The growl deepened, vibrating through the soil beneath their feet. The green lights swayed, then began to drift closer, weaving between tree trunks.
Lior stepped forward despite Elyra's warning hand. His vision adjusted, revealing shapes in the gloom — hulking forms with hides that looked like bark rotting from the inside. Their bodies were twisted mockeries of wolves, their limbs too long, their ribs showing beneath blistered skin.
The System flickered in his mind:
> [Corruption Detected – Hazard Level: 2.3]
Warning: Prolonged exposure will cause debuff Decay
He barely had time to register the message before the first creature lunged.
Elyra's arrow flashed silver in the moonlight, burying into the thing's neck — but instead of dropping, it let out a choking snarl and barreled forward. Kael flung a pouch at its face; it burst in a puff of acrid powder that sent it staggering, but another was already behind it.
"Ryn! Left flank!" Elyra barked.
Ryn pivoted, spear slicing through the night air and sinking into corrupted flesh. Black ichor hissed as it hit the ground, eating into the soil like acid.
The stench hit them all at once — a choking, metallic rot that burned the throat.
The System pulsed again, urgent:
> [Adaptive Combat Protocol Unlocked]
Effect: Reaction speed increased by 18% for 120 seconds
Lior felt it immediately — the world slowed, the creature's movements telegraphed like shadows before they happened. He sidestepped a lunging beast, driving his short sword upward into its jaw. Bone cracked, and the thing convulsed before collapsing.
But for every one they struck down, two more seemed to slip from the trees. The shadows around them writhed, and the forest itself felt as if it were closing in.
"Fall back!" Elyra shouted. "We can't hold them here!"
Lior hesitated, glancing at the System timer ticking down in the corner of his mind.
One hundred seconds left of heightened speed.
Enough time to run.
Or enough time to kill.