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Chapter 5 - Something to Hide

The red light had faded.

Dylan crouched low behind a warped rock, the broken edge digging into his knee. The boar-thing had circled back.

Massive. Too fast. And worse — it was learning.

Each time it lunged and missed, it corrected. Adjusted. Less noise. Less charge. More intent.

He'd already tried Scan once — the results were blurry. He got basic tags:

[Beast-type] – [Mutated] – [Tier 1] – [Threat: Moderate]

No name. No stats. No skills.

Nothing concrete.

But now he knew its pattern. It favored the left. Its right hoof dragged slightly. A weak spot behind the ear — exposed during charge.

No weapons. No buffs. Just instinct and precision.

And the system in his head.

"Let's see what you give me when you die."

He waited for the low snort — the huff of breath right before it sprinted. His hands were dirty, gripping a jagged length of broken pipe he found at the edge of the camp's ruins. His stance wasn't pretty, but it was stable.

The moment came.

Charge. Dust. Split-second. Dylan dodged low and pivoted just as the beast scraped past the edge of the rock. It tried to turn. Failed.

He was already moving.

One clean strike — pipe into the soft gap under the jaw, slamming upward with his whole body.

The beast spasmed. Twitched.

Collapsed.

A low ringing hum filled the air.

Dylan stepped back, chest rising and falling. Then:

[You have defeated a Tier 1 Beast]

[+15 XP]

[Shadow Extraction – Eligible]

[Begin Extraction? Y/N]

He didn't even flinch.

Yes.

The world didn't glow. The system didn't pulse.

The shadow beneath the corpse rippled — like liquid reacting to sound. It grew darker. Sharper. Like something was pushing up from below.

Then — it rose.

The body sank as the shape formed. An inky silhouette in the beast's image. Simplified. Hollow-eyed. Unnatural.

Dylan stared at it — calm.

[Shadow Extraction: Success]

[Name Shadow? Y/N]

"...Yeah."

He looked at the black shape of the monster, now standing slightly hunched beside him.

"You're not pretty, so let's call you Ugly."

[Shadow Named: Ugly]

[Shadow Level: 1]

[Status: Stable]

[Commands: Available]

The thing… twitched. As if it had understood.

Dylan's fingers flexed. The shadow didn't move until he thought about it.

It matched his steps. Followed his intent.

And when he imagined it lunging forward — it did.

No fanfare. No energy cost. No growl.

Just movement.

He didn't smile.

But his eyes narrowed.

"One down."

As he turned back toward the clearing, something distant shimmered at the edge of the ridge.

Watching.

Not approaching.

Not yet.

Absolutely. Here's the full Chapter 10 of your fanfic, written in the immersive, grounded style you've been guiding — slow burn, sharp dialogue, and shadow system intact.

Dylan stood in front of the class board, arms crossed.

"Tower Rotation Trial: Squad-Based, Tier D-Zero. Instructor-supervised. Elimination active."

It wasn't flashy. No holograms. Just chalk on a smooth black wall, handwritten with a practiced hand. But every word hit like a weapon.

Reeva Talin stood beside the board, hands folded behind her back. The class behind Dylan shifted in their seats, murmuring.

"Standard squad formation," she said, voice crisp. "Three teams per tower. You'll climb or die. Figuratively. Mostly."

Dylan's name was written dead center on Team 11.

Squad 11

Dylan Hayes

Erin Vale

Hiran Dross

Erin groaned behind him. "Again?" she muttered. "You know how many bruises I got last time?"

"We didn't lose," Dylan said without looking.

"Yeah. We just didn't win hard enough."

The third name — Hiran Dross — was new. Dylan turned.

Hiran was tall, broad-shouldered, with matte-black gauntlets and skin the color of cold bronze. DMR crest stitched onto his sleeve. His expression said nothing.

"Nice to meet you," Dylan said.

Hiran tilted his head. "You're the shadow kid, right?"

Erin's eyebrows twitched.

"Beast Tamer," Dylan corrected. "That's what they tell me."

"Right," Hiran said. "Same difference. Long as you don't get in the way."

Dylan didn't answer.

He was already scanning the map of the tower — narrow spirals, broken floor designs, trap zones, shifting walls. Classic pressure maze. He'd seen worse in video games. But never with real bodies.

Thirty Minutes Later

Tower Base: Entry Chamber

The walls were rough metal — scorched, spiked in places, likely to tear skin if someone slipped. A single line of text hovered by the door, glowing red:

[BEGINNING SIMULATION IN 3:00 MINUTES]

[WARNING: COMBAT ZONE – NON-LETHAL GRADE ACTIVE]

"Monsters?" Erin asked.

"No." Hiran stretched his arms. "Other squads."

"So… PvP."

"Mostly."

Dylan said nothing. He was already watching the other entrances open across the floor. Two squads per tower. And theirs wasn't alone.

"Looks like Squad 4 is running with Maddox."

Erin whistled. "That guy's a psycho."

"He's also loud," Dylan said. "We can use that."

Hiran snorted. "What, you want to wait while he clears the floor for us?"

"Something like that."

"Or," Erin said, snapping her fingers, "we beat them to the center, grab the core, and exfil while they're still swinging."

All three turned when the lights dimmed. Then:

[BEGINNING SIMULATION]

The doors hissed open. A low vibration hit Dylan's ribs. Not sound — something deeper. The air thickened.

"Showtime," Hiran muttered.

The first floor was chaos.

The second the teams entered, half a dozen turret drones popped from the walls, firing stun blasts and arc-flash concussions. Dylan rolled behind a barricade, eyes flicking left.

"Scout ahead," he thought.

He didn't say it. Didn't move.

But in the corner of the room, behind the stacked crates — something pulsed.

A faint shimmer, like heat above asphalt.

Then a shape slithered through the shadows — low to the ground, coiled and silent. The Ravager Hound was already moving.

No one saw it.

[Shadow Active – Stealth Mode Engaged]

The system didn't flash. It didn't announce. It simply worked.

The shadow darted along the edge of the corridor and vanished into the smoke beyond the drones.

Dylan ducked as a bolt hit a column above him. Sparks exploded across his hair. He didn't flinch.

"Erin!" he called. "Left corridor — low, two drones, one's already stuck."

"Got it!"

Flames burst wide, curling through the open space. The drones jittered, confused — and then exploded.

Hiran barreled forward, taking a stun bolt to the shoulder but swinging his gauntlet hard into the turret base. Metal crumpled.

"Down!" he called. "Clear!"

Dylan moved fast, hands low, mind steady.

A flicker in the corner of his eye — the Ravager Hound had returned. It ducked beneath a ruined crate and merged with his shadow.

[Shadow Returned – No Hostiles Detected Nearby]

"Next floor," Dylan said.

No one argued.

Tower Level 2 – Ambush Floor

The trap triggered halfway through.

Not mechanical. Magical.

Thin wire — enchanted. The second Hiran stepped on it, half the hallway shimmered blue, and the opposing squad launched out of the alcove.

Maddox was leading them.

"Yo, Hayes," Maddox called, grinning, one arm raised. "Didn't think I'd see you in here."

"Wish returned," Dylan replied dryly.

Then Maddox launched forward — fast, faster than he should've been. Dylan barely raised his hand before—

[Scan – Activated]

The system flashed only in his mind:

[TARGET: MADDOX REN] Type: Human – Awakened

Ability Type: Reinforcement

Known Skills: Muscle Lock, Bull Rush, Density Step

Strength: 19

Agility: 17

Intelligence: 9

Control: 6

Good. Fast, not subtle. Meant he'd overcommit.

Dylan sidestepped, rolled, and—

[Shadow Extraction – Activated]

Not from Maddox. From the broken combat drone lying nearby.

A thin flicker of shadow peeled off its shell.

Dylan caught it, pulled, and felt the system respond.

[Shadow Created – Drone Class – Rank F+]

"Backup," he muttered.

The drone-shadow zipped out, fast and light, peppering the hallway with distraction flashes. Just enough to give Erin an angle.

She didn't hesitate. Her flames curled forward like ribbons, setting the walls alight without burning through them. Maddox hissed and backed off.

They pushed forward, fast, low, tight formation.

When they reached the core zone, no one was there.

Dylan reached for the orb without hesitation.

[EXTRACTION CORE – CLAIMED]

The tower began to quake.

[EXFIL IN 30 SECONDS]

Outside, Instructor Talin watched the final boards update.

SQUAD 11 – COMPLETE.

[Time: 8:47]

[Casualties: 0]

[Rank: 1st Floor Clear Time]

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Hayes again," she murmured.

Captain Vesh, standing behind her, said nothing.

But in the private scroll board on his tablet, a red flag blinked quietly beside Dylan's name.

SHADOW SIGNATURE CONFIRMED – UNREGISTERED. CONTINUE SURVEILLANCE.

Back in the prep bay, Dylan leaned against the wall, wiping sweat off his face with his sleeve.

Erin slumped next to him.

"Alright," she said, breathing hard. "You're officially less annoying."

Hiran chuckled once.

"Good," Dylan said. "That's the dream."

He didn't look tired.

But in his shadow?

The new drone-shadow pulsed quietly.

Waiting for its next command.

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