'Remember. Think back about this game and what you remember from it. I am there is something in my memories that can help me.'
Keith had barely done the dungeons when he had been playing this game but he still remembered enough to know the basics.
"Shinu, you do know what a dungeon is, right? Did you get the basic talk about what to do once you encounter a dungeon?"
Keith asked Shinu who nodded a 'yes'. He did know what a dungeon was and how to behave when one was stuck in a dungeon.
That cleared out one worry in Keith's mind.
"Good. Then we should start heading opposite the life source. The nearer we are to a dungeon's gate, the weaker these monsters will become."
Shinu gulped when he heard 'monsters' but he recovered when he heard that they would not be encountering monsters. Keith knew that Shinu would be obedient once he showed such naked fear.
"How do we look for the exit? Is there a way for us to be able to tell how strong a monster is without fighting it?"
Shinu's worry was genuine but he did not know this world as Keith did.
Unlike most normal people in this world, Keith did know how to tell if a monster was weak or strong. And that was usually done by looking at the core of the boss monster.
The weaker monsters had their cores exposed while the stronger monsters did not have a such weakness. This method only worked for the lower-level dungeons that this one was looking be.
Keith had already spotted a few monsters roaming around and they had their cores exposed. They were in very shallow territories.
"Shinu, you just need to trust me and follow my lead. You know who I am and you still doubt me?"
Shinu panicked at the sudden accusation and looked up with terrified eyes.
"I never doubted…well, I did doubt you a little. I know you are the grandmaster but this is still a dungeon. Anything can happen in here."
Shinu was right. A dungeon was never to be underestimated and that was why Shinu had sent a signal to Clair to bring Shinzou and Amelia here. This area will need to be cleared up once Keith was out of here.
The crystalline surface of the dungeon was gorgeous. It reminded Keith of something but he was not able to pinpoint why he was getting a sense of deja-vu this strongly.
'Hmm, this certainly looks like one of the earlier dungeons of the MMO. Now, if I remember it right, there should be a spider monster near these crystalline surfaces.'
Keith noticed Shinu's wandering hands at the right time. He smacked Shinu's hand with more force than he intended but it did the trick,
Shinu clutched his red hand with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Hey, why did you slap my hand away? I was just curious about this crystal's texture."
Shinu complained as he nursed his hurt hand. Keith shook his head to clear away the sudden light-headedness he was beginning to feel from his sudden action.
There was also a weird smell in the air and Keith remembered reading texts about it in the original game before.
'Gosh, I did not know it was such a foul smell when I played the game. Looking at something is different from experiencing it with your body.'
Keith's head was spinning due to the extra-sweet smell in the air. It was intoxicating him in the wrong way.
"Don't touch the crystal or you'll get poisoned. Keep your hands to yourselves if you don't want to die."
Keith warned Shinu before he started walking. This smell reminded Keith of a seductive smile with deadly fangs. It was threatening to swallow him whole.
Shinu followed him without speaking anymore. But he was much more vigilant than before after he had gotten warned by Keith. His wandering hand no longer moved around.
They both soon exited the crystalline cave and into a dense forest.
"Wow! I never expected there to be such a big forest right in the middle of the desert. If only this was not a dungeon but the real world. It would be like a dream come true for the local people."
Shinu whispered those words to himself but Keith heard them as well. Suddenly, he knew what was happening and where they were.
Among all the stories in this MMO, there were only a few which were impactful and caused the players to remember them. And this story was one of those quests as well.
Keith was ashamed to realize it had taken him this long to recognize one of his favorite storylines in the MMO.
'The desert, this forest, it all makes sense now. We are in the dungeon titled 'Mirage of Dreams. It was the first world quest of this MMO and one known to be one of the most difficult ones.'
"Shinu, do not get sucked in by the beauty of this forest. It is trying to bewitch you but it is not real."
Keith was worried about his companion. This dungeon had a special setting in the MMO and that was enchantment. If you fell into a trap here, your character got immobilized by the beauty and would not be able to move for some time.
Keith had found this mechanism beyond frustrating when he had been playing the original MMO. But now that he was here, he did understand why the player was immobilized sometimes when he walked through there.
This place was gorgeous with its green trees and fresh air. It was such a nice contrast to the outside…
'Don't fall prey to this place, Keith. You need to survive.'
"Shinu, this place is not too much for you, right?"
"No, it's alright. Places like this forest are not really for me. I much prefer shiny and dry places than wet ones like a dense forest."
Shinu seemed to be unaffected by the forest and Keith had a feeling it was because of his draconic heritage. Whatever was happening in the forest, it was not affecting Shinu.
Suddenly, the forest fell quiet, their surroundings stopped making noise. Even the natural sounds like the flowing water and rustling leaves could not be heard.
Keith halted in his steps as soon as he watched Shinu tense up. He seemed to be able to hear something.
And as ever, Keith got lucky listening to his and Shinu's instincts because there was an arrow buried 5 steps in front of him.
The warrior who just shot the arrow tsked and made a run for it. Their body shape was hidden by a cloak, making it possible to tell if they were male or female.
The retreating figure was too fast for either Keith or Shinu to attack and capture.
Shinu shot Keith questioning gazes, most likely unlikely asking why he did not go after their would-be assassin
Keith was just about to make an excuse when their attacker slipped and fell from the tree. It all happened relatively fast and Shinu took off to capture their would-be attacker.
It left Keith with no choice but to follow him.
"Ouch, it hurts. I cannot believe I was unlucky enough to slip while running away"
The girl complained as she nursed her bottom. Now that Keith looked closely at her, she did not look entirely human.
And entirely he meant the extra appendages person had. She had 4 arms and two pairs yes. Her eyes were also pupil-less but this person was pretty much human otherwise.
She tried to hide from Keith and Shinu when they came closer to have a look at her. But there was just too much for the spider-lady to hide.
"Keith look! She is not normal. Have you ever seen a human like this before?"
Shinu looked happy and in awe as he pointed toward the half-spider lady. His eyes were full of wonder as he tried touching the spider lady.
The half-beast seemed not to find it half as fun as Shinu seemed to be having. There was a heavy blush on her face as she slapped Shinu's hand away from the antennas on her head.
"What is wrong with you people? Stop touching me like this or I will take you as perverts. You have no right to touch me."
The half-spider complained as she held herself close to her body. She looked annoyed at the invasion of privacy she was being made to go through.
And because that was the case, Keith decided to be good to her and not touch her. He was curious about someone non-human as well but he did not want to overstep his boundary and make the spider nervous.
However, it seemed like he did not need to fear such a thing.
As soon as the spider noticed Keith, her face flushed and she became shy. Also, one of her hands came to rest on Keith's shoulder.
