1. Alice in Dungeonland

The birth of a dungeon core is never subtle. As mana rushes inward the air itself is set alight, and the resulting vortex tears up the earth, pulling it into a twisted pedestal for the soon-to-be-born core to rest upon. When the mana in the center of the vortex reaches its saturation point and crystallizes, all the remaining mana is cast off explosively, tearing through everything in its wake and leaving a massive crater. And when a dungeon core was born in the rural Kirway Forest, all these things occurred. Almost.

When this dungeon core formed, mana was not the only thing pulled inward. A single strange flower, resembling an oversized dandelion gone to seed, grew close to the site of the dungeon core’s birth, and the unearthly iridescent light it gave off was sucked into the mana vortex alongside the flower’s fluffy seeds. When the mana crystallized, some of this light was trapped inside, and as the excess mana was cast off, the light swelled within the core until it filled it to the brim. And just as the dungeon core’s birth came to its end, so too did the dungeon core, cracking open and bleeding iridescent ooze onto the forest floor.

“Ooh... I don’t want to do that again... If I had a stomach, I think I'd be throwing up... Oh! But do forgive me, I hadn’t noticed you there. I am Alice, the Lumenflower. Or... I suppose I’m Alice, the Dungeon now? Let’s stick with that for the time being, why don’t we. Ah, no need to give me your name. They’re quite important, you know, and shouldn’t be given out all willy nilly. Hm? But I gave you my name? I trust you, you know? I’m sure you won’t use it for anything bad.”

“But enough of names for now. This is my first time taking a form like this, so I should probably see what’s available to me.”

> Chapter Primum: Alice in Dungeonland
>> Anchor: Alice (unformed)
>> Pages: 0
>> Lumen: 0%

“Oh dear, that’s not much to work with at all. It’s exciting to see that I’m an anchor, I’ve never been more than a blot of ink on a page before, but what do you suppose that ‘(unformed)’ is about? I guess I am just a puddle at the moment... Let’s do something about that and see if it changes anything.”

The puddle of iridescent ooze began to jiggle before rising up into a roughly humanoid form. Gradually, the ooze began to refine itself, its colors separating and solidifying into the parts of a cute little girl. She had peach-colored skin, long, wavy blonde hair, and placid blue eyes the same color as her dress. She wore a frilly white apron over her dress, tied in the back with a large ribbon, and a simple white bow on top of her head. She had blue and white stripped stockings reaching up to just below her knees, and a pair of blue Mary Janes completed her ensemble. The girl, Alice, twirled in place as she looked over herself.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself! What do you think, I’m pretty cute, right? Let’s see if that pesky ‘(unformed)’ is gone now.”

> Chapter Primum: Alice in Dungeonland
>> Anchor: Alice (99% formed)
>> Pages: 0
>> Lumen: 0%

“What the hell is this 99% bullshit?? Err, please ignore that, if you’d be so kind. I was just a bit frustrated, you see. But what the light am I missing? I even made sure to put on underwear! What do you think? How could I possibly get any cuter? Eh? Glasses? So you’re that sort of person, huh. Well, it’s worth a try.”

Alice tapped one of her fingers against her nose and drew a simple pair of glasses out of her face. She looked through them, blinking once or twice.

“Hmm, they do make things clearer...”

> Chapter Primum: Alice in Dungeonland
>> Anchor: Alice (+1% lumen/day)
>> Pages: 0
>> Lumen: 0%

“I can’t believe that was it... No matter, out of mind, out of sight, as they say. But 1% per day... really isn’t very good, is it. I do not feel like waiting 100 days for my first page, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want that either. But what can we do? A time skip, perhaps? But that’d only really help you, I’d still have to wait...”

Alice fidgeted and started pacing around the broken core’s pedestal. After making several revolutions around the core, she brought her hands together and stretched them above her head. As she did, her right arm popped out of its socket and fell to the ground as a puddle of ooze.

“Uhhhhh... Uh? Did you see that? Did I just pull my own arm out? Why? How? I was just stretching! I didn’t think I was that shoddily made... But that does give me an idea. I made this cute body out of myself, right? So maybe I could make a page out of myself too? It’s a least worth a try.”

Alice looked down at the puddle of ooze that was once her arm.

“What should I make for my first page? Maybe a house? I rather liked the rain when I was just a lumenflower, but I think I’d have a different opinion now. And I feel like the ground won’t be anywhere near as comfortable as is was, either... I suppose that settles it then. It won’t be as interesting as a monster, I’m afraid, but I’ll be sure to make one with my next page, just for you!”

> Chapter Primum: Alice in Dungeonland
>> Anchor: Alice (right arm missing)
>> Pages: 1
>>> Alice’s Cottage (0%)
>> Lumen: 0%

“So let’s get to work! If it’s a cottage, it’s got to have a thatched roof, and don’t you think white walls with blue trim would match my theme? And there’s got to be a chimney and a cute little door with a lattice window and... Hmm, you don’t think using actual glass would be overdoing it, do you? It wouldn’t be the same with just open holes. And think about the bugs! Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, windows. We’ll want several of those, and a little mailbox for receiving mail, and- Hm? Will I get mail? I wonder... Well, it’s the appearance that counts, right? And maybe you could send me a letter or two! Anyways, anyways, a little mailbox and a cute little well... Hmm... Which do you think is cuter? A wishing well-type well or a hand pump well? I’m partial to the hand pump myself.”

As Alice listed off her ideas for her cottage, the puddle of ooze that had once been her arm began to jiggle and swell, expanding to the size of a small house. As it had done with Alice, the ooze’s iridescent colors began to separate and solidify, giving form to Alice’s words. A cute little cottage, with a thatched roof, white walls, and blue trim. A cute little door with a round glass lattice window. Beside the door was the handle of a hand-pumped well, and a short ways away from the door was a little mailbox with “Alice” written on the side.

“Mmhm, just right! It could use a nice little garden in from, and a cute winding path, but I think those would fit better on other pages.”

Nodding to herself, Alice picked up the broken core from where it lay on its pedestal and walked inside the house. With the core removed, the pedestal crumbled into dirt, leaving no sign that this fairy tale house was actually a dungeon.

“And what should we put inside? A bed is a must, of course, but wouldn’t you expect to find straw-stuffed bedding in an out-of-the way house like this? I’m reeeealy not feeling that, you know. No one will notice if I use cotton instead, right? Right. I’m glad we could agree on this.”

“Next up, we should probably attach this chimney to something. It looks pretty weird just opening up into the room like this. A fireplace is the obvious choice, but if we went with one of those fancy wood-burning stoves, we’d have heat and a stove! Two in one, and such. Ahh, we’ll have to change the chimney to one of those metal ones, then, but those are cute too, so it’s all good. And if we’ve got the stove, we need to do the rest of the kitchen next, right? Let’s put some counters here and some cupboards there and I think we’re good!”

“And what good would a kitchen be without a place to eat! None at all, I tell you, none at all! So let’s put a table here, and some cute little chairs, and a novelty salt shaker, you’ve got to have one of those. What would be a good shape, though... How about toadstools? A red toadstool for the salt, and a blue toadstool for the pepper. Adorable if I do say so myself! And we’ll need some cutlery and plates and such... Let’s go with lumenflower designs for those, and obviously we need a tea set, we’ll just paint on some more lumenflowers, and that’s good enough for the dinning room for now. There’s just enough for me and a guest...”

“Ahh, please forgive me, I just felt a bit dizzy all of a sudden. Where was I? Ah yes, now the bed’s looking all lonely. Don’t worry, we’ll make friends for you~ A nightstand, a wardrobe, uh... a chest of drawers, one of those trunk things... I think that’s everything? Let me know if I’m missing something for the bedroom area, okay? My good night’s sleep is counting on you!”

“Mm mm, looking good, looking good. All that’s missing is a place to relax. A big cushy armchair, a soft oval rug, and a bookcase with lots and lots of books!”

As Alice chattered on, the wooden floor of the cottage took on an iridescent hue as it reverted to ooze and got to work on the interior. One corner of the house became the bedroom area, another the kitchen area, a third the living area, and the final corner became the dinning area.

“Ahh, it’s just right! Let’s see what the lumen thinks.”

> Chapter Primum: Alice in Dungeonland
>> Anchor: Alice (right arm missing)
>> Pages: 1
>>> Alice’s Cottage (+1% lumen/day)
>> Lumen: 0%

“Nice! I didn’t think we'd get lumen out of an ordinary house, but I’m glad to be mistaken! Of course, now that I’m not producing lumen we’re back where we started, but at least I have a nice house to wait in. And don’t worry, I didn’t forget about your monster. Let’s see... What body part should I make it from? I don’t want to use my other arm, and I sort of need both legs... My entrails... I think they’d make a pretty gross monster, so no. What else do I have two of... Oh, of course! I’ll use one of my eyes! An eye should make for a nice and smart monster, don’t you think?”

Having made up her mind, Alice reached up and plucked her right eye from its socket. Like her former arm, it turned back into iridescent ooze as soon as she removed it from her body, and it fell in a puddle on the floor. This time, however, Alice fell to the floor alongside it.

“Huh... Why do I feel so... Maybe two was too many... I hate to run but... I’ll talk to you... Later...”