I never thought my life could get any worse than delivering chicken wings in a thunderstorm. But, hey, the universe loves proving me wrong.
The rain was coming down that heavy that night, pounding the city streets like a demonic drumline. My discount raincoat could barely keep up, and the box in my hand was already soaked through. The address was 34 Willow Lane, but all I could decipher was a twisting, narrow road consumed by fog.
"Man, what kinda crazy person orders food in a storm like this…" I muttered, water shaking off my forehead. My voice was small under the thunder of the rain.
I pushed my bike along the muddy track, tires squelching a little with every step. My shoes squelched with water. There wasn't a single person in sight. Not even a dog's bark. Just rain and the dim light of a flickering street lamp.
And then—wham! Lightning split the sky, vivid enough to make me flinch.
"Okay—no way. I'm finding shelter before I become crispy fried Yuta.".
I searched around until I spotted a building nearby—a house, an old house, half-hidden behind overgrown vines and a gate that was corroded. The windows were dark, but it was better than freezing to death in the open.
I pushed the gate open—it creaked like it did in horror movies—and darted in.
The moment I was inside, everything… shifted.
The smell of wet earth disappeared. The sound of rain did too, like someone turned off the world. My heart raced as I looked around. The inside of the house wasn't old at all. It was actually. futuristic.
Metal walls. A blue interface floating in mid-air that pulsed. And in the middle of the room—nothing but a white floor extending off into the darkness.
"What the hell…?" I muttered.
Then a voice boomed from everywhere.
[Welcome, Player Yuta.]
I drew back. "W-What? Who said that?!"
The voice was detached, synthesized—unmistakably robotic.
[You have entered the Dungeon of Survivor.]
[Objective: Clear all 100 floors to return to your original world.]
I was stunned. My mouth was open but I could find no words. My heart was racing.
"Dungeon…? Survivor? Return to my world?" I stuttered like a fool. "You mean this isn't—this isn't Earth?"
[Affirmative.]
I rubbed my face, half-expecting to wake up. "Great. I've officially lost it. Either I'm hallucinating or dead. Both sound equally bad."
[Initializing system interface… complete.]
A blue screen popped up before me, full of glowing text.
Player Name: Yuta
Level: 1
Class: None
Skills: None
Equipment: None
Dungeon Coins: 0
I stared at the list, dead silent for a few seconds before blurting out, "What kind of sick joke is this? No skills, no weapons, no nothing?!"
Then, at the bottom of the screen, a small icon was flashing.
[Summon Menu — Locked. Requires 100 Dungeon Coins.]
"…Summon?"
My gamer brain kicked in. It was exactly like those gacha games I used to play. You press the button, spend currency, and pray you get something decent—you normally don't.
So… this world was essentially a gacha dungeon?
I let out a long sigh and sat on the cold floor. "Fantastic. I'm trapped in a cosmic gacha simulator. No starter pack, no bonus login reward. Just vibes."
[First floor begins in 60 seconds.]
"Wait, wait, wait—what?! No tutorial?!"
The blue screen started flashing red as a circular portal appeared in front of me. Wind rushed past, pulling at my soaked clothes.
[Floor 1: Trial of Survival — Begin.]
I didn't get a chance to answer. The earth beneath me dissolved.
I fell with a crunch. I choked on dust, coughing, and rose to my feet. The air was heavy, the sky a deep red. Wastes of jagged rock and twisted trees stretched around me.
This wasn't a different world.
This was stepping into a nightmare.
A low snarl came from somewhere behind me.
"Please be a cat," I whispered.
It wasn't a cat.
A small green creature emerged from behind a rock—half my height, razor-sharp claws, pointed teeth, yellow eyes glowing with starvation.
A goblin.
The beast let out a shriek and lunged at me.
"Wait—time out! I don't even have a weapon!" I yelped, falling back. The goblin sprang, claws shredding my arm. Pain burned through me like fire.
"Shit—
I stumbled, grabbed a rock, and smashed it into the creature's face. It shrieked, stumbled backward, and I hit it again—harder this time. It fell, twitched, then went limp.
My hands trembled as I dropped the rock. My heart was pounding so hard I figured it'd burst.
[Enemy defeated. +10 Dungeon Coins earned.]
A blue notification hovered in the air.
I blinked, panting. "Ten coins… for that?!"
The system said nothing.
"Guess I'm gonna need ninety more of those ugly things," I muttered, rubbing the cut on my arm. It stung, but the pain felt too real to be a dream.
A growl came from the distance. Then another. And another.
"Ah, hell no."
Three more goblins came out of the darkness. I backed away slowly, clutching another rock.
[Hint: Combat skill increases through practice.]
"Practice?! You mean surviving! You stupid system!"
The first goblin attacked. I dodged its claw, attempted to slam the rock into its head, missed, and merely rolled out of the way as another one leapt at me. My breathing came in torn gasps, my body shuddering with adrenaline.
Yet somewhere in the middle of that chaos, something flipped.
My eyes followed the goblin's movement—shoulder twitch, claw swipe, step. I dodged to the right before it landed. My reflexes faster. My body lighter.
I swung the rock and bashed it into the creature's temple. Blood splattered onto my arm.
[Enemy defeated. +10 Dungeon Coins.]
[Basic Instinct unlocked: Survival Awareness Lv.1]
A faint blue aura glowed around me. I felt an odd sense of clarity, like the world slowed for half a second.
"Finally… a skill," I muttered, half smiling amid the sweat and fear.
The other goblins hesitated, snarling but wavering now. I didn't know they knew fear, but I damn well did. I charged in anyway.
I didn't think—I just moved. Duck, punch, roll, swing. Every strike hit harder. Every dodge felt easier.
And when the last goblin fell, I stood there panting, dirty and bloody.
[Enemies defeated. +30 Dungeon Coins.]
[Current Coins: 50]
"Halfway there," I panted, staring at the message.
My arms ached, but inside me… something burned. Maybe fear, maybe excitement. I couldn't quite tell.
I low-chuckled. "I guess this is the sensation of being a 'player'."
But the laugh didn't hold long when I heard a deeper growl.
This one wasn't small. The ground trembled a bit.
Out of the fog emerged something enormous—a goblin twice my size, carrying a bone club.
The system chimed again.
[Mini-Boss: Goblin Brute Appeared.]
"…You've got to be kidding me."
I looked down at my rock. Up at the monster.
"Yeah, this isn't gonna work."
The brute roared and charged. I just rolled out of the way as the club smashed into the ground, cracking it open. I jumped to my feet and ran behind a boulder.
Think, Yuta. Think! You have 50 coins. You just need 50 more to be able to use the summon. But if this thing hits you once—you're done for.
The brute swung again, the impact of its attack sending me stumbling backward. My vision blurred for a second.
Then I noticed something glinting on the ground near the dead goblins—a weak sparkle.
A coin.
[Dungeon Coin +10]
Sixty now. I grit my teeth.
I ran, goading the beast to pursue, weaving between rocks. Every step was life or death. My lungs screamed for air. Sweat and blood mixed on my face.
[Survival Awareness Lv.1 → Lv.2]
The system voice sounded again, and my movements immediately felt even more nimble.
When the brute's club got stuck in the ground momentarily, I rushed in, bashed a rock into its knee, then grabbed the pointy end of a broken bone nearby and jammed it into its eye.
It roared in agony, thrashed about blindly—too slow this time.
I leapt onto its back and struck repeatedly until it toppled over.
Silence.
[Mini-Boss defeated. +50 Dungeon Coins.]
[Current Coins: 110]
[Summon Menu Unlocked.]
I fell to my knees, gasping. My entire body shook, but I was alive.
The blue screen came back to life, presenting me with a gigantic golden button.
[Press to Summon — 100 Dungeon Coins Required]
I hesitated for a moment. My thumb hovered above it.
Then I weakly smiled. "Let's see if luck's finally on my side."
I pressed the button.
Light exploded from the screen, swirling into a glittering circle in front of me. The air throbbed, and I could feel something powerful gathering in it.
[Summon in Progress…]
[Summoning Complete.]
The light vanished.
And standing before me—was a girl.
Silver-haired, dark-armored, softly blue-glowing eyes. She looked human… but there was something about her that didn't look real.
She bowed her head slightly and said in a melodious, calming voice, "Master, your summon has answered the call."
I blinked. "Wait. Master?"
She smiled faintly. "What are your orders?"
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Maybe this dungeon wasn't so terrible after all.