We got out of the car in the chilly night and walked up all the way to the rusty gate of the old abandoned factory. The caution sign looked old and rusted over, as this whole place seemed too eerie for even some homeless people to think of using it as a refuge. Not that I would blame them not to, this place stank of the smell of decay and gave me the creeps.

"Be careful, and use this," I said as I pulled a flashlight I had on me.

"You came in prepared," Will said.

"I've been doing this for a living. So don't worry about it." I replied.

  "That's comforting, but why are we going to the factory? Didn't the old woman say that she found the crystal in a cave near the factory?" he said.

  I shook my head, "Dungeons usually have a gate that's always inside a building, you'll never find a Tier One integration dungeon out in the fields, and if a dungeon is out on the fields it will have a construct that will be the entrance."

"Oh, then what did the old woman talk about?" Will said.

  "Probably the exit, which is a good thing. A dungeon usually will usually have its exit hidden, but since this is probably a dead dungeon there is nothing but the structure." I said.

  "What's the point of going into a dungeon that doesn't have any monsters? Not that I'm complaining I don't wanna fight any monsters." Will asked.

  I pulled the gate back and it screeched as it opened up, rattling whatever type of birds nestled in some nearby trees.

  "A dead dungeon, later on, will be useless to everyone, however, if we're lucky we'll find a few mana crystals which was the main reason why I came here."

  "Alright, it's good to have a professional, though I still have my doubts that all of this is one twisted dream."

  "The proper word you want to use is, Nightmare, but don't worry, I don't think anything before the integration would be dangerous enough for us. But still, be careful," I said as we walked up to the entrance of the factory.

  I made sure to scan my surrounding, lighting every corner and checking things before I walked forward. I don't have any of my sensory abilities yet, so I might as well be careful.

The two of us followed the main path to the worn-down gate of the factory and walked inside.

There were dozens of old machinery and debris all over the place.

Broken glass that rattled against the night's wind made this place a perfect spot for a ghost story.

"Bro, you know in situations like these, it's always the black man who dies first, right? Right?"

"Just get your shit together, we're still not inside the dungeon yet, and don' worry, nothing will happen if you stay close."

"Don't worry about that I'll be sticking to your ass like a controlling girlfriend. Black men don't like the dark."

  I shook my head at Will's statements, though I like his antics he can sometimes be a scaredy-cat even if he could handle the situation pretty damn fine.

"Look over there," I said as I pointed my light at a wide hole in the ground, there was a smoky screen covering the hole.

"What is that?" Will asked.

"That's the dungeon's entrance, apparently… it's active. Which shouldn't be possible, not this time at least. Mishaaa! Dungeon Inspection" I called and the system propped up, inactive still but gave me basic information.

Horned Rat's Den

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Dungeon tier: [F]-Easy-

Location Monsters: Black Rat- White Rat- Gray Rat.

Mini-Boss: N/A

Boss: Horned Rat

Specifications: Rats have come in contact with mana, and it caused a mutation in their genetics,

making them part of a world that is yet to come.

"Shit… guess you jinxed it," I said.

"What do you mean? What?"

"It's a rat dungeon."

"Ah fuck this, I'm out," Will said.

  "Don't worry man, like I said I'm with you, let's move. If it's a rat's dungeon, we should be able to clear it and get rewards. Early rewards even. Let's move in." I said as I pulled one of the swords I enhanced earlier."

"I don't know how to use this!" Will said.

"See this?" I said as I pointed at the tip of the sword, "Poke the rats with this, and you're good."

"You make this sound easy," Will said.

"Because it is, at least this early on, even a 14-year-old with a knife can clear this, are you weaker than a fourteen-year-old?" I said grinning.

Will's pride wouldn't allow him to say he was so he gathered all his courage and said, "Alright, but if I die, I'm coming back to haunt your ass."

"I won't be surprised if you do, once the zombie apocalypse starts that's gonna be a huge possibility," I replied.

"Man, I never win against you," Will said.

"Difference in experience, but let's go," I said and jumped right into the hole which clearly made Will scream "WAIT!"

  Once I was at the dungeon's entrance, I realized that it was a tunnel about ten feet long, and wide, which wasn't really good for swinging a sword but was still decent enough to have some mobility.

Will soon appeared behind me.

  "What the fuck! Why'd you jump? Use a rope or at least know how far the drop is! What if you jumped right into a damn lava pool or something!" will say.

"Oh, don't worry about that, all dungeon entrances are safe areas. Not only that not even monsters can attack you as long as you don't leave this line," I said as I pointed to the ground.

There was an ethereal fog rising up, it was thin and looked like a barrier.

"What's that?" Will asked.

  That's the Point of No return. Once you go past it, you have to clear the dungeon or die trying. You can still leave as long as you don't step a foot into it. And no monster can break it. if you want to leave, just say the word dungeon Exit, a window will appear in front of you."

  I removed the window as it appeared to me when I spoke the words. And when will said the words, he was surprised to have the same thing appear in front of him.

"I have the same thingy that you showed me earlier!" Will said.

Will hesitated before he declined the exit.

I nodded at him acknowledging his courage, many would have left. But not him.

"let's go," I said as I turned my back to him and took a step into the dungeon.

Will followed me soon after and we moved forward but the moment we stepped outside.

Our flashlights died.

"Dude what the fuck!"

"Don't worry, I thought this wouldn't happen until we're in higher tiers of dungeons, but it seems that I was wrong, still I came prepared."

  I pulled a lighter from my pocket and lit up the lighter, "Here, keep this on for me." I said as I pulled my backpack and pulled out an old oil lantern.

I took the lighter back from the will and lit up the lantern and closed its small door.

  "All electronics don't work in dungeons, I'm surprised that even something as simple as a flashlight is disabled but it is what it is. Don't try and use your phone it'll get fried and you'll have to buy a new one." I said.

"Yeah, like I was that carefree to try and take damn selfies inside a dungeon," Will said.

I grinned and nodded towards the rest of the dungeon, "let's keep moving." I said.

  The lantern light gave us good visibility over where we were moving but the most annoying thing was that I was unable to use my left hand, though I wasn't really that bothered by it, for now, it was better that I'm the one holding it, I can handle using one hand, but inexperienced Will can't.

Suddenly, something flashed running ahead of us and Will yelped in fright.

"The fuck was that!"

"A rat, man, that's a rat, it's a dungeon that only has rats in it." I said.

"Right right…" will said calming himself down.

"Just be careful and don't stab me in the back, we're still far from the exit."

"Right don't worry! I'm cool! I'm cool!"

  The two of us continued walking forward until we arrived at a small clearing where the light from the lantern couldn't reach all the way to the edge but at the same time, it revealed us to everything that could be in this clearing.

  "Is it a wise idea to have that thing on…" Will said as he noticed some shades moving in the distance, where the dim light reflected on them.

  "The rats already know we're here, it won't make a difference to them if we have this or not, but without the lantern, we won't be able to see anything. Also, remember what I told you? Poke them with the pointy end, because they're coming." I said.

  And suddenly Will realized what I was talking about, as dozens of red eyes glimmered as they reflected the dim light of the lantern.

I twirled the sword in my hand in a far too familiar manner as I grinned :

"It felt like a long time since I've done this… alright, let's Get Killing!"