"Ah, I'm back!" I exclaimed, breaking the unnerving silence as I was once again greeted by the pleasant sight of decay and destruction all around.

I then quickly scanned the ruins, happily noting that everything looked exactly the same as before. However, there was one notable difference from my previous visit—my surroundings were now bathed in a pale blue light emanating from Rocky's glowing mana crystal.

“Hahaha! It worked!”

If anyone had told me a week ago that I would soon be trapped inside the ruins of some ancient lab while having an actual golem act as my very own personal walking lamp, I would have thought them batshit crazy. But here I am…

I shook my head, promptly dismissing the still active [Portal], and then ordered the stoic-looking Rocky to move before me to act as a shield if need be. Well, it’s not like there’s anything I can do about all of this but accept this strange new reality and try to make the most of it.

With that, I quickly adjusted the straps of my backpack and began carefully exploring the spacious hall, looking for a way out.

Meanwhile, I also made another interesting discovery—my eyesight had quite significantly improved.

Despite Rocky's dim glow being all I could depend on, it was apparently more than enough for me to see almost perfectly in the dark. Is this another perk of my new Class?

Whatever the case, it was a much-welcomed surprise—one that would undoubtedly help me greatly in navigating the Ratways’ dark corridors.

Soon, I found myself standing at the back of the room, which I quickly learned was actually the front. Hmm, this won't do…

What I was looking at appeared to be the remnants of a massive gate that must have collapsed a long time ago, thus sealing this place up. I eagerly looked for any opening I could perhaps squeeze through, but sadly, there was none.

Yet, my disappointment soon gave way to a broad smile as I heard a particular sound that instantly improved my mood—the sweet echo of dripping water.

I quickly searched for its source, and before long, I found it. There! At the edge of the ruined gate, I saw a thin stream of water dripping from the collapsed ceiling and pooling in a shallow puddle below.

The advantage of being so deep underground was that at least the water that seeped here from the surface had already lost most of its contaminants and could be drunk safely without having to worry about getting sick.

So, I eagerly refilled all my bottles while humming a tune. Since I now found a water source, I can take my sweet time here.

Of course, there was no way in hell I would leave without first going through every nook and cranny of this place and, most importantly, looting everything that looked at least somewhat valuable.

Opportunities to explore an intact ruin were extremely rare, as most of the Ratways had already been picked clean a long time ago. The only reason I previously wanted to head straight for the surface was my fear of dying of thirst. With that solved, however…

Alright, let’s do this! Thus, for the next hour or so, I made myself extremely busy crawling between the various rusting remnants of what once must have been state-of-the-art machinery, searching for anything worth salvaging.

It's such a shame I can't take it all with me… I looked with sad eyes at the literal mountain of scrap metal, imagining how much I could rake in on all of this. But regretfully, there was simply no way I could drag such heavy pieces back to the Shelter. Wait! Isn’t there?

Struck by a certain crazy idea, I looked back and forth between the ruined machines and the center of the room, contemplating. Could this work? Then my lips curled, forming a silly grin. Who says it can’t?

All I needed to do was simply wait until the Portal's cooldown ended, open it again, throw everything in, and retrieve it back later after I managed to get into the Shelter.

Rocky could pass through just fine, as well as all my belongings, so there is no reason to believe that a bunch of rusty pipes couldn’t.

The only thing left to find out was whether or not the Portal’s exit could be moved. So far, it had always remained within this room. That said, I’ve never actually tried to open it in a different location.

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If this works… A mischievous smile blossomed on my face as I immediately realized all the possibilities this could open up for me.

Having decided on the course of action, I then spent several more hours going over every piece of scrap I could find and then dragging it to the center of the spacious hall.

I even had Rocky help me break the once massive machines, revealing many large cogwheels and pistons, which I then laboriously heaved onto the continuously growing pile of junk.

Ugh, this should do it. Panting heavily, I dropped the last sheet of rusty metal on top of the wobbly mass and then cautiously stepped back, smiling with satisfaction.

It took many hours of hard labor, but my conviction never wavered as I constantly reminded myself of each time I had to go hungry because I didn't fulfill my quota in the Pit.

Now, all that’s left is to open the [Portal] and shove everything in before I run out of mana. Of course, that was easier said than done. But while busy scavenging, I thought about this problem a lot and believe I might have found a suitable solution.

I still remember the Portal’s powerful suction when I first opened it. So, all I needed was to somehow move my precious loot really close and let the mysterious doorway take care of the rest.

That’s why I’ve been building the scrap pile in a slightly elevated position, right above the spot where I previously came out of the [Portal]. With how unstable it is, all it needs is a little push, and the whole thing will come crashing down.

I did one last check to make sure I didn’t forget anything, aware that I had only a single shot at this. There was simply no way I would be waiting for another eight hours in these eerie ruins; just thinking about it made my skin crawl.

Well, what am I waiting for? By now, that stupid cooldown had already ended, so nothing was holding me back from putting my ingenious plan into action.

Feeling both excited and slightly nervous at the same time, I took a deep breath before activating the Skill, watching as the [Portal] manifested itself right in front of me.

Seeing that it was precisely where I wanted it to be, I couldn’t help but pump my fist before quickly moving sideways, so I wouldn’t get sucked in myself as I touched the golden knob in what was beginning to feel like a well-known procedure.

Right as the black door swung open, revealing the shimmering abyss beyond, I hurried toward the back of the loot pile, joining Rocky, who was already waiting beside a long, sturdy-looking rod.

"Alright! You ready?" I asked the tiny golem as I picked up the rod and pushed it deep into the pile's base.

Rocky didn't respond, but when prompted by my order, he immediately began assisting me in my effort to overturn the pile.

"Hey! Hooo!" I strained every bit of strength I could muster, pushing with my whole body.

"clack, click, CLACK!" Faced with our combined strength, the pile soon relented, and with a myriad of clacking and scraping noises, the various pieces of metal began rolling down right into the opened maw of the [Portal], which then promptly sucked them in.

Almost there… Clutching my teeth, I tensely watched as the final bits began disappearing into the gaping hole, right as I felt the last vestiges of my strength leaving my body. The [Portal] then flickered a few times before finally dissolving into nothingness.

Utterly exhausted, I collapsed to the ground, experiencing the now more than familiar sensation of total mana drain. Ugh, I’ll never get used to this weird-ass feeling.

It took me a while before I could move again, and I reminded myself never to do something like this if there were enemies around.

After resting for a bit, I felt much better, so I took a sip of water and finally went on to examine the results of my great effort. It worked! I immediately smiled when I saw that most of the pile had made it safely to the other side.

There were a few pieces here and there that managed to roll past the [Portal], but I wasn't too bothered by it as what I managed to ammas was truly a legendary haul that would make any other scavenger green with envy.

Well, I think it’s time to leave… Looking at the now almost bare room, I saw that there was nothing else for me to do here. Initially, I also hoped to gain some knowledge about the strange Seed, given that I found it in this very lab. But if there ever were any research notes on it, they must have rotten away a long time ago.

So, after throwing one last wistful look at the ruins of the mysterious laboratory, knowing that I would probably never return to this place again, I promptly turned away and entered the secret side tunnel, retracing my previous steps.

I still had almost eight hours before I could return to the Domain, and since I still felt somewhat rested, I decided to keep exploring for as long as possible.

The journey toward the site of the recent cave-in turned out to be a rather short and uneventful one. Not only had I already walked through here once before, but now I even had a stalwart golem to light my way.

So it was no surprise that I soon found myself standing before the accursed mountain of debris that was so impudently blocking my only way back to the Shelter.

However, this time around, I didn't despair, as I had a perfect solution. Turning to Rocky with a broad smile, I said, "Shatter this!" while pointing at the site of the collapsed tunnel ahead.

The tiny golem lingered for a bit as if I was crazy to give him such a tall order, but then it faithfully moved forward while raising its tiny limb and activating its Skill.

A wave of energy escaped Rocky’s body, and the lump of concrete directly in front of him quickly disintegrated, turning into fine dust.

Alright! Now we’re talking… At first, I simply rejoiced that I would soon be finally free from this accursed place. But when I more closely examined the minuscule hole Rocky's Skill left behind, I couldn’t help but sigh as I quickly realized that clearing the whole thing would take a very long time indeed.