"Well, of course, that's fucking karma." The system knows no mercy.

Every guide called the 'Laboratory of Madness' the most challenging of the five.

Wait, didn't DragonS write it was easier to clear solo than with a low-level party? Well, solo, as in his insane high-level multiclass avatar could do it, not a newbie one.

He also wrote he couldn't go through the Guard room during his fresh alt attempts. That's a promising start, whatever.

If it's what the game picked, it's what the avatar will deal with. So what else did he say about this place?

At least let's go in with every little secret already learned to get a fighting chance. What mobs spawn here exactly and what are their weaknesses?

The Guardians of this vault type, those Poltergeists must be a pain to deal with.

What's their deal, their weaknesses, and how can you fight them if they're invisible?

[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.]

"What? Nobody tries to log out, and you already said that. Open the browser to pin the guide to the side." It was there a moment ago, where did it go?

[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.]

"Are you fucking kidding? Why's the browser not available?!"

The echoes of the empty chamber act as a reminder that someone could hear this.

Crap, why would they restrict this? And why didn't the system give this warning outside?

This is so dumb, nobody mentioned it.

Oh, right. DragonSlayer did say to read the full guide before entering. He didn't mention why though.

Fuck. He writes all his articles to be longer than the legs of a Swedish supermodel, and won't put a disclaimer at the front.

Start with the most important part, damn it. Oh God, this is so fucking over before it started.

This is the place everyone calls the hardest, and I'm stuck here with no access to the guide on how to stay alive.

Why do you keep making your life more difficult, Arnim? Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, not the other way.

Which items to discard from the backpack? Not even the shopping list is accessible anymore, damn it.

And what the hell, the minimap's counter shows six people already.

Aren't dungeons extradimensional spaces only accessible for the player entering them?

Oh, well, they don't have to be other avatars. They could be villagers, or bandits too.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Latter seems more likely here, not that the guide mentioned any such thing.

No, don't pretend that you've read it, fuck. It might have mentioned them.

Okay, what is this place? The oil lamp reveals a scene straight from the real world.

And by that, I don't mean the realistic look, that's already given.

This room resembles the arcade's basement. Heavy, industrial, run-down, and concrete everywhere.

It's not the fantasy setting as the rest of CineMraft, this is more of an underground bunker, a modern one.

Thick cables run along the walls, and the door ahead could lead to the yard's guard house.

What's more, there are lights on the next room's ceiling. Not torches or lamps, neon lights.

A low humming indicates that there's a generator somewhere that powers everything. This is so fucking out of place.

The guide did mention it's weird, and that it's a nod to an earlier game from the same devs, Roadside Picnic.

What was that title about? It came out more than a hundred years ago, damn it. People called it a classic but I never got to play it.

Something-something Chernobyl? Nuclear wasteland, mutants, and also psychic powers? Crazy experiments, and lots of horror elements.

That all checks out, this place does look haunted, even if not in the way you'd expect from a medieval title.

Okay. Does it mean the people shown on the counter have modern gear too?

Does the system want someone armed with a sword to go up against firearms or something? Fuck, there are too many questions and not a single answer.

Okay, calm down, first things first. Get rid of stuff you don't need from the rucksack.

The rope was for those mining shaft dungeons so it can go, and that's minus five kilos already.

Then the armor-piercing weapons were for the golems. Oh, and the boss of this one.

Let's keep the pickaxe for now. It's less than ideal, and killing the boss isn't realistic, but it's not that heavy to carry around. What else?

Ten minutes pass before going through that first steel door. The mission has eight hours left, so there's no rush here.

Or rather, this expedition will last until the first death.

There's no second chance, backup money, extra gear, nothing.

It's better to be careful exploring the place, there's no guide, though the avatar is well prepared.

At least it should be able to kill anything other than the boss. Whatever that is for this vault.

The backpack is down to ten kilos, not counting the stuff already on. The Heavy Brigandine alone weighs more.

Once through the door, the humming gets louder, and the oil lamp becomes useless.

The area is well-lit, despite being in the same ruined shape as the entrance.

There's a concrete guard post off to one side and the controls for an elevator on the other.

The lift's at the bottom of a shaft broken to pieces, and there's one way, down.

Nobody's here though, despite the number on the minimap. Are they hiding, or are they somewhere below?

There's a rusty service ladder made of rebar steel, and even looking at it could cause tetanus.

The pit's about ten meters deep, the bottom pulsing red rather than the cold white here.

If those guys wait down there the climb down will make the avatar vulnerable.

Of course, there's no choice, the first room collapsed so the entrance or exit is no more.

There's one vertical shaft with no realistic access. It could be where the avatar fell from into this hell, though the system didn't explain that.

Okay, down it is. There are narrow platforms every three meters, to stop and rest.

A switch to the bow to shoot down from those in case someone's waiting at the bottom, and go.

It's too bad the Brigandine didn't come with gloves, but the Exp booster ring occupies that slot anyway.

It doesn't appear, though the zombie fight has proven it works. How does the headpiece look?

Shit, no distractions, keep staring into that red light and watch out for movements.

It's all quiet until the first platform. A scary noise almost results in a fall before reaching the second.

It's a creaky heavy steel door dialed up to eleven, or it could be a scream too. Fuck, this place sucks already, it has no reason to be in a medieval fantasy game.

There's still no movement, the minimap doesn't show the dots, only the number.

Someone, somewhere, lying in wait.