[POV: Riku Kamishiro - The Artificer] [Location: Sector 2 - The Connecting Tunnels]
Riku Kamishiro didn't like caves.
It wasn't a claustrophobia thing. It was an engineering thing. Caves were chaotic, unstructured, and prone to catastrophic failure. Every step he took on the uneven, damp stone floor felt like walking inside a ticking bomb.
He was currently separated from the main groups. While Squad 1 (Ren's team) had gone deep for the crystals, and Squad 2 (Reiji's team) was holding the mid-line, Riku had slipped away into a narrow side passage near the elevator shaft.
He told the Guild lieutenant he needed to "calibrate his mana sensors." The truth was, he just needed to think without Grog breathing down his neck.
Riku adjusted his monocle—a gadget he had crafted from a lens of quartz and a rune of [Identify]. It hummed softly, overlaying a stream of orange data onto his vision.
Mana Density: 450 ppm. Structural Integrity: 78%. Ambient Temperature: Rising.
"It's running hot," Riku whispered to himself, running a hand along the cavern wall.
The stone was vibrating. It was subtle—too subtle for a normal human to feel—but Riku's [Artificer] class gave him a heightened sensitivity to vibrations and material stress. The dungeon wasn't just existing; it was pulsing. Like an immune system reacting to a virus.
Riku frowned. This wasn't normal. According to the Guild records he had secretly skimmed, the Howling Caverns were supposed to be a "Dormant Zone." The spawn rates should be low. The monsters should be lethargic.
But everything his sensors were picking up screamed "Active."
He thought back to the conversation he'd had three days ago, standing on the balcony of the Royal Castle with Prince Valerius.
[Flashback: 3 Days Ago]
"Do you know why wars are lost, Riku Kamishiro?"
Prince Valerius leaned against the marble railing, swirling a glass of wine. The shattered moon, Lua, cast a pale light over his sharp features.
"Bad strategy?" Riku guessed, tinkering with a prototype mana-battery in his hands.
"Logistics," Valerius corrected. He pointed toward the dark mountains in the north. "We have brave knights. We have powerful mages. But bravery does not fix a broken sword, and mana does not fill an empty stomach."
The Prince turned his cold, blue eyes toward Riku. "The Demon Lord's army does not need to sleep. They do not need to eat. Their weapons are forged from the bones of the earth. We are fighting a war of attrition against an enemy that has infinite resources."
Valerius stepped closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"That is why I authorized this mission to the Howling Caverns. We are not just training you. We are harvesting the three pillars of our survival."
"Three?" Riku asked.
"First, the Azure Crystals," Valerius listed, holding up one finger. "Pure, crystallized mana. We need them to power the Grand Barrier around the capital. Without them, the barrier fails in six months, and we will be overrun by aerial bombardment."
"Second," Valerius raised a second finger. "The Fangs of the Shadow Hyenas. They contain a unique neurotoxin. Our alchemists are refining it to coat our arrowheads. It is the only poison fast enough to stop an Orc Berserker in its tracks."
"And the third?"
"Goblin Iron," Valerius finished. "It sounds crude, I know. But Goblin Iron is porous. It absorbs enchantment mana better than steel. We need tons of it to mass-produce magic-resistant armor for our infantry."
Valerius looked grim. "We are desperate, Riku. We are stripping the land bare to survive. If the dungeon wakes up... if the ecosystem fights back... we lose those resources. And if we lose those resources, Altherion falls before winter."
[Present Time]
Riku shook the memory away.
"If the dungeon wakes up..." Riku muttered, looking at the readings on his monocle again.
The mana density was spiking. The vibrations were getting stronger.
It wasn't just that the students were here. It felt like something else had agitated the dungeon. The ecosystem wasn't just fighting back; it was swarming.
"The hyenas," Riku realized, his eyes widening. "Valerius said they hunt in packs. If the Azure Crystals are guarded by the Broodmother... then where is the Alpha of the Hyenas?"
He looked at his map. The Shadow Hyena nesting grounds were marked near the entrance.
Near the Base Camp.
"Ayaka," Riku hissed. He turned around and started running back toward the surface.
[POV: Squad 2 - Defense & Clearing] [Location: The Mid-Guard Junction]
The Mid-Guard Junction was a wide, natural rotunda where three main tunnels converged. It was the strategic chokepoint of the dungeon. If Squad 1 retreated, they would come through here. If monsters tried to flank from the side, they would come through here.
It was a place that required vigilance.
Instead, it smelled like cheap tobacco and arrogance.
Vance, the lieutenant of the Iron Hounds, sat on a flat rock in the center of the chamber. He was a weaselly man with a receding hairline and a crossbow slung lazily across his back. Opposite him sat two other mercenaries, slapping worn playing cards onto the stone.
"Hit me," Vance grunted, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"You're at eighteen, boss," one of the mercenaries chuckled.
"I said hit me. I feel lucky."
Ten feet away, the atmosphere was very different.
Reiji Narukami, the [Paladin], stood at attention near the mouth of the northern tunnel. He held his kite shield steady, his eyes scanning the darkness. He hadn't moved in twenty minutes. He was a statue of discipline.
Behind him, Toru Makabe sat on the floor, nervously flicking a small flame between his fingers. The [Pyromancer] looked pale. "How long has it been? Ren should be back by now."
"Relax, Toru," Reiji said calmly, not turning his head. "Ren is capable. Our job is to hold this ground."
"Hold the ground?" Mei Tachibana scoffed. The [Lancer] was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. She twirled her spear, the tip carving agitated lines into the dirt. "We're doing nothing! We're just standing here while Ren gets all the EXP! And look at them."
Mei pointed her spear at the mercenaries.
"Hey!" Vance shouted without looking up from his cards. "Point that stick somewhere else, sweetheart. You'll poke an eye out."
"Why aren't you patrolling?" Mei stormed over to them, her boots stomping on the rock. "This is a danger zone! You're supposed to be guarding the perimeter!"
Vance slowly placed his cards down—a bust, twenty-four. He sighed and looked up at Mei with eyes full of boredom.
"Listen, little girl," Vance sneered. "Grog didn't bring us here to patrol. He brought us here to babysit. Do you know how many times the Iron Hounds have cleared this hole? Twenty times. Thirty?"
He gestured to the dark tunnels.
"We know every rock. We know every spawn point. The Hyena nest is in the East sector, miles from here. The Spiders are deep down. This junction? It's the safest spot in the mountain."
"Safe?" Mei grit her teeth. "You reek of booze. If a monster comes—"
"If a monster comes," the other mercenary laughed, patting the hilt of his sword, "we'll kill it before you can even finish your cute little incantation. What is it that you guys called? Stats?. Heh- We have stats you can't even dream of. My Agility is probably at 10. What's yours? Two?"
Mei's face flushed red. "My Agility is 6, you ass! But my Strength is—"
"Save it," Reiji interrupted, walking over. His voice was firm, commanding authority despite his age. "Mei, stand down. Arguing won't make them do their jobs."
"But Reiji!"
"Stand. Down." Reiji looked her in the eye until she huffed and turned away.
Reiji looked at Vance. "Sir Vance. My teammate is anxious, but she has a point. It has been quiet for too long. Where is Hinata?"
Vance shrugged, reshuffling the deck. "Sent the invisible kid to scout the West Cave ten minutes ago. He's probably hiding in a corner peeing his pants. You know how Rogues are."
"Hinata is not a coward," Toru spoke up, his voice shaking but defensive.
"Sure, sure," Vance dealt a new hand. "Ace of Spades. Looks like I win again."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Rapid, frantic footsteps echoed from the West Tunnel.
Reiji spun around, raising his shield. "Something's coming!"
"Probably just the kid," Vance yawned.
Hinata Moriyama burst out of the darkness.
The [Assassin] wasn't hiding. He wasn't using stealth. He was sprinting, his face drained of all blood, his eyes wide with terror. He scrambled over the rocks, practically tripping into the light of the junction.
"Run!" Hinata screamed, gasping for air. "We have to run!"
"Hinata?" Reiji caught him by the shoulder. "What is it? What did you see?"
"Not... not Shadows," Hinata wheezed, pointing back at the West Tunnel. "An army. They're not patrolling... they're marching!"
"What are you babbling about?" Vance stood up, annoyed. "There's nothing in the West Cave but Goblin Iron deposits and a few rats."
AWOOOOOOOOOO!
The sound cut through the cavern like a knife. It wasn't a single howl. It was a chorus. Dozens—no, hundreds—of voices rising in a discordant, laughing scream.
The ground began to vibrate. Pebbles danced on the stone floor.
"That..." Vance dropped his cigarette. "That sounds like a pack."
"Form up!" Reiji roared, his Paladin instincts taking over. "Squad 2! Defensive wedge! Toru, back line! Mei, with me!"
"Finally!" Mei grinned nervously, gripping her spear.
From the darkness of the West Tunnel, they poured out like oil.
Shadow Hyenas.
But not the scrawny scavengers they had read about in textbooks. These were frenzied. Their eyes glowed with a manic yellow light, foam dripping from their jaws. They didn't stop to stalk. They flowed into the junction like a floodwater made of fur and teeth.
"Holy shit!" one of the mercenaries yelled, grabbing his sword. "There's too many!"
"Fireball!" Toru screamed.
He threw a blast of flame into the tunnel mouth. It exploded, incinerating three hyenas instantly. The smell of burning fur filled the air.
But five more jumped over the flames. Then ten more.
"Hold the line!" Reiji slammed his shield down. [Skill: Holy Bulwark].
A golden light erupted from his shield, creating a semi-circular wall. The first wave of hyenas crashed into it, snarling and biting at the light.
"Die!" Mei stabbed over Reiji's shoulder. Her spear was a blur. Thrust. Retract. Thrust.
Every hit was a kill. She was fast. "I got four! I got five!"
"Don't get cocky!" Reiji grunted, bracing his shoulder against the shield as the weight of the pack pressed against him. "They're pushing!"
"Vance!" Reiji shouted. "We need support! Flank them!"
Vance and his two men were standing behind the students, looking terrified.
"This... this isn't right," Vance stammered, holding his crossbow. "The spawn rate... it's impossible. This is a Monster House!"
"Shut up and shoot!" Mei screamed.
Vance fired a bolt. It hit a hyena, pinning it to the wall. "We need to leave! Screw the mission! We're bailing!"
"You can't leave!" Hinata yelled, appearing behind a hyena and slitting its throat. "Ren is still down there! If we leave, they get cut off!"
"Not my problem!" Vance signaled his men. "Retreat to the elevator!"
But as the mercenaries turned to run toward the East Tunnel (the exit), the shadows moved.
A massive, rusted iron axe—spinning through the air like a frisbee—flew out of the darkness.
WHOOSH-THUNK.
It hit the mercenary on the left.
There was no scream. The heavy iron blade buried itself deep into the man's chest, lifting him off his feet and pinning him to the cavern wall. He twitched once, blood pouring from his mouth, and went still.
Vance froze. He stared at his dead subordinate. "H-Hal?"
Heavy footsteps echoed from the West Tunnel. The hyenas parted, whimpering, lowering their heads in submission.
A figure stepped into the torchlight.
It was immense. Seven feet of muscle and fur. It wore jagged plates of raw Goblin Iron strapped to its chest and forearms. Its face was a tapestry of old scars, and one of its ears was missing.
In its hand, it held a second axe—a rusted, brutal cleaver dripping with black slime.
[Monster Rank: B] [Species: Gnoll Warlord (Mutant Variant)]
"That..." Reiji whispered, his shield trembling. "That is not a hyena."
The Warlord looked at the dead mercenary, then looked at Vance. It grinned. It was a human-like, intelligent grin.
"Vance," the Warlord spoke.
Everyone froze. Even the hyenas stopped snapping.
The monster spoke. Its voice was like grinding stones, deep and distorted, but the Common Tongue was unmistakable.
"You... steal... my... iron," the Warlord growled.
Vance was shaking. His crossbow clattered to the floor. "It... it talks. Monsters aren't supposed to talk!"
"Run," Vance whispered. Then he screamed it. "RUN!"
Vance turned and bolted. He didn't care about the students. He didn't care about his other man. He sprinted for the exit.
The Warlord didn't chase him. It simply raised its free hand.
The remaining hyenas—dozens of them—surged forward, bypassing the students, chasing the fleeing prey.
"No!" Reiji yelled. "Don't break formation!"
He tried to intercept, but the Warlord stepped forward. It swung the massive cleaver down at Reiji.
Reiji had no choice. He raised his kite shield.
CLANG.
The impact was like being hit by a train.
Reiji's feet left the ground. He was smashed backward, sliding ten feet across the stone floor. His arms felt like they had shattered.
"Reiji!" Toru screamed.
The Warlord ignored the Paladin. It turned its yellow eyes toward the remaining mercenary—the one who hadn't run yet.
The man dropped his sword. "Please... I..."
The Warlord grabbed him by the head. One hand.
SQUELCH.
It crushed the man's skull against the wall like a grape.
Mei stood there, her spear pointed at the monster, her entire body trembling. She had wanted a fight. She had wanted to prove herself.
But looking at the Warlord—at the casual way it murdered experienced fighters—she realized something terrifying.
We are not the hunters, Mei thought, watching the monster turn toward her. We are the cattle.
"Toru..." Mei whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "Fireball... do it now."
"I... I can't," Toru whimpered. The Warlord was looking right at him. The pressure was suffocating.
"DO IT!" Mei screamed, lunging forward with a desperate, suicidal thrust.
The Warlord caught the spear shaft with one hand. It looked at Mei. It looked bored.
It snapped the spear in half.
With a backhand slap, it sent Mei flying into the wall. She crumpled, unconscious.
"Mei!" Hinata shouted, vanishing into stealth.
The Warlord laughed—a low, barking sound. It raised its cleaver, pointing it at Reiji, who was struggling to stand up.
"Iron..." the Warlord growled. "Mine."
The junction was lost. Vance was running. The mercenaries were dead. And Squad 2 was broken.