Huh... That would be the one, the only, the door.

It took a monstrous effort of around three minutes to find; I'm just glad I thought to tr...

"Who came up just now?"

A sudden, gruff voice carried itself around the corner and straight into my ears.

"You didn't hear? I just assumed you knew who it was..."

"I assumed YOU knew who it was..."

There was a brief pause.

"Oh in the great mother of..."

"Shut it; you go back around, and I'll go this way."

His sharp voice cut the other off, a distinct harshness growing within his tone.

The other didn't respond, yet I could guess at his inner annoyance by the strident rhythm of his steps as he trotted away.

A more severe look crossed my face at the sound of the other guard approaching in my direction.

Where were they before? Just hanging out somewhere?

I can't help but feel that they seem hardly professional, but that's worked in my favour; I guess no one has come up here without following whatever protocol they have for a long time, if ever...

Fortunately, this hallway isn't solidly straight, and whoever built it wanted to maintain the atmosphere of a smaller home, with the path turning inwards and then back outwards, allowing for misshapen rooms that broke free of the mind-numbing angular design I'd seen so far.

One such room was a little ways to my left, with its entrance directly facing me.

Swiftly, I rushed over and to the side, hiding myself from view.

The room is full of... corpses? No, that isn't right; it was more like the parts of monsters.

Amongst the shelves of oddly shaped bones, teeth, and even eyes suspended in some kind of liquid, there was a dried red skin stretched across some kind of solid plate against the wall, along with a large tentacle that traced the perimeter of the ceiling, twisting inwards at its end and metamorphosing into a sharp, rigid green crystal laced with deep red, like a waning flame hidden within wet swamp grass.

It looked familiar to me, but it was clearly far beyond that tentacled creature I'd fought before—probably an evolution.

I really just need something I can use to hide more effectively.

Tilting my head to the other side, there were two stacks of shelves slightly pulled out from the wall, one of which contained an assortment of oddly shaped horns...

I couldn't help but cringe slightly at that; it made my toes tingle, but the feeling rapidly faded when I saw what was behind.

A dark blue—almost black—bristled fur, easily mistaken for a strange choice of wall paint from anywhere more distant in the room, especially since it was so well masked by the dense number of creature parts.

This should do it.

Turning my head slightly, I continued to listen.

He had already turned the corner but was still continuing at a leisurely pace; clearly, he doesn't take his job seriously at all.

But at that thought, there was a sudden pause in his stride.

My brows furrowed; his speed picked up.

Shit, did he notice something?

I deftly climbed the wall to my side, using the gaps in the amber-brown planks of wood to keep my grip, and hopped over the shelf.

Thankfully, the fur is rather slack, so I'm hoping I'll appear as nothing more than another wrinkle if he decides to shine some light in the area or something.

I pulled the fur over myself; it's startling just how soft it's inside, and not a single speck of light breaches through either.

Closing my eyes, I held a small gap open with my finger to better hear through.

It was extremely difficult, but I was trying to visualise the room using only the sound. If I could actually see it, that would be great, but it seems my title isn't enough yet...

An aching creak met my ears.

The old wood croaked as it adjusted to each heavy step of the man slowly making his way inside.

He's slow; that could be due to a lack of effort, but his turning is... stocky and bulky—high in strength.

Even though nobody else seems to have a system, so far it hasn't failed me to assume their strengths follow similar principles in terms of how they're distributed; the accuracy of Adrian's interface is quite telling of that, I think.

With that in mind, I'm confident I could beat him if I had to, but I might need to sacrifice some more points in to agility in order to overwhelm him...

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

I slowed my breathing, and the man continued to walk around the room.

There was a large box-like table in the room with rectangular gaps to fit all sorts into. I didn't really pay much attention to it, but it did mean he'd have to walk around in one of two directions.

I could only lament whoever's hobby it was for designing this room in such a way as to force you to look at everything as you passed by...

Oh, but it doesn't matter.

A smile crossed my face.

It seems fortune had blessed me for once; the guard began moving away, towards the red skin instead of myself.

His footsteps grew quieter, and I peeked out from the side while crouching—if he was looking this way, he was unlikely to be looking down so far—it was my best bet.

Gone.

He had already passed through the neighbouring door.

I let out a sigh but didn't let down my guard.

Climbing up the fur, I hopped over the shelves and landed with a low crouch, eliminating any noise.

I stayed down for a moment; he was still walking away.

Leaving out the same door I had entered, I decided to try my second plan first.

The windows.

In the end, the defences are mostly a show of strength and an indication of importance. With enough effort, you could smash a wall or simply break through the glass after scaling the building; however, it didn't promise that you wouldn't be noticed, of course, but I'm already inside, and the windows open from the inside.

I didn't have to go attacking some door that could only be seen with mana sense; this time, I only had to climb.

Unlatching the window, I slid my body through a small gap that I quietly opened, and the cold air crept across my toes.

I don't want to let much of it in; if those guards are sensitive, then I'd be quickly noticed.

Grasping one of the dry stones, I discretely pushed the window closed upon fully exiting.

How surprising—the air actually moves up here; it's some kind of false wind swirling around the domed top above, like a hurricane never able to muster the energy to actuate—perpetually held at bay.

I went to reach my other arm forward, but the window abruptly shattered.

What?!

Glass was flung into the air.

I covered my face with my arm to keep it at bay, but something firmly grasped my leg and tore me from the stone, yanking me through the remaining glass and scattering shards throughout the hallway.

He threw me against the wall, and the air was forced from my lungs.

Waves of throbbing pain pulsed from my spine, and I coughed while gasping for air.

Despite this, I still held the man within my attention.

Large, dark black hair; reddish-green eyes; yet his hands are quite smooth despite how clenched they are.

He didn't attack again.

Fuck, I can only fight now.

"Do you think we're idiots? It ain't even been a day, and you're already creeping around."

"I would have expected more from some mutant angel freak, but seems they couldn't remove the idiocy from your blood, or are you just underestimating us?"

They're both here.

And what was he even talking about? How many fantasies can he fabricate just because of my eyes? Though I'm not really helping the delusion.

They look at me as if I'm some vile cretin, his countenance revealing a false sense of righteousness.

Yet he let go of me when he had the advantage.

My eyes flicked between them, and the larger man's face dropped at seeing my lack of reaction.

Skinny, with reddish brown hair and black eyes. He got here quickly; it's a shame I can't see how much mana they have—I can't make clear judgments.

[Mana: 45/83]

Nothing had happened yet; they seemed to be waiting to see what I'd do or say, not taking me seriously at all.

I wasn't going to give them any advantage.

With my right hand, I called upon my dark magic.

It's unstable, but it's enough.

In an instant, a curtain of black coalesced from the ground, flying towards the man on my right.

I turned to my left, and surprise plastered the other's face, but only for a moment.

"A child's magic? Think that'll do anything?"

A coat of black flame emblazoned on his fists dove for my face.

I backed away towards my own magic, and his smile faded upon seeing my speed.

There were wisps of flame melting through my dark magic, but it didn't matter.

Lightning coalesced around my tail, and several scales erupted, passing through the obscuring black barrier in an instant and cutting into the attacker's flesh.

He let out a pained cry, and the momentum carried me to the wall.

I darted away, running past the wounded guard.

Glancing behind me, I noticed all emotion had been wiped from his face, and he pulled his slightly injured ally up from the ground.

I frowned and ran into the room I had hidden in before.

My scales had been melted far too much by my magic; the idea still worked, but the way I used it was ineffective—he wasn't that hurt.

Clinging to the crystal tentacle, I briefly weighed my options.

They're splitting up for each door.

I scanned the room with a cold clarity, analysing the details.

Rolling my shoulder, I pointed my tail forward; I had to be exact.

In but a breath, the faintest creak met my ears, and several scales exploded outward.

The weak ground around his foot shattered instantly upon collision, and his leg fell through the open hole. He was already disoriented and didn't react adequately, smacking his face against the table in front.

I'm not going to wait for him to recover.

Kicking off the wall, I flew down through the air, catching myself by wrapping my sharp scaled tail around his neck and digging my claws into his back.

He looked panicked but couldn't cry out.

I jumped away upon seeing him raise his palm; his face warped into a mangled mess as I tore my tail away, grinding it across his flesh.

Flames erupted from his body regardless, incinerating the floor and shooting wisps of fire throughout the room.

His body fell to whatever lay below.

A horrified battle cry met my ears, and I snapped my head in the burly man's direction.

Our eyes met, and for the briefest of moments, he hesitated; his anger was only a mirage for his fear over his companion's death.

His murky flames clung to the legion of shards thrown into disarray across the room as the table shattered apart from his fist.

I leapt up to the tentacle once again, but hung down by my tail while crouched against the wall.

The fast one should have gone to the other side; there's no fighting sense at all. Poor planning. Poor teamwork. Underestimating me.

Inexperience.

My brows furrowed, but I quickly snapped out of it.

He madly swung his fists in my direction, smashing overreaching shelves apart. He looked prepared to jump for my face, but I shot a dense packet of lightning into the silver thread holding the stretched skin in place.

It was currently nothing more than an elastic shield attempting to retract.

All at once, it popped from the wall and curled inward.

The man was directly in its way, and it wrapped around his body, cocooning him inside.

But I doubt it'll hold his flames for long.

I dropped down and wrapped my tail around his head, as I had done before.

Pulling it away, it twisted like a cork screw, and torn chunks of flesh pulled away from his face, dropping to the ground.

Shaking off my tail, I hastily left the room, and the dryness of my eyes suddenly became apparent to me.

I was a little lost in thought.

While walking back to the door, I continuously blinked several times, and it dawned on me that I hadn't done so for the entirety of that fight.

Shit. Shit.

I can only try and use this somehow; it'll sow chaos, but maybe I can push Ana to be more hasty.

Tch.

[Mana: 5/83]

I don't really have enough time to think about it, nor is there anything I can do.

Using the last of my mana, I lashed at the door with my dark magic.

I wanted it to seem rabid, like that door was my only focus.

Then, as expected, I collapsed and lost consciousness.