“What bad luck.” Through the cramped corridors of the abandoned mansion, Jin could only sigh these words under his breath. His steps had an added bounce as the floor shook in reverberation. Concerned for his comrades, he used his eyes to access a user interface. There he could see his green health bar, his party members, his talents, and inventory. His gaze drawn to a small microphone icon near his party. “Is everybody okay? Does anyone know where they ended up?” 

As they were looking for something, the party’s tank carelessly barged into a chamber. Smoke jumped in their faces, followed by the sound of their bodies tumbling to the floor. Alone, he awoke. Now under pressure to locate them before the dangers lurking in the hallways did. This was actually the best case situation for him. As a ten-year veteran of the game Legend of Fantasy, he’d defeated this dungeon hundreds, if not thousands, of times. The party, on the other hand, was made up of newcomers. All within the twenties range of levels, their ability concerned him most. A microphone icon appeared in his vision, adjacent to a party member named Mitsuki.

“I’m OK, sir!” Her ecstatic answer validated her condition. “I ended up in the main hall by the front door!”

A second microphone appeared below the first one. Kusanagi, one of their party members.

“Do you have to be so blaring?” She sounded as though she had just risen from a deep sleep as irritation rumbled in her low tone. “If you’re yelling and drawing all the mobs, it won’t be easy for us to regroup.”

Mitsuki’s microphone flared. “Too late! I’ve already gotten a few! “I guess I used my taunt by accident!” Glass breaking and a tremendous boom called out in the background while she was speaking. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!”

Kusanagi exhaled a sigh. “No brains at all; all armor. This would not have occurred if you hadn’t hurled yourself into that room. For the time being, I won’t hold anything against you. I’m currently on the second floor. In a room we had already emptied out. I’ll go back and get her out of this mess she’s created.”

“When you get there, Kusanagi, stay with her. As soon as I can, I’ll head down.” As he approached a dividing hall, the two microphones vanished from his perspective. Jin stared down at each end, trying to find the source of the rumbling, when a crunch rang in his ears. A broken vase was all over the floor behind him. Apparently, the vibrations caused it to slide off the table. Turning around the bend, he saw a large wooden slab the size of two men being dragged across the dusty floor by a huge, hairy beast that was storming at him while carrying a key around its neck. With the key, is that a Minotaur? I was expecting the key would appear in the master bedroom. That’s pretty terrible RNG for you. Before I proceed... where are the other two? His party list also included the names Hiro and Yuichi. Both of them had been silent, and he could only presume the worst. If he had to, he would abandon this key in order to get to them. Because this was anything but a game. It was now a matter of life or death. If a player’s health bar ran out, they were gone for good. Exactly what followed? Certainly not someone who is currently confined within. “Hiro, Yuichi, did you hear the initial call?” A voice spoke from the side of a microphone that blipped into his eyesight.

“No! Not at all!” A wail and a sniffle that resounded through the microphone followed a loud snap. “I think the fall broke my leg! There’s no way I can move! I’ll have to be carried back by Hiro!”

This problem seemed serious, and Jin was prepared to take action. But his microphone made a commotion. Then another microphone appeared.

“Jin, don’t believe a word he says! Yuichi is moving around with no problems. He was treading on some old wood when you heard that noise.

“I should have expected that.” Jin said with relief.

Why did you have to spoil it, kid? For once, we could have some fun, and you ruin it! If Mitsuki reprimands me, you’ll get the brunt of it!

“We’re in a video game! No bones can be broken in this place! Nobody in our party has that kind of stupidity.

“Are you certain, pipsqueak? At first, you bought into it. Mitsuki would, I’m sure.

Jin’s immediate area shook more violently, indicating that the Minotaur was getting closer. Hiro and Yuichi. a sorcerer and a sharpshooter. Both damage classes should be able to stay alive as long as they keep their minds on the task at hand. Sharpshooters have great damage and should be able to deal with anyone who approaches too closely, while sorcerers should have the shackle talent at that level. They should be alright if they work together. The two persisted in their argument in Jin’s ear, with Jin’s expression of annoyance visible as he furrowed his forehead. “Enough with the arguments!” The Minotaur was farther away than he had anticipated, according to a second peek down the passageway. Settle down. This is not the time. “Hiro, look at the map and figure out where you are.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Um... got it!” After a moment, Hiro answered. “We’re on the third floor, according to my map. Kusanagi, who is on the second floor, is moving toward Mitsuki, who is on the first floor. You are at the top, Jin. If the dungeon hasn’t altered too much, the key should still be where you are, right? Will you be safe by yourself? You’ll have it especially rough as a healer due to the level synchronization.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll bring the key down so we can have a place to eat and sleep tonight. Get together with the girls.”

“Copy that. See you!”

Their mics disappeared, leaving Jin alone to face the advancing Minotaur. He cast a glimpse at his green health bar in the corner of his vision, which read merely twenty-five thousand. My Lv. 70 cloth outfit should sync down to the gear’s optimal stats for this dungeon. At this point in the leveling process, it is comparable to perhaps the average leather-wearing class. A tank class would have roughly ten thousand more health than I do, and with their armor, they would, without the use of damage mitigation, lower the Minotaurs’ damage to about four to five thousand every few seconds. Since plate armor is twice as effective as leather, I can only afford to be hit two or three times... However, I’m recalling the original game rules. Tanks may now evade attacks, whereas previously they would always take damage. It resembles real life in many ways. Just avoid being struck. Simple enough. Jin approached the Minotaur in the open, a curt smile on his face as he twice tapped his cane to catch its attention. The animal’s nostrils swelled and its septum ring fogged up in the intense heat. It tipped forward, horns the size of tree trunks pointing at him, and swung the club on its back. “That’s it.”

On all fours, the beast sank to the ground and sprinted along the corridor. The charge is an attack that can be avoided. After it misses, the Minotaur should pause for a few moments. That’s when I interact with it and take the key. Jin took a step back around the corner as the Minotaur slammed against the wall, stunned itself from the impact. Quickly, Jin moved to its side, grabbed the key, and pulled it. “Why isn’t this thing coming off? There is no interact?!” In its astonishment, the Minotaur stood up and glared at Jin as he pulled on the key. “Heh…” Before using another skill, he’ll do two auto attacks. I’ll have to cut the key free if I can’t pull it! “God’s Barrier!”

All Priest classes possess the skill known as God’s Barrier. A wall of light that provided moderate damage absorption and allowed the user to adjust its location for ten seconds before going on cooldown. In exceptional circumstances, if properly positioned, it might even cut through objects.

With a swift motion of his palm over the key, a little transparent rectangle formed and severed the wire, activating the God’s Barrier talent and triggering a small icon with a countdown. The Minotaur lifted its club into the air, and the key fell into his hands. “Instant Meditation!”

Instant Meditation is a high level Sage talent that allows the user to reset the cooldown of a certain skill in their skill tree. While effective, it came at a heavy cost: a ten-minute cooldown shared with another skill called Battle Meditation.

God’s Barrier cooldown was now reset. Jin slid into the Minotaur’s chest before the club could squash him. “God’s Barrier!” With a flick of his cane, he built a barrier between the two of them and drew it toward himself. He stepped on it as it moved, then pushed himself away from the beast. Brainless animals. The Minotaur’s sigh was immediately followed by violent tremors; he would not allow him to flee that easily.

In a circumstance like this, he could typically hold his own against the beast, but not any longer. Prior to locking players within its world, Legend of Fantasy, users could alter their stats for a gold fee. His role as a Sage focused on building defenses to withstand the harm that attackers would deal to him and his allies. They had mediocre healing, but it was more than enough to get them through any dungeon. Jin had taken the decision to modify his stats the day before. His capacity to heal was nonexistent, but his defenses were more powerful than ever. Putting into question his status as a “healer.”

Jin made a hasty exit through the corridors, swerving around the first bend he noticed. God’s Barrier! At the turn a large wall arose, stopping the Minotaur for a moment, but one swift blow of his club smashed the shield. “Fantastic. In this dungeon, my shields scale like garbage!” The sun’s rays cast a bright light in Jin’s direction. Its beams dispersed as if they were traveling through frosted glass. “The main hall!” The sound of grunts could be heard as he broke through the light and dashed into a room that had opened up to him. Despite the tightness in his throat, he looked down and saw what appeared to be flying eyeballs with wings attached to them, and in the center of those was a lady with fox ears battling them off with a sword and shield. “Excellent, Mitsuki is holding up! I’m curious where—” He was launched into the air above the main hall by a resounding thud. It had slipped his mind that the Minotaur was following him. His green health bar had turned yellow, and he was now in free fall.

The majority of people have labeled what occurred that day as an apocalypse. I would call it salvation for those who are like me. When I was younger, I used to read stories about individuals being stuck in video games or even becoming the strongest character there. I, on the other hand, made the stupid decision to scuff my character before we were tossed into this universe. So in a game of life or death, I’d be the Sage who was the most useless. Suddenly, the man I appeared to be on the outside became my reality. My life had taken an unforeseen turn, and I was no longer at the place where I could be anyone. At least, I thought so until I met four new players who showed me otherwise.