Ready Player One

Wade realizes that the Tomb of Horrors might be on Ludus and that Halliday wanted a student to find the Copper Key. Once class ends, Wade pulls up a map of Ludus alongside an illustration of the Tomb of Horrors and compares the two. He eventually finding an area that matches. He thinks the tomb is on the opposite site of Ludus but does not have the money needed to teleport there. He guesses that his school will give him a free teleportation voucher to see one of their sports teams play an away game. He learns that his football team is playing a school near the Tomb and obtains a voucher. Wade runs towards the tomb from the teleportation pad and ignores a call from Aech. He studies the Tomb of Horrors in preparation for whatever he will face.

Wade sees that the OASIS Tomb of Horrors matches the Dungeons and Dragons module almost exactly. He gains coins, experience points, and new equipment as he moves through the Tomb. The first curveball Wade encounters is the Demi-Lich Acererak (a creature of the undead) sitting in the throne room when “he was supposed to be waiting in a burial chamber much deeper in the dungeon” (78).