Prologue

Fear.

It was all around, an inescapable sense of dread. People of all ages and walks of life were huddled in terror. Sobbing was heard from all directions, and the howls of otherworldly beasts came from outside.

It all started just over a week ago. A mysterious message had appeared in everyone’s mind, then all hell broke loose. Strange creatures had rampaged through the town, killing indiscriminately. Eventually, someone had turned on the evacuation siren, and the survivors had fled to a local shelter.

There they were safe, as volunteers had formed a militia and built barricades to keep the monsters out. There had been many casualties, but the militia had succeeded in protecting them. Most were praying for salvation, hoping the disaster would end, or that the government would save them.

But fate had other plans.

It was currently enraged. Even though it had rallied its kin, and forced the lesser beings to submit, its attacks against the humans had shown no results. They continued to hid behind walls, with those weapons that mowed down all the pawns it sent.

Even though a number of humans had died the first day, it wasn’t enough to sate its bloodlust. It needed a plan, one so devious that the humans would drown in despair.

A cruel smile stretched the beast’s face.

Episode Two – Awaken to a New Reality

Part One

Good morning bedroom! I just had the most absurd dream! I was trapped inside a dangerous dungeon and had to fight for my life. Ah, it’s so nice to just lie in bed, not dealing with monsters around every corner. Yep, I’m just laying in bed, not freaking out or anything. Ah, who am I kidding? I can still see my Status.

This led to a whole slew of questions. I still had no clue what had happened, or how I wound up inside that dungeon. If the whole world was like that, then there was no hope for the human race. I needed to figure out what was going on ASAP.

*Growl*

Okay! It can wait until I’ve eaten!

According to the clock, it had been about nine days. Furthermore, the power was out in my apartment, spoiling most of my food. Why am I okay after nine days with no food or water? I’d eaten every box of fruit bars and every can of fruit, to satisfy my stomach.

After that, I looked around to see if there was any explanation about what had happened to me.

Portal to C-Rank Trial: Nightmare Labyrinth

Type: Mindscape

Restrictions: One person only. No items or equipment.

Misc.: Challengers will enter Stasis.

Description: An entrance point to a dungeon. Falling asleep nearby will transport you into the dungeon.

So this explains what happened. I was sleeping when World Decay started, and ended up inside a dungeon. What. The. FUCK! Something so stupid nearly got me killed.

Besides my bed, there wasn’t much in the room, as I’d just moved in about a month ago. Except that now there was a large chest. What is this? It isn’t mine. Upon opening it, I discovered all the equipment I had in the dungeon along with something new.

Nightmare’s Twin Swords

Rank: Unique

Equipment Skills: Beast of the Nightmare

Description: A set of twin blades, possessing great potential. The blades are bound to their owner, and will curse others who try to use them. Individually, the swords are known as Triumph and Sorrow.

Upgrade Requirement: The blades hunger for blood: Feed them. Lives taken ( 0/1000 )

These are the swords the doppelganger used. Why did I get them as a reward? Considering that the name has Nightmare in it, which was the dungeon’s theme, they’re probably important. Still, a thousand kills to upgrade it, that’s insane.

Sorting through the chest, I found my magic bags and began to put my gear into them. I prioritized my weapons, especially the throwing ones, along with one spare set of armor. After packing my gear, I stuffed my remaining food and water into the bag, and prepared to leave.

Up till now, I’d been focused on my current situation, but as I was free of the labyrinth, I thought it time to think about my next steps.

First, I currently lived in Cavisburgh, Pennsylvania. My apartment was about fifteen minutes from town, well within walking distance. My apartment only had one window, which faced the building’s backyard. Also, I’d checked my phone only to discover that it didn’t work. Well, the device itself worked, but I was getting no signal. That’s not good. It’s more evidence that this is widespread.

Combined with the fact that I couldn’t hear any cars, this meant that things hadn’t gone well while I was asleep. If monsters like the ones I’d seen in the labyrinth were to appear in a populated city. Well, I can only imagine the slaughter that would take place.

As I approached my door, I heard an odd scrapping sound from the other side. I opened it and came face-to-face with an ugly green creature.

“Gya?”

“Haa?”

With little hesitation, I stabbed my sword into its face. Stepping over its body, I found two more of them in the hall.

“Gya!”

They immediately charged me, only to get cut down instantly. Well that was disappointing. Wait, since when was I a battle junkie?

Turns out those green dudes are goblins. You know, the trash tier mobs that show up in just about every RPG. Well I can tell you, they’re just as trash as in games. I’ve only just left the building and I’ve still killed twenty of them.

I was using these idle thoughts to distract myself from the carnage in front of me. The apartment building had been fine, but the parking lot: covered in bodies. Well, not bodies. More like pieces of bodies.

Strewn across the pavement were scraps of flesh and dried pools of blood. I knew it would be bad, but this! How many people died? How many that I knew? Fuck, is Clint okay? Clint was the whole reason I was here, even after my fall-out with my family. He was a stand-up guy who’d always have a friend's back. If I could help him, I had to.

With this much carnage, it was impossible to know who was still alive. Anyone alive had probably evacuated to the old shelter. Since I’d just moved here, I wasn’t too knowledgeable about it. I did know that it had been renovated and modernized. It was probably the safest place to ride this out.

Of course, It wouldn’t be as simple as just going there. There were goblins EVERYWHERE, roaming around in large groups. In the last fifteen minutes, I’d seen three groups of at least twenty goblins each. They may be F-Rank fodder, but those numbers will be annoying. Though, this is the perfect opportunity to try out my new toy.

Beast of the Nightmare – For one minute, significantly boosts Endurance, Stamina, Speed, and Strength.

This was by-far my favorite Skill. It boosted my base abilities, rather than have some gimmick. While I did find Skanda useful, especially in the labyrinth, the skill was rather difficult. It didn’t make me any stronger and there was always the chance it would become a crutch. So getting a skill that was both simple and effective was a massive boon.

The swords themselves were excellent too. I had decided to compare them to the Desecrated Sword and they out performed it. The only thing I had against them was that I no longer had access to Cursed Blade. But let’s be honest, that wasn’t much of a loss.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the goblins weren’t the only monsters nearby, as I soon came across a group of E-Rank Black Wolves. I got my hopes up a little when I saw them, but as soon as I killed half the pack they fled. I swear, I’m not a battle junkie, I’m just bored.

I hadn’t seen signs of any other living people since I’d woken up. Just monsters. It was enough to dispirit me, but I knew that if I wanted to escape I had to keep going. I kind of feel like I just woke up in the apocalypse. Though now that I think about it, I guess I did.

I soon heard the sounds of marching feet, and an enormous group of goblins came around the corner. They were acting very bold since they had such large numbers. Most of groups I’d killed had panicked when I attacked. These just tightened their formation, and kept coming towards me.

It was of course a foolish choice. It didn’t matter if they had numbers, I was used to fighting swarms of monsters that could each kill me easily. The primitive clubs the goblins used couldn’t even pierce my armor, much less kill me. Every swing of my swords decapitated another goblin.

I feel so happy. After suffering so long inside the labyrinth, I can finally cause monsters to suffer. Hm? Did my personality warp while I was in there? Nah, I’m fine. These fuckers just need to die, that’s all.

After I’d killed about half the pack, the survivors started to flee. This was a sight I was used to. Goblins might have bravado in large groups, but individually, they were cowards. They always fled once I’d killed most of them.

I decided to follow them while hunting the stranglers. There’s so many of them, there’s got to be some sort of nest or base in the area. If I follow, I’ll find it for sure.

They led me to a nearby office complex. At three stories, it was one of the bigger buildings outside of town.

There were a number of goblins outside, and when the stragglers ran up to them, they all charged at me. Seriously, when are you going to learn? You morons can’t kill me with numbers alone. If they were at least E-Rank I’d be worried, but F-Ranks weren’t much of a threat.

Oh look, some wolves. I think the goblins must have tamed them. And they’re riding them? Oi, Rimuru doesn’t happen to be in there, right?

Goblin Wolf Rider

Rank: E

Description: A goblin and wolf pair that have assimilated each other’s egos. They fight as one being, and can be a real threat in large packs.

They assimilated each other? How does that work? Do they share the same mind? Or are they just codependent on each other?

Either way, there were about a dozen wolf riders, circling me and looking to strike. The regular goblins had pulled back to watch, but looked to be on the verge of fleeing.

Fed up with the situation, I threw several knives at two riders, stabbing them both through the head. Both the goblins and wolves collapsed? Does this mean they’re connected at the level of sharing a heart and brain? Monster biology was as strange as ever.

With two of them dying so easily, the others attempted to attack me all at once. I simultaneously triggered my skills, using them to counter their attacks. Cutting the heads off them one-by-one, I whittled away their numbers. But the time there was only one left, the other goblins were becoming unnerved. Needless to say, they should’ve run away from the beginning.

Once I’d dealt with the remaining goblins, I went inside the building they’d been using. I figured that killing any goblins hiding in there would make this place safer.

Inside, I found that the building had been completely trashed, with debris and food refuse everywhere. They’re completely disgusting. Can’t they at least mange a little basic hygiene? At this rate, there wasn’t going to be anything of worth in the building. The only worthwhile discovery was an E-Rank Goblin Leader, but it wasn’t much of a threat.

When confronted, the leader ran into another room and barricaded the door. Breaking the door down was simple. All I had to do was crush it with the momentum axe. When I broke through, the leader screamed and lunged forward, only to get cut down. Looks like the only thing it had going for it was its commanding ability and slightly higher intelligence.

Isn’t there anything useful here? I don’t need weapons, but maybe some water or preserved food? Though what am I expecting of an office building? This isn’t a nuclear wasteland. I’d finally come to the third floor, but only came across some pregnant goblins. I can only tell that they’re female because they’re stomachs are so swollen. Otherwise they just look the same.

With most of the floor explored, I only had two rooms left. I had a bad promotion about them. I could smell blood. And not Goblin blood.

I nearly threw up what little food was in my stomach. Scattered across the floor were skeletal remains, with most of the bones showing signs of being chewed. This …….this is disgusting.

I was apprehensive about the second room, considering the contents of the first. For some reason, the door had a makeshift bar nailed across it. I braced myself and ripped it free from the wall. Wow, that was loud, whatever’s in there will know I’m coming. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.