《The Core Summoner》 1. Dungeoneers Ryan cursed as he dove out of the way of a spear made of solid, deep blue ice. It shattered against the ground leaving a crater in the spot he had stood moments before. Damn, Ryan thought, realizing how close he had been to dying. ¡°Whoops, sorry about that man! I got him!¡± There was an explosion of heat, followed by the roar of a lion as his best friend Lee activated Taunt. The sudden release of energy forced the boss¡¯s attention away from Ryan and back towards Lee. ¡°Oh shit. Incoming! Shield me!¡± Lee yelled as the boss started sprinting towards him. Ryan watched as the twenty-foot long, cyan-colored lizard leaped at Lee. Its black, sharpened talons extended, eager to tear him apart. Lee took a knee and raised his massive great-shield a moment before they collided. He groaned from the impact but managed to stop the lizard¡¯s momentum. There was a sound like breaking glass, and a golden flicker of light as the boss swept one of its claws at Lee¡¯s head. Instead of making contact and taking off his head, the lizard¡¯s claw rebounded. The force of the blow threw Lee across the room, but Ryan knew that the well-timed Shield had saved his life. The boss roared in fury as it raced towards Lee to finish the kill. ¡°I¡¯ll heal him! Ariel, take aggro!" Vivian yelled as golden light surrounded her hands. "I''ll Shield you!" Ariel spun her spear as she raced across the ground towards the giant lizard. "Hell yeah! Come here ugly!" Her bright red hair trailed behind her, as her wild emerald eyes searched the creature for a weak spot. The two-foot-long spearhead crackled with power as Ariel activated her Lightning Spear ability. She struck the creature at the base of its neck, blue blood gushing out of the wound and covering Ariel¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s soooo gro¡ª¡± ¡°Watch out!¡± Time seemed to slow down to a stop as Ryan raised his hand in Ariel¡¯s direction. Her wild eyes widened in surprise as the boss emitted a wave of ice from its body. Ryan activated God¡¯s Defense right as the ring of sharpened ice impaled Ariel. A red aura covered Ariel¡¯s entire body, and the ice cracked and shattered as it struck. Ariel grinned as she realized what had happened. She gave him a quick wink before delivering another blow to the beast, this time piercing its right eye. Ryan sighed in relief as Lee re-joined the battle. God¡¯s Defense was his strongest spell. It reduced the incoming damage of all magical and physical attacks by 100%. The downside was that it only lasted ten seconds, and could be only used once every twenty-four hours. It was an overpowered skill when used the right way. The problem was he had cast it earlier than he wanted to, so now they needed to kill the boss as soon as possible. Lee roared a challenge at the boss, compelling it to forget about Ariel. It limped towards Lee, blood seeping from its ruined eye and throat. Lee grit his teeth, squat down and then used all his strength to soar through the air towards the behemoth. His shield collided with the lizard¡¯s face, a crunching noise echoed across the room as metal met bone. Shield Bash. The boss reared backward, dazed, its cries equal parts pain and fury. Ryan realized that this might be their best chance to kill the beast. ¡°Now! Give it everything you have!¡± He triggered all the support spells that he had access to: Serpent Strikes, Iron Blows, and Flames of Wrath. Serpent Strikes and Iron Blows increased the attack speed and damage of physical blows. While Flames of Wrath added a small amount of elemental fire damage to each strike. Each buff lasted for sixty seconds and wiped away the little bit of mana that Ryan had left. The seconds passed by as both the group and beast fought against each other. Neither willing to give ground as blood soaked the desiccated dirt. The boss fought a losing battle, with Vivian able to repair the worst of the wounds that Lee and Ariel received. Ariel skyrocketed into the air and activated her most powerful ability. ¡°Dragon Dive!¡± Her body and spear caught fire, matching the vibrant red of her hair. She flipped mid-air and began to spin, faster and faster as she fell. Ryan watched in amazement as Ariel turned into a fiery tornado of death, the head of a dragon taking shape as she picked up more speed. The entire room shook as Ariel slammed into the lizard¡¯s head. A second later Ryan heard the roar of a dragon as the boss collapsed to the ground. Another second passed before Ryan heard a familiar popping sound from the middle of the room. Ryan looked over to see that a large silver chest had appeared. ¡°Got ya!¡± Ariel yelled, grinning from ear to ear. Ryan couldn¡¯t help but laugh as she ran over to the chest, jumping up and down in excitement. She waited till they had all gathered around the chest before trying to open it. She grimaced as she pushed, but the heavy lid didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Lee, Ryan, help me out here! Let''s grab the loot and scram before the damn portal closes on us!¡± With the three of them pushing, the chest swung open with a loud creak. ¡°Score!¡± Ryan looked over to see Lee caressing a monstrous black tower shield. The damn thing was as big as Lee, which was incredible since Lee was over six feet tall and weighed close to 260 pounds. They spent the next few minutes fitting the rest of the loot into their backpacks. The four friends high-fived each other as they finished their work.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The chest had contained dozens of uncommon-grade healing and mana potions. Not to mention a handful of common-grade spellbooks. Even if they kept the potions for themselves, the spellbooks and monster cores would fetch a pretty penny. Enough to last them for a couple of weeks once they split the profits. Lee picked up his backpack and headed for the entrance of the dungeon, ¡°alright, let¡¯s get the hell out of here team¡±. The rest of the group followed, Vivian humming a tune as they approached the entrance portal. Moonlight greeted Ryan as he stepped through the portal. ¡°Damn, we must have been in there for a couple of hours¡±. ¡°It was worth it though, we shouldn¡¯t have to clear another dungeon for a couple of weeks!¡± Vivan said beaming. They waited around for a few more minutes until the portal closed, signaling that they had cleared the dungeon. As they walked, Ryan didn¡¯t notice Ariel as she slid up and wrapped her arms around his chest. ¡°Aww Viv, you know I hateee that we only do a dungeon every couple of weeks! They¡¯re so much fun!¡± Lee laughed as he caught up with them, a cellphone in his left hand. He put his right arm around Vivan and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to Ariel. ¡°That¡¯s because you have some sort of death wish!¡± Ariel pouted like a sad puppy and Ryan couldn¡¯t help but smile as he pulled her closer. ¡°You are a tad crazy¡± he whispered into her ear. ¡°I already called the guild and told them that we cleared the dungeon. I¡¯ll drop off the stuff we want to sell and then transfer the money over to everyone when it''s sold.¡± Everyone nodded their heads in understanding. Hundreds of thousands had died when the first dungeon portals appeared on Earth. Curiosity had killed them. Soon after that, the world changed. Ordinary people over the age of sixteen gained superhuman powers overnight. Reborn. Armed with these powers, people again tried to explore the dungeon portals. Hundreds of people gathered and cleared portal after portal. Dungeoneers. Some of them came out with weapons that could shred steel or armor that could stop bullets. Others came out with potions that could heal any wound or illness, or books that could teach magic. Corporations and governments realized that the dungeons held unlimited amounts of natural resources. They hired dungeoneers to clear the dungeons before sending in teams to extract the resources. Corporations began to fight each other over the dungeons. Thousands of dungeoneers killed each other. And ten times that number of ungifted died as a result of the conflict. Guilds rose from these conflicts, acting as a bridge between corporations and dungeoneers. The guilds took in dungeoneers, training them and providing them with powerful equipment. Corporations would buy the rights to farm a dungeon from the government. They would then pay a guild to clear the dungeon for them before they sent in crews to excavate the resources. Profit for everyone. Smaller guilds, like the one Ryan was in, made most of their money by clearing lower-ranked dungeons. They acted as middle-men, selling off the items that the group looted, and taking a fraction of the profits. Lee bumped into Ryan, interrupting his thoughts. ¡°Hey man, you alright?¡± ¡°Yea, sorry, was thinking about stuff¡±. Lee nodded in understanding, ¡°me and the girls are going to grab something to eat, wanna come along?¡± Ryan looked at his watch. Shit, it¡¯s already 11. Mom¡¯s gonna kill me. ¡°Nah, I have to get home. Mom is probably worried sick right about now, and I promised to take Eve to school tomorrow.¡± A few minutes later they reached their cars and unloaded all their equipment and loot into Lee¡¯s car. Ryan fist-bumped Lee and Vivian and gave Ariel a kiss on the cheek. ¡°Call me later?¡± she asked. Ryan nodded and chuckled ¡°if my mom doesn¡¯t kill me first¡±, and gave her another kiss before they drove off. By the time Ryan made it home, it was well past midnight. He opened the front door and found that the lights were off. His mom must still be out on the job she¡¯d taken, and Eve was fast asleep on the couch. Ryan smiled, realizing that she had fallen asleep while waiting for him. The television was still on, bags of chips and cans of coke strewn across the room. A plate of cold food sat on the dinner table, where Ryan usually sat. Ryan tiptoed past his sister, grabbed the plate of food, and threw it into the microwave. He set the timer and carried his sister to her room, and gave her a kiss goodnight. Waking Eve would invite questions that Ryan was too tired to answer. It was better to let her sleep and save any questions she might have for later. He ate his supper in darkness, more asleep than awake. After finishing he placed the dishes in the sink and climbed the stairs to his room. He spent a few minutes talking to Ariel and they made plans to head into the city tomorrow to do some shopping. Ryan considered taking a bath to wash off the dirt and blood that clung to his skin, and soothe his aching muscles. But a couple of seconds of reflection made him reconsider and he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow. * * * Ryan woke up the next morning to the sound of alerts on his phone. He was still exhausted. He stretched out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The smell of sizzling bacon from downstairs made his stomach rumble in anticipation. He got out of bed and headed over to Eve¡¯s room. She was still snoring when Ryan walked into the room. ¡°Time to wakeeee up!¡± Eve¡¯s eyes opened in a panic as Ryan flung himself on top of the bed, launching her into the air. ¡°Ryyyyaaannn!¡± she giggled as she threw herself at him. ¡°How did it go? What kinda monsters did you kill? Did you get hurt? Get any cool weapons? Tell me everything!¡± Ryan laughed as Eve''s mouth moved a mile a minute. ¡°How about you get dressed and go downstairs to eat. I¡¯m taking you to school today so I¡¯ll tell you the story on the way.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± his sister jumped out of his arms and headed towards her closet. She turned around and gave him a shooing motion. Ryan rolled his eyes and headed into the kitchen to find his mom. He found her sitting on the dinner table reading a book, a plate of unfinished food in front of her. Ryan grabbed a plate and loaded it with bacon and eggs and sat down across the table. As he sat down his mom looked up from the book, her face narrowing, ¡°you could have called! Your sister and I were about to head over to the guild and demand they tell us where you were!¡± Ryan couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the thought. His guild leader was a cranky old C-ranked warrior named Jacob. Jacob was one of the strongest reborn in the city, but Ryan knew that his mother would have nagged him into submission without breaking a sweat. His mother was about to start another round of lectures when Eve skipped into the kitchen. She immediately snagged a piece of bacon from Ryan¡¯s plate. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s my bacon, you little thief!¡± Eve grinned as she put the whole strip into her mouth and stuck out her tongue. His mother threw her hands up in surrender, realizing her moment to strike was gone. Ryan drove Eve to school, dropping her off in front of the black and white building that served as the only elementary school in the city. She spent the entire drive pestering him with questions about yesterday¡¯s dungeon run, stopping only to breathe. His phone chimed again, reminding him about the alerts he had ignored earlier that morning. Ryan stared at the message from Lee. He raised an eyebrow as he read that they had gotten paid already. Because the guild was small, it didn¡¯t pay them until it had sold off the items. ¡°Hey man, here¡¯s your cut from the dungeon last night. The books sold pretty well, but the monster cores we grabbed went for some pretty crazy prices. I deposited it straight into your bank account. Ariel mentioned that you guys had plans to go shopping. Mind if I tag along? We should get some gear. We can¡¯t keep borrowing stuff from the guild forever. Jason said that he needs it to train some of the new guildies.¡± Ryan sent off a quick reply to Lee, letting him know he was welcome to join them. He swiped the message away to find an email from his bank stating $50,000 had been deposited into his account. Ryan whistled. I didn¡¯t realize that D-ranked dungeon drops were worth so much more than E-ranked items. Everyone in Ryan¡¯s team was a D-ranked reborn, the second to lowest rank possible. They had only been running E-ranked dungeons since they joined the guild, but the one from last night had been their first D-ranked clear. Ryan had been worried when Lee told him that he had accepted that particular job from Jason. But the dungeon run had gone smoothly, and the payout had been almost five times more than what they usually got. He¡¯d made fifty-thousand dollars in one night! His phone chimed again. The text from Ariel told him to meet her at Dungeon Alley in an hour. Dungeon Alley was the name of the street that held most of the shops in town that bought and sold dungeon gear. He grinned as he put the car in drive and headed towards the meeting place. With fifty grand in his pocket he should finally be able to get some cool stuff! 2. Gizmos Gear and Gadgets Ryan stood outside of the restaurant ¡®The Little Fable¡¯. The place was well known for selling enchanted food that restored stamina and healed minor wounds. He was finishing a chocolate ice cream cone that would soothe his still aching muscles when Ariel jumped onto his back. ¡°I hope you have another one of those for me or you¡¯re officially the worst boyfriend ever!¡± she pouted. ¡°You were taking so long I decided to eat it,¡± Ryan said grinning as he leaned in and kissed her. While she was distracted he nudged her nose with the cone, covering it in chocolate. ¡°Hey! What¡¯s the big deal¡ªoh hey is that chocolate?¡± She wiped the ice cream off with her finger before popping it into her mouth. ¡°Yum! I¡¯m gonna go grab myself a cone, are we waiting for Lee and Vivian?¡± Ryan nodded, ¡°Lee texted me earlier asking if he could tag along. Vivian is working today, it¡¯s Thursday remember?¡± Ariel made a face, ¡°I don¡¯t know why she still works. We make more than enough off of dungeon portals.¡± Ryan shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s a nurse. I don¡¯t think she does it for the money.¡± Lee arrived fifteen minutes later, his face covered in sweat. ¡°Sorry I took so long guys, my damn car broke down. I had to bike all the way over here!¡± The thought of Lee, two hundred and sixty pounds of pure muscle, riding a bike brought him and Ariel to tears. ¡°Hey don¡¯t laugh! I had people staring at me the whole way here. I¡¯ve been humiliated enough!¡± he said as he threw his hands up and gave his best puppy dog face. His attempt failed horribly, making them laugh even harder. ¡°Alright, so where are we heading to first?¡± Ryan asked, wiping the tears from his eyes. Ariel started jumping up and down, ¡°ooh! Let¡¯s go look at that new weapon and armor shop that opened last week! I hear they have awesomeee stuff!¡± Ryan rolled his eyes and Lee gave him a knowing look. Ariel loved everything about being a dungeoneer. Ryan liked to joke that she had been a Viking shield-maiden in her past life, drawn to blood and violence. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea. The boss man said that we won¡¯t be able to borrow the equipment from the guild for a while. New recruits have priority ¡­¡± Lee shook his head, ¡°like if that made any sense. Either way, it¡¯s about time we got our own stuff.¡± Ryan smiled as he looked over at Ariel, whose eyes glowed with excitement, ¡°looks like it¡¯s settled then. Lead the way!¡± Ariel took off at a sprint, leaving the boys shaking their heads as they hurried to catch up. After running for what felt like hours, and having to stop twice to ask for directions, they found themselves in front of a small, nondescript store. A couple of ¡°we¡¯re open!¡± posters hung off of black tinted windows, making it impossible to see inside. A weathered sign creaked softly from above the front door. ¡®Gizmo¡¯s Gear and Gadgets'' Ryan read outloud. ¡°This is the place?¡± Lee asked unsure. ¡°I think so. Let¡¯s check it out!¡± Ariel rushed forward, pulled the door open, and stepped in. Ryan walked through the wooden door and into an extraordinary place. Unlike the rest of the stores they had been to, this space was disconnected from reality. Ryan looked around in wonder as he realized where he was. A man-made dungeon. The store was on the top of a huge cliff, overlooking an emerald ocean. The sky above was a deep blue color like it was back on Earth. A red sun beat down on the cliff, bathing everything in a soft red hue. The light from the sun wasn¡¯t warm or cold. Ryan assumed that it was there to act as a light source, like a huge light bulb. A well-armored salesman wearing a set of polished silver armor approached them. The dark-haired man flashed them a charming smile. ¡°Hi there. Welcome to Gizmo¡¯s Gear and Gadgets! I¡¯ll need to see your Dungeoneering licenses before I can help you with anything.¡± He held out his hand while Ryan and his friends dug out their licenses. The man took a brief moment to inspect them before nodding and handing them back. ¡°What can I help you with?¡± Ariel launched herself at the salesman, bombarding him with question after question. The man nodded along as he listened to her questions, replying when appropriate. ¡°Follow me. We have a diverse display of polearms that you¡¯re going to love!¡± Ryan and Lee watched as the salesman led Ariel towards one of the many racks of weapons that littered the hill. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go ahead and look around. I need to find a couple of pieces of armor to replace what we can¡¯t borrow from the guild now.¡± Ryan nodded as Lee took off to look at racks that held full suits of armor. ¡°Anything I can help ya with lad?¡± Ryan turned around to find a short man with sharp gray eyes and a long brown beard staring at him. The man was muscular, with a stocky body as broad as a tree and biceps as thick as large branches. In fact, the man could have told Ryan that he was a dwarf and he would have believed him. He radiated an aura of power that Ryan hadn¡¯t felt before. ¡°Dontcha know it ain¡¯t proper to be staring at someone?¡± the man growled. Ryan felt the aura from the man extend, threatening to overwhelm him. ¡°Oh shit, no sorry. I was stuck in my thoughts. I¡¯m Ryan.¡± The man took a few moments to stare at Ryan¡¯s outstretched hand, then gave a deep rumbling laugh as he clasped his arm. ¡°Aye! Nice ta meet ya, Ryan! The name¡¯s Gizmo! Welcome to ma shop!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that man-made dungeons like this existed, it¡¯s beautiful,¡± Ryan muttered as he took another look around. ¡°Aye, she¡¯s a beaut! The government started selling the tech not too long ago. Call them pocket dimensions er something to that effect.¡± Gizmo took a moment to stare at the landscape in appreciation before turning to face Ryan. ¡°So, what can I do ya fer lad?¡± Ryan thought for a moment, this was his first time buying equipment for himself so he wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking for. ¡°I¡¯m starting from scratch, need a full set of gear and maybe a weapon. I¡¯ve been relying on equipment borrowed from my guild, so I''ll take any advice you have.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Gizmo stroked his beard in thought, ¡°what¡¯s yer rank and class?¡± ¡°D-rank, support class. All my spells revolve around buffing other¡¯s offense and defense.¡± Gizmo continued to stroke his beard. ¡°Hell of a useful class, but not much for fightin¡¯ I reckon.¡± Ryan nodded in agreement. Gizmo led him all over the store, showing him the various goods. Ryan was amazed at the power and wealth on display. There were items for every occasion and class. Some items temporarily boosted strength or dexterity. Some had unique properties like increased healing or mana regeneration. The most expensive items, however, were rare-tiered spell books that gifted the reader with powerful magic. With Gizmo¡¯s help, Ryan picked out several items. A jet-black, double-breasted trench coat that boosted his movement speed and mana regeneration slightly. For defense, an enchanted military-grade tactical vest with a plate carrier that increased his mana capacity. Gizmo pointed out that dungeons dropped far better equipment than anything man-made, regardless if it was enchanted or not. But Ryan didn¡¯t care much. He wasn¡¯t a front line fighter, the vest didn¡¯t restrict his movements, and it would stop a glancing blow. That was enough. He got a matching set of tactical pants, enchanted to further increase his movement speed. For his last item, Ryan splurged on a pair of lightly armored boots that reduced the amount of noise he made while walking. ¡°Alrighty lad, I think that should be everythin¡¯,¡± Gizmo said as he started walking towards the front of the store, ready to total up his purchases. ¡°What about a weapon?¡± Ryan probed. ¡°I¡¯m pretty useless after casting my buffs. It would be nice to be able to deal some damage instead of standing around like an idiot.¡± Gizmo began stroking his beard again. ¡°Ye got any preferences? Blades? Bows? Ye mentioned ye didn¡¯t have any offensive magic.¡± Ryan shook his head, ¡°no blades. I wouldn¡¯t last a second on the front-line. I¡¯ve tried bows in the past, but they require more strength than I have.¡± ¡°Huh, I might have something for ye. Follow me.¡± Ryan chased Gizmo through a maze of racks and tables until they reached a stone building. Gizmo placed his hand on a small rune carved in the stone, which flared blue then green at his touch. A door made of stone descended in front of them and Gizmo waved Ryan forward. The first thing that Ryan noticed was the smell of smoke that filled his lungs. He started coughing, bile making his way up his throat. Gizmo noticed Ryan covering his mouth and his eyes widened in horror, ¡°don¡¯t ye dare throw up in me workshop boy!¡± Several tense moments passed as Ryan fought the urge to vomit. Eventually, the air inside the room cleared up enough that Ryan was able to take in several deep breaths. Gizmo eyed Ryan the entire time, bucket in hand until he managed to regain his composure. After Gizmo was sure that Ryan wasn¡¯t going to retch all over his precious tools, he motioned for him to stay put. Several minutes passed before he returned holding a long, rectangular metal box. Gizmo placed the box on top of one of the crafting tables, his eyes shining as Ryan flipped it open. Ryan blinked in surprise when he saw a polished black rifle resting on a mound of silk. The entire length of the weapon, from the stock to the barrel, was engraved with intricate runes. He could feel a hum of power radiating from the weapon. ¡°A rifle?¡± Ryan asked, confused. ¡°I thought guns were useless inside the portals?¡± Gizmo¡¯s head bobbed up and down as he nodded, a grin never leaving his face. ¡°That¡¯s true ¡­ more er less ¡­ modern weaponry ain¡¯t very effective against them dungeon beasties. Can¡¯t generate enough momentum fer the bullet to pierce worth a damn.¡± The short man placed a loving hand on the barrel. ¡°This one ¡®ere is built special. I¡¯m a C-ranked Enchanter. Before them blasted portals showed up I spent my life fighting wars as a marine. Guns ¡®ave always held a special place in me heart.¡± ¡°So ¡­ you built a gun?¡± Ryan gawked. ¡°Aye, me and an ol¡¯ war buddy, a C-ranked blacksmith, spent over a year on the blasted thing.¡± He looked Ryan in the eye, ¡°but we ain¡¯t fighters anymore, and we haven¡¯t been able to test it.¡± Gizmo began speaking in a frenzy, explaining the work and modifications that had gone into building the rifle. ¡°The body is based on the military-grade HK416 assault rifle. We used a mixture of C-ranked iron and carbon ta create a sturdier type of steel-like alloy. We added a 10-inch barrel ta increase the exit velocity and effective range of the bullet.¡± He pointed out several of the runes etched into the barrel, ¡°I enchanted the barrel ta increase the momentum of the bullet as it¡¯s propelled through¡± He then pointed towards more runes carved into the body, ¡°then enchanted the entire thing ta lessen the recoil created from the momentum of the bullet.¡± He pumped his fists in the air, ¡°took a bit of experimentin¡¯ and a couple of broken bones ta get the enchantments right, but we''ve even been able ta pierce C-ranked dungeon armor!¡± Ryan¡¯s jaw dropped further and further as Gizmo kept talking. If even half of what he said was true, this man-made weapon could rival even dungeon-grade gear! ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± * * * Back at the exit, Gizmo totaled Ryan¡¯s purchases. ¡°The coat, vest, pants, and boots come out to $20,600. The gun is a loan, but ten magazines of reinforced 5.56 x 45mm NATO rounds come out to $1000. The common-grade Marksman skill book is $15,000, and I''ll throw in a pair of tactical delta gloves made of kevlar for free. Your total comes out to $36,600.¡± It felt unreal to spend so much money, but Ryan happily paid it. Gizmo grinned as Ryan handed over his Dungeoneering card. ¡°Make sure ya come right back after yer next dungeon run!¡± Ryan nodded his head in agreement and walked over to where Lee and Ariel were waiting. They exited the shop and talked in excited voices as they walked down the street. ¡°What¡¯d you guys get?¡± Ryan asked them in curiosity. Lee ended up buying a pricey new set of D-ranked armor for $40,000 that increased his magical and physical damage resistance by 15%. Ariel had, unsurprisingly, spent her entire cut of $50,000 on a C-ranked partizan spear that boosted her damage by 20% and inflicted both physical and magical damage. As they reached the parking lot, Lee¡¯s phone buzzed. ¡°Huh, got a text from Jason. Says he¡¯s got another D-ranked dungeon for us to clear in two weeks. You guys want me to take it?¡± Ariel practically screamed, ¡°yes, yes! Please, please!¡± She looked over at Ryan with her best puppy dog eyes, ¡°pleaseeee Ryan?¡± ¡°Sure thing, if Vivian is down, go ahead and book it.¡± He said as he laughed at Ariel¡¯s antics. ¡°Alright, will do! See you guys in a few weeks! I¡¯ll text you the details when I get them.¡± Ryan watched Ariel get into her car, while Lee took off on his bike. He felt content. Excited even. 3. The Dungeon Ryan was the first to arrive at the bright green dungeon portal at the base of an abandoned four-story building. He had arrived early to beat everyone else. Ariel liked to rush in and he wanted enough time to clean his weapon and inspect the portal. He pulled out the midnight-black rifle that Gizmo had loaned him. The metal gleamed in the sunlight as Ryan laid it on the hood of his car. He had spent the last two weeks learning how to handle and clean the weapon. His first few trips to the gun range had been a total disaster, despite his instructor¡¯s valiant effort. Luckily, he had improved by leaps and bounds after he had used the Marksman skill book. Even managing to hit the middle of a target at 300 yards consistently. Ryan¡¯s eyes wandered to the portal as he stripped the rifle down and pulled out his cleaning rod. The portal was impressive, twenty feet tall and ten feet wide. The surface looked and flowed like emerald-colored water, a massive whirlpool at its center. Black obsidian blocks surrounded the entire portal. Ryan put down the rod and approached the portal, running his hands along the obsidian. His hands ran over a block engraved with four runes that he couldn¡¯t read. He sighed as he traced the runes with his finger. There was very little known about the portals, despite all the research that scientists had carried out since they had first arrived. Through trial-and-error and the loss of many dungeoneers, they had found that the color of the portal correlated with the difficulty of the dungeon. Blue, green, orange, purple, red, and black for E, D, C, B, A, and S-ranked dungeons respectively. They had also noticed that each portal was inscribed with a set of runes. The number and forms of the runes varied, but they were always there. No one had been able to make heads or tails of their meaning, but people were always willing to pay for new runes. Maybe Vivian would have an idea, she was good with that stuff. He took a few moments to trace the runes imprinted in the stone. He would have taken a picture, but electronics didn¡¯t work near the portal. Footsteps crunched the gravel behind him. Vivian and Lee walked hand in hand, engaged in a heated conversation, oblivious to Ryan¡¯s stares. Lee smiled as they approached and gave him a fist bump. Vivian ran and wrapped her arms around his chest, giving him a tight hug. ¡°Ryan! Already cleared the dungeon without us huh?¡± Vivian smirked. A deep, rumbling laugh came from Lee as he grabbed Ryan by the neck and ruffled his hair. ¡°I remember the first time I asked you to come clear a dungeon with me. All but peed yourself when we got into our first scrap. Now look at you! Showing up early for a dungeon!¡± Vivian giggled as Ryan pushed Lee off him. ¡°I remember that story A LOT differently. And it ended with me having to fall asleep on the phone with you cause you were so afraid of the dark!¡± Lee groaned, ¡°Viv!¡± ¡°Are you guys messing with my man?!¡± Ryan turned to find Ariel making her way towards them. She wore thick leather armor that covered her chest and legs. A vicious-looking spear was strapped to her back. My Viking shield-maiden. Ryan held his hands out to Ariel, face twisted in mock pain. ¡°My savior!¡± Ariel walked up to the trio, hands on her hips. She wagged a finger at Lee, grinning ¡°you know you shouldn¡¯t be making fun of Ryan without me!¡± Ryan clutched his heart and widened his eyes in mock exaggeration. ¡°Et tu, Brute?¡± The group fell into an easy laughter that lasted for several long, happy moments. Ryan remembered the runes that he had seen and showed them to Vivian. ¡°What do you think?¡± Vivian studied them for several minutes, then headed back to Lee¡¯s car before returning with a book. She spent another few minutes flipping through the pages before closing it with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping track of the different runes we see at each of the dungeons we¡¯ve been to.¡± She pointed to the first three runes. ¡°We¡¯ve seen these before, but the fourth one is new. That¡¯s both good and bad.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°Well, new runes are pretty rare. If no one has seen it, we should be able to sell the picture and information about the dungeon for a good price ¡­ ¡° Vivian hesitated before continuing. ¡°The bad news is ¡­ well I haven¡¯t seen it anywhere. Some dungeoneers think that the runes describe the type of dungeon you¡¯re entering. Entering a portal with an unknown rune is risky.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The group took a moment to consider her words. They could call up Jason and tell him about the rune. Let some of the stronger guild members clear the dungeon just to be safe. But between rent, groceries, and all their new gear, they needed the money. Everyone looked at Lee as he continued to stare at the portal. He was, by some unspoken agreement, their leader. They all trusted him with their lives. Finally, Lee nodded his head. ¡°Let¡¯s give it a shot. If it gets too difficult, we can get out and call the guild.¡± The group tensed as Lee took the lead. Ryan slung his rifle over his shoulder, cradling it in both arms. ¡°In we go.¡± * * * Lee went in first. He stepped through the portal as the emerald whirlpool seemed to suck in his body greedily. There was a ripple throughout the surface of the portal, like when you throw a rock into a still pond. A moment later and Lee was gone. Vivian was next. Ariel gave him a wink before she disappeared. Ryan took one final look at the fourth rune before heading through the portal. It struck him odd as he realized something. It looks like a maze. As Ryan stepped through the portal, he heard the familiar sound of tires on gravel, then he was through. Ryan¡¯s body felt like he was falling. He couldn¡¯t keep track of how long he fell. It could have been seconds, or hours, or days. There was nothing as he fell, only pitch blackness. A void. Then just as suddenly as the feeling had come, it dissipated and Ryan was standing in front of his friends. Ariel was clutching her stomach with one hand, a sick look on her face. ¡°I hateee going through those damn things. Never gonna get used to it!¡± Everyone nodded their agreement while they tried to get their bearings. The group had landed in a large cavern. After Lee had decided that they were not in any immediate danger, Ryan took a moment to look around. The cavern was huge. Larger than any other he had ever seen. The rock that covered the ground and walls was a dark smokey gray, littered with streaks of white. The roof of the cavern was so dark that Ryan wasn¡¯t sure that there even was a roof. The only proof of its existence was the countless shimmers of light that stretched across it. Like stars in the night sky. Hundreds of tunnels ran along the edge of the cavern. Each entrance was big enough to fit a semi-truck through. Ryan was surprised when he noticed that all the tunnels were sealed up by walls of what looked like obsidian. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the looks of awe on his teammate¡¯s faces as they scanned the cave. ¡°At least we know which tunnel to take,¡± Lee joked as he pointed to the only unsealed entrance to their right. * * * Ryan stayed close behind Ariel as the group pressed into the dark, winding tunnel of the foreboding dungeon. Lee was in the lead, followed by Vivian, then Ariel, with Ryan guarding the rear. Faint clicking sounds grew louder as they delved deeper into the tunnel. He took a moment to cast Darkvision, Sharp Reflexes, Stone Body, and Mental Aegis on the group. Darkvision would allow them to see in the dark, up to 100 meters. Sharp Reflexes increased their dexterity and boosted their reaction times. Stone Body increased their strength and physical damage resistance. Mental Aegis made it easier for them to resist the effects of control spells and boosted their mana regeneration. The effects of the spells were minor, but they lasted for eight hours and made them more deadly. The darkness was suffocating. They walked for a quarter of an hour before the tunnel widened enough so the group could walk side-by-side. Vivian pointed out deep gouges in the stone along the walls. They were six inches deep, and there were signs of ancient battles everywhere. Some places along the walls looked like they had been scorched by fire. An hour passed by as they continued to walk. Two hours. Then the tunnel ended and a large chamber appeared in front of them. Ryan looked around at the room. There were six stone coffins on either side of them, with a path in the middle leading into another tunnel. They had walked into a tomb. ¡°Should we check the coffins?¡± Lee asked as they huddled closer together. ¡°Are you crazy? That¡¯s the beginning of every horror movie ever.¡± Vivan scoffed. They walked along the stone path, stopping for a few seconds to look at the carvings that littered the coffins. ¡°They look a lot like the runes engraved in the stone surrounding the portals,¡± Vivian whispered. There was a scream and the group turned around, weapons held high. Ariel was clawing at herself, trying to remove the cobwebs that clung to her body and hair. ¡°Ugh! Why are these places always full of webs and nasty shit?¡± The group laughed, some of the tension from the last few hours disappearing. Ryan was the first to hear the clicking coming from above them. He looked up and yelled as a massive black body slammed into Lee. ¡°Lee!¡± Ariel jammed her spear into the black body, causing it to screech in pain. Lee had managed to get his shield between him and the black blob before it had landed on him. He shoved the shield forward with a grunt. The body collided against the wall with a sickening crunch. The group watched in horror as more bodies descended from above. Ariel screamed in a mixture of fear and disgust. ¡°Why does it always have to be fucking spiders? I fucking hate spiders!¡± 4. The Trial More and more of the eight-legged beasts hit the ground with a thud. A deep, primal fear coursed through Ryan¡¯s body as they drew closer. These spiders were the stuff of nightmares. Each one was over four feet tall, with eight ruby-colored eyes that stared everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Foot-long fangs hung from what Ryan could only assume was the head. Venom dripped from each fang and sizzled as it hit the stone floor. Somewhere, deep in the back of his mind, Ryan was puzzled by how similar these spiders looked to those on earth. Their anatomy resembled a black widow, without the distinctive red marking. Vivian raised her arms as warm, golden light surrounded the group. ¡°Mass Shield!¡± The nearest spider skittered towards Vivian in the blink of an eye, aiming to skewer her with one of its legs. Ariel lashed out with her spear, cleaving through two of the legs as it passed her. Ryan clicked off the safety and switched his rife¡¯s firing mode to burst. He aimed at the center of the beast¡¯s eyes and pulled the trigger in a single fluid motion. Three bullets tore through the air with a roar like a jet-plane. He felt the dampened kick of the recoil that he had become accustomed to. Ryan wasn¡¯t sure what exactly he had expected to happen when he had fired. Despite Gizmo¡¯s assurances, he was sure that the bullets would hit the thick chitin protecting the spider and bounce off. Like the military had learned the hard way when they first entered the portals. What he hadn¡¯t expected was the bullets to shred through the spider¡¯s oversized head like it was paper. One of the bullets must have hit something vital because less than a second after Ryan had fired the spider dropped to the floor in a heap. ¡°Holy shit. Remind me to ask Gizmo for one of those next time we stop by the shop!¡± Lee yelled in surprise. The spiders hesitated when they saw one of their spider-kin killed. That hesitation turned into fury when Ryan put six more bullets into a second spider. At some unknown signal, the spiders screeched in unison and bolted towards the group. ¡°Run!¡± The group took off at a sprint down the same tunnel they had come through. Spiders poured through the opening and scattered in all directions. Their movements were a blur. They were fast. Faster than Ryan. His eyes struggled to keep track of even just a single spider. They skittered up the walls and across the ceiling as the group ran as hard as they could. The clinking of chitin plates and fangs grew closer and closer as the spiders gained on the party. Ryan shot burst after burst as he ran. He didn¡¯t stop to aim, the mass of spiders was so thick that every bullet found a mark. Not that it mattered, for every creature he dropped, another took its place. The party rounded a corner and ran straight into a wall of solid obsidian that hadn¡¯t been there before. Lee paled as he rammed his shoulder into the wall to no effect. ¡°What the¡ª¡± ¡°We have to find a way to get past the wall!¡± Vivian sounded desperate. Ariel struck the wall with her spear while Ryan shot burst after burst into it. Neither Ariel nor Ryan¡¯s attacks could even make a scratch in the obsidian. Ryan removed the mostly empty magazine before strapping in a new one he pulled from his vest. ¡°Guess we¡¯re fighting then.¡± * * * Lee took his place at the front of the group, his shield held up high. Ariel and Ryan took up places behind him, covering his right and left side. Vivian stood at the back, staff in hand, ready to heal wounds that were sure to come. The wall of obsidian, despite derailing their grand escape, would come in useful. With their backs to the wall and a narrow tunnel to funnel the spiders, they had created an effective kill zone. Nothing could sneak up behind them, which meant they only had to focus on defending a single direction. The group watched as the wriggling black mass of bodies ran towards them. When they were 20 feet away, Lee raised one foot in the air. Green mist covered his armored leg, and he roared as he slammed it into the ground. The force of the impact created a crater, and the green mist spread from his leg to the ground around them. ¡°Earthquake!¡± A ripple started from where Lee¡¯s foot hit the ground and spread outward. The waves started out small but increased in size every second. Each of the two-foot waves of earth struck the spiders with the force of a small car. The sound of twisting metal filled the tunnel as waves of rock and stone broke the spider¡¯s charge. ¡°Ryan, aim for the ones on the ceiling! Ariel, help me kill the ones on the ground and the walls!¡± Lee shouted. The next few minutes were the longest of Ryan¡¯s life. Dozens of spiders skittered across the ceiling as Ryan blew through magazine after magazine. Each pull of the trigger killed one of the monsters, but the tide of black bodies seemed unending. Lee and Ariel were doing a little better. They were able to alternate area-of-effect spells to maximize damage, taking out many spiders at once. The few that managed to get through the trio¡¯s defenses were badly damaged and killed by Vivian. * * * Ariel launched her spear at the last surviving spider, pinning it against the wall. The spider screeched in pain and anger as Lee put a sword through one of its eyes. He continued to stab until the creature stilled. ¡°I¡¯m going to be pulling spider guts out of my hair for weeks,¡± Ariel groaned. ¡°You mean I¡¯m going to be pulling spider guts out of your hair for weeks,¡± Ryan grinned. She grumbled in agreement. ¡°Damn right you are.¡± The group laughed together while Vivian passed around a canteen filled with water. Everyone took long, blissful gulps. They spent half an hour sifting through the bodies for monster cores. Ryan collected over a dozen, while the rest of the group each found twice as many. They were rich! Lee eyed the group, shifting uncomfortably, ¡°so, do we keep going?¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Vivian pointed a thumb at the solid wall of obsidian behind them, ¡°can¡¯t exactly go backward can we?¡± Lee slapped his face with the palm of his hand as Vivian giggled and took hold of his hand. ¡°Forward then.¡± It took them fifteen minutes to walk back to the chamber from before. This time the group didn¡¯t leave the safety of the tunnel until Ryan had fired half a magazine at the pitch-black ceiling. When nothing dropped down to attack them they proceeded to make their way across the room. The chamber was a mess. Sections of the wall and ceiling had fallen during the chaos. Rubble littered the ground. Several of the stone coffins were cracked in half, revealing their contents. Ariel pushed Ryan towards one of the broken coffins. ¡°Go check it out!¡± Ryan immediately spun around and ran to hide behind Lee. ¡°What, no way! You go check it out!¡± he said pointing back at Ariel. Lee¡¯s eyes widened in panic as Ariel¡¯s gaze shifted to him. ¡°Wait¡ªget away from me man, I ain¡¯t going anywhere near those things. I don¡¯t fuck with zombies!¡± Vivian let out a sigh and walked towards the nearest coffin. ¡°Buncha babies,¡± she muttered under her breath. ¡°I swear you all are¡ªwhoa.¡± The trio waited to see if anything would jump out and bite Vivian¡¯s face off. Once they were certain that they weren¡¯t dealing with zombies they sauntered over to the coffin. Inside the coffin lay a perfectly preserved skeleton covered in a suit of gold and silver armor. A skeletal hand clasped the most beautiful sword that Ryan had ever seen. The blade was a deep black, the color of obsidian, and the golden pommel was encrusted in gemstones. The power that radiated out from the coffin was overwhelming. Suppressive. Dark. ¡°That has to be A-ranked gear. At least.¡± Vivian said in awe. Lee¡¯s eyes had glazed over. ¡°I need this.¡± His eyes took on a manic look as he reached for the sword. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t touch that if I were you,¡± a voice called out from behind them. The words shook everyone out of their trance. They looked at each other, blinking their eyes as they remembered where they were. They turned around towards the direction that the voice had come from, hands gripping their weapons. A man walked out of the same tunnel they had come from. ¡°The armor is cursed.¡± He gestured towards the rest of the stone coffins with a hand. ¡°They all are.¡± Ryan took a closer look at the man as he walked over to the wall opposite them. He was about the same height as Ryan. The youth of his face was at odds with his voice. He had sunken cheeks and pale skin and he wore no visible armor except for a cloak. Ryan couldn¡¯t sense a shred of power coming from the man. Could he be ungifted? No, that¡¯s impossible. Ungifted couldn¡¯t survive in the dungeons. The man spoke again, pointing at words written on the wall that Ryan hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°Pone hic defuit qui illud iudicium meum.¡± ¡°Here lay those that have failed my trial¡± whispered Vivian. ¡°Who are you?¡± Ryan asked. The man turned around. A kind smile covered his face. ¡°You can call me Lucifer.¡± ¡°What do you want from us?¡± Ryan probed. Lucifer shook his head. ¡°From you? Nothing.¡± The man walked past the group and headed into the tunnel in front of them. As he disappeared into the shadows, his voice echoed across the chamber. ¡°You can not give me what I seek.¡± The group gawked as the man left. Several seconds passed before Ariel asked the question everyone had been thinking. ¡°Guys, do you think he¡¯s like uhhh ¡­ trying to steal our dungeon?¡± Lee scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. If he wanted to do that, he could have waited till we had defeated the boss. Or not told us about the cursed armor.¡± Ryan replaced the empty magazine clip from his rifle. Five left. ¡°Either way, we should probably follow him.¡± Lee led the group through the new tunnel, moving at a faster pace than before. They traveled for over an hour without any sign of the cloaked man. More time passed. The group ran into several clusters of spiders, but nothing as large as the horde they had first seen. Ryan, Ariel, and Lee worked together to dispatch them easily, suffering only minor cuts. There was a moment of panic when Ryan¡¯s leg was bitten by an enormous centipede-looking creature. The bite injected a paralytic, making it hard for him to breathe, and impossible to move. Lee had offered to suck the venom out, but Vivian literally pulled him by the ear and placed him in time-out. She grumbled something about idiots before filling an IV bag with one of the antidote potions they had gotten from the lizard dungeon. It delayed them a quarter of an hour, but after a couple of Heals Ryan was good to go. * * * They had been traveling in the dark so long that Ryan had to recast his eight-hour buffs. They were tired and hungry. Only the knowledge that they had been walking for over eight hours kept them from heading back to the entrance portal. Lee pointed to a light in the distance. It was faint, like the light from a torch or a campsite. ¡°Look over there, the tunnel seems to end. Might be another chamber?¡± The group exited the tunnel and walked into a massive room. Thousands of pillars littered the space, each holding a lighted torch. The pillars were taller than any skyscraper Ryan had ever seen. The room was so large that he couldn¡¯t see walls in any direction. The gray stone that made up the ground and pillars was weathered. Like it had sat there for longer than the world had been alive. Ryan looked up and saw the same starry blackness that he had seen when they had first entered the dungeon. They walked for hours. They had no idea where they were going, but some force seemed to be pulling them in a direction. The room and pillars were endless. Voices from up ahead snapped them out of the trance-like state that the group had fallen into. As they got closer they could make out the shapes of people huddled around a fire. The smell of food made them forget all sense of danger as they ran towards the campfire. As they approached the camp, they saw a team of three sitting on the ground talking amongst themselves. They all wore armor and held spears. Reborn. Ryan couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying. ¡°They¡¯re speaking Korean I think. I can pick up bits and pieces. Ugh, I should have paid more attention in class.¡± Vivan groaned. One of the men looked at the group and started talking to them. After several moments, when it became clear that they couldn¡¯t understand him, the man shrugged and sat back down. ¡°Maybe we should see if someone in the other camps speaks English?¡± Ariel asked. ¡°Other camps?¡± Ryan¡¯s eyes widened as he looked in the direction that Ariel had been pointing. There were at least a dozen campfires spread around the floor of the dungeon. People of all different ethnicities and races were gathered or sleeping around the fires. All of them were obviously dungeoneers. They all wore massive plates of armor, hardened leather or mage robes, and carried weapons. ¡°What are they doing here?¡± Ryan asked in awe. ¡°Waiting for those doors to open I bet,¡± Lee whispered. He pointed to a set of intricate doors that seemed to stretch into the heavens. A voice in Ryan¡¯s head snapped him out of his daze. He could see out of the corner of his eye that everyone else had heard it also. He felt Lee tense up next to him. The voice was ancient and filled with power. The words were slow as if speaking for the very first time. ¡°The ... Trial ... Begins" 5. Lord Hear Our Prayer Ryan looked over at Lee, who was covering his ears with his hands. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± ¡°Creepy voice in my head? Yep.¡± He sighed. ¡°Thought I was so hungry I was hallucinating.¡± Ariel approached them holding a bowl of steaming broth. ¡°Did you guys hear that voice also? Talk about weird!¡± ¡°Ariel, where did you get that from?¡± Ryan asked, putting his hand on his forehead. Ariel pointed to a group of four women with brownish skin. ¡°Vivian used her Spanish skills to snag us something to eat!¡± The trio walked towards the camp that belonged to the four women. One of the women smiled and handed them piping hot bowls of stew as they approached. Lee and Ryan bowed slightly to show them that they were grateful. Ryan sat down on the ground and took a moment to take in his surroundings. Vivan appeared to be having an intense discussion with the oldest lady in the group. The woman was a deep shade of caramel, with stunning blue eyes. She looked older, middle fifties if Ryan had to guess. Her face and arms held many scars, the most noticeable being the one across her right eye. She wore a full set of steel armor, with a sword and shield strapped to her back. Ryan glanced at the other women in the group. Each of them had scars littered across their face, arms, and legs. These were warriors that had survived countless dungeons. Ryan¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by a burp from Lee. ¡°Holy hell, that was so good! Wonder if I can get Vivian to ask for the recipe!¡± he said grinning and rubbing his stomach. Ryan looked at the now only mildly-warm bowl in his hand. The stew was a rich red filled with what looked like pieces of meat. He took a small sip of the warm stew and his mouth exploded with flavors that he had never experienced before. It was delicious. ¡°Whoa, you weren¡¯t kidding.¡± Lee, who had been staring at the other camps, turned around to face Ryan with a serious look. ¡°I never joke about food man.¡± Ryan and Ariel burst out laughing while Lee took another bowl from the woman that had served them before. A few minutes later Vivian joined them, a troubled look on her face. Ryan noticed the look on her face, ¡°so what did you find out¡ª¡±. ¡°Viv! Do you know what this stuff is made of? It¡¯s the best thing I¡¯ve ever had!¡± Lee asked, completely oblivious to what was going on. The look of anxiety on Vivian¡¯s face disappeared as she burst out laughing while Lee looked at her with his ridiculous puppy dog eyes. She grinned while she spoke, watching Lee¡¯s face drop further and further into despair. ¡°It¡¯s called menudo. It¡¯s a traditional mexican soup. The broth is a red chili pepper base I think, and the meat is cow stomach. You¡¯re basically eating cow guts.¡± The trio laughed as Lee pretended to faint. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to pretend I never asked,¡± he muttered as he got up to get another bowl from the woman. Ryan turned to Vivian. ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± Vivian shook her head as she spoke. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense. These women are from Mexico. They entered a D-ranked dungeon portal a day ago and ended up here. People have been showing up for hours.¡± She motioned to the other camps in the surrounding area. ¡°They¡¯re all from different places and guilds around the world. Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, South America, North America.¡± Ryan looked at her in alarm. ¡°Are you saying that the same dungeon portal appeared all around the world at the same time?¡± Vivian shook her head. ¡°No. It looks like the spider dungeon we crawled through was different for everyone. But this chamber,¡± she gestured to the room of pillars, ¡°is ¡­ unique. Dozens of different dungeons have led everyone to this same place.¡± Ariel spoke up between spoonfuls of soup. ¡°That isn¡¯t possible is it? No one has ever heard of anything like that happening.¡± Ryan¡¯s eyes considered the groups of restless dungeoneers nearby. Everyone seemed scared or anxious. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡± Vivan replied. ¡°At least not according to everything we know about dungeon portals. But¡ªhere we are.¡± A deep rumbling sound filled the chamber. The ground and air vibrated so much that Ryan lost a grip on his bowl and it shattered on the ground. Ryan watched in awe as the set of intricate doors opened slowly. There was a rush of air that entered the chamber as the doors finished opening. It smelled and tasted the same way the tomb they had found in the tunnels had. Ancient. Cursed. There was a moment of hesitation as they waited to see if anything would come through the opened doors. Then, with a grunt, the first group of dungeoneers picked up their weapons and walked through the doors. When no-one heard any screaming, the rest of the groups littering the chamber began to pack up. One by one they all headed through the doors. Ryan and his friends were one of the last groups to pass through the gate. They gawked as they looked around the room they had entered. The room, like the chamber before, was massive. Lit up by blue torches that lined the walls. In the center of the room were steps that led up to a platform. The entire room was surrounded by stone statues that must have been 100-feet tall. Each statue was flawless. They reminded Ryan of the Roman statues that he had seen in books. The only difference was that these statues were made of dark gray stone instead of white marble. Some carried weapons while others carried instruments. Their sculpted eyes seemed to be staring at something at the back of the room. The group of dungeoneers walked towards the middle of the room and up onto the platform. There were gasps of alarm and fear as some of them pointed at something. Lee grabbed hold of Ryan¡¯s shoulder and gripped him tightly. ¡°Do¡ªdo you see that?¡± Ryan looked in the direction that Lee was staring. At the back of the room was the biggest stone statue that he had ever seen. It must have been over 350-feet tall, and it was sitting on an equally monstrously sized throne. Ryan shuddered as he stared at the face of the statue. It looked alive. Its eyes were deep black caverns, but its mouth was into a menacing grin that revealed white teeth. Do statues have teeth? Ryan and his friends moved towards the middle of the platform where a group had gathered. There was writing on the ground. First, Worship the Lord Second, Praise the Lord Third, Prove your Faith Then, as suddenly as they had opened, the colossal doors closed. There were several moments of panicked silence. The dungeoneers pulled out weapons and shields, while mages cast buffs. Ryan had the presence of mind to re-cast his buffs on the entire team. The minutes crawled by and still nothing happened. A group of dungeoneers, shaky from fear, began to creep their way towards the doors. The group approached the gates and began to pull, muscles bulging from the effort of trying to open the door. And still, nothing happened. The leader of the group, frustrated and driven by panic, took his axe and swung it against the massive doors. The noise of the axe hitting the steel gates reverated throughout the room. At that moment, one of the statues near the door came alive. Its stone eyes turned blue and it stepped off its pedestal. The movement of the statue was nothing like what Ryan would have expected. It was almost human. Moving in ways that shouldn¡¯t have been possible for stone limbs. The statue swung its axe three times. Ryan watched in horror as the three dungeoneers fell dead to the ground. Beheaded in an instant. The statue returned to its pedestal and took up its former position. The blue in its eyes faded and did not move again. Lee grabbed Ryan by the arm and whispered into his ear. ¡°This isn¡¯t good, that thing just took out three dungeoneers without breaking a sweat.¡± Ryan could hear the fear in his voice. He looked over at Vivian and Ariel. Vivian was screaming while burying her face in Ariel¡¯s shoulder. Ariel was pale as she continued to stare at the statue. Tears streamed down from her eyes. Pure white light erupted from the eyes of the giant statue sitting on the throne. The light made contact with one of the dungeoneers and split him in half. Those nearest him cried out in terror as they were covered in blood.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The next several minutes were chaos. Every few seconds the stone being on the throne would release a pair of white beams, killing another dungeoneer. Nothing could stop them. Armor, shields, magic. It didn¡¯t matter. Thirty dungeoneers lay dead. Those that tried to escape towards the door were cut down by statues. The rest died to the unstoppable beams. A voice rang out amongst the crowd. ¡°Get on your knees! The words engraved on the platform are instructions! We have to bow!¡± Worship the Lord. He¡¯s right! Ryan thought to himself. He looked towards the voice. He saw a hooded man on his hands and knees in the center of the platform. It was Lucifer! ¡°Lee, Ariel, Viv! Do what he says! Bow!¡± Ryan yelled as he dropped to his hands and knees and placed his forehead firmly against the ground. He felt the rest of his team drop the floor next to him. More beams of white light. More moments passed. It took half a minute for Ryan to notice that the beams of light had stopped. Another minute passed before Ryan had the courage to lift his head. He looked at the statue on the throne. The Lord. The statue¡¯s eyes glowed bright red. Similar to the blue glow that the statues protecting the doors had. But these eyes had pupils. Pitch black pupils in a sea of red. The face of the statue was terrifying. The face of a mad, grinning god. Ryan looked for Lucifer and found him on his hands and knees in front of him. ¡°What do we do now Lucifer?!¡± Lucifer took a moment before he replied. ¡°Praise the Lord.¡± Lee yelled before Ryan could reply. ¡°How the hell do we do that?!¡± One of the dungeoneers crawled forward towards the throne. He cupped his hands in front of his forehead and began to pray. ¡°Our Father, who art in heaven¡ª¡± The stone lord turned around in an instant, his grinning face twisted into one of fury. It stood up from its throne. In the blink of an eye, at a speed that should have been impossible for its size, the giant statue stepped on the praying dungeoneer. The sounds of shattered bones made Ryan throw up. The stone statue¡¯s face fixed back into its vicious grin. He praised the wrong god. The group of dungeoneers lost all semblance of reason. They scattered in all different directions. Those that ran towards the statues with weapons were cut down. Wait. Ryan looked around and saw that several of the dungeoneers that had run towards statues armed with instruments hadn¡¯t been killed. Everyone that has gotten close to a statue dies. But those that ran towards the statues without weapons are hiding behind them. An idea came to Ryan in an instant. ¡°Run towards the statues with instruments!¡± Ryan had no time to wait and see if anyone had heard him. He grabbed Ariel by the arm and dragged her to the nearest statue that was holding a flute. He looked back as he ran and saw the rest of the group and Lucifer following him. Other dungeoneers had begun to run towards statues that held other instruments. The statues started playing music. The music sounded like something you would hear at a church. As dungeoneers continued to run towards the statues with instruments, they began to play louder. As the last statue with an instrument began to play the massive grinning stone god returned to his throne. The stone god sat back on his throne and raised an arm. Massive circular blocks of stone came crashing from the ceiling and landed on the center of the platform forming an altar. A blue flame erupted from the hand of the god. The blue flame drifted from the god¡¯s hand and fell on top of the altar. Twenty-one flames appeared from the altar, forming a circle. ¡°Prove your faith,¡± Ryan whispered. One of the dungeoneers cried out in anger and fear. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Lucifer made his way towards the altar and placed his hand on the stone. ¡°Now you prove your faith.¡± Another man limped up towards Lucifer. ¡°How the hell do you suppose we do that?¡± Lucifer turned towards the man. ¡°Look around you. What god do you think would do this?¡± He gestured to the bodies that littered the floor. ¡°The God of Death.¡± He stared at the man with a blank expression. ¡°And how do you please the God of Death?¡± In a movement that was faster than Ryan could follow, Lucifer grabbed the man¡¯s head and broke his neck. The man fell to the floor, his eyes wide with surprise. One of the blue flames that surrounded the altar went out. The slaughter that followed was unbelievable. Lucifer was faster and stronger than any other dungeoneer that was still alive. He has to be at least A-ranked. He flew across the room, sinking a dagger into the throat of one of the members from the Mexico team. The woman that had fed them went into a rage. She launched herself at Lucifer and thrust her sword at his chest. Lucifer grabbed the woman¡¯s arm and twisted. She screamed in pain and dropped the blade, falling to her knees. Lucifer picked the sword up, the same calm expression on his face as he beheaded the woman in a single strike. Lee yelled at Ryan. ¡°Wake up! We need to help them! Viv Shield me! Ryan, Ariel let''s go!¡± Lee roared as he launched himself towards Lucifer. ¡°Shield Bash!¡± Ariel sprinted after Lee, while Vivian raised her arms and cast Mass Shield. Lee hit Lucifer with the sound of crunching steel. For a brief second, Lee thought that the fight was over, but his eyes widened in panic when he saw that Lucifer had stopped his charge with one hand. The man¡¯s fingers had torn through the D-ranked metal like it was paper. Lee dropped the shield and swung his sword at Lucifer¡¯s head. But the hooded man was too fast. He dodged the sword and struck Lee in the head with a punch that screamed as it flew through the air. Ryan could hear the crunching of bones as Lee flew backward 10-feet and fell on the ground. Blood poured out of his eyes and his nose. Ariel screamed in rage. ¡°LEE!¡± She thrust her spear at Lucifer and managed to slice his inner thigh. A flash of anger crossed his face before he jumped back. Vivian ran as fast as she could towards Lee¡¯s crumpled body. Tears ran down her face as she pressed her hands to his chest and cast Heal after Heal. ¡°Don¡¯t you leave me, Lee Jones! I love you! Please, Lee! Wake up!¡± ¡°Ariel! No! Run!¡± Ryan screamed in fear. He aimed his rifle at Lucifer and pulled the trigger as quickly as he could. One of the bullets caught Lucifer in the shoulder. Lucifer cried out in pain for the first time as he looked at Ryan in surprise. Faster than any bullet, Lucifer appeared in front of Ryan. The hooded man aimed a fist at his chest, but Ryan managed to turn just in time to avoid death. The glancing blow took his breath away and launched him back several feet. He fell to the ground, blood falling from his nose and mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ariel trying to attack Lucifer from behind. He tried to call out, but couldn¡¯t find the strength to form the words. Ariel ¡­ please ¡­ run ¡­ don¡¯t ¡­. Die. Ariel struck Lucifer in the back, but the spear didn¡¯t pierce. He turned around and kicked Ariel in the stomach, causing her to lose her grip on the spear. Lucifer picked the spear off the ground and approached Ariel¡¯s body. Panic, fear, pain, and desperation all gripped Ryan. He tried to crawl towards Ariel, but his ruined body wouldn¡¯t work. No, not Ariel, PLEASE! Lucifer raised the spear, and almost casually thrust it into Ariel¡¯s chest. There was a thud as the spearhead exited Ariel¡¯s chest and embedded itself into the stone floor. Ariel coughed blood. She turned her head as Ryan screamed her name. Their eyes met and Ariel smiled one last time as the light in her eyes faded away. Ryan watched as Lucifer walked towards Vivan, who was still huddled over Lee¡¯s body. Her eyes were vacant, and she was mumbling incoherently. She looked up as Lucifer approached, then looked over at Ryan. She mouthed words at him, but Ryan was going in and out of consciousness. He couldn¡¯t make them out. Vivian lowered her eyes back to Lee and closed them as Lucifer lifted his dagger and dragged it across her neck. Several minutes passed by, or maybe it was hours. Ryan didn¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t care. He heard the screams of dungeoneers as Lucifer killed them one by one. Then there was silence. Ryan heard footsteps as Lucifer approached him. The man¡¯s face looked almost sad. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it had to be this way. I know you won¡¯t believe me. But I need this power.¡± Ryan gathered the last bit of strength that he had to spit in the face of the hooded man who had killed his best friends. His love. One final act of defiance. Lucifer shrugged and wiped the blood-spit off his face. He picked up a sword and without any hesitation, thrust it into Ryan¡¯s stomach. Ryan withered in agony. Every part of his body was on fire. He watched as Lucifer got up and walked towards the God of Death. Seconds passed as Ryan began to lose consciousness. The god waved his hand and a portal opened. Lucifer took a final look at him, then stepped through it. Ryan could hardly think. The pain was overwhelming. Only the thought of revenge allowed Ryan to think rationally. I will kill him. I will kill him. I will kill him. I must live. Ryan repeated the mantra over and over. With one last desperate move, he cast God¡¯s Defense on himself. Then he slipped into unconsciousness. 6. When One Portal Closes, Another One Opens Ryan woke up as the ground around him trembled. Rocks and debris lifted off the ground and hovered in the air for a moment before falling back to the ground. A noise, like the sound of a massive vault closing shut, echoed across the walls of the chamber. He tried to lift himself into a sitting position, but a violent, burning pain shot through his chest. He shivered as the pain raced through the rest of his body, causing him to scream in a mixture of despair and agony. Ryan lay on the unforgiving and cold stone floor as the memories of what happened came rushing back to him. He moaned. A long, desperate, moan full of anguish and loss. Even the pain that erupted from his stomach where Lucifer had stabbed him could not reach him in his misery. The memories continued to play in his head. Like a recording on repeat. A single thought filled his mind as he slipped back into unconsciousness. I will kill him. I will kill him. I will kill him. * * * Ryan woke up several minutes later. He was numb and cold. I will kill him. He knew that he had to remove the sword and heal the wound if he wanted to live. But Ryan just laid there. Dying seemed ¡­ easier. I will kill him. The mantra repeated itself without any conscious effort from Ryan. He took in quick, shallow breaths as he forced himself to crawl over to Vivian¡¯s body. Fresh blood seeped from the front and back of his wound as he strained his body forward. The pain was immense, blindingly violent, and never-ending, but Ryan used it as fuel. It was nothing compared to the sorrow that plagued his heart and tore at his mind as he reached Vivian and Lee¡¯s bodies. He avoided looking at the couple, and instead reached for Vivian¡¯s backpack that lay a few feet away. As the team healer and medic, Vivian would have a supply of their most powerful health potions and medical supplies. He rummaged through the bag until his hands closed around a small vial. He pulled out two ruby-red elixirs and set them on the ground, then pulled out a set of fresh linen bandages. He took a moment to look at his body. The sword had pierced his stomach through cleanly. Luckily, the combination of God¡¯s Defense and Lucifer not removing the sword had minimized the damage and loss of blood. Ryan scoffed. Yea. Lucky. He soaked the bandages with one of Vivian¡¯s healing potions and set them aside. Then, without a moment of hesitation, he gripped the pommel of the sword and pulled. The sword slid out with a wet slurp and blood flowed out of the wound in dizzying amounts. Ryan drank the remaining elixir in a single gulp. The relief was immediate. The pain lessened, and Ryan could feel his body reknitting itself. After a few moments, when he could move without overwhelming pain, he wrapped the soaked bandages around his stomach and wound. I will kill him. Hours passed by as Ryan stared at the ground while his wounds healed. The relief that accompanied his body as his skin, muscles, and organs stitched themselves together never reached him. Inside he was still dying. More hours passed before Ryan finally managed to tear his eyes from the floor. He had to bury them. All of them. They didn¡¯t deserve to rot here. Or end up in those cursed tombs that Ryan and his friends had seen. He got up and stretched, finding no pain as he moved his arms and legs. Ryan looked around the room for the first time since he had woken up. The statues and God of Death were nowhere to be seen. The room was empty. Like they had never existed. The only proof that it had not been a dream was the gigantic throne that sat at the back of the room. Them first. Ryan walked over to Vivian and laid his hand gently on her forehead. Tears fell from his eyes as he lifted her and carried her outside of the chamber and towards the nearest camp. Halfway through he stumbled. His body might have healed but he was exhausted. It was only through sheer willpower that he managed to hold onto Viv¡¯s body as he fell to one knee. After a few moments, he stood up and carried her the rest of the way. Lee was next. The man was a mammoth. Ryan smiled sadly as he tried his best to lift his best friend. But Ryan knew it was impossible. He walked back to the camp and built a makeshift stretcher out of camping tent poles and rope. He laid Lee on the stretcher and dragged him back to the camp. He laid him next to Vivian, making sure that their hands touched as Vivan had done even as she died. Then he walked back. Ryan stood at the massive doorway that led into the chamber for several minutes. His heart had ached as he had collected Lee and Vivian. But as he stared at Ariel¡¯s corpse, he fell to his knees. Tears fell from his eyes as he howled in anguish. Ryan didn¡¯t know how long he screamed, but he only stopped when his throat was raw and he physically couldn¡¯t anymore. He coughed blood as he walked towards her body. Even in death, Ariel was beautiful. Her face still wore the smile that she had given him before she died. Hours passed as Ryan sat there holding Ariel. Memories assaulted him. Their first date. Their first kiss. The first time she had said she loved him. The first time they made love. Their first double date with Vivian and Lee. Their first dungeon. I will kill him. Ryan scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to the camp. His steps never faltered as he walked. He laid her next to Vivian and Lee. I can¡¯t carry them all the way back to the entrance. The portal is closed by now anyway. He put his hand against the grey stone floor. Even if he had a shovel, there was no way that he would be able to break through the stone. He would have to build a pyre. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Ryan nodded in decision. A pyre was a better idea. This way he could make sure that their bodies would never end up in one of those tombs. He walked among the camps grabbing all the firewood he could find. In one camp he managed to find a lighter. He cleared a space around the camp, then built a small pyre from the firewood he had collected. He managed to place the bodies of those he loved on top of the pyre, and then lit a makeshift torch. ¡°Ariel, Lee, Vivian. I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t protect you. I couldn¡¯t save you. I couldn¡¯t stop him.¡± He stopped for a moment, sobbing in grief. ¡°I promise you. I will find Lucifer. I will kill him for what he did to you. Not even the Gods will stop me.¡± He threw the torch. The flames ate at the wood until a massive inferno took hold. Ryan stared at the raging fire. Ruby-red. Then he turned around and wiped the tears from his eyes. He had more work to do. Everyone Lucifer had killed deserved to be put to rest. * * * It took hours for Ryan to move all the bodies into the chamber and light the pyres that would turn them to ash. When it was done Ryan could barely move. He managed to eat some of the dried jerky from his backpack and then fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Ryan woke up several hours later. The pyre fires had burned out and only the soft red glow from the pillar torches remained. He needed to find a way out of this dungeon. There was nothing left for him here. He spent several minutes collecting useful supplies in the various camps. Food, water, potions. One of the dead men had been wearing a ring of holding that Ryan had taken. He was able to fit everything useful inside and didn¡¯t have to shoulder the weight of it all. He also collected all the monster cores that he could find. He had read somewhere that they could be used to make a dungeoneer stronger. But he had no idea how to use them. Regardless, he figured that they would come in useful one way or another. Ryan took one final look at the pyre that held the ashes of his best friends. Then he slung the rifle over his shoulder and began to walk in the direction they had come. He didn¡¯t have any idea where he was going. Or any plan at all. His only hope was to walk in the direction of the tunnel that they had come out of and go back to the entrance of the dungeon. Maybe ¡­ somehow ¡­ the portal would still be there. Pillar. Pillar. Pillar. Ryan walked for hours. The endless maze of pillars seemed to go on forever. Never a wall in sight. Most people might have given up and turned back. But Ryan didn¡¯t care. In the back of his mind, he knew that he should. He should be worried, scared, even desperate. But Ryan couldn¡¯t feel anything. In a single night, he had lost everything and everyone he had ever loved. Ariel, Lee, Vivian, Eve, his mother. There was no emotion powerful enough to stir his broken heart. So he kept walking. Days went by. Ryan did nothing but eat, sleep, and walk. Three days after Ryan had left the doors to the God of Death¡¯s chamber he spotted a wall in the distance. He followed the wall for several hours until he came across a tunnel. He wasn¡¯t sure it was the same tunnel that he and his friends had come from, but he didn¡¯t care much. He took hold of the rifle from his back as he made his way through the tunnel. Hours later Ryan made his way into the tomb with the broken coffins. He fired several rounds into the pitch-black ceiling, but no spiders came out of the darkness to attack him. He considered taking some of the weapons and armor from the tombs. What did it matter if he was cursed? Hadn¡¯t he already been cursed enough? He spat at the ground. No. These people all suffered the same fate that my friends did. It wouldn¡¯t be right to rob them. After walking a quarter of an hour, Ryan heard a skittering behind him. He turned around just in time to see a single spider launch itself at him from one of the walls. Ryan sidestepped the spider, watching it sail past him and crash into the ground. He raised his rifle but didn¡¯t shoot. Instead, he waited for the spider to launch itself at him again. This time he rammed the butt of his rifle into the spider¡¯s face as it crashed into him. One of the legs managed to pierce his shoulder, but Ryan craved the pain. It made him feel alive. He needed to feel alive. The spider screeched as it drew back. It had managed to injure the human, so why wasn¡¯t it reacting? There was a moment of hesitation as the spider¡¯s instincts urged it to run away. The man in front of it wasn¡¯t prey. He was a predator. Ryan waited for the spider to strike again. But the giant arachnid turned and began to flee. Ryan lifted his rifle as the spider sped across the ceiling in a desperate attempt to escape. He pulled the trigger once. Three bullets burst from the muzzle and the spider dropped to the floor. No. The spider wriggled in pain as Ryan approached it. He took a moment to look into one of its red eyes before sticking the barrel of the rifle through it. He laughed as he pulled the trigger again and again until the entire magazine was empty. * * * Ryan exited the tunnel several hours later. He looked around at the chamber that he and his friends had first emerged. He walked towards the middle of the chamber, but there was no exit portal. Ryan had known that there wouldn¡¯t be. Dungeon portals closed ten minutes after the boss was slain. What do I do now? He looked around the chamber. Something was different. He ran his eyes across the tunnels that surrounded the chamber. Instead of black obsidian walls, there were hundreds of different colored portals. Blue, green, orange, purple, red, and even black portals littered the walls. Are those ¡­ dungeon portals? His eyes widened as they swept the room. There must be a thousand portals here. His eyes locked onto one of the midnight-black portals. If the colors of these portals matched the colors of the portals in the ¡®real¡¯ world, then that was an S-rank portal. S-rank portals were extremely rare. Only five of them had ever appeared before, and it took a dozen S-ranked dungeoneers to clear them. And in this room alone there must be over a hundred. An idea grew in Ryan¡¯s mind as he stared into the black whirlpool of the portal. One of these might lead me to a portal open on earth. I could escape. But which one? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. It didn¡¯t matter. He would clear each and every single one until he found the right one. He would have his revenge. Ryan made his way to one of the blue E-ranked portals to his left. He discarded the empty magazine and replaced it with a fresh one. Four more. I will kill him. And then he stepped through. 7. The Labyrinth Ryan looked up at the night sky. The only light was the faint glow of a full moon. He took in a long, slow breath. There was a slight breeze that made him long for fresh air. In the distance stood a large, decrepit castle. A fifty-foot tall curtain wall surrounded the fortress, but parts of it lay in ruins. There were towers and structures that peaked over the walls, but most seemed to be missing roofs or walls. Ryan approached one of the damaged walls and made his way over the rubble. Buildings, or what remained of them, cluttered the ground, but Ryan didn¡¯t see any dungeon mobs. That¡¯s odd. Every single dungeon that Ryan had ever been a part of, or heard of, had dozens of monsters protecting the boss room. Some of the more difficult dungeons were rumored to have hundreds. But as far as Ryan could tell for this particular dungeon, there were none. It felt like something was missing. Something is wrong here. Ryan made his way through the broken buildings, taking a few moments to look inside several of them. Most of the buildings contained only beds and kitchens. One of the buildings that Ryan inspected held dozens of weapons and sets of armor. Barracks and armories. He went ahead and picked out two-foot-long daggers, and a small shortsword. He slipped the daggers into his vest and strapped the sheathed shortsword to his side. He had little experience with blades and even less experience with melee combat, but he only had four bullet magazines left. After they ran out the rifle was basically a useless chunk of enchanted metal. The blades gave him options. He made his way through the deserted fortress until he reached the doors of the main castle. Deep lacerations covered the wooden doors. Burn marks and dried blood coated the walls and ground. Looks like someone might have already cleared this dungeon ¡­ or failed. With a mental shrug, Ryan pushed the doors inward. He was surprised when he met no resistance. The doors swung open with a soft creak, revealing a grand hall. Red and gold tapestries hunt from the walls, and a red carpet led from the entrance to a throne at the far end of the hall. Ryan tensed up when he spotted the throne. His mind and body raged with the grief that he had been suppressing. It took him a moment to settle his thoughts. His anger wouldn¡¯t do him any good here. With a deep breath, he made his way towards the throne. As he got closer to the throne he could see the outline of a man sitting on top of it. Black armor covered the entire body, except for the head. A hood hid his face. Ryan drew one of the daggers and launched it at the man. The dagger spun through the air, the sharp steel tip reflecting the light from the torches nearby. The dagger stopped an inch from the man¡¯s head, floating for a brief second before clattering to the floor. The man dropped his arm, the blue glow that had surrounded it only moments before fading away. Ryan watched as the man lifted his head and revealed a demonic skull head. Its eyes were glowing a bright blue. The same color as E-ranked portals. A death knight. The knight stared at Ryan for what felt like an eternity before getting up from the throne. It pointed a skeletal finger at him and began to speak in a dead, raspy voice. ¡°How did you get into my dungeon? How did you get into the Labyrinth?¡± Ryan felt a bitter cold aura wash over him as the undead knight spoke. The cold seeped its way into his bones, but his face remained impassive. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. I came here through a portal.¡± The knight seemed amused by what Ryan had said. It scratched its forehead with its skeletal fingers, as if deep in thought. ¡°You are trapped then. I see. I see.¡± Blue eyes gazed into Ryan¡¯s. ¡°I imagine you seek a way out? A way home?¡± Ryan raised an eyebrow at the question. ¡°I do. Can you help me?¡± The knight chuckled in his raspy voice, before twisting its skeletal mouth into a grin. ¡°No. I can not. Perhaps if you had come at some other time. But not now.¡± The knight stood up from its throne. ¡°Yet, you are able to help me.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Oh? How?¡± Ryan asked, placing a finger on the trigger of his rifle. ¡°Do you know nothing about dungeons, little dungeoneer?¡± The knight spat. ¡°We feed on the energy released from your bodies when we devour them. Only by consuming that power can we grow in strength and ascend.¡± Ryan took a moment to consider the knight¡¯s words. He had never spent much time thinking about where or why the dungeons had appeared on earth. Everyone on earth took for granted the power and wealth that came from beating dungeons. But there must be a balance. A reason. It only made sense that the dungeons themselves benefited from the deaths of dungeoneers. Ryan nodded his head in realization. ¡°So your plan is to kill me then.¡± He whispered. The knight smiled in obvious glee. ¡°Yes! Yes! With the energy from your body, I can rebuild my dungeon! I can summon more powerful monsters! I can leave the Labyrinth!¡± Ryan took a step towards the throne. Then another. In a single, fluid motion he raised the rifle and pulled the trigger. The death knight''s skull exploded in a shower of bones, and the body fell to its knees. Ryan continued advancing. He put six more bullets into the body of the fallen knight before reaching it. He kicked the body aside as hard as he could, watching it slam into one of the pillars that lined the great hall. Then he turned around and sat on the throne. He cupped his hands together and rested his head on them as he looked out into the hall. ¡°Not even the gods will stop me,¡± he muttered. Minutes passed before Ryan finally descended the throne, grabbed the monster core from the death knight, and walked out of the hall. He headed back towards the portal that had brought him into the dungeon. Next. * * * Several weeks went by as Ryan cleared the E-ranked portals one by one. Most of the dungeons he entered had no mobs at all. But he would occasionally run into small packs or a boss. Scrapes and bruises covered Ryan¡¯s body. He used healing potions to treat the worst of the wounds but preferred to let the less mortal wounds heal on their own. The pain centered him in a way that he couldn¡¯t explain. It allowed him to focus his thoughts on something other than his broken heart and shattered mind. The more it hurt, the better. The constant fighting had honed his skills and strengthened his body. When he wasn¡¯t clearing a dungeon, he was practicing with every weapon he could get his hands on. Daggers, spears, swords, axes, even staves. He had spent quite a bit of his remaining ammo in the first few days. But as time had gone on, and his ammo supply got smaller, he had been forced to rely on other weapons. He would never be as good with a spear as Ariel, or as skilled with a sword as Lee, but he was good enough. As the days passed by, Ryan¡¯s supply of food and water began to dwindle until there was hardly anything left. He had tried to cook some of the meat from one of the wolf monsters that he had killed during a dungeon run. But despite his best attempts, the meat had caused his body to shut down. It had taken him several days and healing potions to get over the sickness. Ryan stared at the twinkling roof of the cavern lost in thought. He had cleared all the E-ranked dungeons and hadn''t gotten any closer to getting back home. Even if he had the supplies to stay here forever, it wouldn¡¯t matter. His best hope was to find an E-ranked dungeon with a portal back to earth. But now that he had cleared all the E-ranked dungeons he could find, he would have to tackle the D-ranked dungeons. Even with all his newly gained combat experience, and training, Ryan doubted that he would be able to beat a D-ranked dungeon boss. He could probably clear a few of the dungeons if he relied on his rifle. But he only had a couple of magazines left, and they wouldn¡¯t last much longer. He sighed as he closed his eyes. An idea occurred to him then. His eyes wandered to one of the pitch-black S-ranked portals. One thing that had become clear to him was that the E-ranked dungeons he had entered had already been cleared by a group of dungeoneers. From what he had gathered from the death knight, dungeons that had been cleared returned back to the ¡®Labyrinth¡¯ for some reason. It explained why the dungeons had no mobs, and why he had not managed to find one with a portal back to earth. The dungeons needed time to regrow and spawn new monsters before reappearing on earth. But S-ranked dungeons were extremely rare. Only five had ever appeared on earth. The chances that one of them hadn''t been cleared, and thus held a portal to earth was much higher. Wasn¡¯t it? Ryan grit his teeth as he gathered his things. There was only one way to find out. He would probably die. Actually, he was sure he would die. But this might be his only hope. * * * He stood in front of one of the obsidian black dungeon portals. The aura that radiated from the portal was overwhelming. Ryan had taken several hours just to crawl his way to it. Every fiber of his being was telling him to run. To live. He took a deep breath and then leaped through the portal. Short Hiatus I had expected that some people would dislike the similarity in Chapter 5 and Solo Leveling. I was not prepared for someone to abuse the advanced review system to cry ''plagiarism'' of the entire story. I had an entire plot that transcended multiple worlds, including the Solo Leveling world (and thus the reason why the double dungeon existed in this book), but I think it it is obvious that there may be some problems here that I hadn''t originally considered.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. To ensure that something like this doesn''t happen again, the book will be on hiatus until I re-shape the story in a direction I am comfortable with. This includes completely re-writing my chapter 5 so that all the solo leveling elements are gone and possibly removing any future ''other realm'' plots from the story. I have no ETA at the moment. Thank you to those that have enjoyed the story and commented! I''ve had a lot of fun writing this! Hope to be back soon!