"I am not afraid anymore," I whispered quietly to myself. "I can do this."
As I make my way through the dark and scary dungeon, I can feel my heartbeat quickening and my breathing becoming heavier, yet I keep reminding myself that I must do it, or I'll be stuck here forever like my brother.
There's a rule here in this game that I can't logout inside the dungeon, and if I don't complete this task, I may never get to logout and return to the real world.
That's what happens to my brother. He's been stuck here for nearly eight months.
My brother played Arcanith Reverie online about a year ago, and he said it was a good game.
However, after a month of playing the game, I've noticed that he never woke up from the virtual world he was in; it was like he'd been trapped in a dream, and he couldn't find his way back.
I was so worried for him, and I tried to reach out to the game developers, but all my efforts were in vain.
After eight months, Luis is still in the game, but his unconscious body is starting to give up, so I must put IV fluids on him to keep him alive.
I was desperate for help, and I asked around, but no one had any idea how to get Luis out of the game.
I almost tried to pull out the headgear he was wearing to connect in the game, but they said that it would destroy his brain nerves and might kill him. It was a terrifying situation, and I felt helpless.
I had no other option but to find a way to enter the game and help him out of it. So, I bought a new console set and connected it to the game. Now here I am, playing this game as if my life depended on it, trying to get my brother out.
Again, I whispered to myself that I was not afraid and must move forward. I had to push my fears aside, conquer my anxieties no matter what, and save that stupid brother of mine.
But it had been two months since I raided his dungeon on my own, and I had assumed it would be easy because it was only a low-rank dungeon.
But, c'mon, what the heck? I was brutally murdered several times.
The truth is, I don't know how to play this game. After several attempts and deaths, I finally realized that even the low-rank dungeons can be incredibly difficult if you don't have a good understanding of the game.
With a heavy sigh, I thought to myself, "Why did I think this was going to be easy?" I had been naive in thinking that this video game would be a piece of cake given my limited experience in gaming.
Sometimes I can talk to some players who have also entered the dungeon, and they will share their experience, warning me of the dangers lurking in each room and the rules.
To begin, there is a rule that I despise the most:
"You are not allowed to leave the game while inside any dungeon."
If you get killed, you will be resurrected from the inside and must resume the dungeon quest.
They said that I can team up with another player or a guild if I'm planning to raid every dungeon because my chance of getting out is higher than if I do it alone. Also, the drops are huge and will help me level up.
This is why raiding dungeons with another player or guild is recommended, but they require higher level members, and I'm stuck at level 3, which is a little embarrassing for someone who has played for the entire two months.
With no way of getting up to a higher level quickly, I'm hesitant to join a guild or team up with other players.
Another rule is that if you are a party member, your teammates cannot leave the dungeon without you unless the leader kicked you for a valid reason or you violated the rules by hitting one of your teammates.
There will be a red flag next to the player's name if they violate any rules.
But those players who received a red flag could still be adopted by another party and continue to play the game.
Since the rumors began, no one has accepted me as a member, and they have dubbed me "Noobbcake."
I understand the rules and accept them, but the stigma attached to my nickname has been hard to bear.
Despite this, I continue to play with a strong determination to finish this dungeon and finally go out.
I continue my quest, undeterred by the cruelty of my peers, and instead focus on the task at hand—to overcome the challenges of this dungeon.
Despite the fact that I have already killed three level 2 goblins and five level 1 Hodag, there are still many monsters waiting to attack me, so I must be diligent and never let my guard down.
As I walked by, the loud noise disappeared, and suddenly the atmosphere here became eerie.
I could feel the pressure of the upcoming challenge.
Until I heard a large pair of footsteps approaching. Instinctively, I tensed up and readied my sword.
"Here we go again." I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I prepared for yet another fight.
"Please, Lord, give me the power to defeat this loathsome creature." I immediately stepped to the corner where I could hide behind the large stone when I smelled the foul stench of its rotting flesh and bile emanating from the creature's body.
Level 5 Otyugh is approaching, and it's moving quite fast; even this monster's body is bloated and oval in shape, and it bears three spiked tails, and its feet are like elephant feet.
How in the name of Satan am I going to tackle these old hog monsters? When it's close by, I can't even breathe properly.
Apart from having a horrible odor similar to that of a decaying corpse, it can also cause serious injury when it bites, as it contains lethal viruses. If this thing bit me twice, I'd die.
"Come on, Savannah, think!" I was fortunate enough to survive the encounter with this mysterious creature, as it flew away when its tail moved in my direction and hit me, sending me flying six feet away.
As I checked my HP, it had been reduced by 5%. "Damnit, you nasty monster!" As I stumbled back onto my feet, I noticed something peculiar about the creature—it had a single, glowing eye and a wide blind spot directly behind it, which allowed me to duck out of the way just in time.
I quickly ran toward the monster, held my breath, and positioned myself behind the blind spot, where I felt safe enough to survey my surroundings and plan my next move,
I could see that the monster was facing away from me and had no idea I was behind it.
I knew I had to act quickly; I had a narrow window of opportunity to take it down. From behind, I jumped onto the creature's back and landed a heavy punch directly onto the single eye, temporarily blinding it and causing it to recoil in pain. Its movements were causing my grip to slip, and I needed to act quickly.
"Inventory!" I said quickly, reaching into my bag and pulling out a sword, which I thrust into the creature's neck.
The creature let out a loud shriek before collapsing to the ground, freeing me from its grasp.
I quickly got to my feet, catching my breath and feeling victorious.
"You successfully defeated the Dungeon Boss Otyugh." "You received 50 gold."
"You'll be transported outside the dungeon."
This message popped up. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Is this a freaking miracle or just a game bug? After two long months of fruitless efforts to kill the monster,
I was astounded to see that it was actually the boss.
With my excitement, I rushed to the exit of the dungeon, my heart racing with exhilaration. As I stepped out into the daylight, I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment that seemed to surpass all other successes.
The lake sparkled in the sunshine, while the branches of the tree swayed gently in the wind. It feels realistic, even though it's inside the virtual world.
I guess the developer of this game did a great job, but the rules are still bad.
"So, you finally escaped from that low-ranking dungeon," a man's voice said. I looked around to find the source of the voice, but no one was there.
"Who are you? And where are you?" Confused and startled, I hesitantly asked aloud in response to the disembodied voice.
"Just a random player," he replied. "Are you speaking through my head?" I asked incredulously.
"Dummy," he chuckled. "No, I'm not a magician to have that ability; I'm up here in a tree," he continued. "Well, I can see you down there now; it looks like I'm speaking through your head."
I look up to see him perched atop a tall tree with his arms crossed and a playful smirk on his face. I can barely make out his features, as he is so far away.
"Do you mind coming down? My neck hurts." He appeared to pause for a moment before gracefully hopping from his perch, but he landed butt first, making a loud thud as he hit the ground.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed, creasing his butt cheeks.
That must be painful.
I held back my laughter as he slowly got up and brushed the dirt off of his bottom with a pained expression on his face. "What? It's not funny," he exclaimed, glaring at me.
Trying to compose myself, I forced a serious expression and said, "No, it's not." I couldn't help but feel sorry for him as I tried my best not to burst out into laughter.
My eyes landed on the name on the top of his head, "Rego Level 12."
"What are you looking at?" he asked in a gruff, defensive manner. "Nothing," I said quickly, averting my gaze and avoiding any further interaction with the man.
But I heard him scoff and mumble something.
"Hmm, so you're the infamous Noratori—I mean, the weakest player," he speculated.
I chose the username "Noratori" because I wanted it and thought it sounded cool. It refers to a stray bird.
My brow furrowed as I wondered how he knew about it.
"Everyone knows who you are since you're the only player who got stuck in a low ranked dungeon for the longest time," he said. I'm not sure if he's spilling a fact or mocking me. I glanced away, trying to hide the embarrassment in my expression.
I felt my face grow warm, but I couldn't tell if it was from shame or anger.
I guess I'm really that famous here. I hope Luis doesn't hear this news, or he'll continue to tease me about it.
"Anyway, since you've been here for a long time, I think you should log out first and check your body."
"You seem completely at ease here inside the game, but I believe you are dying outside," he reminded me.
Oh, fuck! I forgot about that.
I was shaken out of my trance and immediately felt the urge to log out of the game and face reality. As I was about to click the log out button, I heard him say, "See you again, Noobbcake."
I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me and the darkness was pressing down on me like a thousand bricks. In a few seconds, the light came flooding in.
And I slowly opened my eyes to see the room I had been staying in for two months illuminated by the early morning sun.
I also felt so weak, as if I had been drained of all the energy inside me, as I noticed something was pressing on my hand There was a syringe sticking out of my arm with a long plastic tube connected to it.
The tube went up and out of the window, connected to a bag of liquid that had been hanging outside, gradually dripping its contents into my veins I was perplexed; no one in my family would do something like this.
Both of my parents are gone; only me and Luis are left. I got out of bed in a daze, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Could it be Luis?" "Is he awake now?" I walked slowly to Luis' room, my heart racing and a thousand questions racing through my head, but when I entered, I was disappointed to see him still laying on his bed with the headgear on, his breathing steady, his face relaxed, and even his IV appears new.
I didn't know what to make of it, but all I could do was sigh in frustration and sit behind him and look at him.
He just looks like he's just sleeping; his chubby face before is now thin and pale, and his hair has grown longer.
I brushed the strands of hair away from his face, my heart aching and heavy as I observed the visible changes in him.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I took in the scene before me, feeling so helpless and angry that there was nothing I could do.
I wanted to scream and yell, shake him awake, and hear his voice again, but I was unable to do so.
I wanted to take away his pain and see him healthy once more, but it seemed like a distant dream.
I clenched my jaw and wiped away the tears before gathering him up in my arms and placing a kiss on his forehead as I whispered a silent prayer.
"Where the hell are you?" Tears streamed down my cheeks again. "Just give me some clues, please," I murmur.
