The Keilatrix den looked like it was a single main passage that winded down into the earth. As I kept walking down, I came across two more of the little twerps. It looked like they were eating from a large pile of rotting flesh.

Gross. Just, gross.

As I entered into view, they looked up and charged, very angry that I had interrupted their meal. How adorably stupid.

You Have Slain: Lesser Keilatrix, Level 1

You Have Slain: Lesser Keilatrix, Level 1

+8 XP Acquired

Luckily, because of how quickly I could incapacitate one, when there were only two attacking me I could easily take them down one after another.

I walked closer to the thing they were eating from. It looked like it used to be around my size, but it was very hard to make out what it once was since most of the edible bits had all been taken. In fact, some things like bones and claws were also gone.

Keilatrix's were definitely not smart enough to make weapons, so please don't tell me...

Were these things actually so dumb they ate the bones and claws of the things they killed?

How had they not gone extinct?

No, let's not jump to assumptions here. For all I knew they actually had some kind of upper echelon they equipped with weapons.

Nah, they definitely weren't that smart.

I continued past the corpse, considering taking one of the remaining bones as a makeshift weapon, but they were all covered with bits of dried blood and guts, so it was a little too disgusting.

The darkened passage continued to wind downwards, but it looked to be thinning out as I continued through it. I didn't know if I was nearing the end or if it would open up into something bigger. It seemed like it was also getting darker as I continued onwards, but that could've just been my imagination.

I could hear a clicking sound from up ahead, so I slowed and saw two more Keilatrix's come into view. It really wasn't that scary when there were only two...

More clicking from behind.

I whipped myself around and saw a second pair crawling the way I had just entered.

Where the hell did those guys come from!

Realizing I was suddenly in deep shit, I ran forwards hoping to use the same tactic I had employed against the previous group of four.

Everything went bad real fast.

I managed to slam my fist into the side of one of the Keilatrix's faces and pushed it against the wall when his friend swung his claws towards me.

I threw myself forwards, hearing the blackened claw flying above my head, and broke out of the encirclement.

By that point, the two others had run forward and caught up with us, but they were just too far away to stop me from catching the head of the standing Keilatix and crushing it against my knee.

They each screeched and clawed at me in sync as I jumped back, raising my bruised fists threateningly.

Sadly, they were not at all intimidated.

Though they were normally slower than me and fighting two was usually easy, I was quite exhausted by that point and was having a hard time staying on my feet. I wasn't sure if that was the blood loss, pain, or the general stress of my situation, but either way, I was not having a good time.

Both of them landed glancing hits on me as I kicked one backward.

Before the other could react, though, I grabbed and threw him to the ground, caving his head in with a single stomp.

The one I just kicked had recovered by then and rushed towards me.

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With just a single Keilatrix remaining it was simple work to slam a foot to his chest and a second to his skull.

You Have Slain: Lesser Keilatrix, Level 1

You Have Slain: Lesser Keilatrix, Level 1

You Have Slain: Lesser Keilatrix, Level 1

You Have Slain: Lesser Keilatrix, Level 1

+24 XP Acquired

...

Struggling to stand, with bloody demon corpses all around me in the dark hall, I realized I may have gotten in over my head.

This was hammered home when five more demons appeared at the end of my vision.

"Oh fuck me"

I took off down the hall, hearing the yellow assholes scream behind me.

I then saw that the passage was sloping down.

I was going deeper into the cave.

"Crap. "

Sprinting: Level 1 Acquired

At least I got a new skill!

...Yeah, that probably didn't make the situation too much better, huh?

As I ran further down the passage, with a screaming group of demons on my heels, I realized I still hadn't opened my loot box.

That moment was probably as good a time as any!

"Loot boxes! Open loot boxes, please!"

Available Loot Boxes:

Uncommon Loot Box - 1

"Open that shit up!"

Nothing happened.

Glancing behind me and realizing they were somehow closing the gap, I slammed my finger into the text, lighting it up.

It disappeared from the list and a small gray cube appeared in my hands. It was a little more than a foot wide and made of what appeared to be iron. It had a small indentation around the top-fourth of the cube that may have been a cap, so I peeled it open while sprinting down the cave.

The cap had a surprising amount of resistance, but just as I pried it open, it burst into light and I felt it disappear. The cube was replaced with some kind of glass flask filled with a bright orange liquid.

Dragon Spit: Uncommon

Have you ever lived next to an alchemist's house? Pro tip: Don't. There are so many explosions. It's impossible to sleep. A lot of those explosive things alchemists like to use go into this baby. Incredibly volatile, super dangerous, and wonderfully explosive, throw this thing at your enemies and they'll be blown to hell and beyond.

Well, that was lucky.

I think I found the solution to my demon problem.

Thinking I would probably want to be far away from where I threw this thing, I sped up. Sprinting down the hall full speed, giving everything since I knew one way or another, this would be it.

I could hear them getting farther away, and just as I was about to give out, I spun on my heel and threw the small flask as hard as I could towards the center of the group.

....

A flash of light completely filled up my vision and a deafening explosion took away my hearing for a few seconds, a ringing sound filling my head.

The only thing I could see was the wave of system messages

You Have Slain: Lesser Keilatrix, Level 1

You Have Slain...

You Have...

You...

+20 XP acquired

Explosive Artist: Level 1 Acquired

Demon Killer: Level 2 Acquired

Well, that went well.

I'm left standing in front of what looks to be a warzone.

A huge crater stands in the middle of the passage. The blood and flesh of Keilatrix's littering the floor, walls, and ceiling. They were all blown to bits.

I need to hook up with some alchemists! Those guys can make things like that on demand? It was like a liquid hand grenade!

Sadly, I understood that it would be hard to find an alchemist while in my current situation. You know, the fact that I was currently stranded in what appeared to be hell.

Maybe I would be able to become one, then! I was sure demon corpses would have all sorts of fun alchemical ingredients. Who knows what sort of properties a Keilatrix heart could have when mashed up and put in a potion!

But I put those exciting thoughts out of my head. I was still in the Keilatrix den, and there was more to explore! More to fight! More to kill!

.....

The rest of the den was somewhat underwhelming.

I doubled back to find out how those Keilatrix's ambushed me, and it looked like there were small shadowy alcoves that were actually offshoots leading to sleeping rooms. I had accidentally passed two of them, letting the demons easily sneak up on me.

I double-checked to make sure there were no other hidden rooms and kept going downwards.

Following the cave, I eventually ended up in a large room. The passage ended here, opening up to reveal what appeared to be a chamber where the demons kept their young.

And let me tell you, Baby Keilatrix's are way, way, way more gross and disgusting and ugly than their adult brethren.

There were four of the little things all curled up in the room. Each of them was a pale shade of piss yellow. Their eyes were huge and unequal like an Embryo, and their teeth were way too big for their mouth, leading them to look like they had each just swallowed a fistful of shrapnel.

They were so disgusting I actually nearly left right then and there.

That and, you know, the fact they were babies.

But then I realized those babies would grow up to become the same yellow assholes who tried to kill and eat me.

The impulse to kill may have taken over, and I nearly ended up killing four babies.

Then I heard a gravelly noise coming from the other side of the room.

Ah, I thought to myself, it must be another Keilatrix.

I was pretty sure I had cleared out most of the adults in the den. The quest said there should be around twenty, and thinking back on all the killing I've been doing, I should have taken down around fifteen or probably more.

There should be barely any of them left! This would be easy.

Then what came out of the darkness was a little freaky.

Up until this point, I had been calling the demons I was fighting Keilatrix's.

I was wrong. The things I was fighting were actually Lesser Keilatrix's.

The thing standing in front of me, apparently guarding the young in this den, was not a lesser Keilatrix.

This was what a Keilatrix actually looked like.