And Just Like That I Obtained a System

Chapter 3 Part 1 When heroes fall the catalyst

Who dares disturb my slumber.

The voice didnt speak. It crawled. Each syllable oozed through the air like venom through veins, slow and deliberate, carrying the weight of something that had been sleeping in these depths for years beyond counting. Something that had waited in the dark, patient and hungry, while the world above forgot it existed.

The temperature dropped. Not gradually, instantly. As if winter itself had been exhaled into the chamber.

Roys barrier flickered. The translucent dome that had held back dozens of flame wreathed hounds suddenly seemed as fragile as morning frost under a burning sun.

The party stood frozen, their bodies locked in place by an instinct older than thought, older than reason, the preys paralysis when the apex predator finally opens its eyes.

The real threat had awakened. And it knew they were there.

Wh, what is that. Kims voice cracked like breaking glass. The words barely made it past his lips. His hands trembled so violently that the potion bottles in his pack clattered against each other in a frantic rhythm, clink clink clink, the sound of his terror made audible.

Did you guys hear that? His eyes were too wide, whites showing all around the iris, pupils contracted to pinpoints. Sweat didnt just bead on his forehead, it poured, running down his face in streams, soaking his collar, dripping from his chin.

Every muscle in his body screamed at him to run. But there was nowhere to go. His mind flashed back to their last fight, the one that had nearly killed them all, the one where hed felt deaths breath on his neck and somehow, impossibly, lived to tell about it. That was nothing compared to this.

Were going to die here. Were actually going to.

AHHHHHHH. I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE. Alices scream wasnt human. It was the sound of something breaking, not just her voice, but something deeper, something fundamental. Her sanity snapping like an over tightened string.

The last threads of her composure, already frayed and bleeding, finally shredded completely. I WANT TO GO HOME. MOM.

She collapsed to her knees so hard the impact should have hurt, but she didnt even notice. Her whole body convulsed with sobs that came from somewhere primal, somewhere beyond shame or pride or professional dignity. Tears carved clean tracks through the grime and blood coating her face, revealing pale skin underneath like archaeological layers of accumulated trauma.

I only wanted to be a Hunter. Not to be monster food. Not like this. Please not like this.

Her voice cracked and broke and dissolved into wordless keening. Her mana was gone, burned through in their desperate fight to survive the hounds. Her spirit was gone, shattered by the weight of impossibility pressing down on them.

Only the shell remained. A young woman whod dreamed of glory and adventure, now kneeling in dungeon filth, waiting for death to collect what it was owed. Her screams faded. Only the tears remained, falling silently, endlessly.

Damn. Blades voice was hollow. A dead mans voice. He stared at his knees, when had he fallen? He couldnt remember. Tears fell from his eyes without permission, each drop hitting the stone floor with the finality of a coffin nail being hammered home.

Is this how were going to die? Really? The question wasnt for anyone else. It was for himself. For whatever god might be listening. For the universe that had led him here, to this moment, to this end.

He didnt scream. Didnt shout. Didnt rage. The despair was too heavy for that. It pressed down on him like the entire weight of the dungeon itself, like the mountain above had decided to collapse on his chest one stone at a time, slowly crushing the life out of him while he watched it happen.

After everything. After surviving the incident three years ago. After watching my entire team die. After swearing Id never let it happen again. Is this really how it ends?

The tears kept falling. Silent. Bitter. Inevitable.

Kage didnt move. Didnt blink. Didnt breathe. He stood frozen like a statue carved from ice, eyes vacant and staring at nothing, seeing everything. His mind had fled this place, escaped to somewhere far from this dungeon, this nightmare, this moment where death had finally come to collect its due.

If I die here. The thought circled his mind like a shark in dark water. Luna. Lloyd. Their faces materialized in his memory with brutal clarity. Lunas sharp eyes that saw through every lie he told. Lloyds smile that was so much like Dads it hurt to look at sometimes.

Who will feed them? The question spawned a dozen more, each one tearing another piece from his soul. Who will pay the rent? Who will make sure Lloyd gets to school on time? Who will keep them safe? Who will tell them its going to be okay? Who will lie to them about how bad things really are?

Who will protect them? The questions had no answers. Just the cold, absolute certainty that without him, they would suffer. They would struggle. They would be alone in a world that had already taken their parents and would take everything else too if given the chance.

What happens to them when Im gone? His eyes showed no signs of life. Just the hollow stare of a man whod already accepted his death and was now mourning what it would cost the people he loved most. Just the empty gaze of someone who knew he was about to break a promise hed made to two kids who depended on him for everything.

Only Roy remained standing. His legs trembled like they might give out any second. His arms shook with the effort of maintaining the barrier. Blood didnt just trickle from his nose anymore, it flowed, painting his lips crimson, dripping onto his armor in steady drops that marked time like a countdown.

Every breath was agony. Every heartbeat cost him mana he didnt have left to spend. Every second he held the barrier was borrowed time hed be paying for with his life.

But he held. Because someone had to. Because if he fell into despair like the others, if he gave up even for a heartbeat they would all die. Right here. Right now. Torn apart by the hounds that waited outside their fragile sanctuary with infinite patience.

Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.

The mantra was the only thing keeping him conscious anymore. It kept his hands raised. Kept the barrier flickering. Kept death at bay for one more second, then another, then another.

Just one more second. They need one more second to pull themselves together. Just hold for one more.

Inside Roys shimmering barrier, the party huddled together like children afraid of the dark. Outside, dozens of horned hounds continued their relentless assault.

CRACK. A fissure split across the domes surface, spider webbing outward. CRACK. Another impact. Another fracture. CRACK. The sound of their protection breaking, piece by piece.

Each strike sent violent tremors through the translucent wall. The cracks spread like disease through healthy tissue, like ice breaking on a frozen lake in spring, like the physical manifestation of their hope shattering in real time.

The assault had been going on forever. An eternity of waiting to die. But Roys depleting mana reserves told a different story, twenty eight minutes. Twenty eight minutes of pure, desperate endurance. Twenty eight minutes of borrowed time that was about to run out.

The barrier wont hold much longer, Roy gasped, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of claws scraping against magic, of bodies slamming into the shield, of their impending death announcing itself with every impact.

Outside the dome, flame wreathed hounds circled endlessly. Their movements had changed. They werent frenzied anymore. They werent mindless. They circled with purpose. With intelligence. With the patience of predators who knew their prey was already dead, it just hadnt stopped moving yet.

Some slammed their bodies against the magical wall with calculated force, testing its structural integrity. Others raked it methodically with superheated claws, searching for weaknesses, finding them, exploiting them. And a few simply waited. Patient as death itself. Patient as the thing in the dark that had just woken up.

They knew that eventually, inevitably, the barrier would fall. The prey would be exposed. And the feast would begin.

Everyone held onto the fragile hope that these creatures would eventually give up. Grow bored. Find easier prey elsewhere. But deep down, in that cold, honest place where delusions go to die, they all knew better. These things werent leaving. They were waiting.

How are there so many of them? Kims voice was small, childlike, as if making the question quiet enough might make the answer less terrible. He clutched his remaining potion with white knuckles, the glass slick with his sweat, holding it so tight it was a miracle the vial didnt shatter.

Blade gripped his sword despite the exhaustion that made his arms feel like lead weights attached to his shoulders. He watched the cracks spreading across their protection with the detached fascination of a man watching his own execution.

Yeah, its like they were waiting to ambush us. His jaw tightened until his teeth ached. Hey, guys. Listen up.

His voice carried the forced calm of a leader trying to maintain composure while drowning. When this thing fails, and it will fail, we make a run for the exit. No heroics. No looking back. We run, and we dont stop until were out of this hell or dead.

The unspoken truth hung in the air, were not making it to the exit.

Kage stared through the barrier at the writhing mass of predators beyond, and the cold truth settled in his stomach like a stone sinking in dark water. There is no escape. Not from this many. Not when were this exhausted. This is where we die.

His eyes showed no signs of life anymore. Just emptiness.

YOU ALL SHUT YOUR TRAPS. The shout cut through the despair like a blade through silk. Every head snapped toward Roy.

He was breathing heavily, blood streaming from his nose and mouth now, his whole body shaking with the effort of maintaining the barrier while simultaneously refusing to collapse. But his eyes. His eyes burned. Fierce. Unbreakable. Defiant. Like a fire that refused to be extinguished no matter how much darkness pressed in around it.

What are you all doing, huh? His voice cracked but the fury behind it was solid as steel. Did you think being a Hunter was a joke? Did you think youd die peacefully in your sleep? That youd grow old and die from some illness if you chose this life?

He slammed his fist against the inside of his own barrier. The impact sent ripples across its surface. Cracks spread further. He didnt care.

BLADE. Roy pointed at their leader with a trembling, blood slick finger. Yeah, YOU, Blade. Remember when we entered the dungeon? You said we must focus, this may be an ERank dungeon but you can die with a tiny mistake. DID YOU FORGET THAT?

Blade flinched as if hed been physically struck.

I dont have to spell everything out here. Roys voice was raw now, stripped of everything but desperate, honest truth. I know this guy, whoever he is, whatever he is, might be strong. But if we give up now, were going to die. Thats not a maybe. Thats a guarantee.

He took a shuddering breath that sounded like it hurt. We have one percent chance right now. One percent. But if we fight, if we refuse to go quietly, we might increase it to two. Its better than dying with regrets.

His words hung in the air like a lifeline thrown to drowning men. This barrier wont hold up, itll shatter any moment. And well die if we dont do anything.

He looked at each of them in turn, Kim, Blade, Kage, Alice, his gaze equal parts challenge and plea. I dont have to explain everything to you. His voice dropped, became something colder, harder, final. If youre not fighting, Im gonna fight alone. And when this is over if we happen to survive I dont want to see you call yourselves Hunters anymore.

Roy. Kim whispered the name like a prayer. Something stirred in his chest. Something that had been buried under the weight of terror and despair. Pride, maybe. Or shame. Or the last stubborn ember of the courage that had made him choose this life in the first place.

The ground began to shake. Not from the hounds. From something deeper. Rocks crumbled from the ceiling, crashing down around them like the dungeon itself was coming apart at the seams, like the world was ending in slow motion.

The barrier flickered violently. Once. Twice. The light dimmed to almost nothing.

GUYS. Roys shout was desperate, pleading, begging them not to make him die alone.

Kage snapped. Life flooded back into his eyes like someone had flipped a switch. His mind crashed back into his body with painful clarity.

What, what was I doing? The fog of despair lifted, burned away by a sudden, fierce realization.

Sorry, Roy. His voice was hoarse, rough, but steady. Alive. Lost my cool for a sec.

Roy tilted his head, looked at Kage through blood streaked vision, and smiled. Tired. Bloody. Genuine. Then he turned back to face the hounds.

Hey, guys. Keep your cool. His voice was softer now, almost gentle despite the circumstances. Leader, be that leader I look up to.

Blade had been listening to every word Roy said. Every. Single. Word. But he couldnt move. Couldnt find the strength. The despair was still there, still heavy, still pressing down on him like hands around his throat, choking the life out of him one second at a time.

Until one phrase cut through the darkness like a knife through a veil, its better than dying with regrets.

Something inside him cracked. Not breaking. Opening. Memories flooded back. Not the good ones. The other ones. Three years ago. The dungeon. His old team. Their faces as they died one by one while he ran. The way their screams echoed in his dreams every single night since. The weight of being the sole survivor, carrying their memories like stones in his pockets, drowning in guilt that never quite washed away.

I ran then. I survived by running. I wont run again. Not this time. Never again.

He forced himself to his feet. His legs shook. His whole body protested. But he stood. He gripped his sword with both trembling hands and raised it despite the exhaustion that made his arms feel like pushing through concrete.

Roy. His voice was thick with emotion, grief and determination mixed into something sharp and unbreakable. Sorry, buddy. Ill give you a hand.

No. Kim stepped forward, jaw set with grim determination, eyes clear for the first time since that voice had spoken. Well all give you a hand.

One by one, they stood. Kage. Kim. Blade. Battered. Bleeding. Exhausted. But standing. Together. Ready to face death on their feet rather than their knees.

To be continued.