“Well, this isn’t what I expected,” Jye said.

Leave it to the giant to make such a grand understatement.

Axel had opened the door to reveal the endless dunes of golden sand, the heavy rays of sun momentarily blinding me as it filled my eyes. Immediately the scorching heat of the desert stretching out in front of us caused sweat to begin beading on my skin. It had to be at least 40 degrees outside the cabin. On the plus side it was a dry heat. Mugginess was something that was barely tolerable at the best of times, but at such high temperatures it could actually boil you. At least that’s what one documentary I’d watched one time had said.

“We’re… in a desert?” Wren asked, her voice small and full of wonder.

“Looks like it.”

The door clicked shut behind us. I glanced back at it, and then at the desert in front. Neither of the two locations seemed linked. It was almost like someone had plucked a model of a haunted cabin from the Unity marketplace and placed it half-heartedly into a desert biome. Hell, the lighting inside and out didn’t even match. Truly not a masterful creation. Whatever or whoever had designed this Dungeon did not have much of an imagination.

Jye threw their hands up in the air. “Where the fuck are we meant to go?”

It was a good question. As far as the eye could see, there wasn’t anything on the horizon. Only countless dunes and endless sand. Nothing stood out. In fact, the longer I looked, the more it all blended into one seamless smear of golden yellow. Yikes.

“Maybe the cabin was the destination?” I said.

Even I wasn’t fully convinced by the words coming out of my mouth. But since it looked like the only thing in the whole map, it seemed like the only reasonable thought. What else was there?

~Request received~

Jye swore, their hands slapping around their ears. “God, I hate it when it does that.”

A new screen popped up, this time not the normal blue, but an off-white. Perhaps it was the colour for Dungeon-based notifications.

Spend five nights in the desert without returning to the cabin. Reward: 1,000 XP. Failure: Death. Accept | Reject

“A thousand?!” I exclaimed.

That’d shoot me past Level 1, maybe even Level 2. It’d answer my further questions about what happens when we level up. However, the failure penalty was extreme. I assumed it meant we’d all die. Surely spending five nights in the desert was possible? I’d seen my fair share of Naked and Afraid. It wouldn’t be a fantastic experience, but we’d be able to do it.

“Reject it,” Axel said.

I frowned. “Hey, wait a second, let’s talk this out.”

Letting out an exasperated groan, Jye pleaded, “Please, for the love of God, someone explain what’s happening. What was the notification?”

I told them, and they snorted. “Accept it, of course. I used to go extreme camping with my family. Surviving off the wilderness and all that. I can carry you all easily. Hell, we could do ten days if we needed.”

“Could Wren?” I asked.

Letting a kid stay in the desert for five nights sounded like the beginnings of a call to child protection services. I glanced over to check Wren’s expression. As much as I didn’t want Wren to feel like she was keeping our party back, I also wanted her to be aware of her personal limits. She seemed to be deep in thought. That was probably the best kind of reaction I could hope for.

Jye scoffed, “Of course Wren too.”

“Even if Wren could take five nights in the desert, we’re still rejecting it,” Axel commented.

“Five nights does sound kind of doable,” I reasoned.

With Jye’s skill in survival camping, perhaps we could do it. That’s if they weren’t lying. I don’t think Jye had ever lied yet, so that was promising.

“I think I should be fine,” Wren added.

“Reject it,” Axel said.

I scoffed. “Why do you keep saying that?”

Axel crossed his arms. “Just think about it, just for a second. This whole thing is shifty. The notification wasn’t the normal notification, it was something else. And 1,000 experience points is a ridiculous amount. We got five from a failed fight that almost killed me.”

“To be fair, we were fighting a cat,” Jye interjected, “And it fled. And it was Lee who hurt you.”

Ignoring them, Axel continued, “And it’s the first time we’ve been given a ‘request.’ Nothing else has ever been asked of us. Us entering this Dungeon was a planted urge, but it was never a request. Whatever that notification is, I don’t think it’s from the base system, or has anything to do with clearing it. This is something else.”

The worst thing about what Axel was saying was that it made sense. How awful.

He raised his eyebrows. “Besides, compare the worst thing that happens if we reject it and the worst thing that happens if we accept it and fail.”

Axel would be insufferable in ghost form if he turned out to be right. I just know he’d haunt me, even if I died with him. Not to mention, avoiding potential death when possible was almost always the better option.

“He’s got a point,” I groaned.

Jye shrugged, their enormous traps bunching up and then loosening. Seemingly still lost in thought, Wren hadn’t further added anything to the conversation.

“Wren?” I asked. “This is a full party decision. What do you think?”

Her hazel eyes darkened, and her lips pressed into a thin line. “Dungeons are dangerous. We should be cautious about everything.”

“Wise beyond your years,” Axel commented with a hint of sarcasm.

She really was. At around her age I think I was obsessed with Lego. Muttering under my breath about how he better not lord this over me, I selected the Reject option. As if rubbing salt in a wound, it checked for confirmation, which I promptly selected, and then the pop-up faded away. I mourned the loss of a reasonably easy way to achieve level ups. That had probably been our only chance.

Sourly, I said, “There, are you happy? I rejected it.”

~Gift received~

This time Jye let out a little cry of pain. They closed their eyes and they breathed in deeply. There had to be something we could do for Jye later that stopped the notifications from hurting them so much. But it was just another thing to add to the growing list. And god, there was a lot of stuff on it. Though, really, the top of the list should probably be talking to Axel. But it’d been impossible to get a moment alone with him with everything that had happened.

Instead, I tried thinking of the gift. In the default blue box screen a small icon of a gift box with a little bow on top appeared. It flashed and wiggled around a few times in an almost excited fashion. I was surprised to see that underneath it, there were two options.

Open | Sell

Part of me desperately wanted to try and sell the present to see what selling even involved. Was there a player accessible marketplace? What was the currency? What could we buy? Who was selling things? Was it the system? Other players? Rubbing at my temple, I ignored the sell option, especially considering we’d received the gift directly after rejecting a request. Why had we been rewarded for not doing something? And who had rewarded us?

“Uh, everyone else get the same notification?”

Jye stared at me blankly.

Wren frowned. “We got a gift.”

“See what I’m talking about. You gotta trust me with these things. My choices are always best,” Axel said with a shit-eating grin.

“I’ll just open it then. Maybe we can sell whatever is inside it.”

“We can sell things?” Jye asked, their eyes focusing just in front of themselves. With a defeated sigh, they made a dismissive gesture and returned their attention to me. I doubted their screen had changed. I was momentarily appreciative of my own status window. While my class was relatively plain, at least I could use mine. A brief cloud of guilt drifted through me, berating me for celebrating someone else’s misfortune.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I announced to the others that I was opening the gift. With a rather delightful animation, the gift icon did a spin before bursting into little orbs of light, revealing an image and text beneath it.

Anonymous Sponsor says: Good choice.

The image was rendered in almost life-like detail, like I could reach into the screen and touch the three dimensional curves and angles. It was an illustration of a sword, not a traditional one but something straight out of Dark Souls, with jagged edges and edgelord aesthetic. I held back the cringe. The other person in our party who would even find this weapon appropriate was–

“Claimsies!” said Axel, reaching forward.

As his fingers closed, the sword materialised into his hand with a blinding shimmer. Oh, so you could grab them from the screen. I guess it made sense. How else were you meant to receive the gift? The Hunger Games drone drop seemed like far more effort when I thought about it. Though now, of course, I had more questions. Had the weapon been stored somewhere else and then teleported through the system? Was the sword just data and were we right now just data in a game system? I repressed a sigh and took in the sight of Axel swinging his new sword around. He seemed rather pleased.

“Does it have stats or bonuses or anything?” I asked.

Axel focused in front of himself, and then nodded at me. “Yeah. It increases the dexterity of the wielder.”

So we had dexterity stats. I brought up my own menu and tried to think hard about strength, dexterity, and other attributes I knew were common in RPGs. Nothing new appeared. So either they were locked until they were triggered, or players couldn’t access them. It just seemed incredibly stupid to not let us see our own stats. How were we meant to level up without knowing what was an appropriate challenge? Oh, well, it wasn’t something I needed to worry about right now.

“There was a message from one Anonymous Sponsor attached to the gift. They said 'Good choice,'” I explained as Axel continued to whip his new sword around. His movements seemed oddly practised, but I chalked it down to his secret love of cosplaying characters with swords from before he’d become popular. Given enough time copying someone and you’d be good at appearing to do the same thing as them.

“A sponsor? Like that message we got when the first Dungeon was cleared?” Wren said.

I shrugged. “I guess.”

Jye sighed deeply. “I must’ve missed that too. So, like Nike sent us that sword?”

“I don’t think it’s got anything to do with humans or human corporations,” I said.

“Aliens?” Wren asked, eyes sparkling with interest.

“I’m not ruling it out. This entire thing is clearly out of the technological reach of anything we’re capable of as a species, right. So it’s either aliens, us from the future which would be fucked up, or…” I paused because it seemed like the most ridiculous of all possibilities that my agnostic brain could imagine, “Or like super powerful beings beyond our imagination. Something like gods.”

Clang. The sword had slipped from Axel’s hand and clattered to the wooden floor. Unperturbed, he picked it up with an embarrassed smile. “Gotta practise a little more to get the hang of it.” He went right back to it. Part of me wanted to confiscate the weapon, but I ignored that petty side of myself.

“I hope it’s aliens,” Wren said with a smile. “I think aliens would be really cool.”

“With the way capitalism is headed, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was us from the future. Just think about it. If you subscribe to the idea that every choice made creates a branching off timeline, then future us coming back to this singular one and messing stuff up means that nothing changes for them. They use our struggle as entertainment, to stream back to future people, and make profit off it. Hell, they probably bet on us as well.”

I stared at Jye in concern. “That’s pretty fucked up.”

“Everything about this is.”

“What do you think, Axel?”

He splayed his hand out, and the sword dematerialised. At this point, I had to just accept that Axel had been dreaming of living in a game for most of his life. How else would he even think to do that? Actually, that reminded me that I had left my wooden staff inside, leaning against the wall. I should probably pick it up and check to see if I summon and dismiss it like Axel just did.

Axel made a considering noncommittal noise, and rubbed at his chin. “I think it’s pointless to think about. How will knowing help us right now? We’re stuck inside a Dungeon without knowing what to do, so thinking about a way to clear this place would make a lot more sense.”

The rest of us must’ve shared the same disgusted look because Axel then scoffed and said, “Fine then, I’ll say I think it’s all three. Super powerful aliens from the future. You happy?”

I scowled at him. “That’s such a fake out.”

“God forbid I do anything,” Axel said.

Jye dryly commented, “I wish She would.”

Stopping myself from inquiring further into Jye’s response, which I’ll admit had piqued my interest, I moved towards the door to reenter and grab my wooden staff. As my hand gripped the handle, I heard the distinct static of an ability being used fizzle in my ears. I stepped away slowly, trying to ensure that I made no noise. Either noticing my change in behaviour or hearing the ability activation, the others were on alert now too, eyes darting around. Axel summoned his sword, Jye and Wren pulling a knife each from their backpacks.

I whispered, “None of you used a skill, right?”

I was met with several shakes of heads. Great. That meant someone else was here. It almost meant my idea of separate instances of Dungeons was out the window. And that meant we were in more danger than I thought since anyone else could be in here with us. I just wished I could tell where the ability had been used from.

“What do we do, boss?” Axel quietly mocked, an eyebrow cocked.

Like he’d listen to me anyway. Regardless, I replied, “We stand our ground. If they’re inside, they’re trapped there. If they’re outside, this is a strong defensive position.”

You really can just make up anything and make it sound like you’re talking sense. For a moment, I wondered if this is how politicians felt. Stringing together words in any order and believing people would accept them as gospel.

“Sounds like bullshit, but okay,” Jye said.

Yeah, that checked out.

We all stood there, tense, and stressed, waiting for our potential opponent to reveal themselves, but hours passed. The sun didn’t seem to move in the sky and shadows did not shift. Still we remained there, poised, ready to defend ourselves. I began to worry I’d made the wrong choice in standing firm. Maybe we should’ve been proactive. Investigated the cabin again.

We waited a few more hours.

Nothing.

Well, in for a penny in for a pound.

“What now, boss?” Jye asked.

I sighed. “We take shifts. If there’s someone here, they can’t hide forever. Who wants to take first shift?”

After we figured out the shift order, some of us sharing so Wren would not be forced to take a shift alone, and for that “night,” we settled into a routine of sleeping, watching, eating, sleeping, watching, eating. During this time, I learned from Jye that the tattoo on their arm was an ouroboros and that they also didn’t know what it meant, just the idea of a snake eating itself was, in their words, “so messed up, I had to get it.” They also showed off several other of their tattoos, a collection of anime-related pieces, ranging from Totoro to Gon’s forced adult form mid transformation. I expressed my appreciation of them and Jye told me they knew a guy if I wanted a decent price. Not wanting to remind them that their tattoo artist might already be dead, I instead just thanked Jye and said I’d consider it.

These watch shifts also gave me a much needed chance to finally talk to Axel alone. But when it was just him and me, with Wren and Jye snoring softly nearby, I realised I didn’t know how to word what I wanted to say. In fact, as the silence stretched out between us, it became more and more difficult to figure out the words. Something told me that just starting off with “Hey, man, you’re acting really different lately, and could you tell me why you lied to me?” would not end well.

“I’m sorry, you know,” Axel said, his voice low to not wake the others.

I blinked. “What?”

“I shouldn’t have attacked that cat.”

Scoffing, I replied, “This is the second time you’ve ever apologised to me.”

“I’ve apologised more than twice.”

With a confused frown, I ran through every possible memory I had where an apology would be necessary from him, but only found the one right after Dungeons activated, and his words just now. Dude was trying to outright gaslight me. I turned to face him, my tone flat. “No, this is the second time.”

He smiled, in that same smile that I didn’t understand, that disturbed me, and said, “It’s not.”

A rage filled me, partly fuelled by fear of the unknown that existed in Axel’s expression. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

Frustrated, I breathed out. “You’ve become someone I don’t know and I hate it.”

Axel was silent.

I couldn’t meet his eyes because I hadn’t realised that’s how I felt until I said it. The Axel I had grown up with, the flatmate I’d had for several years, it was like he was gone or diminished into something I didn’t recognise anymore. What remained of him was not really Axel, not the same Axel I knew. He was so different. Perhaps the thing that made me feel even more nauseous was that what I hated wasn’t the current Axel, it was that I preferred him. I liked Axel more now. The Axel now was one I don't think I would've thought of leaving behind in our old apartment. It was like admitting that you liked a changeling over your original child, a clone over the original.

It made me feel positively sick.

I didn’t hate this Axel. I hated myself for betraying the Axel of the past.

“I didn’t realise you felt that way.”

Fuck. Despite the fact this wasn’t the same Axel, I knew that tone in his voice. He was fighting back hurt. What had I done? And still I couldn’t meet his gaze. This wasn’t how this conversation was meant to go. I was supposed to casually bring up how he’d been acting different. How I’d like to know what caused it. Not this. I could still save this. Let him know I just wanted him to open up to me about this situation. I could still bring this sinking ship into harbour.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I said, “What I mean is that I just wish you’d be honest with me.”

This elicited a peal of laughter from Axel that was so unhinged I was worried he’d become possessed by something. When he finally stopped, he wiped aggressively at his face, and I saw the remnants of tears that had tracked down his cheeks. He looked like a model like that, curled in an avant garde pose, head slightly askew. I found myself, once again, unable to react.

“You’re just going to have to deal with it,” he said, voice cracking.

Deep inside my chest, I could feel a throbbing pain and the sickness in my stomach roiled around. I don’t think I could ever bring this topic up again any time soon. There was no backpedalling on this. What the fuck. Jesus fucking christ. Maybe I could apologise, explain what I meant. It would not be good to leave this conversation as it was.

“Axel, I just… I want–”

“You don’t have any more of that spam, do you?” asked a feminine voice from behind me.

“No, we don’t. There’s some jerky, but let me finish my thought. Axel, I just want you–”

“Lee.”

“Don’t interrupt me! I’m trying to say something important here.”

Axel’s eyes were narrowed. His hands slid from his lap to the sword at his feet. Wait, wait, wait. A feminine voice? Jye’s voice was deep, and Wren’s was still childlike.

Oh.

I turned to find the glint of a knife greeting me.

Very cool.