Astoria continued to be awed by the detail in the game. It seemed so real that it was unbelievable. The cave was a little cold and the various rocks beneath her feet crunched against one another as she continued on her chosen path. After walking down this passageway for a while, she started to feel a little hungry. She had been in the game for what she estimated to have been about a half hour. She should have eaten something before starting the game. Without any real idea how deep she was inside this cave, it might be a while before she would want to take a break to grab something to eat. In the end, she decided to keep going despite the occasional grumble that came from her stomach.

The ceiling of the cave above her was covered in stalactites of various sizes and the place seemed ancient. Astoria realized that she had been placed in a random starting location, as that was one of the few things that the creators of the game had announced to the public. Even so, considering how much hype was around the release of Phoenix Online, she was finding it hard to believe that there were enough spawn points to where she would not have encountered any other players yet. In fact, there weren't any signs that anyone had been around here for some time as far as she could tell, not that she was some sort of tracker or anything. My feet are actually starting to hurt... what gives... this cave seems to be going on forever, she thought as she continued walking.

Almost as if to answer her complaints, she spotted movement ahead of her on the ground. She jumped back, startled by the sudden sight of something different. She held out the torch in front of her, ready to use it like a flaming club. There was a scuttling noise and a creature the size of a small dog came into the light and was running toward her. The thing most closely resembled some sort of beetle with about twenty legs. Its segmented, armored body glistened in the torchlight. It reared back and let out a high pitched screech. The underside of its body was more mouth than anything else, filled with jagged teeth and a tongue that stuck out tasting the air.

Astoria screamed despite the fact that she knew it was just a game. This thing was fucking terrifying. She set herself and held the torch like a club as she knew the thing would be coming for her. It didn't disappoint and somehow lunged at her. She swung the torch and managed to connect, sending the beast smashing into the wall. It fell onto its back, legs kicking as it tried to flip itself over. Astoria didn't know much about this world yet, but what she did know was that she did not want that thing getting back up.

She dashed over to it and jabbed the flaming end of the torch into its gaping maw as it thrashed, screeching and biting at the object that was causing it major damage. Seconds later it fell still, dead and curled up. Astoria's breathing was ragged and she was shaking in fear. Everything felt so real that it was hard to believe this was a game.

There was no time to stop and reflect on everything, however, as she heard the screeching calls of more of the beasts. She frantically turned around, looking in the direction from which the monster appeared, and saw three more of the things racing towards her. "Screw that," she said aloud and ran back the way she came. Her draining stamina bar immediately caught her attention once she had started sprinting at full speed. As it drained, she felt exhaustion washing over her more and more. It was clear that she couldn't keep this pace up for long.

Thinking of a strategy to keep herself alive was difficult considering the pounding of her heartbeat in her head as she kept up a desperate pace to stay ahead of the things. Before she knew it, she was back in the large room with the different tunnel offshoots. Running had gained her a few precious seconds, and used that time to bend over gasping trying to catch her breath. This was the spot she'd have to make her stand.

Moving to the center of the room, she turned around and readied herself for what was coming. It only took seconds for the three creatures to burst out of the tunnel and into the torchlight. Again they reared up and screeched that awful noise at her before charging in to attack.

Astoria managed to land a blow on one of the creatures as it leapt through the air at her, sending it flying off into darkness. She was able to dodge the next attack by jumping to the side, but the third monster managed to run up and climb onto her leg. It wrapped its many legs around her and bit into her. She screamed as searing sharp pain ran up her leg.

Desperately, she smashed the torch against the monster on her leg again and again. The fire seared the monster's outer carapace and it quickly fell off of her. She then killed it by shoving the flaming end of the torch into it. In the meantime, the one she had dodged was already mid-air heading straight for her shoulder. It landed and caused her to stagger for a moment. The pain inflicted upon her as it bit deeply into her shoulder was excruciating. Letting out another scream, she lost her footing and fell backward. Luckily, the beast was smashed against a particularly pointy rock when they came crashing down, and it was killed instantly.

The remaining creature had made its way back to her and she grimaced, holding onto the torch for dear life. Unfortunately, with her injured shoulder, she knew it would be impossible to swing the thing with as much strength as she had previously. Holding the torch out in front of herself, she planned on dodging when it leapt for her and then striking it as it landed. Her strategy worked; she was able to land a couple of solid hits on the beast before it scuttled sideways and leaped at her again. She managed to get the torch up sideways in time, and the jagged mouth of the thing crunched against the wood as she stumbled backward. It didn't release its grip immediately and she was able to regain her footing while smashing the club downward onto another sharp rock. The creature's carapace crunched and gooey ichor sprayed out onto the ground as it squirmed and died.

Astoria dropped the torch to the ground and sat down, panting and wheezing. Her stamina bar had been near empty throughout the fight. The searing pain in her leg and shoulder wounds was enough that she could think of little else. What the fuck! This is a game... I shouldn't feel any pain. It's just a game! Screw this! I'm gonna get out of here right now.

She concentrated on trying to bring up a logout menu, but nothing happened. She tried to will herself to somehow take the helmet off her head, which of course did nothing as she had no control over her real body while in this game. She panicked and began to hyperventilate. How do I log out? What's wrong with this thing? She thought back to the warning the game had given her upon logging in. There's no way... I mean... That had to be a joke. You can't not come back from a game... It's just a game! she reasoned with herself in the flickering torchlight.

There was nothing she could do about it for now. She was stuck. The red HP bar in the corner of her vision was visibly getting low and a bleeding icon had appeared next to it. Acting quickly, she tore strips of fabric from the sleeve of her shirt and tied one tightly around her leg wound. She folded the second strip of fabric and applied it to her shoulder with as much pressure as she could manage. Tears of pain managed to squeeze their way out of her eyes, and her long red hair was sweaty and matted against her face.

There was also a blinking notification icon on the side of her vision that she noted as she continued to try and get a handle on herself. Concentrating on the blinking icon brought up a translucent window that filled her vision.

Notifications You have gained 30 EXP for defeating level 2 Ravenous Creeper You have gained 90 EXP for defeating 3 level 2 Ravenous Creepers Congratulations! You have reached level 2! You have gained 6 attribute points to distribute. (EXP to next level: 120/294)

Well... leveling up is good but it still doesn't help me get out of this fucking game, does it! She knew that she could wait until her parents woke up in the morning and come looking for her, or she could try to get out of the cave and find another player or a helpful NPC who might know something she didn't about logging out. Ultimately, she decided the best course of action would be to continue pressing forward. One thing was certain though: she didn't want to wait here and have a swarm of those monsters show up. It was better to keep moving and hope for the best.

It seemed like a good idea to invest her stat points right away, as they could mean the difference between life and death in her situation. Even though she'd probably just re-spawn back where she started, the game's way of making her feel actual pain was nothing she wanted to experience more of.

Well, considering I have no skills or even a proper weapon... I could use more vitality, endurance, and maybe some more agility for dodging. She allocated two points to Vit, two to End, one to Agi, and one to Luck. She hoped that by adding luck she might have better chances of finding her way out of this situation and might be more likely to have good things happen to her in the future. She felt an odd sensation as her body seemed to adjust itself to fit the new stats. After allocating her points, she looked at her updated status page.

Spoiler: Astoria's Stats Name Astoria Level 002 (120/294 EXP to next Level) Class None HP 69/180 MP 150/150 Attributes Vitality 12 Magic 10 Endurance 12 Magic Resistance 10 Strength 10 Luck 6 Agility 11 Dexterity 10 Abilities • Kleptomancy Skills • None

She also saw that she was no longer bleeding and the icon was gone. The changes were minor so far, and unfortunately her health hadn't fully restored from leveling up, which sucked, but on the other hand it was realistic. Astoria hoped that she would find some health potions or something useful soon. She felt as though this game's creators must be a bit sadistic in that they threw her into the deep end of the pool without a tutorial, starting items or anything—not to mention the messed up pain system they somehow managed to put in. At least she had the torch and wasn't in complete darkness.

Her stomach grumbled again and she looked at the bug monsters' corpses momentarily. No. There is no way I'm hungry enough to cook and eat those things... I just need to get out of here. She picked up her torch and had a very important decision to make: Would she continue down the corridor she had found these things in, or go down a different one. She had no idea what dying in this game might do to her. The truth was that she didn't really want to risk experiencing the pain that would surely come with dying. In the end, she decided that the best way to proceed would be to try another tunnel.

She took the path farthest from the one where the bug monsters had been and made her way through the much narrower corridor. There were some tight spots and she had to climb up over some debris here and there. She even had to army crawl through one particularly tight crevice. But at least there had been no more bug monsters.

While she walked, Astoria thought about how rough she must look right now. Her clothes were in tatters and covered with not only her blood but the blood of her foes. Even though the bleeding had stopped, her shoulder still felt sore. On the upside, her leg turned out to not be in as bad a shape as she had thought it would be. She was a little slower than before, but she was able to keep up a steady pace. She wasn’t sure that she would be able to run, however. Moving her arm in a few wide circular motions, she tested it out. It still hurt but she could probably swing her weapon if she had to.

After about an hour of making her way slowly and carefully through the cave, she heard the sound of crickets and could see the faint yet glorious glow of moonlight at the mouth of the cave. She nearly jumped for joy and wanted to run for the exit, but her sore leg wouldn't let her. Astoria hobbled her way to the exit and got her first glimpse of Phoenix Online's expansive world.

High in the sky hung three moons of different sizes. One looked similar to Earth's moon and the other two were much larger. One had a red tint, while the larger one had a slight purple hue. The cave was approximately halfway up the slope of a densely forested mountain.

She had a great view of the landscape below, where a small town stood surrounded by farmlands stretching as far as she could see. All of this was miles and miles away from where she now stood. On foot, injured, it would likely take an entire day just to get to the closest farm, but surely her parents would find her by then. She had lost track of time while in the cave and couldn't be sure how much time had passed since she started playing. Any time now, her parents would pull the VR headset off her head and this nightmare would be over. Her family had its problems but she still loved them.

Even though it had been a horrific night, she couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of this world. The sounds, smells, and sights were just so realistic. She sat down, leaning against a rock at the edge of the cave, and rested. It didn't take long until, despite the possibility of danger, her exhaustion set in and she fell asleep.