After a while of sitting and planning in silence, Max finally stood up. He picked up his backpack, checked that the nine mana cores were secure, and tucked it behind a large rock just outside the chamber.
If the Alpha turned out to be as dangerous as his instincts suggested, he didn’t want a bag full of valuable cores weighing him down.
"Alright. Let’s see what’s making all that noise."
Max flexed the claws on his gauntlet and stepped inside.
The chamber was much larger than any he’d passed through. Bones lay scattered between thick stone pillars, and the walls were covered with claw marks, some nearly as long as his arm. A few broken pillars had fallen across the floor, leaving piles of rubble and narrow spaces between the rocks.
At the far end, on a raised slab of stone, stood a Razorhound almost twice the size of the others.
Its fur was dark grey, with old scars running across its shoulders. Powerful muscles bulged along its hind legs, while its front claws scraped lazily against the stone beneath it.
Max felt a chill travel down his back. The creature wasn’t growling or showing its teeth. It was simply watching him.
’Yeah. That’s definitely the boss.’
Then two more Razorhounds stepped out from behind the pillars on either side of the slab.
They were smaller than the Alpha, but both were larger and heavier than the ordinary ones he’d killed. One had a torn ear and a thick neck, while the other had a long scar running down its muzzle.
"Seriously?" Max muttered. "The boss brought friends?"
The Alpha gave a short, low growl, and the two Razorhounds immediately spread apart. Max’s grin faded after realizing that they weren’t watching him.
The one with the torn ear moved toward his left while the scarred one circled right, carefully keeping themselves out of his reach. Their leader remained on the slab, watching every step he took.
’They’re herding me.’
He shifted toward the nearest pillar, trying to prevent them from getting behind him, but the scarred Razorhound rushed in first.
WHOOSH!
Max turned and caught the creature’s jaws with his left hand before they could close around his neck.
Its weight drove him backward, though his feet held firm. He gritted his teeth, forced the jaws away from his face, and raked the gauntlet across its shoulder.
SHNK!!
The beast screamed and stumbled aside, leaving Max staring at his own hand for an instant.
’Before those cores, that thing would’ve taken my arm off.’
He hadn’t realized how much his last two levels had helped until he felt the strength in that exchange. He could actually hold back a Razorhound larger than the ones that had nearly killed him earlier.
The satisfaction lasted less than a second, because the torn-eared beast struck from his left, and Max ducked just enough to avoid its teeth. Its claws still caught his upper arm, tearing through cloth and skin.
"Argh!"
He spun toward it, but the scarred one was already recovering behind him.
Both creatures attacked together, forcing Max away from the pillar and into the open center of the chamber.
The Alpha finally stepped down from its slab. Max’s instincts screamed, and he threw himself sideways.
BOOM!!
Something struck the spot where he’d stood, sending a blast of dust and broken stone across the floor.
Max rolled behind a fallen pillar and looked back. The Alpha stood in the middle of a fresh crack in the ground.
’What the hell was that?!’
He’d barely seen it move. One moment it had been at the far end of the chamber, and the next it was standing where he should have been.
A faint glow faded from the muscles above its hind legs.
The glow made Max’s eyes widen.
’Mana? It pushed mana through its legs to accelerate!’
The creature turned its head toward him, and for the first time Max saw how much larger its jaws were than those of the others.
He remembered the Goreboar in the laboratory. The pressure coming from this creature felt unpleasantly familiar.
’No way. This is supposed to be an F-rank Gate.’
The Alpha lowered its head, and the two guards moved again.
Max didn’t wait for them to finish surrounding him. He jumped over the fallen pillar and ran toward the left wall, where two slabs of broken stone formed a narrow passage.
The torn-eared Razorhound followed immediately, with the scarred one close behind. The Alpha started after them, but its shoulders were too broad to fit through the gap.
For the first time since entering the chamber, Max had separated the strongest monster from the others.
’Good. Now I just have to survive these two.’
The first guard leaped into the narrow passage, and Max braced himself instead of retreating.
BAM!
Its body struck him hard enough to drive his back into the wall, but he managed to get the gauntlet between its jaws. Sharp teeth scraped across the black metal while its claws dug at his legs.
Max shoved upward with everything he had.
CRACK!
The creature’s head struck the low stone ceiling. As it recoiled, he twisted his wrist and drove the gauntlet into the side of its neck.
SHNK!
Blood splashed across his chest, and the Razorhound sagged against him.
Ding!
[Razorhound Guardian slain.]
[EXP +20]
[EXP: 50/190]
Max pushed the body away, breathing hard. Outside the gap, the Alpha roared and slammed into the stone.
BANG!
Dust fell from the ceiling, and the scarred Razorhound hesitated near the passage entrance, unwilling to squeeze past its dead companion while Max still stood over it.
Max glanced at the corpse. He had only a few seconds, and he knew exactly what he wanted.
He bent down, bit into the dead creature’s exposed shoulder, and activated Devour.
[Devour Activated]
[Select parameter to consume]
[Memories] [Experiences] [Stats] [Skills] [Class]
’Experiences!’
Ding!
[Feral Instinct: 70% >> 86%]
Max’s breath caught. Sixteen percent from a single beast?
The answer came through his own body. This Razorhound hadn’t just spent its life chasing prey. He could feel the difference in how it fought, how it guarded its leader, and how it used a packmate’s movements to corner an enemy.
’No wonder those two were so coordinated.’
Another impact shook the passage.
CRACK!
A long fracture appeared in the wall beside Max, and he rose quickly. The second guard had finally entered the gap, and the Alpha wasn’t going to give him much more time.
The scarred Razorhound moved differently from its dead companion. It stayed low, shifting its weight from one side to the other, waiting for Max to commit to an attack.
Max tried to draw it closer, but the creature refused to rush.
’You’re the careful one, huh?’
He stepped forward and deliberately exposed his injured arm. The Razorhound took the invitation.
WHOOSH!
Max turned to catch its jaws, expecting an attack much like the first guard’s. Instead, the creature dropped onto its forelegs and swept its body sideways, driving its shoulder into Max’s knee.
THUD!
He fell hard against the wall, and the Razorhound’s teeth closed around his calf.
"AAARGH!"
Max drove the claws of his gauntlet into its back, but the creature held on and pulled, dragging him toward the chamber entrance.
Outside, the Alpha was waiting. For one terrible moment, Max saw exactly what the three monsters were trying to do. The guards weren’t merely protecting their leader. They were delivering prey to it.
’Like hell I’m going out there!’
He planted his free foot against the wall and kicked with all his strength.
BAM!
The blow struck the Razorhound beneath its jaw, loosening its grip just enough for him to wrench his injured leg free.
Max scrambled backward, leaving a trail of blood across the stone.
The creature sprang at him again, but this time he didn’t try to meet its strength. He remembered the way the first guard had worked with its companion, and how the scarred beast shifted its weight before changing direction.
He feinted toward the passage opening, and the Razorhound immediately moved to cut him off. Max was already turning the other way.
SHNK!
His claws opened a deep cut beneath its front leg, and as the creature stumbled, he caught its head with both hands and slammed it against the jagged edge of a broken slab.
CRUNCH!
It collapsed, twitching once before going still.
Ding!
[Razorhound Guardian slain.]
[EXP +20]
[EXP: 70/190]
Max dropped to one knee beside the corpse. His calf was bleeding badly, and every breath sent pain through the bruised side of his chest. The pressure of the Alpha’s presence had become almost unbearable, but he could hear the stone cracking as it worked its way toward him.
The passage ended behind him in a heap of stone, and the Alpha stood between him and the only way out. There wasn’t anywhere left to run.
He leaned over the dead guardian and took another bite.
’Experiences.’
DING!
[Feral Instinct: 86% >> 100%]
[Feral Instinct Mastery Complete!]