That's when several more blades came flying at me from different directions! Thankfully my 'In The Zone' skill kicked in just then, and I dodged all of them with ease which meant these things were fast... Really fast! 

But no matter how fast they were, there was no way they could keep up with my 'Moving Target 3' skill, so I kept calm and collected; I started looking around for these things but came up empty-handed, just like before. "Come on out already!"

But instead of anything coming out, more blades came flying toward me, and I was forced to dodge them all over again. Thankfully none of them hit me this time, but it did make me wonder just how many of these things were there? And what the hell were they even supposed to be? 

I was so focused on dodging the blades that I didn't even sense the one coming at me from behind until it was too late, and I let out a grunt in pain as one of them buried itself deep into my lower back! Luckily my health bar only dropped down by around two hundred points but still... That hurt like a bitch!  

Finally fed up with this little game, "Fine, have it your way then!" I shouted before using my 'Stopping Power 2' skill which increased damage from all firearms by eight percent. Then without any further ado, I started firing off shots blindly in different directions while trying not to get hit by any more flying knives! 

It worked for the most part, except for when one clipped my arm, which caused me to drop Midnight Frost, and thankfully it landed point-down into the ground instead of flying off somewhere. The next thing that happened took me completely by surprise as several ropes came flying toward me! "What the hell?!"  

 They wrapped themselves tightly around my arms and legs before dragging me towards whatever direction they had come from, like some kinda fish on a line or something. Suddenly I was being dragged towards a huge hole in the ground that looked like it had been made by something really big, and I tried to grab onto anything I could to stop myself from being pulled any closer, but there was nothing!  

The ropes were too tight, and they were cutting into my skin which meant there wasn't anything I could do as I continued to be pulled ever closer toward the edge, but I summoned a tactical blade. It was a small knife that could be used one-handed and had different functions, like being able to cut through ropes or be used as a throwing knife. 

I quickly grabbed it with my free hand before plunging it into the ground, and thankfully it dug in deep enough to stop me from going any further. The only problem now was that I didn't know how long I would be able to hold on.

Suddenly the rope started loosening its grip on me ever so slightly, which meant whoever was doing this must have let go!  

That gave me just enough time to grab my blade and dive at one of the areas that whatever was attacking was hiding in, and thankfully I made contact with something as there was a yelp of pain. "Gotcha!"

A metal pigmy shrouded in metallic dreadlock was cut in half, but there were three more in this spot alone that jumped at my face as soon as I had pulled my blade out of the one that I had just killed! But thankfully, I was able to react in time and stabbed two of them with my blade before kicking the last one away.

I quickly put some distance between us while trying not to get surrounded by these things, which wouldn't have been hard considering how small they were. They looked like they were made out entirely of metal except for their eyes which glowed red, and it almost looked like their dreadlocks were alive as well... Which was really creepy if you asked me!     

"So what are you guys supposed to be?!"  

In response, more jumped at me from different directions, but thankfully because I could sense them coming thanks somehow to my bond with Chloe, it gave me just enough time to react, and I was able to slice them all in half before they could get to me. "I'm going to take that as a no, then?"

More kept coming at me from all sides, but thankfully I hadn't seen any more of those ropes so far. Though that didn't mean they couldn't be hiding somewhere waiting to ambush me again. Suddenly one of them jumped at my face with its mouth open wide like it wanted to bite my face off or something, but thankfully I was able to react in time and grabbed it by the throat before slamming its head down into the ground hard enough to crush its skull.  

I quickly dispatched the rest with ease, but more just kept coming as if they were being called forth from some dark abyss that this place most likely was. Thankfully because of my 'In The Zone' skill, all firearm skills now required fifty percent less energy which meant I could use them more often than before. 

But even with that being said; there were just too many of these things for me to take on alone considering how fast they were moving! Countless numbers leaped at me from all directions, and no matter how many I killed, there always seemed to be more... And then suddenly, one of them caught me off guard as it jumped onto my back and started biting into my neck!    

"Shit!"

 It hurt like hell, and blood started flowing out from where it had broken through my skin which caused my health bar to drop significantly. In a fit of panic, I reached back behind me with one hand while still trying not to get surrounded by any more of these things, and luckily I was able to grab hold of it before yanking it off of me and throwing it to the ground.

Then I just lost it and screamed as blood ran down my face, summoning my Glock to my fear hand, and I went wild. Firing off shot after shot in all directions until my gun was empty, and there wasn't a single one of those things left standing. I stood there panting with my blade still in hand as I tried to calm myself down, but it was hard when my heart was hammering so hard against my chest that it felt like it might just burst out at any second now...

I wanted to sit down and rest for a bit, but I knew better than that, considering how these things had ambushed me earlier. So instead, I started to look around the torn-up office. It looked like it had been abandoned for years, and there was a thick layer of dust everywhere. I didn't find anything else of interest except for a few more rats and feral dogs but otherwise, nothing else...

The only other exit out of this place that I could find was a fire escape, so without any other choice in the matter, "Here goes nothing," I muttered before making my way toward it. But just as I was about to open the door leading outside, something crashed down in front of me from above!   

I quickly leaped back while putting some distance between us as whatever this thing was slowly started to get back up. It looked like some kind of dog or wolf, maybe? But it was hard to tell because its fur seemed to be made entirely out of shadow. Then it opened its mouth wide, revealing razor-sharp teeth before letting out an ear-piercing howl that sent shivers down my spine!   

I fired two rounds at the dog-like creature, but they just passed right through it as if it wasn't even there... Which didn't make any sense because I could see it just fine! So what the hell was this thing?!

"Scan!" I called out since it was still keeping back from me.

[Name: Shadow Wolf]

[Class: Elite Monster]

[Level: 33]  

[Attack: 96]

[Defense: 35]

[Speed: 112 ]  

[Health: 2400]   

[Energy: 160 ] 

Well, that answered one of my questions at least, but now I knew for certain that this thing was an Elite Monster! Which meant it would be much harder to take down than anything else I had faced so far... But I couldn't back down now!   "Come on then; let's see what you've got!"

The Shadow Wolf snarled at me before lunging forward with its mouth wide open, but thankfully I was able to react in time and dodged out of the way. But even though I had dodged, the wolf's claws still grazed my arm, which caused my health bar to drop down a bit, just passing half. "Shit!"

I quickly put some distance between us as the Shadow Wolf turned around to face me with an evil grin on its face like it was enjoying this... Which most likely meant it was! Then without any warning, it opened its mouth wide and fired off a stream of darkness toward me! 

I quickly dove out of the way, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to dodge it completely as a large portion of the darkness grazed my arm, which caused deep cuts to appear all over it. "Argh!" The pain was unbearable, and my health bar dropped significantly in an instant! 

Luckily I was still able to move, so I called out, "Summon: Midnight Frost!"   

A shimmering blue blade appeared in my hand, and thankfully because of our bond, Chloe had already been powering up this attack for me. Suddenly everything around us turned cold, like we were in some kind of freezer or something... Including the Shadow Wolf!    

It whimpered before taking a couple steps back from me with its teeth chattering like crazy now. But that didn't mean it was going to be easy taking this thing down as when I tried to slash at it with Midnight Frost, my blade just passed right through it as if nothing had even happened! What the hell?! How could I hurt this thing?!

The Shadow Wolf must have sensed my confusion because that's when it decided to attack me again, and I barely had time to react as I leaped out of the way. But even though I had dodged, its claws still grazed my arm, which caused more deep cuts to appear all over it, and my health bar dropped significantly once again, but now with only 200 left. "Shit!"

Suddenly more darkness came flying towards me, but thankfully this time, I was able to react in time and dodged out of the way just in the nick of time. The only problem now was that these things were coming faster and faster. Not to mention they were getting harder and harder to dodge because I was getting tired.

Then I saw something that caught my eye suddenly in the Shadow Wolf's forehead. A red gem. It was the first substantial thing I had seen on the creature since it was made entirely out of shadow. "Is that its weak point?"

I decided to test out my theory and quickly slashed at the gem with Midnight Frost, but just like before, nothing happened as my blade just passed right through it... But then something strange started happening to the Shadow Wolf as cracks started appearing all over its body!  

It whimpered in pain before taking a few steps back from me while clutching its head in agony. "What's going on?!"

 Then without any warning, the cracks expanded until they covered its entire body before exploding outwards! I quickly put up a barrier just in time to protect myself from the blast, but even so, I was still sent flying backward from the force of it and crashed into one of the railings, which caused more cuts to appear all over my arms and legs.   

But thankfully, none of them were too deep, so I should be fine... For now, anyway. When I finally came, too, I was back in the dungeon safe room, but there was something wrong. There was a massive hole in the wall, and Chloe wasn't there, and neither was the ATV.

"Halberd! Something is chasing me!" Chloe cried out, the sound coming up from Chaos Trigger in my pocket.