Hearing the scream, Dale ran down the stairs looking for the source, reaching a long corridor that seemed to stretch with no end towards darkness. Stained walls, broken tiles on the floor and an unsettling mist made for an appropriate decoration. He could still hear the screams, but there was something else.

Whispers.

He couldn’t understand what was being said, but the ominous noise reminiscent of horror movies was there as if an unseen crowd was around him. Running along the corridor, he soon noticed something strange. Neither the screams nor the whispers changed in intensity as he moved. The end of the corridor was still out of view.

Without time to waste, Dale thought about his previous experiences and concluded. It usually triggered by itself, but he decided to experiment.

EXCLUSIVE SKILL TRACE OF INSANITY ACTIVATED

The whispers ceased, he still couldn’t see the end of the corridor, but the feeling of infinity was gone. The screams now had a clear source and Dale ran towards it worried about the others, stopping in front of a decaying door. Opening it, Dale was confronted with a despairing situation.

In the middle of the room, Kyle was unconscious on the from with a wound on his head. In a corner of the room, Nina seemed to be holding Hazel’s hand. When his eyes adapted to the lighting, he realized she was struggling to keep a hold of Hazel.

From that same corner, sprouting from a hole on the floor were several vine-like appendages wrapped around Hazel’s body, pulling her towards the hole. Both women were trying their best to hold on, but it didn’t seem the struggle would last much longer. Seeing some of the tentacles sneaking behind Nina, Dale dashed forward and arrived just in time to slash them with his sword, making a loud thud. These vines felt a lot sturdier than the creature’s from the rooftop.

Startled by the noise, Nina’s grip waned and Hazel was rapidly dragged down. Before Nina had the chance to throw herself forwards, Dale grabbed her and jumped back. At the same time, the remaining vines attacked all at the same time in an attempt to grab them both and barely failed. It seemed they couldn’t stretch further. Biting her lips and realizing getting caught wasn’t the solution, Nina stopped struggling and tried to calm down.

— What happened here? — Dale asked while checking on Kyle.

— We were looking for a place to recover and got attacked by that thing. Kyle was struck and Oliver was dragged right before you arrived. I knew you had a plan to deal with that creature, but if we knew you’d do it so fast, we would’ve stayed with you.

With a confused look on his face, Dale retorted.

— What do you mean fast? I was with that thing for at least half an hour. Is that fast?

Nina replied with an incredulous expression — Half an hour? What are you talking about? We’ve just left… Fuck, this place is messing with our minds too.

— I think so. Before we think about the next step, we have to get out of this room. Help me with Kyle.

Without wasting time, Nina helped Dale support the unconscious Kyle and they left the room.

— I gather you have a way to get us out of this corridor? — Asked Nina.

— Something like that — Answered Dale. After getting rid of the whispers, the doors that previously looked the same now appeared distinct. Looking for the least weathered door, Dale settled on a room and opened it. Inside it, they found several rows of tables and chairs, a layout you’d find in any school.

After checking for vines and other threats, they laid Kyle on the ground and Dale proceeded to address his wound. Cleaning it with some water from the bag they received, Dale noticed it was smaller than when they were in the previous room.

— I guess he won’t need help.

— He probably has high vitality — Said Nina.

Dale agreed. He realized it after his battle on the rooftop. His strained muscles recovered much faster than he expected. It most likely had to do with the “System”.

— You seem to know a bit about this place. You didn’t seem surprised by Amy’s explanation.

— I know enough to get by — Nina looked at Dale with deep meaningful eyes — We’ve been planning to come here for a while.

Before Dale could ask what she meant, Kyle finally moved.

— What happened? Is everyone alright? — Remembering what happened, Kyle got nervous after seeing there were only three of them.

Nina explained what happened, how Hazel and Oliver were dragged, and how Dale arrived and they reached the current room.

— The others were taken? — Kyle looked at Nina and lowered his head — I’m sorry, if I had been more careful I would’ve been able to help.

— Don’t worry, we’ll get them back — Said Nina.

— Are they still alive? — Kyle asked surprised by how calm Nina looked.

— That seems to be the case — Said Dale — Judging by how it knocked you out, if that thing wanted to kill them, it wouldn’t need to drag them down. They’re probably trapped somewhere. We might not have a lot of time, but there’s still hope.

— Exactly — Exclaimed Nina. She look at Dale and proceeded — Dale, isn’t it? It looks like you have a way of navigating this place. Can I count on you to help?

— Yes, in exchange, I’d like your help with the rest of this introduction mission.

— The rest of the mission?

— Considering my experience with that thing on the rooftop, I don’t think we’ll be able to fight those things individually using wooden swords. Like we thought before the mission started, we’ll have to help each other if we want to survive.

Nina and Kyle looked at Dale trying to guess what sort of battle had transpired, without knowing it was mostly him running around and dodging for an inch of his life.

— So, are you guys in? — Asked Dale.

— Yes — Both answered without hesitation.

— Well then. Let’s prepare for the rescue mission.