He'd half expected it to follow him back and appear in the containment chamber with him.

But instead, he collapsed onto the cold flooring alone, relief flooded through his body and the bliss of unconsciousness briefly embraced him.

He didn't know if he'd fainted for just a few seconds or a couple of minutes, a dull ache permeated his whole body as he staggered to his feet.

The onlooking assistants looked at him with mild curiosity while the guards seemed utterly disinterested with everything.

He'd gone through this a few times. So by now, he knew the procedure and had thought it strict but secure.

He wasn't so sure about that now, how were people like this meant to stop that abomination if it got through?

Granted, Thomel hadn't tried fighting it. Who knows? maybe the guards would actually stand a chance.

He doubted it though, he would had to have had the physical capabilities of someone who'd purely invested in the physical attribute all the way up to level one thousand.

Just what was that demonic rabbit?

While his mind was in turmoil, he reached down and allowed the arcane machine to prick and drain him of some of his blood.

Half a minute later, the first blast door opened wide, inviting him in for decontamination.

Shaking his head, he slowly walked through the open blast door and spread his arms as the decontamination process began.

Exiting the containment chamber, he considered saying something to the assistants but bit his tongue.

Instead, he just kept walking while the guard swivelled to watch him.

Leaving the containment room behind, he walked through the hallway and into the intersection that connected all the containment rooms to the rest of the base.

Marching down to the manager's room, he went to the first free one he saw to report on his mission's failure and warn them of the danger.

Listening to him give his solemn report, the manager typed away half-heartedly and occasionally asked a question or two.

Once he was finished she simply waved him off and said that no credits would be given to him for this incident.

He didn't know exactly what to expect coming in here and talking about how some eldritch horror had tried to kill him and that everyone needed to be warned against going to that particular planet.

But he certainly hadn't expected this blatant dismissive attitude.

Thinking it was maybe just this manager that was the issue, he went over to another one and said the exact same thing, garnering in turn, the exact same response.

Thomel could have tried for a third time but he was tired, both physically and mentally.

In a dispirited daze, he gave up and walked away, heading towards the sleeping quarters.

He never did get the chance to eat any of the energy bars, so he slid one out and munched on it while he was moving.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It was rather wasteful considering how expensive they were and how much more cost-effective just buying some food at the canteen would be.

But none of those thoughts crossed his exhausted mind, he'd spent the last vestiges of his mental energy trying to explain the threat he'd faced.

He was so out he didn't even notice he passed Volly by until she punched him on the shoulder.

“Thomel!” She hollered into his ear.

“Volly?” He said confused, turning around to face her.

“What happened to you?” She wondered out loud, staring into his bloodshot eyes with concern and a trace amount of excitement.

“Eldritch bunny.” He replied, staring at her upbeat and lively face in puzzlement.

How was she so energetic and enthusiastic all the time, he'd only been here for a few weeks and he'd already seen so many people die gruesome deaths.

“Ohhhhh. Tell me about it?” She asked him like a child asking for some candy at the checkout.

“A neon-pink bunny turned into sludge and then morphed into this horrifying blob of fleshly faces and bony growths. At first, I thought the faces were twisted rabbits, but then it changed them into human faces. I can't describe it properly, it was constantly changing and shifting. Growing ever more demented with every passing secon-”

“Woah woah woah there, did it have mind magic?” Volly interrupted.

“Yes, how'd you kn-”

“You're coming with me!” She interrupted again. Grabbing a firm hold of his shoulder.

“Volly, why?” He tiredly asked. He was pondering if he should just ignore her and go to sleep, but he couldn't shrug off her iron grip.

“You don't let someone sleep when they've just had brain trauma. Whether it's from a concussion or mind magic, you've got to stay awake and active. Me and you are going on a mission!” She happily explained, beaming with joy.

Thom got the feeling she was just looking for an excuse to go hunting again rather than looking out for him.

But since he couldn't break free from her overwhelming strength he could only meekly beg.

“Volly please, I'm dead tired, okay? I've already done three missions in a row. Just let me rest, yeah?”

She laughed and then looked him straight in the eyes and said. “No.”

Forcefully dragged along beside her, Thomel considered making a scene and shouting for assistance but he sidelined that train of thought after a few moments of contemplation.

Volly was his friend and one of the few people he knew in this corporate hellscape. Ruining things just wasn't smart.

The money was in group hunting, not small game and humans were social creatures. It felt nice having people he could talk comfortably to.

But he didn't know just how many more steps he had left. Every trudging footstep left him wanting to collapse.

In a display of what he'd at first assumed to be gentle kindness, Volly grasped onto him more firmly. Supporting him and helping him walk, it all made him feel like an old man getting helped by his aid.

Then that gentle kindness turned into harsh kindness as she began to roughly drag him forward. Resigned to his fate Thomel let it happen and offered no resistance.

She was probably right after all, she’d been doing this far longer than he had, he couldn’t afford to discount her knowledge.

Even if it meant he would have to pull the equivalent of an all-nighter in this cursed place.

He wondered what most other people’s schedules were like. There was nothing to do here apart from eat,sleep, then hunt.

Did they do the same thing as him and spend the vast majority of their time hunting, or did they balance things far more, maybe playing games and being social from the moment they woke up to the moment they fell asleep.

There weren’t any cards to use, or board games, let alone video games but unless the corporation cut out their tongues and severed their hands then some form of games had to exist.

“Hey Volly, what do you do in your spare time?”

“Hunt.” Was her simple reply, as she dragged him around a gaggle of arguing hunters.

Thomel didn’t have it in him to try and start up a conversation again, he just remained silent until they made it back to the manager’s room.

Waltzing up to one of the managers with Thomel in tow, Volly eagerly asked. “What’s the best mission you’ve got for us?”