Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 12
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch12
Lying in silence for what seemed to be hours, only now did Kazuki’s grip loosen from the bottle he made from his black ruler. His tense muscles eased and he released a heavy breath.
His hands were shaking and his nerves were all on edge.
(Finally, that thing left. If not for the Azirian blood coating my body, for sure that large monster would have sniffed me out.)
Kazuki sniffed his arm and the sour stench from the drying Azirian blood stung his nose slightly.
*Tsss tshh*
The sound of something fizzling lingered in the air dragging Kazuki out of idle thoughts. At the entrance of the tiny cave he occupied, the boulder blocking the exit had already melted down by a third. A small pile of muddy residue slid down the rock and collected at the bottom of it.
(I need to find another boulder to cover the front so nothing can get in but to go out there right now…)
*Gulp*
Kazuki swallowed hard thinking about leaving this space. The fear of the unknown and known slowly crept into his mind.
Laying there without movement, a feeling of frustration pushed out the fear.
(I can’t just lay around in fear like a little bitch. I have to keep moving forward. I have to move.)
Kazuki gathered his courage and sat up rather quickly.
*Bam*
He was distracted by his own fears and frustrations that he forgot about the height of this small cave and banged his head on the ceiling. A small crack formed in the ceiling and Kazuki rolled around on the ground gripping his forehead in pain.
(Fucking idiot!)
This pain however was the perfect jump start and it helped push out the last of his jitters. Rubbing the pain away, Kazuki then crawled back to the entrance.
(I’ll make it quick. I’ll find another boulder and race back here before anything else unpleasant rears its ugly head.)
The boulder finally stopped sizzling and melting. The boulder had been reduced by almost half and was on the verge of falling over. Kazuki prepared himself for a bit of pain and quickly tapped the melted part of the boulder as fast as he could with the tip of his pointy finger.
…
Nothing happened. No pain or stinging, no burning or melting. The boulder was not hot or anything like that. It seemed perfectly normal albeit the place he touched felt a little rubbery.
(It’s like the stuff that came off simply fell away. This edge is even slightly smooth.)
Kazuki then grew curious and inspected the muddy substance that had been melted off the boulder and formed a small pile at its bottom. Kazuki once more poked it with a finger.
The muddy substance also didn’t burn him and it also felt slightly rubbery. Kazuki picked it up and found that its weight was lighter than what could have come off the boulder. Giving it a squeeze, the rock had some give to it but upon release, it came back to its original shape. It was like squeezing a foam ball except it was much tougher.
Normally, Kazuki’s strength would have shattered the rock and reduced it to dust but with it’s springy like body, it became a lot more difficult to break.
Grabbing two sides of it, Kazuki tried to tear at it but instead of ripping it, it stretched slightly. Pressing it up against the wall with his feet on one end, Kazuki grabbed the other with both hands and tugged with everything he had.
*Riiiiip*
The rock was pulled and stretched to his chest before it finally tore apart. As soon as the rock tore, it was like a rubberbands tension being stretched to the limit before snapping. Kazuki found that the unexpected force caused him to lose his grip and it wound up flying out of his hands. The rock then hit the wall of the cave before bouncing off and flying back at him. Kazuki could have caught it but he wondered what would happen next so he rolled away.
The oddly shaped rock then proceeded to bounce off the ground, wall, and ceiling, three times before the rock lost momentum and stopped.
(It’s really like something made of rubber. How?)
Kazuki got some idea and decided to inspect both the boulder as well as the acidic water but he discovered nothing.
(I know nothing about rocks but they definitely shouldn’t become like rubber just from having something acidic spill on them. Does that mean the water has some sort of special properties in it or is it really something with the rock itself.)
Kazuki then checked out the ceiling at the exact spot where the acidic water leaked through.
(The ceiling itself is constantly leaking that smelly liquid but the ceiling isn’t melting or warping in anyway. The acid doesn’t seem to harm or damage it in any way. Not only that, the spot where the acid pools, it doesn’t melt away either. There seems to be a hole at the bottom though. That seems to act as drainage of sorts. So does that mean that it’s the boulder at the entrance that is special. It seems normal but when it comes into contact with this acid, it becomes like that.)
Kazuki wondered if this was a waste of time but only a second later he threw that thought away. Even a stupid person could see the possibilities if Kazuki used this stuff properly. The rubbery rock was much more durable than a regular rock and it took nearly all of Kazuki’s suppressed strength to even tear it.
(If I can make more of this rubbery rock, I may be able to use it like rope and climb out of here. I can throw it around the jagged spikes jutting out of the cliff and make my way out of this shit hole. First things first though, I need to see if it’s more than this rock that’s different or if there are other rocks out there just like it.)
Kazuki didn’t hesitate and made his move. Gingerly moving the boulder out of the way, Kazuki slowly crawled out of his palace. His ki stretched 10 feet around him in every direction and he quickly found several rocks.
Using his ruler as a makeshift water bottle, he carried the acid around with him. Coming upon a fist-sized rock, he was just about to pour it on it when he remembered.
(The water bottle only has about a fourth of the acid inside. After I used it on the clacker’s there’s not a whole lot left.)
Kazuki found it would be better to simply gather a lot of rocks and bring them back into his castle instead of continuously field testing them out in the open with the little acid he had left. If he just gathered a shit ton now and brought them back with him, then he could test them inside where it was safe. Not only that, he wouldn’t have to continuously go inside and get more acid, test it outside, run out, and then go back for more. He could bring a bunch of rocks back in a large pile and wait for the acid pool to refill. That way he could do other things with his time while he waited for the acidic water to fill back up.
Kazuki took off his already tattered shirt and tied it together, fashioning it into an oversized bag he could carry things in. God how he wished he could access one of the magic rings he had right now. It would make things a million times easier if he could simply use his or Tilly’s ring to store everything.
Carefully yet swiftly, Kazuki gathered dozens upon dozens of rocks. When his shirt was full, he went back into his goblin hole, dumped the rocks into a small corner before heading back out and repeating this. After almost 30 minutes of this, Kazuki had filled his tiny hole by more than half with rocks of varying sizes. Some were about the size of his fist while others were well bigger than his head.
Replacing the boulder at the entrance with another one, Kazuki sealed himself in leaving only the tiniest gap for air before he got to work. First, he tested the piles of rocks around him one by one. With the acid puddle still having only a few drops in it, Kazuki decided to leave it alone for now and use what was left inside his makeshift bottle.
Taking a single rock, he placed it before him and carefully tilting the bottle, Kazuki poured only a few drops upon the rock, just to test it.
*Siiishhh*
The acid bore a hole directly through the rock and touched the ground.
*Tssss*
The acid continued downward for a few inches before it finally stopped eating away at the ground.
Kazuki tossed the rock to one side of the small cave and excitedly grabbed another. His earlier fear was completely pushed out and a flame was lit within his eyes.
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