The First Dungeon (part 1)

(Jia Li's POV)

Zhong Li Lin has been really weird lately..... just like that day when....

(flash back)

" hey Jia Li!! do you know apparently the oldest photo of yours is also youngest photo..."

"....."

"... sorry...that was a weird thing to say..."

(flashback ended)

....no no!! wrong flashback...but seriously....what the hell was that??

(real flashback)

[ah hello!! so you finally picked up!!]

I was inside my office when Li Lin called me..

at first I thought she might wanna talk about her fiance who came back from abroad....or maybe the dinner we both planned tomorrow night....but ..

[Jia Li, my dearest friend, I'm really sorry but...]

Her voice seemed really serious..... I didn't know what to think....so I just asked her if there's anything wrong....but..

[I can't go out with you tomorrow night like we promised....]

"wha....but why??"

[please don't be too worried, whatever I'm doing, it's for everyone's benifit....]

"Can you stop talking so weirdly for one second!!! and the way you're saying things!! it definitely looks like you're going to do something dangerous!!"

[anyways!! bye bye!!]

"wai-"

but before I could speak anything else...he hung up the phone...

(present)

I took a deep sigh....

"I just hope she's not doing anything dangerous right now..."

no matter how much I tried... I couldn't help but feel like there's something wrong with this picture.....so I, like a good friend I am, send my security manager to check on her....

after

[ringtone~]

"hello!! security manager Lou, what's the report?"

[there's nothing to worry about Miss Zhen.]

I took a sigh of relief but then....

[after all, brother Xin is also in there.]

". . . . ."

[uh... Miss Zhen?]

I hung up the call and hold my head as I started wondering WHAT THE HELL IS THAT GUY DOING THERE?!!

"....wait....could it be that Li Lin is.... no...she isn't like that....but even Xin isn't like he was before.....but that guy's too unpredictable ."

Then I started thinking different outcomes...after some time I decided..

' I should call her and confront her about this!'

and after that, I dialed her number after five times, but she didn't pick it up....

"DAMN IT!!!"

'... I can't even ask the security manager to check on Xin....he trusts him too much...'

after another deep sigh, I muttered..

"...please don't do anything stupid Li Lin..."

.

.

.

(meanwhile at Li Lin's mansion)

(Xin's POV)

" you sure you have everything?"

I asked Li Lin as I was preparing all the tools that'll be needed inside the dungeon.

"ah.... I didn't get my phone..."

"it's alright, it's not like there's gonna be any connection there.."

Few moments later, we both reached this mansion's library...

"alright, try to find a book with the author, 'Henry Pennington' and pull it a little from the shelf...if I remember correctly, it must be at the left corner."

After hearing that, she looked at me with a confused gaze..

"you do realise how creepy it is, the fact that you even know where a book is inside my personal library..."

<she's right host....it does sound like you're a stalker...>

"....you do realise that I'm from another world who knows mostly everything right..."

then she looked at me with a smile..

"haha and that's why I'm not that surprised, try saying these sorts of things infront of other girls and you'll be deemed as the Stalker.."

< I completely agree with her host>

"alright we're getting distracted now..."

after sometime, Li Lin finally found the book and pulled it out, when she did...a strange mechanical sound was produced and..

".....WOW... it's like one of those magic academy stories.."

"aren't you a millionaire, and you're getting excited over something like this?"

I said as the giant shelf that was covering the wall went inside the floor, revealing a giant gate with no key hole or even a door handle...

<.....hoho big words from the mouth of that man, who's mind is exploding right now....>

'..no comments....'

after few minutes, Li Lin looked at me and asked...

"so....what should we do now..."

I then looked at the door trying to remember how the gates were opened....after a little thinking, I finally remember..

"place your hand on that door.."

she did....but nothing happened...

' strange.... that was how the door was opened in the novel...'

<host use that brain of yours and try to remember...>

' I am TRYING!!!'

but before I could say anything else, the door finally opened...and I looked at Li Lin..

"wait...but how??"

she looked at me and started smiling with a smug...and put her index finger on her lips..

"it's a secret~"

After hearing this, I remember how the door was opened and lost my curiosity as we both moved forward...

"....hey!! are you not even gonna try and ask!??"

<.... aren't you curious about it host?>

'I was curious at first....but soon I also remembered how the gate was opened in the novel.'

<huh?>

' she just needed to numb her mind when placing her hand on that door..'

I finally gave her a reply.

"nah...not really.."

I said that as we both were finally on the other side of the door..

after my reply, she scoffed and said...

" I numbed my-"

*BAM*

with this loud noise, the giant door behind us disappeared...this startled her a little...

Soon, we both noticed that we're in a dark forest like place..

"don't worry..."

I looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile..

" we're gonna exit this place right after we get what we need.... until then, can you trust me?"

At first she didn't looked much convinced...but soon her eyes were filled with determination.

"....no, not really."

After a few seconds, I formed a smile..and then I nodded..

"good."

<ah..right!! host's survival rule no. 7, never trust anyone other than yourself!!>

after talking a little, we finally moved deeper inside the dungeon...

(an hour later...)

"...so Xin.....or should I call you somethings else, since....well you know, you're not Xin and .."

"it's alright, just Xin will do."

"...ah so....there aren't many monsters like....you know, how they are in the books and.."

"we're deliberately taking a route where we won't encounter any monsters..."

"oh..."

<....host...is it just me or is she more talkative than usual..>

'.. I was also thinking the same thing....maybe the protagonist charm is doing it's job...'

After we got a little further, we noticed that there are two scary looking creatures standing, fortunately they weren't too big but of average human size...

seeing both of them, we hid behind some bushes...

<host!! look!! these guys are guarding this temple....>

as system said this, I also noticed that we're much closer to the first piece of key than I initially thought....but suddenly, Li Lin came close to my side and whispered in my ear..

"hey...you said there won't be any monsters in this route.."

"and I also said to not trust me! and you agreed....how come you don't remember that!!"

I also whispered....

"I meant that I don't trust you to protect me!! not that I don't trust your words!!"

and she whispered back....

I took a deep sigh and tried to think of a solution....

these monsters are easy to kill...but they can call more monsters to this place with there minds of we try to fight them head on.

even in the novel, when all the heroines were here along with a strong version of Ran...the battle with these monsters took about 5 hours or should I say 10 chapters...

and I'm not really sure if we can fight these guys even with my 'amazing' skills..

'FUCK!! SHOULD I JUST JUMP ON THEN AND ATTACK THEM GUTTING THEM DOWN AND RIPPING THEM APART..'

"uh... Xin?"

soon I noticed that I was holding a stone tightly while Li Lin was looking at me with concern..

"you alright?"

"....yup.."

after taking a deep sigh, I decided.

'...guess I'll just have to use the THREE rules of survival..'

< three rules of survival?>

' improvise, adapt and overcome..'

after thinking for a while, I realised that stealth is our best bet right now...

I, then looked at Li Lin and whispered..

"can you snap someone's neck?"

"...what kind of question is that?"

"yes or no?"

".... I don't know....and why are you even asking that?.."

"listen carefully, we're gonna use stealth..."

"huh? stealth.."

"yes.... we're gonna kill these bastards without letting them know what just happened."

-to be continued