Morning sunlight filtered softly through the massive trees of Floor One.
The peaceful forest stretched endlessly beneath the bright blue sky while players continuously traveled along the dirt pathways connecting villages and hunting zones.
For most adventurers—
Floor One was safe.
Simple.
Predictable.
But for Akari and Memory—
it somehow always became chaos.
"LEFT!"
Memory suddenly screamed.
Akari panicked instantly.
"I AM GOING LEFT!"
BOOOOOOM
Blue lightning exploded through the forest.
Several trees collapsed violently.
Birds scattered in terror.
A distant rabbit monster vaporized instantly despite being nowhere near the original target.
And meanwhile—
the actual monster they were fighting remained completely unharmed.
The massive creature stared blankly at the two girls.
Yakolith.
A large yak-like monster covered in thick earth-colored hide.
Patches of moss and stone grew naturally along its back and shoulders, making it resemble a walking hill more than an animal.
The village quest specifically required one intact Yakolith hide.
Unfortunately—
Akari kept missing.
Memory grabbed both sides of her head dramatically.
"AKARI!"
"THE HIDE!"
Akari pointed at Narukami angrily.
"I'M TRYING NOT TO DESTROY IT!"
The Yakolith snorted loudly.
Then suddenly charged.
THUD
THUD
THUD
The ground shook beneath its weight.
Memory immediately jumped backward.
"Bubbles!"
A small blue slime bounced beside her instantly.
The tiny creature wobbled heroically despite being absolutely useless in combat.
Akari raised Narukami quickly.
"Okay."
"This time for sure."
Blue lightning crackled around the blade violently.
The surrounding air distorted.
Leaves flew upward from the pressure alone.
Akari inhaled deeply.
Then activated—
[Narukami: First Form Thunder Strike]
Electricity exploded around her body.
She swung downward.
BOOOOOOOOOOM
A gigantic lightning slash erupted across the forest—
completely missing the Yakolith again.
Instead—
it struck the cliffside behind the monster.
The explosion shattered half the rock wall instantly.
Memory's eyes widened.
"...Wait."
CRAAAAAAAAACK
The ground beneath her feet suddenly collapsed.
Memory screamed.
"AKARIIIIIIIIII!"
Akari froze.
"...Huh?"
The earth gave way instantly.
Memory and Bubbles disappeared into the darkness below.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
THUD
Silence.
Dust slowly drifted upward from the newly formed hole.
Akari stared blankly.
The Yakolith slowly looked into the hole too.
Then quietly walked away.
Neither of them acknowledged the quest anymore.
Several seconds passed.
Then from deep underground—
Memory's furious voice echoed upward.
"YOU MISSED AGAIN!"
Akari immediately ran toward the edge of the massive hole.
"S-Sorry!"
She carefully peeked downward.
The cave below was deep.
Very deep.
Darkness swallowed most of it entirely.
Far below—
Memory stood near a rocky ledge covered in dirt and broken stone.
Bubbles bounced beside her angrily.
Memory pointed upward immediately.
"I HATE YOUR SWORD AND YOUR BAD AIM"
Akari looked guilty.
"...In my defense—"
"YOU DON'T HAVE A DEFENSE!"
Akari scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"...Fair."
Memory sighed deeply before looking around the underground cavern.
The cave stretched endlessly beneath the forest.
Ancient stone pillars rose from the darkness while glowing blue crystals illuminated sections of the underground area faintly.
Water dripped quietly from the ceiling.
The atmosphere felt cold.
Unnatural.
Bubbles suddenly bounced closer toward one of the walls nervously.
Memory frowned slightly.
"...Bubbles?"
The slime trembled slightly.
Then—
GROOOOOOOOWL
A deep monstrous sound echoed through the cave.
Both girls froze instantly.
Akari immediately looked downward again.
"...Memory?"
Memory slowly turned around.
Several glowing eyes appeared deeper within the darkness.
One pair.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Memory's face turned pale.
"...Akari."
The growling became louder.
Massive shadows slowly moved through the underground cavern.
Something was living down there.
Something big.
Bubbles immediately hid behind Memory's leg.
Memory slowly smiled nervously.
"...Good news."
Akari blinked.
"What?"
Memory pointed toward the darkness.
"...I think we found a hidden dungeon."
Silence.
Then Akari immediately panicked.
"THAT'S NOT GOOD NEWS!"
A gigantic creature suddenly emerged from the darkness.
Massive claws scraped against the cave floor.
Its body resembled a giant reptilian beast covered in black crystal growths.
Blue crystal spikes protruded from its back while glowing veins pulsed beneath its skin.
Its eyes locked directly onto Memory.
Then the monster roared.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The entire cave shook violently.
Memory immediately screamed.
"THAT'S DEFINITELY NOT GOOD NEWS!"
Akari panicked at the edge of the hole.
"I'M COMING DOWN!"
Memory looked upward in horror.
"NO WAIT!"
Too late.
Akari jumped.
"AKARIIIIIIII DON'T—"
BOOOOOOM
Blue lightning exploded throughout the cave as Akari crash-landed directly beside Memory.
The impact shattered nearby rocks instantly.
Unfortunately—
the lightning blast also destroyed the only visible path back upward.
CRAAAAASH
Large boulders collapsed down behind them.
The cave entrance sealed completely.
Silence filled the cavern.
Dust slowly drifted through the glowing blue light.
Memory stared blankly at the collapsed exit.
Then slowly turned toward Akari.
"...We're trapped."
Akari gave a thumbs up weakly.
"...On the bright side..."
Memory glared at her.
Akari lowered the thumb immediately.
"...Yeah no there is no bright side."
The giant crystal beast roared again.
Now much closer.
The ground trembled beneath its footsteps.
And deep within the underground darkness—
more glowing eyes slowly began opening one after another.
Memory grabbed Akari's shoulder instantly.
"...Run."
Akari nodded immediately.
"RUN."
And the two girls sprinted deeper into the underground cave while monstrous roars echoed behind them through the darkness of Floor One.
The underground dungeon stretched endlessly beneath Floor One.
Cold air drifted quietly through the ancient caverns while glowing blue crystals embedded in the walls illuminated the darkness faintly.
Water dripped from the ceiling rhythmically.
The deeper Akari and Memory traveled—
the stranger the place became.
"This definitely isn't a normal cave anymore…"
Akari whispered quietly while holding Narukami carefully in front of her.
Blue lightning crackled softly around the blade, illuminating nearby stone walls.
Beside her—
Memory held Bubbles protectively in her arms.
The small blue slime trembled constantly.
Its jelly-like body shook every few seconds whenever distant monster noises echoed through the dungeon.
"Honestly…"
Memory muttered nervously.
"I miss sunlight already."
Akari nodded immediately.
"Same."
CRACK
Both girls froze instantly.
A low growling sound echoed somewhere deeper ahead.
Akari slowly raised Narukami.
"...Please don't be another giant monster."
Then suddenly—
three figures emerged from the darkness.
Skeletal humanoids wearing rusted armor.
Each carried broken spears and ancient shields covered in moss.
Their glowing blue eyes immediately locked onto the two girls.
Memory blinked.
"...Undead?"
The skeletal creatures immediately charged.
Akari panicked instantly.
"WHY IS EVERYTHING IN THIS GAME SO AGGRESSIVE?!"
The first skeleton thrust its spear forward.
Akari swung Narukami reflexively.
CLANG
The spear shattered instantly.
Then Akari accidentally released lightning through the blade.
BOOM
The skeleton exploded apart violently.
Bones scattered across the hallway.
Memory stared blankly.
"...Okay that's actually cool."
The remaining two guards charged simultaneously.
One rushed toward Memory.
The other toward Akari.
Memory panicked and immediately grabbed Bubbles tighter.
"BUBBLES HELP—"
Bubbles jiggled helplessly.
The skeleton raised its sword—
before suddenly—
Akari appeared beside it.
SLASH
Narukami cut through the undead instantly.
Blue lightning erupted across the corridor.
The final skeleton froze.
Then turned around.
And ran away.
Akari blinked.
"...Did it just retreat?"
Memory nodded seriously.
"Honestly understandable."
The two continued deeper into the dungeon afterward.
The environment slowly changed the farther they traveled.
The stone walls became covered in strange glowing moss.
Large spider webs stretched between pillars.
The air itself felt damp and heavy.
Memory looked around nervously.
"...I don't like this place."
Akari frowned.
"...Why do I suddenly hear skittering?"
Silence.
Then—
SKRRRRRRRRRRR
Dozens of tiny legs echoed through the cavern walls.
Memory immediately froze.
"...Akari."
Akari slowly turned.
And screamed.
"GIGANTIC SPIDERS!"
Three massive cave spiders crawled across the walls toward them rapidly.
Their black bodies glistened beneath the crystal light while venom dripped from their fangs.
Memory panicked instantly.
"NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE!"
She turned around and sprinted away immediately.
Bubbles bounced desperately after her.
Akari ran beside her while trying not to scream.
"WHY ARE THEY SO FAST?!"
One spider suddenly leapt directly toward Memory.
Memory screamed.
Then slipped on loose stone.
"AAAAAHHH—"
She slammed directly into the dungeon wall.
SPLASH
Silence.
Akari froze instantly.
"...Huh?"
Where Memory had crashed—
there was water.
Literal water splattered across the wall.
Bubbles bounced in confusion.
The spiders paused too.
Even they looked confused.
Then suddenly—
the water slowly moved.
Akari's eyes widened.
The liquid gathered together rapidly before reforming into Memory's body.
Memory collapsed onto the ground coughing.
"W-What was that?!"
Akari stared in horror.
"...MEMORY YOU DIED!"
"I DON'T THINK I DID!"
Memory immediately looked at herself frantically.
Then froze.
Her left hand was completely made of water.
"...What."
Akari pointed aggressively.
"YOUR HAND!"
Memory screamed.
"I KNOW!"
The watery arm shifted unnaturally before slowly returning to normal flesh again.
Both girls stared silently.
Then Memory looked at her own hands again.
"...Wait."
She slowly touched her face.
Then her arm.
Then suddenly turned her fingers into water again.
"...I can turn into water?"
Akari blinked repeatedly.
"...What how why?!"
Memory looked equally confused.
"I DON'T KNOW!"
She experimented again.
This time her entire forearm became liquid before returning back to normal.
Memory stared in absolute disbelief.
"...This is so weird."
Akari suddenly paused.
Then slowly looked toward Bubbles.
The slime immediately jumped toward Memory and demanded attention desperately.
It wobbled pitifully while shaking in fear from the spiders.
Memory immediately hugged it protectively.
"There there, Bubbles."
"The scary spiders are gone."
Akari's eyes widened slightly.
"...Wait."
Memory blinked.
"What?"
Akari pointed dramatically at Bubbles.
"Didn't the game say your class ability had something to do with using your tamed monster's abilities?"
Memory froze.
"...Oh."
Akari slowly pointed again.
"I think you got the slime's ability."
Silence filled the dungeon.
Then both girls slowly looked toward Bubbles.
The slime blinked innocently.
FLASHBACK
The Town of Beginnings.
A large open plaza near the tamer district bustled with players and NPCs.
Dozens of tamers proudly displayed their creatures.
Large wolves.
Combat boars.
Armored bears.
Birds of prey like hawks and eagles perched proudly on shoulders.
The crowd admired them constantly.
"That's a rare hawk type."
"Whoa, that wolf evolved already?"
"That beast could probably solo dungeon mobs."
Meanwhile—
off to the side—
stood Memory.
And Bubbles.
The tiny slime bounced happily beside her.
Several nearby players stared at it silently.
Then one laughed.
"...You tamed a slime?"
Another player smirked.
"Seriously?"
"That's literally the weakest monster in the game."
A third player crossed his arms mockingly.
"Everyone knows slimes are useless."
"They can't fight."
"They hide from everything."
"Why waste a tamer slot on that thing?"
More players laughed quietly.
Bubbles shrank slightly behind Memory.
Its jelly body trembled sadly.
But Memory simply crouched down beside it.
Then gently picked the slime up.
"Don't worry, Bubbles."
Her smile was warm.
Completely genuine.
"I still love you no matter what people say."
Bubbles blinked slowly.
Memory hugged the slime tightly.
"It's you, me, and Akari against the world."
Bubbles immediately bounced happily in her arms.
Completely forgetting the insults around them.
FLASHBACK ENDS
Back inside the dungeon—
Memory looked down at Bubbles quietly.
Then smiled proudly.
"...See, Bubbles?"
She lifted the slime upward dramatically.
"Who said slimes were useless tamer pets?"
Bubbles bounced excitedly.
Its jelly body wobbled proudly.
Akari smiled while watching the two.
Then slowly looked deeper into the dungeon.
The cavern stretched endlessly ahead.
Darkness.
Monsters.
Unknown dangers.
But now—
things had changed.
Akari grinned slightly.
"...Looks like our dungeon journey just got interesting."