No sooner had we entered the lobby than the door sealed shut with a soft hiss. I spun about and dashed back to them.
[Dogdangit, no!] I slammed my shoulder into them when they refused to open on their own. When that didn’t work, I raked them with a full-power Claw Slash. Still nothing. [Dangit, dangit, dangit!]
[Swears,] Zapper said softly, but there wasn’t much force behind it. Even he was looking around the lobby nervously. [What now, Boss?]
[Find another way out, I suppose. The system wanted us—wanted me—to come here for some reason. Once we figure out why that is, it should let us go.] Giving up my assault upon the door, I glanced around and noticed a small box next to it that was blinking insistently. I padded over for a closer inspection.
No sooner had I done so than a message appeared in my vision.
I froze and studied the words in front of me. Dimming them so I could see my surroundings, I made sure there were no immediate threats that needed to be dealt with. All I saw was Zapper, his own eyes glazed as he presumably read through the same tutorial I was being offered, and Riley, who had climbed onto a nearby leather sofa and was kicking her feet playfully into the air.
Satisfied that it was safe to do so, I confirmed the message. After missing the unique tutorial, no way I was passing up the chance to learn a bit more about our situation.
Though I still tensed as it started, hoping I hadn’t made a mistake.
Huh. This was... informational. But it was also bland and straightforward, with none of the usual mannerisms I’d gotten used to hearing. Perhaps someone else other than Craig had recorded it?
So it was Craig. Guess the guy finally calmed down.
I recalled the safe zone generator had mentioned something similar before. Seemed like this would be the place to set up camp, especially if the only way to open the door behind me was to get to the top level of this tower. How long was that going to take? How many floors was this place?
Why was it giving me all of this information? All the other tutorials had been rather tight-lipped about how everything worked. Now I felt like I was being led about by the collar.
Then again, I wasn’t exactly complaining. It was nice to know exactly what we were stepping into for once.
I’m not sure how long I sat there after the tutorial finished. Part of my brain kept trying to make sense of the last part, even though I got the impression it wasn’t something that was meant for me to hear.
Well, this was probably one of those human matters better left to humans. I’d learned what important details I could from the tutorial, and that was what mattered.
[Hey, Zapper,] I said, [It looks like we’re going to have to clear this place if we want to leave.]
[Okay, Boss!]
[‘Okay’? It doesn’t bother you that we’ll need to fight through floor after floor of monsters and traps to get out of here?]
The little dog cocked his head as he looked at me. [Should it, Boss?]
[I suppose not.] Despite the direness of our situation, I couldn’t help but let my tongue loll a bit at the little dog’s cavalier attitude. Then my tail started to wag. [It shouldn’t be all bad. The tutorial mentioned there might be treasure as well.]
[I like treasure!] Zapper said with a bark. Riley glanced over at the noise.
Right. The human. That might present a problem.
[What do we do about the kid?] I asked, as much to myself as Zapper. [Won’t be safe to have her following us around all the time, the fight with Argyr showed that.]
[Can’t we just leave her here?] The little dog glanced around the lobby. [I bet she’ll be fine on her own for a few hours!]
[Are we even talking about the same human? Don’t you remember what happened with the gasoline can? Or when she climbed up on the roof? Or that incident with the spaghetti?] I shuddered at the memory. [We can discuss it more later. For now, let’s get the safe zone set up.]
After the battles with the mecha-dog and the giga-pup, I was half-starved and ready to sleep. But more important than both those things?
I had a loot box to open. A legendary loot box.
