The Maze
He needed to get out of here, log out, and work. Or he would get fired.
Usually, a dungeon should have excellent music or at least an ambiance that represents a thrilling adventure.
Not here. There was an utterly eerie silence in the graveyard.
His footsteps echoed in the gloaming as he walked, following the luminous path toward the light at the end of his journey.
The eerie chill breeze hammered his skin occasionally and shivered him to the bone.
"What is this place? A void?"
Many times he said to himself, "it's just a game, it's just a game." But still, The World felt real.
Even now, he felt like he had been isekai-ed alone in the strange dungeon.
"I wish I came with someone to talk to… shit. Should never have let her go…."
He started to regret entering this dungeon. But he kept going as what choice did he have now? The door behind him disappeared like snow in summer.
And his mind was also filled with another case of curiosity. How could he wear an item for advanced-level 500 players?
He checked out his Player Profile by opening his floating panel.
His pacing anchored as he dropped his jaw while noticing something strange happening on his profile. "What the hell?"
It glitched out and gave him something weird to digest, even for a seasoned player like him.
____________________
//[Player Profile]
- Name: Missing text
- Race: Missing text
- Sex: Missing text
- Class: Missing text
- Level: 666
- Title: Missing text
- Guild: Missing text//
____________________
//[Player Stat]
- Level: 666
- Hit Points: -666666/-666666
- Mana Points: -666/-666
- Strength: 666
- Agility: 666
- Vitality: 666
- Intelligence: 666
- Dexterity: 666
- Luck: 666
- Free stat points: -666//
____________________
//[Equipment Profile]
- Hat: Missing text
- Armor: Missing text
- Clothes: Missing text
- Shoes: Missing text
- Robe: Missing text
- Primary Weapon: Missing text
- Secondary Weapon: Missing text
- Hidden Weapon: Missing text
- Accessories 1: Missing text
- Accessories 2: Missing text
____________________
He shivered for a few minutes after seeing those screens. "What happened…."
But, he said to himself, it was just a game. It was a game.
Still, his mind played a trick on him. What if it was the real deal? What if he was trapped forever?
He closed his eyes and exhaled. "Stay calm, stay calm."
Then, he continued his path toward the light that filled the frame at the end of his path.
As he stepped inside the second layer of a new strange dungeon, the smell of solid humus welcomed him.
A scorching blue torch held him. Two torches occupied the wall to his right and left.
The ancient cobbled path was overgrown with vines, and roots sprouted out from the cracks, connected to the wall, even the ceiling.
The wall was ancient gray, more black on the upper side. The top was made from the same composition as the wall.
Then the strange moss glowed green-white, slowly blinking like breathing, colonizing the wall session.
This was the strangest dungeon he had ever entered. It made him shiver and draw his belly to his spine.
Many fireflies were floating and playing around on the long path.
At the end of the course, there was an ancient floating sphere waiting.
He knew this dungeon probably hid something dangerous, as no enemy nearby meant it had something else to offer.
Yung Jae snatched the leaves on the vines, a lot of them, and threw everything up. He made it rain leaves. He marked his starting location.
"Okay, here we go."
He moved forward, and there was a small earthquake.
The wall blocked his path, and there, the crumbs of the dredge fell from above. The new track was created on his left and right.
He followed the new path, and then another wall moved, creating a new path for him.
He patiently followed the path until he realized there were many leaves on the path. The same leaves that he threw earlier.
"Ah shit, returned to the starting point, huh?"
Like the other dungeon, he knew how to reset a maze.
He entered the first layer of the dungeon and then returned to the second layer. It refreshed the dungeon maze.
"So it is not randomized. Interesting."
He kept walking forward, and the same thing happened. The wall moves created a new way for him.
But now he was prepared.
He put many leaves on his path and tried to map the maze until he returned to the starting point.
Restoring the maze, Yung Jae did what he had done many times until every floor was almost filled with leaves. He noticed something.
There were many small holes in the wall.
He found interest in the hole in the wall. He remembered that holes like this in other normal dungeons would play a part in torturing players.
But these, there was no arrow jolting from the holes, nor a poison gas.
He was puzzled about the small hole. It was too small, even for his eyes to fit inside.
"So, what's the use of this hole?" He sighed and decided not to do anything with those holes.
For now.
He lost his sense of time. His body was tired from the long march. His mind started to wander.
Yung Jae decided to lean on the wall at the starting point and stretched his legs.
With no food and no water, his belly started to rumble. His tongue and throat were as dry as a Sahara desert.
"If I were trapped here longer, I would probably die of dehydration." He sighed. "I miss the river already."
Yung Jae rubbed the floor, searching for anything to drink and fill his belly.
It was warm and moist, thanks to the moss. He remembered something. Even if it was a game, the game felt real.
There must be water for the moss and mushroom and vines and anything to grow, water, water!
He tried to eat the mushroom, but it was as dried as a cracker. It made him want more water.
He sniffed his finger, sucking it in desperation. It was moss.
There was moss on the wall and the floor, and somehow, it gave him a little drop of water.
"God dammit, do I have to do that here?"
There was a lot of moss nearby.
He knelt and put his palms on the wall. He looked at the moss for a while.
After looking left and right, he made sure no one was there.
He gulped and then started to lick the wall for the mossy moss.
It tasted like nothing but watered his tongue. Then his tongue slid onto the hole in the wall.
Without any provocation, the wall moved itself and stopped with a beam.
"What the hell?"
He took a closer look at the hole. Yung Jae put his middle finger on the hole.
It was sticky, warm, and wet. There was no end to it.
Then, the wall moved again, creating a maze to venture into.
He noticed that every wall had a random hole, and every time he moved his palm on the hole, the maze reacted.
"Ah, it seems the hole was the key to rotate the maze."
He decided not to follow the maze path but reset the maze instantly.
"There's no way this maze will lead to that sphere. Perhaps it was not a maze but a puzzle to solve?"
Studying his surroundings, he grabbed some dust that dripped from the wall. "It better work."
He threw the dust in front of him, revealing something.
His eyes were wide open as he realized a red laser connected one hole to another across the wall.
Every time he touched the laser, the wall moved and created a new maze.
With new knowledge about the dungeon, Yung Jae slowly crept forward, evading the laser.
He occasionally threw a speck of dust to reveal a new laser on his path until there was no more laser for him to dodge.
He found himself in front of the floating sphere.
"Well, what now?" He slowly put his palm on the sphere, and it opened a new passage on the wall behind it.
"A way out?" He dashed and ran forward, and everything was dark and chill. There was a single light far away that guided him.
He hoped that was a way out. He was tired and wanted to hit the mattress.
He never missed his room as much as he did right now.
Yung Jae even jumped like Mario the plumber, punching the air above him.
"Woohoo! Escape route, here I come!"
As soon as he entered the light, a warm sensation shrouded him, and he felt like he had entered a sauna room.
The light slowly faded and showed him something he had never considered.
His step abruptly halted as his jaw dropped, seeing a magnificent view of it. "What the…. It cannot be? How?!"