Chapter 1: Survival in the Black Fog

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Survival in the Black Fog

"Ghhh... Ghhh..."

A strange, gasping sound echoed in Seraphina Sinclair’s ears.

’What is that?’

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes were open, but she couldn’t see a thing in the darkness.

’Wasn’t I sleeping at home? Did someone break in? And they even dared to come into my bedroom?’

’Do things like this still happen these days?’

Seraphina Sinclair tried to get up quietly, but discovered in horror that her body seemed to be out of her control. She couldn’t feel anything; only her eyes could move.

She didn’t know how long this state lasted, only that every second was an agony.

At some point, Seraphina Sinclair suddenly felt her sense of smell return. That was the good news. But she also became aware of some very bad news...

There was a strange, putrid stench in the room.

And it was definitely the smell of rotting flesh.

It was no exaggeration to say that a person dead for three days couldn’t possibly smell this bad!

That strange "Ghhh" sound drew closer, and the putrid stench grew stronger along with it.

Seraphina Sinclair instantly realized that the thing next to her was definitely not human!

’Then what is it?’

’A monster?’

The instant that word formed in her mind, Seraphina Sinclair’s fingertip twitched. The tiny movement made her heart pound—it meant control over her body was slowly returning.

Seraphina Sinclair held her breath, feeling the stinging sensation of blood rushing back through her veins.

The putrid stench grew thicker, and the gasping, now right beside her, was mixed with the wet, stringy sound of mucus.

"CLICK."

A knuckle on Seraphina Sinclair’s right hand made a soft pop.

In the darkness, the "Ghhh" sound stopped abruptly.

The hair on Seraphina Sinclair’s arms stood on end.

She could feel something leaning down toward her, its rotten stench washing over her face, carrying the cloyingly sweet odor unique to decaying flesh.

A drop of cold, viscous liquid landed on her collarbone and slid down her chest.

’Disgusting. So disgusting.’

The instant its fangs were about to graze Seraphina Sinclair’s carotid artery, her right arm shot out, her elbow smashing into a mass of rotting soft tissue.

The slimy sensation made her stomach clench, but her survival instinct overrode the nausea. This was absolutely not the time to be frozen with disgust!

She tumbled off the bed, and the wooden floorboards groaned under the impact.

Moonlight suddenly streamed in from a window to the side.

Seraphina Sinclair finally got a clear look at the monster. Strips of rotting flesh hung like tattered cloth from its swollen, gray-green torso, and she could see black viscera squirming between its exposed ribs.

Its head was tilted at an unnatural angle. Half its jawbone was missing, and dark red shreds of flesh dangled from the exposed gums.

A shiver ran down Seraphina Sinclair’s spine. "What is this thing?"

As the thought crossed her mind, a panel unexpectedly popped up in front of her.

[Rotting Corpse (F-level)]

[Description: Festering flesh and squirming maggots. They crawl out from graves, sewers, and the depths of battlefields! Having died once, they refuse to rest in peace. Their joints are twisted, their teeth are blackened, and they force suffocating gurgles from their throats.]

[Weakness: ??? (Novice Tip: Perhaps looking at the monster and silently chanting "Insight" in your mind will provide a hint.)]

Seraphina Sinclair froze, then immediately turned to stare at the Rotting Corpse. Following the prompt, she chanted silently in her mind, ’Insight!’

A second panel appeared.

[Weakness Updated!]

[The rotten skull is structurally weak; a blow from a blunt object can cause a second death! The highly decomposed fatty tissue is extremely flammable!]

’Two weaknesses!’

There was no time to think. Seraphina Sinclair’s expression hardened as the Rotting Corpse lunged, moving much faster than she had expected. She sidestepped cleanly, dodging the attack. If she hadn’t been so dedicated to her fitness routine, that one move would have sent her straight to her grave!

The room suddenly lit up with a dim red glow.

Only then did Seraphina Sinclair see that she was in a wooden cabin of about ten square meters, furnished with a broken wooden bed and a rickety four-legged stool.

Other than that, there was only her and the Rotting Corpse!

’There’s definitely no fire to be found. I’ll just have to find a chance to smash its head in.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes quickly swept the room, finally landing on the dilapidated stool. It was a four-legged stool, but one leg was broken, leaving a jagged, sharp-looking edge.

’In this room, it’s the only thing I can use!’

The Rotting Corpse seemed confused, twisting its head to locate Seraphina Sinclair. She moved carefully, seized the opportunity to roll over to the stool, grabbed a leg, and with a hard yank, ripped it right off!

’A wooden leg will have to do.’

As the Rotting Corpse lunged again, Seraphina Sinclair timed it perfectly and, with all her might, plunged the wooden leg into the monster’s head!

"SQUELCH!"

The monster let out a piercing shriek and thrashed about wildly.

’This is it!’

With a fierce expression, Seraphina Sinclair put her entire body weight into driving the wooden stake deeper!

"CRACK!"

The wooden leg sank completely into the Rotting Corpse’s skull. The monster’s movements froze, and it crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.

[Novice Trial Complete]

[Killed Rotting Corpse ×1]

[Acquired: Ownership of Initial Mobile Cabin]

Translucent blue text materialized in the air.

’Novice trial? Mobile cabin?’

’What is all this?’

Seraphina Sinclair collapsed to the floor, panting heavily.

Before her, the Rotting Corpse’s body dissolved into black particles, finally coalescing on the floor into a Bronze door card.

She shakily got to her feet, bent down to pick up the door card, and her gaze happened to fall on her arm. The cut she’d received from the Rotting Corpse was healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Even more bizarrely, a silver metal box had appeared out of thin air where the Rotting Corpse had vanished. Glowing text was engraved on its lid: [Survival Supply Box (E-level)]

The moment Seraphina Sinclair touched the lid, new text popped up:

[Global Teleportation Complete]

[Congratulations, Player. You have officially entered The Black Mist World!]

"Global teleportation? The Black Mist World?"

Seraphina Sinclair dragged her exhausted body to the window and looked out. The moonlight was gone. Outside was nothing but a vast expanse of fog, obscuring everything from view.

’What the hell is this place?’

[Communication Channel has been enabled!]

[Trading Channel has been enabled!]

[Novice Gift Pack has been distributed!]

[You have entered the seven-day novice protection period. Collect sunshine, power your cabin, let in the black mist, obtain supplies, and survive!]

Seraphina Sinclair’s wrist suddenly twinged with pain. When she looked down, four icons had appeared on it:[Character],[Trading Channel],[Chat Channel], and[Mobile Cabin].

Of the four, the[Character]icon drew her attention the most.

[Name]: Seraphina Sinclair

[Zone]: Drakonia, Major Zone 3, Zone 888

[Intelligence]: 10

[Strength]: 7+2

[Constitution]: 7+2

[Speed]: 7+2

[Evaluation]: A human whose physical fitness is top-tier. (The initial maximum for any human Attribute is ten points!)

’Top-tier!’

Seraphina Sinclair stared in a daze. ’What does the +2 mean?’

’My base Attributes must have been 7, but I was rewarded with two extra points...’

’I’ll check the others first.’

Instead of checking the other two, Seraphina Sinclair opened the Chat Channel directly. ’Since this was a global teleportation, it should be pretty lively, right?’

Messages flew by on the screen. Seraphina Sinclair quickly noticed the user count in the bottom-left corner: 9876/10000.