The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Vitmori POV/Orwis Memories

There was a flash of light that enveloped everything, we then opened our eyes to see a soft, blue light coming from a fragile-looking pebble. It was a gentle and new light, open to discovering the new place it found itself in. It turned to look, seeing a clear rock with strange lines within it. A feeling came over the little spider and she reached out, tapping it with its little leg as the rock glowed and shifted.

"This is as far back as we could go, right?" I ask, pulling my perspective away from the small spider and standing in a room that felt cloudy and obscured. This whole place was new and unexplored, and Orwis had no frame of understanding its surroundings just yet.

I watched as Rita and Reyvyre stepped into focus, looking around the small cave that we found ourselves in. "This is the earliest memory I could find, so we are likely near the beginning of her core's existence." Reyvyre stated, though as we looked around, I could sense the palpable excitement coming from both of them as they stood around a newly created Orwis from before she had a name and way before she became an Arachne.

"What's got the two of you all excited?" I couldn't help but ask as I came over to see what they were looking at. At first, all I saw was Orwis, who looked to be about as big as a Texas house spider, around three to four inches in length. It was not a species I recognized, but that was to be expected.

Reyvyre spoke up first, gesturing to the strange rock that was behind Orwis. It was a crystal of some kind, a little spike-looking thing that was around two to three inches in height. "I don't think you understand the significance of this Vitmori. This right here is a spawner, however, it's still in its nascent stage, essentially blank without significant influence from the monsters it creates." She explained rather excitedly while doing her best to memorize the thing with her eyes since she was unable to take physical notes in our current state.

Looking over to Rita, I quirked a brow curiously while tilting my head a little. "How about you? What's got your eye?"

Rita flashed a little smile, shrugging with her wings as she glanced at me before looking the little spawner over. "I took a couple of years of dungeon studies back at the academy, so I'm just appreciating this for the novel experience that it is."

Reyvyre smiled over at Rita, just happy that the winged mage was appreciating this moment as much as she was. She then looked up at me as she gestured to the spawner itself. "You should be looking into this Vitmori, quite frankly, I'm surprised you don't have any spawners at all now that I think about it." She mentioned before studying the crystal again.

Huh... Now that she mentions it, how come I didn't get any spawners? Turning my attention back to the moment and walking over to the memory of the core, it didn't look any stronger or bigger than I was when I awoke in this world. At the back of my mind, I do feel a little cheated, but I suppose things worked out in the end. I'm just lucky I was as isolated as I am now. Who knows what would have happened if someone stumbled across me in those first days before Basti came into my service? "Anyways, we should keep moving and see what kind of core this little blue pebble turned into." I remind them, focusing back on the moment as the memory progresses.

While the little spider was mesmerized by the blue light, another glow caught its attention; a small circle of lights with a spiked crystal in the center. The light only grew more intense, illuminating the crystal as the air itself seemed to be charged with energy.

Reyvyre stopped the memory again, stepping out from Orwis' perspective, followed by Rita and then myself as she hurried over to the still-glowing magic circle. She quickly dropped to her hands and knees, eagerly examining the whole thing. All the while I could literally feel the excitement just radiating off of her. Rita soon followed after her, a sense of excitement coming from her as well; the duo quietly discussed things between them. The older and more experienced mage made observations while the younger did her best to follow along and offer her own insights.

As much as I knew of magic thanks to their combined memories, all of this was still Greek to me as I looked things over. I recognized a few runes here and there, but trying to decipher how they were strung together or the intended effects was beyond my understanding. Turning my attention to Reyvyre, I decided to address her first while gesturing to the magic circle before us. "So, what caught your eye? Anything interesting?" I ask as leadingly as I can.

Reyvyre was practically shivering with excitement as she perked up at my question. "I have no idea!" She admitted as she looked the magic circle over again. "Okay, that's a lie. I think I already have an idea, but the thing is that I've never seen a magic circle quite like this. The intricacy of the runes being weaved here is unlike anything I've ever seen done before. The commands and instructions are listed in a very archaic and wordy fashion. It almost reads like a chant or a promise, but the language is old even for me." She explained almost too quickly as she ran her fingers along the memory of the glowing runes.

Rita pitched in at that, giving me her full attention, unlike Reyvyre. "If I had to compare it to anything, it reminds me of a summoning circle for making contracts with spirits. But those are usually very specific and require different runes for each element you would try to contract with. There is a universal summoning circle, but usually, people have an idea of what sort of element they would prefer to contract with."

"W-wait a minute, spirits? Like ghosts?" I asked, feeling a little out of my depth as they discussed more magic stuff.

Rita nodded, still giving me her attention while Reyvyre was in her own world. "Spirits are a field of magic that is not commonly practiced as other sorts of magic." She mentioned, taking a moment to find her words as she nodded to herself. "It's looked down upon by the wider magic community as it is most commonly known to be used by 'talentless' or 'weak' spell casters needing to form a bond with another being to be able to use magic from a single element. It's ironic really, as the same sorts of magic users who denounce Spiritualists are often the ones who form pacts with higher beings for a gift of magic power. Alas, Spiritualists do serve important roles beyond being another type of magic user, as the more talented of them who have contracted multiple spirits often serve as the bridge between our world and the elemental realms of spirits. Much like how Druids serve as the bridge between our world of civilization and that of nature." She explained as thoroughly as she could manage, looking at me with an almost sly smile at the mention of Druids.

Reyvyre finally pitched in, having crawled to the opposite end of the magic circle, closely studying the entire thing but taking a moment to look up at me with a smile on her face. "Remember how I said your affinity with flames was akin to a fire elemental?"

I bob my head once, remembering the conversation. "Or a dragon, if I remember correctly."

Reyvyre nodded as she started to look back to the runes again. "Right. Well, an elemental is just a type of spirit. Sure, there are spirits of soul, life, death, light, and darkness among other things. But those are much rarer and they hardly ever form contracts with the short-lived and they're rarer still amongst those of us with longer lives." She explained, though her focus was soon elsewhere as Rita joined her again, the two of them discussing things with quite frankly a concerning amount of jargon that continued to go over my head.

After what feels like hours, the two are finally done for now. They stepped away from the magic circle as they looked at me almost cheerfully. "All done now?" I ask, forcing a pleasant smile despite my slight annoyance at how long they dragged on their discussion. While I can certainly appreciate the academic curiosity, we were here to figure out if the core in my care is innocent or deserves to be cracked, not study magic circles and spawners.

Reyvyre politely bobbed her head and smiled at me. "Yes Vitmori, thank you for indulging our interests." She offered cheerfully, seemingly noticing my annoyance.

I couldn't really hold it against them for all too long, and I figured whatever they learned was likely to benefit me anyway. In the end, I just sigh a bit and smile in response. "Sure, shall we continue?" At that, both Rita and Reyvyre nod as we jointly focus back on the moment. The magic circle flashed brightly, and in the next moment, a little frog came into view.

We moved forward through Owris' memories, and coming back into focus we saw a forest with trees and brush that were tactfully littered with webs. Spiderlings patrol the treetops, tending to the wild fruits blessed by the core's influence. Orwis continued her patrol, wandering with two other larger spiders as they skittered from tree to bush to yet another tree, checking on the spiderlings that maintain it. Suddenly, she hears a twig snapping; turning to look, she spots a trio of dungeon delvers with large baskets strapped to their backs. She let out a chittering call of challenge, skittering back as the spiders that were with her began charging forth.

The trio, armed with spears enhanced by spider limbs and other parts, get into a readied stance. One girl rushes forward, a small but effective mana heart pulsing in her chest as she swipes at the first of the two spiders with her spear. The large spider ducked and dodged as it skittered around her, forcing her to turn to face it as she managed to separate it from the other spider.

The other two delvers ready their own spears, a boy and a girl with no mana heart to speak of, as they do their best to take turns harrying the second spider, one grabbing its attention while the other takes stabs at the main body of the spider. The spider manages to get a good swipe with its forelimbs, cutting the boy along his right shin. The boy cries out through gritted teeth but manages to press forward as he buries the spear in between the spider's eyes, the girl coming around to finish it off with a spear through its abdomen.

The first girl soon finished up her own battle, parrying multiple strikes from the large spider using two of its forelimbs to strike at her before she hooked one of its legs and suddenly flipped the spider with a surprising show of strength. She then used her enhanced speed to impale the spider through its abdomen, finishing it off.

The trio looked exhilarated by the quick combat encounter, soon setting about collecting materials as the girl with the mana heart butchers the spiders, the other girl taking a small folding ladder from the boy's pack and using it to climb up to one of the trees to start collecting fruits and webbing. The boy takes a moment to bandage his leg, before joining the girl with the mana heart as they butcher the spiders together.

Orwis can already sense the spiders' energy being sent back to the spawner to be remade anew. She also relished in the exertion of vital energies that were released by the delvers' fighting, this encounter providing her core with fresh power for it to use elsewhere when needed.

The girl with the mana heart spots Orwis in the distance but does not move to engage or fight Orwis, as they clearly recognize each other. The girl simply bobs her head before focusing back on the butchering at hand as Orwis skittered off to another part of the forest.

Orwis couldn't help but feel satisfied pride at watching the delver with the mana heart, the girl having ignited it within the dungeon's borders a year ago. Her companions lacked the good fortune of awakening a mana heart for themselves, but they held their own well enough.

I take a step back from the moment, leaving Orwis' perspective and looking around curiously. Reyvyre and Rita follow me out soon enough as they look among the trees and check out the delvers curiously. "So this is considered a dungeon? It's just a bunch of trees with spiders roaming the area, what about the labyrinth and mazes I heard about?" I asked, looking at Reyvyre and Rita.

Reyvyre smiled a bit and nodded. "Dungeon is usually a catch-all term. Generally, it's the competitive and belligerent dungeons that build mazes and labyrinths to expressly test and combat the delvers that choose to enter their territory.'' She explained before looking at where the kids were. "Something like this, an open forest with roaming encounters... Well, based on how we saw that delver with the mana heart and Orwis interact..." She started to explain, trailing off as I could sense the uncertainty in her mind. "Well so far, this is looking a lot like a cooperative dungeon. Bountiful and generous with supplies and goods and rarely ever deadly. Sure mistakes happen on both ends, but usually, cooperative dungeons don't seek the death of their delvers."

I nod intently, looking over at the kids who just battled the oversized spiders. I couldn't help but be surprised at how well they handled themselves. Sure, there was a lot to improve, but they managed to maintain their composure in a combat situation where friendly blood was drawn. He knew of a lot of grown men and women back in his old life who couldn't even manage something like that. "They're so young... Is this the usual age for someone to be fighting monsters?" I asked as I looked at Reyvyre.

She snapped out of her thoughts, having been considering why a cooperative dungeon would eventually be slated to be cracked. However, she soon focused back on me, needing a moment to digest my words before offering an answer. "Well, yes and no... Anyone can delve dungeons, that's just a part of the risk and reward of harvesting the natural bounties within their borders. After all, it would be nearly impossible to keep local villagers from exploring a newly formed dungeon that sprouted in their own backyard." She explained as she came up beside me to look over the trio of kids. "The girl with the mana heart looks to be around eleven or twelve. She would be old enough to test into a guild and possibly become a Porcelain if she's skilled enough to meet the minimum requirements. The mere fact that she has a mana heart would already be enough for most guilds though. The other kids would have to be tested for sure, and if they weren't able to meet the requirements, they would then be prevented from joining a guild until they're eventually able to pass." She said as she mulled over her thoughts once again. After a few more moments she happened to look over at me again, noticing how I was waiting for her to continue explaining a few more things now that she'd mentioned guilds. She flashed a bit of a smile before continuing. "Joining guilds brings all sorts of benefits, especially getting to take jobs that would earn them more coin, connections, and notoriety than merely delving would offer them."

I nod along, trying to wrap my head around the idea of a mercenary guild that would earnestly recruit children for possibly dangerous and deadly work. However, it's not like I have much of a leg to stand on as I also consider how many children I trained to survive the apocalypse so that they could be able to provide for others. I suppose if this world is naturally that dangerous, it would make sense for the training of those who seek out this lifestyle would start young for the sake of both quality and quantity. "Interesting." That is really all I have to say about that as I stepped away from the kids and looked over the trees and spiderlings that were maintaining them. "Let's keep moving, we still have more memories that need to be reviewed." I suggest, starting to focus back on the moment of the memory as Rita and Reyvyre follow suit.

We kept going, checking in here and there as the next couple of years went by, watching as Orwis continued to grow and develop along with her core as more and more delvers visited their territory. Watching as she emerges from a cocoon of her own silk and becomes an arachne, no longer just the spider she had been all this time. Another half a year goes by, and we focus back on the moment once more, only to find that the forest is burning.