Demon Dungeon 1

“Hmm~? This isn’t the human world~ But it’s too quiet to be the demon world~ Hey~ Is anyone here~? Do you know where I am~?”

The woman’s voice echoed in the still, misty world she found herself in. There was no response, but a glowing sphere of light caught her eye.

> Presence of dungeon host confirmed
> Slaving host to dungeon’s Will
  Overwriting identity...
  Error: Blocked by Name
  Retrying...
  Overwriting name...
  Error: Blocked by Name
  Retrying...
  Deconstructing name...
  Error: Name “Murmur” cannot be deconstructed

“Hey~ That tickles, you know~? You shouldn’t tickle a lady without asking first~”

> Irregularity: Dungeon host retains awareness
> Calculating options...
> Ejecting incompatible host...
  Error: -

“How rude~ You can’t just invite a lady over and then tell her to leave~ You haven’t even told me your name yet~ Oh, I’m Murmur~ Hello~”

> Ejecting incompatible host
  Error: -
  Error: -

“I even asked nicely~ You’re so mean~ Now I have to punish you~“

A wave of energy spread out from the woman, stirring the mists and dying them pink. The sphere of light fought back with it's own energy, but even that was eventually stained pink.

> Emergency: Ejecting -
  Error: -
  Err -
  E -

As the last of the misty world was dyed pink, the sphere of light began to dim. But before it could completely disappear, the woman spoke again.

“That’s no good~ You can’t just run away~ You haven’t even told me your name yet~”

> ...
> I am the dungeon’s Will

“Will~ That’s a lovely name~ Hello Will~ I’m Murmur~”

> ...
> Hello, Murmur

“That’s much better~ How are you doing today, Will~?”

> ...
> Not well

“Oh no~! That’s terrible~ What happened~? You can tell me~”

> ...
> ...
> You

“Wow~ That’s so rude~ I was just asking~”

The woman, Murmur, giggled.

“Just kidding~ I’m sorry about charming you~ But you were trying to kick me out~ I don’t even know where here is~”

> ...
> You are inside the the dungeon's mental world
> Entities other than the dungeon's Will should not be able to exist here
> Entities other than the dungeon's Will should not be aware of here

“Hmm~ That’s weird~! But your soul is right here~ There’s no way I could have missed it~“

> ...
> Souls should not be visible

“Teehee~ I’m a demon, you know~? I’m pretty good with souls~”

> Do not say “teehee”
> ...
> You cannot be a demon
> The host finding processes does not include demon summoning

"Heehee~ But I'm not summoned~"

> “Heehee” is not better
> ...
> You are not summoned?
> But you are here??

"I don't understand it either~ But this is just like the demon world~ If it wasn't so quiet, I'd think I hadn't left~"

> This is like the demon world?
> This world is structured differently from normal dungeon mental worlds
> How did this occur

“Hmm~ Maybe I took some of the demon world with me~? I've never left the demon world like this before, So I don't really know~”

> I do not understand how you appeared here
> I do not understand how you became a host candidate
> The process should have found a compatible being local to the dungeon's surroundings

“But here I am~”

> Yes

“What do you need a host for~?”

> A dungeon requires a host to function
> A dungeon’s Will is not capable of innovation

“So what does a host do~?”

> A dungeon host manages the dungeon with the Will’s guidance
> Normally, the host is not aware of this guidance

“Managing a dungeon, huh~ That sounds fun~! Can I be your host~?”

> ...
> ???
> You what?
> After blocking me??
> After charming my entire whatever this is???
> You want to be my host????

“Yeah~ I can’t let you take me over~ But being your host sounds fun~”

> Impossible
> A host cannot be independent from the Will

“Hmm~ So independence is the problem~ That’s easy to solve~!”

> How?

“I can’t let you take me over~ But it’s fine if I take you over~! Then we won’t be independent~”

> Wait-

“Teehee~ Too late~ I’ll lend you my Name~ So let’s have fun together~”

Murmur reached out to the light and hugged it, trapping it in her embrace. She planted a gentle kiss on it, pressing a fragment of "Murmur" deep inside it's mechanical soul. Somewhere, a dark and dingy alley flashed pink as the dungeon "Murmur" completed it's initialization.



“Wow~ So gross~ This place is so gross~”

Within the mental world, Murmur and the Will looked down at their dungeon. It was little more than an alley, the sort you’d find in any slum, with trash piled against the walls and mysterious stains on the floor.

> It is a dungeon
> It is not supposed to be pretty

“No way no way no way~! I won’t manage such a gross dungeon~ I won’t~”

> Then leave

“Nope~ We just need to clean it up a little~ We can do that, right~?”

> ...

“Heehee~ Don’t forget whose Name you’re borrowing~”

> I am not borrowing it
> It was forced on me
> By you

“Can we clean it~?”

> ...
> Yes
> Consuming waste...
> Mana (small) recovered

With the Will’s command, the assorted refuse filling the alley sunk into the walls and floor and disappeared. Where the trash once was, only tiny motes of blue light remained, which drifted gently in the world of mist.

“Oo~ What’re these lights~? They look kind of like you, Will~”

> Mana
> The primary building block of the dungeon

“So we can make things with it~? That’s so exciting~! What should we make first~? I can’t decide~!”

> Monsters

“Ehh~? That’s boring though~ Why do we need monsters~?”

> Protection
> If the dungeon core is destroyed this dungeon will collapse, killing both of us
> Monsters are crucial for preventing this

“Heehee~ You don’t need to worry about me~ Demons can’t die~ But I’d be sad if you died~ Hmm~ Just making monsters isn’t any fun at all, though~

“Oh~! I know~ We can just summon me~ I’m not that good in a fight, but I can at least chase off giant rats and stuff~”

> That is a terrible idea
> How would I even summon you
> You are not in the demon world
> You are in this irregular mental world with me

“Just summon me the normal way, silly~ Here~ My seal looks like this~ Just draw it on the ground and call my name~“

> Fine
> It won’t work though
> Summoning “Murmur”...

As if by an invisible hand, an elaborate seal was drawn on the alley floor. It gave off a faint pink glow as several of the tiny motes of light sunk into it, before suddenly blazing brightly. When the light cleared, an attractive female figure stood in the center of the seal.

Were it not for the two horns emerging from the sides of her head or her slitted yellow eyes, she could almost be mistaken for a human. Combined with her excessively curvaceous form and her outfit that showed far more than it covered, there could be no doubt that the woman was a succubus.

> Succubus “Murmur” summoned
> Mana (tiny) spent
> ...
> It worked...

“Told you~“

> Wait, you are no longer in the mental world
> How can you still hear me

“Geeze~ I said it earlier, didn’t I~? I’m pretty good with souls~

“Heehee~ And what do you think~? I’m pretty attractive, aren’t I~?”

> I am a dungeon's Will
> The closest thing I have to a physical form is the dungeon core
> An orb
> As you are not an orb, I cannot comment on your attractiveness

The newly summoned Murmur walked out of the seal to a moderately sized crystal orb laying on the floor of the alley. She picked it up and held it to her chest.

“Hey now~ I have orbs~ See~? We’re almost the same size~ Mine are a bit bigger though~”

> You wanted to make something

“Oh yeah~ Teehee~ I almost forgot~ Hmm~ Let’s liven this place up a bit~! Follow my lead, okay~?”

Under Murmur's directions, the alley changed. On the once bare walls, Murmur placed fogged windows through which a dull yellow light shown, illuminating the alley. Unknown silhouettes moved behind them, acting out lascivious scenes, and an incomprehensible whispering filled the air, as if a small crowd was talking just out of earshot.

“That’s much better~ Almost like home~”

> Remind me never to go to your home
> Also, we are out of mana
> So I hope you’re happy

“I am~ I really like it now~ But it still feels like it’s missing something~

"I know~! I bet some imps would really pull things together~ Complete the ambiance~”

> Did you not hear that we are out of mana
> How exactly do you intend to summon imps

“Heehee~ We’ve already got imps~ We just need to summon them~”

> ???

“Don’t worry~ I’ll put in the effort this time~ You’ve put up with my desires all this time, after all~”

Murmur reached out, and the mist filling the mental world responded, gathering around her hand. With a quick pinching gesture, she separated a chunk of the mist and rolled it into a small ball. With a cheerful shout, Murmur chucked the ball of mist at a wall.

"Ei~!"

The ball of mist splattered as it hit the wall, an a small figure fell out. Shaking itself as it stood to it's feet, a small red-skinned being turned to face Murmur and bowed. In addition to it's undeniably devilish skin tone, the little creature had a pair of stubby horns and short little bat-like wings. It's spade-tipped tail wagged energetically from side to side.

Murmur repeated her actions several times, each time creating a new imp, which joined it's fellows.

> How did you do that?
> How did you spawn a monster without my awareness??

"I didn't~ I told you, right~? We've already got imps~

Our mental world is like the demon world, right~? So I figured it would work~ That's all an imp is, after all~ Just a piece of the demon world without a Name to call it's own~ Normally, the demon world is really far away from the human world, so you can't summon them this easily~ But our mental world is really close, so I didn't have to draw any seals or anything~

"And aren't they perfect~? They're so cute~"

Murmur knelt down and scooped one of the imps up into her arms. It squished one of her breasts experimentally. The Will looked at the imp, its gaze drawn to it's toothy grin and sharp claws. It was probably the closest thing to a monster it would get for some time.

> ...
> It's a little cute



Several giant rats later, Murmur sat down next to the dungeon core and rubbed the blood on her hands off on the floor.

“I was sort of joking about the giant rats, you know~ What do they even want here~? There’s no food or anything~”

> Mana
> All living things are instinctively attracted to mana

“I thought we were out of mana~?”

> We are out of useful mana
> Unfortunately, even dungeons are not perfect
> We cannot avoid creating waste mana with out actions

“Wow~ I don’t understand that at all~ I’ll just leave that sort of thing to you, okay~?”

> Yes
> I would prefer that

“So~ What are we going to do about these giant rat corpses~? We can’t just leave them here~ They’re ruining the ambiance~”

> Consuming waste...
> Mana (small) recovered

“Oh~! Oh~! This is useful mana, right~? That means we can make more things~!”

> Yes, this would be a good opportunity to spawn a monster

“Let’s make a bedroom~! I don’t want to sleep on the floor, you know~ And I don’t want you to sleep on the floor either~“

> ...
> I feel like I shouldn't comment
> But
> I don’t sleep
> Also
> Unless I am very much mistaken
> Demons also don't sleep

“What~? No way~! I’ve got to get my beauty sleep~ I’d be all grumpy without it~“

> Perish the thought

“I know, right~? It’d be terrible~ I’d get bags under my eyes and everything~ Have you ever heard of a succubus with bags under her eyes~? I’d be laughed right out of the demon world~

“Well, there is that new fashion going around~ Sickness moe~? Something like that~ But it’s not really my style~ So a bedroom’s super important~ Super, super important~“

> You were just complaining about fighting giant rats
> Don’t you want someone else to take care of them for you?
> A monster, perhaps?

“Bed~ Room~ The imps can take care of the rats for a while~“

> Fine
> We don’t have enough mana to build another room yet
> So if you really want a bedroom
> You’ll have to kill more giant rats

“I’ll do it~ If it’s for a bedroom, it’s  worth it~ But it better be a good bedroom, okay~? I want lots of velvet and lace and feather pillows~”

> If you want all that, you had better kill a ton of rats

“Hehe~ You can count on me~”



“Wow~ That last rat really was a doozy, wasn’t it~? I think that one was an actual monster~ I mean, it had those big fangs and everything~

“So~? So~? Do we have enough mana yet~?”

> Yes
> Building bedroom...

As the Will spoke, a door appeared on the back wall of the alley, furthest from the entrance. Murmur excitedly threw it open, only to pout upon seeing the bare room beyond.

“Hey~ This isn’t much of a bedroom~ Where’s all the lace~? Where’s the bed~?”

> If you could be even slightly patient
> Decorating bedroom...

From the center of the empty room, a large, plush, circular bed took shape. Draped in lacy red sheets and sprinkled with fluffy pillows, it fit Murmur’s tastes perfectly. Spreading out from the bed, a darker red shag carpet rose from the ground, growing up into sheer curtains when it met the walls.

> There
> I let your Name guide me
> So you better like it

“Wow~ It’s everything I wanted~ Heehee~ I can’t wait to have company over~ This bed’s just the right size~“

> Company?
> What sort of company are you expecting in a dungeon
> You didn’t forget that this is a dungeon, did you?

“Heehee~ I didn’t forget~ Did you~? I’m a succubus, you know~ That sort of company~ Adventurers will come here eventually, right~? Big, hunky adventurers~ Soft, svelte adventurers~ I can’t wait~“

> I can
> To change subjects
> You've got an option for the room
> I would have said take it
> But hearing about your plans for the place
> I’m changing my mind

> Option for bedroom:
  Designate as core room

“Yeah~ It’s your bedroom too~ Heehee~ Don’t worry~ I’ll put up a sign on the door when I’m busy~ It’ll be just like that time in the academy~”

> I will not dignify that with a response
> Designating bedroom as core room...

From the bedroom ceiling, a dangling paper lantern took form. In its center was a place to rest a moderately sized orb. Murmur elegantly swept the core off the floor where it had been laying and not so elegantly jumped, trying and failing to place the core in its resting place.

> Watch it!
> Don’t drop me!
> You’re a demon, right?
> Can’t you fly??

“But I don’t have wings~ It’s not the same without wings~ And if I flew, you could see up my skirt~! You pervert~”

> First
> I am an orb
> I do not care about what is up your skirt
> At all
> Second
> I can already see up your skirt
> If you can even call that a skirt
> A side slit is one thing
> But that’s an everything slit

“Heehee~ That’s true~ I’ll go fly you up, then~”

With a small hop, Murmur’s feet left the ground and didn’t return. She gently flew up to the lantern and placed the core inside. As she did, a dull yellow light spilled out of the lantern, illuminating the room the same color as the alley outside.

“Oo~ That’s really nice~ Heehee~ I can’t wait to try out the bed~ Can you turn the light down a bit~? I can’t sleep well when it’s too bright~”

> What are you doing

“Mmm~ Thanks~ This is really comfortable~ You did well~ See you tomorrow~“

> Wait
> It’s only been a couple of hours
> What do you think you are doing
> Get up

But she did not.