I came to my senses, lying on my back in the midst of an expansive white expanse with basically nothing in it. The ceiling seemed endless with no limit whatsoever.
I clambered to my feet, noticing my body didn’t hurt in the slightest. Bleeding wounds that didn’t know the word “stop” had gone without a trace; even the arrow lodged on my side was gone like I was never injured in the first place. Except for the holes in my clothes to be evidence that it wasn’t just a dream.
As I surveyed my surroundings, I realized that the expanse was without end, basically just an endless, empty white space. Where was I?
“Am I in the afterlife? If so, then count me disappointed.” C’mon, think logically. This place must be somewhere else.
No one answered me, of course; maybe this was a dream within a dream, who knew since my injuries had all healed up. Thus, I pinched myself just like I did be— “Ouch!” Okay, this clearly isn’t a dream. But where am I exactly? No, wait. Is my backpack still here?
In haste, I moved my arms to feel my backpack and found that it was safe and sound on my back. Phew. Still, there was nothing in sight, and… it felt lonely. Was this true loneliness?
“A space void of anything… In the first place, why does this place itself need to be white? I mean, wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be black or somethin’?”
Like magic, as though to respond to my words, the space around me turned to pitch, abysmal black. The kind that didn’t reflect any light that even my own hands weren’t visible despite being placed only twenty centimeters in front of me.
“Hey, hey! Who turned off the lights?” I yelled.
It was then that the place lightened up and reverted back to white. The process wasn’t instantaneous but fast enough for me to freeze momentarily in shock.
“Uh… H-Hello? Is anyone there?!” Either way, there must be somebody responsible for doing all that.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Eek! Whoa!” The reply was lightning quick that I almost stumbled backward.
Turning around to the voice’s origin, I saw a pretty girl barely the age of a middle-schooler sitting at an umbrella table with a tea set. Her existence was strangely not off-putting and tickled the sense of adoration within me. Maybe the word “pretty” wasn’t enough to describe her.
Upon closer inspection, she had silvery lilac hair that reached down to her waist, and a black ribbon adorned the side of her head. Her purplish-black dress had a wide white stripe down the middle that stretched from her neck to her waist. Plus, a necktie with a red gem below her collar.
Her face was doll-like, flawless, and expressionless. She wore thin black gloves and thigh-long black stockings and had porcelain-white, delicate skin and a pair of bright purple eyes that made me fall into a daze, yet they exuded some sort of ethereal charm like a pair of amethysts. Her appearance was fairy-esque, like a fairytale princess coming out of a picture book; I couldn’t even fathom how such an ethereal and perfect figure even existed. However, the figure in front of me proved otherwise.
“Who are you?” A question was automatically uttered from my mouth. Contrary to what I said, I checked her identity with [Developer Interface].
Name: -
Species: Dungeon Core (human)
Sex: Female (?)
Age: 1 year old
Height: 141 cm
Occupation: A Dungeon Core of an unknown dungeon
Vocation: None
Stats:
- STR: F- (3)
- AGI: F- (2)
- VIT: F- (2)
- MAG: E (27)
- SPR: F- (2)
Accumulation Points: 8 [F]
Holy smoke! A Dungeon Core?! I instinctively had my guard up, searching for something inside my pockets that could be used as a weapon… Unfortunately, not finding anything.
“You!” Pointing my finger at her, I snapped, “You are that mindless object that tried to control me!” Since she had lower stats than me, I thought it would be possible to best her if we were to clash. Although, her high MAG made me a bit wary of her.
“Bingo. Even so, calling me an object and mindless at the same time is rude. While I had yet to attain sentience at the time, I was still a living creature.” She calmly slurped the tea on her hand, remaining nonchalant about all this. “But it was you yourself that forced me to try to control you; your tenacity to keep living attracted my interest.”
“Stop beating around the bush! Just what are you?” I knew that she was a Dungeon Core, but I felt that there was more to her than that.
“I didn’t beat any bush. Oh. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to take a seat first? I’ll serve you a drink, so stop being all restless.” She prompted me to sit across from her.
Seeing that we wouldn’t come to a consensus by just bantering around, I begrudgingly yielded to her offer and sat down. In almost an instant, the surrounding white space transformed into a big garden — a courtyard — as a matter of fact, a large mansion popped up not too far away. Jaw slack, I was shocked-speechless by the spectacle.
“Please drink, if you don’t mind.” One of the teacups moved toward me along with its saucer, like it was pushed by an invisible hand. Magic? The cup was filled with a brownish-yellow liquid, most likely tea. What kind? No idea. But the smell felt familiar somehow.
I didn’t bother with the tea, however, and went to demand for answers, “Where is this? And who are you, really?” I mean, the Dungeon Core I saw yesterday was just a crystal ball. For that to turn into her was absurd, to say the least.
“Me? Isn’t it rude to forget about me after the things that you did to me yesterday?” She remained expressionless despite her absurd answer, making me at a loss for words.
“Nonsense!” I hit the table hard, causing the tea-filled teacups to spill about. “I don’t even know you! If you keep playing around, then don’t blame me for being rude!”
She slurped the tea and calmly answered, “You’re no fun. Fine. Let me introduce myself: Right, I am a Dungeon Core, and I have no name; you may call me as you wish. As for where this is, we’re in an Artificial Realm located right within me. And…”
In conclusion, I got to know that she was just a Dungeon Core that had yet to gain any sort of intelligence; as a result, she was barely considered an “inanimate” object. But I must thank that state since that was the sole reason that I was able to win. A weak human like me, she said.
Is it not possible to discover her true agenda? There are still tons of things I’ve yet to know about [Developer Interface], after all. And thus, I went ahead and messed around with her status screen. One thing that bugged me was the question mark beside her gender… What was that supposed to mean?
Whatever it was, I got the feeling that much of the information presented on the status screen was redundant, so I decided to mess things up a bit. Making it more dynamic was one example; it would surely make processing information more quickly as it now only showed those that were most necessary and needed, and here was the result:
Name: -
Emotion: Intrigued, resentful, appreciative
Species: Dungeon Core (human)
Sex: Female (?)
Age: 1 year old (12)
Height: 141 cm
Occupation: A Dungeon Core of an unknown dungeon
Stats:
- STR: F- (3)
- AGI: F- (2)
- VIT: F- (2)
- MAG: E (27)
- SPR: F- (2)
Accumulation Points: 8 [F]
There was more to this ability than what it appeared at first, but I should probably mess more with the interface later. This would make do for now. I also found out that I could manipulate the status screen with just a thought — no physical interaction was needed.
“Why are you staring at the air? Ah, must be because of your Vocation, right?” said the humanoid Dungeon Core with a certain tone like it was a matter of course. “[Developer Interface], was it? Isn’t it rude to pry into someone else’s identity? You’re such a vulgar man, I say.”
“How? Wait, can you even see this?” From her reaction, it seemed that the status screen was invisible to her. Still, I hadn’t even told a single soul about my Vocations. Actually, I had only been in this world for about a day… if what she said were true.
“Is it that surprising…? Vincent… Or should I call you, ‘Mr. Otherworlder’?” she said with a rather sarcastic remark.
“What? So it’s all true…”
Still expressionless, the no-name Dungeon Core replied, “I hate to tell you this, but it’s the result of taking control of me. Your previous action made you the Dungeon Master of this dungeon — me — and a connection was established.”
“Whoa-whoa-whoa! Slow down! I can’t wrap my mind around this yet.” I wasn’t sure what she meant by becoming a “Dungeon Master”… “But that doesn’t explain why you know I come from another world… Does it have anything to do with the ‘connection’?”
“Correct. You may be my Dungeon Master, but I won’t acknowledge you as my master! I may be grateful for the knowledge you bestowed me, but at the same time, I’m resentful,” she stated.
“Knowledge…? My memories?”
She responded with a nod. “I was told that this was a necessary process to become a Dungeon Master — sharing knowledge with the Dungeon Core.”
“Are you speaking the truth? Just how much about me do you know? And by whom were you told that?” Just thinking of her knowing full well about all my memories and secrets made me sweat to no end…
“You need not worry. Most that I got were superficial knowledge.” Whew. “And… I don’t feel like telling you.”
Does she hate me? Well, it’s understandable to suddenly have someone lording over her. I’m glad that it’s not the other way around, I thought, feeling good that I won that battle.
“My, I change my mind. Might as well tell you: The closest term that you will understand is the ‘World Will.’”
The World Will, huh? Understandable. World… Gaia theory… Simulated existence… Somehow, what she said led me to a chaotic notion about something terrifying, but I denied it quickly— Or more like, I didn’t want that to be the case.
For now, I didn’t doubt the information and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Above all, I was just a clueless bum here… and every piece of knowledge would help. Still…
“Anywho. Y’know, I just got tossed into this world without a single idea of why and how. By all means, I’m looking forward to finding my way back home… maybe.” I scratched my cheek.
“And?” she asked, tilting her head.
I decided to just stop beating around the bush and get to the point. “I might not stay here for long and need to hit the road soon. Is there a way to sever the connection?” Of course, I wouldn’t mind exploring the world… but… getting involved in dungeon stuff seemed a pain in the ass.
“Then die.” Despite her outward appearance not moving, her face was dead serious. “If you die, the connection we share will lapse by itself.”
“Be serious, or I…!”
“Fufufu. Well, alright.” She explained, “What I said is just one of the options.” She slurped her tea again before putting the cup in its saucer, and then continued, “To be honest with you, if it wasn’t for the connection, you would have died, being shattered to pieces from the overwhelming stress on your body. By becoming a Dungeon Master, you’re technically reborn anew, no longer of the human race that you formerly were.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m dead serious.” There was no reaction in her outward expression; she was indeed serious.
Am I… no longer a human? Feeling a shiver run down my spine, I immediately checked my status and found nothing different whatsoever on my species except the addition of title and—
Title: [Humanoid] Dungeon Master
- MAG: F (10)
Accumulation Points: 7 [F]
Yahoo! I was exhilarated to find that it was no longer zero, and my evaluation had ranked up. Can I use magic now? Wait, does MAG stand for magic or…
MAG (magical power)
Accumulation of magical energy’s (mana…) limit within the body and an ability to perform magic thereof.
Eh, the explanation is simple enough. Though it probably meant that someone with high MAG didn’t always indicate that they could use magic it seemed. And it appeared that “Accumulation Points,” or simply “AP,” weren’t the sum of all stats, though I didn’t know what made them up.
“Rest assured, whether physically or mentally, you’re no different than before. Don't take what I just said seriously; I'm only half-joking—” She stared at me blankly and remarked, “Hm? What are you grinning silly for? Are you thinking something naughty about me? You pervert.” She acted shy and covered her body with her hands, albeit with little expression change.
I facepalmed; the way she spoke and acted wasn’t like how “typical” humans were supposed to be, nor was she human. Just that, how did she even come to that conclusion? This little rascal.
I like the story, but going from barely considered animate to having this much personality is a huge stretch that makes it seem like you just wanted the core to be a tsundere loli without making the MC make them like that intentionally. Forced plot is always damaging to a story, I hope this isn't an indication that this is how the rest of your story will go. She supposedly got all her personality and memories from him, so unless he is secretly a needlessly creepy girl, I see no logical in-story reason why this happened other than 'author said so'.
I would say, that due to it being barely non sapient/sentient, the link giving it enough to develop a personality is reasonable. It's a magical link, saying that what it caused is forced, is like complaining about people being able to use magic.
A link like that is probably an exellent way to 'uplift' something that has the nessesary proccessing capacity to host a complex mind.
@Al93we Saying 'because magic' is almost exactly the same as saying 'cause the author said so'. Magic is magical sure but still has to follow some kind of rules, where did 'magic' pull the tsun loli from, how did it spin an entire personality that seems to oppose the MC's personality. The problem isn't that she was granted a personality, it is the personality that was granted that makes this less believable as a 'natural' outcome of this type of magic, hence forced because the author wanted to use this personality but didn't want to put in the effort to make it look natural or explain the rules at all on why. Combine that with it being so cliché and already having other novels with almost exactly the same dungeon/master personalities as shown here and it becomes a crutch not a pillar in the story. Borrowing from other sources is a perfectly fine way to create new art, leaning to heavily on one influence or another just shows how limited the author's imagination is. Tolkien didn't invent some of the races in his stories but his unique take and expansion of them is what makes many treat him as the father of high fantasy, the level of effort behind explaining your world is the difference between mediocre and exceptional.
@coldpyr0 Making something entirely new gets harder with time, due to a ever increasing amount of works and it's becoming more likely that even an autors new ideas are someting that has already been done somewhere. There is notthing wrong with cliches, but like with the rest of the story they have to be done right.
Also it is explained where the loli comes from. It linked with the mc and generated the avatar and ego. She was generated based on his ego and memories, whatever ego she had was apparently heavily influenced by him, wich given that she barely had one is pretty reasonable. (She is probably close to a self learning AI that used him as sample to learn 'how to be people') That the details are not expained is due to a narration focused on the mc so the narrator won't tell us things the mc doesn't know. In case you don't know there is a flawed narrator that will even give false information to the reader due to it being bound to a characters perspective.
Saying this is an insufficient explanation is like complaining that, eg. it wasn't perfectly explained how someone could make a fireball by reciting a poem. (especially if the story is not about the how of magic but about people using it)
To begin with magic is an imaginary system, which has rules that are made up by the author, it's literally based on 'it works because the author said so' as it is not something that actually exists. It only becomes a problem if the author gets inconsistent or breaks the rules of his system. Though even then a flawed narrator might be inconsistent or break rules. That is fine as long as those are the result of the narrators flaws and not due to mistakes of the author.
@Al93we Again you've shown that you didn't understand my original point. Came from him explains exactly nothing, it is a hand wave. Nothing about his personality is tsundere or loli, so like I said it falls back to the 'because the author said so'. Saying her personality is built off him and then having her personality be so radically different is literally a cop out, an easy way to 'explain' something the author doesn't want to actually explain.
Stop defending lazy writing or you literally get just the same stories over and over again. They decided to write a story, if they can't bother to put some effort into making it feel real instead of fiction based on the whims of an author they should expect to be criticized for it. If they can't handle criticism and grow/improve they can ignore it and continue being mediocre or quit. Defending them with 'because it happened' type claims help no one.
@coldpyr0 I don't defend shittty writing.
The tsundere might be, at leas partially from her conflicted opinion on him: 'Emotion: Intrigued, resentful, appreciative'.
I'm not saying she is a copy of him, but that her personallity is the result of the things she gained/learned from the link and potentially the direct influence of the mc. (like him projecting his desires into her affecting her)
It makes sense she is different from him, as even if she got access his memories, it wouldn't mean she would become like him or have the same opinion about them. This argument is a pretty good example of this. We both read the same thing, yet we disagree about it. (same memories, different interpretation)
Additionally the whole 'a magic rock gaining sapience' part is fantasy, I don't think there are real live examples of something comparable, so no one can really argue about the result being unresonable. You also have to concider that the why is not really important to the plot, plus if the author went too deep into explaining everything the plot will get slowed down. While you might want those details, other readers might not. So it's not exactly bad writing, at worst it's a style of writing you dislike. You can't make a story everyone likes, because different people like different things.
@Al93we There is so much flawed there, she didn't have a personality so she had no such thing as an opinion. Opinion is what leads to individuality and is one of the primary differences between what is sentient and what is sapient. So her first time being able to form an opinion, on anything, would have been from being exposed to his memories, or whatever mumbo jumbo the author meant by her personality coming from him, and therefore would have formed nearly exactly the same opinions because she had literally no other source of memories or ways of thought to compare them to, much like how children directly affect how their family raised them and only start forming different opinions once they are exposed to other people with different opinions. The information that you are exposed to shapes who you are.
Also, no, it doesn't necessarily slow down the plot to actually explain how your world works. The problem here is the explanation was half heartedly given, which is the worst way to establish your lore. If it isn't important enough for you to actually think about how it works then maybe don't bother introducing it. I'm not going to respond to you anymore, you clearly just want watered down fast paced entertainment and not an immersive story with a living breathing world. I expect at least some effort put into making a world that real events happen in instead of a poorly assembled backdrop of mediocre drawing skills combined with faded colors.
Anytime you chalk up part of your story to 'because magic' or 'because technology' or 'because God' you degrade your story by not caring enough to either change the plot to avoid such an excuse or think up a legitimate reason. Even just outright saying that the characters have no damn idea is better then a lazy 'because it just did' with a shoulder shrug.
@coldpyr0 You are wrong and showing part of the reason blindly going in to too much detail is bad: You need to understand the theme close enough, otherwise people will start to complain about that that's not how it works. There is a balance between detail and just leaving it open. If you describe too much the plot won't move forward and you risk boring the readers with details or in case they are interested in the theme, annoying them with inaccuracies.
Personallity also depends on genetics and as a magical rock she couldn't be different in that aspect, so it would be weird if she was the same as him. She also had memories from before they met, which would also alter the result.
Not mention that the uplifting of a magic rock is very much fantasy, so your 'that's not how it works' is not a valid argument, as there are no uplifted magic rocks in reality. (or anything uplifted for that matter)
For your last argument, that's exactly what he did, he gave the basic premise and that the characters don't know the details.
@Al93we Not even going to bother responding to most of this because you are just repeating yourself but I couldn't just let you get away with saying something as stupid as personality being related to genetics. Pick up an actual science book and not Facebook as your method of learning or you start saying things that are this dumb while also being dangerously close to the ideas and beliefs spread by white nationalists or Nazis. No, your DNA has zero influence on your personality or all babies would act differently depending on their nationality, they don't, they all act like babies. Children of a different nationality to their adoptive parents act how they were raised not magically like other people their same nationality when they've never been exposed to them. So maybe don't go so far defending a frankly stupid novel plot that you say something so brain dead next time...
@coldpyr0 ok but personalities are based on genes.
Sources:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317615904_Genetic_Basis_of_Personality_Traits
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230854879_The_Genetic_Links_Between_the_Big_Five_Personality_Traits_and_General_Interest_Domains
I hope this is enough for scientif evidence of genetic influence of personality,
On another note I do agree the the dungeon core avatar was quite forced.
@AbyssalArray looks like you Googled what you wanted and didn't actually read the studies you linked.
"Genes do not directly influence personality traits. Genetic differences unfold via individual differences in the protein synthesis, neuroanatomic structures, and neural as well as hormonal systems. More than two third of human genes unfold their effects within the brain and the peripheral nervous system – the neural substrate of human psyche and individual consistencies in feeling, thinking, and acting. This internal pathway can account for the specific associations between gene variants and personality traits. Whereas molecular genetic studies have been successfully identified specific genes for various disorders whose symptoms include personality change (e.g., Alzheimer disease), it has emerged as exceedingly difficult to identify single gene variants responsible for individual differences in Big Five traits or related personality traits."
Essentially, genes and gene expressions are among the environmental factors that determine your personality because your genes determine how your neurons are formed and how your body produces/reacts to hormones, etc. Essentially, if you have lower amounts of a certain hormone in your body you are likely to react more or less strongly to certain stimulus, your genes determined your hormone levels and are therefore part of the environment that influenced your development. Genes do not directly create personality, they are just another influence, like getting punched in the face or never being yelled at.
The study found that genetically identical twins are more likely to display identical personalities than siblings or non-identical twins, meaning their gene expressions allowed them to come to the same or similar conclusion to external stimulus, not that they were born with a personality because of their genes.
@coldpyr0 Genes can encode instincts but not personality traits? Huh.
@xedale No, instincts are just how your body has evolved. We don't have instincts to avoid hot things until we have touched hot things or been told it will hurt. If we had instincts carved into our DNA we wouldn't need so many safety measures around young children now would we? Their instincts should tell them not to play on the stairs, not to touch the hot stove, not to put literally everything in their mouth. But nope, we are born stupid and ignorant and have to learn these 'instincts', hence why some people still chew on random pens found around an office or other disgusting and possibly unhealthy things that should be 'instinct'. We had to discover what was poisonous or evolve receptors that react negatively to certain tastes/smells because they are likely to be harmful, etc. Instinct is a vague word that usually is just learned not known or an evolved reaction we gained from previous generations bad experiences.