Dragged into Another World's Apocalypse - A LitRPG Story

Arianna stood in front of the gate, her hand resting lightly on the sapphire necklace against her chest, but her thoughts were on the fox at her side. The strange new bond between them still pulsed faintly in her awareness, like the party connection she shared with her teammates. The temporary companion bond allowed her to even get a feel of the fox's emotions. Arianna smiled, heart lightened by the unfamiliar sensation.

"I'm glad you're with me," she murmured.

The fox dipped her head, sending back a wave of reassurance that washed through Arianna like sunlight on water.

"You should really have a name," Arianna added. "It feels strange just calling you 'fox.'"

The fox huffed, ears twitching, and gave a nod that felt almost… expectant. As if she was still considering it herself. Arianna chuckled. I'll have to ask Felicia for help when she's got one. They could guess at the fox's intentions, but only Felicia could actually talk to her.

"Arianna."

She looked up. Luke and Nadine approached, both with steady expressions. Luke spoke first. "It's your party, but I think Nadine, Helen, the fox, and I should enter first to secure the perimeter."

Arianna's smile softened. "That would be great. Everyone needs to learn how a party works. Warriors and rangers go first."

Still, a sting lingered under her composure. She was perfectly capable of holding the frontline, more capable than Luke, perhaps even Helen, but she reminded herself this wasn't about proving herself. Most clerics weren't built like her. They needed protection, and that was what her new companions should learn about. She was… an outlier.

Her mind drifted briefly to the past, to how easily she had been injured before she gained her hybrid class, how often Cassis had been frantic with worry. The fact that he hadn't even been nervous at the thought of her leading a dungeon raid without him now, that was proof of how much she'd grown, and how much he trusted her.

Arianna straightened and faced her party. Her nerves fluttered, but she smoothed them away before speaking.

"Hey, everybody. We're going to enter in a moment." Her voice carried steady and clear. "You'll feel disoriented, maybe even a little sick. That's normal. It's just the dungeon's mana density adjusting your bodies. That's why Luke, Helen, Nadine and the fox will go in first. You'll be vulnerable for a short moment, and we need the area around the gate secure. For us level 20s, it's easier to adjust."

She paused, letting her gaze meet each pair of eyes in turn. "After the fox, I'll go in. Then Marcus, Michael, Thomas, Rohan, Mrs Tchekova, and last, Liam."

The names hung in the air. Arianna watched them carefully. They all wore the basic protective sets she'd bought for them. They were also equipped with knives, short swords and maces from Camden's private collection. She was glad for it because she hadn't needed to spend points on weapons, too.

Janice's twin brothers exchanged quick, grim smiles, the kind of excitement that was half eagerness, half steel. Rohan, as Ben's father insisted she called him, stood tall, his weathered face calm. Arianna still remembered yesterday, the relief when he and his wife Ayra had accepted Cassis' offer to move into the neighborhood. This would secure their website and also offer help to people who could become their friends. They were trustworthy and, as evidenced by his presence here, willing to fight.

The thought steadied her. And all the children were left with Samuel and Ayra, with the other neighbours ready to help. All the other adults and older teens would step through the dungeon gates today.

Arianna's eyes found Mrs Tchekova, who gave her a kind smile, lined with trust. Arianna didn't know her well, had just met her today. She wasn't a fighter, which she had told Arianna immediately. But she also didn't want to 'young ones' to be the only ones to fight. She wanted to contribute, which was mostly only possible with a profession. For that she needed to get to level 10.

Arianna exhaled softly. Today was only scouting and levelling, preferably to level 10 or higher. That was the plan. No risks, not yet. Everyone would be fine. She and Cassis would come back for the boss monster later.

She gave Luke a nod. "Let's start."

[Welcome to The Hive. Here are your objectives:

Kill the Ant Queen.

Make a complete map of The Hive.

Gather seven Lumen Crystals.]

This is worse than the desert, Arianna thought as she stared into the yawning cave before her. The objectives confirmed her suspicion. This dungeon was an insect hive. She shuddered. Why? Why did she have to be here? She'd never been very lucky, but until today she had believed she wasn't unlucky. This proved her wrong. She shuddered at the thought of all the crawling enemies inside these tunnels.

And judging by the sheer size of the tunnel, where even Luke, their tallest, could stand upright with space to spare, the insects would be massive. Arianna sighed inwardly but forced her face into calm determination. Her seasoned teammates could handle it, but the newcomers would be watching her closely, gauging how bad things were by her reaction. Confidence, then. Even if she had to fake it.

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Good thing Cassis had insisted on packing torches. He was a complete pack rat, but moments like this proved his "boy scout" instincts useful. Without light, the tunnel was smothered in pitch blackness. Arianna lit several torches with the fire starter Cassis had insisted she bring, handing them to Nadine and Helen.

Luke needed his hands free to fight, and the fox couldn't hold one. She also didn't need one as Arianna suspected she could sense her surroundings with the same uncanny awareness Arianna herself relied on. The fox radiated no nervousness at all.

One by one, the rest of the group stumbled through the dungeon's gate. The lowest-levelled newcomers, Michael, Thomas, and Mrs Tchekova, immediately dropped to their knees, pale and close to retching. Rohan looked sickly but, at level four, managed to endure better. Liam only swayed with mild dizziness, while the veterans were slightly disoriented from the transition.

Arianna distributed more torches to the newcomers. They wouldn't be fighting right now anyway. She was glad Cassis had told her to pack the torches. Light was not only for comfort, it kept people grounded. The high-level members could navigate by awareness alone, but it was always better to see where you stepped.

The weaker team members clutched their torches like lifelines, casting nervous glances between her and the suffocating darkness. Arianna straightened her back and addressed them with a firm voice.

"Welcome to your first dungeon. This one seems to be a tunnel system. Our formation will be as follows: Luke leads at the front. The fox and Liam will cover our sides. In the middle, we'll place Marcus and Nadine with the low-level members. I'll take the rear guard."

She paused deliberately before adding, "Normally, a cleric wouldn't hold the back line, but I have a cleric-warrior hybrid class."

They nodded, relief flickering in their expressions.

"Once we encounter monsters safe enough to handle, we'll start with Rohan. He's closest to level five. Afterward, we'll evaluate who goes next."

The plan was accepted without protest. Arianna turned to Nadine and Helen.

"Could you handle the map? Any skills that might help?"

Nadine grinned sheepishly. "Not yet. But I'd love a cartographer skill. Do you think one exists?"

Arianna shrugged. "No idea. Do you need paper and pen? I have some." Thanks to Cassis and his preparedness.

Nadine shook her head. "Already stocked. I'll sketch as we go."

Satisfied, Arianna gave a short nod. Their formation clicked into place. Luke and Liam gripped their swords, Nadine kept her charcoal ready and Helen got into stealth mode. The fox sniffed where she had disappeared then went to her own place in the formation. Marcus and the rest adjusted their grips on torches. He'd be very useful in this environment. Should the need arise he would be able to raise walls for defensive purposes, though those walls would have to be tall, costing a lot of mana.

With the path forward a single, gaping tunnel, they began their descent into the oppressive dark.

It didn't take long before the scratching reached them, claws scraping along the stone walls. The higher-levelled members had already sensed it, tension humming in their postures, and readiness to engage.

Something big was coming.

A moment later, it lurched into view, a giant centipede, armoured in dark chitin that glistened in the torchlight.

Luke and the fox reacted instantly, charging forward. Liam stayed behind as protection for the centre of the group. Nadine had already swapped the map for her bow, while Marcus raised his staff and loosed a flurry of glowing Magic Missiles.

The centipede hissed and thrashed, its armoured plates deflecting some of the attacks, but not enough to stop the barrage. It lunged with snapping mandibles toward Luke, who twisted aside with ease. Then it tried to scuttle up the tunnel wall, aiming to bypass the fighters and reach the weaker members.

But they weren't having it, strengthening their onslaught and keeping it down.

"It won't last much longer," Arianna warned loudly. "Rohan, be ready." Over the party chat she asked, "Luke, can you pin it down?"

"On it!" Luke leapt forward, landing atop the centipede's head. Instead of killing it outright, he locked his arms and legs around the beast, dragging its thrashing mandibles toward the ground.

It was the opening Helen needed. Her twin knives ignited with fire. Her very long, very wicked-looking knives. In a swift arc, she slashed across its middle, leaving a searing line that split chitin and cooked flesh. Arianna blinked, those knives were new. When had Helen gotten those?

No time to wonder.

Sure that nothing was behind them, Arianna sprinted to Rohan's side, raising her shimmering Water Shield. "Go!" she urged.

Rohan didn't hesitate. He darted forward, stabbing his short sword again and again into the wound Helen had caused. The centipede convulsed, its body thrashing wildly. Arianna braced her shield, deflecting a lashing leg that would have crushed him.

"Keep going!" she shouted, holding the line until, at last, the monster gave one final shriek and collapsed.

The centipede stilled, black ichor pooling beneath it.

The lion's share of the experience flowed to the party, but Arianna watched Rohan's face light up.

"Yes!" he shouted. "Level five!"

Arianna smiled, relief and pride mingling in her chest. From its strength, the creature had been around level twelve which would give quite a lot of experience for someone under level five. But Rohan had also been close. He'd fought a lot during the first wave and his determination to reach his family had carried him back home.

"Great. What class will you choose?" she asked.

"Warrior," he said firmly, as if there had never been another option.

Arianna nodded, unsurprised. "That suits you. I'll add you to the party. Now, who's next?"

Her gaze swept the newcomers. Mrs Tchekova looked pale, but she gave a tight nod. Thomas was trembling, while Michael's eyes shone with excitement. Easy choice.

"Michael, you're up."

He grinned, gripping his knife with both hands. Beside him, Thomas shook harder until Michael slung an arm around his brother and whispered something too soft for Arianna to catch. Whatever it was, it steadied him.

She let it go. No need to embarrass them. Instead, she crouched near Mrs Tchekova who'd sunk down after the fight.

"Are you alright?" Arianna asked gently.

"Yes, I'm fine," the older woman replied, her voice soft but steady. "I just…forgot how violent these monsters are. I'll be alright, dear." From what Arianna knew Mrs Tchekova had had to fight some monsters that had come into her house and to save her husband. But it had been too late. Her husband had died not of a monster attack, but a heart attack. The sudden exposure to mana, in addition to the shock of monsters suddenly appearing, had been the end for him. Now that Mrs Tchekova was alone, she was still determined to survive.

The grandmotherly warmth in her smile when she looked at Arianna cut through the gore still splattered on the tunnel floor, making Arianna's chest ache with guilt for dragging her into this place. But survival left no room for softness. Even the weak had to grow stronger if they wanted to live.

Cassis and Arianna were trying to make the apocalypse more bearable, to bend the world so that ordinary people had a chance. But the truth remained: no one could stay weak forever.

All they could do was lower the threshold, and adjust what "strong enough" meant.

Rohan reaching level five was a first success but they needed to keep this momentum. And so Arianna gave the order, "Let's continue on."