Awakening Domination System: But I'm a Slave?-Chapter 343: Crawler!

Alaric poured more essence into the flame in his palm. The small flickering light exploded into brilliant sphere, bright enough to illuminate twenty feet in all directions, casting stark shadows against the rough stone walls.

He turned in slow circle. Scanning. Searching for whatever had made that roar.

But there was nothing.

Just empty corridor. Stone walls. Darkness beyond his light’s reach.

He whispered, "System."

Silence.

He frowned.

Damn it. Even it’s not responding.

He took a few cautious steps forward, flame held high, mind racing through possibilities—

Then suddenly, the panel flickered into existence before him.

But unstable, the text wavering, the borders fluctuating like signal struggling to maintain coherence.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Neurological damage detected in host consciousness]

[Primary functions compromised]

[System Rebooting: 1%]

[Estimated time: 23hrs 59mins]

[Note: Host can utilize previously acquired skills without system assistance. Scan feature remains functional for basic assessment. All other features unavailable until reboot completion. Good luck, Host.]

The panel vanished.

Alaric sighed.

"Of course. Because things weren’t complicated enough already."

But at least he had something.

His skills still worked. And the scan feature, limited as it might be, was better than complete blindness.

He kept walking. Moving deeper into the cave system.

I need to find a way out.

ROAR!

The sound erupted again. Closer this time.

His head snapped toward the source, somewhere ahead.

But there was nothing. Just empty corridor continuing into shadow.

He took a step forward, flame extended, trying to see further.

Then suddenly—

Every hair on the back of his neck stood up.

He jumped backward.

SPLAT!

Something hit the ground where he’d been standing milliseconds before. Green and viscous.

Hiss!

And the stone itself began to melt. Dissolving under whatever substance had been spat at him. Smoking.

The acrid smell of burning rock filling the air.

Alaric stared at the dissolving stone, his mind racing.

If that had hit me...

His skin would be gone. Muscle exposed. Bones dissolving. Death by acid, slow and agonizing, screaming while his body liquefied from the outside in.

Then he looked up.

Clinging to the ceiling directly above where he’d been standing—

Was creature.

Roughly human-sized but wrong in every proportion.

Green skin that glistened wetly in the firelight, covered in patches of what might have been scales or might have been hardened secretions.

Four limbs. Two in front, positioned for grasping. Two in back, ending in spike-like protrusions that had clearly anchored it to stone.

Its torso was elongated. Like insect wearing vertebrate skin.

And the head had four eyes, two large, two small, arranged in diamond pattern. All of them fixed on Alaric with predatory focus.

Its mouth was massive, taking up most of the facial area, lined with row after row of needle-like teeth that gleamed with the same green substance now eating through stone.

As Alaric watched, it opened that mouth again. Throat working. Preparing another glob of acid—

He dove sideways.

SPLAT!

More acid hit where he’d been. More stone dissolving with hiss and smoke.

"Scan!" Alaric barked the command while scrambling to his feet.

The unstable blue panel flickered into existence:

[Target: Crawler]

[Classification: Menace-Class Beast]

[Threat Level: Moderate]

[Abilities: Acid Projection, Wall-Crawling, Pack Hunting]

Then the panel vanished.

I can take it.

The thought had barely formed when—

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

He heard, not only one sound.

But many sounds. Coming from multiple directions simultaneously. The scrape of spike-limbs on stone. The wet breathing of predators preparing to strike.

Alaric spun, flame blazing brighter—

And he saw more Crawlers emerged from the darkness.

Three from the corridor ahead. Two from behind, must have been following him the entire time. One from a side passage he hadn’t even noticed. Another descending from the ceiling.

Seven total.

They moved with disturbing coordination. Spreading out. Surrounding him. Cutting off escape routes.

Pack hunting.

One Crawler he could handle. Even two or three, if he fought smart.

But seven?

Two of them opened their mouths simultaneously. Throats working...

Alaric threw himself flat.

SPLAT-SPLAT!

Acid passed over his head, splattering against the wall behind him. More stone dissolving.

He rolled, came up in crouch, fire coalescing in both hands now—

Three more Crawlers attacked. Lunging from different angles. Spike-limbs extending. Mouths open and dripping.

Alaric sent a fireball at the nearest one. The flame struck its face—

The Crawler shrieked, which sounded like metal scraping glass.

Its green skin bubbled and blackened, the acid in its throat igniting, burning it from the inside.

It fell twitching and then died.

The remaining Crawlers spread further apart.

Then, as if following signal.

They all paused.

Complete stillness. Frozen mid-stalk, their four eyes each reflecting his firelight.

Why did they—

Then they attacked.

All at once. From every direction simultaneously.

Alaric’s eyes went wide.

Fuck!

He poured his essence into both palms. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

And released.

[Flame Sphere!]

WHOOSH!

Fire exploded outward in sphere. Expanding in all directions simultaneously, filling the corridor with heat and light and burning.

The attacking Crawlers hit the wall of flame mid-lunge.

Their shrieks were deafening.

Green skin blackening. Acid igniting. Bodies convulsing as fire found the volatile substances in their biology and turned them into fuel.

They fell.

All six of them, twitching and dying. The stench of burning flesh filled the confined space.

Alaric collapsed on his knee, gasping.

Damn it... Just two attacks depleted my essence?

Just as he was catching his breath—

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

More sounds came from deeper in the cave system.

From passages he couldn’t see. From the darkness his fading flame didn’t illuminate.

How many more of them are here?

His heart sank.

Because the system had said pack hunting. And packs didn’t stop at seven.

I need to move and find a defensible position, can stay here for long.

But before he could even take a step forward.

The flame in his palm flickered.

Guttered. And eventually.

Died.

Leaving him in complete darkness with the sound of many, many Crawlers approaching from all sides.

And no essence left to fight them.

Shit!