Dampness! Chills! A mix of mildew and the earthy smell penetrated Marcus's nose.
"Where is this? Have I been kidnapped?"
Marcus tapped his head. Perhaps it was because of a hangover or because he hadn't woken from a dream, but he found himself in some underground cavern.
Even if this were a kidnapping, no kidnapper would go to the trouble of digging such a massive underground chamber, right?
A deep voice sounded in his mind before Marcus could figure out his surroundings.
[Welcome to the 'Underground Survival' game!]
[We understand your surprise and panic, but we suggest you set aside those useless emotions. They won’t help you survive. You are now all situated in separate, randomly distributed underground caverns, where you won't encounter others for the time being. You can only rely on the shovel in your hand and your physical stamina. To survive, you must dig tunnels and search for resources in other caverns.]
[Survival is your top priority. If you don’t want to die quickly, please remember the following rules.]
[1. All caverns are interconnected. You can dig through the soil to reach another cavern. However, once you leave your current cavern, it will no longer be safe.
2. Traveling through different caverns consumes “Stamina Points.” When your stamina is depleted, you won’t be able to proceed to other caverns for a while. Don’t worry, stamina regenerates over time.
3. Caverns contain treasures and opportunities, but they also hold monsters and traps. Everything is unknown. Before entering the next cavern, you’d better prepare for battle.
4. Killing monsters will make you stronger.
5. Once you’ve explored 80% of a cavern, or if you’re lucky enough to find a “staircase,” you can advance to the next level. With each level, rewards and dangers increase. Be cautious: once you move to the next level, you cannot return to the previous one. Ensure you’re strong enough to handle the challenges.
6. By focusing your mind, you can open the game interface. More features will require you to explore them yourself.
7. Lastly, remember this: Greed will cost you everything.]
[Good luck with the game. I’ll be waiting for you on the 100th floor.]
The voice abruptly disappeared, as though it had never existed.
Marcus now had time to observe the cavern he was in. It was square-shaped, around 20 square meters, with dirt walls sealing all sides, including the top and bottom.
The cavern was entirely enclosed, yet somehow there was a light source that allowed Marcus to barely see his surroundings.
The space was empty—no dangers, but no resources either.
In all four directions, there were glowing blue door-like areas, presumably tunnels leading to other caverns.
“This place is completely sealed, yet I don’t feel suffocated,” Marcus muttered to himself. “Normally, humans would consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide in such a confined space. First, you’d feel discomfort from the rising CO2 levels before experiencing oxygen deprivation. But I don’t feel any of that, just a slight thirst.”
“So this must be a game mechanic, making sure characters don’t suffocate in sealed caverns.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Marcus quickly accepted the reality that he had somehow been transported into an underground survival game.
If what that voice said was true, he could verify it easily enough.
Out of the seven rules, the sixth one was the easiest to test: focusing his attention to open the game interface.
Marcus concentrated and mentally said, "Open game panel."
The next second, a translucent interface appeared before his eyes.
In the centre of the screen was a model of himself, dressed in tattered clothes and holding no weapon.
At the top of the interface were several function tabs:
[Attributes] [Inventory] [Crafting] [Trading] [Territory] [Chat]
Seeing this, Marcus now fully believed it was real.
Even though he couldn’t understand how such a bizarre thing had happened when it truly occurred to someone, they had no choice but to accept it.
He focused and opened the function tabs one by one.
First, he opened the [Attributes] tab.
Immediately, a series of stats for his current body appeared on the translucent screen:
[Name]: Marcus
[Level]: LV1 (0/10)
[Health]: 100/100
[Attack]: 10-20
[Defense]: 0
[Magic]: 0
[Mana]: 30
[Stamina]: 100/100
[Hunger]: 85/100
[Thirst]: 45/100 (Mild Dehydration)
The clean interface made it clear: that Marcus was currently weak and vulnerable.
The health, attack, and similar stats were self-explanatory to anyone who’d played games before.
Stamina was the resource mentioned in the rules, required for travelling to other caverns.
As for hunger and thirst values, Marcus found them unnecessary—he already knew when he was hungry or thirsty, didn’t he?
Next, he opened the [Inventory] tab. Inside, there was only one item: a shovel.
He attempted to take the shovel out of the inventory, and almost instantly, it appeared in his hand.
The shovel was old and worn, with a rough wooden handle and a rusted metal blade.
Marcus seriously doubted whether it could handle the task of digging through walls.
[Worn-Out Shovel]
Quality: Rough
Attributes: Attack: 1-2
Evaluation: A rusty shovel—how strong can you really expect it to be?
Surprisingly, it added attack power. Without hesitation, Marcus equipped it, and his attack power increased to 11-22.
"Let’s check out [Crafting] to see if I can make a better weapon," he thought.
The result was disappointing. The crafting interface was completely empty, with nothing available to create. It even displayed a message indicating that crafting blueprints are required before crafting is possible.
The [Trading] tab was similarly barren. At this early stage, players didn’t even have enough resources for themselves, let alone anything to trade.
Opening [Territory], a depiction of a shabby wooden house appeared on the screen.
[Do you want to enter your territory?]
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, Marcus confirmed.
A moment of dizziness later, Marcus found himself inside a "room."
Calling it a room wasn’t entirely accurate—other than wooden floors, a ceiling, and four walls, there was nothing else.
Even the spots where windows and doors should be were just open spaces, letting in gusts of wind.
Through the doorframe, he could see that the outside was still an underground cavern, similarly sealed with dirt walls. The difference was its size—it was much larger, roughly 100 square meters.
The room itself only took up about 10 square meters. The remaining space outside might be usable for farming?
Other than that, there were no tunnels in the surrounding walls. The only noteworthy feature was a blue circular portal not far from the doorway. Stepping on the portal would return him to the original cavern.
Marcus, ever observant, noticed a small map in the upper-right corner of his vision, along with a countdown timer.
09:46:54
09:46:53
...
“What’s this countdown for?”
Focusing his attention on the countdown, a notification immediately popped up.
[Tip: Your territory is not a safe haven. When the countdown ends, monsters will descend. If you’re unarmed, you may end up as their meal!]
Marcus’s pupils widened in shock. Thank goodness he had checked every tab thoroughly!
If he hadn’t seen this warning, he might’ve been attacked by monsters in his sleep.
In just over nine hours... that would be exactly at midnight!
Marcus couldn’t help but wonder if there would be any unlucky players who didn’t notice the countdown and went straight to sleep, only to wake up as monster fodder.
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