Bunty had read about the creatures. They populated parts of the second floor where Climbers rarely ventured, only emerging to devour a troglodyte or smaller monsters. When it charged at them, Bunty knew the stories of them being fiercely territorial were true.

Yukiho yelled in Japanese, and they all ran. The beast’s size made it as big as the tunnel, making getting around it impossible. It wouldn’t need to fight them to win but could very well crush the group under its massive weight. Bunty peeked over his shoulder and much to his horror, the creatures giant foreclaws were leaving gouges in the hard rock as it chased.

“This isn’t going to work!” He yelled, and the mole roared behind them moments later. “We can’t outrun it.”

Yukiho and Mei were already several dozen feet ahead of the other three. The former had three Cores worth of tempering to strengthen her body and claimed her spirit enhanced it further. Mei only had one Core’s worth of body improvement, but beast spirits focused on augmentation. She hadn’t fused with the fox spirit yet, but if she did, the young woman would outrun all of them. Bunty was sure that if not Koki lagging at the back of the pack, they would’ve left Bunty and Hina behind and run.

They’d have to fight the monster to survive, but he had no idea how they’d taken on something so massive. Three Cores worth of upgrades didn’t mean Yukiho could take on the creature. From the sound of it, she specialised in hit-and-run tactics which required open spaces. Much to his surprise, the pair didn’t stop running when Koki tripped on a rock. The mole roared again, getting closer with every passing moment.

When Bunty ran back to help him up, Hina followed. She dropped her pickaxe to help him, and it clanged on the ground loud. The mole roared once again. Bunty put two and two together. Instead of helping Koki up onto his feet. He picked up the pickaxe and bashed the head’s metal side into the wall. It made an ugly metallic clang and mole reacted in the same way as before, slowing.

“It hates sound!” He exclaimed. “Try to be as loud as possible.”

Koki didn’t reply but nodded to him. He picked up the rock that had tripped him and bashed it on the wall too. The mole screeched, stopping its advance six feet from the crew.

Hina yelled nonsense words at the creature, raising her pitch. The mole fell silent and whimpered. Mei’s wisp flickered, not far from going out. When they turned tail and tried to continue running, it followed them again, forcing the trio to get loud once more. It continued to follow them but at a much slower rate.

Japanese words echoed down the corridor. Koki grabbed Bunty and pulled him onto my knees. Moments later, an arrow sped over his head and struck the mole’s giant nose. The mole screeched swiping at its face. Chills ran down Bunty’s spine as he got an up-close look at the creature’s claws; they were as big as his torso.

“Over here!” Yukiho called, waving them forwards. It was then Bunty realised that they had made it to a cavern. He ran, pulling Koki behind him. All the while, Bunty banged the pickaxe against the cave’s wall. Yukiho yelled in Japanese again.

“Hai!” Koki replied. He grabbed Bunty and pushed him up against the wall. Another arrow flew past them. This time had the same light as the wisps.

When the mole roared again, Bunty didn’t dare look at the beast and resumed running. His heart pounded in his chest. From the sound of it, the mole had stopped caring about the banging. It had sped up its charge, and they were seconds from getting shredded. Up ahead, he saw Mei. Her eyes glowed yellow like her fox spirit’s, and her biceps bulged underneath the yukata. Most curious of all were the blue wisps floating around her. He guessed they were a minor summon she received from her first Core.

As soon as the trio cleared the cavern’s mouth, Mei fired another arrow, and they all dove away from the tunnel entrances towards the side walls. A heartbeat later, the giant mole sped past them screeching. Bunty couldn’t help but wonder how the beast’s sensitive ears put up with its own sounds. Yukiho’s cape came to life. When she leapt, one end wrapped around Hina, carrying both of them onto a higher platform.

“If you want the chance of claiming a Core, you’ll have to find them,” she yelled.

Bunty swore under his breath and turned on the beast. Blood poured from its face, and sour stink filled the cavern. A pair of beady eyes blinked at the trio. Records claimed the creatures were nearly blind. He hoped they were correct.

Koki drew his katana and charged at the mole. As he moved, an ethereal silver sheen consumed the blade. Bunty spotted an eye-ball sized Core sitting at the bottom of the grip. The Ito clan had sent him to the tower with an empowered sword. No wonder Yukiho trusted the pair to fight first interval monsters without her help. Koki ran past the beast as it turned around to face Mei, the tip of his blade grazed its leathery side, cutting through it like butter.

Instead of firing her bow again, Mei charged at the mole. Her arms and shoulders deflated. As she ran, her yukata danced, exposing her legs. Bunty caught a glimpse of her inflated calves. Instead of transforming her body, the fox spirit’s augmentation was enhancing targeted parts of her body. She too ran past the creature, slapping a light blue wisp into its face. Frost spread from the point of contact, covering mole’s nose.

The monster charged in the direction it was facing, coming straight at Bunty. He didn’t have the former’s enhancements or the latter’s element of surprise, but he fought massive beasts before and tried his best not to panic. First, he got his breathing under control. Then he ran at the angered monster. When six feet away from one another, the mole reared onto its hind legs, rising to full height, and swiped at Bunty.

If Bunty stopped or tried to dodge, he knew the giant claws would shred him into ribbons. So he ran into the creature’s reach, gripped his axe with both hands and stabbed the top spike into the creature’s belly. Then as the roaring mole tried to crush Bunty under its body, he spun on his heel, moving to the left. He used the centrifugal force from the move and swung the axe into the mole’s flesh once again. It bit into the stomach once again, drawing blood.

Hina cheered from above, but he knew better than to look away from the monster. Mei and Koki were on it again. Mei leapt onto the mole’s back from a standing position and pulled a neighbouring wisp into the dagger in her hand. Her arms and shoulders swelled up again, and she swung the blade towards the monster’s back. It bucked like a bull almost throwing her off. Mei fell on her front, the augmentation disappearing. Bunty guessed she needed constant focus to maintain it.

Not willing to give the opportunity go, he brought his axe down on the mole’s side in a two-handed swing. Despite the force he had put behind the blow, it didn’t bite in a deep as the two previous attacks.

“Its sides are too thick!” Bunty yelled. “We need to expose its belly.”

Koki’s weapon didn’t have the same limitation’s as Bunty. He slashed his katana into the mole’s hindleg and bit through skin and flesh. His blade stopped on contacting bone, and he spun away as the beast thrashed. Bunty hopped a step back too as their giant opponent whined, scrambling away from them. It angled its body, so the injured limb was against the wall.

Mei failed to hold onto the monster and fell off it on to the ground. The mole jumped at the opportunity, raising its left foreleg and swiping at her. Bunty dashed in and swung the axe with all his might. He put his hips and shoulders into the attack, hitting the paw as it came down. The axe struck flesh, then claw and rebounded. Bunty found himself off-balance and staggered backwards. Mei managed to roll away from the mole just in time.

Bunty released his right-handed grip on his axe, grabbing at the moles face. He managed to get hold of one of the arrows planted in its snout and used it for support. The mole let out a half-yip, half-whine and threw its head up, trying to get away from Bunty. Considering its size and strength, it had no trouble getting away from him, of course. Bunty kept hold off the arrow, though, and blood sprayed as it came free of the wound.

Koki dashed past Bunty and thrust his katana into the mole’s exposed neck. He pulled it out while dragging the blade to the side and leapt backwards. Bunty scrambled back just in time to avoid the shower of mole blood that followed. The creature fell pawing at its neck. It rolled from side to side, screeching and whining.

Bunty waited for an opportune moment; his axe raised above his head. As soon as he saw an opportune window, he stepped into the beast and swung his weapon down into the beast’s throat. The axe head struck not far above the now dust-covered wound. The mole fell still as another font of blood flowed from its body. Its beady eyes blinked at Bunty before closing forever.