Ryan was the first to arrive at the bright green dungeon portal at the base of an abandoned four-story building. He had arrived early to beat everyone else. Ariel liked to rush in and he wanted enough time to clean his weapon and inspect the portal.

He pulled out the midnight-black rifle that Gizmo had loaned him. The metal gleamed in the sunlight as Ryan laid it on the hood of his car.

He had spent the last two weeks learning how to handle and clean the weapon. His first few trips to the gun range had been a total disaster, despite his instructor’s valiant effort. Luckily, he had improved by leaps and bounds after he had used the Marksman skill book. Even managing to hit the middle of a target at 300 yards consistently.

Ryan’s eyes wandered to the portal as he stripped the rifle down and pulled out his cleaning rod.

The portal was impressive, twenty feet tall and ten feet wide. The surface looked and flowed like emerald-colored water, a massive whirlpool at its center. Black obsidian blocks surrounded the entire portal. Ryan put down the rod and approached the portal, running his hands along the obsidian.

His hands ran over a block engraved with four runes that he couldn’t read. He sighed as he traced the runes with his finger. There was very little known about the portals, despite all the research that scientists had carried out since they had first arrived. Through trial-and-error and the loss of many dungeoneers, they had found that the color of the portal correlated with the difficulty of the dungeon. Blue, green, orange, purple, red, and black for E, D, C, B, A, and S-ranked dungeons respectively.

They had also noticed that each portal was inscribed with a set of runes. The number and forms of the runes varied, but they were always there. No one had been able to make heads or tails of their meaning, but people were always willing to pay for new runes. Maybe Vivian would have an idea, she was good with that stuff.

He took a few moments to trace the runes imprinted in the stone. He would have taken a picture, but electronics didn’t work near the portal.

Footsteps crunched the gravel behind him. Vivian and Lee walked hand in hand, engaged in a heated conversation, oblivious to Ryan’s stares. Lee smiled as they approached and gave him a fist bump. Vivian ran and wrapped her arms around his chest, giving him a tight hug. “Ryan! Already cleared the dungeon without us huh?” Vivian smirked.

A deep, rumbling laugh came from Lee as he grabbed Ryan by the neck and ruffled his hair. “I remember the first time I asked you to come clear a dungeon with me. All but peed yourself when we got into our first scrap. Now look at you! Showing up early for a dungeon!”

Vivian giggled as Ryan pushed Lee off him. “I remember that story A LOT differently. And it ended with me having to fall asleep on the phone with you cause you were so afraid of the dark!”

Lee groaned, “Viv!”

“Are you guys messing with my man?!”

Ryan turned to find Ariel making her way towards them. She wore thick leather armor that covered her chest and legs. A vicious-looking spear was strapped to her back. My Viking shield-maiden. Ryan held his hands out to Ariel, face twisted in mock pain. “My savior!”

Ariel walked up to the trio, hands on her hips. She wagged a finger at Lee, grinning “you know you shouldn’t be making fun of Ryan without me!”

Ryan clutched his heart and widened his eyes in mock exaggeration. “Et tu, Brute?”

The group fell into an easy laughter that lasted for several long, happy moments. Ryan remembered the runes that he had seen and showed them to Vivian. “What do you think?”

Vivian studied them for several minutes, then headed back to Lee’s car before returning with a book. She spent another few minutes flipping through the pages before closing it with a sigh. “I’ve been keeping track of the different runes we see at each of the dungeons we’ve been to.” She pointed to the first three runes. “We’ve seen these before, but the fourth one is new. That’s both good and bad.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan asked.

“Well, new runes are pretty rare. If no one has seen it, we should be able to sell the picture and information about the dungeon for a good price … “ Vivian hesitated before continuing. “The bad news is … well I haven’t seen it anywhere. Some dungeoneers think that the runes describe the type of dungeon you’re entering. Entering a portal with an unknown rune is risky.”

The group took a moment to consider her words. They could call up Jason and tell him about the rune. Let some of the stronger guild members clear the dungeon just to be safe. But between rent, groceries, and all their new gear, they needed the money.

Everyone looked at Lee as he continued to stare at the portal. He was, by some unspoken agreement, their leader. They all trusted him with their lives. Finally, Lee nodded his head. “Let’s give it a shot. If it gets too difficult, we can get out and call the guild.”

The group tensed as Lee took the lead. Ryan slung his rifle over his shoulder, cradling it in both arms. “In we go.”

* * *

Lee went in first. He stepped through the portal as the emerald whirlpool seemed to suck in his body greedily. There was a ripple throughout the surface of the portal, like when you throw a rock into a still pond. A moment later and Lee was gone. Vivian was next. Ariel gave him a wink before she disappeared. Ryan took one final look at the fourth rune before heading through the portal. It struck him odd as he realized something. It looks like a maze.

As Ryan stepped through the portal, he heard the familiar sound of tires on gravel, then he was through.

Ryan’s body felt like he was falling. He couldn’t keep track of how long he fell. It could have been seconds, or hours, or days. There was nothing as he fell, only pitch blackness. A void. Then just as suddenly as the feeling had come, it dissipated and Ryan was standing in front of his friends.

Ariel was clutching her stomach with one hand, a sick look on her face. “I hateee going through those damn things. Never gonna get used to it!” Everyone nodded their agreement while they tried to get their bearings.

The group had landed in a large cavern. After Lee had decided that they were not in any immediate danger, Ryan took a moment to look around. The cavern was huge. Larger than any other he had ever seen. The rock that covered the ground and walls was a dark smokey gray, littered with streaks of white. The roof of the cavern was so dark that Ryan wasn’t sure that there even was a roof. The only proof of its existence was the countless shimmers of light that stretched across it. Like stars in the night sky.

Hundreds of tunnels ran along the edge of the cavern. Each entrance was big enough to fit a semi-truck through. Ryan was surprised when he noticed that all the tunnels were sealed up by walls of what looked like obsidian. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the looks of awe on his teammate’s faces as they scanned the cave.

“At least we know which tunnel to take,” Lee joked as he pointed to the only unsealed entrance to their right.

* * *

Ryan stayed close behind Ariel as the group pressed into the dark, winding tunnel of the foreboding dungeon. Lee was in the lead, followed by Vivian, then Ariel, with Ryan guarding the rear. Faint clicking sounds grew louder as they delved deeper into the tunnel. He took a moment to cast Darkvision, Sharp Reflexes, Stone Body, and Mental Aegis on the group. Darkvision would allow them to see in the dark, up to 100 meters. Sharp Reflexes increased their dexterity and boosted their reaction times. Stone Body increased their strength and physical damage resistance. Mental Aegis made it easier for them to resist the effects of control spells and boosted their mana regeneration. The effects of the spells were minor, but they lasted for eight hours and made them more deadly.

The darkness was suffocating. They walked for a quarter of an hour before the tunnel widened enough so the group could walk side-by-side. Vivian pointed out deep gouges in the stone along the walls. They were six inches deep, and there were signs of ancient battles everywhere. Some places along the walls looked like they had been scorched by fire.

An hour passed by as they continued to walk. Two hours. Then the tunnel ended and a large chamber appeared in front of them. Ryan looked around at the room. There were six stone coffins on either side of them, with a path in the middle leading into another tunnel. They had walked into a tomb.

“Should we check the coffins?” Lee asked as they huddled closer together.

“Are you crazy? That’s the beginning of every horror movie ever.” Vivan scoffed.

They walked along the stone path, stopping for a few seconds to look at the carvings that littered the coffins. “They look a lot like the runes engraved in the stone surrounding the portals,” Vivian whispered.

There was a scream and the group turned around, weapons held high. Ariel was clawing at herself, trying to remove the cobwebs that clung to her body and hair. “Ugh! Why are these places always full of webs and nasty shit?” The group laughed, some of the tension from the last few hours disappearing.

Ryan was the first to hear the clicking coming from above them. He looked up and yelled as a massive black body slammed into Lee.

“Lee!”

Ariel jammed her spear into the black body, causing it to screech in pain. Lee had managed to get his shield between him and the black blob before it had landed on him. He shoved the shield forward with a grunt. The body collided against the wall with a sickening crunch.

The group watched in horror as more bodies descended from above.

Ariel screamed in a mixture of fear and disgust. “Why does it always have to be fucking spiders? I fucking hate spiders!”