Chapter 1

Dreams, endless and violent in nature. I could not grasp a single thread as they wove their way through my slumbering mind. Each dream, more a nightmare, was filled with the sounds of battle. The clash of a sword, the firing of a gun, the explosion of a grenade and the high pitched wine of blaster fire.

Within each dream I was present, I knew it was me only because I was always looking outward, never able to actually see my appearance. I only knew I was a warrior, a fighter, that I reveled in killing my enemies. In some cases bathing in their blood, or eating their hearts.

I dreamed of learning how to kill better, of winning battles against those vastly superior to me only to meet my end at the hands of those my dream self loved above all others. I swore I would learn from that, that none would be allowed close to me.

Untold amounts of time passed while I dreamed, I could almost feel the passage of it, yet it remained elusive. I could catch glimpses, in between what I knew at heart were dreams. The passing of what I felt was my body, or something like it, from hand to hand and treated as something precious.

Death seemed to follow me in those brief moments, not unlike my dreams. The only difference was I was not the one doing the killing. Instead those that held my body killed to keep me, or acquire me.

This happened for an untold amount of time. I had grown bored of those brief glimpses, preferring instead to live within my dreams and absorb all they had to offer. A few times the dreams involved things beyond training or a battlefield. It was rare, but those brief glimpses made me understand why I might have allowed those close to me to be my downfall.

They were filled with what I called love, compassion, things that seemed so distant and foreign to me at times. Only in those dreams did I understand them. They were in the blue eyes that seemed to brighten with every moment spent in a field. They were in the small wrinkles that appeared on a face long used to smiling as they aged. They were in the tears they shed even while they betrayed me, too afraid to remain at my side. They were in the loss of light as they took their own life to join me.

Those dreams became a nightmare in their own way as I watched them replay, enjoying the happiness while dreading the inevitable ending.

On and on it went until I realized I was no longer dreaming, but slowly returning to the world I had only truly caught glimpses of over the course of time. I felt disoriented and lost as I came into this world outside of my dreams.

I could see, yet I knew almost instinctively I had no eyes, in fact I had no body. Not like I had in the dreams at least. I was some sort of orb like object, my mind acquitted it to something called a 'marble.' It was apparently an object involved in a children's game, whatever a child was. It was hard to think, my memories were disjointed and random.

I had an influx of information, these strange boxes that seemed to throw themselves at me whenever I focused on them only to fade away when I ignored them. They were always present though, waiting for me to do something.

I tried to move, only to realize I could not do so as I was. Even if I could, I likely would not be able to judge by how I was seemingly fused into an odd pedestal like protrusion in the center of wherever I was located.

Around me were destroyed bits of machinery, computers my mind told me, panels along the wall were ripped free and wires were hanging everywhere. It looked like some major battle had been fought here, and the skeletal remains only added to that assumption as well.

I thought for a moment, rather tried to think, my thoughts were still sluggish and confusing. It was almost painful to think without something to focus on, almost as if I had an inherent need to focus on an objective. I chose the odd boxes as a focus, to test my theory. They came into focus and I felt the sluggish confusion ebb away slightly.

Attention the newly awakened Dungeon! You have been brought into existence by those wishing a return of your kind. You were once hunted to extinction, though cores remained ready to house the souls capable of becoming what you are. A brief tutorial has been made available to you, be aware that once you complete this tutorial you will be on your own!

I was confused again, Dungeon? Tutorial? I associated tutorial with training and focused on that rather than my own confusion again. The boxes seemed to anticipate this and went on in a one sided scrolling conversation.

Welcome to consciousness! In this tutorial you will learn all you need to learn about being a Dungeon Core and protecting yourself. This will include repairing your surroundings, creating your first traps and creatures, accumulating resources and proper use of your Mana. If you would be so kind as to think 'Status' the tutorial may continue.

I blanked for a moment, the message asking me to think of my status simply repeating itself every few minutes. Absorbing the information was proving a little more difficult than I thought. This tutorial had concepts that my dreams had not prepared me for. The basic idea, yes, but I don't think my understanding was the same as this thing's meaning. I thought of my status, prompting another box to appear that seemed simplified but informative.

Name: None

Level: 1

Race: Dungeon Core

Mana: 5,000/5,000

Minions: 0

Traps: 0

Environment: Derelict Ship (fighter model)

As you can see from the displayed information it states your name as none, you will have to be named or claim a name for that to change. Your level depicts how strong you are as a Dungeon Core. It affects your maximum Mana pool as well as what you can do as a whole. We do advise you to never empty your Mana completely unless absolutely necessary as it could lead to a fracturing event.

Your Race is a given, Dungeon Core. Your kind were hunted to extinction several centuries ago as previously stated. You are advised to keep exactly what you are a secret until you are strong enough to combat all that would be thrown at you, be it to destroy you or control you.

The Minions tab depicts the creatures, monster or otherwise, under your control. This could include beings you compel into your service or form from the ambient Mana you release as a Dungeon Core. More on Minions will come later.

Traps are simple to explain. They are the constructs you place within your environment as a secondary means of protecting your body, your core. These are limited in size and danger based upon your level and area of influence.

Finally, your environment. This is where you are housed. You cannot be relocated or moved by any means outside of being conquered entirely by one stronger than you. This is extremely likely in the early stages so we once again advise you to take care. Your current environment 'Derelict Ship - Fighter Model' appears to be a small sized spacecraft designed to hold three occupants and minimal fire power.

Your environment depicts what you are capable of as a Dungeon Core and as you are the first of your kind to be brought into existence after so long we have no records to truly assist you on how to proceed, you will have to learn on your own. We shall compensate you for this oversight with a bonus reward upon completing your Tutorial.

Are you ready to begin claiming and repairing your surroundings?

Focusing on the limited information given to me allowed my mind to clear somewhat further. I could think more coherently while considering the options available to me. Minions, I could grasp the concept now. They were basically soldiers I could command during combat. Traps made me think of multiple concepts, pitfalls being the simplest. I ignored the 'race' for the time being, nothing there would allow me to further my goal of a clear mind.

The environment section was more interesting. I had no actual method of learning about this from the tutorial and as a result I would gain some sort of additional reward. With luck it would give me a little more information as we went. I focused on the continuation of this tutorial.

Congratulations on learning the basics of your status! Moving forward we will work on you claiming the entirety of the area you currently reside in, otherwise known as the 'Engine Room.'

To do this you must expand your awareness, force your mental acuity to take in all of your surroundings and attempt to soak your will into every section of the room. Once you have done this the tutorial will continue and aid you in modifying or repairing your current location.

I frowned, or tried to, I really wanted to frown but I couldn't. I settled for a steady glower at the box and the message it contained. It was very clear on what I had to do, but not really clear on the how of it. Force my mental acuity to take in everything? Was it a thesaurus? Wait, what was a thesaurus? Never mind, that isn't important. Alright, I can do this. I bent my will to the task at hand, feeling that it was the right thing to do and following that feeling.

I took in my surroundings again. What I originally considered computers were in fact two monitoring stations, the display panels cracked and blank in its current state. The wire that hung from panels along the walls appeared to actually be a part of some sort of system that ran the length of the ship, judging by how it seemed to disappear somewhat and the small glimpse I could see into the paneling that led outside of where I was. Filtration, was what my mind told me, though I had no real idea if that was accurate.

The damage was rather extensive and the more I focused on aspects of the room the clearer my mind became. It allowed me to take stock of more detail, cataloguing it within my mind. The walls that were still intact had scorch marks from blaster fire, a few sections had what appeared to be blood that had long since dried into a brown smear.

The floor was littered with scattered bits of metal and debris, likely the results of some kind of explosion. There were also five skeletons spread throughout the room, rather the floor that surrounded my little pedestal. Two were clearly not Human, whatever Human was, and the other three seemed to share similarities with what my mind called Human, one even had the basic bone structure of a female.

It was clear from their positions around me that they had all decided to kill each other. Likely one threw a grenade of some sort killing them all. That wasn't surprising, such a confined space when mixed with explosives always leads to disaster.

Finally I focused intently on where my body, the Core that was my body, was placed. I was settled on a pedestal with a single damaged wire connecting me to the ceiling and the ship itself, it was damaged though and whatever my mind was trying to connect with was outside of its sphere of influence right now.

The pedestal was also separated from the rest of the floor. At least a foot wide gap was in place in a perfect circle, keeping me out of arm's reach by anything save perhaps a giant. Something clicked after I had observed everything, forcing my mind to take it all in and acknowledge it as being present.

That something had me feel as though my sphere of influence suddenly expanded tenfold as I filled the room, or whatever it was I was doing. With this came more knowledge. I instinctively knew I was indeed in the Engine Room now, and that my Core was functioning as the engine itself for this ship. I was not entirely sure how that had happened, but I felt it would do me well to understand that concept. I also knew the room was six hundred square feet, a fairly large room for what is supposedly a tiny ship. The knowledge that would tell me just how large this ship was was just out of reach as well, I could feel it. I simply knew that I had to connect with the rest of the ship, to do that I needed everything in this room repaired, primarily that cable. I focused on the box that had popped up again, prompting me with more information.

Congratulations! You have successfully claimed the Engine Room of the Derelict Ship - Fighter Model. You will no doubt feel some slight fatigue after this accomplishment, it is perfectly normal as you would have spent your Mana to spread your influence and claim the room. Now we can begin teaching you how to repair your surroundings or otherwise change them. First you must think of fixing an object while focusing on it. It will give you a prompt telling you how much Mana is needed to repair the object as well as options to modify it for an increased Mana cost.

I was unsure why the message said I should feel fatigued when i clearly did not, but it did not matter right now. I did as the message said, focusing on the thing I wanted repaired most, the cable that connected me with the rest of the ship.

Name: Engine Cable

Status: Extensive Damage

Function: Provides power and access to the ship.

Importance: Vital to ship functionality.

Cost to Repair: 6000

Modifications: Increase Durability, Change Material used, Increase power output.

I frowned, why was it so much? Was it because it was a vital component for the ship? That would make sense. It was one thousand Mana over my maximum supply at its base cost, let alone with the odd modification options.

As you can see, the provided details are limited but allow you the bare bones required to function. You have chosen an object outside of your ability to repair at your current level. Do not let this dissuade you, your maximum Mana will increase as you level and you will be able to repair the item in question.

Repairs function on Mana because you are in effect repairing items that have pieces missing, destroyed, or are incomplete. Depending on the value and importance of the Object in question this could lead to very hefty costs. You may now begin repairing everything in the room that is affordable. Upon completion the Tutorial will continue.

I growled at the messages. I was surprised when the sound actually echoed in the empty room. Apparently I could project sound, was it useful right now? I had an almost instinctive desire to avoid doing that around others. I felt it was important to my survival. I questioned the instinct, I knew I would ignore it for I was not one to hide in the face of danger. I thought about my dreams at that thought, feeling the dream me was once the real me. No, I was a warrior. Running and hiding had never been my style, I felt that to be true with every fiber of my being.

I cracked my figurative neck, missing the sound that should have followed the 'action' and looked at something else within the room, choosing to focus on that instead of the goal I wanted most. In time I would repair that cable.

Name: System Monitoring Stations.

Status: Destroyed.

Function: Allows the monitoring of power fluctuations.

Importance: Minimal, aesthetically important to hiding your true nature.

Cost to Repair: 500

Modifications: Increase Durability, Change Material Used, Change Design.

I didn't care about the modifications for something deemed useless for me, instead being meant to further aid in hiding what I really was. Perhaps in time I would change them, for now I checked my own Status once again.

Name: None

Level: 1

Race: Dungeon Core

Mana: 3,352/5,000

Minions: 0

Traps: 0

Environment: Derelict Ship (fighter model)

My Mana had dropped considerably, but for some reason I felt I had more than a 'level 1' Dungeon Core should have access to. I'd call it a boon for now and begin working. Looking around my Core, the Engine Room, and realized how much work was ahead of me. I could feel myself trying to smile, or my mind smiling, whatever I was now I was smiling. I was thrilled at the concept of something to focus on, to keep me busy. The fact I was thinking clearer and felt more like 'me' only furthered that desire. It was time to get to work, repair the Engine Room, then go further into this Tutorial.