(A/N: Chapter 10 unlocked! We're going deeper into the grime! Expect darkness, dust, questionable smells, and Kai compining. Business as usual! Will they find an exit or just more trouble? Let's GO! FFF = Faster MP Regen (not really, but maybe?) (⌒▽⌒)? )

  Crawling. Utterly, profoundly, soul-crushingly miserable crawling. That was Kai’s world now. The ventition shaft was an exercise in custrophobic misery, a tight metal box filled with darkness, the ghosts of stale air, and enough dust to build a small, asthmatic moon.

  His knees protested against the gritty metal floor. His back ached from the cramped posture. His hands were coated in decades of filth. Every breath felt like inhaling powdered history – history that probably involved industrial waste and long-dead rodents.

  "Ugh," Kai grunted, shuffling forward on hands and knees like an overgrown, compining baby. "Remind me again why this seemed like a good idea?" He couldn't even see his own hands in front of his face; the darkness was that complete after the Joule & Watt drone had sealed the entrance behind them. His only guide was the faint scuffling sound of Squeaks moving somewhere ahead in the oppressive bckness.

  Because-shiny-robot-wanted-to-probe-us-with-'non-lethal'-force? came the dry, slightly smug projection from Squeaks, accompanied by the phantom scent of ozone and danger.

  "Right. Right," Kai conceded grudgingly. "Minor details." He coughed, the sound unnervingly loud in the confined space. "Still, couldn't we have found a nicer escape route? One with, y'know, lights? Maybe a snack bar? Less potential for carcinogenic dust inhation?"

  He received only the faint sound of Squeaks continuing forward, clearly unimpressed by his whining. This whole symbiosis thing was great for shared survival, less great for sympathetic ears. The rat seemed entirely focused on the task at hand – following the faint draft and the 'unknown weird smells'.

  Kai checked his status mentally. HP: 13 / 40. Still stable, thankfully. The [Symbiotic Shock] debuff finally blinked out with a quiet notification: [Status Effect Expired: Symbiotic Shock]. Hallelujah! He immediately felt a little less sluggish, a little more coordinated, though the cramped crawling negated most of the benefit. And MP/STM: 3 / 25. It was regenerating! Slowly. Painfully slowly. He estimated maybe 1 point had come back since they entered the vent. At this rate, they might be able to afford another heal in… twenty minutes? Assuming they didn't need MP for anything else. Like, say, distracting whatever was making the 'weird smells'.

  He focused on the sensory link, trying to filter useful information from the background static of darkness and dust. He got fshes of Squeaks's perspective: GREYSCALE tunnel stretching ahead. Walls coated in thick, undisturbed dust. The occasional cobweb (ancient, brittle). But mostly just… darkness navigable only by scent and sound. Kai's own eyes were completely useless here.

  "Anything interesting up there, Captain Sniff?" Kai asked, mostly just to hear his own voice break the monotony. "Besides dust bunnies the size of my head?"

  Path-continues, came the simple reply. Air-moves-faster-now. Smell-stronger. Still… weird.

  Weird how? Kai tried to probe, focusing on the olfactory input Squeaks was providing. It wasn't just one smell. It was a strange mix. There was a baseline metallic tang, like old rust, overid with something faintly sweet, almost cloying, like rotting fruit or cheap synth-perfume gone bad. But underneath that was a sharper, acrid note, vaguely chemical or acidic. And maybe… something else? Something musky, almost… alive? It was confusing, unpleasant, and didn't smell like anything Kai readily recognized from the usual Undercity stench palette.

  They crawled onward. The shaft remained mostly straight, though the floor felt uneven in pces, sometimes dipping down or rising slightly. Once, Kai’s hand slipped on something unexpectedly smooth and cool. He recoiled instinctively.

  What was that? he projected nervously. Slime? Alien egg sac? Did I just high-five a ghost?

  Old-water-leak, Squeaks sent back, accompanied by the scent of damp minerals and mold. Dried-long-ago. Smooth-stone-deposit. Not-dangerous.

  "Right. Geology lesson in the dark. Fantastic," Kai grumbled, but he felt a grudging respect for Squeaks’s ability to identify hazards (or non-hazards) by scent and texture alone. His own INT 6 felt pretty useless when he couldn't actually see anything. The rat's WIS 3 (plus whatever innate rat-sense contributed) was proving far more valuable in this environment.

  They reached a junction. The main shaft continued straight, but a smaller, circur duct branched off downwards at a steep angle. Squeaks stopped, sniffing intently at the downward branch.

  Draft-stronger-down. Smell-stronger-down, Squeaks reported. Straight-ahead… air-stale. Smell-fades.

  "Down the rabbit hole it is, then," Kai sighed. "Hope it doesn't lead straight back to Grok's territory. My kidneys haven't recovered from the st time I thought about him."

  The downward shaft was tighter, forcing Kai to wriggle more than crawl. It was also steeper, and the dust here was looser, cascading down around him as he moved, making him cough and sputter. He slid more than climbed, using his hands and feet to control his descent. Squeaks navigated it with ease, naturally, probably just scampering headfirst down the incline. Show off.

  After maybe ten meters of uncomfortable sliding and dust-bathing, the shaft leveled out again. But the space here felt different. Wider? Taller? Kai reached out tentatively. Yes, the ceiling felt higher, and the walls further apart. They seemed to have entered a rger duct or chamber.

  And the smell… oh, the smell was much stronger here. The sickly sweet scent dominated, thick and cloying, making Kai’s stomach churn. The acrid chemical note was sharper too, catching in the back of his throat. And the musky, possibly-alive scent was definitely more pronounced. It didn't smell friendly.

  Squeaks? Visibility report? Kai projected, keeping his voice down to a whisper now. The stronger smells felt like they ought to belong to something.

  He got back a confused jumble. GREYSCALE VISION: Wider space. Dark. But… not total darkness. Faint… glowing… patches? On walls? Floor? LUMINESCENCE. LOW-LEVEL. Colours muted in rat vision, but definitely glowing. OLFACTORY: Smell-source-CLOSE. All the weird smells converging here. AUDITORY: Faint dripping sound? Soft rustling? Or just dust settling? EMOTIONAL: HIGH-CAUTION. STRANGE-PLACE. UNKNOWN-LIFE? (Question mark very prominent).

  Glowing patches? Unknown life? That sounded… significantly less boring than crawling through empty ducts. And potentially much more dangerous.

  "Okay," Kai whispered, pushing himself up slightly. He could indeed sense a very faint ambient light now, not enough to see details clearly, but enough to make out vague shapes after the absolute bckness of the shaft. "Let's proceed with extreme caution. Like, tiptoeing-through-a-minefield levels of caution."

  He felt Squeaks nod in agreement – a mental affirmation – before creeping forward into the wider space. Kai followed, moving slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, his eyes straining in the dim light.

  They were in some kind of collection chamber or junction point for multiple ventition shafts. Several rge ducts opened into this space, though most looked colpsed or sealed with debris. The air felt heavy, humid, despite the faint draft Squeaks had followed.

  And there was definitely stuff glowing. Patches of faint, pulsing light dotted the walls and floor. They weren't bright, more like bioluminescent graffiti. Some glowed a sickly green, others a pale, watery blue, and a few pulsed with a disturbing purplish hue. They seemed to be… molds? Fungi? Slimes? Growing in irregur patterns across the corroded metal surfaces.

  The sickly sweet smell seemed to emanate from the greenish patches, while the acrid tang felt stronger near the blue ones. The purple ones… Kai couldn't quite pce their scent, just a general sense of wrongness.

  And the rustling sound Squeaks had detected? Kai heard it too now. Soft, dry, skittering sounds coming from the shadows in the corners of the chamber, occasionally punctuated by a faint click. Insects? Or worse?

  Any ID on the glowy stuff? Kai projected towards Squeaks, focusing on a patch of green mold pulsing faintly nearby. Edible? Poisonous? Likely to burst and spray face-melting acid?

  He got back: FUNGUS-MOLD-LIKE. SMELL-STRONG-GREEN. FAMILIAR-BUT-DIFFERENT. NOT-FOOD-SMELL. SMELL-MAKES-HEAD-FUZZY-CLOSE-UP. CAUTION. The blue and purple patches elicited simir warnings: BLUE-SMELL-SHARP-HURTS-NOSE. PURPLE-SMELL-STRANGE-FEEL-WATCHED. AVOID.

  Head-fuzzy? Hurts nose? Feel watched? Okay, noted. Avoid touching the rainbow death molds. Got it.

  What about the rustling? Kai focused his intent towards a dark corner where the skittering seemed loudest. And our noisy neighbors? Friends? Foes? Future ingredients for rat stew?

  Squeaks shifted its attention, whiskers twitching. GREYSCALE VISION: Shadows. Movement. MULTIPLE-SMALL-THINGS. HARD-SHELL-SOUND. CLICKING-LEGS. INSECTOID? SCAVENGER-TYPE. MOSTLY-IGNORING-US. BUT… SOME-ARE-BIGGER. WATCHING.

  Insects. Great. Probably mutated Undercity roaches or beetles, drawn by the fungus or whatever else lurked here. Mostly ignoring them was good. 'Some are bigger and watching' was less good.

  Kai scanned the dim chamber more carefully. He could make out shapes now – piles of debris, colpsed ductwork, and in the center, a shallow pool of stagnant, oily water that seemed to be the source of the dripping sound. The glowing molds seemed concentrated around the edges of this pool and climbing up the walls in pces.

  And crawling amongst the debris, occasionally scuttling across the floor, were indeed insects. Large ones. Some were beetle-like, obsidian shells gleaming faintly in the dim light, clicking their mandibles. Others looked more like overgrown, multi-legged silverfish, moving with unnerving speed. Most seemed preoccupied with nibbling on the glowing fungi or drinking from the stagnant pool.

  But Squeaks was right. Near the back wall, partially hidden behind a colpsed duct, were several rger specimens. These beetles were easily the size of Kai’s fist, their shells duller, their movements slower, more deliberate. And their multiple eyes seemed to be fixed on Kai and Squeaks, glowing with a faint red pinprick light that hadn't been visible before.

  [System Scan Activated Automatically - Proximity Alert!]

  [Target Detected: Glow-Fungus Grazer (LV 2)] x15 (The smaller ones)

  [Target Detected: Alpha Glow-Beetle (LV 4)] x3 (The big watchers)

  [Threat Level: Low (Grazers) / Moderate (Alphas) - Will become hostile if territory/food source threatened]

  Level 2 Grazers? Level 4 Alphas? Okay, not completely insignificant, especially the Alphas. And there were three of them. With HP 13 and MP 1, a fight was the absolute st thing Kai wanted. Especially against giant bugs in near darkness.

  "Okay," Kai whispered, pulling Squeaks back slightly towards the entrance shaft they'd emerged from. "New pn. Operation: Pretend We're Invisible and Back Away Slowly. Let's not disturb the giant, potentially territorial glow-bugs."

  He felt agreement from Squeaks. LEAVE-QUIETLY. FIND-OTHER-PATH.

  They began to inch backwards, trying not to make any sudden movements or noises. The smaller Grazers continued to ignore them, thankfully. But the three Alpha Beetles remained fixated, their red eyes tracking Kai and Squeaks's retreat. They clicked their mandibles slowly, a dry, threatening sound.

  As they neared the downward shaft entrance, Kai’s foot bumped against something small and metallic half-buried in the dust. It rolled slightly with a soft clink.

  Instantly, the clicking from the Alpha Beetles intensified. One of them took a deliberate step forward out of the shadows, raising its armored head, mandibles snapping aggressively. Hostile intent spiked through the System alert.

  "Scrap!" Kai breathed. He instinctively scooped up the small object his foot had hit – no time to see what it was – and shoved it into his pocket. "Okay, abort slow retreat! Operation: Run Away Slightly Faster Than Before!"

  He scrambled backwards towards the shaft opening. Squeaks was already there, ready to dart back up.

  But just as Kai reached the opening, one of the Alpha Beetles lunged. It didn't charge across the floor; it leapt with surprising speed, covering half the distance to Kai in a single bound, nding with a heavy thud just a meter away. Its mandibles opened wide, revealing rows of sharp, serrated edges.

  [Alpha Glow-Beetle entering Combat Mode!]

  [Territory Defense Protocol Activated!]

  There was no time to climb back up the shaft. The beetle was too close, blocking their escape route. The other two Alphas were now advancing steadily from the back, clicking ominously. The smaller Grazers scattered, clearing the 'arena'.

  Trapped. Again. Forced into a fight they couldn't afford.

  Squeaks! Tactics! NOW! Kai yelled internally, fumbling in his sack for the only 'weapon' he had – the bent piece of rebar. It felt heavy and useless in his hand.

  He felt Squeaks dart past his legs, not towards the attacking beetle, but towards the wall near the entrance. What was it doing?

  GREYSCALE VISION fsh: Squeaks leaping onto the wall, cws finding purchase. Scrambling upwards. Aiming for… a patch of the BLUE glowing mold? The kind Squeaks said 'hurts nose'?

  Squeaks, no! That stuff is bad! Kai projected frantically.

  But Squeaks ignored him. It reached the blue patch, and with a quick, savage bite, ripped a chunk of the glowing, slimy mold free from the wall. It didn't eat it; it held the chunk in its mouth, blue light pulsing dimly around its jaws.

  The attacking Alpha Beetle lunged again, aiming its nasty mandibles straight at Kai's legs. Kai yelped, stumbling backwards, swinging the rebar awkwardly in a desperate attempt to fend it off. The rebar gnced off the beetle's thick carapace with a dull thud, having absolutely no effect except to annoy it further.

  Just as the mandibles were about to close on Kai's ankle, Squeaks dropped from the wall, nding neatly beside the Alpha Beetle. And before the beetle could react, Squeaks spat the chunk of glowing blue fungus directly onto the beetle's head, right near its sensitive antennae and eyes.

  There was an immediate, violent reaction. The Alpha Beetle reared back with a loud, distressed CHITTER, shaking its head frantically. The blue fungus seemed to be sizzling slightly where it contacted the beetle's carapace, releasing a sharp, acrid fume that made Kai’s eyes water even from a distance. The beetle’s movements became erratic, disoriented. It stumbled sideways, clicking rapidly in apparent pain or confusion.

  [Target: Alpha Glow-Beetle Suffers Status Effect: Chemical Burn (Minor)!]

  [Target: Alpha Glow-Beetle Suffers Status Effect: Sensory Overload (Moderate)!]

  [-8 HP Damage to Target!]

  It worked?! Squeaks weaponized the environment! Using the 'hurts nose' fungus as a chemical weapon!

  Kai stared, momentarily stunned by the sheer unexpected brilliance (and grossness) of the tactic. Then, survival instinct kicked back in. The other two Alphas were still advancing, albeit slightly more cautiously now after seeing their buddy get face-fungused.

  Don’t just stand there! Squeaks projected, darting back towards Kai. HIT-IT-WHILE-ITS-DIZZY!

  Right! Hit the dizzy one! Kai gripped the rebar tighter. The first Alpha was still stumbling, shaking its head, temporarily blinded or confused by the blue gunk. This was their chance!

  Kai lunged forward, putting all his weight (and pitiful STR 3) into a downward smash with the rebar, aiming for the beetle's head or the joint where its leg connected to its body – trying to recall weak points from some nature documentary he half-watched once.

  CRUNCH!

  This time, the impact felt more solid. He’d hit the leg joint! There was a sickening crack, and the beetle shrieked again, colpsing onto its side, one leg bent at an unnatural angle.

  [CRITICAL HIT! Target: Alpha Glow-Beetle - Leg Crippled!]

  [-12 HP Damage to Target!]

  [Alpha Glow-Beetle HP Low!]

  Yes! Crippled!

  But the other two Alphas were almost upon them now, mandibles clicking furiously, red eyes burning with hostile intent.

  No time to finish the first one. They had to deal with the reinforcements.

  The End

  (A/N: Fungus bombs! Critical hits! Kai actually nded a decent blow! But two more angry Alpha Beetles are incoming! Can they defeat them with zero MP and clever use of hazardous mold? FIND OUT NEXT TIME! FFF to support fungus-based warfare! （⌒▽⌒ ゞ )