Jack moved deeper into the dungeon without changing pace, but his approach had shifted in a way that was difficult to notice from the outside. Earlier, he had reacted to what came at him. Now, he was reading the space ahead of time, letting Blood Sense guide his path before anything entered his direct line of sight. The difference wasn’t dramatic, but it was enough to reduce unnecessary risk.
The corridor gradually widened as he advanced, though the structure became less uniform. The walls were no longer consistent in shape, and the ground dipped unpredictably, forcing him to adjust his footing more carefully. It felt less like a constructed path and more like something that had formed around repeated movement over time.
That alone suggested something important.
This section wasn’t just a passage.
It was used.
Jack slowed slightly, not out of hesitation but to refine his awareness. Blood Sense extended outward, and the signals it returned were more defined than before. There were multiple presences ahead, but they weren’t scattered like the earlier creatures. They held positions, each one occupying a specific part of the space as if the area had been divided.
Territory.
That meant coordination.
He shifted his grip on the scythe, adjusting his stance before moving forward again.
The first creature came into view as he entered a broader section of the tunnel. It was similar in size to the Tunnel Stalker from before, but its posture was different. Lower. Tighter. It wasn’t wandering or reacting late—it was already prepared.
Jack didn’t rush the engagement. He focused instead.
“Identify.”
[Tunnel Reaver — Lv.6]
Type: Pack Hunter
Traits: Coordinated movement, high agility
Weakness: Lower torso, spine
That was enough.
The creature moved as soon as he stepped fully into its range, but it wasn’t alone. A second presence shifted to his right, just outside his direct line of sight, moving to close the angle.
So that was the pattern.
Not random aggression.
Positioning.
Jack adjusted immediately, stepping forward instead of backward and angling slightly toward the second signal. That forced both creatures to commit earlier than intended, breaking whatever coordination they had been setting up.
The first lunged.
He met it with a controlled swing of the scythe, the longer reach allowing him to strike before it fully closed the distance. The blade caught across its side, and the bleed effect took hold almost instantly, slowing its follow-up movement.
The second came in a fraction of a second later.
Faster.
Jack shifted his weight and pulled the scythe back just enough to redirect, catching the second creature across the lower torso instead of committing to a full follow-through on the first. The hit wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to disrupt its timing.
That was what mattered.
He kept moving.
Standing still meant getting surrounded.
The two creatures adjusted quickly, circling rather than charging directly again, but the earlier strikes had already changed the flow of the fight. The bleed effect reduced their ability to sustain pressure, and Jack used that to keep control of distance, stepping in only when he had a clear advantage and pulling back before they could counter cleanly.
The fight lasted longer than the previous one, but it never slipped out of his control.
One fell first, its movements slowing until it couldn’t keep up. The second lasted longer, but without support, its coordination broke down into predictable patterns.
Jack ended it cleanly.
He stepped back, breathing steady, and let Blood Sense expand again.
More signals.
Further ahead.
Stronger.
He didn’t move immediately.
Instead, he pulled up his status again, not because he needed to but because this was the point where small inefficiencies would start compounding.
[STATUS]
Name: Jack Reed
Level: 7
Race: Human (F-Grade)
Class: Bloodborne Warrior (F-Grade)
Health had stabilized further since his last allocation, and the added Vitality was doing its job. The wounds still existed, but they no longer threatened to slow him down mid-fight unless he made a mistake.
That was the important part.
Mistakes mattered more than raw numbers now.
He closed the interface and shifted his focus forward again.
The tunnel ahead narrowed briefly before opening into a larger chamber, one that felt more structured than the previous areas. The ground leveled out, and the walls curved in a way that suggested a central point further inside.
Jack slowed as he approached the entrance.
Blood Sense sharpened again, and this time the signals were different.
Not just stronger.
Layered.
Multiple presences, but one stood out above the rest—not in movement, but in density. It didn’t shift like the others. It didn’t reposition.
It held.
Anchored.
Jack focused.
“Identify.”
There was a slight delay this time, as if the system took longer to process what he was looking at.
[Core Guardian — Lv.9]
Type: Bound Entity
Traits: High durability, area control, sustained aggression
Weakness: Variable
Level nine.
Higher than anything he had faced so far.
Jack let out a slow breath, not out of tension but to settle his pacing.
This wouldn’t be like the sub-core.
The space alone made that clear.
Less room to maneuver. More defined engagement area. Likely additional pressure from the surrounding entities.
Which meant—
He needed to control the start of the fight.
Not react to it.
He adjusted his grip on the scythe, testing the balance once more out of habit, then rolled his shoulders to loosen the residual stiffness from earlier.
No rushing.
No hesitation.
Just preparation.
Jack stepped forward into the chamber.