-The Hidden Floor(1)-

Kenshin had a weird dream. In that dream, he was floating freely like a leaf in a vast expanse of nothingness, having zero control over his body. Suddenly a small fleck of light appeared in the middle of the inky darkness and expanded in an instant, nearly blinding him for a second. Now that he can see due to light, he found this place not to be empty as he had thought earlier.

There were lands, on which massive trees were standing like skyscrapers. These lands were floating freely in the massive space. The floating lands, aside from massive trees, also have water sources and some animals and birds running around, painting a very beautiful picture.

Unknowingly, Kenshin’s lips were stretched into a thin smile. But his smile vanished in an instant when he noticed a small black dot rapidly expanding in the middle. Then the massive trees began to die out one by one, followed by the animals and the birds. The small water creak in the middle of those lands was also dried out. Before long, skeletons appeared on those lands; poisoning the whole place.

Before long, the rapidly expanding black dot engulfed everything and brought an end. Kenshin had a pale face as he saw all this happening. He couldn’t understand what was happening anymore. Just as he was about to panic, he saw a small fleck of light appearing amidst the darkness before expanding and vanquishing it. With the expansion of light, the skeletons died and life slowly appeared on the surface of the floating lands. The process repeated infinitely.

From his position as a floating observer, Kenshin saw everything in rapt attention. The darkness and light, the life and death, the existence and nonexistence…they all repeated again and again, opposing each other while coexisting with each other, forming a very intricate balance. When one reaches the extreme, the opposite occurs. Though he couldn’t understand the implication behind such a dream, he guessed that it must be related to one of his skills.

But the question is, when did he get a skill so strong that it imitates the natural law? Before he could think anymore, he suddenly felt like being pulled to somewhere. Try he might, but he couldn't put up a fight with this pulling force. Before long, he was thrown out of that mysterious space and found himself looking at a brick ceiling. The back of his head felt light and cushiony as if he was lying on a pillow. A sweet smell was lingering on his nose, refreshing his mind in an instant.

“You have awakened! Are you alright?” soft voice a woman entered his ears, making him alert in an instant. He remembered that he was currently in a dungeon. He also found that he was laying on the lap of the woman he had met, Maria. It made him very happy secretly. As he tried to stand; mild pains assaulted his legs. But it was not something he couldn’t endure.

Suddenly, a soft but firm palm pressed on his forehead, forcing him back to where he was lying earlier.

“What are you doing?” Kenshin asked softly. He currently didn’t have the mental strength to fight with her.

“Forcing you to take a rest in my lap.”

“You know, there’s something wrong with that reason!” Kenshin calmly commented; his mind was still embroiled in that mysterious space. He was trying to find out the meaning behind that weird vision he just had.

“Really?! But, I don’t think so.”

“The fact that, you didn’t find anything wrong with it, is wrong in itself!” Kenshin weakly tackled her retort.

“What happened to the monster?” Kenshin asked as he became comfortable in her lap.

“I killed it” she boasted proudly.

“I see!” Kenshin halfheartedly replied.

“But we have a problem…” she said slowly as if unsure of something.

“Hmm!!?”

“After the monster’s death a new pathway has appeared; leading to a hidden floor”

“WHAT!!? Impossible!” Kenshin shouted as he tried to get up but was forced down again by Maria. So in that position, he began questioning her.

“A hidden pathway you say!? How can that be possible? This dungeon was here for past 50 years, but there was never a news on the hidden floor!” worries flashed in his eyes.

“I also don’t know anything. It's just that; after the monster has died, a patch of wall behind it dissolved, revealing a pathway” she said. Uneasiness was evident from her tone.

The appearance of a hidden floor was not a good thing. Even in the games, a hidden floor often contains a hidden boss that was unique and crazy strong. Most of the time, this monster could wipe out parties with ease. As Kenshin pondered about this, Maria continued with her assumptions.

“Though I am not sure, the appearance of a guardian monster could be a clue. It hasn’t appeared all these years. The fact that it showed itself now could only mean one thing; there were some serious changes going on with this dungeon.” Her voice sounded grave reflecting the seriousness of the issue.

“This…! Have you seen something like this before?” Kenshin asked the unusually knowledgable Maria.

“No. Something like this never happened in the past twenty years. I have only heard it from a friend of mine who excels in gathering knowledge. According to her, it only happens when the dungeon was about to undergo some serious changes. In most probable case, a dungeon break could occur.”

“Isn’t that mean Mito is in danger?” Kenshin asked. He started to sweat unusually.

Dungeon Break, a term often linked to a small-scale apocalypse. Like monsters and humans, dungeons were also capable of leveling up. They level up by accumulating blood and soul of monsters and humans that die within it. At some point, they accumulate enough to level up. During that time, the dungeon pushes out every single monster and human from within it. Millions of monsters pour out of the dungeon, wreaking havoc where ever they go. That is what a dungeon break is.

Mito was a small town; if thousands of monsters pour out at the same time, they could cause an untold amount of damage. Human civilians would be in danger.

“We must report this as soon as possible” Kenshin said. He was no longer calm as he used to be.

“Yes! But before that let’s explore this hidden floor” Maria was a little too giddy than normal.