AUTHOR'S NOTE: [PASSAGEWAYS WILL BE LABELED FROM 1-6. WITH THE LEFT MOST BEING 1, AND THE RIGHT MOST BEING 6.]
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"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!"
Oz cursed out as he sprinted across the dark, jagged floor.
He could barely see past his footsteps but he bitterly continued on.
His surroundings were completely encompassed by the atramentous wisps of shadows.
"RAWRRR!!"
A bright red hue burst forth, gobbling away at the shadows as Oz felt his back start to heat up.
As he hustled forward, he couldn't but regret and think back to how he got himself in this predicament…
"Why did I have to do that?"
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{Flashback... to Earlier That Day}
SPLASH!
A body was sent into the air before slamming down onto the brown grassy ground.
"Guh!"
Oz's body rolled onto the floor, as he gasped for air.
"Huffhuff…"
He plopped onto his back and licked his rehydrated lips as he peered back at the pool that shot him out.
"Huffhuff… I hate it here", the soaking wet boy spat out as he lugged himself up, sitting upwards on his butt.
His pitch-black shirt and pants were soaking wet, yet he didn't pay attention to that.
He shot an angry glare at the almost-blood-red sky, with little blobs of blue still spread around.
The colors were like oil and water, refusing to mix yet coexisting with one another.
Oz huffed out annoyed, 'What the fuk is this place?"
He carefully got to his feet, his body now fully energized as if he was never dehydrated in the first place.
SIZZ
What was that sound, Oz looked around confused before looking at his shoulder.
"What the?!", his shoulder shirt sleeve was sizzling, and the water vapor was literally floating into the air.
Oz's eyes widened in shock as he watched the glob of water slowly leak out from his clothes and into the sky.
He searched around in panic for a place to hide, scared that he might soon become a walking corpse again.
He glanced over at the cave, its comforting shade enchanting him to enter.
WOOSH!
He rushed over, and with the cave being a few-arms length away from the water he was able to quickly enter to safety.
It felt almost like a feeling was put on him, not taken off him as if his body was slightly floating while outside.
As if his entire being itself was being absorbed by the sky.
He plopped down on the ground in exhaustion scared of what the hell the future was to bring, one thing was for sure though…
There was no way in hell he was going back outsi-
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!
A wailing screech resounded through the cave and shook Oz to his core causing him to leap to his feet in a panic.
He snapped around as he stumbled back towards the exit.
His moist back slipped from out of the shade causing a frightening sound to ring in his ears.
SIZZ…
Oz's eyes widened as he leaped forward and looked back to where the devious skylight hungrily beckoned toward him.
He was in between a rock and a hard place.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!
The guttural scream shook the cave once again, causing Oz to lower down in a combat-ready stance.
Warm sweat dripped from his brows, down his nose, and onto his lips; he gulped it down, not being one to waste hydration in this accursed place.
'It's sour', he sarcastically mused to himself as stepped into the caliginous cave not knowing the dangers he'd face.
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[Moments later...]
As Oz dove deeper into the mysterious cave, the light from behind cowered in fear from the increasingly dreadful darkness.
He could barely see his own feet, never mind his own dark skin which seemingly blended into the gloomy shadows.
The boy leaned against the wall, hugging it closely to prevent himself from getting lost.
He felt a slight decline as he carefully shuffled down the long dark corridor.
The rancid screams still rung out occasionally causing Oz to stop and crouch in alarm before steadily continuing forward once he asserted it safe to move.
After several arduous minutes of the coffee-skinned boy trekking through the pitch-black cave, his eyes sparkled longingly.
Up ahead a dim, inviting light flickered gently; though subtle it still enticed Oz to move forward, though still cautious of the dangers ahead.
As Oz came up through the dark entranceway, he was welcomed by a brilliant ball of orange flames floating around 20ft (6.1m) high near the ceiling.
The boy was flabbergasted at such a sight.
The peaceful flickering of flames was almost soothing in this depressing cave.
He turned his attention away from the floating ball of flames that hovered in the center of the dome-like room and up ahead to see six daunting entrances each with sinister energy to them.
'Fuk…
Each of the six long-dark entrances spewed a malicious aura that shook Oz to his core.
He shivered slightly, looking to the room at the very left.
As he took a step forward…
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!
That horrid shriek rang out again, nearly blowing the young lad on his butt as he stumbled backward.
Cold sweat dripped down the back of Oz's neck as he backed away while keeping his eyes locked on the curtain of shadows blocking his vision from whatever lurked beyond.
'That ways no good', he glanced towards the far right.
'Best to start as far away as possible… then maybe I'll work my way up', he cogitated with a determined look before cautiously creeping over to the far right cavern.
He entered the dark veil as all remains of his presence were devoured by the shadows, leaving no trace behind.
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{Passageway 6}
In a particular cave passageway, a gooey black substance ebbed and moved, flowing along within itself.
It looked like gelatinous black water, that moved without conscious thought.
The substance began to morph before spitting a figure out of its mouth.
SPLOOOKSH!!
"Ughhh!", a young boy whose dark skin blended into the aphotic room was spat out.
Confused, he looked back to where he came from, the strange substance still ebbing and flowing.
Cautiously, the boy put his hand to the saucy-looking goop only for it to warp itself around his hand, with a strange suction trying to pull him back in.
He quickly jerked his hand back and got to his feet.
The cave was slightly illuminated by a red glow that leaked from the cave walls.
Oz cautiously walked forward; out of habit, he chose to put his hand against the wall to keep track.
'The wall is warm', Oz pulled his hand back as he marveled at the passageway around him.
It was a little more than 10ft (3m) high and 5ft (1.5m) wide, making it spacious for the young boy to comfortably travel through.
CRUNCH CRUNCH
The soft cave gravel crunched beneath his boots as he slowly moved forward.
SQEAUK!
"Huh!", Oz had little time to react as a giant red rat that's head nearly reached the ceiling with it towering at 8ft (2.4) tall and 3ft (.9) wide leaped at him!
"Woah!", thankfully being on guard Oz was able to quickly leap back in time, avoiding the creature's bite.
As he rolled out the way, he sized up the creature, taking note of its most distinguishable features.
Its bright red fur seemed to sway even inside this labyrinth and without any winds in sight.
Its ferocious eyes shone with a dim-red glow, with half of its face being a discolored patch of bare skin with some flailing off the creature's face as it erratically jerked about.
'It looks like its face was… burned?'
SCREEEEEEEEEE!
The giant rat in front of him had little patience for the boy as it slowly limped towards him, waking him from his stupor.
Oz grimaced to himself, 'Fuk, I don't got any space in this damn place!', as he desperately look around.
This was easily the largest foe he had faced so far.
"Hooooh", the boy's onyx eyes focused on the creature as he lowered himself into a fighting stance, ready for whatever the creature would throw at him.
SCREEEEEEE!
The infuriated rat's patience had reached a limit as it leaped at him, its tiny red head nearly brushing up against the dimly lit ceiling!
'Now!", Oz rushed forward, sending a small pit from where he launched!
BOOOM!
A right hook punch solidly connected with the creature's stomach sending it flying as it rolled along the red cavern floor.
WOOOSH!
'Not done yet!', the boy leaped into the air with his leg swinging down like an axe ready to chop a block of wood.
CRUNCH!
The deadly kick connected with the rat's neck, causing its red eyes to dim as they gradually shut
Proud of himself Oz stood up, 'Huh, that wasn't too bad. Been a while since I checked my level, guess I'm stronger than I thought…'
Suddenly a cold shiver was down his spine.
The rat's eyes burst open with a lightless glint in its gaze as it launched itself at him.
SCREEEEEEE!
"Aagggh!", the giant creature toppled Oz landing atop him, and furiously trying to bite his head off.
"Gahhhh!", Oz desperately pushed the rat's face away by its neck, squeezing and pushing with every ounce of energy he had.
SCREEEEE!
Its breath was so rancid and so foul that a mere whiff was nearly causing Oz to puke from nausea.
His grip loosened as he was losing focus.
The creature's heavy body was squeezing the energy out of him.
CHOMP CHOMP
The loud sound of bites rung the cave as Oz did his best to stay alive, the veins of his thins arms wriggling around frantically as he did his best to stay alive, "FUUUUK!"
Oz lowered his hand, allowing the creature's mouth to get closer, ready to devour this small boy whole.
As the rat's face neared the boy's, flickers of flames began to emerge from its mouth.
"Aaghh!", yet with every last ounce of his energy, Oz pushed the creature to the left side and used that opportunity to swing his right fist into its jaw.
WACK!
Knocking the sparks into the air, the rat's eyes spun in its head.
Seeing the creature was disoriented the boy took this opportunity to strike.
"Yaghh!", Oz tackled the creature, pushing it against the narrow cave wall, and began pelting it with shots.
WACK!! WACK!! WACK!!
"Gahhhhhhhhhh!", Oz screamed his lungs out as he pounded his fist with all his might, ending the creature's dying struggle as its eye closed for the final time with one last vengeful glare.
"Yaghh!", yet Oz kept striking, even after the creature slumped down, he continued as his fists banged against the solid cave walls.
BANG!
BANG!
However, a noise awoke him from his trance.
[Experience Gained, Killed Realm 1 [0], Low Proficiency Creature.]
At the sight of the notification, Oz collapsed to his knees.
He squeezed his fist as he gazed at his battered hands, his face twisted to that of discontent, 'I'm still not strong enough…'
Slowly, the boy got to his feet as he checked the rest of his notifications and his Status.
[Bloodline Detected!]
[Fuse FuriRat Bloodline?]
[Element: Fire]
[Rank: 1]
[Grade: Low]
Oz's eyes spread in shock, 'Fire…', memories of that dastardly pervert back at the Dung Den coursed through his mind.
'Maybe with this… things can change…', he glanced at the panel in front of him.
[Fuse FuriRat Bloodline?]
'Sigh, but it's not enough', he begrudgingly declined, 'If I'm not taking a Variant, then why should I accept quite possibly the weakest one here? I gotta work my way up…'
He brought up his stats panel looking to see where his current strength was.
[Oz]
[Level: 3]
[Realm: 1]
[Proficiency: Low]
[Bloodline: Available]
'Hmm, that rat just now was Realm 1 and damn near killed me', Oz mused to himself as he glanced at the FuriRat corpse.
'I need to be more careful. I won't be able to one-shot the creatures in here like I did the lower realm ones like Earthcats.'
"Hoooh", slowly steeling his nerves Oz calmly exhaled before continuing his journey forward but not before inevitably and with more effort, ripping off the FuriRat's leg.
'Hehe, haven't tried one of these before', as the boy greedily stared at the 2ft (0.6m) leg in his hand before continuing down the long corridor, whilst doing so he began ripping off the leg's skin like a candy wrapper.
'Well, here goes nothing', Oz dug his teeth in, the flavor caught him off guard as the thick red blood oozed down his mouth with droplets splashing along the ground as he walked.
'Woahh!', Oz gawked at the meal in hand.
"Ughh!", the gluttonous boy cleared his throat, 'Kinda gotta spicey kick to it!'
It tasted like cinnamon, black pepper, and a hint of caramel, truly a delicious creature that was a welcome change to his palate.
As he traversed through the cave, the warm glow ahead steadily brightened, and what he saw shocked him…
A sea of red fur everywhere.
Up ahead there was a large pit about the size of a baby pool with small balls of fur all bunched together, rhythmically moving up and down.
'What are these?', Oz's stared in shock at the sight in front of him.
The small little balls could be mistaken for apples if not for the fur and their movement.
There had to be hundreds of these small little things in here, and there was a soft red glow being produced by all of them.
As Oz moved forward slightly to take a look, the floor cracked under his feet stifling one of the balls awake.
'Oh shit!', Oz cautiously prepared himself for whatever enemy this was.
squeee!
Oz was aghast, 'Are these… babies?'
The squeaking little rat slowly unraveled itself, its minuscule red eyes barely able to focus on the boy who towered over it.
It persistently waddled over, fumbling over its own feet before finally coming up to this giant dark-skinned being and snuggling against his leg.
Oz was taken aback and just stared for a second, taking the time to process what was going on before smiling down at the innocent little rodent.
SPLAT!
Red goop burst everywhere, and the radiant smile still beamed across his face as he raised his leg.
The droppings and bits of the small creature drooped off his foot.
[Experience Gained, Killed Realm 0, Medium Proficiency Creature.]
Oz's smile spread even further, 'Now that's the sound I wanna hear.'
Oz looked up to see the rest of the flock of furry apples, all resting inside of this "baby pool".
'Well', a malicious smile was plastered onto the boy's face, 'Don't mind if I do.'
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{Meanwhile... in another part of the Grasslands}
WOOOOOSH!!
Five shadowy figures dashed through the tall grasses leaving blurs behind them.
"Halt!", a voice called out.
All the shadows came to a stop as the men crouched down to one knee, "Hahhh… finally, why the hell'd the newb go so far out here?", one of the men complained.
The lanky man peeled his eyes, as he gazed from the front of his group, "We're here."
The men behind him all looked up from catching their breaths to see a grey cave near a pool of water.
As they approached the pool of water, their mini-boss eyes' reflected a green light onto the water, and just as his men were running to take a sip, "Halt!"
The men all begrudgingly stopped, "Mini-boss we're tired and thirsty. Can't we at least get a lil water?"
The lanky man however just gazed at all of his men and shook his head, "Trust me, if ya knew what was in that water ya wouldn't want to…"
The men all glanced at one another then at the water, slowly stepping away and back towards their leader as he continued, "Besides, the newbs inside and got nowhere to go, once we gettem' then we'll be on our way back."
The group all cracked their necks and stretched their bodies in preparation as giddy laughter and jokes rang out in the group.
A smug smile spread across their mini-boss's face as he and his men stepped forward, seemingly consumed by the dark cave.
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