"Wow, this place is huge," Daru marveled. The way in had started with going down a flight of stairs, into a large, open hallway. It felt damp and musty, like a sauna. Not that he had ever been to one, but wasn't that what they were like? Or maybe just like being in the basement on a humid summer day.

"First time?" asked Hal.

"Great, we're even more screwed," muttered Milo.

"Dude!" Hal turned and poked him in the side.

"Hey, I said what I said," Milo replied, shrugging unapologetically.

"Isn't it your first time too, Milo?" said Rei, elbowing him.

"Sh-shut up! And stop poking me!"

Gav chuckled. "Yeah, it's Daru's first round," he replied. "I've been here before though, so don't worry too much."

"Oh, so you told him how it works, right?" asked Hal.

Gav let out a short laugh. "No."

"Wait, what?" Daru said. "You said you couldn't explain it, like you had to experience it or something."

Milo facepalmed. "Oh, great. You got wiped early, didn't you?"

"Nah, I came in later, that's why."

Their talk regressed into other matters, so Daru surveyed his surroundings. They were still in the hallway, though it had descended downwards on a slight angle a little while back. The floor was completely flat and made of polished stone, while the walls were made of bricks. Torches on the walls lit up the tunnel, but they were still fairly dim, making it so that they could only see around ten meters ahead of them.

Then he turned his attention to the guide. The staff member stopped at times, made a sound, and then continued at the same pace. It didn't seem like anyone else had noticed.

"Hey, excuse me, sir?" Daru asked, a little tentatively.

The guide didn't respond, so he repeated it.

"Yes?" the man asked. He sounded a little weary, and his appearance reflected that. His eyes were pinkish and had small bags underneath, and it seemed that he had fallen asleep while shaving his beard.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Hah? What do you mean, kid?" He yawned, blinking his eyes rapidly.

"Well, you seem to be... kind of stopping sometimes, and-"

The man sighed. "Oh yeah, you said you were a first-timer. It's going to be real rough for you." He slurred his words with an accent, almost like a southern one.

Were we really that loud? Then again, it is a pretty big hallway, and there isn't really anyone else here. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind. "Is it really that hard?"

He laughed. "'Course it is. All dungeons are hard. The difficulty level's just there, so you have a general idea of what spawns."

He yawned again. "Anyway, it'll take too long to explain what I'm doing, so basically, I'm just moving through the security system here."

He stopped again, mumbled a few more words, and kept going.

A security system? For what?

If there was a security system, what was the point of the guards outside? He hadn't tried to examine them, knowing that nothing would show up, but what if that wasn't the case?

Then an idea came to him. If he observed the man's actions and looked closely at the walls, couldn't he level up his comprehension skill?

Examine(C) has failed.

He tried it on individual bricks, which also failed. There goes that idea. But at least I know that that stuff isn't something ordinary.

He glanced ahead of the guide. Still looks like there's time to kill, so let's see if I can level Examine. I've been neglecting that for a while.

Ceiling, floor, and walls all failed to be examined, as well as the staff member and the other party members. He did get some results out of the equipment they had, however.

Iron Chestplate(C) Iron Pants(C) Iron Gloves(C) Iron Boots(C)

Hal was the only one with full iron, the others had partial iron or something else. Surprisingly, Gav wasn't wearing any iron armor at all.

Ragged Cowl(C): +3 DEF, +2 AGI. A tattered hood made from the remains of plant fibers and fur scraps. Surprisingly stronger than it looks. Examine(C) has failed. ??? (UC) Bone Bracelet(UC): +5 DEF, +4 DEX. A thin bracelet made from tightly woven fibers with shards of bone attached.

Gav had a black towel wrapped around his chest, like a toga. The rest of what he was wearing, Daru assumed, were from goblins and kobolds.

He couldn't see durability, but it probably didn't matter, anyway.

I can ask him about it later.

He moved on to Milo and the twins.

Ash Bow(UC): +5 ATK, +5 VIT. A bow made from the branches of an ash tree. Apprentice Mage's Staff(UC): +5 INT, +5 WIS. A staff crafted by an experienced worker with a small jewel attached. Oak Staff(UC): +3 ATK, +5 INT. A staff made from the branches of an oak tree.

Milo's bow was jet black, with a thick frame and thin bowstring. Rei's staff, unlike his own, looked like something made in a furniture store. A shiny red gem was attached to a white wood base, like a generic fantasy staff. Rui's staff had a hooked shape and wrinkles all over the body like she had ripped it off a tree.

Uncommon equipment? Are those monster drops too? But what kind of monster would've dropped Rei's staff? It didn't look crudely made like Rui's and had a shine to it, like a wooden veneer. Probably an elite or something.

Aside from their weapons, they had a few trinkets like Gav, but they also looked more "modern" and less crude.

Iron Ring(C): +2 DEF, +2 DEX. A ring crafted by a somewhat inexperienced crafter. Copper Bracelet(C): +1 DEF, +2 ATK. A bracelet crafted by a somewhat inexperienced crafter. Ruby Ring(UC): +3 DEF, +5 DEX. An iron ring crafted by an experienced crafter, with a small ruby attached.

Where'd they get that? There's no way that one's a monster drop either, right? Every single piece of equipment he'd examined so far said something about an inexperienced crafter, not an experienced one. Which meant that they either got it from some big shot at the top or an NPC.

Actually, didn't they say something about how they have connections and stuff? Like how they got to skip the line or something. If they could do something like that, who knew the kinds of people they could get into contact with. Of course, it wasn't a super strong relationship, probably more like acquaintances since it was only uncommon, but it was still better than what probably everyone else had.

A noise came from behind, causing him to turn around. Another party and another guide came down the stairs, turned right, and moved through a solid wall. What the... Wait, is this why I couldn't examine the walls? Because they're not real?

They came to a dead end. The guide put his hand on it and the floor rumbled as the wall moved upwards, opening up a secret room.

So some of them are real then? Then again, it's probably magic.

Torches on the walls lit up the room. The room was simple and spacious, with nothing more than a few chairs and one table. Markings, drawn on the floor in some kind of chalk, glowed as the party entered. Rei and Rui talked to each other in hushed voices. Hal stopped talking and stretched in anticipation. Milo followed suit, looking inside his bag. And Daru and Gav stood still, silent but observant.

It's so big. And what are those lines on the ground? Some kind of magical tech or something? Daru looked at the markings, but he saw nothing that he could understand. Circles, squares, and squiggly lines in some kind of pattern, or maybe not, because now there were triangles and stars and all kinds of shit. He squinted. Were those letters? Morse code?

Comprehension(C) has become Lvl 5.

He looked at the message, taken aback a bit. Is it actually Morse code? He stared at it some more, but he didn't see a difference. Examine didn't seem to work on it either.

He raised his head, looking up and catching Milo staring at the markings, too. The walls seemed to be made of brick, but where did they get the material? As far as he remembered, you needed stone to make brick, plus some other stuff, which couldn't be found in these grasslands.

I mean, they probably moved it from somewhere, but how'd they do it with all these monsters? It's not like you can just teleport an entire building's worth of materials, right?

The guild staff clapped his hands, snapping him out of his thoughts. The markings glowed brighter, in a light blue color. Space distorted above the markings, forming a swirling, blue mass. The portal expanded so that the entire party could fit. There was no light inside the portal, so it looked more like an entrance into the dark depths of somewhere.

A screen popped up in front of the party.

Thunder Plains Dungeon

Occupants: 22

Enter?

YES

NO

Hal selected "YES." Suddenly, wind came out from the portal, sucking them in and blinding them with a flash of light.

"Good luck," the staff said, as the portal whisked them away.

He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. He was sitting down, leaning on his bag, in a grassy area. They were in an enclosed area, around the size of a football field. He patted himself down. Everything was still with him, his knuckles were on his hands, and his staff was sticking out of his bag, which he pulled out.

The first wave will commence in 5 minutes.

The first wave?

Someone yawned. Many of the players he saw as he turned his head were fully stacked, armor and everything. Bags were placed on the ground nearby or tossed next to the back wall. Everyone seemed pretty disorganized, as they talked in split groups rather than huddling together like one party he saw. Someone rummaged through their bag, taking out supplies, while another one chatted idly with her friends. Only Milo was looking around like he was, stealing glances while talking with Hal. Gav stretched himself, while Rei and Rui stood in place, still chatting amongst themselves.

That reminded him of his Conditioning skill. He stretched as well, touching his toes and arching his back.

Gav came up to him. "You ready, D?"

"I guess. I mean, I got like twenty potions, and there's like five other parties here. How hard could it be?"

Gav laughed. "Yeah, no, we're definitely screwed. We've probably only got one or two rankers, and that isn't gonna cut it."

Rankers? So like top players? But having two isn't going to do anything?

He paused, recalling the screen that popped up. "Oh yeah, and what are waves?"

Gav put his hand under his chin, thinking. "Okay, so the way that the dungeon is structured is like a survival game. You know, like a zombie game with waves and stuff. The monsters that spawn are the stuff that spawns in the plains."

Why... That makes no sense. I thought this was an rpg.

Wait. Then how did he get that bow that auto makes arrows for you? Last time I checked, the plains only has animals, and no archer monsters. There must be something else...

"Anyway, there's five floors, and each floor has three waves apparently. Also, no one's gotten past this floor yet, so yeah, we're pretty fucking screwed."

Daru scoffed. Surely it couldn't be that bad, right? "Okay, so they just spawn anywhere? And how many spawn then?"

"First wave's a hundred, second's like twenty or something, and I haven't made it to the third wave yet, though I heard a boss spawns. And, if you've noticed," he said, pointing to the other groups, "everyone's over on this side. On the other side, there's like pitfall traps and stuff, because monsters spawn out of these holes in the ground."

Daru stepped backwards. "So that place is trapped? But wait, then if we stay over here, we're safe, right?"

"D, they're rabbits. They can travel through the ground and shit."

"Wouldn't that take a long time though?"

"They're magic rabbits."

"Okay, never mind. So let's see... anything to worry about in the first wave then?"

"First wave should be... I think it's 90 regular wabbits and then 10 snipers."

Daru pictured a white rabbit standing on two legs and holding a bow with its paws. Is that where he got that bow from then?

"What do you mean by sniper?"

"It's a wabbit variant that shoots lasers from its horn. I think they're called laser wabbits, actually. It does hurt wabbits in the way though, so that's good, and it shouldn't be too hard to avoid. But it does like 10 damage, so ya still gotta be careful."

Daru opened his status. "Uh, isn't that kind of a lot?"

Gav shrugged. "I mean, it's more like a laser pointer, since it won't penetrate too much, so as long as you don't get hit in the head or something you'll probably be fine."

The first wave is starting in 30 seconds.

People around them moved. A party of all warriors grabbed shields and rushed to the front. Archers pulled back their bows in anticipation. Meanwhile, a few figures around him, including Gav, shimmered as they crept to the front line.

"What are the shields for? Didn't you say that they could dig through the ground?" Daru asked.

"Well, they could, and some of them do, but it takes a lot of time. By the way, you should stay with them." He gestured at the rest of the party. Milo was at the back, while Hal sat with his legs crossed on the ground. "No offense, but your stick will not cut it, and martial arts aren't very useful against multiple enemies."

"Then what's the point of me coming here if I can't level?"

"Do you really think a few dudes with crappy shields can hold off 100 monsters? It's only going to slow them down, and not by much."

"Wouldn't we be screwed when that happens though?"

"It's part of the dungeon strategy to let some slip through the cracks. That way, the tankers up front don't get tired out too fast because the players in the backline can just bombard the monsters with attacks."

"Isn't everyone pretty disorganized, though?" Many players were just standing around, talking to each other leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world. Then again, he realized, he and Gav probably seemed the same way to others.

Gav shrugged. "Well yeah, I mean, the strat only came out yesterday, so it's pretty obvious for some people to not know what they're doing, like those idiots," he said, gesturing to two players standing ahead of the shield men.

"Come on, let's do this!" yelled one of them, brandishing his axe arrogantly.

"Look at these fucking pussies," the other said, pointing at the shield players. "Why don't y'all go cower behind your cruddy shields elsewhere, huh? Don't blame me if you get hurt!"

"This fucking-" One of them muttered.

"Let it go, Jayce. At least you have a brain," another said, putting a hand on Jayce's chest.

"Huh? What'd you say about me, you little shit?"

The shieldman sighed. "Could you think about what you say before you actually say it? There's a hundred fucking rabbits and you think we're stupid for not going Leroy Jenkins on this shit."

"Get a load of these idiots," a third shieldbearer jumped in. "Let them die if they want. It's their choice, after all."

"Oi, show some respect, fuckers! I'm a ranker, you know!" the player growled.

The third player scoffed. "BS. Even King isn't this stupid."

"Why, you little-"

Daru looked at Gav, who was staring at something else. "Uh, shouldn't someone stop them?"

Gav shook his head. "5, 4, 3..."

"Why are you counting?"

Wave 1 has started. Monsters Remaining: 125. Good luck, intrepid adventurer.

A blue screen popped up in front of every single player, as the ground began to shake. Daru stumbled, losing his footing. Gav held on to him, helping him regain his balance.

"Thanks," Daru said.

"Don't worry about it," Gav said. "Anyway, you just stay here with them, okay?" He got down on one knee, in a sprinting position.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm pretty fast, so I can just hit and run." Then he activated Stealth and rushed ahead.

The shield line quickly organized itself. The so-called ranker and his friend had rushed ahead and died almost instantly. Dozens of rabbits popped out of the ground like magic and swarmed at the players.

Isn't that a shit ton of rabbits?! What the fu-

Arrows streamed down from the sky, most hitting their mark due to sheer spam, but they didn't slow the rabbits down by much.

Ugh, it's so loud! He covered his ears.

He heard loud clanging sounds from the fighting up ahead. A laser blasted a hole in someone's body, probably one of the shield men. The player collapsed with a grunt of surprise and vanished in a flash of light.

The lasers are that big?!

Soon enough, the frontline became a bloody mess. The shield line ended up working, for a little bit. At the very least, it stopped some of the blood from getting everywhere.

He retched. Good thing the bodies disappeared after a few seconds. I wish the blood would disappear too, he thought, the images still vivid in his mind. One of the tanker's faces had gotten blown off by a stray laser, killing them instantly. His body had fallen to the ground, but no one took notice.

What are those guys doing? Four players approached the shield bearers with long metal poles. Are those spears?

"Sorry, coming through!" The players pushed past the shielders and into the horde. One of them went down immediately, swinging wildly and screaming. The others pushed his body ahead, using him as a shield.

They slashed down with their spears, creating a path. The shield wall advanced, pushing the monsters back. A few players grabbed their bags and placed them behind the shieldmen, bolstering the wall.

The rabbits fought back, to no avail. Arrows and spears skewered those who got close, and rogues were going after the backline.

Hal stood behind a shield in the defense line. Rei and Rui worked in the backline, administering potions. Milo kept firing arrows, while someone nearby, probably a crafter, fitted arrowheads onto sticks and passed them along.

Everything seemed to be going well. Unfortunately, Gav forgot to mention one thing to Daru.

A party member has died.

A giant, yellow laser ripped through the center shielder. It pierced all the way to the backline, killing two archers, a warrior, and-

"Rei!" Rui and Milo screamed. Rei stood in shock, looking down at her chest, as if she couldn't believe she had a gaping hole in her stomach. She coughed up blood, which seemed to leak from every place in her body.

Rui ran over, a potion in both hands, but it was too late.

Rei's eyes rolled back, and she flopped to the ground, breaking into shards of light and vanishing. Seconds later, her bag, close by, vanished as well.

Rui gritted her teeth for a moment. Then she turned back to face the horde. Milo was the same, all signs of them being distraught gone.

Suddenly, a blue screen popped up in front of everyone.

Monsters Remaining: 77. Players Remaining: 26. The wave is ending in ten minutes.

With only 3 shielders left, the shield wall simply fell apart. The spearmen were closed in on all sides and drowned in the mass of monsters.

Rabbits surged to meet the players as everyone suddenly braced for a close combat fight. Archers hastily ran to the edges of the field but monsters swam out of the ground, closing in on them. The remaining players were surrounded on all sides.

And just like that, chaos ensued.

Hal let out a roar, running to meet the wabbits with other warriors, who brandished their swords. Blood splattered all over his face, but he wiped it away with his hand and carved a path.

3 wabbits came running at Daru. He jumped backwards, dodging one, and slammed another with his staff. The third rammed its horn into his foot.

Iron Boots(C) Durability has decreased by 7.

Daru gritted his teeth and kicked the monster away. Luckily, his armor protected him from taking damage, but he didn't think it could take another hit.

The one he dodged came back, jumping at his chest. It opened its mouth wide, its jagged teeth glinting in the air. It had a fleshy welt in its side from where he had kicked it.

He swung at it and batted it out of the air, aiming for the spot he had hit it. It landed on its back, where a warrior ran her sword through its chest.

An impact from the back caused him to stagger. "Sorry," someone yelled.

Iron Chestplate(C) Durability has decreased by 5.

He reached behind him and pulled out an arrow. The tip was slightly dented but still sharp.

"Sorry, could I get that back?" An archer asked, looking a little annoyed. Daru frowned, studying them. Their armor was dented in some places, but they definitely didn't look like they had been fighting much. Hell, they weren't even breaking a sweat. Not a trace of remorse could be found on their face.

Daru stared at them. "Yeah, I think I'm keeping this."

"Wh- but I need that! You can't just take that!"

"You can't just shoot arrows at people either."

"It was an accident! Now give it back, there's no time to argue-"

"The monsters outnumber us 5 to 1, do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Urgh, give it back! I need th-" He bent over, muttering a curse. A wabbit had stuck its horn into his leg.

"Hey, wait a second! I know you!" The same warrior that had helped Daru earlier said, butting her sword into the archer's face.

"Eh? Oh my god, wait really?" They sounded excited. "You're one of my fans-"

"You're the douchebag that's been pKing people in the forest, aren't ya!"

"Wh-what?! What do you mean?! I haven't killed anyone-"

Wait, wasn't there a streamer that was sniping people in the forest? Daru thought. He turned away, fending off some more monsters. The remaining players had hastily stacked up bags and shields to form a makeshift barricade, but the monsters were still pushing through, though in lesser numbers.

"I remember you shooting me in the head and killing my friend!" he overheard.

The archer sputtered. "L-listen, I don't even know who you are-"

"Oi, will you two stop messing around already?!" A warrior yelled, cutting through a wabbit. "I could use some help here!"

"Sorry, but this guy just tried to kill my friend here!" The warrior yelled back.

"No, I didn't!" The archer stammered out, their face turning red.

"Ah, just leave him alone! The guards'll take care of it later!" replied the player.

Daru kicked away a wabbit that had made its way through. He slammed his staff down on it before grabbing it by the ears and kneeing it in the face. Then he picked up the body and threw it at the horde, where it made a slight impact. Close combat had its pros and cons, and right now, he was facing some of the cons.

First off, close combat needed a lot of health and defense, but he didn't have much of either. The good thing was he hadn't taken a lot of damage yet.

Iron Boots(C) Durability has decreased by 3. Leather Pants(C) Durability has decreased by 4.

The bad news was that he was slowly running out of durability. He could feel the holes in his pants and shoes.

Of course, the more pressing issue was that for every monster he killed, 2 more replaced it. They'd get close, stab, get out, repeat.

Even with the modification, his staff didn't really help, especially against multiple opponents. Kicks and punches weren't very good either, since he was being attacked from multiple angles, and every move left him open.

Luckily, there were other players nearby. Unluckily, most of them had their own monsters that they were fighting, and the only two not fighting were a bit preoccupied.

A rabbit jumped up and kicked him in the side, pushing him into the warrior, who had grabbed hold of the archer by the throat. He reached for his throat, trying to pry her hands off. The warrior grunted and let go, pushing the archer into the swarm.

"H-hey, wait, what are you-" He stumbled and fell face-first onto a horn, screaming

The rabbits pounced on the archer, stabbing him in the chest. He let out a short scream before the light took his body away.

"Need some help?" The warrior said, extending a hand. Daru took it and stood up, leaning on his staff for support. His armor was heavily tattered and his leg had a stab wound.

Fuck, that hurt a lot. I really need to get stronger. Daru looked back at the place where the archer had vanished. A chill ran down his spine.

What are they doing?

The rabbits were focused on the ground, their heads moving up and down. Loud crunching noises could be heard, as if they were eating something. But there was nothing there, was there? That was the spot where the archer had vanished, after he died.

He gaped as the body reappeared in view. Each monster's mouth was stained with blood. Mangled guts and intestines spilled out of the archer's chest. He had no eyes left, only empty sockets. His face was torn into pieces, the bone showing underneath. And despite all this, his body was twitching, moving, as he struggled and screamed.

Daru looked away quickly, resisting the urge to throw up.

Jesus Christ, what the fuck?!

Seriously, why was it so realistic? It almost looked like it was actually real, even though it was just a game.

But wait. Did this mean that the bodies didn't actually disappear? Then...

Does this mean that...

He looked around, hoping that his suspicions weren't true. And then he learned that hope is called hope for a reason.

Everyone around him kept fighting, like nothing was wrong. Even though their boots were soaked with blood. Even though they were stepping on corpses, their friends, party members, the fallen. A sea of blood coated the grass.

He hurled. Nothing came out. He pinched himself.

It's just a game. Come on, there's no way this would happen. Then he realized something. He wasn't holding anything.

He looked at his hands. What happened to my weapons? He felt something slick and cold on his legs.

He looked down at himself and gagged. Oh my god, it's chunky! Pieces of bone and still-twitching flesh floated in the mix, sticking to his legs, not to mention clumps of dirt turning it a disgusting black color. Decaying rabbit innards and guts gave it a ghastly smell, almost causing him to throw up again. He shook it off, stumbling backward.

"Argh!" He tripped over something, falling into the liquid with a splash. Blood covered his armor, seeping into the cracks. No one pay him any heed. Instead, they kept on fighting, yelling, their faces splattered red as the sky shone down on-

Was the sky always that red?

Fuck, something's on me... What the hell? That's disgusting! A half-eaten hand had gotten stuck on his armor.

"Ugh, get off!" He tried to kick it off, to no avail. "Urgh..." He reached down to pry it off with his fingers, but something held him back.

"What the-"

Something twisted him around and shoved him face-first into the muck.

He gasped and struggled, arms and legs flailing. His vision was dyed red and blurry so he couldn't see. He felt more weights press down on him, their cold touch on his skin, like a hundred different hands pressing him into the earth.

I can't breathe, dammit!

Blood rushed into his lungs. His vision grew dark and darker. His body struggled to breathe while also throwing up simultaneously.

I can't...

His limbs grew limp, his consciousness fading. He couldn't feel anything anymore. Someone was shouting in his ears, but it felt so far away...