Osaka Dungeon—-First Floor:
A stone gate appeared, and with a flash of white, it dropped three teenagers into a murky swamp, deep below the streets of Osaka.
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1. Scanning Participants...〉
〈Zaria Takeno: African-Japanese. Female. Age: 18.〉
〈Rika Amakawa: Japanese. Female. Age: 18.〉
〈Han Jisoo: Korean. Male. Age: 18.〉
Zaria cracked her back. "Shit, that drop did numbers on my back. Is this the place, Han?"
Han looked around. "Pretty sure. Misty swamp, turd-smelling water, Rika about to puke, yeah, I'd say so."
Rika hurled into the water. "I'm NEVER going on a trip with you two again! My clothes are ruined!"
Zaria sized up the terrain. "Look! There's a totem in the distance. Let's grab it, I put money that's the key to the next floor!"
"And you're so sure because...?" Han questioned.
"Because I know all about the Kaitansha, duh. Now let's buck the thing and slide."
The three stepped on the creaky bridge located a few feet in front of them, but once they did, a holographic bar spawned over their heads.
〈Floor Rule: Do Not Stand Still.〉
"Floor Rule?" Rika wondered. "What's that, Zaria?"
Zaria pulled both of them across the bridge. "It means we can't stop moving! Take off!"
"Well, that was obvious," Han remarked.
The bridge cracked and groaned beneath their feet, the straps undoing themselves. They narrowly made it across as it snapped completely.
"Light work," Zaria declared. "Now we just gotta swing across this chasm, and we win."
The chasm itself was a bottomless pit, with the black totem floating on an altar just beyond it.
"Let me guess," Han sighed. "You want me to handle that."
Zaria nodded.
"Just so you guys know," Rika clarified. "I'm scared of heights, so if we die I'm suing the living SHIT out of both of you!"
"We won't die," Zaria assured. "Han's on it, right?"
Han rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
He held out his hand, and purplish-black energy erupted from his body. A holo-cube materialized in his palm. "Scan the area for solutions."
[Scanning...]
"Can this thing hurry up?" Rika complained. "I need to pee."
"Go do it in the water."
"No!"
[Scan Complete. *1* Solution Found: Activating Grappling Hook.]
The cube fired off a hook that anchored to the tree above the altar, and transformed itself into a hilt. Han gripped it with both hands. "Ladies, grab on tight."
Zaria shrugged and wrapped her arms around him, but Rika bit her nails. "Can we try something different? Like turning around?"
Zaria used one hand to grab Rika's arm. "Nope! Swing, Han! Swing!"
Han jumped off the edge, causing Rika to scream.
"EEEK!"
They slammed into the tree, crashing into the ground. Han's cube reverted to normal and disappeared.
"Success..." he groaned.
Rika got up, brushing the leaves out of her hair. "My curls are ruined! Look what you've done!"
Zaria patted her own hair. "Eh. Mine are fine."
"Because you don't have curls!"
Han examined the totem. "Incredible...is that real obsidian?"
Zaria reached for it. "Don't know, don't care. Let's take it."
Han grabbed her hand. "Wait. It could be a trap."
"The goal is to reach the totem Han. We're literally right in front of it."
"How about I scan it first?"
"Yeah, sure, when we're on the second floor."
"No, right now."
Rika pushed between the two. "Ugh! Argue on your own time!"
She snatched the totem, and once she did, it shifted into a black and golden sigil, floating in the air.
〈Totem Seal Acquired. Level 2 Clearance Enabled.〉
"See?" Rika scoffed. "Harmless."
She stopped for a moment, smoothing her hair. In response, the room suddenly dimmed.
〈Rule Broken. Enforcing Penalty.〉
"Rika!" Han and Zaria exclaimed.
"Sorry! I thought we beat the floor!"
Han slapped his forehead. "So help me..."
〈Penalty: Survival. Transporting to Floor 500...〉
"Oh no," Zaria realized.
The ground beneath them formed a gate, and they were whisked away.
Osaka Dungeon—-Five-Hundredth Floor:
The group landed on a molten rock platform, stuck in the middle of a lava ocean.
"Guys," Zaria commented. "Maybe jumping in here without a plan was a tiny mistake on my part."
"You THINK?" Han and Rika replied.
"Hey, I'm not the one who forced us down here! Rika is the one that stopped moving!" Zaria deflected.
"Because no one clarified that the rules still apply after you clear the floor, Zaria!" Rika argued.
"Clear the floor means clear the floor! As in, GET OFF THE FLOOR!"
Han tugged on both of their arms. "Girls...I think we woke up the homeowner..."
They both turned around, and they came face to face with a large golem, made of solid lava. He blinked a few times, leaning close.
"Mmm...what is this...? Children? I don't get many children down here."
Zaria nervously chuckled. "Yeah! We're three teens that took a few wrong turns! Can you point us to the exit?"
The golem straightened up. "Funny. I like you."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now die."
〈Boss: Shakuma, Golem of Lava. Level: 500. Goal: Survive 10 Minutes. Timer: 10:00〉
"Worth a shot," Zaria sighed.
Shakuma formed two lava gauntlets on his fists, and he slammed them on the platform, causing it to shake.
〈Domain Effect: Lava Rain. Description: Each attack will send one instance of falling lava onto the platform.〉
"Wait what?" Zaria gasped. "No one told me about that!"
"Some super-fan you are," Han stated. "Now, let's try not to die!"
Lava rained down from above, and they all threw themselves out of the way.
"Okay, new plan!" Zaria shouted. "We use our abilities to shatter this rock!"
"We can't!" Rika clarified. "We're only Level 50! And me and Han aren't fighters!"
"Welp," Zaria said. "Guess we have to buy some time."
The golem swiped again, and Zaria jumped over its fist.
"Not dying on my first dungeon raid," she thought. "So what if I'm Level 50?"
She held out her hand. "Jugen-Tōshi: Cursed Spear."
The air darkened, and black lightning crackled off her body. A wave of thunder shot from her hand, and a black spear formed from it.
"Zaria, you can't fight that thing!" Han warned her.
"Sure can't! But we've got to outlast it!"
〈Timer: 8:08〉
"Eight minutes!" Han noticed. "Okay, fine! If you want to stall it, at least don't get yourself killed!"
Shakuma held up his hand.
〈Boss Instance Triggered: All Party Members: -80% Speed〉
Rika tried moving her feet. "I'm like a sloth! First falling lava, now movement debuffs! This place is crazy!"
Han held out his hand, reforming his cube. "Scan for solutions!"
Meanwhile, Zaria pushed forward as the golem watched, curious.
"You're going the wrong way, little girl," he mocked.
"As if," she rebuffed. "Have a taste of this!"
Her spear extended, slashing Shakuma's chest.
〈Boss HP: 100% → 99%〉
"The hell? Only one percent?"
Shakuma batted her away, causing her to slide toward the lava's edge, but Han reached out and grabbed her.
"Phew, thanks," Zaria said.
"Yeah, you can thank me by staying in one piece."
She dropped to her knees, blood dripping from her mouth. "Ow. That's one hard hit."
〈Timer: 7:01〉
Rika placed her hand on Zaria's back. "This might take a few months off your life, but right now, I'd say it's worth it."
"Rika, don't heal me—-!"
Spiraling dark energy shot out from Rika, and Zaria's body suddenly glowed purple. Once the glow wore off, she stood up, flexing her hands.
"Wow, that does feel better!"
"I'm amazing, I know!"
"How much time did you cut off my life?"
"I don't know? Six months?"
"WHAT?"
"Hey, healing isn't free!"
Han's cube scanned the terrain, returning information. [Scan Complete. *0* Solutions Found.]
"Stupid cube! Scan again!"
Shakuma slammed one end of the platform, causing it to rise. The bottom half began to sink into the lava.
"No, no, no!" Rika worried. "If we don't do something, we're gonna cook! Like actually cook!"
Zaria stabbed her spear into the ground. "Grab on!"
Rika grabbed her hand, and Han grabbed Rika's. Lava began to pour down from above.
"We can't remain stationary!" Han told them. "If the lava below doesn't do us in, the lava above definitely will!"
〈Timer: 5:59〉
"We're fine!" Zaria assured. "Surely this works like a video game, right? He can't attack repeatedly! There has to be some cooldown!"
Shakuma laughed, unnerving the trio. "Welcome to reality, girl."
He kicked the platform, sending them sliding across the lava as they screamed.
"My bad! Not a video game! Definitely not a video game!"
"What gave it away?" Han snarked. "The giant talking golem? The slowness effect? Or the sizzling lava below us?"
"All of the above!"
The platform slowed, and the golem walked purposefully toward them.
"I've played around enough. It's time for a snack," he declared.
〈Debuff Removed. Speed: ↑〉
Shakuma split the platform in two just as the group dodged his fist. Han and Rika were trapped on one side, while Zaria was trapped on the other.
"Zaria!" Han called out. "You okay?"
"Yeah!" she replied.
"You won't be," Shakuma promised. "You first."
As he raised his fist, she slashed his chest again.
〈HP: 99% → 98%〉
"Dude, are you serious?"
Zaria gripped her spear tighter and slashed again and again.
〈HP: 98% → 97% → 96% → 95%〉
"Oh, damn it all!"
The golem picked her up by the leg, holding her upside down. "Feisty...most women panic in these situations..."
"I'm not most women," Zaria clarified. "Put me down, jackass!"
"I have a better idea," Shakuma suggested. "You be my dinner."
Zaria's spear extended, and she slashed his face.
〈HP: 95% → 94%〉
"Cube!" Han demanded. "Do a proper scan!"
The cube scanned the area again.
[*1* Solution Found. Summoning Trip-Wire.]
The cube transformed into a sharp wire that extended across the domain, and it wrapped around Shakuma's legs, tripping him and causing him to drop Zaria, who used her spear to soften her fall.
"Hey!" Zaria shouted. "Don't knock him over when I'm still in his hand!"
"Just say thank you!"
〈HP: 94% → 90%〉
〈Timer: 3:59〉
Rika held up the sigil in her hand. "Hey, this thing is glowing. Does it mean something?"
Han squinted. "Huh. It wasn't doing that before..."
The sigil floated in the air, and a new display appeared.
〈Sigil Ability: Charged.〉
"Sigil ability?" Rika repeated. "Han, what is that?"
"No idea," Han said, perplexed. "Hey, can you explain?"
〈Sigil Ability: Summoning. Description: Summons a random ally to location. Touch to activate. Charges: 1〉
"Should we use it?" Rika debated. "What if it summons some weakling?"
"It's better than nothing!" Han relented, touching it. "Work your magic!"
〈Sigil: Activated. Summoning...Target Found.〉
"What target?" Zaria asked.
〈Target: Omariro Nyugawa〉
All three of their eyes widened as Shakuma got up.
"Summoning allies?" Shakuma taunted. "Whoever it is, it won't change your fates!"
〈Target: Transported.〉
Above them, a stone gate opened, dropping a kitchen table with a short elderly black male sitting at it. He had long dreadlocks covering his face, was wearing a robe, and sipped coffee.
The table landed on Zaria's platform, and she almost fainted.
"No way..."
Omariro set down his coffee and noticed his new surroundings. "Not home. Why?"
Shakuma glanced at him and laughed. "This is your ally? An old, senile man? Haha! Well, I don't discriminate. Time to die, geezer!"
Shakuma slammed his hand down on the table, crushing it. "See—-?"
But to his shock, Omariro was on his shoulder, still sipping his coffee. "Dungeon. You are dungeon boss."
"How did you—?"
With one bat of his hand, Omariro sent the golem flying into the distance, before casually landing on the platform.
〈HP: 90% → 12%〉
The three kids stared, mouths agape, as Omariro examined his table, which was now burning due to the heat.
"Expensive. Cost money to replace."
"ARGH!"
Behind him, Shakuma rose, his body now coated in molten armor.
〈Boss Phase 2: Durability +150%, Attack +200%〉
"You're dead, old man!" Shakuma roared.
The golem summoned a massive warhammer and brought it down on Omariro, who simply stopped it with one hand.
"Impossible!"
"Back hurting," Omariro complained. "Going back to house. Jugen-Metsusha: Obliterate."
He clapped his hands, and a powerful wave of energy shot out, completely erasing the golem.
〈HP: 12% → 0%〉
〈Timer: 0:59〉
"Incredible..." Rika gawked.
"Unreal!" Han cheered.
Zaria stood up, unable to hide her excitement. "Excuse me, sir! Is it really you? The legend, Omariro Nyugawa?"
Omariro turned toward her, walking close up. As she eagerly watched, he simply gripped her head.
"Foolish child. Dungeon not safe for you. Go home."
〈Timer: 0:00〉
A stone gate appeared.
〈Challenge Completed. Exit Available.〉
Without another word, Omariro formed a bridge made of dark energy and walked over to the gate.
"Wait—!" Zaria called out.
And then, he was gone.
"Man," Zaria moped. "Legend in the flesh, and he barely gives us the time of day..."
"At least we got to see him in action!" Rika pointed out. "He's as badass as the myths say!"
"Maybe he's still outside!" Han suggested. "If we hurry, we can catch him!"
They got up, using the bridge to exit the gate.
Osaka, Japan—-
"Halt! You three kids are under arrest!"
As soon as they exited the gate, they arrived in the middle of the street, where well-dressed agents in suits had guns pointed at them.
"Arrest?" Zaria replied. "What?"
One agent stepped forward. "Illegal Floor Exploration. You three are unregistered. Exploring Dungeons without a license is strictly banned. For that, I'm taking you to the Kaitansha Corporation to face judgment. The Director will speak with you, personally."
And with that, they were taken into custody.
—-