Dungeon Core Online 4 Chapter 4

"Are you done?" The pixie was sitting casually across from James, legs crossed, sipping on some sort of drink. James did his best to keep his eyes focused on her face.

"Yeah, I'm good now." After he had entered into DCO, and the initial scare he experienced, it had taken him a few moments to regain his senses. Part of this was because of how much he had been startled by her close proximity. Part was because he wasn't used to being so close to attractive women. And in his eyes, with her blonde hair cut in a pixie cut, her sharp angled almost elf like features, and her stunning blue eyes, well, she was definitely attractive. His biggest issue though, was that after a moment, he realized he didn't have a body.

Well, to be fair, that wasn't exactly true. As his mind calmed, and he looked himself over, he realized he was condensed into a floating orb. And when he says he looked himself over, he meant it. For some reason, he was able to see everything around him if he focused. While it was definitely jarring, it had given him a look of himself. A glowing ball of some sort of stone, with a glowing eye sitting in the middle.

Go figure, he finds himself alone in a small cave with an attractive pixie, and he is a floating rock with a creepy eye. Shaking his head, er, orb, James pushed the thought of himself from his mind, as he was starting to see himself as a beholder, a giant floating eyeball with tentacles, and his mind was running in all the wrong ways.

"So, who are you?" James was certain the strange voice had said he would unable to communicate with other players in the game, and would be solely responsible for the dungeon. Did that mean the pixie before him was an AI? It wasn't impossible, given how far technology had advanced. Many NPCs in games were usually indistinguishable from human players, aside from the fact that they were a little too perfect at times.

The pixie set her drink down on a table that suddenly appeared in front of her, and leaned forward, looking at James. "My name is Rue. I am your dungeon pixie." She flashed him a brilliant smile, and James felt his heart beat faster. "What should I call you, oh mighty dungeon core?" Her smile turned into a smirk, as if she had made a joke that only she got.

"J" He started, but remembered he was immersed. It was bad form to use your real name anywhere in immersion. Besides, he had already entered his character name, even if his character was not what he expected. "Glyax. My name is Glyax."

Rue nodded her head, and with a wave of her hand, pulled up a countdown timer. It showed there was still 23 hours till the game launched. "Well, oh mighty Glyax." Again, a smirk. "You have 23 hours to prepare your dungeon for the players."

James started to respond, but paused. Now that he thought of it, he had no idea exactly what he was supposed to be doing in the game. In the novels he had checked out, the dungeon core was responsible for summoning all of the mobs, and setting the floor layouts of the dungeon. The dungeon core would have to choose on mob types, a.s.sign loot, and essentially manage the whole dungeon. In essence, James felt it seemed a little simulator-ish. Was DCO just going to be a dungeon-simulator for him? That seemed a lot less fun than becoming a summoner and conquering the dungeon.

"So, Rue." He turned his thoughts away from the dark monotony with which he viewed simulation games, and focused on the pixie. "Since you are my dungeon pixie, what type of guidance can you give me?" Usually in the dungeon core novels, the pixie, fairy, or wisp, would offer up suggestions and advice on how to form the dungeon. Even though this was a game, he was certain the creators would have scripted in a similar feature for the AI.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked." Rue smiled and again leaned forward towards James, her eyes almost seeming hungry. "First, do you understand your role as the dungeon core?"

"It is my responsibility to set up, manage, and grow the dungeon for the other players?" He had been told as much before he accepted the NDA.

"Well, that's a very simplified way of putting it. This is not going to simply be a dungeon simulation game." She winked at James, and he felt a moment of panic. It was irrational to think she could read his mind. It was more likely the developers had spent a lot of time developing their AI, and James was sure that joke was implemented simply because they understood how gamers would react to the current situation. James was going with that train of thought, because even if she was an AI, he would be mortified if she could read his mind.

"Alright, then what does it involve?" He tried to regain his composure, and for the first time was glad he didn't have a human body. His facial features couldn't give away his thoughts.

"In essence, you are going to be the game." She said it like it was the simplest explanation in the world.

"I'm, what?"

"DCO centers entirely on the dungeon. Your decisions, your growth, everything you do, will shape how the players develop. If you make your dungeon too strong early on, the players won't be engaged, and they will leave. If you make it too easy, they will quickly outpace you, lose interest, and leave. Your goal is to become a dungeon that is continually engaging and challenging for players, to keep them coming back. What's more, you have the ability now to directly influence not only their game experience, but through your reward system, the very economy. A successful dungeon, a brilliant dungeon core, has the potential to change the very world around them."

When she explained it like that, James realized he may have agreed a bit too readily towards this task. He was a junior in high school. He should not have this type of power. Suddenly, his nonexistent mouth was very dry. With a glance at the timer, he saw the time ticking away. He had a lot to do, and less than a day to do it.

"Rue, what do we do first?"