The group stood outside the main dungeon.
Despite how ominous the castle appeared, no one was looking at its structures. Instead, all 100 adventurers were looking at one thing.
The portal at its gates.
"What is this?" A girl asked.
"A portal inside of a portal?" Another one responded though he sounded unsure. "How is this possible?"
Neve shared their confusion. This hadn't happened before, in any of the dungeons she'd visited.
Almost as though the people in charge of the Unity Trials were trying to make it as clear as possible what this was, some words appeared over the portal.
{Main Dungeon}
{Your Fate Lies Here}
"Uh… Guess that answers our questions," Neve muttered.
"It's almost midnight. If that's where we have to go, then that's where we have to go," Carson told them all. "We don't have time to gawk at it. You all know your roles and positions, right? Is everyone ready?"
The group, understandably, looked hesitant. However, they nodded little by little, as the ticking clock in their HUDs reminded them of what would happen if they weren't inside this dungeon by the time 12:00 am came around.
"Good. Let's go."
Leading them all, Carson was the first to walk into the dungeon. Stella and John followed him in, then Uriel and Allen, and finally, the low-levels poured in one at a time.
Neve wasn't too sure what she'd expected, but what she saw certainly wasn't it.
"You're joking…" A man murmured beside her.
It was another world entirely. Just like when they'd come in through the first portal, they'd been teleported to a different land.
The only difference was that, from here at least, this land didn't quite seem as large.
"Welcome, humans," a familiar voice spoke, and the adventurers looked up. Sure enough, Tamira was floating above them. "This is the main dungeon."
"How exactly does this count as a dungeon?" John asked, stepping forward. His black and gold armor shone brightly as he looked up defiantly at the snake. "Where exactly are we supposed to go?"
"I will answer any and all questionsss," the snake hissed, "before that, however, let me say a few things, alright?" She asked him. Reluctantly, the man nodded. "Good. Well, here is how the main dungeon works. The main dungeon consists of 10 floors. You are standing in floor 1. Each one will present you with different monsters, landscapes, climates, etc. Each one will present you with different obstacles as well. And, each one has a boss fight at the opposite end of the portal. Defeat that boss fight and a new portal will appear that takes you to the next floor. The boss fight is marked on your map. You can fight it at any time."
"Ah… I see," John replied as he quickly checked it.
"This dungeon, as… unconventional as it might seem," she continued, "functions like any other dungeon. That means that there are secret rooms with hidden treasures and safe rooms where you can rest in between fights and heal. Not every floor will have one, however. If you check your map, for example, you will find that there is no safe zone here."
Doing so, Neve found that her words were true. She also found that, indeed, this land, or this "floor" was quite small.
"In addition, there will be chests, traps, and obstacles you can choose to tackle or ignore."
Neve took a second to look around, upon hearing that. It was hard to imagine what a "secret room" would look like in this sort of area, given that they'd been dropped in the middle of nowhere, with no buildings in sight.
"One last thing," Tamira added, "take a look behind you."
All of the players gathered did just that. Neve's eyes widened when she noticed what Tamira was about to explain.
"As you can see, the portal is still open. While you are inside the first 5 floors, you may leave the main dungeon at any time. Your progress will be saved, should you choose to do so, meaning you can leave and head back inside at a later point to resume your clear. However, two things. One, if you leave the main dungeon and you had not filled your AP quota before coming in, you will be punished. Two, from the 6th floor on, you will not have the option to leave, anymore. You must remain inside until the entire main dungeon is finished. Understand?"
"But, we can leave right now... This is good, right?" A player asked.
The players voiced their appreciation, but Neve could not do the same.
Maybe she should have just been grateful, but she wondered why this dungeon would function unlike any other dungeon when it came to this one, very important, detail.
An answer, unfortunately, did not come to her. She wasn't *that* clever, after all.
Despite what her father would have said in the past.
"Now, any questions?"
"Where are all the monsters?" One meek girl asked shyly.
Tamira began spinning in the air.
[Shit.]
The snake waited. No one else said anything.
"Well, if that's your only question, I will answer it this way: BEGIN!"
Tamira suddenly disappeared.
The players were left confused and alone, until, up ahead, a rumbling began.
Carson was the first to react.
"Everyone! Get ready! Like we said, mages and archers, stay behind the others! Fighters, draw your weapons! Form a half circle, everyone! Keep our backs to the portal!"
The rumbling became louder and louder, with growls and roars joining the sounds to form a chaotic harmony.
As Neve looked ahead, her eyes widened.
[You're joking,] Neve thought, as she pulled out her staff. [This is all one big battleground!?]
Monsters appeared from the darkness, illuminated by the moon, charging toward the group.
They came in so many different shapes and sizes. Spiders, goblins, trolls, orcs, Neve swore she could even see wraiths and ghosts among them, flying in with the other creatures.
She quickly understood this was a statement, on behalf of the main dungeon.
If they couldn't handle this, they wouldn't be able to handle anything that they'd be seeing throughout the 10 floors.
As the monsters arrived, the higher-level players moved to meet them.
Neve trailed behind them.
Instincts that had been hammered into her through countless hours of online gaming and the hours she'd spent clearing dungeons since the Unity Trials began, kicked into gear.
She followed them into battle, intending to do her best as a healer.
And, hoping she'd get killed in the process, of course.
[Well, let's see if it finally happens!]
The first person to begin fighting was Carson since he was the closest to the incoming horde. Knowing he'd take quite a bit of damage due to his position, Neve cast two spells back-to-back.
She first cast {Sacred Ground}, to reduce the amount of damage the man was about to take, and then cast {Healing Ground} on top of that, as soon as Carson clashed with his first enemy.
[Remember your fundamentals, Neve. Keep track of your mana, pay attention to all of the allies around you, and protect the high-priority targets. Mind your positioning, and try to stay out of sight.]
Listening to her own advice, once those two spells were out, Neve checked her mana.
MP: 225/330
[As much as I'd love to spam my abilities on people, there are literally more people in this fight than I can heal. I need to economize my mana. That means…] She looked around, as the monsters surrounded them, engaging all of the other players. [I'm just going to have to let some of these people get hurt.]
She didn't want to, of course. As a healer, it hurt her pride to allow her team to take any damage at all, but it was simply a fact that this was the optimal course of action.
And, well, some people simply mattered more than others.
Stella, in the distance, took out her spear and began skewering multiple enemies at once. Some goblin archers had her in their crosshairs, though. Noticing that Neve cast {Hard Target} on her.
Spending the 75 mana required to cast that ability hurt, but she hoped it would be a good investment.
To her left, John Dulan was using both his swords to maximum effect, cleaving and cutting creatures in half.
[Wait,] Neve saw, squinting as she watched him fight. [Why are these creatures so hard to kill? He should be…]
Neve then checked the monsters' levels for the first time. She'd been so concerned with her allies that she hadn't taken the time to do that yet.
What she found made her pause.
[Level 21, level 19, level 22… Aren't their levels too high?]
They'd been told that the enemies inside the main dungeon would scale with the group's levels. Had that been a lie? The majority of the players here were under level 20. Many of them weren't even above level 15. So, why were these monsters so much stronger than them?
She couldn't focus on answering questions like that right now, however. Not when the battle was raging around her.
"Agh!" Stella cried out to Neve's right. The healer spun quickly to face her. She found that an orc had landed a lucky hit on her thigh.
Neve cast {Healing Ground} before her mind had even caught up to what her eyes had seen. It was pure instinct. Her spell was weak, but she hoped it would give Stella enough healing to push through the pain.
[My mana…]
MP: 200/330
[I don't want to let it get too low. I should get a couple more spells in and then let it- huh?]
"Worry not, child. You aren't the only healer here."
That was Father Uriel's voice. Neve looked behind her and found the man casting spells at the other high-level players, with an efficiency and a quickness that outmatched her own. The magical runes he placed all throughout the battlefield glowed bright, nearly looking like beacons of light.
"This is a team effort, Neve. It is alright to rely on others."
Neve chuckled as she turned back toward the players ahead.
"… I'm not too used to doing that," she muttered, though Uriel caught her words anyway.
Because Uriel was taking some of the healing responsibilities into his own hands, Neve looked around, trying to gauge how the fight was going.
The high-level players, aided by herself, Uriel, and other healers, were performing beautifully. The same could not be said for the low-levels, however.
Screams and cries could be heard amidst the sounds of blades clashing and bones breaking. One boy was pushed down by a large orc and had his head stomped on, dying instantly. The sight of it made Neve turn away quickly. She wished she could do something about it, but it was simply not smart to worry about them right now.
In stark contrast, Carson was laughing as he wielded his massive ax to great effect, swinging it joyously and sweeping away groups of enemies at a time with it. His bronze armor was covered in green and black blood, as was his face, and he was loving every second of it.
Neve understood then why the clips of these players online got so many millions of views. It was an inspiring sight, to be sure.
She was taken out of those thoughts, however, as she noticed something odd.
It was her map. On it, she could see a red marker drawing closer and closer to her own position.
[Huh?] Neve tilted her head. [What is…?]
Suddenly, a creature appeared that put all of the others around it to shame.
A giant troll carrying two clubs that were as big as old trees appeared. Every step it took caused the ground to tremble slightly, and the roar it proceeded to give nearly tore Neve's eardrums.
She'd never seen anything like it outside of the MMOs she used to play. It was a true raid boss, in the flesh.
Level 51
MP: 200/200
[Wait… Its level is so high too.]
"That… may be a problem," Uriel murmured beside Neve.
"Is that the floor boss!?" Neve asked.
"Prob'ly," Allen, cleaning blood off his knives, said, walking up to Neve. "The first floor is kinda throwing everything it's got at us, isn't it?"
"That seems like the point," Stella said, walking closer to them. As Carson and John noticed, they too stopped and took a few steps back.
"Ah, finally!" Carson called out. "An actual challenge!"
"A troll as our first-floor boss. Are they mocking us?" John asked.
Despite its intimidating size, Neve could understand why he was asking that. Trolls were among the most straightforward kinds of monsters, with clearly defined strengths and weaknesses.
For a moment, that irritating thing Thomas had said went through Neve's mind.
[Fairness… Yeah, right. Maybe they really do just think we're that weak.]
She snuck a glance behind her, wanting to see how the lower-level players were doing. Immediately, her eyes fell on Thomas, who was working to eliminate some enemies surrounding him.
He did not look anything like Carson as he fought. All Neve could see in his eyes was anger and rage, currently being vented out on his surrounding opponents.
Neve just sighed and turned back toward the troll.
"Okay, what are we gonna do about this then?" Neve asked as the high-level players stood around her.
"Treat it the same as every other troll," John responded, holding his blades by his sides. "Slash its legs, attack it from multiple angles, and aim for its eyes, if possible. Get on my back, everyone. I can carry this."
"I'll be right next to you," Stella replied, nodding with a smile. With her polearm held out before her, she went in with John, and Carson soon joined them as well.
"Hey, wait for me!" The bald-headed man proclaimed loudly as he followed them with his ax beside him.
"Guess I'll show off a little too. Why not?" Allen asked as he went with them.
The sight ahead of her really looked like something out of a fantasy movie. Players in gaudy, brilliant armor, clashed with an enemy that looked so much bigger than them but did so because they knew they could handle it due to their combined strength.
The sight behind her, however, was a reality check. Death and pain were all she could see coming from the lower-level players.
So, naturally, Neve focused on what was ahead.
"Neve, you focus on aiding Stella and Carson. Leave Allen and John to me, alright?" Uriel instructed, probably because his healing power was more potent.
"Got it."
"Good."
With that, the fight against the boss began in earnest.
John looked like a whirlwind of blades, using high-level skills that cast a glowing silhouette around his body, that Neve hadn't seen before, as he targeted the monster's legs. The creature growled, raising its clubs up into the air and trying to bring them down on top of him, but he was too fast. He dashed out of the way and before the monster could locate him again, another opponent had appeared. Carson slammed the blade of his ax on top of the monster's right foot, earning a pained howl. Instantly, the monster moved to smack him away with one of its clubs.
Neve ran toward him, moving between other skirmishes that were happening at the same time. When she was in range, she instantly cast {Healing Ground} on top of him. While this was happening, Stella approached the monster from behind.
She leaped high up into the air, raising her spear.
Bringing it down on the troll's back, the monster roared. The spear remained impaled in it, and the monster thrashed violently, trying to shake her off.
Allen then saw a window of opportunity to use one of his assassin skills.
Throwing out two knives in quick succession, he took out the troll's eyesight in one swift move.
"Uh, can someone finish it off already!? I'm getting dizzy here!" Stella yelled out.
"On it," John replied quickly.
He stood in front of the troll with both swords outstretched.
He crossed them and then dashed forward. The man looked like a bolt of lightning as he jumped up, aiming for the troll's head.
With a pair of immaculate slashes from his swords, he took the troll's head off.
Neve watched him fall back to the ground, impressed. But, she needed to check in on Carson.
She ran to his side and crouched next to him. The man hadn't gotten up.
"You okay?" She asked, leaning over him.
His eyes opened and he started cackling.
"Hahaha, yes, yes, I'm fine," he responded as he stood up. "That thing packs a serious punch. It's good that no one else got hit. Others might not have been able to take it."
Relieved, Neve helped him to his feet.
Neve hadn't noticed, but as the troll fell, many of the other monsters were slowly being cleaned up as well.
Before long, the battle was over. The first floor had been cleared, just like that.
"Is everyone alright?" Carson walked toward the others. His question was only meant for the high-level players, of course.
"Just fine, old man," Allen replied.
"Isn't that my title?" Uriel asked.
"You're all old to me," Allen shrugged.
"Haha, ahh, God bless."
Neve caught Stella looking back, away from them. There was a serious look in her eyes.
Neve looked toward the same place and understood what had caught her attention.
The lower-level players were all slowly getting their bearings, healing themselves, and picking each other up.
Neve checked her HUD to see how many players were still around.
78/100
[… 22 people died in the first fight?]
Neve couldn't believe it. She had only noticed one of these deaths as she tried to help the higher-level players. It was incredible.
A portal appeared behind the troll's body.
[Floor 2]
"Alright, everyone," Carson called out. His voice soared above anyone else's. "We should keep moving. Come on."
"Shouldn't we take a break?"
That voice came from Thomas, the level 8 player Neve had spoken to earlier.
He stepped forward. Like the others, the man was covered in blood. He did not look happy about it, though.
"We need some time to recover. Can't we-"
"You're welcome to do so," Carson responded. "But, there's no telling what else will come. And, remember, our intent is to clear the entire main dungeon. We need to keep going while we're warmed up. I'm moving on, the rest of you can do as you wish. If you want to sit around and wait here, that's just a risk you'll have to take on your own."
Without another word, Carson walked through the portal to the next floor.
"Didn't have to be so dramatic about it, but yeah," Allen mumbled, following behind him.
Uriel and John both did so as well without saying a thing. Stella, however, walked over to Neve first.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, her hands on her hips as she smiled down at Neve.
"Uh, good… good," Neve said, wanting to look away. Even with monster guts covering her body, she still looked beautiful.
"That's nice to hear. I saw you a couple of times during the fight. You're quick. You've got a lot of potential, Neve."
"T-Thanks."
[I'm so fucking pathetic,] she thought, feeling how her heart turned to mush under the weight of those words.
With that being said, Stella went into the portal as well.
Neve couldn't keep herself from sneaking a look again at the low-level players.
Thomas was somewhat far away, saying something to the others. He looked like he was giving a speech. Probably something to help them all cope with what had just happened.
She felt sorry for them, but there was nothing about this situation that she could do.
The world was just unfair like that.
She went in with the others and entered the next floor.
This one was some sort of desert, with red-orange sands and rolling hills as far as the eyes could see. The map showed that this spot was a safe zone.
The landscape wasn't what caught everyone's attention, though. No, Stella, Carson, Allen, Uriel, and John were all frozen, looking at something ahead.
As Neve peeked around them, she saw what they were looking at.
The low-level players saw them too, as they came in from behind Neve. Thomas stood beside her, staring at the same things.
Two players covered in blood that reflected the moonlight, were on their knees beside a small campfire.
Carson walked over to them.
"What happened to you two?" He asked. Neve could hear it all from where she stood.
"I-I-I…" One of them, a woman, struggled to speak. "I-I tried to escape…"
"Huh?" Carson pulled back.
"So many people were getting hurt…" She said. "I saw some players leaving the dungeon and I tried to follow them. I thought I was going to die."
The other player, a man, continued:
"Four of us. Four of us tried to escape but we had no Activity Points. So, we were punished." His voice was fully devoid of emotion as he explained the situation. "We were sent into an arena and told that we weren't allowed to leave until two people died... We killed each other."
The girl swallowed and wiped away some tears.
"They said that we could skip a floor as a reward and… we didn't want to be alone outside, so... we let them dump us here."
Neve and Stella looked at each other. The looks on their faces let them both know they agreed on how awful this was.
Neve looked to the right and found that Thomas seemed even angrier.
"… Take some time before you follow us," Carson told them. "Rest here. This spot is a safe zone. The rest of you, come on. Let's keep moving."