1 Chapter 1

Where am I? The last thing I remember, I was waiting for my train home, and now… now I am standing in some cave with water dripping from the ceiling and a dreadfully cold breeze. I should be on my train home by now. I can remember closing my eyes as I yawned just as the train pulled into the station. I probable just fell asleep on the train. I have been working hard recently, and the company I am working for has had me doing a death march to finish my current project. It will not be the first time something like this has happened, but at least this time, one of my friends and work collages was riding the train with me, so no one should try anything with my sleeping body. But if this is a dream, it is not like anything I have dreamt of before.

I am in a cold cave with dripping water and little light, like I said before. It feels too real to be a dream, but what else can I be? Looking around, I cannot see anything or anyone, but something does catch my attention. I really must be dreaming as I see a game like menu in my vision with a clock displaying the time as six in the morning and a list of four options Status, Storage, Skills and Map. Might as well start with the map and figure out where I am. Unfortunately, my map is useless and only shows the room where I am with everything else listed as unexplored. It is not nice to give someone such a helpful ability only to make it useless. Next, I check the Status Option.

<Name: Kura Suou>

<Age: 15>

<Gender: Female>

<Level: 1>

<Affiliation: None>

<Job: None>

<Class: Commoner>

<Title: None>

<Bounty: None>

<Stamina: 10>

<Strength: 10>

<Dexterity: 10>

<Intelligence: 10>

<Hunger: 100%>

<Thirst: 100%>

<Injuries: None>

It got my name wrong. It should have been written Suou Kura with my last name first, but for some reason, it wrote it in a western way. Still, it looks like I am an average newbie level one character. I cannot help but sigh as I feel disappointed with my current stats. If this were a dream, then why could I not have been dreaming of an overpowered character. I take a deep breath and shake my head. There is no need to get worked up over it, so I should just move on. The next thing I check is the skills section.

That is better. The unique skills are what you would expect from a game, but unlimited storage space is too much. Appraisal is an ordinary skill, but I am curious why that is the only skill that comes with a level. Maybe unique skills do not level up? It does not matter. When I wake up, I will forget about this dream anyway. I am not expecting much, but I might as well end things up by checking on my storage, but as expected, there is nothing there. Still, I should not let it get me down. If this is a dream, there are surely only better things to come. Moving forward, I spot only one way in and out of the cave I am in and walk towards it. Unfortunately for me, the ground beneath my feet choices that moment to give out.

Ow, that hurt. I cannot help but groan as I get up and rub my butt after landing upon it. At least I did not lose any HP over it, but why did it hurt? I thought you could not feel pain when you were dreaming. It is probable nothing. Just a very realistic dream, so I should not worry about it. Looking around the room, it seems I am in another cave with only one way in and out. It is not like I have many choices, so I walk towards the entrance again. This time the ground is kind enough not to drop me to a lower level without any warning again.

The cave leads out into a long tunnel that extends to my left and right with wired blue crystals providing enough light to see. Not knowing where to go, I flip a coin in my head and end up walking towards the right, and I hope this will lead me out. I really do not want to spend this entire dream trapped in a cold, dimly lit cave.

I come to another junction and head right again, but I am starting to get bored as I continue to search for a way out. I have been walking around for about ten minutes. Still, nothing has happened, making this the most boring dream anyone has ever had. Unless this is not a dream. Do not think about it. This is a dream! Just a boring dream and nothing else! But as much as I want to believe it, I increasingly doubt whether this is a dream or somehow real.

<0>

Just when is the cave going to end? I want to scream. I want to escape this place, but after an hour of walking, I cannot find a way to leave this cave. No matter where I go, I cannot find a way out, no matter how many twists and turns I take. This is getting annoying. I kick a stone across the floor and listen to it echo down the seemingly endless length of tunnels. I am getting tempted to try and dig my way out of here.

"Will I ever see the sun again?" I ask the empty tunnel.

I cannot give up yet. Clench my fists, I start to walk again. I need to leave this cave, see the sun, and have some fun before my friend wakes me up when the train is approaching my stop. I refuse to let this boring dream defeat me. If nothing is going to happen, then I will make it. Walking onwards, I enter my first wide-open space for the first time since waking up after ten minutes of walking. If only I was outside, but no, this wide-open space is just a large cavern still underground.

Tap… tap… tap…

What was that? My head quickly turns as my eyes and ears seek out the sound of footsteps that slowly starts to echo through the cavern. I feel relieved that I might finally be able to escape from this cave. I do not know anyone who would be in a cave, but some people do caving as a hobby, and these guys should be able to…

"Ahh!"

I fall to the ground clutching my cheek after an arrow just narrowly misses me. I am bleeding. I stare at my hand as I see it stained red with blood. Is this really real? I look up, ignoring the stinging pain in my cheek. A goblin… no three goblins appear, pointing bows at me. This is just a dream! This is not real!

"This is not REAL!" I scream as a trio of arrows sink into my chest.

<0>

I am still screaming as I reappear in the cave where I first woke up. This is real. I touch my cheek. It no longer stings or bleeds, but I still remember the pain and blood. There are no arrows in my chest either. That felt too real. The pain, the fear it was too real. This is not just a dream.

I get up, still trying to understand what has just happened. Could I have died? The last thing I remember was yawning and closing my eyes just as my train was pulling into the station, but there was no way I could have died. Stuff like that only happens in books and anime, but how else can I explain what is happening. This is too much.

Taking a deep breath, I look around the cave once again. If this is my new life, I need to escape this cave and find someone to help me, but the only way out is to jump don that hole in the floor again. I could try to jump over it, but I do not think I could make it. I do not like it, but it is my only option, so I move towards the hole and jump down. Time for escape attempt number two. Unfortunately, a goblin snuck up on me and stabbed me in the back this time.

I wander the tunnels for nearly an hour, doing everything in my power to remain undetected. However, I still find myself surrounded by goblins. It was horrible. They beat me to death with sticks, and I do not need to tell you how painful it was, but I will tell you that death was a mercy. I do not want to go back down there, but I still have no other way to escape this cave.

I survive for just over two hours this time. I even managed to sneak past a group of seven goblins and find my way through that cavern I first died in. I was making good process and thought I would make it, but some kind of giant snake dropped down from the ceiling and crushed me to death in an instant. I am glad I died before I was eaten, but the last thing I saw was the snake's mouth opening wide and approaching my head.

I need some kind of weapon. I have tried sneaking, and well, that works on goblins now. I still need a way to defend myself. But looking around the cave, all I see are rocks. I guess I could throw them and hope to either escape or scare my attackers off. I spend some time walking around the cave, picking up every stone I find and end up with twelve of them. Not a lot but at least with my storage skill, I do not need to carry them around in my pockets. I take a deep breath before I jump down into the hole once again.

Things go better this time. I managed to sneak past a few groups of goblins, kill a pair of bats that attacked me and reach the spot where that snake crushed me. Fortunately, that sneaky serpent is nowhere to be seen, so I make my way forward. I do not see anything for ten then fifteen minutes, but then I am forced to hide as a pair of goblins appear. It was a narrow escape, but they passed me by without even looking in my direction. I was about to leave, but…

"Ahh!"

I scream as the moment I stick my head out from my hiding spot, I come face to face with that giant snake from before. I do not even get a chance to blink before it wraps around my body and kills me again. the only good thing that comes of this is that I learned I keep the items I have in storage when I die.

Since these deaths were remarkably similar, I will tell them all together. On my sixth attempt, I was stabbed in the stomach by a goblin when I walked around the corner without looking. My seventh attempt ended with me getting stabbed in the back by a goblin again. My eighth attempt ended with me being stabbed all over by a group of goblins after one of them shot me in the leg with an arrow. I am starting to wonder if I will be doomed to live in this cave till the end of time.

This time I will escape! I tell myself as I jump down into the hole. I only have five stones left, but I hope that will be enough if I am careful. Moving forward, I am determined to escape and get away from this hell of repeatedly dying horribly. I need to escape, or I will be driven insane. Moving forward, I try to be as quiet as I can.

I was careful as I advanced. After all the times I have been stabbed in the back, I keep checking over my shoulder every few steps. It may seem excessive, but if you have ever been stabbed, then you would know why I am doing whatever I have to in order to avoid suffering that pain again. So far, it seems to be working, so I will continue to keep up my checks.

An hour passes, and I avoid three goblin groups as I make my way through the tunnel. Two hours pass, and I avoid that giant snake as it swallows a goblin whole. I am surprised that the snake is still eating after eating me twice today. I sneak past it and manage to make it to another cavern. This cave cannot be natural. I had only gone cave once before when I was in school, but I could tell no cave would naturally look like this.

Stepping into the cavern, I stop as a single goblin appears. There is only one, this time holding a small, short sword. Unfortunately, it spots me before I can hide and charges towards me. I have no choice. If I am going to get out of here, I must fight. At least there is only one to worry about, but I am still terrified as it raises its sword. But I take a deep breath. Take aim with my stone. I wait for the goblin to get close enough where I will not miss, and I throw it.

"Ah!"

My stone strikes the goblin between the eyes, knocking it down and causing the goblin to lose its grip on its short sword. The sword lands at my feet, and I do not hesitate to pick up the weapon and rush the goblin. Before it could even stand up, I plugged my sword into the goblin's chest, and with one loud cry of pain, the creature finally died.

I could not help but giggle as I collapsed after the fight. All the tension leaves my body, and for the first time, I genuinely believe that I will be able to leave the cave. I did it. I really went and killed a goblin. After so many deaths at the hands of goblins, it feels good to get some payback. When I stand back up, the goblin is still there, and a pool of black blood has surrounded its body. I take out the sword feeling better with it in my hands as I finally have a real weapon. Now time to move on and finally get out of…

"Ahh!"

I collapse in agony as an arrow pierces the back of my knee, then a second hit me in the shoulder. As I collapse to the ground and my vision burs, I see several more arrows shooting towards me, and then I am back in the cave where I started. Am I ever going to get out of this cave? But at least now I have a weapon. Jumping back into the hole, I know that I will finally escape from this cave this time.

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