I walk down the stairs. At the bottom, there's a large iron door in an empty room.

Pushing on the door, it starts to creek open. Looking through the doorway, I immediately grab the handle on the door and slam it shut.

(Why the fuck is it sunny inside?!)

What I saw on the other side of the door was a bright, open grassland. Grass as tall as myself with a cleared path of shorter grass through it.

Still remembering my earlier introduction to light that burned my hand, I noped on out of there.

(Hahahaha! That's a dungeon for you, Lia! Each level will take you to its own little pocket space. Also, don't worry about the light in a dungeon. The dungeon creates it's own fake light to make it seem like the sun is shining. Because it isn't light magic or real sunlight, you won't get burned by it.)

With my heart still beating fast even with that bit of reassurance, I open the door again and step through. 

Just like I saw, I'm standing in a wide open plain with a free-standing iron door behind me. Definitely some space or dimensional shenanigans going on. 

Taking a look at the path ahead, I just have to check with Navi. (Hey, just to make sure. I'm forced to follow the paths, right? It wouldn't be convenient enough to allow me to just go straight through the tall grass or break walls or something depending on the floor?)

(Nope! Dungeons have to always have a path to the boss door, but it doesn't have to be easy to traverse. If you wandered through the grass or tried to otherwise 'cheat' then you can find a whole lot of wibbly wobbly timey wimey things like wandering around for days or weeks.)

Play by the rules of the dungeon then.

(Just to confirm, things like traps and different monsters will show up on the paths?) I asked.

(Sure will!) Navi said. (Although traps of any significance won't really show up at a dungeon as small as this. With how low-leveled this dungeon was, it used to be treated like more of a way to kill time, or farm a resource by the servants.)

(Can you tell me what we'll encounter on each floor?)

(Sure can't! It switches up every so often. Even when it's been abandoned for so long.)

Well that would just be too easy if she could. With no other option, I take out my dagger and start walking down the path.

After a couple minutes of walking, I came across the fantasy story staple.

Slime - level 1

Unlike the stereotypical cute little blue 'Tensei' slime, this one looks more like a round amoeba. Definitely not something to carry around or hug.

Walking up to it, still somewhat cautious, I slash across its body. It starts leaking a blueish-green fluid from the cut.

As I watch, its wobbling slows and it starts to deflate and sag. Eventually it stops all together. Not long after that, it dissolves into the ground, leaving behind a very small pebble about half the size of a dime. If I wasn't watching, I would probably have missed it and thought of it as any old stone and not a monster core.

"Well that was anticlimactic," I said.

(Duh. It was a slime. The most they can kill are rats and mice if they sneak up on them. If you struggled against a slime, then this world would be doomed.)

Picking up the tiny core and popping it in my mouth like a piece of candy, I continue on my way.

After walking along the curving path and executing a few more slimes, I reach a fork. 

Since I really have no clue which way to go or any limit on time, I decided on the tried and true maze solving technique. Always going left at each fork.

By always choosing left or right, even if a path splits more than once and leads to dead ends, you'll always progress through a maze towards the end. At least if walls don't change. Along the way, the first encounter after the split appeared. 

Two slimes.

Predictably, it seems monsters will either increase in number or in strength as you make it deeper into the dungeon.

After a couple more slimes, I reach my first new monster. 

Jackalope - level 2

Nice. Not quite a horned rabbit, but something different at least. The size of it is similar to a house cat, with grey/brown fur.

While looking at it, the jackalope dashed at me and leapt, aiming at my stomach with its antlers. 

Sidestepping the charge, I readied myself for the next attack. This time when it leapt, I stabbed my dagger while dodging. Hitting it in the lower abdomen closer to its hind legs. 

"EEEEEE!" It lets out a shrill scream as it falls down.

Not wasting any time, I grab it by the antler and finish the fight with a well placed stab. 

Deciding to see how the blood is before it disappears, I pick it up and sink my fangs into its neck. Not as good as the ork, but better than the goblins. It doesn't have much flavor, but doesn't have the stale Coke aftertaste of a goblin. 

Once I'm done, I set it on the ground and watch it dissolve after a few seconds. This time, it left behind the monster core as well as a small tattered pelt. 

Thin leather with multiple holes in it, it certainly won't be of use for much. But maybe if I can get a few I can make some sort of bag or something. 

Taking the pelt with me, I continue down the path. After a few more slimes and jackalopes, I stopped and asked Navi a question that had been nagging me. 

(Navi, why is my EXP barely going up?)

Sure enough, even after over a dozen slimes and a handful of jackalopes, which didn't always drop a pelt, my EXP had barely gone up. Only a couple points  per kill at most.

(That's because your level, silly! Even at only level 6, you're still vastly stronger than these monsters. After you are higher level than a monster, the EXP you get drops sharply for each level of difference.

(However, if a monster is your level or higher, the EXP you get won't change much unless it's by a really big gap; No point in trying to fight too high above your weight class!)

No easy farming levels, then. Damn Gods and their balance. Unless something like with that ork happens, I doubt I could kill something without harm if there was that much of a gap between our levels. 

With that explained, my wandering continued. After another hour of this, I came to a large wooden door. Just like the iron door I came through, this one was just free-standing in the path. 

(I assume this is the door to the boss?) I ask the obvious question just to make sure.

(Bingo!)

(Any clues on what boss monsters are like compared to the regular monsters?)

(Most boss monsters are either similar in species, or something else that would 'fit' with the floor and monsters there,) Navi said. (Of course they will be stronger than the other monsters on that floor, and some will even have subordinate monsters with them.)

Ok, so then expect jackalope, slime, or other grassland type creatures for the boss.

Pushing the door open, I enter into a large clearing in the grassland, surrounded by the same tall grass. This clearing was definitely not visible from the other side even though it should have been.

Damn trippy space tricks.

In the center of the clearing just staring at me is something that made me sigh and chuckle at the same time.

Horned Rabbit - level 4

"There it is, the infamous horned rabbit."

The death bunny is the size of a golden retriever with almost a foot long horn on its head. Pure white fur with eyes as red as mine and two sharp front teeth.

Bringing out my dagger, I take a couple steps towards it. A twitch of its nose was the sign for it to charge right at me.

"Fuck!"

Even when ready for it, it's explosive speed was greater than I expected and I was forced to jump to the side to avoid it's horn. 

Getting ready again, I stare down the bunny. This time when it charged, I was able to open a cut on its flank. It wasn't very deep and didn't seem to slow it down. 

After a couple more charges, and tired of feeling like a jousting target, I got an idea that just might break the stalemate. This time as I prepared for the charge, I faced my left palm at the rabbit. 

Imagining a fist sized rock shooting out of my palm, I willed it into being. Just as the rabbit was a few paces away, I fired it.

Damage wise, it was insignificant. But what it did was force the damn thing to flinch and throw off its charge. Taking advantage of this I tackled the rabbit as it went by and stabbed my dagger into its neck.

Thrashing around and trying to bite me with it's dagger teeth, it took most of my energy to hold onto it. 

I managed to wrap my legs around it's torso, and grab the horn with my left hand, allowing me to control its head and stab it a few more times in the neck. 

After we thrashed around on the ground, it finally stilled. Taking my spoils, I bit down on its neck and was rewarded with the sweet taste of its blood. 

Once satisfied, I dismounted the blood stained horned rabbit and waited for it to dissolve. This time, it left a slightly larger core and a full sized clean white pelt. Not large enough to fully lay on, but an upgrade for a stone floor. I've noticed that I don't sweat or chill, but can still feel the cold of the floor. I'm all for raising my comfort level some. The fur is soft enough to make me want to bury my face into it as well. 

Gathering up my white pelt and the smaller tattered ones, I head to the other end of the clearing. Towards the familiar iron door. Going through, I enter a blank stone room. 

I close the door behind me. There's nothing in here besides some lightly glowing rocks on the ceiling.

"Navi. What's the deal here? Where the hell is the next floor?"

Giggling in my mind, she answers. (Why, through the door of course!)

Turning back to the iron door, I just stare at it for a moment. 

(Then going back through will take me to the next floor? Then what's up with this room?)

(This is a 'safe room.' After each boss is an identical room to this that's just for you! Even if someone else were to clear the boss while you're in here, they would just open the iron door to their own safe room.

(From any iron door, you can access any other iron door by just thinking about your desired location! For you now, you can open this to either the second level or to the first level where you came down the stairs.)

After a minute of thinking about my options, I decide to open the door to the stair room and head through. 

Once back in the stair room, I set my pile of pelts down and prepared to run the first floor again. 

Feeling that soft white pelt was very soothing. If I could get a couple more, I could have a soft mat to sleep on tonight. Today? Tonight? Whatever. Whenever the fuck I sleep.

I should also get enough of the tattered pelts to make a decent sized rucksack by then.

Thinking of storing items I think of my magic and the classic inventory feature of games.

(Navi, is space-time magic able to create a 'pocket dimension' or something that I can store and take things out of?)

(That's it's best feature! Well, besides teleportation at higher levels. But with as uncommon as a high talent in it is, having a secure place to store things is awesome!

(Just imagine warping the space in front of you into a pocket, and swoosh! Instant pocket! With your MP you can probably get a foot sized cube of space.

(Once it recovers some, you can open it again for probably like 50 MP each time.)

With only having 200 MP right now, paying 50 anytime I want to open it seems pretty steep.

(Why is the amount that high, and can the space get larger?)

(Sure it can! You're only at Space-Time Magic 1 and Mana Control 1 right now. You suck at efficiency. Think of a big rig pulling three loaded trailers before EPA standards. That's your efficiency. 

(Even so, you can infuse it with chunks of MP to stretch the space out. It takes exponentially more MP though as the size increases.

(Also! Stretching it with the largest amount of MP you can has much more of an effect than just tricking in a few MP frequently. One big stretch gives the space a better chance to stick.)

(Well I guess that's a fair assessment and makes some sense.)

Thinking about the space, it would probably be good to stretch it anytime I have full MP and don't plan to use it soon after. 

On magic, I should use it more frequently this run. I went almost the entire time to the boss with full MP. Now, that just seems like a lost opportunity. Even if I can't do much damage with it right now. If I can use it on easy fights like this, I can theoretically increase my proficiency.

Using the chance I have, I try to create my pocket space storage. Pushing all the mana I can into the space in front of me. Keeping what Navi said in my mind, I feel something 'twist' or 'fold' in the area. 

Immediately after, I feel drained and fall on my ass.

(Hahahaha! You forgot how tired you would get from using all your mana at once!)

(What the hell, Navi! How can I forget something I didn't even know!)

(You didn't know? But isn't it always a common theme in anything with magic from Earth that using all your mana knocks you the freak out?)

...Damnit, she's right.

"Stupid fucking stereotypical trope gods."

I can only mutter this sitting on the floor with my head on my knees. Waiting for my MP to recover some.

After just sitting there and wishing I could forehead flick a certain voice in the head, my MP rose enough for me to feel comfortable standing and fighting again.

It will still be a while until it's full. At least a few more jackalopes. But it's at a point it doesn't bother me. 

Opening the iron door to the grasslands again, I head on through for my second run. Leaving my pelts safely in the stair room. 

After killing slimes on my walk like a 300 year old immortal witch, and collecting some pelts, I came to a conclusion. The dungeon layout can change.

Paths from my last run through are nowhere to be seen. Forks that had a dead end now continue on. 

"This will get fucking annoying if floors are larger."

Certainly, if there was a massive maze that I had no way to map unless I started anew each time, that would suck to run multiple times.

Resigning myself to my fate, I continue on towards my goal of a fluffy bed. When my MP got ¾ full, I would shoot off a little fireball, rockball, waterball, or airball at the slimes. Water and air didn't do much, at least not in that form. Rock did decently, and fire was just meh unless I put more MP into it.

Changing their shape into something like a wind slash or water needle also didn't work too well. 

The water made a somewhat needle like shape, but had no penetrating power. Meanwhile, the wind slash diffused almost Instantly. 

Raising these proficiencies will take some time. 

(Navi, how long do these proficiencies take to raise a few levels to become more deadly?)

(Hmm, for most of the humans or elves, usually a few years or so.)

(What?!)

A few years? And that's with people that only have talent in one or two types! How fucking long am I going to have to shoot my piddly ass water splashes? Am I going to stay a fucking Magikarp?

(But they're all weak sauce! Not only do you have a much higher aptitude than all of them, you're also using it in combat)

(They just all play around a couple hours a day in fancy schools shooting at targets down to half MP, and enjoying their little slice of life harems.

(Most of the humans have forgotten over the centuries how much faster you can gain levels in magic by killing things with it! Like, it can't even compare! Death and destruction FTW!)

(Well that's a bit better then.)

(Right! Plus, hardly any of them have their own private dungeons. To them, it's a 'secret' of the church higher ups that cores can increase proficiency. Most just use them like little batteries for gadgets or enchantments. 

(Also, you're probably the only one boring enough with nothing better to do than play around in a dungeon all the time!)

Fucking thing. Just when I start to like her, she drops shit like that. I mean, she's not entirely wrong. But still. Just saying it like that pisses me off.

At one point I tried making a darkball, but it didn't seem to have any effect at all. Asking Navi about Dark Magic, she told me this.

(Dark magic and light magic are non-elemental. Of course using them like the other types won't do much!

(At higher levels, the 'dark' and 'light' can be concentrated enough to become more physical. A high level light mage will be able to fire light like a laser beam! Meanwhile a high level dark mage can make things like shadow spikes, shadow arrows, or even cloak themselves in a shadow. Super cool stuff!)

I do have to admit that shooting shadow spikes would be awesome. In the meantime, it looks like the most I can do with dark magic is obscure things a bit more in shadow. Not much use now, and seems hard to gain proficiency in. But would definitely be worth it in the long run against stronger church bastards. 

If I could do something like block a light beam once or twice, that could potentially make a big difference. I wonder if I get it strong enough if I could even walk outside during the day? 

The boss fight with Mr. Stabby Bunny went much easier this time. Having an idea what a monster will most likely do makes a huge difference. 

This time when it first charged, I waited and shot a fireball at its face. Since none of my magic will hurt it significantly, I just went with fire to make it flinch a bit more.

After finishing it off the same way as the first time and grabbing my pelt, I leave for the stair room.

Heading in again, I run through the first floor for the final time of the night. The third run went much like the second and I really feel like I have a hang of this level. 

Before drinking the blood, I decided to use my cleaning magic on myself. Bringing my magic low, but feeling better after this final run, I dig into my dinner.

The blood of this last rabbit didn't bring my MP back to full, but did get back a decent amount. I even hit level 7 on my third run. Using my stat points, I brought my stamina to 13 and dexterity to 12.

Once I exit back into the stair room, I place my three nice fluffy pelts down right there and lay down.

Focusing on the little pocket space, I push all my remaining mana into trying to stretch it out. As the mana leaves my body, I feel a wave of tiredness hit me combined with the fatigue of running through a dungeon all night. 

Closing my eyes, I let myself drift off with a small smile on my face. It's hard not to smile when you can fall asleep and mofu mofu some fluff.