###"The Hidden Floor"*
Arthur doesn't even realize when she loses consciousness.
In the darkness, an image rises—
**"KING OF TERROR."**
The final moment…
everyone attacking together—
Then—
Arthur's eyes snap open.
She's lying on cold stone.
She tries to sit up, but her body refuses to move. A sharp pain throbs in her head.
The next moment, a hand reaches out from behind and steadies her.
"Easy."
Arthur turns her head—Joseph.
Joseph sits down beside her.
"How are you feeling?"
Arthur stays quiet for a moment. After steadying her breathing, she answers softly,
"A little better… my head still hurts."
She takes a long breath.
"Where… are we?"
Then the question that had been stuck in her mind—
"And the King… is it still alive?"
Joseph is silent for a few seconds, then speaks.
"After the last attack, the floor collapsed. Everyone fell down."
"There was a small pool of water below. That's probably what saved us."
"Some people lost consciousness—you included. I, Durk, Karaku, and the priest were still conscious."
"The priest healed everyone."
Joseph's voice lowers.
"The King fell with us too… but before reaching the bottom, its body scattered—like dust."
He looks at Arthur.
"So yeah… I think we won."
Arthur looks around.
Darkness. Unfamiliar walls.
"But we don't know where we are," Joseph continues.
"It feels like… a hidden floor."
Arthur looks around again.
She starts counting.
Only fifteen people.
The rest… didn't make it.
A little distance away, Karaku is talking to a woman.
Looking closer, Arthur remembers—
She was the woman with Gustav.
Arthur scans the area again.
Gustav is nowhere to be seen.
There were two women with him before.
Now, only one remains.
After a while, Durk walks over to Arthur, holding some food.
Arthur takes it without saying anything and starts eating.
"After you're done, come to the fire," Durk says.
"We need to talk."
Arthur nods.
"Okay."
After finishing the meal, Arthur walks toward the fire with Joseph.
They sit down.
Durk raises her voice.
"Everyone, gather here."
One by one, people come and sit around the fire.
For a few moments, no one speaks.
Then Durk says,
"We don't know where we are."
"But if we want to get out of here alive, we'll have to work together."
Only the fire crackles.
Durk continues,
"Out of a hundred adventurers, only fifteen survived."
"So I don't think clearing the dungeon should be our priority."
"Our focus should be getting out alive."
"If we survive, we can come back for this dungeon someday."
"If anyone has objections, speak now."
No one says anything.
A few people simply nod.
Durk looks into the fire.
"Alright."
"Get some rest."
"Then we move."
Arthur calls out,
"Karaku. Come here for a moment."
Karaku stands up and follows Arthur.
After moving a short distance away, Arthur asks,
"What were you talking about with that woman?"
His voice is serious. His eyes sharp.
Karaku looks startled for a moment, then takes a deep breath.
"First, her name is Luna.
Second… after Gustav died, her slave contract broke. She wants to go back to her family."
Arthur pauses.
*[So my guess was right.]*
He says nothing more and walks a little farther away, sitting down on a rock.
After resting for a while, Durk calls out again.
Everyone gathers.
"You've rested enough," Durk says.
"We move now. Stay alert."
The group starts moving together.
Arthur notices something—
No broken swords.
No skulls.
No bones.
A thought crosses his mind.
*Maybe no adventurer has ever been here before.*
After some time, he notices something else.
Karaku is walking at the very back—
slow steps, a troubled expression.
Arthur slows down and walks beside him.
"You know," Arthur says quietly,
"fate can be cruel sometimes."
Karaku says nothing.
"I know you wanted to kill Gustav with your own hands," Arthur continues.
"But… maybe it's better that you didn't."
Karaku doesn't look at him.
"If you had killed him," Arthur says,
"the line between you and him would've grown thinner."
Silence stretches between them.
"What happened," Arthur finally says,
"might have been for the best."
Karaku says nothing.
He just keeps walking.
No one speaks after that.
Everyone stays alert—faces tense and serious.
Even after nearly thirty minutes of walking,
there isn't a single monster encounter.
Arthur doesn't like it.
A while later, the group suddenly stops.
What Arthur sees in front of him—
he can't believe his eyes.
It feels like he's stepped into a dream.
A vast open area stretches ahead—
and everywhere, flowers.
Blue and purple flowers.
Arthur has never seen flowers like these in his entire life—
not in the real world,
not even in books.
For a moment, it feels like
he could spend his whole life here.
Like nothing else in the world matters beyond this field.
Arthur stands there, watching… thinking.
Then his gaze shifts.
Beyond the flower field, near the dungeon wall—
Someone is sitting there.
A skeleton.
Arthur walks toward it slowly.
It's the skeleton of a human.
Looking closer, he notices something in its hand.
A note.
Arthur gently takes it and begins to read.
It's written in blood—
dark stains and dried drops still visible on the paper.
---
**Note:**
My name is Rake.
And I was a slave.
My master brought me here on a raid.
But when things went wrong,
he ran away to save himself—
leaving me behind…
along with other adventurers and slaves.
I'm the only one left.
I know I won't make it out of here alive.
If someone finds this note in the future…
please listen to me.
Do not enter that door.
What lies beyond it is—
A
**LIVING NIGHTMARE.**