As is waking up in strange new places! Speaking of which...

I came back to myself slowly, groggy after yet another planer jump. I groaned, keeping my eyes closed as I was hit by an intense bout of nausea. Holding on to my lunch (just), the feeling eventually subsided.

My eyes peeled open slowly, and, groaning, I pushed myself to my feet, looking blearily around. Grey, uniform stone made up the walls and ceiling. Pillars of the same material were placed in the corners of the room, sconces were set into each pillar, burning with a flickering light, the only sources of illumination. Other than the pillars, the walls lacked any signs they’d been carved by tools. A second inspection brought a problem to my attention. Huh. No doors. Like, at all…

The complete lack of exits was concerning, and I probably would’ve made more of a fuss were it not for the floor and at the pedestal in the middle of the room. Black and white tiles formed a spiralling pattern radiating out from a central pedestal, a monolithic pillar made from alternating bands of black obsidian and white marble.

It could’ve been, if not beautiful, then at least visually striking, but the instability inherent in the whole tableau lent the scene a deeply unsettling edge. The floor was in a constant state of flux, swathes of the floor constantly shifting and changing from black to white, or from white to black. It was as if the two colours were competing for territory, both kept in check by their opposite, forever locked in stalemate.

Like the floor, the pillar was also a battlefield of shifting colours. White marble shifting to black obsidian, only to shift back seconds later, the ground claimed by obsidian ceded to a pursuing band of marble.

Cautiously, I padded forwards, making my way to the pillar. Usually, I enjoyed a visually striking visual metaphor as much as the next ma… errrrrr, wolf, but a small kernel of dread was starting to form in the pit of my stomach. Spurred on by the feeling of an impending disaster should whatever the fuck was happening be left to continue, I picked up the pace. “I better be right about this…”

I wasn’t expecting any form of response as I padded towards the pillar, but the soft, weak voice I heard caused my hackles to rise.

“Help… me…”

The voice was distorted and slightly muffled, sounding as if it came from within the pillar itself. Something about it resonated within me, my protective instincts of my new bestial body kicking into overdrive. Defend the pack…

A low growl filled my throat as I crossed the remaining distance in a matter of moments. I raised my arms, razor-sharp claws gleaming in soft light as I prepared to tear into the pillar, but paused as the bands before me rippled and parted, revealing an inner alcove inside the pillar.

Inside the small cubby was a black gemstone illuminated from within by a soft, white light. The gem was roughly the size of a chicken egg, and was suspended in the space by a finger-thick line of obsidian coming from above and the same thickness of marble coming from below.

Reaching into the cubbyhole, my hand reached tentatively towards the gem. I was expecting it to be cold, but as my hand wrapped around it, I found it to be incredibly warm to the touch. As soon as I touched the gem, a notification window opened in front of me.

Welcome, Dungeon Lord.

A quirk in your method of arriving on this world has allowed you to achieve the unthinkable, combing separate powers from both the light and the dark into one cohesive whole, potentially greater than the sum of its parts. Your new Adaptive Dungeon It is the first of its kind on this world, its core infused with the power of both the light and the dark in equal measure.

This uncharted path you walk has the potential to lift you up, making you one of the great powers of this world. That being said, the path is not without its pitfalls. There will be problems and challenges you must overcome. The consequences for failing to live up to your potential and stumbling from the path will be dire.

Before you can begin the process of setting up your Dungeon, you must make a choice. The powers of light and dark are not well known for playing nice together. The core you have created is inherently unstable, and, unless you intervene, it will soon tear itself apart as the two sides fight for dominance. You must therefore pick a side, granting one complete dominance over the other.

Picking a side will have far-reaching consequences, both for you, and for your dungeon.

The Light

Choosing the light will place the potential for growth above immediate power. You will start considerably weaker, with harsher restrictions on the rooms you can create and the creatures you fill them with. As a light aligned dungeon, you will have the ability to build resource rooms, allowing for potentially unlimited stream of resources.

<u>Starting Dungeon statistics</u>:

• <u>Starting Power rating</u>: G.
• <u>Potential Power</u>: SSS.
• <u>Growth Speed</u>: A.
• <u>Room Boons</u>: You will be able to set variable difficulty in your rooms based on a delver’s strength and intentions. You can build resource rooms, which will generate a steady stream of resources such as ores, wood, and herbs. The cost of generating loot is greatly reduced.
• <u>Room Restrictions</u>: You cannot build **** Rooms, Breeding Rooms, Raid Coordination Room, and Summoning Pits.
• <u>Dungeon Creature Boons</u>: Your creatures will be considerably cheaper to generate via Dungeon Points. The creatures born or generated in your Dungeon will have their own potential for growth. Dungeon-bound Creatures killed within the limits of the Dungeon will respawn after a set time has passed.
• <u>Dungeon Creature Restrictions</u>: Creatures in this dungeon must have at least Lvl 1 Sapience in their non-Dungeon form. Basic Creatures cannot leave the dungeon. Restricted to Therionic race creatures until further options are unlocked. Unlocking new creatures for your dungeon requires specific requirements to be fulfilled.

The Dark

Choosing the dark will place immediate power ahead of future potential and growth speed. You will have access to a wider range of rooms and creatures, both of which will be considerably more powerful than what would be available to the light. Whilst a dark aligned Dungeon cannot generate resources itself, you will have the ability to send your minions out on raids, allowing them to gather whatever is needed.

<u>Starting Dungeon statistics</u>:

• <u>Starting Power rating</u>: C.
• <u>Potential Power</u>: A+.
• <u>Growth Speed</u>: D.
• <u>Room Boons</u>: Breeding rooms will allow you to care for the physical needs of captured breeding stock, generating a steady stream of minions without the need for Dungeon Points. Raid Rooms will allow you to coordinate and control minions at a distance, expending you reach well past the borders of your Dungeon.
• <u>Room Restrictions</u>: You cannot build Resource Rooms, Recreational Rooms, Crafting Rooms, and a Greeting Hall.
• <u>Dungeon Creature Boons</u>: You will gain immediate access to Tier three and below creatures from any monster type. You will start with enough Dungeon Points to form a sizable raiding ****. Creatures born or generated in your Dungeon are guaranteed to be loyal to you.
• <u>Dungeon Creature Restrictions</u>: Generating creatures with the use of Dungeon Points is incredibly expensive. Creatures born or generated in your Dungeon are unable to increase in level, the exception being creatures you sire personally.

Reading quickly, I went through both options, trying to keep an open mind. It was quickly apparent which I’d pick, but I read to the end anyway, making sure I hadn’t missed anything. Yup, I have zero interest in **** and pillaging, and, even if I did, pretty sure that violates at least one of my oaths. Well, maybe a little interest in pillaging, but that’s beside the point. Light side it is.

There was no need for me to select anything. As soon as I chose the option in my mind, the room began to change, colour leaching from most of the tiles until the shifting patches of equal black and white settled to a sea of white highlighted with swirling patterns of black.

I withdrew my hand as the pillar too started sifting, morphing into a chest-high rectangular block of the solid marble, the edges of which were inlaid with leftover bands of obsidian. On top of the pillar, set into a small fitting, was the Dungeon core. It, too, had changed, the inner light it had given off previously now glowing much stronger. I leaned in to get a closer look, intrigued.

“EEEEEWWWWW!!! DOG BREATH! No! Down! Bad dog!” *THWAP*

There was a bright flash of light right in front of my face as I felt something bap me on the snout. I took a surprised step back, looking around wildly for whatever had hit me and whoever made the noise. My brow furrowed in confusion as I found the room just as empty of other people as it had been before.

Taking a tentative step back towards the core, my foot brushed against something. I looked down at what appeared to be a rolled up newspaper. A nudge of my foot was enough to unfurl it, revealing the front page. Tilting my head to the side, I tried to read the headline. Really big dog tries to eat innocent core…? Whaaa….

“Awwwwwww, the head tilt thing! Cuuuuuuuute! Maybe you’re not all that bad. Sorry boy! Just, like, breathe in another direction?”

My eyes shot back up to the core, noting how the internal light seemed to brighten in time with each word spoken. The voice was feminine, the way she spoke giving me the impression of a person with boundless energy and enthusiasm. I opened my mouth to speak, but the core cuts me off, chatting away happily.

"I can’t actually smell anything, but your breath probably stinks reaaaally bad. Oh, by the way, can you tell your master that the glorious… wait, haven’t picked a name yet. Hmmmm, maybe something cool? Liiiiiike… Thunder Dragon! Nope, that’s not it. Lets go wiiiith… Dark Chaos! Errrm, naaah. How about…"

Shaking my head, I finally got over my confusion, cutting off the core before she could try out any more awful, edgy names. “I think there has been some confusion here.” The core gasped and stopped chattering for a moment, then, in a voice filled with awe, she said, “Holy shit, the dog is talking…”

Chucking, I shook my head. “I’m no dog. Technically, I’m currently a werewolf, but I was human before this. That’s a long story. All that maters for the moment is that we are in a dungeon, you’re its core, and I’m its…”

Before I could finish, she cuts me off yet again, this time in a voice filled with dread. “Dungeon Master… wait, no… Dungeon Lord! I just bonked the Dungeon Lord, right on the schnoz! I’m so fucked!” I opened my mouth to reassure her, but didn’t get a chance.

“I’msosorrypleasedon’tEATmeIdidn’tmeanitpleaseforgivemeeeeeeI'msosorrrrrryyyyyyyy!”

Surprised by the outburst and the genuine distress in her voice, I replied in a soft, reassuring tone. “I’m not going to eat you.” There was a pause as she processed this, followed by a very soft, “…Promise?”

A smile touched my lips before I replied. She was kinda adorable. “I promise.” She sighed in relief, pausing only moments before she started speaking once again, her voice bright and chipper. “Wait? You’re the Dungeon Lord. That means you’re the one who helped me fight off that mean bitch and freed me, right?”

“If by freeing you, you mean picking the light side, then yeah. Wait, mean bitch?”

“Oh yeah, she was awful! Kept saying how you’d pick her over me, and how the two of you would take over the world. Bla-bla-bla our enemies will be a pile of corpses upon which we build our future together, bla-bla-bla. All really grizzly stuff! I’ve had to deal with that bitch for my whole life! And now she’s gone! Locked away! Woohoo, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

I paused, slightly taken aback by the core’s rapidly changing moods. “…It’s fine, we’re all good. I’m glad I could help.” Suddenly curious, I asked, “How long were you trapped away?” Taking a moment to think about it, she instead replied with a question of her own. “Hmmm, what date is it?” About to tell her I didn’t know, I paused, a number appeared at the top right of my vison. Ah, HUD. Well, that’s handy.

“Errrr, apparently the 23rd day, 7th month, and 376th year of the 4th age. About 5 minutes after midnight.”

“Hmmmmmmmmmm, then I’d say… about five minutes?”

I Sighed explosively, rubbing at my temples in a pre-emptive attempt to alleviate the headache I knew would be coming on shortly. Summoning up my vast stores of patience, I set about questioning the equal parts adorable and infuriating core, determined to find out just what I’d been dropped in to.