FLOOR 4: DESPERATE SCRAMBLE
Three kobolds. Two goblins. All of them staring at me.
For half a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then they charged. All at once.
"Okay," I said carefully, already stepping back, "let's talk about this—"
They didn't slow.
"—OR NOT."
Standing meant dying. So I ran.
Left corridor. Full sprint. Stone rushed past. My breath tore out of my chest. The kobolds were faster—click-click-click—their claws scraping stone in sharp, staccato bursts that told me exactly how close they were getting.
Too close.
I cut hard around a corner. One kobold overshot, momentum carrying it straight into the wall.
THUNK. Bone met stone.
"Thanks for that!" I shouted without looking back.
The other two adjusted instantly, feet skidding, claws digging in as they kept coming. Behind them, the goblins screeched—SKREEE! SKREEE!—high, ugly sounds that clawed at my nerves.
I needed space. I needed separation. I needed something—anything—to go right.
I got another corner.
I pivoted sharply, spun around the bend. The second kobold came in too fast.
I sidestepped. It slammed straight into the first goblin.
Limbs tangled. Bodies collided. Both went down in a heap of screeching and snarling.
The third kobold lunged for me. Claws high. No hesitation.
I ducked low and thrust upward—SHHKT. The blade slid under its ribs. It folded over my sword, momentum doing half the work for me.
It started dissolving. I reached for the magic stone—
CRUNCH. It shattered itself.
I froze.
"NO! NOT AGAIN!" Dust drifted where money should've been. "STOP BREAKING YOUR OWN LOOT!"
The remaining goblin and kobold untangled themselves. Both turned toward me. Both still angry.
I backed up, sword raised, breath coming fast. "Come on then."
The goblin charged first. Predictable.
I stepped aside and slashed as it passed—SLASH—steel biting into its back. It stumbled, tried to keep running, then slammed into the wall and dissolved.
The magic stone clinked to the floor. Finally.
The kobold didn't rush. It circled. Watching. Smarter than the others. Not smart enough.
It feinted left. I didn't react. Then it lunged right—fully committed.
I met it head-on, blade extended. SHHKT. Straight through. It gurgled once and dropped.
Two stones collected. One goblin left.
I turned. It stood there, hunched, staring at me with wide eyes.
"...You gonna run or—"
It screeched and charged.
"Okay then."
I planted my foot, leaned forward, and let it impale itself. SQUELCH. It dissolved.
Three stones total.
I stood there, chest heaving. "Okay," I muttered. "That wasn't so—"
The temperature dropped. Not gradually. Instantly. Like a freezer door snapping open.
My breath fogged.
"...What?"
The shadows along the walls stretched—too long, too thin—reaching toward me like fingers. Sound changed. Not echoing. Delaying. As if the Dungeon itself was pausing between heartbeats.
Then I felt it. A presence. Heavy. Pressing. Wrong.
Something was coming.
I turned slowly. The wall rippled. Stone bulged outward, cracked, and split.
A hand emerged. Black. Clawed. Fingers too long, too sharp—more blades than flesh. Then another hand. Then a head—smooth, featureless, eyeless. Then shoulders. Too tall. Too thin.
A War Shadow peeled itself out of the wall like a nightmare remembering how to breathe.
It turned toward me.
"Great," I muttered. "Wolverine's cousin. With an adamantium upgrade. Fantastic."
It didn't move. Just stood there. Watching. Waiting.
Then—stone rippled behind me. I spun. Another wall split open. A second War Shadow emerged.
Both exits blocked.
"...Oh."
The remaining kobold—the one I'd forgotten—screeched. Both War Shadows turned toward it. The kobold froze. Then ran.
One War Shadow moved. Fast. Claws flashed. SLASH.
The kobold vanished into mist. No scream. No stone. Nothing.
The War Shadow turned back to me. Both of them advancing now. In sync. Silent.
I backed away. "Okay. New plan. Running. Definitely running."
I turned and ran.
[TO BE CONTINUED…]