The man slowly opened his eyes. The sun was dipping below the horizon.

He sat up and looked around. He was on a beach alone. He could see a small fishing village in the distance and a fortress standing on a hill.

He had no idea where he was. The last thing he could recall was working overtime in the office. Judging from the position of the sun, he might have been unconscious for an entire day. Although, it didn't feel like he hadn't eaten or drank for that long.

He checked his pockets but found nothing.

Just as he was starting to panic, information flooded into his mind. He doubled over and clutched his head in pain. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Twilight City? Nightmare? Dreamer? He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. As he took deep breaths, the throbbing in his head gradually subsided.

It all started when he saw a thread in a forum regarding a beta release of an action roguelike online game. The main draw of the game was that the scenarios and dungeons were randomly generated by artificial intelligence. Every player would experience their own adventure catered toward their preference. Out of curiosity, he clicked the link and registered for the beta. That was a week ago. Never did he imagine that it would turn out like this.

"Status!"

***

Name: Adam Williamson

Level: 0

Race: Human

Traits: None

Skills: None

Nightmare - Onigashima

Main Objective: Survive 3 days (2 days 23 hours 58 minutes left)

Side Objective 1: Kill 10 yōkai (0/10)

Side Objective 2: Explore the island (0%)

***

Onigashima. He recognized the name. It came from a Japanese folktale, Momotarō.

In the tale, an elderly couple found a baby boy inside a giant peach. They adopted him and named him Momotarō. When the boy grew up, he embarked on a quest to slay a band of yōkai inhabiting an island. That island was Onigashima. He needed to survive seven days in this nightmarish place.

Adam considered the feasibility of escaping to the mainland of Japan. He could probably find a seaworthy boat in the fishing village nearby. However, he was filled with doubt. Based on the information in his head, Onigashima was only just the tutorial level and clearing the side objectives meant better rewards. These rewards could mean the difference between life and death in the future.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to focus on surviving first. Everything else would have to wait.

The village in the distance was probably a good place for him to start. He might be able to find food, water, and possibly a weapon. He also needed a place to rest for the night. It was starting to get cold. However, according to the tale, Onigashima was an island infested with Japanese monsters called yōkai. Could there really be humans living here?

***

The fishing village was deserted. Many of the buildings were either ruined or burnt down.

While searching for anything useful, Adam noticed footprints in the mud. He followed the tracks and eventually reached a house. It was the only building he had seen so far that was illuminated. Laughter and singing could be heard coming from within.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Adam peeked in through a hole left by a broken plank. The fire of a sunken hearth lit up the interior. Several men—dressed in mismatched pieces of armour—huddled around the hearth. They were playing dice and carousing. A naked woman was lying down on the wooden floor behind them.

One of the men staggered to his feet and moved toward her.

"Oi, get up," he said, shoving her with his foot.

"You deaf? I said, get up!" He grabbed her by her hair and yanked hard. "Shit! S-she's dead!"

He fell backwards on his bottom with fright.

The outburst drew the attention of the others.

"How did she get hold of a tantō? She could have killed us in our sleep!"

"Tch, I haven't gotten a turn yet."

"I told you idiots to keep an eye on her! Shit, we need to get another one for the tribute—" the man who appeared to be the leader said. "You, go toss her into the sea before she turns."

Adam observed the scene thoughtfully. Despite not knowing Japanese, he could understand their words.

One of the outlaws grabbed the woman's corpse by the ankles and dragged her body out of the house. Adam waited until the outlaw was far enough before tailing him. He needed a weapon. Even if he didn't plan on completing the first side objective, he still needed to obtain one for self-defence.

The outlaw dragged her body through the muddy streets of the village but began to slow down after a while. He let go of her legs and sat down on the ground to take a break. Seeing this as an opportunity, Adam picked up a rock from the ground and circled around to approach from the outlaw's blind spot.

However, when he returned, the ghastly sight before him made him freeze on the spot.

The dead woman was standing in front of the outlaw. He had his hands wrapped around his own neck and was choking himself.

Adam held his breath and slowly backed away. He peeked out from behind a building and watched the bizarre scene unfold.

The woman pulled out the knife stuck in her neck. She took a step forward toward the outlaw and stabbed him through the gaps in his armour. Eerily, he neither reacted nor made a sound. She repeated the process, stabbing him again and again. Each time, he remained still and made no attempt to defend himself. Finally, she stabbed her fingers into his eyes and plucked his eyeballs out.

The outlaw collapsed into a heap on the ground. As if a spell was broken, he started screaming in pain while thrashing around. She stood there watching until his cries grew weaker and eventually stopped. At last, she walked in the direction of the other outlaws.

Adam let out a sigh of relief when she was finally gone. He was covered in cold sweat. He waited for a while in case she came back before sneaking toward the outlaw. The man had taken his last breath.

He grabbed the outlaw's katana and pulled it out from his sash. He was tempted to take his armour as well, but it was soaked in blood. After a cursory search of the outlaw didn't yield anything useful, he left in the opposite direction she went.

***

Adam stayed in the village.

While the woman and the other outlaws were an inherent danger, he concluded it was still safer for him to stay within the village for the night. Having a roof over his head would prevent him from becoming a free meal for any passing yōkai. He didn't forget this island was supposedly infested with them.

Near the edge of the village, he found a suitable place to spend the night. The walls were undamaged and the roof was still intact. He carefully searched the house for rats, cockroaches, and yōkai. Thankfully, he discovered none.

While searching the house, he found a fire striker and a piece of agate in the hearth. When he picked them up, information about the items appeared in his mind.

***

Name: Fire Starting Kit (Common)

Type: Tool

A set of tools used to start fires. A wonderful gift for pyromaniacs.

Would you like to store the item in your inventory? Yes/No

***

He raised an eyebrow. Why didn't this happen when he touched the katana earlier on? Was it because of its current condition or was it an issue with its quality when it was made?

The Fire Starting Kit disappeared and reappeared in his hand. After playing around with it for a while, he discovered that he needed to concentrate for a while to retrieve the item. That unfortunately meant he couldn't rely on taking items out of his inventory in the middle of combat.

Worried that there might be intruders while he was sleeping, he barricaded the entrance with piles of wooden boards he took from nearby houses. He also used his newly obtained item to light a small fire in the hearth.

Now, he finally had the luxury of time to inspect his prize. He drew the katana from its scabbard. It was in a poor condition. The blade was covered in rust and there were several nicks along its edge. Nonetheless, he was still pleased with the weapon. Having it was better than fighting yōkai with his bare hands. He sheathed the katana and lay down on the wooden floor.

His mind started to wander.

Judging from the direction the woman went, it was highly likely that she had gone to take revenge on the outlaws. He didn't know whether she was able to wander around in the daytime but he had no other choice but to go back there tomorrow. He needed supplies and equipment, and the outlaws' hideout was his best chance to find them on this island.

He slowly drifted off to sleep.