The Infinity Dungeon [LitRPG]

The elevator doors opened with a ding.

The first thing Michael saw, before his eyes fully adjusted to the light, was a silhouette against a wall of windows. Blinding white light bathed the gigantic, empty room from all sides.

"Took you long enough," the silhouette said. It was Infy. "Come, don't be shy."

Even though he could only see her outline, he could hear the grin in her voice. Michael gingerly stepped forward, still bathed in light from all sides. The real size of the room was hard to discern, but there were windows on all sides and no other features save for a large digital table close to where Infy was.

The light changed, and suddenly the elevator was no longer blocking the view behind Michael.

"Do you like the view from up here?" Infy asked, hands clasped behind her back and staring outside.

Michael joined her by the window. He had to squint. "I can barely see anything."

"Oh," the dungeon spirit said with a giggle. She snapped her fingers, and the light dimmed. "Better?"

Michael realized with a start that the blinding light had been Sitea's shield. The moment he became aware of it, the drone of background magic became deafening. He felt like he had to shout to be heard, even though he was pretty sure it was all in his head.

"Better, thanks."

Infy giggled again. "You don't have to lie."

The glass became much darker, and the hum of magic quietened to manageable levels.

"Thank you. I felt like my ears were going to explode."

"Resonance," Infy said. "Good job containing the particles. I feared they might overwhelm you."

Michael shrugged. "I can manage if I don't think about them."

Infy pouted. It was hard to tell without really seeing her face, but Michael could swear she was pouting. "That's no good, my Champion. Sit down, legs crossed. Close your eyes."

Michael did as asked. Only when he used his left hand to help himself to the floor did he realize that the Force Lance was no longer bonded with him. He searched for it as Infy watched his antics with a smile and found it resting on top of the digital table.

Below it, the display was showing an aerial view of the city.

"I'm not taking away your new toy, Michael, dear. But first, let's deal with the important stuff, shall we? You will have all the time to play with it in the next challenges."

"Right," he said as he closed his eyes. "I'm ready. What should I do?"

"With your eyes closed, feel for the energy in your Inner Space."

Michael directed his senses towards the spark of Demiurge Particles. He kept his gaze as far away from the dangerous energy as possible, knowing that even looking at it from the edge of the empty space could be dangerous. The heat seared his flesh, even though in here he had no flesh.

He fought the urge to open his eyes. Sensing the magic felt much different to how it had felt before, when he had a Sanctum. He couldn't tell exactly what had changed, because after losing his powers it was as if his mind had lost the ability to even recall the alien experience of being able to perceive magic. He just knew that this time it was different. More visceral. A total experience brought by magic much more powerful than anything he had ever encountered.

After a while, Infy's voice reached his ears. "Good. Now tell me, Michael, do you still have the resonance pill I gave you as a reward long ago?"

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"I brought it with me when I came here," he whispered, still focused on the spark and with sweat rolling down his temples. He didn't dare speak out loud for fear that the spark might hear him and go out of control. "I don't have it anymore. When the old man rescued me, he took my clothes."

"Then you will have to do without," Infy said, then stopped. He heard her pace around the room, tapping the digital table with a finger that tinkled like metal scraping on metal. "No. I changed my mind. It's too dangerous."

Michael felt his stomach sink.

"Not all is lost. I cannot give you things for free, but I can grant rewards if you manage to overcome a challenge. Your challenge shall be to extract Demiurge Particles from your proto-star and give them to me. They will have to be enough to suffice to recreate a resonance pill, but you must also leave behind enough to kickstart the creation of an actual star."

Michael didn't argue over the terminology. Already, he could picture his Inner Space as some sort of empty solar system with the spark of roiling energy at its center. From where he stood, it was like being a tiny speck of dust at the terminus of the heliosphere, watching the spark of a sun lost in a sea of darkness. There were no other stars nearby.

"Take your time," Infy said. Her voice was weak. She was clearly lying to him. If he wasn't quick enough, she would have to leave and he would be forced to complete the process alone without her help and without the resonance pill.

He cleared his mind. With magic restored, he found it easier to do than without. He recalled the time when he had statistics, thanks to the Unity skill. His highest one had been Resilience, and even though the skill and its stats were gone, he could feel an echo of its effects.

A thin strand of energy emerged from the spark, a controlled solar eruption. It was hot and painful, scorching Michael's soul, making every moment an agonizing trial. When the erupting mass reached halfway through the empty space, Infy spoke again.

"This should be enough."

A powerful force latched onto the stream of particles. Moments later, they were gone, and the spark at the center of the system was dimmer.

"Here. Take this pill and focus on the proto-star."

Michael took the resonance pill without opening his eyes. He swallowed it, feeling the slight herbal taste fill his mouth and then explode in a cacophony of synesthesia.

The roiling spark calmed down. Gingerly, Michael willed the floating mass of being that was his inner self to get closer to it.

When he finally stopped, the heat once again on the verge of pain, he wasn't sure how much time had passed. He had watched the spark grow from a tiny dot to a gigantic star, like the sun seen from Mercury's orbit, three times wider than the real sun seen from Earth.

"Closer," Infy whispered in his ear, tickling him with her warm breath.

Michael moved his astral projection forward, feeling the heat rise. He was a spaceship sent to the center of the solar system, and he had no shields or mirrors to deflect the sun's wrathful rays.

"That's enough."

He stopped. Only then did he truly look at the star in the center of his Inner Space. It looked like the Sun, with sunspots and arcs of plasma, bombarding him with particles and light and heat.

"They are not Demiurge Particles anymore, are they?" he asked.

"Try to feel them."

"How?"

"You know how."

Michael did. He opened himself to the stream of energy, and while the pain didn't disappear, a part of it suddenly changed. Now Michael understood what it was.

"Elemental energy, Chi, Jing! Mana and Qi! And… something else."

"Of course," Infy smiled, "the star was made with Demiurge Particles, after all."

"There's another. Not higher tier but," Michael struggled to sense it, and then to put to words what he was sensing, "elusive."

"It is called Shen."

Michael groaned. "Please don't add another type of energy. There were already too many."

"Your understanding of magic was incomplete, and partly wrong," she giggled. "Well, mostly wrong. I cannot tell you much, but I can give you hints. You earned them.

The energy you called Jing was the energy of the Body. Even while dormant, your Body Dantian was its source. What you called Chi was the same as Qi, the energy of the Soul. Chi came from the Soul itself, while Qi came from the Soul Dantian. When you merged the two, you failed to realize that the energies were the same, preoccupied by the System as you were. Now you discover Shen, but it too is something you should already be familiar with. It is but the energy of the Mind, and its Dantian."

"I see."

"You do not. Not yet. In the end, they are all Qi, and they should be harmonized. Now more than ever, because with your star the Dantian Cores are no longer separate but a single entity. The energies, all the energies, must coexist in harmony. Only then will you be able to tap into them and restore your magic."

Michael opened his eyes.

"Thank you," he said.

"I must leave now. The resonance pill will last the whole day. Make use of it, or you will be forever incomplete. When you are done, leave by the way you came. You will find another challenge waiting for you, and more information as the reward."

"Wait!"

"What is it?" she asked, a playful smile on her invisible face.