Isekai Dungeon Architect

She had helped me with the first dungeon experience. She was also the reason I went through that migraine of pop-ups, but then again, she redeemed herself with her sweet voice.

It just felt wrong to keep calling her system or system sister. It was just wrong to leave her nameless when she had guided me through the forest, dragged me back from death, steadied me in the storm of status windows, and now whispered to me like a partner.

'She's also the only one that actually understands my personal jargon, the language of Aria Solona, the Cloud Architect.'

The name was important, so I started thinking.

"Hmmm…"

I thought of the pink hue of her windows, the warmth of her tone, and the defense of her sharp logic, and it reminded me of roses.

I thought of the way she had saved me more than once already, and the word Savior came to mind instead of helper.

She was also ethereal, her nature otherworldly, her presence itself eternal… so, the ending of -el was important.

I whispered it aloud, tasting the sound. "Rosaviel."

The name itself seemed to contain a unique power of its own.

The dungeon air around us hummed faintly.

[ "…Acknowledged." ]

She did not need long explanations; she knew what that name was for. Also, was it my imagination, or did the voice sound warmer now?

[ "Designation accepted. From now on, this module will respond to the name Rosaviel." ]

A soft smile tugged my lips. "Perfect. You've earned it, Avi."

[ "…?" ]

Cassiel tilted his head at me just like she must have been if she had a body, puzzled, probably wondering why I was cooing to thin air. But I ignored his stare. My attention was locked on the ember still dancing at his staff tip.

"Alright, cutie," I praised, my grin turning sharp. "You showed me yours. Now let's see if I can show you mine."

I extended my hand, feeling the buzz of mana stir at my fingertips.

I'd seen Cassiel pull his Mana from within— it was his own body's pool, drawn through the conduit of his staff. He was a mage and had Mana inside his body, just like all the other mages I had seen.

But my instincts… they tugged me elsewhere.

To the veins on the walls.

The channels I could still see faintly etched into the walls. The dungeon's breath. The external streams of power, not bound to my body but woven through the stone itself.

In the spectral form, I had controlled them to fix the entangled nodes and fix the circuit. Could I do the same here as well?

My hand twitched as I reached for it, my curiosity getting the best of me.

If I could still see the mana channels, I should be able to control the Mana as well. It was logical, and, as I went for it, the Mana answered as well.

'Good!'

One thread, one stream, little by little, the mana inside the Mana channels seeped out towards my hand, but, unlike what I wanted, this wasn't a water tap stream, not a few droplets, but instead…

—VROOOOOM!

A flood.

"…"

The air roared. Blue light bled from the walls as the channel nearest me shuddered, vomiting raw power into my waiting palm.

It built faster than I could shape it, faster than I could even think—

"Shit—!"

-BANG!

The blast rattled the corridor, a sharp crack that left my ears ringing and Cassiel's hair standing up like he'd been struck by lightning. Dust rained down, mana shimmered faintly in the air, but…

The walls held.

The dungeon didn't collapse.

Instead, the pulsing Mana channels I'd yanked from smoothed themselves out, resuming their steady hum like nothing had happened.

Cassiel stared at me, his eyes wide. "Y-you— what did you just do?!"

I coughed into my hand, cheeks hot. "Uh… magic?"

"That!" he pointed at the faint scorch mark smoking on the stone, "Was not normal magic!"

I pressed a finger to my lips, glancing upward where faint glimmers of proctor wards still drifted like distant stars.

No one was rushing in… yet.

Despite the commotion, no alarms sounded.

We were alone, and that means we were safe, for now.

"Well," I whispered, leaning closer to the short boy, "then let's make sure it stays our little secret."

Cassiel swallowed hard but nodded, clearly too shaken to argue. If I were able to do something like this, along with admiration, he was now supposed to fear me as well.

"Let's make a run for it first."

And just like that, we moved on, not staying at the crime scene for too long…

-Shrrrrrrr…

The dungeon wasn't generous, but it wasn't merciless either. The controlled zone was designed for rookies and had far fewer monsters of low levels scattered throughout the dungeon.

Unlike the actual floors of this tower dungeon, spanning thirty different floors, each one more difficult than the other, the association's test zone was something like a joke.

Even compared to the first floor of the tower, this area had nearly no threatening monsters, but I can say with the highest certainty that there are still many of the rookies struggling against those monsters.

'The monsters are no more than level-10 as well, and yet they are going to struggle against them.'

It was given because of how bad their skills were. But then again, they will not die at the very least.

The dungeon was still dangerous, and since I did not want to show the spike trap or, like earlier, the raw explosive powers, I decided to avoid battles altogether.

We stuck together. Cassiel muttered nervously every time shadows shifted, his staff trembling in his grip. I even teased him a few times, but… I didn't stray far.

Truthfully? He was adorable, but he was also useful. He had learned magic properly, unlike most who relied on their class skills.

He understood magic the same as actual scholars did, and his insight into various things was more helpful than just relying on my appraisal skill.

I could see mana lines he couldn't point out when the air thickened with flux, where monsters might spawn, and things that he couldn't do as a beginner mage.

He could coax sparks of light when the corridors grew too dark, burn off creeping mold with neat little flickers of fire, and give useful information whenever I needed it.

Together, we avoided fights. We weren't cowards; we were simply efficient.

Where the other rookies might be swinging swords at wolves or screaming as slimes lunged, we'd already slipped down another path, guided by the soft glow of mana channels and my uncanny new instincts.

Once, Cassiel nearly tripped over a cluster of luminous herbs tucked against a wall. I caught his wrist with both hands, crouched, and grinned. "Congratulations, cutie. You just found your first payday."

The herbs were precious, from what I can understand through the Appraisal description. We gathered them carefully, their stalks pulsing with raw healing mana.

Later, it was a cluster of crystals embedded in a cavern ceiling, faintly humming with stored energy. Cassiel boosted me up with shaking arms while I pried them free, one by one.

'Now we could have done it differently with him sitting on my shoulders, but he wasn't strong enough to pull those crystals out, leading to the opposite, slightly difficult scenario.'

By the time the recall chime finally rang throughout the dungeon, signaling the end of the trial, we hadn't slain a single monster.

However, our packs bulged with herbs and crystals worth far more than another monster corpse.

Cassiel was still pale, still rattled, but when he looked at the glittering haul, pride flickered in his eyes… but his back hurt after becoming my stool from earlier.

-Dap.

I bumped his shoulder with mine. "See? We survived without dying, cutie. Not bad for our first date."

His ears went crimson once again when he heard those words. "I-it wasn't a—"

The recall lights of the association proctors brought us back into daylight before Cass could finish his words, backpacks heavy, our physical bodies still intact.

"Hey…"

"That's her. The spatial mage."

"Why are they carrying around backpacks when she has a storage skill?"

Around us, other rookies gathered around battered, bloodied, or empty-handed.

But us?

"Sup fam."

I stepped out with a grin, the faint pink of Rosaviel's presence humming at the back of my mind, Cassiel at my side, and more coins and creation resources than I'd had when I walked in.

The first dungeon experience was a success. And so was the whole three-course test meal from the association.

'Sometimes winning isn't about the kills.'

Sometimes, it's about walking out with everything else.