The darkness surrounded her as a sense of dullness filled her entire being.

  She tried moving, to no avail, as her body refused any command. Terrifying thoughts cluttered within her mind. She remembered being shot 3 times and was sure she was going to die. But what if she doesn't?

  She might be in a coma. She can't move her body, but can still think. They said that the patient would be aware of the outside world but could not do anything to get out of that state. She didn’t know the right word for it, but she thought that would be the worst scenario. Even more so than death.

  The most damning aspect of it is that...she will become a burden.

  Her parents love her. She knew that. No matter how she turns out, she knows they would keep loving her.

  That was why she was terrified. Because even if she won’t ever wake up, she knows that her parent will hold out hope no matter what. Even if the hope is unrealistic, even if the debt they accumulated keeping her alive will be crippling, even if they are just elderly who shouldn’t be dedicating the rest of their life on a lost cause…she know they would.

  She was terrified of that, not dying.

  Fortunately, a disembodied voice interrupted her thoughts before they could spiral any further, as her mind scrambled at the strange intonation.

  Error. Potential vessel compromised. Enacting solution…

  Substitute Vessel found.

  What…is that voice saying? Her addled mind struggled to comprehend the monotone voice.

  Begin the soul transferring process…

  Vessel is a Mana Core. Assessing Vessel’s compatibility.

  Note: Vessel is not of sapience origin.

  Note: Vessel possessed no soul.

  Enacting solution…

  Solution found.

  Vessel’s race converted into [Dungeon Core]

  Skill gained: Soul Form

  Trait gained: Mana Creature

  Soul transferring completed.

  Since Subject is a Traveler, enact the predetermined protocol.

  Skill gained: Analyze

  Unique Skill gained: Third-person Insight

  All protocols fulfilled. Process completed.

  Would you like to [Name] yourself?

  Name herself? She already had a name. A name that brought her joy and sadness, but it was her name nonetheless, her identity in the old world-

  Old world…

  Oh. She must really have died. Somehow, that information brought her relief. It seemed that she had been reborn in another world. That was probably why the monotonous voice, which she assumed was from the [System], was speaking to her.

  She thought deeply about this [Name]. While in her old world, the name was nothing but a form of identity, something subtle inside of her could feel that this [Name] is different from her old name. More meaningful, or more damning, for that matter.

  Suddenly, a name popped up in her head. A name she had heard about somewhere, but the meaning has always stuck with her.

  ‘Elysia…my name will be Elysia from now on.’

  From the blessed isles…heaven. Or, another of its meanings is ‘Realm of the Dead’. It felt intimate somehow when she registered its meaning. Her whole being seemed eager to meld with the tantalizing feeling the [Name] brought about.

  [Name] confirmed and added to the [Archive].

  Error. User [Elysia] is a [Dungeon Core].

  Error. [Dungeon Core] is categorized under [Natural Phenomena].

  System access denied for creatures under [Natural Phenomena], [Corrupted], [Spirit], [Witch], and [TRUEGOD]. Access to system denied to User [Elysia]…

  Er...ro…r.

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Then, as abruptly as the voice appeared, it disappeared, and she…Elysia could feel herself again.

  Right...she is Elysia now.

  It was strange, Elysia felt as if floating, her senses numb and over the places. She subtly felt something curling around her body, as if a blanket. She reached out, over the numbness and the limited, and suddenly she got a feeling of being-

  Whole, again. Not quite the same feeling as she struggled to stretch her muscles after every groggy morning that reminded her of being alive, but something much more conceptual. Elysia felt as if a missing piece of a puzzle had somehow found its place back within her body.

  Elysia opened her eyes and found that the outside was endless darkness, not darkness in the sense that it could be illuminated by light. It was as if the darkness denied her existence, and she, in turn, denied its accessibility.

  It was confusing, and Elysia supposed, riveting to an extent.

  Feeling the space beyond out of her reach, it was then that Elysia finally took a look at the space inside. The space was filled with a golden color, so bright yet it somehow didn’t hurt her eyes. In the center of that place sat a crystal; its presence was enormous, and it radiated warmth as if it were the sun. That’s probably an exaggeration, but it was what she really felt.

  In awe, Elysia decided to touch the crystal, and a sensation flooded through her body. It was as if she were touching her own heart.

  Elysia gasped in surprise, and suddenly she was sent outside by a burst of energy. She expected falling right into the ground and thus braced for impact…yet it never came. Her body remained floating in mid-air.

  She opened her eyes and saw the puzzling state of her body.

  ‘Wow…I’m levitating.’ She muttered to herself, immediately trying a maneuver in the air. Surprisingly, she managed it effortlessly. She then noticed a staff was standing perfectly balanced. On top of it was an orb giving off gentle golden light.

  As before, she approached the orb. Glinting into it, she could see the crystal core she had touched before at the center of the orb. She supposed she was inside this thing a while ago, and now she managed to get out?

  “Beautiful…” She couldn’t help but comment as she looked closely. She had always found things like this to be kind of neat. A perfectly spherical object that is also transparent? And the golden light it is giving off gave her…a kind of magical, or holy vibe.

  She touched the orb. It felt smooth. Like with the crystal, as if feeling she touched upon her own heart, touching the exterior of the orb felt as if she was touching her skin, and Elysia came to a conclusion.

  She is the orb. She doesn’t know how, or why, or is it even possible, or just a fever dream, but somehow she managed to reincarnate into a damn orb.

  “Okay, calm down. It can’t be that bad…I have seen people reincarnated as worse things.”

  There are a lot of weird things that people reincarnated into in her old world. A monster, a ghost, a zombie? The start of most OP characters. A villainess, a side character, a betrayed hero? All was cliché that she could predict in the first episode. A rock, a tree, perhaps a strand of grass? She supposes it could be somewhat reasonable, if the author really dedicated their mind to it? But a vending machine, a spoon, or a bottle? These types of reincarnation stories felt so alien to her mind to the point of making her uncomfortable, and she ended up not managing to continue after a few episodes, or endeavored not to watch it at all.

  Case in point, this is not the worst. At least she looked beautiful…something she couldn’t really say in her old world.

  She started looking around at her surroundings. Her vision seemed to have expanded, as she now could see about a 2m dome from her core. She had much more space now, although it still felt restricting. Luckily she was not claustrophobic, or she might have lost her shit. She knew a relative of hers who had that particular brand of phobia, and it was not pleasant to deal with him.

  She tried reaching her hand outside, but her senses immediately disappeared outside the boundary, and she scowled as she quickly retracted her hand. She tried touching the ground. As expected, her hand went right through it.

  “Okay…even though it’s unconventional, I can deal with this just fine.” She thought of a phrase that was prevalent in many isekai stories with a system. “Well, here goes nothing. Status.”

  “Oh.” She deflated, clearly disappointed. In hindsight, she should have expected this, since it was made abundantly clear that she was denied access to the [System].

  Tch…who needs that lousy voice in her head anyway?

  "Fine...I have other things to worry about anyway." She clicked her tongue in annoyance

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  It seemed she was what they called a dungeon core. She had heard the concept of a dungeon before, and she had heard about dungeon core a few times, but she never put in the effort to read it. Work was just too brutal, and there were countless more exciting things she could watch in her spare time

  “Ugh…if I don’t have access to the [System], how am I supposed to use my Skills?” She groaned, “I’m getting scammed…”

  Analyze is simple enough, Elysia supposes it will provide information about a designated target. It’s also a cliché in stories about reincarnation with a system. In some novels, it was rare, and only the main character had it. Or it was common and everyone had it. She was no one special, so she was inclined to believe the latter.

  Not like it matters now, since there is no way this thing will work without the [System]

  Soul Form is harder to pinpoint…but she supposed it would be the reason for her current state...how she can float in the air like nothing. Since her body is the orb, she assumed the skill allowed the ability to control the projection of her soul. And judging by her state right, it’s probably a passive skill, which is why it’s still working right now. Her situation held similarity to the lich and their phylactery, now that she thought about. While she can’t directly touch things, perhaps with some experiment, aspects of this skill could be learned.

  Third-person Insight was a skill of unique rarity. It brought her an uncanny familiarity, somehow. Elysia felt that…it hit too close to home.

  Ever since she was a child, she had been overly emotional about stuff. She often blurted things out, whether she felt like it…she was basically like an open book. That was nothing strange, really, but it had become a problem later on. Because she was too trusting, she ended up getting hurt. Because she ended up getting hurt, she withdrew into a shell.

  She became paranoid, overly sensitive to what people say about her…she didn’t know when a habit so vicious was instilled inside her. She could still talk with others casually, but when a slight sign tipped her off, she turned into a state that she didn't consider herself anymore...if that made sense

  Basically, she responded as if she were an outsider giving advice to herself. She had always thought that people outside the conversation would be able to think more clearly and make better decisions...but she became ruthless when like that. She dissected their behavior, looked every nook and cranny into their words…

  And while she was all smiling at them still, her heart was cold and calculating. No longer considered them someone trustworthy, she kept them at arm's length. She used them and manipulated them as she no longer considered them human.

  That was…not normal, disregarding herself like that, and she knew that, of course. It took a lot of stable relationships for her to realize what was wrong and to try to change her outlook. The name of this skill was eerily similar to the past she left behind.

  A coincidence? Perhaps it is, perhaps not. Either way, this was something to look into.

  And what about her trait?

  Mana Creature, which she assumed to be a being intrinsically tied to the working of mana. If her comprehension of cliché was to be believed, then she supposed this trait was supposed to boost all her aspects related to mana. And probably have some weird connection with mana that she was supposed to find out later, like in many stories she read, mana beings, like spirit, would suffocate without mana.

  Feeling satisfied about her hypothesis, Elysia started to turn toward other problems. Basic problems, like how to expand this domain of hers.

  As she has hypothesized before, perhaps she is like spirits and will need mana to live, instead of air like…basically anything else.

  And her current situation only cemented her thoughts. She is an orb, after all, so any biological functions obviously didn’t matter anymore. Without biological means, it’s obvious that she had to turn to magical means.

  This still needed experimenting to be sure, however.

  She tried her trick from before, which was touching the core and willing the expansion of her domain.

  Unfortunately, that didn’t work. Well, Elysia supposed it couldn’t be that easy. She thought about it for a moment and felt that she must learn to manipulate mana first.

  It would be easier if she could see mana, though. It would be hard to manipulate something you can’t see or feel. Elysia felt that she must focus, and this was also the perfect chance to test out her Unique Skill. If it still managed to work without the [System], that is.

  ‘Third-person Insight.’ Immediately, she felt the control of her body sharpen. Her thought process hastened in response as hypotheses started popping up in her head, and unnecessary thoughts were being purged almost in an instant.

  Huh...so it was able to work, after all...

  Elysia started closing her eyes. Weirdly enough, or as expected, she could see things even without opening her eyes. It's not really sight, per se, but she could feel everything in her domain with great detail. Apparently, if she focuses enough, she could even zoom in and be aware of things that were as small as a speck of dust.

  Elysia noticed something different was there in the air. It was hard to differentiate between it and the air itself, but Elysia noticed that it was giving off a slight glow, although negligible compared to her core.

  Elysia doubted people could see it with their eyes without some kind of Mana Sensory skill. Luckily, Elysia possessed the trait of Mana Creature, so this is something easy and instinctive for her. For other people, even if they had to ability to sense mana, she doubted that they would be able to notice these fine particles without them being clumped together, since they didn’t have meticulous sight of a dungeon core.

  Elysia noticed many, too many mana particles floating around that she hadn’t managed to comprehend before. And she finally identified the things that collided at the edge of her domain.

  It is also mana. Not her own, but still mana nonetheless. But what constitutes her own mana, and other mana? Elysia looked closely and noticed that while other mana particles have a plethora of colors, hers seemed to be a pure white. That was the most glaring difference.

  And with that, Elysia came to the conclusion that her vision is limited by her mana. The question is whether this mana reservoir of hers can be expanded, and how?

  No, perhaps that was not the right question. The question is, can she convert the foreign mana into her own? And how, if it is possible at all?

  If she is a Mana Creature, it’s reasonable to presume that mana is her breath, then can she convert it by a simple respiration process? How can a magical orb breathe anyway?

  Elysia shuddered as she felt the skill deactivated on its own. The feeling from the skill was…particular to say the least. Enlightening, but somewhat…creepy.

  Still, Elysia must continue the process. Upon further pondering, she found that the solution could be quite simple, and there was no harm in trying. If she failed, she could try a different approach. No need to overcomplicate it and go to a dead end anyway.

  Elysia thought of breathing in, and sure enough, she felt her core brighten in response, clearly charged with mana. She continued inhaling until she could no more, and finally…exhale. A burst of energy pushed her domain outward, and the space where she could see was expanded. She excitedly jumped at her at the development.

  A good development, but Elysia wasn’t done yet. She continued expanding until-

  “Oh…” Elysia took a deep breath upon encountering something other than bones and rocks. At first, she came to a damning conclusion as on a pile of bones, her domain came across a pale, and Elysia could heard the growling and consuming of ‘something’, as the hand was jolted occasionally by external force.

  Elysia continued expanding her domain, and as expected, she came across a horrifying sight. On the pile of bones, she saw the corpse of a woman, with a trio of wolves tearing into it. The woman seemed to have died by having a particular sharp bone pierced through her head. It seemed that she died before being consumed this way.

  It was morbid to see her corpse continuously being consumed every passing second.

  Elysia couldn’t keep watching, so she tried to get the wolves to stop. With great concentration, she willed the mana to push the wolves away, but her strength was insufficient. All she did was give the wolves a little jolt. Their eyes were crazed and ravenous, which made her doubt anything could sway them.

  But Elysia really shouldn’t let the woman stay like that. But how to stop these wolves?

  The answer was simple, actually. Make them into her own, then command them to leave the corpse alone. That is the dungeon way, is it not?

  She tried to focus her breath, but realized that it went off course haphazardly, and the wolves were too invested in their feast to notice anything.

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Feeling the mana in her domain, her connection with them felt natural to her as she weaved countless particles into lines and connected them to her core. Her intention was to establish a connection with the beasts. With great focus, she extended the line to reach into the beasts.

  The feeling was clunky, and she felt as if a baby was trying to walk for the first time.

  ‘Third-person Insight.’ She whispered, and suddenly, everything was clearer.

  The control of her mana became smooth, precise. She feels like a puppeteer of her own body, every aspect of sense so loosely detached, yet so simple to control. She connected the lines decisively to the trio of wolves, and they immediately froze. Elysia felt their will collide against her own, but the wall of her psyche held up against the pitiful assault.

  “Submit.” She simply stated, and her will overwhelmed their own. The wolves soon ignored the hunger pangs and obediently sat down. A connection between them has been established.

  She breathed out, somewhat disturbed. She felt the unnerving clarity in her mind disappear, which she assumed was Third-person Insight turning off. That was a handy skill, but like Elysia surmised before, it gave her the creeps.

  Elysia felt her feelings muted upon activating the skill. Was it the side effect of this skill?

  Before she could ask herself more questions she couldn’t answer, knowledge started flowing into her mind. She gained a somewhat clear feeling of the wolf’s biology.

  She identified all of its organs and body parts, and their usage in a flash. Is this a quirk of being a dungeon core?

  The beasts seemed ravenous. Signs of malnourishment were visible across their bodies.

  ‘Huh…what can I do to remedy that?’

  She quickly scanned throughout her domain, but aside from various types of insects, there wasn’t anything else. It did net her a good gain, though, and she established a connection with some of them. There was some kind of beetle that had tough skin, a species of worm that burrowed into an environment rich in calcium, such as bones, centipedes with sharp legs that targeted the soft belly of most creatures and disemboweled them before consuming, and a species of fly that lives on corpses.

  Elysia came to a conclusion. All of them are too disgusting to eat. It didn’t seem right to force these starving wolves to consume them…but what more can she find?

  Apparently, a lot. It wasn’t long at all after Elysia went into experimenting mode.

  Mana could do a lot of things, and the could apparently be manipulated into different shapes.

  Elysia decided to create an oscillating blade of mana, and it turned out it be able to cut through a bone effortlessly. She didn’t know what to do with this, but she assumed the discovery would hold significance in the future. For now, she used mana to move all the bones into a corner of the room.

  She wished she could absorb matter and recreate it whenever she saw fit. That would make things much easier. While she could shape things just fine, creating things out of nothing seemed to be too much for her.

  It took a while to clean all the bones and the corpse, but she managed. She left the corpse of the pregnant woman for now, because she thought the woman deserved a proper burial rather than throwing her into a pile of bones.

  About this woman...Elysia has a hypothesis of who she is. Elysia has inspected her corpse and found out that she was pregnant. Adding up with the voice of system at the start of her reincarnation process, where it said that her vessel was…compromised, Elysia came to the conclusion that she was supposed to be reincarned as the baby inside this woman, but the mother died before managed to give birth, thus compromised her body and the system forced her soul into the core as a makeshift solution.

  Wordlessly, she infused her mana into the ground and moved the dirt outside. Placing the woman’s body down delicately, Elysia felt a sense of melancholy inside her.

  “I wish you a gentle afterlife…” Elysia said in an indescribable tone, before allowing the dirt to cover the woman’s body.

  Elysia remembered her mother from before. A rash but kind woman. She was not smart, but she was happy, and always smiled upon seeing her. A sense of loss overflowed within Elysia as the thought of never going to taste her mother's food again rose within her heart.

  She just floated before the makeshift grave for a moment. Staring. Thinking...

  ‘Awoo…?’ Hearing the whine of one of the wolves finally snapped her out of her stupor.

  Noticing the trio of wolves, still hungry, Elysia sighed, berating herself a bit for getting lost in thought. She gave them a reassuring smile before continuing her search inside her domain. Finally, she found some berries growing along the cave wall. Wordlessly, she collected a bunch of them. But she wasn’t going to feed it to the wolves just yet.

  Elysia started her experiment first. She started infusing her mana into the berries. At first, there was no change, but soon enough, the indigo color of the berries gradually shifted, until it became a light blue, and these berries started giving off a faint light.

  Elysia decided to call this [Enchanted Berry]. Not very creative, she knew that, but she could think about a more complicated name once she made something truly innovative. Or at least more complex than pushing mana into a random berry.

  The wolves seemed to like it, as they wholeheartedly gorged on the food with little hesitation. It couldn’t have tasted bad, judging by their willingness. Soon, the pile was consumed, and the wolf trio seemed satiated. Soon, they chose the spot around her core and cuddled closely next to it, falling asleep in seconds. Poor things must have been so exhausted and hungry.

  Elysia felt tired, but content watching as the canine chose to settle close to her core. It seemed that they found comfort and her presence, and that made her kind of glad.

  Elysia couldn’t help but sigh. She had more or less accepted her new life as a dungeon core, now the better question is what to do next?

  Well, make this a place better, of course! This place was really getting on her nerves. She needed light, needed better architecture, needed more diverse creatures. And millions more thoughts were swirling inside her.

  But she could do it tomorrow. For now, she took a deep breath and fell into a slumber.