The D+ Rank Basilisk core was easily the size of a grapefruit. As Donald pulled it loose from the dead monster’s skull, the heavy, dark green crystal pulsed with a cool, earthy light.
"That’s a beauty," Evelyn said, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "We easily have over four thousand credits in our bags right now. We can buy you a real Vanguard chest plate and a proper healing kit."
Donald smiled, stowing the heavy core into his trench coat pocket. His new Level 6 stats made the heavy weight of the cores feel like nothing. He felt amazing. For the first time in his life, he was winning.
He closed his eyes for a brief second to scan the cavern with his [Lesser Mana Perception], just to make sure no more snakes were hiding in the shadows.
His smile vanished instantly.
The air didn’t feel like the wild, chaotic static of dungeon monsters. It felt sharp, organized, and deeply hostile. It felt like human mana. And there was a lot of it.
"Evelyn," Donald whispered, his voice completely tight. "We need to move. Now."
Before Evelyn could even ask why, a sharp thwack echoed through the cavern.
A steel-tipped crossbow bolt shot out from the dark tunnel they had just come from. It flew past Donald’s face, missing his nose by less than an inch, and shattered against the jagged cave wall behind him.
Donald spun around, his upgraded [Valuation Eye] instantly flaring to life.
The tunnel behind them was no longer empty. Dozens of glowing red signatures poured out of the darkness.
Men and women wearing the rusted, patched armor of the Iron Dogs stepped into the orange light of the cavern. There were at least thirty of them. They held heavy repeating crossbows, cheap magic wands glowing with unstable fire magic, and long, jagged spears.
Leading the pack was a tall, skinny man with a metal plate bolted over half his face.
[Target: Iron Dog Lieutenant (Level 10)]
[Hostility Level: Maximum.]
[Threat Assessment: High probability of ranged volley.]
"Well, well," the Lieutenant laughed, his voice echoing loudly in the enclosed space. "Silas sends his regards, you little slum rats. Did you really think paying a few credits to the Toll Collectors would keep us out? We own this sector."
Evelyn stepped up beside Donald, the Bloodhound’s Fang dropping into a low, deadly guard. The crimson blade began to hum. "Thirty street thugs. Even with crossbows, they are just meat, Donald."
"No," Donald said, his eyes darting frantically around the cavern. "It’s worse."
His [Valuation Eye] was feeding him too much information. Bright yellow trajectory lines were forming on the floor, predicting where the gang members were about to aim their crossbows. But there were other lines forming too. Hundreds of them.
And they were coming from the tunnel behind them.
The loud echoing voices of the thugs and the smell of the dead Basilisk’s blood had done exactly what Evelyn warned about earlier. It had woken up the deep dungeon.
A terrifying, chittering sound rose from the dark depths of the Iron-Vein. It sounded like a million metal knives scraping against stone.
"Evelyn, behind us!" Donald shouted.
Evelyn glanced over her shoulder. Pouring out of the lower tunnels was a literal tidal wave of black, shining armor. They were Iron-Scale Centipedes. D-Rank swarm monsters. Each one was the size of a large dog, with dozens of razor-sharp legs and snapping mandibles. There were easily fifty of them, swarming over the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, rushing straight toward the smell of fresh blood.
Donald and Evelyn were standing dead center in a narrow underground gorge.
To their left, thirty armed gang members raising their weapons.
To their right, a tidal wave of flesh-eating, armored insects.
The gang Lieutenant saw the centipedes pouring in and his face went pale, but his cruel smile didn’t fade. "Kill the rats!" he screamed. "Fire!"
Donald’s vision exploded with bright yellow lines. His upgraded [Valuation Eye] calculated the trajectories in a fraction of a second. Ten crossbow bolts and three fireballs were aiming directly for them. At the exact same moment, the front line of the centipede swarm leaped into the air, their jaws wide open.
They were completely boxed in.
"Donald, shield!" Evelyn yelled, gripping her crimson sword with both hands, preparing to deflect what she could.
Donald didn’t hesitate. He planted his heavy boots into the stone, raised the massive Type-3 Pile Bunker, and activated [Aura of the Vanguard].
The glowing yellow lines of incoming fire and the red circles of leaping monsters converged on their exact position.
The cavern erupted into absolute, deafening chaos.