The growl echoed again.
Low. Wet. Wrong.
Not a dog.
Not even a beast.
A creation.
Kael's blade caught the firelight, jagged edges gleaming. She didn't breathe. Neither did I.
Not because of fear.
Because movement triggered them.
"They hunt warmth," she whispered. "And sound. They sniff out fire. That's how they find the smart ones."
"…The smart ones?"
"Anyone who survives past the culling. Rats like us. The system sends them to clean up."
The fire crackled. The warmth that had felt like salvation now burned like a target on our backs.
Too late to smother it.
We heard claws on stone.
Skittering. Scraping. Multiples.
Entity approaching…Class: [Ash Construct]
Type: PredatoryStatus
ActiveBehavior: Seek / Isolate / Eviscerate
Heat Signature Tracking: ENABLED
"Move," Kael hissed. "We can't fight it head-on."
I already was.
Crouched, staying in the fire's deepest shadow, I bolted with her down a side passage — half-collapsed, slick with mold and time. The stone floor sloped downward, deeper into the crypt.
Behind us, the fire popped.
The growl rose to a scream.
Then claws hit stone. Fast.
They were coming.
We ran.
Not like prey.
Like pieces on a board.
My mind mapped the path behind us: elevation, sound resonance, ambient heat. I marked every pillar, every drop of water, every rusted chain.
The crypt wasn't a maze.
It was a trap.
And I was going to turn it inside out.
We dove through an open arch into a chamber of cracked columns and broken coffins.
Kael slid behind one, eyes scanning.
I turned.
The thing came into view.
My first look at an Ash Dog.
It wasn't a dog.
It wore shadows like skin. Its form was canine, sure — four legs, hunched spine, bladed tail — but its body was wrong. Charcoal bones laced with ember sinew. No eyes. Just a splitting, vertical mouth full of metal fangs. Ash drifted from its paws as it stalked into the crypt like smoke.
Then another. And another.
Three enemies.
HP: UnknownAggression
HighSensory focus: Heat / Vibrations
Intelligence: Semi-autonomous.
Direct confrontation: failure.
Running: short-term survival, long-term loss.
Solution: misdirection + environmental collapse.
Variable needed: bait.
I reached down, wrapped my knuckles in the rusted belt still around my wrist.
"What are you doing?" Kael whispered, eyes wide.
"Buying time."
"You're insane."
"Correct. Now help me."
I pointed to one of the loose columns — already cracked down the middle, vines snaking through its base.
"Trip it. When I give the signal."
She blinked.
"…You have a plan?"
"No. I have twelve. We'll see which one survives."
I stepped into view.
The Ash Dogs twitched.
Then they screamed.
And charged.
One second.
Two.
Three.
I hurled the rusted belt into the shadows on the opposite side of the room — it clanged, loud as thunder.
The dogs diverted instantly, snapping toward the noise.
I ran left. Between coffins. Slid behind another column.
One hound broke formation, lunging after me.
Too fast.
It leapt.
I ducked.
Now.
"KAEL!"
With a grunt, she kicked the broken column with all her strength. It groaned. Cracked. Then collapsed in a shower of dust and rubble.
Right on top of the Ash Dog mid-air.
It screamed — a horrible metallic shriek — as stone drove it into the floor. The second one skidded to a stop too late and crashed into the rubble.
I didn't waste the opportunity.
Grabbed a rusted shard of coffin metal. Drove it into the dog's throat.
The shadow body sputtered, smoke billowing out like it was venting a furnace.
[Critical Weakness Exploited.]
[Enemy Slain: Ash Construct]
[No EXP Awarded. Drudge Class Restriction.]
[Behavioral Pattern Logged.]
[Adjustments Pending.]
I stared at the screen.
No EXP.
Of course not.
Drudges don't gain anything.
We just survive.
Kael drove her blade into the stunned second dog, setting it alight with a flicker of ember magic.
The last hound was already recovering, rising from the debris with twisted limbs, mouth wide open.
I was out of options.
Low on weapons. Low on air. Lower on chances.
So I did the only thing left.
I screamed.
Loud. Raw. Full of human panic.
Then I ran back toward the fire chamber.
The hound chased.
Right into the crypt where the fire still burned.
Where the heat would blind it.
Where the stone above had already cracked from the battle's echo.
I hit the far wall.
Spun.
And hurled the rusted plank from earlier — not at the dog.
At the ceiling beam.
It struck true.
The crypt ceiling caved in.
Stone. Flame. Ash.
The last dog vanished in a cloud of smoke and rubble.
Silence.
Then a screen blinked into view.
🧾 [System Alert]
Trial Participant: Itsuki Amagi
Behavioral Profile Updated
Trait Mutation Triggered
🎖 New Trait Gained[Tactical Aberration] — Your mind recognizes battlefields as puzzle boxes. Each death becomes a solution. Expect counter-adaptation.
System Note:You are now being observed.
I exhaled, shaking.
Kael stumbled into the room behind me, coughing through the ash cloud.
"You…" she gasped.
"…You killed all three."
"Correct."
"With junk. And screaming. And math."
"I told you."
I stared into the broken crypt. At the flickering remains of the fire.
"They send dogs to kill Drudges."
"But they sent them to kill me."
I turned to her, voice low.
"Kael. I don't think this world is random."
She swallowed.
"What do you mean?"
"I think it saw me. I think it's adjusting."
She went quiet.
Then whispered:
"Then we're already dead."
I shook my head.
"No."
I looked up at the system screen. At the flickering trait. At the words:
You are being observed.
And I smiled.
"If it's watching, that means I can lie to it."