Core of Knowledge

Xu Han was looking over his second floor with his dungeon fairy when he sensed the change from the entrance. It was a feeling of something different and foreign within his presence, like someone had just invaded his personal space. For a moment, Xu Han did not recognize it. Then, he remembers when he felt this way before.

He turned his full attention to the entrance and saw the group of adventurers who had entered his dungeon; Xu Han even recognized one of them. It was the dwarf that managed to pass his dungeon, and apart from him, there were five other people.

“Jemma, there are adventurers in the dungeon.”

“Already? That was faster than I expected. Can you show me?”

Jemma cast a spell and Xu Han could sense several threads of mana coming from her. The dungeon core used some of his mana and connected with the mana threads of the dungeon fairy. Dungeons fairies share a symbiotic connection with their dungeons and mana connection like this was supposed to be second natured. This proves to be the case as the connection between the two was firm and seamless.

According to Jemma, this connection was similar to something the Classed called a spell ritual, massive spells that requires many Classed to cast together. The concept was not unknown to Xu Han who knows it as a formation.

Dungeons have the ability to see all parts of their dungeon, and Xu Han now shared his view of what was happening on the first floor with Jemma. The dungeon fairy says this ability was called ‘Dungeon View’ by most mortals, and some dungeon cores even captured their Dungeon View on an item called an ‘Image Stone’ and sell it to the mortals. Evidently, some cultures in his world think dungeon delving is a form of entertainment and are willing to exchange resources to view them.

It made no sense to Xu Han.

“Oh, look! There are six of them.” Jemma exclaimed. “That dwarf who escaped, an old human [Priest], a [Mage], two [Fighters], one looked like a [Knight], and the last one looked like a [Rogue] of some sort. A good balanced team.”

Xu Han ignored the commentary from his dungeon fairy and concentrated on the adventuring team walking down the long dark tunnel. The adventurer Jemma called a rogue was taking the lead with the dwarf and one of the fighters, the [Knight], flanking her. The old priest and mage were next, and the last fighter was protecting the rear with a bow. Even to Xu Han’s foreign eyes, he could see that this team knew what they were doing. He still had questions though.

“Jemma, that woman in the lead looks different. She is not a human, is she?”

“No, she’s an elf. Wait, let me guess. There were no elves in your world too.”

“How could you have guessed?” Xu Han answered with a chuckle. Jemma respond in kind as they watched the group walk further down the long dark tunnel.

“So, tell me about the elves?”

Xu Han was fascinated by the different species of this world. In the Crimson Lands, a dwarf was just a term people used to describe a short person. In this world, they were a different species. A hardy, tough people who lived deep under the earth and were known to be incredible craftsmen.

Xu Han was not unused to other species. He had met with Flood Dragons, Tengus, and Shivaraths, among others in the Crimson Lands, but Men were the undoubted rulers of his former homeland. That was not the case here.

According to Jemma, men were called Humans in this world, and they are but one of many sentient species with their own civilizations.

“Elves are a long lives species known for their grace, mobility, and deep connection to Mana.” Jemma said, unaware of Xu Han’s musing.

“What is she doing? Do elves walk like that normally?” The elvish woman was walking with her legs bend, low to the ground with her eyes constantly scanning the tunnel.

“She is checking for traps. Most rogues have skills that help with their perception. This makes them experts in spotting and making traps.” Jemma said as she pointed at the woman in question. “She is walking closer to the ground so that it will be easier for her to spot the traps.”

“What does a [Rogue] do?” Xu Han was always trying to learn more about the Class System of this world, so Jemma was unsurprised by his question.

“It is a starting class like [Fighter] and [Mage]. The Gods designed it to help the Classed fight in the shadows of the cities. [Thief], [Assassin], [Shadow Dancer] are some of the classes that comes from the [Rogue]. Most Classed changed their classes as they level up, so there’s no telling what her specific class is now.”

Xu Han was unsurprised by the information. The Systems of War and Magic are very different from the Cultivation Arts, but they sound easier to use. In Xu Han’s experience, that’s not always a good thing but the people seem to have no problem with it, and the Systems work on a gradual curve. The Classed starts out weak before levelling up and receiving more powerful Classes. Jemma assured him more powerful Classes are always available to the Classed, but the more powerful the Class, the harder it is to level. So, the Classed are very careful about how they advance.

To Xu Han, that made a lot of sense. The changing of Classes sounds a lot like the realms to him. In cultivation, once a cultivator improved his mind, body, and soul to a certain point, he may attempt to leap to a higher realm. That’s what he did when he tried to jump from the Soul Emperor realm to Godhood.

He failed, but cultivators who succeed will receive a massive boost in power. The boost from the Systems was more gradual but in return, the Classed receive more Skills from the Systems and there is less need for the Classed to train tireless in new techniques every time they go to a new class.

The adventuring group slowly made their way down the long tunnel and onto the first floor. None of them seemed surprised when the darkness deposited them into the fog, telling Xu Han the dwarf must have informed them this was going to happen. The dungeon core wasn’t surprised by that, but he was surprised by the reactions of the group.

The members of the adventuring group reacted differently to the presence of the fog.

The woman Jemma called a [Mage] immediately took out a piece of paper and began writing something down with a quill. Without ink! The scholar within Xu Han wanted to kill the woman just for that magical item, but the dungeon core within him resisted the urge. Something told Xu Han that was both improper and unfair.

The old man who Jemma called a [Priest] took a deep breath and looked around thoughtfully. After a moment, he shut his eyes and murmured a prayer to his god. A green glow surrounds him. The [Priest] began walking, not to the nearest light, but to the end of the floor where the treasure chest was.

Xu Han was wondering what the old man was doing when the actions of one of the [Fighters] got his attention. The dungeon core saw him pointing at a spot near him, and a spectral horse appeared. The [Fighter] got on the horse and began to ride towards the lights.

The other three members of the adventuring group all ran towards the lights, though Xu Han noticed that the elvish woman seem to be doing things differently from the dwarf and the other fighter.

“Jemma, that [Fighter] just used a Skill, didn’t he?”

“Yes, something like Spectral Horse or Forever Steed if I didn’t miss my guess.” Jemma answered while in her thinking pose. “He must have some sort of an advance riding Class.”

“A riding Class? What are they called?”

“[Cavalryman], [Dragoon], [Rider], the last has several variations such as [Fast Rider], [Shadow Rider], and [Night Rider].” The dungeon fairy then slapped her hands together and exclaimed. “Oh! I get it. This is not an adventuring group. This is an exploration team!”