This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

[Minimum Level Required: Level 20]

What... What the hell? A dungeon?!

"What in the world?" Shade curiously asked.

"The enemy!?" Maruki shouted out loud.

"A-Are we under attack or something?" Shen nervously asked.

I clicked my tongue as I whipped out my [Blanc and Noir]. Beside me, Guidance already had her [Keystroke] out, while Shizu had her fists at the ready as they both looked at the glowing... portal thingy now present on what used to be the door back to the rest of the [Rig].

"T-that's... What is it?" Shizu cautiously asked, her eyes trained solely at the anomaly confining us to the bridge. "It's blocking the way."

"Wait, you can see something?" Shade asked aloud, his rose held out in front of him as he waited for our next move. "You know why that door suddenly closed?"

I blinked at his words... Wait, "You mean you can't see it?"

"See what?!" Maruki largely intoned, his massive shield already pointed towards the anomaly. "The door to the bridge has closed itself! Surely, there are enemies on the other side!"

I found myself sharing a knowing look with Shizu and Guidance as we stared at the glowing portal again. I was pretty sure that Guidance already knew what this meant, and Shizu was just waiting for some sort of explanation from either of us.

"I-I'm assuming you saw a prompt?" Guidance shakily asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "We unlocked a dungeon somehow."

"A dungeon?"

I let out a sigh as I explained for the princess's benefit. "It's the same as back we fought the [Wolf King]. We're about to face a few enemies, and depending on what we have in store for us, we might have a difficult fight on our hands."

Still, looking back at the prompt, a level 20 dungeon might not even be that bad. We had five people that we knew for sure can put up a fight, and while leaving Shen unguarded would suck, I could only hope that the game worked in a way that the dungeon was instanced. And by that, I mean that the only people risking their lives would be the people trying to clear it.

Anyway, "Guidance, any info would be appreciated right about now."

I found myself looking at everybody present, my eyes landing on poor Shen as the kid shivered with fear. Flashing her a comforting smile, I could only hope that she'd be alright while we fixed this mess.

And where was that info? Turning around, I gave Guidance a waiting stare as I... "Guidance?"

I blinked in worry as we all now found ourselves staring at the dev. She was staring blankly at the portal, her fingers trembling as she spoke. "I-I don't know, Moriya... This isn't... This isn't mine..."

...

....What?

"Yours? Was this your doing, Lady Guidance?" Shade accusingly asked, though his tone didn't strike me like he was actually serious.

"N-No, it isn't," Guidance shook her head. "If it was, I would've known it was coming."

"W-What? What's happening?"

My ears perked up, noticing Shen's utter confusion from the sidelines as the brewing situation developed even further. Seeing as I wasn't getting some attention, I made my way to the kid's side, giving her some support as I let her hide behind me.

"It'll be fine, Shen," I assuaged her. "We'll get out of this easy."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "You'll see just why we're important people, assuming that you'd be able to watch us."

"...Shizu's a princess, right?" Shen cautiously asked. "The Princess? The Imperial Princess?"

"Yep," I casually replied. "Kind of forgot to tell you that, huh..."

The kid didn't question further as she retreated behind my back, her silence obviously denoting her inner thoughts. I didn't think that it was important at the time, but I guess that was just me establishing the secrecy of the mission. That, and preserving Shizu's privacy.

Shrugging at my choices, I let myself calm down as I watched on. In front of us, Shade, Shizu, and Guidance were all talking to one another, with Shade asking one question after the other while Guidance did her best to answer them. Shizu was doing her best to control the man, but even her beauty wasn't doing anything to stop him.

"You mean that Maruki's right and we have enemies by our door right now?" Shade questioningly asked. "That they've penetrated this deep into Imperial territory and have the princess at their mercy?"

"Hey! We're not that weak!" Shizu pointedly replied, a serious pout scowling on her face. "And isn't protecting me your job in the first place?"

"That is true!" Maruki suddenly chimed in, his shield slamming loudly against the floor. "This is what our duty entails, and this is simply what is required of us!"

"Maruki, wait!-"

Huh... The next sequence of events was something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. Maruki, ever eager to prove his words, suddenly ran at the door with his shield up front. Shizu tried to stop him, but the tin can had already collided with the steel door before he could even turn around and face us.

Quite the trainwreck, I think.

"Ow!" Maruki yelped, his shield ringing as it crashed against the solid door. "T-That hurt!"

"Is he okay?"

I gave Shen a sigh as I replied, "He'll be fine. Probably...."

The collective sigh that echoed on that bridge was both load and exasperating. I didn't know why I thought of it that way, but maybe I was just running out of damns left to give as I strode forward.

"Wait here, okay?"

With Shen nodding at my words, I clicked my tongue as I inserted myself back into the discussion. Shade immediately took note of my return with a scoff, something that was... expected, really.

"Finally had enough chatting with the kid?"

"At least I had enough heart to make sure she's safe," I countered back with a smirk. "It isn't every day that a kid gets to face their first life and death situation."

"Why-"

"How thoughtful!" Maruki shouted out, cutting Shade off before he could deliver his comeback. "We should always strive to protect the Empire's citizens!"

...Oh my lord... This situation's really starting to get off the rails, huh...

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