The party continued onwards northside through the vast swamp in front of them. The more ground they covered, the more the swamp expanded in size and sheer capacity.

  The rivers went wider and became a torrent of hot acidic liquid. Strangely enough, they could even see fish jumping about, though clearly they were resistant to such acidic waters. On the other hand, the trees that nearly took over the swamp were somehow vibrant with life. It was as though everything here consisted of the acidic water, which by itself meant that humans were never truly supposed to be here.

  No matter how the Journeymen go about it, the acidity of the place was just too strong, making them believe that the dungeon is capable of increasing the acidity to the point where level didn’t matter.

  That also goes with the first monster that showed up out of nowhere. A sharp shrill echoed out before something was flung towards Hamil, but he managed to deflect it by summoning an earth pillar out of the ground to block him. The earth pillar in question was riddled with all sorts of minerals that seemed to have the same sheen and coloring as the acidic water, giving the earthen wall that same sense of danger to the rest of them.

  The monster who threw what looked like a sharp rock at them swung from a vine across a tree, showing a furry creature with a slight green and yellow tint on its fur, with blackened skin and red eyes that glared like mad at them. It cackled and shrilled again, bouncing its three-toed legs up and down as though it was angry at its failed attempt. Out of nowhere, it continued to pelt them with powerful throws of sharp objects.

  Kote went ahead and threw it off of its spot, causing it to fall and head directly at the charging Saang and Mikella who took it out easily enough.

  It was when they Identified the now downed creature that they realized that the dungeon was indeed Class A in difficulty.

  Chucking Monkey, Level 64

  “A Journeymen monster right off the bat,” Saang said, gritting her teeth. “Of course.”

  “Why you gotta be so adamant on making it above Class A, Saang?” Hamil questioned uselessly, knowing there was no point to it all. Saang still gave a glare and some rude finger gesture at him when Kote went ahead to loot the creature.

  “Strange… it’s not fur or fangs, but ammunitions.”

  Catching everyone by surprise, Kote revealed the droppings from his Storage Bag to everyone by placing them on the grassy ground. To everyone’s surprise, it really was ammunition–but they were just the same sharp rocks that the monkey threw.

  However, identifying them revealed that they can also be used as throwing stones by anyone, and they actually have a decent power behind them. While it looked crude at first, someone who has a Projectile Mastery skill rather than a Bow Mastery skill can easily make do with these, as there were a total of fifty of these stones.

  “The same thing happened to the dungeon we had to go through,” Zeke reminded himself. “They mostly dropped armor pieces though.”

  “But the third one we got into gave us some pretty good scaled hides for leather,” Mikella mentioned. “That’s still not the same, right?”

  “You did say that the dungeons are for the people who were just initialized, right?” Hamil said, getting the two to nod. “But how can they survive against Journeymen monsters? It’s not possible…”

  “That’s a good point,” Mikella said. Her voice trailed as the image of the monsters being too powerful hit her mind. “Same thing happened before too. We figured it’s because it was at a biodome meant for Journeymen level monsters…”

  “Or is it that the longer the tower persists… the monsters just get stronger?”

  Zeke muttered, realizing the implications of what this could mean. At first they figured that it was the location giving them the mana the monsters needed to get stronger. But what if the dungeon’s purpose is to make the monsters stronger by day, forcing the people within to either clear it instantly or be left to die?

  In the end, both seem possible, but Zeke figured the latter seemed much more intentional. After all, if they noticed that the knights on the first tower kept getting stronger by the day, they would try to get out as soon as possible–not that they hadn’t already planned on doing that anyways.

  “Considering how long the tower’s been here, that might be possible,” Kote mentioned. “How many days have you guys spent in yours?”

  “Just… two or three days, I think?” Zeke asked.

  “Definitely three days,” Mikella nodded. “Not sure whether that’s impressive or not.”

  “Impressive enough that you survived,” Saang mentioned offhand. “How strong were the monsters there?”

  “Just around our levels, I think,” Zeke surmised. “I mean we have no clue since we hadn’t gotten Identify back then.”

  “Perhaps that’s why the monster's levels seemed so adjustable?” Kote said, looking down with what looked like furrowing his brows through the mask. “Was that intentional? Was it to give the otherworlders some leverage?”

  “Either way, the more we study this, the better our findings in the end. I’d say we continue on to the end to see what else we can find.”

  Hamil mentioned which immediately got everyone to get going. They were making sure not to rush as the team’s motto is to take it nice and slow. Rushing things would only increase the unexpectancy in a mission, and any sort of unexpected encounter could easily lead to their death.

  Zeke and Mikella were completely behind that line of thinking, so they traversed slowly as time went on. The swamp seemed to get bigger and bigger, the trees that seemed bulky and almost sickly grew larger and wider, becoming harder to spot the horizon beyond the trees. The sky was becoming tinged in yellow color, which finally prompted Zeke to look up.

  “The sky…” Zeke muttered, getting everyone’s attention.

  “Not that surprising considering it’s a dungeon,” Saang said, tilting her head at the sky herself. She wanted to see what was different. “What about it?”

  “...That’s not the studded star.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Zeke said which immediately got the four to look up to see what he meant. To their shock, it was indeed not the studded star.

  But instead the bright, almost blinding sun that they have no way of looking directly if they weren’t Journeymen. It was burning with intense fire, and the closer he looked, the more his eyes started to sting so he looked away.

  “Zeke, that’s the sun… that’s the same one from Earth, right?” Mikella said. Her voice almost quivered at the sight of the old sun again after so long.

  “Yeah. But I think it might be a copy. It doesn’t look the same as the sun we know and love. At least it’s more like a rock on fire than a sun.”

  “A sun… that’s what it’s called?” Kote said, his eyes not caring at the least that they were stinging. “It’s so bright and… beautiful.”

  “But is it burning all the time?” Saang said, her tone curious. “What happens when you guys need to sleep?”

  “Does it dim down, like our star?” Hamil mentioned afterward, getting Zeke to chuckle at the strange questions.

  “It goes in a cycle,” Zeke answered, but Mikella got excited and told the rest herself.

  “The sun goes up first, then something called a moon comes in afterwards. However, it’s not really those two moving, but our planet orbiting. The sun is actually completely stuck in place at the center of our own universe. The moon just hangs around our planet.”

  “And that moon is the same as the sun, just dimmer?” Kote mentioned, becoming more eager.

  “Sort of, yeah. It just reflects the light of the sun, but sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s where we call it the phases of the moon.”

  Mikella continued explaining to the dumbfounded but excited veterans about another world’s functions. Zeke just listened in with a smile on his face. It was enough to blow away the fact of just how long they were away from their own world.

  It was a good distraction since it’s been a while since they actually spotted anything of note. As the hours passed, everyone started to notice the issues themselves.

  “It’s getting darker,” Hamil stated, looking up at the sky. “I think I see the moon you’re talking about.”

  “Yep, that’s the… wait, that’s not a moon.”

  Zeke looked up at Mikella’s insistence, shocking himself that the moon in question wasn’t the moon, but a giant ass floating rock with jagged edges just heading up into the sky.

  Just like the sun, the moon didn’t look the same either. Except unlike the sun, it was more alien than nostalgic.

  “It still works the same but…”

  “It’s not our moon,” Mikella mentioned. She flattened her tone a little at the revelation. Saang walked over and patted her shoulder.

  “Sorry… do you miss your world?” She asked. There was a subtle gentleness unlike her usual character.

  “Nah, not really,” Mikella smiled warmly at her. “I really like this world, if I’m being honest. Not every day where I can be this awesome and get even more awesome later. Am I right?”

  “Damn straight,” Zeke answered Mikella’s callout. “Though it’d be nice to see a real moon than… whatever the hell that is.”

  “Sorry guys, but we gotta head somewhere to stay in for the night. Not sure how your world works, but it might be better for us to steer clear of the monsters here.”

  The two nodded in agreement to Hamil’s callout, getting everyone to do exactly that. With the help of Hamil and Zeke’s magic and runes, they were able to hide within the trunk of a giant tree, using it as a small cave to relax.

  Zeke offered himself for the first watch to let everyone rest, since he really didn’t do much other than fight off the monsters that came in every now and then. They were the same Chucking Monkeys as before, to which even now Zeke wondered who the hell named these things to have such a stupid name.

  The adventurers gladly did so, figuring that his Endurance was high enough as they began to relax and eat at their leisure.

  Meanwhile, Zeke cursed at the lack of his barrier skill. If he still had it, he would’ve made an even better base for the night, instead of hoping that no monsters come in through the entrance and mess up the interior they worked hard to create.

  Even now, he felt so inadequate no matter how many points he gained over the last day. Stats are important, and having several magic spells made from his runes made him almost versatile for any situation. But nothing made him feel almost invincible than his barrier. During the biodome takeover, he felt inadequate with it, but it was only when he lost it is when he realized how truly powerful it was on hand.

  After seeing the fake sun and fake moon all in one, it truly made the pain of what he once lost that much more obvious. He didn’t miss Earth, not really. If he had to say, the other world was never as grand and beautiful as this one, even if bullshit politics and unfair practices were still persistent here.

  Because this world had a system where the other world didn’t. In Zeke’s eyes, that somewhat made it fairer. But even he had things he missed back in the other world. The internet, music, video games, movies… Everything he had consumed basically became half of what he is, the other half just amalgamation of everything he went through in life.

  It hurt. It hurt a lot more than he expected. They were all such stupid things in the grand scheme of everything, but in the end they were a part of him just as much as the other world was.

  “You okay?”

  A gentle voice permeated the despairing sense around him, causing him to turn to find Mikella waving back at him. He copied the gesture, then assuringly enough she stood by him as she watched over the rounded entrance they made inside the tree trunk.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Zeke said, finishing her question. “Just… nostalgia, I guess.”

  “Same here,” Mikella said, her tone just as flat as his. “Still, I wouldn’t change worlds no matter what. This place is too fun.”

  “You and me both,” Zeke said, nodding to her agreement. “But… I kinda wish we got stuff like music and movies. Games, though? Yeah, I can deal without that.”

  Mikella giggled, knowing exactly what he meant. Hearing her laugh even from all this nostalgia made his heart swell.

  “Tell me about it. I’m actually surprised Clara hadn’t complained at all about that. Sure at first, but right after we found Eve Glade, it’s like she completely forgot everything that existed in the other world.”

  “...Is that a good thing?” Zeke had to ask. “I mean, for her growth and everything…”

  “I think it is, but it’s kinda sad at the same time. I had some favorite movies I wish I could show her when she grows up, but now that’s… just impossible.”

  “You know, we can make our own movie,” Zeke said, half joking. “Can’t be that hard, if you think about it.”

  “Sure, we have a chance of recreating our favorite movies, but do you really believe we can be good enough to replace the actors that made it?”

  After careful consideration, Zeke put down the future of being an actor in his own movie. His acting chops were decent… but not good enough for a whole damn movie. Lying to others about their origins was already stressful as it is. He can’t imagine doing it for fun.

  Mikella giggled again. “Do you think if we found the others, they might do it? The otherworlders, I mean?”

  Zeke paused at the idea. It was certainly possible to find more otherworlders if they keep doing this. But somehow that felt… impossible, if intensely difficult. If the monsters here were too strong even for an average Journeymen, how can Beginners handle this?

  Still, he refused to think stuff like that. He’d locked it behind bars in the back of his mind and gave his honest thoughts on the question that she asked.

  “Definitely,” Zeke nodded, no hesitation in his tone at all. “But we gotta prepare ourselves. It’s gonna take a lot of years, and I mean a lot, before they’re good enough for cinema.”

  “Ugh, I’m guessing they’re gonna show off a lot of cringey clones of our favorite movies then?”

  “I’m only saying we need to prepare ourselves for when the time comes.”

  “Of course…”

  The two chuckled as they continued to talk. It wasn’t great to think about the implications of otherworlder comradesin this fantasy world. But it certainly was fun talking about the obvious trends that’s gonna show up in the coming years.

  If they managed to survive through those years, of course.