3: Dungeon doors

"Something feels strange..."

Sage went deeper into the cave, the farther he went, the cooler the air became. The lights from the rocks became dimmer, and there were fewer creatures in sight.

"Something is definitely up with this cave."

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

(*signal*)

"Hmm? he already made it to the cave? that was fast, well let the games begin."

>>>

Sage finally reached the end of the cave, in front of him was a big door. He stood there in awe, amazed at how enormous the door was.

But Suddenly...

[* Ping*]

[* Welcome Hunter*]

[First Mission> Open the dungeon]

[ Time> 5 minutes ]

[Do you accept?]

{*Yes*} {*No*}

A blue screen flashes before Sage's eye.

"What is this!?! hunter!? dungeon!? what is going on!? am I seeing things!?"

Sage really couldn't believe his eye, even with everything he has been through, he still couldn't believe.

"This can't be real right? I mean this isn't a game, it's reality! even if the world is doomed I still don't believe it, it's impossible."

While Sage debated with himself, another screen popped up.

[*Ping*]

[ The 5-minute timer has been activated ]

[Penalty for not accepting> Death ]

[Penalty if failed> Death ]

[Reward> Crescent Sabres]

"What is this!? is someone playing a prank or something!!!? but just to be sure."

(*Click*)

{*Yes*}

[*The mission has begun, good luck*]

Sage was still shocked by what just happened, but it wasn't the time for him to stand and do nothing, he had to find a way to open that big door, which had 4 keyholes aligned opposite each other in a square formation.

~~~~~

(*3 minutes has passed*)

"Ahh, I found something."

After looking around the cave for clues, Sage found multiple keys.

"This is just like back in the kitchen, only the keys are bigger and the amount is twice as much, so all I got to do is find the correct keys"

Sage began his search, he looked for more clues, in regards to the key's pattern and area around the keyhole.

''I found a pattern, 2 Diamond and 2 Stars, I know I found those patterns on some of the keys a while ago''

Sage found the keys once again and placed them on the floor next to the door.

''Now to put the keys into the keyho_''

Sage's face turned pale.

''What's going on!? the pattern changed positions?''

[*Ping*]

[ 1 minute left ]

The blue screen appeared once again before Sage, informing him about the time. The moment it disappeared, the ground began the quiver under Sage's feet. The cave was on the verge of collapsing.

"Get yourself together Sage, this isn't the time for you to stand around."

He gave himself a slap on the cheeks and immediately came back to his senses, he already knew that things weren't as easy as it seemed.

''Okay think, the last pattern was Diamond, Star, Diamond, Star.. and now it's Star, Diamond, Diamond, Star. Then do I anticipate the next pattern or stick with the last?''

Sage was so focused on the keys that he almost forgot the time, but the time wasn't all that Sage had to worry about.

(*boom*)

The speed at which the cave was collapsing increased.

[*Ping*]

[ 10 seconds left ]

''Okay!!, I've got to anticipate the next pattern, and that should be Diamond, Diamond, Star, Star.''

As Sage began inserting the keys, the countdown begone. Rocks began to fall towards Sage's head.

[ 5 ]

[ 4 ]

[ 3 ]

''Almost!!''

[ 2 ]

''One more!!''

[ 1 ]

(*Click*)

''Huh!? it's the right pattern!? ah thank God''

He sighed in relief. At the same time a huge spike from the ceiling of the cave was falling towards Sage's head, he noticed but it was too late to dodge. The tip of the spike was at the very top of the Sages head...

"What? it stopped moving?!!"

Time had stopped and everything was frozen in its place, all things except Sage.

[*Ping*]

[*Mission Completed*]

The blue screen flashes before Sage once again congratulating him for completing the mission.

[ Reward> Crescent Sabres ]

[Rank>Passive ]

[Attack>10% ]

[ Defense>5%]

[ A Weapon made out of the moon itself, it is shaped and sharp like the crescent moon. Used by beginner hunters, very easy to use and manoeuvre]

[Do you accept?]

{*Yes*} {*No*}

(*Click*)

{*Yes*}

The sabres appeared out of thin air and landed onto Sage's hands.

••••••••

"Sigh!! that was tough, I almost died there, I guess this is the end of it."

(*Creak*)

The big doors began to open, Sage turned towards the door, while holding his sword he walked right through it. he found himself in an enormous room that was half-filled to the brim with Gold, ornaments, weapons, armours and huge statues. All pure gold.

While the other half was filled with plain ornaments, weapons and armour aligned on stone pillars.

~~~~

"Oooh? did he pass the first test already? and in five minutes too? interesting..."

The figure's smile was filled with expectations.

"Well let's see how he does on this test if he passes then he's the one if he doesn't...."

The shadowed figure smiled once again and disappeared into the darkness.

Sage did not know that the door was just an entrance to the real trial.

>>>>>

[*Ping*]

Another screen appeared before Sage, this time the colour was green.

"It's a different colour box, perhaps there are other colours as well?"

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

The boxes are divided into five categories :

( Blue ) > Easy

( Green )>Beginner

( Orange )> Intermediate

( Red )> Hard and

( Purple ) > Danger

of course Sage isn't aware of any of this yet.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

[ Mission> Clear the dungeon ]

[ Time> 2 hours ]

[ level> Beginner ]

[ Penalty> Death ]

[ Reward> Logia's trust ]

[ Do you accept? ]

{*Yes*} {*No*}

Sage's face had a confused expression plastered on it.

"What does it mean by clear? And who's Logia? Sigh... Ethier way if I don't do it I'll die, so it better than staying here and waiting for my death."

(*Click*)

{*Yes*}

[*The mission has begun good luck*]

The doors began to close behind Sage. It was tightly shut. when the timer began, another green box popped out in front of Sage.

[*Ping*]

[ All will now begin ]

[ Explanation> There is an abundant amount of treasure on the left and trash on the right. One is wrong and one is right. A person can be blind but have good eyesight. the 3 boxes on the floor are for you to step on, once you chose there will be no return. So which is the right one? ]

<End of chapter>