Back at the cave...
Sunny stirred, barely awake. The soft crackling of the fire had lulled him into a false sense of security.
He had a weird premonition; something was off.
The wind outside seemed to carry another noise.
He scanned his surroundings but found nothing. He quietly grabbed a hot stone and placed it inside his sweater.
A small trick that Silent had taught him: when you need to leave the fire for any reason, always take a hot rock and place it inside your clothing. It will keep you warm as you venture out.
He also grabbed a branch and tied a piece of spare cloth around one end, then lit it on fire.
Boom. Make-shift torch.
He stepped out of the cave and began to inspect his surroundings; nothing seemed to be wrong, though.
He had already ventured out twice—once to dig out some edible plant roots, and once more to gather more fuel.
Yet something was off.
He had this uneasy feeling that couldn't be explained. Sweaty palms, and adrenaline flowed through his veins.
He climbed a large boulder near the cave and scanned his surroundings from the top.
He heard the faint noise again.
Gurgle. Gurgle.
Then he saw it.
A large, sluggish... what could he even call it? Monster? Abomination? Something cursed by the gods?
Whatever it was, it seemed to be entirely translucent and slow. This... blob, for lack of a better word, was just wandering about.
'A nightmare creature,' Sunny panicked internally. 'Damn it, Silent, you had one job!'
Mundane people couldn't hope to kill even the weakest of Dormant beasts. It was like a herald of death to them.
Sunny had two options: fight or flight.
Only of course, flight wasn't an option—unless he fancied freezing to death.
He recalled his sister's teachings.
"If you have the element of surprise, first observe. You will only have one chance to land a sneak attack—don't waste it." She had said. "Look for weaknesses, and strike when the time is right."
His chances were slim, but he had no choice but to fight.
Meanwhile, at the peak...
Revel looked closely at the creature.
"Is that... a Mucklet?" she asked incredulously. She knew the creature—it was one of the Dormant beasts that the Tyrant Bin had thralled into existence.
Bin had pranked Revel before by sending these things to her room and sliming everything. Revel was still mad, since it ruined her favorite book.
Bin had a wide range of thralls; they were of vital importance to the Song Domain since they helped with construction, hunting, and maintenance—as well as a wide range of other things.
Bin nodded. "It's the perfect practice for someone like him. These things are pretty weak to the elements and are slow in the cold."
"So, unless he allows himself to be swallowed like an idiot, he'll be fine," finished Moonveil.
"Still," Silent said, "it won't be easy for a mundane to kill a Dormant beast. He has to get creative—since a simple torch won't be enough."
So it's the perfect creature to test our little brother, Revel summarized internally.
She began nibbling on a slice of dried apple thoughtfully. She hoped her brother wouldn't disappoint.
Back outside the cave...
Sunny observed the creature and summarized a few things from just watching.
It had a gelatinous body that quivered with every sluggish motion, leaving behind a slimy trail that hissed faintly in the snow. It had a mouth—if it could be called that—that would open randomly on different sides of its form, bubbling like boiling soup before disappearing again.
The blob seemed to be either a monster or a beast, since it certainly wasn't intelligent. It was one of the basics he had been taught.
It had to be Dormant—Awakened creatures were usually much more impressive.I think...
And, uncharacteristically, it seemed to be weak to cold.
Which was weird, since he was in the mountains. Wouldn't it make sense for a creature like that to live in warmer climates?
Silent... Sunny put two and two together. This was a test.
Still, wasn't this too much? The cold was enough to deal with—but this?
This was just cruel.
Test me, will you? Sunny thought. I'll give you something to see.
He began to move.
At the peak...
The four saints had watched Sunny observe the creature for an hour before he finally began to move.
"Finally," said an exasperated Beastmaster. "It seems that he formulated a plan."
Moonveil shared the same sentiment.
"I honestly thought he would take longer," noted Silent Stalker.
"I'm hoping he didn't rush and make a rash decision," lamented Revel.
They watched curiously as he silently crept back toward the cave, moving like a shadow.
Sometime later, he emerged with a couple of things in hand and then...
He began climbing the mountain.
Back to Sunny...
He climbed to the small, sloped plateau above the cave.
It was difficult climbing while holding that many things, but thankfully it wasn't as steep as before.
He reached the ledge and began working.
First, he began melting the snow near the ledge using some heated rocks he'd picked up, then gathered as much snow on the sloped plateau as possible.
Then he pulled out the empty Monster can and inserted some pebbles into it.
He was ready.
At least he hoped he was.
He began shaking the can as violently as possible.