[How?] Crunch snarled as his head swung back and forth looking for further threats. Fortunately, the four monsters appeared to be the extent of it.

Unfortunately, they were currently blocking the exit.

[I don’t know!] Leeli squeaked, while beside her Zapper let out an excited bark. [There were no dots from outside! This shouldn’t be possible.]

I ignored the others’ shouts. Instead, I concentrated on the closest monster. At first, I thought they might be more of the goo-zombies, since they appeared to be comprised of a mixture of rebar, cement blocks, and pieces of broken timber. However, that was where the similarities ended.

Where the zombies had been shambling piles, these four were already forming themselves into humanoid shapes, albeit ones that stretched halfway to the grocery store’s ceiling. This was only further confirmed when the system’s description finally kicked in.

Rubble Golem (Advanced)

Level 8

According to folklore, a golem was an animated creature typically formed of mud or clay. At CGI, we felt that the original idea was good, but lacked a certain panache. So, our R&D team came up with this improvement. The rubble golem forms in urban environments using whatever materials are at hand. Let’s just hope this building doesn’t contain too much asbestos.

Due to the nature of their physical makeup, the rubble golem is completely undetectable until it moves. They can also regenerate their physical form quickly, making a direct assault against them useless at best. You’ll need to think outside of the box if you want to take this monster down without ending up as rubble yourself.

Undetectable. I had run into this before, with the mermanta pups. [According to the system—]

[Now isn’t the time, Bubba!] Crunch started backing up. [Zapper, check the back of the store, see if there’s another exit. The rest of you, retreat. We’ll put the shelves between, they should have difficulty moving through such tight...]

He trailed off as a crash resounded behind us. I barely caught sight of a fifth golem pushing its way between the shelves like a giant forcing his way through a forest. Leeli let out a moan.

[Never mind those last orders,] Crunch turned and growled at the four golems in front of us. [New plan. Bubba, Benjamin, guard me. Leeli and Zapper, attack!]

He spread his legs, and a golden light began to diffuse his fur. This must be his Charged Charge ability activating. ten seconds until he could move again.

Meanwhile, Zapper darted forward with a happy yip. One of the golems swung at him, but in the blink of an eye the short-legged dog was suddenly several feet away from where he’d been. He barked again and shot between the monster’s legs.

While my new companions might not have the equipment that I did, that wasn’t to say they were without resources. In addition to his Guiding Nip class skill, Zapper also possessed a racial skill I was only mildly jealous of.

Fast Twitch — Those little legs of yours don’t just move quickly. In fact, some would say your ability to dodge and weave borders on magical. Any strike you would normally take in combat instead results in a random teleportation up to five feet away from your starting position. If teleportation is unable to move you sufficiently far away to avoid damage, you take twice as much as normal. Usable up to three times daily.

Admittedly, the inability to control its activation and the punishment for still getting hit were troublesome, but I had yet to see Zapper have any issues. The dog appeared to be a master of readjusting himself after being displaced in a random direction. He rarely even slowed down.

Leeli, meanwhile, circled around the lumbering rubble piles, looking for an opportunity to strike. Before she could, Crunch launched forward.

In a streak of golden light, he shot towards the nearest golem. He struck jaws-first, and the store filled with an almighty crack. I honestly expected to see his teeth fly in every direction, but his ability must also provide some form of protection against that.

Unfortunately, even at ten times normal damage, he didn’t do much to the golem. The monsters staggered slightly, but by the time Crunch hit the ground, it was already swinging for him.

[Captain!] I fired off one of my stun rounds, freezing the monster’s arm mid-swing. Then I was in front of our leader, my Claw Slash raking its concrete and rebar flesh to little effect. Snarling in frustration, I leapt back before the stun could fade completely.

I landed next to Crunch. The other dog glared at me. [Bubba, what have I said? You know how I feel about using equipment.]

[Noted, Captain.] I eyed the monster as it jerked back to life and began stumbling towards us. Crunch backed up, buying time for his skill to recharge. [But perhaps this once. I could stun all of them and—]

[I said no, Bubba.]

[But the monster’s description said—]

Crunch dashed away, snapping at the monster’s heels. [—direct assaults are useless,] I finished, to no one in particular.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Behind the first golem, the second was thrashing about as Leeli held on for dear life. It didn’t appear the monster could reach back far enough to dislodge her, but she wasn’t doing much to it, either. Several tiny cracks radiated out from where she hung.

Across from me, Crunch began to glow golden again. A moment later he launched away, and with a clang like a gong, struck the first golem. Even as it staggered, another of the monsters lumbered past and swung at him. Letting out a howl of pain, Crunch went tumbling away.

Both monsters started toward him, but a pair of my stuns froze them in place. Crunch’s paranoia about using equipment aside, I wasn’t about to let myself or my new companions suffer needlessly. Both Benjamin and I ran forward, striking at the golems to little effect.

We retreated as the stuns wore off. All I had to show for my trouble were aching teeth. These monsters were untouchable.

A distant squeal sounded. I turned in time to see Leeli spinning away. She must have released the golem willingly, and not a moment too soon. A plume of dust rose from where one golem’s fist had struck another on the spot she had occupied a moment before.

Even so, she struck a nearby shelf and disappeared amid a pile of cereal boxes.

Zapper emerged from between a golem’s legs with an excited back. He disappeared as a fist swung at him, reappearing before Benjamin and me.

[This is fun!] He glanced around. [Where’s the Captain boss?]

[Right here,] came a dull groan, and Crunch staggered up next to us. [Where are Benjamin and Leeli?]

[Ben’s right—] I paused, turning to find the other dog gone. I glanced around, in time to see him burst out of a pile of cereal boxes, Leeli held between his teeth.

[Enough, Ben! Put. Me. Down!] The little dog squirmed, but the second Benjamin lowered her to the ground, she immediately winced and lifted up her right forepaw. I could see her tail was tucked close in pain.

[We need a new plan, Captain,] she said, turning to Crunch. [We can’t win against these monsters in a direct fight.]

[That’s what I’ve been trying to say...] I grumbled. Everyone else ignored me. Crunch glowered at Leeli.

[And what exactly do you expect me to do? Enemies in front of us, enemies behind. There aren’t a lot of options here.]

He started powering up his Charged Charge attack. I glanced down at Leeli.

[Do you have any cores?]

[Why, what good would that do?]

[Because you could heal?] I paused and stared at her incredulously. Did... they not know they could use healing items? Was that part of why Crunch was so scared of fighting monsters?

No time to investigate now. Crunch struck one of the golems, knocking it into the one behind, giving him time to retreat. Still no damage. He growled, and I only now noticed the line of gray blood dripping down his face. Seemed he had been wounded by the earlier strike more than I thought.

[Time for a change of plan, Captain.] Leeli turned to Benjamin. [Do it, Ben.]

[Leeli, don’t—] Before Crunch could finish, Benjamin threw his head back and howled. A ball of pure black burst from his fur, spreading out and enveloping all of us.

As it passed over me, my Night Vision activated, chasing away the darkness that began to fill the store. The golems paused, twisting about as premature night settled over them.

[Now we can get out of here!] Leeli began limping forward, Benjamin on her heels. Zapper glanced between them and Crunch, as if unsure what to do.

[Leeli, get your ass back here!] Crunch roared.

[Ooh, swears.]

[Now isn’t the time, Zapper. Damn it all. Damn that bitch!]

I watched as Crunch stood frozen. Was he... shaking? I could hardly believe my eyes.

With an excited bark, Zapper took off after the others, leaving me and Crunch alone. I turned to him. [What’s wrong, Captain?]

[Don’t... Don’t tell the others.] Crunch’s words were a ragged gasp. [But... I can’t see.]

[What do you mean?] I asked. Only for realization to hit me like a tank. Quickly, I pulled up the party menu to confirm.

Name: Crunch

Race: Canid (Advanced)

Class: Pit Fighter

Level: 7

XP: 2,200/4,500

-Equipment-

Collar: Indomitable Choke Chain (lv 12)

Left Front Leg: *None*

Right Front Leg: *None*

Left Back Leg: *None*

Right Back Leg: *None*

-Racial Skills-

Skill 1: Enhanced Smell

Skill 2: Song of the Night

Skill 3: Pack Loyalty

Skill 4: Enhanced Defense

-Class Skills-

Skill 1: Charged Charge 5 (12%)

-Stats-

Power: 63 (+24)

Speed: 6

Agility: 3

Presence: 13

Mind: 2

Points Available: 0

My eyes roved over his sheet until they got to his racial skills. Crunch had no Night Vision. No wonder he was freaking out. The others had left him. Alone. In the dark.

Quickly, I spun around and brushed my tail in his face. Crunch jumped at the touch. [Grab hold!] I yelled.

[...What?]

[Bite onto my tail. I’ll lead you past the golems.]

Crunch grumbled something too quiet to hear, then I felt his teeth dig into my tailbone. Pain lanced through me like an arrow, but it was nothing a core or two couldn’t heal once we were out of here. I gritted my teeth and started marching forward. Crunch jerked after me for a moment, then began to follow with quickening steps.

We slipped past the first three golems, who were smashing about them uselessly. Past that, we found the rest of the pack gathered in a knot. The last golem stood before the door, blockading it, smashing their fists down in front of themselves repeatedly.

It didn’t know where we were but was apparently smart enough to guess where we wanted to go. Even blind, it had us pinned.

[What do we do?] Leeli whined. [We’ll never make it!]

[I can do it!] Zapper said with an excited bark. He darted forward and between the golem’s legs, disappearing into the sunlight.

Behind us, the golems roared as the barking echoed around them. They turned in our direction.

[Run!!!] Leeli screeched. She darted forward, Benjamin right on her tail, Crunch and I not too far behind.

Smash. The golem struck the ground. Raised its fists. Leeli shot between its legs. Ben followed—

And the golem’s fists swung downward. Ben looked up as he ran, and I could see from his wide eyes that he knew he’d never make it. The fists tore through the air, down, down, down...

At the last second, my teeth snapped onto Benjamin’s tail, and I activated my bracelet. With Crunch behind me I couldn’t go far, just a foot or two, but it was enough. The force of the sudden movement hurled us all backwards into a pile, the golem’s fist missing Benjamin by mere inches. We lay in a dogpile, all of us frozen in shock. From under me, Crunch let out a muffled moan.

Quickly, I extracted myself and spun about. The other three golems were almost on top of us, so I locked them in place with the last of my stun spells. As the others stood, I faced the remaining golem.

[I’m out of stuns. We’re going to run for it.]

[But...] Crunch trailed off, as if afraid to say anymore. I slipped behind him.

[I know, but the exit is a straight shot in front of you. Just run forward as fast as you can when I say so. Ready... Go!]

The golem smashed the ground, and all three of us lunged forward. As its fist rose, we slipped beneath, and I glanced up to sneer at it. My tongue lolling. Somewhere overhead, I caught a glimpse of a glittering... something. Huh.

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter, not now. We pushed through the golem’s legs, and then we were outside, the sphere of Benjamin’s blindness spell ending just a foot or two past the door. Still, we kept running.

From behind us came an almighty roar, followed by several angry smashing noises. I glanced back, but it didn’t seem like any of the golems were actually leaving the store.

We were safe. For now.