Chapter 1

Stacy sat up abruptly, drool drizzling down her lips as she realized that she had dozed off some time at midnight. “Oh no, I’m late!” She reached over the side of her desk, grasping for whatever bit of energy her cup of Starbucks could give her, only pausing when her fingers found traction on a cold rock. “That’s not my pumpkin spice latte?” Blinking, she took in the rest of her room. “This isn’t my room either.”

For one thing, it was far too dark to be her brightly lit college dorm, plastered with colorful posters of her favorite bands and shows. Also, while her room reached a measly 200 square feet, shared with her wonderful roommate and best friend, Maddie, the room she was currently in expanded far beyond even the largest lecture halls she had ever been in. In fact, Stacy was almost certain the room doubled the size of even her entire college campus. And this was because she was sat right in the middle of an expansive, desolate cave chamber riddled only with rocks and stone and dirt.  

Its ceiling stood a thousand feet over Stacy, dangerous, sharp stalactites stabbing down from above, some of them reaching nearly a hundred foot in length. The rest of the cavern spread out far beyond what Stacy could see, disappearing into a void of darkness, as if swallowed by the gluttonous beasts hiding within its veil. There was a musky stench that permeated the dank air of the cave. It attacked Stacy’s nostrils as the slow sounds of dripping water echoed in the background and filled her ears.

There was so much for Stacy to take in. She was seated on a rock, taking in this sight with a slack jaw. She tried to process what was going on, but… oh god, that smell was literally the worst.

It took half an hour before the overbearing stench became somewhat bearable to Stacy. She no longer felt like gagging when she took in a deep breath, and this was especially good for her because she had to take in a lot of deep breaths. This wasn’t her room. This wasn’t her dorm. This wasn’t even her State—then it clicked for her.

Did I… did I get isekai’d?

Stacy was not really an avid anime-watcher. She only really watched a new anime maybe once a year, unlike Netflix shows which she binged with a passion. Her boyfriend in sophomore year of high school was much more into anime than her, and he showed her a few of the more obscure animes which featured this common trope: isekai.

But what did I do to deserve to get isekai’d?

Or, more importantly, where was the hero’s greetings that was typical in the first episodes? Normally, there’d be a congregation of knights and servants waiting for the hero’s arrival. And when the hero did arrive, the king and his daughters would rush to his side, bestowing upon him a quest to slay some Demon King.

Where was that now?

Looking around nervously, Stacy found only shadows lurking around her. She opened her mouth to call out an, ‘Um, hello?’, but found her tongue drying up and her lips snapping shut. Nope. You’re not an idiot, Stacy. You don’t talk out loud when you’re entering an abandoned warehouse with a serial killer in it, just like you don’t make a sound when you’re in the middle of a cave that could be filled with ferocious monsters!

Stacy didn’t know if she was actually in another world. However, she wasn’t going to make a costly mistake to find out.

Slowly drawing herself to her feet, she first checked her surroundings for any terrifying critters that’d be lying in wait around her. There were none, to her relief. Now, she could proceed… with caution, of course.

She had taken one wilderness survival course before, and she vaguely remembered how shelter should be the first thing one sought out when lost and far away from civilization. So, she got to work doing just that.

As if any reminder were needed, Stacy could barely even see. The cavernous room was lit only by the bioluminescent moss limning the stone and the dirt. The occasional stalagmite was covered in this blue-green plants, giving her dim markers to stalk after as she tried to find the side wall of the cave chamber. Perhaps there would be an alcove for her to find shelter in, or even an exit, if she stuck to the edges of the cave.

It was a hopeful thought.

One that was quickly snuffed out by the sounds of claws scratching on rock.

Stacy ducked behind the closest stalagmite as beating footsteps approached her. She hugged the dagger-shaped protrusion, clinging onto it as if it were a weapon she could actually protect herself with, and not just a natural formation caused by sediments, when the approaching footfalls came to a halt.

There was a sniff. A soft growl. A four-legged creature crawled around the corner of the stalagmite. It poked its head just into Stacy’s vision, and she stared in terror as she saw the beast crawl her way. It was built like a tiger: well-muscled, toned, but not hiding it under a thick layer of fur.

Stacy found that horrifying. It had pink skin, similar to a person, just decolored, as clothes were if literal puke was put into the washing machine in place of the usual bleach. But even worse than that was the face of the monster. Because it didn’t really have much of a face to begin with. It lacked eyes and a mouth, with only a pair of nostrils where the nose was at the tip of its snout.

It was creature straight out of her nightmares. But Stacy couldn’t help and feel relieved that it at least couldn’t see her or eat her.

She was wrong.

The monster took in a deep breath before its face contorted. Its snout unfurled starting from its nose, like the pleating petals of a flower head in full bloom. Underneath the folds of its cheeks were dozens of razor-sharp teeth, all pointed straight at Stacy.

Gulping, she took a step back.

“Good kitty?”

It screeched. The fake tiger bounded after her as she spun around and ran full sprint in the other direction. It was a good thing she ran track in middle school, because she was pretty sure it would have caught her and eaten her by now if she were any slower. Or maybe it was all the adrenaline that exploded through her veins that propelled her forward faster than the fake tiger.

For now.

She made a sudden turn away from a stalagmite— and the monster pounced at the rock, shattering it with a powerful strike. If Stacy hadn’t done that, she would have become the delicious meat cake that mama fake tiger brought home from the store for her three little cubs to feast on after a particularly long day at school.

Stacy was now thrown off-course from the stalagmites marking the ground. She would’ve been lost in the darkness if she didn’t spot the twinkling out of the corner of her eye. She made a mad dash for the light source, not caring for whatever it was, and found the cavern shifting around her. No longer was it the spacious cavern that seemingly spread out infinitely in all directions around her. Instead, it was now a narrowing corridor that led away from the previous cave chamber, ostensibly to safety.

The fake tiger was quickly catching up to her. Fatigue was starting to settle in. There was a brief moment where Stacy thought that she should just give up, surrender herself to a quick mauling by this possible mother-of-three, rather than risk an even worse fate to a monster with a less honest background. Also, this could all be a dream, and she would wake up if she died, right?

These invasive ideas turned out to be a blessing because it slowed her down, letting her properly discern the translucent wall before she ran head-first into it. It shimmered slightly, giving off a warning to Stacy. It told her that something was there. It wasn’t clear what it was, but Stacy knew it wasn’t the safety she was looking for.

So, she threw herself to the right. And right on time. The fake tiger leapt at her once more, barely grazing the back of her shirt, tearing bits of the fabric off as Stacy tumbled on the ground. She looked up, now covered in dirt and grime, only to see the fake tiger floating in the air where the translucent figure was.

Once again, there was a twinkle. But unlike before, the light grew brighter, shining brilliantly as the fake tiger began to dissolve into nothing. This glow formed a spherical shape that nearly blocked the entirety of the tunnel, outlining the gelatinous creature that nearly caught Stacy.

She stumbled back, gaping as the first terrifying monster she met was eaten by the second terrifying monster she met. There was a sound in her head. A ding, that echoed as loud as the bell at the end of class.

You have escaped from a [Forsaken Panther (Violet Rank)].

You have met the requirements for White Rank. Would you like to advance now?

Pausing, Stacy actually considered the meaning of those words, even as the light dissipated. Only when she saw a wiggle, did she move.

She picked herself up and slipped away from the slime-like monster before she was eaten next. It seemed to give chase, but it was lazy in its pursuit. It barely budged a single foot forward by the time Stacy was long in the clear.

Sticking to the walls of the cave, she eventually found what she was looking for. An alcove. It was small. The entrance could barely fit her, but the insides were large enough for her to lie flat on the ground and still have enough room to turn in her sleep. Settling into this little home of hers, Stacy accomplished the first and most vital aspect that came with surviving the wild: finding shelter away from the rain, the heat, and the harshness of the outside world.

Wait. She glanced out one last time at the rest of the cavern, seeing the lack of any sort of weather-like environment. And she groaned. I literally can’t even, right now.