“Hey stop it! I’m not your stupid run-of-the-mill dungeon core out for conquering the world. I am a CITY DUNGEON!”

The elf halted mid-swing and looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“A what? Never heard of! I will vanquish you evil creature of a dark goddess and send you back to the hell you came from!”

He raised his blade, ready to strike when I again felt another surge of power coming my way. I tried to get a bit of this energy and almost felt myself shatter from the influx of mana. That was really a bad idea here. The pain was like the ugliest hangover I ever had mixed with some clubbing of my brain with a baseball bat.

To relieve the stress somehow I tried to make my core bigger and felt relief washing over me when I grew almost an inch in height. And to my surprise my mana was almost full again.

But back to business. There now stood a female elf right beside the idiot who wanted to obliterate me and held his arm back much to the guy’s surprise.

The woman was taller than the man at 6ft in comparison to his 5ft 9in and her golden hair was the most beautiful color I have ever seen. No advertisement ever came near this full gold, shining in the sunlight. She had green eyes like jade and fair skin. Leather armor clung to her curvaceous body and if I were still a human male I would fall to her feet and beg her for a date, that’s for sure.

In short, she was a goddess!

“Mind what you do here, Andarin! Don’t waste precious resources when we are short on them. Especially now, you dumb oaf! Get lost! Now!”

Ok, perhaps her speech wasn't perfect, but I didn't mind. She saved my sorry ass, I mean crystal, and so she was still good on my side.

Looking to me and dismissing the male elf without another thought she went nearer and walked around me.

“Hm, I’ve never seen a blue dungeon core. Intriguing, what are you little one?”

“My name is Marcus and I am a city dungeon at your service, milady!”

It was never bad to flatter a beautiful woman.

She jumped back a few feet with surprise on her face.

“You can also speak. What other wonders do you have for me? A city dungeon you say? That’s also something I never heard of. Please tell more.”

Oh, this woman seemed to have the brains. Perhaps the male elves were like ant soldiers- only good for fighting without the necessary brain power to lighten their hollow skull?

“As I said, I am a city dungeon, the only one of my kind. My purpose is to build the biggest and most beautiful city in the world, and, in this way to better the lives of my inhabitants. Although I was sent by Tiria, she has decided to improve her reputation with the other gods by creating something for the betterment of the peoples on this world. That would be me!”

A smirk crossed her lips.

“You’re quite full of yourself, aren’t ya? Now, let me get this straight. You say, you can create a city instead of a monster spawning dungeon down in depths of earth?”

I wanted to nod but that’s somehow difficult when you only have a crystal as body.

“Yes that’s right. Please don’t destroy me only because I’m a creature of Tiria!”

She smiled now and had a bit of mischief in her eyes. I liked her smile, really brightened the day.

“I would never do something like this. I have need of someone like you. My people have been driven away from our old homestead by numerous goblin and lizard tribes." Anger and grief battled in her beautiful face when she continued, "they even now seek to destroy us. I will offer you a partnership in giving you citizens and you will provide a home and defenses for us to hide behind. How does this sound to you, little one?”

The `little one´ really didn’t sound good to me and I would have to work with her on this but I really liked what she said.

“That sounds good to me. But I have to warn you. I’m new to this whole city dungeon thing and need a lot of mana for this to work.”

“Oh, that’s no problem for me. Everyone here will give you as much mana as you can take if you can offer us a home to live in. Perhaps you could start with a tree, in which we could live?”

I didn’t think of trees when I thought of my city but I had to compromise at the start for now.

“Sure, but do you have perhaps a seed? If it was a seed of the biggest tree you know of, it would better the result surely.”

She was in thought for a moment and bit her lip. How particularly girlish of her. Then she produced an amulet out of her cleavage. I was almost sucked in the beautiful view, when she suddenly gazed at me with suspicious eyes.

“Did you just now peek at me? You’re a dungeon core, aren’t you?”

She must have really good instincts and if I could have sweat, there would have been buckets full of water under me.

“No! I mean, yes! Dammit, you’re beautiful and in my former incarnation you would have been the peak of my wet dreams! Hell, what do I say here, damn mind speech!”

She looked at me and fell laughing to the ground. Even the male elf behind her grinned across his face that it seemed the grin wanted to split it. It seems my mind speech must be focused to one person alone or everyone around hears it, but for being amused about my misery there will be payback, you sucker!

After some awkward time for me she stood again and then laid the seed with a chain connected to it down before me.

“You are a strange one and I think I will enjoy messing with you quite a bit. Here take this seed. It’s from the hearth tree from my previous home. Magic is connected with it and you should find it quite welcoming to any magic you use to grow it.”

Then she went to me and took my crystal in her hands. WOW, that was a nice feeling.

“Take my mana for growing it, but be gentle please!”

She was a real handful and made my skin itch, if I had one. Then I focused on the the seed before me. It looked like a acorn with a white casing and was the size of a baby fist.

I tried to send my mana in the seed and feel its interior. There was life and a strange will in it that resisted at first against me but then it gave way. Mana flowed into it and then I felt it breaking its shell sending roots into the earth.

I heard a gasp from my two companions but concentrated back to my first project. This little sucker really took my mana away without a care, and only half a minute later I felt the flow of mana lessen from the lady. Looking back to her I saw a pale smile on her when she dropped to the ground on her bottom.

“The hearth tree really grew so fast within so little time. Andarin, gather everyone! We have to give Marcus all the mana we can gather. With the hearth tree back we have a chance against everyone trying to drive us away again!”

Andarin just took a last look at the now almost 3 feet high tree sapling and ran back to the forest where more figures with packs on their backs emerged.

I took a look at my status and was quite surprised.

Name

Marcus

Race

City dungeon

Level

2

Mana

1/300 1/h reg

1/minute from citizen

Int

11

Wis

11

Cha

11

Luck

10

Skills:

Earth

Newbie 1%

Water

Newbie 1%

Air

Newbie 0%

Fire

Newbie 0%

Life

Newbie 3%

Mind Speech

Adept 2%

Architecture

Beginner 1%

Range of influence

33 feet

Number of citizens

1 (providing 1 mana/minute)