Ira didn’t remember the well. Like most souls, she remembered nothing of her life or lives before the well. In that moment, though, she had a basic awareness and understanding of her existence. Time was still complicated for her, but she understood that she had just been born. She understood other things as well.
She had no parents. Her kind usually had two, sometimes more, but at least one.
She had instincts. Those instincts already insisted that things were strange, but she didn’t know how or why. She knew she was a dungeon core.
She felt energy seeping into her pattern. If she focused she could visualize that flow as a green bar. It was about half full. She understood that she would have more efficient ways of tracking things as she got stronger. For now, everything was sensations and hunches.
As her energy level approached full, she became aware of her surroundings. She was surrounded by stone on all sides. She understood that there was a surface up above, that she was underground, but she was not sure where or how far down she was.
As her energy filled, she felt an urge to grow. She wanted to expand, but her hole, if there even was one, was too small. So, her urge to grow turned to hunger. The energy she had absorbed flowed out of her, seeping into the stone around her. She could feel the stone becoming her, and becoming part of her. She felt the stone dissolve and flow into her pattern like the energy had.
As the stone dissolved, she lowered slightly and the space around her grew.
She was sleepy now. She had used all her energy expanding her space. So, for a while, she slept. When she awoke, she sensed that her energy was about half full. She spent her time while she waited trying to feel around her surroundings with her mana.
Her mana was a living part of her. It was an extension of herself that she could extend into the world around her. Her control was not so great, but she knew that with time and growth she would gain skill.
Soon, she had enough energy stored to grow. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt the energy she had stored collapsing in on itself, and merging with the materials she had gathered. What was once inert stone was energizing and becoming a crystal shell. It was a new layer that formed around her, making her stronger, and increasing her capabilities.
She was not sure how long she slept, but she awoke some time later to a soft green glow. That had her attention. She could see something outside of the blips and flashes of her primordial interface. There was no clarity, and she could not make out any shapes or forms, but she could make out a soft green glow, and she knew that glow was her.
She felt around herself with her mana, sensing the walls around and above her. Once more she began to consume the materials around her, taking care to avoid breaking into any voids that might hold untold threats. There were none yet. She was still surrounded by stone. Stone was good though. It fed her well.
She expanded four more times, and as she did her mana grew, and her ability to control it did as well. On that fourth time, her fifth miniature evolution, she awoke to the sight of her dungeon, as seen from the perspective of her core. No longer was she limited to light intensities. She could now see the smooth stone of the room around her, and the light pattern that was etched into the walls telling her this was her dungeon stone.
Now that she could see, she began to shape her room more intentionally. She began by consuming the stone below her, except a column that she left to form a pedestal under herself. She consumed the floors out to the already forming walls leading up to the domed ceiling. The result was a large stone room, with her core in the center setting upon a pedestal. Part of her understood that it was a common pattern. It would serve her well in the early days of her dungeon.
With that done, she had absorbed enough materials to grow again. She rested to regain her energy, then began the process once more.
And the process continued, as she went through cycles of feeding and growing. She began forming a second room as she went, feeling it out with her mana senses as they grew stronger, knowing she would likely have to reshape it once she could see more fully. And, after her tenth evolution, everything changed again.
She awoke to sparks and flashes in her vision, and a chiming sound letting her know there was a notification. As she focused, the sparks and flashes stabilized, and took the form of a status screen. A flashing green notification at the bottom of the screen stated simply, “Congratulations, you have reached level 1.”
Name: Ira
Core Level: 1
Primary Affinity: Nature
MIND: Intelligence 10, Wisdom 15, Ego 10
BODY: Strength 5, Agility 5, Constitution 10
SPIRIT: Power 10, Gnosis 15, Quintessence 15
Mana: 16
Unlocked Skills:
Mana Sense: 7 (Gnosis), Mana Manipulation 7 (Gnosis)
Absorption: 7 (Power), Interface: 6 (Intelligence)
“You may select three traits. Go to the Traits screen to select traits.”
Ira looked over her status screen with curiosity. Then she noticed tabs at the top. One of those tabs, labeled “ [Traits] ,” was flashing. She willed the screen to go to the Traits screen. It had two tabs of its own. “ [Available Traits] ,” and “ [Active Traits] .” It was open to the Available Traits tab. The number three was displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. As she looked over each of the traits listed, something in the back of her mind explained what each of them were. She also assumed that the list was not expansive, that others would be discovered along the way.
When she focused on a few of them, the system confirmed her assumptions about their meanings.
[Elemental Core] was interesting, as it would allow her to easily increase one of her affinities.
[Monster Specialization] seemed like something she would want to take eventually, but for the moment she didn’t even know what types of monsters were available to her. She saw a few that she decided she wanted right away though.
[Dungeon Sight] would allow her to see from any point in her territory, not just her core. She felt that this was a must for running a dungeon. Especially if she intended to survive for long.
[Agile Manipulator] had an unusual name, but it would basically allow her to use her mana like a creature would use their limbs.
For the third one, though, she was conflicted.
[Toughness] would provide her added protection. It fit well with her desire to be strong and live long. It would use the materials she had been gathering to reenforce her shell and make her core harder to break.
[Expansive] on the other hand would allow her to expand more quickly, but also more cautiously. The ability to reach beyond her halls, laying claim to places she could reach with her mana. She also suspected it would also have a synergistic effect with [Dungeon Sight] .
Thinking about it, she had been growing quickly and without much thought. Not only did she not know what dangers she might face, but she didn’t even truly know how large she, or her core room, was compared to other things she might encounter. She understood that her dungeon stone should be relatively sturdy, and would grow stronger as she did. So, for the moment, she decided to go the route that provided, simultaneously, the greater degree of caution and interest. She chose to go with [Expansive] .
With that done, the number three had disappeared from the corner of her vision. She shifted her attention to the [Active Traits] tab. There she puzzled a bit over what she saw. There were five items listed. The first two were apparently a natural part of who she was from the start, but it was still confusing. The traits were as follows:
[Akashic Link] , [Affinity Flexibility] , [Dungeon Sight] , [Agile Manipulator] , and [Expansive] .
She felt that the first two listed were likely not very common, and that this combination of traits, at level 1, would set her up for an interesting life.