A Smut Novel Heroine Enters a Horror Game - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I heard the countdown to transmigration for less than three seconds, and when I opened my eyes, I was already in front of a dilapidated, dark Underwater Palace.

[Welcome to the horror game “Sunken Mermaid”.]
[Dungeon difficulty: SSS-rank, 27 participants.]
[Please survive the night, uncover the truth behind the fall of the Kingdom of Sterian, locate the lost stone tablet, and complete the dungeon.]

After the cold electronic voice finished, the surrounding players stirred restlessly, their faces etched with profound fear.

“Haha, I jumped from C-rank straight to SSS-rank, it’s reassuringly pathetic!”
“We’re doomed. I heard the dungeon boss utterly loathes humans. No one has survived until the next day yet…”
“I got a level that even top players can’t clear. My corpse is logging off first.”

A horror game this hard?
What did a trashy novel heroine like me ever do to deserve this?
Could it be… the big boss likes beauties like me? (×)
Or maybe my super fast recovery physique is suited for clearing dungeons? (√)

My head was foggy, and as I was letting my thoughts run wild, the petite girl next to me suddenly burst into loud sobs:
“Wuwuwu, what the hell! I don’t want to be in this crappy game, I want to go home!”

A red-haired man with glasses pinched himself and broke down.
“Damn it, it’s not a dream! I was just helping an old lady cross the road!”

The live chat outside was shocked.
[SSS-rank mission, the last group was wiped out, and they’re still pulling newbies in? Running into those murderous mermaids is just plain bad luck!]
[Heavens, it’s the first time the system specifically prompts you to survive a night.]
[Maybe there’s a beginner protection period. Let’s just wish them luck.]

It was still daytime.
Thanks to the game’s settings, even at the bottom of the sea, we could still breathe and move freely.
In the rippling water, the faint sunlight that filtered through did little to warm the gloomy palace covered in seaweed before us.

A middle-aged man who had experienced S-rank dungeons suggested splitting up.
While we were forming teams, the girl who had just been crying, her face deathly pale, tugged at the hem of my clothes.
“Big sis, I think I hear something strange. I’m so scared!”

As soon as she spoke, the players instantly fell silent.
In the distance, a beastly roar echoed through the water, reverberating in our ears.
Within seconds, that heart-stopping sound grew closer, and several dark shadows loomed over our heads.

What ugly fathead fish!
They swarmed in groups, gaping their huge bloody mouths, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and their bodies covered in brown holes triggered my trypophobia.

The middle-aged man was the first to react, shouting, “Run!”
We, who were in the middle of the square, immediately fled in panic toward the only building.