Core of Knowledge

Alessandro was ripped out of his sleep by the pounding pain in his head. His eyes opened in shock, his head still throbbing like someone was playing the drums on his skull, and he could feel bile coming up his throat.

Alessandro quickly noticed that he was laying down. He sat up, turned to his side, and after croaking with displeasure, managed to cough up the bile. The young noble vomited it out onto the floor and noticed that the bile was as green as the leaves on a tree.

It was as if he was coughing out poison.

Alarmed, Alessandro took several deep breaths and tried to dry heave a couple more times. He failed. After realizing he could not coughed out anything more, he finally stopped. He laid back on the ground, and closed his eyes.

After a short while, he opened them again. He saw the unfamiliar ceiling and realized the predicament he was in. He was a prisoner in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques.

The dungeon core, the being who runs the dungeon had spared him. Alessandro did not know why, but he knew it was not anything good. It was not unheard of. Some dungeons did keep prisoners, imprisoning them deep within the depths of their dungeon.

The reasons for this were myriad.

Some dungeons keep prisoners as bait. The prisoners were prizes for adventurers to rescue, and adventurers need to go through a floor before defeating the Boss to rescue the prisoners. Dungeons with such floors were in good demand as this type of floors were one of the best ways to get the [Heroic Knight] class.

Alessandro did not believe the Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques was such a dungeon.

The theme of this dungeon was based around puzzles and traps, not fighting through horde of monsters for a heroic rescue. It would not fit, but Alessandro hoped he was wrong. This was because the other reasons for dungeons to keep prisoners were worse. For example; experimentation.

Some dungeon cores liked to experiment with living beings and they would changed their prisoners in various shocking ways. Most of the prisoners kept in these dungeons die, and they were considered the lucky ones. Every adventurer had heard the horror stories.

Humans with extra arms or heads grafted onto their bodies, prisoners found with their limbs replaced with animal parts, or beings changed in such ways that they may as well be considered a new species.

Indeed, that did happen and every species had at least one. The elves had the Drow, more commonly known as the Dark Elves. The dwarves have the Gnome and the Halfings. Humans had the Minotaurs, the Orcs, and several others. Alessandro hoped this was not his fate. It was far better to just die like the others in his party.

Alessandro looked around. He had been placed in a small room, the walls were solid rock, and the room was completely bare. The room had a door, which was probably the way he came in. An iron ring had been set into the door and Alessandro forced himself to the door. He grabbed the ring and pulled. The door did not budge. It was locked shut.

Of course! What did I expect?

A mad chuckle escaped his lips as Alessandro sat back down on the floor, leaning against the door, his head bowed in defeat. His weapons and armor had been taken from him, but that was no surprise. Even dungeon cores would not allow prisoners to keep weapons. Alessandro was surprised he was even wearing a simple peasant's outfit; a plain brown tunic, and leather sandals. Some prisoners had found naked as the day they were born. Alessandro sighed.

“So this is where it ends.”

“Maybe not.”

Alessandro sprung to his feet, looking around the room he was in. There was nothing.

“Hello! Is anyone there?” Alessandro shouted, afraid he had imagined the voice that answered him. Moments passed before the voice answered again.

“I am here human.”

“Who are you?” Alessandro asked. “Why have you captured me?”

“You are in my dungeon human, you are in me.” The voice answered and Alessandro realized he was speaking to the dungeon core. However, that only answered part of his question.

“Why have you captured me? Why am I alive?”

His voice was weak and Alessandro know he sounded tired, but he needed to know.

“I wish to offer you a contract.”

Alessandro’s eyes widened. A contract was another reason why dungeon cores sometimes kept prisoners. The dungeon cores would offer their prisoners a choice of death, or life as a dungeon monster. Basically, it was an offer of power and life in return for eternal servitude. It wasn’t considered a bad deal by some people, and Alessandro had heard stories of how some people who were dying of age or disease entering dungeons seeking such contracts. However, these contracts were rare, only offered to people who had impressed the dungeon cores in some ways. Alessandro could not think of a reason why he was offered one.

“Why? Why me?” Alessandro asked.

“I am in need of a sentient to pass on a message, and you are the only one available to me at the moment.”

“So, I am being offered immorality because I just happened to be the only adventurer you haven’t killed yet?”

The dungeon core’s word stung Alessandro’s pride, and he replied without really thinking his words through, but the adventurer did not regret the words he spoke. Every adventurer who entered a dungeon need to be ready to die, and he was willing.

His reply seems to have caught the dungeon core out as there was a long pause before it replied. “My apology, my dungeon fairy just informed me that I may have given you the wrong impression. The contract is not from me. If you agree, you shall need to stay in the dungeon for some time, but you will not be mine. You will not be a dungeon creature.”

Alessandro heard the words from the dungeon core, but had a hard time understanding them. “What do you mean it’s not from you? Who else could it be from?”

“I can only tell you after you agreed to the contract.” The dungeon core said in bemusement, before adding a question. “Oh, I do need to know one thing from you before you decide.”

“What?”

“Do you gamble?”