The creature lunged again, but this time, Dean was ready. His body moved on pure instinct—twisting sideways, he grabbed the edge of a broken pipe jutting from the wall and swung it like a bat. The metal connected with the thing's skull with a wet crunch, sending it sprawling. Its red eyes flickered, then dimmed.
Dean didn't wait to see if it got back up. He snatched the tablet off the floor and sprinted down the corridor, boots slipping in the blood-slick grime. The screen pulsed in his hands:
**STATUS SCREEN UPDATE**
**Ability: [Adrenaline Surge] (Temporary) Active**
**Duration: 00:02:17 remaining**
**First Wave Progress: 47%**
"Fucking fantastic," Dean muttered. He rounded a corner just as the ceiling above him caved in, steel beams groaning like dying animals. Dust choked the air. Somewhere ahead, gunfire erupted in short, panicked bursts—human voices screaming, then cutting off.
The tablet vibrated. Dean glanced down.
**NEW OBJECTIVE**
**Reach Extraction Point Alpha**
**Reward: 500 SP**
A way out. Dean's pulse kicked up. He knew how these systems worked—points meant power, and power meant survival. But first, he had to live long enough to spend them.
A shadow detached itself from the wreckage ahead. Then another. And another.
Dean exhaled through his teeth. "Of course."
The creatures moved in sync, their limbs too long, their movements jerky and wrong. Dean tightened his grip on the pipe. His muscles burned with borrowed strength, his vision sharpening until he could see the pulsing veins beneath their gray skin.
The first one died with a shattered spine. The second lost its head. The third—Dean didn't see the fourth one coming.
Claws ripped through his side, hot and sudden. Pain flared, white-hot, but his body didn't stop. [Adrenaline Surge] didn't give a shit about pain. He spun, driving the pipe straight through the creature's chest. Black ichor sprayed across his face.
The tablet buzzed again.
**STATUS SCREEN UPDATE**
**HP: 68%**
**First Wave Progress: 89%**
Dean wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Cutting it close, huh?"
The hallway ahead split—left, a dead end littered with corpses; right, a flickering EXIT sign. Dean didn't hesitate. He ran.
The door at the end blew open before he reached it.
A man stood there, silhouetted against the burning sky beyond. He wasn't wearing tactical gear. Just a long coat, boots, and a smirk that made Dean's skin crawl.
"Well," the man said, stepping aside. "You're not dead. That's a first."
Dean didn't lower the pipe. "Who the hell are you?"
The man's grin widened. "Call me your benefactor." He tossed something small and metallic at Dean's feet. It unfolded mid-air, resolving into a sleek handgun. "Pick that up. We've got worlds to burn."
The tablet in Dean's hand lit up like a supernova.
**STATUS SCREEN UPDATE**
**First Wave: Complete**
**Reward: 500 SP**
**New Worlds Unlocked: [Limitless - 2000 SP]**
Dean stared at the gun. Then at the man. Then at the sky—where something huge and winged blotted out the sun.
He laughed.
This was only the beginning.