Murciel hit the wall of the cave hard. So hard he felt his arm break at the elbow. His fingers went numb and released the grip on his blade. Instantly, the collision sent white-hot waves of pain straight to his brain as he roared.
The cave rumbled.
He looked around as the sounds illuminated his dark world.
Straight ahead, a massive scaled thing with two hulking arms and a long slithering tail lunged for him. Jaws large enough to swallow the top half of his body in one bite.
It was a cave lizard. Also known as a petrosaurus. They were supposed to be extinct in nearly all of Center-Earth.
Of course, except for Cave-Valley.
Murciel rolled out of the way as the horse-sized lizard smashed into the stone. It's long armored snout shattered the wall and left it stuck. Flailing in a frenzy. It's tail moved in a blur, cutting up the wind a dozen ways.
Another was coming. He could see it through the winding walls and corridors in the distance.
With only one good arm, he tightened the grip on his tonfa and dashed for the petrosaur like it was another rotted tree his mother wanted him to cut down. Perhaps this is why she made him do it...
The application was the same. The beasts neck was just as thick. It stood high enough that he could slide right underneath with his blade raised.
The silver metal bit deep, catching slightly on the different vocal chords and flexing muscle.
He slid to a stop on the other side of the lizard covered in it's hot crimson blood. The lizard twitched once and went limp with it's snout still lodged in the wall.
Before he could even catch his breath, another two came stomping into the small cave clearing. Murciel licked the blood on his face and felt himself begin to heal.
He felt something else as the two beating hearts neared as well.
Hunger.
The petrosaur's had eyes like cats. Slitted amber predatory marbles frozen until anything moved. But that was only when there was nearby light to absorb and reflect. They were so deep in the cave, light was as distant a concept as the stones in the sky.
So they used their noses to find Murciel, leading them to pouncing on their dead packmate. They punched and ripped the corpse to shreds.
Murciel moved quick. Quicker than usual as he ran behind them to the other the side of the snake to grab his other the sword.
The closest petrosaur had other ideas and spun around to snap at him. It had scales like rotted stone. Yellow streaks and spots marred the shadowy scales like a disease left to fester.
He stumbled on the rubble covered floor but evaded all the same, feeling the foul winds ruffle his hair as it snapped just an inch from his nose.
Once again, he evaded with a backflip. At least that was the plan. Instead, he jumped with so much power that the rubble beneath his feet turned to dust as he ascended towards the ceiling. He landed there, looking down at the top of the lizards neck. The blood flowed strong there. Practically glowing.
He jumped again from the ceiling with his blade raised and landed on top of the cave-lizard.
It let out a wet roar as one half of Sanguine Retribution ripped through it's neck and severed the spine in one clean stab. His muscles stiffened and pushed against his pale skin as the crimson elixir squirted.
"No..." He jumped off the dead lizard just as the other crashed into it to reach him.
He landed in a roll and ran for his dagger to the left of the first lizard. He could feel the final hunter hot on his tail. Jaws snapping. Knuckles dragging. Claws clicking.
He lunged for his blade, catching it as he rolled. The lizard swiped at him with claws like daggers. They cut through his cape. He spun as he sat upright with with his blades in a defensive position.
The lizard roared with it's jaws open wide.
Murciel-- with his blades held in front of him, slashed with them in opposite directions. Each blade cut open the outer edges of it's mouth, causing it's lower jaw to go limp as it crashed into him.
He avoided the bite.
Even so, a six hundred plus pound lizard slammed him against a wall of cold stone.
The pain was unlike anything he'd ever felt. His ribs shattered. His shoulder ripped from the scales of the lizards shoulder grinding through his sweater.
From there, it twisted and flailed, letting out slackjawed hisses as it tried and failed to bite him.
It's hot blood dripped onto his pants and feet from the fresh mouth wounds. Blood dripped everywhere. In waves. More than he'd ever smelled. It swelled in the cave like an ambient-magic both different from his worlds Mana and just as empowering. The hunger returned. The red came in a flash. Just a blink.
He could feel his claws extending. Thin fur spreading down his arms. It stood on end as the lizard let out what sounded like a laugh.
Another beast came. From within. Without scales or fangs but it ripped into him all the same, making his hands sweat and knees shake.
"No..... I'm not afraid. Just hungry..... thirsty." Murciel opened his mouth and sank his fangs into the top of the cave-lizards head.
Blood filled his mouth instantly. The lizard roared and twisted but he held on. He crushed. He crushed it's skull. He bit into it's brain as his power climbed and the blood pooled. His skin began to tingle. Muscles bubbled and grew. His hearing dulled.
It was that last change that had him detaching from the lizard. That or he had his fill. Either way, his echolocation was stunted by something.
And more were coming. The grounds quaked.
He ripped off his blindfold and faced a new portion of the cave.
Then he turned and found the dead lizards. He was in the same spot. Just....
"Taller."
Murciel looked down at himself in confusion. He'd transformed.
Dark scales covered the outside edges of his body. Shoulders, arms, chest and legs. Like a defensive shell of dark stone. Like the cave-lizards. He was at least seven feet tall. Twice as heavy based on the bulge of his muscles.
And he could see.
There was light in the cave, bathing the dead in a brilliant verdant glow.
He looked down lower at his waist and found his Druidry Scribe cloaked in green and red flames on his belt. He pulled it out and opened it.
[Vampiric Cultivation Technique Discovered: (Crimson Mimicry)]
He thought back to his mother's words. This was the journey-- the goal. "The next world..." He mumbled.
He braced himself.
Six more lizards were on the move.
"I'm still thirsty..."