Chapter Text
Sometimes I think about the fact I lived so far away from anyone else that if I hadn’t been standing ten feet away from my cabin when the world ended, I probably wouldn’t have noticed for a week. I wonder what that would have been like, just wandering through the woods confused, maybe meeting up with other survivors. Maybe I still could have made a life out there, god knows that after the collapse ‘hunter’ became a much more valuable career than it had been for basically my entire life.
That wasn’t what happened though. I know exactly what did happen, because the fuckers at “funniest entry highlights” had me watch the entire thing. Time codes included.
It was 2:23 am when the world ended. I found out later that for most people who were awake at the time, they saw entire cities disappear off the map followed by glowing stair cases bursting from the ground after the AI read out it’s message. I didn’t receive quite the same spectacle, though my entrance definitely qualified as a spectacle of it’s own kind.
I inherited my cabin from my uncle, we lived in it together when he was still alive. My uncle had been a hunter too, the one who taught me the trade, but his actual money came from some investments I can't remember that he had made a long time ago. He had sold those off a few years back when he got a bad feeling about them, which to his credit had been the right move. He left me everything he had left after that sale when he died, which was the cabin and enough money that, supplemented by the little income I had, I wouldn’t have to sell it and move back to the city to find some other job for at least four years. I wish I had gotten to enjoy all those years.
I was having trouble sleeping, which was to say that I was having a perfectly normal night. I had been reading until 2 am, a series Simone from town had loaned me called Earthsea, and after reaching the point where I finally felt exhausted enough to fall asleep I laid down to wait for my body to get the memo and knock me out. Unfortunately my body decided to instead remind me I hadn’t visited the bathroom since I had started my reading several hours ago, and now that I wasn’t focused in on something I needed to fix that immediately.
“It sure would be nice if my brain thought to warn me about these things before I absolutely needed to take care of them,” I grumbled as I hauled myself out of bed, speaking to nobody including myself. I did that a lot, talk for no reason. It comes from living in the middle of nowhere with minimal company. No company at all really since Uncle Dan passed. I could of made some friends in town outside of the public library, but I was night owl by nature even without the insomnia and the extent of the towns nightlife consisted of the same 20 people cycling between the three available bars.
My uncle had alwasy hated any kind of renovation that wasn’t absolutely necessary, and so the cabin still had an outhouse despite the fact that he had apparently found the money for a starlink internet set up I still used to connect to the outside world. I wasn’t nearly as fixated on keeping things the way they were, but I also didn’t have the kind of money to install a septic tank and indoor plumbing in the middle of buttfuck nowhere British Columbia, so even a year after I moved in the cabin still only had a outhouse.
Ultimately, that was what saved my life.
Or possibly ruined my death. I’m still trying to decided on that one.
I started getting ready at 2:04, and because it was early January in rural BC it was about 2:09 when I finally finished getting pants, a shirt, and a winter jacket on. I put one of my hands into my coat pocket for warmth and met with cold bullets instead.
“Ah shit,” I muttered as I walked from the entry room to my storage, “nearly forgot about our little lady roaming about.”
The little lady in question was a human-desensitized mountain lion wandering around, eating trash and testing how far she could get into town before someone noticed her. Some tourist had fed her scraps and now humans and food were connected in her head. The local facebook group had apparently decided to name her “Salty Girl” after a photo of her with a McDonalds fry container hanging out of her mouth had been posted.
Animal control would come grab her eventually, but probably not until things got warmer. Until then, it was best to be careful. I left the bullets in my pocket as a reminder because I kept forgetting my “being careful” equipment in the gun closet.
I unlocked the closet and pulled out one of it’s two occupants, my hunting rifle. As usual I left my uncles older but otherwise identical gun hanging where it had stayed for the last year. I wasn’t planning on shooting the poor critter, I was pretty sure I wasn’t allowed to anyway unless she was trying to eat my face anyway, but a noise maker is almost always a great deterrent for any animal.
It took me to 2:11 to finally make it out of the house and into the woods. With all of the snow that had piled up it was 2:15 when I finally arrived at he actual outhouse.
“No Oakley, you don’t need to tie your boots,” I muttered to myself, “it’s just a quick trip to the outhouse. Just shove your feet in them and it’ll work, it’s not like loose boots will shovel snow down into your socks.” My feet were almost as cold as if I hadn’t worn my boots, and the moment I got into actual heat all of the snow inside was going to melt in an instant and they would be soaked. The added weight also meant that I spent the entire trip looking down to make sure I didn’t trip over my own feet.
After yet more miserable wading, I finally managed to pull the door open and take a piss at 2:17. When I finished and stepped outside the first thing I noticed was how oddly bright the ground suddenly was now that I wasn’t desperately trying not to trip, so I looked up searching for the source of the dancing lights. I stared upward, utterly dazzled by the light of a completely inexplicable sudden aurora.
Weird, I thought to myself, they didn’t mention that when I was in town. Normally the townies loved to talk about any kind of weather or sky related stuff. For all that there was nothing to do out here, at least the light pollution was so low out here that you got an almost pristine view of the sky even from the middle of the town.
Not that any amount of light pollution would have mattered, the Aurora was incredibly bright, something that I would later find out was the result of the “Macro AI” that was going to run the crawl expanding it’s influence out to the surface. Electromagnetic interference from the alien intelligence was colliding with solar winds that normally wouldn’t be enough to create a proper aurora, and together they were forming the eddies of cosmic currents that formed a brilliantly bright pastel light show.
It was so beautiful for something that was about to cause us so much pain.
I probably shouldn’t have wasted my last 6 minutes of the world making sense staring up at it.
It was 2:23 when I heard the loud thunk of my home and outhouse collapsing. Almost in the same instant I heard and agonized yowl. It took me a second, much to long of a second, to look down from the beautiful lights. It took me another to process what was in front of me, mostly because of the fact that I was looking through the space where a second ago my entire life had been just a second ago, and now was an empty space over a patch of house shaped loose packed earth. What I did see was that suddenly there was a very large, very angry cat which was missing about half it’s tail glaring at me from approximately one my-missing-fucking-house length away.
The collapse had been instantaneous, and turned every roof on the planet into crushing and cutting machine. The mountain lion’s tail had been just over the edge of cabins covered deck, and it’s sudden descent into the ground had taken the back half of it’s tail off. Feeling an incredible amount of pain it had spun around to find what had hurt it and just as it turned to see me lit from above by the now fading but still bright aurora. The cat had come to a logical, if incorrect, conclusion that I had done something to hurt it. It roared and surged forward towards me, set on taking it’s vengeance for it’s tail.
“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!” I shouted as I tried to stumble back into safety.
I reached back as I tried to step back into the outhouse, trying to put anything between between me and the angry mountain lion even if it was just a flimsy outhouse door. Unfortunately the outhouse was no longer there, so instead my foot landed lower than expected and I almost fell backwards. A window blinked in and then out of existence in front of me, followed by a second that lasted under a second with some message about “pop up suspended due to elevated adrenal response”. A voice in my head began the explanation of what was happening as I tried to find my balance. I was far to focused on the massive roaring mouth and sharp outstretched paws to pay attention. luckily for me falling on my ass moved me out of the path of lion’s first pounce, otherwise it would have absolutely would have snapped it’s jaws shut around my throat.
The lion landed a few feet behind me and ended up half buried in snow. I took advantage of it’s brief blindness to scurry away from the thing towards the only cover I could see, the thick patch of trees on the other side of where my home was now not. I bolted forward, trying to pull my gun off of my back as I ran. It would only take a single shot to scare the animal off and then I could figure out what the hell was going on. The lion could definitely still hear me, but hopefully it wouldn’t want to follow me if it knew I was a threat.
Unfortunately, the voice in my head had finished talking about the time I got back to my feet. 18 seconds had passed by the time I made it halfway to grove of trees, and while I hadn’t been listening to the voice the message it delivered still came true: a stairwell with a blindingly bright spotlight suddenly burst into existence about two feet in front of me. I stumbled forward, blinded by the sudden change in light level, and only barely manged to stop myself on the second step down. I looked bewildered between the light and the stairwell that now occupied the space that had once been my kitchen.
I heard another roar from behind me and just barely spun to mostly face it when the impact came.
I’ve talked to other crawlers about how they agonized over going down into the dungeon, or how they almost missed their chance because they were processing what the AI had said, or they were stuck in the grief of losing their families until almost the very last second.
That’s not something that I had to worry about.
I was just only just barely 2:24 when I was knocked down the stairs of the World Dungeon by an angry, bleeding mountain lion.
We blinked into existence at the top of a set of steep stairs, but we also entered several feet above them and flying sideways at one of the walls for some reason. we slammed into it, our awkward and inexplicably diagonal flight path resulted in us both hitting the wall at about the same time rather than what should have happened: me getting crushed under a huge pouncing cat. Unfortunately, I still had all the force of a pouncing cat going into me when I slammed into the wall side first, and that hurt only slightly less than the alternative. Worse, after hitting the wall we immediately dropped down to the stone stairs below, which we rolled down together adding to both of our bruises.
We landed in a heap, and thankfully I somehow ended up on top of the mountain lion without a single claw embedded in me. I managed to keep my composure fairly well given the circumstances, I only screamed at most a dozen expletives as I untangled myself from a massive dazed but still angry predator. I scrambled off of the big cat as fast as I could, I knew that it would only be dazed for a few seconds and I need to not be here when it did. Animals didn’t do well in unfamiliar surroundings, and hopefully if I was far enough away when it came to it’s senses it would be to distracted by everything around it to track me down. Hopefully.
I scanned the room and found the exit, a huge pair of double doors with fish designs all over them. I jumped up and slammed my way through the surprisingly light double doors then bolted down the hall out of the room. as I did, I felt an odd buzz in my brain like someone was holding a rumbling controller to my temple. The voice in my head can again, this time a new less robotic one.
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the First Floor.
I didn’t know what the hell was going on or where I was, but the ancient primeval instinct that all humans carried with us from our birth continent of get the fuck away from the lion thankfully overrode those petty concerns. I sprinted down down the hallways and through a chaotic series of twists and turns away from the entryway, just in case the cat decided to follow me.
It was only when I ran out of breath and had to come to a stumbling, gasping stop that my brain slowed enough to register the user interface that now hung in my vision. It was a fairly bare bones one, not stylized like the fantasy games I preferred like the souls series, more just a bare minimum set of boxes with a health bar, a mana bar, and some boxes to display notifications and menu options. Two particular elements caught my eye. The first was a counter, reading 4 days, 23 hours, 55 minutes. The second was a blinking red box that read IMPORTANT: MISSED NOTIFICATION. I tried to focus my eyes on the box to get a better look, and the system apparently took that as close enough to a “click”. I was assaulted with a wall of text and a strange phantom voice.
System Message:
Thank you for your eagerness to enter the dungeon, however due to entering the dungeon earlier than intended you have missed an important system notification. While much of this information no longer applies as you have already agreed to it’s terms by entering the dungeon, we are legally required to ensure that you are aware of it’s entire contents. Missed Message is as follows.
Surviving humans take note.
Per Syndicate rules, subsection 543 of the Precious Elemental Reserves Code, having failed to file a proper appeal for mineral and elemental rights within 50 Solars of first contact, your planet has been successfully seized and is currently being mined of all requested elemental deposits by the assigned planetary regent.
Every interior of your world has been crushed and all raw materials—organic and inanimate—are in the process of being mined for the requested elements.
Per the Mined Material Reclamation act along with subsection 35 of the Indigenous Planetary Species Protection Act, any surviving humans will be given the opportunity to reclaim their lost matter. The Borant Corporation, having been assigned regency over this solar system, is allowed to choose the manner of this reclamation, and they have chosen option 3, also known as the 18-Level World Dungeon. The Borant Corporation retains all rights to broadcast, exploit, and otherwise control all aspects of the World Dungeon and will remain in control as long as they adhere to Syndicate regulations regarding world resource reclamation.
Upon successful completion of level 18 of the World Dungeon, regency of this planet will revert to the successor.
A Syndicate neutral observer AI—myself—has been created and dispatched to this planet to supervise the creation of the World Dungeon and to ensure all the rules and regulations are properly followed.
Please pay careful attention to the following information as it will not be repeated.
Per the Indigenous Planetary Species Protection Act, all remaining materials—estimated to be 99.999999% of the sifted matter—is currently being repurposed for the subterranean World Dungeon. The first level of this dungeon will open approximately 18 seconds after the end of this announcement. The first-level entrances will be open for exactly one human hour and one hour only. Once the entrances are closed, you may no longer enter. If you enter, you may not leave until you have either completed all 18 levels of the World Dungeon or if you meet certain other requirements.
If you choose not to enter the World Dungeon, you will have to sustain yourself upon the surface of your planet, and this may be the last communication you receive during your lifetime. All previously-processed matter and elements are forfeit. However, you are free to mine and utilize any remaining and naturally-occurring resources for your own benefit. The Borant Corporation wishes you luck and thanks you for the opportunity.
For those who wish to exercise their right of resource reclamation, please take note.
There will be 150,000 level-one entrances added to the world. These entrances will be marked and easy to spot. If you so choose to enter the first level of the dungeon, you will have five rotations of your planet to find the next level down. There will be 75,000 entrances to level two. There will be 37,500 entrances to level three. 18,750 to level 4. 9,375 entrances to level 5 and 4,688 entrances to level 6. The number of available entrances to the next lower level will continue to decrease by half, rounding up until the 18th level, which will only have two entrances and a single exit.
Crawlers who choose to enter the World Dungeon must find a staircase and descend to the next level down before the allotted time is up for that level. Once the time has passed, the level will be reclaimed and all remaining matter in the level, organic and inanimate, will be forfeit. Generated loot and other matter that is not gathered and claimed may be placed in the Syndicate market.
Each lower level will have a longer period of reclamation. Additional rules come into play once any crawlers descend to the tenth floor. These rules will be explained when and if any crawlers reach this level.
If you so choose to enter the World Dungeon, it is highly recommended you immediately find and utilize a tutorial guild. Multiple tutorial guilds will be seeded throughout the dungeon on levels 1 through 3.
If you have any additional questions, or you wish to file an appeal, such requests must be submitted in writing directly to the closest Syndicate office.
Thank you for being a part of the Syndicate. Have a great day.
You have been designated Crawler 99. You have been assigned the Crawler Name: “Oakley”.
You are assigned the race of Human. You are currently level 1. you may choose a new new race and class as soon as you descend to the third floor. Your stat points have been assigned based on your current physical and mental profile. See the stat menu for more details.
What the god damned fuck? Was the only thing in my head as I read the message. Just that single thought, What the god damned fuck? A constant loop of agony and confusion. I stared at the wall of text, gasping for air, barely comprehending any of it. First contact? Elemental reclaimant? Dungeon as a mining method? Tutorial guild? I fell onto my ass, bracing against a wall, and closed my eyes. Trying to find my focus and recenter myself. I caught my breath and pushed the nonsense to the side. After a moment, I felt ready to open my eyes.
The second I did I was assaulted by yet more text, and a new voice playing in my head..
New Achievement: Angel Investor!
You are among the first 100 crawlers to enter a world dungeon! Congratulations! You truly are sucker among Suckers.
Reward: You’ve received a Gold Adventure Box!
New Achivement: Now we just need a tiger and a bear!
You brought a Lion with you into the dungeon! Granted it’s a Mountain lion, also known as a Puma, a Cougar, a Catamount, or a Panther… but I’ll take it! It’s rare for wild life to wander into the dungeon let alone one of that size, so be sure not to let the ratings it could bring you go to waste!
Reward: You have received a Legendary Apex Predator Box!
New Achievement: Every step on the way down!
You fell down the stairs on your way into the dungeon, how embarrassing and painful for you! Probably not the best start to your illustrious dungeon career so here’s a little something to dull the pain.
Reward: You’ve received a Silver First Aid Box!
New Achievement: All bundled up with nowhere to go!
You entered the dungeon in full winter garb! Probably a good idea for where you’re from, but let me be the first to assure you that for the next several floors at least it is going to be balmy and warm. Lets get you into some more climate appropriate attire!
Reward: You have received a Bronze Apparel Box!
New Achievement: Loner!
You entered the dungeon without any human companions. Didn't anyone teach you there is safety in numbers?
Reward: None! Haha. You are so dead.
I stared ahead at the chain of text boxes. None of them sounded good, but that last one was… Ominous. After a brief, not nearly long enough moment to process the others, a new achievement popped up as if to remind him of something.
New Achievement: …Or are you just happy to see me?
You brought a firearm with you into the dungeon! That’s gonna be real useful for you right now, but remember how we called this a World Dungeon? Do you think that might say something about the themeing of what we’ve got going on? And how that themeing might affect the availability of say… Bullets? Just something to consider.
Reward: You have received a Gold Consider-Your-Alternatives box!
That sent a jolt of panic through me, I grabbed at my chest for my hunting rifles carry strap and unclipped it, yanking it off of my back to inspect it. After a several moments of checking the wood and metal pieces and operating the action to check for snags I let out a sigh of relief. Somehow, despite the fact that I had just fallen down a massive flight of hard stone stairs, my rifle was undamaged. It was a single shot bolt action rifle probably older than both me and my uncle put together, but he had insisted on me learning to shoot with it over any other model to ‘keep me from developing bad habits’.
“A proper hunter ends it with a single shot Oakley,” I muttered under my breath “Never allow a second of suffering that isn’t necessary.” That had always been Uncle Dan’s philosophy, spoken the day he handed me the gun and reiterated more times than I could count every day afterwards.
Something horrible dawned on me. That message had said that every interior on the planet had been crushed, and I had seen my cabin disappear before my own eyes. My cabin was gone. Dan’s cabin was gone. His gun was gone.
Every piece of my family I had left is gone now. All except for…
I pulled my gun tight against my chest and traced my fingers down to the base, right above the butt of the rifle to find the carvings I knew were there. I traced my name, then the three other names my uncle had carved beside it, then finally the one I had added myself after he had passed. Oakley, Ashley, Sequoia, Elmer, Daniel. I curled myself around the rifle and began to sob.
This was all I had left of my family. The cabin that my uncle had left me was gone. The box of memories of my sister, father, and mother were all gone. The few letters I had from my grand parents before I had lost them as well were all gone. I wanted to just give up and cry until the world finished ending.
I wanted to go to where I could see them again.
The voice in my head had other Ideas. a new box appeared with a ping, filling my vision entirely unlike the others as if it was demanding my attention.
New Achievment: First day of dungeon blues!
You’ve spent 10 minutes of your first hour in the dungeon huddled against a wall weeping! Awwww, does the little baby miss the surface world? Well tough it out bitch, it’s not coming back and crying and pissing yourself will only make it worse.
Reward: You’ve received a Bronze Tissue Box!
I stared with red no longer teary eyes at the text floating in front of me for a moment, caught between disbelief and white hot rage. Well, I thought, Fuck all of that. I can’t die here. I need to find a way to punch whoever writes these in the fucking face before I can even think of dying. I stood to my full height, took a deep breath, shouldered my rifle, and set out down the hall.
“Where the fuck is that tutorial guild.”