Waver

As Niall was walking down another infinite corridor of the dungeon, he heard the sound of metal clattering. He was sure this must've been one of the humans trying to find out why his friends didn't show up. Or perhaps, as the blue light said, he already knows.

'I've got to do this, if he alerts the others, I'm done for!'

His paranoia got the better of him. In his situation, it'd be understandable.

Niall took off in the direction the sounds were coming from, and he was almost visible. A torch illuminated the corridor.

Niall snuck up on the adventurer, stilling his breath and then took a look at him. He was wearing full heavy armor from head to toe, his weapon concealed below his leather coat with the handle sticking out. It looked as if the grey fur lining of the leather coat was charred. He lit up his lamp and put his torch out, leaning his back against the wall. He was waiting for someone.

'He must think his friends are late. I could ambush him... But how? He's totally impenetrable!'

Niall looked for any weak spots in the warrior's armor. He couldn't see any, as the leather coat hid them.

'Isn't there anything I can do?' he pondered. He knew his target would be getting tired of waiting for friends that'll never come.

Then, a mature, deep-pitched grumpy voice came from far behind.

"Why're you always rushing ahead?! Get back here!" it yelled.

Niall immediately understood what to do. The well-equipped adventurer loudly replied in a frustrated tone.

"If you're so slow, why bother coming after?!"

He sprinted in silence towards the other voice, taking corner after corner.

Niall finally saw him approaching with a lamp in his hand, muttering to himself.

"Damn brat, always has to have his way."

'Did my hearing improve?'

This one looked easier to deal with, at least armor-wise. He was shirtless, wearing a pair of rugged pants and his fists wrapped in cloth. There was a shiny bracelet around his left wrist. If he was lucky, he'd be able to bite at the neck like usual. He didn't know any other moves, he just had to make do with his body. Wasn't it his responsibility to hide? Why is he looking for a fight?

As he already had the scent of the warrior decked in iron plates, he felt confident about victory. This wasn't a matter of skill, it was more of a matter of chance. After all, he took down two humans and even defeated a bear. What's a partially naked man going to do?

He prepared his setup, knowing that he'd eventually make his way to the corner.

"When I get my hands on that... Huh?" he stopped in his tracks.

Niall heard him. It sounded as if he discovered something he shouldn't have.

"Gah. Must be from that coat of his! No wonder he's always buying new clothes!"

He continued walking towards Niall at a faster pace. He opened his mouth to speak once again. This time, his tone sounded even more irritated and you could swear that he could be heard all the way from the entrance of the dungeon itself. Niall never heard someone scream harder than that until now.

"DAMN IT, QUIT RUINING YOUR COAT! YOU'RE STEPPING ON THE FUR! STOP ASKING PEOPLE FOR MONEY IF YOU CAN'T EVEN TAKE CARE OF YOUR STUFF!"

He was ignored. Niall would've liked to ignore him too, if he could.

'Ugh... he smells like sweat.'

He was almost there, though he once again stopped in his tracks. He took a second, then kept moving forward.

'Almost there... almost there!'

There was a roar and the steps he was taking have turned into furious stomps.

"RARGHH!"

'What?'

He glanced to his right, at the other path leading towards the adventurer's friend.

'Ah, the fur! It-' he was interrupted by a fierce punch coming his way.

Niall barely dodged the attack, his fist grazing his leg.

[Health] 35/36

[Stamina] 30/31

The brawler noticed how agile Niall was. He didn't know how strong the wolf was... yet.

"Heh, stupid... dog? The fur leads to two different paths. You can't fool me!"

With his plan to ambush him thrown out the window, he could fight or run away. He couldn't be as fast as Niall, given his size. Has Niall ever successfully ambushed something?

'He looks bigger up close...' he thought, perhaps he shouldn't have chosen his adversary based on equipment...

His adversary put his hands up, expecting it to lunge. But Niall showed restraint, knowing from experience that being aggressive isn't always the best option.

The man slowly approached, and with each step taken, his aura was becoming increasingly threatening.

He lunged at Niall with a ferocity even greater than everything he'd ever faced off before, forcing Niall to dodge into the wall. The hall was too narrow to fight toe-to-toe in.

'I can't dodge the next-' 

He didn't give Niall time to think. There was no way to avoid his next punch! He braced for it...

'Ghrah...!'

A full-on collision. Both adversaries could hear the wolf's ribcage cracking. A surge of pain shot up Niall's spine, his consciousness wavering.

He retracted his fist from the wolf's gut, letting him fall to the ground at his feet.

"Is that all you've got, runt?!"

He jumped back, and it seemed like he was being toyed with as he allowed Niall to make some distance.

'I've got to... get away!'

[Health] 17/36

[Stamina] 28/31

[Current Status - Ribs (Shattered), Right Lung (Punctured)]

He ran away from the combatant, slipping and tripping from the shock of the blow. He got the wind knocked right out of him.

"Fine. If you wanna play that game, I'm in."

The warrior's voice was getting more and more distant.

[Vital Signs Monitor Active]

[Expected Recovery Time - 5 Hours]

[ENDURANCE] has been limited outside of combat to avoid further damage.

[STRENGTH] has been limited outside of combat to avoid further damage.

[AGILITY] has been limited outside of combat to avoid further damage.

'I can't read... gotta focus!'

Far behind, an echo shrouded the wind blowing through Niall's ears.

"10."

'10?'

"9."

A cloud of realization dawned upon Niall. He knew the warrior gave him a head start and a countdown. He burst into speed, hoping to lose track...

"8."

The voice was growing more and more distant. Turmoil was starting to get a grasp of the wolf as he noticed something strange. He took another right. Then, another left.

"7."

There were paw prints on the ground in front of him. Were there any other creatures here?! Was it one of the blue light's minions?!

"6."

His breath was getting more and more shallow. Without realizing it, he slipped on a rock, sliding on the ground. He coughed up blood. He couldn't even think about the possibility of getting up until he heard...

"5."

He used all of his remaining strength to get back up...

[Health] 15/27

[Stamina] 9/24

He ran at a speed that he could never have thought possible. He took another right once more, then a left. That was until he saw what looked like multiple footprints going in the direction he was going. All paws, at that.

"4."

'Why is he still so close after that distance?! I can't... take it much longer!'

He took a different direction, away from the paws.

"3."

'That's it!'

The warrior's voice was gradually fading, the corridors looking different than before.

"2."

His opponent could barely be heard anymore. This gave Niall huge relief.

'I can't believe I didn't lose him. What was I doing? Was I going in circles? No... I doubt it.'

Niall took a left, searching for a place to lie down for a while. He was incredibly tired after the encounter. His vision was fading from exhaustion. He slowly walked into the room on the left. He noticed that there was another set of paw prints leading into this room. Then, he took a look around.