APEX CONDUIT

The pit

Old Man Haru led me through the Logistics District's underbelly.

I'd lived here my whole life, but I'd never seen these tunnels. Hidden doors behind dumpsters. Passages carved into the foundations of factories. A whole world beneath the world, invisible to anyone who didn't know where to look.

"Stay close," Haru muttered. "And keep your beasts quiet."

Scritch was perched on my shoulder, his dark eyes scanning every shadow. Bruiser walked at my heel, his limp barely noticeable now. The Essence I'd channeled into him had accelerated his healing. He was still scarred, still mangy, but there was strength in his frame that hadn't been there before.

We descended deeper. The air grew thick with smoke and sweat and something else—the metallic tang of blood.

Then we reached the Pit.

It was massive. A cavern carved out of the earth, lit by flickering Aether-lamps that cast everything in sickly green. Crowds of low-ranked workers packed the stands—grinning, shouting, waving betting slips. Down below, in the arena itself, two creatures tore at each other with primal fury.

I watched a [Stoneback Lizard] crush a [Razorbeak] between its jaws. The crowd roared.

"Welcome to the Pit," Haru said. "Where the forgotten come to forget."

A man approached us. Slick. Overweight. Dressed in clothes that were too expensive for the Undercity but too cheap for anywhere else. His smile was wide and fake.

"Haru," he said. "Haven't seen you in months. Thought you finally died."

"Not yet, Silas. Brought you a customer."

Silas's eyes slid to me. Then to Scritch. Then to Bruiser. His smile widened.

"Two beasts? What's your class, kid?"

"Beast Conduit."

Silas laughed. A wet, wheezing sound. "Never heard of it. But I like new things." He rubbed his hands together. "First fight's free. Win, and you get a cut. Lose..." He shrugged. "You owe me."

I nodded.

"Good. You fight in ten minutes. Don't die."

The arena was smaller than it looked from the stands. A circle of packed earth, stained with old blood. The crowd pressed in on all sides, their voices a wall of noise.

I stood at one edge, Scritch on my shoulder, Bruiser at my side.

My opponent was already waiting.

A [Sewer Crawler]. E-rank. A monstrous centipede the size of a horse, its body segmented and armored, its mandibles dripping with venom. It had dozens of legs, each one tipped with a claw that could shred flesh.

The crowd laughed when they saw me.

"Two little beasts against that? Kid's dead!"

"Look at the rat! Is that supposed to be a fighter?"

"I'll give him thirty seconds. Tops."

I ignored them.

I reached for the bond.

Scritch's mind touched mine—eager, focused, ready. Bruiser's presence was steadier, a solid weight of loyalty and determination.

We fight together, I thought. We win together.

The announcer's voice boomed through the cavern.

"FIGHT!"

The Crawler surged forward.

I didn't move. I didn't need to.

Scritch. Left flank. Distract.

Scritch vanished—[Shadow Step]—reappearing behind the Crawler. He bit down on one of its rear legs. The Crawler screeched and whipped around, its mandibles snapping at empty air.

Bruiser. Front. Hold.

Bruiser charged. He didn't try to dodge the Crawler's attacks—he absorbed them. [Iron Hide] hardened his skin, and the venomous mandibles skittered off his shoulders.

The Crawler was confused. Torn between two targets.

Scritch. Underbelly. Now.

Scritch darted beneath the Crawler's segmented body. His teeth found the soft flesh between the armor plates.

He bit down on a venom sac.

The sac ruptured.

The Crawler screamed—a horrible, wet sound—as its own poison flooded its system. It thrashed. Convulsed. Died.

Silence.

Then the crowd erupted.

I stood there, breathing hard, my beasts flanking me. Scritch was covered in venom and blood. Bruiser was limping again, but he was standing.

We'd won.

Silas paid me in a small pouch of credits. Enough for two weeks of Mira's medicine.

"Not bad, kid," he said, eyeing me with new interest. "Not bad at all. You come back, you hear? I've got bigger fights. Bigger money."

I nodded. "I'll be back."

I pulled up my hood and adjusted the mask I'd bought from a vendor on the way in—a simple cloth covering the lower half of my face. "The Beast Tamer." That was the name I'd given the announcer. The name that would spread through the Undercity.

No one needed to know who I really was.

As I turned to leave, I noticed a figure in the shadows near the tunnel exit.

A mask. A cloak. Watching.

Our eyes met.

The figure disappeared.

I stared at the empty space for a long moment. Then I shook my head and kept walking.

One problem at a time