It was a day like any other, when the world suddenly changed. At the beginning, nothing suggested the mysterious phenomenon that was about to strike. The ground shook several times, but at that moment no one realized what was happening. The earthquake was already a disaster itself and nobody guessed that it was only the prelude to much worse: the arrival of the DUNGEON!

Trembling with fear, our heroine opened her eyes which she had closed in terror. The fury of the earth seemed to have calmed, leaving a cruel scene of ruins.

For a moment, she remained like that, motionless, without daring to look at the pieces of shattered bodies which showed through the rubble. Although the ground was now stable, she herself still trembled as she realized how little she just escaped death.

Finally, she got to her feet and with an unsteady step she began to walk in this apocalyptic landscape. Still in shock, she couldn’t gather her thoughts. Instinctively, she decided to go find her mother. Did she want to check that she was okay, or to be reassured by her presence herself? She didn’t think about it and moved forward in the middle of the teeming crowd of panicked people.

She stopped suddenly, in the middle of the street, struck by the mysterious presence that illuminated it entirely. There, floating in the air, less than a meter from the ground, a mysterious colored circle rippled with a reddish glow.

A relatively calm crowd was beginning to form around it. The strange apparition attracted curiosity and distracted the residents from the shock of the earthquake. Like butterflies around a flame, they circled, approaching without real suspicion, without knowing if they were going to burn their wings.

Was this thing the cause of the earthquake? So, what was it? This bright color… What strange material was it made of? It was unlike anything known. Could we touch it? Was it edible? Was it dangerous? Should the army be asked to secure the area?

But in the mind of our protagonist, it was not curiosity but anxiety that reigned: this thing could only be bad news!

Her body shook with an uncontrollable shiver. Without thinking further, she began to run madly to escape the mysterious disaster that was coming.

Out of breath, she stopped. It was then that she heard cries of distress coming from the crowd.

She feared to turn around but her survival instinct definitely took over, forcing her to contemplate the danger. It was a scene of horror! From the red thing, hordes of monsters burst out as if it was a kind of passage, a door to some abominable places where such disgusting creature could live.

Covered in fur, these things had four muscular legs ending in some sort of boxes. The upper part of their bodies had a thick torso from which sprouted arms armed with strange looking metal blades. As for their heads, they were of such an indescribable monstrosity that our heroine could not find words to describe it.

Still, she had something else to do than analyzing the appearance of these invaders from elsewhere. They charged with fury, skewering everything that lived, attacking both adults and children. The atrocious was cries that escaped from their large, distorted mouths added a demonic touch to their carnage.

“Mother!”

Instead of running for her life, against all logical instinct, she started running in the opposite direction. Although it was madness, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon her mother in the face of a threat, knowing however that her presence would change nothing. Diving through the side paths, she hoped to find a way around the awful portals that vomited its bloodthirsty horrors.

At the bend of a path, she felt her heartbeat go to the next level: there, its armor covered with the remains of victims, one of the monsters was galloping, a long polearm brandished. On it was piled a macabre assemblage of heads.

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Inexplicably, she knew how to name this kind of creature, but in her panic, she did not realize the strangeness of the phenomenon.

The centaur trotted past, covering the ground with a suspicious eye. Then, uttering a mad scream, threw its weapon in her direction.

At the spongy sound of the weapon meeting a body, she stiffened, almost feeling the strange sensation of emptiness from the hole that the spear would have created when piercing her… But when she saw the monster take back its weapon and observe with satisfaction the new trophy who was threaded there, she understood that there had been another victim of this warlike madness: only her growing anxiety had given her the sensation of having been touched.

Trotting towards further massacres, the creature passed without seeing her and they both continued on their respective paths.

Finally, the familiar shape of her home came into view as she joined the main road again. Soldiers were already deploying there to counter the threat. She deeply hoped that the situation would be resolved quickly…

As if to prove her wrong, the air suddenly lit up. Located at a high point, she could see other red circles appearing all over the city. A whole pandemonium arose. There, flying creatures with shredded wings. Here, red giants with only one eye. Dozens of monsters, each uglier than the last, competed to see who could kill the most people. It was the end of the world!

Desperate, she nevertheless started running again. She looked behind her at the devastation that engulfed her beloved city and ended, she knew it, the tranquility of her life… Perhaps even that of the whole world.

However, you should never look behind while running. This is obvious, but this time the lesson would be harsh. A shock shook her head and she found herself on her back, her head aching.

Her eyes wide with terror saw a monstrously ugly face looking down at her, taking offense at the insignificant insect that had dared to hit its massive leg. The colossus raised a club that seemed to have been carved from a whole tree and brought it down on the unfortunate child.

Without an ounce of hope of dodging such a large weapon, she closed her eyes wishing it would be over quickly… But it was only the beginning…

The club was slow in coming. What was happening?

After a wait, definitely long enough to have died twenty times, her eyes opened cautiously, as if this movement was going to precipitate a death suspended by her refusal to see it happen.

But, instead of a furious colossus, she saw nothing.

Surprised, she turned on her stomach and contemplated the strange spectacle of a peaceful, still intact, city.

Had she dreamed?

Getting up, she observed numerous soldiers and other inhabitants wandering here and there, without knowing where to go, so great was their disarray.

No: she hadn’t dreamed. Or had everyone dreamed?

Still dazed, she walked as logically as possible towards to the better destination: her home. Perhaps with her mother she would have an answer to her many questions.

Arriving in front of the palace doors, they suddenly opened wide. A stream of soldiers, seemingly endless, came out and spread in all directions. Apparently, her mother didn’t know yet what was going on either and was going to great lengths to find out more.

Obligingly, the guards moved slightly out of her way and she was able to progress slowly into the depths of the palace.

In the throne room, messengers came and went quickly as the queen's orders echoed throughout the room. When our princess found herself in her presence, she turned her attention towards her for a moment:

"Xicackna! Join the other princesses immediately: we urgently need to find out what happened."

"What happened Mother? I thought I was going to...that I was going to die! You too?”

The queen looked worried and looked at her daughter who was explaining to her that the monsters were going to kill her when everything suddenly disappeared. Had she almost lost her daughter? And all those who were missing, were they just late or had they died? Many guards also hadn’t reappeared. What they had all seen was not a dream, but a mystery all too real.

Xicackna stopped the panicked recounting of her latest experiences when she saw that her mother was about to speak.

"Xica… What is that?” What is this writing? Why can I understand it?"

The queen was looking into the air at something only she could see. Around her, everyone was looking into the air at some invisible centers of interest. But Xicackna didn't wonder what it was: she too saw something floating in front of her.

A strange luminous square covered with inscriptions and symbols was there, as if drawn in the air by some magic brushes. The language was unfamiliar but, oddly enough, she understood it as clearly as her mother tongue.

“Name: Xicackna ; Title: Princess ; Level 1 ; Class: unassigned ; Abilities… "

Another window announced:

“Welcome to the DUNGEON! To start the tutorial, press the button below.”

Feeling like she was in cloud cuckoo land, Xicackna took a breath, clenched her mandibles then touched with the tips of her claws the strange floating square that presented himself as the tutorial button...