Chapter 1: Welcome to the Crypt
"Where is this? Am I kidnapped?"
Kai Ren rubbed his dizzy head and slowly stood up.
Not long ago, he had been rushing to attend morning class. Since he didn't like the dorms, he shared an off-campus house with a few others. He still didn't understand which lunatic came up with the concept of morning lectures.
"...Why the hell am I in a crypt?"
The air was cold and damp, thick with the smell of stone and moss. Vines hung from cracks above, swaying slightly as if something had just passed by. Kai looked around and spotted one thick vine he must have climbed—or been pulled—through to get here.
He brushed a hand against the cold wall and noticed faint glowing runes beneath the moss. Just then, a stone embedded with a crystal screen flickered to life. A strange voice echoed from nowhere, as if spoken by the crypt itself.
[Welcome, chosen souls, to the World of Crypt Survival.]
[Here lie endless treasures and lethal traps. Every cycle's twelfth hour, the crypt will open a new chamber. You may choose to explore—or stay in your base crypt. But beware: after one hour, the entrance will seal. Those left behind will remain... forever.]
[Chambers may host other survivors. You can cooperate. Or kill.]
[The crystal screen enables communication and trade. Use your findings to upgrade your crypt and build a sanctuary. Your crypt's level mirrors your chat level.]
[The crypt is a safe zone. Creatures from chambers cannot enter—but other survivors can. Defend it well.]
[The game begins now. Good luck.]
Kai took a deep breath.
So he hadn't been kidnapped. This was more like one of those novels—teleported to another world. A survival game, but real. Based on the voice, he wasn't the only one here.
He turned to the screen next to him. It showed his username, a glowing "Lv. 1" beside it, and a list of upgrade requirements: [Upgrade Materials: 50 kg wood, 100 kg iron]
Tapping the panel, it expanded into a chatroom. Language was automatically translated.
[Where the hell is this?! Anyone else here?!]
[Did everyone hear that weird announcement? Are we in another world?]
[This is insane. I just won the lottery yesterday and woke up in a crypt.]
[Wait—this isn't the afterlife? I jumped off a building. I thought this was hell.]
The chat buzzed with panic, confusion, and scattered humor. Seemed like dozens of people had been dragged into this. The crypt chamber itself was surprisingly large—more than enough room to move around, like an underground sanctuary.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed inside Kai's mind.
> "Ding! Host detected. Prediction System successfully bound."
"Beep! First chamber is safe. Key items:
– Drawer in the manager's desk contains machete.
– Filing cabinet column 2, drawer 3: Instant ramen.
– All office furniture removable."
A grinding sound rumbled overhead.
[Warning: Chamber opening. Hold steady.]
The crypt trembled as an arched stone door slowly rolled open. Kai felt a sudden drop in gravity—weightlessness for a second. Then stillness.
A new chamber lay ahead, torch-lit and eerily quiet.
Kai grinned a little.
> "So I have a system that predicts what's ahead? Guess I got lucky."
The chamber was bizarrely ordinary.
> "An... office?"
Stone merged seamlessly with steel. Desks, chairs, and cabinets stood in orderly rows. A motivational poster hung on one cracked wall:
"Work hard and rise higher every day."
Kai walked to the manager's desk. Just like the system said, a machete was tucked inside the drawer. Oddly sharp. Suspiciously convenient.
At the specified cabinet—second column, third drawer—he found a pack of instant ramen.
Only one minute had passed. The countdown was already ticking on the chamber wall: [59:23]
Still plenty of time. Kai began searching the room. He found a blank notepad, but oddly, no files, no computers, not even pens. The office windows were bricked over, and the door was sealed shut.
> "Well... I need wood. Let's chop up some desks."
He tested the machete—sharp and light. Every desk and chair here was wooden. No stone, though.
There were about 40 desks total.
Kai wasn't exactly athletic. More of a night gamer than gym regular. After nearly 50 minutes of hacking and stacking, he only managed to break down 20 desks. If he tried moving them whole, the crypt wouldn't hold many.
> "Six minutes left. Screw it, I'm done. I need to work out... if I survive."
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Kai dragged six more chairs back to the crypt chamber.
As soon as he returned, the stone entrance rumbled shut behind him. He thought he heard faint sounds—whispers? Footsteps?
He shook it off and turned to the crystal screen.
The upgrade requirement had changed: [Upgrade Needed: 10 kg wood, 100 kg iron]
> "What? Only 40 kilos from 20 desks? That's a scam."
Even the six chairs counted—an extra 10 kg wood.
Kai slumped onto one chair, testing its sturdiness. Surprisingly comfy.
Not much room to stretch out in the crypt, but it was livable.
He stood and tapped the screen again, opening the chatroom.
[Did you guys finish the first floor? Any monsters?]
[Mine was a construction site. Found shovels and a bucket.]
[Mine smelled like death. A public restroom. Got out immediately.]
[Wait—did you have a faucet there? That's drinkable water!]
[Yeah, but I wasn't thirsty. And I had nothing to store it in.]
[Still, you should've drunk some! Who knows what's next?]
[Then you drink it. The smell was enough to kill.]
[Looks like everyone's first floor was safe. I found an abandoned factory—20 kg scrap metal and half a bottle of water.]
Kai smirked.
So far, the chambers weren't too dangerous. But that could change at any moment.
And thanks to his Prediction System, he had an edge.
> "Alright then… next floor. Let's see what hell's waiting down there."