Minglan fell butt-first onto the ground. Hard. And painful, obviously.
Cold mud pressed onto his palms, which he used to support himself. It soaked straight through his sleeves.
First thought was: ew.
Second thought was how chilly the air was.
Minglan tried to take a deep breath, only to gag in disgust. The air felt so damp. It smelled horrible too.
Wetlands.
Of course, out of all the starting points, his luck chose the wetlands.
Minglan's ears rang. For half a second, he waited for the familiar darkness to swallow him. Maybe along with a polite text offering a reset.
But nothing happened.
Only headaches and chest pains. Sharp and real. Persistent in a way no controller vibration could compare.
"…This isn't funny," he muttered. Have I died? Out of poverty? Is this hell? Questions swam around his mind before a futuristic, translucent panel flickered before his eyes.
[Starting Point: Wetlands]
[Status: Active]
[Current Goal: Reach the academy. Alive.]
[Hunger: 68%]
[Hydration: 41%]
…
…
"What the actual hell!?" Minglan wished he had a game console on hand to throw across this silly, stinky wetland.
He had just arrived here. What the hell did it mean by 41% hydration? Had he not gulped down a monster-sized cheap milk tea before he came here?
As if clarifying the numbers, a wave of dizziness rolled through him. His vision blurred fast. He tried to stand up, but it only tilted the world in his vision to one side.
He swallowed hard, trying to steady himself so he wouldn't pass out and fall full-body into the muddy water again.
So this was real.
Not a dream. Nor insanity finally kicking in. Or maybe it was that. However, it was still real.
Real enough to dehydrate him on arrival.
A buzzing sound alerted his ears.
Minglan looked up slowly.
Something hovered above the bleak water a few meters away. Insects. Huge ones. Their wings caught the light, transparent and sharp. When one of the group flew lower, he caught a glint of a needle-thin stinger.
Poisonous. Obviously.
If there was anything Minglan had learned from the game so far, it was that all animals, small and big alike, were poisonous in one way or another.
"Alright, Minglan. Let's play the game smart," he whispered to himself as he tried to move as soundlessly as he could. "Do not freaking touch anything."
It seemed to be another unwritten rule in the game that he had learned so far. Touch nothing. Eat carefully. Move soundlessly.
His stomach tightened.
The hunger meter increased to 69%.
"…You can't be serious."
He chose to ignore the feeling. His priority now was to get away quickly from that group of insects.
He dragged his wobbly legs as he scanned the area.
Tree trunks of enormous size stood tall from the swamp like pillars holding the sky up from falling. He made use of these trunks to hide his body from the insects, moving from one trunk to another.
The ground was uneven, slick with algae and messy roots. There was no clear path. No solid shelter.
Minglan took another careful step forward.
Unluckily, as always, he stepped onto the wrong surface.
The muddy surface sucked at his shoe, nearly pulling it off.
He successfully swallowed down his yelp despite his body lurching forward, arms flailing in a hopeless attempt at stability.
Thank goodness for the gigantic tree trunk at his side. Those flailing arms managed to grab hold of it, saving him from another fall of the century.
He hadn't even finished his relieved breath when his palm resting on the trunk burned.
He hissed and yanked his hand back, looking at his palm, which had begun to fill with red welts.
Sap.
Oh my god. It was that damned poisonous sap!
"Great," he breathed. "Perfect."
He couldn't believe he fell for it again.
The system panel blinked before his eyes.
[Poison Status: Minor Exposure]
[Debuff Applied: Fatigue (Temporary)]
He wondered how much more exhausted he could be with this debuff, as if he hadn't already been tired before it.
His chest felt heavier in an instant. Something curled beneath his ribs. It was the poison, he knew it.
In the game, poison meant immediate death. A game over notice and an offer to restart. Here, it felt slower. Meaner. Like time was giving him the chance to savor every agonizing pain down to the details.
He tried to wipe his hand on his pants. Of course, it didn't work.
Taking a long, deep breath, he forced himself to think. Panicking would not help at times like this. Standing still and accepting fate seemed far too agonizing. Complaining would only burden his head even more.
Water. Right! He needed water!
The swamp was full of it, although every instinct in him screamed that it was a horrible idea. He stared at it, unmoving. The dark surface of the muddy water stared back at him, as if mocking his current, dying look.
The hunger meter increased again.
70%
Minglan laughed in his head. You are really trying to off me, huh?
Drink the muddy, probably poisoned water, or let the current poison consume his body and rot in the middle of nowhere.
That was the choice.
In the end, Minglan had no time to think. If it was death, then it was death. At least he tried to save his life first. He crouched down slowly, doing his best to keep his body steady. Cold. That was all he felt when he dipped his palms into it.
He brought the water up to his face in cupped hands. The water was way too thick to be called water. It looked more like mud. It smelled closer to mud too.
He wanted to gag. But his hunger and hydration pushed his head closer and closer to his cupped hands.
"…Fine," he said. "One sip."
He let his mouth scoop the water in.
The taste was foul. Bitter and metallic, clinging stubbornly to his tongue. He gagged but still swallowed it.
His throat burned as the liquid ran through it.
The panel flickered again.
[Hydration: 50%]
[Hunger: 65%]
[Poison Status: Cleared]
Alright. Main problem solved. One shoe missing.
"I get it now," Minglan whispered to himself between heavy breaths.
This wasn't a cozy game at all.
This wasn't even a game he could afford to be bad at.
As if confirming his thoughts, a loud explosion was heard in the distance.
The ground rumbled heavily, as if the world were about to end in a second.
Minglan had no choice but to push himself up and run.