The Crafter's Dungeon: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 1) by Jonathan Brooks (literature books to read TXT) 📕

different races have concentrated more on securing their borders against the dungeons as opposed to expansion.  As a result, there are very few sentients around – which might be good for you, as there aren’t many that would attack you nearby.”

There aren’t any Humans nearby?  I’m really worried about how my father took my death.

Winxa was silent for a few moments with a sad expression on her face.  “I’m sorry…what was your name again?”

Sandra.

“I’m sorry, Sandra.  Even if I could convince the Creator that a mistake was made and brought your body back to life – which is just about as likely as another Core other than you not trying to eat me – there is no changing the passage of time.  What was the last date you remember?”

For some reason Sandra couldn’t remember the exact day, but she at least remembered the month and year – which she promptly told the Fairy.

“Wow.  I’m actually surprised you aren’t insane; 252 years is a long time to be by yourself with only your thoughts to support you.  You must have a strong mind to be able to even speak at all.  Most of the souls that end up contracted only stay in limbo for a maximum of 100 years before they’re brought back, and even the majority of those have had their minds broken from the torturous expanse.”

Yeah, I’m special alright.  And also about 250 years too late to try to stop her father from wasting away.  She felt disappointment and sorrow at not being able to contact him and let him know that she was…alive?  Although she wasn’t quite sure her current existence as a Dungeon core qualified as “life”, it was as close as she was going to get.

“Regardless of how you did it, the fact that you are able to speak intelligently for this long shows me that your mind somehow survived largely intact.  Which also means that the Creator did put you here deliberately, but I still have no idea why,” Winxa sighed dramatically and put her chin in her hand as she stared at Sandra.

What?

“Oh, nothing.  Anyways…I guess I better do my job and keep teaching you, otherwise we’ll never find out why you’re here.”  Sandra thought it was nice to hear Winxa say “we”; she hadn’t really had any friends as she was growing up because they were on the road constantly.  For almost as long as she could remember, her father had been the only one she could really count on to be there for her.  While she appreciated his support wholeheartedly, in the end, he was more family than friend.

“Let’s see, the next thing I should probably teach you about is the process behind creating a dungeon monster so that you can start accumulating ambient Mana.  While you can slowly leach the ambient Mana around your Core, it only reaches a short way.  In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it probably doesn’t even reach past your cave.  And don’t even bother trying to do it now, because your initial Core creation used it all up.  The only way you can get it now is from your monsters or through absorbing the small amounts in the nearby cave wall that you already converted.  In fact, let’s do that now so that you’ll have enough to create your first monster.”  She paused and looked expectantly at Sandra, as if waiting for her to do something.

Uh…how do I do that?

Winxa started giggling at her for some reason.  Why are you laughing at me?  Aren’t you supposed to be teaching me how to do this?

That sobered her up really quick.  “Oh – you were serious?  All you have to do is open up your Core Selection Menu and—” she stopped and tilted her head at Sandra, as if she was trying to figure her out.  “—and you have no idea what I’m talking about do you?  You really didn’t sign a contract, did you?”

No, I did not, and I’ve told you that already.

“I know, I know – but it’s still hard to believe.  I’ve never done this, so bear with me; normally, once a soul signs a contract, they are automatically infused with the knowledge of how to operate their Core Selection Menu.  It’s difficult to relay the kind of information and concepts that the Dungeon Fairies impart, as well as demonstrating practical applications – which is why we exist in the first place; the Core Selection Menu, on the other hand, is like…knowing how to breathe or blink your eyes, if that makes any sense.  It should already be automatic, so I’m going to have to figure this out with you.”

Sandra supposed that made sense, and it wasn’t like she had anything better to do.  Everyone she knew had been dead for more than two centuries at least, and even if they weren’t, they were reportedly halfway across the world.  She didn’t remember hearing much about the lands of the Orcs or Gnomes, so she supposed they were so far away that it was possible that they didn’t know much about Humans.  So, what do I do first?

Winxa scratched her head and thought about it.  “Well…I guess the best thing to do is to see if you can access your Core Selection Menu.  Despite not having the infused knowledge, you’re still a Dungeon Core, so it should work the same way.  Uh…maybe think ‘Core Selection Menu’ and hopefully it’ll come up.”

Warning!

You have not selected your base Dungeon Classification yet!  Only after choosing your base Dungeon Classification will you be able to proceed to your Core Selection Menu.

Choose a base Dungeon Classification? Yes/No

Caution: While you are not permanently locked into a base Dungeon Classification, changing it in the future will mean any progress towards or achieved advanced Classifications are eliminated.  In addition, all accumulated Core Mana – as well as any non-permanent objects