Chapter 44: Chapter 44: A Burden To Break the Pack

Mere meters away...

Drip...

Drip...

Drip...

The sound of plopping liquid played at an eery tempo.

The quiet cave was lulled and shaken by the percussive fluids.

A foul odor permeated throughout, smelling of iron and feces.

Such a horrid stench that should have caused disgust brought about fear instead.

The dreary cave, hidden away from the bountiful blooming sky, was dry.

The whispers of the dying torches threatened to die out at any time and leave this passageway in utter blackness.

All survivors of this game breathed in the soiled air with each panting breath, each step they took further corrupting their lungs.

Yet, what is a bit of poison for a chance at victory?

What is death for a chance at the academy?

Faint screams continued to fill the cave.

Prayers sent out to the heavens above were trapped within the grim caverns and instead reverbed out, audible wraiths haunting the ears of the few surviving left, if there were any.

Yet now, a pair of boys stood in utter silence as if their legs were sewn into the ground.

Sweat dribbled down their nose, and their shaky breaths could hardly conceal their horror.

Oz's confident temperament from moments ago had completely vanished, swallowed by the being that lurked in the shadows.

There it was, in front of him and Zee.

Its features were concealed by the blanket of darkness, a few steps away from the flickering light that threatened to die out from a single whistle.

Even with that being the case, its figure stretched nearly to the top of the 12ft (3.7m) cave.

A loud rumble erupted from it, akin to a rat yet deeper and more vicious.

SQUEEEE

Sweat soaked from the boys as they began to shake in fear.

Oz's eyes which had been glowing with a golden glow, suddenly widened as he whispered in disbelief, "h-how?.."

In front of him was a panel displaying this creature's information.

--

[Creature: Unknown]

[Level: Unknown]

[Realm: Unknown]

[Proficiency: Unknown]

--

He forced down a gulp and hesitantly whispered out while continuing to lock eyes with the shadow, "Zee."

Yet, there was no response as Zee continued to stare and shiver with fear toward the monstrosity before them.

Both sides were in a stalemate; no, rather, the creature had yet to make its move, and there was no telling when it would.

So with no other option, Oz turned and ran, pulling Zee by the hand as he yelled out, "Zee, we gotta go!"

"Huh?" Zee sounded out as if snapping out of a daze.

Yet, as that happened, a horrifying roar sounded out from the darkness, shaking the boys to their core.

SQUEEEEEEEEEE

Its roar sent a blast of air that silenced the dim torches putting the cave into a comatose, bare of all light.

"Fuk! Run!" Oz yelled as the 2 bolted away,

As the two ran, they heard the skittering steps gaining on them, each step carrying a massive weight to it, shaking the walls and the boys to their core as they ran.

'Fuk! This can't go on like this...' Oz peeled his eyes as he felt the creature edging closer.

'We been goin' through this maze for what feels like hours. We're almost at the end... I can feel it.'

So with that, he yelled out to his companion beside him as they ran, "Zee!"

huff huff

"Yeh?!" Zee replied through panted breaths.

Oz pointed up ahead, "We're almost to the end."

Despite his ebony skin blending with the darkness, Zee could barely make out Oz's pointing, nervously shaking his head, "Y-yeh, we can make it!"

A renewed sense of determination washed over him.

A smile spread across Oz's lips.

His golden eyes illuminated his genial face, "Keep runnin', alright?"

"Huh?" Zee had no time to question as he saw Oz turn and around and sprint head first towards the chasing creature!

 

"Oz, no!!" Zee stopped and yelled out!

Yet as Oz zoomed forward, he replied, "Shutup and run, dumbass!"

WHACK!!

BOOOOOOOM!!

The sound of impact rang out through the darkness, and a pair of golden eyes flashed through the veil of shadows, "I'll catch up, just wanna have some fun with this big guy. Keep my seat warm, alright?"

Zee stood there speechless, 'strong...'

However, his thoughts were interrupted by Oz once more, "c'mon, keep it movin'! You're gonna get in my way! I promise I'll catch up!"

A booming voice then echoed from him, "Now go!"

 

The soundwaves nearly pushed Zee on his butt, as he could only hesitantly back away and then shift into full-on sprints, traversing through the maze alone.

As Oz watched his friend leave, he could only sigh to himself, 'wooh, at least I won't have to worry about holdin' back. Hopefully, he can find the exit, though. This place is kinda cramped.'

SQ...EEEEEEEEEE

With that, Oz looked back up ahead toward the massive creature in front of him and forced down a gulp.

It was truly massive and more than double his height, "Yeh... I didn't think that was gonna do much damage to ya anyways."

As the creature trudged towards him, the boy's mind raced, 'Fuk... got no info on this dummy.' he thought as his golden eyes examined the creature once more.

--

[Creature: Unknown]

[Level: Unknown]

[Realm: Unknown]

[Proficiency: Unknown]

--

Irritatedly, the boy grumbled to himself, 'Would be nice if I at least knew my own...' he shook his head.

'Whatever, I've gone up against stronger, hehe'

With the creature now only a few steps away from him, by its own massive leg span at least, a cocky smile spread across the boy's face as he cracked his knuckles.

"Let's do this, ya bi-

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hhhhhhh??"

BOOOOOOOM!!!

The tumbling of rocks and shifting granite echoed through the air.

A cloud of dust arose from a dent in the thick, rocky wall, and within that dent...

Plop...

Plop....

Blood gushed down, soaking the boy's shirt as he sat within this dented wall in disbelief.

'When... when did it hit me?'

Oz's mind raced, as there was no warning sign, no idle talk, no taunts.

It just struck with a deadly ferocity that nearly left him unconscious.

'My fukin carelessness...' Oz cursed to himself as through the wafting smoke, he could see the creature prowling closer, ready to eliminate its prey and move on to the next.

PTEUUU

Oz spat out a clump of blood and called out with a smile as he slowly heaved himself from the pit he was pinned into and landed on his feet, "I wasn't done talkin'.

He lowered his stance and entered into a battle stance, fighting against shaky legs and blurry vision as he slapped his head into focus.

"As I was sayin', let's do this..."

WHOOOOSH!!

He sprinted forward as the creature did as well, both fighters meeting each other as Oz leaped in the air, his fist charged up and ready as both strikes were about to clash.

He spoke once more with a cocky smile, "Bitch!"

.

.

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Huff huff

Huff huff

Through a dim passageway, poorly illuminated by numb torches, a boy could be seen running.

There were 3 other paths at his side that all connected to the wider path ahead.

Was this the way out?

Yet, that didn't seem to matter to the boy as he continued to curse to himself as he sprinted ahead, "Dang, dang, dang..."

Sniffles sounded out from the boy as he ran, finally tripping onto his face and laying still on his stomach.

Soft sobs soaked from the boy as he lay there, "After all that training... am I just a hindrance?"

Thoughts back to when the pair reunited at the Trade Square filled his head, "To think... I could keep up..."

 

Slowly, the boy got back to his feet, shuffling forward as salty dew dripped from his lifeless eyes, "Please be alright, Oz."

Yet, a high-pitch voice sounded off behind him, "I'd worry more about yourself."

"Huh?" but before Zee even had time to react, a strike on his back from behind launched him across the floor, causing him to drop the piece of meat from his hand.

WHACKKK!

Zee tumbled across the ground until the momentum died down, and his body came to a stop.

There, within the shadows, and stepping out into the drab torch lights was...

Zee's eyes widened in shock, "I-it's you?..."

The figure in front of him had a scruffy brown beard with unkempt oily hair that streaked down his face.

However, to off-put his repulsive look and childish voice was the muscular body that didn't seem to match at all.

He was soaked from head to toe in blood, and a devilish grin was on his face as he looked down at Zee, "told ya I'd get ya."

 

Zee struggled to his feet as he tried to get his bearings, "w-why? We don't need to fight. We can both get into the academ- UGHH!"

Yet, before the boy could finish, he was launched across the floor once more by the man-child in front of him, "Heh, I'm good."

A mischievous smirk spread across his face, "If anything, it's less competition."

 

With that, he raised his fist, congealed in a transparent aura, and Zee braced himself for death, yet suddenly the man-child stopped himself, "wait a minute... weren't there 2 of you before?"

 

"..." Zee gave no response, only continuing to hold his sides as the man-child stood over him, "ohhh, I see."

The aura diminished from his arm as he pointed out at Zee, "he died to save ya, didn't he, bwahahahaha!!"

The man-child held his belly as laughter erupted from him, "He probably died like a rat!"

Zee's eyes flared up in rage as the aura reappeared around the man-child's arm, and he continued, "but, no worries, you'll see him in Yala's realm soo-"

WHACK!

 

"Ughh!" the man-child held his stomach as he was launched across the floor.

Glowing tears dripped down Zee's face as he now stood and with anger in his eyes, "Oz is still alive!"

The man-child just chuckled at this, "heh, what a stupid name! And I doubt it if you still are, useless prick."

A determined glare flashed Zee's eyes, "Oz is still out there, fighting for me," he lowered himself into a battle-ready stance, "maybe it's time I stop being useless."

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MWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!! NOW WE'RE GETTIN INTO SOME JUICYNESSS BE PREPARED BOIS AND THANK YA SO MUCH FOR READING!!

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