Danger

They moved deeper into the caves, the air growing colder. Fin's boots scraped against the stone, every sound magnified in the silence. 

Ten minutes in, they found their first monster. 

It was… underwhelming. 

A rock-crawler, about the size of a dog, scuttled out from behind a boulder. It looked like someone had crossed a crab with a nightmare, all spiky limbs and too many eyes. 

Buzzcut didn't even blink. He stepped forward, sword flashing, and cleaved the thing in half before it could hiss. 

Fin stared. "That's it?" 

The girl rolled her eyes. "It's a Rank 2, not a dragon. Keep up." 

Fin shrugged and got to work, prying the tiny monster core from its corpse. The others moved on, leaving him to scramble after them. 

--- 

Hours passed. They fought more crawlers, a couple of tunnel snakes (which were exactly as fun as they sounded), and something called a "shriek bat" (which lived up to its name). Fin watched, learned, and occasionally ducked when a monster got too close. 

The team worked like a well-oiled machine—buzzcut tanking hits, the girl picking off stragglers, Patchy Beard and Hammer Guy handling the mid-range. Fin? He carried bags, handed out supplies, and tried not to be useless. 

'Not bad for a first day,' he thought, kneeling to collect another core. 

Then—the temperature dropped. 

Fin's breath fogged in the sudden chill. He stood, frowning. "Uh, guys? Why's it—" 

He turned. 

And froze. 

A thing stood at the end of the tunnel. 

Tall. 

Hulking. 

Wrong. 

Its skin was pitch black, slick like oil, and its limbs bent in ways limbs shouldn't bend. Its face—if you could call it that—was just a gaping maw of teeth, too many teeth, all dripping something dark. 

Fin's brain short-circuited.

'What the hell is that?!' 

Before he could scream, the monster moved. 

Fast. 

One second, buzzcut was raising his sword. The next— 

Thunk. 

Buzzcut's head hit the ground. 

The monster didn't stop. It tore through the others like paper—the girl's bow snapped, Patchy Beard's staff shattered, Hammer Guy's… well, the hammer didn't help. 

Fin stood there, core still clutched in his hand, as the monster turned its empty gaze on him. 

It stepped forward. Slowly. Like it had all the time in the world. 

Fin's legs finally remembered how to work. 

'Run.'

As he ran, his thoughts drifted back to the guide, he read about this but he was still not sure if that was what was happening. 

A dungeon warp. 

It's rare but sometimes monsters can slip out of their dungeon and enter another one. No one knows exactly how that happens, all they know is that its never good news. 

The fear of death hit him hard, overwhelming every thought as his legs stumbled over the jagged rocks. He tripped, caught himself, then tripped again, his hands scraping the cold stone floor. 

Behind him, the monster was way faster—its twisted, oil-black body closing the gap with every step. Its heavy thudding echoed in the tunnel, drowning out his panicked breaths.

It caught up.

A massive claw smashed into him, knocking him sideways into the wall. Pain exploded in his ribs, sharp and brutal. Before he could even scream, it grabbed him again and slammed him back into the stone—over and over. 

His vision blurred, blood dripping into his eyes. Through the red haze, he saw it: the monster's gaping maw of teeth twisting into something like a smile. A sick, hungry grin.

His head spun. Darkness crept in at the edges. Was this it? Was he done? His body felt heavy, his mind foggy—like he was slipping away.

"No," he rasped, snapping out of it. His hand shot up, desperate, and grabbed the monster's slick, bony arm. That buzz—his power—kicked in fast. He pulled, absorbing its strength. Fire surged through his veins, raw and wild, waking him up.

The monster roared, reacting quick. It yanked its arm free and flung him across the tunnel. He hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop in a heap.

But he wasn't scared anymore. He pushed himself up, legs shaky but steadying. The power coursed through him, hot and alive. His vibe shifted—calm, sharp, ready.

He smirked, wiping blood from his lip. "What's wrong? Scared of me now?"

The monster tilted its head, like it understood. Its too-many teeth glinted in the dim green light. Then it charged, claws out, a black blur of death.

Fin met it head-on. 

No running this time. He gripped his dagger tight, the chipped little blade that'd saved him before. He slashed hard at the monster's chest. The metal cracked against its skin—and snapped in half. 

Useless.

"Shit!" he yelped as the monster's fist smashed into him, sending him flying back. He crashed into the wall again, coughing, the air knocked out of him. The broken dagger clattered to the ground.

He groaned, clutching his side. "Okay… that didn't work." The monster stalked closer, slow and smug, like it knew he was screwed. He needed more power. More strength. 

This own wasn't enough—not yet.

That's when he saw them. The cores. Tiny glowing orbs he'd stuffed in his vest pocket after prying them from the crawlers and snakes. They rolled out as he hit the wall, scattered across the stone floor. Each one pulsed faintly, full of power.

He scrambled, grabbing the nearest one—a crawler core, small and green. It felt warm in his hand, buzzing with energy. "Worth a shot," he muttered.

The monster lunged. Fin squeezed the core and pulled. Its power hit him like a jolt—sharp, quick, not as strong as the monster's but enough. His muscles tightened, his senses sharpened. He dodged the claw swipe by inches, rolling to the side.

He grabbed another core—a tunnel snake's, blue and slick. He absorbed it too. More strength flooded in, his arms steadying, his breath evening out. He ducked under the monster's next swing, grinning now.

"Not so tough when I'm not half-dead, huh?" he taunted.

The monster snarled, its maw snapping at him. Fin snatched up a third core—a shriek bat's, purple and humming. He crushed it in his fist, pulling its energy in. His legs felt lighter, faster. He darted around the monster, staying just out of reach.

"Alright," he said, cracking his knuckles. "No dagger, no team, no problem. Let's dance."

The monster roared and swung again, but Fin wasn't getting hit this time. He slid under its arm, popping up behind it. Without a weapon, he balled his fists and slammed them into its back. The hit landed hard—harder than he expected. The monster staggered, its oily skin rippling.

"Huh," he said, staring at his hands. "That actually worked."

But it wasn't enough. The monster spun, faster than he thought possible, and backhanded him across the tunnel. He hit the ground again, rolling to a stop near the last core he'd dropped.

"Ow," he groaned, spitting blood. "Okay, you're still stronger."

He grabbed the final core and absorbed it, feeling the rush stack on top of what he'd already taken. His whole body hummed now—stronger, quicker, alive with power he didn't fully understand.

'There it is again, that rush... its going to my head again... it feels...amazing.'

He grinned, ready to rip the monster apart