Elizabeth groaned as she rubbed the ointment on the large bruise that stretched across her chest. Loppy hopped up to her as she flinched from the pain, nuzzling her hand comfortingly. The girl smiled down at the rabbit, both turning to look at Jessica, who was fast asleep on the cave floor, her jacket draped over her as she twitched and muttered in her sleep.
“Go to her,” Elizabeth whispered, watching as the rabbit hopped over to its master, the bandages wrapped around its front leg making the movement slightly awkward.
This changes things, Elizabeth thought, We’re going to have to stay even longer, at least until Loppy’s leg heals so we can continue hunting and then fight the big rabbit that guards the exit.
Sighing, she checked their supplies. They’d already been in the Dungeon for three days, and they only had three granola bars, and half a bottle of water left. There was a small pond nearby, and the survival kits came with six chlorine tablets, so they could at least have safe water for a while, but the problem would be food. Elizabeth checked the piles of items they’d collected from the rabbits they’d hunted so far, all pelts and horns, not a single piece of meat appearing in the strange chests, and the bodies of the rabbits simply disappeared after a while.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered as she looked over at her friend, the girl clinging to Loppy as she cried in her sleep.
------
“She’s where?”
“In a Dungeon,” Ryan said again as he sat opposite Chris, the two now in the man’s office instead of the sterile interrogation room, “Some of her friends reported it two days ago, just before you left your own Dungeon.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?!” Chris roared, standing up as the air in the room began to blow, scattering papers everywhere.
“I only just found out today as well,” Ryan replied calmly, “I’m sorry.”
“Take me there, now,” Chris growled.
“Why?”
“So I can go in and rescue her!” he shouted back.
“That’s impossible,” Ryan shook his head.
“Why?!”
“Because the Dungeons are instanced.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“That you won’t find them even if you enter the same Dungeon at the same Difficulty,” Ryan explained, “You can only enter with a group if all of you are present and agree to go together. If another group goes in after the first, they’ll end up in a different version, or instance, of the Dungeon.”
“So, there’s nothing I can do?” Chris asked, his shoulders slumping forwards as he gritted his teeth.
“Luckily, they entered the Dungeon at the Tutorial Difficulty, so even if they die in the Dungeon, they will just appear outside it,” Ryan tried to comfort the man, “I’m not saying that the experience of dying is pleasant, but it’s better than them actually being dead.”
“You keep saying ‘them’,” Chris muttered, “Who else is in there with her?”
“Currently? Another boy and a girl,” Ryan said, “Dylan Parker and Jessica Manderville.”
“I know Jess, she’s Beth’s best friend, but I don’t know this other guy,” Chris growled again, “He better not touch her, or I’ll-.”
“You’ll what?” Ryan cut him off, “Do I need to remind you that you’re currently confined to these premises not only for your own safety, but for that of the public as well? Do you have any idea what would happen if people found out that a civilian could gain enough power to topple a country just by surviving a Hell Difficulty Dungeon?”
“They’d flock to the Dungeons,” Chris sighed, flopping down in the chair as he looked at the trashed office, “Sorry about this, it’s just, she’s my little sister…”
“I get it,” Ryan laughed, “I have two younger siblings of my own, and I would gladly kill to keep them safe. But that’s not an option right now.”
“So, what aren’t you telling me?” Chris asked, Ryan starting slightly at the question, “Don’t try to deny it, you’re hiding something from me. Say it.”
“One of the original four boys that went in with them,” Ryan sighed, “He appeared outside the Dungeon yesterday.”
“And?”
“He says he was killed by the final boy,” Ryan continued, “Who apparently tried to rape your sister and her friend.”
------
Elizabeth started awake, looking around in confusion, wondering when she’d fallen asleep. Getting up, she blinked as the jacket fell off her shoulders, looking at it in confusion. It was Jessica’s, neither the girl nor her tamed monster anywhere to be seen in the cave. Panic immediately rose in Elizabeth’s chest, making it ache as she rushed out of the cave, calling for her friend.
“Jess? Jess, where are you?!”
“I’m right here,” the voice said as Elizabeth spun around, staring at the other girl in shock, before rushing forwards and wrapping her arms around her neck, “Woah, what’s up, sleepyhead?”
“I was so scared!” Elizabeth gasped as she released her friend, “I…I don’t know what I was thinking when I didn’t see you in the cave.”
“What? Did you think I offed myself or something?” the other girl laughed, the sound slightly hollow, “Nah, I…I thought about it, but then I realized that doing that would leave you all alone, and I’d probably just appear outside the Dungeon anyway.”
“Where Dylan is,” Elizabeth sighed, a strange sense of relief washing through her, “We can’t have that, can we?”
“No, at least not without my best friend to back me up,” Jessica chuckled, “Love you, Beth. Platonically.”
“Yeah, platonically,” Elizabeth muttered as she hugged the other girl again, noticing that she was carrying something, “What’s that?”
“Oh, a bunch of plants from the fields and forest,” Jessica laughed, holding them out, “Loppy helped me find them, I think most of them are edible.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Oh,” Elizabeth said, “That’s actually really smart.”
“Thank you, oh top of the class,” Jessica chuckled, “Come on, let’s get the fire going again and see if we can roast these.”
------
Dylan scowled as he was dragged through the strange building. He had been blindfolded before coming here and still had the stupid mask over his eyes. Why were they dragging him around like this? He didn’t deserve to be treated like some common criminal, his dad was the president of Helix Corp for fucks sake!
“Here he is,” the stranger’s voice said as the blindfold was lifted from his eyes, making him blink in the bright light of the small space, looking strangely like an interrogation room.
“Great,” the other man in the room said as he sat on a chair at the far end, “Leave him.”
“Are you sure about this?” the first man asked, “I’m only doing this because…”
“It’s fine, he’s not worth killing,” the other man sighed, “I just need to know that my sister is okay.”
The first man sighed, then turned away, leaving Dylan in the room with the other man.
“And who the fuck do you think you are?” Dylan spat at the guy across the room from him, “You think you’re some kind of big-shot or something?”
“No,” the man said as he stood, Dylan noticing the strange clothes he was wearing, looking like gold and crimson armor, “Though apparently I am.”
“Yeah right,” Dylan huffed, looking around the room as he walked towards the other guy, “So, who the hell are you anyway, Mr. ‘Big-shot’?”
“Christopher Trevor Sanders,” he replied, walking forward as well, “I’m Elizabeth’s older brother.”
Dylan scowled, about to use his Skill to charge the man, before he suddenly appeared in front of the boy, moving far faster than Dylan could.
“How is she?” he asked flatly, Dylan having to fight the urge to piss his pants at the simple question, the aura coming off the older man just so intense, “Answer me.”
“I-I didn’t do shit to her!” Dylan squeaked, “H-her friend killed me before I could!”
“So you tried to do something to her?”
“N-no! I swear! I wasn’t thinking straight! I’m sorry!”
“So she’s fine?” the man asked, his presence suddenly fading as Dylan collapsed to the ground, nodding dumbly in terror, “Good. Let’s make sure to keep it that way, understood?”
------
“Are you sure?”
“Completely,” Jessica nodded, “Loppy’s foot is already healed, so we’re both ready to go hunting again.”
“But separately?” Elizabeth asked.
“It’ll be more efficient if we hunt apart,” Jessica explained, “That way we’ll only have to kill half the number of rabbits, then we can take on that big one together sooner. I really want to get out of here, I need a shower and a proper bed asap.”
“You could just wash in the pond,” Elizabeth chuckled.
“With you around to ogle my girly bits?” the other girl laughed, “No thanks.”
“Girly bits? What are you? Four?” Elizabeth laughed as well, falling silent a moment later.
“What’s up, Beth?”
“I…I don’t know,” Elizabeth sighed, “It’s nothing, forget about it.”
“No,” Jessica said flatly, “Start talking.”
“I don’t really want to.”
“Elizabeth,” Jessica said as she took her friend by the shoulders, “Start. Talking.”
“I…I think I’m falling in love with you,” Elizabeth muttered, her cheeks lighting up in a blush as she spoke, “But…not in a romantic way, or a sexual way either. I just…I can’t think of a world without you in it, without you by my side.”
“That’s…” Jessica said, her own cheeks red, “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“What?” Elizabeth blinked, “What do you mean?”
“I mean I feel the same way about you, Beth,” Jessica smiled, “You’re my best friend, and I love you, just not like that. It’s like…it’s like your closer than a sister to me.”
“I…yeah,” Elizabeth nodded, “I feel like that too.”
“Then let’s be best friends forever, alright?” Jessica laughed, pulling Elizabeth into a hug, “Just don’t try to sleep with me, okay?”
“Why do you always do this?” Elizabeth groaned as she hugged the other girl back.
------
Dawn came as the two girls woke up, stretching as they stoked the embers of the fire, cooking a simple meal of roasted roots and plants. They drank some of their water before packing as much of their haul as they could carry into the simple sacks they’d made by roughly sewing a bunch of hides together.
“It still feels like kind of a waste to just leave all this behind,” Jessica said as she hefted the sack over her shoulder, looking at the two left over piles of horns and pelts, “But it’s not like they dropped anything else.”
“Yeah,” Elizabeth nodded as they left the cave, looking up at the rising sun as it started to burn away the morning dew from the grass.
“This place is weirdly beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Elizabeth nodded.
“Just like you,” Jessica giggled, “Platonically.”
“And moment ruined,” the other girl sighed, readjusting her grip on her sack and walking off, “Come on, I don’t want to leave you behind.”
“Just because you’re two levels higher than me doesn’t mean you get to boast,” Jessica said as she stuck out her tongue at Elizabeth, “Bully.”
“Stalker,” Elizabeth chuckled back.
The two hurried towards the small forest, arriving just as the sun reached the middle of the sky. They quickly weaved through the trees, making their way to the center of the wood, carefully placing down their sacks of loot as they reached the edge of the clearing where the large rabbit was once again lounging, cleaning itself like before. The two nodded to each other, Elizabeth giving Loppy a quick pat for luck as she disappeared into the shadows. A few minutes later, a rock sailed through the air, hitting the large rabbit on the flank, making it leap up and spin around to face the direction the rock had come from.
“Go Loppy!” Jessica shouted, “Speed Up!”
The Horned Rabbit shot forwards, catching the larger one off-guard as she rammed into its leg, her horn only sinking halfway in before it stopped, though it was enough to injure the other monster. The larger rabbit kicked out its foot, sending Loppy flying towards the trees.
“Endurance Up!” Jessica shouted as Loppy hit the trunk, causing the whole tree to shake, the small rabbit hopping back to its feet easily as it glared at the larger one.
Another stone flew through the air, striking the rabbit on the side of the head this time, making it look around in annoyance, searching for the source of the attacks. No sooner had it allowed itself to be distracted than Loppy dove in again, driving her horn into the same leg as before. This routine continued three more times before the large rabbit seemed to have had enough. This time, it pretended to be distracted, immediately spinning to face Loppy as the Horned Rabbit charged it, only for the smaller monster to dart to the side, leaving the larger rabbit confused.
The pain erupted in its neck as the two horns were driven into its soft flesh, blood spraying out as it squealed loudly, trying to jump away from the woman who had just appeared beside it, stabbing it repeatedly with a pair of horns with strips of leather wrapped around the base. It lurched as its injured leg gave out just as it jumped, sending it careening to the floor, where the woman from before dove onto it, sinking a horn deep into its throat. A moment later, the monster fell still, its body already starting to fade into light as the two girls rushed over to each other, hugging tightly despite one being covered in blood.
“We did it!” Jessica squealed happily as Loppy danced around them, “We actually did it!”
“We did!” Elizabeth laughed, blinking as the screen appeared in front of her.
[Congratulations on completing the Tutorial of {Meadow Fields}. Would you like to continue your Dive?]
“No,” both girls said at once, glancing at each other and giggling.
[For completing the Tutorial, you may now choose a Class and Job.]
“What’d you get?” Jessica asked as she scrolled through her own list, “I already know what I’m choosing for both.”
“A bunch of E and F Rank Classes, and a few D Rank ones.” Elizabeth hummed, “I think I’ll go with Rogue, which is a D Rank Class, though I don’t know what to pick for a Job.”
“I chose Cook,” Jessica smiled proudly, “It’s only an E Rank Job, but it’ll help me make snacks and food for Loppy and her future friends!”
“Future friends?” Elizabeth laughed, “You aren’t seriously thinking about doing something like this again, are you?”
“Only if you come with me,” Jessica nodded, her expression going serious, “I mean it, Beth. Let’s do this like it’s a real job, I bet it’ll become one soon enough, anyway!”
“Alright, I’m in,” Elizabeth nodded as they approached the golden chest, both touching it as it popped open, “What’s this?”
“Looks like a three-pointed horn and a long stick,” Jessica pouted, “That’s kind of disappointing.”
“It looks like a shepherd’s crook,” Elizabeth hummed as she handed the staff to Jessica, the end curved into a hook shape, “I think it suits you. What Class did you choose anyway?”
“Tamer,” Jessica grinned, “It’s C Rank.”
“Seriously?” Elizabeth laughed, “Well, for once your score is higher than mine.”
“Whatever, little miss smarty pants,” Jessica chuckled, heading over to the door, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
The two girls touched the door, which swung open to reveal the darkness beyond.
