As everyone knows, in Souls-like games, platforming sections are just as inevitable as dung pits and poison swamps—an experience every player must "enjoy."
Wade's knockoff of The Great Hollow stood proudly upon the shoulders of giants, and now, for the very first time, it was ready to welcome its guests.
This was an extremely important test. He had already whipped out his notebook, eager to collect data.
With the strength of these elite adventurers, surely they could help him uncover the flaws in his design—pushing his version of The Great Hollow one step closer to perfection.
When the two rings were slotted into the grooves on the massive stone gate, the heavy slab rumbled open, exhaling a gust of icy wind.
"If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd never believe you'd need two rings just to open this thing," Maru muttered. "And to make it worse, you've got to defeat powerful monsters to even get them."
She could already picture it: someone who had fought tooth and nail through countless hardships, finally standing before this door—only to realize they'd forgotten one of the rings.
What kind of face would they make at that moment?
To Wade, that expression would probably taste delicious.
"I wanna see what kind of nightmare's waiting behind this door!"
The gate opened into pure darkness. Maru darted inside before Leon could stop her.
Well, she wasn't a kid anymore, Leon reminded himself. She could handle herself.
At least, that's what he thought—until a sharp scream pierced the silence a second later.
"Ahhhhh!"
"Maru!"
Leon's heart dropped. He lunged through the doorway—only to collide headfirst with Maru running back out. The two went down in a heap.
"What the hell are you doing?" Leon barked. Just a moment ago, he thought she'd been in danger—and here she was, perfectly fine, not a scratch on her. His voice cracked from sheer exasperation.
If you're fine, why scream like that?!
Maru was trembling, pointing toward the darkness. "Boss… just go see for yourself."
"What's with this…" Leon grumbled and went ahead to look.
When he came back, his face was thunderous.
"Boss?" Terl asked, puzzled, before stepping through the door himself.
He didn't come back either. Instead, heavy stomps echoed from beyond the gate—rhythmic, angry.
"What the hell is going on?" Stella muttered.
Unable to take the suspense, she and the others marched forward to see for themselves.
Then they understood. They completely understood—why Maru screamed, and why Terl was stomping.
"Son of a—!" Even the usually composed Drew spat a dwarven curse.
Before them stretched a tangled lattice of massive, gnarled roots, weaving across a vast, bottomless hollow. The slightest misstep would send someone plunging straight into the abyss—instant death, zero chance of survival.
The moment Drew saw it, instinct took over. He pulled out his teleport crystal, but instead of keeping it in his clothes, he just swallowed it down for safety.
Why was there a bottomless chasm under a town? Shouldn't the entire place have collapsed by now?
That's the magic of a dungeon!
"How the hell are we supposed to cross this?" Stella frowned.
A thick tree branch stretched ahead but quickly twisted downward, pressing into the wall and leaving no way forward.
It was obvious—they'd have to jump from root to root, slowly making their way down.
"Bastardized design," Perry muttered. "Why are all the dungeon's mutations so damn cruel?"
Leon placed a hand on Maru's head gently. He remembered her fear of heights—so that explained her scream.
"Maru, if you really can't handle this, you can wait here."
"Boss…" Maru swallowed hard but stood firm. "I'll stick with you no matter what!"
"The Fire God's trials are no joke," the Fire Priest sighed, gazing into the enormous hollow below.
The Knight peered over the edge, gauging the depth—then quietly concluded that if he jumped, he'd die.
Meanwhile, Roger and Drew huddled together, whispering about a plan—reliable adults doing what they did best.
"What do you think of my idea?" Drew asked.
Roger nodded. "Worth a try. My Hathaway can't move around in terrain like this anyway. Better let your muscle freak handle it."
"His name's Terl," Duru corrected. "Don't just slap nicknames on people—it's basic manners."
"Sorry, sorry! My bad."
He waved Terl over. When Terl approached, confused, Drew laid out the plan.
Terl's expression went from confusion… to shock… to a kind of wild excitement.
He nodded eagerly, ready to try.
"Stand here," Roger instructed. "The drop's just the right distance. Plenty of roots down there—you can grab one mid-fall to slow yourself."
Terl took his position while Drew began chanting.
"Stoneflesh. Hardened Body. Levitation. Fleetfoot. Shock Dampening!"
Red, green, purple, blue—one spell after another flared around Terl, layering him in shimmering protection. Nearly all of them were defensive.
Everyone else watched in confusion.
"Wait, don't tell me—" Leon was the first to realize. "Oh, come on… this is insane."
"Jump!" Roger barked.
Terl launched himself into the abyss.
Thud—!
Silence.
Then, finally, a muffled sound echoed upward—a landing.
"Well? Still alive?" Roger called down.
For a moment, no answer. He almost thought the plan had failed.
Then came the shout:
"No problem! Monsters down here! I killed them! Everyone else, come down!"
"Perfect." Roger and Drew exchanged satisfied grins.
Their plan: brute-force the descent with layered defensive buffs!
Unlike the undead, adventurers from another world didn't have "infinite fall damage immunity." But at least they didn't instantly die just for falling too far.
As long as they hit the ground with even a sliver of HP left—they could heal right back up.
"Perry," Drew said, "you're on healing duty. Don't waste a drop of mana on anything else."
He'd handle defense buffs. The division of labor meant no one would die mid-jump without a healer.
After the plan was explained, everyone just… stared.
Even the stoic Knight twitched at the corner of his mouth before closing his eyes.
"Isn't there a safer way? Like, Flight?" Maru asked nervously, cold sweat running down her cheek. "Drew, you can cast it, right?"
"That's a high-tier spell. I'd run out of mana after three or four casts."
"Then… what about Roger's dragon?"
"The roots are too dense. Hathaway can't squeeze through."
"Couldn't we just light a fire and burn them away?"
"Tried it. Doesn't burn."
"….."
Maru sniffled, eyes glossy, looking at Leon for comfort.
Jump, Leon's steady gaze seemed to say. This is our fate.
Sure, taking it slow would be safer… but the dungeon was closing soon.
This expedition was probably the deepest anyone had ever ventured into Sein Dungeon. They had to bring back as much intel as they could—even if it meant risk.
"Alright then… jump!"
Spell after spell shimmered across their bodies. One by one, the adventurers leapt into the hollow, forming an almost polite, orderly line—as if they were queueing for an amusement ride.
It looked almost civilized—a testament to respecting elders and ladies first… though truthfully, no one wanted to go.
"M-m-me, I'll—I'll—"
"What are you, a chicken?"
Maru froze at the edge, trembling. Roger simply sighed and gave her a swift kick.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
A few seconds later—
"Still alive! It works!"
Roger smirked. "See? Perfect plan!"
"Perfect, my ass."
Back in the Dungeon Master's chamber, Wade silently set down his notebook, speechless.
"As if this data's gonna be useful…"