Inside a wooden house, a girl was lying on the bed while coughing. A man was sitting on a chair beside her.
"Dear, are you sure you can go on this expedition alone?" (?)
"You should just rest at home. Don't want to worsen your disease now don't you?"(?)
The man patted the girl on the head
"Hey! I am not a little girl you know?" (?)
Although the girl said that, she still let him pat her.
"But… you're right… it just…" (?)
The girl turned towards the man.
"Just be careful, alright Caelum?" (?)
The girl pouted at him.
"Heh, of course. Who do you think I am?" (Caelum)
The man pounded his chest, reassuring the girl.
"Hmph, you were always pretty reckless. Of course I would be worried." (?)
"It's fine, Iris! I'll be back as soon as possible after the expedition." (Caelum)
The man smiled brightly.
"Hmph, you better be." (Iris)
"Now… just close your eyes and sleep. So you will get better sooner." (Caelum)
The man kissed the girl on the head.
"What-whatever you say." (Iris)
The girl blushes then shifts her position, turning to another side facing the wall.
"Just… be safe." (Iris)
"Heh, sure..." (Caelum)
…
…
The man left the house. He turned around to look at the house once more before setting off.
"Best not keep my wife waiting." (Caelum)
Caelum set off.
…
A few days later…
…
"Hmm… the goal of this expedition is to find the reason why the amount of horned rabbits is in decline…" (Caelum)
Caelum looks around.
…
It was quiet… extremely quiet…
"Ugh, this gives me the creep. I should get this over with as soon as possible." (Caelum)
Caelum ventured deep into the forest to investigate.
…
Unbeknownst to him, a dungeon suddenly appeared from the place he was just at.
…
Hours later…
"So… it turns out that the reason that the rabbit was in decline was simply because of migration. The rabbit will be back once the season changes…" (Caelum)
Although Caelum found out the reason, he wasn't satisfied.
"Sigh… I thought the trip would be more interesting…" (Caelum)
Caelum slowly makes his way back.
…
"Oh hey, a dungeon. If only I could explore one right now…" (Caelum)
Caelum saw the dungeon and walked past it.
"....Wait a minute." (Caelum)
Caelum immediately stops and turns to look at the dungeon.
"Huh? Was there a dungeon here before? I could have sworn there was nothing here before…. Did it just… appear out of nowhere just now?" (Caelum)
Caelum investigates the surroundings of the dungeon. The dungeon was only a cave with a stairway that led downwards. It was eerily dark, and the air was stale and dusty, like a room that has been abandoned for ages.
"Definitely not here before. But how did this happen?" (Caelum)
Caelum was now standing in front of the entrance. Looking into the stairways.
"This looks pretty… ominous…. My instinct is telling me to not go in… but… how could I not? I'm an adventurer! Exploring the unknown is what we do!" (Caelum)
Driven by curiosity, Caelum took out his lantern and infused it with magic, Caelum descended into the dungeon…. At that exact moment, a broken sign fell down at the entrance, the faded letter on the sign spelled out 'KEEP OUT'.
…
…
Caelum continued descending down the stairway, as he went deeper, he noticed the walls and stairs were unusually polished for a dungeon. The wall glimmer faintly in gold from the light coming out of his lantern,
"Weird… normally a dungeon won't be this polished or… shiny… It's like the dungeons were man-made." (Caelum)
The stairway felt endless as he kept descending. Finally, the stairway stops. In front of him, was now a long hallway.
"Ugh… getting out of this dungeon is going to be a pain… the amount of stairs is going to kill me! If only this dungeon has a teleport waypoint that can get me out of here instantly." (Caelum)
As Caelum said that, he saw a golden altar with teleportation written on it.
"Oh. There is a teleporter." (Caelum)
…
Caelum walks down the hallway. Along the hallway, the walls were filled with paintings in gold and yellow and text that he couldn't understand.
"I wonder what all this painting is trying to convey, and these texts… seem like ancient letters! I think I can decipher it!" (Caelum)
Caelum excitedly took out his notebooks and began writing down the text to decipher one of the ancient texts on the wall. Maybe the text might reveal this dungeon origin!
…
Though Caelum tried his best, he only managed to decipher a few letter words.
"Sigh… if only Iris is here, maybe she can decipher all of it. Her restoration magic might be able to help with restoring the broken letter." (Caelum)
The letter Caelum decipher wasn't able to give him the full image of this dungeon origin. The word is as he wrote in his notebook.
[ TH(X) D(X)(X)TH O(X) (X)(X)E G(X)D W(X)(X) B(X)CA(X)(X)E (X)F (X)(X)E A(X)(X)IE(X)T D(X)(X)(X)(X)(X) L(X)(X)D ]
(Seems like it is trying to convey something about the death of something…)
[ (X)H(X)(X) B(X)(X)RA(X)(X)(X) TH(X)I(X) C(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X), T(X)E (X)(X)(X)(X)T(X)R G(X)(X) ]
(I have no idea what is this trying to convey)
[ THE D(X)(X)(X)O(X) (X)(X)(X)D W(X)(X)(X)(X)H C(X)(X)SU(X)(X)(X) (X)H(X) (X)(X)(X) ]
(Same as last one T-T)
"Yep. Don't understand what it is trying to convey…." (Caelum)
Caelum closes the notebook. Feeling a bit down, he still continued to venture down the hallway, passing through the vine covered walls.
…
"Geez, all these gold and yellow colours are starting to get obnoxious. The gold painting, the golden altar, heck! Even the dust feels golden! Whoever created this dungeon must've been a king of yellow, or someone that is just obsessed with the golden colour." (Caelum)
…
"Finally, an open room." (Caelum)
After walking for a long time. Caelum finally arrived at the room. The room was small and… empty? The only thing that stood out was the golden wall sculpture.
"I don't recognise these designs…. Weird…. Is this from an era we have not heard before?" (Caelum)
Realising he might be the first one to discover something new. He was fueled with excitement.
"I'm gonna search through this place thoroughly!! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡" (Caelum)
Caelum excitedly headed deeper into the dungeon.
…
"...." (?)
…
While exploring the dungeon, he found a room that was sealed.
"A sealed room? Of all things?" (Caelum)
Caelum was looking at the door that was covered with a layer of magic circle, it seems like something was sealed here.
"Better not mess with it." (Caelum)
Although Caelum was curious. He decides to ignore it, whatever was sealed in there must be dangerous for it to be sealed.
"The room is clearly a red flag. Better safe than nothing." (Caelum)
…
"... feel… familiar…." (?)
…
"Hmm? Is this a new plant?" (Caelum)
Caelum found an unknown plant he had never seen before.
"Such an interesting form… is this a subspecies of dahlia? It looks similar…" (Caelum)
Before Caelum could take a closer look, the flower suddenly bloomed.
*Puff!*
The flowers shot out spores from its bud.
"Cough cough! I didn't expect it would just bloom, considering how long the dungeon has been. I even inhale some of its spores! Could it… be poisonous!?" (Caelum)
Caelum quickly searched through his bag and took out an elixir. He drank it instantly.
"Huff… I hope it doesn't cause any problems. This place is starting to give me the creeps… I better leave as soon as possible. Especially the sealed room, ever since passing it, I keep feeling a chilly feeling." (Caelum)
After that little accident, he composed himself and continued the exploration.
…
"Oh dear, my notebook is running out of pages. I guess I spent too much time here." (Caelum)
Caelum was so immersed that he only realised he had stayed in the dungeon for a long time when his notebook was running out of pages.
"I better leave now, Iris is still waiting for me at home. Plus I can come back here at any time. I should bring Iris here next time!" (Caelum)
Caelum closes his notebook and heads back. He used the teleporter and headed back to the surface.
…
Just as he left, the dungeon slowly disappeared from the place. Like it never existed.
"... follow… outside… free…." (?)
But something seems to have followed Caelum outside.
…
…
"So… you meant to say that… you found an unknown dungeon that no one has ever explored?" (Iris)
"Yes." (Caelum)
Caelum was sitting on a chair beside Iris.
"..."
"As much as I loved to believe it. If I never saw it with my own eyes, I would not believe it." (Iris)
"Aw…" (Caelum)
"But since you said it. I suppose it's true. Ugh, if only I could go explore with you too!" (Iris)
Iris was sad that he couldn't explore with Caelum. Knowing that Caelum got to explore it first hand made her a bit jealous.
'Ancient text?! I have to see it myself!' (Iris)
"Cough cough. Don't worry! Once you recover, let's go explore it! I've already noted down the location!" (Caelum)
"Heh, I can't wait to explore it." (Iris)
Iris smiles brightly just thinking about the dungeon.
…
After a few days, Iris made a full recovery. They immediately set off to the dungeon.
"Huh? The dungeon was supposed to be here. Where did it go?" (Caelum)
Caelum was shocked to find the dungeon missing.
"Hmm… could it be…" (Iris)
"What is it?" (Caelum)
"There was some document that said that some dungeons only appeared at a certain time. This might be one of the cases. Do you remember the time when you came here?" (Iris)
"Cough cough! I believe the moon seems to be visible for the whole day." (Caelum)
"Hmm… maybe this dungeon that only appeared on the moon is visible during the day. Let me see when the next one occurs." (Iris)
The girl quickly took out a calendar and looked through it.
"Seems like the next occurrence will only appear in two months." (Iris)
"I guess we will come back here in two months then… cough cough!" (Caelum)
"Are you alright? You have been coughing a lot ever since you got back. And it seems to be getting worse." (Iris)
Iris was getting worried about Caelum constantly coughing.
"It's fine. I drank an elixir before. It should be gone after a few more days." (Caelum)
"You drank. The ELIXIR!?" (Iris)
"Ah crap." (Caelum)
Iris looks at Caelum, disbelieving at his words.
"Do you know how expensive one is?! Even though I made it myself, the cost of materials isn't cheap you know!? Plus, there might be some side effects that might do more harm than good, you know?" (Iris)
Iris hit Caelum on the head.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't bring any potion with me at the time so I can only use your elixir." (Caelum)
"Sigh… I'll let you off, just this once. Let's head home." (Iris)
"Right!" (Caelum)
The two went back to their house.
…
…
…
"Oh dear… this is not good…." (?)
Far away from the real world… A mysterious being in a yellow robe stood before a shattered mirror. Through the mirror, it was the dungeon that Caelum had once explored.
"The seal has been stirred… a curious child entered…" (?)
The being whispered. It closes his eyes, expression showing concern.
"I pray that the child stays safe." (?)
…