Stepping through the portal, Eric found herself inside a house while torrential rain lashed the outside world. She opened a window and peered out, the storm's fierce gusts and rain buffetting her face. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she squinted intently into the deluge.
She beheld vast floods, water levels revealing only the upper floors of buildings, treetops barely visible, and streetlights protruding like forlorn sentinels.
Raging waters surged past her window, approaching to within less than a meter of the sill.
The flood was about to engulf her room!
Without hesitation, Eric decided to ascend to a higher floor.
Opening her door, she stepped into the corridor and climbed onto the rooftop. Misfortune struck—she had arrived at the highest level. Nearby, two other buildings stood; one still had two floors above water, the other, like hers, had only one. The three edifices formed a triangle, equidistant from one another.
Eric resolved to reach the building still boasting two floors above the flood; the portal was likely there.
Estimating the distance, she saw the gap between her building and the target was about five meters, with violent floodwaters roiling below. The crossing would be perilous; she was certain the current would sweep her away the moment she plunged in.
Returning to her room, Eric searched and found a lifebuoy.
One lifebuoy alone would not suffice.
Swiftly, she removed the water dispenser's jug and poured out its contents.
Next, she retrieved an empty bottled water container from a corner of the supermarket she had designated as a makeshift storage for discarded items. Her recent strenuous exertions had already depleted a jug of water.
Taking several garments, she cut them into strips and knotted them together to form a long rope. Binding the two empty jugs tightly—one front, one back—to her waist and lower back, she secured the lifebuoy around herself, fastening it firmly as well.
Suddenly, the floodwaters surged past the window, spilling into the corridor and flooding the doorway. Within moments, the room was thoroughly submerged.
Sopping wet and wading through icy waters, Eric compelled herself to remain calm. She cut a bedsheet from the room's bed into a three-meter-long rope—finer cuts could have yielded nearly six meters, but she doubted its strength. She joined the remaining length with strips of clothing. By the time the rope was ready, the water almost reached her knees.
Time was of the essence. Eric opened the door to the corridor.
At that moment, a young man hurried down from the rooftop, wide-eyed with panic. Upon seeing Eric, his expression brightened as he hurried to ask, "Where is this? The flood's coming in!"
"This is a survival dungeon game," Eric replied, tying one end of the rope to the stainless steel door handle and the other securely around her waist. Having spoken these words, she leapt into the water.
The flood swallowed her whole.
"Are you crazy?! Hey! Help! Someone's jumped in!" the young man shouted in terror, but Eric heard nothing. Struggling, she clawed her way from the violent torrent. The rope at her waist stretched taut, and she saw herself being swept away.
Fortunately, the lifebuoy and empty water jugs allowed her to keep her head afloat. Yet the flood surged relentlessly, pushing her head beneath the water repeatedly. Suffocating, terrifying—she had never once found water so dreadful, not even during her initial swimming lessons.
This was no mere swim lesson; this was a fight for survival. Each time she resurfaced, gasping, she battled fiercely toward the opposite building.
Only three buildings remained nearby, each sheltering two occupants.
Most people were bewildered and unable to accept the situation. All had observed Eric struggling amidst the floodwaters.
"Is she mad?"
"Should we rescue her?"
"Rescue? I jumped from the twentieth floor—how am I here?!"
"Where am I? I remember I was in a car accident!"
From the highest floor of the three buildings, two doors swung open. Lauren, no stranger to this ordeal, had already navigated similar challenges in a previous game.
Beside him, the novice newcomer was tearing at his hair, exclaiming, "How did I end up here after that car accident?!"
Players from the adjacent buildings were equally disoriented like headless flies. This scene lent Lauren a sense of superiority. He cleared his throat and bellowed above the torrential downpour, "We're trapped in an escape-dungeon. We've already perished and have been drawn into this infinite survival trial. Clearing this trial garners points and might bring us back from the dead."
His voice pierced through the rain's relentless patter. The players were dumbfounded upon hearing this revelation.
"Is this real? My God, I did die—could this truly be happening?!"
"Hey, you over there! Do you know how to escape this place? The flood is going to submerge us!"
Lauren struggled to free his hand from the anxious newcomer's grip, frowning. "I'm still figuring it out myself."
Despite the rain soaking his entire being, he strained to survey the surroundings. Oddly enough, only three buildings remained nearby. The neighboring structures were submerged one floor below, and it was only a matter of time before his current refuge suffered the same fate.
Observing the determined figure battling through the surging waters, Lauren surmised that this person was likely an experienced player. Novices wouldn't dive in so brazenly. This individual must have discovered the key to completing the dungeon.
Inspiration struck Lauren. "To the roof!"
It hadn't dawned on him earlier – with only three buildings left, where else could the portal be? It had to be in his building, which soared a floor higher than the others. The portal was surely up there!
Bursting with excitement, Lauren scrambled to the rooftop. Upon opening the rooftop door, his eyes locked onto the shimmering portal right in the center.
"Hah! My luck's turning!" Without hesitation, he dashed toward it, beckoning his fellow beginner from the same building. "Step in to exit this madhouse!"
Lauren stepped into the portal and vanished before the novice's eyes.
The newcomer's understanding of reality trembled like a fragile house of cards. After drawing several deep, fortifying breaths, he called out to neighboring buildings, "He vanished into a white circle, claiming it's the exit. Keep an eye out!" He then gingerly stepped into the portal, disappearing just as Lauren had.
Other players from nearby buildings, baffled by the cryptic message, scoured their rooftops in vain.
Meanwhile, Eric fought valiantly upstream against the flood's powerful currents and debris, enduring countless hardships. Finally, she clutched the railing of the opposing building's corridor. Exhaustion consumed her, every muscle protesting in agony. Gritting her teeth, she untethered the rope from her waist.
Given that the floodwaters had submerged half a floor, she leaned against the wall, wading to the corridor and ascending weakly to a higher level. Finding a room with its door ajar, Eric, yearning for respite, entered and collapsed onto the floor. Her face bore several cuts inflicted by debris in the water, now numbed and pallid from prolonged exposure.
Rummaging through the supermarket, she fetched a chocolate bar, but her trembling fingers refused to cooperate. Resorting to her teeth, she tore open the wrapper and let the chocolate melt in her mouth, regaining some semblance of strength.
The unrelenting storm outside and the flood's relentless roar reminded Eric that her tribulations were far from over. Choosing this multi-story building had been a gamble – a correct one, she hoped. Otherwise, she would endure the entire ordeal anew.
To compound matters, only those three buildings were in sight. If the portal were beyond…
Summoning her will, Eric roused herself and ascended to the rooftop. At the sight of the shimmering portal, relief washed over her, and a faint smile graced her lips.
The portal was indeed here!
"Hey! Is there a portal on your side? Someone mentioned the rooftop had one!" a voice from a neighboring building called out.
Eric approached the rooftop's edge, observing players from the other two buildings clustered on their respective roofs, all drenched and resembling drowned rats, much like herself after fighting the waves.
"There's one here! Make your way over here—use sheets as ropes and grab lifebuoys from rooms."
With that, Eric turned, ignoring their pleas for further guidance, and stepped resolutely into the portal.
[Player Eric has successfully cleared the Ordinary Dungeon: Flood Island Escape, earning 4 points.]