Lyra walked ahead the medieval street that was brightened by glowing Orb that served as street lights,she navigated through the streets like she had done this Countless times before, truly, the knowledge she must've gotten from her Guild must've been precise.
"Story Dungeons don't follow Earth's rules. It's been theorised that This could be another dimension, a parallel world, or just a construct the dungeon created. Doesn't really matter. What matters is figuring out the Story."
They passed through the market district, where vendors were packing up their stalls for the night. The smell of roasted meat and fresh bread filled the air, making Yuki's stomach growl. She realized she hadn't eaten since before entering the dungeon.
"Hungry?" Lyra asked, noticing.
"Starving actually"
"Good. There should be a tavern around here somewhere. We can get food, information, and a room for the night."
---
The tavern was called The Golden Dragon Inn, a two-story building with warm light spilling from its windows and the sound of laughter and conversation drifting from the inside into the street. A wooden sign hung above the door, painted with a golden dragon coiled around a Beer jug.
Lyra pushed the door open and they stepped inside.
The interior was packed. Rough wooden tables filled the space, occupied by a mix of NPCs and hunters. Yuki couldn't still tell the difference, the NPCs moved unpredictability, their conversations, their gestures, it all felt way too real to not be..."real".
A few heads turned as Yuki and Lyra entered, NPCs assessing them briefly before returning to their drinks.
Lyra led them to a corner table and flagged down a barmaid.
"Room for the night" Lyra said as she slided a gold coin across the table.
The barmaid's eyes lit up at the sight of the coin. "Right away, missy!"
As the barmaid hurried off, Yuki leaned forward. "You came prepared."
Lyra smirked. "Always. Story Dungeons operate on medieval logic. Gold coins work everywhere, I even gone some silver and bronze ones."
Yuki glanced around the tavern, listening to the overlapping conversations.
"I heard the Northern Kingdom is mobilizing troops"
"I heed the dragons have become more active because an Important Egg of theirs has been missing for weeks now"
"they say the egg was stolen from their royal vault"
"war's coming, mark my words!"
Yuki's ears perked up. She looked at Lyra. "Are you hearing this?"
Lyra nodded with a serious expression on her face. "The NPCs are dropping lore. Listen carefully. This is how we figure out the Story."
A Rough looking NPC at the next table slammed his Jug down. "I tell ya, the Three Kingdoms are gonna tear each other apart over that damned egg! Everybody wanna piece of a dragon!"
His companion, a wiry man with a scarred face, shook his head. "It's not about the egg. It's about control. Whoever holds the Dragon king's favor controls the Dragons.The kingdoms are scrambling for power, they've been at a stalemate for too long"
"Bah! I bet the dragon King is probably dead. Why else would he disappear right when his egg goes missing?"
"Careful with that talk, friend. The Dragon Guards don't take kindly to disrespect to their king."
Yuki absorbed every word. Three Kingdoms. A missing Dragon king. A stolen egg. This was the Story. She felt Owen Trobe within the beast space, the mention of a "dragon king" has piqued his attention.
The barmaid returned with two bowls of hearty stew and two jugs of ale. Yuki dug in immediately, the warm food filled her with relief.
Lyra ate slowly as she scanned the room. After a moment, she leaned closer to Yuki and spoke quietly.
"Here's what we know so far. This world has Three major human Kingdoms, There's a Dragon king who's gone missing, and a dragon egg that was stolen. The kingdoms are on the brink of war, likely because the Dragon king kept the peace, and now without him, everyone's vying for control."
Yuki nodded. "So the Story is probably about finding the Dragon king or the egg. Or both."
"Most likely" Lyra agreed. "But here's the tricky part. Story Dungeons rarely have one 'correct' path. There are multiple ways to complete the narrative, and the choices we make will determine which ending we get and whether we survive."
"What do you mean?"
Lyra's expression darkened. "Some endings result in dungeon breaks. If we make the wrong choices, we don't just fail, we doom the city outside. That's why Story Dungeons are so dangerous. It's not just about strength. It's about understanding the narrative and making the right decisions, what's even worse is we've got hundreds of hunters with different ideologies within the dungeon, so the quicker the person with the correct mindset achieved the right narrative, the better."
Yuki's stomach tightened as the weight of that responsibility settled on her shoulders.
But Lyra continued, unphased. "The other problem is scale. From what I'm hearing, this dungeon is massive. Continent-sized, maybe larger. The guilds are probably scattered across different kingdoms, different cities. It could take weeks just to regroup."
"Weeks?" Yuki's eyes widened. "But..."
"Time flows differently in Story Dungeons," Lyra said. "A week in here might only be a day outside. Or vice versa. There's no way to know until we clear it."
Yuki took a long drink of ale, trying to process everything.
"Pahhh!!!" She sighed. "So what do we do?"
"Tomorrow, we find the Adventurer's Guild" Lyra said. "Every major city in these dungeons probably has one. It's where hunters and NPCs go to take quests, gather information, and form parties. If any Glory Road members are in this city, they'll head there. We'll regroup, gather more intel, and figure out our next move."
Yuki nodded. "Alright."
They finished their meal in silence, then the barmaid led them upstairs to a modest room with two beds. The accommodations were simple but clean.
Yuki collapsed onto one of the beds, exhaustion finally catching up with her. She could feel Owen resting peacefully in the [Beast Space], his presence a comforting weight in her mind through their bond.
'Another world, two moons, kingdoms at war, a missing dragon king and a missing dragon egg' Yuki thought before sleep claimed her. 'What have I gotten us into?'