Life Anew

As I flew like a blazing comet towards Sulteros, my past life flashed before my eyes. It wasn't out of fear or sadness.. No, it felt more like a heartfelt good-bye. I experienced my childhood once again. Me playing tag with my father in the alley closest to our apartment. Being bullied at school.. Getting surprised for my eighth birthday by my aunt Sue, who came to visit.. Getting caught looking at porn by my mom.. oof that one still stung!

I saw myself as a teenager and young adult. Every stress filled moment, every bad decision and regret. I relived the rejections that made me fear the process of flirting and dating in general. I remembered the horrible night when I confessed to a close friend what were my inner most desires, regarding sex, and he rejected me. I realized that although I tried to be a good person, what I was actually doing was putting on a mask for the rest of the world to see and feel comfortable with, while drowning my real "me" in my own guilt and shame. Well.. there was no need to hide any longer.

My core, enveloped in molten rock and other minerals, crashed through a mountain, at terminal velocity, like a shooting star! It burrowed deep within and finally came to a stop when it drilled inside a natural cave and fell into a hot spring, in the center of it.

Days passed and the shell enveloping my Core broke off piece by piece. A jagged and mishaped, column of earth rose up and out of the bottom of the hot spring, lifting up the cluster of sky blue crystals. My Dungeon Core.. and on the fifth day upon arriving, I finally did it. With a shimmer of light and Mana, my Avatar came into existence for the first time. I was wearing a breast strap made of furry hide that barely supported my sizable breasts and a skirt that was merely a piece of fabric, strapped together on my upper right thigh. That left my right leg completely uncovered and my boys hanging loose underneath the cloth. I was almost naked but.. I was.. I finally was! I felt my face and body with my hands and got a feel of my new self by walking around. It was just perfect. I was large and tall, with big muscles and sexy curves and yet.. so light? I tried doing a handstand and laughed out of joy when I pulled it off, with some considerable effort, but still!

After having my fun and testing out my new body I inspected my Core's room. It had landed in a natural hot spring within the mountain and had warped the location around it. Blue glowing mushrooms lent their illumination to the vicinity and strange kinds of moss now grew around the pond of hot water. There were no animals or monsters around that I could see, thankfully.. I closed my eyes and willed a map of my Dungeon to appear as a live image in my mind. The Core room was connected to a large cave via a tunnel, not more than 12 meters in length. After that, the large cave led to a narrow path that climbed upwards and to the surface. There, was a smaller cave, almost like a reception area, 7 x 7 meters in size overall. And finally the reception had an exit that led outside. My "mind's eye vision" did not extend beyond my dungeon grounds but I knew that already thanks to my patron's generous supply of worldly knowledge.

I also knew that, although I could manipulate my dungeon's rooms and edit them by populating them with fauna and flora, that I had absorbed knowledge of, I couldn't add more rooms or corridors until I had advanced my Dungeon Core Rank. I started walking through my new home with hands outstretched. I willed a list of available flora and fauna to appear before me and I was greeted by a plethora of common types of moss, roots that were edible or had medicinal properties and an array of mushrooms. I sacrificed one Mana point and the upper surface of a large boulder was quickly covered in moss. With two points of Mana, I created a small pool of fresh water in the large central cave. With only three Mana points left in the tank I checked my fauna list and was disappointed to see only a few common insects gracing it with their presence. With two points of Mana I released a small puff of mist from my hand and it transformed into a menagerie of insects that flew out to inhabit the cave.

My goal was to create the basis of a small self sustaining ecosystem, until I had obtained knowledge of larger creatures that I could use as soldiers to protect my Dungeon and by extension, myself. I then lay down another patch of vegetation around my new pond and I was out of magical energy.

[Mana regenerating.. Regeneration now at 1 point per hour.. Time required to reach maximum capacity: 5 hours, 38 minutes..]

"Ouch.. I really need to work on that if I'm going to be a successful Dungeon Core.." I thought. Increasing my Magic stat would become a priority while also trying to raise my defences. Suddenly, I got a mental [Ping!] as an image of creatures, entering the dungeon, popped into my mind. Lord Trishda had told me that as soon as I was ready, they would send my way an opportunity to gain my first monster species. As I realized the creatures that had just entered were not friendly and were likely attracted to my Core's natural energy, seeking to devour it, I scowled. That chaotic bastard had sent intruders my way and was expecting me to fight! I smirked with eagerness to test myself as I ran up to the reception room! The least I could do is give Them a good show, right?

My fears and aversion towards violence as Peter were almost wiped clean by my Avatar's instincts. I slowly also came to realise that no matter how fast I kept running up towards the surface, I wasn't getting winded, my powerful body carrying me forward with Olympian levels of stamina and grace. Grace.. that is if you could ignore my massive member and ball-sack, swinging and hitting the insides of my thighs again and again as I ran ahead.. When I finally arrived I saw my enemy.. Three balls of golden, living slime. They were the size of volleyballs but their bodies were solidus.

[Hostile, Amber Jelly Lv.1, entered Dungeon]

It would seem that my Dungeon System could also inform me on whether a creature had hostile intentions towards me when it entered my space "Veeery useful!" I said while staring down the slimy bodied critters. They had no eyes or visible organs, just two black spots that looked like eyes and particles held together by arcane energies. They moved around by contorting their bodies and then releasing them, creating a small bouncing movement.

"Well little guys, prepare to be WOW" I screeched inadvertently as one them flung itself at my head for a full body tackle! I knew that these slimes were not particularly dangerous, but they could suffocate a person if they managed to engulf their head. Also they were very resistant to bludgeoning damage and physical damage in general, something that had me worried since the only way I could fight them was barehanded! A second one launched itself at me and then, with speed that surprised even myself, I cocked my arm back and punched it midair! The slime's body stretched around my fist and thankfully, the force of the blow was enough to actually send it flying a few meters back. It fell on the ground, like a puddle of honey before it started to pull itself together again. I looked at my strong fist and my arm's rippling muscles and was amazed at what I now become!

A caustic pain around my ankle, woke me from my stupor as I turned to see that the first slime, whose tackle I had avoided, was now wrapped around my leg and was actively trying to digest it! The third one tried to capitalise on the distraction its kin had created, but unfortunately for it the pain had made me more alert! I swung my leg around and kicked it the moment it launched itself! It flew back with enough speed to splat on the nearest wall but started to pull its liquified form back into itself after a few seconds. They were hardy little buggers but what surprised me even more is that, although they were resistant to physical damage, I was dealing quite a bit of it! Thank Trishda, I had invested in the strength of my beautiful new body..

[You punched Amber Jelly Lv.1 for 8 points of damage. Resistance detected, 4 points deducted!]

[Amber Jelly Lv.1 used Stomach Acid on you, 2 points of damage received!]

[You kicked Amber Jelly Lv.1, Critical Hit! 13 points of damage inflicted. Resistance detected, 7 points deducted!]

I raised my jelly-plagued foot and stomped down with enough power to disperse the Slime into small bits of itself! After that grabbed the next closest Jelly and slammed it into the wall, doing the same to it. The third Slime tackled my shoulder and I felt my skin burn under its touch! I grabbed hold of it though and after getting both my hands around it I squeezed violently and it dispersed into a thick honey colored... well..slime..

[Amber Jelly Lv.1 defeated! 6xp, 2 Gold pieces and 5 Aether Points awarded!]

At that point, besides the scattering of small golden coins from the bodies of the Slimes, I also noticed how their bodies turned into Aether and were absorbed by the terrain of my dungeon itself. It was as if this entire cave complex was my actual body and I had just absorbed their essence. That meant.. I opened my fauna list once more and was delighted to see the Amber Jelly species added to it! It would cost two points of Mana to summon one though so that would have to wait for now.

My heart was racing and my chemical induced burns stung like hell. I felt afraid, of course I did but.. It was also exhilarating! My blood drumming against my ears, the tension, the sense of accomplishment and victory! I could finally experience the sword and magic action I fantasized about since a teenager.

My attention was then drawn to the light coming from my cave's entrance. With eyes adjusted to the darkness of my dungeon, the silvery light illuminating the outside world almost seemed blinding. I crept closer and looked at vast starry sky. I walked outside, my feet greeted by cold sand and an expansive desert. The dunes glistened beautifully beneath the moon's light, they seemed like great ocean waves, forever frozen in place. I fell back on my squishy butt and just gazed at the beautiful cosmos. As a city kid I had only seen images of skies so wonderful, online or in documentaries. My knowledge of Sulteros came with the names of a few of these celestial bodies and I soon came to realise I wasn't looking at the same sky as the one visible from Earth. "Dungeons, Futanari reincarnation and fighting slimes.. I really have moved on to another life.. another world.." I said out loud and smiled at the sound of my new feminine voice. It was strong but higher pitched than my voice as Peter. Which made me think.. Was I Peter still, just in another body? Or would this be the start of a new me? The real me.. I felt as if I were betraying everything that came before just so that I could live out my fantasies. But you know what.. No more guilt. I lived my life the best I could and that life had ended. Actually ended.. I was a different person now.. No, a different being even! This new chance was mine and mine alone, not Peter's..

I would find a name to match who I was now but to do that I had to actually get to know me.. For the first time in so long I would just be myself for a change. For the time being I would get this beautiful ass of mine back to the Core Room. There, I could cultivate Aether until morning so that I could proceed with building up my defences in order to survive in this new world, long enough to make a difference! I stood up, dusted myself off and squinted when I noticed something strange on the sand in the exact space I was sitting on. There were two fist sized, circular shaped craters, in the sand close to the large one left by my body. I then burst into laughter, tears forming in the edges of my eyes as I realized that the markings in the sand were left by none other my oversized testicles, that I had so obnoxiously, crafted into the size of large walnuts.

• • •

After retreating to my core room, I found a small opening in a wall and stashed the few coins I had gained for future use. I then bathed in the hot spring surrounding my crystalline core. It was so relaxing I almost melted into the water itself. After that I sat down, legs crossed and fiddled with my hair a bit. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to give myself long hair as I had no idea how to style it or even how to care for it. After trial and error finally tied it into a halve decent pony tail. With that out of the way I concentrated, reaching out towards everything and grabbing on to the tether that binds all things together, Aether. I pulled the cosmic energy into my core, following the innate knowledge my skills had granted me. I felt the energy convert into Mana and my reserves replenishing at an accelerated degree as the hours simply flew by. It felt natural to me, easy even! Maybe it was because I was always patient as a person? Although I had never been that much into meditation in my previous life..

Thankfully as a Dungeon Core I had a good perception of time and stopped myself when the sun had risen, even though I shouldn't be able to tell from within my cave. I wanted a full day in order to experiment with my Dungeon and if possible, explore the outside.. But.. that idea I abandoned quickly. Exploring should be left for when I had proper defenses. I had to remember that my actual body was the crystal core and not the Futa babe I had crafted. If something entered my cave while I was gone it could kill me with no difficulty. I had to first build this place into an actual dungeon with defences. Trishda had told me that beings of all nature would be attracted to my core. Monsters would seek to devour it in order to evolve into stronger forms and humanoids would want to harvest its power for strength or money. Cores were a precious commodity and I had to be ready to protect myself.

I stood up, stretched my sore body, that had been sitting in the same position for almost 7 hours and sighed. I felt the inclination to sleep but in reality I didn't need to. As long as I was inside my dungeon grounds I didn't require food, drink or sleep, simply living off the Aether my Core collected. Outside the Dungeon, my avatar would have all the normal needs of a living being however. "Ok.. A new day! My FIRST day actually and I feel great! Let me just check how much Mana I'm working with and I'll be on my.. wh.. HOLY SHIT!" I exclaimed enthusiastically as I checked my status! I had 14/6 Mana points! My cultivation had gone so well, that I had gathered more than twice the Mana my Avatar was capable of storing at this level! I placed my hands over my head as I grinned with joy. This was going to be such a fun life!

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