Here we go again… I took a deep breath, the cool, musty air of the Ratways filling my lungs as I descended further into the darkness. The echoes of my footsteps bounced off the walls, a lonely sound in the vast, oppressive silence.

  I will never get used to this. Sneaking cautiously, I made it far enough so I could barely see the guard post’s lights anymore. Then, after making sure nobody was following me, I finally dropped my overly heavy burden to the ground with a dull thud. Ah, that’s much better!

  Not wasting a breath, I hurriedly freed Rocky from the sack before ordering my dazzled-looking minion to move to the front to act as a shield if need be. “Are you ready for another adventure?” I whispered to the tiny golem with a hint of excitement in my voice.

  Not waiting for a reply that I knew wouldn’t come, I tightly grasped the hilt of my new machete as we began the long descent back into the dark depths below.

  Despite what I previously told Trevor, I had actually no intention of hunting rats or finding their nests, as they gave me no... What was it called again? Soul essence, that’s right!

  Besides, I was never much of a fighter in the first place. I’d much rather spend my time digging through scrap than risk my life fighting monsters. Thus, true to my word, I stuck to the shadows while carefully tiptoeing through the dark.

  It took many hours, but we somehow made it all the way back to the site of the recent cave-in. Although we had to make a few detours to avoid the prowling rat packs, our descent was surprisingly easy - at least compared to last time.

  When I looked back at how many difficulties we had to face during the ill-fated expedition, I couldn’t help but shake my head in bewilderment.

  Well, if I think about this, it isn’t that surprising, to be honest. Before, I was only a frail, malnourished youth equipped with nothing but a lantern and a rusty knife. Similarly, Carson and the others were also just a bunch of mundane brawlers, although they would have liked to think of themselves otherwise.

  I cast a wary glance at the collapsed tunnel in front of me. The heaps of debris were still there, but now, a clear path was leading straight through. Giving the concrete a few kicks to make sure it was solid and wouldn’t collapse on me, I then took a deep breath and squeezed inside the narrow passage.

  It should be somewhere around here… Pausing, I tried to remember the exact location of the side corridor. Then I noticed a strangely colored piece of rock, remembering that the side tunnel had exactly this kind of wall, which was much darker in color than the rest.

  "Shatter!" With a smile, I promptly invoked the name of Rocky's most useful Skill as I pointed toward a particularly large pile of debris. My tiny minion lingered for a moment before dutifully carrying out his order.

  The chunks of concrete quivered before turning into dust and sifting to the tunnel's floor. It took several more attempts, but after a while, the unmistakable contours of a dark hole began to surface.

  Huh? Did it survive intact? I blinked in bewilderment. It seemed that this tunnel must have been built from a much sturdier material than the main corridor, as it didn’t bear any signs of damage.

  It took another at least half an hour before the hole was large enough for us to enter. This time, however, I didn’t charge in blindly, remembering what had happened before. Instead, I picked up a small pebble and threw it inside while listening for any suspicious sounds.

  Not hearing anything except for my rugged breath, I sighed in relief before stepping in. I then carefully traversed the old tunnel and continued through it until finally. I was once again standing in front of the same sturdy-looking metal gate as before.

  I couldn’t quite believe my luck. To think it was right here, waiting for me the whole time. I grimaced, berating myself for not bothering to check it the last time. But then I shook my head, knowing it was pointless to second-guess my previous decision.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Back then, I was simply too hungry and tired to think about anything other than how to make it back to the Shelter alive.

  So now what? I tugged at the gate, trying every trick in the book to open it, but it didn’t budge. There weren’t also any convenient levers or hatch wheels anywhere in sight.

  At my wit's end, I sighed before looking over to where Rocky quietly waited and ordered him to burrow through it. However, to my surprise, the only thing he did was turn his head toward me before becoming still. I waited for a short while, but nothing happened. “What? You can't burrow through metal?”

  “…I guess you can't.” I then smiled, pointing at a wall section right next to the metal doors. “What about this then?”

  This time, he finally moved. Stretching his little arm, he activated his skill, and a small portion of the wall evaporated. But despite the sizeable dent, the wall looked exactly as sturdy and menacing as before. I guess this will take some time.

  Rocky continued to burrow through it piece by piece, yet the wall didn't seem to show any signs of weakening. Who would even need such thick walls? I exhaled in exasperation.

  Still, I was determined to see this through and discover what was on the other side no matter what, so I kept at it, and slowly yet inevitably, a small hole materialized in front of me.

  I made Rocky enlarge it as much as he could so that I could squeeze through without much trouble. When it was finally done, I swiftly lit my lantern and stuck it inside.

  Lighting my lamp was risky, but crawling into an unknown space without knowing what was inside was even riskier.

  The room was relatively small, but what was more important, I didn't sense any movement or strange smells signaling the presence of a monster's nest. The only things I smelled were oil and a faint scent of gunpowder.

  Alright, the moment of truth. “Ugh!” I somehow managed to crawl through to the other side before quickly jumping to my feet. I then raised my lamp high, lighting up the whole room.

  What I saw took my breath away. Crates. Dozens upon dozens of crates were stacked atop one another. And not any regular crates either, but the heavy, reinforced kind of crates used by the Army. The room was full of them.

  Once before, I managed to steal a glimpse of exactly this type of crate in the courtyard of the gang’s compound after one of Rowan’s teams unearthed it from some old ruin, so I knew right away this was the real deal.

  Grinning, I tentatively opened one of them and peeked inside. What I found were several long shiny metal tubes meticulously oiled for protection—guns.

  And it was not those cheap improvised rusty shotguns one could see in the shops from time to time. No, those were genuine rifles. Looking closer, I could make out a single line of characters carved onto them in neat writing. It wrote ‘Erfurt 1902’.

  I had no idea what it meant and frankly didn’t care. All that mattered was that it was a real gun. But this raised another problem. Hmm, how should I go about this?

  There were simply too many crates to pass through the [Portal] all at once. I could only keep it open for about a minute or so, and the previous trick wouldn’t work here as the room was perfectly flat.

  While wondering what to do, I failed to notice the inconspicuous hole in the back wall, and by the time I did, it was already too late. It was only when I caught a faint movement in the corner of my eye that I finally perked up.

  At first, there was only this weird rustling noise, quickly followed by many spindly legs. Oh, no! Spiders!

  Staring at the emerging spiders, my heart sank into my boots. Their bodies glistened with an unnatural metallic sheen, their legs ending in sharp, needle-like points that could easily pierce through leather, let alone my new armor.

  [(Juvenile) Petty Arachnid]

  ...And by the look of it, these were not your typical mutated vermin that inhabited the Ratways' dark corners; they were genuine monsters. Damn, it!

  Luckily, I always kept Rocky close at hand, so while frantically ordering my stalwart golem to defend me, I had just about enough time to raise my machete, fencing off the abominable legs of the first spider that lunged at me.

  “Ugh!” The spider bounced off, skittering to my right. I widened my eyes, realizing that he was now blocking our sole escape route.

  Meanwhile, another spider managed to sink its gruesome fangs into Rocky but fortunately failed to penetrate its sturdy body. However, the sickly green ooze it left behind made no doubt about its nature. Crap! They’re poisonous!

  Surrounded and besieged, we all of a sudden found ourselves in a truly hopeless situation. But I didn’t despair just yet, as there was still one last thing I could try. The only question was, Will I make it in time?

  There was only one way to find out. With that, I grimaced as the contours of an ominous-looking black door started to slowly take shape.