Ryan stood outside of the restaurant ‘The Little Fable’. The place was well known for selling enchanted food that restored stamina and healed minor wounds. He was finishing a chocolate ice cream cone that would soothe his still aching muscles when Ariel jumped onto his back. “I hope you have another one of those for me or you’re officially the worst boyfriend ever!” she pouted.

“You were taking so long I decided to eat it,” Ryan said grinning as he leaned in and kissed her. While she was distracted he nudged her nose with the cone, covering it in chocolate. “Hey! What’s the big deal—oh hey is that chocolate?” She wiped the ice cream off with her finger before popping it into her mouth.

“Yum! I’m gonna go grab myself a cone, are we waiting for Lee and Vivian?”

Ryan nodded, “Lee texted me earlier asking if he could tag along. Vivian is working today, it’s Thursday remember?”

Ariel made a face, “I don’t know why she still works. We make more than enough off of dungeon portals.”

Ryan shrugged. “She’s a nurse. I don’t think she does it for the money.”

Lee arrived fifteen minutes later, his face covered in sweat. “Sorry I took so long guys, my damn car broke down. I had to bike all the way over here!”

The thought of Lee, two hundred and sixty pounds of pure muscle, riding a bike brought him and Ariel to tears. “Hey don’t laugh! I had people staring at me the whole way here. I’ve been humiliated enough!” he said as he threw his hands up and gave his best puppy dog face. His attempt failed horribly, making them laugh even harder.

“Alright, so where are we heading to first?” Ryan asked, wiping the tears from his eyes. Ariel started jumping up and down, “ooh! Let’s go look at that new weapon and armor shop that opened last week! I hear they have awesomeee stuff!” Ryan rolled his eyes and Lee gave him a knowing look. Ariel loved everything about being a dungeoneer. Ryan liked to joke that she had been a Viking shield-maiden in her past life, drawn to blood and violence.

“It’s a good idea. The boss man said that we won’t be able to borrow the equipment from the guild for a while. New recruits have priority …” Lee shook his head, “like if that made any sense. Either way, it’s about time we got our own stuff.”

Ryan smiled as he looked over at Ariel, whose eyes glowed with excitement, “looks like it’s settled then. Lead the way!” Ariel took off at a sprint, leaving the boys shaking their heads as they hurried to catch up.

After running for what felt like hours, and having to stop twice to ask for directions, they found themselves in front of a small, nondescript store. A couple of “we’re open!” posters hung off of black tinted windows, making it impossible to see inside. A weathered sign creaked softly from above the front door. ‘Gizmo’s Gear and Gadgets' Ryan read outloud.

“This is the place?” Lee asked unsure. “I think so. Let’s check it out!” Ariel rushed forward, pulled the door open, and stepped in.

Ryan walked through the wooden door and into an extraordinary place. Unlike the rest of the stores they had been to, this space was disconnected from reality. Ryan looked around in wonder as he realized where he was. A man-made dungeon.

The store was on the top of a huge cliff, overlooking an emerald ocean. The sky above was a deep blue color like it was back on Earth. A red sun beat down on the cliff, bathing everything in a soft red hue. The light from the sun wasn’t warm or cold. Ryan assumed that it was there to act as a light source, like a huge light bulb.

A well-armored salesman wearing a set of polished silver armor approached them. The dark-haired man flashed them a charming smile. “Hi there. Welcome to Gizmo’s Gear and Gadgets! I’ll need to see your Dungeoneering licenses before I can help you with anything.” He held out his hand while Ryan and his friends dug out their licenses.

The man took a brief moment to inspect them before nodding and handing them back. “What can I help you with?”

Ariel launched herself at the salesman, bombarding him with question after question. The man nodded along as he listened to her questions, replying when appropriate. “Follow me. We have a diverse display of polearms that you’re going to love!” Ryan and Lee watched as the salesman led Ariel towards one of the many racks of weapons that littered the hill. “I’m gonna go ahead and look around. I need to find a couple of pieces of armor to replace what we can’t borrow from the guild now.” Ryan nodded as Lee took off to look at racks that held full suits of armor.

“Anything I can help ya with lad?” Ryan turned around to find a short man with sharp gray eyes and a long brown beard staring at him. The man was muscular, with a stocky body as broad as a tree and biceps as thick as large branches. In fact, the man could have told Ryan that he was a dwarf and he would have believed him. He radiated an aura of power that Ryan hadn’t felt before.

“Dontcha know it ain’t proper to be staring at someone?” the man growled.

Ryan felt the aura from the man extend, threatening to overwhelm him. “Oh shit, no sorry. I was stuck in my thoughts. I’m Ryan.” The man took a few moments to stare at Ryan’s outstretched hand, then gave a deep rumbling laugh as he clasped his arm. “Aye! Nice ta meet ya, Ryan! The name’s Gizmo! Welcome to ma shop!”

“I didn’t know that man-made dungeons like this existed, it’s beautiful,” Ryan muttered as he took another look around. “Aye, she’s a beaut! The government started selling the tech not too long ago. Call them pocket dimensions er something to that effect.”

Gizmo took a moment to stare at the landscape in appreciation before turning to face Ryan. “So, what can I do ya fer lad?”

Ryan thought for a moment, this was his first time buying equipment for himself so he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. “I’m starting from scratch, need a full set of gear and maybe a weapon. I’ve been relying on equipment borrowed from my guild, so I'll take any advice you have.”

Gizmo stroked his beard in thought, “what’s yer rank and class?”

“D-rank, support class. All my spells revolve around buffing other’s offense and defense.” Gizmo continued to stroke his beard. “Hell of a useful class, but not much for fightin’ I reckon.” Ryan nodded in agreement.

Gizmo led him all over the store, showing him the various goods. Ryan was amazed at the power and wealth on display. There were items for every occasion and class. Some items temporarily boosted strength or dexterity. Some had unique properties like increased healing or mana regeneration. The most expensive items, however, were rare-tiered spell books that gifted the reader with powerful magic.

With Gizmo’s help, Ryan picked out several items. A jet-black, double-breasted trench coat that boosted his movement speed and mana regeneration slightly. For defense, an enchanted military-grade tactical vest with a plate carrier that increased his mana capacity. Gizmo pointed out that dungeons dropped far better equipment than anything man-made, regardless if it was enchanted or not. But Ryan didn’t care much. He wasn’t a front line fighter, the vest didn’t restrict his movements, and it would stop a glancing blow. That was enough.

He got a matching set of tactical pants, enchanted to further increase his movement speed. For his last item, Ryan splurged on a pair of lightly armored boots that reduced the amount of noise he made while walking.

“Alrighty lad, I think that should be everythin’,” Gizmo said as he started walking towards the front of the store, ready to total up his purchases.

“What about a weapon?” Ryan probed. “I’m pretty useless after casting my buffs. It would be nice to be able to deal some damage instead of standing around like an idiot.”

Gizmo began stroking his beard again. “Ye got any preferences? Blades? Bows? Ye mentioned ye didn’t have any offensive magic.” Ryan shook his head, “no blades. I wouldn’t last a second on the front-line. I’ve tried bows in the past, but they require more strength than I have.”

“Huh, I might have something for ye. Follow me.” Ryan chased Gizmo through a maze of racks and tables until they reached a stone building. Gizmo placed his hand on a small rune carved in the stone, which flared blue then green at his touch. A door made of stone descended in front of them and Gizmo waved Ryan forward.

The first thing that Ryan noticed was the smell of smoke that filled his lungs. He started coughing, bile making his way up his throat. Gizmo noticed Ryan covering his mouth and his eyes widened in horror, “don’t ye dare throw up in me workshop boy!”

Several tense moments passed as Ryan fought the urge to vomit. Eventually, the air inside the room cleared up enough that Ryan was able to take in several deep breaths. Gizmo eyed Ryan the entire time, bucket in hand until he managed to regain his composure.

After Gizmo was sure that Ryan wasn’t going to retch all over his precious tools, he motioned for him to stay put. Several minutes passed before he returned holding a long, rectangular metal box. Gizmo placed the box on top of one of the crafting tables, his eyes shining as Ryan flipped it open.

Ryan blinked in surprise when he saw a polished black rifle resting on a mound of silk. The entire length of the weapon, from the stock to the barrel, was engraved with intricate runes. He could feel a hum of power radiating from the weapon. “A rifle?” Ryan asked, confused. “I thought guns were useless inside the portals?”

Gizmo’s head bobbed up and down as he nodded, a grin never leaving his face. “That’s true … more er less … modern weaponry ain’t very effective against them dungeon beasties. Can’t generate enough momentum fer the bullet to pierce worth a damn.”

The short man placed a loving hand on the barrel. “This one ‘ere is built special. I’m a C-ranked Enchanter. Before them blasted portals showed up I spent my life fighting wars as a marine. Guns ‘ave always held a special place in me heart.”

“So … you built a gun?” Ryan gawked.

“Aye, me and an ol’ war buddy, a C-ranked blacksmith, spent over a year on the blasted thing.” He looked Ryan in the eye, “but we ain’t fighters anymore, and we haven’t been able to test it.”

Gizmo began speaking in a frenzy, explaining the work and modifications that had gone into building the rifle.

“The body is based on the military-grade HK416 assault rifle. We used a mixture of C-ranked iron and carbon ta create a sturdier type of steel-like alloy. We added a 10-inch barrel ta increase the exit velocity and effective range of the bullet.” He pointed out several of the runes etched into the barrel, “I enchanted the barrel ta increase the momentum of the bullet as it’s propelled through” He then pointed towards more runes carved into the body, “then enchanted the entire thing ta lessen the recoil created from the momentum of the bullet.”

He pumped his fists in the air, “took a bit of experimentin’ and a couple of broken bones ta get the enchantments right, but we've even been able ta pierce C-ranked dungeon armor!”

Ryan’s jaw dropped further and further as Gizmo kept talking. If even half of what he said was true, this man-made weapon could rival even dungeon-grade gear!

“I’ll take it.”

* * *

Back at the exit, Gizmo totaled Ryan’s purchases.

“The coat, vest, pants, and boots come out to $20,600. The gun is a loan, but ten magazines of reinforced 5.56 x 45mm NATO rounds come out to $1000. The common-grade Marksman skill book is $15,000, and I'll throw in a pair of tactical delta gloves made of kevlar for free. Your total comes out to $36,600.”

It felt unreal to spend so much money, but Ryan happily paid it.

Gizmo grinned as Ryan handed over his Dungeoneering card. “Make sure ya come right back after yer next dungeon run!”

Ryan nodded his head in agreement and walked over to where Lee and Ariel were waiting.

They exited the shop and talked in excited voices as they walked down the street.

“What’d you guys get?” Ryan asked them in curiosity.

Lee ended up buying a pricey new set of D-ranked armor for $40,000 that increased his magical and physical damage resistance by 15%. Ariel had, unsurprisingly, spent her entire cut of $50,000 on a C-ranked partizan spear that boosted her damage by 20% and inflicted both physical and magical damage.

As they reached the parking lot, Lee’s phone buzzed. “Huh, got a text from Jason. Says he’s got another D-ranked dungeon for us to clear in two weeks. You guys want me to take it?”

Ariel practically screamed, “yes, yes! Please, please!” She looked over at Ryan with her best puppy dog eyes, “pleaseeee Ryan?”

“Sure thing, if Vivian is down, go ahead and book it.” He said as he laughed at Ariel’s antics.

“Alright, will do! See you guys in a few weeks! I’ll text you the details when I get them.”

Ryan watched Ariel get into her car, while Lee took off on his bike. He felt content. Excited even.