The cave entrance was larger up close — about eight feet tall and six feet wide, jagged stone edges covered in moss and hanging vines. The smell hit Satou immediately: damp earth, animal musk, and underneath both of those something metallic.
Blood. Fresh enough to still carry warmth.
His hand went instinctively to the crude sword at his side — dulled and chipped from the battle but still functional.
He activated Minor Mana Sense. A faint tingle spread through his body as the skill reached outward, barely a whisper of perception, but enough to confirm one thing clearly:
Something was alive in there. Multiple somethings.
Satou took a slow breath and stepped into the dark.
Night vision engaged fully, painting the interior in shades of murky green and gray. The entrance tunnel stretched about twenty feet before opening into a larger chamber. Water dripped from stalactites above, landing in small puddles on the uneven floor.
Bones were scattered throughout the chamber.
Lots of them.
Small animals mostly — rabbits, birds, a few skulls that were uncomfortably goblin-sized. Fresh kills mixed with old ones, all picked clean and left where they fell.
'This place is definitely occupied.'
A wet, chittering sound echoed from deeper inside — the kind of noise that crawled up the spine uninvited. His enhanced hearing pinpointed three distinct sources spread through the main chamber.
Three creatures. Possibly more.
Satou moved forward slowly, his footsteps soundless on the loose rock. He pressed himself against the wall as he reached the end of the tunnel and peered into the chamber.
Giant Cave Rats.
Three of them. Each the size of a large dog, with matted filthy fur, yellowed teeth, and beady red eyes that caught what little light existed in the chamber. They were hunched over a deer carcass — mostly stripped already, bones showing through — tearing at what remained.
One rat lifted its head.
Its nose twitched.
'It smells me.'
The rat let out a high-pitched warning squeal. All three turned toward the tunnel at once, bodies tensing, weight shifting forward.
Satou's mind ran through his options fast. Three giant rats in close quarters. Sword is dulled — won't penetrate thick hide cleanly. Stone Spit has barely any mana behind it right now, one shot at most. Poison Fang works but requires getting close, which is a bad idea against three at once. Flame Spark is low power but it's fire.
'Thin the numbers first.'
He raised his hand and spat.
CRACK!
The stone shard caught the lead rat directly in the eye. The creature screeched — a horrible piercing sound — and reared back, clawing at its ruined socket. Blood and fluid poured down its face.
The other two charged immediately, claws scraping against stone.
Satou didn't wait. He triggered Flame Spark — the small tongue of fire appeared at his fingertip, barely larger than a lighter flame. Nowhere near the kind of power the human mages had thrown around. But it was fire.
And fire, he had learned, had uses beyond direct damage.
He touched the flame to a pile of old dry bones near the tunnel entrance. They caught immediately, brittle and desiccated, the fire spreading fast and throwing a low flickering barrier of light and heat between him and the approaching rats.
Both rats skidded to a halt. Their red eyes fixed on the fire. They chittered nervously and backed off a step.
'Animals fear fire. Good.'
But the blinded rat was past caring about fire. It charged straight through the flames, fur catching alight, and lunged at Satou with pure enraged momentum behind it.
Satou dove sideways. The snapping jaws missed his face by inches. He rolled, came up in a crouch, and swung the sword in a wide arc.
The dulled blade bit into the rat's side — shallow, the chipped edge barely penetrating the thick hide — but enough to open a wound and draw blood.
The rat screeched and whirled, faster than something its size had any right to be. Its claws lashed out and caught Satou's arm, tearing through flesh.
Pain burned white through his arm but he kept moving. 'No time for pain. Only survival.'
The rat lunged again, jaws wide, aiming for his throat —
Satou dropped the sword and caught the rat's snout with both hands, holding those massive jaws inches from his face. The rat's breath was rancid, its teeth dripping with saliva and rotting meat. His arms trembled with the effort of holding it back. It was stronger than him. Significantly stronger.
'One chance.'
He opened his own mouth and lunged forward, fangs extending, and bit down on the rat's nose with everything he had.
Poison Fang activated. Venom flooded into the rat's bloodstream — the same paralytic toxin that had taken down the goblin leader, now hitting something smaller and less armored. The rat's eyes went wide. Its body stiffened as the toxin spread. It thrashed, trying to shake him off, but the movements turned sluggish quickly. Then weaker.
Then it collapsed.
Satou released, scrambled backward, and spat blood and fur. His face was soaked in the rat's blood. His arms shook from the effort and from the claw wounds that Regeneration was already working at — slowly, quietly, doing what it could.
No time to rest.
The other two rats had circled around the bone fire during the struggle and were approaching from opposite sides, red eyes gleaming.
'Flanking. Smart for rats.'
His right arm was bleeding too badly to grip properly. He switched the sword to his left hand and backed toward the cave wall. 'Can't let them close the angle.'
The left rat lunged first. Satou sidestepped and brought the sword down in a clumsy overhead swing — the blade opened a shallow wound along the rat's back.
The right rat used the moment. It charged low and slammed into his legs.
Satou's knees buckled. He hit the ground hard.
The rat was on him before he could recover, its full weight crushing down on his chest, jaws snapping toward his face. He jammed his forearm into its mouth — better to sacrifice an arm than lose his throat. The teeth sank deep, piercing muscle and scraping bone.
He screamed.
But his other hand was already moving through the pain. Fingers sweeping across the cave floor, searching. They found something — a sharp rock, jagged on one edge, heavy enough to matter.
He pulled it up and drove it into the rat's skull as hard as his trembling arm could manage.
The rat's jaws went slack.
Satou shoved the body off him, gasping. One rat left. The one he'd slashed across the back — still moving, circling, watching him from across the chamber with those red eyes tracking every small movement he made.
Satou pushed himself upright with his good arm. His right forearm was bad — deep punctures, blood running freely, Regeneration working but the damage was significant. He could feel the skill straining.
He picked up the sword from the floor with his left hand. It felt wrong — his dominant hand had always been his right — but it would have to do.
The remaining rat feinted left, then lunged right.
Satou was already moving. He sidestepped the lunge, let the rat's momentum carry it past him, and drove his fangs into the back of its neck as it went by.
Poison Fang fired again. The rat convulsed, its legs going out from under it almost immediately — smaller body, faster spread. It was still twitching when it hit the ground.
Satou stood over it, breathing hard and ragged, blood dripping from his forearm onto the stone.
Three rats. All down.
He stood there for a long moment, just breathing.
Then he looked at the three bodies.
'Devouring.'
He was exhausted, wounded, and the last thing he wanted was more raw meat. But skills were skills. He needed every advantage he could absorb before whatever came next.
He crouched down beside the lead rat and got to work.
DING!
[Skill Acquired: Rabid Frenzy — When below 30% health, gain a burst of speed and attack power for 10 seconds. Side effect: pain tolerance suppressed, may not register critical injuries during activation.]
DING!
[Skill Acquired: Keen Scent — Enhanced olfactory detection. Tracks targets by scent over long distances. Stacks with existing Demon Wolf Enhanced Senses.]
Satou wiped his mouth. He checked the chamber one more time with Minor Mana Sense — nothing else living registered. The cave was clear.
He walked back to the entrance and stepped out into the darkening forest.
The group was exactly where he'd left them. Four small shapes detached from the cluster the moment they saw him coming.
Jessica reached him first, her eyes immediately going to his bloodied arm. "You're hurt!"
"I'm fine," Satou said. "Cave's clear. Three giant rats — they're handled."
Goblin 1 stared at the blood soaking his sleeve. "That is not fine."
"It's healing," Satou said. "We need to move everyone inside before it gets fully dark. Gob—" he looked up at the scarred goblin "—I need two fighters to help me drag the rat carcasses toward the back of the chamber. They're food."
Gob's expression shifted slightly. Something that might have been respect if he'd allow himself the word. "You cleared it alone."
"I said I would," Satou replied.
Gob snorted. Then he pushed himself to his feet and started pointing at goblins. "You. You. Help the whelp with the carcasses. Everyone else — on your feet. We're moving."