Dungeon Resex: Chapter 1

The pitfall trap opened under ****'s feet.

By the time he came to his senses, he realized he was a dead man.

“… … Kuuugh.”

[Oopsie, be careful, everyone! There are treasures hidden deep within the ruins, but dangerous traps abound! It’s one of the rules of the Dungeon!]

The creepy, cheerful voice of the guide faded away in the distance.

That little fiend only gave 'advice' after someone got hurt or died. And today was apparently the day that ****'s luck finally ran out.

He was stuck, impaled on sharp spikes at the bottom of a pitfall trap.

**** tried to ignore the searing pain in his stomach as he tried to assess the damage. Multiple spikes protruded through his stomach, a pool of blood was quickly forming underneath him.

He gasped in pain as he used his last strength to pull out the iron spikes out of his body, and dragged himself across the floor until his back was resting against the cool stone lining the walls of the pitfall.

Looking up towards the sky, he could make out the faint ring of light where he had fallen. It was a miracle he was still alive. He should have dead. Well... he would be, soon enough.

‘Made it this far only to die to a fucking trap because I got distracted by a treasure chest...’

There was no sense crying over spilt milk. He was dying because of his own mistake.

‘I guess this is how I'm going to go...?’

**** could feel his field of vision start to narrow as his eyes dimmmed. It was so cold.

He could feel his limbs start to numb as the blood continued to seep out of his body.

The ringing in his ears intensified. The searing pain in his stomach dulled to a throb. The whole thing felt like a dream.

Maybe it was a dream? Maybe he would finally be able to wake up from this nightmare?

He struggled so hard to stay alive. And in the end the whole thing had been pointless.

‘This whole thing felt like an unrealistic nightmare from the beginning’

A month ago. ****'s world was shattered.

Forcibly summoned to an alternate reality, a world called a "Dungeon" with a group of strangers.

The cheery little bunny suddenly appeared, floating in air in front of the shell-shocked crowd of people ripped from their everyday lives.

[Tada! Hello everyone! Welcome one and all. Welcome to the "Dungeon". Are you ready to play a game?]

The bunny floated midair in front of the crowd, dressed sharply in a black tuxedo and a little bow-tie. It introduced itself as a 'Guide'.

101 people had been summoned together. People from all walks of life. Men, women, children. A crowd of confused and scared strangers.

The Guide surveyed the throng before him with a little chortle, and waved his hands for dramatic effect.

[The game you'll be playing is a 'Survival Game'! Isn't it exciting! Doesn't it sound like oodles of FUN?!]

‘Yeah, bleeding to **** is loads of fun. That flying weasel fuck.’

'Huh. I must really be dying. Is this what they mean when they say your life flashes before your eyes?'

As he felt his life seeping out of his body, **** found himself reliving the past month of his life, and grit his teeth in anger.

When people wake up and suddenly find themselves in a completely foreign environment surrounded by strangers, people react with confusion and fear. Keeping a level head and assessing their environment logically? Real people don't react like protagonists in a isekai novel.

How many people can instantly recognize what kind of situation they're in and react accordingly?

Most of the crowd were whispering among themselves about hidden cameras and viral videos when a tentative hand went up in the crowd. It belonged to a young girl.

"What do you mean? What game? What are the rules?”

[The rules, you ask?]

The Tuxedo bunny cocked his head to the side and rubbed his nose with a furry little paw before floating higher in the air and doing a little half spin.

[Lada~ Tada~ A Dungeon Game~ A Dungeon Game~ You die to learn~ You learn by pain!]

The Guide's mocking little tune was enough to drive some members of the crowd into action.

“You little poofy fuck. Fuck you, and fuck your games. Tell me where the fuck we are.”

A rough looking man stepped out of the crowd and rushed towards the dancing bunny. Covered in tattoos and dressed in an ill-fitting suit bulging with muscles, he swung at the guide as the bunny gracefully slipped between his fingers before floating higher in the air, just out of reach of the angry street-thug.

The bunny winked at the gathered crowd.

[Well, lets start with the most important rules then. Shall we? Rule #1: Always, Always be nice to the guide.]

A flash of light, and something sharp glinted in the air, too fast for anyone to see exactly what happened.

The man stopped mid-stride, his eyes bulging. Then his body collapsed as his head toppled off of his body, before landing on the ground with a soft 'thump' as it rolled away.

Blood. There was so much blood.

The image would be seared into ****'s mind forever.

“…uh?"

The Guide started giggling uncontrollably, rolling with laughter, admiring the striken faces of the crowd gathered beneath him.

[Teehee! See? Just like that. One ****, one lesson. Isn't it easy?]

Pandemonium broke out as people started screaming.

**** watched in disbelief as the fallen body of the street-thug continued to gush blood, his legs still twitching in its final **** throes while the panicked crowd tried to get away from the floating guide.

The whole thing had an unrealistic quality to it, it reminded **** of a grindhouse horror flick.

But it wasn't a dream. There were no hidden cameras.

The smell of electrified copper filled ****'s nostrils as the thug's body finished one final twitch before coming to a rest.

[Heehee~ Looks like we have exactly 100 participants now. Are. You. Ready?]

The bunny surveyed the crowd before him and snapped his fingers.

[Do your best to survive! The Dungeon Game starts... NOW!]

That was a month ago. A month of creatures, monsters that emerge from the shadows to drag people, screaming and pleading, back into the darkness. Beasts that rip flesh with fangs and claws, life-threatening traps around every corner.

As time passed. People continued to die.

People died when they let their guard down. They died when they made mistakes. At times, they had to kill each other, just to survive.

Only those that managed to live through the gauntlet of ever present **** around every corner managed to make it a month, to get to where they were today.

The end of dungeon.

The final ruins where the Gatekeeper awaits.

* * *

An earth shaking crash filled the room with dust as the final beast fell to the ground.

After a fierce, protracted battle, the last monster was finally defeated.

“It's done... We did it!”

[Oh my! Good job, everyone! Thank you so much for your all hard work!]

The guide popped into existence in front of the battle worn survivors.

The guide always came in a slightly different outfit when he appeared in front of the players. Today he was dressed in a dashing tweed jacket with thumbnail sized elbow patches and a bowler hat to complete the ensemble.

[This is amazing! Who would have thought that those pathetic little humans from the first day would eventually grow into hardy warriors capable of defeating this terrifying final boss?]

The guide zipped back and forth midair in excitement.

[You humans are amazing. I don't know of any other species capable of so much growth! So much potential! It's ridiculous!]

It had only been a month, but so much had changed for those who had survived.

Only seven people were left standing in the antechamber that held the Gatekeeper. Of the 100 players that started the game a month ago, countless people fell to beasts, traps, and to each other. The seven people in this room was all that was left.

Their bodies were broken, laced with injuries they would likely never recover from, but their eyes shined with intensity and purpose.

One man stepped forward to address the gushing bunny.

"Can we go back now? We played your game. We won. Can we go back home?"

[Ryu, you were amazing! Every time I see you fight I can barely contain myself! And with only one arm, too!]

The Guide bunny blushed as he twisted himself into knots.

Ryu Sung-Woo. He was by far the most 'accomplished' warrior of the seven that survived to the end.

A Taekwondo Instructor by trade, he came into the game with a body already trained to fight, and had the natural charisma and temperment to lead others.

Even with one arm missing he was still the most formidable player in the group.

"It's done. We did everything you asked. Send us home.”

The survivors stepped forward in unison. Having endured hell for the past 30 days, they were in no mood for further games.

The bunny opened his eyes wide, feigning innocence and bewilderment.

[Hmmm? Whatever do you mean? Why do you want to go home all of a sudden? We're just getting started. We have to strike while the iron is hot and move to stage 2!]

“… … what?"

The survivors stopped in their tracks.

Ryu stepped forward, the seething apparent in his voice as he looked up at the Guide.

"You promised. You told us that if we beat the final boss and we clear the game, we get to go home."

[Huuuh? Did you really think you finished the game already? This was just Stage 1. You didn't really think you'd get off that easily, did you? What kind of game do you think this is that it only has one level?]

The seven survivors erupted in anger.

“What!? Another dungeon!?”

“Everything we did so far, and you're going to tell us this was just the first level!?”

The Guide started laughing uncontrollably.

[Huh? Did you really think this was the end? Did I really forget to tell you that this was just the first stage? Oopsies?]

It was clear to anyone watching that he had deliberately avoided mentioning it for the sake of the present moment. The rage from the remaining survivors was palapable.

Rage, resignation... despair.

The only hope of escaping from this hell slipping through their fingers.

[The dungeon game is only really starting just now, players. Get ready for Round 2!]

Hell wasn't a place you could escape so easily.

* * *

“Cough... cough...!”

**** knew he was dying, but he still couldn't hide his disappointment.

[Huuuh? Did you really think you finished the game already? This was just Stage 1. You didn't really think you'd get off that easily, did you? What kind of game do you think this is that it only has one level?]

Even though he knew his friends were far away, he could hear the Guide's mocking words like he was in the same room with the other survivors.

That was one of the Guide's abilities. No matter where you were in the Dungeon, when the guide wanted to be heard, he was able to make an announcement using the dungeon system that would be audible to everyone still alive anywhere in the Dungeon.

After hearing everything the Guide said to the final seven, **** decided to let go. There was no point to trying to hold onto life.

[The dungeon game is only really starting just now, players. Get ready for Round 2!]

The goal that everyone had been fighting for, that so many people had already died for, was only the starting point for their hellish journey. He had been angry at himself for falling into a stupid trap so close to the finish line, learning that there was no salvation, that their goal was a lie all along made **** lose what little will he had left to live.

‘Maybe it would be better to just die now… … .’

[Heehee! There's no time to rest! Resting is for losers! A Dungeon Game~ A Dungeon Game~ You Die to learn, with LOTS of pain! Ready everyone! Time to go to Stage 2!!]

'That fucking rabbit.'

The Guide's annoying little sing song voice grated on ****'s nerves as he lay in a pool of his own blood, waiting to die.

[Come on, everyone! Early bird gets the worm! Lets hop to it, shall we?]

**** wished with his last dying breath that he could just smack that fucking bunny one last time before bleeding out alone in the bottom of this well.

[Oh, are you tired? It's okay, it's okay! Clearing a stage gets you a special bonus provided for times like these! Yap! Yap!]

‘Ah, I wish that fucker would just shut up… … huh?'

**** looked up, a silvery mist floated down towards him from the opening above his head.

‘Huh?’

It was beautiful. But it was more than that.

The mist landed on his body, forming a sparkling powder that absorbed itself into his skin, and something amazing happened.

[Survivor Complete Restoration!]

‘My wounds are closing?'

****'s eyes widened in shock. Before his eyes, the mortal wounds he was bleeding out from closed and knitted themselves shut before the openings dissappeared without a trace, leaving nothing but smooth skin where moments before were ragged holes.

All of his wounds, which left him teetering on the brink of ****, were healing rapidly.

Not only the wounds, but even his blood-soaked, ruined clothes were being restored back to their original forms.

It was a miracle. He could feel the strength returning to his limbs as he breathed in a ragged breath.

He was alive. Healed.

The Guide's sing song voice pierced his ears again.

[Now, now. That's enough, right? How's that for a consolation prize? Oooh~ Ryu! You look much better now that you have two arms again! Anyway, hurry now! Let’s move on to the next stage!]

**** panicked and sprung to his feet upon hearing those words.

“Wait, Wait! Take me too! I'm still alive down here!!”

Jeong Daun's voice however, even with his renewed strength, only echoed inside the stone walls of the pitfall trap.

[Time to go, everyone! Here we go~ Lets go to Stage-2!]

Ryu, who was walking towards the portal at the urging of the rabbit, paused at the strange feeling tugging at the back of his mind and found himself suddenly stopping to look back.

He thought of all the comrades he lost on his way to the final ruins, one in particular that was burned into his mind. One that was with them almost to the end, that ended up falling to his **** right before reaching the Gatekeeper.

‘I’m sorry, I couldn't protect you until the end. ****. I'm so sorry.’

He looked back towards the trap with regret before finally turning around again to step through the portal.

The portal closed and slowly shimmered out of existence, leaving the final ruins in complete silence, with nothing but the remains of the now destroyed Gatekeeper to greet anyone else that might enter the antechamber.

"God damn it, I'm still here!!!”

**** continued to scream and shout, hoping someone could hear him.

“Is there anyone out there!?”

But there was no one in this dungeon who could answer him except for the echoes of his own voice.

**** was all alone. Trapped in a pitfall with no way out, his friends and fellow survivors now gone with no one left alive in the Dungeon except him.

But then, a strange, unexpected voice rang in his ears.

[The dungeon is resetting.]

“… … what?"

* * *