“So,” Chris yawned slightly as he sat in the office, “What was the emergency?”

  “Sorry to call you back so suddenly,” Ryan nodded, “But it’s nothing we can’t handle for the next week. At least until all of you have rested.”

  “What?” Chris blinked, “What do you mean ‘rested’? We’re a bit jet-lagged, but otherwise fine to go.”

  “Not after what I’ve seen,” the man shook his head, spinning his computer screen around to show the video of the seating area of the plane, Chris, Ayla and Elizabeth talking quietly, “I know that you might not like it, but we need to keep tabs on you at all times. For your safety and health.”

  “Oh, right,” Chris sighed as he nodded, “That.”

  “I’ve had several therapists and psychologists on standby since yesterday to talk to you all, should you feel the need to,” the other man continued, “I can’t imagine what happened in the Dungeon was easy after what I’ve heard.”

  “Right, thanks,” Chris nodded, standing up from his seat, “I’ll let the others know.”

  “Chris,” Ryan said as the man walked to the door, “Are we friends?”

  “Huh?” Chris blinked, looking back at the other man, “I mean…yeah? I guess?”

  “Then talk to me,” Ryan nodded back to the chair, “I’m not going to judge you if you’re having a hard time. I may technically be your boss, but that doesn’t change anything between us.”

  “Because I could level the city with a snap of my fingers?” Chris chuckled.

  “Because you could level the city with a snap of your fingers,” Ryan nodded as he smiled, “Now, come on. Tell me about what happened in the Dungeon.”

  ------

  “I still can’t believe she just kissed me and walked away like that,” Elizabeth sighed as she and Jessica walked through the lobby of the Diver’s Association building, “It was a massive shock!”

  “Well, at least you have a prospective girlfriend now,” the other girl laughed, looking ahead and suddenly freezing in place.

  “Jess?” Elizabeth asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Why’s he here?” the girl whispered, pointing to a familiar boy standing at the front desk, Dylan nodding as the man beside him talked.

  “I don’t know,” Elizabeth whispered back, flinching as the boy looked around suddenly, spotting them and freezing as well.

  “What do we do, Beth?” Jessica hissed, watching as the boy turned to the man, saying something, before awkwardly walking towards the two of them, “He’s coming over here! Should I call out Loppy or Aurum?”

  “No,” Elizabeth shook her head as she stepped in front of her friend, holding out an arm protectively, “We’re not allowed to use our Skills inside the building, unless we’re in a training room. Plus, it would probably scare the other people here.”

  “Hi,” the boy said quietly as he got within ear shot, “I, uhm…I just wanted to…”

  “What?” Elizabeth growled coldly, making the teen flinch back as he glanced at the other man with him, who just nodded.

  “I wanted to…apologize,” Dylan said, looking down in shame as he spoke, “For…what I tried to do to you two in the Dungeon.”

  “You tried to rape us,” Elizabeth said flatly, the boy flinching back again as he nodded.

  “And I’m sorry,” he said, looking back at the girls, “I really am. I’m currently working at the Association on probation, so I promise, nothing else like that will ever happen again.”

  “Probation?” Jessica asked, looking him up and down as he fidgeted nervously, “Like, you got in trouble?”

  “Yeah,” Dylan nodded, “A lot of trouble. Like, almost getting sent to prison trouble. But the Association stepped in and…helped me. I’m really sorry about what I did, and I understand if neither of you ever want to see me again, so…”

  The two girls watched as the boy glanced past them, his face turning deathly pale as he trailed off, before dropping his head and hurrying off, muttering another apology as he left.

  “Who was that?” Chris asked as he stepped up beside the two girls, watching as the boy practically ran away from them, the other man having to jog to keep up with him, “Someone you know?”

  “No one,” Elizabeth just sighed, looking at Jessica as the girl stared after the boy, “Just an old classmate.”

  “Alright?” Chris nodded, before continuing, “Anyway, Ryan, the Director, I guess? Anyway, he’s organized some stuff for us to help with what happened in the Dungeon. Are you two interested?”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “What, like a shrink?” Elizabeth chuckled, falling silent as Chris nodded, “I mean…maybe? Do you think it’ll help?”

  “Talking about it has helped me a bit,” Chris nodded, “So I think it could. Come on, I’ll show you to their offices.”

  ------

  “So, we have a week off and you want me to…meet your sisters?” Jessica asked as Alan led her towards the apartment door, nodding nervously as he knocked, “Okay? Do you think they’ll like me?”

  “I mean, yeah?” the man chuckled nervously, “I think so?”

  “Alan!” the shout startled them as the door swung open, revealing a young woman with long black hair that matched the man’s, “You’re back?”

  “Hey Becca,” he said, “Uhm…yeah? Oh! This is Jess! The girl I was telling you about!”

  “Oh, hello,” the woman nodded to Jessica, “I’m Rebecca Baxter, this idiot’s sister. Would you like to come in?”

  “Yes please,” Jessica nodded, glancing at Alan as they entered the apartment.

  It was much the same as Chris’s, being mostly open plan with a large kitchen area and sitting room, a sizeable balcony outside the floor-length windows.

  “So,” Rebecca asked as they entered, two younger girls hurrying over to them and hugging Alan around the waist as they talked excitedly, asking him all sorts of questions, “How’d you two meet? I mean, I know Alan said it was in a Dungeon, but like…How?”

  “Oh,” Jessica blushed slightly as they moved to the lounge area, “Well, you know how it is. You fight a dragon monster together, and it kind of just happens?”

  “A dragon?” the younger of the two children gasped, staring up at Jessica in awe, “How’d you fight a dragon? They’re super strong!”

  “Oh, we had help,” the girl chuckled, holding out her hand to show the two the flower pattern on the back, one of the petals white, while another was gold, “Like my friends here. Oh, do you mind if I summon them?”

  “Go ahead,” Rebecca nodded as she looked at Alan, motioning for him to follow her, “Just don’t break anything.”

  “Of course,” Jessica chuckled nervously as she called out, “Come out Loppy.”

  The two younger girls squealed in delight as the large Horned Rabbit appeared, immediately hugging and petting her as they started to ask all sorts of questions all over again.

  “So,” Alan said quietly as the two of them walked to the kitchen area, smiling at the cute scene behind them, “What’s up, Becca?”

  “Don’t you ‘Becca’ me,” the woman hissed, glaring at her brother, “She’s practically the same age as me! What are you thinking?”

  “Actually,” Alan said as he sweated slightly, “She’s the exact same age as you. I know, it was a little weird for me at first too, but I love her! And care about her! As much as I care about the three of you!”

  “Are you serious?” Rebecca sighed, blinking as her brother gave a sharp nod, a determined look on his face as she sighed, “Alright, I guess it’s not that bad. But still, she’s six years younger than you!”

  “Mom was five years older than dad,” Alan shrugged, “So it’s not that weird, is it?”

  “Yeah, but…” Rebecca trailed off, before slapping a hand to her face in exasperation, “Okay, fine, it’s not that weird, but she’s the same age as me!”

  “Yeah, you mentioned before,” Alan chuckled, stopping when his sister glared at him again, “She’s strong, Becca. And like I said, I love her.”

  “I can see that,” the young woman eventually sighed, “Sorry. I was just a little weirded out by knowing my brother is sleeping with a girl my age.”

  “I mean, we’ve only done that once,” Alan chuckled again, once again falling silent when Rebecca stared at him with an unimpressed expression, “It was after a particularly tough Boss fight, and things just…kind of happened?”

  “So, what?” the woman sighed, “You had sex in a Dungeon?”

  “No,” Alan shook his head, “On a luxury plane.”

  “On a…okay, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, considering who you party with, but still!”

  “Who I party with?” Alan asked, “What do you mean by ‘party’?”

  “That’s the official term people are using for groups that go into the Dungeons now,” Rebecca explained, “And you’re in a party with the only S Rank Diver, so I guess luxury jets aren’t out of the question for you.”

  “How do you know that?” Alan asked, the girl looking away as he stared at her, “Becca, how do you know that?”

  “Because,” she said, “I’m a Diver too.”

  “What?!” Alan shouted, startling the three other girls that were now playing with Aurum, the large wolf looking up in surprise as well, “No! Absolutely not! You could die!”

  “It’s too late, Alan,” Rebecca sighed, pulling a card from her pocket and showing it to him, “I’m already registered, and I’ve gone through a couple of Tutorials. I have my Class and Job and everything.”

  “Class is Rogue?” he asked as he read the plastic card, “And your Job is Scout? Rebecca, why didn’t you talk to me about this before you did it?”

  “You were away in China,” the woman shrugged, “Apparently getting lucky on luxury planes, so I didn’t think you needed to know.”

  “You’re my little sister, Rebecca!” Alan shouted again, “Of course you should have told me! What about school? You still have to finish high school, after all!”

  “I’m not a little girl anymore, Alan,” Rebecca said, turning to face her brother with a determined look on her face, “And I’m going to. I only need to be available for Dives once a week anyway, so I just do them on a Saturday or Sunday.”

  “But going into Dungeons can take weeks! How are you going to make up that time for school?”

  “Not if you’re only doing Tutorials,” Rebecca shook her head, “Look, I’m not going to be an Elite like you, I just…I wanted to know what you were doing in the Dungeons, so I registered and got accepted.”

  “Listen, young lady!” Alan said, trailing off as he felt the slight tug on his pants, looking down at his youngest sister, “What’s up, Bean?”

  “Stop fighting,” the ten-year-old sniffed, “Family shouldn’t fight, right?”

  “I…We’re not fighting, Bean,” Alan sighed as he picked up the young girl, “We were…I was just surprised that Becca had become a Diver, that’s all.”

  “Oh, okay,” the girl sniffed again, wiping her eyes before smiling, pointing to Jessica, “Are you two making babies? When do I get a little niece or nephew?”

  ------

  The iron door thrummed with energy, the soldiers standing guard watching it cautiously.

  “What do the readings say?” the lab coat wearing scientist asked as another checked a strange machine that was pointed at the door.

  “Levels way above anything we’ve ever seen,” the man replied, looking up at the woman, “Do you have any idea what that could mean? This is an A Rank Dungeon after all, maybe this is normal for it?”

  “No,” the woman shook her head, “I’m not sure, but I have a suspicion that it’s to do with the fact that no one’s entered this Dungeon since it was discovered. Maybe there’s some kind of energy build up because of it?”

  The door suddenly pulsed, making the two scientists jump back, the soldiers stepping forwards with their guns raised, nervous sweat dripping down their faces.

  “Right,” the woman said as she cleared her throat, “Get the readings back to the Association. We need to figure out what’s going on as soon as possible.”