Otherworldly Dungeon

I watch as time rapidly passes and how I alone am unaffected, as trees and vegetation grow and die, trees fall and rise, and animals and monsters engage in fights and various other competitions to grow stronger. I also see Holly, playing?, with all the rabbits turned into monsters.

I watch as 2 years go by on my first floor as not even an hour goes by in real time. After seeing this, I stop the supply of my magic and bring the flow of time back to normal. After that, I looked around the first floor to check up on all my first floor monsters. The wolves now all have their own territories, the birds have their nests, and a bunch of other monsters roam the forest, and all the bunnies seem to be carrying weapons around? How did they even get those spears and bows? Looking around, I quickly find the culprit, Holly stands in a small meadow, showing a small army of rabbits how to thrust spears made from sticks and stones.

Watching them all practicing, the first thing that comes to mind is a bunch of children fighting with sticks in someone's backyard.

“It's actually kind of cute, keep up the good work guys!”

They all stop and salute me with their tiny rabbit paws then go back to training, with even more motivation. As I watch them, I get a mental message from the 5 [Cave Widows], they've run into a few humans.

Rolland POV

I shouldn't have said anything, here I am, in the middle of the woods with Leah because I just had to open my big mouth! We were going to get the rest of the day off as well!

“Come on! We need to hurry up and get you to level 10 before the sun sets!”(Leah)

Leah runs through the forest with her great sword and heavy armor clinking and clattering as she jumps up and down, oozing joy wherever she goes. How she runs in such heavy armor, I'll never know.

This all started when our party finished a local quest from the guild to clear out some slimes that wandered too close to town.

Leah, our attacker and tank. She has long, fiery red hair that cascades down her back in a single, thick ponytail, tied neatly at the base of her head and extending all the way to her lower back. The vibrant color contrasts sharply against the polished, heavy metal armor she's wearing, clinking as she moves, covering her body from shoulders to boots in protective steel. Despite the weight of her armor, her posture remains poised and confident, the ponytail swaying gently with every step she takes.

Then we have May, the group's ranger and scout. She has thick, curly black hair that tumbles down to her shoulders, framing her sharp, angular features. Her piercing eyes and defined cheekbones give her a determined, almost predatory look. She’s clad in dark-tinted leather armor, its worn surface showing signs of battle. Her bow is slung casually over her back, its wood dark and polished, while an almost empty quiver rests at her hip, a few arrows left rattling softly with her steps. Her entire appearance gives off the impression of a seasoned hunter, ready for the next challenge despite the dwindling ammunition.

And Liam, the group's healer and support. He has short, tousled blonde hair that glints faintly in the sunlight, though it's slightly disheveled from the journey. His white robes, once pristine, are now lightly dirtied at the edges from the long trek, with faint stains of dirt and dust marking the hem. He carries a short staff, worn but sturdy, strapped securely to one side of his hip. On the other side hangs a short sword, its polished surface hinting at minimal use, as though more of a precaution than a weapon he's had to rely on. His overall appearance speaks of someone more accustomed to healing or magic than combat, yet prepared for anything the road may bring.

And lastly, me, the party's wizard. I have short, brown hair that often falls into my right eye, accentuated by my big, round glasses that magnify my gaze. My deep blue robes, though somewhat dirty from our travels, billow slightly around my small satchel bag with each step. Clutched in my hand is my tall, well-cared-for staff, its polished wood gleaming faintly in the light. Tucked securely into my belt is a small, weathered notebook filled with hastily scribbled spells and notes on simple magic theory, its pages dog-eared and stained from frequent use.

Because of the quest, I managed to push myself most of the way through level 9.

“Hey, guys! I’m almost level 10! Just a quest or two more, and I should level up! I might even get a new spell if I’m lucky!” (Rolland)

I hear Leah gasp, her eyes sparkling with excitement upon hearing this. That was when I realized I had just made a grave mistake.

“Really? That’s great! Come on, let’s go and get you leveled up right now!” (Leah)

I recoil slightly as Leah leans forward, her face just inches away from mine.

“Ah, um, I think we're good, actually. Right, guys?” (Rolland)

I turn to my other party members, seeking an escape from this awkward situation, only to find them expertly avoiding my gaze.

“I would, but I should refill my quiver with some arrows. Most of them melted from the slimes. You two should go have some fun though, right, Liam?” (May)

“Oh, um, yeah, I just remembered I have to, umm, re-supply at the general store. Yeah. So you two can level up together.” (Liam)

As I'm being dragged away, I glare at my betrayers, failing to notice the slightly flustered Leah muttering to herself about how she's going to be alone with me. I could have sworn I even heard them call me oblivious! Me? Oblivious?

And that’s how I ended up here, in the middle of the woods with Leah, searching for any monsters to help push me to level 10.

We walk through the forest south of town. The area is largely ignored by adventurers and doesn’t even have an official name because there’s almost nothing of value here. Most of the animals don’t even absorb enough ambient magic to turn into monsters here.

I glance over at Leah, who's running ahead, scanning the surroundings. Judging by her lack of reaction, it seems like she hasn’t spotted any monsters yet.

I walk up to her and call out, “Find anything?” (Rolland)

Suddenly, she crouches down, dragging me to the ground with her. “Shhh, I see something!” (Leah) she whispers, though not very quietly.

I turn my head to see what she’s looking at.

In front of us, we spot five dog-sized spiders crawling across a small clearing, each dragging silk sacks of various sizes. Seeing this, I subtly raise my staff with my right hand and flip open my small notebook with my left, starting to cast a spell. Gathering my magic, I cast [Identify] on one of the spiders.

I glance at its status page and turn to Leah. “They’re [Cave Widows], you know, those super common spiders we saw in the caves a while back? Not sure what they’re doing here, though.”

As we whisper about what to do, one of the [Cave Widows] turns and spots us. I prepare to attack, but instead of charging at us like most monsters, It and the others suddenly flee, dragging their sacks behind them.

As I sit there, confused by what I just witnessed, Leah suddenly jumps up and starts running after the spiders. It takes me a moment to process what's happening before I scramble to my feet and chase after her. After a few minutes of running, I finally catch up to her in another small clearing. Leah is standing still, looking around for any sign of the spiders.

I take a few seconds to catch my breath, gasping for air as I glance around. “Did you lose them? Wait—why did you even chase them in the first place?” (Rolland)

“Rolland! Look over there! It's some kind of massive door!” (Leah)

I follow her gaze and, sure enough, there’s a large archway towering before us with two heavy stone doors. The archway is covered from top to bottom in a series of unidentified runes and letters, carved deep into the stone.

Thinking back to anything I might have heard about strange stone doors appearing out of nowhere, the only thing that comes to mind is a dungeon. But the nearest dungeon should be a month away! As I slowly approach the door, I quickly step back as it begins to open with a loud grinding noise, the runes on the archway glowing a deep red.

"Okay, so it's definitely a dungeon. We should probably head back to town and report this to the guild, Leah." (Rolland)

I turn to Leah, expecting her to agree, only to see her walking toward the open door.

"What are you doing?! We need to report this, not go inside!" (Rolland) I rush up to her, trying to stop her from going any further.

"What? I'm just going to take a quick look around. Besides, are we really going to report a dungeon without checking it out first? I bet we'll get a bigger reward, plus finder's rights, if we bring back some information!" (Leah)

I pause, surprised by how reasonable she sounds. That’s...unusual for Leah. Maybe she did get injected with some spider venom after all? Still, what she’s saying does make sense, so I finally give in.

"Fine, but we have to be careful. Don't wander too far from me, or I won't be able to protect you." (Rolland) My wizard robes fluttering in the nonexistent wind

After our brief exchange, we both step into the dungeon. Leah's cheeks seem a little more flushed than before as she shyly looks away from me. She must be tired from all that running in that heavy armor. Let's get this done quickly and head back to town.