The sun rose and set, rose and set, until the rhythm of time became background noise. Jason stopped counting. He stopped wondering what day it was or how long he had been in this world as none of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was that everything was ready for the crawl.

Jason had managed to get some armor. Not the good kind—not the polished steel that Kaelen wore or the enchanted leather that Mira favored. His was patchwork. Secondhand at best, a leather cuirass that had been repaired so many times it looked more like a quilt than armor. Metal bracers that pinched his wrists. Boots that were half a size too small.

But it was something.

He also had a sword. A short blade, single-edged, with a leather-wrapped hilt and a scabbard that had seen better days.

The balance was off and the edge was dull. But Jason had spent hours practicing—swinging at a wooden post behind the boarding house, thrusting at shadows in the alley, trying to remember the few lessons Ylva had given him.

He would still be killed by anything that had any basic skill with a blade.

He was vastly inexperienced. A child pretending to be a soldier. A comedian playing at being a hero.

But he had the armor. He had the sword. And he had his system—forty percent adaptation to mana manipulation, slowly climbing.

It would have to be enough.

-

The day of the crawl arrived.

Jason met Kaelen’s guild at the entrance to the Stonefang tunnels alongside his group—a gaping maw in the side of a rocky hill, surrounded by warning signs and old bloodstains. The sun was barely over the horizon, the air cold and damp.

Kaelen was already there, his massive scaled body blocking the entrance like a wall of muscle and teeth. His yellow eyes lit up when he saw Jason approaching.

"Little meat!" Kaelen boomed, his voice echoing off the rocks. He strode forward and wrapped a massive arm around Jason’s shoulders, pulling him into a half-hug that nearly lifted him off the ground. "You came! I was starting to think you’d changed your mind."

Jason gasped for air. "Can’t... breathe..."

Kaelen released him, laughing. His yellow eyes swept over Jason’s group—Ylva, her eyes sharp, her claws extended; Thalion, hooded and quiet, his silver hair hidden but he was healed; and Mae, standing at the back, her sword between her breasts, her eyes were curious.

Kaelen’s gaze stopped on Mae.

His scarred snout wrinkled. His tail went still. His yellow eyes locked onto her chest—the way her top strained against her curves, the way the leather harness pushed her breasts together, the way the sword hilt rested in the valley between them.

It would take only a single violent shake for her to have a wardrobe malfunction.

Jason couldn’t blame the reptile for staring. Mae knew how to dress for attention. And she always got it.

"Who is this?" Kaelen asked, his voice lower now, almost reverent.

Jason opened his mouth to answer, but Mira spoke first. She had been leaning against a boulder near the entrance, her amber eyes half-lidded, her tail swaying.

"She’s Jason’s," Mira said flatly. "He’s fucking her."

Kaelen’s yellow eyes widened. He looked at Jason—really looked at him—as if seeing him for the first time.

"You?" Kaelen said. "You’re fucking her?"

Jason’s face flushed. "I mean, technically—"

"And the other one?" Kaelen jerked his head toward Ylva. "You’re fucking her too?"

Ylva’s ears flattened. "That’s none of your business."

Kaelen ignored her. He was staring at Jason with something like admiration. "Little meat, you look so innocent. So weak. So... pathetic." He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound. "But it seems even you can’t help but shove your cock into every woman who crosses your path."

Jason wanted to deny it. He wanted to explain that it wasn’t like that, that there were circumstances, that the world was strange and sex was a currency and—

But Kaelen wasn’t finished.

"So," the reptile said, his yellow eyes drifting back to Mae’s chest. "If I feel an itch... can I borrow her?"

Jason’s mouth opened.

Mae raised an eyebrow.

Ylva’s claws extended because she had no idea who he was referring to.

Before anyone could respond, a metal object connected with the back of Kaelen’s head.

THWACK.

The reptile stumbled forward, his hand flying to his skull. He turned to find Helga standing behind him, her warhammer’s hilt still raised, her eyes narrowed beneath her braided red beard.

"Be respectful," Helga growled. "She’s not a toy. And he’s not a pimp."

Kaelen rubbed his head, his yellow eyes wide with surprise. "I was just asking—"

"Don’t." Helga lowered her hammer. "Just... don’t."

Kaelen grumbled but didn’t argue. He glanced at Jason, then at Mae, then at Ylva. His tail flicked once.

"Fine," he muttered. "Keep your women. I’ve got my axes."

Mira snorted. "Your axes don’t keep you warm at night."

"Neither do your daggers, but you don’t hear me complaining."

Helga shook her head and walked past them toward the tunnel entrance. "Can we focus? The goblins aren’t going to kill themselves."

-

Jason took the opportunity to slip away from Kaelen’s side.

He moved toward Ylva, who had been watching the entire exchange with her arms crossed and her tail thrashing. Her eyes were fixed on Kaelen’s back, her jaw tight.

"Hey," Jason said softly.

Ylva didn’t look at him. "He wanted to borrow her."

"I know."

"He wanted to borrow her like she’s a tool. Like she’s a weapon you lend to a friend."

"I know."

Ylva’s claws flexed. "And you didn’t say anything."

Jason sighed. "What was I supposed to say? He’s three times my size and he could kill me with one punch. I was trying not to get murdered."

Ylva finally turned to look at him. Her eyes were hard, but there was something underneath—something that wasn’t quite anger.

"You’re pathetic," she said.

She stared at him for a long moment. Then she reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Her claws didn’t dig in. They just rested there, warm through the leather of his cuirass.

"Stay close to me," she said. "In the tunnels. Don’t wander off."

Jason nodded. "I wasn’t planning to."

"Good."

She released his shoulder and turned back toward the tunnel.

Jason fell into step beside her.

Mira watched them from the boulder, her amber eyes tracking every movement. Her tail swayed slowly. Her lips parted slightly, revealing a hint of fang.

She licked her lips.

Then she pushed off the boulder and walked toward the tunnel, her daggers glinting in the morning light.

The crawl was about to begin.