City of Níre
On the ramparts, lit only by a few torches and luminous stones, some soldiers stood talking.
"The adventurers still haven't finished that damn dungeon," grumbled one soldier, exasperated.
"No, but apparently they've reached the 39th floor. And honestly, I wouldn't want to be in their place. It's a B-rank dungeon—who knows what kind of monsters they have to face," replied another soldier, shaking his head.
"Of all places, that damn dungeon had to appear near our little town. It's been there for over five months now, and the number of monsters has increased because of it. Monster attacks have nearly doubled. Last week, an old woman was killed by goblins. And just yesterday, a whole family was slaughtered by black wolves," added the first soldier, his voice filled with frustration.
The second soldier nodded gravely.
"They say they'll finish it in less than a week."
"As long as they finish it and we can be done with this!" sighed the first soldier, his face marked by fatigue.
Deep inside the Perlaìs Dungeon
"Rihhhh!" screeched a monster before being pierced by a sword, its blood spilling onto the ground.
"Was that the last one?" asked a woman, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Yes," replied a young man, catching his breath.
"What floor are we on now?" the adventurer continued, scanning their surroundings.
"We just cleared the 40th floor. Only 10 left. I think we'll be done in about five days," answered the young man again, his voice full of hope.
Another man pulled his axe out of a monster's split skull, a satisfied smile on his face. "Well, it took us long enough, but at least we're the first to reach this floor," he added.
The adventuring party consisted of six people: three women and three men. They were the first group to reach this floor, an achievement in itself. When a dungeon appears, many adventurers venture inside, drawn by the promised rewards. The guild offers generous prizes to those who complete dungeons, but in this case, it was the Kingdom of Sigma paying for the protection of one of its towns.
The group had spent most of the last months inside the dungeon, battling monsters and traps to reach their goal. Their perseverance was paying off—they were close to clearing it.
"Set up camp," ordered Mélodie, one of the long-haired women, who seemed to be the group's leader.
They quickly lit a small campfire and pulled out sleeping bags and other items, seemingly appearing from nowhere thanks to their magic skills. After a quick meal around the fire, some members prepared to take the first watch while the others lay down to rest.
"Yaaawn," Jack the dwarf yawned as he took his watch.
"Jack, your bad breath," complained Mélodie, who was also on first watch.
"That's just how dwarves are, Mélodie," Jack replied with a mischievous grin.
"Too bad it's not cleanliness that comes naturally," Mélodie teased with a smirk.
"Ha! Ha! Your wit's as sharp as ever and your sense of duty too. Always taking the first watch," Jack said admiringly.
"It's my duty to set an example," Mélodie replied.
Jack, a short dwarf with a mid-sized axe, gave Mélodie an attractive young woman clad in a fitted suit of armor and armed with a spear a fond look. They kept chatting casually, their camaraderie clear despite the dangers surrounding them.
Douumm!
The entire floor suddenly trembled violently, cutting their conversation short and waking those who slept.
"What was that?!" one of the girls exclaimed, startled awake and immediately grabbing her sword.
"I have no idea," replied Mélodie, her eyes narrowing with concern.
The floor continued to vibrate intermittently, with pauses between each tremor. Every quake was followed by a heavy silence, heightening the group's tension. After a few minutes, the tremors stopped completely, leaving them glancing at one another with questioning looks.
"That's new…" Jack muttered, frowning.
Suddenly, the entire floor began shaking violently without pause. The tremors shook everyone present, knocking some to the ground. The vibrations grew stronger and stronger over time, and the walls and floors began to crack, fragments of stone falling around them.
"What do we do?!" the young man shouted toward Mélodie, waiting for her orders.
"Down to the next floor!" Mélodie ordered urgently.
Just then, piercing shrieks rang out as they prepared to descend. They all turned in horror toward the source of the screams and saw monsters appearing in massive numbers, rushing straight toward them.
"What the hell is going on?!" Mélodie cried out at the sight of the swarm. She immediately pulled out a crystal of blue mixed with green hues.
"Everyone near me, NOW! I'm using the return crystal!" Mélodie ordered.
They quickly gathered around her, and a bright flash of light surrounded them. Before they knew it, they disappeared and reappeared outside the dungeon entrance. Night had already fallen, illuminated by the twin moons. The dungeon, resembling a tower, was cracking on the outside as well, its structure breaking into multiple pieces. The tremors made the ground quake, splitting open with deep fissures.
Other adventurers were fleeing the dungeon in panic. "What the hell is happening…" Mélodie muttered, bewildered.
There was nothing anyone could do but endure the phenomenon. Mélodie, worried about the horde of monsters she had seen inside, anxiously watched the tower. Suddenly, the tremors stopped abruptly. An oppressive silence set in, broken only by a shockwave that split the ground. The tower then began collapsing with a deafening crash and a massive cloud of smoke.
The tower was no longer visible; only dust covered the area now. But the true horror revealed itself when glowing eyes appeared through the smoke, followed by countless shrieks tearing through the night.
"Run to the city!" Mélodie shouted to her group, panic rising.
"Ahhh!" screamed an adventurer as a spider queen ripped his head off. Battles with the monsters had already begun.
Those who chose to fight had signed their death warrants, for the monsters were so numerous they formed a black tide. The adventurers were already being overwhelmed and wiped out by the relentless wave of creatures.
"Rina, you're the fastest in the group! Go warn the city guards, quickly!" Mélodie ordered, her voice piercing through the surrounding chaos.
Rina, a small girl with short black hair, nodded without hesitation. She sprinted off immediately, her feet barely touching the ground. Putting more and more distance between herself and the battlefield, she ran with fierce determination, fully aware of the importance of her mission.
Meanwhile, Mélodie and the others kept running to escape the monster tide, far slower than Rina.
City of Níre
The tremors and shockwave had been felt all the way to the city, located about twenty kilometers from the dungeon. Some houses collapsed on their occupants, killing or trapping them under the rubble. Many people were now out in the streets, alarmed by the quakes. High atop their watchtower, the guards had also been badly shaken.
"Did they clear the dungeon?" one soldier asked, perplexed.
"Clearing a dungeon doesn't cause this kind of chaos. This is the first time something like this has happened. Normally, the dungeon just collapses in on itself and doesn't create minutes-long tremors," replied another soldier, worried.
As they looked toward the dungeon's direction, a beam of light shot into the sky a red flare. It was Rina, firing a flaming arrow to be seen.
"What's she doing?" a soldier muttered, confused.
A few seconds later, Rina made a great leap to join the soldiers atop their tower.
"What happened out there?" a soldier asked anxiously.
Rina's face was dripping with sweat, and barely able to catch her breath, she cried out:
"Evacuate the city and contact the capital! The dungeon self-destructed, unleashing an army of monsters! This has never happened before it's worse than a migration!"
The soldiers exchanged alarmed looks. The urgency of the situation was clear.
Without wasting a second, the soldiers crossed the wall surrounding the city and rang a massive bell an evacuation signal. The bell's sound resonated throughout the entire city. The inhabitants, already alarmed by the tremors, began to run. Some immediately grabbed their families and fled, all heading toward the city's rear gate, opposite the dungeon. The streets were flooded with people running for their lives.
Cling-Cling-Cling! the bell continued to ring, its piercing sound cutting through the night air.
The soldiers stationed on the ramparts scanned the horizon with palpable tension. Their faces slowly fell, consumed by fear, as they spotted a massive black tide approaching. The monstrous swarm was advancing rapidly, forming a menacing and unstoppable wave.
The deafening bell still echoed through the night, but now the creatures' roars dominated, spreading like a wave of terror through the defenders' ranks. The soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, eyes fixed on the inevitable clash ahead.
"May the goddess protect us…" murmured one soldier, his hands trembling.
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