2026-08-20 05:07:05"Thanks a lot. You really saved us back there."
Ironwall patted Nox on the shoulder as they stepped out of the city gates, his grin still wide after their victory in the Old Root Dungeon.
"No problem," Nox replied briefly, though the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
"We're going to grab something to eat at the tavern nearby," Brightpetal said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Want to come?"
Nox hesitated for a moment. His old habits as a solo player nearly made him refuse, but something held him back.
"Sure," he finally replied.
The small tavern was nowhere near as crowded as the main street. Simple wooden tables were scattered throughout the room, and the aroma of warm soup filled the air. The four of them sat in a corner, ordering simple meals as they rested.
"That was seriously crazy," Swiftfeather excitedly told the tavern server who happened to walk past. "We cleared the dungeon that fast, even though it usually takes more than two hours."
"It was nothing. You're just slow to think when you panic," Ironwall said with a laugh.
"Easy for you to say," Swiftfeather shot back, tossing a small piece of bread at Ironwall, who blocked it with a laugh.
Nox quietly watched their interaction. It felt unfamiliar yet strangely familiar, like remembering something that had been buried beneath six years of playing alone.
"How long have you been playing?" Brightpetal asked, sliding a bowl of soup toward Nox.
"A while," Nox answered briefly.
"I've only been playing for three months," Brightpetal continued, not pressing him for a more detailed answer. "It was really hard to find a party that worked well together at first. Luckily, I met Ironwall and Swiftfeather."
"We met because we both failed to solo a beginner dungeon," Ironwall added with a laugh. "It's pretty ridiculous when I think about it now."
"Back then, I actually ran away from a slime," Swiftfeather added sheepishly, earning an even louder laugh from Ironwall.
"A slime?" Nox couldn't stop himself from smiling faintly. "Which one? A normal one or an elite?"
"A normal one," Swiftfeather replied, his face turning red. "I just panicked. I couldn't think straight."
"Luckily, Brightpetal saved him," Ironwall added, patting Brightpetal on the shoulder. "Otherwise, he might've quit the game on his first day."
The conversation flowed easily. None of it was particularly important, just little stories about their everyday lives as ordinary players, funny items they had found, and the most annoying monsters they had ever fought. Nox found himself listening more than speaking, but for the first time since the reset, he felt something resembling simple peace.
"Oh, by the way," Swiftfeather suddenly changed the subject, lowering his voice slightly. "Have you guys heard about Black Hollow?"
Ironwall immediately straightened, his expression turning serious. "The one that's supposedly appeared again this week?"
"Yeah," Swiftfeather nodded. "Apparently, its entrance has appeared again in the forest to the west."
Nox hadn't been paying much attention at first, busy scooping up his soup, but for some reason, that name caught in his mind.
"What's Black Hollow?" Nox asked, trying to sound merely curious.
"A dungeon that supposedly doesn't always exist," Brightpetal replied, lowering her voice as well. "Its entrance sometimes appears and sometimes disappears. There's no clear pattern."
"A party tried entering last week, but it ended in complete failure. One of the members came out alone, barely alive. Other member respawn in the nearest town with a reduce level due to character death."
Nox slowly placed his spoon down, his attention now completely focused on the conversation.
"They say the dungeon hasn't been active for a long time," Swiftfeather continued. "Then it suddenly appeared again without any obvious reason. Apparently, its location isn't always the same whenever it appears, either."
"Some people say," Brightpetal added, her voice growing even quieter, "that the dungeon isn't even properly registered in the system. Like it's not officially part of the world's database."
"I heard from a friend in a guild," Ironwall chimed in. "He said the dungeon's location isn't always the same whenever it appears. Sometimes it's in the western forest. Apparently, it once appeared near the northern cliffs."
"That's pretty creepy when you think about it," Swiftfeather said with a shudder. "A dungeon that doesn't even have a fixed location."
The words struck something inside Nox, reminding him of the fragments from the corrupted audio log at the hidden stone gate, and of his own birthplace, which wasn't recorded on any map either.
"That player who survived," Nox asked quietly, "what did he say about what was inside?"
Ironwall stared at Nox for a moment, slightly surprised by the change in his expression. "He said he could only say one sentence before completely passing out. There was something inside that wasn't supposed to exist."
Nox fell silent, committing those words to memory. He showed no excessive reaction on the surface, even as his thoughts raced through every possibility.
"What if we try going in together?" Swiftfeather suggested, his eyes shining with excitement at the thought of an adventure. "The four of us worked really well together earlier."
"No," Nox answered immediately, more firmly than he intended.
The three stared at Nox in surprise.
"Why?" Ironwall asked, sounding slightly disappointed. "We crushed the Old Root Dungeon earlier."
"You're not strong enough for a dungeon that isn't even registered in the system," Nox replied, trying to keep his voice neutral. "Your levels are still too low to take a risk that big."
"You're being too cautious," Swiftfeather grumbled, though he wasn't truly angry.
Nox didn't argue. He let them think that, even though the real reason went much deeper than simply being cautious about their levels. He didn't want to enter an anomalous dungeon without enough information. He wasn't going to rush headfirst into danger like Azrael had once done without thinking.
The conversation continued for a little while before they eventually finished their meal and parted ways outside the tavern, casually promising to play together again sometime.
"Seriously, let's party again sometime," Ironwall said, patting Nox on the shoulder once more. "It's not often you find someone as calm as you who also thinks that far ahead."
"Maybe," Nox replied, a faint smile still lingering on his face.
"Thanks for today," Brightpetal said, waving before walking away with Ironwall and Swiftfeather.
Nox gave them a brief wave in return, then stood still, his eyes fixed toward the western side of the city, toward the forest rumored to conceal the entrance to Black Hollow.
You're thinking about that dungeon, Erebus murmured from within his shadow. It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"There was something inside that wasn't supposed to exist. Have you ever heard something like that before, Erebus?"
There was a brief silence before Erebus answered, his voice far heavier than usual.
I have. But not from someone else's mouth.
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Latest Chapter
The Person Who Should Have Disappeared
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