An Unexpected Detour

I lead the way to our next stop. The girls follow behind me and I think of something.

"Did you guys ever do something special for Halloween?" I ask them.

"You mean like trick or treating?" Myla asks and I shake my head no.

"No, I mean magic. Like did you ever do anything special with that?"

"No, we didn't. But I did hear a few guilds held Halloween parties. From what I heard, they used magic and created shows for their members who had kids. But most guilds have parties without magic." Hino replies.

"Do your guilds have parties?" I ask and they each nod.

"Yeah mainly on holidays or for special events. We don't use magic for them though. Well, sometimes we have dueling competitions using magic. But we don't use it for decoration or entertainment. The parties help the members get o know each other. It's good for them to get along. It'll make it easier for them to fight together." Myla answers and I nod. "Speaking of Eric, your Domain would be perfect for that. Outdoor parties are the most popular, at least with my guild. But the problem with them is all the bugs. Your Domain wouldn't have any." She continues and I nod.

"So Eric, where are you taking us? We've been walking for a while." Hino asks and I smile again.

"We're getting close. Just have patience." I tell her and she sighs.

"Eric, have you made anything recently? Your Domain has a few workshops in it, so I'm curious." Myla asks while we cross the street.

"Not really. Ramia's been making some potions with her parents, at least when they aren't working on the farm. I'm planning on making Innu some armor soon. I got some nice materials recently." I reply and she nods.

"What kind of materials?" Hino asks.

"I've been doing Bergeth a favor recently. He has me visiting the places where his soul has been sealed. In each, there's a type of guardian. The materials are from them. They're pretty good, so I'm hoping I can make her something good." I reply before stopping at our next destination. "We're here." I say while gesturing to my left.

"You brought us to the movies?" Myla asks.

"Yeah, aren't movies normal for dates?" I reply and she nods.

"I just wasn't expecting it. I was thinking you'd take us to the mall or arcade." She says and Hino chuckles. We enter the theater and look at the available movies.

"What do you two think of this one?" Hino asks while pointing to a sign. On it is the cover for a horror movie. Myla nods while I shrug.

"It looks good." I say and Myla nods.

"And it starts in a few minutes. So we should hurry." Hino says. I pay 71.98$ for the tickets and two popcorns. We get to our seats shortly after the movie starts. Fortunately, we didn't miss much. We sit down, with me in between the girls. We start watching the movie. A few minutes into the movie, before any of the horrors could start, I feel something odd. I feel something gathering in the air. It takes me a moment to realize it's my Mana Sense skill. The mana in the air is gathering and creating a vortex. I grab Myla and Hino's arms to get their attention.

"The ma-" I start before a feeling of nausea comes over me. I can see Myla and Hino feel it too. Before any of us can do something we get pulled into the vortex. A bright light fills my vision and I close my eyes. I keep my hands on the girl's arms to not lose them. I open my eyes when the light fades. I look around and see the movie theater is in ruins. The roof has been destroyed and light floods in. I hear Myla groan and turn to her. "Are you okay?" I ask and she nods with a sigh. "Do you know what happened?" I ask and she nods.

"Yeah, we've been sucked into a Dungeon." She replies.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"When Dungeons form, they create a vortex of mana, for lack of a better term. The vortex sucks in anyone with mana. It's very rare for it to happen to Lyna, but that's how plenty discover the Lyna world. Anyway, we need to get ready. We don't know what's here. Myla, did you bring your Pouch?" Hino says and both Myla and I nod. I swap to my armor and gear. I turn away from the girls and walk a few steps ahead.

"Eric, where are you going?" Myla asks.

"I'm just stepping away. I'm not going to leave while you change, but I won't look. Just let me know when you're done." I say after stopping. I hear the girls quickly change into their gear behind me. I keep an eye out for anything moving. After a few moments, I feel someone hug me from behind.

"What if I want you to look." I hear Hino whisper into my ear.

"Hino, this isn't the time!" Myla says to her and I turn my head. I see them in their armor and gear. Hino giggles before pulling away.

"Anyway, what's the plan?" I ask them.

"That depends. It should only take a few minutes for our guilds to notice the Dungeon. After that, they'll send a team to deal with it. We could wait and join up with them. We're standing at the entrance so we won't miss them. Or we could go and see what's here. We might be able to take them too. Or we could just leave." Hino says.

"What do you two think?" I ask and they look at each other.

"I think we should go look around. If it turns out to be something we can't handle we'll wait for the teams. Or leave if it's we won't be able to help." Myla says and Hino nods.

"Then let's go look around." I say before walking down the steps in between the stairs. As we walk, a thought comes to mind. Prisma said he creates these Dungeons. So why'd he make this one? Did he know I was here? Thinking about it, I doubt it. He wants to keep the Lyna and human worlds separate. Yet he creates Dungeons in schools and factories. Maybe he can't see where the Dungeons appear at.