The World's First Dungeon Vs Zane

Tarni's eyes narrowed. The hairs on his neck prickled, and a shiver of instinct told him they were not alone. He turned, scanning the treeline until his gaze locked on movement—two men in full tactical gear, crouched low, rifles levelled in his direction. His grip tightened on the sword slung across his shoulder, and his voice came out low and dangerous.

"Enemies behind us."

Zane reacted instantly. He spun, shield snapping up, his boots grinding into the dew-wet grass as he put himself between the threat and the rest of the group.

The others shifted, every muscle primed to fight—only to freeze as new glowing text filled their vision.

By selecting NO or removing your hand, you will be banned from entry for 24 hours.
Do you still wish to select NO?
Yes / No

Their fingers twitched against the smooth white stone, but none of them dared pull away.

Zane glanced back at them, confusion flashing across his face. Why weren't they moving? Why weren't they forming up?

Tarni's voice cut the air, grim and sharp. "Shit, mate—if we take our hands off the wall, we're locked out for a day."

The meaning sank into Zane instantly. His jaw clenched as he realised what that would mean: no dungeon entry before midday. No chance to finish the last floor. No way to secure Level 5 as the baseline starting point for everyone once the system went live. The stakes hit him like a hammer.

"Keep your hands there," he growled. "I'm still mobile. We can sort this out."

Beside him, Kai's eyes flicked unfocused as he yanked open his map. "Four contacts, northeast," he hissed. "Another one moving from the house."

Lily cursed under her breath, fingers tightening on her walking stick-spear. She tried to twist around, but the stone held her hand like glue—the system's stubborn rules binding them in place. The best she could do was angle her body, spear half-raised, as frustration simmered in her chest. "If only it was instant transport," she whispered bitterly. "Why the hell does it have to be a doorway and a bloody tunnel?"

The armed men straightened, stepping into clearer view. Kevlar vests, matte helmets, rifles steady as they advanced. Their formation was clean and disciplined. The leader's voice carried across the grass, amplified by command and authority.

"ON YOUR KNEES! INTERLOCK YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!"

The words were as sharp as the rifles aimed at them.

Lily's voice dropped to a whisper, audible only to those beside her. Her knuckles went white around her spear.

"There's no way we can open the door and get down that tunnel before they start shooting."

The dawn air seemed to freeze between the two groups, heavy with the weight of rifles aimed and swords bared.

"ON YOUR KNEES!" Staff Sergeant Lewis barked again, his voice cutting across the field like a whip. "INTERLOCK YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD! DO IT NOW!"

Zane shifted his stance, shield angled, his other hand raised palm out. His voice was calm, firm, the voice of a man used to holding ground.
"Lower your weapons. We don't want a fight."

"YOU DON'T CALL THE SHOTS HERE!" Lewis thundered back. "THIS IS A MILITARY OPERATION. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"

Beside Zane, Tarni's lips curved into the faintest smirk. "Arrested? Mate, you've got no bloody idea what you're walking into."

Lily gritted her teeth, spear clutched tight in her free hand. "If you open fire, you'll doom more than just us. Back off, think for once."

Kai flicked his gaze between the soldiers, his map still glowing faintly in his mind. "Five of you. We need to do this. Just walk away."

"QUIET!" Lewis snapped, rifle unwavering. "Final warning. On the ground, hands behind your head!"

Zane's shield tilted ever so slightly, the edge glinting in the weak dawn light. His jaw locked. "Not going to happen. We can't comply. The system has us locked here. You'll have to trust me when I say—we aren't your enemy."

The silence stretched thin as wire. In the distance, a kookaburra started laughing

Barry's finger twitched against the trigger. His eyes were wide, sweat beading on his temple. His breath came too fast, too shallow. Panic bloomed in his chest, drowning reason. They weren't obeying. They were armed. They were dangerous.

"They're going to attack!" Barry shouted—and fired.

Zane's eyes widened a split second before the muzzle flash. He saw it in Barry's body, the twitch of the shoulders, the panicked set of his jaw. With a roar, he slammed his shield forward, bracing his entire weight behind it.

"DEFENSIVE STANCE! GET BEHIND ME!"

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The world slowed. The bullets struck the shield, sparking and screaming as they ricocheted. But one stray round spun wide, slicing past the rim and into Lily.

She screamed as hot metal tore through her arm and shoulder, blood spraying across the white stone. The system flared a harsh red warning in her vision—then the glow vanished as her hand slipped free. She collapsed to the ground, gasping, her spear clattering beside her.

"LILY!" Kai shouted. Instinct overrode logic. He slammed "YES" on his system prompt, tearing his hand free to dive to her side. He pressed his hands hard against her wound, his eyes wild.

"Targeted Healing! Stay with me! Targeted Healing!"

Bell saw Lily fall, saw the blood, and her vision tunnelled red. She ripped her hand from the stone, fury blazing hot in her chest. In one smooth motion, she nocked an arrow and let it fly.

Piercing Shot

The shaft streaked through the dawn and punched clean through Barry's upper right shoulder. He staggered, eyes wide in shock as he went to scream, before crumpling to the grass in shock.

"OPEN FIRE!" Lewis roared. His rifle came up—

—but Zane was already moving. He charged, shield-first, slamming into Lewis with the force of a battering ram. The soldier's helmet cracked against the edge of the shield, and he crumpled unconscious to the ground.

A bullet clipped Zane's thigh, spinning him half-sideways with a cry of pain.

"ZANE!" Tarni roared. In the same heartbeat, he ripped his hand from the white stone—and appeared to vanish.

The soldier who had fired blinked in shock as Tarni reappeared at his side, sword already swinging. The hilt slammed into the man's helmet, and he dropped like a sack of bricks.

The fourth man whipped his rifle around, finger tightening on the trigger—until Tarni's voice rolled over him like silk.
"No need to worry, mate. We're all friends here."

The soldier faltered, frowning, confusion clouding his mind. His arms lowered, just slightly—enough for Tarni to cross the space and crack him across the jaw with the flat of his sword. He slumped to the dirt, unconscious.

Tarni turned back just in time to hear the crack of more gunfire. The fifth soldier—the one who had come from the house—was still active, trading shots with Bell. Zane had dragged Lily and Kai into cover behind the black cube, Bell crouched at the corner, loosing arrows between bursts of gunfire. The bullets that hit the Black building were absorbed like they were hitting a super-large Ballistic block.

The agent's focus was locked on Bell's position. She never saw Tarni ghost out of the shadows behind her. The last thing she heard was a low whistle before the world went black.

The clearing fell silent, broken only by the ragged breathing of the living. The grass stank of blood and gunpowder.

Zane staggered, leaning on his shield, his face pale but hard. "Everyone still breathing?"

Kai pressed harder against Lily's wound, eyes wide but steady. "Barely."

Tarni exhaled, lowering his sword. "Then let's make sure she stays that way. We don't have long before the system ticks over."

It didn't take Tarni long to have all the soldiers—police officers? mercenaries? He wasn't sure which—hogtied and stripped of weapons. They were left sitting in a neat row under the trees, wrists bound tight behind them, helmets off so they couldn't use the radios clipped to their vests.

The only exception was the man Bell had dropped. Her arrow had punched straight through a vest rated to stop rifle rounds, leaving everyone staring at the weapon with envy. He was tied differently—ropes lashed around his chest, keeping him upright against the trunk of a gum tree. His breaths were shallow, wet, but steady for now.

Kai knelt at the centre of the group, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead as he raised trembling hands.

"Group Heal."

A pale golden light swept across the clearing, wrapping everyone caught in the radius—friend and enemy alike—in a soft, shimmering glow. Zane groaned as the wound in his leg knitted closed, and even Lily, still pale from blood loss, sat up straighter as colour returned to her cheeks.

Kai sagged forward, his chest heaving. He'd burned through most of his mana stabilising Lily before, and this last cast had drained him nearly dry. He swayed slightly as Bell caught him by the shoulder.

"Don't push yourself," she muttered, eyes still hot with fury as they flicked toward the bound men.

Across the circle, the soldiers began to stir. Groans filled the clearing as unconscious bodies woke one by one. The man Tarni had struck with the hilt of his sword was the first to come around, blinking blearily up at his captors.

Zane pushed himself upright, shield slung across his back again. He loomed over the waking men, his expression carved in stone. "Stay down. You're alive because we didn't want this fight. Don't give us a reason to finish it."

One of the soldiers muttered something under his breath—something about "civilians" and "not possible"—but none of them tried to move.

Only the man Bell had shot stayed still, head bowed against the ropes, his breath rattling faintly. Kai had managed a Healing Touch and the edge of the group heal on him, but the wound was too deep to fully close. His face was pale, lips tinged blue, and he hadn't woken yet.

Tarni crossed his arms, frowning as he studied their prisoners.
"Not sure if these blokes are soldiers, cops, or just wankers playing soldier. But they had training… and decent kit. What do you reckon, Zane?"

Zane's eyes lingered on the black fatigues, the rifles, the unmistakable NSW Police insignia stitched onto their shoulders. That Tarni seemed to be ignoring completely. His jaw tightened.
"I reckon this was some big stupid misunderstanding—and they weren't here for a friendly chat."

Lily hissed through her teeth, still rubbing her shoulder where the bullet had torn through.
"We've got more than one problem."

Tarni gave her a sidelong look.
"Yeah, like—will there be more of 'em? Or can we just keep this lot hogtied until midday?"

Lily shook her head grimly.
"That's not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is we all took our hands off the dungeon. Which means we're banned for twenty-four hours. How the hell are we supposed to clear the last floor now?"

The words dropped like a stone in water. The team's faces tightened as the reality sank in.

Lewis, who had been straining against the ropes, latched onto the pause in their conversation. He leaned forward, trying to put some authority back in his voice.
"Look, you don't understand—this is a mistake. We are the Polic—"

He didn't get any further. Bell stalked over, her bow still in her hand, eyes sharp as a blade.
"Shut. Up." The word cracked out like a whip. Lewis flinched, shutting his mouth.

Zane turned back to his group, his expression unreadable.
"I didn't put my hand on the dungeon."

The others froze.

For a long heartbeat, nobody spoke. Then Bell snapped, her voice breaking under the weight of fear and frustration.
"NO! Zane, you can't."

Her hands were shaking as she clutched the bow tighter, and the look on her face was part anger, part desperation.

Zane's brows drew together.
"If I don't, we lose everything we fought for. Midday's coming, and we can't afford to wait twenty-four hours."

Lily looked between them, her face pale, her voice barely above a whisper.
"If Dad goes in alone… he might not come back out."

Kai swallowed hard, his eyes darting from Zane to the bound officers, then back to the looming black cube. "And if he doesn't… then the world goes blind into the system without a fighting chance."

The silence that followed was suffocating.