After five minutes, he found the path he was following narrowing and no signs of human life. Cyrus thought about moving further, but fought against it. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Back at the antechamber, Seah and Johann had better luck. About two minutes into their trek, they were walking on tiling and the rock walls slowly gave way to concrete and plaster. After looking at the map, they agreed that this path would take them to the sub-basement level 1. Probably a maintenance hatch.

The problem was Jinyoung. He didn't come back.

Johann was not pleased. Over the past year, he had come to expect this sort of behavior from Jinyoung. But he was unhappy to do so. And he tended to voice this unhappiness when given the opportunity.

“Wait.”

The tunnel hit a t-junction. Both options looked identical and there was no way to tell which way Jinyoung had gone.

Johann looked down at the rock face, but it told him nothing in return. “We’ll go left and then return if nothing else.”

It would be the simplest thing to leave him behind and simply move on. Jinyoung was certainly smart enough to find his way out. He had shown just how capable he was in their lessons and previous outings together. He had also deviated from the script and showed how capable he was in finding trouble.

And at the end of the narrow corridor, Johann was certain they would find Jinyoung. Alive and well. But also, probably trouble.

He wasn’t wrong.

“What the HELL is wrong with you?” Cyrus was angry. Blatantly so.

Jinyoung stood in a large lit antechamber. It looked like it was a town center of sorts, but the buildings were strange. The architecture was human, but it was familiar at the same time. And at its center was what looked to be a black fountain.

Cyrus stomped towards Jinyoung, clearly angry and clearly forgetting they were still in a DUNGEON.

Jinyoung raised his hands and called out, “Wait!”

Cyrus stopped dead in his tracks.

“Okay, just step forward. Slowly.”

Cyrus stopped and glared. But Johann’s curiosity overcame him, so he walked to where Cyrus stood and then gingerly closed the gap on Jinyoung. One step at a time.

PARTICIPANT REGISTERED.

DIFFICULTY: ✦✦✦✦

TOTAL PARTY: 2 (min: 1)

“Oh, shit.”

“It’s some sort of QUEST,” Jinyoung called out.

Everyone’s eyes widened. QUESTS weren’t common. There were rumors of DUNGEONS holding secrets and treasures, but anyone who had found them was stingy with their experiences.

“Why the hell would you activate-”

“I didn’t. At least, I didn’t mean to. I took a left at the branching paths and it led into a drop. I tumbled out and landed right here.”

“There’s a party count. And a difficulty measure. It’s at four.”

“It was at three before you stepped in.”

Hana looked at their surroundings and, finding nothing, focused on the fountain. “...It’s a shrine. Jinyoung! Can you see anything on it?”

Jinyoung looked closely at the polished black surfaces until he saw some edges catching the light. “Yes, but… it’s definitely not a language I understand.”

“Guys, I think I know what this is.”

Four eyes snapped on Johann. “It’s a black shrine. They grant blessings, bonuses, and sometimes SKILLS if you can complete a QUEST.”

“And if you can’t?”

“Nevermind all that,” Jinyoung interjected. “Cyrus, I think… we’re in over our heads. You need to get to the proctor and get help.”

Johann started to speak before Cyrus cut him off. “Seah, take Hana and get out of the antechamber first. Johann, slowly step back and then go with them.”

“Hana, I need you to be brave, okay?” Jinyoung smiled. “I didn’t mean for your first DUNGEON experience to be this exciting.”

Hana tried to protest but Seah shushed her and they moved towards the entrance they came from. Johann hesitated, but turned and without a word headed out of the antechamber.

They listened to the footsteps fade until it was quiet again.

“Did the difficulty go down?”

“Yeah...”

Cyrus waited a moment. “But there’s something you didn’t say. Something you didn’t want to tell Hana.”

“But… the timer is still ticking down.”

“How much time do you have?”

“Not enough for the proctor to get here.”

Quiet again. 

“Cyrus, I need you to…”

“I’ll take care of Hana. And Seah.”

“Good. Not long now. Good luck-”