Goldensand Dungeon. Saturday 14th of August, around 8 AM.
Even though it is still early, many people are standing around the Goldensand Dungeon. They are waiting for their friends or colleague before going inside the dungeon. Most of those people are going to have fun, or make some small money on the weekend.
It has been 7 years since the first dungeon was discovered. Not long after the first dungeon, other dungeons also started to appear. One by one, the number of dungeons keeps increasing. Nowadays, a new dungeon is still being discovered, from a small dungeon to the big one.
When the first dungeon appeared, humankind was wary about this new thing. No one knows what kind of danger lurks inside the dungeon. Because of that only the elite fighter and soldier can explore the dungeon. Being careful, humans built a building to contain the dungeon entrance in case there is a danger that comes from the dungeon.
After two years of investigation, many countries have changed the regulation so that the dungeon can be accessed by the public. As long as someone is prepared, they can explore the dungeon. At least the first few floors of the dungeon where the danger is not high.
With the change in the regulation, the building that was built to contain risk inside also changed in function. It changed from a containment building for the danger inside the dungeon become an office for Dungeon Management Agency.
Despite the more relaxed regulation, only the experienced adventurer/explorer goes to the deeper floor. This is not because someone is forbidding the exploration of the deeper floor, but because everyone knows the risk of going there. Someone might lose their life exploring the deeper floor of the dungeon. Well… to be fair an uncountable number of lives have been lost on the deeper floor of dungeons.
Nowadays, many dungeons are open to the public. People from any different background can try to explore the dungeon. Who knows if they will get a rare drop or a good skill that can change their life. Of course, many dungeons are still not open for the public, mostly one where the danger is too high for normal folks.
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A young man with a not so short black hair is sitting at the park in front of the dungeon. His hair is a little messy because he does not have time to fix up his hair after waking up. Right now he is looking at his face reflection using his phone, trying to fix his hair even a little.
*Yawn*
"Do we need to go this early?" A grumble is coming out from the young man. He is still waiting for his friend to show up at this place for dungeon diving today.
"Also, it is already the time to meet. Where are they now?" He mumbled this while checking the clock using his smartphone.
Today's plan is to introduce someone to the dungeon, so there is no reason to go deep today. The one that will get introduced is… a friend of the girlfriend of a friend. Well, basically a stranger. The young man is invited because he is the one with the most experience in dungeon exploring.
*Beep*
The young man opened the chatting application on his phone. There is a message from his friend, the one that invited him for this occasion.
"Eh!?"
Shocked by the message, he decided to call the sender. It is not long before the call is connected. Not wasting any time, the young man shouted to the phone as the call connected. "Hey, what do you mean with canceled!?"
A split second later, an answer comes from the phone. "Well, I'm sorry… There is an emergency in my girlfriend's family. Her grandma suddenly collapsed, so I need to bring my girlfriend to visit in the hospital."
"Ah— I'm sorry to suddenly shout at you. So is everything okay there?" The young man feels guilty for making a wrong assumption. He thought that the plan is canceled because of something trivial, so he apologizes to his friend.
"It is okay, anyway sorry for canceling the plan for today. Also, sorry I need to get going now."
"Sure—" The call disconnected before the young man can reply, looks like they are really in a hurry. "Sigh… What should I do now…"
The young man pulls a card from his pocket, this is an Explorer Card, more commonly known as Dungeon Card, produced by Dungeon Management Agency (DMA). Using a technology they obtained from the dungeon, DMA produced this card as an identifier for anyone that wants to explore the dungeon.
To enter the dungeon it needs the Dungeon card. When entering the dungeon, tap the card to the reader at the entrance. Then when they go out from the dungeon, they tap out at the exit. It is like when going into a metro. Using this, Dungeon Management Agency can count how many people go to the dungeon. DMA also knows how many people that are still inside the dungeon. From there DMA can calculate the casualties in the dungeon for every period of time.
On the card, there are the owner's name and their real-time health status.
| Name | Luis Lassiter |
| Health Point | 50/55 |
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Out of nowhere, there is another message received on his phone. This time, the message is from someone he didn't know.
Zea: Hello, this is Zea Stevenson. Is this Luis Lassiter? Today, I should be going together with you to the dungeon. Too bad with the situation today, but I have a request, can we keep going to the dungeon today? Thank you very much.
Ah, so this Zea is the one that we supposedly bring to the dungeon today…
'Going inside is not a bad idea. I also don't have any plan, but is it okay if only I that guide her? Well, let's just ask her about this.'
Luis: You okay with only the two of us?
Zea: Yes, it is alright with me.
Luis: Okay then, just come to the dungeon. I will wait.
Zea: I have already reached the place. I am now wearing navy shirts and black jeans with a green (?) bag.
Hearing about this, Luis tried to look for Zea in the crowds. 'Ah, there she is,' Luis then walked toward Zea.
"Uhm, hello, are you Zea?" Luis tried to greet the slender woman in front of him, whom he thought was Zea.
"Ah, nice to meet you." Both of them then introduced themselves.
Zea is a tall and slender woman, not super-thin but she looks healthy and strong. She uses glasses with a ponytail styled black brownish hair.
'Maybe so that her hair doesn't disturb the exploring plan,' Luis thought.
Her eyes are a little sharp but because of the glasses, it doesn't look scary or fierce. Overall Zea looks like a smart girl that is strong not only in her brain but also in her body.
"Okay then, let's not waste any more time. Shall we go inside the dungeon?" Luis offered and started walking toward the building that housed the dungeon entrance. "Is this your first time going inside the dungeon?"
"Yes, it is. And I am told to use an easy-to-move outfit," answered Zea.
"I see, your outfit choice is not bad. If there is something that needs to be changed, it is your bag. Are you sure you want to bring a bag that big? Remember that we will walk for hours to explore the dungeon." Luis points out a flaw in Zea's outfit. "Of course, as this is your first time, we will only explore the upper floor… Maybe for— 2 or 3 hours is enough right?"
"Ah, you are right. I thought that dungeon exploring is similar to hiking. So I thought we need to prepare many things like consumables, tent, and many more."
"Well, if you want to explore for more than a day… But I don't know, I have never spent more than a day inside the dungeon." Luis paused a little, "There is also a problem with a bag that size. That bag can conflict with your weapon. Especially with how you use your weapon."
"Ah! So that is why you only bring a small sling bag." Zea observed Luis's bag and his weapon, a spear. She nodded to herself and said, "If you use a big bag like mine, you can't attack efficiently using the spear."
"Correct!— Anyway, as this is your first time entering the dungeon, you need to get the Dungeon Card. Go to the counter there and follow their instruction." Luis pointed to the right from the building's main door.
The process for making a new dungeon card is fast. It needs only a few minutes before Zea finishes the procedure and gets her card.
"I am back," Zea called to Luis that is now playing with his phone.
"Good, how is it? Having your mana move out of your body for the first time?" Making a dungeon card needs the user to give a mana print. But many people don't know how to use their mana. Because of that, the Dungeon Management Agency uses a machine that can force absorb a small amount of mana from a human.
"It is a little… weird sensation."
"Haha, I know that feeling. Don't worry, you will get used to this sensation fast enough.
"Now then, let's go inside… Oh right, what weapon will you use?" Luis suddenly remembered that he still don't know how Zea will fight in the dungeon. Well, it doesn't really matter as he can protect Zea by himself on the upper floor.
"Hehe, I have been waiting for that question. Today I brought a machete as my weapon." Zea put her bag in front of her and tried to open it, probably wanting to take out her machete.
"Wait wait, don't take out your weapon here. Let's do that after we check in to the dungeon. Also, we should get the map book first," Luis is a little flustered seeing how Zea act.
"Roger that."
