At first, I realized the three hills we saw on the map were actually a single one that spanned miles in a wide circle.

  Then it became clear what we actually gazed on the map was a giant crater with a rectangular platform at the bottom of it.

  It was hard to see the thing, but with my eyes squinted and a couple of seconds to adjust, I saw it perfectly. It was a simple rectangular arena with something moving in it. It moved like a beast, getting from one side to the other, impatient. Still, the shadows of the crater only let me see its blurred silhouette.

  “What the hell is that?” I muttered.

  “Take one step forward, and you’ll see,” Tress said solemnly.

  I inspected the edge of the thing. I could take three, maybe four steps before falling over the precipice. But it was clear there was a way to reach the bottom.

  A steep, step-less spiral descended toward the arena below.

  I took one move forward, and a new message popped up.

  Ding – You encountered a dungeon.

  Dungeon – Shadow Spiral – Rank F4

  Tasks to complete the dungeon:

  1 – Defeat the boss at the crater’s bottom.

  2 – Get back to the top.

  Do you accept the challenge?

  [Y/N]

  Only one party can enter a dungeon, and the challenge will start instantaneously if you take ten steps into the spiral or remain where you are for:

  5…

  4…

  I stepped back, and the message disappeared.

  “I was expecting a title for discovering the first dungeon,” I said, taking another sip of my coffee.

  “Check your notifications. That already happened a few hours ago.”

  I checked the log and noticed there were a lot of congratulatory messages I had missed.

  Someone had earned a title for being the first to build a camp.

  Another for being the first to kill a necromancer.

  A poor bastard even gained a title for being the first competitor to become a necromancer’s puppet.

  Amidst all the titles, one caught my eye.

  Emilia Hawthorn just earned the [Dungeon Survivor] title – Be the first to enter and conquer a dungeon.

  The message repeated itself, calling the names of Vart’Alarir and Kira’Nom, the two arahaktar who were Emilia’s companions.

  “Glad to know they followed my advice,” I muttered, then added internally, And I hope they listen to the second one when the time comes.

  “We need to fill the others in. It won’t be easy,” Tress said, sighing as the words died on her lips.

  “What’s wrong? You don’t seem as confident as usual…” I stepped toward her, taking one of her arms. She looked at me with a half-smile.

  “The Faceless… haven’t spoken to me since that moment in the forest when they warned me about the three fires bringing relief.”

  “We’ll be fine,” I said, patting her armored elbow. “I’m sure if we were going to die, God would whisper something about it to you.” I joked, but her expression turned to stone.

  “What? Did I offend you?” I asked, genuinely surprised by her reaction.

  “No, but don’t think that can’t happen. I’m just an instrument to the Faceless. I have no hope of being important. If they whisper something to me, it’s because they know my actions—or those of the people around me—will have an impact. But that could happen far in the future, or I may never even see it. There are other oracles… We’re few, but there are others.”

  “So what? We just need to be careful. And we are careful, aren’t we?” I raised an eyebrow, and that finally got a half-smile out of her.

  “When you’re not jumping on monsters to save our lives… yes. Just promise me you’ll be careful. The thing down there… it’s strange.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “There’s no need to be ominous,” I whispered, but looking at the arena below the crater and how the beast moved with a strange, graceful flow, there was no better word to describe it than strange.

  “Let’s go.” I pulled her gently by the arm, and she snapped out of her trance, tearing her gaze away from the sight below.

  Elk and Mary finished eating and were ready to dive into the dungeon. The only thing we decided to do first was throw the jaguar’s corpse back into the forest and erase any trace of our presence there.

  Looking at the map, no one was close, and Max’s group had resumed their walk toward the city stone. But just as wisely as we had, they decided to find a safer path instead of venturing through the necromancer-infested forest.

  After clearing everything, we moved toward the edge of the crater, where the spiral descended toward the boss arena.

  Messages appeared before our eyes but vanished as soon as we stepped ten paces inside.

  The steep descent was wide enough for the four of us to walk side by side with room to spare, but we still decided to hug the wall.

  As soon as we started descending, notifications of viewership blew up like crazy, and I involuntarily hoped our performance down there would attract some kind of sponsorship. Every one I had gained so far had been more than beneficial, and I was cheering for the others to get sponsored by viewers or gods.

  Was the Faceless a god watching the games? I wondered during my first steps, but I quickly dismissed the thought. There was no point thinking about anything except the task ahead.

  “I’ll scout, like we did in the woods.” I activated [Shadow Step] and moved along the steep path. With each step, we drew closer to the boss at the bottom, the sun grew dimmer, and the shadows deepened.

  We walked for five minutes, and the crater’s edge started to feel several feet above my head. The descent wouldn’t be as long as we had feared, but we still had no idea what to expect.

  Unease crept over me as I moved through the shadows. There was nothing there—no enemies, no movement. I couldn’t believe the dungeon would have only a boss waiting at the end. There had to be more.

  As if cursed for thinking that, Elk’s voice reached my ear.

  “There’s something wrong here, Zach.”

  I turned and immediately saw what he meant. Exactly where they stood—but not where I was—the rock walls stirred.

  They took a few steps back and started moving quickly toward me, but with each step, the movement inside the walls followed them.

  After a few seconds, something leapt from the wall.

  Two long arms struck Elk with extreme force, and the devil stumbled, his hooves skidding across the ground toward me.

  I barely had time to grab him by his robe.

  He teetered on the crater’s edge, one hoof on solid ground while the other dangled over the abyss, his robe the only thing keeping him from falling.

  With my free hand, I pulled him back onto the platform.

  I finally got a good look at our assailant. Two rocky arms remained exactly where they’d been two seconds ago, pulling themselves free from the stone.

  Another set of arms erupted from the walls at immense speed, aiming for Tress this time, but the myriad was more than ready to dodge.

  “Run, Mary!” I called as she stepped toward me, just as another set of arms lashed out at her. The creatures’ objective was clear—they were trying to knock us into certain death.

  The things started pulling themselves from the walls with surprising ease. It was like watching a Japanese horror movie, in which the ghost moves in an entirely unnatural way.

  That was how these rocky monsters emerged.

  Elbows and hands bent in the wrong directions, dragging thin torsos and heads too large for their bodies. They dropped to the ground, their unnervingly long legs absorbing the impact at the same time.

  The creatures were entirely made of brownish rock—no features, no clothes, no armor. Just a strange, living mineral.

  They rose with shocking speed and rushed toward us, both hands outstretched like zombies in an old movie. Tress had already moved in the opposite direction, while Mary, Elk, and I remained close—except they couldn’t actually see me.

  Mary shoved one of the monsters away with ease, and it stumbled over the one behind it. However, the other went past her, heading straight for Elk.

  The thing moved like a mindless machine, its only function to push. With both hands, it gained a sudden burst of speed—probably a skill—and lunged at Elk, unaware that I was right beside it.

  I was faster. I shouldered the monster, and it and tumbled over the edge, falling to the crater’s bottom.

  Congratulations! You have slain Earth Pusher – F5

  “That’s a fitting name,” I muttered as the words appeared in my mind.

  Tress kept dodging the pusher trying to send her to her death. She was fast, but the creature was cornering her dangerously close to the edge.

  Mary didn’t need help with the one near her. She kept shoving the creature back until it was the one trapped, teetering near the precipice.

  “Damn, I love irony,” I said, rushing to help Tress.

  The monster lunged for her again with its usual move, and as she dodged, I struck down with my dagger—only to feel the jarring impact of metal against solid rock.

  Okay, that’s not going to work.

  The monster turned its attention to me, but as soon as its back was exposed, Tress kicked its leg out from under it, sending it tumbling down the precipice.

  Is that it? My face twisted into a not-so-surprised grimace.

  Then I noticed the walls stirring.

  Not just where we stood, but all over the dungeon—both from the path we had come and down below.

  Dozens and dozens of pushers peeled away from the rock, falling to the ground.

  And near them, other golems emerged—only these ones carried swords, shields, and staffs.