The classroom-turned-dungeon reeked of iron and terror. Takashi's screams still echoed in the silence that followed. Students huddled against moss-covered walls, their breaths shallow and uneven. Hana—now the Bastion of Light—clenched her fists, golden light flickering around her like a dying candle. "Everyone, form a circle! Backs to each other!"
Ren, the newly minted Crimson Berserker, cracked his knuckles. "I'll tear those things apart!" His muscles pulsed with unnatural strength, veins glowing crimson.
Ayato melted into the shadows near the bled-out chalkboard. His Warden of Shadows role had activated instinctively: Silent Step made his movements soundless, Fade into Shadows rendered him nearly invisible. He watched. Noted. Calculated.
Three hulking shapes slunk from the corridor beyond the iron door. Flesh Wolves—muscle and sinew stitched over exposed bone, eyes like burning coals. Saliva dripped from jaws lined with shattered glass teeth. They fanned out, cutting off escape routes.
Yui, the class monitor-turned-Strategist of the Mind, stepped forward. Her eyes glowed faintly blue as she activated Plan Ahead. "Ren, left flank! Hana, shield the weak! Saki, scan their patterns!" Her voice was steel wrapped in silk.
Ren didn't wait. With a roar, he charged the nearest wolf, Fury Slash igniting his fists. "Come at me, mutt!"
The wolf lunged—not at Ren, but past him. Its target: Mika, a trembling girl clutching a broken desk leg. Ren pivoted, but too late. Jagged teeth sank into his shoulder. Blood sprayed.
"AGH! My arm!" Ren stumbled, crimson energy flickering wildly. His HP bar flashed in Ayato's vision: 62/100.
Panic erupted. Students scrambled over each other. Then, Koji—a quiet boy with darting eyes—shoved Haru, a first-year, toward the wolves. "Sl-slow them down!" he screamed.
Haru stumbled, falling at the paws of the largest wolf.
🩸 System Alert (Karma Update):
[Koji Tanaka: -25 Karma (Cowardice/Intentional Harm)]
Ayato moved. Silent Step carried him along the wall's darkest edge. He saw the wolf pinning Haru—distracted by the easy prey.
Pattern: Target fixation. Weakness: Spine.
He materialized behind the beast, shadows coiling around his hands. Backstab activated—a whisper-thin blade of darkness plunged into the wolf's neck.
CRUNCH.
The wolf collapsed, dissolving into black smoke. Haru scrambled away, sobbing.
Yui's voice cut through the chaos. "Ren, feint right! Hana, now!"
Ren lunged, drawing the second wolf's attention. Hana slammed her shield (Iron Wall) into its side, stunning it. Saki, the Archivist, shouted, "Eyes! Aim for the eyes!"
Ren drove his fist into a molten eye socket. The wolf howled, disoriented. Ayato finished it with a shadow-knife to the throat.
The third wolf turned to flee—but Yui was ready. "Zone Control!" Her hands glowed blue. The creature slammed into an invisible wall. Ren's Fury Slash tore its head off.
Silence returned, broken only by ragged breathing. Ren clutched his bleeding arm. Hana's shield flickered weakly.
Two students were missing: Haru (alive, trembling in a corner) and Koji (gone, vanished during the fight).
The chalkboard shimmered. Names appeared in dripping red script:
[StudentRole | Karma
Ayato Kurosawa | Warden of Shadows | ( ? )
Yui Nakamura | Strategist of the Mind | ( ? )
Koji Tanaka | (Hidden) | (-25)]
The class saw only names. But Ayato's shadow-augmented vision revealed the final column. Koji's -25 pulsed like an infected wound.
As students tended wounds, Ayato lingered near the board. A prompt flashed, visible only to him:
🩸 System Message (Warden of Shadows):
[Moral Judgement Pending. Observe your classmates. Choose wisely.]
Yui approached him, her strategist's gaze sharp. "You saved Haru. Thank you."
Ayato met her eyes but said nothing. Observe. Choose. The words echoed. He watched Koji slink back into the room, avoiding every gaze.
The dungeon's voice boomed:
[Survivors: 28/30. Proceed to Floor 2.]
A new door materialized—stone carved with screaming faces. Yui rallied the class, but Ayato hung back. He eyed Koji's trembling hands, Ren's bloody fury, Hana's weary resolve.
Your class is not your ally. The system's warning felt like a blade against his throat.
(Chapter 2 End)