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Re:Freeze - [Progression Isekai]
025: He got That DAWG In Him

025: He got That DAWG In Him

They don’t look like they’re willing to talk this out in a civil conversation. Goosebumps tickled his rattling fingertips. The strange power was in reach. Whatever the hell really was. He still had no clue why he even had the ability. He was bestowed with the light insignia and given light abilities. But after the corruption christening performed oh so lovingly by his siblings the Insignia completely disappeared. My Insignia doesn’t exist anymore, it’s just a lump of scarring now. I didn’t even know that was possible. How did Julius even know how to do that? There were too many questions and no answers in sight. It would have to wait for now though. There was one thing he was sure of. If he was going to survive on these streets he had to master this new ability. Everything else rested upon that fact. Whatever it takes I have to survive.

Maxwell flexed his fingers. The dog charged toward him. This wouldn’t be easy. The impact would rock him. Again he was fighting once more. Fighting for scraps no less. Maybe he could run- NO, he wouldn’t allow that. He had to fight. The footsteps of the dog patted quickly against the ground. Maxwell gritted his teeth, His eyes fixated ahead of him. The smell of the trash was strongly in his nose. They say you know you’re close enough when you can see the whites of your opponents eyes but Maxwell could make out the individual pores on its nose. He willed the ice to come forth from within him. It wasn’t hard. He always felt that numbness within. It wouldn’t go away no matter how hard he tried. It condensed on the surface of his skin.

“Come on!” shouted Maxwell raising his arm. The air was driven from his body not from the impact but from slamming into the wall behind him. The two bounced apart at the same moment. He glanced at his forearm. He took it all in, with every shaky breath he observed the deep tooth marks in the icy layer. The fact it was only a millimetre from his bare skin. The fact that it had all happened so quickly. A layer of deep blue crawled out from his core, moving past his torn clothes and extending to his extremities. Snowflakes shed from his body. If I didn’t have this ability that attack would have killed me. There’s no doubt about it.

The other dogs weren’t attacking but more barking around him. As long as they were there he wouldn’t be able to escape. The black dog reared its head. I swear this thing is part crocodile, that number of teeth can’t be possible. The dog bit him. Maxwell jammed the meat of his forearm into its mouth. A thick layer of ice was keeping it at bay. The dog violently shook its head but he held on. Maxwell grit his teeth. Now my second ability. Ice spread from his forearm growing into a thick ball. The jaws of the beast were slowly forced back. He speedily withdrew his arm. A ball of ice now remained in its mouth. Unable to shut its mouth it sort of looked there stumped. I can form ice from any part of my body. I don’t have much control but it has its uses. His breathing quickened. Why is this draining my stamina so much? It was nothing like that fight with Sveno. Energy had seemed to course through him then but now… Despite his heavy exertion his results were lackluster.

A sharp bark rang out. Vice Like grips clamped on either side of his arms. The other dogs had clamped to his sides. They wouldn’t let go despite his violent shrugging. The ice crinkled under their jaws. He focused on the ice and the crinkling stopped. It’s so much harder to control my ability. This is a trade off between mental drain and physical stamina. He shook the dogs off. He glanced beyond the three dogs. There was one thing that had caught his mind. The white dog in the back hadn’t moved. It always stayed behind. Is that the ringleader? Maxwell closed his fist around a growing icicle. He swung it at the dog like a javelin. The dog gave a surprised whine of fear. It struck its side, sending it to the ground. Ice spread out from the spot. Don’t worry it won’t kill you. The point’s blunt.

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The dogs attacked him again. It was more of a tussle now. A flail of moving limbs, jaws and paws. He delivered blows to the dogs kicking one of them in the nuts. Sorry not sorry.

The large black dog was next. Maxwell pulled back his arm, his claws extended in fine points from his cold fingers. He paused for a second before closing his fingers and delivering a swift strike to the dogs side. He noted how due to the size of the claws he wasn’t able to fully close his fist. It did lead to some loss of tightness since he wasn’t able to compact his fist fully. You don’t get much power punching with a relaxed hand. The other dogs followed and he was left alone once more in the alleyway. He panted staring down the empty street where the dogs had gone. His icy shoulders rose and fell. Once he was sure they were gone he collapsed on his butt. That took so much out of me. It hadn’t been his toughest fight or most deadly but for some reason it had felt so overwhelming. I feel a coldness inside me. As if its from my very core. It makes the ice that radiates from my body not seem cold at all. But in return… I feel a coldness within that makes my teeth rattle and my arms shiver on an everyday basis. He sniffled. “Damn it, this coldness just won’t go away.”

He rooted through the trash. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of shame. Look at me fighting dogs for somebody's leftovers…Hot tears ran down his cheek. It’s humiliating. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, he was doing what he needed to in order to survive yet why did he feel this way? He dug through the leftover food for another morsel. No piece had much food on it, they were scraps after all. He yanked his hand out of the pile, howling in pain. ON the end of his waving hand was a centipede, its massive mandibles sawing into his flesh. WIth his other hand he ripped it off. It squirmed and wiggled in his hand, its many legs scuttling helplessly in the air.

“God Dammit what the hell was that for!” he shouted, breathing harshly. He didn’t think the trash was old enough yet to have critters mulling about ready to assault him. He held it at an arms reach. WHat the hell am I supposed to do with it now? I feel like if i drop it, it'll go straight at me. It was still squirming in his grasp and the grease and goop from the barrel it was in made it difficult to hold it still. Damn it, getting this pressured by something smaller than me is reminding me yet again of how weak I really am. The fight was harder than it should have been. I thought it would be a lot easier considering who I fought before. Have I lost so much confidence after one fight?

His hand lowered to his side despite the critter in it. it squirmed ever more tightly in his ever more tightening grip. His breathing quickened as his anxiety welled up inside of him. He was ever aware of how weak he really was and the instability of the journey ahead. Using my abilities was harder than he had anticipated. He needed to hone his skills. He would need lots of practice and forge himself into an icy lake whose surface would never crack. He breathed a sigh of relief as his panic subsided. He glanced down at his hand. Only a bloody mess remained in his hand; the centipede body was in two mangled clumps. Blue and yellow guts peeked out of the broken carapace. His face twisted in disgust and he wiped the blood of his hands using a nearby wall. He looked once at the barrel of food waste before grimacing and walking away. He’d lost his appetite.