NOVEL FROG 14: Ooze Hounds
Kai stared down a long earthen tunnel criss-crossed with gooey amber threads that looked sticky. His eyebrows collided with a frown as he examined them, this is the only tunnel left I haven’t explored, and probably my way out.
His fingers trembled as he cautiously began weaving his way through the dank tunnel. The webs smelt like honey, moist amber drople— he bit his lip to prevent himself from doing something stupid like trying to eat them. But it was too late; in that moment of distraction, his leg brushed against a strand, causing it to vibrate then sag as thick amber glopped down from the ceiling onto his shoulder. The substance was thick like melted sugar or honey and surprisingly heavy, sticking to his clothes and skin.
The amber strands shivered all the way down the tunnel, and a moment later howls echoed back and his heart caught in his stomach. Howling spiders? Please no. Kai startled when bee-like eyes appeared out of the darkness, followed by the striped body of a snarling black and yellow wolf. It leapt towards him, jaw salivating with copious amounts of the honey-like substance.
Ooze hound drone: 13
Kai’s eyes widened and he fumbled to send aura rippling along his hand to increase the weight of his strikes. He ducked and smashed his flat palm into the underbelly of the Ooze hound, the creature tumbling over him with snapping jaws full of yellow teeth that failed to sink into his neck. Reams of the sticky honey-like substance splattered across his shoulders, restricting his movement.
Kai took a moment to appraise the beast as it shakily picked itself off the floor. Did the system really fuse a bee with a wolf? He noticed it was a drone and wondered with concern if that meant a hive of soldiers or perhaps a queen lay beyond.
The Ooze hound bared its fangs and snarled, blood and honey dribbled from its maw, then it howled. Countless eyes glowed in the dark tunnel as the howling increased, echoing all around him.
Kai took a deep breath as he barrelled towards the lone Ooze hound now blocking his retreat. He could feel his body and senses working smoothly in unison now that they were the same grade. The Ooze hound lunged towards him, jaws wide, but he spun out of the way and slammed his heavy forearm into its mangy jaw. He winced as it bit down while he whirled and drilled his arm with the beast attached into the stone wall and followed up with several additional open palm strikes with his free hand into its exposed belly. Sandwiched between an unyielding wall and the pressure from his strikes, the creature’s organs must have ruptured because the Ooze hound’s jaw went limp and Kai shook it off. The black and yellow striped wolf’s body slumped to the floor.
Kai strategically retreated through the tunnels, chased by howls. He ignored the small punctures on his forearm; the drone’s body must have been lower than his, since its jagged teeth had struggled to pierce deep into his muscles. He grunted at his swollen wrist in irritation; that hand angle had been better, but not good enough to prevent injury, the increased weight or poor technique too much for his wrists to bear. Is my aura really that incompatible with bare-handed combat? He desperately wanted to enhance his mind, if that didn’t help restore— he cut his thinking short as doubt about his path crept in, not willing to think about failing. He had to get his techniques back.
When the howls receded, he recuperated by sleeping on the ground beneath ancient human cave paintings he had discovered. They gave him some sense of comfort, crude smudges of his ancestors fighting mammoths, a testament to surviving difficult times.
Kai snuck down the tunnels filled with amber threads once more, his bare feet padding along the ground quietly. The only noise came from his stomach; his hunger threatened to get the better of him and he was tempted to lick the amber threads, but the substance could be toxic.
Kura’s ego had deflated, lack of food and running away was not a prideful thing to do, honestly he loathed it too. The little chest was currently unhinged, urging him to charge down the tunnel, turning a deaf ear to his caution.
“If I die, you won’t get any f-food.”
More food, was the only mental reply he received, before she somehow puffed out her chest and barraged him with images of him and her floating in a sea of honey. Once his growling stomach joined the argument he raised his hands and caved. Fine, Fine! I will eat some after gaining one more level for the last stat points I need to rank up my mind and trigger a discovery.
Feed reward, Kura thought, before she added two eyes to the treasure chest she used to represent herself in his mind and then rolled her new eyes, hard.
Kai chuckled.
Over the next hours he steadily lured one or two Ooze hound drones at a time and practised open palm strikes on them, refusing any other form of fighting unless his situation was dire. He was quick to master striking the beasts’ throats to prevent them howling for backup. The taut flesh of his still-healing back and leg limited his agility somewhat. Which was a problem given the creature currently snarling at him in the dark passage.
Ooze hound umbra: 21
The large bee-wolf was higher level than the drones and had six muscular legs that ended in nightmarish claws, much to Kai’s dismay. Is this some kind of soldier sent out to investigate disappearances of slacking worker bees? Maybe the creature wanted to protect the pack or hive, that seemed to be a common trait both species shared. He wondered if fusions worked better with shared similarities? He pocketed the insight away for later. Returning his attention to the large wolf in-front of him, the beast’s black and yellow fur was thin and wispy like smoke.
Kai took one glance at its dark claws and knew he should avoid a frontal engagement. However the beast bolted and closed the distance to him in an instant; it reared up and claws frenziedly swiped at him in an all-out effort to rip him to shreds, forcing him on the defensive.
He reeled back and infused his arms with aura, wincing as he brushed aside slashes aimed at the vital areas of his chest, but midnight claws lacerated his arms and cut gashes across his legs. His skin flashed protectively with charcoal scales, reducing how deep the claws penetrated but the Umbra’s body must have reached awakened since the sharp claws peeled his skin like he was a potato. Unfortunately the pain did not stop there; after claws raked against his flesh, it turned red and stung, swelling painfully and he sucked in air through his teeth.
The Umbra hound was quick to intercept any of his counter attacks with its many legs and claws when he tried to strike back. The claws were like metal and after several clashes, there wasn’t a single mark on them.
Kai gradually lost ground since he couldn’t penetrate its multiple layers of defensive claws and fangs. He took a deep breath and trusted his instincts. He ducked a ferocious bite and crouched, then lashed out with his hands and yanked the beast down by its two front paws, narrowly avoiding snapping jaws as its head thumped into the dirt.
He reduced his weight while compressing his leg muscles like springs to the extreme, then he sprung up, flipped and pushed off the roof. Kai increased his entire body weight this time and his palms thundered down like sledgehammers into the creature’s head.
For a second there was resistance and thrashing before its skull caved inwards with an almighty crack.