Chapter 2: Outskirt Village
When Dean opened his eyes, he could do nothing but smile.
One might even say he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The sky was a mixture of red and black. In the distance, one could see clouds pouring blood onto the surface.
All around, in the distance, there were enormous walls. Within the walls, in the area where Dean was, there were many houses.
The houses were not of high quality; they could hardly be called sturdy. Yet each one had managed to remain standing.
[Welcome to the Cosmic Terror, First Beta, First Dungeon!
Title of the Dungeon: Outskirt Village of the Nether Realm
Task: Complete the tasks assigned to you and survive for 3 days.
Players in the Dungeon: 26]
Dean carefully examined the system window formed by blood in front of him and, upon reading the final line, turned to look around.
There were indeed 25 different people around him.
Each of them, regardless of gender, had serious expressions on their faces. Some were missing an arm, whilst others had wounds on their faces.
They looked... experienced.
"Listen up!" one of them suddenly shouted.
Dean’s attention was fixed on this man.
"This is the first beta, but let me tell you, I’ve been a survivor since the very first GAMMA version of this game."
At these words, everyone’s eyes widened.
Dean was still trying to make sense of what was happening.
"So let me tell you kids, don’t mess about or you’ll all find out the hard way. As you all know, this game is for life; you can die inside it. Be careful and listen to everything they tell you."
As the man spoke these words, the door of one of the houses swung open instantly, and someone stepped out.
The moment Dean saw this person, he could feel his stomach churning.
This person had thin skin with visible veins; one of his arms was completely skeletal, and the upper right edge of his skull was similarly exposed.
Noticing that those around him had fallen silent at once, Dean tried to calm himself and stood up straight.
At that moment, this person... this man, opened his mouth and began to speak:
"Now, now. Welcome, all of you. I shall give you all tasks to fulfil. If you fail, we’ll eat you; if you succeed, then you’ll live. Simple as that."
At the man’s words, Dean swallowed hard. When he looked at the people around him again, he realised why some of them were missing arms and why they were covered in cuts and bruises.
The young man had to be careful.
"Now, you! You’re off to the kitchen," the man said suddenly, pointing at someone.
Meanwhile, everyone had begun to be selected one by one.
Dean was waiting for his turn when a system window suddenly appeared in front of him:
[Congratulations, Host!
The money in the system now and for all eternity can be used.]
"--hey.."
Dean was busy looking at the system window in front of him.
"HEY!!"
His attention snapped back to reality; the system window in front of him had vanished, and he looked at the monster... the man standing opposite him.
He could see that the man was furious.
"How dare you not listen to me?!" the man shouted.
He raised his hand instantly; as he did so, his skeletal hand transformed into a knife.
At that moment, Dean shouted:
"I have a gift for you!"
The moment the young man uttered those words, the man’s hand froze.
"What on earth could a human possibly give me?" the man asked.
Dean swallowed hard and thought:
"System, I want ten thousand Nether Coins."
He was simply taking a chance.
That was exactly what he needed to do.
He’d taken a gamble.
At that moment, a banknote appeared in his hand.
It was a banknote clearly marked ’10,000 Nether Coins’.
Dean’s gamble had paid off.
The man opposite the young man hesitated the moment he saw the banknote in his hand, then hid his own hand behind his back.
"What an energy!" the man thought.
His hand then emerged again, but this time in a normal manner.
"Well, well, well. Welcome, kind sir. Am I really allowed to accept such a gift from you?"
Dean smiled at the man’s reaction.
The man took the money and put it in his pocket.
At that moment, a system window appeared in front of Dean:
[Task 1: Embodiment of Good
Spend at least 10,000/100,000 Nether and Aether Coins.
Reward: Sacred Pill]
It was just like in the modern world.
Money was more valuable than anything else.
"Yes, take it. I made a mistake. I’m new, so I don’t know how things work," Dean replied.
At that moment, he thought to himself, "So it works like this too..."
When the man heard these words, the expression on his face changed once more, giving way to a gentle smile.
"I am Urdur. Please, sir, follow me. Although we have rules to follow, I’ll make sure to give you something painless," said the man who introduced himself as Urdur.
Dean smiled and followed him.
The other twenty-five people left behind, who were getting ready to go about their business, didn’t know what to say.
Each of them was an experienced individual. They had all been part of this game at least once before.
Yet none of them had ever encountered anything like this before.
"I can’t believe my eyes..." muttered the man who introduced himself as an experienced survivor.
The others’ eyes were fixed on him.
The man had nothing to say.
Dean had disappeared in a short while, along with the monster who introduced himself as Urdur.
The young man had entered a building and surveyed his surroundings.
At Urdur’s request, he sat down, and the monster began to explain:
"Due to the rules of the Nether Realm, failing to assign you a task would be a direct failure on my part. Nevertheless, if at all possible, I need to give you a job."
At Urdur’s words, Dean smiled and asked, "What exactly am I supposed to do?"
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