Reed woke up staring at himself.
Not in a mirror.
In a crystal.
Light pulsed sluggishly behind translucent facets, like a heartbeat seen through ice. The thing was easily four times his height, rooted in the middle of a cavern, jutting out of the stone like some giant had tried to jam a gemstone into the earth and given up halfway.
The color was wrong, too. Not just one hue—swirls of blue, violet, and faint gold chased each other under the surface like lazy lightning.
Reed stared at it for a long moment.
The crystal stared back, because his reflection was right there in one of the larger facets: hair mussed, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted.
"…Huh," he said. His voice echoed weirdly in the cave. "That's… new."
The last thing he remembered was not caves or crystals.
It was rain on asphalt. Headlights. The scream of brakes. The kind of flash of pain that didn't really feel like pain because his brain hadn't had time to file the paperwork yet.
Then: nothing.
Now: this.
He looked down at himself.
Still had hands. Good. Still had legs. Good. Standard-issue human body, more or less. He wore simple clothes: dark trousers, sturdy boots, a plain tunic under a short coat, all in muted browns and blacks. Functional, not stylish.
He patted his chest, then his face, then his pockets. No phone. No wallet.
No blood, either. So that was something.
"Okay," Reed muttered. "I'm… somewhere else. Fantasy cave. Big magic rock. Either I lived, the hospital's really committed to a theme, or…"
A small chime rang inside his skull.
A translucent blue square snapped into existence in front of his face.
> [BOOT SEQUENCE COMPLETE]
Welcome, NEW DUNGEON CORE.
Avatar status: ONLINE.
Please remain calm while we finalize your existential crisis.
Reed froze. "Oh, good. A tutorial."
Words scrolled across the screen in tidy, smug letters.
> [PRIMARY IDENTIFIERS]
Name (Avatar): REED
Core ID: #D-0731 – UNREGISTERED
Location: Subterranean chamber – Proximity: Human settlement (Designation: TBA)
Status: Operational (Low-Level)
He stared at the words "Dungeon Core" for a second too long.
Then he turned very slowly to look at the crystal again.
"…That's me?"
The crystal pulsed once, softly. The color surged brighter for a moment—like someone's heart skipping a beat.
Another window popped.
> [CORRECTION]
You are the Avatar.
The crystal is the Core.
Together, you are the Dungeon.
Try not to drop either.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Okay. I died and came back as… a basement."
Silence, except for a faint, constant hum running through the stone. Like the cave itself was breathing.
No, not the cave.
Him.
If he stopped talking and actually listened, he could feel… connections. Invisible threads stretching out from the crystal and digging into the rock around them. A faint awareness of empty spaces beyond this chamber: tunnels, pockets of stone, veins of ore. A yawning blank slate that wasn't quite formed yet, just potential.
It felt like having extra limbs that were asleep. Pins and needles in his soul.
Another window blinked up.
> [INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
You have been selected as the human avatar of Dungeon Core #D-0731.
Your responsibilities include:
– Not dying (again).
– Developing your dungeon.
– Managing your monsters and structures.
– Interacting with the local ecological & socio-political environment.
Failure to perform may result in:
– Core degradation.
– Seizure by external entities.
– Permanent non-existence.
Have a productive cycle.
"Great," Reed said. "I got reincarnated as a job description."
He waved a hand in front of the blue panel. It followed his gaze like a particularly persistent notification. When he thought 'go away,' it politely minimized into a small icon in the corner of his vision.
"Okay, that's… something." He took a breath. "Let's gather data before I start panicking."
He turned away from the crystal and took stock of the chamber.
The room was roughly circular, maybe twenty meters across. The ceiling arched up into darkness. Irregular stone columns jutted from floor to roof around the edges, like natural supports. The floor near the crystal had been smoothed, almost polished; further out, it was rougher, studded with smaller rocks.
Simple stone doorways—just rough openings—gaped in three directions, like mouths waiting to be filled with teeth. Beyond them: darkness, and that sense of unformed potential.
The air was cool and dry, faintly metallic.
He noticed something else then: there was no obvious source of light, but the place wasn't pitch-black. The crystal, his crystal, shed a gentle glow that bathed the chamber in soft blues and violets.
"Fancy mood lighting," Reed muttered. "Ten out of ten, would haunt again."
Another chime.
> [BASIC INTERFACE UNLOCKED]
Commands available:
– Status
– Core View
– Map
– Construction
– Summon (Locked)
Spoken, mental, or gesture input accepted.
"Status," Reed said automatically.
The panel obligingly unfolded into a larger window.
> [STATUS – AVATAR]
Name: Reed
Role: Dungeon Avatar
Level: 1
HP: 100 / 100
MP: 50 / 50
STR: 8
AGI: 9
VIT: 10
MAG: 7
RES: 8
LUCK: 10
Titles:
– [Newborn Core's First Mistake]
– [Previously Dead (Verified)]
Traits:
– [Human Perspective]: Increased empathy for non-dungeon entities.
– [Linked to the Heart]: If Avatar HP reaches 0, you respawn at the Core. Penalties apply.
– [Hands]: You have them. Use them.
He squinted at the "Titles" section.
"First mistake?" he repeated. "That's rude."
The window did not apologize.
Still, it was information. HP, MP, stats… it was like a game interface, but the weight in his chest said this was no simulation. Whatever had pulled him here had a sense of humor, but the stakes were very real.
"Map," he tried.
A top-down layout appeared: the central circle labeled [CORE CHAMBER], three short corridors leading to blank fog.
> [MAP – F1]
Floor: 1
Rooms: 1
Corridors: 3
Unformed area: 94%
"Minimalist," he said. "Nice."
He focused on one of the corridor-ends and thought, expand.
A new tab slid in.
> [CONSTRUCTION – F1]
Dungeon Mana (DM): 0
Core XP: 0
Available rooms:
– Small Cavern (5 DM)
– Narrow Hall (3 DM)
– Dead-End Nook (1 DM)
Available features:
– Rock Piles (0 DM)
– Rough Terrain (0 DM)
– Decorative Stalagmites (0 DM)
Acquire DM to construct.
"Right. Need mana to build. Need intruders to get mana. Need a dungeon to attract intruders." Reed exhaled slowly. "Cool little bootstrap paradox we've got going."
Fitfully, a faint itch crawled along the back of his mind. It wasn't sight, not exactly, more like… pressure.
He closed his eyes.
Beyond stone, past the raw rock, there was… something. A presence. A wash of living energy above them, like heat through a ceiling. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of small motes moving around somewhere up there: people. Animals. The world.
> [CORE VIEW – LOCAL AREA]
Proximity: Human settlement detected.
Distance: Moderately close.
Classification: Town (Small).
Potential:
– Adventurer traffic: Likely.
– Economic impact: Positive, if not slaughtering everyone.
He snorted. "That's comforting."
He opened his eyes again, gaze falling back to the crystal.
For the first time, he noticed faint lines etched into the floor around it—concentric circles and branching channels carved into the stone, filled with a darker material that drank the light. It looked like someone had made a ritual circle and then decided to embed a skyscraper-sized gemstone on top of it.
"So," Reed said slowly. "I'm in a world with magic, dungeons, a nearby town, and a system UI. I am a dungeon. The dungeon is me. And I have no monsters, no traps, and no mana."
He paused.
"…On the plus side, rent's cheap."
A small, unfamiliar laugh tried to bubble up in his throat and came out as a shaky breath. The absurdity was the only thing keeping a real freak-out at bay.
He dragged a hand through his hair and turned in a slow circle, scanning the chamber again for anything System hadn't told him.
Stone. Crystal. Openings.
No doors. No stairs. No "Exit This Nightmare" menu.
"If this is reincarnation, it seriously needs a support line," he muttered.
> [EMOTIONAL STABILITY CHECK]
Status: Acceptably functional.
Suggestion:
– Begin basic development.
– Acquire DM.
– Summon first minion.
Warning:
– Unattended Cores have high mortality within first 30 days.
"Okay, okay, I get it," he said. "Work now, existential spiral later."
He took a step away from the crystal. Then another. His boots scraped against the stone, the sound oddly loud in the quiet.
He reached one of the tunnel mouths and peered in.
It was black. The Core's glow didn't reach far, and the darkness seemed to push back, thick and heavy, like uncarved wood. When he focused, the Map UI overlaid faint dotted lines where future corridors could go.
He turned his head the other way. The other two exits looked the same.
"Question," Reed said. "How exactly do I get mana with no monsters? Do I just… charge admission at the front door?"
The System obliged with another window.
> [DM GENERATION]
Sources:
– Intruders triggering dungeon functions (combat, traps, exploration).
– Environmental mana seep: negligible at current levels.
– Emotional resonance from bound entities: 0 detected.
– Direct infusion from external entities: 0 detected.
Recommendation:
– Summon basic minions.
– Construct minimal rooms/traps once DM > 0.
– Encourage safe lower-level exploration to create recurring traffic.
"Summon," Reed said, honing in on that word.
The Summon tab expanded.
> [SUMMON]
Dungeon Mana (DM): 0
Available templates (Locked by DM cost):
– Goblin (5 DM)
– Slime (5 DM)
– Wolf (8 DM)
– Bat (3 DM)
– Skeleton (10 DM)
Monster spawning currently disabled: Insufficient DM.
Of course.
He rubbed his temples. "So I need DM to summon monsters. I need monsters to get DM. I need DM to expand. I need expansion to attract adventurers. Is there a tutorial mode where the universe throws me a bone?"
For the first time, the blue interface flickered.
A tiny progress bar appeared at the bottom of his vision, inching from 0 to 100%.
> [TUTORIAL EVENT – INITIAL SEED]
Condition met:
– New Core with no existing structures or monsters.
– Proximity to human settlement confirmed.
– Avatar successfully initialized.
Reward:
– Starter DM: 10
– Monster Template Adjustment: APPLIED
Reed froze. "Wait. Adjustment?"
The Summon panel updated.
The monster list flickered once, the text blurring for a heartbeat before snapping into new shapes.
> [SUMMON – TEMPLATES UPDATED]
Dungeon Mana (DM): 10
Available templates:
– Goblin Girl (5 DM)
– Slime Girl (5 DM)
– Wolf (8 DM)
– Bat (3 DM)
– Skeleton (10 DM)
Note:
– All humanoid-compatible templates have been standardized to Monster Girl variants.
– Reason: [ERROR – COSMIC FLAG: "THIRSTY AUTHOR"]
Reed stared.
He blinked once. Twice.
"Monster… girl," he repeated.
The System helpfully popped a small info bubble over the first entry.
> [Goblin Girl]
Role: Basic melee/trap assistant.
Intelligence: Above average goblin.
Temperament: Volatile, loyal if managed properly.
Additional Note: Clothes not included by default. Recommend equipping.
His mouth opened, shut, then opened again.
"Is—" Reed started, then stopped. "Is the System roasting me?"
Silence.
He looked up at the crystal, as if expecting it to answer. It just pulsed gently back at him, bathing him in soft color.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. So. Let me summarize. I died, got reincarnated as a dungeon avatar, and my first summon options are basic mobs reskinned as monster girls. With personalities. And… questionable wardrobe."
If this had been a game, he'd have called it power fantasy trash and clicked anyway.
Now, feeling the faint hum of the Core through his boots, the idea landed differently. These wouldn't be disposable mobs that despawned when their HP hit zero. They'd be… people. Sort of. Whatever counted for "people" in this world.
He licked his lips, suddenly aware of how dry his throat was.
"Can they refuse orders?" he asked quietly.
> [OBEDIENCE PARAMETERS]
Monster girls are:
– Bound to the Core.
– Naturally inclined to follow Core and Avatar commands.
However:
– They possess independent minds, emotions, and preferences.
– Loyalty and morale affect obedience.
– Mistreatment may result in:
• Disobedience.
• Inefficiency.
• Hostile incidents.
Suggestion:
– Treat them as subordinates, not disposable assets.
– High loyalty yields higher performance.
Reed felt something in his chest loosen.
"Okay," he said softly. "Okay. We can work with that."
Monster girls. A glitched template. A system that came with warnings about their feelings.
It could have been worse. He could've been a feral core with no say in anything. He could've been a skeleton stuck in a wall. He could've just… not woken up at all.
He exhaled slowly.
"All right," he said. "Let's meet the neighbors."
He focused on the Summon panel. The DM total—10—glowed in the top corner.
Two options he could afford right now: Goblin Girl (5) and Slime Girl (5).
Cheap, basic, probably essential. Starter pack.
"Goblin or Slime," Reed muttered. "Rude gremlin engineer, or clingy healing puddle."
He hesitated. The responsible part of his brain said slime healer first, keep everyone alive. The part still grappling with the words "clothes not included by default" said other things, which he firmly ignored for now.
"Goblin Girl," he decided. "If I'm building from zero, I need someone who can actually build."
He selected the template with a thought.
The air in front of the Core thickened.
A circle of faint light traced itself on the stone floor a few meters away, lines etching themselves into reality with a quiet hiss. Complex shapes unfurled like blooming flowers: runes, geometric patterns, an elaborate summoning circle that looked impressive enough to charge a ticket for.
Reed took a few steps back, heart thumping now—not from pain or fear, but anticipation. The Core's glow intensified, pulsing in time with the circle.
> [CONFIRM SUMMON]
Monster: Goblin Girl
Cost: 5 DM
Remaining DM: 5
Proceed? Y/N
He swallowed.
"Proceed," he said.
DM dropped from 10 to 5.
The circle flared.
Light surged up, a column of greenish-yellow radiance that filled the cavern. Reed threw up an arm to shield his eyes, even though the glow didn't actually burn. It felt… thick, like warm fog, carrying the scent of metal, oil, and something sharp and wild.
Silhouettes flickered inside the light. Not a shapeless blob—something humanoid. Shorter than him, compact. He could make out the line of shoulders, curve of hips, a messy tangle of hair.
The light snapped inward like a held breath finally exhaled.
Something landed on the stone with a heavy boot-thump and a muttered curse.
Reed dropped his arm.
There, standing in the middle of the still-glowing summoning circle, was a girl.
Green skin. Yellow eyes. Short, stocky build with corded arms and thighs, muscle under curves. Dark hair hacked into a messy bob around her jaw. A pair of goggles sat crooked on her forehead. Leather straps crisscrossed her torso, holding an assortment of tools and pouches. A short, battered top left a strip of toned midriff visible, and her shorts looked like they'd lost an argument with a pair of scissors.
She blinked once, twice, then planted her hands on her hips and glared up at him.
"Well," she said, voice rough and surprisingly husky. "About damn time someone turned the lights on down here."
Her gaze flicked to the crystal behind him, then back to Reed. She jabbed a thumb at her own chest.
"Name's Grika," she declared. "Goblin engineer. You the idiot rock that summoned me, or just the pretty face they stuck on the front?"
Reed's brain supplied exactly three coherent thoughts:
1. The System hadn't been kidding about "monster girl."
2. The top really was doing the bare minimum.
3. "Pretty face" might be the most flattering thing anyone had called him in years.
His mouth worked.
"I, uh," he said. "Yes. Both. Dungeon core and… pretty face, apparently. I'm Reed."
Grika squinted up at him, like she was evaluating a particularly questionable piece of equipment.
Then, slowly, a grin spread across her face—sharp, toothy, delighted.
"Well, Reed-the-rock," she said. "Congratulations."
She slapped the side of the summoning circle with her bare foot, the sound echoing.
"You just hired yourself the best damn goblin this side of the bedrock. Try not to get us both killed in the first week, yeah?"
Behind Reed, the crystal pulsed, sending a faint warm buzz through his bones.
Another window chimed gently at the edge of his vision.
> [FIRST MINION SUMMONED]
Goblin Girl – Grika
Role: Engineer / Basic Melee
Loyalty: 15 (Curious)
Morale: 12 (Relieved to exist)
DM Generation Potential: Active
New Objective:
– "Make the dungeon not suck."
Reed stared at the notification, then at Grika, who was already wandering off toward the nearest stone wall, muttering about load-bearing structures.
He exhaled a laugh that came out a little hysterical.
"Right," he said under his breath. "Dungeon Daddy, day one."
He rolled his shoulders, squared them, and followed his first monster girl into the unfinished dark.