Chapter One

A Mysterious Girl

"Did you see that...?"

Arryn squinted into the gloom of [Floor 17]. It was the first time he had dived this deep, and his nerves felt electric. Every sound sent a little jolt down his spine that reddened his face with embarrassment.

"See what?" Dale asked. He lifted his visor and wiped sweat away from his meaty brow. In his right hand was his trusty pickaxe.

Arryn cast another glance around the crumbly black scenery. His face soured at what little there was to see... but it was more than that. He had dived enough times to grow accustomed to the many monster sounds of the Beldew Dungeon.

"But there aren't any..." Arryn muttered, more to himself than the others. [Floor 17] was and had been utterly silent aside from their noisy human stomping.

"Sniffed a little too much of your powders?" Dale asked with his throaty laugh, and Arryn reluctantly turned away from the deep black that surrounded them.

Dale looked like the stereotypical [Miner]. His shoulders were broad and his chest was swollen with muscle. A squashed square head was buried beneath a puffy red beard. Two enchanted hatchets glowed at his hip.

"Mask up," Arryn said, and he felt suddenly better. The decision had shooed away some of his unease. "And put up a barrier, Alice."

The third member of their team nodded amidst the gloom of [Floor 17]. She had her brother's red hair, but none of his heft. The [Cleric] was as thin as a sapling. She shared Dale's fiery expression, however, and there was no puffy beard to obscure it.

"We could always hold hands if you're afraid," Alice said dryly as she cast [Lesser Barrier]. A blue dome slowly expanded around them. "It would use up less mana, Arryn."

"You can hold hands after you're married," Dale said gruffly. The [Miner] stowed his pickaxe away and brandished his dual hatchets.

"Who would marry that red-headed gorilla?" Arryn asked with a nervous smile. He suddenly felt a little silly for all of this. He was not even sure if he had seen anything. "Masks up?"

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"Masked up," Alice said, the words muffled.

"Yup," Dale said, the words similarly muffled.

Arryn nodded and then rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. He conjured up the image of... of an enormous monster corpse left out in the hot sun. He imagined the horrible stench of decay, and a yellowish powder started to sprinkle out from between his thumb and forefinger.

A veritable dusty cloud soon surrounded Arryn and his team as he cast [Repulsive Odor]. He did not need to wear a mask himself. As a [Perfumer], he had ended up immune to most status effects. Behind him, however, Dale loosed a dry retch even with the barrier and his mask.

"I don't see anything..." Arryn said as he manipulated the yellow powder like a snake charmer.

The cloud of [Repulsive Odor] danced across the blackened scenery of [Floor 17]. Unlike most floors of the Beldew Dungeon, [Floor 17] had been almost entirely stone. They had not come across any plants or monsters. Aside from The Elevator, they had not stumbled upon any Dungeon Devices either.

The same could not be said for [Mana Cores], however.

"If you are finished," Dale said, tugging at his leather mask. He gestured to the small pinpricks of light on the earthy floor.

As Divers, Arryn and his team lived for these little pinpricks. The multicolored glimmers were no larger than miniature beads, but they were nothing short of a king's treasure. Of particular excitement were the purple dots. Just one [Purple Core] could pay for a month's food and lodging topside. They could only be found on [Floor 15] and lower, and even then they were rare.

The sounds of Dale's pickaxe soon filled the bleak air. The blue shimmer of Alice's [Lesser Barrier] disappeared, and Arryn's yellow cloud settled onto the ground like fine particles of dust.

Arryn's frown quickly returned. He did not like this. He was not even sure what he did not like. This was not [Diver's Paranoia], the creeping dread that seemed to randomly infect inhabitants of the Beldew Dungeon. Something was wrong.

"We're leaving," Arryn said, but the words did not boost his spirits this time.

"Now I know you've huffed the wrong powder!" Dale blustered. He looked up midswing, his disbelief hidden behind his bushy beard. "Did you say we're leaving?"

"Are you sure you don't want to hold hands?" Alice asked.

Arryn rolled his eyes, but the redhead pressed her willowy chest against his back.

"This is not the time for jokes," Arryn said with a sneer. He cast her brother a nervous glance and gently pushed her away. "We're lea- "

He saw a patch of distant black shift with movement.

"There!" Arryn stabbed at the churning darkness. "Alice! Light!"

The [Cleric] did not waste time with another joke. He saw a jet of light shoot out of her staff as a [Lesser Glowglobe] illuminated the stone hallways of [Floor 17].

Dale breathed in sharply, and Alice made a startled sound. Arryn simply stared, wide-eyed.

Because in the distance...

Behind a craggy outcrop of rock...

image [https://i.imgur.com/tT8gWeG.png]