He startled himself awake, but with no earthly idea how or when he had gone to sleep. This time, appearing in a small cave. Roughly as large as a mobile home. Varying from 2 to 2½ meters high, 6 or 7 wide and maybe just a bit more than 20 long.

What confused him though, was that his sense of sight seems to be emanating from the walls. As if a multitude of seemingly random points within it were acting as eyes. Embedded into the back wall, is a large multifaceted crystal. About the size and shape of a child's backpack. Focusing his attention on it, he could sense that this crystal is actually his new seat of conciousness.

He thought, [wasn't I supposed to be a foxxy boi?]

This sparked a memory from his recent past, but which also wasn't. The absurd duality of the situation tore into his conciousness like a migraine.

. . .

. . .

Once he regained some clarity of thought, he delved into this memory. Reliving it while also experiencing for the first time.

¤¤¤¤¤

He found himself in a large gazebo. It was so richly appointed, it would make most emperors feel overwhelmed. Standing in the middle, no, floating there, is a glowing figure. This man having a brilliantly silver-white sheen to his skin. Literally golden hair, and eyes shining brightly as if magnesium were burning in the iris, around the very darkest of black pupils. Somewhere between vantablack and event horizon. The robe he wears reminiscent of a Jedi Master, but only in design. As it was woven of metallic threads only a few microns thick.

"Finally! Do you know how rude it is to keep a god waiting?"

[It's never come up before. And you say that like I had a choice.]

"Whatever. I brought you hence to perform a task for me. You will be the guiding intelligence for a monster-infested dungeon. Your job is to challenge the local beasts so they can become strong enough to defend themselves against the imminent demon invasion."

[Question.]

"What is it?"

[You're an idiot.]

"That's not a fucking question!"

[Obviously. Picking someone living their life the way they like, murdering them and enslaving their soul? Is this how you get yourself off? And now you expect me to just obediently fulfill your whimsy. That doesn't scream out 'genius' at me.]

The unnamed god sent a blast of divine energy out to punish the disembodied soul for mouthing off at him.

[What was that? Do you have mosquitoes around here? Maybe you should invest in a bug zapper.]

Then he continued to do so for several more minutes.

"Had enough, brat?"

[I give this place 2½ stars. The decor is nice but the staff are rude. And you should work on your massage skills.]

"Are you some kind of masochist?"

[Wait, was that supposed to hurt?]

Just then a spark of memory crossed over from the other soul fragment.¹the one in chapter 1 This distracted 'our hero' for a minute. Losing track of the conversation while a plan quickly formed.

"...listening? Stop ignoring me."

[I'll do it-] He got interrupted.

"Wonderful. Why didn'-" He interrupted in return.

[IF you grant me a unique skill of my own design, plus a couple of other minor perks.]

"What? Why should I accept your blackmail?"

[It's called negotiating a deal. You don't just want me for this job, you need me for it. Moreover, you need me to be willing.]

"What makes you think you're so special."

[You were surprised I wasn't hurt by that. . whatever it was. This tells me that my soul is so much stronger than any other you've dealt with. And by my guess, you specifically need someone with a strong or resiliant soul like mine. So it follows that you should not expect anyone nearly as qualified as me for the next few millennia.]

. . .

His shoulders slump down. "Alright, let's hear about your Unique Skill idea."

[I want something called 'Modification.' With the following parameters: I can change any aspect of myself or someone I touch, not limited to what already shows up in a Status screen. Two, one usage per person per day. Period. Three, one use per day per skill level. Four, one type of use per skill level on any individual. Five, two uses per type per skill level on any individual. That's it.]

"Is that even . . What?"

[What's so difficult about that? Were the schools in your neighborhood subpar?]

...

Another minute passed by while the still-nameless Godly individual worked out how it would work out.

"That's just within my power to grant. Your other demands might be too much though."

[At least hear me out first, okay?]

.."Fine."

[Next I want the ability to shop for, purchase and recieve items from my previous world, Earth. I figure if you want me to be a dungeon, then I would have 'dungeon points' or something similar in my Status. It's fine to use that. After that I want a WiFi connection with Earth. The latest and greatest of whatever's available. But this can wait until I get a device to use it with.]

"Is that all? (sarcastic:) Sir?"

[And last, I want to reconnect with my other soul fragment. The one chosen as the current generation's Hero.]

"WAIT, WHAT?"

[You're not the only one to bring me to this world. What did she call it? Oh right, Vulamar. So all of that will not only make me more willing to help your mortal worshippers, it'll make me more able to do so. Or is all that too much for you to do?]

"How did? . . But then?"

[Two different Isekai Trucks, at the exact same time. Then, I 'unno, quantum entanglement? You're the expert here.]

¤¤¤¤¤

Then the memory fades away.

Leaving behind a dazed intelligence inhabiting a crystal. Stuck inside a drab, empty little cave.

[What am I even supposed to be doing? How'm I gonna beat a demon king when I'm trapped in this jeweler's wetdream of a body?]

. .

[Wait, if I can remember both gods reincarnating me.. Maybe I got put back together again. And that Unique Skill I asked them both for might've doubled up as well. Check 'n find out then. Status.]

. .

[Status.]

[Why isn't it showing up, is it broken?] {STATUS!} Then it finally appears within his vision.

 

---

Name: -   Class: -   Level: 0
Rank: A   Species: Dungeon Core (/Fox Beastkin)   Title: Dungeon (/Hero)
HP: 30/30   SP: -/-
(/HP: -/-)   (/SP: -/-)
MP: 6739/6739   DP 100

Attributes
Body: Str -   Con -   Tuf -   Hrd 30
Move: Dex -   Agi -   Spd -
Mind: Int 89   Wis 65   Spi 1287
Gen: Cha 19   Att 78   Luk 34
Bonus points: -

Traits
Rock Hard

Passive Skills
___

Common Skills
Identify 1   Swallow

Combat Skills
___

Magic Skills
Summon   Tame   Promote
Holy 1

Unique Skills
Mod 1   Shop

Titles
Dungeon Core   Hero

Map

Inventory 1

Tiles

Traps

Monsters

---

 

[Okay, there it it. I just had to want it a bit harder than just thinking at myself]

[Huh, it gives two entries on some things. Like Species and HP, but everything else gets just one. Well, I guess a strike doesn't even count as the one. But a rock like the new me prob'ly wouldn't have any of those anyway. Charisma and Intelligence look about right, given that she said 30 is an average for the baseline. But why is Attractiveness so high? . . I guess I answered that earlier with the quip about being a jeweler's wetdream.]

[Wait, there's an extra entry on the stats. Hrd? Must be 'hard' then. It's equal to my max HP. Well, one of them. And I guess it'll give physical damage resistance too? Toughness was supposed to do something like both of those. Maybe Hard will give better reduction then? Oh, no need to guess, I can just Identify it with that Identify skill.]

 

---

Hrd 30
Hardness. Gives 1HP per Attribute Point.
Reduced physical damage recieved with each attack by 1HP per Attribute Point.

---

 

[Awesome. Straight up damage reduction. Although it won't help much if someone / thing can do a hundred per hit. Enough distractions, what's Mod able to do?]

 

---

Mod 1
Modification. Change any parameter by +1 / -1.
Range: self / touch.
Limit 1 daily use per target.
Limit 2 daily uses per skill level.
Limit 2 parameters on any target per skill level.
Limit 3 maximum bonus / penalty per parameter on any target per skill level.

---

 

[Awesomer. They merged. A +3 bonus on 2 anythings of my choice, both per skill level. On myself and my allies. I'll be able to fight that Demon King and his army with an army of my own. Though it would help if I could move. No, wait. That can come later. The skill gets better with skill level, and higher Int and Wis both speed that process up.] {Mod: Int+1} [Now what about the rest of em?]

 

---

DP
Dungeon Points: spend to use Dungeon options.
Gain from having Intruders inside your Dungeon area.
Gain from Intruders dying inside your Dungeon area.
Gain from converting unattended objects with Swallow.
.
Rock Hard
Requires a body made of stone / crystal / metal.
Grants Attribute: Hardness
Grants Attribute Bonus: Hardness +25
.
Identify 1
Show Status information.
Limited by authorization.
.
Swallow
Consume material to replenish DP.
Consume material to replenish Resources.
.
Summon
Teleport any monster  you own to a specific point, costs MP.
Call a random wild monster of (type), costs DP.
.
Tame
Grant ownership of a monster.
Cost varies by Rank and Level, costs DP.
.
Promote
Improve Level of owned monster, costs DP + MP.
Improve Rank of owned monster, costs DP + MP.
Improve ownership level of monster from tamed to champion, costs DP + MP.
.
Holy 1
Grants usage of Holy spells, depending upon skill level.
Allows Cure-1.
.
Cure-1
Range: Touch
Restore 10 HP per cast (high Int raises to 17)
Cost 10 MP per cast (high Wis lowers to 8)
.
Shop
Summon items from another World, costs DP.
.
Dungeon Core
Title holder is central controller of a dungeon.
Grants Rock Hard, Swallow, Summon, Tame, Promote, Tiles, Traps, Monsters.
Grants additional Skills and abilities at higher levels.
.
Hero
Title holder is granted +5 to all Attributes.
Title holder is granted +1 to all Bonus Point categories per Level gain.
Title holder is granted 10% skill experience gain.
Title holder is granted +1 skill level in Holy magic.
Title holder is granted Map, Inventory, Universal Translation.
.
Map
Show known region.
Options: Opaque / Transparent / Mini / Off.
.
Inventory 1
Carry up to 5 Kg in a hidden subspace.
11% weight reduction.
.
Tiles
Expand or Alter dungeon's controlled area.
Options: Alter / Assimilate / Dig.
.
Alter
Please choose owned area to Alter.
.
Assimilate
Please choose open area to Assimilate.
.
Dig
Please choose new area to Dig.
.
Traps
Place traps to protect core from dangers.
Options: Pit / Rockfall.
.
Monsters
List of owned monsters:
-

---

 

[Ooh, what to do next?]