Capítulo 23: Meeting

After running for some time, my tears dried. I had started thinking about what I could do next, but before I could make any plans, I suddenly felt something watching me. Feeling the threat if death, I jumped forward. I moved just in time, and an ice shard the size of my forearm appeared from the forest and impaled itself in a tree, not far from where my head would have been. Terrified, I looked to where it had come from to see a monster that looked like an armoured mouse. That being said, it was much larger than any mouse I had seen. Its back, legs, and tail were covered in azure plates. Its head was mostly exposed, with brown fur and horrible yellow teeth. As I was captivated by its absurd appearance, it screeched loudly at me and charged. I had luckily already put on the weapons I got from my mother, and prepared myself to fight back. As it got within a few meters of me, it jumped and curled up into a ball, firing at me like a canon. Confused, I stepped to the side, allowing it to harmlessly pass me by. However, as it got close to me, it unravelled itself and whipped its tail at me. Surprised, I threw up a weak defense with my claws. When we collided, I was surprised again. It was quite weak, and probably wouldn't have hurt me very much even if I didn't block it. As I stared at it, I felt pain all over my back. I yelled and jumped forward again. I spun around to see many small icicles buried in the ground where I was not too long ago, and felt warm blood flow down my back. As I stared at the wierd rat in surprise, the pain in my back suddenly got worse, the few icicles stuck in me were growing! Hurriedly, I ripped them out of my back, causing even more pain. I had never heard of a magical attack changing after it was used, and yet I had just experienced it. Trying not to get distract, I focused back on my foe, only to notice that it had disappeared. Panicked, I looked either side of me to try and see it, only to be greeted by the sight of a wide ice blade shaped like a crescent moon flying at me. Locating its attack, I swiped at it once it was close enough, shattering it. As I started celebrating, I felt a terrible stabbing pain in my side. I looked down to see yet another icicle piercing my chest. Luckily it hit a rib, but I still cried out in pain. Learning from last time, I pulled it out quickly, and looked at the direction it came from. I saw the wierd mouse staring at me, and for some reason I could swear it was ridiculing me. As I focused on it, I realized it was breathing heavily. My eyes shone as I realized it was almost out of mana. Forgetting my pain, I gave into my bloodlust and rushed forward, intent on killing it. However, with each step I took, I got more and more cautious. The rat monster was cunning, and I doubt it would just let me approach it. As I made it halfway, it launched another ice blade at me, which I once again shattered. Unlike last time, I did not get distracted. Looking behind the fragments of the ice blade, I saw an icicle flying at my head. I dodged to the side and leaped forward, slashing at my enemy. My claws scraped off its armour, screeching while leaving white lines. It tried to move, but seemed to have exhausted its mana, so I then aimed for its undefended eye, piercing through its skull, killing it instantly.