She Rules the Dungeon

Five days passed since Otta applied. She was nervous and even though it hasn't been a week yet, she was getting more and more disheartened. Many applicants had already received their confirmation emails and were signing up for the compulsory training program. Still, there wasn't any mail for Otta.

Miserable and disappointed, Otta wondered what she would do next if her application was rejected. Would fate really be this cruel to her? Otta took a look at herself in the mirror. Her green eyes reflected back at her and it contrasted greatly with her red hair. As she wasn't someone who went outside often, the freckles on her nose and cheeks were quite noticeable. Otta wasn't a fan of her physical appearance. Unlike Grace who was an athletic beauty and Michelle who was an urban chic, Otta had always been the wallflower.

If there was something that Otta was proud of herself, it would be her creativity. As the girl who was easily overlooked, Otta found herself spending a lot of time in class thinking up the craziest ideas. It didn't matter if they worked, Otta was a dreamer. Except, she didn't always leave her dreams as what they were. She'd often try to make them come true in one form or another.

There was a time in sixth grade when Otta's class was tasked to organize a fund-raising event that would be open to the public. Other classes did things like host game booths or food fairs. However, Otta didn't think that the ideas would stand out. Hence, she proposed that they held an interactive skit where participants could bid and pay 'actors' to do anything from helping to confess to the girl of your dreams to pranking your nemesis. Of course, there were some ground rules of what can and cannot be done. Nobody expected that idea to be so well received and Otta's class topped the school's fund-raising event after breaking the record of funds earned through it.

Naturally, having such a gift was akin to a double-edged sword. Some people like it and some don't. For Otta, while this talent of hers attracted such a wonderful group of friends, society didn't take kindly to people who thought differently no matter how brilliant an idea. Hence, Otta decided to take it easy and be satisfied with the simple things in life. However, after the temptation of food and the unseen mockery of the people who succeeded in society, Otta was determined to defy what people thought of her. She was in no way weak and she intended to prove it by becoming the best dungeon owner with the craziest designs.

Except the mail hasn't arrived yet. Grace called yesterday asking her about it and Otta could only stumble over her words before admitting that she hasn't been informed.

"Don't worry about it, there is still time," was what Grace told her. Otta wanted to cry. She really wanted to believe in those words but after living such a meaningless life, it was difficult to remain positive.

Just when Otta was waddling deeper into the darker side of her thoughts, her phone went off. It was a notification for new mail and all at once, Otta was wide awake. Could it be that mail?

Nervous and almost ill with anticipation, Otta reached for her phone.

Twenty seconds later, there was a high-pitched muffled scream coming from Otta's room. If Mrs Muffin, the landlady, wasn't used to her tenant's habits she would have rushed over thinking that Otta was under attack. Thankfully, the landlady was an understanding woman and brushed it off.

Otta could hardly believe it. The mail was here at last! The first thing she did was call Grace to tell her friend about the fantastic news.

"I knew it! Congratulations Otta! You need to let me try your dungeon when it is ready. It's a promise alright?"

Otta grinned uncontrollably. "Of course! I'm so hyped right now..."

When the call ended, Otta read through the mail carefully. There was a lot to take in and Otta took her time to process everything. After twenty minutes of reviewing, Otta concluded that there were only two things left to do.

The first was to download the dungeon making software and the second was to reserve a week and attend the compulsory training lessons for new dungeon makers. To say that she was excited was an understatement. Otta was vibrating on the edge of her seat with unrestrained excitement and only a step away from bouncing up and down.

"Neru-Neru, what are we going to do? It's real... it's going to be real!"

The doll didn't offer a reply but Otta was too happy to care. Hugging the plushie to her chest, the girl got to work at once. The dungeon making software wouldn't download itself and before classes start, Otta was determined to at least play with the software for a bit to be familiar with the basics.

***

It was finally the morning of the week-long training. In equal parts of excitement and dread, Otta got up and prepared for the long day ahead.

She wasn't a particularly smart student but Otta was proud to say that she's never failed any test when she was still in school. However, she had Adam to thank for that. The scientist would often host study sessions at his house and Otta would go there to pick up a few pointers that helped. Now that Adam wasn't around to help her, Otta wondered if she was able to manage the test. She prayed that they wouldn't make it too difficult.

According to the course outline, they were going to cover several important elements like regulations and functionality. The new dungeons created by the dungeon maker had to be submitted for approval before it could be officially launched and according to the course guideline, there were many restrictions.

Grabbing an apple to munch on the way to the class venue, Otta wondered if there would be anyone there that she would recognise. Snorting at that thought, the red-head continued on her way without incident.

She had five minutes to spare by the time she entered the lecture hall. The government had rented a lecture hall in PJP University. Otta was in the eighth batch of dungeon trainees. The lectures lasted four hours each day for four days and there would be a practical test on the fifth day that lasts two hours. All dungeon owners were tasked to create a dungeon within the specifications of the examiner within two hours. Failures were able to retake the examination up to two more times so it wasn't the end of the world if Otta failed.

"It would be nice to clear it on the first try though..." Otta thought to herself and chose a seat somewhere near the back of the huge lecture hall. As she was quite late, most of the good seats had been occupied. There will be about four hundred people attending today's lecture and the thought of being with so many people made Otta queasy. Social anxiety was a thing after all.

Taking deep breaths to calm down, Otta observed the people who were present today. Many participants were males and there were only a handful of women who looked like they were adventurers. Otta felt strangely out of place with so many people looking as if they ate dungeon monsters for breakfast. Sure, there might be the occasional nerdy looking dude huddled in a corner but most participants had tough looking bodies. Since when were adventurers interested in dungeon making?

"Settle down quickly," a man wearing a white lab coat walked up to the front of the lecture theatre. His presence screamed authority and the rowdy crowd took their seats quickly. The lecturer introduced himself as Dr Whitestone from Palpoll Research and Development Inc. The first fifteen minutes were spent on introducing Palpoll and the company's background.

Otta found herself yawning involuntarily as Dr Whitestone droned on about the great achievements that were completely unrelated to dungeon making.

"Now, let's get started with the basics. I'm assuming everyone here has downloaded the software required. That software is an alpha version and is still undergoing improvements so please remember to update it regularly for bug patches and function upgrades. As the first batch of new dungeon makers, we appreciate your feedback so if you face any issues or would like to suggest an improvement to the functions, please contact our user experience team."

Otta woke up at that. She was ready for more. She had fiddled around with the functions of Roomscape the dungeon making software. The software was a little hard to use with its over-the-top features that didn't really mattered to amateur dungeon creators. It was also surprisingly inflexible with custom designs and Otta was ready to bring this up after the lecture to consult Dr Whitestone.

"The first thing you need to know about creating this new dungeon type is that it uses a special headset that puts the user to an alpha sleep state and syncs their brainwaves to the system. After the connection is bridged, the user is transported to the dungeon world of their choice. This means that your dungeons must be designed with the safety of the user in mind. Users will always be spawned in the default safe zone and it is your duty as future dungeon creators to provide a safe space that can help new users navigate easily through the obstacles and objectives."

Dr Whitestone demonstrated how a safe zone would look like with a video. Otta was surprised by how realistic it looked. The safe zone in the video looked exactly like what one would see when they enter a shop in a high-class shopping mall. There was an artificial program inside the safe zone to act as a human tutor and Otta was impressed by the level of technology used.

After the short video, Dr Whitestone took that opportunity to launch into what Roomscape could do. The more Dr Whitestone talked, the wider Otta's eyes became. There were so many functions that she didn't know existed and after listening to them, many ideas began to form in her head.

Hurriedly, Otta scribbled those ideas down on the sketchbook she brought. Engrossed in her writing, she failed to notice how she was attracting attention from the people sitting around her. Otta's writings and mumblings had caused some heads to turn. Everyone stared at the weird red-head before returning their attention back to Dr Whitestone who elaborated with some live demonstration.

By the end of two hours, Dr Whitestone dismissed the class for a half an hour break. Otta was tired but extremely excited. Truth be told, she couldn't wait to go back and try out those functions Dr Whitestone mentioned. However, she had a question and thus the red-head decided to approach the lecturer.

"Dr Whitestone," she greeted humbly.

"How can I help you?" The scientist smiled. It was rare that anyone would stay back during a break. Most of the applicants were retired adventurers or adventurers looking for a way to create a dungeon of their own choice with the new system. He certainly didn't expect a meek-looking girl to approach him with such passion burning in her eyes.

"I have a question, sir. When you were talking about the functions of Roomscape, I had many ideas in my head. I'm curious to know if customising the look and function of a dungeon is possible. Until now, the only dungeons created were battle dungeons. Is it possible to create a dungeon to provide the user with an experience? For example, to design one where humans were able to fly without the aid of machines or wings."

Dr Whitestone paused. "Truth be told, it is possible to do so. However, it requires more technical knowledge about writing programmes to include such complex functions. It's not simply an issue about changing the external appearance of a user in the dungeon. As humans do not naturally possess the ability to fly, creating such a dungeon with such an experience requires a lot of calculations about physics to replicate the experience. A lot of research is required and till date, none of the science guilds has that sort of data."

"So it's impossible?"

Dr Whitestone looked at the crestfallen girl before him and felt bad. It was an interesting idea and his scientist's heart was excited to know if that was a possibility. Unfortunately, fundings were always an issue. Without funds and expertise, such a thing could only remain a dream.

"I'm sorry. At this point in time, it is not possible. Not even PJP has the means to create such a dungeon."

Otta felt as if her world had suddenly collapsed. What would she tell Grace now?

"However, it might be possible if you record and write that experience into a dungeon scene."

"Dungeon scene?"

Dr Whitestone smiled. "Yes. It's a more advanced tool that many dungeon makers are uninterested in. Much like the safe zone creation and tutorial, dungeon scenes are experiences that a user cannot control. It's a default activity for all targeted users in a dungeon. Think of it like being forced to watch a movie through someone else's body."

Otta tried to imagine it. "It might just work..." she whispered. Dr Whitestone gave her a questioning look but Otta beamed.

"Thank you, sir! I think it might just work. While the future lectures cover about dungeon scenes?"

The scientist nodded. "It does but only briefly. If you'd like to know more in details, you can look for me after lecture ends. I'm glad to see such a promising dungeon maker here."

Otta grinned. "Thank you, Dr Whitestone. It's my honour."

Break time ended quickly and Otta returned to her seat, not knowing that a pair of eyes had been observing her ever since she approached Dr Whitestone. A scrawny man with obsidian hair and eyes watched as the red-head left. He listened in on their conversation and perked at the mention of creating a custom dungeon.

***

The next few days passed in more or less a similar fashion with Dr Whitestone giving his lecture and Otta staying back to consult in detail more about Roomscape's features. On the last day of the lecture, Dr Whitestone gave Otta his name card.

"Just in case you require some more advice or have another idea about creating a different sort of dungeon."

Otta's heart trembled with joy. "Thank you so much, Dr Whitestone!"

The scientist merely laughed and wished Otta the best of luck for tomorrow's practical exam.

Otta wasn't too worried about the practical exam. She'd been practising making dungeons in Roomscape and it was proving to be paying off. Many adventurers turned dungeon creators still struggled with the basics but Otta was confident in her skills. There would be no problems creating a dungeon tomorrow.

***

"How was the test?"

Michelle and Grace had decided to celebrate Otta's success early. The three decided to meet at a nearby ice-cream parlour and Otta ordered a parfait.

"It was manageable. I didn't think that they would request a theory recitation about the laws of dungeon making though! I don't know if I failed that section..."

Michelle laughed at Otta's pouting face. "Well, I'm sure you'll do fine. You have always been a good student back then."

Grace made a face. "I hate theory."

"No surprise there," Michelle quipped. "You're always more interested in debating your point than reciting facts from dead people."

Otta giggled. She was glad that her friends weren't behaving any differently even after graduating. Grace laughed out loud at Michelle's comment.

"You don't know how true that is... I'm just so glad that I don't have to be stuck in a lab all day."

"If you're talking about Adam then forget about it. He's destined to be a man of science. I still think it's better to be like me and Otta who live life carefreely. You take things too seriously!"

Grace rolled her eyes. "There's no point in living if there aren't any challenges. I joined the dungeons to seek the thrill of battle."

While they chatted, Otta found herself forgetting about the test. She was only glad to spend time with two of the world's busiest women.

"So, what made you suddenly decide to try dungeon creating?"

Otta blushed. She'd told Grace the reason for it but not Grace because it was embarrassing. It wasn't even a logical reason but something she started on a whim that had progressed too far too quickly.

"She craved to eat first-class fried chicken and thought that the best way to do it was by becoming a revolutionary dungeon creator."

Michelle burst out in laughter at Grace's explanation and Otta's red face. "Oh well, it isn't a bad dream. I'm just amazed by how you never fail to do things nobody expects. I thought you'd do something like building a Neru-Neru droid boyfriend or something..."

"I thought of it but then quickly realised that the Neru-Neru I create wouldn't be an original and gave up on that idea. It's sad to not have a boyfriend and if I created a boyfriend of my own, I would truly be hopeless. I just didn't want to give up the chance at finding real love."

"Aww! She's too cute, what should I do, Grace?" Michelle gushed and smothered Otta in a death-like hug.

Grace didn't say anything and patted Otta's head. Poor Otta could only struggle and protest at the womanhandling. After failing to persuade them to stop with the display of affection, she resigned to fate.

***

Two weeks after the test, Otta received the official mail that she was successful and could start building her dungeons for submission. Excited, Otta got started immediately. She couldn't wait to invite Grace to test out her first dungeon and hoped that the adventurer would like it.