"You have less than 2 days to clear the final break in Solara. If by any chance you fail, there will be a major catastrophe."
The sick feeling in my stomach slowly fades as the conversation carries out, turning into pure anger rather than dread.
I stare at the glowing transmission tablet in Arie's hand and clench my jaw tight. I want to give the Director a piece of my mind, but there's no use. It'd only be detrimental to this mission and there's no clear reason for why I'm really that mad at him...
It would be pointless to antagonize that man right now.
I want to face the stronger dungeons to come, and he wants us to clear them. Even if we want the same job done for different reasons, there's no use in sabotaging him or myself.
Arie replies as I take a deep breath and stare forward still not saying a word.
"You're going to need to give us a few more details than that. At the rate we're traveling, 2 days should be just enough time to take it to the big city. Even without calling, we would have made it in time, so don't worry, Director. We'll be well on our way soon."
The four of us travel further into the shade-filled valley between two mountains. The sudden lack of direct sunlight cools my skin, making it a bit easier for me to think straight.
The Director's voice rings out from the tablet again. Instead of his slow and stone-cold usual self, he speaks fast with a hint of emotion in every word.
"My apologies for being rash. There was just a minor delay. The scouting party we sent out 3 days before you gave us details of the final break. It... seems to be a multi-level dungeon break. A labyrinth with over 20 floors actually. There hasn't been a break in Section 4 in years, and one to this magnitude would be devastating. There will be C and possibly B-class monsters scattered across the continent. Worst case scenario we'd have to create another abyss to contain them."
There's another click and the transmitter goes silent.
Abby, Maria, and I are all left confused by his final line. Another Abyss...? Even with that, I can't help but think about what the Director said beforehand. A multi-level dungeon break...
Arie's eyes go wide, then tighten immediately on the small silver box in his hand. He stays silent.
"A Labyrinth break? I- Didn't know that was even possible. How do we go about clearing one of those?"
We all sit in silence waiting for a response as the camels continue to make their way forward at a much slower pace through the sandy valley. Any traces of the city we just left are completely out of sight, and from what I can tell no one is following us.
A light chuckle comes through the glowing tablet before hearing a response.
"Good to hear you're going alright, Jay. I assume you're looking forward to a good fight in the capital. I wish I could say I planned this, but that isn't the case. You may meet your training partner while you're there. Fisher is the one who called and asked for backup after all."
There's another pause and I begin to think about all the details in the news he just dumped on us.
Fisher called for backup, meaning he wasn't able to beat the Labyrinth's final floor. Then again... once you enter boss rooms there is no way out unless you die or defeat the opponent. So the fact that Fisher called for help probably means he didn't even try to face the boss himself yet.
Now that it's been mentioned, a labyrinth being in Solara does make total sense... This must be where that Body-Double Demon is residing.
One thing doesn't make sense though.
I grit my teeth and speak up again.
"Then why'd you send us? Our party is much weaker than that seasoned Elite. If he can't beat it, then why would you put your faith in us? This makes no sense!"
Arie butts in and speaks before there's any response.
"Hey. U-Understood Director. It doesn't matter. If it's vital to collapse this break before it decimates Solara, we'll do everything in our power to stop it."
Abby sighs and Maria nods happily.
I was going to agree anyways, and it seems like Arie knows something I don't. So, I just shrug.
Brutus' voice rings out again. This time, in an even softer tone.
"We've sent a team of B-Class Elites your way from Section 3. They're finishing up a series of their own urgent breaks in the meantime. We didn't intend for you all to be facing a labyrinth mission at the start of this outing. This is just the way things turned out. As stated before, doubled credit rewards will be provided and you may keep all drops from the labyrinth. No questions asked."
I think to myself for a moment.
It does all seem very out of the blue, and he wouldn't ask for us to try this near-impossible task unless very desperate.
Usually, interactions with this man end in me being forced to do something I don't want to, or him trying to pry some info out of me that I don't want to tell.
Neither of these are happening right now.
Something else may be amiss, but it doesn't concern me much. This seems like a great place to end the conversation.
I speak up in a positive tone.
"Great. The pay rise and item drops are perfect. We're on it. That 5th break will be taken out on our way and the 4 of us will face the Labyrinth break as soon as we get to Solara!"
After a final pause, he responds.
"Very good. I'll let them know you're on your way. Remember, 2 days remain. If it's not cleared, millions may die. Best of luck."
The tablet stops glowing and there's no way to respond back, our transmission has ended. He left us on an unnecessarily ominous line there...
Abby pulls out the map from her item box and speaks up.
"Well, this doesn't change any of our plans. I'd assume we're not exactly welcome back into DryRock anytime soon, and I don't want to go back to check. The only towns nearby are way out of the way, it'd only make our journey to Solara even longer."
"Agreed. We were headed this way anyways, now we just get an extra reward!"
Arie replies while turning backward to look at the map.
"Yeah, but now we have a reason to step on it. He wouldn't have called if it wasn't serious. Looks like the 5th break is in this mountain range anyways, there's no point in taking any other path. We may have to camp out overnight in the desert."
I nod, remembering the map earlier this week, but not being able to picture this mountain range. I wasn't sure if all of those tiny poorly drawn triangles were an exaggeration for this mountain range or not...
As we begin to walk out from the small valley area and re-enter the rays of the scorching hot sun, I see the vast mountain range before us that stretches off as far as the eye can see.
There have to be hundreds of them, for as far as the eye can see stretching out into the deep blue sky in front of us. Sandy paths twist and turn throughout the Rocky Mountains guiding us onward.
"If we travel non-stop, we may be able to find this 5th break by nightfall. I've heard of a powerful dungeon out in this mountain range, but never had the chance to face it myself. They're rumored to be Blue Ogres."