Chapter 5: Pack Instinct

Chapter 5: Pack Instinct

The warmth didn't last.

By the time Alex left the hollowed cavern, the heat crystal's glow had faded, dimming until it barely gave off enough to warm his fingers. He couldn't risk staying longer.

His transformation still hadn't returned. The devil mana in his chest sat stagnant — thick and heavy, like molten rock cooling too slowly inside his veins. His wounds were closed, but not healed. His arms were stiff, his shoulder swollen, and the left side of his ribs ached every time he took a deep breath.

He moved anyway.

Rest is death if it means staying still.

The second floor spread like a fractured glacier — wide tunnels branching off, some curling downward, others collapsing in on themselves like frozen veins. The mist still clung to the ground, coiling around his boots. Visibility stayed low.

That meant he couldn't see what was watching him.

He felt them first — small shifts in air pressure, claw-taps in the dark, the kind of movements that didn't belong to one creature, but several.

Then he saw them.

Eyes in the dark. Low to the ground. Four-legged shapes crouched just beyond the mist line, staying low, flanking both sides.

Not one.A pack.

They moved like wolves — lean, low to the ground, tails dragging, heads twitching with every step.

But these weren't animals.

Their bodies were narrow, all sinew and frost-white muscle, with needle-thin claws and ice-coated fangs. Their eyes glowed dim blue, not with hunger — but purpose.

They circled slowly.

Alex gripped his shield tighter.

Test me, then.

One lunged.

He sidestepped, slamming his shield into its face. The impact cracked ice off its snout, but it didn't slow down — it snapped at his leg, caught cloth, tore it free, then vanished into the mist again.

Another came from the side. He saw it too late.

Its claws raked across his back. He shouted, spun with the broken blade and caught it across the jaw, slicing through frozen skin.

It yelped — staggered — then retreated.

Alex turned in a slow circle.

The pack had spread wide now. No more lunges. No more direct attacks.

They were waiting.

He wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

They're smart.They're watching how I react.

He couldn't take them all head-on.

Not like this.

Not yet.

He moved again, slow and steady, walking deeper into the tunnel system. The pack followed, silent and patient. A few darted across his peripheral vision, staying just far enough that he couldn't react.

It wasn't a chase.

It was a hunt.

They were herding him.

He passed through a narrow gorge — two icy cliffs rising to either side — and felt it in his gut.

Trap.

He ran.

Just before the gorge narrowed completely, two wolves burst out of the side walls, jaws wide.

Alex dove, rolled under one, and slammed the other with his shield mid-leap. The beast hit the cliff wall with a crack and tumbled back into the dark.

He sprinted out of the gorge, lungs burning, legs barely cooperating.

A slope opened ahead — downward, toward what looked like a sunken chamber.

No time to think.

He dove in.

The chamber was circular and deep, like a collapsed coliseum. The ground was covered in shattered bones and long-dried blood. At the center stood a black pedestal — and on it, an old wooden box covered in dust and frost.

Behind him, the wolves stopped at the rim of the slope.

They didn't follow.

Alex stood there, chest heaving, staring up at them. They crouched at the edge, silent, eyes glowing.

Watching.

And then — one by one — they retreated into the mist.

Why stop now?

He turned to the pedestal.

It pulsed faintly.

Not with light. With presence.

He stepped forward, pulled the box free, and opened it.

Inside sat a small black ring etched with crimson grooves. It felt warm — unnaturally warm — even through his gloves.

As soon as his fingers closed around it, something ignited in his chest.

A rush of breath.

The devil mana inside him pulsed.

The dungeon's reward…

But this wasn't a stat boost or weapon.

This was something deeper.

A bond.

[New Item Acquired: Devil's Brand — Floor 2 Reward]

Effect: Regenerates devil mana 10% faster

Passive: Stabilizes Devil Transformation, slightly reducing body damage on use

Alex slid the ring onto his finger and felt the warmth spread instantly.

His breath came easier. His skin stopped trembling.

The wolves were gone.

But that didn't mean the floor was safe.

He looked toward the far side of the chamber — another tunnel. Another descent.

He didn't speak.

Didn't smile.

Just walked.

And the dungeon shifted with him.