Darkness.
Not the spooky, Halloween kind. No. This was the deep, existential kind of darkness that made Ethan feel like he'd been deleted from the universe and tossed into a cosmic trash bin labeled "Oops."
He tried to scream, but there was no mouth. No voice. No body.
Just thoughts. And panic.
[Initializing Core Link…]
"Core what now?" Ethan thought, as glowing text began searing itself into his skull—or whatever he had in place of a skull.
[Supreme Dungeon System Booting…]
[Welcome, new Core. Your soul has been successfully transferred.]
[Analyzing consciousness… Subject: Ethan. Status: Confused Loser.]
"…Excuse me?"
[Just kidding. Status: Stable.]
"Don't play with me like that!" he shouted—or thought-shouted—into the void. "I literally just died! At least buy me dinner before you start mocking me."
He tried to remember what happened. He'd been walking home from school, phone in hand, about to pull his final ten-pull on his favorite gacha game. He never got the ultra-rare drops, but hope was eternal. He stepped off the sidewalk—
Screech. Honk. SMACK.
Yep. That was it. Straight-up Truck-kun'd.
"And now I'm... what? A system tutorial victim?" he muttered. "I swear, if this is one of those bootleg isekai stories, I'm suing someone."
The darkness around him began to shift, melting into blurry shapes, and suddenly — sensation.
Not in a body.
In… a room?
A weird, damp, rocky room.
But he wasn't in the room.
He was the room.
"Wait. Wait wait wait. What the hell do you mean I am the room?!"
[You are now a Dungeon Core.]
[Congratulations, Ethan! You have been reborn in the world of Aerthis as the lowest-ranked core.]
"NO THANK YOU."
[Rank: -F]
"MINUS F?! That's not even on the scale! That's not a rank, that's a slap in the face!"
[Estimated survival time: 12 minutes.]
"...WHAT?!"
Ethan's mental screaming echoed off the mossy dungeon walls that were, apparently, his new body. The small, circular room was about the size of a cheap apartment bathroom. A single entrance tunnel led into the chamber, the ground was made of cracked stone tiles, and a faint blue flame hovered in the center of the air like an ambient light bulb with delusions of grandeur.
"Oh my god, I'm an underground light fixture," he muttered.
A window pinged into view:
---
[Core Status – Ethan]
Rank: -F
Core Level: 1 (0/100 EXP)
Mana: 10 / 10
Mana Regen: 0.3/sec
Monster Capacity: 1
Room Count: 1 (Core Chamber)
Trap Slots: 1
System Type: Supreme Dungeon System (Prototype)
---
"Wait… Supreme Dungeon System?" Ethan asked, perking up. "Prototype? That sounds rare. Limited edition. Like, ultra-legendary banner kind of stuff."
[Correct. You are the only known Supreme Dungeon Core in existence.]
Ethan paused.
Then grinned.
Then immediately stopped grinning.
"…I'm still gonna die in twelve minutes, aren't I?"
[Correct. Unless you place defenses immediately.]
"Oh my god, I actually have to do things?"
Another ping.
---
[Available Units: Basic Slime]
Cost: Free
Behavior: Loyal (Dumb)
Name: Goop
Strength: 1
Intelligence: HAHA
---
A small, squishy, translucent blob slid into the room from the corner, leaving a jiggly trail behind it. Its body pulsed gently as it bounced in place, staring directly into Ethan's nonexistent face.
"Are you my starter Pokémon?"
The slime let out a bloop and spun in a slow circle.
"…I love you already."
---
[Assign Basic Slime to Monster Slot 1?]
[Y/N]
Ethan slammed the mental "YES" button like he was confirming a last-second discount purchase at checkout.
---
[Assigned. Monster Slot 1/1: Goop (Lv. 1)]
[Bond Level: 1 – Cautious Curiosity]
---
Goop burbled.
Ethan burbled back.
Then he paused.
"Wait… do I have any traps?"
---
[Trap Inventory: 1 Unlocked]
[Spike Tile – Cost: 10 Mana]
[Sticky Floor – Locked]
[Fake Chest – Locked]
[Poison Vent – Locked]
---
"Great. I get one trap. One. I've seen mobile games with better starting kits."
Still, he had no choice.
He selected Spike Tile, hovered it over the main path just before the entrance, and confirmed placement.
The moss-covered ground shifted slightly, then clicked back into place like nothing happened.
---
[Trap Deployed – Mana: 0 / 10]
[Now... Wait.]
---
"Wait? Wait for what—?"
Suddenly, he felt something. A pressure. A presence. Footsteps. Someone was walking down the tunnel.
"Oh my god, I'm not ready!"
Goop wobbled nervously, moving toward the moss tile like a sentient jelly bean trying to look threatening.
A voice echoed down the hall.
"Looks like a fresh spawn. Should be easy XP."
It was a teenager. Older than Ethan maybe. Worn gear, chipped sword, cocky tone.
"Please trip. Please trip. Please step on the stupid moss," Ethan whispered with every bit of faith in his mana-soul.
The adventurer walked in—confident, grinning—and stepped directly onto the trap.
CLICK...
Spikes burst from the ground.
"ARGH—WHAT THE—?!"
Blood sprayed. He screamed. Goop pounced like an overexcited pudding cup.
The boy swung his sword and slipped backward—cracking his head on the stone floor.
Silence.
A ping.
---
[Intruder Defeated!]
[EXP +15 | Mana +10]
[Core Level: 1 ➝ 2]
[Monster Goop Leveled Up ➝ Lv. 2]
[Bond Level Increased ➝ 2 – Trusting Goop]
---
Ethan didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or throw up mana.
"…Did I just commit murder?"
Goop jiggled proudly.
"…We're accessories to murder."
Goop spun in a circle.
"I'm not cut out for this! I was supposed to be playing games, not being one!"
But deep inside him, something pulsed. A warmth. The system liked it. Rewarded it. Killing adventurers meant survival. Survival meant power.
And power…
Ethan sighed.
"Okay, Goop. Let's build more traps."
The slime bounced.