That destined day did arrive, rather fast.
"Candidate fifteen." A voice called out. I didn't turn, nor reply. I simply sharpened the edges of my sword with a wetstone, scrubbing harder to block him out.
"I am speaking." A shadow fell over me. Still, I didn't bother. Until, three seconds later, I looked up.
"Don't you have anything else to do?" I asked, my voice coated with venom. "I am sharpening my weapon, Squad Leader."
His eyes narrowed down on me, while his hands stayed folded. "Yeah? So you do know who I am. Where is your respect?"
"At your feet, sir." I answered, politely.
"Fia!" Nada shouted from in front of me. "Do. Not. Disrespect. The Squad Leader!"
I sighed, rolling my eyes and tried to get up. But her glare had me want to roll on the mud for mercy. So I turned my gaze towards him and bowed.
And he was... Satisfied... By that. Though I wished to have been able to strangle him right there. My jaw was clenched so tight, my teeth ached. While my hands were fisted so tight, my nails dug into the skin.
"Yes, Squad Leader?" I asked, hesitantly.
He stared smugly at my reaction. "Nothing."
"..."
Nothing? NOTHING?!
IF YOU HAD NOTHING THEN WHY DID YOU ASK?!
"Noted, squad leader." I stood up, dusting my clothes and placed my sword into its scabbard at my back.
"Ugh..." My hands gripped the table behind me. I stumbled half-a-step. Ever since I came back from that dungoen, my head has been torturing the end of me. Headaches, nausea, dizziness... And all.
"What? Are you mocking me right now?!" Helio snapped, folding his arms and glaring at me.
I turned my head towards him, making an irritated expression. "For the sake of God, let me live."
"And you are being rude?!"
"Ugh! Just... Shut up!" I said while slamming my fist into the table and walking away, ignoring any calls from behind me.
Then the world tilted on its axis again.
"Hah... I can't even shout or be angry like that anymore..." I whispered to myself, straightening back up, reaching a hand to clap over my forehead. It came back warm.
My only response was obviously to reach into my pocket and pull out pills. I popped them into my mouth. Not like it is going to help me improve from my headache.
Then a sudden memory flashed past my mind. The other medicines that Professor Miriam had given me.
I hurried back to my room, and slammed the door open. There sat two more bottles. I read the contents on the sticker.
One was a herbal aspirin which was made with a bit of the healing element dissolved into it. The other was of similar but for more focus.
I pulled out a tissue and dropped a few onto it. Then knotted it and shoved it into my pant pocket.
A couple minutes later, my head was finally starting to calm down from its earlier tantrum.
This got me questioning... Was it my injuries? Or was it just my Leukemia taking a different shape?
***
A flash of light bursted outwards, blinding them for a split second before dimming down into a completely different surrounding.
The broken glass-like surface they had walked in through was nowhere to be seen. Anyone who had read action webtoons and novels, would understand that this meant it was the start of the chaos coming forward.
The second (but first) of the canonical three dungeons.
Aefia slowly looked around at the unfamiliar—yet familiar—surroundings, her expression going completely blank.
"...You have got to be kidding me."
Helio raised his sword. "Well, at least we are together."
"That's exactly what I am worried about."
He was completely speechless. Maybe almost about to shout out another order for her as the squad leader with authority against the members.
"The first dungeon location... Really going to tense soon. I can tell." Nada spoke, taking a look around.
The faculty themselves have luckily, finally, showed some sympathy and briefed about what should be done and a few rules to avoid getting seriously injured. It brought a happy smile to Aefia's lips to know that they even did that.
They were currently standing in a small convenience store. Shelves and racks rested in front of them, untouched with food and malicious items.
"Pfft..."
Both Aefia and Nada turned their head towards Helio, who was suddenly laughing.
"Hahaha! This is the dungoen?! This is so unserious!"
No one else spoke, staring awkwardly.
"What? You can't think this is really one at this rate!" He shrugged, pointing the tip of his blade in the air around him, in a circular motion.
Without a word, Aefia rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone form within her pocket, tapping on the screen before walking towards the cashier.
The thing about this first one, was that you were the customer and the seller at the same time. You were an all in one role holder.
"What is she doing?" He asked.
A minute later, Aefia pulled out three mask from under the table, and tossed two onto the table between them.
"Put these on if you don't want to get killed." She stated, tearing off the packaging and pulling her own one out.
Helio scoffed. "Now we are going to a masquerade party? What is going on? Someone please say something." He looked at Nada, his brows furrowing in frustruation.
She simply picked up her own mask, putting it on. "The thing is... In this dungoen, if someone gets to know what you look like, they might frame you to get some free cash. While you will get executed."
"What...?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, although he made a move to put his own face mask on.
"Dungeons are different worlds, or different fantasy timelines. And in different worlds, there are different rules. In this, they make you cover your face since they say that showing them means you are bragging your beauty against people uglier then you. This is a crime, it is seen as being very arrogant about the things you have. If an NPC ever come to see you without a mask, they will report you to the police. And that will just... earn you an unpleasant surprise."
"Immediate execution?" He asked.
Nada smiled, "yes."
Helio's eyes turned towards Aefia, who was currently reading a newspaper. He opened his mouth once, then shut it again.
He rubbed his forehead. "I still have many questions, but I don't want to ask right now."
"Right choice. Because intense curiosity is also a crime."
"What?!"
"We are actually commoners currently in a high-noble society."
He suddenly felt all dumb. "How do you know so much?! The faculty didn't say anything about this!"
Aefia turned her head over her shoulder, shrugging. "You could say that if you co-operate with us, I will tell you exactly how. Actually, only me, Sasha and Nada know about it. So you would also be lucky if you came to know."
"Lucky? Pfft! Like that is the case..."
"She is telling the truth," Nada held a finger up to her lips. "It might even save your life some days."
He immediately turned silent, jogging up to catch up with them as they made a turn to head out of the store.
Outside was a Victorian London street. People walked around in top hats and with walking sticks, in trench coats.
Helio gasped silently. "This really is..."
Then, a hand reached out towards his face. He froze up.
"Stay still for a while," Aefia warned as a small, red, sheer, fabric wrapped itself around his mask, immediately dissolving.
She pulled her hand away, waiting as his mask changed its shape entirely. From a plain golden base, it warped into a a different shape with spikes that felt like scales when he touched them.
The same happened to Nada's mask, which turned into a falcon. Aefia's turned into...
...Into a sheep.
He immediately turned around, where he was sure was a glass where he caught his reflection. A lizard.
He immediately clenched his hands into fists at his sides. Why is she so rude?! She is humiliating me!
But before he could actually say anything out loud, they were already moving, walking towards a safe alley where people were passing by.
A slight fog was blocking the paths.
"Although I didn't say anything, I know you have questions. So I will answer one of them." She turned her head over her shoulder Helio.
"I had hacked onto the cashier with my phone to unlock it. It was haunted anyways, and no one ever used it. The machine was a bit busted, so rest assured because it wasn't all a crime from my part. And I won't get any of us killed."
His brows furrowed a bit, though he nodded. "Alright. The phone looks nice though."
Nada's eyebrows suddenly twitched too. "Yeah... It has a beautiful cover," she said while folding her arms.
Aefia pressed her lips into a thin line, walking a pace faster. "Thanks. Now let's focus on going home then."
"Hey hey hey! Where are you running off to?! You audicious little thief!" Nada called out, running after Aefia who was sprinting.
Until, they stopped to catch their breaths while Aefia earned slaps at her back. Helio caught up a few seconds later, his hands shoved into his pockets as he smiled smugly at her getting punished.
Ding! Dong! Ding!
Somewhere nearby, a watchtower rung out eight times. Aefia immediately looked up, dusting her clothes and her hair as she looked around at the street.
"Oh... Shit!" She muttered under her breath as she covered the lowered half of her face.
"What?" Nada asked.
"You know..." she whispered back. "The auction starts at nine I think?"
A knowing look came to Nada's face. "Oh. Right. We need to go find the auction house for this dungoen."
Helio tilted his head to the side in question. "It's a dungoen though."
"Yes, it is. And in paperback dungeons, you don't get normal beasts appears, we cut them down, take the artifact and get out. Consider this a mystery in real life that you have to solve in order to find a way out. Though since it is the second replaying as the first, we will have a boss monster at the end."
"Wait—what is going on?! Paperback dungeons? Second replaying as the first?!" Helio scratched his head dramatically.
Aefia sighed, "let's just say... Expect absolutely anything from here. And this isn't some ordinary battlefield."
She then looked away, offering him no more mind as she swept her eyes offer the different shops and storefronts. Her index finger dancing in the air as she pointed at certain things and mumbled something under her breath.
Then, she turned towards Helio and walked right past him. "Nada, let me know if you come across a wall gravity with odd numbers written."
"Sure," she shurgged, following after.
They walked by many blocks, watching slowly as the number of people started to reduce. The streets became eerie.
Is this how real Victorian London was? Aefia's mind whispered. Her attention pulling away from the streets. Behind her, Nada and Helio chatted away about the novel.
It was a normal thing... The shock of knowing this is all a novel was nowadays... Anticipated. Though that shock didn't even last long enough to leave an effect. Rather, it was seen as a blessing.
While she walked, her eyes scanned a flickering signboard. She didn't even know when, that the chatting voices were gone... And she was alone.
Opposite to her, a figure in heavy trench coat walked by. This immediately drifted her attention back just in time as the man shoved by her.
Inches from her eyes, a blade soared.
It was zooming in from her perspective, and at the last moment—
Snap!
—Aefia tilted her head to the side, her hand shooting up to stop the blade with a handheld pistol.
The man stumbled a pace, staring down at her in surprise as she held the force equilibrium with her firearm.
Lucky me... Professor Miriam lent it to me. Though it only has one bullet for emergencies.
With the same hand, she pushed his blade away and held the gun level with his forehead.
"Die! You fucking killer!" She said as she pulled down on the lever before pulling the trigger.
Bang!
The sound of it echoed across the empty streets like an explosion. The man toppled backwards and onto the ground.
She didn't even feel sick. His body immediately dissapeared. He was just a meager 'boss-to-be'. Not even a real human.
Like in games... You could say this was that one irritating NPC.
Frantic steps came echoing from a turn. Aefia immediately hid the pistol, stepping away from the bloodied area.
Nada was heaving—panicking. Helio looked confused.
"There you are! What were you doing running off?!" She shouted as she raced towards Aefia.
Running off? I wasn't... Running off? Aefia thought to herself. Then immediately, her eyes trailed over to the place the NPC had fallen.
"So now what? We aren't even close... Are we?!" Helio asked, holding his arms straight to point at the buildings. "This is getting frustruating!"
She simply dusted her hand, tilted her head to her right, then back at them.
"We are already here actually..." She pointed at a hotel entrance.
*********************
First draft: 08.11.2025
Rewritten: 28.09.2026