“What is this?” I asked as I came up out of the water and into a murky cave.

Welcome to the hidden dungeon: Sunken Treasures

I liked the treasure part. I didn’t like that I was currently half naked without a weapon or a class. Exploring a dungeon was just asking to die.

Wait! “What happens if I die?”

You will be returned to your spawn point.

The game was very helpful with the AI replies. “And where is that?”

It is currently the place you came into this world.

“Can I set it down here?”

Are you sure that’s wise?

“You didn’t exactly answer my question.”

Yes, you can. Would you like to set your spawn point down here, in the dungeon, where it’s dangerous? Warning: you might die!

I couldn’t help but laugh at that last part. “Isn’t the whole idea of setting a spawn point to make it convenient to return when I die?”

Do you wish to set your respawn point here?

“That’s more like it,” I nodded. “Set my spawn point here.”

Bind point set. If you die, you will respawn here. Don’t blame me if you get caught in a death loop.

I was used to snarky AIs. You give them a little machine learning and they think they can tell you to eat rocks whenever they feel like it. With the issue of death out of the way, I decided to check out my first dungeon.

“What’s the difference between a hidden dungeon and a normal one?”

Hidden dungeons are rare and not easily seen by the naked eye. Typically, you have to solve a puzzle or do a quest to discover the location. In your case, you stumbled onto it.

“Lucky me,” I grinned at the message. “Are there any other kinds of dungeons?”

Besides hidden, there are three types of normal dungeons; Solo, Quest, and Group. Advanced dungeons include; Epic, Mythic, and Raid.

I decided to stop talking to the AI as I took my first steps into the dungeon. The air was humid and smelled of moss. It wasn’t the first time I’d experienced smell in a video game but it was well done. Many prior ‘full immersion’ games had smells that fell distinctly into the stench category. Not only were they too strong but things seldom smelled the way my brain thought they should. Here, the cave I was in smelled just as expected.

I crept down a winding passageway, expecting to die at any moment as the denizens of the deep became alerted to my presence. I’d long since reequipped my clothes, not that the rags offered much protection. Fortunately, nothing attacked before I emerged into a greater cavern.

In a room lit only by glowing moss hanging from the ceiling was a circle of huts guarded by what I could only describe as fish-men. The game did a better job.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Aquan Sentry

Level 5

50% man, 50% fish, 100% lethal.

I ducked back into the safety of the cave. “Activate cartographer mode.”

A voice only I could hear responded. “Map activated. What you see shall be mapped.”

It was my personal AI from outside of the game. It was always listening.

I poked my head back out. There were two of them and both were armed with spears. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell how many there were in the camp. Deciding to try my luck, I crept out of the safety of the cave, hugging the wall as I inched toward the camp. The moss that lit the room helped me stay hidden as it focused its light on the camp. My primary goal wasn’t to fight. It wasn’t even to find treasure. I wanted to get my hands on the one thing the game failed to provide me with when I started; a weapon.

If the guards had spears, surely that meant there must be more spears in camp. While I’d like to say my first try was a resounding success, I still hadn’t gotten used to the game. One of the sentries discovered me. I don’t think I was seen. I was very careful to stay out of sight and only move when their backs were turned to me. While I can’t be sure, I don’t think I made any noise. That left smell. Did I smell like soggy human? There really was no way to tell but soon enough that sentry made me smell like dead human. One well-placed thrust was all it took to end me. It didn’t hurt or anything. There was a thump on my chest and my vision blurred before reforming at that spot just out of the water.

“Okay, take two!” I announced.

I made considerably better time to the cavern the second time. Also, I made a pitstop and picked up some lichen that grew everywhere and rubbed it all over my body. Not only did it make me smell strongly of damp cave fungus, but it also gave me a moldy green sort of camouflage. I entered that cavern with much more confidence than I had the first time.

The sentries were still wandering around looking for me. Apparently, the death of the intruder didn’t alleviate their threat sense. I waited for what felt like an eternity before they returned to their post. Sucking in a deep breath, I set off again and skirted the wall as I made my way around the camp. This time, the sentries didn’t react to my passing. They stood their ground at the entrance to the camp, oblivious to the threat in their midst.

Snoring could be heard from everywhere in the Aquan camp. That was good for me. Unlike old games where monsters were vigilant twenty-four hours a day, these took breaks to eat, sleep, and do their business. At least, that was my assumption. I slipped into camp between two tents. There wasn’t much room but then again, I wasn’t a very imposing guy.

The first things I noticed were the weapons strewn all over the place next to the tent flaps. I scooped up a spear and opened my inventory. Once it was safely stowed, I picked up a second. Hopefully, that meant if I died, I’d respawn with it.

Next, I needed to see if there was anything I could steal. At level one, killing level five beastmen might just be suicide. Aside from more weapons and fishing equipment, there were several crates and barrels stacked haphazardly around the tents. The only two aquans awake seemed to be the pair of sentries.

The crates had more weapons in them, and the barrels had food. I tossed a few more weapons into my inventory as well as the few food items that looked marginally edible. I knew the system told me I’d be able to purchase food but I wasn’t sure beastman slop was what it had in mind. Still, morbid curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try a bite.

I really wished I hadn’t. The meat had an oily texture and tasted like rotted sushi. I fought back a gag as I struggled not to make any noise. After that, I gave up on food and walked over to the biggest tent. Unlike the others, it was big enough for the occupant to stand inside. I pulled the flap back as quietly as I could and slipped inside.

There an aquan that was easily double the size of the sentries snored away on a cot that looked too small to hold him.

Aquan Chief

Level 10

Twice the man as the other Aquans and only half the fish. Is that better? Depends on what he’s doing.

Behind him was a treasure chest. I reined in my excitement and made my way over. I felt his breath as I leaned over him to try the chest. As I suspected, it was locked.

I pulled away before thumbing through the menu and logging out. Once I was safely back in my living room, I asked, “Is lock picking a thing in The World?”

The voice of my AI replied. “While lock picking is a skill in The World, custom tools provided by various shady organizations are required. Picking locks is not legal in civilized society.”

“What about in dungeons?” I asked.

“The skill is still frowned upon. You are advised not to show off if you learn such a skill.”

“I thought so,” I grunted.

I logged back in and discovered I’d been killed in the brief moment I’d left the game. I stood there next to the water and pulled up my inventory. “Whew, all the weapons are still there…and the rotten food.”

I made my way back to the camp again only to find it crawling with aquans. Either it was morning for them or my antics had woken everyone up. I stood there peering into the cavern and pondering my next move.

“How long is a day in this game?”

One game Day is 3 hours in the real world. This way players can enjoy a mixture of both day and night activities during a typical play session.

I nodded. The smart thing to do would probably be to wait until night again and try again once everyone was asleep. However, being smart was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d already died twice and come back better for it. The first time I’d figured out how they aggroed and the second I’d collected several weapons.

As a bonus, the spear that had been in my hand was currently in my inventory with the other weapons. While I had no aversion to dying, a direct assault on the camp was suicide. I needed to find something constructive to do while I waited for night to fall.

I thought back to the way I’d found the hidden dungeon. I swam deeper than any human could by believing I didn’t need to breathe. Could I use the same concept to defeat the aquans? I looked over the camp. Could I believe I was level one hundred and take them all out? It seemed far-fetched…but I did have time to burn.

I squeezed the spear in my hand, uttered a war cry, and charged the startled sentries. I managed to pierce one in the shoulder before the other cut me down. Two things were learned from that death. One, I sucked at using spears, and two, believing I was strong didn’t make me so.

I walked slowly back to camp that time. What else could I do? I looked over the cavern when I made it back. The camp was the focal point of the area. The area around it was pretty barren, outside of rocks with moss on them, the ring of tents was the only thing in the cavern. Up above was the strange hanging moss that provided light. Also up there were some wicked-looking stalactites. They were right over the camp. Could it be that easy? All I had to do was somehow climb a hundred feet up in the air to get to them.