Core of Knowledge

“Pick one of the bodies and focus on it.” The dungeon fairy said. “Use your dungeon senses to look past the shell and into the magic flowing through the body. The adventurer just died, so the nodes should still be there.”

Xu Han did as the fairy ordered and focused on seeing past the external shell. As a former cultivator who had researched the bodies of men before, Xu Han has experience looking at the insides of bodies, but it was different this time. Jemma was not asking him to see the heart, liver, and intestines of the body; she was telling him to see the magic that coursed through it.

As a dungeon core, Xu Han was born with a limited amount of divinity. He had used most of it to create the floor and technique, but he gained some back with the presence of the three adventurers. The death of two of the adventurers then gave Xu Han a massive boost, enough that he now had a surplus of his divine power. Thus far, Xu Han had been using the power of divinity to create the items on his floor, but divine power was not the only form of magic in this world.

There was another, more common form of magical energy in this world. According to Jemma, this form of magical energy could be found floating in the air all over this world, and the mortals called it Mana.

It was the strange form of energy Xu Han had unknowingly gathered when he first woke, and he now used it again. Xu Han gathered the threads of Mana around him and used a small amount to see the insides of the adventurer’s body. What he saw surprised him.

A cultivator in the Crimson Lands would cycle Qi through his body to strengthen and improve it, and Xu Han had been expecting to see something similar. That was not the case. There were no meridians in the adventurer’s body. Instead, there were a few threads of Mana densely packed in certain areas of the body. Xu Han used more mana and released an illusion to show Jemma what he was seeing.

“Jemma, what am I looking at?” Xu Han asked as he mentally pointed to the various packs of mana threads.

Jemma flew around the illusion Xu Han created. The illusion showed the outline of a human body but was transparent outside a few colored areas. Jemma had never seen it shown like this, but quickly understood what her dungeon core was pointing at.

“They are what I am trying to show you. These are called ‘nodes’.” Jemma then explained. “Just like Qi in your former world, Mana is the main source of magic for the Classed. When a Classed gains a Skill, what the System does is that it will pack Mana in a certain pattern in order to give the adventurer access to the Skill.”

“I see several of these nodes here. Does each node represent a different Skill?” Xu Han asked, fascinated by the nodes.

“Yes. Each node is packed differently and if the Skill improves, the node will grow stronger. When you gave that dwarf your ‘technique’, what you were doing is creating a node within his body.”

“Is there a restriction in the number of nodes a person can have?”

“Yes,” Jemma nodded, “there is a restriction based around the levels of the adventurer.”

“What do you mean?” Xu Han asked.

“The level of an adventurer is basically a rough guide on how much Mana his body can handle. When an adventurer uses a Skill, the node governing that skill releases Mana. If the Mana released is stronger than what his body can handle, the adventurer would suffer feedback. Needless to say, this is a bad thing. That is why each Skill comes with a level restriction. If that dwarf did not have the level required to learn that ‘technique’ you created, he would not be able to learn it.”

Jemma explanation cause Xu Han to mentally frown. “The skill scroll I created did not have any level restriction.”

“Skill creators do not need to worry about that,” Jemma dismissed Xu Han’s concern with a wave of her hand. “The System will assign the level restriction based on the power and complexity of the Skill. If the adventurer does not have the appropriate level, he will not be able to learn the Skill.”

“So, there’s no drawback if the dwarf failed to learn my technique?”

“The skill recorded in the scroll will disappear even if the dwarf failed to learn the Skill, so there’s that. Why are bothering with this anyway?” Jemma asked.

“It is interesting. Don’t you ever wonder how Skills works?”

“I know how they work. You are given a Skill from the System or learn the Skill from a Skill Scroll. Then, you can use it.” Jemma scoffed.

“That’s just the application of using a Skill.” Xu Han scoffed back at the dungeon fairy. “I want to know about the details of how magic works in this world. How does the System grant Skills? And why can dungeons like me create things out of mid-air? Surely, there are some dungeons who ask the same things.”

“Not really,” Jemma replied before hesitating. “Well, I guess if they may if they are a Scholar or Library Dungeon. But most dungeons just copy the skills of the creatures they absorbed wholesale.They don’t ask about how magic works, they just know that it does and that they can copy the Skills of the creatures they absorbed. Which is what you should be doing now but be careful. Most times, a dungeon can only absorb one node from a body before it disintegrates. So, choose wisely.”

Xu Han was a little disappointed, but unsurprised, by Jemma’s statement. Even in the Crimson Lands, most cultivators do not ask how cultivation works. They just follow what they were taught by their Masters and cultivate. Many sects even encourage this way of thinking. Xu Han always thought this view was short-sighted. Then, something Jemma said sprung to Xu Han.

“Jemma, what do you mean by Scholar or Library Dungeon? What does that mean?”

“Once dungeons reach their tenth floors, they will be given an option on how they wish to advance. Based on how they construct their first ten floors, the System will give them three to five options to boost the dungeon. The dungeon core can choose one to assist them construct the rest of their dungeon. Think of it as the levelling system for dungeons.”

“Jemma, I thought you said Gods do not have levels. Only mortals have them.” Xu Han asked after a long silence.

“While it is true that dungeons cores do not age and are born with a limited amount of divinity, that does not make you a god. At most, that will only make you a demi-god. A weak one. The System of War and Magic still works for you, but it won’t hold your hand like it does with the Classed. The Systems expect demi-gods to hold their own.”

Jemma told Xu Han this explosive news like it was nothing, but it shook the former cultivator, and he asked the question before he realized what he was doing.

“I am a true demi-god? Jemma, does that means there is a way for me to become a God? How?”

“Only one dungeon core had done it before.” The dungeon fairy said with a sad nod of her head. “Caros achieved Godhood after spreading his dungeon throughout his world. His world became his body, and he used it to become a God. He ate his world and destroyed it in the process.”

The dungeon shook as Xu Han realized his new path to Godhood. There was a way to regain all that he had lost. He could still try to take his rightful place in the Heavens. He failed in the Crimson Lands, but that was because of a mistake he made with his Dao. He will not make that mistake again. He will do better this time. Learn more, conquer more, ex-

“No! No! NO!”

The dungeon shook as Xu Han screamed. No!

He will not try the heavenly tribulation again!

He will not destroy this world!

Xu Han had his chance. He failed, and his failure was warranted!

The Heavens were right!

How many cultivation arts and techniques were lost due to him? How dare he still aspire to the Heavens after such a failure?

Xu Han do not deserve to be a God!

Xu Han’s mind settled as he finally accepted the truth. In his heart, Xu Han finally accepted the fact that he did not deserve a place in the Heavens. Here, struck deep in the earth, that is his place. That is his punishment.

This is what Xu Han deserves.

While waiting for the day when an adventurer destroy him, Xu Han could atone for his failure in the Crimson Lands by spreading the knowledge he had stolen from his former homeland. Xu Han needs to learn more about the magics of this world and convert his knowledge to local terms, but the Crazed Scholar was certain he could do it. Now that he knows about nodes, maybe Xu Han can even create some new nodes for fun. He may need a god’s help to create a new Class, but creating new nodes should be possible for a demi-god. He had done one already.

“Core? Core, are you okay?”

Xu Han realized that Jemma was speaking to him. The dungeon fairy looked worried, and Xu Han was embarrassed by his loss of control.

The former cultivator; No! The dungeon core apologized. “I am sorry about that, Jemma. I was just figuring some things out. I think I am ready now.”

“Ready? For what?” The puzzled dungeon fairy asked.

“My second floor,” Xu Han gave his dungeon fairy a light laugh. “I have a fun idea for my second floor.”