Dungeon Hunter: Act I

Surprise

Cleared? Did Kimi defeat the boss in the Dungeon? That was insane. It'd only been five days since they first activated. Not to mention that name was different to the one who received the title for Dungeon 9. I guess they didn't end up clearing the Dungeon. Did that mean... Did they die in the Dungeon? Ever since the disappearance of that man in the video, in the back of my mind it had always been a possibility. Dying in the Dungeons. Never seeing my parents again.

But there was that pull that made me want to step into the Gate anyway. Without it, would we still have such a dismissive attitude towards our own lives? I doubted it, but some people were carefree with everything they possessed, so some people would have still entered.

When the Gate had formed, it was instantaneous. Nothing, and then Gate.

"Well, that's pretty serendipitous," Jye said.

It was unnerving standing in front of one in real life. The videos and photos really hadn't done them justice. The edges of the Gate blurred completely with reality, a distortion of our plane in whirling tendrils. In the centre it was not just black but a lack of existence. And something in my head was screaming at me to stick my hand right in.

"Are we ready to go in? Wren just joined our party. We haven't practised with her yet."

Axel shook his head. "We're not prepared, but this might be our only chance to get titles."

"I'm good to go," Wren said, jutting her jaw forward.

Well, that made one of us. I was suddenly getting cold feet about this whole thing, even with my body slowly stepping towards the Gate despite my aversion. Jye made a considering sturgeon face and added, "I mean, what would go wrong?"

I stared at them. "There's the obvious."

The rest of the party gazed at me blankly.

Throwing my hands up, I elaborated, "We could all die?"

"Yeah, but what's there really to live for?" Jye replied, laughing a little too much for comfort.

We really didn't have the time to unpack that, but I left a mental memo to have a sit down with them later. It did make me reflect on how little I knew about Jye. In fact, I could probably list actual facts about them on one hand. Again, turning away from the Gate played in my mind. We could not go in. It was an option. And it was looking more and more like the preferred one. Especially with Wren to consider as well.

If the original Dungeon 9 title receiver had died in their Dungeon, what chance did a ten-year-old girl stand? No, that cinched it. We weren't going in. This was a terrible idea. Maybe instead we could form some sort of shelter for those who were still resisting the effects of the Dungeon compulsion. We could make some sort of found community. Perhaps we could build a new world from the ashes of the old, and just forget the Gates altogether.

"You probably won't forgive me for this," Axel said.

Barely paying attention, I snorted. "There's a lot I don't forgive you for. What could possibly top the–"

Axel's shoulder rammed into my stomach. It stole the rest of the words out of my mouth, and only an embarrassing heugh came out instead. As we hurtled to the floor, I took the brunt of his weight. We thudded to the ground. What little remaining breath I had in my lungs was squeezed out, me pinned under him. I gasped for air and breathed in a lungful of dust that our movements had kicked up.

It took a moment for me to process what had happened.

Axel had tackled me through the direct centre of the Gate.

We were in the Dungeon.

Unable to see anything from under Axel's body, I floundered to get to my feet and pushed him off me. "What the fuck, Axel!"