The world ended after one hell of a date. The dungeon was worse.
A Chicagoland photographer enters the galaxy’s deadliest game show with a handaxe, too many questions, and absolutely no intention of leaving anyone behind.
You stopped listening because you saw something you wanted to photograph.
REWARD: APOCALYPSEPRE-COLLAPSE FILE // CRAWLER ARK
Ark makes it home to Algonquin after one of the best dates of his life. Minutes later, every building on Earth collapses—taking almost everyone with it.
He reaches the dungeon with a camera still hanging from his chest. Down there, observation becomes survival. Party bars become people. Unexplored map becomes a personal insult. And every clean plan is one System notification away from becoming a disaster.
“I don’t want brave. I want alive.”
PARTY INTERFACE // PROXIMITY LINK ACTIVE
Crawler / Party lead
Photographer. Boxer. Completionist with a disclaimer.
Extended handaxe · Camera · Party Status TokenCrawler / Skirmisher
Fast, practical, and usually the first person to tell Ark no.
Hunting knife · Dexterity 7 · Excellent judgmentAscended companion / Control
Bruno survived the apocalypse and became everybody’s favorite crawler.
Brawler wraps · Nine Strength · Professional kiteCrawler / Reach fighter
A rescued crawler learning the dungeon one impossible fight at a time.
Crude spear · Two-handed reachCrawler / Vanguard
The shield between the party and whatever the System just scaled up.
Wooden shield · Reinforced Dungeon BootsCrawler / Improvised weapons
Proof that the apocalypse can turn a barbecue spatula into a legend.
The Griddle Warden · Humiliation damageCrawler / Field medic
An EMT who can read an injury better than any health bar can explain it.
First Aid — Level 3 · Basic Heal · Utility knivesCrawler / Logistics
A Costco manager turning shelves, crates, and panic into battlefield control.
Logistics — Level 3 · Pest Control SupervisorCrawler / Intelligence
A facilities engineer tracking safe-room traffic, routes, monster reports, and contradictions.
Graph-paper notebook · Claw hammer · Field notesCrawler / Spearfighter
A seasoned spear fighter with a low tolerance for reckless plans.
Seven-foot spear · Navy sailboat bathrobe⚠ ENCOUNTER SCALING CONDITIONS SATISFIEDArk wanted more capable people between the party and permanent death. The dungeon heard him.
MANUSCRIPT ARCHIVE // REVISED CONTINUITY EDITION
From Chicago’s last normal night to an unlikely alliance with five Level Six kennel hounds.
A perfect night along the Chicago Riverwalk ends with the collapse of the surface—and one staircase leading down.
READ CHAPTER →Ark finds Ashley, her bulldog Bruno, and a pair of Trench Lickers before the tutorial has even bothered to introduce itself.
READ CHAPTER →Vellix unlocks the crawler interface. Ark responds with questions about stats, experience, loot, parties, maps—and then more questions.
READ CHAPTER →A Legendary Companion Ascension Biscuit turns Bruno into something bigger, stranger, and extremely certain that he is a crawler.
READ CHAPTER →A six-person party should make the named encounter safer. The dungeon appreciates Ark’s commitment to balance.
READ CHAPTER →The party clears side corridors, rescues two crawlers, reaches Chef Royal, and receives a reward with an unexpected emotional cost.
READ CHAPTER →One new word lets Puppy explain what Bruno has always known. Then come a boiler goose, experience cookies, and a woman in a yellow raincoat.
READ CHAPTER →Evelyn and Martin join the party. A search for the Guild Hall becomes a rescue, a fight, and an unlikely alliance with Pack 17.
READ CHAPTER →“I had just had one of the best dates of my life when the world ended. Which, looking back, felt unnecessarily personal.”
— Chapter One: One Hell of a Date
CONTINUE READING THE FULL MANUSCRIPT →THE DUNGEON IS WATCHING
NEW ACHIEVEMENT!
NEW ACHIEVEMENT!
NEW ACHIEVEMENT!
NEW ACHIEVEMENT!
LATEST TRANSMISSION // CHAPTER EIGHT
We had left the safe room looking for a Tutorial Guild Hall. Instead we'd found two crawlers bleeding out, three hobgoblins, five Level Six war beasts, and apparently an administrative vacancy.END OF CURRENT MANUSCRIPT // CHAPTER EIGHT
Evelyn and Martin have joined the party. Ark is Pack 17’s provisional handler. Ten crawlers, five kennel hounds, and Puppy Dogmeat head toward Vellix.
READ CHAPTER EIGHT →