Castor was being dragged down, his backpack swinging wildly behind him as he sprinted down multiple tunnels as fast as he could. Holding the bone club while running with a bag full of spare things ruined Castor’s stride and slowed him down, but he refused to leave behind anything in a situation like this.

Snarls and guttural screams echoed behind Castor, so close he could feel them shake the ground with their numbers. The [Kobolds] relentlessly chased him down, corralling him further into the tunnels and unknown territory. He was no more than prey to the monsters in these sewers. Hitting a corner forced Castor to slow down, but so did the terrifying group behind him.

Besides, he had something they didn’t.

Castor took a deep breath, holding the air for as long as he could, and reached into the part of himself that was changed since his awakening. In the same space his resource pool sat, so too did his skills. He latched onto them—onto [Aura Release]. Like a switch, the skill snapped on after a few attempts, dumping a bit of his precious resource from the roiling pit in his stomach to the rest of his body.

Refresh Bestowed!

Aura Release Expanded!

Unranked 2

Refresh Bestowed!

Castor only figured out how to do one thing with his skill, but he could do it very well. He cackled uncontrollably as he pulled away from the droves of monsters for the second time.

The buff’s subtle, but powerful effect cleared the aches and pains all the way to Castor’s bone while washing away the exhaustion, literally giving him a second wind. His tired body greedily absorbed the unguided energy with every flex of the skill.

Soon, even the savage cacophony of the [Kobolds] chasing him quieted to dead silence.

Castor slowed down for a moment as he came across an intersection. He tried to think—backtrack his steps—in order to figure out which direction Micah and Blue were heading. At least he was until he remembered he could find out Blue’s general direction with their [Bond].

“I just need to focus,” Castor said to himself. He closed his eyes again, and—

A thwack rang out from afar, and Castor’s [Intuition] screamed before his body was involuntarily thrown forward. He tried to catch himself, only for his left arm to give out. Sharp pain in his shoulder seared away any thought Castor might have had, blurring his vision and awareness all at the same time. All he knew was that he needed to get away. I can’t die, I can’t die. There’s still so much I need to do.

Castor crawled and wiggled on the ground with every iota of will left in him. He dragged himself with three limbs on his belly and knees until [Intuition] rang again as he heard another crack in the distance.

Intuition Expanded!

Unranked 6

This time, Castor threw himself to the side with everything he had. He knocked the breath out of his lungs as he smashed into the concrete wall, and a split second later, sparks flew as Castor caught sight of an arrow bolt ricochet off the stone.

Castor couldn’t help but laugh pitifully. His body throbbed, and blood leaked down his back; for a moment his body failed to get back up and keep running. He didn’t have enough energy to fight back.

Yet, hearing the monsters’ clawed feet slap the ground as they closed in on their prey was enough to spring him into action. Castor reached deep inside himself and took the energy he needed.

Refresh Bestowed!

Refresh Bestowed!

Aura Release Expanded!

Unranked 3

RP:3/8

Adrenaline pumped through Castor’s heart as he pushed himself off the wall—one arm cradling his only weapon, the other throbbing in pain with every motion—and ran as fast as his battered body allowed.

He took the darker, left tunnel out of the three options; Castor didn’t know where he was going or where to go, but there had to be something. Anything.

His hunters eventually bounded around the corner, setting eyes on their target, and pursued him with a renewed vigor. They closed the distance at an alarming rate, and Castor's heart pounded against his rib cage in fear.

Castor could once keep ahead of them through sheer endurance and pseudo magic, but now, even that wasn’t enough to keep them away. Even if there were more ways to go, Castor no longer keep going. He said his goodbyes to Blue and wormed his way into a dark, decrepit hole in the wall in a last-ditch effort to hide.

The monsters crawled through the entrance, hell-bent on following.

Castor screamed and kicked the monsters away, but they scratched his legs until they grabbed them, dragging him out more and more with every [Kobold] that had a hand on him.

Then a lifeline appeared.

Would you like to seal

Foreign Opposition from your raid attempt?

Y/N

Castor didn’t know what to expect, but he mentally smacked yes anyway.

Suddenly, the desperate attempt to escape ended as the [Kobolds] that tried to hold Castor’s life between their grubby, clawed fingers disappeared in a burst of light.

Every single lizard that crawled through the invisible boundary between the hole and the sewers transformed into a bundle of fireworks, reappearing outside the cave and leaving Castor alone, bleeding, in a hell of a lot of pain, and in stunned about actually being alive.

Anomaly detected. Purge complete.

May your Raid end victoriously, Traveler!

Welcome to The Dark Catacombs

Then, as if on some sick queue, a skeleton armed with a sword and shield fell from the ceiling.

The rain was heavy and freezing, but thanks to Castor's sacrifice, Micah was wearing the poncho, and therefore was protected from most of the harsh elements.

Micah was more worried about Castor’s dog than himself; he hadn’t forgotten what happened when the two of them got caught in the rain for too long. When they were safe, he stopped for a second to put a poncho on the dog. Blue constantly whimpered and looked back towards the sewers.

“It’s okay, Blue. He’ll be back.” Micah said shakily. Maybe it was Micah’s guilt, but he could swear the dog scoffed at him.

The two returned to the girls’ apartment under the worst pretenses; weakened by the rain, mostly empty-handed, and worst of all, a missing party member.

“Where’s your friend?” Gabby’s voice sounded distant to Micah as he wandered back in, and reblocked the doorway. He couldn’t focus on anything in his haze, feeling as if everything had to be a dream.

More like a nightmare, Micah thought. The only thing he could really hear was his rapid breathing and thundering heart. He could be dead. We could all die. What the hell was I thinking?!

“Calm down, User.” A disembodied voice ordered from over Micah’s shoulder. “If your friend was dead, he would be forcefully ejected from the party.”

“You’re not helping!” Micah yelled at the Sprite hovering behind him, who promptly faded back into observer mode. Invisible, and more important, quiet.

“I’m not helping?” Gabby asked in confusion. “What are you talking about? What happened?”

Micah stopped and took a deep breath, then took another. Everyone watched him, making sure he was fine. Hell, even the man’s dog seemed to consider his well-being.

Guilt tugged on Micah’s heart. Every breath seemed like a struggle to complete.

“It’s Castor… He’s stuck in the sewers.”

“What do you me-“ Gabby began to ask, but was interrupted by Blue’s abrupt howling.

The dog’s hollering startled everyone in the room, even more so when the dog tried to pry the furniture away from the window frame in a bid to escape. Micah and Gabby could barely keep Blue inside.

His yips and barks were so fearful and painful that they sounded closer to dying than being safe. Castor’s going to kill me. Micah would’ve been concerned about being exposed if the heavy rain didn’t blanket the noise.

“Shhhh, Blue. It’s okay. Your dad will be right back.” Micah unsuccessfully tried to calm down Blue, until his Sprite revealed its rocky body once more.

“It seems like your party member is more proactive than you, User.” Although the Sprite became surprisingly talkative after getting a personality, it didn’t feel like a good thing.

Before Micah could ask what it meant, the system-granted assistant manifested several windows in front of Micah.

Badass Central has discovered

a Trial Dungeon

Ether Generation and Light Attainment

doubled for the next 24 hours.

Castor yelled and fell on his back, his screams transforming to agonized howls as an immense pain tore into his left shoulder, sending horrible vibrations down his body.

A skeleton was supposed to be an early game monster; a horror equivalent of a slime. The monster that stood in front of him was anything, but a low-tier threat.

Its rusted shield and chipped broadsword were intimidating, but nothing was so unnerving as its non-existing eyes. Sickly, gray light congregated behind its eye sockets and flooded the rest of its frame in a nausea-inducing haze.

It loomed over Castor, hatred for the living blazing in its sockets, sword poised in the air for a downward slash—

—And it did not move.

Castor winced and cried, trying to sneak a few glances at his back while simultaneously keeping his eyes on the undead monster. The few looks he did steal revealed broken wood stuck out of the bloody mess of the back of Castor's shoulder. Just touching that damn thing left Castor gasping in tears, so he left it alone for now.

Castor’s only saving grace was his backpack prevented the bolt from being slammed further into his body from his fall.

“Fuckkk,” Castor allowed his head to sink for a moment before shooting back up to the skeleton. Weirdly enough, the monster still didn’t move a single inch.

Skeleton

Level 3

Soldier

Castor closed the prompt. He was tired—exhausted, actually. He didn’t know what he was doing, and pretending to know wasn’t working anymore. More importantly, he didn’t know what to do from this point on.

He could still sense the lizards’ presence beyond the boundary of the dungeon, pounding away at the protections that separated them from their prey

This isn’t a game. He shivered. Running around getting into random fights isn't going to work.

“You are indeed not in the best of circumstances.” A somber voice echoed throughout the tunnel.

Castor’s heart thumped wildly in his chest as he whirled his head to face the skeleton, but neither sword nor shield crashed into him.

“Two choices, either of which leads you further into the maw of death.” The disembodied voice spoke out, further confusing Castor. He looked all around the dark cavern for the source, but it seems to be coming from everywhere at once.

“To be clear, I don’t have much hope for your success, but as the first prospective Challenger in a long time, I’ll give you an…opportunity.” The voice lamented.

“If you accept the challenge, place your hand on the rune.”

As the voice disappeared, leaving Castor alone once more, several screens manifested in his vision.

Quest Log Updated

The Challenge Keeper has decided to shed kindness on your pitiful state. She has issued a Quest in line with your current objective. Succeed and win favor for the next Challenge.

Objective: Destroy Skeletons (0/3)

Reward: Restoration, Title

Failure Condition: Death

Accept Y/N

Castor was bewildered, unable to comprehend most of what was said or what was happening, but he got the gist of it. Some alien, god, otherworldly being—something was offering Castor an opportunity. He still didn’t understand what they were offering or why, only that he might be healed if he keeps fighting.

Fight, or die.

He didn’t know whether this…entity was pulling his leg or not, but Castor wasn’t just going to give up. He didn’t need someone to tell him to fight to the end. Castor accepted the quest, swiping the prompts away before struggling to get to his feet with one good arm. The pain still froze his mind and chilled his blood with every beat of his heart, yet Castor had no choice but to continue. He could not falter.

A golden symbol with beautiful curves and sharp edges etched itself at Castor’s feet. It was like an ornate arrow, with golden swirls coloring the inside, except it contained triple arches on the opposite side of the head. Once completed, its luminosity increased dramatically, gathering into a blinding halo—of Aura, Castor realized. It pulsed once, beckoning him forward.

Fuck it, Castor thought. Either way, I’ma die trying. At least this way, it won’t be an ugly [Kobold] hunting him down until he was exhausted.

It’ll be from a disgusting [Skeleton].

Castor shrugged off his backpack—carefully around the bolt jutting out of his back—and took a few experimental swings of his club, attempting to not lose his balance while he was forced to only use one arm. Not ideal, but it had to do. He seemed as ready as he could be, so ready he almost touched the rune and just got it over with—only, Castor couldn’t stop trembling.

The man tried to calm down, and breathe as he reached for his [Bond], but even that bit of peace couldn’t be reached. His skill was suppressed in this miserable place. The one connection Castor managed to keep, dimmed by the darkness surrounding him

I just know they need me. Castor clutched his chest with his left arm despite the burning pain. He couldn’t stop shaking.

He couldn’t hesitate anymore.

Castor dropped his foot onto the arrow in a final act of defiance. The halo dispersed into a pulse, briefly highlighting the room in a radar-like glow. It might’ve even been beautiful, but not to Castor’s pain-addled mind. There weren't many applications of aura Castor had been able to figure out, so he filed the effect for later review, more concerned with the problem at hand.

Although pain jolted through Castor with every step, he didn’t falter—he didn’t hesitate to spring into action, especially under the effects of another [Refresh].

Challenge Accepted

Trial Floor Initiated

Refresh Bestowed!

Warning! Resource Exhaustion Imminent!

Whatever spell the skeleton was under fell away, and the sword that hung in midair suddenly cleaved through the space.

Castor almost blocked it—maybe try to smack it to the side—yet instinct made him dodge instead.

The air whistled from the sword passage before the weapon buried itself several feet into solid rock. The force of the blow knocked Castor slightly off-balance, unable to take advantage of the undead soldier’s weapon being stuck.

The soldier yanked the sword out of the ground and repositioned itself, both sword and shield in between it and Castor.

Now much closer and with their backs against the walls, there was no longer an easy way to gain momentum or get behind the skeleton’s armaments. An effective situation for an enemy with distinct advantages over him.

“Shit.” Castor hissed through his teeth.