Novel 1- Soul Series Dungeon System

This is it, the first story.

Pretty simple, as the title says, it's a Dungeon Master-inspired story, where the mc does not have any sort of monster evolution System, but a System where he can buy items and other things from the... Soul Series.

Don't know what the Soul series is? What a poor sod, allow me to enlighten you...

Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring... And more.

This is the main theme behind this, I constructed a world and a somehow basic plot to follow it, but the read was supposed to be fast and light in the first place.

There were some explanations, but I don't think there will be many more, of course, I can add more if the readers do like it.

As I said, this is a novel idea and not the novel itself, one day, I may pick this idea and continue, most likely fixing whatever problems you guys pointed out/sugestions.

Anyway, time to read, see you in the notes.

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CHAP 1 A depressing day

In a graveyard during the early night, two people could be seen under the faint light of a light bulb…

It flickered from time to time, it greatly added to the gloomy atmosphere.

"... May he rest in peace." Said a man clad in full white priest clothes as he closed a small book on his hands

On his side, there was another man wearing a black tuxedo, holding a large umbrella that was protecting the two from the light rain.

After finishing his preaching, the man stayed in silence for a minute, before tapping the shoulder of the man on his side.

"90 years… He lived a long and healthy life, I've known him for over 70 years, he wouldn't want you to act like this kid." Said the man as he turned around

Because of this, his face got illuminated by the light.

It was an old man with a full white beard, he seemed to be the religious sort due to his clothes and how well he preached.

"Thank you Mr. Cownell, I know very well if he were to see me like this he would hit my head without a single thought." Said the man on his side

He looked young, probably in his 20's.

His brown eyes and short hair weren't particularly impressive but together with his face, a rather fit and muscular body, and his clothes, he at least looked neat.

He had a serious expression on his face, but deep in his eyes, he held remorse.

/Sigh…/

Blowing a deep sigh, Mr.Cownell tapped on the young man's shoulder, taking a step back into the rain.

"Mr.Cownell?" Asked the young man, surprised by the old man's action

"I will take my leave first young Bray." Said Cownell

"In this rain? At least let me…"

But he was interrupted by the old man.

"It's just a light rain, barely enough to stain my clothes until I reach the church. I'll wait for you there and help you move some of old Jeremy things back with you." He said with a small smile

"There were some things he wanted to give to you on your 20Th birthday…"

Realizing what he said was a little offensive, old man Cownell stopped and nodded at Bray.

"... Thank you, I'll see you in 5 minutes." Replied Bray

"Take your time, don't worry about me." Said Cownell as he turned around

'I also need my time to grieve…' He thought as his eyes got a bit red

'Goodbye old fart, see you soon in Hell. I hope you are ready for my wrath for going first…'

With that, Mr.Cownell left, leaving Bray alone in the rain.

"..."

'I knew this would happen one day, I just didn't expect it to happen so sudden…'

'He was old, but because he raised me alone, always being there for as long as I can remember, I always had this impression he would always be here with me.'

'But I guess time is not always fair…'

'It took his wife the moment my mother was born, and it took my own mother the moment I was born…'

'And my father soon after… As for his own parents…'

'They also left early due to natural reasons…'

"It seems my family has a knack for leaving early…" Said Bray in a sad and sarcastic tone

With his head down, Bray bit his lips a bit before he placed a small miniature ball inside a small compartment in the tombstone.

During the Tombstone confection, he asked the graveward to add a small hole with a glass cover so he could add a small object inside.

It wasn't anything precious in a monetary way, but it held many emotions for him.

It was a small bouncy ball his grandfather gave him when he was 2 years old…

They used to play with it every once in a while until he hit 12 and he started to play video games to pass time.

"Goodbye old man, I'll try to live as freely as you always told me to."

'You worked way too hard, you deserve a good rest.'

'You had to take care of my mother alone and then you had to take care of me alone… How hard must've been?'

'How did you feel when you learned of my birth and…'

The memories of his life, the happy and sad moments crossed through his mind.

Sometimes, he felt as if he was a good grandchild, and some other times, he felt as if he did the old guy wrong.

Nevertheless, he can't change that anymore.

Despite the many hugs and loving words he gave him, he still felt as if he lost something and didn't appreciate it enough.

Bray shook his head, those thoughts were only making him more depressed.

"I'll come back another time, old man." He said with a small smile as he removed a few leaves that fell on the tombstone due to the rain

'I won't take any more of your time…'

Turning around, the young man made his way to the church, his steps were steady as he left with resolution.

…

/Thud!/

"Phew… This was the last one I bet." Said Bray as he looked at the pile of boxes in the living room

When he was 17, his grandfather had him move from his old house.

But it wasn't really that far, in fact, his grandfather's old house is just a block away.

However, it took him over a day to fully move and pack some of his stuff…

He did not sleep from yesterday's night until now, working to the bone…

As to why?

On one hand, it was useful to make him forget about the grief, and on the other hand…

"Old Bastard…" Said Bray with a small smile

'To think he would force me to sell his house on his testimony…'

Bray wasn't exactly happy with the prospect of selling his grandfather's house.

It was the place he lived in for 17 years and a place filled with memories…

"But if that's your wish…"

'He always used to say… Move forward as life doesn't take kindly to those that wait too long, always gazing at the past…'

"The house is simple to settle, but what do I do about his clothes and miscellaneous items?" Said Bray as he looked at the sea of small boxes around the place

'I already decided to sell most of the furniture together with the house and some other objects but it's still too much for me to handle…'

'And it wouldn't do me any good to just keep them stored somewhere and neglect them…'

"SIGH…"

Letting out a long sigh, Bray sat on the couch near him and started to think.

'The fuck do I do now old man?!'

'You leave me with this insane amount of money and no more words, and you expect me to live my life in a carefree way?'

'You always told me to find a wife… Is this your incentive? Are you telling me to enjoy this life by finding a wife and having a happy family without money problems?'

'This isn't what I wish for…'

Bray's early life was in a way sad, but his future is very promising.

His grandfather was always open minded, so since the early 2000's before Bray was even born, he already used to invest his money on many fronts.

And considering his only expenses were with Bray and himself over the decades, the amount of money he made was rather substantial…

Not to count the money accumulated from selling the properties of his daughter and husband's family…

He was very decisive and direct, thanks to it, Bray's bank account now consists of a number with over 7 zeros…

He was set for life even if he didn't do much.

But even with this money, Bray didn't feel happy nor accomplished in any way.

He wasn't naive, thinking that money doesn't bring happiness.

But he understood there was no point for so much money if he didn't have a clear objective in mind.

His grandfather taught him how to be humble and to properly view money, that was why he sent him to an expensive University without telling him about his wealth, all so he could make the most of it.

However, Bray never enjoyed University, the concept of studying to the bone for 5 to 6 years only to get a low paying job for a few more years before finally getting a 'stable' job around his late 20's and retiring to 'enjoy' life, 30 or so more years later didn't really captivate him.

No, that was being optimistic, with the current state of the world, it would be impressive if he got a stable job during his mid 30's.

And who enjoys working anyway? Bray didn't really have a knack for working for someone else and being ordered around to meet some schedule.

That may be him being immature, but that's just how Bray always felt.

But at the same time, Bray greatly enjoyed the days he spent playing around with his online friends.

Reading his books, going to the gym, playing some games and cooking some food… Studying from time to time.

Day after day, in the past few years, he repeated this routine, but it never felt boring…

"Until you left…"

Bray was deeply confused about what he should do.

What he should do and what he is supposed to accomplish…

"Perhaps… I just need some time to calm down and relax…"

'It's not like there is a need for me to have some grand purpose.'

'As long as I can enjoy each and every day of my life… That's enough.'

Bray looked at his cellphone and noticed the day…

He had an exam tomorrow…

"Fuck it, as if I will do this shit." Said Bray as he threw his cellphone to the side

'I'll just… Play some games… And order some food later.'

'I have no wish to cook anything today…'

…

[DING!]

That same day during the night Bray could be seen in his room stretching his arms as the corner of his Pc screen flashed with a notification

[ELDEN RING]

"Finally… I got all of the trophies." Said Bray with a smile

"What time is it?" Asked Bray as he yawned

[3AM]

It was exactly 3AM, how rare...

"Heh… How omnious…" Said Bray as he got up from his gaming chair

'I'll take a bath, brush my teeth again and go to sleep. Tomorrow I will start settling all of those boxes down in the living room.' He thought

As he got up, Bray noticed a small ornamented box above his desk on a shelf.

It was relatively dusty due to how long it had been since the last time he grabbed it.

"Grandfather's gift?" Said Bray out loud

'I completely forgot about it…'

'Did I ever open it?'

Around a year ago, on his 19Th birthday, he got a few things from his old man.

And this small ornamented box was among those things.

Compared to his PS5, this box was soon forgotten…

"Didn't he say something when he gave me this box?..." Said Bray as he tried to remember his birthday

—-----------

"... This is a small extra gift for you Bray." Said Jeremy as he took a small box from inside

"What's inside?" Asked Bray as he tried opening the box, but to no success

"The key for it is here." Said Jeremy with a cheeky smile as he moved the key in a playfull way

"I'll give you the key next year." He said with a smile

"How stingy old man!" Said Bray

'I'll just get the key when he's asleep and see what's inside…'

"As if, I just gave you a new console, now, stop bothering me and go plug it in somewhere!" Said Jeremy as he shooed Bray off

'I can read this brat like a book, he must be thinking of getting the key as I sleep… HA!'

"Before I go, can we ask for some food today?" Asked Bray

"Sure, its your birthday anyway, what do you want?..."

…

—-----------

"I just ended up forgetting about it and never went to get the key…"

'In fact, where's the key?'

It was then he felt something strange at the bottom of the box.

So he flipped the box and saw a small key strapped into the box with a small note below it.

"Haha… He got me…" Smiled Bray, but his expression soon changed to a gloomy one

The note read: Gotcha!

"..."

Bray opened the box…

"... Nothing? Was this supposed to be a… Ahh… I got it… He got me…" Said Bray as he faces-palmed

However, Bray missed the strange dark mist that got out of the box…

"Finally, it took you long enough." Said a voice from behind Bray, making him jump in fright

…

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Notes

CHAP 2 A deal of a lifetime? Or a cursed blessing?

Bray almost had a heart attack as he jumped and turned around to look at who talked.

As he turned around, he was filled with regret thinking he was about to meet with some sort of 3Am psychedelic demon that plotted all of this just so he could devour his soul…

"Well… I can't say this is one of my most warm welcomes, but it will do." Said the 'demon' in front of Bray as he saw his dumbfounded expression

The home invader was very tall, extremely so, being slightly over 2 and a half meters tall, making Bray feel like a dwarf since he himself was 1.8 M tall.

The 'demon' in front of him was exactly like a Human, with the exception of the strange golden plate floating vertically above his head.

It felt strange, just looking at it provoked some nauseating feelings from Bray.

He was wearing something similar to what Bray wore yesterday's night, a white tuxedo with a black tie.

However, his eyes seemed to glow in the dark, illuminating Bray's face with its eerie golden glow…

"Indeed, I am very handsome, but I don't swing that way." Said the 'demon' as he looked at Bray

"..."

Bray almost chuckled, but the strangeness of the situation made him swallow his emotions.

"Sigh, another one of these cases…" Said the 'demon' as he snapped his fingers

"I don't have time for this…"

/Fwush!/

In the blink of an eye, the box that was in Bray's hands flew on its own towards the hands of the demon, startling Bray.

"If you opened the box, it means that you are unsatisfied with your current life, isn't that so?" Said the demon with a small smile as he closed the box gently

"Or is it curiosity?"

"In that case, allow me to give you a chance, a deal…"

"No thanks." Said Bray

The demon opened its eyes slightly in surprise.

"Oh? You aren't even going to listen to me?" Asked the tall guy with a surprised expression

"I know more than enough not to trust paranormal entities now, begone in the name of Jesu…"

Bray's voice suddenly disappeared as he felt himself unable to produce any sound.

"Being careful is good, but you are lucky that I am patient, some of my coworkers would've given you some… 'gifts' by now." Said the man as his eyes sharpened

"Also, do not proclaim his name so half-heartedly, someone like you can barely even make me feel anything anyway, in fact, I feel annoyed, just like when a feather tickles you." Said the man

"I recommend you listen to me first and make your choice later."

"First things first, no, I am not a Demon and yes, I can read your mind, no, I won't explain how, too bothersome… And it's not that I need to read your mind to guess what you must be feeling and thinking right now anyway." Said the man as he shrugged his shoulders

"Second of all, I won't ask for your soul or something similar as payment for what I am going to offer you, your service is both your reward and payment."

"Seems rather contradictory…" Said Bray as he slowly calmed down

'A weirdo suddenly invaded my room despite the fact I locked my door and was on the second floor. Not only that, he showed some magic tricks that almost made me believe he is…'

The man in white rolled his golden eyes and said:

"It seems you still don't understand the gravity of this situation… Fine, I can jump the introductions and go straight to the real thing, perhaps by then you will understand." He said as he lifted his left arm

His fingers glowed as he closed his hand and pulled, the very light seemed to distort as if he had pulled a large blanket...

/FUOUM!/

'With a strange sound close to that of those seen in Sci-fi movies, the wall left of the man warped and a strange portal appeared.'

"Now, you come with me." Said the man as he entered the portal

"..."

All of this development greatly shocked Bray, so much so, he didn't even know what to do or say.

If the previous actions could be explained, this one cannot.

Unless Humanity has advanced to a point where drugs can make someone hallucinate while maintaining such a high rationale…

But in any case, Bray was not someone to use drugs at the end of the day…

"He left…" Said Bray

"You are slower than some old ladies."

Bray suddenly heard the voice of man from the other side of the portal, and with it, he felt a pulling force and he was pulled towards the portal.

And… Black…

/Snap!/

With the sound of fingers snapping, the darkness was illuminated.

He looked around and noticed he was in a dark and dry cave about 6M tall and 7M in radius.

It was a rather small place.

"Good, you are here… And no side effects? Perfect! Looks like you are indeed fit for this." Said the man in white with a smile

"How many times was I forced to clean after others… Sigh." He saw as he face-palmed

"In any case, welcome." He said as he bowed slightly

"You may call me 'The Middle man', but I also know M." He said

"Al… Alright…" Said Bray as many questions surfaced on his mind, but he contained himself

"You have a surprising amount of self control, good, let's go over things in a way you can understand."

"Okay?" Said Bray as he focused

'I'll just comply, for now, what he showed me is not something I can comprehend right now, it's best to give him some time and... Can't he read my mind?!'

"Firstly, what I wanted to say from the beginning, but was interrupted due to your sublime acting… Mr. Bray, you've been given the opportunity to participate in a small test." He said as he created a chair made of green light

He also made another one right behind Bray.

"Test?" Asked Bray

"From a certain angle, it can even be called a game." Said M

"But who is hosting such a game?" Asked Bray

"A good question, but let's leave that for later." He said as he smiled

"If you successfully complete your given task within this game, untold rewards will be given to you."

"I am not talking about money or fame, those are just side rewards you can choose."

"What I am talking about is real, palpable power." Said M as he smiled widely

"Looking at you, I can easily infer what you wish… It's an adventure." Said M

"Something to spice up your life that has lost its meaning, you will feel right at home then."

These words deeply marked Bray, it seemed this man could read much more than his superficial thoughts…

"I think we are going a bit too fast..." Said Bray

"It happens, I don't have time for small talk anyway, I've been worked to the bone recently..." Said M

"So... Sigh... How does it work?" Asked Bray

M smiled, but he did not reply to his question.

"There are currently 3 factions participating in this game." Said M as he raised his right hand and showed 3 fingers

"The Attacking Faction, the Defending Faction, and the Progressing Faction." Said M

"You are part of the Progressing Faction, that is, if you accept this deal." Said M

"Wait, what are those three factions? And what do they do? How is their…"

"Slow down with the questions… Words are valuable." Said M as he snapped his fingers

/CLANK!/

With the sound of metal breaking, the ceiling broke down, and from the hole, a translucent stone fell from inside.

'It had the shape of a dodecahedron and a slight pink hue.'

"This is Heart Stone, the main source of power behind the Progressive Faction… And the reason behind their name." Said M

"The Progressive Faction has two main functions in this test/game."

"The first is the progress of the test, the other two factions rely on the Progressive Faction in order to advance in this game."

"But at the same time, the Progressive Faction holds no real power apart from themselves… You'll understand that eventually."

"They act like a limit and a booster to the other two Factions, pretty much acting as the intermediate between them… And sometimes, their main objective." He said as he smiled at the Heart Stone

"The second function of the Progressive Faction is directly tied to what I said earlier."

"If you accomplish this task, you'll be given everything I told you previously, whatever you wish for, no matter how you achieve it, only the results matter."

Bray continued to listen to M with a serious expression.

"You need to nurture this tiny Heart Stone, until it reaches its maximum potential, and once that's done…"

"You'll have it engulf this Planet's core." Said M with a slightly deeper voice

"What? That doesn't even…" Said Bray as his mind went overdrive

"It's already time for you to start analyzing the situation through the common sense of your old world."

"Easy for you to say, that's everything I have." Retorted Bray

"... Exactly… That's why words are valuable." Smiled M

He grabbed the stone and brought it to Bray.

"Let's go over what this tiny stone does." Said M as he played with the stone

…

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Notes

CHAP 3 I accept

M could be seen playing around with the Heart Stone, letting it roll on his hands as he opened his mouth to speak:

"You see, if you accept this offer, you will be bound with this stone, gaining all of its abilities."

"Amongst them, the most important are 'Reshaping' and 'Creation'."

"Each Heart Stone is different, and these two abilities may vary depending on a series of things… And what your Patron wishes from you, I can't say much more than that."

He showed it by creating a tiny rock on the side and filling the hole in the ceiling with stones that appeared from thin air.

"Now, for a quick documentary… A Heart Stone is a naturally occurring object, however, for this test, we had a few people selected to act as their… Keepers, thus, forming the Progressive Faction."

"So the other two factions aren't in possession of one?" Asked Bray

"Not from the start, but they can acquire one, as I said, these stones are naturally occurring…" Said M

But Bray realized, this was a warning.

What would happen if someone found his Heart Stone? Would he just fail the test?

Of course, he still doesn't know what happens to him if he fails the test…

"It'll depend on the situation, as you thought, you will fail the test if someone forcibly cuts your connection with the stone, it will either result in your disqualification… Or their complete and utter control over your body."

"The latter is rather hard to happen, the difference between both parties would have to be massive for this to be even feasible. But in the end they cut your connection forcibly, you will be returned to your home, without any memories of this ever happening." Smiled M as he noticed Bray's ashen expression

"However, like any other job, there is always a minor risk involved… Even more, when there are such conditions linked to it." Said M

M returned to his chair and said:

"Let's go back to the main topic, what are you supposed to do exactly? So let's assume you just accepted this, what will you do?" Asked M

"I'll try to find out how those two functions you told me work and progress from there?" Asked Bray

"You need to be more firm on your answer, but yes, that's the correct course of action."

"In nature, a Heart Stone will create a 'nest' for itself, by drawing in the natural energy in the environment and reshaping it into what it needs and desires."

"It will remodel said environment into something proper that can protect it from outside forces." Said M

"Why all of this? Isn't it just a rock?" Asked Bray

"Not just rock… You are incorrect to think this isn't alive… I blame it on your world's narrow view on life, not like I can blame you for thinking like this." Said M

"The closest I can say is that this is an egg, not exactly an egg, but something that has the possibility of nurturing something else… Hum… This talk should be left for later when you grow more accustomed to this place… Words are valuable after all."

"I have yet to agree with all of this though." Said Bray

"I would be greatly disappointed if you were to refuse this offer after everything I will say." Said M as he looked at Bray's eyes

"Going back to my documentary… About the nest, due to its interesting and sometimes, Unique features, these places are often called Dungeons by the natives." Said M as he lifted his index fingers

"So, your job would be that of a 'Dungeon Keeper', to grow the Heart Stone and the Dungeon as its defense mechanism and to go as far as you can with it. Pretty simple no?" Said M

"Also, it's not like you need to leave everything to the Dungeon. You can always grow stronger by yourself, but relying solely on yourself won't make you go that far…" Said M

"And why is that?" Asked Bray

"Because… You are starting a little late on this test… By about… 300 years." Said M

"... Then what's the point of me even participating in this 'test'?" Asked Bray

"Don't be like that, it may be a bit late, but it's not like you can't catch up with the top dogs, in fact, some of them have risen to their positions in the past 30 or so years."

"You could say that those at the start had a much worse time than you since they pretty much built the foundations for this game while the others that came after grew fast due to their actions." Said M

"But that only goes to say how hard my task is." Said Bray

"True, I never said it was easy, but their case is different since they were not allowed to progress after a certain point. This is a test at the end of the day, we can't allow some things to get out of control, you could say that's part of what a test is, but not everyone is patient enough to go and try again after a failure." Said M as he smiled

"It's hard to please everyone..." Said M

"... How about talking about the ones behind everything then?" Asked Bray

"The words I can use are as limited as the number of buttons on my shirt, so I will be brief."

"Consider them as patrons as I said before, they won't interfere with you unless you grow to a point where you can threaten the balance of everything, but that's pretty hard on its own, not only because of how gargantuan of a task it is but also due to the fact there aren't as many limitations are there were in the past."

"But if you do, you can consider yourself set in a sense, you can even collect your reward early!" Said M with a chuckle

"A few that reached such a point did, while others held back, believing they would have a chance as the limitations were slowly lifted, a chance to reap even greater rewards..."

"And lastly, what I said about your Patron before…"

"Every member, from each faction, has a Patron behind them, however, their relationship isn't like what you think, it's more like that of a photographer and a bird kind of relationship."

"They will observe you and analyze you, but what they wish to do after or during this process is up to them, but of course, it all within a set of rules as to not potentially cause trouble and break the balance." Said M

"It's normal for a Patron to have multiple chosen people, but they will rarely even manifest to them in any sort of way at all, the most common manifestation just so happens to appear in the Progressing Faction, and its directly over that small stone in your hands." Said M as he pointed at the Heart Stone in Bray's hands

"Also, don't ask me: What do they gain from this. Sometimes, its not only about the gains..."

M suddenly got up from his chair and said:

"I already said enough, don't you think? Are you up for this task?" Asked M

Bray was in silence, so he said:

"Can I see the outside at least once?" He asked

To this, M smiled and said in a cheerful tone.

"Of course!" He said as he clapped his hand

/Tremble!/

The cave trembled, and with a flash of light, Bray was momentarily blinded.

When he recovered his vision, he saw himself on top of a steep mountain cliff.

He couldn't see the bottom, but the sheer height was enough to make his heart pound and make him take a step back in shock, only to stumble on a rock and fall behind.

He felt a cold on his tummy as he fell, but he soon met with solid ground. Thankfully, the mountain top was big enough…

"Are you afraid of heights?" Chuckled M as he looked at Bray on the ground

"... No…" Said Bray

'But this still scares me!'

True, being sent to the top of a winding cliff and stumbling on a rock would make anyone feel cold on their bellies…

"But without further ado, welcome to this world." Said M as he pointed towards the mist

As Bray raised his head to look at the clouds, he saw what seemed to be a serpentine creature passing through the clouds.

His brain blanked…

"Oh? We don't see one of these often so far in the South… Oh, it's the migrating season, I completely forgot due to my work." Said M as he thought deeply

"So? What do you think? Is this a world worth living in?" Asked M

"... That has yet to be seen, my… Previous world was just as worth living in." Replied Bray

"True, it's all about how you feel…" Said M as he looked at the horizon

"But… Despite it all… I wish to give it a try." Said Bray

'There isn't anyone waiting for me, no one to miss me.'

'My few friends would certainly miss me, but they would understand my choice…'

"Don't worry about that, we have a secrecy policy you see, and that includes making sure we leave no inconsistencies behind, I will prepare a puppet that will live your life until you either fail, or complete this test." Said M

"Otherwise, it would create quite the gap if you were to spend a few years in this world and go back… Since there is no such thing as time lapse, at the very least, not in your circumstance." Said M to Bray

"In that case…" Said Bray

…

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Notes

CHAP 4 Death and Rebirth

"Wonderfull, since you agreed, let's proceed with binding this instance." Said M to Bray as light flashed once again

When Bray reopened his eyes, he was once again at the cave, the Heart Stone was now floating in the air

"Once you bind with the stone, remember that if it is destroyed, in 99% of the situations, you will be disqualified." Said M

"I got that already, what I have yet to understand is how this 'binding' will take place." Said Bray

"That? Like this." Said M lifted his right hand

/SPLURGE!/

"?!"

Bray looked in horror as he saw M's hand pierce through his heart.

He felt his strength leave his body, his vision slowly turned dark…

M took his hand from his chest, watching Bray fall to the ground.

"Good luck Mr. Bray, may you achieve whatever you desire…" Said M as he looked at Bray slowly bleed out to death

That was the last thing Bray saw.

…

"HAAA!" Inhaled Bray with a lot of strength as he got up from the stone-cold ground

He immediately touched his chest, the cold sensation was long gone, but the lingering feeling of having M's hand inside his heart is still there.

Interestingly enough, his clothes were perfectly fine and the ground was clean, devoid of any blood that had previously spilt.

As if it was all a dream…

But Bray had to face reality.

All around him were dark cave walls being illuminated by the faint light emanating from the now slightly pink stone floating above him.

When he looked at it, he felt strange, it wasn't just a stone anymore, but he felt as if he was looking at his own arm, despite it being a meter above him in the air.

"Sigh…"

Bray rested his head on the floor, trying to process this situation first before proceeding.

After a minute on the floor, Bray had enough as he was eager to find out what that tiny little stone could do.

Raising his hand up, he easily grabbed the stone.

It felt hot, the stone flickered from time to time, sending a strange feeling down his arm, as if he was feeling the faint beating of a heart.

"Perhaps this is why they are called Heart Stones." Said Bray as he flipped the stone around

"How do I use it?"

The moment he asked, the stone shone with light covering his vision.

He was once again blinded…

"This again? I swear, I will be forced to wear glasses at this rate." Said Bray as he brushed his eyes and looked around

"Hum?"

In front of Bray was a strange rectangular object.

It was similar to a window, having golden outlines and a darker interior.

Bray moved his head and noticed the window was tied to the Heart Stone, moving only when it moved, but he also found out he could lock it in place if he so wished.

He could even grab the window and carry it with him...

The window was a few Cm deep, so it wasn't a hologram per se, he could actually touch it, but if he wished, he could also have his hand pass through it.

"Is this some sort of interface? If so, props up to however made this." Said Bray as he inspected the blank window

/DING!/

Bray touched the screen, creating a clear sound similar to when you touch a cup made of crystal.

"What is happening?"

But this action caused a chain reaction on the screen.

From the place he touched, a strange golden rune appeared, it slowly filled the center of the screen and from it thousands of runes filled the rest of the screen.

"Seems familiar…" Said Bray as he looked at the Golden Runes

They were so tiny Bray could barely even recognize them, thinking the rest of the screen had just been painted golden.

/Tremble…/

The Heart Stone in his hands trembled, and the same rune that appeared in the center of the screen flashed inside it before it vanished.

And with it, all of the runes vanished, and the only thing that was left was the dark screen.

"... Is it over?" Asked Bray as he touched the screen once again, similar to how someone would tap on their cellphones when it freezes

But this time, he actually got a reaction!

The empty screen was slowly filled with lines!

"... This looks like a game menu… Perhaps this is why this is called a test/game?"

As he read the options, Bray also tested them.

Starting from the center of the screen, he saw an image of his Heart Stone.

Touching it would refresh the window, displaying a completely new set of information.

"Tier 0? Mana Absorption rate? Mana Retaining Factor?... Even this?"

The amount of information was extensive, so much so that Bray found a small bar on the right side he could swipe in order to show even more text…

But he realized the more he went down, the more specific and 'useless' the information became.

The first few were the most important.

Tier, he didn't know what it meant, but he imagined it was related to the growth of the Heart Stone.

Mana Absorption rate and Mana Retaining Factor, are two values pertaining to this strange thing called mana.

In fact, as he went deeper into the text, Bray saw many values related to it.

Among those values, he saw one that showed that his Heart Stone is collecting about 10 Units of mana a minute with a retaining rate of around 10%.

"If I understood this right, it must mean that the Heart Stone is collecting 100 Units of mana a minute, but only 10% is stored for use while the rest is… Released in the atmosphere, if these numbers are correct." Said Bray as he read the rest of the values

The last thing in this section was the option at the top center of the screen.

[Tier Up]

Pressing this option would send him to a screen demanding 100K units of mana.

"So, if I gather 100K units, I can increase that Tier 0 to something higher?" Said Bray

"With this insane value, it would take… Around a week to Tier up? Since I currently make 10 Units a Minute, it would take 10K minutes to Tier up, and that's around… Pretty much a week's worth of time."

'If I don't spend anything that is, and that's probably impossible.'

"But this is it for the core options…"

On the top right corner, he saw a large X, pressing it sent him back to the starter screen

"Pretty intuitive."

The X was still in the top right, so Bray imagined that pressing it would close this system window.

There were two more options for him to explore, one on the leftmost side and the other on the rightmost side.

They were named 'Dungeon Defense' and 'Dungeon Shaping'.

So he went by the one by the right since why not?

Opening it flooded Bray's vision with many lines, it was as if the matrix just glitched and he could now see the interior design of everything.

With it, a few more options appeared.

The first one was simply the map, showing the blueprint of the entire cave system he was in.

It was just now that he realized his fairly small cave was connected to a passageway that led to the surface, the only thing protecting him from the outside world was a small and thin stone wall.

"This won't do, I need to block that as soon as possible…" Said Bray as he continued to study the options

"OH!"

The second option below the map greatly surprised Bray!

"So this is how I reshape this cave… But… Why are there only two options?"

By selecting the second option, Bray was given two more options:

[CATACOMBS]

[MINES]

"Hum… Limiting options from the get-go." Said Bray as he selected the second option.

What he saw didn't surprise him, however, they did seem a bit… Familiar to him.

Although he did not know why a bunch of cave walls and mining caves were so familiar…

There were several pre-selected cave formations and other props he could use to remodel and decorate his Dungeon.

He also discovered he could select an option and change it to fit his needs.

So if he felt there was something missing from the basic designs, he can either change it or make one from scratch.

To test that, he selected a model that looked like a tunnel.

This opened the map screen, and Bray found out he had to move the tunnel prop with his mind. It took him a bit of trial and error, but he finally managed to add it to his room.

/Tremble!/

Behind him, the walls started to crack and break, slowly giving in and creating a passage.

Within 5 minutes, a 'brand new' tunnel had been made.

"Okay, so this is how it works!" Said Bray in a happy tunnel, satisfied to have understood the basics behind the remodeling function M talked about.

'With this, I make a labyrinth that will protect me from outside interference until the day I fully understand this world.'

'But first, I need to rest…' Said Bray

Bray returned to the Mines option and found what he was looking for.

/Creaaak!/

The wooden chair creaked heavily under his weight.

"As I thought, just by looking at it, I could see it was an almost destroyed wooden chair, but I underestimated its poor condition…"

/CRACK!/

The chair broke down, making Bray fall backward as if agreeing with what he said…

Bray looked at the ceiling of his room and smiled slightly, there was a lot to do.

"There's a lot to do and research…"

/Grumble!/

His stomach, seeing the chairs protest, also decided to follow its example and protest as well.

"And I need to find out what to eat…"

'It has been some time since I had dinner…'

…

.

.

.

Notes

CHAP 5 Elden Ring?

/A few minutes later…/

"This is it for the Mines section, what about the Catacombs?" Asked Bray to himself as he opened the next section

"Interesting… Wait a minute." Said bray as he recognized the architecture displayed on the screen

'This shapes and these rooms… Aren't they just like…'

Bray then realized the name, Catacombs.

"Nah… No way." He said as he shook his head

But the more he went through the options, the more he felt as if this possibility wasn't just a joke…

"... Alright, I will check the other option." Said Bray

'If I want answers I will find them there.'

So Bray returned to the starting section and selected 'Dungeon Defense'.

And like last time, two more options appeared:

[CATACOMBS]

[MINES]

"The same options?"

'Perhaps this is to keep a balance? Like, if the creatures I am going to use to defend my Dungeon are from the desert, it wouldn't make sense for me to have a Remodeling function centered around rivers and large bodies of water.' Thought Bray

He selected the second one and what he saw shook his mind and soul.

[Miner

Cost: 50 Units

Extra:...

]

It was simple, but for Bray, it meant much more than that…

In front of him was a perfect depiction of a creature he knew very well.

After all, he saw one not so long ago!

On his computer screen… When he was playing Elden Ring… So, why and how?

He checked the other options, but it was the same.

It was all creatures he knew…

[Torch-Wilder Miner

Cost: 65 Units

Extra…

]

[Sorcerer Miner Type 1

Cost: 100 Units

Extra…

]

[Sorcerer Miner Type 2

Cost: 100 Units

Extra…

]

[Giant Miner

Cost: 250 Units

Extra…

]

[Giant Sorcerer Miner

Cost: 500 Units

Extra…

]

And more…

There was no more denying it, those were the creatures from the game he played non-stop for the past 3 weeks.

"... How does this make sense?" Said Bray to himself

By reading the 'Extra' category, he learned more about those creatures, including their descriptions given by the system.

There was even a few minute pieces of information such as their life span…

This raised a question within him, since in the first place, all creatures were in a sense, immortal in Elden Ring due to the Rune of Death, what about here?

"But this isn't the Lands Between… In fact… Forget it, trying to put sense into things isn't going to take me anywhere."

Bray calmed himself down and tried to understand the situation.

He opened the Catacombs category and confirmed the monsters he had access to.

And as expected, all of them were creatures from the game...

He also spent some time going around and exploring the functions of Dungeon Defense.

So after a few minutes, nodding his head, Bray said:

"Firstly, it seems both 'Dungeon Defense' and 'Dungeon Shaping' share the same 'environment', meaning my options are greatly limited."

"However, this may also open the possibility for more creatures to appear in the future, after all, despite me having the option for both the Catacombs and Mines, all enemies that appear within such environments in the game cannot be found here." Pointed Bray

'Why? Because they are powerful? There isn't even a single Boss type enemy in here…'

"And the game itself did not consist of both Catacombs and Mines… Nevertheless, in the end, there is nothing that guarantees me that I will get the other areas in the future, I may be stuck with these until the end…"

"As for the specifics, when I select a creature, I can actually customize it to a certain extent."

'I can change some of the equipment it can come with, and even its overall strength by spending more Mana Units during its creation.'

'I don't know exactly how it affects the creatures, but in the case of the skeleton soldiers, I can promptly change their armor and weapons for those of 'better' quality.' Though Bray

'Although, even the better ones still look like scrap…'

"But this is the most important part, not only can I 'buy' the creatures of said environments, but I can also buy some of those areas' exclusive 'drops'." Said Bray

"I can buy smithing stones and other materials from the mines, and I can even buy certain herbs and other items that were not acquirable in-game, seen previously as decoration."

"The curent selection of items is small and it's mostly useless for the time being, but I imagine that, if I do get more areas, the eventual selection of items will be so varied that it might get crazy."

'There is even a certain potential for growth into other sections, for example, what about gear that was not acquirable through mobs? Or even Talismans? Sorcery? Incantations?...'

'What about the merchants themselves?'

'It's a great 'if', but I would like to believe that one day, those will come into my possession.'

"It's best not to rush things and focus on what I have." Said Bray

"Currently, I have a cavern that is barely defendable. I don't know what's on the outside… No, I know, I am currently inside a mountain, directly below what M showed me earlier." Said Bray as he checked the map function

The map function showed not only the area of his Dungeon but also a decent area surrounding it.

"Apart from that, I am currently gathering this 'Mana' and I can use it to further increase my Dungeon and improve my defenses and combat power."

"What I need to figure out is… How to increase the amount of mana the Heart Stone gathers every minute…"

/Grumble…/

"... And how to find food." Said Bray as he thought

'Water is easy to find, I can just build a small underground Cave River and my water problems would be over… Here I found it in the Cave section.'

'As for food… The only thing I can eat is probably those Herbs.'

"Can I even eat those?" He said as he looked at the plants

But it was then that he remembered a certain prop he saw in the Mines section…

…

/A few minutes later…/

"I guess it worked…" Said Bray as he relaxed on a stone chair

In front of him was a small bonfire with a few sticks holding a small pot above the fire.

There was nothing inside the pot since this fatass had already devoured everything inside.

"But… I will have to find something else to eat soon, I don't know how long I will resist eating these stews made from unknown animals." Said Bray

That's right, on the 'Caves' section there was a prop called, Travelers Bonfire, which is described as the abandoned bonfire of a traveler. Its importance stems from the fact that there is a metal pot filled with stew inside.

Bray recognized these since many could be found throughout the game, otherwise, he might've not had the guts to eat whatever was inside.

For now, it is his most solid source of food.

"Slurp… Haa… Alright, I should be good to go for a while." Said Bray as he finished drinking a bit of water from his pot

Bray did not trust the river he created just because it looked fresh, he still filled his metal pot with water and allowed the water to boil for a little while. Becoming sick in this situation would make this cave his deathbed…

In fact, Bray realized he will get an iron pot every time he eats since he needs to create a new prop for the stew to appear… And the wood from the bonfire…

As for the price? It isn't much, 1 Unit, a bit too little for food but who is he to complain?

Perhaps it's because the stew is a prop and not a proper item? Was he cheating the system?

"Now, time to rock!" Said Bray with a smile

'I will make this Dungeon unbreachable.'

"It's a shame, but I only have enough for a few miners…"

'A few miners isn't going to change my fate if someone invades this place.'

'So firstly, I will increase this Dungeon size, to make it as confusing as possible so no one will reach the true center of this place, the room where the Heart Stone is. Pretty much, I will make a cave system and hide my room somewhere along the way.'

'There was no rule saying the Heart Stone needs to remain within a single room, so I will just create a few more paths and move deeper.' Though Bray as he studied the map

He had a great idea he wanted to try first, why not block the entrance to the cave?

Of course, he planned to leave a small opening so that air could get inside, he didn't want to suffocate.

But his hopes were quickly crushed when he realized he couldn't close the entrance, in fact, he could not block the main path to the room he was in.

The previous thin wall separating his room from the rest of the cavern broke on its own a few minutes ago, it actually scared Bray a bit.

"Why is that?" Asked Bray

He immediately started opening several paths toward many different areas, creating false falls and tunnels to mislead his enemies.

And by walking around, he found out why he couldn't close the entrance at all.

After thinking for a few minutes, Bray came to a conclusion.

"It seems there is a need to keep a path from the entrance to the Heart Stone at all times… What a shitty rule." Said Bray

'But it's not like I can't close most of it… I will force whoever decides to invade this Dungeon to crawl to get here.' Though Bray with a devious smile

So that's what he did, he turned the entire first section of the Dungeon into a narrow tunnel where someone would have to crawl to arrive at the next section of the Dungeon, where he filled it with many tunnels and false paths.

And it would be through a hidden hole in one of the path's ceilings, that someone would arrive at the room he is in…

What if they were fat? Sorry man, good luck next time.

"This should be enough for now." Said Bray as he checked the map

It was now several times bigger than before, with a lot of verticality, it wasn't pretty, but Bray was happy with his work.

Until he gets the hang of this, it's better to hide that this place is a Dungeon instead of making it clear.

"I was not really a fan of sandbox games, but this is quite entertaining." Said Bray

'Time for the second part of my plan…'

But his thoughts were interrupted by what he saw in the System window.

"Why did the mana gathered per minute increase?" Said Bray out loud as he read the value

[20.2 Units per minute]

It more than doubled!

"Perhaps… The Dungeon size corresponds to its ability to draw in Mana?"

'Hum… The Mana Retaining Factor actually decreased, it's now 9.2% instead of 10%, this means that a lower percentage of mana is being drawn into the Core/Heart Stone itself and is rather being dispersed into the environment.'

'Why?... Let's think outside the box, if the Heart Stone is a Cell, the Dungeon is its membrane, and Mana is water. This Dungeon attracts mana in a similar way as to a Cell's Osmosis.'

'And so, despite the bigger size, the concentration of mana in the caves never passed a certain threshold, as I can read here in the System window.

'However, the Retention Rate of mana to the Core decreased, probably because the amount of Mana being dragged around is bigger, but the Heart Stone suction power did not change being instead spread out around the place.'

'Is there no way to gather this energy? It's quite a waste to let it dissipate…'

Bray's questions would soon be answered…

CHAP 6 Mining Dungeon

"Yawww…" Yawned Bray as he sat on his stone chair after he finished expanding his Dungeon once more

His Dungeon changed once more, now being properly divided into 3 floors.

The first floor, the ground floor where the entrance is located, it's important to remember that the entrance to his Dungeon is located at the foot of a tall mountain, so the first floor is located inside the mountain and not necessarily below the ground.

The first underground floor, it can be easily accessed through many entrances scattered around the ground floor passageways, its main purpose shall be to stall and potentially eliminate any intruders.

And the Above ground floor where the Heart Stone is located. It can only be accessed by a hidden hole in the ceiling and it's where Bray plans to build his temporary base.

Temporary because he doesn't feel safe being so close to the entrance… One day, he will make his base at the deepest point of the Dungeon. But not now, since he has to use confusing tactics to make his enemies confused.

Not like he has any right now anyway.

'Because of everything that happened recently, I realized it has been close to two days since I last slept…'

'My grandfather's death, followed by all of the procedures in the cemetery and moving his things to my home… Plus my current situation…'

"I think… I need a nap… Urgently." Said Bray

'The problem is I don't have the guts to do so in this unknown environment…'

Bray looked behind him, there were a few stones and wooden pieces of furniture he customized in the Shaping section.

But the most important thing was the creature beside him.

"I'll have to trust you for now buddy." He said as he looked at the side

On his left, there was a massive snail with a white shell around half a meter tall.

It was pale white and it looked rather cute, it was a spirit caller snail.

This was the first creature he bought and there was a reason for it.

"These snails are masters of illusion, being capable of creating illusionary walls and ceilings."

'And most importantly, an illusion does not count as a barrier! I can use it to block both the entrances to my room and Dungeon.'

"Their most important ability is to call an illusionary creature to fight for them… As many times as they wish, pretty much, making them a renewable resource." Said Bray

'This one though is one of the weakest, it can only create a few walls and a single basic soldier, compared to the in-game Boss that can call a Crucible Knight, this one is trash.'

'But that was mainly due to my budget, a Spirit Caller snail costs around 500 Units, being part of the Catacombs section.'

'I actually spent more in order to create one that is capable of summoning these soldiers, giving me at least an extra edge.'

'So in this circumstance, if someone invades me, he will get trapped within the labyrinth below me and the snail will continuously call these spirit soldiers until the person dies of exhaustion.'

"Urg… I can think more after I take a nap, but for now, Sally will protect me won't you buddy?" Said Bray as he looked at the massive white snail

"..."

And as expected, the snail did not say anything, staring at him with its big eyes.

It actually had a snake head, making Bray rather confused as to what to call it.

But if the system called it a snail, a snail it is…

"ZZZzzz…"

Bray soon went to sleep on the stone bed, he was so tired he even felt a bit comfortable in it…

…

One Km away from the mountain Bray currently set base in, there was a rather big village in a green valley with a 4M tall stone wall surrounding it.

It had an old-style architecture, with the houses being close to the ground and rather sparse from each other.

The roads were mainly dirt and farm animals could be seen everywhere.

But this village seemed to be in the middle of an important transition, as you could see that in the middle of it, multiple stone houses had been built in a very organized fashion similar to those seen in modern times.

Proper stone roads were being installed, and if you looked closely, it seemed there was something similar to a sewer system being installed!

And more were on the way!

In that modern area was a rather tall metal tower with a circular metal ball on top, it was rather similar to weather towers on Earth…

What could it be?

…

/Creaak…/

Bellow the tower was a small wooden building.

Its peace was broken by an old man that opened its door…

"Napo? Are you there?" Asked the old man as he looked inside, seeing no one

"I'm here gramps! Making sure the papers don't get stuck like last time." Said a youthful voice from across the corner

The old man let out a sigh, hanging his hat and coat on a few hooks on the wall, he got inside the building.

The place was rather interesting as many machines similar to old computers could be seen.

Many levers made of wood and iron were scattered around the place, with so many buttons you would get dizzy from the sheer number.

"Any good news?" Asked the old man as he got past the corner, now seeing the young boy that talked with him previously

The boy was in front of a large printing machine that was slowly printing values onto a long sheet of paper.

There were already several rolls of paper on the ground beside the boy.

"Well… I've been checking this since morning but I did not see anything from the usual." Said Napo

'Best to get this over with, we only do this once a week anyway…'

"The only thing that got my attention was the rather large increase in mana concentration at the Yogh mountains."

"It's the Drakes migrating season, so the values are within the expected, doing a quick math seems to put the maximum at around 5.2%."

"How high is it now?" Asked the old man

"0.7%" Replied Napo

"Hum… We'll take a good look at it later." Said the old man as he grabbed a seat neat the boy to help him with the calculations

"Oh? Is this the Pig Lake readings?" Asked the old man

"That's right, I just started it before you arrived."

"Alright, I'll help you, control the machine while I do the calculations."

The boy nodded and soon, sounds of scribbles and machinery could be heard from the room

/And a few minutes later…/

"Hum… We'll have to send a team to Pig Lake… We need more accurate readings." Said the old man

"Is this what I think it is?" Asked Napo as sweat fell on his forehead

"Most likely, but we could be wrong, it's a rather recent Dungeon, so it makes sense for it to grow, the problem is that it stopped for close to half a year so we thought it had stopped growing, the Lord was even planning on taking the Heart Stone with him..." Replied the old man

"For now, we need to confirm if it is true…" He said as he got up from the chair

The boy followed soon after.

On the paper, there was a single value:

84%

…

/Back at the Dungeon…/

"Mmmngh… What a great sleep." Said Bray as he got up from his chair

Seeing the stone ceiling, he once again realized his old life was over.

"..."

He looked to the side and saw the Snail, who was most likely also taking a nap since it was curled up inside its shell.

'It makes me think, what sort of lifeform is this snail? And does it eat?'

"At least there weren't any invaders… Alright." Said Bray

'How long did I sleep this time?'

Bray opened the map and tried to see the position of the sun, he went to sleep when the sun was setting, and now, the sun was up in the sky again.

Yes the map showed the sun and moon, but it did not show other geographic landmarks, so he didn't know about the village.

"It's probably before 12Am but certainly after 6-7 Am." Said Bray as he got up from his stone chair

'Time to work…'

But his thoughts were interrupted when he saw something strange on the map.

"What is this… Purple crystal?" Asked Bray as he studied a strange rocky formation

Bray soon saw a small cristal near his bed, so he walked to it and grabbed it carefully.

[Mana Stone

Purity: Low

Value: 3.1 Units

Extra…

]

As Bray read the Extra description, he understood what this was.

"I get it now, the Mana dissipated into the environment will gather to make these."

'But how do I get the Heart Stone to absorb this? If that's even possible?'

The moment he thought as much, a golden tendril was released from the Heart Stone, engulfing the pieces around it before they retreated back into the stone.

"Okay, simple stuff."

'Now that I take a better look, I can even see some plants growing around the place in the caverns below me.'

'Hum… I have an idea.'

"Since these stones are going to be continually produced, that means they are a renewable resource, it just so happened that I have the perfect workforce to harvest them."

'It's time for another redesign! This time focus… A Mine Dungeon?'

Bray sat on his tone chair, studying the blueprints and planning out a Dungeon based around mining…

And just like, time passed like a flash, and a week flew by like the Drakes in the sky…

…

.

.

.

Notes

CHAP 7 Tier Up

"Hum… Things are looking good but I still lack one thing…" Said Bray as he looked at his Dungeon map

'I need a strong Boss-like monster… But the problem is that I don't have anything apart from the snails… but leaving it as a Boss seems quite wrong…'

Everything had changed, in a drastic way.

Firstly, the scale of the Dungeon had greatly changed, so much so Bray himself had difficulty remembering every single detail of it.

So let's go on a small tour, shall we?

From outside the Dungeon, the mountain still looked the same, however, the hole that led to his Dungeon completely disappeared.

Bray found out he could hide it with an illusion, so unless someone had a proper way to track it down, or was really lucky, there was no way for people to find it.

If you did enter, your first sight would be a normal-looking cave, going deeper would lead you to a dead-end, and in the future, he planned to add a monster in there to make it seem even more believable.

However, if you looked properly, behind a few bushes, you would see a thin crack in the wall where you could pass through, leading you to the… Mining Cave!

The reason why he didn't set another illusionary wall was that he didn't want their existence to be this… Obviously, the invader would think it was a one-off thing and let their guard down, missing other possible hidden walls.

As the name suggests, the mining cave is a system of pathways that extend far within the mountain, everywhere you could see Miners digging and transporting large baskets of Purple crystals somewhere.

However, they do not boast of any things such as traps and strong monsters, the strongest creature there being the Giant Sorcerer Miners located deeper in the Dungeon.

The Miners are mostly peaceful unless you are seen carrying any sort of ore, as they will become aggressive immediately to that, also, if they hear the call of a Torch-Wilding Miner, they will also rally to eliminate whatever disturbed them.

One miner is not a threat, their bodies are as hard as stone and they pack quite the punch with their pickaxes, but they are slow, very slow.

However, a mob of miners will easily overwhelm anyone, even more, when you add Giant Miners and Sorcerer miners that know how to cast the basic sorcery, Shatter earth.

If the invader passes through the miners, they will arrive at the second part of the Mining Caves and their first milestone, a giant hole several dozen Meters in Diameter going close to a hundred meters down.

Here, the only way down is through another complex maze of caves since there is no direct way down unless you jump of course.

The most interesting thing about this part is the fact that all of the miners are constantly dumping all of their baskets' contents into the hole, forming a small mountain of Purple crystals at the bottom.

And at the bottom, you will see several giant Miners dragging large baskets filled with the crystals on their backs down a dark cave…

"... And from there, the Giant Miners drag the ores to another room where Heart Stone is temporarily located." Said Bray

'This is not my final design as I plan to further boost the size of the Mining caves and their complexity in the future, after all, the bigger they are, the more crystals will grow…'

'At least that was the plan, but I can see that the retention rate of the core is nearing 0, and from what I learned this week, that would mean that even if I were to increase the size of the Dungeon, my income would not change.'

"It might be time for a Tier-Up."

'I also have plans to build a hidden section, the Catacombs, where I will hide the Heart Stone and my room, it's also my excuse for making use of the Catacombs' props and mobs.'

Bray looked at the Mana Crystal pile before he turned around and entered the dark pathway where the Giant miners were walking.

He went to the room where the Heart Stone was located and retrieved it, before going to a place hidden behind a large boulder.

There, he punched the wall, and it suddenly disappeared, showing a small cave with a wooden lift inside.

He stepped on it, pressing a button, and the lift immediately started to take him up.

This was a hidden path towards his room in case someone invaded, so he could quickly recover the Heart Stone and hide.

…

Bray arrived at a different area this time, there were clear traces of architecture and designs on the walls.

He made his way through the corridors, passing through many statues and even some traps he carefully avoided, arriving at a large room behind two metal doors.

"Time to Rank up." He said as he sat on a stone bed

After Bray found out about the Crystal stones, his overall Mana accumulation shot up.

Even now, he's making around 300 Units a minute despite the low Retention rate, and that is not even counting the Units gathered from the Crystals.

Thanks to that, he managed to gather more than enough currency to Tier-Up even though he spent a lot over the days.

"No more waiting." Said Bray as he pressed the screen

/Tremble!/

The Heart Stone in his hand immediately had a reaction as it started to shine brightly!

His System window closed on its own and he couldn't get it to re-appear.

Even his Dungeon started to tremble a bit…

"Am I even safe here?" Said Bray as he looked around the trembling cavern

'I should've set a few extra pillars just to be safe…'

…

/Half a minute later…/

The trembling slowly came to an end, as if it never happened.

Bray immediately tried to use the System as expected, he was successful.

"Tier 1, alright… How much for a Tier up?... 10… Million?"

Bray's expression distorted a little, but there was little he could do apart from accept.

"It's not that much, as time passes and the amount of Mana I get increases, this value will become nothing."

"What about the specifics?"

Bray checked the new and updated values, and he was pleasantly surprised.

Everything had increased…

Mana Absorption rate was now over 700 Units a minute while Mana Retaining Factor was around 10%. It looks small but the increase was considerable and there was space for growth… A lot of it.

But the most important thing was the rest… 'Dungeon Defense' and 'Dungeon Shaping'.

"Hum… It's still only Catacombs and Caves, I hope I have a few more options though…"

Bray opened his eyes wide.

"The price of all creatures increased... Why?... Did they get stronger?"

'I will have to check it later...'

Bray smiled as he read further into the list of creatures.

"Finally, I have a Boss worth protecting this place…" Said Bray as his eyes shined under the faint light of the torches…

…

/Back in the village's 'weather' tower…/

The Old man could be seen sitting on a chair, reading the paper being printed at high speeds by a machine.

On his side was a young man, operating the machine to make sure nothing went awry.

"Anything interesting gramps?" Asked Napo

"Nope, load in the next area results." Said the old man

/Clang!/

'Napo pulled a lever and inserted a small code on a series of runes on the machine, it creaked before a new stream of paper was released.'

"Hum… Interesting… HUM?"

"What is it gramps? Something interesting?" Asked Napo as he saw the old man's surprised expression

"... 6%... In one week." Said the old man

"What? Is this really correct? That's already over the predicted limit! It was even on half the usual time for the migration to end." Said Napo as his eyes shot up in surprise

"Could it be a new Dungeon?" Asked Napo with a lot of excitement

"Don't get your hopes up, we can't just assume things, and besides, we can't send someone to the Yogh mountains during the Drake's migration, it's suicide."

"Also, this peak in mana density may be due to the appearance of a King Drake." Said the old man

"King?! This much South?" Asked Napo in fear

"A king can sometimes be born even in a backwater place… For now, we wait." Said the old man as he got up from his chair

"We will do daily checkups on the Yogh mountain, even if it's a King Drake, the density won't pass 8% at most 9%, if it does, we can assume a Dungeon has appeared." Said the old man

"Why just assume and not confirm?" asked Napo

The old man let out a long sigh, shaking his head at the stupidity of his student.

"There can be many factors, another king, another creature, even an Emperor Drake…" Said the old man as his eyes shook

"Em-Emperor? What does that even mean?"

"... Forget about it kid, it isn't a creature we will ever see." Said the old man as he went to the door and put on his clothes

"Leaving already? There is still a lot to do…" Said Napo with a tired expression

"I'll pay you overtime." Said the old man

Napo happily turned around and continued to work, while the old man left the tower, closing the door behind him.

…

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Notes

CHAP 8 The adventure begins

/One more week later…/

"Is this the place?" Asked a man with a large sword on his back

"It's here, Yogh mountains." Said a man with two smaller hand axes on his waist, he was holding a detailed map of the area

He didn't seem too pleased though…

"Let's get this over as soon as possible guys, it's simple work, we did it several times before." Said the man with the sword on his back

"I hope it happens as you wish, Boss Uter… It's just that this time, we are doing it right after the Drakes passed through this place, not exactly a friendly place…" Said the last one of the trio, a small guy with a crossbow on his back

"The Drakes were confirmed to have left a few days ago completely, it's just that we are a week earlier than the reopening of the mountains." Said Uter

"But no more useless talking, Bulsh, give me the locator." Said Uter

The small guy kneeled on the ground and took out a large rod that was strapped to his back, giving it to Uter.

Uter removed the cloth from the rod, revealing a perfectly silver metal bat with a hole.

He picked a small Purplish stone and placed it inside the hole.

"What was the frequency code again Yhit?" Asked Uter

"-1.32'45'' and 2.11'23''." Said Yhit, as he took out a note from his pocket

The Boss nodded and started to turn some discs on the metal rod…

/Fium!/

When he finished, a blue beam of light was released by the stone on top of the rod for a few seconds before dissipating.

"Alright, did you record the position Yhit?" Asked Uter

Yhit did an 'okay' sight.

"We will walk a few more minutes and try again, Yhit will triangulate the position and we will follow it, just like always." Said Uter

"I hope it's precise, this map seems quite bad like that time on the border." Said Yhit

"Don't raise a flag, Yhit, I already had enough of that day." Said Bulsh

"Enough! Move out!" Said Uter

The trio soon departed on their adventure, they were clearly experienced as they braved through the forest while evading the wildlife and without getting hurt.

Within an hour, they crossed the forest and arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"... It's here but…" Said Yhit as he saw nothing but rock and some plants

"That's normal, we can't expect a map of a barely visited mountain to be precise." Said Uter

"I am having some vibes…" Said Bulsh

"Shut up Bulsh!" Said both Uter and Yhit at the same time

"Let's remain calm and end this quickly. We might be at the very edge of the Yogh mountains, but if there is a Drake left, he will easily hear us if we cause a commotion." Said Uter

The other two nodded, starting their adventure in search of the hidden door that was right in front of them.

----------

Bray, on the other hand, was greatly surprised to see people! Much less, they got so close to his door!

"They seemed to have been guided by someone… Right to my door… This isn't good." Said Bray as he scratched his head

'I am greatly surprised to see other people, but that's not the issue now. The people outside may have ways to track me and they probably used it to get here.'

Bray started to walk around the Crystal deposit room, thinking.

'Tracking me seems a bit redundant, after all, why would they do it?'

'So it must be this.' Thought Bray as he grabbed the Heart Stone

'Hum… It seems that the illusionary door has worked, but I don't know for how long.'

'I don't know what they are tracking, but even if I knew, how would I hide it? It might make things worse.'

Bray then remembered his talk with M.

'M said that Dungeons and Heart Stones were natural occurrences right? So it may be that.'

'Since I developed my Heart Stone, they might've locked their sight into this place.'

"The question is… Am I ready?"

'A lot changed in two weeks, but it may not be good enough for what's to come…'

'By looking at those guys, they seemed to be wearing standard medieval armor? Like swords and knives instead of guns and other stuff… It's a shame I can only see them and not hear them.'

'But I doubt I would even be able to understand their language.'

"I'll keep a watch on them, and focus on increasing the size of the Mining Caves since that's the main part they will explore."

'I will observe them for now and try to figure out their intentions...'

'I will also start to accumulate Mana in case of emergencies… More than what I already have. '

'Let's see what they will do…'

----------

…

The hours passed, the trio continued on their search for the entrance, they used the metal rod a few more times but it always pointed towards the same place…

This made them furious!

"BY THE CHEEKS OF THE SKY EMPRESS! IT'S BEEN 4 HOURS!" Said Bulsh

"Calm down Bulsh, if we don't find it, we can still go back and collect the payment, it would be their problem if they gave us wrong information." Said Uter

"Hum… But I find this strange." Said Yhit

"Look, every time, we are sent towards this location, even if we change the values a little, the overall area seems to be about this area of the mountain… This has led me to believe that… The entrance may be hidden." Said Yhit

"A hidden entrance? Wouldn't that mean?..." Said Bulsh

"Yes, this might be a 'special' Dungeon, only those are know to hide their entrances or to have some Uniqueness." Said Uter

"If that's the case, we need to properly inspect this location, let's get to work boys, we'll be camping here anyway." Said Uter

The two nodded, and they started to move plants and rocks out of their way, trying to find anything that might lead to an entrance…

------------

"... At this rate, they will find the entrance in no time…" Said Bray as he looked at the trio slowly making their way to the illusionary wall

He mixed real plants and rocks with the illusion, but if they were to mess around it would be easily dispelled, and they would find their way inside.

"If that's the case, between revealing the illusion and the entrance earlier…"

Bray made his choice.

------------

…

"Huuuf!" Said Bulsh as he pulled a large patch of vines

In front of him, a large hole could be seen…

"?! HEY! I THINK I…"

/SMACK!/

Bulsh was suddenly hit in the head by Yhit, who immediately told him to shut up.

"Bulsh, your head is truly made of mush." Said Uter as he tapped on his back

This pissed off Bulsh…

"It seems this is it, let's get inside for now."

…

The three made their way inside, disappointment soon followed.

"This can't be!" Said Bulsh as he looked at the dead-end

"Don't scream, let's take a proper look and see if there is another hidden passage." Said Uter

But they were suddenly interrupted...

/Tremble…/

"Holy shit that's big…" Said Bray as he looked at the massive creature that suddenly landed in front of the cavern

Its serpentine and scaly body seemed to weigh several tons, the two massive wings on its back were enough to engulf several people at once.

It had 4 pairs of legs with massive claws big enough to grab a person… And a massive head like that of a snake.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Uter, Bulsh, Yhit… The three mercenaries slowly turned their backs at the entrance of the cavern, gazing in fear at the massive creature in front of them.

"... Drake… Fuck." Said Bulsh

It was pure silence as if time had stopped, the serpentine creature looked at the three while they did the same to the Drake.

"Don't move… Drakes are super territorial but they are known to leave creatures they don't consider a threat behind, we just need to stay still until it leaves…" Whispered Uter

------------

"This is fucking cool!" Said Bray out loud from inside the Dungeon as he looked at the Drake

And since they were inside his Dungeon, he could fully hear them! He actually understood them!

What a fantastic sight…

------------

The Drake had a lot of difficulty getting inside the cavern due to its size, so it kept forcing the stone, making it crack.

"B-B-B-Boss… I don't think it's leaving… I-I-I-It seems very determined to get inside…" Said Yhit as he stuttered nonstop

"..."

Despite his silence, Uter was just as nervous as the other two, he knew Drake wanted to enter and probably devour one of them, but there was no way he could confirm who and how fast…

Even if someone attracted its attention, there was no guarantee the other two could run fast enough and enter the forest…

But trying is better than waiting, so Uter came up with a plan…

"There is one solution… To find a way out…" Said Uter to the other two

They nodded as they trembled, slowly walking and tapping the walls…

/CRACK!/

Suddenly, the Drake managed to get a pair of legs inside, and the cave started to tremble even more fiercely!

"B-BOSS! I FOUND A PASSAGE!" Screamed Bulsh as he entered a small crack he found hidden behind some vines

Yhit, who was close to him also did the same, leaving Uter behind as he ran to the crack…

/CRACK!/

"ROARR!" Screamed the Drake as it realized its food was scaping

The roar shook Uter, but he still ran to the crack, but he did not know where to go, he was too disoriented…

Just when he was about to be devoured, a pair of hands pulled him inside the crack!

/BANG!/

The Drake's mouth closed, crunching a large portion of the stone wall, but there was no sweet flesh…

Its prey had escaped…

/ROARRR!/

The Drake screamed towards the sky as it left the cave, anguished that it had lost a meal.

…

"HARF! URG!" Said Uter as he tried to recover his sense

"FUCK AHAHA! YEAH!!!" Screamed Bulsh

"I'm never coming to this place ever again." said Yhit

The trio had survived with very minor injuries, a bit of mental damage but that was okay.

"Urg… It's not over, where are we?" Asked Uter as he looked around, still a bit dizzy

The other two looked at the walls and they saw torches and wooden pillars…

They also heard the faint noise of something crashing against stone.

"This is… Similar to a mining tunnel?" Said Bulsh

"I think… We found the Dungeon Boss." Said Yhit

The trio survived one disaster, could they survive the next one?

All of this and more, next chapter!

…

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Notes