[Government Issued Quest: Reach Level 10 within 3 days. Importance: Utmost. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 6/10, Exp to next level: 900/3200. (8/72 hours left).]

Okay, it would be a lie to say the avatar is ready, but he won't get any more prepared than this.

Time's of the essence. I did all the prep work possible, even diving into the guides for the individual dungeon types.

At least for the easier ones, if you can call them that.

Not even DragonSlayer, with his thousands of hours in the game, could clear any of them alone.

Not with a starting character, regardless of how much he spent on equipment.

So saying they're easier is a stretch, let's stick with the least impossible ones.

Plus he had Premium, which comes with extended quick-access slots.

Oh yeah, after reorganizing the inventory once more, that was another thing to set up again.

While it makes sense to have a shield, sword, and bow on them, throwing off the rucksack during a fight changes this.

The bow would become useless as the arrows are in the inventory.

This also means no matter how many potions you bring, they'll be out of reach in the most important moments.

It makes more sense to keep them in the third slot and chug one down when needed, rather than switching to the bow.

If you need it, that means there is a distance from the enemies, which should give ample time to swap.

The fire rate will increase with the bow if the quiver is on the quick slots too.

So it will be two sets, one for melee and one for ranged combat, the healing potion being part of both.

And while the devs didn't make it obvious, you can have two presets saved.

It's like doubling the quick-access room which matters when there are only three slots.

The downside is that you can no longer switch between them if the backpack isn't equipped.

The guide had two sets using all ten slots, one for exploring, and one to combat tough enemies.

The second one assumes that you throw down the rucksack.

Since he uses the special one with the quick-release, it also goes on the fast slots.

I can't afford that luxury. The avatar has the sprinter one with less max weight and increased category limits.

For example, the character could sprint with twenty-two kilos, rather than twenty.

It doesn't mean he should, earlier tests proved that stamina runs out in seconds even if the system allows it.

It could mean he can sprint longer with the same weight if the backpack is on than without.

Still, there are so many hidden mechanics that the tutorial never went into.

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And while DragonS suggested reading the full article before starting, that's too much.

Why bother when it'll be one type out of five? Especially considering his long-winded writing style, half the remaining hours would go by.

No, beyond the entrance, a message should pop up.

That will pinpoint which random dungeon the system gave, and then you can read the specific guide.

Let's hope it will be one of the undead ones, like 'Halls of Horrors' or 'Deepest Chasm'.

Zombies are easy to kill, though the govt mission would need a lot of those to finish.

Well, that's true for any other mobs.

That 'Dragon's Hoard' sounded nice too, it has goblins, that don't sound any tougher.

Each vault has its main monster type that populates the randomized rooms.

They all start with some Guardians though, who are hard to kill, and to deal with them you need specific armament.

Please don't be 'Mage's Stronghold' or 'Laboratory of Madness'.

One has golems in the first room that are too tough to damage with anything less than two-handed weapons.

They were on the shopping list, but being way too expensive, heavy, and niche, I skipped them.

Armor-piercing weaponry could work, albeit slower.

Since they're made of stone, let's hope the pickaxe could deal with them.

No, let's hope that any other dungeon will spawn instead.

Laboratory starts with Poltergeists, as the guide called them. They look like a real pain in the ass. Or sound, or feel. It's because they're invisible.

He dubbed that dungeon the shortest, weirdest, and most difficult.

And in every guide, be it beginner or advanced party one.

The monsters are all mutants, and the theme is a nod to the developer's earlier game, the Roadside Picnic.

It comes with deadly status effects too.

There was so much going on in that part of the guide, that it made my head spin and skipped the entire section.

It seemed better to only worry about the shitty parts if they become relevant.

Checking the other ones made it believable that they are possible to run.

While he couldn't clear either, three attempts leveled his character up.

That's without using Exp booster artifacts so there should be a decent chance for success.

Okay, enough dawdling, let's descend into that burrow, and get going.

Please be 'Halls of Horrors', 'Deepest Chasm', or 'Dragon's Hoard'. Zombies or goblins, easy kills for the win.

The first has a necromancer and some liches as guards though, that would be a challenge.

The second starts with Earth Elementals, they aren't as tough as golems.

And the last one has Ogres at the beginning, they regenerate fast, and are strong, albeit nothing crazy.

The first is in dark catacombs, and the other two are in abandoned mines.

You might have to dig through tunnels in those, which makes them take longer to clear.

DragonS estimated two hours to run them with a full party, and his solo attempts could last up to six.

There are eight hours left, it should be plenty without fighting the boss.

Come on, Arnim, you can do this.

And when I succeed against all odds, let's watch Baldie's face, looking through the logs.

Whew. The heart rate is already in the skies, approaching that point in the burrow that threw up the message. Don't be Stronghold or Lab.

Give me Chasm, Hoard, or Horrors. Come on, come on.

[Warning, you are about to enter the Cursed Dungeon of Origin. We recommend you visit this place later when you reach a higher level and form a party first. You won't be able to return to the surface before clearing the main Boss. Are you sure you enter? Yes/No.]

Ugh, no, who would be sure in this situation?

Let's press on anyway, there is no other option.

Double and triple-check the inventory, the guides are up in the built-in browser, deep breath and go.

Please be undead or goblins. Or pure undead, the avatar has experience with them.

Hitting yes makes everything fade into black. Even though the oil lamp is in the avatar's hand and lit, it won't illuminate anything.

It's like falling. It reminds me of when the Deep Dive controller got turned on for the first time.

That was such a shitty feeling, and it's not any better now either.

[You have entered the Cursed Dungeon of Origin. Note that you won't be able to log out unless your character dies, and some functions won't be available here.]

[Welcome to the Laboratory of Madness.]