Darian saw Rusty returning, dragging the corpses of two of the creatures behind him, more than enough for study.
"I need to classify them... check how their bodies are made, and write everything down."
"Master, I brought them for you," Rusty said, dropping the corpses at Darian's feet. "I could only retrieve two. One of the creatures was impaled through a pillar... impossible to remove."
"I might've hit that one a bit too hard" Darian muttered with a grin. 'But it deserved it ehi.'
He knelt down and inspected one of the bodies, recognizing it by the gaping hole he'd left in its chest. With Rusty's help, he moved both near a makeshift work area. Rusty fetched a scale and placed it on the floor.
Darian lifted the first body and dropped it onto the scale, then opened his diary to a new page.
Weight: 88 lbs.
He measured the second one's height.
Height: 1.4 feet.
Satisfied, he began sketching the creature. It wasn't perfect, but it captured the key details. Good enough, he thought.
Then he pulled out a knife and sliced into the creature's torso. A foul stench erupted from the incision, rotten sewage and something worse. Darian gagged. Snowy yelped and scrambled out of the room.
"Mmh... their blood is black," he observed.
Rusty handed him a syringe. Darian filled it and passed it back.
"Analyze this for me."
"Understood, Master."
He continued dissecting the body. The carapace was incredibly hard, especially the drill appendage. Darian touched it, then jerked back.
"Ouch!" A small cut had opened on his finger. Even at rest, the drill was dangerously sharp.
He tried to pry it open with his knife but failed. Frustrated, he detached the drill and stored it in a safer spot. It was too dangerous to leave lying around, Snowy or him could get hurt.
Returning to the body, he finally managed to split it open. The stench intensified, filling the entire house. Darian grimaced.
'That smell won't leave anytime soon... and we have nothing to clean this with,' he thought.
Inside, the creature's organs were bizarre. It had a heart positioned behind the drill, no obvious weak points. The "legs" resembled wheels, though unlike any human-made ones. Once opened, he found some kind of metal inside, strange and extremely hard.
Small springs under the wheels likely enabled it to jump. None of the materials matched anything he knew, so they probably came from this alien planet.
He returned to his diary and wrote:
'Name: Krukdill'
He paused.
'I'm really bad with names... but it works.'
He continued writing:
This creature is extremely dangerous. It can dig through stone using its drill, which is sharp enough to injure even without movement. Once it starts charging, it takes around 10 seconds to activate, and after that, there's no stopping it. During that charge-up, its underside is exposed, its only weak point, though hard to reach. DO NOT ATTACK THE DRILL. IT IS TOO HARD TO BREAK.
They have no face and always move in groups. Individually, they're weak. In numbers, they're deadly. Avoid fighting them when possible.
Satisfied, he assigned it a category:
Category: 1
He flipped back to the previous page and began a threat classification:
1 = Weakest type.
No visible eyes. Hard to tell where they're looking.
Always in groups.
Dangerous by numbers.
2 = Stronger.
Solo hunters.
Capable of killing multiple armed humans.
Fast and deadly.
He remembered the blade-armed creature he first encountered. It had chilled him to the bone.
3 = Empty (placeholder)
4 = Unique Entity.
I've only seen this one once. I hope I never see it again. No human weapon could damage it. If it exists in numbers, humanity is finished.
He shivered.
Next, he created entries for other enemies:
Krukspy: Spider-like, incredibly fast, with a dangerous horn. (Category 1)
Kruksnil: Snail-like, very slow. Secretes acid that burns human flesh. Extremely durable shell. (Category 1)
Kruktopus: Tentacled aquatic creature with a huge head. Strong grip. (Category 1–2)
Bladekruk (blade-armed humanoid): Fast reflexes, deadly strikes. Probably strong enough to cut through metal. (Category 2)
Hours passed as Darian wrote and sketched. Night had fallen by the time he stopped. He barely noticed the lingering smell anymore and collapsed into bed.
The next morning, the stench still clung to everything.
"Ew... gross," he muttered, gagging as he woke up.
Snowy had slept outside, unable to tolerate the odor.
Darian opened every window, then returned to his diary. He flipped to a new page for the towering creature.
Name: ???
Category: 4
It was massive. Bigger than trees... probably taller than mountains. I estimate around 170 feet... maybe more.
It had two arms... one thick and muscular, the other made of tentacles. Both looked equally deadly.
Each step shook the ground. It was slow... but if it got close, there was no escape.
There was a green core in its chest... or maybe its mouth. I'm not sure. Tentacles emerged from it constantly. I don't think it can be defeated.
I wonder where it is now...
Darian shut the diary. His hands trembled slightly.
He wasn't ready to face that monster again.
But he would be.