In the midst of the chaos, I hadn't noticed that Eun-Kyung was clutching my arm in fear. She, too, was transfixed as she stared at the nightmarish ball. The orb pulsated with an unnatural light — or rather darkness.
A low hum, almost imperceptible at first, began to resonate from within the ball, vibrating through the air. It made the hairs on my neck stand on end, as if the very atmosphere around us was about to be forcibly crushed by a force I could not see. I tried to pull Eun-Kyung back, but she stood as if anchored, her fingers digging deeper into my arm.
"What the hell is that?" her voice trembled as she whispered the words.
"Eun-Kyung," I followed, my voice hoarse, barely louder than the hum. "We need to move."
She didn't respond. Her eyes, wide and unblinking, reflected the unreal darkness. I felt her grip tighten, not out of awareness, but as though she was clinging to something solid in the face of what she was witnessing.
Just then, something started materialising around both of us. At first, it was barely perceptible — wisps of shadow that seemed to ripple in the air like smoke. But as the tendrils twisted and curled around us, they began to take form, solidifying with each passing second. The darkness tightened its grip, shaping itself into rigid walls—thick, cold, and impossibly black, yet transparent at the same time.
A bell-shaped dome.
All around, the same fate befell others. Groups of people, scattered and desperate, tried to flee, but the shadowy domes materialized one by one, trapping them as easily as we had been captured. Panic filled the air, only to be swallowed whole by the eerie silence that followed the creation of each dome. No matter how fast or how far anyone ran, they were swallowed by the same impenetrable darkness.
The walls grew thicker and all access to the outside world was cut.
I watched in horror as the shadowy dome encased us, cutting off all light and sound from the outside world. The air grew heavy, thick with an oppressive silence that pressed down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. I turned to Eun-Kyung, her face still frozen in terror, but I knew she could sense it too — this suffocating presence that was closing in on us.
However, my emotions grew numb. The fear and panic that had initially surged through me began to dissipate, replaced by a chilling resignation. Well, I had a decent run. Being next to Eun-Kyung in my last moments definitely made for an interesting turn of events.
Perhaps Eun-Kyung, too, was thinking what I was. When I looked at her, I saw that she was no longer just paralyzed by fear. Her eyes had taken on an eerie, vacant quality, and her grip on my arm had slackened. It was as though the same dulling of emotions that was consuming me had also taken hold of her.
This was the acceptance of death.
Something I had written about many times in my countless school essays. I let out a bitter chuckle. What a funny thing to think about on the verge of death.
Unexpectedly, a light green screen that looked just like any other LCD screen flashed in front of me.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
[ Incoming Main Quest, "The Tutorial"! Would you like to accept? ]
Hold on. Was this salvation?
My eyes wandered slightly lower as I spotted a small sentence that I had inwardly expected.
The line I had seen was as follows.
[ Penalty for Rejection : Death ]
A shudder coursed through me as reality crushed down on my careless thoughts. Holy shit. This was real.
My heart raced, the previous numbness replaced by a sudden surge of adrenaline. I had never expected anything like this. The dome's oppressive silence was broken by the flashing green screen, and the weight of my situation hit me with full force.
Eun-Kyung's vacant expression remained unchanged, but I could see a flicker of recognition in her eyes as she glanced at the screen that had appeared in front of her, too. I had to make a choice. The weight of the penalty for rejection pressed down on me, a stark reminder of the stakes. There was no room for hesitation.
And so, I did something oh so completely out-of-character for Namgung Kyong.
I grabbed Eun-Kyung's shoulder and urgently squeaked, "We have to accept this."
Well, that was embarrassing.
She blinked, her gaze focusing on her screen as if seeing it for the first time. Her fear was still there, but it was now mixed with a dawning realisation. I could sense her struggle to process what was happening, but there was no time to wait.
The number in the top right of the magnificent screens were ticking down at a steady pace. We had 5 more minutes to make a decision. But, in all sense, there was clearly a correct choice here.
The green screen continued to flash, its message clear and unrelenting. If we didn't act quickly, the choice would be made for us by whatever force controlled this nightmare.
I turned to Eun-Kyung, who seemed to be regaining some of her composure. Her eyes were still wide, but the vacant quality had faded, replaced by a wary curiosity.
"What the heck..." her trembling voice trailed off.
"To be frank, I don't know either...?" I admitted.
I resolved myself with the little self control I had left and assured her, "For now, let's just accept whatever this is and treat it as a game."
Colour slightly returned to her face as she nodded in agreement. With no real leads to base our decision on, we stepped forward into the unknown, ready to face whatever challenges this goddamn world had in store for us.
[ Currently, 1/2 possible participants in Room "RÜ-73" have accepted the Main Quest! ]
[ Currently, 2/2 possible participants in Room "RÜ-73" have accepted the Main Quest! ]
[ All possible participants in Room "RÜ-73" have accepted the Main Quest! ]
In an instant, a disorienting lurch pulled us from the dome, and the unfamiliar surroundings dissolved into a swirling blur. The oppressive silence was replaced by a rush of wind and a sensation of weightlessness. I felt as though I was being yanked through a tunnel of light, the darkness around me distorting and fading into a kaleidoscope of colours.
The sensation stopped. We found ourselves standing on a cold, hard surface incomparable to the world we used to live in. My head spun as I took in our new surroundings.
High walls made of rough, grey stone, their surfaces illuminated sporadically by flickering torches embedded into them. The air was damp and heavy with the scent of abundant earth and moss. A soft echo of dripping water eerily filled the silence, making the area seem more expansive and ominous.
It was a labyrinth.
Another long, green hologram, like the one we had witnessed mere seconds ago, popped up.
[ Main Quest #1 : "The Tutorial" has commenced! ]
——————————————————————
Difficulty: F
Completion Conditions: Escape Dungeon, "Carmina's Abandoned Labyrinth" alive. 'Extra Completion Reward' will be determined based on each participant's contribution to the Main Quest.
Time Limit: 48 hours
Completion Reward: 150 tokens, Extra Completion Reward
Penalty for Failure: Death
——————————————————————
"This is insane," Eun-Kyung murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded, my own pulse still racing from the sudden transition.
As I tried to come up with a game plan, a yawn — that seemed more like a lion cub roaring — resonated through the air. Or at least I thought so.
「 Oh, it's already time? 」
The voice of a toddler rang through my head, soft yet unsettling in its innocence.
Wait, what?