Darkness and stone surrounded Artyom and Neitra as they continued through the dungeon, their hearts lighter after sharing their stories with each other. Artyom had given a vague recounting of his own backstory, confident that it wouldn’t reveal his true origins thanks to the immaculate excuse of being “from really far away.” He was also confident that learning about Neitra’s origins likewise would strengthen their budding camaraderie and get him a better in with the team, putting Artyom in a better position to get closer to the Great Hero and learn more about how he was brought to this World. Of course, that was the only thing Artyom was concerned with.

  The duo continued in silence down the branchless tunnel until they arrived at a dead end. In front of them was a flat, vertical slab of stone. Its sheer size, reaching to every corner of the tunnel, gave off an imposing air. As they approached it, they could make out finely carved grooves across the surface that formed letters. Artyom walked up and inspected them closely.

  “So this must be the puzzle you were talking about, then?” he asked.

  “That’s right,” replied Neitra. “The last few dungeons had one just like this. It’s supposed to be something only the Great Hero can solve.”

  “Well, let’s just take a look at it first.” Artyom amplified the magic he was sending to his Pitchblack Vision spell in order to better make out the characters on the monolith. He carefully read the text out loud.

  “This great barrier of stone blocks your way. Impervious to force or spell, any attack or ray,” he repeated. “Really, ‘way’ with ‘ray’? Talk about lazy rhyming!” The joke made them both smile, helping to lighten the mood even further.

  “Alright, here’s the rest,” he continued. “According to the lore of the monsters residing in one’s pocket, only with rock’s weakness will you need to sock it…”

  “Wow, that’s an even worse rhyme than the last one!” exclaimed Neitra, letting out a chuckle. Artyom didn’t respond. His eyes grew wide and mouth agog.

  “Is that a fucking reference to… no, that can’t be,” he thought to himself. Dungeon puzzles tended to follow a specific set of guidelines. They were generally there to guard some kind of treasure against intruders, or those not considered worthy. Of course they wouldn’t be unsolvable in case if the original owners or those chosen by them seeked to claim the treasure inside, so the puzzle would be something pertinent to them.

  Normally, the subject matter would be either logic puzzles, a historical reference, or something pertinent to the mythology of that World. With most Worlds sharing myths with Earth, it wasn’t usually too hard of a challenge for an Earther summoned as “The Chosen One” to solve them. In the rare cases when a dungeon is constructed by a deific force or by whoever divined the summoning ritual itself, the puzzle might pertain to the history or culture of Earth itself. But the timeframe of that history or culture would have to match when the dungeon was built. It would usually be something like Ancient Greek, Norse, Hindu, Abrahamic, Buddhist, or anything else in such a wide timeframe. There could even be more obscure cultures referenced, like Ancient Sumerian or Zoroastrian. If this was supposedly an ancient dungeon centuries or millennia old, why would it have a reference to pop culture from goddamn 1998?

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  “Artyom? Hey, Artyom. What’s wrong?” asked Neitra.

  Dozens of ideas flew through Artyom’s mind, theories about the nature of these dungeons and Tommy’s quest, who could be behind the hero’s wild goose chase, and how it lined up with his experiences at Crystal Kobold Crossing. Much of it was coming together, but Artyom decided to file the information away for later. He was still navigating the dungeon and it wouldn’t do to be distracted, especially if it would provoke Neitra to ask more questions. He’d hopefully have time to solve the puzzle as much as he could when his full attention wasn’t needed.

  “Uh, nothing. I was just thinking about the puzzle to see if I’d heard anything like that somewhere else,” replied Artyom.

  “This definitely seems like a puzzle that only Tommy can solve,” said Neitra. “Let’s head back and let him know what we found. There’s usually a final room with a couple of enemies, and then what we’re looking for.”

  “Hold on first,” replied Artyom. “We’d might as well see if that text is real or not.” He happened to fully recognize the reference, as he was a big fan of the franchise back on Earth. And from his knowledge, he knew one of the elemental weaknesses of Rock was Steel, along with the more common Water and Grass.

  “Can you hand me one of your daggers, preferably one made out of steel?”

  Neitra handed one to him, and Artyom proceeded to take a stab at the smooth stone wall. The material clinked at the impact, but the blade bounced off without even imparting a scratch. Artyom frowned to himself, but then felt a pang of relief. Maybe he’d only mistaken the puzzle as a pop culture reference and there was something he was missing? If nothing weird or sinister was going on like he feared, he’d be happy. He handed the dagger back to Neitra, and they made their way to the entrance of the cave.

  “So it looks like Tommy’s already accepted you as a member of the team,” said Neitra, trying to drum up some smalltalk on the walk back.

  “Yeah, I guess so. He’s been pretty friendly, if a bit… horny.”

  “A bit what?”

  “Uh, nevermind. I mean, he seems to be more interested in the other ladies than anything else.” Artyom said, scratching his chin. He figured that some words didn’t really translate to this World’s language. At least, modern Earth slang terms. “If only they’d be a bit more friendly with us. What do you think their problem is?”

  “Well, I think it’s because I’m not romantically involved with Tommy,” replied Neitra, her previous whisper dropping even more in volume. “All the others are.”

  The two were silent for some time longer while the gears continued to turn in Artyom’s head. He sighed before he gave his response.

  “Well I don’t swing that way, and I don’t think the hero does either, so that had better not be why they hate me.”

  Neitra burst into another fit of giggles, her previous discomfort and worry now exorcised.

  “No, don’t worry,” she said between fits of giggles. “I’m sure he’d let you know if he was interested in you.” Eventually calming down, she continued. “But even then, he’d accept it if you say no to him. Too bad the others won’t.”

  “Well, the others aren’t important. At least when it comes to something like that. We’re our own people, we can choose for ourselves who to be romantically interested in. Even if he is the hero and everyone around is swooning over him, you don’t have to yourself, you have no obligation to! He makes a good friend, though.”

  “Thanks, Artyom. But I’m not really interested in you either,” she added.

  “See? That’s the spirit!” he cheered.

  Neitra’s smile widened, and she hoped Artyom’s dark vision spell wouldn’t be strong enough to catch her cheeks reddening.

  Soon after, the duo was greeted by the bright glow of sunlight at the far end of the tunnel. They disabled their dark vision abilities and made their way to the entrance, ready to notify the rest of the party of what lies ahead.