Matias awoke to a series of messages that did nothing to alleviate the fear and horror of what had just occurred.
* Soul Modification Complete:
* New classification - Soul Dungeon Cultivator
* Cultivation base has been stripped in the conversion
*
* You have absorbed the soul energy of 1 adult males and 1 adult females, as well as 1 female child
*
* Soul energy consumed to stabilize soul modification
Tears streamed down his face at the reminder of what happened to his family, more specifically his sister. A mixture of impotent rage and crushing loss. His bastard of a father not only killed him while his mother watched, but made his precious little sister participate as well, only for Matias to watch as their very life essence was sucked away to fuel... whatever happened to him. He has never heard of a Soul Dungeon Cultivator, but he finds it unlikely anything could be worth the pain and betrayal he just endured.
The next messages only got worse:
* As a new dungeon you will be teleported to a random location with high essence density
*
* ERROR: Not a dungeon ... Recalibrating
*
* You will still be teleported to the predetermined location, however as a mobile mortal you have avoided being placed in a sealed off cave deep within the earth
*
* WARNING: Note that areas of very dense energy tend to be congregation points for high level monsters
*
* The recommended rank for this area is D-5.
* As an F-0 rank cultivator with no open meridians you are severely underpowered for this zone. Since you have been thrust into this situation without consent, the system put in place by The Summoner will grant you a boon of 3 free Level 1 perks for your dungeon
* You can access your soul dungeon by meditating and sending your awareness into your core
*
* With the energy of a F-0 rank cultivator, there will be a 20 second delay between when you begin meditation and when your body dematerializes from the physical plane
* By remaining sane through this transformation and maintaining your desire to get stronger, you have performed the feat: Strength of Will
* Willpower +10
* Being reborn at the hands of The Summoner has slightly increased your Strength and Constitution
* Strength +1, Constitution +1
Stats:
Strength - 5
Dexterity - 6
Constitution - 5
Charisma - 3
Intelligence - 7
Willpower - 20
Cultivation:
- Rank: F-0
- Requirements for next rank:
- 0/10 Essence
- Meridians Open: 0/13
Dungeon:
- Rank: F-0
- Requirements for next rank:
- 0/100 Essence
When he saw that in addition to everything else he had lost all the progress he ever made in cultivation, he almost shut down. Only the sense that something was horribly wrong kept him from dwelling on what he had gone through. A rustling of the bushes that was growing closer caused him to jerk his head around and take in the clearing he was in. He was on his back at the bottom of a slope, looming trees that he could not see the top of surrounded him on three sides and the roar of fast moving rapids rose from the ravine directly behind him. The ground was densely populated with shrubbery and a thick pad of dried leaves and foliage coated the forest floor. He could see a snuffling piglet approaching from his left, and hear a deep chuffing coming from his right, the sound carried notes or rage and territorialism. That noise sent shivers of fear down his spine.
As he got to his feet a boar the size of a wagon came barreling out of the woods, intent on protecting the youngling. The youngling that I now realize is not the little piglet he initially thought but a four foot tall behemoth of a child. He had but one way out, collapsing into a roll backwards and dropping into the ravine.
Matias had plenty of time to regret that decision as he fell nearly forty feet into a churning river which quickly swept him under. What had the notification said about entering the dungeon? He needs to meditate and send his consciousness into his core? He laughed at the stupidity about what he was about to try, but what options does he have? He is stuck in a river where he can hardly breath and see only cliffs on either side of him. And so he stopped struggling to breach the surface for air, instead focusing on meditating as hard as he could. As he was tossed and turned deep within the river, occasionally running into rocks, he sent his mind into the place where there uses to be a murky pool. Now there was an empty crystal so clear he almost missed it. As he investigated, feeling his lungs start to burn from holding his breath, he tried to mentally push into the crystal. There was a brief pulling sensation but nothing else happened. In desperation he threw his mind against the barrier, desperate to get away from the river and everything else that had happened. Looking for a respite, a place to grieve and a place to pull himself together.
There was a weird felling of vertigo, and then he was somewhere else.