A Dearth of Choice (Dungeon Core)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

A young dungeon core forms next to a lovely village, full of lovely people who would likely understand its plight of not wanting to murder them all if only it had a mouth with which to speak. Instead, everything goes horribly, terribly wrong.

Its literally a crystal, it can't be having a panic attack, can it?

This is the story about a village, a dungeon, its desire to provide light and laughter andlife.It tries to choose the talents and perks to bolster its life-mana alignment every time, to further its cause. So how is it that it wound up with an undead army and some insane boosts to death-aligned mana? How did everything go so wrong?

[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Grim Tide

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 3,017
Views: 417,093

Chapters(14 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

tenshirouRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story has been really good.
The MC plays as he is advertised to be. The characters around him are not all horrible. The ones that are, are presented as such. There is no random seeming character traits. Characters feel, well, right.
I look forward to seeing how the story goes and hope it continues to the end of the story.
Bluelightning42Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Alright! I have a soft spot for dungeon core stories but even ignoring that bias this story slaps.
It's written in a clean easy-to-read style and there are few grammar errors.
The story...is not usually the focus of dungeon core novels but this one is done well. I'm excited to know what happens next and not just what will be built next...plus the alt POVs were tasteful and added to the background of the story instead of dragged on like in some stories.
Character's are fine. They don't feel like caricatures and an equal amount of focus has gone to the background and supporting cast as it has gone to the MC.
The MC is in a nice and balanced position right now. Halfway between the "peaceful dungeons" in some stories and the "murder holes" in others. He's building defenses designed to kill while giving as many outs as he can and trying his best to dissuade malicious actors. Its a nice stance morally and lets the reader connect more than either of the extremes.
And here's where I break away from the review format for a tinsy bit because if you are looking for dungeon core novels you are probably less interested in the character motivations than you are the actual dungeon building.
And this story has a unique hook of having both life and death affinities so you want to know how those play together.
The dungeon building is done in such a way that you can picture whats being built and the rooms and layout are described feels fresh. I've read maybe 3 seperate necromancer/death aligned dungeon core novels before and despite alot of the design feeling straight forward - hiding zombies in alcoves for example - it is much better done than in other bone dungeons. The upgrades and more advanced monsters are fun to read about and are more involved than simply "that but stronger" with stylistic changes and the addition of the very fun intent magic.
In comparison the life alignment isn't quite as used but where it has been it adds a nice spice to the designs.
Finally the overall scor
CynicalFairyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It has everything a dungeon core story should have.
Dungeon building? Check
Cool minions? Check
'Relations ' with adventurers? Double Check
System choices that backfire spectacularly? You know it
I'm looking forward to so much more, especially how the town changes as the impact of the dungeons choices begin to spread. Keep up the great work.
SharrrRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I found this story so interesting that I can't help but reread the story from the start multiple times.
I'm looking forward to the future chapters because I enjoy stories that involve infrastructure. I am excited to see how our mc the dungeon core will transform a frontier village where no one gives a single look into a place where everyone wants to go.
For now, the story has dungeon building, unique monster creation, and farming. The author also provided a map, so it was helpful to see the layout of the dungeon. In the future, there is a possibility of having text about marketing management and kingdom building.
Also, the story will have multiple alternative POVs, but it was used effectively to help expand the background of the story.
Okay I'll talk about my thought on the story
The mc of the story is a combination of an identity as a dungeon core and memories of their past life, but they have forgotten about their past life identity. I assume this at least helps them to assimilate to the new world easier. Though these combinations had an effect on how our mc interacted with their new surrounding. I heard that it is one's memory that shapes a person. As the mc referenced their memories, the mc doesn't wish to just be a mere death trap, but to have a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding people.
I say I like the mc personality. They are kind but also don't let their kindness hinder them from making logical actions to deal with an enemy. I also like how they make decisions by comparing though the logic as a dungeon core and memories of a past life. Also, I found it sweet and funny about the interaction between the mc dungeon and the visitors. The mc can't talk to them, but the thoughts are enough. Mc is going to be such a fun person to talk with when they get a voice.
I also like that the mc dungeon is a bit stronger but not OP from the start. The mc strength is their intelligence and memories of past life, but they are still lacking knowledge of what else they
The Captain of HellsingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story honestly feels like a breath of fresh air since it is about a dungeon that doesn't immediatly choice violence every chance it gets the characters feel real and I can really just understand the M.C. and his reasoning and so far the story is riveting and fun I cannot wait to see how it progress
TsorovRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Even though there aren't many chapters yet, the story is already interesting. The author changes between the dungeons thoughts and different narrators, resulting in a good ratio of dialouge and dungeon building as well as keeping the story "alive".
I have high hopes for this fiction and will continue to enjoy it
WhimsiKoi FishRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm pretty fussy when it comes to the stories I really enjoy, and this is one of them. Despite remaining unupdated for sometime it stays on my favorites and follow lists, and i hope to one day see the author return and continue the story.
I enjoy the complexity the author has imbued their characters with, and the twist on the classic "death is evil and horrifying blah, blah, blood!".
Yes, Biyaban is described with some pretty horrific imagery, but thats not all; he also possesses a streak of honor and a flare for the dramatic and storytelling... He just happens to be a ghoul. "Ghoul" doesn't define the entirety of his character. Its endearing to read about characters that would embody the idea of death and evil and see it flipped on its head and given an inject of, dare I say... life?
There are plenty of grim and dark stories out there, and while this one has its serious moments, there's a thread of light and hope through it.
And skeleton chefs. One can't forget the skeleton chefs. May they one day grow mustaches!
cpond17Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Loved the start of the book! I wish the author would get inspired again and pick it up but it seems like a long shot. This was a fun read even if a little short and the author has been on hiatus for over 2 years now. I’ll still follow and hope he comes back eventually!
Alexandra SolRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm writing this review because I ignored this story for quite awhile and am glad I gave it a try. Necromancy characters and dungeons are often terribly boring, needlessly edgy, and all ooooh I'm spookyyyy look I made myself a lich. The author balances that with the Life side of things well and the story explores the concept of Life and Death being two sides of the same coin. Also I personally feel the writing is quite good. The characters outside the dungeon seem kinda blandish but its still early days and we haven't seen much of them for now. I recommend the story to anyone who likes dungeon core stories
FredoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Very enjoyable. Reminds me a lot of Blue Core (except without the sex) and There is no Epic Loot here, Only Puns (except less light-hearted). Interesting twist on the dungeon core presence, characters that feel alive, and well-done world-building. My only complaint is that is too short (at the moment, at least). I hope the author continues this story.