0002 - The First and Last [Edited]

Drifting through the Void, a flame that flickered with many colors could be seen.

This flame was a soul. Specifically, it was the soul of a human named Joshua Doyle, who just so happened to have avoided being cleansed by the river of reincarnation.

Unluckily for this Soul, now that it was away from the river of reincarnation, it was no longer being protected from the monsters that lurk within the dark...

While the human eye would not be able to see within the flightless Void, anyone that could see in the Void would see that countless monstrous figures were dashing towards the soul with their wide maws open as if ready to consume the soul with one bite.

Just as the fastest of the monsters were about to reach the soul, a golden light suddenly flashed into existence around the soul in the form of a hand, causing the rushing horde of monstrous figures to stop and slam into the light.

The creatures revealed by the light looked like monsters of black mass and horrifying shapes of many kinds with gaping mouths and menacing red eyes.

Once the monsters at the front slammed into the hand of light, their bodies seemed to sizzle as they hissed and howled silently in pain and only continued to get pushed further into the light by those behind them that were still trying to stop their momentum and were instantly vaporized into a black mist.

When the monsters finally stopped.

The hand seemed to glow even brighter, flinging all of the Void monsters far away.

The hand that held the soul in its grasp swiped at the Void creating a tear in the Void.

The hand glowed before seemingly merging into the soul, turning the soul that was the size of a baseball to that of a skyscraper, and the soul now had a golden outline around it, making it seem almost divine.

Then through some unknown force, the soul was pulled into the tear before the tear seemed to heal behind it, leaving the area in the void silent and eerie once more.

--

[Congratulations User]

[You have been selected to become a Host of the System]

"...H-Huh? W-What happened?"

"Why does my head hurt so much?"

[You have recently perished

Possible Side Effects: Confusion, Denial, Stupidity, Irrationality, and Possibly Acceptance

Your new vessel is currently being constructed

1%...3%...5%]

"Perished? I...Died?"

"N...Not possible. How and w-why...Can't I remember?"

[To prevent possible panic and/or mental instability, the System has locked the host's memory of its death and all memories that led to its death]

After talking back and forth with the 'System,' I found that either this is all real or just a figment of his imagination...

Neither of which seemed good to me, and the ticking noise of the progress bar from the System only made me feel like I am insane, which leads me to believe that the second option is the most likely one to be true...

[98%...99%...100%

Your new vessel has been constructed

Connecting Soul to Vessel

1%...100%

Done]

Suddenly, my previous dark and senseless world brightened up to a great degree, allowing me to see once again, but what my eyes laid upon was not my bedroom or anywhere that was known to me.

Instead, I awakened to find myself in a dark, perfectly square stone room with a simple but seemingly smooth stone pillar sitting within the center of the room with a floating...orb floating above it?

"That's...me?"

For some reason unknown to me, I felt as though everything in the room was an extension of myself, with the orb that mysteriously floated at the center of the room was me...

/=====================\

Congratulations on becoming a Dungeon Core!

You have gained: [Mana Manipulation Lv 1], [Life Creation], [Puzzle Creation], [Trap Creation], [Dungeon Storage], [Dungeon Rule], [Claim], [System Store]

Congratulations on obtaining: 5x Free Monster Templates and 10x Free Plant Templates

Congratulations on obtaining a Title!

The First Dungeon(Title) - You are the first of your kind to appear within this dimension, grants: [Mana Body], [Hide Core], and [Select Evolution]

\=====================/

Suddenly an enormous amount of information flooded into my mind, specifically, how to use my System and summon my status, use my skills, and the very basics of using mana...

After my head was clear and working after being overloaded with all of the information, I couldn't help but begin to think that all of this had to be true. No way I could imagine or think up all of this...Right?

With another thought, I summoned my status...

/=====================\

Name: N/A

Race: Dungeon Core

Dungeon Type: System (Selective)

Titles: [The First Dungeon]

Level: 1

[A/N: EXP equation I use for the authors or those curious reading this note = Overall Level x Level 1 Amount(100) x 1.5]

EXP: 0/100

HP: 10,000/10,000

MP: 100/100

SP: N/A

HPR: 10 Per Hour

MPR: 10 Per Hour

SPR: N/A

Skills: [Mana Manipulation Lv 1], [Monster Creation], [Plant Creation], [Puzzle Creation], [Trap Creation], [Dungeon Storage], [Dungeon Rule], [Claim], [System Store]

System Points: 0

Achievements: None

\=====================/

And with the sudden appearance of the screen in my mind, I started to slowly believe that all of this could be real...

[The Host has been given all of the information needed to continue

The System will now enter observation mode

Good Luck, Host, and may your journey be filled with luck]

"What?! System?!" I shouted out in my head, but no answer was received...

I yelled for the System for over an hour, but no matter what I shouted or yelled, the System did not respond, leaving me alone in the stone room that I found myself trapped in...

How the hell am I to get out of here?