Kal woke to Regis poking his face.
"Rise and shine, soon-to-be-dead person! We have a dungeon to conquer."
Kal groaned, swatting at the tiny floating figure. His hand passed through golden light. "What time is it?"
"Seven-thirty. You have approximately nine hours before your quest timer expires." Regis perched on the edge of Kal's phone screen. "I let you sleep six hours. You're welcome. Now get up. We have preparations to make."
Every muscle in Kal's body ached from yesterday's improvised spear training. He rolled out of bed, his new leather armor creaking where he'd left it on the floor. The spear leaned against the wall, wrapped in cloth that already looked worn.
This was really happening.
Kal moved through his morning routine on autopilot. Shower—lukewarm because hot water cost extra. Protein bar for breakfast because cooking took time he didn't have. He strapped on the leather armor, adjusting the bracers Viktor had thrown in. Everything fit, barely. It smelled like someone else's sweat and fear.
"Looking positively lethal," Regis commented, doing a slow circle around him. "If by lethal you mean 'likely to die in the first ten minutes.'"
"You're really bad at pep talks."
"I prefer realism to empty platitudes." Regis settled on his shoulder. "But you *do* look better than yesterday. The armor suits you. Makes you look... purposeful."
Kal checked his reflection in the cracked bathroom mirror. The scared F-Rank kid who'd died yesterday felt like a lifetime ago. The person staring back now wore armor and carried a weapon. His eyes held something harder.
He looked like someone who might survive.
Might.
"The potions," Regis reminded.
Kal carefully transferred the four vials into his pockets—healing, stamina, escape smoke, and the mana restoration Lyra had gifted him. He'd arranged them by importance: healing in the easiest-to-reach pocket, escape smoke second, the others distributed for balance.
"Smart," Regis approved. "See? You're thinking tactically already."
The countdown timer read 08:52:17.
"Let's go," Kal said, picking up his spear. "Before I lose my nerve."
The collapsed subway station was in the worst part of the Rust District—an area even the desperate avoided. The entrance was cordoned off with yellow tape and warning signs: DUNGEON ZONE - E-RANK - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Kal ducked under the tape at 8:47 AM.
The stairs leading down were concrete, cracked and crumbling. Graffiti covered the walls—warnings, prayers, crude drawings of the monsters that lurked below. Someone had spray-painted "TURN BACK" in letters three feet tall.
"Charming," Regis commented. "Very welcoming."
The deeper they went, the colder it got. Natural sunlight faded, replaced by an eerie luminescence that had no obvious source—dungeon energy, making the air itself glow with a sickly green tint.
At the bottom of the stairs, a shimmering barrier blocked the way. Translucent, rippling like water, with text floating in its center:
```
═══════════════════════════════════
DUNGEON: COLLAPSED SUBWAY STATION
RANK: E
RECOMMENDED PARTY SIZE: 3-5
CURRENT PARTY SIZE: 1
WARNING: Solo entry detected. Survival probability: 12%
Proceed anyway? [YES/NO]
═══════════════════════════════════
```
"Twelve percent," Kal said. "That's better than eight."
"Perhaps the system has upgraded its assessment of your capabilities." Regis floated in front of his face. "Or perhaps it's accounting for sheer stubborn stupidity. Hard to say."
Kal reached out and pressed [YES].
The barrier rippled, then dissolved like morning mist. Beyond it, the subway platform stretched into darkness. The air smelled of rot and something chemical that burned his nostrils. Water dripped somewhere in the distance—a steady, hollow sound.
And beneath it all, Kal heard something else.
Skittering.
"Rats," Regis confirmed, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Remember what the werewolf said. They swarm. Don't let them surround you."
Kal gripped his spear tighter and stepped through.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the barrier reformed behind him with a sound like slamming glass. He was sealed in. No turning back until he cleared the dungeon or died trying.
A new notification appeared:
```
═══════════════════════════════════
IMPOSSIBLE QUEST: FIRST BLOOD
OBJECTIVE: Clear the dungeon or reach the Safe Room
MONSTERS ELIMINATED: 0/?
TIME REMAINING: 08:47:39
═══════════════════════════════════
```
The number of monsters was unknown. Great.
Kal moved forward slowly, keeping to the center of the platform. His enhanced stats made the darkness easier to navigate—his vision was sharper than it should be, picking out details in the dim green glow. Trash littered the ground. Old newspapers, broken bottles, a shoe.
Pieces of armor.
His stomach turned. Someone had died here. Maybe multiple someones.
"Focus," Regis murmured. "Past deaths don't determine your future. Stay alert."
The skittering grew louder.
Kal spun, spear raised—
Three rats the size of dogs burst from a pile of debris. Their fur was matted and diseased, eyes glowing with unnatural red light. Teeth like needles. Claws that scraped against concrete.
[DUNGEON RAT - LEVEL 7]
[DUNGEON RAT - LEVEL 7]
[DUNGEON RAT - LEVEL 8]
They spread out immediately, trying to flank him.
Kal thrust his spear at the closest one. The rat dodged with unnatural speed, but the spear tip caught its shoulder, drawing black blood. It shrieked—a sound that set Kal's teeth on edge—and lunged.
He twisted, using the spear's reach to keep distance. The second rat came from his left. He pivoted, brought the spear around in a wild swing that connected with its head. Bone crunched. The rat dropped.
[DUNGEON RAT DEFEATED - 15 EXP]
Wait—he could gain experience?
"Only in dungeons during active quests," Regis explained, reading his thoughts. "Limited exception. Focus!"
The third rat—level 8—was smarter. It waited, circling, while the wounded one recovered. They were coordinating.
*Don't let them surround you.*
Kal backed toward a support pillar, putting solid concrete at his back. The rats adjusted, spreading wider. The wounded one's shoulder was already healing, black blood clotting impossibly fast.
"They regenerate," Kal breathed.
"Low-level regeneration, yes. You need to kill them quickly or they'll outlast you."
The level 8 rat charged. Kal thrust his spear straight into its open mouth. The blade punched through the back of its skull. It died instantly.
[DUNGEON RAT DEFEATED - 18 EXP]
The wounded rat, seeing its packmate die, turned and fled into the darkness.
Kal's heart hammered. His hands shook on the spear shaft. Two kills. He'd actually killed two monsters.
"Don't celebrate yet," Regis warned. "That was the easy part."
As if summoned by his words, more skittering erupted from deeper in the tunnel. Not three rats this time.
*Dozens.*
"Run!" Regis shouted.
Kal ran.
He sprinted down the platform, spear clutched awkwardly, armor slapping against his chest. Behind him, the skittering grew into a roar—countless claws on concrete, countless squeals of hungry monsters.
A rat lunged from the side. Kal didn't think, just swung his spear like a bat. Connected. Kept running.
Another from the right. He kicked it mid-stride, felt something crunch, kept moving.
"Left tunnel!" Regis directed. "There's a maintenance room—should be a door!"
Kal veered left into a side passage. Darker here, narrower. The rats were gaining, their superior speed closing the distance. He could hear their breathing, smell their diseased stench.
There—a metal door, half-open.
Kal dove through and slammed it shut behind him. Immediately, bodies crashed against the other side. The door shuddered but held. Claws scraped against metal. Squeals of rage and hunger.
Kal collapsed against the door, breathing hard. His lungs burned. The spear had a crack in its shaft—he'd hit something harder than he'd thought.
"Good instincts," Regis said, appearing beside him. "But we can't stay here forever. This isn't the Safe Room—just a temporary refuge."
Kal looked around. The maintenance room was small, filled with rusted tools and broken equipment. One other exit—a door leading deeper into the dungeon. And on the wall, scrawled in what looked like dried blood:
*TUNNEL 3 - SAFE ROOM - DON'T GO TO TUNNEL 5*
"Someone survived long enough to leave a warning," Regis observed. "How thoughtful."
The rats were still pounding on the door. It wouldn't hold forever.
Kal checked his status.
```
═══════════════════════════════════
KHALIL MORRISON
RANK: E
CURRENT EXP: 33/200
HP: 87/100 (Bruised from running)
STAMINA: 45/80
MONSTERS ELIMINATED: 2/?
TIME REMAINING: 08:31:12
═══════════════════════════════════
```
He'd lost health just from running and a few glancing blows. His stamina was nearly half-depleted. And he'd only killed two rats.
"This is impossible," Kal said.
"No. It's an Impossible Quest. There's a difference." Regis floated down to eye level. "You're still alive. That means you're doing better than ninety-two percent of possible outcomes. Small victories, Khalil."
"I almost died in the first five minutes."
"Almost. But didn't." Regis's expression was serious. "Listen to me. The system chose this quest because you *can* complete it. Not easily. Not safely. But possibly. You have the stats, the equipment, and me. What you need now is strategy."
Kal steadied his breathing, forcing himself to think. "The Safe Room. That's the objective. I don't have to kill everything—just survive long enough to reach it."
"Correct! See? You're learning." Regis gestured at the second door. "We go deeper, find Tunnel 3, avoid Tunnel 5. Simple."
"And the swarm of rats outside this door?"
"We wait for them to disperse. Rats have short attention spans. Give it fifteen minutes, they'll move on to other hunting grounds."
Kal slid down the door until he was sitting. His hands were still shaking. Adrenaline crash, probably.
He'd been in the dungeon for less than ten minutes and had already used half his stamina. The Safe Room could be anywhere. The rats regenerated and swarmed.
Eight percent success rate suddenly felt generous.
"Hey," Regis said softly. "You're doing well. Genuinely. Most people freeze on their first monster encounter. You killed two and escaped a swarm. That's impressive."
"I got lucky."
"Luck is just preparation meeting opportunity. You prepared with basic spear training. The opportunity presented itself. You seized it." Regis settled on his shoulder, surprisingly warm for a projection. "You're stronger than you think, Khalil. The system wouldn't have chosen you otherwise."
"The system brought me back from the dead. Maybe it just needed a test subject."
"If that were true, I'd have picked someone less..." Regis paused, searching for the word. "...interesting. You have something. Potential. Stubbornness. The will to fight even when fighting seems pointless. That's rarer than you'd think."
The pounding on the door was lessening. The rats were moving on, just as Regis predicted.
Kal used the time to check his equipment. The spear's crack wasn't too bad—still functional, but he'd need to be careful. His armor had held up. The potions were intact.
He was as ready as he'd ever be.
"Fifteen minutes are up," Regis announced. "The rats have dispersed. Time to move."
Kal stood, tested his weight on protesting legs. His stamina had recovered to 58/80. Better, but not great.
He opened the second door carefully, spear ready.
A tunnel stretched before him, lit by the same sickly green glow. Water pooled on the ground, reflecting distorted light. And on the wall, painted in neat letters:
*TUNNEL 3 →*
"Well, that's convenient," Regis said.
Too convenient.
Kal moved forward anyway. What choice did he have?
The tunnel sloped downward, going deeper into the earth. The temperature dropped further. His breath misted in the air. And somewhere ahead, he heard something new.
Not skittering.
Splashing.
"What's in the water?" Kal whispered.
"Nothing good," Regis replied. "Keep to the edges. Don't step in the puddles."
Kal pressed against the tunnel wall, moving as quietly as possible. The splashing grew louder. Rhythmic. Deliberate.
He rounded a corner and froze.
A rat the size of a bear stood in the center of the tunnel. Its fur was black and matted with filth. Eyes glowed crimson. And around its neck hung a collar of human bones.
[DUNGEON RAT ALPHA - LEVEL 15 - MINI-BOSS]
"Oh," Regis said quietly. "That's not good."
The Alpha's head swiveled toward them.
It opened its mouth and *roared*.
The sound echoed through the tunnel, deafening. And from the darkness behind the Alpha, dozens of smaller rats emerged, answering their leader's call.
Kal's grip tightened on his spear.
The countdown timer read 08:14:27.
"Any brilliant strategic advice?" he asked.
"Run," Regis said simply. "Run very, very fast."
The Alpha charged.
And Khalil Morrison ran for his life.