Anytime there was a dungeon entrance, there were two options to enter. Either we go in through the front door, or we access it through the group finder. The latter was not an option so walking through the dungeon portal was our only option. There was one problem, however. There was no dungeon portal.

            The gates to the prison complex were closed like usual, but the usual spiral portal that would normally grant us access was missing. FeelinLucky summoned his Flesh Hulk as we examined the gate.

            “How do we get in?” I asked.

            Candy put her lollypop staff in between me and the door, “Slow down there, Ajak. We need to have a plan first. Things in there may not be the same as it was while this was still a game.”

            “But it is still a game,” I retorted.

            “You know what I mean,” Candy proceeded to shove her stick in the ground and draw a map of the dungeon. “See, we are here, at the entrance. I have a feeling your friend might be at the bottom level, after the second boss, but before the final boss.”

            Suzuha knelt next to Candy, “Why do you say that?”

            “Have you ever paid attention to the lore for this dungeon? Most of this place is a prison for people who have angered the demons in some way. Usually, they serve their time and then are set free. The bottom level, however, is more like a dungeon. That place is used to store prisoners that are to be sacrificed. Those skeletons in the cages down there are people who died before being sacrificed.”

            I stared at the bottom level of the map, “You think Kit-Kat’s being held as a sacrifice?”

            Candy shrugged, then pointed at a tower poking over the wall, “It’s possible. But we have to get the key from the warden at the top of the tower first.”

            “So, we treat this like a normal dungeon then,” FeelinLucky replied.

            “Yes and no,” Candy crossed out a few rooms on the map. We don’t go for any of the extra chests. This is a speed run. We fight the first two bosses, get your friend, and leave. Oh, and no pulling more than one pack of mobs.”

            “Can’t pull more than one pack anyway,” Lucky replied, motioning to his pet zombie.

            “That’s all well and good, but how do we get in?” Suzuha asked.

            No sooner had she said that when the front gates to Abbadon’s Prison slowly opened outwards. The four of us dove behind some nearby rocks. The Flesh Hulk trotted to the rock FeelinLucky was and groaned quietly.

            From the now open gates, two mounted beings came forth. Red horns and otherworldly bulk sat atop massive black dogs of a hellish origin. Their burning eyes scanned the desolate, grey wasteland. Their eyes locked onto the Flesh Hulk. Our breaths caught. Silence took over.

            The demonic entities determined that the zombie was of no consequence, and continued on their apparent patrol. Their hell hounds carried them past our hiding place and into the wastes. A loud scraping sound caught our ears as we watched the demons. The doors were closing.

            “Go!” Candy whisper yelled.

            Our party dashed as fast as we could, barely eking it past the gates. The doors slammed shut behind us. Before us lay the entrance to the prison complex. Guard barracks to the left, an unused visitor’s center to the right, and the main complex straight ahead. Hell hounds wandered the front yard, just like the original dungeon.

            “Kill or sneak?” I asked Candy.

            “Why are you asking me? You can see our party list too. You’re the leader. It’s your call.”

            I was taken aback, considering a guild leader was deferring to me, a Wanderer. She was right though, it was my call.”

            “We sneak.”

            We stuck to the right wall, making sure to avoid the searchlights. No reason to summon reinforcements if possible. We skirted around the visitor’s center but stopped in our tracks when an enemy stood in our path. A hell hound of unusual size lay on the dirt, awake, but not totally aware.

Suzuha whispered in my ear, “That wasn’t here before, right?

         “No. We can’t sneak past it either. We hit hard and hit fast. Your strongest instant cast spells and abilities only.”

            My party nodded in agreement. I counted down on my fingers until only my fist remained. FeelinLucky fired his instant cast but long cooldown spell, Skull Parade. A multitude of purple flaming skulls materialized and slammed into the hell hound. Suzuha strummed her guitar, slashing the dog with blades of wind using the spell Air Solo. Candy launched a blue lightning bolt from her staff. All three spells connected at the same time, tearing into the hell hound. I also dashed forward, slamming into the monster with a Flying Kick. I also followed up with a flurry of kicks from my other skills.

            The hell hound immediately died, but not without a new problem. Our attacks were far too loud. Prison sirens immediately began wailing. Our eyes grew wide as we dashed around the visitor’s center, stealth no longer an option.