This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

Stepping into the world of darkness utterly alone wasn't something new to me, surprisingly enough. There had been times when I had to go into the storeroom of the lab I was working in back in the old world, and there were also times when I just went into dark alleyways just so that I could discover a few shortcuts that I could take on my way home. Still, while I expected to see something along the lines of the place being some kind of secret laboratory or research center, I never expected it to be so... empty.

[Marquee]

[Secret Hallway A1]

I blinked at the prompt that appeared in front of me. Apparently, this was a new area, one that warranted Guidance to put a special welcome for it once I entered it.

"Still, this looks too important to not have people in it somehow..."

Squinting, I raised my [Manifest] as I took a look around. So far, everything seemed to be made of metal. From the walls to the floors, to even the ceiling where I last came from, it was all made out of cold hard metal that very obviously wasn't steel. Maybe it was some kind of iron? Not that I even knew a thing about metallurgy.

Taking a small breath, I walked forward through the narrow passage, the light coming from the hatch I entered slowly disappearing behind me as I went deeper into this mystery hallway. I didn't know what I was in for, but this was as good a lead as any to try and find Guidance. Never mind the fact that the hatch I went through didn't look like it had been tampered with, or that the hallways themselves were practically caked in dust. This was my actual girlfriend missing right now, and I'd be caught dead if I didn't at least try and rescue her.

"Not that I wouldn't try," I couldn't help but scoff at myself. "How far does this go anyway?"

I blinked as I reached the end where what little light the hatch gave out finally disappeared. In front of me was practically bathed in absolute darkness. And unlike back in the Island Sanctuary, I didn't have the luxury of having someone near me that could produce a bit of light to guide my path.

Essentially, if I wanted to continue, I'd have to go in blind.

"Unless I somehow magically make a torch," I sighed, my mind already on the verge of turning around. "Surely it wouldn't be that hard."

[Marquee: Centrax]

Turning around, I sighed as I went back up the hatch and out into the open air, my eyes quickly going to the tree I just fell earlier to see what I could come up with. Obviously, rubbing two twigs together and making it burn was a clear choice, unless I had some kind of other material I could use that would be easier to burn.

"Hmm... [INV1]"

[INVENTORY 1][INV2][INV3]

[Wolf Glove iLvL: 5]

[Room Six Key]

[Cotton Shirt iLvL:1]

[Wolf Glove iLvL:5]

[Cargo Shorts iLvL:2]

[Slippers iLvL:2]

[Wood]

Okay, looking at what I've got, I have a pretty sizeable number of garbage I could burn along with the twigs. Torches couldn't exist without some kind of fuel or other stuff that wouldn't burn out quickly, so my old shirt would probably be useful here. Never mind the fact that I still don't have a way of even starting a fire or even holding onto the flame for longer than ten seconds, the first thing I should see is if I could even make a DIY torch in the first place.

"Let's see what we can do here..."

Reaching for the slippers, the old and busted thing would probably burn for longer than the old cotton shirt. It was made of rubber as well, which would mean that it'll burn for a bit longer than a flimsy piece of fabric. Granted, it'll be harder to even try and make it burn, but once it got going, it'll keep on going.

With the pair of slippers in hand, I then went around and picked up a few sizeable sticks and twigs that fell off the tree I cut down earlier. I couldn't just pull out the wood from my inventory, what with it being a hunk of unprocessed tree, but sticks will do decently with what I had in mind.

"Right," I nodded to myself as I held onto around four pieces of dry twigs. "Time to see if all the survival documentaries I watched would actually work."

Kneeling down on the ground, I then began to rub the two twigs together in one specific spot. Angling it in a way that one piece of my old slippers would be ground down beneath it, I went to work. Again, I thanked my lucky stars that my body had been significantly strengthened after getting here. Surely, my old arms would've already fallen off with how hard and fast I was trying to get this thing to go.

[*fwoosh....*]

The sound of kindling... Actual tinder?

Crouching down, I gently took a look at the smoking piece of rubber underneath the twig. Gently blowing, it didn't take long before the familiar scent of burning rubber filled my nostrils. The smoke was black and obnoxious, but it was still burning.

"Success..."

I couldn't help but smirk as I quickly fashioned the piece of rubber on the twig, fixing it into place by wedging the burning slipper onto it. It looked horrible, but it was serviceable.

[chime!]

[CRAFTING UNLOCKED: Torch]

I blinked at the prompt that disappeared just as quickly as it came. Crafting was a thing here, apparently...

"Huh, I guess that's one more thing to ask Guidance about once I find her."

[Marquee]

[Secret Hallway A1]

Shaking my head, I quickly made my way back to the hatch, going down into the darkest depths of the hallways as I held the torch in one hand with one of my pistols on the other. In a way, I almost looked like a police officer doing a raid with the way I was holding onto the torch like it was an actual flashlight, my right hand placed over my left as I aimed my weapon.

Keeping silent, I braved the dark silence, keeping my mouth shut as I followed the narrow passage. So far, it's been smooth sailing, with the path still keeping on the straight and narrow even if it did slowly transition into a decline the further I went.

[*thud... thud....*]

I slowed to a crawl, my ears perking up as the sound of footsteps colliding against the metal floors alerted me of someone else's presence. It was a light one, however, and it sounded more like a thing than an actual person.

[*BEEP BOOP*]

[M.D.S: Level 40]

To my utter and complete surprise, a robot suddenly appeared right in front of me. Looking somewhat primitive and advanced at the same time, the way it was rusted over told me that this thing hadn't seen any kind of maintenance in years.

[*BEEP BEEP*]

I kept my distance, slowly backing away even as it slowly inched its way forward. It had a level and a name on it, possibly meaning that it was a monster of some kind. Then again, what if it was just a malfunctioning thing? Or maybe even a friendly?

Well, only one way to find out... "Hello?"

At my greeting, the robot only moved forward, seemingly unblinking as its rotting chassis threatened to come apart with each step. It didn't seem to respond. Instead, it walked forward, seemingly unaffected by my presence.

[*BEEP BEEP*]

Blinking, I stared and watched it move along, ignoring my presence as it just walked right past me. Odd, but at least it wasn't an enemy of some kind.

Letting out a small sigh, I moved along the hallway, a part of me still worried that the robot I just let pass would come and bite me in the ass sometime in the future. But I kept it all at the back of my mind as I walked. There were still no deviations so far, but I'm sure that'll change after some time.

And sure enough, the first divergence in the path finally showed itself.

"Left or right, huh..."

Taking a look at my torch, the fact that it was still burning kept me at ease as I tried to look past the darkness that filled each path. There were no visible differences between them, and there was no way for me to know where they'd lead unless I actually took them.

"Guidance?"

Letting out a pensive yell, my voice echoed out into the darkness as nothing came back to me in reply. No response... Not even a single peep...

Huh... I guess there was only one way to go from here...

Shrugging, I took a guess and went into the right passage. If anything goes wrong, I'll just turn back and take the other route. Surely this was all connected in some way or another anyway.

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