CHAPTER 1: CHAPTER 1: DYING IS A GREAT EXCUSE FOR A NAP.

The last thing I saw was my computer screen. A game was loading, the little bar shimmering as it crawled forward. It had been stuck at 99% for three full, agonizing minutes.

My heart pounded a frantic, unsteady rhythm in my chest. Come on, come on...

I was an indie game developer, which is a fancy way of saying I was a one-man army fighting a war against deadlines and buggy code. I was creating a cozy, relaxing farming game called ’Hearthwood Homestead’. The irony was that my own life was the exact opposite of cozy and relaxing. I hadn’t slept more than four consecutive hours in a month. My diet consisted of 90% instant noodles and coffee that had the bitter taste of regret.

My tiny apartment was a certified disaster zone. Empty coffee mugs and energy drink cans stood guard over teetering towers of cold pizza boxes. My one and only friend in this self-imposed prison, a small succulent plant named Bartholomew, had given up and died a few weeks ago. He’d probably gotten tired of watching me slowly kill myself.

Honestly, I didn’t blame him. I felt like I was next.

A wave of dizziness hit me hard, and the room started to tilt. My vision blurred.

Just... finish this one last thing, I thought, my fingers trembling over the keyboard. Compile the final build. Then I can finally sleep. A real, proper nap. For a week. Maybe a month.

The thought of a nap was the most beautiful, wonderful thing I could imagine. It was a treasure more precious than any legendary-tier magic sword I could ever program into a game. It was the true final boss of my to-do list, and I was ready to defeat it.

The loading bar on the screen flickered, and finally, mercifully, it hit 100%.

Compile Complete.

A weak, tired smile touched my lips. "I did it," I whispered to the empty room.

And then, everything went black.

It wasn’t a scary darkness. It was soft. Gentle. Like sinking into a mattress made of pure, supportive clouds. My head slumped forward, my cheek coming to rest against the cool plastic of my keyboard. My last thought wasn’t deep or meaningful. I didn’t see my life flash before my eyes.

I just thought, with a profound sense of relief: Finally. Nap time.

I woke up, but "woke up" wasn’t the right way to describe it. I just... became aware.

There was no body, no aches, no exhaustion. There was just a deep, dark, and wonderfully quiet nothingness. It was pure, unfiltered peace. It was the perfect nap, stretching on for what felt like a blissful eternity. I had achieved my life’s ultimate goal.

But of course, something had to ruin it.

A soft "ding!" sound, like a notification from a friendly app, echoed in the silent darkness. A screen made of pale blue light appeared in front of my non-existent eyes.

[System Booting... Please Wait.]

[Soul Calibration Complete!]

[Reason for death: Overwork. Died while making a cozy game. How ironic!]

[A+ for effort, F for not dying in a cool way. Seriously, not even a meteor?]

’Hey! Getting my work done is a cool way to die!’ I tried to think, a flicker of my old professional pride surfacing. I didn’t have a mouth, but the thought was there, indignant.

[Scanning soul for primary motivations...]

[Motivation 1: Sleep.]

[Motivation 2: Snacks.]

[Motivation 3: More sleep.]

[Conclusion: Subject is incredibly lazy but also creative. Found the perfect new job for you!]

[Welcome, Administrator, to the Dungeon System!]

[You are now a Dungeon Core!]

The comfy darkness around me suddenly warped. It felt like being squeezed through a tube, compressed and molded into a new, solid shape. The feeling of being a boundless, floating consciousness was gone, replaced by a sense of weight and density. When the feeling stopped, my awareness was locked into a single point.

I was a rock.

A very smooth, shiny black rock, like a polished bowling ball. I could feel a faint, warm energy humming inside me, glowing with a soft, purple light. I was sitting in the middle of a small, dark cave made of dirt and stone.

A new, more detailed window popped up in my vision.

+--------------------------------------+

| Dungeon OS: Sleepy Time v1.0 |

|--------------------------------------|

| Dungeon Name: ??? |

| Core Name: ??? |

| Level: 1 |

| Dungeon Points (DP): 10 |

| Mood: Super sleepy. |

+--------------------------------------+

I studied the "Mood" line. This new life just got me.

Being a rock seemed like the best job ever. No deadlines. No responsibilities. The floor was even surprisingly comfortable. I could finally get some serious napping done.

And then a flash of bright pink light exploded right next to me with a sound like a tiny firecracker, and my perfect, sleepy peace was instantly, horribly, gone.