Chapter 39: Into the Dark Hallway

The wooden door shook more violently with each passing moment. Everyone stood tense, weapons drawn, eyes locked on the door. Whatever was behind it was coming fast.

Niko’s mind raced. The way the pig monsters had smashed through the previous doors told him this wasn’t one of those creatures. But what could it be? His heart pounded as his grip tightened around his weapon. Sweat began to roll down his forehead, his pulse quickening with each passing second. His bee spirit and rankless mantis spirit floated by his side, their faint glow casting a shadow behind him.

Then, with a thunderous swosh, the door burst open.

To their surprise, it wasn’t the hulking monsters they had expected but four dog-sized rats. These creatures looked like they had been through countless battles—patches of fur were missing from their backs, leaving raw, scarred flesh exposed. Their sinister red eyes glinted with feral hunger, and foam dripped from their mouths, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. They darted through the door, reckless and rabid.

Andrea was the first to react. Her metallic legs gleamed as she lunged forward and kicked one of the rats so hard that it flew into the stone wall, crumpling into an unconscious heap. The impact reverberated through the hallway, making everyone flinch.

Another rat met a gruesome end under the crushing weight of Kyle’s draconic tail. The spikes along the tail punctured the rat’s body, slicing through its flesh with ease, turning the creature into nothing more than a bloodied mess.

A third rat, more nimble than the others, darted through their defenses and lunged at Singh, its foaming mouth aiming for his throat. Singh raised one of his axes, preparing to slash it mid-air, but before he could, Priya stepped in. Her short sword flashed through the air, stabbing the rat in mid-leap. It let out a pained squeal as Priya lowered her blade, the rat’s limp body falling to the ground with a thud. She gave Singh a quick, meaningful glance, and he responded with a grateful nod.

The final rat rushed towards Zheng and Candreva. Zheng’s sharp, purple nails glinted as he swiped at the creature, cutting it across the side. Candreva finished the job, swinging his axe down with a heavy thunk, splitting the rat’s body in two.

The rat Andrea had kicked earlier staggered back to its feet, its red eyes burning with a crazed hunger. But before it could lunge again, a greenish, transparent orb crashed down from above, smashing the rat’s head into the stone floor with a sickening crack. The rankless mantis spirit floated back to Niko, hovering silently by his side.

Silence filled the hallway as they took in the scene. Four dead rats lay scattered around them, their bodies twitching as their lifeblood spilled onto the cold stone floor.

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“This isn’t all of them,” Fumito said grimly, his voice low. His eyes scanned the corridor, wary of what might come next.

Everyone nodded in agreement. The corpse they’d found earlier had been covered in far too many bite marks for these few rats to be the only ones responsible.

Niko, feeling a small sense of relief that it hadn’t been an army of rats, stepped forward. He extended his hand toward one of the fallen rats, summoning his power.

[Spirit King’s Order I]

A faint green aura began to envelop Niko and the mutilated body of the rat. Slowly, the spirit of the rat emerged from its broken body, floating eerily toward Niko. Its empty, soulless gaze was locked onto him, awaiting his command.

Everyone stared, a mixture of awe and unease settling over them. The strange, necromantic power Niko wielded made their skin crawl, even as they marveled at its potential.

Dharma’s gaze lingered on Niko, a curious glint in his eye. The others quickly turned their attention back to the task at hand. Niko glanced at the stats of his newly acquired spirit:

[Name: Crazed Rat]

Rank: None

Potential: F-

[Status]

Strength: 1

Constitution: 1

Agility: 2

Intelligence: 0

Mana: 0

Mana Power: 0

Spirit Power: 0

[Skills]

Rabid Bite

Niko felt neutral about the spirit. It had potential, but how useful it would be in a fight remained to be seen. Either way, more practice controlling his spirits was never a bad thing.

Beyond the opened door lay a dark hallway, stretching into the unknown. The sight of it made everyone uneasy.

“We need to keep moving,” Ivanic said, breaking the silence. He turned to Niko. “Can you send one of your spirits ahead? Better it than us.”

Niko nodded. The Crazed Rat, as if sensing his command, began to scurry down the hallway, its ghostly form floating just above the ground. The group followed cautiously behind, their footsteps echoing in the eerie quiet of the corridor.

The hallway was wide and lined with pipes that crisscrossed along the ceiling like tangled vines. The faint glow from their lanterns cast distorted shadows on the walls, twisting and warping as they moved. It felt like the setting of a nightmare, the kind where something unseen lurks just out of sight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

After what felt like an eternity, the rat spirit reached a bend in the hallway. It turned the corner with no issue, and the group followed cautiously.

When they reached the turn, however, their hearts sank.

“Stairs?” Niko’s voice was full of disbelief.

“Stairs… leading upward,” Eitan muttered.

The reality of what they were seeing hit them hard. They had been hoping to escape, to move away from the horrors they had just faced. But these stairs only led them closer to something even more dangerous. Up the mountain lay the dungeon—an unknown and deadly challenge.

Their faces darkened as the weight of their situation settled in. Moving forward meant walking into the heart of danger.