The carriage suddenly shook, the horses neighing in panic. My father's expression hardened as he grabbed the hilt of his sword. Sofia stood up, alert, scanning the surroundings.
My mother pulled me close. "Stay behind me, Cain."
A chill ran down my spine. Something felt... wrong. The air was heavy, thick with unease.
Then—silence.
Only the sound of rustling leaves broke the stillness.
Then, in the distance—a carriage, racing toward us at alarming speed.
My father narrowed his eyes. "What is that?"
My mother's grip on me tightened. "I have a bad feeling about this."
As the carriage drew closer, we could hear frantic shouting.
"RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!"
A woman's terrified voice rang through the air.
Their carriage skidded to a stop beside ours, the driver panting, eyes wide with fear. My father stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. "What happened?"
Before they could answer, my breath caught in my throat. My gaze shot past them, to the horizon—where I saw it.
A monstrous horde, flooding out of the northwest.
Goblins in endless numbers, giant rats with bloodstained fur, cave spiders crawling over one another, lesser golems stomping the earth, and horned rabbits dashing at unnatural speeds.
An uncontrollable stampede.
My hands trembled as realization set in. From what I had read in books, this was no ordinary monster wave.
A Dungeon Break.
Not just any break, but a mana-overloaded one—the most dangerous kind.
A dungeon could absorb excessive magical energy, and when it became unstable, its monsters were forced out in a violent stampede. This could happen due to natural leyline surges, reckless magical experiments, or worst of all—corruption of the dungeon core through forbidden magic.
Unlike normal breaks, these monsters were stronger, faster, and more aggressive. Some could even mutate. In extreme cases, the dungeon might expand, merging with the real world.
I turned to my mother, pointing toward the growing disaster. "Mother, look!"
She squinted but couldn't yet see clearly.
My father, however, did. His face paled. His jaw clenched.
"Is that...?" His voice trailed off as realization struck.
Then—panic.
"RUN! GET IN THE CARRIAGE, NOW!" my father ordered.
Sofia gritted her teeth. "Sir, we can't fight that many. We'll be overwhelmed!"
"That's why we're leaving! Now move!"
He turned to the woman in the other carriage. "Get out of here! Now!"
We scrambled back onto our carriage in haste. The driver cracked the reins, the horses bolting forward with newfound urgency.
As the wheels jolted forward, Sofia's voice cut through the chaos. "Sir, we have to warn the nearby City! It's not far from here!"
My father nodded sharply. "Yes! Don't leave anything behind! We move fast!"
The carriages raced away, dust rising in their wake.
My heart pounded against my chest. The heavy air pressed down on me, and my breathing felt tight.
I clenched my fists.
We were running.
But the nightmare had only just begun.