Hope stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders with a small grunt. He twisted his torso left, then right, joints popping faintly as he shook out the tension.

  He exhaled through his nose, giving each leg a short shake before bouncing lightly on his toes.

  "Alright… back at it."

  Recovery was certainly much quicker than he expected. Probably due to all the boosts. Heck, the last one had been rather significant.

  But it proved his point: the harder the challenge, the better the reward.

  He practiced a few more thrusts with his spear, smooth and steady, before his stomach let out a low, angry growl.

  Right. Time to eat.

  He glanced at the flowing water nearby and made his way over, crouching low beside it.

  He was about to drink—then paused.

  Something moved across the surface.

  His reflection.

  He leaned closer, squinting.

  Long, black hair fell over his eyes, sticking to his forehead in damp strands. His face looked clearer than he expected—sharper and… healthier?

  Big eyes stared back at him, tired but steady. Pale skin under all the grime. Blood crusted on his cheek. Dirt smudged deep along his jaw.

  Way better than before.

  "...Lookin’ good."

  He grinned and splashed water on his face. Once, twice, then scrubbed hard with both hands. Cold, clean water ran down his chin, washing away some of the mess. He let out a quiet laugh—surprised, but a little proud too.

  Then he drank.

  It hit different—crisp, smooth, no metal, no rot. Just… water. The kind he didn’t think actually existed.

  "Mano would've lost his shit over this."

  He wiped his mouth and turned back to the bear.

  Hope crouched beside it, squinting at the body.

  He’d seen people cook meat before—once or twice. But those were the lucky ones. Back in the tunnels and camps, you either ate what you found raw or you starved.

  Since he didn’t know how to cook, he went for the old way.

  He grabbed the sharpest stone he could find, gripped it tight, and carved into the bear’s belly with slow, dragging strokes. The hide was tough, and it took effort to split it open without slipping. Warm blood poured out, steaming into the cool air.

  He dug in deeper, cutting through the thick layers of flesh until he could pull out something clean—not too fatty, not too close to the organs. A long, solid strip of meat.

  He sat back against a rock and bit in.

  Iron, fat, raw meat—all of it hit his mouth at once.

  His eyes shot wide. He let out a messy laugh, mouth full.

  “Damn—this bastard tastes amazing!”

  His whole body lit up the second he swallowed.

  He tore into it, bite after bite, chewing hard and fast.

  When he was finally full, stomach tight and face smeared red, he leaned back and let out a long breath.

  “Ain’t no pipe-water rat meat ever came close to this.”

  Satisfied, he made his way back to the flowing water source, crouched low, and scrubbed the blood from his hands and mouth.

  Hope exhaled again and dropped by the bank, legs stretched out, staring up at the sky.

  And then it hit him.

  The full stomach. The warmth. The silence.

  His eyes started to close before he could stop them.

  “…Shit,” he mumbled, head tilting back.

  Can’t fall asleep just yet.

  He snapped out of it and jumped up. Spinning around, he reached for his spear and—

  “...”

  Hope froze.

  Standing just ten meters in front of him… was someone.

  ID: 522514

  Level 1

  Hope didn’t even get a good look at her. He sprinted forward and snatched up his trusty spear, that familiar rush of strength kicking in the moment his fingers wrapped around it.

  Only then did he let himself really look at her.

  She didn’t move. Just stood there, watching him with this… weird, curious look.

  Something was off. Way off.

  She was too clean. No dirt, no blood, not even a sweat mark on her clothes. Her face was spotless. And she wasn’t holding a weapon either.

  She looked like him—a normal human. Pale skin, big eyes. But damn… poor girl. He’d seen sewer rats with a prettier face.

  Still, ugly or not, she was here. That meant she’d made it through the previous zone. Which, in Hope’s mind, made her automatically dangerous.

  “Alright, look,” Hope said, pointing the tip of his spear at her. “I’m not lookin’ for trouble. You go your way, I go mine. Deal?”

  She didn’t answer.

  Just smiled.

  Hope blinked. What the hell was wrong with this chick?!

  She had to understand him, right?

  He exhaled through his nose and tilted his head at the bear corpse.

  “You see that over there?” he said, gesturing casually with the spear. “Yeah. That used to be a real confident bear. Big. Mean. Probably thought he owned the place.”

  He grinned.

  “Now? Dead. ‘Cause he messed with the wrong lad. So don’t be like the bear. Be smart.”

  The girl’s smile widened.

  Then—outta nowhere—she burst out laughing.

  Hope took a half step back.

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  …Yeah, she’s crazy.

  He shook his head. Whatever…

  He started backing away, slow and steady—then—

  “What’s a bear?”

  Huh?

  He stopped mid-step and stared at her.

  “That big brown scary-lookin’ beast. Anyway, I gotta g—”

  “I see… interesting. So you took it down by yourself?”

  Oh, come on…

  Hope gave a quick nod. “Yeah. Just me. Cool? Great. Bye—”

  And without waiting for a reply, he bolted, sprinting off without looking back.

  What a damn nutjob.

  Hope pushed his pace, sprinting along the flowing water. His eyes scanned constantly, just in case another bear showed up.

  After several seconds, he risked a glance over his shoulder.

  Nothing.

  He sighed in relief. Good. No freaky girl.

  Eventually, he spotted another bear up ahead—leaning down to drink some water. It would probably be easier to take now that he was stronger, but still… Hope could feel the fatigue creeping in.

  Nah. Not now. I need to find a—

  “So that’s another bear?”

  His heart straight up missed a beat.

  He froze. Full-body, dead-stop.

  Then—very slowly—he turned his head to the side.

  She was there. Right next to him, arm extended, pointing at the bear.

  “Are you gonna hunt that one too?”

  Hope blinked.

  He didn’t think—he bolted away.

  Fuck the bears. This girl’s a ghost!

  He sprinted full-speed, leaping over rocks, scrambling up a hill, sliding down the other side, and weaving hard along the base.

  No looking back. Just run.

  His heart pounded like a drum. He kept running—past a couple of bears—dodging wide before they could even sniff in his direction.

  He had no clue how long he ran until he finally spotted a break in the cliffside, half-hidden behind a boulder. Sharp turn. In he went.

  Dark. Tight. Perfect.

  He crouched low, back against the rock wall, and went completely still.

  Breathing hard. Chest pounding.

  “...”

  Nothing… silence.

  He let out a slow, shaky breath.

  Good.

  His head thumped back against the stone behind him. He was dripping sweat.

  The fuck was that girl?!

  He ran a hand through his hair, wiping the sweat off, trying to steady his breath.

  He muttered under his breath, “She’s not real. Nope. I’m just… tired. Yeah, that’s it. I just need to—”

  Suddenly, the light at the entrance of the crevice dimmed.

  Hope’s face went pale.

  The girl was upside down—hanging from her toes like it was nothing. Just dangling there. Smiling.

  Hope's mouth fell open.

  “Nice little place you found.”

  Then she let go.

  Spun mid-air like a damn feather and landed with a soft thump, smooth and silent, standing perfectly straight.

  Hope flinched back and nearly tripped over his own foot.

  He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He barely managed to point his spear at her, hand shaking. “Y-You… what… what are you?”

  “You can call me Evelia. A pleasure to meet you.”

  A… a pleasure?! Girl, you’re two steps outta a horror story! What do you mean ‘a pleasure to meet you’?!

  Ok… calm down… calm down. Maybe… maybe she’s—

  Then the thought hit him.

  That speed. That movement. A name.

  Is she… a Citizen?

  Hope’s face dropped. She had a name.

  If so…

  He lowered his spear.

  There was nothing he could do.

  The girl frowned. “What happened? Do you… have a name?”

  A name?

  Hope suddenly looked up. There wasn’t much light, but he could see her eyes. Deep green.

  But… damn, was she ugly as hell.

  He shook the thought out.

  No one ever asked a Crawler for their name. They didn’t have one—not officially at least. Didn’t she not know that?

  He studied her face a little closer. She didn’t seem hostile. In fact, she looked kind of… naive.

  Maybe then… all wasn’t lost.

  He straightened up a little. “Hope.”

  The girl tilted her head. “Hope?”

  Oh… right.

  “No, my name is Hope.”

  Her face lit up. “Wow, that’s a great name! I've never heard of anyone called Hope before.”

  He blinked, caught off guard. “Yeah, well… now you have.” Not an official name, though…

  She nodded, all smiles, like nothing was out of the ordinary.

  Hope cleared his throat, forced his voice steady. “Right. So… not to be rude or nothin’, but—why are you followin’ me?”

  She blinked, like the question genuinely surprised her. “Oh! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just found you interesting.”

  “…Interesting?” he echoed flatly.

  “Yes,” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You called a Grathen a bear, and you also talk funny.”

  Hope squinted. Grathen? What the hell was she talking ab—oh. Oh, wait. So the real name of those creatures is Grathen?

  He glanced at her. Of course she knew. She’s a Citizen—she could probably read and crap like that.

  But then… why was a Citizen down here? And more importantly, why was she talking to him?

  In all his life, the only time a Citizen so much as looked at him, he passed out and nearly died. Mano swore it was the closest he’d ever seen someone to death without actually going.

  But this girl… and she looked even younger than him.

  What the hell was going on here?

  In any case…

  “I see… well, funny or not… Eve—Evelia, I’d rather go alone… if that’s ok.”

  She tilted her head again. “Why?”

  Hope blinked. Why? No shit, girl.

  “’Cause that’s how I move,” he muttered. “I don’t do crowds. I’m not comfy around people, alright? And shouldn’t you be goin’ back to—” He snapped his fingers, trying to remember. “Y’know… your family or somethin’?”

  “Family?” Her expression suddenly shifted—flat, serious, almost cold.

  Hope gulped. Crap.

  But then she smiled again. Bright like before. “They’re busy. Don’t worry about them.”

  Don’t worry? Yeah, sure. Totally normal. Just some ghost-eyed girl with no dirt on her clothes talkin’ to a Crawler like we’re old pals, tellin’ me not to worry about her Citizen guardians, or buddies, or whatever families even are.

  Why do I always get tangled in every little mess…

  He exhaled. “Girl, please… just go your own way, alright? I’m not the funny guy you think I am, and I’m definitely not interesting. Look for others out there. I’m sure you’ll find more exciting folks to pester—I mean, to talk to.”

  She gave him a thoughtful look, completely unfazed. “But I don’t want to talk to others. I want to talk to you.”

  Hope blinked. “Why? I’m not even good at talkin’. I…” He looked away for a second, jaw clenched. Then—hell with it. No point pretending. “For fuck’s sake, I’m a goddamn Crawler, okay?!”

  His voice cracked slightly near the end, but he didn’t care. And yet—

  Evelia didn’t flinch.

  “...I know,” she said with a straight face.

  He stared, eyes wide. “What… what is wrong with you?!”

  She just kept smiling.

  Hope groaned and rubbed his temples. “Alright, fine! You wanna tag along? Tag along. Ain’t like I can stop you anyway.”

  He jabbed a finger at her. “But listen—don’t start no shit, don’t ask me for favours, don’t steal my hunts, and stay five—no, ten meters away from me at all times. No sharing food, no callin’ out my name when I’m hidin’, no makin’ noise if I’m tryin’ to listen. And if we get jumped, you run. You don’t scream, you don’t freeze—you run. Those are the rules. Got it?”

  She nodded, completely serious. “Yes.”

  Hope sighed.

  This is how I die. I just… know it.