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Chapter 5: Entering The Dungeon of Infinite

  The following morning, Zalroth followed closely behind Swishroll as she scuttled through a small crowd of citygoers. She weaved between the people, her precise movements perfectly calculated to avoid any physical contact with anyone. As the roof of their destination crept into view, Swishroll's heart quickened, both from her mild physical exertion and growing anticipation. But, she paused right at the Infinity Dungeon's closest entrance, Swishroll and Zalrotho's attentions were drawn to the multitude of plaques dotted beside all the entrances.

  -The Infinity Dungeon is a labyrinth made from a web of stone paths which delves infinitely downwards, so take caution and mind your step-

  -At the points where these paths intersect a dungeon is formed, these dungeons come in the size of an average house room and the material of the dungeon is dependent on its biome type[See guidebook for all discovered biomes and other relevant info, the guidebook can be found at reception desk]-

  -Every 10km there is an invisible barrier separating the levels of the dungeon; the only way to pass through is to obtain a dungeon key from the larger dungeon at the centre of the barrier known as a boss dungeon-

  "I can't tell if this is supposed to be a warning or a guide," Zalrotho remarked as he gazed at one of the plaques by the many entrances to the Infinity Dungeon Entrance. Also reading the info on the plaque, Swishroll sighed and nodded to stow her still slightly frazzled nerves.

  "Well, these kinds of things tend to serve both purposes, for legal coverage," Swishroll mentioned. She raised her gaze, casting a worried look upon the large semi-circle-shaped marble building covered in a black silver metal X grating and overgrown with foliage. As she felt herself getting second thoughts, Zalrotho plopped a hand on her shoulder and playfully shook her.

  "Worry not, Creator. With me by your side, there's nothing to fear," Zalrotho stated cheerfully, cheekily messing up his creator's hair as she slumped her shoulders in a pout. Swishroll released a reluctant sigh, her expression solemn, but felt a hint of reassurance from Zalrotho. He retained his connection to Swishroll's head, grinning at her like an idiot, and only removed his hand once he saw Swishroll's frown turn upside down.

  Swishroll pessimistically exhaled. She knew the guy meant well, but he would never understand the tribulations of social anxiety. With one last weak murmur, Swishroll lightly tapped and smushed her cheeks, rubbing them in hopes of mentally bracing herself for her greatest trail.

  "Alright-alright, no use getting hung up on Lynnzi attending college classes," Swishroll uttered stoically. The distant voice of Lynnzi's apologetic refusal was still fresh in her mind, stinging like no other given it was her first time inviting anyone to anything. The recollection still bruised her confidence, causing her to grumble under her breath. For a little more reassurance, Swishroll tapped her face one last time and heavily exhaled to expel as much worry from her body as she could.

  Swishroll took a shaky step into the building containing the Infinity Dungeon, her heart pounding through her chest as her foot met the floor with a quiet clop. Poking her head through, she cautiously scanned the populated room of delvers, searching for any threat of social interaction while dreading its inevitability.

  As she deliberated her methods of approach, Zalrotho casually sauntered past her, startling and mortifying Swishroll with his disregard for feelings. Feeling like a goof, Swishroll grabbed Zalrotho's wrist tightly and used his momentum to drag her into the room, dragging her along like a reluctant child.

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  "So... you wanna run that by me again," an unamused female receptionist asked, lazily resting her head on her station at the receptionist counter. The dishevelled man in a trenchcoat clicked his tongue at the girl's, dragging his hands down his face as he pulled at his cheeks in frustration.

  "How hard is it to identify a Delver Team capable of dealing with an outbreak, let alone a crizeal crawler one, all by themselves?" the detective asked, his tone crass yet apologetic as the unamused receptionist rolled her hands.

  "Who knows, maybe they're new otherworlders; Thetho did mention a girl with swish roll hair... or something like that though," the teen receptionist remarked, her mannerisms growing increasingly half-hearted as she yawned. The detective sighed in defeat, knowing the teen was functionally useless when organizing dungeon loot isn't involved, and resigned from any further questions.

  "Just let me know if anyone fits the bill, Sushi," the guy ordered, blipping away in an instant before the girl could even form a retort.

  "Yeah-yeah," Sushi grumbled indignantly. But, at the sound of approaching footsteps, Sushi pushed off against her station with replenished vigour, ready to deal with anyone outside of a trenchcoat. She flopped onto the back of her chair, smirking faintly as she stared up at Zalrotho and then down at Swishroll.

  (Sushi is a rather short, humanoid Impling; she has spikey and scruffy golden hair, pale lime eyes with black scleras, pale purple skin, small pale purple drill-like horns on the side of her head, and two spikey pale purple wings on each of her thighs)

  "You two are the culprits I take it?" Sushi asked, raising a hand and doing finger quotes whilst saying culprits.

  "No-" Swishroll uttered, before being interrupted by Zalrotho beating her to the punch.

  "Naturally, but it was nothing to write home about," Zalrotho interjected, chuckling as he felt Swishroll glare at him. Sushi rested a hand on her chin, playfully smirking. She found Swishroll's annoyance with Zalroth cute, especially as the reason for the girl's anger flew right over the guy's head. Swishroll pouted at Zalrotho, her cheeks flushed with anger at him for forgetting the plan.

  "What part of pretend you don't know was so hard to understand?" Swishroll stated, her words hushed so as to not draw any attention. Sushi amusedly chortled, her smug grin serving to fuel Swishroll's irritation even further.

  "I won't tell, less work for me that way," Swishroll remarked as she gestured to the fenced-off hole at the centre of the room, "Just scan your card thingy on the scanner and you'll be registered to the system.". Sushi rolled her free hand, listing off a condensed retelling of the messages given by the many plaques outside in a robotic manner.

  Swishroll felt a tsunami of whiplash hit her, finding herself befuddled at the receptionist's retort. Sushi's dismissal and ease in brushing off the detective guy's request left Swishroll at a loss for words but you wouldn't catch the gamemaker complaining on this occasion.

  "We'll do that then...," Swishroll muttered, still slightly puzzled as Zalrotho scooped her off her feet, surprising her. Not giving his creator the chance to think, Zalroth booked it for the hole in the ground. Zalrotho darted past the other delvers, and swan-dived over the fence, plummeting down the hole as Swishroll screamed at him to carry her properly.

  With the duo's departure into the Infinity Dungeon, Sushi glanced around, checking for any extra newcomers, and reaching under her desk. After searching for a bit, Sushi plopped a small "On Break" sign on her station before hopping off her chair and marching straight for the breakroom.

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