Mandatory System Event in 00:00:01.

…

System Call: Citywide Secret Dungeon Tiendas City Opening Now!

All Hunters Must Enter Within One Hour Of Gate Load Or Suffer System Punishment!

Main Quest Story Unveiled: There Can Only Be One!

1st Objective: Defeat Demon Lord Belziarde In The Depths Of The City!

Every single person outside of Tiendas City, from the previous residents, to Hunters who just happened to be passing by, wakes up for this announcement. All around the city, gates in the wall which were sealed off by green barriers of light suddenly open as the barriers fade away. A great roar erupts from what seemed to be possibly over a million people and shakes the world.

“LET’S GO!!!”

“KILL IT!”

“IT’S ON!”

The enthusiasm of so many people, some trying to reclaim their home, some trying to survive, and many trying to level up is undeniable. In the corner of everyone’s vision, a certain number appears. I stare at it and even I felt shock at how high it was.

Tiendas City Hunter Counter: 1,532,781!

Counter Refreshes In One Hour.

Yin looked around wildly in every direction but makes no move to get up. She’s remembering my words from last night, which is good. I stand, and dust myself off, before extending a hand.

“I thought we weren’t going to go in first?” She takes my hand with a look of confusion. I look around, observing the masses ahead, charging inside. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone tripped and was crushed in the stampede. It’s like watching a herd of sheep go wild during feeding time. Everyone wants to be the first in.

“We’re not. But it’ll look suspicious if we’re too calm. Come on, there’s some space opening up. Let’s get a better view.” I hug the terrified girl close. Hopefully I didn’t destroy her fighting spirit by revealing the truth. I think I know Yin, even if she does manage to surprise me a lot. Somewhere inside her, there’s a warrior. It just needs time to come out.

“Okay.”

We let the waves of people surge on by, acting like we’re scared. To be fair, the gate in front of us is massive. The System has obviously changed the city’s layout and composition. Whatever it originally looked like, that no longer applies. Now the place looks old, almost gothic in atmosphere. Skyscrapers crumble despite being built less than a decade ago. At the top of the entrance, a brilliant archway covered in stone gargoyles gleams. Once people would have lusted after the precious gemstones set in their eyes. However, in the Calamity, no one cares for such trinkets. Waves of people charge in, and shouts of surprise come.

“My god! It’s totally different! What happened to Ashton Boulevard!”

“This isn’t how I remember! How can it be so big?”

“It’s all changed! Completely changed!”

People scream as they discover how the System has remolded their city to suit its purposes. I’m not surprised. This was commonplace before. The power of the System is beyond human comprehension. And this is no mere dungeon. It is a Citywide Secret Dungeon.

I shake my head as after half an hour, the stream of people finally begins to slow down. Yin and I are one of only a few people still standing outside this particular archway. Though there are others still waiting, it doesn’t mean anything. Many are just ragtag people too afraid to enter. Over a dozen gateways just like this are arranged all around the city walls, so whoever instigated the stampede could be at any of them. Cocking my ear, I notice that the sound of footsteps has grown faint.

“Should we go in now?” Yin asks. I’m considering doing just what she asks. To be honest, the city is massive and from out here, we’re really not getting much information. Whoever is pulling the strings is probably frustrated as well. If we go in now, it’ll make us look less suspicious. Taking one more quick glance at the others waiting, I try to see if anyone seems suspicious. Most are pretty ordinary, tattered clothing, fearful faces. They are not who I am looking for. Instead, it is those who seem too calm, too composed, or even too excited. A few people here catch my eye.

There’s a man in a white robe holding a huge mace. It looks like he managed to loot it from a museum. Middle-aged, he could be confused for a priest or clergyman. However, it’s too early for magic wielders to exist yet, so I bet he just happens to fit the image.

Standing halfway inside the archway, there’s a small woman in a business suit with what appears to be a club. She swings it nervously but doesn’t seem entirely afraid to enter. Not too suspicious. The one who really draws the eye is a man patiently waiting outside the archway.

He has black robes covering his whole body, and they’re all puffed out as if there’s something hard beneath. From the looks of it, he’s wearing plate armor. A sword, the king of weapons during the apocalypse is sheathed at his side. No matter how he tries to hide it, he sticks out. I make a mental note of his appearance as someone to watch, though it’s hard to miss him.

“Actually…let’s wait a bit.” I change my mind. I don’t want to go in before this guy. If there’s one thing I dislike, it’s having people at my back. The streets in front of us have mostly emptied of people, and the city seems almost abandoned again. Due to the changes made by the System, even with over a million people entering, it’s not enough. The city swallows them all and barely seems to fill up. Over time, people begin to enter as they grow impatient and nothing bad happens. The small woman in the business suit is approached by the white-robed priest. They exchange words for a bit and then shake hands before entering together. A few more people dribble out until it’s just us and the man who looks like he’s wearing armor. To my surprise, he approaches us as the timer counts down.

Time To Enter Dungeon: 00:05:43.

“You two waiting for something?” He has a surprisingly young voice. From up close, I can see the face under the hood. Maybe a few years older than us, a man with black hair and dark eyes. Yin starts to answer but I cut her off.

“No. Feel free to go on ahead. We’re just afraid of what’s inside.” I say quietly. My hand squeezes Yin’s shoulder to tell her now is not the time to speak. The black robed man leans in and I stand my ground, holding Yin close. Tucked inside her jacket, the ginger cat chirps as she backs away.

“Huh. Weird. I just thought since you two looked like that, you might be stronger than the rest.” The man shrugs, his voice going low and quiet. “You two want to party up? Unlike these idiots, I don’t think being the first one inside will end well.” My eyes narrow. I keep my breathing light and regular, but I can hear Yin’s growing faster. This girl really needs to learn to hide her emotions better in the future. The man is watching us, his face under the hood seeming very keen on our expressions.

“I told you, we’re not interested. Thank you for the offer.” I point to the gateway. The timer’s ticking away. “You should get going, you’re going to miss your chance. Unless there’s something else you need?”

“Heh…if you insist.” He continues to look deeply into our faces. “I just thought it’s strange. A girl who has a sword traveling with an unarmed guy? Wouldn’t you normally be the one to carry the weapon?”

“It’s her sword.” This time it’s my turn to shrug. “What do you care?”

“Well, the name’s Jian. I used to be a corrections officer who dealt with killers and murderers. The worst scum of humanity you understand? Those kinds of people, in a time like this, would definitely be the first to take every weapon for themselves, even from their girlfriends. And yet…here you are. A man with the same eyes…but you let your woman hold a sword for you. Heh, maybe I was wrong. You’re not who I thought you were. Guess I should look for someone else to form a party. See ya.” The man finally gives Yin and I one last look before striding into the gateway. Once he’s gone, Yin sags into my arms.

“He was scary!” She complains. “And he insulted your eyes. I like your eyes. What a prick!” The cat in her arms meows as if to agree. I take one last look at the timer.

00:03:01.

“Let’s go. We’re the last ones at this gate.” I lead Yin inside, though a heavy expression has settled in my chest. The black robed man’s words echo in my head.

Killers and murderers…a man with the same eyes…

We pass through the archway.

System Notification:

You Are Now A Participant In Tiendas City Main Quest-

There Can Only Be One.

As we enter, I linger outside by the gate for a few seconds. Yin gives me a curious look, but I shake my head.

“Wait. I want to see the Hunter Counter refresh.” After a few minutes, an hour passes from the opening of the event and the timer hits zero. Suddenly, from outside the gate, the barriers of light shoot up again. Only instead of being green, this time they are blue. The sunlight outside weakens and is dyed an unnatural dark color as it passes through, as if the world has become stormy. Yin jumps as she sees the change.

“We’re locked in.” She whispers. I nod, having expected this. If this event happened in my previous life and no one escaped then it must have been the kind of quest to keep anyone from leaving once it began. Keeping a wary eye on the streets around us, I take a look at the counter. How many people have already died?

1,400,038.

Instantly, I go on high alert.

That many??

“Stay close, stay quiet!” I pull Yin down gently. We’re too exposed by the Gate. Hopefully whatever killed over a hundred thousand people has already been dealt with by those who entered first.

“Hey what’s…oh my god. The counter went down! It went down by a lot!” She practically shrieks as I drag her to the side of the road. Looking around, I try to get my bearings but I’ve never been to Tiendas City before. Plus, the System would have changed it anyway. Broken towers of warped steel, crumbling apartment complexes, and everywhere this slight, pervasive wind which continuously blows bits of sand into our faces. This is what most people thought the apocalypse should look like. The System likes to play games like this. Or maybe it’s not a game. Maybe it’s trying to show us something. Regardless, this massive city has fallen into ruin.

“Do you recognize anything? You had family here right?” I ask Yin. She shakes her head furiously at first, her eyes wandering all around in panic.

“Uhm! Um…it’s all different now, like those people said. None of this even looks like how Tiendas was! Except…maybe, there! That tower, the tallest one!” She points off into the distance where a dull lightning rod still pierces into the sky. “Tiendas Tower! I’ve been there for sightseeing! Ugh, I wonder what my cousins are doing? There’s no way we’re going to be able to find them like this!”

“Maybe we’ll run into them along the way, who knows. Listen, something has already eliminated a ton of Hunters. This is just the beginning. We need to get moving and find some things for you to level off of. For now, everyone’s going to just be figuring things out and trying to find the boss. Be careful…if you see anything strange, let me know immediately!” I let go of Yin’s arm and start to walk down the cracked sidewalk. However, something isn’t right…

*Clack*

I whirl around instantly drawing my cleaver from inside my coat in one smooth motion. Yin gasps, pulling out her katana as well. My eyes scan furiously, trying to see what’s wrong. However, there’s nothing behind us but the entrance. The archway is filled with blue light preventing anyone from leaving the city. Up above, at the top, four stone gargoyles stare down at us heartlessly, their gemstone eyes gleaming.

“Did I imagine it?” I take my time examining every inch of the archway. But there’s nothing except the creepy gargoyles.

“What was it, Hei?” Yin asks in confusion. However, even I don’t have an answer.

“Nothing.” I start walking deeper into the city. This time I don’t go too far ahead of Yin. Just a step or two. I’m not sure if I should be worried about something coming from in front of back. Despite my assurance, I know what I felt.

Something in this city was watching us with killing intent.