For every hive, although knowledge of the floorplan would undoubtedly be useful, it wouldn’t be flawless for a hive inevitably changes it in some way, whether that’d be the tearing down of walls, the translation of its tendrils into walls, and blocking off stairwells. The way you navigate between the rooms and floors of a building has to be adapted into the terrain that a hive creates.

A large, shiny tentacle had crashed through the stairs in the entranceway, eliminating that method for ascending to the next floor. In the apartment I was in, it was like it was being squished by a limb; a tendril had wrapped around the rooms, knocking down parts of walls and pulling apart the ceiling.

As such, my next objective was to simply explore how to get through this building. The kitchen I was in--which I had now left as I, surprisingly, had no desire to be stuck in a room with desiccated, decaying wolf corpses--didn’t lead anywhere. From the living room, there were two other doors that I had yet to explore, presumably the bedroom and bathroom.

Even though I had tied a towel around my arm, I still felt the urge to hold, even gently, my arm, my hand right above the wound, on the towel. I was carefully not to apply too much pressure lest the pain assault me once more.

I decided to start with the bedroom.

After I had gingerly navigated the living room to the other side, I opened the door, spotting minimal signs of wear and tear and damage.

Inside, there was a comfortable looking bed on a wooden frame and a wooden wardrobe dresser--a rather austere room. On the bed and floor was a pile of rubble and once I swung the door open, disturbed dust rose through the air and attacked me. I rubbed my eyes to clear them of the moisture in response.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d have said that the grey tendrils were an unusual way to break up the drab appearance of the room. The large limb trailed through the ceiling and ran down the wall. The bed had buckled into two halves from where the limb had struck it.

There was a clear hole in the ceiling--an opening to climb to the next floor. I could've looked for another, easier, for more suitable way to ascend but there was an urgency welling up in my body, prompting me to take the opportunity while it was here.

My body was shiny from sweat, and heaving from exertion, but I still felt energised somehow.

Determined, first walked up to the limb to ascertain its materialistic nature. Though it was shiny and specular, its overall look made it look far more moist and wet than it was. In fact, with its grey complexion resembling that of concrete, it looked and felt more like a building, blending in with the actual walls.

It was shiny, yet hard and dry. It was at least a tiny bit glossy but nowhere did it clearly reflect the light in a recognisable way. The material was a confounding one.

Never-the-less, I presumed it structurally stable and easily able to hold my weight. The only question is… How do I actually climb up there?

Firstly, I clambered up onto the bed. Nope, couldn’t reach there. I definitely lacked the upper body strength to pull myself up if I was hanging from the first floor by my hands but that wasn’t the issue; the hole wasn’t directly above the bed and so I found myself far too short, even when elevated, to reach to the floor above.

Next plan.

Hopping off, I made my way to the dresser. It was large and wooden but I held no doubts that it would be instrumental. Confident that this was what I needed, and crouched down by the side of it, grabbed underneath to pull it upwards slightly, and began to push.

It didn’t work. Either I was far too weak or the dresser was far too heavy but all I managed to do was rotate the whole thing around the pivot that were its two legs that still remained on the ground. I guess I need to reduce the weight.

Next, I angrily pulled out the drawers--anger because of how violently I was pulling, not my actual emotion--and chucked them behind me, some landing on the bed while others strewn about the room. I didn’t very much care where they landed provided but they wouldn’t inconvenience me.

With the dresser now relieved of its unnecessary weight like a bad liposuction, I resumed my previous position and began shoving and… It worked! The dresser didn’t move by much and my shoulders were beginning to hurt but it was something.

Over the next few minutes, I managed to push the dresser inch by inch until it was beside the bed, in place under the opening in the floor above. Next, I clambered onto the bed, and then onto the dresser, and now I could finally reach the second floor.

It was by this time that though I could reach the second floor, I realised that I still couldn’t actually climb up there. Slightly dispirited, I knew that the solution was probably to push the dresser against the wall so I could use the wall to push my upwards.

And so, I reluctantly moved the dresser many more inches until it was flush with the wall.

Now, I could actually ascend! I climbed onto the dresser, and could reach the second floor. Tepidly, I pressed my foot flat against the walls and it didn’t slip down. Excellent. It was good that I had gone jogging today; my shoes were sufficiently grippy.

With a solid push off the wall and much, much difficulty, I, somehow, managed to climb up! I was so elated that I just laid down on the floor, recovering.

Alas, I knew the dangers that irresponsibility could lead to and so, I didn’t rest for long. Before I knew it, I was back up and ready to go, though now beginning to tire quite significantly.

I was tired, hungry, and thirsty. Taking out my bottle of water that I had brought with me, not much was left after I swigged down a lot of it greedily. To get through the rest of the hive, I had to be methodical. My altercation with the dogs earlier could not be repeated--I was already wounded as is.

Instead, I began to formulate a plan. The monsters in a hive all tend to be similar to each other--the last plan were entirely insect-like ones, for instance. Therefore, it was likely the other monsters were going to be four-legged, canine-like beasts.

They lacked maneuverability and I still had the knife from the kitchen. My plan was going to be to use my Specialisation early and follow it to kill the monsters before they can pose much of a threat.

The room I had climbed into seemed to be the bedroom of the apartment above. In all likelihood, the four apartments would have the same floor plan. Therefore, the door would lead to the living room.

Before I opened the door, I placed my ear against it, trying to ascertain what was behind it through sound alone. Nothing. It was uncomfortably quiet.

Breath. Let’s be calm. First, activate my Specialisation. We want to kill monsters quickly and efficiently.

I was prepared. I knew, with my Specialisation, I didn’t need time to react and so, I forcefully swung the door open and charged out. My mind was prepared in anticipation of the visions I was so familiar with and as soon they appeared, my body automatically followed through.

Unlike before, there was only one monster this time. There were the corpses of two dead men, one in the middle of the room while the other was by the door leading to the hallway outside.

In the middle of the room was a sofa, a coffee table, and a monster eating its meal.

The beast itself was covered in spindle-like fur--feathers without the fluff--and its body was arched in an unusual way. Its front legs were short while its hind legs were large, the muscles clearly defined even under the fur; I was reminded of a kangaroo, in a way.

Its face stout and lacking a clear defined snout--I doubt I’d be able to tell where its mouth was if it wasn’t eating. And its mouth was the most horrifying part. If I wasn’t moving on instinct, I’m sure the sight alone would have stunned me for a moment.

Its mouth, rather than a two-piece contraption like most animals, instead was split down the lower jar and all three parts were spread wide open, moving in almost a prehensile way. It looked more like an alien from a horror movie rather than an Earthly animal.

As soon as the door banged against the wall and the best had turned its face to notice me, I was already running towards it. Within just a handful seconds, I was upon it.

It was disgusting but my body moved almost on its own, ignoring my own trepidations. The vision I saw overlaced on top of reality dictated my movements; first, I’d pounce upon it, taking advantage of its surprise and my speed to knock it to the ground and temporarily immobilize it.

Next, I’d exploit my weight to instantly kick it in the stomach and keep it down.

After that, I’d grab the bottle that was on the coffee table and smash it against the monster's head.

Without missing a beat, my next action would be to shove the knife as far as I could up into the creature's stomach, twisting to dig the knife in further and deal extra damage.

By now, it would be winded and heavily injured. All that would be left is another punt to its head and rapidly shove the knife right through the side of the head, avoiding its lashing bits and flailing claws.

As soon as I saw one step, I followed it and then I saw the next one. It was like I was performing a perfectly rehearsed dance, my moments graceful and confident--completely unlike how I was downstairs.

Within a minute of encountering it, the monster was bleeding profusely and had its brain stabbed, causing irreversible vital damage, killing it. Its monster blood pooled on the ground, mixing with the humans.

I collapsed down onto the sofa and swung my head back, deactivating my Specialisation. I was enveloped in the motions and didn’t sustain any injuries but it felt like my brain was bleeding, the pain entrapping my mind.

I shut my eyes and clenched my jaw, trying to cut off unnecessary sensory information, but my mind entered the antithesis of rapture. No matter if I tried to contract or relax my limbs, it felt like my entire body was on fire and my brain was the epicentre of that.

I felt like my body heave under the pressure my mind was exerting. White noise filled my sight and an ungodly ringing resounded throughout my head, pounding against my temple. My fingers were sporadically moving, trying to relieve the tension present throughout.

I was in that incapacitated state for who knows how long. My body was in torment until eventually, thankfully, the pain began to die down and the vice-like grip it had on my body was beginning to lessen. I could open my eyes and finally feel my body again.

My eyes were moist, my ears under and unfamiliar pressure, and aches made up the entirety of my body. My previous invigorated state was gone and I was left enervated. I brought my hands up to rub my eyes and when I withdrew them, they were distinctly stained with what could only be blood.

Bringing my finger to my cheek to feel the wetness there, when I pulled away, there was blood there as well. I felt my body shudder from the sight and felt determined to clean up.

Groggily, I forced my reluctant body from under me to move and make way to the only room I had yet to enter in any apartment--the bathroom. Inside, I ripped off a large amount of toilet paper and rubbed them furiously all over my face, rubbing against all the orifices.

Once I was done, they were disgusting; they were covered in an amalgamation of blood, mucus, and tears.

Trying not to touch it any further, I dumped it all in the bin, eager to have it all over and done with quickly.

Next, I turned on the sink and wiped my face the best that I could, cleaning myself up. I may have been in a hive, and the monsters don’t really care about how attractive you are, but I felt more stable, more controlled, looking like how I usually do than some snivelling mess of a person.

I still have to clear this hive.

I was exhausted and didn’t feel a strong desire to venture forth instantly. Instead, I walked right back into the living and slumped down onto the sofa again, closing my eyes.

I needed to think this through, develop a strategy.

So far, I had two encounters. One was against two monsters and I had killed both though I was injured in the process. The other was against one monster, larger than the previous, and I had killed that without sustaining any injuries.

There were three distinct differences between all of them: I had taken the latter by surprise, I had my Specialisation active all the time against the latter, and I was prepared, both mentally and physically, for the latter.

In essence, all the factors contributed to the latter being a much quicker encounter--I jumped into action instantly and already had a weapon to kill the monster. Those were the two most important facts.

After the first fight, I had a familiar headache from overusing my Specialisation but that’s happened before. With the second one, however, that was far more intense. Clearly, I couldn’t rely on my System Specialisation as I had done.

But I’m weak without my System Specialisation. I don’t know how to fight and I’m weak and fearful. I can’t fight without my Specialisation, but I have to.

Monsters in a hive were similar. Therefore, how I killed monsters so far should work for monsters in the future. With this paradigm of thinking in mind, I looked upon my fights again.

Ultimately, the monsters were killed through stabs in the head.

The monsters were small enough and light enough that my kicks could either throw them away or distract them somewhat.

Their mouths and claws were what were dangerous.

They don’t take time to think and are impulsive creatures.

If I was careful and calculating, I should be able to take them on. Whether I could take them on without using my Specialisation at all, I decreed that a hard no and ignored that possibility. What I needed to do was come up with a strategy of taking them on with minimal activation of my Specialisation. Now, that I could do.