After a few days of well-earned rest, Lucas finally felt like himself again.
The red warnings on his stat panel were gone. The internal system had finally stopped flagging him as "unstable." He pulled up his current player stats and stared at them with mild surprise.
---
> [Player: Lucas]
[Life: 100 (You're radiating health and energy)]
[Stamina: 89 (Your stamina exceeds most players — not bad!)]
[Strength: 93 (Just flex your biceps — you're a beast)]
[Luck: 1 (You're officially less lucky than 99.999999% of players)]
[Brainpower: 96 (Remarkable — you think your way out of nightmares)]
[Spirit: 109 (Mental resilience is fully restored — and then some)]
[Skills: None]
[Points: 113,236]
[Comprehensive score currently under review by the evaluation committee. Trial results pending.]
---
> "The upper limit's actually gone up..." Lucas murmured, noticing his spirit stat had exceeded the usual cap of 100.
He leaned back and sighed, replaying the memory of his final confrontation with Trevor on the Terror Cruise. It had been a gamble, a terrifying one. Yet somehow, he had come out stronger on the other side.
> "At least all that trauma gave me something back..." he whispered with a tired chuckle.
Curious, he opened up the livestream control panel.
> His followers had surged past 260,000.
> "What the hell…?"
The number was insane. More than double what it was after his last game.
But with popularity came visibility—and with visibility came risk.
> "Players who've watched my streams know my stats now. If they see me in-game… won't I become a target?"
Lucas frowned.
> "That's... really dangerous."
---
With only 24 hours left in the system-mandated seven-day cooldown, players across the horror community were buzzing.
Especially in the central hub of the game world—the Hall of Rankings.
It was here that the system's massive floating screens always displayed rankings, updates, and guild news.
Today, however, a new kind of announcement stunned everyone watching.
---
> [FIVE TIGERS GUILD ANNOUNCEMENT]
We are actively seeking the real-world contact information and address of player Lucas.
Substantial rewards will be granted to anyone providing valuable leads.
---
The Five Tigers Guild had gone public. They weren't just watching anymore—they were actively hunting.
Players standing beneath the giant hall screen couldn't stop murmuring.
> "He only played two dungeons, and a top-tier guild is already after him. Unreal…"
> "Don't be so impressed. The Five Tigers don't like being ignored. If Lucas doesn't respond, they'll blacklist him."
> "What can they do? No one even knows where Lucas is!"
> "You must be new. Once he enters any multiplayer dungeon, his alias will appear in the game lobby. If Five Tigers have veterans queued up, they'll snipe him the second he enters."
> "Yikes… all that just because he won't join a guild?"
> "It's more than that. These major guilds run the horror world. Strong newcomers who refuse them are considered threats—and they get hunted."
---
But Lucas had no idea this drama was unfolding.
Safe in his private space, he still hadn't logged into the lobby.
With 10 hours left on his countdown, he exhaled deeply, stretched, and finally sat down to re-enter the game.
Fingers hovering over the panel, he hesitated.
Then, folding his hands in front of him, he muttered a quiet prayer.
> "Please... just give me a calmer instance. No more violent showdowns. Something logical. Something cerebral."
> He recited the names of every deity he could think of—domestic and international.
Then, he pressed the button.
> [START GAME]
---
> [Welcome, Player Lucas, to the Horror Game Instance System]
[Your next dungeon will be determined based on your previous comprehensive rating…]
[Copy is loading…]
---
After a few moments, the screen blinked.
> [Dungeon Name: EXAM]
[Difficulty Level: 2 (Player mortality rate below 50%)]
[Mode: Multiplayer]
[Current Players Entered: (2/36)]
---
> "'Exam'? Sounds like a piece of cake."
Lucas smiled to himself.
> "I was the top scorer in my college entrance exam, after all."
A prompt flashed on screen.
> [In multiplayer mode, players may choose to adapt their character appearance. Apply adaptation?]
Lucas's eyes lit up.
> "Adapt appearance? Oh, that's perfect!"
> [Adaptation: CONFIRMED]
[Adapting player model...]
Finally, a way to avoid being recognized. After his stream popularity skyrocketed, this option was a godsend.
> "The system actually thought this part through... not bad."
---
Lucas now stood inside the virtual loading area, his appearance altered. No signature features. No hint of his original face.
He waited patiently as the instance continued to fill.
> [Current Players: (16/36)]
[Current Players: (30/36)]
[...]
Then came the final entries.
---
> [Five Tigers Guild Member Victor has entered. Current Players: (35/36)]
[Five Tigers Guild Member Rex has entered. Current Players: (36/36)]
[Player count complete.]
[Wishing all players a thrilling game.]
---
Lucas didn't know it yet, but he was now standing inside a dungeon with enemies actively hunting him.
The next round was about to begin.
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