The sun had already set.
The Adventurers’ Guild was quiet and peaceful. All of sudden, the doors were thrown open. Four young adventurers tumbled into the lobby, their clothing torn and their armor stained with blood and dirt. Several people gasped, rising to their feet.
"Look!"
"They’re back!"
"What happened?"
The receptionist hurried over, bowing deeply. "You returned?" One of the boys gave a small, sad nod. "Not all of us." The guild fell into stunned silence. "What do you mean?" the receptionist asked. The party leader clenched his fists. "It was a Minotaur." There were shocked gasps.
"A Minotaur?!"
"On the first floor?!"
"That’s impossible!"
The leader shook his head. "It wasn’t supposed to be there." He turned to the Guild Master’s office. "We need to report this right away." A few minutes later, everyone was assembled in the Guild Master’s office. He was a middle-aged man with dark hard eyes, and he regarded the four with calm eyes.
"So..." he said.
"You encountered a Minotaur." The four men and women nodded. "And Arin Rahman stayed behind," added the Guild Master. The young woman of the party gave a small, sad nod. "He told us to run." Tears streamed down her face. "He... he told us to run while he held it off!"
The Guild Master closed his eyes. "You obeyed his orders." "We had no choice," responded the leader. "He saved our lives." The guild was silent for a long minute. Finally, the Guild Master opened his eyes. "The dungeon is closed." Everyone stared at him. "No adventurer enters tonight." One of the boys stood up. "But Arin is still in there!" "I know," replied the Guild Master. "We’ll have to rescue him." "We will." The Guild Master’s voice was firm.
"But it would be suicide to go into an unexplored dungeon at night." He turned to the others. "At first light..." "I will take a rescue party." The four adventurers all bowed their heads. They knew he was right.
Nevertheless...
Their hearts were still heavy.
_______
Not long afterwards...
A young woman ran up to the Adventurers’ Guild.
"Mira!"
Someone called out. She stopped, turning around. "What happened?" The woman hesitated. "It’s Arin..." Mira’s face paled. "What about him?"
"He..."
"...he’s missing."
For a long moment, she was silent. "No," she said finally. "You’re mistaken. The rescue party leaves tomorrow morning." Mira looked up at the building. Her hands trembled. She looked down, her voice barely above a whisper. "Please be safe."
____________
Inside the dungeon...
Arin stretched his arms. "I never thought I’d miss sunlight this much!" Saira walked ahead of him. "We are still far from the surface." "I guessed." Arin glanced around. The Dungeon Map floated before his eyes, revealing only the explored areas. The rest of the dungeon was hidden by heavy fog. "It really only shows the explored parts," he mused. He didn’t mind that. It meant that he still had plenty of secrets to uncover.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching.
More specifically, three sets of wolf-like footsteps. Three wolf-like creatures emerged from the shadows, locking their red eyes on Arin. They slowly approached. Arin grabbed the spare sword Saira had found for him earlier. "Here we go." The wolves halted, sniffing the air.
One lowered its head while the other took a step back. Arin raised an eyebrow. "They’re acting strangely." Saira observed quietly. "They feel your presence." "My presence?" She nodded. "The Dungeon Master’s Mark."
The third wolf growled, and unlike the other two, charged at Arin. "So much for peace!"
Arin rushed forward, dodging the attack. The wolf’s claws raked against his side.
He drove his sword into the creature’s side, making it roll on the ground. Before it could get up, Arin stabbed it again.
[Monster Defeated.]
[Experience Gained.]
The other two wolves looked at Arin. Then, they slowly turned around and walked away. Within moments, they were gone, disappearing into another tunnel. Arin lowered his sword. "They just... left." Saira nodded. "Not every monster will attack you." "And not every monster will run away," Arin replied. "Correct." Saira smiled faintly. "I guess I’m somewhere in the middle." They continued walking. It wasn’t long before they came across another obstacle.
This time, it was a group of goblins. Unlike the previous wolves, these goblins were eager to fight. "There they are!" Arin sighed. "So much for a peaceful walk." He cut down the first goblin before finishing off the second. A third tried to sneak up behind him. Just as he turned around, a black figure shot past him.
Slash!
The goblin’s head hit the ground. Arin looked at Saira. She cleaned her blade of blood. "I had that one." "It was behind you," Arin replied. "...Fair enough." Saira turned to the last goblin, who was already running away. Arin followed her, grinning. "So..." he began. "Are you always this powerful?" "Yes," she answered.
"Must be nice."
_________
Several hours later, they came across another corridor. Arin paused, his eyes lighting up. "A treasure chest!" The old, dusty box was in the middle of the room, just like in every treasure dungeon he had played in before. Arin smiled. "My luck is turning." Saira said nothing as Arin turned around. "Aren’t you curious? He asked. "No," she said. "Why not?" "I’ve seen plenty of treasure chests." "Then this one must be safe." Saira crossed her arms. Arin walked up to the chest. "This could have money in it..."
"...or a weapon..."
"...or even a magic item!"
He carefully opened the chest, revealing...
rows of teeth.
The chest’s long tongue shot out, biting Arin’s arm.
"AAAAAH!" he screamed.
"What is this?!" The monster growled, tiny legs coming out from underneath. It chased him down. "It chased me!" Arin raised his sword and slashed at the Mimic, sending it rolling on the floor. Saira stepped forward and cut it in half. Silence reigned in the room as the two stared at the severed halves of the Mimic. "You knew it was a Mimic," said Arin. "Yes," replied Saira. "You let me open it!" "I thought you knew." "I’ve never seen one before!" "It was obvious."
"It had TEETH! It only showed them after I opened it!" Saira looked at him for a moment, then sighed.
"...That is true."
Arin rubbed his arm.
"I’m never opening another treasure chest again." Saira nodded in agreement. "That is wise." A blue [Monster Defeated] and [Experience Gained] notification floated above his head. Arin groaned. "I almost became the treasure." Saira laughed. It was a soft laugh, barely louder than a whisper. Nevertheless, it was a laugh. Arin smiled. "See? You laughed after all." She looked away. "I did not." "You did." "I did not." Arin chuckled as they continued walking deeper into the dungeon.
Far away, in a much larger chamber, a giant beast was feasting on the remains of a fallen monster. Its huge jaws tore through bone, snapping it in half. The beast paused, its golden eyes opening. It lifted its head, and peered into the tunnel where Arin and Saira walked. The chamber was silent for a moment, save for the deep breathing of the great beast. It raised its head high and looked at the two adventurers entering the tunnel.