**Otilia** fell into the sea—again—and drowned.
> **[YOU ARE DEAD]**
> **[You're trying something, but it's meaningless. You died so badly, it's almost laughable.]**
A twisted, mocking laugh echoed around her as those blood-red words floated before her eyes.
Otilia's fists clenched.
> "Damn it!"
Her fury exploded.
She cursed the game's developers, slammed her foot down, and then caught herself mid-rant.
Despite the terrible mockery, the total lack of tutorial prompts, and the insultingly useless respawn system... one thing was clear:
This game was a **masterpiece**.
Everything she saw felt real—beyond real. The people on the ship, the stirring storm, the visceral dread of watching a towering ancient dragon rise from the sea… this wasn't just high-definition—it was *life*. It was something Otilia had never experienced in any game, ever.
It wasn't just fear.
It was thrilling.
It was exciting.
It was... **everything**.
> "Is this really a dream?" she asked herself.
If it was, she wondered, why did it feel so much like a game?
Had she played too many RPGs lately? Enough that her brain started generating **gamified dreams**?
The "dream" explanation was starting to feel unlikely.
So… was this some kind of fully immersive virtual game?
But that made even *less* sense.
In her world, nobody had developed full-dive technology yet. The closest thing was clunky VR headsets—the heavy, uncomfortable kind that used cheap parallax and caused motion sickness after 15 minutes.
> "Where I come from, VR is like riding a bike with square wheels," she grumbled.
> "Compared to this? It's the difference between a bicycle and a spaceship!"
There was no way her world had suddenly developed this kind of ultra-realistic full-scale immersion. No one was even close.
> "…So am I really dreaming?"
She slapped her own face—hard.
> *SLAP!*
> "Ow!" she cried in tears. "Ugh, who came up with the idea that you can wake up from dreams by hurting yourself?! That doesn't work at all!"
But taking a deep breath, Otilia reminded herself:
> **"No matter what this world is—dream, game, or hallucination—I'm here now. And I'm not wasting it."**
If this was a real game, there was no guarantee she'd get another chance to experience it when she woke up.
And for now, there was only one objective: **Survive the Lava Mountain Dragon.**
> "Okay... From the time I wake up to the moment the dragon attacks the ship—it's about ten minutes."
> "There's no way to escape; the ship is surrounded by water. That leaves one option—**survival**."
She muttered to herself, retracing every step across her two previous failed attempts.
> "The first time, I had no idea what was happening. I learned what to expect, but I died instantly.
The second time, I warned people—but they thought I was drunk."
> "The game's NPCs actually respond to my choices... They remember things! This isn't just any game—it's AAA... no, **4A-level**!"
Otilia paced anxiously.
> "I'm just one small adventurer, a total nobody here. Of course, the crew didn't take me seriously..."
She recalled the word "Adventurer"—likely the name for players like her, unlike the locals of this dream world.
> "But anyway... it seems like warning them won't help. The Lava Mountain Dragon's appearance isn't random—it **will** happen.
The ship **will** capsize."
That meant the only real solution was to survive the fall or escape **before** it struck.
> "Damn this game! Why is it so ruthless from the start?! No weapons, no tutorials, no instructions—and just, bang! DEAD! Who made this?!
> Show yourself, you sick, twisted developer!"
She threw another imaginary punch into the air.
Of course, it was just frustration talking.
Because even if this game beat her black and blue, she would still keep playing.
> "Who am I kidding?" she muttered with a grin.
> "I'd totally play this again. *I am playing it again.* Even if I die a hundred times—I'm still hooked."
Maybe the system was still in **beta**. Maybe this was a lucky glitch, or a secret test.
> "Beta tests always have rough edges. Systems are unfinished. That's normal! Maybe I'm the *first* test player!"
All that mattered now was finding a **survivable** solution.
> "The ship gets tilted almost 90 degrees. Holding onto anything is practically impossible unless I get some tools—wait, yes—there was gear!
That second time... I had equipment!"
She dove enthusiastically back into the third attempt.
> "Ahh, finally awake! Finally! If you can't drink—don't drink! Just one glass and you're KO'd!"
For the third time, she heard the same dialogue—but this time, Otilia completely ignored it.
Instead, she immediately began checking her gear.
There was a **small dagger** at her waist.
> "Ugh. Useless. More like a fruit peeler. Definitely not cliffhanger material."
Then she spotted something in her left hand—something that looked like... a crossbow?
A **wrist-mounted hand crossbow**.
Otilia quickly placed it on the table and began examining its components.
> "Hey, checking out your equipment already?" asked the man beside her, amused.
> "Can't wait to go monster hunting, huh?"
He leaned closer and added:
> "Listen, that gadget is new—the engineering team just developed it. It's a grapple crossbow. You can shoot specialized ammo, and even latch onto pterosaurs to zip around the terrain."
> "Wait—what?" Otilia's head snapped up.
> "You said… latch onto **pterosaurs**?!"
> **THIS IS IT.**
The beginnings of a real plan formed in her mind.
> *To be continued...*