Dungeon : Xander's Illusion(1)

Devin stood on the pier with Gary, patiently waiting for the arrival of Neil on the high wave ship. As the ship bearing the emblem of the high wave business approached, Gary couldn't help but wonder when he would have the opportunity to sail on such grand ships himself.

"I wonder when the day will come when I can sail on ships like this," Gary mused.

"It will happen," Devin reassured him. "It's only a matter of time."

Spotting Neil among the passengers disembarking the ship, Devin made his way over to welcome him.

"Brother, it's good to see you!" Neil greeted Devin excitedly.

"I hope the journey wasn't too stressful," Devin asked concerningly.

"Not at all. I was treated like a VIP," Neil replied with a smile.

"That's good to hear. Why don't you rest today and explore Serene City? We'll head back to the island tomorrow. The village chief will arrange your accommodations and show you around," Devin suggested.

Neil agreed to Devin's plan. After spending time on the ship, he needed some rest and to feel the solid ground beneath his feet again. Once they reached Cathy's inn, Devin could see Neil's fatigue and gave him a soothing potion to help him relax.

Devin took the opportunity to show Neil around Serene City, as Neil wasn't familiar with the area. It also gave Devin a chance to do some sightseeing himself. Later, Devin introduced Neil to the village chief as his brother and granted Neil permission to enter the village.

Knowing that he wasn't the best person to show Neil the entire island, Devin entrusted two professional hunters who served as Neil's guards and guides. They would be able to give Neil a more comprehensive tour.

Devin received a message from Elijah, informing him of the successful sale of the pearls and the securing of the funds. The special energy within the pearls had made them sell well, and Elijah had managed to secure a deal worth twenty-five million. Elijah had sent the necessary documents to set up the company and requested Devin's signature, which was waiting in his mailbox. Elijah also mentioned continuing the search for a suitable cosmetic company for their takeover and the lack of information about the location of the dwarf village.

"Keep searching," Devin replied to Elijah's message.

Devin felt a sense of relief upon hearing the news of the funds. He quickly shared the good news with Alex and logged off to sign the documents before sending them back. He couldn't help but reflect on when the game would upgrade and synchronize their cabins with their Links. It was likely that the government was still testing the impact of Oasis, but Devin believed it was inevitable.

Lost in deep thought, Devin pondered how to find Valendor, not only for Elijah's sake but also because of the seed he had read about in the story. He was curious to see if it was the same seed that was growing in his sea of consciousness.

Devin decided to try out the dungeon feature of the game. Normally, the system randomly assigned players to dungeons, but there was also an option to spend 100 Exp to use the search function. Curious about anything related to Valendor, Devin decided to spend the Exp and search for it. If there was a copy created by the system, each dungeon served as a mini replica or secret realm of certain events or situations.

After spending the Exp, Devin finally found something - a dungeon called "The Illusory Dungeon: Xander's Obsession of Redemption." Considering that the high priest of Valendor was Xander, Devin didn't hesitate to choose this dungeon.

The system prompts with a message, [This dungeon requires at least six players to enter. Please wait a moment while players who will enter the dungeon together are randomly selected.]

Once all the players were selected, the system asked, [ Is the player Devin sure about entering the game copy 'The Illusory Dungeon: Xander's Obsession of Redemption?']

Devin chose "yes" and suddenly felt a bright light enveloping him as he disappeared from the room.

As Devin regained his senses, he found himself in a bright and sunny field. Standing beside him were five other players - four men and one woman. The woman appeared to be in her twenties and exuded elegance with her long, curly blond hair that gracefully framed her face. The game uses players' original appearances automatically, allowing them to use their real names or nicknames.

One of the guys walked up to the group and introduced himself, "My name is Finneas. This is my first time entering a dungeon."

"Lydia, this is my third time entering a dungeon," the woman said.

"In the game, just as in reality, I have always admired your intelligence and skill, Lady Lydia. My name is James Thornton, and this is my first time in a dungeon," another guy added, smiling at Lydia.

Lydia seemed used to this kind of attention and didn't pay much heed to James. "I'm Muriel, and this is also my first time in a dungeon," Devin introduced himself.

The remaining two guys were friends and introduced themselves as Taylor and Ray. It was their first time as well.

Considering Lydia had the most experience in dungeons, the group decided she should be the captain. James even expressed that he would only allow Lydia to become the captain. Devin didn't mind this, as being the captain would only restrict his abilities anyway.

"Can we all introduce our special abilities so we know how to assign tasks?" Lydia suggested. "I'll start by saying that I can cast low-level ice magic spells."

James, eager to prove himself proudly exclaimed, "I can cast a fireball spell," looking at Lydia to gauge her reaction.

Devin chimed in, "I can read ancient texts thanks to an object I acquired from a previous task," as he put on Indra's eyeglasses.

Lydia was impressed by Devin's ability, knowing that dungeons often had inscriptions that required translation.

This seemed to irk James, who sarcastically commented, "So you are a nerd, and we'll have to carry you?" Everyone frowned at the remark, but no one said anything. Devin didn't even bother to argue with a poodle.

Taylor and Ray then introduced their skills - Taylor could use the flute for crowd control, while Ray was learning the art of tailoring.

It was revealed that Finneas was skilled with tools and considered himself a handyman.

Devin smiled, realizing that everyone was likely hiding their true abilities.

"We should all try to cooperate and work together. If anyone has useful information, feel free to share it with the rest of us," Lydia suggested.

Taylor asked about sharing loot, to which Finneas responded, "Although we're a team, I suggest that whoever obtains an item gets to keep it. There's no need to distribute things evenly unless someone else assists in obtaining the item. It's more convenient and fair that way. What do you all think?"

Everyone agreed with the suggestion.

Taylor then asked if anyone understood the mission task. The game prompt appeared: [The dungeon task: Can you wake Xander up from his obsession? When the mission is completed, you will be rewarded with 10,000 experience points based on completion.]

"Always so stingy, they could have given us more information," Finneas complained.

Devin chuckled and remarked, "At least we know we're trapped in Xander's illusion and that we need to awaken him from his obsession."

"How are we going to do that?" Taylor asked.

"First, we need to stop standing around and enter the bustling village to gather information about who Xander is. This will help us gain more knowledge," suggested Devin.

A hazy apparition of the once flourishing Valendor materialized, its streets filled with laughter and bustling activity.

Everyone agreed and joined the bustling village to gather information.

Devin approached the village and noticed a man being thrown out of the tavern for not being able to pay his tab. Seeing an opportunity to quickly gain favor, Devin helped the drunk dwarf to his feet.

"Hello, friend money shouldn't stop you from enjoying drinking," Devin said as he helped the dwarf up.

"Yes, lad, there are still people with common sense in this community," replied the rosy-faced dwarf.

"Why don't I buy you a drink as we revel in the wonders of drinking?" suggested Devin.

"You're a kind lad. How come I've never seen you before?" asked the dwarf.

"I am an adventurer. I came to the village with my friends, hoping to find better weapons," explained Devin.

"You came to the right place. Don't worry, after we've had our fill of drinks, I'll hook you up," promised the dwarf as he entered the tavern.

Immediately upon entering, the dwarf was laughed at and was about to be thrown out.

"George, haven't you learned your lesson?" the bartender asked.

"I'm not here to cause any trouble. My friend here is paying," George defended.

The bartender turned to Devin to confirm. Devin nodded and handed over one silver coin to the bartender.

Satisfied, the bartender served them five cups of beer.

Devin pushed a whole cup in front of George, pretending to be drinking. While the dwarf didn't notice, Devin decided to ask some questions.

Thanks to George, Devin was able to gather information about recent events in the village. The dwarf sadly sighed as he mentioned losing one of his friends last week - they found his body behind his house, where he had been murdered. This unsolved murder case was causing unease in the village.

"What is the high priest doing about it?" Devin inquired.

"I don't know, but I do know that our leader reported the case," George replied.

Later that day, Devin and the rest of the group gathered to discuss the information they had gathered.