《A Dungeon's Journey》 Prologue 1 - End of Eternity AN : Yo Xerophyte here. I am a new plant, but I don''t need a lot of water to grow. Please, take good care of me! ----------- I can feel the breeze, the warmth of the sun, and the odor of spring, but it''s neither the smell or any other physical feelings. I feel the essence, the spirit of nature and living beings. I feel their energy, their mana. This feeling never lasts long enough. The lives around me always wither away as the time goes by and I am indeed the center of it all. When no souls remain, I feel the need to move far from there. I want to run away from what I stole, but most importantly, I need more of the drug that is mana. I don''t know how many lives I took to satisfy my needs, but it wasn''t only a few and my desire was endless. Wherever I am and no matter how long I wait, there''s only one thing that always remains the same. That is the strange feeling of emptiness in my heart. The emptiness grew stronger with time and before I realized, it became a curse haunting me. The curse affects my emotions, but not my body. It twirls in my head and steals my one and only joy that is to siphon mana. With time, I discovered the true cause of my curse. There were two, actually. The first one is someone, a person. Not revenge, but sadness and grief. Who was it? I don''t remember, but I miss her. The second cause is time. I already lost the sense of time long ago. Time used to be dear to me, but it is no more. I hate time. It took away everything I cherished. It makes me drift into madness and it turns the blessing of immortality into a curse. What truly is time? A concept? A law? What about it''s purpose? It''s strange. Time only allows the growth of negative emotions and suppresses good ones. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I know the name of my curse. It''s the curse of immortal and strong beings. It''s the curse of homeless travelers. Loneliness. I feel alone. My heart is void. For how long was I alone? In the end, I wish to see time pass faster again. I wish to love time like I used to. The time that you can enjoy with someone. ... Huh? I hear a voice... A beautiful voice. It echoes inside my head... The voice fills my empty heart. What does it say? How can it stay alive around me? " Hey there, can you hear me? Heyyy! Hello! " Hello? No, that''s not right. How do I speak again? " Please, Mister Crystal. If you hear me, do something cool. I don''t know... Make a cake appear! Just kidding, hehe! Still, show me a reaction. You are supposed to be at least B-Ranked. " " Hello? " " Wh-WHAT? You can speak? Oh my god... Jackpot! From today onwards, I will be your helper and guide, Mister Crystal. You better protect me! " Prologue 2 - Center of Chaos " Ugh... It''s so hot today... I feel like I''m burning. " The weather is terrible, my wings are dry and feel so heavy. I already miss the fresh mana-filled air of home. Still, I should be happy to travel without snow, unlike some of my sisters. *Sigh* ... " You know, young mistress, if you want to rest, you can just ask for it. " " It''s alright, I can keep going. If we don''t hurry, all the good crystals will be taken, you know? Besides, my excitement gives me energy! I can finally have my own dungeon! " " I acknowledge your excitement, but you still need to take care of yourself. " " You worry too much, I already told you! " " Then, why do you keep complaining for hours? " " Ugh, th-that was nothing, it was... It was just your imagination. " * sigh * " Alright. But, do tell me when you want to rest. " I am not a child anymore, I need to be brave... I wonder if the weather counts as the first challenge in my adventure? Besides, from today onwards, I can''t ask for help from mom anymore. Actually, It''s kind of scary to be alone... " Mistress, I am deeply sorry, I can''t go any further. This is the limit of Master''s area of influence. " " What? Already? No way... I will miss you, and the others. " " I will miss you too. You are the most special pixie among your sisters. " * sniff * Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. " You used to cause so much trouble for Master... But, that curiosity of yours will grant you many great successes in your life. Be careful it is also a double-edge sword. You are truly a [Blessed] child... " " Waaah! " I hug Sophia tightly as I cry on her shoulder. This will probably be the last time we see each other. Since the day I was born, she was always the one that looked over me. " Don''t cry, just be strong. I know that you can build an incredible dungeon just like your mother." " But, you won''t be by my side anymore... " " It¡¯s alright, I will gift you a charm. I used one of my strongest defensive magic by adding a piece of my soul. With this, I will always be by your side. " " Thank you so much, Sophia. It means a lot to me. " " Be careful, you can only use it once. I''m sorry, I can''t make a better oneright now." " No, it''s a great charm. I will treasure it. " " So, this is a farewell, young mistress. " " No, it''s not! We will see each other soon, I know it! " " I hope we will¡­" " Goodbye... " After my departure, I travelled alone for three days and three nights before finding what I wanted. There was a deserted land void of mana. And, in the center of such chaos, was the most brilliant and beautiful crystal I ever saw. With so much pure mana, it has to be a B rank or even an A. With this, my future looks bright. I am ready to make my dungeon. " Hey there, can you hear me? Heyyy! Hello! " Chapter 1 - Birth of a Dungeon The wind howls through the broken earth of what was once a calm forest. No trace of life can be found; it was darkness'' domain. The little particles of mana left flows only in one direction, and it is to the brightest source of these devastated lands. The source shines like the stars, covered by the black emptiness of space, and at the center, stood a sky blue crystal. Besides the wind, a soft flapping sound could be heard near the crystal. There was a fairy-like creature circling around it... Except that it wasn''t a fairy, but a dungeon pixie. Full of curiosity and admiration, the pixie smiled. " I am quite happy to become your guide. Did you know that you''re a really powerful crystal? You shine so much, it''s so pretty ! " The crystal glimmered. He didn''t know how to respond, but he was glad to be finally cured from his curse. For him, this voice was a blessing that came from an angel... a pixie... Well, both of them can fly... AN: You can ignore this if it''s too cringy >.<. " Uhh... Excuse me... Can you explain what is going on? How can you still survive... Who are you? " Taken by surprise by the crystal''s questions, the pixie rapidly blinked with her emerald eyes. She never thought that a crystal was capable of questioning. It must be a special crystal... She must treasure her opportunities. " Uh? What do you mean survive? Isn''t it obvious? I am a dungeon pixie, so I am immune to mana siphoning. Besides, You can only kill beings weaker than you in this way... It''s like a finishing move, you know. " " Oh, I understand... Umm... But, why do you need my protection if you are this strong? " " Strong? Me? Thanks, hehe ! But no, I am not that strong... I wish I was, but I am not. We are not strong... Yet! I mean, I can make you much stronger. You gotta trust me! " " I trust you. I need your guidance... Don''t leave me alone. " The pixie was perplexed of the crystal''s answer. She always thought that a crystal who possessed consciousness followed the path lead by his greed and pride. It was the first time that she witnessed a crystal''s loneliness. " Don''t worry, I won''t leave you. I am sure that you will be a great partner!" " Really? " " Yep! But first, let''s get to business. We need to make the contract, since we are running out of time . " " Running out of time? " This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. " I will explain everything later, let''s get started . " " Wait... I have a question. What is your name? " " Hehe, silly, you are the only one who knows my name. " " Uh? " " It''s part of the contract, give me a cute name! Concentrate on my name. " By the time the pixie said these words, a mass of mana began to swirl around, similar to a gust of wind. There were purplish and greenish mana dancing together, forming a spiral of little sparks. Then, the soul corridor began to form. It''s the strongest connection between two beings, a pure and equitable one. Both the crystal and the pixie felt the warmth of each other¡¯s soul. Cheerfully, the pixie broke the silence with a symphonic voice. " ? Nice to meet you , [Argos] ? " " The pleasure is mine, dear [Pix]. " Thus, a strong bond was born. The magic released by this bond resounded throughout the continent, but it was a special invisible wave. Only higher beings such as [Sage], [Hero] or [Divinity] could slightly sense this disturbance on the [World¡¯s Mana Flow]. From the four corners of the World, the echo was felt. ? ? ? ? " Interesting. Another great disturbance in the same century... " ? ? ? ? " Master, ther... " " I KNOW! Don''t interfere on my work. " ? ? ? ? " Ohh... looks like we have another worthy enemy. " " Tch, annoying. " ? ? ? ? " I see... The Great Tree was right... " ? ? ?? Chapter 2 - First Steps " We can finally start! Hurry! Dig a hole and hide for the time being. Since we announced ourselves to the World, magical beasts will hunt for your body! I will explain everything when we¡¯ll be safe. " " Wait... S-sorry¡­ I don''t know how to do that... I can only absorb mana." " It''s the same thing! Just absorb the earth, it''s just harder. " Under the pressure, Argos somehow managed to dig a hole just about the right size. It was around 20 centimeter cube, barely enough to fit both of them. The absorbed dirt was converted into mana right away. Pix grabbed Argos and gracefully flew down the hole. " Ugh, you''re pretty heavy for your size. " " To make you carry me, I am such a failure... " " No, no, no, don''t say that! You''ll be able to move by yourself eventually, but for the time being, let me take care of you! " It was the first time that Argos blushed... Well, internally. He lived by himself for so many years ever since he was born. Being with Pix made him feel secure and important. However, the pixie in question was looking somewhere else. " Let me guess, you don''t know how to convert mana into earth? " " Sorry... " " We are lucky that I am quite good with earth magic. " As Pix casted her spell, fairy dust-like powder was blown towards the roof. The green particles glowed and changed into brown. Soon, the earth roof was materialized. Without the sky, darkness was expected, but with Argos inside the shelter, the room was beautifully lit. Even without light, Pix can still see and Argos uses a certain skill to see since he does not possess any eyes. " Good! We are safe now! I can answer your questions. " The crystal has many questions, but one was especially urgent. " What am I, exactly? " " You are a crystal, the heart of a dungeon and also the creator of its monsters. Usually, it''s hard to control a crystal, even for us dungeon pixies, who are often called dungeon masters. Actually, only a few knows about dungeon pixies. " " Hard to control? Dungeon? " " Yup! Crystals don''t usually ask questions. The more powerful they are, the more developed their pride and ego are. They see themselves as Gods... This is too much, can we talk about funnier stuff? " This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. " Yes, umm, how exactly do I start our dungeon? " " Kya! You finally asked! Alright, I guess an underground dungeon is fine since we are already below surface. " " I don''t mind. " " Now, enlarge this room, the largest you can. " " Yes, Pix ! " After about an hour, Argos couldn''t absorb anymore. He was not even exhausted. Perplexed, he asked Pix about it thinking he did something wrong. " It means that your storage is full. It will grow overtime, don''t worry about it. Besides, you managed to absorb around three meters-cube of matter. It''s not bad for a new crystal, really! Now that you have rocks and dirt inside of your storage, I will teach you a unique thing only crystals can do. [Matter Synthesis] and [Matter Memory]. This mean that when you absorb things, it converts into [Matter] and you memorize their constitution, then you can [Synthesize] these things by reconverting these [Matter] into something like dirt. Basically, you can absorb coal and convert it into gold if you already absorbed both at least once! " " Sorry... But, I don''t understand. " " Then, try it for yourself! Synthesize some dirt! Release your mana and focus on the image of dirt. " " Release? " " Well, you know, the purple thing from before, remember the feeling? " " Ah okay, I remember. " After a short moment, a purple string slowly grew and went inside the confused pixie. Suddenly, her cheeks turned slightly red and she flew clumsily around the cramped room. " Muu! Y-You got it wrong! I was talking about the mana only... Alright, because it happened I shall explain what you just did. It''s called [Mana Transfer]. It does exactly what his name suggests. You t-thought about me, didn''t you. " " I see... How embarrassing... " The room¡¯s brightness turned down just a little bit, suggesting Argos''s will to hide himself. " How about you try that again? " " [Mana Transfer]? " " No, you idiot! The [Synthesis]! " The room shone again, but this time, it was a beautiful purplish colored light. Out of thin air, little grains of dirt appeared. They fell down, glimmering like bright snow. It wasn''t much, but it was still a success for both of them. Argos felt accomplished and Pix thought that luck was on her side. Chapter 3 - Drawing the Cards The twin moons ruled over the sky as the night appeared. This was the time when the livings rest, slowing down the flow of mana. Without sunlight, spectral beings rose to feast upon lost wanderers in this place between two borders. A place not owned by humans yet. But, beneath this silent world, purple mana swirled with dirts and rocks. A certain tired pixie gazed upon this scene. " *Yawn* Can you speed up just a tiny little bit? I am getting sleepy... " " S-sorry, we can rest for today if you want. " " No no no! You are almost done with the first floor. " " Yes! " With Argos¡¯ hard work, the first floor now stretched to 10 meters long and 3 meters wide. He also managed to dig deeper, changing the room''s height to around 2 meters. With Pix''s instructions, he raised several walls to make three distinct rooms. The holes in the front and the back of the second room were acting as connections to move between rooms. Unfortunately, his creations weren''t flawless. The walls'' shapes were rugged and deformed. This was the extent of Argos'' capability. Perhaps Argos was feeling down, thought Pix. " Don''t feel bad about it, you only need more practice. Besides, there are few things you lack before becoming a full-fledged dungeon. We don''t have monsters yet, for instance. " " Monsters... I kind of remember how dangerous they are and I never even encountered one yet. " " It must be your instinct... A crystal thing... Maybe? Whatever, we are going to create our first monster tomorrow, so let''s go to sleep." " One last question. Why do we need three rooms? Why not two or four? " " It''s the basics. I learnt it back home. We need a room for the entrance, a room for the actual floor and one for the boss. The second room will eventually have many mini-rooms. They are more of floor sections than rooms, but ours are still small to be called sections. * Yawn * Goodnight, Argos I am out of juice... " " Wai... " Just like that, Pix instantly slept like a baby, but not on the cold hard ground, obviously. Just before closing her eyes, green particles drifted below the little miss and became some weird pink powder. The flying tiny glitters seemed to support her small frail body. " Uhh? Ahh! Pix! " There was no response. Deep in her sleep, Pix felt at peace, even with the shouting crystal. " W-wake up! H-How did it end up like this? I can''t sleep at all! Not like I need to sleep anyway... " The truth is that Argos was close to Pix... really close. She was hugging the crystal like a fluffy pillow. " Protect... I need... to protect my... " " Pix... " In the end, Argos was forced in this position, looking over the unmovable pixie for the whole night. He waited hours and hours in silence, but he was used to this feeling of emptiness. It was actually better with someone by his side. He could almost feel her warmth. At least, he managed to imagine it. But, even the night has an end as the Sun pulled down the Moons from their throne. Under the sunlight, summer birds flew past the small dungeon, echoing their songs through the earth. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. With a smiling face, Pix let out a lovely voice. " Isn''t it nice? Waking up by these tunes. " " You are the only one waking up though... " " Ah? " " N-Nevermind " With a straight pose and both arms on her sides, the little pixie was full of excitement. " Enough stalling. Today is a big day. We are making our first monster and boss. " With sparkling eyes¡ªwith his sparking body, Argos was ready for the task. " I will do my best! How do we start? " " That''s the spirit! You will be the one to choose the monster since you are the crystal. " " Me? I am good with whatever you want ; I can''t decide for something this important. " " You can do it, Argos. Trust me. Follow your instincts and you will find the most compatible one! " " If you say so... " " Alright. Wait a little bit while I cast my spell. " After a short moment, a blue 2D rectangle appeared in front of the crystal. Three creatures were represented in the floating box. " I recorded these three in my [Memory] . They are from my mother''s dungeon. You can choose between a [Lizard], a [Slime] or a [Skeleton]. You can also go for the natural process and wish for a great creature from [Gaia]. " " Whaa.. I knew it, I can''t decide at all. " " They are all great monsters. It''s okay to hesitate. I can give you additional information to help you. The [Lizard] is weak at first, but it can evolve into a [Dragonewt], a [Dragon] subspecies. The [Slime] is not strong individually, but its large evolutionary path and versatility can''t be laughed at. And lastly, the [Skeleton] is an undead, one of the only monsters species with dark magic. " " Hmm... " ... " Alright! I¡¯ve decided! " Pix opened her eyes and grinned. " It''s about time! " " I will try my luck and pick the random one! " " Uhh? Are you sure? " " Yes! " " Then, the dice has been cast . " By mumbling incomprehensible words, Pix assembled multiple colors of mana around Argos. The soul corridor between them was visible again, a merged purple and green spiral. There were red, yellow, blue, green, black and white particles everywhere. And, after a bright flash, all of the little dots merged in one spot. " This is... " Both of them stared at the source... Chapter 4 - A Chance to Prove Oneself Curious red little eyes gazed upon Argos and Pix back and forth. These belonged to a quite tiny creature. With pure white fur, it looked like a small ball of fluffiness. For a monster, it seemed really harmless in so many ways. Pix was shocked. She couldn''t believe what she saw. " No way... " The little creature proceeded to explore its new home. It inspected every corner of the room, but there was nothing interesting. So, it came back in front of the flying pixie and the shining crystal. Argos was quite amused by the way it moved. " Hey Pix, isn''t it cute how it makes these tiny jumps? " Ignoring Argos'' comment, the dungeon pixie trembled. " This is really bad! You don''t know how much we are in danger. " " What do you mean? " " I know it''s mean, but this creature is really weak. It is called a bunny. " " B-but, it''s really cute, just like you... It must be strong too, right? " A slight taint of crimson could be seen on Pix''s face before she hid herself under her tiny hands. But, she knew that it wasn''t the time to be embarrassed. She had to explain to this idiot crystal the situation they were in. " Listen to me! It''s just a bunny! We need to defend ourselves against monsters, remember? How do you think we are going to survive? You dummy! " " I''m sorry... B-but, Pix, you are the bright one right? I know that you can find a solution! Besides, look at its eyes, they are filled with determination. He is just like me. He wants to get stronger. " The cute and fluffy bunny heard everything about the conversation, and it knew that it was the problem. But, it was not planning on letting its parents down! Somehow, Argos vaguely understood its feelings. " Say, Pix. Why don''t we just summon another monster? " " * sigh * I wish it was this simple... When we summon a boss, we actually use a piece of your soul, that''s why the boss is a special creature since monsters usually don¡¯t have souls. The only way we can summon another boss is by waiting for your growth or by stealing souls from invaders. " " I see... How unfortunate. It will be lonely without siblings... " Those were the last words before a long silence reigned the rooms. Not even a single gust of wind could be heard in this cold underground. The last particles of multicolored mana dissipated, leaving only the brightness of Argos, which the bunny circled around like moths attracted by light. Deep in thought, the little pixie rested her wings on a magical cloud. As the hours passed by, the bunny rolled itself into a ball and began to sleep. At that moment, Pix regained her spirit. Deep inside, she still had hope. A weak monster was no big deal. It was just another challenge. If she wants to be the best dungeon master ever, she must overcome this challenge. So, she trusted her talent. Yes, she was one of the best strategists between her sisters. " Just what are we doing, wasting our time like this? I know what we can do! We didn''t even check the creature''s capabilities. Who knows, maybe it is somewhat special. It''s your soul after all... " " My soul... " " Alright! Shall I teach you about [Appraisal]? It''s a great ability that crystals can learn pretty easily! You can only use it on those weaker than you. But, you can also use it on your monsters or any person with a magical connection with you! It is really useful! It''s the ability to peek into someone''s core to know his whole status! " " Pix! You regained your energy! I like learning things from you! Tell me how, I will follow! " The mood has been shifted and the atmosphere regained his positivity as they both were determined to grow. Pix explained the mechanism of [Appraisal]. She knew the details without ever using it herself since she needed the power of a crystal to do so. " Usually, [Appraisal] is really hard to cast since it''s a pretty high tier magic. It''s actually nearly impossible for humans to cast. Even for magical being like me, It''s extremely hard. Why? Because you need a large pool of mana and you also need to be a master at controlling the flow of mana and souls. Perfect for a crystal, right? " After a few hours of trials, Argos finally understood the fundamentals of [Appraisal], even if it took such a long time. But, it was okay since he got the chance to learn from Pix. And he always liked to spend time with her. With all his might, he concentrated himself and used [Appraisal] for the first time. He felt the mana draining away from him. Pix was right, it did take a lot of mana. " Argos? Are you using [Appraisal] on me? S-Stop! It''s embarrassing! "
Name: Pix
Title: Dungeon Master
Race: Dungeon Pixie
Affiliation: Grand Pixie Dungeon''s Spawn, Unnamed Dungeon''s Pixie
Endurance: C+ Intelligence: A+
Defense: D Mind: A
Stamina: D+ Speed: B+
Stength: C- Luck: B+
Affinity: Earth, Nature, Mirage Special: Dual Casting, Dungeon MagicStolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
" I knew it, Pix. You really are incredible. " " I-Idiot! You''re supposed to use it on the bunny, not on me. " " I''m sorry, I got carried away. " " Tell me the details, I can''t use [Appraisal] ; I don''t have enough mana for it. " " Alright! "
Name: Unnamed
Title: No Title
Race: Red-Eyed Bunny
Affiliation: Unnamed Dungeon''s Boss
Endurance: E Intelligence: D
Defense: F Mind: D+
Stamina: B Speed: A
Stength: E- Luck: E-
Affinity: Earth, Wind, Time Special: Chrono Drive
After hearing the details on their first monster, Pix began to analyze their situation to see how she can use it to defend the dungeon. " Hmm, as expected, it is really weak physically. But, we can use its speed. Yeah! Even if it''s fragile, it can dodge a lot of hits. Also, for its lack of power, we can try to teach it some magic... Wait a second... Time? Chrono Drive? It can''t be... Argos! Appraise yourself! " " Huh? Why? " " Just do it! " " Okay. "
Name: Argos
Title: Dungeon Heart, Time Seed
Race: Dungeon Crystal
Affiliation: Unnamed Dungeon''s Crystal
Endurance: A Intelligence: B-
Defense: S Mind: S+
Stamina: F- Speed: F-
Stength: F- Luck: B+
Affinity: Creation, Soul, Time Special: Dungeon Magic, Dungeon Control,Soul Control, Time Control
" No way... I thought that it was only a legend. You''re not an A-Rank Crystal. You were a S-Rank crystal all along! I can''t believe it! " " I am special? " " Yes, you are! When I was a kid, I was told a story, a legend, about 7 Dungeons that could each control one of the 7 laws of the world : [Time], [Space], [Gravity], [Force], [Void], [Electromagnetism] and [Light]. They were called S-Rank Dungeons. You are one, I am sure of it! " Argos didn¡¯t know what it mean to be a S-Rank dungeon. But, one thing was certain. Time wasn¡¯t his enemy. It was his ally all this time.