Just like I had thought, after they had seen that the source of their scare had been a family of rats, the group of two sighed in relief.
The rat had disappeared further back into the mine, which meant they were now quite closer to the pond where I was hidden. Immediately I could feel their thoughts, I could feel their fear. And their terror. They were trapped, and in their mind they were already contemplating further retreat, only that there was no more room. Unfortunately for them I had different plans.
Head back, I whispered into their thoughts
My command spread throughout the cave like an invisible breeze. I could tell that everything in here was attuned to follow my every order. If I was strong enough, I had no doubt I could command the cave to collapse, and it would do so in a moment's notice.
The rats cocked their head and stood on their rear legs, sniffing the air as if the order was coming to them from from the air they breathed.
these animals were now perceiving their environment. They were now getting to understand there were bigger powers at play here.
True enough, in a short while they were carefully trotting back, jumping from corner to corner, heading back towards where they had left the two scouts. That's it, I said eagerly. Now I just had to come up with a plan before they got there.
Back in the cave, the scouts were having a squabble again.
The taller guy had put back his sword. clearly in his mind he had already decided this was no longer a dungeon.
"You can stay here if you want. I'm telling you there's no shit here. You think if it was a dungeon there would be rats here? Other monsters would have devoured them."
'Yeah, what if those rats are the monsters?' I asked inwardly.
The shorter guy however seemed to have agreed with his companion.
" There's nothing here. We will just mark the place and go deeper into the forest." 'Yeah, good luck with that' .
If rats were scaring you, what about those wolves that came to sleep inside me at night? Most probably they would encounter them in the woods,in which case they would make some very good dinner.
I also wasn't about to let them go that fast.
They were almost retreating when the first group of four rats appeared, before shortly being joined by the other group, which were less bigger than the first ones.
Not that the first ones were that big, but they seemed to be the adults.
The two scouts froze as soon as they saw them. And to my utter surprise, the second guy, the shorter one, took a hurried step back.
fear detected:+2 energy stones.
What the fuck? It was then that it occurred to me that this guy had terror for rats. I could see him recoiling behind the taller guy. Dude feared rats and had hopes of becoming an adventurer in an actual dungeon?. This was sick.
He couldn't be serious. But then again, almost everyone has a weakness, even those that appear to be stronger than the rest. You often find them with the wierdest of weaknesses. Maybe a fly, maybe a chameleon, other snakes. But chameleons and snakes are a little bit understandable.
Rats? Well, I had to use that to my advantage.
Already now I had six stones, What I needed was four more.
" What the fuck is wrong with those rats? The guy mumbled, peeking behind his friend.
" Dude, are you serious? They are just freaking rats..." his friend answered uncertainly.
" Yeah, rats that are staring at us. How often do you see rats do that?"
That statement seemed to now register into the taller guy's head about the queerness of the situation.
" well...every rat can do that " He added with forced bravery but already he was reaching for his sword.
He swinged it as if to chase away the rats.
They didn't badge
"I fucking told you there's something wrong with these rats."
"Bullshit. The taller guy responded." Although I could detect the uncertainties in his voice growing.
He bent down and picked a stone. Before throwing it at the group, two of the leading rats jumped aside gracefully. But other than that, they did not retreat. Once again, as if on cue, the entire group stood on their rear-legs and barred their little mouth revealing those tiny fangs.
I could have laughed. That was exactly my instruction. I didn't care whether it looked menacing or not. But not often do you see rats do that. So I was banking on the uncertainty of the entire thing to set off these two.
True enough, it worked. The shorter guy recoiled further qickly hitting his head of the corridor.
Notifications flared inside me.
Pain detected:+4energy stones
Fear detected:+2 energy stones
Fear detected:+2 energy stones
But even as I looked, it was clear the second guy had not been frightened. He was more curious. And if I dare say, there seems to be a bit of excitement inside. Then slowly it occurred to me he was beginning to hope that these rats were some versions of monsters.
He wasn't afraid. He dearly wanted for an opportunity to prove to himself that he was capable of being an adventurer.
Fuck, that wasn't good because it meant that my few rats would soon become victims to his attacks.
But that was a risk I would have to take. There was no backing away right now. 'Attack'. I commanded.
I did not have to give precise instruction. Rats were designed to dodge and dance through the tiniest of spaces. The only instruction I clarified was concerning the straggler. For that one, I had the tiniest rat in the group behind the adults attempt to sneak past the taller guy and find a space in the shorter guy's baggy pants.
In there, there would be enough soft places to bite.
I needed as much pain and fear as I could get.
On cue, all of them scampered toward the two scouts.
I heard a sudden scream as the guy again collapsed. Once again another notification of pain encompassed me and then fear. This time even the taller guy was caught unprepared and grazed his arm on the rough edges of the mine as he tried to sidestep. Unfortunately though, it wasn't without casualties on my side.
In that commotion, the tiniest rat that I had instructed to target the straggler was squeeshed under the coward's feet.
There is nothing as dangerous as a coward, mainly because their tactics are unpredictable and desperate and flailing. One of the adults also was smashed by the taller guy's boots. He wasn't dead yet, but I could see he would soon be. There was nothing I could do for him. I had no healing power, let alone regeneration. 'Thank you my friend, you've done your best'.
In a short while though, the others became a massive success.
The brother of the fallen baby rat was even more infuriated and I could sense their anger. This little rodents had emotion as well. Three of the entire family had gathered around the straggler and while he tried to fend off the two big rats, the tiniest brother managed exactly what I had instructed.
Through the space beneath the scouts pants, he broke through and began to rise. I've never been so happy in my life. It was like being in a boss fight and crushing the villain hit after hit, causing maximum damage with no damage on your part at all.
Tough ask, but it was what I was experiencing now.
I could sense the little brother was now around the guy's dick.
"start biting,' I ordered.
I had lost track and count of the notifications that continued to surface as pain was inflicted on the straggler. Somehow even one of the other adults had managed to break through the other leg and was also inside.
' Go up, go up until you're in the groin area.'
I had to be one brute to have given that instruction. I could feel almost the oncoming pain that the guy was about to suffer. And while under normal circumstances I wouldn't have wished it even to my worst enemy. The circumstances were way worse.
Plus I had no enemy here, only opponents. And this wasn't a fight, it was a game of survival.
I ignored the straggler and turned to the taller guy. He was also battling one adult rat having killed the other adult. But also that move had infuriated the other young ones.
The two remaining little rats were both girls and you have never seen such rath as that from a female rat with a fallen brother.
Both of them, like their little brother on the other side, managed to enter past the guy's trousers. They were not as patient as their little brother . They began to bite right from the ankle as they ascended up in rapid speed.
Screams blared across the mine as the two guys began to peel off their pants.
Having foreseen that danger of exposition, my rats ascended into the guy's bellies.
But soon enough they also peeled their top clothes. Now my rats were fully exposed. But I wasn't about to lose this fight.
I no longer had track of even how many points I had attained so far. My attention was fully on winning this one. I would have time enough to assess the situation. I gave my last instruction.
'Bite whichever position you are closest to and don't let go'
I have never had a shriek of terror like I felt that day. The shorter guy fell in a most deadly position I never expected. His head snapped on a saw-like edge of the main corridor.
For a while there I thought he had passed out. I could understand his pain as I looked at his precarious situation. Both of them having peeled off their clothes I could see perfectly well the positions of my six remaining rats and they were positioned beautifully.
I inwardly apologized for thinking that the rats were pathetically helpless. I don't believe I could have generated monsters that would have given me this much success in a short span of time.
One of the adults that had been attacking the straggler had its razor-sharp teeth right around the straggler's balls. I flinched or did so in the equivalent of a crystal.
The guy couldn't even close his mouth, judging from the pain that was coming. He tried to drop his hands around his groin. But at my instruction the adult rat tightened the grip and the pain flared again.
His taller friend wasn't faring well either .
One of my girls was patched in one of his nipples. The other one slouched slightly above the navel.
The other remaining adult had its little mouth buried around the tip of the man's dick.
' That is sumptuous' , I thought to myself. Now let them try pulling that.