We walked through the door and entered a circular courtyard with a dome above us. The walls were made of pitch black bricks, and our only light came from the torches around the dome and a chandelier hanging at the centre of the roof. As we moved further inside, I noticed the faint smell of incense drifting through the room.
Four separate doors surrounded the courtyard, including the one we had just entered from. They were arranged like North, South, East and West. The whole place felt like a dungeon straight out of a game.
What surprised me even more was that there were actual people here.
First, I spotted a man who looked like a businessman. He wore a navy suit with a tie and carried a briefcase. He stood stiffly, glancing around as if he had a meeting to attend.
Next was a couple. It was obvious from the way they held hands tightly. They looked to be in their mid thirties.
A little to my left stood four men in high visibility vests, cement stains covering them from shoulder to knee. Construction workers, without a doubt.
To my right, I heard chatter coming from a group of six. Three boys and three girls. They had backpacks and casual clothes, so I guessed they were college students.
No one acknowledged us. They acted like we were invisible. That was fine by me. We were clearly the youngest in the room.
And the weakest.
That made fifteen of us in total.
A faint beep echoed above us. It sounded like a raindrop hitting metal.
"Welcome to the early selection. I am glad you are all here," said a voice from nowhere. It sounded feminine and calm.
"Hey, where are we? Explain yourself. We are not here to waste time. We have work," one of the construction workers shouted.
The others nodded in agreement.
That was strange. Did they not realise we entered a dungeon?
"In due time, I will explain," the voice replied.
It continued, "Once the selection begins, the Codex will introduce itself and explain the task you must complete. Until then, good luck."
Before I could think, the floor vanished beneath us.
All fifteen of us fell.
My body froze in shock, but Toby reacted completely differently. His scream echoed so loudly that I could barely hear the wind rushing past us. At that point, I was not sure which was worse: falling to our deaths or Toby's unholy screaming.
The ground rushed toward us. Panic filled my chest. For a brief moment, I truly believed we were going to die.
But when we hit the ground, there was no pain at all. The floor felt soft and bouncy, almost like a trampoline.
"We live!" Toby shouted.
Then his face changed instantly. I knew exactly why.
A floating screen appeared in front of me. It formed out of thin air, which confused me even more. At the top was my name.
Rivian Kei
Below it was a title.
Unborn Dual Wielder
Underneath was a bar, but everything else below it was covered in question marks. At the bottom of the screen were small circles. The second and third circles were flashing red.
"Hey, can you see my screen?" Toby asked.
I dismissed my own screen with a wave of my hand and turned to him.
There was nothing floating in front of him at all. Not even a trace of a screen.
I shook my head and asked if he could see the third circle that was flashing red on mine. He nodded, so I opened my screen again and selected the second circle.
A single word appeared at the top.
Knowledge
Below it were two sections marked with red exclamation points.
Introduction to the Codex
The Shops Information
I clicked The Shops Information first and found a list of details. It said the dungeon was both a puzzle and treasure type. It also mentioned that the dungeon layout had been saved to my phone in the photos section.
It was the same information we received before entering. Was this really important?
I looked around the corridor we had landed in. Apart from Toby, no one else was here. The smell of incense still lingered, and the only sound was the flickering of the torches lining the walls.
I then tapped the introduction. A long explanation appeared. It described the Codex as an evolved means of human survival. It gives the user abilities that were previously impossible. Each person is assigned a weapon they must use, and they cannot hold any other weapon. If they try, their hand will phase through it like a ghost. Skills can be improved through skill points, usually earned through experience.
It continued by explaining Titles, which function like permanent abilities that influence combat or non combat traits. Then it explained the bar beneath the title, which stores Masked Points, or MP. These points act like currency and are essential for survival, but they cannot be used to unlock new skills.
The message ended with a warning. Full access requires the user to be eighteen or older. Anyone younger has partial access and cannot activate their weapon.
So in other words, we could not defend ourselves. Brilliant.
I tapped the third circle next. The screen shifted to a new section.
Quests
Below it was an icon of a door with a mask in the centre. It read: Available.
Everything else was covered in question marks.
I opened the quest. As I read it, my stomach twisted. I felt faint. The words were enough to make me want to throw up.
Objective
Escape the dungeon by any means possible
Conditions
Only two are allowed to escape
Only two are allowed to remain in this dungeon
A firework noise will indicate that someone has perished
Current count: 15 remain
This was bad. Terrifying. A nightmare come true. We were children. We had no weapons. Every other person here had a huge advantage over us. If they followed the rules, they could kill us with no consequences.
Unless they pitied us. Maybe-
"Hey, snap out of it. Now is not the time to panic. It is not an option anymore," Toby shouted.
"Come on. Between us, you know I'm good at the physical stuff only. You are an all rounder. Use that."
I looked at him and realised he was scared, just like I was. The difference was that he refused to show it, while my fear was painted all over my face.
I forced myself to think. Come on Rivian, gather your senses. There has to be a way to survive.
The construction worker had shouted earlier, asking where we were. That meant they did not receive any dungeon information. They did not know the type or layout. If that was the case, then they probably did not have the map saved to their phones.
I pulled out my phone to confirm. The map was still there.
Toby noticed my expression and smirked as if he knew I found something important.
The map showed eight levels. The first was the courtyard. The other seven were confusing mazes. Trap areas were marked with spikes. Treasure spots were marked with coins.
A plan formed in my mind. We needed to go deeper. The others would likely move upward, hoping to escape or fight. If they did find a staircase leading down, fear of the unknown would stop them. They would avoid unnecessary risk until they secured safety.
They're scared of the unknown, we understand it.
For us, the danger was everywhere. We had no choice but to go where they would not.
I suggested it to Toby. "We go downstairs. We have the map. We can hide and wait out the quest. They will look for each other first, not kids."
Toby responded with a thumbs up and a grin that somehow looked menacing. Another reminder of why socialising is not his strong point.
We began walking through the corridor. Our footsteps broke the silence, and the smell of incense remained strong.
Ahead of us was an intersection. Four paths. Straight. Right. Left. Or forward and then a right turn only a short distance after.
I signalled Toby to go forward. He obeyed and walked ahead confidently, only to smack face first into thin air.
"Ow. Is this wall invisible or something?" he cried out.
He turned and caught me desperately holding in my laughter. You cannot blame me. He bounced back like a rubber ball.
"Maybe it is a mirror," I said with a grin. Toby glared at me in disgust.
He was about to retort when he suddenly grabbed me and pulled me into the left corridor. He covered my mouth with his hand, signaling me to be quiet.
I was about to push him away when I heard voices. Not one. Multiple. I peeked around the corner and froze.
The college group.
"Hey, look. We found another intersection," one said.
They rushed in. My heart sank. I braced for the worst, but something was odd. They stared straight ahead.
They did not see us at all.
One of the girls spoke. "Oh look, there is a mirror. I should check how I look."
"Is that necessary?" a boy replied tiredly.
"Well, not really. I just want the remaining people to see beauty before they die. That is when they will appreciate it."
"You are sick. Come on, let us go left. We outnumber everyone. After we finish them, we will find a way to cheat the system."
As the group moved on, one of them added, "Wait. Weren't there two little kids with us?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"If we find them, we should manipulate them into joining us. Since they cannot use weapons anyway, they are useless. Then we make them fight and kill each other."
"That is even more sick," another boy said.
They all laughed as they walked deeper into the corridor. Their laughter echoed long after they left. It bounced around the maze. It filled my ears.
And I realised something terrifying.
I could not move.
I was frozen in fear.