallen by the wayside after their parents¡¯ death and Jake descent into addiction. Jake was glad that Gwen also had a passing interest in design so he could bounce some ideas off of her and give them a chance to do some bonding outside of the context of her relationship with John. John had also told him that he would be able to use electric lighting and other electrical equipment soon, which would help provide guided lighting and other modern features to the area. Jake called Lenny over to show Lenny how to use the butterfly net. With the swing and movements Lenny was making, he was more likely to tangle himself in the netting or crush a bug over being able to capture. Lenny looked slightly disappointed by the more gentle movements but perked up a bit when Jake explained that Lenny would be able to catch live bugs, which could be pretty cool to look at and keep as temporary pets. Maybe when the electrical appliances were available, John could set up the Dungeon¡¯s Entertainment Room, and Jake could play some Animal Crossing with Lenny in their downtime. It would probably be good to show him some media without frenetic energy to it. As it was, it was pretty amusing to watch Lenny go from his full out waddle-sprint into a slow-paced creep, pretending to sneak up on a bug before swing his net at a designated spot. After a couple of repetitions, Lenny looked over at Jake for some affirmation that he was doing the right thing, and Lenny¡¯s expression brightened significantly when Jake gave him a thumbs up before sprinting up the ramp on all fours with the net in his mouth. Jake, for his part, enjoyed acting the part of the guiding older brother, looking to his experience as John¡¯s younger brother for inspiration.
George had had a fascinating, frustrating, and ultimately gratifying past few days. He had got a couple of new skills from his efforts and gained a few abilities from the Merchant class, and he was close to unlocking a couple of Professions, and even found the requirements for a Class. On the other hand, George hadn¡¯t acquired any skills directly related to combat and wasn¡¯t sure what he would have to do to unlock the Class for which George had found one of the requirements. Still, those were ultimately minor complaints, as what George had acquired so far had already improved his life in a couple of ways, and he had gained things he had no idea he would. Some highlights had included: his efforts at exercise improving his CON to 10, and from that George already saw benefits to his general health and energy levels from it; unlocking a non Class or Profession Ability all on his own; and bringing his Travelling skill to 25, gaining the Apprentice Bonus. George took a moment to reflect and brought up his Stat sheet since he hadn¡¯t gone over it in detail for a couple of days.
Name: Georges ¡°George¡± LaFleur Race: Human Level: Total 16, Class 0, Profession 6, Character 10 Title: None Stats: 10 STR, 10 DEX, 10 CON, 10 INT, 11 WIS, 9 CHR Health: 100 Mana: 50 Stamina: 50 Classes: ??? Professions: Teamster 4, Merchant 2 Skills: Negotiation 12, Information Gathering 12, Travelling 25, Diplomacy 0, Calculation 10, Performance 5 Abilities: Motive Sense, Solid Path, Strength Boost, System Aided Navigation, Attract Customers, Item Of Interest Highlight, Meditation Titles: N/A Achievements: N/A
George was disappointed to see that he had gained no Diplomacy levels, though the Skill¡¯s description had sounded like it would be hard for him to work on in his day-to-day life. He only had it unlocked because it was part of the Merchant professions skills used in calculating its level, and it seemed until he had at least one level in it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to earn experience for it with his related skill. On the other hand, George was pleasantly surprised to see that Calculation had levelled to a Novice level. He decided to go over the descriptions of the new Skills and Abilities he had picked up and unlocked, as seeing his other Skills and Abilities in effect had shown him that their descriptions didn¡¯t outline all of their uses. One of the biggest shocks had been the Motive Sense Ability, as George had assumed it was mostly to see if someone was going to try and rip you off. However, as George had used that Ability, he had also found that he could also sense other motivations like a person¡¯s hunger causing them to act in specific ways.
Diplomacy Description: The ability to determine and trade items and ideas of value between larger organizations. Parent Skill: Negotiation Techniques: ??? Related Skills: Information Gathering
Calculation Description: The ability to calculate different equations and associations. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Algebra - Novice, Geometry - Initiate, Physics - Novice, Deduction - Initiate, Logic - Initiate, ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: ??? Novice Bonus: Calculation speed increased by 5%
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Performance Description: The gaining of people¡¯s attention and conveying emotions through actions. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Acting - Initiate, Music - Initiate, Speech - Initiate, ??? Subskills: ??? Related Skills: ???
Meditation Description: Enter a meditative state to recover resources faster and consolidate experience gains. Those with the Ability will find it easier to achieve meditative states in the future. Prerequisites: Practice Meditation enough to enter a meditative state. Ability Type: Active (Passive Minor)
Item Of Interest Highlight Description: Highlight individual items of interest, using a low amount of stamina or mana. Focusing on an individual object will allow the user to expend additional resources to gather more information. Objects highlighted are based on the individual''s knowledge, skills, and abilities. What resources are needed to highlight them are based on the type of the item. Higher levels give faster acquisition of information and lower resource costs. Prerequisites: Merchant Profession Ability Ability Type: Active
George had earned the Mediation ability by his nightly mediation before going to bed. Gaining this Ability had been quite the boon, as it had let him know that there were Abilities he could earn outside of Class and Profession Abilities. George had been able to use it to recover more energy and gain a bit of bonus experience for the skills he had used throughout the day. It had also been challenging for George to finalize his selection of Item Of Interest Highlight for the other Merchant Ability after picking up Customer Attraction. Both System Aided Appraisal and Goods Movement had had descriptions that had also made them tempting to pick up. However, George had felt that Item Of Interest Highlight would have more general uses and be more useful in his day to day life. He also wasn¡¯t sure what to pick between Coin Handling and Carrying Capacity if he reached level 5 as a Merchant, as both sounded like they would be useful in their own ways.
System Aided Appraisal Description: The system boosts the users¡¯ ability to appraise an item. By using resources, the user boosts their ability to appraise by 10%. Appraising various aspects of the item can be increased by using different resources. Higher levels raise the boost amount and reduce the resource cost. Prerequisites: Merchant Profession Ability Ability Type: Active
Goods Movement Description: Use mana to move goods you own at a speed equivalent to walking. Objects must not be secured to be moved. A higher level reduces mana cost and increases movement speed. Prerequisites: Merchant Profession Ability Ability Type: Active
Carrying Dexterity Description: Increases dexterity while carrying items, making it easier to balance more items to carry and making it less likely that the items will be dropped. Prerequisites: Merchant Profession Ability Ability Type: Passive
Money Handling Description: Increases all capacities related to the handling and movement of money. Examples include increased dexterity while handling coins, the ability to count money quicker by visual methods, and the ability to throw coins better. Essentially, if it is related to money, you are better at it. Prerequisites: Merchant Profession Ability Ability Type: Passive
George could see more general utility from the Carrying Dexterity passive, which would also work great in conjunction with the Strength Boost and Carrying Capacity Abilities from the Teamster Profession. On the other hand, it seemed that Money Handling, which he noticed had changed slightly from its previous name Coin Handling, would make him better in anything related to money. The general wording of Coin Handling opened it up to many possibilities, including making better decisions about when to invest and divest in stocks or even using coins as makeshift weapons. There was also the possibility that with that passive Ability, cash could be a better throwing weapon than shuriken or throwing knives, along with possibly being more cost-effective.
Travelling Description: Using different means to travel between one point and another Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Walking+, Driving+, Human Powered+ Subskills: N/A Related Skills: Information Gathering Apprentice Bonus: Travel Efficiency (n+n/7)% at Base Speed, Current Efficiency 28.6%, Base Speed 1.1x
George had noticed the new effect of the Apprentice Bonus of Travelling almost as soon as he finished reading it after he had unlocked it. Not only had he begun walking at a faster pace naturally, but he had also been driving at faster speeds while not using a more massive foot than usual. The final Technique type for Travelling had unlocked when George went on a bike ride with his wife Karen, though that had been before he had levelled Travelling to 25. Similarly, the family game night of D&D had been what had unlocked both Performance and Calculation and most of their Techniques. However, the Physics portion of Calculation had come from estimating his and other drivers¡¯ speeds and how that would affect his ability to turn and merge that comes from everyday driving. Calculation had boosted his ability to estimate times and distances, which he appreciated. Thinking back on family game night, it had been fun seeing the kids and Frank together for the first time in a couple of weeks, as they all had been busy at different times the last couple of game nights. Frank wasn¡¯t a blood relative, but he was the closest thing George had had to a sibling growing up in one of the smaller farming communities around Red Deer, as both of them had been outcasts. George hadn¡¯t fit in because his interests had him labelled as a nerd by many of their peers. On the other hand, their peers had excluded Frank due to where his romantic interests lay. Even though they were five years apart, the fact that as kids they had always stood up for the other to the point of taking physical beatings to defend the other had cemented their bond with Frank as the older brother, and Greg and Stacey had grown up loving their kind Uncle Frank. Though the LaFleur¡¯s had grown into being agnostic Catholics at best, Frank would always be family. As they would jokingly refer to his title when he was acting seriously, Father Frank had been a regular part of George¡¯s life since returning from the Seminary. George had been slightly disappointed that no one else from his family had shown signs of gaining the System yet, but he also wanted to guide them better when they eventually got it. That was why George was currently standing in front of what he thought was the Dungeon entrance. He had been surprised to find it unlocked today since the last couple of times George had checked the door, it had been locked. Even though the Performance Skill had been one prerequisite for the Performer Class he had the basic description for, he would still need to level it to Novice and unlock the other hidden Skill before he could equip it. George had also opened the prerequisites for another Profession, Actor, by getting the Performance Skill, though he would have to level the Skill even more than for the Performer Class. George was interested in both the benefits and Abilities of both classes, though, as both sounded like they had some great things waiting for him when he unlocked them.
Performer Description: Base performer class, uses performances to buff allies and debuff enemies, +1 CHR, INT, WIS when equipped. Prerequisite: Performance and ??? Unlocked Skills: Performance, Leadership, Channeling, Magic Damage, Healing Active Abilities: Buff Ally Stats, Debuff Enemy Stats, Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Aggression Redirection, Rally Passive Abilities: Radius Boost, Ally Mana Efficiency
Actor Description: A base profession for performing as an actor. +1 CHR and WIS while equipped. Prerequisite: Performance at Apprentice Level, Employed as Actor Skills: Performance, Information Gathering Active Abilities: Attract Attention, Customer Attraction, Motive Sense, Charisma Boost, Recall Passive Abilities: Enunciation
The fact that George had yet to unlock a Class was why he was about to take his first step into the Dungeon, as he felt that it would be the best way to unlock any Skills related to combat, and therefore unlock his first Class. His efforts at sparring and shadow boxing had yet to be rewarded with a Skill. If George brought his family into the Dungeon with him in the future, he wanted to protect them better and help them get their first Classes. 1.20 John was woken up again, this time by an itching sensation in the back of his mind. Even though it wasn¡¯t an actual physical sensation, John instinctively went to scratch it with his right arm, accidentally moving Gwen in the process. Gwen drowsily began to rouse herself, grabbing John¡¯s face and giving him a deep kiss in the process. John was surprised at first but quickly began returning the kiss in earnest. After a couple of seconds, John could feel Gwen breaking off the kiss and opened his eyes to see Gwen with a furious blush on her shocked face. She quickly hopped out of bed before stammering out an apology and headed for the door, giving a curtsy on her way out and shouting that she would see John again soon before John heard her footsteps rushing off down the hall. It took John another couple of seconds to discover the source of the itching sensation, as a figure was crossing into his Dungeon entrance. Those notifications that had built up would have to wait another bit before he got to them, and he sent Gwen a message to let her know what was going on.
Gwen¡¯s heart was nearly beating out of her chest. Not only had she ended up sleeping in the bed of a man she was not fully romantically committed to yet, but she had also ended up giving him a kiss upon waking up that could not be described with any word close to chaste. It¡¯s not that she regretted the experience. In fact, she had found it quite enjoyable and something she wanted to do again soon. It had just been startling start her day with, especially given her upbringing. When she and John had discussed their childhoods after the movies, John had described hers as sounding aristocratic by his world¡¯s standards. Gwen¡¯s early childhood had been spent mostly with her immediate and near family, only meeting others outside her family at special functions or when she went to the academy. Even then, the only boys Gwen interacted with had been family or those her family were trying to form a political marriage. She had liked some and found some a bit attractive, but she had never gone as far with a man as she had just gone with John this morning, and she wasn¡¯t sure what the proper etiquette for that would be. It wasn¡¯t the kind of thing her parents or instructors at the academy had talked about, since generally those kinds of kisses were only allowed once you were betrothed. The fact that it had come so natural for her to initiate was also something she had found particularly surprising, which was why she had found herself excusing herself from the situation and heading back to her room. Gwen was going to change back into her everyday dress, which would hopefully help restore her sense of normalcy with it. As Gwen finished changing, though, she received a message from John that someone was going to try and explore the Dungeon for the first time. Gwen wanted to be with John for his first time, so she splashed her face with cold water to try and calm herself down, but found herself fidgeting as she approached John at the viewing window in the Soul Space.
George was glad that Karen stayed over at her younger half-sister¡¯s house tonight, babysitting the niece and nephew. It would have been hard to explain to her why he was leaving the house at two in the morning, as Dungeon exploring would make him sound insane. His case would not have been helped by the bag of equipment George had gathered, most of it sports equipment from the various sports his family had played through the years, with a couple of knives from the kitchen thrown in for good measure. George wasn¡¯t sure what equipment he would need, so he had decided to go in as well rounded as possible. As he passed the doorway, George put the hockey bag down and mostly closed the door behind him, leaving it slightly open if he needed to make a quick escape. Seeing how dark it was in the apparent staircase he was in, George decided to put on the hockey helmet with a metal cage and strap on the headlight he had brought along for such a situation. If the tropes from the stories held true, George wouldn¡¯t be attacked in the first stairwell, but he wasn¡¯t one to count on conditions that commonly occur in fiction to hold true to real life. As George put on the helmet and turned on the light to get a better view of the situation he was in, he began putting on the other equipment. He decided to put on soccer shin guards rather than the hockey version, sacrificing a bit of protection for keeping up his mobility. George decided against putting on the hockey pants for a similar reason but ended up putting on the shoulder pads and elbow guards, taping a couple of the moving pieces down rather than putting a jersey on over top of them. Despite the relative discomfort of putting on a neck guard, he decided to put that on as well, hoping that like the skates it was designed to protect against, it would help protect him from bleeding out if something sharp hit his neck. Pulling out an aluminum baseball bat to use as his primary weapon, George also decided to put a nine iron and a driver in a carry bag across his back and strapped a hunting knife in a sheath to his belt. George decided to leave the kitchen knives in the hockey bag for now but left them near the top of the bag for easy access, in case he needed something to throw. George wished he had brought the .308, but it would have been hard to explain why he was carrying a hunting rifle around downtown Red Deer, much more so than a quick explanation that he was in a summer hockey league. George crept down the stairs beside the ramp, bat in the right hand and hockey bag slung loosely over his left shoulder, ready to drop it at a moment¡¯s notice. George hated that the light on his head was giving away his position to anything that could think, but he didn¡¯t trust his night vision in what appeared to be pitch blackness of the Dungeon below. As he descended, George did his best to muffle the sound of his footsteps. While his Travelling Skill did help him do it more efficiently, and he felt he picked up a new walking-related Technique, the Skill did nothing to help him make less noise. George felt this must be because he had yet to unlock a sneaking based Skill, and he would have to earn Techniques and levels for that Skill to gain any help from the System in sneaking. As he slowly made his way to the base of the stairs, he readied his weapon in case an ambush was waiting for him. George was instead surprised as he entered the room at the bottom of the stairs and light from what appeared to be a computer monitor, and a desk lamp popped on a hundred feet from where John stood. Even more surprising was what looked to be a man in his mid-twenties, giving a friendly wave from behind the desk that the lights were on. Before George returned the wave, he quickly looked around the room with the light from his headlamp. The place would have been relatively intimidating with mostly dark black and red colours if it wasn¡¯t for the pink and silver highlights that broke up the primary two colours¡¯ general harshness. Looking closer, even the black itself wasn¡¯t as harsh, as rather than absorbing light, it was reflecting it in a myriad of colour variations. As George gave a friendly wave back to the man behind the desk and began approaching it, trying to keep his headlamp from shining in the man¡¯s eyes, he realized he recognized the man. The man had been a semi-regular on the buses, usually trying to excuse his way into a free ride to one of the homeless shelters around town by saying he forgot his wallet or didn¡¯t have exact change. Either situation was generally followed by him saying, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he just let it slide this once?¡± In the end, George, like many of the other bus drivers, usually did, though usually only once or twice a day. After all, buses were generally more of a service than a profit-making organization, though, at the same time, he wasn¡¯t going to let someone scam their way every time. As George approached the desk, he could see that the man also recognized him. George wasn¡¯t sure what the young man¡¯s actual name was, as he had been told it was Tyler, Mike, Dan, and a variety of others, though given that George had heard some of his friends call him Jay, he figured his name was probably closer to that. As such, George wasn¡¯t sure how to greet him, though the man solved that by greeting him first. ¡°Hey. George, right? I¡¯m not sure if you remember me, but my name is Jake. I¡¯m not really surprised the first person to find this place is a bus driver. My brother thinks you might have the System, is that true?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. I have access to the system. What do you mean, your brother? I don¡¯t see anyone else here.¡± ¡°Oh. Um, we¡¯re kind of in him right now, I guess.¡± ¡°Is your brother the Dungeon or something like that?¡± ¡°Yes, he is. Have you read stories about something similar or something?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not an unknown story device. It¡¯s just weird to see it in real life. Anyways, you seem to be doing better than the last couple of times I saw you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably because I¡¯m clean for the first time in a while. You haven¡¯t really seen me at my best before.¡± ¡°Good to hear. Is this a safe area of some kind, or should I still be on the lookout? I mean, I can¡¯t fully trust you if you say it is, but I think I¡¯m a decent judge of character.¡± ¡°This is the First Room of the Dungeon, so as long as you don¡¯t attack Lenny or me, you should be fine. My brother wanted to set it up as a kind of preparation area, and also an area where people can do deals with him once he has the right facilities.¡± ¡°And how did your brother become a Dungeon? Was he sacrificed by a necromancer or something?¡± ¡°According to him and the Administrator or God he met, depending on your perspective, it was some kind of cosmic accident. Random chance, essentially. There may be cause and effect out there, but it wasn¡¯t directed at him specifically or anything, at least as far as our knowledge goes.¡± ¡°And how did you end up here?¡± ¡°I died. Just over there if you can believe it.¡± Jake said while pointing to the couch, he had died on just a couple of days ago. It took George a couple of seconds to process what Jake had told him. ¡°Are you saying you died and came back?¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Not on my own. My brother fought for my soul. Not against an enemy, but against Death itself.¡± Jake said, pride and awe apparent in his voice. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have worked for just anyone, but my brother had the right motivation and the right circumstances, so Death has become a less certain thing among these walls.¡± Jake could barely hear George say, ¡°What until Frank hears about this,¡± followed by the more audible ¡°Did you see any kind of afterlife, and I thought you mentioned something about a God?¡± ¡°Yes, and yes. I saw and learned that there is a process after death, where you may go to an afterlife or be reincarnated depending on your beliefs and actions in life. From what I learned, those afterlives are generally the property of an Administrator or God, depending on if they are a divine power in the local universe. Because my brother fought to keep me here, rather than being sent to whatever other destination I may have ended up at, I was given a choice to stay here as a sort of purgatory, and other Souls may get similar opportunities as me. I should also explain the Checkpoint system.¡± Jake said, and George could hear the affection and pride for his brother in Jake¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m assuming it''s some kind of save system?¡± ¡°Essentially, yes. It will save your current state before going into the Dungeon, and any progress you make that isn¡¯t a full level up will be taken by the Dungeon as payment. So you would lose any progress made after the Checkpoint, but not the progress besides levels you made after the Checkpoint. The Checkpoints are also where you can access features like Dungeon Banking, which allows you to store items and money while you are in the Dungeon. My brother thinks that he will eventually be able to set up Teleportation and other features linked to the Checkpoints, but that will take some time to unlock.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying I won¡¯t die permanently if I die in the Dungeon?¡± George said with a look on his face somewhere between stunned and quizzical. ¡°Mostly correct, though dying isn¡¯t without penalties, that would go too much against the System. From what my brother has told me, Dungeons are mostly there to protect Cores, though some cultures also view them as places to grow stronger. So if you intend to harm the Core, you will lose the protection of the Checkpoint, or if any God or Administrator has damned you for a reprehensible action, you may also lose the protection of the Checkpoint.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t trust that you are telling me the truth, though,¡± George said, his hesitation about the situation present on his face. ¡°Fair enough, it is your life on the line. Maybe you should try out the Checkpoint, which will give you information from the System. After you do, the Portal to the First Floor will open. Actually, before you do that, you might want to go and introduce yourself to Lenny, our Dungeon Mascot. Depending on what kind of relationship you foster with him, you can gain some unique opportunities.¡± As Jake finished saying that, George followed his pointed finger towards a chest-high wooden door in one of the walls off to the side, with what appeared to be an orange mouse head painted on it. Above the door was a wooden plaque with the word LENNY painted on in all capital letters. Below that was a more neatly printed sign that said, ¡°Knock for inquiries.¡± The door looked innocuous enough, so George reached out and knocked on the door. Moments later, George heard a rustling coming from behind the door before the door cracked open slowly and an orange mouse head the size of a basketball peeked out. As Lenny took in George¡¯s appearance, his body soon followed his head out the door leaving it halfway open. As George watched Lenny stretch out his body, reminding him of a Golden Retriever in his movement and demeanour, he heard Jake¡¯s voice stage-whisper from behind him, ¡°He likes scratches behind the ear.¡± As George had taken off his hockey gloves when talking to Jake and left them back on the counter, he reached his hand out and touched Lenny¡¯s head behind his ear. Lenny tensed up as George first touched him, but quickly relaxed and kept his prone position as George began to scratch. As Geroge continued to scratch behind Lenny¡¯s ear, Lenny¡¯s leg began to move, reminding George yet again of a friendly dog¡¯s behaviour. As George finished scratching Lenny, Lenny shook his body before running back into his door, returning shortly after with a jar in hand. Lenny handed the jar to George, and George noticed the holes punched in the top of the jar, and the greenery in the bottom, followed soon after by the bee resting on one of the leaves. George turned to Lenny and asked, ¡°Did you catch this?¡± To which Lenny pantomimed a swishing net as a seeming affirmative. George said, ¡°Good job!¡± and ruffled Lenny¡¯s hair on his head, seeing Lenny¡¯s apparent pride in his accomplishment. Lenny¡¯s facial expression seemed to show that he was stoically trying to accept the praise, but his swishing tail told another story. As George finished ruffling Lenny¡¯s hair, he received a notification from the System.
Lenny''s opinion of you has shifted from Neutral to mildly friendly. Lenny is available for guiding services.
George was surprised by the ease at which Lenny''s opinion had been positively affected, but supposed he was one of the first people Lenny had met and counted his blessings. On the other, George didn¡¯t feel like he had Lenny¡¯s undying loyalty or anything like that, so maybe it wasn¡¯t that much of an achievement. As George was pondering this, Lenny had returned the bee to his room and was currently tugging on Geroge¡¯s hand, apparently wanting to lead him into another room with a more standard-sized door labelled Dojo. George reached down and patted Lenny¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°Not today Lenny.¡± Lenny looked up at George with watery eyes, so he quickly added, ¡°Next time, though. Do you want to guide me through the Dungeon?¡± To which Lenny nodded an affirmative and then pointed towards his door. Intuiting what Lenny was getting at, George asked, ¡°Do you want to get something out of your house? I can do some preparations while I wait for you to get back.¡± Lenny ran back into his house, while George made his way back to the desk that Jake was behind to grab his hockey gloves. He saw Jake looking at him expectantly and said, ¡°He¡¯s going to guide me through the Dungeon. He¡¯s more intelligent than a standard monster, right?¡± ¡°Lenny¡¯s not quite a Dungeon Monster,¡± Jake¡¯s emphasis on the word Monster stressing its importance. ¡°Lenny is a Dungeon Mascot, which is more along the lines of an NPC from RPGs. If you are aggressive towards him, he might attack you, but he is friendly for the most part. He also seems to have the intelligence of a child around five to eight years old, though I am not a parent, so that may be a bit inaccurate.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just have to figure that out as I interact with him,¡± George said as he noticed Lenny running back towards them. There appeared to be something in Lenny¡¯s right cheek, and as he got closer, George noticed that he was wearing an orange mask that only stood out because it was matte compared to Lenny¡¯s iridescent fur. George turned to follow Lenny, who was beckoning him towards some kind of pedestal. However, Jake interjected and said, ¡°My brother wants to make an offer, instead of using the Dungeon Bank to store any items you aren¡¯t going to take with you into the Dungeon, you can leave them behind in this Room. He will Absorb them but will replace them either with an exact copy or with an improved version using Dungeon Materials if possible. He also says a similar option will be available in the future, though in a more formal setting once he unlocks a feature called Dungeon Trading. You can also leave it here until next time you decide to come to the Dungeon, and he will offer you any improved versions he unlocks upon your return.¡± George took a moment to think about it before grabbing a couple of the knives out of his bag and securing them to his chest protector with some duct tape. Eventually, he hoped to find a bandolier for them, but duct tape would work for his first exploration. There wasn¡¯t anything that important in the equipment bag, so even if the Dungeon tried to rip him off, it wouldn¡¯t be a huge loss. His Motive Sense Ability also let him know that at least Jake seemed to be telling him the truth, so he dropped the equipment bag on the floor and continued towards the pedestal. George heard Jake say from behind him, ¡°Good luck, and just place your hand on the pedestal to activate the Checkpoint and open the Portal.¡± and waved to acknowledge what Jake said. As George placed his hand on the pedestal, he received a couple of notifications that confirmed what Jake had told him and that Lenny was confirmed as his guide for this Dungeon run. As he finished reading these notifications, an azure Portal manifested on the wall behind the pedestal. As George stepped through the first mystical thing, he witnessed the Dungeon conjure, and Lenny followed close behind him. As George finished crossing through the portal, he realized he was in a room that appeared to be about the size of a football field. The ground seemed to be a field that was a mixture of knee-high grass in some areas, and rocky soil in others like you would find in some mountain passes. The room was lit like the midday sun, so he reached up and switched off the headlight. As George completed his action, he saw Lenny scamper ahead to the right and pointed to what appeared to be a chunk of flat rectangles rock. As Lenny did so, George¡¯s Perception Technique triggered George to believe that the stone was a trap trigger. George made a mental note of the location, but his attention was grabbed by a pounding sound coming from the left-hand direction. About thirty feet away was a black shape, and as it drew closer, George could see it looked like a black version of Lenny, though only half Lenny¡¯s size. As it got closer, it launched itself towards George, but he managed to intercept its attack with a horizontal swing of the baseball bat. As George swung the bat, it connected with the Dungeon Mouse around its midsection, with a loud thump and crunch. The Mouse screeched with pain as it dropped to the ground, and George could see a bloody, broken rib coming out of its side as he stepped back to give himself some time to react to its next attack. The Mouse seemed to be in no hurry to make another leaping attack and instead tried to bite at George¡¯s feet. George stepped back a couple of times before making a sweeping low kick, connecting again with the side with broken ribs, causing it to screech in pain. He took advantage of the Mouse¡¯s reaction to its pain and made a sweeping blow to the side of its head with the baseball bat, seemingly stunning it momentarily. Following that, George took a step back to set up an overhead smash aimed at the top of the Mouse¡¯s head, which he brought down with all of his body weight behind it, crushing the Mouse¡¯s skull in the process. Disgustingly, the smash attack caused a not-insignificant amount of blood and brain matter to splash out of the wound while causing the Mouse¡¯s dead eyes to bulge out of their socket before the head began leaking blood from all orifices. George took another couple of steps back to put some distance between himself and the grisly sight and wanting to give himself some space if another attacker appeared. George didn¡¯t want to trip over the body in his next fight, and as the thought crossed his mind, two things happened simultaneously. The first was that the Mouse¡¯s body began to glow, seemingly condensing into an orb of light. The second was a clicking sound that came from beneath his left foot. George tried to react as soon as he heard that sound, but it was already too late. A searing pain shot through the back of his calf and out the front of his knee, and as George looked down, he could see a two-inch diameter metal spear jutting out from his knee. As George began to collapse onto his back, he saw the spear begin to retract, followed by a significant amount of blood beginning to pool at the base of the spear. It was bad, but not bad enough to indicate a cut femoral artery, yet still grievous enough to end his life soon if he didn¡¯t get immediate medical attention, George¡¯s mind clinically thought before the pain kicked in. George screamed, and Lenny bounded over from where he had been watching the situation develop. Lenny began patting down George¡¯s pockets, and realizing what Lenny seemed to be doing, George managed to stop screaming and mutter ¡°No Heals.¡±, which caused Lenny to stop searching and a mousey grimace to appear on Lenny¡¯s face. George could feel his consciousness slipping as he noticed Lenny bending over after having spit something on the ground. Lenny stood up, and with the solemnity that comes with being the grim reaper that helps guide the damned gently into the long sleep, Lenny bowed and gave the nunchucks a whirl before striking George across the head with them repeatedly. It was a noble attempt to ease George¡¯s by Lenny and not an easy decision to make, judging by the tears in his eyes. However, after thirty seconds of the sound of thwacking from leather on hard plastic that was barely even able to move George¡¯s head, Lenny stopped his attempt at euthanasia. Lenny scampered towards the end of the room, passing through the narrow passage at the back to the next room. George waited for Lenny¡¯s return vacillating in and out of consciousness, at this point just wanting the pain to end before his eventual demise. Eventually, after an indeterminate amount of time, a blurry orange outline that George assumed to be Lenny, with something bluish in his arms. Lenny dropped it onto George¡¯s face, George hearing a sizzling sound and having a brief moment of extreme pain before he faded into the blackness of oblivion. 1.21 The scene John was viewing would have been darkly comedic if it wasn¡¯t completely grisly. Lenny had engaged in Three Stooges level antics before coming up with the creative idea of dropping the Slime on the adventurer''s face, and the Slime was now joyfully hopping around, seemingly proud it had completed its task. However, what the Slime had done had just added to the gore of the scene. Besides a leg almost completely separated at the knee with bones sticking out at both ends, there was also a melted face. Even grosser, during the face-melting process, the eyeballs had melted and begun running down the cheeks. The whole scene was grotesque, and even though Lenny had been able to remain calm when the trap had almost ripped the adventurer¡¯s leg off, Lenny was now off to the side, retching. Even Gwen had her hand over her mouth and was paler than her usual shade of amber. As Lenny finished, John got Lenny to grab the loot from the drop to bring to the adventurer when he respawned and began absorbing the body. Since nobody seemed to feel like talking, John figured now would be as good a time as any to start going over the notifications that had piled up lately. To distract himself, John also decided to listen to some music and pulled up Yer Not The Ocean by The Tragically Hip as he began going through the notifications.
Research Completed Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (Movie), Inception (Movie); John and Gwen Unlocked: New Templates, Mental Defenses (10 R.P.), Dream Machine (100 R.P.), Dream Realm (1000 R.P.) Mana To Electrical Power Conversion Description: Gives the Dungeon the knowledge of how to convert mana into electricity. Research Cost: 5 R.P. Benefit Of Research: Allow dungeons to use mana in place of electricity in electrical circuits. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: Electricity To Mana Conversion Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
That was a decent amount of new Research being unlocked, so John decided he should look at the descriptions of those before he forgot about them checking the other notifications.
Electricity To Mana Conversion Description: Gives the Dungeon the knowledge of how to convert electricity into mana. Research Cost: 15 RP Benefit Of Research: Allow dungeons to absorb electricity as a source of mana. Parent Research: Mana To Electrical Power Conversion Research Unlocked: None Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
Mental Defenses Description: Allows the user to adopt any Mental Defence techniques, giving them stronger resistance to mental effects. Research Cost: 10 RP Benefit Of Research: Mental Defenses unlocked. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: None Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
Dream Machine Description: Allows the user to access the Dream Realm, a Realm adjacent to the Multiversal Gestalt. Effects of actions taken in this realm may be felt across the Multiverse, and a significant amount of knowledge, power, and ability is required to gain access to it. Research Cost: 100 RP Benefit Of Research: Dream Machine Blueprint Unlocked Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: None Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
Dream Realm Description: Allows the user to access the Dream Realm, a Realm adjacent to the Multiversal Gestalt. Effects of actions taken in this realm may be felt across the Multiverse, and a significant amount of power is Research Cost: 1000 RP Benefit Of Research: Allows access to the Dream Realm for multiple purposes. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: None Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
The Dream Realm sounded quite interesting to John, but it was definitely out of reach for the time being. He was also appreciative that the System seemed to agree that visiting someone else¡¯s dreams could be exciting and fun but had decided to limit how the Dream Machines from Inception could be used. John was also glad that Mental Defences was low cost so that he could unlock it quickly. Though John hoped there wasn¡¯t much to be worried about when it comes to mental defences, he would rather err on the side of caution when it came to possible mind control. It also made sense that since he had unlocked a way to turn Mana into electricity, there would also be a way to reverse the process and recover Mana using electricity. The next set of notifications appeared to be level up, and Ability unlocks related, so John went ahead and checked them.
Soul Space Level Up, Current Level 13 Absorb Level Up, Current Level 18 Domain Level Up, Current Level 10, Novice Bonus Unlocked Dungeon Ability Unlocked, Dungeon Music
Creatures Absorbed 3 Apocrita Types, 1 Beetle Type, 1 Bat Type, 3 Ipinoaves, 3 Diptera, 2 Lepidoptera Blueprints Acquired Armour, Clubs, Blades, Home Electronics Humanoid Template Updated Monster Evolution AvailableThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
As interested as John was in checking all that he had gained with this update, he first needed to look at the changes to the Domain Ability with the Novice bonus. He could suddenly sense a lot more area and felt he had a much more significant degree of control over the actions he could take in his Domain.
Domain Description: Dungeon can establish a domain outside their dungeon. Initially, this is the size of a building on top of the Dungeon. Prerequisites: Establish a first room and an entrance. Novice Bonus: Domain becomes the surrounding city blocks. The Core¡¯s Ability control in a Domain is now closer to the level of control in the Core¡¯s Dungeon.
That explained it; not only was his Domain not limited to just the area around Sorenson Station anymore, but it had also now wholly engulfed the surrounding blocks. John could also sense the mana saturation in his Domain going up, which was likely why he would have better control over his Abilities in the Domain. John had a suspicion that this increased level of mana saturation would also lead to increased numbers of people Awakening to the System, as he had only confirmed one user so far. It appeared that levelling his Domain to 10 and expanding it into the surrounding block and buildings had generated another set of notifications. However, before he dealt with those, John wanted to test an idea he had come up with following the absorption of all that sports equipment and finish up with the other parts of the previous set of notifications, especially the new Ability, Evolution, and Creatures. As John thought about his idea with the intent to send it to the System, he was glad to see that a new Research option had opened up, so he opened that description along with his new Ability.
New Research Available Arena Description: Allow for Arena competitions to be held in and rewarded by the Dungeon Prerequisites: Rules and equipment required for each Arena type Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 10
New Dungeon Ability Dungeon Music Description: After absorbing and listening to enough music sources for the Codex, music in the Codex can be used in the Dungeon in various ways, such as general background music or music for Boss Rooms. Prerequisites: Listen to at least 10 hours of music from the Codex. Subskills: None Research Points Needed: 0
John was thrilled with both of those abilities. While some might only picture bloodsports when thinking of an Arena connected to a Dungeon, John was sure that he would also get to set himself up as a sports multiplex besides those kinds of Arena games. Since the multiplex wouldn¡¯t take up any valuable space in the city, it would hopefully help endear him to both the locals and local government. They would be able to use his Dungeon for practical, economical, training, and recreational purposes, which would hopefully mean they would be less likely to want to threaten him in any way. However, those ideas would have to wait a bit, so he could get both the equipment and abilities to set up those arenas properly. Baseball and soccer were likely currently in reach once he Researched the Ability, but he felt he would need more technical equipment or magic to set up a hockey rink. John was almost equally as excited about the Dungeon Music Ability as he was about the Arena Ability. As he looked into it, it looked like John would be able to set any music he had in the Codex as background music in his Dungeon, either a looping song or as a playlist. John was excited about the possibilities for setting moods for different floors, and boss fights this would allow. As he looked further into the ability, it seemed like he would even be able to set sound effects for some actions in the Dungeon, including picking up a loot drop. When he got around to Researching some video games, John was hoping that he would pick up some of their soundtracks and sound effects, making fun easter eggs for those exploring the Dungeon. John decided to check on the new Creatures obtained by Lenny before evolving the Slime. If he had unlocked all of the types of another Creature, John wanted to plan his next floor around that kind of monster and his evolved slime, as he would likely move the evolved Slime to the next area if it were too strong for the first floor. As John pulled up the descriptions of the Creatures he had unlocked, he noticed something a bit odd.
Apocrita Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ants, Bees, Wasps, Hornets Abilities: Hive Mind, Sting (Pain Toxin, Poison Toxin, Caustic Toxin), Flight (Insect Wings), Colonies (Bugs), Exoskeleton, Mandibles, Stout Strength, Panoramic Vision, Litters, Hovering Cost: 10 Mana per Colony, 0.5 Mana For Non-Colony
Beetle Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ground Beetle, Water Beetle, ??? Abilities: Mandibles, Flight (Insect Wings), Exoskeleton, Burrowing (Ground Beetle), Stout Strength, Venom Bite (Water Beetles), Buoyancy (Water Beetles), Swimming (Water Beetles), Panoramic Vision, Litters, Hovering, ??? Cost: 1-3 Mana
Bats Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Common, ??? Abilities: Binocular Vision, Flight (Wings), Echolocation, Communal Nesting, Disease Bite, Hovering, ??? Cost: 3-7 Mana
Ipinoaves Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Songbirds, Jays, Crows, ??? Abilities: Binocular Vision, Panoramic Vision (Songbirds), Flight, Gliding, Sharp Beak, Advanced Tool Use (Crows), Advanced Intelligence (Crows), Migration, ??? Cost: 1-10 Mana
Diptera Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Mosquitos, Housefly, ??? Abilities: Flight (Insect Wings), Exoskeleton, Litters, Parasitic Drain (Mosquito), Mimicry (Hoverfly), Hypodermic Proboscis (Mosquito), ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
Lepidoptera Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Moth, ??? Abilities: Metamorphosis, Gliding, Hovering, Flight (Butterfly Wings), Scale Shedding, Poison, Migration, Camouflage, Celestial Navigation, Magnetic Field Sense, ??? Cost: 1-5 Mana
The discrepancy that John noticed was that he had fewer types of Creatures in Ipinoaves, Diptera, and Lepidoptera than he calculated he should have. However, as John looked into this, it appeared that it was for a couple of different reasons. For Ipinoaves, it was because the Magpie Lenny had brought him actually fell under the category of Crows, and it was now available as a kind of alternate skin for his Crow creatures to wear. Both of these skins had the same Abilities and physical capabilities, and the differences were only aesthetic. For Diptera, he had again gained two overlapping species of flies, the Housefly and Hoverfly. However, the Hoverfly skin had the unique Mimicry Ability that was likely tied to the fact that it looks like a bee or hornet. A similar but different thing had happened with Moths under Lepidoptera, as one species he had absorbed was able to shed irritant scales as a deterrent to predators, and another had a poisonous body. However, whichever variant John used to create a Dungeon Creature, either resulting Creature would have both of the Abilities. As John finished looking over the new Creatures, noting that he had completed Apocrita and the resulting monsters would likely complement his Slimes for a second level of the Dungeon themed around an underground cave, he decided to begin the evolution of the Slime. Since Lenny returned to the First Room of the Dungeon while John looked over the notifications, the Slime had returned to its cave at the end of the First Floor, continuing to bounce excitedly. As John okayed the Slime evolution, it stopped moving and began to glow with white light, and as the light started to dim, a notification popped up for John.
Stealth Slimes Element Affinity: Neutral, Basic, Advanced Subtypes: Elemental Prerequisites: Evolved Slime with Stealth Skills Abilities: Iridescence, Biological Network, Asexual Reproduction, Acid, Regeneration, Vibration Sense, Vibration Probe, Pseudopodial Movement Cost: 10-100 Mana
From the Description and Abilities of this new Slime, this evolution appeared to be more of a lateral move over an upgrade. John was in no way unhappy with this, though, as it seemed that John would now be able to get a wider variety of elemental slimes in the future, along with more possible evolutions stemming from both this Stealth Slime and the basic Slime. Besides changing some of the Abilities of the Slime, this evolution had changed the Slime¡¯s appearance. Whereas before it was a translucent blue sphere with a shimmering iridescence, this slime had a dark gray colouration with less colour overall and was ellipse-shaped with a flat bottom rather than spherical. As John looked closer, there also appeared to be matte black spots spread throughout the slime¡¯s body, and these seemed to be absorbing light rather than reflecting light, making the Slime even less visible in the dark cave. As John observed these spots, he noticed that the spots in the light appeared to be smaller, while the ones in the darker areas appeared to be larger. As the Slime moved around the cave, he first noticed that the Slime¡¯s flat side seemed to have sprouted a multitude of tiny pseudopodial limbs that were allowing it to crawl around the cave exceptionally quietly. After that, John noticed that the black spots inside the slime seemed to be reacting to light changes, meaning that they must be photoreceptive, hopefully meaning that the Slime now has some kind of primitive vision. The type of ambush predator this Stealth Slime seemed to be would fit better as part of the second floor, rather than as the First Floor¡¯s Boss, so he would be moving the Slime after completing the Second Floor. Now that John had finished with the older notifications, he moved on to the Notifications that had popped up with his Domain¡¯s levelling up. As John read them, he found that they pertained to the type of building that was now enclosed in his Domain. However, to make more use of them, John would have to set up an agreement with the owner or renter of that building, where both would benefit. Typically this would fall to someone in Jake or Gwen¡¯s position to handle. Still, John had a feeling either would not necessarily elicit favourable reactions in the everyday citizens of Red Deer, so maybe he could set up another deal with that adventurer. Speaking of him, John noticed that he was not in the Dungeon currently, though John also had the feeling that he had also not yet left the Dungeon. As John looked into it, he found a countdown timer for the adventurer to respawn at the Checkpoint pedestal. Since John would have to wait anyway, he decided that he should get to work on the couple of things he currently had on his plate. These tasks included making the first floor traps a bit less lethal, integrating his mana to electric converters, and building his second floor. 1.22 The first thing that John wanted to work on was the Mana To Electrical power upgrades. The Research results had allowed him to create a crystal that would absorb ambient mana, store it like a battery, and then convert it into electrical energy when something attached to it tried to draw electricity. These crystals were magic in nature and seemed to be governed by specific rules from the System. For example, John had tried to absorb one of the pinkish tetragonal protopyramid crystals filled with mana to see if he could restore mana from the mana stored in the crystal. John had recovered the mana used in creating the crystal, but the mana stored in the crystal had been lost or dissipated, assuming there was some sort of conservation of mana Law. It was likely the System¡¯s way of stopping him from gaming his current mana capacity, though he had a feeling there was probably a different kind of crystal that may be able to be used for mana storage. The mana crystal¡¯s other magical properties were also shockingly useful, and any Electrical Engineer or someone who designed electrical systems would salivate at hearing them. John had discovered these properties while testing out the crystals in his Soul Space. The first was that the crystal could be attached to any kind of electrical node by merely willing them to connect, and the crystal would adapt itself to the components. Wires, sockets, and all sorts of plugs, the crystal would adapt itself to whatever it was connected to, be it a standard three-prong plug or a light bulb. Even more amazingly, when the crystal attached in such a way that a standard connector would end up causing a short, the crystal did not cause a short. In other terms, the crystal seemed to act as both a conductor and an insulator simultaneously, which would typically be impossible and showed this crystal is a magical material. The other fantastic property of these crystals was that multiple devices that required different amounts of power and current draws could be attached to the same crystal. The crystal would be able to handle all of these vastly different power needs simultaneously, which again is something that would typically be impossible without specialized circuitry for each subsystem to adjust the power source to the needs of the receiving systems. John¡¯s other tests with the crystals revealed that the amount of mana he used in creating the crystal would effectively set its capacity. For each mana point of capacity the crystal had, it would power electronics attached to it for roughly an hour. These limits were only the case where the crystal was in areas with low ambient mana; in areas with high ambient mana, the crystals converted the mana around it into electricity at a rate that allowed an almost infinite amount of running time. Of course, this was only for home electronics, for a couple of devices, and running more than that from a single crystal would most likely cause overconsumption and brownouts of these devices. John was able to mould the crystals into some basic shapes with his abilities, though it looked like more complicated shapes would also have to wait until he got the Mineral Working Subskill for Creation. That Subskill gave the feeling that it would allow him more precise control over working with gems, crystals, and stonework for masonry. While John had been experimenting with the new crystals, Gwen had also stopped by to check on him. John had barely noticed himself leaving the viewing area, but Gwen seemed understanding about the situation and expressed that she had been in a bit of a state of shock herself. They had both been upset about what had happened, not necessarily the temporary death itself, but the frankly horrifying nature of how it had occurred. They had talked a bit about how they were feeling, and John had explained a bit about the characteristics of the crystals, but Gwen did not find the subject as fascinating as John did and left after giving him a quick kiss before going back to her projects. After speaking with Gwen, John had also checked on Lenny and saw that Jake appeared to be trying to cheer Lenny up. To try and help out, John had sped up his crystal production, creating a main crystal using all of his mana, which after the adventurers trip through the Dungeon was currently 500 in total. After, he had put wiring connected to this main crystal through his First Room and the adjoining rooms, along with 20 mana point crystals at any junctions in the wiring as back up should the wires become damaged somehow. As John did this, he also put in lighting and T.V. screens in the different rooms, along with some game systems in Lenny¡¯s room. John ended up creating two Switches after talking to Jake so that Jake and Lenny could play Animal Crossing: New Horizons together. The ability to fill in crystal in the empty spaces of the Switch to essentially supplement the battery of the system inspired John to do this with the other similar electronics, including his laptop and phone. John added the crystal to his computer and booted it up to test if it was working. As he booted up the computer, John received some notifications from the System that some of his laptops and its program¡¯s abilities had been added to his Crafting and Creation Abilities. For Creation, his drafting programs had upgraded his Blueprints, allowing him to run simulations on his modifications to see where the stressors would be and what he could do to strengthen the objects in his Blueprints. John would also be able to run similar simulations when first creating objects using his Crafting abilities. As he closed those notifications and looked at the results of adding the crystal to the phone, he was surprised to see a new notification pop up.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Adventurer¡¯s Tool candidate found. Possibility to upgrade through the Dungeon¡¯s actions found. Would you like to set smartphones as your basis for the Adventurer¡¯s Tool? Y/N
John could see no reason to reject this question, as smartphones were pretty versatile, and he couldn¡¯t see them going away anytime soon. As John accepted, he saw another set of notifications. These notifications were letting him know that because of the programs he had on his laptop and selecting smartphones as the basis for Adevntureer¡¯s Tool, he could create apps designed for Adventurers, both through his work and through Researching for inspiration. It also notified that some Apps had already been developed based on the smartphone apps present, including a Mapping App that would auto-update as the Adventurer explored and added drawings, pictures, or videos of the area around them. A Journal App that would supplement the Quest log in their status by allowing them to add notes was also included, along with an app that would store any Recipes the Adventurer found. Finally, there was a Registry app. This app¡¯s purposes were not apparent at first, but as John looked into it, it would keep track of what an Adventuring party did while Delving a Dungeon or Adventuring. The party could collect loot using the Adventuring device instead of handling it themselves and could use the tool at a checkpoint to spawn the loot there, rather than carrying it through the Dungeon. The app would also automatically split up the drops according to need, usefulness, and value to the different party members. Further rules such as contribution to battles could be considered when diving loot. John could see how useful these apps would be to any Adventurers, so he would offer one to the Adventurer in exchange for his services when he respawned. John also decided that he should at least know the names of people he was making deals with; John asked Jake what the Adventurer¡¯s name was and got back George. John watched as Jake and Lenny seemed to be enjoying playing Animal Crossing together, though it looked like Jake had done some time travelling to unlock the Museum for Lenny and him. However, since Lenny appeared to enjoy giving Blathers things and the Museum¡¯s added exhibits, John forgave Jake for teaching Lenny blatant cheating. Seeing the Museum and its exhibits reminded John of one of the other ideas he had come up with for the Dungeon. And now that John¡¯s Domain contained an empty lot that would turn into an expansion to the nearby courthouse eventually, he decided to see if it could work. As John concentrated on the empty lot, the System informed him that it was now available as the basis for new rooms in the Dungeons. John also tried doing similar things with the buildings in his Domain. However, he received a notification that they would not be available unless he negotiated with those currently occupying the building or absorbed the building entirely and wholly replaced them in a piecemeal fashion. However, he was able to obtain a copy of the green space park in front of City Hall but was notified he still had to get some of the plants present to copy them in his Dungeon. John then sent his intentions to the Dungeon, and it allowed him to set up an alternate Portal that leads to another area instead of another floor. John used the empty lot as the basis, but he had this Room react to what he was putting in the room, rather than controlling everything in the Room. After he placed the first set of Creatures, the Dungeon responded and let him know that John had created a Dungeon Zoo. As John finished putting a couple of each of the available Creatures in their areas, the Zoo reacted and created an appropriate environment for each type of Creature. John was also able to set up an area for both kinds of Slimes in the Zoo. As the notifications he had received when setting up this Room let John know, when he placed Creatures in this Room, the Dungeon would set up an environment that would provide for their needs and allow visitors to observe them. John also had the Dungeon place a plaque below each exhibit, giving information about each Creature or Monster and who had donated them. A not-insignificant amount of the plaques had Lenny¡¯s name on them, along with a cartoonish outline of his head. For entry to this Room, John was also able to set a couple of rules. Visitors could purchase memberships or passes for specific periods and frequency, or they could earn a lifetime membership by donating new Creatures to the exhibit. Seeing how much Lenny enjoyed playing Animal Crossing, John let Jake know about the new Room in the Dungeon so Jake could bring Lenny to visit. As John was letting Jake know about the Zoo, he also received a notification that Lenny and Jake had completed some Research.
Research Completed Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Video Game) (Partial); Jake And Lenny New Templates Unlocked, Codex Entries Unlocked, New Adventurer¡¯s Tool App Available (Bestiary)
As Jake watched over Lenny as he excitedly explored the Zoo, proudly pointing at the exhibits that featured his name before watching the Creatures contained with fascination, John instead looked at what the App that had been unlocked did. It was similar to the Mapping and Journal apps; Adventures could take pictures or videos and make notes about the Creatures and Monsters they discovered and observed. It looked like the app would record the general strengths and weaknesses of that Creature or Monster, and if any Abilities were found, they would also be added. John thought this could also be a possible way to use the trading cards once he unlocked them. Besides playing games with the cards, adventurers would perhaps be able to update information about Creatures and Monsters using the cards they dropped. As John finished up his thoughts on this development, he noticed that Jake was holding Lenny from rushing outside of the Dungeon to capture more Creatures for the Dungeon, which was causing Lenny to pout. John told Lenny that he would have to wait until night time since it was now early morning and Lenny heading out at this time was sure to cause some issues. Lenny was reassured that he would get to go out later and seemed to perk up when John offered for him to be the one to greet George, who was just about to respawn. 1.23 George woke up feeling quite refreshed until he realized he hadn¡¯t woken up and was instead floating in some sort of void. As he began to question what was going on, George received a notification letting him know that he could now respawn and what equipment he would like to spawn with him. As he selected his clothes, he felt a large amount of mana suddenly leave his body. The sensation wasn¡¯t painful, but it also wasn¡¯t pleasant, and it gave George a slightly nauseous feeling. As he also selected his shoes, this time, he concentrated on letting the mana flow out slowly and had better control over the process. George had even better control when he chose the knives he had brought into the Dungeon since he had a feeling his wife would notice relatively quickly if those went missing. As he finished selecting what he wanted to respawn with and confirmed the respawn, a sparkling blue light began to fill his vision. The first thing that George noticed was that the first Room was much better lit than it had been last time he was in it. Even from where George was standing by the Checkpoint pedestal, he could see across the Room to the stairway entrance at the far end. While the Room¡¯s general colour scheme was still very dark, it was now lit so that he could see all of the details of the furniture and the Room itself. The second thing that George noticed was an orange blur flying at him at around chest height, and that blur was just about to have an impact on him. Lenny hit George¡¯s chest with a whump, and it caused George to take a couple of steps backward. He had a moment of panic but quickly got over what he felt as Lenny nuzzled his head into George¡¯s chest, reminding him of when his kids had been younger, and George gave Lenny a quick head rub before putting him back down. As George put Lenny down, Lenny grabbed George¡¯s hand and began tugging him back towards the Checkpoint pedestal. As Lenny was doing this, George noticed that he had a set of notifications waiting for him to check. So, he said to Lenny, ¡°Just give me a couple of minutes Lenny, I have some notifications that I would like to check on before we get to what you want to show me.¡± Lenny looked up at George and nodded before scampering off to a black couch, where a custom orange Switch with a cartoonish version of Lenny¡¯s face on the backplate waited for Lenny. AS Lenny sat down, he could hear the familiar theme tune from Animal Crossing coming from the Switch.
Respawned This first respawn took much longer than standard respawn due to a lack of divine healing in your world. In the process of respawning, the System took the liberty of removing some unnecessary genetic coding that would have usually been cleaned up during divine healing, resulting in most System users being less susceptible to a host of diseases and disorders.
Seeing that notification, George looked over to where Jake had sat down besides Lenny with a much more standard looking Switch, and asked, ¡°How long did it take me to respawn?¡± Jake gave a shrug and answered back, ¡°I think you died around 2 a.m., and it¡¯s now around 10. So for about eight hours.¡± ¡°Thanks, I just got a notification that this respawn was longer than usual because the System was cleaning up some things. So it looks like the first respawn will be much longer than the next respawn. It¡¯s a good thing my wife is staying over at her sisters¡¯, or I might have had even more questions to answer about what I was up to.¡± George said, followed by a ruminating chuckle. ¡°No problem, thanks for letting us know this information about the respawn process. By the way, if you were wondering, when you spawned back in, it looked like an old school Star Trek teleportation.¡± ¡°Ha. Interesting, I¡¯ve got more notifications to look over, so I¡¯m going to get back to them.¡±
Skills Gained Blunt Damage, Level 5 Resistance, Level 3 Armour Use, Level 2 Channelling, Level 1
George pumped a fist in excitement, as it looked like he had unlocked his first Skills related to combat, which meant some of those further notifications would likely be letting him know about the first Classes that he had attained. He was excited to get to Class descriptions but wanted to look at the wording of those Skills first to see what he was working with and improve the Skills. He also wasn¡¯t exactly sure what Channeling was and was curious about exactly what it entailed.
Blunt Damage, Level 5 Description: Damage done from blunt forces, good at destroying solid objects. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Unarmed+ - Initiate, Clubs+ - Initiate, ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: ???
Resistance, Level 3 Description: The ability to reduce incoming damage and adverse effects from a variety of sources. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Physical+ - Initiate, Mental+ - Initiate, ??? Subskills: ??? Related Skills: Armour Use, ???
Armour Use, Level 2 Description: The skill to use armour more effectively and efficiently. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Light+ - Initiate, Medium+ - Initiate, ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: Resistance
Channelling, Level 1 Description: The ability to increase or decrease the amount of resources put into actions or Abilities. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Energy Flow+ - Initiate, Concentration - Initiate Subskills: N/A Related Skills: ???
When most of the Techniques George had unlocked were pretty self-explanatory, he looked into the Techniques that had sub-Techniques to see what he had gained. Under Blunt Damage, he had attained the Unarmed Technique with a sub-Technique for Kicking. Along with Unarmed, George had earned the Clubs Technique, and he had unlocked a sub-Technique for Long Clubs. If a baseball bat was considered a Long Club, George assumed that the much longer clubs like Kanabos were likely covered under a different Technique or sub-Technique. George also wondered if similar weapons like Maces would be covered under Long Clubs or if they got their own sub-Technique. Judging that there was a Long Club sub-Technique, there was also likely a Short Clubs sub-Technique for things like Blackjacks and Batons. Similarly, under Unarmed, he assumed sub-Techniques for things like Punches, Knees, Elbows, Grappling, and other things related to Unarmed combat existed. Under Resistance, the Physical Technique had a sub-Technique for resisting Piercing Damage, which he assumed was another overall Damage type like Blunt Damage. George had a few ideas about how he could unlock that Skill and was excited to try them out. Since being speared in the back of the knee had unlocked that kind of resistance, attacking similarly to the spear trap could likely unlock that kind of damage, possibly even for some Unarmed techniques and certain moves with Clubs. Being able to do multiple types of damage with a single weapon using different Techniques would be more useful and realistic than the often single kind of Damage only being available to each weapon. Besides the Physical Resistance he had gained to Piercing Damage, George had also gained Pain and Fear resistance sub-Techniques under the Mental Technique. George felt that being more resistant to both of these mental states would likely be vital in becoming an Adventurer in the future. Presumably, those resistances were evenly currently helping him right now to help George deal with the trauma of having been killed and respawned. Under Armour Use, the Light Technique currently only had one sub-Technique, which was for Leg Armour. Similarly, under the Medium technique, he had the sub-Techniques for Chest, Hand, and Head Armour. George would experiment with different Armour setups to see if he could pick up different sub-Techniques for each Armour¡¯s primary type. Hopefully, these other Techniques would help him level up Armour Use quicker and unlock bonuses regarding wearing armour. Eventually, he figured he would settle on a specific kind of armour layout, but for now, experimentations would help him get used to wearing armour in general and level up his Skill with it. Under Channeling, he only had one sub-technique under Energy Flow, which was Mana Flow. It seemed that this Technique allowed him to regulate how quickly the energy flowed through his body but did not yet control the total amount of energy he emitted. The Concentration Technique allowed George to concentrate on his Channeling of resources, allowing him to control further how the energy flowed through his body. Still, George felt that improving this Technique would also help to multi-task while Channeling, similar to some meditation methods.Stolen novel; please report. As George finished looking over these Skills, he was ready to pull up the Classes he had unlocked. Ever since he had got the System, Classes had been one of the things he had looked forward to the most. It was something that would allow George to be a Hero like he had always daydreamed about being, and he was excited to seize this opportunity.
Classes and Professions Unlocked Now that the user has unlocked both Classes and Professions, the user will now be able to gain slots for Abilities outside their current Classes and Professions, allowing these Abilities to be used as if that Class or Profession were currently equipped. The slots are exclusive to Profession or Class Abilities, depending on how they are unlocked. Each Class or Profession above one that the user has attained will unlock an Ability Slot. However, there are other ways to unlock Ability Slots, including some slots that can be used for both types of Abilities. To provide an example of how this works, if a User has equipped three different Classes and five different Professions, they would have unlocked two Class Ability Slots and four Profession Ability Slots. These slots are just from having had these Classes and Professions equipped at some point and would not include slots unlocked by other means.
Classes Unlocked Fighter Description: The introductory martial Class, known for its versatility. +1 STR, DEX, CON when equipped. Prerequisite: Any physical damage related martial skill. Skills: Blunt Damage, Resistance, Armor Use, ??? Active Abilities: Power Attack, Double Attack, Dash, Charge, Physical Wall Passive Abilities: Speed Increase, Physical Damage Increase, Physical Damage Reduction Performer Description: Base performer Class that uses performances to buff allies and debuff enemies. +1 CHR, INT, WIS when equipped. Prerequisite: Performance and Channeling Unlocked Skills: Performance, Channeling, ??? Active Abilities: Buff Ally Stats, Debuff Enemy Stats, Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Aggression Redirection, Rally Passive Abilities: Radius Boost, Ally Mana Efficiency
Besides these two Classes, George had also fulfilled enough requirements to see what one other Class was.
Magician Description: The base magic Class for general users of magic. +2 INT, +1 WIS when equipped. Prerequisite: Novice Channeling or ??? Skills: Channeling, Calculation, Information Gathering, ??? Active Abilities: Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Mana Blast, Prestidigitation, Minor Telekinesis, Minor Illusion Passive Abilities: Mana Efficiency, Magic Damage Boost
George was having a tough time deciding on what Class he would pick first. Even though he would be a level 0 Performer if he picked that class right now, George would learn the Abilities it contained and what other Skills he could acquire to level it up. Hopefully, those Skills would be easier to use than Diplomacy, and he could work on levelling those up to get a level in the class. Seeing as how Performers Abilities seemed to be generally magical in nature, it was likely there be some overlap with Magician as well, and possibly help him to unlock and level up that Class as well. On the other hand, if he selected FIghter right now, he would be level 1 in that Class already and unlock an Ability. George would also gain the rest of the Skills attached to the Fighter Class, which may help him achieve other Classes. What helped George decide was the overlap between Performer and Magician and the fact that he likely wouldn¡¯t be exploring the Dungeon again until late tonight or tomorrow. So, he could change to the Fighter class to take advantage of its Abilities before returning to the Dungeon, hopefully allowing him to survive his next delve. As George selected the Performer Class, he watched as the description updated, and he was able to look at the unlocked Skill and Ability Descriptions.
Performer, Level 0 Description: Base performer Class that uses performances to buff allies and debuff enemies. +1 CHR, INT, WIS when equipped. Prerequisite: Performance and Channeling Unlocked Skills: Performance 5, Channeling 1, Leadership 0, Magic Damage 0, Healing 0 Active Abilities: Buff Ally Stats, Debuff Enemy Stats, Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Aggression Redirection, Rally Passive Abilities: Radius Boost, Ally Mana Efficiency
Leadership Description: Commanding attention and directing those willing to follow. Parent Skill: Performance Techniques: ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: N/A
Magic Damage Description: Damage done from magical sources, both internal and external to the user. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: Channeling
Healing Description: Using a variety of Techniques to help with healing and repairing the damage done to beings. Parent Skill: N/A Techniques: Physical+, ??? Subskills: N/A Related Skills: Blunt Damage, ???
Buff Ally Stats Description: Gives a boost to ally stats through magical Healing and enhancement via a performance. It is boosted by Skill and Ability levels. Prerequisites: Performer Class Ability Ability Type: Active
Debuff Enemy Stats Description: Gives a debuff to enemy stats through Magical Damage via a performance. It is boosted by Skill and Ability levels. Prerequisites: Performer Class Ability Ability Type: Active
Mana Bolt Description: A bolt of mana that can be fired at enemies. Users can change it into different mana types. Prerequisites: Performer, Magician Class Ability Ability Type: Active
Mana Shield Description: A static shield of mana that can be used to block damage. Users can change it into different mana types. Prerequisites: Performer, Magician Class Ability Ability Type: Active
Aggression Redirection Description: Use performances to redirect aggression from one target to another. Prerequisites: Performer Class Ability Ability Type: Active
Radius Boost Description: Multiplies the base size of any of the user¡¯s radius for Skills and Abilities by 1.1x Prerequisites: Performer Class Ability Ability Type: Passive
Ally Mana Efficiency Description: Allies within 100m have their Mana efficiency boosted by 5% Prerequisites: Performer Class Ability Ability Type: Passive
George was delighted with the Performer Class, as it looked like it was a reliable utility and support-based class, even if it didn¡¯t give much physical support to the user. He was also pretty happy that the related Skills had shown him a decent amount of Related, Parent, and Subskills, as these interrelated Skills would help each other in levelling up, allowing him to do a bit of cross-levelling between Classes and Professions. He had been surprised that Damage and Healing were related, but it made sense as if you knew what was important in Healing, you knew what was essential to Damage, and vice versa. The descriptions of Mana Bolt and Mana Shield had also let him know that those skills would be more versatile than they seemed at first as he learned to use different kinds of mana. George currently viewed his Magic Damage Skill as a kind of Catch-22. If it were a higher level, he would be able to unlock an Ability that could do magic damage, but he needed that Ability to do magic damage. George also found out after gaining the Magic Damage Skill that levelling it to the Novice level was the alternate requirement for the Magician Class. Either way, hopefully, he would be able to level up Channeling or Performance and unlock Mana Bolt from the Performer class, or he could find a Technique that would allow him to level Magic Damage without having an actual magic spell. Either way, that was a problem for the future. George was hoping to work on the Fighter Class, which he felt would help his survivability quicker than the Performer Class. Finishing up with the notifications, George looked over to Lenny, patiently playing a game while waiting for him. When Lenny looked up after a short amount of time, George asked, ¡°Hey Lenny, what did you want to show me?¡± After which, Lenny grabbed Jake¡¯s hand and brought him over to George. As Jake was walking over, he said to George, ¡°Lenny wants to show you the exhibits he contributed to. We have a Zoo now.¡± ¡°Where exactly did you put a Zoo? I¡¯m assuming this is due to some Dungeon magic or something?¡± ¡°Pretty much, yeah. Lenny is bringing you in with his guest pass today, but you will either have to buy a pass or donate to the Zoo to earn a lifetime pass in the future. You should go pick up your Adventurer¡¯s Tool from the Checkpoint first, too.¡± George wasn¡¯t sure what the Adventurer¡¯s Tool was but figured he should listen to Jake and get it. As he put his hand on the pedestal, he was given a prompt on if he wanted to receive his Adventurer''s Tool, and after selecting yes, his phone spawned in his hand. It was a good thing George had listened to Jake, as George had utterly forgotten about his phone until that moment, and it would have been awkward going home without it, especially when it didn''t show up on a phone finding app. As he checked over his phone, George noticed some new apps, and it looked like the apps would be focused on helping him out in his Adventures. They were mostly empty, but George could see their utility, especially the Map and Bestiary apps. George also noticed that his phone was slightly heavier than he was used to and that his phone was currently charging, even though it wasn¡¯t connected to electricity. George asked Jake about this as they walked through the portal into the Dungeon Zoo and received explanations about the crystals and the apps. It was interesting to see the larger than the natural version Dungeon Creatures, and Lenny quickly pointed out one of the plaques that featured his name. As Jake suggested, George made sure to take pictures and videos of the different Creatures and Monsters and take notes about their behaviour. He saw his Bestiary begin updating with information about the other Creatures and some of their general strengths and weaknesses as he did so. Besides being an enjoyable pastime, George could see the utility of using the Zoo to observe Dungeon Creatures and Monsters without putting himself in danger. He was also happy to see he had gained a new Technique under Information Gathering, Observation, and had levelled the Skill to 13. The new Technique also gave the skill a bit more utility for George, giving him some basic information about the Creatures from his Bestiary as he watched them, including their overall level and what their Health was estimated to be. That level also allowed him to level up his currently equipped Teamster Class, which was now the first Class or Profession he had that levelled up to 5, giving him his first permanent Passive Ability. George was tempted to select Carrying Capacity but ended up picking Travel Efficiency for its more general utility. Since he couldn¡¯t use his Ability point to upgrade this passive Ability yet, he ended up levelling up his Strength Boost Ability, giving it a 15% boost for a minute and a half now. As it got to around 2 p.m., George decided that it was time for him to head home. He had enjoyed the morning and afternoon with Lenny and Jake, and had some decisions to make regarding what Jake¡¯s brother, who George learned was named John, had offered. George also had some decisions about who from his family he wanted to try to bring with him to the Dungeon next time. Greg or Frank was most likely to come along, but if George could convince his wife, that would make his life so much more comfortable regarding Dungeon diving. 1.24 John watched as Lenny and Jake enjoyed the speakers he had installed in the First Room to listen to music while hanging out. They were currently bobbing their heads, listening to Out Of Sight (ft. 2 Chainz) by Run The Jewels, Lenny with his fingers pointed like a gun at Jake¡¯s fist. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and didn¡¯t seem to need anything currently, so John went back into his Soul Space to check on Gwen. She was now in the Research Room, and John thought she looked pretty cute as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Sensing John¡¯s thoughts, Gwen looked up and smiled at him, blowing a kiss before getting back to her reading. Now that he had made the improvements to the First Room and set up a decent electrical grid that would be relatively easy to expand upon, John wanted to test one more thing. He noticed a connector to the utility grid for Sorenson Station just outside of the First Room. John placed a 100 mana crystal just before it and connected his grid to the connector. There didn¡¯t seem to be any issues with the connection. John considered this a good sign that he could hook into the utility grid when he got Electricity To Mana Conversion for emergency cases when he was low on mana and needed a quick way to charge. Seeing that it appeared to have no inherent issues, John decided to work on his second floor. John went to the end of his first floor, and instinctively gave his Dungeon the intent to create a second floor. Another portal began opening up, giving him another blank extradimensional space to start building the second floor. John started to carve out a cavern system with multiple paths through it, with one large central chamber, which was roughly circular and had a two hundred meter diameter. There were smaller fifty-meter diameter chambers in every direction, with some that only had connections between other small rooms and some that connected to the central chamber. In one of the furthest rooms, he was able to designate it as the starting chamber for this floor, and as he did so, a Checkpoint Pedestal spawned. John started customizing the various rooms with stalactites and stalagmites, texturing the walls and changing some of the ceiling and floor heights of the different chambers to give each section a unique look. As he was about to start shaping the central chamber, John received a new notification that he hadn¡¯t expected. Besides the level-up messages he had yet to get to, John received a status update from his Dungeon Bank. John hadn¡¯t been using much mana while making the chambers¡¯ adjustments, and the mana crystal he had placed by the utility grid junction had been filled. As John had been deciding how exactly he wanted to set up the Central Cavern, his regular mana reserves had also filled. However, instead of doing nothing and just increasing the nearby locales¡¯ mana saturation, part of the mana was converted into electricity by the crystals in his local grid. His grid was now supplying electricity to the utility grid of the city at large. Since he was now a supplier of electrical energy, he was being compensated for supplying power, and the amount of money he had in his bank account was going up. It was nice to see that he could earn money in another way besides selling goods and taking cash from adventurers. However, John made sure to limit the amount of electricity going out to avoid drawing too much attention. Especially since until he got an internet connection, there wasn¡¯t a good way to spend money, and he didn¡¯t want to tempt Jake by giving him a large amount of money to buy things unsupervised. It was also nice to think that he would be able to help a transition to green energy in a multitude of different ways to the world at large and help with pollution and emission problems around the globe by providing a new source of electricity. John also received a notification that Jake and Lenny had completed Research on the song they had been listening to. Lenny had been curious what a hot dog was. When Jake explained it to Lenny, they got a notification letting them know that they had unlocked a Template for a general sausage Recipe. Different variants could also be created by grinding meats and putting them in a casing, including variants made from Dungeon Creature meats. John had also received another Research notification that due to his recent efforts at trade with Adventurers and by earning the selling Technique under Negotiation by creating an ongoing selling arrangement, he had dropped the R.P. cost of Dungeon Trading to 10 R.P. Since he was already looking into notifications, John decided he might bring up the level notifications and found that Negotiation was now 22, Absorb 19, Creatio 16, and Soul Space 14. Before John finished setting up the Boss Room of the second floor that the central chamber was going to be, he figured that he should at least create the other kind of Monster that was going to be the main feature of the floor. John called Gwen over because he felt that she would have the expertise for creating this new type of Monster and would probably like to witness its creation. Gwen replied that she would be over in a little while after she finished the chapter she was currently reading, so John decided to watch how some of the Creatures and Slimes behaved while they were in the Zoo. It was fascinating to see the different behaviours from all of the Slimes, each appearing to have their quirks and personalities. John took this as a good sign that the different Slimes would all have the possibility of developing new Abilities or evolving into unique specimens. John had gotten a bit distracted watching the Slimes waiting for Gwen, so he was surprised when she ran her hand down his arm to get his attention. Rather than being startling, John found the feeling to be almost reluctant, and impulsively turned around and kissed Gwen. In turn, she reacted with surprise to the sudden kiss before quickly and excitedly returning the kiss. They almost reluctantly broke off the kiss, John rubbing a hand behind his head and Gwen again playing with her hair, sharing a bashful smile between the two of them. John gave a sheepish clearing of his throat before asking Gwen, ¡°So, how do I create a new Monster out of multiple different Creatures?¡± ¡°I¡¯m assuming you mean from the Apocrita category? You mentioned that you¡¯d gotten all of the different kinds recently. Here, I¡¯ll pull up the description so we can have a quick look over it before creating the Monster.¡± Gwen said before sidling over and pressing her shoulder into John¡¯s before pulling up the description for them to look at.
Apocrita Element Affinity: Neutral Subtypes: Ants, Bees, Wasps, Hornets Abilities: Hive Mind (Dungeon Ability), Sting (Pain Toxin, Poison Toxin, Caustic Toxin), Flight (Insect Wings), Colonies (Bugs), Exoskeleton, Mandibles, Stout Strength, Panoramic Vision, Litters, HoveringIf you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Cost: 10 Mana per Colony, 0.5 Mana For Non-Colony
Gwen continued what she was saying, ¡°Yeah, it looks like you have all of the different basic types. You may discover new varieties that improve the general physicality or add an ability or two, but as long as you have all these basic types, you won¡¯t have to go through this process again. They will change when they respawn or when no Adventurers are going through the Dungeon.¡± ¡°Right, it¡¯s kind of like they get an update, rather than having to install a completely new version of the software.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a pretty good metaphor for it. And, thanks for teaching me a bit about computers and word processors. Those have helped with me reorganizing my notes better after I have written them.¡± Gwen said, her research focused side showing through with her smile. ¡°No problem, any time spent with you is time well spent in my books,¡± John said to Gwen before a light blush came over both of their faces. Gwen gave John a quick peck on the cheeks before continuing her explanation of making a Monster that combined the different subtypes. ¡°So like when you created the Slime, you are going to focus on the Creature that you want to turn into a Monster and begin to infuse it with mana. However, this time you will also need to give a bit of thought to the different Creature subtypes so that their Abilities are included in creating the Monster. The resulting Monster will be one of the generic supertypes of that Creature.¡± ¡°What do you mean by one of the generic supertypes?¡± ¡°Well, some Creatures can turn into a couple of different Monsters. Generally, you will get the most generic of these Monsters, especially since to gain those different Monsters, you may have to imagine a different body shape and subtract some Abilities that the more generic version would keep. There may also be influences due to your location, as Monsters that are more closely in the local part of the gestalt are more likely to show up as Monsters in your Dungeon.¡± ¡°So if I want to get a specific Monster out of a Creature, I would have to some idea of what I want to create and what its general characteristics are and picture them while I am creating the Monster? I guess that makes sense.¡± ¡°Pretty much, yeah. Are you ready to create your new Monster?¡± ¡°I think so. I¡¯ll get started.¡± As John said this, he kept the description of the Apocrita Creature type in font of his view to help him with concentrating on them. He began feeding the process of creating one of each creature, then continued to provide more mana and pictured the different Creatures joining together. As John did so, the Creatures began to have a bluish glow and, rather than forming individually, were drawn into a singular sphere. As the light dispersed, John thought that the process might have failed since no Monster appeared. However, John realized that instead of the mana dispersing, it had been reabsorbed, as he got a notification letting him know that a new Monster type was available, and John pulled up its description.
Myrmekes Element Affinity: Neutral, Basic Elements Subtypes: Worker, Soldier, Scouts, Queen Abilities: Hive Mind (Dungeon Ability), Sting (Pain Toxin, Poison Toxin, Caustic Toxin), Flight (Insect Wings) (Scouts), Colonies (Bugs), Exoskeleton, Mandibles, Stout Strength, Panoramic Vision, Litters, Hovering (Scouts), Gliding (Soldiers), Climbing Cost: 10 Mana Worker, 30 Mana Soldier/Scout, 50 Mana Queen, 500 Mana Colony
Seeing the details of the new Monster, John wanted to spawn them as soon as possible and spawned a Colony in the Central Chamber of the Second Floor, guessing that it would be more cost-effective than summoning individuals. His guess proved correct, as generating the Colony gave him thirty Workers, six Scouts, six Soldiers, and a Queen, which would have cost 710 mana to summon individually by John¡¯s quick calculations. As he finished summoning the colony, having spent most of his mana, which had only risen to 510 from his work on this floor, he received another notification. This notification let John know that by summoning a Colony and with the current Abilities John had, the Colony would have an antagonistic relationship with any other Monsters present on the floor, including if another Myrmeke Colony was summoned. John wasn¡¯t too concerned with this, as his instincts told him that if another Monster predated any Monster, it would be respawned after a couple of minutes in another part of the floor, as long as Adventurers were not present. Even with Adventurers being present, John felt that a small amount of inter-Monster fighting would make the challenge of the second floor of the Dungeon more manageable. If someone invaded the Dungeon intending to harm the Core, the Colony would stop having an antagonistic relationship and instead work with the other Monsters. All in all, it wasn¡¯t too much of a detriment to John, especially when he read that because of the antagonistic relationship of the Monsters on the floor also gave them the chance of gaining new Abilities or evolving if they were successful in their endeavours against other Monsters. Looking at his new Monsters, John was relatively sure that the Myrmekes would be on the winning end of the equation most of the time. The regular Slimes might have the occasional win against the Workers, but the other subtypes outclassed them. The Stealth Slimes might be able to take down a Scout or Soldier, but they weren¡¯t going to be able to take down the Queen except in the luckiest of circumstances. The Workers were the smallest of the new subtypes, and even they were roughly the size of a golden retriever, looking like a cross between a worker ant and a worker bee, having a more ant-like head and a bee-like body. However, the bee¡¯s wing had become more vestigial and paddle-shaped, appearing to help with air movement in the colony rather than any kind of flight. The Scouts were the next smallest, and if the Worker were the size of Golden Retrievers, they were the size of Mastiffs. However, their body was much sleeker and aerodynamic, close in shape to a paper wasp, without the other subtypes¡¯ thick back end. Their head was also more comparable to that of a hornet or wasp, having their more crushing focused mandibles than the ant-like pinching and cutting mandibles of the worker. They were also the only subtype to keep wings that could fly, allowing them quicker movement than the other types. John got the feeling that outside of the Dungeon, these would be the types to locate and possibly take down food sources. If the Workers and Scouts were the sizes of canines, then the Soldiers were wildebeests, about twice the size of the Scouts but only about a third the size of a bull. Their wings appeared to be stuck to their backs, and as John watched a Soldier climb up a wall and jump, he realized that their wings were now webbing between the top parts of their leg, and much thicker than the wings of Scouts. It seemed that the wings now served as extra armour on the Soldiers, along with allowing them to keep some mobility, allowing them to cushion their falls from on high or to glide across the room from on high, allowing them to respond to threats from their lofty perches quickly. Besides their unique wing set up, the soldiers appeared to have the mandibles of both the Workers and the Scouts, giving them the most versatile mandibles so far. While the Soldiers were the size of wildebeests, the Queen was the size of a bull. Her wings were again unique, being thin, metallic-looking lines on her back. She had three on either side of her back, including one stuck out her thorax to the rear on either side of her body. As she walked by a stalagmite, John watched the wings on that side shoot forwards and cut into the rock, as the Queen seemed to be testing out her power. Judging by the gouges in the rock, the Queen would have a bit more defended to her sides than the rest of the Myrmekes, and that was understating things quite a bit. John couldn¡¯t see any other of the Queen¡¯s unique features, as she appeared to have the same mandibles as the soldiers and stinger like the rest of the Myrmekes. Her colouration was also the same as the others, with dark red and black bands going down her body. The overall look of the Myrmekes was quite sinister and would be harder to make out in the dark than the traditional yellow and black of bees and common hornets. With their apparent strength and mobility, John was excited to see them in action, even if, for the foreseeable short term future, it would only be against their fellow Monsters. 1.25 A short time after John finished creating the Myrmekes and placing them on the second floor of the Dungeon, he received a notification asking him if he wanted to put an exhibit for them in the Zoo. John couldn¡¯t see why not to do this, as it would give him a chance to observe them in a more peaceful situation, even if it might warn Adventurers of their possible dangers. Either way, his decision was settled when Lenny woke up from his sleep and watched them for a bit before heading out with his bug net. It was getting close to midnight, so there was no reason to stop him from running out, but he did want to look into getting Lenny a fishing rod since he seemed interested in fishing as well. Jake had come back to the Soul Space as Lenny had gone out of the Dungeon, and since there was no one in the First Room, there was no reason for Jake to be there. John felt that this would be a good time for him to catch up with his brother, so he went to the Entertainment Room where Jake was. Jake was playing God of War on the PS4, probably feeling that it was a bit too violent to play with Lenny. John thought it was appropriate given the role Jake had taken with Lenny, but he wasn¡¯t sure if Jake would appreciate hearing the sentiment voiced out loud. ¡°How¡¯s it going, Jake?¡± ¡°Pretty good, just relaxing with some gaming.¡± ¡°You seem to be enjoying spending time with Lenny, and you two did a good job, by the way. You and Lenny are the first ones to unlock anything by Researching a song.¡± ¡°Thanks, it¡¯s fun hanging out with Lenny. He has so much enthusiasm towards everything, and being looked up to as a big brother is a nice feeling,¡± Jake said with a warm smile on his face. ¡°And how are you dealing with things? I know some after-effects of my depression and state of mind are still showing up.¡± John said, while looking at Jake with some concern in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m doing better, I think. There¡¯s no physical dependency, but I still get a bit of the user thoughts every once in a while.¡± ¡°I get that. I mean, I don¡¯t even know if anyone even knows I¡¯m gone yet. I¡¯m still not due back at work for a couple of days, and communication with most of my friends is sporadic at the best of times. Looking back at it, I was kind of isolating myself from everyone a bit, which isn¡¯t the healthiest of behaviour.¡± ¡°Well, we can work on our issues together. And it seems like Gwen is helping you in a similar way that Lenny is helping me. I love you, and I¡¯m here for you if you need it.¡± ¡°Same, I¡¯m here for you if you need it, and I love you too.¡± Jake knew how hard it was for John to say those words, and responded by giving an even warmer smile and pulling his brother in for a hug. After the hug, John cleared his throat with an awkward cough and said, ¡°Speaking of Lenny and Gwen, I¡¯ve got an idea for tomorrow if you are interested.¡± Jake replied to John by saying, ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± and raising his right eyebrow. ¡°Well, Lenny has expressed an interest in fishing, and Gwen wanted to learn a bit about how shopping works in our world after I told her most of it is handled by computers in some way. And even though we¡¯ll have access to the internet soon, she would like to do some in-person shopping. So maybe you can take her to Canadian Tire tomorrow while Lenny sleeps in the middle of the day.¡± ¡°Yeah, but where will we get the cash for it.¡± ¡°I still have access to my bank account, so Gwen will be able to use my bank card. I¡¯d let you do use it but figured that might tempt you to misuse it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like to stay away from temptation as much as possible right now. I have enough existential worries to deal with right now. No need to add addiction worries onto that.¡± Jake said with a wry smile on his face. ¡°What kind of existential worries?¡± John replied to Jake with a sardonic smile on his face. ¡°You know, the usual. Are you and me still ourselves? Me being a soul without a true physical body unless you make me one, and you being a hunk of minerals technically.¡± ¡°Ah, the regular stuff.¡± ¡°Yeah, the new usual. You¡¯re doing good, though?¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± Jake said, dismissing John, with a wave of his hand. John left with a wave of his hand, heading towards Gwen to let her know about the plan. She was even more excited when John let her know that further down the road from the Canadian Tire, they would be a store called Chapters that were pretty large and specialized in selling books. Once Gwen knew how to go shopping, she would be more than free to head there in the future and pick up some books that interested her. John also let her know about ebooks and that she would also be able to download those once they got the internet connection, and she was interested in those as well. As John had finished explaining the plan to Gwen, it was practically midnight, and even though Gwen was interested in the internet, she wanted to finish The Two Towers first. John left Gwen to her reading and went to see if anything interesting had developed on the second floor of the Dungeon yet, but it looked like enough time hadn¡¯t passed for anything other than a few basic Slimes being hunted. As John was checking through the different chambers of the second floor, he finally received the notification he had been waiting for. The Research was complete, along with a notification that Research had levelled to 7, giving John an available 3.R.P. left to use. Wanting to see if he had unlocked any new Research, John pulled up the Interdimensional Internet Connections description, along with the newly gained Research¡¯s description and a list of all the available Research 10 R.P. or below, to decide what he should Research next.
Research Completed Interdimensional Internet Connection Description: Allows Dungeons to connect to Earth¡¯s internet. Research Cost: 5 R.P. Benefit Of Research: This allows the user to connect to the internet. Parent Research: None Research Unlocked: System Enhanced Internet Connection Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
System Enhanced Internet Connection Description: Allows Dungeons to use Earth¡¯s internet for Research using Research Points. Research Cost: 100 R.P. Benefit Of Research: Unlocks the internet as a Research source. Parent Research: Interdimensional Internet Connection Research Unlocked: None Dungeon Ability Unlocked: None
Mineral Working (4 R.P.), Smithing (5 R.P.), Woodworking (5 R.P.), Clothemaking (5 R.P.), Papercrafts (5 R.P.), Glass Crafts (5 R.P.), Clayworking (5 R.P.), Basic Mana Element Type (5 R.P.), Enchanting (8 R.P.), Alchemy (10 R.P.), Creature Customization (10 R.P.), Advanced Trap Creation (10 R.P.), Mental Defenses (10 R.P.), Arena (10 R.P.), Dungeon Trading (10 R.P.)
Seeing the description of System Enhanced Internet Connection, John wondered if he could use the Internet for Research at all. As he looked into it, John could currently use the internet for Active Research, so he let Jake and Gwen know about that development. However, if he wanted to passively Research a website like Wikipedia, he would have to unlock that ability first. It seemed like a reasonable compromise to John, seeing the vast amount of available information on the web at large and could probably be used to overpower his Dungeon quickly. John didn¡¯t imagine it would be fair if he could suddenly manufacture deadly lasers for use in traps with barely putting any effort in to get them. If he had four R.P. left, John would have been very tempted to pick up Mineral Working, allowing him to make even better use of the crystals he had recently obtained, and possibly allowing him to create some new rock and mineral types. However, since he would be able to get a 10 R.P. Research done by tomorrow night and quite probably level up Research simultaneously, he was leaning towards unlocking one of those. Of the available 10 R.P. Research, John leaned towards Creature Customization, Mental Defences, Arena, or Dungeon Trading. As much as his most paranoid feelings told John that he should get Mental Defense, his intuition told him that while it would be useful, it wasn¡¯t necessary for his overall safety. On the other hand, his instinct told him that Arena, Dungeon Trading, and Creature Customization were all excellent choices. As much as Arena was tempting to get right away due to the other kind of people he could attract to his Dungeon with it, John felt he could hold off on acquiring it a bit longer. So really, the choice came down to Dungeon Trading and Creature Customization. John was interested in the Ability descriptions he would gain by getting Creature Customization and transferring those Abilities between different Creatures and Monsters and the power to create hybrid Monsters. However, he had just finished building his second floor, and no one had even got to the end of the first floor yet, so he didn¡¯t need to make a bunch of new Monsters soon, and Dungeon Trading would provide a lot of help in setting up the deals he wanted to soon. As much as John wanted to get Creature Customization, he put the points into Dungeon Trading and went to see Gwen. As he was heading towards Gwen, John received a notification that she had finished her Research on The Two Towers. There weren¡¯t as many rewards as her Research on The Fellowship of the Ring, but John was still pretty interested in what she had unlocked. She had gained even more Elvish Script and Dwarven Runes, further reducing the cost of the Enchanting Research to 7 R.P. Along with that, he had gained the Templates for Oliphaunts, and the Horses of Rohan, both of which he felt would be exciting additions to the Dungeon. The Oliphaunts were classified as Legendary Monsters, meaning John wouldn¡¯t unlock them for a little while. Still, the Horses were classified as N.P.C.s, meaning that he would probably be multiple ways to use them in the future. Maybe he could even set up Horse and Chariot races in the Arena when he unlocked them, as they looked like they would require much more attainable animals to attain the Template. As John got to the Research Room where Gwen is, she turned around and smiled at him, seeing to have enjoyed the book. John could see a bit of pride in her smile at well, having once again unlocked new things for the Dungeon through her efforts. Gwen looked at John and asked, ¡°So, now that I finished the book, are you ready to watch the final movie?¡± ¡°Sure, we can do that in a little bit and have a bit of a more casual date if that¡¯s what you want to do. I thought I could teach you a little bit about the internet first, though if you want.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds good. From what you told me before, it sounds pretty interesting.¡± John proceeded to show Gwen a bunch of different types of websites available on the web. The nerd in Gwen had been pretty excited upon finding out about Wikipedia and Wikis, especially when John showed her the one about Lord Of The Rings, as she would be able to look up the extended lore to her heart¡¯s content. Gwen was also pretty interested in Wikipedia and the opportunity it provided her to learn more about John¡¯s world on her terms. After John showed Gwen those sites, he offered her a bit of information about how search engines worked and how she could use them to find even more information. Finally, after that, he showed her some video sites, and they enjoyed watching some music videos for some songs that he had already shown her. After they watched a couple of videos, Gwen had a question for John, ¡°So what¡¯s the internet for? Just giving information out to people?¡± John answered with a humorous smile on his face, ¡°Most people would say the internet is for porn.¡± Gwen tilted her head a bit, looked John dead in the eyes, and asked John with an intense earnestness in her voice, ¡°What¡¯s porn? Can you show me some?¡± 1.26 John regretted telling that joke because of the awkward situation it had created. But even then, it was only a light regret, and he felt a bit closer to Gwen when everything was said and done. Gwen had been so earnest in her question that he didn¡¯t have it in his heart to refuse her. And besides, they were both adults and were even dating, which was the most comfortable explanation John could come up with on short notice. It might not be the most comfortable thing, but it wasn¡¯t like they were doing anything wrong, and it might show them where they had compatibility. And as much as John wanted to justify it just through Gwen¡¯s education about sexuality on Earth, a part of him also had to admit that he was curious about learning what she might be interested in. John had agreed to show Gwen some videos after she had continued to show interest after explaining exactly what was featured in most pornography. She had even teased him a bit when trying to get him to show her some of the videos, suggesting that Gwen was a bit less prudish than John expected someone of her background to be. He had shown her a little bit of the tamer stuff, not wanting to warp her sensibilities of ordinary sexual encounters. John explained that while people used porn for various reasons, it should not be used as a realistic depiction of sex. Gwen seemed to understand when John said that, but he was a little bit worried about the copious amount of notes she had taken during the process. Especially since whenever he had tried to sneak a peek at what she was writing, she had been quick to turn her notebook away from his prying eyes. After a little while, Gwen had sent John off, saying that they should both get ready for their upcoming date.
Gwen thought she had been able to hide her embarrassment from John pretty well, mostly by pretending she was back in one of her ¡°Wifely Etiquette¡± classes, learning about how to please future husbands. It had always irked her that there had also not been another class on how to receive pleasure as a woman, and she heard no tell from her male counterparts that they had received ¡°Husbandly Etiquette¡± classes. Gwen had been surprised to see John squirm in discomfort a little bit as they watched the videos, though he had continued to explain his perspective about what was happening in the videos. Gwen thought John had handled the situation pretty maturely, and even gentlemanly in contrast to the generally explicit nature of the videos he had shown her. Gwen felt that some of the other men she had been on dates with would have seen viewing such materials as an invitation to make advances, whereas John had treated her with respect throughout the process. John had even shown her videos that he said were more tailored to female tastes if it was something Gwen was interested in watching herself in the future, the thought behind it being both kind and a little weird to Gwen. As she processed John¡¯s meaning, she found it more sweet than offputting, showing John accepted that she might have sexual interests of her own. John considering and welcoming her interests, rather than disregarding her feelings and pretending his suitor was only some kind of chaste prize to be claimed, was a lovely surprise. One of the things Gwen had found most interesting was that many of the videos that John had shown her had featured women being the ones to make advances on the men. Even more surprising was the videos like this that had featured older women pursuing younger men, whom John had said were referred to as Milfs or Cougar. Relationships like that only happened among the most powerful females in her culture, rather than being semi-common like it seemed in Johns¡¯. Even all of the romantic and erotic focused books she had read back in her world had always featured a man pursuing a woman. The number of videos that featured women seducing men that John had shown her led her to believe that he may have an unconscious attraction to those kinds of women, something that Gwen planned on exploiting soon. Even if her plans were only to exploit those predilections to tease John for now, not necessarily to go as far as the people in those videos, which she wasn¡¯t ready for quite yet. Maybe she could ask Jake for a suggestion or two while they were on the shopping trip, though she would have to be careful, or that could get real awkward, real quick.
John was slightly worried about what Gwen was planning on doing for their date, seeing the mischievous look she had had on her face when she had mentioned it to him. The fact that Gwen was shortly going on a shopping trip with Jake was doing nothing to alleviate his worries about what Gwen had planned for their date later, especially since Jake would offer suggestions if he heard anything about it. As Gwen and Jake were getting ready to leave, Jake also seemed to have helped Gwen style herself for their shopping trip with a Denim Jacket to go over her dress and some black skate shoes and ankle socks for her usually bare feet. John thought the look suited her, and he had created a shopping list for the two using his new internet connection to see what was available at Canadian Tire. John had ended up with a mishmash of different things, though he made sure to prioritize getting a kid and adult-sized fishing rod so he could make Lenny an appropriately sized quality fishing rod. John also had added a fly and ice fishing rod to the list, just to have a wider variety for later. Besides the fishing rod, John had suggested that they get a couple of hooks and flies of various types, though he recommended only getting a couple of each shape and size. John also indicated that they also only get different colour patterns for the different sizes, hoping that he would be able to swap the designs for the different sizes to gain a wider variety from his creations. John guessed that he would be able to edit the hooks himself to get new patterns, so John didn¡¯t want to use too much money on acquiring hooks. After all, there was probably some kind of daily limit on what could be spent on his debit card, and he didn¡¯t want any extra attention being brought to his bank account.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. John had suggested they pick up some power tools, hand saws, and tools related to metalworking along with the fishing equipment. He had some useful tools for working on smaller electronic equipment already but figured he should prepare for getting some of the Crafting related subskills. Hopefully, besides helping his Crafting work, getting these tools might help reduce the cost of some of these subskills. Besides these items, John had suggested that they pick up some weight and sports training-related equipment for adding to the training room, along with actual sports equipment for the future Arena. Seeing that absorbing the other sports equipment had also given John armour Blueprints, he hoped that getting a wider variety would allow the Blueprints to combine the best aspects of different equipment. Then, John could create a better overall armour or at least more armour types. For things that were less necessary but would still be nice to have, John suggested that they consider picking up some games, like Ping Pong paddles, balls, and nets, along with a dartboard and darts set, or any other similar games. John also suggested that they might pick up a couple of toys, which he felt Lenny would appreciate. John had almost considered making the Ping Pong set a priority, as he had seen a set online that had two paddles, a couple of balls, and a net. When John saw that it didn¡¯t come with a table, John had figured that he could make his own, so he had looked up the proper dimensions for a table online. Being curious about the actual rules, he had also looked them up after that. As John finished reading the rules, he had received a notification that he had completed Research and Ping Pong was now available as a potential Arena Game if he got the right equipment for it. John was also notified that if he Researched other Ping Pong rule sets, those would also be available for use, and more in-depth competitions could be held. Thus his desire to get the Ping Pong set, both to have everything necessary to set them up in the Arena, and that by gaining at least one full Arena Game, he might reduce the cost of the Arena Research. Gaining these rules for the Arena Games made the System Enhanced Internet Connection Research even more appealing. It would be so much easier to spend an R.P. or two to gain new sets of rules for the Arena than it would be to read through the different rulesets for complicated sports like Hockey, Basketball, and Football. On the other hand, gaining those sports through hard work would be pretty satisfying as an accomplishment. John would also have to look up some less complicated sports and competitions, adding a wider variety to the Arena quickly. Things like Cornhole and Minigolf came to mind, and as he thought about it more, John figured he could do some pretty fun stuff with mini-golf once he unlocked Enchantments and more kinds of magic. Wanting to prepare for future projects, and seeing as Lenny was currently asleep while Jake and Gwen were out shopping, John began reabsorbing everything in the Dojo room while keeping the sign and placing another sign below it reading Arena & Sports. Along with the signs, John put another Checkpoint pedestal, allowing another portal to appear. This portal was currently only tuned to the extradimensional Training Room he was presently building and filling up with the equipment that had previously been in the Dungeon. As John finished replacing everything that had been in the previous Training Room in the new Training Room, he noticed Jake and Gwen arriving back in his Domain with a shopping cart full of items. It looked relatively heavy, given the amount of effort Jake and Gwen were going through, pushing it towards his Dungeon entrance. John began absorbing some of the smaller but still heavy items in the cart to help them out, hoping not to shift the cart¡¯s balance too much, as he didn¡¯t want it to tip over. Jake and Gwen realized what John was doing and made some rearrangements in the cart to help keep it from tipping over since that would just slow down everybody¡¯s progress. John removing a decent chunk of weight at least made it a decent amount easier for Jake and Gwen to push the cart, and it made its way into the Dungeon much quicker. As Jake and Gwen made their way down the ramp in the stairwell, they also began dropping some smaller items out of the cart. As they got into the First Room of the Dungeon, they finished unloading the cart, and John absorbed it according to the plan they had made earlier. He then remade the cart, Jake expressing a bit of happiness that they could bring an empty cart to the store next time and not return it after moving the heavy full cart. Jake then began bringing it back to the store, while Gwen went back into John¡¯s Soul Space so that she could get ready for their date. John finished absorbing the rest of the items that had been in the cart and was surprised to see that he had gained a new subskill under Creation, for Dungeon Puzzles. John brought up its description to see what he had obtained.
Dungeon Puzzles Dungeon Puzzles have been unlocked by absorbing multiple different kinds of objects that can be used for Dungeon Puzzles. Dungeon Puzzles can be used for various purposes in the Dungeon, such as not allowing further passage until the puzzle or challenge has been solved, opening secret areas and paths, or gaining loot by doing well in a challenge.
Looking into what he currently had available for Dungeon Puzzles gave John a bit of a malicious smile. Apparently, besides the jigsaw he had available to slow down Adventurers, he could also force them to play Jenga, with punishments and rewards depending on how well they did. 1.27 It turned out that John¡¯s worries about their date had been mostly unfounded. Yes, Gwen had been slightly more forward than she usually was, and the tight red dress with slits in it had been much more risque than usual, heavily accenting her curves even if the neckline wasn¡¯t as deep as her everyday dress. However, that had been the extent of her ¡°mischief,¡± if one could even consider it that. Gwen¡¯s wordplay been more aggressive than usual and more forward physically during the dinner and movie, but that had only extended to more involved kissing and some heavy petting. John appreciated that Gwen wanted to appeal to his tastes and wanted to support her exploration. Still, he had also felt from her thoughts that Gwen wasn¡¯t quite ready for any further steps on the path of physical relations. John wasn¡¯t in any kind of rush, though, and he loved and respected Gwen enough not to want to rush her in any way that would make her feel uncomfortable. John could feel that she was very interested in exploring further, and his waiting would make that destination all the more fulfilling to reach in the future.
Lately, the nights Frank had spent in the rectory had been like being in a glass case of emotions. He felt that his heart had been on his sleeve lately, and fellow clergymen could see that Frank had lost some of his faith in the institution. In Frank¡¯s recent memory, the only restful nights had been the nights after Family Game Night, where his escape to a fantastical realm through gaming had allowed him to forget his conflict of emotions he felt most nights before ministering service to his parishioners. As much as the story of a man who would give up his life to help others and was consistently kind to societies outcasts had inspired Frank in his childhood and continued to guide his morality to this day, his feeling towards the institution he currently belonged to that claimed to represent that man was much more complicated. If Frank was honest with himself, he did have to admit that part of his joining the Catholic Church had been down to his ability to avoid family friends trying to set them up with their daughters on more dates, hoping to tie their families together. He had found it hard to be honest about his preferences and crushes in small-town Alberta, except to his closest of friends, and even then, some of them had stopped associating with him shortly after he had told them. By going to the seminary, he had also avoided his mom¡¯s question of when he would start dating some of the girls he had been set up more seriously and give her some grandchildren. She hadn¡¯t been delighted with his joining the clergy. Still, Frank¡¯s mother had accepted it as she was devout Catholic herself, and Greg and Stace had welcomed her as an extra Grandmother as much as they had included Frank as an uncle, meaning she felt she hadn¡¯t lost out on the experience in the end. Eventually, he had come clean about his other reasons for joining the clergy. Frank had been pleasantly surprised to find out she accepted him fully, though maybe Frank should have expected that as she had always been a Jesus is love rather than fire and brimstone person. Frank loved ¡°tending to the flock¡± by providing advice to those in distress and physical necessities for them in their times of need. Still, he had become increasingly disillusioned with the organization behind his Church. While Frank knew plenty of fellow clergymen who went about their work in good faith because of their inspiration to serve, he had run into enough who had been attracted to prestige and power that came with a priest¡¯s position. Frank felt many of those people were also the ones who put the most effort into gaining more control within the Church, which was part of why the Church was in its current position. These were the kind of people who would cover up the abuse of children to help keep their prestige also disgusted Frank. He heard some parishioners saying that was because those monsters were supposed homosexuals rather than opportunistic predators, which had been a slap in the face to Frank. Especially when the Church had done nothing to correct those misconceptions, which had been the latest of their long line of transgressions against others like himself. While many of his fellow clergymen only held compassion and warmth for those among his community, Frank had long grown tired of the institution¡¯s attitude towards LGBT people, to the point where he had considered leaving the Church multiple times in the past. Lately, one of Frank¡¯s most common thoughts, as he fell asleep, was that he wished he could gain power in some way to change things for the better, without having to resort to political machinations. So he was surprised to find himself in a dream that featured one of his biggest crushes, Captain Jack Sparrow leaning over him in his bed. Since Frank realized he was dreaming, this must be a lucid dream, meaning he was free to act as he wanted. Deciding to indulge himself for once, Frank pulled the face down towards the bed he was lying in and gave it a full kiss on the lips. As surprise registered on the Captain¡¯s face, though Frank was happy to see it seemed to be an enjoyable surprise to Jack, the facial hair tickling his chin made him realize he wasn¡¯t dreaming. What made the surrealness of the situation all the more disconcerting was Frank realized that this Jack Sparrow had what seemed to be a small fire blazing behind his eyes and black horns like a ram coming from his temples that swept back with his hair. However, it was the familiar Jack Sparrow voice that told Frank, ¡°Hold on a minute there, mate, we got a couple of things to discuss before we get up to any fun.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. All Frank could say in reply was, ¡°Uhm¡­¡±, his voice trailing off in a combination of embarrassment and bewilderment before suddenly his gaze sharpened, and Frank asked, ¡°Are you some kind of demon?¡± Again, it was Jack¡¯s sardonic tone that answered, ¡°Well, technically, yeah. But generally, that term refers to my more Evil minded brethren. The rest of us prefer to go be daemon or hellion, especially daemon for us more virtuous types.¡± ¡°So I should call you a daemon?¡± ¡°You could call this form a daemon, but I¡¯m an Administrator named Ogbatar.¡± Following this declaration, Ogbatar explained to Frank precisely who he was, similar to the explanation that John had received from Mahaytar, what the Administrators are, and their general place in the multiverse. After that, Ogbatar began explaining why he looked the way he did and some other forms Ogbatar had considered. ¡°I¡¯d considered Robin Hood since he fits the whole theme of Chaotic Good better, but there isn¡¯t just one iconic version of him. Han Solo was also a strong contender, but I didn¡¯t want you thinking you¡¯d be flying off to the stars and using the Force mate. And though Jack may be a bit of a scoundrel, in the end, he always does what he believes to be right, which is something I can respect. Besides the fact that you find him attractive, that is.¡± A wink in Frank¡¯s direction followed that statement. That final statement left Frank a bit flustered, but he considered everything that Ogbatar had said and how he had felt while talking to them. Frank had received no feeling that Ogbatar wasn¡¯t what he claimed to be, a powerful being who ultimately was a force for good. And that left Frank many things to consider about the offer that he had received from Ogbatar, though he supposed it was two offers that he should consider. It had seemed a bit calculating that the proposal had been made to Frank while he was feeling the way he was feeling about the Church. Still, Ogbatar had put his mind at ease that it was only a small factor in why he had come to Frank and that it was his many other qualities that Ogbatar found attractive. It had been a bit hard for him to concentrate when Captain Sparrow had been sure to enunciate attractive in such a way that made Frank sure the double entendre was a deliberate choice. As Frank gathered his thoughts, he looked to Ogbatar, who was currently sitting on the edge of his bed and asked, ¡°I know you offered for me to become your champion, but you also said you value individual strength. Does that mean I have to do everything by myself? And if I don''t, are you going to take the power you gave me away if I do anything that you don¡¯t like?¡± ¡°No, of course, you don¡¯t have to be some hermetic warrior, righting wrongs while travelling from town to town. I even do things in cooperation with others like me, as we all share a common enemy. It¡¯s just that my blessings tend to elevate individuals, so I have chosen for my focus to be on them and those closest to them. And once my blessings are given, I cannot take them back. There are rules that I have to follow, and I¡¯m not omnipotent, but if you stray from the path, I won¡¯t continue to give blessings, and I can send other champions after you if you go too far. I don¡¯t see that being a problem with you, though. I tend to pick those I work with pretty carefully, and I was lucky to find you so close to the new source of mana.¡± ¡°Those are both fair enough points, and put some of my concerns at rest. In most of our stories and religions, those we consider Gods tend to be both mercurial and instantaneous in their judgment of their followers.¡± ¡°Well, it''s a good thing I¡¯m not a God then, though I don¡¯t mind a bit of worship. Some of the Gods I have worked with in the past are pretty close to what you describe, though. Those tend to last for shorter periods as after the initial gaining of followers their religions tend to be less persuasive.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ and why are you so interested in me the other way?¡± ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± ¡°Stop being so coy, there¡¯s been an obvious flirtatious vibe to your interactions with me, and you seemed pleased when I first kissed you.¡± ¡°Ah. Well, my nature as an Administrator is influenced by my previous nature. I was what you would have considered pansexual, valuing the individual rather than their outside aspects. I also tend to take one lover per each aspect of me that manifests. And when I found you, I liked what I saw, so I wanted to be appealing to you. That side of our relationship would be separate from our relationship with you as my Champion, though.¡± ¡°So I would be part of some harem then?¡± ¡°No, I am monogamous. Each aspect is its own individual that grows and changes in its home dimension. I am just the newest aspect that was based on the Ur Aspect.¡± ¡°Ah. So there are multiple yous, rather than a singular you that exists has multiple consciousnesses.¡± ¡°More or less. It¡¯s a bit more complex than that, and the different aspects do affect each other in some ways, but we are unique existences. Are you close to making a decision, mate?¡± ¡°I think so, but I wouldn¡¯t mind chatting for a little while first.¡±
Frank walked towards George¡¯s house wearing a hoodie and sunglasses for the first time in years. It was nowhere near his usual attire for the past couple of decades, but they had been necessary to help hide the new white horns curling in an almost crown-like shape around his head and the white glow that was behind his blue eyes. The smile on his face was because he had decided to go with the fun way of becoming a Champion, which had been a satisfying exchange. When Ogbatar had shown him how to pull up his status, the title of Beloved Of Ogbatar had been a reassurance to his decision. Frank had kept the collar even as he had left most of his other possessions at the rectory, as a reminder of the principles and beliefs he wanted to keep going forward. Wanting to help keep his mood up during the walk, Frank pulled up one of the playlists Stace had made for him, which began with DOOMSDAY by MF DOOM.