There was nothing but darkness extending into an endless void. No stars or planets adorned the emptiness. The only presence was a solitary speck of light in the far distance.
As I concentrated on the single dot of light, it began to shine even brighter. It swiftly zoomed in, splitting into multiple fragments that expanded and grew larger with each passing moment.
But it was no star.
It was a pair of glowing eyes, nearing my location at the speed of light then its pitch-black jaws devoured me, trapping me inside its body. It was suffocating like inside some kind of thick liquid until a speck of light gleamed from its core.
Subsequently, my vision became clearer, and the sharp pain at the back of my head jolted the memory of what had occurred.
"Rise and shine, you little brats." a red-haired woman carrying an empty water bottle spoke before kicking me in the gut. "I said, rise and shine! I hate lazy pawns."
I found myself no longer in the void but instead surrounded by children inside a moving container, all of us drenched. Sitting before us was a woman with a manic appearance, her legs crossed as she observed us.
"Don't give me that glare, brat. I also hate disobedient pawns," she added. "Aren't we there yet!?"
"We are, so shut up bitch!" a man behind a metallic wall on our back responds as the woman grin.
Similar to the other children, my hands were bound together with plastic rope, but their condition was much worse than mine. Many of them had sustained severe injuries, and fear was evident in their eyes as they tried to make sense of the situation.
I couldn't tell where the mysterious truck was going until something pinged, and the screen materialized.
********** Alert! *********
You are entering another world
*************************
"Y-you! You're gonna take us inside a portal!?"
"Would you look at that? We have little Mr. Know-it-all. And here I was going to surprise you, little newbie" she replied with a wicked grin then took out a dagger. "But we prefer to call it dungeons. Our little source of income"
As the woman sat before us, the doors behind her creaked open, and the flickering torchlight cast dancing shadows in the dim cave. About five meters ahead, the portal glowed brightly, beckoning us forward.
"Finally! We're here!" the woman claimed as they pushed us off the vehicle, and into the wide cavern space with a number of tunnels leading to who knows where.
However, as she had indicated, it was indeed a dungeon—a perilous location filled with treasures, lifeless bodies, and dangerous traps. It was an environment that no child could hope to survive in.
"Now, you know the routine. Those who can bring me valuable are the only ones who can eat. Bring me more and you'll have a feast. Bring me nothing, and you'll eat nothing. Any questions?" the woman asked.
"What if I don't want to?"
"Oh, the newbie…" she pondered, then kicked my gut once more. "It's not about whether you want it or not. You simply got no choice and you'll learn soon enough why"
She was getting on my nerves with that nasty grin, I was about to give her a piece of what she was looking for but one of the children grabbed me. Her hands were terribly shaking in fear, gripping my shoulder. "No, you won't win against a high-level player…"
"A player!?"
** Player Information **
Name: Rosalind Byers
Class: Assassin
Level: 5
HP: 300/300 MP: 10/10
********************
The information I witnessed only fueled my anger toward that woman, intensifying my desire to silence her with a dagger. But I begrudgingly acknowledged that she was still more powerful than someone as inexperienced as myself.
And the two of them combined, I'm as good as dead.
"Now that you know that, scram! I don't like wasting time!" she claimed as the man beside him stood silent. He wore a bandana around his head and tightly held an ax.
** Player Information **
Name: Reynold Ashmir
Class: Fighter
Level: 4
HP: 340/340 MP: 0/0
********************
"I said, scram!" the woman ordered, throwing the blade she had as it barely missed my cheeks as the girl dragged me into one of the tunnels.
The remaining children followed suit, dashing through any available opening, their hands still bound. With stones grabbed from the ground, they wielded them as their only means of defense. Even the girl managed to grab one, taking it as a precautionary measure.
But right after their flight, their anguished cries reverberated through the tunnels, while the woman cruelly laughed, seemingly finding amusement in their desperation.
And soon, more of them perish.
As we continued forward, we ventured deeper into the darkness, gradually moving away from the reach of the torchlight. The path was illuminated by glowing rocks embedded in the walls, guiding us to a larger, more expansive area.
"Stick with me if you wish to live!" the girl stopped, huffing from just a short distance.
"What can you even do? You're already out of breath? And what would you even do with a rock in a dungeon!?" I claimed before a sudden flare blaze passed me. It came from the girl's hand, and from behind, a staggering iron-fanged bat lays burning on the ground.
The creature remained twitching and alive, prompting the girl to conjure fireballs in her palm once more. She hurled the flames at the creature until it was reduced to a charred crisp.
"Don't underestimate me! This is just a decoration," she claimed, then threw the stone off of her palm and then burned the rope tying her. "And I'm far more capable than you think."
Instinct somewhat cause my hands to retrieve the poison blade in the storage, shoving her to the side as I slice an iron-fanged bat into two before it could have bitten her. "I… I thought you were going to kill me, you moron!
** You've slain a living thing **
** Receiving 0.2 Abyssal Points **
"I will if you get in my way. I don't have time for playing this bitch's game. Nor following a random stranger like you." Cutting the rope tying both of my hands, I pointed the tip of the blade towards the girl. "I'm leaving this place alive!"
** Player Information **
Name: Elizabeth Hunters
Class: Mage
Level: 1
HP: 40/50 MP: 100/100
********************
She looked like a normal kid but she was just another dangerous entity. A player.
I couldn't put my guard down and placed the blade in between us. Young or old, a player is still a player.
"D-don't talk like you're the only one who wants to get out of here. I too wish to leave this place. I've already tried doing it yesterday and several times before but to no avail." She glared then turned her back to extract mana stones from the corpses with her bare hands. "I suffered days of hunger and lashes for taking those attempts. It's useless… no one can win against them. They're just too strong…"
"Who cares? I'm still finding a way out of this he-" I wanted to say hell but I couldn't.
Despite the presence of lurking monsters and the watchful players guarding our escape route, the scenery around us was surprisingly beautiful, far more appealing than the slums we had left behind. The air was pure and free from any smoke, and on the other side of the small pond, there were glowing floras. With the refreshing breeze, the place almost seemed like a hidden utopia.
But still, I can't simply just wander and wait here. Some people are waiting for me, and the clock is ticking. "I'm still leaving…"
"Fine!" she groaned. "I'll help you with the escape. But you'll help me as well. You're more capable than the others so we might have a chance"
"Me? help you? What makes you think I'd do that? Who knows, you might be one of them in disguise and just waiting to trap me."
"I AM NOT! And you have no choice either. Alone, none of us could survive this place. Together at least, we could last for a while until we get the opportunity to escape." she explained, handing over the other mana stone she extracted from the creature I killed. "You seemed to hate me, so I'll hate you too. But for now, let's work together to survive."
"At least until we get out of this place. Deal?" she extended her hands, offering for a shake yet there was doubt in me.
The last time I worked with a player turned out to be just a plot to get used as fodder for the monsters. She was right that we couldn't survive if we parted ways now, but I couldn't bring myself to trust a player again.
But…
"Fine. Just until we get out of this mess. But I still don't trust you." Despite the thoughts, she was still right. Alone, I won't be able to leave this place alive.
I took hold of her hand and gave it a shake, then a distinctive ping resonated, and something materialized before us.