Sam’s vision blurred as he transferred from his apartment to a cave. The bright lights that he had come to know were gone and in their place were glowing mushrooms that dimly lit the area.

  The cave tunnel he found himself in was only five feet wide and just tall enough that he didn’t have to crouch. The smell of decay and moss was nearly overwhelming after all the years in his clean environment.

  Rubbing his eyes, he took in the sights again. The tunnel stretched for a while before bending. Mushrooms would guide him down the path, that was oddly smooth.

  The walls were coarse and cave like as he would expect. Lichen, green moss, and the purple mushrooms were the only life that he found as he plodded along.

  Closing his eyes, Sam felt his heart thunder in his chest. The world began closing in around him, dragging him down as anxiety unlike anything he’d felt before grew in his mind. Opening his mouth, he gasped for air as he knelt on the ground.

  “I can’t do this,” he muttered to himself over and over.

  He didn’t know how long he stayed like that before he was able to change his focus. Sam had no choice; he needed to defeat this dungeon or die.

  Forcibly calming his heart, he opened his eyes and started to stand. Gulping, he swallowed the saliva that was building in his mouth as he was on the verge of throwing up.

  “I have to move forward…” he whispered.

  Standing still, he took in his gear and surroundings once more. His sword hung by his side as he lowered his arms. The leather vest smelled new and potent as if the chemicals hadn’t fully left the leather.

  Wrinkling his nose, he did his best to adjust, but there was only so much he could do when he was practically forced to use the equipment he was provided.

  Walking forward, he did his best to put one foot in front of the other. His legs trembled as he found his nerve to keep going.

  Reaching the bend, Sam continued to follow the tunnel. After another few minutes, he spotted a new light coming from further down.

  Slowing his pace, he inched forward as the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. The smell of feces and urine was ripe and made his eyes water. His heart thundered in his chest as he looked around, and then he spotted them.

  Goblins.

  Short in stature with gangly limbs, the green skinned monsters had floppy ears and short snouts. He couldn’t see their eyes that well, but they looked beady and sunken into their skull.

  There was only two of them, and both of them had wooden spears. Despite sitting near a fire, they seemed aware of their surroundings. Their sharp clawed fingers curled around their spears as they talked in a language that was guttural and chopped.

  Patting his cheek, Sam psyched himself up for what he was about to do.

  “It’s been ten years,” he whispered. “I’m bigger, stronger…” Looking down at his arm, he frowned.

  Ten years of no real activity left him scrawny. He was honestly surprised he could use the sword.

  “Maybe not stronger…” he mumbled.

  Shaking his head, he focused on the goblins. “They will be easy. They look weak, and I should be able to dash in and cut them down.”

  Taking a few deep breaths, he stepped into the room.

  As if passing a barrier, the goblins whipped their heads towards him and jumped up. Spears in hand, they screamed a battle cry before rushing towards him.

  “Fuck!” Sam shouted as he backpedaled.

  Raising his sword, he struck the ceiling, sending a metallic ring through the cavern. His arm jolted and he lost his balance, falling onto the ground as the wind left his lungs.

  Gasping, he pulled in what air he could as the goblins got closer. Separating, they started to circle around his sides.

  “No, you don’t,” he croaked.

  Fighting his way back to his feet, he swayed in place as the first goblin rushed forward.

  It was more out of luck that he swayed out of the way as to any actual skill. The sharp spear scratched across his vest, bruising the skin underneath.

  A sharp gasp of pain escaped Sam as he swung his sword.

  The feeling of the sharp metal biting into flesh with a thwack made bile rise in his throat. Staggering, Sam pulled his sword free, sending spurts of blood from the goblin’s neck.

  The monster dropped its spear and held its gushing wound as a gargled cry escaped it.

  Sam’s eyes were wide as his hands shook from taking his first life. His breaths were rapid and shaky.

  Sharp pain exploded in the back of his leg, making him scream.

  Looking back, he found the tip of a spear sticking out of the back of his leg, having punched through his jeans. Sam could feel the blood leaving his face as the goblin pulled the spear free.

  Staggering, Cam’s leg gave out and he sunk to one knee still screaming. Doing his best to turn, he faced the goblin and bent to the side as the spear stabbed at him once more.

  Grabbing the shaft of the weapon, he pulled while bringing his sword up. The goblin landed on the tip of his weapon, cutting through its gut.

  Sam dropped the spear and sword as his hands betrayed him. Blood oozed from his leg and his body twitched from the adrenaline running through his veins.

  “F-focus,” he stammered.

  Leaning over, he threw up everything he had for breakfast, plus more. Dry heaving several times, he felt the blood pooling under him as his wound continued to bleed.

  “God dammit…” He whispered as he wiped his lips. His mouth tasted of acid and bile. His teeth felt almost chalky after throwing up and the smell of vomit permeated the air, mixing with the scent of death.

  Opening his inventory, he grabbed a healing potion and popped the cork. Holding it with both hands, he brought it to his lips, nearly dropping it as his hands tremored.

  Gulping down the crimson fluid, he felt and intense itch in the back of his leg. Strength returned to him and the bleeding stopped. Within seconds the wound healed over, and he closed his eyes.

  “I only have one potion left…” Opening up, he looked for his weapon.

  Tossing the vial to the side, he rolled the goblin over and grabbed his sword. Blood had run down the handle, making his grip sticky and warm.

  Pulling the blade free, he used the sword to cut off the ears of the goblin. They wouldn’t be worth much, but his AI had prepared him for the three likely tutorial monsters he would face. Goblins, spiders, or slimes. Each monster had harvestable items that could be sold on the market.

  Stuffing the four ears in his inventory, he forced himself back to his feet. Looking down at the goblins, he remembered something important. Each monster had a core in their chest that stored their energy.

  Then again, only the boss during the tutorial would have one. He wasn’t supposed to get rich off the tutorial.

  Letting out one last shaky breath, he turned back to the cavern. A single tunnel led further into the dungeon.

  Putting one foot in front of the other, he moved out.

  Passing the fire in the center of the cavern, he felt its warmth and the smell of roasting mushrooms. Looking closer, he found that the goblins were burning mushrooms rather than wood.

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  “Hmm…” Sam mumbled before continuing his walk.

  Just before he reached the next tunnel, he tripped. Throwing his arm out to the side, he distanced himself from his sword before jarring pain radiated through his body.

  His head hit the wall first, before his sword hand smashed into the ground, breaking stone free.

  Blood trickled down from his temple and he touched his head gingerly.

  “I’m going to die in here,” Sam grunted. “And it won’t even be from monsters…” Trailing off, he looked down at his sword hand.

  A soft blue shimmer was shining out of the cracked stone. Frowning, he dropped his sword and used his nails to chip at the floor.

  When he didn’t make any progress, he used his sword’s pommel to smash the stone.

  Slowly, he revealed a shining blue crystal about six inches long and three wide. Jagged in design, it radiated with power unlike anything he had ever experienced.

  “What in God’s name…”

  Lifting the crystal to the light, he squinted as it reflected the fire, sending a blue glow over the wall. Inside the glow was a swirling nebula of blues, sparkles, and twisting whites.

  “What the hell did I find?” Sam asked himself.

  Focusing on the crystal, he waited until the same system that inspected the potion activated again.

  Blinking to life, the screen appeared.

  Mana Crystal: Appraisal process incomplete. Use appraisal in shop to determine quality of crystal.

  “That tells me next to nothing.”

  Grunting, Sam got back to his feet and added it to his inventory. With his head bleeding, and his arms and legs sore from being used more than in years, he started home.

  “I need to buy another potion,” he grumbled as he thought about the crystal. “I hope you are worth a lot of money.”

  ***

  Stepping out of the shower, Sam touched his head and felt the cut still raw from the dungeon. Wincing as his fingers grazed it, he hissed before wrapping his towel around himself.

  Moving to his computer, he sat down while letting his body mostly air dry. The temperature of the room was perfect, and after being in his armor for all of a whole hour, he wanted to feel free.

  Opening the shop, he found the sell section. Finding the appraisal section took a few minutes longer. It was behind a few other sections that took a bit to navigate.

  Once he clicked appraisal, the camera on his computer projected a circular graph onto his desk. It seemed holographic and he assumed he needed to set the crystal in the circle.

  Shrugging, he pulled the mana crystal from his inventory and set it down. The white light turned red and started pulsing.

  Sam’s heart started beating faster as he thought he broke something.

  After a few seconds, the light turned green, and information started appearing on his screen.

  Mana Crystal: Ninety-nine percent purity. Eight ounces. Average selling price of Mana Crystals is currently three hundred Dux per ounce.

  Sam’s eyes widened when he read the average price. “Holy shit…”

  Without hesitating, he moved back to the selling page and listed his crystal at three hundred Dux per ounce.

  As soon as he hit submit, the crystal disappeared from his room and appeared on his screen under listed. A fraction of a second later, it was gone and his Dux counter ticked up to over twenty four hundred Dux.

  A weak laugh escaped Sam as he marveled at his money. Then his thoughts turned back to the dungeon.

  “What if there’s more?”

  A plan started to churn. He would need equipment. He couldn’t keep using his sword to hammer the ground in hopes to get the crystals out. Also, how was he going to find the crystals?

  Checking the market, he found a cheap pickaxe selling for one hundred Dux. It would barely dent his bank and he needed something.

  Apart from buying the pickaxe, he added a belt and scabbard for his sword. It would be awkward to carry both items at once. He also found a lantern that would make mining spots shine when the light was directed on their location.

  Those purchases were a bit more at thirteen hundred Dux.

  But it was worth it.

  He hoped…

  Clicking the buy button, he heard the telltale thump of the items arriving and quickly moved to retrieve his new items.

  His eyes scanned the pickaxe which would take both hands to use before settling on the lantern. A small hook would help him hang it from his belt, or the handle could be held so the light could be aimed.

  Ignoring the belt and scabbard for now, he excitedly started getting dressed again. Once he was back in his delving clothes and armor, he picked up the belt and strapped it in place. Sliding his sword home, he picked up his new pickaxe and hung his lantern from his belt.

  Then he realized he had no fuel for the lantern.

  Grumbling, he went back to the computer and found that it took lesser monster cores to power it. One core would give him twelve hours of light, which could be turned on and off.

  They were also one hundred Dux per core.

  Still grumbling, he purchased just one and watched as a small box plopped out of the portal.

  Opening the box, he grabbed the core and touched it to the lantern. The core crumbled as its energy was siphoned into the item before the lantern flickered to life.

  Quickly turning it off with a flip of a switch, Sam kicked the boxes to the side and walked back through the portal. He prayed that those sweet, sweet Dux would be his.

  ***

  A gray landscape stretched as far as the eye could see as a female voice screamed into the void.

  Twisting shapes, made from fog and mist broke up the world as they rose as men, women, monsters, and eldritch horrors.

  The young woman floated in the air, her arms and legs swaying in an unfelt breeze. Her fingers clenched into fists as she scrunched her eyes closed.

  “Go away! You aren’t real!”

  The shapes around her came closer and closer.

  “You aren’t real!” she screamed again.

  The soft mist grazed her bare legs before bursting apart and drifting away.

  When she opened her eyes, she was alone once again. The same gray landscape stretched out around her.

  A slimy tentacle dragged across her bare back making her shut her eyes once more.

  “Don’t look at it! Don’t look at it!”

  The tentacle touched her one last time, leaving a wet trail before leaving.

  The woman waited several long minutes before a scream much like hers filled the air from further in the distance. The scream suddenly cut off, and the woman whimpered.

  “Another was taken…”

  She shed a few tears for the lost soul as it was likely devoured.

  ***

  Sam stepped into the first cavern once again. The goblin bodies were already absorbed by the dungeon, the blood going with them. The fire was dwindled down to embers, barely giving the room enough light to see.

  Switching on his lantern, he shifted his pickaxe on his shoulder. Aiming his lantern around the area, he sighed when he didn’t find anything on the walls.

  Just as he started to lower the lantern, he caught sight of a shimmer in the corner of the room. A soft glow was coming from the floor where it connected to the walls.

  Smiling wide, he made his way over and hung the lantern from his belt. Knowing where to mine, he gripped his pick with both hands and brought it down on the stone.

  Chips and shards of stone sprayed from the impact and Sam felt like his body was jarred. His arms and hands hurt, and he nearly dropped his pick.

  Shaking out his body, he tried again. This time he tried to brace himself and when even more stone was chipped away, he started smiling again.

  Over the next five minutes, the rhythmic sound of his pick striking stone filled the air. And then, with one last swing, he revealed a metallic shimmer.

  His hopes soared as he kneeled on the ground and touched the metal.

  Iron Ore: The basic crafting component for weapons and armor.

  “Better than nothing,” Sam smirked.

  Over the next few minutes, he worked the ore free, revealing a jagged lump that felt like it weighed five pounds.

  “It probably won’t sell for much, but who cares. Money is money.”

  Adding the iron to his inventory, he turned back to scan the room one more time. To his surprise, just off to the side of the campfire, he found another shimmer.

  “Huh…”

  Hanging his lantern from his belt again, he started mining once again. The rhythmic chipping of stone filled the air for nearly ten minutes before he broke enough away to find the telltale shimmer of blue crystal.

  “Yes!” Sam cheered.

  Even though his arms were burning and sweat soaked his shirt, he doubled his efforts in working the crystal free.

  It took another few minutes to break it free, but it was nearly the same size and shape as the previous mana crystal. That meant he had another few thousand Dux coming his way.

  Quickly adding it to his inventory, he lowered his pick. His hands were blistered and his muscles burning and exhausted.

  “I still have over six days left,” Sam whispered. “There won’t be too many rooms, will there?”

  Raising his pick, he rested it on his shoulder before walking back to his domain.

  The walk took far longer than it should have as his legs were wobbly and weak from exertion. By the time he made it through the portal, he nearly collapsed.

  His pick fell from his hands, landing on the floor with a loud clang. Fumbling with his belt, he lowered it gently to the floor before making sure the lantern was off.

  Kicking off his shoes, he savored the feeling of familiar tile under his feet. With a soft sigh, he moved to the computer.

  Flipping through options, he found the appraisal again and set down the iron.

  Iron Ore: Ninety-five percent pure. Five pounds, three ounces. Average selling price of Iron Ore is currently twenty-five Dux per ounce.

  Sam raised his brow. “That’s better than I expected.”

  Setting the iron aside, he set down the mana crystal.

  Mana Crystal: Ninety-nine percent purity. Eight ounces. Average selling price of Mana Crystals is currently three hundred Dux per ounce.

  It was exactly the same as the previous crystal.

  Setting both items for sale, he hit submit and watched them appear in his listings. Once again, he only had to wait a second before they both disappeared, and his Dux climbed.

  Stopping at over five thousand, Sam sat back and laughed.

  “I feel rich!”

  Then he looked for better armor. That’s when he realized that he was not so rich.

  A new set of leather armor that would cover him from head to toe was five thousand Dux.

  “I’m going to pass… For now.”

  Rubbing his chin, he felt the bristles starting to grow in after not shaving for a few days.

  “What sounds good for dinner?” Sam asked himself.

  Flipping through menus, he found he could order a fully cooked pizza. Something he hadn’t had since he was a kid.

  “Pepperoni, check. Sausage, check. And better add black olives.”

  Once he was ready, he bought it for ten Dux and watched the box plop onto the ground. Thankfully it was right side up.

  Moving the pizza to his bed, he sat cross-legged as he ate right out of the box. Gooey cheese trailed from one slice to the next as he pulled his first prize free.

  “Oh, yes…” Sam groaned as he took his first bite. “This was worth it!”

  In seconds he had devoured one slice and moved onto a second. Grease ran down his fingers and he ignored the fact that he stank to high heavens after mining. He still had plenty of time to clear one more room, but he’d be damned if he was going to try before resting.

  His muscles hurt like never before and he didn’t want to risk fighting when he felt so weak.

  With that said, he started cleaning up his domain and slid the rest of the pizza in the fridge. He still needed to buy that potion, and hopefully one would be able to heal his muscles and let him progress the next day.