Outside of the dungeon on the mountainside, Glyn stares at the door cautiously. Mila and Miller stand behind him with the others watching on cautiously. Glyn holds his hand in front of the door with an aura radiating off of the door as Glyn hesitates.

            “What’re we waiting for?” Fiona asks crossing her arms. “Aren’t we supposed to be getting in there for the treasure?”

Glyn sighs. “Something is off.”

            “What is it? Is it some super dangerous monster?” Faye asks excitedly as she punches the air. “If so, I can’t wait. I’ve been wanting a good scrap since that damned elf.”

Ivar rolls his eyes. “I believe some caution is in order. I feel something coming from that door. I can’t explain it, but it feels sinister.”

Glyn nods. “Yeah. Something caused a stir inside and now the damn thing feels nuts. The Mana in the place was already off, but this is getting nuts.”

            “Nuts how?” Mila asks.

            “Dungeons are alive in their unique way. And us going inside of it, we’re like viruses to its system. That’s why it sends monsters and Demonoids after us. But what would happen should an infection go untreated for so long?”

            “The body would go crazy trying to purge it. Am I right?”

            “Exactly! And that’s what I think is going on here. Something is inside of there, causing it to go crazy. We have to remove what’s causing it and take it out, but we also have to take on the dungeon, boss. I’d like us to take the full party here, but I don’t want to leave the base empty.”

            “So, we’ll go in with what we have,” Miller says.

Mila nods. “We can do this.”

            “Come on, just sitting out here is boring. Let’s get in there and do some fighting!” Faye yells out.

Glyn smirks. “Alright then, let’s get inside. If we’re lucky, then we can take care of this before it becomes too dangerous.”

Dirk grabs the door and pushes on it as light surrounds the group.

 

As they open their eyes, they find themselves in the white hallway, with Faye rushing to the front. She sniffs at the air as Ivar moves to her side with Fiona, pushing her way to the front. Mila swings her tail as Miller stares ahead, with everyone focusing on the air in front of them. Glyn clenches his fist as the group watches the walls and floor of the hallway shake and shuffle.

            “What’s going on?” Miller asks.

            “Like I said, the Dungeon is acting up. And right now, it’s responding to us.” Glyn explains.

A figure falls from above, crashing to the ground of the hallway. It stands, letting out a monstrous cry as the humanoid figure stomps forward. A series of spikes erupt across its back as the being stares at the group with a large singular eye.

            “It’s a Cyclops!” Miller yells out.

The creature lets out a cry as a beam shoots out of its eye. The group scatters, with Miller raising his shield to take the attack. The beam pushes him back, but he stands his ground, waiting for the attack to end. As the laser end, Faye and Fiona rush in attacking the beast.

Faye slashes at the creature with her claws aiming for its eye as Fiona swings her ax at its legs. She smashes one of its legs and it tumbles, collapsing to the ground. The creature lets out an inhuman cry as more Cyclops creatures emerge from the walls and floors of the Dungeon.

            “I see this one was a scout,” Fiona says as she takes her ax and cleaves the Cyclops' head off. “Quite troublesome.”

Miller steps forward and takes a breath, with Faye and Ivar rushing to his side. “Okay, everyone, their eyes seem to be strong. But the rest of their bodies are rather weak. Follow my lead and take out as many as you can!”

            “Roger!” Everyone yells out.

Miller rushes in, swinging his sword as it pricks his hand and drains his blood. As the sword grows longer and sharper, he swings it, slicing several Cyclops in half. They fall to the ground and the sword absorbs their blood, growing stronger.

Faye leaps into the air and rushes forward. She thrusts her claws forward and slashes through a pair of Cyclops. The creatures fall to the ground behind her as she turns to see multiple more creatures marching toward her. Ivar rushes in, thrusting his hands through the chest of the monsters running them through as they collapse to the ground. As more Cyclops emerge Fiona rushes in swinging her ax and smashing into their skulls. As several surround her, she tosses her ax, and it flies, decapitating the surrounding Cyclops before she snatches it from the air.

            “Weak creatures.” She says with a smirk.

            “Don’t let your guard down. These things are only the opening act,” Glyn says, walking through the mess on the floor. “Now that we’ve cleared them, I’m sure something more dangerous is on the way.”

He walks forward and finds the body of a Cyclops pierced by a series of arrows. “I see. I think I figured out who’s driving our little Dungeon crazy right now.”

            “Arrows?” Faye asks.

            “Gotta be that, Elf. She must’ve come in here to snatch the treasure before we can.”

Faye pouts. “Come on, why does she have to be such a pain in the ass?”

Ivar nods. “She is being rather troublesome. I assumed the Elves would act with honor and dignity.”

            “Elves always give off that aura. But when you put pressure on them, they're the same as any other person.” Glyn examines the corpse. “It’s cold, and it’s been here for hours.”

            “Ah, does that mean we’ve lost?” Faye asks.

            “No. If she had it, then the Dungeon wouldn’t be attacking us.” Mila says.

Glyn points at Mila. “Correct! Most likely she came in thinking it’d be easy and got herself stuck in here. The Dungeon is likely spawning or summoning foes to take her out or push her out.”

            “Sadly, she can’t get out,” Miller says.

Mila clenches her fist. “What should we do? If we leave her, she’ll die, but….”

            “No choice. Adventurer’s Code and all that. We can’t leave someone stranded behind. We’ve got to find and extract her and take out the Dungeon’s heart so we can calm this place down.” Glyn says.

Miller nods. “Right so the….”

Miller takes up an offensive stance as everyone stares down the hall as a creature stomps towards them, birthed from the shadows themselves. A tall, thin humanoid being stops forward. A mutilated smile on its face as it towers over the group. It's long claws stretch out and block their path as it lets out a ghastly laugh stomping forward towards them.

            “Such a fowl creature,” Miller says.

Glyn stares at it. “It’s a Long-Limbed Man. The Dungeon is already spitting out minor Demonoids. We have to hurry before they get to the entrance.”

Faye rushes in, slashing at the beast only for her claws the bounce off of the creature’s flesh. Fiona and Ivar charge in with their attacks bouncing off of the beast.

            “What is this?” Fiona asks.

            “It’s like trying to smash through stone.”

Glyn smirks. “Mila you're up!”

            “Me!”

            “Right. This type of Demonoid is resistant to non-magical attacks. To beat it, we’re going to need that supercharged Mana you have.”

Mila shakes nervously. “I don’t know.”

Miller turns to her. “Mila, trust me. I believe in you; you can do this. Just take a breath and let the flames come out. Remember your training.”

            “Um, the pep talk is cute and all. But the damned beast is getting closer.” Faye says.

Mila nods and grabs her sword. “I’m going, Brother!”

            “Good.”

She walks forward ahead of the group as she stares at the creature. It lets out a laugh at her as she unsheathes her sword with fire coming out of her blade. She lets out a breath and charges in faster as she leaves flames in her footsteps. She leaps into the air and swings her sword. and slashes through the creature’s flesh, burning away part of the creature as screams out in pain.

She lands on the ground and holds out her hand, shooting out a burst of flames as she sets the creature aflame. It screams and rushes forward towards her, ready to snatch her up with its claws. It opens its mutilated mouth with rows of jagged teeth bearing down on her. And as it draws in close, she swings her sword with a single swipe and lops off the creature’s head.

            “Stay dead.” She says as the creature’s body burns into ashes, leaving no traces of the beast.

            “Hot damn,” Faye rushes towards Mila. “That was cool. That was so cool. How did you do all that?”

Mila sheaths her sword and her regular timidity immediately returns as she lowers her head. “Um… I just focused on wanting to kill it, and I did. I’ve been practicing with Brother for more control over my powers and….”

            “Maybe we should spar when we get back. It might be worth it if you don’t burn the whole compound down.” Fiona says.

Mila turns her head away. “Um. I’ll think about it. I do want to get stronger after all.”

            “Come on, let’s move everyone. We’re burning daylight, remember?” Miller says.

            “Right.” The three girls say in unison.

As they move ahead, Mila smiles before freezing. She hears the head chattering as she stomps on it, but then sees something. A small hole forms behind Faye a dark empty spiral and instinctively she rushes in, pushing Faye away before the hole fully forms. She smiles, feeling a pull towards the hole only for Glyn to rush forward and push her out of the way of the hole.

            “Glyn?”

He smiles at her. “Good. You lot stick together. I’m going on ahead.” He says as he’s absorbed by the hole.

Mila falls to the ground, dropping her sword as the hole fades away. Miller rushes to her side, pulling her up from the ground.

            “Brother, Glyn is….”

            “He’s alive,” Miller says.

Faye nods. “That guy is way too stubborn to die.”

            “So what was that, then?” Fiona says.

            “Likely a trap hole of some type. He was likely teleported elsewhere in the Dungeon.” Ivar says.

Mila looks around herself. “How can you be sure?”

            “Remember we’re linked.”

Mila pauses. “The pieces.”

            “Right. We’re linked to each other. Glyn is good at taking care of himself. If we hurry, he’ll be fine. But we…”

            “We go to the heart of this Dungeon and pluck it so the damned thing calms down,” Mila says, losing her timidity as she draws her blade. “Brother, I can smell them. More monsters are on their way.”

Miller stares at her. “Keep calm Mila.”

            “I am calm. I’m focused. I’m going to burn a path forward no matter what!”

            “Good girl. Let’s see who can kill more.” Faye says.

Fiona steps forward. “I’ll keep score I guess.”

Ivar shakes his head. “Don’t get too overly excited. You may lose track of yourselves and get hurt.”

Miller sighs. “Fine, everyone, pick an enemy and claw your way through! We’re ending this thing today!”

            “Roger!” Everyone yells out at once.