[08:32 | May 02, 2035]
Shin woke up to water dripping on his face. He opened his eyes to see wet stalactites on the black stone ceiling. A fire in the center of the alcove dimly lit the area around him. He turned on his side to look outside. It was still dark out despite it being early in the morning.
They were resting on the outskirts of the city. The entire underground city was built in a pit mine. A series of roads ran along the edge of the giant funnel. Adobe homes lined the streets. Purple and blue lights from the buildings and street lamps made the whole city look like a weird cross between a fantasy world and an advanced alien civilization. Above the city was a sea of brilliant stars. The cave had some magical properties that made the roof appear like an endless void. It wasn't like anywhere on Earth.
Before Shin was Fuyumi. She sat with her legs crossed and her arms leaning back next to the fire. Nightingale was sleeping on the other end of the alcove. It's been about a week since Fuyumi met Nightingale.
The group of three descended into a cave from the lowest point of a canyon southwest of Freila. Shortly after their escape from Freila, Shin contacted Nightingale and updated him on what happened. Shin and Fuyumi hid in the forests outside of Freila until they met up with Nightingale. Bandit NPCs and adventurers have been pursuing them for the 300,000 silver bounty Syros put on their heads.
Shin got up from his makeshift bed and walked over to Fuyumi.
"Hey, how are you feeling? Sorry, you had to keep watch for the last shift." Shin said as he tapped on her shoulder.
"I'm a little sleepy but don't worry about it." Fuyumi yawned before she responded.
"I miss the sunlight but at least we're safe from the bounty here." Shin grumbled as he sat down next to her.
Nightingale found the underground city during his usual data mining sessions. Apparently, most of the highest-level players have been entering the cave. The underground area itself was a unique city called Dragonfall.
Dragonfall was a special cooperation zone. Players could not hurt each other in Dragonfall. The zone itself extended from the cave's entrance to the entirety of the underground city. In the center of the city was a monument that towered over the city.
According to Nightingale, there was a labyrinth underneath the monument that housed a dungeon-like instance. There were a fifty floors in the dungeon and monsters progressively got stronger in the deeper levels of the labyrinth.
Like other high-level players, Shin, Fuyumi, and Nightingale decided to take advantage of the labyrinth to level up.
They have been making their way down the twists and turns of the cave for the past three days. After reaching the end of the cave that opened up to Dragonfall, they were too exhausted to continue and decided to rest for the night.
Shin was startled when Nightingale woke up, yawning and stretching loudly.
"You're so easily spooked!" Fuyumi covered her mouth laughing at Shin.
"Yeah… he has always been like that." Nightingale mumbled drowsily.
"Aaagh, let's just get up and go already." Shin grumbled and stood up.
They gathered their belongings from the alcove and hiked down the path into the city.
+++++++++++++
Unlike Levendale and Freila, Dragonfall didn't have any walls surrounding the city. At first glance, it open and welcoming. However, other players stared at Shin and Fuyumi with contempt as they entered the city.
"You guys really have a bad reputation, huh." Nightingale nudged Shin with his shoulder.
"I wonder why?" Shin responded sarcastically.
"No shit." Fuyumi sighed.
"Tough crowd." Nightingale whispered.
The city was devoid of any plants or animal life. There weren't any carriages since the underground wasn't fit for horses. In their place were droves of NPCs in the middle of the street dragging along massive wheelbarrows of stone and precious minerals. Blocks of stone tied to the chains on their legs weighed them down and linked them together. At the end of the line was a player.
He sat on the wagon, whipping the backs of the NPCs.
Shin noticed that most of the players in the city were in the Drakos guild.
"I guess it's not surprising that organized crime is even worse in Mythos Online. They have slavery out in the open just like that." Shin whispered.
"They're taking advantage of it alright. I-"
"Shhh." Fuyumi cut off Nightingale before he could finish his sentence.
They followed the downward spiral of a path to the foot of the monument. They overheard a group of players sitting by the entrance of the Dragonfall guild hall.
"Didn't go so well today either?"
"Nah, we only got to the tenth floor before we got wiped out by the minotaur boss."
"Ain't got much more silver left to keep going unless we sell some shit."
"We'll try again tomorrow. For now, cheers!"
Beer spilled over the edge of their cups as they clashed together.
Fuyumi gestured for Shin and Nightingale to follow her. She led the way into the Dragonfall guild hall. The guild hall had the same bar and front desk layout as the guild halls in Levendale and Freila. However, despite the adobe architecture on the outside of the building, the interior of the Dragonfall guild hall looked like the rocky interior of a cave.
Lanterns of blue and purple flame hung from the ceiling. The group stood at the front of the desk. An elf NPC greeted them.
"How can I help you?" The elf asked politely.
"Tell me about the labyrinth." Fuyumi replied.
"The labyrinth is known as Urumel. It has fifty floors and has boss encounters every ten floors. You can enter the labyrinth in groups of twenty players or fewer. You gain rewards and a checkpoint every ten floors. If you decide to leave the labyrinth, you may continue your expedition later. However, you must bring back the same party members as your last group. Furthermore, monsters will be twenty percent stronger. You will continue to gain experience when you clear a floor that you have already completed. However, you will not gain any rewards like items or equipment. Would you like to know more?"
"No."
"How are we supposed to find a party of twenty?" Fuyumi said as she turned around to face Shin and Nightingale.
"I'm sure some people wouldn't mind or don't know about the bounty." Nightingale assured Fuyumi.
"You're really like a glass-half-full kind of guy huh?" Fuyumi ranted.
"Not everything is always doom and gloom, ya know?" Nightingale retorted.
"You wouldn't understand what it's like to be in this situation."
"Sure, I don't, but at least think about it. Not everyone knows us."
"Cut it out." Shin interjected.
"I feel like a dad breaking up a fight between my kids. We got what we wanted, let's go try and figure something out." He sighed.
They walked over to the other side of the guild hall. The other players' shouts and cheers shifted into gossip as they walked by. A couple of tables didn't notice or didn't change their attitude as they past them.
Shin figured those groups of people were a good place to start. They worked their way down the bar and tables. One after another, the full tables of adventurers denied them from joining their parties' as they were all full.
Toward the end, they finally found a small group of players. There were only five players sitting around a round table.
"Duuuuude… Yeah… We got fucking cooked."
"Nah, just a light tan, haha."
"Hahaha!"
They slurred their words as they drunkenly laughed.
"Hey, sorry to bother you guys. Do you guys have a party for the Urumel Labyrinth?" Shin asked.
"Yeah, I think so? Hahah!" One of them quipped.
"Yeah yo-you guys can join too!"
"Uh… sure?" Shin replied with a confused tone.
The group of five sent them a party invite. Their names were Geoff, Malady, Prezzo, Scottie, and Ghast. Geoff was a large fellow, he seemed like the paladin specialization in the warrior class. Malady was a tall blonde woman carrying an ornate bow. Prezzo was a short brown-haired man with a codex in hand. Finally, Scottie had blue medium-length hair and a massive sword on his back wrapped in a leather sheathe.
Shin was happy to find a kind group of players with such varied classes. From what he'd seen so far, it was difficult to find a party with a diverse roster of classes.
Nightingale went around shaking their hands one by one. They clumsily greeted him with drunken mumbles.
"Looking forward to working with you all!"
"This calls for a celebration! More d-ddrinks!" Prezzo slammed the table.
The eternal night underneath the starry skies of Dragonfall completely changed people's perception of time. There wasn't any social construct of night or day in Dragonfall. The city was always lively and the bars were always full.
The newly formed party drank the hours away. Shin, Fuyumi, and Nightingale crashed their cups together in celebration of a successful trip to Dragonfall.