Take Root: A Cozy Dungeon Core LitRPG Progression Fantasy (The Hearthcore Chronicles Book 1)

Most dungeon cores are born with fangs, claws, and a hunger for violence. Marren Ashe was born with an orchard. After sixty-three years of coaxing life from cold, war-torn ash, orchardist Marren Ashe dies peacefully at the base of her last living tree. But death is not the end. Awakened underground as a newly seeded Dungeon Core, she finds herself bound to the System with a rare Growth Affinity - and not a single combat skill to her name. No death pits. No monster dens. No teeth. Just the same two abilities she used in life: mending, and reaching. When a wounded fox-kin scout crashes bleeding into her boundary, pursued by imperial soldiers, Marren faces an impossible choice: consume his life force to level up, or risk her fragile domain to heal him instead. She chooses to mend. Soon an exhausted army medic, an orphaned scavenger, and a growing string of displaced refugees seek shelter under her branches. Together, they build a thriving, reciprocal sanctuary where the household's shared trust fuels the core's power. But when the Reclamation Corps arrives with iron carts and forty soldiers to harvest her essence, Marren must prove that kindness, deep roots, and a family that chooses to stand together are stronger than an empire's blades. What Readers Can Expect: - Non-lethal dungeon building - centered on agriculture, healing, and shelter instead of slaughter- Heartwarming found family - deep bonds between an ex-scout, a runaway medic, orphaned refugees, and a grandmotherly core- Light, tidy LitRPG progression - System notifications, real ability trees, and communal vitality mechanics- Cozy yet high-stakes - low-stress slice-of-life pacing balanced against clever, tactical standoffsPerfect for readers who love wholesome, base-building progression fantasy with a found-family heart and a heroine who refuses to be the monster everyone expects.