I still can’t believe it… Plants and silkworms this big…

Then I thought about it… These are not mutated plants and bugs are they? Hope that they don’t grow so big that they can fly around and kill people. The worst would be an insect with crushing jaws.

I was a bit worried and I blame myself for reading too much tragedy manga.

It’s all right… They won’t do such things. After all, who kills players the moment they enter?

I finally mustered courage and belief that I won’t die so easily and start to head down…

Perhaps I just need to go through the jungle and see whether there’s any way out.

Just as I was about to enter, suddenly I saw one heap that was unmoving not far away… It looked like a silkworm…

I decided to look closer to see clearly how big they are…

Oh my… The more I came nearer, the more nervous I become…

This silkworm is a giant… It is at least as thick as a child’s fist and almost as long as me lying down.

However, that’s not the whole reason I was nervous.

I noticed that it was not lying down unmoving… It moves… But there’s something different about it. It is flailing it head slightly, as if drunk…

I am now about 10 steps away from the worm. It sure is not right… What’s wrong with it?

Suddenly, the nightmare began…

The worm seemed to notice me and to my surprise, started walking up to me… Or should I say creep towards me…

I noticed something wrong and just as I turned slightly to turn… It started to run towards me… I could have known that speed… Quite close to a rabbit chased by a hunting dog… Or should I say rabid dog chasing after me…

Argh… Why are you following me?? ARGGGHHH!!

I lost my control and screamed as I ran. To my relief these bugs are not suited for running… It slowed down gradually and stopped in its tracks.

I ran until it is a clear 30 wide steps away from me and then I stopped…

*Gasp… gasp… gasp…*

I don’t understand why silkworms that I thought to be like bug-shaped sloths will be so agitated at me coming close to them…

As I continued walking away from the crazy worm, with head still turned back at the worm, suddenly I tripped over something and fell face down…

Owowowowowow~~ I picked myself up and looked at the object tripped me, half expecting a branch or something... What I saw froze me and sent chills down my spine...

The thing I just tripped over is another silkworm… This gargantuan silkworm is already half buried in the soil… It is not hard and I did not seem to have kicked it that hard to be tripped over…

It really is something embarrassing.. But I recall the moment I touched it with one foot, the touch of something soft and cold made me stop 1 feet but the other could not stop in time and I tripped over my own foot.

I quickly scrambled to face the worm I just tripped over from…

The silkworm that I just fell over from did not move, as if badly injured or is fainted or is dead.

Then I noticed something different about this worm.

What’s more… It has something sticking out of its head! It is like… like… A horn!!

Oh my God!! Fear came onto me… Why does it have a horn? ... Is it dead?

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The worm is not less smaller than the previous one that chased me…

Does that one also have horns? No… Otherwise I should have seen it from up close.

Before I could stand up, I noticed a circle of 4 to 5 silkworms had gathered around me on the forest floor.

They keep coming closer to me… As if to teach me a lesson for their friend.

And they are moving similarly to the previous one that chased me… Is it here too?

Strange enough, these had not grown horns yet.

Is it some sort of demonification? A failed one or is it that they killed it before it can finish changing?

Are they blaming me for this?

“Hey… Stop! I didn’t do anything on purpose. I was just running from another one of you when I tripped over this friend of yours… Please…”

Then, it started… The worms practically jumped all over me…

They just latch onto me… And I just couldn’t shake them off…"ARRGGGHHHH~~~!!!"

I can feel my strength slowly but steadily leaving me…But the most frightening thing is… The mental strain.

It felt as if a group of large, heavy boys had decided to come and sit on me and ants crawled all over me at the same time.

“NOOOO~~~!!”

I jumped onto my feet and started to use my hands to grab them and try to peel them off me… Luckily they’re not so tightly latched on and not one had bitten me… I started moving towards one direction and started to get rid of them, shaking my body and using both hands to throw them off…

Strangely they did not seem to move after I throw them off immediately, as if they couldn’t change their mind from feeding on my energy to chase after me.

However, those who had been shaken off started to move slowly about 5 seconds after I throw them off.

This is a nightmare!!

I decided to run as fast as I can while I’m still free of them…

My head is a bit hot from the sudden turn of events but my body just keep on running…

Suddenly I remembered that I need to make sure that my possessions are still with me… Luckily I still have them…

This is some zombie attack crap… Isn’t it too scary for a beginner’s experience?

Suddenly, I heard a voice call out to me… The voice of a child just like me.

I turned around and sure enough I saw another child like me… They are dressed in a light green robe… No, not like my oversized shirt. A proper one, at that… It has an olden Chinese or Japanese feel to it.

I ran up to them… Since I couldn’t make out it is a boy or a girl.

The person, possibly another player, made hand gestures to follow them. They turned their head over and started to run. I followed them quickly.

Thank God I’m not alone! I can cry today and not be ashamed at all~~

My savior ran towards an opening that lead out from the trees and jumped onto a ledge on the side of the cave similar like what I did before. I quickly followed and managed to do the same, although not as gracefully and nimbly. I had to scramble and heave myself onto the same ledge as them and then…

I managed to start to breath properly in deeper gaspy breaths while lying on the ledge… Sweat formed on me in large drops that gradually became little streams and pooled all over the stone.

“Get up! You’ll get a cold if you lie on the cold stone.”

*gasp* “H… Give… me… a moment…” *gasp gasp……*

….

“Thank… you… …….. Your name is?”

“I don’t know… I don’t remember… I don’t have one yet. You can just call me Xiao Qing (小青,  meaning Green) if you like…”

“… Xiao Qing (XQ), is it? Thanks… I owe you one… …. Who are you? I mean… What do you do here?”

XQ: “Me? Hmmm… I’m a Dungeon Keeper. Or actually you should say that I’m a Dungeon Keeper in training.”

“Dungeon… Keeper?? ….”

XQ: “Yes! … What about you?”

“…. I don’t know…”

XQ: “Don’t know? You don’t know who you are and what you’re doing here, yet you come here?”

“… I don’t… I had just woken up in a cave here… …. Are you a player?”

XQ: “… I can’t tell you… Not until I know whether you are a Dungeon Keeper or just a normal adventurer… ”

“… I’ll be fooled that you’re a player even if you are a NPC… You’re too natural…”

XQ: “… What is your quest here? We are all given instructions to do something, especially in a dungeon… Being blur, especially at times like this, is the most dangerous thing in this world… Don’t you know that once you die in this world,  you can’t come back as the same character again? Everything you do up to the point you die will be erased altogether.”

“That kinda sucks… …. some HOE huh… My ass….” I kinda thought aloud in my devastated feeling…

“HUH?!? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?” XQ was seriously insulted at what I just blabbed without thinking…

“Nonononono…. I mean Heaven On Earth, this world… I would never insult you… You’re my savior after all…”

XQ started to turn from a really angry expression to a somewhat embarrassed expression, but when they realized that I am looking at them, they quickly changed their expression back to an irritated expression while they retorted.

XQ: “That… was… totally messed up! Totally unaccounted for! You should be ashamed of yourself! Saying whatever you want… Using such easily misunderstood terms… You’re lucky I did not directly kill you here and now!”

“So… …. I think I’m going to be insulting you again, unintentionally of course… Please don’t be angry… … (deep breath)… Are you a guy or a girl?”

XQ: “What?? You can’t look and see for yourself? I’m a g…. Why should I tell you? Right after you just called me a …”

“… Fine… I’m sorry… You know I didn’t mean to say anything rude to you… … We’re good?”

XQ: “Good? Why should I be good? It’s not like you properly apologized or anything!! Hmmph!!!”

Boy… This is going to be a long day… Especially after the scare of my life, almost killing myself over worms that I don’t know why on earth… HOE… whatever… Why they started attacking me and tried to suck me dry… Do normal silkworms do that? What's going on??! There's so much I don't know I think I'm gonna...

Sleep over it... Pretend that I've fainted or something... What a bothersome day...

How am I supposed to live?? In... HOE?? HOE, my ass!!