Making sure the lake monster didn't show up, and after a brief nap, Tenma and the angel ventured into the small, narrow path that led through a crevice in the cave.
Tenma, for his part, felt overwhelmed, nervous, and scared. But with a newfound sense of responsibility and a budding instinct: survival.
Meanwhile, the angel tried not to worry in the same way. Their existence depended on Tenma staying conscious, as their being was still within his mind. Therefore, the angel led the way, guiding Tenma on where to go and which rocks to watch out for.
Both crawled forward, the angel much faster and easier than Tenma, but that was because one was alive and the other not so much.
Finally, they reached an exit. At the end of the long, narrow tunnel in the cave wall, they were both surprised to find themselves in a cavern where they weren't alone.
It wasn't just a few; there were hundreds of rats running everywhere. They were fighting against another group of rats. They could be distinguished as belonging to a family of dark blue fur and the others of light brown color.
With all the squeaks and grunts filling the air, plus the foul odor dominating the place, it made the young canine feel utterly disgusted.
He tried to retreat, but the angel looked him in the eyes with seriousness. He indicated a new route, which involved crossing the rat battle.
"If we manage to get over there, maybe we can just escape and surface once again. Once back up, we can think of better ideas to gain the abilities we desire without risking our lives."
Tenma still looked disgusted at the scene he had to confront with his greatest fear. Rats had always repulsed him.
But despite that, he tried to summon more willpower as before, starting to walk along the edge of the cavern, moving through the shadows hoping not to be seen.
The rats fought tooth and nail; it seemed to be a battle for territory and the nest they had made especially for their offspring. An invasion.
Tenma walked, trying not to see the devastating fight happening beside him, but many strange sounds began to differentiate from the rest of the rat squeaks.
And finally, he opened his eyes. He turned towards the rats and noticed how various pop-up windows emerged from them, emulating the experience and items around them.
With each rat that died, a health bar above it dropped to 0 and it died. It could be seen when a rat took an item from its inventory, surprising the canine to see that they possessed some intelligence and that the inventory was not solely something given to him.
The sounds of so many windows paralyzed him for a moment.
A bad moment to stay still, as he would see a huge rat appearing from where the escape route was, blocking it completely. It was the mother rat, ensuring that no enemy rat escaped alive.
It was a devastating war, with the dark blue rats losing due to many deaths.
Tenma quickly associated that acquiring the new ability to see the amount of life of other animals could have been obtained by having finished off the squirrel earlier.
"Darn it... we'll have to wait for that huge rat to leave. As soon as the exit is clear, you..."
Once again, a curious instinct filled the canine's mind, ignoring the angel's words.
Now, Tenma was interested in something in particular.
"If I could handle a squirrel... I can handle some rats," he thought, seeing all the experience each animal dropped when they fell dead. "The amount of experience I'll get..."
For a moment, Tenma forgot his fear, veering off his path to attack the light brown rats.
"The more rats I kill, the more chances I have to improve a skill or gain a new one!"