I was aware that something was wrong. Slipping from my slumber I felt a static buzz run though my body, similar to electricity, not painful but certainly startling. Snapping my eyes open, I flung myself out of the bed into a completely unfamiliar environment. I looked around, and then down at my self. These were not the clothes that I wore to bed. Instead I found myself in a set of light brown pajamas. I looked again around the room, seeking an answer when what could only be considered a screen popped up in front of me.
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WELCOME to the Dungeon.
LOADING.....
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I couldn't resist reaching my hand over and pinching myself. It couldn't have been real. Just yesterday I was eating crepes with my sister. The pain on my hand and the little indented bruises from my fingernails definitely told another story. A harsh story of reality. This, whatever this was, is real.
I turned back toward the bed, the screen intuitively moving to the corner of my vision, and examined it. It was a plain twin sized mattress that looked like it was barely big enough to hold me. The pillows and the sheets were all plain as well. I ignored the fact that I seemed to be freshly laundered, on top of everything else and examined the rest of the room. There was a book shelf full of old books and nick knacks, a mirror lined with gold, a wardrobe, a barrel, and a door with a note on it.
I sauntered over to the sticky note and pulled it free from the door.
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Take some things from this room, or beyond this door you'll meet your doom.
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It was ominous at best, nebulous at worst. I turned back to the rest of the room to find that sticky notes had appeared on each item of interest, Mysteriously. I walked over to the shelf first. It was covered in things. Some of them I recognized. Some of them I had no idea what they were, i took the sticky note off it and read it.
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Shelf of plenty, master none, look away briefly and you'll have more fun, 3 things only, pick with care, the rest will evaporate into thin air.
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I looked at the shelf once again and saw that the items on it had changed once again. This had to be what it meant by fun. So i examined the items without blinking. An alembic set, a bag, a lockpick set, junk... ah books... maybe there is something useful...
I perused the shelf quickly but the spines either were either blank or in languages whose letters I didn't recognize. All except for one. It started in a language that I couldn't read, but changed to English shortly after i glanced in its direction. It only had four letters on the spine. S A U and L. Saul. It didn't matter to me though, I reached my hand out to pick up the evidence of magic. As my hand touched the spine I firmly heard the words , * oh, should have grabbed something else. Anything else would serve you better than I. * it had to be the book, or something within the book.
" wh.....aat? " I croaked out as if I hadn't spoken for a hundred years. Something was wrong with my voice.
*Magic isn't for everyone, the lockpicks are easier to master. *
I didn't hesitate at those words. This was a spell book, it said magic is possible, I could be a magician. All of these thoughts collided in my head as it swam. I stepped away from the shelf and held the book in my hand examining it. It was a simple brown leather journal with the picture of a teddy bear on the front.
*oh, now you've done it. Congrats I'm one of your three free items now. You could've gotten a diamond the size of your head, or a cook book. Either would have been more useful. *
"What are you? " i asked hesitantly.
*I am Saul, I used to be the personal journal of High Arcanist Carissa von blanc. Now i am a shelf ornament in this great dungeon*
"Sorry, you said that magic isn't for everyone, does that mean you can teach a person magic?"
A long pause before I heard the voice again. It was hesitant. * I can, however it's not an easy path for anyone. Magic is a fickle critter. *
"Awesome, I don't care how long it takes or what it takes. There is no magic where i come from. " which is true. Earth has no magic.
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Loading complete.....
System Analysis complete.....
Accumulating attributes....
A guide has been identified, would you like to integrate the guide you have found? If you select no one will be assigned to you at random. Yes or No.
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" hey Saul, I got a pop up. It says that I can integrate the guide I have found. I think its talking about you. I cant think of any others. "
* I am not sure what you are talking about. Pop up. It is vocabulary i have not heard of before. I will leave it up to you. *
I clicked yes and hoped for the best.
Saul flew out of my hand, and began floating in the middle of the room. The blue screen appeared above them.
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Integration.... 100%
Assimilating....
Rebinding....
Integration complete.
****************
It ran down a list before stating its completion and disappearing causing the worn journal to fall to the floor like a child's discarded play thing.
I ran over and to pick it up again, this time however when I touched it I felt something astonishing. There was a magnetic nearly electric pull between me and the book causing it to fly into my hand before i fully bent over.
I blinked as a new screen appeared in my vision.
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Integrated guide bound....
Initializing Hud....
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A red orb, green orb, and blue orb appeared in the bottom left corner of my vision and a compass appeared on the top. A small circular mini map floated off to the right.
A blank, white, humanoid entity appeared before me. It felt more like a gap in the world then anything real. Hair appeared and clothes, and eventually facial features. All of these blurred across the screen. I began to realize that someone was... selecting things.
That's when they all stopped. A young man stood before me. He was dressed in a flowing outfit. It was midnight blues and black, with fine lace gloves and an exposed midriff that accentuated his abs. He gave me a hard stare for a brief moment. When he opened his mouth to speak I4 heard Saul's voice in my mind. *well, how do I look?* he asked.
"Your a person now?" The question slipped out of my mouth in astonishment.
*not exactly. When the dungeon integrated me as a guide, I was meshed into your HUD experience giving me the ability to create an avatar. *
"Ah, so its like augmented reality. "
* another term that I am not familiar with, so i will have to take your word on it. *.
"Basically, I can see you and interact with you but nobody else can. Its neat really. What else can you do now?"
*well, honestly there's a lot that I can do now. And there's potential to do more, but right now were on a time limit. In three days this room will deactivate and its protections will fall. When that happens you will be shunted into the halls of the dungeon. It is a horribly dangerous place full of traps and Monsters.*
" your right, I'd like to be able to defend myself by that time. " I turned and looked at the mirror again. The sticky note was gone though.
A screen popped up in front of Saul, * ah, I see. So the sticky notes have been re assimilated by the dungeon since you now have me. The mirror is enchanted to allow you to become your ideal self. You can change anything physical about yourself that you want. However you will have to make it to the third floor and find a chamber if you would like to change your race. *
"Your still the book right?" I asked realizing that I was still holding it.
*Yes, my consciousness and all my data are still housed in the book. You will need to keep it on you at all times if you want to have a guide. *
"Ok. So what are the other things, the barrel, the wardrobe?"
* it seems the barrel and the wardrobe are labeled one use foundries. They allow you to get one weapon of your choice and design from the barrel, and one armor set from the wardrobe. Of your choice and design. Interesting. We should discuss this thoroughly before you make a decision as I have some pertinent knowledge.*
" Its starting to sound like I might actually make it through this. " I laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood really though it had the opposite effect. I was trapped in a dungeon of all things. I knew what that meant. I used to read those GameLit novels about world size dungeons ran by either game masters or artificial intelligences. The people subjected to it never came out unscathed. This would be a terrible experience full of trauma and pain.
I fell to my knees from the weight of it all, the shock finally dissipating, and I wept.
I felt a hand on my shoulder which brought me back to reality and i wiped my eyes. It was Saul. Which confused me. "I thought you were a Hud avatar, how are you able to touch me?. "
He moved his hand showing a glowing spectral hand that was hidden inside his own. *its a neat trick, but one with only basic limitations, in time I will explain. However I think you should make your shelf selections first. I will do my best to assist. I have documentation that would prove useful for the wardrobe and weapon though so hold off on those until you read that. *
I sat there for a few more minutes letting my mind resign itself to its fate before moving back over to the shelf.
I stood there looking at the shelf in an unblinking manner examining as many items as I could before I would be forced to blink. * you should look for something to carry things in like a bag of holding or an Item ring. Also you should look for some kind of ration item so that you don't have to spend your time hunting down food or more importantly water. These two things would increase your survival ten fold. * Saul was right. It would be wise to look for some method of satisfying my hunger or thirst. I looked around at the shelf currently though, there wasn't any method of doing so on this shelf, so I blinked. Changing all the items.
The next shelf was another story all together. On this shelf in the far back, sat an old military thermos. When my eyes hit it, Saul whistled. * OH, let me enable my appraisal feature. It should help you to make your decisions. * Saul said before a little screen popped up with arrows that pointed at all the different Items. * as a guide I have the ability to offer advice on various items. Since I am an avatar based guide I can offer certain Hud upgrades. Its quite entertaining. * The thermos while not being exactly what I was looking for happened to be the best choice.
/* Title: Gram-Gram's thermos of endless dedication
Description: This thermos of endless warm soup radiates with warmth and love.
Further description unavailable.
/*
" well that will definitely help. " I said reaching my hand out and plucking it from the back of the shelf. " I guess I can drink the broth, and eat soup when I am hungry." I opened the lid and filled it up so I could drink. The soup was vegetable and surprisingly beef. I drank it in, allowing the familiar warmth to spread through my abdomen. Something about this seemed to comfort me. Also it wasn't poisoned. So that was a blessing.
I went back to looking through the shelf for something else to choose. Examining various tool and potion sets, quivers of endless arrows, goggles of night, and many more wondrous items before I finally set my eyes on a single platinum colored circle of metal
/* Title: ring of storage.
Description: This magical ring connects to a pocket dimension and allows one to transfer items that they can lift in and out of it at command. This space does not promote the passage of time, so heat and quality will remain constant however motion stops on a particle level. Living creatures will be killed, but preserved.
Size 1 cubic Meter. Upgradeable.
/*
A storage method. A storage method that could store up to 1 cubic meter of stuff and I can call it into my hand by commanding it. Mental commands at that. Plus it was upgradeable. I could maybe find better but this was really good. I put the ring on my finger and put my thermos in the space for later.
" alright, you said that you had some documentation that I should look at before I use the barrel or the wardrobe. "
I sat down on the bed and pulled the book over to my side. " So what would happen if I put you in the storage ring?"
* You could, however all of my processes would stop until you pulled me back out. Your Hud would deactivate, you would lose access to appraisal, and you couldn't speak or use me in any way. *
" well, it seams we should include in the wardrobe a book holder or something so that I don't have to carry you around in my hand all the time. "
* I believe that would be an astute decision. now open me up, any page. The pages are irrelevant anyway. *
I opened the book to a page and too my surprise it was blank at first. Then lettering and diagrams began to fade into existence on the pages. The ink seeming bleeding through from some unknown place. They depicted a diagram for a staff, that I could only assume was some kind of magical implement. Saul confirmed.
* This staff is one of my masters designs. It slowly condenses the mana from the surrounding area nd the caster into a liquid form for storage to be used either to draw magical sigils, or to be cast forth through magical shapes. The liquid is held in the container at the top and can flow through the channel to the tip. The tip here has two different uses it can be used to draw sigils with and it can be used as a spear head for self defense. *
The whole design was a little wild. The staff was a standard looking stick, with a glass orb on top and a needle like spike on the bottom. the orb looked cumbersome and I couldn't imagine carrying it around once it was full of liquid. " it looks heavy. " I said in response.
* As it would be if the micro etched rune work didn't disperse a bit of the condensed mana to keep it light. We will have to go over those details as well so that the foundry can create the staff properly. This wardrobe however, is even more critical and complicated than the staff. It takes mana either from the wearer or the staff and converts it into a sort of barrier that not only blocks damage, but also filters out anything harmful that might be floating through the air, and cleaning functions not to mention the hat has some features that allow you to obscure your face if necessary. *
" how am I going to remember all this while pulling these items from the foundries?"
* Luckily, I can move the diagrams around so that you can see all the details and imagine them in your minds eye while you pull. We just have to set the book up so you can see them. The documentation is rather extensive. The dungeon should be able to deduce the rest. *
" This dungeon isn't very user friendly is it, I mean if I hadn't pulled you off the shelf none of this would be possible. "
* most people that join the dungeon either start off with an easier class or already have something in mind. A sword would be just as effective if not more so than the things that you will be pulling. You wanted to be a wizard though, so we need these specific tools. *
" ah, ok. I didn't realize that being a wizard was so complicated. "
* truth be told your not actually becoming a wizard. Wizards are far to blaster caster in comparison to what your class would be. You are gearing up to be an arcanist. Also this is just the basics for an apprentice level arcanist. Arcanist masters have their own pocket dimensions, create their own dungeon realities, and have hordes of schemes and servants. *
" OH.... Ok. well. Lets spend some time looking at these diagrams then.
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Before I lay down for bed I had both a staff and an arcane set of clothes. Though they had a few minor flaws. I was just too tired to review them.