Chapter 109

Chapter 109

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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It was easy to make the changes. I ordered the Children to perform fewer patrols. In the cases where I could, I placed enchantments on the entrances my monsters used to access the main dungeon rooms. They would only allow so many through, and they would only reset half an hour after at least one of those monsters died.

That would only work for those whose breeding grounds were inaccessible, though. Monsters like my new Infernal Serpents bred in isolated Magma Pools. It was simple to add extra rooms beyond them, and where I could, I did so. Monsters like the Phoenix were a bit harder, though. They lived in the canopy of the Third, in nests scattered across the whole floor.

Hmm. I'll come back to them.

For the Courts, it was even easier. It was as easy as ordering the excess spirits and sprites down to the Eleventh or letting them spread through the rest of the dungeon. Some fire and air spirits found homes on the Ninth, enjoying the heat and winds of the desert. Some earth sprites and golems settled on the Third Peak, providing an additional challenge for the previously too-easy path.

By the time I returned my focus to the Eleventh, Kata had returned to the surface after a quick visit to Huea.

I returned to the rusting modern port, where my Avatar stood atop the ruined skyscraper. For now, I decided to leave the issue of monsters and traps alone. There were still plenty of buildings and homes to make, with decorations and storytelling to be added throughout. Seeds of future quests. But even that could wait.

There was someone I needed to talk to.

I looked at the monster core on a stand near my dungeon core. It was far calmer than the last time I had focused on it, and the soul within was likely calmer. That was the hope, at least. I extended a tendril of mana.

Hello, Instincts. It's been a while.

Go way.

You can speak?!

Yes.

How, though, when you couldn't before?

Learned. Not lot else to do.

'Not a lot,' but never mind that. No. You don't just spontaneously learn English.

Had kn... kno... Knowledge. Just didn't use. Didn't need.

Knowledge you got from me?

Yes.

Okay. Since you can actually talk back now, I want to say something.

Speak.

I Apologize.

...

I'm sorry for leaving you alone here.

Don't care. Upset you Stole Core!

I know. It wasn't my fault I ended up here, but I'm sorry for not working with you more. I didn't realize I wasn't alone until you moved to take over.

How not realize?

Stories from my home made me think I was the dungeon, not an extra soul put into an existing one. Then, after, I didn't spend much time looking at the core itself. I didn't notice your soul behind mine.

...

What now?

Well, you can't come into the core again. There was barely enough room for the two of us here in the first place. Now? Heck no. I've had a few ideas about making you a body.

Body?

Yeah. Something you can use to interact with the world. Remember the skeletons we used when Kata was a prisoner?

Yes. Annoying.

They were a bitch to control, yeah. We've learned some new magic since that makes them easier to use. I pushed the memory of my Avatar and the way I controlled it at Instincts. It took the memories and observed them. Something like that, but with bones made of Mithril. I can make it any shape or form you want.

"It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you," Akio comforted. The emotions calmed further, and he became more curious. It was just his luck that the thing couldn't talk. Jinasa did say the thing was a baby. It's probably not old enough to talk.

"Do you know where we are?" Akio asked. The gemstone shone briefly, and a feeling of certainty filled him. "You do? Alright."

He looked around. What was it that Jinasa said to do if they touched the core?

"I, uh, Claim this dungeon? I guess?"

The fabric of reality around Akio pulsed, and the gemstone's emotions became muted.

And

Everything

Faded

Away

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"-kio! Akio!" a voice called, louder and louder with each repetition. After a short struggle, Akio was able to open his heavy eyelids. The first thing he saw was Sophie's face, concern in her eyes turning to relief. "Akio! Oh, thank god, you're alright!"

...

Was he being hugged or laid on?

"You okay there, mate? You kinda collapsed a few hours ago," Bruce said, moving into view. What little of the teen Akio could see through the black hair over his face, anyway.

"I collapsed? Wait, a few hours? I was only out for like a minute, tops!" Akio exclaimed, attempting to sit up and failing. Sophie was still lying on him, and he was still heavily armored.

"Yup. You just fell to the ground when you pulled the gem from the wall. Couldn't wake you up. Guard-Captain Heliat and Jinasa said it was normal, but we were still worried. You are alright, right?"

"Yeah, I feel fine. What happened to the bear?" Akio asked, trying to look around.

"It, like, froze as soon as you touched the gem," Bruce explained, waving at the mound of brown fur in the middle of the room. "Easy to kill it after that. It had a smaller core than that glowing fox did." He held up the small core with the same blue glow as the core. Akio tried to raise his arm to see the dungeon core but couldn't. It was pinned.

"Um, Sophie. I need to get up."

There was a pause, and then Sophie disappeared into shadow, appearing across the cave facing away from him.

He blinked, then brought up his hand.

The Dungeon Core in his hand. It was a cushion cut. It was still lit with magic; if he concentrated, he could feel the muted emotions within. It was far smaller than his fist, about the size of a bottlecap.

"Well done, Young Akio!" Guard-Captain Heliat called, approaching the two teens as Akio stood. "You availed yourself well in that fight. Don't worry about taking that blow; the strength, size, and endurance to power through such a blow will come in time. You've claimed the core?"

"I guess?" Akio said, looking down at the core again. "What do I do with it?"

"Well, there isn't much point putting it back." Jinasa reasoned, looking around. "This dungeon is tiny, and spending the time and resources needed to make it worth a damn would take far too much time. Forget how much time it would take away from your training. Your other option is to have a weapon or armor made, then use the dungeon core in place of a mana core for the enchantment."

"Does that make the enchantment better?" Sophie asked. Akio blinked, turning to the girl. She pointedly didn't look at him, focusing instead on her mentor.

"Much better," Jinasa answered. "Dungeon cores, unlike mana cores, are still alive. They can still grow, and the equipment made with them will grow stronger with time. Enchantments, the material they're made of, etcetera. You need to use smaller cores like that one for it, though. Use one too smart, and you might find your weapon betrays you. That's the origin of most cursed items, in fact."

"Wouldn't all items made with dungeon cores eventually become cursed?" Sophie muttered, staring at the core in Akio's hand with distrust.

"You'd think so, but so long as you maintain and treat them well, these items can pass through generations, serving bloodlines in whatever role they have," Jinasa explained. She then pointed at Akio's mentor. "Heliat's armor is one such item."

"Indeed!" Heliat boasted, gently tapping a gauntlet to his armored chest with a fond smile. "Twenty generations, now. This armor was crafted for an ancient Hero, my ancestor, who was summoned using the same Ritual that summoned you. Only, it was just him. He gathered companions from the most powerful guilders on Theona. Eventually, he defeated a powerful mage using a dungeon to craft an army of monsters he called Demons. I have yet to see this armor take a single scratch!"

Akio looked at the gleaming silver armor in a new light. It may take time to become as powerful as that... but...

He raised the core to his eye and stared deep into the point of light at its center. Something Jinasa said about the dungeon cores stuck with him. They were alive. This was a living being, just a different form of life. He remembered its curiosity.

"Well, buddy? What do you think?" He thought, trying to push the thought at the gem.

He felt something.

Determination

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