Brandon was the first to get up. He left the table and opened the door wide but didn't leave until he gave me a look from over his shoulder. "The tutorial dungeon is easy. I've been through it so many times I could do it with my eyes closed. So, try not to sweat it too much, bud. But if you can help it, try to make it quick. Like I said, I've got plans with a fan tonight and I'd hate to leave her waiting."

"She might have to be patient, Brandon," Finley replied. "Making sure that Conrad gets a good introduction to Gauntlets is far more important than your fourth 'date' this week. Besides, I'm sure you'll find another lass to get with before the day's over."

"Still. I don't wanna be rude."

With a flick of his hand, Finley shooed Brandon away. I got up from my seat too while keeping eyes scanning across my page of numbers. "Don't worry about remembering all those numbers. You can still look at them whenever you want. The Oracle lets us see our inventory as well as all manner of important information whenever we're in a Gauntlet." The Irishman did some kind of movement with his hands; he waved both of them in front of his eyes in the opposite direction. "Just do that and a magic screen shows up, telling you everything you'd need to know. Just dismiss it the same way."

I mimicked the motion.

"There! That's how you do it!"

'Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Finley headed to the door and held it open for me. "Go on ahead. It's the first room to the left."

After a few feet of following Finley's instructions, I found myself standing in front of a large wooden door. Actually, a gate is a better word to describe it. The entrance was controlled by a winch that kept it pulled up to the ceiling. A yellow glow emanated from the inside, as if there was a raging lavender flame in the middle of the room. "Is it safe to go through?" I asked by the side of the room's entrance.

"Yeah, that's just the portal lad. Nothing to be worried about." Finley put a hand on my shoulder and guided me inside. Once I stepped foot into the room, everything became clear. Large stone steps led to the back wall while two black pillars jutted from the ground and reached all the way to the top of the ceiling that was roughly the height of a basketball hoop. The entirety of the room was dark save for the long rays of golden light coming from the swirling mass of energy between the two columns.

I stepped closer to the portal. Nuru and Brandon both watched me as I placed one foot on the bottom step and extended one hand towards what I assumed was the portal. It had the same cloudy look as the Oracle but made a sound that was a lot like listening to ocean waves from inside a car. There was crashing and splashing, but it sounded muffled despite me being a few feet away.

"Don't go in just yet," Nuru said. As soon as I heard her voice I stepped away with my hands behind my back, looking like a kid just caught stealing candy from a convenience store. "Don't you want the rest of your team with you?"

"Oh, right. My bad."

"No, he's got the right idea," Brandon blurted out. "Let's get this thing over with!"

"Let's ask Conrad," Finley said. "It's his tutorial session. We need to make sure he's ready." All eyes then turned towards me. Butterflies danced in my stomach once an awkward silence kicked in.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm game," I said without much confidence.

"If you're not ready, we could spare a few minutes," Nuru said while sorting through her papers. "I know I didn't do the best job explaining things to you."

"No, no. I'm more of a hands-on learner, anyway. I've learned the hard way what procrastination can lead to. I'll just... jump in and have these two fellas guide me."

Nuru smiled and nodded. "That works for me," she said softly. "And I know Brandon is eager to get this out the way."

"You got that right." He made his way up to the portal and placed one hand on the pillar as he looked back at us, making sure that the tapping of his foot was visible to all.

"I already told him about activating the Oracle, Nuru," Finley said. "So, no need to go over that, either."

"Thank you. I knew you'd be able to help him out with getting to grips on how the Gauntlet's system works."

"And don't forget that you can talk to Nuru, too. Think of the Oracle as like a phone. You can ask her for advice, but she only knows as much about the current dungeon as we do," Finley said.

"That means I can't tell you where exactly to go next. Or give you the solution to a puzzle or problem that you might come across. That's all on the Dungeon Runners to figure out. Maybe a hint or two, but I’m not a supercomputer."

"Got it." I gave Nuru a thumbs up and followed Finley up the steps. She waved back at us once we were right in front of the portal.

"Can we go now?" Brandon asked as he tilted his head from side to side and cracked his knuckles.

"Go for it."

The knight walked through the purple portal, vanishing into whatever was on the other side. Finley followed right behind him, standing at the edge of the portal before turning to meet me in the eyes. "Now that Brandon is inside, the Gauntlet has started. The longer we linger out here, the harder it’s going to be." He wagged his finger, prompting me to follow him. I took one last look at Nuru.

"Go on, Conrad. I believe you'll do just fine!" Nuru said. I fought back the urge to smile back. She just seemed so genuine. I didn't want to loaf around anymore seeing how the timer was already ticking because of Brandon's impatience. I caught up with Finley and stood by his side. When he put one foot through the portal, I did the same. I looked down and saw ripples form where my foot stuck through the swirling mist.

"Just take the next step. It's not going to hurt." Finley stepped all the way through, his entire body disappeared into the void, leaving small waves in the barrier in his wake. I took a deep breath and stepped through.

Going through the portal felt like dunking your head into a hot tub. There was a warm, tingling feeling that went through my body. Sound was distorted, like I was trying to listen to something while being underwater. But it wasn't wet. More like hot and damp air.

After a couple more steps, I appeared on the other side. The pleasant temperature of the previous room, as well as the swirling portal all disappeared. Now it was cold. My hands wrapped around my arms while the rest of my body shivered. Despite the cold, I found the strength to take in my surroundings. Nothing but four walls of old, gray stone. The black pillars and steps of the portal were behind me, but the yellow mist was gone, leaving only the view of more stone slabs.

"Gah, someone could have told me it was going to be freezing!" I blurted out. Felt like I just stepped out of an ice-cold shower.

"You'll get used to it," Brandon said. He had a long, wooden sword resting on his shoulder. "Just think of it this way. The sooner we finish this, the sooner you'll get to be back in the warmth of our guild."

As much as I hated to agree, Brandon had a point. If anything were to motivate me to get out of this dungeon, it'd be a more pleasant climate. I shook off my shivers and stood upright. A peek to my left revealed Finley on the other side of the room, chatting it up through with someone in a window. Once the conversation was over, he returned with a long brass rod with a rusty metal ball at the top.

"Go ahead and get your first item," Finley said as he gestured towards the window his thumb. With the Irishman out the way, I saw who he was talking to. There was a slender blonde woman with her hair in a tidy ponytail. She leaned over the counter on both elbows, looking about as bored as Brandon did. She wagged a finger at me with one hand while her fingers drummed along the counter's surface.

"You looking to get something?" she asked with a southern drawl.

"I don't have any money," I replied. I felt around where pockets would be on my trousers. Nothing. Then I reached for my pouch until Finley looked at me.

"Everyone starts out with one hundred gold," he said. "It's in your pouch. But you don't have to worry about taking it out. When you buy something, it's automatically deducted. Think of a credit card. But magic."

"Ah." I took my hand off my pouch and approached the woman behind the counter. She wore clothing just like everyone else in this world; a rather plain top and a pair of even plainer trousers. She stepped to the side and showed off the wares inside her little room. Weapons, items and armor lined the wooden shelves in a cluttered manner. I squinted and saw prices scribbled onto stickers that were slapped onto the items.

"Got any suggestions?" I asked Finley.

"Always start with a weapon," he said. "You're a thief. You've got a couple options." Finley looked at the seller behind the counter. "Chelsea, can you show him weapons he can equip?"

"Sure thing, darling." The woman ducked down from view before reemerging and dropping a couple of weapons on the counter in front of me. "Looks like you've got two options for this session.”

There was a dagger to my left and a three-pronged claw on the right. Both were a dull brown, probably made of bronze. I reached forward to pick one up until Chelsea's bright blue eyes stopped me with her cold glare.

"You touch one and that means you're buying it, sweetheart."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Turn on your Oracle," Finley said. He did the hand thing in front of his eyes and a mystical projection appeared in front of his face. I could see his face through the transparent pink screen. "It'll give you more information about the Gauntlet."

"Got it." I waved my hands in front of my face and the same pink screen appeared in front of my eyes. It gave the entire world a pinkish hue. I could still see, but it was still disorienting nonetheless. I focused my eyes on the dagger and a chart appeared to the side of my vision.

Bronze Dagger: 1 Damage, 1 Attack Speed, 0.5 Weight, 80 Gold

I repeated the info aloud. "Is that good, Finley?"

"No," he replied. "But it's a starting weapon, so don't expect it to be all that powerful. Your goal should be to update your equipment as quickly as possible. Either one should be good enough to start with."

"And what about the numbers?" I asked.

"Aren't they self-explanatory?" Brandon replied. "It's exactly what it says it is. The number for attack speed is how quickly you can do an attack per second. So, if you're good, you can attack one time every second with the dagger."

"Got it." My eyes drifted towards the other weapon.

Bronze Claw: 2 Strength, 0.75 Attack Speed, 1 Weight, 100 Gold

I didn't feel like crunching numbers right now. I could tell by Brandon's voice that he was already getting impatient. In my mind, more money must have meant the claws were better. Besides, Finley said either one would suffice for a tutorial run. The claw had a longer range anyway, so I went ahead and picked it up.

"Pleasure doing business with ya," Chelsea said once my hand touched the new weapon. The Oracle was still active, and as soon I touched the claw, I saw my Gold drop to zero instantly.