The eyes vanished from the window. Alex tensed and Glint flexed his claws, ready to jump into battle at a moment’s notice. He couldn’t help but notice that there hadn’t been any sort of identification as to what the creature within the house was.

Maybe spotting the eyes isn’t enough to actually reveal it and I need to see a certain amount of the monster’s body or something like that?

It was a moot point. The pressing matter was twofold. First, there was a monster that had spotted him. It was small enough to fit into a house, which was good. That led to the second part of the problem. If he got into a fight in the middle of the street, it wasn’t going to be quiet.

I need to kill it without making any noise or somehow bring the fight somewhere where nothing can overhear us.

Alex’s fingers twitched as his mind raced, but his opponent made their move before he did. The door to the building swung open. He couldn’t make out anything in the darkness beyond, but it was a clear invitation.

It’s intelligent. Does it also want to avoid the street? It wouldn’t surprise me if monsters ate other monsters. Maybe it wants this fight to be just as quiet as I do. Well, I can oblige. If something wants to challenge me and is scared of the other monsters, then we’re likely to be at least a bit closer in strength — and I’m not backing down from a challenge.

The idea of continuing on without investigating the house didn’t so much as pass his mind. Leaving a monster behind that knew of his presence was the same as leaving his back wide open and painting a target on it. It was better to take the fight when he knew the general area from where his opponent would strike.

“Glint, you first,” Alex whispered. “Prioritize surviving and scope out what we’re up against. If it attacks or makes any aggressive moves, do your best to avoid the attack and then go for the kill. If it does look like they’re going to kill you, make sure you die in front of the doorway or where I can see it.”

Glint crossed the street and Alex followed after his monster, only pausing to scoop a rock off the ground. He wasn’t going to be very useful until Glint was dead, but he got the feeling nothing would enjoy getting pelted with a stone.

They reached the opened door and Alex hung back, letting Glint take the lead and leaving enough space for himself to reposition or flee if he had to. He didn’t know what he was up against. And, until he did, he couldn’t let himself overcommit. Alex’s grip tightened around the rock and he raised his hand, preparing to throw it at a moment’s notice.

Glint stepped into the darkness. The spined monster managed two whole steps before it spun to the right and lunged, letting out a grating snarl. He vanished from view for a brief instant before there was a loud thunk. Glint went flying back past the doorway and disappeared into the darkness on the far side.

Alex tensed.

Something made an aggressive move toward Glint if he attacked first.

Glass scraped as the protrusions jutting from Glint’s skin dug into the floor and he flashed past the doorway once more. Alex gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to charge into the darkness. He needed to bide his time for the right moment.

A metal blade carved down toward Glint and the small monster leapt out of the way before lunging forward once more. There was a wet squelch and a hiss of pain. Blood splattered across the ground.

An instant later, Glint slammed into the ground. Blood covered the end of one of the blades along his arm. He’d landed a hit. Glint rolled over and shot to his feet square in the center of the doorway.

Before he could move again, the blade flashed once more. It drove straight into Glint’s chest as a humanoid form stepped out of the darkness to finish him off. And, in doing so, they moved into Alex’s line of sight. He could just barely make their form out in the darkness, but it was enough.

Now!

Alex hurled his rock. He’d never been a particularly athletic student, but it flew true and sailed through the air, striking the figure in the side of the head even as they ripped their sword out of Glint’s limp body, which turned into a streak of blue light and flooded into Alex.

A blade of mirrored glass erupted from his palm and he took a step forward, preparing to drive it into the heavily obscured figure’s neck as they staggered, a hand flying up to their head.

“Ow!” the figure cursed.

Alex skidded to a stop a moment before lunging for their neck. “What the hell?”

The figure spun toward him. “You speak common?”

They stared at each other in mute shock for nearly a second. Alex took a step back, keeping the blade protruding from his hand at the ready. “What’s common? And who are you? One sudden move and I’m running you through.”

Despite his words, he’d lost the element of surprise. Out of all the things he’d been expecting to fight, another person wasn’t one of them.

Oh, shit. Could it be some sort of monster with a trick to sound human? Damn it. I didn’t even think of that.

The shaded figure raised their sword slowly, then slid it into a sheathe and lifted their hands, palms forward. “I didn’t think there was anyone else in this cursed shithole. I thought you were a monster.”

Now that Alex was paying attention to it, the person’s voice was a little high pitched. It sounded like a woman — but that didn’t mean it was one.

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Alex’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you were a monster. Step out into the light.”

“Are you kidding me? With all the damn spookies out there?” the figure shook their head vehemently. “You come in here. It’s safe. Or, about as safe as the Mirorlands are ever going to get.”

“Into the darkness?” Alex snorted. “That’s not happening. You can clearly see in it.”

“Oh, bleed it,” the figure muttered. “Look, give me a second. I’ve got a torch here somewhere. I hate the idea of wasting it, but I can’t pass up on the chance to talk to another person. Just don’t run me through when I reach for my pocket or I’m going to be right pissed.”

Alex blinked, then nodded. “Go ahead.”

The figure slowly lifted a hand to their side. There was a moment of silence, followed by a faint scratching noise. Light bloomed from a matchstick, pushing back the cloak of darkness to reveal a young woman.

Alex tensed. A woman she may have been, but a human she was not. Two small fangs jutted down from the corners of her pitch-black mouth and her skin was a shade of gray that should have been reserved for brick, not living flesh. The woman’s hair, as black as her lips, had been tied into a ponytail and revealed two ears as pointed as daggers, one of which had a tiny silver stud earing within its lobe. Blood streamed down her upper arm from the cut that Glint had left on her.

No glowing letters appeared to identify the woman. Alex wasn’t sure if that was exactly a good thing, but it seemed like it might have been a point in her favor. Thus far, the only things he’d seen information on had been monsters.

“See?” she asked. “Not a monster.”

I’m not so sure I’d go that far.

“What are you?” Alex asked warily. He shifted from foot to foot, still ready to lunge at a moment’s notice. He’d be damned if a pretty face was the reason he died this early into the most interesting event in his life.

“I’d like to ask you the same damn question, but please close that bleeding door before something sees this light and rips us both apart from the asshole out.”

Alex bit back a laugh. He caught the door with his foot and slowly shut it behind him, not taking his eyes off the woman. She did have a point — the biggest threat was attracting the attention of a monster too big to fight.

But, just in case, he didn’t close the door all the way and kept his foot in the doorway. It would only take him an instant to fling it open and throw himself into the street if she made any moves toward him.

“Door’s closed as much as I’m going to close it,” Alex said. “You first. What are you? Are you a native to the Mirrorlands?”

“A native?” the woman let out a muted snort. “I’d thank you not to associate me with the hideous… things down here. I’m from Ayrin.”

Alex stared at her blankly.

“Ayrin. You know?”

“No.”

“The planet Ayrin?” she tried. “We got pulled into the System a week ago.”

Alex shook his head. “That means nothing to me. How’d you end up here?”

“I was midway through a dungeon when I fell into a trapdoor and onto a giant bleeding obelisk. The next thing I knew, I was in this shithole. If you’re not from Ayrin… please tell me you know something about how to get out of here.”

Oh, shit. She might be telling the truth.

“What color was the obelisk?”

“Black. Why?” A flicker of excitement passed through her features. “Do you know a way out of here?”

Alex blew out a breath. “We might be in a bit of a pickle. I fell into one of those just an hour ago. I’m from Earth. I don’t suppose I’d be wrong in guessing that means nothing to you?”

“Nothing,” she confirmed, her excitement snuffed like a candle. She blew out a defeated breath. “Is Earth another planet? How long has it been part of the System?”

“Er… about an hour, I think.”

The woman stared at him, matchlight dancing as it illuminated her features. Then she groaned and lowered herself into a seated position. “Bleed it all. You fell in right as the System arrived?”

No. I got pushed in.

“Yep.”

“And here I thought I was unlucky. Guess I’ve met my match.” The woman blew out a huff. “What to do. My name’s Claire.”

“I’m Alex. Why is it that you don’t have any golden letters illuminating you? Is there a way to hide them?”

“Oh, that’s because of this.” Claire held her wrist up, revealing a metal bracelet. “It conceals my information. They’re pretty common. This one is shit, so it doesn’t work against anyone of a higher Stage. Not like it matters anymore.”

Claire pulled the band off her wrist. The air above her head rippled and golden words scrawled themselves into existence.

Claire - Dhampir Warrior (Novice 3)

An actual name rather than just a generic monster title. She’s also stronger than me. How big is the difference between Novice 1 and Novice 3? Either way… it seems like she might be trustworthy. Not enough to let my guard down, but I’m a summoner. If she actually is friendly, an ally would go a long way in keeping me alive.

Claire put the band back onto her wrist and the writing above her head vanished. She kept the flickering match held in the air with one hand as she dug through her pocket with the other, her features pressed thin in pain.

“Mind taking this?” Claire asked, holding the match to him. “I need to find my bandages.”

He wasn’t going to say no to that. It was clear he needed the light more than she did. Alex crept closer, watching her movements with narrowed eyes as he took the candle. Claire released it and he took a step back to keep some space between them.

“You’re a cautious one, aren’t you?” Claire asked through a wince as she found the bandages she was searching for and started to try and wrap her wound. “Can’t blame you if the System really just showed up on your planet. That’s rough. I’m, uh, sorry about your spiky rat.”

“It’s fine,” Alex said. “He doesn’t stay dead long.”

“Doesn’t stay dead? You didn’t hit your head, did you?” Claire fumbled with her bandages, then let out a curse. “Damn it. Hold on. I need to concentrate on this for a second.”

Alex went to nod — and a flicker moved through the darkness behind Claire, toward the back of the room. He stiffened. “Claire? Get up.”

She glanced up at his tone, then hurriedly rose to her feet and turned to follow his gaze. “What is it?”

Alex shifted the match to pinch it between his thumb and the bed of his hand, then ripped a portion of his t-shirt away and held it to the match until the flame caught. He then threw the burning scrap over her shoulder and toward the center of the room.

The light was so dim that it was barely worth noting at all, but it was just enough to reveal another flicker of movement — and this time, for long enough for gold letters to shimmer through the air.

Shade (Novice 4)

A shadowy form lurched back from the light with a pained hiss, retreating into the corner of the room and cringing back. The small strip didn’t buy them much time. It burned away to embers with frightening speed. The glowing letters went with it, swallowed by the tiny curl of smoke that rose into the darkness — and without them or the light, the Shade was invisible once more.

“Oh shit,” Claire breathed, taking a step back and drawing her sword with a pained wince. “That's not good.”