I finish polishing the last piece of Roxis's armor, a pauldron engraved with the symbol of a heart pierced by a sword. The steel is cold and smooth beneath my fingers. This isn't the coarse iron of the recruits' weapons. This is a living metal, imbued with the power and will of its owner. Holding it, I feel as if I'm touching something greater than myself, an ideal of strength and justice.
For hours, I dedicated myself to this task. Every leather strap was oiled, every rivet checked, every metal plate polished until it reflected my distorted image. It's the most important job I've ever been given.
When Roxis returns, the sun is already low in the sky. She enters the room and stops, her eyes widening slightly as she sees her equipment, perfectly aligned and gleaming.
"By the Gods..." she whispers. "I've never seen my armor this clean, not even when it was new."
A feeling of pride, warm and rare, swells in my chest. I stand and bow. "I did my best, My Lady."
"Your best is exceptional, Reinhardt." She walks over and runs a finger along the pommel of one of her swords. a genuine smile lights up her face, chasing away her usual severity. "I owe you much more than a simple bonus."
She holds out a small leather purse. The weight of the coins is significant. It's probably more money than I've ever held at one time. But before I can protest, she adds:
"And this." Next to the purse, she places a bundle wrapped in clean linen. "You can't work properly if you're collapsing from hunger. Eat. That's an order."
The smell wafting from the bundle makes the monster in my gut roar. Fresh bread, a piece of cheese, and dried meat. A real meal. My eyes well up. I don't know how to react to such kindness.
"Thank you, My Lady. I... thank you." The words are inadequate, ridiculous, but they're the only ones I have.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you. If I ever need someone I can trust to care for my equipment, I'll know who to ask."
That simple sentence is worth more than all the gold in the kingdom. Trust. Someone trusts me.
She dismisses me with a nod. I leave her quarters, clutching the purse and the meal to my chest. I don't go to the dormitory. I find an isolated nook on the ramparts, where the evening wind blows strong, carrying away the sounds of the barracks.
I eat. Slowly. Every bite is an explosion of flavor. The bread is soft, the cheese is sharp, the meat is salty and rich. This isn't the raw, dark energy of monster cores. This is food. Real food. My body welcomes it with an almost painful gratitude.
Status: Starving (Severe) → Normal
The feeling of fullness is different. Softer, more lasting. The monster cores were a fix, a burst of energy that quickly faded. This meal is a foundation. It soothes my skill in a deeper way.
Night has fallen. The moon is a thin crescent in the inky sky. Roxis's silver is in my pocket. I could buy food for a week, maybe even a real dagger. But it's not enough. The food will run out. So will the money. The only capital that cannot be taken from me is power. Levels.
Tonight, the hunt will be different. I'm not going out of desperation. I'm going out of ambition.
I retrieve my iron pipe, hidden under a pile of planks. I feel different holding it. My Level 2 body, fueled by a real meal, is ready.
I return to the sewers through the same secret entrance. The smell doesn't bother me as much anymore. It's the smell of my domain.
I am faster, quieter. My perception is heightened. I move with a new confidence. The Shadow Rats are no longer a mortal threat. They are resources. Walking experience.
I find one, isolated. The fight is over in less than ten seconds. A sidestep to dodge its charge, a precise blow to the base of the skull. It collapses.
You have defeated [Shadow Rat]!
25 XP
Experience: 2/150 → 27/150
I devour the core. The dark energy is a stark contrast to the meal from earlier, but my body now seems to know how to process it.
Agility buff has been activated.
I continue, stalking my prey through the labyrinthine tunnels. I kill a second, then a third Shadow Rat, using the same efficient technique. Each victory builds my confidence, each devoured core stokes a new kind of hunger. Not of the stomach, but of the soul. A thirst for more.
Experience: 77/150
I'm halfway to Level 3. But the Level 2 Shadow Rats are becoming scarce in this area. I must go deeper, where the air is heavier, thick with a stagnant energy.
That's when I smell something different. The musky scent of the rats is still present, but it's overpowered by something more acrid, a scent of territorial dominance.
I move forward cautiously, my iron pipe ready. The tunnel opens into a wider cavern, a sort of junction for several sewer channels. In the center, on a mound of bones and refuse, stands a creature that makes me hold my breath.
It's a Shadow Rat, but it's twice the size of the others. Its fur is darker, almost a void-like black, and scars crisscross its muscular body. An aura of darkness, far denser than that of the others, pulses around it. Its eyes aren't just red; they burn like hot coals.
Name: Alpha Shadow Rat
Level: 4
Status: Territorial
Level 4. Double my own level. The fear I thought I had mastered returns with a vengeance. This is a true predator. This is the king of this part of the sewers.
It has spotted me. It doesn't hiss. It lets out a low, guttural growl that vibrates the stone beneath my feet. It's a challenge.
Fleeing is the sensible option. But the experience it would yield... the power its core might contain... The bait is too tempting.
I make my decision. I will not retreat.
It doesn't pounce. It charges, a cannonball of fur and fury. It's much faster than the others. I raise my pipe to parry, but the impact is unbelievably violent. The shock shoots up my arm and sends me flying into the wall.
HP: 40/40 → 31/40
The weapon was nearly knocked from my hands. I stagger to my feet. My blow only scratched it. Its hide is thicker, tougher. My iron pipe isn't enough.
It doesn't give me time to recover. It's on me in a second, claws and fangs seeking to tear me to shreds. I switch to survival mode. I dodge, I parry, I retreat. I'm not trying to attack, just to stay alive. One of its claws slashes across my chest. The pain is blinding.
HP: 31/40 → 22/40
I'm bleeding. The hunger begins to stir, sensing my body's weakness.
Status: Normal → Hungry
I have to change tactics. Brute force won't work. I use my superior agility to create distance, luring it into one of the narrower tunnels I came from. The Alpha follows, but the confined space hinders it. It can no longer use its speed to circle me. It's forced to face me head-on.
It charges again. Instead of parrying, I duck at the last moment. It sails over me, its claws scraping the ceiling. It lands heavily, off-balance for a split second.
This is my opening.
I rise and strike. Not its armored back. Its hind leg. I aim for the joint. The pipe connects with a sharp crack.
The Alpha lets out a howl of pain and rage. It whirls around, one of its legs dragging behind it. I've injured it.
But far from calming it, the pain has driven it berserk. It ignores its wound and throws itself at me with redoubled savagery. I don't have time to dodge. Its jaws clamp down on my shoulder.
HP: 22/40 → 10/40
The pain is blinding. I scream. My bones groan under the pressure. It shakes me like a rag doll.
This is the end. But as my body gives up, my skill fully awakens.
Status: Hungry → Starving (Critical)
Devouring Hunger: Temporary bonus activated.
Strength: +5
Agility: +3
The energy of critical hunger surges through me. The pain turns to fuel. A primal, desperate strength overwhelms me.
With my free arm, I raise my iron pipe and jam it into the Alpha's eye. There is no technique, no finesse. Just pure violence.
The monster shrieks, an unearthly sound, and releases me. It stumbles back, shaking its head, trying to dislodge the metal from its skull.
I get to my feet, my arm hanging limply at my side, my shoulder dislocated. But I no longer feel the pain. I feel only the icy chill of predation.
I advance on the blinded, wounded monster. It thrashes, striking out blindly. I dodge its blows with unnerving ease. I pick up a large rock from the ground. And with all the strength my skill grants me, I smash it against the creature's skull. Again and again.
The wet, dull thuds cease. The Alpha collapses in a pool of its own blood.
Silence returns. I stand over it, my body trembling, covered in blood, the bonus from my hunger already fading.
You have defeated [Alpha Shadow Rat]!
70 XP
Experience: 77/150 → 147/150
70 points. From a single fight. I've nearly gained a level.
I collapse to my knees as exhaustion and pain violently catch up to me. My shoulder is on fire. But I know what I must do.
I approach the corpse. The Alpha's core is larger, and it pulses with a much more intense dark light. I tear it out and devour it.
The explosion of power is so strong it makes me choke. This isn't warmth. It's a black fire that consumes every cell in my body, burning them and reforging them. My wounds cauterize at a visible speed. My dislocated shoulder snaps back into place with a painful but relieving crack.
And then, a new notification. One I've never seen before.
You have consumed an Alpha creature.
The prey's essence has been assimilated.
You have acquired a new passive skill:
[Night Vision (Low)]: Allows you to distinguish shapes and movement in near-total darkness.
Slowly, the world around me changes. The impenetrable darkness of the sewers is gone. It transforms into a landscape of gray shades. I see the outlines of the walls, the ripples in the filthy water, the bones on the Alpha's nest. I can see.
I look at my hands in this new, spectral light. I'm not just stealing strength and experience.
I am absorbing the very essence of what I devour.
A slow, painful smile stretches across my bloodied face. The sewers are no longer just my hunting ground.
They are my home.