Dorian spent the rest of the day creating what the book referred to as the first floor. He aimed to keep it simple and welcoming for any daring adventurer, or any intruder in general.
So far, it was just a large cavernous room that branched into various paths, each leading to smaller chambers where he would place treasures to attract adventurers.
It was tedious work, but he needed to try something to keep the dungeon from being sealed. He had to think like a greedy human, and start crafting numerous weapons and items that others would covet.
Organizing these in tiers based on the difficulty of the floor would be left for later. For now, he needed to make it a gold mine for the first visitors. As the book reminded him, he needed to make it so that the nearest kingdom sees his dungeon as a necessity instead of trying to get his soul core.
Creating anything cost mana, but for Dorian, he simply had to purify the mana in the air into his body and shape it into what he imagined.
It wasn't difficult now that he had gotten the hang of it. As he advanced in his creation magic, the long chants became shorter.
He also noticed that every time he purified the magic in his dungeon, his body absorbed and retained a small part of it.
It was slowly strengthening the other core where his heart should have been.
[I guess you can now feel your first core. It will increase your power and let you venture further away from your dungeon. Right now, it's the size of a marble. Before you leave your dungeon to start looking for monsters, you should aim for a core the size of a golf ball. Oh, and don't worry, Master Gregory only gave you a stomach and lungs. You don't really need the other parts of your body. The food you eat is sort of incinerated in your stomach, so you won't have to worry about waste. Useful, huh?]
"What do you mean, I can…" He suddenly began searching for his little brother on his lower half.
He heaved a long sigh of relief; it seemed he still had his buddy down there.
[Did you think Master Gregory would forget that? Don't worry, he is always one step ahead in everything.]
Dorian glared at the book as he continued to create another long passage.
All he had to do now was place his finger and imagine the wall being constructed at the end of his fingertip. Everything was progressing rapidly.
Within hours, he felt the core grow to about double its size. With only days to finish, he pressed on, creating more and more without giving himself time to rest or sleep.
He longed to feel the fresh air outside, and even if his body was fake, he yearned to touch real grass and not something produced by his imagination.
[Well, I think that is the last of the passages. Now start producing items again, your first batch was atrocious, I doubt any sane adventurer would use them, they would at most be sold to blacksmiths to melt.]
Dorian gave the book a long sigh, he knew what he had created was barely passible for a children's toy so he did not refute.
"So, what do you think would be good for people to find in this dungeon?" Dorian asked his book, the only other thing he could speak to.
[How about this, I will help you create another book where you can order weapons and armors to create, in exchange you provide me with 10% of the mana gained from your dungeon?]
Dorian for the first time looked at the book with doubt, he did not know it would also have a hidden agenda.
"Why do you also need mana? Aren't you just a book Gregory created?" Dorian asked as he stomped on the floor to make a pedestal, he was tired of walking so much.
[So you finally ask you self-centered piece of… well if you must know I have lost my body, I too was a great dungeon master, but I fell due to greed, now I can only live as an object… so if I get more mana, I could possibly change my form into something else… of course I won't be able to do more than that, this is just a tenth of my soul, I will crack if I try to do more…]
The book finally seemed to say something other than instructions and curses. Dorian for the first time felt he was talking to someone else.
"Fine, but you better help me so we can both get stronger. Now tell me what should we do."
[As I said, I will create a book of creation. Instead of pointlessly creating garbage, you just have to use the book like a catalog where you can buy things in exchange. I will ask for my commission fee of 10% of the mana when something is produced, it was my personal spell. We will start with low grade equipment… as for metals, you should only worry about items created with gold and silver for now. Anything more, and you'll have to work tirelessly for years to refine mana since you can only produce low-durable items with your weak core. You need monsters and souls before we can create better stuff.]
Dorian waited a few seconds before the book spat out another book. It was strange, but he picked it up and began checking the new book's contents.
It had a variety of items from potions to various armors and even a section that displayed decent-quality swords, daggers, and other easily made weapons.
It felt like he was going to be ordering objects online.
Unlike the wall, which was created purely from his imagination, this would be where the real fun began. They weren't just extensions of his core, like the wall, but real, genuine objects.
He returned to his room and, with a mere thought, created a new floor dedicated to production. This floor housed a furnace, anvils, and various other tools to aid in his future crafting.
Dorian didn't know how to use them, though. These were mere items the book helped him create based on historical records. They were also fake, imaginary objects that could only exist within his dungeon, meant to be used in the future.
"I guess this room is useless now huh?" Dorian said as he looked at the room he had previously created and then to the book who seemed to be holding in a chuckle.
[I did say you were getting ahead of yourself…]
Dorian sighed as he recalled how he envisioned a future where many blacksmith dwarves would inhabit the production floor, crafting tools and items while he ventured out to explore the world.
With his growing power, there were no limits to what he could achieve, so this was one of the first ideas he thought would help him in the future.
[Don't worry, they will be needed. What do you think we will do with all the armors and material your dungeon will get from adventurers and monsters dying here? You will be able to save mana for your later floors. It isn't a limitless resource after all, and you're only one person doing all the mana refining. No one will be able to do that for you, so this forge will be great for the future.]
Dorian laughed out loud, feeling the strain of his situation and the madness of being alone with only a book for company.
"Alright, fine…" Dorian began to complain before he saw the book shine as if giving him a warning.
[You need to start working, Dorian. You're wasting precious time thinking, and the timer is running.]
"Well, I just thought a room dedicated to making tools would help me get in the mood. Now then, let's start with refining more mana?" Dorian began to meditate while sitting in front of a desk before he would attempt to create something.
After ten minutes, he had enough mana to probably produce a small weapon.
"So how will this work? Do I just have to select the item and buy it?"
Dorian asked, wondering why many items were greyed out as if they were waiting for something to be unlocked.
[Gregory won't let me do that you know. You have to do your own part in this. You will have to personally make the items before you can buy them from the book.]
With a long sigh, Dorian began reading and studying the list of items and decided to go with a small dagger. He carefully checked through its chant before reciting it to create a dagger. It needed to be short, sturdy, light, and beautiful.
[System: Creation \ Magic Type: Unique \ Class: Non-organic \ Sub-Class: Weapons Production \ Name: Damascus Dagger "A blade hard to reveal, a dagger made of steel. A handle with a magical jewel, A sheath sturdy enough for any duel."]
As he tried to create the dagger, he felt how mana was quickly being drained from his core. There was a pain he wasn't used to before. Dorian banged his hand on the table, not noticing the crack he produced with the force he used.
"Damn it, it ended in failure!"
Dorian saw how the item he tried to manifest crumbled into dust as soon as he lost concentration, but that did not deter him.
Three hours later, he finally finished crafting daggers, swords, and axes. These were the typical weapons for the knights or adventurers who would invade his dungeon soon.
He began placing each item, along with precious metals in the form of coins with his face on them, into different chests.
Once he completed the tedious task, the book glowed, indicating a new entry on its pages.
[You now need to make traps. Don't worry about killing anyone just yet; just create simple ones that scare the weaklings while keeping the strong on their toes.]
"You know, I didn't ask for all this work. I just want to sleep... Even though I don't get tired, don't tell me this is what it takes to be immortal..." Dorian sighed as he got back to work.
Traps were like computer programs, where action A only activated after action B was triggered, producing action C—and he had to put all that process with each one he added.
It was exhausting to create switches and devise various traps.
He wasn't motivated to do this, but he knew that each task strengthened his core.
[It seems your core is almost ready to be reformed. Please head back to the pedestal of your soul. You will need to compress the energy so that it does not leak out when you exit the dungeon to find monsters.]