Chapter 1 - Day 1, Entering the Dungeon (2/2)

It was midnight when I opened them again.

◎

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. The clock on the wall showed that it was precisely midnight. However, I felt like I’d slept pretty well. I got up to go to the bathroom.

The moment that I took a step I faltered. There was nothing for my feet to touch on the ground.

”Eek?”

I staggered and barely managed to throw myself back on the bed.

There was a hole in my floor.

It was rectangular and approximately 2 metres in length, but it wasn’t just an opening. There was a stone border and stone stairs leading down.

“...”

I stared at the floor for a while but the hole remained the same.

My next thought was that I should leave the house. However...

“W-what is this?”

I’d made my way to the front door, but it wouldn’t budge. The handle was stuck as though it had been glued in place. My remaining drowsiness disappeared as goose b.u.mps formed.

I opened my phone to request help.

[The call is currently not available in this area...]

There was just a voice message stating I was out of range.

I re-entered my room to try and open the window. Just like the door, it didn’t move at all.

I desperately opened my mobile phone again but belatedly realized something that only raised my fear.

12:00

A few minutes had certainly pa.s.sed since I woke to the hole. The clock on the wall was the same, the hour/minute/second hands were fixed at 12, not moving.

Was this a nightmare? My senses told me that wasn’t the answer. Even if this was a vivid dream, it gave off the feeling of reality. If this was a dream then I wouldn’t even be thinking about it.

[Lie down in bed or step on the stairs.]

“Uhat!?”

I automatically swung a fist as letters appeared in front of my eyes, but my fist didn’t touch anything.

The letters were still floating in the air. That was all it said. I wondered if something else would pop out, but the words just stayed floating there.

Then I thought about the meaning of the words. Lie down in my bed? My head naturally turned and looked at the bed.

Then more letters showed up.

[As soon as you lie down, you will fall into a sleepy state. The hole will disappear. All your memories about the hole will be gone in the morning. The end.]

I wasn’t as surprised as the first time. Instead, after carefully reading the letters, I turned and stared at the hole.

I had seen letters above the bed. So it was only logical more might come up if I looked at the hole. I was correct.

[Day 1 of exploration will begin. It isn’t possible to leave the dungeon before the exploration of the 1st floor is completed or before you are eliminated.]

Dungeon? It was a word I had heard before. A word I knew from games and manhwa.

But if the words were true, why wouldn’t I lie down on my bed? I had no intention of stepping on the staircase. Not without knowing what was down there...

[An opportunity.]

What?

New words surfaced like they were answering my subconscious thoughts. That wasn’t the end.

[Explorer - Kim Hee-chul’s desire, this is a means to pursue the desires that can’t be achieved normally.]

“...”

If I was normal then I wouldn’t step on the unknown staircase.

But was it due to what I had been thinking recently? Was it because of the uncontrollable fatigue that reached its peak today? Whatever the reason, I took the words seriously.

And I took a step.

[Explorer - Kim Hee-chul. Enter.]

[Opening the dungeon’s 1st floor.]

The words surfaced in front of my eyes.

At the same time, something appeared over my head.

“What is this?”

At first glance, it was a red fluorescent light. A square bar of red light. Wait a minute.

Red bar? Above my head? I had seen this before... Perhaps…

Letters appeared in front of the bar.

[HP Bar. Displays the current health of the explorer.]

[Current Balance: 121/121]

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