The stairwell was dark.
Lucas held the metal pipe with both hands.
Kaelion had his knife raised.
Predator Instinct trembled.
Danger was approaching.
The dragging sound was coming from the stairs.
Lucas whispered,
"What kind of thing…"
"…is that?"
Kaelion kept his eyes fixed on the staircase.
"We're about to find out."
Then a hand appeared on one of the steps.
But that hand…
Was not human.
The skin was gray.
Pieces of flesh hung loosely from it.
The nails had turned black.
Lucas stepped back.
"Damn…"
Then the creature appeared completely.
A Ghoul.
Its body was thin and rotten.
But its movements were fast.
Its eyes glowed with a yellow light.
Ghoul
Rank: F
Level: 3
The creature saw Kaelion.
It tilted its head slightly.
Then it opened its mouth.
Inside were broken teeth.
SKREEEEE—
Lucas flinched.
"That thing's insane!"
The ghoul suddenly lunged forward.
It was fast.
Predator Instinct screamed.
Danger!
Kaelion jumped to the side.
The ghoul's claws ripped through the air.
Lucas saw the opportunity.
He swung the metal pipe.
The end of the pipe struck the ghoul's shoulder.
But the creature only staggered.
It didn't stop.
The ghoul turned toward Lucas.
Lucas's eyes widened.
"Hey—hey—"
The ghoul attacked.
Lucas tried to step back.
But his foot caught on something.
He was about to fall.
Kaelion moved.
Predator Instinct warned him again.
The creature's neck was exposed.
Kaelion lunged forward.
He slashed with the knife.
The blade cut into the ghoul's shoulder.
A dark black liquid sprayed out.
The creature screamed.
But it didn't die.
Instead—
It became even more savage.
The ghoul lunged at Kaelion.
Claws came down quickly.
Kaelion stepped back.
The claws missed his chest by only a few centimeters.
Lucas shouted,
"Left!"
The ghoul jumped again.
This time Kaelion didn't dodge.
Predator Instinct showed him the direction of the attack.
Kaelion shifted to the side.
The creature struck empty air.
At that exact moment Lucas attacked again.
The metal pipe came crashing down onto the ghoul's head.
The creature staggered.
Kaelion saw his chance.
He stepped forward.
Gripping the knife with both hands.
"Now!"
He drove the blade into the ghoul's neck.
The creature trembled for a moment.
Then collapsed to the floor.
It didn't move again.
The corridor fell silent.
Lucas was breathing heavily.
"That…"
"…was insane."
At that moment the system screen appeared.
Purple light flashed before Kaelion's eyes.
Enemy Defeated
Ghoul
EXP +40
Lucas stared in shock.
Lucas:
"You… see that screen too?"
Kaelion:
"Yeah."
Lucas:
"Is this… some kind of game?"
Kaelion shook his head.
"No."
"This is real."
Lucas relaxed slightly.
But then—
Predator Instinct suddenly went wild.
Kaelion froze.
Something was wrong.
A sound came from downstairs.
thud
thud
thud
But it wasn't just one set of footsteps.
There were several.
scrrrr…
thud
scrrrr…
Lucas whispered,
"Kaelion…"
"…that's not just one."
Kaelion looked toward the stairs.
And from the darkness…
multiple yellow eyes appeared.