World Isekai

"So you brought me here?"

Mori's voice echoed on the empty walls.

Yes

"When I was told people randomly disappeared, it did make me wonder if this was what's happening."

I'm looking for someone to clear this dungeon.

Yeah, that's why you took Brök's family away...

Mori remembered his thoughts could be heard, but unapologetically sat there.

He was right, he thought.

He could understand if he truly needed help with this dungeon, but why bring innocent people who could never survive, like Brök's wife and kid?

I was looking for this 'Brök' you're thinking of. He exited the area, and while I kept the portal open longer in hopes he would come back inside it, or that the other two left it, none of those two things happened.

So they are...

Dead.

Mori looked at the cat again. It looked like it was nodding off, its head resting on its front paws again, slowly blinking.

While it looked tired, it was still sharply answering Mori telepathically.

"The other hiker who was taken yesterday?"

He's here.

"There's only me here."

The Unkindled got up on all fours, slowly stretching again, only to lie back down facing the fire.

The dancing flames reflected on its eyes as he stared at it.

This Dungeon is trying to find one person to conquer it. Everyone has their own room, and everyone has to go through it mostly alone.

"Mostly?" he asked.

It is not impossible to meet others. Meeting others as you climb is the only way you will be able to go to their personal room, or for them to come here into yours.

This system wasn't something totally new to him. It felt a lot more like those 'single player' games, where once you met some people once, you could access them at anytime later on.

Only this time, they weren't NPCs, but real people.

"How do I meet other people?" he asked.

There's around 1% chance to encounter someone on a new floor.

How-

Open your profile.

Mori was slightly disgusted at how easy it was for the cat to understand his thoughts.

He felt like an open book, while the Unkindled easily only let out thoughts he wanted Mori to hear.

Mori opened his profile, but nothing had changed.

Although, something did get his attention.

Outside of his profile was a square, named [Dungeon].

Mori opened it, and a lot more appeared in his field of view.

He was slightly overwhelmed, but also impressed by all those new things.

The first noticeable thing was a tower of levels he could scroll through.

He was now at the bottom, [0-0].

I guess that's where everyone's room is.

Mori realized he voiced his thoughts again, but the cat not answering confirmed his guess.

The only available option for him right now was going to [0-1].

Besides that, there were quite a few more tabs. One of them was 'Friends'.

It had a 'recently met' list, while the friend list was empty. It said [Meet people to add them in your friend list].

That means I can't add the others right now.

Indeed. You will need to meet them inside the dungeon first.

Mori was slightly startled again, but slowly he was getting used to it.

The thoughts sharing, while invasive, wasn't something he hated.

It saved a lot of time, and there was a true understanding between him and The Unkindled. At least in one way.

The next thing he noticed was a floor planner. He could move things around his room, but as it was empty there's nothing he could do.

"What's the point of this?" he asked.

You can buy things, or find things to use in your room.

"So a bed, chairs, paintings, that kind of stuff?"

Yes, most things you can think of could be found.

"How?" he asked.

You can buy some things from me, or other people you encounter on the different levels. Some monsters will drop things as they die, and some things you can simply pick up in levels if you want to keep them.

And then I could use the floor-planner to place them around. Simple enough.

It did feel like a waste of time, however. Why even bother decorating?

You'll spend a lot of time here. It's easier on the mind to have your own room with your own things in it. It has a lot of uses.

"Alright, so I'm supposed to climb this dungeon. Why can't I use magic?" he asked.

The cat was still staring at the dancing flame, Mori felt a sort of 'Sigh' coming from his mind.

I felt some promising people in the village. I never usually aim that far, but I had to, this time. Sovereigns I avoid. Your magic doesn't work here.

Why?

The stone in which this dungeon was built absorbs anything that isn't mana. And mana itself is repelled, that's why most people can't leave using magic.

...It absorbs what isn't mana, but repels mana?

The kind of energy sovereigns use isn't pure and simple mana. You use Cursed energy, as seen on your profile. There's only a handful of people like you, almost everyone else uses mana, you were simply unlucky to be there.

So as long as I'm here, my cursed energy will be depleted to 0.

But doesn't that mean the inscription on my body-

That was done by someone else who used normal mana. If you were the one to inscribe on your own body, weaving Cursed Energy, it would've been absorbed by the dungeon. Those hexes you're hiding would've been out, roaming this room, and you most likely would've died at their hands.

Mori got up, stretching his legs and thinking.

The cat looked at peace with the flame. And as Mori assembled the puzzle in his mind, it let him think.

He wasn't as insensitive as it seemed, but it did feel as if he had given up on whatever his purpose was.

Mori got the dungeon system out again, scrolling through the options, but nothing interesting stuck out. The only thing that was truly of use was the level selector.

As he was about to select the first level, he quickly asked.

"You sell things, you said? How about weapons?"

To get the shop window opened, all you need to do is ask me. You will notice I sell a wide variety of things, but you have no kindle, right now.

"Kindle?"

The currency the versions of me collect from people trying to complete this dungeon is called kindle. You looked at your 'Stash' tab earlier, the amount of kindle you have would appear at the bottom, however right now it's at 0.

In front of Mori opened a new window, it was the shop the cat was talking about. It also showed his currency at 0.

There were multiple 'kindled tiers'. He was at tier 0, the selection of items extremely limited.

Food, water, and basic weapons. There was a minimal selection for his room, but nothing remotely close to being worth spending on.

As you spend more on my shop, it will go higher in tiers, unlocking new things for you to purchase.

Or I could just try to find what I need on the levels I clear.

You could. The choice is yours. Everyone's approach is different.

Can I deal with the first floor without a weapon, and magic is the real question here.