---
Fifty paces in, the corridor narrowed to a crack barely wider than his shoulders. Heat rose from below, carrying coppery scents of blood and ore. He squeezed through and emerged on a high shelf that overhung a vast hollow, a cathedral of broken stalactites and glittering stalagmites. Thousands of dark, leathery shapes clung to the ceiling like tattered drapes.
Maw‑Bats, Kai realised. He had read field reports of the beast. These are three‑star aerial beasts that are hunted by echolocation, jaws capable of crushing steel. Its face was like a scary ghost. A roost this large meant at least one alpha. And where alpha perched, lesser beasts guarded tunnels.
He ducked behind a column and weighed options. Fighting an entire colony would be suicide, but a surgical strike on lone scouts could grant him experience, star core and maybe an alternate route upward. His Predator Instinct suddenly tingled: something was behind him.
