A snippet of conversation from the rooftop. As time slowly moved closer to midnight, the anxiety only grew. Each tried to mitigate this feeling in their own way. Rambha had drunk herself to oblivion, Ashwin had disappeared to speak with the anchor, while Uruvi restlessly paced about the terrace floor.

  She turned round and trotted back to her seat, plopping onto it a little violently. The commotion was loud enough for Rambha to be snapped back to reality. She looked at Uruvi through her drowsy eyes and said, “babe, your heart will explode if you keep this up.”

  Uruvi let out a grunt and said, “can’t stop thinking…”

  “Just get drunk like me. It will be way easier,” said Rambha.

  “If only I didn’t have a disdain for alcohol,” she replied.

  “How sad…”

  Her eyes caught sight of Rambha’s magic suitcase, which sat beside Rambha with her special gun on top of it. “I wanted to ask. That suitcase is pretty sick! Did the system gift you that?”

  “Meka-meka? Yeah. It gave it to me when I chose my class – Craftsman (Shilpakar).”

  “Wait. I thought you picked the gun as your weapon.”

  “No. I made that. I create objects using Meka-Meka. As long as I know how to construct it in real life. So…” Rambha propped herself up and continued, “If I have the blueprints of the object I want to create, Meka-meka can make it.”

  “Anything…” she wondered. “Can it make Gold?”

  Rambha let out a chuckle. “No… At least not at the moment. My Skill let’s me construct using Common material. Wood, plastic, steel, and stuff. I don’t know. Maybe if I upgrade my skill, I will get access to better material.”

  “Like Gold?”

  “I don’t know… maybe you should try alchemy.”

  Uruvi paused. Her eyes shot a glance at the gun once more. “You said you made the gun, right? Can you make me something similar?”

  “You want a gun?”

  “Yeah. It would be good to have a ranged weapon during battle,” said Uruvi.

  “Sure, babe. I will get around to it… maybe in the morning.” Rambha let out a yawn as her head slumped on the backrest.

  “Take your time,” said Uruvi. However, on the inside, she felt giddy, wondering what Rambha might cook up.

  ***

  Uruvi felt her body move on its own the moment she stepped into the dungeon. Darkness enveloped her as the brightly lit doorway rapidly turned into a bright dot before vanishing. She felt her body stretch and squeeze, but not to an uncomfortable degree. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, the world around her stopped moving. A grey landscape faded into her vision as it cleared up, revealing a long stretch of alleyway before her.

  “Are… are we inside?” she asked.

  “Look to your left,” said Ashwin.

  She turned to see a gaping hole in the wall to her left, and beyond it was a colorful explosion of space debris set against the darkness of space. Her jaw dropped at the sight. “Are we in space?”

  “Not sure… could be just an illusion of space,” Ashwin theorized.

  Rambha walked up to the hole and peeped over the wall. “More empty space.” She turned back to others and said, “with all that has transpired, this doesn’t feel out of place.”

  “Fair,” said Uruvi. She looked done at her screen and tapped on the map, only to be greeted by a black screen. ‘Not surprising…’ She turned back towards the alleyway, which had been tucked neatly between two buildings that appeared to be touching the grey sky above them. She spotted a door on the wall to her right. She quickly trotted over to it and tried to open it. But the handle did not budge.

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  “Looks like just set dressing,” said Ashwin.

  They continued further down the alley and came upon an intersection. Each path continued further on, with no end in sight.

  “Shit. A labyrinth,” said Uruvi. “I hoped it was just one battle after another.”

  “Oh, the contrary, we might be able to finish this dungeon without a fight!” said Rambha.

  “I think you are being a little too optimistic,” said Ashwin. “We may end up having to face the worst of both worlds.”

  “Welp. Let’s get on with it then. Which way shall we go?” asked Rambha.

  “I say… Let’s go right,” suggested Uruvi.

  “Sure. Why not? But let’s mark the path we took. Else we will get lost,” said Ashwin.

  “Good idea!” Rambha opened her suitcase, and a short wooden stick popped out of it. It had a metal tip, with which she was able to scratch the side of the wall.

  Round and round they walked, with each turn they took, the landscape morphed into the more bizarre and stranger. The narrow alleys widened into two-lane streets, with decaying urban houses lining both sides. The asphalt on the street had been torn and destroyed, while the wood and paint on the houses were decaying. Empty vehicles rode along the streets, taking turns like clockwork. There was no sign of any life, yet the shadows of the living were cast over the dead walls. Everything had a wash of grey over it, making it bleak and depressing.

  “We have not been here before, right?” asked Uruvi.

  “I don’t recognize it. Nor do I see any of the marks we left behind,” said Ashwin.

  “How big is this place?” asked Rambha.

  Uruvi looked at the map and saw that it was still blank.

  Suddenly, rumbling noises filled the air, making them freeze on spot. A Pisacha smashed through the window of one of the houses and landed before them. It looked at them and let out a loud scream. Several Pisacha appeared out of the shadows and surrounded them.

  “Can’t believe I am saying this, but man, I am glad to see these things!” said Rambha.

  Uruvi smirked. Her eyes looked at the number over the Pisacha’s heads. The numbers hovered around Level 9 and 10. ‘Easy pickings!’ She leapt at the pack with a big smile on her face, before hacking away at the weak creatures.

  Ashwin and Rambha stood behind and watched her cut her way through multiple enemies.

  “Do we even bother?” asked Rambha.

  “We will just watch and see if she needs any help,” said Ashwin. He turned his attention back to his screen.

  A good few minutes later, the last of the Pisacha fell, turning into dust. Uruvi wiped the sweat off her face. “Fu!”

  “Had fun, darling?” asked Rambha, wearing a big grin on her face.

  “It was just a warm-up,” she replied.

  Rambha simply shook her head.

  She saw that her XP bar had not grown even a little. ‘Hey! What gives? Arya. Why didn’t I get my XP?’

  “Monsters within a dungeon are only simulations. They do not contribute to player XP.”

  ‘Simulation? They felt real enough to me.’

  Ashwin was still looking down at his screen. “No use. I still can’t get the map working.”

  “Looks like we will need to rely on our instincts then,” she said.

  “Oh yeah? Which way is your instinct pointing?” asked Rambha.

  She whipped around and saw that the street took a sharp right turn. However, on the left was a narrow alley that cut through the buildings adjacent to it. “Wanna see what is hiding in the alleyway?”

  “Sure. Who knows what might be hiding around the corner?” said Ashwin.

  “I just hope it isn’t trouble,” said Rambha.

  They walked upto the entrance of the alley and saw it disappear into darkness. She turned back to her peers and asked, “do we dare?”

  “Luck favors the brave,” said Ashwin, with a smirk.

  They walked through the alley until they reached a sharp right turn. The narrow path suddenly opened into a small pocket between buildings and on the other side was a large wooden chest adorned with gold decorations.

  “Score!” said Rambha, rushing over to it.

  “Watch out now. It might be a monster in disguise,” said Ashwin, appearing behind her.

  She came to a sudden stop and immediately leapt behind the others. “In that case, you guys give it a try.”

  Uruvi snorted and walked upto the chest. “Aren’t you being a little too…” She felt someone grab her arm. Before she could even react, she found herself pulled into the chest, with sharp objects pressing into her torso. “Huh, guys! A little help?”

  Rambha bursted into laughter.

  “What…? You knew?” asked Ashwin.

  “Yeah… I saw its eyes hiding in the grain of the wood,” said Rambha.

  “Oh, fuck you! Now help me get out!” shouted Uruvi.

  “Relax, it is only level 6,” said Rambha.

  They pried open its mouth, letting Uruvi sneak out. She quickly picked up her axe and struck it on its head, killing it with one blow. She saw Rambha try her best to hide her smile. “I am going to get you for that.”

  Ashwin saw the monster turn to dust, but there were no rewards left behind. “All that for nothing.”

  ***

  The party continued onwards, walking for what felt like an eternity. Their path had returned to being narrow, tucked between an endless sea of urban landscape. They came upon an intersection once again, which looked oddly similar to the one before.

  “Wait…” said Uruvi, coming to a stop at the center of the intersection. “Isn’t this where we started?”

  “Oh come on!” said Rambha. She looked back at the wall from where they came and found no mark. “No mark there.” She rushed over to one of the walls and checked for the mark. “No mark here.”

  Ashwin walked over to the other wall and checked. “No mark here, either.”

  Uruvi took the last wall and saw that there was no mark. “None here…”

  Suddenly, the opening to the intersection was sealed shut by a white wall. “What the hell?” She placed her hand on the wall and tried to push it. When it didn’t budge, she tried to hit it with her axe, but to no avail. “Guys? Can you hear me?” There was no response.

  She turned around and saw the alley continue onwards, disappearing into the shadows. “This is not good…”