Another Dungeon

I quickly unlocked the door and rushed inside. The second the latch clicked, I crumbled to the floor.

My breath came out uneven, my heart still hammering from the sprint. Sweat soaked through my shirt. I just sat there, back against the door, staring at nothing for a while. The silence of my apartment felt unreal.

For a second, I thought about laughing. Then I realized I didn’t even have the energy to.

They’d almost found me out. The hunters, I mean. If those monsters hadn’t broken through the portal when they did, I’d be in custody right now explaining to the Ministry why I was in an active dungeon with no AID, only a matter of time before they would find out my job. Lucky me. Saved by monsters.

I peeled off my jacket and tossed it onto the bed. Jerry was waiting in the corner, motionless, the way he just stood there, honestly, almost creeped me out. But I knew he was under my unrefutable command.

“You have no idea what happened today, Jerry. It was crazy.”

He didn’t respond. Obviously he cant talk but talking to him keeps me from unraveling completely.

Over the past three days, I’d been commanding Jerry nonstop. At this point, I could manage him without that stabbing pain behind my eyes. It had become almost second nature.

I guess that’s because Jerry’s F-tier.

Strength, combat capability, and speed are all ranked from SSS down to F. But that kind of ranking is rare — usually, people are ranked by their overall ability, meaning every stat gets averaged out. And Jerry? Well, his “everything” is F. But I’ll give him credit though his stamina is practically infinite.

Still. F-tier is F-tier.

He creaked his head toward me, that faint rattle of bone on bone filling the silence. For a skeleton, he had… personality. Maybe that was just me projecting like controlling him Unconsciously.

After calming down, I decided to cook. “Cook” might be too generous a word. I’m basically in a long-term abusive relationship with my kitchen.

Tonight’s victim was instant rice, half a can of curry sauce, and some chicken I think was still good. Oil popped on the stove, the smell sharp enough to burn away some of the dungeon stink still clinging to me.

“Almost decent,” I muttered as I plated it.

I sighed, sat down, and started eating. My hands were shaking, not from fear but from mana exhaustion. The meal didn’t taste spectacular, but it was warm, and that was enough.

The dungeon had drained me. My brain felt like static. Every time I blinked, I saw flashes.

I finished eating and flopped back onto the bed. For once, I didn’t overthink. I just let sleep take me.

...

..

.

When I woke up, the room was dark. The clock blinked 10:04 PM. I’d slept six hours — which, for me, qualifies as luxury.

My body felt better. My mana reserves had recovered, the dull ache behind my eyes gone. My limbs still felt heavy, but that kind of fatigue never really leaves.

I stretched, cracked my neck, and let out a long breath. “Okay. That wasn’t so bad.”

Jerry was still there, standing at the end of the bed like a loyal guard dog made of calcium.

Then I heard it. A sound that froze me mid-motion.

Sirens.

Dungeon break alert.

My stomach twisted. There hadn’t been a break this close to my apartment in months.

I stumbled toward the window, pulled the curtain aside, and looked down at the street.

It was mostly empty. The few people still outside were sprinting for cover, their shadows stretched thin under the red emergency lights. Mana sensors glowed faintly along the street poles, picking up distortions in the air.

Somewhere out there, reality was tearing open again.

I rubbed my face, sighing. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Technically, I could just stay here. Lock the door, pretend I didn’t hear a thing. Hunters would arrive soon. The Ministry would quarantine the area,kill all the monsters and patch the rift.

But I felt it again, that spark of temptation crawling under my skin. My mana was full again. My body had recovered.

I could go.

I wanted to go.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I muttered at Jerry. “I’m just checking it out.”

He didn’t move, but I could almost feel his disapproval, or maybe that was my own conscience.

I grabbed my coat from the floor, shrugged it on, and slipped my glasses into place. They didn’t actually help my vision much, but they made me look less suspicious if anyone saw me.

“Alright, Jerry,” I said. “Stay here. Guard the fort.”

I stepped toward the door, paused, and glanced back at him. He stood silently.

For a moment, I almost envied him. No fear. No thoughts. Just endless patience.

“Later, Jerry.”

The hallway outside was empty. The sirens kept wailing, echoing off the walls. I took the stairs two at a time, pulse quickening again.

By the time I reached the street a distortion was shimmering in the air like heat over asphalt. The portal was forming, swirling blue light bending reality into a circular wound.

Hunters hadn’t arrived yet. I was early.

I stared at the rift, feeling my mana pulse in response. It was like standing near a thunderstorm the air charged, picking up speed.

I swallowed hard. “Alright. One more time.” But I knew that was a lie.

Rei, the idiot necromancer without an AID, heading into another dungeon right under the Ministry’s nose.

Smart move.

But staying still never got me anywhere.

I walked further, the portal’s glow washing over me in waves of blue light. The air rippled, and the sound of the city faded until there was nothing, just my heartbeat, steady and defiant.

I stepped inside, exhaled.

"This is it."