"So, what did you think?" Eve asked as they left the settlement of Arkania.

"Since I don't think you care much about the inter-settlement ideological politics, I really don't know what you mean by the question."

Eve scoffed, "I mean, do you think she might have offed the old man when nobody was looking and dumped his body somewhere?"

Devon stopped in his tracks and shot a befuddled glance at Eve, "That's why you wanted me to meet her?"

"Well duh. I mean, she's incredibly suspicious, isn't she?"

Devon thought for a moment on the possibility, "No, I think it's probably unlikely that that's what happened. Let me ask you this, you've been asking around about Phil for the past day or more here, haven't you? So has anybody mentioned any kind of conflict between Phil and Nix?"

"No, but that doesn't mean she didn't do it."

Devon rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, "So you have no established motivation, you simply think that's what happened because the story of Phil getting sucked into a rift only he could see sounds a little too implausible for you?"

"Yep, basically."

"And you make this assumption knowing full well we're in a place that's entirely different from the world we know. We are on a sky island filled with magic casters and monsters. And you think Nix, the leader of half of the people still alive within the tutorial, personally murdered the old man for… what reason exactly?"

"Who knows, maybe he stumbled upon a conspiracy or something. But the simplest explanation is usually correct, even if it seems the most unlikely. Besides, I've asked more than half the people in Arkania by now, and nobody's seen anything like what Nix said Phil saw."

"Yeah, but I have."

Eve paused for a moment, "Oh… yeah. So what the hell is it anyway?"

She just doesn't miss a beat when switching gears, huh?

"If it's the same thing I found, then it's probably a dungeon."

"What, like a dungeon in a different dimension?"

"Pretty much. Now that we've established Nix probably didn't murder the old man can we get a move on?" Just as Devon said that the clouds opened up and it started to pour on them. Devon pulled the hood of his cloak up and smiled when he felt how little of the water got through. That craftsman sure made a good product.

"Ugh yeah, come on," Eve said before she started running through the woods.

After half an hour of making their way through the forest, they made it to a small clearing with an absolutely massive tree in the center of it. The thing wasn't necessarily taller than all the other trees in the area, but it was at least ten times as thick, and as they approached it they began walking on more roots than soil.

"Well?" Eve asked, thoroughly drenched by now.

"Hang on, I'm looking," Devon said as he surveyed the area. Nothing immediately popped out to him, but there was a distinct feeling of wrongness to the place. The memory dungeon he'd found had seemed to call out to him, but that wasn't what he felt in this clearing.

No, instead it was more like there was something here, but it was desperately trying to avoid his sight. Even so, Devon felt that if he looked at the place just right then it would appear…

In the corner of my eye.

And there it was. A split in space that radiated green light as it did could not possibly be missed, yet it had done something to deter Devon's ability to see it. The rift and Devon had engaged in a battle of perception, and Devon had won.

"Well?" Eve asked, looking at him like he was crazy. He supposed it must look like that to her, as he'd been spinning around in a circle trying to lock down the spatial tear for over a minute.

"Found it, it's right here."

[Notice]

A radiant soul obsessed with the pursuit of perfection still lingers here.

Spirit Dungeon - [Brewmaster's Dream]

Dungeon rated Class E, Level 35.

Do you wish to delve into the world of spirits?

"I don't see anything," Eve said looking peeved, as though Devon was simply trying to mess with her.

"You can't feel it? That sensation that something is here even though you can't see it?"

"Nope."

Devon sighed, then started thinking of how to proceed. It was interesting that the dungeon remained open to enter after more than a day had gone by since Phil had disappeared inside of it. He wondered if the fact Phil was already in it could be the reason why Devon had such trouble seeing it, or whether it was due to some other factor.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Well, whatever. Time to see if I can drag Eve in with me.

"Come here and take my hand," Devon said. When Eve looked at him like he was trying to pull something he said, "I'm going in after Phil. You can attempt to join me or stay out here soaking in the rain. Your choice."

Eve reluctantly took his hand without saying anything.

Devon reached out his other hand and tried to touch the rift, but it shrunk back a bit as if recoiling from him. So he stepped forward and thrust his arm forward, plunging it into the crack in space whether it liked it or not. He felt the familiar sensation of being forcibly transported somewhere else as the world blinked out of existence.

----------------------------------------

Zane watched from the shadow of the trees as the man named Erik disappeared into nothingness, dragging Eve along with him.

Waiting… Connection established.

[Zane]

They went in.

[Nix]

So that guy actually knows what the hell those things are, huh?

Phil hadn't been the first one to disappear into thin air, but neither Zane nor Nix had actually believed the reports until Nix had seen it for herself. Nobody knew where the people who disappeared had gone, and none of them had returned as of yet. Nix and Zane were of the belief that they either wandered into a magical trap or got pulled into some strange subspace. It was looking a lot more likely that it was the latter after seeing Erik willingly dive in.

[Zane]

Do you want me to do anything?

[Nix]

It'd probably be a waste of time to just sit there and wait, so why not go back to accumulating power for now. If they make it out then we'll know in time.

[Zane]

I meant do you want me to take that Erik guy and make him talk? He only gave you a vague response, right? We need all the information about this place we can get. What if one of us ends up sucked into one of those things by accident?

[Nix]

Don't do that. I'm not sure if that Erik guy went through some serious shit up on that mountain or whether he came into the tutorial damaged like our good friend Ray, but he is genuinely not someone I want to have as an enemy. If we play our cards right he's much more likely to be an asset in the long run. I'm certain he empathizes with our beliefs, so there should be no reason we can't coexist. We need all the allies we can get, because I don't have faith that any of those cowards in Plainstown will be of any help by the end of this tutorial.

[Zane]

Fine. I'll go back to the hunt then. What will you do?

[Nix]

Gonna go back to the grindstone on getting that damn ancient weapon working.

[Zane]

Do you truly believe you can operate that thing?

[Nix]

I have to try.

----------------------------------------

Devon found himself standing in a place that looked the exact same as when he'd left. He was still in the forest, and the massive tree stood as it had before he had taken the plunge into the realm of spirits.

However, the rain that had been coming down so hard only a moment ago was gone, replaced by sunlight that sent beautiful rays of light through the massive tree's canopy.

"Tsk. So you made it into this place, accursed one."

Devon whipped around and saw something entirely unexpected. He saw Phil sitting at an assortment of workstations littered with several vials and beakers of multi-colored liquids, and beside him stood a man in long forest green robes. A man whose hair flowed like fire.

[Irin, The Mad Brewmaster - Level 37]

"Phil!" Eve shouted from beside him.

"Eve! And Devon?" Old man Phil seemed amazed to see them and tried to run over to them, but as soon as he stood up the man with hair like fire shot him a deathly glare, and Phil immediately sat back down.

Even as Devon registered the situation, a chill went down his spine. He brought a hand up to his face, though he couldn't actually feel any difference in texture when The Mask was active.

He recognized me?

That meant that The Mask had deactivated without so much as a prompt to Devon. For an instant he came close to panicking, thinking that maybe the skill had some time limit that the system hadn't told him about, but then he realized the much more likely answer.

No, if The Mask had deactivated before we came in here then Eve would have shown some kind of reaction. Since she didn't I can assume that it was active until the instant we entered this place. Which means that it most likely doesn't work within spirit dungeons.

"What the hell are you doing to him?" Eve snarled at the man.

"Phil here is helping me complete something that I left unfinished. He'll be free to go just as soon as he provides a result that is satisfactory."

"A result? So this is supposed to be some kind of crafting trial then," Devon reasoned.

"I suppose you could call it that. However, you are not somebody who was supposed to enter this place. Our compatibility is less than zero. Just my luck that I would find such a perfect candidate only to be intruded upon by a person who by all rights shouldn't even know what the spirit is."

"And what exactly is it he's meant to be making for you?"

"A brew to top all others."

"...Excuse me?"

Irin raised two curled fists, passion flowing through his voice, "Yes. For so long I have awaited one who is worthy to carry out my noble task, one who could potentially succeed where I was never able to in life! Here, in the perfect place my spirit has cultivated can my dream finally be realized. At least, that's the hope."

Devon looked at Phil, who looked distinctly unhappy and responded, "And what if he doesn't want to complete your grand elixir of drinks?"

"Hm? Then he dies, of course."

No sooner had Irin finished the statement than Eve leaped into the air with a savage snarl, axe bared to strike. Irin raised a hand, and vines shot from the ground to coil around Eve's limbs before they yanked her back into the tangled mess of a floor where the roots opened up and cast her into a pit so deep Devon couldn't see the bottom. Then the hole closed behind Eve.

Irin scowled, "As much as I hate to admit it, the system won't allow me to simply smother her to death under the weight of my beautiful tree. However, that doesn't mean she'll be able to get out alive either."

"I see," Devon said thoughtfully, "Because this space is ultimately constructed by the system to give form to the desire of your spirit you're being forced to adhere to its idea of what a dungeon should be."

"You're annoyingly bright. But yes, that is in essence what is going on. Now, I suggest you leave while I'm feeling generous or I'll toss you in that pit with her."

Devon looked over Irin's shoulder and called out to Phil, "Hey old man, how's it going?"

"Not very good!" Phil shouted back honestly.

Devon sighed. If Phil expected he could beat the brewmaster's challenge then this wouldn't be an issue, but since he couldn't it didn't leave Devon much of a choice but to act.

"You're intent on dying with the woman down there?" Irin asked.

"Dying isn't in the plans, but if the start of the dungeon's down there then you might as well open the floor back up. No need for more theatrics."

Irin waved his hand and the floor once again opened up. Devon glanced down and saw Eve fighting what looked to be a tree monster down below.

He looked back to old man Phil and said, "Just wait a bit, we'll be back soon enough." Then he jumped down to join Eve in the fight.