The screams from outside were sharp, ragged things, full of a terror Kai had only ever heard in movies. They were followed by the shriek of twisting metal and then a wet, percussive crunch that made his stomach turn.
"What in God's name was that?" Marcus snarled, rushing to the front of the shop. He peered through the large display window, his face pale. "Some kind of multi-car pile-up. Idiots."
Kai didn't think it was a car crash. The crimson [SURVIVE] quest pulsed in his vision, a stark counterpoint to Marcus's mundane explanation. His hand was still resting on the hilt of the cavalry saber, and the newly-learned swordsmanship skill felt less like knowledge and more like a low, insistent hum in his blood. It told him to pull the blade from its scabbard. It told him to find cover.
Before he could act, a shadow fell over the front window. A man in a business suit slammed against the glass, his face a mask of horror. His mouth was open in a silent scream, and then he was ripped away, leaving a bloody smear on the pane.
A fraction of a second later, the window exploded inward.
Shards of glass rained down over priceless porcelain vases and antique furniture. A creature, all angles and iridescent black shell, scuttled into the shop. It was the size of a large dog, shaped like a monstrous beetle, with six spindly legs that clicked unnervingly on the hardwood floor. Its head swiveled on a thin neck, and a pair of serrated mandibles dripped with a viscous, green fluid.
[Gutter Scuttler - Lvl. 2]
[A low-level predator drawn to sudden energy signatures. Its chitinous shell is durable, but its joints are weak.]
The System's analysis was calm, clinical, and utterly terrifying.
Marcus let out a strangled cry and stumbled backward, tripping over a Persian rug and landing in a heap. All his bluster and arrogance had vanished, replaced by a primal, whimpering fear. "What is that thing? Get it away!" he shrieked, scrambling away from the creature.
The Gutter Scuttler ignored him. Its multifaceted eyes, devoid of any recognizable emotion, fixed directly on Kai. It seemed to recognize the faint aura of the Awakening that clung to him. It clicked its mandibles and took a step forward.
Panic seized Kai. His mind went blank with terror. Run. Hide. His every instinct screamed at him to do anything but stand there. But the [SURVIVE] quest burned in his vision, and the phantom muscle memory in his arm screamed louder.
Grip. Stance. Breathe.
His hand, acting on an impulse that wasn't entirely his own, tightened around the saber's hilt. He pulled. The blade, rusted and neglected, scraped out of its sheath with a sound like a dying breath. It was heavier than he expected, the balance all wrong, but the moment it was free, the instincts from the echo solidified.
His feet shifted, widening his stance. He brought the blade up into a defensive posture he'd never learned, the tip pointed warily at the creature.
The Scuttler hissed and charged.
It was impossibly fast. Kai had no time to think, only to react. He sidestepped, the move clumsy and awkward, but it was just enough. The creature's mandible snapped shut where his leg had been a second before. He could feel the gust of air from the force of the bite.
He swung the saber, a wild, desperate arc. The flat of the blade connected with the creature's flank with a dull thwack. The impact barely slowed it down.
The Scuttler spun, one of its forelegs lashing out. The blow caught Kai in the ribs, sending him stumbling back into a display case. Pain, sharp and blinding, exploded in his chest. Wooden shelves splintered, and a collection of ceramic music boxes crashed to the floor around him.
He was going to die. The thought was cold and clear. This wasn't a game. The F-Rank skill was just a whisper of knowledge against a nightmare of chitin and claws.
As the creature lunged again, aiming to pin him against the wall, a detail from the System's analysis flashed in his mind: its joints are weak.
The echo's instincts took over. Instead of trying to meet the charge with force, Kai dropped to one knee, letting the bulk of the monster scramble over him. As it passed, he thrust the saber upward, aiming for the soft-looking tissue where a spindly leg connected to its thorax.
The rusted tip found its mark.
There was a sickening, wet tear, and the creature shrieked—a high-pitched, metallic sound that grated on the nerves. Green ichor sprayed from the wound.
It thrashed, dislodging the saber from his hand, and crashed into the far wall. It was wounded, enraged. It turned, its multifaceted eyes burning with alien hatred, and prepared for another charge.
"Help me, you useless idiot!" Marcus screamed from behind the counter, throwing a heavy ledger book at the creature. It bounced harmlessly off its shell.
The distraction was all Kai needed. He scrambled forward, not for the saber, but for a heavy, iron-tipped spear from a 19th-century whaling exhibit. It was long, unwieldy, but solid.
The Scuttler charged. Kai didn't try to be a swordsman. He braced the butt of the spear against the floor, angled the iron tip upward, and leaned in with all his weight, just as the memories of a hundred charging beasts from a different time had taught him.
The Gutter Scuttler impaled itself.
The creature's momentum carried it down the length of the spear, stopping only inches from Kai's face. Its legs kicked feebly, and its mandibles clicked one last time before going still.
A moment later, its body began to glow. It dissolved into a cascade of shimmering blue particles that faded into nothing, leaving only a small, pea-sized crystal glowing with a faint inner light on the floor.
Kai stared, his chest heaving, the pain in his ribs a roaring fire. He had survived.
A series of dings echoed in his mind, and new notifications flooded his vision.
[Quest Complete: SURVIVE]
[You have slain a Level 2 Gutter Scuttler.]
[XP Gained: 25]
[You have Leveled Up!]
[LEVEL 1 -> LEVEL 2]
[All stats +1. Health and Stamina fully restored.]
As if on cue, the searing pain in his ribs vanished, replaced by a warm, soothing sensation. He could breathe again without wincing.
He looked up from the glowing notifications and the loot crystal on the floor. Marcus was staring, not at the spot where the monster had been, but directly at Kai. His eyes, wide with shock, held a dangerous new emotion: a raw, burning greed.