The trio was walking through what, apparently, had once been a forest, which had promptly been turned into a proper civilized area with the appearance of the dungeon. At first, it had just been the admin building run by the Adventurer’s Guild, although with inputs from various organizations and government officials. This had quickly gone downhill when people started bringing magical items and other goods from the dungeon. Thus, prompting everyone and their mom to want a piece of the pie.

  Of course, everyone had wanted to enter or control the entrance, but there had been rules in place. If someone tried to stop others from entering or attempted to claim the land for themselves, they were crushed by the gods and their clergy. So, everyone was forced to share this precious resource, even if it was only for D rankers. In fact, it was the fact that it was for D rankers that made it so good since it let many organizations train their young members with what the gods and the World Crystal promised was a good training ground.

  The trio had heard of the dungeon and had wanted to try it out immediately but had been forced to wait. The dungeon had been around for a few months now, and there was some sort of list for which they were finally accepted. It had been a waitlist to prevent the dungeon from being overrun, but honestly, the trio didn’t care. What they did care about was wanting to go inside and experience the mysterious place that everyone seemingly knew of, yet at the same time knew nothing about.

  Naturally, they had tried to gather information before heading inside, as anyone with the right mind would do, but they had found themselves talking with people who wouldn’t or couldn’t share. From what they gathered, there were certain restrictions in place for those who went in, something they had found odd and certainly off-putting if it wasn’t for the fact the gods themselves supported the dungeon.

  “Alexion, are you sure it's fine? The whole memory thing sounds like a fey Monarch playing around.”

  Looking over at his girlfriend, whose melodic, sweet voice he never got tired of hearing, Alexion answered, calm but firm, “Adri, this is the twentieth time you have asked this, and the answer has not changed. I have asked my god a few times, and if that’s not enough, you know my dad is an actual Storm Angel and would not let me go in there if there was a problem.”

  Adriana, whose blue hair and eyes could have let her pass off as an ocean elf, still looked unsure. Annoyingly looking over at her, Alexion found it hard to pull his eyes off the beauty who was slightly biting her lower lip in worry.

  The real problem was, at least for Alexion, that he never got tired of looking at her, and he was honestly glad she appreciated the attention, otherwise, he would have a rough time. He was also thankful he wasn’t the jealous type. Otherwise, he might have more enemies than not. Adriana had beautiful, sparkling blue eyes, porcelain skin that radiated life, and an incredibly lithe yet curvy body whose proportions caught anyone's attention. Of course, it didn’t help that she loved to wear revealing clothing, almost always wearing short skirts and bikini tops with her usual large straw hat that she had Arctur grow flowers on.

  “You know, for someone so strong, you are incredibly worried,” Arctur said, his voice deep.

  Alexion, finally tearing his eyes away from Adriana, met Arcturs green eyes, which, like his, were full of confidence. Their friend was a tall, bulky humanoid whose green presence demanded respect and radiated power.

  Breaking away from their shared moment, Arctur fixed his odd green suit that looked like it had been made from combined and incredibly well-kept grass and moss. Yet, despite its oddity, the suit matched his friend's green eyes, hair, and even slightly green-tinged skin.

  “Sure, I am powerful, but I am still a D ranker, and this whole mess just seems so weird.” Adriana finally replied, first looking over at Arctur and then Alexion, her face still showing some signs of worry but also clearly filled with resolve.

  “It will be fine, just relax. If you want, I do know something we can do to help us both relax,” Alexion said, grinning like a fool.

  Looking over at the slender elf with piercing blue eyes that sparkled with lightning, Adriana was tempted to take him up on the offer. Of course, she realized that it wasn’t her wanting that but her ancestry and decided it was not the time for that, so, she smiled at him but politely declined with a shake of her head.

  “I don’t think it’s the time for that right now,” Adriana said, looking away from the smiling Alexion, who was passing his hand through his messy white hair.

  Also knowing it wasn’t the time for that and only having suggested to help keep her mind off the dungeon issue, Alexion also dropped the topic. Then he made sure to adjust his simple-looking leather pants, belt, pouch, and white shirt, along with tightening the bandages covering his feet, arms, and hands. He had done so already, but he wanted to double-check they were ready to go in case they were dropped straight into combat upon entering the dungeon.

  Before they entered the dungeon, they first had to enter the lobby. So far, they had been walking through the small town that had been set up around the lobby. Luckily, all roads in the small dungeon town led to the dungeon lobby since that was the spot pretty much everyone went to and came from. Following the streets, it wasn’t long before the trio saw the place where a constant trickle of people were going in and out of.

  Passing through the stone archway, they all felt a slight change in the atmosphere. It was something they knew well, and it indicated two things. For one, a certain aspect of it was a sign that the space they had just entered was spatially augmented, which was nothing too troubling. The other aspect of power they could feel was something they all knew of due to being around enough powerful people. It was an effect that told them they had just entered the domain of a powerful entity, and reality was currently under its rule.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  For Alexion, the inside of the lobby felt like he had just entered the domain of a god. This feeling didn’t differ from Arcturs and Adriana’s own thoughts since they had both visited the domains and realms of powerful entities. Entities that could hold control and make the impossible possible, at least within their domains.

  Still, they had been warned of it, just like the floating screen that popped into reality in front of them.

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  Welcome to Dan’s Otherworldly Dungeon!

  Speak with a Host for further information.

  ??

  Information about this Crystal Notice thing was some of the information not blocked by whatever mind thing the dungeon had going on, and as such, the trio had been informed of it. Even so, learning about something and actually seeing it with their own eyes was something completely different.

  First of all, only you could see the floating screens, so it was one of those things where everyone agreed they could see it and left it at that. Of course, the entire thing was a bit odd but nothing out of the ordinary since everyone more or less had experienced illusions and projections of one kind or another.

  Unsurprisingly, Dan had been quite mad when people didn’t freak out at seeing the floating notification screens, but had quickly let it go.

  Dismissing the notification screens, the trio looked around the full lobby. There were the four teleportation stations they had been briefed about, and these so-called hosts. The hosts looked like normal people but were actually creations of the dungeon.

  Other than the teleporters, there was the tavern-like area at the southern end of the room, and adventurers were in line as two more hosts brought food to them. From what they had been told, everything that could be bought in the dungeon was paid with mana, which was odd since everyone had plenty of mana to give.

  The lobby, with its green and golden floors, held decorative plants, but mainly, it was filled with comfortable-looking seats. Adventurers and other D rankers sat around talking about something or other, but the trio couldn’t pick up whatever it was they were saying. It wasn’t that they couldn’t understand it, but that the information was just not there and was omitted before they could register it. The odd thing was that some words and phrases they could hear, but out of context from the rest of the conversation, they made no sense.

  Thankfully, they were able to listen to and understand certain things, but it wasn’t anything they hadn’t already heard of. These particular pieces of information spoke of the different areas in the dungeons, the ability to do quests, and other words like item drops. None of it really made sense to the trio, so feeling like they were still being pranked, the three nodded in unison and made their way to one of the hosts working a teleporter booth.

  The host was an elf with rainbow color hair and a friendly smile. He waved at them to approach once it was their turn in line and, to their senses, seemed like a normal elf.

  “Hello, explorers! How can I help you today?” The elf said in a friendly tone.

  “Hello! We are new here, and the thing said to speak with a host, who we assume is you?” Alexion replied, mimicking the host's friendly manner.

  “That is correct, friend! I am assuming you want to enter the dungeon?”

  “Yes, that is correct.”

  “Wonderful. Do you need the basic information packet, or have you already been briefed?”

  “We have already been briefed, thank you.”

  “Amazing, that will move us along. Do you happen to have any form of identification? Adventurer tokens, clergy papers, or other government identification? If so, please take them out.”

  Nodding, the trio took out their adventurer badges and, prompted by the host, stepped forward. The host briefly touched each badge before motioning he was done, and they all put them away. Once that was done, the host smiled at them and stood there staring into the distance. The trio, weirded out by the action, were unsure of what to do until Alexion took the initiative.

  “Uhh… Is everything alright?”

  However, before the host could reply, the two teleporters behind the elf flashed, and over the course of a minute, about ten people stepped off. During this time, the host explained that he had been communicating with the dungeon and had been informed that some individuals were getting ready to teleport out. Thankfully, after that, everything had gone back to normal, and the trio were quickly told to step on a teleporter, which was barely wide enough to let them all fit. Then, with a flash, they lost sight of the lobby room and reappeared looking at wooden walls, a few notifications quickly popping up.

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  Welcome to the Forest of Beginnings Dungeon Floor.

  ??

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  You have entered The Typic Town Zone of Control.

  Make your way to the center of the Zone to find Typic Town.

  ??

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  Congratulations! You have made it to Typic Town.

  Dan recommends you speak with the villagers for further information.

  ??

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  Achievement Acquired: The Forest of Beginnings.

  Description: Enter the Forest of Beginnings for the first time.

  ??