The loud ringtone shook Uruvi from her deep sleep. She searched through her messy bed for her phone while her head was firmly planted into her pillow. Her hand gripped the phone by its side and brought it to her ear.

  “Hello?” she said in a sleep-smothered voice.

  “You are still sleeping?” asked Rambha from the other side.

  “What time is it…?”

  “It is 10.”

  “10… 10!” Her eyes snapped open, and she jolted off her bed. “I… I will come over. Just hold on.”

  “No need. We are downstairs,” said Rambha.

  She let out a dull sigh and said, “come up. We can discuss over breakfast.”

  ***

  The trio sat around the dinner table, each had a plate of food before them, despite them declining the food repeatedly. Her father left them to attend his community duties.

  Uruvi dug into her food while her guests took a polite few bites from theirs.

  “Slept well, darling?” asked Rambha.

  “I have no idea how I managed to get any sleep after what happened last night,” said Uruvi, stuffing her face with food.

  “Which you are yet to tell us about,” said Rambha.

  She paused her munching to let out another sigh. “Very well.” She gave them a detailed picture of the events from the previous night. By the time she finished, she could see the grim expressions on both their faces.

  “Kind of expected for people to start killing each other… eventually,” said Uruvi.

  “People have already been killing each other. The number of Contestants had shrunk by a hundred yesterday. I doubt many fell to monsters,” said Ashwin.

  “Damn. Really? I thought it was going to be only a few,” said Uruvi.

  “You are far too na?ve, babe,” said Rambha.

  “And it is going to only get worse. People basically have a free pass to do whatever they want. There will be plenty of psychos licking their lips,” said Ashwin.

  “We can only do so much. Right now, our focus should be to try to shut down the last-place rule,” said Uruvi.

  “True. For that, we need to solve three problems. One is getting to level 15, two is getting to Rank 1, and lastly, how are we to add a rule that doesn’t contradict the existing rule?” said Ashwin.

  “And we aren’t certain any will work as we expect them to,” said Rambha.

  “The best we can do is to try. We will not know if it will work without trying,” said Ashwin.

  Rambha shook her head and pressed her palm against her forehead. “You are right, bro. I should not be so negative. Especially when the stakes are so high.”

  “Okay. So. Level 15. Arya, what is the fastest way we can get there?” asked Uruvi.

  “Suggestion. Clear a Dungeon Run to gain XP and Rank points quickly.”

  “A Dungeon Run?” Suddenly, there was a spark in her eyes.

  “A Dungeon Run? That sounds perfect,” said Ashwin. He tapped on his screen and said, “let’s see the closest one to us.” He dragged the map around before tapping on the screen. “There we go. I see one less than a few miles away. Required level to enter: 11. Expected enemies, Pisacha, Pisachi, Bhootha, and a few more that have been greyed out.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Are those we have not seen yet?” asked Uruvi.

  “Most likely the ones I have not seen yet,” said Ashwin.

  Uruvi’s heart stopped for a second. She quickly opened her map and navigated to the Dungeon and found the lineup of enemies to remain the same. She fell back into the chair and said, “oh, thank god!”

  “What has gotten you so spooked, babe?” asked Rambha.

  “I did not want to be dealing with a dungeon full of Vetala… again.”

  “Okay. I will bite. What are they?” asked Rambha.

  Uruvi narrated to them the events that took place in the pub.

  “Damn. That is hardcore,” whispered Rambha.

  “So, we got monsters that don’t die unless they meet sunlight and a Contestant who can give powers to other people? No wonder it had got you spooked,” said Ashwin.

  “I feel like that is going to be just the beginning. Only time will tell what kind of freaks we will come across,” said Uruvi. She turned her attention to the screen and saw that there was a rewards section. “What’s this? Are we getting rewards for completing the Dungeon?”

  “Rewards? Like what?” asked Rambha, peeping into Ashwin’s screen.

  “It says it is random, but finally! The only thing that was missing was loot!” Uruvi cried in joy.

  “Whoa! Somebody is excited by the rewards,” said Rambha.

  “In these trying times, some positivity helps maintain my sanity,” Uruvi explained.

  “Touche’” replied Rambha.

  “If we are done here. I think we can head out?” asked Ashwin.

  “Wait. Give me a few minutes. Need to do a little prep work,” said Uruvi.

  ***

  Uruvi retreated into her bedroom and quickly began to armor up. She was eager to get her hands on real armor, but at that moment, she had to settle for looking less like a gladiator and more like Lara Croft.

  “Arya. How many points do I have?” she asked.

  “You have 10 attribute points, 1 Skill point, and 1 Spell point.”

  “10 attribute points! You mean I was fighting with one hand behind my back?”

  “Negative. You were fighting with both your hands.”

  Her lips twitched with annoyance. “Arya, it is an idiom.”

  “Affirmative. I will download the idioms pack if available.”

  “Okay… Let’s focus, shall we? My stats.” She shot a look at her attributes screen and took a note of them. She once again had an abundance of points that left her tempted to dump them into a new Chakra. “Should I level up my Heart Chakra? Empathy and Serenity are already at 20.” This was the closest she had gotten to opening a new Chakra. “Arya, what does Heart Chakra even give me?”

  “The Heart Chakra is connected to the soul of the body. Enhancing the Heart Chakra gives you a boost in MP and Special Attack. It will allow you to unlock more Soul Skills and Spells. Having leveled up both the Soul-bound Chakras will give an additional 5 percent boost to your Soul Skills and Spells.”

  She had been conveniently ignoring the Soul Skill tree, focused more on Body and Mind. Having to switch them was quite a difficult task. ‘I have been buffing my attributes in one direction and picking Skills and Spells in another direction. A rookie mistake! Still… My Navel Chakra is leveled up. Should I shift focus to a Soul-focused build?’

  She tapped on the Skills and Spells section and took a quick glance at the Skills and Spells under the Soul section. ‘Urgh. This is going to take a while to get my head around.’

  However, her progression was still quite early. ‘I can still make a switch.’

  “Arya, do you think it is wise for me to focus on a third Chakra? Connected to the Mind?” she asked.

  “Affirmative. Adding a third Chakra is feasible. Picking a Mind-focused Chakra can help balance your playstyle.”

  She felt overjoyed hearing that. “Wonderful! In that case. I am going to focus on the Third Eye. I saw that it unlocked some really good Skills and Spells.”

  “Affirmative. The Third Eye Chakra lets you see the world around you with more clarity. It also provides a boost in Defense and Special Defense.”

  “Huh. Let’s do it then! Assign 4 points to Perception and 3 to the other two (Erudition and Resilience). As for Skills, let’s upgrade my existing arsenal. Put an extra point into Crippling Precision and Mark them.”

  “Affirmative. Your points have been assigned.”

  She paused for a moment, expecting some kind of change. However, she felt no different. ‘Oh, wait. I need to level up my Chakra for that. Damn it!’

  ***

  The trio stared at the Dungeon Door in a mix of awe and anxiety. The doors were at least 3 stories tall and made entirely of stone, tucked into the side of a torn-down warehouse.

  “Hey, do you think this just leads inside the warehouse?” Uruvi asked, jokingly.

  “If it did, that would be one hell of a disappointment, babe.”

  They saw Ashwin looking around the place. The warehouse stood in a large, abandoned plot of land. Small shrubs and trees littered the field. The lack of any city noise or nature’s ambience made his skin crawl. “We are in the middle of the city, yet it feels so distant and isolated. The lack of Contestants is also a bit… suspicious.”

  “I guess so… Maybe they haven’t discovered this place yet? Also. Arya, if one goes in, does the Dungeon become locked for others?”

  “Negative. Each trial takes place in a separate pocket of reality, independent of the others.”

  “Whoa! You mean if we get stuck, we are on our own?” asked Uruvi.

  “Affirmative.”

  “Well… That just raised the stakes.” She passed on the information she had received from Arya.

  “That is to be expected. Besides, we have fought harder battles,” said Ashwin.

  “Like a Level 13 Pisachi?” asked Uruvi.

  “Like a bunch of Vetala… all night long,” said Rambha.

  “Touche,” said Uruvi.

  Ashwin walked up to the doors and pressed against the cold stone. They opened with a loud but dull creek, revealing the pitch-black inside. “You girls ready?” asked Ashwin.

  “Oh absolutely,” said Uruvi.