The two men parsed the store for a bit, moving from shelf to shelf with the lazy impatience of people who had already decided what the world owed them. Their footsteps thudded softly against the store's floor, not loud enough to echo, but heavy enough to announce that they did not care if they were heard.
They ran their hands across canned goods and sealed packs as if checking whether anything would bite back, then drifted toward the counter again, eyes jumping between prices and the manager with the hunger of scavengers measuring how much they could get away with.
The third one, meanwhile, remained completely still and outside the shop.
For some reason, he didn't want to enter. And Kael took note of that. Perhaps shops owned by managers or Tower Staff had something special about them that stopped these… red dots from coming in.
The…thing, stood just beyond the doorway, the edge of his tracksuit catching the pale wash of the neon sign outside. He was close enough that a step would put him in the store, close enough that Kael could see the angle of his chin and the stillness of his throat, yet he didn't cross the threshold. He did not browse. He did not glance at the gear. He did not even show the normal twitch of a person tempted by supplies.
He simply stayed there, like a statue that had been told to imitate a man.
Kael was leaning on one of the store walls watching them intently, and being extremely suspicious of the third person. He kept his posture loose because posture was a message, and he was not interested in telling these men he was trapped. But his eyes were sharp, and his ears were sharper, and his nose was doing its quiet work in the background the same way it always did when the world turned dangerous.
The two guys on the other hand acted as if they didn't know anything, or maybe they didn't act, they probably didn't know that that person was probably not human.
Kael kept glancing at them, trying to decide whether they were pretending, or simply blind. If they were pretending, then this was worse than he thought, because it meant they were walking with a creature by choice. If they were blind, then that meant veterans could still be idiots, and that was a dangerous thought to hold in a tower that punished ignorance with teeth.
Kael needed the knowledge about how this world works, and from his eyes, these guys were veterans, they know what they're doing, probably they climbed the real tower to the teens or maybe above. The way they moved had that confidence that didn't come from bravery, but from repetition. The way they didn't flinch at the merchant's tone, the way they understood the menu, the way they didn't waste time staring at items they couldn't afford, it all spoke of experience.
But if they were smarter or perhaps more perceptive they'd have realized that their third person wasn't who they think he is.
Kael's gaze returned to the man outside.
No breathing.
Or maybe he was breathing, but not like a person. Not with the small rises of the chest, not with the habit of air. It was like watching a mannequin and trying to convince yourself it was alive because it wore clothes.
The two that entered the store were aggressive, and rude, but at the same time they weren't something Kael couldn't handle. They had the smell of sweat, dust, dried blood, and too much confidence. Those were manageable. Those were human problems. Fighting was an option, and running was an even better one.
Since Kael already flexed how he can use his hammer, enough to make the point that he shouldn't be crossed. For now, at least that is. It wasn't a guarantee. It wasn't safety. But it was a line drawn in the sand.
It was the last guy that was fishy.
Soon, the two of them placed a couple of Cores each, and used them for stat points, similarly to Kael, Strength.
Kael watched the cores disappear, watched the subtle shift in their shoulders as the change settled into their bodies. It wasn't dramatic, not like the stories that made stat increases sound like miracles. It was quieter than that, like tension being removed from a rope, like the bones in their arms remembered they were meant to hold more weight.
One of them flexed his hand, smirking as if the tower had finally recognized his greatness. The other rolled his neck, eyes briefly unfocusing, then snapping back with a sharpness that hadn't been there a second ago.
Kael didn't envy them. Not really.
It was hard to envy someone buying strength with currency when the same currency was the price of leaving the floor. Especially since he too did the same. Still, his body remembered how the hammer had felt lighter after he spent his points, and his muscles remembered the relief of being stronger in a place that wanted him dead.
"Let's go now," the burly one of them said.
His voice was loud in the quiet store, like he wanted to remind the merchant that he was still a customer and not prey. The manager didn't react, but Kael noticed the slightest tilt of its head, like it was listening in a way that wasn't human either.
They turned to Kael, "Kael, right, follow us, we'll lead you to camp where you can talk to the boss." He said.
Kael nodded once, slow. He kept his expression neutral. He didn't want to look eager. He didn't want to look fearful. Both got you killed by different kinds of people.
The two of them headed out first, the last voiceless man followed after them with Kael behind them all.
The moment they stepped outside, the air hit Kael like a reminder. Cold, stale, tinged with smoke from distant fires that never seemed to go out. The sky above the ruined city looked wrong the way it always did here, the light dull and red as if the day itself had been bruised. Somewhere far away, something screamed, and the sound bounced off buildings until it became background noise, like the city's heartbeat.
The monsters don't roam the day. That was a thought he believe in the first day. But seeing this… thing here, and the scream a moment ago was proof that he shouldn't believe in things simply by being told.
Kael didn't trust the two yet not to mention the third, so he kept a small distance between them in case they wanted to try something. His boots scraped lightly over cracked pavement and scattered debris. Every step was measured. Every time he placed his weight down, he was ready to reverse it.
After all, the least they can gain from killing Kael was getting some cores, and that was currency that was as valuable as one's own life.
For Now, he'll follow them and see their boss. And if things become more red in his minimap, he can always dive into the nearest building.