Chapter 3: The Dead Hunt
The scent hit him before the monsters did.
Copper. Rot. Something sour in the air like wet fur and rusted teeth.
Kael crouched behind a collapsed vending machine at the edge of Sector 10, eyes locked forward, ears tuned to every shift of stone and snarl of wind. This place shimmered wrong. The light was duller. The air didn't move.
> [Warning: Sector 10 — Active Threat Zone]
Enemy aggression level: HIGH
A growl — low and wet — snapped him to attention.
Two beasts crept forward from the shadows. Wolf-like, at a distance, but wrong the moment you looked closer. Their spines arched unnaturally. Flesh peeled from their ribs. Bone jutted from their flanks like exposed armor. Their eyes burned like furnace coals.
> [Lurker Wolf – Lv. 4]
Status: Hunting
Kael gripped his bone saber tighter. No trembling. No nerves. Just readiness.
He didn't strike first.
The first time he faced wolves, they flanked him. The second time, they drove him into a corner and ripped him apart.
Not this time.
One of them crept closer, sniffing the checkpoint scent still clinging to his cloak. Kael flattened behind the vending machine, holding his breath.
Closer…
Closer…
Now.
He burst from cover in a flash, blade swinging low. The saber bit deep into the front leg of the nearest wolf. It yelped and staggered, but its partner was already lunging.
Kael rolled under the second beast, letting its claws graze his shoulder. Pain bloomed hot, but he was still upright. Still alive.
The first wolf limped back, vulnerable.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He slashed again—this time across the throat. The blade sank in deep. The creature collapsed, body fracturing into red light and ash.
> [EXP +60]
The second wolf snarled, eyes glowing.
It lunged again.
Kael barely ducked in time, the claws tearing chunks from the pavement. Then the thing howled — long, shrill, unnatural.
Kael cursed under his breath.
That wasn't a cry of pain.
It was a call.
And others were answering.
---
He ran.
Boots slamming against broken pavement. Breath sharp in his chest. Shadows darted along rooftops, and howls echoed through the ruins.
Three more. Maybe four. Close.
Kael dove through the window of a shattered pharmacy, the glass exploding around him. He slammed a counter against the door. Not secure — but enough to stall pursuit.
> [HP: 94 / 170]
[Stamina: 31 / 100]
He crouched behind the counter, gasping for air. Shelves lay in ruin, the store stripped bare. Dust floated in shafts of dirty light.
Then the system pinged faintly — a flicker at the back wall.
> [System Cache Detected: Combat Stim – Lv. 1]
+15% stamina regen
+10% dodge window
Duration: 10 minutes
Kael snatched the vial, popped the seal, and drank.
It tasted like battery acid.
But the relief was instant — muscles loosened, blood stopped pulsing behind his eyes, breath returned.
A thud above.
Dust rained from the ceiling. Something heavy was moving.
Dragging limbs. Deep breathing. Hungry.
> [New Threat Detected: Bonegnaw Howler – Lv. 4]
Elite Variant – Moderate Threat
Not a boss.
But definitely not standard prey.
Kael backed away slowly. Head-on, it would tear him in half.
He needed a plan.
His eyes scanned the wreckage. Gas canisters behind the register. Tangled wires from the ceiling. Glass. Mirrors.
He started building.
---
Ten minutes later, he stood by the back entrance, trap primed. The shelves were wired. Canisters in place. Mirror shards scattered where they'd catch light.
Then he threw a rock.
The Bonegnaw dropped through the ceiling like a corpse falling from a roof. Its jaw split vertically. Limbs too long. Spine exposed like shattered iron.
Kael ran.
The monster followed.
It hit the tripwire.
Click.
A spark jumped. Gas ignited.
Boom.
The explosion rocked the building. Shelves flew. Heat flared. The Bonegnaw shrieked — one of its arms torn free in the blast, bones jutting out like jagged spears.
Kael didn't stop.
He leapt back into the fire and smoke, blade in hand. The beast stumbled, half-blinded. He vaulted the counter and drove the saber into the creature's exposed joint.
It howled.
Then struck back — claws raking across Kael's ribs, slamming him into a cabinet. His vision blurred. Pain exploded down his side.
> [HP: 51 / 170]
Kael forced himself up.
The monster limped toward him.
So did Kael.
One chance left.
He screamed and rushed forward, driving the blade up into the Howler's jaw. Through the skull. Out the back of its neck.
The creature collapsed — and shattered into flickering light.
> [EXP +110]
[Current EXP: 790 / 800]
Kael dropped beside it, coughing on smoke and blood.
Alive.
Barely.
> [Tutorial Progress: 78%]
Next Zone Identified: Boss Nest – Sector 10 Core
He staggered to his feet and limped toward the old stairwell the blast had cleared.
At the bottom, red mist curled like breath from something sleeping.
Kael stared into it.
There was no turning back now.
---
📊 Kael Draven — Status (End of Chapter 3)
> Level: 4
EXP: 790 / 800
HP: 51 / 170
Stamina: 58 / 100
Weapon: Primitive Bone Saber (Durability: 47%)
Armor: Tattered Cloak (No bonus)
Skills:
• Reflex Trace Lv. 1
(+5% reaction speed, +0.2s dodge buffer)
Traits:
• Awareness Boost (developed intuition)
• Combat Improviser (minor bonus when using environmental hazards)
Location: Sector 10 – Outskirts
Checkpoint: Abandoned Subway Tunnel (Sector 9)