《The Dungeon Of Magic And Mascots | Dungeon Core, LitRPG, Progression》 Chapter 1 - Little Terror Tiara Aristo wasn¡¯t like other girls her age. At only 7 years old, her net worth far surpassed that of most countries¡ªwell, her father¡¯s net worth did. Donovan Aristo was the founder of the Aristo group, which had a monopoly on the hunter market. As his only child and the apple of his eye, all of his wealth was at her disposal. This, as you can imagine, made Tiara Aristo a royal pain to be around. Tiara always had to have whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, no matter what. She¡¯d often waltz into one of the many hunter guilds her father owned, demanding to be entertained by S-rank hunters and higher-ups. They obliged, of course. They¡¯d humiliate themselves for the amusement of a girl in a pink poofy princess dress. Because when Tiara didn¡¯t get what she wanted, she¡¯d cry, and when crying didn¡¯t work, she¡¯d throw herself on the floor, and when throwing herself on the floor didn¡¯t work, she¡¯d tattle to her father. There were things even her father said no to. She had wanted to rent out an entire tower for her 6th birthday, something she was promptly denied. Towers were dangerous things from another world. They inexplicably appeared one day 20 years ago, and new ones pop up every few years. A tower consisted of 5 to 15 floors, each with its own gimmick. The floors were ruled by tower monarchs, immortal creatures that needed to be defeated by climbers every now and then to keep them from evolving. Climbers were humans who awakened otherworldly powers when the towers appeared. A ranking system for these powers was created to distinguish the powerful from the useless. An A-Rank climber was someone who could open portals through space or someone with the ability to control animals. Meanwhile, F-Rank climbers were those who could make water a few temperatures warmer or those who could get a headache on command. Tiara fell on the low end of the spectrum at D-Rank. Her special ability was [CROCODILE TEARS], the ability to look pitiful and helpless whenever she wanted. It was used to great success when it came to her father, but she was too much of a nightmare to deal with to work on anyone else. After witnessing one of her violent tantrums, it was nigh impossible to see her as pitiful. Violent was a good word to describe Tiara Aristo. With a short fuse and the belief that she was above others, Tiara liked to entertain herself at her servant''s expense. From practicing archery with human targets to doodling on people¡¯s backs with a real tattoo gun, there wasn¡¯t a single dangerous game she hadn¡¯t exposed her father¡¯s employees to. The general consensus by the Aristo Group employees was that Tiara Aristo was a demon in the shape of a princess. Nobody liked Tiara Aristo, so nobody looked all that hard when she went missing.
[WELCOME TO THE GRAND TOWER, TIARA ARISTO] Just a second ago, Tiara was eating a raspberry pudding in bed, and now she was sitting on a plush carpet in a gothic throne room. Her pink eyes scanned the surroundings for any context clues, but she came up with nothing. In front of her was a grand obsidian throne, to her right was a giant lottery wheel that glowed an ominous red, and below her feet was the maroon-colored carpet. This didn¡¯t look like any of her father¡¯s mansions, nor did it look like the castle he had built for her. Her mind was brought back to what the voice in her ear said a few moments earlier, something about a grand tower. [YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS A TOWER MONARCH! CONGRATULATIONS!] Tower monarch? Like the big boss monsters that guard the floors of the towers? That was impossible. The boss monsters were supposed to be from other worlds, right? Tiara was from Earth, normal, regular, Earth. She was about to correct the voice on its stupid mistake, but right as she opened her mouth, the voice continued. [ANALYZING AGE, GENDER, AND CULTURE FOR APPROPRIATE TITLE] [TITLE DESIGNATED: PRINCESS] [NAME UPDATED: PRINCESS TIARA OF THE 84TH FLOOR] Well, if she got to be a real, proper, princess, then maybe this mistake was a good thing. Her father would send in the world¡¯s best hunters to come and get her soon anyway. Wait. The 84th floor? The highest-recorded tower in the world was only 20 floors! Was this tower an extra special one, and it chose her because she herself is extra special? She liked the sound of that. Her father would come to get her whether she was on the first floor or the thousandth floor, after all! [STATUS SCREEN FOR PRINCESS TIARA OF THE 84TH FLOOR HAS BEEN COMPLETED.] Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
[MONARCH 84 - PRINCESS TIARA] ARCHETYPE - DEMONIC (DECEPTIVE) ELEMENT - ILLUSION RANK - F RANK [SKILLS] [WHEEL OF WORLDS] (SS) Spin the wheel of worlds located on your dungeon floor. If used on yourself, a random reward will be granted. If used on a climber, a trial will activate. Cooldown - 24 hours [TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE] (F) Transform into an upgraded version of yourself for a limited amount of time. 10 seconds is needed to transform. The transformation has a time limit of 30 seconds. Cooldown - 24 hours [CROCODILE TEARS] (D) You have a natural ability to act pitifully. Climbers will not question who you are or why you''re here. Climbers will feel an instinctual need to help you. Effects are negated if your theatrics are seen through, and the skill won''t work on the same target again. Cooldown - N/A
¡°Hey! Who are you calling demonic!? Demons have tails and horns¡­ and¡­ oh.¡± Tiara ate her words when she went to mimic a pair of horns with her fingers, only to find a stubby pair of actual horns on her forehead. ¡°HEY! YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO!? REMOVE THEM NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW!? YOU CAN¡¯T DO THIS TO THE HEIR OF THE ARSTO GROUP!¡± She screeched as she threw a heavy punch at the floating text in front of her, only to fall straight through and land on her face. Tiara had never been this insulted in her life. People should be good and let her hit them whenever she wanted. Her father would hear about this mysterious voice and punish it somehow. She gritted her teeth as she sat back up, shooting the floating box in front of her a death glance. Tiara Aristo was seething with rage. She was supposed to be a princess, but here she was, sitting on the floor. Unacceptable. She quickly marched to the giant obsidian throne at the back of the hall. It towered over everything else with an overwhelming yet familiar presence. It reminded Tiara of her father and the mix of respect and fear she felt whenever she visited his office. The throne was so tall that she had to jump even to reach the ledge of the seat. After hoisting herself up, a new screen appeared in front of her.
[FLOOR 84 - MASCOTS AND MAGIC] ARCHETYPE - DEMONIC (DECEPTIVE) CORE THEME - MAGICAL GIRLS CORE GIMMICK - WHEEL OF WORLDS TRIAL - MENTAL CLASS - F CLASS [INHABITANTS] N/A [ROOMS] Throne Room [BATTLE HISTORY] CLIMBERS DEFEATED - 0 WIPEOUTS - 0 LOSSES - 0 INHABITANTS LOST - 0
Tiara didn¡¯t understand even half the words she was reading, but the words magical girls piqued her interest. The only thing she liked more than princesses were magical girls. She¡¯d tune in to the daily episode of her favorite magical girl show every evening without fail. She owned a countless amount of plastic wands and costumes. She even had tea with the S Ranked party consisting of only magical girls every Sunday. The mysterious voice didn¡¯t explain anything, so Tiara had to draw her own conclusions about the other stuff. She probably had to battle climbers like the other floor bosses did. That sounded fun, especially with the unfair system of floor bosses regenerating after a day while the climbers just died. It made her smile thinking about it; the joy of being the superior one was intoxicating. If she was on the 84th floor, it would probably take an eternity to meet someone, though. Being alone here sounded really, REALLY boring. Tiara was already bored, to be honest. There was nothing here other than the throne and the big lottery wheel. She was tempted to approach it, but the ominous red glow made her hesitate. Red things were usually powerful. The Red Tower was the tallest tower until this one. The Red Witch was a legendary climber who beat a tower solo last year, and red peppers were just kinda gross. [GIMMICK ACTIVATED - SUMMON A MASCOT]
[ACHIEVEMENT "YOUNGEST IN THE GREAT TOWER" OBTAINED] [ACHIEVEMENT "FACEPLANT" OBTAINED] Chapter 2 - ULTIMATE VIOLENCE [SUMMON YOUR MASCOT] [A proper magical girl needs a marketable mascot to accompany her on her adventures! Stay true to your heart and shout, ¡°Summon!¡± to create the ideal life companion made out of your deepest wishes and your heart¡¯s true colors!] Tiara didn¡¯t know what a gimmick was or why it activated, but she did know that every good magical girl had a mascot¡ªa cute cat or bunny who would follow them around and give them life advice whenever they were feeling down. Would she really get one of her own? What would she get? A dog? A bird? She could hardly contain herself as she shouted ¡°SUMMON!¡± with all her might. [SUMMONING IN PROGRESS¡­] Tiara felt all her energy gather near her heart. It made her chest feel burning hot while her limbs felt ice cold. Her vision blurred, and she struggled to breathe properly. It felt like she was being crushed beneath a giant boulder; the pressure was unbearable. The energy coiled tighter and tighter in her chest before being released all at once in a ray of pure darkness. [SUMMONING COMPLETE! YOUR IDEAL MASCOT HAS BEEN CREATED WITH YOUR MANA!] Tiara collapsed on her knees when the pain finally subsided. She had never experienced that much pain in her entire life, which didn¡¯t mean a whole lot since she had only been alive for 7 years. She told herself that the pain would be worth it for a cute magical critter that obeyed her every command. Ah, she really hoped it was a pony!
[ULTIMATE VIOLENCE] ARCHETYPE - DEMONIC (VIOLENT) FORM - LIVING WEAPON (MORNING STAR) RANK - F RANK MASCOT [SKILLS] [MASCOT¡¯S CHARM] (D) You have a soul bond with your magical girl, giving you perfect synergy. You will always regenerate as long as your magical girl lives. You also look extra cute! [DEATH INCARNATE] (A) Blood is your favorite meal, and screams are your favorite melody. You gain more power the more carnage there is around you. [HEAD CRUSHER] (E) Crush your opponent''s head into tiny little pieces and paint your surroundings red.
Tiara saw neither a pony, a bunny, nor a kitten in front of her. Instead, a large iron morning star lay by her feet. It was a deep iron color with a dark pink ribbon running up the handle, tied up with a bow where the handle met the mace. This isn¡¯t what she wanted at all! She wanted a critter! Sure, it was really cool, had really cool skills, and was just the right size for her to wield, but it wasn¡¯t a pony! This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°You¡¯re not a pony either,¡± A deep inhuman voice resounded from the morning star, scaring the absolute shit out of Tiara. The voice sounded unnerving in a sort of ¡®evil god¡¯ kinda way, yet it was strangely comforting. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m the princess! The princess rides the magical pony! Why didn¡¯t I get a pony!? I can¡¯t even brush your mane or braid your tail!¡± Tiara whined, instantly accepting the fact that a weapon was speaking to her. Towers were strange places where strange things happened, so it was best not to question it. ¡°You can polish my spikes and tie my ribbon instead if you want.¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE tried to compromise. He didn¡¯t know why his magical girl was complaining; he was literally made to be her ideal companion, born from her deepest wishes. It wasn¡¯t his fault that his magical girl wished for blood and guts instead of sparkles and rainbows. Tiara didn¡¯t want to admit that polishing razor-sharp spikes sounded like a good time, so she just sat in the corner of the room and pouted. Pouting was one of her killer moves, guaranteed to get her whatever she was begging for. Well, in the outside world, at least. Even Tiara, delusional as she was, knew that there was no way that it would work inside the tower. [WHEEL OF WORLDS IS READY TO SPIN] Huh, looks like pouting did work this time. The ominous red aura surrounding the giant lottery wheel faded away to reveal thousands of sections that the wheel could land on. Tiara grabbed a hold of ULTIMATE VIOLENCE''S handle and dragged him across the floor when she went to inspect the wheel further. The prizes on the wheel ranged from a single loaf of bread to spontaneous combustion. It even had impossible effects, such as bringing a loved one back to life or stopping time for a day. Tiara had to admit that she was nervous. She took an extra glance at her skill to confirm that spinning the wheel wouldn''t turn her into a red stain on the floor.
[WHEEL OF WORLDS] (SS) Spin the wheel of worlds located on your dungeon floor. If used on yourself, a random reward will be granted. If used on a climber, a trial will activate. Cooldown - 24 hours
After double and triple checking the skill description, she clenched ULTIMATE VIOLENCE in her hand extra tightly and spun the wheel. A deep mechanical groaning sound filled the throne room as the wheel started turning, followed by what could only be described as carnival music from hell. The wheel spun for a long time before coming to an abrupt stop. [CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE WON: MICHAEL HODGE''S WALLET] A brown leather wallet unceremoniously popped out of thin air and landed near Tiara''s feet. That was it? Really? It was better than the prize of 200 gallons of seawater that was next to the wallet, but this was still shit. ¡°He''s gonna miss his wallet,¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE said in mock concern, finding mild amusement at the thought of this Michael Hodge looking for his wallet forever. ¡°This is fucking garbage,¡± Tiara reconfirmed as she looked through the wallet¡¯s contents. A photo of some ugly kid, a few credit cards, 2 foreign coins, and a crumpled-up receipt. This stuff was worth less than nothing, it was so worthless that it became an inconvenience. ¡°Let''s hope we get something better tomorrow,¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE responded optimistically. Statistically speaking, they''d probably get another piece of garbage tomorrow, but ULTIMATE VIOLENCE liked to see the bright side of things. ¡ª Tiara and ULTIMATE VIOLENCE were in the middle of their third encore of ¡®99 bottles of beer on the wall¡¯ when a sense of imminent danger overtook them both. Tiara quickly pulled herself up on her feet and hoisted ULTIMATE VIOLENCE over her shoulder, ready to defend herself. [INTRUDER ALERT - DEFEND YOUR DUNGEON] The door to the throne room was slowly being pried open by sharp, dark red appendages. Loud banging and scratching echoed through the hall as the creature slowly forced itself through the heavy metal doors. Tiara could feel her heart beat a million times a second as the creature got closer to entering. Her world narrowed to focus only on the creature, and the only sound she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. Tiara instinctually jumped back when the door finally gave way to the monster. A large abomination of a spider the size of a truck stared at her with nothing but beastial hunger. Despite the poofy princess dress and the heavy weapon on her shoulder, Tiara moved with more grace and purpose than she ever had before. [QUEST - ELIMINATE THE CRIMSON SPIDER] [QUEST REWARD - RESIDENT SUMMON] Oh, it was fucking on. Tiara and ULTIMATE VIOLENCE felt their minds connect as they rushed towards the spider with a thirst for blood. With the cry of a warrior, Tiara swung ULTIMATE VIOLENCE at the head of the spider.
[ACHIEVEMENT ¡°FIRST SPIN¡± OBTAINED] Chapter 3 - First Blood Before Tiara knew what had happened, she crashed into a stone pillar with the force of a semi-truck. She felt the air leave her lungs at the impact, knocking her out for a split second. ULTIMATE VIOLENCE was lodged in the pillar, barely missing Tiara''s head. Tiara wanted to cry, she wanted to scream and run to her father for comfort, but she also wanted this spider fucker punished for hurting a princess. She spat out the blood in her mouth and gritted her teeth as she pulled ULTIMATE VIOLENCE out of the pillar. Her pretty blonde princess curls lay limply over her bloodied face as she staggered towards the beast, dragging her mascot behind her. The spider slowly approached, its many limbs clacking loudly against the polished stone floor. It let out a mocking growl as it observed the small human in front of it. Spiders enjoyed toying with their meals, and this one was no different. The spider slowly opened its sharp fangs above Tiara, making its putrid saliva drip down on her forehead. Tiara rushed under the spider and swung at one of its many legs. In a blur of motion, ULTIMATE VIOLENCE made contact and smashed through the tough exoskeleton like it was the shell of an egg. The spider screeched as black blood sprayed out from where its leg used to be. It seemed to realize that Tiara was in its blind spot, so it slammed itself at the ground to crush her underneath its weight. Tiara rolled out between the spider''s legs just in time to avoid being crushed. She firmly gripped the handle of ULTIMATE VIOLENCE while keeping the head of the morning star underneath the side of the spider¡¯s abdomen. The spider slammed down hard, impaling itself in the process. With a grunt of exertion, Tiara pulled her mascot out from beneath the beast, taking a sizable chunk of flesh with it in the process. ¡°You''ve got this, Tiara! Let''s show this fucker who he messed with!¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE encouraged the girl while savoring the feeling of blood and guts between his spikes. It tasted absolutely delicious but nowhere near as good as the red blood of mammals. Tiara was too in the zone to respond or even comprehend what her companion was saying. Her status as a tower monarch greatly enhanced her abilities whenever her floor was in danger, and Tiara needed to use all her concentration to keep the power from overflowing. Her mind was filled with maneuvers and weak spots that would usually be impossible for a little girl to understand, but the tower did most of the translating for her. The spider staggered as it tried to keep its balance, but Tiara didn''t give it the time to stabilize itself. She brought the morning star down on another one of the beast''s legs, crushing it just as easily. The spider leaned noticeably to the side as yet another one of its legs broke. The dark blood from the wound sprayed all over Tiara and ULTIMATE VIOLENCE, making them look like shadows as they weaved between the spider''s appendages. The beast managed to pin down Tiara''s skirt beneath one of its legs, stopping her in her tracks. The spider seemed pleased that it caught its prey in such a simple way, and that pissed Tiara off to an unimaginable degree. With her newfound strength, she ripped her long skirt with her bare hands, freeing herself and ruining her favorite dress. In the next instant, the spider''s leg was gone, severed by a very angry princess. Not only was she covered in disgusting bug blood, this beast even made her rip her pretty princess dress. If that didn''t deserve death, then what did? Her hands shook with rage as she gripped her weapon with both hands and sprinted as fast as she could to the screeching monster. She screamed in primal fury as she crushed the beast''s head in a single swing. A shower of black blood rained down on the throne room, making the surroundings look like something straight out of a horror movie. Tiara didn''t stop there, however. She kept bludgeoning the beast as if she was in a rage-fueled trance. It was like the tower itself fed her its anger at being invaded, counting on its monarch to enact vengeance on its behalf. The sounds of carnage filled the room for a long time; it sounded like a rhythmic chant of pain. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. SLAM, Crack, Squelch. SLAM, Crack, Squelch. SLAM, Crack, Squelch.
By the time Tiara came to her senses, the spider''s head was little more than mush beneath her mary janes. All her strength as a monarch left her body as soon as she deemed the threat neutralized. Her knees buckled, and she slumped down on the blood-stained carpet. It hurt. Tiara couldn¡¯t feel it before, but her entire body hurt now that the adrenaline was gone. She did what all little girls do when they¡¯re in pain¡ªshe started wailing. [QUEST COMPLETE! CONGRATULATIONS!] [REWARD - RESIDENT SUMMON] Tiara couldn¡¯t care less about the damn quest right now. Her body hurt, her dress was ruined, and she was covered in putrid spider blood. She wanted to go home. She wanted a bath, a warm cup of tea, and a bedtime story from her father. She was only in second grade; why did she have to fight this stupid fucking spider in some tower? It was unfair. Unfair things were only fun when she was the one who benefited. This was the kind of unfairness that SUCKED. ¡°Cheer up, Tiara. You¡¯re a princess, aren¡¯t you? Princesses stuck in castles always get their happy ending, don¡¯t they?¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE encouraged her gently. He was a weapon made to inflict as much pain as possible, but he was still a mascot, and as a mascot, he wanted the absolute best for his magical girl. Tiara nodded weakly as she wiped her tears with her arm, smearing more spider blood on her face in the process. She told herself that if Rapunzel was saved from her tower by a handsome prince, then she would be saved from hers by her father. ¡°I¡¯ll be brave like Rapunzel. I promise.¡± She sniffled with as much conviction as she could muster, which wasn¡¯t very much at all. ¡°That¡¯s my magical girl! You¡¯re much braver than you think you are, Tiara. Would the you of yesterday believe that you could pulverize a crimson spider this beautifully?¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE assured her in the only way a weapon could¡ªby complimenting her on her killing prowess. ¡°Did I really do a good job?¡± Tiara asked with surprising humility. She didn¡¯t know why, but she wanted the weapon¡¯s approval almost as much as she wanted her father¡¯s approval. She wondered if this was why magical girls fought for justice¡ªto make their mascots proud. ¡°You did a fantastic job. You even got a reward, didn¡¯t you? Maybe redeeming it would cheer you up?¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE would have offered her an encouraging smile if he could, but he was a cursed demonic weapon, so his words would have to do. Tiara looked at her quest reward with newfound interest. She didn¡¯t know what a resident was in the tower, but it was probably important if it was a reward. She pressed the reward box in front of her face, making another window pop up in front of her vision. [RESIDENT SUMMON] [Summon a lost soul from the void to take up residence on your floor! Souls that agree with your ideology and cause will answer your call and be given a new body as they offer their absolute loyalty to you! Yay!] Absolute loyalty was one of the qualities Tiara valued the most in a person. Summoning a random dead person seemed really scary, but if they did what she told them to, it wouldn¡¯t be so bad. Even if they were useless, she would still have a new person to sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall with while she waited for something to happen. ¡°It says I can summon a soul from somewhere¡­ I summoned you, too, so are you also a dead guy?¡± Tiara asked her mascot. If ULTIMATE VIOLENCE was a person before he became a weapon, wouldn¡¯t that make him very pitiful? ¡°I think so. I don¡¯t remember a thing about my past life, though. My consciousness began when you summoned me for the first time.¡± ULTIMATE VIOLENCE confirmed her suspicions, even if he didn¡¯t like the girl¡¯s look of pity. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get you a fellow dead friend, then.¡± Tiara teased as she pressed the button to summon her new resident.
[ACHIEVEMENT ¡°FIRST BLOOD¡± OBTAINED]