Underworld Player

m was that experience was hard to come by, and of the four methods of earning experience, it appeared that the only option available to him now was actively seeking out and getting involved with a supernatural entity on his own—as unlikely as that was.

Despite the fact that supernatural entities were increasing in number, they were distributed all over the world, making the chances of him just running into one on a casual stroll somewhat unlikely.

Not to mention the unpredictability of their power levels.
If he were so unlucky as to come across an Impossible class threat, Bai Zhi ’s legacy might amount to an exemplary case study of what not to do as a Player.

All the risks and challenges boiled down to the fact that he was still too weak, with nothing but that small knife to defend himself with…

In the middle of Bai Zhi ’s deliberations, the System suddenly butted in with a notification, which was a welcome change from its several days of inactivity.
A transparent screen materialized before him.

[ New Game Available! All Players are Invited to Take the Challenge ]

Below the simple message was a map of the town with a flashing red light on it, encircled by a dotted line.

A new ”Game ”, huh?

Bai Zhi quirked an eyebrow and got up.

”Games ”, another one of the strange phenomena in this world, were pocket dimensions that could manifest an amalgamation of several different games, and were usually less dangerous than encountering a supernatural entity.
Players who successfully cleared a Game would receive the appropriate rewards, while those who failed to do so would receive a penalty.

The reward for clearing Games could vary from tools and equipment generated within the game to special items like potions.

Similarly, failing a Game could incur a range of penalties.
Players could lose Coins, have their equipment destroyed, their attribute points permanently reduced or even lose a level—and would count themselves lucky for such light penalties.

Heavier penalties included losing a randomly-selected organ, gaining a new, random organ, or falling into a coma, et cetera.
The worst penalty that a Player had been known to suffer was death, and—perhaps a fate worse than death—having their consciousness completely stripped away and forced to become an NPC.

Bai Zhi was not the only one to receive this notification.
Each time a new Game appeared, the System would notify all Players within a reasonable vicinity and invite them to challenge it.

”Nothing ventured, nothing gained ”, as they say.
The potential benefit of clearing, and eventually Extracting, a Game was too great to pass up, so without fail, as soon as a new Game appeared, Players were sure to flock to it in droves.

After a moment ’s thought, Bai Zhi reached out a finger and tapped on the flashing red dot.
Immediately, a countdown timer popped up next to it.

[ 2 : 59 : 37 ]

[ 2 : 59 : 36 ]

[ 2 : 59 : 35 ]

The Game will only be available for three hours…
and it ’s at the shopping mall in the center of town.
If I leave now and catch the next bus, it ’ll take me twenty minutes to get there…

Gah, I don ’t even know what game it is! Please let it be Tetris, or perhaps FreeCell**… ”

As such thoughts ran through his mind, Bai Zhi busily picked up his things and rushed out the front door.

The Newbie Run had taught him an important principle—there were limits to what a normal human could do, and running away from trouble only increased the chances of encountering a catastrophe in the future.
He was on the bottommost rung now, but dithering and dawdling was sure to get him kicked off the ladder.

He was determined to catch up to those OG Players who had enjoyed a three-month head start.

After all, the world was getting more deadly by the day…

*Air-conditioning unit.
Air-con in British English.

**A solitaire card game.