Rona: I want to burp.
Isaac: Don't make a sound.
Rona: But there's no holes here.
Isaac: The holes were only there because they heard sound and came out.
Llyne: So those children before us… never even made it past the entrance.
Isaac: Yup. Dead the moment they walked in.
Rona finally finished her post-beetle feast, patting her stomach in satisfaction.
Llyne: Let's go, Rona. It's adventure time!
Her eyes gleamed with childlike excitement as we ventured deeper.
The dungeon stretched on with no end in sight—just cold, lifeless stone walls that absorbed all warmth and noise. Hours passed, or it felt like it. Time lost meaning in the silence.
Llyne: We walked for hours and nothing? What kind of dungeon is this?
Isaac: Stop talking and move faster. There's something here. It might be just up ahead.
Rona: Let's go! Let's go!
Llyne: Alright, alright.
And just as we took a few more steps forward, a blue screen bloomed into view.
[HP and MP are fully recovered]
[Congratulations! You are the first to have made it past the 1st Stage.]
Isaac: First and only.
Llyne: That was only the first stage? That ain't good.
Another notification followed, hovering patiently.
[If you are ready for the next stage, press the 'OK' button on the blue screen. If not, move back. When you're ready, return to this spot to proceed.]
We stepped back. The screen faded.
[You may use the camping function behind you. It helps build bond between your teammates.]
We turned around—and blinked. The campsite hadn't been there before. But now it looked like it had always existed: a tidy circle of logs, a softly crackling fire, and even tents neatly pitched around the clearing.
Llyne: There wasn't anything there just now. This place is really freaking me out.
Isaac: Only now?
Rona sprinted toward the campsite, spinning around the fire with joy like a kid on a sugar high.
Isaac: I'm interested in the camping function. If it improves our bond, it might provide combat bonuses.
Llyne: Yup. Let's find out.
We sat down, cautiously curious. A new screen emerged.
[Please choose your topic: Family, School Life, Ghost Story, Romance Life, Favourite Food, Pastime.]
Llyne: I'll choose family.
Isaac: Pastime.
Rona: Favourite food!
[You have chosen the topics: Family, Pastime, and Favourite Food to discuss. I hope you all will enjoy it. Have a great chat!]
The screen faded again. Quiet filled the circle.
Llyne: Guess they knew we're introverts—except Rona. Hahaha.
Isaac: Who wants to start first?
Rona: Me! Me! Food! Food!
Isaac: Don't get hungry talking about food.
Llyne: Why worry? She just ate. She won't be hungry that fast.
Isaac: You clearly haven't studied the creature known as 'Rona'. Her hunger is a black hole.
Rona: I love lots of food! Avocado egg sandwich, Tomato Mayo eggplant beef burger, sushi, lamb wrap, cheese salmon, chicken claypot, pork steak—
Isaac: Stop. Do you know what "favourite" means?
Rona: I know! It's a WORD! …And I'm hungry.
She clutched her belly again.
Isaac: Why did we let her pick?
Llyne: Rona, if you could only pick one food—just one—what would it be?
Rona: I can't pick between stinky tofu with natto and King Beetle…
Isaac: Just pick one before you eat us.
She paused, deep in thought.
Rona: King Beetle!
Llyne: Oui. She's a monster eater.
Isaac: Mine would be Ravonsac boar meat.
Llyne: What boar?
Isaac: It's a type of boar that's extremely hard to catch in the jungle. Massive. Ferocious. It hunts alone and has insane hearing—it can detect human flesh from 100 miles away. You either use a special sniper or burn down the jungle to kill it.
Rona: Wow! Sounds yummy.
Isaac: Its meat is… really juicy.
Llyne: Wow, you know a lot about it.
Isaac: My father taught me. We lived in the jungle. He used to bring me hunting.
Llyne: But I thought you'd never seen a forest. You were gawking outside the dungeon.
Isaac: I was amusing you. It was fun.
Llyne: Why you—
Rona: What about your favourite food, Llyne?
Llyne: My Ma's homemade meat pie.
Rona: Me love meat pie too!
Isaac: I doubt there's any food you don't like, Rona.
Llyne: You'd love my Ma's meat pie. She always added just the right amount of spice.
Isaac: Next topic: pastime. Mine are hunting, planting… and hacking.
Llyne: Hacking? Which hat?
Isaac: Black Hat.
Llyne: Your parents know?
Isaac: Nope.
Rona: Isaac wears hat?
Llyne: Err… not a real hat, Rona. Black Hat hacking means he's the bad kind. There are all sorts: white, grey, red, blue, green… But Isaac? He's the worst one.
Rona: Isaac bad!
[Rona sent a 'Bad' sticker]
Isaac: You just wasted your breath.
Llyne: Maybe she got it.
Isaac: Yeah… right. Let me guess—Rona's pastime is eating?
Rona: Right! Isaac is a genius~
Llyne: Only eating?
Rona: Yup! I eat everything! No discrimination!
Llyne: You mean you're not picky.
Isaac: Whereas Llyne's pastimes were pranking and running.
Llyne: So what?
Isaac: Thank goodness I'm not your teacher.
I stuck my tongue out.
Llyne: Next is family. I have a mom, she's a housewife. A dad I've never met. And a sister I don't get along with.
Rona: Never met your father?
Llyne: No. Not once.
Rona: Poor Lil.
Llyne: Rona's turn.
Rona: My loving family has me and my parents. I love them so much, and I know they do too—even if they were rarely home. Sometimes, when they came home, they brought new people and told me to hide. If I tried to come out, they'd get mad and lock me in my room.
A beat of silence.
Isaac: Rarely home? New people? How—
Llyne: So you really love them, right?
Rona: Yup!
(Private Message – Isaac → Llyne): Why did you cut in? Did you hear what she said? Sounds like she's never gone outside. Her parents—what the hell? I almost puked.
(PM – Llyne): I know. But if you question her, it'll hurt her. Or worse, make her shut down. The only way is to show her what a real family looks like, and maybe she'll understand on her own.
(PM – Isaac): You better be right. If her parents are really like that, they're in for it.
(PM – Llyne): Then let's survive first. You can rage later.
Rona: Is Isaac's family great too?
Isaac: Way better.
Rona: Wow! Tell! Tell!
Isaac: My family was just the three of us. We lived in the jungle. My dad was a huntsman. My mom loved flowers—wanted to be a florist. When I wasn't hunting, I helped her plant them.
Llyne: Were?
Rona: Aww~
Isaac: She died when I was eight. Unknown illness. After that, we moved to the city so I could study. Life was rough. We were poor. So… I turned to hacking. Eventually stabilized us. And now, here I am.
Llyne: Wow… we've all got our stories, huh.
Rona: No worry, Isaac! Now you have us—Llyne and me!
Isaac smiled faintly, nodding.
[Congratulations. You have completed all 3 topics. Your bond levels are now MAX.]
[Rewards unlocked: Skill Sharing, Inventory Sharing, Stats Swapping.]
[Note: If a teammate is kicked from the team, these functions will be revoked.]
Isaac tapped each reward to activate them.
[Skill Sharing: Teammates can use each other's shared skill once. Shared skills do not consume MP. Duration: 30 seconds.]
[Inventory Sharing: Team members can share items freely.]
[Stats Swapping: Teammates may swap one stat with each other. Cooldown applies.]
A new prompt appeared.
[Would you like to continue the conversation? Topics remaining: School Life, Ghost Story, Romance Life, No.]
Before any of us could react, Isaac slammed the 'No' button.
Rona: Why?
Isaac: …
Rona: Ghost story scares you?
Isaac: …
Llyne: No romance life?
Isaac: …
Llyne: Dark past in school?
A bead of sweat rolled down Isaac's temple.
Llyne: Dark. Past. In. School!
Rona: Story!
Isaac: What do you guys want to know for?! Let's go to the second stage already. Hurry up!
Rona: Nuuuuuuuuu~