TDL BK I, CH 4: Dungeon Maker

Chapter Four: Dungeon Maker

Reduced to squatting in an abandoned cave, a certain young man busied himself dressing his wounds.

“Twenty-three years!” Dunstan cursed in exasperation as he rebandaged  his arm. “Twenty-three fucking years I’ve been waiting for this stupid  to load and it nearly gets me killed when it does!”

While his anger was more than justified, his words were a little  untrue. His new power had only appeared after he became an exultant.  That meant, it had been loading for a bit over two years, not  twenty-three. Before then, it was merely dormant.

Even through his anger, Dunstan found himself blinking away tears of  relief –and a lot of pain on account of the arm. If Seventh Unc… no,  Elder Anthony’s betrayal showed him anything, it revealed that the  wolves were circling for the kill. Maybe with this new power, he had a  chance to turn things around. He had nothing; no family, friends or  property outside the sect and if that was gone… Dunstan shook his head,  He did not even want to think about it.

He stopped and took a deep breath and then blinked tears of relief  from his eyes before taking another look at his new interface.

[Welcome Dungeon Lord!]

[Are you ready to design your first dungeon?]

It all started two years ago when Dunstan forced a breakthrough to  the Heaven Reaching Tier. It was his first major breakthrough. THE first  major breakthrough. Achieving it is such a momentous occasion that  cultivators that attain this tier are given another title, Exultants!  The Heaven Reaching tier is where cultivators become transcendent. It  triggers a worldly reaction– heavenly essence pours down on you,  transforming you in body and soul. Your power multiplies tenfold. You  gain the ability to call on the essence of the world and perceive things  with nought but your spirit. The best part about it is the way it  enriches your body and soul. This causes some to awaken abilities they  did not know they had. For Dunstan, Heaven Reaching changed everything.  It allowed him to remember his past life.

Learning that he was a reincarnator came as a massive shock to  Dunstan and his master. However, looking back, the signs had always been  there. Abnormal intelligence, emotional maturity, and fast-paced mental  development were only a few of them. More importantly, he finally knew  the source of the strange intuition and talents he possessed.

Reincarnators were nothing new on the Empyrean Continent. Some such  as Dragon Emperor Long Son, and Flying Immortal Vivi were featured in  myth and song. They were exceeding rare individuals but they did pop up  here and there. Hell, according to his master, Dunstan was not even the  first in the history of the sect.

Discovering that he was a reincarnator should have been the start of  Dunstan’s legend. Many reincarnators were immortals in their past lives,  or sword gods or alchemists and the like who used their past memories  and experience to rise to prominence. Ancestor Rhan, the founder of the  Vast heaven Palace, for example, was an adventurer who discovered a lily  of asphodel that allowed him to preserve his memories and abilities  after death and pass them on to his next incarnation. Relying on the  experience of his first life, he became one of the most influential  figures in the region. Unlike the lofty reincarnators whose names and  deeds were legend, however, Dunstan had not been a great figure. In his  past life, he was merely a game designer named Felix Dupont.

The disappointment he felt as he went through his awakened memories  was soul-crushing. Dunstan had not expected to be a former immortal. He  had hoped, yes, but he understood that it was highly unlikely. He did,  however, expect to be something better than a somewhat successful game  designer who died before he was 35. Worse, Felix was born into a world  without magic. There was practically nothing in his other life that was  readily applicable to this one. Sure, the marketing and managerial  knowledge had come in handy but Azan was a world where might made right.  Power was everything and Dunstan’s past life provided none, or so he  thought.

Dunstan glanced down at his interface as he reminisced. The first one  had shown up in the days that followed, filling him with much-needed  hope. Then it crashed that hope by taking two and half years to load. He  hadn’t even thought about it in over a year.

[Welcome Dungeon Lord!]

[Are you ready to design your first dungeon?]

[YES] [NO]

‘Better late than never!’ he told himself mentally as he selected the yes button.

[Received Dungeon Lord’s Manual]

[Received Dungeon Lord Starter Kit]

[Unlocked Dungeon Space]

A minor tingling sensation filled his head as the contents of the  Dungeon Lord’s Manual uploaded themselves. Dunstan’s eyes became  unfocused for a second as he took it in. When it faded, he knew what to  do, the instructions and commands imprinted on his mind.

‘Open interface!’ sub vocalised.

[STATUS] [MENU] [INVENTORY]

He examined it for a moment before saying, ‘Status!’

[STATUS]

Name: Dunstan Kaguri

Age: 23

Tier: 2 | Heaven Reaching | C

Constitution: 7 | B

Affinity: Light and Darkness

Access: Level 1

Specialisations: Swordsmanship, Accounting

Achievement Points: 0

Wealth: 56 es | 414 g

Thanks to the information from the manual, he could make better sense  of the information this new screen provided. The letter ratings were  relative comparisons that went from F to S. So, he ranked fairly above  average compared to other Exultants. That was good. However, going by  that, his constitution was only above average. That did not seem right.  He knew for a fact that his innate talent was the highest in the sect.  He had inherited his family’s rare aperture variation, the boundless  dantian. The stupid interface even rated him as 7 out of 10. Why the B  rating then?

Dunstan shook his head. That would have to wait, he had more  important things to do, like finishing the sling for his broken arm and  entering the so-called dungeon space. The moment he was done with the  first, he started on the second.

[MENU]

• Dungeon Management
• Feats
• Shop

Selecting dungeon management and then choosing the ‘new dungeon’  option, Dunstan found himself in a bizarre place. It was a disturbingly  familiar grey void. Ignoring his flashing interface, he spun in place.  It did not help. Everything around him was featureless and grey. He  stamped his foot on a surface that looked just like the open air around  him and somehow found purchase.

[Please choose a template!]

[You have no stage templates]

A sense of recognition began to build but just to make sure, Dunstan  opened his inventory. It manifested as a gigantic panel divided into  five by ten spaces. In the first space was a simple wooden chest with  the label Dungeon Lord Starter Kit. He set it in front of him and opened  it. Bright golden sparks shone around the chest as he opened it.

“No! Please no!” Dunstan begged in realisation as a past life’s worth of dread and memories confirmed what he was seeing.

It was too late. The loot box deposited its items around it in five bubbles that glowed a variety of colours.

[You have received…]

• Tomb template | Dungeon
• Ember spirit template | Fauna | Grade: Common
• Waving Aloe template | Flora | Grade: Uncommon
• Skill Book template | Item | Grade: Rare
• Bolt Launching Wall template | Trap | Grade: Uncommon
• 1000 achievement points

“Two white, two green and one blue”, Dunstan counted. “That’s actually better than I thought. Did my luck change in this life?”

The first bubble held something akin to a blueprint. He could not  quite make it out. The second and third were clearer and more lively.  The white one had a small fire in it, only the flames came with a pair  of eyes and a mouth stretched into a mischievous grin. The green bubble  held a metre-tall aloe plant with fleshy leaves that waved about like  tentacles. Dunstan stretched his hand out towards the blue item before  changing his mind. There was something he needed to confirm first.

Picking up the blueprint, he used it. Instantly, order was imposed on  the grey space. Colours, structures and boundaries immediately began to  take shape, first as clearly outlined grid blocks that slowly took on  colour and texture.

Dunstan scrutinised the room he was in before taking another glance  at the items floating around the chest. “As expected”, he nodded. “This  is basically a game designer’s tool kit!”

The information in the Dungeon Lord’s manual was beginning to make  sense now. What dungeon? This was a simplified real-life game design  studio. His templates were just game assets. Dunstan took another look  at the starter items seeing them in a new light. The stage was a level.  Mobs, loot, traps, scenery, he had it all. The only catch was that as  the GM, he could only level up by defeating players. The more players he  beat, the more achievement points he would earn and the better assets  he could afford and make.

“Thank you Felix!” he said with sincere gratitude to his past self.

Already, ideas were flowing in his head; a dungeon, adventurers,  danger, wealth and glory. He could practically see it. This was either  going to be very good or very bad. The possibilities were practically  endless and he was getting so excited, he could not sit still.

A far-off howl rang through Dunstan’s ears and he quickly returned to real space.

‘First things first, I need to get back to the sect’, he realised.

Plans could wait. He had best not get eaten before he had a chance to use his newfound power.