How Clover had found himself in such a dire situation, he did not know. Everything had been fine one moment, and the next, he had been desperately dashing for the exit. He'd like to blame it on his bad luck, but that'd minimize his role in this catastrophe. It had been his decision to come here. He could have turned back. In the grand scheme of things, how he had found himself trapped inside a small room wasn't particularly important.
It was too late for regrets.
He pressed back against the door as he felt it bulge forward, threatening to break loose from its hinges. Enraged by an unusual tenacity, the Bone Rats had refused to leave him be.
Ravenously, they clawed and bit at the solid wood door - their actions driven forward by an unnatural and unsettling hunger. He had never seen animals act in such a way before.
Didn't they have anything better to do?
He couldn't imagine slamming into a door could be very much fun for them.
Clover's eyes darted about as he searched the room for anything that might save him from his current predicament - something to save him from becoming lunch for an ugly pair of rats.
In the center of the room was a cheaply made table constructed out of a flimsy sort of wood that looked like it was one spark away from igniting. A half-eaten peanut butter bagel and a scattered heap of newspapers rested on its surface. Four white plastic chairs surrounded it.
Past that, on the left side of the room, there was a sink filled with dirty metal utensils - none of the knives looked particularly sharp. Further down the shelf was a microwave next to a stack of paper plates. And even past that was an old-fashioned store announcement system.
Clover bit back a curse. At least on a cursory glance, there was nothing he could use to kill a monster. The sound of the Bone Rats clawing at the door gnawed at his nerves; he was running out of time.
He needed to find a solution fast, or he would die. A part of him that was perhaps more brave than intelligent considered opening the door and just fighting the Bone Rats. He reckoned the maneuver would at least catch them by surprise. It was better than doing nothing.
However, his more rational and pessimistic mind reminded him of the impossibility of that plan. While he was confident in his ability to take down a single Bone Rat, he doubted he could fight two at once with [Unstable Mana Bolt]'s long cooldown. He'd be devoured before he could take both of them out.
He needed a way of distracting them or at least separating them.
Panicked, he considered shooting through the door to preserve his cover while still dealing damage. Once again, he dismissed the idea. He didn't know if [Unstable Mana Bolt] could shoot through the door; even if it could, he doubted it would be a good idea. If he turned the door to Swiss cheese, the Bone Rats would just have an easier time busting through.
Clover's hands shook as he dug through his backpack of stolen goods. Maybe in some Macgyver-like sequence, he could construct a bomb or some sort of poison gas. He paused; that was just wishful thinking. The stress was getting to him; he didn't know how to make a bomb.
A stark white claw stabbed through the door, missing his shoulder by a matter of inches. The Bone Rat pulled back the appendage, leaving a hole in the wall.
Stacking upon his misfortune, his body chose that exact moment to rebel. Doubling over, Clover repeatedly coughed till his lungs felt weak and wrung out.
He was not given any time to recover as the monster duo stabbed another hole in the door, this time nicking his shoulder and drawing blood.
At that moment, for reasons he could not understand, his subconscious summoned forth memories of the previous night: the regret he had felt as his eyes had been forced shut in that lonely and dark hospital room, the moment of weightlessness as he chose to launch himself off the ledge of the third floor of the hospital, the beauty of the stars above that had for the first time been within reach.
Clover’s eyes narrowed as a cold clarity struck, putting the brakes on the runaway train that had been his panicked thoughts.
He wanted to live.
He’d do whatever it took.
He was still afraid, but the emotion was now detached - far in orbit - far from him. Like a flip had been switched, he propelled himself into action.
First, he reached out and grabbed one of the four plastic chairs, which he then used to wedge the door shut. He was under no illusions of its strength, but it was the best he could do. At worst, it’d buy him a few extra seconds.
With a half-baked and potentially self-destructive plan, he continued forward to the far side of the room, retrieving the stack of newspapers and a handful of metal utensils while en route.
With a deep degree of uncertainty, he threw all of them in the microwave and turned it on to max power. Unblinking, he watched as the items slowly rotated. As the seconds ticked by, the pressure mounted.
The Bone Rats continued to slash at the door, producing a sound akin to nails on a chalkboard. With each strike, the door wobbled, bending a bit further inward.
Clover rapidly tapped the sides of his wheelchair with his fingers, the seconds passing by unbearably slowly. Finally, unable to sit still any longer, he pressed a large red button on the store intercom system.
He had always wanted to use an intercom system. It had been on his bucket list. If things ended here, at least he would go out having checked it off.
A dull green light flashed on the machine.
“Hello! Can you hear me?” Clover asked, the sound echoing as it reverberated much louder through the store's speaker system. “If there are any rats in the building, please come to aisle 5 for a special announcement regarding a recall of our cheese items.”
The clawing at the door stopped for a brief moment. Clover wondered if he had gotten lucky.
Of course not. A moment later, the monsters resumed their activities with an increased fervor.
He snapped his head to the side as he heard a distinct crackling sound. “Oh shit,” he muttered.
Inside the microwave, the metal spoons and forks sparked, lighting the stack of newspapers on fire. Smoke rushed out of the machine as he opened it. He grabbed the burning newspapers and threw them onto the table, slightly burning his hand. For an anxiety-filled second, nothing happened, then in the next, the table began to ignite, a small fire spreading from side to side. Not satisfied with the speed it was igniting, he dropped a collection of paper plates on it to add fuel to the fire.
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The table went up in flames. Its harsh warmth licked at his arms. All there was left to do was wait. He knew it wouldn’t be long now.
If his plan, if it could be called that, would work, he was unsure. But he wasn't smart enough to come up with anything else. He was unsure why he had even come up with a plan like this.
With a sinister creak, the door fell from its hinges and smacked flatly into the ground. Perhaps surprised their efforts had finally paid off, the two Bone Rats hesitated for a heartbeat before dashing into the breakroom. That moment of hesitation was all Clover needed.
Acting quickly, he hissed in pain as he took hold of the burning table and flipped it over, sending it tumbling toward the monsters. One was fast enough to avoid it, but the other was not. Trapped under it as it crashed down, the mutated rat's fur near instantly caught fire in a bright conflagration.
In the brief moment he had been distracted, the other rat had closed the distance. Digging its claws into the ground, it leaped toward him. Time seemed to slow as the monster sailed through the air with its sharp and unnatural claws extended. Thin shards of bone, like ornaments on a Christmas tree, hung from its fur, slightly swaying in hypnotic patterns.
Crashing down with the full force of his will, Clover called upon his magic. It responded quickly, only taking a fraction of the effort that it had previously. Blue motes of mana concentrated in his hand, forming a blue ball.
It wouldn’t be fast enough.
Clover tensed his jaw. There wasn’t time to dodge. There was only one thing left he could do.
With a half-formed [Unstable Mana Bolt] in the palm of his hand, he slapped the airborne Bone Rat. At the point of contact - the rat’s skull, the bolt collapsed in on itself in a blue flash, then exploded outward in a wave of force. Bones cracked in his hand as the monster rocketed backward and slammed heavily into the wall.
Congratulations! Unstable Mana Bolt has reached Lvl 13. +1 Skill Point.
Breathing heavily, Clover hurried toward the now empty doorway. To his side, the mutated rat flailed wildly as it dug itself out from under the burning table. Eventually, it succeeded, but by then, it was too disorientated to pursue Clover. With bright orange flames licking at its back, the beast stumbled into a wall, spreading the fire as it went.
The other Bone Rat was not as injured. It shook its whole body like a dog shaking off water, then with long and wild steps, it began to pursue him, not visibly slowed by the blow Clover had landed. However, by that time, he had already slipped out the door.
Swerving to the right, Clover stuck to the outskirts of the store as he sped toward the exit. Though the attempt at stealth was largely unnecessary, other than the Bone Rat chasing him, the store was empty.
Hot on his heels, the Bone Rat dashed out the door, its legs slipping on the tile floor slightly as it rapidly changed direction. Clover split his attention, focusing on the path ahead of him while also aiming a hand back at the beast.
[Unstable Mana Bolt]’s cooldown elapsed, and without wasting a second, Clover activated it again. Its crystalline structure jolted, and immediately, he could tell that this would not be a normal cast. Like butterflies drifting through the wind on a warm spring’s day, white dots - sparks, emerged in the growing ball of mana.
The sparks had a nostalgia to them - a pull as if they were an old friend he had not seen in years. It was a melancholy meeting. Confused, Clover did his best to focus on the beast, keeping a steady aim on it. He did not have time to be distracted.
The bolt of mana rocketed forward and unfortunately missed the mutated rat by a matter of inches. [Unstable Mana Bolt] slammed into a shelf; an uneven growth of bone burst forth in an explosion of force from the point of impact.
Damn it.
Now, with the Skill on cooldown, there was nothing he could do as the monster rapidly ate up the distance between them. No. That wasn’t true. Not slowing down, Clover yoinked a blender from a shelf and chucked it at the Bone Rat. Ironically, the kitchen appliance landed squarely on the Bone Rat’s jaw. Though, it did no real damage.
Congratulations! You have defeated a Bone Rat - Lvl 2. +125 Exp.
Class: [Blank] has reached Lvl 4. +5 Stat Points.
An alarm began to ring, and above, a sprinkler system activated, raining down water on him. The fire must have spread. On the bright side, it had been enough to kill the other Bone Rat. On the not-so-bright side, it meant that there was a risk of the entire building burning down while he was still inside it.
With the amount of water raining down on him, he doubted it would happen, but with his luck, he couldn't be sure.
Clover dismissed the screens, then, at the last moment, he swerved, turning down a back-to-school themed aisle lined with notebooks and backpacks. He slid slightly on the slick ground before he regained traction.
The maneuver earned him a few seconds of respite - long enough for [Unstable Mana Bolt] to come back off cooldown. Once again, he used it, and once again, its structure vibrated. Ever since he had completed the Landmark Path, the Skill had been more prone to mutating. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing yet.
This time, instead of its usual circular structure, [Unstable Mana Bolt] formed in the shape of a perfect pyramid.
Clover did his best not to be distracted by the change and instead focused his entire attention on aiming. He could not miss again.
Holding his breath, he launched the attack. The Bone Rat didn't even try to dodge. It stabbed into the beast's chest in a burst of speed, causing it to collapse in a tumble of limbs.
Congratulations! Unstable Mana Bolt has reached Lvl 14. +1 Skill Point.
Slowly, the monster rat picked itself up off the ground - blood leaked from a deep wound in its chest. In Clover’s non-expert opinion, it looked fatal - it was only a matter of time till it bled out. However, the beast’s beady black eyes didn’t show a hint of fear.
Bounding forward on all fours, it continued to pursue Clover, but now, thanks to its injury, it was slower. Clover evaded the beast, swerving and racing down aisles in a heart-pounding game of cat and mouse. As he wheeled away, he continued to blast bolts of mana at it on cooldown.
Any sane animal would have given up and returned to its lair to lick its wounds, but the Bone Rat did not. Ravenous, it did not give up the hunt till it collapsed dead in the middle clothing section.
Congratulations! Unstable Mana Bolt has reached Lvl 15. +1 Skill Point.
Congratulations! You have defeated a Bone Rat - Lvl 2. +125 Exp.
For a long moment, Clover sat still, catching his breath. Above, the flow of water falling from the sprinkler system slowed to a trickle.
Then, he looked down at his burnt and bruised hand. Despite the pain, he couldn't stop his lips from twitching upward into a smile. He had won. Somehow.
He checked the monster for any fallen loot. It hadn't dropped a Skill Stone, but he couldn't bring himself to be disappointed; he had Stat Points to spend.
Investing his Points all at once, Clover put 5 into Vitality and 5 into Magic - the two Stats he found to be most tightly tied to his continued survival. He'd continue his experimentation with Stat Points later.
Immediately, a wave of power flowed into him. It was almost too much to handle. Warmth surged through his bones and muscles, repairing them, and magic stirred within his soul, growing in size and clarity.
Like all good things, the surge of energy calmed all too soon. However, in its wake, Clover felt refreshed, like he could battle another pair of Bone Rats without issue. Though, to be clear, he didn't want to. He had pushed his luck enough for one day. It was time he met back up with the group.
He paused.
Had the group survived the ambush?
Hoping for the best, Clover cautiously left the clothing section and made his way back toward the exit. Though, he wasn't exactly sure where the exit was anymore. He had gotten quite turned around in his mad dash to escape the Bone Rat. Not exactly lost, but bordering on so. As he wheeled forward, he glanced around, searching for a landmark in the giant store to orient himself.
He froze as his eyes glanced over a nightmarish figure. Wearing a flat mask of bone, a tall Bone Rat stood under the flickering lights on two feet, staring directly at him with an unblinking gaze. Above its head, purplish-red text floated.
Bone Rat - Lvl 4
Slowly, it tilted its head while the rest of its body jerked and vibrated unnaturally. Then, at some unseen cue, it raised an arm and pointed a spindly claw to the space behind him.
Clover’s heart skipped a beat.