I don't know how much time passed while I was inheriting Layfon's memories. But I guess it's about lunch time. So…from when I woke up…I guess I've been in this world for about four hours now.
I'll say, it is a weird experience gaining a whole 'nother set of memories. I'm thankful it wasn't as painful as stories usually depict it, but it left me in this weird semi-lucid state. Was this what being high was like? Or stoned? Is there a difference? My memory is all fuzzy, but I think I tried to eat the DC because I was curious what it tasted like.
Still, my mind begins to clear and I find myself lying on the floor.
"What happened," I ask as I start to rise.
"Due to higher brain function being preoccupied in processing Layfon Drogo's memories, you were unable to think clearly," my Attendant simply states as she leans over the couch's backrest to stare at me. "You figured that you had nothing to do and decided to wait, but continued to forget that you were waiting or what was going on. I needed to repeat the current situation to you five times. Between which, you spent wandering the apartment, tasting various things because you forgot what they were, and thought you were trapped because you couldn't open any of the doors – pulling when you needed to push. After I explained it again, you kinda just decided to wait, but then you'd forget again and go back to wandering before asking me what was going on again."
Smacking my lips, the Attendant's explanation would explain the weird taste in my mouth. Speaking of…
"Hey, I've been referring to you as 'girl' and 'Attendant' in my head, but do you have an actual name?"
The girl shook her head. "I do not. As I am only you assistant, I do not have a name. If the Host would so choose to give me one, I would gladly accept it."
I shrug. "Okay. Then, from now on, your name is Alice."
"Alice," she asked – tilting her head in confusion.
"Not sure why, I keep having 'the Red Queen' in my head and that leads me to Alice in Wonderland. Good as anything else."
Alice smiled brightly. "Then, from hence forth, I shall be known as Alice."
Smiling myself, I ask, "So, what now?"
"First, I will clarify that the Beginner's Gift has bestowed Host with the properties of Inventory and Analyze. Inventory is a subspace. At its current size, it can hold up to twenty items that fall under the description of 'non-sentient mass'. This applies to most anything so long as it does not contain an individual consciousness; dead bodies, plants, eggs, statues, etc. But not living people, animals, self-aware AI, etc. Meanwhile, Analyze is a power that allows Host to check the rank and properties of an item; this has the added benefit of potentially bringing in new properties and resources to the dungeon. To use these abilities, mentally will them within your mind. Please, test Inventory."
I do as ask and focus on 'Inventory'. When I do, a small panel opens to the corner of my vision.
"Very good! Now, you will notice, there are already two items in your Inventory. The first is the 'Home Stone'. Using this, you can teleport back to MY ROOM, but the stone requires twenty-four hours to recharge. Beside that is the Dungeon Card. In addition to items, Inventory can also contain an unlimited amount of wealth. It can be extracted manually or you can use the Dungeon Card like a cred it card to withdraw from it."
"Sweet. Now, I guess I should try Analyze?"
However, Alice shook her head. "I am afraid not. There is nothing here worth Analyzing and nothing connected to the Dungeon Interface is targetable. Instead," she suddenly shifted from matter-of-fact to excited, "the next step is choosing your dungeon location!"
Going along with it, I walk back around, grab the DC off the table, and plop myself down on the couch beside Alice. Pressing down on the 'menu button'/Invader logo, the DC seems to turn on and my TV along with it.
In a moment, I am introduced to a welcome screen that shifts to a blue background, a holographic globe shifted to one side, a crack or lightning bolt in the middle, a sort of pillar to the other side, and the Invader logo in the upper right-hand corner.
"Before you," Alice started to explain, "is an image of the Earth, Great Divide, and Alber. Please, use the joysticks on the DC to select one and then press the X button to choose it. If you change your mind, you can go back with the O button."
Taking this in, I turn to ask, "So, this is all about where I set up shop, right? Where ever I set up is it. I can't move it or anything and just have to do my best?"
Alice tilted her head. "Once a dungeon has been placed, it cannot be moved. Gradually it will grow stronger and expand. However, to be clear, once you reach the next stage or level as an Invader, you will be able to create a second Dungeon."
"I will?
"Yes. So please, feel free to set it wherever you like."
"Is this a think like, there'll be a dungeon core and I'll die if it gets broken or something?"
"No. While your death will deactivate the dungeons, the reverse is not true. However, if a dungeon is destroyed it will require an investment to repair."
"Okay then." Looking between my three options, I consider how this might go. The first things that go through my head is that Alber is a world of fantasy. Setting up shop there might be good, but given how new all this is, I might get overwhelmed. Earth is the inverse where I can probably set up anywhere. The Great Divide is a bit of a wild card; it's out of the way and hidden but there's no telling who might stumble upon it. Given the purpose of the dungeon and my knowledge of the story, I can narrow things down. However, there's somethings I should clarify…
"So, I think I know where to set up, but do you think you could clarify what happens after that? Like, am I supposed to get people to invade the dungeon or am I supposed to hide it?"
"A bit of both I would say," Alice said thoughtfully. "Unless you possess the means to build up your own forces, the dungeon will provide you with allies to build your own group with. You gain resources and rewards by luring in intruders and vanquishing them, but this puts your own forces at risk."
"So, it's a question of how I want to use the dungeon. Hmm…"
I've been going along with things so far, but I guess, I should figure out what it is I actually want to do. Taking advantage of Layfon and living my life in comfort is an option, and that is how I was going to play it. But this Invader thing changes things a bit.
If I'm being given free-reign to do what I want, then I'd like to take advantage of this world. I'd mentioned how the writer of this story ripped off another one I can't quite put my finger on? Well, it was definitely some harem, ecchi, shonen type of story.
The thing is, he tried to do it better. The problem with it is, he did so in a good and bad way, or – depending on perspective – all good but should have been separate things.
The shonen aspect has your stereotypical power system, but it was well thought out and structured. It wasn't something that could be cheated and made perfect sense. Did the author rip it off from somewhere? Maybe. But the great thing about it was there was no power of friendship, love, or justice bullshit to explain the MC getting stronger. If the opponent was stronger than them, then they had to work to beat them. Either train to get to where they needed to be or device some sort of trick or plan to bridge the gap. If the MC ever tried to ignore or shortcut one of these, he got his ass handed to him. HARD. For perfectly justifiable reasons, the MC managed to not die but it was either because the villain was a creepy psycho who like to fight more than kill or because someone intervened. And, I don't mean some dues ex machina intervention.
The MC gets to live, but usually at the cost of things taking a turn for the worse for the heroes. Maybe someone sacrifices themselves, or maybe the villains just win or maybe the MC gets a significant injury. At one point, he had to choose between an approaching villain or cutting his arm off and fall into a raging river. He lived but at the cost of his arm, and that lost arm wound up coming back to haunt him since the villain took it and gave it to some voodoo master who forced him and the heroes to do his biding until they found some way to free him.
The bad about all this however, was the other end of the scale. He took the shonen stuff and pushed it to a higher level, but he did the same with the ecchi elements. What people had issues with was that these were done separately and then put together.
He took what were already beautiful, sexy characters and took it to an almost comical degree that was closer to a hentai than anything.
More than a few reviews pointed out how this story could be an epic shonen adventure or an erotic comedy, but the two stories were put together in a way that dragged them both down.
It wasn't bad. Really. It's just hard to take a serious moment seriously when your dealing with a character that doesn't fit the mood and belongs in a different genre. And, the comedic, slower moments are kinda brought down by the overly serious villains who kill the comedy by just being in the scene.
However, all of that is a reader's problem. Now that I'm actually here? You can bet I'm going to do whatever I want and enjoy it!...Guess I'm going the villain route? Mmm…I mean, I don't really want to be a bad guy. Too much effort to be cruel, and while I might be an ass who can laugh at other people's misfortune, I do have a heart and feel bad for people.
At the same time tough, I'm already planning for how I can mess with the MC, steal his girls, and make both worlds revolve around me…World domination. I'm already planning world domination…two worlds…double world domination. I guess I can still be a benevolent ruler.
Giving a shake of my head, I clear my thoughts. I'm getting way ahead of myself. For starters, Layfon himself was at the upper-low end of the spectrum in terms of power among the supernatural. Impressive among classmates, not so much in the big leagues. Second, I haven't even gotten a complete grasp of the system yet.
Focusing back on where to put the dungeon, I decide to put it in the Great Divide. My second option is the school where a decent chunk of plot occurs, but the Divide will give me somewhere I can experiment and begin things slowly. If I'm going a villain or morally gray route, then getting started where I'll be inconspicuous and any potential invaders going missing likely won't be an issue.
Using the DC, I select the Divide and the other two options disappear. There's an icon saying I can go back, but I ignore it. The image for the Divide turns and zooms in. It kind of resembles a parking garage now with a series of loosely connected, long, horizontal levels. Each level seems to have been given a narrative 'theme'. The top floor is where most interaction between worlds take place. The second floor is a no-mans land where monsters and stuff appear. The third floor is where seedy elements and other 'bad' people come together. Four is where the big-bads of the story like to hang out, and five and six are where the things believed to be the natural inhabitants of the Divide start to crawl up.
I don't know if there's anything deeper than level six as the story never ventured further than five. The holographic display on the TV also doesn't show anything below six. So, I'll just assume that's the bottom for now. Currently, the first level is flashing to show it is selected.
Without hesitation, I use the DC to bring the selection down to the third floor. I'd rather keep any prying eyes from finding me too fast and it's otherwise perfect for what I have in mind. At worst, it'll be a convenient place to hide in.
Pressing a few more buttons, and my selection is confirmed.
The map then gives an overhead view with a small dot to represent my cursor. Additionally, it is more detailed and shows various vague locations like group hideouts and such. It isn't hard to figure out that this is the point of selecting where my dungeon will be on the third floor.
Thinking about it. Everything below the second floor goes largely unexplored until the things lurking below start to become known. So, if I put the dungeon in some corner far away from everything, it's sure to go undetected. But I don't want it to be completely undiscoverable. So, I find a location name I recognize – some lame, early antagonist group that become the MC's first stepping stone – and then I select a place nearby.
Hitting select, the map vanishes and is replaced by a new screen. At the top, it reads: 'Choose your subordinates'. Below that is two cards depicting some sort of image.
I look to Alice for some information.
The Attendant cleared her throat as she explained, "Before you, you have two available units to put in your dungeon. There's not a whole lot of difference between them, but there are advantages. The ones on your left are not that strong but come in high number and are renewable. The one on your right you will receive five of until you achieve a certain degree of achievements."
Hearing this, I turn toward the girl. "So, my options are weak mobs I can respawn and not-so-weak mobs I can't? Why would I choose those?"
Alice put a finger to her chin in thought. "Whichever you choose will influence all future units for your dungeon. Those on the right may be limited but that is due to their dragon heritage and possibility to develop unique abilities. Meanwhile, the left are a little generic and one-note. One's very strong and could probably kill you in a one-on-one fight, but the others would need to swarm you five-to-one to win."
I can't help but quirk an eyebrow at the mention of 'dragon'. Glancing at the screen, I don't see a dragon. Looks more like a raptor or a dog on its hindlegs. Still, receiving dragon-based mobs at the beginning would explain why they're limited. "So, if I chose one, I can't get the other?"
"The unchosen option will be converted into a special item for you to integrate into yourself," Alice replies simply.
This causes me to stop. "Wait. What do you mean by 'integrate into yourself'?"
Alice looked up at me innocently. "Although you may have Layfon's memories and body, you may not necessarily inherit his abilities. So, to bridge the gap and make up for any discrepancy, you will be able to absorb your unchosen unit's essence into yourself. I believe a concept you are familiar with is the notion of 'bloodlines'. It's like that."
"Uh-huh, okay, sure. And since we're dealing with monsters, dungeons, bloodlines, I'm guessing there's a notion of evolution and stuff. Right?"
"Yes."
I take a deep breath and slowly exhale as I clap my hands together. "So, what I'm hearing is that I can gain a dragon bloodline and eventually turn into a dragon."
"That is correct. Yes. If you do not choose that bloodline as your units."
"Yeah, yeah, this is less about units and more about me turning into a dragon. What benefits do I get with each option? And, to be clear, there's no option for 'both'?"
"No. One unit must be chosen to populate the dungeon and become your subordinates. Of them," Alice put a finger to her chin again. "The weaker option possesses a wide variety of abilities. To sum it up, it would be most accurate to describe it as a cyber phantom or cyber zombie. It possesses many attributes you might associate with ghosts and other undead creatures or demons. Once it grows powerful enough, it actually has the possibility of developing a random-chance, instant death ability."
"Okay, far more tempting. And the dragon?"
Looking ahead as she recalled the information, Alice explained, "The Doru-species is closer to a beast in its early stages but with clear traits of a dragon buried within. It possesses great combat ability and a unique – if unpredictable – genetic code."
"So, weak and versatile or strong with random chance…Make me a dragon."
Alice looked at me blankly for a moment. "Just select your chosen unit. The Item to integrate the discarded option will appear in your Inventory."
I proceed to use the DC to select the one unit and allow the other to disappear.
Quietly checking my Inventory, I see some sort of crystal has been added there.
Meanwhile, the display on the TV has transitioned to some sort of design phase.
"And now I'm supposed to design the dungeon?"
"Yup," Alice cheerfully states. She then pointed at the screen. "Since it's your first one, the options available to you are rather limited. But, in the lower right, you'll see the number of 'Dungeon Points' or DP you have. Along the left, you'll see the options available to you. For now, invest your DP to create your dungeon. Depending on your future actions, you'll get more to repair or renovate the dungeon as you please. If a dungeon is destroyed, it'll cost about half as much DP as is invested in it to repair it."
"Okay…" I look back to the screen. From the look of it, I start out with a single room for free and one-thousand DP to spend.
Alice wasn't kidding about not having many options. All I really have is to add more rooms, units, and low-quality treasure chest. There's a few other options, but they're either grayed out saying I don't meet the conditions or they're the option to add a floor which costs a full one-thousand DP. Why give me options if they're stupid? Why would I spend all my DP to add a floor and then have nothing left?
Oh well, I spend four-hundred to add an additional four rooms to the dungeon in a straight line. Then, I spend another two-hundred to add additional rooms that are intended to be hidden – putting one to the side of room three and the other at the side of the final room.
I don't know if it's a beginner's thing or not, but the dungeon takes on the characteristics of its surroundings. This means that it generally looks like a deep cave of solid but unusual stone. So, while not expertly hidden, I can specify that the added rooms are supposed to be so the passage leading into these secret rooms are disguised as unassuming crevices in the stone walls.
I spend seventy-five points to purchase three low-quality chests and position two in the first secret room and one in the final room. All three are random and can give anything from a hand-sized rock to a healing potion.
Moving on to units, I spend fifty to purchase one of my new units to guard the treasure chest in the final room. Apparently, despite being 'weak', this unit is actually the third stage of its evolution and I'm free to purchase its lower evolutions. Additionally, the lower evolutionary stages are sold in bundles with twenty-five DP for three of its second stage and ten DP for ten of its first stage.
I buy thee batches of the second stage and five of the first stage. I spread these little guys around the dungeon. Leaving the first room empty, we got one group of ten first stages in the second room, two groups and one of the second stage in the third, the remaining two groups of second stage in the fourth with a group of first stage, and the rest of the first stage in the final room.
Finally, just to be an ass, I spend fifty DP to but another third stage and my remaining one-hundred to put something special for it to 'guard'.
Thus, my creation is as follows:
Room 1 – Entrance
Room 2 – 10 first stage units
Room 3 – 20 first stage units and 3 second stage units, and a secret room containing two low-quality treasure chests.
Room 4 – 10 first stage and 6 second stage units
Room 5 – 1 third stage unit and 10 first stage units, a low-quality treasure chest, and a secret room containing 1 third stage unit and 1 'surprise'.
Once I've finished all that, I'm faced with a prompt of 'Finalize Dungeon'.
"Is that it," I ask.
"Uh-huh," Alice confirms chipperly.
Hitting on the prompt. The display vanishes and is replaced. The screen seems to be shifting through different views from inside the dungeon. I saw as the units I set to populate each room were spawned into being.
First-stage units looked like little gray slime balls with two little horns and one, big gold eye on their surface. At their base was six little points that seemed to operate as legs they used to slink, crawl, and even jump around.
The second stage was a size larger. The previous stage was about the size of a soccer ball, but these guys looked like they could almost reach the top of my shin. They were a blue color and still had the same, lone golden eye. The two little horns were elongated and more resembled antennae now. The six little feet they had had become more developed and pronounced – looking like big, meaty toes tipped with a single claw. These were shifted around so four were in front and two were in back…Actually, depending on how you look at it, their feet kinda make them look like the top half of a skull and their feet are the weirdly dexterous teeth they use to move around.
Finally, the third stage and main unit I chose saw the most change. Building off the 'half a skull' idea, its like the second stage's two back feet come forward and interlock with the front ones to form a sort of jaw. Then, if two of them reverse-osmosis together, you'd get this guy. A big, purple head with two large golden eyes and four antennae floated off the ground. It had a distinct overbite consisting of eight prominent, sharp teeth with four equally prominent teeth extending from its lower jaw between them. Its big eyes and wide grin gave it an unnerving appearance. From where a neck should be, about a dozen thin, fleshy tendrils dangling from it.
To one side of the TV screen, there was a list of the different rooms I could scroll through to get a specific view of them – complete with a movable camera view to see around the room. On the opposite side of the screen, there were options to edit the dungeon's layout, summon units, and a shop. In the bottom corner was my currently zero DP.
"So, is there a way for me to communicate with the units I summon? Like give them orders or something? And how exactly do I gain DP?"
"To issue orders to specific units, you either have to go to the dungeon in person and speak to them, or you can use the DC to manipulate the cursor by pressing the triangle-button, click on them, and then be prompted to input your command."
I blink at this and decide to try it out. I navigate to the secret room at the back of the dungeon, press the triangle-button, and a cursor appears. I move it over to where the unit is just kinda standing…hovering there, and click on it. Its body visibly jerks when I do and it seems aware of me…
Anyway. A thing come up for me to type in my command for it to hide itself and let people open the chest…Note to self, from now on, go straight to the dungeon, because typing this way is FUCKING TEDIOUS! Maybe there's a way to connect a keyboard or enable dictation on this thing…
Once I was finished, Alice then added, "To gain DP, you will need to lure intruders into the dungeon. You can also obtain them by accomplishing various achievements either through the dungeon and interface or through personal actions yourself."
I put down the DC and scratch my head. "So, it's basically like getting EXP in a game. Either we slay mobs or complete quests, but in this case we don't know what the quests are…"
A knocking at the door interrupts my thoughts.
"Layfon? I know you asked to be left alone, but it's almost lunch time. Are you going to come out? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"
I blink at the door as I question who this could be. Having inherited Layfon's memories, I can vaguely recall who it is but can't quite put a face to it. It's not a member of the staff because they wouldn't defy orders.
I look to Alice who looks back at me.
"Simply press the menu button again to turn off the system interface," Alice explained my unasked question. "I will be making myself scarce, but know that you need simply call me to get a reply." Leaving off with these words, the loli vanished before my eyes.
Following Alice's instructions, I disconnect the interface and the TV turns off. I then make my way over to the door as whoever it is knocks again. I hope they realize that I wouldn't be able to hear them if I was still inside my room…well, I guess this whole place is 'my room'. I mean my bedroom.
Still trying to figure out exactly who it could be, I open the door.
Standing there is a young girl of about fifteen or sixteen in mid-motion to knock on the door again.
The girl may have been a little short, but that only served to heighten her unusually developed physique. Easily having a C-Cup chest and bubble butt, she had wavy, black hair that came to her chin. Big, blue eyes and a cute, baby face looked up at me. A black, close-fitting, button-down top with white accents clung to her figure and had a frilly, lace collar and poofy-short sleeves. A black and red, plaid mini skirt that seemed too short for anyone left her supple thighs exposed down to her long, black socks and Mary Jane shoes.
Now, she I recognize.
Rachel Drogo.