Ding! Dungeon difficulty selected. Teleportation beginning. Good luck…!
As her vision blurred, the surrounding light intensified, and a sudden weightlessness overtook her. Firefly felt her body suspended in space, drifting.
Ding! Successfully entered the dungeon world.
When her senses returned, Firefly found herself standing in a bedroom. The air was stale, and a thin layer of dust coated every surface. The room hadn't been cleaned in ages—its desolation palpable.
Her sharp eyes caught a faint glow emanating from a newspaper on a nearby table.
She stepped over, picked it up, and unfolded it. As expected, lines of text began to materialize on the page.
Dungeon Background
Planet Name: Solara
A world much like Earth, where humanity once built a highly advanced civilization. Technological progress—especially in the field of energy—had surged forward.
The discovery of crystal core energy, a powerful and efficient resource, revolutionized every aspect of society: economy, technology, and warfare.
But prosperity bred conflict.
The struggle for control over crystal core energy ignited a brutal civil war that lasted 107 years—the Crystal Core War. Humanity fractured into two major factions: the United Government Army and the Anti-Government Forces.
Though the United Government Army ultimately emerged victorious, the cost was catastrophic. Human civilization was left in ruins.
And the true disaster was only beginning.
During the war, the United Government had experimented with crystal core energy to create biological weapons—super soldiers to tip the balance of power.
The experiment failed.
Dozens of test subjects escaped and vanished underground. Twisted by crystal core mutations, they retained humanoid forms but became grotesque, monstrous, and terrifyingly intelligent.
They would later be known as the Cave Dweller Clan.
While humanity remained distracted by civil war, these escaped test subjects evolved. They built a militarized society, stealing human technology and adapting it to their own needs.
No one noticed.
Then came Cataclysm Day.
With humanity's population halved—from eight billion to four—the Cave Dweller Clan launched a full-scale assault from beneath the earth.
Cities fell in hours. Tens of millions perished.
The Cave Dwellers wielded weapons on par with human technology, but also deployed horrifying bio-modified armaments, including self-destructing shock troops that decimated entire battalions.
The United Government scrambled to respond, but the enemy's first strikes had already crippled weapons factories and military bases. Tanks, aircraft, artillery—all gone.
With nowhere safe, and enemies capable of erupting from beneath their feet, humanity's last remnants retreated to a few fortified cities.
The United Government Army became the final hope of mankind—but their numbers and resources were dwindling.
Ding! 1 point of Legend detected. Initial identity being selected…
Selection complete. Assigned identity: Im Samuel.
Assigned Identity
Your mother is Helena, a former ace agent of the United Government. She earned countless military honors during the Crystal Core War. After the war, she retired and married your father, Im Klawton, a top military scientist specializing in personal combat weaponry.
When Cataclysm Day struck, Klawton's base was among the first targets. He died in the attack.
Helena, upon hearing the news, placed you in a foster home and returned to the battlefield. Her combat prowess and relentless efficiency earned her the nickname "Death God"—her presence on the front lines signaled annihilation for the Cave Dweller Clan.
But during a mission to destroy a secret biological weapons facility, Helena vanished. Only an explosion was reported. She was never seen again.
As her child, you were granted high-level protection and relocated to Selun City, one of the last three remaining human strongholds.
The dungeon world… officially begins.
Mission Log
Main Quest: War of Survival
Earn at least 1000 military merits through contributions to the human faction. Failure Condition: Obliteration at mission settlement.
Side Quest: Cave Dweller Clan Hunter
Eliminate: 100 Cave Dweller Infantry 10 Elite Infantry 1 Mine Beast Reward: 100 crystal coins, 5,000 EXP
Side Quest: Eliminate Grand Elder Qiao Lei Bushi
Reward: 500 crystal coins, 20,000 EXP Warning: Target is extremely powerful. Victory is virtually impossible with current attributes.
Firefly exhaled slowly, absorbing the weight of the information.
A war-type dungeon…
These were the most grueling and least favored by players—but also the most rewarding. Crystal coins were invaluable, exchangeable for rare skills, blueprints, and high-tier equipment in the post-dungeon shop.
But then she saw the main quest's failure condition.
Obliteration.
Her breath caught.
In her previous life, failing a dungeon simply meant being ejected. But now… as an NPC?
Is this because of my template? Or is this the price of Despair difficulty?
Either way, she had no choice but to survive.
She scanned the room for clues and found a photo on the table.
A couple smiled back at her. The woman had silver-white hair—beautiful, poised, and unmistakably familiar. The man wore gold-rimmed glasses, handsome and dignified.
Her "parents" in this world.
On the back of the photo, a handwritten message:
"Sorry, little Samuel. I'm going to kill all those ugly things that crawled out from underground to avenge your father… Please forgive my selfishness."
Firefly's lips twitched faintly.
Just then, the ground trembled.
A series of violent explosions thundered through the air.
She rushed to the window.
The street below had erupted into chaos. Cracks split the pavement, and from the gaping holes emerged gray-skinned, muscular humanoid monsters—the Cave Dweller Clan.
They carried crude firearms and opened fire on fleeing civilians.
Their twisted faces were contorted into bloodthirsty grins.
Firefly watched in horror as one of them gunned down a man already on the ground, continuing to fire until the body was nothing but pulp—organs and blood splattered across the street.
This… is Selun City? The "safe zone"?
Firefly's expression darkened.
So this is Despair difficulty huh…