Stage one, begin

Oya opened her eyes slowly, greeted by the faces of three other unfamiliar figures. Two were boys, the other a girl.

There was a brief moment where she forgot where she was, likely as a result of the transportation magic used on them. She scanned the appearance of the girl first. Her hair was hot pink, her body covered in a black and white corset-like tunic and a black cloak.

Then there was one of the boys, who looked a lot like Carter but with a larger frame and slimmer cheeks. He wore a suit of armor that was blue like the ocean's twilight. Finally, there was the last boy, who had a much more jarring appearance. There was a long scar over his right eye, his hair long and dark blue, his eye the same color. He wore the furry skin of a beast around his body instead of a cloak, with a long spear on his back.

“We must be in the dungeon.” The girl was the first to speak.

“It would appear so.” The boy who looked like Carter chimed in, smiling.

The four looked around the room they were in. It was a large bedroom with four beds, four dressers, and a small chandelier that hung from the ceiling. Wind blew in from the open window, causing the white curtain around it to gently flutter.

“I wonder if everyone else has a similar starting point.” The girl mumbled.

“Tch.” The boy with the scar smacked his lips.

“I don’t have time to waste. You weaklings can stay here; I’m perfectly capable of completing this stage on my own.” His voice was deep and monotone, with zero emotion behind every word he spoke.

He wasted no time exiting the room.

“What’s his problem?” The Carter look-alike asked.

Oya stood in silence, closing her eyes and remembering the words of the nobleman, who previously explained the first stage of the trial.

“For the first stage of the selection, you will all be required to conquer a five-story dungeon. Each floor will require that you find a ‘key’, which will give you access to the next floor. Each ‘key’ can be found by completing the main mission of that floor. Upon the completion of a floor, you will be rewarded with supplies based on when you completed the mission. Those who complete their missions first will be given larger rewards. You will all be split into teams of four, and fighting between teams is not prohibited to simulate the real world. So, you can sabotage other teams to your heart's content. Do whatever it takes to complete this first stage, not even murder is prohibited.”

Oya reopened her eyes, sighing.

“His words were a bit harsh, but he was right.” She stated.

“What do you mean?” The girl asked.

“We should power through introductions and get moving immediately. The quicker we conquer each floor, the better.”

“Oh, right.”

“I’ll start. My name is Oya. I’m pretty good at using magic and I’m pretty tough too. I don’t have much experience in the field of battle, but I’ve been training hard. I’m also a medium.”
“A medium?” The other two echoed.

“Interesting. Well, my name is William. I’m proficient with swords.”

“And my name's Rowena; I’m a healer.”

“Alright, let’s not waste any time. We should head outside and get a good grasp of our surroundings. From there, we can try and find out what the mission of this floor is.”

The group all stepped outside, and to their surprise, they were met with a bright and sunny town populated with people. Horses rode by, carrying carriages on their backs; dozens of men and women quickly walked down the roads, moving with purpose.

“It looks like a regular city,” Rowena stated.

“It’s just like real life,” William spoke softly.

“How so?” Oya questioned.

“In many dungeons, people establish bases and small cities like these within the lower levels, it helps in aiding dungeon crawlers since they have some sort of base to return to while clearing them out.”

“I see.”

“Psst. Oya!” Akan suddenly called.

She jumped where she stood, turning around.

“Akan.”

“What was that?” Rowena peered over her shoulder.

“Nothing!”

“Look over there, at the board!”

He pointed to a board full of papers, each displaying a drawing of a missing person.

“Guys, check this out.”

The other two followed behind her, slowly approaching the board.

“Oh, wow, good eye.” William stared at the papers, humming silently to himself.

“Could this have something to do with this floor's main mission?” Rowena asked.

“More than likely. I bet if we asked a local we’d get some information.”

William stood on his tiptoes and pulled one of the missing persons papers from the board, quickly approaching an older man with a smile on his face.

“I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but could you tell me about these missing people?”

The old man took the paper into his hand, nodding.

“It’s a terrible thing. Just a few weeks ago, people began disappearing. I’ve heard some people say that a powerful monster roams the streets at night and drags its victims to the forest just north of here.”

“A monster kidnapping humans? That is terrible indeed. I will see to it that this matter is swiftly handled.” William bowed his head, returning to the others.

“Apparently tons of people have been going missing lately; it’s believed that monsters may be invading the village at night and taking people. I think we should continue asking around and see if the other civilians corroborate that story.”

“Right, you guys wanna split up and meet back here?” Oya suggested.

“That sounds fine; we can cover a lot more ground much quicker that way. Let’s meet back here in about an hour and report our findings.” William sounded like a leader, his voice carrying out with unshaking conviction.

The two girls nodded, the trio parting ways and splitting off into three different directions.

Once alone, Oya turned to Akan, who floated beside her with a blank expression.

“What’s that look for?” She asked.

“Hm?”

“Why do you look like that?”

“Sorry, I was trying to focus on something.”

“Focus on what?”

“A presence. I’m not sure if they’re following you or not.”

“Someone's following me?” She spoke with a much quieter tone, peeking over her shoulder.

“Maybe, but I’m not sensing any hostility, and I can’t really pinpoint the presence. It just feels like someone has their eyes on us.”

“You wanna swoop over the area?”

“Yeah, gimme just a sec.”

Oya stopped in her tracks, standing in the middle of the stone road. She basked in the sunlight and the silent clamors of the city-folk. The hooves of a horse clacked by.

“I found them.” Akan returned to her side. “There’s only one; he’s blending in with the civilians. He’s got brown hair, average height, and he’s wearing a brown backpack.”

“Should I confront him?”

“No, not yet; the rest of his party could be stationed elsewhere. Let’s proceed normally and go from there.”

“Right.”

She continued onward, stepping into a pub moments later. It took her a few blinks to adjust to the darkness. It was oddly silent and empty for a pub. She considered that it might be too early for the city people to be getting a drink. She allowed herself to think back to the villagers, who would get drunk during any period of the day no matter the occasion.

It took her only about a second to count everyone who’d been in there. Four people, excluding herself and the barkeep.

Three of them were men, each of them sitting at the very front of the bar with their heads resting upon the wood of the counter, multiple empty mugs at their sides. The woman was too busy examining something in the back of the pub to notice her.

“It’s kind of depressing in here.”

“Tell me about it.” The barkeep responded with a saddened tone.

She was speaking to Akan, but she replied to the man anyway.

“What’s going on here?”

She sat at the counter, tucking her legs beneath it.

“It’s all these monster-related incidents. People have been going missing left and right.”

“Is that so?”

The barkeep nodded.

“Everyone's been too occupied with trying to find the missing people; they’ve hardly any time for anything else, and I don’t blame them. The people who sit around in town drinking or keeping up their shops have either already given up hope, or haven’t been personally affected by the matter.” He spared a sympathetic glance to the drunkards asleep on the counter.

“I see. There must be some sort of search party for these people, right?”
“Yeah, they typically meet in the mornings to plan out their search route and return before nightfall. They’ve already left for the day, but I’m sure you can find them at the town hall once they’re done for the day.”

“Thanks for the information.”
Oya stood, turning her attention to the woman at the back of the pub.
“You must be a participant.” She concluded.

The woman finally looked up from her table, placing her hand atop the wood as if to hide something. Her red eyes were dead, her pale skin appearing just as cold. Her body remained wrapped in a white cloak, her hair snow white and drooping down her nape.

“Are you with them?”

“With who?”

“The ones who have decided to commit murder.”

Oya was confused, and that was clearly displayed on her face.

“So you aren’t.” The woman concluded.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Some people have decided to already commit murder. My partners were assassinated almost immediately by a powerful mage.”

She was taken aback by the woman's words. The first stage of the selection had only begun twenty minutes ago; to think that people were already resorting to committing murder.

“Are you serious? People have already started killing each other?”

“It seems someone has planned to kill you as well.”

“Oya, look out!” Akan shouted.

Without hesitation, the woman lifted her entire hand from the table, revealing a magic circle etched into the wood. The circle was outlined by another circle, and between them were different symbols.

The glass of one of the windows in the pub shattered. Something howled through the air.

The magic circle began to glow gold, a sword appearing from that light. The woman grabbed the sword and leapt in between Oya and the flying arrow, slashing it out of the sky.

“It seems they’ve come to finish me off.” She spoke plainly.

“Akan, is this the same guy who was tailing me before?”

“No, this energy is much different, and I’m sensing more than one person.”

“Who are you talking to?”

“A spirit.”

The woman's eyes widened. Her attention was quickly snatched away from Oya, slashing another arrow out of the sky.

“Let’s get away from the windows.”

The two ducked down, flipping the table in front of them and using it for cover.

“What about the barkeep and the civilians?” Oya turned to them with concern.

“They’re fine. The civilians here are just for show; we can’t harm them, and they can’t harm us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you never seen one of the selections before?”
“No, I haven’t”

An arrow landed just beside the table.

“I’ll give you the details later. You said you have a spirit?”
“Yeah, something like that.”

“Have it scan the outside so it can give us a read on our enemies' positions.”

She turned to Akan, giving him a firm nod. He quickly darted outside, returning a few seconds later.

“Four.” He said, “There are four. Two are outside the windows about ten meters away with bows; another two are sitting atop the pub, one with a club, the other a sword.”

“There are four. Two outside ten meters away and two on top of the pub.” Oya relayed his words to the woman.

“Ok, this shouldn’t be too difficult.” She spoke with an eerie calmness.

“What is your name?” The woman asked.

“It’s Oya.”

“Nice to meet you, Oya. My name is Seraphina. Assist me, and I shall repay you greatly.”