THE DEVILS CASTLE

It was August, and the sky was bright with a harsh sun.

Even though the thick curtains were drawn shut, the venomous sunlight was still visible.

The only light in the room came from it, which shone through the gaps in the curtains to form a square border.

Ring!

Once more, the phone rang.

It went to the answering machine after three rings.

“Mike? Doctor Frank is here. You will turn eighteen years old in one year. You will completely lose your chance if you wait to start your genetic treatment!

As usual, polite and official.

Mike focused on the game cartridge in his hand and ignored the message.

Bright red color with a thumbnail-sized size.

Mike pushed the cartridge that had consumed all of his savings into the virtual helmet's cartridge slot after checking it.

Tuck!

The speaker of the virtual helmet let out an alert.

He didn't bother.

When it came to an underground game, there was evidently neither a manufacturer's warning nor a safety hazard warning.

This game made the claim that it could be 100% realistic when it first came out a year ago.

Theoretically, if a game claims to be 100% realistic, it should be able to easily surpass all other games that claim to be only 30%-40% realistic and become an instant fan favorite.

However, in this instance, the game was prohibited prior to its release to the public.

The cause: It seemed so real.

Realistic enough to kill you if you die while playing the game.

Only 10% of the three thousand beta testers made it out alive and were able to exit the game.

It was decided that this game could never be released to the public after counting thousands of deaths. Despite this, Mike had heard rumors that wealthy individuals wanted more excitement and invested in the game to make it work again, making it a true underground game that only a select few could access.

The fact that death in this game meant death in real life was enough to make everyone stop looking for it, even without considering the obscure methods one had to use to purchase the game or the extraordinary fees one had to pay.

But Mike was unconcerned.

Considering the severity of his genetic disorder, he would die anyway if he failed to collect three million dollars in medical expenses within a year.

For someone who was wealthy, three million dollars might not seem like a lot, but for Mike, it was an insurmountable sum.

When he was first told he had a genetic disease three years ago, he had already been working hard to make a living.

However, for him, that was only a speck in the ocean.

Back then, Mike was only fourteen years old; a typical secondary school student in the union without an academic diploma. He was young and active, but his age prevented him from being hired.

He was only able to work part-time.

However, regardless of the kind of part-time job he took, he would not have been able to pay for three million dollars in medical expenses.

He only managed to accumulate ten thousand dollars over the course of his career despite working three jobs and sleeping just five hours per day.

He only needed 1% of that to pay for his medical bills.

He was hopeless.

He did not want to die because he had so much hope and so many goals for his life.

However, reality was harsh.

The blacksmith he was working for then told him about a rumor about an underground game during his time of despair.

Any epic equipment, according to the rumor, could fetch millions of dollars in that game.

He made the decision to take a chance on the rumor after confirming it.

He bought the cartridge for the underground game with the money he had saved up over three years of hard work, ready to gamble his life away.

"Making or breaking it!" He was thinking to himself.

He laid down on the bed and donned the helmet.

As a line of words and a voice appeared, his vision became dim.

[Confirming User ID:] [Authenticating User ID...]Mike, a 17-year-old orphan who lives in a union welfare home, welcomes you [Authenticating Element][Entering Single Player Dungeon] [Background: The game will begin shortly]The city is being hit by war. The public is not ready for it. The majority of them were killed in the crossfire, leaving civilians like you to struggle to survive in the city's rubble. You occasionally feel frightened by shootings. The thugs and rebels have no intention of halting the fighting. They want to destroy everything, and their eyes are filled with rage and violence!]

[Main Objective: Survive for seven days, 0/7] [Optional Secondary Mission: Support civilians until the war is over. You can get a higher rating from each civilian who helped you.]

(Hint: Every player will benefit greatly from the Beginner's Dungeon.)

The game stopped for about three minutes after all the words appeared, giving Mike time to read them. He was then struck by a blinding light. He could still feel the pain in his pupils even with his eyes closed. He made an effort to block the light by raising his hands. He felt like he was falling, falling quickly toward the ground.

The sensation only lasted a few seconds.

He removed his hands and opened his eyes when he felt back to normal.

His eyes suddenly grew wider.

A corpse with its stomach ripped open, head slightly tilted up, and rotten eyes looking directly at Mike was less than a meter away from him.

Mike exhaled quickly.

He had never before seen a human corpse in his life.

He had only witnessed bleeding during fights.

He was frightened just by looking at the lifeless eyes of the corpse that was now directly in front of him.

Mike instinctively retreated immediately out of fear, but he ended up hitting the wall behind him.

Bam!

He felt unbearable pain when his back struck the wall.

However, the pain brought him back to his senses and saved him from fear and panic.

"It's a game! It's a GAME here! It is still a game, even though it is completely real!

He was able to recognize the kind of circumstance he was in thanks to his senses.

There was no real corpse in this. It was merely a simulation of a game.

He needed proof to calm down, but the realism in front of him, the stench of blood, and the rotten smell of the body convinced him otherwise.

“Character!” Added Mike.

He had become quite accustomed to gaming controls through his part-time job at the blacksmith's.

Fortunately, this underground game was not exempt from some of the rules and controls.

A Character Attributes Window that he and only he could see appeared in front of him as his voice rang out.

[Name: Mike]

[Age: 17 (Male)]

[Race: Human]

[Title: None]

[HP: 100%]

[Stamina: 100]

Mike scanned through the first page, which was basically the character’s status and details. The second page described the character’s attributes.

[Strength: F ]

[Agility: F]

[Constitution: F]

[Spirit: F+]

[Intuition: F+]

The third page included skills, equipment, and inventory, but it currently only displayed empty slots.

[Skills: None]

[Equipment: None]

[Inventory: Empty]

(Rating: a Newbie, totally worthless!)

Mike maintained a smile even though the rating at the end slightly offended him.

He was undoubtedly playing the game if the system windows continued to appear in front of him.

despite the fact that it appeared to be completely real.

Mike calmed down by taking a few deep breaths and ignoring the remaining fear.

He looked at the bloodied corpse once he had gained enough composure.

In real life, he would undoubtedly be terrified and panicked by it; However, the body had a different significance in the game: equipment and currency in-game!