The country the Dungeons reside in was formed only 20 years prior, when the Dungeon phenomenon occurred, and cataclysms wrought havoc across the globe.
With the majority of the world being destroyed by the deployment of nuclear weapons, a godsend appeared out of the Pacific Ocean.
A country-sized island rose from the seabed and was quickly settled by Earth's survivors. After 10 years, though, the Dungeons also began to appear there; but by that time, Humanity was prepared.
The country was split into 8 Districts, with a different Guild being responsible for the security of each one and acting as akin to a military force and local government.
A week later, the monthly meeting of the Sword Guild was commencing. At the centre of District 5, the Guild's office consisted of an entire ten-story building that exuded opulence.
The Sword Guild's wealth was on full display, and with that was also their power.
On the top floor in the meeting room, the Guild's Master, Vice Leader and rankers were all sitting around a table.
Sitting at the head of the table, the Guild Master was a burly man who only went by the name of his Adventurer alias, the Divine Sword. Standing at nearly seven feet tall, his physique alone was enough to instil fear, not to mention his booming voice.
Then, to cap it all off, he never went anywhere without his battle-worn greatsword.
Addressing the room, the Guild Master spoke.
“The main topic is one of the Level 1 Dungeons in our District.”
A chorus of groans was heard around the room, everyone believing a mere Level 1 Dungeon was far beneath their time to even hear about. Ignoring the noises, the Guild Master continued.
“We've had quite a few instances of unusual behaviour being exhibited in the lizardman Dungeon. It boils down to one of two answers: the monsters are themselves exhibiting meagre intelligence, or an outside party is sneaking inside the Dungeon.”
One of the people sitting around the table was disgusted by the words that he heard.
He believed the monsters to be dumb animals and would not hear anything to the contrary. He was disgusted so much that he went to spit and had to quickly stop himself as he remembered where he was.
Swallowing down the wad of saliva he had accumulated, the man named Carl, who was known as Fates Hammer, spoke up with a voice full of derision.
“Tsch, it's obviously people from the outside....That Dungeon portal, it's on the border with District 4, isn't it?”
The Guild Master and the Vice Leader gave nods in agreement before the man continued.
“Exactly, then the Divine Guild bastards will be fucking about and trying to get the gate taken off us!..... What's the security division been doing?”
Sitting opposite was a rotund bald man who was sweating profusely as he knew he would be shouldering the blame. Dabbing at his face with a pink cloth, he quickly answered the question.
“It's not my guy's fault; we have two security guards on each Dungeon portal, and one of the security guards is an Adventurer. At each instance, not a single abnormality, suspicious person, or anything was reported outside of the Dungeon. No one else had entered the Dungeon apart from the parties that booked it.”
Carl's face was screwed up as he looked at the Head of Security; the only word that resonated in his mind was 'incompetent'.
“Okay, so your super amazing security didn't see anything; what about cameras?.... Wait, let me guess.....You don't FUCKING have any cameras, do you!?”
Even so, the Head of Security was being scolded; he began to chuckle before he answered.
“Don't be silly, cameras don't work inside the Dungeon. No electrical items work once passed through the portal.”
Carl was ready to explode; the blood vessels on his face were near rupturing as the rage and frustration hit their peak.
In a single fluid motion, he slammed his forehead into the table. He headbutted it with such force that it momentarily tilted, forcing the other members to grasp their drinks to stop them from falling over.
Raising his head back up, splinters of wood fell from his sweat-laden face.
Before the Guild Master could shout at Carl, a woman's voice came from the bottom of the table, her calm voice putting the belligerent man in his place.
“Calm down, Carl, or I'll happily burn you to death and use your ashes as cat litter.”
In an instant, Carl had straightened his back, his posture picture-perfect and his attitude fixed after those few choice words.
“I'm sorry.”
The woman did not reply, only giving him a nod before she turned to face the Head of Security.
The woman had fiery red hair that matched her temperament; she was quick to anger, but cool as ice otherwise.
In her mid-twenties, she was the youngest of the upper echelons within the Guild. She was a ranker, a person who is S-Class and who also holds a position in the world rankings for Adventurers.
Many people saw the woman's beauty as a trap, a sweet-smelling rose that turns out to be carnivorous.
Not once has she shown affection to a suitor, a woman of peculiarities who values strength of body and character in equal measure.
“Now then, listen, Patrick. Carl meant, are there any security cameras outside of the portal? Ones that would catch the comings and goings and the guards themselves?”
Patrick, the Head of Security, also now felt like slamming his head into the table. He had made such an obvious error in his thinking when he spoke to Carl.
“Ahhh, I'm sorry. I was a bit flustered before....No, there are no cameras. That's a good idea, though, Miss Herperial....I'll make sure cameras are installed and also see about hiring outside help who can detect stealth users.”
All around the table were noises of satisfaction with the proposal, except for one person. The red-haired beauty inwardly panicked, but refused to let those emotions leak out.
After quickly devising a plan, she spoke up.
“Ohh, that's not a good idea, Carl. The expenses would be too much, installing, maintaining and operating cameras and then hiring expensive mercenaries just for security....Not to mention the drop in morale of the existing security, as you would be telling them they're useless and can't be trusted.”
The room fell silent; it was the first time that they had witnessed Miss Herperial be so proactive in a meeting.
They were wondering if it was the same woman they knew who had no concern for money whatsoever, as she is from an extremely wealthy and influential family.
Even though they were taken aback, none could argue with her logic. From the seat next to the Guild Master, his second in command, the Vice Leader spoke.
“You make a valid point, Miss Herperial. What would you recommend then for changes to the security? If it is indeed another District's Guild, then measures must be taken.”
Looking out from behind a pair of glasses, the thin man's face resembled a hawk's; he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from smiling. His insides were burning, owing to the fact that he was able to talk to a woman he lusted over.
“Hmmm, use money! Not in the frivolous way Carl suggested, but as an incentive for the security that catches the intruder....That will make them more attentive and proactive, without bleeding cash.”
Trying his utmost to look intelligent and powerful by showing his authority, the Vice Leader nodded in agreement and then picked up a folder from the table. Opening it to a page he had marked, he then spoke in a haughty tone.
“Brilliant as always....Using some of my connections, I was able to get a high-ranking investigator from the Central Government to investigate the Level 1 Dungeon. If he finds nothing wrong, that strengthens our case of outside interference from an opposing Guild...But there still is the possibility of a Dungeon abnormality occurring. And if so, it would be better to destroy the Core and collapse the Dungeon, rather than running the risk of new Adventurers being hurt......It will take a month before the investigator can come through.”
Henrietta's reaction was not what he was hoping for.
She did not show any favourable expressions towards him, only one of shock and a fleeting thread of anger that was quickly hidden.
Underneath the table and out of sight, a flame had begun to appear in her hand, but she quickly extinguished it. The only sign of the flames was that the sweat pouring from the Head of Security began to double in its severity.
“Collapse the Dungeon.....That's not even a funny joke....What type of abnormalities have been occurring to make you think of something so stupid?”
Opening and closing his mouth several times with no noise coming out, he then got control of himself. Looking down at his folder, he began to talk with a face that was now white as a sheet.
“Ah, oh, well.....Ermm, some of the disturbances are....The lizardman occupying the Level 1 Dungeon; in one instance, one of them was wearing a daisy chain on its head......Another time, bouquets of flowers had been arranged in front of the portal....Another and a primitive sign had been erected with a semblance of writing on it.....Another time, they were blindfolded and walking around bumping into things.....Another and the red lizardman had a lens stuck in its eye...Ano...”
Henrietta's eyes went wide upon the mention of the red lizardman, quickly raising a hand to stop him talking; she spoke with urgency.
“A lens? What the hell do you mean a lens was in his eye!?”
The Guild Master answered the question, stepping in for the Vice Leader who had wilted under her fierce words.
“Don't worry, the cost for the investigation was negligible if that's your concern....The Adventurer who discovered the lens in its eye had bagged it and handed it in. Owing to its abnormality, an analysis was conducted, and it appeared to be a monocle.....One of the previous Adventurers had reported losing his monocle inside the Dungeon. We think it somehow ended up in the lizardman's eye, but we're not quite sure how at the moment.”
This meeting was the first time that she was hearing about the strange occurrences that were happening in the Level 1 Dungeon.
At first, the thought had occurred to her that her antics may have been the reason, but quickly she realised that was not the case. With that worry dispelled, a steady rage was building up as she realised someone else was touching her property.
“So some fucker has been hurting my L...I mean the lizardmen. Bastards!...I'll incinerate them when I find them!”
While she was talking, a new thought sprang into existence, a way to use the strange happenings to her advantage.
Pulling out her phone, she quickly opened up her calendar and marked a months time. Mumbling to herself, the other people in the meeting continued talking between themselves while she was occupied with her own thoughts.
“I can just steal him before then; it should be ready......”
Wiping the drool from her mouth, Henrietta slapped her cheeks to bring her back to her senses.
The sudden, loud and violent movement by her shocked everyone in the room and made them look at her with concern.
The Guild Master tentatively sought to see if she was okay.
“Ermmm, Henrii, are you okay?”
Henrietta held her head completely still, her eyes shifting side to side as she took everything in, only now seeing the occupants of the room since she came out of her thoughts.
In a flat tone that held no effort whatsoever, she replied.
“I'm fine; I saw a fly.”
“Ah, oh, okay......Well then, let's adjourn this meeting for now, shall we?”
Two days after the meeting, night had approached and spread its darkness far and wide.
Outside of the Level 1 Dungeon, three guards were on duty keeping a lookout for intruders. After the reprimand they had received and then a bump up in pay, their demeanour had changed completely, and now they were the epitome of first-class trained guards.
Wearing tactical vests, helmets with infrared and carrying rifles, the guards remained vigilant for threats.
Out of sight and concealed within the shadows, a specially hired guard lay in wait, themselves being a specialist in anti-stealth surveillance. Above him were two cameras that stayed in perpetual motion, their lenses focused on the portal leading into the Dungeon.
Earlier that night in a luxurious mansion, a black-haired maid stood in a bedroom doorway with her arms stretched outwards to block the exit.
Every bit a reliable, mature and professional maid, it was indeed a rare sight to see her acting in such a pathetic manner.
“No, mistress! You absolutely cannot go again!... Have you considered the consequences of your actions, the impact it will have on your family name!?”
Inside the bedroom, the flame-haired beauty hurriedly stuffed a large bundle of rope into a bag and secured it. She then proceeded to retrieve a black cloak from her bed and adorned it, covering her entire body, with its hood concealing her hair.
Henrietta stood in front of the maid and stared at her coldly.
“Philomena, do you serve me, or my family?”
The maid's eyes went wide, her mistress's words weighing heavily on her consciousness. Quickly, she fought to allow her mouth to force out words of protestation.
“Y...You...You mistress! Of course you! I live for you; my whole purpose in life is to serve you!.... I am sorry, I misspoke before. Please forgive me!?”
Withdrawing a featureless black mask from within her cloak, Henrietta affixed it to her face, her eyes not even visible from within the dark recesses of the eye holes.
She walked over to her bedroom wall and stared at a series of pictures she had affixed there. Without turning around to view her maid, she replied to her.
“You say that, Philomena, yet you're still blocking my door!.... I'll be back late, so make sure my bath is prepared and the correct temperature.”
The cloak that covered Henrietta's body suddenly started to change colours rapidly, until it completely concealed her from her maid's senses.
The very next moment, the window beside where she disappeared opened with a gust of wind blowing into the room. A second later, the window had closed.
Philomena relaxed her body and released her grip on the door frame, her arms hanging limply beside her. With her head hung low, she shuffled forwards as if imitating the undead while speaking to herself.
“Oh mistress, I just want you to be safe.....It is all because of that stupid fetish.”
She came to a stop in front of the multiple pictures that adorned the bedroom wall.
Lifting her head, she stared at the pictures before throwing a weak punch at the wall. The speed and power of the punch were exactly what would be expected from a woman whose most violent action to date was vigorously cleaning stains out of clothes.
With her fist withdrawn, the pictures of various lizards and snakes were clear to see as she turned to leave the room.