The climb bit into him.
Every step up the sloping tunnel felt heavier, not just from blood loss and burns but from the dungeon pressing weight onto his shoulders. The air cooled, but the blue glow ahead sharpened instead of softened. It pulsed with purpose. With hunger.
Callum slowed his breath, counting each exhale as he ascended. When the passage finally opened, he stepped into a chamber that was all symmetry.
A dome carved by something more deliberate than erosion. Smooth walls veined with luminous stone, each line converging on the center: a circular dais rising knee-high from the floor. Atop it floated a crystal, spinning slowly, light shearing off its facets.
The System struck.
[Progression Node — Minor Trial Gate]
Requirement: Defeat Strata Guardian (Pack Encounter)
Reward: +40 EXP | Loot (Uncommon–Rare) | Access Granted
Failure: Death
"Pack," Callum muttered, jaw tightening. "Of course."
The crystal flared, light stabbing outward in four lances.
Shapes pulled free from the glow.
Not lurkers. Not serpents. Something in between — hound-shaped, lean, their bodies plated with obsidian shards that jutted like broken glass. Their eyes glowed ember-red, and each breath leaked sparks onto the stone.
Four of them.
They circled, low and fast, claws ticking. The sound filled the chamber, a circle tightening around him.
Callum slid one foot back, axe low in both hands, breath slow. The vow sat steady in his chest.
"Come on, then."
The first lunged.
[Hostiles Detected]
Classification: Shardfang Hounds x4
Behavior: Pack Flank–Distract–Hamstring
Advisory: Break shard-plates to reach flesh | Avoid being surrounded
The hound came fast, jaws gaping, shard-plates gleaming. Callum stepped into it, brought the axe up in a brutal rising cut. Edge met jawline, sheared plates aside, teeth snapping in half as the stroke carried through.
The beast shrieked, momentum folding it sideways.
The second hit him from the flank at the same instant, shoulder-first. The impact knocked him half a step off balance. The third darted low, jaws snapping for his calf. He yanked back, boot heel slamming into its snout with a crack.
The fourth stayed wide, circling, waiting for blood. Smart.
He pivoted, kept his back to the wall, axe sweeping wide in a warding arc. Sparks sprayed as the edge scored stone. His pulse hammered. His breath stayed steady.
Three hounds alive.
Their eyes burned hotter
The first hound limped, jaw broken, sparks coughing out with each breath. It didn't retreat. Pack instinct kept it circling, jaws clattering.
The second came again, straight at his chest.
Callum dropped his weight and met it with a horizontal stroke. The axe crashed through shard-plates along its shoulder. The beast howled, momentum twisting it sideways. He reversed the grip, chopped down hard at the seam. Plates split. Flesh gave. Black-red ichor burst across the dais.
The third lunged low. He pivoted, but too slow. Its teeth closed on his boot, biting deep through leather, twisting to wrench him off balance.
Pain screamed up his leg.
He roared back, planting the axe haft down across its spine, and shoved with every ounce of weight. Bones popped. The hound shrieked, jaws unclamping just long enough for him to wrench his leg free. He stomped down on its head, once, twice, until teeth scattered across stone.
The fourth came then — the one that had waited. Smart bastard. It leapt high, body arcing, obsidian shards gleaming in the crystal's glow.
Callum didn't dodge. He braced, axe angled up like a spear.
The hound landed on the blade.
Its own weight drove the edge through plate and into chest. It screamed, thrashing, claws raking furrows into his shoulders. Callum grunted through the pain, shoved upward, and heaved the carcass sideways. It hit the ground with a wet thud, twitching once before going still.
Three down.
The limping one circled back in, desperation in its ember eyes. Callum dragged breath into his lungs, spat blood, and squared his stance.
It charged.
He waited until its jaws were inches from his thigh. Then he sidestepped, guiding its momentum with the haft, and brought the axe down like a guillotine.
The blade split skull.
The chamber went still but for his ragged breathing and the crackle of ichor sizzling where it touched the crystal's glow.
The System chimed.
[Combat Result]
Enemies: Shardfang Hounds x4
EXP Gained: 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 = 48
Loot Acquired: Obsidian Plate Shard (Uncommon x2), Hound Fang (Common x3), Ember Gland (Rare)
Condition Updated: Bite Wound (Boot/Ankle — Minor), Shoulder Gashes (Moderate), Bruised Rib (Severe)
EXP Progress: 101 / 80 (126%)
Level Up! → Level 5
Stat Points Awarded: +5
Minor Recovery Applied
The crystal at the center pulsed brighter. The System spoke again.
[Progression Node Cleared]
Access Granted: Strata Two (Mid-Tier)
Callum leaned on the axe, chest heaving. His shoulders burned, his ankle throbbed, but he was alive. Stronger. Harder.
He spat red onto the dais and wiped ichor from the axe head.
The crystal flared, the chamber dissolving into light.
And Callum was gone again.