Chapter 3: Exploration
“Huff... Huff…”
Niko paused, leaning against a thick, twisted tree trunk as he gasped for breath. Beads of sweat, cold and sticky, dripped down his forehead and splattered onto the moss-covered ground below. His chest heaved, desperate to suck in more air. What had started as an exhilarating run, fueled by the strength of his newly healthy body, had quickly turned into a grueling, unrelenting struggle.
This forest was dark, ancient, and wild, and it was nothing like the lush forests he’d once seen in nature documentaries. The trees seemed to loom over him, their branches curling like skeletal fingers reaching for the sky, blocking out most of the light. The air was thick, almost suffocating, and the ground was uneven, with vines and roots waiting to trip him up at every step.
“This place…” Niko gasped, his voice a whisper. “It’s impossible to travel through.”
He wiped the sweat from his brow, shaking his head. Even though his body was healed, he wasn’t in shape. He might be free of the illness that had haunted him for years, but stamina and physical prowess didn’t come automatically with health. Every movement felt like he was dragging himself through quicksand.
And yet, there was one small mercy: hunger and thirst didn’t seem to affect him here. He could feel his body craving neither food nor water, but he didn’t trust the sensation. It felt… wrong. Another reminder that this world was unnatural.
“Status!” he muttered, more out of habit than hope.
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[Status]
Name: Niko Lazar
Level: 1
Exp: 0%
[Attributes]
Strength: 1
Constitution: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Mana: 1
Mana Power: 1/1
[Unique Titles]
None
[Skills]
None
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Niko exhaled sharply. “Figures,” he grumbled, his face darkening with disappointment. He had hoped, expected, something to change. But this wasn’t a game where a few minutes of walking or swinging a sword would rack up experience points. This world didn’t care about keeping him interested or engaged. No boosts for beginners here. No hand-holding. Just cold, harsh reality.
His thoughts drifted back to the booklet. This world mimicked an RPG at least on the surface. Monsters, loot, levels, and the like, but the reality was crueler. Pain was real. Death wasn’t just a respawn screen. This was a hardcore mode beyond anything he could’ve imagined.
If I die here, I die for real.
He glanced around the forest, the silence gnawing at him. He hadn’t seen another person in the twenty minutes he had been moving. Even the few who’d stayed behind to read the booklet had vanished into the foliage. He was alone.
And then, a scream tore through the air.
“Ahhh!”
It wasn’t a cry of pain—no, this was something else. It was the sound of shock, of sudden surprise. And then, as quickly as it had come, the scream was swallowed by the forest’s thick, oppressive silence.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Niko’s heart raced. A trap?
He crouched low, instinctively moving toward the sound. The scream had been close. Too close. He brushed aside vines and stepped carefully over gnarled roots, his eyes scanning the thick foliage.
Within moments, he found the source. An opening in the ground, crudely hidden beneath a bed of leaves and sticks. The earth had caved in, revealing a deep, hollowed pit. At the bottom, a man slowly picked himself up, shaking off debris and dirt. The man had a muscular frame, though not overly so. He wore a simple gray shirt and jeans, his dirty blonde hair tangled with leaves.
Niko peered down cautiously. The pit was roughly three meters deep and lined with stone walls covered in strange tribal patterns. One of the walls had a ladder affixed to it, as if inviting anyone inside to climb out—or explore deeper. But the most curious thing was the open tunnel carved into one of the walls. Dark, ominous, and beckoning.
Is this one of those places the orb spoke about? Niko wondered, his eyes narrowing.
The man at the bottom of the pit hadn’t noticed him yet, too busy dusting himself off and inspecting his surroundings. He didn’t seem threatening, but Niko had learned long ago not to trust appearances. Especially in this world.
Niko cleared his throat. “Hey.”
The man’s head jerked up, startled. He stepped back instinctively, his eyes wide with surprise before settling into an uneasy smile. “Oh… hey.”
Niko raised his hands slowly, a gesture of peace. “Don’t worry. I’m in the same boat as you. Haven’t seen anyone else around either. How’d you end up down there?”
The man relaxed, though only slightly. He shook his head, his voice exasperated. “I wasn’t paying attention. Stepped on the leaves and fell right in. But now that I see this…” His gaze shifted to the tunnel. “Maybe it wasn’t such bad luck after all.”
Niko nodded, following his line of sight. “Could be one of those ‘rewards’ the orb mentioned. I’m Niko, by the way.”
“Louis,” the man replied. “Good to find another human. I was starting to think I was the only one left. The forest feels endless and isolating”
Niko moved toward the ladder. “So, what’s your plan? You thinking about checking out that tunnel?”
Louis nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I was just about to head in. We don’t have much time before we’re forced out of here. Who knows what’s down there?”
Niko hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the tunnel. “The orb said there’d be dangers, too. We should be careful. No sense rushing in and getting ourselves killed.”
Louis chuckled nervously, though there was a hunger in his eyes. “Right, right. But if we stick together, we can handle whatever’s down there, right?”
Niko wasn’t so sure. He had no reason to trust Louis. In fact, he had no reason to trust anyone here. In Nikos experiences humans felt inherently greedy, and when survival was at stake, alliances were fragile. He’d seen it before, people would smile in your face and stab you in the back if it meant saving their own skin. He had to be cautious. Always.
“Yeah,” Niko said with a thin smile. “We’ll watch each other’s backs.”
Louis grinned, oblivious to Niko’s skepticism. “Let’s do this, then.”
They descended into the pit, the earthy smell of damp soil filling Niko’s nostrils as his feet touched the ground. The tunnel loomed ahead, dark and foreboding. Something about it set Niko’s nerves on edge. The stone walls seemed to hum with energy, the tribal patterns twisting like living things. This place was ancient, filled with secrets—and perhaps something far worse.
“So,” Louis said, breaking the tense silence, “you stayed back to read the booklet, right? What did it say? I was a little to eage to explore and escape.”
Niko kept his answer vague. “Just some basic info. This world’s set up like an RPG. There’s status screens, magic, that kind of thing. And apparently, if you think the word ‘analyze,’ you can check the abilities of objects.”
Louis nodded, his eyes glinting with interest. “Sounds useful. Did it say anything about getting stronger?”
Niko hesitated before answering. “It mentioned something about ‘evolving’… but nothing too specific.”
He didn’t mention the inventory system or the other details. Not yet. Louis seemed eager, too eager. Niko wasn’t about to give away every advantage he had, especially not in a world where power meant survival.
Louis extended a hand, his smile genuine—or at least, it seemed that way. “Thanks, man. I appreciate the help.”
Niko accepted the handshake cautiously. “No problem.”
They turned toward the tunnel, its dark entrance gaping like a maw waiting to devour them. Louis moved first, eager to explore, while Niko followed at a measured pace, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger. His instincts screamed at him to be careful, to trust no one.
“This place… it’s not going to be easy,” Niko muttered under his breath. “But I’ll find her. I have to.”
As they stepped into the darkness of the tunnel, the weight of the forest seemed to close in around them.