Creeping closer, he made out the shapes. One was a creature three times taller than him, with greenish skin, teeth yellow like old gold, and piercing eyes with slit pupils. It wore nothing but a ragged cloth around its groin, clearly unconcercend with the ocasional public display.
Its opponent was something like a worm—but not quite. Its skin looked hard and segmented, its tongue split in two, hissing "ssssSS" sounds as it crawled across the stone.
The doll wondered if the creature felt pain, always scraping against the ground. Maybe it didn t. Maybe it was like him.
He stayed hidden beneath a rock and watched.
The worm launched itself forward with sudden speed. The green creature shoved it aside with its palm. The pale, pinkish-white worm snapped at its legs, but the creature leapt back just in time.
After several minutes, the green thing drew a sharp object and slashed at its opponent. The fight became a grim dance—attack, retreat, strike, evade. Neither seemed able to truly harm the other.
Then the green creature faltered, maybe out of exhaustion.
Its foot slipped.
The worm seized the moment and lunged, sinking its teeth into the creature s neck. Roaring with pain and fury, the green creature drove the sharp object deep into the worm s body.
But victory did not come cleanly.
The green creature stumbled again, grabbing a rock to steady itself. Its strength failed. Its legs gave way.
It collapsed.
Minutes later, both bodies lay still—side by side.
Dead.
As he approached the corpses, his stomach demanded food once more. The hunger was sharp—urgent—but he hesitated.
"Was it safe to eat them?"
"What if their flesh was poisonous? What if whatever flowed inside the worm or the green creature would kill him as well?"
Still... this was an opportunity.
His gaze lingered on two things: the sharp object lying nearby, and the strange substance that continued to drip slowly from the worm s fangs.
He already held the blade in his hand, yet he remained still, pondering.
Then—an idea.
With a quick, decisive movement, he cut a small strip from the cloth that had covered the green creature s body. Carefully, he placed it beneath the worm s mouth. The substance dripped down, soaking into the fabric.
Once the cloth was saturated, he slid the blade gently across it, coating its edge.
"I m so smart" he thought.
Next he cut a section of the worm s flesh and took it with him, along with the remaining cloth. There was nothing more to gain from the bodies.
Before leaving, he paused.
He bowed his head slightly.
"Thank you", he thought, meaning it with all his heart.
Then the little doll dissapeared into the tunnels, carrying his prizes with him.
The doll returned to the place he had hidden before.
"I have a plan", he thought.
Meat for the ants.
Me pushing the rock.
Ants crushed.
Many ants gone.
Ants escape.
Pointy thing.
The idea formed slowly in his clever, yet still undeveloped mind.
He would cut the meat into many small pieces—too small for a single ant to carry alone. That way, more ants would gather in the same spot.
Then he would choose a place where a boulder could fall.
Then he would push it with all his strength.
Simple
Dangerous.
But it might work.
With clumsy movements, he began cutting the flesh, waiting for the ants to dissapear into their hole. As he worked, his gaze kept shifting—measuring, judging where was the best spot to place the bait.
After some pondering, he chose one.
Once the ants were fully inside, he put his plan into motion. He laid the meat pieces carefully where he wanted them, then scrambled up the stone wall with hurried movements, climbing until he reached the boulders above.
Excitement bubbled inside him.
But the ants did not come out.
Then the light-green screen appeared.
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[Level]: 1
[Species]: Hollowkin.
[Hollowkin]-This race is a subsidiary species of the Cursed Doll family.
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A new line of text followed:
Sleep needed.
[Issued Command]: Go to rest.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Error.
This creature is composed primarly of magical particles and does not require sleep.
[Issued Command]: Canceled.
"Maybe they got the same command", he thought. "But they are not as tough as me" he started grinning again.