There are moments in your life when you enter into a panic so great that it binds you to the ground. You try to move your body, but it feels like somebody has used gravity magic to bind your legs. That is my present situation.

  Even as I am looking at the creature in front of me, I find myself willing to push my body to move. I can feel the panic claw into me even as I struggle to maintain my thoughts. There is no use in blindly falling into a panic and doing things without thinking. Even as I struggle against it, I realise that this fear is not completely natural.

  Something tells me I shouldn't be moving in front of the creature. That would certainly make the creature in front of us chase us. Whatever it is, it is a predator. Somebody has to tell my mind that, though. Even at this moment, I find myself wanting to run away. It is like a tension in my nerves that I can barely keep under control. It is mostly training and discipline that stop me from moving right now.

  Even as I control my impulse to run away, I find myself studying the creature. It is not like any creature that I have seen in my life. (I have to assume that means that this creature has popped up from a bone pit.) That is why I need to study it. Any detail I learn will be vital in defeating the creature.

  It is an undead skeleton, of course. I have just never seen a skeleton like this in my life. It seems like an amalgamation of many creatures. Its front claws kind of remind me of the wings of a bat. Its face kind of reminds me of a drakon. (Though it is too large to be one.) Its tail kind of looks like the tail of a lizard. (Now that I think about it, it could be a necromancer's experiment as well.)

  Other than that, another thing to be noted is the creature's size. It is massive. It is large enough to rival a giant if it stood on its feet. Right now, it is moving on all four of its feet. This makes it look much smaller than it actually is.

  Its limbs have clearly not been designed for such a task. Its front two limbs are too large for it to comfortably rest on top of. Even now, it looks awkward, as if it is not used to standing on all fours.

  Well, this is the only way that the creature would have fit in these tunnels. It is a massive creature, at least the size of a giant. It is hunched over on the ground, with the tunnel greatly restricting its mobility. It also gives the creature a very awkward look, as if it is not comfortable moving in here.

  I don't know how much of a benefit it will be. Even now, I can see its front claws, leaving gouges on the floor as it digs into the ground. I am sure that if we're to get struck by those claws, it will leave me in two pieces. Its back legs are much smaller, though something tells me that it is no weaker. They are strong enough to launch the creature ahead at massive speeds.

  Yet the most terrifying thing about the creature is not its size or its massive claws. (That seems to be designed to rip a man into two.) It is not even the fact that I have not seen anything like it in my life.

  The most terrifying thing about the creature is its face. I guess it is not logical to worry so much about it when the rest of the body is dangerous. I can't help but keep coming back to its face. Multiple horns jut out of its head like a crown. Those horns look sharp enough to leave a hole in me if they were to pierce me. It has a massive mouth that could gobble me up in a single bite.

  Yet the most terrifying thing about it is its eyes. They are empty, just as the eyes of any skeleton should be. Logically speaking, I shouldn't even have noticed it eyes. (There are many more dangerous things to focus on.) Yet, it is like I can feel the malevolence of the creature in its eye. It is a curious kind of malevolence. The kind that a hunter would give to its prey, I think.

  Those eyes also betray the intelligence of the creature. Right now, the creature is studying us just as I am studying it.

  Something tells me that the creature is more than capable of pouncing on us right now. The only thing preventing it from doing so is surprise and curiosity. It is wondering where we have come from. After all, pests like us shouldn't have been able to sneak into the place.

  That is why I can't move right now. After all, the moment that we make a move, we will become an enemy. An enemy that needs to be put down. Then the creature will attack without any mercy. Let's hope that the others don't make a move.

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  Focusing so much on the creature, I almost don't notice what is on the ground next to it. The entire place around the creature has been surrounded by corpses. All of them have either been bitten or crushed to death. (Most likely by the claws of the creature.) I have to assume they are the necromancers. (There are no other humans here.) Already, I can see an image forming in my head about what has happened here. Now is not the time to waste on theories, though. The creature already looks ready to attack, after all.

  Then, my notice goes to a corpse near the hind legs of the creature. He is the most curious corpse of the lot. He looks like somebody has put his entire head inside of a raging fire. It is burnt so thoroughly that the only possible way is through magic. Well, this gives me an idea about the kind of magic the creature can use.

  Even as I am noting all of this, I can see the curiosity leave the creature. Well, I am surprised that it took so long studying us. After all, how long will you study a bug buzzing around you? You will begin to swat it the moment that you see it. It is this jolt of panic that finally gives me the energy to break out of my stupor. I silently begin to retreat. I have to take every step behind me slowly and steadily. Running too quickly will trigger the creature. Let's hope that the others are about as careful with their movement as me.

  Even as I began to walk backwards, I saw that the creature had decided that it had wasted enough time looking at us. Screw it, there is no more use in standing about the place now.

  I turn and run for my life as my feet pound the ground like hammers. Even as I turn around, I can feel the claw of the creature a few inches away from me. If it were a bit closer, the damn thing would have ended up hitting me. Well, I am now far enough from the creature that the claws won't be an issue.

  This spurs me to run even faster as my vital mana channels into my body subconsciously. I finally reach the other members of the group.

  "RUN", I scream at the idiots. What exactly are they doing waiting around like that? The damn idiots are still in the entrance to the inner tunnel.

  My scream is enough to get them back into action. Our feet pound in the tunnel of the middle circle as we run in the middle circle. This time, there is no way that we will be safely charting our path through the place.

  Every step that we take, we risk activating the traps here. Well, we have been lucky not to do so yet. Even as I record all this, I have reached the gate of the outer keep. (The path itself is pretty short. The main thing that took time in the first place was deactivating the traps.)

  I turn around to get an idea of what is happening right now. Well, the creature is still decently far away from us. I had hoped that it would have gotten stuck in the tunnel. After all, its bulk should have been enough to activate all the traps in the place.

  Well, it is activating the traps all right. These traps are not able to affect the creature at all, though. Even now, it is walking through traps that would have trapped us completely.

  At least it is slowing down the creature. (For a bit.) The other members of the group are just behind me. They are close enough to enter the room at least. Fuck, even as I am recording this, I feel a tingle in my right leg. Before I can react, I can feel it in the rest of my body. I find myself slumping as the rest of the group enters the room. My entire body stood paralysed.

  Well, at least they are safe. I cycle my vital mana as quickly as I dare to. Well, that has an effect as the feeling of tingling returns to my limbs. Well, it will take a while for movement to return.

  Well, the damn creature has also realised that. Even now, it has begun to rush towards me. Its claws gouge into the floor in front of it, triggering an entire set of traps that do little to stop it.

  Well, it is taking damage. I can see traces of damage on the bone of the creature even as it gets close to me. The problem is that the damage is barely noticeable compared to the rest of its bulk.

  Fuck, I can see the damn creature getting closer and closer to me as it rushes through the traps. Even as it gets close enough, I can feel sensation return to me. Much of my body is still paralysed, though.

  I should be able to hobble to the room now. I get up even as the creature crawls to a stop. Even as I begin to run away, this strikes me as curious. It is still not close enough to attack me with its claws, after all.

  Even as I reach the gate, I realise what the creature is doing. More accurately, I feel it as I feel a stream of flame hit my back. I pass through the door even as my shirt catches fire.

  Thankfully, the rest of the group has the good sense to shut the door behind me. The searcher casts a water spell even as the flames begin to consume me. The spell is enough to douse the flames on me. I activate my sword even as I return my focus to the gate. Doing that is enough to cause me to gasp. The burn on my back begins to throb like a little heart. That doesn't mean that I can stop it. It is the only thing that is stopping my injuries from getting worse.

  Just the gate itself is not going to be enough to hold back the creature. I will have to activate all the formations on it. The problem is that I can't form my control strings. The pain is so overwhelming that I can't string together two thoughts.

  Even as I struggle to create my control strings, the creature attacks the door. Its claws shuddering against the gate. The force of the attack is so great that the entire room feels like it is shaking. The panic that these strikes cause is enough for me to focus as I finally create the control strings. I don't have time to waste as the control strings connect to the formations.