“This is boring…”

A boy and a girl were walking down a dark path.

It was within a building, yet it seemed like everything was covered by an expanse of night.

Even the darkness of nighttime had the light of the stars, though… unlike their current location.

For these two, only a fragment of light kit their path—and it came from the boy’s brightly colored flames.

“I’m just happy you’re not scared anymore.” The young man responded to his female counterpart.

His brown hair flowed with the cool climate, and his honest eyes showed his innocence. To the contrary, the girl seemed cute enough, but her glossy eyes rang of deviousness.

It lacked the fundamental innocence of the man.

“Yeah… whatever.”

The boy and girl were, of course, Ciara Epilson and Jerry Keller.

Ciara couldn’t help but sigh as she stayed beside the boy, sticking as close to him as possible.

‘Seems he’s completely used to it, at this point… this isn’t good.’

The two were currently in a Dungeon—or more akin to a haunted ruin. The structure resembled to a multiple storey house—perhaps once an exquisite villa.

Jared transported them just outside the haunted house’s gate. Their instructions were given, thus… they were supposed to get into the creepy-looking place to get their rewards.

As instructed, Ciara and Jerry both ventured into it, ignoring the twisted garden that contained withered flowers and hushed whispers.

It was quite easy to infiltrate the house, considering the doors weren’t even locked, to begin with.

The problem, however, was what happened after.

The house was without any form of light, and there seemed to be many creatures shifting through the darkness. Bright eyes flashed through the sheer blackness of the house, and they slithered all around them.

The two could feel themselves being watched. They sometimes felt touches from behind.

It was the real deal. This place was most certainly crawling with creatures. Creatures that hid themselves from sight and struck when the time was right.

As a result…

“Kiaaaaaaa!!! I-I’m scared!”

“I-it’s alright, Ciara. Really… I’ll use my Magic. Really…”

Even though using light would just attract the creatures—whatever they were—to them, and the pair would become easy targets, it was still much better than being blind.

Sure, they could sense their surroundings through Mana Sense or other sensory aspects, but with Ciara freaking out, Jerry decided to take the lead.

Just as she planned!

The boy seemed to think Ciara had been scared since they entered their current location, but that was simply what she made him think.

It was her excuse for sticking close to him, and whenever she did, he would always yelp in a flustered tone.

‘It was supposed to be fun. I was supposed to be a damsel in distress. He would get shy and all around me, which is cute, and then… he would slowly… we would slowly…’

Unfortunately, things didn’t quite turn out as she expected.

For one, it seemed Jerry was more focused on the situation than he was her. His eyes never really glanced in her direction.

Even when she pressed her body on him!

Sure, he had made uncomfortable sounds before—especially when her chest touched his body—but he slowly acclimated.

His mind was so focused on the mission that it drove Ciara crazy.

‘You should look at me! I’m right here, Jerry!’ She was exasperated.

They ascended the first, second, and third stairs—realizing the building definitely seemed smaller on the outside.

For one, there seemed to be no end to the size of the entire structure.

The entire villa seemed like some noble’s mansion, having chandeliers, carpets, and of course, a lot of pristine designs.

They had explored the many rooms within the house, only finding emptiness wherever they went.

Even when they found some rooms with specific purposes…

“T-this is the library?” Within were shelves filled with books, to which Jerry readily explored.

Unfortunately, the books were all empty. Literally.

No pages existed in the books!

Even when they saw the music room, viewing many instruments—none of them functioned well.

Why, for example, would string instruments lack strings?

“This place is weird…” Jerry felt the eerie vibes of his surroundings the more he explored the structure with Ciara.

If there was something he noticed over time, though, it was that…

“Where are the monsters? I don’t see them lurking around anymore.”

Indeed, there were definitely living creatures who constantly watched them. They often gazed in their direction.

Their glowing eyes often reminded the two that they weren’t alone. Still, the monsters hadn’t engaged them, and Jerry thought to keep things that way.

“We don’t want to cause unnecessary commotion here, especially since we don’t know the rules of this place.” Was his rationale.

Besides, without any idea of how strong the entities were, it would be unwise to engage them.

Though if they found no clues, it would be imperative to change their approach.

“I wonder…” Ciara responded to Jerry’s earlier question.

‘The monsters, eh…?’ A wide smile formed on her face.

“ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRR!!!”

“GRRRUUUUUUUU!!!”

“KRUUUUAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

Suddenly, multiple sounds emanated from all around them.

“W-what is that?! T-these sounds—!” Sweat slowly formed on Jerry’s face as he glanced around.

They were currently in the hallway of the third floor, and these cries sounded like the aggressive howls of monsters.

Jerry could sense bloodlust! The Monsters were now direction their killing intents toward the two.

The pressure so strong that even Jerry shuddered in response to the sudden outbursts of the beings lurking around.

The floor began rumbling, and the rushing sounds of several beings rushing in their direction caused the two to snap to reality.𝚘𝚟𝐿xt.𝐜𝗈𝑀

The situation was dire!

“Eeeeek! S-save me, Jerry! It’s dark… and I’m scared!” Ciara cried, hugging the boy with far greater fervor than before.

Her chest pressed against his body, and their skin rubbed against each other… enough for him to yelp.

The boy’s heart ached instantly.

‘What are you doing, Jerry? You can’t be flustered like this. Ciara is counting on you!’

With that in mind, he put his mind to action in order to protect both himself and his dear friend.

‘Don’t worry, Ciara! Just like back then… I won’t leave your side!’