Nick sat on his couch, mindlessly flipping through the channels on the television. His apartment was a small one-bedroom space, with neutral-colored walls and minimalistic furniture. There was a small kitchenette, equipped with basic appliances and a small table with two chairs. Directly across from the kitchenette was a small living area, with a beige couch and a low coffee table in front of it. A large window let in plenty of natural light, providing a view of the busy street outside. Against the right-hand wall was a small bookshelf, lined with Nick's collection of science fiction novels. A hallway led to the bedroom and a small bathroom. Overall, the apartment was tidy and organized, reflecting Nick's preference for simplicity and order in his living space. He had plans to meet up with his old friend, Rachel, whom he hadn't seen in months. He was both nervous and excited at the same time.
Nick and Rachel had been close friends since their days in high school. They had met in biology class and bonded over their shared love for science and technology. They both went on to study computer science in college, but while Nick landed a job as a software engineer right after graduation, Rachel had pursued a more unconventional path. She had dropped out of college to start her own technology company, which had become wildly successful over the years. Despite their not so different career paths, Nick and Rachel had stayed in touch and tried to meet up whenever possible. Rachel was a bubbly and outgoing person, with a sharp mind and a great sense of humor. She had a knack for making even the most mundane things seem interesting, and Nick always found himself inspired by her enthusiasm for life. He admired her for her courage and determination, even when it meant taking risks and going against the norm.
As he glanced at the clock, Nick realized he needed to get moving if he was going to make it on time to meet Rachel. He stood up, grabbed his wallet and phone, and took a quick look at the mirror. His reflection depicted a pale face with a pair of unremarkable brown eyes and tousled, dark hair. Satisfied that his appearance was at least presentable, he headed to the door.
As he stepped outside, he was hit with a blast of cold air. It was the middle of winter, and the city was blanketed in snow. He checked his phone for the address of the café just to confirm that it was only two blocks away from his apartment. Nick shrugged on his coat and pulled up the collar to keep out the chill. As he walked, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The streets were strangely quiet, and the hum of the city seemed muffled. Nick tried to brush off the eerie feeling and focus on his meeting with Rachel. He had always been good at analyzing his surroundings, but he couldn't put his finger on what was this strange feeling. As he turned a corner, he noticed that something was wrong. There were strange, glowing cracks in the pavement, and occasionally a soft humming sound would fill the air. Nick had heard rumors of these anomalies, people posting about “strange glowing cracks on the ground”, but he had never seen them for himself. He furrowed his brow in concern, wondering if he should investigate further. The hum that he was hearing had grown louder and more erratic, causing Nick to become more worried as he approached the café.
The world around Nick slowed to a crawl, as if he were walking through a dream. He shook his head, trying to dispel the fog that was descending on his thoughts. Suddenly, a loud crackling sound shattered the silence. It was like the sound of breaking glass. Nick's attention was drawn to a disturbance just a few meters away from him. A massive portal was opening up in the sidewalk, its edges warped and distorted in a blend of blue and purple hues. Nick stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do. The people around him were equally bewildered, some running away in terror while others gaped in disbelief.
Despite the chaos, Nick knew he had to locate his friend Rachel and ensure her safety. He fought his way through the panicked crowds, struggling to make sense of the mayhem that surrounded him. The portal, he realized, had appeared where the café door should be. The sound of shattering glass confirmed that the café's windows had been broken. Though concerned for Rachel's safety, Nick's own well-being was his top priority at that moment.
As Nick approached the portal, intending to skirt around it and enter the café, a tall bald man fleeing the scene crashed into him. Nick stumbled and reached out to steady himself, but his hand brushed against the portal's edge.
Everything went black, and Nick felt a rush of cold air on his skin. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear strange noises all around him. The hum was deafening, and he felt like he was being pulled in a thousand different directions at once. For a moment, he thought he was going to die. Suddenly, Nick felt his feet hit the ground, and he stumbled forward. As his vision cleared, he realized he was no longer in the same place. He was in a strange and eerie landscape, with twisted trees and an unnatural sky. He had no idea what had just happened, but he knew he needed to find a way back home.
Nick was overwhelmed by a sense of disorientation as he stumbled through the twisted and chaotic landscape. His surroundings appeared to be in complete disarray, and he struggled to comprehend what was happening around him. In an attempt to steady himself, he leaned on a nearby tree trunk, fearing he might otherwise lose his footing. As he surveyed his surroundings, his eyes were drawn to a strange blue box that seemed to materialize in his view no matter where he looked. It remained fixated at the center of his vision, impossible to ignore. Within moments, a message appeared inside the box:
Connection established… Initializing… System Online System update complete New world [Earth-C2] New subspecies variant [Earth-C2 Human] Assimilation successful
You are now part of the system.
Nick's confusion only intensified as strange messages began appearing before his very eyes. At first, they were incomprehensible, nothing more than a jumbled mess of characters on a screen. But as he focused on each one, they gradually started to make sense. They resembled notifications one might receive in a video game.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
He read through each message carefully, analyzing every detail with keen attention. Questions flooded his mind as he tried to make sense of what was happening: 'Was this a new world?', 'Had I been transmigrated or reincarnated into a different reality?', 'Was I now a new subspecies variant of human?'. The sense of disorientation he felt was overwhelming, but he knew one thing for certain - he had been successfully assimilated into the system, whatever that meant.
Nick's thoughts raced as he struggled to come to terms with the situation at hand. It was unlikely that he had been transported to an entirely new world, but he couldn't quite figure out what had happened to him. He was trying to make sense of it all, but the sudden changes had left him too confused to grasp his situation fully.
After taking a few deep breaths, Nick's dizziness and confusion began to subside, and he started to feel more like himself again. As his mind cleared, he reached the conclusion that he was not in any place on earth, that was for sure, so he decided to look into the other notifications and see if he could make more sense and gather more information.
You can mutter or just think the word ‘status’ to view detailed information about yourself.
As he continued to read some kind of tutorial, he saw a card appear in his view, but before he could do anything to the card he decided to finish reading the series of notifications.
You entered a F Ranked Slaughtering Dungeon
Current objectives:
Kill 30 ?????? (0/30)
Kill a ?????? (0/1)
Find 3 Card Shards (0/3)
Completing any of the objectives will award you a return token, which you can use to return to your place of origin.
Nick reached out to touch the card, labeled "Analyze [C]", it glowed slightly in his view, displaying more information.
Analyze
Rank C
This card allows you to gather information about a specific target. By using this card’s ability, you can obtain detailed information about a creature, object or structure. This card has a cooldown of one minute between uses.
Nick felt a sense of relief wash over him as he began to understand the system. At least enough to know that he needed to complete one of the objectives so he could leave this Dungeon.
Taking a deep breath, Nick looked around once more. He knew he had to keep moving forward and find out what those question marks meant. With the Analyze [C] card in his arsenal, he felt a little bit more prepared to face what lay ahead. He muttered the word “status” and another blue box appeared in his view describing his features as if he was a character in a video game.
Status Nick Hoffmann, 27 Level: 1 Strength: 6 Endurance: 5 Dexterity: 9 Intelligence: 13 Wisdom: 10 Mana: 0
Nick arched an eyebrow in astonishment. "Why is my Endurance so low?" he muttered to himself in disbelief. The first thing that came to mind was to utilize his card's ability in the status screen, hoping for some clarity. To his surprise, the screen displayed a detailed explanation of each item, debunking his prior assumptions.
Status shows the system’s view of your body, mind and soul.
Full name and age.
Current Level.
Strength: A measure of physical power, which can affect how much weight a person can lift, how hard they can hit, and how much they can endure physically.
Endurance: A measure of physical stamina and resilience, which can affect how long a person can maintain physical activity and how well they can resist fatigue.
Dexterity: A measure of physical agility and coordination, which can affect a person's ability to move quickly and precisely, as well as their balance and hand-eye coordination.
Intelligence: A measure of mental ability, which can affect a person's ability to learn and reason, solve problems, and make decisions.
Wisdom: A measure of practical knowledge and judgment, which can affect a person's ability to make wise decisions based on experience and understanding, and to perceive and understand the world around them.
Mana: A measure of magical energy or power, which can be used to cast spells or perform other magical abilities.
Status can also show other information such as your current equipped title, your class and other features. You can also look at your card collection muttering or thinking the word ‘Cards’.
As soon as he finished reading the detailed description that Analyze had provided, he thought the word Cards as a list containing only a single item appeared in a new blue box.
Cards [1/40] Analyze [C]
Taking a moment to process all the newfound information, Nick finally took a step forward. The ground felt oddly spongy beneath his feet, like a patch of moss rather than grass. He approached one of the twisted trees in the area and observed its bark, which appeared dark and chewed at the base. Shaking off the strange sight for the time being, he focused on deciphering the question marks that were displayed beside his Objectives. Nick resolved to explore the dungeon further to gain a better understanding of the environment and any potential hazards it may pose.