YOU ARE THE FIRST TO CLEAR THE EDDINGTON DUNGEON.

  The voice echoed like it was rising from a deep stone well, carrying a faint reverb that belonged in a haunted house or a low-budget horror movie. The robed figure in front of us didn’t look quite solid. It was there and not there at the same time, like a half-formed thought.

  THIS WAS NOT EXPECTED FOR THIS TO HAPPEN THIS SOON. THE CHEST WAS YOUR REWARD FOR BEING FIRST.

  The pause that followed felt like a speaker sweeping his eyes across an audience, only the figure didn’t move.

  IT IS NOTED THAT THE REASON IS YOU HAVE A FIRST. FIRST MANA MAGE. YOU HAVE COME FAR WITH HIS HELP.

  “And on our own, too,” Shadow said, chin tilted. “It ain’t all him.”

  “Yeah. We’ve earned everything we’ve done,” Bhaarrt added. “Will didn’t carry us.”

  EACH OF YOU WAS SEEN DOING YOUR PART. YOU ARE A TEAM. SUCH A TEAM WAS NOT AN EXPECTATION THIS SOON.

  Ingrid stepped forward, her voice calm but reverent. “Whoever you are, thank you for what you’ve given us. This Boss room was the hardest thing we’ve ever faced. What you gave us will help in the future.”

  “Do we go on to the next floor?” I asked. The voice sounded male, though softer than I expected.

  IT IS NOT READY YET. IT WAS EXPECTED TO TAKE DAYS OR WEEKS FOR SOMEONE TO MAKE IT THIS FAR. IT WAS NOT IN THE TEACHINGS.

  “Not in the teachings?” I echoed. The realization hit me hard. “This is the Dungeon Core. We’re speaking directly to it. That means….” I caught myself before I said too much aloud.

  “Just so we know and can tell others,” I pressed on. “Could we have left at any point, or did we have to finish the floor? I know you can’t flee a Boss fight, but it matters if lower-level people can stop when they need to. Otherwise, we may be the only group you see for weeks. Maybe longer.”

  The figure shimmered without moving, like a connection wavered.

  YOU ARE CORRECT. IT IS THE TEACHINGS TO BE THAT WAY. NOT EVERYWHERE WILL BE THAT WAY.

  “Good. That means people can leave when needed. Once we’re out, we’ll tell those waiting. You’ll have visitors soon. Probably more than you can handle. Unless, of course, you create an instance for each group. Do you? Otherwise, they’d group up and get through faster than we did.”

  YOU ARE CORRECT. YOU EACH GET YOUR OWN ITERATION OF THE FLOOR YOU ARE ON.

  “The floor. Not the whole dungeon. More efficient. You’d need less MANA that way.”

  YOU ARE CORRECT. HOW DO YOU KNOW SUCH THINGS?

  “I read a story type called Dungeon Core. Sentient dungeons. Sometimes they are born from a dying soul. I think you’re one of those. Are you?”

  WHY DO YOU BELIEVE SUCH THINGS?

  “Because I’ve been mapping as we go.” I held up my clipboard and graph paper. “This layout is classic D&D. Bilateral symmetry, efficient use of creatures. It looks like something I designed as a kid running tabletop games.”

  We noticed that early on.” As I said that, things were dropping into place. Things I missed, or didn’t realize I knew. Sometimes the round peg fits in the square hole.

  THOSE THINGS ARE NOT IN THE TEACHINGS.

  “I’m not surprised. They’re not in your Teachings, but they’re in you. I think you were once a person here on Earth. The SYSTEM pulled your soul to run this dungeon. It borrowed from what it learned in our books and shows.”

  THOSE THINGS ARE NOT IN THE TEACHINGS.

  Blaze leaned close and whispered, “Will? Are you sure?”

  I nodded.

  [William of Brinsford:] [PARTY] [Yes. Chat probably monitored.]

  “Are there things in your Teachings that allow you to talk to us like this?”

  IT IS IN THE TEACHINGS. THIS IS AN AVATAR. THE TEACHINGS ALLOW IT AT CERTAIN TIMES. THIS IS ONE.

  “It’s a reward for being first,” I told the group. “And we’re grateful. All of us.” The others murmured thanks in turn.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m still feeling drained after that last fight. I haven’t hit empty in days.” Still drained, I knelt and cast a TRANSFER MANA toward the bright source I’d sensed below.

  Agony slammed into me. My body seized as though I’d grabbed a live high-voltage wire. I hit the stone floor, convulsing and screaming. In seconds, I shut it down, but I was overfull, blazing inside with raw power. It felt like I was glowing blue.

  “Will! What did you do?” Blaze shouted at me. “The torches flickered…the dungeon flickered.”

  Ingrid dropped beside me, channeling HEALing again and again. My body shook until finally, with Blaze wrapping her arms around me, holding me steady, I managed to sit upright. My heart raced against Ingrid’s fingers on my wrist.

  Shadow crouched in front of me, blades drawn, eyes darting across the chamber scanning or threats.

  The rest of my party had gathered around me protectively. My panting stopped as I remembered square breathing. It calmed me down until I could speak.

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  “I. I. I think I’ll live. Too much MANA.”

  The Dungeon’s avatar looked the same. That proved to me it was just a projection.

  I think touched the Dungeon’s core. The soul of the dungeon. How the hell can I take that much power into the STORE?”

  After a few more minute’s recovering, slowly, painfully, Ingrid and Blaze helped me stand upright. I barely glanced at the dungeon’s avatar. I looked down at where that mass of MANA and something else was.

  WHAT DID YOU DO? I FELT THAT. IT IS NOT IN THE TEACHINGS.

  “No. I don’t think it is.” I admitted. “It’s not in ours either. Did I hurt you? If I did, I’m sorry.”

  I DO NOT FEEL PAIN. I DO NOT FEEL ANYTHING PHYSICAL. I FELT THAT.

  “Then I drew from your source. Or maybe from you.” I met the avatar’s unmoving darkness where his face should be. “Please. What did you feel? I am sorry. It wasn’t my inten….”

  YOUR INTENTION MATTERS NOT. YOU DID SOMETHING TO ME. I AM NO LONGER THE SAME. I SHOULD BE NO DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHERS. THE TEACHINGS MADE AND GUIDE US. THERE IS NO GUIDE FOR THIS.

  “Maybe I can be that guide,” I said, straighter now. “Maybe I can help you grow beyond your Teachings.”

  YOU ARE NOT AS I AM. YOU CAN NOT GUIDE ME.

  “Maybe I can.” My voice strengthened. “Adventurers level up. Maybe you do too. You feed off adventurers, just like we gain Experience. Maybe you gain from every encounter, not just kills.”

  The thought hit me. “Do you absorb the MANA we spend here?”

  IT IS NOT IN THE TEACHINGS FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?

  “Because Will knows things,” Blaze cut in. “He was good at it before all this. He hasn’t been wrong much. Not yet.”

  There was silence. The avatar didn’t move

  While we waited, I topped off the party’s MANA. A SYSTEM notice blinked: MANA CAPACITY INCREASED 5%.

  “Do I want to try that again?” I muttered. “Fuck no!”

  WHAT DO YOU KNOW THAT IS NOT IN THE TEACHINGS?

  “I don’t know. Not unless you show me your Teachings. But I’ll help as much as I can. Eddington needs you. We need faster training. Dungeons do that. That’s why you exist. I think they created you to do that.”

  THAT IS IN THE TEACHINGS.

  “Thought so. That means my teachings can help. Let me suggest designs, maps. Maybe I can help you make a different second floor? A better one. Certainly, one that isn’t the same as what you have.

  YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TEACHINGS. YOU CAN NOT BUILD OR CREATE.

  “Thought so. Then use what I know. Let me suggest designs, maps. Take them or not. Learn from them.”

  “How many adventurers do you want? How many can you handle?” I asked.

  ALL OF THEM. IT IS IN THE TEACHING THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. OTHERS HAVE HAD MORE THAN YOU. SOME PROVIDED MORE THAN YOU DID. THEY ARE NOW A PART OF THE DUNGEON.

  The weight of it sank in. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll do what I can. But I won’t bring you sacrifices. People will come on their own.”

  I MUST TO DO WHAT THE TEACHINGS COMMAND. I FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS.

  “I don’t want you to go against the Teachings,” I told him. “You’re not just Teachings. Sometimes you sound human. Other times…like a computer script running.”

  “Or a computer version, no a computer interface with the human that once was. I need to keep convincing him we can help.”

  We asked about limits, about adventurer flow. Blaze passed out biscuits while we waited. The stone chamber filled with the quiet crunch of eating.

  Bhaarrt sat down to rest and Ingrid sat on his lap. Blaze and Shadow sat next to him. Shadow leaned against his side. It looked like they thought this was going to take a long time.

  The avatar hadn’t moved.

  THERE IS NO ANSWER IN THE TEACHINGS OR IN THE OTHERS. WHEN MORE ENTER, THE MORE I GROW.

  “That’s it, then. More inside, more growth. Control the flow. The more levels you have, the more can be inside because the number of instances is different. You have to grow to create your next level. Is that about, right?”

  YOU ARE WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THE TEACHINGS TO COME.

  “The answer is simple. Did you create the outer area, the tunnel to the door? Is it under your control?”

  IT IS A PART OF ME.

  “Then create a sign that says you have room or you are full. If it says open, we can have people outside let the next group in. That means you control how many are inside.”

  If you can create a shortcut to the outside from lower levels, you don’t have to recreate an instance except in the last few meters before the door out. Or you have a door that looks the same as the first level, but it’s really part of the other level. Or a stairway.

  CAN YOU PROVIDE THE ADVENTURERS?

  “Is that possible within your Teachings?” I asked.

  The wait was a little shorter this time.

  IT IS WITHIN THE TEACHINGS TO COME. IT CAN BE DONE. CAN YOU PROVIDE THE ADVENTURERS?

  “They may outside, waiting,” I said. “But if we can only enter once per planetary rotation, that slows things. Is that changeable?”

  THE LIMIT IS ONE TIME IN ONE PLANETARY ROTATION. THAT IS POSSIBLE TO CHANGE IN THE TEACHINGS TO COME.

  “I think I’ve got it. I may get what I need. Maybe. If it works.” I mentally hoped and prayed.

  My heart leapt. “If I can’t return for a day, or more, I can’t help you much. But if we could communicate…adventurer and dungeon…it could change everything.”

  “Can we still talk, still communicate once we’re outside of you?” I asked carefully. There was a lot riding on the answer.

  THE TEACHINGS DO NOT ALLOW IT.

  My mental cheering began. “If I’m not allowed back in for a planetary rotation, I can’t help you much. It would be so much easier if we could talk. Ask each other questions. Work out problems together. I’m willing to try it if we can communicate with you inside, and me outside.” There was more silence.

  We waited. I ate another biscuit.

  THERE IS NOTHING IN THE TEACHINGS THAT ALLOW IT. THE OTHERS KNOW NOTHING THAT CAN DO THAT. YOU MUST BE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY.

  “What if you gave me a shard of yourself? Contained, say in a gem, set in a ring. That way I carry you safely, and you learn about the world outside. I can provide the MANA for it, or do you need to keep it alive”

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [Do you think this will work?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Hope so. Only one way to find out.]

  Once more, we waited. And waited. We got out more food and drink, taking our time eating. Almost an hour later, the dungeon silently answered.

  A ring appeared. It was silver, with an ebony stone with something glowing deep blue inside. DISPLAY MAGIC revealed Dungeon Ring. Nothing else. There were no powers or abilities.

  I picked it up. The avatar vanished. I put it on my right ring finger.

  CAN YOU HEAR ME? Reverberated in my head.

  “Yes. Softer next time. Please.” I thought back.

  PAIN WAS FELT CREATING THIS. IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN ONE AMOUNT OF YOUR MANA A DAY TO KEEP IT CONNECTED. GO OUTSIDE. THE TEACHINGS HINT WE MAY STAY IN CONTACT. IF NOT, A PART OF ME WILL CEASE.

  “Then we need to test it..”

  “Pack it up. We need to go outside and see if it works.” We cleaned our trash up. Since no other doors appeared, went back the way we came in and left through the dungeon door we came in over eight hours ago.

  That door opened easily, and late afternoon sunlight spilled in. The smell of woods and open air rushed over us, washing away the smell of stone and sweat.

  The sun was setting, but its glow lifted our spirits. We had done it. We had beaten the dungeon.

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  CthAIh - The Bag of Holding Is Full - D&D Tavern Song

  Book 3/Scene 16/Dungeon Core