THE GHOUL RISING

CHAPTER 7 — BEHIND THE KEY

The raid group gathers at dusk.

Brixen talks to his hired muscle. The same bikers from earlier. When they see me approaching, they all take a step back. Several look at the ground.

Brixen glances between us, confused. "What's going on?"

The bald guy I punched earlier shakes his head rapidly when I make eye contact. The others follow suit.

"Nothing," I say innocently. "Just establishing an understanding."

We move through the checkpoints, showing passes to guards who barely glance at us. Then we're outside the walls again, picking our way through streets still littered with infected.

It takes special skills and experiences to know how to maneuver them. That's the gift raiders know how to do best.

They still have to fight through them, but the infected's eyes slide right past me like I'm not there.

We move carefully. Keeping formation, until we're clear of the immediate danger zone. That's when I slow down, letting the group pull ahead. One by one, they disappear around a corner until I'm alone.

Perfect.

I duck into a ruined building and pull out the key. The purple screen appears immediately.

MYST KEY DETECTED.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACTIVATE?

"Yes."

EXTEND YOUR ARM.

INSERT KEY AT ANY ANGLE.

I hold out my arm. The air in front of me ripples, like I've thrown a stone into still water.

The ripples spread outward, surrounding the key while It hangs in the air. Waiting.

My next line of action is to turn the key.

The ripples explode outward, expanding rapidly. The air tears open like fabric, revealing darkness beyond. The opening grows until it's large enough to walk through. A doorway to somewhere else.

I expected a treasure chest. Maybe a vault. Something small and contained.

Instead, I'm looking at what appears to be an abandoned subway station. Tiles line the walls, covered in grime and graffiti. Broken lights dangle from the ceiling. The tracks stretch into darkness.

"This doesn't look like a treasure room."

I step through anyway. The portal closes behind me with a sound like a sigh.

The station is cold and damp. Water drips somewhere in the darkness. My footsteps echo off the tiles as I move forward, trying to get my bearings.

Until I hear a low growl, resonating from deeper in the tunnel.

Something moves in the shadows ahead. Eyes catch what little light there is, reflecting it back yellow and dead.

It emerges slowly, dragging itself into view.

A monitor lizard. But massive. Easily the size of a car. Its scales are gray and mottled, skin hanging loose like it's been dead for days.

Above its head, text appears:

INFECTED SENTINEL - TIER SEVEN.

STRENGTH: SIX.

AGILITY: NINE.

DURABILITY: FIVE.

OVERALL LEVEL: FIVE

My stomach sinks. Tier seven. Every stat higher than mine. Way higher.

WARNING: ENEMY SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE YOUR LEVEL.

SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: TWENTY-THREE PERCENT.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: FLEE.

The creature's lips peel back, revealing rows of teeth designed to tear and hold. Its tongue flicks out, tasting the air. Tasting me.

Then it lunges.

I dive to the side as jaws snap closed where I was standing. The impact of its body hitting the ground cracks tiles. It turns with surprising speed for something so large and comes at me again.

"Give me the knife!" I shout at the screen.

The system manifests. And the blade appears in my hand.

It's small, barely bigger than a kitchen knife, with a handle that feels cheap.

I run.

My enhanced agility letting me stay barely ahead of its snapping jaws. But this is a subway station. Limited space. Nowhere to go but forward or back.

The creature knows this. That's why it's herding me.

My back hits a wall. Dead end.

The sentinel approaches slowly now, savoring the moment. Its massive head fills my vision, those yellow eyes fixed on me with cold, predatory intelligence.

I grip the knife tighter, knowing it's useless against that armored hide.

The sentinel opens its jaws wide.

And I have nowhere left to run.

I dart left as it jaws snap where I was. Then roll right when it's claws rake the air above me.

Its tail whips around, catches my ribs and slams metal into concrete.

Pain explodes through my side.

I look up to see rows of teeth descending.

I throw myself sideways and thrust the knife forward. It catches the creature's neck, sliding through it like paper.

Black blood sprays. The sentinel crashes into the wall.

I wait to see if it will get up. Doesn't get up.

I stare at the knife. "That worked?"

EXPERIENCE GAINED: PLUS FORTY-FIVE

INFECTED SENTINEL DEFEATED

Another growl echoes from deeper in the tunnel. Then another. And another.

Yellow eyes appear in the darkness. Dozens of them.

From what I counted, five more sentinels emerge.

They waste no time, lunging all at once.

I dodge the first, slip past snapping jaws. The second catches my shoulder. It's claws tear my fabric. I slash at the third to drive it back.

One is far from the pack and I target it.

Arching the knife toward its head. It catches the blade between its teeth. Shakes violently, and flings me across the tunnel.

I hit the ground hard. The knife clatters into darkness.

One leaps over me, lands in my path. Another charges from behind.

I'm trapped with no knife. With nothing.

The one behind lunges. I spin, dodging it's attacks. Others followed.

I wonder which skill I should levels up next? Seeing my situation, I'll need more strength, or durability.

After a brief guessing, I went for strength.

I grab the jaw of one that lunges towards me and my strength tears it free. Then, I drive my fist into its eye socket. And watch it go still.

INFECTED SENTINEL DEFEATED.

EXPERIENCE GAINED: PLUS FORTY-FIVE

I go for the rest, following the same dance routine until they were all dead. And then, immediately dump the experiences on all skills.

DURABILITY: ZERO TO SIX

STRENGTH: FOUR TO SIX

AGILITY: FOUR TO SIX

INTELLIGENCE: ZERO TO SIX

THAUMATURGY: ZERO TO SIX

The—CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE LEVEL UP—messages kept popping up until it finally shows

OVERALL LEVEL: LEVEL SIX

Power floods through me.

More spill from the darkness, all charging straight at me.

I dive for the knife, fingers close around the handle. Jaws snap at my legs. I roll, come up swinging and blade cuts clean through their front legs.

They all collapse. I finish them off with each thrust to their skulls.

It looks like if I finish off one, two replace them.

More circle, but now, they are being cautious. One feints left while the other goes right.

I focus on the real attacks by ducking under any that lunge and drive the knife upward into their bellies. I hold on through the thrashing. Twist until they stop.

The last one tries to escape. I chase it down as fast as I can and buries the knife at the back of its neck.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE LEVEL UP!

YOU ARE NOW LEVEL SEVEN.

I collapse against the wall, breathing hard while I allocate the experience carefully this time.

INTELLIGENCE: SIX TO EIGHT

That's when the sentinels' levels change from tier seven to eight.

More growls from the darkness. Guess they don't give up, but what I see next shocks me.

These weren't sentinels. They were black Panthers.

They slink out. Infected. Twisted. Fungal growth on their spines. At least a dozen.

The system warns.

INFECTED PANTHER - TIER SEVEN

STRENGTH: TWELVE.

AGILITY: TEN.

DURABILITY: FIFTEEN.

OVERALL LEVEL: TEN.

Right before they attack.

First one lunges. I sidestep, bringing the knife down on its spine. Second tries to flank but I anticipated it. I spin to meet its charge.

Same dance. Dodge. Strike. And move.

And they keep coming. Pouring from the shadows.

I stop counting after fifty, maybe sixty.

My knife work becomes surgical, like I know exactly where to aim at and the angles cause maximum damage until finally, the last panther falls.

I'm heaving.

COMBAT COMPLETE.

INFECTED DEFEATED: TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN.

CALCULATING EXPERIENCES..........

My legs give out and I slump once again against the wall, sliding down to sit among the corpses. Every part of me aches. My arms feel like lead and let's the knife slips from my grip, clattering on the tiles.

How long have I been fighting? It feels like hours. Maybe it is.

The system pops up.

ESTIMATED EXPERIENCES EARNED: TWENTY THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY.

My eyes widen. It's that much?

I pull up my stats to start leveling up until everything's balanced at fifteen now, making my overall fifteen sit at fifteen.

I'm still have no idea what both intelligence and thaumaturgy stats do. Especially thaumaturgy.

The screen updates.

TRIAL COMPLETE.

PORTAL ACCESS RESTORED.

YOU MAY EXIT.

'I should leave this place before something else shows up' I thought but something catches my eye.

From the panther corpses. Each one has something glowing inside, visible through tears in their flesh. A soft red light, pulsing gently.

I crawl to the nearest one and reach inside the wound. My fingers close around something smooth and hard. When I pull it out, I'm holding a gem.

It's beautiful. Deep red, like crystallized blood, catching what little light there is and refracting it into patterns which is about the size of my thumb.

'Its warm.'

I look at the other corpses. All of them have the same glow.

"Is this what the raiders are after?" I whisper. "Gems like these?"

I start collecting them, moving from one body to another. The gem are identical with the same red, warm, valuable-looking.

My pocket soon filled up and there's still more to pick.

How am I supposed to carry all of these? I've barely collected half and I'm out of space. Will the portal bring me back here if I leave and return? Or is this a one-time access?

That's when the screen pulses again.

SHOP AVAILABLE

A new icon appears.

I tap it and a menu unfolds, showing pages and pages of items. Most are locked, requiring stats I don't have. But the "Basic Items" section is available.

I scroll through until I come across an item.

"Storage pouch." I read, glancing at their prices. The small one requires fifty experience, the medium is a hundred experience while the large one is two hundred.

I contemplate on which one I should go for.

The large pouch will draw attention if anyone sees it, but there are so many gems left to collect...

I select the large pouch nevertheless.

PURCHASE CONFIRMED.

TWO HUNDRED EXPERIENCE DEDUCTED.

The pouch materializes in my hand. It's made of dark leather, seemingly ordinary, with a simple drawstring top. But when I open it and look inside, the interior seems to extend far deeper than the exterior dimensions should allow.

I test it by dropping in a gem. It falls and I hear it land, but when I reach in, my arm goes in past the elbow before I touch bottom.

"Perfect."

I resume collecting, working methodically through the corpses. The pouch swallows gem after gem without getting heavier or fuller. By the time I'm done, I've collected over two hundred of them.

The tunnel extends deeper into darkness. More infected might be waiting down there. More gems to collect.

I start walking. My knife is ready and my stats are high. At least.

The pull of potential treasure is too strong to resist.

But after twenty minutes of walking, the tunnel remains empty. No infected. Which means, no gems. Just endless darkness and the drip of water.

"It's not worth the hold." I grumble. "I'm sure you don't want me to engage in another fight till it suits you."

The system pulse, saying.

EXCELLENT! YOU ARE CATCHING ON FAST.

I decide turn back. I knew it will be a wasted of time.

The portal ripples into existence when I approach the entry point. I step through and it seals behind me with a soft pop.

I'm back in the ruined building.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hear someone's voice, only to look up ahead to see a young lady frowning at me.

Did she see me come out of the portal? She approaches me, arms wrapped before her chest.

"I asked you a question." she insists.

"I—um.." I pause. What am I going to say?

She closes her eyes, giving a sigh of disbelief. "This is why I don't like organizing newbies." and glances at me again. "I need you to carry as much as you can, we need to hurry back before they come back."

'Before who comes back?' I want to ask, until someone screams, alerting the both of us.

We dash out to see raiders sprint past us, pure terror on their faces. Behind them, visible even in the growing darkness, is a horde of infected. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. And they were moving straight towards us.

I watch as one carrier trips and struggles to get up due to the overload. Unfortunately, the horde flows over him in seconds. His screams cut off abruptly.

They're heading straight for the east gate and if they reach it, they'll draw every infected in the area. The guards will have to open fire and the noise will draw even more. It'll be another massacre.

I have to stop the raiders. By making them change course.

"Let's go." she commands, moving before I know what's happening. I totally forgot that she's still here.

"Stop!" I shout. "You can't go to the gate!"

"Who is the one in charge here?" she ask, making me dumbfounded. "I guess so. Move it!"

"You'll trap everyone inside!" I run behind her. "We need to lead them away!"

We meet the rest and I keep repeating the same thing with hope that someone will listen.

"I just want to get away from them!" Another raider gasps, lungs heaving.

The horde is gaining. I can hear the clicking now, that horrible sound that makes my skin crawl. We have maybe two minutes before they catch us.

One thing I have notice is that the infected move faster when they are in a horde like there's this invisible synergy within them.

I grab a female carrier. "Do you at least have traps? Explosives? Anything?"

"We used them all!"

"I have some!" A man calls from the back. "Three grenades!"

"Give them to me." I hold out my hand.

He hesitates, then tosses them over.

"Everyone go into a building and lock it!" I point at the buildings lining the road. "Remember not to make a sound."

"Don't try to be a hero," the woman says.

"Believe me, I'm not."

I'm doing all these for points. After all, they need a scapegoat anyway. And I'm willing to be one this time around.

Since the infected don't attack me, my safe bet is to go in their midst and set the grenades.

I charge and in matter of seconds, find myself in their midst. I begin to work on them, denoting the grenades until there's only a few left, which is easier to finish off.

The systems pulse with its congratulations, showing the experiences I have gained.

I look back to see their jaws drop. Great! How will I explain that to them?