[Name: Kevin]

[Status: Healthy]

[Strength: 5]

[Spirit: 6]

[Agility: 4]

[Constitution: 4]

[Perception: 6]

[Sanity: 100/100]

[Stamina: 100/100]

[Health: 100/100]

[Talent: Lance of Condemnation, Covenant of the Saint]

[Tip 1: Keep your body in shape. The average stat for an adult is 5. The highest peak you can reach through training is 15.]

[Tip 2: Watch your stamina. Below 50, you will feel tired. Below 30, you will get sleepy. Below 10, you will pass out.]

[Tip 3: Keep your sanity high. Below 50, you will go mad. Below 30, you will want to kill yourself. Below 10... something terrifying will happen.]

[Tip 4: Boosting Spirit helps keep your sanity stable and speeds up its recovery.]

[Tip 5: Boosting Constitution helps keep your stamina up and speeds up its recovery.]

[Next, your survival journey officially begins. Do your best to stay alive. Good luck!]

...

As the prompts in my ears finally stopped, a wave of gasps and shouts rose from the crowd around me.

"What the hell? A horror survival game?"

"Did we get kidnapped for some prank show?"

"How could this be real?"

Stephanie growled low in her throat while pacing around, checking out everything on the ship.

Crunch!

Stephanie’s foot stepped right onto a cluster of barnacles.

A loud crunching sound erupted.

A slimy, crushed-flesh sensation rose from the ground.

Right after, a creepy feeling of being watched hit me.

She looked down and saw that, hidden in the cracks of the barnacles underfoot, tiny eyes were opening up one by one.

Those eyes were creeping up her legs, staring hard right up under her skirt.

"Fuck!" Stephanie jumped in place in pure terror and threw herself straight into Leo’s arms. "Damn it, what is this thing?"

[Sanity: -1]

[Sanity: -1]

Leo held Stephanie tight while keeping his eyes sharp on the Ocular Barnacle in front of him.

He was pretty shocked by the creepy, crowded creature too.

[Sanity: -1]

[Sanity: -1]

The double warning in my ears snapped Leo and Stephanie out of their daze.

They stared at their own stat screens. Just one scare from the Ocular Barnacle had dropped their sanity by two points.

"Are we... actually transported here? Is this really a horror survival world?" Leo still couldn’t wrap his head around what he was seeing.

But the crushed Ocular Barnacle was already slowly pulling together, sticking back, and healing.

Big, terrifying eyes opened up again, glaring straight at Leo and Stephanie.

Leo gulped hard. "Someone please tell me... what the hell is going on?"

Amelia walked over to them slowly and gently patted Stephanie on the shoulder. "Now is not the time to be scared."

"I don’t want to admit it either, but I think we are really transported here."

She paused, then kept talking. "I just unlocked an A-Tier talent called Enchantment. Look..."

Amelia rested her hand on Stephanie’s necklace pendant.

Lights and shadows flickered, and a strange magic pattern suddenly appeared on the pendant.

A warm wave of magic energy flowed straight into Stephanie’s body.

She had been shaking with fear just a second ago, but now she was calming down fast.

Meanwhile.

Stephanie noticed her sanity was starting to climb back up.

Stephanie gasped at Amelia’s power. "Wow, that’s amazing! What kind of power is that? Is it magic?"

Amelia shook her head. "I think you saw those prompts already. You all just awakened your own talents too."

"Maybe you were too stressed to check earlier. Now, just close your eyes and focus. The info is all right there in your head."

Stephanie and Leo closed their eyes at the same time, searching through their minds for the info.

Kevin watched them, keeping his eyes locked on Amelia.

This cop left a strong impression on him again.

Calmly gathering info and figuring out her talent on the first jump? That was impressive.

Amelia was easily top-tier for this nightmare ocean.

In his past life, Kevin had met tons of Survivors. The ones who made it to the late game and got strong all shared this kind of sharp, calm focus. Just like Amelia.

Just then, Amelia noticed Kevin staring at her.

She walked up to him and raised an eyebrow. "You seem to know way more than us. What’s your talent?"

Kevin was about to answer when Luna stepped up, hooking her arm through his. "Officer Amelia, talents are vital for everyone’s survival. I don’t think Mr. Kevin owes you an answer."

Amelia blinked. "You two know each other?"

Luna smiled, shot Kevin a playful wink, then turned to Amelia. "Let me introduce myself properly. Before we got here, I was Mr. Kevin’s personal escort."

She leaned into Kevin a bit more on purpose, pressing her chest right against his arm.

Kevin felt the softness against his arm and frowned at Luna.

[Affinity: 25 → 50]

Luna’s affinity just jumped from 25 to 50. That took Kevin by surprise.

Why was Luna’s affinity toward him spiking like this?

She had to be hiding something.

Before Kevin could figure it out, Amelia frowned. "We’re stuck on the same boat now. For everyone’s safety, I think we should all share what we know."

"I already shared mine. Don’t tell me you guys are gonna hold out on us?"

Luna opened her mouth to argue, but Kevin just pulled her behind him. He smiled. "No secrets there. I can share mine."

"Every 24 hours, I get a random piece of unknown info. It could be a danger warning, a treasure tip, or even a potion recipe."

"But it might be useless too, like..."

Kevin paused, then said quiet enough for just her to hear, "I know Ms. Amelia is still a virgin."

Amelia’s face instantly turned bright red.

She cleared her throat quickly, getting straight to business. "Your power is super useful. It helps us figure out this whole nightmare world."

"But keep some things to yourself. Don’t go broadcasting my business. That’s private. If you don’t stop, I won’t go easy on you."

Kevin stared at her flushed face, then suddenly froze.

[Affinity: -10]

Amelia’s affinity dropped from 0 straight to -10.

Damn it!

This woman couldn’t even handle a basic adult joke.

Kevin muttered this to himself while shrugging at Luna beside him.

As a result, the affinity bar over Luna’s head dropped from 50 back down to 20.

She’d been glued to his arm just seconds ago, but now she was keeping her distance. Even her smile turned all fake.

Kevin stared for a second, confused.

What the hell?

Didn’t I offend her?

Wait.

It suddenly clicked for Kevin.

Before the nightmare hit, Luna knew he’d been touring inside St. Peter’s Cathedral.

That meant she saw the prompt from the talent awakening ceremony. She figured he’d snagged a high-value talent anchor from the church.

She must’ve assumed he unlocked some insane-ass talent, which is why her affinity shot up so high.

But the second she heard it was just a daily info skill, she thought it was trash and quickly backed off.

That had to be it!

What a pragmatic woman.

Soul purity: -100. She didn’t even hesitate before turning on a dime.

Just then, Stephanie and Leo snapped out of their mental check.

They looked at each other, both wearing looks of pure shock.

Amelia stepped forward. "Looks like you both figured out your talents. Mind sharing?"

Leo smirked proudly. "I just unlocked an A-Tier talent: Arousal!"

"A-Tier? What does it do?" Amelia’s eyes lit up a bit. Figuring out one of them had a combat talent definitely piqued her interest.