Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Tunnel Above Rhian walked carefully, his footing more stable now that his balance had returned. His body no longer felt foreign.
The tightness in his limbs had faded, and the stiffness was gone. He felt strong again and fully in control.
But his clothes didn’t agree.
They clung to his body like they were a size too small, the fabric stretched tightly around his arms, chest, and legs.
He could hear the soft groaning of seams with every movement. He considered taking the uniform off entirely, but the enchantments on it were still active.
The academy-issued gear was thin, but it provided decent protection against claws, blades, and low-level elemental magic. He wasn’t about to throw that away.
The deeper he moved, the more the space around him changed. What started as a shallow cave widened into a broad tunnel.
The walls weren’t jagged like the cliff—this place was older, smoother. Carved, maybe, though by what, he couldn’t tell.
And it didn’t go deeper. It sloped up.
It wasn’t much at first. But with every few steps, he realized he was slowly ascending and that gave him hope.
If this path kept rising, it might lead to an exit. He didn’t know how far the ravine stretched or how deep it went, but he knew this was his best chance of climbing out with Nia.
The odd part was the silence.
He had expected a monster. Something. His watch had glowed earlier, warning of an E-rank threat. And yet, as he kept going, there were no tracks. No blood. No smell of death or damp.
Just the sound of his own footsteps echoing through a tunnel that felt too still. Too clean.
Where had the monster gone?
Rhian kept walking.
He didn’t realize how far he’d gone until the slope stopped and leveled out. The tunnel widened into an open chamber.
It wasn’t massive, but it was big enough to move in properly. The ceiling arched high, stone cracked and uneven, with water dripping from thin, stretched roots above.
He stopped near the edge of the new space, glancing back.
He could still make out the path behind him. That was enough. If anything happened, he could run back to Nia without getting lost. That was the whole reason he hadn’t gone deeper in the first place.
But then something moved.
He felt it before he saw it. A shift in air. A ripple on the floor like something dragged its foot lightly. Rhian froze, eyes sharp, waiting.
Then, from the far side of the chamber, something stepped out.
It walked upright.
Broad-shouldered. Humanoid. But nothing about it looked human. Its skin was green-brown and scaled in patches, covered with barnacle-like shells across the arms and chest. Gills flared near its neck. Its limbs were long, its claws even longer, curved like bone hooks.
It didn’t even make a sound or any thing.
Its eyes, small and pressed deep into its face—locked onto Rhian’s.
Rhian’s hands instinctively clenched. He lowered his body slightly, legs apart, feeling his muscles tighten. He didn’t know what this thing was. But it wasn’t a Hollow Rat, and it didn’t look stupid.
It was watching him.
He didn’t back up. His first instinct was to run, but he didn’t want it chasing him straight to Nia.
So, instead, he slowly shifted his weight onto his back leg, keeping his stance balanced.
’Looks like the E-rank decided to show up,’ he thought, jaw tight. ’Great.’
The creature tilted its head once, then took a step forward.
Rhian took a step back as the creature stepped forward. He couldn’t help but stare at it. For a second, he realized something.
While it didn’t look human, it kind of could. If someone had enough imagination, it could pass for a deformed person, ugly, sure, but not completely monstrous.
That brief thought stalled him. His body didn’t move.
He had never killed anyone before.
He’d killed monsters. Hollow Rats, smaller beasts, things that clearly weren’t human. He wanted to kill more of them. He liked it.
The blood, the chase, the violence.
The vengeance.
But now, standing in front of something upright, something with arms and a face... that hesitation crawled in.
His fingers twitched.
Then his thoughts sharpened.
’What difference does it make?’ he told himself. ’What difference between this thing and the one that killed Mom and Dad?’
He stared harder.
’What difference between it and any of the monsters out there?’
None. Not to him.
This thing needed to die like all the others.
As if sensing the change in his mindset, the creature stopped advancing. Its legs tensed. Its head leaned back slightly.
Then its mouth opened, wide, too wide. Rows of sharp teeth spread in a circle, like a maw made to crush bone.
It let out a roar, a wet, deep sound that bounced through the tunnel.
Spit flew out with the force of the scream, landing hot on Rhian’s forehead.
He didn’t blink.
His focus had narrowed to a single point. Nothing else mattered.
His lips curled down, his arms tensed, and without thinking, without strategy or hesitation, he ran forward and threw his fist straight at the creature’s face.
Rhian’s punch came in strong, but wild.
The monster didn’t act any dumber. It moved its head slightly, and that was enough.
The fist missed clean, cutting through air. The moment it did, Rhian felt his momentum drag him forward.
’Shit—’
Before he could fully react, his instincts flared.
He tried to twist, but his body wasn’t fast enough. Not in that position.
The claws struck his back. Hard.
He felt them tear through his uniform like it was nothing. Four sharp lines raked from his shoulder to his lower back.
The force pushed him forward, stumbling, nearly dropping to a knee. His back burned. The pain hit sharp, hot, and deep enough that his arms shook trying to keep balance.
Blood soaked through the back of his shirt fast.
He hissed, stepping forward, using the movement to escape another follow-up strike.
He turned fast, keeping distance now.
His breath was sharp, but steady.
𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖 ’That was stupid.’
The monster didn’t rush. It just stood there, crouched low, head tilted. Watching.
It was waiting for him to mess up again.
The attack hadn’t pierced deep enough to cripple him, but it tore through the armor fabric like it was paper.
He gritted his jaw and forced himself upright.
’Get your head straight,’ he told himself.
He flexed his fingers and lowered his stance.
Rhian would have to treat this like a real fight now against a real opponent, not just a monster.