Filling my ears is the sound of fighting, swords clanging against monsters, flesh being cut and torn, growling and roars from monsters all around the dungeon we were currently in. The loud commands of humans, ordering their servants around, those who were bred from monster and human. Hybrids as we were called, by both the humans and the System.
Gripping my sword lightly, breathing heavily as I wipe the sweat and blood from my forehead, I glance around. Standing on a large grass filled terrain, we were in a Dimensional Dungeon, Hound Hell, a special location that we were forced into. Broken into dozens of groups, Hybrids were fighting off monsters that were flooding out from a forest not far from us. No one knew what laid beyond that dense forest, we only knew these Guard Hounds kept coming from there.
Our job is to hinder monsters, so our handlers, the humans who commanded us, can safely kill the monsters. Looking at the monster in front of me, I see the information about it provided by the System.
[Level 4 Guard Hound]
As it pounces at me, I ready my fatigued body and parry an attack from it, sending the beast off balance. Stepping in with a well practised swing, I cut one of its legs off, achieving my job this time. After this, my handler, Gerald, would finish the beast off to claim the experience. How much experience would a level 15 human even get from this, it doesn’t make sense as to why we’re forced to do this.
Stumbling back, I turn towards another monster, this time one at level 5, one below my level. Biting my lip in an attempt to drive the tiredness away, I moved towards another Guard Hound, who moved towards me. Parrying another lunge by the beast, I lose focus for a moment and stumble, failing to connect my sword swing.
Recovering, the beast bites down towards my chest, raising my arms to try and block the bite, its teeth bite down into my right arm, my dominant arm. Pushing it off me before it can clamp down, I stumble back while swinging at the beast, inflicting a shallow cut on its head
[You’ve gained 10xp!]
Ignoring the System message that came from the Guard Hound I previously injured which had now been killed by Gerald, I heard a voice come from my right.
“Alice, are you okay?” Hearing a whisper from nearby, I turn my head and see Alisha, Number 32 as the humans call her, covered in wounds. Indistinguishable from humans, she was like me, a Hybrid. She, like me, was named by the System, the humans refer to us as numbers when we’re assigned to a batch intended for dungeon exploration, before that they just call us “Monster”, “Filth”, “Livestock” and so on.
With flowing jet-black hair, piercing blue eyes and a somewhat shy and young face, she is one of few that I have known for some time, one I’ve taught about this world…or what little I know of it. This is the first time she has been in a dungeon, the first time she would experience facing death. She was one of the few I could call a friend.
[Level 2 Monster, Alisha]
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The System displays our kind as Monsters, not Hybrids, not Humans, just plain Monsters. We had no say in the matter, we couldn’t change how others would see us, we were treated like shit by the humans. Nodding to Alisha, I mutter “I’m fine, get back to fighting before Gerald notices.” Seeing her turn around and return to fighting, I faced the beast that was slowly moving towards me.
Taking a deep breath, I’m about to prepare myself as I swap my sword from the now-injured arm to my left arm. At that moment, I felt a blow to my back as I’m sent tumbling into the ground, losing hold of my sword, as an angry voice comes from above me.
“Stop fucking around Number 13, get back in there.”
Gritting my teeth as I try to push myself back up, I am forced to roll to avoid a strike by the Guard Hound. Being slow to completely avoid the claws of the beast, I feel it tear the flesh off my shoulder blade. Lifting myself back to my feet, I try and look for my sword, spotting it several steps away from me. Avoiding the beast attacking me again, I stumble towards my leg, failing to see the second beast that had appeared. Feeling its claws dig deep into my leg, I fall forward, landing next to my sword.
Picking up the sword in a rush, I get back to my feet with some fear in my heart. The injuries I’ve sustained were not light, and swinging my sword to parry the first beast that pounced towards me, I knew I had underestimated how bad they were, feeling the pain flare when my injured arms and shoulder absorbed the impact.
Moving quickly, or as quickly as I can, I cut off the leg of the beast that I had just parried as the second one pounces and bites into my right shoulder. Crying out as it clamps down and tears away at my right shoulder, I felt my shoulder being torn from my very being. Tears falling from my eyes, I struggled with everything I could to get the beast off my shoulder. I can’t angle my sword to stab into it, I heard the growling, the shaking of its head getting stronger and faster as it attempted to tear my shoulder from me.
Just as it bites through my shoulder completely, I see a shadow cut down at the Guard Hound’s neck, lopping off its head. Feeling the bite loosen, I try to push the beast's head off, but I can’t move. I’ve lost all my strength due to heavy blood loss. Laying on my back, I see Alisha crouching over me, yelling what I can only assume is my name.
Seeing tears well up in her eyes, I knew that this was it for me, I must’ve looked horrible. Seeing her suddenly look up terrified, a leg shot out, kicking her away from me. Unable to move my head, I only saw a sword above me, I knew this was Gerald and I knew what was about to happen.
We couldn’t die in peace. We either die serving humans while acting as their “shield”, or they kill us as we’re on our deathbeds. As much as I wanted to kill him, I was only level 6 and he was level 15. Even if all fifty of the hybrids that were dragged into this dungeon were to attack him, it’s likely he would massacre us, the level gap was too big.
Watching as the sword slowly plunges down into my chest, directly aimed at my heart, I wondered at that moment what it would’ve been like if I was born somewhere else, maybe I could’ve been free, maybe explored the world, made friends, become strong. I hated this life, I hated the System, I hated the humans, why was I born like this, born only to die at the whim of a fucking human.
Feeling the sword plunge into my chest and pierce my heart, my body shook, the last vestiges of strength slowly left me. Feeling my vision darken, I try to move my eyes to see Alisha, please let me see her once more, one final time, let me leave this world looking at a friend. I can’t see her, my vision is getting darker, my head refuses to move, so instead I pray to whatever being decides our fate.
I pray that Alisha dies early, so she doesn’t have to suffer. I pray that we all find freedom in death, and that we can meet again. As I drew my final breath and released it, my vision completely darkened as I saw one last message from the System.
[You are dead.]