Artificial dungeon [2]

A feeling of dizziness invaded my mind, but, thank heavens, I did not have the company of the urge to vomit that hit most of my classmates. After I entered, the loudest sound was that of someone having serious problems with lunch. I looked ahead and saw some kneeling, making friends with the floor, while others had the same dizzy expression as me.

Without waiting for the invitation of the dizziness to get more comfortable, I got up quickly, but still seeing the world half blurred, as if I were in a Nordic sauna. I searched the students until I found the demon disguised as a girl. After a moment, my vision returned to normal and there she was, standing out in the crowd with her strawberry-colored hair and honey-colored eyes. My uniform, a set that was dirt and magic damage proof, plus a blue pentagon emblem on the chest, was a true work of art of esoteric fashion. Oh, and of course, there was that identification and vital monitoring system that made everything look like a sci-fi tale.

Sam, Diana and Ellie, acted as if it were a marathon, passing ahead of everyone without even blinking. It seemed that they were immune to the side effects of the portal.

Blake, the "do-it-all-by-myself" guy, moved forward quickly, without wasting time.

I, while giving a sigh of admiration for their excitement, got up, feeling a bit like the last one to find out that the party had already started. "Ok, where do I start?" I thought, regaining my breath after the roller coaster spin that the portal provided.

The remaining students began to recover and get up. It seemed that for them that was a race for an invisible prize. As in a herd effect, everyone started to move as if the academy was handing out gifts.

I, on the other hand, was not in a hurry. After all, my goal in this dungeon was very simple…

While everyone else went ahead, I stayed, the expert in finding secret passages, at the entrance of the dungeon. "Where did Sam locate the secret passage?" Wonderful, I was in the land of "I have no idea".

That Sam, owner of the treasure map, knower of the magical shortcuts. Thanks to the system he has, as soon as he entered here, he became the Google Maps of the dungeon. But no, he just decided to go ahead as if it were the final race, hoping to drag the rest of the students like a poorly rehearsed movie scene. He will end up coming back here later, finding out that this secret passage leads directly to the boss's dressing room and other strategic locations in the dungeon.

Now, my goal is simple: to enter this hidden path and play the hero, even knowing that there is a crowd of supervisors watching me. Lizy made a point of not telling anyone about Big Brother Academy, just to leave us with the idea that we are alone in this, without interference.

The entrance of the dungeon was like a labyrinth of rocky corridors. In front, three different paths. Some students chose alternative routes, others simply followed the main parade through the middle.

Ah, this class… I know that this little demon will take the left and find an isolated corner to release her demonic aura and mess with the monsters' heads. My plan? Wait for the right moment for a tête-à-tête.

I looked at the rocky walls on the right and approached them, hoping to find a secret passage that would not lead me to a face-to-face encounter with the monster number one on the wish list.

---

Ellie and Diana followed Sam, with confused steps. "Hey, Sam, where are we going?" Ellie asked, puzzled, as she tried to keep up with him.

The sounds of their footsteps echoed off the rocky walls of the dungeon. Diana also had the same doubt, but after the short time she spent with Sam, she knew he kept more secrets than a politician on an election campaign.

Suddenly, without answering Ellie's question, Sam turned left and hid behind a dark rock. Ellie and Diana were perplexed by that, but before they could say anything, Thomas pulled them and forced them to hide. "What are you do–" Ellie tried to speak, but Sam covered her mouth. The sound of footsteps approached, and the trio found themselves hidden. Soon, a group of students ran past them.

Diana and Ellie quickly understood the reason why Sam dragged them to that hiding place. It seemed that that group was, somehow, following Sam.

After the group of students went straight ahead, Sam removed his hand from Ellie's mouth and said: "Let's go back."

"What?" Ellie answered confused. She didn't understand exactly what was going on or what Sam's goal was. "Why are we going back?"

"I know of a secret passage that will take us directly to the boss's hall. But it is located at the beginning of the dungeon," Sam explained as he left the hiding place.

Ellie was confused. If there was a secret passage at the beginning of the dungeon, why didn't they wait at the entrance and wait for the other students to move before using the passage?

Diana, as if she were understanding Ellie's thoughts, answered: "It seems that some classmates are somewhat obsessed with Sam. They would wait for us at the entrance to see what we would do."

"Hmm, makes sense…" Ellie replied, with a surprised expression. Even though it wasn't exactly a big revelation, Ellie used to be impressed by small things.

Sam was somewhat surprised that Diana had noticed the situation from the beginning, but soon focused on the main goal: to defeat the boss and secure the promised reward after his fall.

"Let's go!" Sam said, before starting to move.

Diana and Ellie quickly followed Sam's steps towards the entrance of the dungeon, where Dean was positioned.

---

"Damn, it seems that I left the description of this secret passage to the reader's imagination," I thought as I struggled to find the opening in that stone wall.

"Come on, a rocky button on a stone wall… it seemed so simple at the time. Where the hell is it?" I muttered, half frustrated, as my hands tried to find some kind of protrusion that could indicate the passage.

[...]

 Author's notes:

Hello readers 👋 Leave a feedback on what you think of the story so far, The rhythm, the writing, the content… Any error or coherence that you find, do not hesitate to tell me in the comments.