Gazing at the gem floating before him, Alex was a bit unsure what to do. It was trying to bond him to a dungeon and allow him to control it. wouldn't that constrict his movements and make him stuck in one place. he couldn't remember too much from his passed life but it seemed that was his interpretation of what would happen anyways.
as he pulled his hand away he felt a calling from the gem as if it was sad that he didnt claim it. glancing around he could tell that the gem exuded a decent amount of energy and seeming reality warping power.
as he moved away from it and headed towards the exit he had a sudden thought. glancing back at the gem he wondered to himself what would happen if he tried to absorb the gem instead of bonding with it. if all else failed it would just react the same way so what would he really be losing, he could just deny the offer again and move on.
walking back up to the gem he tentatively extended his hand once more and then took hold of it. as soon as he initiated the absorbing process the gem was suddenly and hungrily absorbed into his hand.
Beep. "Dungeon Heart Gem absorbed. Dungeon skills available. First skill unlocked, dungeon placement. Dungeon placement allows a dungeon lord the ability to place down a dungeon roots, current dungeons placeable 1. Other dungeons unlocked via defeating and consuming other Dungeon Hearts. Second skill unlocked, Dungeon Management, dungeon can be modified, enhanced and settled per Dungeon Lords experience and based on his underlings. In the case of current Lord any beings absorbed for personal development will be allowed to be spawned in Dungeon. other skills and upgrades locked due to current abilities, skills and experience."
Wow he thought as he was bombarded by more information then he was expecting. so not only was he no longer worried about being tied to just place he could set up a dungeon anywhere it seemed. it also seemed that he would be able to eventually get more dungeons which meant that he wouldn't be tied down to the dungeon that he would eventually make himself. he would have to find a good spot to make one and then mess around with it. he wasnt sure what it would cost for him to make one though, experience, mana maybe even both. that would be something for another day though. first he would have to get stronger. the cool benefit of fighting other creatures now wasnt just for their potentially abilities and forms but he could also use them or at least a shadow of them in his dungeons. he was so excited he was nearly shaking with it, it felt so much like a video game. wait? video game? oh whatever it seemed like it would be fun.
In his excitement he didnt initially realize but the environment he was in was slowly changing. the slowly disappearing light was what first brought his attention to it, but once he focused he saw something strange. the cave he was in seemed to shimmer and shift, like what you would picture a mirage looking like. the strange shimmering was followed by something that made his head spin.
"The cave is shrinking," he yelled as he watched the walls around him slowing but surely growing closer and closer to him. glancing around he saw that the shimmering was pulling towards the tunnel he had traveled down as well. not wasting anytime and not wanting to use the Dungeon ability here he did the only thing that he could. he ran.
not trying to be stealthy any longer his feet, which were mostly encased in the shell like armor, made loud cracking sounds as he high tailed it towards the room which had once been filled with bones.
it didnt take him long to get there and a good thing to because he saw that the previous passage had already nearly closed itself up and was closing in on the room. dashing into the cleared space which after a quick glance he could see that it wasnt shimmering at all he stood there panting looking at the oddly moving stone walls. soon it was just a solid cave wall. the shimmer seemed to pop as it came to an end and a small puff of energy was released and then dissipated.
it seemed that when one created a dungeon a space could be created but that space didnt last when the Dungeon Heart was taken or destroyed. this made him wonder what would happen if he made a house and then activated the dungeon heart within the house. would the building itself expand on the outside or just the inside.
Having thought this he had a strange feeling like he had heard something similar but could quit place his finger on where he had heard it, perhaps he would have to see a Doctor for answers, but who could he ask?
Moving on from that thought he decided to sit in the now normal cave and absorb more stone, just incase he needed it or something big came along and knocked him about a bit he wanted to have something extra to work with. Plus at his current level he didnt think that he would be able to keep some of the stone and bones he used as a frame from crumbling during a fight so having a bit in reserve was always a good idea.
While he absorbed the stone he also practiced making weapons out if them such as sharp or jagged claws, knuckles and other defensive style spikes around his body. although around his hands or when he focused on small areas at a time he could shift things around rather quickly to morph his whole body or large sections took more time and mental effort. he kept practicing knowing that having these types of features down to second nature would help him survive. while he practiced he also thought about ways to use the dungeons and things he would want to do with them for fun. he wanted to get out and start hunting creatures and monsters soon, he just hoped that he didnt come across any humans right away. he wasnt sure what to expect, since technically he was a monster now but he still viewed himself as a human in his head, just one with super powers.