Chapter 14: Too Cold To Freeze
A bristling green pasture swayed gently in the winds.
A young boy, who looked to be around 14, sleepily lay in the field, entirely enshrouded by the soil's green whiskers.
His shoddy, neck-length brown hair drooped across his face as he absent-mindedly gawked at the sky, his sharp black eyes filled with longing and wonder.
The clear blue sky beamed down upon the land with its azure rays, coating the acreage he called home in its snug hold.
Among the beautiful fields was a tall wooden building that cruised to 10ft (3m) tall and took up a sizeable portion of the land.
The cozy home was tucked in near the outskirts of the town walls, yet still close enough in a brisk 5-minute walking distance to the towns and local markets.
The boy's copper eyelids fluttered as his mind began to wander, 'I wonder-'
"Zee!!" a rough female voice called out.
The boy's wandering mind snapped back to reality as he hoisted himself up from the grass, with it now only coming crotch-length up.
The voice calling was a tall, brawny woman standing 6ft tall with a meaty plumpness to her.
Her fiery red, shoulder-length curly hair was tied into a messy bun with a patterned bonnet.
A dirty apron was strewn across her generous mounds of chest, coming all the way down to her knees and poorly protecting the brown rags she adorned for clothes.
"Ay, ya lil laddy, why ya always gotta go dozing off?" the woman asked with a fierce snort, "did ya even get ya chores done?!"
"Sorry Nana.", the boy Zee dishearteningly replied, casting a mournful gaze at the earth.
"Ayy…" Nana rubbed the back of her head, wafting through the fields to finally reach the young boy.
OOOOMPH!
She grabbed the small boy whose head barely reached her bossoms and yanked him into her embrace, bending her head down onto the top of his and sorrowfully whispering into his ear.
"Sniff, I know laddy, I miss im' too, but bein' sad isn't goin' to make im' come back."
Tears leaked out of her firm yet fatigued black eyes with underlies of bags underneath.
Like a dam was broken, the boy started sobbing in her embrace, soaking her apron, yet she held fast, pulling him even tighter as did he.
Finally, after some time in the fields, she slowly released her hug to see the teary-eyed boy looking back at her, minor hiccups still surfacing.
Nana put both her hands on the boy's shoulder and gave an intense gaze into his eyes, 'I know it's been 'ard for ya Zee, and believe me, notta single night goes by I don' regret doin' nothin, but…"
The middle-aged woman looked away, closing her eyes and calming her breath to prevent herself from breaking down, "But, I needya Zee, the kids 'ere needya."
A warm smile spread across her worn face as Zee began to rub his eyes with his raggedy sleeves.
She continued, "Can ya do that for me, laddy?"
Zee sniffed his mucus and enthusiastically nodded his head, "Yes!"
A radiant smile beamed across her face once as she patted the young boy's shoulder, "Good, now come in soon, supper's ready, and the kiddies are all waitin' on ya."
As Nana turned and began walking back, Zee loosely followed behind, yet he couldn't help but give one last glimpse at the therapeutic sky, slipping back into inquiry, "Are you safe out there? Are you even still alive? Will we ever see you again?"
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{Meanwhile... Passageway 5}
"Ya fukin rat!"
BOOOOOM!!
Dust clouds tumbled in the air as Oz's fist slammed into the ground, missing his target by the hair of its teeth.
'This can't go on like this…' he grimaced.
In the middle of a vast cavern, a chocolate-skinned boy and an ember red rat were playing a game of cat and mouse.
After the devious creature in front of Oz had nearly caused him to pass out cold from its shriek, it had only been retreating and dodging all of the boy's attacks.
It's almost like it was…
'It's stalling,' Oz mused with a cold gaze.
Tiny shivers ran down his back as he imagined an onslaught of thousands of rats swarming him, 'There's no way I would survive…'
He stopped his pursuit for a second, glancing back at the exit-way that was now cleared after the tsunami of water had crashed.
Sqrsqrsqr…
"Huh?" Oz was baffled as he turned back to examine the creature.
This little rat was… laughing at him?
"Grrr," Oz bent his knees and dashed forward, the game of cat and mouse continuing once again.
After almost a minute of the same cycle, Oz snapped himself out of his rage, 'I can't lose my cool here.'
The rat continued giggling as its small figure flipped and jumped around.
'If I can't catch up, then there's one thing I can do,' he planned internally.
"Hyah!" he rushed forward, sending a very low open-handed uppercut, scooping at the creature, yet it merely backflipped away.
Floating through the air, "About time."
Oz spun with momentum as he caught his balance, chucking the scooped debris at the airborne rat, sprinkling it in rapid attacks that staggered it in the air.
Yet Oz wasn't done yet.
As the critter flailed downwards, he leaped up and front-flipped to build momentum, plummeting it downwards with a forceful hammer kick.
BOOOM!!
Yet, he was still nowhere near done; this little game of cat and mouse had taken a lot of time, and it wasn't over until the little black box told him it was over.
The boy rushed the creature, who was barely able to crane its neck upwards as he began to deliver devastating punches, pancaking it into the ground.
BOOOM!
BOOOOM!!
BOOOOOOM!!!
The creature's scornful gaze shot through even amongst the onslaught, a silent oath for revenge ravaging its every thought.
Yet in life, there are winners and losers, and though it was destined to crush trash like the pathetic dark-skinned boy in front of it, it was alas still in its infancy, and so the rest will be left to its brethren.
CHOMP!
As Oz continued pummeling downwards, the tiny rat opened its mouth, causing its teeth to crack upon impact yet cutting the boy's hand in the process.
"Aghh!" Oz yelped in pain as he stood up and began stomping the persevering creature to death.
A hateful grin lingered on the rat's face as the fierce red light left its eyes, becoming a mute grey.
[Experience Gained, Killed Realm 1, Low Proficiency Creature.]
[Bloodline Detected!]
[Fuse Bloodline?]
"Sigh," Oz heavily exhaled, "That thing was a pain in the ass; I wonder what its bloodline will be," as the Black Box continued its messages.
[Fuse FuriRat Prince Bloodline?]
[Element: Fire (Variant)]
[Rank: 1]
[Grade: Low (High)]
Oz eyes widened in shock, "Woah."
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{Meanwhile... in Passageway 3}
Any icy shawl enshrouded the entire cave.
There was no red glow, no tiny fruit bobbing about, nor was there even the faintest of heat.
Up ahead, two blue beams of light pierced through the darkness, a frigid frost pervading them.
KLKLKLKL
The loud clanking sounds that broke the sterile silence were almost maddening, yet a steadfast, green solid gaze met the cold icy blue eyes.
The man across whose bulging muscles began to pulsate under his pitch-black cloak, "Finally, haven't met a challenge since Mini-boss and the Big-boss!"
KKKKKL
A long drawn-out clank reverbed through the cave, and then…
The cave was utterly dark.
No clickings, no growls; the man couldn't even hear his own heartbeat nor his steady breaths.
This hazy fog greedily consumed the light shining from his eyes, and so he closed them, waiting...
KL
A single sound awoke him; that was all he needed as a bright green aura enshrouded his entire body, as did the creature across from him.
Splashing the room with its radiant beams, light burst from its body before even revealing the creature in the darkness, tainting the green light with an eerie blue aura.
Thin layers of frost crept along the cavern floors, walls, and ceiling, steadily creeping toward the man.
"Enough games!" he shouted out.
The enrobed man rushed forward at a blinding pace, his aura as thick and reflective as shining armor as he forcefully connected with the chilling creature.
BOOOOM!!
The lights clashed against one another as they refused to blend and instead swirled around each other, caught in a perpetual battle as their physical manifestations sparked against one another.
DRIP.
A single drop of blood oozed out of the man's nose as he looked at what he had made an impact with.
An ivory-white structure, 5 times as thick as his tree trunk legs lay in front of him.
His eyes eyebrows raised in surprise, he slowly craned his head upwards to meet the true face of his adversary, and staring right back at him was-
Black beady pits of nothing with blue lights swirling within those abyssal voids that would be considered eyes.
The creature had no flesh, as its entire structure was ivory white.
The beast's structure was that of 4 rats, omnidirectionally placed together, with the opening of its mouth less like that of a rat and that of a plant.
Its face was massive in size, and even then, it eclipsed the man's large, muscular build more than three times over, and even then, he had yet to see the rest of its body.
"Huh… so looks like I found a challenge.", the man chuckled; the creature stared back, its mouth clacking together as the blue light in its eyes swirled.
KLKLKL
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