DrakeFang

For countless millennia, Earth has endured the rise and fall of nine great civilizations. Each civilization, upon reaching a certain pinnacle of progress, has faced a devastating catastrophe—none have survived. Now, with the ninth civilization on the brink of collapse, the apocalypse has arrived, and nearly 30 billion people have had their memories erased before being thrown into a game of survival.

Logan Lane felt very confused when he suddenly found himself on a small island, only seven meters wide and seven meters long. Just a moment ago, he remembered lying in a hospital bed.

He looked around. The island had only one evergreen tree and a tall, weathered stone pillar. The sky above was bright, but the ocean around him looked dark and endless.

“What is happening? I was in a hospital just now… how am I here?” he said to himself, voice trembling.
Then an electronic, emotionless voice spoke in his mind:

“Welcome to the Survival Games. You are a survivor from the ninth batch of civilizations. There are five ‘realms of hardship’ in this world: the Arcane Ice Sea, the Eclipse Forest, the Ironhearts Domain, the Dread Sands, and the Celestial Skyline. Each realm has different rules, but the goal is always the same: survive.”

The Trials: End of the World

He went over his personal stock of supplies. He had enough food and water for three days. Beyond that, he planned on trading away everything else. Between his stored seeds, lumps of soil, and [Plant Ripening Liquid], he could soon grow his own crops. "No sense hoarding all this bread," he mused. "And I've got six kilos of flour. That'll be good once I actually have time to cook it."

He also decided to list some of his rank-grade food as "a goodwill gesture," restricting sales to Celestial nationals. He couldn't save them all, but maybe he could curry favor or spark beneficial deals. They were known for large-scale collective trades in other games, after all.

After sorting everything, he composed a district-wide message:

DemonSlayer: "I'll soon list another batch of supplies. Feel free to buy if you can afford them. I'm also making some rank-grade foods available, restricted to Celestial nationals only. These can boost your strength, but the stock is limited—grab it fast. This is my third and final post for today. You have ten minutes to get your items ready and wait on the listing."

DemonSlayer: "Ten minutes, people. That's all."

"Got it, Boss DemonSlayer. I'll worship you like a god from now on!"

Logan rolled his eyes. He wasn't a god, and flattery wouldn't earn them a discount. But if they helped him get richer in the process, well, that was all part of this brutal survival game.

Logan Lane posted his new listing of materials and exchange conditions in the Regional Survivors market. He wasn't aiming to be charitable; he simply wanted to offload excess items at fair (or sometimes steep) prices. Soon, the market was flooded with his goods:

[550ml Purified Water x1: Exchange for Wood x5 or Refined Iron x2, or Buttons x3, or Cotton/Linen x1] (Note: 30 total)

[50g–110g Bread x1: Exchange for Wood x3 or Refined Iron x1, or Various Seeds x2, or Universal Metal Sheet x1] (Note: 122 total; system ships randomly—redeem at your own risk)

[250ml Milk x1: Exchange for Glass x5, or Floating Stone x1, or Universal Metal Sheet x1, or Silk x2, or Thread x1] (Note: 24 total)

[Thatch x5: Exchange for Wood x1 or Stone x1] (Note: 78 total. The last two lucky buyers will receive extra Thatch x1—a nice firestarter so you won't freeze!)

[Thatched House Architectural Drawing x1: Exchange for Any Drawing x1 or Floating Stone x2] (Note: 2 total)

He then added an "exclusive offer" for Celestial nationals and other foreign players: rank-grade food to boost physical constitution.

[50g Rank F Frost Serpent Meat x1: Exchange for Floating Stone x2, or Universal Metal Sheet x2, or Enchantment Stone x1, or Breeze Stone x1, or Spirit Stone from the Eight Elements x1]

(Note: 100 total. The eight-element Spirit Stones are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Wind, and Thunder.)

[10g Rank E Dragon Armor Meat x1: Exchange for Floating Stone x4, or Universal Metal Sheet x4, or a Rank D (or higher) Blueprint x1, or a Rank-appropriate Item]

(Note: 5500 total. Other rare items negotiable via private chat.)

Logan knew that some people in the district might be just as well-equipped as he was—or even bigger "bosses"—but nobody seemed to post materials in such huge quantities at once.

Flooding the market also helped explain why he'd looted so many goods, lending a veneer of legitimacy to his massive haul.

Chapter 15: The Big Sale