The group’s first day in the dungeon consisted of them waiting around at the entrance for something to ambush them. They had tossed a lot of ideas around, but no one had been able to come up with a satisfactory solution for their current predicament. In the end, they decided to wait and see if any monsters attacked them. None did, and the next morning they were in the same position they were in the previous day, albeit with slightly more information.

Now that their previous plan of wait and see didn’t yield results, they gathered in a circle to figure out what to do next.

“Okay,” Alex said. “We need a plan guys. If there’s monsters here they don’t seem willing to attack us near the dungeon entrance. I’m not really sure if that means anything or not, but it looks like we are going to have to move.”

Alex then looked expectantly at the others, waiting for them to speak. No one did.

“C’mon,” He said, “doesn’t anyone have any ideas? We can’t wait around here forever?”

“You’re our leader, right?” Sam said. “Isn’t it your job to create a plan?”

Alex’s face twisted. It was obvious that he, like everyone else, didn’t want to be stuck with the job of dictating their actions going forward. It would have been one thing to lead the team through a linear dungeon, but exploring a giant forest was something else entirely.

“Why don’t we just explore?” Levi said, filling the awkward silence. “We have no better ideas, right? This is still a dungeon, so there must be something here. As long as we can keep our bearings and systematically explore the forest we should find something eventually.”

“Right, good idea Levi!” Alex said, as if Levi’s idea was something special and not the obvious thing to do in the situation.

With their plan decided, they then worked out the kinks, figuring out exactly how they were going to explore the surrounding area. The basic idea was to mark the trees, making clear paths through the forest that even the most directionally challenged person could follow while also simultaneously showing where they had already been. Their biggest worry was getting lost. Despite the unknown, they all still felt confident about facing whatever the dungeon threw at them. Facing starvation from being lost in a forest was a different story, and being without a path of retreat was one of the main things they were trying to avoid.

With a plan of action, the group then set out to explore the forest. They had created a special marking method to record their progress with the aim of systematically exploring their surroundings while also leaving them a clear path back to the dungeon entrance. A week later and they had made significant progress, but despite that, they had no real results. The forest seemed to be infinite.

“Are you guys sure we are doing the right thing?” Mia asked as they were eating dinner back at their base camp near the entrance.

“Of course,” Alex said. “What else could there be to do other than explore?”

“I don’t disagree,” Sam said, “but I’m starting to wonder if we’ve missed something. We’re supposed to be inside a dungeon, right? This forest shouldn’t go on forever, but there seems to be nothing here! There’s not even any animals. Maybe it actually does go on forever and there is something else we need to do.”

“We’ve had this conversation before,” Levi said, sighing internally. “If we can’t find anything after a month we’ll try and figure something else out, unless you have any new ideas?”

Sam shook her head, showing her defeat. Levi understood her frustration, but he was starting to get a little frustrated himself with his companions’ impatience. They had only been there for a week. He knew how dangerous dungeons could be, and if that danger was substituted with then having to spend time exploring instead of facing life-threatening situations, he was all for it.

“Cheer up guys,” Alex said. “At least we are trapped in a beautiful forest. We could be wandering around in desert environment instead.”

Levi was profoundly grateful for Alex being there. Since Alex was the leader, a lot of the complaints went to him, sparing Levi from dealing with them. Alex also took on the job willingly, seemingly having no problem giving continuous pep talks. Levi wasn’t sure how Alex did it. If he had been in Alex’s position he would have long ago lost it on someone.

As it turned out they only needed another week and a half of exploring before they found something, bringing their total time in the dungeon to about eighteen days. They had been exploring as normal when they found a clearing in the forest. Cautiously making their way towards it, they group came out of the woods, finding themselves standing before a giant vine-covered monument weathered by the passing of time.

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Levi had seen some incredible sights during his time under the System, but nothing had prepared him for this. It looked like the ruin of some ancient civilization, a hulking monument of stone rising up even above the towering trees of the forest. It was made out of a dark grey stone, the swirling patterns engraved on it mostly hidden by legions of vines crawling up its sides. Wanting to see the whole thing, it took the group multiple hours to circle it, revealing a structure not unlike those square-based pyramids that had been built in Central America.

There were four sets of stairs leading up it, one set for each side. Circling it, the group had not been able to differentiate between the sides, so they just chose the closest set of stairs and began to climb. They mostly remained silent throughout the climb, the sheer grandeur of the structure overwhelming. It made Levi feel small and inconsequential, climbing a building this big. He couldn’t help but have a feeling of reverence sweep over him. He knew that this might just be something that the dungeon had created, but the sense of age and time the building radiated gave him a strange sense of peace. They had started climbing in the early afternoon, but by the time they reached the top it had begun to get dark according to the day and night cycle of the dungeon.

When the five of them crested the top of the pyramid it was well and truly dark. Luckily the dungeon was fully simulating nature, so there were stars in the sky, barely providing them with enough light to see by. Upon reaching the top, the first thing their group did was make sure there weren’t any hidden dangers. They planned to stay the night and do a full inspection in the morning, but if there was even a scent of danger they agreed to retreat back to their base camp.

The top of the pyramid was flat, with an open-air temple built on top. Levi could tell that the markings on the pyramid were even more detailed up here, but with the low light he was not able to make out anything more. After an inspection no one was able to find anything other than the stone of the pyramid, so the group made camp, ate dinner, and set a watch for the next day when they would have natural light to inspect the top of the pyramid.

Levi volunteered for watch duty, with the intention of not waking anyone else up. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence during his time in the dungeon, as since he had a higher Constitution than everyone else he didn’t need to sleep as much. The reason Levi kept watch by himself was so he could have some time alone. During the day, everyone was together. They even had bathroom buddies. They had all agreed that it was safer to stick together in case something happened. But Levi wasn’t used to spending so much time with people. If he didn’t have time to himself during the night he thought he might have gone crazy.

Soon everyone else had turned in, leaving Levi alone under the faux stars. The view was quite breathtaking, the whole seemingly endless forest stretching out around him. He understood why people had loved traveling back on Earth. It made him regret never leaving the small area he grew up in if he had been missing out on sights like this.

Just at Levi was adjusting to the quiet vista he noticed Sam getting out of her bedroll. He assumed that she decided she wanted a drink or a snack before going back to sleep, but instead she moved over to where he was sitting.

“Can I join you?” Sam said in a low voice, careful not to disturb the others sleep.

Levi was strongly thinking about just saying no, but in the end he nodded his assent. She likely had a reason for joining him, and while he valued his alone time, he knew that keeping good relations with his teammates was of paramount importance. He had slowly been opening up to everyone, and while Duane still kept mostly to himself, it was clear that everyone was much closer together after their time in the dungeon. Levi still wasn’t quite used to it, but it wasn’t a bad feeling, being part of a group like this.

Sam sat down next to him and Levi kept his silence, waiting for her to talk. She was always one to take the initiative, something which he appreciated. If she had something to say she would say it, and if she didn’t, no amount of prodding from him would make her open up.

“It’s truly a spectacular view, isn’t it?” Sam said, starting up the conversation. “The stars and the trees. I never really thought I would ever see something like this… I’m getting off track.”

Sam took a deep breath before continuing.

“Back on Earth, let’s just say my life wasn’t the best. It was looking up, but I never really felt like I could get ahead, y’know? Like I would always be under someone’s boot. Then I came here, and for a little while, I hoped things could change. But despite everything I still felt powerless. How could I ever compare to someone like Kelly? I mean, David and Kelly and everyone are doing a great job with the outpost, but I never really felt like I could truly be free. It’s…”

Sam paused, thinking about what she wanted to say.

“But then you came. I’m sure you had a rough time of it, but it felt like you were just able to waltz into the outpost and bend people around your finger. You had power and knowledge, and even though you don’t speak much, people listen to you. I don’t mean to be rude, but it doesn’t feel like you were anyone special before all this happened. Maybe you got lucky, but you weren’t born with a silver spoon. It made me realize that my dreams of achieving true independence might not be too far away after all.”

Levi was stunned. He wasn’t quite sure what Sam meant. People listened to him? Of course they would listen if he knew something they didn’t, but beyond that? It felt like she made him out to be this gritty survivor on some TV show where he survived heavenly tribulations and came back to lead a plucky band of misfits out of some sort of trouble. It honestly felt like she was talking about someone else.

“Anyway,” Sam said, “I guess I just wanted to thank you. I was stuck in a rut before, and it feels like you showed me the way forward.”

Levi felt like he should say something, but he had no clue what that was. What did people say in this situation? He didn’t know, his thoughts going in circles.

Sam stayed awake with him the entire night, neither of them talking, both just sitting there with their own thoughts. When morning came Levi felt like his thinking was just as clouded as when the night began.