The last thing I remembered was the glow of my phone screen in a dark room.I wasn't doing anything special just scrolling, half-asleep, reading novel. At some point, my vision flickered not like lag more like reality itself stuttered then everything went black.
I woke up choking air slammed into my lungs like I'd been underwater for too long I rolled onto my side, coughing hard, my palms scraping against rough ground.The smell hit me next—metallic, damp, rotten. Like mold mixed with blood I forced my eyes open.
Gray that was the first thing I noticed not darkness, not light gray, stretching endlessly above me. The sky looked wrong, like a photograph drained of color ash floated lazily in the air, though there was no fire.I pushed myself up, heart pounding the ground beneath me wasn't soil. It was asphalt,cracked and swallowed by thick black vines that pulsed faintly, as if they were breathing. Every instinct in my body screamed danger."This… isn't right"my voice sounded too loud in the silence no birds no wind no life.
I stood slowly, legs shaking my clothes were the same as before jeans, hoodie, sneakers but the air felt heavier, like it resisted every movement each breath carried a strange pressure, sinking into my chest. That's when I saw the buildings.Cars frozen in place. A school bus split open like a carcass street signs bent at impossible angles, letters half-melted. I knew this place.
And that terrified me more than anything else."No," I whispered. "No, no, no"A familiar chill crawled up my spine."This looks like...."
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
The words appeared directly in my vision not projected not imagined. They were there, floating in front of me in sharp blue light my breath hitched.
"…You've got to be kidding me"The screen flickered, lines of static crawling across it like insects.
[World Scan Complete.
Reality Anchor Established.
Player Consciousness Successfully Transferred.
Transferred.]
That word made my stomach drop.Another window opened.
[Welcome, Player.
World: STRANGER THINGS
Location: THE UPSIDE DOWN (HAWKINS)
Year: 1983]
My knees nearly gave out."No. That's impossible. That's a show. A Netflix show"but the smell, the cold, the way the ground stuck to my shoes none of it felt fake.This wasn't a dream.
[Difficulty Rating: EXTREME]
I laughed once, short and hollow."Of course it is."The System didn't care.
[STATUS WINDOW
Name: Thomas Wayne
Level: 1
HP: 100 / 100
Stamina: 100 / 100
Sanity: 74 / 100 ⚠️
Skills: None
Traits:
World Anomaly (Your existence disrupts causality)
Isekai Traveler (Foreign soul detected)]
Sanity?
I stared at the number. Seventy-four didn't sound terrible, but the warning symbol beside it told a different story."Does that drop when I panic?" I muttered.As if answering a sound echoed through the distance a wet, echoing click every muscle in my body locked.I knew that sound.
I turned slowly.Far down the street, between two collapsed buildings, something moved tall too tall. Its silhouette bent and twisted as it stepped forward, claws scraping concrete.The air vibrated with its breath.The System flashed red.
[THREAT DETECTED]
[ENTITY: DEMOGORGON
STATUS: HUNTING
A new window slammed open.
EMERGENCY QUEST ACTIVATED
Quest Name: Hide or Die
Objective: Avoid detection for 180 seconds
Reward: ???
Failure: Death]
My heartbeat thundered in my ears"One hundred and eighty seconds," I said shakily. "Three minutes."The Demogorgon lifted its head.Its petal-like face opened, rows of teeth unfolding like a nightmare flower. A low growl rolled across the street.It sniffed and then it screamed i ran.
My feet pounded against the asphalt as I dove behind a rusted truck, barely catching myself before slipping on the slick ground. I pressed my back against the metal, hands shaking so badly I had to clench them into fists.The creature's footsteps were heavy now. Too close.
[Sanity -2]
"Great," I hissed. "Just great."I crawled beneath the truck, trying not to breathe too loud. The vines brushed against my skin, cold and sticky, and I bit back a scream as one wrapped loosely around my ankle before going still again.Seconds crawled by.
The Demogorgon's shadow passed over the truck. Its claws scraped the metal above me, sending vibrations through my bones. Drool dripped onto the ground inches from my face.I stared at it, frozen, counting in my head.
One… two… three…My vision blurred.
[Sanity -3]
"Don't look," I whispered to myself. "Don't move."
The creature lingered.Then slowly it moved on.
Its footsteps faded, replaced by the suffocating silence of the Upside Down.
[Quest Complete.
Reward Acquired.]
I collapsed fully onto the ground, chest heaving.
"What… what did I get?"The System responded.
[Skill Unlocked: Presence Suppression – Rank D ( Temporarily reduces detection by hostile entities )
Duration: Short
Cooldown: Long]
A weak laugh escaped me."So I'm not completely helpless."I looked up at the gray sky, dread and determination twisting together in my chest.
This world was dangerous this System was real.
And if I wanted to survive I'd have to level up.
[Main Quest Unlocked:
SURVIVE THE STORY]