<>

I was a mess.

I won’t deny it.

Not the slobbering, drooling, messy, mama-gimme-milk, need sucky-sucky, sobbing type of mess though.

Instead, it was the conflicted type.

The type where making heads or tails about anything at all resulted only in a throbbing headache. The type that swells within you a burning rage with no restraint.

The kind that makes you yell your lungs out, makes you violent, lashing out towards anything in sight, which in my case, was the hard stone walls that surrounded me.

By the end of it, my knuckles ached and bruised, and yet the confusion nor the anger did not subside.

In short, a downright mess.

I hadn’t a clue how I was supposed to go about killing the floor boss. Fuckin - I don’t even know what the floor boss even was. I didn’t know a single thing about anything.

Its location, its strength, its weaknesses, the goddamn route to take to even get there.

“But I got a sword!” I shouted, my voice bouncing across the narrow halls, “Cause that’s all it’ll take, right Sukuinote?! You fucking prick!”

The deathly silence was my only answer.

Begrudgingly, I swiped open my inventory screen, drawing out the same wooden sword I had at the start of the game, the only weapon capable for a Level 1 to wield and with a feeble sigh, commenced my aimless wander across many, many foreboding passageways.

Having my dull echoing footsteps being the only sole companion on my journey did not do much to raise morale. But it gave me some quiet time, a chance to formulate a plan of sorts, or at least a semblance of a plan if at all possible.

But the more I thought about what awaits me down this rabbit hole, the more unfeasible victory seemed to be. Every scheme, every ploy, spewing out of my head, each more desperate, more outlandish than the last simply whizzed on by me like a hurricane.

What confidence I had left within me was rapidly dwindling. Like… I never felt so hopeless in my life right then.

Then all at once, it dissipated.

Hushed demonic growling, residing in a passageway to the right of me, halted me in my tracks.

A gargling snarl, even louder in volume, expelled out from the dark depths of the corridor.

Perilous encounters were an inevitability, but why did it have to be so soon? Especially when my only source for defense at the moment was a flimsy object carved out of a fucking tree.

Damn NPC would slice right through my sword like raw salami and I ain’t having none of that shit.

A step at a time, slowly passing by, doing my utmost best not to make a sound. As quiet as a mouse, as wary as an owl, and as terrified as… well, a normal human being.

I maintained the current pace, chugging along, barely faster than a snail on Redbull.

Again, the sense of hopelessness magnified itself to an almost unbearable degree, realizing the utterly defenseless state I was in. Death could come in an instant and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

So that’s what needed resolving first. I needed to find help.

I needed to find Tayuma.

To accomplish that… well, I’m going to have to operate on a bunch of assumptions here.

4 days is a lot of time to traverse through the dungeon, it wouldn’t be far-fetched for his group to have already charted some landmarks to help them navigate through the place more easily.

So step one: Find a place distinguishable enough to warrant being a landmark and settle down there.

I also have to rely on the chance that he’ll come for my aid even after hearing some stupid stuff spouted about me.

That was step two: Send a message telling him where I was and believe in the absolute goodness inside him that he will respond and react accordingly.

Finally, there was also the concern of Zombie NPCs stumbling onto me by pure luck. That, I had no contingency too. Hopefully, their numbers had dwindled quite a bit since I was last conscious.

Yeah, step three: Don’t die.

Felt like a get-rich-quick-scheme. ‘Just follow these three simple steps to guarantee your success for a brighter future!’

Fuckin’ easier said than done. Where do I find a goddamn landmark in this cesspool of narrow corridors?

I realized whining does very little for achieving stuff. I knew that. Focus on one thing at a time. So I held it in, kept it together, stayed strong, and began my journey to succeed in finding my step one.

Through the wandering and the blundering, passing by the occasional threats around corners, in the silence, and the terror of the labyrinth, just when all hope had been lost…

I had finally found it.

No, wait, just another bland empty room. False alarm. It’d be nice if I did though, really.

Just an hour of walking, where nothing new came to grace me with its presence. Which was good, since I wasn’t in any danger yet, but also bad because it means I had made no significant progress at all.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I had made an interesting discovery though, in the midst of my search, and partly due to boredom, I swiped open my menu screen craving for interactivity, only to unexpectedly unearth unread messages unbeknownst to me during my four-day coma.

It was from Tayuma.

The latest message was from a day ago, pleading for me to respond to his earlier messages.

The rest of them, well… Let’s just say whatever his group had said about me to Tayuma… they said a lot.

So many false accusations, branching far from the actual truth. So much slanderous bullshit… they’re acting like they were there that night. God, one of them even has the audacity to think I had something to do with the current predicament.

Yeah, I control the NPCs, everybody. Best plot twist, story’s over folks, it was me all along.

Look, I get it, I’ve been stigmatized to be associated with anything bad that happens because people simply want someone to blame. I just happen to be the perfect scapegoat for it considering my past displays of bravado.

I understand that but knowing the fact doesn’t really help cushion the blow whatsoever.

Briefly, I considered replying back to him, my fingertips suspended above a holographic keyboard, but soon found myself stopping short, instead opting to dematerialize the screen from my HUD and continue on my lonesome trek.

Whatever explanation he wanted from me, he’ll get it once he finds me. What I have to say to Tayuma just won’t cut it with the limitations of private messaging. No, I needed to explain everything to him face to face, otherwise, there’s no point in trying to win him over.

He probably still thinks I’m spending my time leisurely on the outside sleeping away the hours under a comfy blanket, when in fact, I was in the same sticky situation as him, although not voluntary. Can fucking thank Arishia for that.

Wonder what his reaction would be upon finding out I’m in here? Wish I was there for that.

Hush growling from the left pried me away from these thoughts. Again on alert, walking, cautious, focusing on the objective at hand.

Evading and maneuvering my way through the maze of corridors was ten times easier without having someone else come along for the ride. No longer having to fuss over someone else’s well-being made it all the more faster to navigate.

It wasn’t until another hour’s end where finally something significant had occurred.

The winding pathway I’ve been following for who knows how long suddenly opened up, branching out into a substantial space. With each step delving in, semblances of familiarity slowly came into view.

I knew this place.

The spiralling staircase sitting dead center, multiple pathways across every end of the room with walls of stone dividing each and every one of them.

A swell was fast building inside me, observing all of these aspects, erupting finally in a tidal wave of relief as I turned my head to the left and saw the long, expansive hallway, leading to the entrance of the dungeon.

Unfortunately those towering slabs of stone serving as the entranceway were sealed shut as opposed to their neutral state of being wide open.

Guess Sukuinote wasn’t lying when he said no one goes in or out anymore.

No matter. Lady Luck had wept for me, having witnessed my plight, and I had been blessed as a result. I thank you my fair lady. I shall not squander your blessing.

Almost at once, I settled myself on the lowest step on the spiral staircase, fingers itching and ready to send my S.O.S message to Tayuma.

A flicker of light as my menu drew open.

Seconds of scrolling as I reached for the reply option.

Made it four words into my first sentence.

Then the echoing of footsteps suddenly resounded in the silence.

From right above me came slow heavy steps, descending down the darkness from up high.

Fuckin - I can’t get a single moment of peace around here. Did my luck meter run out already?

There was a scramble, then a shuffle, as I picked up my sword and hastily clambered my way to a spot I can’t be seen from.

Breath bated, I watched a figure shrouded in shades of brown make its way down the last few steps, an axe in hand glistening in the flickering light of a flaming torch held in the other.

Dark brown hair with slight strands of white flushed in the incandescent glow, a solemn demeanor accentuating the wrinkles lining his forehead. Above his head, a username that brought with it lots of bad memories for me.

I felt something unpleasant stir within me, but nevertheless, I stepped out from my hiding spot and commenced letting my presence be known.

“If you are who I think you are,” I said, my voice freezing him in place. “Then you’re the second to last person I ever wanted to see again in here.”

As he turned to face me, it all began flooding back. This man, the help I sorely thought I needed, the sole reason for my ostracization from everyone else, the cause of all of this to begin with. The one who is rightfully to blame.

Head level designer for this labyrinth of death.

Jin Furukawa gaze was one of indifference as he met the glare etched not so subtly on my face.

A moment of recognition before a mild discomfort began to riddle his expression.

“If I’m second to last,” He eventually spoke, “The other guy must have been terrible, then.”

“Oh trust me, you’re an angel compared to her.”

He took a step closer to me, “You shouldn’t be here, you know.”

“But here I am regardless. Funny how these things work sometimes.”

“I’m being serious here,” He stopped a small distance away. “If you die, there goes our only hope of getting out. That sword you have is our only lifeline out of this game.”

“No, it’s not OUR lifeline, it’s certainly isn't mine. You’ve any idea how many people are after my head because of it?”

“Angry people, I know. I’ve had my fair share of them too, you aren’t the only one being blamed for this, okay?”

I felt my jaw clenched and a raging impulse sent me fuming my way over to Jin’s direction.

“You’re forgetting one tiny difference there, Jin,” I snarled. “I didn’t deserve it!”

He backed away, “Don’t you think I know that? You tried to help. How they’re treating you - it’s not right, I know.”

I hissed in a breath, letting my hair be ruffled between my fingers, “Well gee, thanks! A whole lot of good your sympathy is to me right now! Fucking great, I feel much better already!”

“Suck it up! It happened, get over it!” He groaned in frustration, “Look, I’m sorry I got you being hated by practically everyone, and it's a relief you’re still alive, but I have more important things to do here right now than argue with a kid.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Finding a way to get everyone, including you, out of here for starters.”

I thought of a clever retort to that statement and was about to fire back but I didn’t. An idea was starting to brew, a solution to the boss with minimal risk.

Doing it alone was an impossibility. An army of players wouldn’t work, be it because of inexperience or just out of pure spite towards me.

But a team?

A small group of individuals that will listen and have proven themselves capable. It could work. Didn’t need to be that many, just those that I know I can trust.

Who will the first one be?

I look to the man in front me.

<>

“I suppose you know your way around the place?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t be called a developer if I didn’t.”

“Suppose you also know the boss’s strengths and weaknesses and also where to find him, yeah?”

A perplexed look, but he answered regardless. “That’s a given, ‘course I do.”

Looks like I found the very first member for my little assemblage.

“I know how to get us out.”

Jin gave a look that conveyed many doubts, “Oh you do, do you?”

Doubts that soon cleared up with my next reply, “I met up with Sukuinote recently. Would you care to know what he said to me?”

Jin looked a bit taken aback, but composed himself in time to give his answer, “I suppose I’m gonna have to sit down for this, don’t I?”