I stood in the ruined building, my breath steadying as I took stock of my situation.
The corpses of the Blighted Ones lay at my feet, a grim reminder of how close I'd come to death.
But I was alive, and stronger for it.
My mind raced, recalling everything I knew about the early game of Survival Craft.
The city was a death trap, designed to weed out the weak and unprepared.
Most players who survived did so by fleeing as soon as possible, seeking safer ground in the wilderness beyond.
But there was another option.
A riskier path, but one with potentially greater rewards.
The [Dread Doll].
I remembered designing that particular item, hidden away in the Fallen Market near the Obsidian Tower.
It wasn't a powerful item in the traditional sense.
But it was more than capable of tipping the scales in a player’s favor if they acquired it early enough.
It would bring me gold, as long as I could sell it to the Oddsman Merchant.
Just thinking about meeting him made me uneasy.
The Oddsman Merchant was the creation of a former admin, an outsider.
He was not quite human, closer to an otherworldly deity than anything else.
Still...
I crept through the ruins, keeping to the shadows.
The Fallen Market lay ahead, nestled in the twisted streets that led to the Obsidian Tower.
My boots crunched on broken glass as I ducked behind a fallen pillar.
A pack of Blighted Ones shuffled past, their claws scraping against stone.
I held my breath until they disappeared around a corner.
"Just like old times," I whispered, remembering countless players who'd attempted this run.
Most died.
But I knew every shortcut, every blind spot in the patrol patterns.
The market square opened before me, a maze of collapsed stalls and rotting awnings.
Somewhere in this mess lay the Dread Doll, hidden in a chest beneath one of the merchant tables.
A growl echoed from nearby.
I gripped my rusty knife tighter.
"Third stall from the north wall," I muttered, counting the ruined structures.
"Behind the red banner."
The faded cloth hung limp, barely recognizable as red anymore.
I slipped between broken crates, my heart pounding.
The chest would be trapped—I’d designed it that way.
The wooden box sat exactly where I remembered, covered in years of dust.
I reached for the latch, then stopped.
There was a trick to this.
I ran my fingers along the side, finding the hidden catch.
With a soft click, the trap disarmed.
Inside lay a simple cloth doll, its button eyes reflecting no light.
Most players would’ve passed it by, assuming it worthless.
But I knew better.
I tucked it into my jacket, feeling its weight against my chest.
Now I just needed to find—
A wet slapping sound echoed through the market.
I pressed myself against a crumbling wall, clutching the Dread Doll close.
The thing that entered the market square barely qualified as a creature.
Masses of flesh rolled and shifted across its form, faces emerging and sinking back into the bulk like drowning swimmers.
Arms sprouted and withered, grasping at nothing before being absorbed back into the whole.
"Shit."
I hadn't expected to see an Amalgamation this early in the game.
These horrors usually spawned near the tower, not in the outskirts.
The mass of writhing flesh dragged itself forward, leaving a trail of viscous fluid that sizzled against the cobblestones.
Its bulk crushed a market stall, wood splintering under the weight.
I knew its weaknesses, if it could be called that.
A single heart acted as the core, deep somewhere in that shifting mass, that kept the whole thing alive.
But reaching it meant getting close enough to be grabbed by those constantly forming limbs.
It wasn't something I could do now.
The creature paused, quivering.
A dozen mouths opened across its surface, each releasing a different pitch of moan.
It was sensing for prey—for me.
I could smell it now, a sickly sweet rot that made my stomach turn.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The mass changed direction, rolling toward my hiding spot with terrible purpose.
"Time to move."
I kept low, sliding behind a row of broken carts.
The thing followed, its bulk rippling as it changed course.
A half-formed face emerged near what might have been the front, eyes blinking rapidly before being swallowed back into the flesh.
It had spotted me.
The Amalgamation surged forward with surprising speed, tendrils of meat whipping out to grab anything they could reach.
I dove through a broken window as tentacles of flesh smashed through the wall behind me.
Glass cut into my shoulder, but I rolled with the momentum, coming up running.
"Come on, you ugly bastard."
I needed to get back to the wider streets.
In these tight spaces, the Amalgamation had too much advantage.
The creature flowed after me, its mass compressing to squeeze through the window frame.
Faces screamed silently as they were crushed against the edges.
I sprinted down the alley, my boots splashing through puddles of something I didn't want to identify.
The Dread Doll bounced against my chest with each step.
Behind me, the wet slapping of the horror's movement grew closer.
A tendril wrapped around my ankle.
I slashed backward with my knife, severing the limb.
It dissolved into goo before hitting the ground.
"Not today."
I burst out onto a wider street, immediately cutting left.
The Amalgamation followed, its bulk expanding now that it had room.
It was faster in the open, but so was I.
I needed a plan.
Fighting was suicide—even if I could reach the core, I didn't have the right weapons to damage it.
Running wouldn't work forever; the thing didn't tire.
A familiar jingling sound caught my attention.
Through the haze ahead, I spotted a figure in a patchwork cloak.
The Oddsman.
Perfect timing.
"Got something for you," I called out, already changing course toward him.
The merchant stood perfectly still, his pale face watching the chase with mild interest.
The Amalgamation surged forward, sensing fresh prey.
But I knew something it didn't—the Oddsman wasn't prey at all, and he was connected to the Dread Doll.
I skidded to a halt next to the Oddsman, who didn't even flinch at the horror pursuing me.
"Ah, a customer in these trying times."
His voice echoed strangely, as if speaking from inside a cave.
"Though I'm afraid I'm rather preoccupied. Searching for something special, you see. A star that fell."
The Amalgamation slowed its approach, dozens of eyes forming across its surface to study the Oddsman.
Even monsters knew better than to attack him.
"A star?"
I pulled out the Dread Doll, holding it up.
"I've got something else you might want."
The Oddsman's head tilted at an impossible angle.
"Curious timing. I felt its arrival just moments ago.
Such a bright light, falling from above."
His fingers twitched, jingling the trinkets hanging from his cloak.
"But that doll... yes, that's quite interesting too."
The Amalgamation retreated into the shadows, its mass rippling with frustration.
I knew the creature wouldn't go far; it would wait for me to leave the Oddsman's presence.
"The star—where exactly did you see it fall?"
I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Had my arrival in this world really looked like a falling star?
"Oh, somewhere in this district.
Time moves strangely around such things."
The Oddsman reached for the doll.
"But let's discuss your offering first.
I sense old magic in this toy. Very old indeed."
His waxy fingers brushed against the doll's surface.
The Oddsman's fingers traced the doll's surface, and I fought back a shiver.
Even as the game's lead developer, I'd never fully understood how this NPC worked.
He'd been a creation of another admin before my time, Kaosunokami.
I was never able to figure out how to patch him out.
"Such craftsmanship," he said.
"The threads that bind it speak of purpose beyond mere child's play."
"What would you trade for it?"
I kept my voice steady, though my heart hammered against my ribs.
The Amalgamation lurked just beyond the edge of my vision, a mass of shifting flesh waiting for its chance.
The merchant reached into his patchwork cloak.
The sound of jingling trinkets followed as he produced a small leather pouch.
"Three vials of blessed fire."
He held out the pouch.
"Rare finds from the Temple District.
Quite effective against... certain anatomical anomalies."
His eyes flickered toward the waiting horror.
I knew blessed fire; it was one of the few reliable weapons against Amalgamations.
The liquid would burn through corrupted flesh, seeking out the creature's core.
"Throw in information about that falling star, and we have a deal."
The Oddsman's face stretched into something approaching a smile.
"Northwest. Near the old cathedral.
But I wouldn't recommend searching there just yet. The sky's tears tend to attract... attention."
I handed over the doll and took the pouch.
The vials inside clinked together, their contents giving off a faint golden glow.
"A pleasure doing business," the Oddsman said, tucking the doll into his cloak.
"Though I suggest you make use of your purchase soon.
Your friend seems rather impatient."
The Amalgamation had crept closer, its bulk rippling with anticipation.
It knew I'd have to leave the Oddsman's protection eventually.
I gripped one of the vials, feeling its warmth through the glass.
"Don't suppose you'd be willing to give me an escort?"
"I'm afraid I have other matters to attend to."
The Oddsman's form seemed to blur at the edges.
"But do try to survive.
You're proving to be an interesting customer."
The Oddsman vanished between one blink and the next, leaving me alone with the horror.
The Amalgamation surged forward, its mass splitting into a dozen grasping tendrils.
[You take 15 damage]
[Your HP: 108/123]
I rolled away from the first wave of attacks, but a hand caught my shirt.
The limb yanked me toward the creature's bulk, where faces screamed in eternal agony.
[You take 12 damage]
[Your HP: 96/123]
I smashed the vial against the grasping limb.
The blessed fire spread across its surface like liquid gold, eating through corrupted flesh.
The Amalgamation's bulk rippled with pain, dozens of mouths opening in silent screams.
The hand released me as the fire burned through it.
I scrambled back, watching the flames spread across the horror's surface.
Where the blessed fire touched, flesh blackened and fell away, revealing glimpses of the core within.
[Amalgamation takes 35 damage]
[Amalgamation HP: 165/200]
The creature thrashed, its mass splitting and reforming as it tried to shed the burning portions.
A tendril whipped past my head, taking chunks out of the wall behind me.
[You take 8 damage]
[Your HP: 88/123]
I pulled out another vial.
The Amalgamation's bulk surged toward me, desperate to end the threat before I could use it.
Faces formed and dissolved across its surface, each twisted in rage and hunger.
"Eat this."
I hurled the vial directly into one of the screaming mouths.
The blessed fire exploded from within, golden light shining through the creature's flesh.
The Amalgamation's flesh bubbled and sloughed away as the blessed fire consumed it from within.
I caught glimpses of the core, a pulsating mass of fused organs and twisted bone.
The fire hadn't reached it yet.
I had to press the attack.
[Amalgamation takes 45 damage]
[Amalgamation HP: 120/200]
I darted forward, my rusty knife gripped tight.
A tendril whipped toward me, but I sliced through it, the blessed fire cauterizing the wound.
[You take 10 damage]
[Your HP: 78/123]
The creature's bulk heaved, trying to crush me under its weight.
I rolled away, feeling the ground shake as it slammed down.
[You take 5 damage]
[Your HP: 73/123]
I came up with my last vial of blessed fire.
The Amalgamation loomed over me, a mountain of writhing flesh and hatred.
I could see the core now, a beating mass of corruption at the center of its being.
I threw the vial.
It shattered against the core, golden flames erupting across the Amalgamation's insides.
The scream that followed defied description.
A thousand voices raised in agony, echoing from every mouth and face.
The creature's bulk convulsed, flesh sloughing away in great burning chunks.
[Amalgamation takes 60 damage]
[Amalgamation HP: 60/200]
I pressed forward, hacking at every limb and tendril that tried to stop me.
Blessed fire mixed with black ichor, splattering across the cobblestones.
[You take 15 damage]
[Your HP: 58/123]
The Amalgamation's movements slowed as more and more of its mass burned away.
I could see the core straining to hold itself together, a patchwork of pulsating meat and twitching limbs.
I leapt forward, my knife aimed at the heart of the horror.
The blade sank into the core with a sickening squelch.
Blessed fire raced along the metal, igniting what remained of the creature from within.
[Amalgamation takes 75 damage]
[Amalgamation HP: 0/200]
The Amalgamation collapsed, its bulk dissolving into smoldering piles of ash and bone.
I stood over the remains, breathing hard, my knife still buried in the charred ruin of its core.
[You have slain the Amalgamation]
[You have leveled up to Level 3]
[+10 Health]
[+3 to Damage]
[+1 to Armor]
[+500 Gold]
[Your health has been restored]