Darkness bites the light the moment the arch seals shut behind me. For three breaths I see nothing. I keep the sword point forward and count, same way I used to steady nerves in a blind hallway breach. One, two, three. A faint green glow seeps from thin veins of moss that stripe the tunnel walls. Enough to stop me from tripping.
The floor slopes down in long slabs patterned like reptile scales. Water drips steady somewhere ahead, a slow tin-roof rhythm. I angle the blade low and start walking. Every step leaves a damp print. Drag marks run beside me, grooves as wide as my wrist, and the edges shine wet. Something heavy crawled this way not long ago.
Water glints ahead. A shallow pool covers the tunnel floor, its surface cracked like broken glass. My stomach tightens. I crouch, dip two fingers. Warm. I start to stand when a dark shape in the middle twitches. It splits. Two squat lizard things scuttle straight for me, claws ticking on the stone. They are bulldog-big, bodies low, legs hooked like scissors.
My throat dries. The first leaps. I swing too early; the blade only clips its shell. Panic jerks through me. The skitterling lands, hisses, springs again. I duck, shove the sword up with all I have. Steel crunches through its gut. Warm slime splashes my sleeve. The creature drops and bursts into pale mist that zips into my chest.
[System Notification]
Kill confirmed: Mud Skitterling
Reward: +1 Shard
The second one rams my boot and bites. Pain spikes. I kick, slip on the wet stone, nearly fall. Heart pounding, I jam the sword down, miss, slash again. The edge finally catches its neck. It thrashes, then melts the same way, leaving only ragged breaths in my lungs and another shard count.
[System Notification]
Kill confirmed: Mud Skitterling
Reward: +1 Shard
The pool falls quiet. I shift the sword into my left hand and walk on, pulse still racing. With every step I roll the hilt, feeling the weight settle. This blade cuts cleaner than that warped baton ever could. One good edge turns guesswork into muscle memory, and that edge just saved my skin. I breathe slow, remind myself it is normal to shake. Five years in a cage, the hardest swing I threw was at a bully in the chow line. Now I am knee-deep in monster mud. Anyone would panic. The trick is to breathe, keep moving, let the sword do its job.
The tunnel narrows into a single stone bridge that spans a slow black canal. I test the first slab with my boot. Solid enough. Two steps later a heavy clunk rises behind me. Carved jaws clamp shut over the entrance, teeth of stone locking me in. No choice but forward.
Halfway across, a cracked chest slumps against the wall, half drowned in sludge. Habit pushes me closer. I pry the lid with the sword tip and spot a stitched hide armguard inside. Rough but useful. I slide it onto my forearm and flex.
Red text flashes across my sight.
[System Error]
Loot assignment denied. Personal inventory flag: disabled.
The armguard crumbles to pale shards that streak into my chest. Shard count bumps by one. A second line blinks.
[Anomaly detected: subject Sealed Case]
I grit my teeth and speak the one command that always answers. "Status."
I focus on the title line. It brightens, like a link you can open. One thought, almost a mental click, and a small box unfolds.
Sealed Case
No one knows your full story. Not even the System.
This title marks you as a narrative irregularity.
Some mechanics may behave unpredictably around you.
I stare at the shard count. Eleven pieces of mystery money. If every bit of gear melts into more of these, how am I supposed to suit up? No tray armor, no hide guards.. just dice rolls from the prize screen. That feels like walking into a gunfight with lottery tickets.
The word Shards glows faint. I focus on it. A new box slides open.
Shards
Personal System currency.
Earned through confirmed kills or anomaly conversions.
Spendable in Personal Shop.
Shop opens only when you are out of combat.
Daily rotation: yes.
I shut the info box and mutter, "Better be a shop worth spending on." The tunnel is calm now, nothing hunting me. Worth a test.
"Shop."
A fresh panel lights up, split into five tabs.
[Personal Shop] Daily reset in 22h 51m
Shards: 11
Tabs: Weapons | Armor | Consumables | Materials | Utility
Curious, I tap Consumables. Three cards slide into view.
I tap the Consumables tab and three cards settle into view, each glowing soft green.
First card: Quick-Mend Wrap, cost five shards, stops bleeding and lifts a bit of health.
Second card: Stimleaf Packet, two leaves bundled together for three shards, good for clearing weak poison.
Third card: Torch Beetle Jar, three shards, promises a steady white glow for a full hour.
All simple, all useful, and priced to empty most of my purse if I am not careful.
I back out of Consumables and thumb Armor. Three new cards drop in.
First card: Stitched Hide Armguard, five shards, covers one forearm, shrugs off light cuts.
Second card: Mud-Plated Vest, ten shards, thin chest plate, dulls minor poison.
Third card: Reinforced Boots, four shards, rubber soles, better grip on slime.
I tug at what is left of my prison shirt. One good swipe and it would tear the rest of the way. The vest costs almost everything, the boots leave change but no real armor, the armguard covers just a strip of skin. I shake my head. "Nope, save it." Shards feel safer than half-measures.
I close the shop window and head down the bridge. Ten steps in, the floor tilts into a spiral ramp. Moss light fades to a dull smear as the air cools. I keep the sword ready while the tunnel curls lower and lower.
At the bottom a stone arch waits. The second I cross, white text pops.
[System Notification]
Croc Nest – Floor 2
The chamber is a flooded square, knee-deep water and slick tiles. Three Croc Bruisers break the surface at once. Each is a walking tank: barrel chest, scale plates as thick as dinner pans, jaws wide enough to bite a door in half. Level-three tags glow above their heads.
Bulky, slow turn, hits will hurt, I tell myself.
The nearest Bruiser charges, water flying off its back. I sidestep, but its shoulder clips my ribs.
[System Alert]
Health below 75%!
Pain flares. I slash for its flank where the plates thin. The blade carves a groove, green blood spurts. The monster bellows and swings its tail. I duck; the tail whooshes over my head and smashes a tile column to rubble.
Second Bruiser rumbles in, jaws snapping. I launch forward, drive my sword under its chin, and shovel upward. Steel punches through the roof of its mouth and into the brain. The beast shudders, then bursts into mist.
[System Notification]
Kill confirmed: Croc Bruiser
Reward: +3 Shards
First Bruiser spins slower now, hurt but not done. It lunges; I pivot, hamstring its rear leg, then stab deep behind the front plate. It thrashes once and dissolves into light.
[System Notification]
Kill confirmed: Croc Bruiser
Reward: +3 Shards
The third Bruiser crashes straight into my chest before I can reset. Air leaves my lungs. Teeth rake my shoulder.
[System Alert]
Health below 50 %!
I stumble back, vision swimming. The monster advances, mouth dripping slime. I fake a retreat, then dive at its exposed belly. One upward thrust, all my weight behind it. The blade sinks to the hilt, cuts soft tissue. I rip sideways. The Bruiser roars, gurgles, and breaks apart.
[System Notification]
Kill confirmed: Croc Bruiser
Reward: +3 Shards
White bars fill across my view, EXP surging.
[System Notification]
Level Up
Current Level: 4
All core stats increased by 0.5
Unused Attribute Points: 2
Heat bursts from my chest and rolls through muscle like molten wax. Ripped skin knits, ribs slide back into place with sharp clicks, and the bite on my shoulder seals until only pink lines remain. I breathe deep: no stab of pain, just fresh strength humming under the bruises.
I steady the sword and wade through what is left of the flooded hall. Tiles give way to a short landing where another chest rests against the wall. The latch is cracked, so I push the lid open with the blade tip.
Inside waits a pair of swamp-green boots, trim and sturdy. Bogskin Waders, Rare, poison resist hovers above them for half a second. I reach in, but the moment my fingers close, red text flashes.
[System Error]
Loot assignment denied. Personal inventory flag: disabled.
The boots crumble into pale shards that zip into me.
[System Notification]
Anomaly conversion complete
Shards +3
Count rises to twenty-three. I click my tongue, shove the empty box aside, and keep moving.
Ahead, a wide stone doorway blocks the passage. Carvings of coiled reptiles frame two solid panels. White text flares across the surface.
[System Notification]
Croc Nest – Boss Chamber
Enter? [ Y ] [ N ]
[System Notification]
Name: Charles Mercer
Level: 4
Class: N/A
Title: Sealed Case
Shards: 23
Stats
Vitality: 2.5
Strength: 3.5
Dexterity: 2.5
Luck: 2.5
Unused Attribute Points: 2