Morning light slanted through the narrow windows of the trainee lodge. Somewhere outside birds sang over the rhythmic sound of a hammer hitting an anvil. The peace was shattered by a loud knock on the door.

  “Up and at it, recruits!” a voice called; young, male, confident. The knock and yell were repeated on the women’s door across the hallway.

  Jay groaned from the bunk below Alex. “Did we sign on for a TV show or a boot camp? It’s too early for this.”

  Alex sat up too fast. Whatever the doctor had given him the night before had helped him sleep, but he still felt off. The motion of sitting up made his vision swim. He forced himself upright and took a couple of deep, slow breaths. Today was the first real day in a new world. Whatever sickness he was fighting, he was going to power through it.

  The door opened and the man who had yelled at them stepped inside with a grin plastered across his tanned face. “Morning, Class A. I’m Keiran – last cohort’s ‘Most Promising Adventurer’ on Dungeon Inc., which means I get to babysit you lot for the day. Grab your canteens and follow me. You don’t want Reach coming down here to drag you out himself. Trust me.”

  “Reach?” Melissa asked as she stepped into the hall behind him, still bleary-eyed, tying her hair into a lopsided ponytail.

  Keiran’s grin widened. “You’ll see. Let’s just say he puts the ‘hard’ in hard-ass.”

  That earned an equal number of groans as it did nervous laughs. After a few minutes everyone spilled down into the main floor where Class B was already waiting – Connor in front, arms crossed, jaw set like he was posing for a recruitment poster.

  Keiran clapped his hands. “Alright then! Both classes, outside! Line up by team. Don’t make me use my ‘command voice.’” He talked tough, but it was hard to take him seriously when he smiled while delivering his lines.

  Outside, the air was cool and bright. Mist clung to the grass and the forest beyond the village walls shimmered faintly as the sun tried to break through the foliage.

  Alex looked around and let the new world sink in. For a long moment, he just stared – drinking in the details. It was incredible. The air itself seemed thicker, cleaner, charged with something that hummed just beneath the senses. The village looked like the perfect medieval set brought to life, the kind of place he’d seen a thousand times in games and fantasy art, except this one breathed. Smoke curled lazily from stone chimneys. Wooden shingles gleamed with morning dew. A blacksmith’s hammer clanged somewhere down the street, ringing with metallic rhythm.

  Well… an almost perfect medieval set. The architecture wasn’t purely western. The angles were too sharp, the roofs too steep, the symmetry too deliberate. There was a clear east-meets-west tension to it; a kind of cultural handshake halfway through a bow. Their so-called “hut” was a timber-framed lodge with heavy oak doors and iron hinges, but just beyond it stood a small, pale house of plaster and dark wood, its sliding paper doors glowing faintly in the dawn light. As a result, it felt less like a set piece and more ‘lived in’. More real.

  Then his gaze caught on the building that dominated everything. The Inn.

  It rose at the heart of the village like a statement – taller than anything else by a good three stories, impossible to miss from anywhere nearby. Its lower level looked straight out of every DnD campaign he’d ever played: timber beams, carved lintels, the glow of hearthlight spilling through wide, mullioned windows. He could almost hear the laughter, the clatter of tankards, the bard tuning her lute in the corner.

  But above that, the style shifted. The upper floors unfurled upward in layered tiers of lacquered wood and curved eaves. Pagoda roofs with flying corners that caught the morning sun in shimmering gold. Small guardian statues crouched along the ridgelines, watching silently over the village below. It was both familiar and utterly foreign, a perfect blend of fantasy tropes from two different worlds stitched together by human hands… or a TV producer's fever dream, depending on which side of that fence you sat on.

  The entire group stopped to stare. Nobody was here because they weren’t fans of the show, and this was the centerpiece.

  “Pretty wild, huh?” Keiran said, following their gazes. “The famous Silver Gate Inn! Don’t worry, you’ll get to head over once you finish training today.”

  Alex smiled despite himself. Wow, was his only thought. There it is.

  Keiran gave them a moment to gawk before gesturing for them to move on. There were 12 of them all together. Because Alex spent the night in his room he really hadn’t gotten to know anyone other than the few he had come in with. And Connor, of course. He left an impression.

  They walked down a packed dirt path that wound behind rows of small houses and towards the edge of town. Ahead lay a broad training ground – half packed dirt, half grass, bordered by wooden posts and rope barriers. Targets stood at one end, straw dummies at another by a small shed.

  In the center, a man leaned on a worn staff, his back to them. His coat was dark leather, faded with use, and his hair was the color of iron filings and snow. Then he turned and started towards them with a slight limp.

  “Line up,” he barked. His voice carried like the snap of a bowstring.

  The group obeyed instantly. Alex noticed that even Connor straightened, the smug look finally dropping off his face.

  “I’m John Reach. You can call me Reach or sir. Some of you may call me ‘that old bastard.’ I respond to all of the above.” The corner of his mouth twitched upward, but not quite into a smile.

  “I am your unarmed combat instructor and head trainer for this facility. You’ll report to me for discipline, assignments and probably most of your injuries. You screw up, I hear about it. You excel, I’m the one who makes that decision. Understood?”

  A ragged, out of sync “Yes, sir!” rippled through the group.

  “Good.” He planted the staff in the dirt with a solid thunk. “Before we get to punching things, you deserve a bit of truth about where you are.”

  He paused and looked at each person in turn to make sure he had everyone’s attention.

  “Welcome to New Earth. The locals don’t really have a name for anything here larger than a nation or empire, so that’s what I’m calling it. You’ll hear the TV folks around here all saying Earth 3, but that’s way too ‘comic booky’ in my opinion, so let’s stick to New Earth.”

  He gestured with the staff toward the east where a chain of huge mountains framed the horizon. “That way lies the Eastern Empire – It’s old, it’s big, and it’s full of scholars and bureaucrats who think they run the world. And that way,” he turned slightly, the limp making the motion awkward but deliberate, “is the Western Empire. Also old, also big, and also arrogant.”

  He turned back to look at the group. “And we’re stuck right between them, in what they both refer to as the Border Marches. We are sandwiched between thousands of years of politics, trade, and wars. Fortunately, being stuck out here in the boonies also means we don’t have to answer to anyone, so you can think of us as a tiny little city-state on the fringes of two mammoth empires.”

  “How about North and South?” Jay asked.

  “We’ve only been here for just over a year, so we haven’t had time to map out the entire continent, let alone the world. We have drones, but they’re small enough that they can’t be seen, so they have limited range.”

  “The terrain is mountainous and rough to the North, so we haven’t pushed too far in that direction yet. We do know there are a handful of scattered settlements, but that’s about it.

  “To the south it’s just more of what you see here all the way to some sea I don’t know the name of, about 1000 km away. Between here and there are a number of city states and lots of wild country.”

  Alex heard Connor mutter, “We’re all nice and safe here then, apparently…” A couple of people around him chuckled.

  Reach gave him a look that could cut glass. “It’s stable enough that we’re not dead yet. You have to leave Old Earth thinking behind at the portal. All of human history back home is just 10 thousand years old. That empire over there…” Reach gestured vaguely to the east with the hand not holding onto his staff. “According to folks I’ve talked to? It’s hard to believe, but they claim the same imperial family has been ruling for well over 8 thousand years now. And they’re just one in a long line of Empires.”

  “Now, listen close. I know that every single one of you signed up because of the TV show. What you thought was a TV show. But starting today you need to absorb 1 single fact. This world is real. The danger is real. And your job is to keep safe, and keep the people around you safe.”

  “What about the TV show?” Melissa asked. Alex couldn’t tell if she sounded disappointed or upset by what Reach was telling them.

  “That’s job number 2. And don’t you dare let any of the TV folks convince you otherwise.”

  He scanned their faces, gauging comprehension. “This world is full of monsters that we only know of through story books and things we don’t even have names for. Apparently there is real magic and people that can fly around like superman.” Reach spit on the ground when he said this last part, clearly not believing it.

  “And those ‘dungeons’ you watched adventurers clear out every episode of Dungeon Inc.? The lab coats think that when they punched a tunnel between Earth 1 and here, it tore the fabric of reality a little. And the impact of that tear is causing bubbles to rise to the surface.

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  “Those bubbles, ‘quantum bubbles’, seem to become some kind of anomalous pockets where things don’t work right. Physics breaks. Magic flares. Monsters crawl out. The way it was explained to me is they are kind of like mirrors of reality. But twisted.

  “They pop into existence with pieces of this world inside. We think the instability will fade over time. But the labfolks also believe that if we don’t close them as fast as they open, they could expand, spread and collapse this entire universe.”

  “Like a massive game of cosmic Whack-A-Mole,” Jay said.

  Reach tapped the ground with his staff. “Until then, we clean them up and shut them down. That’s the day job. Push your way into the instabilities, plant a device that will collapse it and get out before that happens. That’s what adventuring here really means. You’ll train, you’ll broadcast, you’ll look good for the fans – but the work is real. The blood is real. And if you go outside the walls unprepared, you’ll die ‘real’ too.”

  The group went quiet. Even Melissa’s grin faltered.

  Jay broke the silence first. “So, uh… no pressure.”

  A few nervous laughs trickled out. Reach didn’t stop them. He knew the weight of what he was saying and he knew these were still just kids in most ways.

  “This morning we start with what matters most. You can’t hold a sword if you don’t know how to stay alive without one. Unarmed combat and self-defense.”

  He nodded to Keiran who had been waiting patiently off to one side. “Demonstration gear.”

  Keiran jogged to the storage shed and returned with two padded mats and a pair of worn training gloves. Reach set his staff aside and stepped onto the mat with a grunt. He favored his right leg heavily, but his movements were still crisp, efficient.

  “Rule one,” he said, “real fights aren’t about form and they sure as hell aren’t about looking good for the camera. They’re about survival. Forget fancy martial-arts kata. Out here, we use what works – I’m going to teach you a variety of proven techniques and systems like Krav Maga. You will learn close-quarters tactics, joint locks, disarms and lethal takedowns. Everything else is noise.”

  He pointed at Connor. “You. Step up.”

  Connor blinked but obeyed, swagger half-checked.

  “Throw a punch at me.”

  “Uh, sir?”

  “Punch.”

  Connor hesitated, then swung – a clean right hook. Reach shifted his weight, deflected the arm, and in one motion twisted Connor’s wrist and swept his good leg behind the boy’s knees. Connor hit the mat hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

  “Lesson one,” Reach said, leaning on his staff again. “Everyone goes down. The trick is getting up faster than the other guy.”

  He helped Connor to his feet. “You’ve got power. Learn control. The rest of you – find a partner and grab your mats from the shed.”

  Pairs formed quickly. Jay and Connor ended up together, predictably. Rae and Melissa. Danny with Alex.

  Reach demonstrated the move again with Keiran, then hobbled around the circle, correcting stances and angles. “Feet shoulder-width. Knees soft. You’re not statues. You’re springs. I don’t want to see any high-school boxing nonsense – this is real-world close combat. Grab, strike, move.”

  He clapped once, sharp. “Switch off and go again!”

  The next two hours blurred through movement and dust. They kept switching partners as they learned basic blocks like palm strikes and knee counters. Jay whooped every time he landed a clean hit. Rae fought like she was bored but never missed a step. Melissa kept apologizing whenever she tagged her opponents.

  Alex struggled. His body still felt half a second behind every command, like his brain and limbs were running on different operating systems. And his vision was still a little blurry.

  Reach’s voice cut through the clatter. “You – Mercer, right?”

  Alex froze mid-stance. “Yes, sir.”

  “Breathe. You’re thinking too much. I can see it in your shoulders.”

  “I’m – trying, sir.”

  Reach’s tone softened a hair. “Try less then. Here,” he motioned Alex closer. “There’s something that might help – a breathing form I picked up on my travels out here before my leg went bad. Locals use it to calm the body and center the flow of their energy. Works for nerves. Works for pain. They call it The Still Water Breathing Technique, or Still Water Breath.”

  He straightened as best he could and demonstrated: slow inhale through the nose, hold, then exhale like pushing air through a narrow reed. He repeated a couple of times, speeding up, then slowing down his breathwork.

  “Not magic,” he said, “just balance. But if you do it right, you’ll feel the ground again. You’ll stop floating in your head.”

  Alex copied him, awkward at first. But after a few breaths, the static buzz in his veins eased. The air felt thicker somehow – heavier, but also clearer.

  “Good,” Reach said. “That’s your base. Keep it.” He turned away before Alex could thank him.

  Another hour passed in drills. Sweat soaked uniforms. Red knuckles. Purple bruises. Even Connor stopped posturing once Reach made him repeat a takedown thirty times in a row. He was on the ‘getting taken down’ side of that one.

  Finally, Reach lifted his staff and barked, “Enough!”

  They gathered in a loose semicircle, panting.

  “Not bad for a first morning,” Reach said. “Half of you can throw a punch without breaking your thumbs. That’s progress.”

  A few tired chuckles answered.

  He gestured to the west, where smoke curled from chimneys beyond the fence. “This morning was all about grounding you this new reality. It’s a dirty, bloody, hard one and you need to remember that. But there’s a silver lining. Starting tomorrow, once your ANIP implants are online, all of this is going to get a lot easier.”

  Melissa raised a hand hesitantly. “Uh, sir? The ANIP – what exactly is it?”

  “It’s your superhero upgrade. The thing that will get you in fighting shape and help make you shine on camera. You’ll get the full rundown after lunch,” Reach said. “For now, think of it as a bridge between your brain and your gear. It’ll help you learn faster – pick up skills in days instead of months. It also keeps you from getting killed when you push too far. That’s the company line, anyway.”

  He tapped his left leg with the staff – the bad one. “Pre-nanobot injuries can’t heal up as well unfortunately. But once you have the upgrade? Well, it's the only reason that Dungeon Inc. can afford to keep sending kids like you to fight monsters.”

  Jay wiped sweat from his forehead. “You make it sound like we’re going to war.”

  Reach’s eyes hardened. “That’s not too far from the truth.”

  Silence again. The weight of his tone cut through whatever bravado remained.

  Then he exhaled and softened. “Listen. I push hard because this world doesn’t know how famous you are back home. It’ll chew you up if you’re careless. But if you train, if you pay attention, you’ll be fine. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll even make a difference.”

  He scanned them once more, and for a second his expression flickered – pride, maybe, or nostalgia. “When I was your age, I thought adventure meant glory. Turns out it mostly means endurance, and ANIP is going to give you plenty of that.”

  He straightened, forcing strength into his bad leg. “Pair drills are done. Keiran will take you through cooldown stretches. Then you head downstairs for showers and lunch in the cafeteria. You’ll also meet Doctors Holt and Galaunt for your ANIP installations. Don’t eat until after. You’ll thank me later.”

  Melissa frowned. “Why not eat?”

  “Because if you hurl on the operating table, they’ll make you clean it up,” Reach said as he stared at her. She laughed, then stopped. Then laughed again, clearly unsure whether he was joking or not.

  Reach looked around at them and then spun and walked away with a final “Dismissed.”

  Keiran clapped twice. “You heard the man! Form lines!”

  The group shuffled into position. Alex found himself next to Rae. “Fun morning,” she said dryly.

  Alex managed a weak smile. “Define fun.”

  “Learned some skills. Walking out on our own.” She shrugged. “It’s a low bar, but I’ll take it.”

  Across the field in the opposite line, Connor stumbled a few times and kept rubbing his shoulder. Jay said something to him that made him laugh – genuine this time, not his usual camera-ready smirk.

  As they finished their cooldowns, Alex caught Reach watching him. The old man nodded once, almost imperceptibly, then turned away toward the armory shed.

  The sun had climbed higher while they trained and birds wheeled noisily above the treeline. Alex tried to take it all in as he stretched in time to the breathing exercise Reach had shown him.

  When they were done, Reach called them over to the shed and said “Here’s the rest of your starter gear. Keep it clean. Keep it in good working order.”

  Alex picked up a dark gray pack with a bedroll, or thick blanket strapped to the bottom of it.

  “Inside you will find essentials that you will use both here in the village and especially when you are out in the field. You will also find a money pouch with the equivalent of 10 gold pieces in various denominations. Every week you will receive the same from the C.O.I.N. folks as part of your TV contract. Most of your pay will be deposited into your accounts back home, but this gives you some in-world currency to spend.”

  Reach pointed back at the village and continued “For now, that mostly means at the blacksmiths, clothiers, fletchers, etc. And of course, at the inn.”

  Jay asked, “C.O.I.N.?”

  “C.O.I.N. – Central Office of Inventory & Numbers. Basically the village/company accountants. All the departments here have cutesy names but don’t worry about it too much, you’ll get them down before long.”

  Emily Vargas, one of the Class B trainees, put up her hand and waited for Reach to nod towards her “Um, is 10 gold pieces valuable?” She blushed and then corrected herself, “I mean, is it enough?”

  Reach laughed wryly. “It’s valuable enough here. You could buy a pretty nice outfit for 1 and a half gold. Or a decent sword for 2. It’s not going to make you rich, but you’ll be able to stock up on supplies and buy some food when you want it. Think of it as a decent amount of pocket money. Later, when you head out on missions, you can trade in the loot you bring back for considerably more.”

  Emily perked up at the mention of a new outfit and she wasn’t the only one. Alex didn’t really care about the trainee uniform, it was baggy and comfortable, but he had heard most of the others complain about them earlier.

  Keiran’s voice broke the illusion. “Alright recruits! Grab your gear and follow me. Next stop: Showers, and then Medical for your ANIP install. Try not to freak out – it only hurts a little and will turn you into a genuine Superhero!”

  Groans and nervous chatter followed.

  As they trudged back toward the village, Alex continued practicing the Still Water Breathing technique the way Reach had shown him. Despite the punishing morning activities, he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. As he breathed it almost felt like the air around him shimmered faintly in time, like the world itself was exhaling back.

  For the first time since stepping through the portal, the disoriented feeling, the pit in his stomach and all the tension in his body didn’t feel like sickness anymore.

  They felt like release. Like arriving. Like awakening.

  We didn’t know what we were walking into in those first months. Maps were guesses. Threat models were wishful thinking. We crossed over light and loud, like excited idiots in a new world. And the world answered the way all wild places always do.

  I took an arrow through the thigh in the third week. Ripari. Damn things look like giant beavers at a distance—right up until they start screaming. Long teeth, broken and jagged. They wore leather clothes stitched together with fishgut and carried nasty little weapons, the sickle-like blades, wide bladed knives and bows. The tails are the worst part. Thick, heavy things that move fast enough you don’t see the swing until you’re already on the ground.

  Our ANIP was an early model, but it kept me alive. Without it, I’d have bled out before we dragged ourselves back through the gate. That was when it clicked: this place doesn’t forgive ignorance. It collects it.

  We survived by luck and stubbornness. That’s not a strategy.

  The new recruits won’t make the same mistakes. Not if I can help it. They’ll train harder. Pack smarter. Learn faster. The ANIP is getting better, but so will our training.

  This world takes what you give it. I plan to make sure we give less of ourselves.

  Personal Field Journal — John Reach

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  Dungeon Inc. // RECRUIT DIV.

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  ? ━━━? THE STORY CONTINUES… ?━━━ ?