The temperature dropped upon entering as they went down a gradual slope. The light emitting from Kenji's staff cut through the shadows just far enough ahead before it was eventually swallowed by darkness. Light tapping echoed softly around them as water dripped from the stalactites above.

Vlad had his longsword drawn while Yakeru and Fuyumi stood adjacent to him. The guards held their wooden shields and dull swords at the ready. Yakeru wasn't sure how much of what he heard about vamp-crawlers was true so he made sure to stick close to the others like glue.

"Stay alert," Vlad cautioned. "We don't know how many of them are down here. Or if they're the only type of monsters here for that matter."

Kenji glanced back at the porters, adopting a stern expression. While his comrades would handle the fighting, he was tasked with protecting the men hauling the inventory. The porters gave the conjurer an assuring nod to signify their trust in him as he returned the gesture.

A guard in front of him pointed at a particular rock formation off to the side.

"Hey, I recognize that. We're getting close."

Before long, a light flickered in the distance. As they got closer, it became clear what they were staring at. Scattered along the base of the stone walls were tiny radiant gems. The way they twinkled made it seem like they'd just stumbled upon a cluster of stars. Vlad's face lit up slightly, momentarily fantasizing about what the village could do with these gems.

"Grab these while we still can," he ordered before his men carried out his command.

They mined for several minutes, stuffing as many of the pocket-sized gems into their bags as they could. Yakeru and Fuyumi stood watch for anything suspicious. As the men moved along the wall, water dripped onto an isolated guard. He casually wiped his neck but before he could continue working he paused. The water felt thicker than what he'd expected. Massaging his fingers together, he cringed as it had a slimy texture to it.

'What is this stuff?'

Suddenly, the hairs on everyone's necks stood up just as a low hiss filled the dungeon's caverns. The guard slowly shifted his gaze to the ceiling, his eyes landing on the silhouette of a lanky figure peering down at him. Before he could register what he was looking at, the creature had already pounced on him, plunging its fangs into his neck. What was supposed to be a scream came out as a weak whimper as it sunk its teeth deeper into his flesh.

The rest of the group stumbled backward as a dozen more of these creatures dropped from the spaces between the stalactites. Licking their fangs, they slowly approached the group that had so generously offered themselves up as food. They crept on all fours, their skin a ghostly white and their jet-black eyes made their heads appear hollow.

'So these are the infamous vamp-crawlers!' Yakeru gulped as a sweat droplet rolled down his face.

Their doomed comrade flailed his legs desperately as his arms were trapped within the iron grasp of the creature. Despite its thin build, it possessed strength far greater than the average human. Eventually, his flailing stopped and his eyes rolled back into his skull. His body was stripped of all its color, shriveling like a deflated balloon.

The vamp-crawler that had attacked him now set its hollow gaze on the rest of the group. It circled its tongue around its face, licking off the excess blood as it crawled over the corpse. Both Yakeru and Fuyumi drew their weapons, the collective hissing from the humanoids sending shivers down Yakeru's spine.

"Here they come!" Vlad roared as the beasts charged them.

Fuyumi leaped forward, immediately slicing through a vamp-crawler's neck. Kenji raised his staff, conjuring a radiant dome around himself and the porters. Yakeru began cutting down the monsters that somehow got past Fuyumi. As a last line of defense, the remaining guards surrounded the dome.

Wood chips splintered off of Vlad's shield as a vamp-crawler smashed into it. Reaching around his shield, it gripped onto his neck, inching him closer to its bared fangs.

'No you don't!'

Vlad plunged his sword into its stomach but it barely mustered a reaction from the creature. Instead, it clamped down on his neck harder, sealing off his airways and dragging him closer to its gaping mouth.

Pulling his blade out, he relentlessly drove it into the monster again and again until it finally released him and stumbled backwards. Before it could reengage him, his blade sliced through its throat and it collapsed with a thud.

He dropped to his knees, struggling to draw air. His throat was left bruised and swollen where it had grabbed him. Hurriedly reaching into his satchel, he pulled out his elixir and downed the vial before the swelling could deny its contents. Despite Vlad's vulnerable state, more vamp-crawlers rushed the guards behind him.

The sound of gurgled shrieks filled the cavern as both parties were cut down. Kenji braced himself as a vamp-crawler weaved around its assailants, its eyes set on those hiding within the dome.

He poured enough radiance into the dome, making it around twelve inches thick. He was aware he was too weak for this dungeon so to compensate, he was forced to rely on his allies. With a sturdy barrier separating him from that bloodthirsty monster, he was confident he could protect the men behind him and stall until the others could slay it. The porters huddled inside, confident in their sanctuary. Kenji steeled himself, eying the creature that made its rapid approach.

'There's no way it'll be able to-!'

𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘩!

With a thunderous crash, the vamp-crawler shattered the wall along with the porters' sense of security. Kenji's desperate efforts to reinforce the dome ultimately proved to be futile. A shockwave of fear ripped through porters as Kenji fired a projectile in his haste. Although it slammed directly into the creature's chest, it didn't so much as flinch as his attack fizzled out upon impact.

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Terror became more evident on Kenji's face as the vamp-crawler latched onto a nearby porter, sinking its fangs in the man's flesh. Kenji's head echoed with the man's shrieks as red sprayed from his neck, fear locking the kid in place as he watched helplessly.

The lives he was responsible for were about to be extinguished before his eyes. The man's struggling came to a gradual halt, his limbs going limp. But the creature's hunger wasn't yet satiated. It set its empty gaze on the young conjurer, sending a shiver down his spine. The vamp-crawler tossed aside the corpse, lunging for the boy. Before he could gather his wits, it had already seized him by the arm, slamming him into the ground. His heart pounded against his chest as his trembling eyes met the beast's hollow gaze. As it opened its gaping mouth to burrow its teeth into him,

𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘵!

A blade slammed into its neck, forcing it to disengage with a shriek. Releasing the boy, he scurried away as his savior roared out,

"Don't worry, kid!" he reassured, trying to retrieve his sword that'd been jammed in the vamp-crawler's neck. "We got your ba-!"

He was interrupted by the creature's pale hand snatching his head, driving his skull into the stone floor. The guard convulsed violently as the shock ripped through his cranium.

With the sword still lodged in its neck, it plunged its fangs into the barely conscious man, his pleads coming out as gurgles from the blood that quickly filled his airways. Kenji had no choice but to watch the man's body shrivel until Yakeru slashed through its top half with a radiant-imbued blade, its torso splitting in two.

"Behind you!" Kenji warned as a monster dashed toward his flank.

Yakeru sidestepped the vamp-crawler, tearing his shirt in the process as another barreled into him. With the wind knocked out of him, his sword flung from his grasp, tumbling back as the two monsters advanced toward him after a quick recovery. The first one went to pounce on him but to no avail as Yakeru recovered just in time to narrowly evade.

The sounds of metal tearing through flesh sounded more distant as he sprinted after his sword, which landed further inside the dungeon. The second monster galloped towards him at frightening speeds. He dove to retrieve his weapon just as the vamp-crawler lunged after him. With dirt splashing onto his face, he swung blindly behind him at the source of the fast-approaching roar.

𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘵!

He felt something cold and heavy topple on top of him. Wiping his face, he could see the creature's top half sprawled across him. The blood oozing from its mouth and lower section made him gag as he carefully removed the corpse. He scrambled to his feet, not having a chance to react to the blood splattered on him as he readied himself, anticipating another attack that never came. Instead, the second vamp-crawler merely glared at him...or rather behind him.

It stared into the dungeon's dark cavern and for the first time, he noticed a change in its expression. The black voids that were its eyes conveyed a hint of emotion he didn't think was possible for these monsters to feel.

Fear.

It took cautious steps backwards, hissing at the empty space behind the boy.

'What's it doing?' he wondered, lowering his sword slightly.

As it backed up, a streak of light whipped through its neck. It didn't have a chance to yelp as its head separated from its shoulders, revealing Yakeru's silver-haired comrade sheathing her dagger.

"Why were you just standing there?" she questioned.

He took a good look at the monster she'd cut before looking back at her.

"Sorry. It was just...acting weird."

She narrowed her gaze, failing to understand how a flimsy excuse could justify letting his guard down. Vlad soon jogged up beside her, massaging his throat as he did.

"Yakeru...! Are you alright...?" Vlad's voice came out as a harsh whisper.

"I'm okay, thanks. What about you?" he glanced at the discoloration in the leader's neck. "That doesn't look too good."

Vlad's neck was still a light shade of purple but the swelling had subsided thanks to Dajuan's elixir.

"I'll be alright...just a bit sore." he heaved as if he'd just run a marathon. "Why don't we...rest here for a bit since this area's cleared."

Behind him, his men were pulling their shabby longswords out of the dead after defeating the last of the vamp-crawlers.

Yakeru agreed and before long everyone set their belongings aside. The remaining guards plopped themselves down and drank their water in huge gulps. Harsh coughs escaped Vlad as a guard approached him.

"We lost four men, sir. Should we pull out?"

Vlad cupped his chin in thought.

"The gems we gathered so far won't sustain Hanataru. There's a high chance there'll be more of them further inside...although we don't know what other monsters are down there..." he cleared his throat before continuing. "We'll press forward. For now, rest up. Use your elixirs if you have to."

Kenji sat isolated from the pack to reflect, fidgeting with his staff. No matter how hard he tried to ignore the thought, his mind always shot back to what had just happened. Glancing up, he saw the porters taking stock of the radiant gems they'd collected, appearing to calculate how much they'd be worth. During this time they dropped their voices to low murmurs so a certain conjurer wouldn't overhear.

"Hey did you see that kid back there?"

"Yeah, one of those things broke through his defenses with one hit. He couldn't even hurt the thing after it did." a guard responded with a scowl.

"That kid cost us two of our guys." his comrade fumed at the idea of allying with a liability.

"Ironic. I thought rangers were supposed to be stronger than us, but it looked like we did more work than he did." another guard joined in on the gossip. "Honestly, he's no use if he can't keep up with the rest of us." he muttered slyly.

Despite whispering, Kenji could still make out their words as he still in earshot.

Their trust in the young conjurer had all but evaporated. Kenji rested his head in his hands, gritting his teeth at his own negligence. No thanks to him, two men wouldn't return home. Doubt began to consume him, his self-esteem taking a nosedive. His mind recalled a rather uncomfortable memory, a time just before he took the examination with Yakeru.

"𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦."

The dungeon hasn't been cleared yet and he'd already found himself in a scenario that reinforced the words of those rangers who gossiped about him back at the guild.

"You alright?" Yakeru managed to sneak up on the moping conjurer, slumping down next to him. "You seem off."

Kenji flinched when his friend seemingly appeared out of nowhere but forced a weak smile.

"Yeah, I'm good." desperate to change the subject so Yakeru wouldn't call him out for lying, he noticed his jacket more roughed up than before. "That poor jacket. Well, at least this time you didn't get too banged up. It'd be a pain to have to carry you back again."

Yakeru scratched the back of his head in response to his jab.

"Hey, that bear caught me off guard, okay?"

They chuckled a bit before Yakeru's eyes wandered to the last vamp-crawler Fuyumi had cut down. During his recent battle with them, he'd deduced they were incapable of fear, throwing themselves into the fire just to get to their target. They'd be stabbed through the stomach and their necks chopped but they'd still resume their ruthless assault as if fear was beyond their comprehension. And yet...

'Why did it hesitate like that? Was it afraid of me?'

He thought the notion was silly since he hadn't done anything noteworthy to spark fearful behavior. He then remembered it wasn't necessarily looking at him but rather behind him, further down the dungeon. He looked further into the darkness of the cavern, a strange ominous feeling washing over him.

'...or was it afraid of something else?'