Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3) by John Gold (novel24 TXT) 📕

wildly. The demon has taken half the wall apart and is now staring at the little predator. His hands continue to work, the opening into the room grows wider, and the rat shrieks as it looks for an exit. After making a couple of circles around the room, it finally sees the gap in the couch that I’m watching everything through.

What do two cornered animals feel when their eyes meet? Today, I found out.

The rat hurls itself at the couch and starts tearing at the gap with its short paws. Its teeth go to work as it tries to tear the material apart, but I’m there holding it together as strongly as I can. By the time the gap is wide enough for the rat to scratch me twice, the whole couch jerks. It’s about to collapse.

I’ve already been looking at the rat’s teeth through the hole, but suddenly, it’s raised up into the air. The demon, done with the wall, has picked the little beast up by the tail. His second hand starts to choke it. Seeing what’s going on, I break into a cold sweat, my movement and breathing stop. The demon is squeezing the rat with both hands. Its health bar is in no hurry to drop, however—the demon is taking his time. He’s killing his victim slowly.

My supply of air is going to run out in five seconds… Four… Three… Two…

I breathe in and breathe out. The rat dies painfully, its carcass dropped onto the floor. The demon looks down at the bodies of the dead mages before giving the rat a kick. After banging a couple times off the wall, the corpse flies out through the hole.

Undead, Erin the Loser, Level 2801, raid boss

The demon carefully adjusts the body of the mage the skeleton was gnawing on. Then, brushes away the bone dust and smooths down the mantle. After giving the room a look around, his gaze fixes on the chair wedged against the door, and then on the torn couch. Finally, he turns back to the wall he came in through.

Five minutes after the demon left, I’m still in a cold sweat, barely breathing, and only starting to recover. No, I have to get out of here right now!

It takes me almost an hour to get from the ruined guild building to the residential district, which is where the exit is. And if the quiet was driving me crazy, the murmuring of zombies and squeaking of rats is even worse. I come across possessed demons twice, both of them pursuing rats. They’re like harbingers of death, dashing along with clattering claws and constant squeaking. Whenever I see them, I hide and wait. First, the rats run by; then, once quiet settles, in comes the demon. It’s only when the sounds of the dead city start breaking out again that I resume my trek to the way out of this corner of hell.

The bots with bodies or magic are the most dangerous. Even one of the rats could kill me in just a couple of seconds.

Hiding out on the roof of a small building, I see three predators who are running from a demon eat a couple skeletons. They use combat techniques to move faster, getting what looks like a double boost for ten seconds. The blitz in to tear limbs off is a fast and effective attack. They work in well-coordinated groups, while the skeletons cast bone shields or curses.

Happily, the exit is clear, with no zombie guards to be found. The stone plate slides to the side, opening the path to the darkened tunnel before me—my way to freedom. I take a step, then another, and then a third…

Something’s wrong.

I don’t hear my own footfalls; all I can hear is the darkness up ahead. It’s absolutely quiet, and…

Only one enemy can cause the kind of terror I’m feeling.

Undead, Piroxis Aransky, Level 2788, raid boss

He’s standing behind me, at the entrance to the dead city and just ten meters away. My suspicions are confirmed—he has a new body.

Lifting one rotting hand, he waves to me. The jaw kicks into action; the eyes shine green.

“See-ee…you soo-oo-oon…Sagie!”

My legs carry me away, and I turn on a lantern. The wall is in front of me. It’s cold, and I’m panting. Stop and open the door?

Dragon breath turns part of the wall to ash, and I dash out, slamming into Greta as she stands guard at the passage. Stop and explain? Wait? Screw it! How do I get out of here??

***

Krash teleported to Tiamad’s office. He was in good spirits, smiling and practically glowing, and he even showed up with gifts from the outside world and made everyone coffee.

Ten minutes later, nobody had uttered a word. Krash was humming a merry tune as he stood by the panoramic window, the picture idyllic—hot coffee, good music, silence, peace, and an ocean of enjoyment. Idzumi’s kiir settled in nearby as he watched the enormous fish swimming by in the depths of the ocean. The two shapeshifting cats basked in the quiet and  homey comfort.

Tiamat put aside his copy of the latest Wanderer Herald issue.

“Hey, cat, has nobody ever told you how to say hi? Here you are again, and you’re even ignoring everyone.”

The invigorating smell of strong coffee tickled the nose. In his cat form, Krash’s perception was heightened, which was why he preferred coffee then. Even Tiamat’s sharp rebuke wasn’t enough to put a damper on his mood.

“I took another look at Sagie, and this time, I liked what I saw! The academy sent him into the dead city under Kkhor, so I took control of one of the roaming raid bosses and gave him a trial by fire.”

“You don’t think that was too soon? It’s been barely more than a week, and you’re already attacking him again.”

“Last time,