Dungeon Dream

[Sector 2, Open Street]

"Ugh! That brat was rude! If I see him again, I'll teach him some manners," Al muttered angrily, his steps echoing on the quiet street. "And those guards... they were just statues, not even moving or blinking. What's wrong with this place? Have they lost their minds?"

Al's frustration grew as he walked, still having no clue where the dungeon was. The boy he asked had been unhelpful, and the guards didn't even respond. With each step, the irritation built, until he turned a corner and collided with a massive, unyielding wall of muscle.

[Thud!]

"Watch where you're going, boy."

The deep voice was low and filled with menace. Al found himself face-to-face with a towering man whose jagged scar slashed across his left cheek. His dark eyes held an unsettling gaze, a piercing intensity that seemed to swallow the light. The man's presence was overwhelming, making Al's irritation vanish in an instant, replaced with unease.

"I... I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I—"

The man didn't care. With a brusque shove, he pushed Al aside and turned to leave without a word.

"Hey! Wait!" Al quickly recovered. "Do you know where the dungeon is?!"

But the man didn't turn back. He simply walked away, leaving Al once again clueless.

"Wow, that was scary... I thought I was a goner."

Al rubbed his head, a little stunned. "Okay, now what? The big guy didn't tell me anything. Wait a minute... He looked like an adventurer! And if he's from the dungeon, maybe... maybe it's that way."

[10 Minutes Later]

Al started to follow the path the muscular man came from, his earlier destination forgotten in the wake of his curiosity.

"Seems I was right!"

He stopped, spotting a massive structure looming ahead. "Dungeon Entrance!"

[4th Floor, Dungeon]

A girl sprinted down the narrow corridor, panic flashing in her eyes. The footsteps of pursuers echoed behind her, quickening, nearing. The girl, her breath ragged, turned a corner only to be met with a dead end. Her pursuers cornered her with sinister grins, blocking any escape.

"Well, well... trapped yourself, didn't you?"

The girl's back hit the wall as she frantically tried to find a way out. Suddenly, her foot caught on something—a trap. The floor beneath her opened with a deafening noise, and she tumbled into the abyss below.

"Tsk, she got away again..."

"Sir, what now?" a voice muttered behind him.

"She won't die from a fall," the leader said with a smirk. "We'll camp here for a month. If she's alive, she'll make her way back up eventually. Until then, we wait."

[Dungeon Entrance - Left Corner]

Al paced back and forth, squinting at the towering stone door that refused to budge. He searched frantically for some way to open it when—wait! He spotted a small stone button set into the left wall.

"Gotcha!"

Al reached for the button and pressed it, waiting. Nothing happened.

"Come on… Why's this never simple?!"

Frustrated, Al jammed his finger on it again, harder this time.

Then, with an eerie rumble, the floor beneath him cracked open, and—

[Screeeeeech...]

The abyssal pit opened beneath his feet. With a gasp, Al plummeted into the darkness.

[Thirty Minutes Later]

Al drifted in the endless void, his mind spinning with confusion. His body hit something—soft but firm—stopping his fall with a strange force that seemed to hold him there.

Wait a minute, gravity's gone... I'm... floating?

For a brief moment, Al's panic subsided, replaced by the strange sensation of weightlessness. But then—

"Aghhh!!"

Al was yanked back down with a terrifying pull, and in seconds—

*[Thud!]

"Ugh... I'm never pressing a random button again…" Al groaned, his whole body aching. He staggered to his feet, his eyes drawn to his surroundings.

"Wow… this place is... beautiful?"

The walls shimmered in a dim light, revealing glowing emeralds scattered along the ground and in the air. It wasn't what Al expected. No monsters, no traps—just an eerily serene cave.

"Where am I?"

Al crept closer to one of the glowing objects. He reached down and touched it, only to recoil with a hiss of pain.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! What is this stuff?!"

The gem burned his hand like molten fire. With a panicked cry, Al quickly dropped it, wincing in pain as he sucked on his scorched fingers.

"Yeah... staying away from those."

"Now... what do I do?"

A chilling echo from deeper in the cave reached his ears—a hollow, unnatural sound that sent a spike of dread through his chest.

"That noise..." Al's heart hammered in his chest. "That's the creature I heard earlier! It's close! I need to hide! Quick!"

Al frantically looked around. Then, through the dim light, he spotted something—a girl.

She lay motionless at the edge of the glistening Luminus Lake, half-submerged in the water. Her features seemed familiar to him…

"Wait... No way... It's 40 Million Aira! What is she doing here?! Is she... dead?"

Al's panic rose—no, she was breathing, very faintly, but still alive.

"Ha! I didn't think I'd find her here of all places! This is my chance!" A greedy smile tugged at Al's lips. "Okay, okay. If I can tie her up before she wakes up... take her back, I'll collect the reward... I'll be rich!"

But a sound—the same disturbing creature call—shuddered through the cave once more. Al's eyes widened, and instinct took over.

"Eeeeeeeeek-k-k-k!"

It was closing in. The beast was much closer now.

"I... I need to move!"

Al hoisted the girl onto his back with surprising speed, desperation flooding his every thought. There was nowhere safe, but he had to keep moving.

"Okay, gotta find a way out. Gotta get us out of here before it finds us."

After what felt like hours of searching, he stumbled across a door—a rusty, forgotten metal portal. No other choice, Al opened it.

Inside, to his astonishment, was an elaborately furnished room. Gold trim, fine furnishings—far too luxurious for a place like this. The smell of old perfume clung to the air.

"What the hell is this place?" Al muttered, his jaw dropping. "A room like this... in a dungeon?"

Before he could think further, the door behind him creaked shut with a click.

"Damn it!" Al cursed. "We're trapped."